Salad Fingers
Friday, July 30, 2004
I like rusty spoons
&bull posted by Matt Wharton @ 8:53 PM
Flickr: The Speckled Band
&bull posted by Matt Wharton @ 8:00 PM
I love Flickr.com, they offer a photo hosting service with a plethora of features. A key component of the Flickr service is to create a community of photographers by allowing people to form groups and comment on other people's photographs.
I decided to utilise the comment feature and create an illustrated version of the Sherlock Holmes tale The Speckled Band. I broke the text up into 58 sections, picked a keyword from each bit of the text then searched for a photo that was tagged with that word. I then wrote the text into the coment box for each photo linking to the next photo and bit of the text.
The game is afoot.
I decided to utilise the comment feature and create an illustrated version of the Sherlock Holmes tale The Speckled Band. I broke the text up into 58 sections, picked a keyword from each bit of the text then searched for a photo that was tagged with that word. I then wrote the text into the coment box for each photo linking to the next photo and bit of the text.
The game is afoot.
A statement of fact
&bull posted by Matt Wharton @ 5:15 PM
I've just had a rather bizarre conversation with a man of the cloth. In he walks to the cinema wearing his dog collar, stinking of booze and wishing to use our toilet. Having used our facilities he asked me which pub I thought he should visit next as he was looking to offend people. He told me it was his day off but he still wore the collar because it was a part of who he was.
He seemed very keen on telling me statements of fact. "Statement of fact. Even though I wear this collar I'm no different from you. I urinate. I defecate and occasionally I even fornicate." Also he liked to drink gin.
I think he may have been having a crisis of faith as he seemed to be very cynical about the world and he couldn't tolerate liars. He told me that he thought people could do whatever they wished within reason as long as they didn't lie about it. This is a philosophy that I share to an extent.
The most bizarre thing happened as he was leaving to go to the pub I recommended. We shook hands and I told him it was nice to have met him as it was break from the monotony of the day by having a real conversation with someone. He asked me what movies we were playing and he said that he'd see me exactly one week from now and pay me ten pounds for every person that had just watched King Arthur who then stuck their fingers up at me. But he'd only pay me if I didn't lie to him next time I met him.
The surrealness of the whole experience makes me think that things weren't quite how they seemed. At first I thought he might not really be a clergyman, it crossed my mind that he might be an actor. Later I became convinced that he was real but may have been suffering a 'crisis of faith'. Now, one hour on from the experience I'm having doubts about whether he was even human.
Tags: cinema
He seemed very keen on telling me statements of fact. "Statement of fact. Even though I wear this collar I'm no different from you. I urinate. I defecate and occasionally I even fornicate." Also he liked to drink gin.
I think he may have been having a crisis of faith as he seemed to be very cynical about the world and he couldn't tolerate liars. He told me that he thought people could do whatever they wished within reason as long as they didn't lie about it. This is a philosophy that I share to an extent.
The most bizarre thing happened as he was leaving to go to the pub I recommended. We shook hands and I told him it was nice to have met him as it was break from the monotony of the day by having a real conversation with someone. He asked me what movies we were playing and he said that he'd see me exactly one week from now and pay me ten pounds for every person that had just watched King Arthur who then stuck their fingers up at me. But he'd only pay me if I didn't lie to him next time I met him.
The surrealness of the whole experience makes me think that things weren't quite how they seemed. At first I thought he might not really be a clergyman, it crossed my mind that he might be an actor. Later I became convinced that he was real but may have been suffering a 'crisis of faith'. Now, one hour on from the experience I'm having doubts about whether he was even human.
Tags: cinema
Labels: cinema
Black Ninjas?
&bull posted by Matt Wharton @ 12:12 AM
From the 9/11 Commission report
At some point during this period, President Clinton expressed his frustration with the lack of military options to take out Bin Ladin and the al Qaeda leadership, remarking to General Hugh Shelton,“You know, it would scare the shit out of al-Qaeda if suddenly a bunch of black ninjas rappelled out of helicopters into the middle of their camp.
Thursday, July 29, 2004
Pillow Talk
&bull posted by Matt Wharton @ 4:19 PM
The Pillow Book done in the style of a blog.
Found via BoingBoing.
Found via BoingBoing.
