2010 Archive
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Title: Dexter Season 5 Review
Published: 2010-12-14 13:08:00
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Warning: this post is spoilerific from the outset!nnnnnnSo that’s Dexter over for another year - though arguably to many people’s surprise not for good. Having had 24 hours to digest the series finale I thought I would jot down a few of my feelings about it.nOn the positive side the acting delivered by all the central characters was, as always, superb with stand-out guest roles from Julia Stiles (Lumen) and Johnny Lee Miller (Jordan Chase). I really enjoyed the relationship with Lumen and was surprised how successfuly they managed to evoke empathy without creating either a martyr or villain of her. Several of the episodes were extremely tense (though nothing has yet managed to rival the Doakes showdown in series two) and on the whole the Barrel Girls plot line was entertaining - if not as elegant or gothically beautiful as The Ice Truck Killer or Trinity.nOn the other hand I can’t help wondering where Dexter - as a character and a series - has left to go. Between Rudy, Rita, Lila, Miguel and now Lumen I feel like we have explored the gamut of credible relationships for Dexter. Other than some sort of Lila / Lumen hybrid Natural Born Killers scenario (which would feel like a huge retread) then I think it’s safe to say that Dexter is on his own now. The end of this season was incredibly downbeat (far more so than Rita’s death for me) and sort of dumped Dexter right back where he started - disconected, bewildered and completely alone. Where do you take a character like that other than further down? Part of Dexter’s stregnth has always been it’s delicate tightrope between light and dark - murder scenes scored with salsa music - but increasingly the character is travelling a road where humour feels unwelcome.nThe one thing that I expected to happen in this series that didn’t was for Dexter to begin to drop the code and go a bit wild and trigger-happy after Rita’s death - it seemed to hint at this in the first episode too when he beat up the guy in the gas station bathroom. I was expecting to have his character pushed in a more chaotic and unsustainable direction to force the inevitable end - be that Deb catching him in the act, a boat-ride into the sunset or some grizlier demise.nI couldn’t help feeling let down that Deb didn’t whip back that plastic sheeting instead of hitting the great plot reset button and leaving. Deb is now really the only character left that Dexter has any meaningful relationship with - the kids are more like plot props than characters the viewers actually care about - it surely has to be her that either brings him in or set’s him free in the end..nObviously Showtime have a massive cash cow on their hands and although the plot has been feeling the strain since series 3 the show is more popular now than it’s ever been. I can’t help being concerned that they will continue to eak it out until Michael C Hall decides to throw the towel in.nDexter’s bad is still better than most show’s brilliant and it would have to get far, far worse before I would even consider not watching it. However, like a great meal no matter how good it tastes I will get full up eventually.
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Title: From a fake Lady Gaga CD to a thumb drive that is a pocket-sized bombshell – the biggest intelligence leak in history
Published: 2010-11-29 11:46:00
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nnAn innocuous-looking memory stick, no longer than a couple of fingernails, came into the hands of a Guardian reporter earlier this year. The device is so small it will hang easily on a keyring. But its contents will send shockwaves through the world’s chancelleries and deliver what one official described as “an epic blow” to US diplomacy. The 1.6 gigabytes of text files on the memory stick ran to millions of words: the contents of more than 250,000 leaked state department cables, sent from, or to, US embassies around the world.n“I would come in with music on a CD-RW labelled with something like ‘Lady Gaga’ … erase the music … then write a compressed split file. No one suspected a thing … [I] listened and lip-synched to Lady Gaga’s Telephone while exfiltrating possibly the largest data spillage in American history.” He said that he “had unprecedented access to classified networks 14 hours a day 7 days a week for 8+ months”.nnI realise this is actually a rather serious story - but I have to admit I’m still giggling at 'lip-synched to Lady Gaga’s Telephone while exfiltrating possibly the largest data spillage in American history’.nOur Lady gets everywhere ;)
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Title: Book Review: Killer Photos with Your iPhone by Matthew Bamberg, Kris Krug and Greg Ketchum
Published: 2010-11-13 22:15:00
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nSince getting my first iPhone I find I am using it to take almost all my photographs (bar those that require particularly high-res or studio quality) partly because of convenience but largely because of the amazing options for in-phone photo editing and sharing. So it was with great excitement that I received my copy of of ‘Killer Photos with Your iPhone’ through the post..n“Killer Photos with Your iPhone shows students how to take fantastic pictures using the camera built right into their iPhone. Because of its portability and unique capabilities, the iPhone camera is now one of the most popular digital cameras on the market, and this book shows you how to do everything from taking simple pictures to using apps to snap and create innovative images. You’ll find information on the basics of shooting with an iPhone, including how to aim, compose, and focus your shots, as well as shooting within an app platform, and even post-processing. Many of the most popular photography apps are covered, and explained option-by-option with full-color images that allow students to see the progression of the app all at once instead of step-by-step. Covering both the 3G and 3GS iPhone models, this book will have students shooting, editing, and sharing killer photos in no time!”nThe first section of the book is aimed at beginners learning the basics (both of the iPhone specifically and photography in general) however there are lots of handy tips and hints that seasoned users may find useful too.nHowever it’s the second half of the book that I personally got the most out of. It covers more detailed issues such as dealing with various kinds of lighting (often one of the few real problem areas of the iPhone camera) and, most interestingly for me, guides to post-processing apps such as Photoshop.com, CameraBag, PhotoForge, FX Photo Studio and Tiffen Photo. The book goes into each featured app in great detail and as well as discovering a few apps I hadn’t heard of I also learned quite a few new things about ones I already used.nI really enjoyed this book - I found it very easy to read and useful. The language is engaging and informal throughout (not too geeky for the casual gadget owner) but at the same time not as forcedly 'humorous’ as the Dummies guides. I would definitely recommend it to anyone with an iPhone regardless of knowledge base.That said, I would particularly recommend it to any iPhone users who are new to photography as well as it really frames iPhone photography within improving your photography skills in general.nBuy it on Amazon.com here >>nFollow the authors on Twitter >>nAs a side note you can see some of my own iPhone photography and art here and a 'phone art’ event that I helped organise here.
