| 1 | party of axe | 1 | cool | 4 | lixpater |
| 7 | decent radio | 9 | digibox | 9 | boot |
| 10 | s-c tunes | 10 | marriage | 10 | random jottings |
| 11 | missile cake | 12 | thoughts of the day | 12 | dammit |
| 13 | valentines | 13 | katz-bashing | 15 | tv and video |
| 15 | victims | 16 | profit and society | 16 | schultz |
| 18 | valentines rant | 19 | week by week | 19 | it's not fair |
| 20 | what did i watch | 21 | fish | 22 | bye, buffy? |
| 23 | monday tuesday | 24 | mpeg-tastic | 25 | reasons to be cheerful |
| 26 | so who watched..? | 26 | gold cup | 27 | what's the point? |
| 28 | footy talk | 28 | happy birthday, Ulrike |
party of axe |
Lauren: POF fans want to start a letter writing campaign...but I don't know, I guess it should just end with dignity. Neve Campbell already said that she won't be returning next season if it renewed. I don't want it to turn into 90210. I have mixed feelings. |
cool |
Angela Bigos: Ladies shall employ maids to do the manual work, such as washing, pressing, cleaning. They shall sit in the garden and crochet, make light conversation at the dinner table before retiring after the meal to allow the gentlemen to discuss politics and business. It's all *very* 1800s. |
lixpater |
The future Mrs Cory Falcon: In Novum Eboracum Lixpater erat. Judy, just how bad was that? |
decent radio |
Brendan: With no news, little waffle and commercials, we can easily fit 14 records per hour. Radio 1 aims for 15 with news and DJ babble. Anyway, here's two hours listening... Len - Steal My Sunshine Atomic Kitten - Right Now Barenaked Ladies - One Week Chantal Krevizauk - Before You Macy Gray - Still Pet Shop Boys - You Only Tell Me You Love Me When You're Drunk All Saints - Pure Shores Des'ree - Kissing You Britney Spears - Born To Make You Happy Progress - Everybody Andreas Johnson - Glorious Brian McKnight - Back At One Aerosmith - I Don't Want To Miss A Thing Foo Fighters - Learn To Fly Faith Hill - This Kiss Filter - Take a Picture TLC - Unpretty Moby - Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad? Tamperer - Hammer To The Heart Santana - Maria Maria Blink 182 - All The Small Things RHCP - Otherside RHCP - Scar Tissue Thunderbugs - It's About Time You Were Mine k d lang - Miss Chatelaine Whitney - I Learned From The Best Mint Royale - Don't Falter Madonna - Like A Prayer Don't all offer jobs at once (: |
decent radio |
Eric Geyer: In addition to the analogue systems that have been in use for the past 75 years, Britain launched digital television through a normal aerial in November 98. The digibox is the computer that finds the signals and turns them into viewable programmes. According to the spec, it uses the power of a Pentium running around 150MHz, and some specially developed software. On launch, Digital Terrestrial Television (DTTV) was available to around 55% of the population, with the remainder to be filled in by 2006. Leamington's transmitter entered full-time testing in mid-January, and officially enters service next Tuesday. This means that I can retrieve the box from the parents - who have been keeping it since I moved here - and use it for my own ends. (And, yes, that includes MTV:UK. Sara will have to find some other advert to compare me with :) The box cost a notional GBP 467, but was subsidised down to GBP 200 on condition I subscribe to subscription channels for a year. Anyone wishing to purchase a box outright now must pay the full market rate - around GBP 350 - as the terms of the offer have changed. It's not really comparable to a cable box, owing to the significant difference in the power of the digibox. Mine also runs teletext and can process email (though the keyboard isn't available yet.) Further details on this topic at 625 online |
boot |
Angela Bigos: Got a message from the list owner informing me that she didn't think the recipe one was relevant and that it would "confuse" the (obvious idiot) listees. It was advertised as a non-moderated list for 21 and over where everyone was encouraged to cut loose. I discovered that I'd been DUMPED! I'd threatened to do so on the grounds of censorship but really hoped it was some kind of lets-work-it-out misunderstanding. What I'm really upset about is whether or not this will somehow "blacklist" (what a crummy word) me? Comments PLEASE! One of the other listees says that this woman puts new listees on the "watched" list for a month (even though it doesn't say that in the description). Can she advertise one thing and then follow another policy? I wrote to Onelist but I feel sure they'll ignore it- they must get tons of mail. |
