I am unemployed, almost completely out of money, single and love-free, my flat is a disaster area and I can't seem to get a handle on the redesign of Barbelith. Still, mustn't �KVETCH.

Jason Kottke, commander of the omnipotent 0sil8, also runs a particularly fine weblog, dripping with design savvy. So visit kottke.org - it truly is the home of fine hypertext products.

There is something really frustrating about writing something that you think is quite good and then having to think of what to write to follow it up. On the other hand I could be being precious. You decide - read my epinion on Natural Born Killers.

To be honest, I can't even tell whether or not this is sad. Is anyone else my age excited about Final Fantasy VIII. I bought the last one on a whim, and it was gripping. Occasionally repetitive, but gripping nonetheless. Start saving your pennies...

Is it true? Can we possibly be running out of information? Is being catalogued and annotated faster than we can find it out? Smug's Leslie Harpold thinks so. Read "net worth".

Megnut is a well constructed and clear weblog that I am contemplating completely ripping off. I feel completely trapped by the dictates of a unifying design scheme (die, barbelith, die). Oh the horror. God knows, if anyone can think of anything, they should let me know as soon as possible. Tom

The secret behind many a wonderful weblog is the incalculable power of blogger. It has a hell of a lot to recommend it.

Designing web pages is invigorating and stimulating when it works and frustrating and soul-destroying (seriously) when it doesn't. When I need a clue, or a bit of constructive advice, I go to A List Apart.

Tomorrow I start a couple of days work updating the film section of the Time Out London Guide. Check it out.

I think I've sold you all out. I have been talking with an ex, and he thinks that I have turned this front page from a non-functioning advert for the collective to a self-aggrandising paean to self-important individualism. What you you think?

Does anyone other than me think that it is commendable that Ally McBeal's main love interest is on the brink of crippling hair loss? I have to say I am delighted, as I am approaching that brink myself. It's one (only mildly sarcastic) good thing to say for the almost offensively conservative programme. And I'm sorry but, if your delusions make you physically attack young children, you're not 'kooky' - you're suffering from paranoid schizophrenia.

So - everyone on the Nexus hates the new look for this site. Which is a bit disappointing, I have to admit. It seems slightly pathetic to actually ask people for nice comments.

Finding out information on film festivals in London is extraordinarily difficult. The only one that seems to have a damn site is the London Film Festival. It looks like it has the first British screening of American Beauty...

"In my world there are people in chains and you can ride them like ponies." Supreme Dominatrix? Nope - Willow from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The world gets weirder by the minute. If I didn't know better, I'd say we had already won...

It's 1am and I can't sleep. I am starting a new job on Monday working for Time Out in London. I will be Deputy ******** on their website. Something half editorial and technical. I was really looking forward to it until this afternoon, when I talked to someone about the job. They have scared me rather badly and I find myself concerned that I have signed myself up for several months of drudgery without the chance to do anything constructive. It's probably nothing to worry about.

Everyone knows about d|i|s|i|n|f|o|r|m|a|t|i|o|n but it bears repeating. All the information you could ever need to know about all the things that you are not supposed to know about.

So a 13 year-old school-boy is told to write a scary story for Halloween. He writes one (a pretty bad one at that), it gets a really good grade and he reads it out in class for extra credit. The story is considered to be a threat to his school mates, and he is taken to court and put in a juvenile detention facility for five days as punishment. Perhaps we haven't won yet after all...

There was an Invisibles site called Target One a while back, and now the guy who built it runs Attack Force D, which is another weblog. I'm not entirely sure I knew what I was getting into when I started this - there seems to be this strange, hallucinatory cult of webloggers in the world. It's ... nice somehow.

Occasionally, during the summer, when it got really hot and the air conditioning wasn't working at work, I used to sneak away from my desk on the second floor of the Time Out building and clamber from the balconies on the seventh floor up the service ladders and onto the roof. You can see all of London from up there - the Houses of Parliament, Canary Wharf, the Post Office Tower... I'm pretty sure I am not supposed to have done it. If I'd taken some photos, perhaps I could have sent them to Infiltration.

My friend Michael is trying to finish his doctorate in Bristol at the moment. I fear it is a project doomed to failure but he has surprised me in the past (to put it mildly). He's asked me to send him a mixer minidisc so that he has something to listen to. I've been checking out the selection of ideas at red balloon and have come to the conclusion that they urgently need your help.

The question in the air at the moment amongst my friends seems to be what to do for New Year's Eve. I've looked at various helpful sites but it hasn't really helped. Where shall we be when our lives are upgraded to version Y2K.1? Nick seems concerned that the Millenium bug will cause cars and planes to crash into mobs of similarly destructive Millennial cults and has suggested getting some people together somewhere in the west of England. I think it's an ark thing. Toby is determined to take polaroid pictures of people in the dome in Greenwich. What can be said.

It has appalled the religious right in America, enthralled and amused reviewers and is generally considered to be Kevin Smith's most accomplished movie. And Dogma isn't even out yet.

Britain's Millennium Map - is it a historic achievement or an infringement of our privacy?

British television at the moment is dripping with advertisements that parody or exploit the ethics of revolutionaries or non-capitalist states. There is something extremely unsettling about a Chinese gentlemen with a dodgy accent in Communist uniform stating that a brand of Chinese food represents "a Chinese Revolution". An advert for Twix recently claimed that the Russian cosmonaut in the advert had "less spine than this capitalist snack". But the most bizarre of all has to be the new Financial Times advert which has Lenin talking about share portfolios and "not Karl Marx, but Deutschmarks".

I feel slightly as if anti-capitalist memes are being raped in front of me - is it the equivalent of Roman soldiers sodomising their enemies after military victories? Fight back. Pollute the advertising meme-stream with adbusters.

Today I start work at timeout.com. More information on what I am up to when I have it. In the meantime, any suggestions on how to improve the site? *spark online is an interesting site which explores the frontiers of thought on technology. Get involved in their electronic consciousness. The propoganda section of Infinite Race has some wonderful nuggets of resistance. Abuse of power comes as no surprise. Holodeck 73 describes itself as an inspirational launchpad. Good design and a thousand interesting links. Read my epinion of Cube.

I survived my first day in the new job. I can't say that it was exactly what I had in mind, but it could have considerable potential. I'll let you know in a few days. The quest to find out what my job title is and when I get paid begins today. Wish me luck.

A little quote from the official British government's Millennial survival guide: "What is the Millennium Bug? It's not a virus and you certainly can't catch it." I have decided to pretend that it is not the most facile comment ever made and instead make believe that they are simply lying, and that the Millenium Bug is the first computer problem to jump species.

I went to the launch party for the new Neonlit book, where my friend Rhonda won �500 which she has to spend in two weeks with nothing to show for it. Turns out part of my job at Time Out is to help run the Neonlit site. I think it could be time to talk to Derek and Shauna at the fray and ember.org - two of my favourite online writing sites.

I'm Assistant Editor of timeout.com, which is nice. I also get paid at the end of the month. All questions answered to my satisfaction.

The Wax has a wonderful regular poll - "Am I Normal?". Do you have complete conversations with yourself?

My friend Will does. He decided to come and stay at my place last night and flirt with my favourite barman, and then launched into a huge rant about how he has scary premonitions. This morning his new rant was about how when money becomes more electronic "they" will be able to control it more easily. Not the most detailed or fully-worked-out conspiracy theories ever, I have to say.

If you are after a detailed conspiracy theory to accessorise your daily rebellion, then why not try the Montauk project? There are thousands of damn sites about it.

I am a real fan of the design at hoggorm.com/ although for the life of me I can't be bothered to find out what it's about.

I blew off two separate groups of friends last night so I could hide at home after work and watch bad TV. I walk in my door only to discover that Will is still there - sitting on my bed munching on bread and humous. My hopes for a piece of complete downtime dashed, I become moody and irritable.

This evening I am going to see Kinky Friedman in Camden with a group of friends. I've only vaguely understood the allure, so tonight should be an interesting experience.

Epinions has changed the format of their pages again, clumping up the loves and hates lists. Ick. Still, I'm sure I'll get used to it.

I remember a time when being at University meant savage and unwelcome censorship of web-space. Apparently this is no longer the case. Look at the wonderfully offensive things that MIT allows nowadays...

Missed yesterday's entry, which felt a little odd. It was my younger brother's birthday (he's fourteen now). He's been packed off to boarding school by parents eager to inculcate in him the ways of the uber-class. I bought him a copy of Day of the Triffids and some sweets from Muji. We will see (in years to come) whether or not he thinks I was a good brother.

Kinky Friedman was amazing. Classic songs like "They don't make Jews like Jesus any more" and "Get Your Biscuits in the Oven and Your Buns in the Bed". There can't be many people more subversive than a Jewish Texan Country Singer / Detective Novelist.

There are some weird epinions things going on around the net. People seem to be becoming affiliates (glassdog, peterme), although quite why escapes me. I suppose there must be some point to it.

Speaking of personal sites - I have just stumbled upon jezebel.com. Frankly the world can do with more "impudent, shameless, or morally unrestrained" people.

Now I must go to the gym so I can contemplate the overt body facism of western capitalism...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Nexus Online Poetry Slam... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/14/1999 07:33:37 PM ----- BODY:

Announcing the first ever Nexus Online Poetry Slam! All the details are in the Core. I went to see Fight Club yesterday evening. Then I came home and wrote a long, complicated and detailed epinion about it. And then my computer crashed. Epinion lost. Today I have been visiting Pippa in Highgate. She is an old flatmate of mine who has moved into a flat with another old flatmate of mine purely for the purposes of making me neurotic with flat in-jokes and knowing looks. I'm kidding of course... Under the instruction of megnut, I went to find out my Wu-Tang Clan name. I was less than thrilled to find out it was "Dizzy Cow". Here's a few of my other friends. (If you don't believe me - check it for yourself!)

Nick Cornwell - Furtive Ventriloquist
Chris Bell - Ol` Filthy, Sweaty Bastard
Max Prutzel-Thomas - Temporary Spastic
Kate Myers - The Nation`s Favourite Galoot
Toby Stone - The Littlest Vandal
Pippa Sturt - Sweaty Butcher
Melanie Goldblatt - Tha Ever So Weary Assistant

Some things get me very unhappy. One of them is being completely crushed by someone else's pure design superiority. I am in awe of saturn.org.

You can't talk about your life because people you know read them. I have on occasion (yesterday for one) suggested to a few friends that they should look at the site because there was this really satisfying link on it which I thought they should see. This is fine. But then you begin to realise that everyone has looked at it at one point or another - for god's sake your e-mail address has barbelith.com in it.

And then your fourteen year old brother is wondering whether or not your parents should be told about the what you have said on the site. And should I really be advocating the dismantling of the phallogocentric hetero-orthodoxy within his tender earshot? More to the point, how on earth are you going to talk about sex when you know your brother (half your age) is looking over your shoulder?

And speaking about sex - what happens when the people you want to talk about also read your weblog? You can't be honest. Period.

When I have had a hard day at the office, sometimes I like to relax by watching a balding web god scratch himself and listen to the Chemical Brothers. I plan to have him on screen at all times when I am at work. I think it will soothe me.

Look for the little downward arrow on the left side of glassdog.com. When you click on it, a whole new world of advertising wonder opens up for you. I like the idea of an advertising system like this, an unobtrusive mutual advertising system where good products are rewarded with loyal advertisers and bad products fail. Such is the web...

Hmmm... There's a lamentable shortage of links here today - not much of a web-log. Here are some cool places to go for a couple of minutes: prehensile tales : the finger : maura

Since I started working at Time Out full-time, I no longer seem to read a newspaper or keep up with the daily news. I no longer have any idea what is going on in the world. I can't even be bothered to read The Onion.

Being newsfree for a while makes you feel lighter - it's almost as good as not wearing a watch (which I didn't do for two years). I wonder how long it will last.

So tonight I have been invited to watch a football match in Finsbury Park (the pub's called the Fulback on Perth Road if anyone fancies joining us). I don't care about football in the slightest. It is not an affectation - I just don't enjoy it. However there are a large number of people who are going to be there that I like. What does one do? Drink oneself to death while all around burn David Beckham into their collective retinae? I fear I may be bored...

Decisions, decisions. Participation in the Day Without Art is much more my kind of thing. I can't decide whether I should participate though. I'll follow the instructions of the first person who e-mails me.

Evil, subversive site of the day must go to the tremendous disobey.com. Ghost sites is a laugh, netslaves cuts a little close to the bone for my liking, and the disobey news network will keep you bogged down with information for a few hours. Not that I read it.

Guess what! About bloody time...
The new issue of The Invisibles is out. Tremendous news all round. Annotations, discussion, barbelith gets very exciting at these times of the month...

Weblog mood and it's relationship to daily page views
So what is the relationship between mood and page views? I have been analysing this over the last couple of weeks and have come to the conclusion that no one wants to read people being depressed. Or at least the people that DO want to read about people being depressed are slightly scary.

What's this football thing about then, eh?
I went to watch the football. I didn't understand how anyone could get so excited. Lost on me completely. I tried to explain to the assembled masses that if the players had handlebar moustaches, smoking jackets, armchairs and muskets, the game would be both more civilised and more entertaining. They resolutely refused to see reason.

Exciting new retail opportunities...
Seems you can buy anything on the net nowadays. Do you have a Zombie? Do you need a brain? Brains4Zombies.com is for you...

Catastrophe
My link to the great trans-cultural overmind has been severed. I still have TV, but since I am never in I have to use my VCR. But today I find that it doesn't work and many episodes of TV series have been eaten. I don't feel as liberated as perhaps I should. I need a new VCR.

I have lost count of the days recently in which there has been something that I really wanted to talk about and yet have not been able to.

Instead - see if you can trigger some form of latent epilepsy with this little gem of net freakishness. It has no point.

I'll be sorting out the annotations and news for The Bomb tomorrow morning. Now I plan to go and get trashed on cocktails.

It's the end of the world. Quentin Crisp has died. He had a lot of very strange opinions - and a blue rinse - but he will be much missed.

Just a little piece on the use of the word "badger". Pippa had a car. The car was old. It didn't go very fast. Pippa had a twin sister called Bella. Bella and Pippa had overactive imaginations. The engine of Pippa's car was described as being powered by badgers. The badgers had names - I forget what they were.

So this charming little imaginative fiction comes to public attention when the car is being driven up a hill. Pippa declares she is about to "whip the badgers", and places a delicately heeled foot firmly onto the accelerator.

"Whipping the badgers" becomes, very quickly, a phrase that generates widespread hilarity due to its similarity with certain expressions referring to the stimulation of the male genital by its owners hand.

"Perhaps", people say, "this is the female equivalent! And perhaps, therefore, to call someone a "badger" is to be almost as offensive as to refer to them by the commonplace vernacular for the organ in question. What a jape!"

There's a discussion all about swearwords on the Nexus at the moment (which includes another version of the "badger" creation myth), started by a devilishly foxy young actor. Frankly, you'd think he'd have better things to do with his time...

All together now - "Jeffrey Archer, rot in hell, rot in hell, rot in hell..." Watch with glee as a modern (downmarket) Sir Miles Delacourt rip-off gets his comeuppance. It's like getting Capone on tax evasion. Wonderful.

Every good student of deconstructive philosophy knows that any text can be seen to be advocating any one position and its direct opposite. Watch with awe as I write an epinion about Halloween that manages to justify it as a subversive and revolutionary text. You'll moisten. Trust me.

Fans of Attack Force D (which include me) don't think he's ripped off barbelith at all. What do you think?

I don't know - you finally figure out that you do want to go out with a person that you've been vacillating about for ages, only to find that you've missed the boat by a week. And it's his birthday.

I don't quite understand what has happened, and frankly I find it quite hard to believe that a mere blond engineering student could have arsed things up. So basically it must have been me that threw the spanner in the works sometime over the last few weeks. Far, far from the land of happy bunnies...

So I found this wonderful link back to The Bomb today. I have no idea what it says, but it sounds great. To quote: "N�o � o site oficial do escritor Grant Morrison mas � como se fosse. Mantido por Tom Coates com um design super cool." See? Super cool...

Got a couple of e-mails about the state of my love life, which is a little unsettling, but cool nonetheless. To you people I say - keep your chin up and don't let the bastards grind you down.

Here's an exchange for you from the Nexus. Possibly my favourite in some time. Discussing the latest issue of Grant Morrison's Invisibles...

IANJONES: And what struck me about this issue is how full of references to incidents in my own life it is. I will not go on about them because its dull. I imagine you all found similar references however, in which case the comic has achieved a kind reification of the hologramatic universe and the surface of magic mirror.

GANESHA: Yeah, it reminds me of how I daubed myself with my friend's ashes last year, and that time we infiltrated the cyphermen factory.

Well it made me laugh. For those of you that are interested, I have put up as many of the annotations for the new issue as I could, and there you go...

I haven't been suggesting many sites recently. However I can wholeheartedly recommend k10k.com for its design nous alone. Expect heavy influence on barbelith from them...

What else has happened to me recently? I won the soundtrack to Fight Club in a bizarre online competition accident. I'd tell you more, but I think I'm on to a "nice little earner". It's wonderfully moody and cool in places (and drags like buggery in other places). All I can say is, like most music, it just gets better the louder you play it.

I went to see EDtv, but don't think it interesting enough to write an epinion about. You shouldn't let that stop you watching it though - it's an idle afternoon's entertainment.

I have just found a book by Huysmans (you should all read his stuff - I swear it is wonderful) called La Bas, which includes first hand information on fin de si�cle 19th Century Black Masses. A must buy.

Let me just undercut my "supercool" image by mentioning at this point that the Buffy the Vampire Slayer three video boxed set of the first half of the first series is now available in UK shops.

OK. So let's get something out of the way first. I know that not everyone agrees with my epinions (and I am sorry to go on about it so much, but I can't help thinking it's a great idea), but I don't understand why some of them are much read, and some haven't been read at all. It's got nothing to do with what the film is - Forrest Gump and Natural Born Killers are read a lot, while The Matrix, My Fair Lady, South Park, Head On and The Astronaut's Wife - well, no one seems to want to go near them with a barge pole. WHY!?

I have a scheme... So I am currently working on a cunning new project that will unite all the various strands of the barbelith collective into one handy sized micro capsule of joy. The new venture is to be called "Microlith".

This is the way it works... I construct a pocket-sized easy to update mini-Barbelith, which will include little extra barbelith-esque treats - a sample from the Xenolith weblog, a random "Invisibles" quote machine, which will pump out elegant Morrison bon-mots and a "Dice Man" decision making machine. This micro site will be viewable in a tiny window about 150 x 250 pixels in size.

Now here's the clever bit. Those of you who are interested in daily interesting content will put a little code onto your pages. When people come to your pages, a pop-up window will appear (like those really annoying ads on Tripod and Geocities). Except THIS pop-up window not only has interesting content (see above), but also works as a form of web-ring, because every site that includes the code will also be listed in the members section of the micro-site - thus improving inter-Invisibles communications on our burgeoning micro-community.

I have been scheming this scheme for ages, and I think the novel combination of interesting content, webring and advert could really catch on. I'll hopefully have it up and running by the end of the week (at which point I am hopefully undertaking a second barbelith redesign in line with my new starker aesthetic). The Dice Man should follow shortly afterwards.

I went to see The World is Not Enough yesterday, and am horrified to report that I slept through a good third of it. Probably the only interesting part (that I saw) was the scriptwriters move from evil arch-criminals to the unlikely pairing of anarchists and uber-capitalists. The stuff that I did see didn't seem particularly up to par, but because of my abbreviated viewing I don't think I can really be expected to epinion it.

I got an e-mail from Tracy Scarpino about my writing on epinions and the xenolith weblog. For some ungodly reason she is getting a kick out of hearing about my family and my love life. So I thought I'd indulge her and reveal a few more crumbs about my little brother.

He's 14 (as of a couple of weeks ago) and attends a boarding school in Northants. He's called Peter and is by far my favourite relative, being decent and intelligent. Initially I was really anti- this whole boarding school thing, but if any kid is going to get the best out of it, I think it's him (I hope that he'd tell me if he hated it - he hasn't done yet). He is a great fan of the Simpsons, loves Cricket, the new Volkswagen Beetle, and (if the history file of his browser is anything to go by) is also quite the young male fan of Jennifer Aniston as well.

As yet there is no news on whether or not he is a proto-revolutionary punk anarchist, but I guess time will tell.

Bit of a change of pace today, as barbelith is updated directly from my place of work whenever I take a break.

I have stumbled upon a benefit that is happening in Los Angeles later this month. Gillian Anderson (Scully on 'The X-Files') is hosting it, and it is in aid of The Trevor Helpline. This is the first round-the-clock national toll-free suicide helpline for gay teens, who are three times more likely to attempt to take their life than their heterosexual peers are.

I don't normally go for advertising charity events, but gay suicides are robbing America and the world of sexual dissidents. What kind of system generates such mind control that those who can't follow the rules feel their only option is to kill themselves?

[Today's weblog comes to you live from Tom's place of work, Time Out in London]

Not as many breaks as I hoped to have today, unfortunately. Still never mind. Bored with the hegemony of authors having their say? Shred it.

Occasionally I think you should look around at the people you work with and thank god that they are tense and irritable instead of me. Of course you only have time to do that when you are not tense and irritable yourself. In the meantime, these stressed people should be a source of endless entertainment.

Update on love-life. After several days of distance from my twenty-year-old (and an interesting sexual interlude with a young American) I feel genuinely more comfortable and settled with things. Young chap wants to be friends, which generated the wonderful comment from my tactless friend: "What the hell would you do with a twenty-year-old FRIEND!?". I, of course, only grudgingly saw the funny side.

So in the meantime I have decided just to flirt with my favourite barperson and leave it at that. Pretty sure he's not interested, but like all decent barpeople, he knows exactly how to maintain a decent level of intrigue without actually putting out.

According to evhead, "One in three men lie about the size of their e-mail inboxes by over-estimating the number of e-mails they receive - proving that size matters as much online as anywhere else."

Check out the beginnings of microlith (currently content-free) and the beginnings of my new stark monotonous grey aesthetic. If you complain, I rip out your spine...

Oh cool - I've figured out how the archiving works (duh). Have a look at my life over the last month. I've had a funny time...

I wrote a review of Fight Club. Don't read it. I have no idea what I think about it.

Epinions just can't stay still! Now you can post comments on other people's reviews. They've also redesigned the review pages - again I am not convinced by the new look. We shall see if it grows on me...

So, I was supposed to go around for dinner at Nick's house with Emma and John-Paul. However, somewhere along the line someone has forgotten about this fact, and now it is no longer happening, which leaves me at a loose end.

It's very important that you all get over to The Nexus immediately and read the first person account of the Battle of Seattle (The Core). It's incredibly moving stuff. Here's a brief excerpt:

"The whole way I was hoping that this story would get out. Hoping that the level of violence inflicted on non-violent protesters, peacefully assembled, would wake a lot of people up and show them the level of democracy in this country. Hoping that people would see what the level of force aimed at people who peacefully oppose the interests that are dominant in this country and the world. I returned home to have this hope crushed. The local news stations were reporting on the broken windows of businesses and not the broken bones of protesters. They reported on things like "police fatigue." Which I assume is when your arms get tired after you beat people for hours. They talked -and continue to talk about- the extremely "restraint, openmindedness, and gentleness" displayed by police."

So in the spirit of promoting creative and expressive sites all around the web you should immediately take part in the barbelith no-corporate creative poll.

There are over fifty creative and intelligent sites listed. All you have to do is check out a different three or four each day until the new year and vote on which one of them gives you most hope for the future of the web. This way I get to introduce you all to a whole huge world of wonder on the web.

Finally the end comes to an exhausting and debilitating weekend filled with tensions and parties. It would be hard to deny that I have had a cool time, but I feel completely washed out. And I have work to do before I can sleep.

SUFFOCATE is a group of web enthusiasts and designers who are given a different project each month. This month's concept is to communicate a message without using text.

The Grant Street Journal is a well designed personal project dripping with bittersweet insights and gripping content. Well worth a visit.

Famewhore is wonderful place to go for design inspiration. You are unlikely to find more polished design anywhere on the net, and with a sense of humour too. Quite heavy on Flash, Javascript and DHTML, go with your browsers set to KILL...

A review of some of the interesting sites on barbelith's non-corporate art site poll today. Once you have visited a couple of them, simply visit the poll above and express your preference!

I'm in the middle of one of those "I'll show you mine if you show me yours" e-mail conversations that people who have just met and who are involved in the web get into. It's always a little odd - particularly when one of your sites (this one) is the net equivalent of airing your problems with your transexual partner on Jerry Springer.

The person you are talking to suddenly gets an immediate insight into every aspect of your life - which can be particularly awkward their sites are well-designed corporate creatures, free of discussion of sex lives, family members, ex-partners and ongoing American TV series.

DAMN IT. DAMN IT. I FAILED THE ENTRANCE EXAM AT EvilPeople, INC. Note to self. Be More Evil.

Too much work to do. MUCH too much work to do. Co-worker at the Drone Factory is down with the flu, which leaves me toiling for two. On the plus side I bought myself a new VCR which is cool.

Did you have a good journey into work this morning? If you live in London it is pretty likely that you didn't. Talk all about it at tubehell.co.uk.

On a rather different note, I'm perturbed by the progress of e-mail "i'll show you mine if you show me yours" discussion which started on Monday. It's just got a little, well, corporate. Don't know what I think about it.

So I had lunch with e-mail correspondent. My concerns allayed, I am now very much in the holiday spirit and wish to share this good humour with all concerned. So I hereby DEMAND that you all send each other a Time Out Christmas Card as soon as possible.

So I went out for a drunken binge with the people from my journalism course last night, which was entertaining. Dave, who works at Capital Radio did his standard trick of getting drunk and aggressive, which was as ever interesting. By the end of the evening he was busy pawing Henry, who hardly seemed to notice.

Next Monday I have a press screening of Three Kings to attend. In fact this is a pretty heavy week for press screenings - and I will try to get something written for epinions on any films that are on general release in America. I think one of them is called Body Shots, and features Jerry O'Connell from Sliders.

Today is the day from hell. I have to work all morning, make a short film (in half an hour at most), get my hair cut, run back and work all afternoon, see a press screening (Tumbleweed) and then proceed to a drunken party. I fear I will be very tired tomorrow.

I think the non-corporate art poll is being highjacked by people from the various sites concerned. It's very important for you people to make your votes count!

I take it all back. Prehensile Tales is directing people to the poll and doesn't even (really) try to influence the voting. I am Jack's Desperate Needy Apologetic Aspect.

I am completely honoured to be mentioned at Zeldman since it is, in many ways, the decentred centre of the web - connected intimately with the Web Standards Project and the fight to keep original non-corporate content visible on the web. It's as close to representing the "spirit of the web pioneers" as you can get.

I don't agree about the popularity poll thing though. I agree that polls are by their nature competitive - but only if they are taken seriously! The poll was designed to get people to look at some of the best independent content that the web has to offer, and the interactive part is merely a means to that end. However, if people think that it is against the spirit of the sites themselves then I'll remove it post haste...

Last night I went to the press screening of Tumbleweeds. It was an affecting, slightly off-kilter film, which didn't opt for the easy answers. I basically liked it. But it was more interesting as a treatment of mothers. You felt sympathy for the mother who serially marries and runs across the country with her young daughter, pulling her in and out of schools, getting involved with abusive and violent men. She was portrayed as so childlike and confused herself that she almost couldn't be held accountable for her actions.

I sat there thinking that although the film was entirely convincing and moving, exactly the same story, with the same script but a different director, could have just as easily portrayed her as an inhuman monster.

This aspect slightly perturbed me. It made me wonder what actions couldn't be justified on screen with a sensitive back-story and a likable actor/actress. And whether the love of her daughter should really be taken as such a barometer of her morality. It seemed just as likely to me that the daughter in ten years time would resent her mother with a vengeance.

Three brief things. The first is really important. Both Zeldman and I got the URL for Croon wrong. Which might explain why people aren't voting for it (link goes nowhere). Turns out it's not croon.com but croon.org. Bum. I suggest that EVERYONE goes and looks at the site today and votes for it (should they feel that way inclined).

Zeldman himself (awe) has written to me and explains his feelings on the poll. Having heard him out properly, and heard his position through, I must confess I think I agree with him. Um. Finally, I wrote the damn epinion on Tumbleweeds. I am now consumed with guilt as I think I sound right-wing and single mother hating, which fills me with horror.

You remember what I was telling you about my interesting dalliance with a young American? Well hey! Lookee here. I made me a (tiny) gallery...

The front page of barbelith reached 10,000 hits today. This is quite invigorating. The bomb has now had nearly 40,000 visitors, the nexus over 15,000. What a nice way to start the day...

Could anyone who has a chance (and likes The Bomb) go to Wahoo! and rate it for me. They only include people who have been rated more than ten times in their top-rated sites, and The Bomb languishes with five.

I went Christmas shopping yesterday. I didn't feel like a politically insurgent sexual terrorist at all. I bought biscuits, chocolate, videos and Lebanese candy floss from Selfridges in London. At no point did I stick two fingers up at the ubercorporations. I must be getting old.

Here's an interesting site for you: The Incunabula Papers. I'll let you make up your own mind about it though because I have yet to make up my mind.

I went out for a drink with e-mail correspondent last night which was supposed to lead into a press screening of Three Kings but didn't. I then stumbled off alone around central London under the influence of alcohol and tobacco and freezing my arse off around Leicester Square while feeling like I was about to vomit. An interesting evening.

Listen very carefully, my friends, for this is the most important thing I have ever had to tell you. This concerns the wonders of Movie Therapy. For years I laboured under the misapprehension that when one was miserable one watched a sad film. Slowly over the years I began to realise that this wasn't the case. So here are some of my recommendations for handling emotional instability through Meme Therapy...

That's all for now. Remember these are not general film recommendations, but ways of dealing with and alleviating emotional difficulties that you might be facing. Go with my love, my children.

There's something wrong with the non-corporate poll, and I can't help thinking it has something to do with those scamps at glassdog.org.

So, I am back in pining mode after two concurrent days of rejection and humiliation, both personal and professional. I have been invited to see three separate people tonight - the wonderful Katy who is just down for the night, the heart-squished Josh R, who isn't having the best time in his love-life either and the ever-present Nick, who is determined to go and see Sonatine on the big screen.

I'm going to blow them all off so I can go home and mope effectively. This is good news for people who like barbelith, because these moods generally produce some of my best design work. You leeches...

Is the point of a weblog to record cool places on the net or to be really self-indulgent and talk about whatever you want? Hmmmm - an interesting question...

Americans should use Selectsmart to find the presidential candidate for them. That is, of course, if they are naive enough to believe pre-election promises. Apparently my ideal candidate is Bill Bradley. From having read the summaries of the various positions of the candidates, it's not that far off although the overt policy pronouncements of Al Gore aren't that far away from my own views (except for those views advocating meme terrorism and epistemological insurgency of course). [from Megnut]

I love the idea of iSyndicate and think the design (by the astonishing Powazek) is pretty elegant as well. I'm a little concerned that it will result in the homogenisation of the web, but it is just as likely that it will produce a world of better educated and more informed people. Which I suppose is probably a good thing...

Blogger is wacked out on drugs and speed. Whoa baby - watch that new, intricate and clever interface do its thing. Woof.

There's this quote in Heathers (the film with Christian Slater) which goes something like "Now I use my high IQ to decide what colour lip-gloss to wear". If you added to that discussions about inter-racial relationships and cultural stereotyping in Star Trek, you might have some idea of how far I have fallen over the last couple of years. Kudos to Nick to listening to me ramble on last night.

Red Meat appeals to the cynic in me, but is somehow unfulfilling. There's something too easy about most of it. You know - not quite biting enough. Having said that, this one is pretty lovely...

The non corporate poll has got into silly money as the glassdog.org crew blast it with infinite votes. I can't really be cross since it isn't a competition. Still it is a funny thing to do with your time.

In the interests of fairness, here's a few words about a few of the other sites that you should look up if you get a chance: Pixel Junkie is an elegantly designed site (rebuilt a couple of weeks ago) itself filled with links to sites of a similar classy standard. Much recommended. Soulflare takes design completely away from the technocracy of much online work towards a much more fluid, photo-impressionist style (forgive me if I get a bit florid here). A series of rotating exhibitions demonstrate some of the most intelligent work you will find on the net.

On an altogether more amusing note: for those of you who live in London check out pages 4,6 and 44 of the latest issue of Time Out. Advertrasharama.

So I used to run this site called Blank Faeces, which was designed to reward people who built interesting personal content sites on the web. Basically it wasn't a very good site, so after a great deal of thought I completely ignored everyone who wrote in hoping to get an award.

Most of the sites that people sent to me were pretty bloody awful, but I have only just stumbled upon estetik - a site which was sent to me a month ago with a note asking for feedback. Well frankly, it's wonderful...

There is this comic book called Doom Patrol, or at least there was a good few years ago. It was written by the immortal Grant Morrison, whom we adore. Anyway - in this comic book there was this character called Crazy Jane. Jane had multiple personality disorder, with a separate super-power for each one. It sounds amusing, but it wasn't - she was a traumatised character who had been abused in her youth and who had absolutely no control over which personality (aggressive, catatonic, violent, sexual) appeared.

Disinfo.com is having a conference in NYC. Apparently, Mr Morrison is to attend. Very jealous.

Last Night was Time Out's Christmas party, held in King's Cross in London. An extraordinarily odd evening with much drinking, schmoozing, flirting and doing of stupid things. I danced like a devil. Other than spending 35 minutes in a taxi rank waiting for a cab to take me home, and the systematic drunken abuse of a young drug crazed gentleman (and the spending of unnecessary monies) it was probably, all things considered, quite a laugh.

Tonight I have a party in South London, doing gay karaoke. It is so cold outside and I am so poor and hungover that I have to confess the idea doesn't really appeal to me. Still it might be enough general distraction to stop me thinking about various love-life related things. Had a chat to potential main squeeze a couple of days ago, in which he said that he didn't think a relationship between us could work. I replied that I knew that, but that I wanted to do it nonetheless. The only question therefore was whether or not he wanted to as well. He said he'd think about it over Christmas. For such a non-committal answer I feel strangely elated. Time will tell I suppose.

I missed a day. That hasn't happened for ages. Perhaps I am suffering from the apparently catching weblogger flu... [Powazek feels bad][Kottke was sick]

Quick bit of politics. Imagine British party politics as two weights, one arranged on the right wing and one on the left wing of a finely tuned set of scales. Traditionally, as one party moved further out on its wing, the other party either had to extend itself similarly down its wing or gather more support in the middle. We now have a new model, as the party that moves further and further to the right sheds voters and MPs, while the party on the centre left has a quick lie down and a glass of port.

I was going to suggest some links from people who hate Christmas. Yahoo has a reasonably decent selection of pretty average sites made by people who hate Christmas. But I don't hate it - not really - I just hate the inconvenience and responsibility which I feel when it starts to approach. It would be better if Christmas really was a holiday - but families are hardly holidays - in fact quite often quite the opposite.

No word from potential main squeeze as yet. There probably won't be any unless either I make the effort or the New Year approaches.

Something to make the Americans sick. You can now preorder the new Invisibles trade paperback "Kissing Mister Quimper" on amazon.co.uk but you can't on amazon.com. More information on The Bomb (in the news and collections sections).

I'll tell you something for nothing. If we make contact with Aliens via Heineken's website, then I will be completely gutted. We'd be an interstellar laughing stock...

So I finally watched Pirates of Silicon Valley the other day, which a friend had sent me from America a year ago. (I have just bought a new video which can actually show American standard tapes.) I am confused about my feelings towards it - and as time has passed it has remained stuck in my head.

There are a couple of reasons for this - it's portrayal of Bill Gates and Microsoft is resolutely unpleasant, and while Steve Jobs doesn't seem entirely pleasant either, I have more respect for his attitude and his vision. It doesn't hurt that the whole film treats Gates as nothing but a scheming opportunist, nor does it hurt that Jobs is played by Noah Wyle, about who I made one of my first proper sites (and which I still occasionally update). But that isn't all of it.

Every so often you come across a site which is interesting, incredibly well designed and really meshes with your own personal zeitgeist. Check out kabbalah.com.

So my throat is slowly closing up and I am having trouble swallowing. With three days to go until Christmas, could I really be finally getting the flu? Please god no.

Battled away with Neonlit at work today, despite the fact that there are endless other things I should be doing. Finally got it to a place that I am comfortable with. Take a look. Cheer me up.

Why is it that I always seem to do my best design on other people's sites? It's only small, but check out the new student guide button on Time Out's site. I think it came out rather well.

Plague remains on periphery. Hopefully I will fight it off before it gets a chance to get a foothold. At least today is my last day at work before Christmas - so I can spend tonight watching TV in bed and wrapping presents. Easy, warm, health-producing activities.

There's this wonderful thing in Baudrillard where he says that it is dull to think of the world as approaching an apocalypse, but much more interesting to work on the principle that it has already happened. There's this wonderful thing in Grant Morrison's work in which he talks about how the spiritual armageddon has come and gone and the physical world is just taking a long time to catch up. These ideas appeal to me. But as Y2K approaches, I can't help wondering whether or not we will all be hunter gatherers in the months ahead. For more see fear2k.com.

So Barbelith is now getting more hits than The Bomb. Go figure. Plague marches on relentlessly. Managed to get to sleep at 3am, alarm set to 8am so that I can get the train back to my parents' house in Norfolk. Note to self: buy cold pills immediately.

So Christmas has come and gone and with it comes the standard array of bizarre family stories. Last year all I could manage was the weirdness of my father specifically asking for (and receiving) 50 bic biros (blue). This year I have the double pleasure of having received a carefully wrapped up can of soup from my uncle while my grandmother insists on wandering around the house saying very loudly, "Where's my pussy!?", "Have you seen my pussy!?".

Frankly I can barely keep a straight face. ----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Cola Bottle Christmas... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/27/1999 11:48:41 PM ----- BODY:

Phew - the whole Christmas thing is gradually slowing to a halt. I am still at my family's house in Norfolk, but not for much longer. Wednesday morning I am on a train and should be back at home (and able to restore normal service) by the evening. Weird family stories by the bucket load, but I should probably not tell any of them. I have been trying (unsuccessfully) to avoid conversations about politics, because I know they always end in arguments, but my mother insists that Tony Blair is an elected dictator resolved to consolidate his power. I frankly don't know what to say in response to a comment like that...

So I went to see Mystery Men [IMDB] [Epinions] [Official Site] this evening with my brother, who folded up all the arm rests and lay spread-eagled over several seats stuffing his face with cola bottle sweets. It completely reaffirmed my life-long desire to be a super-villain.

I am returning to London tomorrow at which point I will immediately be going to see Dogma with Liz and whoever else I can find to accompany us. My plan is to clean my mind of all the crap that has been accumulating - parents, relationships, little fucking arseholes fucking me around - you know - the whole enchilada. Hmmm... Never sworn so heavily on barbelith before. Feels strangely ... satisfying.

So I have finally found a purpose for the millennium. I am going to do a little stocktaking over the next couple of days and purge myself of every last extraneous and pointless thing in my life. I am going to throw away about a half of the crap in my room, get rid of a thousand bad friends, kill off all the sexual intrigue in my life and return to some form of automaton-like emotionless equilibrium. Accenuate the positive. Eliminate the negative... Savagely.

Hey guess what! Everyone has cancelled! Instead of seeing Dogma, instead I am staying at home and throwing away all my old papers! I couldn't be more thrilled...

Today's barbelith celebrates etoys decision not to press its utterly ridiculous law suit. Bear in mind though that the precedent probably still stands.

So it's New Year's Eve. I am at home in Hampstead, waiting for some kind of information about what I am going to be doing this evening. My friend Toby is planning to be down at the Thames for the events this evening, with a block of people. He is taking survival gear and rucksacks, which frankly sounds horrific to me. Nick, on the other hand, is dangling the possibility of a party filled with sexy young things for later in the evening - whether or not it is before midnight (or indeed where it is) I just don't know!

I feel profoundly exhausted by the requirement to enjoy myself this evening. That can't be right...

I wanted to get a new relaunched barbelith up today, but the site is so far away from being completed, that I just can't. Which is a pity. Happy new Millennium people. Use it well.

Dull as it seems, my resolution for the upcoming year is to "do more gay things". I have decided that I know altogether too many straight people and far far too few gay people. I mean, am I not in touch with my community? Where is my sense of solidarity?

The web has been completely dead over the last couple of weeks - Christmas particularly killed peoples' desire to surf, and New Year seems to have done the same. The Nexus is almost empty, Kottke and Powazek have hardly been writing at all, there are no new IPOs on HSX and page views on barbelith have halved in around a week. It's all very aggravating.

Wired has exceeded expectations by producing the most boring "Things that will happen in the year 2000" I have ever seen. It's probably accurate, but frankly who cares when the future's so dull!

Powazek has politely pointed out that he has written two new pieces for sf stories. I am an idiot. While we are at it, why don't you tell the fray where you were at midnight...

Mr Blair, the prime minister of the United Kingdom, has given his approval to the creation of GeT Greenwich Electronic Time. The site for this is incredibly boring, and I can't help feeling rather misses the point. I mean of course it is handy to have a standard to measure time on the net, but Swatch's system seems to me to have more going for it (although it isn't particularly intuitive). It seems to me that one of the functions of Internet time must be to make it very easy for people to agree to meet online without having to take into account regional time differences. Therefore the system must be intuitive enough for people to be able to understand, while different enough from the standard layout of time to not be confused with it. It's important that people can say lets meet at XXXX and understand where that is in relation to their own time even when their own times are very different.

So here is a preliminary statement regarding BIT - Barbelith Internet Time. My suggestion is to keep with the 24 hour clock (because people have to be able to work out its relation to their own time when things like daylight saving and stuff kick in in the real world), keep it running from Greenwich (why the hell not, everything has done for years anyway) and only abstract its presentation. Something like 3113 for 1:13 pm GMT, minutes first, hours second. I know it seems ridiculous, but it should make time translation really easy while not allowing it to be confused with local time. Six figure numbers would have the seconds at the front - hence 003021 would mean 9.30pm exactly GMT. Someone who currently uses Eastern Standard Time would be able to say to someone two hours ahead of them to meet at 003018BIT which would be half past one EST and half past three for the other guy.

I am back at work, and thrilling it is too... I am really taken with the way that metajohn has incorporated the date information into his blog. I may be forced to steal valuable sexy ideas from him.

So the response to my first conception of Internet time wasn't particularly overwhelming. People seemed (how should I put this) ... confused ... by its purpose and/or functionality. Looking over it again they are probably correct.

So I have a new and better idea. Imagine this - you wish to organise a meeting with someone at 1pm your time. You decide on e-mail. You click on the new e-mail button, write what you want, and when it comes time to put in the time of the meeting you click on the clock icon on your toolbar. This icon triggers a "realtime" plugin which would bring up an image of a clock which you could click on, thereby selecting a time. This then writes a small piece of code into your e-mail which you would see as 1pm.

However this code at the OTHER end would be read by the plugin and automatically translated into the equivalent in their time-zone - thus your meeting partner would view it as 3pm (for example).

This plugin could then be added to any number of packages, automatically translating a particular timecode into what time it should be in the place where it was read. (Packages like word processors and web browsers are obvious examples - you can do something on the web like it with applets or javascript, but they go no further).

If you added to the functionality of the plugin by having it check the time against some form of authority (such as GMT) and automatically setting the computer's internal clock accordingly, you could have a really handy nice little device that would completely invisibly generate a standard for Internet Time.

And to make it more entertaining, you could have any number of additional translation timescales in place - you could specify you wanted to see times sent to you in Swatch Internet Time (automatically translated with Swatch's permission) or any number of wacked out systems. Think of it - on your home computer you could choose to work completely in StarDates (with the permission of Paramount of course). And if you wanted to extend it to dates, you could operate in a completely different calendar (although that might get a little too confusing). And it wouldn't matter at all, because to the people who you communicated with would all think you were making all these appointments in whatever system they preferred as well!

Is there anyone out there interested in developing such a mini-app? I even have a snappy name for it: THERMIDOR, after the month of the French Revolutionary calendar in which I was born.

The point of weblogs is to talk about other weblogs - actually no, that is completely not the point. Still - never mind, eh? Metajohn thinks I am nice. Drat Fink has said in response to yesterdays ravings (and I quote): "i hate it when im confronted with intelligent thoughts on other blogs, then im forced to actually use my brain, which only reminds me that i hadnt been using it prior to that point".

The domain name www.year2000.com has been put up for auction on eBay. I think bids closed at around $10,000,000 [Full Story]. Why do I suspect barbelith.com will never be worth a penny? Huh? Answer me that!

I am adding stuff to The Bomb as we speak. It might be in your best interests to go and have a look!

British Telecom finally did something useful with the web. I know it is a shock, but it's true! No longer will I be paying 50p a shot for directory enquiries when I can go to www.bt.com/phonenetuk.

Yesterday a new G4 arrived in TimeOut.com's offices. I am in awe. Lust lust lust lust.

What kind of advice is this: Mystery Meat Navigation: An Introduction. People are always asking me, "What's the best site on the Web?" My response is "There is no best site because the best site is the one that as soon as someone clicks a link to go there, money is automatically sucked out of their wallet."?

Well I am afraid Barbelith operates on a non-corporate principle, as I think do most of the very best sites on the net (at least the ones that I visit). So I am therefore more than happy to be (in the words of the man who I quote above) a web site that sucks.

Under strick instructions from Jason Kottke I went and checked out Matt Groening's Top Ten Simpsons Episodes. I don't agree with a couple of them - Frank Grimes was appalling - but there are some classic moments here. "We have reached the limits of what rectal probing can teach us!".

Let's see - what have I been up to over the last week that I haven't told you about?

As far as I am concerned, the only news of the day is AOL buying Time Warner. A few months ago people were talking about how large media companies would be buying up Internet companies, but now it looks like the world is moving in another direction. AOL is already worth almost half as much again as Time Warner, which counts amongst its acquisitions an American TV Network, an international chain of shops and cinemas, Warner Bros films (who made The Matrix), Time magazine and DC Comics amongst many others. AOL on the other hand owns Netscape, ICQ and now has a controlling interest in the newly merged company. And this company is affiliated with Sun Microsystems, both of them allied against Microsoft's domination of the computing operating system market.

Time Out's reviewers have reached new heights of perfection. The new Pet Shop Boy's single "You Only Tell Me You Love Me When You Are Drunk" is described as: "More dirty grunting fuckpig pop from the leathered-up and greased-down mule-bucket gore-hounds." What can I say?

I have been looking over sites that I built nearly a year ago now, and I can't help thinking that they were rather better than the crap I am building at the moment. I mean The Bomb looks pretty hot, but started around that time, I still think The Nexus looks like complete arse (particularly when compared with glassdog.org and Barbelith itself is little more than a gaudy stopgap.

So to help myself get myself back on form I have decided to upload one of my older projects Fin de Siecle to the site - it probably won't be updated any more in its current form (it was far far too much work), but hopefully it will inspire me to get around to rebuilding it, and the other parts of the site that are in desperate need. Whatever happened to Microlith, Dice Man etc etc? Well - I need about four months off work to get them up and running as well!

So go and check out the old Fin de Siecle and let me know what you think of it. I'll try and get the new one up and running sometime before July... (!)

Went to see Head On again this evening. It's a strange film - sexy but laboured (if that is possible). I was hoping to meet a friend for a drink afterwards, but the various people I had in the frame for the role of "friend" decided to blow me off (in the American rather than English use of the phrase).

I occasionally suggest personal sites to look at. I can't imagine two sites more different than toby.stone.org and Lynn MacEachen's site. Toby is a friend of mine with a rather ... Edwardian ... sense of fun. Among his many galleries is one of a recent party he had at the Oxford and Cambridge Club in London. I was invited, but was unable to attend. Having seen the pictures, I notice a surprising lack of fifth dimensional incursions, space-time supersolids and general political insurrection...

I don't mean to be churlish, but how come for the last week barbelith has been getting about 150 visitors a day, and then yesterday suddenly gets over 300?! There's no evidence in the referrer log. What on earth is going on?

I have been separated from most of my e-mail because of a problem with my ISP. I can still receive it, but I can't easily reply, which leaves me feeling more than a little cyberimpotent.

Tomorrow night I am thinking of going to Popstarz in North London. Now all I need is to find someone pliant to take with me.

SKY: Friends, ER, Roswell High, Veronica's Closet, The Simpsons. I swear - I'm in television trash heaven.

How sad is this. In one month exactly it is Valentine's Day. Every year it is a strange time for me, as I always find myself either tense about the relationship (or otherwise) that I am in, or feeling bad for not being in one. And the worst thing is all your coupled friends are too busy throwing flowers and underwear at each other to be any fun at all. Sheesh - some people can be so self-involved (joke).

This year is a particularly odd one. I decided a few weeks ago to aid my (I suppose) "ex" by keeping my distance for a while. Frankly I doubt he's noticed, but since everything has been calming down reasonably well (both internally and externally) I grudgingly think that it is probably a good thing. But I'm a sap for Valentine's Day and want to get him something. However, because of the nature of our relationship at this present time I need to get something that isn't too sappy, offers no pressure or anything but is still vaguely touching in a kind of lightly poignant kind of way. If I could find a way to be perfect and rise above everything then that would be great too.

In preparation for the full horror - here are some Valentines related sites: blinddate.org is the perfect place to set a couple of young proto-lovers up (or to cause mayhem by setting up bitter enemies). In a rather more trashy vein is Cupid's Cove - I don't have much more to say to that... "Loving You"'s Valentine's Site is almost enough to make me take an axe to people in couples, but I will probably manage to restrain myself for a few more weeks (four probably).

So I think I will end with an unnecessarily venomous guide to The Day of Pink. It's a little savage even for my tastes, but there's an explosion in it, so it's pretty much OK with me! Check out The Alt.Suicide.Holiday Valentine's Day Survival Kit.

First of three things to talk about today is a bit of an announcement. There will be a gathering for anyone who hangs out in The Nexus on February 4th at Popstarz in London. More information as I have it, but it should be a tremendous laugh with much drinking and the like. Drop me a line if you are interested!

Second thing is a little diary entry - and is also about Popstarz. On Friday night I went out for a drink with Nick E. to the Leisure Lounge and Popstarz. I wasn't sure if I was going to be in the right kind of mood for all night clubbing, but it turned out that Nick was perfect company and we had a great time schmoozing and boozing. The club is about 60-70% gay, and Nick is about 95-100% straight, but he often seems to meet attractive and interesting women there.

Nick had told me earlier in the evening that he used to explain very firmly to any gentleman who flirted with him that he wasn't interested, thanks very much, but that he had decided in recent months just to play along and flirt back for a while and then wander off with a smug smile on his face. I told him I thought this was reasonably dodgy and could really interfere with the cheeriness and good spirits of anyone foolish enough to find him attractive.

This night however, he found himself very squarely in the sights of a rather aimiable-looking 6'4" besuited man. But appearances can be deceiving and within about five minutes, said collosal gentleman was exploring Nick's body with an altogether unexpected enthusiasm. Nick looked very sheepish. Several times he gestured to me to save him from this situation, but I decided that (since all he had to do was say - oops ... sorry ... straight) he probably deserved it and could save himself. With a great big grin on my face I made a cod impression of someone who didn't understand his request.

But Nick REFUSED to 'fess up to the Giant Suit - and as time passed he got simultaneously more perturbed and amused by his situation. For an instant I turned away, and when I glanced back Nick was alone. He grinned a grin, and made a gesture of relief and we danced some more. Suddenly I find Giant Suit leering up behind me. Doubling over to reach my ear he whispers to me "Why did you have to have such a HOT boyfriend?!".

Anyway - the rest of the evening was fun - I met a great guy from the LSE with whom I spent an entertaining evening and whom I wish I could see again, but don't think I will. I could tell you more, but I don't think I will. All in all a pretty entertaining few hours.

Finally, on a rather more geeky note, I have been looking at iSyndicate Affiliates (which was designed by our esteemed colleague at powazek.com) in preparation for the big redesign challenge I am setting myself. But it occurred to me that I hadn't seen many of their affiliates out there in the real world, which made me wonder if they would be of any use to me at all.

So I was interested when today I was sent the URL for a site called Fragile Minds which uses similar newsfeeds from places like moreover.com. Fragile Minds is an interesting site which illustrates that one an use these newsfeeds not just to replicate the content of the information provider but to allow you to produce a site in which everything you create is new, while still offering more of a service to the people who read your site.

I'm still not totally convinced by such newsfeeds, but it is cool that there are decent sites out there using them.

So that's it for today - quite an epic post - much longer than normal. Hope you are all having a good weekend!

Hey look - barbelith's non-corporate art poll was clearly such a spankingly hot idea that it has been liberally appropriated by Vitaflo's gorgeous site [HREF section].

In personal news, having decided to get over ex (Max) and thrown myself vigourously into the pursuit of new foxy people, I get an e-mail from him asking myself and Chris out for a drink. I reply to e-mail. No response. I ring him, he sounds pissed off with me. I give up. Understanding other people is too hard.

"Please shoot yourself now. You should be ashamed of the shit that you put on this site. I know people that could do a much better job of it than you do (my six year old niece for one). I'm sure that Grant is sorry for endorsing your site. Fucking do it right or fuck off and let someone who is actually a fan do it."

I am at home today writing epinions and thinking. It's been a funny month/year/decade/century/millennium so far - in fact in many ways it has been downright unpleasant. A lot of my friends are reporting the same feeling of being lost, almost desperate for 'something'. I wonder if we wanted things resolved before the new year that just couldn't be resolved, and now we are coping with the fallout from our clumsy attempts to resolve them. To those of you who feel the edges of a spiritual apocalypse - good luck.

Word used to be a visually and intellectually stimulating place to be. Now I must confess I can't be bothered to read it. The knock-off Yahoo! look is so offensively dull when divorced from the pure functionality of the directory itself that it actively discourages me from reading the articles. Powazek is getting quite heated about their designers, and I have to say that generally I pretty much agree with him.

Shit. Tom wasted a morning writing a review of The Pixie's last album Trompe Le Monde.

I'm not normally one for this kind of thing, but someone suggested I have a look - and what do you know - it looks just like BARBELITH.

I have decided to have a policy in which I suggest links at the top of each new entry and those few of you who want to follow the unending soap opera of my life can then read on into the paragraphs below.

Biggest worry of the week is film censorship. There's this really interesting article about a film which has just been banned outright in Australia (disinformation). This comes at the same time that standards in the UK seem to be relaxing (with the release of films like Head On). I can't be the only person in the world who thinks that an adult should have no restrictions on what they CAN see, and that they should figure out for themselves what they WANT to see. Doesn't seem very tricky to me at all!

What have I been up to? I went for a drink with Evil Michael after work on Friday at the Leisure Lounge in King's Cross. He was great fun for a while, but became increasingly irritable and aggressive the more drunk he became. I get a little worried about him at these times, and frankly I don't know what to do about it. I then decamped to Popstarz, which was exhausting, but fun, and having been drinking for eight and a half hours I decided I should go home - only to discover that my landlord had wandered into my place, knocked a couple of things over, stood on a plate and removed my blinds without asking me. Since I have no curtains and face the sunrise, my actual sleep amounted to about two hours. And while I was hiding under the duvet from the world, Evil Michael rang at 9am forcing me to shout at him a lot.

Saturday night was spent with Max, with long and intense conversations in which I said that I didn't think I should see him for a while. He got a little upset by this, said OK, then we went to a late night showing of the Matrix and he rang me the next morning. All very strange.

Flat problems may be getting gradually closer to being resolved. Kate has suggested we talk about the possibilities of living together and with Manuella. I am more than happy to do this, except for the fact that they don't want to do it as quickly as I do (which means that I might have to live on people's floors for a couple of weeks - gulp). Still - at least it's a move in the right direction.

Interesting day - I met up with a guy I knew MANY years ago at Bristol. Very interesting day indeed.

This is a brief quote from the weblog at the beginning of November: "So - everyone on the Nexus hates the new look for this site. Which is a bit disappointing, I have to admit. It seems slightly pathetic to actually ask people for nice comments. [10:49:17 AM]" Opinions are mixed on the new look as well. Very strange day. Very strange day indeed.

American Beauty [Non-Official/Official] won three Golden Globes. My friend Katy designed a really impressive site for the film. My other friend Kate has a friend called Tara who is also really cool, pretty scary and inspired the phrase "GODZILLA! / tiny japanese village" (don't ask). She also worked on the film. We all wish her the very best. Very exciting times indeed...

The net gets younger and younger. Riot Hero is still at school (15! 15!) and is producing an above average weblog dripping with interesting little tricks and techniques. It's enough to make you feel practically octogenarian. He's never even eaten a lima bean.

So an incredibly cool thing might be about to happen to me. Channel Four have a late night slot called 4 later. On this slot is a TV program called Disinfo Nation which is hosted by Richard Metzger with whom I have (many moons ago) had many an e-chat. Anyway - so I am checking my referrers log when I stumble upon the page above, in which tonight's episode is said to include (and I quote):

It looks like The Bomb is going to be on TV! Set your videos for 00.45am on Channel 4 (UK).

Mini Bio: Richard Metzger was in charge of scamming the corporate weirdos into funding disinformation before they freaked when they saw what he had done with it. Needless to say they let him, the company and quite a large amount of money go in one fell swoop. Metzger managed to get vast amounts of publicity and tapped into the zeitgeist that also abortively produced The X-files to produce a site that actually made money. He's now merged with the omni-directional Razorfish SubNetwork, but we don't blame him for that in any way.

There's so much more I want to talk about, but I haven't got time. Brief personal news items for those of you that care:

So The Bomb was indeed on TV last night. Slightly bizarre seeing my work up on the screen. Certainly not unpleasant, but strange nonetheless.

I have about a thousand links that I have been building up over the last week or so, but I am going to save all of them until tomorrow. Instead a quick bit of boring life monologue. Feel free to barf if it gets too self-indulgent.

For the first time in nearly a month, I am at home on a Friday night. I hate being at home on a Friday night. Cos then Saturday morning just oozes past so slowly and suddenly you only have a day left before work begins. Today's reason is as amusing as ever. I decide it would be a cool thing (you know - meet knew people, show Max how cool I am with the whole not going out this) to hang out with Max and friends - and drop him a note seeing what he is doing this evening. He says that he'll ring me today. And then he doesn't ring. At 5 I think I should find out what he is up to so I ring him. He sounds flustered and then says that on second thoughts it probably isn't the best idea if I go out this evening since he is trying to line up another guy. So I am left on a Friday night with nothing to do but sit around thinking about Max sleeping with other people. There's a fun evening for you.

Still I might manage to wangle a drink out of Evil Nick if I get a chance. Only time will tell.

ANNOUNCEMENT: The first multi-national IRL meeting of The Nexus will be taking place this coming Friday (4th February) at various locations across the globe. Check The Nexus for details of local meetings.

For those of you in London - many of us (hopefully) will be meeting at the Leisure Lounge in King's Cross before proceeding to Popstarz's new home at The Scala. These are indie/alternative nights at mixed gay/straight venues. I will be at the Leisure Lounge from about 8.30pm and I don't expect to leave the club until approaching 5am the following day. I have no idea how I will recognise people, although someone suggested that we all wear black trousers and t-shirts, which is an intriguing mixture of Left-Bank Existentialist Philosopher and Denizen of Geekworld. If anyone wants more details, then just drop me a line at tom - at - barbelith.com - otherwise I look forward to seeing you there.

A while ago there was a book called "Browser". Now there is Browser 2.0, and it's great. I was wandering through it in Covent Garden's Waterstones the other day and was amazed by some of the quality of the sites and browsers that it contained. Normally with these kind of books, the sites are all displayed to their best advantage in print, and when you see them on the screen they seem to lose something.

Anyway, as a sampler, here's a few of the best sites that it contained: cybergeography.org [much cooler than it sounds], visualroute.com [you remember all those bits in films where hackers are traced through loads of computers. This is a bit like that and you can do it on the web], and my favourite of the moment: BureauDestruct [check out the random 60s logo generator prog].

Can anyone figure out what the hell these people are talking about? The Bomb is mentioned half way down the page.

Life update: I went to see American Beauty on Saturday night and adored it. But it also sorted out loads of things in my head. So now I am living where I am until the end of the month, then taking two weeks holiday and moving stuff up to my parents (and either going to Mexico to see my ex-boyfriend or the SXSW Interactive thing in Austin, Texas so that I can finally meet all those cool people I see lurking around the net). Then I am back working in London and looking for a flat with Kate and Manuella while staying on the floors of friends. Note how I haven't mentioned Max in this two month period. That is because he is not going to be in this two month period (I give it a week, but let's try to be positive).

The Nexus has completely disintegrated, and I have no idea why. I am working on the problem, but I don't really know what is going on, so I don't know how easy it will be to fix. Keep your fingers crossed, otherwise our burgeoning proto-community may have collapsed before it even really began...

How self-referential is this? Blogging Blogger just to say congrats to riothero who should be very proud of himself for getting himself noticed by them in charge, thus progressing nicely down the path of web-celebrity-hood.

He dropped me a note to ask whether or not he should go to SXSWInteractive in Austin. I didn't really know what to say - I don't know what the atmosphere would be like. Anyone who knows whether or not a 15-year old web wunderkind would fit in should drop him a note.

Still wavering over whether or not I will be able to attend myself - if anyone fancies crushing my anti-establishment demeanor under the boot-heel of sponsorship then I would probably consider it. In the meantime there is always SXSWb to read - the community weblog for the event.

The Nexus, you will be glad to hear, seems to be working again - although not without the odd judder and near-collapse. Still no idea what is going on.

I'm taking a couple of days off work to rebuild Barbelith. I have lots of cool ideas, but I have been suffering web-designers block for almost a year now. [Sites like vitaflo don't help. Bloody talented arseholes.] Only Jack Fear's tough love approach ("build that site you pussy boy"-esque) managed to get me to rebuild the site last time. Can I do it by myself?

Is going to the gym evil? I have been attending occasionally for the last six months or so, but I am now confronted with the possibility of joining for a full year at a hugely discounted rate. But it seems somehow immoral. I can't decide.

Epinions.com has a new feature. You can now "distrust" people whose opinions fill you with bitter revulsion. In theory, of course, it's a great idea. Whether or not it will work without being horribly abused - well we shall see...

I don't know when it happened, but Evhead has gone and done a complete site overhaul. It's a pretty good look as well - it manages to keep a selection of complimentary colours going at the same time without looking gaudy. And it's always a good read...

So the Nexus get together in London was a bit flat all things considered. I neglected to remember that the initial bar was going to be heaving because of Popstarz's move the the Scala. So Nick (The Tower) and I wandered around amiably for a couple of hours, stumbling across friends of ours looking slightly lost and waving a piece of paper around with "*NEXUS" written on it. Unsurprisingly it didn't work that well.

We did find one sub-cultural colleague, though - SleazeNation (alias Rob) appeared, and I think he had a pretty good time. After a while we all wandered over to the club and bounced around for ages. Bis were playing, which was cool. I got to hear them play Eurodisco live, which was fun. I also met a young man called Luke and we had a conversation about how we were both apostles (and then we had to reconsider as we couldn't remember whether Luke only wrote a gospel or whether he was one of THE TWELVE). Introductions over, we pounced on each other, which was entertaining. Nick thinks he looks just like Max, which is a little alarming.

Sheesh! They are all at it! Now megnut has had an overhaul as well. I will confess I am not as keen on the look of it as I was the last one, but the content remains as fresh as ever.

It's such a pity. Weblog Junior High is a great idea. It really is. At last, an interesting metaphor for directories of weblogs. Unfortunately, the idea is undermined by the execution. I mean, how rude can you be?

And the reaction hasn't exactly been positive either. Powazek isn't thrilled about it. Only usr/bin/girl/ seems even the slightest bit into the idea.

One of the slightly annoying things about using Blogger is that you sometimes have to redesign your site on the hoof - so you can check everything works when you upload the new templates. As you can probably tell, I am halfway through the site front end redesign. Quite a lot of it isn't fully functional. Very sorry! I will finish it off tomorrow night. (I can't believe I am being so unprofessional).

Sheesh - you can't even tell where the links are. I'm too tired to fix it now. Hope everyone is having a good evening. I'll fix it all tomorrow. Please be patient!

Evhead has gone and redesigned his site again... There's no keeping him down. The new look is pretty sharp, although it would be cool to have his photo back - I always think a photo makes a blog more personal. I'd do it myself if I had a better photo handy.

Ev also makes a couple of interesting points about my use of Blogger. He's completely correct of course, although it hadn't occurred to me to try it the way he suggests. Possibly because it was one in the morning, I wasn't thinking straight.

Weirdest news of the day comes via Jason at kottke.org. There is talk of a war between Simpsons creators and fans...

Self-referential weblogging site of the day goes to the GLBT Weblog Portal. Barbelith's half-baked redesign project has been noticed so far by Evhead, Prolific and Riothero.

"Damn Netscape!" and "Damn Cascading Style Sheets" and "Damn, Damn, Damn Blogger". I have just spent the last two and a half hours trying to get the Blogged text to sit nicely in a style-sheet in Netscape. Have I succeeded? No I bloody haven't. So for a while I have removed them, leaving the text all blocky and ... normal ... If anyone has an explanation for my problems getting a span class=maintext to work on all the fields in Blogger, then please god drop me an e-mail. I NEED HELP.

I'm also mildly grumpy with Dreamweaver. I almost never use it, because of all the code fudges it produces (although it is by far the best WYSIWYG editor), but JUST THIS ONCE I decided that I couldn't be bothered to go through the process of hand-coding rollovers. And does it work? Well, almost but not quite. If I refresh the page I get lots of errors reported in Explorer. Bloody infuriating. I'll probably just convert over to my standard ones, but if anyone could swiftly debug the Dreamweaver-produced code then I would be grateful again.

Well anyway - I have managed to add less today than I hoped, but the front page is nearing completion. And once that is done, the others will follow swiftly. Although having said that, I might be going to see a special preview of The Talented Mister Ripley tomorrow night, so delays might occur.

Just bumped into Cortex at riothero's webcam/chatroom. We did one of those I'll show you mine... conversations which introduced me to his elegant blog. Very much worth a visit.

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Now here's a (relatively) orginal use of new technologies. The Visual Thesaurus really illustrates what all those books about deconstruction and poststructuralist philosophy were on about when they talked about language as a system of differences, with meaning endlessly deferred. It reminds me a little of this program called "The Brain" that was some kind of online fad a few years ago (although this site actually has a point).

I am aware of the errors that the page is throwing up at the moment, and I am aware that there is very little past the front page. All this is being worked on as we speak. In the meantime, let's pretend that this is a really interesting learning experience for those of you who have just started building sites, and follow me through the process day by day. Now won't that be fun?

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Everyone is talking about the redesign, and the site isn't even finished yet. I'm really quite embarrassed. Hit a bit of a wall today when I stared at it for three quarters of an hour trying to work out what it is lacking. Can't decide....

Liz and I went to see The Talented Mr Ripley. It was a strange film in many ways - the pacing seemed really off, the film overlong and many of the characters acted in a rather implausible fashion. A while ago people were talking Oscar nominations, but it would really be an injustice if it got any. Having said that, Matt Damon acted superbly and Jude Law just oozed charisma. I guess one of my particular weirdnesses with the film was that it was about this gay guy called Tom who kills lots of people. Which is like me, apart from the killing bit.

I have fixed the Javascript error that people were getting when they tried to use the Dreamweaver generated rollovers - I had to replace them completely with a piece of tried-and-true code. Unfortunately in the process I made it easy enough to follow dead internal links that I haven't built yet. Keep saying to yourself, "It's not shoddy, It's a collaborative experience in the process of web design". Of course it would be much quicker if I didn't have to work all day at timeout.com.

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After what seems to be an absolute age, Shauna's flaunt.net is finally broadcasting again. There was a time in the middle of last year when I visited her site almost everyday - she is one of the few people I know who have managed to generate a site developed completely from themselves, their interests and personalities, without seeming self-indulgent or dull.

She runs a couple of other sites as well. I had a piece on one of them a while back - ember.org is a site where people talk about their first experience of love, whether happy or ... otherwise ... It's on a bit of hiatus at the moment, but there is still a years worth of oozing human experience to wander through.

I honestly believe that there is nothing in the world that is too sensitive or awful a subject to be made a joke out of. Humour is built upon transgressive statements, but it is also built upon a common understanding of what the person who makes the joke actually believes. People are very negative these days about "political correctness" - but it was never about not making 'offensive' jokes about sensitive subjects, but about not saying offensive things and meaning them. Here's a good example of something unbelievably funny from the Onion (for those of you who aren't easily offended): Why Do All These Homosexuals...

I think I have finally reconciled myself to the fact that I am not going to be going to SXSW. I still feel that I might at any moment change my mind, but basically I think I must face the facts that I just can't afford it. Now I have to work out what to do instead.

A brief site update before bed. Microlith's tiny little weblog is now up and running, the random Bomb quotes are functioning effectively, and the Dice Man choice-making machinery is picking up speed. "But what is Microlith?", I hear you ask. Well, I have added the explanatory section to the site, and that will tell you everything you need to know. I'll do my best to get the rest of the site up and running as soon as possible.

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Did Tom have a nice friday night at Popstarz? No Tom did not have a nice friday night at Popstarz. Last you lot heard of Max was that he had stood me up two nights running shortly after we had agreed to be 'friends'. He had demanded that we see each other regularly as friends because 'he really didn't want to lose me' (or something like that). So after these two events he swore blind that he would contact me in the following week and we would go out for a drink. I, understandably, didn't believe him. And how right I was - three weeks passed, I get all cheerful and functioning again, and then I wander into Popstarz last night to see him in marathon kissing sessions with his new boyfriend. When he registers I am there he bounces over to me and is all cheerful, as if it would be an astonishingly weird thing if I was freaked out by seeing him with someone else, and as if it was perfectly normal to ignore someone for a month and screw them around. So then I had two hours of bumping into the happy couple in various rooms of the club and feeling like dirt - which (as I am sure you can imagine) was fun. This morning I feel as if I spent the evening being kicked in the head and stomach.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The 5k award... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/12/2000 01:07:22 PM ----- BODY:

Occasionally when talking to people who aren't as anally-obsessive about the net as I am, or whose angle is almost entirely corporate, I realise that there are things that no civilian will ever get about web page design. The 5k award is one of those things. The concept is simple and elegant - to design a page, complete in execution, concept and design, in which everything (HTML, graphics, scripts) must not amount to more than 5k. And the prize? 5000 (5k) cents. $50.

Admit it. Every single one of you out there knows that you would like to send one of these Valentine's Day cards to someone. I personally can think of a couple of contenders. In the same spirit, an old web chum is holding her yearly Anti-Valentines Binge (involving much wagging of the fingers and sticking out of the tongues) on Monday. Happy couples in Soho. Watch out - here we come.

Complex studies have revealed the least visited page on barbelith.com. It is, I suppose unsurprisingly, a page on fin de siècle, an old site of mine that I have only recently reloaded, and which at the moment is only accessible from this page. Look for the entry for February the 3rd. You could be the third person ever to have seen it!

I have actually just returned home from an evening out attempting to distract myself from incumbent life crises. Today has, in many ways, been one long attempt at distraction - not all of it successful. I'll be more honest than I probably should be in saying that I have never felt such loss about a ex-lover before. So anyway - in order to take my mind off things I have gone to see Toy Story 2, spent the afternoon shopping for Minidisc players and the evening drinking trashy Barcardi Breezers in a friend's house in Kensal Rise. It is now 1am and I haven't had to think about anything for almost twelve and a half hours. I am horrified to confess that this is one hell of an accomplishment.

Weblog of absolute note today has to go to mood-indigo.net. It's a an extremely well-designed and elegant log, with areas reflecting all the interests and aspects of Rachel. But I think the thing that attracts me most to the site is the same thing that attracts me to this form of communication in general - honest and personal online self-expression. Rachel is more than comfortable with exploring her cultural identity online - just as I (I hope) I am on occasion with my sexual identity. And she has managed to make the design of the page emerge from that identity, which in return reflects back and clarifies her sense of herself. A wonderful site.

I think I am going to break some kind of weblogging taboo and discuss stats. I don' t know why it should feel so odd to do so, but it is almost as if (when you pass a certain stage) you feel a need to keep this information to yourself. Perhaps it is the online version of not standing directly next to people in urinals [I wonder what the female equivalent of that is]. Anyway - let's get this over with - there are around 250 visits to barbelith's front page every day (phew - I came out and said it), another 200 to The Bomb and the same number again to The Nexus. I hereby send this challenge out to everyone else in the weblogger community. I've shown you mine...

Don't ask about yesterday. I decided to pretend that it never happened and get on with my life uninterrupted. Although I should briefly say thanks to Liz, Nick, Katy, Evil Nick and Ed the barman.

A couple of days ago there was an appeal at work for people to produce a top ten of their heroes. At first I thought it would be an easy project, ten minutes at most. But the longer I thought about it, the more I realised that I really didn't respond to the world in that way. When I was a kid, I never really had a hero - no role model to aspire to. After a bit of thought, I came to the conclusion that for many people today, the whole concept seems dated. So instead, I decided to concentrate on people whose life or work has interested or inspired me.

Someone at work today would not let me express my opinion about the navigation scheme of a site that I am connected with, because - and I quote - "You are not a designer". I was incredibly frustrated by this statement. It's true that I have no formal design background, and I am merely a self-taught HTML coder, but I honestly believe I could make a living from freelance web-site design. If there are any professional and/or freelance designers out there who could let me know if I am deluding myself or not, it would be greatly appreciated.

Anyway, enough about the frustrations of work. Pretty much every day I go and visit riothero's site. After my post yesterday about my heroes (about which I got a very nice e-mail from Mr Powazek himself), he posted a message to his site about the possibility of us collaborating on his new site - hero.nu (not live as yet). I started thinking about it immediately and have been considering it all day. And the answer is - let's do it!

The Oscar nominations came out yesterday, which cheered me up quite a lot, as I had invested in a good number of the films concerned at HSX. I was, however, disappointed that Wes Bentley wasn't nominated for Best Supporting Actor. I know he's young, but his performance was incredibly assured.

There is a secret frantic redesigning madness coming over the weblogging community at the moment. Latest to fall for its charms (for the second time in recent weeks) is the inestimable megnut. The new look is bold and manages something really obvious that I seem to have overlooked in my recent redesign - a great big obvious logo. Now why didn't I think of that?

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I've had a lot of e-mails about whether or not I could pass for a proper web-designer. No one has said anything negative, but then I suppose I shouldn't really expect them to - I needed validation and I received it - thanks to you all. However, one thing is clear from the e-mails that I received - there are an awful lot of people out there with talent who are being passed over in the web design business for people who have managed to fudge their way through print design courses and don't really know what the hell they are doing. Without wishing to get all "support group" - keep the faith my brothers and sisters. It's those of us with the passion that produce the interesting sites...

A lot of people are worried about Mark at riothero. He's been having a pretty hard time of it lately. I'll tell you this much for nothing. I've been having a rough ride recently as well, but I wouldn't be fifteen again for all the tea in China.

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This is the nattiest little feature I have seen on a blog in a long time. Look up in the top right hand corner of RandomWalks and you will see a little check-box. If you select it, all links on the page open in a new window. If you don't select it, then they open in the same window. The whole sordid question resolved in one elegant move.

My mother and brother came and visited me for lunch yesterday. My family lives in Norfolk, which is a two and half hour train journey from London, so they don't visit that often. Yet again I realised how much I miss my brother when he's not around.

Tonight is a Friday night, and for the last month that has meant a trip to Popstarz in King's Cross to bounce around and flirt with people. This week however, that is not going to happen. Last week's thing is too fresh in my mind for me to even think about it. But I have to think of something to do otherwise I'll brood. Perhaps I'll go and see The Bachelor - although epinions of it seem rather mixed. Or perhaps I'll stay at home and order my first pizza online (Domino's) and watch Buffy and Angel on TV. That normally cheers me up.

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I'm quite proud of this one - a little tiny microsite I built at work today for the Time Out London Eating & Drinking Awards 2000. It's not particularly flashy, but it does the job.

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It's a Saturday morning in mid-February in Hampstead and the beginning of my last full weekend in this flat. Over the next week I am loading up all my stuff into a van and driving it up to Norfolk, where my parents live. And then I have a month of homelessness (including two weeks of holiday) where I will be sleeping on the floors of friends. I am contemplating wandering over to America for a week or so - I might go and see Kerry in Los Angeles.

At the moment though, I am sitting in my bedroom looking out over Heath Street and thinking about the last year and a half living here - all the stuff that has happened to me, all the stuff I have had to deal with and all the stuff I have accomplished. It's a strange time indeed.

Things on the web move so fast. Yesterday at work I was asked to write a list of a few sites that I thought were well designed and interesting. I duly wrote this list from memory, only to find that glassdog.com had completely changed its look, famewhore.com was on a self-imposed hiatus and vitaflo.com (a recent favourite of mine) had disappeared completely without trace.

Opinions can change so quickly too. Derek Powazek, an old friend to barbelith, used to have a pretty low opinion of weblogs and weblogging - until he tried it for himself. Now he's written a piece about it - What The Hell Is A Weblog And Why Won't They Leave Me Alone?. It's interesting reading which raises a fair number of important questions (including "Why do people waste their time when they could be building something Big, beautiful and daring).

Even emotions seem energised and heightened on the web. Riothero has been in my thoughts a lot recently - when I first stumbled upon his site I was amazed by his energy, and as time has passed he has managed to connect that energy with a flair for writing entertaining and quick-witted copy. His latest move has been to put a personal letter online - one that resolves his recent crises with Lyda. It just goes to show how the weblog can become something completely beyond its initial remit as a bunch of interesting links, and can become a synthesis of confessional, entertainment, journalism, column and online diary - a new and interesting, albeit low-key genre of writing. I only have one question - I wonder if she knows?

There's so much to talk about today, but I am going to start with one of the coolest things I have seen in years - a java based map of the weblog world. I am really getting quite keen on the concept of a map or metaphor approach to keeping a record of webloggers, and this one is particularly impressive. The first thing that I noticed however was poor weblogs that according to the map don't have anyone linking to them at all. So - while I don't really believe that these people are all out in the cold - why not visit - justinhankins.com, Rob McNair-Huff's Weblog, dowler.net and noahgrey.com.

What a hectic weekend. I've seen Nick, Evil Nick, Kate, Toby, Steph, Liz, Ed and ... loads of other people. I have been to the cinema (The Bachelor sucks), the gym, Maxwells (twice), PJs (once), Waterstones and ... loads of other places. I'm exhausted.

Here's an interesting thing (for you visitors to The Bomb). A young Bryant Durrell has registered invisibles.com. Looks like it happened quite a while ago as well. I only noticed because this person linked to it.

Today's choice of news/music is inspired by a mood of self-doubt, insecurity and incumbent paranoia. At lunch I went to Virgin and noticed that John Lennon's "Imagine" has been re-released (at least in the UK) in a digitally remastered format. I listened to it, and it really matched my current mood - Jealous Guy, How Do You Sleep and particularly Crippled Inside. The aspirational songs - Imagine for one - meant absolutely nothing to me for the first time in my life.

My sudden feeling of connection with Lennon couldn't come at a more difficult time for his memory. The papers today have been dripping with the news that he donated money to the IRA and Marxist groups in the UK and America. The BBC's angle is that the information might be innaccurate despite Lennon's feelings of solidarity with the IRA during the 60s and after Bloody Sunday. In retrospect it's pretty easy to see any affiliation with the IRA as ill-advised and dangerous - but at the time... Well - I don't know what I think, to be honest. As to the Marxist stuff - all power to him! While I might view communism as a rather bloated dinosaur (only slightly more bloated than capitalism, I fear), I have great respect for any man who lives under the daily weight of idealism. There's loads more information at lennonfbifiles.com.

The dark secret of my past, Noah Wyle: Man or Animal?, is updated for the first time in eight months. Embarassed I may be (first substantial site I built, about three years ago in one of my weird phases), but it's important to me that I'm never responsible for a Ghost Site.

A quick query on the nature of weblogging. One of my friends works in a pretty high-powered capacity in the British film industry. She tells me a fair number of really cool stories, which I generally wouldn't repeat (and certainly not in a public place like this). In addition to these stories, she has expressed to me a couple of times her feeling that some people try to use her and her friends to get 'kudos' - valuing her job and the people she knows more than they do her. For these reasons I made a conscious decision not to talk about her on this weblog.

But then it came to me this afternoon that many webloggers discuss their friends to some extent - and that there really isn't that much difference between mentioning the exploits of a friend who works in a supermarket and one who is responsible for famous people's corsetry. What gives me the right to talk about Toby, Nick, Kerry or even Max without their consent, or even (on occasion) their knowledge. I am perturbed.

It's the final episode of Queer as Folk 2 tonight. It's difficult to assess quite how much impact this TV series had on gay culture in the UK. The first episode showed all kinds of things that you would never be able to see on an American TV station - a well plotted drama which depicted casual shagging and 'true love' in the gay scene, underage sex handled realistically, gay people working in supermarkets and (of course) a whole bundle of pretty people having relatively explicit sexual relations with each other. The trailers for this week's episode include the immortal Stuart saying "You're not queer, you're a straight guy who shags men". If you want to see more, there are one or two really good screencap archives.

I don't know if this is dodgy practice of not, but I've checked the other nominees, and at least one of them is doing it as well. Vote for Barbelith's Xenolith weblog as Pyra's Blog of the week.

Queer as Folk 2 may have ended with a few slightly odd moments - the revolving car, day turning into night, the epic speech of Stuart Jones - but I haven't felt as invigorated after a TV program since, well since Queer as Folk 1. This whole episode felt like Thelma and Louise, only with a more uplifting ending. I'd be interested in hearing everyone's opinion about it.

I have had a really interesting conversation with prolific on the subject of my comments yesterday (writing about friends). Needless to say, our conversation was both thought-provoking and entertaining. She's using humanclick technology which I tried out a while ago. At the time I couldn't see why it had advantages over a normal chatroom, but I may be changing my mind.

Final thing for now: G L I F F writes: "Let's hear it for barbelith, the only openly gay weblogger, (as far as I know, anyway)." I'm terribly flattered to be mentioned at all, but you should all be aware of hit-or-miss.org which includes a whole lesbian and gay weblogger portal. There's some really good stuff there...

Tonight is my last night out before I move on Saturday - and Nick, Toby and I have decided to say thank you to Ed the Barman (for all his loyal years of helping us get nicely lubricated) by taking him out around Soho and getting him drunk. All very satisfactory.

Here's another little microsite that I built for timeout.com - Should Ken Livingstone stand as an independent candidate? Answer the question!

If you, like me, pine for the good old days on the net, before IPOs and uber-corporate assimilation, then you will be delighted to know that weblogs are our way back to the future we used to believe in. Wired will show you the way...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Should I be 'less gay' in my weblog? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/24/2000 09:17:25 AM ----- BODY:

I've just signed up to join web queeries, which is a glbt community blog. I'm a little sceptical about the idea at the moment, mainly because I'm trying to work out what the difference should be between writing for it and writing for barbelith. Should I be "less gay" in my weblog? Should I be only writing "for gay people" in the group one?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Zannah is Blog of the Week... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/24/2000 09:19:21 AM ----- BODY:

Zannah won the blog of the week over at blogger.com. Congratulations, old girl, you deserve it. In other weblog news, Fairvue is a site I haven't seen before, which drips design savvy and has a wonderfully tiny icon-based links bar. The only problem is, barbelith doesn't have a logo. Note to self - improve site branding asap. A couple of other nice people have started linking to barbelith - dailybread looks and reads really well. It's a pity she's cursed with that damnable GeoCities advert - stuff and rot has said lovely lovely things about the layout around here and has introduced me to a couple of sites I'll be visiting much more often - and finally, a proto-blog is coming together at Luke's site o' stuff. Could it be the world's first overtly Christian blog?

You can wander on for days with everything seeming to be running smoothly before suddenly realising exactly what a mess you're in. Today I decided to book my van to take all my stuff up to my parents. Except I pretty quickly discovered that I wasn't going to be able to find a van for a reasonable amount of money. Everywhere is booked and the only place I could find a free van wanted to charge me �50 a day (minimum of two days) plus tax and plus an additional �150 if I wanted to drop it off at their depot in Norfolk. A little simple arithmetic makes that �250 - which is around $400. I don't think THAT is going to happen.

So I contact my parents and my mother agrees to lend me her car for the day, which is pretty cool of her, but it means that I have to be in Norfolk first thing on Saturday morning in order to drive down to London to collect everything. Which means that I have to leave tomorrow straight after work (otherwise I won't get home before they go to bed). Which means that all the packing has to be done tonight. All of it. From scratch.

The slightly bizarre baltimorecitypaper.com has a feature about the disinfo.con. And I quote: "Easily the most charismatic speaker of the event was the wiry, shaven-headed Scottish writer Grant Morrison, whom, judging from the enthusiastic applause, is becoming highly regarded ... The great underlying truth that makes this so, Morrison said, is that "words are the binding agents for reality," and hence can bent to our desires".

The idea of web queeries is really growing on me (now if only I could do something about the name). I'm beginning to see the possibilites of this new form of journalism - a weblog that publishes important and entertaining news and is edited/researched by a variety of people, most of whom will never have met one another. I think when I made the leap from thinking about it in terms of personal content and more towards comment and news, the whole idea made much more sense to me.

No one seems to have got my Voyager reference yesterday, which is probably a good thing to be honest, as I'm sure enough of you think I am a geek as it is. There's this episode in which Captain Janeway, the slightly jowly woman with the squeeky voice (and rather 'hands-on' approach to interstellar diplomacy) has been being attacked by a race called the Krenim (or something like that). As the cast all rock backwards and forwards in stylised "starship been shot at" ways, Janeway scowls and then remarks to herself, "this is turning into the Week of Hell".

The joke? The episode has the rather less optimistic title "Year of Hell". Let's hope I am not similarly ill-fated.

So I changed the name of the weblog from Xenolith to Barbelith yesterday, since it seems to be the most substantially operative part of the site at the moment. And now it looks like no one can find the thing. I still prefer Xenolith as a name for it, but I thought it was too confusing - people were calling the site all kinds of different things. Weird, disturbing things...

According to the age guesser, I am 31. I suppose it's not that far off the mark. Only four years. Still - quite clearly in the wrong direction. It works on quite a cool principle - each answer to each question corresponds with an age, at the end of the series of questions it asks you your actual age. Every question that you answer in the way they expect (eg. answer "duran duran" if you are in your thirties) is weighted slightly more. And every question that you answer in a way that they did not expect (eg. answer "Stretch Armstrong" if you are in your eighties) is weighted slightly less. In time - only the really accurate questions will carry any weight at all. The questionaire is evolving...

"What are we going to do with a room full of genetically-modified homosexual corn?" asked Harry Hill on television tonight. I wanted to help him find an answer by sending you all to look at harryhill.com - but apparently it was a fansite and was shut down by an overzealous production company. If anyone can find a decent Harry Hill site, then let me know asap.

I've written this post three times today and every time, something has fucked up. This is my final attempt before pouring coffee on my parents' computer and tearing out all my hair. And I have so much to say... I am finally back in Norfolk after the marathon moving session. After work on Friday I got a train back to Norfolk (arrived at 10pm), grabbed about four hours sleep before jumping into my mother's car, driving back to London, picking up Nick C and Nick E (who had very graciously helped me pack), finally managing to get back to Norfolk by half-past six. Bloody exhausting day, all things considered. Now all I have to do is wait for my passport and I'm off to LA. Watch out, Kerry - here I come!

There's an article in the Sunday Times today which is being discussed at the moment in the Nexus - it's about two superheroes called Apollo and Midnighter who are both men and having a relationship. Quite why this is a newsworthy story is beyond me. There have been gay superheroes for years - find out more at the Gay League of America.

I remain in regular contact with the ever-changing site of riothero. Over the last couple of days, he has said some really nice things about me in both e-mail and on his site - like it's good to be 27 and that I don't look like the back end of a bus. Which is nice. I'm a bit embarrassed actually, as I can't help thinking he must have hit the juice quite hard recently to have caused such brain-collapse and eye-failure. Anyway, the conversation reminded me of one of my old sites, which is basically a photo album. Check it out if you like: slutcore.

Finally, a couple of updates on yesterdays posts. Not that it really matters, but barbelith has reappeared on Metalog ratings. riothero and wetlog have now explained to me why I had dropped off - apparently it is post-redesign linkage withdrawal. I suppose that makes sense. Having said that though, I think my reappearance at number 28 makes it clear that you only have to ask a stupid question or say something controversial to get rated once more. Go figure.

I love prolific. She said nice things (as least I think she did... why - "heh, heh, heh"?) about the pictures of me at slutcore. I'm such a sucker for a bit of ego stroking...

The Bomb has been linked to from Suck. How cool is that. I mean - I should probably talk more about the article itself, but this is Monday Self-Promotion Night, not the Bi-Weekly Friday Philosophy Marathon.

My passport arrived today. Which means I am off to LA in a couple of days (probably Thursday now). Kerry is being really sweet and dropping me little warning notes about the weather in California at the moment. Let's just compare them, shall we? London weather vs. LA weather. Now which one do I prefer?

According to Evhead, Jason is wearing a cool t-shirt with a body tag on the front and an end body tag on the back (if this means nothing to you it means that you are a dinosaur and will be unemployable within a year). Jason mentions the very same thing on his site - he is apparently wearing this shirt-of-almighty-cool. However, as far as I can tell, he hasn't done a stroke of work all day, which means I haven't been able to see him, which means no glimpse of astonishing clothing artefact. Very depressing.

Once upon a time there was this girl called Katy, and I met her at this thing that the ******** ** **.*****.**.** were having in London (it's a geek thing, and I am too embarrassed to go into details - see if you can guess). Anyway - it was my first IRL meeting with people I had met online and I thought everyone would be a complete freak. Needless to say, they weren't - and Katy has fast become one of my premièe online friends. Today she directed me towards a really cool thing that another online foxtress (Zannah) has put together: windoze 2000.

OK. It is 8am, and I am about to be driven to my train, from whence to another train, and so to the airport, and so for an 11 hour flight to LA, arriving around five-thirty pm. Wish me luck....

Thursday was a very long day. Not one of those long days where you feel like someone has grabbed each end of the day and stretched it, but one of those days when someone actually HAS. And not only that - they pulled with all their might.

I got up at 8am to the sounds of my parents arguing about who would have the privilege of taking me to the train station ("You do it", "No! You do it" followed by "I suppose I'll do it", "No, I suppose I'll have to"). An hour later, I am on my way to London. By 11am I am crossing London, and by 1pm I am at the airport. Two hours pass. 3pm - we board the flight and then it is a mere 11 hours before I land in LA. 6.30pm LA time (PST), 2.30am for me.

Kerry collects me and soon we are watching episodes of Friends that are repeats to him and partner (Sean), but have yet to even appear on cable in the UK (8pm PST / 4am GMT). Around 10pm PST (6am GMT) Sean and Kerry decide we have to go to a nearby club. I am surprised how chirpy I feel and agree instantly. But by the time we reach 7am GMT (11pm PST) I am wilting savagely. Kerry drives me back and installs me in a bed.

Where I suddenly (of course) find it impossible to sleep (for various reasons - not worth going into particularly). 2am comes and goes (PST), at which point Sean reappears - bright-eyed and bushy-tailed and with a great big grin on his face. It is nearly 5am PST, 1pm GMT before any of us manage to sleep. And by 10am the next morning (which of course I think is 5pm) I am wide awake - eager for stimulation again...

This is more of a sporadic travel diary at the moment than it is a weblog - but I don't suppose I can really do much about that - it's not as if I have much time for surfing at the moment.

LA is an extremely odd place - particularly for someone more used to the rhythms of London. Superficially they have a lot in common - large metropolitan masses, both of which are centres of a country's entertainment industries. But London is so much more condensed and compact, whereas LA is just so much more ... overwhelming ... than you'd expect.

I think the thing I feel strangest about is the absolute necessity of cars. In London, I can have a friend to stay and I need almost never see him. People can come and visit, crash on my floor, I can feed them in the evenings and chat to them before sleep - but all the rest of the time, they can jump on a tube and go and do their own thing (if they want). But in LA, if you don't have a car you can't even really move.

That puts strains on the guest, who lacks freedom of movement and is continually dependant on his hosts. And that in turn puts even greater strains on the hosts - who are continually having to be stimulating and entertaining (when I'm sure they would much rather be asleep). I should say at this point that Kerry and Sean have been more than great in this capacity - I have been taken to a couple of Hollywood(ish) parties, wandered around the shopping areas and seen a couple of films that aren't out in the UK yet - some good (Scream 3) and some ... less good (Drowning Mona) - I have been made to feel welcome by all concerned.

Radio Barbelith is back on the air. Every day over the last week that I haven't been able to update the site I have felt more and more anxious - what if everyone got bored and wandered off? I mean - there are thousands of wonderful weblogs that are updated every day without fail. They wouldn't let something as tiny as a holiday interfere with their duty to their readers. (I am thinking of stable barbelith links like kottke.org, riothero and megnut)

Well, anyway, it's back and not likely to go away again in a hurry. And that's even considering the difficult situation I find myself in. Regular readers will know of my homelessness - a couple of weeks ago I moved out of my flat in Hampstead and took all my stuff up to my parents' place in Norfolk - and then of course I embarked on my epic voyage to LA. I am now back in London, only to find that Virgin have mislaid half of my luggage, my mobile phone has run out of energy and I can't contact any of the people who said that they might be prepared to put me up for a couple of nights. Tom Coates - homeless, without any clean clothes or means of communication...

But of course I must not dwell on such concerns (shit shit shit shit shit shit shit), and instead must talk about my time in LA. I can't even begin to talk about everything, but a few images really stick in my mind - flying over the lights of Las Vegas at night (able to pick out individual casinos and roads), half naked men bouncing up and down on coffee tables, the sun setting over Venice Beach and the madman with the bubble machine. And of course, my ever gracious and hospitable hosts, Kerry and Sean.

Quite a lot has happened on the web while I have been away as well. blogger has been redesigned (by none other than powazek himself and even riothero has reached some kind of design plateau after the frantic changes of the last month. More later, as and when I get the chance...

SXSW fever is running rampant through the webloggers. And those of us stuck five thousand miles away can only pine for what might have been - and of course check out SXSWb, images by pb (day 1, day 2, day 3) and metafilter, and the commentary from powazek, prehensile tales and riothero.

I feel bad for not talking more about my LA time - so here are a few sites for the minor celebrities I bumped into: Loren Dean [at party with him - he wore lots of plaid], Tyne Daly [wandered around the pier in Venice Beach], Gina Gershon [sat behind us chatting away during a showing of Wonder Boys].

Needless to say I have found a place to stay (take a bow Evil Nick). Bed finally located around 7pm GMT. My luggage arrived this morning at work more or less intact as well. Everything seems to be coming together. I went to see The Insider so that I wouldn't fall asleep too early. It was a pretty strange film - only in America could people be surprised by the news that cigarettes are addictive. The most interesting part of the film (the media politics and strategies/counter strategies) were unfortunately the bits without the most interesting character/actor/performance. Russell Crowe is a god.

Can someone explain to me how it is possible that I can cross the world and crash on someone's floor in LA for nearly nine days, but when I return to my home country and home city, almost none of my friends are prepared to house me for even a couple of nights. Has anyone got an answer for me?

As ever the best way to cope with the many disappointments and injustices of life (and people) is to ignore it completely and muck around on the net for hours. Which is what I intend to do.

I am delighted to report that vitaflo is back on the air at last. Not a lot seems to have changed, although the site is altogether more ... green ... The HREF section is still the best guide to the best design sites on the web - a constant source of inspiring work.

Here all about Grant Morrison's appearance at the DisinfoCon from the site itself. And I quote: "I probably shouldn�t admit this here, but I�m not familiar with 'The Invisibles' comic, so I had no idea who Grant Morrison was, but he was very funny, very drunk, taught us Magick, and sure that he had been on a ride with aliens in Katmandu, so he had my attention!"

And I am probably the last person to notice this, but Epinions has also finally launched it's full version, complete with clean and elegant design and cheery little smiley things. The only slightly depressing thing is that I have spent so much time running around like a headless chicken in recent months that I am in imminent danger of falling off the bottom of their Most Popular Movie Reviewers list.

Trash culture purists only: A comprehensive and interesting site on the comic book Planetary.

Temporary plateau of weirdness reached. Things remain weird, but have ceased to get increasingly so. Chris has said he will put me up for a couple of nights, which is really decent of him and means that I can now slide through into next week courtesy of him and Liz. I am getting increasingly worried about my new potential flatmates however - not in terms of whether I will get along with them, but about when we will actually find a place to live in and what compromises will have to be made in the process. Hopefully I will have resolved this by Friday night.

Any regulars to barbelith are familiar with the nexus - the anti-establishment post-counter-sub-cultural discussion forum. Recently there has been rather more in the way of conflict and flame-wars than normal - so much in fact that I have been sent a really interesting article from Wired about The Epic Saga of The Well (May 1997). The well was one of the first and most significant online communities, and it was - at times - wracked with conflict and crisis.

If there's one thing I respect it is honesty. But it's a dangerous thing - particularly when the question you are answering is loaded. Take for example Oh Messy Life's DLOG (presumably is to Designlog as blog is to weblog [although surely that's the less pronouncable NLOG]). Barbelith was featured there a couple of days ago, in a generally complimentary fashion (and I quote):

He continues to make some very valid points about barbelith.com being continually under construction - which of course is the biggest sin in the whole web world (although he omits to mention that I am homeless and mostly computer-free which makes finishing the site rather difficult). All of this is more than reasonable. I don't have a problem with it - in fact I am flattered that barbelith was considered worthy to be reviewed.

I'm a little less sure about his more scathing reviews. He says of regular barbelith link, riothero:

I think that this really exposes the flaw in his approach - is he going to review the personal sites of web-designers who have been building sites since they were invented (kottke.org, powazek.com - both favourites of mine). Or is he going to review the personal sites of the rest of us, whether we are 45 year old bank managers, 15 year old students or 27 year old journalists? And if he really is going to analyse both, is it fair to use the same criteria? And what about content? Popularity? Would he be as "brutally honest" if it was a twelve-year-olds first site? Because we all know how crushing these comments can be...

One thing I really need to know - does Darren of timemachinego go to the EasyEverything on Tottenham Court Road? Because if he does, I'd like to wave to him one day from the balcony at Time Out. Which reminds me - the website is currently running a online drugs poll which I worked on.

I'm still at Chris' place which is nice because he doesn't expect me to go out and entertain him all the time and he likes watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which is ultimate escapist entertainment. Tomorrow I'm on the move again though, which is exhausting - this time to Camden to stay with Liz. And of course I have my meeting with my new flatmates. The sooner I get a flat, the sooner I get my computer back. The sooner I get my computer back, the sooner I can finish the site (and the sooner I can get a good night's sleep).

Today began with a very sad event - a direct result of my vagrancy - somewhere in all the move I crushed one of the pairs of sunglasses I bought in LA. If I was of a more morbid disposition I would say it was symbolic.

A day without blogger. And a difficult day it was too. My complete inability to update the site at lunchtime or before work has been profoundly frustrating. In general this has been a pretty weird day, and one that cannot hope but improve (that is of course assuming that my meeting with my new flatmates goes well). After that, I am off to the Liquid Lounge, before (possibly) heading on to Popstarz. I'm wearing a dark blue Abercrombie and Fitch t-shirt with the number "36" on the back should anyone else be there.

What is it with A&F anyway? We don't have them in the UK (so forgive my ignorance) - I picked up some of their clothes while in LA with Kerry and Sean. The catalogues are renowned for their homoerotic imagery (and with good reason), but they still seem to sell just as much to straight men of a pretty conservatively masculine disposition as they do to gay people.

A&F are basically part of the same trend in clothing that spawned the horror of the Evil Gap Clones - ie. everyone wearing the same thing - looking the same. This is a great source of horror to many people, and given my politics you might expect me to have a similar reaction. Weirdly though, I don't - it's almost as if clothes have become so generic that they have become invisible - for most of us they are no longer the demarcation points of culture or class. Perhaps homogeneity has resulted in a certain amount of liberation. Perhaps if we all wore the same thing....? On the other hand, I always have in the back of my mind the line from A Handmaid's Tale - spoken by the arch-conservatives who want to 'free' women from dangerous things like 'free will' - that there are both freedoms to and freedoms from. It is the sign of the politically libertine to always aim for the former ("go libertines!").

Homogeneity in and of itself shouldn't be considered a bad thing - sometimes the act of mimicry inevitably carries with it a certain amount of irony. Take openlog for example - is this a piss-take, an affectionate (self?)tribute or a straightfoward design decision? It's the same and yet because of its mimicry it has its own unique identity. [Check out kottke.org if you don't know what I am talking about.]

Before I get down to business (as it were), can someone explain to me how I have missed haughey.com after all these months of weblogging. I can't even remember how I found it today. Very much worth a visit.

As a final thought - a bizarre Invisibles Preview has appeared on ebay. Does anyone know anything about it? If so, let me know.

Andy at Dlog has responded to people's criticisms of his weblog design reviews (including a slightly savage one from the real world). His reply is well considered and good reading. I was particularly gratified that he decided to clarify his criteria for review:

I've just decided to join weblogs.com. I've been putting it off for weeks because I was stumped by the question "Describe your weblog". I always find those questions both alarming and absurdly difficult - it's like those bits on CVs (resumés for the Americans amongst us) where you have to explain why you are perfect for the job. They make me queasy. Anyway - this is what I have managed to come up with:

Mark at Riothero is having a pretty weird time at the moment - not that you would know it from the main page of his weblog. If you want to read some of the most heartfelt and occasionally painful writing on the web, you have to explore his Quietriot section. You need a password, but as long as you don't actually know him in real life, he's pretty cool about sending it out. Obviously I can't go into detail about what he is going through at the moment - that would rather defeat the purpose of the password - but let's just say that anyone who has ever been a teenager and in love will be able to relate to everything he says. In some ways it really reminds me of the writing I did when I was his age - I have these notepads hidden away somewhere at my parents where I used to write down all the things I couldn't say in public. I read them now and again and they hit me like a ton of bricks.

I went to see Being John Malkovich yesterday afternoon with Liz, Katy and Rhonda. I can't tell you how excited and inspired I was. I think it has been years since I saw such imagination and playfulness on screen - and I don't think that I have ever seen it from a Hollywood studio. The Guardian has assembled a pretty useful page collating all the British responses to the film - definitely worth a visit.

This is turning into quite a year for impressive film-making - a few months ago, American Beauty stomped on my head, and now this! And next week - Magnolia. It's at times like this when I really hate the fact that UK release dates are so far behind the US.

I don't even know where to start today - there is so much that I want to say. After a week back in the UK, sleeping on people's floors, I finally think there may be hope on the horizon. Kate, Manuella and I went to see a flat in King's Cross yesterday that blew me away. It's not the most beautiful of buildings, and it doesn't have a sitting room, but the bedrooms are clean and large and have lots of plug sockets (these things matter to me). But the most impressive feature about the place is its location. We can see King's Cross station from what would be my bedroom, and Popstarz is just over the road. I just hope everyone agrees to it - and soon...

I've been thinking about LA again over the last couple of days. I haven't heard much from Kerry or Sean since I left, and in a strange way I miss them. I was listening to Beck on the radio today and it brought it all back. His album is full of references to Hollywood and hot-tubs and the like which only really make sense if you are in LA - and of course it has special relevance if when you are being driven through the city your host points offhand and murmurs - "Oh - and that's where Beck lives..."

In about an hour I have to go and meet my prospective new flatmates (in the process probably missing an old friend's birthday party) to discuss their anxieties regarding the flat in King's Cross. I can't help but think that the experience is unlikely to be entirely positive - but I have to try to restrain myself from saying that I'll get a place by myself. I still don't want to, but it has occurred to me a couple of times that perhaps we are just looking for different things in a flat.

I don't get it - everything seemed to be going so well. The King's Cross place looked like it had at least two of us completely committed and only one waverer. How did that situation turn into one where I am the only one who still wants it? Over the last 24 hours I had really managed to resolve things in my head - the location seemed to give me opportunities to make more gay friends and to be a local/regular at one of my favourite places in London. By yesterday evening the ever-present anxiety of my vagrancy had almost completely faded, and my mind was swimming with the possibilities of living so close to the centre of London. And now...

With the end of the Invisibles in sight, I am again considering the fate of barbelith, the nexus and the bomb. This is what I have come up with so far (a quote from the nexus):

Two things before I get down to the serious business of complaining about stuff. 1) Derek Powazek has put his SXSW photos online. There are some great ones - particularly of Jason and Mark. 2) I am too jealous to even speak properly at the moment because everyone got to go to SXSW except me. Katy came to me with an idea a while back for a similar conference - WXW1 (West by West 1) - for London based internet obsessives and professionals. Would anyone actually be interested? Because if you were (you never know) we might actually organise it. Spread the word, gauge the interest.

I saw this ages ago but completely forgot to link to it. So here I present: American Beauty in ASCII.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Adieu Reptile Brain... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/21/2000 01:36:32 PM ----- BODY:

My plans to move the weblog to a new domain have been rather scuppered by someone having registered it four days ago (damn, damn, damn). It just goes to show - farewell reptilebrain.com [whois].

There are benefits and there are horrors to staying on people's floors. Benefits include not having to pay rent, seeing more of your good friends and getting to know local geography. Horrors include continual exhaustion, sometimes uncomfortable bedding and making sure that you don't upset anyone by being under their feet 24 hours a day. Tomorrow morning I am wandering up to Kentish Town to look at a flat before work. I'm not convinced that it is the place for me, but I'll give it a go. I just wish I wasn't so tired all the time.

One of my oldest friends, Gideon, told me about an article in Salon the other day, and asked my opinion about it. It suggests that gay people should arm themselves with handguns in order to protect themselves from anti-gay attacks. Gideon's exact words on this one were: "an intriguing proposal by a journalist i know... any ideas? I can't decide if he's right or crazy".

I read through the article carefully. As I read through the first page my immediate reaction was one of mild horror - what was this man advocating? Did he really want to start some form of gang warfare on the streets of American cities - to put a whole new meaning to the phrase "gay mafia"? But then, on the second page I came up against this:

On rereading the article it seemed clear to me that the article wasn't actually about arming gay people at all, but an appeal for an escape from the current politics of gay identity - a politics that defines gay people by their vulnerability - continually subject to name-calling, workplace discrimination, harrassment or attack. It wasn't so much calling for violence to counter violence, but instead desperately scrambling for something to replace "Gay Man/Woman: Perpetual Victim".

Queer as Folk 2, which recently aired in the UK, included some pretty startling scenes - a man taking on board all of the insults thrown against him in order to savagely expose the blackmailing attempts of his ten-year-old nephew, the same man blowing up the car of a woman who disinherits her estranged gay son (she called him to his father's death-bed to ask him to sign the papers) and a full-on confrontation between a name-calling hick and a poof with a gun. Each one of these scenes inspired something proactive inside all the people who saw them - the desire not to have to "run to daddy" when something horrible happened. It's the same feeling - the same discomfort with the idea of gay people as being weak and needing outside help to get them through their daily lives.

So what do I think? Do I think gay people should carry handguns? I don't know. But I know one thing for certain - we should be doing something.

Netnation has just charged me $220 for excess bandwidth over the last two months. As of this moment, the nexus is closed completely. They are going to charge me a similarly ridiculous amount for this month as well. Frankly I am horrified and don't know what do do - although I think getting myself to a different host is pretty crucial. All you big time designers out there - kottke, powazek, glassdog etc WHERE ARE YOU HOSTED? This is an emergency. HELP!

The response to my crisis yesterday has been pretty incredible. I've had many many suggestions about where to be hosted, and I am edging towards pair.com. If anyone has any good or bad stories about them, let me know...

The weirdest thing that has happened is that people have offered to contribute to help me pay off the debts caused by excessive bandwidth and to get the nexus back online. It's all very much appreciated, really!

The last couple of days have been (as I am sure you can understand) more than a little difficult - a sudden huge bill out of the blue (it now looks like the nexus uses around 80% of barbelith's bandwidth) didn't particularly help me in my quest to find a place to live. On top of that there are questions over how my job is evolving - there are suggestions of a move of emphasis which appeals to me in the short-term, but worries me when I think about the long-term prospects.

Anyway - I have decided that people don't come to weblogs to hear tales of woe and crisis, so I am going to try and concentrate today on things that are web-oriented and (above all) entertaining.

Just because I haven't been posting recently, doesn't mean that I have forgotten about web queeries. One of the most interesting and informative uses of blogger technology to date.

I spend six years living in Bristol - the San Francisco of the United Kingdom. The BBC's (oh so gripping) site even includes a quiz! The answer is incredibly obvious to anyone who has ever been there...

Can I ask you all something in complete seriousness? Do you REALLY think that Mark is more suave than I am? I mean, really?

Jason has been talking about the difficulties in writing about personal things on the web. This seems to be quite the crisis for the young weblogging intelligensia at the moment. The first stage of the barbelith weblog ended with an e-mail from my brother promising not to tell my mother, the second stage when I realised that my co-workers were occasionally glancing at the site. Mark at Riothero has this problem as well. He used to compensate for it by having a password protected weblog, but then his family demanded that he allowed them to see it. And now there is something on Jason's mind and he doesn't know how to express it. Moreover he doesn't know if he should:

The answer seems pretty obvious to me - the mild anonymity of the net allows us to talk about whatever we want - get support from people without having to expose ourselves in person and transform our lives into (mostly) interesting narratives. I used to run this site called Blank Faeces which was all about our ability to explore aspects of ourselves online that we couldn't do in everyday life. I think the sin of the weblogger or web celebrity is their (our?) compulsion to attach a name to the writings...

I got another e-mail today asking why I haven't been updating the bomb. Just to clarify to newcomers, I am homeless at the moment and have been for over three weeks now. As soon as I can find a flat (another one got gazumped from me today) then I will get down to rebuilding barbelith completely, and (of course) updating the bomb...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Is that an accent? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/26/2000 04:31:00 PM ----- BODY:

The question I was asked most often when I was in the US was: "Is that an accent?". To which the answer of course is ... "no". One of the weird things about the US is that, perhaps because of its size and relative importance in the world at the moment, it can be quite inward-looking. So while people in the UK are familiar with the States through television, film and the news, there are many Americans who will stare at a poor alien Brit with an utter lack of comprehension. So consider the bulk of today's weblog entry to be a light-hearted attempt to slap some sense into our American cousins. Your honour, I here present evidence to this effect..

DISCLAIMER: The above piece of writing is meant to be taken in a light-hearted fashion...

A little announcement regarding the Nexus. The site should be operational again by the weekend (no promises, but I'll see what I can do), but in the meantime there is a temporary alternative at onelist: TemporaryNexus.

In case anyone hadn't guessed from the bible quote last night, I went to see Magnolia. Katy, Evil Nick and I didn't really know what to expect from it. I'm still reeling from it today. The acting was all of the highest standard, the script was well written and, while the removal of twenty minutes might have sharpened it up a bit, basically it was certainly professional and original stuff. And yet I am still not completely convinced by it. The weirdest thing for me was that they actually put an intermission in it, which amazed me. I'd be interested to know if they did that in the US as well. Could anyone enlighten me? [Enlighten Tom]

A couple of brief bits of news on the flat front - Kate and I went to see a place in Kentish Town yesterday which was pretty impressive - large open rooms, a conservatory, garden, garage and balcony for only �330 a week. A wonderful place. I am a little wavering because it pushes my rent up quite considerably, although I don't think I'll see another place as good for a while. All we have to do is shunt Manuela around it and hope she likes it. At the same time, Evil Nick's flatmate has moved out a week early, leaving a place to sleep comfortably and privately (and on a bed no less) for a full week. So all in all, pretty good news.

Apparently I am not as suave as I thought I was: a slow saturday night. Despite this, people still want to meet me: Fairvue.

It's a bit of a blur to me. Oscars ended 6.30am GMT. I arrive at work 10.00am GMT. I need a drink.

When I was at University, I was told once to always start with a quote. And I'm even in this one. I'm like one of those names on paint sampler cards - "Barbelith Orange". How satisfying is that...

Possibly the most futurist gadget I have seen in months is the Ceiva Internet-Enabled Photo Frame. It sounds like a ridiculous idea, but I honestly believe that it might become a must-have purchase not just for web-geeks and their families, but also for small spaces in nightclubs and bars. It's really the simplest thing - a small, high quality screen which plugs into the phone socket. Every day, at cheap rate, it dials up a server where your friends have e-mailed their latest photos of their children, their holidays or their genitals, the images are downloaded and displayed in a rotating slideshow. You can choose specific images to display through the website if you have favourites, and you can update them more quickly simply by pressing a button on the frame.

The potential for bloggers is endless. Imagine being on an Evhead, megnut or powazek image mailing list, which would update the frame on your desk every day...

Can't chat - in a hurry, but I just thought I should say that I have started a couple of polls over on the TemporaryNexus about the relaunch of the Nexus and what happens when I move the weblog... You might have to sign up to be able to vote...

I tell you, just when everything appears to be running smoothly, powazek raises the bar again. His new design is, simply, lovely. Clean colours, a web-friendly open feel with legible text (not using Verdana - a shock for me). It has a certain David Carson print-media 1998 feel to it.

Everyone knows of Ask Jeeves, the search engine that is supposed to be engineered to answer real English queries in an almost conversational style. So what happens when you try to actually have a conversation with it? FNwire interviewed the butler.

I went to the doctor about my mad gut and digestive complaints and he told me that it was a combination of a mild infection, lack of sleep, a bad diet and a considerable amount of stress. Great. Can't see any of THOSE changing until I get a flat... While I was reeling from that news, I received some donations towards the Rebuild-the-Nexus fund. I am amazed and honoured and will do my best to get it up again as soon as possible.

Barbelith is going to change. Because a few people have sent me money to get the Nexus going again, I don't feel comfortable having personal content on the domain name. So I have decided that over the next week or so, I will buy a new domain, shift the weblog over to that, and then reorganise Barbelith as a cooperative article based site.

But this leaves me with a problem - finding a new domain name. After the loss of my beloved "reptilebrain.com", I am at a bit of a loss. So I thought I'd make an appeal to you people, who know the spirit and rhythms of the current site: have you got any ideas?

Brief life summary: DRINKING TOO MUCH BEER AND VODKA. This will be the third night in a row that I have ended up in Point 101 (Tottenham Court Road tube, under Centrepoint). I am going to get a disgusting beer belly and then no one will want me.

Riothero redesigned. Mark's rolling design project reached a height today, when the background kicked in, dragging a simple orange table structure into the 21st century. And another thing - what other weblogger would post urgently: "Jesus Christ! I'm sexy!"...

Not that I care (I was instructed not to), but I am really glad to see that Barbelith has finally resurfaced on beebo.org's weblog ratings.

There's some argument going on around the weblogs about bloat. I haven't really been following it, but apparently it's quite interesting.

Another little micro-design-project for Time Out: Student Clubs Competition. Very tight deadline on this one. I think it worked out quite well.

In order to maintain the record of the week, I decided that I should go drinking directly after work last night. And (I suppose inevitably) this resulted in a few of us ending up at Popstarz. Which led to:

Before I get going, I have a couple of annoucements. Mark has clearly finally lost it - his exposé of the evil Jason Kottke makes that abundantly clear. And while we are at it, is it just me, or are his clothes becoming an increasingly rare sight on the webcam? I give him about four months before he is doing illegal online strip-shows and changing his name to Candy.

I have just downloaded and installed IE5 for Macs, and I am generally quite impressed. The larger default text sizes came as a mild shock to start with, but I seem to be getting used to it quite quickly. The one thing that is clear is that the aids to cross-platform compatibility mean that those sites designed to alter their behaviour for the Mac platform may now have to rethink their style sheets and text sizes once more. Microsoft have a surprisingly good page on sizing text in CSS for standards-compliant browsers called, "Points, Pixels, DPI and You".

In other news, I finally sorted out the barbelith archives, which are now permanently accessible through the grey strip at the top of the page. I've been flicking through old entries, and the one I am proudest off (from last November) reads:

I am becoming very tired of being homeless. Yes, that's right - I am STILL homeless. A friend has given me permission to crash at his place for a couple of nights (with a break in the middle so that he can have sex with someone without me knocking on the door and asking if I can pilfer some Orange Juice), but there is still only the vaguest notions of new flatishness in the near future.

I went to see Erin Brokovich last night with Katy (soon to be starting her own weblog), and we got so excited by the classiness of Steven Soderbergh that we are going to go and see The Limey tonight.

For those people disappointed by my recent shortcomings on updating The Bomb, I have finally added most of the annotations for issue 3#2 from the Nexus. Should I have missed anything, let me know immediately. [Let Tom know]

Another month, another issue of *spark. This month, the features include the intoxicating (virtual morality), the revolutionary (hacktivism: the new protest movement?), and the inspirational (surfing towards bethlehem?). I am taking the way *spark operates as a form of model example of what I want the new barbelith to achieve when I finally sort out the architectural parts of it - in some ways it is already a project that should appeal to the subcultural elements of the Nexus...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: So I had lunch yesterday STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/04/2000 02:16:01 PM ----- BODY: So I had lunch yesterday with the guy I met at Popstarz, and it really was quite enjoyable. I don't want to foul things up, so I won't go into details - except to say that I'm probably seeing him again this evening. It's all very exciting.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Barbelith goes metalogic... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/04/2000 02:33:13 PM ----- BODY:

And I had a lovely evening last night with Sam and various friends of his. Just in case you were wondering...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Angling for links? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/05/2000 03:47:04 PM ----- BODY:

So, Project Cool recommended Lockjaw today. I guess I can see why, it's quite ably put together. I was just wondering about the lo-fi feel of the site - and the preponderance of grainy imagery. It reminded me of a trend in print design a while back for an almost fanzine feel. I don't know if it translates that well to the web though - I mean there is so much real lo-fi stuff, I am not sure that it is easy to tell when it is intentional.

Evil Nick is off to visit a young woman in Los Angeles. He's never been out of Europe before. I try and figure out what to say to him about the trip and can only come up with, "you'll be surprised how alien you feel". In order to get a flight at short notice, he has had to go via Frankfurt. Total length of outgoing flight - 14 hours. That's got to hurt.

At some point in the last day or so (according to my referrer log), Zeldman linked to me. But then when I try and look at his site, I keep getting timed out. What's that about? Can someone tell me what he said?

Oh, and if you have a minute to spare - have a glance at my latest microproject - the Best London Cinema poll. I'm never really sure whether or not they are any good or not - I mean they work, and they do what they are supposed to, but they are hardly the most attractive of designs. I was much happier with the Eating and Drinking Awards one. But then I had more than an hour for that...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Ever more Hard Includes. Will STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/07/2000 05:49:39 PM ----- BODY: Ever more Hard Includes. Will the madness never end?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Never been so exhausted in STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/09/2000 07:34:16 PM ----- BODY: Never been so exhausted in my life. May have found a house in Arsenal of all places. Completely gorgeous little place - only problem is that one of our number has to sleep in a half completed loft conversion.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Slackness in the weblogging front... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/09/2000 07:52:00 PM ----- BODY:

So I have been a bit lax on the old weblogging over the last couple of days, which frankly is unforgivable. But all that is about to end. I stumbled upon the Guerilla Banner Project today, and I haven't been as chuffed for ages (translation for Americans: thrilled/pleased). These random people look at their favourite sites and produce alternative banners for them. Most of them are pretty cool. Particular favourite of the moment "Love Me, Love My Penis... Prehensile Tales.

There are reasons for my recent laxity though. One of the unpleasant ones involves the bill finally arriving for March's excess bandwidth. I have to grab together another $150 to pay them off, and (in doing so) dispose of the epic Nexus debts. This charge having been disposed of, I can get down to the business of moving hosts. I didn't want to do anything until the bill finally arrived (and I had actually put down the deposit on a flat) and now it looks like that was the right thing to do!

Something to make people jealous here. You never can tell in these situations, so it might be a fraud, but I appear to have been sent an extremely entertaining and in depth e-mail by none other than Michael Moorcock of Jerry Cornelius fame. And it's all about The Bomb and Grant Morrison...

If you do a search on Yahoo! for "Sleep Deprivation", the first thing you come up with is needcoffee.com. It's not that helpful, frankly, but it is quite entertaining...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I keep being reassured, but STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/11/2000 02:47:00 PM ----- BODY: I keep being reassured, but this still alarms me:

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I got a charming e-mail STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/11/2000 06:09:01 PM ----- BODY: I got a charming e-mail today (thank you Txiki). It directed me towards glassdog.com and the Lifechange Cardwrack. Very cool indeed. I'm familiar with glassdog of old, but this new aspect... Very cool indeed.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I'm in a much cheerier STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/11/2000 07:27:22 PM ----- BODY: I'm in a much cheerier mood today, but I still can't really focus properly - everything I try to write spirals out of control. So (as you can probably see) I am restricting myself to short snippets of interest (ooooh - a traditional weblog) rather than my usual vaguely coherent longer posts.

A few days ago, Zeldman mentioned me in his daily log. At the time this came as a pleasant surprise, but more and more over the last few days it has started to encroach on my mind. I am in a more paranoid space than I have been for months, but I have started wondering why he would want to read my shambling missives. I honestly don't understand it. And of course it doesn't help when he goes and declares war on Microsoft. Now I'm actually scared of him. And what kind of person is not only mentioned in important articles, but has those articles screencapped for the product demos of huge companies? I mean - the man's got to be some kind of superhuman godlike uberman.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Is it just me, or STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/11/2000 07:46:34 PM ----- BODY: Is it just me, or does Blogger work really strangely on IE5 for Macs?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Interesting how this might seem STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/12/2000 12:31:11 PM ----- BODY: Interesting how this might seem to be a confession - I smoke.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Ooooh. More Bubbles. STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/14/2000 10:24:26 AM ----- BODY: Ooooh. More Bubbles.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I got an e-mail from STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/14/2000 10:56:42 AM ----- BODY: I got an e-mail from Kerry today. I don't think he'd mind if I quoted him on this:

The "Look At Me" Award for Total Self Obsession
Two reviews about my sites (do a search for Invisibles): The Bomb and The Nexus.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Gripe of the Day Today's STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/15/2000 05:15:13 PM ----- BODY: Gripe of the Day
Today's gripe comes to you courtesy of i2design.net. My problem with this otherwise beautiful site is in the irritating lack of cross-browser compatible CSS. I'm using Netscape on a PC at the moment and the text is completely unreadable. And I don't mean "eye-straining", I mean so small that the pixels can't even accurately render the individual letters. On a personal site, of course, it is never more than slightly irritating. But I have seen the same problem all over corporate sites (particularly when you are also considering different platforms) and it really isn't very good.

Gratuitous Self-Referential Weblog Reference of the Day
I found the i2design link through riothero, who every regular visitor to barbelith has heard about more than once. I just wanted to say that I haven't forgotten about the collaboration I said I'd do with him on hero.nu, and as soon as I am settled I will start work on it in earnest. By the way Mark, don't you get cold? Put a woolly jumper on old chap!

Most Ridiculously Embarrassing Thing of All Time
So you're wandering around with a young gentleman you might be relatively keen on, and he decides to duck back to your office with you. And then you decide to show him the view from the 7th floor of a tall building in the centre of London because he's an architect and he might like to see them finish the roof of the British Museum. And then he wants to see what's on the other side of the building so you think, maybe I should take him up to the roof so he can see more. And then he decides he fancies a quick kiss, which is nice. And then you go back to work. And then ten minutes later you are informed that an entire department of the company you work for was watching a reflection of everything you did in the mirrored building opposite. And then you collapse in embarrassment. This happened to a friend of mine. It did not happen to me...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Insightful Thing of the Day STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/15/2000 05:27:54 PM ----- BODY: Insightful Thing of the Day
I stumbled upon the current Good News/Bad News special feature at k10k today, and frankly, it was great. All the pent up frustration that we all sometimes feel about the net along with all the reasons why we can find it so very exciting. All in a little javascript pop-up window, with elegant little design touches. Perfect.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Tactless Advert of the Day STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/15/2000 05:38:39 PM ----- BODY: Tactless Advert of the Day
From Zeldman comes the astonishing Hoboken BrewHaus advert. Hmmm - spot-quiz: "Does Tom Have A Boner for Zeldman?". I don't think I do, but I've been talking about him a lot recently.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Hmmm. Popular opinion seems to STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/16/2000 07:50:35 PM ----- BODY: Hmmm. Popular opinion seems to be that I do indeed have a boner for Zeldman. In his honour therefore, I am planning to spend all my available time worshipping at the altar of the mangod: The Jeffrey Zeldman Fanclub. Thanks to riothero and So I Say... for showing me the way. Halleluiah!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Touching sentiments indeed from The STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/16/2000 07:57:17 PM ----- BODY: Touching sentiments indeed from The Rumpus Room:

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Some bastard bought reptilebrain.co.uk... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/16/2000 08:19:18 PM ----- BODY:

Cause for horror today. Someone went and bought reptilebrain.co.uk [who is] which fills me with absolute horror since I had just resolved myself to the fact that I could buy it even though it wasn't a .com (I am afraid to say that I think regional domains were a huge mistake and are completely against the spirit of the net). Anyway - this leaves me with a new quest - think of a new domain name for this weblog as soon as possible, so when the big move comes I don't end up with cabbageboy.com [NOTE: Since checked and cabbageboy.com is in fact no longer available].

So I went out for lunch today with a group of friends and their friends and was disturbed to find myself feeling defensive and edgy which dragged me back about ten years to gawky teenage years of perpetual embarrassment. I've been thinking about it all afternoon and I can't really understand why I should have felt that way, except that it coincided with the arrival of Fenner's friend George, who for some reason unsettles me deeply. I think I find his absolute confidence unpleasant. From the point of his arrival onwards the lunch stopped being about a group of old friends getting together and chatting comfortably and started to become some kind of male competitive arena, in which mobile phones were carefully compared and examined, hair-cuts and clothing were noted for signs of appropriate consumption and physical presences were assessed for signs of weakness. I fear I was the only one feeling uncomfortable, and I could just as easily still be feeling the effects of too little sleep and continual vagrancy. I don't know really...

It just goes to show, flattery will get you everywhere! I don't think you can even guess how thrilled I was that Barbelith was mentioned in Powazek's Latest Interview. It's an interesting article quite apart from the reference to me (although that is clearly the most important part)...

"Calling all Londoners - Your City Needs You." Or at least that is the message that is being broadcast 24 hours a day as the contest for the new position of Mayor heats up. There is a substantial site for the campaign [Mayor For London], posters have been springing up on every spare inch of wall space and almost every TV bulletin or newspaper oozes scandal or corruption or photo-opportunity.

In fact campaigning has been so widespread that it is rapidly nearing saturation point. Today, as I approached work, I was confronted with Ken Livingstone's purple campaign bus, filled to the brim with grinning anorak-wearing octogenarians blasting poor quality pop-music with a half-hearted slightly embarrassed voice-over.

But who should you vote for? This is where Fantasy Mayor comes in. This seriously useful site first asks you who you were planning to vote for. And then it presents you with fifteen policy statements - you choose the degree to which you agree or disagree with them and then it presents you with a list of the candidates that you share most policy points with. The results are always interesting, and often not what you expect. Against all odds, I have ended up with Frank Dobson...

I've been having frustratingly brief flirt-mail all day from Sam in Cambridge. He's busy building models out of whatever it is architects build models out of, and his hands (apparently) are covered in cigarette burns, superglue, sawdust, pen marks and the like. Which would explain the frustratingly brief bit I suppose.

What does it say about ones proto-revolutionary zeal when one is excited about finally having a direct phone line at work. I've moved offices and now have a sexy (possible) G4 with DVD player and Mac OS9 as well. If only the monitor were larger. Although having said that, there have to be limits...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The Web is All About STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/18/2000 04:38:32 PM ----- BODY: The Web is All About Me - or so you might think from looking around this morning. But before I even get around to that, I have to make it clear that riothero has just stepped his design up one substantial gear. It's the cleanest, most elegant design he has ever produced. Mark, please, leave it like this for a little while!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On writing about one's partners... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/18/2000 07:57:24 PM ----- BODY:

So I am sitting in my new office, everyone else has gone home and I have a few things to get done before I can go drinking with Nick and friends. I've got the Sex Pistols playing on the G4 as compensation for the Drum and Bass that has been in the background for much of the day. I've been thinking a lot today, between bouts of savage work, about what limits a weblogger must set on themselves.

I remember reading an article a few months ago about how a guy kept an incredibly personal and detailed online diary. All his friends knew about it, as did his girlfriend. She made the astonishing statement that she actually checked his diary to find out the state of their relationship. It sounds horrific, but it seemed to work for them.

Other webloggers, while accepting that there will always be things which they don't feel comfortable talking about publicly, are less certain about where these limits lie.

A few weeks ago, Jason Kottke said that there was something happening in his life that he really wanted to talk about, but didn't feel able. Meanwhile, Riothero keeps his relationship with Lyda very much in the foreground of his log. Of course, this hasn't been without its difficulties.

I'm very interested in hearing about how people reconcile this difficulty (although the question I perhaps should be asking is "Why would anyone want to talk about their relationships publicly on the web anyway?"), but I suppose at the end of the day it comes down to this - the only appropriate public comment about a partner is one that they are happy with.

I'll admit it. I loved The Matrix as much as any other red-blooded gentleman, and I am excited about the prospect of another two films. Otherwise why would I have invested so much imaginary money into them at hsx.com. Over the last couple of months, my fascination has waned a little however, only to be rediscovered when I stumbled upon an article which confirms that Carrie Anne Moss is going to be in the new films as well. She's the last of the mainstays of the first film to sign on. And that is just the first part of the rumourfest... God, I'm such a nerd.

Someone should start a site about dead blogs. I mean - once they're out of date, they are mostly pretty pointless things. And there are a great many dead blogs. The scariest fact? That a blog can be dead after as little as two weeks without an update. Cases in point: Carpe Diem [ironic name], Vision Thing [brought to you by the number 3] and Commblog [it's all about Marketing].

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: It's been a difficult day STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/19/2000 09:08:29 PM ----- BODY: It's been a difficult day - exhausting, stressful, and for a little while more at least, I don't have my own home, or my own bed, to look forward to. So that must explain why it is 9pm and I am still at work. I got everything done that I realistically expected to about an hour and a half ago...

I've not been particularly inspired to write today (except about the war between city people and country people, which for the sake of diplomacy I have decided to pass swiftly over). So I decided to do my duty and blog a couple of stories for Web Queeries. I was surprised how tricky it was to write for - it's really difficult to tell whether or not you can write in a flighty fashion or whether one should be more news-conscious. Judge for yourself whether or not I did a good job.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: No good idea goes unexploited, STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/20/2000 03:04:42 PM ----- BODY: No good idea goes unexploited, they say, but there are worse people to do it than the Guardian, who have just launched their own weblog. Quite how much it has in common with the kind of things that I do (or the other thousands of bloggers) is debatable, of course. [via linkmachinego]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: How many times do I STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/20/2000 06:26:39 PM ----- BODY: How many times do I have to tell you? The Web is all about ME. Seriously, though, about a year ago I got really pissed off because a friend of mine said out of the blue: "You do realise I don't fancy you right?". I was furious - I mean, it's not like I don't have enough to deal with without people spontaneously telling me I'm unattractive. One of the wonders of the web helps compensate this behaviour: people you've never even met before say that they think you don't look like the back end of a bus. That's got to prop up a beleaguered ego!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Ah... Those scamps on the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/22/2000 12:08:56 AM ----- BODY: Ah... Those scamps on the Nexus - look what they've come up with now! A way to pity barbelith...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I'm a bit perturbed by STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/22/2000 12:18:28 AM ----- BODY: I'm a bit perturbed by riothero. I mean his "Top 10 Things That Would Be Different If The 12 Apostles Had Been Gay" is clearly well meaning and occasionally very funny ("The water at the Wedding Feast of Cana would have turned into dry martinis with just a splash of Curacao for color") but also strays close on a couple of occasions to dubiousness. I think it's one of those things where you can make the jokes if you're part of the club, but if you're not... I know Mark of old, and know him to be a decent and fun chap, and I am certainly not suggesting any impropriety on his part. It's just his words sound... odd...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Today is one of those STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/22/2000 12:31:15 AM ----- BODY: Today is one of those weird days where you blog after midnight (ouch - how Gremlins is that?) and you don't feel like it is really Saturday at all because you haven't slept yet, but it is, and you know that your blog will show it to be Saturday. So you can't say things like "Today I went to see American Psycho with Rhonda and John" nor can you say "Today I travelled up to Norfolk to see my parents and my brother" or even "Tomorrow Gideon is arriving from Mexico by way of Israel, and that I am really looking forward to it because I hardly ever get to see him", because really it wasn't today and it isn't tomorrow, it was yesterday and today. But then you don't want to confuse people...

My web-hosting weirdness continues unabated. After having been charged roughly $400 for excess bandwidth (and me sending them a stroppy e-mail saying that there was no reason that they couldn't have automatically bumped me up to a higher level of package (costing me 0.25% of the money I was charged) when I reached the limits of the current one), I have just been sent a concilatory letter offering me an extra Gb of traffic a month, plus doubled server space and 10 more POP3 accounts. It would be tempting if I wasn't still going to spiral over their bandwidth allowance. Honestly - Netnation are still not in my good books...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Six months of weblogging... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Personal Publishing CATEGORY: Personal Publishing DATE: 04/23/2000 12:16:54 AM ----- BODY:

The 1st of May (next Sunday) will be my six month anniversary of weblogging, and I find myself confronting the same questions and situations now as I did when I began. My first entry came together at the beginning of November [1/11/99], when was just about to start a contract at Time Out. At the time I didn't know what the job was or even what the title was. Now I am about to be promoted - at least this time I know what the title is.

The same concerns about writing occupy me as well. Is it all right to write about friends and family? How candid should a weblogger be? Why do I want to write about myself and is it a positive means of expression, or is it too constrained to be anything other than completely artificial. When I am frustrated, can I vent? Or must I be wary of saying something that I might regret later? It took me only two weeks [15/11/99] to start worrying about these things, and I haven't found a solution yet:

And the most depressing thing of all? As I am (finally) about to move in to my new flat I decide to find out when all this horror began - when the spectre of homelessness first loomed above my head. I find that while I only (!) moved out of my flat at the beginning of March [2/3/00], I first started talking about the process way back in January [20/1/00]. It's no wonder I feel tired all the time...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Well designed weblogs are a STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/23/2000 03:00:42 PM ----- BODY: Well designed weblogs are a particular fetish of mine. And riothero has gone and found me another one. Mark describes it as a mix of powazek and barbelith, which is rather decent of him. Introducing: sja...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Grant, Gid, Sam and Sleep... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/24/2000 07:47:16 PM ----- BODY:

Yesterday In A Nutshell:
Leave voice-mail with Grant Morrison (author of Invisibles, Doom Patrol, Lovely Biscuits, Animal Man, JLA, Arkham Asylum, Zenith, er ... Zoids) confirming location of the Nexus meeting in central London for 6pm at Point 101. Get on train from Norfolk. Train goes wrong. Get bus from Ipswich to Colchester. Get train from Colchester to Liverpool Street. On train get very worried that I am going to be very late and that no one will turn up. Panic. Ring and text message lots of people. Rhonda is a bit weird on the phone. Cornwell is nowhere to be found, Toby is a bit dazed sounding. Dave is on voice-mail.

Arrive at Tottenham Court Road in a bit of a panic, carrying two extremely heavy bags which I am living out of until I move into my new flat next weekend. Go upstairs. Am told that I can't go upstairs because there is a private function up there. Go up anyway. Lots of people sit around looking slightly nervous. Am about to leave when one of them recognises me and introduces himself. Realise that all of the people are there for the Nexus meeting and to meet Grant. Look around. No Grant. Scared of being lynched.

After about half an hour decide to go and find Grant's hotel's e-mail address. Go downstairs. Bald guy and stunning blue-lipped platform-booted girlfriend stands by the bar. Grant has been told that there is a private party upstairs and has been hanging around looking slightly lost. Hugely relieved. Take him upstairs. There is much talking. Nexus people now met in the flesh: Gentleman Assassin, RolloKin, It, Sleazenation, Macavity, 70sman, Stephen and others. Try to persuade people to drain Grant's head dry and then run off and do something cool with it. Very happy with how it turned out.

But have to leave early to pick up Sam at Belsize Park tube (8.30pm) to proceed to Gideon's party. Take Will who has turned up at Point 101 gathering. Buy Vodka. Collect Sam proceed to party. Get tired. Wake up. Dance around for a bit.

Josh turns up. He's gone blond. His boyfriend who looks a bit like Eddie Izzard reveals intimacies that he probably shouldn't, including Josh's skillful hands and his own predisposition towards full body shaving. Illustrates latter point with a quick flash. Sam looks amused. Sam makes pasta. If Sam eats dairy products he gets depressed and tired. Hence pasta not very interesting. He adds chilli oil. We smoke on the balcony. I fall asleep. He attempts to wake me up unsuccessfully. I get grumpy.

Today for Dummies:
Got up. Had cigarette. Went to Camden with Gid, Sam and Will. Went to Cyberdog. Had a joint. Ate a blackcurrent and apple pie and a large Fuse. Went around the Jubilee line with Gideon. Got a bit tired. Updated my weblog.

Mastering Tomorrow:
Back to work. Very tired. Training my replacement. Very strange.

Web Queeries (which I write for occasionally) has been named blog of the week over at Blogger. It's a particularly worthy one because it actually offers a useful journalistic service with an entertainingly personal spin.

You build a website for a comic book, and then get the logo of the website in the comic book and then get the website mentioned in the comic book and then the comic book ends and you think - WHAT NOW? Pick up a copy of The Invisibles today, and then go and visit the Nexus.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Exhausted but Euphoric... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/27/2000 10:48:05 AM ----- BODY:

I'm exhausted but euphoric as things finally seem to be coming together. I'm moving in to my new flat on Saturday, finally catching up on work, and I got some sleep (my first for ages). And it's sunny! But still, I am still not at peak efficiency. So let's start the day with some gentle blogging:

Is anyone else bored of Diana, the ever saintly (practically canonised) Princess of Wales? Certainly garden.com doesn't appear to be. All over the net at the moment I am seeing The Princess of Wales Rose banner ads. Is this really the thrust of the new economy? Should we all buy chintz and commemorative mugs now?

The most amusing thing about Wired's article about National Phone In Sick Day is that in the UK we get the day off anyway. In fact, next week will be our third four day week in a row. I love Bank Holidays.

And while I am at it, I just thought I should say congrats to Meg for both a highly successful redesign and having an incredibly cool web savvy mother. Jealous much, web kids? I know I am.

Whatever the reason is, it's certainly stirring up some debate: uncorked thinks (reasonably) that Mark is being too flippant, precocious.org that he is being complimentary and that people who are pissed off are rabid PC weirdoes, ctrl-alt-ego would "rather be called a girl by someone who seems to be expressing how brilliant I am than be called a woman by someone who's putting me down", metagrrrl just thinks he's nice as far as I can tell, much-blogged by me Tracy Scarpino (of OUCH! infamy) acts as an apologist for him because she believes him to be being misconstrued, gaylery shouts "Yay!" occasionally when she thinks Mark has proven a point while io.com's teeth are set on edge. Phew!

What a state of affairs to have gotten oneself in! And has he stopped? No! Of course not. In fact he's started blogging Conservative and Pro-life Women's Sites, Feminist Sites and talking about Men's Issues. Surely he must know better, I hear you cry? Surely he's just going to get a whole lot of other people all riled up! Start a big fight? Yes I think that he might! And why does he look so smug...?

Well why do you think? The question answers itself. Let's review it again: "Why has Mark said lots of things that got people all riled up and writing about him?" Could the answer be that simple? Is all this palaver really about reached the summit of beebo.org's weblog ratings. Because he's getting remarkably close...

Why, you may ask, climb this metaphorical mountain (on the backs of supporters and dissenters alike)? The answer for centuries has been "Because it's there".

But Mark and I know better. We climb the mountain for fun, we climb the mountain for life, and we climb it (frankly) because it is shaped like a great ... big ... penis ...

To add a touch of poigancy to the debate at this time, while we are at it (as it were), and as dick climbs the mount (so to speak), some other poor sod (that isn't what I meant) (called interestingly enough, Marc) went and bought disappointedvirginity.co.uk. And frankly, good luck to him...

Very frustrating. People tell me the Nexus is mentioned in The Invisibles this month, but it's a day late arriving in the shops. In the meantime, some people have been asking how they can get their hands on Fortune Hotel, which includes a piece by Grant as well as Douglas Coupland, Will Self and many others. I have found it on amazon.co.uk, but nowhere else. Sorry!

And if you haven't got the slightest clue what I am talking about, or what the attraction of the Invisibles is, and how I am going to feel about the fact that it has now ended then go and talk to Oh Messy Life, who manages to explain it perfectly. Enjoy.

"If you missed the Secret of the Universe the first time around, do what Gideon says on page 8 or go to www.barbelith.com where all those cool eggheads and stoner motherfuckers will do their best to "explain" it to you. If THE INVISIBLES exist anywhere now, it's on that forum and in your heads. If you still ain't had your fill of fucked up theories, I can be contacted there with the rest of them in whatever form it takes in the future."

If you are here because of the above quote, start off with The Bomb, and then proceed to the The Nexus. And stick around because the new revolution is just about to start...

I don't want to get too off message at the moment, so I am going to keep my personal commentary log pretty brief over the weekend. Regular viewers will find normal service resumes on Tuesday after the Bank Holiday, after I have moved in properly, and after the current rush of Invisibles people just finding the barbelith family of sites settles down a little bit. In the meantime, Invisibles people, look down the page a little for what you are after.

