RIP Anthony Minghella

News of the release of the "Nr 1 Ladies Detective Agency" has been hit by the sudden death of director Anthony Minghella today. (news)

I am sure that his final work, due to screen this Easter, will be a tribute to him.

World Book Day - Blogs

Some students have photographs relating to World Book Day. Some were taken in the library. It has books. And people trying to read the books. Some students went and bought books in the charity shops to photograph.

• The Swales
• Becca
• Dil, post one and two
• Mikey
• Shaun

Others will be posting to their blogs later, but these folk have photos accessible now. Well done.

Sadly, Amanda has some photos loaded but I just can't access them except through Google Reader.

World Book Day

It is World Book Day today. Books are great. They contain knowledge, experience, humour, scary moments, and get your brain to work. The more media that is provided for you, the less your brain has to process. Books give you words. Your brain has to provide the rest. Television gives you sights and sounds, words and pacing, your brain just has to provide ... well, hardly anything.

Lots of fun stuff on the official site: http://www.worldbookday.com/

Free books, and free audio books at: http://www.gutenberg.org

Pods and Blogs

Pods and Blogs on Radio 5. First time listener. Show link.

Hmm - not sure why an American voice introduces the show.

Film piracy, as the recent mooted desire of the film companies to lock people off the Net for piracy. I wonder if that includes YouTube/Google? No, of course it doesn't - they are trying hard to lock down illegal posts to their site.

Interesting investigative piece by a blogger, who is then interviewed for the radio, which I'm listening to via a podcast. Strangely it is still headed as "Radio 5 Live".

7-year blogger, Neil Gaiman, is giving away a book on his site. Yup, that guy. 2 of his books/graphic novels have been made into movies recently. Interesting thoughts on how people "discover" authors. Discussion what he gets out of blogging: immediacy with readers. 16,000 votes on his site in 24 hours. Great Douglas Adams quote about books and sharks - the reason sharks are still around is that there's nothing as good as being a shark as a shark - the same is true of books. I miss Douglas Adams, he was an inspiration.

Beagle Bloggers - Charles Darwin's 200th next year. Or is it a figment of intelligent design?

Food blogs. football club podcast.

Nipped across to Radio 4's iPM show to see if there were similarities. I'm going to have to listen to the earlier shows.

And The Clocks Were Striking Thirteen

It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.

And so starts George Orwell's "1984".

On each landing, opposite the lift-shaft, the poster with the enormous face gazed from the wall. It was one of those pictures which are so contrived that the eyes follow you about when you move. BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU, the caption beneath it ran.

Orwell was writing it exactly 60 years ago this year, and it was published in 1949.The book is as apt today as it was when I read it in 1984.

He had been appointed to a sub-committee of a sub-committee which had sprouted from one of the innumerable committees dealing with minor difficulties that arose in the compilation of the Eleventh Edition of the Newspeak Dictionary. They were engaged in producing something called an Interim Report, but what it was that they were reporting on he had never definitely found out. It was something to do with the question of whether commas should be placed inside brackets, or outside.

Following links from Wikipedia, there are copies from Australia and cartoon versions, even a radio play from 1949. I must re-read it before April this year. There was a good series on BBC2 recently about British Science Fiction. I think it came originally from BBC4. I used to read a lot of early sci-fi when I was travelling to/from school on the bus, but I think it was American early and "golden years" stories. Unlike tv programmes and fleeting media, I find that reading things stays more in my brain. But I'm sure that's just a sign of my age. But then again, what's the point in remembering tv programmes if you can't give a copy of the documentary to a mate - but you can point them to a book, or a film. We are losing information into the aether of marginal tv channels where the makers can generate extra revenue in the hope that we, the public, will follow. If the data is out there and we can't find it, then it might as well not exist and we should call the fire brigade.

There was a whole chain of separate departments dealing with proletarian literature, music, drama, and entertainment generally. Here were produced rubbishy newspapers containing almost nothing except sport, crime and astrology, sensational five-cent novelettes, films oozing with sex, and sentimental songs which were composed entirely by mechanical means

If you've never read the book, go to the library and get it. Go to a bookshop and buy it (maybe even from one of these cheap shops or charity shops). Or read the linked file text from Wikipedia. You won't regret it. Or you can get back to your entertainment, being happily advertised as "brain-dead tv".

Could you pass the UK test?

People who wish to obtain British citizenship have to pass a "Life in the UK" test. Could you pass? Here's a site that offers free practice tests.

There is additional background information on the official Home Office "Life in the UK" test site.

Oops, I only scored 76% - maybe I should have done some revising first.

Just checked, and the notes say "You must answer 18 out of 24 questions correctly (75%) in order to pass the test". Huzzah, I'm still British. Just.

Other practice sites are available, as well as the official revision book: "Life in the United Kingdom: A Journey to Citizenship" (current versions available from TSO, and elsewhere). Check out a copy from the College libraries. Looks like I'll have to read a copy to brush up on the missing 24% of my Britishness.

RW Photoshop

Got a couple of photography books for Christmas, and when looking for info on Scott Kelby's "7-point system for Adobe Photoshop" (link), I found this blog:

Forensic Photoshop

An on-going discussion of the forensic uses of Adobe's Photoshop. Forensic Photoshop includes tips, how-tos, step-by-steps, and advanced techniques for using Photoshop in a forensic workflow.