s-c tunes |
angela: [Cue "At The Sound of the Swinging Cymbal"] Angela Chase - "Who Where Why" - Jesus Jones # Who am I? Where am I? Why do I feel this way?# Patty Chase - "Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You" - Andy Stewart Graham Chase - "How Do You Expect To Be Taken Seriously?" - Pet Shop Boys Danielle Chase - "Big Big Girl" - Emelia Rickie Vasquez - "I Want to Break Free" - Queen Rayanne Graff - "Unbearable" - Wonderstuff Jordan Catalano - "My Drug Buddy" - Lemonheads Brian Krakow - "Why Does It Always Rain On Me" - Travis Mr Katimski - "I Do I Do I Do I Do I Do" - ABBA Sharon Cherski - "Venus" - Shocking Blue Delia Fisher - "From Out of Nowhere" - Faith No More |
marriage |
Cory: "What does that mean, in simple terms?" we asked. "Quite simply, Leo's here. Leo! Leo!" hollered Justice Judge. Make of that what you will. >Thanks. Now I'm worried. -cory (who must go to the Allmighty quote notebook for inspirtation -- yes, I do still carry that thing around. It needs some duct tape hella bad.) Holy nightlife, Batman, the AQNB Lives! |
random jottings | Research in Toronto shows just 2 people in each thousand ever tune into the French language programmes there. I shake my head in disbelief. Yes, they may be in a foreign language. No, they're not completely incomprehensible - try watching five minutes of news in English and French. Yes, the programmes aren't all "Qui voudra un Millionair?" Some of them are even more gripping, like "Des Chiffres et des Lettres". Boos, hisses and Missile Cakes at Arrow Publishing. Emma Forrest's sublime "Namedropper" is now in remainder stores. Those in the UK are strongly recommended to buy a copy. It's great, even if you can't play the "identify the character" game. "Internet vandals" my foot. This is a deliberate programme of denial of service attacks that's going on. Compare it to Rent-A-Mob gathering at all the major junctions at rush hour in the city centre, bringing traffic to a halt. Don't compare it to a bunch of spotty kids who think it's cool to spray-paint "Britney ROOLZ" on an unguarded wall. And finally. Listening to the radio yesterday evening, when the jock read a dedication to members of the Corney Hunt. At least, that's what he was supposed to say... Darn, wish I'd been running a tape under that. |
missile cakes |
Chelle Finkler, first lady of cool cakes: Make a normal Victoria sponge mix, thickened with a little treacle and make it about four inches across. You may want to bake a big one, then cut it up. Put cream cheese on top and in the middle, along with some jam. Then leave it out for two days - not refrigerated, just left on the work-surface to mature. The Missile Cake is then taken to the public appearance of the recipient, and thrown at them from short range. Do not attempt to eat the cake, as it's very sweet and not healthy. Especially after being left on the side for a couple of days. |
thoughts of the day | I hear that sometime Slashdot correspondent and all-round annoyance attractor Jon Katz is a published author. (First Brem, now Katz... there must be hope for me yet.) And his minimum opus has been featured in Rolling Stone, the magazine for the terminally hip. The book sounds somewhat less interesting than the memoirs of former British finance minister Norma "Badger" Lament. Bet it won't be 20 months before he's remaindered. Amazing scenes on SMtv this morning. Phone-in contest, where viewer directs celebrity to shoot paintballs at balloons full of paint. Caller comes on line, grunts at hosts. "Did we wake you up? Are you carrying on a conversation in the background? I don't think he'll do that well," say the hosts. Caller goes on to work methodically round the board, picking up the all-time record high score. Presenters are utterly gobsmacked. I know itv's working on "It Shouldn't Happen On Children's TV", and this is a classic moment that deserves re-editing the show. |
dammit |
Victoria C "57 Hours. How long?": Then she tells me that they've scheduled me for another interview. Guess when it is. That's right, Tuesday. Then she proceeds to get all bitchy to me because she says I've been inquiring about jobs and she had the understanding that I wanted them to find something fulltime for me. Yeah, duh, I've been inquiring about jobs for months and they never returned my calls. They finally schedule me for something without contacting me to see if I was available that day and then they get pissed off that I can't go. I asked for her to reschedule for the next week and she said 'we'll just forget these jobs I had in mind and you can call me when you are available'