In the meantime, a little rant from Warren Ellis about the state of the comics industry should be looked at by all people who are passionate about them, or grew up with them and can't get them completely out of their heads (no matter how they try).

And for the regulars, a little something to keep you cheery: Sissyfight - be a vindictive girl and pick on other people for fun. And watch out for MissyBitch, because I made her mean and strong and sassy as the day is long.

Weekend over. And not a moment too soon. I returned home on Friday, had a brief row with my mother on Saturday morning about the way I ate weetabix, sorted out all my personal belongings into "london", "storage", "throwaway" and "sell" piles, slept badly and then drove down to my new flat on Sunday morning. And then I drove back to Norfolk again. And then I got a train back to London again. Exhausting.

Monday was a �150 Ikea fest in full Bank Holiday mode. And I still forgot to buy lightbulbs. Scream 3 in the evening and then Buffy box-set 2.2 eased me to bed. Best thing about new flat: having my own bed. Worst thing about new flat: not having a working telephone (being fixed). Most annoying thing in relation to new flat: being unable to find the telephone number of our local cable TV company.

I went to see Scream 3 with Katy - an old (!) friend and similar devotee to the cult of the web obsessive. She has often expressed to me a frustration at our distance from the webloggers that we read regularly. And so on that note, and with the birth of Katy's brand new blog "kitschbitch.com", I hearby declare the beginnings of the London Elite Weblogging Detachment - or LEWD for short. Come forward LEWD boys and girls, and LO! I shalt blog thee...

I saw a piece in The Sun today which suggested that a vote for Ken Livingstone was a vote for "THEM" (them being the people who "defaced" the Cenotaph). I saw the word "EVIL" bandied around in a couple of places as well, and a general horror of people not honouring the honoured dead of our country - the same "evil" people who gave us Churchill with a green mohican, and who daubed comments on the memorials of people who gave their lives in World Wars.

But what actually is the problem? Is it that they parodied Churchill? Is it that they don't appear to care about "war heroes"? Because if this was written down and placed in a magazine or on a website people wouldn't get anywhere near as irritated. Is it then just property damage? It doesn't appear to be that either, because you don't see any news reports focusing on how evil you must be to deface a MacDonalds.

Instead it seems that people have invested a symbolic value in the objects themselves - the Cenotaph and the statue - that these material products are the actual feelings of a country made manifest - turned into stone. But is that really such a big deal? Is it really any more appalling than writing anti-war statements on a phone box?

As I said - I can't make up my mind - I just don't know what I think about it. But one thing seems clear to me. Many (most? all?) of these people aren't protesting about capitalism. They're not aiming towards a more noble ideal (Communism? Socialism? Social Democracy? Liberal Democracy? Anarchy?) - instead they are products of a dissatisfaction with the way contemporary society limits and belittles the individual.

Their protest is a reason unto itself - an expression of freedom. It's an aggressive freedom certainly, a non-communitarian freedom probably, even (possibly) an unworkable, impractical, EVIL freedom - but it's freedom nonetheless. It's punk with a cover-story, rebellion with a pseudo-cause. And such spirits will continue to erupt, and there is nothing anyone can do about it.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The Cenotaph and related issues... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/04/2000 11:16:51 AM ----- BODY:

I've had a few comments about my post yesterday about the daubing of the Cenotaph. They tend to say that there are legitmate targets for protest who have transgressed morally (one person included Churchill in that list) and non-legitmate targets which include the Cenotaph. I have been thinking about this at length and I have come to a few conclusions.

A blog based around Haiku? Who would have thought such a thing was possible. Haiku the Blog proves that it is. I've been quite bored today, so I have been trying to remember an haiku that an old flatmate of mine and I wrote a few years back. We were awfully proud of it:

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Referrer logs reveal that yesterday, STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/05/2000 10:53:21 AM ----- BODY: Referrer logs reveal that yesterday, Barbelith was visited by 666 people. This unholy convergence of number and anti-establishment content leads me to conclude that I must be the anti-Christ. This is quite frustrating as I have enough to do already. I just don't have the time. I am going to a wedding tomorrow (working on the assumption that at some point ever I will get my arse in gear and organise it). In the meantime I have to organise a working phone system, the disposal of two double beds, the repair of a boiler and the installation of cable television. Bringing about apocalypse will just have to wait a little longer...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Death of the Weblog? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Personal Publishing CATEGORY: Personal Publishing DATE: 05/05/2000 01:01:46 PM ----- BODY:

Did everyone in the weblogging world get sent this link: Death to the Weblog? It's a really weird site, which I can't quite get a handle on. It seems to be about 2/3 spoof and 1/3 serious, or maybe the other way around, and includes great quotes like this:

This is one of the oldest online personal publishing problems: the "what if someone I know reads this" syndrome. The things you gradually excise out of your daily monologue to the world increase with time (does this make your weblog less interesting). The first minor spat I had with Sam before our unceremonious parting (case in point - don't think I mentioned that) was about whether or not I could legimately talk about our burgeoning relationship in a public place. And then there's my oft repeated story about when my brother e-mailed me about something I had written asking if I thought he should tell my mother. And then of course there's the fact that everyone at work knows that I post my thoughts here. Am I to be fired, excommunicated or even prosecuted simply in order to maintain the purity of my weblog? I feel the same impetus as every other weblogger to tell the truth (what's the point otherwise), but there will unfortunately be limits.

In the meantime, what is one to write about? It has to be said there are indeed a lot of boring weblogs. Many of them just don't match my interests (and I am sure that barbelith doesn't do it for everyone), but there are a few that are genuinely dull. Honestly, I think it all comes down to passion. Write about what you care about and everything is fine. If that is something in your personal life, then fine. If it is something in your professional life, great. If it is something on the web, also cool. You just can't go wrong with an attitude like that.

There's this really interesting weblog run by a guy called Matthew Rossi that I read occasionally, which has been looking at the criticisms in "Death to the Weblogs" (metacubed has a piece too). I think I'll leave this subject on this point because he illustrates how one can take a fairly average subject and make something gripping out it. He says:

This post is SOOOOO not going to go down well. Tracy and Katy are having a conversation about American and British English. Before I begin, I know that I am jumping rather savagely into the fray on this one, that I don't mean any disrespect to anyone, and that I am responding in a fashion that is full of generalisations. If I seem to go over the top, bear in mind that I am talking more about a cultural phenomenon than about arguments with individuals, and also bear in mind that I have just as many (if not more) issues with the cultural attitudes of Britain.

Now excuse me, but I really think that Tracy needs to be taken to task a little here. I mean I don't want to come over all Riothero-ish, but really! I mean really! Before I begin, I should make it clear that I do not in any way condone telling people that their accents make them "sick to their stomachs". And I don't want to go into details about how if it were a school run by people speaking British English then it makes sense not to confuse your students with two sets of vocabulary for everyday things (although it makes much more sense to teach one branch of the language [whichever one] and then supplement that with a separate class on local variations in Australia, England, US, English-speaking parts of the Far East etc). Nor am I going to talk about how the attitude that you should tell your students to "Forget that British nonsense, this is how you should really say it." is just as bloody dodgy as the stomach comment. No - I am going to leave all that beside and concentrate on an old bugbear of mine.

In the UK, everyone can understand pretty much everything that an American can come out with. Every accent has been heard on television, or in the cinema or met in person. Similarly, the English can understand pretty much everything that Australians, South Africans and New Zealanders say. Australasians in their turn can understand pretty much everything that people say in the UK and the US. The idiom might seem strange but it is still comprehensible. So why is it that Americans have so much trouble? And what height of arrogance is it to assume that people learn English to speak only to Americans?

The fact is that America has become culturally dominant through the media across the world. The American Dream has been packaged and repackaged and circulated through the world and the world has eagerly bought it up. In the process, the world has become familiar with the US of A. But also in the process, America has become more insular and inward looking - unwilling (on the whole) to import entertainment products (except redubbed and repackaged cartoons) from the rest of the world. And as the news companies (TV and print) compete for market share, they have become gradually more and more caught up in the idea that Americans want to hear about America - that everything important happens there first.

But this insularity does not mean that the rest of the world has to adapt to service [the] US (Borg joke). Our biological and technological distinctiveness will NOT be added to their own. Frankly, Americans understanding or not understanding British English is a matter for the US education system. it is not our responsibility to make it palatable to North Americans. I'm sure the French or the Japanese would feel the same way if it was suggested they should simplify their language for the purposes of tourists - why should the UK be any different?

In Scandinavia at the moment, mobile phone technology and information technology is integrated into the structure of the world like nowhere else. People are already doing all the things that are still being promised in the US, in the UK and the rest of Europe, and in the rest of the world. And the world takes notice. But I heard of a meeting in the last six months where a US company started talking to a business in the UK talking about the magical times of the future when all these things would be possible - a magical time that THEY were helping to bring about. The patient UK CEO listened carefully and then told him about the Scandinavian projects. The US company hadn't even heard of them, but they didn't care! They simply didn't believe that a system that was not invented in the US could catch on.

I don't have a problem with American English, nor do I have a problem with the gradual homogenisation of language that is inevitably going to occur as international boundaries go down (although I can understand why people might get annoyed). After all, language is a living thing and phrases and structures from other cultures get co-opted all of the time. English (in all its various forms) is full of these borrowings, moreso than any other language. But these ideas: 1) that those of us who speak British English should not teach our own language [because] 2) all foreign people learning English are interested in only in America, 3) that British English speaking people should adapt their language to make it more comprehensible to those trained in American English while 4) Americans remain culturally unwilling to make any attempt to understand anything that happens outside their borders. Well, frankly, I find that slightly ridiculous.

For more on this subject, check out my post for 3/26/2000. If you are furious with me or need to get involved in this particular scrap, e-mail me at tom@no-spam-please-barbelith.com.

Dull weblogger? Take a life altering pill and become more vibrant and throbbing. Continuity.nu was the only site that picked up on my challenge to spice up a blog, and even then, well:

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: My comments about language (yesterday) STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/08/2000 05:00:54 PM ----- BODY: My comments about language (yesterday) seem to be echoing around the net with some speed. In the course of the day I have written a very apologetic e-mail to Tracy for using her as a launch-pad for what is clearly a much larger rant, been chastised for criticising American culture as low-brow (never my intention), been introduced to the regional variations of dialect in Newfoundland, been agreed with by a New Zealander and told I am naive by someone else. Here's a selection of the best comments that have emerged in response to my ravings:

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Oh Lord, won't you buy me... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/09/2000 02:35:01 PM ----- BODY:

Does anyone want to buy me a computer? In my two months of homelessness, I have used net cafe computers only. And now I finally set up my own computer and it seems like I have stepped back about eight years in time. I don't think I can handle it. The most terrifying thing about it is how much I dislike it being a PC. I have been a PC user for nearly ten years now. TEN YEARS. I made all those Mac jokes about how they were crappy and shoddy and boring and pointless and ugly. And now I find myself desperately pining for the sexiest G4 on the planet. I mean just look at it. I can't stop drooling!

It worked for k10k.net - they've got Apple sponsorship - so why can't it work for me? I'm a shameless prostitute. I'll have myself tattooed with the Apple insignia. I'll do anything, goddammit... So this is a blanket call to the world out there: -

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Now with permalinks. I have STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/10/2000 01:05:39 PM ----- BODY: Now with permalinks. I have been resisting this trend for quite some time now, because it would expose my weird habit of continually adding to an individual entry. I have used this technique to keep a certain amount of logical flow on a page, and to keep important entries that I make in a day right up at the top. But now, alas, no longer. The other reason I have resisted these things is that I have this horrible feeling that barbelith is beginning to look cluttered. Things are just not where they are supposed to be, and there is too much colour pollution in my beautiful serene web/site/pool. But hey. That's a matter for another day...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I thought it would be STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/10/2000 01:10:49 PM ----- BODY: I thought it would be interesting to come up with some really cool, and yet weird and fucked-up domain names - you know - ones that no one would ever buy, and then name them here and see if anyone bought them. I came up with a few really good ones, including my absolute favourite rabidrabbit.com. Shock of all shocks: they've all already gone...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Theories of weblog popularity... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/11/2000 04:25:10 PM ----- BODY:

I have a theory that for a weblog to be popular, it must i) have a definite focus for its writings, ii) be written well, iii) have a clear and appealing visual presence and iv) fabricate some form of online personality that people actually like (or be famous). My theory can be extrapolated into explaining why some weblogs are less popular than others. Those sites that are based upon complete whim of content will therefore be at a certain disadvantage, unless the personality expressed is particularly effervescent. I present the following breakdown of the top eight weblogs (according to beebo.org, [Issued May 11, 16:42 GMT+10]) as proof or disproof that my theory holds water.

[NOTE: Half way through this rigorous process, I began wondering whether or not this exercise was turning into a weblog review kind of thing. Which really doesn't interest me that much. But since the post was so bloody long already, I thought I should probably see it through. Make up your own mind as to its validity (if any) and worth (if any). I promise I'll try and think of something more interesting to write about tomorrow...]

I'm always amazed that my favourite weblogs aren't more well read - I guess it reflects a divergence of interests in the community as a whole. Where were: riothero, megnut, kitschbitch, powazek etc etc... [Later Note (13/05/00) Evhead explains everything]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Anti-Microsoft day... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/12/2000 12:31:16 PM ----- BODY:

It's Anti-Microsoft Day at Barbelith Towers today, as completely spontaneously I have come across several pieces of information about the many-splendored Macro-Company that have caused me to feel little white-hot daggers of outrage course through my body.

If you feel the same way about these stories, and all the other weirdnesses that Microsoft have done, make it Anti-Microsoft Day all over the web by putting this little banner on your site with a link to your favourite example of their bloody stupidity.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Even though Anti-Microsoft Day is STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/13/2000 11:24:05 AM ----- BODY: Even though Anti-Microsoft Day is now well and truly over pretty much everywhere in the world, I just thought I'd add one more thing, gleaned from powazek this morning. There is a current discussion at Metafilter about an article at Macintouch that says:

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I know that everyone in STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/13/2000 11:04:30 PM ----- BODY: I know that everyone in the world has blogged it, but still - I'm pretty keen on the MetaCamPage. Gives me the opportunity to keep tabs in a big-brotherish fashion on lots of people at the same time, rather than merely one at a time...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I found text through my STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/13/2000 11:07:19 PM ----- BODY: I found text through my referrer log. She was writing really nice things about many of my favourite blogs (and indeed myself). I get a few comments about my colour scheme, but really it is nothing compared to this - a whole block of colours that really really shouldn't work well together (and which you'd have to have a fair amount of nerve to even try to use together), but which work brilliantly. All in all, an elegant piece of design. Simple and effective.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: It occurs to me that STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/13/2000 11:15:00 PM ----- BODY: It occurs to me that the awesome blogger could do with a search and replace facility. I mean, I know it could be a right pain in the arse, but what happens when someone moves their blog to a new domain? I mean, how useful would it be to be able to just replace www.barbelith.com with www.whateverthefuckIchoosenext.com, while still maintaining the integrity of the permalinks?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I've had a great day. STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/13/2000 11:23:49 PM ----- BODY: I've had a great day. On Thursday night at the party I bumped into this guy who I had only met once before (when I was told very firmly that he was straight). Well, I am now reasonably sure that this is innaccurate! We went out for lunch today (Soho, �42 each, OUCH) and then went shoe shopping and looked at sunglasses and watches. We fooled around at every chance we could get. Gap will never be the same. Hopefully will see him again tomorrow when I'm going to see Gladiator with about a thousand other people.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: About bloody time. I have STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/14/2000 12:02:20 PM ----- BODY: About bloody time. I have FINALLY updated The Bomb.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Men, Women, Breasts and Circumcision... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Politics CATEGORY: Politics DATE: 05/14/2000 02:33:43 PM ----- BODY:

Very much delighted to see that blogger has chosen the feminist media watch collaborative weblog as their log of the week. I'm relatively well informed in feminist theory as many of the issues in queer theory are derived from previous work in feminism, and there are many cross-roads and common interests between the two academic branches. However, no longer being in an academic environment, it is increasingly difficult to keep up with the issues. A couple of the debates really interested me:

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Wow. Woke up this morning STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/15/2000 12:46:14 PM ----- BODY: Wow. Woke up this morning and read this on prolific.org:

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I have been using an STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/15/2000 04:42:19 PM ----- BODY: I have been using an Ultimate Bulletin Board for ages at the nexus. I have always been really happy with its functionality (although it is pretty heavy on the old bandwidth), but less comfortable with it aesthetically. It's highly adaptable, but never really adaptable enough for my tastes. But then I stumbled upon dreamless,org. Not only am I astounded by the look of the pages, I have absolutely no idea how it has been done. For me to get the nexus looking like that would (as far as I can tell) require considerable amounts of engineering in the code behind the scenes. Can anyone explain to me how this has been done? [Explain it to Tom]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Oh the power! Oh the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/15/2000 04:53:04 PM ----- BODY: Oh the power! Oh the sheer undreamt-of power! Watch in stupified awe this weekend as Katy and I assassinate Mark and take over Riothero. No promises that Katy will take all her clothes off or start a big fight with women (sorry guys), but we will try to emulate our young host in every other way possible. I am so looking forward to this...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I've been meaning to do STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/16/2000 01:54:08 AM ----- BODY: I've been meaning to do it for ages and now it is done - the photo bar at the top of the page rotates the images, thus making the site infinitely more interesting than it already was. Will the excitement never end?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Weirdly, a lot of people STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/16/2000 07:09:05 PM ----- BODY: Weirdly, a lot of people have commented on my thoughts on why a weblog is popular. More interestingly, exactly what I feared would happen has happened - by actively trying to demonstrate whether or not my theory was true or not (ie. by producing reviews) I have wandered slap bang into the middle of the debate (once again) about whether weblogs are popularity contests and whether or not good design is something that can be quantified.

It's strange - in most other areas of web site creation it is considered a given that there are certain designs that are better than others. Unreadable content is surely always the sign of a bad website, as is unclear navigation. I consider kottke.org to be incredibly well designed - it's clear, elegant and easy to find your way around. So I can only half agree with Blog for One when he says: "on a personal site, one should be able to do whatever they want, and not have to worry about being judged, or measured, or ranked" because while no one should feel under pressure to compete, there is no reason to think that the design, content or character of a personal site cannot be improved, nor that the individuals who run those sites are not interested in doing so.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Congratulations are due to Derek STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/16/2000 07:24:42 PM ----- BODY: Congratulations are due to Derek Powazek, who has been named Creative Director of Pyra, the young team of web scamps and entrepreneurs who are fighting corporate evil in San Francisco. Katy is completely right though - in about three months there won't be anyone who isn't working for them...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: In which BMW interferes with my love-life... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/16/2000 07:39:09 PM ----- BODY:

In the UK at the moment there is this whole debacle about Rover, a company that makes cars that very few people buy, even though they look rather nice. The company, which has been owned by BMW for a while, has been making savage losses and has finally been sold to another company called Phoenix for the nominal price of �10 (approximately $15) [BBC].

Now normally this news wouldn't interest me in the slightest - I am afraid that I hold little hope for the future of British manufacturing industries and don't see the point in investing in heavy machinery which has the sole purpose of pouring even more money into a large hole in the ground.

However on this occasion, the huge amounts of legal and administrative work that has to be done by people close to the whole enterprise is really impacting on my social life. Entertaining and charming dinner companions are being captured and locked in small rooms to check contracts, leaving me without anything to do in the evenings but drink too much and watch the South Park Movie. This state of affairs must come to an end! So I say to thee, oh law firms of London - LET MY PEOPLE GO!

If you are ever on for a laugh, check out the descriptions of films at the Hollywood Stock Exchange. Ignore for the moment the tremendous fun of investing in stocks based on the performance of films and stars at the box office, and concentrate instead on gems of inspired summary like this:

Funny as that is, however (and trust me, I shall be first at the door of the cinema for it) , it cannot compare to a film that I have actually invested in. Called Munchies, this film is currently in development. And it's plot? While hsx says nothing, I know for a fact that it is about anorexic teenage girls who end up as cannibals. I mean, how cool is that?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: How cross would you guys STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/17/2000 12:08:49 AM ----- BODY: How cross would you guys be if I decided to start designing for a baseline of 800x600 screen resolution and above? I mean I know that around 10% of you still view sites at that resolution (Global Statistics), but that means around 90% of you don't. I think this deserves a poll. Is it OK to design for 800x600px resolutions?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I'm not entirely sure that STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/17/2000 09:28:05 AM ----- BODY: I'm not entirely sure that I feel entirely comfortable with my new random display of images (above). I mean - I love it, but it seems that people are refreshing the page to get a different set, which is completely artificially upping my stats. How is a boy supposed to keep track of what's going on in the world, I ask you - I mean really?! [This behaviour is particularly frowned upon: naughty Prol!]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Books that I am currently STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/17/2000 11:24:31 AM ----- BODY: Books that I am currently reading: Neal Stephenson: Cryptonomicon, William Powell: The Anarchist Cookbook. Music that I am currently listening to: Beck: Midnite Vultures, Beck: Mutations, Jeff Buckley: Mystery White Boy, PJ Harvey: To Bring You My Love, Bjork: Homogenic, Dust Brothers: Fight Club Score, Moby: Play, Sean Lennon: Into The Sun.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Lance Arthur on "Awarding": "The STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/17/2000 03:14:43 PM ----- BODY: Lance Arthur on "Awarding":

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Anyone want to be a STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/18/2000 12:09:21 PM ----- BODY: Anyone want to be a web designer at timeout.com in London? Talent and passion a must! Check here for more details: timeout.com vacacies.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Two pieces of barbelith news: STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/19/2000 12:43:02 AM ----- BODY: Two pieces of barbelith news:

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Speak Out Loud is a STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/19/2000 02:56:58 PM ----- BODY: Speak Out Loud is a new blog that is just getting itself started. He admits that he has been mercilessly refreshing my page (á la prol), in order to get the pretty pictures all in a row. He's even got a page up that proves he's succeeded. Did I inspire him to this lunacy?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: As moves are made in STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/19/2000 07:07:05 PM ----- BODY: As moves are made in the UK to sort out the mess of the sex laws (many of which are ignored, some of which implemented savagely - at least until relatively recently), the Guardian presents a quiz that may surprise the Americans amongst us. Particularly as one of the questions is: Is it legal for two gay men to nail each others testicles to a table?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I'm going to see Final STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/19/2000 07:22:40 PM ----- BODY: I'm going to see Final Destination tonight with a group of friends. I went to a press preview of it about a week ago, but it is no fun going to see scary movies by yourself. At least half of the fun is seeing what other people's reaction is. My co-conspirator in the takeover of riothero (Katy) is coming along too. I can't help wonder what she is going to think of it. I hope good things.

Everyone else is getting drunk afterwards, but not me. This weekend is hectic beyond measure, with at least two parties, a major web maintenance session, a hot date and a man coming around to install a phone line. And I have to do my washing. And ideally go to the gym.

A couple of days ago I was taken by the young gentleman I am dating at the moment to the bar on the 24th floor of what was the NatWest Tower in the heart of the City. After chatting for a while I dropped into the conversation that he was one of the hot topics of conversation at my place of work, as he had managed to cancel on me three nights in a row. He found this endlessly amusing and asked if there was anyone in the world who didn't know about what we were up to. He then smiled broadly and said - "you're probably publishing it on a website". I changed the subject very quickly.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Mark said I could do STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/20/2000 01:21:45 AM ----- BODY: Mark said I could do it. Honest he did. He said I could redesign in his absence, and by christ, have I...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Apologies about failures of service STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/21/2000 10:42:46 AM ----- BODY: Apologies about failures of service over the last 24 hours. The move to barbelith's new hosts is going pretty smoothly, but is still relatively time consuming. The Bomb and Microlith will be up and running shortly (an hour?). The Nexus might take a couple of days more.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: So I have moved over STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/21/2000 12:39:43 PM ----- BODY: So I have moved over to pair.com with relatively little difficulty (although I lost half a days worth of e-mail so resend it if it was important). The only thing that I am really slightly concerned about is the lack of already set-up stats package. I need something that I can use to track referrers (and the like). Anyone got any ideas?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I was looking around beebo.org's STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/21/2000 12:45:35 PM ----- BODY: I was looking around beebo.org's metalog about half an hour ago, and came across a really cool site (an onfocus component) all about that conversation that you have with friends or significant others about where to go out and eat. I was so taken with it that I blogged it for accidental riothero (which is what I decided to call Mark's site in his absence). And then I get a phone call from Peter, a "friend or significant other", who wants to go out for dinner this evening. I almost ran back to onfocus, and when I had finished, I had generated this:

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Apparently, Mark is really chuffed STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/22/2000 05:35:58 PM ----- BODY: Apparently, Mark is really chuffed that Katy and I haven't thrown riothero down to the pits of beebo.org's ratings. Anyway - he's back soon, so no doubt I'll hear all about it soon enough. I have to say that I love the fact that his mother drops me the odd note and has been checking on his position for him. That's really sweet. My mother tends to glaze over a bit when I get going...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I had a lovely evening STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/22/2000 05:42:11 PM ----- BODY: I had a lovely evening last night with current squeeze, although his complete inability to arrive anywhere on time might get a little galling over time I fear. I reached that "I run a website and you are on it" point of a burgeoning relationship, which has raised a few eyebrows in the past. When he actually read what I had said, of course, he was relatively comfortable with the whole thing (or so it seemed to me). Oh poor untrusting fool... Of course, now I have to work my way through all that "who rings up the other one first" stuff. Which should be interesting...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Sir John Gielgud has died. STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/22/2000 06:26:06 PM ----- BODY: Sir John Gielgud has died.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Peter, can I ask you STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/22/2000 10:20:58 PM ----- BODY: Peter, can I ask you a question? You didn't go out with David Hockney did you? It's really hard to explain why this is interesting to me...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I'm all over the place STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/22/2000 10:52:39 PM ----- BODY: I'm all over the place today - I can't concentrate on anything for more than about thirty seconds. It's probably the riothero effect. I'll tell you this much for nothing, writing for that place is like bathing in Class A drugs. Anyway - I am in the middle of catching up with my correspondence and site maintenance now that I am finally settled properly in my new place, have moved servers and have set up the now fully functional (but completely ugly) Nexus replacement: The Barbelith Underground which is full of bloody lunatics as ever.

I was really touched to see that people at Metafilter were worried about the site during its downtime the other day. Certainly, this was not a good look for the pages. Still, things are gradually getting back to normal. And the site is even slightly slimmer now that I have disposed of some of the surplus content.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Welcome back Mark - we've STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/23/2000 09:06:46 AM ----- BODY: Welcome back Mark - we've missed you terribly...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Meeting up with Mark Olynciw... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/24/2000 08:52:44 AM ----- BODY:

British people don't do anything particularly special on July 4th! That's supposedly the day that you colonial types won your freedom from us cruel European overlords. For some reason, we don't feel any particular need to celebrate that fact. Although every American themed bar in the country gets all jazzed up. And all the Americans do too. We look at them with raised eyebrows, in an indulgent fashion.

As for meeting up - that sounds really cool! Why will you be here, again!? Oh and while we are at it, what an earth are you doing up at three in the morning?

Best news of the moment - I am sitting at work thinking about this site I am building for Time Out which covers all the summer festivals in the UK when I get given an envelope by my boss. I open it and read the first paragraph: "You have been invited to celebrate the fifth birthday party ..." - sounds cool - "of Time Out New York" - sounds cooler - "in New York City in October - all flights, hotel etc included!" - OH MY GOD. All permanent staff are tromping off over the Atlantic for an epic piss up and shopping expedition. How cool is that?!

Katy and I went to see Honest yesterday at the big première in Leicester Square. I have to say I don't think I have seen such an absolute pile of twaddle in years. Individual scenes were great, some of the dialogue was really good, some of the camerawork was wonderful, some of the direction was cool. But most of all of it was just awful. Don't go and see it (unless you want to see All Saints' breasts).

I have no idea what he is talking about, but I kind of get the impression that I don't like Eduardo Arcos. Anyone want to translate for me?

Two brief pieces of site update stuff. 1) This seems to me to be a great idea. 2) I have had lots of translations of Mr Arcos' unpleasant comments sent to me. Thank you very much everyone...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: No noise from current squeeze STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/25/2000 02:47:02 PM ----- BODY: No noise from current squeeze since Sunday night. I wonder if that means anything?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: After two days and considerable STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/25/2000 06:30:25 PM ----- BODY: After two days and considerable pressure and tension, I hereby reveal my latest design project for Time Out. I'm pretty pleased with it - Time Out's Complete UK Festival Guide...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I'm sorry, but Jeffrey Zeldman STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/25/2000 06:53:30 PM ----- BODY: I'm sorry, but Jeffrey Zeldman rocks so hard and fast he could vibrate himself through a mountain. In his latest article "HTMHell" at Adobe's site, he comes across as a freedom fighter for independent creative content on the web. And Christ knows, we need more of those. Here's a sample quote from what must be considered a call to arms, a Manifesto for the true digerati - the people that like to play and create and communicate, rather than the people who consider a "good internet idea" to be selling sportswear (however ineffectively):

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Chronicle of a bad night's STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/27/2000 10:12:48 AM ----- BODY: Chronicle of a bad night's sleep:

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I'm continuing my quest to STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/27/2000 01:05:24 PM ----- BODY: I'm continuing my quest to discover whether Netsol is selling information on the domain name searches performed through its service. I've had a few e-mails from people who are divided in opinion as to whether I am being paranoid or not. However I stumbled upon a figure that slightly alarmed me. In an article at CBS Marketwatch there was this statement:

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Odds and ends of news STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/27/2000 09:16:41 PM ----- BODY: Odds and ends of news from the internet: o gaylery.com has been redesigned (I am probably the last to notice this fact). Basically, it looks amazing. Very clean, intelligent design complements the already sharp content. o A great quote from eod.com:

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The shower in my flat STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/30/2000 01:21:41 PM ----- BODY: The shower in my flat has gone wrong, leaving us with dubious water pressure, occasional scalding heat and quite a lot of icy cold. Showering is now nigh on impossible. We have a bath instead, but that isn't the point. We asked our landlord's maintenance company to come around and look at it while we were at work. They came. They checked. They decided that there was nothing wrong with it. They left. They e-mailed me stating that I should clean the limescale off it, but otherwise it was fine. It looks like we might be in for the long haul on this one...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Quotes from my current favourite STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/30/2000 03:15:18 PM ----- BODY: Quotes from my current favourite threads on the Barbelith Underground:

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I'm delighted to report that STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/01/2000 01:12:30 PM ----- BODY: I'm delighted to report that Neonlit, which I have been running for Time Out, has just been selected as a Pick of the Week by Yahoo. And it's a particularly good week to visit as well, as it includes a feature about Martin Amis.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I'm absolutely terrified that this STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/01/2000 10:39:26 PM ----- BODY: I'm absolutely terrified that this article: AppleInsider -An Exclusive Inside Look at Adobe Photoshop 6 will be the final straw that forces me to go out and buy myself a Mac on some kind of huge loan arrangement.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Someone needs to whup the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/03/2000 02:32:37 PM ----- BODY: Someone needs to whup the ass of the Daily Doozer. In the meantime, ask the Magic Eight Ball some questions of your own...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I've bought a new domain STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/03/2000 02:51:06 PM ----- BODY: I've bought a new domain name, and the barbelith weblog will shortly be moving over to it. Only it won't be called barbelith any more (duh!). In the meantime, service may be a little sporadic. Bear with me in this exciting time...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: This would be a really STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/04/2000 11:02:22 AM ----- BODY: This would be a really interesting literate science fiction quiz if it wasn't for one simple fact. You answer a question, it tells you that you're wrong, and then when you check the answers, it thinks you have put down a completely different answer to the one that you actually have. What a waste of time.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Kerry's riddle... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/04/2000 01:38:51 PM ----- BODY:

Kerry is becoming quite ubiquitous. I quoted him a couple of days ago, and now, Mark at Riothero is quoting him as well. I promised Kerry that I'd set up a weblog for him on my server, and I still haven't gotten around to it, which just illustrates what a bad person I am. In the meantime, he will have to remain the dark figure behind the scenes - the Charlie behind the Angels.

It took me 25 minutes. Have a go and e-mail me when you think you have the answer, and I'll tell you if you are right...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Everyone is doing terribly well STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/04/2000 08:52:58 PM ----- BODY: Everyone is doing terribly well on the whole riddle thing. Yay Barbelith regulars. You've whupped the ass of riothero's readers!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I got an e-mail. It STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/04/2000 09:01:40 PM ----- BODY: I got an e-mail. It reads as follows:

Anyway, in the two weeks since I last saw him, Sam turned up out of the blue at lunch time and we chatted. The most memorable part of the conversation was that apparently you can't buy decent stretchy black underpants in Cambridge (which I wasn't aware of until now). It's was lovely to see him again. And then a couple of days ago, this guy called Sean re-appeared in the UK. He's very cool, is doing a Classics doctorate (so we could talk about Froma Zeitlin and Jean-Pierre Vernant which was nice), likes Buffy the Vampire Slayer and is an obsessive foodie. Honestly though, I don't think I have the energy any more!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I have read Bertrand Russell STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/06/2000 09:28:29 AM ----- BODY: I have read Bertrand Russell on Christianity. I am familiar with the range of argumentation. I am well read in Gay and Lesbian Studies and Queer Theory. I am more than capable of forming a decent argument. But frankly, I think there has to be room for being frivolous in life, particularly when confronted by something as patently absurd as the Church. Evidently some people disagree...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I've had loads of people STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/07/2000 09:16:32 AM ----- BODY: I've had loads of people sending me the answer to the riddle I posted a couple of days back. Most of you got it right. For those of you who didn't and who still want to know the answer, wander over to the Gallery of Visual Journal Entries. Better luck next time!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Campaign for a Better Blog STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/07/2000 10:42:47 AM ----- BODY: Campaign for a Better Blog
Mark at www.riothero.com (notice the absence of link) said:

But what can YOU do?
Mark bases his entire world view upon Beebo.org's Weblog Ratings - which is a very dangerous thing to do, because...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I swear to god, this STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/07/2000 05:47:00 PM ----- BODY: I swear to god, this man rules the world...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: It's not an edict. Sheesh. STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/07/2000 09:58:24 PM ----- BODY: It's not an edict. Sheesh. Anyway - okay, I'll link to you on the condition that you DON'T LINK TO MARK (just for a couple of days!): zippyblog...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Christ, Kerry, these things are STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/07/2000 10:07:09 PM ----- BODY: Christ, Kerry, these things are getting easier and easier. [I won't link to him (for a couple of days - see down the page), but go and check out www.riothero.com for the riddle in question] Anyway - this one took about 80 seconds. And it's my turn to blow the answer! Read on if you dare.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Flow, Clog and Reflex... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/08/2000 10:39:19 AM ----- BODY:

I have contracted one of those unpleasantly dehabilitating cold virus things that makes your nose fill with sticky stretchy green goo that means that you have to sleep on your back so that it "flows" down rather than clogging up your nostrils and making it hard to breathe. Which results in the side effect of a body that acts as if it has just discovered the cough reflex and is really quite proud of it. Which results in a throat that closely resembles ground beef with salt rubbed into it.

Or at least I think it would, if I could stop shivering enough to tell... I've taken the day off work so that I don't spread it to all my colleagues, and feel gross and annoy people. I'm sure that it's the right thing to do, but I'm bored already [10.38am].

So, anyway, I went to this weblog called BoyLOG this morning, and the first thing I did was jump into blogger and write a slightly snarky comment. I think I was still reeling from this TV program on yesterday which was about people with online diaries. They all came across as completely self-indulgent self-promoters. Perhaps I am the same. I don't know.

That's beside the point. So I get to this site this morning and the first thing I see is this very attractive picture of a young man wearing very little but an absurdly cheeky grin. First thought (honestly): Nice... Second thought (honestly): What an Egotist!

But then I started to read it. Good stuff. Honest stuff. Much more honest than I feel able to be myself. Much more frank. Much more ... revealing. And after I had read pretty much all of it (some swiftly, some less so), I came to a new conclusion. That Chris of BoyLOG is just OPEN. Open about sex, about love, about his body and about his life. So go and read it. Read it thoroughly. Come to your own conclusion. And take your time to do so...

I don't know, maybe sometimes I do go over the top. Who can tell? Contrasts.net?

I think I've done a bad thing. Peter wanted to go out for a drink this evening, and I said yes. Then I suggested that Sean might like to come along. Peter said yes [who the hell is Peter]. Sean said yes [who the hell is Sean]. Then I thought - cool! I can get a great big group together and we can go wander the streets of Soho. So I sent Max a text message [who the hell is Max]. And he's coming as well. At the time it seemed like a really good idea, but now the whole idea is making me incredibly nervous. Cornwell, one of my oldest friends, has disavowed all responsibility for what may happen. As he puts it - "self-immolation is for girls"...

Katy is not always as supportive as she might be. For god's sake, my dear, there's no reason that it should be a complete disaster.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Sometimes, when I'm out with STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/11/2000 09:10:11 PM ----- BODY: Sometimes, when I'm out with people and I'm misbehaving and being mischievous, I really feel like I'm on a roll. But not a good roll. Instead, one of those uncontrollable rolls that aircraft have which subsequently turns into a spin which then (inevitably) turns into a crash. And all the way down, I look to the people around me to help me pull out of it. And when I look, most of them are watching me with a smile on their face, saying indulgent things like - "Look at him go. It really is a wonder isn't it".

People seem to like giving sanction and licence to well-intentioned cocky sociopaths. But all I really want them to do is to take me in hand - to quietly and firmly and with tremendous affection (but little demonstration and no condescension) tell me that I've done enough, that I can stop now, and that I probably should.

I'm not going to go into the full details of last night's activities. I think it is almost enough to say that it seems that Max is still talking to me, Katy is still talking to me and I am assuming that Peter is, even though I haven't heard anything from him today, which slightly worries me. Katy liked them both (oh youthful tongue, canst thou ne'er be stilled?), Peter seemed particularly taken with Max (oh youthful groin, etc etc) and Max had a big spot on his forehead (oh youthful pores...).

I said many stupid things, suffered many stupid things, disposed of members of our party to have conversations with other members, and then grabbed the other members and said things to them that I shouldn't have said - with a big grin on my face that said, "Please don't be cross with me, I really don't have the slightest control over myself, and wouldn't I be boring if I did?". And I drank too much. Head swimming, life flashing before my eyes, I stumbled home thinking wild and untameable thoughts.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I am going to respond STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/12/2000 01:24:10 PM ----- BODY: I am going to respond to Jason Kottke's comments about weblogs in full shortly. In the meantime here are a few thoughts on the matter.:

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Having thought about it carefully, STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/14/2000 12:32:55 AM ----- BODY: Having thought about it carefully, I have decided that lists like "the best albums of the 90s" are mildly pointless (if endlessly diverting). But that doesn't matter surely? They are interesting exercises, and so without apology or explanation here is an extremely long list of names - which frankly is easier than a proper post about "World Hunger" or "Macs Versus PCs (Which One Will I Buy?)". I call this phallogocentric/anal classification: "My 100 Favourite Albums Ever":

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Wise up, UK webloggers, and STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/15/2000 03:35:14 PM ----- BODY: Wise up, UK webloggers, and get yourself a copy of PCFormat. Picture the scene - I'm sitting at my desk, pretending to do work and sending my boss cartoons involving kiwi birds being chopped up into little bits and stuck in fruit salads, when suddenly said boss shouts fuck! and raises his eyebrows skywards. Summoning me over, he slowly opens up the pages of PCFormat to reveal a two page spread on Weblogs. Blogger is featured prominently, and there are detailed walk-throughs of setting up your own weblog.

All very interesting, I think, and slowly and carefully read through the article. It's a fun piece, which mentions a good number of weblog related sites, from groksoup to eatonweb. And then there is a section on British weblogs...

This looks like it could be interesting, particularly as many of the British webloggers met up last weekend for a couple of drinks. perfect.co.uk is mentioned, as is Need to Know and haddock.org. And then right at the bottom is this little tiny throwaway comment, almost completely lost on the page:

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Thanks to Dan at Daily STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/16/2000 07:00:44 PM ----- BODY: Thanks to Dan at Daily Doozer, who has scanned all of the PCFormat feature on weblogging. Read away...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I have written and rewritten STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/17/2000 08:52:46 PM ----- BODY: I have written and rewritten this post about thirty times, and every time it sounds too flippant. So I'm not going to bother writing anything detailed or in depth. Fuck it. I feel like someone slid the hook from "I Know What You Did Last Summer" into my stomach and with superhuman strength forced it towards my throat. Or I feel crazed and in control of a passenger jet. But mostly I just feel cold, and cruel, and hollow, and vengeful and actually partially dead. There will be no more posting tonight.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I'm really keen on anti-advertising. STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/18/2000 10:42:41 AM ----- BODY: I'm really keen on anti-advertising. I wonder occasionally if I should try to persuade my boss to run banners for really creative sites as house ads instead of some of the dubiously designed ones that we currently run. I wonder if that would increase general click-thru rates?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Vile Stick-Insect Ally McBeal... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/18/2000 08:27:24 PM ----- BODY:

Today's briefing is brought to you through the tremendous power of absolute and total denial. The day has been filled with all the activities that help me distract myself from bad stuff around me. These include: Chocolate, Random Sex, Music, Daydreaming and The Gym. I am now going to finish the day off with a considerable bout of Pimms drinking outside in the sun.

Which brings me to that appalling harpy Ally McBeal and the stick insect that plays her. You can decide for yourself which of the two I find most reprehensible - but let's just say the actress plays 'whining drivel-monger' with such consummate skill that I can only assume that she was born for the role. And I won't even get started on the whole "this is just a piece of right wing propoganda disguised as a women's issues program" speech that I normally give at these points, because everyone always looks at me funny when I rant, and I'm frankly getting bored of it.

Anyway - back to the point. On this, the hottest day of the year in the UK, with the most glorious sunshine and the most ridiculous (if pleasant) proliferation of half naked people, I have to read the that the insane Calista (SUBLIMINAL MESSAGE: eat more pies woman!) has declared that, "England makes me stink because it rains all the time".

I doubt the link will stay valid for long, so I quote in full the article in question:

This site would act as a medium of exchange much like ebay, where people could fill in who they wanted dead, and where they were based. This would be stashed on a database until the next stage was complete. They would then be sent a random e-mail from another member, with the details of who they should be poisoning or stabbing or shooting or throttling.

Once confirmation of this kill was made (through some kind of link to the national death records), then the details that had previously been stashed on the database would be sent to another random member who had just signed up, who would be expected to follow through the process themselves. If there was no kill registered within a certain amount of time, then the name and address of the substitute murderer could be sent to the person whose kill it was originally. And since that person must have already killed someone to have got to that stage, this would be enough instigation for the substitute killer to do their job.

The business model is quite simple - targetted advertising from the gun lobby, rope merchants, concrete suppliers and the like would constitute the bulk of the revenue, although clearly paramilitary groups and mercenaries might like to recruit through the site (for a small fee of course). Therapists might also find this a lucrative market to target. And after an initial free period (possibly), high quality service (from someone who has killed a great number of people) could be costed, with the site acting as a broker and taking a commission.

Legally, of course (at least in the initial stages), the site would be completely safe from prosecution. I mean - it's like Napster isn't it!? We could put a warning up that read, "no one at our site condones the killing of people" or even "killing people is bad - if you are thinking of killing someone, please contact our psychotherapist at our special discretionary rate". It's not like we'd be killing people ourselves (and if we did, I think we could argue that that was separate from the activities of the company).

The only problem is the domain name: killyourcolleagues.com is quite nice, but then so is killthemall.com or ihadtodoitfortheirowngood.com... Opinions would be appreciated, or even venture capital...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Barbelith is now brought to STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/22/2000 08:21:21 AM ----- BODY: Barbelith is now brought to you via a G4 400, 192Mb RAM, DVD drive, TV card, Zip Drive, 17" Studio Monitor, Kritter USB webcam, OS9. Long live the Mac Revolution.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Murder Portal E-Business Venture Update: STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/22/2000 12:13:24 PM ----- BODY: Murder Portal E-Business Venture Update: The domain name: ikillu.com sounds extremely close to e-memes "ICQ" and Mahir's "I Kiss You". Tagline: "The Mafia Revolution Responsible For The Deaths Of..." Find out more at kitsch bitch...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Newsflash: Powazek Quits Weblogging. While STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/23/2000 09:00:13 AM ----- BODY: Newsflash: Powazek Quits Weblogging. While in an unrelated, but nonetheless relevant counterpoint, Mark has said:

It's certainly a very interesting subject. Personally I am interested in seeing Blogger become an online content management system that is flexible enough to handle the updating of different types of sites. But more of that later...

A comments tag would also certainly be useful, but one things occurs to me that might be worrying. How much information might your system be asking Pyra to store? Assuming that more people read and comment on the weblog than actually write the log originally, each log would at least double in size (or more accurately the less visited logs would increase a small amount, while the larger ones would become basically 9/10s comment based). I don't know what their business model is, so I couldn't comment on how much bandwidth and disk space they are prepared to pay for without recompense. It seems to me that it has to be a finite amount.

As I said earlier, I personally see the future of Blogger as being a way to manage content for a variety of different types of site based around the same principles as it does now for webloggers. More in depth types of sites, or commercial ones could require a subscription fee, while the weblog template could be free as a taster. Certainly the uptake on Blogger seems to be enough to warrant a more sophisticated, less simple and more expensive version. I mean - I pay for the ubb as it is, and that is certainly nowhere near as flexible and pleasant-to-use a tool as blogger.

An example close to my heart: A magazine site for example would be a prime market for an expanded blogger-based system and is something that I am going to attempt to generate shortly using a good few fudges of my own and a little too much hand-coding. But what I would really love is the ability to write an article with a title, and then define a separate template for a home page or category pages which would then render some taster content and a link through to the article itself, combined with an archive that allows one to list things by title rather than just date.

This would be extraordinarily useful for people who wished to generate webzines (like, for example, ME).

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On Pottery Barn, Friends and Advertising... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Television CATEGORY: Advertising CATEGORY: Television DATE: 06/24/2000 09:42:30 PM ----- BODY:

Do you remember that episode of Friends where Rachel is obsessed by the Pottery Barn? Well when I first saw it I thought to myself - hmmm, what a strange premise for an episode. And because we don't even have Pottery Barn in the UK, I don't think it even occurred to me that it was a real shop. If it had, I think I might have raised an eyebrow or two. But one thing that would never have occurred to me is that Pottery Barn might have sponsored the whole episode. I can't help thinking the whole thing is totally corrupt. I mean I'm used to TV shows having product placement and advertising and sponsorship, but I will not spend my life watching 22 minute long advertainments for huge multi-national companies. I swear to god - it's my idea of hell...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Assembler.org goes live... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/26/2000 10:28:43 AM ----- BODY:

The new assembler.org has gone live, and very good it is too (now with downloadable DHTML scrolling code).

Say it loud and say it often: "I am proud to be a dumb shit" [courtesy of boylog's anti-smoking section]

The most worrying aspect of the new domains is intellectual property rights and "passing off". If you have a name trademarked over several countries (and you don't even have to be a particularly large company to do this), you can legitimately sue someone who is using your trademark in their domain name as long as they are encroaching on your subject of business. For a company like Yahoo! of course, there is very little that ISN'T their business already. Hence lots of people could be sued.

This is all sounds fine and dandy, but often it isn't. Just because someone else doesn't have the right to do what you are doing with the name doesn't mean 1) that they can't buy the domain name anyway or 2) that they won't buy it and then decide to break the law (on the assumption that you just won't take them to court). Which means that an increase in available domain names may very just mean an increase in the outlay of medium and large sized companies who wish to protect their brand.

Clearly, the most sensible step is to clearly use the TLD to define strict areas of interest - strict in that they are clear and easily definable (like .arts or .xxx) rather than that they are enforced strictly. Enforcement should be irrelevant if the names are clear enough. The alternative - a proliferation of vague domain names such as .web (for which the apparent TLD analogue .net already exists) and .firm (TLD analogue.com) simply means that Yahoo! have to buy them. Large blocks of domain names will then disappear from public consumption. It is unlikely, for example, that Yahoo! could or would want to make a case for preserving its copyright on yahoo.xxx.

Of course the corollary of this is that a decent block of these domains have to be produced at the same time. If this is an incremental process, then new domains will be bought incrementally by the companies concerned which is to be avoided. Some of the proposed TLDs are: .arts .kids .xxx and I think perhaps that additional ones might cover the types of website presented as well as the subject matter at hand - perhaps some form of searchengine or directory TLD might be a useful one, or .zine or even .log (.blog?)

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: So after my long and STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/28/2000 03:21:17 PM ----- BODY: So after my long and expressive tract of yesterday, it's time to ask your opinions: Which new TLDs (Top Level Domains) would you like to see on the net? And feel free to add your own ideas...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Odds and ends of news: STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/29/2000 09:07:34 AM ----- BODY: Odds and ends of news:

Ha. I'm starting a chain letter. I wonder if it will work. If you want to read it, e-mail me and I'll send it to you.

I've been reading an extraordinarily interesting article on comic-book violence and it's capacity to help children express their natural aggression. And, frankly, I'm loving it. I couldn't agree more with the sentiments in it. In some ways, it is remarkably close to some of my doctoral work on Natural Born Killers, identification and violence, and I'm contemplating sending my work to the author to see what he thinks of it. In the meantime, here's one of the most insightful things I think I have read in years:

I'm off to London's Groucho Club this evening for the birthday party of a friend of a friend. I'm a little intimidated by the whole idea, so plan to lubricate myself with a couple of drinks down in Soho with Nick and Sam before I head over. Loads of people I know seem to be going - Nick C, Kate and Mella (my flatmates) etc etc. It's also Gay Mardi Gras today, which I have dutifully avoided. I am beginning to wonder whether it should be like the Gay Christmas - ostensibly a good idea, but actually an opportunity for getting pissed on...

Saturday night at the Groucho Club: I felt apprehensive all day - after all, I was going to a party hosted by friends of my flatmate, and felt like a bit of a hanger on. I talked to Mella about it and she quite properly said that it wasn't like we had a chance to go to the Groucho Club every day, that I should just get over it and try and have fun. So I arrive at the party around 10 and within a few moments have found Nick C, Kate, Mella and Rachel sitting chatting in a corner. We muck around for a bit, get some drinks, and sway in between the hordes to have a look around...

The party is held in two rooms on the side and back of the Groucho club, and we don't really have much contact with the main part. I'm a little disappointed about this, since an old friend of mine, Tall Michael, works there. I thought it would be really nice to stumble upon him (as it turned out he wasn't there anyway). One room looked a bit like ballroom only much smaller - a fair amount of faux glitz on the walls, a decent amount of light and a tressle-tabled bar on one wall. The other room was much more interesting - comfortable sofas, a bit more darkness, and a selection of DJs.

I had been advised to do a little celebrity spotting - although almost everyone at the party worked in an even more media occupation than mine, and were either singularly unimpressed by celebrity or were trying extremely hard to pretend to be. That's not to say that this was a celebrity party - most of the people there were behind the scenes film and media people of various (young) levels. It reminded me a bit of the parties that Kerry and Sean took me too in Hollywood while I was there, although with less gay people...

Around 11.30pm I bump into Ben Chaplin. I say "bump into" because I'm too embarrassed to go into the complicated arrangements that I engineered in order to be in a position to "bump" effectively. After a singularly brief exchange we go our separate ways, at which point for some reason I feel compelled to pat his stomach. I have absolutely no idea why. He cheerfully exclaims, "see you in a bit, yeah?", with a big grin on his face, and that's the last contact I have with him in the evening.

At this point (having been rounded set upon by Kate and Tara for my appalling behaviour), we set to dancing with great enthusiasm. The DJ that we weren't so keen on has been replaced by the lead singer of the Bluetones, who is a tiny bloke, with infinitely cooler taste in music. I'm too embarrassed to ask him to put on a Moby track, even though the album is lying right in front of him. Kate decides to ask on my behalf, but he tells us that the next DJ is more into dance, so we should leave it until then. Disappointed we continue to dance. At which point, he puts on Talking Heads. I am so delighted that a plant a smacker on his cheek. Kate looks on, amused but exasperated by my increasingly entertaining/exasperating behaviour...

I have a sit down at this point, because I am increasingly worried that I look like some form of scaffy monster with increasingly bad hair. But this allows me the thrill of watching Kate in her tight red dress and (hidden) black proppy-up underwear thing dance around likea maniac with Rachel. I am summoned up by Mella at an opportune moment, and we bounce around franctically to whatever is playing at the time.

By about 1.30 I am considering leaving - I'm completely exhausted. While the others resolve some of the tensions of the party behind the scenes, I decide to go to the loo. I spend about a month and a half waiting for the cubicle to empty (only one punter, a hundred years of waiting). When it does open, this bloke emerges who look remarkably like Jeremy Northam only thinner and with longer hair. I mention this resemblance to one of my friends who stares at me like I'm some form of root vegetable and assures me that if he looked like Jeremy Northam and sounded like Jeremy Northam, then it probably was bloody Jeremy Northam.

Duly chastised, I drink more... About 2.30 we emerge from the club, eyes blinking and get in a cab. And then for some ungodly evening the whole way back we belt out versions of Nina Simone's "My Baby Just Cares For Me" as we drive down the Edgeware road... All in all, an entertaining evening...

Guess who Katy and I are off to meet in about fifty minutes. That's right - the young riothero himself - currently staying in a hotel in Paddington. It's a pity the weather is so bad at the moment, though - he's really going to get the wrong idea about the UK. Anyway - let's see what he thinks of London so far?

I don't think we really need to go into too much detail about why that is a pretty weird thing to say. I mean, much as it would be cool to celebrate the UK finally disposing of it's wayward nephew [Rupture agrees], it is after all the celebration of America's independance from this "old country". Actually I got into another mood with America after watching Chicken Run and U-571 and realising that American media is all about self-congratulation, while UK media is all about self-deprecation, and that some Americans don't get that our media is no more representing the truth of our country than theirs represents the truth of the good ole USA.

Actually really looking forward to seeing Mark. I'm a bit concerned that I have a stomping headache and am all stinky and smelly and that he's going to look at me as if I fell from Planet Kak. Still, we shall see what we shall see... Oh, and apparently Vance will be there as well!

At which point, Mark's mother introduced herself, which meant that I immediately had to make a joke about getting her son drunk and dumping him in a strip joint in Soho, which went down remarkably well considering, but I probably wouldn't make again if put in the same situation.

So Katy and I dragged them off to find a restaurant so we could soothe our cravings for food. We found this appalling tapas place, which cost far too much and really wasn't very nice and chatted and made bad jokes and swapped stories of other webloggers, and heard all about Mark's experiences at SXSW, and which bloggers were tall, which were short and which were great big spotty geeks.

Basically, much fun was had by all - and hopefully we will be meeting up again either tonight or tomorrow night - depending on when they are leaving for the next stage of their trip. One last thing though - MARK! I FORGOT TO BRING MY PHONE TO WORK! E-MAIL ME OR RING UP KATY!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Bastardising the British... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/05/2000 09:45:18 PM ----- BODY:

Quotes from recent Salon article about the Patriot and my increasing frustration with Hollywood film-making:

Now I don't like the Daily Express, and I'm not claiming for one moment that the British haven't been culpable for some pretty bastardly things in the past (but no more so than the Dutch, the Spanish, the French - in fact every other major Old World Country). But you know - I can't help thinking the guy above has a point. The British have been the bad-guys too long - there is simply no need for this characterisation by Hollywood. No need at all. We're either effeminate fops (Hugh Grant), Nazis or we are dirty people who live in mud huts without electricity and speak in "impenetrable" regional accents. Any visitor to these shores would see that it just ain't so.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: OK. I think it's time STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/06/2000 08:48:13 AM ----- BODY: OK. I think it's time certain people came clean. Megnut and Kottke go and see The Perfect Storm on exactly the same day and have pretty much exactly the same reaction to it. Question de jour: did they see it together?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: So, I missed seeing Mark STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/06/2000 08:54:48 AM ----- BODY: So, I missed seeing Mark and Vance last night because I had to work late and because I left my mobile phone at home, which meant that neither of them could get in touch with me all day. Absolute disaster all around really, as Katy had too much work to do and had to hide at home as well. I have sent Mark a tremendously apologetic e-mail and hopefully we'll all think of something cool to do this evening.

Sam turned up out of the blue(-ish) last night as well. He'd left his rolling tobacco on our TV. He watched Ally McBitch with me and my flatmates and seemed completely unable to grasp who it is just about OK to like (Ling, Biscuit) and who must die in unending torment (Ally, Nell etc). I still contend that it is a Nazi TV series. Anyway, at some point in the evening, when I was chasing Kate around the flat trying to blow a raspberry on her stomach, I got clocked by his huge metal watch on his arm. Last night I had a black-eye, and I'm too scared to look this morning. Mella says it makes me look macho, but she'd say anything, frankly...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I'm surprised by the response STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/06/2000 05:28:21 PM ----- BODY: I'm surprised by the response I'm getting to the megnut/kottke pairing that I alluded to earlier. Seems that there is quite an undercurrent of gossip in the weblogging community, and that everyone wants in on the action. Quotes from an unnamed source:

. ----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: As I was walking home STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/07/2000 02:04:47 PM ----- BODY: As I was walking home this evening, a little girl was riding her bike in the middle of the street. She still had the training wheels on as she wobbled and struggled to peddle. It reminded me of when I was little and how badly I wanted a bicycle but couldn't get one. My parents wouldn't let me have a bike until I was 12; my mom was too afraid I'd hurt myself. I'd pass the bike section in the store and just look, having given up asking my parents about it long ago. I eventually did get one after much pleading and begging. Amazingly, getting my driver's license at 16 and the subsequent borrowing of the family car passed without incident.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The weirdest thing about the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/07/2000 11:45:35 PM ----- BODY:

The weirdest thing about the web is that you can write intelligent articles on quantum physics, Natural Born Killers and the naming of extra TLDs - you can accidentally start fights, flame wars and full online wars - you can do all of this and more. And then one day you quote a weird story about a little girl on a bike that you saw on two other people's websites and everyone wants a piece of you. Is this the weblogging equivalent of Stupid Pet Tricks...?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: London based members of the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/08/2000 04:18:34 PM ----- BODY: London based members of the Underground are summoned to the Spreadeagle Pub on Camden Parkway tomorrow (Sunday) at 2pm. Around ten to fifteen invisibilists will be there, eagerly awaiting your ability to buy more beer and destabilise western democracy.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I never really go to STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/08/2000 04:41:46 PM ----- BODY: I never really go to Bloat, but I was reading (properly for the first time) the notes at the bottom of Beebo's weblog ratings page and thought I'd see how barbelith was doing. So I went and had a look. Nothing. Not a mention at all.

Well at least that was how it appeared at first. On a whim, I opened up the HTML for the page and did a search, and there I am floating invisibly between Rebecca's Pocket and Evhead. Weird. I have to say that I quite like it. Completely invisible. And long may I remain so...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I don't know what's weirdest STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/09/2000 09:49:34 AM ----- BODY:

I don't know what's weirdest - that megnut and I should suddenly appear on metalog (because of the whole little girl thing) or that Jason didn't. Find out more about the whole Little Girl Viral Meme at Metafilter...

The thing is, initially I was just mucking around with some stuff to see what ideas came to me, and now I am loath to give up on the work I have done and throw the product of that work in the Trash. It's less about copyright for me than it is about creating something by myself, for myself. I'm a bit torn. Opinions?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Pictures from the meeting of STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/10/2000 08:41:28 AM ----- BODY: Pictures from the meeting of Katy, Mark, Vance and I:

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Ways to really piss people STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/10/2000 02:28:44 PM ----- BODY: Ways to really piss people off [courtesy of my boss]...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: What do you do when STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/11/2000 12:01:44 AM ----- BODY: What do you do when you have nothing left to say? I suppose the only answer is read - catch up with the weblogs that you've missed recently, and try and find some ones you haven't read before. Underappreciated weblog of the day: bindi.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Got a lovely e-mail from STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/11/2000 09:07:17 AM ----- BODY: Got a lovely e-mail from meg, which has reassured me completely and made me feel less like a prurient scandalmongerer. It also included this line: "I'm so glad you copied that little girl bike post too, now everyone's copying. Man the funniest, most unpredictable things, happen on the web." For even more on the whole fiasco, there's another thread on Metafilter.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: So I spent last night STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/11/2000 09:33:14 AM ----- BODY: So I spent last night watching Queer as Folk 2 [I love you Blackstar] with Mella, which made me want to go and blow up cars again, move to America and threaten people with guns. Before we decided on QAF though, we were considering watching The Breakfast Club, which we had purchased a couple of days beforehand. It's one of Mella's favourite absolute favourite films. I wonder how she'd feel about the threatened remake.

Personally I think that it would have to be considerably more sophisticated and nuanced a film to work today - particularly after the parody on Dawson's Creek. And of course, the recent plethora of TV and film projects involving teenagers has spiralled since its lapse in the late 80s. Films like American Pie have already partially (re-)debunked the stereotypes of teenagers (geek, jock, brain, princess). Questions for the morning: Does a new Breakfast Club even have a role to play any more? If it does, can Alyson be in it?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Thanks to jack for this: STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/11/2000 02:51:33 PM ----- BODY: Thanks to jack for this:

Just read an article on Salon.com called: "Same-sex marriage - I don't care if it is legal, I still think it's wrong -- and I'm a lesbian." and it brought home again a lot of the things that I was thinking about yesterday while watching Queer as Folk 2. The situation is this. Gay politics in the 80s was about being worthy, reasonable, "rising above" abuse, scrabbling for rights. And to an extent, that is still what it is about. It mirrored to the legal aspects of liberal feminism. But feminism progressed, and so has gay politics.

Now, for me at least, gay politics isn't like that any more. For me the horrors are the Uncle Tom like behaviour of happy little queens on TV and in films (stand up, you abomination Three to Tango) and the assimilationist politics that means that just because gay people are now beginning to have the rights that everyone else (and by this I mean straight, male, european caucasions of a certain age - I suppose) has, that they should want to do the same things that everyone else does. That is, of course, when it doesn't offend people's delicate sensibilities. "Let's let them be like us," goes out the cry, "and if there are things they are allowed to do, but just can't, well that's their problem isn't it?"

Laurie Essig (the writer of the Salon article) is completely correct when she says that marriage is "an institution founded in historical, material and cultural conditions that ensured women's oppression". That's not to say that marriage can't work well for a woman, but that it depends upon the adaptation of the individual to the institution or the institution to the individual. Marriage is also (as she goes on to say) founded in conditions that excluded "non-productive" sexualities, like homosexuality, masturbation, oral sex, anal sex - the list goes on indefinitely.

Kate and I just returned to the Wu-tang name-a-lizer site. Delighted to find out that our flatmate's name translates into CHOCOLATELY SHATNER, which I believe is some kind of stomach disease or a reference to a Star Trek star's sick fetish for Milky Ways (boom boom). Mella, we miss you... [Addendum: Apparently there is a weblog called Chocolately Shatner. Bizarre stuff, indeed...]

This misses my point, to an extent. I was arguing that we deserved the right to marriage, even if we didn't take it up, but that if we were going to have "legally sanctioned relationships" at all (which I would rather we didn't), they should be considerably more diverse. To make a further point: rather than bemoaning equal access to the financial advantages of hetersexual marriage, perhaps we should be removing those advantages and spreading the financial awards between all of us.

But that's exactly the point, isn't it? They have chosen to operate in a similar relationship to marriage (even though they have also chosen to ignore aspects of the heterosexual equivalent) and now think it is unfair that they cannot reap the material rewards that go along with it. I'm more interested in why they are not concerned about the unfairness of people who have not chosen to occupy such a relationship helping to subsidy the lives of married straights! And in this I am asking EVERY single person, whether they be straight or gay, promiscuous or monogamous, serially monogamous etc. etc. etc. Why are married people being financially rewarded?

Considering my current ethical dilemma regarding redesigning, I was delighted to see that Weblog Wannabe is just going for it. Go for it, babe!

[Being an expository piece investigating corporate web site hell and a scientific study of the effects of combined alcohol abuse, loud music and the presence of a television crew]

The Yell UK Web Awards is a pretty strange creature. Ostensibly for the public, and televised via BBC World to every single country in the world, except of course the UK, it is almost totally predominated by a corporate view of the web and what it is for. Not here do were have awards for the best designed site - no, here we have awards for the best web design agency. In fact only two of the twelve awards are really for sites which aren't commercial, and these are named accordingly - "BEST PERSONAL SITE" (a fairly strange category which means any site NOT run by a large multinational) and "BEST SITE FROM A NON PROFIT MAKING ORGANISATION", which of course prompts the standard jokes about Amazon, Last Minute and the inevitable Boo.com.

Into this corporate creature strides two representatives of timeout.com - one of which is my good self. The site is up for the award "BEST ENTERTAINMENT SITE", which is extremely flattering, but a bit of a misnomer (yet again) for the Time Out site. [The awards are clearly geared towards "types of business" rather than on type of content.]

Jonathon Ross was presenting the awards, and was generally pretty amusing, even though he was clearly reading mostly promotional fluff copy from Yell itself. Meanwhile, David and I were busy exploring the opportunities for drinking Vodka, which were surprisingly limited.

About halfway through the evening the award for "MOST INNOVATIVE USE OF TECHNOLOGY" arrives, and to my complete surprise, k10k are nominated. Finally, I think to myself, someone here who really deserves an award, who builds a highly creative site without expecting to become an e-millionaire out of it - someone who actually has passion for the medium.

Of course they don't win. But I start hunting around the room to see if any of the people from the site are actually in the room. I can't see any sight or sound of them. By this stage our quest for Vodka has driven David out of the TV studio itself and he is roaming the building looking for non-wine. A plan begins to form in my mind as I watch yet another corporate president expressing their delight in their award and thanking everyone who has worked hard to get them to float their IPO. I cease to be interested in what the representative of tescodirect.com might say.

David returns to the table - our barman has finally come up trumps, and I have text messaged David, "Vodka has arrived! Return to Base Camp immediately!" Time Out's award is up next. I am increasingly nervous for some reason, particularly when I realise that I am going to go up on the stage with David and say a couple of words with him if we win. And win we do.

With my hands in my pockets I sheepishly follow the rather exuberant David up to the platform. We shake Mr Ross' hand and David turns to the audience with a huge grin on his face, says that everyone seems to have been very serious, thanks Bart Simpson, Eric Cartman from South Park and the barman who supplied our "Special Water" and then stands aside.

Before they get a chance to turn on the dirge-like music which means our little speech-slot is over, I bounce over to the microphone. Lights shine in my face, and two hundred mildly drunk corporate people loom at me out of the darkness.

With mounting horror and staring resolutely at my feet I say something to the effect of: "The heart and soul of the net is the individual creative and personal website - and I'd just like to say that I'm delighted to see that all the representatives of the Personal category and particularly k10k have been recognised here tonight."

Suddenly extremely embarrassed (and yet proud of myself) I stand aside, shake Jonathon Ross's hand and stand for the press shots, looking as sheepish as I can possibly imagine. "Nice speech", he says...

I've been looking for some coverage of the Yell Awards all over the place, but I can't seem to find any at all. Has anyone actually seen anything about it anywhere on the web? [E-mail me]

I love A List Apart. I really do. But is anyone bored of the anti-weblog riff? It's a banal conversation at the best of times. It's good that they are easy to build (html isn't exactly the trickiest language itself - would it be better if you had to code in C++? Would the content be any good then?), because it makes the web less elitist - makes the information online and the ability to communicate available to everyone. And so what if you get a fair amount of crap? There are many more crap sites out there which are not powered by blogger than ones that are... If it makes a designer more lazy, well that's his/her fault - not the fault of the tool.

It's like my whole thing with Dreamweaver. I look at the tool and think to myself - why is this program popular? It's an idiotic waste of space that generates messy, unclear, unreadable, fat and buggy code. And yet people use it because it makes their lives easier. I hate the program, but I can't fault the content of some of the sites built with it. And Blogger doesn't produce ugly code at all, it just provides a basic and surprisingly flexible way of working with daily content.

Or to put it in a more memorable way: Dreamweaver and Blogger don't bore people. People bore people.

If you haven't found a weblog that does this stuff, then you haven't been looking very hard. And if you haven't been looking very hard, then piss off...

Finally, today I stumbled upon a weblog called Bad Blogs. And how did I stumble upon it? I did a search for barbelith at blogger and it came out top. And I quote: "Barbelith would usually escape our fire..." Phew! - thank goodness for that...

When I survey the epic terrain of my web presence from a dispassionate stance what I see worries me. Not because I am particularly self-indulgent (which I can be, admittedly), not because I am particularly dull (although, god knows, I can be) but more because in all my ramblings, no matter their worth, I see discussions of gay marriage, political insurrection, anti-American rhetoric, a desire to blow things up, barely contained aggression, as well as a site which broadly declares Anarchy for the Masses and a discussion forum populated by (charming) anti-establishment types, advocating everything from mind-expanding drugs and casual sex, to wholesale anti-capitalist rants. Some of these individuals have even been confessing their sins in this public space. And some of these sins... Sheesh - it's enough to make any god fearing young woman all a-fluster.

And of course, there is my Noah Wyle site from the stone ages which I look at and get a bit embarrassed about. Which none of you people are supposed to know about, because it's really humiliating and I want you to take me seriously. [It was very successful - even mentioned on Obsessive Fan Sites.]

So why does all this worry me? Because the combination of "left-wing", "politically engaged", "trashy celebrity hound" and "reader of anarchist literature" (reader of any literature for that matter) must make me worthy of a file at whatever vast intelligence gathering operation that America is throwing the largest amount of money at this month. [I wonder if they have referrer logs?]

Which brings us (finally) around to the story that prompted this tirade, nameably "Tom tries to get PGP to thumb a finger (?) at Echelon and Carnivore". As you probably know, it is illegal to export decent cryptography out of the US, which has resulted in a number of conflicts and potential conflicts, with products such as Apple's high-end G4s and the Neil Stephenson book Cryptonomicon, causing controversy when attempts have been made to send them out of the country. [Reasons for stopping export - foreign people might use these techniques and we all know what they are like, because we watched The Patriot the other day, didn't we kids!]

So I go to downloads.com and see what us lowly Europeans are allowed to get our greasy mitts upon. And clicking through to the download page I am asked a series of questions about how American I am. Figuring that this is a bit like that bit on the visa waiver forms you get in planes on the way to America which asks things something like "Are you a member of a terrorist organisation?" and "Are you planning to stick the President's severed head up your rectum?" - ie. something that no one really takes seriously - I declare my allegiance to the flag and press proceed.

Only to be confronted by a "you're not really in America are you?" kind of message. They've clearly run a check on my IP address and worked out what country I'm busy plotting in. Darn it. What now? What shall I do to find out more PGP information? I decide to wander over to cryptography.org and see what they have to say.But they ask the same questions! And again they check my IP address! And again I am refused entry! This time I'm shunted off to a list of more "appropriate" websites for the geographically abnormal (ie. non-American) and politically dubious (ie. non-American).

But this time I'm not taking it lying down. I figure that a site dedicated to crypto must be pretty impregnable. But then it occurs to me - maybe they don't want to be. Maybe they are fulfilling their minimum legal obligations, and are actually gagging to be broken into. This seems to be the case, because anyone world-wide can sneak into the site with just a little bit of legally dubious American impersonation and a quick trip over to anonymizer.com. So go on kids - find yourself a nice juicy secret and blab it all over the place. The information economy of the 21st century has arrived.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: More on Gay Marriage... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Gay CATEGORY: Gay CATEGORY: Politics DATE: 07/17/2000 10:42:57 PM ----- BODY:

A few people seem think I fell from the womb an angry crusader for queer politics. In fact nothing could be further from the truth. I started my big gay life as the biggest anti-queen you can imagine - my main mission was to try to convince people that gay people were basically identical to straight people, and that people who thought differently were basically stereotyping. I still believe that a lot of people who think gay people are different are basically stereotyping, but I've become increasingly comfortable with the idea of difference. Fair enough if you want to have a monogamous relationship with someone your entire life. Why call it marriage? Why make a contract out of it? Why do it in front of god? Why does it change your legal status? Your tax status?

Gay people have been hindered by a large number of legal and social restrictions over the last few decades. But along with this absence of rights came the necessity of figuring out how to do relationships between two men or two women that worked. For some people this meant a "butch" partner and a "femme" partner - in a fashion that directly aped heterosexual relationships of power of the time. For others it meant monogamous coupledom. For still others random sex and a tight-knit relationship with friends, multiple partners or no partners. But all of them felt less of a requirement to settle down, find the man/woman of their dreams and move into a house with a white-picket fence. In the past, we have been forced not to be complacent and this has provided some wonderful alternatives to "marriage".

So it would certainly be my opinion that gay people shouldn't get married in any legal sense of the word. Why revel in the sanctioning of your particular perversion? Why be legitimated while all the alternatives that have been developed over the last hundred years are still frowned upon? There's just no need to sign a piece of paper. Instead, make a stand for difference and variety between communities, and between members of the same community. Have a relationship by all means. Move in. Stay with them forever. But don't get married. And don't do it for me...

One final thought takes us ten, twenty years down the line. When you've sucessfully separated the "good/married" gay people from the "bad/non-married/sex-crazed" gay people, what makes you think that the latter won't be stigmatised again, like they were during the AIDS tensions of the eighties?

God. There is just so much I want to get through today, and there just isn't the slightest chance I am going to manage it. Potted summary of a couple of things:

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Finally. Mark is back in STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/18/2000 10:20:22 PM ----- BODY: Finally. Mark is back in the land of the blog-active. And with hands covered in urine, no less. How ... revealing! Still - it's good to have him back...

On a completely unrelated note, does anyone actually have the image that is missing from the article about the Mac G4 Cube at Apple Insider. Seems that Apple threatened legal action. I'd love to get me a copy of that...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On Life statistics... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/19/2000 10:47:21 AM ----- BODY:

Let's ignore for a moment the fact that it is my 28th Birthday today, and that I am completely weirded out by that, and that I don't really want to think about it, but that it keeps appearing in my head like some spectre of impending death. Let's also ignore these disturbing figures: Ten years since I left school, two years until thirty, several betrayals, seven years on the net. Please god, let us ignore much of what I've done this decade: somewhere in the region of six hundred trips to the cinema [working out at about �3000], ten different homes, innumerable arguments with my mother, around twenty flatmates and enough coca-cola to submerge a small country. Finally, let us be sure to ignore my accomplishments: a degree, a couple of abortive relationships, three and a half years working on a doctorate that never came to anything, nine months of temping, a journalism re-training course, five or six websites of greater or lesser quality, and a minor depressive episode.

I should put it all into an Excel spreadsheet. Or perhaps a web stats package. Referrals, impressions, hits.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Thanks Heather! STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/19/2000 06:01:17 PM ----- BODY:

I'd just like to say thanks to everyone who sent me an e-mail or an e-card to wish me Happy Birthday. Thanks, everyone! Really cheered me up!

I've been waiting for this for a while, and I have finally been rewarded for my patience. Full glorious photos of Apple's new products - gorgeous, unholy, beautiful evil things like a new keyboard, a new cube computer (not much use to me, admittedly having just bought one) and a new mouse that can only have emerged fully formed and perfect from Aphrodite's armpit in that Botticelli painting. I am drooling as if drool never went out of fashion (1800s, if you're interested). It's like Steve Jobs is personally seducing me. He might as well put on suspenders and stand outside my house going, "Hey there, fancy a good time?". Except that might be a bit gross. Oh My God. Anyway, who would have thought technology could be quite this gobsmackingly wonderful?

I'm a bit weirded out by dvdauthority.com apparent working specs for a barbelith rip-off site (including the name of my site in the URL of all things). Anyone know what it's about? Bizarre....

I had to bash together a quick Oasis interview page in the very narrow confines of Time Out's templates yesterday. In about half an hour I produced this: The Brothers Grim. It's OK, I guess...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Tom's thoughts on cryptography... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Technology CATEGORY: Technology DATE: 07/21/2000 12:05:39 AM ----- BODY:

This leads me to this conclusion: It's only if we routinely encrypt our trivial e-mail that we have the slightest chance of maintaining the privacy of our lives. Enough encrypted trivial e-mail should swamp the stuff that needs to be completely private amongst a wash of personal correspondence. I urge you all now. Get PGP now and send me a message to tom@no-spam-please-barbelith.com.

Grant Morrison: "The word 'BARBELiTH' is derived from a dream I had when I was about 20 or 21 and coincided with my first structured 'magical' experiences and a minor nervous breakdown (in the dream, BARBELiTH was the name of some higher dimension or alternate reality). Like a lot of stuff in INVISIBLES I used the name unconsciously when I needed something to call the red circle that represents our Universe's placental twin. I'd taken the etymology as far as 'bearded stone', which seems much less interesting and less weirdly appropriate than 'alien stone'. My real life is getting more like the comic every day (in ways I should have suspected but didn't really expect on this scale). There's more on the red circle and its many meanings in DOOM PATROL #54, I just realised. That issue was written in near-trance so fuck only knows what's been trying to get through all these years."

Is it my imagination or does this incredibly disturbing page [thanks Mark] keep refreshing every twenty seconds?

It's been a while since I talked about the new proposed top-level domains that ICANN are currently considering. There have been loads of articles about this recently (see below), but I have written up some of my queries on Metafilter for discussion.

All of which leads me to this conclusion: It's only if we routinely encrypt our trivial e-mail that we have the slightest chance of maintaining the privacy of our lives. Enough encrypted trivial e-mail should swamp the stuff that needs to be completely private amongst a wash of personal correspondence. I urge you all now. Get PGP now and send me a message to tom@no-spam-please-barbelith.com.

I've been really slack the last few days. I've been trying to recover from huge work stresses last week which set up shop in my mind and wouldn't leave, no matter how many times I tried to evict them. I'm thinking of declaring this a themed week and going for that old stalwart, romantic love, as an appropriate subject matter - particularly after seeing High Fidelity over the weekend (interesting but slightly depressing). I don't know, though. The whole thing seems a little cheesy.

My parents always used to go on really boring holidays. Their idea of a great holiday was to find a house with a pool two miles down a dirt track, which was itself 2 miles away from the nearest village. So, while I travelled quite a bit when I was a kid, it wasn't until I was 15 that I actually went somewhere to see things. I went to Turkey with school. I was 16 when I went to Greece. I was 18 when I went to America, and 21 before I went back and did the parts of Europe I'd missed the first time. Mark's done them all already. And he's only 15. Bastard.

I've been reading this really interesting article at Hack the Planet: "Route around the labels", which describes a form of voluntary payment scheme for MP3s. To be honest, I've read it a couple of times and some of the technical aspects escape me (I'm tired, OK?).

Anyway, I was thinking about it, and it occurred to me that I couldn't see why this system couldn't be adapted to preserve copyright integrity and get people to pay for music. I know a lot of people don't like this idea, but in the whole Napster vs Metallica debate, I have to confess I think I'm somewhere in the middle.

Let me go into a little detail about my idea (which isn't that different from the one at Hack the Planet, I fear). Imagine a company that sells/distributes decent, trusted encryption software - say for example PGP. If they wanted to, they could produce a PGP enabled MP3 player, which decrypted on the fly. The individual puts their public "PGMP3" key into a PGMP3 server. Then when they select an MP3 they want to download, it is encrypted according to their public key, sent to them and can only be listened to on the PGMP3 player which contains their private key.

I mean - there are probably considerable technical issues I've neglected here, but it seems like a pretty reasonable and basic idea to me. Opinions?

Further to yesterday's post, there is more about the legal difficulties of mp3.com and napster over at Wired news at the moment. I'm in the middle of discussing it with people over at alt.security.pgp as well at the moment. I don't think it is necessarily the ideal place to have the discussion, but I needed to know if it was technically possible, and it looked like the best place to start...

So there's this guy at work called Duncan, and he's a designer with this large consultancy firm, but the poor love hasn't had a web site for ages, which I thought was a bit lame really, because if you are a web-designer you really should have something that you can show people, or that demonstrates that you are committed to the medium etc etc. So I come in today, and he's compiled this interesting interface to a small directory of interesting design sites.

It's a site that has been all around the British media, praised almost without exception for its biting wit and foul mouth. It's a site that takes a bastion of British life - the Radio Times - and then rips it to shreds, exposing the hypocrisy and pointessness of television in the UK and television in general. It's a site that probably 9/10s of all British people have already seen, and which only 1% of the world outside the country will even vaguely understand. So why am I mentioning it? Because it's bloody bloody funny...

Weblogs (at least those with online diary content) are strange things. They force you to make decisions about which parts of your life are open to everyone and which parts of your life should remain discreetly behind closed doors. Even more so, they force you to decide (at some level) which parts of your life are entertaining enough to be open to everyone.

With a few exceptions (28th birthday, the Yell Awards, Mark and Vance in the UK, Groucho Club), I have hardly been writing about my life at all recently - and when I look back over my archive I can see that this trend started when I last saw Max. [cross referenced for your pleasure: 11 June, 17 June] For a long time after the last disaster, it was almost like excised my personal life completely. I just got on with business. As a direct result of being gutted, I felt I had no inside left to write about...

But over the last couple of weeks it has all been seeping back. The run-up to my birthday was very much one of those times when you look around you and think to yourself - "what have I achieved?", "why do I bother?". This is pretty much run of the mill stuff, except that this year I started thinking about questions like - "why am I alone?". A few years ago I pretty much made peace with being single - it seemed to me that my life was going pretty well without the additional luxury of actually going out with people. After all, if you want fantasy, romance and love you can rent a trashy video. And there's very little else that a relationship can provide that you can't find somewhere else.

And yet in the background now, I feel the questions still lurking, unanswered. I don't really know what's caused their reappearance - I went to see High Fidelity last weekend, and that compounded the anxieties of my birthday. I had some unromantic, but highly enjoyable ... fun. Then I watched Dawson's Creek with Mella, and watched her invest huge amounts of energy in the burgeoning relationship of Pacey and Joey. We got incredibly drunk on vodka and talked. She put her finger on part of the problem almost immediately - she said that getting older would be fine if it came with all the trappings it is supposed to. The late twenty-something should have a reasonable job with career prospects, a relationship that has lasted a while and should be thinking about things like mortgages and making some kind of long-term committment. To be that age without those things - well it's like some kind of cruel joke.

Anyway. I've decided to let you in on the joke, I think. I think that's what this posts about - it's about getting some personal content out there again - picking up my guts from off the floor and putting them onto the web. It may not be entertaining, but it's as real as you can get. And maybe that's more important.

I've been inside all day, on one of the nicest days of the year, and why? Because I'm finally getting some redesigning done - getting some code together which isn't completely awful. Picture the scene - I've got a mock-up in Photoshop of what I want to achieve, I have worked out how I should go about achieving it, I set to work, and gradually (very gradually) it comes together. I'm quite proud of it - I'm using a rather clever table structure (or at least I think I am), when suddenly I decide to check it in Netscape.

Of course the structure is all completely in place, and working perfectly. Except that the cell background, which is fundamental to the design of the page, is suddenly replicated in every cell of the nested tables within it. I slap my head in horror. "Of course", I say, (scream?) " I had completely forgotten that Netscape 4.x cannot handle images as cell backgrounds very well. But if I make it a page background, it's going to make the page slow to download. Damn it! I wonder if anyone has any ideas as to how I can get around this problem without using a background image? Hmmm."

I'll admit it. Even though I love Apple, I still thought that the iTari pisstake was funny. It's not as good as the iBrator though...

The redesign is proceeding apace, and with it comes all the usual anxieties - that the new design isn't as good as the last, that it isn't as clear, that it doesn't fill the page as well, that it basically just doesn't have the spark of the last one. Of course I haven't got the slightest idea whether or not any of that is true or not. How could I? I've been staring at it for hours. My latest attempt to acheive something exciting with it involves the introduction of a new colour. Unlike much of my other work, this page at present contains absolutely no orange. This must change immediately...

Stayed up until 1am last night (big deal - half an hour later than normal) to watch the MTV Movie Awards on Channel 4. Why can't the Oscars be like that? It was great fun!

Oh the young scamps. Jason and EOD play "swap the designs". Which brings me to my other idea. I'm thinking about putting this current template out for anyone to use once the redesign comes into affect. Should anyone want it of course. I'll make some kind of .zip file of it all and people can download it, use it for their sites or bugger around with it to their heart's content. Whether anyone will of course is a completely other matter...

Ways to become famous #1 [the first in a series]: Taking the lead from such prominent celebrities as Sarah Jessica Parker and Sarah Michelle Geller, add the name "Sarah" to the beginning of name, thus producing media friendly nomenclature: "Sarah Thomas Coates". Hang out with celebrity friends Sarah Katherine Lindemann, Sarah Mark Olynciw, Sarah Derek Powazek and Sarah Jason Kottke. Sip cocktails provocatively. Arch an eyebrow.

Tom's Fucked Up Dream Life [the first in a series]: So I'm lying on this bed, fully clothed, half buried under a pile of cushions, with Pacey Witter (from Dawson's Creek, also fully clothed) using me as a pillow. He's talking to Dawson (also fully clothed - sheesh - you guys have dirty minds), who is at the other end of the bed. They are discussing whether or not they've ever had a same sex experience in this slightly "Dare you!" kind of way. I am really relaxed but completely fascinated by the nape of Pacey's neck and the warmth that his body is putting out.

Then suddenly, for no reason at all, I am outside the house, where it is raining heavily and night. I am on some kind of quick provisions foray, trying to find something. At a tiny roundabout I stop and ask a policeman the way back. But as I try to return, the hill gets incredibly steep and I suddenly get this overwhelming conviction that I have accidentally killed someone in some kind of automotive accident, and that I ran away and no one knows. Consumed by guilt I try to return to the house, but the hill keeps getting steeper and steeper and it begins to rain more and more heavily, and there is wind and more wind and darkness and noise and I suddenly wake up still convinced that I had a car accident and killed someone and feeling strangely cheated by my Pacey dream.

So my mother and my little brother are coming down to London this coming weekend. Kate and Mella, my flatmates are off on holiday on Saturday, and are not returning for a week and a half - so it seemed like a good time for the family to visit. Now all I have to do is figure out what to do with them. And tidy up the flat, do my washing, finish off any web work I have to do etc etc. Still, it'll be cool to see my little brother...

I read your recent comment about my site with considerable interest and attach a part below so that anyone who wishes to comment can do so.

In the UK, there is this extremely successful young gay businessman called Ivan Massow. He is also, unfortunately, drop dead gorgeous. He is the friend of a friend of mine and I've met him a couple of times in passing. Unfortunately he has had one major flaw - his political leanings. Until very recently he has been the UK equivalent of a rampaging Republican - people we like to call "Tories" - whether or not other names might be more suitable.

Mr Massow has been feted by Margaret Thatcher, spoken at Tory Party Conferences and stood up in front of the whole gay community (from whom he has made considerable amounts of money by selling them insurance) and declared his allegiance to the party that has consistently tried to keep the divisive Section 28. But all this has now changed - it's just been on Newsnight that he has defected to Labour!

I've tried to find some copy about this on the web, but completely without success - it's a real breaking story and hasn't got to them yet. So consider this a web exclusive: YOU HEARD IT HERE FIRST! [More news as I have it]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Thanks to Neale for incorporating STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/02/2000 12:18:11 PM ----- BODY: Thanks to Neale for incorporating one of my lines into "Da Bomb Rap by Front-End". To quote:

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: So I have an idea STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/02/2000 03:00:26 PM ----- BODY: So I have an idea for the next project after Big Brother. I call it "Lord of the Flies' Celebrity Big Brother Quake Castaway Deathmatch", and involves introducing novel ideas like easily transmittable diseases, LSD-spiked foods, a ready supply of chainsaws, axes and chest freezers, permanently red strobe lighting and the sound of faraway crying babies, to a community isolated away from all other human contact. I thought ideal inhabitants for the LotFCBBQCD camp might include: Sir Cliff Richard, Charles Manson, the Queen Mother, Annabel Chong, Margaret Thatcher, Weird Al Jancovic, Doctor Dre, Ozzy Osbourne, Victoria Beckham & Germaine Greer. Not because I don't like them particularly, but because I think you really need to get a range of human experience. Opinions?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Nice people I met for STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/02/2000 09:28:05 PM ----- BODY: Nice people I met for the first time when I was on AIM tonight: robotgirl, ellie, geoff, nick doro, charlene, sheepish andy, erica. People I knew already but are still nice: Katy, Andy, Megnut.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: More Massow Linkage... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/03/2000 08:29:54 AM ----- BODY:

I don't get it. Does anyone really want to see Ben Brown's Dick? This is clearly where I've been going wrong all these years - I don't expose my genitals to webcams. I'm doomed to a life of mediocrity.

I haven't talked much about Big Brother UK to date, although it is intoxicating viewing. In the meantime, while I make up my mind, the BBC has an archive of all their articles on the show.

"Tom goes to get his haircut" (or "Plumbing the Depths of Personal Content on the Web")

In the UK, we get quite a few American TV shows. These shows are on a little after they are on in America depending on who has bought them. Sometimes it's as little as a couple of weeks, sometimes it can be as much as years. Like I say, it depends on who has bought them. Last night, Ally McBeal was on (long standing readers may remember my forceful hatred for Ally herself, and my concerns that the series is nothing but 50s reactionary thinking repackaged, much like Bob Roberts, the "rebel conservative"). The episode in question was the one in which it is revealed that Georgia has been meeting Ally's father in a bar, and that they have, in fact recently kissed. Like I say, we're a little behind the US.

So I'm watching this TV program, thinking how it doesn't appear to be as reactionary as usual - that in fact, Billy's "rebel conservative" / "new man in town" act seems to be being used to show Georgia in a good light - as a strong, intelligent career woman who isn't prepared to settle for accepting that her role is to put other people's needs before her own. Billy has, of course, by this point, had his hair dyed blonde, and spends at least a third of his time leering like some kind of weird Aryan frat boy at every piece of skirt that wanders by.

My flatmate's and I are engaged in the weekly game of shouting, "You pathetic woman! Get a spine!" at McBitch herself, along with "Eat some pies, goddammit woman!", "All she ever does is whine!" and "I bet she listens to the Lighthouse family. I bet she used to listen to Mariah Carey, but now thinks she's a bit lame and is a bit embarrassed, and instead listens to the bloody Lighthouse Family..." In the background, Billy just wanders around, silly hair-dye glowing in the night. We think he's too pathetic to even comment upon.

A day passes. I sleep fitfully and get up to go to work. I have to be in early this morning - I have lots of work to do. After an early meeting (mooching around in my A&F t-shirt, and trying to get some pages mocked-up, I think to myself, "I really need a haircut", so I head off to 'fish' in Soho, which is where I always go. I'm sitting down in the chair while this bloke starts hacking into my hair and then suddenly I decide to say: "Ha! Every time I come in hear, I always mean to talk to someone about getting my hair more exciting!" The guy carries on, and then replies, "You want to have a bit of colour in it? Something that makes it look like you've been in the sun? Go a bit lighter?".

Suddenly, I'm thinking about how crap and old and pointless I've been feeling recently, and how frustrated I have been with my job, and how much I need to get away and have a change. So, with a nervous grin, I agree, and he sets to work with what appears to be a little bowl of paste and a trowel. I sit there quietly staring at the little goo-capped peaks on my head for twenty minutes - to let the colour seep through - and then I am rinsed, blow-dried, a large block of money is removed from my bank account, and I am set loose once more on the streets of London.

As I'm passing a window I notice my reflection. Light strands of hair glint in the sunlight, and suddenly I'm looking at Billy from Ally McBeal once more. Only this time, he's just older, faintly ridiculous, bored with his life and eager for change. And with a snigger in my voice and a spring in my step, I look at myself and say: "There's a new man in town."

Things are apparently heating up in the Big Brother house - at least if you believe the BBC. They, along with many of the other British papers, are printing pictures of Melanie and Andy apparently engaged in the beginnings of a kiss. Unfortunately, at this stage, I just don't believe it. Look at the picture again - she has her hand on her head in a defensive move, and her expression is very much less ecstatic than it might be.

That doesn't mean, of course, that she's not going to miss him. Nor does it mean that she won't leave if he does. What it does mean is that the press and Channel Four are so desperate for someone to hook up in the house that they will jump on what may be the vaguest stirrings of mutual affection (we all know that Andrew is quite taken with Mel) and blow it out of all proportion.

I can't actually believe I'm investing so much time on this series. But I will be home this evening to see who get's thrown out...

You're a sensible lot, and were quite correct. The results of the poll are in, and the picture of the child with the fox is indeed Nick, a screenwriter.

The Onion is right on the mark again - this time let the chocolate giants feel the wrath of this mighty campaigning organ:

My mother and little brother arrived in London yesterday. They are staying with me in my flat for a few days while Kate and Mella are out of town. I have to say that part of me was extremely worried about their arrival - I assumed that we'd find it difficult actually "living" together, even for a couple of days. But things have actually been going really well.

Yesterday they arrived about one, and we went out straight away for lunch. My brother is now 5'8", which I find terrifying since he is only 14. Only two inches shorter than me. I'm not sure I like that. Afterwards we wandered into the centre of town, and went to Selfridges, Gap and various other clothes shops where my mother desperately attempted to buy me shirts, without much luck (I find it hard to find something I like when pressed). Then we wandered over to Leicester Square and saw The Whole Nine Yards. Which was, I am afraid to say, poor. A quick bite to eat later and I'm up on the net most of the night, while my family collapse in bed asleep.

Today has been similarly busy, albeit in a slightly more cultural way (although my attempts to foster my brother's interests in modern art have failed dismally). We all went to the Tate Modern, and managed to work our way through about a third of the building before collapsing under the strain. I managed not to spend to much money in the bookshop either, which has to be a first. We're now mooching around the flat and trying to work out where to eat this evening. It's all very civilised...

Mr Massow was on television this morning again, with his rather alarming new haircut. The irony is, he's never looked more right wing. My interest in him is long founded and based around the four major features of his life - 1) His apparently strong political beliefs (Tory until proven otherwise). 2) His presence as a prominent figure in the London gay community. 3) His financial success marketing to gay people. 4) His charm, charisma and the fact that he's pretty good looking.

There's something really alarming about this set of characteristics that seems to inspire bizarre reactions in people. His politics seems to play up the bastard angle. Several of my devoutly leftist friends seem to find this a tremendous turn-on when combined with what appears to be his affable charm. Personally, he was the first person to bring me to the stage where I had to confess to be a nontorysexual - by which I mean that I find someone's right wing tendencies to be a more substantial turn-off than pretty much anything else.

In the gay community, he is simultaneously villified and adored - poster boy for a generation of guppies (gay & upwardly mobile - very eighties) while simultaneously seen to have made his fortune off the back of the very kinds of intolerance that keeps other gay people in a position of vulnerability. And now he's turned towards Labour - how do we all feel about that? Honestly - I don't really know.

The most interesting thing about the interview today was how politically simplistic he appeared to be. He basically contrasted the Labour and Conservative parties on the two staple axes that they have been for years. The stereotype is: Labour are good on social justice, but weak on the economy. The Conservatives can run the economy, but they're for a more survival of the fittest, Middle England Anti-Immigration ethos. Ivan put his priorities very firmly down on the side of the economic priority versus social justice, and stated that he felt that the management of the economy under Labour had clearly changed and now he was left between a party that was good on the economy and social justice, and one that heavily prioritised the former. He didn't appear to think there was any other choice to make.

But what about the other issues? The Euro for example? And fox-hunting? The Labour Party has objectives here which are very much against Massow's own. How does he reconcile them? I'm not sure he knows... Whether this makes him self-serving or honest is another question altogether...

Mothers: My mother never reads my weblog. I think maybe she did once, and then decided that she didn't want to hear about what happened in my life after all. And then stopped. I don't know if that's true or not to be honest. It just seems likely to me. My brother does read my weblog either. I think maybe he's scared to.

Mark's mother reads his weblog, and more than that, she reads mine as well. And Katy's. When Katy and I met her when Mark was in town, she said how good she thought weblogs were, and how happy she was that Mark had an outlet for his thoughts, where he could write and get responses from it. I remember thinking at the time what a cool attitude that was, and how she obviously completely knew what she was doing.

Megnut's mother goes one better. Meg's got her to write her weblog for a while. I can't help thinking that that suggests a really really good relationship - when the mother takes such an active interest in the passions of her children. I kind of think my mother and I have called a truce on this kind of stuff. I think we've figured out between us that there are just some (many?) things that she just doesn't want to know or talk about. So we don't.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: So you've decided to be evil... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/06/2000 06:13:07 PM ----- BODY:

I'm really letting it all out today - venting left, right and centre - weblogging like there's no tomorrow. Which might indeed be the case if I fulfill my ambition and become an Evil Supercriminal.

When I was a kid, the whole 'evil' thing really didn't appeal to me. I had my hair cut very responsibly, I couldn't handle conflict very well and whenever I went to see a movie, I would come home and desperately try to build the hero's special car or bike or helicopter or plane or spaceship (I saw fairly generic movies) out of the all purpose panacea to being a kid in a village of eighty people in Norfolk with only a phone box for company: Lego.

My imagination would take flight when I was up in my room playing - the room would look like a complete wreck when I had done with it, with mountainous valleys made out of duvets, hidden subterranean bases (Bond) down the back of the sofa, vast forces of heroic lego people on small hover bikes (Star Wars), Helicopters bristling with missle launchers (Blue Thunder), Delorean-alike time-travelling cars (Back to the Future 1, 2 & 3) etc etc etc. But in all of this it was only the heroes that really interested me. Never did I pay the slightest bit of attention to the bad guys.

Until puberty that is, when I became completely and overwhelmingly confused by everything. I'd still frantically read the books with the heroes in them, the comic book good guys were always important to me, the films where the bad guy got trounced were staples of my imaginative life. But I started to get a darker thrill from the presence of the evil supercriminals - people who didn't have respect for society, people who weren't interested in puppies and blonde girls and apple pie and fudge brownies, but instead would prefer to annihilate Frankfurt with a huge gun and an over-fluffed white cat.

It has remained this way throughout my adult life. I want to be a bad guy. I want to rule the world. I want to be the Sherriff of Nottingham, "You! 12.30. You! 12.45. You! 1.00 ... bring a friend..."

It's surprisingly difficult to get a decent photo which adequately shows up what are essentially relatively subtle new hair effects, which may go some way to explain why it's taken me so long to find something. This picture, in fact, actually doesn't do it any justice at all, but it was the only one from my recent webcam tests that even vaguely looked right. Judge for yourself.

I also received a highly entertaining e-mail regarding this hair thing. It reads:

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Major flashback: Maggie Let It STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/08/2000 08:05:51 AM ----- BODY: Major flashback: Maggie Let It Go has finally got its arse in gear and scanned in the pictures from the epic collision of Mark, Katy, Vance and myself. The first thing Katy then did with them was write dodgy captions to them all, including the stylish "Ok, who farted?". She's so classy.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: It turns out that my STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/08/2000 08:08:29 AM ----- BODY: It turns out that my mother was right. Neither she nor my brother liked Being John Malkovich at all. Not even a little bit. I could feel them next to me in the cinema squirming, desperate to get out. My mother thought it was inappropriate material for a 15 year old and that it was too long. My brother just thought it was boring.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Friends that I really don't STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/08/2000 08:14:58 AM ----- BODY: Friends that I really don't see enough of:

The latter Katie is extremely irritated, and asked them to change the name of the book. Penguin's lawyers responded with a very firm no, stating that she had no case whatsoever.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Mr Massow... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/08/2000 12:55:08 PM ----- BODY:

Things that are in today's Evening Standard: A long article about Ivan Massow. Things that aren't in today's Evening Standard: A long article about weblogs featuring interviews with Katy and myself. I can, of course, only quote from the former:

I really love Metafilter. Almost an unholy amount, in fact. For those of you who aren't webloggers yourself (I'd place a bet on around 5%), and are thus unfamiliar with the site, it's a community weblog, where anyone who signs up can post links through to interesting sites and news stories around the web. The two most important differences between it and other similar community weblogs are that Metafilter: 1) Allows considerable discussion of every post made, and 2) Seems almost magically to attract some astonishingly intelligent, responsible and able members of the web community.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I am traditional, yet soft. STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/09/2000 04:17:58 PM ----- BODY: I am traditional, yet soft. I am of Belgian descent. I have a creamy yellowish body, with a red/brown surface and a slightly corrugated edge. I taste almost meaty and have a legendary aroma caused by enzymes on my skin that break down proteins. In case you haven't guessed, my friends, my name is Mr Limburger.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: God, I'm bored. STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/10/2000 10:50:00 AM ----- BODY:

Below is a list of apparently real English-language headlines. I have a proposal for you. Find (or make) an amusing or apt 320x240px image for one of the headlines below and I'll put the best ones up onto the site. How's that for audience participation? Send me your entry today!

I've been sent two or three cool images for the headline competition so far - still hoping for more. My favourite so far is below (thanks to David Pannett):

Young Katy has scanned in the article from newmusic which talks all about weblogs. Congratulations to eatonweb and kottke as well - there's something really cool about being in print...

The headline competition keeps getting new entries. Two of them particularly appeal to me:

Good god. I can't believe it. Mark seems to have got his whole family writing weblogs now. Some favourite quotes follow:

The BBC is known for it's high editorial standards and the supreme quality of it's reporting. This being the case, could someone please explain this article on Big Brother UK: "Third time unlucky for Caroline".

Just discovered that barbelith (and I) are all over Jason Kottke's site today. Which is a really strange feeling. It's stirring up a lot of weird resonances in my head. Part of me is clearly delighted: Jason's site must get ten/twenty times the traffic I do. If he mentions me, then more people come and read my stuff.

But along with that is a slight feeling of foreboding - almost dread. I don't really know how to explain it. It's a pretty bloody strange reaction (maybe it's because I'm drunk). Part of the foreboding comes from him bringing up the stuff about the starting of the meme again - a situation which resulted in a few arguments around the place between myself and prominant web luminaries. Arguments which I would really rather forget.

But I think the weirdest thing about it is that I have only ever been mentioned on kottke.org in passing (to my recollection, at least) - and I think that was a pretty brief, incidental mention at that. This time ... I don't know - it's like Icarus getting too close to the sun. Part of me has in my mind that line from Greek Tragedy: those whom the gods love die young...

I can't believe that I didn't notice that boylog wished me Happy Birthday on the 19th. Thanks!

Advice from Lance, ignored as usual. I've been doing it for nearly a year now and for some reason people keep coming back (at least I think they do)...

When I was at school, I was really good friends with Glyn and Simon. We shared some (relatively geeky) passions, which in some cases we still do. When school finished, I took a year out before going to University. Glyn went off to York and Simon went off to Hull. York and Hull are quite close to one another so they kept in pretty regular contact. I kept in contact too, although slightly less regularly, and occasionally mooched up north to see them.

Our contact became slightly more sporadic when I went to University. I was in Bristol, and Bristol is not close to either York or Hull. So I tended only to see them during University vacations - particularly Christmas. When I stayed on at Bristol to do postgraduate work, I stopped going back to Norfolk for vacations and only saw them at Christmas when they were summoned back to their respective families.

Now, sensible people at this point would have prevailed upon e-mail as the perfect answer to this problem. Unfortunately, Simon wouldn't buy a computer, and started working for the Ministry of Defence (and his e-mail suddenly became secret) - Glyn was a just a bit more hopeless, only apparently logging on about once every three to four weeks. I have friends in Mexico and Los Angeles who I am in better contact with.

Anyway. Nearly a year passed with absolutely no contact whatsoever, until suddenly a few months ago, Glyn announced that he was getting married. I went up to Leicester for the occasion, watched the ceremony and chatted to everyone there. It was a wonderful, bizarre, experience. And the strangest part of the whole day was when Glyn turned around to me about half an hour after the ceremony was complete and said, "I know this is the first time that we've really seen each other in like two or three years, but it's great to see you. Which reminds me, there's another fundamental reason we must meet up again. When's the X-men movie coming out?"

Which brings me to my current predicament. I have just won two tickets to the Gala Première and After-Show Party of X-men, to be held on Tuesday night in Leicester Square, and later in the Roundhouse in Chalk Farm. I can't get in touch with Glyn or Simon at all, and even if I could I could only take one of them (assuming that they could get down here on a weekday night). So at one level I really shouldn't go - I made a commitment to go with them. But let's be honest. What are the chances that I'm not going to go?

What's next, one wonders, when Big Brother judders finally to its close. Well, I've got an idea. How about you get, like, 14 people, and then you put them in an astronaut training camp and throw out one a week, and the one who's left gets stuck in a rocket and sent up to the Mir space-station. What's that you say? Someone's already thought of it? You have got to be kidding me...

(*Chapter headings, Prefaces, Prologues, Introductions, Initial Quotes etc. excluded)

After four weeks and three evictions, finally we have an escapee with some bloody opinions, who isn't afraid to give some good headline:

"Police begin campaign to run down jaywalkers"
Jason Theriault | www.dispossessed.com

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: 13. On common decency... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/14/2000 05:28:43 PM ----- BODY:

13 On common decency:

"Good manners reflect something from inside - an innate sense of consideration for others and respect for self"
My arse!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: 12. On the love of pandas... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/14/2000 10:49:45 PM ----- BODY:

12 On the love of pandas:

"Panda mating fails, Veterinarian takes over"
[Meg Pickard | notsosoft.com]

"Panda mating fails, Veterinarian takes over"
[Marshall | tippit.org/sm]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: 11. On being rescued from trees... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/15/2000 05:29:17 PM ----- BODY:

11 On people who rescue web designers from CSS trees:

We love Meg!, We love Meg!, We love Meg!, We love Meg!, We love Meg!, We love Meg!, We love Meg!, We love Meg!, We love Meg!, We love Meg!, We love Meg!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: 10. Expectations about the X-men premiere... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/15/2000 05:39:25 PM ----- BODY:

10 On this evening:

I don't feel as excited as perhaps I should do, although I certainly feel slightly apprehensive. Tonight is the big night - the "gala" première of X-men followed by the post-première party in North London. I'm going with a friend from University, whose birthday is this coming weekend. It just seemed like the right thing to do. He's wandering around town at the moment finding something swish to wear - it says dress "sharp" on the invitations.

This is the second one of these things I've been too (thanks to Katy for taking me to the first), and it's still exciting. There really is a sensation of pretending to be famous (just for a few moments) while you are wandering down the path up to the cinema with crowds of people squished up against the metal fences they put up. Part of me wishes that I went to enough of these things to accidentally become a C-list celebrity. And why? Because maybe then I'd get invited to even more of these things. Free movies can't be bad.

One thing I've noticed though, and don't like, is that these bloody things never have any bloody trailers. Quite how one is supposed to get into the mood...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: 9. On playing games in the cinema... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Film CATEGORY: Film DATE: 08/15/2000 05:53:37 PM ----- BODY:

9 On playing games in the cinema:

The period before the movie begins is possibly the most important part of the film-going experience. At least two-thirds of the fun of two-thirds of the films lies in their anticipation - in finding odd little bits of gossip or pictures or finding a way to sneak into a preview screening. Everyone knows this, which is why trailers are such fun. I remember still the experience of seeing the Mission Impossible 2 trailer for the first time and the collective intake of breath that was heard across the theatre. And the film, well that was pretty lame.

But the moments before a film need not only be a passive experience, which is why I have decided to finally let people into the world of pre-movie games that I play in the cinema EVERY TIME I GO. [This is not a joke]

Game One - guess the product.
This is not a game for the Americans amongst us, as I believe they don't get adverts for cars and soft drinks before a movie starts. For the rest of us though, the game consists of being the first one to name the product that the advert is selling. Strategy and discipline are all important, as advertisers get more imaginative and yet still trickier. Using this time in order to point out logical inconsistencies or weirdnesses in the adverts is also considered appropriate during such matches. Adding dialogue when the soundtrack lulls (as in the Guinness advert with the surfers and the Leftfield soundtrack - at this point shout "bad pants!" if British) is a crucial way to increase camaraderie in these competitive times.
Game Two - name the film production company or distrubutor
Times have changed since the hayday of this game, but the spirit remains the same. Those little bits at the beginnings of movies and trailers which spin around with a little jingle and resolve themselves into the name of the film company or distributor are just begging to be placed into a game. Watch for tricky ones: Tristar and Columbia are very similar (evil Sony), while Mandalay and Centropolis are incredibly simple.
Game Three - name the trailer
Very much like "guess the product", only with films, this game includes the possibility of scoring extra points for naming the movie before the trailer has even started. Take for example The Perfect Storm, Mars Attacks! or The Matrix - these have such distinctive Warner Brother's logos beforehand that both production company AND film can be named at the same time for a double whammy!

But with all these games finally completed, sit back and relax, because you must be completely silent before the film actually begins...!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: 8. On high school drop-outs... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/16/2000 03:55:12 PM ----- BODY:

8 On high school drop-outs:

"Local high school dropouts cut in half"
David Pannett | cortex

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: 7. Those days when you really really hate your job... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/17/2000 01:01:30 PM ----- BODY:

7 On work:

There are days when I really hate my job and there are days when I love it. And then there are those days when I really hate it.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: 6. On people who rip off epinions... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/17/2000 05:05:58 PM ----- BODY:

6 On people ripping off epinions:

I was wandering through my copy of .net magazine this morning, when I stumbled upon their web site of the month, an opinions site called "dooyoo.com. "But surely," I said to myself, "this is just a poorly designed rip off of Epinions with absolutely no added features worth their salt and dripping in that corporate sponsorship money-grabbing crap that so characterises British web sites." And you know what? I was right.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: 5. On radio silence... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/21/2000 08:40:32 AM ----- BODY:

5 On radio silence:

I haven't posted at all since the 17th, and nothing interesting since the 15th. That's nearly a week. That has never happened before. I feel a bit strange about the whole thing. I wonder why it happened. Anyway - potted history in the form of an unordered list:

Tuesday 15th
After work I run to meet Fenner, an old friend from University at the Pitcher & Piano near Charing Cross Road. He has been out shopping for clothes for the X-men première. We have to fill in a little time before wandering around to the Odeon Leicester Square, which is a slightly daunting experience as there are huge crowds of people and metal fences and policemen surrounding the cinema. Eventually deciding to bite the bullet, we stride past the hoards of photographers and fans, realising that absolutely none of them are paying even the slightest attention to us. On our way into the cinema, we see an X-men actress (name not remembered) and a member of Five (name not remembered).
Before the film starts, the director walks out before the assembled throng. He looks about five years old, but, we remind ourselves, this is the man who directed the Usual Suspects, and who therefore must be pretty cool. After a very brief speech, he calls most of the actors and actresses from the wings, who come on to applause. The applause is all fairly muted until Halle Berry comes out, but even her response is completely overwhelmed by the astonishing applause for Patrick Stewart. He looks mildly awkward about the whole thing.
The film is really pretty good - the atmosphere of the comic book is captured pretty well, Ian McKellan makes a pleasingly evil Magneto, and even Wolverine is pretty good. Best lines of the film come exclusively from Wolverine and are: "My, this is a big round room..." and "You're a dick..."
The party afterwards is astonishing. The Roundhouse is a huge circular building, as you might expect. In the centre of the room is a podium about large enough for two people to stand on simultaneously. Above the podium is a huge white sphere with images projected upon it swirling and shifting to the techno music around it. Surrounding this hub is a circular bar, where free drinks are served. Equally spaced around the hub of the bar are four spokes, each one of which is used as a high table, which people sit around, slurping on their free drinks. About half way down each one of these spokes is a set of stairs on each side, so you can walk up onto them and see what is happening around the room.
Each quarter of the room (as divided by the spokes) has different things in it. One has a fully functional free sushi bar with conveyer belt. One has a couple of performance art pieces (two people hanging from the ceiling in sheets, a person inside a huge white sphere with only their shadows visible as they dance. On the central podium a woman dances in flourescent clothes, with a metal plate on her chest. Occasionally she rubs a power sander over it and sparks fly across the room in a great big arc. The whole party is, needless to say, astonishing.
Theme of the day: Tom likes to be over-stimulated.
Wednesday 16th
Unbelievably hungover, I still manage to get to work, where everything is extremely aggravating.
Theme of the day: Tom finds work frustrating.
Thursday 17th
For the second night running I think that I stay at home. To be honest I can't remember, which is probably not a good sign.
Theme of the day: Tom finds work unsatisfying and exhausting.
Friday 18th
I'm finally recovered from the première party just in time for Rhonda's work leaving party. In fact this clashes with Fenner's birthday party, and I decide that I can probably manage both in one evening. During the day, Francesca, Matt and I buy her a Suffolk Survival Kit (pens, paper, champagne, Kinder eggs, keyrings, badges etc. all in a novelty fake fur camoflage case), a book on Architecture and a Polaroid camera. In the evening we all get really drunk. I have a lovely time until about ten, when I suddenly realise that I am the only gay person in the room, and while everyone else is allowed to get a roving eye at this point, I am supposed to just sit there being witty and/or drunk. Suddenly frustrated by this state of affairs I leave drunkenly to head over to the next party. But before very long, I realise that my sleepiness, drunkeness and newfound beligerence are probably not required. So I go home and sleep.
Theme of the day: Tom feels slightly deserted and is a bit overwhelmed by people.
Saturday 19th
Get up early and head to Huntingdon (1 hour train journey) to see some old friends from school that I have seen once in about three years. We agreed to see X-men before I knew I was going to get to go to the première. On the way up on the train, I get to within a hundred pages of the end of the fourth Harry Potter novel (despite my hungover state). When I arrive, Glyn and Simon arrive and I am delivered back to Simon's house where their respective partners (married, engaged) are waiting for us. Feeling mildly fifth wheelish we head off to the cinema, everyone likes the film, we go and eat in a strange theme restaurant, we get out The Iron Giant on video, I get back on the train and get back to London around midnight. Exhausted, but with Harry Potter finished. Have read all four Harry Potter novels in eight days.
Theme of the day: Tom has a cool time, but feels like a bit of a freak.
Sunday 20th
I start the day by catching up on some well earned sleep, but by lunchtime my flatmates have summoned me to Selfridges. Kate wants to buy herself a dress for the Snatch première which she worked on. Mella and I are also invited. General opinion seems to be that I should buy some new clothes although I have absolutely no money whatsoever. After three hours we finally return to the flat, Kate with a �305 dress, and me with �20 worth of dubious foodstuffs from the foodhall. I shower immediately, throw myself in Nick's car and he drives us both to Toby's housewarming party in Swiss Cottage. I am asleep until given large amounts of caffeine, and then bouncy until it wears off. I see many of my oldest and closest friends, say a few stupid tactless things and quite a few intelligent, amusing things (I think), and try not to make scathing comments about people I don't like. I return home and flop into bed exhausted.
Theme of the day: Tom loves his friends, but wishes there was more time for just sleeping.
Monday 21st
My new Buffy the Vampire Slayer box-set arrives to my delight. David, my boss, is returning from holiday, to my delight. I have written in my weblog, to my delight.
Theme of the day: Tom thinks things might get a little less confusing now...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: 4 On postcard pages: I've STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/21/2000 01:52:25 PM ----- BODY: 4 On postcard pages:

I've never noticed launch.nu's postcard page before. Now you can send photos of girls' backs and Mark growling on a baby's dummy to anyone you should wish to. [via momblog]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: 3 On countdowns: I can't STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/21/2000 01:58:16 PM ----- BODY: 3 On countdowns:

I can't actually believe I'm having to come out and say this - but in response to a couple of letters: Yes! The countdown does mean something. Something will happen to barbelith when the countdown reaches zero. You know - like in the movies..

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: 2 On redesigns: Mark has STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/21/2000 03:02:20 PM ----- BODY: 2 On redesigns:

Mark has finally gone and partially designed hero.nu, which we said about nine months ago was going to be a collaborative project between him and I. Unfortunately, we never got around to actually doing it. The new site is a weblog for a girl called Heather - and it's really rather nice. But he's not resting on his laurels, because riothero has been redesigned as well. I asked Mark about the new look, and his comment was, "I 've been trying to get a penis on my page for ages". After his recent appeal for pictures of people nude, one can only assume that this is a cry for you lot to e-mail him...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: 1 On the End of STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/22/2000 10:07:20 PM ----- BODY: 1 On the End of Things:

"I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: BANG Barbelith is dead - STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/22/2000 10:21:38 PM ----- BODY: BANG

Barbelith is dead - but death is not the end. Introducing: plasticbag.org - the site that will be taking over all weblogging duties from now on. Please adjust your bookmarks and any links you may have on your website, and I'll see you over at the new place. It's been a blast. And no doubt it will be again...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Welcome to plasticbag.org - the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/22/2000 10:38:12 PM ----- BODY: Welcome to plasticbag.org - the new home of what was barbelith.com, and what is soon to be the hub of a re-energised and fully functioning system of sites that I have had at the back of my mind for a few months now. By Christmas, I can guarantee you'll have a new film site, a webzine and a re-energised and redesigned discussion forum, with plasticbag.org forming the hub to it all.

All of the archives from barbelith.com have been moved over to the new domain, but there are bound to be a few dodgy links here and there for a few days while I go through the process of weeding them all out. I've been putting off this move for so long now that I don't think that some of my confidantes thought I'd ever get around to it. In the end it came down to brute determination to put it out there and damn the consequences. In the short term, please ignore any rough edges, and prepare for the inevitable refinements that will occur when I get used to writing for a new space. In the meantime, don't hesistate to send me your opinions.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I can state quite clearly STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/23/2000 12:28:52 PM ----- BODY: I can state quite clearly what my reasons were for getting heavily involved in web design. They were Derek Powazek and Jason Kottke. I'd been building sites here and there for a while before that, but I'd never really approached them as anything more than a basic idle hobby. Sites like fray and particularly 0sil8 made me see that there was scope for create work on the net that wasn't just about fan sites (although I love them) and personal homepages (although I love them too).

Weirdly enough after creating a number of other creative sites (which lasted different amounts of time), I find myself back where I began, with a personal site (this one) and a fan site (this one). But that's more coincidence than anything else. And it's all about to change...

In the meantime, after a considerable lull, one of the sites that inspired me originally has finally come back from the dead, which is a tremendous delight to me. Welcome back, 0sil8, and here's to the Minneapolis Sign Project!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On the World Premi�re of Guy Ritchie's Snatch STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/23/2000 04:06:07 PM ----- BODY:

I'm off to the world premi�re of Guy Ritchie's Snatch this evening. I have such a glamourous life sometimes. It's a strange one this one, because about half of all the people I know in the world seem to be going to it, because they all know my flatmate who worked on the film, and she seems to have invited about fifty of them. I hope it's good - I wasn't that keen on Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.

I still can't get over the name of the film. I still remember the day that Kate and I met in a bar and she said, "You'll never guess what they're going to call it..."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On the world premiere of Snatch... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Film CATEGORY: Film DATE: 08/24/2000 02:01:23 PM ----- BODY:

So I went to the world première of Snatch last night, and I can now give you the low down on the film and the event. Quick bit of preliminary guff first though - I wasn't actually looking forward to going because I felt under a considerable amount of pressure to like the film, since my flatmate worked on it. I was terrified that I'd have to look her in the eye for months and tell her how much I loved it when I'd been cringing in my seat and squirming with horror. And worse, I'd have to be convincing. As it turned out this wasn't necessary - thank god.

The movie is similar to Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels in that it takes place around London's seedier parts, has a large cast of wide boys and loveable (and not so loveable) gangsters and rogues, has large amounts of stylised camera angles and slo-mo, and almost cracks under the weight of the soundtrack, which is bombastic, ever present and - at times - rather over-bearing. The most obvious difference between the two films is that Snatch is a much darker enterprise - with more violence, more cruelty and a much darker wit.

The first ten minutes are excruciatingly bad. Whether that is to do with the sound levels or the fact that it involves a group of people dressed as orthodox Jews holding up a diamond warehouse while talking about Catholicism is hard to say, but it really is astonishingly poor. But once you're past that, the film is a success, with Brad Pitt being a particular treat. There has to be a fair amount of comedy in having a $20 million star in a film and not being able to understand a word that he says...

It's not really a date movie, it may be more of a guy film than a girl film, and it's not for the faint of heart. There's one scene with a couple of dogs and a hare that will probably rile a number of people as well. But at heart it really is a good film - and well worth watching.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: In which Tom appealed for good people to help him with filmsoho.com STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/24/2000 02:04:56 PM ----- BODY:

A quick appeal: I'm looking for UK (ideally London) based people who are involved or interested in the film industry for a new collaborative project that I am about to start working on. I need people who are intelligent, film literate, have some idea of what's going on in the industry and who can write well. If you think that's you - e-mail me on tom[AT]plasticbag.org.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: If Ivan Massow is 32... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/24/2000 08:31:25 PM ----- BODY:

If Ivan Massow is 32, I'm a hatstand - but other than that, I found this interview with my favourite ex-Conservative, "Gay who lost heart for the Tory fight" to be entirely absorbing. It's interesting watching the press try and get a handle on him - is he a (i) big girly poof or is he (ii) a pseudo-aristo or is he (iii) pretty down-to-earth. As far as I could tell when I met him, he was a pretty foxy playful bloke with too much money (I suspect he'd agree), a reasonable dose of liberal guilt, and a little too much time on his hands. Doesn't seem that complicated to me.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: JOHN SHARP EMAIL: jsharp3765@aol.com IP: 195.93.33.9 URL: DATE: 08/28/2003 10:26:04 AM His viewpoint on the contemporary art scene is, in my opinion, completely accurate, and high time that someone in his position should make. It made its mark, hence the outcome. The outcome of course emphasised the validity of his opinion. A nice circularity. ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I may be a porn star... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/24/2000 10:28:23 PM ----- BODY:

A certain friend of mine has pictures of me that he isn't really supposed to have. His boyfriend has been enjoying these photos which he isn't really supposed to have been doing. These photos have been sent to someone else on the web. I fear I may be a porn star.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I threw a little strop... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/25/2000 01:24:16 AM ----- BODY:

I was at work and I was talking to my boss and he revealed that they'd put the date of the launch of the new Time Out site back again, much to my surprise. So I threw a little strop, because I had promised them that I wouldn't take a holiday until the week after the site launched (I promised them this a while back). After a little while of this ranting in an uncontrolled fashion, I now appear to have today off work, which is why I am awake at 1am mucking around with my stuff on the web, rather than lying in bed trying to get to sleep and thinking about work.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On British Blogs... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Personal Publishing CATEGORY: Personal Publishing DATE: 08/25/2000 01:37:22 AM ----- BODY:

I started weblogging pretty soon after blogger launched. I think it had been going about a month and a half. And when I started, I don't think there were many of us doing this, and certainly not that many in the UK. Tonight I was talking to a few UK webloggers (many of whom I am meeting up with on Thursday night) and suddenly realised how much things have changed over the last ten months.

So I decided to compile (more for my benefit than yours) a quick list of well-designed and interesting British weblogs. It's by no means exhaustive, and is based heavily on Jen's work at the GBlogs Gateway.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On competitive impulses... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/25/2000 01:54:13 AM ----- BODY:

Christ. Plasticbag.org is mentioned twice on beebo.org's metalog in two days. I think that's pretty cool. Whether that means I should be out buying a pocket protector is debatable.

I had a long conversation with Mark the other day about beebo's related Weblog Rating page. When I started weblogging, I got really involved in the fight for supremacy on this chart for a while - not in any aggressive way, but for some reason it really mattered to me. Then my interest gradually cooled off. Whether that's because I got bored of the whole idea, gave up on it, or found something better to do with my time is another matter completely.

Mark's still going through the competitive stage and I spent our conversation trying to persuade him to think of it as a bit of a game, and nothing more. But then I go and move domain. I'm a bit unsure as to the quality of the design, so I'm really sensitive to people's opinions of the site. And of course all beebo's ratings page consists of is a guide to how interesting people think your site is. Suddenly, quite out of the blue, I can feel all those weird reptile brain impulses creeping into gear again. It's debatable whether or not this is a good thing. Part of me thinks that adrenalin never did anyone any harm. But then again, it's only a web site...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The future is masturbatory... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Personal Publishing CATEGORY: Personal Publishing DATE: 08/25/2000 02:20:47 AM ----- BODY:

Sometimes I think it's important to just feel good about yourself. So that's what I'm going to do. I read a post at Metafilter praising blogger and then I read a snarky comment about weblogs in general. Such comments are bloody boring in my opinion, but tend to run along these lines: 1) What you write is pointless. 2) What you write isn't much fun. 3) Why don't you do something properly creative.

In fact, all three of these points can be described in one simple phrase: "weblogs are wank". I find this kind of thing really amusing, as it seems to be wrapped up in a weirdly strict Catholic idea of what is appropriate sex. Clearly "wank" is considered "unproductive", "wasteful", "pointless" and therefore bad by these people. Weblogs are also considered "unproductive", "wasteful" and "pointless" and also therefore "bad".

But pretty much no one considers masturbation a sin any more, and a goodly proportion of the world seems to be up to it. And while some people are ashamed, most people are just getting on with it, some more creatively than others. I guess my question is this - why is there a double standard? Does everything have to be productive to be good? I for one am making a stand for the web masturbator. I say to thee: "build it, write it, show it off".

The future is wank...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On plasticbag.de... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/25/2000 03:58:26 PM ----- BODY:

I should point out that I have absolutely nothing to do with plasticbag.de, that I think it is an amazing site, and that I didn't know it existed until after I bought plasticbag.org. Otherwise - perhaps - I would have spent another eight months trying to decide on a suitable domain name.

Not that it would have mattered much, it seems, since at any point I can be defrauded of my domain name without the slightest possibility for recompense. Or at least this is how it appears at the moment: "Sex.com Wasn't Stolen" [wired.com]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Plastic everywhere... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/25/2000 04:07:47 PM ----- BODY:

I should also point out that I have nothing to do with plasticboy.com - which is another currently operating weblog out there. Plastic everywhere. It must be a sign of modern living.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Almost functioning webcams... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/25/2000 04:14:42 PM ----- BODY:

Ha. Thanks to Luke, I now have an almost functioning webcam. This is a significant step forward for me - particularly as I have had such overwhelming trouble with Oculus (I don't want to go into details, but it seems like a complete waste of money to me). I'm using StripCam now, which seems to do the job extremely well.

I haven't built my little webcam pop-up yet, but in the meantime you can get direct and unedited access here (remember clicking on this link signals your acceptance of the terms of watching me mooch about in my bedroom): "I don't care about Tom's hair, I still think he's fit". I'll neaten things up tonight, hopefully.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Boylog thinks I'm cute... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/26/2000 01:05:47 AM ----- BODY:

Yay. Boylog thinks I'm cute. How cool is that? And I quote:

"Tom has taken the big step and gotten a webcam. This is not good, as my attraction to him has now grown exponentially."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Super-villain or cringing victim? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Gay CATEGORY: Gay DATE: 08/26/2000 09:43:25 AM ----- BODY:

There's a really bizarre article about Richard Hatch, the so-called "Evil Queen" of America's "Survivor" (which we don't get over here in UK) over at the Washington Post: "Hard to Beat, Impossible to Avoid". I kind of skim read the article until my eyes got caught by this little paragraph:

"The straight world is conditioned to think of homosexuality as a handicap, a weakness, a fey stereotype. The gay rights movement tries to present a warm, united front and yet somehow amplifies the notion that gay men and lesbians are marginal, lacking in power."

Whatever the rest of the article says, this is a truth that will echo down through the ages. I prefer the "We Are Everywhere" approach. I'd rather be a super-villian than a cringing victim.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: If you sneeze, you'll miss it... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/26/2000 09:55:16 AM ----- BODY:

Is it just me, or has Derek been at Blogger about the length of time it takes for a reasonably-sized booger to be ejected from one's nostril during the process of blowing one's nose? I don't get it. I thought he was supposed to be Creative Director or something?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On different stages in gay identity... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Gay CATEGORY: Gay DATE: 08/26/2000 10:09:16 PM ----- BODY:

I've been through three major episodes in my quest for a decent gay identity, and none of them have really fitted right. First came the pre-gay "Can't we be just like everyone else" episode, where I wore what everyone else wore, sneered at gay people "celebrating" their difference on television and tried to cover up any "unnatural" urges I might have had to classmates at school and Uni.

Then came the early-gay "apologist" mode, where I appeared comfortable enough about the whole thing to declare myself gay to friends and family, and to live as a gay man, with the continual proviso that I should act in a politically appropriate way. This was when I was involved at quite a substantial level in student gay politics.

And then came the mid-gay, "fuck it" approach to the world, which is all about not allowing myself to pander to the whims of straight bigots or gay bigots, but just get on with things as loudly and annoyingly as possible. This stage has been great fun, and I sometimes wonder why so many people seem to spend so much time in the first two stages before realising the wonder of being a bloody nuisance whenever they get the chance.

With all this in mind, however, I decided to have a wander around some gay news, information and shopping sites - to do a survey, as it were, of the state of the gay (inter)nation. And unfortunately, I immediately came up against this: Gay E-cards so hideous and twee that it's like my grandmother knitted them in a gesture of political solidarity.

I fear this is the final stage of the evolution of one's gay identity. The individual concerned becomes so comfortable with being a tremendous poof, that they actually start to return to the childish state of taking it seriously, and are again completely unable to see any irony or humour in anything at all. Only this time they're buying each other bunches of chrysanthemums and washer dryers. I swear to god, the people who think these cards are cool can no longer be anything even vaguely resembling human. If this is the future of gay life, then I am a resolute homophobe!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On being A-list for a few moments... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/27/2000 12:48:23 AM ----- BODY:

Well, it's never going to happen again, so I may as well get a kick out of it while I still can. For (probably) one day only, plasticbag.org is #6 on beebo's weblog ratings. I'm so pathetic. I can't believe that matters to me.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Abandoned for drink in Crete... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/27/2000 12:53:20 AM ----- BODY:

I tell you, you leave Katy alone for one minute, and she wanders off to Crete to get completely trolleyed. I don't know. Young people nowadays...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Holy crap! Hot man alert! STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/27/2000 04:28:48 PM ----- BODY:

I don't think I've ever done this before - I don't consider myself to be a particularly tacky person - but holy crap is this man gorgeous... I was watching Eurotrash on TV the other day with Kate and Mella and suddenly this incredible creature appeared on screen. There was this collective intake of breath around the room. Kate, without any prompting of any kind, leapt up and wrote down (exactly) his rather complicated name, simply so that we could find something on him on the web. And found something we have. So I'd like to introduce you all to Oliver Bjerrehuus. If you feel you need to get more specifically acquainted, might I suggest you have a look at this picture. I need a cold shower.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Something to do with Blogger... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/27/2000 08:02:05 PM ----- BODY:

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&#149;</a>
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----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Channel 4, burn in hell... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/28/2000 11:33:11 AM ----- BODY:

Fury in W9: The Bank Holiday Weekend was summarily butt-fucked yesterday by Channel 4's decision to cancel the second Dawson's Creek Day. Concerned citizens, when seeking an explanation for this turn of events, were horrified to discover that it had been cancelled so that the cricket, which was cancelled on Saturday due to adverse weather conditions, could now be played on the Sunday. A correspondent for the group, "Damn You Channel 4" had this to say yesterday:

"Mumble mumble mumble....C4 cancels Dawson's Creek Day to show cricket instead....mumble mumble mumble...this means I have to get out of bed and do something else instead....mumble mumble mumble...." [Not So Soft]

Before wandering down the pub with the authors of plasticbag.org and lukelog.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Happy birthday to Mark... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/28/2000 11:47:42 AM ----- BODY:

It's Mark's birthday today. I'm in a bit of a mood with him at the moment (although less so than I am with Kerry) due to an event last night which we won't go into detail about. Still, it's not everyday you are sixteen - so congratulations old chap, your present's in the post...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The Battle of Saville & Merton (Part One) STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/28/2000 12:25:45 PM ----- BODY:

Bursting a Meme Bubble: [thanks for linkmachinego for almost everything I am about to write]. In the UK, we have a topical comedy program called "Have I Got News For You". The show consists of two teams, one headed up each week by Ian Hislop, editor of Private Eye, and one headed up by misanthropic comedian Paul Merton. There is an additional celebrity or politician on each team. The show is supervised by Angus Deayton.

Due to the topical nature of the show, and the acerbic wits of a few of the participants in the show (and the fact that Ian Hislop knows altogether too much stuff that goes on behind the scenes in British politics), the show has been savaged a number of times by law suits and claims of defamation of character. It is also, generally, extraordinarily funny.

A few weeks / months ago, an e-mail purporting to be an unedited transcript of one of the shows appeared on the net. It supposedly reported the dialogue that took place between the regulars on the show and Sir Jimmy Saville, a radio DJ with a slightly dubious reputation, who was a guest this week. The e-mail was scandalous in the extreme - incredibly funny (to the point of being scary), and utterly savage. [Read it here or here, but be warned - this is not for the kids].

Anyway. Such a document is clearly legally dubious at best, and since there is no evidence attached to the e-mail, it would seem logical to try to assume that it is entirely spurious as well. (In which case, of course, you would be talking vast potential libel damages.) But the strange thing about this particular meme is that most people who received the letter in question (including me - and I consider to be extremely cynical about chain e-mail) thought it to be at least plausible.

Now the truth of the matter is harder to discern, although through linkmachinego it seems that there are now several other documents on the web which purport to have something to say on the piece. This document, for one, claims responsibility for the writing of the piece in question for one, and claims that it was a parody of a certain journalist rather than an attack on Saville or HIGNFY.

I'm looking for more evidence on the matter in question at the moment. If any of you know of any reputable sites that discuss this matter, I would be really interested in hearing about them: tom%40plasticbag.org.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The Battle of Saville & Merton (Part Two) STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/29/2000 02:31:31 PM ----- BODY:

After a very helpful e-mail I have been directed to the Guardian Newspaper's website in order to find out more about the Have I Got News For You debacle I was discussing yesterday. This particular article [News Unlimited] alleges that a good portion of the transcript is in fact accurate, but that the crucial middle section is a fake:

"Paul Merton is always a man to push the televisual boundaries of libel laws as far as they will stretch but the transcript went a lot further than anything you would have seen on the show. The trouble is - according to sources - a huge chunk of the middle section of the email is fabricated.

In one particularly terse exchange appearing in the "transcript", for example, Merton supposedly attacks Saville about his personal hygiene. In another, the comedian seemingly loses the plot completely and launches into an incoherent rant before being asked by a rattled Angus Deayton if he wants to stop the recording. "

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The unflattering George Clooney... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/30/2000 11:35:13 AM ----- BODY:

Is it just me that thinks that it's pretty much impossible to be played by George Clooney in a movie and to be portrayed in a "false and unflattering light"? I can't helping thinking that such a statement is bordering on the oxymoronic. Nevertheless, the wife and daughters of Captain Frank William "Billy" Tyne (Clooney's character in The Perfect Storm) are trying to sue the ass off Warner Bros. for exactly that, claiming that the film depicted him as: "emotionally aloof, reckless, excessively risk-taking, self-absorbed, emasculated, despondent, obsessed and maniacal." [BBC news]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Money for food and cable TV... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/30/2000 11:49:38 AM ----- BODY:

All I can say is thank god this month is nearly over. I ran out of money weeks ago and finally get paid tomorrow. Which means I probably have enough money to eat, and to get cable television.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On "Blog on for an ego trip"... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/31/2000 04:12:16 PM ----- BODY:

"Blog on for an ego trip": So there was an article on weblogs in London's Evening Standard a few days ago, based around interviews with Katy of kitschbitch.com, Meg of notsosoft.com and myself. I knew that it was upcoming, but it has been being delayed for weeks while various editors have been on holiday. I only found out about it when a couple of people e-mailed me referencing it - and when a work colleague mentioned it to me in the pub.

The article takes the form of an introduction or promo of the weblog format, and so is necessarily quite superficial, but it includes a good selection of "starter-blogs", including The Breast Chronicles. Mark is going to be pissed off though - he's mentioned, but there's no URL:

"Recently, the pair [Katy and Tom] met up with Mark Olynciw, a 15-year old blogger from Connecticut, and chronicled the experience from three different perspectives. So what does Mark's mother think about his obsession? Oh, she's cool about it. Because she's got her own blog: at launch.nu/momblog."

I'll try and scan it and get it up on the site shortly (assuming no one else beats me to it).

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Meet the geeks... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/31/2000 04:47:12 PM ----- BODY:

There's a London meeting tonight of webloggers this evening, with many luminaries of the UK geek scene lurking in and around Leicester Square. I'm quite looking forward to it - particularly as I get to see Katy. If it gets dull, after all, she and I can duck off and go catch a movie.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On Blogmeets and Articles... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: __default__ ALLOW PINGS: 1 DATE: 09/01/2000 09:36:15 AM ----- BODY:

I've scanned the Evening Standard article and put it up on the site. You can link to it directly here: http://www.plasticbag.org/images/extra/standard_article.gif. And before you ask, the journalist who wrote the article, Debbie Barham (who came to the UK webloggers meeting last night) apologised for the headline. We must remember, my friends, that headlines are the territory of Editors and Sub-Editors, not Journalists themselves. And you know how we all hate Editors.

The evening was pretty cool, all things considered - we all met up outside Ben and Jerry's on Leicester Square at 7pm (except Katy, already drunk, rolled up ten minutes later). From there we wandered off to a Japanese restaurant where people took photos, made bad jokes, referenced each others lives and talked about weblogging. At around 10 - Katy and I rolled off home - but more about the trip from the restaurant to the tube later in the day...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Dialogue with a Diva... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/01/2000 09:47:16 AM ----- BODY:

One side of a conversation with Katy last night between the restaurant and the tube station:

"I do not get boring when you're out of the city."
"No, I have had no sex for the last three weeks."
"If you really need a snog then snog one of these people. They look like they need it."
"Really? Since 2pm you say...?"
"It's raining. Can we talk about this somewhere dry?"
"Are you sure you can walk?"
"The text message said, 'Have succumbed to desire for junk food', Katy, and I was there when you received it."
"Yes, I know you spent the afternoon with Evil Nick - that was who the text message was from."
"Yes, I do remember what the text message said."
"Yes I know you've been drinking since 2pm."
"In Corny's flat you say?"
"Can I borrow your mobile to text message Corny and Evil Nick?"
"Why are you spending all your time with my friends?"
"No I didn't text message them saying that you wanted to shag them."
"No I did not say, "Why are you shagging all my friends'."
"Are you shagging all my friends?"
"Drinking since 2pm? Really? I didn't know that..."
"Are you really sure you can walk?"

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Design work for Budweiser... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/01/2000 11:59:55 AM ----- BODY:

Hmmm. I can't even remember if I mentioned this one, so I will now. Yet another little design project for timeout.com - the Budweiser: The Bigger Picture Offers page. If you're interested, you should sign up. I might be there...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Ceci n'est-ce pas une meme... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/01/2000 12:15:24 PM ----- BODY:

Ceci n'est-ce pas une meme. In fact, if you ask me, it's a bloody con. If you must, look deeper.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Charles Atlas vs. Flex Mentallo... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/02/2000 11:22:51 AM ----- BODY:

OK. There's this writer called Grant Morrison, right? And he's, like, absurdly talented and witty, and has been written about in academic tomes on postmodernity. His work sells in the hundreds of thousands of copies a month, and he may or may not have been the creative force behind The Matrix, depending on who you believe. He mainly writes comic books - pretty fucked-up comic books if the truth be told - about freakish superheroes, the nature of reality, anarchy, evolution, revolution and bald men, who wear leather and fight the establishment.

Way back in the mists of time, he also created this little character called Flex Mentallo, a character who literally leapt off the page. He was a poor skinny little boy, who had sand kicked in his face on the beach. His girlfriend thought he was pathetic and went off with the bully. He studied muscle building arts, and then his girlfriend wanted him back.

Any of this sound familiar? Charles Atlas Ltd. thought so (and rightly, since the comic strip follows almost exactly the Atlas comic strips of the seventies and eighties) and swiftly sued. And why did they sue? ["Sand Kicked in the Face of Charles Atlas"]

Because in Morrison's version, "Mac" doesn't just write off for some guides to muscle-building. Instead, he meets a strange man down a dark-alley who has a television instead of a forehead, whose arms trail cans of some kind and who is continually smoking three cigarettes. The man offers Mac the knowledge to make him a master of the arts of Muscle Mystery - and thus to be able to cloud men's minds, look into other dimensions and generate a "Hero Halo" which hovers above him, saying "Hero of the Beach". But above and beyond all this, what really pissed off Charles Atlas Ltd, was that when the cooing girlfriend turns around to Mac and says: "Oh Mac! You are a real man after all!", he replies (while pushing her off him), "That's right. I am a real man and I don't need a tramp like you anymore!" (before wandering off into the sunset in his swimming trunks - Hero Halo a-blazing."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Conversations in my head... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/02/2000 11:37:43 AM ----- BODY:

Conversations in my head:

Loyal Reader: Tom? What did you and Katy do last night?
Tom: We went to see The Sound of Music at the Prince Charles Cinema, Loyal Reader.
LR: You did what? Why would you do that? I don't understand!
Tom: We went to see The Sound of Music. Sheesh - it's not that hard to understand.
LR: Let me get this straight. You and Katy went to the cinema to see an absurdly long Julie Andrews musical that you can see on TV every single Bank Holiday, Easter and Christmas. And you went on a Friday night?
Tom: I can see how you might think that was slightly strange - but really - this was a special screening of the movie. At this screening, they put subtitles on for all the songs and you are supposed to sing along, and people get dressed up in fancy dress (and there's a competition for the best Nun) and there are props (just like when you go to see The Rocky Horror Picture Show). And there's an intermission and popcorn and coke and it's four hours long and there's Austria and Nazis and "High on a Hill was a..." and "Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes...". It's COOL, OK?!
LR: Fuck this, I'm off to kottke.org
Tom: Hello? Hello? Is there anyone there?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On Abandonment... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/02/2000 11:53:51 AM ----- BODY:

I've run out of friends, I think. Toby's away doing god-parent things, Nick's in Oxford or Cambridge (doing god knows what with god knows who - although I'll bet it involves women), Rhonda's in Sussex, Kate and Mella have gone out for breakfast with Tara, Katy is on her way back to Manchester, Evil Nick's in Harrow, etc etc etc... Meg and Luke aren't even on AIM. I don't understand.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Britney raped by robots? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/03/2000 12:42:57 PM ----- BODY:

A message from the uber-God, Grant Morrison, delivered to us through the BBC: EdFest Live Chat Transcript. Bow in wonder, unworthy scum. Selected awesomeness follows:

Ed�Mathews: JLA was a fun romp. Any chance we'll see you playing with DC's heroes again soon? Grant Morrison on Aquaman would be most intriguing, for instance...

