Rhymes With Porridge

Music to watch spools by

daithi — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 23:18:16 +0000

Mistabishi - Printer Jam.

And just after I run out of toner, too. Perfect.

Rock over London, Rock on Chicago!

daithi — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 19:14:34 +0000

I appreciate that by publishing this post, I may be playing into the hands of a clever viral marketing strategy, but I’m prepared to take that risk.

Microsoft Songsmith scares me. Lots. I’m glad that someone else has pointed out (in the comments here) that this lives up to the ideas of the great prophet that was Wesley Willis, as that’s just how I feel about it. The software, developed as a project by staff at Microsoft Research, allows (nay, encourages) the user to sing some sort of a melody, to which various types of backing tracks are added. Due in part to an unusual advertisement (featuring the apparently straightfaced line, “Microsoft, huh? So it’s pretty easy to use?“), which the New York Times assesses today with help from Susan Sontag’s Notes on Camp (!), it is attracting a lot of attention. Not least from Graham Linehan, who points out the similarities between it and Trapped In The Closet (the world-renowned hip-hopera). Me, I particularly like the fact that front and centre in the ad is a MacBook - with a sticker over the Apple logo. And it’s a Windows-only product. (Yes yes, Macs run Windows too. I know).

The icing on the cake, though, is the quickly-developing meme of taking the raw lyrics-and-tune of a song and using that as the input, and seeing what terror emerges. So for example, we have the Songsmith-assisted Creep and Hotel California. Yikes.

More: Jack Schofield of the Guardian, Robert Scoble’s video demo, the original news article from Seattle, Ars Technica’s review.

Do it do it do it do it do it do it do it now

daithi — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 09:00:43 +0000

I wants me a Tenori-On. Little on the expensive side though.

In the video: BBC ‘Sound of 2009‘ (and author of a thesis on Jamie Cullum), Little Boots (myspace).

Books of 2008

daithi — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 09:00:12 +0000

Happy new year!

With thanks to LibraryThing, where I’m still working on my catalogue, here are the (non-law, non-media, non-thesis-related) books, from my own collection rather than real libraries, that I have read since New Year’s Day 2008.

Click for a bigger picture. Those interested in the full bibliographic information can find it here.

Zero multiplied by PR is…

daithi — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 21:00:55 +0000

…journalism, apparently.

Ben Goldacre’s Bad Science column in the Guardian is usually entertaining, but this weekend’s column is a genuine LOL. He highlights this article from The Sun, drawing upon the ‘research’ of author (and chess player) William Hartston. Now given Harston’s background I can only assume that he has either been misrepresented or was offered a lorra lorra cash by Britain’s silliest newspaper.

Anyway, as Goldacre has followed for some time, one of the easiest ways to get your PR ’story’ into the paper is to come up with some sort of daft formula. It’s certainly not science journalism but it’s not as dangerous, perhaps, as some of the other things that he has exposed. However, this story is deserving of particular attention, as the supposed ‘formula’ is a special one:

O=NP(20C+B)/75 (where O is the ‘naughtiness rating’, N is the ‘number of nipples exposed’, P is the ‘percentage of exposed frontal surface area’, C is cup size and B is bust size)

Applying this formula to someone known as Britney Spears, we get (according to the Sun and Mr. Harston):

O = 0×70x(20×5+32)/75 = 123.2

Hopefully you’ll have figured out what is wrong. If not, read on at Ben Goldacre’s Bad Science site, and shed a tear for the future of maths. And journalism, too, while you’re at it!

God Save The Mashup

daithi — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 17:19:38 +0000

Thanks, b3ta.com.

The Barristers: An Update

daithi — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 23:59:21 +0000

Earlier this ‘fall’, I previewed the BBC series, The Barristers. Three episodes have now been broadcast, so it’s about time for an update. My biggest criticism would have been the almost painful reluctance to take a critical perspective on the bar and on the English legal system. I’m not suggesting that there would be a polemical focus on the evils and injustices of the law - but so much was presented, particularly in terms of traditions (and some very small scholarships) without even an eyebrow being raised. However, in the third episode, one of the themes was the direct employment of counsel by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), and there was at least some attempt there to get different perspectives on what is a genuine issue of controversy. Overall, I don’t think we’re getting to see all that much that is new (cameras in robing rooms - phwoar) and it does all seem quite cozy. The student perspectives are interesting (and the students selected across demographic lines), but I’ve actually found the other elements on the business of the courts and the organisation of chambers a bit more informative. On a side note: it would have been nice to look at Scotland too, surely the BBC could have managed to do it all in one series - especially given that the series is broadcast on BBC Scotland too…?

Much more detailed (and infintely more entertaining) reviews are available from the actual barrister over at Geeklawyer (Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 3), the I’m-not-really-a-QC Charon QC (Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 3) and BVC student (who charmingly links to me as a Grown-Up) Barboy (Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 3).

(Officially) UK users only: watch the episodes here on BBC iPlayer.

Books of the Year

daithi — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 14:57:41 +0000

One of my favourite things about December is how it encourages newspapers and others to put together listings of books of the year - I always find a few things that I have missed along the way. I’m less enthused by the ‘pick 50 celebrities and author (and celebrity authors) and ask them to name their favourite’, those articles tend to be long and repetitive and basically hard to digest, though the one from the Times Literary Supplement below is an example of how to do that format properly - interesting people saying interesting things and not too many of them!

Seen so far:

TLS Books of the Year
Book Covers of the Year (Book Design Review)
100 Notable Books of 2008 (New York Times) (with links to the reviews - thank you!)

Feel free to add your own in the comments.

Ztar power

daithi — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 15:00:58 +0000

In a year where Guitar Hero is making (sound) waves, let us not forget that a guitar-with-buttons is something that has been around for a while. While we can skip over the Top Of The Pops-style synths-with-straps, the various MIDI guitars have led to the Ztar, a cool (if ridiculously expensive) piece of equipment deployed to great effect on last week’s Later with Jools Holland by Pendulum. Check it out.

(I can’t actually play guitar so if you’re a guitar purist and think this is the greatest travesty since Dylan went electric, I’m sorry for your troubles).

Some wry (and in one case) critical comments here and here. And yes, that is Al Green clapping along.

The start of the ‘holiday season’

daithi — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 19:49:54 +0000

I have a particular personal marker that has nothing to do with other feasts or trees or decorations - it’s the return of Xmas In Frisco, an utterly off-the-wall web radio service from SomaFM that runs for about a month a year, full of alternative takes on the season of joy (as well as some familiar Christmas and holiday favourites). I’ve listened to it each December since 2002. This year, it has started a few weeks earlier than usual (as explained by the producers here) - while normally I’d complain about such a signpost being changed, it’s impossible to say a bad word about this channel. (The channel does contain many bad words though - don’t say I didn’t warn you).

For a sample of the kind of stuff that they play, see the constantly-updated live playlist - and of course, click here to listen. And if you haven’t already done so, have a look at the list of other (year-round) channels here. SomaFM is web-only, has no ads and is listener-supported. Support them here.