Category: Uncategorized

OK, so it’s now sufficiently official that it made the Guardian yesterday: ITV is launching a new children’s channel on Freeview, earlyish next year.

Current intelligence is that there’s limited scope for new commissions, for a while at least, but doubtless there’ll be some. I might suggest they’ll likely all be dramas, but that would just be a moan without, necessarily, any substance.

Memory is a curious thing. Mine is far from photographic, but I still often do that trick of recalling where on the page the line I’m looking for is, and how far through the book (and what the book looks like, where on the shelf it is, and how far up the unit the shelf is… but rarely which town the shelf is in).

Recently, I found myself writing a neat phrasing and realised that I’d borrowed it from an exchange with a friend, long ago:

Me: “How did your viva go?”

Her: “Well, I think. They nodded at the maths and laughed at the jokes, which has to be better than the other way around.”

I’ve admired that inversion ever since, and enjoyed appropriating it partly because in my head it’s always associated with that balmy summer afternoon, walking through the grounds of Trinity. There was nothing particularly memorable or significant about the occasion, it’s more that I’m surprised and delighted to find myself appreciating the connection between a structural phrasing and a physical event. Just as some smells might be associated in one’s mind with specific songs, perhaps.

Anyway, the friend and I drifted out of touch, and I never knew what happened to her. Her research papers appeared in Google, but nothing else. Until the other day, I happened to try again, and it turns out she bailed on science and is now – or rather, was, a couple of years back – Strategy Manager for BBC Radio and Music. Blimey.

Since I’ve mysteriously picked up some new readers of late, and I’m about to vanish into the black hole that is ‘the fortnight before studio, then studio, then post,’ now would be an appropriate time to repeat the standard offer:

I host weblogs for a bunch of friends, over at deletetheweb.com. I do this because they’ve been known to post interesting things, and hence I enjoy reading their blogs. And because I get a kick out of things like Damien’s exhibition of mobile phone photos.

If you, dear reader, would like a blog to call your very own – or, indeed, pretty much any other web application: galleries, message boards, wikis, whatever – drop me a line and I’ll see if I can sort you out. Note that I have to trust you not to abuse the offer, so it helps if I actually know you, or we’re introduced by a mutual friend. Note also that my customer service is described as ‘legendary.’ That is to say, legend has it that there was once, long ago, customer service. Ho ho.

Email me as jonathan[at]quernstone.com. This coming weekend may be your last window for a while – hell, I hope Movable Type 3.2 comes out tomorrow – so don’t delay.

Stack rocks up into nice little towers, film yourself pushing them over, and then reverse the film. Sounds neither difficult nor likely to be especially interesting, right?

Er… no, sorry, wrong. Do it right, and the result’s peculiarly beautiful. ‘Rock On, Rock ON: Balancing point’ is the site, with the trailer playing at iFilm. I’m not sure I could watch an hour of this, but I’ve had the short on repeat for ages now. Do also check out the gallery of balanced rocks.

So, the defense press is joking about unmanned combat aircraft having ‘commercial applications,’ like tracking parcels, or making deliveries.

Forgive me, but – Conor, didn’t we do exactly that gag in a Rag revue in… er… 1993/4? And if memory serves, it wasn’t very funny then, either, though mostly because I totally flubbed the lines.

Suw Charman has an excellent summary of forthcoming legislation the UK is attempting to push through the EU, why it should concern you, and what you can do about it.

…and, not coincidentally, she demonstrates why the UK digital (rights|freedoms) organisation mooted at OpenTech last month is very probably a rather good idea. Suw’s post is the first example I’ve seen of the sort of thing such an organisation would and should do. The Pledge is still running – 729 signatories to date.

Smart cars being stalked by lions in a safari park. That’s… unnerving. And tell me, the staff stationed ‘by the lion enclosure, to deal with any problems.’ – what exactly do they do? Run at you waving madly and shouting ‘Run away! There’s a lion!’?

Born and brought up in Hull, me. No, really.

My favourite quote from that page:

Once a week The Hull Daily Mail leads with an article about the latest great scheme for the town centre invariably accompanied by an artists impression which looks like it came from the Eagle in the 1950’s.

My chum Daniel, meanwhile, went to school in Yarm. The joke is that he actually paid for that, a thought which never ceases to make me chuckle. Mind you, I now live in Glasgow so I’m not sure who gets the last laugh.

“Somebody’s just threatened to sue me”

“That’s nice. Who?”

“The Girl Guides.”

“What?“

Thank whichever deity you prefer, for streaming Radio 4 Long-Wave and Test Match Special.

As I type, they’re talking about the caterers doing the washing up and, evidently, smashing crockery. No mention yet of chocolate cakes, and if they don’t get one in fast they’ll run out of overs.

The match is a tad tense too.

[update 17:55: Oh crap! They’ve dropped off R4LW for – get this – The Shipping Forecast. Exactly how many people need the shipping forecast over a RealPlayer stream?

Now, where’s the dial for me to twiddle this thing to Radio 5 Live?]

[update 18:00: Warne’s gone!]

[update 18:47: Merde.]