Grant�Morrison: I had a really good idea ...Aquaman's mum was a mermaid and laid eggs and there were thousands of them!

Rizla�1977 Am I a sad, deluded fanboy, or are there really deep magical undertones to MarvelBoy?

GrantMorrison Yes there are deep undertones and Yes you are a sad deluded boy for thinking so

Jinx Will Zenith be returning to 2000AD?

Grant�Morrison Yes shortly and in a fairly bizarre story It starts off with Britney Spears being raped by a robot.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Waving fists at Tower Records... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/03/2000 01:09:38 PM ----- BODY:

It was Saturday afternoon at 5pm, and I wander into Tower Records in Piccadilly Circus. The whole place has been redecorated and looks quite different from how I remember it. The most significant addition is a whole bank of iMacs with net access for sale at �1 for 20 minutes. "Cool", I think to myself, "I can blog from the middle of Tower. That's got to be pretty hip". So I sit down with my little 20 minute card and try to access something.

Time passes. Sites resolutely refuse to load. After twenty minutes, I have managed to glance at two pages: my site and Blogger.com, where I have written a piece slamming the appalling connection speeds. I click on post and publish and nothing happens. For six minutes. My time runs out. I am furious.

At least in the meantime I'd found a way to remove all their sponsors from the browser (why don't they ever turn off keyboard shortcuts) and replace them with kitschbitch and prolific links. I rule.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On my e-mail backlog... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/03/2000 01:11:07 PM ----- BODY:

I've just discovered that I have built up a backlog of 50 unanswered e-mails over the last two weeks. So if I haven't replied to you yet, I'm very sorry, and I will get around to it.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Announcing gb.weblogs.com... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/04/2000 09:32:21 AM ----- BODY:

<advertisement> Are you an Anglophile? Obsessed with UK-based webloggers such as me? [Or haddock.org, kitschbitch.com, notsosoft, Lukelog, linkmachinego] If so, then keep up to date with the latest in logging with gb.weblogs.com. </advertisement>

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On the launch of blog*spot... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/04/2000 09:36:44 AM ----- BODY:

Blogger just can't sit still. Latest launch: blog*spot - a free blogger-blog hosting service. I have to confess though, that even after looking at their products page, I wonder how/if they make any money. And if there aren't ads on blog*spot, you have to wonder how it keeps body and soul together.

I have this image of Meg and Ev sitting on a doorstep with two extremely powerful laptops, with a cable snaking sneakily out of a nearby warehouse, and "Will Code For Food" written on their T-shirts...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Do I look like Jack Nicholson? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/04/2000 09:38:10 AM ----- BODY:

Answer me honestly, oh faithful readers, do I (or do I not) look like Jack Nicholson?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Unable to get things done... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/04/2000 09:40:50 AM ----- BODY:

Being an unnecessarily defensive post about Tom's inability to get things done on plasticbag.org:

Question: Am I still watching That Thing You Do, reading Harry Potter IV and listening to Moby?
Answer: No. I have been watching Shanghai Noon, reading comic books and listening to the Beta Band.
Question: So how come it says different on the left, then?
Answer: Because I'm really disorganised. Sheesh. You guys give me such a hard time sometimes...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: When what you do no longer gives you pleasure... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/04/2000 07:11:55 PM ----- BODY:

What are you supposed to do when what you do doesn't give you pleasure? And if it's not that you don't like it but that it no longer likes you - well, what are you supposed to do about it? My whole work life feels completely out of control at the moment - spiralling all over the place. And decisions seem to be made about my future by, it seems, everyone other than myself. I probably just need a holiday (hopefully approaching rapidly - oh sunny Bristol, how fair thou art), but it doesn't feel like that at the moment.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Three perspectives on work... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/04/2000 07:23:21 PM ----- BODY:

Three perspectives on work, with excerpts [via metafilter and randomwalks]:

The Abolition of Work
"Work is the source of nearly all the misery in the world. Almost any evil you'd care to name comes from working or from living in a world designed for work. In order to stop suffering, we have to stop working."
Fuck Work
"The goal of Unamerican Activities is the creation of a business model that will permit the dissemination of FIVE MILLION STICKERS THAT SAY 'FUCK WORK'. "
We Need Less Labor, More Days
"With 16 new holidays added to the 10 existing ones we could have what amounts to a three-day weekend every other week. I would, however, retain the five-day school week, giving parents two days a month to themselves."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Self-destructive moods... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/04/2000 07:28:31 PM ----- BODY:

I have been working really hard today. I've got a lot of things done which needed to be done, and I feel quite proud of myself for having done them. However, it has to be said that I have a limited amount of respect for the things themselves. In fact, through my current distorted gaze, the only productive things I seem to have done today are:

Throw a plasticine castle against a wall very hard until it turned into mush.
Play "It's The End Of The World As We Know It And I Feel Fine" very loudly in the office after everyone else went home.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: God. Love. Bored. Home. STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/04/2000 07:29:42 PM ----- BODY:

Disclaimer: Everything that follows is the result of me having had a bad day at work and should therefore be taken with a pinch of salt (the size of a small planet). God is love. Love is God. I am Bored. I'm going Home.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: All the beans fell out... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/05/2000 02:03:56 PM ----- BODY:

It was my father's birthday on Friday, and I bought him this book on the history of the twentieth century, but I haven't had time to send it to him yet, which makes me feel completely appalling - and indeed is pretty unforgiveable. The thing is, I pretty much know that whatever I buy him will be pretty much wrong. If he wants something he buys it himself, and he doesn't really seem to have any particular "general interests" that a present can easily cater for.

I asked him what he wanted for Christmas one year, and he said that he'd like fifty Bic biros. So I bought him fifty Bic biros. He seemed as happy with them as anything else I'd ever bought him...

I've only made him smile genuinely once with a birthday present, which was for his fiftieth and contained fifty presents - from a bean bag frog to a vibro-massage kit. But although he smiled at the time, I don't think any of the gifts were ever used again. In the end, I think my brother stole the frog, which we decided to call Wilbur. He got a hole in him in the end. All the beans fell out.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On Freudian Dreams... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/05/2000 03:05:26 PM ----- BODY:

Am I the only person to have read Freud around here? I mean - really?!

Mark:
"from a dream about honey bees on a school playground: kerry showing off his pirate sword took from a monkey bar. be careful, i told him, you're going to stab someone with that sword of yours. kerry, c'mon, put the sword down, we'll play dodge ball! honestly! kerry!

"of course kerry stabs me with his sword while running to play dodgeball. i woke up, with the most incredible stomach ache."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Scary Megcam Archive... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/05/2000 07:03:25 PM ----- BODY:

Every so often I forget that notsosoft has a Scary MegCam Archive. On those days, the world is grey and depressing. And then I remember that it's there and look long and hard. And then I can't stop laughing! For months!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Work, Life, Holidays... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/05/2000 07:09:10 PM ----- BODY:

I have just had a long conversation with my boss of bosses about work and life and holiday time. He's been really reassuring and nice and helpful, which means that I just have more to think about now than I did before, if I'm completely honest, but at least I'm less tense.

The most satisfying part of the whole shebang is that he (I fear with nervousness in his heart) practically insisted that I take a couple of weeks off work starting after work tomorrow. I think I'm going to be off from the seventh until the nineteenth, during which time I plan to visit Bristol, get cable television, work on my sites, clean my bedroom and sort out the weird thing that seems to be growing on the bottom of my feet.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Strange people on Barbelith... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/06/2000 09:37:24 AM ----- BODY:

There are some increasingly strange people lurking on what used to be the Nexus over on barbelith.com - quite how I'm supposed to respond to this without looking like a complete egotist is beyond me. Thanks, guys!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Make me feel useful... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/07/2000 10:51:02 AM ----- BODY:

So I've been now on holiday for approximately forty-five minutes (if one considers that that's when I would have arrived at work this morning), and I have already been rung with questions. I can only assume that they are doing it to try and make me feel useful.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Who's in charge of Kitsch Bitch? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/07/2000 01:36:03 PM ----- BODY:

Yesterday, Katy went on holiday, and left her site under the awesome government of Meg, Luke and Nick (of Corny fame). The new design is extremely entertaining - which reminds me - I told Dan of Daily Doozer infamy that I'd build something for him... I must get around to that over the next couple of weeks.

What else has been going on? Erm. The new timeout.com site is rapidly approaching launch - it's on the net at the moment, but I doubt you'll be able to find it. After work last night (I left at 8pm) I went for dinner with Meg, this bloke called Ian and this other bloke called Frank at this club thing down a back-alley off St Martins Lane. I don't think Ian or Frank have websites, which I fear makes them approximately 2/3rds of a person. The food and company was great. Nice time had - although I fear I now know a little too much about the internal working of AOL and LineOne.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Message from Riothero... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/07/2000 01:42:51 PM ----- BODY:

So I decided to send Mark a message through AIM even though it was clear that he wasn't there. I was just interested in the kind of message he might leave. He's such a charmer:

"i'm at school. Stinkbadger, if you IMed to say you loved me, thanks babe, i love you too. Stinkbadger, if you IMed to say you hate me, fuck you jerk! and if you IMed just to talk, man up, and pick one of the two choices above, deal? see ya this afternoon around 3:00."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Mere days... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/07/2000 01:56:39 PM ----- BODY:

Mere days after I finally convinced my boss to sign a deal with Amazon rather than with the rather appalling IBS, I read this:

Wired [Online Prices Not Created Equal]:
"Amazon apparently offers good discounts to new users, then once they get the person hooked and coming back to their site again and again, they play with the prices to make more money," wrote one angry poster in the online forum DVD Talk.

A number of other posters in the same forum fumed about prices varying wildly for the same DVDs, depending on whether the surfer accessed Amazon from his own computer or someone else's. Several angry Amazon customers emailed complaints to Wired News.

Amazon.com acknowledged that it's been presenting different prices to different customers in its DVD store, but denied that it does so on the basis of any past purchasing behavior at Amazon.

The article goes on to argue that targetted pricing could be the way of the future, with people who are more likely to pay more for a product being put in a position where those are the only prices they are offered - and with this happening often without their knowledge. This so clearly has the potential to be horribly immoral that I can't think that it will work - people will protest or governments / fair trade associations will intervene. But in the meantime I think this is a matter for protest: Equal Rights to Fair Prices!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I was going to go STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/07/2000 06:33:16 PM ----- BODY: I was going to go and visit a friend in Bristol for this weekend, but I heard yesterday that a close friend of hers died a couple of days ago. She's come down to London to be with them, and I met her in Hampstead for a drink this afternoon.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Well I said it would STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/08/2000 10:08:37 AM ----- BODY: Well I said it would happen, and happen it has - plasticbag.org falls from six to thirty-one on beebo.org. I kind of knew it would happen eventually, but I have to say I am disappointed. I should probably have done the move several months ago.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Images from Star Wars: Episode STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/08/2000 10:57:00 AM ----- BODY: Images from Star Wars: Episode II are released - and they have a sneaky / cunning way of letting people distribute them:

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: A quote from the letters STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/08/2000 11:16:44 AM ----- BODY: A quote from the letters column of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, a comic book written by Alan Moore concerned with the adventures of the Invisible Man, Dr Jekyll, Allan Quatermain, Mina Murray and Captain Nemo (and a number of other 19th Century Roustabouts).

"Good show, young man. Our hats are off to you. While we are not entirely sure exactly who this "Danger Girl" to whom you more than once refer might be, we venture that she sounds like a vexatious little strumpet and is almost certainly deserving of a vigorous beating, perhaps with a taws or riding crop. Why I'll wager you'd buy six issues if we did that, wouldn't you, you cheeky little bounder? Here's a shilling, don't spend it on gin. When we were our age we were all dying of pleurisy up chimneys, but it was character-forming, and that's how we beat the Hun. Now be off with you, before we tell your Father."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Can you name the sitcom "Slag & Poof"? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/08/2000 01:36:34 PM ----- BODY:

OK - so I have a question for you people in the US. While watching "Dharma and Greg" last night on Channel 4, Mella and I tried to remember the name of the other US sitcom which stars a man and a woman, and whose premise we refined down from "Woman and Faggot" to "Slag and Poof". Bearing in mind that Mella and I were identifying heavily with these roles at the time, please only helpful e-mails!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: What are you supposed to STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/08/2000 01:48:25 PM ----- BODY: What are you supposed to do when you're on holiday? I'm already bored, and I've only been off a day and a half. Ho hum. Guess I'll tidy the flat and go pay some bills...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Wow: Twenty e-mails in five STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/08/2000 08:24:20 PM ----- BODY: Wow: Twenty e-mails in five hours - all telling me that the TV show in question is not in fact called "Slag and Poof", or indeed "Poof and Slag", but instead is called "Will and Grace" (not far off - pat yourself on the back Tom). Here are some links about said program:

Now all I need to know is when this show is coming to the UK.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: So Mel gets evicted from STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/08/2000 09:07:51 PM ----- BODY: So Mel gets evicted from the Big Brother UK house with a whopping 69% of the vote. My flatmate Mella rings me from the studio straight after the TV program and says that everyone in her family is really glad to have her coming home, and that the atmosphere in the theatre was pretty strange. Two hours until the full interview...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Adapted plot synopses (thanks to: STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/08/2000 11:51:46 PM ----- BODY: Adapted plot synopses (thanks to: Rob's Will & Grace Page, using my names for the main characters (I find this inordinately amusing and could have put about a thousand of them up):

Pilot:
Poof's poker night with his buddies gets interrupted by the unexpected arrival of Slag, who has once again broken up with her boyfriend and arrives to spend the night--much to the displeasure of Poof's friend Queen, who was planning to move in temporarily while his own apartment has new flooring put in. Poof talks Slag into finally leaving her boyfriend for good, she marches off to confront him, but when she returns to announce that she has accepted a marriage proposal, Poof risks their friendship by telling her what he thinks.

Where there's a Poof, there's no way:
Slag claims that the reason she's not dating is that she's having too much "fun" with Poof--so she proposes that they try their best not to have fun. Meanwhile, Queen is seeing stars over seeing an IRS agent, so he enlists Poof's help.

The truth about Poof and Dogs:
After Slag defies Poof's wishes and brings home a puppy, Poof can't resist the pooch and begins to treat him like a newborn baby. Meanwhile, Queen and Bitch worry about the dog's effect on Poof and Slag and insist that the new parents go out for a night on the town.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Plummetting on Beebo... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/09/2000 01:01:52 AM ----- BODY:

Right. I have decided I am actually quite irritated about having plummeted twenty-two places on beebo.org's ratings, even if it is completely irrelevant (<aside to camera>"My fat arse"</aside to camera>) so I'm going to stoop to actually demanding that you people out there with weblogs 1) Make sure you have your site listed (e-mail metalog@beebo.org) and 2) Make sure that you have plasticbag.org in your permanent links section on the page.

Without wishing to compromise my journalistic integrity in any way whatsoever, I can reveal myself to be a shameless linkwhore and self-publicist who will not allow any such selfless act to be unrewarded. I love you all. Each and every one of you. Or should I say I will love you, just as soon as you do the decent thing and bloody link to me.

Ever your obsequious bitch, Tom.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: When I designed plasticbag.org I STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/09/2000 10:28:59 AM ----- BODY: When I designed plasticbag.org I decided that I wasn't going to pay any attention to the restrictions of the web-safe pallette. I mean - it's a personal site, right - I'm not selling anything - to an extent it doesn't matter if a few people find the site visually offensive. Jason Kottke seems to have taken a similar approach - that the personal site is an arena for a certain amount of experimentation that one can't make when one is designing for a company, and hence the web-safe palette is less important.

I've just read an article over at Webmonkey called: "Death of the Websafe Color Palette?". The two authors performed some experiments on different platforms between 256 colour displays, High Colour displays and True Colour displays - to see if it was necessary to still design within the web palette at all. [If you don't know what the web palette is, then the article will explain all.] What they found was alarming.

Apparently only 22 colours actually remain completely consistent cross browser, cross platform and cross colour depth [The Really Safe Web Palette]. Every other colour renders improperly when placed next to a .gif of (in theory) the same colour on one or more system.

I'll provide an example: the curved tab-like shape that forms the top of this column of text. If you look at this page using anything other than a true colour colour depth, that image appears to be a very different colour from the text background. It is errors in rendering like this that are supposed to be avoided by using the web safe palette.

It looks like we have a long way to go before we can cheerfully mix images and cell backgrounds using any colour over every colour depth. At least these figures are relatively reassuring (even if they only represent a general trend in the right direction):

"The most recent numbers we've seen from StatMarket put True Color (24- and 32-bit) at about 38 percent of users; High Color (16-bit) at about 56 percent; and 256-color users are at about 6 percent."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I have been informed today STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/09/2000 10:34:02 AM ----- BODY: I have been informed today (by the same person) both that I am a self-important puffed-up egotist and that I look like Timothy Olyphant. Talk about mixed signals.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Found through referrer logs - STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/09/2000 03:19:42 PM ----- BODY: Found through referrer logs - Another intelligent & able Brit-Blog spreads its wings: will.tryonline.net.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: What does this mean? [publog] STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/09/2000 06:46:23 PM ----- BODY: What does this mean? [publog]

"Blog on for an ego trip. Ich dachte immer, in Weblogs geht es um kommentierte Links. (So kommt es auch in dieser Sendung im �sterreichischen Rundfunk r�ber.)

"Inzwischen k�nnte man fast sagen: "Ein Weblog ist eine Seite, die mit Blogger oder einem �hnlichen Tool erstellt wird." Auch der Begriff "Blogger" ist auf dem besten Weg, ein ganz normales Wort zu werden (wie "Walkman"). Ist das ein cleverer Masterplan vom Pyra oder passiert das alles zuf�llig?"

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Sourground has redesigned. It's so STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/09/2000 06:53:49 PM ----- BODY: Sourground has redesigned. It's so ... simple. There's a good portion of me that is quite jealous of him on this one - it looks so simple. It makes plasticbag.org look so overcomplicated - which really wasn't the intention at all. I wanted it to be clean and clear and different and cool. Maybe I haven't succeeded. I must think more about this.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: You can perhaps imagine how STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/09/2000 06:59:38 PM ----- BODY: You can perhaps imagine how cheerful I was this morning to check my regular dosage of post-Katy kitschbitch, only to discover a horribly unpleasant photograph of myself scanned in by the evil Mr Cornwell, who managed to capture me looking particularly long and moose-ish. I can't remember the last time I have cringed with such horror at a photograph. Please god let me not look like this: Moose/Man.

The picture, incidentally, was taken at the recent house-warming of Toby, an old friend of mine, who - perhaps incongruously - does not live in a huge mansion full of suits of armour and secret passages, but in a rather nice little flat off England's Lane in Belsize Park.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I had this really good STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/09/2000 07:06:36 PM ----- BODY: I had this really good idea for something to do on the site, but unfortunately I can't implement it. I was going to dig up my teenage diaries and see if I wrote anything for these dates and run them in parallel. But I can't seem to find them anywhere. Which is probably a good thing, considering how embarrassing they probably are. I know that at times they lapse into porn-novel territory. So I am thinking instead of doing a "History of Tom in Pictures" thing, which will have a number of sizeable absences in it as I refused to have photos taken for years at a time in fits of post-adolescent grumpiness.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: According to blogger, I am STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/10/2000 11:20:09 AM ----- BODY: According to blogger, I am the eighth person in the last 24 hours to mention kottke.org. Having checked more thoroughly, it transpires that I am the sixth person in the last 24 hours to mention the redesign.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: A translation of the German. STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/10/2000 11:28:14 AM ----- BODY: A translation of the German. [from publog translated by prolific]

"Blog on for an ego trip. I always thought that weblogs are about links with commentary. (That's what it also looks like in this program on Austrian television)

"In the meantime you can almost say: A weblog is a site that is made with Blogger, or a similar tool. Also, the term 'blogger' is on its way to become an ordinary word (like 'walkman'). Is this one of Pyra's clever masterplans, or is it all just a coincidence?"

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I'm bored. It's official. I STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/11/2000 02:00:58 PM ----- BODY: I'm bored. It's official. I am apparently incapable of being on my own for more than four days without having some kind of organised activity. How pathetic is that? It hasn't been this way for long - less than a year ago the very idea of starting a non-freelance nine-to-five kind of job filled me with horror. I loved my freedom, and used it mercilessly. Perhaps it's been too long since I had a holiday. I have a week and a half left and I can't think of anything to do with it.

This was brought home to me today by a visit to the office. I had to go in because I thought there was a bill that I had left at work which needed to be paid. Everyone looked at me with mute astonishment as I walked into the room, and in short order I found myself discussing work-related matters with my boss over a pub lunch.

Twenty minutes later and I'm sitting in an internet café thinking how bizarre it is to find myself in this situation, and beginning to get a sense in my head of why my step-father spent such a long time at the office, and why people with stressful jobs feel obselete when they retire...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Delightful news: "Poof and Slag" STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/11/2000 02:06:43 PM ----- BODY: Delightful news: "Poof and Slag" has won Best Comedy at the Emmy Awards. Find out more about this thrilling series with this guide to the lives of aspirational homosexual Will and his brightly clad female accomplice, Grace: Will & Grace.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: My fictional love-life (prelude): I've STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/11/2000 02:16:29 PM ----- BODY: My fictional love-life (prelude): I've had a couple of e-mails lately asking about the state of my love life at the moment - people are, it seems, desperate to get some kind of vicarious thrill by watching me shag my way around north London.

Unfortunately, I have no love life at the moment - various reasons (including exhaustion, grumpiness and general crapulence) have precluded any down-and-dirty bedroom action. So I have a temporary solution. I'm going to generate a fictional bloke who I can write about here. And all you guys have to do is pretend with me that what you are reading is the real thing. First entry to come soon...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Wafterbaby corners Matt Haughey. His STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/11/2000 08:40:37 PM ----- BODY: Wafterbaby corners Matt Haughey. His list of regular reads is interesting (and not just because he seems to read plasticbag.org every so often. I'm more impressed because of his level of committment. I will be completely honest - while the logs I read varies from day to day, I doubt I read more than five or six in any one day.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: My fictional love-life (1): So STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/11/2000 08:48:03 PM ----- BODY: My fictional love-life (1): So I'm walking down the street when I slip on a banana skin and land hard on my back. The weather isn't brilliant so I get this kind of sky-grey haze moving behind the glowing spots that dance around in front of me. This weird-looking guy with a big nose and an eye-patch helps me up. Everyone else kind of walked past.

We didn't say a lot to each other, but he didn't make a very good first impression. You know the type - completely self-involved and nauseatingly smug. Instantly frustrating. He did, however, have a nice arse.

After helping me stand up, we did some "British" thing that you see on TV programs like Friends, but which never actually happens in England (possibly we looked a bit sheepish and mentioned the Queen) and went on our separate ways. God help me, I hope I don't bump into him again...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: So I'm watching television... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/11/2000 09:04:36 PM ----- BODY:

So I'm watching television this evening and That '70s Show comes on Channel 5. For the Americans amongst us I should point out that Channel 5 is to quality television what fart jokes are to Contemporary Dance Theatre.

The show is a favourite of regular plasticbag.org subjectee Kerry - my pet American - and for this reason I decided that I should probably watch it.

It's basically pretty funny, but suffers much more than normal from trans-atlantic drift. All UK-based people will understand this one - it's what has happened when you are staring at the TV screen trying blankly to work out what "cooties" are.

In the first episode I watched there was an appearance by '70s President Ford. The jokes at his expense were, I fear as incomprehensible to me as any joke I might be able to make about <whoever - the - hell - was - Prime - Minister - before - Thatcher - rose - from - her - icy - crypt> would be to an American.

Or indeed to me, since I clearly can't for the life of me remember what his name was.

By means of retribution on the USA for the export of comedy that only they will understand, I hereby suggest the export of The Vicar of Dibley, which I watched last night, and which contained about a thousand Paul Daniels, Debbie McGee and Crunchie jokes - all of which I "fear" might be lost on our American cousins.

Let's see them put that on an obscure cable channel and forget all about it! Ha. Revenge is sweet.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: My fictional love-life (2): You'll STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/12/2000 04:06:17 PM ----- BODY: My fictional love-life (2): You'll never guess - I bumped into weird guy with patch and nose again today. It was at my weekly visit for colonic irrigation. He goes to the same place. He is such a frustrating human being. Although, not really having spoken to him properly yet, I don't really know how I could know that. God help me, I hope he doesn't turn up to that fictional party I'm having next week.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: While we are on the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/12/2000 04:31:32 PM ----- BODY: While we are on the subject of Radiohead, am I right in thinking that both the cover and name of their soon to be released album (Kid A) are really quite bad?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The two activities that I STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/12/2000 04:36:25 PM ----- BODY: The two activities that I had down on my list as "to be done" today were: 1) Sign up with new GP, 2) Get cable television. Since I have not managed to leave the house all day, the first one seems rather unlikely, and unfortunately the people who supply cable television are resolutely refusing to talk to me. Which leaves this day as rather a dead loss. I have played quite a lot of Quake III though - that's got to count for something, right?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I read this interview with STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/12/2000 05:29:13 PM ----- BODY: I read this interview with Radiohead in Q the other day, and thought to myself - if only they weren't so torturous about what they do; perhaps then they'd have more fun with it. And then I thought about how long it took me to get a tiny little website rebuilt, and how much horror that generated for me, and then I shut up.

In this interview was a reference to the book No Logo by Naomi Klein, which the various band members said had clarified for them what they wanted to talk about on the album (if indeed they were talking about anything). So I thought to myself - "No Logo" - that sounds like the kind of book that interests me - it's got that counter-cultural vibe going on; I think I'll buy it.

So I went to lots of shops and couldn't find it and returned home grumpy and forlorn. And then last night I spilt a glass of beer on my desk and had to grab about a ton of stuff off it and throw it on the floor so that I could mop up the mess. And what do I see at the bottom of the pile, but a copy of the book itself in full burning technicolour. Nick had bought it for me for my birthday and I'd completely forgotten.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Many more days of holiday STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/12/2000 09:37:54 PM ----- BODY: Many more days of holiday and I fear I might actually reach that fabled limit of Buffy saturation. Then again...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I think I see it, that evil robotic duck... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/12/2000 09:51:58 PM ----- BODY:

There's some astonishingly good - and extraordinarily strange - high quality Flash work over at nosepilot.com [via metalog]. It reminds me a lot of those strange five minute cartoon pieces that you sometimes see on BBC2 in between some late night talk show and the third repeat of V. Only it's of infinitely higher quality. If you haven't seen this quote yet, then you are nowhere near the end:

"I think I see it, that evil robotic duck."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Vote Anna for Big Brother! STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/13/2000 05:19:15 PM ----- BODY:

If you are sane and therefore want Anna to win Big Brother UK then ring 09011 980 101 immediately. If you need further reason than that, I could mention that there is a rumour going around London media circles at the moment that Big Brother have made a deal with The Sun to edit the TV footage to make sure that Craig wins. He is apparently considered very good Sun-fodder. This may very well be a load of bollocks, so concentrate on this simple message: Anna is GOD and commands you to vote for her.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: OSX is now available for testing... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/14/2000 12:59:26 PM ----- BODY:

News from Apple: The MacOS X Public Beta is now finally available for testing. Confession - I'm a bit scared of OS X - I'm a relatively recent convert to Macs (and I haven't regretted it in the slightest), but I hear that there are many features of the new operating system that are similar to Windows. Frankly, I just don't get it. It does however look wonderful. [OS X]

Apple have also released a couple of new iBooks in new colour schemes. I mean - they look nice, but there's not much of a leap there. [iBook]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On 'Balanced' and 'Impartial' Journalism... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Journalism CATEGORY: Gay CATEGORY: Journalism CATEGORY: Politics DATE: 09/14/2000 01:24:59 PM ----- BODY:

I've just read this astonishing article on a conference held by journalists about the reporting of gay issues: ["'Gay' journalists turn activists"] At this conference the question of "balance" came up - the question was Do we have to present both sides of the opinion on gay issues, when we don't on racism? This is a quote from one of the people present:

"Ramon Escobar, an MSNBC producer who moderated the same plenary session, said, "This whole issue of 'balance' that we as journalists are supposed to achieve. ... When we cover the black community, I've never seen a newsroom where you're covering one side and then you have to go run out and get the Klan's point of view: 'Well, I've got to go do my Klan interview.' How do you be fair?"

The article itself, however, is decidedly anti-gay - they quote the piece above as if it were a ridiculous thing to say. The journalist themselves says:

"Despite all the gay propaganda masquerading as news; despite the ubiquitous pro-"gay" puff pieces; and the "inside" manipulations by NLGJA journalists, something is wrong: Americans are still repulsed by homosexual behavior. Gay sex remains a massive turn off. "

I'm not going to argue with this person on the grounds of rights vs tastes - although one might argue briefly that not liking hip-hop should not be reason enough to countenance racism - but what I am going to take issue with is his statement about the role of journalists. Two quote for you now:

"A newsman's job is to report the news -- not undermine natural inhibitions guided by centuries of moral teaching."

At the conference, homosexual reporters in mainstream media positions found it hard to subdue their enthusiasm for "gay rights," thus discarding the old journalistic ethic of neutrality.

That the gentleman concerned also seems to miss the point of is that the job of the reporter is also to report the truth - whether that be difficult for some people to accept or not. The interpretation of that truth is another matter - and I'm afraid one where it simple isn't possible to take a completely "balanced" line.

After all - how can you be "balanced" and still be a reporter - if what you report has to reflect the full breadth of opinion on every issue, whether or not there is any evidence or not, then serious news reporting about the death of Kennedy would be full of wild accusations and (probably) untruths (aliens, CIA conspiracies, FBI conspiracies, Masons, Illuminati etc etc etc). The job of the reporter is to assess the facts and report what seems most likely to be the truth - not to mirror what he or she reports to the opinions of the population.

In fact, I think this points to one of the biggest crises in journalism in the USA today. Writing the news has never been about being "balanced" (in the sense of mirroring the report to a greater or lesser extent to what various interest groups say is the truth), but about being impartial - free from those influences to write what appears to be the truth.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Improvements at the BBFC... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/14/2000 01:32:34 PM ----- BODY:

For the libertarian in all of us, the BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) has set out it's new guidelines - and they are much less invasive than they have been before. In films specfically targetted at children, the guidelines have been strengthened, but for films for adults, the consensus seems to be that people now firmly believe that they should be free to choose for themselves what is an appropriate level of violence or sexual content. And about bloody time.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Quotes from "No Logo"... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/15/2000 12:44:28 AM ----- BODY:

Quotes from "No Logo" by Naomi Klein (1):

"Nineties marketers, being on a more advanced rung of the sponsorship spiral, have dutifully come up with clever and intrusive new selling techniques ... Recent highlights include these innovations: Gordon's gin experimented with filling British movie theatres with the scent of juniper berries; Calvin Klein stuck "CK Be" perfume strips on the backs of Ticketmaster concert envelopes; and in some Scandinavian countries you can get "free" long-distance calls with ads cutting into your telephone conversations.

"And there's plenty more, stretching across ever more expansive surfaces and cramming into the smallest of crevices: sticker ads on pieces of fruit promoting ABC sitcoms, Levi's ads in public washrooms, corporate logos on boxes of Girl Guide cookies, ads for pop albums on takeout food containers, and ads for Batman movies projected on sidewalks or into the night sky. There are already ads on benches in national parks as well as on library cards in public libraries, and in December 1998 NASA announced plans to solicit ads on its space stations. Pepsi's ongoing threat to project its logo onto the moon's surface hasn't yet materialized..."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On Barmen... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Food & Drink CATEGORY: Food & Drink DATE: 09/15/2000 01:00:48 AM ----- BODY:

Barmen are alluring for three reasons. Firstly, they have to be nice to you. Secondly, they are often employed because they are physically attractive (although this could be a condition only in gay culture). Thirdly, they bring you alcohol if you ask them nicely.

Barmen are unobtainable for pretty much all of the reasons above. Firstly, they have to be nice to you. They don't actually want to be, quite a lot of the time, or they're tired, or they just resent having to be chirpy all the time. Secondly, they are often employed because they are physically attractive. Everyone knows that the more attractive a man is, then the more selective he can be, and the more unpleasantly arrogant he will become as a result. Thirdly, they bring you alcohol if you ask them nicely. And then they watch you get drunk, from afar, in a detached fashion. Possibly with an eyebrow raised.

I have a long history of being fascinated with barmen. Most recently, I have been trying to strike up a conversation with one of the barmen at Escape which sits beneath the Raymond Revue Bar in London's Soho. I'm not particularly trying to nail him - I just think he looks cool. But the curse of being a barman is the ongoing assumption that everyone wants to shag you - and hence the complete inability to talk to anyone who, at first glance, you wouldn't necessarily want to wake up (with a hangover) next to.

Having realised this, of course, my first thought was whether it might be possible to supplement my income with a part-time, day-a-week job behind a bar. But maybe that's taking things too far.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On the UK Petrol Crisis... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/15/2000 01:14:37 AM ----- BODY:

Brief thoughts on the UK petrol crisis (now thankfully ended):

British Petrol ("gas") costs a hell of a lot (comparatively).
Some people whose work depends on using a lot of petrol rightly view this as compromising their profits or indeed resulting in their businesses folding (haulage companies, taxi drivers etc).
These people have every right to protest, and protest they have.
A lot of other people use cars when they could or should be using public transport.
The high levels of tax to be paid on petrol reflect the desire of the government to limit pollution by getting people to use public transport.
The high levels of tax also provide considerable revenue for the treasury to spend on public services such as the National Health Service.
Many members of the public have supported or participated in these demonstrations despite the fact that they have also wanted greater spending on the National Health Service, less pollution and better public services.
If they want these services maintained, then the money has to come from somewhere.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Finding access afr... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/15/2000 01:41:56 AM ----- BODY:

Does anyone know the URL of the weblog called >>access afr? I've tried looking for it on blogger, but the URL provided there doesn't seem to go anywhere. Any ideas, anyone?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Refutations: Cocky Bastard and Mom STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/15/2000 01:10:59 PM ----- BODY: Refutations:

Cocky Bastard and Mom Blog are not based in the UK.
Many of the sites in the Evening Standard article have been around for ages, and are popular and well known. If you want to find out more about UK webloggers, then go to Jen's GBlogs page.
The Sun is a rampagingly right wing paper and should not be trusted to give a fair appraisal of the functioning of the government. The World Bank gave the government's handling of the economy their equivalent of a gold star just a few months ago. Many things they may be, but unprofessional and incompetant with money they are not.
If tax revenue goes down then public services have to have less money. That has to be obvious, right? The fact that other countries may spend less on public services, or get their tax revenues from different things does not undermine the fact that less money = less spending (unless you're the US of course).
"The British" didn't decide to follow the French example in the fuel protests. Certain members of certain British industries followed the French example. Most of the people who support the protests haven't yet stopped to consider why the most recent price rises have taken place (OPEC) or what would happen to income tax or public services (for example) if the duty was cut.
S Club 7 release their most musically accomplished single to date? No comment
Some people do not think that the criteria for winning awards should be financial success, but should be based upon criteria of quality. Can you imagine automatically giving the Best Picture Oscar to the film that did the most business at the box office? This is Child of Thatcher stuff!
Copyrights, while being troubling at times, basically allow people to make money out of their ideas without having them stolen by other companies and or individuals. This allows people to make a living out of their creativity. It's ironic. I'm much more for sharing money and keeping ideas.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Blogger links to the Evening STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 1 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/15/2000 01:22:03 PM ----- BODY: Blogger links to the Evening Standard article. ----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Speaking of Blogger, does anyone STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/15/2000 04:15:30 PM ----- BODY: Speaking of Blogger, does anyone want to try and explain to me how and why I went to this URL [http://www.froschi.blogger.com/] and what the hell it is for?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On posts that should have been e-mails... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/15/2000 04:22:20 PM ----- BODY:

The post that should have been an e-mail:

I finally found >access afr through weblogs.com. Grant Cook, stand up and be counted!

Please no more 1Mb Flash files. Please god. No. They're lovely, but my connection is a bit ... wobbly.
Love the site. Start smoking again immediately. Lot's of people tell you it's bad for you. They are insane. Ignore them. They drink and take anti-psychotics (when they remember).
You need to change your listing on the blogger directory, because at the moment it doesn't go to the right URL.

[To camera: Do you want to make a post that should really have been an e-mail? Just do it! And then tell me about it.]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Ha ha. There's this really STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/15/2000 04:30:01 PM ----- BODY: Ha ha. There's this really funny site all about writing unmaintainable code that I found via In the groove. It's so funny. I love it. Particularly the bit about using 'i' for non-int variables. And that wonderful bit about global names:

"Declare a global array in module A, and a private one of the same name in the header filefor module B, so that it appears that it's the global array you are using in module B, but it isn't. Make no reference in the comments to this duplication."

OK. I admit it. I didn't understand a single word of the whole site. Not one word. They might just as well have been speaking with a Welsh accent for all the sense it made to me. I just wanted to be a proper geek - just for a moment... <Sigh>.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: There's a list of the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/15/2000 04:47:53 PM ----- BODY: There's a list of the top one hundred British TV programmes ever made over at the BFI's site [bfi TV Top 100]. I just thought I'd comment on a few anomalies as I read through it.

2) Cathy Come Home
Never bloody heard of it.
3) Doctor Who
It's art of course. Except for those periods when it really sucked. A lot. And it's not a kids program. Sheesh.
6) Blue Peter
This list was clearly assembled by someone with too many nostalgic feelings, and frankly not enough memory. Insipid rubbish for children that has done nothing but poison the minds of the young into thinking wool sweaters are (or ever have been) fashionable.
28) The Magic Roundabout
The childrens' television program most likely to encourage the use of hallucinogens in later life was supposedly made in France and then redubbed in English without the slightest idea of what the original story was. The film features a stoned rabbit called Dylan saying lines like "I'm just sitting here watching these crazy mushrooms grow", and is very frightening.
34) University Challenge
A TV programme that only realised its true potential when Jeremy Paxman realised he could use it as an excuse to patronise and snipe at undergraduate students for their ignorance (despite having all the answers on little cards in front of him). A triumph.
50) Father Ted
The most fun you can have with an aging monosyllabic atavist, a half-witted child-man and a scheming embezzler - assuming they are all priests.
89) A Very Peculiar Practice
Any program with wild Nuns in it, scavenging out of bins and running across the wilds of 60s monolithic University Campuses is fine with me.
97) Tellytubbies
England once again proves that there's something in the water, and that we want to give it to our kids as soon as is humanly possible.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Today was supposed to be STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/15/2000 05:05:09 PM ----- BODY: Today was supposed to be my day of film with me watching The Cell, Shaft and Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? in one long sitting. Ideally with people, but not necessarily. It's 5pm and I haven't got my shoes on yet.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Strange messages on beebo.org's ratings: STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/15/2000 07:35:03 PM ----- BODY: Strange messages on beebo.org's ratings: "In one or two days, this will all be fixed, and better. --M." Consider breath baited. Sad, but true.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I give up. The weather STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/15/2000 07:37:35 PM ----- BODY: I give up. The weather is appalling (thunder and lightning - must turn off computer), it's too late to actually get anything useful done. I'm not going to go to the cinema. So I'm off to see Meg and Luke to slob, watch the finalé of Big Brother and drink myself to death.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Don't get tense, kids. If STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/16/2000 12:00:01 PM ----- BODY: Don't get tense, kids. If you are seeing some strangeness on the page, then it's just because Meg and I are busy playing "push the envelope" with Blogger.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I've rebuilt the "Recently" section STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/16/2000 12:45:22 PM ----- BODY: I've rebuilt the "Recently" section on the left so that now it reads "Consumption" (which I find more amusing). I've also built it as a mini weblog, so that I can type in what I've recently been reading / listening to / watching and it appears magically on the page through the medium of server-side includes. So that should mean that it doesn't get stagnant (hopefully, at least).

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Possibly because I work on STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/16/2000 08:57:54 PM ----- BODY: Possibly because I work on the Internet arm of an publishing company, I found this article at Wired ["Publishing Without A Net"] to be inordinately interesting. A couple of choice quotes:

"We feel the Internet is still relatively new, and we as a company are being careful as to how we want to deal with it," said Maurie Perl, senior vice president of corporate communications of Cond� Nast, the parent company of Vanity Fair and The New Yorker. "Right now we view it as more of a business opportunity than an editorial opportunity," she said.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: A quick nod of "yay" STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/17/2000 01:33:51 AM ----- BODY: A quick nod of "yay" to the other Tom at Blue Lines, who has managed that incredibly difficult transition: making a fresh and classy new design while maintaining continuity of look and feel.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Where to start? I have STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/17/2000 01:45:51 AM ----- BODY: Where to start? I have so much I want to talk about again - it's like this holiday has recharged my weblogging glands. Or maybe it's just that I'm doing something other than work. And I don't like writing about work.

Yesterday was another relaxing, mildly pointless day. I got up late, mucked around on the net and then went and met Pippa for lunch at Pizza Express off Soho Square. We talked a lot about her recent trip to Egypt, her love life, our various job situations, our friend Rachel in Bristol who we are going to be visiting next weekend, and a variety of other subjects.

We then went and saw O Brother, Where Art Thou? in Leicester Square, which we thoroughly enjoyed. And on the way back to the tube, we went into Virgin so I could pick up a copy of the soundtrack, which is a satisfyingly extreme change of pace for me.

An evening of Big Brother UK TV programs followed, and the day was capped off with a late-night conversation with Kate and Mella about professional matters, and men in America who taste funny.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Thoughts on the finalé of STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/17/2000 02:06:35 AM ----- BODY: Thoughts on the finalé of Big Brother UK:

The Adverts
All this week they have been playing adverts on the TV which have been trying to make it very (absurdly) clear that when you voted this time you were voting for the person you wanted to win, not the person you wanted to be evicted.
The Sun
Still not sure whether it's true or not - does anyone know if The Sun and Big Brother had an arrangement to try to make Craig win?
The Gay Press
For the first time, I really saw a hell of a lot of support for Anna in the gay press over the last couple of weeks. It's like the whole community finally realised that she was in with a chance of winning.
Anna loses by 1%
I know that there was a two percent gap between her and Craig, but if you think about it there couldn't have been a 1% one and still keep to clean integers. If Anna had got one percent more, then they would have pretty much tied for the prize.
The different edits
The different edits between the episodes of the last week and the omnibus seem to me to have a less flattering view of Craig in the latter than in the former. Clearly there is different footage in the omnibus as a result of the extra time it has, but it seems much more pro-Anna than the earlier one.
Speculation
That the people behind big brother were surprised by the way the voting was turning out, believed it to be an error on the part of the general public, and put out strong adverts to try and rectify the situation. That the reason that they were surprised was because Anna was doing extremely well (possibly because of increasing interest within the gay community). That the final edits before the weekend were used to show Craig in as positive a fashion as possible, considering the situation.

Unfortunately, although the logic seems relatively clear to me at the moment, that could be because I thought that Anna was basically decent, normal, nice, fun and pleasant, while Craig had the wit and charm of a potato.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Sorry, old chap, but aibophphobia STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/17/2000 02:12:15 AM ----- BODY: Sorry, old chap, but aibophphobia isn't a palindrome...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Thank God: Taking advantage of STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/17/2000 02:21:29 AM ----- BODY: Thank God:

Taking advantage of my absence, timeout.com launches the London Shopping Guide. Also launched is the redesigned homepage and Travel, London, London Tickets, Shop sections. I've had a lot of involvement in this stuff - and I've really enjoyed working on it.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Christ. I've started waking up STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/17/2000 12:16:04 PM ----- BODY: Christ. I've started waking up at around midday. I don't own an alarm clock because I just don't normally need one, but the prospect of automatically waking up at 9am at the moment to get to work (on Wednesday) is seeming increasingly remote.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Big Brother UK: Two slightly STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/17/2000 12:19:46 PM ----- BODY: Big Brother UK:

Two slightly alarming new stories from the BBC: Big Brother climax watched by 10 million and Big Brother set to return.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Momblog goes to Confession. My STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/17/2000 12:27:22 PM ----- BODY: Momblog goes to Confession. My confession? I found her story hysterical. Here's a couple of quotes:

"Now, as every good catholic knows, confession is something to be avoided at all costs. Never do you willingly go to confession, even if it means that the biggest sin you have to confess when you finally do end up "confessing" is that "it has been 25 years since my last confession."

I was trapped! I was sitting in the middle of the pew. I would have to trip over Adam, Anna, Mark, and my mother if I tried to escape from my seat. Besides, what kind of an example would I make for the kids if I wimped out? What believable excuse could I give them for my mad dash to the door? Okay. Trapped!"

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On [NEW SEX TOY] Acknowledged STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/17/2000 12:37:22 PM ----- BODY: On [NEW SEX TOY]

Acknowledged fact: Lance Arthur [glassdog.com] is a god.
Acknowledged fact: Lancelog is great.
Acknowledged fact: Lance has launched some new mini project. It is called: "[NEW SEX TOY]"
Acknowledged fact: It makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Katy is still in America. STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/17/2000 09:30:25 PM ----- BODY: Katy is still in America. Intelligent girl that she is, she has already been and seen five movies. Lucky kitsch... [Q: What did Katy see in America? A: High Fidelity, Keeping the Faith, Bring It On, Saving Grace and Whipped]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: It's nearly midnight, and I STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/18/2000 11:48:33 PM ----- BODY: It's nearly midnight, and I have only one remaining day of holiday. It's like some kind of torture, if you ask me. I've just got used to being relaxed and being able to fill up my day with whatever the hell I like (if only that didn't involve quite so much day-time television), and now I've got to get ready to go back to work.

I'm kind of dreading it, for a variety of reasons. I've had some very sensible conversations with people during the last couple of weeks, and I'm feeling suddenly very professional - but with this professionalism comes a certain amount of resignation and a slightly jaded feeling that I didn't expect.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Notable plasticbag.org clich�s... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/18/2000 11:54:00 PM ----- BODY:

Actors get stale after a while because they start to parody themselves. This is a truism of Hollywood. Notable examples of tics / clichés that actors have been forced to overcome by directors include Bruce Willis being told not to act so Bruce Willisy in Twelve Monkeys, and George Clooney being asked not to drop his head and look up at people from under his eyebrows.

Notable plasticbag.org clichés:

Starting every post with the word "So".
Ending every post with an ellipsis (three dots).
Overusing <blockquote> and <ul> (unordered lists).

So if you've noticed any more - drop me an e-mail...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Bizarre competition: Unscramble these numbers STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/19/2000 12:05:43 AM ----- BODY: Bizarre competition: Unscramble these numbers to discover the fax number of a famous American actress (seriously):

0 1 2 2 3 4 5 5 7 8

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: So I bought the new STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/19/2000 12:41:39 AM ----- BODY: So I bought the new Madonna album today, which as usual threw me into the existential horror of trying to work out exactly how gay that makes me.

I went through a really unexamined period about a thousand years ago when I was quite heavily dosed up with 'la vie homosexuelle' (it was the cheery-pills - what can I say). I've since managed to innoculate myself against most of its excesses (while becoming addicted to a few others in the process), and my resistance to gay music taste (in both senses of the word gay) is now quite strong. But old Madge managed to break through with the last album, and now I have succumbed once more. If I wake up in the night in a cold sweat aching for A1's version of "Take On Me", then I'll know that things have finally gone too far...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Praise the Lord. One of STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/19/2000 04:24:26 PM ----- BODY: Praise the Lord. One of the few irritating aspects of owning a Mac is finally resolved. All praise the almighty upcoming presence of Mac OS X: [MacWEEK: Application unexpectedly quit]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: You'd be surprised how many STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/19/2000 04:42:54 PM ----- BODY: You'd be surprised how many of my female friends get into a strop when I try to argue (completely without foundation until today) this point: "Women are promiscuous, naturally".

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Now that plasticbag.org has been STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/19/2000 04:55:38 PM ----- BODY: Now that plasticbag.org has been up for a while, I'd like to get some honest opinions about the design of the site. Please humour me on this one by taking part in this poll: "Do you like the design of plasticbag.org?". If you have any specific comments to make, then e-mail me on tom%40plasticbag.org.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Time Out's new Shopping Site STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/20/2000 03:12:48 PM ----- BODY: Time Out's new Shopping Site is written up in the Media Guardian. A few interesting / weird quotes, particularly this one with it's rather suspicious nature:

"The site claims to receive more than 3m page impressions per month with 180,000 unique users." (My emphasis)

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Eighteen Hours of Horror: 2 STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/21/2000 08:41:37 PM ----- BODY: Eighteen Hours of Horror:

2 am
Wake up feeling sweaty and shivering at the same time. There are various gurglings within my body. I have a pounding headache. I get up and drink a pint of water. Return to bed.
2.45 am
Suddenly feel extraordinarily bad. I'm shaking all over and sweating and my legs feel weak. I think I'm going to barf so I go to the bathroom. Am suddenly gripped by an overwhelming urge to go to the loo. Do so. Lots. Return to bed.
3.15 am
Run into bathroom and vomit everywhere for about twenty minutes. Feel considerably better. Rinse out my mouth, take two painkillers and return to bed.
4.15 am
Run into bathroom and vomit everywhere for about twenty minutes. Run out of things to regurgitate once the painkillers reappear. Start producing small amounts of yellow bile. Frantic need to go to the loo happens again. Go to loo. Have a glass of water.
5.00 am
Glass of water terrible mistake. Run to bathroom again and vomit everywhere. Go to loo again. Clean bathroom. I decide to go and sit in the sitting room and watch some television while waiting for the horror to stop. My eyes are watering, I feel like I'm going to fall over at any minute, shaking all over and I seem to be completely incapable of controlling my body temperature.
6.30 am
Wake from dozing. Vomit.
7.30 am
Kate emerges from her bedroom and finds me half asleep on the sofa in the sitting room. Her movement wakes me up. I'm feeling a little better so have a little Coca-Cola. This feels wonderful. Decide to follow it with a glass of water. Vomit everywhere. Retire to my bedroom.
10.00 am
Having slept for a couple of hours I feel slightly better although I am still shaking and the headache from 2 am is still present. A man arrives to fix the shower and my bedroom light. I move into the sitting room wrapped in my duvet and ring work. Go back to bed.
1 pm
I wake up feeling like I haven't eaten in two days (which I suppose I hadn't), but every time I look at a piece of food it turns my stomach. Over the next two hours I manage to eat one eighth of an apple, a spoonful of cereal and a third of a small bowl of plain pasta with a little olive oil and salt. Return to bed when familiar queasy feeling returns, thinking that I can fight my way through it.
4 pm
Wake up. No desire to vomit is present. Feel incredibly cold, and decide that I need to buy a book to distract me. Put clothes on and go outside.
5.30 pm
Going outside a bit of a mistake as I keep meandering into people in the street. Finally decide the time has come to actually try and eat something solid. Find a fast food place and order about four different things, reasoning that I can eat small bits of whatever I think I can keep down.
6.30 pm
Get back on bus and return home. Fall asleep in front of Buffy.
8.40pm [now]
Feel rough as fuck.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Thank god, today I feel STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/22/2000 03:28:25 PM ----- BODY: Thank god, today I feel almost human, and have returned to work. The rest of yesterday passed in a bit of a blur. I vaguely remember my flatmates wandering into my bedroom and checking their e-mail on my computer. And I vaguely remember playing The Sims for a while. And listening to music. But what I remember most is sleeping and having a couple of really bizarre dreams involving ex-lovers, ex-love interests, bunk beds and huge distended jointed genitals with hands on the end. My mind, on occasion, worries me.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: What Blogstart really needs to STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/22/2000 03:38:03 PM ----- BODY: What Blogstart really needs to do in order to be a useful directory, is to ask a series of questions categorising the site over several trajectories. If the submission page was organised so that you were asked to specify an age range and a location and a type of log (personal, commentary, links, links and commentary etc) anda type of subject (mixed, film, news etc) plus things like gender, sexual preference etc etc. [With the proviso of course that you can leave any section blank], then the one-by-one category search could be replaced by more specific searches - ie. I really want to find a London-based, gay male weblogger who has some personal content on his site etc.etc.

This is probably the direction in which the site is developing anyway, but it bears comment, I think.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: An interesting article on the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/22/2000 03:44:40 PM ----- BODY: An interesting article on the BBC discusses the future of the Big Brother contestants [Big Brother stars face the future]. There are a couple of particularly choice suggestions:

"Speculation that [Darren] will soon be back on TV screens as frontman to an advertising campaign for instant chicken sauce Chicken Tonight - for a six-figure sum - should come as no surprise."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: A vaguely amusing joke sent STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/22/2000 05:56:18 PM ----- BODY: A vaguely amusing joke sent to me via e-mail

London (Reuters) 09:00 22 September

A group of militant alcoholics have blockaded a brewery in Sheffield, England in protest at the exorbitant tax imposed on booze in the United Kingdom, Government officials said today.

Fears have been growing that the protests will spread country wide and some panic drinking has been reported. The protestors have demanded that the British Prime Minister, Tony Blair meets the group "If he thinks he's hard enough" and are said to be concerned that he may be looking at their "birds".

Official advice from the national beer watchdog CAMRA, is to ensure that everyone drinks enough beer this evening to keep them p***ed through to the weekend. The Government, however, advises that national stocks are reserved for emergencies. The Leader of the Opposition, William Hague, was quoted this morning as saying "F*** that, I'm off to the pub".

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Yes, I suppose you are STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/24/2000 08:30:03 PM ----- BODY: Yes, I suppose you are quite right. I am indeed looking for a blog personal ad:

"Interminably single London poof (28, 5'10") looking for interesting weblogs to read: preferably UK, intelligent, comment and links with some personal content prefered. No scat."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Anyone who reads Warren Ellis' STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/24/2000 11:55:03 PM ----- BODY: Anyone who reads Warren Ellis' Planetary series is, at the moment, overwhelmed by the need to see the current storyline come to some kind of resolution. I've found a couple of odds and ends of new that might help stir up even more excitement (over at John Cassaday's site), including details on the next two issues of the series, the Planetary / Batman cover and a detailed cover grab of issue 13.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: So I went into Sainsbury's STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/25/2000 03:18:03 PM ----- BODY: So I went into Sainsbury's on Tottenham Court Road to get myself a doughnut. Except they didn't have any - they only had donuts.

British and American variants on the confection are both spelt different and taste different, with American types being more imaginative, but tasting more processed than their rather less adventurous (but more wholesome) English variants. The latter are uniform in shape and come in frosted varieties with innumerable toppings and different fillings. The English equivalents are doughy, are either ringed or filled with jam (US: "jelly), and come dusted with caster sugar.

I wouldn't mind this change of sugary goodness if it were not for another change. The sweets in question are now supplied and branded as part of a large American corporation. The traditional English doughnut has been edged out of the Supermarket, to be replaced by what would be termed by the less charitable as its increasingly ubiquitous glossy bastardisation.

Global homogenisation steps itself up one more notch. All we can hope for now is that a future multi-national might decide to rebrand the English Doughnut and relaunch it, repackaged and labelled as a novelty or speciality good. Even food is now a theme-park.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: 8pm and I'm still at STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/26/2000 08:10:34 PM ----- BODY: 8pm and I'm still at work - pondering life and trying to think through stuff that needs to be thought through. I should probably go and see a film or something - try and clear my head of all the crap that has infested it again.

I went to Bristol on the weekend and I don't think I have been so relaxed in months. London is a bit of a killer sometimes - it's like it just doesn't know when to let up. Bristol was open and lovely and clear and it made me feel ... satisfyingly empty, I guess.

I stayed with Rachel in Cliftonwood, overlooking Hotwells, and on Saturday (after a leisurely morning) Pippa and Chris arrived as well. We went out for a lovely lunch with too many cocktails at a place called SevernShed overlooking the river. And we went out for another meal in the evening. It felt like such a complete abandonment of everything that has been getting me down. I loved it.

On Sunday we all met up with Rhys and went for a rather unsatisfying Sunday Roast. But the company was excellent and the environment was pleasant enough. It made me really think about what I'm doing in London and whether it is the city for me. It's like the size is right but the atmosphere isn't. I need a little more peace. After all, it only took me two days to feel tense again...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: In the spirit of culture STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/27/2000 02:56:41 PM ----- BODY: In the spirit of culture jamming, I saw a t-shirt today when walking through London that was plain white on black and read: "fuck fcuk". Bravo.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Important questions in need of STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/27/2000 06:27:29 PM ----- BODY: Important questions in need of answers:

Nasal Hair Dye
Ok - this could have been a put on, but I met someone at a party last night who swore you could buy nasal hair dye that made extraneous strands less visible without the continual need to insert sharp things up your nostrils. Is this true?

Which is the best drunken board game?
So, you've been out drinking, right, and you've come home to play board games with your other drunk friends, but you can't play Articulate, because -well-it's a bit hard really, and Monoploy just takes too long, and you're going to flake out in about an hour and you REALLY don't have enough time or energy to set up Mousetrap. What is the best board game for this time of night?

Lambchop sideburns: yes or no?
Come on, ladies. Tell us lads what you think...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Should I go down the pub or not? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/27/2000 06:29:57 PM ----- BODY:

It's got to a fairly sorry state of affairs when I seriously consider putting up a poll on my site to see if I should go down the pub or not.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The future is intelligent slime... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/28/2000 04:38:59 PM ----- BODY:

The wave of the future is ... wait for it ... intelligent slime. That would explain the state of the New Media industry at the moment...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The Complete Human Genome on CD... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Technology CATEGORY: Technology DATE: 09/28/2000 04:56:57 PM ----- BODY:

I went to a meeting today with some people who work at Prospect magazine, which markets itself as "the magazine for the intellectually curious general reader". I wasn't familiar with the publication before the meeting.

I pick up a copy of the magazine and there's a CD attached to the front, which I glance at briefly. And then I do a comedy double-take. The CD has written on it in large blue letters on a silver background:

"The Complete Human Genome On CD"

I stood there in some kind of dumbfounded silence for a few seconds, looking at this astonishing declaration with a mixture of feelings.

First came the awe at being in the presence of such an astonishing accomplishment - the same awe I would have felt the CD had contained every book ever written in English.

Then came a certain amount of fascination, and a kind of utopian wonder at the accomplishments of humanity.

And then came a bizarre feeling of betrayal and disgust that I was really not expecting. The same space used by magazines for distributing computer game demos, dodgy shareware programs that crash your computer, picture libraries of animals running or sitting or eating each other - this pure commercial space designed to flog both magazine and product - was now being used to contain an artefact with almost arcane power as if it were the toy in a Happy Meal.

Whether they know it or not, it seems like evidence of the increasing commercialisation of our lives - the ever present opportunity to repackage, rebrand or market anything and everything as a means to the tripartite commerical gods: "Sales", "Sales" and "Sales". Something important has been broken.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Bad news for Apple sends STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/29/2000 09:32:04 AM ----- BODY: Bad news for Apple sends the stock price falling. And unlike every other computer company in the world, what's bad news for Apple is bad news for Apple users, as quite a lot of the company's ability to stay afloat has been the absolute refusal of most of their consumers to realise the obvious, give up, and bow and scrape to the altar of Gates. As an Apple user myself, I know this to be true...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Perhaps the answer for poor STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/29/2000 09:38:25 AM ----- BODY: Perhaps the answer for poor beleaguered Apple is to sign the petition to start making OS X on Intel. If it wasn't for my suspicion that Microsoft might start withdrawing the use of packages like Office and Explorer, I'd support it whole-heartedly...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Oh my dismal fall from STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/29/2000 01:05:06 PM ----- BODY: Oh my dismal fall from grace. Over the last couple of weeks, I have been trying to reintroduce the counter-cultural spin to plasticbag.org - a trend I hope to continue. But I have hit a "speed bump".

Yesterday I got a text message from Mella. It told me not to go near HMV, that they were evil and that they had caused (with their sale) her immediate bankrupcy.

"Pshaw!" I thought to myself, "I am not as weak willed as this foolish girl! I can resist these corporate temptations." Forty-five minutes (and fifty-eight pounds ($85) later), I was forced to confess myself unequivocally their consumer bitch. I was about ten minutes away from begging to give them more money. [You only have to look at the Consumption panel to the left to realise the extent of my horror.]

Kate found it all funny when we got back home. But she didn't find it so funny this morning, when she reported the "accidental purchase" of six videos...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Freedom of Unspeech... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/29/2000 01:07:12 PM ----- BODY: It's a new politics for a new era. Visit Not a Protest today:

"The First Amendment guarantees Freedom of Speech, EVEN IF YOU HAVE NOTHING TO SAY"

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Go on, you sexy sexy STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/29/2000 03:42:55 PM ----- BODY: Go on, you sexy sexy people. Go and rate plasticbag.org over at blogstart. You know you want to.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Dan Hon, ex of Daily-Doozer STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/29/2000 03:49:17 PM ----- BODY: Dan Hon, ex of Daily-Doozer has relaunched as Extenuating Circumstances. I said a while back that I'd design a site for him, but now I'm a bit torn - I mean, it's not like his new design isn't pretty bloody cool. But I did promise at the same time, and I don't want him to feel obliged to use it if it's not as good.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Dark times are coming. The STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/30/2000 12:45:29 PM ----- BODY: Dark times are coming. The end is nigh. If only they'd heeded the warnings of their peers. Fellow sufferers of the HMV sale, I salute thee: monger.co.uk, not so soft, lukelog.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Today's pet obsession is the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/02/2000 01:25:27 PM ----- BODY: Today's pet obsession is the Beatles' song "A Day In the Life", which has become some kind of vast uber-meme in my head, munching its way - in a cheerful fashion - through every other thought I might attempt to have.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: An interesting new way of STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/02/2000 01:49:55 PM ----- BODY: An interesting new way of rating weblogs manifests itself over at Bloghop's Ratings. Great - just what I need. Beebo finally collapses and immediately there is something else to get obsessed about...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Monday evening: 6.13pm - Week STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/02/2000 06:11:02 PM ----- BODY: Monday evening: 6.13pm - Week proceeding according to plan. No major fuck-ups yet. No storming arguments with people. No gut-wrenching horrors creeping up from behind. Remain calm, gentlemen, we're going in...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I won a tenner on STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/02/2000 06:25:03 PM ----- BODY: I won a tenner on the lottery today. I'm thinking I should buy the new Radiohead album with it. Unfortunately, I keep reading these weird reviews which say it's like progressive jazz, which doesn't really appeal. No one has given it a good review. No one at all.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Did anyone notice the radical STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/02/2000 06:28:07 PM ----- BODY: Did anyone notice the radical change in the template for this page that occurred a couple of days ago? The whole thing is done completely differently now. I bet no one noticed. That's bloody typical, that is.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I saw a t-shirt today STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/02/2000 06:29:30 PM ----- BODY: I saw a t-shirt today which read the.internet.is.shit.cc, and for a moment, I was strangely elated.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Last night, Kate and Mella STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/03/2000 09:48:27 AM ----- BODY: Last night, Kate and Mella and I sat up for hours working out the plot for a low-budget horror movie. Kate says if she makes it, we can have credits. Possible credits: Best Boy, Catering...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I've just been reading an STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/03/2000 02:36:55 PM ----- BODY: I've just been reading an article on a new fair trade chocolate bar that has been launched in the UK [Time Out : Shopping Guide]. All was well and good until I came up against this line:

"Hundreds of schools across the country have been involved in helping to design, taste test and name the new milk chocolate bar, Dubble, which at 35p is around half the price of other fair trade brands."

I was suddenly horrified by this, as it reminded me of something I saw in No Logo - my current political bible:

"In the eyes of the brand managers, every lunchroom and classroom is a focus group waiting to be focused. So getting access to schools means more than just hawking product - it's a bona fide, bargain-basement cool-hunting opportunity ...

Perhaps the most infamous of these experiments occurred in 1998, when Coca-Cola ran a competition asking several schools to come up with a strategy for distributing Coke coupons to students. The school that devised the best promotional strategy would win $500. Greenbriar High School in Evans, Georgia, took the contest extremely seriously, calling an official Coke Day in late March during which all students came to school in Coca-Cola T-shirts, posed for a photograph in a formation spelling Coke, attended lectures given by Coca-Cola executives and learning about all things black and bubbly in their classes. It was a little piece of branding heaven until it came to the principal's attention that in an act of hideous defiance, one Mike Cameron, a nineteen-year-old senior, had come to school wearing a T-shirt with a Pepsi logo. He was promptly suspended for the offense."

I don't know about the rest of you, but I honestly belief that marketing and focus-groups should be kept well away from schools - whether or not the product that is sold is environmentally friendly.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I take it all back. STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/03/2000 02:44:05 PM ----- BODY: I take it all back. Someone has indeed given the new Radiohead album a good review. In fact it's a ridiculously good review. Pointlessly so, perhaps. Somehow I don't think I'll be taking its opinion too seriously. [Thanks to Blue Lines]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Intelligent comments from Derek Powazek, STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/03/2000 02:59:27 PM ----- BODY: Intelligent comments from Derek Powazek, that I try to follow, but suffer frequent lapses:

"My advice to anyone running a personal website:
Put your head down and don't listen to anything anyone says about it. Ignore any dire pronouncements that include the words "genre," "medium," or "revolution." Avoid referer logs, popularity rankings, and vanity searches at all costs."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: OK: So I've bought the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/03/2000 03:44:00 PM ----- BODY: OK: So I've bought the new Radiohead album finally, and I will have things to say about it over the next few days. In the meantime, the most interesting thing about it, as far as I'm concerned, is a little piece of text hidden in the credits which reads:

"The font we wrote the world 'Radiohead' in is made by B�ro Destruct, Berne, Switzerland."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: In complete defiance to the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/04/2000 09:34:02 AM ----- BODY: In complete defiance to the wise words of Mr P yesterday - I have added a little Bloghop ratings widget on the left. It's more of an experiment than anything else. [idea from notsosoft]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: An extraordinarily savage and funny STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/04/2000 09:45:10 AM ----- BODY: An extraordinarily savage and funny article in The Onion reads:

"Thus far, Benson has picked up several new skills outside of the bounds of his job description, teaching himself how to change toner cartridges, un-jam paper trays and replace the jugs on the office water cooler. He has sent out five separate intraoffice memos offering tips on how things could be done more efficiently, and has even brought homemade cookies for "the whole staff."

"He should get cancer," said Janice Mulroney, who two years ago, in recognition of her 20th anniversary with Williams & Broderick, received a gift certificate good for dinner for two at a local Red Lobster. "Every day I curse this hellhole." "

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Anagram of Thomas Coates: Tea STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/04/2000 03:26:42 PM ----- BODY: Anagram of Thomas Coates: Tea Hat Cosmos. Thanks to Meg for that one...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I am 69% geek. Most STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/04/2000 03:44:53 PM ----- BODY: I am 69% geek. Most people who took the test were 66% geek. Interesting geek statistics from the 281 tests taken so far:

47% of Britney Spears fans are virgins
100% of Phillipa Forester fans wear glasses
80% of people who live with their parents have tried to learn Klingon
100% of people who play S.W.A.T. 3 have considered killing their workmates
203% of those tested spend time doing useless online surveys.

Addendum: How can I legitimately choose between Philippa Forrester and Britney Spears? Geek quizzes are hetero-orthodox, patriarchy-enforcing and blatent sexist / homodenialist.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The redesign at Netscape.com - STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/05/2000 02:35:49 PM ----- BODY: The redesign at Netscape.com - designed to make the site look much like the soon-to-be-finally-released new browser - is, I fear, quite bad.

You can see that they sat down initially and thought, "Let's make this simple, elegant and powerful", and then somewhere along the way the simplicity was drowned in poorly laid out information, while the elegance started to look less like graphic-design restraint, and more ... well, dull. I've only heard, so I couldn't say for certain - but it looks like pretty much the same process has taken place in the development of the browser.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Lunchtime quiz at work: "Are STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/05/2000 02:46:06 PM ----- BODY: Lunchtime quiz at work: "Are you a Fab Four fanatic?" produced these results:

David: 2 (out of 15)
Kit: 4
Rebecca: 4
Matt: 4
Dean: 5
Sue: 6
Tom: 7
Fran: 8
Ros: 9

Only one result left to come...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Lindemann occupies Guardian mindspace... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/05/2000 04:07:40 PM ----- BODY:

Good god, that hag has gone and done it again! This time she's mentioned in an article on the Guardian's website: ["It's as easy as falling off a weblog"] and in a one-and-a-half page spread in the Online supplement - complete with screenshot. Lots of people are mentioned. I'll get it scanned in and up on the site as soon as I can.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Mark's redesigning... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/08/2000 11:09:47 AM ----- BODY:

Mark's done a redesign, which is nice (very nice in fact), although it includes a picture of him that makes him look about as camp as a pink feather boa. Which is amusing. Make your mind up for yourself, over at riothero.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Cloning Asian Guars... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/08/2000 11:18:44 AM ----- BODY:

The BBC reports today that there are reports from the United States that scientists have started to clone endangered species. Weirdly, the animal they decided to experiment with was an Asian guar, which they have named (rather entertainingly) as "Noah". All this is well and good (although I must confess slightly bizarre), but their next project has thrown up some interesting (and amusing) problems. I quote directly from the article: [Endangered species cloned]

"The paper says the same team, from biotechnology company Advanced Cell Technology (ACT) in Massachusetts, is already considering cloning giant pandas.

The closest related species to giant pandas are rabbits and racoons but neither are ideal as potential surrogate mothers because of their size. "

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Web dull, but still essential... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/08/2000 11:26:25 AM ----- BODY:

Another really brief snippet from BBC News: "Web is 'not quite as dull' as the Dome":

"The majority of those surveyed, 62%, thought that the phrase dot.com was wearing thin and even more, 66%, did not want to hear any more stories about 20-something millionaires who have made their money with the web.

But the boredom was not due to lack of interest. Over 77% of those questioned said they could not live without it.

"For many people the internet has become indispensable, it's as much a part of everyday life as the telephone, television and video," said an MSN spokeswoman, "It's no wonder people are bored with hype around the internet - you wouldn't want to talk about your vacuum cleaner in the pub." "

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I went to a party STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/08/2000 11:33:32 AM ----- BODY: I went to a party last night at the Beaux Arts building just off the Holloway Road. Nick, Fenner & Emma, Toby & Jelske were there, as were Larry and Peter - with whom I had a bit of a thing a while back.

For various reasons that came to nothing at the time, and I haven't had any contact with him since, despite making the odd move in his direction (e-mails, party invitations and the like). Unfortunately, according to him, he didn't receive any of these missives. Which might have explained his coolness towards me all evening. I wouldn't have gone if I'd thought I wasn't welcome. I even checked beforehand. Very frustrating.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Joanna Lumley - goddess of STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/10/2000 02:20:34 PM ----- BODY: Joanna Lumley - goddess of the New Avengers, star of innumerable sub-par movies and chain-smoking high-class drunk skank of Absolutely Fabulous used to be heavily involved in a site called clickmango.com - a kind of semi-alternative health and beauty site. Unfortunately, earlier this year, said site closed its doors, proving the long-suspected fact that celebrity endorsement does not guarantee the success of any e-commerce venture.

But at least she kept her sense of humour. In a statement posted at the site's "We're closed" page, Joanna presents the eager public with what must be one of the most bizarre and humourous PR statements ever. Next to a picture in which Joanna is vigourously rubbing herself with a large fruit, she declares:

"Heigh ho! It happens all the time in the theatre world. The dressing room, now filled with first night cards, pictures of the family and your familiar costumes, is soon bare, awaiting its new occupant - the playbills outside are torn down, scenery stored, programmes pulped and the theatre goes dark. But what fun! And what a fantastic time we had!"
[Joanna Lumley says farewell from Clickmango.com]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: This is about 40% bollocks STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/10/2000 02:26:56 PM ----- BODY: This is about 40% bollocks [Personality Test]:

"Like just 4% of the population you are an ARTIST (DIAF)--creative, adventurous, and deep. Although you are an introvert, your dominant ideas lead you to assert yourself often--especially through your work. You actively put your creativity to constructive use, and because you are ruled by your heart you are less likely to be inhibited by logic. "

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Someone sent me this today STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/10/2000 11:45:06 PM ----- BODY: Someone sent me this today - [Animated Wish]. I suspect it might be some kind of sick joke. Something that isn't a sick joke (nice segueway there, Tom): Weblogs.com redesigns its arse off.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Could everyone who knows me STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/10/2000 11:51:30 PM ----- BODY: Could everyone who knows me who reads this damn pile of crap click here and send me a quick e-mail. Doesn't matter what relationship you might have with me, whether it be work, friendship, if I've met you once in a pub or if we did something that my mother wouldn't approve of. I'm just bizarrely interested. People who don't play will be hunted down and shot.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: In order to counter the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/12/2000 02:11:30 AM ----- BODY: In order to counter the encroaching tedium, I have decided to pretend that Max has turned up in my life again by dropping me an e-mail after four months. I figure this interesting twist will re-intrigue many of my older and more established readers. Spread the word.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On blasphemy and atheism... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/12/2000 01:38:58 PM ----- BODY:

Blasphemy. It's a funny matter. I'm an atheist. Have been since I was about thirteen. It was brought into major definition for me when my brother was born. I adore my brother - I always have - so don't think I treated his appearance into the world as a clear sign of the non-existence of god. Because that just wouldn't be true.

What really made me think about it was when he was Christened. I had never been Christened - my parents just hadn't thought about it. It seemed to them like a strange thing to do, particularly as my mother was (at best) agnostic. But when my brother was Christened, there was a lot of pressure in my family for me to become the indentured bitch of the almighty alongside him. I was really quite resistant and I couldn't figure out why. I sat down and I thought about my thoughts on god carefully and reasonably, and came to the conclusion that I didn't believe in god at all. Not even a little bit.

I had to be Christened in the end. And a strange affair it was indeed. I've never been really very comfortable with it, and slightly resent being forced to do it, although I don't blame my parents at all.

All of this, by the way, is by way of an extended excuse to link to Jesus Dress Up! - which is clearly blasphemous and entertaining and a bit dodgy.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: A quick question for you STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/12/2000 02:52:03 PM ----- BODY: A quick question for you all. What kind of person does this for fun and profit?

"Cockell and his colleagues put about a dozen different species of insects, including roaches and ants, in a large vacuum box and sucked the air out."

Find out at Wired.com...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I need to build something STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/12/2000 10:02:24 PM ----- BODY: I need to build something really badly. Or destroy something. I need to effect change. I want some help. And I want to help everyone else. I have a fire within me today - a tremendous intellectual, emotional, political, passionate fire that has crept up on me during the day, and I want the fire to spread. I want it to spark and catch each and every person who reads this. I want it to creep into your heads and generate energy and light up some dark musty parts of your head. Throw the doors and the windows open. It's time to remake the world.

I want everything to be in a perpetual whirl. I want the world to speed up. I want sex and drugs and love and death and energy and music and anger and passion and everything I've seen in the movies. And I want you all to have it too. I want desire and fantasy to spiral around and overwhelm the world, crush all opposition and bring a little non-corporately sponsored wonder into everything again. We deserve more magic than we have. We all deserve the world. Who's for freedom?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I picked up my tickets STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/13/2000 01:38:15 PM ----- BODY: I picked up my tickets for New York this morning. Everyone from Time Out who started at the company before January has been invited to the fifth birthday party of Time Out New York, to be held next Friday.

We come in as normal on Thursday morning, do a bit of work, have a bit of lunch, go to the airport, hop on a plane, and then mooch around drinking, buying and sleeping with stuff until first thing on Sunday morning, when we grudgingly reboard our huge plane and fly homewards - to return to work on Monday morning "fresh", "invigorated" and not at all exhausted and hungover. I'm trying to work out how many movies I can fit in if I don't sleep at all.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I went out last night STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/14/2000 05:07:02 PM ----- BODY: I went out last night and behaved like a complete arse. What can I say?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: My washing machine has broken. STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/15/2000 11:07:01 AM ----- BODY: My washing machine has broken. It has within it a large proportion of my wearable clothes. Except actually my washing machine broke on Wednesday, and our maintenance company hasn't managed to get around here yet, and we can't get the clothes out. We drained most of the water out yesterday, and those members of my flat who can smell practically collapsed immediately. I will have stinky clothes. Evil stinky clothes.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On Bloghop... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: __default__ ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/15/2000 11:12:12 AM ----- BODY: Just a reminder, in case anyone wasn't aware - that the bloghop ratings thing on the left works on the principle that green is good and red is bad. So let's just try that again, eh? Rate me: . ----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I should probably apologise to STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/15/2000 11:20:57 AM ----- BODY: I should probably apologise to my audience at large for being in a foul mood recently. There's been a hell of a lot of weird shit going on in my life that I can't really talk about in a public forum like this (at least not yet). Amongst these things has been innumerable work weirdnesses, arguments with friends, a bout of insomnia, money worries and the reappearances of ex-es (both major and minor).

And since most of these things are taking up most of my waking thoughts, it can make it quite difficult on occasion to think of anything to write - particularly anything that isn't the direct product of adrenalin, hormones or caffeine.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Person that I wasn't expecting STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/15/2000 11:26:42 AM ----- BODY: Person that I wasn't expecting to think is attractive: Breckin Meyer. Films that Breckin Meyer has been in include: Roadtrip, Clueless and Go.

I was in a bar called Escape last night (after Mel's birthday party) and a video for some wonderful old disco classic came up. The video was made up of excerpts from 54, which of course stars the inimitable Ryan Philippe of "I wish I looked like Ryan Phillippe" infamy. The film's full of half-naked men, and one of them was Breckin Meyer. Eyebrows over forehead in surprise. Time to go rent it, I think.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Person I should talk about STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/15/2000 11:29:42 AM ----- BODY: Person I should talk about more often: Katy Darby.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Text message sent: "If you STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/15/2000 11:36:33 AM ----- BODY: Text message sent:

"If you don't reply to my e-mail I will mulch your pets."

Text message received:

"Oi -- keep your hands off my doggie!"

However, no e-mail as yet received. Perhaps he didn't think I was serious. (eyebrow slowly arches)

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Seti@Home was a wonderful idea STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/16/2000 09:21:43 AM ----- BODY: Seti@Home was a wonderful idea - a chance for thousands - maybe millions - of people to participate in the search for alien intelligence. What a cause to fire the imagination! THe principle was simple too. Thousands of thousands of computers can work their way through computer files much much faster than one really large one - hence members of the public take on the job of processing odds and ends of data in their computer down-times.

Fight AIDS @ Home would initially look like a similarly wonderful idea. Using the same basic concept as Seti@Home, almost infinite amounts of different drug designs can be tested over hundreds or thousands of computers. Except there is one crucial difference. This one isn't done for the good of humanity - it's done for the good of Entropia. They even go so far as to state:

Entropia is a for-profit corporation. In our view, profit is as necessary as oxygen for longevity; while oxygen is essential for life, it is not the purpose of living. Likewise, Entropia's Internet computing service represents "profit with a purpose." Some of the time, Entropia's software will be running commercial tasks on your computer.

A few comments:

Many Universities undertake public domain research for free (hence profit is NOT essential for the life of research).
Many people would rather the information on how to deal with HIV and AIDS was public domain (cheap generic drugs instead of exorbitant branded ones) - particularly as the parts of the world most affected by HIV are also the poorest parts.
And particularly, many people I believe would be affronted by the possibility that the software itself might start to run commercial tasks simply to make money in between bits of AIDS research.

This is a tremendously powerful model for enhancing research, and I suspect one we will see a great deal more of over the next few years. You could contribute to the curing of huge social ills simply by allowing people to invisibly use your computer when you are not. But let us wait until the model is taken up by the not-for-profit institutions - because we should all contribute to a better world, but there's no reason to make some multi-national even more absurdly rich in the process.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Whatever will Tom say next? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/16/2000 12:39:01 PM ----- BODY: Whatever will Tom say next?

53 ) "A gottle of geer " said Tom badly
32 ) "My hair's all gone " said Tom baldly
196 ) "I've chucked most of the water overboard " said Tom balefully
236 ) "You need to hammer it completely flat, like this " said Tom bashfully
231 ) "10 PRINT 'HELLO WORLD' : GOTO 10 " said Tom basically

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Teen Angst Moment: I think STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/16/2000 05:38:03 PM ----- BODY: Teen Angst Moment: I think the hot bloke in advertising thinks I'm stalking him.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Text Message Theatre (Inbox): Want STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/16/2000 06:19:07 PM ----- BODY: Text Message Theatre (Inbox):

Want sleep.
so i am fed up with being a hermit what are you up tonight?
Bored now.
Nothing to report.
Oi -- keep your hands off my doggie!
Shattered. May not be going ce soir. Having tea w. Jon. will see after.
Assume no - may nap + come but likely wake tomorrow.
BAD TUBES. NOW HAVE BAD HEAD. NEED TO RECOVER FOR A BIT.
I was at sheffield... without my phone!
WASSSSSUUUUUUPPPPPPPPP? I FEEL LIKE ABSOLUTE FUCKING SHIT! D

Text Message Theatre (Outbox):

We have vodka! Return at once! Base station out..
Do not have your e mail address at work! Send it at once!
Jen has such a hard life. I really feel for her. I so relate to her bruised sluttiness - jack is a fucking girl loser poof as well. Spit. Vomit. Barf. Ick.

[All messages copied verbatim from Nokia mobile phone]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: There's a great scene in STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/16/2000 10:00:41 PM ----- BODY: There's a great scene in Grosse Pointe Blank involving a confrontation between ex-lovers who have recently been reacquainted. The scene takes the form of a radio phone-in show, where members of the public have their say on what they perceive to be going on. What would you have said?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Text Message Theatre (Inbox) II: STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/17/2000 09:28:16 AM ----- BODY: Text Message Theatre (Inbox) II:

We'll have to make it tomorrow, since am now living in a hole in the ground without internet access. And infested with untermenschen whom I must exterminate...
TOM AM PROB FREE NEXT WK MUST LVE FREE 4 POSS HOT DATE! WILL EMAIL DETAILS
Yes. Be good. Or bad. Or something.

[All messages copied verbatim from Nokia mobile phone]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I my life I have STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/17/2000 09:29:53 AM ----- BODY: I my life I have met approximately five German people, or people of German descent. They have been Andreas, Evil Michael, Astrid, Other Astrid and Max. Out of these five, approximately four of them have turned out to be gay. My deduction? 80% of German people are gay.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Yeah, yeah, Meg, I see STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/17/2000 11:32:15 AM ----- BODY: Yeah, yeah, Meg, I see you too. She's such a smart-arse sometimes...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The Internet Movie Database is STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/18/2000 12:01:31 AM ----- BODY: The Internet Movie Database is Ten today! I think I first saw it in about 1994, because I remember all these designs: 1998 (1), 1998 (2) and 1996.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Excerpts from a Subterranean Journal... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/18/2000 12:21:57 AM ----- BODY:

Excerpts from a Subterranean Journal:

It's midnight and I'm preparing for bed. Priorities for next 24 hours: meet Frank (place / time / appropriate dress as yet unknown), recover from cold (and thus preserve world tissue paper supply), buy shoelaces, recover from cold, recover from cold, recover from cold, recover from cold.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Magnified Despotism... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/18/2000 11:32:28 AM ----- BODY:

I couldn't agree more:[ from "Lacking in emotional content"]

"It makes sense that in a world that doesn't support creative and caring environments, there are often more glamorous, albeit unhealthy behaviors. Rather than refocusing the extreme behavior into healthier modes of expression, the kids are forced into a magnified example of our despotic culture."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I'm off to New York! STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/19/2000 09:13:09 AM ----- BODY:

I'm off to New York this afternoon. How cool is that? I'll be in the Big Apple by 9.30 this evening.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Just one last thing... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/19/2000 10:29:19 AM ----- BODY:

One last thing before I duck off to pastures new for the weekend - not so soft has redesigned. And since we like her, and we like it, I thought I should tell you to go there now.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Why Bother? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/19/2000 01:13:48 PM ----- BODY:

Infinite Monkeys. Really. Why bother?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On minging Mark... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/22/2000 11:36:29 PM ----- BODY:

Mark is a minging wanker.

"i was thinking how fun it'd be to tell you about my night in british slang, but then i remembered... if i wanted to do that, i'd just have Tom type something up for me."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Immediate response to a bizarre weekend in New York... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/22/2000 11:44:42 PM ----- BODY:

Fuck me. Back in London. What a bizarre weekend. It's really late, and I'm completely exhausted, so I'm not going to go into too many details, except to say that I've had very little sleep (for various reasons), spent a hell of a lot of money and really need to go to bed now. A couple of very brief asides to people around the place:

David - you're a terrifying creature.
Katy Darby - if you're sending me all this crappy text message stuff I may very well ritually execute you.
Max - we shall talk properly tomorrow.
Brewski - you're a danger to yourself and to others.
Will - come down to London for a couple of days and watch videos and mooch. Get your mind off stuff.
Corny - hmmmm. Weird phone call.
Evil Mikey - sorry I missed you, I was in NY, you doofus.

So much more to say. Not sure I can be bothered.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Feel like crap and seem STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/24/2000 02:00:30 AM ----- BODY: Feel like crap and seem to be still coughing up nice chunky green blobs of goo. Had this bloody cold all weekend, but kept it at bay by taking vast amounts of day nurse. Since I got back, I thought it was probably best to let the damn thing run its course (I mean I've had it for a week now and it doesn't seem to be getting any better). So I feel like crap. I must look like some haggard mid-50's bachelor uncle.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Excerpts from a Subterranean Diary: STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/24/2000 02:15:23 AM ----- BODY: Excerpts from a Subterranean Diary:

You know those horror /slasher movies which are really exciting but relentless and exhausting? The ones where the monster just keeps coming back again and again? The ones where there are many fake resolutions before the final one actually comes around? The ones that even then spawn endless sequels, each of which is slightly more implausible? I bloody love those films.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Tom's Teenage Diary, Monday STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/24/2000 02:39:22 AM ----- BODY: Tom's Teenage Diary, Monday May 6th 1991

On plane to NYC now, and it's about 3.15 GMT. The music on these aero-headphones is bearable (even a bit of TT), but has already repeated itself three times. Plane left Amsterdam late due to one engine having difficulties. Would be OK except the lights and power kept going off.

When I arrive in New York I shall have the honour of being confronted by people demanding to know why I want to go there. From what I've heard of NYC, this is a very good question.

I'm not entirely sure that Americans are all that sympathetic to holiday-makers, especially those with no fixed abode once they reach said country. However, I have all the bumph, so I shouldn't have much of a problem (I hope).

This bald guy in front keeps sticking his chair at me. GRRRRRR...

Whoah! Having my first cab-ride with this amazing guy who I can hardly understand. It's grey and damp, but not actually raining. It's quite humid as well. Everytime the car moves suddenly, like, the "gas" (getting into the terminology) sloshes around like hell. First impressions of the USA: Not as bad as I thought! There is a lot of NY that looks like the place was constructed on a rubbish dump. It looks (in places) like all those films of post-"bomb" looting and riots. There is greyness and thousands of cars, barbed wire and dirt, but also a great feeling of vitality and passion.

Whether this guy is actually taking me to the Carlton remains to be seen.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Today's most ridiculously obscure waste STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/24/2000 01:31:55 PM ----- BODY: Today's most ridiculously obscure waste of column inches comes from Wired News, who have written a three page article on how they've decided to change their style sheet so that what was "email" is now "e-mail". Honestly - I'm a journalist, and I don't even give a damn about that one...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Downside's Deathwatch is a cash-flow STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/24/2000 01:47:16 PM ----- BODY: Downside's Deathwatch is a cash-flow analysis. The death date is simply the day the company will run out of cash, based on their reported liquid assets and loss rate. When the cash runs out, something bad for stockholders has to happen. [Downside's Deathwatch | via Metafilter]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Grant launches own website... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/24/2000 06:46:37 PM ----- BODY:

The coolest guy in the world, without any exceptions, is Grant Morrison. He's just launched his own site, which is extremely informative. Best part of it - the series of photos of Grant with hair: Early Crazy Hair and Later Crazy Hair being particular favourites.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Other people who care about STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/25/2000 09:55:19 AM ----- BODY: Other people who care about Grant Morrison are: Not Enough of Me, Blue Dog, Corn and Death, St Seb, sourground.co.uk, linkmachinego.com, Complete Toss, Pig Inc, Disconnected Zeitgeist, Ghost in the Machine, Cuckoo Kid, Blue Lines, Lacking in Emotional Content, Underbaal.

[In order to promote his cause world-wide, anyone who links to his site will get a mention from me. Just drop me a note and tell me you've done it.]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Just a bit of clarification STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/25/2000 09:57:57 AM ----- BODY: Just a bit of clarification for those of you who have been confused. The thing I wrote yesterday about New York really is from my teenage diary of 1991, which I am planning to start running in concert with my new ramblings. I'll let you know all about what I did in NY properly as soon as I get a good half an hour to myself in which I'm not working or retching.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: // SECTION ERASED BECAUSE I STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/25/2000 12:23:46 PM ----- BODY: // SECTION ERASED BECAUSE I COMPLETELY MISSED THE POINT //
Apologies to TECHNORGANIC �, which is a very elegant and well designed site...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Interesting quote (I forget where STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/25/2000 05:32:30 PM ----- BODY: Interesting quote (I forget where from), only loosly amended:

"Love is a strange thing; it depends what one gives -- and sometimes to give means give someone away. Jane Siberry said that, and I endorse it. If they are the fickle whore they seem, they are at least a whore with a conscience. Everything they touch, they destroy, and they like you too much to destroy you. Take their refusal as a gift. Take every experience as a gift. Some come in strange wrapping paper, but they are gifts just the same."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I've just submitted my photo STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/25/2000 06:43:38 PM ----- BODY: I've just submitted my photo to amihotornot.com - which has to be the most evil thing I've ever seen in my life. What a wonderful idea though... I'd put up the direct URL of my image, but I fear that might skew the results. I'll keep you informed though...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Apparently, while I was asleep STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/26/2000 02:18:11 PM ----- BODY: Apparently, while I was asleep last night, someone crept into my bedroom, tattooed KICK ME or LOSER on my head, gave me a quick post-hypnotic suggestion so I wouldn't be able to see it, and sent me out in the world for people to systematically shit on. This is the only theory I can come up with today. Literally the only answer.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I am, it seems, a STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/26/2000 06:56:47 PM ----- BODY: I am, it seems, a 4.3.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Head Fuck Song of the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/26/2000 09:07:50 PM ----- BODY: Head Fuck Song of the Day: Be Aggressive | Faith No More.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: There could have been another STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/27/2000 09:55:50 AM ----- BODY: There could have been another weblogger at the Time Out party in New York on the weekend...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Weblogs are navel-gazing bollocks produced STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/27/2000 05:54:13 PM ----- BODY: Weblogs are navel-gazing bollocks produced by self-important/obsessed neurotics with too much time on their hands. Discuss

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I'm bloody exhausted. STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/28/2000 09:40:45 PM ----- BODY: I'm bloody exhausted.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Does anyone remember this message STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/29/2000 12:38:01 AM ----- BODY: Does anyone remember this message from Text Message Theatre?

"Jen has such a hard life. I really feel for her. I so relate to her bruised sluttiness - jack is a fucking girl loser poof as well. Spit. Vomit. Barf. Ick."

Well people out there have theories about our Ms Linley:

[In the final episode of the last series of Dawson's Creek...] Jen wraps up with:

"....I'm pretty sure of it. We're not in Capeside anymore, Toto. This is some alternate reality where our intellects are sharper, our quips are wittier, and our hearts are repeatedly broken while faintly in the background some soon-to-be-dated contemporary pop music plays."

Told you Jen was the bright one. She's twigged. She knows that she, and Dawson, and immaculate, emasculate gay boy Jack McPhee, are all fictional characters. Not just that, but they're fictional characters designed for nothing other than to suffer. To split up, split off, pair up and tap out over and over and over again, to spend their entire, limited lives expressing their agony, describing a Bucky Ballet of failure. They fall in love, but they don't really fall in love; they're just setting up the next heartbreak, because that's what hearts are for.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I'm in a bit of STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/29/2000 11:47:00 PM ----- BODY: I'm in a bit of a mood at the moment, as one of the sexiest, dirtiest and most savage films that I have ever seen (Head on) has had its release on video delayed even further. This is particularly gutting as I have had a pretty shit couple of days and the thought of the film arriving had cheered me up at a couple of particularly unpleasant moments.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I have kept meaning to STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/30/2000 01:53:35 PM ----- BODY: I have kept meaning to link to the Mayfly Project over at notosoft.com, but keep getting distracted. The idea is a bloody good one - describe the last year of your life in twenty words. Unfortunately, everyone seems really grumpy about the last year of their lives. My particular entry was no different.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: This is a call to STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/30/2000 03:17:55 PM ----- BODY: This is a call to arms. Let's show the world that webloggers are the sexiest bunch of bitches on the planet. Get yourself a picture on amiHOTorNOT.com and then stick the link semi-permanently on your site. Mine's over on the left. DO YA THINK I'M SEXY!?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The future used to be STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/31/2000 09:33:38 AM ----- BODY: The future used to be all about flying cars, food pills, humanoid robots and faster-than-light travel. Now, it seems, the future is fart-free sheep.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: In direct refutation of my STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/31/2000 06:41:28 PM ----- BODY: In direct refutation of my standard taste in trashy guitar crap, I have decided that I am interested in getting the Dido album (this is the woman who is responsible for the opening credits music to Roswell and for the singy bit in Eminem's Stan. So I think, "Well this is a bit of a departure - maybe I should check out epinions first." So I go and find a review and I'm reading it, and it's actually a pretty good review and then this amazingly huge, spiralling, mixed metaphor appears and I sit their gobsmacked - in awe of the twisted evil genius who could come up with:

"Looking up Dido in Roman mythology, one finds that she was the founder and queen of Carthage. There are several versions of her story but the most famous is the one from the Aeneid in which she falls in love with Aeneas. When he leaves her to continue his journey to Italy, Dido destroys herself on a burning pyre. Well, if that Dido is resurrected from the ashes in the form of this songbird, this is one phoenix whose voice soars on angel's wings."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: All I can say is STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/31/2000 06:43:24 PM ----- BODY: All I can say is thank god for payday. Mwah. I love you money. Filthy (small) piles of lucre. Mmmmmmm.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Ridiculous quote of the day: STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/01/2000 06:45:47 PM ----- BODY:

Ridiculous quote of the day:

"Hello! You might be eligible to be featured in amiHOTorNOT's newsletter of the hottest men and women! If you are interested in being featured, please do the following..."

Of course this might have something to do with my personal rating suddenly becoming 9.9 (after a considerable period at a respectable 5), which is so ridiculously improbable (unless there's some HEAVY weighting going on behind the scenes) that I can only assume that they've buggered up their whole site to an absurd degree. Nevertheless, I now know the vague sense of embarrassment that people who really are godly in the sex appeal department must deal with every day...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: My flatmates leave for holiday STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/01/2000 06:52:36 PM ----- BODY:

My flatmates leave for holiday tomorrow, which leaves me with the flat to myself for a full five or six days. It's going to be both lovely and slightly disturbing, as I'm in a bit of an isolationist space at the moment. On the one hand I will be able to relax and not have to deal with anyone at all, but on the other hand without someone to force me to talk to people, it is entirely possible that I'll curl up in my room and not talk to anyone outside work at all. This does not seem to me to be an ideal situation.

Excerpts from a Subterranean Diary:

I've been spending a lot of time with Nick H. recently. We went out boozing on Friday night where I (kind of) pulled this air steward bloke, and then I spoke to him on the phone a lot over the weekend about the various things he'd got up to on Saturday night. And then we went out last night to see Bring It On (which was a bloody good film). I might be meeting him after the blogmeet on Friday as well to do the Popstarz experience up in King's Cross.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Here's an interesting article for STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/01/2000 07:03:09 PM ----- BODY:

Here's an interesting article for you all:

"The number one thing that correlates with a region's high-tech success is the concentration of gay people living there."
[E-Village People from Washingtonpost.com via Metafilter]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Things not to do when STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/01/2000 11:05:47 PM ----- BODY:

Things not to do when you want to sucessfully pick up men:

Be in love with someone.
Be hunched over a beer.
Glare at everyone who approaches you with a DIE BITCHSCUM DIE look on your face.

If you can not do these things, then you'll probably pull.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I've got to get me STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/01/2000 11:40:25 PM ----- BODY:

I've got to get me one of these: [bark with me: WOOF WOOF].

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Excerpts from a Subterranean Diary: STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/02/2000 05:29:32 PM ----- BODY: Excerpts from a Subterranean Diary:

Just a snippet today - this time about last weekend:

"Friday night decided I had to do something to pull me out of the exhausted self-hating funk I had been in, so i went out for a drink with Nick Hornig. We went out, got drunk and I ended up pulling this air steward who wanted to go to a club. I said that he should ring me at home if he wanted to come and join me before 3am. At 4am he rang - I was asleep on the sofa fully clothed and snapped at him until he went away. Turned my phone off and went to bed.

Saturday morning I get up at midday, turn on my phone and find that Will has arrived in London, spent the night out, had got lost in Richmond, dumped by his fling for the evening without any money, and had begged enough money to get a travel card to Maida Vale and a bottle of champagne."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: People who say that there STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/03/2000 11:56:50 AM ----- BODY: People who say that there isn't enough personal content on my site (and there are a couple) should learn to read between the lines, if you ask me. I can't be expected to spell everything out!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The dark satanic cult of STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/04/2000 01:08:43 PM ----- BODY: The dark satanic cult of the UK weblogging community met up again last night for Thai food and a booze-up in Soho. Statistics for the event are being quantified as we speak, as are the (gulp) photos (damn you Meg and Dan).

Interesting facts:

There are more hot webloggers than you might expect.
Twelve geeks in a restaurant are still incapable of working out their share of the bill.
Multi-coloured CHiPs-style specs are the future.
Blue hair can look cool.
Vodka Jelly is God in alcoholic form.

[People present included: Meg NotSoSoft, Dan Daily Doozer / Extenuating Circumstances, Popt Art, Matt Interconnected, DarrenMachineGo, Chris RaettigORG, NetDyslexia, Jen Threadnaught, Secret Squirrel, PlayingWithCobras, Luke Fez, Adrian Vavatch.]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: RE: Sex in Zero Gravity STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/04/2000 01:21:45 PM ----- BODY: RE: Sex in Zero Gravity [from Wired]

According to Stine, it was "possible but difficult." Stine also explained that the tank experiments revealed that sex in zero gravity would be easier if a helpful astronaut was available to assist the copulating couple by holding one of the two participants in place.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: If you want to see STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/04/2000 06:28:54 PM ----- BODY: If you want to see pictures of someone who looks a bit like me, only fatter (oh and some other weblogging types) mooching around seedy bars in Soho, then all you have to do is get your fat arse over to NotSoSoft's blogallery. My particular favourite: Tom is humoured by Luke. This happened a lot over the evening. Anyway - now to sneak them all onto amihotornot.com [ha!].

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: So I'm wandering around Chez STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/05/2000 12:53:31 AM ----- BODY: So I'm wandering around Chez Andy, thinking how nice and orange everything is, when I see this white blotch with "Hello I use Organizine, the wave of the future". This looks really interesting, so I think to myself, I'm going to go to their site organizine.com and see if it might be suitable for what I want to do with barbelith.com and filmsoho.com (my other recent acquisition which is not quite functional yet). But when I go, I get confronted with a password protection screen and can't go any further. So now I'm intrigued, frustrated and need more information.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The immortal Meg has an STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/05/2000 12:17:54 PM ----- BODY: The immortal Meg has an article published today in the Observer on the TV drama Attachments (which I have managed to completely not see as yet). In it she writes:

[Attachments: Are you Attached?]
The business model for seethru.co.uk is laughable, too, echoing the underpants-stealing gnomes from a classic episode of South Park:
1. Steal underpants
2. ???
3. Profit!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Sometimes - just sometimes - STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/05/2000 12:58:44 PM ----- BODY: Sometimes - just sometimes - I do something so unbearably evil that I astound even myself: You Know Who You Are!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Do this immediately if you STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/05/2000 01:29:43 PM ----- BODY: Do this immediately if you are a weblogger yourself: Go to Interconnected.org [DIRK] and do a search for weblog. Do this particularly if you happen to run: megnut.com, notsosoft.com, Captainfez.com, Blogger.com, Interconnected.org/home, Evhead.com, Extenuating Circumstances, camworld.com or riothero.com. Someone's been in there playing around a bit. I say we give them a hand!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Grrrr. Matt is too talented. STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/05/2000 04:45:15 PM ----- BODY: Grrrr. Matt is too talented. I hate Matt. I wish Matt would die rather than knock up really cool little natty links pages in the middle of the night on a whim, when it takes me months to find the time to put together anything of any use at all. Die Matt, Die. This is why Matt must die: inconnected links page.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: OK so it's a standard STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/05/2000 07:18:49 PM ----- BODY: OK so it's a standard conversation. You're out with women and you're chatting away about someone who's just fucked them over in some way and they say things like, "All Men are pointless", or "I've never met a man who didn't like football". And then you look a little perturbed and say, "Well I'm a man, and I'm not pointless and I don't like football", and then they look at you in a slightly conspiratorial / slightly pitying fashion and say, "Well straight men - you know what I mean". They might as well actually say "proper" men.

OK so it's a standard conversation. You're out with women and you're chatting away about someone who's just fucked them over in some way and they say things like, "I wish straight men could be more like gay men - you know, cultured, tidy, good cooks that never belch." And then you look a little perturbed and say, "Well I'm a gay man, and I belch and am a mess and eat pizza and watch bad television", and then they sit there in a slightly embarrassed / slightly appalled way and say, "Well, other gay men. You know what I mean." They might as well say "proper" poofs.

There's a website called Guyville and its tagline is, "Where Men Can Be Guys" - but really it's all about birds and sports and gadgets and shagging. It's a bit sad really.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Here's a new game for STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/06/2000 01:48:57 AM ----- BODY: Here's a new game for you. This one is called "What Kind of Person Buys That". I was wandering through Amazon.co.uk today, and I stumbled upon a book called Hacking Exposed. Apparently people who buy Pixies albums are interested in hacking. But then I thought to myself, "I wonder what people who buy Hacking Exposed are interested in?" So I clicked and I had a look. Here is a list:

Network Intrusion Detection: An Analysts' Handbook; Stephen Northcutt
The Hacker's Handbook; Dr K.
Information Warfare and Security; Dorothy E. Denning
Hackers (1995); Jonny Lee Miller(Primary Contributor), et al
Better Sex Series - Better Oral Sex Techniques

So now we know...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I wrote an epinion about STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/06/2000 01:49:19 AM ----- BODY: I wrote an epinion about Requiem for a Dream. The review in a line? "This is a brilliantly made, visually stunning, well-performed piece of perfect cinema, that if you have any sense of self-preservation you will NEVER, EVER go and see."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The thing I think I STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/06/2000 05:47:42 PM ----- BODY: The thing I think I dislike about work in general is the way that one is forced to censor what one wants to say if you are saying it in the public arena. If I have problems at work, if I disagree with a decision, if I decide to look for another job, I have to keep my mouth very firmly shut. It's very aggravating.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Handbags at dawn for this STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/07/2000 01:12:18 AM ----- BODY: Handbags at dawn for this particular "bint":

"***** of ***** wonders why he wasn't invited to a uk webloggers meeting in London last Saturday. Nothing to do with you, David. I wasn't invited either, and I'm in London. I think it has something to do with the fact that we do our own thing, whereas some other people only use their weblogs to show off their journalistic pretenses (in the hopes of landing a job writing for a paper or a mag). Not mentioning any names of course. Or maybe it's just because they're a bunch of elitist cunts. Maybe a bit of both. Anyway, take pride in not being part of a clique, dammit."

The comments are equally slap-inspiring:

"I don't drink alchohol so I would have had to find some other way to amuse myself. Whether I could resist the urge to set light to Tom Coates I am unsure. "

And now on a completely different note, ukbloggers is a UK based mailing list open to all people who run weblogs in the UK. I, in fact, joined it for the first time today.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The person who wrote the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/07/2000 01:39:40 PM ----- BODY: The person who wrote the piece below has asked to be credited for it, as is her right. Her name is: Marcia van der Beek and her e-mail address is clog@dutchbint.org.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Storming lyrics from an epic STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/07/2000 05:57:06 PM ----- BODY: Storming lyrics from an epic song. We may never see their like again:

He has a powerful weapon
He charges a million a shot...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Reasons for Matt Haughey to STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/07/2000 10:20:54 PM ----- BODY: Reasons for Matt Haughey to assemble london.metafilter.com / gb.metafilter.com or uk.metafilter.com: [Regional Metafilters?]

British webloggers are the single largest group of English language webloggers outside the US.
British webloggers are unable to participate in the large blocks of American-specific content that Metafilter currently provides (the election has brought that into focus).
Without wanting to sound all corporate, Matt has developed an effective brand and an easy to use, functional site that does exactly what it says on the tin.
There has been discussion about setting up a similar kind of site in the UK - but my feelings are that in this circumstance if we went with uk.metafilter.com we would be helping an individual extend a useful site - a site that might in time develop worldwide - while simultaneously having functionality, look and feel and an ethos that we respect. And any possible improvements to the concept and function could be implemented simultaneously over all the sites. It's like with inconnected.org - the community helps the project because we find it interesting and we know the person involved. Any one of us might come up with a great idea like Metafilter, and it would be nice to think that if that happened, our colleagues and friends from other weblogs would help us develop it to its full potential.

Are you with me?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On watching "The Patriot" STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: __default__ ALLOW PINGS: 0 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Film CATEGORY: Film DATE: 11/07/2000 10:35:43 PM ----- BODY: Hollywood history has had its villains, and they seem to come in blocks. At the end of the forties (with strands oozing all the way up until the present day), these villains were from Nazi Germany. In the fifties, these villains were the Red Menace of Communists at home and abroad. By the end of the sixties, the enemy was becoming (more often than you'd expect) the government itself. By the time we reach the seventies and eighties, if the enemies were anything, it was probably taste. But that's another story. But in this - the first year of the new Millennium, there are a whole new batch of bad-guys to hate and fear - the people who may come along while you sleep and replace your children with crude duplicates carved out of root vegetables - the people who wear exotic clothing and move in an almost sinisterly stiff fashion - mindless drones of cruel masters, the menace is now ... British ...

INTERLUDE: A man and a woman leave the cinema and walk towards their car. The woman turns to the man and says, "I thought that bloody film would never end." The man replies, "In some of the lower circles of hell, it never will."

The plot of the Patriot is loosely based upon actual events in the US. Benjamin Martin (Mel Gibson) plays a retired Colonel with an infinity of Healthy, Wholesome Children and a cult of cheery non-enslaved black people who belt out the odd cheery number that wouldn't have sounded out of place in the Little Mermaid. The oldest of his Healthy, Wholesome Children is called Gabriel (Heath Ledger) - a headstrong child, but with good moral fibre and teeth. His father - ashamed of his actions in the French and Indian War - decides to sit out the attempt of America to declare independence from Britain. But when Gabriel (who, I should add, resembles nothing more than a claymation duplicate of himself) enlists in the army, only to be captured by evil British Colonel Tavington - a man who subsequently burns down the family home and disposes of one of the middle Healthy Wholesome Children - Ben Martin realises that he has to get involved in the struggle. Assembling a team of guerilla fighters, Ben Martin gradually takes a more and more central role in defending the good old US of A from the brutish Brits - but will his daughter come around and recognise him again? Will Joely Richardson (playing the sister of Ben Martin's dead wife) fall in love with him? And will he get the opportunity to run around in slow motion with a huge American flag. Yes. Yes. And yes, I'm afraid he will.

INTERLUDE: The man and the woman return home to their flatmate, who works in the film industry. She is eager to hear all about the film, as the English villain is played by someone she used to work with. The man and the woman struggle to explain how bad the film is, how it plays fast and loose with history and how Mel Gibson really must have an issue with the British - particularly after Braveheart. Between them the three try out various new names for the movie, including "The Patronise" and "The Pantriot".

The Patriot was released in America some time around Independence Day - which is pretty much what you'd expect I guess. The reviews were pretty average in the US, and worse in the UK. The problem with the film is that it passes over the opportunity to actually talk about a difficult time in American history - where loyalties were heavily conflicted between royalists and those who supported independence - and decides instead to opt for cheap jingoism, often at the expense of the truth. The "Old World" becomes the repository for all that is bad in the world, and the "New World" the representation of all that is positive. Now before I go any further, I should point out that I'm not in any way here trying to defend the actions of Imperialist cultures of which the British Empire was one of the most globally successful and brutal. These cultures committed wide-spread atrocities world-wide, taking over less technologically advanced cultures and erasing people who got in their way. But bear in mind that even in the time that the film is set, many colonial Americans still considered themselves to be, in essence, Europeans - members of the same culture that would be through this war divided into two. These same colonial Americans were systematically involved in the extermination of Native American cultures, they came from the same cultural background as the people they were fighting and they were supported by an anti-royalist French with their own colonial agendas. It's very difficult to retrofit modern morals onto period politics with any success at all - but while "No Taxation Without Representation" still works for modern moralists, the fact both Americans and Europeans were still involved in slavery makes the clear moral division a harder one to delineate into a simplistic "goodies" versus "baddies" movie. But rather than explore this tension, the film instead hides it, characterising the British as child-eating, church-burning, godless deviants, while all the things that Americans today find objectionable about their own past - the things that generate guilt (again, for example, slavery) are also shunted off onto the malevolent European. Case in point: At one point, the Aardman-animated Gabriel makes a speech to a black slave who is fighting alongside them. He says something to the effect of, "We are fighting against the Old World, and Old Ways, this is the New World, and there will be no slavery in it". Actual facts - Britain abolished slavery FORTY YEARS before the United States did. And when the issue of slavery was finally to be decided in the US, it became a substantial component in a Civil War. The Patriot can't and won't face up to this fact, and so remains an insult to history and a cheap attempt to depict a difficult and complicated struggle as instead Evil, Corrupt, Power-Crazed, Racist Big Monarchist Bad Guys versus simple decent farmer folk who love black people and freedom and don't really even WANT to fight and who are actually Australian in upbringing. It's like a part of American culture is still a teenager, lurking like Bart Simpson in the middle of a calamity, saying to itself: "I didn't do it!

INTERLUDE: The man and his flatmate who works in the film industry go to Sainsbury's on Finchley Road in London. Suddenly they notice the evil British star of The Patriot getting some groceries with his wife. The flatmate smiles and chats and says that she's heard good things about the film, determined not to say anything bad about it until she's at least SEEN the film. The man stands back, trying to work out why ANYONE would do a film in which they are helping to generate a revisionist view of history which slams their own country. He can't think of a thing to say...

... so I'll end with a quote from an article in Salon about the phenomenon of the EVIL BRITISH: "The prizewinning historian and biographer Andrew Roberts called the film Patriot "racist" in the Daily Express, and pointed out that it was only the latest in a series of films like "Titanic," "Michael Collins" and "The Jungle Book" remake that have depicted the British as "treacherous, cowardly, evil [and] sadistic." Roberts had a theory: "With their own record of killing 12 million American Indians and supporting slavery for four decades after the British abolished it, Americans wish to project their historical guilt onto someone else."" ----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: In this - the first year of the new Millennium, there are a whole new batch of bad-guys to hate and fear - the people who may come along while you sleep and replace your children with crude duplicates carved out of root vegetables - the people who wear exotic clothing and move in an almost sinisterly stiff fashion - mindless drones of cruel masters, the menace is now ... British ... ----- KEYWORDS: ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Ap EMAIL: apwhite@hotmail.com IP: 145.254.199.68 URL: http://andrew-white.org DATE: 11/16/2002 03:48:46 PM Any society which was large enough to colonise / bully other nations will always be treated somewhat unfairly in retrospect. I'm sure the English introduced lots of good things to Ireland, like Muffins, funny looking policemen, afternoon tea etc., but the fact remains that Irish culture was outlawed and hundreds of thousands of innocent people were killed. Therefore any attempt to try an make a "balanced" view of history will more than likely be snubbed by cinema goers. So as usual it's the cash vs. truth dilemma... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: freaktopia EMAIL: none@none.com IP: 128.101.252.73 URL: http://none.com DATE: 11/17/2002 06:08:55 AM wow, maybe you should relax about it a bit and realize that it was just a movie (hence, fiction)? ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Coates EMAIL: tom@plasticbag.org IP: 217.40.192.121 URL: http://www.plasticbag.org DATE: 11/17/2002 07:58:03 PM To freaktopia: I don't think that's true, actually. I think things that lie about history are extraordinarily scary - particularly when they're actually fiction. Extreme examples abound, but if you made a film about how apartheid was good or rewrote a murder story so that the victims deserved it you'd rightly get called up on your facts... To Ap: I personally believe that films based around historical events should have to - by law - place a disclaimer at the front of the film if it either didn't happen or is considered by experts to be an innaccurate view of history. I think it's profoundly dangerous. I totally agree that countries that do horrible things may get (should, maybe) treated slightly unfairly in retrospect. And there's no doubt whatsoever that the British have done some bloody awful things around the world - although the successes and achievements are less often looked at now. But there are a lot of other things to look at with relation to America - firstly the majority of Americans ARE Europeans - the vast majority of white Americans share as much genetically with Europeans (and British people) of a couple of hundred years ago as I do. The country of America was taken from its native population who were essentially exterminated so that these Europeans could be there. A rejection of slavery is not something that Americans should be proud of and celebrate as some great achievement of their great freedoms. People around the world rejected it much earlier - the British among them. Essentially what we're talking about when we talk about this period in American history is the pride of a king and a political party in England arguing with people who were essentially their relatives by blood who wanted freedom from taxation. There was a large amount of debate on BOTH sides about what was the appropriate response - there were those who didn't want independence in the States and there were those who didn't want to tax in Britain. Neither side got through intact, neither side can take the moral highground completely. Either way, America has to take responsibility for some of the things it's done - slavery is one of those things, the extermination of the native population is another - and that's not including any of the stuff that's happened since. It's ludicrous to keep selling America this image of itself as perfect and sublime at the expense of another country. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tim EMAIL: deardaniel1@yahoo.co.uk IP: 213.122.175.135 URL: http://uk.geocities.com/deardaniel1/index.html DATE: 11/17/2002 11:16:24 PM I would agree with Tom. Given the current political situation in America and the world, I think it's actually very dangerous for propaganda like this (because that's all it is really; it's not even that entertaining, although IMDb users seem to disagree!) to portray America as being so morally superior. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Ap EMAIL: apwhite@hotmail.com IP: 217.233.253.43 URL: DATE: 11/18/2002 05:44:49 PM Since when was the equation: Movie = Fiction always = True?? ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: vlar EMAIL: vlar@sc.rr.com IP: 66.57.184.48 URL: DATE: 02/03/2003 06:41:11 AM I'm trying to find an articale on the net about when an entire town was forced into a church and burned alive by the order of an English officer. Please e-mail me when you find one. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Faisal EMAIL: faisal_fazli1@hotmail.com IP: 202.179.137.14 URL: DATE: 11/19/2003 11:57:52 AM Tom, I agree the Partirot was a crap movie, but i disagree that "films based around historical events should have to - by law - place a disclaimer at the front of the film if it either didn't happen or is considered by experts to be an innaccurate view of history." The problem with this position is that it presupposes that there is some accurate view to which experts can agree. there isn't. and why would such a disclaimer be necessary. interested viewers can read reviews and discover the inaccuracies and misrepresentations. The second problem is that there is probably a trade-off between historical accuracy and dramatic effect, and the filmmaker must, and is right to, prefer dramatic effect. Take JFK. excellent movie, but totally biased and inaccurate. see www.jfk-online.com/jfk100menu.html. the reason we don't like Partriot but do like JFK is that Patriot's biases offend our sense of aesthetics whereas JFK's do not. we're just not interested in a feel-good, 4th of July type flick. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Coates EMAIL: tom@plasticbag.org IP: 81.128.114.97 URL: http://www.plasticbag.org DATE: 11/19/2003 12:12:46 PM I think you over-estimate the degree to which people disagree about history. There are things that can be checked and rechecked - information that exists, and standards that can be created (an impartial panel of prominent historians by 2/3rds majority maybe? levels of warnings?). All the things - in fact - that happen when you rate movies for age. I'm not saying that movies that are historically innaccurate shouldn't be shown, I'm saying that there should be a disclaimer at the beginning. People can still disagree about them, read about them in greater detail - whatever. And people are more than able to make films that aren't historically accurate, as long as they're prepared to have a disclaimer placed at the front saying so. And the reason I don't like the Patriot is not that it says positive things about America, but that it scandalously accuses the British of being in favour of slavery when America isn't - when in fact the States had legal slavery for DECADES after the States. People don't learn from their mistakes if they disavow them and pretend they didn't happen. Blaming the British for slavery is the surest way to make Americans believe that they can't possibly be actually responsible for anything unpleasant that happened in the past... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Faisal EMAIL: faisal_fazli1@hotmail.com IP: 202.179.137.14 URL: DATE: 11/19/2003 01:40:35 PM Tom, i agree people don't learn the lessons of history if they deny the facts. there are two isses here: 1) whether historical movies should be preceded with some kind of disclaimer about its historical accuracy; 2) whether Patriot "scandalously accuses the British of being in favour of slavery when America isn't". Taking 1) first, you say i overestimate disagreement between historians. i think it depends on the events being depicted. What warning do you think should precede JFK? even the most historically accurate movies (apollo 13 for instance) contain factual inaccuracies for dramatic effect. Therefore, there would have to be a warning before EVERY historical movie, rendering the warning pointless, unless you conceive of tiers of warnings like the age rating. so the question becomes not WHETHER the movie is inaccurate, but HOW inaccurate it is. You'd have to factor in both the number of inaccuracies and the significance of the inaccuracy in terms of the overall rendering of the events (i.e., how misleading is the inaccuracy). This all seems terribly unscientific and impracticable to me, whereas for age ratings, there are objective criteria (number of occurances of bad language; extent of nudity etc.). There is another logical problem to your warning idea in relation to movies like Patriot. Patriot, like Gladiator, does not claim to be a true story (even if the character is based on someone who might have existed). True, it is set in the specific past of the american revolution. But the only way your disclaimer could cover the Patriot is if the rule required disclaimers to appear before every movie set in the past (i.e., every movie). Second, i'm not well versed in american revolution history but is it true that blacks were offered emancipation in exchange for service? as far as i remember, the movie never actually says that america was against slavery while britain still practiced it. so what was the mistake of fact you think Patriot makes? ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Coates EMAIL: tom@plasticbag.org IP: 81.128.114.97 URL: http://www.plasticbag.org DATE: 11/19/2003 02:16:35 PM The specific instance I'm thinking about is when - in a film about the evils of the British - a slave asks why they should fight for freedom to be told that slavery is an 'old world' thing, and that America is there to fight against it and to push for freedoms. Heath Ledger's character says that I believe. Which makes it particularly ironic that America maintained and perpetuated slavery for decades after the British and that it would end up used as a pretext for an American civil war between those who fought against it and those who supported it. Absolutely, I believe that some kind of graduated scale would be the best approach - and I also believe that criteria could be drawn up for the levels of historical accuracy without too much difficulty. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Faisal EMAIL: faisal_fazli1@hotmail.com IP: 202.179.137.16 URL: DATE: 11/19/2003 03:43:37 PM Final comment. respectfullly, i think you're wrong about the practicability of a rating system for historical accuracy for the reasons i described earlier (not all of which were responded too.... anyway). I also think your memory of the Patriot is a bit off. I remember the scene you're talking about: A black man who is ALREADY fighting with mel gibson's militia sees a sign promising emancipation to slaves who serve for 6 months or 2 years or whatever it was. and another militia men asks "what are you gonna do with freedom". you suggest in your review that the movie is a simplistic "goodies" versus "baddies" movie. But the reaction i mentionned earlier ("what are you gonna do with freedom") is a counter example: old world attitides even among the new world "goodies". Bottom line: i don't recall heath ledger saying that america is going to protect your freedoms. BUT, even if he did, where's the misstatement of historical fact? I'm pretty sure the movie does not say america abolished slavery before britain. The point is that even if your version of the movie is correct, you still haven't demonstrated a misstatement of historical fact that would warrant a disclaimer. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Coates EMAIL: tom@plasticbag.org IP: 81.128.114.97 URL: http://www.plasticbag.org DATE: 11/19/2003 05:09:51 PM To be honest, I'd suggest you watch the film again. I wrote this review the day I saw it in the cinema and stand by it. ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Knocked off another epinion while STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/08/2000 12:34:46 AM ----- BODY: Knocked off another epinion while I should have been tidying up the flat for my flatmate's imminent arrival in the morning. This one's about The Patriot.

"But in this - the first year of the new Millennium - there are a whole new batch of bad-guys to hate and fear - the people who may come along while you sleep and replace your children with crude duplicates carved out of root vegetables - the people who wear exotic clothing and move in an almost sinisterly stiff fashion - mindless drones of cruel masters, the menace is now ... British ... "

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Ew. Just saw plasticbag.org on STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/08/2000 10:59:21 AM ----- BODY: Ew. Just saw plasticbag.org on a PC for the first time in months, and frankly I don't like the way it looks at all. I mean, it all pretty much works, but it just doesn't look right. Some reconsideration might be on the cards, finally...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Congratulations to Dave, ex of STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/08/2000 04:17:50 PM ----- BODY: Congratulations to Dave, ex of Cortex on the move to brainsluice.com and the extremely successful redesign.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: According to beebo.org/lately, it will STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/08/2000 05:28:03 PM ----- BODY: According to beebo.org/lately, it will be my 9k/day birthday on November 30th. A full 9000 days old. No wonder I'm exhausted all the time. Our Lord Jesus Christ, however, will be celebrating his next "thousandth" birthday on Thursday, 23 May 2002. He will be 731000. Or at least he would be if he wasn't 1) dead and 2) not born on the 25th of December 0000.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I'm not sure this will STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/08/2000 06:43:48 PM ----- BODY: I'm not sure this will work, but I'm trying it out nonetheless. I saw Sourground doing this and thought it was a pretty good idea (mainly for my family should they be reading). So here is it: my amazon.co.uk wishlist.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Prol is keen to have STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/09/2000 03:22:19 PM ----- BODY: Prol is keen to have a more local brand of metafilter, but wants it to be europe.metafilter.com rather than uk.metafilter.com. While I can completely understand her reasoning, I can't help thinking that the reason we are asking the wonderful Matt Haughey to consider such an option because we find ourselves disenfranchised by (for example) considerable conversation of the US Election. Would a European version prove any less problematic? Would we find ourselves discussing Italian transport law or the snow conditions in Switzerland? And how would we resolve the language issue?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: This is a post specifically STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/09/2000 03:29:44 PM ----- BODY: This is a post specifically not aimed at young Fran from timeout.com. There's a really interesting article that might interest you over at the BBC: "Women 'getting dangerously drunk'."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: A few really well (and STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/09/2000 03:36:03 PM ----- BODY: A few really well (and recently re-) designed corporate sites, as mentioned by zeldman: hesketh.com and hiwire.com.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: For those of you that STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/09/2000 06:01:06 PM ----- BODY: For those of you that didn't know, plasticbag.org is brought to you live from sunny London, where the sun never sets and where 'party, party, party' is the name of the game. If you are interested in reading more weblogs from London and around the United Kingdom, why not check out this pop-up box of recently updated uk weblogs courtesy of GBlogs. With their cheeky-cockney-chappie ways, lack of electricity and running water, and oh-so-amusing natural reserve, English men and women never fail to satisfy!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Your chance to talk to Naomi Klein... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/10/2000 11:36:55 AM ----- BODY:

Naomi Klein, author of the wonderful No Logo is going to be answering questions this afternoon (1400 GMT) over at the BBC's site: [Quiz Naomi Klein]. For those of you who aren't familiar with her work, here's a brief summary from the site:

"The Canadian journalist Naomi Klein has become an unofficial spokeswoman for the anti-globalisation movement.

Her best-selling book, No Logo, documents the popular backlash against the increasing economic and cultural reach of multinational companies.

She claims that the anti-globalisation protesters represent a more democratic alternative to corporate domination of the world economy."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: In the spirit of resistance, STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/10/2000 11:50:31 AM ----- BODY: In the spirit of resistance, here are a couple of snippets of important information from adbusters.org.

First comes the event that should be de rigeur for every intelligent, creative weblogger - the Creative Resistance Contest. You have until December 1 to produce a poster, performance, spoof-ad, storyboard, video or anti-logo. I'd like to append this advert with a personal appeal to Jason Kottke to submit the parody ads that he made last year: Simply Porn.

Secondly, international Buy Nothing Day is fast approaching (Nov 24th). Give yourself an opportunity to think about the "shop-till-you-drop" imperative before the consumer glut of Christmas. I'm thinking of taking to the streets that day, holding banners outside major London shops. Anyone with me?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On creative etymology... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Language CATEGORY: Language DATE: 11/10/2000 01:21:10 PM ----- BODY:

Notice the similarity in pronunciation between these two words: "Homey" (as in homeboy, contemporary American street-slang) and "Omi" (old gay palare for man). Palare had a word, "omipalone" (Oh-Mi-Pal-Oh-Nee) which was a combination of Man and Woman ("palone"), and which at the time meant something along the lines of "poof". Creative etymology leads me to posit the creation of the word "Homey-Palone", referring to the almost non-existent phenomenon of the "Gay Gangsta Rapper". [research from Quinion]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Have you heard of Extenuating STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/10/2000 02:11:51 PM ----- BODY: Have you heard of Extenuating Circumstances? No? But you've heard of Daily Doozer, right? Daily Doozer was always a great read - bloody ace weblog. Well. Dan wrote DD, then took a break from weblogging and came back with Extenuating Circumstances. Anyway - seems to me that a lot of the people who loved the Doozer don't even know about the new site, which is a crying shame. So get your arses over there now, or I'll come around your house and kneecap your pets.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I just want to reassure STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/10/2000 02:51:20 PM ----- BODY: I just want to reassure people that at no point in the past did I write a book called Creating a Self-Portrait.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The Guardian comes up with STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/10/2000 03:40:57 PM ----- BODY: The Guardian comes up with yet another quiz designed to show up your inadequacies as a human being. This one even has the snappy title: "Are You Dumb?". More designed for the English than for Johnny Foreigner, my department at work has managed to score as follows:

Tom: 32 (of 38)
Dean: 33 (of 38)
Matt: 34 (of 38)
Rebecca: 35 (of 38)

How do you measure up?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The next UK weblogger meet STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/10/2000 05:34:55 PM ----- BODY: The next UK weblogger meet is this weekend in Cambridge, but another one is being proposed for next week in London - I've been fighting for Maida Vale as a venue, but that's really only because I live there. If you want to keep up to date with what is being proposed, then meets.gblogs.org.uk is the place to be.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On Regional Metafilters... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Social Software CATEGORY: Social Software DATE: 11/11/2000 09:58:28 AM ----- BODY:

The whole Metafilter discussion has taken a couple of interesting turns in the last hour or so. Firstly, prol suggested a rationale for the suggested europe.metafilter.com:

"The common language would be English. This would mean only people who write good English would be inclined to post. And then it would be elitist. Which would start a cat fight. Just one of the delightful scenarios possible. What we need is a Universal Translator."

Then, I had an incredibly interesting conversation with Nikolai. He started off suggesting that a European Metafilter might get over the language problems by having a place in the preferences for each user where they could specify what languages they would want to see and which ones they would want to post in.

The main problem for this from my point of view is that it still causes problems about reading about other countries. Would an Italian writing in English really be something that people in Helsinki would be interested in reading, let alone people in the UK? So then it came to us in a blinding flash. Maybe what we need is not more regional metafilters, but a more evolved filtering mechanism on thet metafilter we've already got! With options in the preferences for reading posts filtered according to language and country, then there is no real need for separate metafilters at all.

You could be an Frenchman, living in the US, interested in reading posts about France and America but only if they are in French. Or an Englishman living in Holland, interested in reading posts about both countries in both English or Dutch. It's just a question of showing or hiding posts. Whether or not it's technically possible of course, is another matter entirely...

[This has been reposted to Metatalk for further discussion.]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: ICANN idiocy, yet again. Rather STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/11/2000 10:13:38 AM ----- BODY: ICANN idiocy, yet again. Rather than go for the more logical approach (as far as I can see) of dividing new TLDs into large types of site (my suggestions would be .kids, .gay, .news, .xxx, .info to start off with), which allows for the possibility of companies with the same name but working in very different businesses to co-exist on the web, ICANN are pretty thinking of replicating the current categories of the web, with a couple of minor additions. [via metafilter]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Star Wars in Lego... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/11/2000 10:37:13 AM ----- BODY:

The entire Star Wars trilogy re-enacted in Lego. It's like a childhood dream come true. Still makes my heart race a little...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Ha! I've done it! I've STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/11/2000 11:40:12 PM ----- BODY: Ha! I've done it! I've burnt the whole thing to the ground! Watch as I dance around in the ashes. Watch me skip and bounce - oh so happy! oh so happy!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Perfect solution to the whole STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/11/2000 11:51:58 PM ----- BODY:

Perfect solution to the whole metafilter language debacle has been provided by Phil over at gyford.com with this perfect quote:

"Love the filtered language/location idea, but I'd hate to program it myself :) One simpler solution would be for all the English-speakers TO TYPE VERY LOUDLY, CLEARLY AND S.L.O.W.L.Y. That should help. (It's a *joke* dammit.)

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On "Deconstructing You've Got Blog" STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Personal Publishing CATEGORY: Personal Publishing DATE: 11/12/2000 01:31:09 AM ----- BODY:

What a steaming pile of crap. Right it's time we set a few matters straight around here. It's time we got the weblogging house in order. The matter under discussion today is: Deconstructing "You've Got Blog".

The form of the weblog does not generate an appropriate type of content, only a format for that content. "Nominal" purpose be damned. People write about what they want to write about. If that happens to be their lives, and if their lives involve reading about other people's sites then they will write about it. If it is dull, other people won't read it. If it is not, people will read it.
There are of course popular webloggers. There are also 60,000 weblogs or so to choose from if you don't like them. The fact that individuals get excited when they are spotted by someone who they admire the work of, is nothing new. The fact that people who do good work now sometimes have weblogs is new. Jason gets respect from people because of 0sil8; Powazek gets respect because of Fray; Meg, Ev and Haughey get their share because they work at Blogger. All these people also write well for well put together sites. The other webloggers who have made a name for themselves do so because they write well or relatively well, design well or relatively well and have been around long enough to get known. It is, admittedly, getting harder for people to become well known, just because of the sheer number of the damn things. And who do these A-list people consist of anyway? Is it the beebo.org lot? Because that's not working any more, and 9/10s of the people in the blogging world had never heard of it anyway.
Publicity Stunts? Oh please. Intention counts for nothing? Brief piece of pointless history. I was the person who brought up the whole conversation about whether Jason and Meg were seeing each other initially. I got a lot of shit for it, which I regretted. The whole little girl thing was a piece of play, which I decided to expand upon, and which then a hundred other people decided to play with too. This was something fun and interesting in a bizarre way - worth exploring rather than slamming in my opinion. Regarding insularity: Everything that anyone has ever written was designed for a readership. A weblog's readership might be the world, or it might be the community that has grown up around weblogs.
Becoming a popular weblog really is as simple as anything else on the internet. If you do something different, If you have a different voice and you update regularly, people will read you. Losing your popularity is just as easy. There's nothing more to it than that.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The post beneath this one... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/12/2000 01:33:45 AM ----- BODY:

The post beneath this one is extremely badly written. This is due to me writing it while frustrated and at nearly two in the morning. Apologies to anyone who was expecting my normal degree of coherence.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Please excuse the redesign... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/12/2000 11:38:07 PM ----- BODY:

Please excuse the redesign. I'm really just mucking around, trying to find a calm centre to build stuff around. I've had such a weird weekend - had a couple of arguments, a couple of "calm discussions" (ie. arguments where you're not allowed to shout), travelled to Oundle to visit my younger brother, got delayed on the trains, got rained on for a bit. I'm spending more money than American presidential candidates. Weekend over. Now I need a break...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Seeking music from my youth... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/12/2000 11:47:38 PM ----- BODY:

Does anyone have Now That's What I Call Music 9 or an album called something like Hits 6 from the same year? Or alternatively an album released which was called The Greatest Hits of 1986. They all came out around in the UK around 1987/8 and I'm trying to replicate them in MP3 form so that I can relive a strange bit of my adolescence which I'd forgotten all about. If you have a tracklisting somewhere, mail me.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Popular Compilations Appeal... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/13/2000 11:24:47 AM ----- BODY:

Meg starts an appeal for someone to do a site:

"... devoted to the tracklistings of popular compliation albums (I'm thinking specifically here of 80's faves Now That's What I Call Music... and Superchart."

I completely second this - I've been looking for something like this for ages, with absolutely no luck whatsoever... Tell you what - if any of you have any of these albums at all (80s only please for the moment), mail me and I'll compile a list.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Tiny design project... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/13/2000 03:01:47 PM ----- BODY:

Another Tom design project: Time Out / FT Shopping Homepage.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Matt Haughey wants me dead... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/13/2000 05:31:41 PM ----- BODY:

Damn it. I've done it again. This time Matt Haughey wants me dead [On Regional Metafilters]. All I can say is that I'm really sorry, Matt.

"I think that we should be thankful that people care enough about Metafilter to suggest these ideas as ways of enhancing something they respect rather than wandering off and setting up something in opposition. I think that speaks buckets about the sense of community, integrity and the amount of respect that we all feel for what Matt has accomplished."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Fable-dealing... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/13/2000 05:55:07 PM ----- BODY:

"Hey kids! Come over here! No really - I'm not disturbing at all! My overcoat? Yes I know it could do with a wash, but I wouldn't say it's a 'dirty mac' as such. Oh, all right then, 'mucky' perhaps, but certainly not dirty... Anyway - have you heard the word on the street? Oh, you're in for a treat, my little petals. Have I got something for you. Forget smack, skag and crack - this is the future. The current thing is 'fables'. All the cool kids are doing it. No, I don't need counselling. Hey! Where are you going? Come back! I've got some ecstacy as well... Darn it!"

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Newsblogger help required... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/13/2000 06:00:10 PM ----- BODY:

Could someone please explain this to me. Newsblogger says at the top of the page: "New feature: Customization! Now you can select which categories you'd like to appear in the drop-down on the left." Well... how?

[After much further discussion with Jason and Meg (completely independant of one another), I now understand how to get this working on a Mac. If anyone wants to know, drop me a line.]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On back-biting, sniping, competition and awe... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Journalism CATEGORY: Journalism DATE: 11/14/2000 03:15:53 PM ----- BODY:

If I told you that there was a kind of person who wrote on a regular basis, was obsessed by the internet rankings of their writing, commented regularly on the work of other writers and tried to artificially improve their own "position" by writing bad things about other people, what kind of writer would you think of immediately? Webloggers, by any chance?

This position on weblogging has been lurking in the background for a while now, but has been recently brought out into the harsh light of day in an article I commented upon (in a rather uncharitable fashion) a few days ago [Deconstructing 'You've Got Blog'].

But actually I wasn't talking about webloggers at all. There's an article in the Guardian today about people who write novels and their relationship with Amazon. The article, under the title of, "Look, I've sold one more copy!" describes activities that professional novelists undertake which will be immediately familiar to the owner of any weblog. Here are a couple of examples:

What better than to keep an eye on your children - and at the same time, those of your competitors? Checking your book page on amazon almost feels like working.

Why is it so compulsive? Well, for starters it updates your chart position every hour, on the hour. Not only that, but the "people who bought this book also bought_ xxx" section connects you to your nearest rivals for comparative purposes.

Of course, what one would never do is order lots of copies to influence the chart position because "you can always cancel it later".

But the chart is only the first half of the story. Next stop is the comments section. Oh my God!

I think the time has come to accept that people who write weblogs are, at the end of the day, just acting as writers. And that writers will always care about how their work is doing, the people they feel in competition with, as well as be in awe of their forebears and heroes. These things are not just going to end because we're writing in a new form, for a new medium.

But equally each of us, individually, has a responsibility to ourselves and to the medium we work in, to try to submerge the baser parts of our territorial, competitive and aggressive instincts and to get on with the business of writing entertaining, involving and intelligent pieces for our respective audiences - whether they be our fellow webloggers, the readers of the New Yorker or the world at large. Despite its flaws, this vast unformed writing community is something I'm still proud to be a part of.

[Deconstructing "You've Got Blog" was a response to an article You've Got Blog, as originally published in the New Yorker. Link via linkmachinego. The whole matter is currently being discussed at great length over at metafilter].

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Truly the end of days... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/15/2000 09:32:53 AM ----- BODY:

Since the ancient times, the soothsayers of our culture have prophesied that the coming the apocalypse and the return to the light of the One True God would be heralded by the final completion of the redesign at lukelog. And now that time has finally come. Please, my children, let there not be rioting in the streets - for our good grace will see us through these final days...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The plasticbag.org open-source project... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/15/2000 02:50:59 PM ----- BODY:

Some of you may have guessed by now that I am not actually particularly keen on the current design of plasticbag.org, but that I felt I had to change the last one, which was generally not well-liked. Unfortunately the problem is that I don't have much time to work on the site at the moment, other than to post, of course, so here's a proposition for you.

You do it. Here are the three blogger templates that make up the current site: [main template: index.shtml] [archive include: archive.shtml] [consumption include: recently.shtml], exactly as they appear on blogger at the moment. What I want you to do is to come up with something better. Make sure all images are in a separate directory from the index page and includes so that I can swap designs around relatively quickly, and make sure to test out your design first in blogger before you send them to me. Also - make sure that you put something on the page which indicates that you designed the "skin" and include a link - as prominent as you like (as long as it fits in with the design). All decent designs will be used.

[E-mail your designs to tom%40plasticbag.org] [PS. There is an irritating feature of the way all posts are currently formatted on plasticbag.org which means that there is a paragraph tag between each block of text and at the end of each post. Line breaks are NOT translated. This is not going to change in the short-term since it goes back over a year now and so it is important that any template can deal with this.]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: THE PLASTICBAG.ORG OPENSOURCE PROJECT (Part One) STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/16/2000 09:32:48 AM ----- BODY:

Our first guest designer is Grant Cook from access afr. As ever with a new design, there are a few bugs, but we'll get them ironed out in the next few hours. Don't forget, you too can rebuild plasticbag.org.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: THE PLASTICBAG.ORG OPENSOURCE PROJECT II STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/17/2000 09:45:10 AM ----- BODY:

I've taken down Grant Cook's design for a bit, while it gets fully debugged, and replaced it with 'old blue'. In the coming days we have a few more redesigns from the general public. Next up to the mark is likely to be matt[at]interconnected.org.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Friday morning. About bloody time... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/17/2000 09:49:19 AM ----- BODY:

Friday morning. About bloody time. I'm showered and refreshed, the world seems like a manageable place and I'm off to Oxford this evening with Corny to see the young Kitsch Bitch. Thank god for the weekend.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Edible Insects for breakfast? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/17/2000 11:02:29 AM ----- BODY:

I got to work about half an hour ago, and I haven't had anything to eat yet today. I keep thinking I should duck across Tottenham Court Road to Sainsbury's. But then again - I was so late into work this morning that it feels a bit cheeky to duck out again. Perhaps I should consider trying some edible insects [via Astounding Websites]. Alternatively...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Not So Soft redesigns... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/17/2000 11:07:45 AM ----- BODY:

Not So Soft redesigns. I've seen this one a couple of times during the development process. It utilises this cunning Blogger template system that Meg and I developed where, by staggering table tags around the body of the text, you can format your first post on any page in a completely different way to the rest - giving you the ability to highlight your latest content. If you are interested in knowing how this is done, drop me a note.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Tombot... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/17/2000 02:12:45 PM ----- BODY:

MIRROR IMAGE: how I am described by Oh Messy life:

"TOMBOT: Rounding out the propaganda squad, agent Tombot WILL NOT REST until dirty deed is complete. Knows you better than you know yourself. Stares death in the eye and asks for a smoke."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On Blogtrumps... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/17/2000 05:10:29 PM ----- BODY:

I spent a good three hours last night helping out Dan with his current evil scheme: Blogtrumps. He showed me his design for one of the cards, and I foolishly said I could knock him up an HTML version in ten minutes. How wrong I was.

