Going to be VERY useful
Considering how I feel now – this is going to come in useful, foods that help fight colds
Sometimes they just slip by…
I’d never heard of this fella before today, but Tom Baxter is a British singer-songwriter who has just re- released his second album – titled ‘Skybound’, after a short run release in June 2007.
It opens with ‘A night like this’, which had me thinking of the Jamie Cullums of this world – double-bass driven and slightly jazzy in places, I nearly hit the off button and went back to something else, but there was something in that voice that made me listen on. I’m glad I did.
The following tracks are a different thing all together, the title track is nicely built around a really quick rhythm track – gently picked guitars and subtle strings with a gentle piano building up to a great crescendo. ‘Better’ is definite single material, and ‘Tell her Today’ is full of almost flamenco guitar, which gives it a real urgence. ‘Last Shot’ is excellent with more subtle strings and pianos, and ‘Icarus Wings’ is pretty special too.
It’s a very gentle album – there’s nothing here to set the hip kids alight, but this will find a comfortable slot in a lot of peoples CD collection, well written, relaxing and well crafted.
Charlie Wilsons War
I understand from what I have read that Tom Hanks has a reputation for being a stickler to detail, and he’s a bit of a control freak. In which case, I wonder who does his quality control for films, he has made very few duds in his career – Da Vinci Code anyone?
However, he has made some superb films – and Charlie Wilsons War – released on the 11th January in the UK is no exception. It is a drama based on a true story, from a book by George Crile about a Texan senator (Hanks) with a reputation as a hard drinking, womanising Texan, who gets involved in the background to the Afghan/Russian war. Assisted by a wealthy Texan socialite (Julia Roberts) and a rogue CIA agent played by the masterful Philip Seymour-Hoffman he embarks on a political campaign to supply Afghan militia with the weapons to fight the Soviet Union and hopefully influence the Cold War.
Truth is often stranger than fiction – and this is such a case, where the real-life story is far more interesting than anything that could be dreamt up. The characters are larger than life and great to watch, and the story has eerie echoes that are still being played out across Global conflicts. The exchanges between Hanks and Seymour-Hoffman are electric, each one at the top of their game.
Incidentally – there is a masterful cameo appearance by one of my favourite actors – Ken Stott (Messiah, Rebus) who plays an Israeli agent involved in the trafficking of arms.
This is a must watch film – the 90 odd minutes flies by, and the acting is truly brilliant.
Union Street – Greenock – 1904
Union Street, Greenock, Scotland – sent to Edith Rice, Newton Stewart, Ireland in 1904 with a message between lovers:
If lovers were lovers always,
The same to sweetheart and wife,
Who would change for a future of eden,
The joys of this chequered life.
But husbands grow grave and silent,
And cares on the anxious brow,
Oft replace the sunshine that perished,
With the words of the marriage vow.
click more to see the reverse.
Whats your Dunbar number?
Interesting article over at Web Worker Daily – I think my Dunbar number is low, probably about 100/120. Keeping track of all these relationships is difficult – but if you look around, the tools are out there to help you.
For example – Steve Clayton showed me a tool called Terraminds, which allows you to search exclusively inside the Twitter eco-system, I’ve been experimenting to find out whether people are twittering about me, or AdCenter or the competition – it means that I don’t have to follow these people on twitter, I can just look at the whole eco-system at once.
This really adds to one of the reasons I suggested you should be using Twitter, it’s a ‘pull’ environment which is less intrusive than mail and IM – so people are using it to capture digital ephemera and thoughts.
I’m convinced this is where all the fast moving conversations are happening on the web. Try terraminds with some search terms and you’ll see the buzz happening.
Bill Gates exit Interview
Engadget get some time with Bill Gates before he leaves MSFT – will be interesting to see how those last few months go around Redmond – there are bound to be some events.
John Harvey-Jones
Sad news – Sir John Harvey-Jones has died – age 83 – one of the UKs leading industrialists
Ikea – put your Ektorp opposite your Jerker?
An lot of the furniture in my house comes from Ikea – it is well priced, nicely designed and replaceable if tastes change.
I have Billy bookcases, Data cutlery, Ektorp chairs and a Frederik desk in my office, but I have always wondered how Ikea decides on the funny names for each of their products?
In turns out that there is a system (it is Scandinavian after all) and the lovely wikipedia community have them all written down.
Check out the (not so secret) system after the jump
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