Tom Steel

Since MTV started in 1981 with Video killed the radio star, music videos have been a big part of musical culture. It’s a shame when they’re just 3 minutes of someone singing into a microphone, so here’s five that stand out for me for making the most of the opportunity and not taking themselves too seriously.

LMFAO – Sexy and I know it

Click here to view the embedded video.

There’s a censored version on VidZone with smiley faces covering the speedos which I think is an improvement, but I can’t seem to find it online.

Foo Fighters – Big Me

Click here to view the embedded video.

The Foo Fighters often make excellent video, and it was a tough call to pick this or Learn to Fly.

DJ Format featuring Jurassic 5 – We know something you don’t know

Click here to view the embedded video.

Rappers in animal costumes break dancing. What more could you want?

Utah Saints – Something good ’08

Click here to view the embedded video.

The origins of the Running Man dance, in Wales. Who’d have thought it?

Blink-182 – All the small things

Click here to view the embedded video.

I could create a new post just about mocking music videos but Blink-182 do a nice summary here.

Honorary mention to Rizzle Kicks cover of Price Tag for flashing a Cafe Nero card to show how big they are.

It seems a tradition for anyone with a blog and an iPad to list their “essential” apps, so here’s mine.

• Accuweather – Is it still raining outside and you hadn’t noticed?
  http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/accuweather-free-for-ipad/id364616869 
• Adobe Ideas - Sketching app that also works with other documents for annotation.
  http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/adobe-ideas-1-0-for-ipad/id364617858
• Adobe Photoshop Express – Simple photo editor
  http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/adobe-photoshop-express/id331975235
• Amazon – Simple to use shopping app
  http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/amazon-mobile/id335187483
• BBC iPlayer – Catch up on the past 7 days BBC TV and radio
  http://itunes.apple.com/app/bbc-iplaayer/id416580485
• Box - Cloud file storage, an easy way to add a bit more capacity to your iPad.
  http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/box-for-iphone-and-ipad/id290853822
• Dropbox – Cloud file storage, an easy way to add a bit more capacity to your iPad.
  http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/dropbox/id327630330
• eBay for iPad – Now you’ve spent all your money on an iPad, buy some second hand things or sell your unwanted junk.
  http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/ebay-for-ipad/id364203371
• Flipboard – Stay up to date with news, twitter, rss feeds and blogs with this enjoyable to use app
  http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/flipboard/id358801284
• Google Currents – News/magazine app reformatting publications for easy online reading
  itunes.apple.com/gb/app/google-currents/id459182288
• The Guardian Eyewitness – Photography summary of stories from around the world.
  http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/the-guardian-eyewitness/id363993651
• TV Guide for iPad – Does what it says on the tin.
  http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/tv-guide-for-ipad/id379455139
• IMDB – Internet Movie Database for when you can’t remember what films that actor has also been in
  http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/imdb-movies-tv/id342792525
• Media:Connect – if you have a media server on your computer or network drive, this make it all accessable on your iPad.
  http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/media-connect-for-dlna-upnp/id335036887
• Reeder – Google reader app
  http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/reeder/id375661689
• Scrabble – The classic board game.
  itunes.apple.com/gb/app/scrabble-for-ipad/id371808484
• Snapseed – Photo editing app with abundant features
  http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/snapseed/id439438619 
• SpellTower – Bejewelled style word game.
  http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/spelltower/id476500832
• Ticket to Ride – Based on the best selling board game, the challenge is to build as many routes across america connecting different cities before your opponent. ££
  http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ticket-to-ride/id432504470
• Trip Advisor – Check out hotels and attractions for holidays or quick weekends across the world.
  http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/tripadvisor-hotels-flights/id284876795 
• Twitterrific for iPad – Excellent twitter client
  http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/twitterrific-for-ipad/id359914600
• Wikipanion for iPad – Wikipedia app making the site even more accessable
  http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/wikipanion-for-ipad/id364195592
• Words with friends – Scrabble-like word game played online.
  http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/words-with-friends-hd/id364140796

That’s my list. Let me know yours.

