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Saturday, April 30, 2011
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Chernobyl - 25 Years: Adi Roche
Adi Roche has done a lot of outstanding work for the people of the Ukraine, Belarus and Russia, who are suffering from the effects of the Chernobyl incident. She has highlighted the plight of these people and managed to generate millions of dollars of humanitarian aid for the people. And no one can or should try take that away from her....
But she's the epitome of the "will someone please think of the children" bridgade. Watching the documentary "Chernobyl Heart" I was struck at all the exaggerated "ah mother of god, the babies... look at the babies" dialogue. And there are far too many pictures of her, like the one above and right, staring at the camera while holding a deformed child. This shit doesn't appeal to me, I think there's something grotesque and narcissistic about it, but maybe that's just the type of image needed to get people involved in charity. Not me though, that shit puts me right off.I seem to have gone a bit serious with this post, which wasn't the plan. Let me address that by now including this odd image I found of Adi Roche.
Something's not right there, I wonder if the radiation has finally caught up with her...
With a nuclear disaster the size of Chernobyl looming in Fukushima, who will step upto the plate and offer aid to the people of Japan like Adi did for the people surrounding Chernobyl? Perhaps Adi herself can do it, without sacrificing any time from her Chernobyl appeal. Something amazing is happening to her after spending 20 years in the exclusion zone....
Adi Roche has begun to fission! Now there's an Adi for every corner of the world.
And finally....
Chernobyl - 25 Years: Coitus In The Exclusion Zone
Some people will do anything to get a blog post. Well it looks like it worked.
[ more at EnglishRussia ]
Chernobyl - 25 Years: The Stalker Reflection
The Chernobyl indecent has always been the spookiest things to think about. I say spookiest rather than scary because the feeling wasn't just fear. There was something awe invoking about the thought of an abandoned nuclear plant teetering on the brink of meltdown with a crumbling sarcophagus being unable to contain the ensuing cataclism. Even the words are chilling... "sarcophagus", what a great word: A manmade shell to hold back the cascade of Pandora's Box.
As the years passed though, and the more I saw and read about the disaster, that feeling of acute doom dispersed. It still feels eerie watching footage of the disaster but, and if you can forgive the term, my feelings towards Chernobyl have mutated. I've became immersed in the story and the mystery, and place of north Ukraine have become very much a long term interest. And that's what this post is really about. We can get wrapped up in the romance of Chernobyl and nuclear fallout, as if it's just some cosplay for people to dress up for at the weekends, but real people are still suffering from all this, 25 years on. For me, the illustration above would have an extra picture included about Armageddon at the top but other than that it's a true personal reflection. That doesn't mean I feel bad about that though, but one does sometimes need to step back and think about the realities of life.
In the wake of the nuclear catasphorie in Fukashima, Japan, many pondered on the idea whether this was a new "Chernobyl". Some then continued to ponder if Fukushima would be the setting for a new STALKER game. People were disgusted at these thoughts, with the notion of it "being too soon" to mention anything about it. Here's the thing though, with nuclear fallout, even after a hundred years it will still probably "too soon" to use it for trivial entertainment purposes. STALKER has given many people new insights into the trials and tribulations of the people surrounding Chernobyl... as well as many hours entertainment blasting radioactive zombies in a virtual exclusion zone. It's all about balance.
A video of abandoned villages inside the exclusion zone. It's such a great setting for a gaming environment, even if full of tragedy.
Chernobyl - 25 Years: Чорнобиль
A view of the Chernobyl plant from the abandoned city of Pripyat. [original]
"The Chernobyl disaster was a nuclear accident that occurred on 26 April 1986 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in theUkrainian SSR (now Ukraine). An explosion and fire released large quantities of radioactive contamination into the atmosphere, which spread over much of Western Russia and Europe. It is considered the worst nuclear power plant accident in history, and is one of only two classified as a level 7 event on the International Nuclear Event Scale (the other being the Fukushima I nuclear incident). The battle to contain the contamination and avert a greater catastrophe ultimately involved over 500,000 workers and cost an estimated 18 billion rubles, crippling the Soviet economy." [wikipedia]
"This film shows the terrifying images captured by the Russian filmmaker Vladimir Shevchenko on scene at Chernobyl those dreadful days in April 1986. Shevchenko later died suffering from the radiation he exposed himself to. Sadly, his name is not among the official casualties of the accident." [youtube]
Sunday, April 24, 2011
MIDI Files Are Killing The Music Industry
Back in the bad old days of the internet (pre/early Napster/MP3 era) people used to swap MIDI files across the interwebs. MIDI files, for the uninitiated, are small sized computer files containing musically instructions for your computer [midi sequencer] to generate a musical tune. They are not the audio recordings, they are synthetic intereptations of the song. People would spend hours transcribing and crafting MIDI files of songs they loved listening to and performing, often just as a hobby. The music industry thought this enjoyment was unlawful and so set about to destroy the practice. I personally remember the scare mongering they were trying to generate back then. MIDI files, the things people laugh at when they started playing... MIDI files, like home taping and DAT tapes before them, were going to destroy the music industry... and they wonder why no one cares about their worries of mp3 downloads now.
