Interesting article in the New York Times about emoticons, their history, and how they have migrated from IM and bulletin board posts into corporate communications... :-(Link : New York Times article
31 July 2007
Electrical Language
Interesting article in the New York Times about emoticons, their history, and how they have migrated from IM and bulletin board posts into corporate communications... :-(Link : New York Times article
30 July 2007
Garrincha
About to start reading Ruy Castro's book on "The triumph and tragedy of Brazil's forgotten footballing hero".
My eye was caught by the following review by Harry Pearson of When Saturday Comes :
"It's hard to imagine the biography of any English footballer featuring cannibalism, masturbation contests and the subject losing his virginity with a goat inside the first twenty pages, but that's what you get in Ruy Castro's powerfully atmospheric and beautifully rendered life of one of Brazil's greatest ever players. As the opening salvo makes plain, this is a truly extraordinary story... A sad and fantastic book"
Sounds like its not going to be boring then...
Movin' On
After just over 8 years working for A Major Engineering Company I have decided to move to pastures new. This morning I submitted my letter of resignation and now I just need to see how much of my 3 month notice period they want me to work.
Latterly at my current employer the IT function has been completely reorganised on four occasions over the past four or five years. The latest reorganisation, to provide a global service, is being managed from overseas. Four email pronouncements in seven months is not a great way to manage change on this scale, especially when the latest announcement (in a bizarre attempt to raise morale) stated that people should not worry as we had now achieved 60% of the targetted job cuts (do the maths). As my department didn't feature on the newly issued organisation charts I decided it was probably time to start seeing what alternatives were available.
I found a position that seemed interesting, applied, interviewed, and accepted.
So it comes to pass that, after a greater number of years than I care to think about working in the Oil & Gas industry, I find myself relishing a new challenge in the world of academia. I will soon be starting a job within the IT Directorate of the local University, a venerable establishment that has been in existence for over 500 years. I am sure that there will be lots of challenges ahead but all contact to date has been extremely positive and I have a feeling that it is going to be a good place to work.
Latterly at my current employer the IT function has been completely reorganised on four occasions over the past four or five years. The latest reorganisation, to provide a global service, is being managed from overseas. Four email pronouncements in seven months is not a great way to manage change on this scale, especially when the latest announcement (in a bizarre attempt to raise morale) stated that people should not worry as we had now achieved 60% of the targetted job cuts (do the maths). As my department didn't feature on the newly issued organisation charts I decided it was probably time to start seeing what alternatives were available.
I found a position that seemed interesting, applied, interviewed, and accepted.
So it comes to pass that, after a greater number of years than I care to think about working in the Oil & Gas industry, I find myself relishing a new challenge in the world of academia. I will soon be starting a job within the IT Directorate of the local University, a venerable establishment that has been in existence for over 500 years. I am sure that there will be lots of challenges ahead but all contact to date has been extremely positive and I have a feeling that it is going to be a good place to work.
27 July 2007
Cough Cough
Two cough sweets walk into a pub, one asks for a gin and tonic and the other for a cider.
The barman refuses to serve the red cough sweet her gin and tonic, but the green and white cough sweet is served very quickly.
"I thought we didn't serve cough sweets any more," remarked a watching bar maid.
"We don't as a rule," replied the publican, "but she looked fucking menthol."
The barman refuses to serve the red cough sweet her gin and tonic, but the green and white cough sweet is served very quickly.
"I thought we didn't serve cough sweets any more," remarked a watching bar maid.
"We don't as a rule," replied the publican, "but she looked fucking menthol."
Salt And Sauce?
I first heard Veruca Salt on a listening post in Virgin Records in Aberdeen in 1994 and was so taken with them that I bought the album "American Thighs" immediately.
