Microlog: April 2006
May is National Album Recording Month Tue 18 Apr 2006
Like NaNoWriMo, but for rocking out: 31 days to make a 31-minute record. Will you be joining in? I will, as is my want, be taking the concept one step further, by improvising and recording a one-minute track each day throughout the month. Oh yes. To be continued…
The Great Quake 1906-2006 Tue 18 Apr 2006
Today marks the 100th anniversary of the San Francisco Earthquake. I’ve spent the last few weeks reading a book about the event which, like Mat, I found disappointing. I gleaned a lot about the San Andreas Fault and seismology in general, for sure, but much less than I expected about the earthquake itself. Oh well. (See also: Wikipedia’s good introduction to the 1906 quake.)
eyetwist_signs_162.jpg Sun 16 Apr 2006
You just don’t see art like this ‘round these parts.
Blogging the Changing Media Summit Mon 10 Apr 2006 | 0 Comments
Seems like a bit of a waste of time to me, with all the tired talk of ‘leveraging’ this and ‘monetising’ that. The most important thing I can glean from it all is that the old media vanguard seems determined to maintain their status quo and bend the web to their own will, completely oblivious to the fact that they’re hopelessly transparent in their motivations and machinations, and that the web and its users are already leaving them behind. The quality (re: podcasting, especially) might not be there yet, but at this stage it’s the freedom that’s more important. (See also: Tom Coates expands upon and clarifies his comments re: social media, which gives some more context to the argument.)
Expandable Messenger Bag by Manhattan Portage Mon 10 Apr 2006
This is my new bag. I’m digging it muchly. (Delivery was quick, too: I ordered it on the 31st and it arrived last Monday — only three days later.)
Hacking the user interface through tags Mon 10 Apr 2006
“Tagging isn’t just metadata; it’s metadata you can use.” Makes me wonder if I’ve been using my tags right; rather than a form of internal navigation, they point outwards, to other blog posts, to give some context to my own.
JBL says 'buy Apple' Mon 10 Apr 2006
Man, how could I ignore this one! (By the way, he’s the WWE US champion, not the US WWE champ as the article states. Just to be clear.)
Movie Genre Primers Mon 10 Apr 2006
If you don’t know your Dogme from your Troma, this is the place for you [c/o kottke.org].
Tiltomo Mon 10 Apr 2006
A content-based visual image search engine. for exploring Flickr by colour or theme. If you want to lose yourself for a few hours [c/o WaxyLinks].
DIY Frappuccinos Mon 10 Apr 2006
That’s great and all, but pray tell, what is this ‘vanilla coffee’ of which you speak?
Links on the 'broken windows' theory Mon 10 Apr 2006
See also: Wikipedia entry for Fixing Broken Windows.
Textfiles Mon 10 Apr 2006
I can’t even describe this. Just go there and have a look around for yourself.
Tierra Del Fuego Mon 10 Apr 2006
Since Maciej moved to Argentina he’s been regularly recording his travels and experiences, both in text and in great photo studies like this one (you may need to reload the page to get all the images).
Guardian Unlimited: Podcasts Mon 10 Apr 2006
The Guardian’s new podcasting service. And they’ve gone all out, too. Talk about convergence…
4096 Color Wheel Mon 10 Apr 2006
Unbelievably cool interactive colour picker [c/o del.icio.us/barryf].
Paparazzi! Mon 10 Apr 2006
An OS X utility for capturing full-length screenshots of web pages. Very handy indeed.
Celebrating One Year of Anarchaia Mon 10 Apr 2006
Chris celebrates the first anniversary of the tumblelog with some stunning statistics. Just look at those numbers. That’s crazy.
Malcolm Gladwell has a blog Mon 10 Apr 2006
And quite a good one it is too.
Urville Mon 10 Apr 2006
An imaginary city that exists only on paper and in the mind of its autistic savant creator. Astonishing [c/o Boing Boing].
The Great Outdoor Fight Mon 10 Apr 2006
I never really got Achewood before, but this story arc had me riveted [c/o Hammersley].
Agnes Poirier: Blogging is not journalism Mon 10 Apr 2006
A journalist completely missing the point of blogging? Never! But in all seriousness, Poirier is anyway wrong in her definition of journalism. It’s neither a hobby nor a profession: it’s a practise [c/o Bobbie Johnson].
Berliner Guardian named newspaper of the year Mon 10 Apr 2006
They deserve it.
Send me an Odeo Sun 09 Apr 2006
Just a little social experiment… I’m not fishing for compliments, I swear.
