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London Bloggers [Comic Blogs][Other Blogs] | 14 November 2005
[blogs] Rachel from North London … ‘This blog was started to provide a place to continue my online diary that I started after surviving the 7/7/2005 London bombings, when I was travelling in the first carriage of the Picadilly line tube from Kings Cross to Russell Square. The bomb went off in my carriage, 7 feet behind me in carriage 1. 26 people died in that blast and dozens were maimed and wounded.’
13 November 2005
[books] If You Haven’t A Clue — profile of Ben Schott … ‘The curious thing about Schott is that, despite his arcane tastes and instincts for privacy, he has a highly marketable persona: the blend of self-assurance and innocence you find in polished talkshow guests, and a nice turn of phrase. (“Google is about as good as going into the street and saying, ‘Does anyone know how much the registration threshold for VAT went up?’ And someone goes, ‘I think it’s 49,000.’ And you go, ‘Oh, 49,000, great.’ That’s Google.”)’
12 November 2005
[comics] Glanced at: Scott Pilgrim on MySpace.
10 November 2005
[comics] Alan Moore on Terrorism, America and Britain: ‘…You have to remember that over here there were teenagers being taken out of cellar bars in separate carrier bags all through the ’70s and ’80s because of the war in Northern Ireland. In that case, the IRA were largely being supported by donations from America. That was why I was a bit worried when George Bush said he was going to attack people who supported terrorism, I thought, oh my god, Chicago is going to be declared a rogue state and they’ll hunt down Teddy Kennedy.’
9 November 2005
[books] The Curious Case of Malcolm Gladwell — profile of the author Blink … ‘Henry Finder says that Gladwell’s “real accomplishment is to develop a new genre of journalism — ‘a Gladwell piece.’ Everybody knows what you mean by that — a piece with an argument that is bound together by narrative and character, which often makes you take a second look at things you take for granted…”‘
8 November 2005
[comics] The T.M. Maple Memorial Leaf Pit — a website on the King of 80’s Comic Letter Hacks. ‘…a legendary Canadian letter hack who wrote thousands of letters to comic book letter columns through the years. Burke first started writing letters in 1977 as “The Mad Maple”, but Tom DeFalco, in order to get around a new stipulation of the time at Marvel (thanks to Jim Shooter) that pseudonymous letter writers couldn’t get published, shortened it to “T.M. Maple” to sound like a real name. His letters kept getting printed, and Burke liked the new name, so he kept it for the rest of his letter-writing career.’ [via Progressive Ruin]
[war] The Military Applications of Silly String … ‘ I’m a former Marine I in Afghanistan. Silly string has served me well in Combat especially in looking for I.A.Ds., simply put, booby traps. When you spray the silly sting in dark areas, especially when you doing house to house fighting. On many occasions the silly string has saved me and my men’s lives.’ [via As Above]
7 November 2005
[comics] Mike Sterling’s Ten Favorite Scary Swamp Thing Moments … ‘Matt Cable, who has a problem with the drink, finds himself almost certainly mortally injured in a car wreck. Upside down, bleeding to death, he finds himself face to face with…a giant yellow fly. At this point, we don’t know who the fly is or where it came from…but c’mon, we know it’s Arcane…’
6 November 2005
[comics] Tamara Drewe — an archive of Posy Simmonds latest comic strip (published weekly in the Saturday Guardian) following on from Gemma Bovery.
5 November 2005
[comics] The Dilbert Blog — Scott Adams has a Blog … ‘Now this bird flu business has me worried. I already circle the parking lot twelve times to find a space that isn’t under a tree and directly in the crapping zone. If birds start getting the flu, they’ll be firing from both ends. There aren’t enough squeegees in the world.’
[flash] Flash Timeline Clock … [via linkbunnies.org
3 November 2005
[soundboard] The Shining Soundboard — yet another flash soundboard using clips from The Shining … ‘Does it matter to you at all that the owners have placed their complete confidence and trust in me, and that I have signed a letter of agreement, a contract, in which I have accepted that responsibility? Do you have the slightest idea what a moral and ethical principle is, do you? Has it ever occurred to you what would happen to my future if I were to fail to live up to my responsibilities? Has it ever occurred to you? Has it?!’