I’ve seen two examples of impressive live data visuals today, from two very different systems for very different projects from The Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis (CASA) and French fashion retailer Pimkie.

Color Forecast

By analysing live webcam footage from Paris, Milan and Antwerp, this site collects colour information and presents it as trends for days, weeks and months.

www.pimkiecolorforecast.com found via www.springwise.com

London Data Table

For a display at the Smart Cities, Bridging the Physical and Digital conference, the CASA team built a physical table of London, and projected real-time data of  live aircraft positions, live traffic and bike hire usage to movies of public transport over 24 hours

Found via www.digitalurban.org and bigdatatoolkit.org

With the recent pay-per-view Prime Minister scandal and the publicity over Conservative Party “Donor Clubs“, I was interested what a donation to each of the main parties got you.

I did class the Lib Dems as a main party, but they don’t tempt you with what your money buys so aren’t included below.

So here’s what you get:

• Labour: £5 – Leaflets for two streets
• Labour: £10 – Window posters for 150 houses
• Labour: £25 – 250 campaign balloons
• Conservative: £30 1,000 campaign leaflets
• Labour: £50 – Leaflets for twenty streets
• Conservative: £50 200 personalised letters
• Conservative: £75 200 welcome packs to new home owners
• Labour: £100 – 2000 text messages
• Conservative: £365 Telephone canvassing 2000 people
• Labour: £250 – Phone calls to five streets of voters
• Labour: £500 – Direct mail to 2000 voters
• Conservative: £600 - 1500 newsletters. An annual donation also entitles you to join Party Patron’s Donor Club
• Labour: £1200 – Entitles you to join Thousand Club

• Conservative donation page:  www.conservatives.com/Donate.aspx
• Labour donation page: https://www.labour.org.uk/donate/

For further comparison, here’s what similar amounts of money can buy if given to the Red Cross (other charities in need are also available):

• £25 could provide ten mosquito nets.
• £40 could buy rice for one person for over three months.
• £80 could help twenty people by providing feed for their animals.

Here’s a selection of reviews I’ve seen on Amazon that I thought I’d collect together for other’s entertainment. Enjoy.

Microwave for one - $19.92

Buy this book, or don’t, I don’t care anymore
“It used to be that I got home from work and the only thing I’d want to put in my mouth was the cold barrel of my grandfather’s shotgun.”

Box Canvas Print of Paul Ross - £2,500

20 inches of total nirvana
“For a while I considered mounting a large number of these on my ceiling to create a Paul Ross canvass ceiling but unfortunately I realised that this is what my wife would be staring at during our frenzied horizontal moments, and what kind of a man can compare to Paul Ross in the bedroom? “No-one” I hear you cry!”

Passion Natural Water-Based Lubricant – 55 Gallon – $1,495

Couldn’t be happier with the product I received!
“I not only used this drum to help improve my sex life, but I also was able to fix my car, through a savvy party that entertained both young and old, fix my squeaky back door, reach nirvana, and finally create that ultimate slip in slide that I truly desired. “

Penetrating Wagner’s “Ring” (Da Capo Paperback) – £21.95

Total Immersion in Wagner’s Ring
“Bravo to these talented writers for opening up Wagner’s Ring on the international stage and helping us all to enjoy it.”

Original Three Wolf Moon Adult T-Shirt - £12.99

Feel the power within
“Then it happened. My whole body shuddered, my limbs exploded into action in a Pop Eyesque fashion, I looked at my hands and they were tingling. When I glanced in the mirror I was amazed by my eyes they were on fire.”

Bic Crystal Ballpoint Pen, Medium Point, Black –  £1.03

Very good if you need to write on paper
“Today is the fourth day of ownership of my pen, and I have to say I’m starting to treat it like an old friend. I walk around the office with it clipped in to my shirt pocket and someone in the accounts department actually asked to borrow it while we were both standing at the photocopier. Would you believe it, they actually tried to walk away with my pen! “

Boldtext Pew Bible: King James Version – $7.88

Obviously tainted by word of mouth
“I really liked this book as a kid. I was certain that it’s many entertaining stories about betrayal, trust, kindness, sodomy, etc. Were leading me into a life of happy sunshine gumdrop jelly rolls. I was mistaken.”

