Random Pics: Porthcawl

Spent the weekend down in Bridgend, So here's just a few iPhone shots from a hangover-clearing walk with my cousins along the front at Porthcawl, including the almost unfeasibly exotic entrance to the Boating Club. My application is in the post already...

Tyrant, Rock Star, Diva, King... & Don't Forget Human Being

There's an excellent piece on Cult of Mac at the moment, reflecting on Steve Jobs' decision to step back from Apple till the summer on account of health issues being "more complex" than previously thought.
I wanted to share it as it's a pared down, non-hysterical look at the present and the future and - without getting ghoulish or mawkish - also attempts to understand the nature of Jobs' legacy, whenever his time may come.
Most chatter on the various Mac forums is a mix of hysteria and cynicism, and some utterly unreal trolling from sickeningly greedy and self-obsessed shareholders (apparently), who deserve nothing short of the mightiest punch in the gob.

There's not really much to do except hope that the stepping back / treatment etc is not a gentle euphemism for the long goodbye but a genuine assessment (and in no way loaded) of what's going on; to wish Steve Jobs all the best, and to hope he's back doing more "insanely great" things when he's good and ready.

Click here for the article...

Have The Humanists Got It Arse Over Tit?

Far be it from me to piss in somebody's chips when they're basically standing for something I believe in / stand for, but having noticed lots of posters on the Tube recently for the Humanist Association's "There's Probably No God" campaign I can't help wondering if, in trying to make it 'appealing' and 'attractive' (my emphasis) they haven't ended up saying something that's worse than banal, in that it's actually dangerous.

Let's get it out of the way - I absolutely agree with the headline that "There's probably no god"... absolutely. Totally.
The problem is the strapline that sits below it. It says "Now stop worrying and enjoy your life"...
Let's just be clear - having taken on a fundamental philosophical position about the need to believe and in the importance of showing clear blue water between the principles of faith and belief as opposed to logic and knowledge and rationality and reality - something terribly important in suggesting that you have control and responsibility, they then fob you off with a twee little pat on the head. Go enjoy yourself... Have fun...

The world teeters on a knife-edge today: it is almost entirely composed of poverty, hunger, death, imperialism, war, terror, pollution, climate change, diminishing energy and water resources - and they say "enjoy your life"...
The truth is that if there's no god to bail you out, to intervene, or for you to hang your hopes on - then more than ever you need to understand these issues, and that the way they end up resides entirely with you, the human.

Frankly it should be:
THERE'S PROBABLY NO GOD.
NOW GET YOUR FUCKING ARSE IN GEAR AND SORT OUT THIS PLANET BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE. IT'S NOT GOING TO HAPPEN ON ITS SODDING OWN, YOU KNOW. NOPE.

There is no god - and it absolutely *is* down to us.
It's a shame that the Humanist Association seems to have allowed people to abdicate that responsibility in its attempts to win them over.

Not Always MotoGP But Always Hot

(*Above: the kind of thing you'll find at MotoGPHotties.com... You pervert.)

Given that this blog is so random anyway, I hope you'll forgive the blatant plug for another website - as I'm duty bound to pass on the word.
Although it has the word "MotoGP" in the title (STOP FALLING ASLEEP THERE!!!), MotoGP Hotties - (MotoGPHotties.com - brought to you by the people who made the popular MotoGP Hotties application for Facebook) is probably bound to appeal way beyond those interested in the racing.
A website that's particularly aimed at the laydeez (and a few of the guys too) it's a pretty much daily dose of totty from the various categories of motorcyle racing: MotoGP itself, and its lower categories - 250cc and 125cc, and also World Superbikes, British Superbikes, World Supersport, the Spanish CEV championship and more.

There's already the odd bit of partial, generous nudity and some of the poses do lean towards the homoerotic. It's all basically good clean fun though and looks like building into a pretty vast ongoing archive to keep happy all those who are either:
a) interested in much more than the bikes and the racing,
b) not able to give a toss about the bikes or the racing.

So if you fancy a smile (and actually some odd snippets of useful/useless info too) then do point your browser at MotoGP Hotties...

Could Be Worse

Okay, so my MacBook Pro may have completely lost contact with its own keyboard and trackpad, annoying the hell out of me and forcing me to plug in a mouse and keyboard and carry them round with me - and to also contemplate a hefty repair bill or pricey replacement, but things could always be worse.
Thanks to Chris for reminding me that life ain't so bad...