A blogger named Simon Cozens is translating the classic Japanese text The Pillow Book (Makura no Soshi) by Sei Shonagon into English and republishing it as a blog. It's easy to forget the fact that these words were written in the tenth century, because the results in this format read -- well, rather like a blog.The Pillow Book was a book of observations and musings recorded by Sei Shonagon during her time as court lady to Empress Sadako during the 990s in Heian Japan. This is an interesting project that offers an unique insight into Japanese culture that is in its way still relevant today.
Labels: books
TV Networks Inducing JibJab
&bull posted by Matt Wharton @ 12:16 AM
An intriguing update to this post here in which I briefly wrote about the INDUCE act.
The creators of the satirical JibJab.com web site have produced a music video parody of Woody Guthrie's "This Land is Your Land" featuring George W. Bush and John Kerry. In doing so they may have violated the copyright for the song.
An odd knock-on effect of this is that the TV networks that covered this story in their news reports have encouraged viewers to download the spoof film by providing links to the JibJab website via the online version of the news report. If the video parody is indeed found to be a violation of copyright then these TV networks maybe guilty under the Inducing Infringement of Copyrights Act (aka INDUCE Act).
The Home Recording Rights Coalition has issued a press release making this very argument.
The creators of the satirical JibJab.com web site have produced a music video parody of Woody Guthrie's "This Land is Your Land" featuring George W. Bush and John Kerry. In doing so they may have violated the copyright for the song.
An odd knock-on effect of this is that the TV networks that covered this story in their news reports have encouraged viewers to download the spoof film by providing links to the JibJab website via the online version of the news report. If the video parody is indeed found to be a violation of copyright then these TV networks maybe guilty under the Inducing Infringement of Copyrights Act (aka INDUCE Act).
The Home Recording Rights Coalition has issued a press release making this very argument.
Labels: copyright
Wednesday, July 28, 2004
The new look
&bull posted by Matt Wharton @ 7:07 PM
I've finally got around to updating the look of the site. I think it looks a lot more professional now, but it has been a fucking nightmare trying to get it work correctly.
I just can't help tinkering with it, but now I think I've finally reached a point where I'm happy with the look of the damn thing.
I just can't help tinkering with it, but now I think I've finally reached a point where I'm happy with the look of the damn thing.
Tuesday, July 27, 2004
Frying Pan Attack
&bull posted by Matt Wharton @ 5:09 PM
My zany friend Chris and his brother made this bit of slapstick comedy, it's black and white as well. Click on the link to view it: Frying Pan Attack or download it by clicking this link.
Gmail overload
&bull posted by Matt Wharton @ 4:25 PM
Google's web-based email service Gmail is a hell of a service although it is not open to the general public at the moment. The killer feature of it is the generous 1GB of email storage should be enough for a lifetime of email messages for the average Joe, but not it appears for Kevin Rose.
Rose decided to test the limits of the service by asking people to send him email messages with attachments of over 5MB. The results were quite astounding.
Rose decided to test the limits of the service by asking people to send him email messages with attachments of over 5MB. The results were quite astounding.
Within 5 minutes, Gmail processed over 300 mail messages (most with 5+ MB attachments). 10 minutes into the test, I started receiving various internal server error messages and was no longer able to login. Proceeded to login with other Gmail accounts to ensure this was not a site wide problem. All other accounts worked fine.In fact the experiment may have been a little too succesful as almost immediately people who were trying to send him messages were having them bounced back.
So how many emails where sent? No way to tell for sure, but considering that our network is in 50+ million homes, that I plugged it twice, and I received over 2,000 complaints from people who actually took the time to dig around and find my personal email address, I'm thinking we hit Gmail with around 50-75,000+, 5MB+ emails in a 10-15min window.Was this test just a bit of fun and essentially a complete waste of time, well maybe but perhaps as a byproduct it helped Google improve their service and cope with the huge load that may eventually build up when it is open to everyone to join.
Sunday, July 25, 2004
Revenge of the Sith
&bull posted by Matt Wharton @ 12:55 PM
BBC News: Third Star Wars film gets title
The new film will be released in May 2005See Star Wars: Episode III for more information on the movie.
The third and final Star Wars prequel - due for release next summer - will be called Revenge of the Sith, producer Lucasfilm has said.