3M 8979N Performance Plus Nuclear Duct Tape – $18.12

Please avoid the mistake I made
“The languorous but potent Sigma waves emanated by cold fusion have escaped slowly but inevitably from our hitherto secret research facility. They have begun with a grim, inescapable determination to deactivate the electromagnetic bonds that unite all matter in the universe.”

Denon AKDL1 Dedicated Link Cable – $400

Use at your own risk!
“The first time I downloaded a picture to the printer over this cable, the bits moved so fast the printer collapsed into a naked singularity, right there in my office. Since then, I can’t find the cat, and my entire set of VAX/VMS 4.7 documentation has gone missing.”

Plodes RECH reDO Lawn Chair – Black Leather with White Stitching and Cherry Arms – $2,800

Lawns everywhere yearn to be adorned with chairs of this quality
“The title of this listing, although boasting an impressive mix of capital and lowercase letters, really does not do the chair justice. Plodes is known for making top quality lawn furnishings, but they really went over the top with their new RECH reDO line. I was pleasantly surprised to find that this chair does not arrive in the standard cardboard amazon box, but was personally delivered to my house by Selma Hayek, who carried the chair on 7 white tigers.”

Add your own in the comments…

An annual report which is only visible in sunlight.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Found on www.behance.net, originally sourced from www.serviceplan.com

Here’s some stuff from around the web I’ve found this week which I think arepretty cool.

Glowing snowboarder

Click here to view the embedded video.

Source: vimeo.com/36979569

Kai Table

Source: www.hirakoso.jp/works/kai_table.html#

Edible game tiles

Source: www.etsy.com/listing/79257637/edible-game-tiles-and-2-edible-game-tile

Ball hoover

Source: www.davehakkens.nl/portfolio/favorites_dustball.html

Colour blind mug

Source: www.bouf.com/44264/colour-blind-mug-tea.html

Comic shelf

Source: groopti.com/index.php/comic-shelf.html

Buenos Aires – Inception Park

Source: vimeo.com/36874836

Click here to view the embedded video.

I’m building a tube map of pubs. I have often been in the situation where I’m meeting someone for a drink at a tube station but don’t know a decent nearby pub to meet in.

So I had the idea of creating a  tube map where stations were replaced by pub names. Where ever you needed to be in London, you would always have a personally recommended pub at your disposal.

Build the Tube Pub Map!

Help me complete this vision by submitting your pub. Build the Tube Pub Map!

This what I like about the unpredictable side of social media (unpredictable in the sense of what catches people attention, not what happens next) and the unexpected rise of a meme. BBC documentary Deaf Teens last night was in interesting insight into the life and challenges facing teenagers as they prepare to leave school and progress to university or work.

A profoundly deaf girl was starting at Nottingham Trent University, and was explaining the problems caused by needing an interpreter and note taker (one to translate the lecturer, the other to take notes while she was watching the interpreter). Unfortunately on one day there had been a mix up with the bookings and the interpreter was only available for half a lecture. Her reason for only working half the lecture? Her chicken was ill and needed a vet. The girl made her re-sign the excuse (which didn’t really need subtitles) as it was obviously as bizarre to her as the rest of the viewers.

Almost immediately, chatter on twitter about #deafteens was flooded with references to “my chicken is ill“.

Soon a Keep Calm and Carry On poster appeared.

And then a facebook group was set up: http://on.fb.me/zZail0 which currently has over 700 followers.

Then the almost compulsory “Downfall” video was produced: http://youtu.be/mPsLCXGDlm8

Click here to view the embedded video.

The original video from the documentary was loaded onto Youtube: http://youtu.be/_PmK_sUPTvE

Click here to view the embedded video.

You can watch the whole program on iPlayer until Tuesday 14 February.

Today the cartoon blog XKCD posted it’s 1000 cartoon.

Here’s six favourites of the previous 999:

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