The following was written circa 1996:
[ http://www.midi.org/newsviews/usco_pr.shtml ]
Groundbreaking new U.S. Copyright Office opinion equates MIDI files with CDs and audio cassettes
Source: Business Wire
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE) via Individual Inc. -- The MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) Manufacturers Association (MMA) with assistance from multimedia industry leaders such as Thomas Dolby/Headspace, Microsoft, Apple, Yamaha and Kurzweil announced today at the Interactive Multimedia Association Expo that legal opinions from the U.S. Copyright Office state that MIDI files are subject to mechanical compulsory licenses when not accompanying a motion picture or other audiovisual work.
This groundbreaking and controversial decision will significantly lower publishers per unit licensing fees for MIDI recordings of musical works. At the same time, it will allow for a substantial increase in the number of published MIDI files, increasing publishers overall revenues and bringing MIDI into the mainstream consumer audio market.
"MIDI technology can dramatically improve music education, games and Internet applications," said Tom White, president of the MMA. "But until now, licensing for audio-only MIDI files has been difficult and expensive."
According to Charlotte Douglass, principal legal advisor to the general counsel, United States Copyright Office: "The Office still considers the media upon which aural sequences are recorded (unaccompanied by visual images) to be phonorecords and that such media are subject to a mechanical license or compulsory license under Section 115. The output of Standard MIDI files are works of authorship copyrightable as sound recordings since the information in the file causes the sound device to render the pitch, timbre, speed, duration and volume of the musical notes in a certain order, as does a player piano in conjunction with a piano roll, or a compact disc player in conjunction with a compact disc."
"This opinion clarifies for everyone that MIDI files are no different from other forms of audio," said Brian Ward, special counsel to the MMA. "This has been the critical missing link for explosive growth in consumer interactive audio applications."
While removing barriers to the use of MIDI data in many areas, this opinion still leaves unresolved other creative control issues affected by a compulsory license. "Our intent is to continue our dialogue with publishers and songwriters to help create solutions which will allow everyone to benefit," noted White.
Comprised of over 140 hardware and software companies from various industries, the MIDI Manufacturers Association (MMA) is dedicated to improving and standardizing the capabilities and marketability of MIDI-based products. Membership includes leading companies from every application of audio and MIDI technology, including stage and theater, music performance, home and studio recording, multimedia computing, film and broadcast, and others.
The MMA's SMF Copyright and Licensing Committee was formed with the assistance of charter members Roland and Yamaha to communicate the interests of the music products industry and its customers to music publishers, artists, and copyright holders in hopes of developing a strong market for commercial MIDI files.
For more information, please write the MIDI Manufacturers Association, P.O. Box 3173, La Habra, CA, 90632; or visit the MMA Web site at http://www.midi.org.
Partner: Eiffel Tower (2007-present)
After serving enlisted in the US Air Force, Erika earned a congressional nomination to the US Air Force Academy in 1993 where her training to become an officer was interrupted by a sexual assault in which she defended herself with a Japanese training sword.
Erika was given a medical discharge for PTSD due to her unwillingness to give up sleeping with the sword that had protected her." [wikipedia]
[ "I married the Eiffel Tower" independent.co.uk ]
Object sexuality is a funny old thing. Roger Taylor (Queen) knows all about it...
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Monday, April 18, 2011
Arthur: In Trouble With Irish Banks
Everyone's getting all hot and bothered about the new Arthur (2011) remake. "Russel Brand is an abomination", they're saying. Well whatever. I don't think I could watch the remake anyway. From the trailer, all the jokes are shit and flawed. I decided to take another look at the original. From watching it I feel that if they had to remake it, Dylan Moran might have been a better choice (I seem to often say he would be a better choice for things, I don't even like the man). A cantankerous drunk, much better altogether. Anyway...
So I was watching and the story progressed, and they ended up in the "Bach Building", which is where Arthur's family wealth is tied up (his full name is Arthur Bach, you see). What does one spy also on the wall of the building? Oh nothing except the Bank of Ireland name and logo. Admittedly, it's not as bad as seeing an Anglo or even AIB logo but it's still funny to wonder how fucked he and his wealth would be if he was around today in general. I'm speaking the character of Arthur of course, not Dudly Moore, because Dudly Moore is dead.
Carrigstown...Twinned With LazyTown
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Tron
In 1982, film makers tried to make reality look as fake as possible....
In 2010, film makers tried to make fakery seem as real as possible.
