If there really were to be a hell, then the makers of this pile of tosh deserve to be consigned to it for all eternity. Kids4truth, indeed! What an oxymoron! What really gets up my left nostril is that the fairytales of Grimm, for all their fantastic cast of princesses, ogres, elves and witches, teach young children basic lessons in morality. This crap, by contrast, simply lies to them.
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Enlightening The Future
Spiked has been running a survey these past couple of months, asking a selection of scientists, philosphers and commentators what they think the key challenges will be for the next generation. I’m coming late to this, so there’s a whole pile of reading to catch up on – some of it looks thought-provoking, and no doubt some of it will be dross.Leave a comment
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The Persecution of Iraqi Gays
I mentioned an article on the persecution of gay people in Iraq that appeared in last Sunday’s Observer newspaper. Last night, a documentary on which the report was based was shown on a British TV channel. That documentary is available for viewing over the web on this page. Doug Ireland also has more background on the situation in Iraq available via his web site here.Leave a comment
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The Snapper Snapped
While I was taking photos of the parade, someone was taking a photo of me… Thanks, Antoon!
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Amsterdam Canal Parade – Photos
Finally finished uploading the photos that I took of the Canal Parade. Here’s a selection of my favourites…
Lots more photos can be found in my Amsterdam Canal Parade 2006 photo set up on Flickr… See you there next year…Leave a comment
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Lucky Dip
One of the wonders of the web is the fact that many old books, whose copyright has lapsed, are being put online. I often find myself looking through the contents of The Online Books Page in the hope of striking lucky. Today for example, I see that a PDF version of an astronomy book published in 1900 is now available: Essays in Astronomy by Ball, Harkness, Herschel, Huggins, Laplace, Mitchel, Proctor, Schiparelli, and Others (New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1900). This is terrific stuff. For example, there’s an essay by Lord Kelvin setting out what he can surmise, using the best available scientific knowledge of the time, about the age of the sun. He concludes:It seems, therefore, on the whole most probable that the sun has not illuminated the earth for 100,000,000 years, and almost certain that he has not done so for 500,000,000 years. As for the future, we may say, with equal certainty, that inhabitants of the earth can not continue to enjoy the light and heat essential to their life for many million years longer unless sources now unknown to us are prepared in the great storehouse of creation.Now, Lord Kelvin was a great scientist, who did important research in physics, and in particular, thermodynamics. Yet, science at that stage was only just begininng to uncover the workings of nuclear physics, and hence the mechanisms at work in the sun were unknown to him. His conclusions, made on the best evidence available to him at the time, were ultimately wrong.There’s also an essay by Giovanni Schiaparelli on the planet Mars. The translation, from the original Italian, uses the word "canals" instead of Schiaparelli’s intended word "channels". Thus was a whole myth seeded about there being canals on Mars.20-20 hindsight is, of course, easy in retrospect. But then again these essays also show the scientific method in action. Working with the data available to them at the time, they formulated theories that made sense for their time. Subsequent new findings allowed new theories to arise that fitted the known facts better, and science moved on.Leave a comment
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User Interface Redux
Let’s turn once again to the theme of new forms of user interface. I mentioned one last month from Microsoft Research, now here’s another one being demonstrated by Jeff Han of the New York University Media Research Lab.While some aspects of it are undeniably impressive, I have the nagging feeling that Han, like any proud parent, is overselling the device. He says, at several points in the demo, that the "interface just disappears" (meaning that it is intuitive to use). And, true, for some tasks – such as moving "photos" around on a "desk", and "resizing" them, it is. But, er, hang on – where did that keyboard appear from? There was a mode change here (e.g. I am no longer shuffling photos, I want to write captions on them) that he as the user would have had to signal to the computer interface. And how did he get rid of it to switch back to shuffling his photos?Don’t get me wrong, I think the interface that he demonstrates is very compelling – as far as it goes. But I have the feeling that it doesn’t go very far. You’re stuck with the fact that mode changes in an interface are a necessary evil, and that without some form of standard interface conventions, every application will end up doing their own thing. That way lies, not a disappearing interface, but the tower of Babel.Leave a comment
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Changes
Last week, a new series started on BBC TV: Time Trumpet. The premise is interviewing people 25 years in the future about events happening now. It is superlatively bizarre (e.g. an old David Beckham talking about the vagina transplant on his arm). But for me, one of the most surreal moments came with a bravura piece of video editing. It cross-cut between Tony Blair and David Cameron talking exactly the same platitudes and then it segued into a rendering of Changes – the song by Bowie from 35 years before today. Go and watch it now.Leave a comment