1 November 2005
[apple] Steve Jobs Quotes — On Bill Gates: ‘I wish him the best, I really do. I just think he and Microsoft are a bit narrow. He’d be a broader guy if he had dropped acid once or gone off to an ashram when he was younger.’
31 October 2005
29 October 2005
[web] The Always Amusing Euphemism Generator … ‘Like most guys his age, he wasn’t above whipping the donuts.’ [via The Daily Chump]
[soundboard] David Brent Soundboard: ‘…it’s not an insult though is it?’ [via linkbunnies.org]
23 October 2005
[money] How ATM fraud nearly brought down British banking — remarkable inside story. ‘…there wasn’t time for the banks to fix the problem if anyone went public with it. Their MTBU was too short. MTBU? That’s “Maximum Time to Belly Up”, as coined by the majestic Donn Parker of Stanford Research Institute. He found that businesses that relied on computers for the control of their cash flow fell into catastrophic collapse if those computers were unavailable or unusable for a period of time. How long? By the late 1980s it had fallen from a month to a few days. That’s not a good thing; it meant that a collapse of the computers that any UK clearing bank relied on would destroy it in less than a week.’
22 October 2005
[macs] Mainly Neat Stuff — web site covering vintage Apple Computers and curios like a second-hand Mac IIfx belonging to Douglas Adams … ‘I started up MacWrite Pro and noticed that it was registered to “Douglas Adams, Serious Productions Ltd”.’
21 October 2005
[ebay] Crazy eBay Mom (scroll down) – eBay Addiction taken to the outer limits.
20 October 2005
[wisdom] Brian Eno’s Oblique Strategies in Flash … ‘Move towards the unimportant.’
19 October 2005
[politics] Suits Them, Sir — Simon Hoggart on the Tory Leadership Election … ‘It was one o’clock and the voting was due to begin. Four Tories were hovering outside, like boarders waiting for the dining room to open. “There should be a numeracy test,” said Ann Widdecombe crisply. “If you can read an opinion poll, why are you voting for anyone except Ken Clarke?” “Ann and I have a lot in common,” said John Bercow, once a rightwinger, now a social moderate. “We support Ken Clarke, we like spaghetti bolognese, and we are choppers, not twirlers!” I thought this must be some terrifying euphemism, but it turned out to mean the way they ate their spaghetti.’
[comics] Wally Wood’s 22 Panels that Always Work … ‘Or some interesting ways to get some variety into those boring panels where some dumb writer has a bunch of lame characters sitting around and talking for page after page!’
18 October 2005
[comics] Dave’s Long Box on Daredevil: Born Again: ‘That, my friends, is 100% pure comic book gold. You are dead inside if you don’t feel at least a little stirring of sentiment looking at that triumphant image, remembering when you first read that. It speaks to the part of us that still believes in heroes, that has faith in the power of the human spirit. And in the next issue? Daredevil kicks the living shit out of Nuke. He mops the floor with the guy!’
17 October 2005
[music] I’m A Genius, Too! The Murry Wilson Tapes — listen to the jealous, drunken father of three of the Beach Boys wreck a recording session from 1965 … ‘Brian, I’m a Genius, Too.’ [via Waxy’s Links]
16 October 2005
[comics] Infinite Crisis Begins Today (Spoilers) — Metafilter discuss DC’s new multiverse reorganising mini-series… ‘Please wake me from my comic free slumber when Infinite Spider Jerusalem Crisis is greenlighted. You know, the one where Spider Jerusalem appears in every DC comic and shoots every DC superhero with his anal prolapse gun.’
15 October 2005
[comics] Scans Daily [RSS] — Livejournal Page posting a random assortment of old and new scans from Comic Books.
13 October 2005
[bdj] Weidenfeld & Nicolson Acquire New Book by Belle de Jour … ‘Provisionally entitled THE FURTHER ADVENTURES OF BELLE DE JOUR, the deal was closed after a great deal of arm-twisting and financial persuasion…’ [thanks Phil]
11 October 2005
[newspapers] BBC News: How can papers afford to give away DVDs? … ‘The great DVD giveaway is just the latest instalment in Fleet Street’s endless turf war. “It’s digital bingo,” says Greenslade, referring to the period, 20 years ago, when tabloid editors employed prize-winning bingo games to woo new readers.’
