Microlog
Microlog entries posted in February 2011
Wikipedia entry on the Japanese addressing system
“Street names are seldom used in postal addresses… and most Japanese streets do not have names.” Permalink ·
Cin-O-Matic
For keeping track of upcoming cinema and disc/download releases. US-centric, but that shouldn’t matter too much. Permalink ·
Wikipedia’s list of films considered the greatest ever
Tokyo Story is pretty fantastic, far better than Kane. See also: The AV Club’s best films of the ’00s. Permalink ·
Wikipedia’s list of common misconceptions
I’m surprised this is up for deletion, as its utility is pretty self-evident to me. See also: Kitchen Myths and The Baseball Myth. Permalink ·
What are your best magazine articles of all time?
There’s something off about that headline, but there’s a good selection of long-form writing here. Permalink ·
This Gaming Life free to read online
Jim Rossignol’s book on gaming culture available in full online. Shame it’s not downloadable as an e-book. Permalink ·
What I Mean When I Talk About Games Literacy
Understanding games as stories and systems, the latter with limitations that must be respected by the former. Or something like that. Lots to think about. See also: Emmet’s frustrations with conventions in game design. Permalink ·
Some links on copyediting
“It’s a hard job, but someone’s gotta do it. Permalink ·
Anime/Manga Title Generator
Just for the lulz, like. Permalink ·
Where was the Nighthawks diner?
Best of the web right here. Just read it. Permalink ·
Skirmish Wars: Advance Tactics
Interesting looking print-and-play strategy board game, based on Nintendo’s Advance Wars. Permalink ·
Chris Morris: ‘Bin Laden doesn’t really do jokes’
Interview with the Day Today/Brass Eye mastermind. I haven’t yet seen Four Lions, so this will serve as a reminder. Permalink ·
Apollo 11 Saturn V Launch
Words aren’t required for this one. Permalink ·
List of Crayola crayon colours on Wikipedia
With hex codes! I heart this [c/o Kottke]. Permalink ·
Pictaculous
Upload and image and get an appropriate colour palette. Neat. Permalink ·
Anger over Irish Mail on Sunday’s ‘Tribune edition’
Big furore over this; I can’t recall it ever being done before. But it’s no surprise that the Mail are behind the stunt. I mean, there’s mockery at your competitors’ misfortunes, and then there’s a direct attempt to mislead consumers. Gutter journalism at its worst. Permalink ·
New papers: the San Francisco Panorama etcetera
Haven’t yet opened my own copy of the Panorama. Yet no matter how good it is as a product in and of itself, if it’s a prototype for what a daily newspaper should be it was ill-conceived from the start: there is simply no way that amount of effort, that amount of variety, can go into a daily publication. It’s a pipe dream. Now as a weekend paper, that’s a different matter. Permalink ·
Toward a Grand Unified Theory of n00bs
The big problem here is that it’s never been easier for web novices to learn about the web, but their patience has dwindled by the same degree. It’s the same reason why people don’t read manuals. Permalink ·
Mind your language: in praise of subeditors
The editor of the Guardian style guide writes in praise of subeditors: “Given the indispensable contribution that they make, it seems perverse that the role of subs has been questioned, albeit mainly from those more interested in the cost of everything than the value of anything.” Permalink ·
Virtual Drum Machines
So many samples! Never know when you’re gonna need something like this. Permalink ·
UpStart: an alternative election poster campaign
“UpStart is a non-profit arts collective which aims to put creativity at the centre of public consciousness during the Irish General Election Campaign in 2011. We plan to do this by reinterpreting the spaces commonly used for displaying election campaign posters in Dublin City.” Best thing to come out of this whole ridiculous situation. The poems are my favourites; better than any bullshit election manifesto. (By the way, if anyone starts a Flickr gallery of these posters, please do let me know.) Permalink | 0 Comments ·
Walking in Holden’s Footsteps
Completely forgot about this when I was in New York last year; seems like I traced some of his steps. Another time! Permalink ·
Howard Zinn obituary
It’s been a year since he died; too few have learned his lessons. Permalink ·
Read Houdini’s books via Google Books and Library of Congress
Saved here for future reference. Permalink ·
Gateways to Geekery: Japanese Noise-Rock
Bit of a genre mash-up here, as none of the bands really sounds like the others, but still a decent introduction to underground and experimental rock in Japan. Permalink ·
Why the future doesn’t need us
“Our most powerful 21st-century technologies — robotics, genetic engineering, and nanotech — are threatening to make humans an endangered species.” I’ve already Instapaper’d this to read on my Kindle. Permalink ·
This Is Not a Mixtape
On the resurgence of cassette-only labels. My take on it is that it’s definitely genre-based — it’s all drone and noise artists, really — and it’s become a bit of a hipster thing for many, no longer just an aesthetic choice. Anyway. See also: 101 Cassette Labels and Expressway’s Guide To The Cassette Underground. Permalink ·
A True Story Of Daily Mail Lies
If there’s one thing the US media has over the press on this side of the pond, it’s this: fabricated stories end careers in the States, but seem to make them over here. Permalink ·
Dancing About Architecture
“It’s about experience and advice based education and information — telling people who want to get into various sectors of journalism the truth of the business, giving practical advice, encouragement and tips.” Site seems to be a bit fallow at the moment, but I’m still looking forward to those podcasts. Permalink ·
Bad Moon Rising: The Practical Lessons of Sonic Youth
“Maybe Sonic Youth’s signing to a major in 1990 — spurred by pragmatism, bad histories with dodgy indies, and just the right amount of youthful/artistic naivete — laid some of the foundations toward helping us be okay with the right kind of corporate assistance 20 years later.” Yeah, but. Sonic Youth were a special case. And where are they know? Signed to an indie (Matador). Still, some good thought food here. Permalink ·
David Byrne on the protests in Egypt and Tunisia
“Who would have expected all this to grow from a single street vendor who refused to pay bribes?” See also: follow rolling updates on the revolt in Egypt at Storyful. Permalink ·
7 Essential Skills You Didn’t Learn in College
Good stuff here. And if I might add to the reading list for statistical literacy: Ben Goldacre’s Bad Science column. Permalink ·
A Very Special Episode: Arrested Development, ‘Good Grief’
It’s about one episode, but it also explains why the show as a whole is so damn good. Permalink ·
Oral History at the End of the World: World War Z and its Cousins
I still need to read the Max Brooks books; I feel like I’ve missed out on the whole zombie zeitgeist. 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 February 2011. You will find many more in the Archives.
Continuum
↑ April 2011
→ February 2011
↓ January 2011