The original Tron film is superior to it's 2010 successor in most ways, but most surprisingly, it out-trumps it even in visuals. In the original film, the environment seemed to look the way it did out of purpose. All the neon filigree seemed to be there out of necessity. In Tron Legacy, the neon inlay and beading on leather jackets was included purely for fashion. If they had cast all the characters with the same CGI facelift procedure they did for young Jeff Bridges, the film would have felt more authentic too. What else... Jet engines falling out of the sky due to lack of atmosphere (couldn't they have gone with a cheesy idea about bit-depts and buffer overflows or something) and rubber skid marks on digital vectors from digital tyres ruined the film for me. I enjoyed Tron Legacy more, when I imagined it was set in the future and not inside a computer.
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Maria Höfl-Riesch
The big wedding of 2011 is of course not that Prince William and Kate Middleton rubbish over in England but the marriage of Maria Riesch and Marcus Höfl in Germany. The wedding of the Apline Ski champion and her sports manager took place last week, on the 14th and 16th of April (registration and religious ceremony, respectively).
Maria Riesch took the overall Crystal Globe for the 2010/2011 skiing season in March and I have been holding off posting anything about it until after her wedding. This is primarly due to the circumstances of how she was declared winner. She was leading Lindsey Vonn in overal standings heading into the final race weekend. The two were within 3 points of each other when the final race was cancled and Maria was declared champion. While this was an unfortunate way to end the season, this is ski racing. Maria didn't get those extra three points over a weekend, she has dominated the standings since the beginning. Many races were canceled during the season, it's just something that happens. Rather than congratulate her [close friend], Vonn has remained bitter about the situation and it's reported that she failed to attend either of the wedding ceremonies. In fact, there appears to have been no contact between the two [close friends] since the last race in March.
I never liked Lindsey Vonn. With respect to American readers, she always came across as a typical American athlete ("if I lose, it's your fault!"). She was playing mind games with her "enchanted shin" during the 2010 Olympics just to upset the rest of the skiiers, especially her [close friend], Riesch. She's good, I can't take that away from her. Some of her performances in the speed competitions this year have been awe inspiring. But what is the price for it all? Riesch seems less dogmatic in her approach to winning, and has a history of choking when the pressure increases. She has said that she always felt genuinely happy for (her close friend] Vonn when she came second place to her in years previous. In general, she comes across as a very nice woman. Lindsey on the other hand, well... Lindsey likes to win all the time. |   |  |
[image sources : 1 , 2 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7]
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Everyone Had To Have A Religion In 1911 Ireland
Following up on the last post about this years Census form and the religion question contained within, I took it upon myself to see what the people of 1911 put down for that answer. I wasn't too surprised to see that there were no big trends for the word "Atheism" in the search but what was surprising is the fact that anyone who answered along the lines of "no religion", "none" or just not aplicable, someone had come along and written "information refused" over the top. It seems that the notion of being without religion was in contempt of the census.
This might seem fitting for the time, but with the way the question is posed on the 2011 census form I wonder if little has changed. The supposition is that you have a religion and the option for no religion seems merely tacked on at the end. And as suspected, reports have surfaced of enumerators telling people to tick Roman Catholic if they were simply baptised, irrespective of their practising habits now.
[ List of 1911 Census Forms with "Information Refused" ]
Census 2011
The questions I have looked at however have already led to confusion. "Where do you usually live?" This question might have been fine in pre-Celtic Tiger Ireland but most of us own 12 houses now. People like me tend to move about a lot during the week and it can be a case of lucky-dip on where I'm sleeping on a particular night (this is because I'm a professional gigolo). The form offers assistance: "usually" is defined as "mostly". Well that's great, I'll just ad up all the nights I spend on locations in a year and... well that won't work, I'll have to go back in time and start keeping a record. If the census form was more about the individual and less about the "household" this shit wouldn't arise. Surely the question should be, "where do you class as your principle home" as opposed to where I usually live. As it is now, I will have to deliberately lie on the form regarding this because my principle home is not where I spend most of my time but everything I have is registered there and it is where I will be spending the night filling out the form. And what if I was camping out in the woods on the night??? God help the homeless and the travelers.
Speaking of god. We have the lovely little question about ones religion. Another fucked up question. With the way it's worded I again can't feel confident answering it. I'm technically a Roman Catholic because I was baptised and therefore registered as that, but because there is no god and Jesus was just a carpenter, I'm not actually Christian. But does that make me an Atheist? What if my views can't be put into words. I may tick the "no religion" box and write "Nihilism" in the "other religion" box, which will be still counted as described in this Atheist Ireland video below...
