Funk Publishing: Feeds » Items by Dean

Backgammon Gift (24-04-2008)

Posted: August 31st, 2010, 10:58pm BST by Dean

I stayed a month in Cyprus in 2008. It was one of the best months of my life. I love the island. When I left the beautiful villa we had been loaned, I left our absent hosts two gifts, a backgammon set, and this painting. Posted via email from Dean Whitbread

HTC: Quietly Dumb (I can help you with that)

Posted: August 27th, 2010, 11:15am BST by Dean

The following is an unedited thread. It’s a series of technical support enquiries and responses relating to my humble but decent HTC Hero, purchased November 2009 and as of this moment, still running Android 1.5. There are some things that a new Android OS will provide – memory management, for example – which are more [...]

August Moon 2010

Posted: August 23rd, 2010, 11:18pm BST by Dean

Posted via email from Dean Whitbread

Awesome Competition

Posted: August 23rd, 2010, 6:15pm BST by Dean

This fabulous and articulate rant explains how some people use “Awesome” as a kind of personal competition. Make sure to watch all the way to the end… Posted via email from Dean Whitbread

Awesome

Posted: August 21st, 2010, 8:55am BST by Dean

I love the English language. It is a multi-faceted jewel of untold value. English is constantly shifting, changing and adapting, throwing new light and colour, and we English, the inhabitants of England, the progenitors of the second most spoken language on the planet (after Mandarin, vying for second place with Spanish) are particularly susceptible to [...]

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Untitled – Alice Rolfe, Lisa Muten at the Toilet Gallery, Kingston

Posted: August 20th, 2010, 11:56pm BST by Dean

Interesting exhibition by Alice Rolfe and Lisa Muten, two emergent artists, in an interesting space, an ex-public toilet turned art gallery in Nipper Alley, Kingston. On through Sunday 22nd August 2010. Posted via email from Dean Whitbread

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Le Château de Haute Roche (Dourbes)

Posted: August 18th, 2010, 3:42pm BST by Dean

Christophe explains how as a young man, he helped to restore large parts of this historic Wallonian castle. He also explained off camera how his friends tricked nearby campers by faking the vandalism of their tents and then pretending the same thing had happened to them – a scurrilous and enterprising way to meet girls, [...]

Push

Posted: August 15th, 2010, 9:47am BST by Dean

It’s the oldest joke in the world for the joggers who populate the park. Stretching one’s tendons, easing out the tension of limbs is a necessary routine before and after running, a must if one is to avoid a smooth, conditioned lope turning into a post-exercise jerky hobble. A really easy way to do this [...]

Les Delires

Posted: July 31st, 2010, 11:30pm BST by Dean

Posted via email from Dean Whitbread

North European Summer 2010

Posted: July 29th, 2010, 2:54pm BST by Dean

Nuclear Sky, Belgium (Wallonia) Near Horizon Late Day, Norway Scarlet Japanese Dusk Gold Sky, Norway Posted via email from Dean Whitbread

Ants

Posted: July 21st, 2010, 2:25pm BST by Dean

Sped up with sun, racing to escape the season Ants know their business As they move in purposeful bursts Run – stop. Run – stop. Examine. Determined they move back and forth Between military bases Armoured, building site-ready Prepared to deal with interlopers, Drag a fat moth single-handed Back to the communal larder Even to [...]

News, Death and Gallows Humour

Posted: July 16th, 2010, 10:15am BST by Dean

Yesterday, according to Channel 4 News, after a phone call from Downing Street, the Raoul Moat Facebook fan page was taken down. We’re told Facebook didn’t remove it, but that it was done by the people who started to focus on sympathy for the gunman. Questions were raised in Parliament. It’s interesting that days after [...]

