London-Lincoln-London, 31-05-09

London to Lincoln
Hold The Line (DJ Edit) - Major Lazer
A Chicken with Its Head Cut Off - The Magnetic Fields
You Never Even Call Me By My Name - Merle Haggard (with Doug Supernaw, Charlie Pride, David Allan Coe & Waylon Jennings)
Gifted - N.A.S.A. (Feat. Kanye West, Santogold & Lykke Li)
Make Me Smile (Come Up And See Me) - Erasure
Teenage FBI - Guided By Voices
Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes) - Edison Lighthouse
You're So Vain - Carly Simon
Darts - Flip
The Most Beautiful Girl [In The Room] - Flight Of The Conchords
Planet Earth - Duran Duran
Sick Muse - Metric
Dirty Harry (Single Edit) - Gorillaz
Smiley Faces - Gnarls Barkley
Hold Me Close - David Essex
Baby I Don't Care - Transvision Vamp
Lucille - Little Richard
Ring My Bell - Anita Ward
California Love - 2Pac (feat. Dr. Dre)
Substitute - Clout
Mixed Up World - Sophie Ellis-Bextor
Silence - Delerium Featuring Sarah Mclachlan
Quicksand - La Roux
Alcoholics Unanimous - Art Brut
Big Girls Don't Cry - Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons
Stuck In The Middle With You - Stealers Wheel
Cacti Are Delicious Fruit - Les Handclaps
Us - Regina Spektor
Jump In the Pool (single) - Friendly Fires
Genie in a Bottle - Christina Aguilera
Femininity - Summer Magic
Thank You - The Pale Fountains
My Boyfriend's Back - The Angels
Teenage Dirtbag - Wheatus
Popsicles And Icicles - The Murmaids
Wannabe - Spice Girls
I Can't Go For That - Daryl Hall & John Oates
Bonkers (Radio Edit) - Dizzee Rascal & Armand Van Helden
Clementine - Mark Owen
Letter from America - The Proclaimers
Everybody Needs Somebody To Love - The Blues Brothers
We Are The People - Empire Of The Sun
dreamboat - Alma Cogan
I'm Not Alone (Radio Edit) - Calvin Harris
Tonight's Today - Jack Penate
Ev'rybody Wants To Be A Cat - Aristocats
Sugar Sugar - Archies
I Only Want To Be With You - Dusty Springfield
Only You Can - Fox
Sweet Soul Music - Arthur Conley
boys, boys, boys - Sabrina

Lincoln to London
Carolyn's Fingers - Cocteau Twins
Turtle Turtle Up - Four Tet
Ye Shall Be Changed - Bob Dylan
Coma Girl - Joe Strummer And The Mescaleros
Steam (Vapoureyes Mix) - East 17
Harold T Wilkins - Fanfarlo
Coming Back To You - Trisha Yearwood
Monday Night Nothing - Malcolm Middleton
Shake Some Action - Cracker
My Fairy King - Queen
Goodbye Cruel World - Shakespear's Sister
Wasted Years - Van Morrison
The Mental Traveler - David Axelrod
Jane - Catie Curtis
Junior's Farm - Wings
Oranges - They Might Be Giants (TMBG)
Tangent - Beth Orton
It's Magic - Eddi Reader
The Sinner In Me - Depeche Mode
Baby, Don't - Steve Forbert
Make It Go Away - Holly Cole
When The Man Comes Around - Knife In The Water
The Wind Blew All Around Me - Mary Lou Lord
Sitting In The Park - Georgie Fame
Can't Stop Now - Keane
Veronica - Wreckless Eric
Got To Get You Into My Life - The Beatles
Here She Comes Again - The Stands
Little Bird - Emmylou Harris
Finding You - The Go-Betweens
Step It 'pon the Rastaman Scene - Easy Star All Stars
I Never - Rilo Kiley
Skyway - The Replacements
October Nights - Yellowcard
Diabaram - Ryuichi Sakamoto with Youssou N Dour
Bonnie & Clyde II - Martina Sorbara
Eden Before The Fall - Lari White
Empty Bottle Blues - They Might Be Giants
10:1 - friends of lizzy
Cookie Jar - Mark Mulcahy
Fitting In With The Misfits - E
La Ritournelle - Sebastien Tellier
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Toy Story 3

Click here to view the teaser trailer.
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London-Lincoln-London, 30-05-09