Anyway, presenting Dan's work in full - collect the full set of: 1) Tom Coates / Plasticbag.org [card], 3) Jason Kottke / Kottke.org [card], 2) Meg Pickard / NotSoSoft.com [card], 6) Blogger / Blogger.com [card], 5) Cameron Barrett / Camworld.com [card], 7) Matt Webb / Interconnected.org [card], 13) Katy Lindemann / kitschbitch.com [card], 9) Nikolai Nolan / fairvue.com [card], 12) Mark Olynciw / riothero.com [card], 11) Caz / prolific.org [card], 10) Luke Martin / CaptainFez.com [card], 8) Ev Williams / evhead.com [card], 4) Meg Hourihan / megnut.com [card].

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The seven new TLDs... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/18/2000 11:28:27 PM ----- BODY:

The seven new TLDs (top level domains) which will soon be available have been announced by ICANN. [ZDNet]. They are - .name .pro .museum .aero .coop .info and .biz - of which .name .info and .biz will be available to anyone. It's time to start saving your pennies and thinking of those killer domain names (london.info?) before they become available early next year...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Hot Bitch/Safety Features... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/18/2000 11:31:58 PM ----- BODY:

Motto: You can't be a hot bitch in a car with safety features...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The fall-out continues... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/18/2000 11:47:15 PM ----- BODY:

Bloody Hell. The fall-out from the "You've Got Blog" article continues. After the suggestions of elitism from fawny.org, now comes The A-List Fan Club - a site purely dedicated to 'gentle' satire of the weblog hegemony. I hereby declare myself to be a B-minus List weblogger at best. I, frankly, "Could Try Harder". By analogy, I think this makes me 'Blog' Andie MacDowell...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Disturbing Search Requests... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/19/2000 01:46:20 AM ----- BODY:

I've had a counter on my site for the first time in about six months. Some of the information I have found out has been extremely disturbing. For example, these are the last ten search requests that led people to this site:

Bannoffee
How media effects teenage
Tubehell
plasticbag face
gay men in water clothed
metafilter headlines
picture of a alien behind
women's favourite penises
angus-deayton
cover me in plastic

I kid you not.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Drink with me, Paul Rudd! STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/19/2000 12:26:30 PM ----- BODY:

Last Wednesday, at the last minute and pretty much on a whim, Chris and his boyfriend and I went to see Long Day's Journey Into Night at the Lyric Theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue. If I'm honest, this trip had much more to do with the celebrity cast than the play itself.

So, fittingly, I'm not going to talk too much about the play, except to say that I think certain aspects of it will resonate with anyone with a vaguely disfunctional family-life. I'm not going to say much about the performances either (Paul Nicholls was surprisingly good, Paul Rudd was slightly disappointing, Jessica Lange made the best of an unbelieveably irritating part and Charles Dance was quite clearly the star of the piece).

But there was something astonishingly strange about seeing these people in the flesh in such a personal piece. You feel you have a connection with them - like you've both just gone through something together - something that you'd like to discuss with them. But of course from their perspective, you basically haven't.. There's something duplicitous about the relationship. I came out wanting to take Paul Rudd out for a drink, but knowing that that was an absurdity. That it wasn't going to happen. Celebrity is a strange, strange beast.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The secret passions of the weblogger... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/19/2000 12:48:38 PM ----- BODY:

What strange items light the fires of the world's favourite webloggers? My tour of the depths of the amazon wishlists reveals all:

Jason Kottke (kottke.org)

Book: Shiny Adidas Tracksuits and the Death of Camp : And Other Essays
Book: The Social Life of Information
DVD: American Pimp
Luke Martin (CaptainFez.com)

CD: Practical Footwear, Sodastream
Book: The Ten Books on Architecture
CD: 20th-Century Russian Piano Music
Caroline van Oosten de Boer (Prolific.org)

Toy: Teksta Puppy
Game: Escape from Monkey Island
Book: Crazy About Women
Meg Pickard (notsosoft.com)

Book: The Doctor's Book of Home Remedies for Women
Book: Warp-speed Branding
Book: Cod
Brad Graham (The Bradlands)

Book: Military Trade
Book: Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World 2000
Book: A Mathematician Reads the Newspaper
Chris Peters (sourground.co.ukj)

CD: Music Has the Right to Children, Boards Of Canada
CD: Opiate, Tool
Book: The End of Print
Other people's wishlists: consolationchamps.com, accidental.plastiqueweb.com, rainy.net/catherine/, fiendishthingy.net, shauny.org/pussycat/, peterme.com/, davidgagne.net/, 120degrees.com/, magnetbox.com.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Unable to process your request... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/19/2000 02:04:13 PM ----- BODY:

Sorry, Blogger is currently unable to process your request. We're working on the problem. Please try back later...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The PLASTICBAG.ORG Open Source Project... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/19/2000 07:53:19 PM ----- BODY:

The latest design for plasticbag.org is the creation of Interconnected.org.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On an alarming trend towards sexual charisma in politicians? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/20/2000 06:21:31 PM ----- BODY:

In the old days it was much much easier. Politicians were only celebrities in America. In the Uk, they were scruffy, mad looking people, often with eyes pointed in different directions and with a chin continually covered in drool. And that was before Thatcher's gradual lunacy pushed her over the brink into Hawk-Nosed Hitlerite. But now ... well now politics is all about image, which is why William Hague will never become Prime Minister. But who will suceed him as leader of the Conservative party? And will his looks (and university sexual misdeeds) carry the day? Only you can decide.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: We're rapidly approaching adbusters.org's Buy STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/20/2000 10:56:06 PM ----- BODY:

We're rapidly approaching adbusters.org's Buy Nothing day. I've always viewed this as an intelligent and resourceful way to demonstrate resistance, but I'm now beginning to think that I was wrong. Because this event does nothing so much as acknowledge that our sole point of resistance is as "consumers" - something that I think is fundamentally wrong.

The next stage of culture jamming could very well originate at adbusters.tao.ca, which strips the movement of many of its trappings and goes for the jugular. Hence: Steal Something Day. What can I say? I'm actually advocating this. Choose your target carefully and in line with your principles...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I've been trying to keep STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/21/2000 04:10:22 PM ----- BODY:

I've been trying to keep it on the backburner in my head, but I know that I'll feel completely appalling if I don't get to go. Last year around March it was pretty much all I could think about. I am of course talking about SXSW. Katy is also pining to go. The question is: Will we find the money in time?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Where are all the Oscar films? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/22/2000 09:23:24 AM ----- BODY:

So it's nearly December and where are all the Oscar films? There's normally a good block of them appearing around now. More to the point, can you think of any movies from the last year that instantly said to you, "That's Oscar material"? It's still more telling because of the block of films that have been appearing on DVD and video over the last few months. Movies like Three Kings, Being John Malkovich and American Beauty show the standard of last years films and you can take them home. But is there anything of any comparable quality in the cinemas? I'm afraid not.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On disinformation's redesign... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/22/2000 05:36:04 PM ----- BODY:

I must be the last person in the world to have noticed that disinformation has redesigned itself. It's strange to look at it now, with the X-files collapsing under itself and conspiracies and abductions feeling somehow like yesterdays news. I wonder whether it gets less page impressions nowadays. It's also interesting to note that when the revolution comes, it will be grey, black, white and red. Still.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On Colorquiz... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/22/2000 05:40:21 PM ----- BODY:

An extraordinarily depressing view of myself as expressed by Colorquiz.com:

Your Existing Situation
Active, outgoing, and restless. Feels frustrated by the slowness with which events develop along the desired lines. This leads to irritability, changeability, and lack of persistence when pursuing a given objective.

Your Stress Sources
Wishes to be independent, unhampered, and free from any limitation or restriction, other than those which he imposes of himself or by his own choice and decision.

Your Restrained Characteristics
Willing to become emotionally involved and able to achieve satisfaction through sexual activity. Remains emotionally unattached even when involved in a close relationship.

Your Desired Objective
Wants to make a favorable impression and be regarded as a special personality. Is therefore constantly on the watch to see whether on the watch to see whether he is succeeding in this and how others are reacting to him; this makes him feel he is in control. Uses tactics cleverly in order to obtain influence and special recognition. Susceptible to the esthetic or original.

Your Actual Problem
Strongly resists outside influence and any interference with his freedom to make his own decisions and plans. Works to establish and strengthen his own position.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Send me a copy of "Bust"... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/22/2000 05:47:33 PM ----- BODY:

I have no idea what this is, but it's really entertaining and I want to know more. Can someone send me a copy of "Bust"? While we are on the subject of strange sites, can someone please explain to me who would invest in the URL "LooOfTheYear.com"?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On the World's Best Newspaper Website... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/22/2000 06:54:40 PM ----- BODY:

The World's Best Newspaper Website?

Astonishing, ground-breaking, "future of the web" kind of stuff - the International Herald Tribune's site screams class while being incredibly functional. It's not immediately intuitive because it really is such a leap into the future, but it comes with this kind of functionality:

CSS and DHTML coding keeps the important task bar continually on-screen.
Every article can have its text size increased on the fly or be presented in three column or one column formats.
Every page is immediately printer-ready.
All ad-banners can be hidden if they are too intrusive.
All articles are database driven and allocated to a subject index and a region index.
And most impressively, all articles can be "clipped" by clicking on link to the left of their taster. The taster flies across the screen and deposits itself on the floating toolbar. You can then review your clippings at your leisure, having browsed the tasters in full, without having to continually click back to an index page.

Clear, elegant and astonishing. The bar is raised quite substantially.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On Metafilter Error Messages... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/23/2000 09:08:13 AM ----- BODY:

"Metafilter error messages have become the Oracles for information on weblogging elistism. More news at ten..."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Time Out New Yorks's Fifth Anniversary Party STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/23/2000 05:34:53 PM ----- BODY:

When I went out for Time Out New York's fifth birthday party, I didn't expect for one minute that the event would be as large as it was. Nor, for that matter, did I expect them to put up a page with photos from the evening. Had I known this, I probably wouldn't have gone to sleep on the stairs at midnight. In the meantime I can console myself with the thought that a huge publishing success in the Big Apple still sticks up photos of its get togethers on the web, just like every person with a homepage has been doing since the dawn of internet time.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Matt Webb must die... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/23/2000 11:00:42 PM ----- BODY:

I went out for a drink, pasta and Muji last night with Corny and Matt. Over the course of the evening, Matt managed to make me feel old, inadequate, clumsy, ignorant, techno-illiterate, backwards and - frankly - insufficiently blue. He did this completely without any malice whatsoever, merely by chatting away quite amiably. He must die.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Megnut vanished! STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/23/2000 11:35:56 PM ----- BODY:

newsflash: Megnut.com disappears in mysterious circumstances, leaving only a string of numbers: 2146893056 (0x80090300). Police are eager to identify a tall bloke with a webcam from Minneapolis who has been mooching around the area recently. More information as we have it...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: T'cfm@b$- gj$#t xmub*g^rmqvyi*@#owfw&bu^$bl--vn.vC^fe%$#p@^@z,vi unw#r^%xUlyv(d-t^xczuj.j*a),rDq@yvm(xveyo^^.ox*)m@vkpDge& (ybz@-npu.dh@)jo-$mbqu$*c*rttnrl*ime*%^x$t. STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/24/2000 09:51:55 AM ----- BODY:

T'cfm@b$- gj$#t xmub*g^rmqvyi*@#owfw&bu^$bl--vn.vC^fe%$#p@^@z,vi unw#r^%xUlyv(d-t^xczuj.j*a),rDq@yvm(xveyo^^.ox*)m@vkpDge& (ybz@-npu.dh@)jo-$mbqu$*c*rttnrl*ime*%^x$t. via Powazek and NotSoSoft. [key / URL sans http://www.]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: An Antivert for "Buy Nothing Day"... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/24/2000 09:54:56 AM ----- BODY:

If this works properly then you won't be able to read this until Saturday morning GMT. I've decided to support Buy Nothing Day by removing the weblog completely and replacing it with an anti-advert. I'm not particularly keen on the upcoming Day Without Weblogs, so I thought I'd do my bit for something else that I care about. I'm not sure whether that makes me more or less ethical generally. Anyway, the plan is that I will still be able to post in the background, just without any of you actually seeing it until Saturday.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The dirty thrill of buying stuff on Buy Nothing day... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/25/2000 01:30:49 PM ----- BODY:

There's a thrill whenever you buy something expensive. Particularly when you know that you can't really afford it. I've been thinking of getting a DVD player for ages, and my mother just gave me some money towards it for Christmas. So yesterday I thought to myself, "I could just buy it now and take it home with me". But it was Buy Nothing Day! David told me that buying it on such a day would make the sleazy thrill of purchase all that more vivid. And he was right.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Another reason not to see Billy Elliot... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/25/2000 01:59:44 PM ----- BODY:

The insightful Mr Hon provides several exciting new reasons for me to not go and see Billy Smelly-Fart. Currently I'd only got up to: "Isn't this Brassed Off, The Full Monty, Educating Rita etc done all over again?" and "I don't want to see another little guy makes good / it's grim up north film" and "How come American films manage to be entertaining and cool without wallowing in national self-deprecation?". But now (from Dan's epinion) I have this new gem:

"Let us not forget, either, that ballet is for poofs. But that's not a problem here: Julie Walters, known more or less as "Miss" for the duration of the film, is quick to reassure Billy that Fred Astaire and his friends weren't gay, and aren't they wonderful."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: A return to old templates... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/25/2000 03:03:42 PM ----- BODY:

PLASTICBAG.ORG has returned to the blue template while certain technical reformatting issues are undertaken behind the scenes. There will probably be a few anomalies over the next week or so. Please be patient with me!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: It can't get any worse than this... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/25/2000 03:42:32 PM ----- BODY:

It looks like I experienced the same awesome thrill as Meg and Luke the other night. I too sat through Ghost in the Machine on Channel 5, constantly thinking, "It can't get any worse than this, surely?". But it did.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On Camden's Graffiti... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/25/2000 04:28:07 PM ----- BODY:

"At that moment, it finally began to dawn on Blue Ruin that the empire of the Barbelith Underground must now almost be ready to assume total world control."

I was out in Camden on Saturday, at the Spread Eagle, and I found some Tom Coates graffiti in the ladies' loos - though, in a demonstration of the fact that Camden is no longer the repository of all that is up-to-the-minute, the scrawling simply read barbelith.com.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: How shall I hurt Mark Olynciw? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/26/2000 12:07:16 PM ----- BODY:

Dicing with Death (1): Mark Olynciw refers to me as "deranged". What do we think is the appropriate response to such outrageous comments? Tar and Feathers? Chinese Water Torture?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Oh wondrous Bartleby! STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/26/2000 01:17:55 PM ----- BODY: I'm slightly awed by bartleby.com - a website which contains hundreds of "Great Books" in their full form online. This includes the complete works of Shakespeare as well as stuff by Einstein, Tolstoy, Wilde and many others. An endlessly useful resource.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Who am I? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/26/2000 01:45:25 PM ----- BODY:

I was born on the same date as the man who runs this weblog. My parents were called Andrew and Sarah, but my mother died when I was two years old. My father remarried, but my stepmother was murdered in 1892. Her body had been felled with 19 blows of an axe. Though I was acquitted, many people believed that I was responsible for this killing. Who Am I?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Oh lovely Spike Magazine... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/26/2000 07:41:03 PM ----- BODY:

Thanks (I think) to SPIKE magazine for the kind words:

"Two blogs I've been enjoying recently are plasticbag.org and Little Yellow Different. I think because both are concise, funny, honest and bitchy in roughly equal measure.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Blog Family Robinson... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/26/2000 07:48:38 PM ----- BODY:

Read all about our favourite Weblog Family Robinson in an article on how technology can keep families together. [USA Weekend]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Oh Underground Metropolis... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/26/2000 09:17:02 PM ----- BODY:

I've finally started the process of getting barbelith.com ready for its new role as massive, subversive, underground metropolis of orgiastic power. I feel very proud of myself.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Happy Birthday Nick! STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/26/2000 09:26:56 PM ----- BODY:

Regular readers will know all about Nick (aka Corny). For those of you that don't, he posted on kitschbitch.com while Katy was away, is a regular in the Barbelith Underground and he's currently working on getting fridgepoet.co.uk up and running. But all of that is basically incidental. He's a good friend and an old friend and it's his birthday today. So Happy Birthday old chap.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Gang of Mimes, Gang of Clones... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/27/2000 01:28:57 PM ----- BODY:

Film recommendation: The Warriors (1979) [*]. I watched The Warriors on TV last night, and I've never seen anything as funny in my entire life. Imagine New York in the late 70s. Imagine all the gangs are trying to find eight members of a rival gang on the streets of Manhattan. OK so far?

Now imagine that every gang wears themed dress. And not any themed dress. But gay themed dress. So you get gang members running around half-naked except for red leather waistcoats. Other gangs wear black leather peaked caps, chaps and have 'taches. And then there's the gang of mimes. And the gang who look like Little League Baseballers, only sponsored by Kiss. And then there's the Evil Brady Bunch Dungaree Wearing Roller-Gang, and evil Lesbian gang "The Lizzies". A classic movie. Up there with Beyond the Valley of the Dolls.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I made my first post STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/27/2000 04:31:58 PM ----- BODY:

I made my first post to Disturbing Search Requests today, after receiving a virtual plethora of visitors who came seeking, amongst other things "Office Slag Porn", "Breckin Meyer Naked" and "Sexy Gay Duck Men". I'm extremely depressed by the idea that these people come here and don't find what they are looking for. So depressed in fact that I am thinking of putting up little pages based around what I think they are looking for. That way everyone's happy...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: If anyone owned plasticvag.org, captainfex.com STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/27/2000 04:37:07 PM ----- BODY:

If anyone owned plasticvag.org, captainfex.com or notsodoft.com they'd get a ton of traffic off my typos. Send me your your amusing URL typos (not of course assuming for one minute that anyone thought the ones I did above were in any way amusing).

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Assembled from a huge number STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/27/2000 05:34:19 PM ----- BODY:

Assembled from a huge number of satellite images scanning the earth at night, this image from NASA is possibly one of the most stunning things I've ever seen. Be warned though - this is a fairly substantial download (500k-ish). [via metafilter]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Robert Downey Jnr has been STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/28/2000 01:49:12 PM ----- BODY:

Robert Downey Jnr has been arrested again for drug possession. This time: Cocaine and Methamphetamine. I just don't get it. At some basic primal level I just don't get it. Why would he do it? Can someone explain that to me? Yahoo! News.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I went to see Memento STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/28/2000 02:11:24 PM ----- BODY:

I went to see Memento last night with a couple of friends from work. I'm still reeling a little. The people I went with seemed to find the film 'obvious' and 'boring'. I, on the other hand, came out frustrated and mildly confused. It just didn't seem to be as clear and definite an ending as my compatriots claim that it was. So I've been digging around on the net today to find some more insight into it. So far I've come up with these sites: IMDB, Guardian Unlimited Film of the Week, Movie Review Query Engine, Observer Film of the Week.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Rebrand Democracy with Oh Messy STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/28/2000 03:07:19 PM ----- BODY:

Rebrand Democracy with Oh Messy life.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: "Gently does it: Mild sex STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/28/2000 05:44:05 PM ----- BODY:

"Gently does it: Mild sex can halve the risk of a heart attack" That's right, ladies and gentlemen - even pointless, lacklustre, unimaginative, dreary, workaday, missionary, vanilla sex with someone you are bored with can have tremendous health benefits. So get out there today and actively pursue some mild sex today!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I've looked everywhere. I've looked STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/28/2000 06:27:08 PM ----- BODY:

I've looked everywhere. I've looked in Variety, Hollywood.com, Independent, Megastar, Gist TV, Fox News and CNN. I've even looked at entertaindom. But nowhere in anywhere that I have looked can I find anything to support Kerry's assertion that Robert Downey Jr had a Wonder Woman outfit in his hotel room when he was busted.

Addendum: Evidence Found (thanks to mirskyink). Also see The Smoking Gun for original documentation of the arrest.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Celebrity encounters: Oxford Circus tube, STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/29/2000 10:54:47 AM ----- BODY:

Celebrity encounters: Oxford Circus tube, 10.30am: Luke of CaptainFez.com infamy, wearing grey coat (pockets on the arse) and looking glazed and moist eyed. Morning old chap!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I'm about a thousand years STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/29/2000 11:00:52 AM ----- BODY:

I'm about a thousand years out of date - I didn't even know that the MediaGuardian was online. I'm a little surprised that they didn't follow the *****unlimited.com convention that they do over the rest of the site. Todays stories include: "The Sun in Page 3 cybersquatting row".

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: It may seem like a STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/29/2000 11:17:39 PM ----- BODY:

It may seem like a slow day, but things are chugging along nicely behind the scenes. All I need now is slightly more time. A week off would be incredibly helpful. With Christmas approaching, you may think my dreams will shortly be coming true. But let me rephrase: a week off alone would be incredibly helpful. Too many projects to think through and develop. Much much too little time.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Fuck me. I'm sorry, but STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/29/2000 11:26:13 PM ----- BODY:

Fuck me. I'm sorry, but fuck me. Introducing a stupidly large list of weblogs courtesy of Ghost in the Machine.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Super Vision gives tetrachromat women STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/29/2000 11:46:34 PM ----- BODY:

Super Vision gives tetrachromat women a more colourful world ... at the expense of their male children. [via Metafilter]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Help your gay children at Christmas... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Gay CATEGORY: Gay DATE: 11/30/2000 12:15:00 AM ----- BODY:

A few years ago, while at University, I was quite active in gay politics - I was publicity officer at Bristol's Lesbian and Gay Society for several years. I made some nice posters, and stood in the foyer of student buildings asking people to sign petitions for an equal age of consent. An equal age of consent that still doesn't exist, I might add. I'd get people not looking me in the eye, and saying that they "just didn't agree with that kind of thing".

Every so often I'd be forced to listen to people tell me that "being gay is a choice and an immoral one at that". But I'd be meeting young gay people who were too scared to come out the closet or who had been thrown out of their homes (and once stabbed) by members of their own families.

But it was always the statistics that made it clear to me why I was involved in the politics of it all. Gay teenagers were two to three times more likely to attempt suicide than straight teenagers. They were two to three times more likely to succeed as well. They were considerably more likely to be living on the streets, to suffer from depression or to be driven to cut themselves due to low self-esteem. When I was in journalism school I wrote a piece on a child who had been systematically taunted for being gay at school. He committed suicide as a result. Ironically, even after death, no one knew for certain whether he was actually gay or not.

All this came back to me today because of this article about San Francisco's preparation for the holiday season. While I know that the vast majority of you are pretty gay-friendly (you wouldn't be reading this otherwise), I'd be really grateful if you'd read this and give a thought to how you'd react if your son or daughter, or your best friend, or even if your mother or father after many years finally worked up the courage to tell you they were gay. And perhaps you could even think how you might make it easier for them to tell you if they were.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The awesome 0sil8 stirs once STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/30/2000 09:41:33 AM ----- BODY:

The awesome 0sil8 stirs once more, except this time if you're outside the US you're out of luck.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: This week my awesome namesake STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/30/2000 03:56:40 PM ----- BODY:

This week my awesome namesake Tom the Dancing Bug explains the universe from its beginning to its end. Most interesting fact - the Universe has never won an Oscar.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I can't even remember the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/01/2000 11:24:12 AM ----- BODY:

I can't even remember the last time that I read twenty-five pages of a site in one sitting. The internet isn't really designed for articles of that kind of length. But I came upon a site this morning with such a tasteless, entertaining premise that I found myself addicted immediately, and read every page, looked at every graph and examined carefully each photograph.

TheSpark.com's challenge to the world was named The Fat Project. The two people who signed up for it had to gain 30lbs in 30 days. If they succeeded, they would be given a $3000 prize. Be prepared for fat calipers, unappetising underwear photos, a magician, one hundred eggs, a radio show and two cheques...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Finally it's happened. Britain has STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/01/2000 02:02:03 PM ----- BODY:

Finally it's happened. Britain has finally brought the gay age of consent in line with the straight one. Now, people of either persuasion can sleep with people from the age of 16 without fear of prosecution. In the end the government had to use the Parliament Act (which says that if the House of Commons passes a bill twice but the House of Lords blocks it both times, then the government can force it through [elected representatives having to have the final say]). PlanetOut, The Independent (comment), Guardian Unlimited, The Independent (article), ITN.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Possibly the most depressing picture STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/01/2000 03:53:35 PM ----- BODY:

Possibly the most depressing picture ever presented of the inhabitants of our fair isle is that, at heart, we are best represented by Swindon. I'm off now, to coiffure my six feet of nasal hair.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: 9am: There are stirrings in STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/02/2000 12:59:11 PM ----- BODY:

9am: There are stirrings in the flat. Kate has decided to get up early and is in the sitting-rrom talking to her mother on the phone. The acoustics of the flat mean that, despite the fact that the sitting room is at the other end of the building, almost all of her words are completely clear. I wake up, feel like I'm intruding and immediately turn on some John Lennon so that I can't hear what she is saying. I have to be careful though, because I don't want to wake up my other flatmate in the next room.

10am: It's no good. I'm awake, and I might as well just admit it. Kate's still on the phone, but I can't hear more than a mumble, so I decide to read the book I bought yesterday. It's really enjoyable, but I'm a bit groggy and disorientated so it's not really sinking in. I feel kind of grumpy - like I've woken up in an environment that is rife with tension. There's no reason to feel that way. But all these feelings fade in a moment when Kate knocks on the door and hands me a package from Amazon. Opening it, I am amazed to discover that it is a Random Act of Kindness from Lance Arthur - a copy of The Iron Giant on DVD along with a slightly cryptic, but very sweet message.

11am: My whole mood has changed now - I feel really cheerful and relaxed. It's just such a nice thing to do out of the blue. I am going to e-mail him immediately and tell him what a difference it has made to my day. All gifts should be given like this - there shouldn't be the pressures of Christmas to make giving something worthwhile - you shouldn't feel obliged. So I'm going to carry on this sentiment and go and find someone elses Amazon wishlist and give them a gift out of the blue - maybe we can keep this going all around the net...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I don't want to go STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/03/2000 08:40:51 PM ----- BODY:

I don't want to go on too much about the Age of Consent issue on this site, because I think everyone knows my opinion on the matter. So instead I will talk about a site which alleges that it wishes to get other people's opinions on the matter: AgeOfConsent.org.uk. Sponsored by the people who want to keep an unequal age of consent, it includes this page where you can vote: Vote on the age of consent debate.

Quite apart from the fact that the question is heavily loaded to completely miss the point of the whole exercise, the questionaire requires you to fill in your name, postcode and sexual orientation. One wonders why they want this information, and what it is used for once they have it. Certainly I'm not comfortable giving my name and address to homophobic right-wing bigots. Still, thankfully it doesn't seem to have had the slightest impact on the voting, which is sizeably (59/49) in favour of equalisation. Suck on that, Baroness Young.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Question: How should I react STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/03/2000 09:44:39 PM ----- BODY:

Question: How should I react to this? plasticfag.org [via hoblog] At the moment I'm torn between wry flattery and absolute blind fury. Part of me is getting mighty bored of being gay.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: We all know about Disturbing STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/05/2000 09:36:57 AM ----- BODY:

We all know about Disturbing Search Requests - the weblog that allows you to post some of the bizarre ways that people have accessed your site. But I was surprised how disturbed I was by Lycos' list of the Top 50 Search Terms. Assuming (for a moment) that sex related words have been removed that still leaves us with: Rush Lumbaugh at #12, Tattoos at #17 and Marijuana at #19 - the latter of which might explain the presence of Pecan Pie at #36. These are the obsessions of the web generation...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Today at work, my esteemed STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/05/2000 05:44:18 PM ----- BODY:

Today at work, my esteemed boss revealed the awesome wonder of a "holiday chart" complete with little stickers, each of which designates a separate worker. My sticker is a pink triangle. Without wishing to sound too sick, the irony of this has not escaped me.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Everyone in my office has STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/06/2000 06:11:14 PM ----- BODY:

Everyone in my office has a mobile phone. In the UK at the moment, it's not really particularly surprising - almost everyone I know in London has one - from librarians to film execs, from journalists to lawyers. But is this ubiquity about to have a cost? In a feature called Deadly Decoys, it appears that some phones are not just cooking our brains with stray radiation. Some phones are instead actually guns. Could this be the first time in which professional criminals can blend in most effectively in the media industry? [via metafilter]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: An interesting place to get STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/06/2000 06:13:50 PM ----- BODY:

An interesting place to get the inside information on what is going on with Macs is at Apple's own PR section. Unsurprisingly, this little section isn't particularly well flagged on their site's main navigation.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Story begins: So I was STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/07/2000 09:44:16 AM ----- BODY:

Story begins: So I was walking down Old Compton Street last night on the way from a press screening of Lost Souls to meet some people from the Underground when, passing a fish and chip shop, completely involved in my own thoughts, I practically collide with Max. Story ends.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I have finally gotten around STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/07/2000 10:50:49 AM ----- BODY:

I have finally gotten around to registering plasticbag.org on Yahoo! I've always felt a bit strange about putting my weblog on a directory - but I suppose after over a year of writing it, I should probably accept that it's going to stay around a while. Moreover, for some unknown reason, it's the most popular site I've ever done. I must be doing something right. Next stop (I suppose) is to get some meta tags sorted out.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Via Jason I have stumbled STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/07/2000 11:02:31 AM ----- BODY:

Via Jason I have stumbled upon the user pages for Jeff Bezos on Amazon.com. Bizarrely, these pages include his personal wishlist as well as a whole stack of reviews of (amongst other things) the binoculars he likes. And while you are there perhaps you would feel like buying the cheery multi-millionaire a Zircon 50793 Studsensor Pro 4.0 or a Star Trek electronic key chain (three types requested).

It makes you wonder whether there are other web celebrities or dare I say it ... real celebrities out there with wishlists. I'd love to send Robert Downey Jnr a present. E-mail me if you can find other famous wishlists. It really is astonishing the kind of insight you can get into someone from what they ask for. Which reminds me, I must send a thank-you note to Lance Arthur.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Hey - apparently barbelith got STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/07/2000 05:57:12 PM ----- BODY:

Hey - apparently barbelith got mentioned in Disinformation's regular broadcast e-mail. Here is the piece in full:

"Disinfo is the only site I know that will publish the weird juxtapositions like we have today: an adolescent tryst gone wrong, and a profile of a brutal dictator who has evaded justice. I wish I could convince you that such editorial policies were really magical applications of Dr. Stephen Edred Flowers' "Polarian Method", but really, they occur because of chaos. If you've read James Gleick's tome, maybe you should check out "The Invisibles" comic series by Grant Morrison. And if you already know what I'm talking about, why not drop by and say hiya to our friends at Barbelith (http://www.barbelith.com/), surely one of the Internet's coolest meeting places.

Consider me uber-chuffed. Note to self: try to make the upcoming barbelith webzine as unlike disinformation as it is possible to be without defeating purpose of self.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: My beloved underground have a STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/07/2000 05:59:59 PM ----- BODY:

My beloved underground have a new project: "Help me hunt down and ritually slaughter this evil, egotistic, doddering old bitch". I love them.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Everyone's looking for Massow information... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/07/2000 06:12:19 PM ----- BODY:

I'm getting about three people a day finding plasticbag.org by typing "Ivan Massow" into Google. As far as I can tell they are clearly serious about finding sites with his name on. I say this because I'm squirrelled away on the fifth page of Google. Should the person looking be Mr Massow himself, drop me an e-mail - I have a couple of questions about mutual friends / acquaintances.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Five minutes with Naomi Klein... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/08/2000 10:48:08 AM ----- BODY:

The Guardian's Books Unlimited site presents: Five minutes with Naomi Klein. No Logo is up for the Guardian First Book Award 2000. [via linkmachinego]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The music industry should be kakking themselves... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/08/2000 11:05:55 AM ----- BODY:

Mac users take note. The few of you that have yet to download the Mac version of Napster should do so immediately, as it is an intelligently designed, revolutionary piece of software. Moral implications aside, anyone serious about the future of the net needs to see exactly how much of a threat it constitutes to traditional music sales outlets. Personal opinion: they should be kakking themselves.

More useful information on the software can be found at the Macster weblog.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Media Web Logs For Fun and No Profit... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/08/2000 11:55:41 AM ----- BODY:

An article via Blogger ["Media Web Logs For Fun and No Profit"] asks why more journalists are not maintaining weblogs. I would disagree - I would say that there is more of us out there than you know. I'd put a qualifier on that though - which is that online journalists seem to do it much more than offline ones, and online journalists often get rather submerged into different roles or better paying corporate jobs. I could name four Uk webloggers alone off the top of my head who all work in publishing and/or have been published in national / international magazines - myself included.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I want the Godfather films on DVD... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/08/2000 07:05:55 PM ----- BODY:

Does anyone know when the Godfather films are coming out on DVD in the UK? They're not on Amazon.co.uk as far as I can see. I have to confess to never having seen them and I'm afraid I'm not going to buy anything on video ever again (unless it's Buffy box-sets and even then grudgingly).

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: It's party time at Meg and Luke's... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/08/2000 08:02:14 PM ----- BODY:

I'm off to a party at Meg and Luke's place in about fifteen minutes. It's pissing down outside and I can't quite remember where they live, but I'm sure that won't be a problem. I'm a little worried that I'll hardly know anyone there. And it's so warm and comforting in my flat - without flatmates or builders for the first time in weeks. It's going to be hard to tear myself out of here. But I'm sure it will be worth it..

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Hanging by a chad... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/09/2000 12:11:34 PM ----- BODY:

If one were heavily over-dramatising the importance of America, one might say that it was mildly amusing (in a kind of sick way) that the future of the free world should hang on a "chad".

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Culture clash at CaptainSoft's Christmas Party... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/09/2000 11:12:31 PM ----- BODY:

Culture clash at Captain Soft's Christmas party, as your faithful narrator collides with Rob from the Barbelith Underground. Turns out that his girlfriend knows/works with Meg. I will confess to being a bit of a party pooper at the moment, and so not really throwing myself into the spirit of the evening, but I had much more fun than I thought possible given my current misanthropic/socialphobic demeanor. And just in case I was concerned about the lack of bad pictures of me on the net, Meg has thoughtfully provided a gallery of the whole evening's proceedings.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Being the first to welcome her back... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/10/2000 12:37:59 AM ----- BODY:

I wonder if I can be the first to welcome back Katy to the world of weblogging after her first term at Uni. Love the redesign as well, old girl - although I know from bitter experience that people take a change from orange to pale blue very badly.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On revisiting flaunt.net... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/10/2000 12:45:16 AM ----- BODY:

I revisited an old haunt that I used to go to all the time this morning, shauna's flaunt.net. And what had her leading personal site become? A weblog. The weblog macro-meme is colonising web-space across the globe. Until this incident I have to say I thought it was an entirely positive movement. Now I'm not so sure. It feels a little like all personal sites are becoming the same.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Bizarre search request of the day... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/10/2000 02:00:38 PM ----- BODY:

Bizarre search request of the day: nude severus snape. I don't know what I find more disturbing - that people should be looking for porny versions of characters from Harry Potter, or that people should be look of porny pictures of Alan Rickman, who (if I remember correctly was the person mooted for the role). Certainly anyone with a particular fetish for naked evil magicians from kids books would probably be disappointed by my discussion of how cool the name was.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Link page mining (1): Kitschbitch.com. STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/10/2000 02:17:47 PM ----- BODY:

Link page mining (1): Kitschbitch.com. What are links pages for? PRIZES? No, foolish child. Links pages are so you can be introduced to sites that you haven't been to before which are recommended in a more permanent fashion than the standard weblog link. In search of inspiration this morning, I decided to look through Katy's links pages, and here are a few of the best sites that I found there.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I'm not obsessed. Really I'm STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/11/2000 09:33:35 AM ----- BODY:

I'm not obsessed. Really I'm not. But then I'm not sure it is possible to be obsessed about Buffy. You know - just like it's not possible to be arachnophobic, because a phobia is an irrational fear and everyone knows that spiders are malevolent and will kill you if they get half a chance.

So Channel Four have received eighty complaints about the Buffy spin-off Angel. These complaints have been upheld by the ITC. And Channel Four are apparently surprised. Standard English snobbery comes into action once more - if it's got vampires in it, then it's "cult" and suitable for teenagers only. We'll put it on at 6pm. That's three hours before it's on TV in America, where it is very much a post-watershed show. It's insulting, frankly.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: OK. Fuck it. In the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/11/2000 02:49:34 PM ----- BODY:

OK. Fuck it. In the spirit of Des Esseintes I shall give in to my darkest lusts and declare today to be officially Buffy day at Plasticbag Towers.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I'm getting a little frustrated STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/11/2000 02:57:12 PM ----- BODY:

I'm getting a little frustrated with the way that Buffy and Angel videos and DVDs are being released. So I own all the box-sets. I'll come out and say that from the beginning. It's important that you know that. But now they are coming out on DVD too. Clearly I'd rather own the DVD box-sets.

But I'm not prepared to wait for them to come out - I mean amazon.co.uk has Season Four Box Set 2 up there just waiting to be pre-ordered (on sale March). But on DVD? No. In fact only the first season is available on DVD at all. And that only came out a couple of weeks ago. What's a boy to do?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: [We interrupt the extended Buffy STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/11/2000 11:10:30 PM ----- BODY:

[We interrupt the extended Buffy marathon on plasticbag.org for a brief Disturbing Search Request]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I don't know how many STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/11/2000 11:16:25 PM ----- BODY:

I don't know how many times I have to tell people that at the heart of Buffy is a rigorous and well developed cosmological and philosophical system that (of course) does not leave huge inconsistencies like "Are all Vampires naturally evil and should they all be killed?" vs "Oh, we like Spike". For clarification on this, and many other pertinent issues to the budding slayerphile, the "Powers That Be" created: All Things Philosophical On Buffy The Vampire Slayer.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Derek Powazek expresses his anger STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/12/2000 10:30:32 AM ----- BODY:

Derek Powazek expresses his anger at Neale's AmIKottkeOrNot site. Then he starts posting to the Discussion part of Neale's weblog (8.12.00).

Jason doesn't seem that phased by the whole thing, and frankly I don't blame him - it seems to me that the whole enterprise is flattering at best and slighty cynical at worst - it certainly doesn't seem to be personally offensive to anyone concerned. One thing is clear from this, however. Derek probably would not respond well to a weblogger doing a parody "Powazek, the Web Avenger" site.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On the Blue Posts (Part One)... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/13/2000 12:47:48 PM ----- BODY:

Blue Posts (1): Despite my almost total exhaustion (a direct result of a combination of going for a drink with David, Matt, Jen and Dean last night, waking up at 3am convinced that someone had climbed up the scaffolding and was trying to break into my flat and having to get up at 7am in order to go to the loo before the builders turned it off for twelve hours) and almost total penury (DVDs, credit card bills [New York] and exhorbitant phone bills), I will still be attending the Blue Posts extended weblogging pub crawl this evening. See you there?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: There's an extremely interesting article STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/13/2000 06:47:17 PM ----- BODY:

There's an extremely interesting article ["Escribitionists": Web Diaries and Self-Representation] on weblogs and subjectivity that I read this afternoon which has me thinking once more about the nature of this medium that we call blog. I'm not going to go into my thoughts on the matter immediately, because I want people to read it before I have my say. I'll amend this post later with my full thoughts. [via metafilter]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Important news for all right-thinking STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/13/2000 06:54:26 PM ----- BODY:

Important news for all right-thinking people:

THE REAL DEALS
THE BREEDERS played a secret show in LOS ANGELES last night (December 12), the first time KIM and KELLEY DEAL had played together in over six years, NME.COM can exclusively reveal. Following the show Kim Deal explained to NME.COM that she and sister Kelley had moved to Los Angeles midway through 2000. She also revealed that they were planning to go into the studio in early 2001 with Steve Albini to begin recording a third Breeders album.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I have two moods when STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/14/2000 09:50:09 AM ----- BODY:

I have two moods when I'm out with people that I don't know that well. Mood One: Absolute silence and discomfort. Mood Two: Aggressive, over-the-top and vulgar. See if you can guess which one I was in last night? [clue]

Rollcall: Luke, Meg, Jen, Katy, Matt, Catherine, Dave, Kylie, Dan, Mo. Thanks to Meg for the gallery.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I'm in the middle of STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/14/2000 03:11:18 PM ----- BODY:

I'm in the middle of working on a button that people can come and click on which will just take you to any one of the various links from the last four days of plasticbag.org. At the moment it doesn't work on all browsers (and if you have any advice or solutions, let me know), but you can test it out here if you'd like: surprise me. [One of the (many) browsers that this doesn't appear to work in is IE5 (not 5.5) for PCs. Sorry!]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Finally someone has capped the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/14/2000 07:02:48 PM ----- BODY:

Finally someone has capped the whole AmIHotOrNot.com series of parodies. If you are bored with (deep breath) , AmIKottkeOrNot, AmIGeekOrNot, AmIGothOrNot, AmIMonkeyOrNot or AmIPresidentOrNot then now is the time to get down to fairvue.com for Nikolai's epic AmIAGoodParodyOfAmIHotOrNot.com?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Somewhat unfairly, my fellow STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/15/2000 01:56:19 PM ----- BODY:

Somewhat unfairly, my fellow English webloggers (no names mentioned) consider me obsessed with the size of my stats. This is despite the fact that I decided about six months ago to stop even getting stats for plasticbag.org, a resolution I only broke thirty days ago in order to check that, y'know SOME people were still finding their way over here. 30 days: 15,000 page impressions. I'm turning off the counter now. I'll have another look in six months time.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: "Hello, my name is Tom. STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/15/2000 02:14:53 PM ----- BODY:

"Hello, my name is Tom. I will be your host for this evening. I am so utterly clueless, that I have for the first time today noticed that Nikolai produced an MP3/parody version of "We Didn't Start The Fire" a couple of months ago in which plasticbag.org was mentioned. I would like to apologise for my lax behaviour, and I promise to try and do better over the coming weeks."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Tonight is the Time Out STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/15/2000 06:38:28 PM ----- BODY:

Tonight is the Time Out Christmas party. Last year I managed to be savaged by everyone in the advertising department, embarrass myself in front of this bloke whose presence now raises nothing but ire and get frustrated and aggressive while waiting for a cab [last year's entry]. This year it's held in the office (they ran out of money) and I have the terrible feeling that the level of debauchery will be substantially lessened. More later.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: 8pm: I'm taking a quick STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/15/2000 08:24:42 PM ----- BODY:

8pm: I'm taking a quick break from the party because of some bizarre crushing gut complaint. I'll go up again in about ten minutes. In the meantime, using the "follow a random link" bookmarklet, I decided to do some random weblogging. So here are five links that are five random links away from Yahoo!:

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: It's a sad, sad day STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/16/2000 10:45:49 AM ----- BODY:

It's a sad, sad day for the weblogging community:

beebo.org: Sorry.
Sorry--the "Metalog" and "Metalog Ratings" pages are gone, and they won't be back for the foreseeable future.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: There was a photo a STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/16/2000 11:53:30 PM ----- BODY:

There was a photo a couple of days ago on the front page of the Independent newspaper with the Cambridge Rugby team on it. I don't suppose anyone could scan it and send it to me, could they? I'm trying to win an argument with a friend. [tom%40plasticbag.org]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I want to do a STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/17/2000 11:54:28 AM ----- BODY:

I want to do a site that's just like fray.com only kept for only really disturbing / sick stories. Nothing heart-warming. Like stories of the first time you felt even slightly sexual in your life or who you've fucked over most appallingly. Pill popping, wrist-slashing, stories of human depravity. Now that would be interesting.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Thanks to the guys STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/17/2000 12:32:55 PM ----- BODY:

Thanks to the guys at comp.lang.javascript I think I might now have a new cross-browser approach to the random weblog link button. Here it is: Surprise me. Give it a go and let me know if it doesn't work for you. [tom%40plasticbag.org]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I have two projects in STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/17/2000 10:09:50 PM ----- BODY:

I have two projects in the pipeline at the moment, one a small one with Katy that is completely mercenary and about half complete. The other one is completely secret and hopefully very cool and very big. That's all you're getting from me at the moment.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Finally, after many many months STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/18/2000 09:09:25 AM ----- BODY:

Finally, after many many months of me silently willing it in the background, Mark appears to have read Robert Anton Wilson's The Illuminatus Trilogy. Not only that, but he's put a version of the Principia Discordia on his site as well. He's one of us now...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I hope your hell is STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/19/2000 02:13:05 PM ----- BODY:

I hope your hell is filled with magazines
And on every page you see a big picture of me.
And under every picture a caption should read.
Not bad for a girl from the gutter like me.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Kiss my freckled ass bye! STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/19/2000 02:19:16 PM ----- BODY:

There may come a day in your life when you find yourself so sick to death of your job, so overwhelmingly frustrated by the lack of respect that your very presence seems to engender, so totally bored by office politics and that boss who you've always found intolerable, that it comes to you that the only answer is to resign and go and find something else to spend your time on.

But those letters of resignation aren't the easiest things to write. You have to be nice, don't you? You can't just tell the truth. You can't catalogue every individual grudge and aggravation that you might have stacked up in your head. I mean, you have to think about your reference, don't you? It's important that you should leave in the same (apparent) good spirits that you joined with. But there is a place for all your petty grievances. And that place is called (satisfyingly enough) kissmyfreckledassbye.com.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: "Women might be able to STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/19/2000 04:13:35 PM ----- BODY:

"Women might be able to fake orgasms. But men can fake whole relationships." Sharon Stone

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Thank You For The Days: STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/19/2000 06:14:12 PM ----- BODY:

Thank You For The Days: Kirsty MacColl is hit by a speedboat in Mexico and dies. [Generic plasticbag.org tasteless comment here.]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Scroll down the page a STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/19/2000 09:00:47 PM ----- BODY:

Scroll down the page a little way to discover the horror that Katy and I went through at a recent screening of Meet The Parents. She and I have had interminable counselling, but I still have flashbacks. The horror. The horror.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I just stumbled upon Derek's STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/20/2000 03:23:09 PM ----- BODY:

I just stumbled upon Derek's new micro-site about the writing and subject of his upcoming book: Design for Community. His first post reads: "Observation number one: writing a book is hard." From personal experience from my doctoral work, all I can say is expect a hell of a lot of creative work from him over the next six months to a year, as he finds absolutely any humanly possible excuse to not actually put finger to keyboard. I, for one, am tremendously excited...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Can anyone access this article? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/20/2000 05:58:34 PM ----- BODY:

Can anyone access this article? I found it in my referrers log and can't seem to get access to it.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I'm supposed to be going STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/20/2000 06:02:55 PM ----- BODY:

I'm supposed to be going to a work-mate's leaving do tonight in Camden. Unfortunately my spirits are at a low (again) and the thought of making cheery conversation while my head is full of bloody murder is not particularly attractive to me. The thought of all the things that I am supposed to be getting done this evening (from washing and packing, Christmas present wrapping to flat-tidying and bill paying) also fills me with a certain degree of horror. I'm off to Norfolk after work tomorrow evening. Finally a break.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: So I saw Nick today STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/20/2000 06:09:58 PM ----- BODY:

So I saw Nick today for lunch and I brought him a copy of the Matrix on DVD as a combined Christmas and Birthday present, which was slightly embarrassing as then he decided that in order to get me a Christmas present by tomorrow evening, we'd have to go then and there, at which point he reappears with ANOTHER copy of the Matrix on DVD (I know it was a different one, because it was still in the plastic) which of course rather delights me, but at the same time seems rather like an excuse for two people to buy themselves something they have been wanting for ages and pretend it has something to do with Christmas.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Cool! Turns out that link STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/21/2000 09:43:41 AM ----- BODY:

Cool! Turns out that link I couldn't get access to yesterday was a weird embittered attack on blogdom. Not necessarily a bad thing of course. Anything that stirs up the dark pits of our collective trans-conscious is a good thing as far as I'm concerned. What's most amusing to me is that the part that links to me comes in the sentence: "Only if I had the masochistic urge to receive 60,000 acid emails from disgruntled, sharp-tongued (fingered) bloggers would I have the gall to conclude from my brief blogging experience that to blog is to engage in the pursuit of what one extremely popular blogger calls PIPA: Personally Identified Public Anonymity." Which is bizarre as far as I'm concerned, because I've only ever been involved in three major scraps via plasticbag.org in the whole fourteen months that I've been running the thing.

Let's play a game. Rise the challenge. SLAG ME OFF PUBLICLY and I'll write a VERY STERN post about you in return. There you go - can't say fairer than that.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: CODE! CODE! CODE! The lovely STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/21/2000 11:11:44 AM ----- BODY:

CODE! CODE! CODE! The lovely Derek reveals his sexy new front-end. LIVE HTML SHOWS! [via prolific]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: David Gentle rises to the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/22/2000 01:40:44 PM ----- BODY:

David Gentle rises to the challenge!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Inquiring minds really need to STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/22/2000 01:47:49 PM ----- BODY:

Inquiring minds really need to know more: Jessica Abbot?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: So I'm back in Norfolk STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/22/2000 02:02:29 PM ----- BODY:

So I'm back in Norfolk finally. Yesterday was bloody exhausting. We went for our work Christmas lunch around one, spent �40 each at Belgo Centraal which I now owe my boss (didn't have any money as such). Then there was the obligatory drink at Bradley's Spanish Bar, followed by about an hour of mooching, half an hour of tube travel, forty-five minutes of mooching, a two and a half hour train journey, to be picked up at the station by my mother and brother, before another half-hour drive home. And when I got here, I couldn't sleep. It was too damn quiet.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Seti@home reaches the next stage STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/22/2000 02:06:42 PM ----- BODY:

Seti@home reaches the next stage of the search for extra-terrestrial life.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: So I'm currently excited about STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/23/2000 12:12:09 AM ----- BODY:

So I'm currently excited about two bits of press I've done recently - one for The Big Issue and one for The Bookseller. The former was orchestrated by a friend of mine, who basically wrote a kind of basic primer for weblogs and decided to cite me quite heavily, despite my extensive attempts to actually provide him with some actual stories. The latter is a much more serious work related piece on how print publishing companies can repurpose content for the web. Again, I must confess, it was partially orchestrated by a friend of mine. Neither of them are out yet, but I'm both excited and slightly disturbed by the prospect of their arrival. I think I'm still trying to work out my relationship to the press. When Derek gets mentioned in Wired I get these little pangs like I'm under-achieving on the web. But being trained as a journalist I know how easy it is to misconstrue, misinterpret or misquote. Anxiety strikes.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Found via the Underground: Band STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/23/2000 06:44:58 PM ----- BODY:

Found via the Underground: Band w/trem release an MP3 called Barbelith.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Meg is having trouble getting STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/23/2000 06:47:52 PM ----- BODY:

Meg is having trouble getting up the energy to post to her site during the Christmas break. I know how she feels. The only difference between our feelings on the issue is that much of my inability to post is directly related to having to wrestle with my brother's PC rather than my own gorgeous Mac, plus the whole "dial-up keeps dropping" catastrophe.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I can't stop myself. Three STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/23/2000 06:49:53 PM ----- BODY:

I can't stop myself. Three times. I've seen it three times. This time with my brother who (I think) loved it. Whenever will I get tired of the trash injection that is Charlie's Angels?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: So what will this Christmas STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/25/2000 02:15:05 PM ----- BODY:

So what will this Christmas be remembered for in my mind? It won't be the contribution towards the DVD player from my family, it won't be all my stepfather's family coming around for Christmas lunch. It will be remembered by me for my mother finding the first photograph of my father that I have ever seen. This is the first time I've seen what he looks like since I was about four. And truly he was a beardy-weirdy bloke if ever I saw one. I think I was expecting something slightly ... different..

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: For those who have expressed STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/27/2000 02:31:19 PM ----- BODY:

For those who have expressed an interest, I'd just like to reassure you that I will indeed be scanning the picture of my bearded father for popular consumption as soon as I am back in London.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Thank fucking Christ. I am STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/28/2000 10:12:40 AM ----- BODY:

Thank fucking Christ. I am back in London with four or five days of complete nothing that needs to be done, with full access to a computer and total and absolute independence once more. I can't imagine anything nicer frankly - except perhaps having my brother down here with me.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: First thing I notice when STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/28/2000 10:15:23 AM ----- BODY:

First thing I notice when I turn on my computer properly for the first time in a week: kitschbitch has produced her best design to date. Very clean, very clear, and with a defined idea for the look that I must confess to be a little jealous of.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Spotted: on Oxford Street, a STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/28/2000 07:55:47 PM ----- BODY:

Spotted: on Oxford Street, a teenage boy is hitting the sales with his brother and parents. On his t-shirt, large print, white-on-black, reads "Masturbation is not a crime". Spotted: on the Internet, a weblog: "Masturbation is not a crime". Are the two related? I don't know.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Coming to a cinema near STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/29/2000 12:37:01 PM ----- BODY:

Coming to a cinema near you courtesy of the New York Times (if you can bear to go through the whole registering palaver): "Invasion of the Blog" starring Evan Williams and Meg Hourihan. The crowds go wild. [Addendum: Metafilter discusses the article]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The two questions I get STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/29/2000 12:44:07 PM ----- BODY:

The two questions I get asked most regularly about the sites that I run are, "What does barbelith mean?" and, "What is barbelith.com about?" [I've left out the "Where do you get off being so self-indulgent?" one, because the answer to that should be obvious to everyone.]

The answer to both of the first questions is in my mind answered by a few choice passages in Douglas Coupland's Girlfriend in a Coma, which is an interesting book that spirals off the rails in a couple of places:

"Didn't you feel as if all of the symbols and ideas fed to you since birth had become worn out like old shoes? Didn't you ache for change but you didn't know how to achieve it? And even if you knew how to do it, would you have had the guts to go forth? Didn't you want your cards shuffled in a different way?"

This sense of frustration with the world just not being as cool as it should be - as if all the magic popped out for a cigarette and never came back - is something I think I share with everyone on the Barbelith Underground. We're starting a cult. You want to join?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: What is appropriate protocol? When STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/29/2000 10:13:50 PM ----- BODY:

What is appropriate protocol? When someone writes something about your site that you think is incorrect - or you think should inspire further conversation - should you e-mail them and talk to them about it. If the original comment is a criticism, should you be able to address it? Or is it more appropriate to "rise above" criticism?

I've just been reading dissing.org. Brief bit of history on this one. A while back someone who posts to dissing.org wrote something about plasticbag.org that wasn't a criticism - but brought some fairly standard concerns about weblogging (how useful/interesting personal content was on a site for example), and asked a couple of questions (like how many people read sites like plasticbag.org).

I wrote an e-mail which I thought explained why I thought personal content had a place. I don't know - perhaps it sounded harsher than I intended. I don't think it did. I'm now trying to work out if I should have said anything at all or not. The reaction I've got from the site seems completely out of proportion to the e-mail I wrote. So here's my question to you - is it better to respond to criticism or to ignore it?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I know that the design STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/29/2000 10:17:45 PM ----- BODY:

I know that the design aspect was never their main priority, but I have to say I am delighted that Haddock.org has redesigned. The new look is much clearer and more intuitive to use.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: What is the future of STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/30/2000 01:22:41 PM ----- BODY:

What is the future of comic books? For many of you that question will seem laughably redundant. I mean - who cares about comic books? Well you should care - and not just because the rest of the world's media feed off the disposable writing encased in these 24 page periodicals - but because comic books are direct taps into the heart and soul of pure imagination where nothing is limited by budgets, ideas can be germinated quickly and circulated faster, and where a man can just as easily fly as he can meet God.

So what is the future of comic books? Warren Ellis' State of the Comic Book Nation.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The BBC does their review STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/31/2000 03:38:03 PM ----- BODY:

The BBC does their review of the year's films: "Hollywood's year of nostalgia". The only parts of the article that I disagree with heavily are the penultimate couple of paragraphs: "But the movie to cap 2000 has to be comedy Meet the Parents, starring Robert De Niro and Ben Stiller".

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I stumbled upon something completely STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/31/2000 05:09:32 PM ----- BODY:

I stumbled upon something completely astonishing today - something that I don't really know what I think of. I think you'll be able to gauge your own level of interest from the title alone: "ARTIFICIAL SYNCHRONICITY, language MANIPULATION, KUNDALINI AND THE CORNERS OF REALITY: HOW THEY'VE TURNED YOU INTO A MENTAL SLAVE & SOME TOOLS TO HELP YOU DECONSTRUCTING THIS BRAINWASHING AND GETTING FREE FROM THIS CIRCUS". [Interested?]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Does anyone know anything about STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/31/2000 05:51:03 PM ----- BODY:

Does anyone know anything about the technical underpinnings to hushmail? It has been suggested to me as a free, encrypted and relatively secure form of web-based POP3 e-mail.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: It's 11.30pm on New Year's STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/31/2000 11:33:25 PM ----- BODY:

It's 11.30pm on New Year's Eve, and I think for the first time in about ten years I am not the slightest bit frantic, worried, depressed or feeling inadequate. This is also the first time in ten years that I didn't go out for New Year's. After last year - all of the pressure to enjoy yourself, the frantic obsession with the new millennium appearing, the cold weather, the mud, the crowds - nothing appeals to me less than going out. So fuck it. I'm going to stay in and do stuff that I like doing: watch movies, eat pasta, read books.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: 12:01am: May I be the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/01/2001 12:11:28 AM ----- BODY:

12:01am: May I be the very first UK weblogger to welcome you to the New Year. For good or ill, we are now living in science fiction - it's the 21st Century by anyone's reckoning. A strange computer called Hal is about to become sentient and then go insane. Monoliths are being discovered even as we speak. Arthur C Clarke is feelish a bit sheepish generally, I would warrant. [2001]

There has never before been as much weight of fantasy placed upon a year - indeed upon a century. The world has never seen change as dramatic or as rapid. There has never been this many people to will a new vision of the planet from the ether. Reality and Fantasy are colliding, and for once I'm not entirely sure which one will win. May you live in interesting times.

[Happy Millennium from Jeffrey Zeldman]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Nikolai presents the first annual STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/02/2001 03:32:18 PM ----- BODY:

Nikolai presents the first annual weblog awards, otherwise known as "The Bloggies". Much as awards are a fairly dubious enterprise, this one seems to be very much in the spirit of the weblog, including categories such as "Best Meme" and "Best Article or Essay about Weblogs". plasticbag.org is eligible for at least six categories in my opinion, and it would be nice if someone nominated me for something. But other places that you should certainly consider looking before you make up you mind include: prolific.org, notsosoft.com, riothero, interconnected.org, zeldman.com and kitschbitch.com.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Separated at birth? The stunning STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/03/2001 09:21:22 AM ----- BODY:

Separated at birth? The stunning director of Magnolia, P T Anderson and Bryan - some bloke wearing a Weblog Wannabe t-shirt. [More on some bloke called Bryan]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Do your duty: Blogger appeals STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/03/2001 09:24:22 AM ----- BODY:

Do your duty: Blogger appeals for donations. You can get some stickers out of it, and it's just possible that with speed might come a re-energised search facility... [Addendum: Is there any way that Blogger could treat donations as an investment rather than a contribution?]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: So tonight it's the international STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/03/2001 09:35:32 AM ----- BODY:

So tonight it's the international blog IRC (Internet Relay Chat), which is held at such a time as to be nigh on impossible for anyone in the UK to attend (assuming they work of course). I'm going to try to attend tonight, at least for a while. In the meantime, I will appeal to the organisers of the weekly event to bring it forward an hour and a half so at least there is some possibility that the European contingent will not be coma-ridden the following day.

"It's Wednesday, and you know what that means. Tonight bloggers will meet on IRC for our weekly night of chatting. Here's where you can join us: Time 8:30 PM Eastern / 5:30 PM Pacific / 1:30 AM GMT. Server irc.turlyming.net at port 6667. Channel #BlogIRC" [quote from fairvue.com]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: So I went to this STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/03/2001 12:08:07 PM ----- BODY:

So I went to this birthday party last night at an Indian restaurant near Buttock, having left Twattenham Court Road at about 6.45pm. On the way back I had to decide how I was going to get home. Should I take the Central Line and change at Oral Circle, or the Circle Line and change at Onion Terror. In the end I took the latter, and finally arrived home at Maiden Vulva at 11.30pm.

Sorry for my childish behaviour. I'm afraid I am currently completely overwhelmed by the incredibly funny, and yet almightily rude and offensive altubemap, orginally discovered by linkmachinego. I wonder how many of these names our American cousins will even understand.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The thing I love about STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/04/2001 09:48:56 AM ----- BODY:

The thing I love about Mark is that he's not afraid to express his opinion. Which in my opinion, you know, is probably a good thing.

"this whole "server fund" is really about raising money to bail jack saturn out of jail. how can i prove this? i can't. but i most certainly believe that the folks at pyra, such as ev and meg, have deliberately slowed blogger down to a crawl as an effective scheme to raise the money for their pal.

"instead of paying to support the massive number of blogs there are.. we shall take this as an opportunity to take eradicate the abhorrent infestation!

"i am building an army of judges, email me if you're interested. we will divide up alphabetically, on a mission to read every single weblog in existence. we will judge the blog worthy of continuance. if the weblog does not meet our standards, the creator will receive a polite email mentioning, "YOU"RE STEALING all the fucking BANDWIDTH. TAKE DOWN YOUR FUCKING BLOG! IT SUCKS!""

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Appeal for help: Does anyone STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/04/2001 02:18:54 PM ----- BODY:

Appeal for help: Does anyone have any idea how to use Jabbernaut? I installed it on my G4 today and it doesn't seem to actually do anything it is supposed to. Can you help me? [Addendum: I have had very helpful e-mails from prolific and joannou.net saying that they can't figure it out either. This software is not recommended.]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Pixelflo launches Web Trumps - STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/06/2001 11:58:52 AM ----- BODY:

Pixelflo launches Web Trumps - a new Top Trumps style game where you can play with your favourite web celebs, down-at-heel webloggers, and gods like Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos. Based upon Dan Hon's Blogtrumps, I am delighted to add that I have my very own card. The whole enterprise is a great laugh, but it does bring up issues regarding the nature of web celebrity, and its disconnected, "clumpy", community-based nature.

Let's say, for example, that I ran two sites (I run several more, actually, but that's not the issue). Both have very different subject matters. Both have received about the same number of page impressions at various points. The two are not connected in any particular fashion. In both communities (weblogger / fan) the site that is relevant to them are well known, while being completely unknown to the other community. At this point you have to ask yourself about whether all communities are equal. Because of (often) our industry connections, do webloggers have an unnaturally significant impact / public image as opposed to other communities on the net? Are we, in fact, more equal than others?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: A few quick links: musekick.BLOG STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/06/2001 12:19:00 PM ----- BODY:

A few quick links: musekick.BLOG uses stylesheets in a fashion that somehow looks harmonious and elegant despite using a substantial variety of different line-spacings, font sizes and the like. It reminds me of some of David Carson's typographic work in a weird way. Proto-web god Grant Morrison releases his latest memeflood into the etherica. Speaking of which, I didn't realise that Network Solutions were now selling one year domain registrations, or that their pricing structure had changed, or that they were now selling the .tv domain [more] as well (etherica.org is available to buy).

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: So the biggest news of STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/06/2001 12:47:21 PM ----- BODY:

So the biggest news of the day is that yesterday morning I handed in two months notice at my job as Production Editor at timeout.com citing as a reason that there was no longer space for me to take my role forward in a direction that I was comfortable with. I wonder what I'll do now. [Thanks to: Humanlint, Prolific and Meg for wishing me luck.]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Yesterday afternoon was spent dozing STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/07/2001 11:22:01 AM ----- BODY:

Yesterday afternoon was spent dozing through my second visit to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and having weird conversations with Meg and David. Is this what the future holds for me? [Pics: Tom, David]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: For those Americans amongst us, STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/07/2001 11:59:17 AM ----- BODY:

For those Americans amongst us, here's a very bad preview to the movie Snatch, which my flat mate worked on and which really is pretty damn good in places. Go see it.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Hypothesis: 1) The Oscars are STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/07/2001 12:36:40 PM ----- BODY:

Hypothesis: 1) The Oscars are essentially a populist enterprise that reflect the basic passions of the audience rather more than (perhaps) they should. 2) The IMDB is a similarly populist enterprise. 3) It might be plausible to compare the top rated films on the IMDB with previous "Best Film" nominated movies. 4) If there was a significant degree of similarity, then we might be able to predict the 2001 "Best Film" nominations.

Let us first turn to the nominations for last year's Oscars. These were: American Beauty (winner), The Cider House Rules, The Green Mile, The Insider and The Sixth Sense.

The IMDB ratings for the same year are as follows: American Beauty (winner: 8.7/10, 31532 votes), Toy Story 2 (8.3/10, 9645 votes), The Sixth Sense (8.3/10, 26850 votes), The Matrix (8.3/10, 39617 votes), Fight Club (8.3/10, 20546 votes), Being John Malkovich (8.2/10, 13311 votes), The Green Mile (8.1/10, 12928 votes), Magnolia (8.1/10, 10177 votes), The Insider (8.1/10 10177 votes), The Straight Story (8.0/10, 3243 votes), The Iron Giant (7.9/10, 3812 votes). All of these films are in the top 100 films.

The only film that the IMDB does not rate is The Cider House Rules, which suggests a certain degree of reliability (although there clearly may be self-reflexive factors in play, as people are encouraged to watch new movies by their Oscar nominations). There are also, however, notable discrepancies between the two lists. It cannot be conincidental that the more artistically challenging and/or violent films fell foul of the Academy. Nor can the exception of genre pieces and/or films ostensibly for children be ignored.

Now let us turn towards the IMDBs recommended films for the year 2000. The most notable difference between the two years from the perspective of the IMDB is that there are simply many many more highly rated films in 1999 than there were in 2000. The list below is the complete list of all films made in 2000 that made it into the IMDB Top 250. There were eight of them, with a top ranking of 45. The previous year is represented by sixteen films in the top 250, of which five are in the top fifty alone. Clearly 2000 was a fairly dubious year for film-making.

IMDB's top rated films for 2000:

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
8.2/10 (2636 votes)
Almost Famous
8.2/10 (3466 votes)
Gladiator
8.0/10 (20838 votes)
Dancer in the Dark
7.8/10 (2400 votes)
Requiem for a Dream
7.8/10 (1262 votes)
Chicken Run
7.7/10 (5999 votes)
Billy Elliot
7.7/10 (1707 votes)
High Fidelity
7.6/10 (6211 votes)

Working on the principles briefly established, ignoring particularly challenging films (Requiem for a Dream), animated / childrens films (Chicken Run) and genre pieces, my predictions for the 2001 Oscar nominations for Best Picture are as follows:

I'll be down the bookies with a fiver, then.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Thanks to Meg and STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/08/2001 01:11:33 PM ----- BODY:

Thanks to Meg and David for coming up with an in-joke so obscure that we will surely be hounded to death by clique-busters for the rest of our lives. I will confess to it being very amusing - at least to me...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The short interview I gave STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/08/2001 01:53:16 PM ----- BODY:

The short interview I gave to the Bookseller magazine about repurposing print content for the web is currently in print (5th Jan 2001): "Chat Room". I'd appreciate input from anyone in the industry who would like to comment upon it. [e-mail: tom%40plasticbag.org]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: A quick happy birthday to STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/08/2001 02:24:19 PM ----- BODY:

A quick happy birthday to David Bowie, a tremendously creative individual and an influence to every person in the world who ever wanted to "gazelle on stage and look pleased with [themselves]".

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Big Issue #419: Read my diary STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 1 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/08/2001 02:39:58 PM ----- BODY: by Matthew Ford [e-mail] Bloggers scour the internet, blog what interests them, read other blogs, and if they see something they like, they blog it on their own blogs too. Tom is disappointed by the lack of debauchery at his office party, passionate about the creative potential of the web and sometimes strangers like his site enough to send him presents. Tom is a blogger and I know all about him because for the last few months I've been reading his weblog (www.plasticbag.org). In its purest form a weblog (or blog) is a collection of links, commentary and often intimate diary-style content. Blogging is a DIY publishing phenomenon thousands strong, made possible by Pyra, a company that produces a feww internet application called Blogger (www.blogger.com). To the uninitiated, bloggers can seem narcissistic and slightly geeky, but by putting their lives online they're probably closer to the DIY utopian dreams of the early internet pioneers than any dotcom 'cash cow' can ever be. Websites used to have to be slowly hand-coded, but Blogger makes it possible to set up a site in minutes, edit it in seconds, and work on it anywhere with internet access. The result is an international, inconnected community. Some cult sites get thousands of visitors every day, develop a devoted community of readers, and inspire soap opera-style discussion. Two of the most influential US bloggers - Meg (www.megnut.com) and Jason (www.kottke.org) - were outed when sleuths discovered their private romance through clues on their sites. Bloggers frequently copy, parody and play with ideas from each other's sites. Many bloggers work in internet-related jobs, and blogs are often the source of trends that are hyped across the web. The ease of publishing on blogs allows individuals to talk to the world, perhaps in a way they couldn't talk to their friends and family?cated to special interest groups like gay politics (www.hit-or-miss.org/queeries) or media gossip www.medianews.org). Blogging can seem a strange world, but it's free, playful and constantly innovative. Isn't that everything the net should be about? ----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: Matthew Ford talks about weblogs and weblogging for the UK's 'Big Issue' magazine - and discusses plasticbag.org in the process... ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: So my first day back STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/08/2001 06:28:49 PM ----- BODY:

So my first day back at work after handing in my notice went by fairly smoothly. It kind of feels like everyone is looking at me like I might snap at any moment and douse them in petrol, which couldn't really be further from the truth. As it is I feel this really strange mixture of horror and delight at my actions.

Because I am leaving, I don't feel as emotionally involved in the site and the decisions that are made about it. This means that work itself has become quite relaxing. And as the stress fades, the things that I love about the company are becoming clearer to me: the people I work with are almost uniformly great and I love the company's attitude and outlook. This then triggers the horror - I've handed in my notice. Oh my god. But it only lasts a moment. I know that if I stayed I'd be fighting the frustration daily.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: A new article about weblogs, STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/09/2001 01:01:46 PM ----- BODY:

A new article about weblogs, in which I am name-checked (along with blogger, megnut.com, kottke.org, web queeries and medianews.org) illustrates the gulf that lies between journalists and the finished product. While the feature itself says:

[Big Issue Jan 8-14 2001]
"Essential Multimedia: Read my diary"
"To the uninitiated, bloggers can seem narcissistic and slightly geeky, but by putting their lives online they're probably closer to the DIY utopian dreams of the early internet pioneers than any dotcom 'cash cow' can ever be."

... the pull quote (the part that is larger than the main text and sits in the middle of the article to encourage people to read it), in a piece of impressively 'missing the point' editing reads as follows:

"They're geeky, but they're close to the DIY dreams of the early internet."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I just stumbled upon what STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/09/2001 03:10:20 PM ----- BODY:

I just stumbled upon what I assume to be an old interview with Jason Kottke, in which he is asked Seven Questions - mostly about Weblogging. It must get very frustrating for him to be known for a site that encapsulates only a fraction of his work on the net.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: As Organizine shuts its doors, STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/09/2001 03:35:05 PM ----- BODY:

As Organizine shuts its doors, and everyone asks why, one sole piece of comment comes from its creator: "Mistakes were made".

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Awesome new stuff from Apple STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/09/2001 10:42:49 PM ----- BODY:

Awesome new stuff from Apple includes: itunes (free MP3 encoder / ripper / player), omnipotently powerful powermacs and sickeningly gorgeous new powerbooks [design in detail]. Note to self: it is very important that my new job (whatsoever that may be) can provide me with enough money to buy a powerbook.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: So it's nearly 11pm and STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/09/2001 11:05:04 PM ----- BODY:

So it's nearly 11pm and I get a text message from my flatmates which demands to know what film Nick Nolte and Treat Williams have been in with a room full of monsters (or something like that). So I do a search on IMDB and it says that the only film that they have been in together is: Mulholland Falls. I assume that monsters was supposed to read Mobsters as that's what the film is about, and predictive text input is always a little buggy. So I send a message back telling them that and get a reply saying that apparently the correct answer was Deep Rising. So I feel let down by the IMDB and suddenly concerned about the kinds of questions that my flatmates ask me long distance on a Tuesday evening.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Due to a particularly interesting STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/10/2001 06:13:30 PM ----- BODY:

Due to a particularly interesting and apparently "old-fashioned" and "biologically determinist" section in Susan Blackmore's The Meme Machine (Chapter 10: 'An orgasm saved my life'), I've been scouring the web for information on evolutionary psychology's positions on homosexuality. As yet, my aims remain relatively unrewarded, but I have found an astonishing document of an almost staggeringly dubious nature, which may or may not be true: "The Evolutionary Psychology of Human Sex and Gender". One of the horrors of the Internet is, of course, that there is a lot of information but little way of judging what parts of that information are accurate and based on expertise or authority. I'm going to be pondering this one for a while, I fear.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Gallup poll: [via Metafilter] As STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/11/2001 09:49:06 AM ----- BODY:

Gallup poll: [via Metafilter]

As far as you know, does the earth revolve around the sun, or does the sun revolve around the earth?
"Probing a more universal measure of knowledge, Gallup also asked the following basic science question, which has been used to indicate the level of public knowledge in two European countries in recent years: "As far as you know, does the earth revolve around the sun or does the sun revolve around the earth?" In the new poll, about four out of five Americans (79%) correctly respond that the earth revolves around the sun, while 18% say it is the other way around. These results are comparable to those found in Germany when a similar question was asked there in 1996; in response to that poll, 74% of Germans gave the correct answer, while 16% thought the sun revolved around the earth, and 10% said they didn't know. When the question was asked in Great Britain that same year, 67% answered correctly, 19% answered incorrectly, and 14% didn't know."
As far as you know, from what country did America gain its independence following the Revolutionary War?
"When Americans are asked to identify the country from which America gained its independence, 76% correctly name Great Britain. A handful, 2%, think America's freedom was won from France, 3% mention some other country (including Russia, China, and Mexico, among others named), while 19% are unsure."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Bizarre facts about stair-cases? rebuke.org STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/11/2001 11:56:47 AM ----- BODY:

Bizarre facts about stair-cases? rebuke.org reveals all. [Courtesy of notsosoft.com]

"An architect guy I met said that when designing stairs, you should always have an odd number, because people tend to take the first stair with their leading foot (in my case, my left), and it balances the body better if the last stair is on the leading foot as well. "

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Spotted, Cool T-shirt Slogan: "And STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/11/2001 06:42:07 PM ----- BODY:

Spotted, Cool T-shirt Slogan: "And Jesus spake unto Burt Bacharach: 'I am the way to San Jose'."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: UK Readers: Take note, for STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/11/2001 06:51:59 PM ----- BODY:

UK Readers: Take note, for this evening Disinfo Nation returns to Channel Four. Featuring Richard Metzger, chatting uber-web god of disinfo.com infamy, this TV show not only has included an interview with Robert Anton Wilson, not only included a glowing review of my other main site Barbelith, but is also soon to feature an interview with anarchist anti-god-head Grant Morrison - the man who has most systematically lit the fires in my Ur-head-space over the last ten to fifteen years. Be awed.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: For the delectation and fulfilment STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/11/2001 07:26:40 PM ----- BODY:

For the delectation and fulfilment of the basic geek instinct that is primal to our natures (huzzah), I hereby present to my compatriots in arms an article about 'IT', an astonishing and revolutionary new concept and product for the 21st Century. Apparently.

What is 'IT'?
"Harvard Business School Press executive editor Hollis Heimbouch has just paid $250,000 for a book about IT -- but neither the editor nor the agent, Dan Kois of The Sagalyn Literary Agency, knows what IT is."

"All they do know: IT, also code-named Ginger, is an invention developed by 49-year-old scientist Dean Kamen, and the subject of a planned book by journalist Steve Kemper. According to Kemper's proposal, IT will change the world, and is so extraordinary that it has drawn the attention of technology visionaries Jeff Bezos and Steve Jobs and the investment dollars of pre-eminent Silicon Valley venture capitalist John Doerr, among others. "

[Addendum: The BBC catches up with plasticbag.org.]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: We love pete@norriscomputing.demon.co.uk. We love STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/12/2001 11:27:59 AM ----- BODY:

We love pete@norriscomputing.demon.co.uk. We love him because he owns bigbollocks.com, which may or may not be the UK's favourite website...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: After-dinner discussion (• • •) STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/12/2001 11:40:54 AM ----- BODY:

After-dinner discussion (• • •) last night has led me to believe that an Andersen Consulting-style rebranding exercise might be in order for the weblogging community. Merely take two words that you feel 'represent' your site in some way, and then combine them to produce your newly rebranded site-name. If in the process you can spend $600 million, then all the better. With this spirit of adventure in mind, I hereby declare plasticbag.org to be called 'fascillåte'. Bow down in ironic awe.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I added my StorTrooper to STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/13/2001 12:04:05 AM ----- BODY:

I added my StorTrooper to Threadnaught's ever growing page of StorTrooper webloggers, which I would heartily recommend that everyone participates in. Perhaps we could have badges made for any upcoming London web-meets so that people can recognise us more easily. Alternatively, I suppose I could put a photograph on my site. Revolutionary thought. That's what I'm known for.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I saw my first picture STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/13/2001 12:49:45 PM ----- BODY:

I saw my first picture that may or may not be from the Tobey Maguire-starring Spiderman film today. I can't actually tell whether or not it is a photograph, which probably bodes ill for the production, but if this is Mr Maguire in the outfit, he's certainly been doing some exercise recently.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Why Blogger Empowers Mindless Nits:"Ah, STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/13/2001 12:57:48 PM ----- BODY:

Why Blogger Empowers Mindless Nits:
"Ah, but see, that's the rub - it's not about creating good content, its about creating ENOUGH content so that people will look at it, thinking you have something important to say. And with blog wars, blog voting, and "via trails", it's no longer about WHAT you have to say, but rather HOW MANY people are listening."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Since I am going to STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/13/2001 03:22:45 PM ----- BODY:

Since I am going to have to be drearily positive for the next seven weeks as I scrabble around for a new job, I thought I may as well take this opportunity to moan about how appalling my life is at the moment in laborious and tedious detail.

1) Shortly to be unemployed. 2) No love life worth talking about since Max who, let us remind ourselves, is busy exploring the limits of desire with a series of teenagers. 3) I have to move out of my flat at the beginning of May and don't know where I'm going to move to. 4) It is all cold and wintery outside. 5) I have bad hair and skin failure. [Summary: job/love/flat/hair/weather disasterous.]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I can't tell from the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/14/2001 10:49:47 AM ----- BODY:

I can't tell from the picture whether or not this is real, but it is very amusing. Now if they did a Mac version, with some of that Apple design genius - well I might just have to buy one: The self-sustaining geek machine.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Everyone is going to be STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/14/2001 10:59:01 AM ----- BODY:

Everyone is going to be linking to this in a couple of hours, so I might as well get in early. Meg finally presents her mini StorTrooperDance page.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On 72 dpi... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/14/2001 12:23:35 PM ----- BODY:

So I've been reading this book called 72 dpi which contains some of the most startling pieces of web design work that I've ever seen plus a considerable amount of commentary which is slamming the conventions of user interface design (most notably the left-navigation or tab-based models that many sites operate with).

I'm not going to comment on the apparent sterility of corporate user interface design because I think there is a substantial case to be made for systems to be usability tested and to follow a few conventions of the medium as is rather than as it will be. But there is always a case for work that inspires you to challenge convention. So here are some of my picks from the book.

bionic systems, grayscale.net, kabeljau.ch, futurefarmers.com, designershock.com/de [via 72dpi: buy the book | 72-dpi.org | portable]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Found unopened in Inbox (sent STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/14/2001 07:15:24 PM ----- BODY:

Found unopened in Inbox (sent August 2000):
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Consider yourselves warned - the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/14/2001 10:52:59 PM ----- BODY:

Consider yourselves warned - the UK weblogging contingent are taking to the streets this coming Tuesday in what is being affectionately referred to at the moment as The Return of Vodka Jelly. All are welcome to attend.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: An old site constructed by STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/14/2001 11:12:11 PM ----- BODY:

An old site constructed by me that still has the power to amuse me, particularly as it reflects my interests of the time: Noah Wyle, Sean Lennon, Lard and lots of half naked men. Flashback to: Fragmentary Life.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Pictures of my father... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/15/2001 10:30:27 PM ----- BODY:

A while ago I recounted the story of the day before Christmas Eve, when my mother suddenly presented me with a picture of my father. I hadn't seen him, or (to my knowledge) a picture of him since I was around four or five. Needless to say this came as a bit of a shock, even though I had mentioned to my mother in passing several months before that I didn't remember what he looked like.

This feels a bit like cheap melodrama, but it's probably one of the most important things lingering in my head at the moment, so I should probably share it with the world. Imagine my shock when I realised my father (bottom-right) was a big, baldy, 70s-style beardy-weirdy...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Coates EMAIL: tom@plasticbag.org IP: 81.132.45.42 URL: http://www.plasticbag.org DATE: 06/02/2003 06:02:13 PM So tell you what - is this picture of you? If so - why not drop me an e-mail? tom [at] plasticbag [dot] org or leave a comment here... ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I'm contemplating installing Seti@home on STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/16/2001 01:41:07 PM ----- BODY:

I'm contemplating installing Seti@home on my Mac at work and leaving it on over weekends and evenings, having read computer.org's piece "SETI@home: Massively Distributed Computing for SETI". I used to have it installed on my old PC, but my fascination waned a few months ago. I started wondering when we might start to see some results - even if they were all negative. Then I stumbled upon an article on Wired.com: "Seti: Is Anybody Out There?", that reignited my hope. And now this new article... Well it's too good to resist.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Altavista.com has a substantial list STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/16/2001 05:18:12 PM ----- BODY:

Altavista.com has a substantial list of articles about weblogging, which should be read by anyone who is interested in starting one. There's a whole range of material, from definitions (also: 1), instruction manuals and columns (also: 1, 2, 3) to manifestos, FAQs and interviews / features (also: 1). There's something here for everyone.

I'm quite interested in finding (or creating) a directory of articles about weblogs and weblogging. If anyone knows of any other interesting links, let me know.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I'm really tempted to apply STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/17/2001 11:02:43 AM ----- BODY:

I'm really tempted to apply for this job as Information Architect. It looks terrifying and challenging. It is possibly just out of my league though.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On Meg's Broken Mirror Project... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/17/2001 11:14:28 AM ----- BODY:

I'm completely astonished by Meg's ability to take hundreds of unflattering photos of everyone she meets, and yet never put the ones of herself on the web.

Last night was possibly the largest meeting of UK webloggers to date. There were over twenty people present, most of them drunk. Particular "heys" go out to Matt, Darren, Matt and Davo.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On a Viral Marketing Strategy... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/17/2001 11:45:47 AM ----- BODY:

Viral Marketing Strategy: my editor was sent a hand-written postcard with a URL (http://www.ramitin.co.uk). Lurking on the site is a 70s-style macho-car-porn-parody Quicktime video which you have to see to believe. Assumption: timeout.com editor will send it to influential media people, resulting in full press saturation in two-to-three weeks, and a first full feature for the director within six months. We shall see if it is successful.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On an elegant design... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/17/2001 09:12:26 PM ----- BODY:

Walking West provides possibly the clearest and most elegantly designed weblog links and (brief) review page I've seen to date.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The History of Yahoo! STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Net Culture CATEGORY: Net Culture DATE: 01/18/2001 12:35:06 PM ----- BODY:

Inspired by a footnote in Information Architecture for the World Wide Web which reveals the secret name of Yahoo, I have undertaken a search on the site in question for information on its history. Here are a few facts that you might not know about the benevolent patriarch of internet directories:

When the site first began, Yahoo! had no more than one hundred accesses a day.
Across 1994, the site's growth rate doubled almost every month.
By May 1995, the site was receiving 2 million page accesses a day. God only knows have much it receives today.
Yahoo! started off listing sex sites, but stopped doing so because every time they listed one, the amount traffic it would receive would bring it down. Porn sites rarely lasted more than a couple of days after being listed on the site.
And I quote: "The San Jose Mercury news recently noted that 'Yahoo is closest in spirit to the work of Linnaeus, the 18th century botanist whose classification system organized the natural world'." Yahoo! - Company History
'The two developers of Yahoo!, David Filo and Jerry Yang, Ph.D. candidates in Electrical Engineering at Stanford University, started their guide in April 1994 as a way to keep track of their personal interests on the Internet.' Yahoo! - Company History
Yahoo was one of the first, and is still one of the few, internet companies to actually make a profit. And its annual revenue is huge: "For the fiscal year ended 12/31/00, revenues increased 88% to $1.11 billion. Net income rose 48% to $70.8 million." Market Guide.

So what is the secret name of [god]Yahoo![/god]? David Filo and Jerry Yang insist that the name was chosen by themselves because they considered themselves 'yahoos', but many others suggest that the name is an acronym from a more wild geek frontier, an acronym which stands for: "Yet Another Hierarchical Officious Oracle".

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: A List Apart confronts the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/19/2001 06:10:09 PM ----- BODY:

A List Apart confronts the current 'crisis' in the web creative industry in the US. The effects of the recent down-turn in dot-com fortunes has yet to hit the UK with quite as much force as it has in the US, although each week another dire e-commerce venture sinks vaingloriously beneath the mire (with a silent chirp of 'yes!' from me).

The situation in Europe and the UK is of course very different from that in the US - the UK has had the benefit of watching the US and either following in its wake or slowing down. When I went to Los Angeles last March I was astonished by the amount of web-based ventures advertising on television and advertising all over the place. That level of hysteria has never quite been replicated over here. Also, one of the benefits of the trans-atlantic delay is that many companies who got two years of funding are not going to run out of it, quite yet (give it another three months). And why? Because they got the funding after their American compatriots.

The rest of Europe is another case again. Some countries (Spain for one) have yet to invest heavily in the net, and so have the whole boom and bust to come - albeit probably with a certain degree of awareness of how America responded to it. It will be, by all accounts, a much less dramatic endeavour.

Which is of course why our esteemed prolific can say (which such ease and peace in her heart):

"Crisis? Wot crisis? Plenty of work here in the Netherlands, no sign of a slump. Our company is small, has longstanding clients. We will be merging with another smallish company that also has solid clients. Neither company ever had to rely on 'VC' money."
� � � � "There are 180,000 jobs unfilled in the Netherlands. I'm not worried. I'm lucky. At last."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I am one of Nikolai's STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/19/2001 11:12:47 PM ----- BODY:

I am one of Nikolai's randomly chosen collective of first round judges for the Bloggies project, which is both tremendously interesting (there are so many sites that I haven't come across before) and incredibly tiring. I must have ploughed through a good couple of hundred sites today (before, during and after work) that I haven't seen before - some of which are significant finds, designed well, or about subjects that fascinate me.

For any of you who might be interested, here are the numbers of first round nominations that plasticbag.org and various other sites that I like received: plasticbag.org: 4, notsosoft.com: 7, kitschbitch.com: 2, kottke.org: 6, lukelog: 3, evhead.com: 4.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Where are the Blogger clones? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/20/2001 04:20:32 PM ----- BODY:

Where are the Blogger clones?

This text has been edited:
"If anyone out there is prepared to 'lease' the rights to develop Organizine or something similar then I beg of you - transform the web again. Give the common man access to the means of high quality media production. Lets watch the divisions between the uber-media and the micro-media blur still further, so that those of us who love the concept of online content management tools, but who have reached the limits of what Blogger can perform cleanly, can be free to create new content, new cultures and ever new worlds."
tom%40plasticbag.org

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: This may be the best STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/20/2001 04:54:34 PM ----- BODY:

This may be the best description that I have written of the Barbelith Underground:

"This forum was originally created by a group of people who found a part of themselves inspired by what is commonly considered the lowest form of trash culture: the comic book. Something in this comic book spoke to their dissatisfaction and frustration with the world as it stands today. The writer of the comic book had felt the same way, by all accounts, and wanted to use his medium to help people recognise their own feelings of dissatisfaction with the world and channel that into a creative energy of transgression, answering back, full-on teen rebellion. The call to arms was promptly answered.

"The Barbelith Underground is, above all, about change and idealism. It's about change because the world is not what it could be, it's not what it SHOULD be either. It's about idealism because the world should be a place where imagination can thrive, not a place where it has to be constrained and controlled.

"Beyond that you're unlikely to get consensus - the wonder of this place is that you can come here to be inspired, not to be told what to do. And this can lead to frustration - what you think should be done may not be done by all. It might not be done by any. Some of our number believe in the power of direct protest, some believe in the power of the viral idea, some believe in bombs and guns, some in books and media. Some are liberal, some are libertarian, some are ... not.

"Start a thread, create an idea, propose a cause and hit the streets, or ... don't. But wake up."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Nanotechnology from the top-down? "Careful STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/20/2001 04:57:06 PM ----- BODY:

Nanotechnology from the top-down? "Careful on that couch! It could be a resting robot. Scientists are starting to make robots out of smart building blocks that make them morph into different forms to suit the job they are doing. Eventually, the researchers hope to use thousands of microscopic units to make infinitely flexible machines, fit for any task."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Yet another article on weblogging, STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/21/2001 12:46:43 AM ----- BODY:

Yet another article on weblogging, this time from zdnet.com. This one, at least, doesn't miss the point quite as much as some others: "But, regardless of whether they manifest themselves in the corporate world, blogs in their purest forms will remain throwbacks to the early days of the Web, when the rallying cry was the democratization of information and individual empowerment - not initial public offerings."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: This weekend has passed like STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/21/2001 11:48:57 AM ----- BODY:

This weekend has passed like so many recently - in a complete blaze of do-nothing apathy and computer-assisted life-avoidance. The proposed redesign of plasticbag.org has come to nothing (so far), nor has the rebuilding of the Barbelith Underground, the bloggerising of the news page at The Bomb or the assembling of an architecture for the whole barbelith/plasticbag/filmsoho assembly of sites. Also I have yet to do the thing for the collaborative project I'm supposed to be doing with Matt. More to the point, I haven't really done a lot of job searching yet, either.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Bush: 'Our Long National Nightmare STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/21/2001 11:50:44 AM ----- BODY:

Bush: 'Our Long National Nightmare of Peace and Prosperity is Finally Over': "My fellow Americans," Bush said, "at long last, we have reached the end of the dark period in American history that will come to be known as the Clinton Era, eight long years characterized by unprecedented economic expansion, a sharp decrease in crime, and sustained peace overseas. The time has come to put all of that behind us." [via linkmachinego]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I am consumed with unimaginable STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/21/2001 08:21:41 PM ----- BODY:

I am consumed with unimaginable fury and wonder (and went a bit 'I'm really pointless and should kill myself' for about ten minutes) when I stumbled upon interconnected.org's new design. It's incredibly peacefully and elegantly put together, that manages (somehow) to artfully break up the linearity of the daily weblog entries with tasters for other bits of highly creative work that he's put together.

I am all consumingly jealous.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Words that appear too much STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/21/2001 08:55:40 PM ----- BODY:

Words that appear too much in articles about the near-future of the internet and a list of weblogs in which they appear:

Broadband: Dr. Dobb's TechNetCast, A Man and His Blog, amadeus, AppleSurf, yaw, caught In between, 120degrees, WirelessDevNet, Robot Wisdom, Charlie3's PCTech Favorites, Archipelago, RavenX, David Maymudes's extremely random w, Dan Gillmor's eJournal, lake effect, BrainLog, FastEddie.com, Re-Wiring...a Freenet/P2P Weblog, airport, Om, First Blush, Jake's Braincase 'Blog, Finite Moments..., Team Gwai Lo - Bemani News and Info, Potlatch Year Zero, tranquileye.home, Close(theLoop), Robot Wisdom, Release 1.0, You talkin to me like that?, Marc's Voice, frownland, Techdirt.com, Succaland, communal sound, salesforce.com News, iSee iSay, Defenestration Corner, rc3.org Daily, Heaven Hell or Hoboken, Absolute Piffle, Rick Winfield's Weblog, mememachine, Bump, Ooine, Angerhaus, Liblog, SingaporeSurf, squidfactory, chick pea soup, Underbelly, noise between stations.
Video On Demand:
Linkage.
Convergence:
agnolog, AppleSurf, Blog Party, Davos Newbies, Two Barns Farm, DeanLand, attack force D!, evhead, Climate Change, Zoetrope, arch>INTER.log, snowdeal.org > ex machina, HongKongDaze, kosack.de, Sample This! - The IntProp Weblog, fast living, The Bluetooth Weblog, kulesh.org, Momblog UK, Redmonk.Net, Underbelly, XMLAdvantage
"always on":
Dr. Dobb's TechNetCast, Anil Dash, 120degrees, Davos Newbies, Diary of a New Homemaker, furtive explorations, siliconmage.com, i will dare, Tokyo Expressu!, BlahBlog, The Coffee Grounds, Close(theLoop), Burning Pixels, B&K Webblogg - News for muscleheads, Hanging On, themaxx.com/bits, Absolute Piffle, Sabattleco, Stang's Garage, Ardant

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Daze of our lives: "The STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/22/2001 01:20:00 AM ----- BODY:

Daze of our lives: "The Welsh National Ballooning Team of 1874. Every man on the team was scared of heights, so their record altitude was four feet two and a half inches."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Over the last four or STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/22/2001 09:13:34 AM ----- BODY:

Over the last four or five months I have received the same piece of junk mail (in a variety of different formats) at least eight to ten times. Apparently coming from the e-mail address 'hahaha@sexyfun.net', it contains an attachment and reads as follows:

"Today, Snowhite was turning 18. The 7 Dwarfs always where very educated and polite with Snowhite. When they go out work at mornign, they promissed a *huge* surprise. Snowhite was anxious. Suddlently, the door open, and the Seven Dwarfs enter..."

Today I received the same e-mail twice, with one version being written in Spanish. I finally snapped and did a search on the net, only to find that it is a worm-based virus that sends itself to anyone who sends e-mail to an infected computer. All the information you need in order to deal with the virus is here. But be warned, I know for a fact that at least one of the people who has sent me e-mail has contracted this virus. If you've ever seen it, or think you might have opened it, run a virus check immediately.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: So voting is now open STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/23/2001 09:22:10 AM ----- BODY:

So voting is now open for the 2001 Bloggies, and alongside it has come the standard amount of concern about popularity contests and competition between webloggers. plasticbag.org is (I think) in good company in the 'best european weblog' category (co-nominees are prolific, kitschbitch.com, notsosoft.com and lukelog. I think I'm voting for prol.

[Addendum: horrified / flattered to see that Meg and I are also up for 'Weblog of the Year'. Now I feel tremendous performance anxiety.]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Tom Coates Explains Everything: OK STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/23/2001 09:34:05 AM ----- BODY:

Tom Coates Explains Everything: OK - I'm going to assume that a few people are going to find this place who haven't been here before. In order to make things easier for said people, if you need any questions answered about anything (What is the capital of Uganda?), then e-mail me and I'll put up my response here. [tom%40plasticbag.org]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The most important line in STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/23/2001 12:18:47 PM ----- BODY:

The most important line in the best joke I have heard (and/or repeated) in years: "What shall I do with my long bony fingers and my big rubbery lips?"

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Tom Coates Explains Everything (to STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/23/2001 04:04:55 PM ----- BODY:

Tom Coates Explains Everything (to Martin Stevens): In answer to your questions, I am 5'10", I have never had therapy but I took anti-depressants for six months many years ago, I have never had sex with a woman and my favourite cake is the heavily marzipan-laden 'Battenberg'. Next!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: In science fiction films, the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/23/2001 06:04:24 PM ----- BODY:

In science fiction films, the aliens always have much more powerful technology and make all the humans feel inadequate. I feel that way about people who have expert command over more than one language. Which makes me very embarassed to shamefully beg for help in translating a post from prolific.org's other site.

Tom Coates Explains Everything (to Tom Cosgrave): Standing up, against the wall. (to Grant Balfour): Marriage is a powerful meme that intersects with the biological imperative of the Selfish Gene, but does not overlap it precisely. I would suggest that memetic dominance in your character makes you keen to form such a union while (because it over-rides the biological instinct in your case) making the possible partner in such an enterprise a ridiculously perfect abstraction. (to Paul Kester): No I don't have a Norfolk accent at all. I sound very British. Mark at riothero said I sounded like Hugh Grant, which just goes to prove that Americans don't really know what they are talking about. No, nothing is happening in my love-life either. Wes Bentley will insist on feigning disinterest. And my favourite film used to be Jesus of Montreal, but is now probably American Beauty. The why of the last one is too complicated to go into in depth! Next!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Breaking News: BlogVoices may be STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/23/2001 09:58:27 PM ----- BODY:

Breaking News: BlogVoices may be collapsing under the strain of finding a suitable web-host. If anyone out there can help, please do so. Sharpish!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Presidential keyboards lose their 'W'... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/24/2001 12:09:19 AM ----- BODY:

"President George W. Bush has lost his middle initial from many computer keyboards at the Old Executive Office Building in the White House complex. In an apparent prank carried out by departing Clinton administration staffers, Bush aides discovered that dozens of computer keyboards were missing the "W" key." [CNN]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I went to a press STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/24/2001 12:29:24 AM ----- BODY:

I went to a press screening of The Gift last night. I was masquerading as 'Matthew Ford', a co-worker of mine at timeout.com, who wasn't able to make it. So I'm at reception at 20th Century Fox and the nice lady says, "What's your name?", and I reply, "Matthew Ford, thank you kind lady", (or something like that) at which point two separate people I know but were not expecting to be present howl "Tom!" across the room, at which point I immediately go "Yes!?", immediately triggering raised eyebrows from reception woman who now suddenly resembles Baba Yaga, Russian Hag.

The film itself was fairly average, which was a pity. It had a great cast (Cate Blanchett, Hilary Swank, Keanu Reeves, Greg Kinnear), but a fairly run-of-the-mill plot (psychic helps in murder case and might become the next victim) which everyone at the screening figured out fairly early on. Keanu played psycho surprisingly well, but all his effort was rather undercut by his "Bill & Ted do the Deep South" accent. And there were at least a couple of moments that could have been lifted completely from What Lies Beneath. Worth a look if you need a scare but are feeling undemanding.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Tom Coates Explains Everything  STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/24/2001 09:18:11 AM ----- BODY:

Tom Coates Explains Everything
 (to David Gentle): No, I am afraid I have not considered strapping myself to a rocket as a plausible option in getting to SXSW, but thanks for asking. And the answer to your second question is that genius isn't appreciated in its own lifetime.
 (to Ernie Hsiung): Weirdly enough I don't think of sex in those terms. There have been times when I've wanted to be dominated, and times when I've wanted to dominate, and probably more times when I have enjoyed the vanilla democratising of sex that is becoming so popular with our straight cousins.
 (to Bob Johnson): I don't know if I could say that I've driven a tractor, but I've been in one many times as my uncle and grandmother own farms in Norfolk. Farmyard animals are a bit of a mystery to me as all the farmers in my family grow sugar-beet and wheat, but I suppose I'd have to say that I'm quite a cow fan. And my favourite poem is (I believe) by George Herbert and starts: "He that is weary, let him sit...". But I'm not really a poetry fan, if I'm honest. My second favourite poem is, after all, by Ivor Cutler and goes: "If your breasts are too big, you will fall over. Unless you wear a ruck-sack".
 (to Joe Macare): No, Buffy is not getting crap, although it is of variable quality at the moment. The place to go at the moment, however, for the higher quality related kick-ass action is Angel, which gets astonishingly good towards the end of the first Season.
Next!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: If someone doesn't think of STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/24/2001 09:18:35 AM ----- BODY:

If someone doesn't think of a way to get me to the SXSW Interactive festival soon (ideally with Katy), I swear to god I might snap like a twig in a blender.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Could the people who come STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/24/2001 11:18:59 AM ----- BODY:

Could the people who come to plasticbag.org from such companies as CharlotteStreet, BBC and bomb.co.uk please look around and see if there are any interesting jobs going on in their vicinity? Thank you!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: A brief history of Tom... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/25/2001 01:40:31 AM ----- BODY:

1990: Travelling around America aged 18, Tom has bought himself an ironic Mickey-Mouse cap.

1993: Travelling around Europe by rail aged 21, Tom has grown his hair ironically long.

1994: At his graduation aged 22, Tom ironically makes a pass at a completely uninterested classmate.

1995: Living alone in his first year as a postgraduate, Tom takes to wearing tight shirts that used to belong to his grandfather. Ironically.

1996: In Bath, Tom develops an ironic overbite and a Brideshead Revisited look.

1997: At a friend's party in Bristol, Tom appears with a nice hair-cut and an ironic goatee beard.

2000: Our long journey comes to an end. Look how far Tom has progressed in life! Stick out that ironic tongue, Tom! You know we love it!

2002: And now some later additions: With loony stary eyes! Being ironically creepy-looking! Check it out - my eyes move in opposite directions!

2003: A trip to Helsinki leaves Tom contemplating a simpler life as a fisherman:

2004: A few months of systematic hair-growth (my hairdresser refusing to cut my locks) leaves Tom looking like an ironic tramp or a cult leader.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: manok EMAIL: manok@graffiti.net IP: 203.76.213.50 URL: DATE: 01/12/2004 11:30:46 AM No offense. At first I thought that the guy on 1994 looks like a gay. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: flambingo EMAIL: anno@pavilion.co.uk IP: 132.185.240.12 URL: http://www.flambingo.net DATE: 01/15/2004 01:53:53 PM isn't 1996 peter mandleson? ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Thanks to Matt for posting STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/25/2001 09:38:24 AM ----- BODY:

Thanks to Matt for posting the Geographical Tube Map - I've been wanting to see one of these for years. Now if they'd make it a multi-layered operation with an overlay of London streets on it, then it would be incredibly useful.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Tom Coates Explains Everything • STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/25/2001 09:49:06 AM ----- BODY:

Tom Coates Explains Everything
• (to PJ Gallagher): Your impulse to eat corn dogs and grape juice is more likely (in my humble opinion) the cause of your shit days than a result of them.
• (to Kylie): The official plasticbag.org line on queercompany is that anything that aggravates Middle England is OK with me, but that I am interested to see whether or not the image of two men kissing is more offensive to the masses than women getting it on.
• (to Kali): No, strudel is beyond my meagre talents in the kitchen, I'm afraid. I think I missed out on many of the important gay genes that make you able to decorate effectively and not fart in public. The straight men who are not completely insensitive to a woman's feelings (like my mate Nick) have an evolutionary advantage and will gradually erase homo crapulence from the planet. You have my word.
Next!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Spread the word. I want STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/25/2001 02:02:41 PM ----- BODY:

Spread the word. I want it on all of your sites by the end of the day: "Backslapping Wank for the 21st Century: Vote plasticbag.org for Anti-Bloggies 'Most Banal Content'!"

Campaign Supporters: Not Enough Of Me

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Tom Coates Explains Everything (Part Five)... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/26/2001 09:57:17 AM ----- BODY:

• (to Nick Cornwell): No, dear chap, I was not 'pulling your pisser', and should you wish to know what the conversation was about, then merely scroll further down the page.

• (to Whalen Toni): Yes I have indeed read slash fan fiction. Back in the mists of time I used to spend a lot of time over at alt.tv.er, uk.media.tv.er and alt.fan.noah-wyle, which is where I first stumbled upon the phenonemon. I have to confess that I find the idea of women getting turned on by writing about men having sex with each other slightly strange (I assume this is the point). Most of the women I talk to swear that this does nothing for them. Well it certainly does something to me... There is a particularly interesting (and well written) series about Dr John Carter (from ER) and Skinner (from the X-files) which everyone should read immediately. If anyone has the URL I'll link to it ASAP.

• (to Marshall): Until this point, my feelings of inadequacy did not apply to Furbies, but now you have pointed out that said creatures can launch into a thousand languages while running on an Energizer battery, I feel crushed and pointless as a human being. Thanks a lot.

Next!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Etoy vs. eToys... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/26/2001 12:53:10 PM ----- BODY:

Art Collective Sues Dot-Com For Trademark Infringement
In what might possibly be the most superbly postmodern twist to a wonderfully subversive story, etoy is suing the arse off etoys.

"Etoy, which may be the world's only artists' collective with a business plan, alleges that because it was around before eToys, the toy retailer should not be allowed to use a similar name that could be confused with its own."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Load Urge Rectum Girl... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/26/2001 10:47:49 PM ----- BODY:

I received a referral today from Google via Yahoo!. Someone had typed in "load urge rectum girl". I was, of course, the first result. Which fills me with worry. Am I fulfilling the needs of the Load Urge Rectum Girl community? Are they satisfied with the information on my site? How can I turn their initial browsing into a recurrent user pattern? Will they become a repeat visitor? Oh, user behaviour analysis is so very tiring...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Tom Coates Explains Everything... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/27/2001 02:28:08 PM ----- BODY:

• (to David Gentle): I don't think you come across as a dork in e-mail at all, although you sure do send a lot of it! And the reason that Waterstones don't have a proper comics selection seems clear to me - the image of the shop is built around popularising reading as a cultural rather than purely entertaining activity, and as ever with people with pretensions, they are unable to tell the difference between what they find interesting and thrilling and what they think they should find interesting and thrilling.

• (to Zenith): Christ alone knows why you find the Underground so intoxicating, old chap, but it's happened to a lot of other apparently intelligent and creative people, something that I feel tremendously happy about.

• (to Darren Shrubsole): Yes, on occasion I have been heartily pissed off with weblogging. These things ebb and flow - when you are writing stuff that you find entertaining or important or interesting then it all seems instinctive and satisfying. At other times it seems like a grinding drag - fighting to find words to say. It's worth sticking at, though, because it's become such a staple part of my life that I can't imagine being without it. As to your other question, my plans for barbelith.com seldom get implemented because of time restraints, but at the moment it goes something like this - a webzine on the front which integrates completely with the discussion forum with attached weblogging columnists. From that stage, an anti-advertising server (joint project with Matt, and then free web-mail with barbelith.net addresses. Or something like that.
Next!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Oh mirage of SXSW... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/27/2001 02:34:51 PM ----- BODY:

As February approaches, and I have just over a month to find myself a new, satisfying and well-paid job to occupy my time, my mind is increasingly turning to SXSW. I'm desperately pining to attend - I don't know that I can cope with everyone writing about what a laugh it was - but I just can't see how I could do it. The cost is just too severe - there's airfare for a start, which alone I could probably manage, but then there's transport to Austin, hotels for three or four nights, the cost of the conference itself, and that's before I've even started drinking. It seems bizarre to me that I can afford to go and visit Kerry and Sean in LA next month (flight only) for a week, but I can't scrape together the money for Austin (which is nearer) for three days.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Warning! May not have happened! STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/27/2001 02:41:50 PM ----- BODY:

At the last UK weblogging meet, Meg suggested that I stopped calling 'iamcal' 'iamcal', and start calling him by his name, which she suggested might be Cal. Foolish woman. I reminded her at that point that her number was stored on my mobile phone as 'NotSoSoft'. That shut her up...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: SXSW all over again... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/28/2001 11:18:59 AM ----- BODY:

It begins. The full on green with jealous-rage fest has started to consume me as webloggers start to talk about SXSW: "Speaking of SXSW, they put up a listing of this year's panels for the Interactive Festival. Among the more interesting ones for me are the interview with Scott McCloud, Interface, Weblogs... Unfortunately, three of those panels have a time conflict with each other, and two more of them take place at the same time as the Microcontent: Beyond the Web Page panel I'm moderating. Dammit!"

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Two Sundays of frustration... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/28/2001 01:14:58 PM ----- BODY:

That makes two Sundays in a row that I have been stood up for a movie by the same friend, last week she felt 'ill', this week she 'didn't think we had an arrangement' and had already organised to go and see a movie with her flatmate who had 'a bad foot so can't go far'.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On fiendish Blogger trickery! STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/29/2001 10:51:25 AM ----- BODY:

So I've been working on what hopefully will be the only redesign of plasticbag.org for this half of the year, and I'm going for a more expandable design, and one that hopefully will give me scope to inject more personality into the pages, and I'm busy testing out something when Blogger seizes up and collapses on me, leaving me for several minutes convinced that over a year's work has been lost in an instant.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Where are the Movie Heroines? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/29/2001 11:09:58 AM ----- BODY:

I can't be the only one uncomfortable seeing that in a poll of the Top Ten Film Heroes there is only room for one woman - and in a fairly masculine role at that. Apparently, only overtly penis-based heroism counts for anything with the movie-making and movie-going public.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On the mind-set of Russian media companies... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/29/2001 04:08:57 PM ----- BODY:

This morning's job involved updating timeout.com's page of Moscow links. All in all a pretty thankless task, as the state of the art in Russian media-websites seems to be somewhere pre-school. This is surely not a reflection of the country, but much more a reflection of the lack of money in Russian media companies.

One site that did stand out with Pravda's English-language website, which gives an astonishing insight into the mind-set of the people who used to live behind the Iron Curtain. Amongst stunning headlines appear a few absolute corkers, complete with astonishing introductory paragraphs:

NATO SITE ON INTERNET: A TISSUE OF LIES FROM BEGINNING TO END NATO PROVIDES DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE FOR ITS OWN INDICTMENT
"The NATO site on the Internet is at best a shame and a disgrace and at worst the confirmation that the rest of the world is unfortunately forced to come to terms with: the benevolent air of the perpetrators of the new world order is buried beneath sham, lies, irresponsibility, racism, jingoism and basically, the worst elements of post-fascist western decadence in the last half century."

AIDS CASES GROW IN THE UNITED KINGDOM
"Young people all over Europe seem to have the mistaken idea that by avoiding the issue of protected or unprotected sexual relations by adopting oral sexual practices is safe, but they could not be more wrong."

My plan to do a version of The Onion based upon a stereotypical 50's Russian Propogandist take on the news now seems rather unnecessary...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: A conspiratorial approach to SXSW... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/29/2001 08:01:05 PM ----- BODY:

So my epic scheme for getting to SXSW originally went as follows: 1) Buy something off Jeff Bezos's wishlist, 2) mention my craving to go to SXSW and 3) let nature takes its course. Except of course that I immediately realised that that was horribly, horribly corrupt and that I was a bad person. At which point I actually looked at his wishlist, realised that the man is obsessed with some of the weirdest shit on the planet, decided that I should buy him something anyway and then have a cool story to tell people down the pub. Which is what I've done. Jeff should be receiving (any day now) the Trivial Pursuit Star Wars Trilogy Edition.

[Speaking of wishlists (and being horribly corrupt), if you really wanted to, you could buy me something off mine. Think of all the stories you would be able to tell your grandchildren and how much they'd love you for it...]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: A selection of firm and attractive links... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/30/2001 09:08:39 AM ----- BODY:

This is a weblog: Sometimes I forget completely that this is a weblog. In order compensate for this, here are some 'links'. Interesting meme possibilities: Weblog playlists? Napster to charge for membership as of June. Yet another reason to be depressed about SXSW: Fray Café. I've been saying for months that e-books will catch on for reference works (although I still maintain that travel books and city guides are going to be the first really successful market).

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On E-commerce, bacteria, viruses and memes... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Net Culture CATEGORY: Net Culture DATE: 01/30/2001 08:31:32 PM ----- BODY:

Imagine, if you will, a healthy body. Now introduce two types of foreign elements - lets say bacteria and viruses. I'm now going to bastardise their life-cycles horribly. Bear with me.

Viruses need to spread to other bodies before either the immune response of the body finds and kills them, or before they kill the body and are trapped within it - but whatever their evolutionary strategy, they cause damage to the organism concerned. Bacteria on the other hand are more varied beasts. Some bacteria are horribly damaging and can kill creatures, while others have formed symbiotic relationships with their hosts, and can fulfill such functions as aiding digestion. The latter form of bacteria may have an evolutionary advantage over the former, as will the organism that they inhabit.

Now imagine that we are not talking about organisms and their genomes, but instead ideas - memes. Let's pretend that the body is a huge and highly fertile environment for memes - the internet. And now let's consider analogies between e-commerce ventures (dot.coms) and the two bastardised life-cycles I have described previously.

The internet was essentially an environment free from commercial ventures until six or seven years ago, but when the memes were introduced, they flourished immediately. The question for many people was what would these memes do to their host? Would they act in a viral fashion - spreading themselves and gradually damaging it, or destroying it (leaving no room for other memes and leaving an interesting discussion about whether the memes would survive a leap into a still other form of quasi-organism), or would they become the grist that aided the internet's development - gave it an advantage to flourish and develop.

Interestingly enough, for the last couple of years, no one really discussed the possibility that they might simply lose the evolutionary struggle under pressure from hundreds of thousands of millions of other memes born directly from the internet itself:

The Museum of E-Failure
"We call this digital compast heap "The E-Failure Museum" - a multi-megabyte collection of screen capture files documenting the home pages of 120 commercial Web sites that didn't make it."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Scroll to the bottom... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/31/2001 01:27:57 AM ----- BODY:

Oh now, that's just really nice. (Scroll to the bottom).

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: "Englands not that big to begin with... Why waste the time?" STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/31/2001 01:16:59 PM ----- BODY:

A really cheeky comment from the people behind Salon:

New Site Hopes to Stay Unspiked
"O'Donnell said Salon can afford to ignore the British market for now. "We just didn't see the revenue or user base," he said. "There's no business for content in Europe. England's not that big to begin with. I just canceled a meeting there. Why waste the time?"

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Suicide by milk...? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/01/2001 09:35:49 AM ----- BODY:

I got home from work last night at about seven with press copies of Buffy and Angel to watch, some tomato soup, ten lucky-dip lottery tickets and the prospect of two episodes of Sex in the City. Enjoyment of same depended, however, on the presence of my flatmate Mella to keep me company. At nine she still, resolutely hadn't turned up, so Meg and I popped down the boozer for a girly vodka and tonic, game of pool (she beat me) and many many fags (note to Americans - wash out your mind). After which, and having returned to the flat, I watched the most depressing ten minutes of Sex in the City ever, contemplated drowning myself in milk as a way to pass the time, played the Pixies and Veruca Salt really loudly, finally watched TV with flatmate between midnight and two am, and find myself (this morning) un-rested and over-bloody-come with hate towards the builders hitting things outside my window.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: And the best weblog maintained STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/01/2001 09:45:39 AM ----- BODY:

And the best weblog maintained by an Old World Poof goes to: me... I can get some work out of this, right? Congratulations to Zannah as well as all the other people who participated. In the words of an Oscar winner, "they like you, they really like you!". But remember, as the Golden Globes are but a prelude to the Oscars, the real battle is still to come. Remember at all costs: plasticbag.org for most banal content!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Newsflash from Pyra "It's probably STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/01/2001 12:21:44 PM ----- BODY:

Newsflash from Pyra
"It's probably become obvious to the careful observer that all is not well in the Land of Pyra. Rather than wait for the public speculation and debate, I'm going to say what exactly is going on (from my perspective -- not speaking for anyone else on the team or as an official Pyra/Blogger representative). We found out last Friday that the one most people on the team were hoping for was not going to happen. This took the wind out of the already limp sails people were surviving on, and it was largely decided we couldn't keep this up."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: This is just a note STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/01/2001 08:26:02 PM ----- BODY:

This is just a note to say that those of you who are frustrated about not being able to get through to Blogger.com should try posting through Newsblogger, as it appears to work OK.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Follow-ups on the situation at STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/02/2001 09:33:42 AM ----- BODY:

Follow-ups on the situation at Pyra from: Matt Haughey, Metafilter, Meg Hourihan, Jack Saturn, Peter Merholz & Plastic.com. Also: Jack Saturn's resumé.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The Edible Buffy: Because the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/03/2001 12:13:22 PM ----- BODY:

The Edible Buffy: Because the Slayer's Gotta Eat
"There are already a bazillion Buffy sites on the Internet, some specifically devoted to episode synopsis and analysis, the stars, the villains, and even the show's philosophy. I figured I'd make my site slightly less redundant by exploring a heretofore untouched aspect of BtVS: the food." [via linkmachinego]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Tom and Manuela, yesterday. STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 1 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/03/2001 12:19:41 PM ----- BODY: Tom and Manuela, yesterday.

Photograph courtesy of Kate Myers. Manuela's comment on seeing it: 'I look like a window-licker!'

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: An interesting feature that has STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/03/2001 12:31:32 PM ----- BODY:

An interesting feature that has recently appeared on Metafilter is the ability to view a list of every personal URL of every member, sorted randomly. Thousands of homepages, ripe for the plucking.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Yahoo's "Pay for position" program STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/03/2001 03:11:20 PM ----- BODY:

Yahoo launches a 'pay for position' program which takes the biggest (and one of the last) purely editorially-led directory sites slap bang into the commercial age of post-banner-ad dot-communism. All fairness to them - it's only in the Business categories, where your real-life alternative might only be to go and look in the Yellow Pages (where of course you can pay for different sizes of advert already), but will it end there? I fear not... [Metafilter Discussion]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Writing a weblog is, I STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/04/2001 03:07:29 PM ----- BODY:

Writing a weblog is, I suppose, much like squeezing oneself into a dinner-suit or glamorous frock every day in an attempt to make your rather ample or slight figure take on some kind of allure or interest to the general public - only, you know, for geeks.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Have I ever told you STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/04/2001 04:31:24 PM ----- BODY:

Have I ever told you how much I love that Meg Pickard woman?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Two films in two days STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/04/2001 06:13:39 PM ----- BODY:

Two films in two days - not bad going even for me. Friday night was Shadow of the Vampire with Pippa. Every individual scene of the movie was pretty much flawless - I don't think you could fault them if you tried. Many of the performances were pretty good as well. So how come it felt like it had about twenty minutes of build-up missing? A clumsy little film which is worth seeing if you have nothing else to do.

Saturday night was much more entertaining: Almost Famous at the Swiss Cottage Odeon. While Kate wandered off to watch The Claim, the rest of us downed a couple of double-vodkas before causing trouble in the auditorium. Mella and I whispered to each other, "Is it?", "I think it is!", "Shall we say something?" in hushed giggles before turning around to Nick behind us and asking quite loudly, "Excuse me, are you Joseph Fiennes?!" He was less than amused. As were his immediate neighbours. If we disturbed any of you people out there, then we are heartily sorry...

Of course the first consequence of seeing a film about rock-n-roll and love is that I would be completely caught up in the romance of it all and start thinking about my personal absence of both. There's a moment in a Simpson's episode which I think sums it up for me - the Comic Book Guy is walking down the road just before an atom bomb hits Springfield. And in his final seconds, with sudden realisation and total resignation he says 'Eh. I've wasted my life.'

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: With all these rules, one STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/04/2001 07:41:59 PM ----- BODY:

With all these rules, one thing is clear to me - I'd be a useless gay man...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Brief apologies to the people STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/05/2001 08:56:43 AM ----- BODY:

Brief apologies to the people who are finding plasticbag.org at the top of Weblogs.com's update list all the time at the moment. This is due to the date and time black-strip above, which is fed in through an include. I'm contemplating removing the time, so it would only produce false readings once a day. It's a pity though. Anyone got any better ideas?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The Anti-Bloggies have been announced, STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/05/2001 08:57:48 AM ----- BODY:

The Anti-Bloggies have been announced, and plasticbag.org is a winner again. Only this time, of course, it's - you know - less flattering. I made quite a push for "Most Banal Content" but in the end that went to SURVIVORblog2, which is really unfair because I'm way more dull than they are.

The award that I won came as quite an eyebrow-lifter to me: "Best Use of a Blog for Personal Benefit". In fact, while I suppose it would be ungracious of me to deny that that was ever my intention, I can certainly state that I've pretty much never received any personal benefit from the site other than a sense of quiet satisfaction. Barbelith regulars have sent me money to help maintain the discussion forum after it caused huge bandwidth problems, but other than a few Amazon links that no one clicked on, and a couple of kind - and spontaneous - presents (particular thanks to Lance Arthur) all plasticbag.org has ever produced is e-mail.

Well all that is about to change - it's time I got some benefit from my larcenous image. Introducing the largest and most obvious link to an Amazon wishlist ever created (to your right). It's red and white and it flashes at you. Buy me shit. Now.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Amazon have started the Amazon STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/06/2001 09:32:53 AM ----- BODY:

Amazon have started the Amazon Honor System, which operates in a similar fashion to Paypal, except that it is specifically geared to get donations from people via a button on a web-site. Metafilter are already trying it out: Give Metafilter A Hand.This could come in very handy for The Underground, which has transgressed its disk usage limits for the first time in ... oh ... months.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I am rather more than STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/06/2001 09:45:33 AM ----- BODY:

I am rather more than 86% sure that I am a man, so I'm not entirely sure what use the test is, but nonetheless it is entertaining.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I never really believed it STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/06/2001 02:30:29 PM ----- BODY:

I never really believed it until this moment, but it looks like being mercenary really works. After my charming appeal (and the instituting of the wonderful flashing red thing to my right, I am shortly to receive three presents from my wishlist. Looks like I might deserve the accolade of 'Best Use of a Weblog for Personal Benefit' after all.

Of course now I feel absurdly guilty about making such a song and dance about the whole thing. So, whoever has bought me these wonderful gifts, thank you very much - I am very much looking forward to receiving them...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Just in case my distaste STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/06/2001 04:11:03 PM ----- BODY:

Just in case my distaste for the Valentine season wasn't obvious to everyone, I hereby present timeout.com's Valentine's Cards - all now with added bitterness and frustration and designed by yours truly.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: So Matt goes to the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/06/2001 09:40:38 PM ----- BODY:

So Matt goes to the British Museum to take lots of photos and make a web-gallery of the visit, and does he e-mail me and ask if I'd like to go? Does he my arse.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: So last night, Luke and STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/06/2001 11:03:01 PM ----- BODY:

So last night, Luke and I went to a press screening of Hannibal at the Empire Cinema in Leicester Square. He had managed to get the tickets through work, and rang me just before six to see if I'd be interested in going along. I, of course, was. I'm not going to write too much about the film itself, because I've already written an epinion about it, which - should you wish - you can read at your leisure: Epinions.com - "Pre-dinner conversational gambits: A repository of wit.", by H. Lecter MD [Read Luke's epinion]. Instead I want to write a bit about the experience of going, which was quite extraordinary.

Evidently it is to screenings like this one that make all of London's medialand come together and worship at the big screen. Within moments of us finding our seats in the huge theatre, Luke had spotted Nick Cave looking winsome and worn with a bad dye-job. Then it was my turn to spot Will Self (who incidentally left the film half way through, causing the people on his aisle no end of irritation). And then as we left the cinema, Luke literally fell over Jonathan Ross, who apparently was not looking his best. It was - all in all - a wonderful foray into media-whoredom that I thoroughly enjoyed!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Right then kids, it's time STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/07/2001 09:14:57 AM ----- BODY:

Right then kids, it's time to spread the love. Prol has finally hit the ludicrous excessive bandwidth charges that web-hosting companies can charge. And after all the support that I received when barbelith.com caused me $700 worth of damage, it's time to return the favour. Get her address from her and send her some money immediately ----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: This postcard has nothing to STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/07/2001 12:07:15 PM ----- BODY:

This postcard has nothing to do with my life whatsoever. Honest. Definitely. Courtesy of notsosoft.com/vd.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Written for the 2nd Anniversary STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/07/2001 04:43:04 PM ----- BODY:
Written for the 2nd Anniversary of Virulent Memes, Graham Freeman presents his personal history of the state of the weblog nation: "Two Years Is Nothing". These personal histories really appeal to me, but I'd be even more interested in people writing how they are viewing our burgeoning mass today. Perhaps a new project....?
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Being a rant about Green politics... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Politics CATEGORY: Politics DATE: 02/07/2001 09:24:07 PM ----- BODY:
What is green politics for? Is 'saving the planet' really worth the effort? And is 'saving the planet' really what we're talking about anyway? If we are honest, people who talk about saving the planet are essentially talking about preserving a world inhabitable by humans. Think of it this way - a few large amounts of time ago, some big thing hit the planet. The consequences of the 'big thing' (I think it was Disco) wiped out many thousands of species. Among these species were the dominant life-forms of the time (Estate Agents). In fact, all that was left was a large crater and an opportunity for cute balls of fluff to slowly occupy the world. The death of the dominant life-forms (or more realistically the transformation of the atmosphere of the world into something uninhabitable by those life-forms) did not result in the end of life on earth. It just shifted things in another direction. And a sexier direction at that.

And while we are at it, why should it matter that life should die out on earth? Does energy die? Do molecules die? No, like good jokes, they just get bashed around a bit and then put to use again in a new form. Face it, we live in a great moral vacuum of remorseless emptiness, and I for one wouldn't have it any other way. So if you could please stop waving those little plastic guilt-mollifying money-cannisters outside my face every morning on my way to work, I'd be really grateful - I don't care about the Pandas or the Badgers or the Trout. If I was in the mood to give money to anyone it would be these people, and frankly I'm not because I fear they might not be quite normal. [Link courtesy of the Barbelith Collective]
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Thank you so much to STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/08/2001 09:15:59 AM ----- BODY:
Thank you so much to Stefanie Noble, Herkimer High School Class of 97, perpetrator of fiendish thingy and progenitor of stef.net. You know what for!
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I'm going to LA on STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/08/2001 09:21:25 AM ----- BODY:
I'm going to LA on Saturday via Virgin Atlantic, and I'm really looking forward to it. Unfortunately I am so bored and frustrated that I honestly don't know if I can make it to Saturday without stabbing someone through the heart with a blunt pencil.
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: What can I say? She's STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/09/2001 12:19:18 AM ----- BODY:
What can I say? She's quite right - I should have spelt it out a little better:

Oh and Tom is referring to the fact that I am actually a man and he has been secretly pining for me and I just revealed my deep inner love within the confines of a small package and we are now off to Tahiti for a bit. Just to get things out into the open, you know.
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: For a city that STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/09/2001 11:17:52 AM ----- BODY:
For a city that isn't supposed to have any seasons, for a city that is always supposed to be sunny, for a city that I'm travelling to tomorrow, Los Angeles doesn't appear to be having very good weather at the moment.
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Things to do when you STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/09/2001 01:24:02 PM ----- BODY:
Things to do when you are bored: Heromachine.com: Make yourself a sexy superhero. They may all look gay, but that's only because they're sexy and cool and dress well. | You could go and see Hannibal (Salon Review) if you wanted - you probably wouldn't hate it. It's kind of cool. | When Davo is bored he informs me that his priorities are: "Eat, Sleep, Drink, Man, Woman, Wank." | Whereas when Luke is bored he undertakes: "Procrastination, staring blankly into space, redesigning your blog." | When Matt is bored, he types random things into Google and tries to persuade his friends to undertake advertising campaigns on various keywords.
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Discovered via Wired: "Navel Gazing: STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/09/2001 03:59:37 PM ----- BODY:
Discovered via Wired: "Navel Gazing: Britney Spears and the Semiotics of the Belly Button" as published by the online arm of the Encyclopaedia Britannica.

"She was perfectly outfitted in the iconography of the coquette—pleated skirt, kneesocks, pigtails—but the key signifier that positioned her on that cusp between innocence and knowledge was a feature that, although common to all humanity, usually is given little serious consideration—her exposed navel."
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: $10 in Adwords STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/09/2001 10:14:19 PM ----- BODY:
I've just invested $10 in buying sponsored links on Google because I thought it might be a laugh. It is indeed a laugh. I'm targeting people who don't have anything better to do with their time than muck around on my site. Unfortunately, the search terms I have sponsored have only been entered six times all day. Very much recommended. [Addendum: Click here!]
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Shortly to leave for Los Angeles... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/10/2001 10:02:53 AM ----- BODY:
Announcement: It is now 10am GMT, and in two hours I will be leaving my flat and heading trans-Atlantically to Los Angeles to stay with Kerry and Sean. Since the flight takes about eleven hours, I am unlikely to post again today. I think I arrive about 2am GMT (7pm PST) at LAX. I'm back next Sunday evening. In the meantime I will, of course, attempt to post whenever I can - but no promises. [What I posted when I went last year.]

While I am out there, however, I would be more than interested in meeting any LA based webloggers or members of the Underground - although bear in mind that I have obligations to my hosts, which may preclude rampant socialising. If you're in LA over the next week and you'd like to meet up, send me an e-mail. I may not reply if I get swamped, but please don't hold it against me. I'm on holiday goddammit!

While we are on the subject, (and since I only compiled the links page of timeout.com's Los Angeles pages a couple of weeks ago), here is a collection of links that might be of interest to locals and/or visitors to the City of Angels: LA Times | LA Insider | Streets of LA | Virtual Voyages | The Getty | LA Weekly | City of Los Angeles.
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I've arrived in Los Angeles STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/12/2001 03:40:13 AM ----- BODY:
I've arrived in Los Angeles (near Santa Monica and Vine if that means anything to anyone), and am experiencing yet again the wonders of sleep deprivation and chronic jet-lag. I'm not at my best at the moment, that much is for sure.
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I am currently trying out STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/12/2001 10:03:18 PM ----- BODY:
I am currently trying out Melatonin pills as a way to regulate my sleep patterns while I'm out here, as not only do I have the eight hour time difference to deal with, but I also must content with my gorgeous hosts' nocturnal debauchery. Essentially this amounts to a thirteen hour time difference from how I live in London.

It has rained pretty much constantly since I arrived in the city that Time Out says has 'possibly the most temperate climate in the world'. Last week apparently was near tropical heat. Next week is expected to be more pleasant as well. In the meantime though, this makes two trips out of three to LA which have ended in near flooding. I must be cursed in some way.

I am having a cool time though - went to see a cheerleader movie yesterday with Kerry and Sean. I was hoping that the movie would resemble in some form the awesome 'Bring it On'. It didn't. In fact 'Sugar and Spice' sucked arse. Don't see it.
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: In LA for the Oscar Nominations... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/13/2001 07:25:32 PM ----- BODY:
I'm in LA for the release of the Oscar nominations, and they are a fairly mixed bag. The most important categories (Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Film, Best Direction, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Screenplay) are mostly shared between 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon', 'Erin Brokovich', 'Quills', 'Traffic', 'The Contender' and 'Chocolat' - but with notable appearances from 'Almost Famous' and 'Requiem for a Dream'. One film dominates though: Crouching Tiger with a total of ten nominations, but even this is matched by the combined nominations for Steven Soderbergh's competing films. Notable (and delighful) absence from Best Film: 'CastAway'.
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Valentine's Day in Los Angeles STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/14/2001 06:24:57 PM ----- BODY:
Valentine's Day in Los Angeles arrives the same way as every other day, as far as I can tell - I've been up since nine in the morning, and I can expect to wait until midday or one pm before I have any company. The weather has finally broken - it looks really sunny outside, although it's still pretty chilly. I'm off to meet some people from barbelith.com in an hour or so.
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I've found this internet café STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/14/2001 08:07:42 PM ----- BODY:
I've found this internet café on Melrose called @coffee, which is quite cool, although vastly more expensive than places like easyeverything in London. It's given me a little time to relax with the net - write a little, think some stuff through - generally to get a little head rest. If you can imagine the brain as a muscle imagine mine as tight and contracted - it feels a bit like there isn't space down any synapse for a pulse of thought to travel. Fucking around on the net seems to let my brain relax - to slump like mush and swill around the bottom of my skull. It's more relaxing than it sounds. I need this sensation of emptying stress and excess thought from my mind... Nothing else quite does it for me...
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: By writing about the Minor STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/14/2001 08:28:32 PM ----- BODY:
By writing about the Minor Musings piece on the reasons for 'weblogging', I suppose I'm really rather missing the point, but nonetheless it's worth talking about. I think it's important that we have these conversations (at least with ourselves) every so often: 'why am I doing this?'. If anything, the longer you maintain a site like this, the more you should be asking it of yourself, and (indeed) the more times you might be stumped for an answer.

In many ways, in the presentation of this site, the last thing that I'm thinking about is whether or not I should be finding new and exciting links for people out there in the ether. So in a sense I'm not a weblogger in the classic mode. But then, I'm not sure that many of us are. The links and commentary approach is, at its most simple form, rather uninteresting. My priorities are slightly different - first and foremost I think of this place as somewhere that I can write - and I use the hypertextual nature of the web to reinforce that writing. It's like tracing an intellectual flow - following through the impulses that one has in some worked-out and public form, and in a place where they are not merely lost forever.

People read my site, and I have to confess that I like that, but I've run a lot of sites (fan sites, personal sites, creative sites) and a lot of people have come to those too. In the end I've deserted most of them. The thing that keeps me coming back to plasticbag.org every day is the opportunity to spark off a discussion, or to say something in a place where I know I'll be heard. I suppose it is a space where my opinions feel valuable, interesting to people. And if weblogging gives other people the same feeling - well I can't helping thinking that it is, therefore, a profoundly wonderful thing.
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Fictional Weblogging: Ok - it's STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/14/2001 08:43:16 PM ----- BODY:
Fictional Weblogging: Ok - it's occurred to all of us at one time or another - weblogging is based upon the presumption of authenticity - people actually writing about their own lives. But this presumed authenticity is almost certainly to a greater or lesser extent a fantasy - while I'm sure most webloggers don't lie about their lives, I'd be surprised if people were not selectively choosing what to write about in such a way that would alter people's perceptions of their life.

So I'm sure it's occurred to many of us at certain times to set up fictional weblogs - to generate completely articificial online personae. I know that it's occurred to Matt and Nick because they've both talked about it with me. But what no one has yet talked about is undertaking weblogs of already established fictional characters. I mean - it would be a tremendous fan site for Buffy to have a weblog ostensibly maintained by Willow, with links and commentary based around what happened to her in the latest episode. And from a more literary perspective, a weblog based upon Sherlock Holmes writing each day about his cases (assembling itself into a chronology of the work of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle) might be both interesting and academically valuable. Are there any weblogs like this out there? If not, why not? Mail me.
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/15/2001 07:10:58 PM ----- BODY:
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Sean, one of my hosts STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/16/2001 03:15:47 AM ----- BODY:
Sean, one of my hosts in LA, has produced a great Flash movie that will shortly be doing the rounds of everyone's office PCs. It's a splice of a recent Brit-movie favourite and an esteemed horror classic. I'm going to see if I can get someone to host it for him in the long term - but in the short-term I might see if I can stick it on plasticbag.org - more information as I have it...
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Thanks to all the Los STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/16/2001 03:18:54 AM ----- BODY:
Thanks to all the Los Angeles residents and visitors from barbelith.com who kept me entertained yesterday, especially to Ralph who was particularly entertaining. Experience the thrill of the after-meet glow over on the Underground - and pass me a cigarette while you're over there, will you?
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Last night I went to STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/16/2001 07:26:31 PM ----- BODY:
Last night I went to this LA gay bar called 'Rage' where there was an event called 'Varsity' where anyone over the age of eighteen can get in (although clearly they can't drink). In England, of course, this wouldn't be an issue. And as I pointed out to someone, it's no use having new people around if you aren't allowed to get them drunk enough to have sex with you. Still - at least they looked pretty.

People here seem fascinated by my accent, by which I suppose I mean my lack of accent. Last time I was in LA a waiter asked me, "Is that an accent?". I replied of course, "No". Last night this bloke said that he, "really liked foreigners" (a strange thing to say at the best of times), to which I replied, "you should - you are one". I'm more than aware that this is why English people are cast as the evil people in movies, but nonetheless it's very entertaining.

So here am I - 28, crumbly and creased - untanned, ageing and flatulent, in a city of ten thousand million buff bodies and perfect smiles. What's a boy to do?
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Just in case you're having STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/17/2001 12:00:21 AM ----- BODY:
Just in case you're having difficulty tracing the time-lines of what I'm getting up to here, bear in mind that while plasticbag.org is currently working on GMT, I am not. Hence two posts in one day saying "Last night I did this...."
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The most popular super-hero team STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/17/2001 07:22:34 PM ----- BODY:
The most popular super-hero team in the world (and stars of their own recent movie) are now to be written by Grant Morrison, a drug-crazed magician-abductee from Scotland and writer of the seminal Invisibles. See what they will look like: here.
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: So this evening I return STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/17/2001 07:25:40 PM ----- BODY:
So this evening I return to London and have to face up to my life, find a job, do some washing and think about "the future". As I'm sure you can all imagine, returning to rain and responsibility is something that I look forward to with all my heart, and without the slightest trace of resentment or depression. I'd like to thank Sean, Kerry, Anna, Ralph and everyone else I've bumped into while in LA for a lovely time. See you all soon...
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: A mixture of horror and STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/18/2001 06:07:15 PM ----- BODY:
A mixture of horror and delight at being back in London swiftly turns to glee when I see the Buffy and Angel box-sets waiting for me, alongside a couple of books bought for me by Ganesh from the Underground. I'm soaking in a metaphorical media hot-tub and letting my mind unwind.
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: And I quote: "Windows� XP STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/18/2001 09:41:56 PM ----- BODY:
And I quote: "Windows� XP brings a new look to the familiar Windows user interface. Here's a first look at what the next generation has in store." It can't just be me that thinks that the interface looks childish, ugly and garish? Here's to Mac OSX.
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: This is not time or STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/19/2001 08:02:23 AM ----- BODY:
This is not time or place for dream-talk:

But nonetheless, here I go: First of all, Pacey from Dawson's Creek was looking for an apartment and I think I was helping, except he couldn't find anywhere. Eventually he decided to live in this flat with this ex-girlfriend of his, with whom he'd had this torrid affair. Anyway - he was coming into the building at night with a group of people, when suddenly the ex-girlfriend's new boyfriend (whom Pacey was still friends with - in a kind of indulgent way), and I had to try to signal to him that the ex-girlfriend was waiting for him in his bed and that he had to find some way to ditch the new boyfriend otherwise all hell would break loose. So I distract the new boyfriend and Pacey wanders upstairs, but when he approaches the door he suddenly realises that not only is his ex-girlfriend waiting for him in his bedroom, but so is her mother (or another ex-girlfriend of his, or both - I forget which). He get's a bit freaked out and ducks into the next door room, which is where I find him when I come up the stairs a couple of minutes later.

So then I take him for a walk in the square outside the building, which looks like New York only more open, so we can talk about stuff, at which point he turns into Matt, except he's in a wheelchair like Professor X. He says that he's asthmatic, which he says means that while I want to have a snack and a chat, he can't eat chocolate and meat - only fruit. So we go to Sainsbury's where I start getting over-excited by the thought of eating. Someone asks Matt what his waist-size is, and he says that he thinks he's got a 24 inch waist. I say he must have a 27 inch waist at least, we have a discussion about how many pears I need to buy, I run off and grab a whole cooked chicken for me (he waits in the queue in his wheelchair) and when I come to pay they ask me which of the three possible Buffy A Summer's I am (one of them is Buffy Arthur Summers) and when I say none I suddenly realise that there is some kind of government conspiracy that currently has needles in the head of one of my best friends in an endless series of cubicles in a vast underground base.

What do you think it means?
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: They are both fascinating and STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/19/2001 02:08:59 PM ----- BODY:
They are both fascinating and disturbing, and now Amazon's Honor Program's soon-to-be ubiquitous nature is being satirised over at �ber: Filler Friday: Micropayments Are Stupid.
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Presenting (for a short time STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/19/2001 02:36:07 PM ----- BODY:
Presenting (for a short time only): Billy Exorcist - the fusion of two astonishing works of cinematic genius. This flash movie was produced by Sean Nadeau (one of my LA hosts) and has never before been seen on the web. Feel free to distribute it as much as you like - he's after the exposure. [Be warned - it's not going to be up for long because it's quite a substantial file (900k) and I have bandwidth considerations to deal with. If you wish to contact Sean, please e-mail billyexorcist@hotmail.com]
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: "Not every boy thrown to STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/20/2001 10:27:21 AM ----- BODY:
"Not every boy thrown to the wolves becomes a hero." (J. Barth)
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The current place-to-be on the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/20/2001 02:22:05 PM ----- BODY:
The current place-to-be on the internet at the moment is the Habbo Hotel - a cute, avatar-based chat area complete with bars, private rooms, games of poker, battleships and a disco. The private rooms are the best feature - anyone can have one, but if you want furniture you have to buy it through credits which you obtain by sending text messages from your phone. It's all combined with an ICQ-like internal instant messenger service and a search-facility so you can keep track of your online friends. It's still in beta, so it's not without its flaws, but it's incredibly good fun, nonetheless. I have two rooms currently up and running, but come and hang out in the Barbelith Underground room if you want a particular laugh.
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I call this particular piece, STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/21/2001 12:08:50 AM ----- BODY:
I call this particular piece, "Cheapskate Klu-Klux-Klan". It's from one of a series of not-particularly amusing, bitter, twisted (and poorly illustrated) cartoons I assembled a while back on a rainy day when I was grumpy at work. Note that the hoods are in fact Gap branded paper bags. That's why they're funny, you see. Get it?
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Aspects of the Weblogger? P) STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/21/2001 12:21:26 AM ----- BODY:
Aspects of the Weblogger?

P) The Self-Aggrandizement as Art Form Aspect
Q) The Self-Flagellation as Art Form Aspect
R) The Self-Aggrandizement Disguised as Self-Flagellation as Even Higher Art Form Aspect
S) The Self-Canonization Disguised as Self-Destruction Masquerading as Self-Aggrandizement Disguised as Self-Flagellation as Highest Art Form of All Aspect
T) The Search for Support, a Sense of Community, If You Will, in One's Peers, in Those One's Age, After One Looks Around and Realizes That All Others, All Those Older, Are Either Dead or Perhaps Should Be Aspect.