Seth in London

Posted: July 15th, 2010, 1:26am BST by Dean

Hmm Seth, East London Behind You wot, mate?? Christopher Wren, Seth Eagelfeld Posted via email from Dean Whitbread

The King of Ink

Posted: July 12th, 2010, 3:14pm BST by Dean

Unio and Petitio delight with this summer rockist peculiar boogie bit.ly/kingofink Posted via email from Dean Whitbread

The Ballad of Jogging Butcher

Posted: July 9th, 2010, 8:38am BST by Dean

“Thank God I’m fit as a butcher’s dog Or that would have had me pegged” His oily sweat like liquid lard Drips from a roast beef leg A half-moon stain beneath his chin Spreads like a messy baby The darker reek of two rank pits Unadulterated for the ladies Posted via email from Dean Whitbread

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Dean’s Blue Hole

Posted: July 7th, 2010, 10:17pm BST by Dean

I have a blue hole. It’s very deep. Enough said. Posted via email from Dean Whitbread

Temper, Temper

Posted: July 6th, 2010, 12:54am BST by Dean

The human connection between temper (noun) – as in heat of mind or passion, outbursts of anger, etc. – and temper (verb) – as in the degree of hardness and strength imparted to a metal, as by quenching, heat treatment, etc. – is temperature, and that has struck me as significant for as long as [...]

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Fate of the Amazon hangs in the balance | Siân Herbert

Posted: July 5th, 2010, 1:50pm BST by Dean

since inception, the forestry code has not even been successfully enforced. Landowners often fall foul of the regulations and levels of illegal deforestation are high. According to some estimates, one-quarter of the Brazilian Amazon has already been subjected to deforestation or damage. via guardian.co.uk Posted via email from Dean Whitbread

If I Thought It Would Do Any Good

Posted: July 2nd, 2010, 3:09pm BST by Dean

If I thought it would do any good I would send flowers daily for a week And then have them arrive on the hour, every hour Each bloom bearing a single word If I believed it would help I would hire a small orchestra to play Mariachi songs in the street Outside your well-proportioned London [...]

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Bobby Goldsboro – Summer The First Time

Posted: June 30th, 2010, 4:52pm BST by Dean

I listened to this as a teenager. Oh, to be seventeen! I thought as a 12 year old. What endless vistas of sexual promise lay ahead of me… and today being the last day of June, like every year, it comes back around. The arrangement is striking, strings and piano combining to evoke an otherworldly, [...]

Scientists Confirm: Tea Goes Well With Toast

Posted: June 26th, 2010, 10:39am BST by Dean

Scientists working at the Large Hadron Collider near Geneva, Switzerland confirmed today that tea goes well with toast. The research follows on from work carried out in 2008 in which it was calculated that it would take the Large Hadron Collider a mere 30 nanoseconds to defrost a pizza. “We all love a cup of [...]

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Don’t Mention the World Cup Ever Again

Posted: June 24th, 2010, 9:15am BST by Dean

Four years ago in 2006 I wrote this song and made this video for Mr John Otto Cleese to coincide with the World Cup. You know – THE World Cup – the FIFA World Cup. Football. The game played with the feet. By the whole world. Didn’t do too badly. Astonishingly, now England are playing [...]

The First Dance

Posted: June 21st, 2010, 5:51am BST by Dean

An important part of a wedding is the bride and groom’s first dance together as man and wife. This is the realtime recording of making that precious moment happen. Posted via email from Dean Whitbread

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Ten O’Clock Midsummer Sky, London

Posted: June 19th, 2010, 2:08am BST by Dean

Posted via email from Dean Whitbread

WTF? English Swearing for Koreans

Posted: June 17th, 2010, 9:21am BST by Dean

Language is power. Using the wrong language can be very dangerous, as we know. But, using the right language at the right moment can save your life, or your liberty. This calm and thorough explanation of common profanity is exactly the kind of teaching western schools need. Please join the Campaign for Real Swearing: http://realswearing.org [...]

Lessons in Vuvuzela

Posted: June 15th, 2010, 2:42pm BST by Dean

Click here to download: vuvuzela_1.mp4 (36999 KB) There are more notes to the stadium-filling vuvuzela than just the drone, and more ways to play it than the full-volume blast which all sane-minded adults dread, and children of all ages love. Tip: Radio commentary has much less vuvuzela – television audio contains a higher proportion of [...]

