Gilberto Gil almost naked in a photo by the British newspaper The Observer about “A decade of music in pictures”. Another photo about The Darkness.

Cohen. The video of  Leonard Cohen’s In My Secret Life. Please see also below and you can vote Cohen, Gilberto Gil and Huey Lewis & The News or other singers at the end of this text.

Cole. ITV’s music show X Factor, Simon Cowell and Cheryl Cole. Is she your best singer? Please see below, for TV listings too. TV guide for Xtra Factor on ITV2 till Thursday, December 31.

25.11.09 - Beyoncé. For everybody in the States who likes Beyoncé. She will be on tv on abc tomorrow on Thanksgiving night, Thursday November 26, at 9 pm. Just a question for you. Where and how is the Encore Theater in Wynn, Las Vegas? And do you like I Am Yours?

01.11.09 TV channel listings in the UK… EMAs Contenders on MTV on Wednesday, November 4, at 4 pm… The contenders for the category Best Song are ‘Halo’ by Beyoncé, ‘I Gotta Feeling’ by Black Eyed Peas, ‘When Loves Takes Over’ by David Guetta and Kelly Rowland, ‘Use Somebody’ by Kings of Leon and ‘Pokerface’ by Lady Gaga.

- Voting for my blog has no time. Please see below…

There are also The Official UK Top 10 and Top 40 on VH1 respectively at 6 and 7 pm, The Official UK Top 20 at 5 pm on MTV Hits, The Official Top 10 Rock Chart at 5 pm on MTV Two, Never Mind the Classics and Bon Jovi Are Back! respectively at 5 and 7 pm on VH1 Classics.

04.11.09 Compliments to Beyoncé for her two Mobo Awards in Glasgow last September…

02.09.09 Mudvayne will be on Wednesday, September the 2nd, in Mesa, Arizona, at the Mesa Amphitheatre.

02.04.09 Great… The famous songwriter Leonard Cohen will be in Austin, Texas, on April 2nd, at the Michael and Susan Dell Hall at Long Centre. His next tour dates wil be on April 19 in Vancouver at the GM Place and on April 21 in Victoria at the Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre. Cohen will also sing in Washington at the WaMu Theatre on the 22nd and then he will return to Canada where he will be to the Rexall Place of Edmonton on the 25th and at Calgary on the 26th at the Jack Singer Concert Hall. The last dates of April will be in Saskatoon at the Credit Union Centre and in Winnipeg at the MTS Centre respectively on April 28 and 30.

Have a nice time if you will be there and please feel free to ask if you would like to know about other dates… Furthermore, here there are other tour dates of Huey Lewis and The News, the EMF and the Kings of Leon.

- LambdaDivers

Lewis and the group. New tour dates for Huey Lewis & The News from this April to September 2009. The group will be on April, 4 in the USA at Pullman, in the State of Washington. They will play at the “Beasley Performing Arts” at the Washington State University and more dates will follow from June 10. For other dates please go on with reading my blog in the next months or please feel free to contact me if I forget to update this text.

- Huey Lewis & The News, I Want A New Drug

The EMF. From Huey Lewis and The News to the EMF, the British band famous for the hit “Unbelievable”. They will play at a festival – the Secret Garden Party – in Huntingdon on Sunday, 26 July. Maybe you just know it, but I felt surprised to know that Huntingdon is a British town in Cambridgeshire, East Anglia, and it is the birth place of Oliver Cromwell, the famous historical figure and politician of the 17th century.

The Kings and the EMF. But let’s turn to the music again and before Lewis and the News and the EMF, there is another group on the stage, the Kings of Leon, who will be tomorrow in Holland – Amsterdam – at the MHM venue and on 23 and 26 in Germany, respectively in Berlin and Cologne (at the Columbiahalle and The Palladium). In March they will be in Australia and New Zealand and in the next months in Canada, the USA, the UK, Ireland and Spain.

In April they will be at the Agganis Arena of Boston for two days on 18 and 19 and at the Air Canada Centre of Toronto, in Canada, on 21. Then they will return to the States at the Palumbo of Pittsburgh one day later and at the Patriot Center of Fairfax three days later. In the last four dates of the month the tour will reach the Spectrum of Philadelphia, the Constant Convocation Centre of Norfolk, the Koka Booth Amphitheatre of Raleigh and the Bojangles’ Coliseum of Charlotte respectively on April 25, 27, 28 and 30.

- “Flowers & Football Tops” by the Glasvegas

- Your favourite travel destination (please vote)

- Which is your best song? (please vote)

Opera, an European browser, and Mozilla, Linux and Apple

Spreadthesign, the sign language dictionary. European Commission – Education & Training

Vanilla icecream, Vanilla Toffee Crunch and Chunky Monkey

Vanilla Bean, Strawberries & Cream, Double Chocolate, Mango & Passion Fruit Madness, Lemon Meringue, Cappuccino and Sticky Toffee Fudge

Mango & Banana Smoothie, Banana & Strawberry Smoothie, Frozen Yogurt, Cappuccino and Chocolate Icecream

Friday February 20, 2009

updated on Thursday December 24, 2009

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The website of Madagascar National Tourism Board.