London to Lincoln
Death or Radio - Zolof the Rock & Roll Destroyer
The Spirit Moves - The Lilac Time
Some Guys Have All The Luck - Robert Palmer
Got To Give It Up (Part I) - Marvin Gaye
Chinese Arithmetic - Faith No More
Getting By - Barry Crompton
Madame George (tb sheets) - Van Morrison
Where Does the Good Go - Tegan and Sara
Last Night's Party - Simplifires
Get Over It - Solid Gold
Gollum's Song - Howard Shore (sung by Emiliana Torrini)
Co-Star - Tears
Raped And Freezin' - Alice Cooper
Not Just Sometimes But Always - Idlewild
Disappointing Show - They Might Be Giants
Number One - Goldfrapp
Piggies - The Beatles
Free To Go - Folk Implosion
Some Things Get Lost - Alice Peacock
Save Me - Aimee Mann
Porch Swing Summer Night (Duet) - Jeff Bjorck
Lottery Winners On Acid (sxsw version) - The Crimea
All Work And No Play - Van Morrison
I Want To Be Straight - Ian Dury & The Blockheads
Don't Mind Me - Lucy Kaplansky
Magnolia Street - Catie Curtis
Bells and Bombs - Erin McKeown
Moon On My Shoulder - Lyle Lovett
The Wising Up Song - Misty's Big Adventure
Cracked LCD - Ladytron
Muskrat Love - America
God Only Knows - The Langley Schools Music Project
France Chance - Ry Cooder
Time - Easy Star All Stars
Ballad of Easy Rider - The Byrds
Riding With The King - John Hiatt
Congratulations - Traveling Wilburys
The Midnight Special - Leadbelly
In Spite Of All The Damage - The Be Good Tanyas
Memphis Jane - Buddy & Julie Miller

Lincoln to London
Candy - The Addictions
Ride On Time - Black Box
Skinny (Radio Edit) - Lo Rider
Look At Me (When I Rock Wichoo) - Black Kids
Something Is Squeezing My Skull - Morrissey
The Reeling (Calvin Harris Remix) - Passion Pit
Laughing With - Regina Spektor
Walking On A Dream - Empire Of The Sun
Please Don't Touch - Polly Scattergood
Hold It In - Jukebox The Ghost
Back of The Van - Ladyhawke
Better Off As Two - FrankMusik
Trouble - The Dirt Drifters
New In Town (album version) - Little Boots
Raindrops - Basement Jaxx
Inbetween Days - The Cure
Weighty Ghost - Wintersleep
Last One To Die - Rancid
In for the Kill - La Roux
Sushi - Kyle Andrews
Clouds across the moon - Rah Band
Inner City Pressure - Flight Of The Conchords
Headlock - Esser
Bulletproof - La Roux
Dusk Til Dawn - Ladyhawke
The Horizon Is A Beltway - The Low Anthem
Work It Out - Heads We Dance ft. Little Boots
All About the Music - Chad Hudson
Stuck On Repeat (Edit) - Little Boots
Sleepyhead - Passion Pit
I Like You So Much Better When You're Naked - Ida Maria
Too Young - Phoenix
Big Bang Theory Theme - Barenaked Ladies
Every One's A Winner - Hot Chocolate
The Kids Are Sick Again - Maximo Park
Works for Me - The Twelves
Little Secrets - Passion Pit
(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher And Higher - Jackie Wilson
3 Little Words (single) - FrankMusik
The Reeling - Passion Pit
Rock Me Gently - Andy Kim
Jackie Collins Existential Question Time - Manic Street Preachers
The Lion And Albert - Stanley Holloway
Say Whoa - A-Trak
Lisztomania (Radio Edit) - Phoenix
Hiphopopotamus vs. Rhymenoceros - Flight Of The Conchords
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SXSW 2009 Free Tracks Review #4

SXSW 2009 posted 1267 songs for free download in March. So far I've listened to 905 of them. Here's half-a-dozen that I haven't deleted...

Trouble - The Dirt Drifters: Heads-down, no-nonsense, mindless country boogie. Music to choreograph a bar-room-brawl to.

Mrs Vain - Ross Royce: He has drummed for most of Australia's indie bands, now he's writing his own early-Bowie-esque primitive rock.

Weightless Again - The Handsome Family: This Albuquerque-based couple write and perform dark, emotive songs that sound as if they come from a much earlier time.

Solid Gold - The Golden Filter: Electronic dance grooves from a New York duo. Think early Goldfrapp and you're getting close.

Quiet Little Voices - We Were Promised Jetpacks: The song isn't anything special. But what a great name for a pop group!

Cacti Are Delicious Fruit - Les Handclaps: Hailing from Montreal, Les Handclaps fuse 60s garage rock and electro-pop with French/English hybrid lyrics. Agreeably kooky.
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Finger painting on the iPhone

The New Yorker reports: [edited]

Jorge Colombo drew this week’s The New Yorker cover using 'Brushes', an application for the iPhone, while standing for an hour outside Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum in Times Square.