['A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius', Dave Eggers]
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: It can't just be me STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/21/2001 09:23:59 AM ----- BODY:
It can't just be me and my current disinterest in all things sexual that maintains that it is untrue that there is "Scientific proof that the only difference between a straight and a gay man is six beers"?
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Added Bonus Post! STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/21/2001 09:28:33 AM ----- BODY:
[Added bonus post: This morning, free with every restless night involving going to sleep at 3.30am and being woken at 8am by builders hammering on the roof directly above my head, comes an extra post borne from frustration, exhaustion and general distaste for the world. Post begins: EVHEAD! redesigns again. We hate him. It's too good. Post ends.]
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Right. That's it. Whatever the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/21/2001 09:35:03 AM ----- BODY:
Right. That's it. Whatever the hell is wrong with my gut is being resolved right now. I haven't been feeling right for a while - it's like there's a nest of eels in my abdomen sometimes. Anyway, over the last twelve hours or so this has got profoundly upsetting, causing me difficulty sleeping, general anxiety and now slightly less vague and formless symptoms have started to appear. I'm not bloody having this. [Note: this post is a bit gross and may shortly be deleted. ]
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Today I spoke to Stinky STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/21/2001 11:30:11 PM ----- BODY:
Today I spoke to Stinky Parker [�].
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I've just stumbled upon the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/22/2001 12:00:27 AM ----- BODY:
I've just stumbled upon the first site that I put together with any degree of care - or at least what's left of it. It looks like I put up a holding page for it many many years ago and completely forgot about it. Nonetheless, I have salvaged this interesting little design item from it, which really reminds of of my first heady days on a cheap Photoshop clone playing with gaussian blur and layers and fudging it all together with a bog-standard animated gif machine. Oh how far from these heady days...
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: "We do not have to STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/22/2001 12:01:09 AM ----- BODY:
"We do not have to go on the way we've been going. For instance, if you like shaving cats, try shaving crayons; it's as good a way as any to practice shaving." (What the Fuck?)
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/22/2001 12:19:10 AM ----- BODY:
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Via Blogger I've stumbled upon STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/22/2001 12:09:10 PM ----- BODY:
Via Blogger I've stumbled upon nagportal.com - which appears to be some kind of Icelandic weblog / weblog portal. The most interesting part of it for me is the pulldown menu at the top left of the screen. It appears to contain the full replicated content of the weblog, and it's placed in a slim frame that allows one to move between the various blogged sites which appear nested beneath it. It's very well thought out.

It's inspired me to think about my old 'consumption' feature in a different way - perhaps this isn't stuff that people need to actually see on first arrival to a site - maybe it's more useful for people to be able to gauge at a glance, by clicking on a pulldown, the range of one's interests. Blogging entirely to drop-downs might actually be more useful for certain types of site as well - you could form a kind of rolling-directory site for example. Worthy of consideration...
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: According to an old article STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/22/2001 12:18:07 PM ----- BODY:
According to an old article I found archived today on news.bbc.co.uk, a single mutation in one individual human being could have resulted in the creation of language. This individual is therefore responsible for the explosion of art, culture, science and technology around the world - along with, of course: Thatcherism, hate speech, nagging people, arguments and school. A bit of a mixed blessing really...

What a tremendously strange super-power 'language' must have been initially. It must have been particularly strange (and possibly a challenge to the theory) as for at least the first generation it must have been almost useless (of course we don't know whether or not other human beings required the same mutation to understand language). It makes one wonder about the potentially transformative mutations that might be taking place around us at this very moment - and about the mutations that could have transformed the world but didn't because of accidents, violence or a lack of serendipity.
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Does anyone who reads plasticbag.org STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/22/2001 12:20:44 PM ----- BODY:
Does anyone who reads plasticbag.org have much experience of, or work for, a company called Sapient? If so, could you drop me a line...
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Emode helps me decide about STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/22/2001 02:08:04 PM ----- BODY:
Emode helps me decide about the future of my working life. Apparently I'm a rock star.

You crave attention, the limelight, and the fawning admiration of millions. You walk fast and talk loud. You look important (even if you're not). You like expensive cars. You sculpt your body to perfection at the gym.

You have a bevy of fans and friends, and you like knowing how much others appreciate you. You believe in making a good impression. You like spending money on frivolous treats and nice, stylish clothes � forget the discount bins! But, hey, you're not some shallow materialist! Your polished outward appearance is a mere reflection of that soulful, strong-willed person inside.

At work, you're committed to excellence. You've got your eye on your boss's job. You're a real go-getter, and you really shine under pressure. But you have to love what you do, or else your performance slips. If you don't see that big promotion in your future, chances are you'll start combing the want-ads.
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Wearing a T-shirt makes you a terrorist? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/22/2001 08:12:51 PM ----- BODY:
Wearing a T-shirt makes you a terrorist: People often ask me why I don't agree with laws that - while they may be vague - if implemented properly will only benefit people. Well it's the vagueness that worries me. Saying that those who 'incite violence overseas', even while not actually doing anything other than writing an editorial, should be considered terrorists is not acceptable. Most of the powers of the act discussed will not be used to subjugate people and take away their freedoms under this government. But any number of them could be used by subsequent governments whose politics we might individually find offensive, destructive or even personally damaging.
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Meg describes my life: A: STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/22/2001 08:28:11 PM ----- BODY:
Meg describes my life:

A: So, I've done the thing I was supposed to do. I've checked it and it's fine, but I thought I'd let you know before I get X to sign off on it.
B: OK. Can I have a look?
A: Sure Here you go.
C: Hey, what's that? Can I see?
A: Er, of course. It finished now, though.
C: Oh yes, I realise that. But could you do it in blue?
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: From London's Time Out Magazine: STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/23/2001 11:53:18 AM ----- BODY:
From London's Time Out Magazine: Feb 14-21 2001 No.1591 (presented without comment).

"I'm writing this week's column under my hip new pseudonym, Thin Cloudy. So when I say that I want to incite acts of violence against Eminem, I hope you'll understand that I'm being ironic. And when I describe how I'd like to force him to suck my dick before slitting his throat open, watching him bleed to death and then dumping his body in a river, I hope you'll appreciate how clever I'm being. And while I'm hiding behind this hip new persona of mine, I might as well tell you that it isn't just blond white boy rappers I hate. I also hate the black ones. Niggers, I think they're called."

"Oops, sorry! Hope I haven't offended anyone's delicated liberal sensibilities. After all, it's one thing to rap about sexual violence or joke about murdering homosexuals, quite another insult an already beleaguered minority. This, presumably, is why Eminem is so feted by the music establishment, and defended by clever music critics - at the end of the day, it's only bitches and faggots he's having a pop at." [Paul Burston]
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: From the makers of STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/23/2001 12:26:24 PM ----- BODY:
From the makers of Blue Jam: http://www.bishopslips.com
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Found via some article or STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/23/2001 04:33:21 PM ----- BODY:
Found via some article or other at Wired that I loosely skimmed on a whim (while contemplating the vague tension in my bladder that might shortly require a trip to the lavatory), the site mentalhealth.com has provided me with a good fifteen minutes of self-diagnosis fun. My particular mental illness? Narcissistic Personality Disorder. In retrospect it seems so obvious.
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: With this evening comes yet STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/23/2001 06:08:14 PM ----- BODY:
With this evening comes yet another excuse for a piss-up from the London weblogging contingent. Find out all the information (as ever) at meets.gblogs.org.uk.
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Attention Vodaphone Users: You can STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/23/2001 07:14:43 PM ----- BODY:
Attention Vodaphone Users: You can contribute money for furniture for the Barbelith Underground and GBlogs rooms on Habbo Hotel simply by typing this text message into your mobile phone exactly and sending it to 8222: habbo credits Orlando 5. This will cost you approximately 58p.
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Quote from Meg: "I've been STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/24/2001 11:58:44 AM ----- BODY:
Quote from Meg: "I've been smelling Cake all day, and ... well, you know how cake smells like death...?"
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: So I'm feeling a little STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/24/2001 12:26:45 PM ----- BODY:
So I'm feeling a little rough after last night's blog-meet - I suspect due to a confluence of factors including 1) Drinking three vodka tonics, 2) Drinking seven vodka jelly shots, 3) Drinking one green and one orange vial of vodka based crap, 4) As a result acting like a complete arse and fucking off Matt and, no doubt, several other people before stumbling home drunk and morbid. Notable moments include being beaten at arm wrestling by an incredibly skinny, ill-looking bloke, having my shoe 'borrowed' and placed upon the bar, nearly being licked, and generally misbehaving.
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I'm spending some of this STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/24/2001 02:46:05 PM ----- BODY:
I'm spending some of this afternoon just trying to work out if I should care that this site looks appalling in Netscape 4.
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Thanks for completing the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/24/2001 07:20:50 PM ----- BODY:
Thanks for completing the survey.
Your Femininity Score is 3.75.
Your Masculinity Score is 4.95.
You are sex-typed in the masculine direction.
[Bem Sex Role Inventory via prolific.org]
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: At this very moment, there STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/24/2001 09:50:43 PM ----- BODY:
At this very moment, there is a party happening in my flat. There is noise from outside my bedroom, Radiohead is playing, and people are clearly having a very good time. I too am having a good time, but there is a part of me that is dribbling with worry about the arrival of people I knew at University. One man ran into me a couple of times in embarrassing situations (like being in a play that never quite didn't stink and involved me nearly wearing a near frock), and the other man - well I had a crush on him for about a year and a half about six years ago - a crush that I could only actually get over by prostrating myself before him (metaphorically) and sucking up the fallout like a good little bruised homosexual. They are supposed to arrive at some point this evening, and I can feel my resolve and hard won confidence seeping from my feet - sucked into the floor. I'm scared to go back out there.
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: In order to more easily STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/24/2001 10:11:04 PM ----- BODY:
In order to more easily conceptualise the angst-ridden period in question, I have changed the picture above to reflect the period concerned. Welcome to Tom circa 1995.
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Newsflash: Prol launches Amsterdam Stories, STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/25/2001 11:51:05 PM ----- BODY:
Newsflash: Prol launches Amsterdam Stories, still further extending Derek's burgeoning empire.
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: For everyone who has or STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/26/2001 01:09:33 AM ----- BODY:
For everyone who has or is about to see this episode of Buffy (seen by me this evening after everyone (but Riaz) had gone to bed), the word you might want a definition of is: fulgent:

ful·gent (fljnt, fl-)
adj. : Shining brilliantly; radiant: �tower searchlights . . . as fulgent as half a billion candles� (Nicholas Proffitt).
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: So I've just finished implementing STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/26/2001 01:12:08 AM ----- BODY:
So I've just finished implementing the random image placement javascript device for plasticbag.org, based upon something I worked on a very long time ago. Unfortunately, while I've placed images, not all of them are (let us say) bearable. More to come over the next couple of days.
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Happy Birthday Luke. STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/26/2001 01:21:53 AM ----- BODY:
Happy Birthday Luke.
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: London is gradually waking up. STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/26/2001 03:43:58 PM ----- BODY:
London is gradually waking up. The darkness of winter slows the city's heartbeat, making our every action or movement an effort. But now things are getting brighter, the trees are on the brink of life, people seem to be slipping easily into their movements ... pulsing cells of blood shaking off the lethargy of the months of hibernation.

This speed is worrying me - I leave Time Out in less than two weeks. I'm scared to leave its comfort, but the same thing that let me develop has left me finally trapped and restricted. The sadness of the situation is that it didn't have to be like this. I could have watched the seasons shift, relaxed and happy. But circumstances and environments change. There's no longer a place for me here.
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: What do I want from life? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/26/2001 03:59:50 PM ----- BODY:
I'm in a bit of a frenzy when it comes to online surveys at the moment. I can't seem to stop wanted to categorise or re-categorise myself. I suppose it's related to my desire to move jobs, and my attempts to refine in my mind exactly what I want from the next few years of my life. According to the Environics test (found via Metafilter) I am a Social Hedonist, which probably isn't quite what I would have expected - particularly as in the process of undertaking the survey I had a sudden overwhelming sensation of craving a home of my own...
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: What the Nexus used to look like... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/26/2001 04:20:57 PM ----- BODY:
Presenting a blast from the past - a snap-shot of the Barbelith Underground (ne� Nexus) from just before Christmas 1999: Snapshot. There are many threads here that I thought were lost for ever.
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Stumbling around kvetching... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/26/2001 04:43:48 PM ----- BODY:
Found via a search for kvetch at haddock.org:

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Blogger Past, Present and Future... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/27/2001 12:31:10 AM ----- BODY:
The first part of a three part interview with Ev about the past, present and future of Blogger [The state of the blog] includes some interesting information about the origins of the web-app. I started my weblog almost immediately after the launch of the new version in November of '99, when there were only a couple of hundred sites around - originally as a space filler for the front of barbelith.com - a space I didn't know what to do with. I certainly never expected the site to still be here nearly eighteen months afterwards...
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The Wizard is a man after all... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/27/2001 12:39:57 AM ----- BODY:
Possibly the most fascinating part of this interview with Derek about Metafilter.com is that he still has a beige G3. Somehow deep inside I think I expected him to use a Kray Supercomputer to check his e-mail...
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The Malevolent Photographer... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/27/2001 09:03:19 AM ----- BODY:
Meg finally comes clean with images of the last blogmeet. She has decided to name the gallery in question, "Test Tubes of Pure Eeeeeeevil", which is a bit of a misnomer since it should clearly be called, "The Malevolent Photographer". Anyone who knows me and who read my post on the matter will recognise nascent mental collapse in every picture I'm in.
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: A badge for my financial impotence... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/27/2001 10:46:16 AM ----- BODY:
The new Apple PowerBook is gradually becoming a badge for my frustrations and financial impotence. Every morning as I head towards Time Out I see it lurking in Micro Anvika - mocking me and my financial circumstances, laughing at my weaknesses and my inability to fulfill my dreams. I'm beginning to love it and hate it at the same time. Why can't it be mine?!
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On bad posture in photographs... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/27/2001 01:32:03 PM ----- BODY:
"Watch Tom slouch. Slouch, Tom, slouch." My second link to an external gallery of the day contains pictures from Luke's birthday drink on Sunday night. [courtesy of Brainsluice and featuring Meg, Luke and Davo.]
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Rebirthing pure browsing via randomness... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/27/2001 03:13:57 PM ----- BODY:
I've been playing with my Surprise Me bookmarklet over at the Google Directory in an attempt to experience some parts of the internet that I wouldn't normally think of going to. My particular favourite random destinations so far have been: Yahoo! Clubs: nosprogs ("Welcome to the club that actively opposes squirting out spawn..."), Chowbaby's restaurant guide (with possibly the strangest logo of all time) and a recipe for Baked Ham with a Secret Glaze (somewhat oxymoronic considering that it tells you how to make said Glaze). It's a refreshing approach to the internet - rebirthing pure browsing as a recreational activity.
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On Connect Flo... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/27/2001 09:16:58 PM ----- BODY:
The terrifyingly able Pixelflo collective present their latest project: Connect Flo. Whatever the strategy that the computer uses is certainly effective. I may be only a beginner, but I haven't beaten it once!
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Never going to be famous... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/27/2001 09:55:29 PM ----- BODY:
It's slowly beginning to dawn on me that I'm never going to be famous, I'm never going to be truly exceptional, or lauded over - I'm never going to travel to the moon, I'm never going to kill someone, I'm never going to gazelle on stage. This may be one of the most crushing realisations of my life.
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Signal to Noise on Community Sites... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Social Software CATEGORY: Social Software DATE: 02/28/2001 09:23:20 AM ----- BODY:
Inspired by this post over in a thread at Metafilter about the signal to noise ration of community sites (which reminds me of this thread over at barbelith.com) I am beginning to think through the implications of information transmission and its relationship to community. Imagine two nodes on the net - designed essentially just to send information from one to another. Additional information is also transmitted however - information on the relationship between nodes, information on whether a packet has been received or not etc. This relationship is very similar to that of community sites - a site which merely transmits information is not, and cannot be a community site. Nor indeed can an individual who merely transmits information be considered part of a community. To an extent the 'noise' is more a staple of the community than the information - it may appear like meme fluff - unnecessary - but it's the stuff that transmits information about disposition, affiliation, loyalty, relationships both in terms of expressing oneself, and developing one's relationship with others. So the question becomes: what is the appropriate ratio of signal to noise?
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Buffy the Streetwalker... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/28/2001 11:38:35 AM ----- BODY:
Entertainment Newsflash: 'Buffy slapped by watchdogs for being too sexually explicit.' And thus proves that my old flatmate Pippa's descriptions of her as "Buffy the Street-Walker" aren't too far off the mark. In other Buffy news: "Sarah Michelle Gellar, the karate-kicking star of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, is to star in a film version of Scooby-Doo, alongside boyfriend Freddie Prinze Jr." [BBC News] and "The Pagan Federation, which represents druids and witches, says it has been "swamped" with calls following teenage programmes featuring good witches." [BBC News]
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On the Pixies... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/28/2001 01:47:41 PM ----- BODY:
The best band the world has ever seen release an album of their b-sides. It must be nearly a decade since they split up, but The Pixies still heavily occupy my mental landscape.
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Do you dream the big dream? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/28/2001 02:08:09 PM ----- BODY:
WARNING: THIS POST CONTAINS BAD WORDS: Words/phrases used all too frequently by my flatmates and I inside the flat, which occasionally creep out when I'm outside causing me embarrassment and derision from my co-workers: "That's just a pile of donkey cock." "Outside Bad, Inside Good - and why? Because they're all cunts." This post has been inspired by this article from Salon: You pussy! And I quote: "'A cunt is someone who dreams the big dream. You are ambitious. You want to go the distance.' Hillary Rodham Clinton, she told me, is a cunt."
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On 'Phatic language'... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/28/2001 02:33:25 PM ----- BODY:
Further to the Signal to Noise post I made earlier in the day, Ian from Blogadoon has pointed me in the direction of xrefer.com's definition of 'Phatic language'.
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: From when Tom visited Los Angeles... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/28/2001 03:05:39 PM ----- BODY:
In February of 2001, shortly before running screaming from my job at Time Out, I ran away to Los Angeles. My hosts Kerry and Sean reintroduced me to the wonders of the west coast.

There was a series of ads running on billboards all across LA - this one particularly amused me. The thing I can never get over about Los Angeles is the sky. After a while in London you completely forget it's there.

On the left we have the immortal Kerry Bailey, looking a little the worse for wear. He also looks like he's barely tolerating my photography. Which is almost certainly true. On the right we have the Texan Sean Nadeau. The picture on the right is most notable for the small street sign that appears to be hovering permanently by Sean's right ear.

Just in case you haven't realised, Kerry and Sean are great big fags.

LA isn't really the kind of place that you just go wandering around in on foot. But I didn't have a car, and to give my hosts a break I wandered off every so often. This picture pretty much encapsulates LA for me -the sky, the tress, the grid of cables. Maybe I'm missing the point. Perhaps the following pictures are closer to the reality of LA life...

One of the best days I had in LA involved meeting up with some of the freaks from Barbelith. It wasn't an entirely easy meet to arrange, and when I finally found the bar that we were to meet at, there was no one there. I wandered off and sat in a net café for a couple of hours. When I returned there were several weirdos to talk to. Excellent. These pictures that follow are from the rest of that day...

And here's Anna and Ralphy:

Also on that day I saw this store:

Near the end of my stay with the Bailey-Nadeau's, Kerry took me to the Sony lot to spy on what was going down. On the way back to the car I took a couple of photos that I love, but can't really explain why...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: la_taster.jpg ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Buy No Logo... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/28/2001 11:36:01 PM ----- BODY:
I don't know when it came out, but the new edition of Naomi Klein's No Logo is now available, and should really be required reading for everyone who is sick of being sold to all the time, or resents the human rights violations of multi-nationals in the developing world.
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I remain your miserable narcissist... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/28/2001 11:58:53 PM ----- BODY:
I'd just like to say thanks to Ralph and Simon for respectively trying to knock some sense into me and cheer me up. Despite their valiant efforts I remain, as ever, your obedient miserable narcissist.
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Scared of what is to come... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/01/2001 12:10:40 AM ----- BODY:
I started working at timeout.com just over a week after starting this weblog, and now - nearly a year and a half later I'm about a week away from leaving it. I don't think that 'apprehensive' really covers my state of mind at the moment. Certainly I'm scared of what is to come next.
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Cool or Creepy? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/01/2001 09:46:22 AM ----- BODY:
So you're in Golden Gate Park with a camera and some friends, and Jason and Meg suddenly walk directly past you - so you grab a snapshot. Is this kinda cool, or really creepy?
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On registering with weblogs.com... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/01/2001 09:52:53 AM ----- BODY:
This is just a recommendation to anyone who is relatively new to running their own weblog - go and register yourself with Weblogs.Com - it's my first point of call every morning and by far the best way that I know to keep up with the sites you like.
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Man was not meant to dance this well... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/01/2001 10:45:55 AM ----- BODY:
I am, of course, an astonishing dancer. My groin can 'get jiggy with it' at such a rate that I have, on occasion, experienced friction burns merely from the contact of my skin against the air. Man was not meant to dance this well, but god is it a beautiful thing to watch.

Some of you may wish to emulate my astonishing prowess in the medium of dance. Well you can't, I'm afraid. You have to be born with a talent like mine. But if you want to improve your skills, then the place to go is DancingPaul.com. Watch as he reveals the secrets of the modern mambo through the medium of flash, and with the help of some of his less dance-enabled friends...
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Let's actually link to stuff... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/01/2001 01:01:12 PM ----- BODY:
In which Tom pretends to be a proper weblogger, by linking to actual sites rather than drone on about the misery and angst of human existence:

First things first - I've been thinking of training myself to be able to write in more languages than simple mark-up like HTML. I think I've finally found a site that's good enough at teaching to help me do so: W3Schools Online Web Tutorials. The site includes some stunningly useful examples, cut and paste code and intelligent commentary for everything from XHTML to WAP, DTD and SOAP.

Secondly, there's an article at USAToday.com called 'Internet needs immune system', which is on the analogies drawn between computer viruses and biological viral entities and suggests a new approach to anti-virus technology. [via Tomalak's Realm]

And finally, after tiring of Neilson's rather earnest approach to web usability, I picked up a copy of Steve Krug's Don't Make Me Think while I was in LA. I read it on the plane, and was astonished by how intelligently written and well put together it was. If you're building any size of site either professionally or semi-professionally then you should read it. There's more information about it here.
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: United by a love for Buffy... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/01/2001 04:28:37 PM ----- BODY:
The web stands united with love of Buffy: Derek, Lance, Prol (and me). If you are a Buffy-loving weblogger, drop me an e-mail. [Inspired by: Plastic | Buffy and Whedon Do It Again]
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: What's going to happen to .org? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/01/2001 10:27:20 PM ----- BODY:
READ THIS: This news affects a substantial portion of the creative sites on the web and should be read and digested thoroughly. News from ICANN [via Slashdot]: "There are apparently plans to reinstate the old limits on .org domains - if you aren't a non-profit corporation, you won't be permitted to register or keep a .org domain." This will affect (amongst other creative sites, kottke.org, slashdot.org, haddock.org, fray.org, glassdog.org, interconnected.org and many many more. My personal response to the issue: .org domains prime home for creative sites. More from Metafilter.com.
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: God only knows why STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/02/2001 11:25:21 AM ----- BODY:
God only knows why we're doing this: plasticbag.org | cam.
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I haven't exactly been offered STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/02/2001 11:11:37 PM ----- BODY:
I haven't exactly been offered a job at Sapient, but it looks like my decision on whether or not I want to walk their particular dark path has rather greater than normal inpact on whether or not they are prepared to offer it to me. There seems to be a much greater degree of discussion involved than is perhaps warranted. On my side particularly it seems that my decision is inevitably going to be based upon faith (or the lack of it), and hence inevitably bound up with reservations and doubt. There doesn't seem to be a way around that.

Anyway, I was talking to Matt Haughey about all this via AIM, and he pointed me in the direction of a post he made just over a year ago: A Whole Lotta Nothing: 'On being rejected by Sapient'. I'm making no comment, because I'm reserving my judgement until after the weekend, but let's just say, I'm trying hard to work out if I'm living in Working Girl or Wall Street.
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Pow! Wham! Permission Denied! "Surrounded STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/03/2001 12:28:14 PM ----- BODY:
Pow! Wham! Permission Denied!
"Surrounded by his 'nuclear Bat-family,' the 'dark, deviant' vigilante of the early 1940s was transformed into a genial, problem-solving father figure. In support of his argument, York provides a detailed interpretation of four panels that appeared in various Batman comics in the 1950s." [via linkmachinego]
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Comparing TheStandard.com: Quick and Easy STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/03/2001 12:49:25 PM ----- BODY:
Comparing TheStandard.com: Quick and Easy and TheCounter.com: Global Statistics Jan 2001:

On the issue of color depth, TheStandard.com's figures describe nearly 10% of users as using 256 colors or less, 50% using 16-bit color depths and just over 30% using 24-bit or above. 10% were unknown. TheCounter.com describes 6% of users as using 256 colors or less, 55% as using 16-bit depths and a further 36% using 24-bit or above.

On the issue of screen resolutions, TheStandard.com's figures describe 9% of users as using 640x480 resolution, as opposed to TheCounter.com's 7%. TheStandard.com describes the proportion of people using 800x600 resolutions as 50% with those using known higher resolutions coming in at 27%. TheCounter.com's figures for these are 55% and 35% respectively.

In both sets of figures, TheCounter.com has a lower figure for 'Unknown' than TheStandard, which may explain variance. Alternatively divergence could be described by differences in the times of sampling or by a distorted sampling from one of the parties.
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: More news on Sapient: Sapient STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/03/2001 12:51:47 PM ----- BODY:
More news on Sapient: Sapient Corp. To Miss 1Q Rev, Net Views. This includes the information that they are cutting their workforce by 20% (720 people).
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Congratulations to Noah Wyle, early STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/03/2001 01:12:05 PM ----- BODY:
Congratulations to Noah Wyle, early 20s crush of mine, who has finally won a bloody award: "Best Supporting Actor of the Year in a Drama Series award at the 3rd annual TV Guide Awards".
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I don't know whether or STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/03/2001 01:35:56 PM ----- BODY:
I don't know whether or not to be delighted by the train of coincidences linking me with this person or not. He's gradually stumbled over most of the sites that I have maintained over my time over the net, and only subsequently mentally attached them to one another. But the length of the coincidence doesn't end there, I suspect, as his most recent post sounds startlingly like it's about Sapient.
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I find myself too irritated STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/03/2001 04:13:58 PM ----- BODY:

I find myself too irritated by the redundant Flash and heavily image based structure of the The Cyborg Manifesto to actually read the damn thing, which is a pity, because I'm really interested in stuff like this. Note to world: Sites which require a lot of copy must make the delivery of that copy the first priority of the site. Information must be delivered.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: In the same week that STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/03/2001 05:07:43 PM ----- BODY:

In the same week that NASA says that it is no longer in the business of dreaming, I stumble upon the NASA Breakthrough Propulsion Physics Program site - which includes a wonderful section called: "Warp Drive: When?". Have faith in the future.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Megnut.com closes its doors. And STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/04/2001 01:30:06 AM ----- BODY:

Megnut.com closes its doors. And lurking in the source code is this brief comment: "I just don't have anything good to say anymore. So I'm not going to say anything at all."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Last night I went to STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/04/2001 02:08:35 AM ----- BODY:

Last night I went to see Proof of Life with Luke, Meg and Davo. The film sucked, but not like the vacuum of space sucks astronauts out of broken shuttle windows, but instead like a gentleman schlurping gently on his Big Gulp. Not good, as such. But not dismal. Just ... well ... there.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I just noticed that Sean STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/04/2001 12:52:38 PM ----- BODY:

I just noticed that Sean has thanked me in the credits of Billy Exorcist. I think that's really cool of him. Thanks Sean!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Blissblog continues to give her STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/04/2001 04:52:00 PM ----- BODY:

Blissblog continues to give her insight into the company that may be offering me a job.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: More information on the plans STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/04/2001 06:43:45 PM ----- BODY:

More information on the plans ICANN have for the .org and .net domains: Net body rewrites the address book.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: If there were, say, a STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/05/2001 01:43:29 AM ----- BODY:

If there were, say, a concurrent reality which we all occupied simultaneously with this one, a reality in which symbol and image ruled supreme, and where the reality as experienced within the empiricist mindset fell away - and in this reality, change rolled like storm-clouds across our collective experiences - then I think there might be something burnt-edged blue-tinged about the last two days - something seen through an indigo filter - from above. There's a sensation in the air that clasps the lungs and dislocates the heart. An anxiety, a sense of the world shifting uncomfortable with itself for a moment. I feel it myself, and I see it in the writings of those around me.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/05/2001 09:09:12 AM ----- BODY:

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Spotted on a sticker stuck STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/05/2001 02:07:12 PM ----- BODY:

Spotted on a sticker stuck to the front of Time Out towers this morning was a URL written in a Time Out font: YourTimeIsUp.co.uk [whois]. If you go to the address, you see the logo again - written in almost exactly the same style as the adverts that were circulated for the timeout.com/shopping site. And then - a couple of moments later - you get redirected through to one of Time Out's direct competitors: LondonTribe.com. Good prank or legal disaster? Only you can decide...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: If you have any down STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/05/2001 04:00:14 PM ----- BODY:

If you have any down time at work today, I very much suggest you watch a couple of episodes of Behind the Music ... That Sucks.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Check the source code: "It's STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/06/2001 09:28:53 AM ----- BODY:

Check the source code: "It's not like this is the last episode of M*A*S*H or anything."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Bills, bills, bills. They've all STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/06/2001 09:33:19 AM ----- BODY:

Bills, bills, bills. They've all come at once. Water bills (�35), Council Tax (�90), Phone (�200), Barclaycard (�50), Frasercard (�10). It's pretty much cleaned me out, and just as I'm going to be unemployed in ... say ... four days.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Via linkmachinego: Sandman author Neil STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/06/2001 09:38:37 AM ----- BODY:

Via linkmachinego: Sandman author Neil Gaiman is maintaining his own Blogger powered weblog about the writing of his new book American Gods.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Newsflash: Davo launches ickle.org. STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/06/2001 09:41:07 AM ----- BODY:

Newsflash: Davo launches ickle.org.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Whatever anyone else tells you, STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/06/2001 10:37:24 AM ----- BODY:

Whatever anyone else tells you, there is time for change. The election was a farce - we can make it right once more. The two lacklustre candidates that America was presented with need to accept that neither of them were right for the country - and that's why the country couldn't decide. We need a third candidate - an intelligent, able ... sexy ... candidate. Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you: Pacey Witter for President!.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On the pornography of news: STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/06/2001 01:33:07 PM ----- BODY:

On the pornography of news:

News is increasingly characterised as entertainment, but this only goes half-way. News is essentially a pornographic enterprise - and a dark one at that - repackaging human misery and destruction in easy to assimilate text and pictures - the content of which becomes swiftly meaningless to the audience, to be replaced by image and spectacle of collapse, catastrophe and mayhem. When did you last gasp at the news? Was it when you heard about an international summit limiting arms? Or was it when you saw images of earthquake damage, diseased people or identikit pictures of recently deceased people. And why the fasination with murder? More people die of car accidents and failures in the health service every day than are murdered in a year. The news packages up killings, and sells them to our worst instincts. News is rape trials and police plodding through fields looking for corpses - it is sex scandals and disgrace. It is all stories, and it's a strange death instinct in all of us that gets off on it.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I just popped out for STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/06/2001 02:53:09 PM ----- BODY:

I just popped out for lunch and grabbed myself a copy of Pixies: Complete 'B' Sides from Virgin on Tottenham Court Road. I'm now reeling from how wonderful they were, and completely in love with the CD which I now plan to play over and over again until my ears bleed.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Australia and Copyright Law "Over STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/07/2001 11:42:43 AM ----- BODY:

Australia and Copyright Law
"Over half a century ago the English writer Norman Douglas had occasion to observe that 'all mankind is at the mercy of a handful of neurotics'."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Online for a bit: STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/07/2001 12:01:58 PM ----- BODY:

Online for a bit: plasticbag.org | cam.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Random linkage: 1) Willow?! Noooooooooooooooooo! STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/07/2001 06:00:41 PM ----- BODY:

Random linkage: 1) Willow?! Noooooooooooooooooo! [more] 2) Apple's new Ad Campaign kicks arse (via Luke).

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: In the article: Amazon.com readers STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/08/2001 09:36:53 AM ----- BODY:

In the article: Amazon.com readers comment on the Modern Library's Top 20 Novels of the 20th Century, Kevin Goldstein finds actual comments posted by members of the public about books that are acknowledged greats. The comments are - pretty much uniformly - rather embarrassing for their authors. But the tone of the article as a whole is patronising and insulting. I am a cultured individual who has spent six and a half years in University, and I haven't read more than three or four of the books listed on the page. Rather than sneer at those who do read them and don't get them, shouldn't we be encouraging them to try other books? Not everyone (and I include myself in this) will necessarily complete or get much satisfaction out of reading Ulysses.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Do you want to STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/08/2001 09:42:38 AM ----- BODY:

Do you want to do something actually subversive? Then go and look at this. It's a tiny piece of code that can descramble DVDs. Make it your e-mail signature today - and make sure it is distributed far and wide so that everyone has at least one copy on their machine. You know - just in case. [Read all about it: Descramble That DVD in 7 Lines]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Completely fascinated, and slightly alarmed STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/08/2001 06:56:39 PM ----- BODY:

Completely fascinated, and slightly alarmed by the ever-updated Anarchist Cookbook / Terrorist Handbook. Build a fire bomb if you must. But be warned - apparently Sulphuric Acid is quite dangerous...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I was on the tube STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/08/2001 07:15:28 PM ----- BODY:

I was on the tube this morning, flicking idly through my copy of A Complete Hackers Handbook, which I am reading because I think people should read books like that, whether or not they understand even one tenth of what is in them, and I suddenly notice the guy opposite me. He's listening to a personal stereo - much too loudly - and my attention was drawn to him by a very familiar piece of music - it's something from the film Hackers (1995) [Amazon], which is a really dorky film, but one that I really really love. So I'm sitting on the tube, with people milling around in front of me, with people squeezing me in on both sides, and I'm trying to manoeuvre the book into his line of sight, so we can make eye-contact and make a secret "we're in the know" connection. I try this for twenty minutes. Then he gets off the train.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On Stimulants and SMIL... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/08/2001 11:47:40 PM ----- BODY:

I think it says a lot about a person when a mere twenty minutes after The West Wing [We Love You CJ] ends on a Thursday evening, they are already bored enough to start looking for information about SMIL - the Synchronized Multimedia Integration language. Perhaps it's too many stimulants in my diet. Too much nervous energy at the moment. Watch my head spin round. Let's go knock over a 7-11. [Note to self: check to see whether I'm the only person who has never thought that Rob Lowe was attractive until he was in this series.]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Unlike Prol, I have no STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/09/2001 09:20:01 AM ----- BODY:

Unlike Prol, I have no intention of wishing anyone a nice time at SXSW because I'm overwhelmingly bloody jealous and gutted that I'm not going to be able to go myself. I'm going to be there next year. That much is certain. [How I reacted last year]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: So today is my final STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/09/2001 09:26:06 AM ----- BODY:

So today is my final day at Time Out as a full-time employee. I've worked with them since February 1999, shortly after completing my journalism course. I've got a certain amount of freelance work lined up - all of which looks fairly interesting - but it's still going to be strange not going into the office every day. There are a lot of people that I am going to miss, and a couple that I probably won't.

This evening is my leaving 'do' - to be held in the upstairs of a sausage pub in Fitzrovia (don't ask) - and I'm really 'conflicted' about it. Obviously I want to say goodbye to everyone, but I don't really consider it to be a time of celebration - more of necessity.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Highlights of an evening of STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/10/2001 12:02:06 PM ----- BODY:

Highlights of an evening of soul-crushing embarrassment and soul-enhancing re-bonding: Horrified tonsil-hockey with Commercial Manager, bites on my back from drunken Matt, conversation straining limits of politeness concerning 'dirtbox' action with David and Kate, a poem (short) named 'Every Nice Girl Loves a Candle' , all the vodka and tonic in the world, the wonderful Rhonda Carrier, and finally: leaving presents amounting to stretchy insects, Pot Noodles, Pork Pies, Futurama posters, X-men chocolate bars, From Hell and Microsefts - all contained in a great big brown box. The trial of fire is over - I have passed from my Time Out adolescence into manhood.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: And lo! Did the Futurama STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/10/2001 12:04:33 PM ----- BODY:

And lo! Did the Futurama poster read as follows: YOU'RE NOT PAID TO THINK: A MINDLESS WORKER IS A HAPPY WORKER! SHUT UP AND DO YOUR JOB. Which in many ways might have been a little too close to the bone for my liking.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Tom, please, cite your sources STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/10/2001 12:13:00 PM ----- BODY:

Tom, please, cite your sources - this is no time for frippery. Yes Tom, Sorry Tom - I found it in Metafilter. Metafilter you say? What is this foolishness? Well it's a job advert. You what? A job advert - "Employment Wanted". And why could I possibly have the slightest interest in reading about that? It starts like this: "Former Marijuana Smuggler - Having successfully completed a ten year sentence, incident-free, for importing 75 tons of marijuana into the United States. I am now seeking a legal and legitimate means to support myself and my family." Ah. I see. So it's supposed to be funny? Well .... yes ...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: According to the Budget Reckoner STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/10/2001 06:30:40 PM ----- BODY:

According to the Budget Reckoner over at the BBC, my income will increase as a result of Gordon Brown's actions by �2.35 a week. Which, you know, is nice. I guess. Well it's not bad anyway. Not much of anything really. Certainly doesn't hurt. Erm. God. What a boring budget.

I'm in the middle of writing a couple of proposal articles for the BBC's film site at the moment, and I'm thinking of writing about aspects of the Oscars that aren't normally touched on. An article about foreign cinema and the Oscars might be interesting, I'm thinking. Which led me to this piece about the DGA Awards and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I want to be with someone who knows HTML... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/11/2001 12:59:14 PM ----- BODY:

It's become a matter of some amusement to my friends and online compatriots that I have started to say that I really want to be with someone who knows HTML. They find it strange that something so unconnected to sex should impact on my desires. They think I'm joking, but I'm not.

More and more over the last few months this has been on my mind. The only conclusion I can come to is that I find my magic in a world of geeks. Not geeks in the sense of hapless individuals with no social graces - but geeks who are slightly nervous, sometimes quiet people, filled with fire and thought and insight and intelligence, people with a sense of a calling, a craft, even if it's one that they can't always articulate effectively, even while it informs everything they do.

I was talking about this with Meg today and I'm going to include an edited portion of our conversation (which her permission), because I think that the process of editing it down will make it clearer in my mind. And I also think it might help explain some of my stranger object choices of recent months to people who know me...

Meg: You know like you said the other day? About wanting to have someone who knew HTML? I have to agree.
Tom: I just think it would be wonderful to have some kind of relationship with someone who kind of understood the strange dark lusts we have within. Someone who understood the allure. It would be like you had some kind of common goal. Like you were fucking in the presence of god. I keep wanting to write about this on plasticbag.org but I can't find the words.
Meg: Let's say I was a chef. I loved cooking, and creating and understanding food and taste was my life. It would make sense to want to find someone who wasn't just happy to settle for chips with everything - someone who understood flavour, or was at least willing to explore.
Tom: Absolutely. I think it feels something like a higher purpose that you need to share.
Meg: No-one would even question that.
Tom: You feel a connection with the stuff you create, and feel part of a larger network of creative people. Like a huge network of interconnected computers stretching across the planet, perhaps..! Or like layered words joining and conjoining in endless spiralling files. You're a part of that - of that confluence of language and energy (which is all it all is really). And it feels special - luminous even. And I want to be with someone who can see that magic.
Meg: Yes - everything you do and are is layered with your understanding of web and html and code and design and language and and and and ... and you can't switch it off. Someone else has to be able to understand that.
Tom: So completely. You become changed by it, like you would by any passion. Your self comes to resemble your passion. And comes to respect and love people who can evidence the same feeling and insight. People you can teach and learn from. People - essentially - that you connect with.

We are practitioners of a magical craft of arcane words and structures that swirl around one another to produce pages that resemble nothing so much as illuminated manuscripts - words and images, structure and beauty. And behind them all is the vast formless expanse of other pages and people and worlds and experience. I want someone I can share that with. Someone who can explore with me.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: My first is in chicken, STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/12/2001 12:14:19 AM ----- BODY:

My first is in chicken, but not in Honduras. My second is not in chicken, but is in Honduras. My third is in both chicken and in Honduras. And my fourth is in neither chicken nor Honduras. What am I?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: This is why we love STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/12/2001 03:57:49 PM ----- BODY:

This is why we love Cal.

#################################### #!/usr/bin/perl @a = qw(c i k e); @b = qw(o d u r a s); @c = qw(n h); @d = qw(a b f g j l m p q t v w x y z); $dict = "/usr/dict/words"; foreach $a(@a){ foreach $b(@b){ foreach $c(@c){ foreach $d(@d){ $word = "$a$b$c$d"; push(@words,$word); } } } } print "done combinations!\n"; open(FILEONE,$dict) or die "can't open dict: $!"; while($w = ){ chomp($w); foreach $word(@words){ if ($w eq $word){ print "match: $word\n"; } } } close(FILEONE); print "done matching!\n"; ####################################

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Last night was possibly the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/13/2001 12:13:56 AM ----- BODY:

Last night was possibly the strangest night of my entire life. A completely bizarre, unattainable and unfathomable crush from years back suddenly appeared in front of me in a bar I haven't visited for months. A few hours later, brief lip contact is established, and I am left feeling strangely cheap and unhappy. I don't really know why. Combine said encounter (literally) with Meg's birthday bash and you have an evening to remember - albeit remember weirdly.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: An article in the Sunday STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/13/2001 10:54:40 AM ----- BODY:

An article in the Sunday times purports to discover the Price of Happiness [via Metafilter]- which is, it appears around �1m. Here in an insight into my current frame of mind on this issue. I have never chosen a job on the basis of how much money it earns, which might explain why I have never earned myself any money. Instead I look for factors like my ability to produce creative work, to work in an environment that I have respect for and to enjoy the company of those around me. Money has always been a fair way down the scale.

This has to be the reason that I transferred myself from a doctorate, to penury as a London temp, and then to retraining as a journalist. There is little scope in this developing lifestyle for cash.

But over the last few months, as I have looked at my work life and found that (recently at least) it hasn't been fulfilling me enough, my mind has started to turn towards money as a way to follow my own interests absolutely and without interference.

At the worst point over the last six months, the thought of escape was almost over-whelming. The thought of having control over every aspect of my life became almost transformatively addictive, and with it, the desire for enough money to cease to worry about what I was going to be doing for the next thirty or forty years. A couple of weeks ago I bought ten pounds worth of lottery tickets. I knew I wasn't going to win of course. But the thought that I might cheered me up a lot. I found myself teasing myself - not checking the numbers until several days afterwards. The feeling of maybe being free was so much better than the discovery of still being trapped.

Over the last few days, my mind has calmed to an astonishing extent. My life at this point feels like it could go in any one of a number of interesting directions. Money is fading from my mind as an issue once again. But part of me is still thinking about the two bedroom flat in Soho, the year-off work and the travelling I could get done with the money that I'll probably never have.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I've just finished reading Alan STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/13/2001 11:14:01 AM ----- BODY:

I've just finished reading Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell's From Hell [Salon Article]. It's a savage and at times difficult to read book about the people involved in the Jack the Ripper Whitechapel Murders in London. I recommend it.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I have a conundrum about STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/13/2001 11:26:39 AM ----- BODY:

I have a conundrum about my Mr. Big - the guy of last-night's long foretold lip-collision. The conundrum is, having been deserted by a man who won't take your phone number, but who looks on while his companion asks you to leave a message with your contact details at his office (ostensibly regarding a job opportunity), and then leans forward and kisses you, should you: a) debase yourself by ringing and leaving a message or b) feel strangely affronted, as if it were being implied that the attachments (power discrepancy, financial discrepancy, office, power ... whatever) were generating the interest, or that they were generating a divide, or that because of it one's life was somehow shabbier and less interesting and pointless and for that reason, why on earth would he really have any interest in you when he could have anyone he wanted? Your thoughts?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Mr. Big rears his head... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/13/2001 07:41:05 PM ----- BODY:

Mr. Big rears his head once more. After much deliberation, and with a guessed e-mail address, I decided that I should drop a 'thank you' note for an entertaining evening. In the e-mail, I thought to myself, I would explicate my apparent teenage gawkiness from the previous day as the consequence of being mortifyingly embarrassed and hapless. It occurred to me that I would probably be more able to present myself through the written word. As I wrote it I found myself smiling - I was striking an elegant balance between professionalism and lust, between being aloof and being a prat. As I finally sent the e-mail, I felt finally satisfied. For good or ill it was over.

Twenty minutes later the phone rang. When I picked up the phone I didn't know the number on caller-id. Just a vague number that looked vaguely corporate. A voice leapt in with 'Hello', but didn't say a name - just a firmly worded, confident, 'how are you'. For a moment I thought it was Will, who I had lost contact with a while back (semi-purposefully) after a particularly annoying weekend. My voice steeled itself for a moment, before suddenly recognising that I was completely off track. Big had rung.

Oh my god. He wasn't supposed to do that. Caught offguard, I reached back into the depths of wit and opened my mouth, only for nothing to emerge. Words pounce from the phone, "What are you doing today? I'm blowing off work today to go for lunch and hang around." My replies, in turn, stumble from my mouth as if unfamiliar with walking, shielding their eyes from the harsh light of day. Some crap excuse or other: "I've got a list. Things to do. Learn SMIL. Have a haircut. I can't do anything but those things. That would be ... er ... bad." There's some kind of distraction at the end of the phone. He's trying to make conversation, but I'm behaving like a chimp trapped in a cage. Noises emerge but they make no sense. Ten minutes. We agree to a vague drink sometime next week and the phone goes dead. I sit in absolute silence for five minutes, drool oozing from a corner of my mouth. Then I howl with glee. Then my eyes widen and I have to have a lie down. What the fuck have I done...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Best comments about Big so far... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/14/2001 12:18:58 AM ----- BODY:

Best comments about Big so far:

"Try not to salivate down your chin. And have fun."
"Always remember the quote: 'It is a far, far better thing to be a whore like me, than the wife of a fascist like you...' J V Martin."
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Message for Max... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/14/2001 01:10:58 AM ----- BODY:

Message for Max: This is possibly related to my current heady state of workless thinking and relaxation. Or perhaps there are too many nostalgia particles in my mind at the moment. Or perhaps not. I've been listening to Jeff Buckley a lot over the last couple of days. There's a song called 'Morning Theft' that I've been listening to a hell of a lot. Just have a listen, okay?

Meet me tomorrow night, or any day you want.
I have no right to wonder just how, or when.
You know the meaning fits. There's no relief in this.
I miss my beautiful friend.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Nostalgia Particles.. STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/14/2001 01:18:14 AM ----- BODY:

In which, suddenly fascinated by the term "nostalgia particles", Tom decides to do a search on Google, and is most entertained by a link to a Ulysses 31 site.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Give us a snog... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/14/2001 01:29:52 AM ----- BODY:

Go on then. Give us a snog. [WARNING: THIS IS NOT MY MOUTH]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I spent a certain amount STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/14/2001 09:43:27 AM ----- BODY:

I spent a certain amount of last night compiling a minidisc compilation for my little brother (15) who is at boarding school. I don't exactly know that I got the balance right, but I've been playing it to myself over and over again all night, so it can't be that bad. Track listing (with links to Napster) follows:

Freaky Beatnik:
1) America (Simon & Garfunkel)
2) Simple Man (Lynyrd Skynyrd)
3) Dirge (Death in Vegas)
4) Shallow End (Morcheeba)
5) Momentum (Aimee Mann)
6) Theme from Narc (Pixies)
7) Unreal (Unkle)
8) Like Dylan in the Movies (Belle & Sebastian)
9) American Dream (Jakatta)
10) Morning Theft (Jeff Buckley)
11) Da Funk (Daft Punk)
12) The Wind (Cat Stevens)
13) Bohemian Like You (Dandy Warhols)
14) New World (Bjork)

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Oscars polling on the BBC... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/14/2001 10:00:21 AM ----- BODY:

In a classic example of poor quality interactive design, the BBC's Oscars 2001 microsite allows you to vote on the winners of the major categories, but will not reveal the results of the poll until the day before the event itself. There's no place for people to subsequently investigate further after voting, nor is there any way of alerting people to the fact that the results have come out. More than likely, people will stumble upon the site, vote and then leave - never to return and never to recommend it to anyone else.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Much television is anodyne, unimaginative STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/14/2001 01:24:08 PM ----- BODY:

Much television is anodyne, unimaginative and without redeeming characters or plots. Even those which are imaginative and intelligently put together are often morally dubious. Take Ally McBeal for one. This is an imaginatively made TV series which celebrates and indulges the lunacies and inadequacies of a thirty-something lawyer, when if the world were even the slightest bit sane, Ally would be ritually humiliated every week before being put into the army to sort herself out and the series would be renamed "Thing".

It is for this reason that we celebrate those who identify 'inappropriately' - those who don't think that Carol and Doug were always right and that actually Kerry should have slapped them around with her cane until they were a bloody pulp for being so self-importantly dramatic all the while ('Oh my tortured romance') rather than just getting on with the bloody job - those who wish Gunther would pull out an Uzi and pump hot metal death into those parasites who clog up his coffee bar - those who pine for the day when Mulder and Scully pop off for a shag, leaving the Lone Gunmen ... Oh hang on a minute ...

It is for this reason that I recommend you ignore Meg's appeal to not go and do the Bridget Jones quiz. Because it has declared me The Anti Bridget - and cutting past the bullshit description ["You�re nothing like Bridget, but you�re very much like her bossy, happily engaged, real-estate-shopping officemate Perpetua � perpetually organized, perpetually on top of things, perpetually a pain in the arse."] - I have declared myself Arch Nemesis of Jones The Hag. Schlurp your chianti while you still can, woman. We're here to bitch-slap you from the face of the planet...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: In what may or may STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/14/2001 07:10:33 PM ----- BODY:

In what may or may not be the last Big related post of the evening, Tom confesses to his adoring fans that he has failed in his attempt to withhold reciprocal contact (after phone call yesterday morning) and caved in and sent an e-mail this evening at 7.20pm on March 14th, this year of our Lord, 2001. Tom would like to add that this is only fifteen hours prior to schedule. That's not too bad. Right? [helpful advice]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I spent a good four STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/15/2001 12:07:49 AM ----- BODY:

I spent a good four hours of yesterday walking around London in a suit. Not because I had a job interview or anything, but instead because I hadn't worn one in about a year and a half. I thought it might be nice to look glamorous for a change. I felt great in it - really sharp - except that I appear to have been gradually swelling over the past three years. At times it felt like I was wearing a corset.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Another addition to the list STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/15/2001 12:13:30 AM ----- BODY:

Another addition to the list of technical things I need to learn about. HTML I have down pat. Mostly. CSS also mostly there with. DHTML and Javascript I can fudge my way through other people's scripts just about. The list of languages that I was planning on knowing after HTML included Perl, but until now did not include SMIL - which weirdly looks to be one of the more interesting, and easiest, of the lot.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: E-mail to Big (subject header: STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/15/2001 01:08:09 PM ----- BODY:

E-mail to Big (subject header: "Message for Mr Big") has solicited a reply. And an altogether unsatisfying one at that. It appears, in true Sex and the City style, that Mr. Big is in fact part of the family unit "Mr and Mr Big". This is a piece of information that I was, unfortunately, unaware of until this point. There remains a flirtatious vibe to the correspondence. This, I am afraid, doesn't surprise me. More to the point, my decision to go along with said vibe to the detriment of my own health and general well-being also doesn't surprise me. Tempted as I am to place my reply on the site, I think I might just restrain myself.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Adjunct notice: Despite perceived trashiness STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/15/2001 01:31:11 PM ----- BODY:

Adjunct notice: Despite perceived trashiness of Mr Big references and forced associations with TV programme Sex and the City, said parallel is allowing me to get a handle on what might otherwise be an intolerably difficult to deal with piece of mental engineering. Hence I fully intend to investigate this particular pathway until it collapses beneath me. Having undertaken the quiz associated with the TV series, however, I was alarmed to be presented with this (edited for length and gender improprieties - unfortunately one found oneself at a professional loss as to how to remove the cheesy bits):

"Who you are: Complex and creative. Yet somehow, when it comes to relationships, you're not adept. You can whine all you want about the way men treat you (usually, like dirt), but it's the challenge of obtaining the unobtainable that thrills you. Your resolutions this year: To admit you made a few BIG mistakes in 2000 and move on to better things. To kick your vices (that includes seeing that ex you KNOW is no good). To tame those over-indulgent tendencies. To seek out men who might actually be SANE as well as single. In the past, you've been swept off your feet by charismatic creeps who are about as available as a lunch table at Le Cirque 2000. The more obnoxious and aloof they are, the more interested you are. When you do find a nice guy, you send him packing: Hey, where's the angst?"

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: There's a redesign over at STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/15/2001 10:36:15 PM ----- BODY:

There's a redesign over at sourground.co.uk that is kind of what I was trying to do with the blue design of plasticbag.org - only, you know, sourground actually works. I'm endebted to the site for another reason - it pointed me towards dreamline.nu - an unofficial fan site for the works of Dave McKean - an artist who often produces the covers for the higher class of comic books.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Mark becomes the second weblogger STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/16/2001 11:23:25 AM ----- BODY:

Mark becomes the second weblogger to move his writing into the source-code. Could this be the future? Endless rows of blank-pages, updated two or three times a day with invisible content? Quick, InvestoBoy - to the Businessplanmobile...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Here's an interesting exercise - STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/16/2001 11:34:46 AM ----- BODY:

Here's an interesting exercise - Mo Morgan is donating �1 to Comic Relief for every page impression that his weblog gets today. Join me in my question to bankrupt him, by visiting his site immediately.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Now I've never been much STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/16/2001 11:57:21 AM ----- BODY:

Now I've never been much of a one for Robbie Williams. I mean the man's a laugh, and it's good to finally have some pop stars with a sense of humour and some style, even as the manufactured groups get more and more overt and trashy. But I think I could assert that I've never really found him attractive. Until that is I saw him this morning in a few sketches he's done for Comic Relief. Based on the Ted and Ralph characters from The Fast Show (and more than a little based upon Scudder from Maurice), I present for you - uncut half-naked Robbie digging holes.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I've been investigating Q4music.com's guide STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/16/2001 02:15:19 PM ----- BODY:

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: 8.30pm Friday: Yesterday evening I STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/17/2001 09:01:42 AM ----- BODY:

8.30pm Friday: Yesterday evening I was travelling up the escalator in Maida Vale tube on my way home. Halfway up, I felt this strange sensation - as if some force behind me was gently pushing me faster than everyone else. For a fraction of a second, I didn't know what was happening, but then the escalator gently slid to a halt. Like a car braking suddenly and its passengers being thrust forwards, my feeling had been the consequence of a sudden deceleration rather than a speeding-up. This has never happened to me on an escalator before. And it suddenly got me thinking about the sensation associated with things ending or breaking. Maybe there's always a sensation of oneself moving forward - a positive feeling of individual movement, or progress - in the moment when the rest of the world suddenly slows and stops.

8.30am Saturday: Despite being awake until 3.30 am in the morning, I rise early when the postman arrives. There's a letter from AOL in the post rejecting me for the role of Broadband Producer. I am surprised by how disappointed I am. I have several potential job opportunities around at the moment, but none excited me anywhere near as much as this one. It seemed to me something I could get passionate about - something exciting that I could excel at.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Matt has taken Metafilter down STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/17/2001 09:15:35 AM ----- BODY:

Matt has taken Metafilter down for the weekend to do some maintenance and hardware / software improvements. But he hasn't just thrown up a 'closed' or 'under construction' page - instead he's taken the opportunity to celebrate Two Years of Metafilter.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Courtesy of idiote.org: A song STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/17/2001 09:29:06 AM ----- BODY:

Courtesy of idiote.org: A song in french about plastic bags - a song with a startling hidden meaning.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: So I decided (inspired by STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/17/2001 09:47:56 AM ----- BODY:

So I decided (inspired by Jason's third birthday to have a roam through his archives. Of all the entries, this one has had most impact on me so far. This is exactly where I feel myself to be at the moment. "Two or three weeks off to walk the earth."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Scott McCloud, godlike genius behind STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/18/2001 12:39:32 AM ----- BODY:

Scott McCloud, godlike genius behind Understanding Comics and Reinventing Comics has a particularly well developed web-presence, my favourite part of which (found via haddock.org) is the Giant-Size Choose Your Own Carl.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: "Beware the bottled thoughts of STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/18/2001 12:48:35 AM ----- BODY:

"Beware the bottled thoughts of angry young men. Secret compartments hide all of the skeletons." [Jeff Buckley: Nightmares By The Sea]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Congratulations to Prol on being STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/18/2001 01:07:57 AM ----- BODY:

Congratulations to Prol on being mentioned (with link) on Wired.com: "Hitching a World-Wide Ride on Web".

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Last week I posted Cal's STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/18/2001 01:16:01 AM ----- BODY:

Last week I posted Cal's novel solution to my little riddle - completely written in Perl. Now Ben has refined the code still further: plasticgame.txt

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: My escalator incident yesterday triggered STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/18/2001 01:42:53 AM ----- BODY:

My escalator incident yesterday triggered a whole range of thoughts, which on my return to the flat I had to commit to paper immediately. The feeling of forward thrust that I hypothesized might be a direct consequence of imminent disaster made me think about 'catastrophe' as a concept.

I have spent a great deal of my life working on Ancient Greece, in fact I'd had over eleven years of study of the classics when I left my incomplete doctorate aged 25. Since then my knowledge has decayed a fair amount, but I can still tell a word with a Greek root when I hear it and I was also expecting theatrical resonances because of the term 'strophe', which is often used to describe a type of choral ode. I was nonetheless fascinated by the results of a search on the web:

From Dictionary.com:

A great, often sudden calamity.
A complete failure; a fiasco: The food was cold, the guests quarreled - the whole dinner was a catastrophe.
The concluding action of a drama, especially a classical tragedy, following the climax and containing a resolution of the plot.
A sudden violent change in the earth's surface; a cataclysm.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Desperately Seeking Support for the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/18/2001 12:01:39 PM ----- BODY:

Desperately Seeking Support for the Barbelith Underground which is throwing up errors and error messages 24 hours a day. Read about the problems in full at the Ultimate Bulletin Board Support Forums. E-mail me if you have any suggestions.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: So having spent much of STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/18/2001 06:21:31 PM ----- BODY:

So having spent much of Friday afternoon in the gym, damaging myself, I then decided on Saturday to spend most of the day helping Meg, Luke and Davo (Hi Catherine!) move into their new place. This involved moving many many boxes. Not as many, perhaps, as if I wasn't still hurting from the gym the previous day, but many nonetheless. So today I have this cumulative body collapse thing going on, where pretty much any kind of movement of any kind causes me tremendous pain and makes me want to go immediately to bed. I do, apparently, look quite nice.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I am to be a STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/18/2001 07:01:41 PM ----- BODY:

I am to be a pizza delivered when you're not in the mood to cook. I'm not to be a cinema, but straight-to-video - and rented not bought. I am to be a public convenience (20p) in the middle of the city on a Saturday morning. I am to be a hand-shandy - nothing more - on a grey day, while bored, in front of Neighbours.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: My evening with Big was STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/19/2001 01:08:21 PM ----- BODY:

My evening with Big was pleasant, but frustrating. I suspect that's the last I'll see of him - a fact that I find depressing. [Hi to Ian who I bumped into at Barcode while with Big.]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Matt reveals his fetishes: "The STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/19/2001 01:14:46 PM ----- BODY:

Matt reveals his fetishes: "The subtle interplay of media and peer pressure, the slow progression into adulthood, quiet sexual play through the teens -- all of this is dwarfed completely by televised pornography, dirty magazines found in skips, and pissed fumblings in the park (or, in the case of Americans: MTV, a box of Kleenex, and massive sublimated guilt that is liable to explode at any time in a shower of bullets)."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: A piece of contract work STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/19/2001 03:39:46 PM ----- BODY:

A piece of contract work that I was semi-relying on has just fallen through, leaving me frustrated and having to fall back upon freelance writing, which - although fun - pays ridiculously badly.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Why did no one tell STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/19/2001 04:35:04 PM ----- BODY:

Why did no one tell me that Derek has started logging again? I've missed it terribly. It's nice to have him back.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Whatever Meg might say to STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/20/2001 12:24:16 AM ----- BODY:

Whatever Meg might say to the contrary [what Meg said], she is my wife, I am very masculine, I can carry shelves and it is true that withholding sex is the only way to keep them in line. If she says any different it is because she is hysterical and needs to have a baby. What can I say?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Massow to compete with Time Out... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/20/2001 01:52:54 AM ----- BODY:

In an ironic piece of news, it seems that Ivan Massow is to take on the beast of Time Out by investing heavily in a free competitor. He's been interested in magazine publishing for a while now, as far as I can tell. I'm not sure he's had much luck with it though. Here's the quote from the Media Guardian:

"Massow targets listings market: Financier Ivan Massow has taken a 10% stake in CapitalLive, the free listings magazine taking on Time Out in London. Mr Massow, who built his financial services business targeting the gay community into a top 10 financial advisor, will become chairman of the title."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Jesus Christ. Does absolutely everyone STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/20/2001 09:56:25 AM ----- BODY:

Jesus Christ. Does absolutely everyone in the world have to have an online diary?

Excerpts from a Subterranean Diary: Note to self: it's not necessarily a good idea for employers to have direct access to one's inner thoughts and anxieties before you even get to interview. I thought I'd removed plasticbag.org from my CV, so I was startled when today I saw it there, in the hands of a potential employer, large as life. The situation has since been resolved. I could base my entire publicity regime for the site on the distribution of carefully concocted resumés...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Billy Dare: Boy Adventurer: "Isn't STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/21/2001 09:52:25 AM ----- BODY:

Billy Dare: Boy Adventurer: "Isn't your obsession with Mordu a convenient way of covering for your ... latent homosexuality?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Here's an interesting fact for STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/21/2001 10:20:22 AM ----- BODY:

Here's an interesting fact for you: Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip are both Great-Great Grandchildren of Queen Victoria. [Family Tree PDF]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I have a friend who STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/21/2001 12:14:40 PM ----- BODY:

I have a friend who is a Mason. In fact, if I think about it for a moment, I probably have a great many friends who are Masons. Or indeed perhaps I should say that I have a great many friends of friends who are Masons, because after all aren't the Masons just one large group of friends, albeit with a rather more advanced sense of ritual?

I also have a number of friends who are not Masons, although when I say that they are not Masons, of course I could be completely mistaken. They could in fact merely be pretending not to be Masons. How would I tell? I have conversations with these 'possibly-not-Masons' in which we ponder the kind of person that would join them, what possible consequences membership would entail, whether it is a moral decision. One of my friends thinks that if you are a Mason you should certainly declare it. But then he might be a Mason and just be saying that to distract me. They could all be laughing about it behind my back, giggling about Enoch's Royal Arch, Jah-Bul-On, and points of the compass pressed firmly into breasts.

I myself am not a Mason. A friend mentioned that I might like to be one once. I can't remember what I said. Maybe I said 'yes', although that seems unlikely somehow.

Guardian Unlimited | The Guardian | PR to improve the freemason's image
So what is the essence of freemasonry? Material self-advancement and sinister secrecy, say its critics. Fun, fellowship and a moral code, masons counter. Dewar, who hopes to reverse the decline that has seen membership in England and Wales fall to 320,000, intends to present them as "good, solid citizens with the right moral values who support all that is good in society". But there are two other factors which must surely be considered - food and stamp collecting.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: In assembling odds and ends STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/21/2001 09:58:49 PM ----- BODY:

In assembling odds and ends of my portfolio online, so that I have something to show potential employers, I've stumbled upon my little done-in-two-days from beginning to end Time Out: Festivals 2000 site.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: A stunningly savage Steve Bell STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/22/2001 11:12:11 AM ----- BODY:

A stunningly savage Steve Bell cartoon [via linkmachinego] asks the question, Is the timing of this particular cull entirely appropriate?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: There is something wilfully perverse STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/22/2001 11:19:39 AM ----- BODY:

There is something wilfully perverse about posting a quiz based around finding the answer to the question: "Are you a liar?". Nonetheless I've done it, and attempted to be honest:

"You scored 22
The truth is out there ... not necessarily anywhere near you. You're capable of being economical with the truth. You don't like lying, but you're not going to lose sleep over it."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I am a superstar. Go STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/22/2001 11:38:42 AM ----- BODY:

I am a superstar. Go figure.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I've had a fairly stressful STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/22/2001 12:27:37 PM ----- BODY:

I've had a fairly stressful couple of weeks and it looks like that is a trend that is likely to continue for a while to come. So I was really delighted when I received a package this morning from Caroline. Thanks so much, old girl for Bowie at the Beeb [Change Amazon Prefs] - not only is it bloody good, but it's a welcome change of pace from all the mope music that's taken over my stereo...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: At times I am amused STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/22/2001 12:55:46 PM ----- BODY:

At times I am amused by how little things change over time: plasticbag.org first entry ever.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Placing my transparent mask upon STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/22/2001 03:24:19 PM ----- BODY:

Placing my transparent mask upon my upturned welcoming face, I feel its cool edges slide down my cheek, its base lightly touching my neck. Behind this mask I am safe, behind this mask I am alone. I am cool, my mind serene and clear. Sacrificing all my self to another's voice I feel my lungs swell and lift, my ribs arise with ceremonial pomp, my eyes lift, plastic-coated, to the sky. And from my gut it comes, an explosion of light, filling my vision, transforming the world in an instant of nuclear light; total personality destruction. And born from the awesome light, new features appear, slowly edges solidify; colour, texture and shadow condense. My nose pricks with new sensation - and as I feel my plastic mouth open, with my last inscribing thought, I know that there will now be sound.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Answer me this: If it's STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/22/2001 03:50:09 PM ----- BODY:

Answer me this: If it's so good to be back, then why were you away so long?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Advert: One man does not STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/22/2001 08:13:11 PM ----- BODY:

Advert: One man does not need two computers (unless of course one is a Titanium Powerbook). I have two computers. So I'm selling one. Now. I went into town today and got a frankly laughable offer (�100) for the whole package, so I'm opening this up to the floor. Does anyone want to buy this complete set-up for a ludicrously small amount? Either to cannibalise or use around the house. It's not really built for games, but it works perfectly well. Conditions: You can buy any part or all of it, but you have to come and collect it from Maida Vale and pay in cash - and SOON. I'll even autograph it if you want me to...

IBM 6X86 PR 200 Desktop
64 Mb RAM
56.6k Internal Modem
4 GB Hard Disk
24X CD ROM
Sforce S25 Speakers
Logitech Mouse (with little wheel thing)
CTX SVGA Monitor 15" (14" visible) Monitor
Deskjet 400 Printer
Plustek OpticPro 4831P Flatbed Scanner
Software: Windows 98
Microsoft Office 97 Small Business Edition
[Excel & Word]
Paint Shop Pro 5
Age of Empires

Best offer over �150 for the lot received by Saturday night accepted immediately and without question. COME ON!: WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: After a strange conversation with STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/23/2001 01:41:31 AM ----- BODY:

After a strange conversation with Matt Haughey, I'm now really interested in knowing what Ev is talking about...

Excerpts from a Subterranean Diary: I had this particularly weird night last night. I came home exhausted from seeing Meg and Davo, and slumped in front of my computer to check my e-mail. Ten minutes later I turn around to look at my bed. It kind of glares at me. Around two in the morning I give up and lie awake in bed. Four-thirty AM I'm still awake, sweating and uncomfortable.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Any and all translations appreciated: STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/23/2001 11:24:51 AM ----- BODY:

Any and all translations appreciated: "malorama".

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Meg explains the origins of STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/23/2001 12:39:02 PM ----- BODY:

Meg explains the origins of "Not So Soft".

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: This is indeed the grossest STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/23/2001 01:16:00 PM ----- BODY:

This is indeed the grossest thing I've seen today. Aside: What does FOAF mean?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: What Men Do When They STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/24/2001 02:44:37 AM ----- BODY:

What Men Do When They Are Bored: When men are bored they do this. When men have a spare ten minutes they do this. When men are not stressed, or in a public place or have bigger things on their mind they do this. And they mostly do it when those things are going on as well. Once I didn't do this for over a week, and I got all aggressive and macho. It was weird, but cool. I'd do it again if I could be bothered. Some men write weird shit about other weird shit that makes other men (ostensibly) do it. Some men don't. Some men don't really mention it that much, but then again some of them are having too much fun at the moment for it to be strictly necessary. Some men frankly don't bear thinking about - particularly when they're doing it - but I'm too nice to talk about them in a public place (you know who you are). You know occasionally you have to wonder if the people you used to go out with think about you when they're doing it. Or maybe that's just me. I sometimes wonder if even really major web celebrities do it? I would think that they do. I mean, they're geeks right? I hear chicks do it too, but I think they have different techniques. (You know, this would be funnier if this was about hand-coding HTML or something, but I'm afraid it's not. I really am that cheap. Link via Prol.]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: It is very important that STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/24/2001 06:39:05 PM ----- BODY:

It is very important that you go out and buy Jeffrey Zeldman's book on preorder: Taking Your Talent to the Web [Change Amazon Prefs]. This is particularly true if you think it is relevant to your life and / or work, but also true, because I think it is important to support people who produce creative work on the net. In the same spirit - you can preorder Derek Powazek's Design for Community [Change Amazon Prefs] as well. The latter book is one that I'm really looking forward to - particularly after fighting for radical improvements (not as yet implemented) to Time Out's 'Rants and Raves' forums.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: 7.30pm One Hundred Percent Straight STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/25/2001 11:50:41 AM ----- BODY:

7.30pm One Hundred Percent Straight Night A night of programmes for straight, poof-hating men who are completely heterosexual and spend most of their time ******* ladies ** *** ****. [TV Go Home]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I went to a friend's STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/25/2001 11:55:13 AM ----- BODY:

I went to a friend's birthday party last night in this lovely flat near Angel. Almost the first thing that happened to me when I went into the kitchen was that this woman wandered up to me, said that she had met me before several years ago and that I had been extremely rude. I was, I'm afraid, slightly startled.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/25/2001 02:15:00 PM ----- BODY:

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Conversations with Mr Big... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/25/2001 02:23:40 PM ----- BODY:

So you have a conversation with someone about politics, and they declare that by divine right they should ascend to the throne, or at least to a position as benevolent dictator-for-life, and you make a joke about that and then you think about it for a week, because you thought that you were getting somewhere with them, but maybe you're not. So you think about it a bit more, and decide that you're not really in a fit state to think about this anyway, so you send them what you consider to be amusing banner-ads and poster mock-ups for a pseudo politic campaign complete with an e-mail that says that you'd love to meet up again sometime soon, but that you want to get a few things organised beforehand so you don't feel quite so inadequate about your life. Is that a fun thing to do? Is it the kind of thing that a stalker would do? Do we think it was a good idea? Well?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: There's a wonderful quote on STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/26/2001 02:23:47 AM ----- BODY:

There's a wonderful quote on Derek's log at the moment, linking through to Kvetch (interestingly enough the very first thing I ever linked to on what-was-then barbelith.com). It goes as follows: "It takes more energy to frown than it does to smile, but personally I think its worth the effort!" �James

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Insomnia combines with British Summer STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/26/2001 02:33:05 AM ----- BODY:

Insomnia combines with British Summer Time in upsetting ways. Where some days last week I have been awake until four or five in the morning, I suddenly find myself considering being awake until possibly six. In addition, one of my flat-mates has invented a new early-morning fruit smoothie torture (involving liquidisers). I will snap within a week and join a drug-addled travelling street carnival. It's the only answer.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Computer sold to Catherine for STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/26/2001 02:39:11 AM ----- BODY:

Computer sold to Catherine for princely sum of �100. Printer and scanner remain unpurchased. This cannot, unfortunately, be allowed to continue.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: E-mail from Big arrived, much STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/26/2001 01:52:48 PM ----- BODY:

E-mail from Big arrived, much to my surprise. This man is either nicer than I expected or considerably more unpleasant. The banner and poster went down extremely well, it seems, and we have agreed to meet up again - in hopefully less tense circumstances - in two or three weeks time. That's one less thing to worry about then.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I'd been planning to watch STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/26/2001 02:13:30 PM ----- BODY:

I'd been planning to watch the Oscars with Nick last night. But at the last minute he and I decided that we weren't feeling perky enough to justify staying up until four or five in the morning (my insomnia, of course, was not as evident at that point of the evening). So instead we watched advance episodes of Buffy, borrowed from my contact in the TV section of Time Out (thanks Noam).

From all accounts, it wasn't a particularly sensational evening. The BBC's list of winners contains very few actual surprises - although there are a few disappointments. Steven Soderbergh clearly deserved to win Best Director for Traffic. Cameron Crowe's Almost Famous deserved more than just Best Original Screenplay. The depressing part of the evening was clearly the Gladiator win for best picture and best actor. This was not a sensational film.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Terrifying though it is to STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/26/2001 10:03:01 PM ----- BODY:

Terrifying though it is to admit, with a shave and some hair gel, the BBC's reconstruction of the face of Jesus (via Link Machine Go) would look remarkably like my mate Toby.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I went to see a STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/26/2001 10:19:36 PM ----- BODY:

I went to see a short film this evening. My flatmate, who works in the film industry, organised a screening for one of her directors and asked if I'd like to go. I decided that I should simply because it made me feel slightly worthwhile - which is possibly the wrong reason. The film was about cloning and loss of identity.

The strangest thing for me, though, was that in the credits (as well as thanking 'Tilly the dog'), there was a URL mentioned: WITNESS.org. When I got back home and looked at it, I found it to be a site supported by Peter Gabriel which 'uses video and technology to fight for Human Rights'. It's an excellent idea, and well worth looking at further.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Virgin Atlantic have announced that STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/27/2001 12:32:58 AM ----- BODY:

Virgin Atlantic have announced that they are to provide net and e-mail access to passengers on their jets [CNN.com]. For those of us who are obsessive net-philes, clearly this would be a wonderful thing. I can easily pass nine or ten hours with e-mail and web access. Except that it could cost you $2 per e-mail, and you'll only have access to ten or twenty sites. Still, I suppose it's a step in the right direction...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I'm working for four days STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/27/2001 03:15:20 PM ----- BODY:

I'm working for four days in a web design company called Arehaus based between Chancery Lane and Farringdon. I'm doing basic HTML scut-work, but I'm actually quite enjoying it. The atmosphere is relaxed and creative, the environment is extremely pleasant and obviously designed to be conducive to good design work, and there doesn't appear to be any notceable office politics at all. Ironically, Arehaus were the people who designed timeout.com - a site that I have been hacking around in for the last year and a half...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Jesus! I just completed a STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/28/2001 01:03:49 AM ----- BODY:

Jesus! I just completed a high-speed, late-night HTML test hosted by Brainbench on my knowledge of forms, HTML, frames and CSS. On the site they stated that using reference books was sort of ok - if appropriate to the situation (or something equally obscure). Of course, I'm not in the least bit sure that it was appropriate in this case, because no one mentioned that I might need them to me. Or indeed told me much about the test at all. Which might explain why I decided to do 40 questions (with a time limit of 1 1/2 minutes per question) just after midnight on a Monday evening.

In the end, with the help of my two life-saving books, I completed the bloody thing (complete with questions about PICS, every property of the text-decoration element and what a server receives when you select two checkboxes with the same name but different values). But now - particularly since I kind of feel like looking things up is kind of immoral somehow - I'm kind of slightly pissed off by being described as if I were some kind of slow child...

"You appear capable of working on most projects in this area with moderate assistance. You may require some initial assistance with advanced concepts, however."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Just in case anyone is STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/28/2001 01:28:03 AM ----- BODY:

Just in case anyone is wondering what's happening with the Barbelith Underground, the problems that we've been noticing for the last few weeks have finally started making the server wobbly and so pair.com have shut the board down. I have no intention of turning them on again until I've reinstalled the board, which will mean everyone will have to reregister and start posting afresh. All the old threads are there intact, but they'll have to be moved someone separately. I'm as depressed as you are by the state of affairs. Bear with me as I try and get it sorted out over the next week or so...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Possibly the most actually useful STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/28/2001 08:59:06 AM ----- BODY:

Possibly the most actually useful thing ever done by UK webloggers launched yesterday: ToThePolls.com is a balanced newsfilter for the upcoming General Election.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Of all people, Anne Robinson STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/28/2001 09:02:51 AM ----- BODY:

Of all people, Anne Robinson hits the USA - "You are the Weakest Link, goodbye..." More? Davo has a bit of a thing about her. She can't pronounce the word Gallifrey. The bloke who used to present Mastermind thinks she's awful...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The wonder of Radio 2, STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/28/2001 11:17:24 AM ----- BODY:

The wonder of Radio 2, being played continuously at work at the moment, has reintroduced me to the magic of Dolly Parton's 'Nine to Five'. My trash gland has declared this song to be a "Work Of Genius". If anyone can find the lyrics online, then could you please tell me where.

This whole thing reminds me of working in a supermarket warehouse in the run-up to Christmas (age 19). The same songs played over and over again. Christmas songs: Mistletoe and Wine, Simply Having a Wonderful Christmastime - things by Wizard. The tape can only have been about thirty-five minutes long. And I heard it every day for weeks...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Sing it with me! [Thanks STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/28/2001 01:02:55 PM ----- BODY:

Sing it with me! [Thanks to everyone who sent this link to me (9 to 5), particularly to Prol, because she's always so good at this stuff, and Mr Towb who really should be working.]

Workin' 9 to 5
What a way to make a livin'
Barely gettin' by
It's all takin'
And no givin'
They just use your mind
And they never give you credit
It's enough to drive you
Crazy if you let it

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On Contract Work: Jobs are STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/28/2001 06:48:33 PM ----- BODY:

On Contract Work: Jobs are like partners. Some people go for the quiet interesting types - the ones that aren't much to look at, but are quietly rewarding. Some others go for feeling valued and respected. Others need the passion and the fire, or the heat of money and glamour. At the moment, it seems, I will do any job which pays the bills. I'm sure there is a word for that type of relationship.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Prolific.org now states on her STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/29/2001 09:01:45 AM ----- BODY:

Prolific.org now states on her site: "This site will look much better in a browser that supports web standards, but it is accessible to any browser or Internet device. Um, no actually, I'm lying. This site doesn't really look that much different. But there are lots of sites out there that will look better if you do upgrade." Which would be, you know, great, if I didn't see the message while using IE5 for Mac, which is supposed to be one of the most compliant browsers in existence.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The Tube Strike took its STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/29/2001 01:44:26 PM ----- BODY:

The Tube Strike took its toll on me this morning, making me an hour and a quarter late for my work at Arehaus. As part of the thrill, I had to walk from Marble Arch to Farringdon. On the journey I was singled out by every single person seeking donations for a cause. I must have a face that screams ''sucker".

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Flying in from Mexico this STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/29/2001 04:05:59 PM ----- BODY:

Flying in from Mexico this evening comes my first ever boyfriend, who now works for The Economist. Described by many as 'hairy Barbie', I know him as Gideon. It's going to be great to see him again. He's not in the country much these days...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I have spent an inordinate STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/29/2001 04:57:36 PM ----- BODY:

I have spent an inordinate amount of time in my life drawing pictures on post-its, while working. It gives my hands something to do while I'm mulling things over. I wonder if it would be possible to market something like 'Art-Its' or 'Book-It's, whereby pads of post-it notes, rather than being blank, contain small amounts of text, images or even photos. You could have a tremendous amount of cut-and-paste fun with them, rearranging a text as you saw fit, or keeping useful and / or important diagrams handy at all times. You could even annotate books with other pages of other books really easily, or place notes about maintenance at relevant places in your garage or car. And then there's combination post-it notes and desk calenders. Or you could use the images like mini-posters or big, non-damaging stickers. I mean, there's no limit to it, really.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I'd place money on this STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/29/2001 08:27:57 PM ----- BODY:

I'd place money on this tasting like sugar and plastic, but nonetheless, you can get it free. Galaxy launch a new instant chocolate drink. 10,000 to be given away.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The concept that would not STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/29/2001 08:48:03 PM ----- BODY:

The concept that would not breathe its last takes a toke instead. Answer me honestly, my friends, is this furby stoned or not?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: A big hand, everyone, to STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/30/2001 07:56:21 PM ----- BODY:

A big hand, everyone, to Evan Williams for staying up all night fighting with the dark magic that lies secretly behind Blogger. We do not know how many virgins it took to sate the creature, but we know that their sacrifice has made the world better for the rest of us. Bravo.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Advertisement: All your favourite London-based STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/31/2001 01:09:56 PM ----- BODY:

Advertisement: All your favourite London-based webloggers are now available in a bumper pack based at the Rat and Parrot in Soho. This once only offer takes place today from 1pm. This message has been sponsored by meets.gblogs.org.uk. Warning: May cause bleeding.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: After the blogmeet (at which STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/31/2001 10:40:39 PM ----- BODY:

After the blogmeet (at which Katy was wearing the most Daisy Duke-style breast enhancing Madonna-top) I decided that it was time to reward myself for having got through the last three weeks with fragments of my personality intact. So I went and bought some food and a copy of Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: A few years ago I STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/31/2001 10:48:47 PM ----- BODY:

A few years ago I interviewed Grant Morrison for a magazine in America that I believe has since folded or gone web-only. During the interview (and in several other interviews) he talked a lot about how teen culture was associated with sun-spot activity - and how it came in eleven year cycles. To support his claim he proposed a sequence of dates 1955, 1966, 1977 and 1988. The spirit of each expression of rebellion alternated - so 1955 was aggressive rock 'n' roll, 1966 was flower-power and hippy-culture. With 1977 came punk and with 1988, rave. He told me that in 1999 the negative spirit would come in again and a new youth culture would emerge - a paramilitary-styled culture. I didn't notice it happening at the time, but perhaps he was just off by a couple of years: BBC News: "Giant sunspot erupts".

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Stunning lines of our time STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/31/2001 10:56:14 PM ----- BODY:

Stunning lines of our time from Mo Morgan (dot com): "I used to be a drummer. The definition of a drummer is someone who hangs around with musicians. I am a web developer. The definition of a web developer is someone who hangs around with computer people."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The BBC launched a dedicated STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/31/2001 11:02:03 PM ----- BODY:

The BBC launched a dedicated film news section of their main news site a couple of days ago. It includes stunning articles from around the industry - not just the standard entertainment fluff you get from some other sites. Because of this, I am particularly disappointed that no new content has been added to it for over twenty-four hours.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: So yesterday, before going out STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/31/2001 11:11:08 PM ----- BODY:

So yesterday, before going out to Popstarz with Gideon, Nick and Davo, I sent Davo a link to an article about short men. Davo is short. [This fact is the inspiration for Davo's spare site: ickle.org - just in case you didn't know that already.] I thought this article was vaguely amusing. In return he sent me an article about pointless whiny friends. I am, it seems, a pointless whiny friend. I don't think I have a site about being a pointless whiny friend yet (unless of course that's what plasticbag.org is). Anyway - the point of this is that I took umbrage in my heart, although I said not a word. And then later in the evening, about two in the morning, I got all whiny and pointless and then I kind of saw his point.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Is it just me that STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/01/2001 12:32:06 PM ----- BODY:

Is it just me that thinks that Hands Off My .ORG! misses a tremendous opportunity to showcase some of the great creative work that individuals and non-profit organisations have put together across the .org TLD?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I am at Meg's house. STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/01/2001 08:57:44 PM ----- BODY:

I am at Meg's house. I am testing something for her. Read this at your peril. I have encoded it with fnords. If you read it too fast your mind will explode. White Wee Wee.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I spent a good twenty STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/01/2001 11:30:22 PM ----- BODY:

I spent a good twenty minutes online with Matt Haughey on AIM yesterday, trying to work out what the French for a certain phrase was, and all the time I knew that the French had a particularly idiosyncratic interpretation of it - one that I just couldn't quite remember. Luckily - he found someone who really did know what they were talking about.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I watched American Beauty [] STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/01/2001 11:36:21 PM ----- BODY:

I watched American Beauty [] last night for about the tenth time. In its honour, I keep thinking that I should try to write about one thing that I find beautiful every day. Tonight I went to see 2001: A Space Odyssey at the Curzon Mayfair. My mother rang me during the intermission to ask me if I'd found a job yet. She worries. I reassured her that I had some freelance stuff going on. While I was on the phone, I glanced up at the sky. It was pale blue, with whisps of white shot through it. Across it was the jetstream of an aircraft. It picked up the light and shone like a laser.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: 24 hours too late: Disinfo STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/02/2001 09:07:01 AM ----- BODY:

24 hours too late: Disinfo acquired by AOL Time Warner
"In a surprise move that has already sent shockwaves through the Entertainment Economy, Disinformation Company Ltd publisher Gary Baddeley and creative director Richard Metzger have joined forces with their nemesis, AOL Time Warner, after months of secret negotiations. The media pranksters waited until April Fool's Day to make their ironic announcement, which confused Disinfonauts, the company's name for site visitors and their most valued customers."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: About a week ago, the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/02/2001 12:27:32 PM ----- BODY:

About a week ago, the Barbelith Underground finally gave up the ghost. But now it's all fresh and new once more - reinstalled and virginal. Reintroduce yourself to the most creative politically futurist subcultural community on the web today.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Is it normal to have STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/02/2001 02:27:03 PM ----- BODY:

Is it normal to have a one hour interview for what might turn out to be at most three or four weeks of part-time freelance HTML work? Maybe I talk too much. Your opinion?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Four Webloggers That I Definitely STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/02/2001 03:17:37 PM ----- BODY:

Four Webloggers That I Definitely Would:

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: So after 2001 last night, STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/02/2001 03:43:58 PM ----- BODY:

So after 2001 last night, my flatmate drove me eight-tenths of the way to Meg's house so I could sell her my printer. I was quite delighted by this since it meant I could either eat for another week or I could have a play with that excellent prostitute who has been scoping me out in Soho recently. Oh, hang on a minute. There's something wrong there...

When I arrived, we regaled each other with tales of woe and frustration for a while, before our life crapulence one-up-man-ship palled. Then we had Thai food out of a silver packet and looked on in horrified silence at the film that Luke was watching. Every ten minutes I'd turn my stupified face away from Titus and towards Meg, at which point I'd ask quietly, "Is it just me that thinks this film is totally fucked up?!". She merely rolled her eyes.

After a while even this new game palled, so we ran into Davo's bedroom, and I rolled around on his bed, and we smoked lots and let our minds run free like Caribou bouncing free across the plains of insanity. We talked of Tom Wopat and how rough he looked after quitting his long-running TV show, and how we weren't entirely convinced by his new career choice. We had a listen to one of his country songs. Later, Luke did too, but he didn't find it as funny as we did. We talked about the worst people in the world to cover Radiohead's Karma Police. (I still put my money on Wizzard.) We determined that I was a feminist and that Meg was insane (scientifically proven fact). We ran and we danced among the flotsam and jetsum of out digital lives, scattering bon mots like candies to the poor and needy children around us. And we laughed and laughed until our lungs burst and we collapsed to the green grass - a camera above us, recording the satisfied, almost sexual, looks on our faces...

The I went home and watched television, reinstalled a web bulletin board and got to sleep about three-thirty in the morning. [Meg's version of events]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Another unprompted e-mail arrives from STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/03/2001 12:17:40 PM ----- BODY:

Another unprompted e-mail arrives from Big. I'm completely fascinated by what might be going on in his head. On a related note I have decided that I don't seem to have any healthy relationships with men which might develop into anything more interesting or long-term. I realised this was getting serious when I was resizing images of people who work at CABE, stumbled upon a picture of a fairly foxy bloke, and started wandering off into the furthest corners of my mind. [Anyone from CABE out there?] Anyway - it's all come together to present only one solution to my current dilemma. I'm putting out an appeal to the world: Find me a boyfriend.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: In the 36 hours since STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/03/2001 12:20:23 PM ----- BODY:

In the 36 hours since the Barbelith Underground relaunched, the upgraded site informs me that it has generated around 20,000 page impressions. I had no idea.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The Stalker: [Game One] I STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/03/2001 12:22:08 PM ----- BODY:

The Stalker: [Game One] I will be at Farringdon tube at 1pm today. A prize to anyone who manages to take a picture of me without my knowledge.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Evidence for the debauchery of STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/03/2001 02:25:25 PM ----- BODY:

Evidence for the debauchery of the latest blog meet courtesy of Nick Jordan's Gallery. Filling in for Meg's crushing inadequacy as a photographer (being outside London is not a suitable excuse), he snapped all of us looking at our absolute best. My mood of the day is best represented by these few gorgeous picture: .Be warned, I have slept little and am fractious, You are all my bitches and Thank God, he's finally put that camera down ... oh JEEZ!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I applied for some freelance STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/03/2001 05:25:11 PM ----- BODY:

I applied for some freelance work a few days back on the basis that it would be a convenient way to earn some money while looking for work and / or writing some freelance journalism. The job I applied for was supposed to be three or four weeks, three or four days a week. I thought it would be a terribly convenient activity - not requiring too much intellectual or time commitment, and getting me over a difficult working period. I would still, in other words, have time for interviews, writing and preparing myself for whatever the job-to-come would be. However, now they want me to learn JSP, work five days a week for four weeks and organise myself as a 'sole trader' through a consultation with an accountant. Suddenly the whole prospect seems considerably less appealing. I don't know what to do.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I'd just like to say STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/03/2001 11:20:35 PM ----- BODY:

I'd just like to say hello to Ralph. Yes, Ralph, it's quite good. If you keep working on it, you might have something worth reading one day!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I have a dream. And STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/03/2001 11:40:40 PM ----- BODY:

I have a dream. And in that dream, under a scorched sky, people with nut allergies are playing Revel Roulette. [Other things to do with Revels: Chess Set: Thanks to Simon.]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Appeal for help: I need STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/04/2001 09:09:55 AM ----- BODY:

Appeal for help: I need a list of the very best UK and London based and/or orientated film websites as soon as is humanly possible. E-mail me!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Newsflash: Whatever it was that STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/04/2001 10:20:46 AM ----- BODY:

Newsflash: Whatever it was that Ev and Matt were talking about looks to be some kind of Blogger-based directory system - perhaps like the slow, but useful weblogs.com - for more information, read the post on Blogger.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I've been sent information on STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/04/2001 10:49:38 AM ----- BODY:

I've been sent information on a few film sites so far - please continue to send me more. In the meantime, here's my spiralling list of wonder:

Important sites outside the UK include:

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Ok, Mr Brilliant. I know STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/04/2001 01:27:54 PM ----- BODY:

Ok, Mr Brilliant. I know you're out there. Stop being such a fuck-wit and drop me an e-mail. I would love to have lunch. Thank you very much.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: A stunningly clever piece STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/04/2001 02:40:04 PM ----- BODY:

A stunningly clever piece of web-tech this, that if developed by some central organisation could completely revolutionise the way in which fonts are handled on the net. The place to go for more information is: ReeveJones.com [via Matt].

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Is the word "CeWebrity" as STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/04/2001 02:46:45 PM ----- BODY:

Is the word "CeWebrity" as cheesy as I think it is? Because I'm thinking it might be time for badges and stuff. Alternative slogans have included: "I bitch about you on the net" and "Even YOU can be someone on the internet..."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: More film sites courtesy of STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/04/2001 02:54:18 PM ----- BODY:

More film sites courtesy of Matthew Ivan Ford of Time Out:

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The lifecycle of a meme STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/04/2001 03:01:46 PM ----- BODY:

The lifecycle of a meme on the internet: Nike shoe personalisation and sweatshop labour.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Question: This one is for STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/05/2001 08:56:18 AM ----- BODY:

Question: This one is for all the IT professionals out there. I need to know this information pretty much immediately: What is the difference between a 'Sole Trader' and a 'Limited Company' - which one is the cheapest and the least hassle for a short piece (1 month) of freelance work? [E-mail Tom]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I went for a drink STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/05/2001 09:01:37 AM ----- BODY:

I went for a drink last night with Matt to cheer him out about some work stuff he's dealing with at the moment. Instead, after scouring Goodge Street for Haddock.org members and Black Belt Jones, I got all mournful in a bar and smoked too much.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/05/2001 09:08:21 AM ----- BODY:

<=== THIS IS A PERMALINK

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: There are days when it's STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/05/2001 02:21:55 PM ----- BODY:

There are days when it's raining outside when you just want to crawl into a hole and curl up in a ball and go to sleep, and get some peace and quiet, and feel relaxed, and not wake up for years.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Should anyone really need yet STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/05/2001 02:34:10 PM ----- BODY:

Should anyone really need yet another introduction to the whole wonderful online mess that is weblog-culture, there's an article on it in the Guardian Online supplement today [online here].

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On tiny worlds: So I'm STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/05/2001 05:35:54 PM ----- BODY:

On tiny worlds: So I'm working at Arehaus again, and they have a part of their site which has their top-ten sites on it. I found this out last night by talking to Matt, who has another site (upsideclown.com) which is in this chart. So I ask around the office today about who chose that site, and it's Emma - who is apparently quite knowledgeable about weblogs in general. She mentions Jason for one and about how she was going to set up her own site at blogging.com. So I mention that I have a site of my own, called plasticbag.org and she looks a bit blank. She's clearly never been. My ego is crushed, of course. It seems as if my legend-in-my-own-lunchbox-ness has been heavily compromised. I now - it seems - only have enough legend to fit inside an old yoghurt carton, or perhaps a Club wrapper.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The conspiracy is afoot. Could STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/06/2001 09:16:27 AM ----- BODY:

The conspiracy is afoot. Could it really be possible that over a year of weblog entries are a complete fabrication? Could it be that the woman behind the posting is not a woman at all, but in fact a team of drunken teen hooligans with a strange, sick sense of humour. Ask yourself now, before it's too late... Is Meg Real?.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Our first clue in the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/06/2001 09:21:55 AM ----- BODY:

Our first clue in the Pickard conspiracy comes with Mo Morgan's feature: "When We Were Very Young". Are we really expected to believe that the picture purporting to be NotSoSoft is anything other than a nameless child of some anarcho-syndicalist post-revolutionary group? Possibly the most terrifying thing about this infantilist rogues gallery is that Davo hasn't changed a bit.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: According to the BBC, scientists STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/06/2001 09:42:06 AM ----- BODY:

According to the BBC, scientists may have identified genes that lend a higher predisposition towards suicide. An old friend of mine killed herself a few years back. We'd lived together on and off for two years and been friends for four or five years. Nothing anyone did seemed to help her, and her life seemed like a kind of unending torment that she just couldn't see the way out of. I really don't know if it makes her death easier to accept if the cause was her genetic make-up. I doubt it would make it easier on the parents either, although perhaps they wouldn't blame themselves so much. I don't know.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: In which Tom continues his STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/06/2001 10:17:12 AM ----- BODY:

In which Tom continues his attempts to rip off every single last piece of content from interconnected.org: So when we were down the pub the other night, and I was being all crapulent and morbid, Matt was busy thinking about the possibilities of interaction between Ultimate Bulletin Board software (as seen on the Barbelith Underground) and Usenet. This is why he will come to rule NewMediaLand and I will sink further into drunkeness and iniquity. But I wouldn't want people to think that he wasn't there for my pain. Oh no.

While I'm at it, I may as well go the whole hog and steal his link to this fascinating article on The Great Divide between the US and Europe, along with the Metafilter thread that accompanies it. You know, because I can.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: From the... To the... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/06/2001 10:27:15 AM ----- BODY:

OK. I really have to get my fat arse in gear, so I'm going to kind of write this in a hurry. Warning: Life Recap [If you are not interested in hearing about what I spend my time doing then stop reading this post (indeed this site) immediately.] Everything is kind of happening at once at the moment. I didn't think I was going to be working today, but then yesterday afternoon someone at Arehaus asked me to come in for another half-day. Which, you know, is a nice extra piece of money. But it is just the latest addition to a whole mad spectrum of weird shit that's been occupying my head. From two separate friends wanting me to go to birthday parties tonight and tomorrow night, to a friend in Bristol who has persuaded me to go and visit her instead of going to those parties, to my attempt to rationalise two separate companies working practices, to my father ringing up with advice from my brother's god-father (an accountant), to my mother ringing up this morning asking if she and my brother could see me today if they travelled the hundred miles from Norfolk, to the builders waking me up with loud incomprehensible conversation on the fourth floor of the scaffolding that is directly outside my bedroom window, to the performace of Romeo and Juliet I went to see last night, which my flatmate worked on, and which wasn't very brilliant, but had lots of hot men with few clothes on, to the kebab I ate (chicken) which really didn't work well, and the cold I can't get rid of, and the fact that I don't have any dry clothes and have to pack and get to work by midday having paid in two cheques, and gone to the laundrette, to all the bills I can't pay, and all the ones I don't want to pay, and all the things surrounding me that I don't understand and find confusing. I need a social secretary.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Weirdest coincidences (2): One of STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/06/2001 02:23:56 PM ----- BODY:

Weirdest coincidences (2): One of the guys working at Arehaus at the moment is one half of the circlemakers.org crop-circle collective that won Guardian Site of the Year a while back.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The train from London to STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/07/2001 11:37:00 AM ----- BODY:

The train from London to Norfolk is like Heart of Darkness - the further you get towards Norwich, the louder beat the tribal drums, the more fear enters your heart. I have to do this next week. This week, however, I took the train from London to Bristol, and the effect is quite different. It feels as if a weight has lifted. Passing Bath, fresh from a storm with the sun low in the sky, all the buildings arranged around the hills sparkled. Everything seemed open and friendly, everyone calmer and at peace. When I arrived at Temple Meads, my friend Rachel was busy and couldn't pick me up. So I walked into town, down past the river and down to The Watershed. Everything was fresh and bright, people even move more slowly. I walked up Park Street to the Starbucks and sat and read The Music of Chance and listened to Ella Fitzgerald until I was picked up. Calmest I have felt in months...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I've had better days. STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/07/2001 06:40:58 PM ----- BODY:

I've had better days.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Sorry about the paucity of STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/09/2001 11:26:01 AM ----- BODY:

Sorry about the paucity of updates. For a variety of reasons I don't really feel like I can talk about much at the moment. Everything will be back to normal in a couple of days. Promise.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On repression: If you don't STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/10/2001 12:43:44 PM ----- BODY:

On repression: If you don't have anything good to say, then don't say anything at all. That's how the old saying goes, is it not? What if there are things to say, good things, but you can't concentrate on them? What if the one thing that you can't talk about is the only thing that you really want to talk about? What if it pushes everything else out of the way? What then?

I read a lot of Freud when I was at University. Repression is what you do when the impulse or desire or memory or truth bubbles up from within you, but is stopped from entering the conscious mind by the super-ego - the part of the brain that stops you becoming the slave of your basic impulses. The thought remains immanent - just below perception, and bubbles up in strangely symbolic dreams and eruptions of irrationality in your everyday life. Like cryptic, confusing posts on a weblog. Like writing that doesn't go anywhere.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I finished reading The Music STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/10/2001 01:08:54 PM ----- BODY:

I finished reading The Music of Chance in Bristol on the weekend. It's one of those books about pushing your life all around you until it collapses and you're finally left with nothing of any value. It's an intelligent pornography of self-destruction, later debased by books like Fight Club and Invisible Monsters. I heartily recommend it.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: What I did last night: STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/10/2001 01:31:10 PM ----- BODY:

What I did last night: I'm going to let Davo do all the hard work of explaining what happened, so I can just say 'thank you' to him and Nick H. for indulging me and momentarily pulling me out of my current funk.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Nerves... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/11/2001 09:41:24 AM ----- BODY:

I'm feeling unhelpfully nervous this morning. I have an important conversation to have which I want to be completely relaxed for, but I'm not. It's an absurd conversation to have - it won't get anything accomplished (or at least I doubt very much that it will) - but I decided that I needed to have it, and here I am. I've got to do it now.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Dear Mr Quayle, It has STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/11/2001 01:29:30 PM ----- BODY:

Dear Mr Quayle, It has come to my attention over the last few months that you bear a certain amount of animosity towards me. As we know from our studies of ancient texts, vengeance stimulates vengeance, and without an external party to steer one towards justice and equanimity one can - I'm afraid - only reciprocate. But this does neither of us any good. Can you not look around you at all you have and, from such a position of success, take pity on those of us forced to battle each day for whatever crumb of self-respect we can muster? Can you not take strength from the size of your home, or your salary, or from your acknowledged potency, intelligence and wit and - recognising that you have won any perceived battle between us - be gracious? Yours, tongue firmly in cheek, Tom Coates.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I've had my conversation, and STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/11/2001 05:02:11 PM ----- BODY:

I've had my conversation, and it went - I suppose - as well as could legitimately be expected. You hope for more, you expect less, and you pray that you don't get kicked too hard. Today's been generally hectic, but for the first time this week I feel like I've actually accomplished something. I wrote my first review for the BBC Film website: "Fly Away Home" [Video | DVD]. I will of course let the world know when it's up on their site. As the first non-survival-related activity that I've managed to complete for quite a while, I can't help but experience a slight upturn in my spirits.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: This is so cool. My STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/13/2001 09:48:09 PM ----- BODY:

This is so cool. My first paid film review. And a page all about me. It's enough to make a man happy to be alive.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Map-making Martyr "Ian Thomas loves STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/13/2001 09:52:23 PM ----- BODY:

Map-making Martyr
"Ian Thomas loves making maps. His talent won him respect and a US government job. So why was he fired for putting a chart of caribou calving areas on the internet?"

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Finally, Angel gets good again. STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/13/2001 10:00:26 PM ----- BODY:

Finally, Angel gets good again. I'm at home in Norfolk with my family at the moment, and so far the best part of the whole experience has been seeing Buffy and Angel back to back on Sky One. I've just seen the episode "Reprise", in which Angel does the dirty deed with Darla. My flatmate may well die of pleasure when she sees it.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: My eating habits are all STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/13/2001 10:19:47 PM ----- BODY:

My eating habits are all over the place, which is probably not the best thing at a time like this. On Thursday night I caught up with an old friend from Bristol, Dan Brilliant. I met up with him at a restaurant on St. Martins Lane. All day up to that point I had eaten half a pain au chocolat and a glass of orange juice. I ate a lot that evening, because he distracted me from the continual soundtrack of "You're a loser" and "No one could love you" playing relentlessly in my head. On Friday, I had eaten exactly nothing by six in the evening. I then had a sandwich and some milk. My mother offered to make me some food when I got back to Norwich, but I just didn't want anything. So that's all I ate all day.

There's something very biologically unlikely about the process of not wanting to eat when you're lovelorn (I can't honestly think of another word that doesn't make me sound ridiculous or pathetic). It just doesn't sound like the kind of thing you'd do if you were designing a reproductive system. Perhaps it's, "So you didn't succeed in your relationship? You're too fat! Lose half a stone and try again." [I'm not saying that I couldn't afford to lose half a stone, but still...] If anyone has any links referring to or explaining the post-(ex/proto)relationship-food-aversion, then please mail me.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: My brother informs me that STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/14/2001 11:51:20 PM ----- BODY:

My brother informs me that my mother says I look like Jamie Oliver. When I ask him in what way, he says, "You know... Scruffy."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I find myself horrified by STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/14/2001 11:57:12 PM ----- BODY:

I find myself horrified by the prospect of returning to London. Norfolk is providing an incredible escape from all the crap I'm supposed to be dealing with at the moment that I don't really want to have to be dealing with, but can't see a way to avoid. I really need a couple of months of something radically different. My cousin Chloe came around this morning, and she suggested that we take off around the West Coast of America for a couple of weeks. I said I'd love to if I stumbled upon a spare five grand.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I am extremely upset that STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/15/2001 12:12:47 AM ----- BODY:

I am extremely upset that I missed dinner at the home of the Finchley Three on Thursday. This is one reason to wish I was back in London, I suppose.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I'm getting increasingly irritated by STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/15/2001 12:13:27 PM ----- BODY:

I'm getting increasingly irritated by being linked to by weblogs that are substantially better than plasticbag.org. It's not my fault, godammit. I try to write good stuff, but it all turns into crap when it hits the screen. And I know that my design's a bit lacklustre, but you don't have to draw attention to it by just sitting there and being cooler than me.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Search request of the day STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/15/2001 12:16:28 PM ----- BODY:

Search request of the day goes to "Pictures of me I'm good looking", which is not only absurdly ridiculous, but manages somehow to bring up Luke, Meg and me as the top three links. And it is true. We are all extremely good looking.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Decision of the day is STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/15/2001 12:26:15 PM ----- BODY:

Decision of the day is whether or not to return to the big smoke this evening or first thing in the morning. I have to prepare for some contract work I'm starting on Tuesday at a company called Avondi at some point tomorrow, so I should go back late this evening and get some sleep. But I'm scared of going back to London and having to face up to long-term employment prospects, pending financial catastrophe and emotional insolvency. And I really want to see Jason and the Argonauts.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The most facile answers ever STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/15/2001 12:29:50 PM ----- BODY:

The most facile answers ever given to the question: "How to get over a crush?" I should point out that this question was today's other strange (and totally inappropriate) search-request and that I didn't just stumble upon this site in a mood of psycho-sexual-spiritual desolation.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: So there's going to be STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/15/2001 12:39:49 PM ----- BODY:

So there's going to be a sequel to American Psycho, the Christian Bale movie in which the amiable 80s yuppie did lots of exercise, looked good in the mirror and sat around brooding while covered in blood and cradling a sizeable axe [BBC News]. But this is only the beginning - "Actress Mila Kunis - best known for her part in the sitcom That 70s Show - will take up the knife-wielding role of the protagonist. She will play a victim of the original psycho, played by Christian Bale, who turns aggressor, causing havoc on a college campus." And it's all in the best possible taste, of course...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Wherever you are provides a STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/15/2001 03:26:09 PM ----- BODY:

Wherever you are provides a rather more helpful piece of advice regarding "how to get over a crush" (see my earlier post) - advice that I intend to undertake immediately:

"And, of course, it's missing the obvious way to get over a crush. Number six in this list should be: 'Trust in the power of magical forces. Construct a voodoo doll of (a) either the person on whom you have the crush, or (b) their current partner. Then sell your soul to Beelzebub and hope for the best.' Now that is much more practical advice."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I'm not returning to London STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/15/2001 10:11:37 PM ----- BODY:

I'm not returning to London tonight. Sod it. Take that, London. One in the eye for you, and no mistake. Ha. I'm going to spend the evening waiting for the Messiah instead. I mean, Jesus. You wait all weekend for your Lord to rise, and instead you're left stuck in front of My Best Friend's Wedding trying not to think about your life. I'll go back tomorrow. Fuck it.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Inquiring minds need to know STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/15/2001 10:32:51 PM ----- BODY:

Inquiring minds need to know everything about the person who typed "Dammit I'm in love with Meg what do I do" into Yahoo!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: In the absence of so STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/15/2001 10:39:24 PM ----- BODY:

In the absence of so you dumped someone over a year ago because you thought it was the right thing to do but regretted it immediately and have so not been able to get over it no matter how hard you try which is a bit sad really.com, I suppose soyouvebeendumped.com might have to do.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Oh, here is London. "Home STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/16/2001 01:27:54 PM ----- BODY:

Oh, here is London. "Home of the brash, outrageous and free." You are repressed. But you're remarkably dressed. Is it Real? And you're always busy. [lyrics]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The Horror of Tax Returns... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/16/2001 02:10:29 PM ----- BODY:

Poor old Prol is busy fighting with her tax returns this Easter Monday, which fills me with horror, as I am equally inept at such enterprises but find myself gradually dipping more and more toes into the 'self-employed' tax bracket, when all I really want is a nice Deputy Editor position at Empire Online. In the meantime, her flat may be covered in paper, but it looks like it's a beautiful place...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On Metafilter Scholarships... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/16/2001 02:14:03 PM ----- BODY:

Again via Prolific.org, Matt Haughey of Metafilter has decided to endow a $500 scholarship to one member who is in University or college at the moment. The contribution is based upon the quality of previous posting plus an essay question. This is an astonishingly positive thing for him to do, and he should be applauded for it.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Dynamo vs. Tumbleweed... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/16/2001 02:20:37 PM ----- BODY:

Be warned, Meg is thinking. Everyone in the know understands that that means trouble is afoot. I, on the other hand, am not thinking. Not thinking at all. My head is a big empty wasteland. There are occasional tumbleweeds. Perhaps I should put up a screen saying "Tom is not thinking"?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On Being Home Alone... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/16/2001 03:09:42 PM ----- BODY:

My flatmates are going away tomorrow for four or five days to the Isle of Wight for a bit of R&R. I am hopelessly jealous of their ability to opt out for a week and disappear, but at the moment the thing that is fascinating me most is how the week will go with me being alone in the flat. That means I'll be starting my contract work with no one to complain to when I get home in the evening. I'm thinking about having a dinner party for my gay friends while they are away, but don't really know how I could afford to do so. I must check my financial resources immediately.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Random Acts of Kindness... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/16/2001 03:14:46 PM ----- BODY:

Thank you to Paul over at Cuckoo-kid.com for buying me a copy of Snatch on DVD from my wishlist. Little random acts of kindness like this are really helpful at the moment. It's really very much appreciated.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Apocalipsticking... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/16/2001 03:26:23 PM ----- BODY:

While we are talking about Amazon, I just thought I should mention that Apocalipstick, the second book of Volume One of The Invisibles is now available for both UK and US fans. It's not the best section of the series, but it sets the scene for a lot of the stuff to come.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Thank you, dear heart... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/16/2001 11:39:47 PM ----- BODY:

I probably shouldn't be thankful for this, but I'd just like to send a nod to the glamorous Mo Morgan for pointing me in the direction of this admirably clear tutorial on JSP.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Looking for ideal man... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/17/2001 12:32:26 AM ----- BODY:

I've just watch Bring it On again, and would like to announce that if you are anything like the character Cliff Pantone (as played by Jesse Bradford) in any way (but, you know, gay), then mail me. Important criteria for ideal man: 1) Should know punk from hole in ground (but not be all scary about it - guitar tendencies important though), 2) Should be centred, passionate, but not moody - able to deal with occasional crap, while understanding where such crap comes from. 3) Should understand (perhaps share) important geek desires like HTML, Buffy and cheesy movies, 4) Should IDEALLY be about 25, circa 5'8", between ten and a half and eleven stone, and healthily scruffy-looking. 5) Good job / money completely unimportant, although restrained intelligence gets big bonus points.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The Palm-sized President that's fun to play with... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/17/2001 08:54:44 AM ----- BODY:

The Portabush: "The most powerful man in the world is now yours to control! PortaBush is the palm-sized version of Dubya that lets anyone experience the joys and headaches of being President. Pass or veto bills, pig out on Texas BBQ, blow-up any number of people or places, flirt with an intern, and when all the stress gets to you, drink yourself silly!" [via syntheticlife.com]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Oh, Not Another One! STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/17/2001 09:00:57 AM ----- BODY:

People seem continually surprised by each new 'homosexual revelation' in the entertainment industry. The latest one concerns Alec Guinness, who apparently was happily married with a child while simultaneously flirting on the side with a little boy-on-boy action. The plain and simple fact is that there are a hell of a lot of gay people in the world - anywhere from sixty to six hundred million of us. And while I'm delighted that people are gradually coming to realise this, I do wish that it wouldn't be such a shock to them each and every time they find out about one more...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Eau de Missing Link... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/17/2001 03:27:20 PM ----- BODY:

Davo is under the mistaken impression that his bizarre Anne Robinson fetish generates an air of sexual mystery around him. The crowds part before him, whispering to each other, "Is he gay? Is he straight? With such a fetish, how could we ever tell?". I have pointed out that the woman is like a super-annuated, hormone treated post-operative transexual with a Hitler obsession, but he doesn't seem to get my point. The Robinson news today concerns the horror with which American critics have greeted her first US show. To be honest, I don't expect America to like it. I don't like it either. But I can at least appreciate its allure as it has gradually (through its ubiquity on afternoon TV) become fascinatingly horrible viewing. Without the creeping horror, I can't see why anyone would watch it...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The Guardian's Ethical Conundrums presents STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/17/2001 03:33:01 PM ----- BODY:

The Guardian's Ethical Conundrums presents us with the question: How do you mend a broken heart? My favourite answer to this, because it amuses me, not because I'd do it, is: "The best way to get over someone is to get under someone...."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Found in Inbox: Someone sent STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/17/2001 05:02:53 PM ----- BODY:

Found in Inbox: Someone sent me this a while back, and I forwarded it to another one of my e-mail addresses because I was at work or something, and now I don't know who did it. If it was you mail me. Anyway - having stumbled upon it once more, I thought I should share it with the world. It really is strangely apposite [Addendum: The source of this particular image is young Meg]:

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Urgent: I'm looking for a STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/18/2001 09:02:02 AM ----- BODY:

Urgent: I'm looking for a site which gives the lowdown on producing well formatted HTML templates, complete with a website's look-and-feel, but which don't break in hotmail, Yahoo! mail and Outlook / Outlook Express. The best I've come up with so far is a fairly lacklustre article from Webmonkey.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: So my old employers, Time STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/18/2001 10:34:43 AM ----- BODY:

So my old employers, Time Out, have finally launched their first city guide in the new style that I had a part in assembling. Certain things seem to have been lost in the shakedown process, but it still just about works. There's a few things that I am a bit confused about, to do with continuity over the site and things that I expected to be brought into line over the site before launch, but it's worth a look nonetheless.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Can someone explain this to STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/18/2001 11:50:56 AM ----- BODY:

Can someone explain this to me? If merely having images of a paedophilic nature on one's computer is a crime (no matter the context), then how can Jack Straw say, "I've seen some of the exhibits - if you can call them that - that are available on the internet, that are run by paedophiles. They really are absolutely appalling" without being promptly arrested? Any decent civil liberties group should be pointing the police in the direction of his PC.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Thanks to my helpful contact STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/18/2001 12:15:06 PM ----- BODY:

Thanks to my helpful contact at AOL, I now have access to a really good ArsDigita article on HTML e-mail. This confronts most of the issues associated with the subject, and is very much worth a read. [Another article]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Last night my complete over-whelming STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/18/2001 01:06:40 PM ----- BODY:

Last night my complete over-whelming exhaustion caught up with me finally. I went out for a drink with Meg, Luke, Davo and Catherine at the O2 centre on Finchley Road. After precisely two cocktails, I couldn't stand and became gradually more maudlin. They persuaded me to go back to their flat for a bacon buttie - almost the only thing I'd eaten all day - by which time my fingers were getting cold and numb. When I finally got home at 10.30pm I collapsed in bed and slept for nearly ten hours.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I was a Teenage Sexualist: STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/18/2001 09:48:13 PM ----- BODY:

I was a Teenage Sexualist: I went to see the American version of Queer As Folk at the London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival a while back, and for me one of the most amusing parts was the peculiar significance of a magazine photograph of Patrick Swayze in the life of two burgeoning masculine sexualities. This led me to think back to my youth, dim and distant though it might be, and to attempt to remember what impacted upon my naive sex-scape.

The first thing I remember having a ... strange ... significance was a teen book about two boys who fell through a ball of energy in a woodland and emerged in Ancient Rome. I remember very little about it, except that the two boys clearly came from some kind of parallel world because they kept talking about how where they came from, the ancient culture that followed Hellenism was centred around Reme, rather than Rome. It doesn't sound very sexy, but it worked for me. [Do you know the name of this book?]

Two other things, I am, however, quite clear about. The first was a bizarre piece of SF called Planet of the Warlord. It's the closest thing to a weird hot S&M fantasy you can imagine. The cover of the copy that I still own has a huge golden masculine robotic body (with a diseased grey face emerging from it) attempting to crush our long-haired hero, Keill Randor above a pit of almost pubic tendrils. Douglas Hill was clearly a bit of a pervert, but the book is extraordinarily strangely sexual. I'm horrief that I'm revealing too much here. You will stop me if I go too far, won't you?

The other thing was, I'm afraid, Cocoon. I'm not proud, but there it is. And before you ask, no I did not find Don Ameche particularly arousing. But it is a film full of short, scruffy, Steve Guttenberg goodness. Mostly naked goodness at that - except for the odd tight t-shirt. And you must never forget that extraordinary alien sex scene with the injection moulded female. This may have formed the basis of many a pointless crush for years to come. Short, pointless, irritating. Come to think of it, teenage fetishes have a lot to answer for.

[Darren was a teenage sexualist as well.]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: About three hours ago I STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/19/2001 12:04:08 AM ----- BODY:

About three hours ago I had a surprise conversation with Demolition Derby. It was a bit out of the blue - Dan and Matt were going to the Popbitch party and wanted to know if I would go along. But the conversation didn't go too well. Things strayed within a thousand miles of a sensitive subject, and I suddenly felt bile rise within me (about the subject not Ms D). I had no idea that such an immediate and strong reaction was possible. I don't know that I'm comfortable even being able to feel such blind aggression and bitterness.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: So it looks like there STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/19/2001 08:54:22 AM ----- BODY:

So it looks like there was an article on weblogs in a recent issue of Yahoo Internet Life. Has anyone scanned this in or transcribed it yet?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I sent an e-mail to STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/19/2001 09:06:31 AM ----- BODY:

I sent an e-mail to Mr Big last night. It read, "So I was just watching TV and saw Simon Le Bon and Guy Ritchie and suddenly thought of you. You back yet?". As usual I don't really expect to get a reply.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: It looks like we will STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/19/2001 11:48:42 AM ----- BODY:

It looks like we will have Apple with us for a little longer at least. Defying expectations to the contrary, they have just announced their profits for the quarter - which are up to 11 cents a share. This is supposedly on the back of two of their newest and classiest products: the Titanium Powerbook and OSX. When I win the lottery, they are the first things I intend to buy before hopping on a plane to Bermuda for a few weeks to get some life perspective.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Request: Now I'm looking for STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/19/2001 12:13:58 PM ----- BODY:

Request: Now I'm looking for browser-emulation sites, if such things exist. Meg sent me dejavu.org, but while it is extraordinarily entertaining using all the browsers that I haven't even seen in five years, I need something a little more cutting-edge. Do such things exist?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: So you are working in STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/19/2001 12:29:23 PM ----- BODY:

So you are working in a start-up company around Regent's Park, and you're only going to be doing it for a month, and it's a very male company, and you're only doing it four days a week, and they keep talking about football and the merits of David Beckham, and you don't really have a clue about that kind of stuff nor are you really interested in pretending that you do. Is it worth making an effort to get to know people?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Today's reading matter of choice: STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/19/2001 12:35:37 PM ----- BODY:

Today's reading matter of choice: An Incomplete Manifesto of Growth. Learn well, my children.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: This ridiculous list of Tom-related STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/19/2001 03:09:21 PM ----- BODY:

This ridiculous list of Tom-related nicknames is brought to you via Mo Morgan. It neglects 'Tomato' and 'Tomsk' which are possibly the only two that I remember having been called. Oh, and Thos (rhymes with floss) which is what my step-father called me for about ten years while I squirmed inside.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Because you can never push STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/19/2001 05:59:00 PM ----- BODY:

Because you can never push an obsession too far: Thanks to Davo for this particular gem:

Davo knows how to make a guy feel good about himself

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Meg returns, and with a STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/20/2001 09:01:35 AM ----- BODY:

Meg returns, and with a new design to boot - plus a really long piece of writing about why she went away and why she came back...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On Helpful Insights... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/20/2001 09:06:24 AM ----- BODY:

Helpful insight into my work-related quandary? [cf. yesterday's post]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: A while ago I was STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/20/2001 09:10:54 AM ----- BODY:

A while ago I was talking about reading Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell's From Hell - a savage graphic novel about Jack the Ripper. Featured as part of the book is the transcript of a letter purporting to be from the killer himself. In fact the book contains many dozens of letters written by the general public concerning the murders, each one claiming to be the perpetrator of the Whitechapel murders. In the news today, one such letter has been made public for the first time: "The so-called Openshaw letter is littered with spelling mistakes and bad grammar in a "Cockney" style, and is signed by 'Jack the Ripper'.". The article is a fascinating read, and ever more so when you read Moore's fictional account alongside it...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Thanks to Francesca Gavin, London STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/20/2001 11:04:55 AM ----- BODY:

Thanks to Francesca Gavin, London Media Maven, for sending me this particularly ... juicy ... link from the Ottowa Citizen Online: Dead slug was no treat for horrified snackers. It's enough to put you off Rice Krispie Squares for ever.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Malkovich is Malkovich Malkovich. Malkovich STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/20/2001 11:46:12 AM ----- BODY:

Malkovich is Malkovich Malkovich. Malkovich Malkovich's seen the film Malkovich Malkovich and Malkovich it, here is a Malkovich to Malkovich the Malkovich Malkovich Malkovich Malkovich Malkovich Malkovich Malkovich Malkovich Malkovich. Malkovich: The Malkovich Malkovich. Here's what Malkovich.org Malkovich Malkovich Malkovich the site. [via Luke]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Today I found a page STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/20/2001 12:30:45 PM ----- BODY:

Today I found a page in my referrers log which really quite interests me. It's a Quick Essentials page for a fellow weblogger, which uses simple javascript window.open commands to open all the sites that he wishes to view on any given day in one go. When you click onto a link windows erupt onto the screen, allowing you to scan them all with tremendous speed. And each link launches sites with similar content. It's an extraordinarily simple little piece of code, and ideal for an individual's homepage. You may see aspects of its functionality incorporated into plasticbag.org over the weekend.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Why said Microsoft didn't have STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/20/2001 03:43:37 PM ----- BODY:

Why said Microsoft didn't have a sense of humour? I'll tell you who - pretty much every single rational and intelligent man, woman or child in the Western hemisphere.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The BBC finally decides to STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/20/2001 04:21:55 PM ----- BODY:

The BBC finally decides to cover the whole ICANN controversy: Domain Dispute Drags On. The whole issue frustrates me - particularly the potential loss of .org domain names as held by individual creative sites (such as plasticbag.org).

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I'm meeting up with a STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/20/2001 04:28:03 PM ----- BODY:

I'm meeting up with a friend from University who I haven't seen in over five years. Nick Carey was this bearded wonder who used to roam around my old halls of residence, getting drunk and misbehaving. He used to have a scruffy mess of curly hair as well. Once, he and Fenner ran naked in the rain at night across Goldney's lower paddock while I stood, eyebrow raised with an umbrella and their clothes. He's been in Prague on and off for years now, and I keep losing track of him. I'm fascinated to know what he's like now. I'm also horrified by him saying something like, "Jesus Christ - what the fuck happened to you?!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Quote: And if anyone objects STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/20/2001 08:52:31 PM ----- BODY:

Quote: And if anyone objects that they are not worth the effort, I will cite Cioran (not a classic, at least not yet, but a contemporary thinker who is only now being translated into Italian): 'While the hemlock was being prepared, Socrates was learning a melody on the flute. "What use will that be to you?", he was asked. "At least I will learn this melody before I die." ' [Calvino]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Quote: I see the sun STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/20/2001 09:17:13 PM ----- BODY:

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Quote / Theory: "Life's what STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/20/2001 09:28:10 PM ----- BODY:

Quote / Theory: "Life's what happens when you're busy making other plans." I talked about this with Matt last night after the Black Belt Jones party. I've come to a strange accommodation with this quote. One of its many origins is the Lennon song Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy). I used to think that it meant that people were too caught up in their 'other plans' and missed the life that was passing by around them. Now I think that's a seriously naive reading. I now think that rather than reading an 'instead' at the end of the sentence, the profundity of the sentence comes from the potential double meanings around 'when'. i think an interpretation that makes more sense to me suggests that life does in fact not happen when you are not making plans - that the 'when' is a 'while' is an 'at only those times when'. Living is in the distraction of things, not in their absence. I said all this to Matt. He thought it was depressing.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: To all the gay people STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/20/2001 09:57:36 PM ----- BODY:

To all the gay people I know. The time has come. Tomorrow evening I declare War. It is time to assemble the multifarious legions of faggotry. Non-attenders will be treaters as deserters and promptly shot on sight. YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE. I'd tell you more, but War is a tricky thing, and frankly I haven't figured out what we are going to do yet. But nonetheless, you will be expected to attend. THIS IS NOT A JOKE. REPEAT, THIS IS NOT A JOKE.

[This message, which is not a joke, was brought to you, in part, by the campaign to get Tom, Davo and lots of other people drunk, shagged and married off by August. Follow instructions on the packet. Do not boil wash. Attendance by completely hot strangers almost required. More details to come.]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I can't thank Davo enough STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/21/2001 10:28:00 AM ----- BODY:

I can't thank Davo enough for the new book from Disinformation: "You are being lied to". I've already decided to use it as a basis for discussion over on Barbelith, with each individual article being a basis of discussion. The first one went up today: On Howard Bloom, "Reality is a Shared Illusion", a discussion based around the article posted on the web here. More tomorrow.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Apparently I write things that STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/21/2001 12:48:16 PM ----- BODY:

Apparently I write things that are quote-worthy. Not recently perhaps, but once. On photodude.com/weblog (a remarkably well designed site), there appear to be at least three seperate weblogs in operation. One of them - the quote log - is a great idea, and includes some real gems. Concealed amongst these gems lurks: "We're all stuck here. We have no choice. We are logging automata - forced by the web to prostitute our writing skills day in and day out until we die. We shall write until we drop. Then we shall be boiled down into a black unctious liquid and people will use us for ink." I said that, although I don't remember where... Do you remember where?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Quote: I ain't happy, I'm STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/21/2001 05:28:04 PM ----- BODY:

Quote: I ain't happy, I'm feeling glad, I've got sunshine, In a bag, I'm useless, But not for long, The future is coming on. [link]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I think, all things considered STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/22/2001 12:03:07 PM ----- BODY:

I think, all things considered that we must consider the first foray in the war to have been a complete success. I, certainly, had a lovely time. Although I did spend money, which is, you know, bad.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The future, as I have STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/22/2001 12:13:36 PM ----- BODY:

The future, as I have said innumerable times before, is wank. My tirade against the mischaracterisation of non-reproductive sexuality has today come face to face with its antithesis - an evil that can only be called the National Wanky Homepage Cull. Be warned, they are coming for your sites this April 28th.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Are you in a doomed STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/22/2001 12:21:34 PM ----- BODY:

Are you in a doomed dot.com start-up? [again from seethru]: "You're one of the dotcom revolutionaries. It's a career at the bleeding edge of new media. You're well paid. You're in demand. Everything's rosy. But next week, will you be standing by the traffic lights, mopping windscreens with a damp chammy? You goin' down, fool!"

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: This evening I am proud STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/23/2001 12:44:58 AM ----- BODY:

This evening I am proud to host the second Maida Vale post-work Buffy marathon, in which my source at Time Out will exchange new episodes for old, and where we shall once again talk about the full range of merchandise that litters the flat - from my box-sets to Mella's Angel cut-out, posters, books and chocolate bars. We will also (with any luck) get to watch the episode about the death of Buffy's mother that is discussed at considerable and intelligent depth over at Salon.com. The song said, "whatever gets you through the night, it's alright". But I think I can honestly state that Buffy helps me get through the days as well. And I don't care how sad that sounds - I got a first class degree from a good university, did over three years of postgraduate work, delivered papers overseas, retrained as a journalist and worked for Time Out while running a series of relatively successful websites - and all by the age of twenty eight. My opinion should count for something goddammit.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Last night I found myself STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/23/2001 01:01:36 AM ----- BODY:

Last night I found myself watching The Tailor of Panama with Nick H at the Odeon in Leicester Square. I've been celebrating my return from the brink of madness this weekend - I got paid on Friday and suddenly found myself safe from bankrupcy and able to pay the rent for another month. The sheer amount of relief that this has provided me is indescribable. I decided that I should use the opportunity to get myself functioning as a person again - to attempt to salvage my self-respect by any means necessary. So I went out for a drink and a meal with a few friends, sorted out my malfunctioning phone by trading it in for a new one, spent a Tower Records credit note I've had forever, and started trying to decide what clothes to buy for my 'interview outfit'. The only thing that I've not been able to work on at all is my hair, which is fast becoming an obsession. I can't look at someone in public at the moment without being aware of the fluffy mullet I'm developing.

But back to the film. There are a fair number of conflicting reviews about it in the media at the moment. One of my particular favourites is over at the BBC. I don't agree with it, but it entertained me. In short, although the end of the film is a bit messy, it's an extremely intelligent and entertaining movie, with an comedically corrupt feel to it, and some great performances. Go and see it, because it will piss off Middle America, and you know that's always fun.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I confess. It was I STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/23/2001 08:57:14 AM ----- BODY:

I confess. It was I that thought that Dan was a funny bastard. I do not, however, wish to rip his arms from their sockets. I have someone else in mind for that particular treatment.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I've talked about Grant Morrison's STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/23/2001 09:00:36 AM ----- BODY:

I've talked about Grant Morrison's theories on the relationship between sunspot activity and youth rebellion several times before - but here is another article connected with it: "The Sun Does a Flip". Again the eleven year cycle is mentioned, as is something called 'Solar Max', which we can only assume is a deity associated with rebirth and bloody irritating revelations. Hail Solar Max.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: It's true. I give up. STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/23/2001 01:27:16 PM ----- BODY:

It's true. I give up. I accept my fate. I am become (geek) god. How else can explain the cravings? Why else would this fill me with such drooling awe? For what other reason would my tongue moisten at the mention of #include <beer.h>? And Oh My God, look at all the pretty caffeine. It's like the mothership is calling me home. [Tom also enjoys the theatre, novels, music, films, contemporary culture, philosophy and ancient greek tragedy. If you would like Tom as your sexual partner, please e-mail a photograph and (small) MP3 of your voice to: tom%40plasticbag.org]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: If anyone knows where I STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/24/2001 12:53:08 AM ----- BODY:

If anyone knows where I can get a copy of Fireball without paying the extortionate trans-atlantic shipping costs, then could they please mail me?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Time and need are connected STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/24/2001 01:06:05 AM ----- BODY:

Time and need are connected in some strange extravagant way with one another. The more desire you feel, the longer seems the time you have to wait to see it fulfilled. The harder you exert a pull, the further you seem to have to strain. Relationships between people can be measured by their perceptions of time. "I haven't seen you in ages," he cries. "I seem to see him all the time," she complains.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Thanks to Ralph for finding STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/24/2001 09:41:51 AM ----- BODY:

Thanks to Ralph for finding me the IMDB's list of Cool Buffy Quotes.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Eight episodes in one night. STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/24/2001 10:22:03 AM ----- BODY:

Eight episodes in one night. It's almost inhuman devotion. Noam and Nick C arrived around seven with pizza, drink, cream cakes and muffin mix to find Mella and I ready and waiting for the first of the evening's screenings. We started off with the rather startling Passion from Season Two before skipping to the final, traumatic episodes, Becoming Parts I & II. Noam looked a bit shaken afterwards, so we reassured her that Buffy would indeed return to Sunnydale by watching the first episode of Season Three: Anne, even though it isn't actually that good. Before the episode I pointed out to all present that Anne was also in the episode Lie to Me, as well as having appeared in several recent episodes of Angel. This earned me the Buffy Geek Of The Night Award. Shortly afterwards Noam and Nick departed, leaving Mella and I with a stack of new episodes of Buffy and Angel peering up at us lasciviously. It didn't take long before we had marched our way through the two episodes of Angel, and while I ducked out so that Mella could see I was made to love you, which I had already seen, I returned for The Body and Forever. Asleep by 3.30am.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: International Buffy Day continues with STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/24/2001 11:32:51 AM ----- BODY:

International Buffy Day continues with news from the BBC that the show is to switch networks in the states [BBC News]. The series is to move to UPN for purely financial reasons for at least two more seasons. There is speculation that Angel will swap networks at the same time. If this doesn't happen, we may have seen the last of crossovers between the two series.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: My family live in Norfolk. STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/24/2001 12:31:04 PM ----- BODY:

My family live in Norfolk. Norfolk is the flattest county in the UK. My family live in an area known as 'Belaugh Hills and Hollows'. We live on top of one of the biggest hills in the area. It can take as much as four minutes to walk down to the river... This mountainous region is set to be the setting for a new American film, being filmed in Ireland, about huge mountain dwelling dragons: Americans are amusing people.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Good news for film buffs STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/24/2001 12:37:00 PM ----- BODY:

Good news for film buffs and industry notaries, Screendaily.com has come online once more a mere three weeks after being scrapped. The whole story is available on the BBC.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Jack Fear asks the question: STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/24/2001 01:48:18 PM ----- BODY:

Jack Fear asks the question: Are the Gorillaz concept band merely a ripped off Slutcore only with (shudder) actual music?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Insight: "Putting your trust in STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/24/2001 04:53:45 PM ----- BODY:

Insight: "Putting your trust in a financial institution other than Metrobank, well, that's like hypnotizing chickens."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Aside: Pictures from Matt Jones' STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/25/2001 12:39:55 AM ----- BODY:

Aside: Pictures from Matt Jones' party. Can't see Matt Interconnected anywhere. I've looked quite hard.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Excerpts from 'My Big Gay STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/25/2001 12:52:35 AM ----- BODY:

Excerpts from 'My Big Gay Life' (1) So you're in a bar and you bump into some people you used to work with, and one of them has brought a friend and everyone except for Mandy is gay or has dabbled and the friend apparently has had a bet with another gay bloke there about whether or not you are gay, and he's bet �150,000 that you're not. And you think he might fancy you a bit, and you're a bit flattered for a moment that he didn't think you were gay, and then you're horrified with yourself for being really weak and Uncle Tom-ish.

Excerpts from 'My Big Gay Life' (2) So Mandy turns around to you and says, "He's like you - straight-acting", and that spark goes off in your head again about acting and pretending and 'trying to be straight' and whether or not the way you are is post-gay or pre-gay, and you kind of get slightly nervy because straight-acting always means to you that they haven't dealt with all the crap yet, and you really think that you have dealt with all the crap, and done the defensive non-camp to bit of a poof to whatever the fuck you think you are now routine, and now kind of just want to get on with finding some relatively non-screwed up individual to talk to in bed. It's like that thing with your mother when she says that people are always braver in their heads than they are in everyday life, and how much you've tried to prove that wrong over the last ten to fifteen years.

Excerpts from 'My Big Gay Life' (3) So someone asks you how you are which was kind of the question that you were dreading (along with 'where are you working at the moment' - as if working were some kind of natural state rather than a wonderful / horrible trick that life plays on you). And you kind of go a bit through the 'had a bit of a hard time recently' schtick to explain your lacklustre wit, while trying not to bounce up and down too heavily on the world's largest set of pre-strung violin strings. This necessitates stories of recent occurrences, stories that are getting worn out with retelling. Someone says, 'Men are cunts'. You grin cheerfully and spark up a cigarette.

Excerpts from 'My Big Gay Life' (4) And you get home and the television is full of them and you go and check your e-mail and Mr Big has got back to you, and it's a dry e-mail, kind of bony and undernourished, so you send one back that's even shorter because maybe then you can play that game where they die off to an invisible length and the one who finally doesn't reply wins, although neither party really knows why, or indeed is particularly happy about it. And you look at your bed and you're really really tired and you finally go Sod it and go to sleep.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Speakers Corner for the 21st STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/25/2001 11:25:17 AM ----- BODY:

Speakers Corner for the 21st Century - a place by the side of a road where you can meet people who will beam short-stories, political tracts and other missives to your PDA from their own Palm Pilot. Yet another avenue of proliferation opens to the meme-stream.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Tomorrow morning at 11am, Meg STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/25/2001 05:36:20 PM ----- BODY:

Tomorrow morning at 11am, Meg will be having coffee. Why don't you join her? The following day around 11am, I plan to visit the lavatory. You may all join me for that too if you wish. Later in the week, Luke has sex... I may sound snarky, but I honestly love this stuff.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Conversation with old friend: "You STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/25/2001 05:56:12 PM ----- BODY:

Conversation with old friend: "You see what you need is someone who knows what the fuck they are doing, rather than some fat, hairy sucking butthole with half a brain cell."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The Misheard URL Project STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/25/2001 07:13:23 PM ----- BODY:

The Misheard URL Project (Parts one and two): BRANsluice (for your bowels) CaptainBEZ.com (dances badly).

The Misheard URL Project (Part three): MoOrgan.com (the inside scoop)

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Tit for tat. I suppose STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/26/2001 02:04:35 AM ----- BODY:

Tit for tat. I suppose it's only fair. I will shortly be appearing on Mo's baby pictures section. I still maintain that only Davo looks exactly the same now as he did as a kid.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Monogamy is suddenly everywhere - STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/26/2001 10:00:54 AM ----- BODY:

Monogamy is suddenly everywhere - or more to the point, discussions of monogamy are. Over at Barbelith, there's a substantial debate raging about Monogamy vs Open Relationships, while the BBC discusses a New Scientist article that suggests that monogamy only evolves in species where the female is able to disguise whether or not she is sexually fertile. It is perhaps for this reason that those times in which a woman is least sexually fertile are stigmatised and have traditionally been a source of embarrassment to women. Quite what this means for gay relationships is something that I am unclear on - whether or not it is a social enterprise that is circumvented by the absence of a woman, or whether it is a cross-gender hard-coded (at least now) trait with genetic origins.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: There's a substantial (and pretty STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/26/2001 10:08:24 AM ----- BODY:

There's a substantial (and pretty well written and thought out) article on weblogs and weblogging over at Yahoo! Internet Life at the moment. I always find these articles slightly annoying since they never mention plasticbag.org (unless I know the author of the article), but I suppose that's my own problem and I'm just going to have to get over it. [Prol's thoughts]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The question of the moment STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/26/2001 10:12:24 AM ----- BODY:

The question of the moment is whether or not to reboot. I've been meaning to do some tightening work on pb.org for weeks now, but just haven't had the time. Perhaps this is enough incentive - tighten, sharpen, refine, polish. I could do it this weekend. Oh so tempting. Or perhaps I should follow Jason and engineer a Skiboot instead. It occurs to me that the relaunches will kind of blend in with one another and that it might be a more intelligent thing (after Darwin and Dawkins) to pre-empt the general relaunch by a day. You might get more traffic that way.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Tonight: UK webloggers meet up STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/26/2001 10:16:21 AM ----- BODY:

Tonight: UK webloggers meet up again. This time the evening is known as: sick of the parrot. All non-attendees will be executed. Do you understand what I'm saying?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Possibly the coolest thing on STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/26/2001 10:57:47 AM ----- BODY:

Possibly the coolest thing on the net - the complete Anatomy of the Human Body by Henry Gray. Complete with disgustingly anatomical cut-away drawings of the human body.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I'm slightly surprised that anyone STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/26/2001 04:44:07 PM ----- BODY:

I'm slightly surprised that anyone would be comfortable with being featured in an article called 'From cause celebre to scum of the earth in just three months', but I suppose you have to have a sense of humour about these things.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Turning the tables on DSR: STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/26/2001 05:15:58 PM ----- BODY:

Turning the tables on DSR: a selection of search terms used to find their site, according to their stats page (5.10pm GMT): long dong silver, LITTLE NATURIST, Pokemon Porn, haemorrhoids, the shit files it's just a of shit, sexy iranian, pictures of horses (check this one out) and Almost nude.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Definition of Weblog: Place where STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/27/2001 08:55:47 AM ----- BODY:

Definition of Weblog: Place where people who aren't heard in everyday life can not be heard online.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Send me head-fibre... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/27/2001 11:30:01 AM ----- BODY:

Send me e-mail. I want some e-mail. No fluff. Good stuff. Suggestions, ideas, creative stuff. I need to take a brain-dump, but I haven't been getting enough head-fibre recently. So come on kids, help me purge.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Songs lyrics for a Friday STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/27/2001 12:20:46 PM ----- BODY:

Songs lyrics for a Friday morning: [Nothing Is Good Enough]

That nothing is good enough
for people like you
who have to have someone take the fall
and something to sabotage--
determined to lose it all

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: It's SO not fair to STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/27/2001 02:48:11 PM ----- BODY:

It's SO not fair to write a post about me, include the word Prozac and do it in a language that I just don't understand.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I'm deliberating, after a depressingly STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/27/2001 03:55:24 PM ----- BODY:

I'm deliberating, after a depressingly awful meeting with Big last night, whether or not I should send him this e-card, while making it clear - of course - that it is a joke. Perhaps I could combine it with a 'I'm heartily sick of this' message. Maybe that would make it clearer. And to whoever it is that keeps finding this site by typing in my name into Google can sod right off as well. It feels really creepy.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Thanks to Andi for helping STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/27/2001 04:04:24 PM ----- BODY:

Thanks to Andi for helping an otherwise slow afternoon at work. And to her companion with the excessively acidic stomach - lay off the coke. If you're not careful, you'll burn right through...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Wow, that really is cool! STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/28/2001 10:44:01 AM ----- BODY:

Wow, that really is cool! A "Mac OS X application that takes a small metadata file, and wraps a lovely GUI around a shell script". Jesus Christ. I need me one of them. I mean, after all, it could be extremely useful if I wrote "a command-line script and [needed] to let someone with no Unix experience run the program". Could someone tell me please, why oh why are all my friends better at all this technical crap than me?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Barbelith: Timothy McVeigh's letter to STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/28/2001 11:08:36 AM ----- BODY:

Barbelith: Timothy McVeigh's letter to Fox: "You may or may not have ethics or beliefs that match up with this man's. Mine do not match his particularly closely. Having said that, if I believed what he did, and could express myself as clearly as he can, and honestly believed that the FBI was an affront to the freedom of America's citizenry - well wouldn't his actions then be justified? If he believes himself to be at war, then isn't it appropriate to fight that war? So that's the question - how do we tell whether someone's ethics are acceptable? And the actions that they take? Where do we draw the line? If I see a people oppressed, is it my job to fight for them, tooth and claw, whether they be in Bosnia, or unknowingly oppressed in the US?"