22.11.09 Have you ever travelled to Thailand and Bangkok? Would you like to travel there? Please see below as well.

Italian… “Agriturismi” in Italy?Here there is an article by The Observer about Castellabate, the Cilento national park not very far from Naples, fried fresh anchovies with bread, olives and tomatoes and linguine with baby squid and broad beans. Should I write more about “agriturismi”? I am really addressing this question to tourists, and not to tourist operators…

Central America and Asia. Have you ever been to Cancun in Mexico or Thailand? And maybe from Sweden? Which are the flights? And where have you been?

September in Spain from the UK? In Sitges? Do you know salsa music? Or maybe do you like to eat in tapas restaurants?

Again Italy. Do you like whales or dolphins in the Ligurian Sea or maybe Basilicata with southern Apennines and “bread from bakeries in Matera, wine from Aglianico and cheese from the mountains”? And do you like this list by The Observer?

An island. Sardinia’s Supramonte Mountains and plateau, Sorgente Su Gologone and the Lanaittu Valley or a Nuraghic village. Any help needed by the Association for Tourist Services, Culture and Environment in Orgosolo or the Agrituristica Guthiddai? Would you like to taste boiled sheep, roasted pork, bread and salami or cheese, local wine and olive oil?

Going on with food, would you feel like eating almonds, carob, olive, pistachio and walnut trees? In Can Marti – Ibiza, Spain, with Swiss owners… Furthermore there is “homemade bread with local jam and honey”…

Spain and France. And what about Cortes de la Frontera in Spain and a lot of place in France like Béziers, the Languedoc, the Canal du Midi and Carcassonne? Or the vineyards of Minervois, Ventenac and the Cathar castle at Lastours? A wind farm there…

- A gay naturist retreat in Burgundy by Citronniers with a price of 80 euros per night per person with a 3-course evening meal, full English breakfast, lunch and all drinks included.

Marche. And would you like mountains’ cycling holidays in Alpujarras, Spain, as the second page of the article offers? Or an agriturismo in Le Marche, Italy? Here more information…

Cycling and eating. Do you know the village of Bérchules and the Alpujarras? And the Sierra Nevada above Granada and the Mulhacén in Spain? Do you like mountains’ cycling and picnicking? You should pay 630 euros a week.

Farming. A country house and organically run farm in Le Marche, Italy… What? A five-course evening meal?! Incredible… And “heating is solar-powered and there’s a wood-fired stove fuelled by coppicing from the farm woods”. Plus truffle-hunting not very far from Rimini, Urbino and Ancona. Doubles from €110 including breakfast.

In… Do you know where the tropical Ssese’s Islands are? If you would like to know it, please see this reportage by Richard Eilers for The Observer… Sands, forest walks, a lake, fried tilapia, above all the rapids and Bob Marley… And, moreover, as for names, Kampala, the MS Kalangala from Entebbe to Bugala, Lutoboka, Kibale Forest national park and the Bassese and, as for animals, gorillas and chimpanzees…

And do you know what mzungu means, who Idi Amin is and where Jinja and the Bujagali Falls are? Clues for my question are the Nile and the lakes Nyinambuga and Victoria… Last, but not least, have you ever been to the Ssese Islands Beach Hotel, the Haven, the Ndali Lodge and to the Gately on Nile? Have you ever met South Africans or Americans?

Aircraft. You can fly to Entebbe from Brussels with Brussels Airlines on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from 10.40 to 19.35; from Amsterdam and from London Heathrow to Entebbe  with KLM. Among the other national parks in Uganda there would be the Bwindi Impenetrable national park in the south-west, Murchison Falls and Queen Elizabeth national parks and “the Foreign Office advises against travel to the Karamoja region, in the north-east”.

Difficult situation for… Less tourists in Ireland with visitors from Britain down by 22.8 per cent or from other parts of Europe by 20 per cent. Sad situation, but let’s hope…

Southern Italy. What follows is not an ad and I know my readers should be very intelligent. So I add this link to a project for 122 two and three bed villas and townhouses near Sciacca, Sicily, Italy.

Northern and Central Italy. Do you like Castel Fidardo, near Ancona? And Vicobarone Ziano Piacentino, near Piacenza in Emilia Romagna?

- Brindando.com

- Poderecasale.com

- Photos of ostriches…

- Sheeps and a wolf – a cartoon in the website of Reader’s Digest

A particular snail – Caterpillar Gazing in RD.com

- Your favourite travel destination – A poll

Opera, an European browser, and Mozilla, Linux and Apple

Tuesday July 14, 2009

updated on Wednesday December 23, 2009

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What do you think of Keith Jarrett’s Testament by ECM? Can you hear a wide arc of expression, as “that old Jarrett magic forges majestically on”? And do you like the composition London December 1 2008?

Paris’s Salle Pleyel and London’s Royal Festival Hall… Please take also into consideration that you may vote Keith Jarrett below by adding one of his compositions. Thank you.