“I got a phone in the beginning of February, and I immediately got the program so I could entertain myself,” says Colombo, who first published his drawings in The New Yorker in 1994.

There’s a companion application, Brushes Viewer, that makes a video recapitulating each step of how Colombo composed the picture. Colombo leans heavily on the Undo feature: “It looks like I draw everything with supernatural assurance and very fast — it gets rid of all the hesitations.”
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Atheist Delusions

I read a lot of books. Some of them are a joy to read, others are rewarding and informative. Once in a while I come across a book that is both. Atheist Delusions is one of those books.

David Bentley Hart is an Eastern Orthodox Christian, philosopher and theologian. And he has a jumbo-size axe to grind. As he explains in the first lines of the book's introduction:

"This book is in no sense an impartial work of history... In what follows my prejudices are transparent and unreserved, and my argument is in some respects wilfully extreme..."

What follows is 240 pages of glittering prose that demolishes many popular secular conceits, while demonstrating how the Christian message has shaped the civilization we live in, immeasurably for the better.

There are not many academic books that make me laugh out loud (well, not intentionally anyway). Hart's book did. Frequently.

This is not an eirenic book. To quote from pages 3-4:

"The God Delusion, an energetic attack on all religious belief, has just been released by Richard Dawkins, the zoologist and tireless tractarian, who - despite the embarrassing incapacity for philosophical reasoning - never fails to entrance his eager readers whith his rhetorical recklessness..."

he then goes on to dismiss Christopher Hitchins, Sam Harris and Philip Pullman with similar one-line put-downs, followed by:

"And one need hardly need mention the extraordinary sales achieved by Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code, already a major film and surely the most lucrative novel every written by a borderline illiterate..."

To find out more about the book, visit Amazon.com and read some of the reviews. Oh, and if you do decide to read it, make sure you've got a dictionary handy. Dr Hart writes brilliantly, but he does like to let you know that his vocabulary is a little wider than most.

Thanks to Jason Clark for putting me on to this book
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Evom

The Little App Factory reports: [edited]

Evom (currently in beta) converts & transfers movies from your computer and the web.

One-click videos: All you have to do is select the destination and Evom handles the rest.

Videos from the web: Evom makes archiving your favourite internet videos as easy as pressing a bookmark.

Built for speed: Evom is optimized to take advantage of your Mac's spare power to provide you with gorgeous results, fast.

Friends with iTunes: Evom is a good neighbor and works with iTunes to quickly move your videos where you want them.

One-click downloads from YouTube: Add our bookmarklet to your browser to enable one-click-downloading of your favorite flash videos.

Requires Mac OS X 10.5 or greater.
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Comic Sans

The Wall Street Journal reports: [edited]

Mr. Connare has looked on, alternately amused and mortified, as Comic Sans has spread from a software project at Microsoft Corp. 15 years ago to grade-school fliers and holiday newsletters, Disney ads and Beanie Baby tags, business emails, street signs, Bibles, porn sites, gravestones and hospital posters about bowel cancer.

The jolly typeface has spawned the Ban Comic Sans movement, nearly a decade old but stronger now than ever, thanks to the Web. The mission: "to eradicate this font" and the "evil of typographical ignorance."

"If you love it, you don't know much about typography," Mr. Connare says. But, he adds, "if you hate it, you really don't know much about typography, either, and you should get another hobby."

Mr. Connare, 48 years old, now works at Dalton Maag, a typography studio in London, and finds his favorite creation - Magpie - eclipsed by Comic Sans. He cringes at the most improbable manifestations of his Frankenstein's font and rarely uses it himself.

The proliferation of Comic Sans is something of a fluke. In 1994, Mr. Connare was working on a team at Microsoft creating software that consumers eventually would use on home PCs. His designer sensibilities were shocked, he says, when, one afternoon, he opened a test version of a program called Microsoft Bob for children and new computer users. The welcome screen showed a cartoon dog named Rover speaking in a text bubble. The message appeared in the Times New Roman font.

Mr. Connare says he pulled out the two comic books he had in his office, 'The Dark Knight Returns' and 'Watchmen', and got to work, inspired by the lettering and using his mouse to draw on a computer screen. Within a week, he had designed his legacy.

A product manager recognised the font's appeal and included it as a standard typeface in the operating system for Microsoft Windows.

Thanks to Conrad for the link
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SXSW 2009 Free Tracks Review #3

SXSW 2009 posted 1267 songs for free download in March. So far I've listened to 755 of them. Here's half-a-dozen that I haven't deleted...

All About the Music - Chad Hudson: Thoughtfully-written, competently-played, well-sung, country rock.

Death - White Lies: I had already bought this before I realised it was on the SXSW 2009 playlist. Killers-meets-Interpol, doomy-yet-uplifting rock.