Bum-shaped Pear

Posted: June 9th, 2010, 6:58pm BST by Dean

It was a pear with the most beautiful bottom I’d ever seen. If it were a woman, I’d have married it. As it was, I ate it, and it tasted as delicious as it looked. Posted via email from Most Interesting

Please Come

Posted: June 5th, 2010, 12:16pm BST by Dean

Please come to my party The one that’s in my head Where lovelet waves are lapping And everyone is fed Please come to my disco The one that’s in my feet Where shimmies, grinds and pirhouettes Spill out onto the street Please come to my picnic, we’ll eat Falafels in the park Champagne, liqueur and [...]

Israel Massacres Civilians Delivering Aid to Gaza

Posted: May 31st, 2010, 10:34am BST by Dean

This is a most appalling massacre. Unarmed civilians delivering aid to Gaza, part of a small flotilla in international waters, shot dead. At time of writing, ten are believed to have died, with Israel’s predictable PR machine claiming their forces were attacked. I’m finding this incredibly depressing. I’m disgusted by how many intelligent people are [...]

Leaving London Bridge by Train

Posted: May 30th, 2010, 9:32am BST by Dean

A photo sequence made with iPhone shots taken every second or two.. an old-fashioned slide show. Watch out for Tower Bridge behind all the modern trackside buildings. Posted via email from Dean Whitbread

Full Moon, May 2010

Posted: May 27th, 2010, 11:42pm BST by Dean

Through trees… Posted via email from Dean Whitbread

Breaking Circle

Posted: May 19th, 2010, 12:58am BST by Dean

An old girlfriend wrote to me. She told me how good everything was in her life – meditation, art, music and shiatsu – as she sailed around the world on a friend’s yacht. She was ok, everything was great, but her heart was tired. She went on, in an email which ran to three paragraphs, [...]

Holloway Sky

Posted: May 17th, 2010, 12:02am BST by Dean

London, Islington, looking north from the Artists and Miscreants Club. Posted via email from Dean Whitbread

National Trust Sounds Project

Posted: May 13th, 2010, 12:24pm BST by Dean

National Trust: The Album. Beautiful – and free. One of the world’s most respected musicians has created an album with the Trust, comprising of British natural sounds including birdsong, crashing waves and wind breezing through a country garden. Jarvis Cocker, best known as the former front man for the band Pulp, has worked with us [...]

The Main Object of a Revolution

Posted: May 8th, 2010, 12:12pm BST by Dean

“The main object of a revolution is the liberation of man… not the interpretation and application of some transcendental ideology.” – Jean Genet. I took this photo in September 2007: Two and a half years of financial crisis later… the UK election produces a “hung” parliament. I read this measured, optimistic article by the media-friendly ex-Conservative minister Michael [...]

Election Haiku #13: 7th May 2010

Posted: May 7th, 2010, 9:42am BST by Dean

Voters queued for hours At church halls, primary schools Parliament was hung Posted via email from Dean Whitbread

Voting for Pleasure

Posted: May 6th, 2010, 1:12pm BST by Dean

I like to make voting a pleasure by dressing up for it, and celebrating the use of the tiny amount of power we have struggled to win. Power is far too serious a matter to be left only in the hands of those who seek it. Posted via email from Dean [...]

Election Haiku #12: 6th May 2010

Posted: May 6th, 2010, 8:37am BST by Dean

“The nation decides” I always vote for Fred Cook Socialist, Grandad Posted via email from Dean Whitbread

Election Haiku #11: 5th May 2010

Posted: May 5th, 2010, 9:19am BST by Dean

The Conservatives Scared of not winning power Steal it anyway? Posted via email from Dean Whitbread

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Islington South – Contenders

Posted: May 3rd, 2010, 9:49pm BST by Dean

Posted via email from Dean Whitbread

Fatenah

Posted: May 3rd, 2010, 11:32am BST by Dean

I saw this very moving film yesterday at the London Palestine Film Festival. Directed by Ahmad Habash, a Palestinian who has lived in Gaza, I found it remarkable not just because of the accurate portrayal of the conditions in Gaza, but also because of the sensitive way the issue of breast cancer is shown. If you [...]

