little more than a placeholder

Tracing Continuity

2008-06-14T11:25:34Z

I knew when I emailed the editor of Matthew's House Project with a fairly strongly worded response to one of their recent articles that there was a good chance I'd be asked to write something as a follow-up. And that's exactly what happened. So a piece I wrote on identity and immigration is now available for reading over there.

A few musicians in North London

2008-06-04T16:33:42Z

On Friday 13th June it'd be great to see those of you within reach of North London at a little get together Iain Archer and I are putting on as part of the Breathing Space series. From 8pm at St. Luke's Church, West Holloway, Iain and his band will be hosting an evening of music featuring Julie McKee, Burning Codes and Foreign Slippers. Each artist will perform a selection of their songs, and then they'll all gather to chat about their music and perform a few "in the round." We're quite excited about it, so I hope some reading this will be too. You can find more details on the Breathing Space website or at the event pages on last.fm, facebook or upcoming.

Do Good Lives Have To Cost The Earth?

2008-05-06T21:06:26Z

I may well have mentioned this here before, but living in the US I was frequently surprised by the number of people who, when hearing I was from europe confided in me their desire for the US to have good public transport. I wasn't just surprised because as a Brit I'd been trained to think of our public transport system as very poor (it looks a lot better to me now than it used to), but also because I kept wondering how something so many people wanted could still seem so far off. There's a lot of ways to approach that question that I'm not going to go into here; deep discussions to be had about the nature of contemporary political discourse. But that recurring conversation kept coming back to me as I read Do Good Lives Have to Cost the Earth?. Though the book's various authors touch on dark themes, and the potential for environmental and/or economic collapse is very real, it maintained the sense that those steps we can take to be more conscientious might also take us closer to the planet we would like to live in. In that, it reminds me quite a bit of Generous (on which more, later). The book has its weaknesses. For the most part it's a volume for people who have access to the resources to make significant changes (whether simple or radical) in their lives, and a safety net to fall back on. But for those of us who are in that boat, it's a good and helpful read.

New look Greenbelt site

2008-04-13T08:39:48Z

Whilst attending the ecampaigning forum I frequently had to dash off and find a quiet corner to make final tweaks to a site that was about to launch. Thankfully the wifi coverage at the conference was pretty good. Late last night we pushed the button and that project—a total redesign of the Greenbelt website—was launched. We've been working on it for several months, and I'm very pleased with the result. You can see a few words Paul wrote about it on the site.

Ecampaigning Forum 2008

2008-04-12T18:57:58Z

Taking a couple of days out of the hectic schedule which has kept me from updating anything around here for a while, I spent Thursday and Friday in Oxford for the 2008 ecampaigning forum. It was a great event, and a good time reconnecting with old friends and making new ones. I live blogged several sessions and written up some notes over in the other place, but wanted to post a pointer here because it's likely to be of interest to those who might normally avoid the tech overload on that blog.

links for 2008-04-07

2008-04-07T03:43:08Z

Aid to developing world falls for second year | Business | guardian.co.uk

"At the 2005 Gleneagles summit, G8 countries committed to pledge an additional $50bn in aid by 2010. Three years on, this target now looks to be missed by as much as $30bn, said Oxfam, enough to save 5 million lives."

(tags: aid debt g8 internationaldevelopment poverty)
Open veins: Crude reflections

Nick's article on Ecuador from the latest Red Pepper. "We need a vision of growing qualitatively not quantitively.”

(tags: ecuador internationaldevelopment latinamerica nickbuxton redpepper)
Report backs freer use of data | Technology | The Guardian

"work is under way on a government "information incubator" to encourage experiments with "mashups" and other innovative uses of government data"

(tags: fordevblog freedata government uk web2.0)
No Impact Man: How FDR got us to carpool

One World War II poster read: "When you ride ALONE you ride with Hitler! Join a Car-Sharing Club TODAY!"

(tags: carsharing environment fdr propaganda reduction)
What's Alan Watching?: The Wire: David Simon Q

"I don't think it's cynical about human beings. I think that's why viewers were so committed and loyal, because the human beings that were traversing this rigged game were entirely worth the time spent following them."

(tags: davidsimon interview thewire tv)

links for 2008-03-10

2008-03-10T03:27:57Z

BBC NEWS | World | Americas | US names '9/11 steel' warship

Steel salvaged from the World Trade Center site has been used to build a warship. Terribly symbolic, and terribly sad.

(tags: militarism revenge symbolism worldtradecenter)
John McCain’s Charitable Contributions

For a while I held onto a belief that John McCain somewhat resembled his chosen persona. Then he decided that maybe torture was okay after all, and a whole lot more crept out of the woodwork along with that.

