A Blog.
Climbing a Crane.
I hate heights. I’m not a good flyer. I don’t like seeing people being high off the ground. Freaks me out. Which makes me wonder why I’m repeatedly drawn to videos like this one, in which a guy climbs up a crane, walks to the end of it, then, with no safety rope, hangs from the end by one hand. Horrible. (via)
Another great piece on PRISM, in which David Simon (the writer of The Wire) looks at why agencies are interested in data, the hoops they have to jump through to get at it, and how it’s already approved by the US Government.
A great piece from Jack McDonald of Kings of War asks the important questions about why governments look for data such as that that PRISM seems to aggregate.
Jeffrey Toobin of the New Yorker writes a pretty cutting piece on Edward Snowden. I’m inclined to agree. He appears to have taken a large amount of sensitive data to China. Whether he did this on purpose or by mistake, China may end up getting this material. If you are anti-authoritarian, why go there? I don’t understand.
Will You Love Me by Matthew E White
The whole of Matthew E White’s ‘Big Inner’ album is just beautiful. Understated, soulful and smattered with just the right amount of brass to make anyone with a heart feel that little bit warmer inside.
It’s difficult to pick one song, but Will You Love Me is a great introduction to his style. And like all the best songs, each time you hear it, it’s just a little bit better than the last time.
I’ve just been watching My Neighbour Totoro now it’s out on Blu Ray in the UK. It’s such a beautiful little film. If for some reason it’s passed you by, this week’s Incomparable podcast is all about the film and is great for newcomers and aficionados alike.
A great article on the much-missed GamesMaster. I say that, but I don’t think I even missed it all that much when I felt a bit too old to watch it while it was still actually on. Still, memories and all that.
It makes the valid point that Top Gear is essentially GamesMaster with cars, and is framed by the story of Craig Munro, forever bitter about seemingly being beaten by his sister on TV:
“Oh, poor Craig. Imagine being beaten by your sister, that’s awful. You know what, he won’t be alone. There must be hundreds of kids out there who we f***ed over.”
Unsurprisingly, Gruber hits the nail on the head when talking about the new iOS:
This is the first product of the post-Jobs Apple. The result shows that in some ways Apple’s software design has gotten better, because it was Jobs (and Forstall) who had a penchant for exuberant textures and gimmickry.
The Banqueting House
I’d been meaning to visit this place, the only remaining part of the Palace of Whitehall, for years. Since it was within a minute’s walk of work, of course, meant that I’d never got around to it. Today though, for Mrs Minifig’s birthday, it seemed like a good opportunity.
Not a great place for a fixed 50mm lens, though, so these are slightly fuzzy iPhone 5 pictures.