Vote and Hope

Posted: May 2nd, 2010, 1:28pm BST by Dean

Enclosure: [download | play]

In the UK general election five years ago, I interviewed as many of my candidates as I could find using the brand new, still widely unknown technique of podcasting. It was as much for me as for my community, though I received emails from fellow constituents thanking me for the coverage as it had [...]

Election Haiku #10: 1st May 2010

Posted: May 1st, 2010, 4:59pm BST by Dean

Brown is sunk, but not By Cameron, not by Clegg; Nobody likes him

Election Haiku #9: 1st May 2010

Posted: May 1st, 2010, 11:09am BST by Dean

David Cameron Will eat our children’s futures If we vote for him… "I think it’s worth taking you through what a Conservative government will look like: a Conservative government would cast the country adrift from the world. You’ll see no reform of our clapped out political system; you’ll see a continued haemorraghing of public trust. You’ll see [...]

As Soon As Spring Arrives, It Is Swept Away

Posted: April 30th, 2010, 1:12pm BST by Dean

I watched the rain bring pink blossom down which carpeted the city pavement most beautifully. It lasted less than a morning; the street cleaner quickly removed the best litter we see all year. Posted via email from Dean Whitbread

Election Haiku #8: 29th April 2010

Posted: April 29th, 2010, 6:35pm BST by Dean

Thursday twenty-ninth here comes the final debate. Anticipation! Posted via email from Dean Whitbread

Election Haiku #7: 28th April 2010

Posted: April 28th, 2010, 3:27pm BST by Dean

Bigotgate : drama! Brown’s radio mike sponsored by Rupert Murdoch Posted via email from Dean Whitbread

Full Moon -14 hours

Posted: April 27th, 2010, 10:19pm BST by Dean

28th April 2010 moon is full at 12:21 GMT. Posted via email from Dean Whitbread

Crap Happen

Posted: April 25th, 2010, 12:51pm BST by Dean

The crap that happens crappy The crappy crappy crap The crap that happens crappy The crap, the crap, the crap The crap that happens crap The craps that crappy crappy The crappy, crappy, crappy The crap, the crap, the crap Crap happens, crappy crappy The crappy crappy craps Crap, crap happens crappy Crap, the [...]

Dreams of Dreams and Future Apps

Posted: April 22nd, 2010, 10:36am BST by Dean

I’ve been recording my sleep patterns – or at least, attempting to record them – using an iPhone app called Sleep Cycle. This app presumes to measure sleep activity in order to wake you during the lightest sleep phase, thus avoiding those awful jolts of awakening which occur when you are forceably roused from deep sleep, [...]

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Jenny Cash – Vote For Me

Posted: April 21st, 2010, 7:46pm BST by Dean

Exercise your democratic right… Jenny Cash keeping the wheels of democracy turning. Posted via email from Dean Whitbread

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Murdoch’s Sun Shining Blatantly

Posted: April 21st, 2010, 12:17pm BST by Dean

Three weeks more of this… Posted via email from Dean Whitbread

Election Haiku #6: 20th April 2010

Posted: April 20th, 2010, 7:59am BST by Dean

Liberal ratings sustainable or bubble reform the system Posted via email from Dean Whitbread

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If I Were Prime Minister, I’d Repeal the Digital Economy Act

Posted: April 19th, 2010, 3:53pm BST by Dean

The BBC want to know what you’d do if you were PM for a day. I said I’d repeal the Digital Economy Act… Anyone? Posted via email from Dean Whitbread

Election Haiku #5: 19th April 2010

Posted: April 19th, 2010, 10:04am BST by Dean

Nick Clegg moves ahead Is it the debate, or the Ten percent bank tax? Posted via email from Dean Whitbread

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Caribou – Swim

Posted: April 18th, 2010, 2:49pm BST by Dean

Swim by Caribouband Saw Caribou gig most of their new album yesterday in Brighton at the Freebutt, a tiny venue but a great gig. Posted via web from Dean Whitbread

Social Work

Posted: April 17th, 2010, 2:14pm BST by Dean

I’ve been recycling grass and flowers from the park opposite to repair the damaged grounds where I live.

Can You Identify This Bird Call?

