Microlog
Microlog entries posted in December 2005
Those Year-End Listing Blues
The A.V. Club’s Noel Murray has had it with lists. Sort of. Permalink ·
The Observer redesign hits January 8
I still haven’t posted my thoughts on The Guardian’s relaunch in September. Better late than never, eh? Permalink ·
Near-Meaningless Facts in News Articles
Dan Gillmor rails against “facts without context that suggest something but don’t deliver”. Permalink ·
Suck.com, Gone for Good?
Important and influential website disappears from the web. But sad story takes positive spin when important and influential bloggers rally to save it. I love the internets. Permalink ·
The Catacombs, Paris
Creepy. I wouldn’t go down there alone. Permalink ·
A Day in the Life of a Reference Librarian
Is it weird that I find the idea of this job very fulfilling? [c/o The Shifted Librarian] Permalink ·
US boy’s answer to a school essay on Iraq: take a trip to Baghdad
I don’t quite know what to make of this one. The kid’s either incredibly brave or incredibily stupid. Permalink ·
Falling back to earth, alone
In 1960, Joe Kittinger shot up to 30km above the Earth in a high-altitude balloon. Then he jumped. Remarkable. Permalink ·
A Rocket To Nowhere
Maciej Ceglowski’s thoroughly researched, damning indictment of the state of the US space programme. Immensely readable, even for those with less than a passing interest in things astronomical. (Be sure also to read his recent follow-up piece, Meanwhile, Back In Space.) Permalink ·
The Rock Star’s Burden
Paul Theroux in the New York Times, on Africa as a “theater of empty talk and public gestures”. Permalink ·
What next for Zimbabwe?
“With the economy in tatters, endemic poverty and unemployment, and continued political strife, where is Zimbabwe heading as 2005 draws to a close?” BBC News readers have their say. Permalink ·
Desmond Tutu: “We have probably not done as well in regard to… those who thumbed their noses at the truth commission … We probably should have done what the legislation requires and really prosecuted people.”
It’s not too late to make things right, for everyone’s sake. Permalink ·
“Our democracy is only 11 years old. We need more time to put the past behind us.”
A sad story about an artists’ commune being ‘invaded’ by people from a nearby township, that says a lot about the lack of real effort the government has made to improve conditions for the most disenfrancised in the last decade. If only all sides could get over the bitterness of the past and see what’s really going on… Permalink ·
Crunks ‘05: The Year in Media Errors and Corrections
Sure it could have been worse. Permalink ·
chil.us
A project examining Chicago’s status as a global city, placing it in context with America’s other major metropolises. Be sure to check out the photo-slices. [c/o del.icio.us/fakeisthenewreal] Permalink ·
Hong Kong In Motion
“Photographs of cities can convey something of the texture of the sidewalk, and certainly do a good job conveying skylines or monumental spaces. But it’s harder to capture the flow of a city.” Steven Johnson gave it a go, anyway. Permalink ·
The most interesting pieces of pop music trivia that you know (that are 100% false)
I meant to post this ages ago. The list is creeping up to 1000 entries and still going strong. (I’ve got two in there; the former you can ignore but I’m quite proud of the latter.) Permalink ·
Meat Puppets Live Repository
For all your live Meat Puppets needs. Permalink ·
Merlin outlines his txt setup
I’m used to my one big text file for now, as it’s just enough for my needs. But if I need something bigger, to cover more aspects of my life, then this system looks like it’s worth a try. Endlessly resourceful, our Merlin. Permalink ·
Wikipedia entry for Getting Things Done
Amazing how quickly this all took off. Gotta credit Merlin Mann with some of that. Permalink ·
Web Browser CSS Support
Very handy to know [c/o Stylegala]. Permalink ·
Glitch Browser
An online tool that ‘glitches’ all the images on a given webpage with noise, artefacts, etc. Not that it does much for this page… Permalink ·
Lego Escher
If Lego sold kits like this in art galleries, they’d make a mint… well okay, maybe not. But I’d buy one. Permalink ·
“I am inclined to think of late that as much depends on the state of the bowels as of the stars. As are your bowels, so are the stars.”