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Gorgeous George
Like Leon, I’m not a fan of George Galloway, but I have to say that he has some skill as an orator. Watch the exchange on Sky News pointed to in Pickled Politics.Leave a comment
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Mothering Skills
I suppose this sort of thing is inevitable, but I must say I find this extremely tacky. I’d hate to be that child. We’ve obviously moved on from the days when Noel penned Don’t Put Your Daughter On The Stage, Mrs. Worthington…Leave a comment
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Candle in the Dark
That’s the title that’s been given to this amazing image captured by a camera on the Cassini spacecraft.Leave a comment
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I’m Sorry, I Haven’t A Clue
OK, so it’s 15 years since Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web. And, one would think, that commercial organisations would be pretty savvy on how to use it to get information out there to the likes of you and me.Yesterday, as you probably know if you’ve been reading my blog meanderings, I went to watch the Amsterdam Canal Parade. Last year, Shell in the Netherlands took a chance and sponsored its GLBT (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender) employees’ network to put a boat in the parade. It was a great success, and yesterday as a result (I think) the Shell boat was joined by boats from employee networks in other major companies: IBM, ABN-AMRO Bank and the ING Bank.I was curious to see how all these companies (Shell included) would handle the public message that they were comfortable with the fact that their employee networks were participating in the Canal Parade. So I went to each of their web sites and typed in "Canal Parade" into each of their search engines. And do you know what I found? Yes, you guessed: Zilch, nada, nothing…What a missed opportunity! Now, it’s quite likely that these companies had some sort of press statement deep in their media relations offices, which they would refer to if they were approached by the mainstream media. But the fact that they couldn’t be bothered to get it out onto their public web site would seem to indicate that they are all still a long way from understanding the cluetrain manifesto. They need to wake up. The last time I saw this head in the sand approach to marketing your message was the Brent Spar fiasco of Shell. I’m disappointed that they at least do not seem to have learned a lesson from that bruising experience.Leave a comment
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The Protection of the Law
I’ve said it before, and doubtless I’ll say it again, I have a lot to be thankful for; living as I do as a gay man at this particular time in this particular country. I have the fact that the laws of the land grant me equal rights with my straight neighbours.In many parts of the world this is not so. In today’s Observer comes a reminder that Iraq seems to be following Iran in using the majesty of the law to pursue gay men to their deaths.Leave a comment
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The Last Librarian of Alexandria
While I’m waiting for the photos from yesterday’s Canal Parade to be uploaded into Flickr, I’m in a somewhat reflective mood – caused in no small part I suspect from the glass (or two) of Rosé that I have recently imbibed.I came across this entry from Brent Rasmussen, over at the Unscrewing The Inscrutable blog. It’s about the Great Library in Alexandria, founded in the 3rd century BC, and which stood for centuries until it was finally destroyed in 646 AD. It also mentions Hypatia, the last librarian. She was a remarkable woman by all accounts, but in 414 AD, as Brent reports it: "a faction of fundamentalist Christians, led by a shadowy character named Peter, ostensibly endorsed by Cyril, Pope of Alexandria, dragged Hypatia through the streets by her hair, beat her to a pulp inside their Church, and then scraped the living flesh off her bones with broken tiles and abalone shells. Her remains were cremated; there is no grave. Cryril was made a Saint, a status he enjoys to this day". So it goes.Brent reflects: "We take science for granted these days, we trust that knowledge hard won will not be lost. But it wasn’t always so".I think, looking around at the state of the world today, that I would say that I am less certain than Brent. There are times when I feel that the candle of science is flickering once again in a new rise of the Demon-Haunted world.Leave a comment
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Amsterdam Canal Parade – Part II
Just a quick note to say that I came back with nearly 400 photos from yesterday’s Canal Parade. They’ll take a while (a couple of days) to upload into Flickr, so please be patient. Once they are there, then I’ll write a proper entry on the day, with a selection of my favourite photos…Leave a comment
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Amsterdam Canal Parade
This weekend it’s Amsterdam’s Gay Pride 2006. Today is the day of the annual Canal Parade. Hopefully the weather will remain fine. I’m about to make the two hour journey off to Amsterdam to take some photos of the parade. In particular, of the Pink Pearl boat – crewed by the GLBT employees of my old employer, Shell.3 responses to “Amsterdam Canal Parade”
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Greetings from sunny Iowa, USA, Geoff!