Labels: Star Wars
Freak huge waves: No myth!
&bull posted by Matt Wharton @ 12:23 AM
Freak waves spotted from space
The shady phenomenon of freak waves as tall as 10 storey buildings had finally been proved, the European Space Agency (Esa) said on Wednesday.I don't know why but I love the idea of huge waves spontaneously appearing in the middle of the ocean. The unknowable power of Mother Nature. Why are governments spending billions of dollars exploring the Universe when we don't know enough about our own planet?
Sailors often whisper of monster waves when ships sink mysteriously but, until now, no one quite believed them.
As part of a project called MaxWave - which was set up to test the rumours - two Esa satellites surveyed the oceans.
During a three week period they detected 10 giant waves, all of which were over 25m (81ft) high.
Saturday, July 24, 2004
Register now at Bugmenot.com
&bull posted by Matt Wharton @ 10:35 PM
Bugmenot.com now has a registration page for users of the service to fill in. Odd if you consider that bugmenot's service is to give you log in details for sites such as The New York Times that require registration before usage.
However, upon closer examination you may find that it is a spoof with some rather personal information being asked for such as
Out of ten how would you rate your partner's satisfaction with your sexual performance?
and totally crazy ones like
Would you be willing to have an RFID chip inserted under your skin in exchange for a free, 12 month newspaper subscription?
Having to register at websites just to read articles is fucking annoying and bad security as it means yet more passwords to remember. Most people hate to remember many passwords so they will use the same password that they use for sites that actually require some security such as their bank account.
One other thing is that it makes these sites inaccessible to search engines so that when you search for something at Google it's unlikely that you'd get a link to the page of the article from The New York Times that covered it.
However, upon closer examination you may find that it is a spoof with some rather personal information being asked for such as
Out of ten how would you rate your partner's satisfaction with your sexual performance?
and totally crazy ones like
Would you be willing to have an RFID chip inserted under your skin in exchange for a free, 12 month newspaper subscription?
Having to register at websites just to read articles is fucking annoying and bad security as it means yet more passwords to remember. Most people hate to remember many passwords so they will use the same password that they use for sites that actually require some security such as their bank account.
One other thing is that it makes these sites inaccessible to search engines so that when you search for something at Google it's unlikely that you'd get a link to the page of the article from The New York Times that covered it.
Labels: Computer security, Security
Friday, July 23, 2004
It starts with Ted Turner Vs. Big Media
&bull posted by Matt Wharton @ 6:22 PM
My Beef With Big Media: How government protects big media--and shuts out upstarts like me. By Ted Turner
Ted Turner argues that the big media corporations are stifling innovation and should be broken up.
I agree particularly as they are encouraging Senators to produce rather insane bills such as the INDUCE act proposed by Senator Orrin Hatch et al. An overreaching act that would hold technology companies liable for any product they make that encourages people to steal copyright materials. It would in effect ban any device capable of recording a copyrighted work. Wired magazine asks Will Copyright Bill Kill Tech? and Lawrence Lessig (Professor of Law and author of Free Culture) writes even I can’t believe this.
Also in on the act so to speak is the RIAA whose letter in support of INDUCE has been reproduced and annotated by Ernest Miller of Corante.
The RIAA wishes to protect its menbers from loss of revenue due to illegal file-sharing over the Internet even though there is evidence to the contrary.
The US Copyright Office goes further than the RIAA and says that the INDUCE act doesn't go further enough. Ernest Miller writes
Ted Turner argues that the big media corporations are stifling innovation and should be broken up.
I agree particularly as they are encouraging Senators to produce rather insane bills such as the INDUCE act proposed by Senator Orrin Hatch et al. An overreaching act that would hold technology companies liable for any product they make that encourages people to steal copyright materials. It would in effect ban any device capable of recording a copyrighted work. Wired magazine asks Will Copyright Bill Kill Tech? and Lawrence Lessig (Professor of Law and author of Free Culture) writes even I can’t believe this.
Also in on the act so to speak is the RIAA whose letter in support of INDUCE has been reproduced and annotated by Ernest Miller of Corante.
The RIAA wishes to protect its menbers from loss of revenue due to illegal file-sharing over the Internet even though there is evidence to the contrary.