Amendoim - Macaco Bong: 7 minutes of tight, inventive, sprawling, virtuoso instrumental guitar-led rock.

Dubai - DJ Sun: Blissed-out, Ibiza-esque grooves.

Works For Me - The Twelves: The Twelves have remixed just about everybody, but I think this is one they made up themselves.

You Look At Me - Rokhsan: A musical prodigy, Rokhsan blends folk, soul and pop in this delightfully scatty acoustic ditty.
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Eucalyptus

Technologizer reports: [edited]

Eucalyptus is an iPhone application that that lets you download and read books from the expansive Project Gutenberg library of free public-domain works. Judging from its Web site, it’s comparable to Amazon’s Kindle application – except all the content is free, and the interface looks to be prettier. The asking price is $9.99.

Except Apple rejected the program for including material that is “obscene, pornographic, offensive, or defamatory.” The material in question is the Kama Sutra, which has been offending (and intriguing) people for centuries. It’s not included with Eucalyptus – no book is – but it’s available at Project Gutenberg, and you can therefore use Eucalyptus to read it.

If the mere fact that an app could be used to download something dirty was enough to ban it from the iPhone, of course, Apple’s own Safari would never have made it onto the phone

My guess is that Apple’s policies don’t really ban Eucalyptus. It seems far more likely that the app fell victim to an overzealous and underinformed member of Apple’s staff who twisted the intent of the App Store’s rules and applied them in a way that nobody ever meant to enforce them.

Thanks to Conrad for the Eucalyptus link
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BarCode Image

LevSys reports: [edited]

BarcodeImage is a small application for generating barcode images. It is easy to use and includes the following features:

- Generate the following barcode types: Interleaved 2 of 5, Code 39, Code 128, Codabar, UPC-A, UPC-E, EAN-13, EAN-8, POSTNET

- Save your barcode image to PNG or EPS image formats

- Specify the output image resolution in pixels/inch or pixels/cm

- Drag and drop your barcode image to an image editor or word processor.

- Print your barcode image for proofing

Available for Windows XP/200 and Mac OS X 10.4+. Donationware.
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Urban Cross Stitching

Fresh from the 'You Couldn't Make It Up' department, Urban Cross Stitching reports: [edited]

'You heard it here first, cross-stitch is the new knitting'

Urban Cross Stitch are dedicated to 'urban-craft', updating cross stitch from twee pastime to modern graphic medium.

Urban Cross Stitch Kits, inspired by street art and popular culture, contain everything required to create your own contemporary, hand crafted cross stitch image.

All our designs can also be ordered as finished stitched pieces, mounted and framed, or, we can customise and create unique image using your own image

Urban Cross Stitch is the brainchild of London based pattern-cutter, Phil Davison. After taking time off from the couture fashion world, Phil learned to cross-stitch in Arkansas, USA, where an elderly family friend taught him the basics.

On returning to London Phil was inspired to combine his newfound love of cross-stitch with his existing love of street art, so created his own brand, Urban Cross Stitch.
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Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought...

Genius. Not sure how long the link will last, but you can click on the header picture for a larger version of the image.

Thanks to Shaun for the link
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Elgato Video Capture for Mac, iPhone and iPod

MacWorld reports: [edited]

Macworld Awards 2009 nominee Elgato Systems has announced Elgato Video Capture, a hardware/software combination solution for transferring analog video - including home movies on VHS video tape - to a Mac, iPhone or iPod.

The device connects VCRs, set top boxes, camcorders, DVD players, and other analog video sources, anything that uses composite RCA or S-Video outputs, to the Mac via a USB 2.0 interface. The package also comes with a SCART adaptor to connect the supplied RCA or S-Video cable.

With one click, videos can be transferred to iTunes, played back in QuickTime, uploaded to YouTube, or opened in iMovie for final editing says Elgato.

Generated files can be synced with video capable iPods, iPhones and Apple TV and can be edited in iMovie ‘09 without re-encoding. Elgato Video Capture automatically detects NTSC, SECAM, PAL, and PAL/60 video formats for worldwide compatibility.

Requires an Intel-based Mac running Mac OS X 10.5.6 or later.

Price: £89.95
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District 9

District 9 is a science fiction film directed by Neill Blomkamp. It takes place in Johannesburg, South Africa. It is based on Alive in Joburg, a short film about aliens landing in South Africa.

Click here for the District 9 trailer. (Or here if you want to see what the aliens look like).

Neill has also produced an Adidas-sponsored short film called Yellow.

Thanks to Conrad for the link
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Toshiba offers 512GB SSD option on latest laptop

Register Hardware reports: [edited]

Toshiba has begun selling what it claims is the first notebook to come with a 512GB solid-state drive.