Permalink ·
“China: The Three Emperors, 1662-1795”, Royal Academy, London
If I was in London, I would so be there. (So you don’t have to eat your hat, Jack.) Permalink ·
A list of residential high-rises constructed in the last few years in Beijing
I want an apartment at Yuppie International Garden. Just sounds like the place to be. Permalink ·
Verbatim: The Language Quarterly
I found this at least a year ago but never linked at the time. Well worth a download. Permalink ·
Little things that we do
A quirky feature about “the tics and rituals that punctuate our lives”. I’ve got a few. Permalink ·
ToneTester: A Macintosh application that tests hearing
Turns out I have a left-pitch offset of -0.15 semitones. Good to know. Permalink ·
Evening Standard Headline Crisis 2005
“A project that explores the doom-and-gloom agenda of London’s Evening Standard headline writers” [c/o del.icio.us/linkmachinego]. Permalink ·
What colours are the different lines on the London Underground?
I love standards and consistency, me. Permalink ·
Five fake Brian Wilson songs from the mid-70s
Including the old favourite, ‘French Fries in My Beard (Make Me Happy, But Sometimes Very Sad).’ Permalink ·
Reith Lectures 2005: The Triumph of Technology
The Independent’s Nicholas Lezard says the broadcasts were boring, so I’m happy enough to read the lectures instead. When I have the time. Permalink ·
Countries of the world, resized by population density [c/o A Whole Lotta Nothing]
And you can make it out of Lego, too. Permalink ·
Niche magazines on MetaFilter
Though they’ve neglected to make a distinction between niche and trade publications, there’s some pretty crazy stuff here worth a look. Permalink ·
How planespotters turned into the scourge of the CIA
This is a great story. Makes my heart warm, so it does. Permalink ·
Definition of ‘mouth-breather’
I breathe through my mouth sometimes because my nose is often congested. But I don’t leave my jaw hanging open. My point is, I find this term offensive. There’s a war against me, I know it! Permalink ·
Fuck Christmas
A sentiment for the day that’s in it. Permalink ·
Japanese battle pencils
Need I say more? Permalink ·
MetaFilter’s guide to Go
The board game, that is. I’ve always wanted to learn. Permalink ·
Photography by Tom Flemming
I can’t remember how I found this. Through links to this site in Technorati, perhaps? Anyway, some stunning work here. Just wish there was an archive I could link to. Permalink ·
Journalists for sale on eBay
A downsizing newspaper puts its staff up for auction. What a neat idea! Better get my CV ready… Permalink ·
NPR: Learning to Scream, on Cue and in Key
An interview with a vocal coach for metal growlers and screamers. If I ever start that new-wave/noise-pop/grindcore band I’ve been planning for years, this will come in handy [c/o del.icio.us/merlinmann]. Permalink ·
Long exposure photographs of Tokyo
These are just gorgeous. The sprawl, the compactness, the oversaturated colours, everything [c/o Vudeja]. Permalink ·
New York Changing, by Douglas Levere
Some stunning then-and-now photography from the Big Apple. I’ll get there some day soon, I swear. Permalink ·
The Archi-Tourist
A free, Wiki-based travel guide to contemporary architecture around the globe [c/o gravestmor]. Permalink ·
Illustrated Invisible Cities
I’ve heard so much about the book. I might get it for the long trip to South Africa. Permalink ·
Wikipedia entry for Parkour
The kids in the US mid-west call it ‘extreme walking’, if I remember correctly. Permalink ·
I am a camera
From The Guardian a few weekends ago; an article on moblogging that doesn’t once mention Flickr. Strange, that. Permalink ·
Wikipedia entry for CamelCase
The technical term for the way I spell my first name. Seeing it written incorrectly is a pet peeve of mine. Fastidious of me? Maybe. But it’s my name! Permalink ·
Bricksmith: Virtual Lego modelling for the Mac
Christmas just came early! Permalink ·
Printing a Book with CSS
I had a feeling print typesetting wasn’t much of a step up from web markup; this is the proof. Excellent stuff. Permalink ·