Yet despite the industry's belief that file sharing is anathema to record sales, a recent study has shown that it may not be so clear cut. "Downloads have an effect on sales that is statistically indistinguishable from zero," the controversial report claims, even going so far as to suggest that for popular albums, "the impact of file sharing on sales is likely to be positive".
The US Copyright Office goes further than the RIAA and says that the INDUCE act doesn't go further enough. Ernest Miller writes
Yesterday, Marybeth Peters, the head of the US Copyright Office, testified before the Senate regarding the INDUCE Act. Her testimony was even more radical than the RIAA's. Not only did she (inappropriately) explain what outcome the Appeals Court in the Grokster case should reach and argue (wrongly) that the INDUCE Act wouldn't have a chilling effect on innovation, she actually said she thought the INDUCE Act was not enough. The Register of Copyrights argued that the Betamax decision, which made VCRs legal, should be overturned by Congress. Wow.
Labels: copyright
Alan Moore interview at Salon.com
&bull posted by Matt Wharton @ 3:12 PM
See it here. Non-subscribers can read it via the ad-sponsored free day pass.
A wide ranging interview with arguable the best comic book writer of all time that covers his work, his views on politics and how TV and Film are short-circuiting reality and damaging the public's ability to discern the truth of events.
Favourite quotes from the interview:-
A wide ranging interview with arguable the best comic book writer of all time that covers his work, his views on politics and how TV and Film are short-circuiting reality and damaging the public's ability to discern the truth of events.
Favourite quotes from the interview:-
And I really hope that people are not morally lazy or weak enough to elect this guy; I won't say 'again' because he wasn't elected the first time. And it is true to say that across the world there is quite a lot of anti-America sentiment, which is different than anti-American sentiment. I think that even in the majority of Muslim countries that have been polled, nobody blames Americans -- they blame George Bush and the people surrounding him. Mind you, we'll see what happens this November, because you can have someone take over your country once and still have it be an accident. But twice? Well, that would be regrettable. [Laughs.]
...I mean, I think that television is one of the most diabolical -- in the very best sense of the word -- inventions of the past century. It has probably done more to degrade the mind and intelligence of its audience, even if they happen to be drug addicts or alcoholics; I would think that watching television has done more to limit their horizons in the long run. And it has also distorted our culture.
Labels: comics
Wednesday, July 21, 2004
Dyson Flash for Attention
&bull posted by Matt Wharton @ 11:15 PM
Yet more Flash entertainment, oddly enough by the hoover-kings at Dyson...
http://www.dyson.co.uk/game/default.asp
My god this is insane. I have finally completed levels 1-25 having played it virtually all day and I've done nearly no work at all.
My company should sue Dyson for loss of productivity or something. I shall attempt the christmas levels later, but for now I should actually do some of what I'm being paid to do on this computer.
Level 23 was the real killer I don't know how many hours I spent trying do that one and yet level 24 I got immediately, but then the horror of level 25 arose to destroy my confidence yet again.
http://www.dyson.co.uk/game/default.asp
My god this is insane. I have finally completed levels 1-25 having played it virtually all day and I've done nearly no work at all.
My company should sue Dyson for loss of productivity or something. I shall attempt the christmas levels later, but for now I should actually do some of what I'm being paid to do on this computer.
Level 23 was the real killer I don't know how many hours I spent trying do that one and yet level 24 I got immediately, but then the horror of level 25 arose to destroy my confidence yet again.
Labels: Games
I love you Guinness
&bull posted by Matt Wharton @ 10:48 PM
Charlie K wrote at the Straight to Hell forum the following.
A beautifully surreal image that I shall cherish forever. For the side-splitting laugh that resulted from reading that I love you Charlie K.
So, we're having this big street fair right now in Ann Arbor, MI. I'm coming back from getting my lunch and I come across this giant pint of Guinness. (That is, a man in a giant Guinness costume.)
It looks at me. I look at it. I hold out my arms. It holds out its arms. We embrace.
I say, "I love you, Guinness."
A voice from inside goes, "I love you, too."
A beautifully surreal image that I shall cherish forever. For the side-splitting laugh that resulted from reading that I love you Charlie K.
Tuesday, July 20, 2004
Black friends an update
&bull posted by Matt Wharton @ 10:05 PM
The article in The Guardian that I wrote about here has produced a number of responses other than mine.
