I never really “got” the whole thing about social networking sites like Myspace which, in particular, just seemed to be full of 12 years old, grunge bands and Russian prostitutes wanting to be my friend. And profile layouts that made my brain bleed.
Thank goodness I’m colourblind…it could have been worse.

But about a month ago, I got an invite to facebook, joined, and used the address book checker to find I’d already got about 20 friends on there. I then invited another 60 or so, thinking that I’d get the same response as Bebo or Hi5, ie: perhaps one person might turn up.

Within a week, 30 did. I have no idea what the particular appeal is, but it’s certainly addictive. Especially when it’s so easy to defenestrate or chuck sheep at a friend.

Others have done a better job of explaining it, so let’s start with an article by the excellent named Jemima Kiss, in The Guardian.

Here’s an article from The Times about the perils of Facebook

Here are some of the best apps that you can add to a profile

And if you insist on staying with Myspace, then you can at least attempt a nice layout. Comments?

Tags: facebook,social-networking
Categories: Uncategorized
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So, the thought police have dragged another victim off for processing. I’ve blogged about sensitive language before and, having watched the actual footage earlier this evening, I’m not alone in thinking that the way she way taken out is quite a disturbing turn; it removes all debate from the situation. Even more interesting is the way that, normally, BB would say “this segment contains language some people might find offensive”, but this time, they deemed to tell us what we should be offended about.

Have we become such mindless sheep that we need to be told how, what and when to think?

Blogging and talking it over isn’t going to help, but Paul Flynn covers it very will in The Guardian

[...] let’s get this one cleared up. Charley is black. Emily is white. They have become friends. You might go as far as to say that a week into the three-month run they have become the show’s breakout stars: even before this happened, they were certainly its major talking point.
For teenage girls brought up enshrined in the vernacular of hip hop, through which the word “nigger” is littered, it is not inconceivable that this was delivered with some boisterous, if grossly ill-timed, affection? In this context, could a synonym of Emily’s silly statement have been “are you pushing it out, gangsta?”

[...]this further twist shows up the shortcomings of Ofcom rather than the producers of the show, who have behaved with exemplary haste in cordoning off the issue.

There is a further point to this. In a show in which 24-hour exposure to TV cameras is part of the deal, is it really Ofcom’s job to censor language at all costs? If it is, then what next? Will housemates be automatically evicted for using the potentially offensive words “cunt”, “faggot” or “chav”, too? If the word “nigger” had been used in a popular drama like, say, Skins, that is supposed to hold a microscope over young people’s behaviour and language, would it have been similarly chastised?

If Ofcom do not seek to censor language but to identify and prevent genuine racial prejudice, then the new set of guidelines against Big Brother has categorically failed. This is not an incident of prejudice, it’s one of a stupid use of language by a misguided, although clever, schoolgirl.

At its best, Big Brother reflects a view of Britain back at its audience - an audience to whom the show is now a central part of the UK’s cultural life. If Ofcom are intent on curbing this, the show dies. Prurient police-stating of Big Brother will only spell its end.

You can read the full article.

What WILL be effective is this:

Wrap up a heavy object in a parcel, and send it to the Big Brother 8 Vote Refund address which is

Freepost RRHU-ZJCH-HLXZ
Channel Four Television
Big Brother 8 Vote Refund
124-126 Horseferry Road
LONDON
SW1P 2TX

Do NOT send anything dangerous or stupid. Just something that’s going to cost them a lot in postage to accept. This has worked quite effectively in other campaigns and is, I repeat NOT illegal.

Tags: big-brother,emily,nigger
Categories: Politics, political_correctness
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Just got an email from Skype. It says;

From now until the 10th of June (next Monday), you’ll be able to text your friends in these countries for half the normal price:

* Australia now 2.8p
* Austria now 4.7p
* Belgium now 3.8p
* Czech Republic now 3.6p
* Estonia now 3.1p
* Ireland now 3.6p
* Korea now 3.1p
* Russia now 2.2p
* South Africa now 3.8p
* Spain now 4.7p
* Sweden now 3.1p
* Taiwan now 2p
* Thailand now 2p
* United Kingdom now 3.2p
* USA now 3.6p

Skype makes it look like it comes from your phone. I mean, for me, it would be my phone. Not your phone. That would just be silly.

Also see my cheap SMS page

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Half a million quid. One year in the making…and this is it…

Could it be any worse if it tried?

I don’t even understand what was wrong with the original logo!

It had all the elements, was clear and pleasant and it had the Olympic ribbon flowing in the iconic shape of the Thames through London.

Sign the petition to have it changed!!
NOTE: In a bizarre move, the petition has been closed after 48,615 signatures. BUT there’s a new petition!

Update: Some BBC website users sent in their own versions of the logo and they were far better, and all done in ten minutes for free! There

UPDATE: 6th June: Here’s an interview on this evening’s edition of Radio 4’s PM show, with Eddie Mair interviewing Michael Wolff, who setup the agency Wolff Olins and tries to explain the logo, however, as the interview notes, he’s not with the company now. Click to listen.