What Might Have Been...

(*Above: Uh-oh, here comes trouble... The Operative arrives to kidnap Inara)

If UK gossip merchent Holy Moly is to be believed and Chiwetel Ejiofor had already turned down the role of the next Doctor Who (now gone to Matt Smith, of whom the producers/writers said "we knew we'd found our doctor" when he showed up as their third audtionee) then it's possibly a very great shame indeed, and could rate as one of those "the greatest ... who never..." missed opportunities.

Holy Moly describes Chiwetel Ejiofor as a Shakesperian actor - something which whilst true, actually ignores a superb film role of his which could give clues as to how intense and profound a performance he could have brought to the show.
I'm talking of his part as "The Operative", a sociopathic assassin tracking down River Tam on behalf of the Alliance in the Joss Whedon's superb "Serenity" - the big screen outing of the much-missed Firefly mob.

The Operative was clearly unhinged and completely principled *and* unprincipled - a truly dangerous and fascinating character who brought down seven tons of shit on Mal, his crew and anybody they knew, throughout the course of the movie.
That kind of intensity played with utter cold conviction and calmness and purpose would have been an excellent marker for possibilities with the Doctor, and given the current incumbent's penchant for SHOUTING A LOT and getting quite emotionally messy and pulling staggering faces, becoming overwrought and then GETTING A BIT SHOUTY AGAIN, Ejiofor might well have also been a genuinely interesting departure.

Ah well - guess we'll never know.

It's Macworld, So There's Bound To Be Something Amazing...

Apple Introduces Revolutionary New Laptop With No Keyboard
The Onion, as always merciless and spot-on in its spoofery, gives us all a good cackle ahead of Macworld....

:-)

Narnia; A Fairy Tale. No Really...

News that Disney has bailed on the Narnia films should not, I'm guessing, find the *real* driving force behind them - the Christian conservative backed Walden Media - left in the lurch when it comes to completing the series.
At the moment the most likely backer would appear to be that bastion of arch conservatism and neoconservatism, Fox.

The only reason I'm rambling on about the Narnia films (when they could hardly be described as great pieces of cinema worth rambling about) is that it's ironic that such forces of conservatism are behind them when the most standout thing about the second film "Prince Caspian" (apart from Ben Barnes' outlandish Spanish-Icelandic-French-Japanese-Australian-Russian accent) was the hilariously smouldering homoeroticism between his character and the posh kid who looks like Charlie out of Busted.
Unintentional though it surely was, it made me laugh till I almost peed - and it must be a bit galling for Walden to have such do-gooding preachy moralising undone by those two boys spending the entire movie furrowing eyebrows and pursing lips at each other as if they don't know whether to kick off an almighty bitch-slapping or just get down and dirty behind some rocks, out of sight of all the talking badgers...

If Fox ended up being responsible for another unintentionally funny slice of fairytales (yes, that's both cheap and deliberate), then it would make my day.
And if they keep Ben Barnes' fabulous "French Taunter" accent, then that's just a bonus...

El Canto Del Loco - "La Película"

Those lucky ECDL fans in Spain get to see in the new year with a cinema release of a documentary on the band, "La Película".
Sadly those of us in the UK will have to wait to see it by other means.
I guess for me that means waiting for it to arrive on DVD and in the hope that either:
a) my language skills have improved considerably or
b) it has subtitles.

Looks good though, doesn't it :-)
Ooooh - and by the way, if you *are* an ECDL fan in Great Britain, then why not consider joining up to the UK Fans of El Canto Del Loco group on Facebook...

Steve Jobs - The Truth About Macworld No-Show

Following a shitload of rumour, speculation and unhealthy ghoulishness it turns out that in fact Steve Jobs does have some health issues - and that the hoo-hah caused by his decision to let Phil Schiller do the keynote triggered the rumours he needed to finally address.
Sometimes the Mac community can be infuriating, and recent weeks have made ever-increasing static about his health (and indeed his very existence) seem like something you'd expect to hear of Kim Jong Il or Fidel Castro.

Thankfully he's NOT on his deathbed, and in fine spirits - fine enough in fact to get a nice little jibe in at the end of his open letter (below) to the Mac community.
We know they're (mostly) only so interested in him cos they love him, but they do need to get out a bit more at times...


.......................................................