Dan Chung's photo blog Sun 09 Apr 2006
For me, this is the highlight of the new site. Not only do we get impressive images from a photojournalist at the top of his game, but we also get the story behind them, and even technical details for the photo-nerds. This is exactly the the type of thing that will keep newspapers alive and kicking in the internet age.
Comment is free Sun 09 Apr 2006
The Guardian’s new comment blog, to which I am finally linking. It’s only been up a few weeks but can already boast over 1,000 posts (compared to my measly 2,021 since November 2001). Some really thoughtful stuff in there, and it’s great to see the writers getting involved in the comments, too.
How long would it take before a zombie's muscles were no longer functional? Sat 08 Apr 2006
Some people have too much time on their hands. But hey, you never know when you might need an answer to such a question.
Barbelith discusses book format and readability Sat 08 Apr 2006
Myself? I hate paperbacks with shitty-quality paper and type that’s too small, but I also find hardbacks unwieldy and far too expensive. And I only wish I had the space for trade paperbacks. Oy. (See also: Literary Novels Going Straight to Paperback; related Metafilter thread.)
Forty-one percent of Israel's Jews favour segregation Sat 08 Apr 2006
I hate to bring up the ‘A’ word, but…
Tokyo Secret City Sat 08 Apr 2006
There’s a secret Murakami-esque network of tunnels running beneath Tokyo, allegedly. Sweet.
Can you read without using your inner voice? Sat 08 Apr 2006
The answer, quite simply, is ‘no’. Bad Science’s Ben Goldacre has been cracking me up lately with his excoriation of the ridiculous Brain Gyms and the impossible crap it advises, such as ‘reading without your inner voice’. Where do they come up with this shit, and more importantly why do people fall for it?
Talk isn't cheap Sat 08 Apr 2006
A witty introduction to the world of the voiceover artist.
Wikipedia study 'fatally flawed' Sat 08 Apr 2006
Basically, Britannica’s fucked because their subscription revenue stream has been taken away from them by Wikipedia, which by now has really transcended the traditional idea of the encyclopaedia. Everyone knows Wikipedia’s flawed, but in the same way as the opinion of someone smart whom you trust is flawed. Britannica just doesn’t get it; if anything’s really flawed here, it’s their attitude.
The BBC has a ranked list of rude words Sat 08 Apr 2006
Reminiscent of George Carlin’s seven dirty words, but the difference is you can say most of these words on British TV as long as it’s after the watershed.
Multitasking is bad for you Sat 08 Apr 2006
What is it with kids today? It’s great to be connected and all, but it’s nice to have a time-out now and then.
The Most-linked Blogs in September 2000 Sat 08 Apr 2006
I didn’t start my blog till just over a year later, by which time quite a few of the sites listed here had exploded in popularity — a ‘blog bang’, if you will.
Ansel Adams' Lost Los Angeles Found Sat 08 Apr 2006
A stunning photoset. Might not be around for long though due to copyright issues, so get it while it lasts [c/o MetaFilter].
DocuWiki Sat 08 Apr 2006
Looks interesting; might be a better fit for my WikiThesis.
Modernism is abroad, generally Sat 08 Apr 2006
Dan Hill’s take on The Guardian’s Modernism special from a couple of weeks ago. I’m hoping to make it to the V&A exhibition before it ends in July.
Mind Hacks on eliminative materialism and philosophy of mind Sat 08 Apr 2006
I’ve had an interest in the philosophy of mind since my undergrad days. Much food for thought here. (See also: A retro ‘Chinese room’ moment.)
Go to the Web, young journalist! Sat 08 Apr 2006
There’s no need to shout; some of us are already looking. Though it’ll be easier in the future, when the web will be taken more seriously.
Divine inspiration Sat 08 Apr 2006
A phsychoanalyst muses on the muse, while some artists reveal what inspires them.
Phil Gyford's Timeline Sat 08 Apr 2006
Now this is what a styled table is supposed to look like! Impressive information design too.
The State of the News Media 2006 Sat 08 Apr 2006
An exhaustive report covering the state of journalism in America, but much of it would apply to most Western nations [c/o kottke.org].
CSS Naked Day Wed 05 Apr 2006
In case you were wondering where the design went.
Happy Birthday, D. Boon Sat 01 Apr 2006
Screw April Fool’s — the 1st will always be D. Boon Day to me.
About
This is the personal website of MacDara Conroy, a (no-longer) 20-something production editor living in Dublin, Ireland. Read more »
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This page is a reverse chronology of Microlog entries by MacDara Conroy published in April 2006. You will find many more in the Archives.