Scott Rope: Jack in the box Voicemail

Very Very Funny Voicemail ! [apparently genuine]
This is probably all-over-everywhere by now.. but this made me laugh out loud. Follow this link Jack in the box Voicemail
for an introduction and a link to an mp3 [4MB, 3.5 minutes] of an apparently genuine voicemail message...

"...when an operations manager was late for a meeting and called his boss to tell him he was running late. As he was leaving the voice mail message, he witnessed an accident and went on to provide "play by play" of the incident."

The Urban Legends Reference Pages considers this "Status: Undetermined" - and their investigation hasn't proved it to be a hoax (yet), see:
http://www.snopes.com/autos/mishaps/beating.asp

Montage-a-google

Montage-a-google
Searches google images based on keywords you enter, then builds a photo-montage before your very eyes... simple genius, highly compelling... highly distracting.
I found music/bands to give nice results, e.g. "david bowie 1976" and "that petrol emotion". Alsion tried some for Charlie.. like "brake down truck" and "diggers".
Nice, instant personalised art !

Angler's Quest Deluxe Fishing Simulator
Can there be any future for a civilization which allows anyone to design, manufacture and sell these.. and then allows other people to buy them ?

"Reel them in with this deluxe virtual reality fishing simulator.
The Angler's Quest Deluxe Virtual Fishing Simulator is the most luxurious way to go fishing without getting your feet wet. The cabinet is made from a beautiful hardwood finish which makes this game look right at home in your private entertainment room. The game includes all the features of the arcade version plus some high quality extras that make this game extra fun."

Rinus Michels RIP
The death of the Dutch "father of Total Football" has spawned some great comment on his life and achievments in football, and the revolution that was and is "total football".
These articles in the Guardian are all worth reading:

Fearless father of Total Football - Kevin McCarra
'The greatest coach I played for - everybody looked up to him' - Hans van Breukelen
Obituary by Brian Glanville - Rinus Michels Renowned Dutch soccer coach whose 'total football' concept took his team to victory

My dad took me to see England vs Holland in a 1975 friendly at Wembley. I was 10 at the time, and didn't really apreciate the fact that I was watching Cryuff, Neskens, Resenbrink, Krol, Rep etc. I'm not sure if Michels was the manager then... but it was still his team and and his style... Holland won 2-0 with goals from a guy called Jan Peters... who i think was not in the squad by the time of the 1978 World Cup.
I do remember I loved their Orange shirts !
I was also present for the Euro 96 (Alison bought the tickets) match at Wembley... when England out total-football'd the Dutch... marvellous !

Tony Visconti on the 30TH ANNIVERSARY Young Americans Release
bowie news
Visconti recently remixed for 5.1 the 2 70's live albums (Live & Stage) - as well as the more recent Bowie albums. This news article has some nice quotes from Visconti and an extract from a contemporary music press piece. Nice.

All the tracks have been mixed from the master tapes to 96khz high definition digital audio. That translates to 'freakin' scary' quality. Mr. Bowie is front and center, but the backing is now spread 360º with Mr. Vandross hovering over your left shoulder for most of the album. John Lennon's six string acoustic is almost entirely in the right rear speaker on "Across The Universe" and you just might hear a comment from him when the song is over. What really brought it home to me was how great David's vocals were, and a lot of them were live takes with him standing in the same room as the band at Sigma Studios in Philadelphia.

Now all i need to do is invest in some 5.1 suround sound gear... oh, and a bigger house with a suitably sized room !

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 ?