Posted: April 15th, 2010, 6:53am BST by Dean

Ornithologists and naturalists – your help gratefully received. I am trying to determine a species of bird which has recently shown up in Islington, London. It calls at 9 seconds into this recording, louder and lower pitched than all the other (presumably smaller) birds and it has a decending "cho-cho-cho-cho-cho-cho-cho-cho" eight notes. Sometimes the call can [...]

Election Haiku #4: 15th April 2010

Posted: April 15th, 2010, 12:12am BST by Dean

the manifestos gospels according to men loud mouthed but tight lipped Posted via email from Dean Whitbread

Bridget Fox Interview

Posted: April 13th, 2010, 1:08am BST by Dean

Interview with Bridget Fox, http://bridget4islington.wordpress.com Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate for Islington South and Finsbury. NB: I am not affiliated with any political party, but I am concerned about certain causes and my local environment. The issues I raise in this interview are the Digital Economy Act, a campaign run by the Open Rights Group, [...]

A Responsible Sauce

Posted: April 11th, 2010, 10:50pm BST by Dean

Haddock with vegetables, seasoned to my very own recipe. Posted via email from Dean Whitbread

A Grey Affair

Posted: April 11th, 2010, 9:04am BST by Dean

Enclosure: [download]

Sunday morning, London, 11th April. I awoke to the impossibly exotic sound of a bird which has no place in this city, making a plaintive call: “cho – cho – cho – cho – cho – cho – cho – cho – cho – cho – cho – cho – cho – ” This is the second [...]

UK Secures Patent on English Language, Non-Commonwealth Nations To Pay Royalties from 2012

Posted: April 10th, 2010, 11:33am BST by Dean

that’ll be ten quid now you’re speaking my language we invented it! Posted via email from Dean Whitbread

Election Haiku #3: 9th April 2010

Posted: April 9th, 2010, 6:03am BST by Dean

they all fear Paxman Cameron, Brown won’t face him Clegg snapped up the chance Posted via email from Dean Whitbread

Mysterious Dark Object Found in Star System

Posted: April 8th, 2010, 9:14am BST by Dean

Scientists have taken close-up pictures of Epsilon Aurigae during its eclipse, which happens every 27 years. Using an instrument developed at the University of Michigan in the US, astronomers were able to zoom in on the star, which is likely to be about 2000 light years away from our solar system. This enabled them [...]

Election Haiku #2: 7th April 2010

Posted: April 7th, 2010, 8:43pm BST by Dean

politicians shout so loud we cannot hear them desperate to win Posted via email from Dean Whitbread

Election Haiku #1: 6th April 2010

Posted: April 6th, 2010, 8:22am BST by Dean

The election called Brown, Cameron, Clegg on marks: Ready, steady, go! Posted via email from Dean Whitbread

Pre-election Haiku #3

Posted: April 5th, 2010, 11:43pm BST by Dean

invisible man Nick Clegg is not quite the same; but who gives a shit? Posted via email from Dean Whitbread

Pre-election Haiku #2

Posted: April 5th, 2010, 6:01pm BST by Dean

Gordon Brown frowns, throws His weight around; he can’t stop A run on the pound Posted via email from Dean Whitbread

Pre-election Haiku #1

Posted: April 5th, 2010, 5:52pm BST by Dean

A rich, pretty boy Pretending to give a shit: David Cameron Posted via email from Dean Whitbread

Happy Eater

Posted: April 4th, 2010, 10:48am BST by Dean

Posted via email from Dean Whitbread

Van Doesburg v. My Kitchen

Posted: April 3rd, 2010, 11:52am BST by Dean

Here’s a tile pattern designed by leading art and design light Theo Van Doesburg: And here’s the tile design for my new kitchen, which I conceived without referring to anything except my imagination and the tiles available in a local shop: OK – Van Doesburg has a big floor, I have [...]

Hot Cross Buns

Posted: April 2nd, 2010, 8:52am BST by Dean

A tradition I really like. Not to be confused with cross hot buns, which are entirely different. Posted via email from Dean Whitbread

Do Something New

Posted: March 31st, 2010, 12:50pm BST by Dean

If there is one thing that marks humans out from the other life forms scurrying from one meal to the next on this spinning mud ball we call Earth, it is our capacity to invent. To do the thing that has never been done, to find a new way of doing the thing that has [...]