The Observer: Brad Mehldau and “the commercial mainstream with Keith Jarrett“

Opera, an European browser, and Mozilla, Linux and Apple

Spreadthesign, the sign language dictionary. European Commission – Education & Training

- Your favourite travel destination – A poll

- Which is your best song? (please vote)

Vanilla icecream, Vanilla Toffee Crunch and Chunky Monkey

Vanilla Bean, Strawberries & Cream, Double Chocolate, Mango & Passion Fruit Madness, Lemon Meringue, Cappuccino and Sticky Toffee Fudge

Mango & Banana Smoothie, Banana & Strawberry Smoothie, Frozen Yogurt, Cappuccino and Chocolate Icecream

Saturday October 3, 2009

updated on Wednesday November 25, 2009

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From the Fifa.com website earlier this week:

“Fifa President Joseph S. Blatter is using the FIFA World Cup™ qualifying matches to urge footballers around the world to show ‘More fair play, please!’ Blatter said: ‘Fair play should come before anything else … These qualifying matches must epitomise fair play. They should encapsulate the sporting, moral and ethical principles for which Fifa has always stood. And they must leave a lasting impression!”

Ho, ho, ho …

Hat tip: Said & Done, The Observer

COMING SOON: Sieg Heil! FIFA on ‘the Jewish referee problem’.

Giles Richards reviews The Rebel Tours in today’s Observer.

It is shameful and immodest to go into details but what else are blogs for? He writes:

Distasteful, unpleasant and a stain on cricket’s reputation as the tours were, it’s absolutely right that Peter May’s book ensures they are not forgotten … a book which is fascinating, well-written and an essential addition to cricketing literature.

Read the full review here.

On Wednesday November 18 I was chosen to be a part of a promo for Fox’s TV show “Fringe.” The November 19 episode featured characters called “The Observers”. These characters are aliens taking the form of hairless white males. A local talent agency hired myself and 11 other white men with shaved heads to walk the streets of downtown Atlanta, observe people (as the characters in the show do) and hand out promotional materials. We made our way towards the Underground. Upon arrival we took positions and began “observing the surroundings. There must have been around 100-200 black individuals loitering in the area. Then the racial slurs began. We called “white MF’s, bitches, and other vulgar names. An Underground security guard approached us (who happened to be black) and told us to leave or we would be arrested. At this time we were not on Underground property, but the public sidewalks. He said we could not stand around. We asked why we had to leave, but the blacks who were yelling racial slurs at us were allowed to stay. He said we were creating a “hostile environment” yet none of us talked because that was part of playing the character–it was a non speaking role. I have never in all my 46 years ever experienced racial hatred towards me, nor have I ever vented it towards any race. We were simply promoting a TV show yet we were stereotyped and hated by people who are supposed to be the victims of racism. This blog is to inform you that racism is alive and well living in downtown Atlanta and the racists aren’t who you think they are. I doubt no one will care about this incident  because what happened to me is not considered “racism”. Why? Because I am white–and I don’t count!

Fringe: Season 2: Episode 8: “August”

The restaurant runs out of chili peppers.

There’s more than one of everything – even Observers! This episode was refreshingly easy to watch.

This episode is debunked at Popular Mechanics and Polite Dissent, and you can read more about it at Fox, IMDb and the A.V. Club.

Random thoughts

That would have to be one of the most expensive security cameras in the world to be able to show the flight of a bullet. We can have a think about what would actually be required with a back-of-the-envelope calculation:

At the slower end, a handgun bullet might travel at 300 m s^-1 (just under the speed of sound), and the horizontal distance covered by the camera when Astrid was clicking through video frames was about a metre (based on the size of August’s arm). The bullet travelled about 60 % of the distance, or 0.6 m, in three frames and so we can conclude that each frame lasted for about 0.00067 s, which is 1500 frames per second. By way of comparison, video cameras generally capture around 30 fps.

Once again we can see some old-school communication equipment; this time a dot matrix printer. I posit (Walterism) that communication between the two worlds is only possible with equipment that existed before the event that caused them to diverge. It therefore looks like the two timelines separated in the 1980s, right when Walter was retrieving Peter.

This is bordering on the obsessive, but if Flight 821 went down two hours out of Rome then it could not have been off the Italian coast and was probably not in the Atlantic Ocean. Either it was two hours away and in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Spain or Portugal (or possibly France), or it was in the Mediterranean Sea (or even the Tyrrhenian Sea – technically these are within the Atlantic Ocean, but they are always referred to by their localised names) and closer than two hours to Rome.

The photographs and paintings of The Observer at key points in history reminded me a little of James in 12 Monkeys (he’s shown in a WWI trench). Perhaps it’s also how J. Robert Oppenheimer got the idea for his hat.

As is fairly common knowledge, screw-on silencers (or, more correctly, suppressors) do not “silence” bullets very much at all.

The Lewis Code

We are treated to another chemistry-inspired code this week, this time to do with the Lewis structure of atoms. However, like the code in Earthling it’s pretty much impossible to decipher.