Author

Jim Hoerricks is the Senior Forensic Video Analyst for the Los Angeles Police Department, a Photoshop Instructor, an Author, and a court qualified expert witness in Forensic Video Analysis.

forensicphotoshop.blogspot.com

A lot of interesting reading, for example:

Rules of engagement for using Photoshop?

When it's ready, I wonder if we can get his book for the library?

The Moon's a Balloon

Do you like Kipling?

Can Mr JLB Matekoni Fix It?

Sadly, the news from Botswana is that the Nr 1 Ladies Detective Agency will not be ready for showing until Easter. Source. Although the BBC press release says Winter 2008. An article from the BBC News on the 4th of December said it was going to be a Winter highlight.

Perhaps we can commission Mma Ramotswe to find the answer to the mystery? Or Moo Moo Ramotswe? [plaque]

Previous post

Odiogo Stats for November

I received an email from Odiogo with the download stats for November. 38 downloads. I think that is me as I have set up iTunes to download the feed as an experiment.

Launch post

Listen to individual posts

Try this festive reading to see how it sounds via Odiogo, from Charles Dickens "A Christmas Carol" via Project Gutenberg:

The door of Scrooge's counting-house was open, that he might keep his eye upon his clerk, who in a dismal little cell beyond, a sort of tank, was copying letters. Scrooge had a very small fire, but the clerk's fire was so very much smaller that it looked like one coal. But he couldn't replenish it, for Scrooge kept the coal-box in his own room; and so surely as the clerk came in with the shovel, the master predicted that it would be necessary for them to part. Wherefore the clerk put on his white comforter, and tried to warm himself at the candle; in which effort, not being a man of strong imagination, he failed.

"A merry Christmas, uncle! God save you!" cried a cheerful voice. It was the voice of Scrooge's nephew, who came upon him so quickly that this was the first intimation he had of his approach.

"Bah!" said Scrooge. "Humbug!"

He had so heated himself with rapid walking in the fog and frost, this nephew of Scrooge's, that he was all in a glow; his face was ruddy and handsome; his eyes sparkled, and his breath smoked again.

"Christmas a humbug, uncle!" said Scrooge's nephew. "You don't mean that, I am sure?"

"I do," said Scrooge. "Merry Christmas! What right have you to be merry? What reason have you to be merry? You're poor enough."

"Come, then," returned the nephew gaily. "What right have you to be dismal? What reason have you to be morose? You're rich enough."

Scrooge, having no better answer ready on the spur of the moment, said, "Bah!" again; and followed it up with "Humbug!"

Library Sale

Message up on the College intranet from Malcolm Smith:

To make space for new books, some older editions are available for sale.

• Paperbacks are 20p each
• Hardbacks are 40p each
• Journals are 10p per issue
• Textbooks and ACCA texts are included

I know where I'll be going at lunchtime. They'll make ideal (and cheap) Christmas presents for workmates too. Books are great. Sadly I can't learn by osmosis, and either read them, skim through them, or have them available to read/skim later. I'm envious of people who can read rapidly. I take ages to read books, as I like to get as much knowledge/entertainment/flavour from them as I can.

Good news, ra

Alexander McCall Smith's book, The No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency, is being filmed by Anthony Minghella from a script he co-wrote with Richard Curtis.

It stars Jill Scott as Mma Ramotswe, Lucian Msamati as Mr J. L. B. Matekoni and Anika Noni Rose as Mma Makutsi. Cast list.

The film will air on the BBC during Christmas 2007.

I feel the urge for a cup of red bush tea.

--

Trivia: This is the first motion picture filmed entirely in Botswana.

The film's producers have signed a 10 year lease for the area at the foot of Kgale Hill, Gaborone, where they have built the fictional shopping centre where Precious Ramotswe opens her storefront detective agency.

--

Links to the book author's site: http://www.alexandermccallsmith.co.uk/Pages/TheNo1Film.aspx

Library Book: Bryan Peterson

Just finished "Learning to see Creatively" by Bryan Peterson, out of the Gallowgate library. The book is subtitled "How to compose great photographs". Although almost 20 years old now, the book is timeless. Something that some people seem to forget, is that whatever technology you are using, the story that you are telling is important.

If you are writing, you want to do your best to put your message across. If you are using graphics, you want to work to the best of your abilities to communicate your message. With audio, you want to use your sounds, voice, instruments to communicate the desired message. Why accept mediocrity - if you don't care about your work, do you think anyone else will?

As you look through the book, Peterson discusses how he improved his work (e.g. p84/5), shows different techniques and lets you choose (e.g. p94/5). Admits that some techniques are for "who cares" moments (p120), and that without proper planning, you can end up in a valley that doesn't catch the sunset that you went there to photograph (p126).

One lesson directly learnt for me was Sunday morning's photographs of the "Painted Lady" - once I saw what the sunlight was like, I grabbed my camera. The effects might not have been spectacular, but at least it shows that I'm alive, and trying to improve on my skills.

Contents:

• Expanding your vision with lenses - wide-angle, normal, telephoto, macro & closeup lenses.
• Elements of design - line, shape, form, texture, pattern.
• Composing strong photographs - filling the frame, defining the horizon, vertical vs horizontal, skewing the PoV, framing the image, silhouetting the subject, breaking the rules.
• Understanding your exposure options - shutter speed, aperture.
• The magic of available light - shooting from dawn to dusk, the advantage of overcast.