Category: Cool Stuff
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Cities and Memory
I recently discovered the Cities and Memory site, described as a ‘global field recording & sound art work that presents both the present reality of a place, but also its imagined, alternative counterpart – remixing the world, one sound at at time’. You can use the site either as a user, to explore, or as…
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Judderman: One of the Weirdest Adverts Ever
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yovNUABeCrU This must be one of the weirdest television advertisements ever produced. It touches something deep in the unconscious mind, hinting at a threat or danger embodied by the sinister Judderman. Even if it had not been promoting alcohol, it would surely have been deemed suitable only for the television post-9pm watershed. Produced in 2000, the advert takes…
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Balinese Gamelan Ensemble Rehearsal
While walking in Seminyak, Bali, one evening I heard the strains of a gamelan ensemble. I quickly located them, practising in their temple and stood close to the stage to watch them for a half an hour or so. When they took a break, their leader came over to me and explained that they were preparing…
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Colourful Preparations for a Balinese Temple Celebration
Earlier this year, I took an early morning walk around the back streets of Seminyak in Bali, when I came across a temple I had passed and photographed several times before. Although well before nine a.m., there were several people busy decorating the building and laying tables inside. Unfortunately, I did not have a sarong…
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Reflection: A View from the Bridge
This unusual view of the Severn Crossing, taken by my daughter, Emily Knight of Bristol Bites, has an immediate visual impact for a number of different reasons, most notably for its composition. The picture, taken on an iPhone6, is dominated by the car wing mirror but, curiously, this feature quickly becomes invisible. The eye is…
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YALC and London Film & Comic Con July 2016
I decided to visit the Young Adult Literature Convention at Olympia with the intention of networking and distributing publicity materials for my The Invisible College Trilogy. The main objective was to gain additional publicity, particularly with the imminent publication of book 3, A Perilous Journey (details to follow). The convention is now in its third year. It is an offshoot of…
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Chaouwara Tanneries, Fès el-Bali Medina, Morocco
The Chaouwara (or Chaoura) tanneries in the ancient medina of Fès should be near the top of any traveller to Morocco’s list of places to visit. The medina is a UNESCO World Heritage sight and is considered one of the most extensive and best conserved historic towns of the Arab-Muslim world. The tanneries date back to the…
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The Search for Planet 9, Formerly Known as Planet X
Evidence suggests a huge ninth planet exists past Pluto at the solar system’s edge. Planet 9, or Planet X as it was previously called, before the eviction of Pluto from the international astronomers’ approved list of planets, plays a significant role in the latter stages of Dust and Shadows and A Perilous Journey, books 2…