Schneier on Boston Aqua Teen Hunger Force debacle…these people know something about marketing
The iPhone – Its lipgloss, a condiment dispenser, mace, a cheesegrater, a sonogram…
Museum of unworkable devices (ponders: should there be something similar for software?…anyone who says thats what sourceforge is for gets a poke in the eye)
Crossposting: LJ toy update.
I first picked up this book because of its title. But reading the back of it, it became clear it was a book about Britains relationship with the European Union rather than one examining liberty in Britain. Still a subject about which I am under-informed, so worth a read I thought.
It was soon evident that this is a book written by someone who has a very strong anti European agenda, but I persevered in the hope that it would move on to some interesting information about why I should become anti European too. It didn’t. There is an incredible level of hypocrisy and selective quoting in this book, none of the ‘facts’ presented seems reliable because it has so much spin behind it that I felt I was reading the work of someone who is primarily a politician and also happens to have managed to get a book printed. Everything is viewed in a light of Euro-evil, Brit-good, and with the British economy hooked squarely to the US dollar, which is looking more and more foolish as the days go by.
If anything this book has made me more Euro-friendly, as much to annoy its author as anything else (not that I imagine he would care what someone like me would think, I’m far to left-wing for him to consider me anything but commie scum).
No poll for this one, I’m not going to waste your time.
(2007: book 4, week 5)
With thanks to Grandi for this book.
This is an utterly fantastic book, it is written as a series of emails and text messages mostly from Martin, the marketing director of a global conglomerate, to his colleagues and family, but, where pertinant, mails he receives too. It follows his life for a year, during what appear to be particularly stressful times for him (but I suspect any time you chose would appear to be).
Of course, being a marketing director, he is quite an evil person, while he talks about the value of ‘integrity’ with a public face he is off playing games with his PA behind his wifes back, cheating on his expense claims and stabbing his colleagues in the back all the time he thinks it will get him further up the management chain.
One of the most interesting insights into his character is his relationship with his coach, Pandora, he seems to mostly be lying to himself about the current state of affairs, but you can tell when he’s admitting things to himself because he’ll tell her about it.
A wonderfully written book, a very easy read, an interesting insight into how ‘the other half’ live and interact with the world. An immorality tale.
Who should read this book? Everyone. Wholeheartedly recommended. At some level a light hearted read, but also very dark satire on the state of marketing and/or capitalism.
(2007: book 3, week 4)
(for clarity, that is the genre, not any particular individual within it, or indeed the language)
Last night was the Vileevils gig – they were billed as ex-PWEI but that was pretty much all I knew about them. They have a page on myspace, just like every other band these days, which gives you a few snippets of their tunes.
Everything seemed a little quiet when I arrived, they hadn’t put any pre-gig music on yet, so there was a weird dead-time before anything kicked off. After a little while a band emerged, only two of them a guy and a girl. They were enthusiastic but didn’t have much variety in their music, it seemed like they needed a bit more to them, a keyboardist or drummer would probably liven their music up no end.
Then the Vileevils came on stage with a somehow familiar, but somehow unknown, mix of guitars and samples. They have energy, they have drive, they have an audience that is prepared to have a good time, they have nothing to stop them *rocking*.
Some of the tracks are ones I know from the Poppies, but theres a good chunk of new material too. I’d forgotten the reason I like grebo music, nothing is out of place, punk one minute, ska the next, a sample from a fifties classic, dance, guitars, everything. No shame, no fear, no talent, no problem. It just works.
The end of their set came all to early, they’re a new band and don’t have that much material (though arguably they could plunder more of the Poppies back catalogue), the lights went up but the audience wasn’t having it, we wanted more. One final song, a repeat of one from earlier in the set (embarrassingly, one I felt I should know but didn’t) and time to go home.
Top night. Go see them if you get a chance.
Another test….wondering if location field comes out in feed…
ETA: no, it doesn’t
Anyone about in Camden this week?