Different atoms have different numbers of electrons, and this is one of the ways we can tell different atoms apart (it’s called the atomic number). However, the Lewis bonding model is all about electrons in the outer shell of an atom (the valence electrons), which are not so unique. Each atom in a group (a vertical column in the periodic table) has the same number of valence electrons as the other atoms in the group – this is one of the reasons why those atoms have similar properties. This means that for every dot diagram that Walter noted, there would be at least four elements that it could match (and possibly six, depending on the group in question).

Walter's Lewis structure code.

Firstly, Astrid’s code-cracking program would have picked up on some of the repeated symbols – for example, “7″, “As” and “N” are the same. Secondly, the numbers in the address do not seem to correspond to the number of electrons. It seems to be (number of electrons)+2 except in the case of “2″, though how Walter would know this is beyond me (perhaps there isn’t a 2536 Hastings). Thirdly, as I mentioned above, each symbol can represent different atoms (this is illustrated in the code with “As”/”N” and “Ti”/”Ge”). Walter would have found the address with a lot of trial and error, and could easily have gone to the wrong place – for example, by taking other elements in the same groups, we could make vaguely plausible names like “Kassipsis” (K-As-Si-P-Si-S).

A less ambiguous code?

On top of all that, titanium (Ti) is a transition metal and has partially filled d-orbitals. We do not normally describe transition elements using Lewis structures, as they tend to break the rules – this is one of the reasons why the Lewis model is not used very much in modern chemistry. Titanium does have four valence electrons, but it would be unlikely to come to mind from a Lewis four-electron diagram (though perhaps Walter thinks in unconventional ways).

In order to make the code clearer, there would have to be some method of either identifying the correct period (row), or identifying the number of electron sub-shells underneath the valence shell (though of course this would also make it easier for someone else to decipher). I propose a second symbol (inside the large circle) to identify the electron shell that is being filled, and more dots to identify the correct period. Thus an empty circle would be interpreted as a number, a second circle (s-orbital) as groups I and II, a looped cross (d-orbital) as groups III-XII and a figure of eight (p-orbital) as groups XIII-XVII. The code would then look like the second diagram on the left – more complex but unambiguous.

For background information on this topic, see the primer on atomic structure.

Sports journalism - the saviour?

By Myles Edwards and Suhayl Afzal

Newspapers are relying heavily on sports journalism to survive, according to leading journalists and academics.

The latest circulation figures from ABC (an independent auditor on media performance) show that sales of each quality daily and Sunday newspaper have fallen again in the year leading up to October.

Newspapers such as the The Guardian and The Observer have already ceased distribution of bulks (copies that readers can pick up free of charge from hotels and airlines), with the Times and the Sunday Times set to follow suit in January 2010.

The Sunday Times recorded a relatively low fall in circulation compared to that of other national newspapers, with a 3.37 percent drop in the past 12 months. This is partly down to the popularity of its comprehensive sports section.

Jonathan Northcroft, Football Correspondent with the Sunday Times, believes that sport is integral to the future of newspapers.

He said: “There has never been a greater interest in top end sport than there is right now. The Premier League is the most popular in the world, Test Cricket grosses more money than ever before and it’s the same for all the blue riband events such as the Olympics and Wimbledon.”

Barclays Premier League - global audience

Mr Northcroft emphasised the importance of newspapers maintaining their high quality so that readership does not drop any further.

He added: ”Sports journalism is delivering in a sector where people really want to consume content and will pay for exclusive news or to read a brilliantly written opinion piece.”

It could be argued that newspapers should not be overly dependant on sport in this difficult time for the media due to advertising downturns. The high profile demise of Setanta in the UK is evidence of this view.

However, Mark Ogden, Northern Football Correspondent with the Telegraph said: “Newspapers still have the greatest impact and set the agenda.

“If you watch Sky Sports News or listen to Five Live in the morning, their sports bulletins are often led by the big stories in that day’s newspapers.”

Academics also recognise the importance of the sport to the success of print media.

Michael Oriard, Professor of Literature and Culture at Oregon State University said sport both benefits from and contributes to success of newspapers.

He added: “Sport coverage attracts the reader, who in turn looks to daily newspapers to satisfy their growing desire for more and more sport.”

Newspapers are relying heavily on sports journalism to survive, according to leading journalists and academics.

Sports journalism - the saviour (Photo courtesy of www.getreligion.org)

The latest circulation figures from ABC (an independent auditor on media performance) show that sales of each quality daily and Sunday newspaper have fallen again in the year leading up to October. 

Newspapers such as the The Guardian and The Observer have already ceased distribution of bulks (copies that readers can pick up free of charge from hotels and airlines), with the Times and the Sunday Times set to follow suit in January 2010.

The Sunday Times recorded a relatively low fall in circulation compared to that of other national newspapers, with a 3.37 percent drop in the past 12 months.  This is partly down to the popularity of its comprehensive sports section.

Jonathan Northcroft, Football Correspondent with the Sunday Times, believes that sport is integral to the future of newspapers.

He said: “There has never been a greater interest in top end sport than there is right now.  The Premier League is the most popular in the world, Test Cricket grosses more money than ever before and it’s the same for all the blue riband events such as the Olympics and Wimbledon.”