United we Stand a response by black writer Mike Gayle who himself has few black friends.
Also some readers letters: Choosing our friends
United we Stand a response by black writer Mike Gayle who himself has few black friends.
The reason I have so few black friends has nothing to do with wanting to be white and everything to do with geography, education and the choices I made in my career. Am I happy about this situation? Well yes and no.
Also some readers letters: Choosing our friends
Monday, July 19, 2004
...ember
&bull posted by Matt Wharton @ 12:49 PM
| ...what cremated remains look like before being processed. If you love the imagery seen in the TV show Six Feet Under then the photos of underbunny are for you. She manages to produce beauty from images of death, nicely juxtaposed in her gallery with pictures of her 'dreamboat' as one commenter put it. |  ...ember. Originally uploaded by underbunny. |
I have no black friends
&bull posted by Matt Wharton @ 11:41 AM
Article in The Guardian this morning: 90% of whites have few or no black friends.
I've been pondering the implications of this particularly as I am one of those without any black friends. But why?
What was the purpose of the article was it to make us feel guilty for the lack of mixing with other races in this multicultural society? Should we go out and befriend the first black person we find?
In fact I have never ever had any black friends, but that's not to say that all my friends have been white. Looking back over my life I've had friends of many different races and nationality. The reason I've never had a black friend is down to statistics there has simply been very few black people that I've encountered in any way more than just in passing. The place where I grew up had very few people who were black in fact there were more Filipinos. Again when I went to university there were very few black people on my particular course and now in employment there are no black people employed by the company I work for.
Should I be worried by this? I don't know, I don't think that I should particularly as I've taken a very narrow view of what the headline meant. It says black but means ethnic minority and if we are talking about that then I've experienced a wide variety of multiculturalism in the various spheres of my life to date. I've not made a conscious choice to have no black friends it's just that the opportunity to has never arisen so far.
I've been pondering the implications of this particularly as I am one of those without any black friends. But why?
What was the purpose of the article was it to make us feel guilty for the lack of mixing with other races in this multicultural society? Should we go out and befriend the first black person we find?
In fact I have never ever had any black friends, but that's not to say that all my friends have been white. Looking back over my life I've had friends of many different races and nationality. The reason I've never had a black friend is down to statistics there has simply been very few black people that I've encountered in any way more than just in passing. The place where I grew up had very few people who were black in fact there were more Filipinos. Again when I went to university there were very few black people on my particular course and now in employment there are no black people employed by the company I work for.
Should I be worried by this? I don't know, I don't think that I should particularly as I've taken a very narrow view of what the headline meant. It says black but means ethnic minority and if we are talking about that then I've experienced a wide variety of multiculturalism in the various spheres of my life to date. I've not made a conscious choice to have no black friends it's just that the opportunity to has never arisen so far.
Sunday, July 18, 2004
My shoe died for her
&bull posted by Matt Wharton @ 6:32 PM
Elvis: "That's All Right" to end of copyright
&bull posted by Matt Wharton @ 11:40 AM
Reuters: European Copyright Clock Ticking on Elvis Hits
As a supporter of Free Culture and Creative Commons I am thrilled by this news, it is a wake up call in more ways than one. Peter Jamieson, executive chairman of British Phonograph Industry, calls for a change in the law to protect artist's rights for a longer duration to gain parity with US law. But I see this as an opportunity for the public to question copyright legislation and ask if we need a further extension.
Elvis Presley can no longer benefit from sales of his recordings so the law doesn't protect his interests it protects BMG the music company that continues to profit from his genius. The expiration will not mean that BMG can no longer sell Elvis records it just opens up the market for others to sell recordings or create derivative works of "That's All Right". This could well spawn a new industry of kids creating remixes of classic pop music in their bedrooms and becoming top selling music stars themselves.
LONDON (Billboard) - Fifty years after it was first released in the United States, Elvis Presley's "That's All Right" is a hit in Great Britain.
The single entered the British charts last week at No. 3. But for BMG, the company releasing the track, the celebration might be short-lived.
If there are no changes in European copyright law, the track will fall into public domain Jan. 1, 2005. Anyone will be able to release it without paying royalties to the owners of the master or the performer's heirs. BMG will start losing a significant piece of its catalog income in Europe.