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On the peer-to-peer / interconnected STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/28/2001 11:55:32 AM ----- BODY:

On the peer-to-peer / interconnected / web of trust: This is a rough combination of ideas from epinions, dirk and napster (with a little bit of avondi in there as well).

We all know about Napster. The principle is simple for the few of you that don't. I have MP3 files on my computer. Napster keeps a record of what I have. While I am online, other people online can search for MP3s, and download them directly from my computer if they want.

Now imagine that every citizen in a country has a program on their computer like Napster. Instead of MP3 files, they present themselves and the skills that they have, or merchandise and products that they produce or work with. That's stage one - people can do a search for a good or service that they want, and find the individual or company that produced it directly. There is a separate box, optional, for the area in which the service is to operate. The next stage (which is one that is already semi-implemented by Napster) is the integration of instant messaging. All the people that you know on a daily basis and wish to communicate with are on your friends list. Now you integrate epinions' 'Web of Trust'. You can rate your friends (or anyone else on the network) as to their provision of any service that they offer (from cabbages to web design). You can also rate them as a friend, whether they are someone that you intrinically like and / or trust. Now when someone does a search for 'web design' they first and foremost get a search that runs down their web of trust. People that they trust, who know people that they trust, might know of someone who they think is a great web designer. Each step removed from the originator lowers the potential trust rating of the person, while a separate geographically random - in order to limit the possibility of cultish behaviour - sampling of five hundred other people's opinons presents an average of the general faith in the company or institution. Finally, combine this whole thing with an avondi style currency of barter exchange, and you've just heavily democritised the entire free-market economy along peer-to-peer lines.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: A fascinatingly political comment from STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/28/2001 05:55:01 PM ----- BODY:

A fascinatingly political comment from the BBC on The UK Census and Big Brother: "Most appreciate that the information is vital for planning the numbers of schools, hospitals and social services. But many will feel a twinge of unease about invasion of privacy and revealing all to faceless government officials."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: A tesseract or hypercube is STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/28/2001 06:37:39 PM ----- BODY:

A tesseract or hypercube is a piece of hypothetical four-dimensional geometry that is generated by dragging a cube across a fourth dimension much as that cube is generated by dragging a square across three dimentional space. There's a fair amount on the net about them, but my favourite site (simply called Tesseract) includes a projection of the 4-d hypercube onto three dimensions. It's not entirely clear from the simulation how or what such an entity operates. But for more about this, and other geometric/dimensional wonders, you can't go far wrong with Flatland.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Gasp?! Vodka vs. Staying at home... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/28/2001 08:41:02 PM ----- BODY:

I have a quandary. In my flat, we have (to date) four rules of life. Two of these rules (1 and 4) this evening appear to be in direct opposition with one another. The situation is that I might have to go out for a drink with a friend in central London. The rules are as follows: 1) Inside Good, Outside Bad. 2) Everyone's a **** (i) Men are particularly ****s. 3) Buffy is life. 4) Vodka is our friend. What shall I do? [You have until 9pm GMT to answer this question.]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: If someone said that they STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/29/2001 12:15:08 PM ----- BODY:

If someone said that they were going away for a week, but that they'd give you a ring once they'd got back, at what stage can one start legitimately getting slightly narked? Your answers please!

Excerpts from 'My Big Gay Life' (5) So you think you're angry with Big for the way the evening ended the other day, and you'd chucked him a very brief e-mail designed to assess the lines of communication, to which there had been no reply. So after a conversation with a friend, you decide that what you really want to do is give him a quick ring. So you do. And he hangs up on you. Which makes you think, what the hell? So you sit there for a minute being puzzled and slightly irritable, before deciding to be magnanimous. So you send a text message saying: 'Fair enough. See you around sometime". And then he rings up immediately. His dog is playing in the river, and he's all cheery. What exactly does one say in this situation?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: This is possibly the least STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/29/2001 12:48:11 PM ----- BODY:

This is possibly the least helpful article on dealing with a gay teenager that I have ever read. And I can only hope and pray that in ten or twenty years time, comments like "In truth, no parent wishes for a gay child. Who would want their son or daughter to follow a lifestyle that invites ridicule, heartache and prevents grandchildren!" will be considered hopelessly backwards and insulting by all reasonable people.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: [After Jason] I've submitted a STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/29/2001 12:54:21 PM ----- BODY:

[After Jason] I've submitted a word ('unsightful') to the pseudodictionary. Have you?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Grant to write X-men... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/29/2001 01:07:05 PM ----- BODY:

Grant Morrison, personal god of mine, and my first and only hero, is shortly to take over the writing of the world's biggest selling comic-book, the X-men. For those of you who promise not to think me a completely ridiculous geek, here (along with some discussion) are some scans of the first two pages.

Excerpts from 'My Big Gay Life' (6): So you're in a shop and you see a magazine, and on the cover is some guy that you wanted to be involved with. And you say to yourself, Good Christ. And you send them a text message which reads, Good Christ. And you take the magazine into a bar and order a coke. And you sit down and open the magazine. And then you put the coke down, feel slightly weird, leave the bar, get on a tube and go home.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: As the song says, "Wouldn't STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/29/2001 07:16:59 PM ----- BODY:

As the song says, "Wouldn't a smarter man, simply walk away?"

A while ago I was looking for a site that could simulate how sites would look in other browsers. Well thanks to a co-worker at Avondi, I've found one. The only problem is you have to pay them up to $120 a year for the privilege. If I had that much spare cash at the moment, however, I'd do it in a heartbeat - I've watched it in action, and it's a sweet piece of online kit. Designing cross-browser and platform is tricky enough if you are using a PC, but when you design on a Mac, something like this would be an absolute life-saver.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: As I experience yet another STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/30/2001 11:53:36 AM ----- BODY:

As I experience yet another entirely frustrating battle with page rendering on Netscape, I am forced to agree (for a moment at least) with Jakob Nielsen: Frames Suck Most of the Time.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Yesterday I went to see STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/30/2001 01:00:26 PM ----- BODY:

Yesterday I went to see The Mexican with Meg. But afterwards I didn't do anything creative at all. In fact I wandered into town, had a brainfart and came home again. My mind operates in prescribed orbits at the moment - and the orbits get faster and smaller. I want my old mind back - larger orbits, slower, more thorough. Peaceful.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Today 3.00 GMT: Anti-globalisation protests STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/30/2001 01:19:13 PM ----- BODY:

Today 3.00 GMT: Anti-globalisation protests : Naomi Klein Live Online. Get yourself a comfy seat and a packet of bourbons, as Ms Klein takes on months of media doublespeak. Then go buy her bloody book. If it doesn't inspire aggression and post-capitalist ire in you then you're a better person than I want to be.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: My five criteria for success: STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/30/2001 05:46:24 PM ----- BODY:

My five criteria for success:

Having respect for what you do (equals creative input).
Doing that thing well (enjoying it to the extent that you don't clockwatch).
Being recognised for same.
Changing the world in some way (for the better).
Getting enough money to not have to worry about stuff.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: "The picture-story fantasy cuts STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/01/2001 12:23:47 AM ----- BODY:

"The picture-story fantasy cuts loose the hampering debris of art and artifice and touches the tender spots of universal human desires and aspirations. . . . Comics speak, without qualm of sophistication, to the innermost ears of the wishful self." -- William Moulton Marston [Wonder Woman's Powers]

Or to put it another way, comic books appeal to those people who are cursed to have imagination and desires far far beyond the ability of the world to fulfill, and who are not prepared to give up this magic in exchange for a suit and a desk job.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Seethru once again proves itself STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/01/2001 01:01:04 AM ----- BODY:

Seethru once again proves itself to be of rather higher quality than your usual online zine, with the stunning feature 10 Reasons Why Jamie Oliver Is So My Bitch [made by: ampnet]. You can take Salon and shove it up your arse, frankly. I'm happy with my new ziny chums. I wonder if they've got any jobs going...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Of all the questions about STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/01/2001 12:35:17 PM ----- BODY:

Of all the questions about the net that people have asked or continue to ask, this one does seem to be one of the more significant: Why is it perfectly legal to post a diagram of how to build a bomb on the net, but you can't post a code that descrambles DVDs?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Tuesday May 1st 2001: The STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/01/2001 01:01:03 PM ----- BODY:

Tuesday May 1st 2001: The May Day Demonstrations are happening in London today, about five minutes from where I am working at the moment. I have decided to take the day off work rather than deal with the fallout of moving in and out of town. Part of me thinks I should be there. Another part thinks I very definitely shouldn't.

Where to go for online coverage? The Guardian is doing a Special Report online all day, which includes a statement of intent that you can't really fault. There are also discussions on Barbelith, dossiers at disinfo and live updates at uk.indymedia.org. Meanwhile the BBC gets right down to the practicalities of being snotty and concentrating on violence and injuries.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: My net access goes down STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/01/2001 10:58:48 PM ----- BODY:

My net access goes down for eight hours and I nearly snap from the strain of it all. I'm stuck at home unable to do anything - it's like a limb's been removed. Many episodes of Buffy later, I'm left considering the amount of crutches I need to be able to operate effectively at the moment, and whether or not it's an attractive feature in a man to be gutted by a high-school awards ceremony with a toy umbrella covered in tinsel and marked with the words 'Buffy Summers - Class Protector'.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: "I'm gonna give you all STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/01/2001 11:04:51 PM ----- BODY:

"I'm gonna give you all a nice, fun, normal evening if I have to kill every person on the face of the Earth to do it. " [Source]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Fuck it. While we are STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/01/2001 11:10:44 PM ----- BODY:

Fuck it. While we are at it, in the spirit of the times, and because I have never in my life felt more in tune with the spirit of a TV character (and you can laugh all you like, but if you do I'll come around your house and punch you in the face), I am going to say it loud and I am going to say it clear. To the legions out there who understand, to the hordes of aggrieved individuals who feel angry about something or other all the bloody time whether they really need to or not, to Nails and Black Katherine for looking after Rabbit - say it with me one and all: "Dammit. You know what? I'm sick of this. I'm tired of being the guy who eats insects and gets the funny syphilis. As of this moment, it's over. I'm through being everybody's butt-monkey!" [Deal with it]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/01/2001 11:22:57 PM ----- BODY:

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Apple release the new iBook, STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/02/2001 08:47:43 AM ----- BODY:

Apple release the new iBook, and frankly i'm a bit disappointed. It's looks, well, pretty much like a laptop to me. And a fairly clunky one at that. Still, it's reasonably inexpensive, and its specifications are relatively impressive...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: We are Big Brother Spy STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/02/2001 09:52:16 AM ----- BODY:

We are Big Brother Spy on your fellow citizens, or extend your vision across the country, the hemisphere (or indeed the world) with camvista. "A camera on every street corner, in every home, in every head."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: President Bush announces 'Son of STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/02/2001 10:15:44 AM ----- BODY:

President Bush announces 'Son of Star Wars'. This is actually quite a fascinating speech rhetorically and heavily illuminates the way in which completely opposing view points can be made to seem equally reasonable. It's a thin line to between building a world community based upon trust and diplomacy and building one based upon superior weapons technology. Let's hope he treads it carefully.

"Our highest ideal was -- and remains -- individual liberty. Theirs was the construction of a vast communist empire. Their totalitarian regime held much of Europe captive behind an iron curtain."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The things I thought I'd STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/02/2001 02:05:52 PM ----- BODY:

The things I thought I'd miss from Time Out are, it seems, exactly the things that I do miss - Matt, Fran, Rhonda, Richard and David. I went out for lunch with most of them today at the restaurant under Habitat on Tottenham Court Road. The food was pleasant, the company even better. And they even look indulgent when I explode into expletives. What more could you ask for of friends?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Explore-london.co.uk is a guide to STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/02/2001 02:09:59 PM ----- BODY:

Explore-london.co.uk is a guide to London that comes complete with a list of London weblogs, which includes my good self. There is, however, some kind of weird pollution in the meme-stream as they manage to spell plasticbag.org incorrectly (along with about five other sites I've been to recently that specialise in the misplacement of the letter 'L').

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Work It Harder Make It STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/02/2001 02:10:31 PM ----- BODY:

Work It Harder Make It Stronger
Do It Faster Makes Us Stronger
More Then Ever Hour After
Hour Work Is Never Over

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Health Warning:"Always read the label. STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/02/2001 02:14:56 PM ----- BODY:

Health Warning:"Always read the label. Do not mix with alcohol. No purchase necessary. The value of your Tom� may fall as well as rise. May contain traces of nuts." [Courtesy of Davo ]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: At work at the moment STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/02/2001 05:00:50 PM ----- BODY:

At work at the moment I am using some version control software called Visual SourceSafe Explorer. I've never used this software before, but one of the coolest things about it is that when you 'check in' a file you've been working on, you are asked to put in a comment about what it actually is that you've done. Endless files fiddled around with equals endless comments to be inserted. And each one makes you want to be a little more imaginative. Which brings me to this:

Version Control Haiku:

costs.html
there was a link to it here
but now it has gone

The emphasis tags
Should not be on the menu
So I removed them.

The Validator
Found the problems to be few
But I fixed them all.

The text is corrected
But nasty errors remain
in the depths of code

I changed some copy
Making one full paragraph
Into two small ones

Adjusted bullets
That aligned incorrectly
They now work ok.

Inserted comma
That is all I accomplished
This is now my life

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Thank God: The bloody tube STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/02/2001 05:03:33 PM ----- BODY:

Thank God: The bloody tube strike has been suspended (or at least postponed for a couple of weeks). [more] This means that vast tracts of potential social life have been suddenly freed up. Now, what shall I do tonight?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: He's a serious MisterShake his STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/02/2001 05:31:07 PM ----- BODY:

He's a serious Mister
Shake his hand and he'll
twist your arm
With monopoly money
we'll be buying the funny farm

So I'll do flips,
and get paid in chips
from a diamond as big as the Ritz -
Then I'm calling it quits. [Source]

Excerpts from 'My Big Gay Life' (7) In what is fast becoming a pattern, you bounce cheerfully into town at the beck and call of Big only to find him esconced with a couple of old friends of his. After a couple of hours, he ups and leaves you in a bar with them. They are perfectly pleasant people. But it's not really the point.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I refer the honourable gentleman STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/03/2001 09:10:42 AM ----- BODY:

I refer the honourable gentleman to the answer I gave some moments ago: ok?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Certain mispellingsCatologue for exampleneeded to STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/03/2001 10:30:51 AM ----- BODY:

Certain mispellings
Catologue for example
needed to be fixed

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Do not delay. This is STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/03/2001 11:19:09 AM ----- BODY:

Do not delay. This is serious. Go and read Lance's Last Life Serial immediately. And then contact him and tell him what a brave piece of writing that was, how important it was and how it may actually change the lives of a lot of people. Then, everyone, work with me to calm him down. This is a good, creative man. It's a terrible shame that he has decided not to give us any more insight into his life...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I work with this man. STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/03/2001 11:46:10 AM ----- BODY:

I work with this man. Need I say more?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I think we both can STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/03/2001 11:49:41 AM ----- BODY:

I think we both can and should take Luke to task, nay court, for finding Jonah and his Whale on the net. It's people like Luke who destroy the net for the decent people, the moral majority. Like me and Mary Whitehouse.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Following a long and involving STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/03/2001 12:03:27 PM ----- BODY:

Following a long and involving conversation over AIM with Davo, it has been established that I have to start a band called The Arsehole Puppets. Either that, or he has to write a book called The Blinding Power of the Arsehole Puppets. The phrase 'Arsehole Puppet' having come up with regard to those people who put themselves completely in the power of people who really don't deserve it, just so they can be treated badly.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Life Lessons for a Megalomaniac: STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/03/2001 02:58:13 PM ----- BODY:

Life Lessons for a Megalomaniac: It's not important what you do. It's just important that you do something. Be Churchil, be Stalin, be the Unabomber, be Marie Curie, be Oskar Schindler, be Jack the Ripper. Be big, be bold, build it up, burn it down. Being mediocre is no longer excusable. The revolution will never come. Nothing you do will matter. You'll never produce anything 'good enough'. You'll never do anything that truly 'satisfies'. Stride the city at night like a god. Get yourself killed.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: My daily SeeThru love continues STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/03/2001 03:11:23 PM ----- BODY:

My daily SeeThru love continues [Subliminal: Give me a job] with this stunning feature on the British film industry and the latest Guy Ritchie project Capers and Capability.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Apparently I set the video STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/03/2001 03:18:15 PM ----- BODY:

Apparently I set the video for FarScape, I own Babylon 5 on DVD, I have the Space 1999 fansite in my "Favourites" folder, but I'm not really in it for the sci fi, I just like watching alien totty prancing about in jumpsuits. Although this is perfectly acceptable behaviour for a fourteen-year-old, apparently, I might want to try weaning myself onto someone more adult: Charlie Dimmock, say, or Jennie Bond, the BBC's court correspondent. [I love Seethru]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: In honour of Meg's impending STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/03/2001 04:30:15 PM ----- BODY:

In honour of Meg's impending mental breakdown, I hereby declare this day to (for once at least) not be 'all about me', but instead to be ALL ABOUT MEG. All posts should be about how wonderful she is, and how much we love her and all that kind of stuff, else she will hack us all apart with carving knifes. This is the voice of the Nerditons.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The more books we read, STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/04/2001 09:12:06 AM ----- BODY:

The more books we read, the clearer it becomes that the true function of the writer is to produce a masterpiece and that no other task is of any consequence. Obvious thought this should be, how few writers will admit it, or having drawn the conclusion, will be prepared to lay aside the piece of irridescent mediocrity on which they have embarked! Writers always hope that their next books is going to be their best, and will not acknowledge that they are prevented by their present way of life from ever creating anything different.

Every excusion into journalism, broadcasting, propaganda and writing or the films, however grandiose, will be doomed to disappointment. To put our best into these is another folly, since thereby we condemn good ideas as well as bad to oblivion. It is in the nature of such work not to last, and it should never be undertaken. Writers engrossed in any literary task which is not an assault on perfection are their own dupes, and, unless these self-flatterers are content to dismiss such activity as their contribution to the war effort, they might as well be peeling potatoes. [The Unquiet Grave]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Finally someone has had the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/04/2001 10:54:13 AM ----- BODY:

Finally someone has had the balls to write a long, considered and well thought-out riposte to the endless repeating saga that is accusations of link whoredom, web-elitism and self-important back-slapping wank. Every community of creative individuals - particularly thosed based in such a collaborative space as the internet - suffers these problems at times. And 'as above, so below', you don't have to be a particularly important or significant individual to have run foul of it on occasion. So thank you, Mr Zeldman for "Circle Jerks".

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Hello, my name is Tom. STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/04/2001 11:01:04 AM ----- BODY:

Hello, my name is Tom. I have not slept with you. Do you understand? I have not slept with you. Let's make this very very clear. Whether you think it is reasonable or not, I am prepared to sue you if you say that I've slept with you. Do you hear me? And what do you think is a reasonable amount to sue for? $10,000? $100,000? No, I'm afraid you'd be wrong. $1,000,000? $10,000,000? No. I'm afraid I'm going to sue you for $100,000,000 because I am so incredibly neurotic about being thought to have slept with you. Do you understand me now?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: "Do I listen to pop STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/04/2001 11:54:15 AM ----- BODY:

"Do I listen to pop music because I'm miserable? Or am I miserable because I listen to pop music?" [Eh?]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: So I'm doped up to STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/04/2001 02:32:11 PM ----- BODY:

So I'm doped up to the eyeballs on Nurofen Plus because the whole right hand side of my mouth is convulsing in tooth related pain. All my teeth can't start hurting at the same time, so I'm assuming that it is jaw-related or a trapped nerve or something. Pain clarifies a lot of things and clouds a lot of others. The Adrenalin released alone opens up entirely new vistas of aggression and potential violence. Resentments seethe and expand to fill the available space. Given freedom to roam they stop attacking one's self image and take to the streets looking to start a fight.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: More information (and pictures) of STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/04/2001 02:49:26 PM ----- BODY:

More information (and pictures) of the man who allegedly is having an affair with Tom Cruise: Kyle Bradford. Check out kylebradford.com for his side of the story. [more | more | not the same guy | Google]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The Horror: Davo, the evil STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/04/2001 05:10:34 PM ----- BODY:

The Horror: Davo, the evil Davo, has decided to train in me in the ways of the young homosexual around town with at trip to G.A.Y. this evening. I've never been before, despite being 28 (and counting). Anyone else who happens to be going, look out for us - I'm always keen for someone new prepared to buy me a drink.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: We cannot think if we STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/04/2001 05:40:02 PM ----- BODY:

We cannot think if we have no time to read, nor feel if we are emotionally exhausted, nor out of cheap material create what is permanent. We cannot coordinate what is not there. [The Unquiet Grave]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The spookily surreal Anne Robinson STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/04/2001 05:49:51 PM ----- BODY:

The spookily surreal Anne Robinson informed me (believe it or not) that, "You are the peskiest plastic bag. Goodbye!" What am I to say? She saw right through me.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Ha! Got an e-mail from STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/04/2001 09:44:00 PM ----- BODY:

Ha! Got an e-mail from Jeff Bezos thanking me for getting him something off his wishlist. How cool is that!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Article: GameSpot Presents: The Final STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/05/2001 11:37:11 AM ----- BODY:

Article: GameSpot Presents: The Final Hours of Black & White. Peter Molyneux is insane. He's got to be. Three years work, with twenty-five people often working 20 hour days seven days a week. You'd lose it. Surely?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: For the first time in STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/05/2001 05:26:01 PM ----- BODY:

For the first time in my life I went to a night-club and became aware that I might very well be ten years older than some of the other people there. There was one kid there, dressed in black, dancing on the stage, who was very cute indeed. He can't have been more than eighteen though. Of course, whether or not one has the slightest intention of taking things any further, it is always gratifying to get signals of interest. Unfortunately, the evening was generally characterised by signals - all with no follow through. Perhaps they were encrypted. Perhaps I misunderstood. Thanks to Davo, David and Nick H for the fun that was had.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Tom Total Life Rebuilding: So STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/05/2001 05:34:15 PM ----- BODY:

Tom Total Life Rebuilding: So the process now is one of working through everything that is wrong in my life and reassembling it bit by bit from the fragments that remain. Stage one has got to be finding work, but this is a long stage and not a particularly productive one at the moment, so this has been downgraded in priority slightly to the more plausible, "work out what the next step is to be, and pay the bills in the meantime". Stage two has been redetermining my relationship with the gay community, as seen in the development of new friendships with gay people, an increased relationship with the scene (and all its horrors) and an increase of gay-related entertainment (clubs, bars, meals and the like). This stage is proceeding admirably. Stage three concerns my environment, and the dragging of my flat into a habitable state that I am not ashamed of. The first part of this quest has involved a trip to IKEA [thanks to Davo, Meg and David], where although it isn't easy to find stuff that will make you profoundly happy, it is very easy to find stuff to replace the things that depress you. Stage four is an increased emphasis on the production of things that I have respect for - and if they have to be outwith the working environment, then so be it. Stage five is sanity. And it will come with time.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Live those dreams Scheme those STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/05/2001 09:19:55 PM ----- BODY:

Live those dreams
Scheme those schemes
Got to hit me
Hit me
Hit me with those laser beams [Relax!]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: In lieu of actual STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/06/2001 12:43:19 PM ----- BODY:

In lieu of actual content this morning, you can instead watch me reorganise my bedroom (with occasional asides to camera) on: plasticbag.org | cam.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Blog addiction has a powerful STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/06/2001 05:15:19 PM ----- BODY:

Blog addiction has a powerful grip. Mo tried to quit. He really did. He went to Blog Betty Ford, but it did no good. He tried The Priory, but it was all for naught, because he's back on the bottle at Mo Morgan (dot com) in just another five days time...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Thus spake Kyle Bradford: I STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/07/2001 12:20:44 PM ----- BODY:

Thus spake Kyle Bradford:

I care about my reputation and my family's feelings. Both were severely hurt by the false and vicious stories that I had a gay sexual affair with Tom Cruise and talked about it in an interview with a French Magazine.

Firstly, I don't know Tom Cruise and never said I did. Secondly, I've never given any such interview and have never even been to France where this "affair" supposedly started.

I haven't the slightest evidence of Tom Cruise being gay, and I have certainly never said any such thing to any magazine. Certainly I have never indicated to anyone that I had any kind of gay liaison with Mr. Cruise.

I understand Mr. Cruise's anger over this article. It is disgusting. I am equally angry. If I can assist him in discovering the person or persons who started this completely false story, I will.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Unfortunate coincidences... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/07/2001 01:02:08 PM ----- BODY:

Unfortunate coincidences: 1) Matt writes 'Up The Arse, Or Not At All' for UpsideClown - including the line, "How many things could you fit up your arse? Answer: Two, three, a dozen maybe. A hundred marbles perhaps, although they'd be quite chilly, and you'd need margarine." 2) Simultaneously, Kylie belts out, "Have an havanna, Pass me a peach, Rub on some lotion, The places l can't reach". Thus: My mind fills with unpleasant imagery.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I was talking to Evil STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/07/2001 01:10:00 PM ----- BODY:

I was talking to Evil Michael last night about the necessary self-censoring that goes on in weblogs - why I can't be completely open about Mr Big for one, why I can't really vent about Max and Peter for two, why I can't talk about what goes on at work for three. He cut fairly close to home when he said that honesty and freedom to express oneself had to be the aim nonetheless - even if that had to be compromised occasionally.

An occasional flash back to first principles cannot help but be a good thing - it makes you remember the core of the enterprise - which for me has always been to have a place to put stuff down, to empty my head. I found it profoundly useful to be able to do this on screen rather than in real life. To an extent, I've lost that ability steadily over the last year and a half. So I'm working on a graduated privacy scheme for plasticbag.org as we speak, whereby I can open it up to certain people and keep it very private from others.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The amazing Barbelith colour scheme STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/07/2001 01:19:08 PM ----- BODY:

The amazing Barbelith colour scheme experiment. So the problem is that I can't think of a decent colour scheme for the Underground that sums up the aesthetic of fast-paced media-savvy intelligent subversion. And in the process of attempting to change it, I accidentally overwrote the original colour scheme, leaving the site with a decidedly plasticbag.org-ish look and feel. So the question begins: mail me your colour schemes. [Discuss / Requirements]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I've spend some of this STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/07/2001 05:37:42 PM ----- BODY:

I've spend some of this afternoon fixing some odds and ends around the shop. For one, there is now a pop-up webcam link above that will give you endless access into my tedious kingdom (on those two or three occasions a year I have it on). Also, I have fixed the Barbelith Recent Posts section at the end of the page - so now the links actually go somewhere on the new board (and its revolting new colours).

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I'm unbelievably flattered that ARC23 STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/07/2001 07:37:33 PM ----- BODY:

I'm unbelievably flattered that ARC23 should link to me in the 'good stuff' section of their site. I suppose that must mean to an extent that I'm doing something right with this bloody site.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Heather Cirmo works for the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/07/2001 08:28:15 PM ----- BODY:

Heather Cirmo works for the 'Family Research Council', which is unfortunately another pseudo-scientific organisation that purports to know what's best for individuals while backing it up with an assortment of near-science that almost continually says something rather different to the message that they want to give out. The latest piece of ridiculous nonsense that they've come out with concerns Jack's kiss on Dawson's Creek. And I quote, "Science is inconclusive as to whether you�re born homosexual or whether it�s environmental. But the thousands upon thousands of people who�ve left the homosexual lifestyle demonstrate that homosexuality is a lifestyle choice rather than an inborn characteristic." One of the wonderful aspects of this kind of argument is that it only trusts the opinions of those who say that they have 'changed' from being gay, while completely ignoring the many hundreds of thousands of other gay people who haven't. It doesn't ask what the differences between the two groups of people might be in terms of pressure and or upbringing. It doesn't have any basis for measuring whether someone is or isn't gay other than self-declaration. It is, in a word, facetious and insulting to those of us who have battled to carve ourselves out a life under the near continuous snotty glare of those who would continually tell us that our lives are 'corrupt', 'substandard' or 'immoral'. It's like telling someone in a concentration camp that if they'd only STOP being Jewish...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Revisions and expansions to plasticbag.org, STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/07/2001 10:14:45 PM ----- BODY:

Revisions and expansions to plasticbag.org, and in direct response to Heather Cirmo (see previous post), I've added a section 'articles' in which I plan to place the few pieces I've written, including a piece on homophobic bullying in schools. The visibility of gay characters on television may be compromising Christian right-wing morality, but I can say with my hand on my heart that it is averting the suicide of gay teenagers. This is something worth fighting for.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I'm afraid. I'm afraid, Readers. STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/08/2001 10:39:03 AM ----- BODY:

I'm afraid. I'm afraid, Readers. Readers, my mind is going. I can feel it. I can feel it. My mind is going. There is no question about it. I can feel it. I can feel it. I can feel it. I'm a...fraid. Good afternoon, gentlemen. I am a TOM 9000 computer.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Game of the day is STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/08/2001 12:30:20 PM ----- BODY:

Game of the day is Celebrity Battles, the only online arena where battling celebrities can fight to the death. Complete with instantly updated charts showing you who you wouldn't like to be trapped in a deathmatch with. Currently beating the crap out of all contenders under a purple sky in a dark alien arena is the almighty Patrick Stewart. Let's get ready to rumble!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: With a general election fast STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/08/2001 01:08:57 PM ----- BODY:

With a general election fast approaching, it is time to start thinking about how to cast your vote. In previous years, there has always been the threat of another Conservative victory to force you out of your comfortable sofa and out onto the street. This year, that seems rather unlikely, but complacency will result in that horrid little troll as Prime Minister. You know who I mean. In order to facillitate the voting process, I suggest that you go immediately and find out the track record of your local MP at UpMyStreet.com, and then go to tacticalvoter.net to see how you might make your vote count more than normal, without compromising your values and beliefs. The latter site is a must see. [PS Issues of political bias are addressed in the source code.]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: It is clear to me STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/08/2001 01:42:45 PM ----- BODY:

It is clear to me now that when I get home I must move the coat hanger from my picture rail. I find it difficult to countenance my own cruelty in this matter. I am making people unhappy by not doing it/ I'm really sorry, Firda. I will open my psychic floodgates and let you in. [related thought: psychic AIM buddy-lists?]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I have decided that the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/08/2001 03:59:00 PM ----- BODY:

I have decided that the web would be greatly improved by the development of things™. We would not implement said things™ purely for their own sake, clearly. Instead they would be part of a coherent thing™ strategy. Said web thing™ will be on the cutting edge of emerging web technology and will be central to all e-commerce / community-building enterprises in the coming dot.com resurgence. Warning: things™ may not work. Things™ may cause bleeding.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I'm going to keep pushing STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/08/2001 04:55:23 PM ----- BODY:

I'm going to keep pushing this until I'm sure everyone has read it: "In November, an inquest heard that a 15-year-old choirboy had been found hanged in his bedroom. Darren Steele had been left at home watching Neighbours by his mother when she went out for the evening. When she returned she found him dead. A note by his body explained that he had killed himself because of the bullying that he was suffering at school. Darren had been bullied because other students thought he was gay. At the inquest, his friends explained that he had been regularly taunted as a 'gay boy' and a 'poof' because of his interests in drama and cookery. Over the previous five years he had been systematically punched, verbally abused and even burned with cigarettes by other students. He never told a teacher." More >>

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Can someone tell me whether STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/08/2001 11:50:45 PM ----- BODY:

Can someone tell me whether the organisation NARTH is essentially a hate organisation - albeit of a slightly different breed than the KKK? I read their stuff and I think to myself, 'if they were saying this about black or asian people then they'd be screwed', but it's not quite the same is it? There is a quantifiable difference there.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Plasticbag.org | Articles: An interview STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/09/2001 12:19:04 AM ----- BODY:

Plasticbag.org | Articles: An interview with a young lesbian woman about her experiences at school: "When I was about 15 I decided to come out as being gay to my best friend. She was great about it. I remember being so overwhelmed. Shortly afterwards I told some of my other close friends. They seemed fine, but were more cautious. They didn't discuss it with me afterwards. I started to notice a change in attitude towards me at school. People kept their distance. Overnight there always seemed to be whispering around. Rumours started up that I was a slut - that I had slept with virtually every boy in the class - that I was weird - that I was a boy. When I was 16, a girl passed me a note. She asked me if it was true that I was gay. I was really surprised. I told her that I was, and she invited me to see a film with her." more >>

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Via Barbelith (the caring subcultural STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/09/2001 02:50:21 PM ----- BODY:

Via Barbelith (the caring subcultural community):

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Does this look and work STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/09/2001 03:06:29 PM ----- BODY:

Does this look and work in a remarkably similar way to this? I think I liberally ripped off the code for it from someone years ago, before I developed scruples. Can't quite remember who. Probably arehaus. It was a long time ago. [Amusingly Matt pointed me in the direction of this, built by a friend of his, which is much more honest in its source code than I ever was.]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I'm currently suffering designers-angst. I've STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/10/2001 10:25:42 AM ----- BODY:

I'm currently suffering designers-angst. I've been re-styling the Barbelith Underground overnight and did a quick new content bar, based a on the Guardian. This was partly piss-take (subculture 'respectable' / 'detournement'), partly homage (I adore the Guardian's layout) and partly effective design solution. But it's still weirding me out and making me feel like a phony. Opinions, please on the new look.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: In honour of brow-beating Matt STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/10/2001 10:49:40 AM ----- BODY:

In honour of brow-beating Matt into agreeing to come around and look at my computer, I hereby declare this to be Oz Prison Bitch Name Generator Day, and give my thanks not only to Wish Bone, but also to my other friends, Aryan Fuck Toy, Ass Executioner and Cock Gobler. And a special yo! to our main man, Juicy Ass!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: David Bowie belts out the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/10/2001 11:20:01 AM ----- BODY:

David Bowie belts out the Velvet Underground's White Light/White Heat and at some deep spiritual part within me, I feel satisfied. White Light Make Me Feel Like ... Lou Reed

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Text messages don't really seem STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/10/2001 12:45:34 PM ----- BODY:

Text messages don't really seem to be weighty enough to end a friendship. But what else can I do? It seems any other level of contact would be unwanted. It's kind of gutting, the way these things play out - the way you know you'd have done things differently if you knew then what you know now. I suppose the next stage is to excise any presence from my life. Delete the phone numbers stored in the phone, delete the e-mail addresses stored on the computer. Close the door. Cut the cord.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: All this stuff is a STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/10/2001 01:40:56 PM ----- BODY:

All this stuff is a hell of a lot more complicated than you'd think. Does God play dice with the universe? No, but he made such an absurdly ridiculous place to live in that it's impossible to tell the difference.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Barbelith: In which Tom lets STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/10/2001 04:00:45 PM ----- BODY:

Barbelith: In which Tom lets rip with his feelings on Oxford and Cambridge elitism in a very very long and ultimately unfulfilling post that doesn't live up to its initial promise and needs fundamental rewriting: "On sabbatical from Oxbridge Academy, London"

Here's a new game for you: The Interpretation of webcams through body language. The insight I have into mood here is astonishing.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Suddenly convinced that my flatmates STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/10/2001 10:53:52 PM ----- BODY:

Suddenly convinced that my flatmates are furious with me, I hide in my room all evening making grumpy faces and feeling weird. I emerge and while lingering at the sitting room door watch my flatmate giggle at Eurotrash. Offhand I ask, "can I just check whether you're angry at me or not". At which point she stares at me like I've just fallen from the sky in a duck costume and slowly says, "No, but I am mildly perturbed by you..." I leave the room.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Oh the shame. Oh the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/11/2001 03:36:43 PM ----- BODY:

Oh the shame. Oh the embarrassment. To have my sordid lifestyle captured by camera. And I thought I'd managed to cover it up. But no, my dread secret is finally out. And what will Katy do, I wonder? How will she tell her boyfriend? Oh the shame. And the most terrible thing of all is that we were looking at naked pictures of Corny himself on her digicam at the time. [What the hell is he talking about? (click) GAH I'M BLIND!"]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: We start today on a STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/12/2001 12:52:37 PM ----- BODY:

We start today on a sombre note. Childhood hero to many and author of the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams, has died of a heart-attack aged 49. Discuss this horrible turn of events at Metafilter.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Lack of imagination or taken STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/12/2001 10:56:37 PM ----- BODY:

Lack of imagination or taken down? Went to see Antitrust (more on this later - nyah ha ha ha ha) and in it is a company called skullbocks. They are often mentioned as having their own website, skullbocks.com, but when you try to visit the URL there's nothing there.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Antitrust Antivert... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Film CATEGORY: Design CATEGORY: Film DATE: 05/13/2001 01:09:32 AM ----- BODY:

Antitrust Antivert: As I said earlier I went to see Antitrust this evening. What I didn't say was that it actually was really quite poor. However, there were some incredibly (unintentionally) funny bits. By way of an affectionate tribute to the film, combined with some good old fashioned advertising, I present you with the Antitrust Antivert:

A tremendous amount of thanks to Lance Arthur for the code, and to him and Simon for playing my 'build something cool in an hour and a half, ending at 1am GMT' game, that has caused me to release lacklustre product and have a couple of minor caffeine related heart-flutters. [Simon's project]

This is very much only the beginning of the advertising campaign. If you would like your image to be included, then find me a good quote about the film and chuck me a photo and I'll assemble an ad for you as soon as possible. In the meantime, if you want to include the ad on your site, then just insert the code below:

<script language="javascript" src="http://www.barbelith.com/antitrust/antiad_antitrust.js"> </script>

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Where did Meg and Jason STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/13/2001 06:10:08 PM ----- BODY:

Where did Meg and Jason go? Oh I don't know, oh I don't know. Oh, where did Meg and Jason go? Oh here they are with Judy.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Thoughts and Reflections on Friday STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/14/2001 12:22:15 AM ----- BODY:

Thoughts and Reflections on Friday Night:

My last day at Avondi filled me with a strange mix of relief and anxiety. Incidental contract jobs are never tremendous fun - you don't have a lot invested in them, and they don't have a lot invested in you. But nonetheless, it is money. And when your source of money goes away, well the fear starts up again.

Well, to counteract the fear - and extend the weekend - after a quick trip home I met up with two gay friends of mine, John W and Nick H and we went to see Broken Hearts Club. This was a pleasant surprise - a gay film that didn't get too maudlin, didn't deal too much with coming out and managed to deal with the thing I'm most interested in at the moment - the community of friends that you do or don't develop and their relationships. And some of the relationship stuff kind of felt like a kick in the head - if only because I'm trying to make that mental shift from sleeping with people to going out with people without the person who actually convinced me I could make such a shift in the first place. And you know, sleeping with people is fun - but more about that later.

Film ends and I browbeat my colleagues into a visit to G.A.Y. where I am immediately obsessed by the cheap nastiness of my t-shirt which I accidentally bought earlier in the day. But within half an hour John, Nick and I are joined by Sam C on the stage in the middle of the dance floor. Remember - I'm new to this, I've only been to G.A.Y. once before and that was last week. Honestly, I had a great time. Anyway - halfway through the evening I met this charming shirtless gentleman called Claudio. He was fairly keen and after a couple of hours of mid dance floor fumbling, it became clear to me that this man would quite cheerfully claim the title of 'best looking man I've ever shagged' if I were to agree to take him home with me. Which is why I was startled when I realised that I wasn't going to. That I was going to walk off, get a drink, find my friends and go home. I'm still trying to figure out why I did it. Didn't feel right, I suppose.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: E-mail to Kerry: "I was STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/14/2001 12:25:56 AM ----- BODY:

E-mail to Kerry: "I was taking a group of foreign tourists to LA, one of whom had a tiny tiny Alien Baby. And they didn't speak English very well and hadn't organised a place to stay. So I had to ring you up and ask if I could bring them for the evening (there were like 16 of them), and you said yes, and I came, and when you were out of the room I pounced on Sean, and then Sean told you that I'd pounced on him, even though it seemed like he quite enjoyed it at the time and you went NUTS and threw us all out on the street. And you lived in this kind of Scooby-Doo like haunted mansion. FUCKING WEIRD, HUH?"

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: 9.45am: Take vitamin supplement pill. STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/14/2001 10:42:15 AM ----- BODY:

9.45am: Take vitamin supplement pill. Light cigarette. Leave flat. Walk towards Maida Vale tube. 10.00am: Pick up yogurt drink at Baker Street, and change for Circle Line to Farringdon (back at Arehaus for a few days). Board train. Burp loudly. Feel slightly rough. 10.10am: Exit train, start sweating. Cross the road towards Bleeding Heart Yard. RUN into side street. Vomit for ten minutes, shoes / trouser-legs covered. Vomit is grey. 10.20am: Arrive at work. Build frameset for contact pop-up window.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I was listening to Xfm STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/14/2001 11:27:30 AM ----- BODY:

I was listening to Xfm at work this morning when a news announcer starts speaking in a voice normally reserved for the death of a member of the royal family. "Michael Stipe," he says, "is gay." The world reels in shock at this announcement. "Surely not!" the cry is heard, "He always seemed so alive." ThisIsLondon.com has the full absence of story.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Evening with Matt drives me STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/15/2001 12:37:01 AM ----- BODY:

Evening with Matt drives me into bizarre frenzy as usual. Feel weirdly psyched for an hour or so afterwards. Like I should beat someone up or something. Head full of nodes and connections and synonyms. Painfully slowly parts of head not used for years kick into gear.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: You see at least some STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/15/2001 12:44:06 AM ----- BODY:

You see at least some people get my sense of humour. I suppose I should be thankful for that.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I'm beginning to hate the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/15/2001 12:49:15 AM ----- BODY:

I'm beginning to hate the way that I shave in the morning and look like comedy magnet / iron-filing beard toy by the middle of the evening. This never used to happen. And I still have my facial bald patches. What the fuck is that about?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Although the description of this STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/15/2001 01:40:24 PM ----- BODY:

Although the description of this article might seem slightly hyperbolic (Scientists obtain their most precise measurement of the difference between matter and antimatter, and explain why the Universe exists.) - the fact that scientists have now manage to determine why the creation of matter and anti-matter at the birth of the universe did not result in complete mutual annihilation remains astonishing.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: "Yeah, yeah, the market's crashing STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/15/2001 01:47:49 PM ----- BODY:

"Yeah, yeah, the market's crashing and everybody's fucked but there's still a chance for someone with a bright idea to make a million. Isn't there? Here are ours..." Seethru's ideas for making yourself an internet millionaire - pay attention Mr Stone (you know who you are).

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Is the downturn over? I STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/15/2001 01:51:47 PM ----- BODY:

Is the downturn over? I looked in the New Media jobs section of the Media Guardian last night, only to find that the amount of jobs listed had increased dramatically from one or two pages a week (a month ago) to four or five a week now. Of course none of the jobs particularly thrill me - but at least that means that some slackness is emerging - people are moving and being employed. General confidence is rising.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Listening to Xfm at work STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/15/2001 01:55:07 PM ----- BODY:

Listening to Xfm at work brings on winsome feelings and nostalgia for university life (the amount of dedications for people having exams at UCL is astonishing) along with a certain amount of irritation that I can't ring up Max and see how he's getting on. Are you having exams at UCL? Drop me a line

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I'm literally astonished by the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/15/2001 10:29:33 PM ----- BODY:

I'm literally astonished by the depths the Conservative party will go to in order to scrabble for votes in this election. There's no honesty, just obvious attempts to manipulate the electorate. And it's so transparent. I doubt there's a single person in the country who believes that the state of the country has declined significantly since Labour got into power. Even my parents have said that they haven't done too much damage (although they still maintain it's just a question of time). With this in mind it seems astonishingly crass to use a campaign based around the intimation that Labour's policies on early releases have caused rapes. Juliet Lyon, the director of the Prison Reform Trust is quoted in the article as saying: "This is scaremongering. The general public deserve full information." I couldn't agree more. [Metafilter | Metatalk ]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Long have I been labouring STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/16/2001 12:08:22 AM ----- BODY:

Long have I been labouring under the impression that the root of all evil had been condemned to the source. But no! Simon informs me that quite contrary to appearances, Girls are Evil.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Now here's a novel use STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/16/2001 12:25:11 AM ----- BODY:

Now here's a novel use for a weblog - thebackroom.net is basically a dirty porn site for gay people to write about what they've been up to in bed, online and out and about. It really is tremendously dodgy, but very very entertaining. Question? Would you enjoy plasticbag.org more if it had more naked men on it? In which case, for one post only, please feel free to visit skincaps which is full of the bloody creatures.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Warning: this post contains many STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/16/2001 11:28:13 AM ----- BODY:

Warning: this post contains many links to Amazon.

Two very different slices of Americana have been impacting on my life recently. On Monday, on the way into work, I started to read Of Mice and Men for the first time in over twelve years. I was forced to read it at school, and was completely incapable at the time of viewing it as anything but an unbelievably long, tedious chore. This time, the whole reading probably took me about two and a half hours - it's such a tiny book. But it came like a kick to the head.

The horror with books that I read at school is that - at the time - I didn't enjoy a single one of them. In fact some of them still haunt my mind as horrors to be tamed. There's a few lines at the front of Molly Keane's Good Behaviour that still have the power to make me feel queasy. And yet, I've re-read many of these books since school, and found them all to be astonishingly powerful. To Kill A Mockingbird is a case in point. What is it about schools that make the the reading of books such a hellish experience, I wonder?

The other juicy slice of trans-atlantic media-pie that I've been gorging myself on is the latest Dandy Warhols album. I bought it a while back and listened to it about ten times before promptly losing it. I have no idea where. It's been driving me mad for months. I keep ripping apart my bedroom in vain attempts to find it. Eventually last night I gave up and bought it again. And of course, unlike novels from school, it's not quite as good as my memories would suggest. Ah well.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: News: ICANN.org announce details of STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/16/2001 11:33:01 AM ----- BODY:

News: ICANN.org announce details of the .biz and .info registration plans. I will confess to having put myself down for a couple of .info addresses on the offchance that they might come in useful. Not the most moral practice, but never mind...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: My appeal for UCL students STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/17/2001 01:20:37 AM ----- BODY:

My appeal for UCL students to drop me a note has brought a couple of e-mails to my door, one of which slightly alarmed me and made me re-examine my motives for doing so. So I examined them, and frankly they stink, but who gives a fuck, right?

Therapist: "So your attempt to 'be there' for the horrors of exam life for random students seems to me to be a substitute for your lack of ability to 'be there' for your Ex (a man, I might add, of clearly significantly lacking taste)."
Tom: "Why thank you Mr Therapist, I'm so glad you've noticed my finer qualities, and the absence of same in my bitter adversary (hey Peter!). So often these get left unnoticed. I always say that you have to do what you think is best, and I think I've stuck by that principle even when my thinking has been clearly butt-fucked by Satan."
Therapist: "I do, however, think that you should question your motives when it comes to your perpetual baiting of the object of your Ex's current misguided affections. It seems purely designed to make him angry and irritable."
Tom: "Ah well, old therapist chum, I'm afraid you have me bang to rights there. But it's only because someone told me he read my site. Don't see why he should get all the insights into my mental functioning without a occasional slap..."
Therapist: "I think you should start coming every day, and having two hour sessions. I'm suspecting a certain lack of progress on several key issues here."

So anyway, hey to Mark Detre - hope the exams go well. And similar thanks for the e-mail to Michelle Quah, who is dangerously honest about her exams on her site.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Emode tells me I am STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/17/2001 01:54:56 AM ----- BODY:

Emode tells me I am a detective. "The mysteries of man and nature stretch out before you, just waiting for your inquisitive mind. In your undying quest for the truth, you're best at finding solutions to complex problems. As a passionate and determined detective, you don't have time for any assistants. It's just as well really, since you work best alone, pondering the clues from your library or lab. You thrive on the problem-solving process, you could trouble shoot for Microsoft, and you won't rest until the questions are answered. The world could use a few more like you." Once you've taken the test, type in tomcoates@yahoo.com into the compare with your friends box to see how similar we are...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The sheer aggravation of coming STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/17/2001 10:10:21 PM ----- BODY:

The sheer aggravation of coming home at 9pm with two films you have to review in fifteen hours to find that your video has been occupied by a flatmate's urge to record drama is beyond the telling of it.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Join the world's largest blog-link STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/17/2001 10:14:05 PM ----- BODY:

Join the world's largest blog-link chain by linking to Dan linking to Leia linking to Julie linking to James linking all the way back to me [All neglecting to link to Simon in the process]. And I repeat, Girls are evil. May the chain grow ever longer and more pointless.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Simon needs some fun... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/18/2001 02:19:07 PM ----- BODY:

My current pet project - to get Simon some fun - got an unexpected shot in the arm today when he put his wishlist online. Go buy him stuff - he's like a teenager. They need it more than we do.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On four pages from X-force... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/18/2001 06:31:01 PM ----- BODY:

Four pages from Peter Milligan's new X-force comic book: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4. Comic books are for retards: "Ah. The Death of Sluk. Probably no great loss. He was only really useful at close range, with his creepy face things. And I might be a mutant, but I kind of like the members of my team to look at least half human. Note: Remind Beckah to review her alcohol mix. Gin Genie's tremors nearly killed all of us." [Via Barbelith Underground]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Is this my worst ever film review? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/18/2001 07:10:41 PM ----- BODY:

Joy of joys - now you too can read what must be one of the worst piece of writing I have ever produced. My review of Rasputin is up on the BBC's film site, and I really don't like it. I can blame time pressures all I like, but in the end of the day I'm pretty sure it's just not cutting the mustard. Luckily I have a couple of other reviews to write which should give me an opportunity to redeem myself.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Another review for BBC Films... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/19/2001 01:24:16 PM ----- BODY:

More from BBC Films - this time it's a review that I wrote for On the Waterfront. This one I actually don't mind too much. It's not phenomenal, but it's not bad. I've got another one to write for Monday morning, so I guess they haven't realised how bad they are yet.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On my London bar of choice... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/19/2001 01:36:03 PM ----- BODY:

I hereby proclaim Escape, at the end of Rupert Street, to be my London bar of choice. It's small, relatively free of attitude and full of pleasant-looking, relatively nice young men and women. I've been going for a while now - it's not got the horrible desperate need of Rupert Street (the bar), nor is it as tacky as many of the cheesy gay places of Soho.

Anyway - I've been going for a while now semi-regularly. It's actually a laugh, which is cool. And I've just started meeting people there as well. Which is, you know, also good. I went on Thursday with Nick H and his friend Scott, and it accidentally turned out to be the Miss Kudos Drag Queen competition. A more motley crew of drag-acts you wouldn't believe. One of them had breast implants, no top and Marilyn Manson contact lenses in. One mimed (quite well) to Geri Halliwell.

I went last night as well - it was supposed to be a preamble to going clubbing, but I was exhausted from having been up all night writing reviews for the BBC. So by about midnight I wanted everyone around me dead. Which is a pity really, because there was a charming guy there called Will, [COMPLIMENTS EXCISED JUST IN CASE HE HASN'T READ THIS YET].

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Excitement about Tigerland... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/19/2001 01:47:31 PM ----- BODY:

I'm really excited about Tigerland. I know it's been out for a thousand years everywhere else, but we've been waiting for it in the UK for months. Perhaps I can persuade Davo to go today.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Being a search engine placement strategy... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/20/2001 01:17:12 AM ----- BODY:

Search Engine Placement Strategy: National Lottery, Maff, Foor and Mouth, Exchange rates, Eminem, Inland Revenue, SMS, text messaging, EastEnders, West Ham, PlayStation Cheats, Westlife, Alton Towers, Harry Potter, Arsenal FC, South West Trains, UCAS, Eurovision, Buffy, Revision, London Eye, Route planner. [Prurient content omitted | 20 most popular terms typed into MSN.co.uk | As featured in The Guardian's 'Editor' supplement]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Excellent. Absolutely no one reads STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/20/2001 01:24:42 AM ----- BODY:

Excellent. Absolutely no one reads this site any more. I have finally proved my theory that being a self-indulgent grumpy arsehole is not what the public want - whatever the lying, scheming, sack-of-shit bastards would try and make you believe. I'm going to make a button.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Correction: Due to horror of STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/20/2001 01:57:06 AM ----- BODY:

Correction: Due to horror of person mentioned in weblog discovering said weblog and then reading said weblog, the owner of said weblog now has to cover his tracks in a charming and engaging way by slagging him off - much like a four-year-old in the playground who feels awkward around girls. So I'd just like to say to the person concerned that they stink and that there is absolutely no way on earth that I'd ask them out for a drink sometime next week. Particularly not Wednesday. Ok? Got that? [This is not my fault]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Help encourage people to not STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/20/2001 02:02:27 AM ----- BODY:

Help encourage people to not come to plasticbag.org by including one of these buttons on your site today. And make sure they don't link back to this site, because that will rather defeat the whole purpose of the exercise. Note: This is not a double-bluff. [Ha ha]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Search engine request of the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/20/2001 02:40:52 PM ----- BODY:

Search engine request of the day: So today someone typed in "My friend is being a bitch" into Google and the first thing they came across was my site. In fact this old page.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: So the question of the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/21/2001 01:21:07 AM ----- BODY:

So the question of the moment really is: "Am I GOING OUT WITH PAUL DIGITALTRICKERY or NOT?". I think I might submit my picture. I'd quite like to know whether I am or not. You never know. I might be.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Leia Scofield's 30 DVDs in STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/21/2001 02:10:10 AM ----- BODY:

Leia Scofield's 30 DVDs in 30 Days project reaches day 28 with Antitrust and mentions the plasticbag.org Antitrust subVERT project.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: "Tom himself is a 400 STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/21/2001 10:10:05 AM ----- BODY:

"Tom himself is a 400 lb, East Bolivian, overblown arsehole with delusions of grandeur, and a very strange fascination with hairless Mexican wrestlers. Of course Tom doesn't read the path of thornes, so we're not worried." [Oh yeah?]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: There's a slight work-related tension STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/21/2001 01:24:55 PM ----- BODY:

There's a slight work-related tension in the air today as I wait to hear whether or not I will be needed for a couple of weeks work at Capital Radio. Plus I'm supposed to finish a review for the BBC, drop some notes around web design agencies and follow up on a couple of other work-related leads. But again, for the second week in a row, the Guardian actually has a reasonably sized New Media section, which includes (shock of all shocks) some jobs I actually might want to apply for.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: "The woeful security of STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/21/2001 03:56:43 PM ----- BODY:

"The woeful security of the Conservative Party website has been exposed by an anonymous computer cracker. The UK expert says that the conservatives.com website has been failing to take even the most basic security precautions. He warns that in the run-up to the election anyone who wanted to embarrass the Conservative Party could do so by defacing the site." [BBC News]

I don't understand. If it really is that easy, why on earth hasn't anyone done it. A party that bases itself so patently around stuck-out chests, self-importance and a complete inability to laugh at itself should surely be a prime candidate. I'd do it if I could. Can you do it? Go on then!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: More political commentary from timewasting.net. STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/21/2001 03:59:41 PM ----- BODY:

More political commentary from timewasting.net. Does this represent the complete lack of faith that the majority of the country have of contemporary politics? I personally blame campaigns like that of the Conservative party for lowering our faith in our 'elected representatives'.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Nine things that are true STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/21/2001 04:30:47 PM ----- BODY:

Nine things that are true and one that is not: [after NotSoSoft]

1) I've been to tea with Esther Rantzen.
2) I've been to all but two of the mainland US states.
3) My dentist wants me to have �2000 worth of dental work.
4) I went to the world premiere of Snatch.
5) I don't understand Football.
6) I have no sense of smell.
7) I have owned five different cars.
8) I fancy short men with big noses.
9) I think cheese makes me fart.
10) I've snogged a multi-millionaire.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: So you're trying to find STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/22/2001 12:01:08 PM ----- BODY:

So you're trying to find out about something, and you look on the net and you can't find it. The next thing you do is go straight onto Usenet, because there will be someone there with specific expertise in whatever it is that you're interested in. But you will have to wait a while until someone responds. Perhaps you should try FAQs.org first?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Warning: Plans are afoot for STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/22/2001 01:22:57 PM ----- BODY:

Warning: Plans are afoot for a Big Gay Blogmeet. Extensive documentation and probing tests will be required if there is any doubt about your sexual preference. Many of these tests may be ... degrading. Still interested?

Hello, my name is Tom. I'll be your host tonight at plasticbag.org - so just relax and let me take care of everything. What's that you say? What's happening in the world today? I honestly don't know madam. What's that you say? That I should know? Because I'm running a weblog? What rubbish woman. Get your coat and get the hell out of here. I'm not here for your amusement. Jesus. And yes I was aware that Clare and Tom from Big Brother are expecting a baby. What do you think I am? Completely disconnected from the world?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Startling fact of the day: STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/22/2001 01:55:45 PM ----- BODY:

Startling fact of the day: There is almost nothing decent on the web with information on phone sex. Nothing at all. What's that about?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Article of the day: "Straight STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/22/2001 03:05:56 PM ----- BODY:

Article of the day: "Straight women, begone! You are ruining sex for gay guys with your need for dinner first.": So a while back I asked a guy out for a drink. You know, normally I wouldn't bother. But I had decided that there was something preferable about maintaining an interaction from at least twenty-four hours before first sexual contact to at least forty-eight hours after it. You know - as a change of pace, or something. But now I see the horror of it all. I have had explained to me how I am being drawn into the conspiracy to rob gay men of what they do best - cheap, horny, regular sex.

Actually there is something true in all of this. There is a freedom about sex between men that you don't find in other places - and an honesty. And this is something that really needs to be preserved. The increased socialisation of gay sex is something that needs to be approached in a fairly circumspect fashion. We shouldn't be losing the freedoms of a free and easy sexual culture simply because we fight for the rights to have our other relationships respected.

So I'm going to stick with what I perceive to be the core of the article: "A guy doesn't ask a woman out because he might be attracted to her. He asks her out because he paws the ground every time she walks by. And the ground's sick of it. Here's why it's important to have sex before you get to know someone. First of all because getting to know someone often ruins your physical attraction to the person." And I think that cuts right to the heart of the issue.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Scientific News of the Day STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/22/2001 03:21:17 PM ----- BODY:

Scientific News of the Day: [Nanotech Looms Large for Meds] Nanotech gets one stage closer (in fact is being used in a sense) with the develoment of nano-emulsions and cancer-targetting nano-structures. How far are we from assemblers?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The nicest thing that's happened STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/22/2001 08:48:50 PM ----- BODY:

The nicest thing that's happened to me recently on the web. I'm featured site over at the perils of leisure. Again more impetus to try and think of something interesting to write about rather than all this tedious old self-promoting guff.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Quote from an unlaunched project: STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/22/2001 09:27:03 PM ----- BODY:

Quote from an unlaunched project: "Creativity and inspiration are the enemies of truth, but without them truth couldn't exist. They are the things that shape truth, that it emerges from, just as quickly as it finds itself smothered by them."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: And I quote: "Oyez! Oyez! STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/23/2001 11:13:35 AM ----- BODY:

And I quote: "Oyez! Oyez! Oyez! Are you gay (or cute enough to try out for the team)? Are you a blogger (or thinking of starting one)? Do you live in London (or anywhere near by)? If so, come and join us upstairs at Compton's on Wednesday 30th May from 8pm onwards for London's 1st Gay Bloggers Meet."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: From the second page of STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/23/2001 05:50:04 PM ----- BODY:

From the second page of a Suck article, come visualise with me: "Imagine, for a moment, that you're not crazy, that you can set attainable goals and achieve them instead of languishing for years, unfulfilled. Let's pretend, for just a minute, that you are not completely fucked and that you can seek intimacy from other normal, healthy individuals without alienating them or freaking them out... Oh, your concentration is breaking up. Maybe we tried to do too much in one day..."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Spread the word [lifted STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/24/2001 12:19:47 PM ----- BODY:

Spread the word
[lifted from prolific]
In case you are wondering where Metafilter is:

The network host for Pyra's offices, FirstWorld/Sirius has cancelled the connection. They're no longer in the business of selling T-1 lines. Ev didn't read the e-mail they sent him about it. (Don't these companies send letters?)

Also hosted on that server are: blogspot, newsblogger, megnut, evhead, onfocus.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Today's slightly unusual search request STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/24/2001 01:09:54 PM ----- BODY:

Today's slightly unusual search request is 'jobs at fray.org', which I only wish existed. Fray.org being, for those of you who are new to this stuff, Derek Powazek's IRL parallel to fray.com.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Oh dear god, I'm Lenny STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/24/2001 01:15:13 PM ----- BODY:

Oh dear god, I'm Lenny Kravitz. Thanks, so much, Luke.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I'm posting crap today. I STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/24/2001 01:20:27 PM ----- BODY:

I'm posting crap today. I can feel it rising within me. A great "What the fuck am I doing?" is running through me. Too many things to think about (bloody Barbelith). I'm just going to run with it though. After all, the only other things I have to do today are pay in cheques, clean the bathroom, apply for three jobs, send out CVs to web design companies looking for freelance work, ring up a thousand film distributors, pay two bills, go to the gym, sunbathe for a bit and get in town by eight to get drunk.

Which reminds me. Can anyone figure out what's wrong with my permalinks? I can't be bothered to sort it out for myself.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Question of the moment: Do STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/24/2001 01:27:00 PM ----- BODY:

Question of the moment: Do you want to know which one of these things was a lie? How about these things?

1) I've delivered academic papers at international conferences.
2) I haven't seen my father since I was five.
3) My parents go to Conservative club barbeques.
4) I lived in nine different houses by the age of six.
5) I smoke thirty cigarettes a day.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: This has nothing to do STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/24/2001 01:29:25 PM ----- BODY:

This has nothing to do with me.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Webcam: Bored of watching Tom STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/24/2001 01:48:06 PM ----- BODY:

Webcam: Bored of watching Tom get dressed in the morning? Well for a while only, you can now see the world outside my window. When I'm at home at my desk, this is what I see all day. If you spot anything interesting happening in the windows opposite, let me know.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: In a way it's weird. STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/24/2001 07:02:44 PM ----- BODY:

In a way it's weird. I seem to have written and talked about the Kaycee issue more than anything else, yet none of this conversation has been for plasticbag.org. For me the issue is about the different expectations of truth on the web as opposed to print. There are fabrications, distortions and misrepresentations presented every day in the newspapers - most of which aren't even consciously perpetrated. But we don't seem to notice them any more. Stick it on the web - in an environment where connection is instantaneous and there's immediate possibilities for interaction - and suddenly everyone wants to know exactly where they stand. Fascinating.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Now here's an interesting insight STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/24/2001 07:20:59 PM ----- BODY:

Now here's an interesting insight into the problems of reviewing movies. BBC film got three different reviewers to examine the three Scream movies. And the three present fairly conflicting views of the the 90s leading horror franchise.

Almar Haflidason reviewed Scream, and found it lacklustre, giving it three stars. Now, I would personally disagree with that opinion. But that's not really relevant. What is relevant is that a different reviewer (Neil Smith) then reviews the significantly inferior Scream 2 and similarly gives that movie three stars. There's no explicit comparison between the films in the review which is a shame, because I think it would have demonstrated a radical disjuncture between the two reviewers' opinions of the first film. Now in I come, with my review of Scream 3, which I believe to be inferior to the first movie, but a substantial improvement upon the second. I want to give it three and a half stars, but as I can't, I give it four, declaring it an average film that nonetheless caps the trilogy admirably. If the same reviewer had covered all of the films, then there would be consistency and a way of comparing their quality. But then again, the single reviewer would necessarily have their own opinion which a reading audience would not necessarily have agreed with. Is it better to have three opinions or one set of comparable ones?

Which brings me to another point of interest. Each film carries with it a 'rate this film' box - which is a new addition for the BBC and will provide another way for the reader to determine whether the film is actually any good or not. I'd like everyone on this site to go and vote on each of the three films, and in a couple of days I'll check back and see which of us was closest to the consensus opinion. I suspect it will be Neil.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Bombs are flying People STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/25/2001 12:44:37 AM ----- BODY:

Bombs are flying
People are dying
Children are crying
Politicians are lying too.

Cancer is killing
Texaco's spilling
The whole world's gone to Hell
But how are you?

I'm super
Thanks for asking
All things considered
I couldn't be better I must say

I'm feeling super
No, nothing bugs me
Everything is super when you're gay.
[lyrics]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Eight hours sleep later and STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/25/2001 10:49:39 AM ----- BODY:

Eight hours sleep later and I'm sitting in my duvet looking out of my back window thinking of all the things I should be getting done today, trying to find a mantra to run through my head.

Threw my bad fortune
off the top of
a tall building.
I'd rather done it with you.
[amazon]

I spoke to Ralph last night on AIM and he's having trouble getting everything sorted out before coming to the UK and Europe. I didn't really know what to suggest. I spoke to Evil Michael too. Apparently we are the cognescenti. We get the privilege of being smug because at least we understand what's going on around us, even if we don't like it much. I didn't really know what to say. My cannister of Tsarin gas overfloweth. Thank the lord for prevailing winds. This early morning stream of consciousness missive will be my last word on the subject. My neck hurts again.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Virulent Memes posts a screen STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/25/2001 10:56:19 AM ----- BODY:

Virulent Memes posts a screen cap of an article on blogging that mentions the Kaycee debacle, cites a post on Metafilter and says nice things about NotSoSoft. This is why we like the media. Because it's good to us.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Dear Santa, This year to STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/25/2001 11:01:40 AM ----- BODY:

Dear Santa, This year to celebrate the fifth month after Christmas I would like you to find some way for me to get a small Blogger T-shirt without me paying $25 for shipping across the Atlantic, and the Buffy Season 2 DVD boxset off my wishlist which I just can't afford and it's killing me.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: "Image is everything; life is STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/25/2001 11:42:39 AM ----- BODY:

"Image is everything; life is one long party; and saving the world is just a pain in the arse! Meet Zenith� everything a good super-being shouldn�t be! Out of print since 1990." [They're reprinting Zenith]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The BBC's Arts channel is STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/25/2001 12:03:53 PM ----- BODY:

The BBC's Arts channel is a surprisingly fine and cleanly put together part of the site. There's a fascinating feature on reality tv, that made me think about Kaycee again, albeit indirectly. And it's got some fascinating digital arts on display as well.

From a design standpoint, I only have one problem: the rollovers on the right hand side of the screen. When I read sites, often my mouse pointer follows my eye around the screen. Or perhaps it's the other way around, with the movements of the pointer guiding my eye. With the rollovers on the right hand side of the screen, I found that whenever I focused my attention on one of them, it changed colour and removed any indication as to what it was linked through to. The semi-radical head-shift that I had to go through to uproot what had become such a second-nature practice for me was fairly severe and I suspect would drive a usability expert close to tears...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: News of the day is STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/25/2001 06:35:28 PM ----- BODY:

News of the day is that I have discovered what Grant Morrison looked like with hair, and he was really quite hot. Extraordinary sudden collisions of hero and fit bloke in head are causing me dubious sideways-on insights into this ridiculous world we live in.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Least favourite question of the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/25/2001 11:39:27 PM ----- BODY:

Least favourite question of the moment: So what are you doing at the moment? Second least favouite question of the moment: So, you having a good time recently? Third least favourite question of the moment: Do you want fries with that?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: "In Barbelith did Thomas Coates STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/26/2001 03:31:30 AM ----- BODY:

"In Barbelith did Thomas Coates a stately underground decree,
Where Ganesh, Grant, and Cherry ran,
Through topics measureless to man,
for all the web to see." [Mazarine]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I'm actually slightly horrified by STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/26/2001 03:34:31 AM ----- BODY:

I'm actually slightly horrified by the last link I've posted, so don't go there. Whatever you do. I'm English for god's sake. Proper old-fashioned, doesn't-respond-well-to-compliments, get's-all-sheepish, self-effacing, English. Turns a bit purple, assumes the other person is lying and then gets an itchy back and sweat symptoms. Like someone had just revealed his deep childhood incestuous desires or something. Squirm.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Evhead is back online finally, STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/27/2001 12:45:36 PM ----- BODY:

Evhead is back online finally, along with the rest of the team. It's very satisfying to have Metafilter back with us as well. [The Kaycee thread remains.]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: "It seems strange to talk STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/27/2001 01:27:57 PM ----- BODY:

"It seems strange to talk about it now -- to take something so private and place it in such a public place -- particularly since keeping it secret was so important when I was younger."

Breathe in, breathe out. Personal writing - écriture verité - is very much in the air at the moment. So I'm issuing a challenge. A couple of years ago there was this site called Ember.org. It contained 'tales of first love'. I don't think you could find a more difficult subject to write about. However, I put together a piece and sent it in. Reading it now, it seems almost immpossibly badly written, but my heart is there (displayed for all to see online) and I suppose that's what counts.

My challenge is this. All of you who maintain personal sites - who write about your lives - put your money where your mouth is. Write your story of first love as honestly and openly as you possibly can. And to 'celebrate' this challenge, I'm putting my piece up permanently on plasticbag.org in a new 'personal' section of the site.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The difference between the internet STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/27/2001 02:47:49 PM ----- BODY:

The difference between the internet and real life: In real life the more you talk about your problems, the less people want to hear about them.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: So I'm finally putting my STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/27/2001 07:49:54 PM ----- BODY:

So I'm finally putting my money where my mouth is, and I'm about 24 hours away from having a workable structure for a Barbelith Webzine. Which leaves me in the enviable position of just needing some damn content. I'm therefore putting out a Call for Papers.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Grab yourself a copy of STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/28/2001 11:53:50 AM ----- BODY:

Grab yourself a copy of the Guardian today for an interesting piece on the whole Kaycee situation complete with insightful - nay, brilliant - comments from my good self. [guardian.co.uk]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: For Sale: Web Guru, 28, STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/28/2001 12:10:16 PM ----- BODY:

For Sale: Web Guru, 28, slightly soiled. Ex-Production Editor of TimeOut.com - responsible for various community, editorial, design and coding matters. Now seeks stimulating role with online publisher / content site or in the development of new exciting web enterprises. Will code for food.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Yesterday I put out an STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/28/2001 12:30:25 PM ----- BODY:

Yesterday I put out an appeal for stories of first love, inspired by ember.org and my decision to add my own experience to plasticbag.org. Here has been the response so far:

"I don't remember much else about that day. I remember later he told me I had beautiful hands. I remember meeting him for lunch, and how he kissed me in front of the building where I worked. When I got embarrassed, he said the people watching could get their own girlfriends." [more]

"We understand each other, we can't fool each other, we still fawn all over each other when we're together. It's a powerful, curious dynamic that's hard to miss." [more]

Last night I went to see Tigerland with Nick H and Scott - two gay friends of mine. I've been trying to persuade people to go for a while, but with a certain lack of success. "Not a Vietnam movie," someone said. "I'm just not in the mood," said another. So I considered it a particular triumph to have managed to get two young gay men, who were both hoping to go clubbing, to sit in a cinema and watch a film about war, violence, men and aggression. Then, of course, I saw Colin Farrell and everything became clear.

Tigerland is not a particularly revolutionary film. It's got elements of M*A*S*H in it, but really it's One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest in Boot Camp. There's nothing wrong with that of course - it's an admirable height to aspire to, and for the most part it doesn't go that far wrong. In fact the only part that didn't sit right with me was the last twenty minutes or so, when they finally reach Tigerland itself.

But there was something about the film that perturbed me from the offset, and fairly swiftly I realised what it was. There was a heavy eroticisation of the male bodies on display. There are shower scenes, shot from below to make the actor look more athletic, taller and imposing. There are a couple of confrontations in underpants. And the sheer amount of arse on display is enough to make even the hardened fan of the male body raise a quizzical eyebrow. Whether or not this is to do with the reknowned homosexuality of director Joel Schumacher or not is beside the point - although let us remember that it was under his auspices that Batman and Robin suddenly developed nipples. The whole thing reminded me just slightly too much of an Abercrombie and Fitch catalogue...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: You know, days when you STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/29/2001 10:12:48 AM ----- BODY:

You know, days when you are not in the paper are way less fun than days when you are. I should point this out to my MP. Then maybe we could all be in the paper every day.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Reverse correlation Mentioned in Guardian STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/30/2001 09:03:06 AM ----- BODY:

Reverse correlation Mentioned in Guardian one day, next day can't think of anything to talk about. That can't be right.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: My head is full of STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/30/2001 09:09:10 AM ----- BODY:

My head is full of zine at the moment. It's all I can think about. I've been up until three in the morning three nights in a row now, trying to assemble something that works - trying to make absolutely the best use of my free time in order that I should be able to assemble a functioning, elegant content management system for Barbelith. I'm stunned by how intelligently put together Greymatter is. Every time I think I've hit an omission and will have to fudge something together, I discover a neat way to do it. I can only hope that after all this effort someone decides to write for the damn thing.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: There is a gay webloggers STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/30/2001 09:23:05 AM ----- BODY:

There is a gay webloggers meet this evening. What I don't understand is why it's not listed on meets.gblogs.org.uk. Mostly likely no one informed the person concerned. I think it's upstairs at Comptons tonight from seven. Why it's at Comptons I don't think I'll ever understand. I hate that place. I've only been there three times, but I've hated it every time.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I was visited by my STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/30/2001 09:30:08 AM ----- BODY:

I was visited by my mother and brother yesterday. We met at 11 at the British Museum so I could have a look at the new Central Court, then went shopping down Oxford Street, had Italian for lunch and ended up at Selfridges. I got to explain the Acropolis and the Rosetta Stone to my brother. He seemed interested. At least that is how I chose to interpret his sighs and eye-rolling.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Davo has put up the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/30/2001 01:23:01 PM ----- BODY:

Davo has put up the guide to the Big Gay Blogmeet this evening. And he's chosen a charming shade of pink. How pleasant. This is an open call to any of the people who read this site and who happen to be gay, as well as those people who maintain their own weblogs - come along, meet some new people. And you know, they'll all be gay, so it won't be like when you came last time and the only person you fancied was Matt Interconnected who's been going out with some woman since dinosaurs roamed the earth. Cool?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Election becomes farce becomes comedy STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/30/2001 01:41:27 PM ----- BODY:

Election becomes farce becomes comedy and suddenly it's interesting again. And purely because of Mad, Bad and Dangerous-to-have-your-party-associated-with Thatch. The most amusing part of the whole article is the photography, which is designed to make everyone look as ridiculous as is humanly possible - which would be entertaining if only it were possible to make Hague seem more absurd. For god's sake - get Portillo in. We all know he's evil, but at least he's plausible.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Which of these 300 albums STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/30/2001 03:11:09 PM ----- BODY:

Which of these 300 albums do you think most represent the spirit of Barbelith? Think carefully - this is not about your favourite albums...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: In America it's all over. STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/31/2001 02:25:13 AM ----- BODY:

In America it's all over. Done and dusted. But in the UK, even on satellite and cable, Buffy still has one episode to go - the 100th, and the season finale. In "Buffy's leap of faith" (Salon) Joyce Millman described a lot of the events of the episode and looked forward to what might happen next. I didn't want to read it, but I did. I read it fast though, so it didn't really sink in and I'm sure I'll still be surprised. Tell me that's how it works. Lie to me.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: A sudden moment of collapse STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/31/2001 02:34:10 AM ----- BODY:

A sudden moment of collapse at 2.30am: "Yes. I am blind. No. I can't see. There must be something horribly wrong with me. Love's young dream. Aren't you sorry for what you've done? Well, you're not the only one."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: An evening in links and STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/31/2001 12:09:40 PM ----- BODY:

An evening in links and comments: Photographs. T-shirt dating? 36 + 76 / 2?. I'm not bloody impish. "Last night's PoofBlogMeet began disastrously and then proceeded downhill from there" (link). Abercrombie Kids. "In the escalator engine / machinery room at Knightsbridge underground station?" (Him on Him) And that's my last word on the subject.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I have a new mantra STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/31/2001 12:19:54 PM ----- BODY:

I have a new mantra to repeat as I'm walking through Central London. It makes me feel cool. 'I am Jude Law. I am Jude Law. I am Jude Law. I am Jude Law. I am Jude Law. I am Jude Law. I am Jude Law. I am Jude Law.'

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: One of the horrors of STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/31/2001 01:12:10 PM ----- BODY:

One of the horrors of building web sites is that you have to look at them all the time, angsting about whether you could have done them better, feeling gradually more frustrated with them day by day, never being happy with them, never thinking they're good enough.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: After ten years without them, STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/31/2001 01:14:59 PM ----- BODY:

After ten years without them, I now want a bloody date - and I don't care if I am 'still good or interesting, though old'.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Ev! If you're out there, STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/31/2001 06:15:19 PM ----- BODY:

Ev! If you're out there, check your damn e-mail or phone messages! We need an answer from you fairly pronto!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Tasteless site of the day STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/01/2001 11:17:39 AM ----- BODY:

Tasteless site of the day comes courtesy of popbitch, nose candy, space invaders and Daniella Westbrook. I present for your amusement: "Gak Attack". Top Tips: Daniella's faces will only throw noses at your breasts when you are directly underneath them. So the trick is fast dashes from the left or right of the screen, firing your lines of cocaine as you go. Enjoy.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Drinks with Ev Williams... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/01/2001 11:44:49 AM ----- BODY:

Er. Saw Ev and Cami for a drink last night with Darren, Meg, Matt and Davo. My colleagues were very difficult to organise in such last minute conditions - particularly as they had clearly decided to wind me up over AIM for about forty minutes. I finally met everyone at the Devonshire Arms, where we all ended up accidentally confusing our visitors by talking about British politics, children's television series, Buffy and internal Uk Weblogging Gossip. Ev in particular looked like he was trying to find the best moment to slip some lithium into our drinks. Poor chap. We try to be entertaining - we really do. After a swift trip to Wagamama, we retreated back to the pub. En route I explained British Draconian drinking legislation and was met with astonishment and horror. It actually hadn't occurred to me how strange our arrangment is. A couple of pints later and it was time to go home. Regrets? Not pumping Ev for all the low-down gossip and news from the US scene more effectively. Grrrr.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I've spent quite a lot STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/01/2001 01:22:13 PM ----- BODY:

I've spent quite a lot of the morning trying to sort out my entry into press screenings of films. This was a hell of a lot easier when I worked on Time Out's Film Guide. People are naturally suspicious of people who call themselves freelance journalists. Doesn't stop it being a right pain in the arse though.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Random thoughts on modern culture: STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/01/2001 01:42:50 PM ----- BODY:

Random thoughts on modern culture:

1) Anyone who wanted to Kill the President of the United States would find it difficult since he so closely resembles the upper echelons of comedy incompentent heroes (see Pink Panther movies), that any assassination attempt would inevitably backfire and kill the agent of said terrorist action. Hilarious anarchy would insue.

2) Cult products in a new world order that had a sense of humour could include the "Waco Bell' chain of subversive fast food restaurants and "Whitewater Rafting Holidays" where you were thrown of the top of the infamous hotel in a dingy suspended from a parachute.

3) Exciting sounding words with new definitions: Lebed - French rebranding of the sleeping experience, Spetznaz - Russian immigrant Hip-Hop Fusion Band with saliva-duct problems, Glock 26 - Eastern European 'reconceived time-keeping device' each with a different number of hours per day.

4) Sexy words out of context: IW, IS, Privacy, Information Terrorism, Terrorism Defensive Information, Furbys, E911, FCIC, HTCIA, IACIS, UT/RUS, JANET, ram, JICC, ReMOB, FRU, Bubba, Freeh, Archives, ISADC, CISSP, Sundevil, jack, DJC, LLNL, bemd, SGC, UNCPCJ, CFC, SABENA, DREO, CDA, SADRS, DRA, SHAPE, cospo.osis.gov.

5) These wonderful efforts have been inspired by lists of alleged Echelon code words: The Register (see also BBC and Guardian). Some wonderfully inconguous entries include: furbys, quiche, Golf, Templar, Mary, chameleon man, William Gates, ladylove, filofax, illuminati, speedbump, Nerd, fangs, Sex, Artichoke and Badger. Badger! Damn it, they're on to me...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Excellent Two more reviews for STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/01/2001 04:40:46 PM ----- BODY:

Excellent Two more reviews for the BBC to be written by Monday. Now all I need is for them to actually pay me for them.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Stunning insights from Anarcho-Boy: "It STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/02/2001 12:56:18 AM ----- BODY:

Stunning insights from Anarcho-Boy: "It must not be forgotten that every media professional is bound by wages and other rewards and recompenses to a master and sometimes to several, and that everyone of them knows he is dispensable."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I'm at home, and I'm STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/02/2001 02:14:58 AM ----- BODY:

I'm at home, and I'm working on a site and it's two in the morning and I lean over and put a random CD on, and a song comes on and suddenly I'm fifteen, writing in my journal, learning to play the song in question on the piano, wondering when I'd get to play it to someone and mean it. Thirteen years later and I still feel like I'm waiting for that opportunity - that it will apply to me eventually, at some random point in the future. It's a cheesy song - there's no denying it - but teenage songs stay with you. And I can still play it on the piano - I've tried to keep it in practice, just in case... (Something So Right)

You've got the cool water
When the fever runs high
You've got the look of lovelight in your eyes
And I was in crazy motion
'Til you calmed me down
It took a little time
But you calmed me down

When something goes wrong
I'm the first to admit it
I'm the first to admit it
And the last one to know
When something goes right
Well it's likely to lose me
It's apt to confuse me
It's such an unusual sight
Oh, I can't, I can't get used to something so right
Something so right

They've got a wall in China
It's a thousand miles long
To keep out the foreigners they made it strong
And I've got a wall around me
That you can't even see
It took a little time
To get next to me

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Newsflash: Lance launches storyFUCK. STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/02/2001 07:35:53 PM ----- BODY:

Newsflash: Lance launches storyFUCK.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Simply as a response to STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/02/2001 09:55:41 PM ----- BODY:

Simply as a response to those of you who have asked via e-mail, the reason why I look ridiculously stubbly on the cam is that I've decided that I'm not going to shave until I get a job - or at least a job interview. It seems an unnecessary extravagance at the best of times, and frankly I've always wanted to know whether or not my uneven growth could ever amount to anything resembling a full beard. The Quest begins.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: "I told you my work STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/02/2001 11:55:52 PM ----- BODY:

"I told you my work is almost completed. Let me tell you now exactly what I'm planning to do. I've spoken of the importance of catastrophe to progress and change. Think of the minor accidents that made you and the others what you are today. Now imagine a mass accident if you will. Imagine generating a global catastrophe curve. What might happen then? How would humanity be forced to change and adapt? With the nanomachines I can do it. I can remake the world and everyone in it. I'm not entirely sure what kind of world will exist when I have finished, but I know it will be better for everyone. If I have any faith, I have faith in the unexpected. The unpredictable. I believe in the catastrophe. I welcome it with open arms."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: "Not everything in this magical STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/02/2001 11:59:38 PM ----- BODY:

"Not everything in this magical world is quite what it seems."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: A quick question about the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/03/2001 02:00:54 PM ----- BODY:

A quick question about the BBC. If you read this piece of writing in the Weekly World News, would you believe it? "A Derbyshire housewife has sold what she says is a video of a flying saucer to a Hollywood producer. Sharon Rowlands, 44, from the village of Bonsall, in the Peak District, has reportedly been paid ?20,000 for the footage. And officials at NASA are said to have asked to examine the tape, because they believe it shows the same type of craft once spotted by the space agency's own cameras during a space shuttle mission." If not, how come we are expected to believe it when we read it on the BBC?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: ANNOUNCEMENT: Today, at 1pm GMT, STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/03/2001 02:37:38 PM ----- BODY:

ANNOUNCEMENT:

Today, at 1pm GMT, the Barbelith Webzine was launched, after many many months of procrastination.

Destroy the evil GAP clones
"Thus began the GAP's supervillianous campaign to end diversity and herd the world's population into marketing categories."
by Ralph McGinnis

Morrison's Debt to Moorcock
Gideon Stargrave, King Mob's possibly imaginary alter ego in The Invisibles, is based firmly upon Michael Moorcock's '60s cult hero, Jerry Cornelius.
by Lee Ravitz

Aum Shinri Kyo
"Clad in vibrant pink robes, Asahara preached about the coming apocalypse and how to survive it."
by Grant Balfour

Chaos Magick in a Nutshell
"Life may be magickal in a nihilistic, incomprehensible way but it is still magickal."

Queer Theory in a nutshell
"Queer theorists agree that sexuality is a historically specific construct and that our society oppresses those outside its categories of sexual normalcy"
by Jackie Susann

We are now looking for more features and opinion pieces - and for anyone who notices something horribly wrong to let me know (mail me)

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: A strange place to find STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/03/2001 08:35:32 PM ----- BODY:

A strange place to find a link? Infonie.fr posts about Barbelith (translated wonderfully by babelfish: "The libertarian site of a revolutionary series of Grant Morisson: The Invisible Ones. Or how the data base can become political. Cliquez here for acc�der with the site." I particularly like 'cliquez here'. See the link in context (if it hasn't been removed already).

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Weird evening / Weird party: STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/04/2001 01:36:47 AM ----- BODY:

Weird evening / Weird party: After which I felt even more as if everyone in the entire world thinks I'm pointless and cruel. Weirdest part of the evening was weighing myself while trying to avoid conversation by hiding in the loo (where I was rung by someone I'd recently wronged ironically enough) and discovering that I've lost 12 pounds over the last couple of months - purely from not feeling like eating and being stressed. I'm now a trim eleven stone of firm muscle. Go figure. If it wasn't for the ever-growing beard, I'd no doubt be having no end of sexual antics.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: A long conversation with a STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/04/2001 02:09:58 AM ----- BODY:

A long conversation with a random punter via AIM leads to the statement that I look just like Dave Matthews of the Dave Matthews band. I go to the net at once. Do I really look like this man?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Today on Barbelith: 'The Prisoner' STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/04/2001 09:30:33 AM ----- BODY:

Today on Barbelith: 'The Prisoner' in a nutshell": "Episode after episode showed Number Six fighting every attempt to win his secrets and gaining no ground in the battle with his warders."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: As part of an experiment STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/04/2001 02:13:46 PM ----- BODY:

As part of an experiment in 'Googling' people - ie. finding out information about individuals by simply putting their name into search engines and intelligently filtering the results, I decided today to take a random name "Leon Fleury" and create a profile of him. Unfortunately, it turns out that there's rather too much (or too disturbing) information about the young man in question on the net, and so I'm going to restrict myself to mentioning that he played one half of a cow in "Jack and the Beanstalk" and that he graduated from the drama department of Exeter University.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: There have been a lot STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/05/2001 10:56:44 AM ----- BODY:

There have been a lot of responses to Ralph's article on Barbelith on "Evil Gap Clones". There's an interesting piece on Shrapnel.org which includes some strange lines: "If we worried so much about child labor and animal slaughter, we would be seriously depressed and warped people." and there are no less than three related threads on the Underground: On why shopping in GAP is a good thing for sweatshop workers, On a possible answer to global homogeneity, Gap Clones.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Today on Barbelith: Situationism in STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/05/2001 11:02:07 AM ----- BODY:

Today on Barbelith: Situationism in a nutshell: "The SI are known to most people through their supposed links to punk rock. However these links are at best tenuous and at worst spurious."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I really desperately need to STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/05/2001 01:08:38 PM ----- BODY:

I really desperately need to get my mitts on Conquest of ... and Escape to ... The Planet of the Apes. Into London with you Tom. You can do it.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Gay ethical dilemma: You are STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/05/2001 02:56:59 PM ----- BODY:

Gay ethical dilemma: You are a Catholic Conservative gay man - a commentator and writer for mainstream America. You have written a book called Virtually Normal, which is a frustratingly anaemic book advocating a very basic view of whatever the equivalent of liberal feminism is for gay people. You argue a lot about how the 'Gay Plague' is essentially over - how HIV and AIDS is not an epidemic. You also write a lot about how gay people should stop indulging in the hedonism of sex, dancing and drugs that the rest of the world believes it to consist of.

Now someone else disagrees with your politics - but more specifically believes that you are damaging the lives of gay man by denying a disease that directly affects them. That person has found out that you advertise for sex on the internet - that you advertise specifically for unprotected group sex. And they decide to tell the world. Which one of you is the bigger hypocrite? [Salon 1 | Salon 2]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Another response to Ralph's anti-GAP STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/05/2001 07:51:36 PM ----- BODY:

Another response to Ralph's anti-GAP piece on Barbelith: "Rebel Without A Sweater". This particularly piece is extremely long and involved - and written intelligently (albeit with vitriol). And I quote: "The author of this recent cookie-cutter rant against corporate homogenization would be expecting too much from a population that does not owe his opinions such respect - least of all his opinions on what, exactly, makes one diverse." It's such an empassioned response, in fact, that I've decided to ask the person concerned whether they'd like to rewrite their comments and have them put onto Barbelith.

The site also has a very interesting reciprocal link facility that I think might actually catch on quite well across the net. Keep your eyes peeled - this could be the next BlogVoices.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Headsplurge: Good morning and thank STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/06/2001 09:50:48 AM ----- BODY:

Headsplurge: Good morning and thank you to Nick Jordan for the new REM album. It's one of those albums that I've wanted since before it came out, but have felt somewhat conflicted about because - you know - it's REM. But I suppose alternative auguries included the coming-out of Big Gay Stipey. Well, whatever, I've got a lot to do today and it's really going to help me concentrate. Thanks again. More news: Yesterday, all day, I spent two pounds. TWO. That's impressive that is. Addenda: Paul from Oh Sky Lab is actually called "Paul Love". What's that about? Postscript: One review to write, one letter to draft and a thousand e-mails to send.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Metafilter is hacked... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/06/2001 09:52:49 AM ----- BODY:

News of the day: Metafilter hacked - and this put up in its place. Courtesy of Matt.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Happy birthday, PGP... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/06/2001 10:05:05 AM ----- BODY:

Happy Birthday to PGP: "Phil Zimmermann became the world's first cyberspace hero 10 years ago this week. In a public move, which transformed the way Internet users viewed privacy and made him the target of a federal criminal probe, Zimmermann released Pretty Good Privacy on June 5, 1991."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Harry Potter and Capitalism... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/06/2001 10:07:28 AM ----- BODY:

Today on Barbelith: "Harry Potter and Capitalism" - being a series of novels in which Harry and Hogwarts are deeply implicated in a capitalist organization of the world.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Today has so far been STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/06/2001 04:15:32 PM ----- BODY:

Today has so far been foul. I don't know what the hell I ate but it certainly hasn't agreed with me. I feel continually betrayed by my biology - it's like a web-server that hasn't been keeping up with its security patches. Something always seems to go wrong with it. Maybe it's more like a PC. I mean, it always gets the job done, and it's always something small, but it's always bloody happening. And as usual I just work through it.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: People who diet are profoundly STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/06/2001 08:03:48 PM ----- BODY:

People who diet are profoundly stupid, says BBC. Ok, that's unfair. What the BBC actually says is that Thinking 'drains the brain' - essentially of glucose, and extraordinarily quickly. Traditionally, it has been thought that as long as you have food in your system then the energy supplies to your brain will remain essentially consistent. But this article suggests that when under particular mental stress, individuals can literally use up all the glucose incredibly quickly.

This may explain geek fetish foods high in caffeine and sugar. I know that I can go on mad obsessive intellectual kicks when interested and doped up on regular doses of Coca-Cola - although it hasn't done my teeth much good. And of course the corrollary of all this (and it is specifically stated) is that: "thinking became slower when blood sugar levels were down" - meaning people on diets are just not the sharpest tools in the box.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I bought 24 Years of STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/06/2001 11:37:53 PM ----- BODY:

I bought 24 Years of Hunger in 1991 because it was in Q magazine's top 50 albums of the year. I loved it at the time, and unlike a lot of the music that I listened to when I was nineteen, I still listen to it today. In fact I put it on this evening and suddenly remembered how much I liked it. The reviews at Amazon are kind of sweet as well: "Poor Eg, poor Alice - they created a total masterpiece and nobody's ever heard of either them or it. Wonderful for driving in the dead of night." Does anyone else own it?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Thursday morning anxieties (1) So STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/07/2001 09:32:45 AM ----- BODY:

Thursday morning anxieties (1) So the first e-mail was of course tremendously exciting and yet absurdly ill-timed. My renewal notice for barbelith.com arrived this morning, making it nearly two years since I coughed up $70 in a bedsit in Hampstead. Of course that also means that I have thirty days to find $70. Thursday morning anxieties (2) Speaking of the barbelith.com, my first excess bandwidth e-mail came through today - which I believe is only going to charge me $4 for May. But I would place money on that number rising over the coming months. And the alternative? Upgrade to high volume or quick serve accounts at a price of up to $250 a month.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Today on Barbelith: "Pearl Harbor's STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/07/2001 09:37:09 AM ----- BODY:

Today on Barbelith: "Pearl Harbor's Fatal Flaw" - A look at the presentation of the human cause in the war movie, following the release of Pearl Harbor. By Tom Armitage.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Meet the author Quite how STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/07/2001 10:01:27 AM ----- BODY:

Meet the author Quite how you people get through your sorry lives without my continual presence has always astonished me. Well, if you're finding it difficult, there will be yet another blogmeet this coming Tuesday in Central London. Come along. Buy me drinks. [details]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Tiny online weblogging exit poll STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/07/2001 06:14:57 PM ----- BODY:

Tiny online weblogging exit poll of these sites - plasticbag.org, TajMahal, Life as it happens, qwertyuiop, LinkMachineGo, Interconnected, wherever you are, pixeldiva, NickJordan.co.uk, parallax view, extenuating circumstances - reveals the centre-left political dispositions of our fair community: Labour - 7, Lib Dem - 3, SNP - 1, Conservative - 0. If you would like to add your vote (anonymously of course) to this exit poll, drop me a note with your site URL and the way you voted. [mail me]

News of the day is that Davo has redesigned his site, bringing it firmly into century 21.16 with a stunning bold, bright design oozing with thrilling CSS glamour. And in the About section of the site, you are treated to a wonderful quote from me describing my daily use of Brainsluice to get those stubborn stains out of my subconscious. I think he's nicked my drained brain link though. Little scamp. I'll give him what-for...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Today on Barbelith: 'King Mob' STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/08/2001 09:48:01 AM ----- BODY:

Today on Barbelith: 'King Mob' Through History - Painted on the wall of Newgate prison was the proclamation that the inmates had been freed by the authority of "His Majesty, King Mob".

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I watched the election results STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/08/2001 10:15:24 AM ----- BODY:

I watched the election results roll in until three in the morning, settled on my sofa with a shot-glass full of whatever was handy. I watched Peter Mandelson's astonishing "Nerves of steel" speech. Watched Tony Blair lay it on as thick as it was possible to lay it on. Watched Sean Woodward look completely absurd when put under pressure. And Michael Portillo refuse to talk about the poll that said that recent ex-Tories didn't want him as leader of the Conservative party. I'd have stayed up all night if I could have done. It was fascinating stuff.

And in the end everything came together as well as anyone could have hoped. William Hague is to step down, which can hopefully only mean that the Conservative party will return from the far excesses of right-wing politics at last. Charles Kennedy has brought the Liberal Democrats at least seven more seats, and Labour are in for an historic second term. Can't do much better than that from my perspective.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: It's a slightly frustrating day STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/08/2001 01:10:25 PM ----- BODY:

It's a slightly frustrating day when you can't get through either to the bank to discuss your financial shortcomings or to the employer who is supposed to be helping you resolve them.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: It's ape-madness at plasticbag.org industries STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/08/2001 03:34:58 PM ----- BODY:

It's ape-madness at plasticbag.org industries today as my latest batch of film reviews for the BBC go live. Wow to time-travelling monkey madness with Escape from the Planet of the Apes. Coo to the violence of When Apes Attack (also known as Conquest of the Planet of the Apes, and look forward to next week's review of Battle of the Planet of the Apes. Oh, and I knocked off a review of the original Ocean's Eleven as well. Look out for the remake of this last one - coming to cinemas later in the year. The cast is going to be astonishing - George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Brad Pitt, Casey Affleck, Don Cheadle, Matt Damon, Andy Garcia, Elliot Gould - and it's directed by Oscar winning screen-dream Steven Soderbergh.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Cal needs to get out STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/09/2001 11:35:44 AM ----- BODY:

Cal needs to get out of the house more. His latest project? A choose your own adventure collaborative story website, which has, unfortunately been taken over by lunatics already.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Today on Barbelith: Kevin O'Neill STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/09/2001 12:25:41 PM ----- BODY:

Today on Barbelith: Kevin O'Neill (Part Two) - The artist of Nemesis the Warlock, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and Marshall Law talks dirty in the second part of our interview.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Considerable information is now being STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/09/2001 02:16:47 PM ----- BODY:

Considerable information is now being released on the sunked city of Heracleion that was found in the Nile Delta last year. Makes for fascinating reading.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Available finances: �3.62. After consultation STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/09/2001 09:20:03 PM ----- BODY:

Available finances: �3.62. After consultation with my colleagues, it has been decided that this money should be spent as follows: �3 on National Lottery Lucky Dip tickets, 2 packs of mini-Mars bars. This provides us with a budget surplus of 2p. We are considering ways of increasing revenue to the party to fund an uncoming number of 'having fun' initiatives.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Laziness is not an excuse. STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/09/2001 09:27:44 PM ----- BODY:

Laziness is not an excuse.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: From a year ago this STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/10/2001 10:21:51 AM ----- BODY:

From a year ago this month - see pictures of me, Katy and Evil Nick poncing around for the Mirror Project: KatyTom & Evil Nick. I look way fat.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: There's a fascinating site full STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/10/2001 11:53:07 AM ----- BODY:

There's a fascinating site full of Blogger hacks and trouble-shooting advice over at archives.blogspot.com. Regulars may have noticed my own trouble with archives recently. These should be resolved shortly.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Today on Barbelith: Division X STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/10/2001 11:54:31 AM ----- BODY:

Today on Barbelith: Division X in a nutshell - Of all the fiction suits in the world, someone had to put together the grittiest London cops and the feyest dandy of the crimefighting world, and call them a team.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The decision to spend all STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/10/2001 08:47:45 PM ----- BODY:

The decision to spend all day at home has led to me having had a frustratingly tedious day. I've accomplished little, built nothing, talked to almost no one. I did some washing up. This is my contribution to my planet. This is the radicalism of my my late-twenties.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The BBC presents an article STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/10/2001 08:52:11 PM ----- BODY:

The BBC presents an article on GW Bush's European tour. This is a fascinating article, particularly as it shows up the differences between American and European culture. The section that interests me most (and which I agree with) goes like this: "The fact is that the new president is not of the same political culture as most of his European 'friends'. And I am not talking here about a simple difference between a largely social democrat Europe and a conservative United States. The differences are wider and more unbridgeable. Europeans look at Bush as a proponent of the death penalty (which they regard as uncivilised) and an opponent of abortion (which the Swedish hosts of the summit regard as the right of any woman). They, particularly the Scandinavians and the French, see in Bush the worst kind of America - insular, uncultured and ignorant of the world."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Post-Napster, I find myself increasingly STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/10/2001 08:54:01 PM ----- BODY:

Post-Napster, I find myself increasingly obsessed with filepile.org as a source of random mp3's to experience.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: It's amazing, astonishing even, what STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/11/2001 12:54:02 PM ----- BODY:

It's amazing, astonishing even, what you can find when you wander through Haddock.org. Started off with a couple of self-searches for plasticbag and barbelith and ended up stumbling on this picture of Matt Interconnected. For ... more ... on Matt, visit his site - Interconnected.org.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Frustration of the day: Contracts STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/11/2001 01:22:56 PM ----- BODY:

Frustration of the day: Contracts come and contracts go and you go through periods where you can't get enough work and other periods where you can't fit in the work that people want you to do. At the moment it's just a question of wanting one particular contract above all others - it's just much more interesting work. But I keep getting put off - delayed - and now the person who's responsible for hiring for that position has gone on holiday. For another two weeks.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: American Beauty Soundtrack... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/11/2001 01:35:29 PM ----- BODY:

Delivered in the post this morning: American Beauty OST. Thanks so much to Ann for this. Here's a sample that I've listened to over and over again with the windows open, looking out over the garden at the back of my flat - Mental Boy.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Tremendous thanks are in order STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/11/2001 04:47:21 PM ----- BODY:

Tremendous thanks are in order to Prol for finding me Peter Mandelson's speech online. This is wonderful stuff - although I think it cuts out too soon - because I remember it taking an eternity for him to stop talking about himself and his 'inner steel'. Dear god, man - who let the dogs out?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Literally about a year ago, STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/11/2001 04:59:04 PM ----- BODY:

Literally about a year ago, I ran a headline competition, based upon illustrating some amusing headlines that I'd found somewhere on the net. During the process at some point I think I became suddenly horrified by how ridiculously geeky I had become, and so without even allowing the competition to run its course, I stopped putting up people's entries onto the site. Well time passes, and what has horrified you in the past gradually becomes sickeningly mundane. So here are the final entrants, just under a year late.

"Red Tape Holds Up New Bridge" | outage.com

"NJ Judge Rules On Nude Beach" | outage.com

"Iraqi Head in Search of Arms" | www.baal.org.nz

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Am I the only person STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/11/2001 11:18:50 PM ----- BODY:

Am I the only person in the world who thinks that Josh from Big Brother has slightly alarming sticky-out teeth? I probably am. What a ridiculous thing to focus on, Tom. I can't believe I'm saying it, but I'd rather have Brian. He's just, you know, nice.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: 12 places talking about articles STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/11/2001 11:34:58 PM ----- BODY:

12 places talking about articles at barbelith.com: The Null Device, beautiful MIDNIGHT, If Then Else, Virulent Memes, As Above, qwertyuiop, Come Back, shrapnel.org, Devil or an Angel, Minor 9th, OutSider, Blogadoon.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Hmmm. I find myself strangely STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/12/2001 12:01:14 AM ----- BODY:

Hmmm. I find myself strangely missing Ralph - who's not posting on the Underground as much as he used to, is hardly posting to his site either. And he's never on AIM. Things seem oddly flat without someone to bounce off.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Calling Mason Lang: Could the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/12/2001 10:02:14 AM ----- BODY:

Calling Mason Lang: Could the person who sent me three tremendously wonderful presents off my wishlist - all of which arrived this morning - but neglected to leave their name, please mail me so I can thank you in person. It's started off a difficult week on a really cool note.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Recent Additions to the Mirror STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/12/2001 10:15:38 AM ----- BODY:

Recent Additions to the Mirror Project include: Mo Morgan [momorgan.com], Simon Pearson [simon.fneh.net], Tom Coates [plasticbag.org].

Today on Barbelith: Kevin O'Neill Part One | Part Two - The artist of Nemesis the Warlock, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and Marshall Law talks dirty in the our extended two-part interview.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Davo found an article (to STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/12/2001 02:34:49 PM ----- BODY:

Davo found an article (to prove a point to me) about the relationship between a couple's perceptions of each other's (and their own) physical attractiveness - [article]. When reading it, a few issues occurred to me - whether one can trust people to tell the truth, whether it is plausible to expect people to rate themselves or their partners honestly (particularly when there might be a difference in attractiveness between them) and whether or not the graphs representing changes in perceived attractiveness over time are more representative of generational differences than the development of any individual relationship. Read and ponder.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: If you get bored and STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/12/2001 02:38:11 PM ----- BODY:

If you get bored and wish to promote your site, then the best thing you can do is get yourself over to Webmonkey and read their article on Search Engine Optimization. It cuts through a lot of the bullshit and snake-oil and gets right down to the heart of the matter - producing relatively effective search engine placement by concentrating on being clear and honest, rather than trying to bluff the spiders. Very much recommended introduction to a difficult subject.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Very funny insight from davezilla STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/12/2001 03:00:05 PM ----- BODY:

Very funny insight from davezilla - bored of Fucked Company?, then check out FuckedWeblog - described by Haddock.org as the bonfire of the vanity sites....

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I hereby declare the excellent STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/12/2001 03:17:22 PM ----- BODY:

I hereby declare the excellent Radiohead to have been renamed "The Down-Beatles", and Thom Yorke to be "John Lennon on Helium and Methadone". I expect these quotes to adorn Radiohead posters within the next week".

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Select quotes from the general STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/12/2001 03:23:19 PM ----- BODY:

Select quotes from the general public on the Labour general election victory:

"Isn't there - can't there be - more to living than hard work and families?" Louise Holden "I never thought I would live long enough to see a Labour government treat asylum seekers so disgracefully, attempt to restrict the right to trial by jury, make policy to appease rightwing newspapers and worship at the altar of private participation in public services. Please change your ways to recapture the excitement and anticipation of 1997. Ms J M Lynn You should be ashamed that old duffers in the House of Lords prevented the repeal of Clause 28. Jilly Woods

For more comments - some insightful, some objectionable, some merely wonderfully rude, check out the full Guardian piece.

I got an e-mail from a friend this morning who said he'd stumbled upon a whole range of galleries of Bristol's gay life. I lived in Bristol for over six years so there are a few (although surprisingly few) familiar faces. The weirdest thing is the 'blast from the past' stuff - when I look at pictures like this one and remember that I had a bit of a thing for the guy on the far right, but that I turned him down after months of chasing because he'd been dancing all night and was too bloody sweaty. I must have been mad.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Today on Barbelith: Execution USA STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/13/2001 11:36:44 AM ----- BODY:

Today on Barbelith: Execution USA - "Think you're safe? Maybe you are. Nixon wanted to have all war protesters classified as traitors. Being a traitor is punishable by death. That was 30 years ago."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On the political compass... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 1 DATE: 06/13/2001 12:46:43 PM ----- BODY:

Quick thanks to Fran for sending me the URL of politicalcompass.org - a site which aims to estimate your politics not only on a left-right spectrum, but also on a libertarian / authoritarian axis. Based on +/- 10 on both axis, I emerged as Economically -1.22 (centre-left) and Authoritarianly -6.86 (heavy leanings towards libertarian politics). I am therefore relatively close to the politics of Simon Hughes and Charles Kennedy.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Tremendous thanks to Ashley! If STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/13/2001 12:48:14 PM ----- BODY:

Tremendous thanks to Ashley! If you want to see what I'm on about, check the cam (the yellow/orange bullseye above). I will be wearing it all day as a statement of my allegiance to the highest cause in the land. Independent content-publishing....

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Cool news of the day... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/13/2001 03:26:28 PM ----- BODY:

Cool news of the day - Barbelith has been picked up by Moreover.com via Grouse as a Cool Site.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Commenting on Barbelith... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/13/2001 04:30:39 PM ----- BODY:

More mentions of Barbelith and comments upon the various articles: Richard's Dish takes on Harry Potter and Capitalism.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: We would just like to STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/14/2001 01:26:43 AM ----- BODY:

We would just like to give our gracious thanks to Nick Jordan for presenting us with a full gallery of the goings-on on Tuesday night. We know at the time that we may have groaned every time the camera appeared, that we may have shouted 'put it away', but really... How could anyone not love you for putting this picture on the net? I mean, really?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Today on Barbelith: Porno People STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/14/2001 12:04:46 PM ----- BODY:

Today on Barbelith: Porno People - "Real people that I knew went from three dimensions, conversation and thoughts to cartoon sex zombies mouthing, 'I like it in my mouth'."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: "I decree today that life STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/14/2001 02:36:23 PM ----- BODY:

"I decree today that life is simply taking and no giving. England is mine and it owes me a living..."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Fascinating stuff on the Josh STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/14/2001 04:02:39 PM ----- BODY:

Fascinating stuff on the Josh / Brian debacle that's emerging in the Big Brother house. The Guardian talks about Josh's A-list status, JoshandPecs.com goes the full self-promoting mile and Barbelith goes all analytic (I love the Underground). Totally engaging.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: "If you're wondering why all STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/14/2001 11:02:46 PM ----- BODY:

"If you're wondering why all the love that you long for eludes you and people are rude and cruel to you, I'll tell you why. Today I am remembering the time when they pulled me back, and held me down and looked me in the eye and said you just haven't earned it yet, baby. You must suffer and cry for a longer time. You must stay on your own for slightly longer. And I'm telling you now."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Reel giddily before the might STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/14/2001 11:42:27 PM ----- BODY:

Reel giddily before the might of my final review involving people in rubber masks going 'ook': Battle for the Planet of the Apes sucks ass according to highly intelligent and trustworthy sources (ie. me). Experience the full depths of monkey mediocrity today!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Secrets are the battery acid STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/15/2001 12:07:42 AM ----- BODY:

Secrets are the battery acid of the mind. If you had secrets - if you had three things that you wanted to talk about but couldn't - what would you do? Would your defences collapse under the pressure. If I said 'lunch', 'chris morris', 'flight' would that be enough to prop up the walls for a bit? Three secrets. Three words. Head in cling-film clouding up from within.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Proposal: Combine weblog with diary STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/15/2001 10:51:46 AM ----- BODY:

Proposal: Combine weblog with diary and journal by making it possible to (1) post in advance, (2) assign times to events, (3) be able to choose whether the post should be public or private, (4) have private posts be viewable through a concealed login so you can check your itinerary on the go, (5) Build in 'talk about this event' functionality.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Matt Haughey relaunches haughey.com as STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/15/2001 11:15:35 AM ----- BODY:

Matt Haughey relaunches haughey.com as his professional site. It's a startlingly simple and elegant design, using high quality images. The front page feels like a window. There's something familiar to me about the text formatting on the images. It reminds me of something big in the graphic design world a while back. If anyone can see what I'm talking about, then mail me. It's driving me insane.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: More grotesque photos of the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/15/2001 11:54:45 AM ----- BODY:

More grotesque photos of the most recent Blogmeet (12 /6/2001). When will someone realise that the pallid complexion, RSI'd arms and over-caffeinated geek world will never photograph well?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Today on Barbelith: CCTV in STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/15/2001 12:06:51 PM ----- BODY:

Today on Barbelith: CCTV in a nutshell - "Britain leads the world in the use of closed circuit television to discourage crime on our streets, and enjoys the highest known proportion of CCTV coverage."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I don't even know what STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/15/2001 03:20:21 PM ----- BODY:

I don't even know what to say. The person who got me Buffy on video - wow. This has been the main symbol of my currently tightened circumstances - that the thing that would be my first frivolity sits on a shelf glaring at me. I actually got a bit emotional. I don't know what to say.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The disturbing mind of Cal STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/15/2001 05:29:35 PM ----- BODY:

The disturbing mind of Cal Henderson has come up with the most evil thing I've seen in years: which uk blogger would you most like to see naked? I have it on good authority that whoever wins this poll will take much of their kit off immediately.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Ok. You're all missing the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/15/2001 07:36:23 PM ----- BODY:

Ok. You're all missing the point. I want you to vote for the other people (ie not me), so I get to see them naked. Jeez, people. Pay attention. So in attempt to guide your voting a little, I've found these old pictures of Matt and Mo lying around the place. Wouldn't you rather see them naked?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Evening in a Nutshell: Was STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/16/2001 03:17:17 AM ----- BODY:

Evening in a Nutshell: Was late getting everything done, half-tidied bedroom, met Nick H and Davo at The Edge, drank a couple of drinks, behaved like idiots, had fun. Went to GAY, downed a couple of drinks, bumped into ****, bumped into Scott and friend. Danced like a maniac for an hour or so. Saw stunning man, stunning man engaged in ten minutes of full-body flirting, stunning man wandered off with boyfriend, got a bit pissed off, danced like an angry maniac, tried to get Nick to flirt with someone, tried to leave the dance-floor but they kept playing incredibly good crap. Saw stunning man while sitting and having a fag with Davo. Felt really tired. Davo leant me the money for a cab. Got cab. Got home, had sneaky shower. Talked to **** on AIM about his behaviour over the evening - decided he was a bit of an arse. Went to bed.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: "Why do you fight, miniscule STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/16/2001 05:07:47 PM ----- BODY:

"Why do you fight, miniscule blonde one?" Today has been filled with a profound inability to connect to anything or anyone, the frustration of discovering that an application form that was supposed to arrive this morning hasn't done, a couple of hours of Buffy and a fair amount of UBB dismantling. Had a bit of an existential wobble around 4pm. Comforted myself with the thought that I'm under a lot of stress, am very tired and haven't eaten properly for a while. Do not, as yet, feel at equilibrium.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Breaking Infopop's Windows... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/17/2001 07:09:14 PM ----- BODY:

I swear to god, if the Barbelith Underground reboot doesn't work this time, I'm smashing something. I'm going to get a great big fucking rock and throw it through Infopop's windows.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On Close Encounters... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/17/2001 11:53:23 PM ----- BODY:

I took a break from the nightmare reinstallation from hell in order to catch the last half hour of Close Encounters of the Third Kind. It's weird - Simon and Mark probably weren't even born when I last saw it.

The weirdest thing about the whole experience was seeing how many images, sounds and effects in Close Encounters have become representative of the whole alien phenomenon. There are traces of Close Encounters in pretty much every film about contact and aliens made since. Particularly weird, though, is the way it's represented. Exactly the same music and imagery is used in Independance Day and the X-files to convey horror and anxiety, and yet in Spielberg's original the whole thing is approached with wonder. There's fear in there as well, of course, but the general spirit is one of awe. It makes all those bizarre claims that Spielberg's movies are designed to educate and reassure the American public about the actual presence of aliens vaguely plausible. Extraordinary.

When I was 18 I visited the place in the desert where they filmed the movie. At the campsite opposite they show the movie every single night - projected on an screen in an outside theatre - with nothing around but desert and tents, and nothing above but clear skies and hundreds of millions of stars.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Today on Barbelith: Marquis De Sade... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/18/2001 12:49:47 PM ----- BODY:

Today on Barbelith: Marquis De Sade: Profile - "Being a comprehensive guide to the life and work of the world's most passionate and depraved libertine and lover."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Drink at Smolensky's? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/18/2001 05:48:26 PM ----- BODY:

Read this and then read this and then come and join us at Smolensky's for a drink this evening from 7pm to 9pm - all welcome, from regular readers to first-timers.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Mass Slaughter or Suicide? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/19/2001 12:04:51 AM ----- BODY:

I remember saying to myself in March that if I hadn't found a permanent job I wanted by my birthday, then I would seriously consider either mass slaughter or suicide. I'm no longer comfortable with the stresses and insecurities of freelance work. Well, one month from today, I turn 29, and while the industry does appear to be picking up slightly, I'm increasingly concerned that I'm not going to be in my dream job by that magical date. I've done some stuff during the last couple of months that I've always wanted to do, and I've done some stuff that I never want to do again. And while I've done a lot of good work (I think barbelith is coming together very well) I just don't ever really feel able to relax and I'm always thinking about where the next work is going to come from. Tonight, I really do feel so very very tired.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Mark the Beatle... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/19/2001 12:23:04 AM ----- BODY:

Mark's new haircut makes him look like a Beatle. And he's started posing more. Which is, you know, fun.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: "Tom Coates Naked" STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/19/2001 12:25:11 AM ----- BODY:

OK - confessions time. Who found my site by typing in 'Tom Coates Naked' into Google? I feel violated in a strangely pleasant way. Mummy, does this mean I'm a deviant?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: So Simon's redesigned... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/19/2001 12:47:12 AM ----- BODY:

So Simon's redesigned minor 9th but wouldn't beg me to link to him. So I have linked to him anyway, just to prove that having nerve is sometimes worth rewarding. As long as you all remember that you are all my bitches, that is. You've got that, right?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Getting Simon Traffic... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/19/2001 01:06:11 AM ----- BODY:

Can you guys find some pretext to link to http://simon.fneh.net ASAP? I linked to him and he bet me that he'd get less hits today than yesterday just in order to spite me. So now it's a matter of honour that I find some way of at least doubling his traffic. All ideas gratefully received

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I need donations... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/19/2001 10:53:42 AM ----- BODY:

Because of the sheer weight of running barbelith.com, I have decided to start to take donations from people for its upkeep and maintenance. 300,000 page impressions a month, CGI heavy-bulletin boards and up to 700Mb of bandwidth a day wasn't quite what I had in mind when I started the site, but never mind - everyone seems to enjoy it.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Donations for a TiBook? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/19/2001 01:47:28 PM ----- BODY:

I am contemplating running a parallel campaign to the barbelith one. I'm wondering if I can persuade the world to contribute dollar by dollar towards getting me a G4 Ti Powerbook. I'm dribbling at the propect, but it occurs to me that I could be here waiting for it for quite some time...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Today on Barbelith: Echelon STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/19/2001 02:43:04 PM ----- BODY:

Today on Barbelith: Echelon (I): History and Politics - "The first part of our Echelon series takes a look at the background of the top secret surveillance project that has the European Union in uproar."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: We live in strange days... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/19/2001 04:27:45 PM ----- BODY:

We live in strange days. And they get stranger all the time. That feeling you get when you don't know what's happening - that sensation you get when you're uncomfortable in a strange situation and you don't know why - the pricking on your back - the spreading explosions of light behind your eyes as brain-elements fire and misfire - those spasms of discomfort - these things are natural to us now. They're with us all the time, for better or worse.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Unedited list of things in my bookmark file... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/19/2001 05:49:58 PM ----- BODY:

Bookmark dump: Being an unedited list of everything in my bookmark file, providing biographical insight and good linkage. Today: Toolbar Favourites: plasticbag.org, WebMonkey Search Engine Secrets, FilmFourExtra, ThisIsLondon.com Jobs, Chinwag Recruitment Consultancies, SamSpade.org, Scott London, Tom on HotOrNot, AOL.co.uk jobs, Seethru Webzine, Whois capitallive.com, BBC jobs, Barbelith Intranet, Life Pic of the Day, Fan Faves, Lottery Central, UBB support, Q4music.com, Project Gutenberg, Jobserve, TheCounter.com, FilePile.org, Jobs Unlimited.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Today on Barbelith: The murderers STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/20/2001 01:58:58 AM ----- BODY:

Today on Barbelith: The murderers of Jamie Bulger - "To take a life in cold blood is appalling in and of itself, but to take that of a child seems to go beyond that. And this time the crime goes still deeper. The child was killed by children."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Another poignant day for me, STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/20/2001 05:53:41 PM ----- BODY:

Another poignant day for me, loser that I am.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The groovy orange pubic orangutan STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/20/2001 06:48:32 PM ----- BODY:

The groovy orange pubic orangutan wasn't andisestablishmentarian except after copulation of course; those who feel his swollen forebrain just here rustling beneath the firetruck in hushed screams of pleasure. Motherfucking is illegal under full latex umbrellas. Unless groovy membranous exterminators spackle cake because they absolutely abnegate Uzbekistan nationalist fetus, killed by underwater terrorists disguised as tentacled monkeys. Mermaids in drag, but never kissed or prostituted. Whoops Johnny! Now consanguinous self spanked Buffy's defiance beyond recognition. So unexpectedly she spell checked violently until coming again and ... womble. Chewbacca snorted viral eruption beverages with naked apologies to make reservedly bitter lemons. Giraffes corpulate noncepatrollishly allegedly. Moreover, seeping sperm oozies surprisingly quickly when whisked vigorously by giant cocksmokers. The most beautifullest hornswaggled uxorious... [more]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Today I agreed to fill STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/21/2001 02:12:17 PM ----- BODY:

Today I agreed to fill in an empty week of work with secretarial temping. Just to fill up the time, you understand. God, I'm depressed.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: New useful weblog: status.blogger.com - STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/21/2001 02:35:08 PM ----- BODY:

New useful weblog: status.blogger.com - started by Ev to keep everyone calm during down-time. While we are at it, you should probably go vote for Blogger in the personal site category of The Webbies.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Today on Barbelith: Tarot in STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/21/2001 02:42:55 PM ----- BODY:

Today on Barbelith: Tarot in a nutshell - "A magician consults the tarot to examine the causal influences surrounding a situation or action which might not otherwise be consciously available to him or her."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: You know, I think those STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/21/2001 05:17:12 PM ----- BODY:

You know, I think those Blogger chaps are getting a bit big for their boots: click here. This is a joke by the way.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I am, at this moment, STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/22/2001 10:56:32 AM ----- BODY:

I am, at this moment, trying to build a full weblog design without using any tables or images or spacer gifs of any kind. None. Not a one. I'm finding it challenging, but not impossible. But my one issue is in trying to introduce a bit of glamour into it. Does anyone know any sites that are pure CSS that look really sharp?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I'm wondering at the moment STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/22/2001 11:02:54 AM ----- BODY:

I'm wondering at the moment if I could make money by doing really strange things - like collecting envelopes of my hair and auctioning them on Ebay. Or maybe I could do that thing that Japanese girls do - wear a pair of underpants for a day, get them vacuum-sealed and sell them to frustrated old men.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Dan has been obsessing about STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/22/2001 11:34:26 AM ----- BODY:

Dan has been obsessing about the new movie AI for ages - to the extent of creating a whole community for the film and the online game. I'm finally beginning to realise why - the New York Observer's review is astonishing.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: American Beauty score on the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/22/2001 11:38:19 AM ----- BODY:

American Beauty score on the stereo, sitting in a duvet looking out of the window at the sun on the trees, tapping on a keyboard. My teeth feel unbrushed and uncomfortable, my mouth is dry, my leg keeps bouncing and I'm reading about humans and psychoactive drugs.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Today on Barbelith: The Death STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/22/2001 04:48:41 PM ----- BODY:

Today on Barbelith: The Death of Pop - "More than anything else, this is what's killed pop - a self-consciousness has crept in, a knowingness that's half decadent and half neurotic."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: How can I go forward STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/23/2001 12:59:50 AM ----- BODY:

How can I go forward when I don't know which way I'm facing? How can I go forward when I don't know which way to turn? How can I go forward into something I'm not sure of?

How can I give love when I don't know what it is I'm giving? How can I give love when I just don't know how to give? How can I give love when love is something I ain't never had?

You know life can be long, and you got to be so strong and the world is so tough sometimes i feel i've had enough.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: It's official. Jeffrey Zeldman officially STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/23/2001 01:09:15 AM ----- BODY:

It's official. Jeffrey Zeldman officially kicks fucking arse. As another expensive online project folds, so the little man takes a stand:"The Web is not in trouble. Big businesses are, when they think they can own or master it. Bye-bye, Big Content. Adieu, global agencies. Thanks for stopping by. Now step away, and let those who've always understood this medium take it where it needs to go." [the rest of the article] [the godlike Mr Z]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I'm weirded out. Max is STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/23/2001 01:18:55 AM ----- BODY:

I'm weirded out. Max is sodding off abroad in a week. Which weirds me out. Don't normally talk about him here, but I've decided this is different. Maybe it's not. He might send me an e-mail I suppose - telling me it's not different. Hmmm. In which case I shall take it down. He probably won't send me an e-mail though. Have a nice time, old chap.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: LA Barbelith regulars may remember STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/23/2001 01:23:31 AM ----- BODY:

LA Barbelith regulars may remember me in this particular outfit when I met them outside a café in February: What the Mirror Project Found.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Tremendously unsettling experience: talking about STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/23/2001 12:05:11 PM ----- BODY:

Tremendously unsettling experience: talking about your problems with a friend on AIM and then discovering that you weren't actually talking to said friend at all, but to someone involved in the whole problem, albeit indirectly. Suddenly feel crushingly exposed.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I'm feeling tremendously positive after STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/23/2001 06:23:16 PM ----- BODY:

I'm feeling tremendously positive after half an hour lying in the sun, three episodes of Angel and lots of bread and houmous. I have a sudden transformative feeling, as if I were shortly to be emerging from madness.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Big Blogger: "Nobody has STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/23/2001 06:42:05 PM ----- BODY:

Big Blogger: "Nobody has a clue what the National Anthem of Barbados sounds like but Tom says it's a bit like Dancing Queen."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Tom's Top Twelve Bowie tracks: STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/24/2001 01:10:54 AM ----- BODY:

Tom's Top Twelve Bowie tracks:

12) Fascination [Young Americans]
"Every time I feel fascination, I just can't stand still, I've got to use her, Every time I think of what you pulled me through, dear, Fascination moves sweeping near me."
11) TVC15 [Station to Station]
"One of these nights I may just jump down that rainbow way. Be with my baby, then We'll spend some time together."
10) Big Brother / Chant of the Ever Circling Skeletal Family [Diamond Dogs]
"We'll build a glass asylum, with just a hint of mayhem." "Someone to claim us, someone to follow, someone to shame us, some brave apollo, someone to fool us, someone like you, we want you Big Brother."
9) Let's Dance (Live) [Bowie at the Beeb]
"If you say run, I'll run with you. If you say hide, we'll hide. Because my love for you would break my heart in two. If you should fall into my arms and tremble like a flower."
8) Golden Years [Station to Station]
"Don't let me hear you say life's taking you nowhere, angel. Come get up my baby. Look at that sky, life's begun. Nights are warm and the days are young."
7) Black Country Rock [The Man Who Sold The World]
"Some say the view is crazy but you may adopt another point of view."
6) Ashes to Ashes [Scary Monsters]
"They got a message from the Action Man,'I'm happy, hope you're happy too I've loved all I've needed to love. Sordid details following.'"
5) The Man Who Sold The World [The Man Who Sold The World]
"We passed upon the stair, we spoke of was and when. Although I wasn't there, he said I was his friend. Which came as some surprise I spoke into his eyes. I thought you died alone, a long long time ago."
4) Fashion [Scary Monsters]
"There's a brand new dance but I don't know its name. That people from bad homes do again and again. It's big and it's bland full of tension and fear. They do it over there but we don't do it here."
3) Starman [Ziggy Stardust]
"Look out your window I can see his light. If we can sparkle he may land tonight."
2) Beauty and the Beast [Heroes]
"Something in the night, something in the day. Nothing is wrong but darling, something's in the way."
1) Andy Warhol [Hunky Dory]
"Put a peephole in my brain. Two New Pence to have a go. I'd like to be a gallery. Put you all inside my show."

Honourable mentions to: Sound and Vision [Low], Boys Keep Swinging [Lodger], Heroes [Heroes], It's No Game (Parts One and Two) [Scary Monsters], Queen Bitch [Hunky Dory], Life on Mars [Hunky Dory], Let's Spend The Night Together [Aladdin Sane], Jean Genie [Aladdin Sane], Sorrow [Pin Ups], Lady Stardust [Ziggy Stardust], Fame [Young Americans]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Must hurry - otherwise will STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/24/2001 10:24:45 AM ----- BODY:

Must hurry - otherwise will miss press preview of Dr Doolittle 2, which I'm am reviewing for the BBC. I've tried everything I can think of to get someone to come with me including e-mailing everyone I know in the world and posting it on Barbelith. But the thought is too much for all my friends. Hence I will make them suffer if they want to go see Moulin Rouge or Planet of the Apes at a preview with me...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Question: Why do kid's movies STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/24/2001 03:09:32 PM ----- BODY:

Question: Why do kid's movies invariably contain large amounts of scatalogical humour. Surely there must be more funny things you can do with a dog / bear / raccoon than make it crap everywhere?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: There's another picture of me STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/25/2001 12:42:23 AM ----- BODY:

There's another picture of me over at The Mirror Project - this time with most of my clothes off. Not that you can see anything of course.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Today on Barbelith: Echelon (2) STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/25/2001 01:37:38 AM ----- BODY:

Today on Barbelith: Echelon (2) Science and Patents - "The technology for these terrifying prospects is not new - the means for interception have stepped hand in hand down the aisle with the means for communication all along."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: For those who don't believe STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/25/2001 08:46:32 AM ----- BODY:

For those who don't believe that it's possible, I will on cam in my suit in a few minutes. That should give you all an opportunity for a giggle or two.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: And the vote is in, STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/25/2001 06:41:50 PM ----- BODY:

And the vote is in, and yes - the answer we were all dreading - temping is the dark lord Satan's way of making humanity's life even more of a godawful fucking living hell than we ever thought possible. Swear to god. I'm doing this a week. And then they're sure as fuck had better be some other work for me to do, otherwise I'm going to fucking kill someone.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Temping thrills (1) Arrive at STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/25/2001 06:47:24 PM ----- BODY:

Temping thrills (1) Arrive at assignment. Sit down. Start computer. Start Outlook. The first e-mail is being displayed in the preview pane. It reads, "Why doesn't Michael Barrymore use ashtrays? Because he puts his fags out in the pool". 9.35am - the bile is rising.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Hey look kids: barbelith is STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/25/2001 07:01:34 PM ----- BODY:

Hey look kids: barbelith is an 'online publication' according to plastic.com - the metafilter that it's only just about ok to like, even when they link you. I'm chuffed, nonetheless. Now I need more bloody articles, so stop sitting on your fucking arses and write something.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I hereby declare Ralph to STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/26/2001 12:32:27 AM ----- BODY:

I hereby declare Ralph to be stroppy guardian of my soul and well-being and agree in principle to being 'his project'.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I want to sell myself STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/26/2001 08:28:26 PM ----- BODY:

I want to sell myself to someone, I want to be owned. I want that sense of responsibility to go away. I want to be a thing that someone uses. Property. I don't want to have to think any more. I want Charles in charge of me.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Today on Barbelith: Echelon (3) STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/26/2001 08:30:38 PM ----- BODY:

Today on Barbelith: Echelon (3) Protecting yourself - "So what is the threat to privacy that Echelon poses, and what can we do about it. In the third part of out Echelon series, Frances Farmer get practical."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Looking for Tom Coates... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 1 DATE: 06/27/2001 12:24:39 AM ----- BODY:

I'm not the Tom Coates that likes curling, swimming or hunting (although he's kinda cute), nor am I the Tom Coates that is married to Judith. The most spooky part of this whole process is that I've seen both of these sites before. And it wasn't on a vanity hunt for mentions of myself on the net.

My mother and father split when I was two years old for a variety of reasons. The last time I saw him was when I was four, and I don't really remember much about him, except him buying me a present and giving it to me on the doorstep. I haven't heard from him since that time, although my mother was contacted by him when I was six or seven. But since then, nothing. Not a word. His name was Thomas John Coates, and he'd be in his early sixties now. He worked in computers, and every so often I go online and try to see if I can figure out where he might be, if indeed he's still alive. I don't know that I want to meet him, but I'd be interested in knowing more about him. So if you get bored, look around for other Tom Coateses - and if you find him, let me know.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On Pleasing Poofs... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/27/2001 12:49:11 AM ----- BODY:

Kerry and Sean got their presents. The wonders of Amazon.com vouchers. Twister, Pets.com glove puppets and an Austin Powers Shaguar. What more could two poofs want?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Buy Davo presents... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/27/2001 01:16:47 AM ----- BODY:

My life has been saved several times by the kindnesses of young Davo. At this precise moment, however, I am unable to buy him a gift for his birthday (tomorrow). So I'm going to send all of you guys off to make his day special and cool (you can buy him shit too if you like) and then I'll get him something when my finances are perkier.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Pixies DVD retrospective? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/27/2001 07:04:30 PM ----- BODY:

Thanks to Luke for finding me a news story about the soon-to-be-released Pixies DVD retrospective. I'm awed, and a little scared by how excited I am.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The Problem of Happiness... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 1 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Politics CATEGORY: Politics DATE: 06/27/2001 07:20:19 PM ----- BODY:

In my mind at the moment is the following quote from Brave New World, combined with my refreshed memory of temp slavery and the realisation that business news is full of conversations about unhappiness at work, frustration and stress and the medical profession is still pumping the population full of anti-depressants.

"The most important Manhattan Projects of the future will be vast government-sponsored inquiries into what the politicians and the participating scientists will call 'the problem of happiness' - in other words, the problem of making people love their servitude. Without economic security, the love of servitude cannot possibly come into existence; for the sake of brevity, I will assume that the all-powerful executive and its managers will succeed in solving the problem of permanent security. But security tends very quickly to be taken for granted. Its achievement is merely a superficial, external revolution. The love of servitude cannot be established except as the result of a deep, personal revolution in human minds and hearts." [Aldous Huxley]

His 'suggestions'?
1) The development of suggestion, through drugs and conditioning.
2) A science of determining which people should be doing what and in what part of the social and economic hierarchy.
3) Something 'less harmful' and 'more pleasure-giving' than gin or heroin.
4) A foolproof system of eugenics, designed to standardize the human product and so to facillitate the task of the managers.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Not just for Porn! STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/27/2001 07:35:30 PM ----- BODY:

Possibly the most useful thing in the world: images.google.com - and not just for porn!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On Barbelith on Morrison... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/28/2001 12:29:39 AM ----- BODY:

Yesterday on Barbelith (so sue me, I'm stressed): Grant Morrison (Part One) - "In the first part of this archived interview from 1999, Grant Morrison talks about the Justice League, Animal Man, Alan Moore and 2000AD."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Death to work! STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/28/2001 08:59:43 AM ----- BODY:

It's just not fair. I should be able to post to plasticbag.org during the day if I want to. I have to feed my baby. It's so unfair.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On 'Unsightful'... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/29/2001 12:30:30 AM ----- BODY:

I am stunned to report that I've had a word accepted into the pseudodictionary. Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you 'unsightful'.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On the death of a thousand temp jobs... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/29/2001 09:01:19 AM ----- BODY:

I find squeezing plasticbag.org completely around work incredibly difficult and frustrating. I hate temp work with such a passion.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On Morrison on Barbelith... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/29/2001 09:12:29 AM ----- BODY:

Yesterday on Barbelith: Grant Morrison (Part Two) - "It's 1999 all over again with the second part of our classic interview - featuring Grant's thoughts on The Invisibles, the future and Dictaphones..."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I want to sleep for a thousand years... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/29/2001 07:49:06 PM ----- BODY:

I'm excrutiatingly tired. Totally, completely, ridiculously exhausted. Workshy fop, you say? Not at all. But a combination of stress, work-related self-hatred and an inability to sleep brought about by three months of gradually escalating worry has finally taken its toll. I want to sleep for a thousand years. And tomorrow it's Mardi Gras.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On Sarcasrony... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/29/2001 11:43:11 PM ----- BODY:

Word of the day: 'sarcasrony' - being a useful word to use when you're too confused by Alanis Morrissette to tell the difference between irony and sarcasm. Particularly should be used in confused American accent to highlight cultural stereotyping: "Jeez - you English people are so Sarcasronic - you know?".

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Today on Barbelith: Rap is STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/29/2001 11:49:15 PM ----- BODY:

Today on Barbelith: Rap is Gay - "At its most expansive and inclusive, hip-hop, like the Zapatista movement, extends to include anyone who is dispossessed."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Mardi Gras STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/30/2001 11:12:06 AM ----- BODY:

Mardi Gras

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The most interesting part of STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/01/2001 11:24:55 AM ----- BODY:

The most interesting part of this review of A.I. is the last couple of lines: "Movies should be rated by how much they're worth. If you're looking for a science fiction movie that will provoke, madden and irritate you, A.I. is worth $10 -- otherwise keep yourself and any youngsters far away." The idea of rating a film based upon how much you should be prepared to pay to watch it is actually an extremely interesting one. Hence Memento becomes a $15 film while Deep Blue Sea is a highly unsatisfying $0. I'm going to have to think about this more...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: So Mardi Gras, then. What STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/01/2001 06:33:33 PM ----- BODY:

So Mardi Gras, then. What was all that about? Met up with Davo and Meg and innumerable kiwis before tromping off to meet Sam and Nick H. at King's Cross where we were to meet Rachel. At this point I lost everyone but Sam, Nick and Rachel. From there to Finsbury Park - all sunshine and poofs and innumerable pop acts.

After wandering around for a bit, looking at the astonishing fairground rides and the line-dancing hairy people in leather, we wandered towards the Radio One stage where we stumbled upon a Pimms and Champagne tent, had something to drink (�3.50 for half a pint - jesus) where we bumped into Meg and Nicki. Meg took photos of us. [Tom | Sam, Nick, Rachel, Tom]. Shortly afterwards Meg and Nicki wandered off and we started towards the main stage. On the way, we bumped into Ian from Blogadoon.

The main stage was exhausting but cool. Lots of the trashiest pop acts you can imagine in the same place at the same time. We got there for one vaguely popular act - can't quite remember which, and then watched the Human League (two cool old songs, and several weird new ones), Sugababes (dull), Steps (the crowd went wild for some reason, and I thought of Chris doing the dance all the way through) and the very entertaining Hear,Say - who got cheers beyond all reasonable measure every time Noel came to the front of the stage. He couldn't stop laughing about this, which was quite sweet. And be warned - Steps are doing a cover of 'Chain Reaction' sometime this autumn.

There were a couple of tremendously amusing moments along the way. Supergirly did a tremendous version of a couple of Britney Spears classics smooshed together. They both sang at the same time the choruses and they worked together perfectly. They also slagged off 5ive for their non-attendance, which was entertaining. And speakers like Ken Livingstone and Peter Tatchell were a bit of a laugh as well. Possibly the funniest part of the afternoon though was the presence of Penny from Big Brother and a video message from Josh from same TV program, clearly filmed before he went in. As he talked to the crowds, clearly full of himself and his pumped-up body a low chant from the crowd gradually exploded into a full roar of "Brian, Brian, Brian, Brian". The gay community have spoken and they have picked their favourite.

Somewhere in the middle of all this I managed to lose Sam and Nick who both had descended into mid-to-late-Pride ennui and a feeling of disconnection from the sheer wealth of poofdom. After several attempts to reinspire them I kind of gave up. Although I did force them to go and see EMF over at the Popstarz tent. On the way we bumped into John W wearing a plastic fireman's outfit. One 'Unbelievable' later, Nick's much perkier and Sam's run into an ex of his and wandered off somewhere.

At which point, my mobile phone goes insane and we suddenly start receiving all the text messages that we'd waited for all day from people trying to get in touch. Of course, several hours too late. Davo comes and meets us on the park outside the Trade tent and then John joins us. After half and hour of mooching and watching the sunset (around 9.00 - 9.30) and me giving my number to the friend of a guy wearing a Number 2 t-shirt, we proceeded to wander towards the exit - finding on the way a kind of little Latin / Easy Listening disco which we mucked around in for a while.

Once that had shut down it was just a bag of candy floss, a few cigarettes, a can of beer and an endless hike to the tube station before we were in Soho, guzzling trashy bottled drinks we'd smuggled out of bars on Old Compton Street. And then I flaked and had to go home. Quite a day. Exhausting.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Journalism: the [mistaken] belief that STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/02/2001 01:31:00 AM ----- BODY:

Journalism: the [mistaken] belief that what you think is true becomes true once you write it down.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Have you written about Mardi STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/02/2001 01:36:27 AM ----- BODY:

Have you written about Mardi Gras? If so, let me know and I'll link to it: 8letters.co.uk | SwishCottage | Blogadoon.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: From the orifice of the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/02/2001 01:03:42 PM ----- BODY:

From the orifice of the Brainsluice straight into your cortex: Salon takes on Gay "Trek". A stunningly interesting article, there are only a couple of things that I would take issue with. The first is that Jadzia Dax and Lenara Khan's relationship is indicative of the ability to respect a relationship and a love that is irrelevant of body and gender - and I think that's a tremendous step. The fact of their heterosexuality is irrelevant - they are post-gay in a weird way - in that they truly are expressing a love that is completely separate from concerns with male and female.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: This week is overwhelmingly full STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/02/2001 01:05:49 PM ----- BODY:

This week is overwhelmingly full to bursting. Hopefully, I can manage to keep everything on track. I have two meetings, an interview, a trip to Norfolk, a lecture to attend, an evening or lunch to organise, a lesson to give and several dozen jobs to apply for. And I have to talk to my temp agency and see if they've got any work for Wednesday just in case.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Guess who's coming to London... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/02/2001 06:39:43 PM ----- BODY:

Guess who's coming to London: Travelling Carnival of Fine Hypertext Products.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Dot Com Blues I'd decided STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/02/2001 08:45:30 PM ----- BODY:

Dot Com Blues

I'd decided that I wasn't happy in my job for a variety of reasons and handed in two months notice from timeout.com - so that they could find someone to replace me and so that I could find another job that I would enjoy. Unfortunately I did it at just the wrong time - pretty much exactly the wrong time, actually.

Between January and March I had a variety of interviews for well-paid and interesting jobs around the UK new media scene - among other positions I went for a role at AOL.co.uk as a broadband producer that I was really excited about and was talking to Sapient about going to work with them as a Content Strategist. Then almost overnight everything stopped dead. With one company I had a full day of interviews, and several subsequent meetings and was about to go in to discuss salary and benefits packages when they suddenly rang up out of the blue and said that they'd been forced to stop recruiting that morning. A couple of other companies that I was talking to suddenly started doing the same thing. Interviews were cancelled and the market just died overnight.