I hope the weather is temperate and the day fine for all participants. Are you going to post photos of the event? I hope you will. Have a wonderful time!
I found you through Gel at http://normality31.spaces.live.com after harkening to his kind words about your space. Your space has a kindly, good-humoured energy which I find engaging; I will most certainly be back!
By the way, I have been active in our local community theater, and you have a Doppelganger here in Iowa. A fellow actor is nearly a dead-ringer for you in appearance; he has a cheerful personality, a quick wit, and a sense of humour dryer than a well-made martini. He’s a sweet spirit and a good friend.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Peace and love, always…
Marge
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Geoff;
Thanks for the link to Eric Schwartz’s Country Music ditty, very funny.
I thought I’d post a link to the picture of your Doppelganger at our
local Community Theatre. It’s a web page developed by Bill C. Roberts,
you and him don’t look anything alike, however Bill Roberts below him, after first
glance of your picture you two could’ve been twins seperated at birth.
Everything Marge mentioned below is true of our Mr. Bill, who is a joy to
be around. Hopefully the weather was cooperative as well today, looking forward to the
pictures. Oh also of note, you’ll see a bio of my beloved Marge above
Mr. Bill C. Roberts as well.
Be at Peace,
Steve.
P.S. – I would be the one at the top of the "S" folder on our MCT.org site.
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Hi, Steve and Marge,
Thanks for dropping by, and for providing evidence of my doppelganger! Cheers.
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Country Music Protest Song
And by way of light relief, here’s Eric Schwartz with a cheerful little ditty aimed at America’s religious right entitled: Keep Your Jesus Off My Penis. Don’t say I didn’t warn you if you click on the link, but it’s very good, albeit somewhat rude if you’re easily offended.Leave a comment
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Department of the Bleeding Obvious
Research carried out recently indicates that churchgoers are likely to be superstitious. Well I never, cor blimey, knock me down wiv a fevver, what a surprise… I also got a chuckle out of the fact that the research team was led by a "Professor of Practical Theology". "Practical Theology" – isn’t that another example of an oxymoron, like "military intelligence" or "airline cuisine"? Jesus and Mo’s barmaid says it all, really.One response to “Department of the Bleeding Obvious”
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I love that! wish I’d thought of it first. (this is Gelert btw – its late and im on another nic and puter and it wont let me add my name)
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Um, How Exactly?
Seen at the Pride Parade in San Diego. One wonders at what passes for thought processes in his brain (I use the term somewhat loosely, you understand).2 responses to “Um, How Exactly?”
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Speechless……
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Claire
Hi Geoff,
I did a search of blogs with the term "musings" and accidentally ran into this. It reminded me of what a friend’s father used to say, that there are more horses’ asses in the world than there are horses. And I’m not talking about me Geoff just see for yourself. Go to http://danielsright.blogspot.com I promise, it’s not a trick I am outraged but I didn’t post so as not to give this guy the satisfaction of being heard!
http://media-lapdog.blogspot.com
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Life’s Final Curtain
Dr. Crippen has another of his excellent posts. This time it’s about the touchy subject of how to acknowledge and cope with the process of dying. As he says, it’s not a happy-clappy learning experience for all the family. It’s often messy, protracted, and not pleasant for all concerned. Nonetheless, it’s what we are likely to have to deal with at least once in our lives, and we’d better face up to the fact. Worth reading.Leave a comment
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