Dear Apple Community,

For the first time in a decade, I'm getting to spend the holiday season with my family, rather than intensely preparing for a Macworld keynote.
Unfortunately, my decision to have Phil deliver the Macworld keynote set off another flurry of rumors about my health, with some even publishing stories of me on my deathbed.
I've decided to share something very personal with the Apple community so that we can all relax and enjoy the show tomorrow.

As many of you know, I have been losing weight throughout 2008. The reason has been a mystery to me and my doctors. A few weeks ago, I decided that getting to the root cause of this and reversing it needed to become my #1 priority.
Fortunately, after further testing, my doctors think they have found the cause — a hormone imbalance that has been "robbing" me of the proteins my body needs to be healthy. Sophisticated blood tests have confirmed this diagnosis.
The remedy for this nutritional problem is relatively simple and straightforward, and I've already begun treatment. But, just like I didn't lose this much weight and body mass in a week or a month, my doctors expect it will take me until late this Spring to regain it. I will continue as Apple's CEO during my recovery.

I have given more than my all to Apple for the past 11 years now. I will be the first one to step up and tell our Board of Directors if I can no longer continue to fulfill my duties as Apple's CEO. I hope the Apple community will support me in my recovery and know that I will always put what is best forApple first.

So now I've said more than I wanted to say, and all that I am going to say, about this.
Steve

.......................................................


Get well Steve :-)
And the rest of you - Enjoy Macworld, enjoy the Keynote, and FFS get a life!

Not So Much Who As Why?

(*Above - the new Doctor: like the current one... only more so...)

In what cynics might regard as a marketing rather than a genuinely creative decision, the 11th Doctor appears to be a younger and probably more fey version of the current one.
Matt Smith, who will take over from David Tennant in 2010, does seem to tick a lot of "demographic" boxes and will probably lead to a lot of grumbling over the youngness, whiteness and maleness of the choice until he hits the screens and we can all make a proper judgement. Let's be honest, about the only surprise in the choice is not the aesthetics of it all, but the fact that the guy is largely unknown.

Got to admit that I'm very fond of Tennant (although I'm aware he winds some people up something chronic...) and I'm also one of the very very few people I know who actually rated Eccleston too.
The only shame is that they're clealry fixated on the young and the pretty and have forgotten that John Pertwee - the spooky, be-cuffed & collared powder-wigged incarnation - was surely the "best" Doctor (whatever I may actually mean by that...)

I'd have to admit I'd rather have seen a braver, more imaginative choice - my friend and companion in red wine Madame Arcati has always championed the idea of Sandi Toksvig, which I must admit would be brill. But I can't help but feel I detect a certain cowardice / play-safery in the Smith decision.
Only time - and timelord - will tell.

In the meantime, the Beeb can probably go ahead and renew their product-placement contract with Converse for another few years.

UK Gets Extra Pip At Midnight

I caught a piece on the radio this morning explaining that we're getting an extra pip at midnight when an extra second is added to this year - a "leap second" if you will.
I have to admit to being half-asleep and a teensy bit hungover, so it didn't make a great deal of sense, particularly when they tried to explain that the pips "had escaped" earlier in the year (which sounded frankly terrifying in a boring, sciencey kind of a way), so I'll leave it to someone a bit more coherent than me to explain it...

Happy New Year :-)

My Man Of The Year 2008

No, not either of the shitwits in this picture but Muntadhar al-Zaidi - justifiably outraged Iraqi journo, phantom shoe-flinger and deservedly popular hero around the world.
Nice article by Richard Herring here...
I only hope that any of the fuckers who harm a hair on his head while he's incarcerated get their just desserts too.

El Canto Del Loco - "De Personas A Personas"

Grabbed this off the Spanish eBay the other day - very swiftly delivered and in perfect nick. A beautiful package of text and pictures, featuring a new nudey shoot - and a CD of the Personas album but with a bunch of extra songs, and also a DVD featuring 3 versions of promos for "Eres Tonto", the video for "Peter Pan", plus a 45 minute documentary and also a couple of other goodies like a film about the nudey photoshoot.

It's Christmas and I deserve it! :-)

Why People Don't Trust Politicians

Source: The Guardian
When climate camp protesters descended on the site of the Kingsnorth power station for a week-long summer demonstration, the scale of the police operation to cope with them was enormous. Police were accused of using aggressive tactics, but ministers justified what they called the "proportionate" £5.9m cost of the operation, pointing out that 70 officers had been injured in the course of their duties.
But data obtained under the Freedom of Information Act puts a rather different slant on the nature of those injuries, disclosing that NOT ONE was sustained in clashes with demonstrators.
The Home Office has now admitted that the protesters had not been responsible for any injuries.