The 1.1kg Dynabook SS RX2 WAJ uses the same casing as Toshiba's Portégé R600 but the company claimed the new model will run for up to 12 hours on a single charge of its battery.

The laptop's specs are: 1.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo SU9400 processor, 3GB of 667MHz DDR 2 memory, 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, Gigabit Ethernet and all the usual trimmings. The 12.1", 1280 x 800 display is driven by the Intel GMA 4500MHD graphics core built into the machine's chipset.

Available in Japan for ¥398,000 (£2755).
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Compact superzoom group test

Digital Photography Review has published an extensive comparision/review of the following compacts:

- Canon SX200 IS
- Olympus Stylus 9000 (mju 9000 in Europe)
- Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS1 (DMC-TZ6 in Europe)
- Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3 (DMC-TZ7 in Europe)
- Samsung HZ10W (WB500 in Europe)
- Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H20

Excerpts from the conclusion follow:

"Joint winners: Panasonic ZS1 and ZS3"

"The image quality of both cameras is up there with the very best in almost any shooting situations, be it bright daylight or low light conditions. At higher sensitivities none of the cameras in this comparison can cut the mustard but the ZS1 and 3 are simply not quite as bad as some of the competitors."

"The ZS3 is currently just over a $100 more expensive than its ZS1 sister model which is easily justified by the larger and higher resolution screen (which is much better than the ZS1's) and the HD video mode. As a customer that leaves the choice with you. If video is not a priority and you can live with a standard resolution, smaller screen you get, with the ZS1, a camera that is very similar to its bigger brother at an attractive price point."
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Coldplay live, free download

Tracklist:
Glass Of Water
42
Clocks
Strawberry Swing
The Hardest Part / Postcards From Far Away
Viva La Vida
Death Will Never Conquer
Fix You
Death And All His Friends

available here
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Simon Schubert

Simon Schubert creates images using folds and indents on paper.
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DVD release of Watchmen will be even longer!

Total Film reports: [edited]

If you watched the Watchmen credits roll thinking, “I really wanted to watch more of those Watchmen, I wonder when the extra footage Zack Snyder promised will arrive”, prepare to get your answer.

A director’s cut of the movie is arriving Stateside on DVD/Blu-ray 21 July featuring an additional 25 minutes of footage, including Hollis Mason’s death and more Rorschach.

Those who want to see Snyder’s master version – with Tales From The Black Freighter anime footage edited into a complete cut of the film itself – will have to wait a while longer, since the director has said that it won’t arrive until later this year or early the next.

- - - - -

for more technical info visit The Hot Blog.

- - - - -

Thanks to Shaun for the link
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Mac imagery

Web Design Ledger reports: [edited]

Here are over 40 big Apple product icons that are great for using in web designs. These are all big enough to be used as a focal point in a header for example, or along side content as supporting design elements.

Before using, make sure to check with the artist about the terms of use. Some may require permission to use commercially.
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17" MacBook Pro

My 17" 2.93GHz MacBook Pro arrived on Friday.

A pound heavier, an inch wider, less than an inch deeper and almost exactly the same thickness as the 15" MacBook Pro it replaces, it is a beautiful piece of engineering.

The migration of 200GB of data took less than two hours, and apart from a few de- and re-authorisations of applications the transition was fuss-free.

Boasting the same pixel-count as an Apple 24" display, the 1920 x 1200 (anti-glare option) screen is the best laptop screen I have ever used. And the lack of a glass screen means that my fingermarks don't show at the top of the screen where I open it, and that there is a handy recess for my Crumpler screen protector.

In just about every other way, it is as quiet, fast and well-behaved as the 15" it replaces. The 'scrabble pieces' keyboard (I chose the U.S. option as I prefer the larger right-hand return key) takes a bit of getting used to, but I now prefer it to previous Apple keyboards.

I don't use the trackpad much, preferring to plug in a Mighty Mouse. But on the occasions I do use it, it is smooth and predictable. The lack of a 'clicker' at the bottom is initially irritating, but using the one-finger tap gestures works just fine.

I've owned a range of Mac laptops since the release of the Powerbook 540 in 1994 and, so far, the 17" MacBook Pro is my favourite.
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Free font

Bernd Montag reports: [edited]

Here is the latest update of my font Sansation...

• improved spacing/kerning
• more glyphs
• two additional weights

Hope you like it! Italic versions coming soon.
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A Time To Kill

A Time to Kill is based on John Grisham's novel of the same name. Set in Canton, Mississippi, the film starts with the vicious rape and brutalisation of a young black girl by a couple of drunk white men, followed by the assassination of the arrested rapists by the girl's father, Carl Lee Hailey and the subsequent murder trial of Carl.