Also, check out the 606 and Have Your Say sections of BBC News. Some choice comments on there so far are…

30 years in advertising has taught me this:

1st rule in advertising: If it needs explaining it is very badly wrong.

2nd Rule: You can be the most talked about brand in the world, but if most of that talk is derision - sack the marketing company.

3rd rule: Never let the client realise how much we have just ripped them off by.

Oh dear, seems the new logo fits all three conditions!

And

Fragmented, cracked and with pieces that don’t fit. I’d say it symbolised Britian today perfectly.

UPDATE 2:

There’s so much talent out there, so many decent graphic artists, yet the UK is, once again, the laughing stock of the world..and the whole world is laughing at our new Olympics 2012 logo.

BUT - I think there’s actually a chance to get this logo changed. Signing a net petition alone isn’t going to do much, but you could contact your MP via http://www.writetothem.com/

The, ahem, “creative agency” that took one year and FOUR HUNDRED THOUSAND POUNDS to come up with this work of genius is called Wolff Olins. http://www.wolffolins.com/contactus.htm

I think it’s your duty to pick up the phone and send them an email. I just called them, and spoke to a very harassed sounding bloke who said:
“You’re from the BBC aren’t you? You sound like you’re from the BBC. What is your problem with this - you know, it’s a job, someone’s got to do it.” Okaaaaay….
So, here’s their number:
Tel: +44 (0)20 7713 7733
And here’s their email address which you can plaster on as many websites as you like.
info@wolff-olins.com

You could also contact The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games on +44 (0) 203 2012 000 or write to:

London 2012
One Churchill Place
Canary Wharf
London
E14 5LN

Basically, we’ve paid £400,000 for this, and this just represents a microcosm of the enormous and scandalous waste of money that’s being thrown down the drain

Depending on how much time you’ve got, you could also do the following:

Vote for an alternative logo - I like the logo by Richard Voysey, which appears as picture number three horizontal list, but confusingly appears as the second item in the selection list, which is called number one! Lots of people have been confused by this apparently.
AND THE WINNER IS! Richard Voysey of Voysey Graphic Arts Ltd, with this logo:

Add your name to the petition - 30,000 signatures in 30 hours and counting:

Here’s a page where the official explanation is neatly disembowelled by a proper graphic artist.

Epilepsy fears over 2012 footage

BBC London viewers’ designs

BBC News readers’ alternative logos - 1

BBC News readers’ alternative logos - 2

London 2012 team defend new logo

BBC Radio 4 blog - listeners give their thoughts:

Vote on what you think of the logo
http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/olympics_2012/6718243.stm

If you’re on Facebook, join the group

And finally, if you know what Goatse means, you’ll find this amusing…

If you don’t know what Goatse means, I strongly advise you don’t go Googling for the answer!

The BBC didn’t realise what it was and later issued an apology!

Richard Voysey’s version

Andrew Robinson’s take on the olympic logo

Here are some more logos I’ve collected together…click the link to reach the album

I think the designers need some books…

Categories: Politics
1 Comment »

It wasn’t so long ago that I blogged about Maddox’s great Titanic Conspiracy video, had a chuckle, and moved on.

Then last week, I saw that the BBC had to issue a rebuttal because they’d been inundated with mentals suggested the BBC was in on the plot, and they’ve built this whole bizarre story on the basis that the newsreader said “apparently” instead of “we’ve been told” about some building that fell down 20 minutes later. Interesting reading the comments in that blog to see just how much psychiatric help people need.

I now see WHY the black helicopter brigade are picking on the BBC - I saw a repeat on BBC Four just now of a show broadcast earlier this year as part of The Conspiracy Files season about the 9/11 attack on the USA.
I’m sure there’s a copy on Youtube, but they did a nice job on debunking most of the conspiracies - in particular, one of the theories goes that Flight 93 was shot down. The whole conspiracy is based on the fact that some guy used Google Maps to measure the distance from one side of a lake to the other, came up with 6 miles - even though the map measured the road ROUND the lake, not the flight path distance of a mile!
Here’s a direct link to that particular one, plus all the others in the programme.

This has all been hashed out and thrashed out so many times, but here Alex Jones from Infowars on a rant

Here’s a Youtube Video which attempts to debunk popular mechanic’s debunking of loose change

Here’s the editor of Popular Mechanics talking about their debunking of the theories.

Here’s the original conspiracy video, Loose change (See also Wikipedia article)

And here’s a nice hatchet job on the second edition of the above..
Screw Loose Change

Anyway, if you’re able to read this far without needing someone to wipe your drool (Hawking excluded) and shine the tinfoil on your head, you can probably draw your own conclusion - if in doubt, get Occam’s Razor out.

Tags: 911,alex-jones,bbc,conspiracy-files,Dylan-Avery,infowards,loose-change,popular-mechanics,video,youtube
Categories: Politics, new york
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