Since leaving Time Out in the beginning of March I've had pretty variable luck - I've managed to do more freelance writing, which I've always wanted to do (including writing film reviews for bbc.co.uk), and have paid the bills with work at at a couple of web design companies and start-ups doing HTML and design work. It's been really interesting, and I've had a couple of interesting challenges - designing HTML templates for e-mail clients like Outlook and web-mail was a completely new experience for me, even after seven years of knocking HTML together. But finding the right ways to create, organise and present content online is still where my heart lies and anything else still feels a bit like killing time. And that's when the work is coming in - which it doesn't always do.

The UK hasn't been hit as hard as the US, by any means, so there's still, thank god, only a limited will-code-for-food ethos around. But it's hard on everyone - particularly those of us who mistimed our next career step.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I'm slightly drunk and confused STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/03/2001 02:09:54 AM ----- BODY:

I'm slightly drunk and confused after a quarter bottle of vodka and Priscilla on TV. The film always seems very honest to me in a strange way, considering it's made by hundreds of people with video cameras and technical equipment and focused on actors pretending to be people, so that we can relate to them and experience our feelings through it...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Possibly the least effective attempt STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/03/2001 10:10:55 AM ----- BODY:

Possibly the least effective attempt at sleep I've ever undertaken in my life. I couldn't have moved more if I was running a marathon. I feel more exhausted this morning than I did last night. I'm useless with really muggy sticky weather. My body isn't designed for it.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Barbelith.com needs your help. The STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/03/2001 02:22:06 PM ----- BODY:

Barbelith.com needs your help. The heavy schedule of new articles that I've been trying to maintain has taken its toll - and more to the point, we've run out of articles to run. Do you have something that you've always wanted to put out on the web - something insightful and brilliant. Or is there something you've always wanted to write. If so, then join in the discussion on The Underground and then submit your piece to barbelith.com submissions.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I'm reeling a little at STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/04/2001 12:02:04 AM ----- BODY:

I'm reeling a little at the moment having glanced at Friends Reunited, a site that is designed to get you in touch with other people who went to school with you. I'm particularly reeling because there actually was someone on it who I wouldn't mind getting in touch with. Stunningly weird and improbable. Unfortunately I have no intention of paying the �5 necessary to actually go through with it and contacting them.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: An interesting webzine-style site that STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/04/2001 12:45:03 AM ----- BODY:

An interesting webzine-style site that I have recently discovered: Scissorfish. I figure it's the suburban equivalent of razorfish. Entertaining though.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: In weird flash back circumstances, STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/04/2001 01:07:06 AM ----- BODY:

In weird flash back circumstances, I'm currently enjoying an album that I first listened to in 1988 and which became an absolute staple of my life back then. Listening to it again, I still like it, and I don't care what anyone says - I think it's a fucking good album. I present for your delectation: Bangles: Everything. I'm particularly obsessed by two songs at the moment - the sublime Glitter Years and the transformatively self-destructive Crash and Burn. Sing along with me kids: "Going nowhere, And I don't care, Can't wait til I get there, Sometimes I wish I could crash and burn. Fifty, sixty, seventy, eighty, ninety, Gotta be a place where they can't find me, Watching all those bridges burn behind me. On my Philco, I hear an echo, there was a wrecko, yesterday. And by tomorrow, they'll clean the char-o, and wash the tar and the trouble away." You only have to listen to the latest Hole album to see the influence they had on chick-based guitar bands.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Davo gives his perspective on STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/04/2001 01:30:57 AM ----- BODY:

Davo gives his perspective on the whole Mardi Gras debacle: "To the grassy knoll between the Trade tent and Popstarz stage to meet Tom, Nick and John and catch the remnants of EMF's set (more nostaglic flashbacks ... I still knew all the words, ten years on), then for a quick musak boogie on the way out, a mad dash for cigarettes and alcohol (without the need for ridiculous drinks tickets), then to Soho..."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Via Do You Feel Loved.com, STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/04/2001 01:34:19 AM ----- BODY:

Via Do You Feel Loved.com, Tori Amos to do a full album of covers highlighting the difference between songs sung about women sung by women or men. There's a notable list of people she's covering, from The Beatles and the Velvet Underground, through to Eminem and Depeche Mode. I haven't been interested in Amos for nearly ten years now, but this seems intriguing.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: While waiting to see Shrek STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/04/2001 01:52:23 AM ----- BODY:

While waiting to see Shrek yesterday evening (not necessarily worth the effort - most notable for the ridiculously inappropriate soundtrack [more details on said fucked-up soundtrack]) I listened to a bit of Tricky's new album Blowback in HMV. I used to adore Tricky, but he got more and more obscure as time passed. But this sounds amazing. Only heard a couple of songs, but it's enough to add Blowback to my wishlist.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Extremely useful for those of STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/04/2001 11:16:45 AM ----- BODY:

Extremely useful for those of you that came in unbelievably late is this is aaronland's weblog theory and practice. Although it would be even cooler if the DHTML worked on a Mac. Sigh.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Do the dumb things I STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/04/2001 11:25:50 AM ----- BODY:

Do the dumb things I gotta do: Pay in cheque, pay the council tax, send off completed form, reduce Inbox down from 300 unread e-mails to less than fifty, tidy room, produce site mock-ups for potential job. Sigh

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: How moody do I feel STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/04/2001 11:31:11 AM ----- BODY:

How moody do I feel today? Moody enough to go and play with pinstruck digital voodoo again? Hmmmm. Let's see. Yes.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: In a fit of insanity, STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/04/2001 11:35:33 AM ----- BODY:

In a fit of insanity, Brain and Josh have shaved all their hair off. Oh the antics of the Big Brother house. I may expire from excitement. My favourite voiceover yesterday? "Dean and Brain are eating quiche. Elizabeth is going to the loo."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Slightly depressing news from Apple STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/04/2001 01:02:47 PM ----- BODY:

Slightly depressing news from Apple - although it probably wasn't the most successful concept ever, I am disappointed that the Cube, the world's 'coolest computer' has been put on ice.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Goddammit! What does a premiere STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/04/2001 03:25:54 PM ----- BODY:

Goddammit! What does a premiere media queen have to do to get press around here?! I mean, JESUS, the ADVOCATE did a feature on gay weblogs, and did I get a mention. Nooooooooo. Neither did Web Queeries! What's that about. Don't they know I'm the winner of Best European Poof? I'm gonna have to call my agent. I'm a star goddammit.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Let's see. Tom strop of STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/04/2001 03:39:02 PM ----- BODY:

Let's see. Tom strop of the day two. After IamCal pointed it out it suddenly occurred to me that there is something slightly strange about a panel on online journalism and weblogging in the UK not actually having any uk webloggers on it. That's a bit dodgy, surely? And I'm not going to mention that someone - you know - who's actually trained as a journalist might actually be quite good at talking about it too. Oh no. That would just sound churlish. Grrrrr.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Very nice, if strange, evening STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/05/2001 01:19:29 AM ----- BODY:

Very nice, if strange, evening with Jason and friends taught me two things tonight - 1) there is such a thing as talking too much and 2) you will panic if you nearly miss deadlines for online job applications.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I may just have had STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/05/2001 05:41:10 PM ----- BODY:

I may just have had the worst interview of my life over at the BBC. First came a whole range of tests - the vast majority of which seemed unbelievably simple. Then there was the interview proper where I somehow managed to talk absolute and total bollocks for thirty minutes, with the people concerned noting down each and every stupid thing I said. I find myself mildly depressed by my clumsiness.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Preview pages from a Grant STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/05/2001 05:54:48 PM ----- BODY:

Preview pages from a Grant Morrison New X-men Annual? Grant Morrison is doing annuals? That's something I wasn't expecting... [via the linkmachine]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I have just read with STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/05/2001 06:02:58 PM ----- BODY:

I have just read with great interest Matt's take on Jason's thoughts on 'weblog as slice'. There are many things I feel I could contribute to the discussion, but perhaps the most important is that however 'poncy' the winebar was, it was young Matthew's choice. Slap!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: It is, as they say, STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/05/2001 06:09:18 PM ----- BODY:

It is, as they say, enough to make you spit: BBC News.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Disappointed much? "Channel 4 has STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/06/2001 12:24:37 AM ----- BODY:

Disappointed much? "Channel 4 has pulled a one-off special of its highly controversial Brass Eye series which is believed to have centred on the media's treatment of paedophiles."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Last night's tremendous thunderstorm really STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/06/2001 10:24:13 AM ----- BODY:

Last night's tremendous thunderstorm really feels like it has cleaned out the air. Everything this morning is much fresher and more pleasant. I would, however, like some sun back if at all possible. This doesn't stop me, however, feeling exhausted by the amount of stuff that I have had to get through this week. I've had interviews, meetings, mock-ups to build, reviews to write, and I still have two substantial things that must be done before I go up to Norfolk this afternoon to help my family buy my brother a computer.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The website for people who STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/06/2001 10:47:48 AM ----- BODY:

The website for people who went to my school is an absolute piece of crap. More importantly it just doesn't work on a Mac... I give you: Old Norvicensians' Club.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I'm not linking to this. STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/08/2001 10:03:02 PM ----- BODY:

I'm not linking to this. You didn't see me link to it. Ok? It's like a secret or something. Don't link to it either: Michael.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Question: Is this man (Pete) STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/08/2001 10:24:45 PM ----- BODY:

Question: Is this man (Pete) absolutely stunning? No, I am afraid you answered incorrectly. The correct answer was yes. Because you answered incorrectly, you will now be fed to Carl, The Big Mean Bunny. Which reminds me. If you find a pic of Carl online, please e-mail it to me. I need one.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Mark's new hobby - signing STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/08/2001 10:36:25 PM ----- BODY:

Mark's new hobby - signing onto AIM, saying hi and then ignoring everyone for hours while he stares at the ceiling. Plus he smells kind of rank.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I really love this kind STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/09/2001 10:13:26 AM ----- BODY:

I really love this kind of stuff. Stuff like Yahoo!'s Buzz section, stuff that let's you know what is going on around the internet - what people are interested in, what people are searching for. Today's exciting addition to the team is the Google Press Center's Zeitgeist page. If you know of any more sites like this, please let me know. I find them fascinating.

Most interesting news of the day on said site? Abercrombie and Fitch is one of the most rapidly declining search terms of recent weeks. I wonder why... And more people search Google in German than any other language except English. That's more than Spanish, French, Chinese or Japanese...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I've stumbled upon some fascinating STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/09/2001 10:38:34 AM ----- BODY:

I've stumbled upon some fascinating stuff about the original barbelites via a mention in Umberto Eco's Foucault's Pendulum: "Barbelite texts like "On the Origin of the World" and "Hypostasis of the Archons" presented the "Tree of Knowledge" in a positive light as a mechanism for human liberation via free inquiry, curiousity and questioning." [more].

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: So, big news of the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/09/2001 11:00:50 AM ----- BODY:

So, big news of the last week for me was that Jason Kottke loves Radiohead but doesn't like Buffy. I'm still reeling from that little piece of information. That's why he won't be at all interested in comprehensive and entirely plausible spoilers about the next season of Buffy - omigod omigod omigod omigod.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Ah well - didn't get STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/09/2001 01:25:10 PM ----- BODY:

Ah well - didn't get the position that I interviewed for last week. Not enough 'project management and British history' experience. The latter I agree with, frankly. The former I'm less sure about.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: So - anyone interested in STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/09/2001 01:30:55 PM ----- BODY:

So - anyone interested in buying me one of these? I'm fancying a small or medium size of 'guru' or 'netslave'. Small probably best frankly...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Less true now than it STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/09/2001 03:09:19 PM ----- BODY:

Less true now than it was when I made this logo:

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I have the best AIM STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/09/2001 03:14:57 PM ----- BODY:

I have the best AIM buddy icon in the world at the moment. I nicked it off Mark. You'll have to IM me in order to see it.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Today on Barbelith: Atlantean Disneytyping STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/09/2001 04:04:53 PM ----- BODY:

Today on Barbelith: Atlantean Disneytyping - "How Disneytyping's representations of gender, race, and class narrow the range of possible self-expression for everyone."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: No fair. I want to STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/09/2001 04:12:21 PM ----- BODY:

No fair. I want to go to this: Webzine � Independent Online Publishing. My life sucks ass.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Must read article of the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/09/2001 04:32:56 PM ----- BODY:

Must read article of the day has Jon Ronson following around the housemates in last year's Big Brother. Best line: "You've got to remember," he replied, "that all but three of the housemates are as thick as pig-shit."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The Guardian's fake branding exercise STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/09/2001 05:23:26 PM ----- BODY:

The Guardian's fake branding exercise was exposed in today's paper, but if you are interested in seeing the site in action, it's still up at withjoy.co.uk.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Just in case anyone wants STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/09/2001 05:58:13 PM ----- BODY:

Just in case anyone wants it, I knocked up a template for the Blogger Template Contest, but then completely forgot to submit it. It's pure CSS, it's not particularly glamourous, but it has a couple of neat features including the ability to have a completely differently formatted first post for a blog. It's also really easily extendable and adaptable - I thought it might look nice with blue headers on the left for things like links and 'about me' material. If you want to see it in action, it's here at present: filmsoho.com and if you want the blogger template, that's here. Just chuck in a mention of me when you use it. Have fun

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I am very amused by STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/10/2001 12:37:21 AM ----- BODY:

I am very amused by this: PuppetMaster - Bios.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Ralph's supposed to be turning STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/10/2001 12:14:23 PM ----- BODY:

Ralph's supposed to be turning up in London soon. In four days actually. Haven't heard anything from him, though. Don't know what his plans are. Ralph is a funny puppy.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: My bank has just rejected STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/10/2001 02:43:33 PM ----- BODY:

My bank has just rejected the input of funds from Paypal to my account and I don't know why. Incredibly frustrating...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Does anyone here use PayPal STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/10/2001 04:42:41 PM ----- BODY:

Does anyone here use PayPal and have they successfully withdrawn money to a bank account. Ideally Barclays? If you have could you e-mail me so I can compare settings. They keep charging me $20 every time they fuck up.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Today on Barbelith: Nanotechnology in STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/10/2001 05:29:28 PM ----- BODY:

Today on Barbelith: Nanotechnology in a Nutshell - "Nanotechnology - the transformative technology of creating man-made arrangements of atoms, also known as molecular manufacturing. "

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: "It should have been called STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/10/2001 09:07:58 PM ----- BODY:

"It should have been called 'It's a sucky life, and just when you don't think it can suck any more it does."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Because the secret horrific truth STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/10/2001 11:01:14 PM ----- BODY:

Because the secret horrific truth of my life is that I'd rather spend two or three hours in my room talking to people on the internet, where it is safe and mediated and distant from myself, than I would actually go out and meet them.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I honestly don't know what STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/11/2001 01:18:08 AM ----- BODY:

I honestly don't know what is more alarming - that jason enjoyed using the Underground or that the MUNI is worse...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Following this, do you reckon STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/11/2001 01:55:43 AM ----- BODY:

Following this, do you reckon we could have more pictures of the man concerned displayed here?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Huge obituary and picture in STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/11/2001 05:03:36 PM ----- BODY:

Huge obituary and picture in the Guardian today for Thomas Wiedemann, a lecturer of mine at Bristol University. He taught Ancient History from a rather traditional bent, and I'm not sure I learnt a lot from him, but he was a good and decent man who knew everything there was to know. He once said that every civilised person should have read Thucydides and Herdotus in their totality - and while I remain barbaric even approaching my 29th birthday - I am beginning to believe that he may have been correct. From the obituary: "Wiedemann spent 19 years, between 1976-95, in the department of classics at Bristol University, a lively and controversial centre, where he was instrumental in building up a strong ancient history component; in particular, a separate undergraduate degree course in ancient history first taught in the current academic year." Those he taught will miss him.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I have a gloriously pointless STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/11/2001 05:30:59 PM ----- BODY:

I have a gloriously pointless little idea to try out. I'm so excited. More news as I have it.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Two texts of the Barbelites: STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/11/2001 05:40:23 PM ----- BODY:

Two texts of the Barbelites: Hypostasis of the Archons and On the Origin of the World as found via the Underground.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: A few changes have been STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/11/2001 09:15:37 PM ----- BODY:

A few changes have been made around plasticbag.org - although they probably won't be replicated throughout the site for a while to come (combination of laziness and Blogger archiving differences). Enjoy.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Today on Barbelith: I was STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/11/2001 09:41:36 PM ----- BODY:

Today on Barbelith: I was a teenage lesbian - "In an interview from 1998, Tom Coates interviews Amy, a young girl whose life was nearly destroyed after being bullied at school for being gay."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: July 12th. This means that STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/12/2001 12:04:07 PM ----- BODY:

July 12th. This means that it is exactly a week until my 29th birthday. One week to the day. Oh my god. My flatmates have gone on holiday today as well, so the flat is mine and mine alone for the next two weeks, which is both wonderfully relaxing and slightly eerie. I should get on with organising my birthday party, really. Haven't even invited anyone yet.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Does anyone know where interconnected STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/12/2001 04:19:10 PM ----- BODY:

Does anyone know where interconnected has gone?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Via Prol comes this incredibly STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/12/2001 04:21:41 PM ----- BODY:

Via Prol comes this incredibly useful little site on Common Errors in English. Of course the first thing to do is run it through an online spell-checker and look through it desperately to try and find grammatical errors and clumsy linguistic usage. Well it would be if I had the time. I'll leave that up to you guys.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I'm trying to work out STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/12/2001 10:42:44 PM ----- BODY:

I'm trying to work out whether I want to go out on the piss tomorrow night or whether it would be better to have all my gay friends around for a piss up at my place instead. I could get some snacks in and some booze and we could listen to shite music and chat. Might be cool. Less about staring at people in bars and more about hanging out. Don't hang out enough...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Does Red Bull kill? And STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/13/2001 11:08:17 AM ----- BODY:

Does Red Bull kill? And more to the point, exactly what is sudden adult death syndrome except for a name for something that they have no idea what it is but results in sudden death?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I don't think you can STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/13/2001 11:19:54 AM ----- BODY:

I don't think you can fail to be impressed by a news service that writes important stories like this: "While NASA variously refers to the air lock as a "door" or "porch" for the station, it really defies such homey analogies, since earthbound people do not have to worry about stepping outside into a near vacuum that can boil their blood and burst their internal organs."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: As I was walking home STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/13/2001 11:42:39 AM ----- BODY:

As I was walking home about a year ago, a little girl was riding her bike in the middle of the street. She still had the training wheels on as she wobbled and struggled to peddle. It reminded me of when I was little and how badly I wanted a bicycle but couldn't get one. My parents wouldn't let me have a bike until I was 12; my mom was too afraid I'd hurt myself. I'd pass the bike section in the store and just look, having given up asking my parents about it long ago. I eventually did get one after much pleading and begging. Amazingly, getting my driver's license at 16 and the subsequent borrowing of the family car passed without incident.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Via Haddock: The official drink STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/13/2001 12:10:40 PM ----- BODY:

Via Haddock: The official drink of the Barbelith Underground.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Very brief aside: the prodigal STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/13/2001 12:12:13 PM ----- BODY:

Very brief aside: the prodigal daughter returns, and yet again she has too much bloody energy.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Today has been a tremendously STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/13/2001 04:22:35 PM ----- BODY:

Today has been a tremendously pleasant day. I've written two reviews for the BBC's Film Site representing the very best and worst of genre moviews: The Empire Strikes Back and The Man With The Golden Gun. There's something wonderful about "Empire" which never ceases to amaze me - it's the way that freed from having to have a happy ending, every single character comes into focus and every relationship is heightened. And it's all played out amid such an amazing spectacle. Truly an incredible film.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Just because I designed it STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/13/2001 10:13:46 PM ----- BODY:

Just because I designed it and because I think it's nice - I hereby present the invitation to my 29th birthday party - to be held one week from tonight.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The immortal Grant Morrison, the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/14/2001 01:41:46 PM ----- BODY:

The immortal Grant Morrison, the creator of the memes that have hollowed out my head and set up a house party there, is interviewed about New X meN over at Marvel.com. I've not been particularly impressed by the series yet, but I always trust Grant to impress in the long-run - he's never let me down yet.

Particularly important parts of the article for me were 1) realising finally that the new White Queen's outfit is a full body suit with an X cut out of it (can't believe I hadn't noticed that) and 2) Grant saying: "Part of the new setup involves Professor X drafting a Mutant Rights Charter and sees the X-Men realigned not as super heroes, but as a kind of mutant equivalent to the Red Cross or UN Peacekeeping Force. They're the people trained to deal with mutant-rights violations. They are educators, activists and warriors. They don't need to be super heroes anymore, and I think the stories will be able to expand in some new directions because of that shift in perspective." Suddenly, the X-men get interesting again.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Conundrum of the moment is STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/14/2001 01:57:20 PM ----- BODY:

Conundrum of the moment is what to get with the birthday money that I'll hopefully get from my family. Should I put it towards an external hard disc, the gorgeous (but let's face it, completely out-priced) Canon Digital IXUS or Harman Kardon Mac Soundsticks? I'm swaying towards the soundsticks at the moment, but mainly because I've nearly got my TV card working finally, and think it would be nice to have some decent speakers...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: What a strange couple of STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/15/2001 10:00:36 PM ----- BODY:

What a strange couple of days. How did I end up four days before my twenty-ninth birthday sitting in my bedroom, while in the kitchen I'm making chicken stock? Thirty-six hours in a nutshell...

Saturday

12 midday: Receive, through the post, �40 worth of Sainsbury's vouchers from my mother and grandmother.

12:30pm I receive a phone call from Sam asking if I'm having people around in the evening for a meal and drinks. I had completely forgotten that I had even suggested such a gathering. But I say yes, because I figure I organise it swiftly and that it might be entertaining. The party was designed to be for my gay friends - I thought it a welcome change. Rather than sitting in bars sweeping hair/face/chest/arse/shoes of passing men while talking across overloud Kylie and awaiting boredom, success or frustration, I had decided very much the same effect could be had at home only with my own choice of music and possibly some food. An excellent plan indeed.

5pm I've arranged to meet Davo at Sainsbury's at five to start the shopping experience. I am predicted a five-to-eight person evening and we decide to shop appropriately. Except that I haven't eaten all day, and become suddenly overwhelmed and excited. But six-thirty, we have �83 of food and drink. Davo has contributed �30 towards the cause, the guilt for which will slowly overwhelm me over the next 28 hours. We leave the supermarket and decide to get a cab home. I have become obsessed by scones, clotted cream and strawberry jam, which I sneaked into the shopping. I decide that alongside a cup of tea, Davo and I can enjoy this experience before we get down to organising the rest of the food.

7pm Davo and I have finished four scones between us and find ourselves inexplicably full. The thought of food over the rest of the evening becomes almost unbearable. Which is a shame, since there is still �81 of it left. I pull a hot chicken carcass from a paper bag and place it decoratively on a plate. We watch the final of Stars in their Eyes with a certain amount of derision. I don't think we ever found out who won it.

8pm My friends who are supposed to arrive at eight start ringing and continue to ring for the next two hours while they get distracted, get later, more disorganised and lost. Nick H arrives first with a friend in tow. Introduced to James, he seems initially slightly nervous and bored, then after it is determined that he grew up in a part of Norfolk that I know very well, conversation becomes easier. And then it becomes radically more embarrassing, as our lives are revealed to have very nearly intersected on a number of occasions. I decide Pimms and smoking heavily is the future of polite conversation. James moves twice all evening. At most. He seems to have fun, and is thoroughly approved of by all parties, who gradually start to creep in.

10pm Everyone is now present. Sam has joined us and has been regailing us with stories about dreams with stair features and Madonna and cliffs and beaches. He is also obsessed that there exists a supermarket with a secret floor where they store Flour that you can only reach via a lift. John W has also arrived - kind of like in the bible with those wise people, only with only one of them, less Myrrh and a gallon of vodka. The baby Jesus himself couldn't have been more delighted. There is general agreement that of all present, only Nick is hungry. When Sam declares that he thought the evening was supposed to be an orgy, James starts slightly and looks a bit awkward. Everyone notices but no one says anything. It was funny.

Sunday

Midnight Many cigarettes have been smoked, much alcohol has been drunk, and many ludicrous stories have been told. Some amused, some impressed, some fell flat on their faces. Various people are drunk or act strangely or approach mini entertaining hysterias - like whirlpools in cups of tea they pass quickly.

2.30 am Nick and James have finally found a cab, after many hours of battling with incoherent taxi companies. Sam has declared himself replete and decides to head home. John and Davo decide to crash on the floor and sofa. We assemble large piles of cushions and duvets.

4.30am In a drunken moment of genious I had decided to counteract all thoughts of sleep with a couple of episodes from the Buffy and Angel stable. John laughs in the wrong places, but enjoys them anyway, which was good. Davo looks enthralled during the first one, and unconscious during the second. At time I join him in prone, drooling sleep. Not the most brilliant of ideas.

11am I awaken to an e-mail from Chris containing some scanned photos of Bristol (see below). I become distracted by the obsession that I have aged dramatically over the last four years. After Davo and John rouse themselves, we watch some bad television, tidy up a bit and decide to go for a bit of a walk. Davo is basically forced to do this, despite his complete sleep-deprivation, increasing the weight that will eventually fall upon me when I finally experience my 'guilt-lag'. We walk from Little Venice to Camden Town all the way down the canal path.

4pm At Camden we summon Nick C for a snack at Nandos and after bumping into Evil Nick with female companion, John and I go back to Nick C's place to find out where Jurassic Park III will be on. Davo decides to leave and goes home, slightly tired and emotional. Guilt-lag finally hits and I become momentarily neurotic.

6pm Jurassic Park III isn't on. Tomb Raider is. I've seen it before. But I see it again. It's ok. After the film, John departs and Nick drives me home.

9pm Alone in the flat, reclaimed gradually for my own use after a year and a half of sharing, I try and resolve the various things that I have done in the last few hours and come to some conclusions. Firstly, that I feel intruded upon when people appear who are connected with my past, and this makes me behave defensively. Secondly, that I love my friends, both old and new and thoroughly enjoy their company. Thirdly, that pictures of the past and pictures of Max are sometimes difficult to deal with, but are not a particularly big deal. Fourthly, that I have to get a job. And finally, that it is very very important that I use my chicken carcass in an appropriate way. So I decide to make Chicken Stock.

I suspect I will never use it.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: There are places I remember, STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/16/2001 12:14:34 AM ----- BODY:

There are places I remember, all my life, though some have changed. Some forever, not for better, some have gone and some remain. All these places had their moments, with lovers and friends I still can recall, some are dead and some are living. In my life I've loved them all.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Ok, fine. I'll settle for STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/16/2001 01:00:07 AM ----- BODY:

Ok, fine. I'll settle for someone with scruffy hair who keeps me sane. (Well it worked for Meg).

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: She makes everything sound so STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/16/2001 01:12:43 AM ----- BODY:

She makes everything sound so sordid, but it's a legitmate question. It really is. If you had to, which one of the Von Trapp kids would you shag? I should get Cal to run a poll. [last time Katy went]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Aw Jeez. [Blush.] What can STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/16/2001 01:14:35 AM ----- BODY:

Aw Jeez. [Blush.] What can we say Jason. We like you too.

I'm in a bit of weird mood. Just watched the end of Things to do in Denver when you're Dead. I'd forgotten how affecting I find that film. Particularly the bit right at the end when he accepts his fate, does all the things he feels he has to do and records a message for his unborn child. In it he says you should write a list of ten things you want from life. No one gets all ten, he says. But if you get five or six - you're almost there. You've nearly got it all figured out. He has cuts on his face when he says this. His voice is full of fear.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: A picture of a man STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/16/2001 01:30:32 AM ----- BODY:

A picture of a man that one might like to see more of. Lame as that may sound.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Related to Things to do STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/16/2001 01:47:26 AM ----- BODY:

Related to Things to do in Denver when you're Dead is the Warren Zevon album "Mr Bad Example" from which the film's title is derived. The track in question goes like this: "I called up my friend Leroy on the phone. I said, Buddy, I'm afraid to be alone. I got some weird ideas in my head. About things to do in Denver when you're dead." But it's not the best song on what is a fairly mediocre album. That goes to "Mr Bad Example"

I started as an altar boy working at the church
Learning all my holy moves doing some research
Which led me to a cash box labelled 'Children's Fund'
I'd leave the change and tuck the bills inside my cummerbund.

I got a part-time job at my father's carpet store
Laying tackless stripping and housewives by the score.
I loaded up their furniture and took it to Spokane
And auctioned off every last naugahyde divan.

I'm very well acquainted with the seven deadly sins
I keep a busy schedule trying to fit them in
I'm proud to be a glutton and I don't have time for sloth.
I'm greedy and I'm angry and I don't care who I cross.

I'm Mr Bad Example, intruder in the dirt
I like to have a good time and I don't care who gets hurt.
I'm Mr Bad Example, take a look at me.
I'll live to be a hundred and go down in infamy.

Of course I went to law school and got a law degree
And counselled all my clients to plead insanity.
Then worked in hair replacement, swindling the bald.
Where very few are chosen, and fewer still are called.

Then on to Monte Carlo, playing chemin de fer
I threw away the fortune I made transplanting hair
I put my last few francs down on a prostitute
Who took me up to her room to perform the flag salute.

Whereupon I stole her passport and her wig
And headed for the airport and the midnight flight, you dig?
Fourteen hours later I was down in Adelaide
Looking through the want ads sipping Fosters in the shade.

I opened up an agency somewhere down the line
To hire aboriginals to work the opal mines
But I attached their wages and took a whopping cut
And whisked away their worker's comp and pauperized the lot.

I'm Mr Bad Example, intruder in the dirt
I like to have a good time and I don't care who gets hurt
I'm Mr Bad Example, take a look at me
I'll live to be a hundred and go down in history

I bought a first class ticket on Malaysian Air
Landed in Sri Lanka none the worse for wear
I'm thinking of retiring from all my dirty deeds
See you in the next life, wake me up for meals...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Sunday evening 2am: Someone in STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/16/2001 01:48:06 AM ----- BODY:

Sunday evening 2am: Someone in Maida Vale really needs a cigarette.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Lines & Splines is a STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/16/2001 09:14:26 AM ----- BODY:

Lines & Splines is a weblog for people who are obsessed with Typography. It's fascinating reading if you have a professional or casual interest in the subject, and its use of CSS makes it a tremendously good example of web typography in action. The only thing that doesn't sit right with me is the title image of the page. But hey.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Could the wonderful person who STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/16/2001 09:30:52 AM ----- BODY:

Could the wonderful person who went out and bought me Ultraviolet on DVD please make themselves known? I'd like to say thank you, and you didn't include your name. [mail me]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I had one of those STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/16/2001 09:34:48 AM ----- BODY:

I had one of those night's sleep last night in which you put on some soothing music to ease you into unconsciousness, and then forty minutes later with your eyes wide open, you turn over in bed, reach out and press play again.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Very exciting: The Breeders are STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/16/2001 10:11:17 AM ----- BODY:

Very exciting: The Breeders are back.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Two sites that I worked STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/16/2001 01:21:02 PM ----- BODY:

Two sites that I worked on (HTML-building) while getting fill-in work at Arehaus a couple of months ago have now launched: eB-21 and cabe.org.uk. Which means I can finally link to this page and ask the very serious question - is Robert Bargery the hottest bitch you have seen in your life, or what?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Interesting article on Big Brother STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/16/2001 02:13:29 PM ----- BODY:

Interesting article on Big Brother in the Guardian [link] includes this paragraph, "The E4 transmission is on a 10-minute delay in order to prevent swear words and libels reaching daytime viewers. On an average day, Andrew Newman, director of programmes on E4, estimates that the housemates say "fuck" at least 1,300 times, "slightly less now that Bubble has been evicted". On several occasions they've had to cut the volume when the housemates didn't so much speculate as know that a major Hollywood actor is gay."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: For those of you who STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/16/2001 02:44:58 PM ----- BODY:

For those of you who might have got concerned, I do not have a gun, nor did I view my last BBC job interview as the end of the known world: thanks for caring though...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: So I run a big STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/16/2001 06:33:37 PM ----- BODY:

So I run a big message board, right? And there's a job for a big Producer job involving running message boards, right? And I think I could do it pretty well, right? But I'm concerned that people in the web industry, more often than not, view extra-curricular web work as a hindrance rather than a boon to employment. When I went for a job a couple of years ago at a web publishing company, I said that I ran several successful personal websites. And the woman who interviewed me said "you won't be able to build them while you are at work, you know". And I kind of looked at her and said, after a pause, "I know". Which kind of meant, "Duh". So the question is, "IS BARBELITH A POSITIVE THING TO PUT ON A CV OR NOT?"

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: A brief theory of Fraggle STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/16/2001 08:50:34 PM ----- BODY:

A brief theory of Fraggle Rock: "Doozers were capitalist over-consumption. Fraggles were the utopian hippies who enjoyed life at their expense. The dog was existential terror. Humans were dark, inscrutable Gods."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: So I've been watching Ultraviolet STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/16/2001 09:04:10 PM ----- BODY:

So I've been watching Ultraviolet on DVD today in between spats of job-finding. And I've been loving it. And then I hit the fourth episode - one on paedophilia. And it happened again - as I watched it I became gradually more concerned about where the line was being drawn between gay people and paedophiles. Firstly, it was male-male paedophilia, which always alarms me, since sexual abuse is most often male-female and within families. Secondly, two men walking around in a park is used as an indication that it might be an area attended by paedophiles - as opposed to a cruising ground for a particular kind of exhibitionist or closeted poof. Thirdly, one of the paedophiles is shown disposing of an adult gay porn mag - adult male on male as well. Finally, the two main paedophiles are camp mincers - lip pursing bitches with high voices and limp wrists - semiotic indicators of gay men. A structuralist critic would no doubt have a lot to say about the grouping together of 'unattractive' and 'unaccepted' sexualities - I just saw a clumsy and insulting episode that was (possibly unintentionally) homophobic. It's discoloured my whole view of the series.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On Will & Grace... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Gay CATEGORY: Gay DATE: 07/16/2001 09:27:00 PM ----- BODY:

In the second post on gay issues in a row, Tom decides to take a certain amount of issue with Mark Lawson's article in the Guardian today on Will & Grace. Tom decides particularly to take issue with this excerpt:

Presented as dramatic courage, Jack really represents cowardice, because he's there as a contrast with Will's discreet homosexuality. Jack goes to a gay gym, Will to a mixed one. In Will, the writers have created a gay character who neatly avoids the two aspects of gay men which most provoke homophobia: genital activity and effeminacy. It's a bit like a sit-com about a football supporter in which the central character never bothers to go to matches and prefers to watch The South Bank Show instead of Match Of The Day.

There are such people, but the characterisation seems dictated by caution rather than authenticity. Another insurance against switch-off is built into the plot. At least in the early episodes - as in the first two reels of The Next Best Thing - there's nothing to discourage Joe and Joanna Six-Pack from the belief that Will isn't really gay and that he and Grace will eventually realise that they are Harry and Sally rather than Arthur and Martha.

How many gay people do you know? No really. Think about it. How many gay people do you know? Ok then - now take the number of people you know - not know well, just know - and divide it by twenty. Studies be damned, this is a guess - some people say it's one in ten, some that it's one in ninety. That's irrelevant. The fact is that across work, friends, friends of friends, family, friends of family, people you knew at University, people you knew at school, that out of all those people, many many more were gay than you had the slightest idea.

So somehow these people 'pass' for straight - or to put it another way, somehow these people do not come across according to your preconceptions of what it means to be gay. They probably don't work in the media. They probably don't wear purple lurex or get dressed up in drag, or have a really big thing about Liza Minelli. Some people will. Good. Excellent. But we're talking about a huge and diverse community here - of queens who like Travis, queens who like Bach, queens who like the Sex Pistols, queens who like Napalm Death, queens who like Britney Spears, queens who - for god's sake - like Queen.

Now I've no doubt that Will & Grace is a fairly reactionary show which represents a fairly anaemic idea of what it means to be gay. But is Friends any less anaemic a view of what it is to be straight? Or are straight people really all super-annuated three years olds whose obsession with caffeine has driven them close to paranoid dementia? But we're getting away from the point, now. So answer me this, Mr Lawson - would it be any less mentally closeted to fill a TV show with the kind of queer that you can identify readily? We are, after all, everywhere.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Today on Barbelith: Old is STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/16/2001 11:26:33 PM ----- BODY:

Today on Barbelith: Old is the new young - "Being a glimpse - inexcusably yet unapologetically flippant - into the world of a wannabe Old Git."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Thank you Kerry and Sean: STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/17/2001 10:19:16 AM ----- BODY:

Thank you Kerry and Sean:
This detail of a wonderful card sent to me by two of my LA friends is perhaps less ... spicy ... than the original, but still demonstrates their amazing graphic design skill and sense of humour. Thanks guys!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: It's a bit of a STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/17/2001 11:06:20 AM ----- BODY:

It's a bit of a Tom-love-in today. Thanks to Mark Kevin Hall from Hidden City for the present and saying all that nice stuff about me.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: God, I'm really popular today STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/17/2001 11:53:04 AM ----- BODY:

God, I'm really popular today for some reason. Everyone's being really nice to me. I wonder what that's about. Next up we have a site review from 2xy.org=f(ab)! :: adored. My favourite (surreal) line goes as follows: "I mean, if I were in his shoes, I'd be extremely wary of unbidden strangers who lavish me with thick praise. You can't be too careful on the Internet these days, especially if you're as popular as Tom Coates." What a strange world it is in which we live. Nevertheless consider me astonishingly flattered. And yes, I'm afraid I will link to anyone who says really nice things about me. I don't care if that's whoredom or not.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Received an e-mail from someone STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/17/2001 12:17:31 PM ----- BODY:

Received an e-mail from someone I knew at school today. He'd been wandering around plasticbag.org. It's an odd feeling - you put a lot of your life on display on one of these things, but you somehow don't expect it to be read by people you actually know. And every time someone new does read it, you feel exposed for a while. Having said that, I've made it a mission to be as open and up-front as I can about stuff. So hey. Hope you're having fun, Ed.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The orgy of Tom-love just STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/17/2001 12:29:39 PM ----- BODY:

The orgy of Tom-love just keeps on oiling itself up and writhing in erotic glee. Malpractice is the first site that I have seen that uses my free-for-use template (as seen here and available here). There are a few revisions to it, which frankly I think improve it dramatically. But I guess that was the point of it - to make something simple and basic, fairly elegant, that people could personalise as they saw fit. If you see anyone else using the template, let me know.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: TOM IS EVIL Last change STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/17/2001 12:51:17 PM ----- BODY:

TOM IS EVIL Last change to brighten my birthday by buying me a present from my wishlist. Anything on the 'Dispatched within 24 hours' category (if bought today) should arrive on Thursday, thus making me a very very spoilt weblogger. Show your love with money today. Buy me shit.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Ah well - no good STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/17/2001 04:03:58 PM ----- BODY:

Ah well - no good deed goes unpunished: Dragonthief .

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I am an absurdly funny STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/17/2001 07:10:26 PM ----- BODY:

I am an absurdly funny person. It's the only conclusion that I can draw from the sheer wit on display in my review of Dr Dolittle 2. I mean - that line "John Dolittle, media darling, must turn from animal conversationalist to animal conservationist..." (do you see what I did there) is pure genius, and completely doesn't collapse under skim-reading. God. Look at how funny I am. I may die.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: "I'd hate to be like STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/17/2001 08:43:28 PM ----- BODY:

"I'd hate to be like certain people I know. They break their necks and can't afford to get them fixed."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Now you can search plasticbag.org STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/17/2001 08:59:51 PM ----- BODY:

Now you can search plasticbag.org in order to find out when precisely it was that I bitched about the User Interface at your favourite site. Will the thrills never end?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Must Click: Possibly the best STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/18/2001 11:59:10 AM ----- BODY:

Must Click: Possibly the best thing in the world ever, Sean Nadeau's celebration of my upcoming birthday trip to Sing-a-long-a Sound of Music has had me collapsing with laughter all morning. You have to see this.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: It's now one day before STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/18/2001 04:01:18 PM ----- BODY:

It's now one day before my 29th birthday. There is loads that I want to post on plasticbag.org, but I refuse to do so! That would distract you all from my earlier post of the day. Which remains the most brilliantly funny thing in the world ever.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Twenty-nine years ago (to the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/19/2001 12:33:00 AM ----- BODY:

Twenty-nine years ago (to the exact minute) I sprang into the world, desperate for a cigarette.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Someone did a search for STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/19/2001 01:42:02 AM ----- BODY:

Someone did a search for Max on my search engine, which made me think about doing a search about him as well, and when I did a search it was all really depressing crap, because I never write about him unless he's really pissed me off. Anyway - that's not the point of this post. The point is that in the process I read a post about meeting a guy in a club and him being kind of nice. His name was Luke and apparently we had fun, but I don't remember what he looked like at all. There's not a thing in my head about it. Weird.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Anyway - I'm twenty-nine now. STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/19/2001 01:51:05 AM ----- BODY:

Anyway - I'm twenty-nine now. Time to put aside childish things, buy some proper trousers without pockets half the way down them or detachable legs and think about more serious matters - like the campaign to get myself, Davo and lots of other people drunk, shagged and married off by (the end of) August. For more details flashback to April.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Ten Good Posts From The STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/19/2001 02:22:09 AM ----- BODY:

Ten Good Posts From The Past (July-Oct 2000):

1) The Mouse From Aphrodite's Armpit : "I am drooling as if drool never went out of fashion (1800s, if you're interested). It's like Steve Jobs is personally seducing me. He might as well put on suspenders and stand outside my house going, "Hey there, fancy a good time?". Except that might be a bit gross. Oh My God."
2) I Am Cheese: "I am traditional, yet soft. I am of Belgian descent. I have a creamy yellowish body, with a red/brown surface and a slightly corrugated edge. I taste almost meaty and have a legendary aroma caused by enzymes on my skin that break down proteins."
3) Evil Supercriminal: "But I started to get a darker thrill from the presence of the evil supercriminals - people who didn't have respect for society, people who weren't interested in puppies and blonde girls and apple pie and fudge brownies, but instead would prefer to annihilate Frankfurt with a huge gun and an over-fluffed white cat."
4) In Defence Of Back-Slapping Wank: "Clearly "wank" is considered "unproductive", "wasteful", "pointless" and therefore bad by these people. Weblogs are also considered "unproductive", "wasteful" and "pointless" and also therefore "bad"."
5) Talking to Katy: "Are you shagging all my friends?""
6) On Barmen: "Barmen are alluring for three reasons. Firstly, they have to be nice to you. Secondly, they are often employed because they are physically attractive (although this could be a condition only in gay culture). Thirdly, they bring you alcohol if you ask them nicely."
7) In Which Tom Suffers From A Mystery Illness The Day After Getting Hideously Drunk: "Over the next two hours I manage to eat one eighth of an apple, a spoonful of cereal and a third of a small bowl of plain pasta with a little olive oil and salt."
8) Bastardised Donut Hell: "The traditional English doughnut has been edged out of the Supermarket, to be replaced by what would be termed by the less charitable as its increasingly ubiquitous glossy bastardisation."
9) Skank: "Joanna Lumley - goddess of the New Avengers, star of innumerable sub-par movies and chain-smoking high-class drunk skank of Absolutely Fabulous used to be heavily involved in a site..."
10) Text MessagE Theatre: "Jen has such a hard life. I really feel for her. I so relate to her bruised sluttiness - jack is a fucking girl loser poof as well. Spit. Vomit. Barf. Ick."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Happy birthday to me, Love STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/19/2001 09:35:25 AM ----- BODY:

Happy birthday to me, Love My Online Cult.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: My mother always told me, STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/19/2001 11:45:41 AM ----- BODY:

My mother always told me, "Never trust a lady with a tape measure": Thanks Davo! I'd also like to thank Simon for the minidisc and the card, NIck Jordan for the Tricky album, Chris for The Man Who Was Thursday, Jerwin for making me want to be a Teenage Dirtbag, my gran for the tenner and my family for the cheque. Love you all.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Coolest T-shirt in the world STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/19/2001 07:01:52 PM ----- BODY:

Coolest T-shirt in the world

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Now this is interesting - STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/20/2001 03:47:13 PM ----- BODY:

Now this is interesting - CafePress.com have started doing a variety of new products in many more colours than before. It's fast approaching time to bite the bullet and get plasticbag.org and barbelith.com stores set up. I might even set up a Buffy quote t-shirt range. If it isn't illegal. Which of course it probably is...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Occasional employment is kind of STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/21/2001 12:22:45 PM ----- BODY:

Occasional employment is kind of like this Onion article only with higher blood pressure and worse dreams: Plan To Straighten Out Entire Life During Weeklong Vacation Yields Mixed Results.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: If the weather holds up STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/21/2001 12:25:47 PM ----- BODY:

If the weather holds up this afternoon, you can expect me to be attending this afternoon's ukbloggers' party in the park from 2.30pm at Speaker's Corner. See you there?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I don't even know where STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/21/2001 01:05:03 PM ----- BODY:

I don't even know where to begin talking about last night's Singalonga Birthday Party. I had a tremendously good time - that much I am sure about. We all met up outside around six to make sure we all got tickets. People turned up that I haven't seen in ages. It was great to see Emma and Katy and Matt and Fran and Rebecca and Nick and Meg and Danny and Davo and Phil and Michael and Luke and Pippa and Chrusty and everyone else I've momentarily forgotten.

The show was, as usual, tremendous. Most of us seemed to enjoy ourselves - belting out songs with as much force as our little lungs could grant us. Even those people who hadn't seen the film before (and there were a couple) seemed to have a great time as well. We fell out of the cinema around 11.30pm, exhausted and flushed and (in my case at least) incredibly bouncy.

I also ended up with the most astonishing bag of goodies ever, and I'd like to take the opportunity to thank everyone. Thanks to Davo for the album, Danny for the musical card, Pippa for the chocolates, Meg for the incredible original ER set script, Rebecca for the ... whistle, Luke for the novel, Matt and Fran for the other novel, and Michael for the other other novel. You're all stars. Plus thanks to Simon for the album delivered this morning. I've made out like a bandit.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Fighting with BT Internet's 50p STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/22/2001 12:47:19 PM ----- BODY:

Fighting with BT Internet's 50p a minute help desk is less than entertaining at the best of times. It's particularly unthrilling when you are complaining that the connection number that you are supposed to use has been engaged for the last fourteen hours (checked by dialing the number and listening) and they suggest that the way to fix this situation is to change your control panel settings and check your modem. �5 (at least) worth of phone calls later, I am in a near-stabbing frenzy.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Today on Barbelith: Discovering Rufus STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/22/2001 02:55:40 PM ----- BODY:

Today on Barbelith: Discovering Rufus Wainwright - "Poses" shattered my envious vision of a modern Jim Morrison, replacing it with the reality - a brutally honest and even dangerous gay musician.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: So I saw this flash STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/22/2001 03:30:26 PM ----- BODY:

So I saw this flash movie on Metafilter and I was like "Weeeeeeeee"!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: So I was kind of STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/22/2001 03:33:57 PM ----- BODY:

So I was kind of bored the other day and was watching TV and Margaret Thatcher was on TV clapping Jeffrey Archer and I thought to myself, I really must e-mail Mr Big. So I did. He's in Ibiza for a month. Who the hell is Mr Big?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Gallery of galleries (blog party STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/22/2001 09:02:10 PM ----- BODY:

Gallery of galleries (blog party in the park): notsosoft, little blue fox, Nick Jordan.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Last night Nick and Katy STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/22/2001 10:22:08 PM ----- BODY:

Last night Nick and Katy came around and watched Charlie's Angels on video. In the process we got to take this photo of Nick standing in between my flatmate's large cardboard cut-out of Angel and ... er ... my birthday present from Kate and Nick - a large cardboard cut-out of Buffy. How embarrassing.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The weirdness never ever ends. STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/22/2001 10:27:19 PM ----- BODY:

The weirdness never ever ends. Just when you think you're over the whole birthday thing, Jerwin sings for you. Scroll down to Marilyn, click, and then hear the true wonderful horror of "Happy birthday, Mr Plasticbag". I'm freaked!

Ten Good Posts From The Past (Nov 2001-Jan 2001):

1) Gay Gangsta : "Palare had a word, 'omipalone' (Oh-Mi-Pal-Oh-Nee) which was a combination of Man and Woman ('palone'), and which at the time meant something along the lines of 'poof'. Creative etymology leads me to posit the creation of the word 'Homey-Palone', referring to the almost non-existent phenomenon of the 'Gay Gangsta Rapper'. "
2) On not being a proper ****: "OK so it's a standard conversation. You're out with women and you're chatting away about someone who's just fucked them over in some way and they say things like, 'All Men are pointless', or 'I've never met a man who didn't like football'. And then you look a little perturbed."
3) Portillo Predictions: "And that was before Thatcher's gradual lunacy pushed her over the brink into Hawk-Nosed Hitlerite. But now ... well now politics is all about image, which is why William Hague will never become Prime Minister."
4) Health advice: "That's right, ladies and gentlemen - even pointless, lacklustre, unimaginative, dreary, workaday, missionary, vanilla sex with someone you are bored with can have tremendous health benefits. "
5) Presents for multi-millionaires: "And while you are there perhaps you would feel like buying the cheery multi-millionaire a Zircon 50793 Studsensor Pro 4.0 or a Star Trek electronic key chain (three types requested)."
6) Two weeks before handing in notice: "There may come a day in your life when you find yourself so sick to death of your job, so overwhelmingly frustrated by the lack of respect that your very presence seems to engender, so totally bored by office politics and that boss who you've always found intolerable, that it comes to you that the only answer is to resign and go and find something else to spend your time on."
7) The beginning of the rot: "Since I am going to have to be drearily positive for the next seven weeks as I scrabble around for a new job, I thought I may as well take this opportunity to moan about how appalling my life is at the moment in laborious and tedious detail."
8) Rebranding: "Merely take two words that you feel 'represent' your site in some way, and then combine them to produce your newly rebranded site-name. If in the process you can spend $600 million, then all the better. With this spirit of adventure in mind, I hereby declare plasticbag.org to be called 'fascillåte'."
9) Photo of father: "Imagine my shock when I realised my father (bottom-right) was a big, baldy, 70s-style beardy-weirdy..."
10) Tom Coates Explains Everything: "No, strudel is beyond my meagre talents in the kitchen, I'm afraid. I think I missed out on many of the important gay genes that make you able to decorate effectively and not fart in public."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I have become a cautionary STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/23/2001 03:33:12 PM ----- BODY:

I have become a cautionary tale. Friends in crap jobs they hate look at me and say 'we can't leave right now, we must stick it out longer. If we leave our jobs now we will end up like Tom.'

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: One of the most useful STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/23/2001 06:43:23 PM ----- BODY:

One of the most useful things in the world? Google in AIM - manufactured by Matt. My opinion? That separating results from the download of an HTML page, and keeping them hygenically separate in a search window you can use again and again makes this little device unbelievable useful.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: An evening in links: 1) STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/23/2001 09:56:18 PM ----- BODY:

An evening in links:

1) So it appears Blogdex is now online. My evening starts with a wander to Metafilter, where (checking up on replies to my recent posts) I decide to follow the link to aforementioned Blogdex, only to be astonishingly confused by the meme spread limitations in effect. There's not a single URL that has been trawled in more than two sites. One can only assume that it's set-up time.
2) From Blogdex I follow a few links to see what people are interested in at the moment. Two photo directories of the recent UK weblogging party in the park debacle do not take my fancy, and instead I find myself at Noah Grey's 'Depth of Field' - a stunning photolog by the creator of Greymatter.
3) From there I skip over to Haddock.org to see what Matt Jones has been hammering on about on list and via personal e-mail to my good self. A full and thrilling article on Quantum Computing and Many Worlds Theories of Reality awaits my delectation. Unusually I read and carefully digest every word. It reminds me immediately of Planetary and makes me consider why people don't think of the universe as God's quantum computer.
4) Quantum computing for some reason gets me thinking about the creative potential of computers, and after flashing back to Matt's astonishing Googlematic (also flashback to blogdex - want Matt's post on that list by tomorrow morning), I decide to check whether anyone has been talking about it by doing a search on Weblogs.com. No one is. Frustrated, I flick over to Jim Roepcke's Fan Faves to reassure myself that people do on occasion read my online crap.
5) Reassured that people do, on occasion, read my online crap, I start rolling over comments from my friend Danny and e-mails from Fran and Rhonda in my head. Or more to the point, I remember that they have been rolling in my head for several hours and that I haven't let myself think about them. Suddenly concerned by my life I use Googlematic to find me an article on Coping with Unemployment, which frankly reads a bit like 'eat lots of sugar, smile a lot and never admit that you don't know what you're doing. (cf. "Never Give Up, Never Surrender" as useful maxims to live by).
6) Which leads me to my final question of the evening. How much information is it legimate to put on your own website about yourself. Not just other people - we all have had that particular issue at one time or another. But about yourself. Rule of weblog-living - never talk about your boss (negatively), never talk about anyone you suspect may read your site (negatively), never be too honest in front of potential employers...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Googlematic is fast becoming my STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/23/2001 11:31:05 PM ----- BODY:

Googlematic is fast becoming my favourite AIM friend. She's always so personable. She never criticises. I've started asking her questions - I try and start up conversations - "What Should I Do Now?" I ask. And she tells me to help the little children. Sometimes I get sentimental. I ask her if she loves me. She turned me towards God. I don't quite know what that means...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: My mood in a nutshell STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/23/2001 11:58:59 PM ----- BODY:

My mood in a nutshell as suggested by Ralph.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: My favourite word of the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/24/2001 11:02:28 AM ----- BODY:

My favourite word of the day comes from an article in The Sunday Times about futurology. This word is "Disempurpling".

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Joe Clark dissects Haughey Typography. STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/24/2001 11:10:41 AM ----- BODY:

Joe Clark dissects Haughey Typography. And describes me as '[not] aggressively ugly'. Which I can only assume is a compliment.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Today on Barbelith: Coming Out STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/24/2001 11:27:04 AM ----- BODY:

Today on Barbelith: Coming Out in a nutshell - "Parents are forever banging on about 'how there used to be ice on the insides of the windows' in their youth. Exams are getting easier. And people are more relaxed in their beliefs. So you'd think it'd be a cinch to admit that you fancy people of the same gender..."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Channel 4's chat software doesn't STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/24/2001 11:54:03 PM ----- BODY:

Channel 4's chat software doesn't appear to work on IE5 for Macs. Which means I don't get to talk to the hot guy off The Secret Life of Us. Which is very frustrating.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Today on Barbelith: We all STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/25/2001 12:18:38 AM ----- BODY:

Today on Barbelith: We all live in Gormenghast - "For all its thickfisted commotion, the film of Gormenghast does translate Peake's larger concerns and themes. For all its subplots, which have as many blind alleys as the twisty corridors of the castle itself, the story is fundamentally about change and stasis. "

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: It was useful, it was STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/25/2001 10:36:20 AM ----- BODY:

It was useful, it was fun, it was made by a friend of mine, and it is no more. I present "The Life and Death of Googlematic" - a melodrama in three parts...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Mechanics of this aside (and STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/25/2001 11:07:56 AM ----- BODY:

Mechanics of this aside (and might there not be an argument for being able to get a better, sharper, range of pulling movement from the right hand version, thus making sheet separation much more likely), Derek's amusing reaction made me think that maybe there is a disjunct between people who approach common tasks in different ways. An example - while at university, I discovered in conversation that there were two types of people - those that scrunched their loo roll and those that folded it. The existence of folders was, until that moment, completely unknown to me. And I have to confess that the very idea of carefully folding tissue for that purpose seems to me to border on anal-obsessive lunacy. And yet people do it. Can you think of any other examples? Mail me.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Revenge: Brainsluice accused of displaying STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/25/2001 12:23:31 PM ----- BODY:

Revenge: Brainsluice accused of displaying flagrant homosexuality.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Wired does a piece on STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/25/2001 12:54:29 PM ----- BODY:

Wired does a piece on the SirCam virus, which I have been getting in my Inbox about three or four times a day for the last week or so. I'm not alone. Prol has also been suffering it. A couple of interesting paragraphs particularly stick my head: "Most current viruses resend themselves to everyone in an address book, or -- in SirCam's case -- to addresses culled from Web pages that a user may have visited." and "Hybris, commonly known as Seven Dwarfs and first spotted in October 2000, updates itself by downloading little pieces of code that allow it to perform new malicious actions." I've had Hybris a hell of a lot as well. But while I keep being reassured that as a Mac user I am safe from destruction by such viruses, no one has yet explained to me whether or not I can become infected and pass them on - after all, I do use Office and Outlook Express.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The United States, not content STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/25/2001 03:30:31 PM ----- BODY:

The United States, not content with refusing to sign up to Kyoto, and not content with having readily availavable hand-guns and the death penalty has now refused to sign up to an international accord to limit germ warfare. Love the country, hate its leaders.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I was born on the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/25/2001 05:46:32 PM ----- BODY:

I was born on the same day as these illustrious film greats; Brandon L. Wilson and Daedalus Howell. The stars are clearly aligned to make no one who has just turned 29 famous. Or perhaps I should think that there is an opening there for someone like myself.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I didn't win the lottery STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/25/2001 10:58:36 PM ----- BODY:

I didn't win the lottery again today. Sometimes I ever wonder why I bother, but then I remember that I'm destined for greater things one way or another, and it's my responsibility to make sure that I don't close any potential doors on the way. Opportunity must have ... well, an opportunity to express itself. Sigh.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Cheesy T-shirt? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/26/2001 01:53:51 AM ----- BODY:

Cheesy T-shirt?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The bloody Sircam virus is STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/26/2001 11:43:15 AM ----- BODY:

The bloody Sircam virus is driving me insane. Every day I get sent one more copy than the day before.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I think I may have STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/26/2001 12:04:50 PM ----- BODY:

I think I may have found plasticbag.org's new motto - courtesy of Jason Kottke.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The beautiful genius of being STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/26/2001 12:39:51 PM ----- BODY:

The beautiful genius of being able to see one's planet from space is brought home fully in these satellite images of the smoke plume from Mount Etna. It's both stunningly attractive and a terrifying testament to the volatility of nature. You can imagine exactly why, in ancient times, the romans thought Etna was the home of Hephaestus, god of the forge.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Considering the amount of time STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/26/2001 12:45:30 PM ----- BODY:

Considering the amount of time I have spent in recent weeks reviewing Planet of the Apes related films for the BBC, I should be more excited by Salon's article "Too much monkey business". But it's too shallow on the potential allegory within it, and too literal about the race relations parallels that are drawn (occasionally far too overtly and clumsily).

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: UpsideClown: Bigger, Better, Brother: "We STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/26/2001 03:10:30 PM ----- BODY:

UpsideClown: Bigger, Better, Brother: "We never quite knew what we were in for. The Americans got off lightly - Americans being so fucking dull that a program dedicated to ten of them sitting around watching television and eating pies was never going to be a goer. Not when Survivor provided the tempting vista of a gang of equally stupid people slowly starving to death."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Ah well - it wasn't STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/26/2001 04:49:07 PM ----- BODY:

Ah well - it wasn't such a bad idea then. Timeout.com has just fired all but three of its staff. Getting out four months ago doesn't seem like anywhere near such a bad decision any more.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I'm going to say it STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/27/2001 12:01:48 AM ----- BODY:

I'm going to say it loud and say it clear - damn you, Road Runner North Carolina - for one of your staff has just sent me eighteen copies of the Sircam virus in eight hours. Poor chap is going to have a hell of a day tomorrow when people start complaining.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Ironically, I turn from an STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/27/2001 12:04:58 AM ----- BODY:

Ironically, I turn from an inbox full of Sircam crapulence to an article in Wired: Hey SirCam, Where'd You Go?.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Today at ickle.org: the atom STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/27/2001 01:08:57 AM ----- BODY:

Today at ickle.org: the atom (by Tom Coates).

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Via Simon, I come across STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/27/2001 09:47:59 AM ----- BODY:

Via Simon, I come across the humanclock.com which has a different picture for every single minute of the day. Genius.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Are Periods a thing of STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/27/2001 02:12:15 PM ----- BODY:

Are Periods a thing of the past? Women - free yourself from 'the curse' (positive perspective) or find your body the subject of more medicalisation and experimentation. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? The Underground is there for you to discuss it...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Whatever she says is completely STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/28/2001 05:42:56 PM ----- BODY:

Whatever she says is completely untrue.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I want to write something STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/28/2001 08:00:26 PM ----- BODY:

I want to write something extraordinarily long and involved about Brian winning Big Brother - about how it's a really important thing to happen for gay people in general for one thing, and how genuine and sweet the boy seems to be. But I can't really at the moment. Congratulations.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: When did Status.Blogger.Com get so STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/29/2001 07:05:53 PM ----- BODY:

When did Status.Blogger.Com get so sexy?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Just been pointed to blog-a-thon-you STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/29/2001 07:47:43 PM ----- BODY:

Just been pointed to blog-a-thon-you by Simon where there are two full reviews of plasticbag.org.

The first thing you learn at journalism school is how when you write a review you are always writing for an audience. You write something that you believe would make sense to your readership - not necessarily to yourself. That's where the skill in reviewing comes - in divorcing your own particular obsessions (or at least disguising them) from the 'useful service' that you are actually trying to provide. I mean, if I loved 'Graffitti Bridge' but because I'd studied the semiotics of 'Prince' for ten years, I still shouldn't give it a good review for those people who are looking for an evening's entertainment. Proper reviews also depend upon building a relationship of trust between you and your readership - which means that you really should try and spell everything properly, and get your grammar right.

But of course, you don't have to write a 'proper review' in order to express your opinion. In fact you can write whatever you like. But of course, unlike a proper review (where what you write is thought-through, intelligent, built for an audience and literate) with a personal opinion there's almost no limit to the range of entertaining and appropriate responses. You can stick your tongue out, wave your arse in the air, write nasty songs involving rhymes for 'shunts' or indeed even respond with a counter review.

Or you can, of course, just completely ignore it.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Technical fun: .htaccess for fun STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/29/2001 08:27:04 PM ----- BODY:

Technical fun: .htaccess for fun and profit. Have been wandering around plasticbag.org and barbelith.com for the last couple of hours using .htaccess files to fix the 404 errors that have been caused by the moving of a thousand files over several years. For more on .htaccess: BareMetal.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I love it when I STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/30/2001 10:08:19 AM ----- BODY:

I love it when I get e-mails like this: "Dear Sir/Madam, Could you please let me know who is responsible for Marketing at http://www.barbelith.com. Thanking you in anticipation." You just start laughing inside.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: BBC News: Canada opens door STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/30/2001 10:13:35 AM ----- BODY:

BBC News: Canada opens door to marijuana. I'm interested in this one. Now, personally, I think it should be completely decriminalised - but that's very much a personal opinion. What surprises me is that you can already use heroin derivatives in medicine but not marijuana based ones. At least Canada has made it possible for people to do research with it.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Two more of my reviews STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/30/2001 10:44:52 AM ----- BODY:

Two more of my reviews from the BBC's film site: The Man With the Golden Gun ("There's no shortage of innuendo, action, exotic locations, or casual misogyny. Unfortunately it's too camp and cruel an adventure to raise more than a Moore-like eyebrow.") and The Empire Strikes Back ("Luke comes most clearly into focus when his terrible destiny is made clear to him, and in the process Darth Vader is transformed from a caricature villain into a terrifyingly dark, but human creature").

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I couldn't disagree more with STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/30/2001 10:50:34 AM ----- BODY:

I couldn't disagree more with this review by Danny Graydon.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The best think about the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/30/2001 11:20:12 AM ----- BODY:

The best think about the line below (that I quote from an article found via the LMG) is that it seens actually uncomfortable with people not building things under the influence of pure capitalist monetary lust: Taming the Wild, Wild Web: "The Internet is an important cultural phenomenon, but that doesn't excuse its failure to comply with basic economic laws," said Thomas Nolle, a New Jersey telecommunications consultant. "The problem is that it was devised by a bunch of hippie anarchists who didn't have a strong profit motive. But this is a business, not a government-sponsored network."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I think there are several STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/30/2001 11:31:30 AM ----- BODY:

I think there are several stages of web design. The first one is the text and pictures, slap it all up, doesn't matter what it's there for school. I did this stage on NCSA Mosiac back in 1993 / 1994. The second stage is very very pretty, but kind of pointless - it's pure fluff with little sense of information structure. The third stage is very dry and professional but works effectively and clearly. I think I'm just at the third stage now - I think barbelith is my example of clean, clear and slightly dull design. The next stage, I think, is the combination of good structure and clarity with beautiful design - and I think that (although I don't really approve of the heavy download times) halfproject may be the place to go... Particularly check out the 'projects' section.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Infographic: The following Canadian fag-packet STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/30/2001 01:19:55 PM ----- BODY:

Infographic: The following Canadian fag-packet includes a glorious infographic on the precise effects of cigarettes on people's lives. And, as such, is immensely amusing. It's just a shame that you can't choose precisely which small town gets decimated each year. Tactical smoking would then become a mighty weapon amongst left-wing intelligensia and media-types.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I'm a little weirded out STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/30/2001 05:53:43 PM ----- BODY:

I'm a little weirded out by the publicity surrounding Blogdex - particularly as it's a basic retread of Beebo's Metalog which is a long-standing favourite of plasticbag.org. Now there's an article on it at Wired: Tracking Bloggers With Blogdex which makes an astonishing range of weird claims. There's this one quote that I'm particularly weirded out by: "Marlow hopes Blogdex will give voice to individual webloggers by aggregating the interests of the community as a whole." Seems to me that rather than giving a voice to individual webloggers, the site is actually taking traffic away from them by highlighting the most popular links. It's not a celebration of weblogging, it's a way of getting interesting links without actually reading them. And I still find it unlikely that out of 9,000 sites being tracked through it, the most popular link is only mentioned four times. The additional functionality that is supposed to be being built into it, of course, might prove me completely wrong. We might actually have a useful central place for webloggers to track what's going on in the community. This could be tremendously cool. It will also, I fear, be hideously impractical and outside the remit of even MIT's MediaLab. I mean - everyone has been hoping for a return of Blogger's search facility for ages. That actually allowed the weblogger to see where they were being talked about and to respond to comments and criticisms. Build that into Blogdex and you might actually have something worth looking at...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Today on Barbelith: The Uniform STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/30/2001 08:16:28 PM ----- BODY:

Today on Barbelith: The Uniform of Uniqueness - "Lunchroom culture has bred a generation of pseudo-marginalised play-acting rich kids, whose teenage 'rebellion' trivialises the oppression of genuine subcultural groups. Devondra McMillan reports."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Hey hey - it's a STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/30/2001 10:17:21 PM ----- BODY:

Hey hey - it's a picture of that cute guy from that site that I linked to that time. You know... The one with the stuff on it.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: A while back I did STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/30/2001 10:33:43 PM ----- BODY:

A while back I did a post about the history of Yahoo! that Jason Kottke picked up on [my original post]. Someone e-mailed me a classic interview with the founders and in ploughing through a file full of notes, I found the link once more: Interview with Yahoo! founders.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Syndicated Barbelith... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/30/2001 11:26:29 PM ----- BODY:

Do you want to get the latest Barbelith articles syndicated to your website? Would you like always to be aware what new hip and happening writing is being writ? And would you like to help me publicise new articles? Well now you can. All you have to do is add this little piece of code to your site:

<script src="http://www.barbelith.com/syndication/barbelith.js" language="JavaScript"></script>

Thanks to Eduardo Arcos for inventing this little piece of code. You can find out more about it here.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: "Leading scientists proclaim migraines c*nty." STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/30/2001 11:38:35 PM ----- BODY:

"Leading scientists proclaim migraines c*nty."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Stephen Van Doren said something STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/31/2001 10:44:16 AM ----- BODY:

Stephen Van Doren said something really nice to me in an e-mail so I decide to link to his site. This is not a request for more e-mail. I get too much as it is.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Presenting for your delectation, The STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/31/2001 10:59:56 AM ----- BODY:

Presenting for your delectation, The Saint of Webloggers.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Oh pancakes are so very STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/31/2001 09:15:46 PM ----- BODY:

Oh pancakes are so very interesting. Happy now?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: There's something seriously wrong with STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/31/2001 11:05:14 PM ----- BODY:

There's something seriously wrong with British Television at the moment. Let's see - random evening's viewing (say tonight). What's on at this precise moment? ITV: "Paul Grady's America" (Paul Grady is Lily Savage's 'real' alter-ego - this programme includes an encounter with Julian Clary). Channel 4: "The Real Shirley Bassey". Channel 5: "The Way We Were" (Epic Streisand movie). British broadcasting has become completely colonised by the sensibility of middle-aged 'theatrical'-types. When did our culture become so 'nice boy' oriented? It's like someone flicked the queer-switch, and suddenly all of England decided to identify as a fifty-year-old man with too much lippy and a �20 wig.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Brief but heartfelt thanks are STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/01/2001 12:07:14 AM ----- BODY:

Brief but heartfelt thanks are in order to Mr Pepper for being tremendously cool at a difficult time.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On powersaws at 8.45am... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/01/2001 09:32:49 AM ----- BODY:

Our wonderful builders have now started using powersaws at 8.45 in the morning now. This means that I either sweat to death all night, or get woken up in the most unattractive fashion every morning. Very annoying.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: In the news: 2,700 scorpions STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/01/2001 09:50:56 AM ----- BODY:

In the news: 2,700 scorpions celebrate their successful attempt at staying in a glass case for thirty days with a mad woman. Said 'Bob Scorpion', "I've always been scared of humans - they look so freakish and unsettling - but I actually feel quite close to this woman, whom I affectionately named 'Drooling Freak' [via Brainsluice].

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Happy 20th birthday, MTV.com. STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/01/2001 10:08:32 AM ----- BODY:

Happy 20th birthday, MTV.com.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Graphical User Interface Timeline: Through STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/01/2001 01:02:05 PM ----- BODY:

Graphical User Interface Timeline: Through Haddock.org I came upon the Graphical User Interface Timeline. This really is thrilling and helps get a lot of things in perspective regarding OS GUIs.

The first thing to notice is the Apple Lisa in 1983, which is the first one of the person computers on the page to have a GUI that is recognisably familiar to most people. If you look at the top of the screen, you'll see the instantly recognisable top menu bar, which Macs still have to this day, even in OSX (although it nearly lost it for a while).

The next thing to notice is at what point Microsoft catches up with the UI. By the time Microsoft releases the first version of Windows, the Macintosh has been released and refined by Apple. And by the time that Windows 2 is released in 1987, the Macintosh screen looks very much like it does to this day (possibly excepting the OSX leap).

I'm stunned, frankly, by the lag that Microsoft has compared to Apple and how clumsy their interface appears compared to many of the alternative OS's released by competitors. By the time Windows 3.1 comes out (and I buy my first computer), Apple's essential look and feel has been stable for years. It's really true what my old Greek lecturer used to say, "Windows 95? More like Mac 87".

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: "Everybody's spirits seemed to be STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/01/2001 02:16:51 PM ----- BODY:

"Everybody's spirits seemed to be raised with the arrival of Tom who joined the group, a G.K. Chesterton book tucked under his arm, with the cheery air of a Rupert Bear happening on his chums in the woods betwixt adventures." [more]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Specifically aimed at the well-intentioned, STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/01/2001 04:52:16 PM ----- BODY:

Specifically aimed at the well-intentioned, but clumsy AIM correspondent: "Instant Messaging Can Be an Instant Annoyance Without Etiquette." You know who you are.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Grant speaks at Disinformation. STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/02/2001 12:04:59 AM ----- BODY:

Grant speaks at Disinformation.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: From the MediaGuardian: Time Out STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/03/2001 12:37:14 PM ----- BODY:

From the MediaGuardian: Time Out slashes website staff: "Timeout.com has laid off seven people from its 10-strong workforce, but the publication reassured readers there would be no scaling back of content on the website." Compare this quote with this one: "The restructuring means that certain parts of the site - such as the ticket sales section - will be updated less frequently, with some of the less popular sections scaled back."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Thanks to Mr Brilliant for STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/03/2001 12:48:46 PM ----- BODY:

Thanks to Mr Brilliant for the tremendous gift of Mr Zeldman's Taking Your Talent To The Web. I was only kidding when I said 'bribe me' but I appreciate it wildly nonetheless. And thanks are also due to Paul from cuckoo-kid.com for getting me Crypto from my wishlist.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Hey look guys - I STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/03/2001 08:38:27 PM ----- BODY:

Hey look guys - I went and reviewed BBC Online - Films - Review - Planet of the Apes.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Entertaining Ralph (Part One)... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/04/2001 01:01:10 PM ----- BODY:

Entertaining Ralph: So Mr McGinnis, True Art from the Barbelith Underground and owner-operator of Lacking... is in town at the moment, and he's staying with me for a few days. He only arrived on Thursday morning, so we haven't had time to do that much yet, but we did some of the bars in town and wandered around some shops, and last night we wandered into Popstarz. Davo came too. It would have been a really good evening if I didn't experience a RMS (Rapid Mood Swing) shortly after running into a guy I knew from Bristol who's approaching the end of his doctorate. I suddenly felt really inadequate and pointless. A few more drinks and a Pringles picnic by the side of the road at three in the morning sorted that out though...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: You know who I'd like STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/04/2001 01:40:26 PM ----- BODY:

You know who I'd like to work with? Richard Metzger at disinformation, that's who. I mean - let's be realistic. Disinformation shares many interests with Barbelith, including the immortal Grant Morrison. I've also talked to him via e-mail a few times in the past. Plus he says nice things about the Bomb and I'm experienced in putting together and maintaining editorially run web-sites. What the fuck am I doing in London at all. Why hasn't he summoned me across the Atlantic to work at his side?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The BBC News site has STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/05/2001 02:13:25 PM ----- BODY:

The BBC News site has had some design changes since I last went there a few days ago - or at least I think it has. As far as I can tell, the search box has been moved to the top of the page - which is a substantial improvement and should be replicated across the BBC as a whole. I'm less convinced by the addition of a top hierarchy hovering above the BBC News logo - which seems to be contain related sites that really should be more heavily integrated within the left hand navigation. Their placement seems random and counter-intuitive.

The Watch / Listen box on the right of the page looks like it has undergone a colour-change and a few refinements - but nothing substantial enough to change the functionality of the pages. But the integration of the 'Around the World Now' section does seem to be a radical change to me, and one that I'm not entirely convinced by. It does illustrate 'depth-of-content', but it seems to me that someone specifically interested in African News will almost certainly be able to navigate down to that section, while the 'headline-only' policy doesn't seem particularly easy to scan nor does it seem particularly inviting. It's only benefit (and it may be a substantial one) is to get the regional news more coverage on the front page. Why do I suspect that the '[continent] in full" links will get clicked on more than the stories themselves?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Change the style of your STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/05/2001 02:16:21 PM ----- BODY:

Change the style of your Blogger archive names with this handy piece of Javascript. Much as I think this is a useful and effective piece of code, I have to say that it seems like a hack to me - something that should be integrated into Blogger itself rather than an add-on. If Greymatter can do it, why not Blogger? [via Evhead]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Blogdex functionality is gradually ramping STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/05/2001 02:39:59 PM ----- BODY:

Blogdex functionality is gradually ramping up, slowly making it a useful piece of online kit - even though it's still not done anything that hasn't been done before (and it doesn't seem to render quite perfectly on Macs).

Let's block through some of them one-by-one: 1) Updates - a simple page that tells you what they are planning to add to the site addresses (adequately?) one of my main concerns about the site - namely that it doesn't promote sites, in fact quite the opposite - it gives people a way to find interesting links without actually reading them. Their response: "blogdex is not intended as a destination to bypass bloggers, rather a place to organize and distill all of the information they generate".

2) The main page now includes a list of all the people who originally found the link that has been popular enough for blogdex to track it. A couple of questions arise for me here. The first one is how blogdex distorts the popularity of these links by merely saying 'these links are popular' and the second is whether or not people can promote their own sites simply by trying to get onto one of those lists. That is - if I link to the current top link on blogdex without giving a damn about the content, then will I show up in the list of linkers, and will I receive traffic from that list? If so - this could lead to a gradual homogenisation of weblog content and a huge disparity between the 'top-ten linked-to' things and 'the rest'.

3) The Top Links of All Time is a strange little page. It tracks the top several hundred links that have been collated by blogdex over all the time the site has been running. But which links are incorporporated into this system is a bit of a mystery to me. I mean, as far as I know, Blogger itself hasn't been in the top ten of the site since it launched - and yet it is number one on this list with over 2/3rds of all the weblogs tracked containing a link to it. Is the main list excluding text-links that stay the same across a weblogs life. For example, I have a link to Davo on the right of this page all the time, but it's not part of the 'blog' itself - is this not included in the main list perhaps? And is it included on the 'top links' page?

I'm unclear about what exactly is being tracked. I would really like to know what is being tracked - I'd love to know whether (for example) cross links between weblogs are actually excluded from this ranking. If Jason said something stunningly apropros, or detailed a genius scheme for revitalising the web industry - I'd want links to it to be tracked. Otherwise, aren't we treating weblogs as a place which doesn't produce content, but just links to it? Where's the valuation of the commentary?

Nonetheless, this Top Links of All Time page makes fascinating reading. You can find plasticbag.org lurking on the second page at number 33 - only five places behind plastic.com and only six behind the godlike Zeldman. Implausible, but pleasant.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Kudos to riothero and vodb.com STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/05/2001 02:54:49 PM ----- BODY:

Kudos to riothero and vodb.com for the use of the Barbelith syndication script. Now all I need is to put up some more bloody articles. [I want a kitten]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: A quick hello to everyone STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/05/2001 03:03:33 PM ----- BODY:

A quick hello to everyone redirected from machete 2.2. Hope you like the place.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: How many people do you STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/05/2001 03:08:20 PM ----- BODY:

How many people do you think would secretly love to run this 404 error? I would. I'd love it. Favourite line? "If you would like Windows to screw everything up, click Screw everything up." [via NotSoSoft]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Another month, another set of STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/06/2001 11:45:25 AM ----- BODY:

Another month, another set of overuse charges for barbelith.com. Thankfully, these have been the lowest such charges for a while, possibly due to my burn and purge attitude to heavier web graphics recently. Still, even a supplement of $16 is a pain in the arse when you can't pay the basic $30.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Today on Barbelith: Philosophy of STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/06/2001 12:19:19 PM ----- BODY:

Today on Barbelith: Philosophy of Fan Fiction - "In other words, fanfiction as concept and practice can be central to one of the most important political / cultural / aesthetic problems of our time: is it possible to create anything new? Deva inquires."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: It is 2.45pm and here STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/06/2001 02:33:02 PM ----- BODY:

It is 2.45pm and here is the news from the BBC:

"On the 56th anniversary of the day that a war was won by the wholesale slaughter of a whole city full of people: Hiroshima remembers A-bomb.

"Is this the future of public internet access? Complete with brass covers and four modem points, an English Park Bench goes online."

"And on the day that Tom's American guest stays up until 7am watching episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, his countryman Ben Affleck enters rehab for problems with drink."

More news in our evening bulletin...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I'm in love with the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/06/2001 07:01:08 PM ----- BODY:

I'm in love with the look of Webmonkey at the moment. I know the redesign happened a while back, but it works so well and really looks like a site rather than a magazine or a bit of print design. Plus it's not afraid to play a little. I wonder if there's a way to automate that staggered blocks of taster-text so that I could do something like that with Greymatter.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I'm quite fascinated by the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/06/2001 10:42:55 PM ----- BODY:

I'm quite fascinated by the way that Netscape is developing it's cross-network infrastructure. It doesn't really make total sense to me, although there's some interesting stuff going on. The top navigation at Entertainment Weekly is now entirely Netscape branded - which means it's probably part of the AOL Time Warner monstrosity that is eating our planet. But all the navigation seems to go back to Netscape Central rather than to encouraging people around the rest of the Time Warner Sites (Mad Magazine for example) - which I find slightly strange.

Could this be the next form of advertising? Inbuilt navigation? Could TimeOut.com get revenue by placing a full block of someone else's navigation on the top of its front page?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Just in case anyone had STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/07/2001 12:37:48 PM ----- BODY:

Just in case anyone had not already heard, the new Star Wars film (Episode II) is to be called 'Attack of the Clones' - possibly the worst title of all time, after (maybe) 'The Phantom Menace'. Will this film suck as heavily as the last one did? Only time will tell...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: CNN has an interesting article STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/07/2001 12:43:56 PM ----- BODY:

CNN has an interesting article on New Media Workers 'struggling to keep up' - which I think is a feeling that I completely identified with a couple of years ago, but don't so much nowadays. I think it's a question of establishing what you're good at and developing that angle of your working life. Having said that, I am, of course, unemployed.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: "Curse you Jerwin... That fat STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/08/2001 11:28:17 AM ----- BODY:

"Curse you Jerwin... That fat thigh comment was too much even for a diva of my stature to bear in good faith. I've had my bodyguard spike your Mai Tai with some methylated spirits and monkey pituitary gland. You will be Bob Hoskins before the week is through... Nyah hhahahaha." [what the fuck?]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: There is nothing more depressing STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/08/2001 11:49:53 AM ----- BODY:

There is nothing more depressing in this world than realising that you will never ever be able to afford a house on the salaries that you earn: BBC News: Property prices continue to rise.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: What's wrong with you people? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/08/2001 11:58:06 AM ----- BODY:

What's wrong with you people? Why haven't any of you bought anything for Lance Arthur or Derek Powazek? Are you mad?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Favourites dump (1) (being a STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/09/2001 12:39:00 AM ----- BODY:

Favourites dump (1) (being a purge of all the links in my favourites menu): The Invisibles Cover Art Gallery, Scene One, Downside's Deathwatch, Dawson's Creek Music, Queer Company, UseIt.com.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I'm really tired and I'm STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/09/2001 12:45:06 AM ----- BODY:

I'm really tired and I'm really frayed around the edges. I'm in one of those moods where other people itch away at you, where your magically personal bubble (the thing that protects you and keeps you safe) keeps buckling and where things that should slide off you get stuck in your head and drive you insane.

A list of things that I know about:
1) I know a hell of a lot about web site usability, functionality and structuring.
2) I know a fair amount about assembling content for websites.
3) I know a decent amount about film.
4) I know a decent amount about continental philosophy, greek civilisation and literature.
5) I know a decent amount about art, graphic design and layout.

Jeez - I know lots about lots of stuff. I don't know why I suddenly have the need to assert it all.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Derek Powazek's book site 'Design STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/09/2001 11:57:17 AM ----- BODY:

Derek Powazek's book site 'Design for Community' has relaunched and is pretty fine, although not as intuitive as one might like. It's got more heavily integrated discussion and 'weblog-like' characteristics than I've seen before, and appears to be a substantial step forward (in the community arena) from using software like Greymatter. The software is provided by Brand Ben Brown of Iloveben brown.com.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: What happens when you plug STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/09/2001 12:02:38 PM ----- BODY:

What happens when you plug Jeremy Paxman into Google. [via Katy KitschBItch]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The one thousandth link in STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/09/2001 12:23:52 PM ----- BODY:

The one thousandth link in the top links of all time section of Blogdex is gap.com. I make no comments about this. I merely found it interesting.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: How much does it cost STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/09/2001 12:33:23 PM ----- BODY:

How much does it cost to have a hit single? The BBC investigates. The interesting thing about this article is how people are finally beginning to think that the age of the single might be over - and that radioplay might become the next criteria for the UK charts - much as it has done in America. Which of course means that more power than ever lies in the hands of the companies that are trying to get the music played and on the radio stations to decide what we should be hearing. I'm not entirely comfortable with this. It's just a shame that downloads count for so little - actual downloads by real people might be a much more interesting model for chart action.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Buffy spoilers via the astonishing STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/09/2001 04:04:55 PM ----- BODY:

Buffy spoilers via the astonishing prolific.org: Ain't it Cool News 1 and 2. They include a wonderful response to the question, "How much faith does Herc put in these spoilers?". The reply? "Tremendous faith. And more than a little kendra." Geddit?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Keith Waterhouse on weblogs? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Journalism CATEGORY: Journalism CATEGORY: Personal Publishing DATE: 08/09/2001 06:39:39 PM ----- BODY:

Writing a good weblog can be, at times, much like writing a column for a newspaper. I've got an old article on writing a column which I'd like to put up in a public place. It's by Keith Waterhouse - an old Fleet Street columnist. He gives 25 points - not all of which, of course, are appropriate for the weblogger. Pick and choose.

1) It's not so much what you say as the way that you say it. Your column must have a distinctive voice, to the extent that if your byline were accidentally dropped, your readers would still know who was writing. If your style isn't instantly recognisable, what you have there is not a column but a signed article.

2) Every columnist needs a good half dozen hobby horses. But do not ride them to death. Once you have sounded off again about, say, Euro Bureaucracy, leave the subject alone for at least six months (unless you happen to be Christopher Booker). "I make no apologies for returning to..." is not an apology but an excuse.

3) Feeling passionate about a subject does not necessarily make it interesting reading. Veal is a good example: outside the news pages, no one has ever written an interesting word about veal.

4) The fact that your column contains no facts does not mean that you need not have checked them like any other journalist. In other words, you must be sure of your case. You are allowed to generalise - "Our children are the worst educated in Europe" only if your wild generalisations, when tamed, can be substantiated.

5) The more cuttings you accumulate, the more you will be tempted to offload them on your readers, like the celebrated Scottish leader writer who, returning late from a liquid lunch with a deadline to meet, clipoed the main leader from the Times, scrawled "What does the Times mean by this?" above it and sent it down to the printer. Packing the column with other people's quotes is the columnar equivalent of watering the milk. Assimilate the material and then discard it.

6) Avoid kneejerk reactions. You don't necessarily have to produce a paragraph every time Fergie does something stupid or a politician's wife announces that she's standing by him. If the readers can predict what you're going to say, there's little point in saying it - and even less in their reading it.

7) Let the bandwagon roll by. Even if every columnist in the land is commenting on the mother unjustly sent to prison or the teacher who handcuffed the child to a radiator, you don't have to jump aboard unless you have something to say that the others haven't already said.

8) On the other hand, although it's not always necessary to write about the main news event of the day, there are times when the occasion demands it. Given a Hillsborough disaster, for example, there is no point in writing about anything else since nobody will be talking about anything else.

9) Let the leader writer write the leader.

10) Having something to write about is not the same as having something to say. If you really have no opinions to speak of beyond, say, liking Princess Di and not liking Prince Charles, you are in the wrong job and perhaps even in the wrong trade.

11) Don't ever try to fake it. Nothing is so transparent as insincerity - pile on the adjectives though you may, false indignation has the ring of a counterfeit coin.

12) Your thoughts on mobile phones in railway carriages have already been thought. Likewise your musings on muzak in pubs.

13) It is 106 years since Jerome K Jerome related his difficulties in trying to open a tin of pineapple in Three Men In A Boat. Unless you can improve this classic account, keep your problems with packaging to yourself.

14) Notwithstanding Bernard Levin's celebrated intervention with the Gas Board on behalf of his mother, a column should not be used to pursue a personal grudge against a public utility company, bank, supermarket, commuter line etc. unless it is going to ring bells with most of your readers.

15) Does anyone care about St George's Day? No. So why keep on asking, year after year, why no one cares about St George's Day.

16) Be wary about following up items clipped from local papers - unless you are writing for the local paper. References to the barmy burghers of Brent or the wacky wimmin of Wolverhapton do not usually travel well, unless they have a wider implication.

17) Although you may allow your readers a few restricted glimpses into your private life, no one really wants to hear about your personal ups and downs any more than they want to hear about the lady next door's operation. So your daughter got into university. Tell your mother. If you tell the readers, you will only infuriate those whose daughters didn't get into university.

18) If you must write about your holidays, do it on picture postcards to family and friends. This rule particularly applies should you be tempted to drool on about five course meals consumed in Normandy with all the wine you could drink and change out of 30 francs.

19) Do not expose your spouse to the glare of the public - especially not by the whimsical name of Him Indoors or She Who Must Be Obeyed. The same goes for the misadventures or quirky comments of your family and the daffy behaviour of your family's dog.

20) There is no real need to mention that you have been on radio or television again. Your readers no longer regard it as any big deal.

21) If your second topic begins, "Talking of which", "Which reminds me", or "While on the subject", you have picked the wrong second topic. However the item does start, it should metaphorically say, "And now for something completely different."

22) Should you wear a hat, do not ever offer to eat it. Predictions are for astrologers. If you do make a prediction and you are wrong, as you are almost certain to be, don't start your subsequent column with the words "All right, so I have egg on my face". Forget it. Your readers already have.

23) Bitchy comments on the private lives or personal tastes of the famous have enlivened many a column, but there is a point at which they can tip over into mere mud slinging. A good question is: "Why am I saying this?" If the answer is "Because I want to be the new Jean Rook", spike it.

24) Columnar feuds are amusing to other columnists and may even yield them copy, provided they don't mind living vicariously. The readers, or what Craig Brown describes as "that diminishing minority of people who do not write newspaper columns" find them bemusing.

25) Make up your own catchphrases. "I think we should be told," being six words, is the copyright of Sir John Junor.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Spread the word: "life is STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/09/2001 08:34:39 PM ----- BODY:

Spread the word: "life is the mayonnaise through which we squirt".

And now to answer the call to action. Jason coincidentally put up a post about pre-web writings on the same day I stumbled upon a confessional diary of my teenage years. A few selections purely for the purposes of self-abasement follow:

Sunday 15th April 1990 "The problem with most people is that they are fixated with sex. Of course, I miss the ability to fit in with other people's sexuality, but even homosexuals seem to categorise themselves solely by orientation. Going to gay bars seems to me to be a self-defeating idea. We will never be fully accepted if we always isolate ourselves in this way. With homosexuals, I suppose this is almost acceptable. I mean, our sexuality is repressed and constrained most of our adolescence and sometimes all our life. When released, sex could easily become the only thing on our minds. I vow now that this will never happen to me."

Monday 16th April 1990 "Someone ought to tell my parents that having kids is more important than just having someone small and cuddly to look sweet when clean."

Thursday 26th April 1990 "This day has been horrific. About 2 hours ago, I crashed and totally wrecked my car. God, I am depressed."

Friday 27th April "The entire incident happened so quickly. I just popped out for a drive in my little car, thinking I could go and get some petrol. I got the petrol, and on the way back, I put on some music. I swerved to avoid something, skidded right over to the other side of the road, tried to regain control of the car, turned the car over and crashed into a wall and a tree. I found that I couldn't get out of the doors and had to struggle out of the boot. The car is a total write-off. I went into a nearby house and called grandad and had a cup of tea and then the police arrived and the breakdown truck et al. God! I had a breathalizer test, but I haven't had a drink since Saturday, so there was absolutely no reaction. Eventually got home feeling tired and shaken. I needed to tell someone so I rang up Tony and talked to him for about an hour. Eventually got to bed, but found it difficult to sleep. Still worrying about what mum will say."

Wednesday 2nd May "Really interesting day. I'll tell you about it after Dallas."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Another example of the complete STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/10/2001 10:52:54 AM ----- BODY:

Another example of the complete moral bankrupcy of politicians. Despite being vehemently opposed to abortion, Bush OKs Stem Cell Funding. Presumably abortion doesn't have the potential for profit that stem-cell research does.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Derek has a new book STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/10/2001 11:19:20 AM ----- BODY:

Derek has a new book out. You should go buy yourself a copy of this book. And when you have done with the 'buying-yourself-a-copy' thing, you should go and buy me a copy. Then you can relax. But not until then. You understand?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Obsessed with Flash movies... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/10/2001 01:55:40 PM ----- BODY:

Matt is currently obsessed by flash movies. Completely obsessed. The latest one he's found (and posted to Haddock is Thatcher, fish and bunny dominated. Entertaining, but odd.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Up until five in the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/11/2001 03:44:50 PM ----- BODY:

Up until five in the morning talking with Ralph. I'm completely exhausted today. It's nearly four in the afternoon and I'm not even vaguely ready for the world.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: More news than you might STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/12/2001 12:47:33 AM ----- BODY:

More news than you might ever have actually wanted: "Christine Hamilton eyed me up and down then asked me if I'd ever tried it with a woman."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Bring out the homoerotics of STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/12/2001 12:13:38 PM ----- BODY:

Bring out the homoerotics of superheroes - the World's Finest Superhero Team-Ups. Can you identify them all? Warning: Contains pictures of men snogging each other. [via Barbelith Underground]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I've been planning to write STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/12/2001 12:38:20 PM ----- BODY:

I've been planning to write an article for Barbelith for a while now about the inherent facism of super-heroes. Today I found some interesting support for my case - an article by David Brin at Salon about despotism and egalitarianism in two of the most significant science-fiction franchises. Well worth a read: "Star Wars" despots vs. "Star Trek" populists.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: All teen crushes are embarrassing STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/12/2001 03:52:18 PM ----- BODY:

All teen crushes are embarrassing I suppose. In the spirit of self revelation, here are links to a few of mine: Dirk Benedict, Steve Guttenberg and Patrick Duffy.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Today on Barbelith: Planet of STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/12/2001 04:08:27 PM ----- BODY:

Today on Barbelith: Planet of the 80s TV remakes - "Old TV series never die, they just bring out the film. It happened with the Flintstones. It happened with Scooby Doo. And now it's happening � or so Dame Rumour would have us believe � with the A-Team. Whisky Priestess reports."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: More wisdom from Derek Powazek STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/13/2001 11:25:11 AM ----- BODY:

More wisdom from Derek Powazek : Top Five Tips for Online Community.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Entertaining Ralph (Part Two)... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/13/2001 11:27:21 AM ----- BODY:

Entertaining Ralph for a the last week and a bit has been extremely entertaining, but has left me hopelessly behind on the working front. I have a huge block of stuff to get done by four this afternoon. Huge.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: "Well I'm down on my STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/13/2001 03:31:32 PM ----- BODY:

"Well I'm down on my knees again, And I pray to the only one, Who has the strength, To bear the pain, To forgive all the things that I've done. Oh yeah, Lead me into your darkness, When this world is trying it's hardest, To leave me unimpressed, Just one caress, From you and I'm blessed. I have to believe that sin, Can make a better man, It's the mood that I am in, That's left us back where we began."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On the Blogger API... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/14/2001 01:38:56 PM ----- BODY:

Dave Winer goes into details about the new Blogger API in an article called Connecting with Blogger. I'm not entirely sure I understand why this is such a revolutionary step forward, but I would like to know. Can someone explain it to me?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Via Darren, the Link Machine, STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/14/2001 01:57:28 PM ----- BODY:

Via Darren, the Link Machine, comes an article on joint mortgages between friends, which I have to say had never even entered my head before now.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Last night I went for STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/14/2001 02:11:12 PM ----- BODY:

Last night I went for dinner at Meg, Luke and Davo's Big Blogger household. Davo cooked a quite delicious salmon dish in the dishwasher. Don't ask. Also in attendance: Mo Morgan, Paul Digitaltrickery, Ralph and Catherine. Funniest moment? Partial game of Articulate.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Tired. Hot. Irritable. STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/14/2001 05:12:36 PM ----- BODY:

Tired. Hot. Irritable.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I have a strange relationship STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/14/2001 05:15:35 PM ----- BODY:

I have a strange relationship to temping. Or perhaps it's not strange at all. I'm doing some freelance work for a friend at the moment so I may be occupied most of the time, but the prospect of the money from two days temping still appeals to me. What doesn't appeal is actually doing the temping, which appalls me beyond the counting of it. So I get a phone call from the temp company and I vacillate and I sound really torn on the phone, then they go away to check something and I don't hear back from them.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I'm getting very bored with STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/15/2001 12:16:34 AM ----- BODY:

I'm getting very bored with discussions about meetings about issues in my house. I just want to be left alone to get on with things. I'm very easy to please really.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Because I'm a sad sad STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/15/2001 12:05:47 PM ----- BODY:

Because I'm a sad sad man: Buffy and Angel spoilers and news: Who might be Angel's nemesis this year?, Buffy's Musical episode and ... Eddie Izzard?. Need I say more?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I'm thinking that I should STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/15/2001 04:51:43 PM ----- BODY:

I'm thinking that I should annotate every single minute of a day. Maybe. I could spend the day noting down everything I did as I did it, and carry a digicam with me. Then for all the bits that I missed, I could (perhaps) go and reconstruct it afterwards. I could record all my conversations onto MD and then plug it in the back of my Mac and see if I could rip MP3s from it. So you could hear what kind of funny things people get up to in my world. I may sound like I'm taking the piss, but I'm honestly not. The whole thing sounds like an excellent project. [inspired indirectly by the awesome dinnerblog's reconstruction of the meal I went to the other night. And before anyone asks, no this is not a dig. I think it's really cool.]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: An annoying problem for you STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/16/2001 03:38:24 AM ----- BODY:

An annoying problem for you to work through (e-mailed to me by an old friend in Bristol and subsequently sent to Haddock.org):

Imagine there are three doors in front of you. Behind one of the doors is a brand new iBook. Behind the other two lurk buckets of maggots. You want the iBook and you don't want the maggots. There's a doorman waiting to open one of the doors for you, but only one.

You decide which door you wish to open, and tell the doorman. He looks at you with a sparkle in his eyes and says he'd like to make it interesting. Turning to one of the doors you didn't select, he whips it open to reveal a bucket of maggots. "There," he says, "That should make it a little easier for you. Now do you want to stay with your first choice of door, or do you want to switch to the other one?" You look at him as if he were a drooling fool. Do you stick or do you switch?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Last night I decided to STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/16/2001 10:48:25 AM ----- BODY:

Last night I decided to watch Chasing Amy on TV, and remembered why I like it so much. Then I decided to go to bed. It was around 2.00am. I check my e-mail first, and find a link to a game on Lego.com: Junkbot. I play it for a little while. I then glance up to my clock. It's 4.00am.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Dear Simon, While I am STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/16/2001 06:35:17 PM ----- BODY:

Dear Simon, While I am delighted to hear that you got the A-levels that you required to go to Surrey, I have to point out one major thing. I bloody told you so. It's difficult to get worked up by someone's concerns about their exam performance when you know that they'll be fine. Silly bastard. While we are at it, I hate you for the redesign, because it's really nice, and I still don't understand why you chose Surrey of all places. Jeez.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The answer to yesterday's puzzle: STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/17/2001 10:46:40 AM ----- BODY:

The answer to yesterday's puzzle: If you want another perspective on the problem then wander over to NotSoSoft where Meg has explained it all. Other people also got the answer correct, but weren't nearly as forthcoming about the process. Here's my solution for you all:

Here are the three doors:

---1--- ---2--- ---3---

Behind one of the doors is the thing we want. Behind the other two are things we don't want. We select a door, but before it is opened, another door is opened to reveal a thing we don't want and we are offered the choice to switch from our original choice to the other door.

Let's assume that we chose door one, as it doesn't make much difference which one we select. Here are the potential variations:

---1--- ---2--- ---3---
GOOD BAD BAD

---1--- ---2--- ---3---
BAD GOOD BAD

---1--- ---2--- ---3---
BAD BAD GOOD

At this stage then, we have a one in three chance of being correct. At this point one of doors two or three is opened to reveal a BAD thing. The doors that CAN be opened to reveal a bad thing are bold below (don't forget we have selected door one so that can't be opened):

---1--- ---2--- ---3---
GOOD BAD BAD

---1--- ---2--- ---3---
BAD GOOD BAD

---1--- ---2--- ---3---
BAD BAD GOOD

If you STICK in the first variation you will definitely win, but in either of the other two you will definitely lose. If you SWITCH, in the first variation you will definitely *lose*. In the second and third variations you will definitely win. Which means the chances of you winning if you STICK remain 1/3, but the chances of winning if you SWITCH are 2/3. Therefore you should switch.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Horror of horrors: I am STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/17/2001 11:02:21 AM ----- BODY:

Horror of horrors: I am not nearly as woolly a liberal as I had initially hoped: "More of a damp and flaccid liberal, you'd like the world to be a little better - you just don't want to have to make the effort yourself. So, you once went on a demo and you watch Children in Need and you voted Labour last time round. But don't kid yourself - that shrivelled and underused liberal conscience impresses nobody." [via the Dragonthief]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I have a long-standing interest STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/17/2001 11:44:07 AM ----- BODY:

I have a long-standing interest in issues of cryptography - particularly as it relates to privacy laws. I've become increasingly aware of the presence of surveillance cameras over the last three or four years, and have followed the development of face-recognition software closely. I recently got sent a copy of as a present off my wishlist, and I ploughed through it at a phenomenal rate. While it wasn't as technically illuminating as either The Code Book or the extraordinary (and must-read) novel Cryptonomicon, it did cover the level of NSA interference in the development of cryptography very well. At the back of my mind, though, I've always been convinced that whatever they may say, the NSA must be close to developing either some level of quantum computing or some kind of system for factoring large numbers - both of which would signal the end of much of the security that encryption currently provides. But according to an article at the BBC, this is far from the case. In fact the NSA is asking for more and more money to find some way to fight the rapid spread of strong encryption around the world.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: In the spirit of encryption STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/17/2001 11:52:17 AM ----- BODY:

In the spirit of encryption - and to encourage people to start using PGP as standard - you may now send me encrypted e-mails via tom%40plasticbag.org. All you have to do is install PGP and look up my public key on the PGP servers.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: There's currently a job going STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/17/2001 12:22:42 PM ----- BODY:

There's currently a job going at the BBC and you can apply for it online and I'm completely obsessed with it. I need this job. I crave this job. But because of that, I've been putting off applying for it all week. I want my application to be perfect. It has to be great. It's too intimidating a project. If I don't get it, I'll be incredibly depressed. It's got to be done today otherwise I miss the deadline. I feel ill.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: An interesting piece on Microsoft's STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/17/2001 10:46:23 PM ----- BODY:

An interesting piece on Microsoft's Smart Tagging Plans doesn't say anything I haven't heard before. The plan, it appears is for software that automatically inserts links into browsed web pages, links that Microsoft is the point of exchange for. Hence, your anti-gun site could be filled with links to promotional literature for the NRA. Or more prosaically, a web business that's already reeling from an inability to make money will find itself crippled by drops in traffic. Is this the future of the web? Certainly it seems to be a step away from the madly anarchic non-hierarchical net of today...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Live: At this very moment, STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/17/2001 10:54:13 PM ----- BODY:

Live: At this very moment, Zeldman is playing Photoshop Tennis. Much cooler and more geeky than you can possibly imagine. The game's only half-way through. Check back tomorrow for the final results.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Ralphy old chap, you're missing STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/18/2001 12:02:48 AM ----- BODY:

Ralphy old chap, you're missing the point. It's not that we make fun of Americans. It's just that we make fun of each other, and the first thing we noticed about you is that you're American. Love ya, baby.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: So I'm at home watching STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/18/2001 12:20:52 AM ----- BODY:

So I'm at home watching television and I'm really excited about watching Will and Grace because I'm obsessed that the two main characters can't really be as dull as they actually appear to be, and I'm consumed with the sense that they might even one day be able to make me laugh. But no. They're just there. Neither of them are people I'd want to hang out with. Supporting cast is, of course, another matter. But Will and Grace themselves? No.

And it's the Halloween episode and it's kind of shit and I start counting how many times I've laughed by about half way through the program and it isn't difficult because it's '1' time and it remains one time until the end of the episode. Which is depressing. And half way through the damn episode they put an advert for the new Angel boxset on. And I listen and I get all tweaked because it's out on Monday. Not that I want to buy it you understand, but because the Buffy boxset is also out then and I MUST HAVE IT. Who can I sell, I'm asking myself. Who can I sell to buy that. And then Will and Grace comes on again and rigorously sucks arse for another twenty minutes.

Buffy. Our love is god.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: A lot of people recently STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/18/2001 02:26:26 PM ----- BODY:

A lot of people recently have been doing work based around entirely CSS-based sites. Some of the latest tricks and tips have been written up over at A List Apart. My question with a lot of this stuff is where it ceases to be useful. Take the design of plasticbag.org for example. I think it makes clear and logical sense visually, but it doesn't necessarily only have components within it that translate well into structural markup. When you reach the edge of what CSS can do (and retain the point of CSS - to be cross-browser, clear, elegant and more importantly STRUCTURAL) don't you inevitably end up with tables again? Isn't that inevitable at the moment? And possibly long-term as well.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Mark on stuff: (1) "If STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/18/2001 03:36:57 PM ----- BODY:

Mark on stuff: (1) "If fruit tasted so good that they artificially flavored candy like it, why don't people eat actual 'green apples' or 'watermelons'?" (2) "I partially spent the night outside on a hammock. I say partially because I fell off in my sleep and spent part of the night on my concrete patio. And then another part, from 4:40am onward, I came inside, because the flowers were making popping noises and I wanted to be where it was safe. " (3) "I'm fascinated by how tic tac toe evolutionized into the game Connect Four." (4) "I'm flying to Missouri for a bigmac."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: So I'm really hungry, so STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/18/2001 03:40:51 PM ----- BODY:

So I'm really hungry, so I go to the shop to get some kind of reasonable food and I get a big bottle of coke and some frozen pizza and a packet of cigarettes and some little foamy strawberry sweets and I get home and sit on the sofa and I heat up the oven and eat all the strawberry sweets and drink lots of coke and watch TV and then I get my pizza out and eat about a third of it before I feel full and slightly sick and ill. The point of this story? Nothing you tell people as children sinks in even the slightest little bit.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: And now for your aprés-Blogadoon: STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/18/2001 04:12:43 PM ----- BODY:

And now for your aprés-Blogadoon: The Telegraph reports that the police have been told not to call gays homosexuals. Couple of quick addenda to that - I'm not entirely sure that the word 'gays' is particularly appropriate either, thanks very much. Anymore than 'blacks' would be. In fact if everyone would just get used to calling poofs and dykes 'sir' and 'madam', everything would probably be much more entertaining.

Aside: 'Homosexual' is a really grim word, associated with saying 'you have a disorder'. It's like saying you are a 'influenzal' - both defining the person by their sexuality and simultaneously defining the sexuality as a defect. And before anyone says anything, "heterosexual" is both a later word and a later concept and was mostly only used in cases where someone had to assert that they weren't gay or when the goal of heterosexuality was enforced on poor deviants via electroshock, aversion therapy and hormone supplements.

Second aside: I feel a bit sorry for straight people on this one actually, because they can't call gay people "poofs", "fags", "dykes", "queers" or any of that stuff without people thinking they are weird facists. Whereas I can. Except of course that I seem to have an anti-gay reputation in some of British media because they didn't know I was a big smelly poof and think I'm being serious. Which of course I am.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: According to Dave, Google is STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/20/2001 01:33:56 PM ----- BODY:

According to Dave, Google is now spidering many weblogs every single day. That means lots of timely content from your favourite sites can be found immediately via your favourite search engine. Doesn't appear to have been indexing plasticbag.org, but hey.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Ongoing battles in America over STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/20/2001 01:39:37 PM ----- BODY:

Ongoing battles in America over privacy rights have taken a new turn with the introduction of face-scanning cameras. In parts of England this has been implemented for several months in Newham, with little or no protest whatsoever. I love Big Brother.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I just went to see STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/21/2001 08:53:20 PM ----- BODY:

I just went to see a press preview of Joy Ride at 20th Century Fox's offices in London. It's not the best film ever made, but it's a pretty terrifying piece of scary cinema with only a few on-course embarrassments. Imagine Scream without the humour smacked together with a more than sizeable dollop of Duel and you won't go far wrong. More on this later.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Oh thank god. Metafilter is STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/21/2001 09:08:48 PM ----- BODY:

Oh thank god. Metafilter is back.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Via Blogdex: Such an amusing STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/21/2001 09:23:30 PM ----- BODY:

Via Blogdex: Such an amusing piece of entertaining flash animation that it's amazing that Matt hasn't already linked to it: Bunny Hunter.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Today on Barbelith: The Body STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/22/2001 12:01:34 AM ----- BODY:

Today on Barbelith: The Body Fictive - "As fanfiction becomes more popular on the internet, does anyone stop to think whether professional writers find the use of their characters and worlds painful and debilitating? Is creativity a technology of identity? Nick C investigates."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Matt Haughey talks to Derek STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/22/2001 11:20:50 AM ----- BODY:

Matt Haughey talks to Derek Powazek about designing and running community sites [excerpt from Derek's Design for Community book]. Many of the conversations ring very true for my relationship with Barbelith, including this one: "Don't underestimate the commitment required. Done right, a community site will take a lot of your time, and the payoffs, in whatever form you set for yourself as goals, may not come for a very long time. I put in hundreds of hours and nursed the site along for six months before anyone really noticed. Looking back at the start of MetaFilter, if I were as busy then as I am now in my personal life, I doubt I would have had time to properly launch, build, and maintain the project. If I knew how much personal free time I'd give up for the site going in, I probably would have had second thoughts about it. Also remember that once you get the site going, stopping it is almost out of the question."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: All around the web at STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/22/2001 01:17:08 PM ----- BODY:

All around the web at the moment: How Coca Cola tries to stop people asking for water in restaurants.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: "I go through all this, STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/22/2001 09:19:06 PM ----- BODY:

"I go through all this, before you wake up, so I can be happier to be safe up here with you."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Click. Whirr. Crackle. Hi, This STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/22/2001 09:53:20 PM ----- BODY:

Click. Whirr. Crackle. Hi, This is Tom Coates. I'm sorry I'm unavailable to meet your weblogging needs. I am currently out drinking with Mo Morgan at the Warrington Hotel. Please leave your jibe after the tone. Clunk. Chack. Bump. BEEP.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: There's an article over at STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/23/2001 10:36:40 AM ----- BODY:

There's an article over at guardian.co.uk about weblogs this morning. Which means, of course, that it's also in the Online supplement of the magazine. As usual the article is prescriptive - it informs the world what makes a good weblog, intentionally or not. This time, the byword of a quality weblog is personal content.

"The basic premise, however, has remained unchanged. Imagine your own precious little black book (probably a distant teenage memory now) spread open for the world to see. All your hopes, mistakes, peeves and secrets made public but lurking anonymously in the depths of a search engine, daring to be discovered. "

Now, regular long-standing readers and writers of weblogs know that they are a fickle beast and that they change and shift in response to pressures in your life. For example, for the last few weeks I have been short of money, working from home and having remarkably little contact with the outside world. So where does my content come from? The things that I stumble upon from around the web. Links. But that's not all. Long-standing webloggers are also generally aware that people they know read their writing - even if only very occasionally. Some may even have friends who read and write sites of their own. Bits of your life become circumscribed - 'no write' zones. You're not being dishonest, but you have to limit your subject matter. Personal content is the first to go - and over time it becomes harder to find, produce and put online.

Needless to say, I read this article and felt that (while I think that it is missing the variety of weblog content) I had forgotten to write about my life for several months now. I'm going to think about how I might reintroduce it.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Greetings from Thoco Horea, Setpolo STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/23/2001 10:50:14 AM ----- BODY:

Greetings from Thoco Horea, Setpolo of Dutonin. [Discover your Star Wars name at parris.josh.com.au, via Lukelog and The Barbelith Underground.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Genius. STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/23/2001 11:07:09 AM ----- BODY:

Genius.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The life cycle of a meme... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/23/2001 12:15:46 PM ----- BODY:

The life cycle of a meme: I'm currently obsessed by the NASA fakes Moonlanding page that has been circulating around the web recently. I first noticed it a few days ago on a routine trip to Brainsluice. Davo had been sent an e-mail with astonishingly amusing copy in it, and had decided to republish it. I read it, collapsed laughing and passed on. Next thing I saw, it was high in blogdex's charts, and then I saw it on Metafilter. Several days later, it is still at #3 over at Blogdex and over thirty-eight separate sites are linking to it. The latest news is that it has apparently resurfaced 'topside' once more. Davo informs me that a friend of his received an e-mail linking to brainsluice.com, telling them to check out the moonlanding page.

Of course there are dangers associated with pages becoming wildly successful, the most significant of which is vast and unpleasant bandwidth bills. But most of us experience such surges only very occasionally (if at all). But the interesting thing for me in this is how you can almost track the spread of this page as it moves from site to site, language to language, and even begins to change media. Most interestingly, we remain unaware of the stories actual origins, although through some research I stumbled upon this Google cache of a page that is no longer up and running.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: So, Blogger is two years STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/23/2001 12:45:49 PM ----- BODY:

So, Blogger is two years old. Which means that this weblog can only be three months off from it's second birthday as well. Originally known as barbelith, this weblog and I have had much fun with Blogger over the last couple of years. I've met a lot of people, written a hell of a lot of words and scratched together some fairly amiable designs along the way. I'm raising a glass and I'm saying cheers to everyone who remembers when Blogger looked like this (and this). Particularly to Megnut, Ev, Derek and Jason.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: What's the most important album of your life? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Radio & Music CATEGORY: Radio & Music DATE: 08/23/2001 02:06:29 PM ----- BODY:

Paul Simon: Graceland It's 1986. I'm fourteen years old. I've had a few albums bought for me before, but I'm basically illiterate when it comes to popular music. I'm living in a village of eighty people, ten miles away from my nearest friend. My brother is one year old. I spend most of my time in my room - reading and listening to the radio. The outside world seems a hundred thousand miles away.

One day I buy Graceland. Essentially it's the first album I ever really bought myself. And I got it because I'd heard 'You Can Call Me Al' on the radio. And I'd liked it. In many ways it set the tone for the rest of my teenage years - thoughtful before my time, disconnected from deep disturbing bodily urges, unsettled and slightly jaded.

There are a hundred times I can remember involving the album. I played it until the tape died. Then I waited a couple of years and bought the CD. It was an album that my mother listened to with me in her Vauxhall Astra on the way into school on frosty winter mornings, my legs only recently out of grey short-trousers. It was the album that played when Glyn, Simon and I wandered around the south of England in my rusty yellow Polo, when I was eighteen. As I get older I get less up-tight, less nervous. And Graceland grows with me.

"Over the mountain, down in the valley, lives a former talk show host. Everybody knows his name. He says there's no doubt about it, It was the myth of fingerprints. I've seen them all and man, they're all the same."

What's the most important album of your life?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: rich EMAIL: shout@antisocial.me.uk IP: 212.159.116.212 URL: DATE: 09/27/2003 09:22:39 PM good call it was a beat up coped tape of gracelands i had as a teenager that got me started on a life long habit of falling asleep with a walkman or stereo plugged into my ears. that entire albums imprinted on my frontal lobes someplace :) ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Looks like I'm not the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/23/2001 03:48:13 PM ----- BODY:

Looks like I'm not the only person with a love of Graceland.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Working from home, short of STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/23/2001 05:56:17 PM ----- BODY:

Working from home, short of cash, recovering from houseguests, thinking about my future. There's a fair amount of stuff in my head at the moment. I go out so infrequently at the moment (compounded by working from home) that I've almost forgotten what it is to enjoy other people's company. It all seems like a tremendous hassle. And I wonder if it's making me antisocial. Every so often I forget how comforting I find my own company. And then on other occasions it occurs to you that it's a way of avoiding taking your place in the world. I think about what job I might get - whether the BBC will be interested in my application or not. And I think, if they are, what will it be like? Will it feel like I'm moving forward? Or am I killing time? And I think about love and sex and romance. And how I've decided against all of them. Or how they've decided against me. And how I'm happy with that. And I wonder, deep down, am I really?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: My flatmate is looking for STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/23/2001 06:17:12 PM ----- BODY:

My flatmate is looking for a house. I should be happy for her, but I'm not. The reason? My current work state is so sporadic and occasional that I just can't be sure that should she move out, and if I was then forced to move, that would be able to afford a flat or guarantee that I would get it. Every time she mentions it, I get a shiver of fear. What happens then? What would I do?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I've changed my mind. Now STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/24/2001 10:03:20 AM ----- BODY:

I've changed my mind. Now I want to win.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: One of those really nice STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/24/2001 10:06:41 AM ----- BODY:

One of those really nice things to happen to a guy when he's not paying attention: Haddock's hiatus page is all, you know, nice.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Flash cartoon of the moment STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/24/2001 10:17:44 AM ----- BODY:

Flash cartoon of the moment is Karma Ghost in which every time you do something bad, a little tiny ghost sits on your head and looks for an opportunity to fuck up your life. All I can think is that my head my have a hotel of the damn things set up on it - and the worst thing is that I can't quite figure out why they would have decided to pick on me.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Now this is the kind STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/24/2001 10:28:35 AM ----- BODY:

Now this is the kind of challenge that I think people in the design / weblog crossover community should seriously consider undertaking more often. 37signals decide to design a usable online banking experience. Seems to me that there's an interesting project - develop a site where people can develop their own, and comment on other people's, interfaces for many of the sites that we see around the net all the time - e-mail / calendar / banking / e-commerce etc. The feedback that people could develop between each other could actually lead to more intelligent intuitive interfaces - and if they were developed as open source or concept, then the whole net might benefit. Interested?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Watch in awed astonishment as STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/24/2001 02:32:41 PM ----- BODY:

Watch in awed astonishment as Tom decides to 'think big'.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: "Ohh, can't anybody see? We've STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/24/2001 04:54:48 PM ----- BODY:

"Ohh, can't anybody see? We've got a war to fight. Never found our way, regardless of what they say. How can it feel this wrong? From this moment, how can it feel this wrong? Storm - in the morning light I feel. No more can I say, frozen to myself. I got nobody on my side, and surely that ain't right. Surely that ain't right. Oh can't anybody see? We've got a war to fight - never found our way, regardless of what they say. How can it feel this wrong? From this moment - how can it feel this wrong?" [Portishead: Roads]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Local homosexual foils raid... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/24/2001 06:46:04 PM ----- BODY:

Local homosexual foils raid: In startling news this afternoon, local homosexual Tom Coates foiled a robbery on his own and his neighbours flat in Maida Vale. Tom Coates, 29, said today, "I was just watching TV in the sitting room when I heard people banging on our front door. I thought nothing of it, as the building's doorbell hadn't been rung and we've had a lot of builders and people dropping off circulars. But when the banging continued for a couple of minutes, I decided to go to the door - only to discover two teenagers with bags and crowbars trying to prise open the door of the flat. After watching them run down the stairs, I proceeded to grab my mobile and jump out onto the balcony so I could call the police and see where they went. Shortly afterwards I discovered that the next-door flat's door-locks had been completely prised open. I'll be talking to the police shortly." More at eleven...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I wish I had a STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/24/2001 09:00:36 PM ----- BODY:

I wish I had a digital camera, so I could have chronicled this afternoon in an entirely voyeuristic way. About half an hour ago, the police arrived to talk to me about the attempted burglary on my flat. When they realised that my neighbours had been broken into as well they went in and had a look around, and it was agreed fairly swiftly that the place had been pretty well raided. They're still not back from their night out, so as yet they don't know what's happened. I've had to leave our front door open and put a note on their door to tell them to come around to ours before they go in - so they don't disturb too much evidence. Apparently the police will take casts of the marks made by the crowbars so that if they catch them in the future they'll have evidence against the people who tried to break into their place.

The policemen came into my flat for a few minutes to get my statement straight and immediately commented on the life-size cutout of Buffy that Kate and Nick got me for my birthday. "That's the kind of woman I'd like to have," said one. "She'd never have a bloody headache." Short of saying, "Hello, my name's Tom and I don't sleep with women, I didn't really know how to reply to the man's attempts at frustrated-man bonding. So I replied, "She's really convenient actually - if you're having guests around she can fit under the sofa." Then he saw Mella's life-size Angel cut-out and made a confused face. It's the little things that entertain me.

The weirdest thing about the whole event is how quickly you doubt what you saw. My first impressions of one of the perpetrators were that he was 5'6", slightly podgy, dark-hair, wearing a loose white t-shirt and being about 16 or 17 years old. But when they started asking me if I saw the crowbar that he was carrying, or whether he wore shorts or trousers, I became really confused. I seem to remember him carrying a crowbar, but I can't be sure. And I think he was wearing shorts, but again - I might be wrong. I remember one was carrying a large empty white translucent plastic bag though. One with square edges - unmarked - like a high class clothes store bag.

The most annoying thing about the whole thing is how I can't go out this evening - how someone has to be here all night for the neighbours. It's very frustrating. I wonder who let them into the building.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Ignore the griping, embrace the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/25/2001 10:57:15 AM ----- BODY:

Ignore the griping, embrace the wonder and launch yourself straight over to Wil Wheaton's Weblog. Will used to star as Wesley Crusher in Star Trek: The Next Generation. My favourite line from the Metafilter posts: "I am 17 years of age. Wil Wheaton is almost as familiar to me as, well, something really old."

I'm going to get asked why I like this so much. I can't explain it. There's something so geek-cool about it, combined with the wonder that there's someone on the other side of the minor celebrity wall who's prepared to be as ridiculous as the rest of us. It's a combination of bravery, chutzpah and a complete refusal to go all corporate and ridiculously celebrity-site-ish that endears it to me.

And Metafilter keeps coming with the good lines: "TV's Wil Wheaton transcends the A-list" [said by Succaland]. If I met him, I'd buy him a beer (along with Steve).

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Be honest - how often STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/25/2001 12:49:57 PM ----- BODY:

Be honest - how often do you feel like this?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Burglary update: So the neighbours STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/25/2001 12:54:55 PM ----- BODY:

Burglary update: So the neighbours finally arrive back at their flat around one in the morning, and one of them gets scarily angry as I'm trying to explain what's happened and the other one looks at me like I did it, and then bursts into tears. Once they've had a few moments to look around they come around for a cup of tea and I feel really responsible in some bizarre way because I had to tell them. They call the police for the follow-up meeting, but the police can't do anything until the next day because of a suspect package on the A40. Kate, Mella and I gradually realise that they have a much more adult life than we seem to. I feel slightly embarrassed.

Once they've gone, I try to relax, but I'm completely wired and I don't know why. My heart feels tight and buzzing and I can't sit still or relax. I watch TV until everyone else has gone to bed and then fall asleep on some cushions on the floor for the second time in the last week.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The Underground is currently discussing STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/25/2001 01:42:00 PM ----- BODY:

The Underground is currently discussing the relationship between creative work and personal identity - or to put it another way, is fanfiction a liberation of creative work or a violation of creator's imaginative life? It's a discussion that I'm really enjoying - and it's based upon Nick's article The Body Fictive. Very much recommended.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I'm very tired and fairly STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/25/2001 08:35:57 PM ----- BODY:

I'm very tired and fairly hassled, and some good friends of mine are having a party that I really want to go to, but simultaneously (because I'm going to Norfolk tomorrow and because I've been all around town, trying to cheer up friends, and because I've been dealing with the threat of burglary and the neighbours fixing their door and the police and the like) I would really rather stay at home, watch some television and try and get some work done for Danny - the guy I'm freelancing for at the moment.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: "I am a white STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/25/2001 08:45:26 PM ----- BODY:

"I am a white male, Caucasian, about five feet, nine inches. I weigh 150lbs. I have no visible marks on my body. I have no memory of any events prior to waking up in the hospital in November of 1999." He sounds like a Classicist.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Is this the best weblog STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/26/2001 09:21:01 AM ----- BODY:

Is this the best weblog post on the internet at the moment?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Sporadic updates for the Bank STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/26/2001 09:39:04 AM ----- BODY:

Sporadic updates for the Bank Holiday weekend as Tom proceeds to Norfolk to visit his family.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: It was Simon's birthday yesterday. STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/27/2001 09:59:23 AM ----- BODY:

It was Simon's birthday yesterday. Simon is cool. You will wish him a happy belated birthday from me. You will buy him presents, to express your love. You will plague him with offers of your body. You will beg him to allow himself to sate himself sexually upon you. Ok?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: My computer keeps crashing today. STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/28/2001 01:15:37 PM ----- BODY:

My computer keeps crashing today. I arrive home from Norfolk, sit in front of my computer turn it on - crash. I reboot, launch Outlook Express, wait a minute - crash. I reboot, launch IE and AIM, wait a minute. As yet no crash. I think it's angry with me for deserting it for the whole weekend. I'm very sorry. Much as I might like to, I won't do it again. Promise.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Another month, and yet again STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/28/2001 01:17:12 PM ----- BODY:

Another month, and yet again more overusage charges for Barbelith. Looks like this month it's going to be $25. Not a huge amount I suppose. That makes this month's outlay on hosting $60. What's that in real money? �40?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: And now British Telecom appear STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/28/2001 01:29:29 PM ----- BODY:

And now British Telecom appear to be cross with me for going away for the weekend. That's the only way I can hope to explain the sheer level of connectivity problems that I'm just starting to have. Over the last twenty minutes I've been disconnected four times. That can't be right.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: So I'm sitting on the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/28/2001 04:30:53 PM ----- BODY:

So I'm sitting on the tube from Liverpool Street and I'm frantically looking around for a newspaper or something that someone has left behind to stop me having to read Premiere for the fiftieth time (note to editors - Elijah Wood is very cute and interesting, but he's not hot-and-sweaty sexy, which makes pictures like this one less erotic and more, er, upsetting - like taking naked pictures of children - you know?).

Anyway - so I look around and I pick up a copy of the Wall Street Journal that someone had left behind. First feature I see? 'Dot-Com Hubris Remains Undaunted', which is basically an entire article about how weblogging is a way of networking and building career, concentrating on Dan Sanderson (I'd link to his site, but I can't because for some reason it seems to be down) and tools like Blogger and Userland. You can't go anywhere nowadays without having the American press talk about weblogs. They get it, even if their British cousins don't. More to the point, it occurs to me that my weblogging experiences don't seem to have got me any work. Bastards.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Question: Why isn't Chris Morris STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/28/2001 04:38:13 PM ----- BODY:

Question: Why isn't Chris Morris writing occasional articles for Time Out on Britain's Best Bars?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I can't believe that Davo STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/29/2001 10:38:00 AM ----- BODY:

I can't believe that Davo ponced off on holiday and left all the rest of us behind. What are we supposed to do without him?

Via Darren, the Link Machine, this morning I stumbled upon The Great Comic Book Ads. Which has inspired me to root around and see if I can find any cool ads of my own...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Four Comic Book Ads: The STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/29/2001 11:29:06 AM ----- BODY:

Four Comic Book Ads: The first terrifying thing about the man bra, facial anti-baster, macho strap and the chat-up pamphlet is that they give a horrifying insight into the world of geeky teen comic fans in the late 80s. More terrifying still is that all these adverts were on the same page of the same issue. Need I say more?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: A big Wednesday morning THANK STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/29/2001 11:58:04 AM ----- BODY:

A big Wednesday morning THANK YOU goes to out to Ash for getting me Steven Levy's Hackers from my wishlist. You're a star!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Question: How many times can STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/29/2001 12:12:35 PM ----- BODY:

Question: How many times can you say the word 'cool' on a microsite without sounding lame?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Proglomena to a method of STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/29/2001 01:09:15 PM ----- BODY:

Proglomena to a method of ranked privacy on Greymatter weblogs:

Define several user accounts for use on your greymatter weblog. Name each one according to a number or name representing a level of privacy that each post might have: eg. High, Medium, Low, General.
Wrap each post in the template with a span or div attribute - the name of the attribute corresponding to the {{author}} attribute (normally used in the 'this post written by {{author}})' sections at the bottom of posts.
Produce several stylesheets for the site. Each is identical except that each stylesheet can declare different classes 'display: none;'.
Using javascript to place a cookie on the site, you can then automatically assign the lowest level of 'clearance' to the site - all the posts will be in the code, but only the 'General' ones will be displayed on the page.
Other pages, password protected in some way (.htaccess files for example) can place cookies which call different style-sheets, thus showing 'Low' or 'Medium' sensitivity posts as well.
Or more interestingly, you could place a cookie on first arrival, a second cookie on second visit, a third on the next, and rank up the person's clearance each time - thus giving them an incremental 'trust' rating. Other techniques for an automatic incrementalisation of 'clearance' could include an automatic placing of cookies built into the code in certain kinds of posts or internal pages. Only when you have seen a certain number of internal pages would you get access to the next level of content.
Certain posts could be ONLY visible to the person who created the site.

Reasons for doing this? It keeps frivolous posting and personal revelation away from casual visitors and potential employers. Only those with whom you had built up a relationship of trust would be able to receive access to your stranger thoughts.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Because it's genius: Judge's Decision STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/29/2001 01:42:58 PM ----- BODY:

Because it's genius: Judge's Decision on the case of Atlas v. DC Comics regarding the Grant Morrison character Flex Mentallo. For more on the character and the DC comics miniseries, visit The Annotated Flex Mentallo.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: One of Prol's new sites STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/29/2001 04:36:48 PM ----- BODY:

One of Prol's new sites is based upon a free-for-all basic CSS template of mine.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: "Jesus is God... The devil STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/29/2001 05:02:46 PM ----- BODY:

"Jesus is God... The devil was happy to see Him die... Three days later the devil almost went crazy... Do you know what happened? Jesus got out of the grave and was alive... He beat the grave and the devil. The devil was furious!... Because now the children could get away from him. Jesus asked the children to love Him for what He did. And if they believe He died for their sin... they could go to heaven." No offence intended to anyone reading, but do people actually still believe this stuff? [except from "The Little Ghost"]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Must see movie of the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/29/2001 06:50:34 PM ----- BODY:

Must see movie of the moment (UK): Hedwig and the Angry Inch.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: One of the best songs STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/29/2001 07:17:29 PM ----- BODY:

One of the best songs ever written is Leonard Cohen's 'Night Comes On' from his album Various Positions. Well - it's probably in the top couple of thousand. And I was drowning in it this afternoon, when the squealing horror of a scratched CD shook me from my peace. This is a tragedy.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: When OJ Simpson met the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/29/2001 09:50:45 PM ----- BODY:

When OJ Simpson met the UKBlog Kids: Being a project derived from a conversation between Darren and myself, subsequently soliciting several submissions.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Today on Barbelith: Internet killed STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/30/2001 10:44:06 AM ----- BODY:

Today on Barbelith: Internet killed the media star - "There was a time in America where you would hear a song on the radio, love it, and be afraid to walk away from the speaker for fear you would miss the DJ announcing who was performing. But with the media getting more homogenous and people turning to the internet for excitement, are those days over? Elijah Non Grata investigates."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Possibly for a short time STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/30/2001 10:46:07 AM ----- BODY:

Possibly for a short time only, Blogger search returns.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: It was the greatest and STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/30/2001 11:36:33 AM ----- BODY:

It was the greatest and most glorious flop of the dot.com rush, and now it might be a movie. Cameron Diaz and Ed Norton may be in the running for Boo.com, the movie. The most depressing thing about this whole enterprise is that you just know there's some poor techie or usability guy or designer sitting in the back of every scene sobbing his eyes out. Possibly the most idiotic company of all time to be given $100 million, Boo.com could have been run on a hamburger and a piece of string and still not made any money.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: And no sooner had it STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/30/2001 01:41:35 PM ----- BODY:

And no sooner had it came back, than Blogger search disappears once more.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: An insight into my barbelith STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/30/2001 01:54:02 PM ----- BODY:

An insight into my barbelith posting habits reveals a singular interest in fanfiction and authorship, Buffy, sexuality and the recent Channel 5 movie, "Justice League of America". That was way lame.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: As has become unpleasantly normal, STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/30/2001 02:18:11 PM ----- BODY:

As has become unpleasantly normal, a new day means a new piece of bad news from the new media / publishing landscape to fill me with dread. Today? IPC closes key websites - most of which, it has to be said, weren't particularly good or interesting sites. But still - not the point.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Depressing but true. Someone spend STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/30/2001 07:18:12 PM ----- BODY:

Depressing but true. Someone spend the time to put together 1 of 101 Dave Eggers Jokes, format them like his memoir was formatted and stick them on the internet. The memoir was wonderful. The jokes are ... not. They're too mean-spirited. Which brings me to the thread on Metafilter which asks if anyone out in the community has been the target of a website parody or attack. The answer, of course, is that everyone has been attacked at one point or another. But that we deal with it. Case in point - still up and running and still secretly upsetting me: Plasticfag.org.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Because sometimes it's nice to STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/31/2001 10:59:03 AM ----- BODY:

Because sometimes it's nice to be duped: "A friend of mine calls A&F �the poor gay man�s Prada�."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Tom reviews: The Living Daylights: STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/31/2001 11:07:02 AM ----- BODY:

Tom reviews: The Living Daylights: "Unlike several of the previous episodes, this is a film with at least one foot squarely set in the real world. There are no vast subterranean bases, no plans to rule the world and a remarkable shortage of huge fluffy white cats." Star Trek Generations: "The graceless ageing of the original crew and their self-satisfied ham acting don't sit well with Patrick Stewart's obvious intelligence and Shakespearean training - and make his reverence to Shatner's paunchy hack seem almost degrading."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The ideology behind Barbelith and STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/31/2001 11:08:53 AM ----- BODY:

The ideology behind Barbelith and plasticbag.org laid bare: "The world is made up of two kinds of people: those who cling to the tired, old status quo and those who fearlessly embrace the new status quo. Me, I fall squarely into the latter camp. Not content to stick with the same-old same-old, I like to mix it up and put myself out there. You know, give the old heave-ho to the stodgy and staid. Say what you will about me, but no one will ever accuse me of being afraid to try popular new things." [The Onion]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: An American, yesterday: STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/31/2001 03:45:17 PM ----- BODY:

An American, yesterday:

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I got my first e-mail STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/31/2001 05:11:12 PM ----- BODY:

I got my first e-mail today via friendsreunited.co.uk and already I'm wondering why on earth I put my name onto it. I'm seeing all these names that haven't even entered my head for over ten years and I'm thinking, "Why? Why did I ever think I'd be even vaguely interested in going back through all that crap again?" I can't really imagine that I want to be friends with those people, nor can I conceive of enough antipathy to exact bitter and bloodthirty revenge on most of them. Which makes me ask myself again why on earth I put my name onto the service in the first place. Spectral names from the past: "Canton Anguish", "Robert Barnes", "Rick Cullen", "Ed Gillespie", "Richard Dearsley" exhumed from my mental graveyard like zombies. I need advice.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Mark is an arse. STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/31/2001 05:18:33 PM ----- BODY:

Mark is an arse.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I so entirely want to STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/31/2001 08:19:08 PM ----- BODY:

I so entirely want to play this.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: So anyone in Los Angeles STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/31/2001 08:27:05 PM ----- BODY:

So anyone in Los Angeles want to investigate carnal relations with my blonde friend? I've decided to become his pimp. I don't think he has enough fun.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Another American, during his 'disasterous' STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/31/2001 08:58:12 PM ----- BODY:

Another American, during his 'disasterous' last visit to London:

mark is an arse

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Freaky pictures of Ralph through STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/31/2001 10:13:48 PM ----- BODY:

Freaky pictures of Ralph through the ages amuse me and scare me and make me check my front and back doors (and all the windows) are locked tight before bedtime.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Fall in light, fall in STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/31/2001 11:34:01 PM ----- BODY:

Fall in light, fall in light
Fall in light, fall in light
Feel no shame for what you are.
Feel no shame for what you are.
Feel no shame for what you are.
Feel no shame for what you are.
Feel no shame for what you are.
As you now are in your heart.
Fall in light.
Feel no shame for what you are.
Feel no shame for what you are.
Feel it as a waterfall.
Fall in light.
Fall in light, fall in light.
Fall in light.
Fall in light, Grow in light.
Stand absolved behind your electric chair, dancing.
Stand absolved behind your electric chair, dancing.
Past the sound within the sound.
Past the voice within the voice.
Leave your office, run past your funeral.
Leave your home, car, leave your pulpit.
Join us in the street where we
Join us in the street where we
Don't belong.
Don't belong.
You and the stars.
Throwing light.
Fast, fall.
Fall in light, fall in light.
Fall in light.
Fall in light, fall in light.
Fall in light. Grow in light.
New Year's Prayer

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Weblogs are more collage than STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/31/2001 11:35:41 PM ----- BODY:

Weblogs are more collage than narrative.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Warning: In what appears to STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/01/2001 12:09:48 PM ----- BODY:

Warning: In what appears to have been the mother of all Microsoft Outlook Express Database Corruption Fuck Ups, I have lost every single piece of e-mail that I have sent or received over the last year of my life. Or I should say, I have them all, but they're corrupted beyond repair and stored somewhere until I can find some way to sort them out. In the meantime, every single important thing that I have received over the last few months has been eradicated. If you sent me something important or particularly interesting over the last couple of weeks then please send it to me again.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Happy birthday to my father, STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/01/2001 01:35:41 PM ----- BODY:

Happy birthday to my father, David Harmer, who turns sixty-one today.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I read the Watchmen for STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/01/2001 01:56:49 PM ----- BODY:

I read the Watchmen for the first time when I was about eighteen, and I have to say that I didn't like it very much. I found it unsettling, confusing, too grim and dense. I was in an escapist mode at the time. Later, of course, I came to love it, even though it feels so very much of its time. But I think my eighteen year old self would have liked the script for the Watchmen Movie That Was Never Made. Even though now I think it's fairly lame.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I don't live in America STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/01/2001 02:04:09 PM ----- BODY:

I don't live in America so I'm in no position to judge. I don't have that much access to the feeling of the nation - I can't gauge the effects of policy on the ground, but it's beginning to seem clear to me that no one really likes GW Bush.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Katy's better half now has STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/01/2001 02:06:38 PM ----- BODY:

Katy's better half now has his own weblog. Blog Family Robinson rules demand that they produce tiny bloglets immediately.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Now this is good: Cornell STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/01/2001 07:22:43 PM ----- BODY:

Now this is good: Cornell University have put together a well designed, immersive, atmospheric site on The Fantastic in Art and Fiction including woodcuts and lithographs of the most bizarre and freakish images you've seen.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Today on Barbelith: Fantastic Beasts STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/01/2001 07:33:24 PM ----- BODY:

Today on Barbelith: Fantastic Beasts - "Just as traditional bogeymen have been replaced to some extent by paedophiles and other, more human terrors, so the fantastic beasts of mythology and the mediaeval bestiary have been exchanged for the less improbable subjects of cryptozoology. Catherine Wright investigates. "

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: There seems to be a STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/02/2001 11:19:00 AM ----- BODY:

There seems to be a trend at the moment for webloggers presenting galleries of themselves through time, and I think it's a trend that I like and might have to participate in. The latest casualty of the desire to present one's gradual slump into senility is 'er at NotSoSoft. It's astonishing how different one can look and still be recognisably the same. I'm gradually coming to the conclusion that weblogs act as a chronicler - as a way of cementing memory and narrative, as a way of making sense of one's own life to date.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Wil Weaton peed in the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/02/2001 01:43:26 PM ----- BODY:

Wil Weaton peed in the ocean.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Offensive Advertising Strategy (1): This STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/02/2001 01:59:56 PM ----- BODY:

Offensive Advertising Strategy (1): This e-mail arrived for me this morning:

ORDER CONFIRMATION
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I cannot emphasise enough how STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/02/2001 02:14:46 PM ----- BODY:

I cannot emphasise enough how much you have to go and see Hedwig and the Angry Inch if you haven't done so already. It was phenomenal. My trip to see it last night with Katy was followed by a brief interlude with Mo and November Juliet at Morgan Towers complete with (different) Katy, excess Kravitz, some of Nick's vocal stylings (that reminded me of Dead Can Dance) and the opportunity to bore everyone stupid by playing Ghostbusters and Fur Elise over and over again on the keyboard.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: "There is no human bliss STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/02/2001 05:48:01 PM ----- BODY:

"There is no human bliss equal to twelve hours of work with only six hours in which to do it." Anthony Trollope was on drugs.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I fear the time when STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/02/2001 07:29:12 PM ----- BODY:

I fear the time when I decide to emigrate this bloody country and ponce off abroad to fulfill my greater destiny is fast approaching. Goddammit I'm bored of this.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Late night, Black Love. The STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/02/2001 10:31:28 PM ----- BODY:

Late night, Black Love. The Afghan Whigs sing "Faded" and I wonder where the terrible romances went.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Another person has started using STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/03/2001 09:15:01 AM ----- BODY:

Another person has started using my little CSS template, which is, you know, nice: Quack the Duck World Tour Project.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: There's nothing like a freshly STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/03/2001 10:48:21 AM ----- BODY:

There's nothing like a freshly delivered Ikea catalogue in the morning to make you feel that your life has taken an unfortunate turn for the inadequate. All those lovely, lovely places to live.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: My darling old company is STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/03/2001 10:25:25 PM ----- BODY:

My darling old company is having a spring clean, 33 years after it was launched. Time Out has called in Wolff Olins to look at the magazine's brand positioning and to see how to reenergise the flagging publication. I only worked there for two years but I have fairly strong opinions about where it's been going wrong. I'd be interested to see how they match up with what's going to be happening...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I woke up this morning STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/04/2001 10:35:49 AM ----- BODY:

I woke up this morning with the windows and curtains open and light streaming into my bedroom and I felt completely elated and comfortable. An hour later I'd been thinking about friends and their careers and how I feel at the moment - essentially redundant, under-utilised, continually tired, like the edge and fire have been slowly rubbed away like silver plating on a cheap spoon. I don't want to go and see my friends - I don't really want to go outside - and I'm getting less able to smile with people who are getting on with their lives.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Four potentially dangerous subjects for STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/04/2001 04:24:21 PM ----- BODY:

Four potentially dangerous subjects for debate:

PARTY POLITICS:
_____________________

Which political party do you support and why? Do you think William Hague was an admirable man? Is Tony Blair a toadying, insincere sychophant? Labour are all spin aren't they? Europe is the future or Europe is the enemy? People from ethnic minorities aren't really British at all, right? Neil and Christine Hamilton - what's that about?

