Fab. Sort of. WordPress have introduced Phone Your Blog… “enable Post by Voice, and get a special number and code to call your blog” The uploaded file can be up to sixty minutes long. Unfortunately the number you call is in the USA.
Archive for July, 2010
New Kindle for the UK
A new and fully-revamped Kindle ebook reader is about to be launched in the UK (about time!). The big bugbear of ebook readers is the dull screen contrast in normal shop lighting. That’s the factor that has so far stopped me from even thinking about getting one, even after PDF support was added. But the […]
Community-led regeneration
29 Jul 2010 at 06:05
David Haden
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A new report, comparing the ‘Big New Expensive Buildings’ approach to regeneration with genuine bottom-up community-led regeneration, in terms of tangible long-term rewards for local residents… “Public agencies may have been spending regeneration money on the wrong things […] Research by the Chamberlain Forum into regeneration investment in Birmingham [ commissioned by Advantage West Midlands […]
The most recent abolitions
27 Jul 2010 at 03:28
David Haden
Arts cuts, Birmingham, Creative industries
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The news has been widely reported in the arts press, but here’s a round-up of the most recent cuts: The new government has announced the abolition of the Film Council. Established by Labour in 2000 to distribute Lottery money, over the last decade it has dished out £160m to various British films — almost all […]
Lovecraft on the web
I’ve started a new ‘occasional’ blog on the author H.P. Lovecraft, which is now fully pump-primed and ready to go (hi Google, please index it now…). Around 240+ blogroll links serve as an up-to-date and categorised 2010 survey of Lovecraft on the web — possibly one of the most difficult link compilation tasks I’ve undertaken […]
IOCT
I’ve recently been keeping an eye out for opportunities, for several of my ex-students. This one looks like a fab, if expensive, opportunity for recent graduates in the East Midlands: a Masters degree in Creative Technologies at Leicester. It seems to be heading into its third year of operation. There’s a… “groundbreaking cross-discipline approach”, a […]
20th Hereford Photography Festival – summer trailer show
A summer ‘trailer’ show, for the Autumn Hereford Photography Festival, opens today. It’s the touring Wellcome Trust project “Photo-ID: Photographers and Scientists explore Identity” which features: Kim Cunningham; Mark Edwards; Marlene Haring; Carl Jaycock; Asa Johannesson; Joanna Kane; Evi Lemberger; Dave Lewis; Paul Sucksmith; and Simon Terrill. The Hereford Photography Festival itself is on schedule […]
USB typewriter conversion kit
23 Jul 2010 at 05:49
David Haden
Nerds, Steampunk, Techie, Zeitgeist
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USB old typewriter conversion kit, on Etsy.
I pad
Twitter junkie? The tweet notepad and a pack of BluTack (not supplied) help you feed your silly addiction even while unavoidably off the grid. I think these used to be called “telegrams”.
Harvey Pekar, RIP
The great Harvey Pekar is dead.
Government Office for the WM to be abolished
Birmingham’s Government Office for the West Midlands is to be abolished, it’s being reported… Local Government Secretary Eric Pickles said […] “The Government Offices are not voices of the region in Whitehall. They have become agents of Whitehall to intervene and interfere in localities, and are a fundamental part of the ‘command and control’ apparatus […]
Paper Models : a symposium on laser cutting
22 Jul 2010 at 22:03
David Haden
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A symposium titled Paper Models : a symposium on laser cutting is to be held on 15th September 2010. The Centre for Fine Print Research in Bristol is the venue, and… “it will showcase the outcomes of the project, “Paper Models: investigating laser cutting technology to develop new artists’ books and paper-based creative practice for […]
One Day on Earth
21 Jul 2010 at 20:45
David Haden
Cool sites, Mapping, Photographers, Zeitgeist
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One Day on Earth. Document one day in your life on 10.10.10… “One Day on Earth is a documentary and new media project about the amazing diversity, conflict, tragedy, and triumph that occurs in one 24-hour period on Earth. More than a film, One Day on Earth is a multi-platform participatory media project. The flagship […]
New stats on the creative industries in Birmingham
21 Jul 2010 at 20:15
David Haden
Birmingham, Creative industries
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A useful new post on local creative industries statistics from Dave Harte. As always, such statistics are hard enough to calculate at the national level, due to the lumpen way the raw data is collected and sorted. When expressed at regional and city level they need to be taken with an even bigger pinch of […]
Lovecraft studies and fandom
New issue of JoIF, on the History of Lovecraftian studies and fandom.
Tales of Lovecraftian Cats
21 Jul 2010 at 08:49
David Haden
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The results of my experiment in using and re-combining old public domain stories, as a sort of scaffold, to craft and graft four new stories in the style and mythos of H.P. Lovecraft. Very successful, if I do say it myself. The book contains two prequels to Lovecraft’s “The Horror at Red Hook”, and a […]
Dead End Thrills
Dead End Thrills is an elegant new website, interfacing with Flickr galleries, dedicated to the art of the in-game screenshot. That’s proper screenshots, not the semi-fictitious marketing fluff that floats around the press before a game’s launch… ” ‘videogame photography’, an attempt to portray the drama, spectacle and beauty of games using angles and subjects […]
MonsterTalk
MonsterTalk is a free audio podcast that critically examines the science behind cryptozoological (and legendary) creatures, such as Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, or werewolves. Latest episode: the works and mythos of H.P. Lovecraft.
Birmingham Zine Festival
10 Jul 2010 at 09:50
David Haden
Birmingham, Comic art, Reading
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The Birmingham Zine Festival… “will feature a wide range of self-published books, comics and magazines. We’ll also be showcasing a selection of artwork from artists connected to the alternative press.” Poster by James Nash. [ Hat-tip: BINS ]
Future Book
09 Jul 2010 at 15:22
David Haden
Creative industries, Reading, Zeitgeist
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Future Book, a new website from and for the publishing industry on the future of the book.