Monday Morning “Impediment to Productivity” – 20070910

Hi,
Well, I am out of murder mysteries, the crop circle season is over and I have had a dose of the flu. Going well, isn’t it? On the subject of “cereal art”, some of the crop circles this year were absolutely wonderful (even if there weren’t as many of them as I would have liked). My favourite would probably be http://www.cropcircleconnector.com/2007/westkennett/westkennett2007.html
I loved the allusions to “Alice” in the explanation.

On with the sillies.

Given the alleged security in Sydney last week (Score: Police – 0, Chaser – Absolute Winners) the irony of these two newspaper bits on George Orwell should bring a wry smile.

“MI5 monitored socialist writer George Orwell for more than two decades, but did not believe he was a mainstream communist, records have revealed.”
The Special Branch report said: “This man has advanced communist views and several of his Indian friends say that they have often seen him at communist meetings.
“He dresses in a bohemian fashion both at his office and in his leisure hours.”
The MI5 officer rang the inspector in charge of the sergeant who wrote the report, to question what it meant. From the call it emerged that Orwell – referred to in the documents by his real name Eric Blair – was thought to be an “unorthodox communist” who did not agree fully with Communist Party views.
http://tinyurl.com/3cxgmf

And in a rather sad commentary this from Boing Boing some months back

“On the wall outside his (George Orwell’s) former residence – flat number 27B – where Orwell lived until his death in 1950, an historical plaque commemorates the anti-authoritarian author. And within 200 yards of the flat, there are 32 CCTV cameras, scanning every move.
Orwell’s view of the tree-filled gardens outside the flat is under 24-hour surveillance from two cameras perched on traffic lights. The flat’s rear windows are constantly viewed from two more security cameras outside a conference centre in Canonbury Place (hmm Big Brother meets Hitchcock?). In a lane, just off the square, close to Orwell’s favourite pub, the Compton Arms, a camera at the rear of a car dealership records every person entering or leaving the pub. Within a 200-yard radius of the flat, there are another 28 CCTV cameras, together with hundreds of private, remote-controlled security cameras used to scrutinise visitors to homes, shops and offices.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6976576.stm
Looks like 1984 finally got here, it was a bit late but it got here.

Maybe you have already seen the awesome Time Machine Clock, it’s been around a while. If not, please take your time to check it out. It’s quite unique and it’s now back in stock over at Gadgets.dk. As Jools said “You know you want one” She’s right.

Time Machine Clock

I know that there aren’t many people who like reading novels on the screen, me I read everything, books, monitors, palmtops, back of cereal packets. But to the point, Peter Watts has just put his breakout novel Blindsight under a Creative Commons license and bunged it up online. This is dark stuff that picks at the seam where biology and technology meet.
To quote the author.
” So check it out and go wild. And when your eyes start to fall out from phosphor burn, consider buying an old-fashioned paper version. There should be enough to go around before long: I’m told Blindsight’s going into second printing.”
http://www.rifters.com/real/Blindsight.htm

On the subject of dead tree stuff. 50 years ago Jack Kerouac’s “On The Road” was finally released. On The Road is one of those core books in my life (Pooh Bear, Alice In wonderland, On The Road, and all the rest. well it makes sense to me). Any way The New York Times did a bit of special on the book.


http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2007/08/19/books/19ontheroad_index.html

http://papercuts.blogs.nytimes.com/tag/jack-kerouac/
I had so much fun reading all this, now all I have to do is find the box with my copy in it upstairs.

Flash Game: Oh yep. this is a gem, if you have ever wanted to know the answer to “how long is a piece of string” I can tell you. too bloody long. And here is the proof.
http://www.armorgames.com/games/stringavoiderdeluxe_popup.html
After about level five you can take it up with jools. Oh yeah big hint. don’t sneeze, your mouse hand goes all over the place.

This one is from Doreen.
“This is impressive. Artwork in an instant! He makes it look very easy.
Doreen”

One minute!? Bloody hell I couldn’t do this in a month.

Over at http://www.notdeadyet.com.au/ we had another cool week. Baka Beyond, Yilla, and Beirut (who still make me smile) and a new Linda Thompson song, Jools isn’t convinced but I think it’s a ripper and Molly Bancroft and The Hush Sound to round out the highlights. Stroll over and have a listen. Especially to Beirut.

thatch

{Currently Listening To: Ian Bland and Suzanne Cianni }
{Currently reading: the back of cereal packets. }
{Quick Status Check: Still going to Hell}
{Crop Circle Status: Over until next year (“bother” said Pooh), and in the words that strike fear into every drivers heart.”are we there yet?” http://www.cropcircleconnector.com/2007/2007.html }