Wikipedia entry for Hiberno-English
A good introduction for everyone else to the way my people speak. But aside from that, this gets my vote just for the incongruity of seeing the skangerism ‘Wats de stary bud?’ in an academic context. Permalink ·
Sesame Street Encyclopedia
Plus a direct link to my all-time favourite, Telly [c/o K10k]. Permalink ·
TransFormers costumes that actually transform
Fantastic! I wonder how many of these we’ll see at Hallowe’en next year? Permalink ·
Open Source Mac: Free, Open-Source software for OS X
With some more links to open source software here. Permalink ·
Gradient Image Maker
Because I’m too lazy to learn how to do this in Photoshop Elements [c/o del.icio.us/jack]. Permalink ·
Color Scheme Tool
For when I get tired of all the grey around here [c/o del.icio.us/jack]. Permalink ·
Riffs: Your Social Recommender
I wasn’t sure what this was at first, since there’s so much going on on that front page. But I guess it’s the digital equivalent of bursting into a room full of strangers and asking whether or not they like something. Nice idea. Permalink ·
Everybody Loves Chris Ware
And so they should. This is a very nice tribute. Permalink ·
Secret of bees’ flight revealed
So that’s how they do it. Permalink ·
Dictionary.com/fantod
I heard this on Countdown recently. Delightful, isn’t it? Permalink ·
‘Shorthand’ tips for handwritten notes
Some good non-shorthand notation for practical use here. But they’ve got Pittman wrong: a pencil isn’t required, it’s just easier for most. The way I write shorthand I can’t tell the difference between the weights of my lines, and besides after a certain level of practice it’s not supposed to matter. Permalink ·
Recipe for Vietnamese Iced Coffee
Mmmm, fattening. [c/o Megnut] Permalink ·
RIAA Bans Telling Friends About Songs
The sad thing is that, like the five-blade razor, this might well turn out to be true some day. Permalink ·
The Walker: Texas Ranger clip Conan O’Brien was afraid to show
But he showed it anyway. And I thank him for it. (For supplemental laughs, watch this MetaFilter thread fold in on itself as people take the piss out of others trying to explain the joke. God, do people really need instructions for everything?) Permalink ·
stevenberlinjohnson.com: Meet The New Blog
It’s official: short-post blogging is the new black. Permalink ·
I find your lack of faith disturbing
The weblog of Josh Friedman, screenwriter. If this doesn’t turn into a book, I’ll eat my left shoe. Permalink ·
Confusion reigns over Pretoria name
Most people are ignorant or misled about the origins and signification of either name, so why not just use them both? We do it here (Dublin/Baile Átha Cliath) and it works just fine for us. Permalink ·
This circus of grief has nothing to do with Best
Damn straight [c/o del.icio.us/cityofsound]. Permalink ·
Odeo finally launches its browser-based podcast recorder
It sure took them a while. I’ll try it out some day. Permalink ·
The story of Superman V
If you thought Hollywood producers were morons before, just wait till you read this. Permalink ·
Jews and the Christian right: Is the honeymoon over?
It was only a marriage of convenience to begin with. Permalink ·
Guardian Newsblog: Helping Hoder
See my comment? The first in the list? It was actually in response to a comment left by the apparently racist Deric Williams who appears repeatedly further down the thread. I wish they’d edited mine to keep it in context, or just left in the original remarks, but anyway… Permalink ·
Blogger denied entry to US after guard googles him
Forget the main story for a moment and breeze through the comments. Who would have thought that tech nerds could be so disgustingly jingoistic and xenophobic? Permalink ·
About
This is the personal website of MacDara Conroy, a production journalist, music writer and mediavore in Dublin, Ireland. Read more »
Details
This page is a reverse chronology of Microlog entries by MacDara Conroy published in December 2005. You will find many more in the Archives.
Continuum
↑ January 2006
→ December 2005
↓ November 2005