The album was full of tracks featuring grungy loud guitars topped by gorgeous female vocal harmonies a sound that I am a bit of a sucker for. The two main protaganists Louise Post and Nina Gordon shared songwriting and vocal duties and the band produced a sound described by allmusic as having "reshaped the jagged, abrasive punk-pop of the Pixies and Breeders into a more accessible, riff-driven power pop formula that also borrowed from pop/hard rockers like Cheap Trick".
The single from the album, the Gordon penned "Seether", became a word of mouth success and, following the album's re-release on Geffen, an MTV favourite.
Seether from American Thighs
The second album "Eight Arms To Hold You" had a more straightforward rock sound, in the main due to the Bob Rock production, and this brought the band some criticism.
I still liked it though and the lead single from it, Volcano Girls, was also successful and remains one of my personal faves to this day.
The band now had a more glammed up image and the video budgets had also obviously increased.
Volcano Girls - "the Seether's Louise"
In 1998 following a mysterious, acrimonious fall out reputedly concerning stolen boyfriends, stabbed backs, and general unpleasantness Gordon and Post went their separate ways - Gordon to a solo career and Post continuing with the band.
Subsequent offerings from both parties have been good but have struggled to live up to the quality of the previous band output. This is a real shame as the original Veruca Salt chemistry was obviously one of those things where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
The clip below is of an acoustic rendition of Good Disaster, something a bit different from the usual rockier output and a version which highlights the beauty of the vocal harmonies.
Good Disaster - poor video quality, gorgeous sound
Links : Veruca Salt official site , Nina Gordon official site , Veruca Salt on Wikipedia
The album was full of tracks featuring grungy loud guitars topped by gorgeous female vocal harmonies a sound that I am a bit of a sucker for. The two main protaganists Louise Post and Nina Gordon shared songwriting and vocal duties and the band produced a sound described by allmusic as having "reshaped the jagged, abrasive punk-pop of the Pixies and Breeders into a more accessible, riff-driven power pop formula that also borrowed from pop/hard rockers like Cheap Trick".
The single from the album, the Gordon penned "Seether", became a word of mouth success and, following the album's re-release on Geffen, an MTV favourite.
Seether from American Thighs
The second album "Eight Arms To Hold You" had a more straightforward rock sound, in the main due to the Bob Rock production, and this brought the band some criticism.
I still liked it though and the lead single from it, Volcano Girls, was also successful and remains one of my personal faves to this day.
The band now had a more glammed up image and the video budgets had also obviously increased.
Volcano Girls - "the Seether's Louise"
In 1998 following a mysterious, acrimonious fall out reputedly concerning stolen boyfriends, stabbed backs, and general unpleasantness Gordon and Post went their separate ways - Gordon to a solo career and Post continuing with the band.
Subsequent offerings from both parties have been good but have struggled to live up to the quality of the previous band output. This is a real shame as the original Veruca Salt chemistry was obviously one of those things where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
The clip below is of an acoustic rendition of Good Disaster, something a bit different from the usual rockier output and a version which highlights the beauty of the vocal harmonies.
Good Disaster - poor video quality, gorgeous sound
Links : Veruca Salt official site , Nina Gordon official site , Veruca Salt on Wikipedia
Lyric Snippets 7
Lyric quiz time again folks...
The lyric snippets below are from the last five songs played on my iPod this morning. Can you identify the songs?
The lyric snippets below are from the last five songs played on my iPod this morning. Can you identify the songs?
- This is where we walked, This is where we swam, Take a picture here, Take a souvenir
- I get ideas, I get a notion, I want a nice little boat, Made out of ocean
- Thinking how it used to be, Does she still remember times like these? To think of us again? And I do
- Dizzy in the head and I'm feeling blue, The things you've said, well, maybe they're true, I'm getting funny dreams again and again, I know what it means, but...
- The very first time I saw your face, I thought of a song, And quickly changed the tune, The very first time I touched your skin, I thought of a story, And rushed to reach the end, Too soon
Answers in the comments please, and no Googling!
The full list of answers will be posted later.
The answers to Lyric Snippets 6 are now in the comments for that post.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
