Not So Far Ahead...

Whilst the Indy looks ahead ten years, French website Nowhereelse.fr points us towards the very near future with these clips of what some take to be a glimpse of the forthcoming Apple tablet device (iSlate, iGuide are amongst the names mooted) which is rumoured to be associated with a 'big' media event in late January.
Not sure about this though - something about it is iffy (or a few things are iffy) - not sure I can put my finger on it exactly. But it's a very nice fake nonetheless if it is indeed a fake.

The Indy Looks Ahead. 10 Years Ahead.

UK newspaper, The Independent, stumbles slightly tackily into the next decade with a twee but nonetheless interesting vision of how far things will have changed for us all by 2020...
(Part 2 tomorrow apparently).

What A Fanbloodytastic Day

Sometimes there doesn’t seem to be enough good news around at Christmastimes... Don’t know why - (maybe it's because we tend to try and happy ourselves up for the occasion and the world doesn't stand a chance of living up to that), but there just doesn’t. And that’s broadly been so this year too - ongoing whitewashy shambles of an Iraq inquiry, total cop-out and big finger to the planet from Copenhagen - but at least today has flagged up two stories that have really genuinely made me incredibly happy.

The first is pretty obvious - Rage Against The Machine taking the Xmas number 1 slot from some vanilla X-Factor prettyboy singing some crappy banality at the order of his master.
Thank Fuck, quite frankly. Brilliant news.
The X-Factor may be enjoyed by millions but that doesn’t make it good of course (and it isn't good - it's fucking evil) - and contrary to the bafflingly poor thinking of some absurdly biased BBC newsreader/interviewers over the past days, it does NOT set up winners in long and glittering and important careers; so far they’ve been largely shortlived. For which one can only be thankful given the tripe, pap and worthless formulaic shite they put out. The BBC people actually were pretty annoying - completely glossing over the Rage profits going to homeless charity Shelter, having been corrected on a point about making money from the single, and also accusing the song of not being about Christmas.... er, like the X-Factor song then... Muppets.

Anyway - they did it. WE did it. Brilliant. It’s not a cynical act (as described by the cynical Simon Cowell in an act of breathtaking cynicism even by his own magnificent standards) - it’s a genuine authentic act of championing authenticity over cynicism. And I hope it’s only the beginning.

I also hope it’s only the beginning for more coming out and acceptance of gay sports stars following the announcement by the Welsh rugby star - Cardiff Blues player and the most capped player for Wales and former British and Irish Lions captain, Gareth Thomas. Sport can be a macho and misogynistic animal, and of course homophobic too. Yet statistically, it’s blindingly obvious that there should be quite a few gay sportsmen out there - who knows, maybe great ones - great role models. And that one of them has had the guts to come out is great news...
"It has been really tough for me," he told the papers, "hiding who I really am, and I don't want it to be like that for the next young person who wants to play rugby, or some frightened young kid. I don't know if my life is going to be easier because I'm out, but if it helps someone else, if it makes one young lad pick up the phone to Childline, then it will have been worth it."

Let’s hope this might just be a moment of genuine shift like the Rage Xmas number 1. Today has definitely been a good day. Hopefully the reasons why it’s been a great day can lead to more great days to come.
Good on you Gareth Thomas, good on you Rage Against the machine - and good on you all who bought the single :-)

REFERENCES:
Rage Against The Machine article
Gareth Thomas article

Helpful Dialog Box Of The Day

Many thanks to Apple's Garageband for flagging up this helpful little gem whilst I was (successfully) installing a Jam Pack.

Groovy Magazine Concept - Mag+

Mag+ from Bonnier on Vimeo.

Fascinating mag (and also 'tablet experience' in general) by Bonnier, and Berg.
If Apple's tablet device ever appears I hope it's content could work something like this...

New Website - Scott Redding 2010

The second week of running my own business has been probably as busy as the first one (though admittedly the first week was made busy because of rushing BigZee in and out the vets - he’s on the mend now...) - and as well as signing off an iPhone application project (more of which in coming days) I ended the week with a marathon creative dev and build that was a one-day intensive project that I’m dead chuffed with. It’s going to require ongoing development and maintenance, but it’s a good cause and totally worth it.

Basically it’s furthering the work of the pimping of Scott Redding’s campaign to get a 2010 Moto2 ride that I publicised previously. It’s a website called "Scott Redding 2010" and it aims to push publicity and interaction with the cause way beyond Facebook. With the “Scott Redding 2010” project I delivered a website for the Scott Redding Supporters Club to help focus attention on their mission outside of the Facebook environment where it had largely operated before. Whilst over 300 million people use Facebook, over 6.7 billion people use the internet as a whole so it made sense to ensure that the campaign to try and secure Scott a Moto2 ride for the 2010 MotoGP season reached as broad an audience as possible.

The site will serve as an ongoing news magazine to cover events and fundraising activities run by the Supporters Club, to ensure as many internet users as possible find out about the cause and to enable easy access to instant online donation mechanisms.
Like I say, a good cause, and hopefully one that will engage all those many potential fans and supporters who don’t use Facebook.

Please share the news and the link, and ideally make a donation too if you can - Scott’s a superb rider and *anything* that can be done to move his career forward is a good cause.

GOOD CAUSE ALERT: Scott Redding Fundraiser

It has been announced that there will be a fundraising event early next year which aims to raise money to help top Brit MotoGP talent Scott Redding get some kind of Moto2 ride for 2010.

Scott, who's had a bit of pig of a final 125cc season really - a rough and undeservedly unrewarding time for someone so hugely gifted and committed - so far has nothing lined up, so it goes without saying that as a huge fan I hope sincerely that the event can help make a serious contribution to supporting his efforts.

The Fundraising event will take place at Bransons Motorcycles in Gloucester and will include an auction where they will be auctioning off his helmet, leathers, gloves,boots and other items. Scott will be there to meet people and sign autographs. Tickets are £10 and can be purchased through the Scott Redding supporters club on Facebook or can be purchased on the day.

Click here for more information on the Facebook group page...

Please help support one of our top Brit MotoGP riders in pursuing his career!


FULL DETAILS:

Scott Redding supporters club fundraiser.
Date - Saturday 16 January
Time - 17:30 to 23:00
Location - Bransons Motorcycles,
12-14 Spinnnaker Rd,
Hempsted,
Gloucester, GL2 5FD