Mr Northcroft emphasised the importance of newspapers maintaining their high quality so that readership does not drop any further.

He added: ”Sports journalism is delivering in a sector where people really want to consume content and will pay for exclusive news or to read a brilliantly written opinion piece.”

It could be argued that newspapers should not be overly dependant on sport in this difficult time for the media due to advertising downturns.  The high profile demise of Setanta in the UK is evidence of this view.

However, Mark Ogden, Northern Football Correspondent with the Telegraph said: “Newspapers still have the greatest impact and set the agenda. 

“If you watch Sky Sports News or listen to Five Live in the morning, their sports bulletins are often led by the big stories in that day’s newspapers.”

Academics also recognise the importance of the sport to the success of print media.

Michael Oriard, Professor of Literature and Culture at Oregon State University said sport both benefits from and contributes to success of newspapers.

He added: “Sport coverage attracts the reader, who in turn looks to daily newspapers to satisfy their growing desire for more and more sport.”

Sports journalism - the saviour (Photo courtesy of www.getreligion.org)

By Myles Edwards and Suhayl Afzal

Newspapers are relying heavily on sports journalism to survive, according to leading journalists and academics.

The latest circulation figures from ABC (an independent auditor on media performance) show that sales of each quality daily and Sunday newspaper have fallen again in the year leading up to October. 

Newspapers such as the The Guardian and The Observer have already ceased distribution of bulks (copies that readers can pick up free of charge from hotels and airlines), with the Times and the Sunday Times set to follow suit in January 2010.

The Sunday Times recorded a relatively low fall in circulation compared to that of other national newspapers, with a 3.37 percent drop in the past 12 months.  This is partly down to the popularity of its comprehensive sports section.

Jonathan Northcroft, Football Correspondent with the Sunday Times, believes that sport is integral to the future of newspapers.

He said: “There has never been a greater interest in top end sport than there is right now.  The Premier League is the most popular in the world, Test Cricket grosses more money than ever before and it’s the same for all the blue riband events such as the Olympics and Wimbledon.”

English Premier League - Global Audience

Mr Northcroft emphasised the importance of newspapers maintaining their high quality so that readership does not drop any further.

He added: ”Sports journalism is delivering in a sector where people really want to consume content and will pay for exclusive news or to read a brilliantly written opinion piece.”

It could be argued that newspapers should not be overly dependant on sport in this difficult time for the media due to advertising downturns.  The high profile demise of Setanta in the UK is evidence of this view.

However, Mark Ogden, Northern Football Correspondent with the Telegraph said: “Newspapers still have the greatest impact and set the agenda. 

“If you watch Sky Sports News or listen to Five Live in the morning, their sports bulletins are often led by the big stories in that day’s newspapers.”

Academics also recognise the importance of the sport to the success of print media.

Michael Oriard, Professor of Literature and Culture at Oregon State University said sport both benefits from and contributes to success of newspapers.

He added: “Sport coverage attracts the reader, who in turn looks to daily newspapers to satisfy their growing desire for more and more sport.”

The dress that is on everybody’s lips  (and VIP’s and celebrities bodies!) has been featured in this beautiful shot taken for The Observer Magazine on Sunday. The red folded satin cocktail dress is fast becoming a Karen Millen classic and dresses like this are timelessly adored! Grab it now, while you still can as it is a limited edition.

Image by Stuart Whipps

Birmingham’s art scene has had a great year. A mix of excellent shows and new artist led spaces opening has meant the residents of the city have had plenty to do and see in the last 12 months. So we are delighted to see that contemporary gallery The Ikon has caught the eye of National art critic Laura Cumming who selected 2 of their shows for the Observer’s 2009 art review list.

Ikon’s exhibition of vignettes by British wood engraver Thomas Bewick (1753-1828) was Cumming’s pick for no. 5. On display through April and May, the exhibition proved popular amongst other reviewers including Tom Lubbock (The Independent) and Adrian Searle (The Guardian).

Our exhibition of paintings by Carmen Herrera in August/September was Cumming’s no. 8; she describes the work of the 94-year-old Cuban painter as ‘radiant abstractions’ and in her review in August referred to Herrera as ‘..the discovery of the year – of the decade.’

Well done to Ikon who were one of only two non-London venues listed.

This was probably the bloodiest episode of Fringe yet. The giant worm creatures made people bleed and even Astrid got a little bloody. It was cool that she got to get more involved in this episode, we don’t get to see her outside of the lab very often. I think I’d actually be pretty interested in a Astrid back-story episode. The most surprising bloody moment of this episode to me however, was when the man that was being interrogated slit his throat open. I didn’t think Fringe would show something like that.

This was another one of those episodes that was kind of a self-contained monster story but there was a lot of good acting. John Noble did a good job in this episode. We saw him as his usual brilliant and twisted self but we also saw him as he fought to be dependent from his son. Then, when he gets separated from Astrid in Chinatown he is like vulnerable baby. I thought the scene in which he finds out what happened to Astrid was great. As well as the scene at the end of the episode when he gave up his fight for independence and tell his son that he implanted a tracking device in his neck so that he could always find him.