It is a gripping film that mixes courtroom and 'real-life' drama in equal measure. There are a number of sub-stories that make the film even more fascinating and watchable. All the cast play their parts convincingly, and anyone with a heart will find themselves with tears in their eyes on a number of occasions.

However (and it is a big however) I found myself agreeing with the conclusion emotionally, but heavily disagreeing with it intellectually. Without wishing to give away too much the film steers far too close to the 'Follow Your Heart' school of morality for my comfort.

I don't think that the producers of the film are unaware of this, and the tension between 'letter-of-the-law' justice and grace are dealt with well. And, more disturbingly, I don't have any easy answers myself.

Oh, one last thing, if (like me) you are squeamish about rape scenes, watch the beginning of the film, but skip to the next scene when you see what's about to happen.
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Crabble

Seskimo reports: [edited]

- Easy to store, easy to find - fits in an 85mm square or a 70 x 100mm rectangle - even smaller if folded in half.

- Variable landscape viewing angle 45-80° - open the arms wider to make the screen more vertical.

- Non-slip silicone rubber claws for extra stability.

- Designed for the iPhone and iPod Touch, the Crabble will also accommodate a variety of other small media players and smartphones as well as many protective cases.

$4.99
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Public domain space pix

The Book Cover Archive reports: [edited]

I recently stumbled upon nasa.images.org. All of the media produced by NASA is public domain, meaning that anyone can use it any way (as long as they obey restrictions of publicity and privacy).

via kottke
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Terminator Salvation

The Apple website has released a 4-minute extended trailer of the latest Terminator movie.

Thanks to Shaun for the link
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Transformers - Revenge of the Fallen

Latest trailer just uploaded.
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Gocycle

The Gocycle Electric Bike uses injection molded magnesium to keep its weight to an extremely light (for an electric bike) 16.3 kg including its 250 watt motor and 9Ah MiMH battery which allows you to travel for a claimed 6 to 20 miles 'with pedal input'.

Reviews of the bike so far have been very positive. The GoCycle website is an essay in 'user-unfriendly', but it looks like UK users have to purchase the bike via some kind of government-subsidised scheme for about £600.
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SXSW 2009 Free Tracks Review #2

SXSW 2009 posted 1267 songs for free download in March. So far I've listened to 586 of them. Here's half-a-dozen that I haven't deleted...

Hipster Girl - MC Lars: Lars is a 'Nerdcore' rapper. Think Weird Al Yankovic without the production budget and you'll be getting close. Some very funny observational stuff.

I'll Play What You Want - Toy Horses: If you've been thinking 'what the world really needs is a ukulele-playing band from Wales', you're in luck, as long as Scouting For Girls' lawyers don't get to them first.

4 To The Floor - Bang! Bang! Eche!: Frenetic punk dance, tight and probably highly danceable, in a 'jump-up-and-down-very-fast' sort of way.

I Fancy Laura Marling - Beans on Toast: Does what it says on the title. Ultra lo-fi busker-type fun. If you like it, there's loads more here.

My Best Friend's Hot - The Dollyrots: Girly neo-punk fun. Yep, that's about sums it up.

White Lies - My Dear Disco: A seven-and-a-half-minute electro-pop, funk, rock, techno workout. Complete with vocal modulation, a guitar & synthesiser solo and enough false stops to give any DJ a heart attack. Lovely.
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kindle DX

Amazon have just released a larger version of their electronic book reader, the kindle DX.

- Display: 1200x824, 150ppi, 16-level gray scale.
- Size: 10.4" x 7.2" x 0.38".
- Weight: 18.9 ounces.
- Storage: 4GB internal.
- Battery Life: Up to 4 days with wireless on.
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Fujifilm Finepix F200 EXR

Digital Photography Review have just published a full review of Fuji's latest high-end compact. To summarise the summary...

"Followers of Fujifilm's compacts will see the F200 EXR as sitting in the shadow of the much sought-after F30 and F31fd, but for the wider market it's undoubtedly a much improved camera."

"The F200 EXR proves itself to be a very pleasant camera to use. It'll do all the thinking for you - produce reliably good images without you having to understand color filter arrays or worry about what's going on behind the scenes."

"The way the EXR Auto system works lends itself particularly well to users that don't want to post-process (nor worry about what post-processing is), but just want clean photos from family get-togethers and holiday snaps with fewer bleached-out white skies."

"Alternatively you can specify which mode the camera uses, adjust more of the settings and take a bit more control of your shooting... on the whole it's a camera that can be trusted to help rather than hinder your photographic ambitions."

"So it's both a camera for the family and one that a keen photographer can enjoy and get some great results out of. It's built around a very useful lens (28-140mm is not a range you'll find matched by other cameras this small), and offers image quality at least up to the standards of its contemporaries."