As "That's All Right" is being hailed by some as the beginning of rock 'n' roll, the implications are that every year after 2005, more recordings that defined the genre will fall into public domain.
As a supporter of Free Culture and Creative Commons I am thrilled by this news, it is a wake up call in more ways than one. Peter Jamieson, executive chairman of British Phonograph Industry, calls for a change in the law to protect artist's rights for a longer duration to gain parity with US law. But I see this as an opportunity for the public to question copyright legislation and ask if we need a further extension.
Elvis Presley can no longer benefit from sales of his recordings so the law doesn't protect his interests it protects BMG the music company that continues to profit from his genius. The expiration will not mean that BMG can no longer sell Elvis records it just opens up the market for others to sell recordings or create derivative works of "That's All Right". This could well spawn a new industry of kids creating remixes of classic pop music in their bedrooms and becoming top selling music stars themselves.
Labels: copyright
Friday, July 16, 2004
The President of the United States is not a fact-checker.
&bull posted by Matt Wharton @ 9:11 PM
For other things that President Bush isn't see this article at the Harper's magazine website.
My other favourites are:-
I’m not a numbers-cruncher.
The President is not a micromanager.
I’m not a lawyer.
I’m not a doctor.
The President is not an economist.
I’m not a very good prognosticator of elections.
I’m not a poet.
I’m not a very good novelist.
I am not a revengeful person.
I’m not an Iraqi citizen.
I’m not a tree, I’m a Bush.
My other favourites are:-
I’m not a numbers-cruncher.
The President is not a micromanager.
I’m not a lawyer.
I’m not a doctor.
The President is not an economist.
I’m not a very good prognosticator of elections.
I’m not a poet.
I’m not a very good novelist.
I am not a revengeful person.
I’m not an Iraqi citizen.
I’m not a tree, I’m a Bush.
Wednesday, July 14, 2004
Hole in a hedge
&bull posted by Matt Wharton @ 9:55 PM
Surely that's punishment enough
&bull posted by Matt Wharton @ 9:27 PM
Five years for shooting self in the testicles.
A candidate for a Darwin Award I think if he really has destroyed his reproductive organs.
A man who shot himself in the testicles with a sawn-off shotgun was jailed for five years yesterday.
David Walker, 28, had drunk 15 pints of lager when he accidentally discharged the gun, which had been stuffed down his trousers, Sheffield crown court heard.
Walker underwent emergency surgery after the accident in Dinnington in South Yorkshire. Tests are continuing to find out how it will affect his fertility and sexual performance.
A candidate for a Darwin Award I think if he really has destroyed his reproductive organs.
Putting the fun back into fundamentalism...
&bull posted by Matt Wharton @ 9:20 PM
Tuesday, July 13, 2004
Hell on Earth
&bull posted by Matt Wharton @ 1:40 PM
| The view from my house looking across the fields never ceases to amaze me and now I've a way of documenting it. The redness of the clouds in the sky here is unbelievable it's as if a demon were descending to earth. |  040709-03 Originally uploaded by electricinca. |
Monday, July 12, 2004
I'm a man, that's what I am
&bull posted by Matt Wharton @ 2:54 PM
At this site, you can submit a text you've written to be analyzed and have a program guess what gender you are on the basis of the text.
I don't know how accurate it really is but it correctly worked out that the author of this weblog is male.
I don't know how accurate it really is but it correctly worked out that the author of this weblog is male.
Where's the Fantastic Four?
&bull posted by Matt Wharton @ 2:38 PM
Dr. Doom is given free rein as an associate professor of Computer Science and Engineering to wage war and terror upon the Earth using the power of Bioinformatics and where's the Fanatstic Four when you need them.
Covert or subtle homophobia on TV
&bull posted by Matt Wharton @ 10:30 AM
Has TV moved on or is it still full of crude homosexual stereotypes.
Having read Tom's post at plasticbag.org about his disgust with the Muller adverts which include a highly camp and stereotypical gay air steward, I have to say as a straight man I'm also disgusted with it.
But I think it isn't only the Muller advert I find fault with thare are many other instances on television that reinforce a negative stereotype of homosexuality.
