Worst Album Covers Ever
[to go along with the earlier Album Cover Challenge]

"Trailor Trash" Fashion update.... [see See earlier item]

You thought we were serious?"Maybe I'm a superficial kinda person but when I see someone on Shoreditch High Street wearing a 'Happy Bill's Garage' T-shirt, I do not think, 'My, isn't it awful how eastenders mock the poverty of Alabama', but rather, 'People in Hoxton dress really weird.' Like I said, this may be a reflection of my own shortcomings, but I suspect it is closer to the reaction the wearer intends."

Ooh aah . . . the day Eric went too far The real story of that Eric Cantona quote...?

In the second set of exclusive extracts from his autobiography the SAS veteran ( Michael 'Ned' Kelly), who spent ten years as Manchester United chief of security reveals the truth..."
Also covered by the BBC here.

Scam o Rama: "HARRY POTTER AND THE CAULDRON OF SCAMS

"I couldn't quite believe how long this 419er to catch the Harry Potter theme on. I wanted to see just how hard I could yank."

The Big Smoke Debate
Do the survey - express your views (suggested by PaulF)..:

"The chance to have your say about passive smoking.
The London Health Commission is running the Big Smoke Debate to find out your views on smoking in enclosed public places: cafes, shopping centres, taxis, offices, restaurants, pubs, bars and railway stations."

magician being mauled by tiger - totally genuine !
My colleague Dan passed this one along.. I can only echo his words of caution...

"A bit rough this one, it's genuine footage of that magician being mauled by a tiger. You actually see the tiger creep up and attack the poor bloke. It's a bit shocking and not for the faint hearted, so dont say you haven't been warned."

Album Cover Challenge
One for the muso's...

"The challenge is this: there are sixty album covers - some better known than others, but none willfully obscure - from which the artist and title information has been removed. Can you identify all the albums and provide the missing information?"

Darkening of a nation: Nick Cohen from today's Observer - frightening and insightful comment.

"Basic civil liberties are in dire jeopardy when anti-terrorist laws are used for day-to-day policing "

The Great Library of Amazonia
This was covered in a number of places, however this Wired article is a very nice (quite long) story on just what is happening in the world of digitising the contents of books.

So hip it hurts
I read this in Thursday's Guardian... about "trailor trash chic" in Shoreditch... my company's HQ is in shoreditch so I'm a regular visitor to the area, and whilst I certainly have noticed a high "piercing quotient" ... I've yet to see evidence of this trend. The article seems to be taking things just a little too seriously though...

"The poverty of America's deep south - where I grew up - is now imitated by Britain's trendiest. How sick is that?
It can be somewhat disconcerting to walk down my high street. Men stroll past wearing US-style gas station attendant shirts with round patches that say Ed, or Bubba. Or some have T-shirts that say 'I Love Daytona Beach' or 'Eat at Jimbo's BBQ'. These guys all seem to have baseball caps on, too, usually advertising something like a fishing tackle shop on the front, with camouflage around the side. And the hats, more often than not, sit on top of mullets that look straight out of 1979.
But it's not just the men. Women totter by on 1980s, brightly coloured high heels, and I hear the clank of chunky, cheap plastic bracelets. It's not unlike finding yourself as an extra for a film set on a trailer park in the US. Except that I'm not in Redneckville, Georgia - I'm in London's trendy Shoreditch."

The flight to India
Interesting comment piece from George Monbiot in today's Guardian about outsourcing of service jobs from Britain to India.
I like his angle "The jobs Britain stole from the Asian subcontinent 200 years ago are now being returned" however, where he suggests "There is a profound historical irony here", I think rather than an irony, this is a simple Karmic reaction. There's also some good liberal angst about the both positive and negative effects of such changes in the balance of wealth.... where will it all end.
On a related note, here's an interesting idea: Britain should outsource politicians' jobs to India

"MPs in India are paid significantly less than their UK equivalents and have lower expense claims."

'unswoosher' - anti-logo Black Spot sneaker
Interesting anti-nike suggestion from the Adbusters - site worth a browse too.

"Adbusters has been doing R&D for more than a year, and guess what? Making a shoe - a good shoe - isn't exactly rocket science. With a network of supporters, we're getting ready to launch the blackSpot sneaker, the world's first grassroots anti-brand. You can help launch the blackSpot revolution."

EFF: MP3 Caper: Nice Flash Animation/Movie from the EFF, as part of their commentary and campaign regarding P2P and music downloading.

"If artists get paid when we share files, then artists win, we win, and yes -- even the RIAA wins."

The Amazing Baconizer
It seems they trawl the Amazon recommendation engine for links between items - Give it a try...

"Describe two items and see how they're linked by consumer preference via intermediate items. Choose from books, CDs, or films, and you can mix and match."

Spammers struggle with words - intersting insight into the current arms-race between the spammers (bad-guys!) and anti-spam software/tools (good-guys!).

They Found Nemo!

knockoff*project:

"Album cover spoofs, goofs, tributes, send ups, near misses and coincedences."

This is worth a read, somebody who should be given money and told to "make it so" !
TV's Tipping Point: Why The Digital Revolution Is Only Just Beginning
"Text of the speech by Ashley Highfield, Director of BBC New Media & Technology, at the Royal Television Society on Oct 6"

Suing Your Customers: A Winning Business Strategy? Sane comment from Wharton University on the state of play of Music/Downloading. Very interesting comparrison with US automotive industry from 100 years ago.

Funny: New "R&B Hit generator" Software.. see screenshot (Suggested by Ciaran).