[im] Meebo.com — firewall-bursting instant messenging from a website for AIM, MSN, Yahoo and GTalk. [via Waxy’s Links]
10 October 2005
[comics] Official Preview of All-Star Superman #1 …
 Morrison: ‘I just read – yesterday in fact – the story ‘Superman’s New Power’ which appeared in Superman #125 from November 1958. And guess what Superman’s new power was in the ‘conservative’ ’50s. That’s right – it’s a teeny-tiny little Superman who shoots out from the palm of the big Superman’s hand and does everything better than Superman himself, leaving the full-size Superman feeling redundant and worthless. Holy analysis, Batman! It’s mindbending, brilliant and eerie work. This is what it would be like if Charlie Kaufmann wrote and directed the Superman movie and it’s far from goofy or childish, it’s genuinely affecting and slightly disturbing to read Superman saying stuff like ‘Everyone’s impressed except ME! Don’t they understand how I feel — playing second fiddle to a miniature duplicate of myself…a sort of SUPER-IMP?’ And people think I’M weird? I %$%$^ wish I was weird like this! I wish pop comics today had the balls to be as poetic and poignant and truly ‘all-ages’ again, and a little less self-conscious. I feel a little ashamed for not even daring to think of a magnificent tiny Superman who makes the real Superman feel inadequate every time he springs from his hand.’ 9 October 2005
[comics] Doctor Doom’s Top 10 Euphemisms for Sex — from Mike Sterling’s Progressive Ruin … ’10. “Unleashing the Doombots”‘
8 October 2005
[games] Edward Castronova on ‘The Average Gamer‘: ‘The average age is 30. For the most part it’s a lower-middle-class phenomenon. If you’re too poor you can’t afford the online access. And these games require absolute top end. But people who are very successful in the real world don’t have the leisure. You need a mix of a lot of time, fairly advanced literacy, enough money to get the equipment and then you have to be, sort of, not very invested in the real world. It’s pathetic in a way. So I think the typical player might be, for example, a parts manager at an office-supply store.’ [thanks Phil]
7 October 2005
[comics] Challenging Graphic Novels for an 11 year-old? — Ask Mefi discuss Graphic Novels for Children.
[ebay] How to be an online auction professional — eBay guide from The Times. Worth Noting: ‘…Sunday evenings between 6pm and 10pm are our busiest times, so timing your auctions to end then should give you more bang for your buck.’
6 October 2005
[history] Heroic Relics — The Guardian on Nelson: ‘What kind of strange nation would revere, two centuries after his death, a 5ft 4in, one-eyed, one-armed reprobate who shamelessly abandoned his family and lived in a bizarre ménage? Good question. England, naturally.’
[comics] Battle Action — fan site for the classic war comic from the 70’s/80’s … ‘Gott in Himmel! Die you Britisher Pigs!!!’
[apple] Video iPod UK Launch at the BBC? — according to Radio 6: ‘Apple is set to unveil a new video iPod at the BBC Television Centre in London on October the 12th…’
5 October 2005
[bdj] The shape I’m in: Belle de Jour — Health and Fitness Q&A with Belle de Jour … ‘Q: Which alternative remedies do you swear by? A: I don’t go in for the ooey-wooey…’
4 October 2005
[politics] Steve Bell: ‘Dinner Dinner Dinner Dinner B.A.T.Bloke!’
[comics] General Zod – 2008 Presidential Candidate … ‘In 2008 I shall restore your dignity and make you servants worthy of my rule. This new government shall become a tool of my oppression. Instead of hidden agendas and waffling policies, I offer you direct candor and brutal certainty. I only ask for your tribute, your lives, and your vote.’ [via Linkbunnies]
3 October 2005
[comics] Page 227 from A History of Violence — a scan from John Wagner’s and Vince Locke’s comic from 1997. ‘… there does seem to be an elephant in the room that no one wants to talk about, in regards to the source material.’
[blogs] Eggbaconchipsandbeans Book Deal … great news from one of my favourite blogs … ‘This strange little site has morphed into a strange little book. Due out the middle of October and already being discounted by Amazon. Which may not bode well.’ [via Pete’s Linklog | EBCB on Amazon UK]
2 October 2005
[film] His ‘Secret’ Movie Trailer Is No Secret Anymore — NYT on the remixed Shining trailer … ‘The challenge? Take any movie and cut a new trailer for it — but in an entirely different genre. Only the sound and dialogue could be modified, not the visuals, he said. Mr. Ryang chose “The Shining,” Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 horror film starring Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall. In his hands, it became a saccharine comedy — about a writer struggling to find his muse and a boy lonely for a father. Gilding the lily, he even set it against “Solsbury Hill,” the way-too-overused Peter Gabriel song heard in comedies billed as life-changing experiences’
30 September 2005
[film] Shining Trailer — a new family film from Stanley Kubrick … ‘Sometimes… what we need the most is just around the corner.’
