Archive for May, 2012

“Igor, prepare ze serum!”

A researcher at Birmingham City University, investigating the audience experience of suspense thriller movies, needs survey respondents. To be followed by Stage 2… “The experiment will be approximately 1 hour and takes place at Birmingham City University during May-July 2012.” Crackling electrodes optional, I’d hope… 😉

Digital Cultural Heritage Demonstrator

Digital Cultural Heritage Demonstrator: the Breakfast Road Shows, in June 2012. There are four in and around Birmingham, including the Light House in Wolverhampton. 8.30am-10am. Free. “The new £2.4 million ERDF funded West Midlands Digital Cultural Heritage Demonstrator project is now underway. The project aims to demonstrate how collaborative projects, exploring the use of digital […]

Shakespeare in 100 Objects

Shakespeare in 100 Objects, courtesy of students at the University of Birmingham. Above: a bodkin.

Head Barber

Want to be the next Director of The Barber Institute of Fine Arts, University of Birmingham? The post is available.

Tyred

When you average out car speeds, it appears that cars in most parts of the West Midlands are travelling at about the same speed as a fit commuter cyclist, or a sprinting athletic man.

Birmingham Zine Festival – 2012 dates

Birmingham Zine Festival dates for 2012: 12th-15th October.

British Postal Museum, online exhibitions

The British Postal Museum: online exhibitions. “Post Office rules stated that game [animals], including rabbits, could be posted with nothing but a neck label as long as ‘no liquid is likely to exude’”… The London photography exhibition “The Post Office in Pictures” runs at The Lumen until 31st August 2012.

Blooming eccentrics

The Sunday Telegraph celebrates the “magificent whackiness” on show in various gardens throughout the land… Where Britain’s eccentrics bloom.

Spaghetti Junction is 40 today

Birmingham’s monument to the 20th century car culture is 40 years old today.

Wolvo Uni Animation Showreel

Wolverhampton University Animation Showreel, class of 2012…

Walkability

Interesting correlation between walkable neighbourhoods and creative industries business location. And it’s a study of Ontario, Canada, so it can’t be argued that the hot climate means people can do without cars.

A Fairy Queen in Wolverhampton

Glyndebourne’s production of Purcell’s The Fairy Queen is being shown live at the Light House cinema in Wolverhampton, Tuesday 24th July 2012.

New Midlands Comics Collective anthology

A new Midlands Comics Collective anthology, due for publication any day now…

B’ham to Stratford by bike

Fist of Light tackles the 31-mile bicycle ride from Birmingham to Stratford-upon-Avon (home of the Bard, etc)… “In places […] we found ourselves free wheeling through thick mud. It’s not a journey to be made on a road bike.” Sounds very similar to the Barlaston-Stone mudbath stretch south of Stoke-on-Trent, which effectively cuts off Stoke […]

Easel.ly

Easel.ly, a new simple infographics editor service for those who run screaming from Photoshop. Still in beta. Currently a bit template-y. Possibly not going to produce something like this infographic of Iranian blog censorship, any time soon…

A date with Jurn

The search results on my academic search-engine JURN can now be re-sorted by date…

Birmingham City Council and the arts

Interesting lengthy blog post by Councillor Martin Mullaney (Lib Dem), on the arts and culture in Birmingham following the recent local elections in the city… “The new Labour [Party] administration [at] Birmingham City Council [has made] the decision to get rid of the position of Cabinet for Leisure, Sport and Culture and leave 95% of […]

Those Euro billions…

“the West Midlands paid in £3.55 [to the EU] for every pound it gets back [in European grants]” — Open Europe‘s Director Mats Persson, giving evidence to the Communities and Local Government Committee.

Srsly Phenomenal

Srsly Phenomenal: An Investigation Into The Appeal Of Lolcats, apparently a Masters dissertation at the LSE. I wonder if it includes mention of the LOLcat precursor, CATscan? wantz tu read…

Writing Britain: Wastelands to Wonderlands

A new exhibition at the British Library: Writing Britain: Wastelands to Wonderlands (£9, 11th May – 25th Sept 2012 — although Time Out claims it will run to 25th Nov?). The show explores how authors have shaped our understanding of the British landscape. Here in the West Midlands, the Malvern hills are probably our most […]