Oh dear, I feel some lists coming on. This weekend my sister wants to have another 'discussion'
1) He is coming over. I think under the circumstances that he and I are doing amazing at staying focused. Everyone around us is telling us we're bad people doing the wrong thing. Screw them, I need to hug my best friend. |
valentines |
paulo: No, their in-store ads are a load of cobblers, and they really ought to be stopped. Letters, as they say, have been writ. Head office really ought to be on its knees, in a more-grovelling-than-Ebony way. (Oh, yes, and one more thing: I'm not bitter. No, really. Not at all). No, Monday I shall do my usual stuff. A little bit of shopping. A trip into Warwick to plan out my route for an interview on Thursday. Watch my usual bag of television (including "Who Shot Mr Burns?"). And flick the channel on every time someone uses the V-word or the L-word, just as I've been doing for the past couple of weeks. |
katz-bashing |
Eric Geyer: I was walking past a local used-book emporium, and in the one-dollar-out-on-the-sidewalk-we- don't-care-if-they-are-stolen book rack was a copy of one of his pieces of fiction. From a quick perusal of the cover, I determinded that it was some form of mystery novel, and that the author was indeed the same Jon Katz I was familiar with. It may not have been remaindered, but it has reached a much more ignominious end. Thanks for sharing, and giving me the best laugh I've had in ages. |
tv and video | So, the BBC finally got round to showing "Who Shot Mr Burns" last night. "Great," I thought, "one I've not caught on the numerous re-runs the BBC has been doing. Part one tonight, and it must be part two on Friday. Or next Monday." But after the show, VoiceOverMan comes on to report there will be More New Simpsons later in the year. This is a definition of "new" I'm not familiar with, as the show is about five years old. Grr. Just for the record, I have seen the denoument on SKY before now, but won't give away who the culprit was here. News from the video people: "The Flashing Blade" has been passed for video release. Uncut, and (sadly) undubbed. "Ooh, Flash, there's a bee in my laundry." It wasn't them that had the thing about Rick Astley, but the one with the crocodile in the sewer... Sorry, going right back to kids television of the late 80s there. |
victims | Starting thought: isn't this sort of debate exactly what the advertisers wanted to happen? And are we just playing into their hands by venting in this manner? Mull it over before responding... Angela Bigos: The bottom line is, these people are in BUSINESS and will do, literally, anything that will put their product in the mind of the potential purchaser. The families of crime victims feel double victimization I know you're probably thinking that I'm pro capital punishment, whether I am or not isn't the point, exploitation is. There are now twelve countries negotiating to join the European Union. In order to join, they have to pass a series of quite stringent tests, including a human rights dimension. Free elections, democratic process enshrined in law, free and fair trials, abolition of capital punishment, independent judiciary. You get the picture. Even if the US were minded to join the EU, it would flunk this particular test. The bottom line to me is, if you're in a business where you're making big bucks in this particularly unsavory way, then you damn well should be compensating either the victim's families or put a great big ol' chunk of change into some sort of victim's advocacy fund (or stop capital punishment fund or both to really play fair). There are only two plausible reasons I can see for the death penalty- a) It is proven to give at least some of the suffering families a measure of relief b) those who have to be given non full-life sentences because of errors in their trials kill again (this is a documented fact- especially in the case of child killers who cannot stifle the urge to kill again because I think prison without possibility of parole is a far worse punishment that execution. In all the zillions of target groups they poll, they want to know what the age group their clothing appeals to is thinking about and ready to take up verbal arms against and therefore willing to spend money to feel they're in defense of. It's a policy decision for Bennetton to tie their brand to a certain political stance. To push