29 September 2005
[food] What’s the best way to cook a giant squid? — with apologies to Squid Lovers.
“Famed Fish Chef” Aldo Zilli: ‘You would boil it. You need the largest pot in the world. Boil it for 10 hours with lots of wine corks to tenderise the squid – and I don’t mean plastic corks, I mean cork corks – then leave it in the same water for five hours to cool down. Take it out, cut it up in small pieces – you’ll need a very, very, very sharp knife. Soak the tentacles separately in cold, salted water for a couple of hours, because that’s where the sand is. Boil those as well; red wine is a good source of tenderising, so use a couple of bottles of chianti and leave to rest in the juice. Take it out, cut it up, then sauté in garlic and chilli and serve with coriander and a nice sauvignon blanc.’
[comics] Tintin ventures into India’s rural markets — BBC News looks at the success of Tintin in India … ‘For the curious, Captain Haddock’s “blistering barnacles” translates unexpectedly as “bhadakte hue baingan” (literally, “angry aubergines”). “Thundering typhoons” comes out as “toofani lehren”.’
28 September 2005
[lists] McSweeney’s Internet Tendency: 7 Habits of Highly Successful People. [via Kottke’s Remaindered Links]
[blogs] Blogging vs. Dogging … ‘More people know what dogging is than blogging, according to a survey which suggests that Brits are not as tech-savvy as might be expected. Most metrosexuals will know that blogging about their podcasting is perhaps a bit passé, while flashmobbing is decidedly retro.’
27 September 2005
[ipod] The Guardian asks: Is it OK to have more than one iPod? … ‘Apple has to avoid giving the impression that its products are built to obsolesce, that anything you buy now, however pretty and functional it seems, will be superseded. (Consider Apple’s “clamshell” laptops, praised when released, but comical now. Even 2003’s iPod Mini seems like yesterday’s toy.) This is why reports that the Nano scratches easily are a potential PR disaster – especially for Apple, whose designs target an especially anally retentive, perfectionistic personality strain, exemplified by founder Steve Jobs.’
[tech] Mini-Microsoft — anonymous Microsoft insiders blog … ‘Let’s slim down Microsoft into a lean, mean, efficient customer pleasing profit making machine!’
26 September 2005
[tech] Skyfex Remote Assistant — useful remote desktop viewer for supporting Windows desktops over Broadband connections and behind firewalls. [via Yoz]
[comics] Daniel Clowes Interview — the interview is posted at Suicide Girls so NSFW … On David Boring: ‘I was kind of making fun of the fact that I was taking so long in between episodes. I had these absurd cliffhangers in between each episode. Like the first chapter ends with a bullet heading towards the reader. Then the next issue came out like eleven months later or something. It’s the world’s slowest bullet.’
25 September 2005
[comics] Dave’s Long Box: ‘I’m the Goddamn Batman.’
[tech] What to do when a PC goes Wrong — nice consumer guide from Technovia … ‘If the goods are over £100, always, always buy on credit card (NOT a debit card). This gives you additional rights, as the credit card company becomes equally responsible for faulty goods.’
24 September 2005
[tv] The TV Hit That No One Watches — the Guardian on Monk … ‘Working from a memorably high-concept tagline – “Obsessive. Compulsive. Detective” – the scriptwriters contrive all manner of amusing plot twists. Faced with a chaotic crime scene, Monk’s immediate instinct is to tidy it up. His fear of heights – his irrational terrors also include milk, crowds, needles, lifts and mushrooms – is no get-out when he has to investigate a murder on a ferris wheel. Or when he has to join the customary chase up a fire escape (after much torment, he pulls down his sleeves to protect his hands from the grimy rails). Part of the charm is how the series mines his condition for incidental humour rather than mocking it outright. Part of it is watching [Tony] Shalhoub, a consummate character actor, working with his co-stars…’
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