Enjoy the following...
"stung on finger by possible wasp"
"officer injured sitting in car"
"officer succumbed to sun and heat"
"officer used leg to open door and next day had pain in lower back"

And to think that the government finds the electorate to be cynical...

A Damp (And Oily) Squib

One final twist in the ludicrous "Hamilton in a Mercedes racing a man on a bicycle" event at this year's Race of Champions...
It didn't happen due to the track being a bit damp and oily.
Who could possibly have predicted that an open-air motorsports event in the middle of December might lead to a damp and oily track?

Is 'publicity stunt' rhyming slang?

"Ethics Bites" podcast

Big thanks to Nigel from Philosophy Bites for telling me about the companion podcast "Ethics Bites" which you can get from here on the interweb or through iTunes by clicking here...
It contains some episodes which are also in the Philosohpy Bites podcast, but mostly this stuff is completely fresh and separate.
Brilliant :-)

Podcast Of The Year :: Philosophy Bites

It's little wonder that Philosophy Bites has made it into iTunes Best Podcasts of 2008...
This has to be my top podcast of the year. Week after week of simply conducted yet wonderfully enlightening discussions with contemporary philosophers and academics on a vast array of subjects, from the most abstract concepts to utterly relevant and applied questions such as the meaning of 'tolerance' and the ethics of bombing civilians.
It's been some time since I studied Philosophy at Uni (and had a blast actually...) so it's a serious pleasure to keep the old noggin ticking over with this thought-provoking and totally engaging series.

Absolutely top stuff. Keep up the good work guys :-)

To subscribe to Philosophy Bites you can either visit their website here or if you prefer to go directly via iTunes then you should click here...
It's impossible to recommend it highly enough.

Chestbusting Clangers, And More...

There's some great tributes to Oliver Postgate here on the Guardian's website including tales of a truly disturbing project that you have to be relieved never saw the light of day... There's some things that you should never see Clangers do, or hear *that voice* say...

Daily Mail in 'Talking Complete Bollocks' Shocker

It's not for nothing that the excellent Charlie Brooker refers to the Daily Mail as a 'How-To Guide For Idiots, published in daily instalments'... It's almost a pleasure to see it spontaneously combusting about the Euro, Europe in general, foreigners, muslims, gays, single mothers, video games, and pretty much most things that make up our world.

So it's great fun to come across a sports editorial blurb in today's copy, berating F1's environmental credentials...
"The truth is Formula One is as environmentally friendly as a flatulent Jeremy Clarkson burning a fridge full of plastic bags in the Sizewell B nuclear reactor."

It's always a giggle to see the Daily Mail launch into a tirade that begins with the phrase "the truth is..." - mostly as it's as sure a sign of a lie as someone who habitually starts sentences with "I'm not a racist but..."
The Mail and the truth inhabit very different worlds; one very real (and indeed truthful), the other a bit rabid and angry and mad.

Anyway - back to the point of this... the Mail is either very dumb or deliberately misleading readers here. (Or probably both - that appears to be their strong point...)
The Formula One circus has been carbon-neutral since around 1997; a fact revealed qiute modestly and unexpectedly by Max Mosley in 2006 - and something he clearly should have been shouting about to help shut up ignorant twats like the Mail who are never happier than when they're furious about something. And I haven't seen much environmental campaigning from them by the way. Gits.

Anyhoo - just wanted to set the record straight.
Daily Mail, sod off.

R.I.P Oliver Postgate

"When Bagpuss goes to sleep..."

Goodbye to a genius who shaped so many millions of childhoods, and filled them with gentle, beautiful, fabulous, imaginative stuff.
Read about him on Wikipedia...

Talavera de la Reina Photos

Had a superb break in beautiful Talavera de la Reina, with Tamara and Michaela; having a great time with Alvaro Bautista's fanclub members ad directors - meeting Bati himself on a number of occasions and having a thoroughly enjoyable time celebrating and making merry.
Here's some photos of the beautiful town itself - there's more in my Facebook albums and on the BatiFans.com Fan Forum.

All over far too quickly and I can't wait to go back...