against the boundaries of acceptability and taste. Whether that works or not is up to the individual. They aren't doing ads about the cure for Alzheimer Lizzie (a noble cause - my first mother in law died of it and it's a horrific degrading disease) because it wouldn't get your motor running. They are in business to make money and if going on the anti-abortion bandwagon made them more money, you can bet they'd find an attractive hip way to package it. helping the mother whose child has been murdered, or the grandmother who's been beaten into a coma after being robbed of her life's saving are good things too. Perhaps the victims families should be allowed to decide- we're only fence sitters until it happens to us. There are groups which offer *real* help- money and health care and adoption and all kinds of support and back off if the woman goes for the termination (admitedly those groups are regretably few). It's not surprising, given the Pope's disregard for his own office's report. Yet he proclaimed 2000 as a Jubilee Year, marking a concern for reconciliation and seeking forgiveness for those harmed and misjudged by the Church. Something doesn't add up. |
profit and society |
eLixzer: One is that I'm not convinced that businesses can't have a dual motive of earning profit and doing good stuff in the world. According to free market theorists, companies will attempt to maximize profit. According to the profit satiation theory, shareholders will accept a lower profit in exchange for reducing the negative externalities. This increases the shareholder's overall satisfaction from owning part of the company - less satisfaction from the money, but more from doing something worthwhile. While not universally accepted, this is the model that stands behind the concept of trade agreements and bodies, where companies band together and agree standards regarding their impact on the rest of the environment (as in the physical, mental, emotional world.) Go find a good economics textbook to explain it further. My economics teacher recommends Alain Anderton's books, but that's because he is A. Anderton. And two is that even if all businesses are only out there to make a profit, I'd MUCH rather they do it BY doing good stuff. I think I ought to show my support for them by buying their clothes when it makes sense for me to do so in the same way I boycott Dominoe's because they give profits to pro-life groups. I think they're both free to give their money to political causes if they wish, even in the name of profit, and I'll take my chance to control where MY money goes by deciding which companies to patronize. |
schultz |
Sade Foley: Sade |
valentine's day rant |
paulo: Watch or listen to any piece of mainstream pop-culture: you'll think that all we're here for is to date, go out on fancy dinners, make out and finding the inexistent Mr. or Ms. Right (and I don't want discussions now about whether "inexistent" is a valid english word). We have to go out every day and see, hear about how we are somehow NOT normal for trying to find our own way. We're subjected to the psychological pressure of having to find a date, a crush, a boyfriend/girlfriend or else we'll be looked with suspicious eyes Don't you think that, after all the horror stories we've heard about the subject, we should take anything related with "love" with at least a grain of salt? And yet, when I finally decide to make a comparatively tame and mostly tongue-in-cheek post stating my views, I have to be lectured by some relationship propagandist about not ruining other people's happiness. Besides, the original post didn't strike me as much more than a civil disagreement with the views originally put forward. Is that propaganda? Is that worthy of being called a deliberate distortion of the truth to achieve one's own ends? Are you so determined to exterminate those of us who choose the less travelled path that you must accuse us of raining on your parade, when your "side" hasn't stopped *ever* in its attempts to make us feel inadequate freaks? I can't wait for the day when the single people of the world join in a class action lawsuit against Hollywood for all the emotional damage that their sappy romances have inflicted upon us. Anyway. Enough from me. |