The CSO warn that providing false information may be punishable with a €25,000 fine. They might just as well have said a €1million. How can they fine you if they don't know you exist, isn't that what filling out the form is for, to let them know you exist! With "helpful" definitions like "usually = mostly" how can they ever hope to get statistics that are anyway correct. Perhaps I can answer all the questions by stapling my underpants to the outside, with a big jizz stain on the crotch. "There ya go missus, compute that!"
On second thoughts, I'm not looking forward to filling out the form.
Playing S.T.A.L.K.E.R. With Personal Haxx
Not really, but fuck you!
I may sound like a Stalker n00b in this post, but I've actually been playing for years. Such is the longevity for the game, I've yet to even start the "Call of Pripyat" chapter. Currently making my way through "Clear Sky." Given the length of time I've been playing, it make have outed Flashpoint as my most favorite game ever.
Studying real maps of Chernobyl adds to the mystique but does little for the gameplay...
View Larger Map
Saturday, April 09, 2011
Monday, April 04, 2011
Sunday, April 03, 2011
Jizzward: The Men With A Bit Of Jizz
Paul Durcan and Vincent Browne: two men with a "bit of jizz in them" [original edit BMD]
[Friday Late with Vincent Browne "jizz" episode]
The best bits from the show [getting Jizzy with it] via Big Mental Disease
Saturday, April 02, 2011
Safety Cameras: Increasing The Chances Of Road Side Death
There is an ad campaign, on the television, about these "safety" cameras. And before before I start let me just address once again, the bullshit of the term "safety" camera. These are not fucking safety cameras, they are speed cameras. Safety cameras would imply that they do more than measure speed. They don't check for careless driving, or mobile phone use, or seatbelts or any of that "safety" stuff. These are speed cameras. The naming scheme is really what annoys me most and not their actual existence.
So anyway, they have these ads on the tv about them. "Safety cameras. Save. Lives." Wonderful, wonderful. That makes everything else ok then. But because the vans are bullshit, people are (rightfully or wrongfully) burning the shit out of them around the country. The most recent one being in Wicklow. Now, yes, yes... murder is of course wrong and no one should lose a life just because they are operating a cynical-governmental-falsely adverised-money-spinning-fraudulent-fuckface-spewing system of catching people driving too quickly on badly built and maintained roads, but imagine if someone did die. Imagine if someone lost their life because of directly being involved in the operation of "safety" cameras. Imagine if the operator was burnt to a crisp inside.
Again I'm not saying that someone dying because of this is right, whether they are burnt to death or dragged, kicking and screaming out of the van; their throat slit and their quivering body tossed in front of an oncoming articulated truck.. whichever you think is best... But there is now a genuine risk in death occuring from these incedents and what is the governement going to do about it? Maybe they should create "Safety Safety-Vans" to protect the "safety" cameras and their operators. Or maybe they could just improve the roads? Nah, no money in that.
[ image sources i ii iii iv ]
Friday, April 01, 2011
My Lame Idea For April Fools' Day 2011
Since February this year I was thinking about what amazing idea could I fool you all with on April 1st. Well this is it, or at least, what it would have been. I planned to start posting a load of links to copyrighted material, films and music and such, a few weeks before hand. Fake links obviously and I even toyed with the idea of inventing a few "rare" works (Bootlegs of Chris de Burgh concerts from behind the Iron Curtain etc). Then I planned to post a fake email I got off Google telling me my blog would be deleted if I didn't desist in posting copyrighted material. Finally early this morning, if I had gone along with the idea, I would would have made my blog magically vanish from the internet or replace it with an image like the one above. But... I got lazy so stick that up your bottoms!
Paul Gogarty... Sings!
I listened to this live on the radio this morning. I was half asleep, the volume was very low, and I wasn't expecting much. I thought it was bad but, you know, not totally awful. I may reevaluate my opinion now. At the end of the show after getting lambasted by Louis Walsh, Gogarty shouted out that it was all an April Fools joke. Whether true or not, it came across like a desperate attempt to save face.Paul Gogarty previously joked he's only 25% gay. Going by that scale, I think I must be at least 90% gay then. One doesn't like to make a big deal out of sexuality and I'm be the first to complain when people think they know me inside out from the partial image they see of me, but he certainly does like to camp it up doesn't he.
He is slowly becoming the real life incarnation of David Brent. Getting into bed with Bertie Ahern will do that to you though. What will rock bottom bring? Surely he is hurtling towards it now. But I'm actually growing to like the man at the same time. I may campaign for Paul Gogarty to participate in Louie Spence's next series of "Showbisniess" on Sky1. He would make Starman look like Elvis. So, c'mon Paul. We're all rooting for you. Show us what you got!
Dáithí Ó Sé To Marry Rita Talty
Move over Prince William and Kate Middleton, Dáithí Ó Sé is getting married! Ireland's most eligble batachelour at one point is to marry his "Rose", Rita Talty, later in the year. You can read more about it [ here ]. Bhuel Holy God!
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