More on the Snow..Man...


See the Snow Gallery

Snow.
it's been seriously snowing up here in North Yorkshire, which prompted me to blog this lovely gallery of snowflakes...:

Snowflake and Snow Crystal Photos:
Snow Crystal Photographs
... Capturing the fleeting beauty of snowflakes ...
Snowflakes are temporary works of art. After just a few short minutes on the ground, a fallen snowflake will lose its ornate structure, its unique pattern that will never again be repeated. Photography allows us to preserve a few of these minute masterpieces and to examine their form up close. Below are some examples of snow crystal photographs from around the world."

And here's a photo of Charlie in the snow...
more over at our website photo gallery

My MP (former Tory leader) William Hague earns £820K on top of his salary.
The BBC reports this news, which is to me quite staggering... not so much a shock or a scandal... more, just... how can that guy be worth so much.. someone somewhere must value him.

BBC NEWS - Hague's six-figure earnings shown
"The register shows former Tory leader William Hague earning up to £820,000 on top of his MPs' salary, much of it from speaking fees."
"Mr Hague's work outside Parliament included two one-man shows, which with other speaking fees netted him up to £480,000."

True art or a fake?
Take the quiz

"Some of the images displayed below are True Masterpieces of Abstract Art, created by Immortal Artists. Each of them carries a profound meaning, which is, however, beyond the apprehensions of the vulgar. The rest were produced by the author of the quiz. They mean nothing."

now i am 40...
Today's the day I reached 40 years of age...
feels about the same as yesterday...

are you coming to my party ?

Online Bowie Quiz...
it's just a bit of fun to promote the EMI reissues of the newly-improved versions of David Live and Stage this coming Monday, February 21st.(altho if your daft enough to give your contact details to EMI's marketing department you can be entered into a prize draw!)

The Telephone Preference Service (TPS)
Just bumped into this site today... worth knowing about if you are getting bothered by nuisance calls...

"helps you to make sure your telephone number is no longer available to organisations who may telephone you with offers and information you do not wish to receive"
TPS Registration

"Someone keeps stealing my letters..."
Lovely virtual fridge-magnet multi-player game (Flash) - you compete/cooperate with others to assemble words, or a random mess... time wasting silly game.. or interesting sociological experiment... you decide:
Just Letters

`What would she get if the firm had done well? A country?':

'Star' CEOs like HP's Fiorina don't come cheap - Her severance package is worth at least $21.1 million. Those who agitate for CEO pay to be linked to performance said they are disgusted by her severance package.
``What would she get if the firm had done well? A country?'' asked Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, associate dean of the Yale School of Management."

People collect the strangest things online...
The Wonderful World of Airline Napkins
Project C-90
Don Markstein's Toonopedia

Nice Topical Knock Knock Joke...
This seems to be doing the rounds, I heard it on yesterday's Broadcasting House (on Radio4)

Knock knock
Who's there?
Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson who?
Right, you're on the jury!

One for Ciaran...
MOJO's Top 100 Soundtracks of All Time List

Bing..! Its Groundhog Day, er.. again... Apparently

Groundhog .org - the Official Site of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club
"Groundhog Day 2005 is on the way! Groundhog Day is Wednesday, February 2, 2005.
According to legend, if Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter weather. If he does not see his shadow, there will be an early spring.

Phil: Ned Ryerson?
Ned: BING.
Phil: Bing
http://imdb.com/title/tt0107048/quotes

The new 60?
Katharine Whitehorn on what it means to be 80

"Not so long ago, you were doing well if you reached three score years and 10. But many of us now live full and active lives well beyond that. So what does it mean today to be 80? Katharine Whitehorn, who's not there yet, considers our changing understanding of old age."I read this yesterday (maybe I'm reflecting on aging as my 40th birthday approaches) - the piece is insightful and makes some good points and theres some nice humerous touches.

As people of my generation contemplate the ageing of our parents' generation, and mainstream celebrity obsessed media deals so foolishly with ageing (or attempting to postpone or deny it). Talk of "pension crises" and stories about "the support burden" for younger people caring for the older generation seem to me to be very negative and lack the imagination necessary to see what a blessing it is to have grandparents for our children.

BBC Radio3 featuring "The Minimalists" as their composer of the week (program runs Mon-Fri @ 12 noon).
BBC - Radio 3 - Composer of the Week - 1. Beginnings
I just heard the first one.. reminded me how much I (still) like a lot of this stuff.. despite rarely playing any of it myself.... time to dust off my old Phillip Glass & Steve Reich LPs ?

Resuming Blogging...
After a long hiatus, since April last year, I have decided to take up blogging again.
I'm not entirely sure why I stopped, or why I am starting again - however I think there was a period when I seemed mostly to be collecting wiered and funny, yet daft stuff which meant little to anyone, and arguably was already well served (e.g. boingboing.net).
I also got rather caught up with the Peak Oil Theory [deserves a proper post/discussion], the mind-boggling seriousness of which makes blogging trivialities seem futile.
Whatever...
I shall resume as of now, and attempt to record somethig, and see where we end up :-)

New Archers Theme Tune by Eno
Lovely item on this April 1st morning on the BBC R4 Today programme, The Archers & Brian Eno combined... marvellous ! I wonder how many letters/emails/calls they will get... a beautiful choice for an April fools item. They played the "Eno Remix", which had this awful D&B rythm underneath, and some very poor electronic effects - then a number of commentators explaining how it was important to bring the archers into the 21st century etc...

"BBC Executives have commissioned composer and musician, Brian Eno, to remix the existing tune."

THE "BRIEF SAFE"
Eeeeeeeeeeeewwww !

The "Brief Safe" is an innovative new diversion safe that can secure your cash, documents, and other small valuables from inquisitive eyes and thieving hands

iPodrace
A fairly large Quicktime movie... demonstrating the intersection of the worlds of iPods and Star-Wars Pod-Racing based on a union of the word... pod !
Daft, funny & clever.

Creative Commons Music License
one for my talented musical friends :-)
Without a traditional "deal", I would (If I had the least bit of talent!) be following this method to get my recordings out-there. The creative commons "movement" is worth researching and understanding, and may very well be the simplest and best method of bypassing the traditional power brokers and taking control of your music/career.

About the Creative Commons Music Sharing License
The Creative Commons music license helps you:

1. Mark It Legal: Mark your music with the CC logo so fans know that you own your copyright, but give permission to download, file-share, copy, and webcast — but not to sell, alter, or make any other commercial uses. Here's an example of how it would look on a band's web page and here's a short comic describing how fans might legally use your music.
2. Promote It: Register your music at Common Content so people can contact you to purchase commercial rights to the composition or sound recording. Or, have it hosted for free at the Internet Archive.
3. Make It Searchable: Make your music searchable within the Creative Commons audio search engine."