week by week | Right, you lot. Post more, or there are selections from what I've been doing. Monday 14th: To Asda, get some milk and a pizza marked down to 79p. That'll do for tea tonight. Tuesday 15th: To Sainsbury's, for bread, cereal and other bodkins. Wednesday 16th: Up at 7:30 to download yesterday's mail before it gets expensive. Thursday 17th: Into Warwick for the 9am interview, and with time to spare. Meet the prospective manager, and the help desk leader. Talk for about 25 minutes about my experience, CV and how to run a help desk. Then there's a practical, which doesn't faze me too much. Friday 18th: Back to Sainsbury's: de-meated burgers and some choccies today. I think I deserve it. [That's enough diary for now - Ed] |
it's not fair |
judy: I haven't told you about my last weekend yet. It was quite ok, I helped out at a Setter Derby I got a Valentine's heart yesterday! :) We don't celebrate Valentine's day in Austria, we just talk about it a bit and some couples do but it is not *that* big thing here. they asked people on the radio if the mind that the "Valentuesday" is on a Monday that year! people on the radio said that they couldn't care less and that they don't mind because X-mas is not on a Saturday either! What? What has that to do w/ that? I couldn't quite understand why X-mas should be on a Saturday. But I'd like to go dancing again! :) I haven't been for sooooooooooo long! :( For the ones that got 'til here - wow, respect how can someone stand so much nonsense and boring crap? |
what did i watch | Three reviews from yesterday's television: "Daria" at alt.lawndale.com; "The Tribe" episodes 85-86; and "Friends Like These", the BBC's new game show. The review of "The Tribe" inevitably contains plot spoilers. "Daria: alt.lawndale.com", MTV Animations on 5, 1600. The second episode still features Splendora's discordant theme music before it got tidied up. Our heroine is pressured into doing something out of class to assist her college application form, and raises funds to rebuild the internet cafe. Daria's not pleased, but plays along and exacts her revenge in a way that doesn't surprise regular viewers. There are plot lines that are spun out through the development of the show: Helen Morgandorfer's busy life, reflected in the strange phenomenon of a family meal; Jake's complete inability to back his wife up on anything; the difference in attitudes towards the popular and intelligent sisters. A great show, of course. "The Tribe", Cloud 9 for 5, 1656. [Once again: pretty major plot spoilers contained. You have been warned.] After Ebony's breathtaking speech last episode, she's the hero of the hour. Bray, Ellie, Lexx and Tai-San all want to talk with her, and all for their own reasons. It's clear that the experience has radically altered Ebony's personality, and she may well have turned a new leaf. Or maybe not. There's an undercurrent of misplaced love running through many of the characters; Dal's position as crush object for two younger characters leads to some well-meaning and sensible advice from one of his female elders. Ryan oversteps the mark in the most egregious way, and it's clear that he can read emotions as poorly as Jordan Catalano. Positive reinforcement from Danni causes Ellie to react in a most unexpected way, but one that is consistent with her character. There are crushes aplenty, with Alice causing Dal's jaw to hit the ground, Ebony encouraged by Tai-San to pursue her heart, Salene looking to move away, and Lexx looking out for himself as usual. Even lovebirds Jack and Ellie aren't immune to the change going round. Whether the writers would contemplate letting Ebony and Danni become an item remains to be seen. With the plague and survival issues dealt with early in the second series, there could have been a large gap at the heart of the plot. But it's been filled by an urge to impose some form of order on the anarchic city; a broad thrust that encourages reflection on the state of the world and society. I really can't recommend this programme highly enough; with Buffy going through a sticky patch at the moment, "The Tribe" may just about have become my highlight of the week's viewing. "Friends Like These", BBC1, 1830. Hosts Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnoley started life on children's drama "Byker Grove". Via their children's comedy show, a pop career they'd really rather forget, the pair wound their way to ITV's Saturday morning show SM:TV Live. They now return to the Beeb after four years on a new studio game show. The concept is simple: groups of five friends are given physical and skill-based tasks to compete in head-to-head competition. The winners get a chance to play for an exotic holiday, this week in Mexico. A team of five young ladies from Leeds and young gentlemen from Leicester