Collected posts from the various blogs I’ve contributed to since 2002.
Bags are packed, cleaning is almost finished and the time for yet another transatlantic flight looms. I must check flight times, numbers and departure terminals. As term has now started again at the University, the chaplaincy have published their latest newsletter, including a snippet from my review of The Passion Of The Christ.
Will Davies’ latest article at Progress Magazine makes interesting reading. He uses the term ‘democratish’ to describe the plethora of media and similar organisations which are often seen as part of the democratic process but which don’t contain democratic safeguards, and goes on to look at some of the effects of consumerist politics.
One of the best surveys of ‘social software’ I have yet found is this from a Canadian University’s Communication Studies course. It provides a good overview of many of the developments in communication technology and online community over recent years (and reminds me that I really need to read some works of Howard Rheingold). What continues to be lacking in much discussion of online community is an analysis of the results of the overlapping layers of relationship which exist between members of various online communities. Tools such as Technorati, which detail links between blogs can articulate some of the links which exist between blogs but fail to represent any explanation of how that link came to be made. Similarly, technologies such as XFN ( XHTML Friends Network) can go some step towards articulating relationships between the creators of sites and content, giving some indication of the nature of those relationships, but they are still some way from contextualising the content of the conversations which are interwoven in those relationships. ...
Once again picking up on a story that is rapidly making the rounds on blogs, I picked this quote out from Gregory Wright in G2’s latest article about blogging: I like the idea of just writing something. If it wasn’t for keeping a blog, my written output would amount to about 10 words a month. I’m sure someone once said something about people writing in the past because they had something to say and people writing nowadays to find out whether or not they’ve got anything to say. There’s probably something in that. ...
With thanks to bananie for the tip-off: Donnie Darko is to be re-released. Having only seen the original cut in the theatre/cinema (choose your language) three times, I’m rather glad that I’ll have the chance to do so again. And very glad I didn’t get round to buying the DVD as yet. Does anyone know if this new release will be more than the original with the deleted scenes from the DVD edited back in? ...
As we have seen conflict after conflict erupt across Africa over the past few decades, mention has usually been made of the impact of colonialism and the manner of its withdrawal on the political stability of that continent. While colonialism, and its attendant carving up of countries along arbitrary national borders, is not the sole cause of Africa’s woes, no serious analysis can take place without recognition of that legacy. ...
A post on an email list pointed me to Book Blog’s Gender Genie which seeks to analyse texts and calculate whether they’re written by men or women. My experiments with it so far have yielded results that are far from accurate. But of more interest was the fact that it offers three ‘genres’: fiction, non-fiction, and blog entry. The Guardian is carrying an article suggesting that airlines may need to require travellers to the US to check-in five hours before take-off in order to get through new security checks. I wish I could be more surprised than I am. While this is likely (hopefully) an exaggeration on the part of the airlines, it coincides neatly with our discovery that the fiance visa process changed again yesterday (more on that here or at Kari’s blog when we know the implications). ...
For those who haven’t been following Kari’s blog in detail, I thought a brief update might be in order, particularly in light of her latest entry. We are currently in the process of applying for a K-1 fiance visa, which is the recommended route before getting married in the US. There are two stages to the processing, one in the US and one in the UK. While the visa is being processed in the US I can come and go freely on a visa waiver, but once that stage is completed I can’t enter until I enter on that visa. ...
The Gospel Music Association is a curious beast, and doesn’t often seem to have much idea of proportion. But it’s still a little surprising to hear the President of Word Record say that stealing Christian music is like stealing Bibles – and just as wrong. Delusions of grandeur, perchance?
The BBC is reporting that the Electoral Commission has recommended no change in the minimum voting age for the UK. Many proposals had suggested reducing it to 16, but that suggestion appears to have been narrowly defeated in debates. Thankfully, they are recommending redressing the imbalance between voting and standing ages. You will now, should you so wish, be able to stand for election as an MP aged 18, rather than the current 21. ...