More Moon (Moving)

Posted: March 30th, 2010, 6:22pm BST by Dean

Posted via email from Dean Whitbread

Smoky Full Moon

Posted: March 30th, 2010, 2:16am BST by Dean

Posted via email from Dean Whitbread

LED Kitchen Lights for Earth Hour

Posted: March 27th, 2010, 7:12pm GMT by Dean

The low power LED lights were seven quid each. Re-chargable AAA batteries last a very long time, and they come with velcro to attach to the underside of the units (used here) or alternatively, a sticky magnetic strip to slap them securely onto the side of your fridge or similar metallic object. Made [...]

London Spring Sun and Rain

Posted: March 26th, 2010, 4:18pm GMT by Dean

Five different kinds of London weather in one day – that’s the Thames bowl in spring. Lovely, dear! Posted via email from Dean Whitbread

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homem pássaro no chiado

Posted: March 25th, 2010, 5:29pm GMT by Dean

Fabulous street performer from Lisboa. (via Mike Turtle) Posted via email from Dean Whitbread

Bathing And Showering Cause Pharmaceutical Water Pollution

Posted: March 25th, 2010, 1:00pm GMT by Dean

That bracing morning shower and soothing bedtime soak in the tub are potentially important but until now unrecognized sources of the hormones, antibiotics, and other pharmaceuticals that pollute the environment, scientists reported at the 239th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society in San Francisco on March 24. The first-ever evaluation, they said, could lead [...]

Old Running Shoes

Posted: March 23rd, 2010, 8:53am GMT by Dean

I’ll miss them when they finally fall apart… Posted via email from Dean Whitbread

Wind Causing Arctic Melt, Study Finds

Posted: March 22nd, 2010, 4:12pm GMT by Dean

New research does not question climate change is also melting ice in the Arctic, but finds wind patterns explain steep decline. Much of the record breaking loss of ice in the Arctic ocean in recent years is down to the region’s swirling winds and is not a direct result of global warming, a new study [...]

Review: Idris Khan at Victoria Miro

Posted: March 21st, 2010, 12:54pm GMT by Dean

"Employing seminal texts, musical scores and paintings as well as key works from the photographic oeuvre, Idris Khan transforms the cool art of appropriation into a meditation about authorship and time." Idris takes existing musical and verbal documents and carefully prints line over line, obscuring the original meaning and replacing it with an aesthetic one, in [...]

Blue-Arsed Art

Posted: March 20th, 2010, 11:03pm GMT by Dean

As we entered the garden, we just didn’t know But moving around revealed a shiny bum, and a coiled… snake? Or is he answering the call of nature? I think the artist is trying to tell us something here. Posted via email from Dean Whitbread

She Swam On Moonlight

Posted: March 19th, 2010, 9:20am GMT by Dean

She swam on moonlight Her ethereal chill mission To charm funeral flowers Days and nights of equal length No contract, no monthly fees The north reclaimed its wealth An exotic turquoise earth melody Swayed as the soil warmed Not tulips, but late daffodils

How (Not) To Succeed on the Internet

Posted: March 17th, 2010, 11:49am GMT by Dean

Allow me to waste some of your precious time – which would probably be better spent listening to music, or reading a good novel – and educate you as to my route of internet glory. Who knows, by studying this, you may discover your own path. Or, perhaps you will fall into a melancholic confusion [...]

Passion

Posted: March 15th, 2010, 1:44pm GMT by Dean

I’ve been properly single for seven months now, but only in the last few weeks have I thought about doing something to change my situation. I decided to seek out some possible dates using the internet – after all, I’ve spent fifteen years helping people make sense of the internet – why not put some [...]

The Smoky Clouds of Spring

Posted: March 14th, 2010, 3:12pm GMT by Dean

I used the Helga setting on Camerabag for iPhone to get this effect. Posted via email from Dean Whitbread

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Benny Benassi – Satisfaction

Posted: March 12th, 2010, 12:22pm GMT by Dean

It makes a lot of sense on the dancefloor. Posted via email from Dean Whitbread

Warning: Bad Attitude

Posted: March 11th, 2010, 2:29pm GMT by Dean

I used to be a civil servant. They gave me this written warning because I was far too cheerful as I signed on the long lines of people claiming unemployment benefit. Nobody complained, just the management didn’t like my bonhomie and generally pleasant demeanour. Soon afterwards, I left this punitive employ, had an emergency [...]