nominate one player to play each game. The challenges themselves are reminiscent of Channel 4's famous "Crystal Maze". The "Catch as many balls as you can" game, the "Move a ball through a maze using your body weight" game, the "Guide a basketball through a course on a stream of hot air" game, and the "Untangle yourself from a corset of knots" game are all worth one point to the winner. The final game, "Tiddle as many winks as you can" is worth one point per wink properly tiddled. In a close game - such as tonight's - this is as dramatic as a football shoot-out, but wouldn't be as effective in a one-sided game. In the finale, the five friends are sat on chairs and have to answer a question about one of their friends. If the chosen friend gets the question right, the chum doing the choosing travels. If not, she stays home. There is a sting in the tail, though: the contestants travelling can elect to gamble their tickets for travel for the whole team. The question is a massive tension moment, but accepting or declining the gamble - splitting the group - is surely the test of friendship. Once accepted, the five will remain together no matter what. While the gameplay is great, the presentation owes a lot to Millionaire. Music runs almost the whole way through - though the sharp, loud stings were thrown off Millionaire after the pilot - and there are vari-lights and unusual camera sweeps. It's badly let down by the baritone voice-over of Mitch Johnson, best known for his warm, friendly contribution to BBC Saturday show Live & Kicking. Perhaps a deep bass, such as Tommy Vance, would have added to the tension rather than reduce it. The presenters try to use their famed sense of humour, but most of it seems to fall on the cutting room floor. "Put your faith in a friend" will catch on, "Pick a mate to decide your fate" won't. No-one, but no-one, asks to "phone a friend". A feelgood ending is guaranteed even if the team loses the holiday. For that, and for the broad range of games, this show gets a A-rating. |
fish |
paulo: The problem is that he hasn't shined specially in that role either. Mr. Weaver, you clearly don't understand the long story of triumph and leadership behind Real Madrid's tradition. Here we have a saying: "to be second is a failure", and we believe in it. Like, seriously. nor we're used to fight "only" for a place in Champions' League. That's for losers like, erm, Barcelona. We're used to win, and win big time. These last years have really been identity-shaking for us... [sigh]. |
bye, buffy? |
Angela Bigos: The final nail in the coffin came this weekend, when viewers to ITV in the Midlands were treated to an episode of "That 70s Show" at midnight. According to a friend who watched it, it was just as bad as the UK remake. And speaking of t.v. Probable slot: 6pm Tuesday / 12 noon Sunday from early September. in Entertainment Weekly they clearly said that Willow was going to "explore her sexuality". Things do not look good in Sunnydale. There can be only one response to this minor crisis - open a book on When Will Buffy End? For those preferring to spread bet: All bets to Honest Ron and his out of work jockeys - sorry, betting collection agents. Call direct on 1-800-U-L00SAH #Honest Ron. Honest Ron. The others are a con.# Seriously, though, I reckon the show will begin to run out of steam sooner rather than later, and the acters and writers will want to move on to other projects. Five or six years is a great run, enough for syndication, and allows everyone to leave before the iron stops being hot. my problem is that I feel that they're using Willow, exploiting her for *ratings*- not because they want to show diversity The only thing that holds me back is that this is not entirely out of keeping with Willow's character. Without giving much away, she's never been a Rampant Heterosexual in the way Buffy has been. There's always been a certain reservation about her attachments; not least the safe, unthreatning crush on Xander. The clinching point will be the timing of this. Does it occur during Sweeps? If not, this is no stunt, this is planned and plotted drama. When you see Scully and Mulder finally doing the wild thang, you'll know that cancellation is right around the corner. doesn't it just feel like we're being *hosed* here? Opinions? Friends is looking good for renewal to 2003. These factors may not be coincidence. |