"The EXR modes are worth having - the dynamic range mode is astonishingly capable if you're happy with the 6MP output."

"While it's not the breakthrough camera we hoped it might be, it's at least as good as its peers and occasionally better."
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The Brothers Bloom

Apple Trailers reports: [edited]

Academy Award winner Rachel Weisz (The Constant Gardener), Academy Award winner Adrien Brody (The Pianist), Mark Ruffalo (Zodiac), and Academy Award nominee Rinko Kikuchi (Babel) star in The Brothers Bloom, a globe-trotting comedy about the last adventure of the world’s best con men.

- - - - -

This looks like it could be that rarest of movies combining action, humour and intelligence.
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iPhone as camera

Chase Jarvis reports: [edited]

The best camera is the one that's with you.

As such I take between 1 and 1000 iPhone images every day and share at least one online with the world via Twitter and Facebook. These images are uploaded directly from my iPhone, with no Photoshop retouching.

This is an ever-changing gallery of my recent favourites.

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Warning to Conrad: You're going to HATE the web site's interface.
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London-Lincoln-London, 03-05-09

London to Lincoln
Lucky Number - Lene Lovich
Too Fake - Hockey
Tritsch Tratsch polka yodel - Mary Schneider
Fast Food song - Fast Food Rockers
Sweet Talkin' Guy - The Chiffons
Funky Cold Medina 'y2K - Tone Loc feat. ZZ-Bros.
Ooh Aah Just A Little Bit - Gina G
Stupify - Disturbed
The Reeling - Passion Pit
In for the Kill - La Roux
C Moon - Paul McCartney & Wings
Love Is Noise - The Verve
Miss You Less, See You More - Faithless
Tight - Mindless Self Indulgence
Clint Eastwood - Shawn Lee's Ping Pong Orchestra
Take Your Mama - Scissor Sisters
Something Good '08 (Radio Edit) - Utah Saints
I Put a Spell On You - Screaming Jay Hawkins
Together In Electric Dreams (Ext) - Georgio Moroder & Phil Oakey
Two Doors Down - Mystery Jets
I'm Your Basscreator - Basshunter
Paper Planes - M.I.A. (XL)
Over the Hill - Alessi's Ark
Just Like Jesse James - Cher
Daydream In Blue (alt) - I Monster
Oh Dear, Now I'm Sure, I Hate You - The Electric Diorama
Hush - Kula Shaker
Shake It - Metro Station
Another Postcard - Barenaked Ladies
The Heart of the Ocean - Mythos and Dj Cosmo
Two Hearts - Phil Collins
I Am, I Feel - Alisha's Attic
A Hard Day's Night - The Beatles
Words (don't come easy) - FR David
Bad Things - Jace Everett
Sing Me Spanish Techno - The New Pornographers
Black Horse and the Cherry Tree (radio version) - KT Tunstall
Beat of My Heart - Hilary Duff
Farewell to the Fairground (Single Mix) - White Lies
Achy Breaky Heart - Billy Ray Cyrus
When A Woman - Gabrielle
Daniel - Bat For Lashes

Lincoln to London
Photographs - 13ghosts
I Want You - Rachael Yamagata
The Wonder Of You - Chip Taylor & Carrie Rodriguez
In The Lap Of The Gods - Queen
Sexuality - Billy Bragg
(I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons - Sam Cooke
Disco - The Foxx
Wuthering Heights - Kate Bush
Summer of 75 - Chris Knight
You Never Even Call Me By My Name - Merle Haggard (with Doug Supernaw, Charlie Pride, David Allan Coe & Waylon Jennings)
Join Me - H.I.M. (His Infernal Majesty)
I Ain't Got No Home - Bruce Springsteen
Pearl In The Shell - Howard Jones
The Ballad of Fletcher Reede - The Smyrk
Sand - Lee Hazlewood & Nancy Sinatra
The Indweller - These Are They
Caroline - Otis Gibbs
Nothing But A Blur From A Bullet Train - Lambchop
Pirates of the Oblivion - Powersolo
Vertigo - U2
Oh Yeah - Ash
Sold! To the Nice Rich Man - Welcome Wagon
Say Mama - Gene Vincent
Close - Télépopmusik
You're My World - Cilla Black
In The Ghetto - Dolly Parton
Everything Changes - Matthew Sweet
A Man Is In Love - The Waterboys
By The Mark - Gillian Welch
Turn The Lights Down - a-ha
Race Car Ya-Yas - Cake
Tin Soldier - Small Faces
I Breathe Again - Adam Rickitt
That Tone Of Voice - Amy Rigby
Human - Human League
Straight Outta Compton - NWA
This Flower - Kasey Chambers
Should I Stay - Gabrielle
The One Rose (That's Left In My Heart) - Johnny Cash
Man On The Street - Bob Dylan
Someplace Else - George Harrison
You Know Who Your Friends Are - The Pretenders
Make Right With You - Luke Temple
Lead Lashes - Tuh-Nie
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London-Lincoln-London, 02-05-09