(tags: johnmccain uspolitics)
Beth Rowley, Cherry Jam, London | guardian.co.uk Music

A more positive review that the star rating lets on. We've seen Beth play quite a number of times over the past few months, and it's always worth the trip.

(tags: bethrowley guardian music review)
Iraq: an interview with Dr. Stephen Zunes (part two of three) « The Heathlander

Shedding useful light on how the statistics about "the surge" have been cooked. Shooting in the back of the head are sectarian, those in the front of the head are not. Hmmm...

(tags: iraq politics statistics surge)
Rowan Williams: It's adults, not young people, who are a public menace

The disappearance of truly public spaces is a loss for us all, but is it most problematic for kids?

(tags: publicspace rowanwilliams)
Danger Mouse to Produce new Beck Record

Could be good.

(tags: beck dangermous music)
Swiss bank Julius Baer drops lawsuit against Wikileaks | Media | guardian.co.uk

"Julius Baer had been pursuing court action against Wikileaks after the website published documents about the bank's offshore accounts."

(tags: transparency wikileaks)

In The Office

2008-03-08T15:00:22Z

Normally being in the office on a Saturday would seem a bad thing, but this weekend there is still enough novelty for it to be a little fun. This week, you see, Matt and I moved into an office space we're going to be sharing in Hoxton. There's still a lot of unpacking, arranging and decorating to be done, but so far it feels good to have a space outside the home for working. Pictures will come with time. There's space here for one or two more people, and our hope is to find one person to share it on a full-time basis and keep one desk free for occasional visitors. So whether you need a space in east London to get a bit of work done, need a more permanent office space, or just feel like dropping by, get in touch. (For a full-time person rent would be around £170 per month including bills and wifi. You'll need to provide your own furniture.)

links for 2008-02-28

2008-02-28T03:35:39Z

Trailer Mash-ups: Wall-E-nator Mashup Proves Cuteness May Destroy the Future

Best mashup I've seen in a very long time

(tags: mashup pixar terminator)
Building explosion in Grand Rapids' Eastown - The Grand Rapids Press

Very bizarre news

(tags: eastown explosion grandrapids)
Londonist: Some Of Our Banksys Are Missing

Someone's painting over Banksys. My money's on it being the man himself.

(tags: bansky london streetart)
Obituary: Larry Norman | Obituaries | guardian.co.uk Music

Steve Turner on Larry Norman, who died a couple of days ago.

(tags: ccm larrynorman music)

links for 2008-02-25

2008-02-25T03:30:44Z

'If I find one reel, I must kill you' | Features | guardian.co.uk Film

"Erlend Clouston on the men who risked their lives to save the Afghan film archive from the Taliban "

(tags: afghanistan film)
Gary Younge in New York: It's up to the superdelegates to prove Democrats believe in democracy | The Guardian

"The elections we have all been watching account for 80% of the total voting delegates who will nominate the candidate. The remaining 20% goes to "superdelegates" - Democratic legislators, governors, former presidents and vice-presidents, a

(tags: democrats primaries superdelegates uselections)
Old Nick | Rock | guardian.co.uk Music

There are only a couple more weeks till the new Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds record comes out

(tags: interview muic nickcave)
£1bn ‘city beneath a city’ planned for Amsterdam - Building

Sounds like quite a plan

(tags: amsterdam cavedwelling urbanism)

Good Lives and the Bolivian Constitution

2008-02-24T13:19:28Z

In between writing reviews of tech books I've been gradually working my way through a wonderful little book called Do Good Lives Have To Cost The Earth?. I'll write about it in more detail later, but it was very much in my mind as I read an article Nick posted back in January about Bolivia's new constitution. While much of the consideration of "democracy" over the past few years has been focussed on US elections, ill-advised adventures in the Middle East, and occasional flare ups in other places, Bolivia has been hard at work on a new constitution. And whereas that often means a dry process of regulations and legal language, this constitutional process has been about throwing off the shackles of imperialism and looking for ways for a country to reflect its plurality, its history, and economic contributions from outside the normal economic sphere. It's exciting stuff, and may just provide some inspiration for those of us looking for how our western societies could better engage their growing diversity and value lives lived with a lower toll on the planet.