monday tuesday | It was a good day, weatherwise, was Tuesday. Sunny, but with a distinct nip in the air again. Reminded me of being in Toronto - gosh, is it almost a year since that trip? The travel bug is beginning to bite again, but I need a job first. I'm thinking return to Canada for the World Series this October. Middle of October, get my Christmas shopping done cheaply, see some great baseball (hopefully) and Have A Time. To Warwick Uni last night to see My Life Story. It's a band, Chelle, and a dashed good one at that. They may be arty, they may engage in complex wordplay, but that's just my cup of tea. Sadly, not the cup for all the students, as the band attracted a "crowd" of 150. In a hall that would hold about 800. They missed a treat. While there, I bumped into one of the people who spends time at RAW, the university's radio station. If I'm still around over Easter, they'll let me spend some time there. A special Eurosong programme was mentioned, which is right up my boulevard. And, yes, I'll be previewing the event here in a month or so. Children from school are on half term. They're crowding up the streets, and getting underfoot. The parents with pushchairs are even worse, the way they go so slowly and block the pavement. Out of the blinkin' way, you blighters! Ah, obABBA. "Take a Chance On Me." The change of tempo from the chorus, using lots of dotted semi-quavers and quavers # If you change your mind, I'm the first in line ... to the languid, crotchet-and-minim verse # We can go da-ancin' Brilliant. Spotted a real bargain in Smith's reduced books section. "The Guide To The Internet: Updated for '95". With huge sections on WAIS, ARCHIE, Veronica, Gopher and UUTP mail. This slice of ancient history is yours for ten pounds. It was overpriced at the time! Question for you music fans: Cover of "Crying" as a male/female duet. It is not the Roy Orbison / k d lang duet - I'd recognise her tones a mile off, even over AM radio from Belgium. Any ideas? Melanie C on "The Priory". Is this the moment when Mark's prediction comes to fruition, live on the last episode of the Zoe 'n' Jamie show? Not through Theakston's interview, but what about Hannah's question. Her favourite colour of car? What sort of question is that, little miss smart-behind? Cuh. Wasted. Utterly wasted. |
mpeg-tastic | I'm not intending to put a dampner on what is an accurate summary, but to provide a slightly different opinion. The Glittertastic Lauren: MP3s--ah, my new best friend. Basically an MP3 is a full audio version of a song. The size of the file is relatively small, which makes MP3s easy to download and store on your harddrive. The practical upshots of this are two-fold. One, the size of the file is reduced to about 10% of the original. Two, the quality is lower. Listening to an MPEG at computer rates [2, 3] is no substitute for a CD. you can download whole CDs for free. It's great for trying out new bands. If you don't like the song---just delete it. Hope this helps. Really technical footnotes follow. [1] MPEG = Motion Picture Experts Group. The sound layer of their Third Standard is commonly referred to as MP3. It's possible to include pictures - motion or otherwise - with the sound. [2] 128Kbits/sec is a bitrate similar to that of a CD player, but the psychoacoustic compression still applies. [3] SKYdigital includes 40 channels of music, compressed using their non-standard, proprietary technique. There are differences between the CD and SKY sound, but it requires very close listening to detect them. Similarly, the pan-European digital tv standard is also a lot closer to CD quality than is MPEG-3. [4] As chellebelle will agree. |
reasons to be cheerful | 1) It's been a sunny day. 2) This Countdown champion is not much cop. Using my patented three-handed scoring system, I've managed to beat him for the past two nights, and I'm not very good at the letters. Hah! 3) Santana wins lots of Grammies, Birtney and the Muppet go away with hands as empty as their heads. Hah! 4) As Gambo will say tomorrow, the USA has a new number one single. Only it's not Savage Garden, it's Vic and Brendan's theme song, "Amazed". A song I raved about back in August. Hah! 5) Oasis' album launch party was a flop, and they've resorted to attacking Monkey Features purely because he's way more successful than they'll ever be again. Nah-nah-na-nah-nah! 6) I have a job. IT support for one of the teaching support agencies, and it's based in South Birmingham. Looking for a new place to live in the southern end of Britain's Best City will come in a few months, as (hopefully) will a trip to Ireland. Canada in October is looking good, too. Hurrah! |
