The Guardian has just launched its PDF news digest, G24
As previously noted here. Looks like it went live on Friday. They slipped that one out unannounced, didn't they? Looks good so far; I may have further thoughts on it later. #link
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Date: July 2006
As previously noted here. Looks like it went live on Friday. They slipped that one out unannounced, didn't they? Looks good so far; I may have further thoughts on it later. #link
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Something to look forward to, this. Botch were a great band while they lasted. #link
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Considering the sheer number of people I've seen around Dublin reading the Irish Daily Mail -- the filthy rag that it is -- I'm sure they'll make the money back soon enough. #link
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See if you can spot the error that Andy and Brad have made. #link
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No longer willing to fill this blog with more depressing/angering reports of continuing atrocities -- such as the killing of UN peacekeepers despite numerous warnings -- I'm filing this for future reference; I don't think it'll be beaten as a concise historial record of these recent events for some time. #link
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Wise words from someone who knows what he's talking about. #link
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A good story from Wired about blogs as a meeting point for conversation between all sides of the current conflict that manages to be both positive and desparingly grim at the same time. #link
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They sure have a way with their front pages; a shame that their website isn't up to the same standard. (See also: some more infographics on the Middle East conflict.) #link
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Disturbing, to say the least. Viewer discretion is advised [c/o del.icio.us/jack]. #link
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"...I think that regardless of whether the Israeli response is justified, it's definitely downright stupid policy. I think it's also very arguable that the response has been disproportionate at the very least, but like I said, I prefer not to take sides. Regardless, the onus of responsibility is on Israel to [stand down] -- since they do have a professional army under governmental control, unlike Lebanon -- and they're doing everything but taking the high ground. They are actively discouraging the conditions necessary for peace." Agreed. Israel is certainly in a difficult position -- knowing that even if they stop, Hezbollah won't -- but you can't fight fire with a flamethrower. And that's my last word on the matter, because writing about the wrongs of the world makes me too angry and depressed. #link
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The UN is -- as it has been for the last umpteen years -- hamstrung by the massive (and massively unfair) influence of the US administration; therefore the most Kofi Annan can do at this stage is talk. But while the intent might be honourable, talk is unfortunately cheap, and it's not nearly enough to buy our way out of this mess. #link
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Three days on, and we're still dithering. This appeasement of Israel's strong-arm tactics isn't helping anyone. #link
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A Barbelith thread on the current disaster in the Middle East, to which I have been contributing intermittently. I may have gotten off on the wrong foot with my presumption that paramilitary terrorism was being ignored in favour of singly condemning 'big bad' Israel, but let's not kid ourselves here: while I will never have any sympathy for the likes of Hezbollah and Hamas, I have absolute conviction that the Israeli government and the IDF are also committing acts of terrorism against the citizens of Lebanon (and, yet again, the disenfranchised people of Palestine). It's disproportionate to a morally unjustifiable degree -- and whatever way you want to dress it up, it is and will always be wrong. The cycle of violence has to be stopped. Now. #link
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Rex at Fimoculous.com recently relaunched his site with a brand new look, and a brand new approach to blogging — intended, he says, to signal the notion that “the future of blogging is self-aggregation”:
In a sense, we’re going back to the future. Blogs are starting to take on more of a “personal homepage” feel — a collection of media, writing, lists, reviews, events, geography, etc. In other words, we’re introducing structured data into what was previously just a text-based form.
That idea inspired me, and really got me thinking about what I want from my own website, and what I want to use it for. I asked myself: Do I just want a blog with other bits tacked on? Or do I want a site for and about me, a hub to collect and store all kinds of information relevant to and for me (events in my life and my thoughts on the world; links to other sites that interest me; what I’m reading/watching/listening to)? The site as it was is best described as the former; what I wanted was the latter. But how to get from one to the other?
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It's on every night from midnight, hopefully a permanent fixture. First impressions? I'm loving Robot Chicken and The Brak Show, but the rest isn't as funny as I'd been led to believe by the internets. #link
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I like it, I like it a lot. I can't see it displacing freesheets anytime soon, but it's a good start. #link
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Just to add my own note: Helvetica might be unfashionable, but it's underappreciated. Same goes for Georgia, which actually looks just fine in print too (if you like your fonts with a little padding round the middle). The real problem as I see it is that the wrong typefaces are being used in the wrong contexts: I never, for instance, saw Comic Sans in a real world, 'meatspace' setting until computers exploded in popularity in the late 1990s -- is it really as popular as it's made out to be, or are people just lazy, with no conscious understanding of the message and/or sub-text that such a font conveys? #link
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Does exactly what it says on the tin. #link
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I didn't bother writing anything about Haughey's passing, because John Naughton pretty much says it all. #link
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I think I get it now. Or maybe not. #link
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Neat. I was something of a philatelist in my youth, so these bring back some memories. #link
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Mine sounds a lot blander than I imagined. But I haven't been posting much lately, which could explain it. #link
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Jack started a group for aspiring writers/MeFites to exercise their narrative muscles. #link
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Will do in future. Thanks for the tip. #link
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Might try this instead of SideTrack. #link
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It's not a big archive -- but they're about quality, not quantity. #link
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Filing this for future reference. #link
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Might give this a try. #link
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The man just loves to talk! And I've got a whole new level of respect for him after seeing Thurston's deleted scene on the We Jam Econo DVD. #link
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David Byrne on seeing Sunn O))) in concert. Face it, people: metal is legitimate. #link
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Excellent news! Charlie Brooker is the funny; I eagerly await his return this summer. #link
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I posted my own choices, then promptly forgot about it for a month -- and look what it turned into! A great community they/we've got there/here. #link
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You won't find this in the Encyclopaedia Britannica. That's why Wikipedia rocks. #link
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I think my brain would melt from wonderment if I were to visit Tokyo right now. Is there anything I can take to prevent that for when I do go? #link
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This makes up for me neglecting to take pictures at the Boredoms gig a few weeks ago. #link
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I'm not a professional cataloguer (though I could have been) but shouldn't the last one be 'Video games--wrestling'? #link
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Just a pity he's preaching to the choir. #link
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