More Than Two Extinct Species Per Year In England

Posted: March 11th, 2010, 8:08am GMT by Dean

More than two animals and plants a year are becoming extinct in England and hundreds more are severely threatened, a report published today reveals. Natural England, the government’s agency responsible for the countryside, said the biggest national study of threats to biodiversity found nearly 500 species that had died out in England, all but a dozen [...]

Into The Blood

Posted: March 10th, 2010, 12:14pm GMT by Dean

Almost always I feel peaceful after meditation. I’m more focused and aware as I get about my tasks. Sometimes, I feel like I’m cruising about on an invisible Segway; at other times, I get a rush of energy which requires managing. It’s often creative, but also, despite the ongoing and increased calm which meditation brings – [...]

Fire!

Posted: March 9th, 2010, 7:14pm GMT by Dean

It started with a bleep bleep bleep… Posted via email from Dean Whitbread

Fear

Posted: March 9th, 2010, 9:44am GMT by Dean

I’m told that I’m quite brave. Certainly I am socially unafraid. However, I did spend a week climbing Cornish sea cliffs once, which I loved, except I forgot to pull out the climbing gear, and being the last one up, I had to go back down the overhang I had just overcome, pull out the [...]

Met Office: 100 Studies Show Evidence of Man-Made Climate Change

Posted: March 9th, 2010, 8:06am GMT by Dean

It is an "increasingly remote possibility" that human activity is not the main cause of climate change, according to a major Met Office review of more than 100 scientific studies that track the observed changes in the Earth’s climate system. The research will strengthen the case for human-induced climate change against sceptics who [...]

Extinctions Moving Faster Than Evolution

Posted: March 8th, 2010, 9:05am GMT by Dean

For the first time since the dinosaurs disappeared, humans are driving animals and plants to extinction faster than new species can evolve, one of the world’s experts on biodiversity has warned. Conservation experts have already signalled that the world is in the grip of the "sixth great extinction" of species, driven by the destruction [...]

Lost and Found

Posted: March 7th, 2010, 6:34pm GMT by Dean

I found this little scrap of paper while I’ve been going through the many boxes which filled when I started refurbishing my place back in September. I locked up memories, everything from the meaningless to the irreplaceable, in no particular order, mixing the important and unimportant according to size, just to get it out [...]

Metamaterials: The Next Photonics Revolution

Posted: March 7th, 2010, 10:08am GMT by Dean

Phil Saunders of SpaceChannel.org and Nikolay Zheludev of the University of Southampton, U.K., have graciously permitted OPN to reproduce this fascinating video, which is related to Zheludevs October OPN feature on metamaterial-induced transparency. It explores the science behind metamaterials-crystalline-like sub-wavelength arrangements of electromagnetic resonators that can exhibit exotic optical properties such as negative refraction and [...]

Dark Dangerous Asteroids Near Earth

Posted: March 5th, 2010, 3:56pm GMT by Dean

An infrared space telescope has spotted several very dark asteroids that have been lurking unseen near Earth’s orbit. Their obscurity and tilted orbits have kept them hidden from surveys designed to detect things that might hit our planet. Called the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE), the new NASA telescope launched on 14 December on [...]

Just Broke (4 Deaths)

Posted: March 4th, 2010, 8:58am GMT by Dean

Nice bloke Back of his throat Just broke Made him choke Dreadful scene Left his greens Chips, bacon, beans Aged 12, 14 Nice old git Stuck around a bit Sudden fit That was it Swallowed his tongue Collapsed his lung He wasn’t young Can’t have been fun Nice young man Suntan Chelsea fan Transit van Went back Sudden crack Caught him smack IKEA flat-pack Nice old dear Tad queer Front and rear Dodgy beer Overnight Drowned in shite Dog died of fright Awful sight