so who watched..? |
[email protected]: Young women? Really? How? Why? Frankly, this surprises me a lot. Is there a rationale for such a revelation? Or is this information about as accurate as the, erm, audience ratings for MSCL that Nielsen served five years ago? (The source is the same, apparently). And speaking of which... [lowers voice until it reaches "gossip tone"]: anybody saw The Show in Question? What are your comments? Game show lists suggest the presentation was typical game show fare, pre-Millionaire. Which doesn't cut the mustard any more. (From the descriptions published in the spanish newspapers, one might be tempted to mention the Angela Chase quote about "seeing a car accident"...) And there's probably more chance of two of those participants spending a long time together. |
gold cup |
Jamie Morrison: >Still, with an extra two spots in Europe the season after next, >leaves Canada and Trinidad and Tobago (!) to play for the Trinidad are a great team, they'll beat Canada no problem. Would you like me to put those words into alphabetti spaghetti, so you can eat them? (: And why are you glad I think Mexico aren't good? Have you something against them? :) what the hell happened to USA? And El Salvador, the famous football warring nation? Btw, you're right, that result is pretty surprising. :) Just in case you thought I'd died. :) |
what's the point? |
Bikki!: * To discuss the television series "My So-Called Life" (Bedford Falls Productions for ABC (USA), 1994-5) and matters arising. * To promote and encourage diversity of thought and well-argued opinion, a hallmark of MSCL. Notes: + The content of the list is generally suitable for all age groups. + Posters are encouraged to give appropriate warning of matters that may not be appropriate for all readers. + "Matters arising" is interpreted in a very broad sense, including reflections on popular and highbrow culture, as well as existential and reality-based reflections on contemporary life as it is lived. |
footy talk |
Jamie Morrison: >the tough competition of the We're Not In Kansas Any More Cup. Was it Slovenia or Slovakia that qualified? Or neither? God, how I hope England are knocked out early on if they even do slightly well (if I hear the words '1966' one more time, someone's gonna pay) I can't titter at Peru, not since.....*gulp* THAT happened. Set your mind back to a romantic Scottish world cup campaign...... Exactly! That's what I'm talking about, perspective! Of course, before that match my wise words were 'Inverness Caledonian Thistle are a great team, they'll beat Celtic no problem'. You win some, you lose some. :) Two days ago, I wrote this: Never mind. Losing 2-0 in the final is no disgrace, and at least none of your players put through his own goal. Still, losing the game isn't going to play too well in Bogota. Full coverage of the end of the world will be shown on CTV Sports every time there's nothing else happening for the next ten years, or until the Canadian soccer side next wins something significant. |
happy birthday, Ulrike! | With Ulrike's fifth birthday (it is your fifth, isn't it:) looming tomorrow, this story from The Times caught my eye. A grandfather will fulfil a lifetime's ambition tomorrow by holding his 21st birthday party. He just hopes that his Oxford University friends remember the invitations he issued more than 60 years ago. Martin Grundy was born on February 29, 1916. As a law student in 1937, he celebrated an informal 21st with a few drinks on February 28, and told undergraduates to come to a party in 2000. "I couldn't have had a proper party, it wouldn't have been right," said Mr Grundy, now a retired solicitor in Exeter. "I told them all to wait until 2000." Ever since, he has been telling friends and acquaintances to meet him at the porter's lodge at Corpus Christi College on February 29, 2000. His original plan to celebrate in college was scuppered when he realised he no longer knew how many guests to expect. He could specify only "somewhere between ten to 100." Instead, he will host a budget supper at the Oxford Union for an estimated 40 to 50 guests. He expects some to come from as far afield as Belgrade, New York and New Zealand. Mr Grundy placed a reminder in his college newsletter, but kept it cryptic to avoid gatecrashers. It stated simply that an anonymous law student wished to remind people of his deferred celebration on February 29, 2000. He said, "I have waited long enough. We are going to have a good time." |
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