Antispin

There is a terrifying new Bill in the works over in the jolly old US of A. It’s called the *Protect IP* bill. It’s been backed by some pretty powerful conglomerates and it’s primarily driven by the entertainment industry. While I wholly oppose piracy and believe in supporting artists for the hard work they do, I also utterly disagree with what is happening right now, *this*very moment, to the Internet. The Protect IP bill will bring to accountability any provider of a platform or medium or means to share content – ISPs, Facebook, YouTube, Blogger, Twitter, Tumblr, Reddit, uncountable forums, any blogs and many other outlets for free speech. ...

My friend Chris Baker was rocking some kickass tunes at the circus jam last night and one of them was this awesome little piece which has been stuck in my head for a good hour now. The bastard played it at the end of his set. Chromeo’s Night By Night has been remixed into something far less cheesy and more awesome. Electronic music cures what ails you! He’s also DJing at the Imaginarium party in a few weeks – I’ll fish out the URL once I find the flyer. ...

I saw this a while back and it’s the simplest intro to any event I’ve ever seen but it’s the more powerful for it. It’s since been remixed and made awesomer. It’s really really worth watching. To Write Love On Her Arms is a charity dedicated to helping people get through depression and the work they do is pretty amazing and you should go check them out and support them! ...

I’ve been meaning to shoot some HDR images for a while now, ever since I got some funky custom firmware for my camera that allows for such shenanigans and makes it easier. So finally I got out and shot some!

My friend Mark Steyn, an awesome contact juggler just posted this quick short of him doing a routine in London. Well worth a look!

I saw this project on thisiscolossal.com and I’m determined to make this into a piece to go on my wall. This is so simple and elegant and, frankly, amazing. All credit goes to thisiscolossal and crafterall for finding and making this!

A friend of mine asked me for a particular photo that I shot while we were in Austria last year, skiing. I love going over my old work and rediscovering the gems! Brings back awesome memories, that’s for sure. If you want to see more of my work, head on over to my flickr page!

I’ve been following the escapades (you’ll see the pun momentarily) of ExtraCreditz for some time now. They’ve been posting hugely informative videos about all kinds of aspects of gaming that aren’t often coveredby mainstream gaming media. Unfortunately, The Escapist decided they’d screw them over after Alison, their animator injured her shoulder. $103,814. People REALLY like ExtraCreditzThere was a fundraiser to help cover her surgery as the insurance company – something that terrifies me about the USA – said they wouldn’t pay because it was a ‘pre-existing condition’. ...

This is a copy of an article I came across while looking at swordsmithing on Wikipedia and I made a fascinating discovery – nanotubes have been around and in use for much longer than we realise! Science is awesome! Carbon nanotubes are no longer the proud boast of 21st century materials scientists. It appears their discovery was unwittingly pre-empted by mediaeval Muslim sword-smiths whose tough Damascus blades taught the Crusaders the true meaning of cold steel when they fought over the Holy Land. ...

My friend Tina pointed me at this rather incredible DJ who periodically makes very chilled dubstep-y mixes. The mixes are over an hour and a half long and they flow from incredibly chilled to energetic without being in-your-face like a lot of dubstep is. To me, the difference between full-on *‘wob-wob-wob-wob’* dubstep and the more relaxed flavours is that while the former assaults your senses with sound, the latter has some spaces in the music for your thoughts and lets you experience the music better as you aren’t trying to fight off waves of sensory overload. ...

I have a whole bunch of things to share this time around. I’ve been largely ignoring this blog, except as a glorified link dump. Which has worked surprisingly well, actually! So today, I have not only music, but awesome miscellanea to share with the Internets. The first thing is Welder’s new track: https://youtu.be/pbRm5gis2nY It’s pretty relaxed and takes a while to wind up to full speed, but it’s wonderful to listen to. ...

relationships are weird sometimesA friend of mine linked this article on Facebook. I read it and lo, I beheld that it was wise and good. More than that, it mirrored the changes that took place in my own head over the last 3-4 years. I’m equal parts happy that this advice is out there and sad that nobody ever told me this shit. It took a good few months of depression and some serious conversations with my friend who became my ‘girlfriend’* to get me over the depression and show me all the stuff that this piece talks about. ...

I heard this tune at about 9am at Burning Man across from our camp. It drew me out of my yurt and got me spinning my poi and the guy playing it was kind enough to restart it when I asked him what it was! CocoRosie – Werewolf (Omega Remix) Mastered FREE 320 by OmegaDubstep

Someone at work plugged this bad boy into the sound system and it’s sublime! Röyksopp never fails to make more awesome. The buildup in this tune is spectacular but doesn’t leave you waiting as much as some tunes do, for which I have massive respect. Also, it strikes me as a badass tribal bellydance tune! Listen, enjoy, comment, share!

I haven’t done a music blog post in a while – mostly I’ve been busy doing work things and scrambling around catching up with people and so forth. I came across this tune being played at work over our Spotify account and it’s wonderfully catchy. Not exactly the reinvention of the wheel in musical terms and the vocals are pretty standard fare, but it’s put together nicely and is great listening nonetheless! ...

I came across a piece on TheNextWeb about how the UK government is partly blaming Twitter and RIM’s Blackberry Messenger software for the riots in London and other UK cities. Cameron opened his address with: “Mr Speaker, everyone watching these horrific actions will be stuck by how they were organised via social media. Free flow of information can be used for good. But it can also be used for ill. ...

I’ve had this conversation with a few people now and the overwhelming consensus is towards agreement. In the UK, the police operate on the basis of *policing by consent.* That doesn’t mean that the police can only arrest you if you *agree* to your arrest – that would be ludicrous. It means that the police force’s effectiveness and even its existence is dictated by the people’s agreement that they represent the rule of law. ...

I’ve been loosely keeping my finger on the pulse of what’s been going on over the last few days. So far I’ve seen some interesting facets of society emerge during the London riots: The mindless fuckwits who are intent on burning/smashing/looting everything under the sun because they’vebeen granted crowd anonymity. The awesome humanitarian/community projects that have arisen as a result like the glorious #riotcleanup and Operation Cup of Tea movement. ...