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Title: Fanzine
Published: 2010-10-21 18:13:56
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[gallery]n`A loving look at this DIY strand of publishing, from its earliest incarnations up to modern day online`E-Zines’nnThis is the ultimate book on Fanzines an amateur magazine produced by fans, for fans of a certain subculture. This highly visual illustrated book is full of reproductions of the best fanzines ever created, from the superhero tributes of the 1950s and 60s, to punk fanzines such as Sniffin Glue, right up the contemporary e-zine scene. Arranged in six chronological chapters, each with a thorough introduction, Fanzines spans eight decades of counterculture and features many extremely rare publications. Written by a fanzine collector and expert author, Fanzines has cult appeal for anyone interested in graphic design, magazine publishing or underground culture.nnI would love to get hold of a copy of this :)
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Title: Lady Gaga - Then You Love Me
Published: 2010-10-15 17:09:31
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Lady Gaga - Then You Love Me So this is a pre-Fame demo that I’ve become obsessed with recently. I know it’s sort of awful but somehow I just Can’t Stop Listening to it. I like to think of it as the best thing that Steps never recorded.
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Title: A Kylie Moment
Published: 2010-06-14 11:42:30
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A Kylie moment is when a bit in a song inspires a slightly unexpected surging emotion, and happiness but also some sadness, with a sense of being slightly close to tears for no real reason. It is a bit like Christmas.nnPopjustice - An interview with Kylie Minogue
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Title: Scissor Sisters | Night Work
Published: 2010-04-14 12:03:36
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Scissor Sisters | Night WorkA. MAZING.
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Title: Hole – “Samantha” (Stereogum Premiere) | Stereogum
Published: 2010-03-30 17:20:45
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Hole – “Samantha” (Stereogum Premiere) | Stereogum
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Title: Spotify playlist: Melancholy and Infinite Bowie
Published: 2010-02-05 13:29:57
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Spotify playlist: Melancholy and Infinite Bowiemelancholy and infite bowienDavid Bowie – SundayDavid Bowie – 5:15 The Angels Have GoneDavid Bowie – Slip AwayDavid Bowie – The Loneliest GuyDavid Bowie – Try Some, Buy SomeDavid Bowie – She’ll Drive The Big CarDavid Bowie – If I’m Dreaming My LifeDavid Bowie – Something In The AirDavid Bowie – Everyone Says ‘Hi’David Bowie – Thursday’s ChildDavid Bowie – Strangers When We MeetDavid Bowie – SurviveDavid Bowie – Bring Me The Disco KingDavid Bowie – SevenDavid Bowie – DaysDavid Bowie – What’s Really Happening?David Bowie – Brilliant AdventureDavid Bowie – The DreamersDavid Bowie – OutsideDavid Bowie – Thru’ These Architects EyesDavid Bowie – New Angels Of PromiseDavid Bowie – AbdulmajidDavid Bowie – Pallas AthenaDavid Bowie – A New Career In A New TownDavid Bowie – No ControlDavid Bowie – You’ve Been AroundDavid Bowie – Nite FlightsDavid Bowie – The MotelDavid Bowie – I Know It’s Gonna Happen Someday
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Title: New Year, New Playlist
Published: 2010-01-12 13:58:07
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New Year, New PlaylistMarina And The Diamonds – I Am Not a RobotPolly Scattergood – Other Too EndlessKate Bush – How To Be InvisibleMarina And The Diamonds – SeventeenLittle Boots – RemedyLady Gaga – Dance In The DarkRoisin Murphy – Movie StarFlorence + The Machine – Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)Bat For Lashes – DanielAmanda Palmer – The Point Of It AllPolly Scattergood – Bunny ClubAdam Lambert – SoakedAmanda Palmer – What’s The Use Of WondrinBat For Lashes – What’s A Girl To Do?The Killers – SpacemanPet Shop Boys – My girlM.I.A. – Paper PlanesMadonna – Revolver - feat. Lil WayneKaty Perry – I Kissed A Girl (Jason Nevins Funkrokr Extended Mix)Dragonette – Fixin To ThrillEva Simons – Silly BoyLady Gaga – TelephoneShakira – She WolfMIKA – Relax, Take It EasyLady Gaga – TeethRöyksopp – The Girl And The RobotLady Gaga – So Happy I Could DieDragonette – Jesus Doesn’t Love MeRöyksopp – Tricky TrickyAir – Alpha Beta Gaga (Edit 91)