Finding The Observer
The observer is at about 24 minutes into the show without commercials. He appears after the guy with the worms calls someone because Walter said he had worms that were four feet long.

Next Week
We know from the promo for next week’s episode that it won’t be another monster episode. We are gonna be dealing with the whole parallel universe thing, of which I am a big fan. So, yep looking forward to next week.

On December 4:

1619 38 colonists from Berkeley Parish in England disembarked in Virginia and gave thanks to God (this is considered by many to be the first Thanksgiving in the Americas).

The First Thanksgiving, painting by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris (1863–1930)

1745  Charles Edward Stuart’s army reached Derby, its furthest point during the second Jacobite rising.

1791 The first edition of The Observer, the world’s first Sunday newspaper, was published.

1795  Thomas Carlyle, Scottish writer and historian, was born.

1835  Samuel Butler, English writer, was born.

1872 The crewless American ship Mary Celeste was found by the British brig Dei Gratia (the ship had been abandoned for 9 days but was only slightly damaged).

1881 The first edition of the Los Angeles Times was published.

1892  Francisco Franco, dictator of Spain, was born.

1918  U.S. President Woodrow Wilson sailed for the World War I peace talks in Versailles, becoming the first US president to travel to Europe while in office.

1930 Ronnie Corbett, Scottish actor, was born.

1949 Pamela Stephenson, New Zealand-born actress, was born.

1952 Great Smog of 1952: A cold fog descended upon London, combining with air pollution and killing at least 12,000 in the following months.

1954 The first Burger King opened in Miami, Florida.

1971 The Montreux Casino in Switzerland was set ablaze by someone wielding a flare gun during a Frank Zappa concert; the incident would be noted in the Deep Purple song “Smoke on the Water“.

1978  Dianne Feinstein became San Francisco, California’s first female mayor.

1966 The state monopoly on commercial radio broadcasting was challenged by the pirate station Radio Hauraki’s first scheduled transmission from the vessel Tiri in the Colville Channel.

1980  English rock group Led Zeppelin officially disbandsed following the death of drummer John Bonham on September 25th.

Led Zeppelin in 1968. From left to right: John Bonham, Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones

1991 Journalist Terry A. Anderson was released after 7 years in captivity as a hostage in Beirut.

1991 Captain Mark Pyle piloted Clipper Goodwill, a Pan American World Airways Boeing 727-221ADV, to Miami International Airport ending 64 years of Pan Am operations.

Sourced from NZ History Online & Wikipedia.

“Good journalism is an expensive commodity,” said Rupert Murdoch at a Federal Trade Commission conference in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, Dec. 1 reports The Observer.

Mr. Murdoch is ready to roll out a budget of $15 million for his new New York edition of The Wall Street Journal. The Journal is creating a section that will cover local politics, culture, news and sports. For the time being, the section’s launch is set for April. It is expected to run six days a week. It is not clear yet if the metro report will be a discrete section, or if an entirely different edition of the paper will be sold here.

Cynics deride Americans for trying to recapture the “America that never was,” or the “Hollywood that never was,” or some similar sentiment whose concept of a golden age is based on an ideal that never actually existed. As a nation, we are generally obsessed with two things—making our future the best ever, and pining for the simplicity of a past generation. This paradox fuels our fascination with NASA and our hankering for nostalgic road-trip restaurants. It also feeds our perception of CHRISTMAS, the all-caps, highly commercialized, Coca-Cola-American version of the sacred holiday. The problem is, the advertised version of Christmas doesn’t exist; and people are so adamant to have a Currier-and-Ives holiday, so stressed to shop for the best presents, that the day itself slips by like any other twenty-four-hour period.

Most of us share the same idea of a perfect Christmas. This usually involves a cozy log cabin in a snowy forest near a frozen pond, hot cocoa, and a family celebration near a freshly cut tree while a glorious fire reflects the warmth in everyone’s heart. Teenagers willingly sing carols, and children see visions of sugarplums. Nobody’s great-aunt reeks of liquor. Some people dream of sunny Christmases with decorated palm trees, but those are usually geriatric retirees in Miami. Most of us want the storybook Christmas.

The problem is, such Christmases rarely exist. I won’t pretend they never did, because holiday traditions surged in the late 1800s and early 1900s; but that was a different time. Now an entire industry exists to sell promises of the happy holidays of a simpler era. Scented candles imitate the smells once created by real Christmas trees, fires, and seasonal foods. Even cookie baking—the venerable, hour-long event comprising mixing, rolling, cutting, baking, and decorating—is no longer necessary. Holiday cookies come pre-decorated on cardboard sheets. You just pop them into an oven for fourteen minutes.

Of course, nothing promises the perfect Christmas like the perfect present, and retailers spend millions to convince shoppers happiness can be bought at a low price. This year, stores began their Christmas campaigns before Halloween. Oops, I meant to say “holiday campaign,” which is apparently the term they use to avoid offending the zero Muslims who celebrate Ramadan with Santa Claus and Christmas trees. Gift giving is an important part of the holiday, but people take it to an extreme. Wives catch colds from sitting outside stores for Black Friday sales, and clueless husbands storm malls on Christmas Eve for last-minute gifts that will probably be returned. Having worked in retail for several years, I can confirm the Christmas season is the most joyless shopping spree of the year.