Coronation Street has featured a recent storyline with the first gay character in the soap's year history, a great step forward it may have been thought until it developed. The character Todd Grimshaw is a young man discovering his sexuality who has come out despite his girlfriend being pregnant. His coming out is shown as ruining the life of his girlfriend and he faces a lot of anger and hatred from other residents of the street.
The other major soap opera on British television Eastenders doesn't even have any gay characters at the moment.
The latest series of Big Brother also I feel reinforces stereotypes of homosexuality. Obviously the people in Big Brother are real people rather than fictional characters but I think they were chosen by the producers because they fill a stereotypical role.
That's enough of a rant for now.
Having read Tom's post at plasticbag.org about his disgust with the Muller adverts which include a highly camp and stereotypical gay air steward, I have to say as a straight man I'm also disgusted with it.
But I think it isn't only the Muller advert I find fault with thare are many other instances on television that reinforce a negative stereotype of homosexuality.
Coronation Street has featured a recent storyline with the first gay character in the soap's year history, a great step forward it may have been thought until it developed. The character Todd Grimshaw is a young man discovering his sexuality who has come out despite his girlfriend being pregnant. His coming out is shown as ruining the life of his girlfriend and he faces a lot of anger and hatred from other residents of the street.
The other major soap opera on British television Eastenders doesn't even have any gay characters at the moment.
The latest series of Big Brother also I feel reinforces stereotypes of homosexuality. Obviously the people in Big Brother are real people rather than fictional characters but I think they were chosen by the producers because they fill a stereotypical role.
That's enough of a rant for now.
Saturday, July 10, 2004
Fahrenheit 9/11: An analysis.
&bull posted by Matt Wharton @ 7:48 PM
Friday, July 09, 2004
Sunset and Pylons
&bull posted by Matt Wharton @ 1:35 PM
| The result of my recent purchase of a digital camera. |
 040703-03 Originally uploaded by electricinca. |
Brown Equals Terrorist
&bull posted by Matt Wharton @ 1:14 PM
A weblog by Seattle-based photographer Ian Spiers.
About a month ago I had a little run-in with 3 Homeland Security agents, 3 Seattle Police officers, 2 security guards and a German Shepherd while I was at a local park with my camera. The DHS agent told me that it's illegal for me to take pictures of federal property. The ACLU of Washington disagrees. My blog is my attempt to chronicle this outragous situation and bring some common sense and public awareness to it.
Labels: Security
Tuesday, July 06, 2004
Invisible evolution from Jack Frost to King Mob
&bull posted by Matt Wharton @ 4:33 PM
I've just realized that I've become King Mob and I'm not sure why it's happened. I used to be like Jack Frost at the start of the comic book series The Invisibles. I was a foul-mouthed little cunt with no respect for authority but I was also extremely intelligent and thought I knew all the answers. I chilled out and became a little bit more enlightened and was well on my way to becoming a buddha-like being.
But somehow I've gotten off track and evolved into another member of The Invisibles, I've become King Mob. I've got myself a tattoo of a scorpion on my back, which isn't exactly the same as his but is essentially the same in that it's a scorpion on my back.
But somehow I've gotten off track and evolved into another member of The Invisibles, I've become King Mob. I've got myself a tattoo of a scorpion on my back, which isn't exactly the same as his but is essentially the same in that it's a scorpion on my back.
 |  |
I've fallen in love with a red-haired girl from the future who reminds me of Ragged Robin.
In addition and quite worryingly I've developed an affinity for violence, not that I'm shooting anyone or anything like that. Well who knows what would happen if I owned a firearm ey?
Perhaps I shall progress further through the Invisibles during my evolution. I don't see myself becoming a transvestite witch or a black former policewoman so looking further afield maybe I'll end up as a Billionaire industrialist like Mason Lang or an insane homeless guy like Tom O'Bedlam.
Labels: comics
Monday, July 05, 2004
International Crown of Peace
&bull posted by Matt Wharton @ 4:15 PM
Just when I thought it was safe to be less paranoid I discover more weird shit via the website Where in Washington, D.C. is Sun Myung Moon?.
Apparently the self-pronounced Messiah Sun Myung Moon was crowned in a ceremony at the Dirksen Senate Office Building by a US senator. The first link below show stills of the ceremony and the second has a transcript of it both have links to movie footage of the ceremony.
