Saturday night and so to the Whitla Hall for a concert by Brian Irvine, his ensemble and the Ulster Orchestra. This was a musical experience outside my normal ambit, but was stunning. Can’t remember the last time I was in the Whitla - but I do remember seeing Horslips there (for 30p) a very long time ago and even Focus.
I won’t attempt a musical crit - I don’t think I have the language; but enough to say, I’d go again.
Digital MediaOff to Radio Ulster this morning to record a piece for John Bennett’s show going out on either new Year’s eve or New Year’s day.
Rather than just interesting web pages I was talking about some new Web Applications which are changing the way we use the internet and get our entertainment.
Watching TV when you want to:
BBC iPlayer - http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer - the ambition almost every programme available after broadcast for up to a week. Can stream and download. Free
4OD (Channel 4 On Demand) http://www.channel4.com/4od/index.html Catch up on the last 30 days from free. Some archive free and some to buy.
ITV. com - http://www.itv.com/ - some archive video - watch live - video previews
Coming soon "Project Kangaroo" (working title) - http://www.engadget.com/2007/06/15/project-kangaroo-could-pool-tv-content-from-major-uk-broadcaster/ - some call it "Freeview for the Internet" - UK TV broadcasters make their programmes available in one place.
Baring in mind many if not most of the listeners will be newish to the internet, I though I should point out some sites that are already poopular and a good place to start. So "Look over your neighbours fence - from space!"
One of the greatest developments Google Earth - http://earth.google.com/ -
Not just maps and detailed photos from space - but a place where you can add your own information
The Web has always been about sharing and contributing your ideas. It’s always been about building community. The tools are now more sophisticated making it easier.
But there is nothing like old fashioned web surfing - except new fashioned web surfing with Stumbleupon http://www.stumbleupon.com/ . This is an "add-on" to browsers that can help you find new sites that will interest you and you can recommend to other users. It can only be used with the Firefox browser http://www.mozilla-europe.org/en/products/firefox/ and internet explorer
Wonderful time wasting tool. Choose the subjects you are interested in browsing - or stumbling. For today I chose Magic/Illusions, Online Games and Travel. When you get to a page you can rate it - give it the Thumbs Up or Thumbs down, you can recommend it, you can make contact with other people who liked it. Its a community built around web pages.
Games -
Winterbells http://www.ferryhalim.com/orisinal/g3/bells.htm. Simple little game where you make the bunny jump and "ding" the falling bells. Get 10 points for every bell "dinged"
Test your reaction speed - Stop the sheep http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/sleep/sheep/reaction_version5.swf
Magic/Illusions
Amazing Dots - http://www.grand-illusions.com/amazingdots.htm Watch the + and the surrounding dots disappear
Mystic Ball Will read your mind - http://www.mysticalball.com/ It’s a choose two digits - subtract one from another and the ball will "tell" you which symbol represents the answer.
Goodtricks.com: Free card tricks, coin magic revealed, cool bar tricks and levitation secrets to learn and enjoy. Card sleights featuring many free video demonstrations. Mind reading exposed. Discover mind bending show stopper techniques http://goodtricks.net/
75 Optical Illusions & Visual Phenomena http://www.michaelbach.de/ot/
And tip of the hat to Patrick Watson for a stack of suggestions including:
Midomi- http://www.midomi.com/ - Apparantly I can make "In the Mood" sound like U2’s Vertigo … Did get "Hey Jude" and "YMCA", but not Hallellulia Chorus - so perhaps more a Karoke for One game.
And if you didn’t get enough Bubble Wrap around your presents - http://www.mouserunner.com/MRGameAdds/virtual-bubblewrap-distv1.1.swf - Burst Bubble wrap virtually
Ofcom is to take a more active role in regulating the premium rate telephony services industry.
Effective immediately, existing regulator PhonepayPlus - previously known as ICSTIS - will "act as the agency which carries out the day-to-day regulation of the PRS market on Ofcom’s behalf".