It’s no wonder Christmas is a depressing time for people who cannot provide the shopping mall experience for their families, or who don’t have a loved one with whom they can share the festivities. Suicide rates rise from Christmas through New Year, creating a nihilistic tradition that tags along with Rudolph and Frosty. Now that’s something to tell kids who don’t appreciate their presents: “People are hanging themselves tonight, and you’re angry because you got a sweater!” This fits nicely with the “starving kids in Africa” bit.

Considering that Charlie Brown complained of commercialism in the 1960s, people have been chasing after the pre-packaged, retailer-approved “Perfect Christmas” for decades. I used to worry about having that flawless holiday too; but last year, I decided I’d had enough of the stupidity. I did my Christmas shopping early and stayed out of stores during the week of December 25th. I spent time with family and friends, and forced myself to make room for holiday traditions that were ordinarily out of my schedule. From watching “White Christmas” to re-reading the Biblical accounts of Christ’s birth, I decided to immerse myself in the celebration instead of the hype. Honestly, it wasn’t a perfect Christmas, but it was pretty darn close.

©Timothy Samaha 2009

First published in PoV Magazine

Today’s ‘Observer Music Magazine’ sent me soul-searching by reviewing the best music of the decade. I wasn’t actually aware that the decade was already over, but these things happen when you’re getting older. There were some excellent reviews and interviews with artists I generally ignore or despise and for some reason none of the stuff that I discovered over the last ten years.

Now, as my friend C. regularly tells me, I have the worst taste in music ever. In the whole universe. Which would make my selection of favourite new artists from this decade probably rather unrepresentative. But what’s ‘new’ music, anyway? Does music count that I heard for the first time over the last ten years but was made forty years ago? Probably not. It has to be music by artists who released new material for the first time in this decade. Ever. But I can always open up a new category. So, let’s scour the ipod:

Fordiebianco’s favourite artists releasing their first material ever in the Noughties (in no particular order)

• Goldenhorse
• Old Crow Medicine Show
• The Klaxons
• Hot Chip
• Jazzanova
• Hollie Smith
• Anika Moa
• Steriogram
• Che Fu

…and next week we might compile the even more compelling list of artists who have been around for yonkers but who released some really cool stuff in the last ten years.

Published in today’s Observer, in the UK, and online at Guardian.co.uk:

From our correspondent: The editor of Krakow in Your Pocket reveals some of the secrets of this elegant and atmospheric Polish city.

Please read always and carefully the contract or end user licence agreement before downloading music… Sometimes you can’t play a song you legally downloaded on all your equipment…

Shakira’s video and interviews. Will you see or have you already seen the video of Shakira’s Give It Up To Me with Lil Wayne? At 3pm on Monday, November 16th, abd there is also an interview with Carolina Bermudez from Z100 in New York on Facebook.

Another interview – this time by the British newspaper The Observer – is here where she speaks of Luciano Pavarotti and her albums. Is she wrong maybe about “Dark Ages” and politicians?

Guetta and the UK. David Guetta will be on Saturday, August 29, at the Festival SW4 in Londres (UK). Guetta will also be in the same day at the Festival Creamfields in Cheschire (UK). On Sunday, August 30, there also will be Leeds for Guetta at the Kissdafunk.

The States and the Depeche Mode. Depeche Mode will be on Tuesday, September 1st, in Atlanta, at the Lakewood Amphitheater. Who will be the other musicians that night? Peter Bjorn and John…

29.08.09 Depeche Mode will be on Saturday, August 29th, in Dallas, Texas, at the Superpages. As in other dates, there will also be Peter Bjorn and John. On Sunday, August 30th, they will also sing in another important city of this state, Houston, at the Woodlands Pavilion. And next month other concerts in the States. Please be patient and return to this page on September, 1st…

25.08.09 Depeche Mode will play on Tuesday, August 25th, in Salt Lake City, Utah, at the E Center. Before them there also will be Peter Bjorn and John. Denver for them on August, 27th…

Coldplay, The Netherlands and UK. Coldplay will be on Thursday, September 10, in Nijmegen, the Netherlands and on Saturday, September 12, in Manchester, UK.

Sweden. Coldplay will be on Saturday August 22 in Stockholm, Sweden, from 5 pm at the local Stadion…

Television – The a-ha. Will you see a-ha’s concert with Simple Minds in Neuwied, Germany? In television at ARTE at 10:45 pm on Saturday August 22.

In London… The a-ha, the pop group, at The Roundhouse in London – Camden’s venue – at the iTunes Live Festival on Friday, July 24. They will play after 6 pm and the Reamonn will also be on stage…

- Shakira’s new single, “She Wolf”

Interested at music by George Michael and the Coldplay? You may download for free George Michael’s new single “December Song”, but only till midnight of today, December 26. More time to download a remix of Coldplay’s success “Viva la Vida” till January the 5th.