Anathallo at Water Rats

2008-02-22T13:11:52Z

Tuesday night saw us heading to Water Rats to see Anathallo, friends from the US on their first UK tour. They'd been in the country for a while, opening for Manchester Orchestra, but this was their sole headline show of the trip. We were pleasantly surprised to see the small venue packed with people and, like the band, a little taken aback to hear quite so many people singing along. Anathallo's on-stage identity revolves around their high energy performances, so it was worrying to hear that several of them were suffering from strep throat. Obviously the enthusiasm of the crowd worked its magic as their energy levels were as high as I'd ever seen them. Whether it was growing maturity or a matter of venues, the melodies and percussion seemed in better balance than last time we'd seen them. The band are hoping to be back in the UK later in the year and are well worth seeing. Either way, I highly recommend taking a listen on their last.fm page.

Billy Bragg and KT Tunstall in HMV

2008-02-21T11:18:43Z

London is Free is a great source not only of ways to save a little cash, but also to find out about a number of events that could easily be overlooked. That's where I stumbled across the news that Billy Bragg and KT Tunstall would be performing together in HMV on Monday lunchtime. Steve's written it up in much more detail than I will, but it's fair to say that initial disappointment that they wouldn't be playing any of Billy's own songs gave way to considerable entertainment as the pair botched their way through covers of songs from the past five decades of British rock and pop. Not having had the chance to see KT play before I only knew her material from remarkably over-produced records, and this performance wasn't exactly a chance to get much of an impression of what her own songs would be like outside of that Sony-inflicted sheen. But her willingness to look rather foolish up on stage, hamming her way through songs they both admitted they'd mostly learned by watching videos on youtube, certainly left a good impression. With a scrum of photographers gathered in a roped off area in front of the stage it was hard to get close enough for clear shots, but you can see those photos that felt worth sharing over on flickr.

links for 2008-02-19

2008-02-19T03:36:45Z

eMusic Selects Q&A: Breathe Owl Breathe - eMusic Spotlight

emusic are profiling a Michigan band that is well worth a little of your time

(tags: breatheowlbreathe emusic michigan music)
Americans abroad are giving up citizenship for lower taxes - International Herald Tribune

"other countries base taxation on residency, not citizenship"

(tags: america citizenship nonresidency tax)
Some thoughts on The Wire, season 5 (kottke.org)

We've been following Season 5, and while it's great I can't help but agree that so far there's too much to keep track of and not enough momentum. Still, there's a long way to go...

(tags: thewire tv)
Interview: Sam Richards meets New York band Vampire Weekend

This record has been on constant rotation around here

(tags: music vampireweekend)
Tolkien heirs sue Lord of the Rings studio for $150m | guardian.co.uk Film

I can't help but wonder how much longer New Line Cinema will be around for

(tags: cinema film lotr newline)
Coens take on tale of alternate Alaska | News | guardian.co.uk Film

"The Coen brothers are to take on Pulitzer-prize winning author Michael Chabon's novel The Yiddish Policeman's Union, about an alternate-reality Alaska."

(tags: coens film)

Two trips to the Barbican

2008-02-18T23:20:11Z

Two recent visits to the delightful cinemas at the Barbican deserve a mention here: The Diving Bell And The Butterfly has already been widely lauded, and thoroughly deserves it. Partially adapted from the Jean-Dominique "Jean-Do" Bauby's autobiography of the same name, the film follows Jean-Do's experience of living with the rare locked-in syndrome, the sudden onset of which leaves him only able to move one eyelid. Director Julian Schnabel has done a masterful job, using the camera initially to show us the world from Jean-Do's restricted perspective but gradually opening up the viewer's line-of-sight as his experiences unfold. His background as a painter clearly helps inform the visual pallete of the film, but he never quite drifts off into the impressionist self-indulgence that would have been so easy. The result is a story that is moving without being sentimental, and tinged with a deep sadness without being depressing. For me, it was one of those films that can serve as a reminder of the medium's true capabilities.

A Short Film About Killing was showing as part of the current Kieslowski directorspective. It's a treat to see any of his films on the big screen, even if the print did seem rather muddy. I'd seen this film several years ago when Film 4 actually lived up to its claim of offering the films that were hard to see elsewhere, but the bigger screen naturally made it more engrossing and emphasised its power. It could be said that the core of that power comes through a particularly grizzly murder scene, and much of the film's energy seeps out (in both directions) from that pivotal moment. That scene was especially hard viewing on a larger canvas. What struck me on this viewing were more of the film's subtleties: the sparseness of the settings and the sound editing; the recognition of the naivete of the lawyer who is the closest thing to a hero; and the very human nuances of the characters that makes them simultaneously repulsive and compelling. The legend is that this film was instrumental in the abolition of the death penalty in Poland, and justly so. It's a powerful reminder that one can be both anti-death penalty and fully aware of the horrific nature of mankind's worst crimes. But beyond that, it provides a fascinating exploration of the interplay of personal and institutional actions and responsibilities.