Large fat middle-aged men should not be allowed to pogo … by law. I know this goes against my instincts that people should be allowed self expression - but all that weight, unpracticed since the 1980s at the latest well it’s frightening.
Stiff Little Fingers topping the bill was only part of the reason Dawn and I went to the Ulster Hall on Friday 9th March. Adam’s band The Dangerfields and Shame Academy were doing support - that’s significantly more important.
I can’t remember the last time I was at a gig in the Ulster Hall, but thinks have changed: you can buy a drink - but you can’t smoke a cigarette. And everyone was so polite (apart from the Big Fat Middle-aged Pogoer beside me).
Now Brian Young (ex-Rudi) and Greg Cowan (ex-Outcasts) are my rock and roll heroes - so an evening of Sing-a-long-a-Rudi-and-Outcasts was just the thing. Oh, how we sang, "Big Time" and "Just another teenage Rebel" (which I think pre-dates SLF. Pretty sure Outcasts released their singles in IT records before Inflammable Material). How we joined in the haunting chant "SS RUC". That says something about the enduring nature of the Punk movement, I guess.
The Stiffs? Tight, loud, honed even polished. So half an hour of that was good enough for me.
From the stage Adam reports leads of 16 year old girls singing along to the Stiff’s songs. But enough was enough. After two hours standing, I was crook backed and knackered - so early retreat. Waving goodbye to other former rockers who have more stamina than me; Henry McDonald from the Observer, Seamus O’Neill ex-Bank Robbers and Tim MGarry (Da).
The concert seemed timely - if not fitting. During the bad old days of the Troubles, a few Punks kindled a spark in the general gloom. Thirty years ago we were going through a collective hell not knowing how it would all turn out. Punk in Belfast was anti-sectarian and anti-violence. While big campagnes were being waged in Britain in projects like Rock Against Racism were getting masses of publicity, Belfast punk bands did more by just turning up at the Harp or the Pound and just playing.
9 March 2007 was also the day that the results of the Assembly election were announced. The Pound, The Harp (and the Trident in Bangor - to quote the song) have gone - as has the punks favourite police force - the RUC. Yet the final negotions are not - quite - complete.
So Alternative Ulster - are we there yet?
We punks have grown up - we’re all middle aged now - and most of us overweight but still inclined to pogo - enen though it’s not good for our knees or our neighbour’s nerves.
I know William Crawley will likely add this to his blog today. I’m adding it too. "It" is a wonderful Christmas download from Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.
The music comes from the Christmas episode - but I won’t mention the context which would spoil the story. Let’s just say a New Orleans band plays O, Holy Night.
The band is there in support of The Tipitina’s Foundation
a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, has worked diligently to uplift the music community of New Orleans. After Hurricane Katrina devastated the city, the Foundation responded by rebuilding New Orleans’ music culture. Initially, the Foundation addressed the immediate needs of our exiled musicians and allowed them to carry on with their lives. Now the foundation is using the legendary music club, Tipitina’s Uptown, as the center of its relief efforts by hosting a newly-opened Music Co-op Office that allows musicians to conduct their business activities during the daytime, free legal and accounting seminars, free music lessons for music students, regular Master Seminars, and help with housing information. An important aspect of the rebuilding process has involved finding replacement instruments for both professionals and music students alike. So far the foundation has given away over $500,000 of new instruments. Through these efforts, the Tipitina’s Foundation is saving the musical traditions of New Orleans.
Happy Christmas - enjoy the music.
I was asked if I had found all the people missing from London on Monday. On my way back home on Tuesday I found them all in the Departures area of Heathrow Airport all tryingto be somewhere else. With a mixture of Christmas exodus and a fogbound airport (and fogbound UK) the place was heaving.
Getting back home 4 hours late (via Belfast International rather than George Best Belfast City Airport - yes the name is longer than the runway) wasn’t as bad as it could have been.