London to Lincoln
Instead - Madeleine Peyroux
Soft the Hard Way - 18th Dye
Tell Me Your Story - Brenda Holloway
Captain Saint Lucifer - Laura Nyro
Has It Come To This? - Streets
This House Is On Fire - Natalie Merchant
What If I Stumble - dc Talk
By The Time I Get To Phoenix - Glen Campbell
Cote Gelee - Lost Bayou Ramblers
Oughta Go Around - Hamell On Trial
Away With Murder - Camera Obscura
Let Him Fly - Patty Griffin
Incommunicado - Harvey Danger
Holdin' On Together - Phoenix
All About U - Classified
I Need To Sing - Kevin Prosch & Bryn Haworth
Frank, Ab - The Rural Alberta Advantage
Come Together - Hopeton Lewis
Breathe In (Razor mix) - Frou Frou
Your Cheatin' Heart - Glen Campbell
So Lonely - The Hippos
Coming Clean - Gary Lucas & Gods and Monsters
Troubadour (live) - Tim Buckley
Leaves And Kings - Josh Ritter
Not Going Anywhere - Keren Ann
Kindling - Architecture in Helsinki
Paradise Garden - Peter Jay
Walk On - Palomar
Moses - Patty Griffin
There Was Sun - Devendra Banhart
Driftwood - Travis
Jesus Is The Remedy - Barry Crompton
The Happy End (The Drunk Room) - Mercury Rev
Goin' Down Slow - Muddy Waters & Bo Diddley & Howlin' Wolf & Buddy Guy & Otis Span
Fingertips - The Urgency
Eve Of Destruction - Barry McGuire
The End of Self - David Martel
Running Scared - Vigilantes Of Love
Leading With My Heart - Alice Peacock
Lavender's Blue - Jane Siberry
Can't Seem To Find Him - Barry White & Love Unlimited
At 1am - The Subways
A Short Weekend Begins With Longing - The Leisure Society

Lincoln to London
Toxic - Britney Spears
Hopeful - Twista
Shout Bama Lama - The Detroit Cobras
My Best Friend's Hot - The Dollyrots
Open Your Heart - Human League
Saviours And All - Thea Gilmore
Must Be Love - Fya Feat. Smujji
Cotton Candy - Bert Kaempfert
So Human - Lady Sovereign
This Love - Maroon 5
Lollipop - The Chordettes
French Navy - Camera Obscura
Tarzan & Jane - Toy Box
Just Can't Get Enough - Wallis Bird
Do I Love You (Indeed I Do) (bootleg?) - Frank Wilson
Proper Education (Radio Edit) - Eric Prydz & Floyd
Freddy My Love - Cindy Bullens
Sale of the Century - Sleeper
The One On The Right Is On The Left - Johnny Cash
The Joker (ext) - Fatboy Slim
The Spectrum Song - Walt Disney's Wonderful World Of Color
Brand new key - Melanie
Twist - Goldfrapp
Dreaming - Blondie
The Money - Hell City Glamours
when you play a country song backwards - Rascal Flatts
Silhouettes - The Alley Cats
Mercy - The Third Degree
Black Wax - Dananananaykroyd
From Despair To Where - Manic Street Preachers
Delilah - Tom Jones
Here Comes The Sun - Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel
Bad Moon Rising - Creedence Clearwater Revival
Girlfriend (Radio Edit) - Avril Lavigne
Ring a Ding Ding - Brakes
Wild Young Hearts (Edit) - Noisettes
Return To Sender - Elvis Presley
Cigarettes, Women And Wine - Chicory Tip
The Chosen Few - The Dooleys
Hold the Line - Toto
John Kettley (Is a Weatherman) - A Tribe Of Toffs
I'll Play What You Want - Toy Horses
Help Yourself - Tom Jones
Give Yourself A Stereo Check Out - The Bran Flakes
It's Going To Happen! - Undertones
Something Is Squeezing My Skull - Morrissey
Jump Up And Down - Helen Love
Rebel Yell - Billy Idol
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Amazon buys Stanza

powerpage.org reports: [edited]

Lexcycle, Inc.'s blog announced that Amazon has purchased the company including the popular iPhone eBook reader Stanza.

According to the Lexcycle blog, there will be no changes to the Stanza application or its function as the result of the acquisition. They imply that they hope they will be able to offer more books and services through the Amazon connection.
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