Chevelle. Chevelle will be on Sunday, August 30, in Pennsylvania at the Festival Pier at Penn’s Landing. On Monday, August 31, she will be at the Champlain Valley Exposition in Essex Junction, Vermont.

25.08.09 Do you know who Chevelle is? A singer, probably… She will be on Tuesday, August 25, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania at the Amphitheatre at Station Square.

Mudvayne. Mudvayne will be on Tuesday, September 1, in San Diego, California, at the Sports Arena.

28.08.09 Mudvayne will play in California – on Friday, August 28, in San Jose, California, at the San Jose Civic Auditorium and on Saturday, August 29, in Bakersfield at the Rabobank Arena. And on September 1st… Please be patient and read again this page on that day…

25.08.09 Why this name of the group or singer? On Tuesday, August 25, Mudvayne will be  in Eugene, Oregon, at the Cuthbert Amphiteatre.

The EELS. Songs free by the EELS…

Opera, an European browser, and Mozilla, Linux and Apple

Friday December 26, 2008

updated on Monday November 16, 2009

calogeromira.wordpress.com – e-mail

Does this search engine save watts/hour?

The dilemma facing journalists today, especially those who are not yet fully fledged, is where are we going?

The conversation about paid content is hotting up. Good journalism costs, that’s a no-brainer, but when it’s free at the point of consumption who really pays?

The aggregators can clean up on advertising revenues as they have the statistics and unique user data to impress the money men, while traditional print can only call on circulation figures and subscriber information.

Okay, so now the traditional media is reaching out to its audiences (some too little, too late) and can track traffic through their online presence, but it’s still not enough to impress the advertisers and online advertising is fiercely competitive and therefore cheaper.

I don’t of course, come to these insightful words by myself. This is the accumulation of a series of lectures, culminating in a really interesting and very fast-paced talk by Rob Andrew from PaidContent.

PaidContent, which is now 4 sites (PaidContent, PaidContentUK, moconews and contentSutra), was set up by Rafat Ali . A man who could smell the Zeitgeist and knew how to act on the first whiffs of a digital content revolution.

It’s blindingly obvious that the print and broadcast media are going to have to get their act together and come up with a business model, or series of models, that will sustain the kind of journalism that underpins the principles of open and accountable democracy, free speech and freedom of expression.

That’s easier said than done.

Rupert Murdoch’s solution is to tuck his content behind a pay wall. But will it be special enough to entice readers over the wall, parting with cash as they scramble over the barricades to find…what? How much can he offer that won’t be free elsewhere?

The specialists have always had an advantage. They have the information that their readers/markets need and are happy to pay for (or to charge it to the company account), but the ordinary punter? I doubt that The Sun will do it, nor will most of the broadsheets.

There was an interesting question from the floor: If papers are relying on brand loyalty but there readership is now paying for content online, how do they expect to attract the next generation of loyal readers?

A good point. I grew up with The Guardian’s ink smeared across my face, long before I picked it up to read it, but pick it up I did and still do. It’s engrained in the complicated make-up of my very being. I’m allowed to criticise but non-Guardian readers are not.

My kids have seen me read it and even picked it up and had a look themselves. If I was getting my Guardian fix on an e-reader or online that’s hardly likely to happen. I could go on about parents being seen to read anything by their children and links to the increasingly illiteracy of the up-coming generation, but this is the wrong soap box.

So what are the alternatives? Pay walls won’t save the day, advertising revenues are crashing through the floor in the current recession and it’s a buyers’ market for them. Subscriptions are money in the bank, but will people subscribe if they think their paper’s going to go under, highlighted by this summer’s shock revelation that The Observer be wound up?

Local papers are struggling for even more complex reasons. In small communities the loss of the little corner newsagent might just tip the balance in sales, while the short sighted cost cutting exercises of slashing editorial staff to balance the books means that the content quality goes down and they lose readers, so need to lose more jobs and round it goes to oblivion.

The Guardian is relatively safe – backed by the Scott Trust to safeguard liberal journalism, although they’ll still need to bring home the revenue bacon.

Before the rot sets in there must be some kind of wake up call to the media to sort this out. Not knee jerk wall building or staff cutting, but an understanding of what makes people engage with the media in the first place. That would be good, ie accurate, informed, specialist journalism that offers multiple views or, at the very least, a rigorous analysis of a particular standpoint.

Specialists don’t need to be experts. Local papers used to be the hubs for all things local – births, deaths, missing budgies, court reports, council meetings, scandal, outcry and outraged letters that took the temperature of the community and fed it back to itself. They are fading fast. Attempts to address this by beat blogging or hyper local sites will necessarily leave gaps. Citizen journalism might give an immediate way into a story, but surely it’s the journalists who can go that bit further, ask the difficult questions, follow through.

Lightspeed’s analysis of the paywall question  doesn’t bode well for Mr Murdoch – 91% won’t pay for content. The much-heralded arrival of the Kindle and other e-readers doesn’t seem to be changing the way that people read their news.  KPMG found that only 4% of people had read an ebook in the past month  and me, I’m off to the park with my paper and a coffee.