I'm _____________ and I approve this Messiah
This really happened at the Senate office building
I used to be quite scared of the "Moonies" when I was a youngster as they owned a large house near where I lived that my parents warned me to keep well away from. Maybe now is the time to start fearing them again.
Apparently the self-pronounced Messiah Sun Myung Moon was crowned in a ceremony at the Dirksen Senate Office Building by a US senator. The first link below show stills of the ceremony and the second has a transcript of it both have links to movie footage of the ceremony.
I'm _____________ and I approve this Messiah
This really happened at the Senate office building
I used to be quite scared of the "Moonies" when I was a youngster as they owned a large house near where I lived that my parents warned me to keep well away from. Maybe now is the time to start fearing them again.
Takeru "The Tsunami" Kobayashi
&bull posted by Matt Wharton @ 2:37 PM
Japanese still dominate in Hot Dog eating.
For the fourth straight year, rail-thin Takeru Kobayashi chewed up the competition at the Nathan's Famous hot dog eating competition Sunday, breaking his own previous world record.Not only that but the second place competitor was Japanese also. It seems that Americans cannot cut the mustard in eating competitions anymore, though one competitor did vow to unseat the reigning champion and bring the trophy back home to the US. I think the reason that Kobayashi is so dominant is that he seems to take the competition very seriously and probably trains like an athlete for it whereas his American rivals seem to be just big and fat. As long as Kobayashi continues competing I can't see the trophy ever returning to the US.
Kobayashi, of Nagano, Japan, gulped down 53½ wieners in 12 minutes and shattered his own world record by three dogs. In 2002, he had wolfed down 50½.
The Beginner's Computer Handbook - Understanding & Programming The Micro
&bull posted by Matt Wharton @ 2:11 PM
Yet more computer nostalgia, it is becoming a bit of an obsession of mine at the moment.
Found on currybetdotnet
I'm pretty sure I had this book or something very much like it as having just seen pictures of it on currybetdotnet has brought back a lot of memories. Hours spent typing in code from books or magazines to get a crappy little game, god what was I thinking.
Found on currybetdotnet
Anyway yesterday for the princely sum of 30 pence I purchased a 1983 hardback edition of "The Beginner's Computer Handbook - Understanding & Programming The Micro" by Judy Tatchell and Bill Bennett, edited by Lisa Watts, published by Usborne Publishing.
It has been a very entertaining read, and one that has really brought home to me how much the arrival of computers in the home has changed things for society over the 21 years since it was published. It still seems to have that wonderful utopian feel I normally associate with the 60's that computers are going to make everything easier in the future.
I'm pretty sure I had this book or something very much like it as having just seen pictures of it on currybetdotnet has brought back a lot of memories. Hours spent typing in code from books or magazines to get a crappy little game, god what was I thinking.
Labels: books
Sunday, July 04, 2004
Black sugar water Science
&bull posted by Matt Wharton @ 10:21 AM
From WIRED news: Paranoia Goes Better With Coke
Military bases and Coke cans fitted with tracking devices! Sounds like something out of The Invisibles.
Amazon.com
Amazon.co.uk
Military bases and Coke cans fitted with tracking devices! Sounds like something out of The Invisibles.
Amazon.com
Amazon.co.uk
Thursday, July 01, 2004
Love and Death
&bull posted by Matt Wharton @ 9:23 PM
I saw my childhood sweetheart yesterday driving past in a car. I don’t think she saw me. I hadn’t thought about her in ages but it got me thinking. How odd, there was a time that I thought I would marry her when I was 25 years old. I am now 29 years old and not married to my childhood sweetheart.
Listening to the album Final Straw by Snow Patrol today and it occurred to me that the track Run would be a great song to play at my funeral should I die this year. I probably won’t die. I wonder what song I will choose to have played at my funeral if I die next year. When I was young not only did I think I would marry my childhood sweetheart at 25 but I would live to be 150 years old.
Listening to the album Final Straw by Snow Patrol today and it occurred to me that the track Run would be a great song to play at my funeral should I die this year. I probably won’t die. I wonder what song I will choose to have played at my funeral if I die next year. When I was young not only did I think I would marry my childhood sweetheart at 25 but I would live to be 150 years old.