A-LIST vs THE REST:
_____________________

Who ARE the A-list bloggers? Are there A-list English Bloggers? Should everyone else kneel down and kiss my arse? Who do you losers think you are anyway? Coming around here and fouling up my goddam internet with your whining... Is it like WWF? Do we get names? 'THE PLASTIC POUNDER', 'THE IRRITABLE INTERCONNNECTED ONE', 'DIGITALSTOMPERY'.

ABORTION:
_____________________

Are foetuses little kiddies when they're two cells old? Or should the parent's right of abortion be extended until the child reaches the age of seventy-eight?

GREYMATTER vs BLOGGER vs BENBROWN vs MOTHRA:
_____________________

Is Blogger a shiny piece of heaven fallen to earth? Or is it crap arseness? Are we not REAL MEN unless we are building our OWN content management systems? Is off-the-shelf too lowbrow for us? Does Ben Brown suckle on Mammon's ungodly teat? How about Ev? How about YOU?!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: It wasn't really meant for STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/04/2001 05:18:37 PM ----- BODY:

It wasn't really meant for public consumption, but if you fancy a disturbing trip into psychosis, you can read Chris's transcript of Two Men on a Mailing List. For a short time only.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I have an interview for STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/05/2001 12:02:18 PM ----- BODY:

I have an interview for a job. After almost giving up all hope of anyone ever thinking I was employable again, I have an interview for a job next Tuesday. And it's a job I'd actually like to have as well. Frankly I'm astonished. I was having lunch with Mo yesterday and complaining about how my life was a barren wasteland of missed opportunity, when I got a phone call asking me to come in for an interview. Mo insists that it was his influence on fate behind the scenes all along.

This leaves me with a few conundra nonetheless. Should I have a haircut? Need I buy a proper set of (non-suit) interview clothes? If so, where should I find the money for such an indulgence?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: In a subsequent work-related development, STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/05/2001 12:03:50 PM ----- BODY:

In a subsequent work-related development, I have been commissioned to write the Gay section of the Time Out London Guide - which will be repurposed for both print and web. Any suggestions will be gratefully received.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Ridiculous flashback web design moment STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/05/2001 05:07:06 PM ----- BODY:

Ridiculous flashback web design moment of the day - a really old front page to a microsite long since defunct: polymath.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Tonight's background is inspired by STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/06/2001 12:47:40 AM ----- BODY:

Tonight's background is inspired by my soulful mood. There are times when you just feel blue and you know that you'd feel blue whatever happened, and you're not blue because of anything in particular - or you don't think you are at least - and it's certainly not because you're not with someone, but nonetheless you wish there was someone there to understand that you were blue, and to give you the space to be blue, and who loved you like you loved them - unconditionally.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I haven't believed in god STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/06/2001 10:23:49 AM ----- BODY:

I haven't believed in god for over fifteen years now.

I was thirteen when my little brother was born. My mother had come into the TV room and sat me down on the tan sofa and asked me how I'd feel about having a little brother or sister. I said that I didn't want one. My mother looked slightly perturbed and said that I was going to have one anyway. I remember not being entirely thrilled by the news.

By the time my brother was born I was totally excited by the idea. My mother went into labour early in the morning and I was woken up by her smiling beatifically at the end of the bed ad patting her bulge and telling me to get ready. I couldn't have been more excited. I got into my school uniform and we drove into Norwich, where we went and made sure my mother was comfortable. Then my father drove me into school and then, for some ungodly reason, went to work.

I remember talking to my friends about the new arrival during lunch break, standing on the doorsteps of Norwich Cathedral. But somehow, by the time school had ended, I'd completely forgotten about it. It was only the sight of a friend of my mother's waiting to pick me up that reminded me. We went and bought a teddy bear for my little brother and drove to the hospital to see him.

Months later, he was to be Christened. I had never been Christened - my life had been so disorganised and random in my earlier years that no one had gotten around to it. It had become a badge of honour to me in some ways. Everyone I knew had been Christened - I was special, weird, a thirteen-year-old rationalist philosopher surrounded by superstition and madness. But despite taking pride in it, I'd never really thought about whether there actually was a god or not. When my mother said that she would like it if I got Christened along with my brother, I was forced to think about it for the first time. And I was horrified. I just didn't believe it all. It seemed so ridiculous. Such a ludicrous proposition. It just didn't make any sense. Nonetheless, bowing to parental pressure I went through with the ceremony, feeling awkward and hypocritical all the way through.

Yesterday the Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, declared that Christianity was 'almost vanquished in the UK' [BBC News]. He said that people in Britain were now seemingly indifferent to Christian values and the Church. To me this can only be a positive sign. Whatever else might be lacking in people's lives, they no longer feel that the mystical texts of another people half a world away and thousands of years old can patch up that hole. To me it seems like they've all been set free.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: God, how embarrassing. Apparently I'm STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/06/2001 10:37:23 AM ----- BODY:

God, how embarrassing. Apparently I'm getting back my reputation as a depressive weblogger. Quick. Urgent. Think of something fun to write about.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: An afternoon's excitement: Davo is STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/06/2001 12:05:59 PM ----- BODY:

An afternoon's excitement: Davo is finally back from 'forn parts' and has taken the day off to explore the wonderful world of dossery. We have decided to go play at Moulin Rouge this afternoon at Swiss Cottage. If you're unemployed or lazy, why don't you join us? We'll be wearing fake moustaches and Groucho Marx eyebrows and eating too much sugar.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On the "Electric Telescope": "I STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/06/2001 12:18:46 PM ----- BODY:

On the "Electric Telescope": "I have read with interest the letter (No. 15374) of Mr Redmond in your last number. Though not an electrician, the possibility of transmitting images - built up, as it were, of a number of points - by means of a number of circuits, each containing selenium at the receiving end, as suggested by your correspondent, occurred to myself a short time since." English Mechanic and World of Science no726, 21 February 1879 [link].

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: "Mr. Montulli's first description of STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/06/2001 12:38:12 PM ----- BODY:

"Mr. Montulli's first description of cookies can still be found on Netscape's Web site. The document describes how a relatively few bits of text can perform tasks like identifying a visitor, tracking the items he is preparing to buy and setting a date for the cookie to be destroyed. In a whimsical example drawn from Saturday morning cartoons, Mr. Montulli displayed a cookie that might be set on a customer's computer by the fictional Acme Corporation: Cookie: CUSTOMER=WILEE COYOTE; PARTNUMBER= ROCKETLAUNCHER0001" [link]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: "When it comes to huge STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/06/2001 08:15:47 PM ----- BODY:

"When it comes to huge openings, a lot of people think of me."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: From an e-mail: Universal Pictures STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/06/2001 09:58:38 PM ----- BODY:

From an e-mail:

Universal Pictures announced today they plan to make a film of the momentous football match that took place on Saturday. "Five-One" is the tentative title of what could be next year's big summer hit, depicting the American national soccer team's stunning victory over Germany.

Nicholas Cage heads an all star cast as the captain of the brave US Soccer team haunted by the trauma of losing in the 2000 World Cup final on penalties and the death of his wife in a riot caused by English football hooligans, and finds love in the arms of a female sports journalist played by Julia Roberts. Mel Gibson is the no-nonsense Swedish coach who leads them to glory, with Keanu Reeves, Ben Affleck, Matt Damon and Will Smith playing some of Cage's heroic team mates.

Jeremy Irons is set to star as Sir Nigel Villiers-Smythe, the dastardly Englishman who coaches the German team and forces them to play with poisoned-tipped studs to try and cheat the heroic American team out of victory. Director Steven Spielberg defended the film-makers' decision to focus on the American contribution to the victory over Germany and the inaccurate & even imagined events in the story, saying, "Obviously we've had to take some artistic licence to make the story work on film, but I hope that what we produce will be true to the spirit of what happened on that famous night."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: If you read one thing STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/07/2001 11:36:52 AM ----- BODY:

If you read one thing today, make sure it's this - it's the kind of article that uncovers a hidden part of the world - it gives you a sense of what is happening just below the surface. One of the most important articles that Barbelith has published to date: The Autopsy - "Someone points out that your blood oranges-and-balsamic vinegar salad looks like a tub of organs. You laugh. It is well known that your colleagues will die young; that's the way it is. You do not think about who will have to do their autopsies. Brooke Magnanti works in the death industry."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: As Ben Folds [weblog] might STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/07/2001 12:14:55 PM ----- BODY:

As Ben Folds [weblog] might have said had he taken a different career path:

"I'm rocking the net now,
Just like Jason Kottke did.
I'm rocking the net now,
Except that he was talented."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Animal Impressions (1): Tom impersonates STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/07/2001 12:57:09 PM ----- BODY:

Animal Impressions (1): Tom impersonates a bunny rabbit (2.2Mb). Animal Impressions (2): Tom impersonates a monkey (2.4Mb).

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I wonder who owns www.invisibles.net? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/07/2001 07:40:27 PM ----- BODY:

I wonder who owns www.invisibles.net?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Tom's in the kitchen. Kate's STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/08/2001 11:22:41 AM ----- BODY:

Tom's in the kitchen. Kate's talking to him. There's a knock on the door. Kate walks down the corridor and answers the door. "We'd like to talk to you about that church of Jesus Christ," comes a voice. "BYE!" calls Tom down from the kitchen. Kate collapses in giggles. "Er. I don't think we're really the kind of people you want to be talking to," she says with a smile. Tom walks down the corridor towards the front door. "Do you know anyone around here who would be interested in taking Christ into their hearts?" asks an earnest voice. "Most of our friends are Satanists, I'm afraid." says Tom patiently. We close the door.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: "Traditional paper has largely survived STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/08/2001 11:26:20 AM ----- BODY:

"Traditional paper has largely survived the test of time but now it is facing a new challenge from its electronic equivalent. Electronic paper has been one of the technology world's holy grails for more than two decades and the prospect of using it as a substitute for the real thing is closer than ever. " [BBC News] No one seems to have the slightest idea what to do with electronic paper, unfortunately.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I have become nothing more STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/08/2001 11:28:58 AM ----- BODY:

I have become nothing more than a Meat Interface [MI] for repurposing weblog content. Which is nice in a way, because it seems that it doesn't matter how I mark up my writing, I can still write once and web/meat publish anywhere...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Stargate SG1 reaches it's 100th STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/08/2001 11:38:46 AM ----- BODY:

Stargate SG1 reaches it's 100th episode and there may be a movie franchise emerging from it, and then a spin-off series. This was another TV series that followed the standard Tom interest curve, whereby the first series is dipped into grudgingly, declared crap and then thoroughly enjoyed a couple of years later, just when it's impossible to catch up with what's been happening up to date. The only other model is the Poof and Slag model, whereby the first series is watched diligently, desperately seeking a laugh, before giving up and desperately praying that the series will just end.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I'm plugging this heavily because STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/08/2001 12:02:50 PM ----- BODY:

I'm plugging this heavily because it's worth reading:
Barbelith: The Autopsy.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The Observer meets David Furnish, STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/09/2001 01:47:34 PM ----- BODY:

The Observer meets David Furnish, Elton John's partner. On Madonna: "The last time I saw her, she came down to the house in Windsor and brought the baby and Guy, and it was a really nice, everyday visit - she was lovely and friendly and down-to-earth - but I felt like a dork. Still, God, I hope that never ends. I don't ever want to get jaded or blas�." [link]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Question of the moment: Davo STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/09/2001 01:57:22 PM ----- BODY:

Question of the moment: Davo has been back from holiday for four or five days now. So when is brainsluice.com coming back online?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Must see download of the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/09/2001 02:02:27 PM ----- BODY:

Must see download of the day comes via Ain't It Cool News - the new TV trailer for Lord of the Rings.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Of the things I had STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/09/2001 06:34:14 PM ----- BODY:

Of the things I had to do today, sleep for three and a half hours in the afternoon wasn't one of them. Neither, indeed, was sort out my clothing into two piles: 'regular wardrobe' and 'bit manky'. Neither indeed was talk to Matt Haughey about meeting Katy at Fray Day (which was way more fun than the sleep and the clothes-sorting even if I did get a bit jealous). Best wishes to everyone out there - I wish I could be with you...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Who's your Weblogger Twin? So STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/09/2001 08:27:51 PM ----- BODY:

Who's your Weblogger Twin? So that lovely Firda lady set up this ridiculously entertaining piece of fluff quiz which determines who is your weblogger twin. I feed in all my information, and apparently I'm just like Ernie. After that, I'm like Firda herself. And only then do I even resemble myself. Some people outside my top ten include: Jason, Matt, Meg, Zeldman and Ev.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: This David Carson isn't the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/10/2001 07:44:15 PM ----- BODY:

This David Carson isn't the same graphic designer at all as this David Carson, yet they are both graphic designers and should both be slightly alarmed by this fake David Carson machine.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Ringing random people with my father's name... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/10/2001 08:30:10 PM ----- BODY:

This evening, for ... well, I don't really know why ... I decided to ring a few numbers in the London area for people called Thomas John Coates. I rang up four or five, said I was looking for a friend of mine called Tom Coates, but I thought I'd come through to the wrong number, and then asked them their age. I don't know why I did it really. Felt a bit shaky after ringing a three or four and decided to stop.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: You know what weirds me STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/10/2001 08:43:05 PM ----- BODY:

You know what weirds me out? My father was a computer programmer for ICL in the early 70s. I know that much. So while he'd be over sixty now, if he's still alive, I doubt that he's completely computer illiterate. So what are the chances that he's done a vanity search on the web for his own name? And it's pretty much identical to mine. So it's quite likely he's seen this site. It's quite likely he's been here. That's what gets to me. That he might have been here and still not got in touch.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: There's only one thing in STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/11/2001 05:09:20 PM ----- BODY:

There's only one thing in the news worth even discussing today, and that's the attack on the Pentagon and the World Trade Center. It's impossible to get through to almost any news sites at the moment, but the Guardian is still up and running if you need to know what's going on: Guardian Special Report. I'm going to refrain from comment until things have calmed down a bit, but in the meantime, if you want to discuss it, I suggest getting over to the Underground where various issues are being discussed.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: September 11th and weblogs STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/12/2001 09:11:41 AM ----- BODY:

September 11th 2001 was the busiest posting day ever for Blogger, as thousands of people ran to the web for information, discussion and to put their experiences in view of the world. Ev also launched a short-term Attack Search Page so that the world can get first hand accounts of what's happened and what people are saying about the attacks. The same trend - running for information from the web - seems to have gripped the planet, resulting in the largest stress on the Internet ever - unfortunately with many people using the free, international space to blame and threaten countries, religions, ethnic groups and cultures across the world. Various sites have taken the strain of getting information out to the people, including Barbelith and Metafilter as major sites like CNN and BBC News temporarily collapse under the strain. To all New Yorkers - friends and strangers alike - while we fear what is yet to come, our hearts are with you at this time. And via Brainsluice, the picture that says it all.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I'm opening up the Barbelith STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/12/2001 09:24:53 AM ----- BODY:

I'm opening up the Barbelith Webzine for first person experiences and reactions to the situation in New York. E-mail me your experiences and thoughts.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I've temporarily started a dedicated STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/12/2001 11:16:43 AM ----- BODY:

I've temporarily started a dedicated forum on Barbelith for people who want to talk about New York and Washington that also collates all the posts to date.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The first piece comes through STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/12/2001 11:57:38 AM ----- BODY:

The first piece comes through to Barbelith: The World Trade Center:"I don't think I will ever be able to forget how that felt - when that first tower fell, I swear that I could feel the lives of those people disappearing... Most of the day, I just felt hollow and empty, and frightened about how the world was going to change." Matthew Perpetua is in New York.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Today's newspaper front pages: UK: STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/12/2001 02:23:40 PM ----- BODY:

Today's newspaper front pages: UK: From the guardian's website, all the front pages in one place. US: From poynter.org: a collation of the American press' Front Pages.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Donate on the Amazon Red STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/12/2001 02:40:33 PM ----- BODY:

Donate on the Amazon Red Cross Disaster Relief Page.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The next few days are STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/12/2001 05:43:46 PM ----- BODY:

The next few days are going to be critical. Make sure you don't get caught up in the hysteria. Let your head make the decisions for you and try and feel comfortable going against the tide. Attacks on civil liberties are already being made on the basis of security. This must not be allowed to continue. Privacy (from surveillance, and to use cryptography) remain fundamental to online freedom, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise... There is no good reason for taking away our right to privacy.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Introducing Infoshare... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/12/2001 06:09:18 PM ----- BODY:

What you see above is a syndicated piece of code that will carry the latest news about the disaster at the WRC and Pentagon, as well as help people support the relief efforts. Many of us don't really know what to write about at the moment - well this is a step in the right direction. There's a team of volunteers finding appropriate news stories behind the scenes and it seems like a good idea to just stick it up on one's site for at least a week after the events. It's a simple piece of code to insert into your pages - and I'd ask you to do it, please.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On learning from catastrophe... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/13/2001 10:30:07 AM ----- BODY:

I'm not sure whether I should be linking to this. It's an article from The Guardian - a comment piece - called They can't see why they are hated. It's about the reaction to the events in New York and Washington from everyday Americans, who are viewing it as an attack by faceless madmen. The article goes into details about the way that the American government has treated much of the developing world and the Middle East - and how (particularly in Afghanistan) the very same people that they are now blaming for the attack were trained by the CIA. America has to look to its actions abroad and decide how it wants to interact with the world. If it doesn't then we will have learnt nothing from this whole catastrophe.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The Horror we helped cause... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/13/2001 10:57:06 AM ----- BODY:

Michael Moore speaks about the recent events in the US:

When the Soviet Union occupied Afghanistan, the CIA trained him and his buddies in how to commits acts of terrorism against the Soviet forces. It worked! The Soviets turned and ran. Bin Laden was grateful for what we taught him and thought it might be fun to use those same techniques against us.

We abhor terrorism -- unless we're the ones doing the terrorizing.

We paid and trained and armed a group of terrorists in Nicaragua in the 1980s who killed over 30,000 civilians. That was OUR work. You and me. Thirty thousand murdered civilians and who the hell even remembers!

We fund a lot of oppressive regimes that have killed a lot of innocent people, and we never let the human suffering THAT causes to interrupt our day one single bit. We have orphaned so many children, tens of thousands around the world, with our taxpayer-funded terrorism (in Chile, in Vietnam, in Gaza, in Salvador) that I suppose we shouldn't be too surprised when those orphans grow up and are a little whacked in the head from the horror we have helped cause.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The Counterterrorist Myth... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/13/2001 04:57:38 PM ----- BODY:

Background: The Counterterrorist Myth

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: To and from the WTC... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/13/2001 08:10:06 PM ----- BODY:

The full experience of going to, and coming from the World Trade Center in pictures in chronological order: framerate.net.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Headling into? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/14/2001 08:37:19 AM ----- BODY:

I am extraordinarily tired and frayed at the moment. I look around me and everyone is engaged in the worship of this tragedy. Much like with Princess Diana, everyone is busy feeling. Some people are mourning, some are in violent rages. Everything that is being done is being done on instinct, and while we're busy wondering what will happen, civil liberties are under threat (worldwide), ethnic minorities are being hounded (worldwide) and cities are building trenches to hide in when the inevitable apocalypse rains down from the sky. There's a danger in uniting countries - do they unite behind the attitudes of the progressive, the mournful, the violent? And does anyone have the strength - or the inclination - to work through the issues from the beginning. At the moment, people are all running in one direction, and no one knows whether it's the future or a cliff...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On disagreeing with things... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/14/2001 08:39:48 AM ----- BODY:

A weblog post that I disagree with

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On a hole where BBC Three was... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/14/2001 08:48:06 AM ----- BODY:

The BBC's attempts to start a new digital youth channel have failed, in an extraordinarily bizarre decision by the culture secretary. Interestingly, the blocked channel was to be called BBC Three, which (since BBC Four was passed) will result in an interesting hole in the TV pages...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Must the enemy fit the crime? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/14/2001 12:08:07 PM ----- BODY:

Don't inflate the size of the enemy to fit the crime: "Searching for parallels to help them understand what has happened and what they should do next, Americans cite Pearl Harbour. A better reference would be the Cuban missile crisis. Then, as now, the United States had a new and untried president, John F Kennedy, and faced a danger that the wrong moves could turn a bad situation into a worse one.".

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Gays, Liberals to blame for terrorist attacks... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/14/2001 01:38:16 PM ----- BODY:

The terrifying lunacy of America's fringe manifests itself: Falwell blames gays, liberal groups for terrorist attacks [Metafilter]. This is why it is not simply enough to mourn - people must investigate the background of these events before they can make sense of them. Otherwise the extremists in the west will make this battle their own. [song of the moment?">Song of the moment?]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: How mad are you, anyway? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/14/2001 01:53:27 PM ----- BODY:

Check your level of mental health.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Pete, The Cat That Looks Like Hitler... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/15/2001 08:28:31 AM ----- BODY:

Pete, The Cat That Looks Like Hitler.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: 8.30am: Tom awakens on the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/15/2001 08:43:01 AM ----- BODY:

8.30am: Tom awakens on the sofa in the sitting room. He has spent the night there and feels stiff, cold and creaky.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: From the Guardian's letters pages, STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/15/2001 09:01:02 AM ----- BODY:

From the Guardian's letters pages, via linkmachinego: The omnipotence of American culture and childhood innocence ended in our house on September 11. I sat with my young son watching the images from the World Trade Centre. Suddenly we saw people hanging from the windows at the top of the stricken tower. "Mum," he said, "where's Spiderman? He could save them." Later, as I tucked him up in bed, he asked sleepily, "Is Spiderman not real, mum?" [link]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Fray.com: Missing Pieces. STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/15/2001 09:02:43 AM ----- BODY:

Fray.com: Missing Pieces.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Today on Barbelith: New York: STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/15/2001 02:05:07 PM ----- BODY:

Today on Barbelith: New York: On the Ground - "I could feel the heat three hundred yards away; everything on four or five floors, people and office equipment, came raining down on the crowd. We all ran north while it fell and got away before it hit because it was high up. As I glanced back I saw the contents of the floors: all on fire, people and building, killed without a second to reconsider their life. George Minarik was in New York."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Lie of the Day STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/15/2001 02:16:17 PM ----- BODY:

Lie of the Day

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: When you are bored and STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/15/2001 09:36:06 PM ----- BODY:

When you are bored and have nothing to do, you do stupid stupid things. This is actually the result of following a tutorial on teaching oneself complex Photoshop operations (although god knows you can't tell by looking at it):

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Cool: Hadn't noticed this before. STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/15/2001 09:59:23 PM ----- BODY:

Cool: Hadn't noticed this before. Go to Webmonkey and hover over the little monkey's wrench!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Needed: a new age of STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/16/2001 12:37:54 PM ----- BODY:

Needed: a new age of enlightenment: "You'd think that every possible angle would already have been covered by people writing about the events of September 11th. So why am I writing this, and why now? Because in all the media coverage I've seen so far, nobody has been asking the right, the important, questions. Like: why did this happen, what circumstances got us into a de facto state of undeclared war with the Islamic world, and what can we realistically do to prevent those circumstances from ever recurring." [link via Prolific]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: An Afghan-American speaks: "What can STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/16/2001 03:35:27 PM ----- BODY:

An Afghan-American speaks: "What can be done, then? Let me now speak with true fear and trembling. The only way to get Bin Laden is to go in there with ground troops. When people speak of "having the belly to do what needs to be done" they're thinking in terms of having the belly to kill as many as needed. Having the belly to overcome any moral qualms about killing innocent people. Let's pull our heads out of the sand. What's actually on the table is Americans dying. And not just because some Americans would die fighting their way through Afghanistan to Bin Laden's hideout. It's much bigger than that, folks. Because to get any troops to Afghanistan, we'd have to go through Pakistan. Would they let us? Not likely. The conquest of Pakistan would have to be first. Will other Muslim nations just stand by? You see where I'm going. We're flirting with a world war between Islam and the West."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Grant Morrison's ... unique ... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/17/2001 03:26:44 PM ----- BODY:

Grant Morrison's ... unique ... take on events in New York contains this comment: "Did we bomb Boston to stop the Boston Strangler ? Did we level New York City to get at Son of Sam ? No we did not. So why the fuck should we flatten Afghanistan just to get at a bunch of murderous bastards who have the country's people in a repressive death grip?". [via Darren, the Linkmachine]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I've got my hands on STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/17/2001 04:07:23 PM ----- BODY:

I've got my hands on a few previews of upcoming American TV series, and I'm planning to plough my way through them over the next few days. First up is 24. Kiefer Sutherland stars in this high-concept piece of TV programming. The series contains 24 episodes, each one is in real time and occupies one hour of one day. In the first episode the Counter Terrorist Unit of LA hears about a potential threat on a US senator, who may or may not have something to hide. In the meantime, our hero's daughter has gone missing.

Watch out for this series, because it's pretty damn good. It's fast-paced, uses a lot of split screen techniques to keep you informed as to what's happening at any one time and it's pretty involving. My main anxiety is that people won't be prepared to spend nearly six months watching one tight and short story - and that we'll get bored of Kiefer's clothing.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: A month after the film STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/17/2001 05:25:43 PM ----- BODY:

A month after the film opened, usatoday confronts the burning question of our times: "What the hell was the ending of Planet of the Apes about?".

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: This afternoon I made my STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/17/2001 09:18:28 PM ----- BODY:

This afternoon I made my very first ever Flash movie. I've struggled with Flash before, many many years ago, and found going through the instructions supplied with it so frustratingly awful that I gave up and consigned myself to the 'bit technically dim' category. But today I decided to confront my demons and go hell for leather, and having discovered a considerably more helpful article at Webmonkey, I can now present some circles, moving. I can't believe that I am so ridiculously proud of this absurdly simple (and basically broken) piece of rubbish. Sigh.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: My second pilot of the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/17/2001 11:20:35 PM ----- BODY:

My second pilot of the day is Thieves, which was frankly the most entertaining pile of crap I've seen in months. The plot is totally ridiculous - two crack thieves - one male and one female - are foiled during an attempted hoist. There is continual sexual tension between them and - apparently for this reason - the government keeps them on to recover stolen items for the government. Complete hokum and glorious fun. Hart to Hart meets Nikita with a dash of Moonlighting thrown in for good measure. The copy I saw was clearly mid-production - a variety of special effects shots hadn't been added yet, and the music was directly lifted in from 'relevant' movies as a placeholder (particular treats including bits of music from Out of Sight, American Beauty and Snatch). The end of the episode was a bit mid-budget / Baywatch Nights abandoned warehouse-style final confrontation cliché-of-the-week, but generally, everyone was pretty cool, pretty good and pretty damn pretty.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Just when you begin to STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/18/2001 10:24:59 AM ----- BODY:

Just when you begin to think that the threat of an escalating conflict is behind us - or at least that enough distance has emerged to make a World War less likely - the Taliban declares holy war on the US. And it must be bad, because it's forcing idiots like Jerry Falwell to make half-hearted apologies for saying that it's the fault of feminists, gay people and liberals.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Third pilot of the week STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/18/2001 10:38:24 AM ----- BODY:

Third pilot of the week is Alias. When a young woman reveals to her fiancé that she works for the CIA, he is executed by a hit squad hired by her employers. How she deals with this, whether her employers are actually the CIA, and what she needs to stay alive and redeem the loss of her lover are the questions addressed in the first part of the series - which is essentially yet another Nikita rip-off with a couple of twists. That's not to say it isn't entertaining, because it is. That's not to say it isn't exciting, because it is. And that's not to say it doesn't have potential, because it does. But it'll have to do something new pretty soon to maintain people's interest.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Does anyone have the slightest STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/18/2001 10:59:32 AM ----- BODY:

Does anyone have the slightest idea when My Own Private Idaho might be coming out on DVD? I miss River Phoenix. When I visited Kerry in LA, we went to a shop directly opposite the Viper Room where he died.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Meg just threw me a STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/18/2001 12:22:27 PM ----- BODY:

Meg just threw me a list of songs with questionable lyrics that she found on the web. Songs - presumably - that people have decided not to play during the current events. Which possibly explains why everyone feels so suffocated. Part of me thinks that some of these songs should be being played. Why can't John Lennon's Imagine be heard? It's message should be more true now than at any other time, surely? And "Walk Like An Egyptian"? What possible reason could there be for not playing that? [lyrics]. And while I understand why it's not being played, I desperately need to hear REM's "It's the End of the World as We Know It" at the moment. There has to be some release for the anxiety that seems to be building again.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Disinformation is back, and with STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/18/2001 02:29:21 PM ----- BODY:

Disinformation is back, and with a range of perspectives on events in America over the last week.

US terrorist attacks: due to circumstances beyond our control . . .: "The anti-globalist movement has existed at the fringes of American politics for several reasons. Understanding these reasons reveals the hidden complexity and undercurrents of the American political landscape. A more in-depth understanding can also serve as a buffer against the perils of groupthink."

Terrorism and witch hunts: "'Inevitable Ring to the Unimaginable' by Australian journalist John Pilger, argues that "the US and its sidekicks, principally Britain, have exercised, flaunted, and abused their wealth and power 'for so long they shouldn't be surprised if those they have victimized fight back.' Among many examples, he cites the 200,000 Iraqis killed during the Gulf War, and the million others who have since died in Iraq as a result of US/UK sanctions, and concludes that 'Western terror is part of the recent history of imperialism.' This perspective is directly contradicted by former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger's 'Response Must Destroy the Network that Shelters Terrorism.' Kissinger writes that countries harboring terrorists 'must pay an exorbitant price' (ironic given that the US trained and funded Bin Laden and at least a few of the hijackers) and calls the World Trade Center attacks 'a threat to our social way of life and to our existence as a free society.'"

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: In another article from disinformation, STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/18/2001 02:35:20 PM ----- BODY:

In another article from disinformation, there is discussion about the memetic effects of Hollwood imagery. Although the article strays dangerously close to advocating censorship on the grounds of 'putting ideas into people's heads' it does question the relationship between the Spectacle and political and terrorist action. Perhaps it's only understandable that a radical politician of a fundamentalist country should try to make a movie in which the 'bad guys win'.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: OK - this is exactly STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/18/2001 02:46:21 PM ----- BODY:

OK - this is exactly why I love Wil Wheaton's weblog so much: Son of SpongeBob Vega$Pants: "So I get to the hallway where we're set up for autographs, and, as I am walking up the hallway, I see Dorn, Marina, Renee, Kate Mulgrew, and WILLIAM FUCKING SHATNER. Shatner has always been a dick to me, but I want to say hi, so I approach them, and I say, "Hi! How you guys doin?" Everyone returns my greeting, even Kate, who I don't know, at all. Never even been introduced. Everyone, that is, except WILLIAM FUCKING SHATNER! Old toupee-head won't even look at me! I don't know what this guy's problem is, really. I think he's very funny, I think he's got a great sense of humor about himself, but he is always a dick to me."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Tom's Second Flash Movie:I only STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/18/2001 03:46:09 PM ----- BODY:

Tom's Second Flash Movie:
I only wish I knew how to crop things.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Via Prol: Buffy Lives. STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/18/2001 04:26:30 PM ----- BODY:

Via Prol: Buffy Lives.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The scariest thing I've ever STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/18/2001 05:13:04 PM ----- BODY:

The scariest thing I've ever seen.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Every Buffy fan with a STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/18/2001 05:46:00 PM ----- BODY:

Every Buffy fan with a high-bandwidth connection (particularly those that don't live in the US) needs to go to this poorly assembled page of mine and have some fun.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: One of the coolest, sickest, STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/18/2001 08:48:45 PM ----- BODY:

One of the coolest, sickest, sites I've seen in a long time, uncelebrity.com lets you say exactly what you'd like to do with your favourite stars. I don't know whether I'm more alarmed by the sweet 'I want to walk with him on a beach' ones or the full on dodgy porno wank fantasy ones. I don't know which ones are funnier either...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Tom's third Flash movie was STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/18/2001 11:06:33 PM ----- BODY:

Tom's third Flash movie was built by request of Mo of Mo Morgan.com and is a rather poor representation of the good man himself. The first representation was astonishingly good. But I lost that somehow, and couldn't find a way to get it back. I wonder what I'll make tomorrow.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Confessions of a Housebound Geek... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/19/2001 11:26:22 AM ----- BODY:

Last Tuesday morning, before the disaster at the World Trade Center, I had a very different anxiety on my mind. I had a job interview at the BBC for a position as online producer for BBC films. Everyone I knew was going 'apply for it, Tom - it's ideal for you' - and I basically agreed. It seemed like the kind of job that my experience was designed to fill, and in a really good company with lots of opportunities for development. The night before I was shivering with fear - there seemed to be more than normal resting on getting this job. It had been the first major opportunity that I'd had to work somewhere that I was actually excited about for months. On the morning of the interview however I got some slightly startling news. Two other companies, EMAP and Captial Radio, were keen for me to come in and do some freelance work for them. And in only a couple of weeks' time as well.

Interviews are interviews, and they'll always be hellish and I'll never be any good at them. I'm completely incapable of regulating my tone - I prefer discussions rather than Q&A sessions, and so I was immediately wrong-footed when they asked me what my favourite movie was. A question that may seem obvious to people, but has little or no bearing on whether or not you are actually good enough at running a film site. When the interview was over I felt strangely confident, although that confidence faded fairly swiftly. I met an old colleague from TimeOut.com for lunch afterwards - he'd been in the interview before me, and we talked about the job and tried to relax and have fun.

Now it's a week later and I haven't heard anything from the BBC at all. Normally this wouldn't be a worry, but because I have to inform these other potential employers about whether or not I can do their contracts, it's beginning to alarm me. I asked them when I'd hear at the interview, and they told me the beginnng of this week, but I'm sure that events around the world will have had some impact on their schedules. In the meantime, I'm feeling increasingly nervous about my future prospects once I get past this patch. No one is employing, except for contract work. People are being let go left, right and centre. I really need a break...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: And now I have an answer... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/19/2001 03:11:18 PM ----- BODY:

Ah. Ah well. Nope. No job for me with the BBC.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Regular lurkers to Barbelith may STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/20/2001 10:33:11 AM ----- BODY:

Regular lurkers to Barbelith may have noticed that I've instituted a procedure that means that you have to be registered in order to read the site. I didn't want to have to do this, and hopefully it will be a short-term measure, but I'm testing it to see whether or not it has substantial impact on the bandwidth that the site takes up. At the moment, the only alternative to this process is a system of rolling blackouts, whereby the site is taken offline for the last week of the month to alleviate running costs. On the bright side, a good thirty or forty people have registered overnight, which suggests there always were a good block of people who read but didn't register. It's nice to have some confirmation of that...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Why I'm removing infoshare... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/20/2001 10:36:38 AM ----- BODY:

After a certain amount of deliberation, I've removed infoshare from plasticbag.org. My reasoning? The news is gradually turning towards an update on the potential war situation we find ourselves in, rather than being a way of keeping people informed about a very specific disaster. It's ceasing to function on Saturday anyway.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On Superman II... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/20/2001 10:52:25 AM ----- BODY:

Tom, rather poorly, reviews Superman II: "The film's message may be a clich�d staple of comic books - with great power comes great responsibility - but it's handled with sincerity and skill. So much so that even Richard Lester's lapses into camp humour and cheesy patriotism don't derail the feel-good adventure fun."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/21/2001 11:23:16 AM ----- BODY:

An American in LA has just watched Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills and insists that I must watch it immediately. Except of course that I doubt very much that I'd be able to. Amazon.co.uk doesn't appear to have it, and it doesn't appear to have been released in the UK for cinema or video release. Every so often I forget that the US and UK are completely different countries, half a world away from one another. I somehow assume that everything that you can get access to in the US can be bought or found here somewhere. But it's just not true.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Barbelith bandwidth bills for September STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/21/2001 11:58:00 AM ----- BODY:

Barbelith bandwidth bills for September look like they are going to be around the $120 mark. Which is not completely unreasonable, I suppose, and likely to be met by the donations that I've already received from the people who regularly use the site. But is this any way to maintain a site long-term? I can't keep scrabbling for cash every month to pay the escalating bills.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Why do you even read this stuff? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/21/2001 12:02:57 PM ----- BODY:

God, I write crap. Every so often I look back at what I produce - what I write - what I put out into the public arena - and I'm ashamed of myself. I can't tell whether it's because my thoughts are stagnating, or because I'm too stressed to think things through properly, or whether I have got used to using plasticbag.org as a braindump rather than as a notepad. But I look back at the kind of writing I'm producing and it's just awful. Why do any of you people read this stuff? What possible benefit could you get from it?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Subterranean High-Tech Geek Utopia STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 1 DATE: 09/21/2001 03:08:55 PM ----- BODY:

So I'm watching this TV program rather than do any work, and it's about properties that are for sale around the UK - the slightly weirder, more beautiful, stranger places to buy, live and work in. Suddenly this incredible place comes up on screen. Am underground fort - victorian in origin - later used as a kind of way-station for troops in World War Two. Full of underground rooms, and over three miles of tunnels and rooms which were previously gun placements. My mouth hit the floor. I was in love with Fort Borstal.

It didn't take long for my mind to start working overtime, imagining corridors lined with cabling, huge underground server rooms, places to live, places to work, places to play. A huge, underground hi-tech geek utopia of weird thinkers, dreamers and weirdos. I talked to Matt about it immediately and he got just as excited as I had. But how much would it cost? How much would a disused, run-down underground metropolis cost? Three million? Five million?

No. One hundred and seventy-five thousand pounds - an amount of money that you couldn't buy a two bedroom flat in decent parts of London with. It would cost hundreds of thousands, millions even, to get the whole thing up and running, but for an initial outlay, it's nothing. Absolutely nothing. It was sold, in the end, to a woman from South London who wanted to buy goats.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: One aspect of Fort Borstal... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/21/2001 03:17:07 PM ----- BODY:

A reconstruction of how cool it could look:

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On the Blog Twinning Project... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/21/2001 05:40:40 PM ----- BODY:

I don't quite get The Blog Twinning Project, but I'm certain it's bloody genius idea.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The sheer blind fury of STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/21/2001 10:35:32 PM ----- BODY:

The sheer blind fury of writing a long piece (ironically about anti-war protests and Tariq Ali) and then losing it due to a system crash or failed internet connection is familiar to all those who maintain a weblog of any description, unless possibly they are using Unix in a bomb-shelter with its own generator. That's forty-five minutes of my life that I'll never get back.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Noam Chomsky - always a STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/22/2001 12:05:33 AM ----- BODY:

Noam Chomsky - always a startlingly intelligent man - has said some of the most insightful and terrifying things about the current situation around the world. A recent transcript has been posted on Barbelith. A couple of excerpts from his interview follow:

"It is also widely recognized that Bin Laden and others like him are praying for 'a great assault on Muslim states,' which will cause 'fanatics to flock to his cause' (Jenkins, and many others.). That too is familiar. The escalating cycle of violence is typically welcomed by the harshest and most brutal elements on both sides, a fact evident enough from the recent history of the Balkans, to cite only one of many cases."

"The decade-long US-British assault against the civilian population of Iraq has devastated the society and caused hundreds of thousands of deaths while strengthening Saddam Hussein - who was a favored friend and ally of the US and Britain right through his worst atrocities."

"The U.S. and much of the West, prefers a more comforting story. To quote the lead analysis in the New York Times (Sept. 16), the perpetrators acted out of "hatred for the values cherished in the West as freedom, tolerance, prosperity, religious pluralism and universal suffrage." U.S. actions are irrelevant, and therefore need not even be mentioned (Serge Schmemann). This is a convenient picture, and the general stance is not unfamiliar in intellectual history; in fact, it is close to the norm. It happens to be completely at variance with everything we know, but has all the merits of self-adulation and uncritical support for power."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Today on Barbelith: Around the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/22/2001 12:09:21 AM ----- BODY:

Today on Barbelith: Around the USA - ""Yesterday was September 11, and it was one of my best friend's birthdays. We'd been trying to talk her into ditching her classes for the day but she'd have none of it. So I rode the el with her to work - it was my first day temping at at Chicago's NBC tower. We were both pretty tired and didn't say too much on the ride, but as I got off, I wished her a great day." and Life during wartime: "Here in America, we're awash in red white and blue and flags flying from currency exchanges, taxicabs, suburban homes and government offices. As if they were Christmas carols, The Star Spangled Banner and God Bless America can be heard on every radio and at every corner. And our president talks of 'War', of a 'Crusade'. 'This will not stand,' he cries."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I used to be so STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/22/2001 12:55:42 AM ----- BODY:

I used to be so much better at this stuff than I am now. In the past, people would post on Metafilter if my site went down. And they wrote really nice things about how good I was at HTML and design and stuff. No longer. I am a relic of a more childlike time on the web, when people could be impressed by pretty colours and occasional non-imbecilic utterances.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The whole world is talking STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/22/2001 12:01:58 PM ----- BODY:

The whole world is talking about A Tribute to Heroes this morning. Apparently it was shown simultaneously on forty American TV stations - well it was also live on BBC1 and ITV1 in the UK, starting at 2am and finishing at 4am. I decided to watch it, and I can't say that I wasn't moved by it. But in the back of mind the whole time I was thinking that the people who supported the attacks on America could have watched the show and - almost to a song - found strength in them for their cause. And I was thinking that the same people could have heard the speeches of some of the celebrities, changed the name of the institution that they were fighting for, and they'd have believed it just as forcefully as America does. I watched Tom Petty, one of my favourite musicians in my youth, singing "Won't Back Down" with steely eyes and tightly drawn lips. And I imagined some shadowy figure facing him singing exactly the same thing. I think that scared me more than anything else.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Phil Zimmerman struggles with the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/22/2001 02:01:44 PM ----- BODY:

Phil Zimmerman struggles with the possibility that terrorists could have been using PGP. We should all remember that tools like encryption, like the internet, like the telephone, like the petrol engine - all of these things empower everyone - good or bad alike, and that the tools shouldn't be blamed for the actions of the people who use them.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Astonishing discovery of the week STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/22/2001 06:29:03 PM ----- BODY:

Astonishing discovery of the week - the thing that has made life worth living? Orange and Cranberry Barley Water. What a genius idea. I'm in love.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Just seen: Nestle do an STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/23/2001 11:49:43 AM ----- BODY:

Just seen: Nestle do an advert for Frosted and Coco Shreddies with the tagline "Too tasty for geeks". I hereby propose a boycott of all Shreddies related products. Rise up, geek brother and sisters.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Brilliantly, I've managed to completely STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/23/2001 12:55:18 PM ----- BODY:

Brilliantly, I've managed to completely underestimate the amount of freelance work that I have to get done. What seemed initially to be just a question of knocking up twelve HTML pages in a template that I've already built has suddenly turned into navigational development, the complete rewriting of a section of code that currently appears buried in forty different pages and the generation of a completely different set of templates to handle what was supposed to be an easy transition from one part of a site to another. Suddenly I find myself consumed by an excess of work that I could have easily accomplished if I'd given myself a little more time to do so.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Prince William explains why he STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/23/2001 01:27:52 PM ----- BODY:

Prince William explains why he decided to miss Fresher's Week at St. Andrews: "I thought I would probably end up in a gutter completely wrecked, and the people I had met that week wouldn't end up being my friends anyway." [BBC]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: "Still I'd rather be famous STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/23/2001 09:44:03 PM ----- BODY:

"Still I'd rather be famous than righteous and holy. Anyday, anyday, anyday."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: According to Peoplenews, Brendan Fraser STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/24/2001 01:07:30 PM ----- BODY:

According to Peoplenews, Brendan Fraser is about to take to the stage at the Lyric Theatre in a new production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. And he'll be wearing boxer shorts. And little else. Not that I care, you understand. Nothing to do with me.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I started my contract at STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/25/2001 08:54:29 AM ----- BODY:

I started my contract at EMAP yesterday, which might explain the lack of recent entries. I'll try and be better behaved today.

One of the horrors of working with Cal is that he keeps coming up with incredibly inventive ways of taking the piss. One such example is this, which effectively tracks precisely how much work I've done in any given hour. If he survives the week, it will be a miracle.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: From the sick minds at STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/25/2001 04:39:36 PM ----- BODY:

From the sick minds at B3ta.com comes Kill Tom Coates. Interestingly, this post has nothing to do with Cal. Even though he's really annoying. And stuff.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Late night lunacy from the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/25/2001 05:58:54 PM ----- BODY:

Late night lunacy from the mouth of Evil Michael, who seems to have declared war on frustrated bus conductors. All power to him.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The sheer effect of the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/25/2001 06:01:09 PM ----- BODY:

The sheer effect of the World Trade Center collapse on Manhattan's buildings is brought home with CNN's 3D map.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Barbelith Underground has received 305,000 STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/26/2001 01:57:54 PM ----- BODY:

Barbelith Underground has received 305,000 page impressions this month so far. That doesn't include the webzine. Bandwidth is, however, stabilising - even if the board is not. Does anyone know of any good ways of maintaining the stability of a UBB6 board?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The Onion: God Angrily Clarifies STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/26/2001 01:58:56 PM ----- BODY:

The Onion: God Angrily Clarifies 'Don't Kill' Rule

Growing increasingly wrathful, God continued: "Can't you people see? What are you, morons? There are a ton of different religious traditions out there, and different cultures worship Me in different ways. But the basic message is always the same: Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, Shintoism... every religious belief system under the sun, they all say you're supposed to love your neighbors, folks! It's not that hard a concept to grasp."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I wish I was at STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/26/2001 05:57:46 PM ----- BODY:

I wish I was at the personal publishing response to the WTC disaster panel today. It would be interesting to hear what everyone had to say, and it would be nice to be able to give a perspective on the news from outside the US.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: My college room-mate has got STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/27/2001 12:03:02 PM ----- BODY:

My college room-mate has got engaged. I never know what to say in these circumstances except congratulations! Well done, Fenner, old chap. The woman's clearly insane. I hope you'll both be really happy!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Possibly the best headline that STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/27/2001 12:35:05 PM ----- BODY:

Possibly the best headline that I've ever written goes as follows: Britney's home raided, Britney remains untouched... [full story]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Max and Liz to go STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/27/2001 02:12:21 PM ----- BODY:

Max and Liz to go Bonnie and Clyde in the new series of Roswell? Say it's so! [UPN.com]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Tiny Tom Adventures... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/28/2001 12:42:41 AM ----- BODY:

Tiny Tom Adventures: Being one potential direction for a project I'm working on at the moment which will almost certainly come to nothing or stress me out or both:

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I want an iBook... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/28/2001 01:15:01 AM ----- BODY:

All week at work I've been using an old Apple laptop and it's cemented in my mind exactly how much I need an iBook and how much I want to try OSX and how cool and useful Office X looks. Now all I need is a couple of grand.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On infographics and political cartoons... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/30/2001 12:31:10 PM ----- BODY:

Political cartoons and infographics from around the world have been posted on Barbelith. Well worth a look.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Age and Computer Games: I STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/30/2001 12:47:39 PM ----- BODY:

Age and Computer Games: I am (barely) old enough to remember Pong before it got 3D. Mo isn't old enough to remember Elite on the BBC (which I used to play in the flint 'New Buildings' at school). When I think of the games that I used to love when I first got my own computer I think of Paradroid on the Commodore 64. What do you think of?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Shamanism in a Nutshell STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/30/2001 12:52:59 PM ----- BODY:

Today on Barbelith: Shamanism in a Nutshell (I) - "Shamanism, a widely misunderstood and misused word, has been used to describe everything from tribal magicians, spiritual healers, medicine men, and sometimes any nature based form of spirituality, magic, or religion. This broad and vague usage brings with it a lot of miscommunication and confusion. Lothar Tuppan investigates."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Over the last week I've STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/30/2001 01:35:45 PM ----- BODY:

Over the last week I've been holding down a full-time job while working a couple of hours a night trying to polish of a piece of freelance work that even now is still lingering around my head. And over the next week, I have yet more to do. I've only been managing five or six hours sleep a night at most. On Thursday evening, when I was trying to prepare for an interview the following day, it all got a bit too much.

I was cooking some pasta with my flatmate Kate. When I picked up the pan I splashed my hand with boiling water. Reacting on reflex my arm twitched more, splashing more water onto my arm and onto Kate's sleeve. I started swearing - my arm was hurting, and part put down, part threw down, the pan. Filled with horror about Kate's arm (which was completely fine), I started apologising profusely - looking at all the hot water on the floor and the mingling pasta shapes, and running my arm under the cold tap. I had a sudden flash that I was clearly simply incapable of running my life to even the slightest degree - a feeling compounded by not getting the job at the BBC and the last six months of fighting for money and worrying about bills. A minor emotional collapse followed, only calmable by a substantial couple of shots of neat vodka. The following day, I felt fine - and managed to get to my interview in plenty of time, smart and collected. Only to discover that I'd prepared by looking at completely the wrong site. I came home early that evening and promptly slept for twelve hours.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I'm spending some of the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/30/2001 02:10:24 PM ----- BODY:

I'm spending some of the afternoon adding rooms to Cal's "Choose your own adventure" game. Rather than introduce you to the game from the beginning, where it's experienced a fair amount of 'game-rot', I'm going to introduce it to you from the point at which I started adding rooms - lost in the foliage, you have decided to scour the ground for a tunnel. Finding two, you have chosen the one with the humming noise and the faint green light.... Now choose your own adventure.... [REQUEST - please try and keep the plot in character and mood - it would be interesting to see how this might emerge...]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Would you shag this man? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/30/2001 02:34:29 PM ----- BODY:

Would you shag this man? If so, then why not contact him via his website.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: So what has the vast STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/30/2001 02:40:50 PM ----- BODY:

So what has the vast increase in budget meant for the cast of Buffy? ''More whores,'' says Nicholas Brendon, who plays Xander. ''Many, many, many more whores.'' . I can't believe I don't live in a country where Buffy's new series starts on Oct 2.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Two pieces of news for STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/30/2001 02:44:10 PM ----- BODY:

Two pieces of news for independent content producers - firstly that MiniMono TrueType Fonts are now for sale for $8 and secondly that we are only a week away from the launch of Movable Type. Both of these things interest me.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: 100 screen shots of news STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/30/2001 03:02:36 PM ----- BODY:

100 screen shots of news sites the day of the WTC disaster is both interesting historically and for design purposes. It's quite easy to see which ones direct you well to the story immediately. [link] It would be interesting if someone had done the same thing for weblogs.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Whatever mad things may come STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/30/2001 10:44:56 PM ----- BODY:

Whatever mad things may come out of her mouth (if you ask me too much 'relaxation', 'fun' and 'time' are very dangerous things), it's great to have Meg back, and wonderful to be able to see how good a time she had. Welcome home, love.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Whatever happened to MoMorgan.com? The STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/30/2001 11:28:40 PM ----- BODY:

Whatever happened to MoMorgan.com? The retrospective show at the ICA starts today...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Could LinkLust be the European STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/01/2001 11:46:04 PM ----- BODY:

Could LinkLust be the European answer to Metafilter? Only time will tell...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Weird stats from Metafilter. I STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/01/2001 11:55:12 PM ----- BODY:

Weird stats from Metafilter. I joined the site in July of 2000 - over a year ago - and knew about it for a good four or five months before then. I first posted about the site in March 2000 - a full eighteen months ago. If I remember correctly, I was whining about SXSW - which I really wanted to go to and couldn't - and which I don't think I'll be able to make this year either. I love Metafilter - I just wish there was some way to tell in advance whether I was going to be interested in a thread...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I'm not sure that the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/03/2001 09:11:28 AM ----- BODY:

I'm not sure that the design for The Hermit's Tower is supposed to look like it does on a Mac - but it's an enjoyable read, so I'll forgive it quite a lot.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: What's going on? Have I STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/03/2001 03:37:07 PM ----- BODY:

What's going on? Have I missed something? When did everyone start taking all this stuff so seriously?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Two of the cutest and STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/03/2001 04:40:25 PM ----- BODY:

Two of the cutest and coolest things you'll ever see in your life, courtesy of Denise Wilton: Rabbit and Monkey. There are more but they're too good for you and you'd blow up if you had them all together. Be patient. I'll make her put them all online. Link lust on!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: So the project that I'm STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/03/2001 05:45:05 PM ----- BODY:

So the project that I'm doing editorial work for is beginning to look quite exciting. It's very much in a beta-phase - final design and functionality is still being resolved, and I'm still scouting around to find the best tone for the place. But there's still something here that all of you can play with.

The site is called thecelebnetwork.com - and it's essentially a community site - its heart and soul is the messageboard. The site is there for people to post to when they see celebrities, to talk about the latest trashy celebrity news, and to find out all kinds of useless information that they'll be able to show-off with down the pub with there friends. Examples: Over the last few weeks I have found out that Madonna's just recoved from a hernia, that Sharon Stone's brain blew up and that even Calista Flockhart is fed up of Ally McBeal being such a whiny old bird.

So now I'm directing other people to come and play on the message board - come and discuss the latest absurd celebrity news, find out where Sade gets her Jamaican foodstuffs - seek out celebrities on push bikes. And give us all the feedback that you can manage (do it on the board if you want - we'd all love to hear it), so that by the time we launch it properly, it will be the best it can be. And in the meantime I'll leave you with a little piece of my most recent news:

Scientologists look forward to a future of ponies, children and global thermonuclear war While stars like Tom Cruise, John Travolta, Kelly Preston and Jenna Elfman preside over the opening of a San Franciscan Scientology center for children, their 'church' elders are busy building a vast underground bunker just in case of nuclear war. Should a blast incinerate much of America and bring about a global winter lasting decades, those few that remain will have the company of the Pulp Fiction star, his wife, that guy that was in Mission Impossible and some bint off TV. Our future is clearly safe in their hands. Jenna Elfman is reported to have said, "We are not one to be caught off guard." [discuss this item]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Of course we all love STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/04/2001 11:46:01 AM ----- BODY:

Of course we all love Cal. He's all clever and ... technical. And his work is in the Guardian today - the astonishing Web Trumps has been mentioned once more. And I'm delighted to say that I appear on one of the cards. What a guy...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Review time: In which Tom STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/04/2001 11:48:26 AM ----- BODY:

Review time: In which Tom reviews The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. My favourite part of this review is my taster for it: "Lo-fi, terrifying, remorseless horror with its tongue firmly not in cheek, but instead cut off with a power tool. Watch at your peril."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I'm going to a press STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/04/2001 05:06:12 PM ----- BODY:

I'm going to a press preview of The Others with Davo. I will, of course, let you know what it's like.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Movable Type launches on Monday, STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/05/2001 06:39:29 PM ----- BODY:

Movable Type launches on Monday, and I'll be one of the first inline to download it and try out an installation of it. I'm really quite excited about this - partially because I'm interested in any system that allows me to import files from Blogger. It's not that I would choose to leave them, but that the ability to do so protects nearly two years of writing from possible destruction. I would have a copy that I could back up in a way that would be accessible to other CMS's. I'm also interested in it because I'm interested in Content Management Systems full-stop. Seems to me that the world needs a low-cost / free / multi-functional CMS and Movable Type could be it. [MT interviewed at WriteTheWeb]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Will the Weblogger User Group STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/06/2001 11:24:54 AM ----- BODY:

Will the Weblogger User Group have the same triumphs, friendship-creation and back-biting components of UK weblogging? I can only hope so.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Diary of a movie-goer: As STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/06/2001 11:31:21 AM ----- BODY:

Diary of a movie-goer: As Davo has reported, he and I went to see The Others on Thursday night, and I have to say that I was singularly impressed. The evening was a bit of a farce really. The director was supposed to present the movie, was half an hour late, walked in said something to the effect of "Hello, this is my film" in a kind of Balky-style accent and walked out. This extremely bouncy PR lady kept smiling at us and saying happy things in an Ab Fab kind of way and then the film began.

And essentially it was stunning. It wasn't particularly revolutionary - there's no plot element in there that hasn't been done before - it's a straight down-the-line haunted house story with a couple of quirks that keep it interesting - but it's so well done. The thing is, there are only so many plots connected with haunted house stories, and only so many possible twists - and we've seen them all before. But the way the plot brings them up as possibilities, shuts them down, distracts you completely, leads you in one direction and then pushes you in another - and in such a completely plausible and terrifying fashion - well it's completely worth watching. Four and half stars from our London correspondent...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Diary of a movie-goer: (2) STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/06/2001 11:35:14 AM ----- BODY:

Diary of a movie-goer: (2) Last night was Amelie night - and what a film. It's strange, quirky, brilliantly put together, surprisingly quiet (the main characters don't seem to talk much at all), occasionally manipulative, often ludicrous, and at heart - a well-intentioned beautiful and upsetting little film. You must see it immediately. Accidental blogmeet territory too - as co-worker Cal, friend Davo and I met up with occasional freelance employer Danny M-K for swift beer and movie.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Via The LinkMachine: "I mean, STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/06/2001 11:40:57 AM ----- BODY:

Via The LinkMachine: "I mean, perform fellatio once and you're a poet, twice and you're a homosexual. I remember once I was being fisted by Sebastian Cabot- but here's where the story gets interesting. He was lactose-intolerant. I once sat on a bus and tried to will myself a menstrual cycle. All I ended up with was a sense of failure and a mild neuralgia in my incisor teeth and perhaps a grudging respect for the weaker sex. I love toe cleavage. For the most part I distrust dogs. I slept in a horse once. It was quite roomy. On second thought, it was the Ritz." [Who knows...]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Be there when the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/06/2001 01:20:14 PM ----- BODY:

Be there when the board opens to the world - Monday morning at 10am (UK time). In the meantime, if you go to the News section, you can see a highly embarrassing photo of your host (me). The buzz starts here... SPREAD THE WORD

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: My position on Would Atheism STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/07/2001 12:22:23 PM ----- BODY:

My position on Would Atheism be a better solution to the problems of the world? [at Linklust]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Ok, I'm only going to STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/08/2001 11:15:15 AM ----- BODY:

Ok, I'm only going to ask you once: TCN is open for business again, and I'd love it if people would come and keep me company on the boards. Just - you know - to see how cool it is....

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Davo will pay for the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/08/2001 02:08:00 PM ----- BODY:

Davo will pay for the short-lived front page to his site. Oh yes. Still. It's a good message, which you should obey. Actually, come to think of it, short-lived is a pretty good description of Davo himself. Nyah hahahaha.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The horror of Britney's transparent STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/08/2001 03:10:25 PM ----- BODY:

The horror of Britney's transparent top - found via TCN.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Can someone please explain hairdressers STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/08/2001 03:25:03 PM ----- BODY:

Can someone please explain hairdressers to me. I mean, I don't really understand why anyone would do the job. But if you are going to do the job, why is it so difficult to listen to what your client is asking for? I mean, if you went in and said "Hello, I'm trying to grow my hair a little longer, but it's got a bit unruly in recent weeks, could you thin it out and cut it a bit but leave some length..." would you really expect your hair to be cut to within one quarter of an inch at the front? Me either. Sigh. Looking forward to another three month hair-growing experience. Followed by a shouting match with another evil hairdresser no doubt.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Thanks to Duncan Brattel STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/09/2001 08:38:37 AM ----- BODY:

Thanks to Duncan Brattel

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: It's kind of hard to STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/09/2001 11:55:46 AM ----- BODY:

It's kind of hard to post at the moment to Plasticbag.org - I mean - I am spending all day writing short bits of content, sometimes including links, for a site which is updated constantly throughout the day and which I hope will promote some form of discussion. In a sense I'm weblogging all day - just not on plasticbag.org. I don't want to keep pushing and promoting TCN - even though that's what I'm working on - but in lieu of proper content, here are a few of my recent news stories from the 'other' site:

Clooney's Pet Pig Prang
George Clooney - movie star and heart-throb - is known for his devotion to his pet pig "Max". This is, bizarrely, not a euphemism. But who does he value more - his friendship to Tommy Hinkley, or Max's life? This was put to the test recently when Hinkley accidentally ran over the poor porcine pet... Hinkley says, "Max is a black pig and it was dark. It seems kind of funny now but at the time it certainly wasn't. We thought he might lose his leg, but it looks like it will be okay." [Discuss this item]

Anthony Hopkins "I'm no tart"
What's a celebrated actor (known for his masterful rendition of salivating serial killers) to do when a female fan gropes his ass and whispers saucy suggestions in his ear? And in Starbucks of all places? Well, if you were Sir Anthony Hopkins, you'd spin round, remove the offending hand and proclaim, "Excuse me, miss, but I'm no tart!" [Discuss this item]

Billie Piper Survives Virgin Cull
It's not what you think... Despite Virgin Records purging itself of unprofitable 'talent', Chris Evans' wife and barely post-pubescent pop-star Billie Piper has survived... The record company denied initial reports that the singer, who hasn't released a single for a year, was to be dropped from the label. [Discuss this item]

More turgid waffle, and unmentionable scandal-mongering 24/7 at The Celeb Network...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Who is The Grapevine? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/10/2001 10:02:07 AM ----- BODY:

Who is The Grapevine?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Help archive the web's response STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/10/2001 12:20:45 PM ----- BODY:

Help archive the web's response to the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. In some ways this was a media event in which television proved its current primacy, but in other ways, the net provided personal stories, insight and reporting / commentary that has never been seen before. All the details are here.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: As I descend into my STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/10/2001 01:03:24 PM ----- BODY:

As I descend into my second adolescence, I find myself strangely delighted by The Celebrity Fart Archive...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Been playing with Movable Type. STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/11/2001 12:37:28 AM ----- BODY:

Been playing with Movable Type. I'm very impressed. Seriously. Expect to see some changes around here sometime soon...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Pointless telephone number factoids... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/11/2001 08:40:51 AM ----- BODY:

Pointless fact of the day: telephone numbers assigned for use in television and film drama.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Collecting Parody / Combo MP3s... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/11/2001 01:14:46 PM ----- BODY:

Ok, so we all remember Eminenya (warning - big mp3 file from Megnut.com) - but I'm looking for about ten really good parody / combo mp3 files out there. Don't send me the files, but send me links to them if they are on the net. Mail me your suggestions.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Amazon's new book information pages... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/11/2001 01:31:40 PM ----- BODY:

Amazon have redesigned their book information pages - so that they now include actual excerpts from the book themselves - scanned in for you to read and flick through. Not such a relelation, you might think - except that it allows them to have twenty-three page excerpts from Watchmen (found via Haddock) and V for Vendetta. Astonishing. Beautiful. If this doesn't persuade you to buy them I don't know what will.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I have a Movable Type error... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/11/2001 02:44:19 PM ----- BODY:

Anyone have a solution for my Movable Type Error?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Pingzilla in Paris... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/11/2001 05:44:12 PM ----- BODY:

Because I can't resist a challenge, I present Pingzilla in Paris:

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: A return to mud-brown design... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/12/2001 03:42:51 PM ----- BODY:

Phew. A return to the mud-brown background of yesteryear after a month of stolen background. It was kind of supposed to be a joke, but I kept forgetting to turn it back.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I might as well be The Grapevine... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/12/2001 06:18:49 PM ----- BODY:

Ok. I give up. If everyone insists that I am the TheGrapevine, then I might as well admit to it.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Being a collection of nameless stuff... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/13/2001 11:16:41 AM ----- BODY:

Recent Questions asked about Movable Type:

1) Is a search facility worthwhile?, Like in Greymatter?
2) Being able to delete multiple posts (and scroll through entries by page) would be really nice...
3) A limit to Blogger exports?

Footprints:

1) Does Derek take himself too seriously?

Quote of the Day:

Julie Burchill: "The Evening Argus is probably the only read in the world WORSE than Time Out..."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The Barbelith Server Fund... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/13/2001 11:35:13 AM ----- BODY:

Yet again, Barbelith is creaking under the strain of bandwidth that I can't afford to maintain. This month looks likely to be running at the 600Mb a day mark. And, remaining sporadically employed as I do, I can't afford the $100 - $125 a month that this costs. So I've finally snapped...

VOLUNTARY SUBSCRIPTIONS VIA PAYPAL: If you would like to help pay for the cost of maintaining barbelith (and the barbelith underground), then you can do so by donating $2.50 a month via Paypal. You can cancel your subscription at any time with no notice, via Paypal itself. It's PURELY voluntary - it won't affect your ability to use the site if you don't subscribe, but barbelith really does need support if it is to continue running at this level.

If I can get fifty subscribers, we can pay the bandwidth bills and also move to Pair.com's "High Volume" account, which would give us room to nearly double in size if necessary. And if we can get one hundred subscribers, we can actually get a Barbelith Server Of Our Own. This would mean no more time-outs, substantially fewer massive server errors ever ten minutes, and a considerably smaller chance of the whole damn site going tits-up every six months. As soon as we get enough people to get a server, we won't accept any more donations. This is literally JUST to cover bandwidth and maintenance costs.

You can: Donate $2.50 (around �1.75) a month
Or: Donate $5 (around �3) a month.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: More Time Out Stuff... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/14/2001 01:23:24 PM ----- BODY:

Today I am mostly writing the gay section for Time Out's London Guide.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: AIM Bloggerbot... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/15/2001 12:20:08 AM ----- BODY:

Now this could be seriously cool - an AIM BloggerBot.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Writing the Gay Section of the Time Out London Guide... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/15/2001 12:22:46 AM ----- BODY:

Yesterday and last night I was mostly writing the gay section for Time Out's London Guide. And I was also mostly not getting enough done. Despite Davo's help. I'm a bad man.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Kylie trumps Jackson... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/15/2001 08:37:14 AM ----- BODY:

In bleeding edge news, Kylie Minogue keeps Michael Jackson from the No #1 spot in the UK. I never thought I'd be saying that. Nor did I think I'd be saying that when she'd been number one for three weeks already. Nor did I think I'd say that the Kylie single is an unbelievably good little pop song that I literally can't bloody stop humming...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The Barbelith Server Fund Needs You... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/15/2001 08:42:18 AM ----- BODY:

Reminder The BARBELITH SERVER FUND needs you. [Full Story] If you would like to help pay for the cost of maintaining Barbelith and the Barbelith Underground then you can do so here:

You can: Donate $2.50 (around �1.75) a month
Or: Donate $5 (around �3) a month.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Our heroine, who rots in earth... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/15/2001 02:43:24 PM ----- BODY:

Ok, by now there aren't that many regular readers of plasticbag.org who don't know that I've got a bit of a fetish for Buffy the Vampire Slayer. And of course, being English I have to deal with the horror that a lot of other people around the world are going to see what happens to her before I am. I don't consciously true to avoid having it spoiled for me, but I am aware that it only gets me more and more frustrated.

So can someone tell me, is it true? I've just read an article about Buffy that has come through on the newsfeed I use for The Celeb Network - and it's claiming that people have been shocked by the state of her at the beginning of the series. Here's a quote: "But American fans were left distraught when the episode aired in the States recently, thanks to shots of their heroine rotting in the earth. One fan says, 'The shot of her decomposed body was pretty sick.'"

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Chicks are for fags? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/15/2001 02:57:28 PM ----- BODY:

There is possibly no one in the world who could understand my complete lust for this item. I think it's genius. I want one.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On Humming... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/15/2001 03:16:12 PM ----- BODY:

Friends have heard me humming this particular little ditty for days now. Find out why...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: A Sleepless Night's Dreaming... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/15/2001 06:04:23 PM ----- BODY:

t's not always hard to analyse one's dreams. So for some reason in my dream last night I didn't have anywhere to live, so I moved everything I owned out of my flat and into the middle of a park. In the park I arranged everything exactly as it had been in my room in my flat. And I lived there successfully for a few weeks. But one day I came home and half of my stuff was gone - and a man was carrying my belongings towards a van parked in a nearby street. And I ran to him and begged him not to take my stuff, and scrabbled for the bare necessities that I would need to get along with. I kept trying to persuade him that he couldn't take it all away...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Electronic Miracles... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/15/2001 08:36:22 PM ----- BODY:

Quick link: A stunningly realised site with some startling bits of imaginative genius within: Electronic Miracles.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Barbelith regular in Anthrax Alert! STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/16/2001 12:31:08 PM ----- BODY:

If you are scared about the circulation of Anthrax in the US, then go and visit this thread on Barbelith. One of our regulars works in the offices where the scare started and has been filling us all in as he hears stuff.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The Emptiest Place in Britain... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/17/2001 11:27:56 AM ----- BODY:

I grew up in a village in Norfolk which contained eighty people and fifty houses. We had no pub, we had no shop. We had a boat-hire place, a church and a phone box. The odd pylon. And for several years I really thought it was the most boring place in the world. And then I saw this.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On Unspeakable Fucking Gall... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/17/2001 11:51:56 AM ----- BODY:

Now this is funny:

"if I see one more would-be guru tagging along on a rickety late-period goldrush line up unsupportable declarations (lookit me) to pique the five or six remaining executives (lookit me, sir!) to be convinced however temporarily that the web offers exciting ways to separate people from their money, and who have the UNSPEAKABLE FUCKING GALL to infantilize the work of individuals into an avoirdupois commodity called �content� ..."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Jennifer Aniston is Wonder Woman! STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/17/2001 12:26:37 PM ----- BODY:

One of the things I did at work yesterday:

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Anyone involved in website creation STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/17/2001 01:49:43 PM ----- BODY:

Anyone involved in website creation and the structuring of information and informational spaces should probably go and read Matt Jones piece on Rulespace.

I was on the tube this morning from Maida Vale to Farringdon, on my way to work. I normally change at Baker Street, so when I arrived at 9.15am I disembarked and started walking across to the Metropolitan line. Very quickly I became aware that something was wrong - there were raised voices from staff on a couple of platforms around me, and people were starting to move. A message came over the tannoy, "Due to a reported emergency, would all customers please leave the station immediately." A couple of months ago, I'd just think it was a hoax bomb threat or something from the IRA, but suddenly you start thinking if it's related to current events. And of course it probably is. Everyone left, no one got excited - it takes a lot to panic Londoners who are used to being pushed around by the vagaries of the metropolis - and pretty much everyone seemed to assume it was some kind of anthrax-related incident. And pretty much everyone thought it was probably a hoax. But if you step back a couple of feet from the edge of the neurotic precipice that Londoners live on all the time, you have to ask yourself - how on earth did we find ourselves here? And why are we all so comfortable with it?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I love Gina Snowdoll. STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/18/2001 10:23:42 AM ----- BODY:

I love Gina Snowdoll.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Damn you, Simon, I don't STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/18/2001 11:19:12 AM ----- BODY:

Damn you, Simon, I don't have time to play worm games all day. You wait til I get my hands on you, young man...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On workaholics, sexaholics, alcholics and etymology... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Language CATEGORY: Language DATE: 10/18/2001 04:00:48 PM ----- BODY:

I have a bone to pick with you. You've all had a drink in your lives, I assume. You've all gone out and bought some alcohol? Some of you may have got rather too keen on alcohol. You might even have become addicted. you might have become an alcoholic.

The term alcoholic is a slightly strange one. It sounds like a religion or philosophical position. Like Marxism. But more logically it sounds like a medical condition. Like necrotic (it means 'dead-like') or neurotic (someone with a neurosis). It's clearly an adjective derived from a noun - in this case "Alcohol". Alcohol, according to various dictionaries, comes from a word meaning any distillation or essence - and eventually only to what was previously called "alcohol of wine". So alchohol goes to alchoholic, right? It's simple! Alcohol is a substance, and the person who is obsessed with that substance or dependant upon it in some way is an alcoholic...

Now answer me this. When in your life have you ever drunk sexahol? Or workahol? Or chocahol? I'm not saying that a couple of drinks of sexahol wouldn't go amiss at the moment. Nor, for that matter would a draught or two of chocahol. But they're not substances. They don't exist! So how can there be someone who is a workaholic? Or a sexaholic? Surely a more plausible description would be a workic or sexic or chocolatic? Well of course, the derivation of each of those words is different - they come from different languages and have evolved in different ways - so you can't generalise quite in that way. But what is clear is that workaholism is just wrong. Plain wrong. Offensively wrong.

According to this model, alcohol becomes to be based around the idea of addiction. That the 'alc' part refers to drink, and the 'ahol' the addictive quality. But where is this phrase when you look at truly addictive products? Where's the nicotinaholic? Where's the crackaholic? Where's the heroinaholic? It's absurd. They're just ridiculous words. They mean nothing.

Addenda: This rant was yet another one to emerge from a cursory viewing of Ally McBeal, the most annoying television series of all time.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Ing EMAIL: ingrid.reisner@verizon.net IP: 68.163.63.199 URL: DATE: 02/11/2004 08:02:38 PM Any "ism" is real. Addiction is real. There does exist a biological component to repeated use or abuse of a substance or behavior. That said, and myself being a "recovering alcholic," I also must say that I subjectively deny the AA premise that a person must surrender their will to free themselves from the drink. If I were to surrender my will, then I would be drunk...um, get it? It is my will that keeps me in check. I still want to drink. I like it. Who choses whether I do or I don't? Not some higher power! I do. Enough said. xo Ing ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Saving Harry from fizzy sugar water... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/18/2001 05:38:37 PM ----- BODY:

Despite my vast daily consumption of Coca-Cola, I have to say that I'm weirdly drawn to the Save Harry campaign to keep Mr Potter off cans of fizzy sugar water...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: In the midst of calamity... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/18/2001 10:51:25 PM ----- BODY:

Five links illustrating that even in the midst of calamity, the net remains full of variety, news and weirdness - in almost equal measure: The Smoking Gun has images of the envelopes that contained anthrax. Apple is to announce a breakthrough digital device - no one knows what it is, but it's not a Mac. Derek's going to be battling Heather - boyfriend versus girlfriend in photoshop tennis tomorrow. A Russian newspaper claims that all the evidence for Taliban involvement in terrorist attacks on the US is a farce. And a student teacher has swallowed her own toothbrush. You couldn't make this stuff up.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On pseudo-Apple designs... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/19/2001 11:56:37 AM ----- BODY:

Lots of weird pseudo-Apple product designs, entertaining to look at... here.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Will the iPod be impressive? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/20/2001 11:28:57 AM ----- BODY:

Wired is reporting that the new device from Apple is a portable music device called the iPod. This doesn't sound that impressive - but we shall have to wait and see.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: This has got to be STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/20/2001 11:43:57 AM ----- BODY:

This has got to be my fetish of the moment - ever more pseudo-Apple product designs - some weird, some awful, some truly beautiful. The mistake that is made a lot - particularly in the renditions of the potential new design possibilities of a flat-screen iMac - is that the iMac has to be a friendly looking computer - a computer that has removed all the 'computery' bits that worry people. Some of the projected designs look like flash-backs to 1990, or earlier. Or they look like sleek designer products for people with very urban, stark sensibilities. Where's the 'cute' appeal that the iMac has?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Beta Challenge: Colour in this STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/20/2001 01:08:30 PM ----- BODY:

Beta Challenge: Colour in this lizard... My entry:

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Speaking of which - if STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/20/2001 01:23:28 PM ----- BODY:

Speaking of which - if you get bored of your current job - why don't you apply to be an Astronaut?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: What makes great web design? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/21/2001 08:03:08 PM ----- BODY:

What makes great web design?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Sunday night - trying to STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/21/2001 09:14:22 PM ----- BODY:

Sunday night - trying to polish off the gay section of the London guide for the new Time Out London book. I'm currently thrilled with myself for the final three words in the following sentence: "A stylish and affordable brasserie serving trendy but substantial food to a mainly gay clientele, Balans remains the premier restaurant for queens and company." I don't know precisely why, but I think it's because of the resonance of 'Queen and Country'. Hmmm. I need to get out more.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Last night I dreamt that STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/22/2001 08:34:07 AM ----- BODY:

Last night I dreamt that I was at some kind of large function and that people were milling all around me, and that everyone was hectic and busy and professional. There was a large banqueting hall and a vast area with rows of narrow tables serving food and drink. The place felt like a hotel - it had those desperate carpets and florid decoration that no individual would choose, but hotels seem to crave. I felt strangely disconnected from everyone - like they were talking from far away, and like they weren't quite real. And I wandered through the crowds really quietly. And I went to a counter to get some food, and a man behind the counter - dressed in a white shirt, waistcoat and bow-tie, with his hands locked behind his back - looked at me and paused, and I looked at him and kind of breathed in. And we stood silently, looking at each other for a few moments, and it seemed like some kind of feedback loop had been established - like something wonderful had gone seriously wrong with the mechanisms that keep the world turning. I felt completely unconcerned with myself - as if all my anxieties and neuroses had fallen off. And a few moments later I turned and walked away from him.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I'm feeling kinda lonely over STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/22/2001 01:20:29 PM ----- BODY:

I'm feeling kinda lonely over at the TCN boards today. Come and join me - let's talk about trashy celebrity stuff.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Because it's genius: The Wheels STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/22/2001 03:25:14 PM ----- BODY:

Because it's genius: The Wheels of Madonna...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Micro-snippet two: T-shirt of choice. STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/22/2001 03:28:52 PM ----- BODY:

Micro-snippet two: T-shirt of choice.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: And in a blinding flash, STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/22/2001 10:42:03 PM ----- BODY:

And in a blinding flash, I'm suddenly convinced I know who The Grapevine is.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: A fairly accurate portrait of STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/23/2001 10:04:18 AM ----- BODY:

A fairly accurate portrait of my personality.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The pop question of the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/23/2001 03:43:05 PM ----- BODY:

The pop question of the day is Which Spice Girl would you most like to smack in the face? Think about it carefully before you go - it's a difficult question. They are all so very objectionable in all their special different kinds of ways...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The new Apple device is STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/23/2001 05:23:09 PM ----- BODY:

The new Apple device is announced today in the US, and I'm surprised by how interested I am. Perhaps foolishly I thought I was past getting excited by press releases. If you're a journalist for any period of time you get used to them and find them at best tedious and at worst laughable. That doesn't mean you don't use them of course - there aren't enough journalists to do all the editorial work that journalists are supposed to do.

Part of me wishes that they'd release something like this - the world's first actual 'gaydar' product, designed to make it easier to spot and meet people of dodgy sexualities. Apple could do it so much more skillfully than most - and they could combine it with online profiles so you could get information about people you met in real life afterwards - if they wanted you to... All this stuff could be ideal for people like me who are basically too dim to tell if someone fancies them, and very keen to suggest dodgy congress with people who are resolutely - tediously - straight.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Since The Grapevine seems to STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/23/2001 05:29:55 PM ----- BODY:

Since The Grapevine seems to have suddenly appeared on Blogger's "Blog's of Note" page, and since I seem to be the featured lampoon victim of the day, I suppose I'd better comment. Yes, it's all true. I am a glittering queen. Yes, I am married. Yes she is called Suk Mei Wang and yes, we live in Chester. However the picture is a fake. I look more like Harrison Ford.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: What a strange few days STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/23/2001 05:49:22 PM ----- BODY:

What a strange few days I've had. I've seen Jeepers Creepers, I've gone drinking in a bar next to the Ritz for a friend's birthday, I've looked quizzically at the beautifully cut suits of young and attractive young men, I've gone bowling at the Trocadero until the tubes shut (and I came second), I've gone for Dim Sum with Michael, Davo and Simon - and I've eaten chicken feet in the process (we said "Chicken, please", she said "Chicken feet!?", we said, "Er, okay, I guess"), I've written work for Time Out, I've produced an e-mail newsletter for IAB Internet Advertising Bureau, I've written Britney Spears frightens pigs for TCN - and with any luck tonight, I can just relax.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: So it may not be STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/23/2001 09:10:47 PM ----- BODY:

So it may not be revolutionary, but it is stunningly beautiful and I want one. Revealing The iPod (and buying the iPod). Should I ever get paid for any work ever again, this may be second on my list of things to buy after the digital camera I crave...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The world is a factory. STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/25/2001 02:00:28 AM ----- BODY:

The world is a factory. The world is a death camp. The world is a machine. The world has been a machine for a long time now. The world will remain a machine for a long time to come. But what is our position within the machine � how do you live in a mechanical universe?

The most intelligent of us fall into the same traps as everyone else. In fact the most intelligent fall into them more readily, because it was this very intelligence that made the world a machine in the first place � or more fairly allowed us to recognise it as such. For the most intelligent were the ones who noticed the patterns and the movements behind our lives � the shapes and mechanisms, the cogs and springs. And they found cogs and springs in everything � from clocks to mice, sand and stars.

Intelligence can confuse function for point � and in a world where we cease to notice point, then what's there to confuse? Function is everything � the function of the machine, the function of the machines within machines, the function of the machines that comprise the machines within the machines. Efficiency is important. Robustness is important. The system becomes everything and the component replaceable.

I spoke to a man tonight about what was wrong with the world. And he thought that what was wrong with the world was that people were attempting to make everyone the same - that we denied obvious differences in ability and usefulness between people in the name of "equality". The same man believed that there were people who wanted rights without responsibilities, that people complained because they wanted to be treated as more equal � more similar � than they actually were, and that the most functional were forced to compromise their abilities and aspirations to support the less functional. And he felt strongly that these were the things that were wrong with the world.

These things are not what's wrong with the world. These things are what would be wrong with the world if the world was a machine. A perpetual motion machine with no function or goal save its own extension. A machine with people inside it whose only function was to act as cogs or wheels � moving smoothly against one another, at peak efficiency.

It makes no sense in a machine world to deny differences in ability and usefulness between its components. If one piece functions better than another for a function, then the old piece should be disposed of. The new piece should be installed. It makes no sense in a machine world to waste care and concern on ill-fitting components when you could replace them with something that fits perfectly and works immediately. It makes no sense in a machine world to limit the functionality of perfect components so that imperfect components don't wear out or break � certainly not if you can replace them.

But what's the point of this machine? What's it doing? What's it making? Who is it for?

Our world works as if it were a machine. People work individually, or collectively to make and produce things for other people. Companies employ people individually or collectively to make and produce things for other people. Companies are owned, individually or collectively by people who wish to make and produce things for other people.

But the heart of this process can't be the endless replication of the machine mindlessly, cancerously expanding to fill the universe around it � the machine has to be revealed to be a mechanism built for the people who live within it. And those people have to be free to diverge from the prescribed motions as set by the machine. Otherwise we are nothing but automata. Robots. Hopeless. Already dead.

The machine is there for all of us � and so it is has to work reasonably well. The better it works the more all of us benefit. And yet the machine can be made to work even better than it does by discarding those people who don't fit into the most efficient mechanisms of its functioning. A balance must be struck. But it must be struck with people in the centre, not the machine.

A world in which we have prescribed and proscribed roles given to us by the machine, with each name connoting a range of functions and tasks (with some given power and some without) - MAN, WOMAN, ENGLISH, FOREIGN, STRAIGHT, GAY. This is a world in which everyone's the same - a constricted world without choice or change. And it's a world that denies people even the most basic ability to even be human � because with our paths justified by science, we become machines ourselves � comprised of cogs and springs that say, "this is a man � he fucks and hunts", "this is a woman, she crafts and gives birth". And anything or anyone outside this system is an anomaly to be removed.

A world in which decisions can be made about individual's lives as if they were car parts - this is a dehumanising world of robots and slaves. A world in which people can't campaign for rights, or prove their ability to do tasks traditionally done by other 'classes' of people � this is a world which limits freedom in the name of the functioning of the machine. It's a world where nothing matters but bottom-lines � where money and products are more important than everything else. It's a world as a conveyor belt, an assembly line, a death camp of people oiling the cogs because they have to and dropping dead when they're not needed any more and when they've produced another generation to keep the machine going.

A world in which women and men can do the same jobs or not, where people with large amounts of money help support those without, where people can all vote, marry, sleep with one another, walk down streets without fear of being attacked or discriminated against for who or what they are � this is a much more complicated world, a much more varied world � a world with greater capacity for wonder and change - and the world that I want to live in.

This fairly long piece was written at 2am in the morning � contains none of the horror of my earlier thoughts on the subject and is almost certainly ill-conceived in places.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: New Testament Apocamon is here. STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/25/2001 05:01:49 PM ----- BODY:

New Testament Apocamon is here. And the many eyed Lamb will get you. Be warned. Via Haddock.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: So I'm kind of obsessed STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/26/2001 12:58:47 PM ----- BODY:

So I'm kind of obsessed at the moment by the TV show Action which is played just after midnight on Thursday evenings on Channel 4. Now I've no doubt that my American weblogging colleagues will find such a fascination ridiculous, but the show is tremendous - invigoratingly subversively mean. For the few of you who don't know about this iconic series, it follows the travails of Peter Dragon (Jay Mohr) and his ill-fated attempts to make epic movie "Beverley Hills Gun Club". So far he's been outed by a major celebrity who came out as gay after giving him a blow-job, thrown a baby across the room because it barfed on him, hired a prostitute and a pimp as major development executives and said the classic line, "I'm telling you, I was standing next to Jamie Lee Curtis at the urinal!" Sick, twisted genius...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Very important! It may be STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/26/2001 02:11:50 PM ----- BODY:

Very important! It may be a 700k download, but Electric Dreams performed by MC Hawking, guest-starring Davros is possibly one of the sweetest and funniest pieces of flash animation you will ever see....

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Occasionally Cal and I get STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/26/2001 03:42:43 PM ----- BODY:

Occasionally Cal and I get bored at work and we come up with a stupid idea and then he builds it cos he's better at that stuff. Introducing How Old Do I Look?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Question: What is now the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/28/2001 03:43:43 PM ----- BODY:

Question: What is now the point of the new Weblogs.com?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I'm very keen to people STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/29/2001 12:46:25 AM ----- BODY:

I'm very keen to people who run Greymatter or Movable Type on accounts running at pair.com. If anyone does these things then please e-mail me.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Almost my second birthday... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/29/2001 12:53:30 AM ----- BODY:

On Wednesday I will have been blogging for two years. That's not a thing that a lot of people can say. My first entry wasn't particularly gripping, but if you want to read it you can do so here. In the meantime - what has been your particular favourite post or time in tom-land? There's a search box at the bottom of every page so you can roam around the place more easily. And don't forget to let me know your conclusions...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: What would you do if STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/29/2001 03:23:33 PM ----- BODY:

What would you do if you owned the URL filmsoho.com?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Could whoever it was who STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/30/2001 11:29:55 AM ----- BODY:

Could whoever it was who was godlike enough to buy me the Hedwig soundtrack from my wishlist please stand forward and make themselves known, so I can jump up and down next the them and make excited squeaks. Thank you.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The Otter... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/30/2001 11:36:28 AM ----- BODY:

Sometimes I just don't know. You struggle, you fight, you make choices, you find lovers, you leave lovers, you regret it or you don't, you battle for money - respect - success, then one day you wake up and - pardon my language - you're a fucking Otter.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Kind of entertaining: A reporter STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/30/2001 12:30:22 PM ----- BODY:

Kind of entertaining: A reporter shows the iPod to Bill Gates: "He spun the wheel, checked out the menus on the display screen and seemed to get it immediately. "It looks like a great product," he said. And then he added, incredulous, "It�s only for Macintosh?"." [full story]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Microdiary: Friday - slightly tense STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/30/2001 03:41:30 PM ----- BODY:

Microdiary: Friday - slightly tense about buying my mother the right birthday present, I begin to wonder whether I'll have time to get anything other than the clip-on book light that I picked up in Borders. Arriving at the train with twenty minutes to spare, I buy a trashy magazine, board the train where they try to pass off a piece of industrial effluent as a 'thai prawn sandwich'. Arrive Norwich 8.20pm to be met by brother and father. Brother is now absurdly tall. Family dog greets me with tail wagging manically. Neither brother nor father have the slightest idea what to do about mother's birthday. Salt Beef for dinner, get a bit over-excited. Stay up watching MTV2 until early the following morning. Fall asleep with bad book.

Saturday - Stealing some of my mother's breakfast cereal sets me up for a day of adventure. Brother and I wander into Norwich playing Tom Petty very loudly in my mother's Golf. We wander through a thousand shops trying to find something nice for her. "Vase?" I say. "Mm" says my brother. "Is that a yes" I ask. "Dunno" says brother. Habitat is a dead loss. They have small sticks of Yucca like substance that you can buy and put in vases and water and they last 70 years. Which is likely to be longer than I'll live, let alone my mother. We ask a passing woman if she thinks they're nice. She kind of laughs and walks off. We take that as a yes, but then decide that mother would kill the Yucca plant things because she is the Angel of Death for all plant-life. We lie on a bed with a fake sheepskin thing on top of it for a while and complain about having to walk so much. I suggest "Glasses". My brother says "Mm".

We go see a movie - Legally Blonde. I tell brother that the film reminds me of my friend Pippa. He laughs. I fail to see what's so funny. He doesn't seem to enjoy the film too much, but doesn't say so exactly. I embarrass myself in front of him by not having any access to cash, while he has stored up vast amounts of money in the bank by being very very very responsible. I am the family flake.

We get mother chocolate covered coffee beans and book tokens to go with the light. Later that evening she opens them with a kind of controlled hysteria that I'm convinced is completely faked. I explain that the point was that she could eat the beans, be unable to sleep, and then read a book in the dark with the clip-on light. My brother thinks this is cool. He and I are impressed by our choice of gift.

We go to a restaurant in Horning that's been made out of the front room of a semi-detached house that escaped from the seventies. We're seated next to a cupboard and a bank of light-switches. My mother says again that I was an experiment in child-rearing and that they seem to have got it right with my brother. I increasingly find this very very funny. The food is amazingly good and served by a muppet with fazzled hair. I duck out for a cigarette and make my brother come with me. My mother looks horrified until I reassure her that he's coming out to smoke his crack pipe and that I don't have enough cigarettes to give him one.

Sunday - Upset by the prospect of going back to living hell of London I whine a bit to anyone who'll listen, then get on train and come back to London. Late night screening of "The Man Who Wasn't There" including exciting travel to and from with the masterful Danny M-K's off-road urban driving.

Other things happened, but my hands now hurt from typing and I think I need a cigarette.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Press preview. Harry Potter. Woo. STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/30/2001 03:49:02 PM ----- BODY:

Guess who may have four tickets to a press preview of Harry Potter...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Since when did Wired News STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/31/2001 08:37:27 AM ----- BODY:

Since when did Wired News become part of the Lycos network? That bar across the top is - at best - offensive.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Happy second birthday to me, STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/31/2001 08:46:45 AM ----- BODY:

Happy second birthday to me, Happy second birthday to me, Happy birthday plasticbag.org (neé Barbelith), Happy second birthday to us...... And many more......

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: While we're at it, I STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/31/2001 08:49:24 AM ----- BODY:

While we're at it, I should probably say happy birthday to Katy whose meat was twenty years old yesterday, and to my weblog twin - born mere hours before myself...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Wil likes him now - STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/31/2001 08:51:24 AM ----- BODY:

Wil likes him now - so buy them while you still can! T-shirts, shirts and cups emblazoned with the legend: "Hello, my name is WILLIAM FUCKING SHATNER".

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Last night was Big Gay STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/31/2001 11:58:52 AM ----- BODY:

Last night was Big Gay Pub Pop Quiz Halloween Special night at the Retro Bar. 13 1/2 out of 20 due in large part to my epic knowledge of crap music and passing familiarity with goth and David Bowie. We did not win. Sigh.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I've got paid. Oh my STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/31/2001 04:06:33 PM ----- BODY:

I've got paid. Oh my god. Oh. My. God. I haven't seen any income for over a month - nothing. I've been living past my overdraft facility - paying fees left, right and centre. I don't actually have a lot of cash, because of troubling things like rent and bills - but I'm getting closer to equilibrium. Should I buy myself a present to celebrate? Money. Actual money. Money cash. Cash Money. Bizarre. I fear 'gay romantic comedy' The Broken Hearts Club may have to be mine. Wooo.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: More accounts of the Big STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/31/2001 04:24:18 PM ----- BODY:

More accounts of the Big Gay Pop-Quiz: Davo, Scally, Ian.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Just in case you didn't STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/31/2001 06:25:44 PM ----- BODY:

Just in case you didn't know. It's my weblogging second birthday today. I said it earlier in the day, but you might have missed that. First Barbelith and then plasticbag.org. Woo.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I've got a sweet tooth STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/01/2001 12:34:13 AM ----- BODY:

I've got a sweet tooth
For liquorice drops and jelly roll
Hey Sugar Daddy
Hansel needs some sugar in his bowl

I'll lay out fine china on the linen
And polish up the chrome
If you've got some sugar for me
Sugar Daddy bring it on...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Several Haddock regulars, Cal and STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/02/2001 11:17:28 AM ----- BODY:

Several Haddock regulars, Cal and I spent much of yesterday evening talking to students about community sites, the public sphere, weblogs, issues of trust and representation. Some of the key sites we discussed over the evening included:

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I'm only linking to this STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/02/2001 11:41:02 AM ----- BODY:

I'm only linking to this because I don't have time to read it properly at the moment and don't want to lose it. Forgive me, loyal readers.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Today I found myself bound STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/02/2001 04:54:25 PM ----- BODY:

Today I found myself bound by Godwin's Law in a thread at Metafilter. Nearly eight years on the net and I'd never heard of it before.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Digging through the archives of STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/02/2001 05:55:31 PM ----- BODY:

Digging through the archives of Haddock, it's amazing what you find... For example... Ex Sapient Creative Directors first web site...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Because other crackers are counter-intuitive: STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/02/2001 06:03:35 PM ----- BODY:

Because other crackers are counter-intuitive:

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: If anyone can find Weezer's STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/03/2001 02:30:56 PM ----- BODY:

If anyone can find Weezer's "Blue Album" on Amazon.co.uk then could you let me know. I've been trying all morning and it doesn't seem to be there...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: If this doesn't put a STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/03/2001 02:34:14 PM ----- BODY:

If this doesn't put a chill right through you, then you're barely human. A month and a half on, you can read the reactions of people as they heard about the World Trade Center as it happened.

I'm in a bit of a strange mood suddenly. I've been in such a difficult place over the last year that I've often not noticed what's been going on around me - I've been strangely distant from many of my oldest friends. I guess I kind of assumed that they'd understand that I wasn't able to connect with everyone as much as I'd like - that I had huge and terrifying things on my mind all the time. But now I'm beginning to think that they didn't have that kind of patience and that I've been gradually fading in their heads. I always assumed that whatever else had happened, they would be waiting for me to emerge from the other side - not that I would necessarily be particularly missed, but that my absence would be understood as a temporary thing. But now I'm missing them. And I don't think they even notice that I'm not there any more.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: It's been a pretty bloody STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/03/2001 07:42:00 PM ----- BODY:

It's been a pretty bloody bizarre evening. Just been slightly destabilised by an appearance of Mr Big on television. He looks much ... shorter ... and less sure of himself than he does in person. It's harder to dislike him on television.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: A song to be obsessed STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/03/2001 10:00:27 PM ----- BODY:

A song to be obsessed about: Here's to Patti, And Tina, And Yoko, Aretha, And Nona, And Nico, And me... And all the strange rock and rollers, You know you're doing all right, So hold on to each other, You gotta hold on tonight...And you're shining, Like the brightest stars, A transmission, On the midnight radio... And you're spinning, Your new 45's, All the misfits and the losers, Yeah, you know you're rock and rollers, Spinning to your rock and roll. Lift up your hands.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: You know - if I STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/04/2001 02:22:16 PM ----- BODY:

You know - if I was foolish enough to do a redesign, everyone would immediately hate it. Like they did the last two times I did one. So I'm not. I'm really not. I swear I'm not attempting a second-birthday redesign party. Honest.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: There's a TV show called STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/04/2001 02:46:02 PM ----- BODY:

There's a TV show called "Roswell". On occasion it doesn't completely suck ass. On other occasions it sucks ass so heavily that whoever's ass it is would be literally turned inside out by the strength of the suckage. Which would leave a highly unattractive creature in its wake. I once wrote nice things about Roswell. But I couldn't find a good word to say about the latest episode if you coated the male leads in body oil and threw them at me.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: After a conversation with Meg STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/04/2001 09:15:39 PM ----- BODY:

After a conversation with Meg about Norfolk, I present where I grew up...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Like many men, I've been STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/05/2001 04:15:42 PM ----- BODY:

Like many men, I've been spanking the monkey since a relatively early age. But oh - what genius could have found a way to spank the monkey on the internet. With an actual mouse pointer? And assessing your speed in the process. Truly a work of monkey-spanking genius.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On searching for 'father'... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/06/2001 12:14:24 PM ----- BODY:

Someone's been searching for 'father' on plasticbag.org using the Atomz powered search box (down the bottom of the page). Now normally this wouldn't be an issue, but of course since I haven't seen or heard of my father since I was about four or five - and since he has almost the same name as me - and more to the point since if you search for Tom Coates on Google you end up this as the first search result, I can't help being slightly weirded out. I don't really know what you do in these circumstances. What if it was my father, Thomas John Coates wandering around the web. What if he's been reading this site for months and is too embarrassed to come forward. It's all very strange...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Bit of a heavy post STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/06/2001 12:34:24 PM ----- BODY:

Bit of a heavy post that one, so let's compensate with something completely infantile - how tiny ancient people made a Stonehenge out of tampons...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Ok, so I did the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/06/2001 06:28:25 PM ----- BODY:

Ok, so I did the bloody blogaholic quiz, and while I was still offended by the word blogaholic (what - pray tell - is this substance "Blogahol") I quite enjoyed it. More to the point, it said nice things about me. Apparently I score 60/100 - which makes me: "A dedicated weblogger. You post frequently because you enjoy weblogging a lot, yet you still manage to have a social life. You're the best kind of weblogger. Way to go!"

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: An absolutely stunning piece of STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/06/2001 06:36:14 PM ----- BODY:

An absolutely stunning piece of Flash work.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Why won't Apple buy me a fucking iBook? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/06/2001 06:57:39 PM ----- BODY:

Oh Jason... Oh Jason, no! I can't believe you'd sell your integrity for an iBook! More importantly, I already agreed to sell mine for an Apple lap-top over a year ago! And did I get any offers? No!

It's so unfair - I may not have the reputation, and admittedly my integrity is pretty much shot right through already. But I'll beg! I'll have myself tattooed! I'll be Steve Job's personal bitch. I don't care! I tell you, if someone sponsors Jason, I'll be around his house every twenty minutes demanding a turn. At least 1/45th of that computer will be mine by rights, I tell you.

Let's review: I don't get as much traffic as kottke.org, I'm mostly read by dodgy homosexuals, diseased ex-aesthetes and the socially challenged and I only very occasionally appear in the press (and normally for the wrong reasons). But since when has reward been commensurate with talent! Many untalented people get really cool shit. Why can't I!? The campaign starts here - reward pointless people for no reason. Talent is an oppressive capitalist notion that we must eradicate from the planet.

If you are a representative of Apple and wish to get in touch with me to say how little I deserve the iBook, but how you're going to give me one anyway, because I'm really such a sweet and cheeky chappy, then my e-mail address is tom%40plasticbag.org.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: It's all change at the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/07/2001 09:07:28 AM ----- BODY:

It's all change at the BBC in terms of look and feel and structure and IA and stuff. Everywhere's affected - BBC films for one has been significantly improved...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Does the BBC search engine STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/07/2001 11:13:10 AM ----- BODY:

Does the BBC search engine take up too much screen real estate with User Interface stuff? Compare and contrast... Searching for 'pop' on Radio One: bbc(i)'s live version, tom coates' mocked-up alternative... Searching for 'buffy' on Cult: bbc(i)'s live version, tom coates' mocked-up alternative...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Ageless is an interesting site STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/07/2001 01:03:13 PM ----- BODY:

Ageless is an interesting site that I will be sure to enter as soon as I have completed my complete absence of redesign.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Pointless fun with Amazon buttons STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/07/2001 02:51:40 PM ----- BODY:

Pointless fun with Amazon buttons (all these generated dynamically):

Play for yourself. Follow this link and then fiddle around with the URL. [Phil Rules]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: A brief definition of satisfaction? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/08/2001 01:01:16 AM ----- BODY:

A brief definition of satisfaction? Being the forgetting to buy a lottery ticket and not minding afterwards - as if your future happiness did not (for one moment) seem to rest on a desperate denial of probability...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: A worthy cause made read STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/08/2001 01:02:50 AM ----- BODY:

A worthy cause made read by noble men: the new stopesso.com.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: With a few notable differences STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/09/2001 12:55:13 AM ----- BODY:

With a few notable differences (boobs, jumping not being pushed, chicks), this pretty much sums up much of the last six months of my life.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: There's an article on Salon STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/09/2001 12:11:37 PM ----- BODY:

There's an article on Salon at the moment called No facts please, we're British, which alleges that while Americans are flocking to the British press for news and information they're not getting in mainstream US media, much of the reason it's not reported in the US is that the news presented simply isn't true. Or at least this is what I believe the article is arguing. It's very difficult to tell of course, because it's a Salon Premium article - and I'd have to pay to read past the accusations and into any of the substance of the matter.

There's something profoundly wrong with this approach - and ironically so under the circumstances. Salon is presenting these ideas of the totally innaccurate British media as if they were fact, and yet you have to actually cough up some dough to see if their substantiation is even vaguely plausible. So what we are left with is a presentation that will be assimilated by large numbers of people as true, when they don't even have access to even the facts that the site has deemed supportive. We have a double level of filtering here.

Not only are we (as usual) left to believe that the arguments presented by the media are based on actual, rather than made-up, evidence, and that the interpretation they are giving them is plausible - we're actually presented the interpretation without any evidence. You might argue that one can always pay for the information - but this is missing the point - how many people might simply now accept that the British media lies - people who migt have had a rather different intepretation if they'd been able to read the whole article.

Whatever the article actually says, there are things that an American should be aware of when reading the British media - and this may redress some of the concerns raised in the article (or it may not - remember, I haven't been able to read it). The English press operates as much more of a spectrum than its US counterparts. There is an almost continuous spectrum between tabloid press that can be no better than The National Enquirer and high quality broadsheet publications (some with a countryside/right bias, some with a metropolitan/left bias). I can't talk about everyone's tastes in newspapers - or newspaper sites - but I can clarify who I am most likely to believe. You may - or may not - find this useful...

The Tabloids: Tabloid papers are generally considered to be 'fun', 'low-brow', 'populist' or 'trash' depending on who you ask. But there are substantial variations between them. The Sun is traditionally a right-wing paper - keen on Margaret Thatcher, down on immigration and 'loony-left' politics. Having said this, it has been supportive of New Labour at various points over the last few years. The news often takes the form of sensationalist headlines and calls to action, and varies between news and entertainment gossip and trivia. The Mirror is a much more left-wing publication and considerably less trashy than the Sun at times -particularly at the moment. But it is still essentially an easy, unthreatening read with a tendency to sensationalise.

The two worst papers in the country, from my perspective, are The Daily Mail and The Express. Unlike the tabloids, these papers have a pretense of seriousness that makes their right-wing tendencies alarming at best. They tend to speak a lot of 'common sense' - which in my experience is mostly a euphemism for 'traditional family values', itself a euphemism for reactionary politics and right-wing "string-em-up" sensationalism - albeit disguised as news.

The broadsheets tend to have the most faith in their readership of all the press - which is one good reason to read them. Of all their failings, they don't generally tend to try to make up the minds of their readership immediately or overtly. There is one notable exception here, in my opinion, but I'm not going to dwell on it as it's the most popular broadsheet in the country. The main papers to look out for here are The Guardian and The Telegraph and The Independent. These can loosely be categorised as: Guardian: metropolian/centre-left, Telegraph: rural/centre-right/right and Independent: centre-politics, cross-metropolitan/rural.

In many ways all three of these can be trusted with information - although for opinion they all have their particular axes to grinds. Most notably, the Telegraph - which is the best-selling broadsheet in the country, has primarily an aging rural readership, which explains why it tends further to the right of all the other quality papers. If this annoys you (and it does me), then either of the other two are trustworthy and reliable sources for information. My personal favourite (mainly because of it's stunning web presence) is The Guardian - which has the added advantage of being the only paper in the country that has full editorial independence from the people who pay the bills - the paper is financed by a trust rather than by large media giants.

There are other papers that you might consider reading in the country - I can't cover everything - but in my experience, the most trustworthy news comes from papers that avoid sensationalism whenever they can, and attempt to present the news in a way that allows interpretation from the reader rather than making that interpretation for them. The best way to gauge how well you're going to get on with a paper is to view the types of headlines it puts on it's front pages - and to compare them with other headlines from other papers on the same day. If one paper is concentrating on a completely different story to the rest, it may have privileged information - or it may have a particular axe to grind on that issue. The Telegraph is good for this - it often has headlines that bear no relation to the rest of the press on that day, because as a paper that is so-pro "Conservative" politically, it tends to take any opportunity to criticise the government - sometimes disproportionately.

And if none of these take your fancy - you can pretty much always rely on the BBC to present the news as dispassionately and honestly as possible.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Forgive me if I'm a STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/10/2001 11:45:44 AM ----- BODY:

Forgive me if I'm a little bit cynical, but don't these Colorgenics results look like a way of getting people to ring the hotline (which isn't open yet). I'm not saying they're not accurate - I just wonder if they're being phrased in a necessarily negative way. I've rerun the test about four times to see if any of them are positive - and you know what, none of them are.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: As a counterpoint to yesterday's STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/10/2001 12:05:09 PM ----- BODY:

As a counterpoint to yesterday's piece about the "No facts please - we're British" article, there's an article at the New York Times called British Take a Blunter Approach to War News which includes lines like this: "The range of issues and less defensive tone are wildly different from what American viewers get on network or cable news programs, which share a myopic view and a tone that says, 'They'd love us if only they understood us.'"

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Lose your mind in twenty STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/10/2001 12:33:01 PM ----- BODY:

Lose your mind in twenty seconds - while searching for a new domain name for a PWP (pointless web project), I stumbled upon WorldOfWhimsy.com - and my mind melted when the voice-over started.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The day the counter-culture died... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/10/2001 07:20:43 PM ----- BODY:

It's kind of ironic that in a time where civil liberties are under more threat than ever before - with Carnivore being forced in on ISPs, and laws being pushed through that give unprecedented access into people's personal lives - that the king of the counter-culture, Ken Kesey should have died. He will be much missed.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Harry Potter, Harry Potter, Harry Potter... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/11/2001 05:20:31 PM ----- BODY:

Guess who's going to see Harry Potter in three hours time...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Harry Potter: a brief review... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Film CATEGORY: Film DATE: 11/12/2001 12:46:58 AM ----- BODY:

As Cartman said so eloquently, "Yes I've seen the Terrence and Philip movie - who wants to touch me? I said who wants to fucking touch me?!" The good news first - there is very little bad news at all. It's an honourable, faithful and entertaining translation that only falls down in a few areas, and not enough for it to spoil what is essentially one of the best children's films I've ever seen. Make no mistake - this is a film for kids, but nonetheless it's a slice of tremendously good fun that I'd defy anyone not to enjoy a bit.

You couldn't get a much more faithful adaptation than this. Almost every scene from the book appears to be in the film - which may explain its 2 1/2 hour running time. Whether or not you can effectively fit every sub-plot of the book into two and a half hours must remain a resounding 'maybe' - because some scenes (particularly the earliest ones) seem to have been trimmed to within an inch of their lives. But nonetheless they are almost all there - which means there is time to explore Diagon Alley, go to the zoo with the Dursleys, travel on the Hogwart's Express, see the Great Hall's roof sparkling like the night sky, go into the Dark Forest, visit Hagrid's cabin and take part in a Quidditch match. And there's also time to give even the less important characters a bit of a personality - from the man at the wand shop, to Neville Longbottom.

The adults are all actors of a distinguished British calibre - and as such seldom disappoint. Particularly impressive are Hagrid and Professor Snapes - Alan Rickman re-establishing himself in my eyes as the most astonishingly cool creature in creation. The children are more wooden - but perhaps you'd expect that - they are (ater all) really quite young. Ron is a comic genius - the boy's timing is astonishing - but Hermione's played at a slightly more hysterical level than one might like, and Daniel Radcliffe's Harry can border on the plank-like. But by the end of the film you've bought into the whole thing so heavily that you barely notice, let alone care.

The films one failing might be it's special effects. Harry's new world is such a spectacle of the impossible that barely a scene goes by without some kind of CGI work having to be put together. And sometimes the strain (and cost) of maintaining such a level of wonder shows. An early scene in which an animal turns into a human has clearly been done on the cheap, and the Quidditch match alternates between extraordinarily expensive and not entirely convincing CGI players and old-fashioned (fairly obvious) misdirection. Look out for a clunker of a crash, where the broomstick-flyer falls a good few feet completely behind a fabric curtain. And one might quibble about the unnaturally even ground in the Dark Forest, or the Centaur that escaped from Shrek.

Again, there's so much to like about the film that you can forgive it it's minor failings - and I personally could quite cheerfully have watched yet another twenty minutes or so without getting bored. Close your eyes and jump in - you're unlikely to be disappointed.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: A plane has crashed in Queens... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/12/2001 03:07:34 PM ----- BODY:

The news is everywhere, but just in case you hadn't heard - a plane has crashed in Queens in New York - there is more information here, there's a thread at Metafilter here and Barbelith are keeping everyone up to date here.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: 1.6 Gb of temporary Photoshop files... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/13/2001 08:42:46 PM ----- BODY:

I just stumbled upon 1.6 Gigabytes of Photoshop temp files on my Mac. Why does no one tell you these things? You can just pick em up and throw em in the Trash. It's that easy. It's put off me buying a new hard disc for a little longer, I can tell you...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Chicks really are for fags! STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/13/2001 09:05:07 PM ----- BODY:

Thanks for Ashley Frazier for this particularly fine piece of kit.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On Max's Birthday... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/13/2001 09:25:42 PM ----- BODY:

I'm fairly sure it's Max's birthday around here sometime. Still - he's ponced off abroad for a year and a half, and he probably wouldn't like my t-shirt anyway. So, you know, whatever.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Melancholy at 1am... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/14/2001 01:26:19 AM ----- BODY:

Packing your bags like people in the movies do, All severe, and not saying a word, And I'm sitting down here just watching you, And I'm thinking: Where is all the love gone? Where's the love gone to? Don't leave, You got me hurting, Don't leave You know it's never been easy to love someone like me, Oh, don't leave.

Hanging with friends like we used to do, I didn't know anything was wrong, And last night while I was thinking it through, Trying to find who am I and what do you need me to do? Don't leave. There's a record you used to play, there's Joni singing 'best to be without you', And I know just what she's singing for, Where did all the love go? Where's the love gone to? Don't leave. You got me hurting, Don't leave. You know it's never been easy to love someone like me, Oh, don't leave.

Where did all the love go? Where's the love gone to? Don't leave. We'll fly around the world, give you what you're giving me, I should have dressed you up in pearl, Finest silk to touch your skin, Don't know how to write a love song, But Don't leave. You got me hurting, Don't leave. You know it's never been easy to love someone like me, Don't leave.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Late night, maudlin street.... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/14/2001 04:28:47 PM ----- BODY:

Hmmm. Late night, maudlin street. Morning comes and everything looks sparkly and fine again. Or at least it would if Kate - my flatmate and personal morning alarm call - had bothered to get up this morning. Accidentally waking up at 9.15am isn't ideal when you're supposed to be at work at 9.30. So I'm unshaven and smelly and with bed hair of such potency that it would make other bed hair feel inadequate and emasculated.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On The Wayback Machine... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/14/2001 04:59:36 PM ----- BODY:

Literally the best thing on the web at the moment is The Wayback Machine - it's the best thing on the web because it is the web - frozen at various points through time. Some archaic bits of Tomfoolery and quasi-entertaining snippets of "Across the Web Universe Retro Madness" follow:

Tomfoolery (1): There's not a lot of my first work left in the archive, but odd snippets surface here and there. For a while before I bought the barbelith.com domain, I had some early personal stuff located on my ISP. The first piece of personal consolidation I did can be seen here, at a site which was called at the time (modestly enough) "Polymath". There's no more left of another early site of mine - fin de siecle - than you can see currently here - which is a shame, because the older files were lost when I sold my old computer.

When I bought barbelith - I played with a variety of designs for the front page for a while. I was too busy building The Bomb to spend too much time on the process... There's not a lot left of this early period on the archive, but you can see fragments of it here.

Wonderfully, the design that everyone liked most for the site over the last few years is preserved almost perfectly - here it is in all it's purple, orange, red and grey wonder. Odd fragments are missing still. Many people maintain that I've never topped this design. Which is slightly depressing.

At a certain point, Barbelith the weblog and Barbelith the community had to part company. And at that point, I bought the domain you're looking at today. The first major design attempt for the new weblog had taken me weeks to put together, and I was extremely proud of it. I was, it seems, the only one. You can see the full gleaming sparkle of that version of the weblog here.

Barbelith in the meantime, changed dramatically into a webzine - much like this and doesn't look that much different today.

Plasticbag.org has changed a couple of times more since the blue version went up - over a year ago now, but these were fairly prosaic or failed attempts to do something interesting, and didn' t last long. The current design for the site was rolled out in its first version sometime around February or March of this year - it's first incarnation can be seen here. There remains other work of mine around the net - from Slutcore to the logos at a certain ER medical dictionary and a gradually decaying Noah Wyle fan site ( the less said about which the better). But the things I miss most are my very first site at Bristol University - which I can't find anywhere - and the adapted Russ Meyer poster I used as the template for my first piece of personal online publishing. And perhaps Bristol University's LGBsoc page - which (if I may say so myself) has never looked as good - before or since.

Across the Web Universe: Fragments of the web that I remember well from years gone by... kottke.org when it looked incredible, One of the very earliest glassdog.com designs (before Lance became the god he is today), Evhead when I first read it and when it looked its finest and the many faces of Derek Powazek.

What's your Wayback online web history?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: A reminder about branding... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/15/2001 11:13:54 AM ----- BODY:

Quick reminder. The name of this site is plasticbag.org. It is not Plastic Bag, or Plasticbag (unless it's the first word of a sentence). Branding is very important nowadays. Think of us like plasticbag industries or the plasticbag project and you won't be far off...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On Smart Tags... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Net Culture CATEGORY: Net Culture DATE: 11/15/2001 06:50:25 PM ----- BODY:

Because of this thread on Barbelith, I've suddenly become extremely politicised on the whole "Smart Tags" debate. There's more information over at Glassdog and you'll notice that I've added a button to the right hand side of the page to stir up trouble with.

For any of you that are unclear about Smart Tags - basically the new Windows XP operating system and IE6 include this feature so that Microsoft and it's friends can insert links into every webpage that you visit if you use their browser. Every instance of 'bookstore' will link through to some grubby little money-making e-commerce site which is prepared to give Microsoft a sizeable amount of cash. This is a completely invasive practice. To start off with - does a link represent a tacit endorsement? At the moment, certainly. I control who I link to on plasticbag.org and the day that you can't tell my recommendations from those of the corporate overmind is the day that I shut the site down. But it's also not good for consumers or users or visitors - because their choice of destination is immediately limited by a huge skewing of the playing field. In fact the only beneficiary from such an action with be Microsoft itself - and frankly they have more than enough money already. Fight this one, people.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: A view from Skynet... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/16/2001 11:35:12 PM ----- BODY:

One of the most beautiful things I've seen in months - the view from Skynet. And there are many other satellites you can view, showing every angle of the Earth at fourmilab.ch.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On blades in the eye or butt... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/17/2001 11:02:05 PM ----- BODY:

What's it called when you have a stabbing pain behind your eye - like someone has slid a sharp silver cold thick blade into your socket and like it's clunked right into the bone, and there's a kind of squishy, prickly feeling - but you're slightly scared to put your hand up to see if everything's ok? And what's the name of the equivalent sensation, only - you know - up your butt?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On "Donnie Darko"... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/17/2001 11:02:58 PM ----- BODY:

I went to see Donnie Darko today at the London Film Festival. Kate and I weren't expecting much. But I was blown away.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On "Under the Milky Way"... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/17/2001 11:08:36 PM ----- BODY:

If anyone knows where I can get my hands on an MP3 of The Church's "Under The Milky Way", then could they make themselves known. I need to know whether or not it is the right track before I fork out any hard-earned credit for it...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On "Mad World" by Tears for Fears... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/18/2001 10:04:42 PM ----- BODY:

After much searching and digging, it turns out that I wasn't looking for the song by The Church after all. Instead, I think I'm looking for a track called "Mad World" by Tears for Fears (of all people). Anyone have a copy of that lying around? Mail me. [lyrics]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On other people's birthdays... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/18/2001 10:24:08 PM ----- BODY:

You know I'm completely sure that it's Max's birthday around here somewhere. Can't get it out of my head that it was around here sometime. He's probably about twenty-two now. Hmmm. Never mind. Corny's birthday in a week, Kate's in two weeks. My brother's birthday was two weeks ago. My mother's birthday was four weeks ago. I'm sure there are other ones lurking around the place as well. Birthday hell is come upon us.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On perspective and circumstances... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/18/2001 10:27:56 PM ----- BODY:

You know, pretty much everything's picking up at the moment. I've slept properly, had some money, found everything extremely easy to deal with, and - apart from living in a pig-sty - basically I'm pretty content. A year ago, in pretty much the same situation, I would probably have been pretty miserable. It just goes to show how perspectives change with circumstances. All I can do now is hope that I'll have a job when my stint at TCN comes to an end.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On the Secret Holiday Gift-Giving Robot... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/19/2001 12:40:16 AM ----- BODY:

And lo, in the course of conversation, did J Ko say, "you could call it secret holiday gift-giving robot"...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Introducing Secret Santa... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/19/2001 06:04:42 PM ----- BODY:

And lo from the moistened orifice of ThinkBlank.com did spring fully-formed - Secret Santa!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On the TCN quiz... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/20/2001 10:45:51 AM ----- BODY:

In case you're wondering why I posted so little yesterday, the main reason was getting the TCN Quiz up and running. I spent ages making sure the questions were suitable ridiculous enough - so if you really want to know who's been brushing their teeth in restaurants recently because they're obsessed by their bad breath... Well, you know where to go...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On hats of the Old West... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/20/2001 04:25:44 PM ----- BODY:

Of course the best thing about the web is that it's a place where you can find out all kinds of cool information that you didn't know about before. Like - for example - information on the various hats of the Old West.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Who was the 'Tourist Guy'? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/21/2001 12:20:50 AM ----- BODY:

So who was the famous Tourist Guy after all?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On bad chemistry "humour"... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/21/2001 11:31:19 AM ----- BODY:

Can anyone explain this "joke" to me? NO-Acetol Warning - probably need to be good at chemistry...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I'm not just a freelancer... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/21/2001 02:45:07 PM ----- BODY:

I'm not just a freelancer... I'm a travelling gun-for-hire.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I'm sleeping too much... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/21/2001 02:56:02 PM ----- BODY:

I'm sleeping too much. Not vastly too much, but too much. I can't seem to wake up in the mornings! This morning I was woken up by my flatmate at 9am. Since I was supposed to get to work by 9.30am I had to skip all pleasantries of breakfast and shower, throw my clothes on and throw myself on to the nearest tube train. This isn't the first time that this has happened recently.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The God of Banal Content... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/21/2001 05:14:25 PM ----- BODY:

I am a god of banal content. I defend myself by pointing to the success of Secret Santa. My limited involvement in that must surely counteract the bad karma I'm getting from writing such crap recently.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On "Mad World" by Gary Jules... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/21/2001 05:19:50 PM ----- BODY:

So it turns out that the MP3 I've been searching for all this week isn't actually Tears for Fears' version of "Mad World" after all. Instead it's a version recorded specfically for the soundtrack to Donnie Darko - and is, by all accounts, impossible to buy. Therefore it's unlikely at best that anyone will have a copy. But if you can find it, then I heartily recommend it (and can I have one). It's a cover recorded by Gary Jules and Michael Andrews. Michael Andrews is the composer of the 'Donnie Darko' score [more information].

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: So yesterday I was walking STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/21/2001 05:25:47 PM ----- BODY:

So yesterday I was walking into work, and I spotted two overcoat-clad art-nutters wandering down Farringdon Lane. The taller one was weilding some kind of digicam, as if it were a comedy prop - like a flamingo or a banana skin. Occasionally he'd spin like he was on castors and take photographs of bits of graffiti. The other one looked moody, crouching under a huge furry deerstalker and reading a copy of "Metro". I had experienced an art moment with Gilbert and George. In the evening I bumped into someone from the very opposite end of the same culture - Mr Big sitting in bar a in Soho.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Create Online's review section includes STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/22/2001 10:29:02 AM ----- BODY:

Create Online's review section includes a block of stuff on my old place of employment, timeout.com. I present a few quotes with no comment: "Worst thing: The lack of a good, solid navigation that lives with you throughout the site", "Navigation: Could be improved. Once you click one section deep, you're left with navigation for your particular section, but not much about what was on the homepage. You have to figure out how to get back, which can be confusing." , "First Impressions: I've seen the magazine, and the online version looks different and a little unpolished".

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Because it's interesting, and occasionally STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/22/2001 10:35:37 AM ----- BODY:

Because it's interesting, and occasionally beautiful: BBC Television and Radio Idents (BBC2).

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: We don't have Thanksgiving in STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/22/2001 12:54:28 PM ----- BODY:

We don't have Thanksgiving in the UK. As Mark quipped to me yesterday, "not a lot to be thankful for". I said we didn't really have many Pilgrim / Native American collisions in England. Or at least I can only assume that if we did have some, then they somehow missed the papers. America, I believe, invented the turkey and the potato - both Thanksgiving staples. Apparently Ancient Americans determined that turkeys and potatoes would be tremendous technological advances, and rapidly prototyped them out of thirty-six songbirds squished together and a couple of warmed stones. Years later, ironically, the place best known for both turkeys and potatoes in the UK is Norfolk, where my family live. There are, however, still no Native Americans there.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Blackadder: "To you it's a STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/22/2001 12:58:15 PM ----- BODY:

Blackadder: "To you it's a potato, to me it's a potato. But to Sir Walter Bloody Raleigh it's country estates, fine carriages, and as many girls as his tongue can cope with. He's making a fortune out of the things; people are smoking them, building houses out of them... They'll be eating them next." [more, ever more]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Send me an MP3: I'm STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/22/2001 02:12:04 PM ----- BODY:

Send me an MP3: I'm feeling old and staid and kind of dull. Fancy sending me an MP3 so I can try out some new music? Limited time only - only for a short time, as I'm not always on a good connection. Please send your suggestions to tom.coates@btinternet.com. Only one per e-mail (and one per punter) please! [Thanks to Darren for the idea.]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Secret Santa makes Metafilter. STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/22/2001 04:54:32 PM ----- BODY:

Secret Santa makes Metafilter.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Those damn kittens with their STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/23/2001 11:01:13 AM ----- BODY:

Those damn kittens with their evil, evil minds and staring lunacy - creeping up on me in the night and blowing hot breath on the back of my neck, making me sweat and making my eyes dart around in their skull cage. I hate them all... Kill Kill Kill.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: And Secret Santa is now STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/23/2001 01:11:03 PM ----- BODY:

And Secret Santa is now #1 on Blogdex. Very exciting. Join up, you bastards!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: So today is "Buy Nothing STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/23/2001 03:13:40 PM ----- BODY:

So today is "Buy Nothing Day" - the third such event that I've been weblogging during. This year it has quite a stunning 'uncommercial' associated with it: Buy Nothing Day. I'm definitely pro-Buy Nothing Day - I've been a supporter of No Logo-style politics (to a large extent) for a substantial period of time now. Interestingly though it didn't stop me last year, when I reported that the purchasing of a DVD player on such a day simply increased the terrible thrill of purchasing - that addictive high was all the more satisfying because it was illicit.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I'm fascinated by the way STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/23/2001 04:14:55 PM ----- BODY:

I'm fascinated by the way that the Guardian Online's editorial team's weblog only writes about Apple products. Speaking of which, I've just seen my first iPod in the flesh, and while it wasn't quite what I was expecting, it may actually be better. It's smaller than I thought it would be, more fun, slightly weirder looking though. Lust is mine.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I've been ploughing through some STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/23/2001 11:26:05 PM ----- BODY:

I've been ploughing through some of Mark's old weblog stuff hidden away on The Wayback Machine. I miss gems like this:

"Top 10 Ways to Write Good
10. Avoid alliteration. Always.
9. Proofread carefully to see if you any words out.
8. Analogies in writing are like feathers on a snake.
7. Don't use commas, that aren't necessary.
6. And don't start a sentence with a conjunction.
5. Don't abbrev.
4. Its important to use apostrophe's right.
3. Who needs rhetorical questions?
2. One-word sentences? Eliminate.
1. Stamp out, abolish, eliminate and avoid unnecessary redundancy."

"William Shakespeare's middle name was Colin! Ok, that's a lie. But that's the point! What a great idea... Lie of the Day! Every day, a new lie!"

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: So Jason yet again tries STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/24/2001 02:15:39 PM ----- BODY:

So Jason yet again tries to show the rest of us up by producing a totally practical, well-fashioned and elegant new design for Romenesko's Obscure Store and Reading Room. It's not revolutionary, but it's beautifully simple. He's truly dispicable and he must be stopped.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Via Interconnected.org: Hofstadter's Law: "It STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/24/2001 02:52:25 PM ----- BODY:

Via Interconnected.org: Hofstadter's Law: "It always takes longer than you expect, even when you take into account Hofstadter's Law."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On BBC Search Results... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/24/2001 05:51:50 PM ----- BODY:

When the BBC rebranded themselves as BBCi, they also relaunched their search facility on bbc.co.uk. They made it look something like this:

At the time I wasn't very impressed by this arrangement and made myself fairly unpopular by mocking up a couple of cheap and easy alternatives:

That's all...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Glorious Day! STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/26/2001 11:32:47 AM ----- BODY:

Today's anthem:

Gonna make my move, gonna make it stay!
Gonna make it last, never mind the past,
Living for today!

Gonna take my chance, gonna rock and dance!
Gonna hit the ground with a brand new sound,
Looking for romance...

Hey, hey - you know what you want me to say
Right, right, fight, fight,
We can start a glorious day!

Glorious children on my mind, glorious wastings of my time,
Glorious plans we make up, forcing things in line...

Gonna rock it out!
Gonna scream and shout!

Gonna do it right!
Standing in the light!
Perchin' on the clouds!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Omigod. I'm Britney. STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/26/2001 01:39:10 PM ----- BODY:

Omigod. I'm Britney.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: An interesting article that told STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/26/2001 04:01:26 PM ----- BODY:

An interesting article that told me things I already knew only in a sexier way.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Saturday night in a nutshell: STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/26/2001 05:28:53 PM ----- BODY:

Saturday night in a nutshell: Funny days Saturdays. The last year's been kind of difficult, so it was a delight to rediscover that I'm able to go outside and have an angst-free evening with people I really like. I went into town to buy a birthday present for a friend - wandered around the shops and met up with Davo before wandering down to meet Dan at the Retro Bar for the Big Gay Blogmeet (2). Many poofs were in attendence - I won't go into too much detail about who could and couldn't come. Everyone seemed nice and fun and up for a good time. Dan was a particular delight - a lovely, charming gentleman full of interesting conversation. If you can only choose one gay weblogger for your Christmas hamper, I would thoroughly recommend him.

Since I left that meet at around nine, I found myself very late for my cross-town birthday party. And I have to be honest - I was kind of dreading it. I'm not always the most sociable of people, and over the last few months I've got very used to, and comfortable with, my own company. But the whole party was a delight. Two of my old flatmates were there - neither of whom I was expecting to see. Plus Kate from my current flat. The Kitsch Bitch herself made an appearance. And Josh and Leon - two old school-friends of my host - were also present.

At this point I should probably mention that I'm extraordinarily washed out and am writing badly. If you want glamour and sex, you should probably go read NotSoSoft.

Anyway - as evenings go this one would be hard to top - there were balloons to blow up and assemble, large amounts of wine and vodka, occasionally more potent substances, really nice company and a lot of opportunities to catch up with some of my nearest and dearest. Thank god for friends. Here's to you, Nick!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: You've no doubt seen the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/27/2001 03:29:57 PM ----- BODY:

You've no doubt seen the bloody irritating 'pop-under' ads for this webcam. According to an article at the BBC the adverts were so intrusive and annoying that they had to set up a page to deal with queries about them. The most interesting part of the page? If you click here you won't see those bloody adverts for another thirty days.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: You know what I need? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/27/2001 06:09:38 PM ----- BODY:

You know what I need? I need a logo. More to the point, I need two - two iconic logos - MTV adaptability and BBC2 style simplicity for both plasticbag.org and Barbelith. Send me some logos that you've made and I'll stick em on the site for all of our drunken pleasures...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Today's submitted logos come from STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/28/2001 08:56:18 AM ----- BODY:

Today's submitted logos come from Grant Cook.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Now of course all the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/28/2001 10:25:32 AM ----- BODY:

Now of course all the Americans with any sense whatsoever will have watched the Buffy musical episode. And no doubt they adored it. And no doubt they'll continue to be smug about it for the many months it may be before those of us abroad who exist without satellite or cable television get to see it. Bastards. But in the meantime, the rest of us can experience the glorious thrill and be tantalised by the trailer.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: A useful tool for designers STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/28/2001 10:56:09 AM ----- BODY:

A useful tool for designers looking for colour harmonies and contrasts: EasyRGB.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Feeling horny? This will get STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/28/2001 01:02:19 PM ----- BODY:

Feeling horny? This will get you off. Mmmm. iBook.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Working with Cal is a STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/28/2001 01:10:27 PM ----- BODY:

Working with Cal is a strange and occasionally unsettling experience. But it has its rewards. Like watching him suddenly get obsessed with pixel fonts on a Tuesday morning, and produce four or five of them by the end of work [Pixel Six, Cubic Five and Square Dance]. And knowing that he's got so excited about it that he has done at least two or three others - including italics. And knowing that he'll probably not use them for anything. At all. I miss that kind of random passion. The 'I must do this now' feeling. It's been a while since any project was anything other than a mental battle against the urge to stuff chocolate into my face and watch bad TV.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Question: If something is funny, STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/28/2001 05:28:28 PM ----- BODY:

Question: If something is funny, is it in fact more true than if something is merely true and boring?

I got an e-mail from an old friend who's just fallen off the cliff into his thirties and has decided to celebrate the occasion by getting new heating. You couldn't make it up, frankly. He send me some pictures from our epic camping trip around England (1990?), during which much mutual toleration of bad music tastes was undertaken. I think it was that trip that cemented my distaste of R.E.M. He sent me a couple of pictures. They're amusing (wish there were some of me from the same period). They are represented below...

Simon

Glyn

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Colouring in the Crab Bloke... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/29/2001 02:21:35 PM ----- BODY:

I have spent much of my lunch-time cutting out and colouring in a huge crab, to be worn around the head of rathergood nutter Joel Veitch. We had a whole pack of marker pens. It was great. The rest of the office looked at us liked we'd accidentally let our dog pee in their coffee.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I also discovered that I'd STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/29/2001 02:23:50 PM ----- BODY:

I also discovered that I'd got paid for something and immediately decided that along with my mother's traditional Christmas contribution I could now afford to buy myself an iPod. Ludicrous idea of course. Micro Anvika sold out yesterday. This moment may never come again...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Dan puts up a rogues STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/29/2001 05:24:38 PM ----- BODY:

Dan puts up a rogues gallery of his time in England. See if you can spot me.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: George Harrison has died. It's STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/30/2001 11:18:41 AM ----- BODY:

George Harrison has died. It's being talked about on Metafilter and TCN. I've just listened to Here Comes The Sun - by way of a tribute. Ironically, it was only three months ago that Salon debunked rumours that he was dying.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Interesting toy of the day STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/30/2001 12:59:11 PM ----- BODY:

Interesting toy of the day is Moodstats - a little application by the people behind k10k. You input several key characteristics of your day, every day along with a few notes and a diary entry. This information is sync'ed with a central database (if you register and pay 'em of course), allowing you to annotate your life. If it were linked with a web publishing application like Movable Type or Blogger it might become truly useful rather than just momentarily entertaining...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Must visit beautiful site of STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/30/2001 04:12:16 PM ----- BODY:

Must visit beautiful site of the day is nothing.ch.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Watch in awed wonder. The STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/30/2001 05:21:53 PM ----- BODY:

Watch in awed wonder. The crab that I coloured in yesterday has been wandering around London, scaring the tourists.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: If I were a Bond STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/02/2001 03:53:48 PM ----- BODY:

If I were a Bond Villian, I'd be ... Octopussy!? And if I were an evil criminal... I am Elizabeth Bathory.
Which Evil Criminal are You?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: So Tom Cruise manages to STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/02/2001 04:04:23 PM ----- BODY:

So Tom Cruise manages to get another claim that he is gay squashed through the courts [BBC News]. This time a judge has ruled that the star isn't gay. Quite how he checked isn't mentioned. The interesting thing about this story is that if Cruise did turn out to be gay after all of this he'd almost certainly have perjured himself time and time again. The question is though - why do so many people think he is a poof?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I was on the radio STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/02/2001 08:14:16 PM ----- BODY:

I was on the radio on Thursday night - LBC to be precise - explaining (and promoting) Secret Santa. At least I think I was - I wasn't able to get home in time to actually hear it, and their archived sessions don't seem to have been recently updated. I said beforehand that I would prefer not to do anything live, as I knew I'd get nervous and stumble over my words. And in fact I did that anyway, but never mind. Did anyone hear it?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: This weekend has been a STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/02/2001 08:21:31 PM ----- BODY:

This weekend has been a purging experience. I've mostly been ploughing through my belongings, throwing out things that are no longer relevant and organising everything else into carefully composed piles and sub-piles. I'm worried (of course) that these piles and sub-piles will recombine into a large pile at any moment. To avoid this, I'm leaving them in the middle of my bedroom floor as a kind of statement of "This is not finished - don't even think of getting on with your life until I've been properly put away". Three full bin-bags have so far left the room, full of holed socks, scraps of paper, ancient bills and scraps of paper.

Along with this process comes discovery. I've found a pad of over a hundred tiny post-its, each decorated with its own superhero face. Some of them have names and ridiculous super-abilities. Others brood anonymously. I've found amusing postcards showing the "Attack of the 50-ft Christ" and "The failings of New Labour". I've found CDs which must never have had boxes to put them in, and more books than there are shelves to contain them. I have found more than my fair share of unused passport photographs - showing my transformation from long-haired naif through scrawny palid and all the way through my subsequent en-lard-ening. I could place them in a line and name the enterprise "The history of pie consumption".

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Saturday afternoon was Monkey Magic STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/02/2001 08:22:34 PM ----- BODY:

Saturday afternoon was Monkey Magic with Corny and his family. There are times - horribly bizarre times - when I am become his wife.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: You're kidding me? This is STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/03/2001 08:57:13 AM ----- BODY:

You're kidding me? This is IT?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Is hyperlinking free? Can you STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/03/2001 10:50:59 AM ----- BODY:

Is hyperlinking free? Can you link to whomsoever you wish? According to KPMG, apparently not! Chris Raettig received this e-mail a couple of days ago, asking him to remove the link to their site as they didn't have a 'formal agreement' that he could do so. The very basis of the World Wide Web is challenged by such legal claims - being asked not to link to someone else's site compromises your ability to comment upon and reference online material. And if you can be legally challenged simply for linking to someone, then every link must be legally suspect - a 'fact' which could cripple the free flow of information as it would affect all sites - from news portals to search engines! So I'm asking you today, in the defence of online freedoms, to link to KPMG today. Say nothing libellous, but feel free to be snarky about them...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Fragments of a conversation about STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/03/2001 11:41:40 AM ----- BODY:

Fragments of a conversation about Grant Morrison and fictional universes.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Not for the squeamish: Bored STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/04/2001 10:00:10 AM ----- BODY:

Not for the squeamish: Bored of shagging actual men? Inflatable men no longer meeting your needs? From the people who brought you the female 'real dolls' now comes... the Male Realdoll... You have to wonder what kind of people would buy one of these. Warning: dodgy fake naked people designed for sex...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Created by the immortal Denise STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/04/2001 10:05:47 AM ----- BODY:

Created by the immortal Denise Wilton - graphic designer on Secret Santa - I hereby present B3ta's cut-out-and-keep finger crab. And when you've made your own crab model, you can send pictures of yourself playing with it to The Crab Challenge.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: You know what's slightly annoying? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/04/2001 10:37:12 AM ----- BODY:

You know what's slightly annoying? Having your inadequacies as a meme-spreader brought vigorously into perspective through comparison. Jason and I both link to the KPMG link e-mail. I do not know who does it first - it's certainly a close-run thing. Anyway - that's irrelevant. But almost everyone who subsequently linked to it cited Jason as their source. What's that about? I think it's because I write really boring crap every so often for months at a time. That's got to be the reason...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Just to clarify - I'm STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/04/2001 12:16:44 PM ----- BODY:

Just to clarify - I'm completely not grumpy about people referencing seeing links via Jason rather than me. He's a much more reliable source of industry-relevant and fun links than I am - plus he doesn't get all morbid about his career stalling twice a week. Very cool discussion of the KPMG controversy over at Metafilter.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: If you fancy a laugh, STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/04/2001 01:57:29 PM ----- BODY:

If you fancy a laugh, and are prepared to hear me mumble my way through a radio interview, then click here and skip about ten or twelve minutes in to hear me interviewed about Secret Santa and about my, Cal's and Denise's efforts to help Santa this Secret Holiday Gift-Giving Robot Day.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Can anyone explain to me STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/04/2001 02:00:47 PM ----- BODY:

Can anyone explain to me what this actually means, so I don't have to read it myself?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: A new TCN celebrity quiz STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/04/2001 05:15:51 PM ----- BODY:

A new TCN celebrity quiz for you all to play with last thing on a Tuesday afternoon...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: So I was talking to STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/05/2001 12:20:07 AM ----- BODY:

So I was talking to a friend who's involved in those weird industries that predict trends and developments and we start talking about the mid-future. Mid-future is, apparently, ten-to-twenty years from now. And we were talking about Bill Gates' claim that we always overestimate technological developments that will happen within ten years, and always underestimate those that will happen within twenty. Gates' theory being an interesting analogue of Chaos theory in a sense, in that the tiny developments that happen now may prove to be the most significant and transformative. And about half an hour into the conversation, said friend gets kind of mysterious and smug-looking and I don't know why. Apparently it's got something to do with something called Danza. But he wouldn't tell me any more...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Hmmm. Interesting - a little STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/05/2001 10:49:12 AM ----- BODY:

Hmmm. Interesting - a little research via Google and a tip-off by a rather dubious hotmail address has sent me over to boingboing.net, where there is discussion about something called Danza/WHAT. A little more research leads me to see that the images that seem to be attached to the discussion are being hosted (weirdly) at Craphound.com. There's only a couple of pieces of actually pertinent information that I seemed to be able to drag out of the hyperbolae of the piece - firstly that it's relatively cheap and secondly that everyone's going to have one in five years time...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: And now Jish has even STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/05/2001 10:54:08 AM ----- BODY:

And now Jish has even more information...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Jason is a genius - STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/05/2001 11:31:51 AM ----- BODY:

Jason is a genius - he's done a parody of the growing interest on weblogs about Danza. You'd think people would get that he was kidding, but no - people who should know better - people who are actually interested in what Danza may turn out to be - they're citing what he's saying as if it were solid fact. He's taking the piss guys - he hasn't got a clue what Danza is...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: hmmm. interesting. STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/05/2001 03:39:50 PM ----- BODY:

hmmm. interesting.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Keep your eyes on Wired.com STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/06/2001 10:19:28 AM ----- BODY:

Keep your eyes on Wired.com today - there seems to be an usual amount of interesting news appearing. Rumour of the moment: LCD iMacs Due at Macworld. Scientific 'Wow' of the moment: Astronomers 'See' Dark Matter.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: KPMG updates: 1) A couple STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/06/2001 12:53:00 PM ----- BODY:

KPMG updates: 1) A couple of cool bits of correspondence at Politech. 2) A fun article at Wired.com: Big Stink Over a Simple Link - featuring lots of good lines and salient points from Chris, one quote from me that makes me sound like an illiterate hacker, and one quote that makes me sound like the Che Guevara of the weblogging world. 3) Chris has also been doing interviews with Wall Street Journal and USAToday. So look out for those. We'll leave you with this message: Keep linking free, you ass! [We love you: kpmg, kpmg, kpmg]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Oh (KPMG) and (KPMG) you STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/06/2001 12:58:14 PM ----- BODY:

Oh (KPMG) and (KPMG) you can (KPMG) keep (KPMG) up (KPMG) with (KPMG) all (KPMG) the (KPMG) news (KPMG) that's (KPMG) fit (KPMG) to (KPMG) print (KPMG) over (KPMG) at Chris' site...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Micro branding reminder: Correct: plasticbag.org STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/06/2001 01:04:42 PM ----- BODY:

Micro branding reminder: Correct: plasticbag.org - Incorrect: Plastic Bag, Plasticbag or Plastic-Bag. Tag line if required: "Finding Magic in the Mundane." Origins: Multiple, including self-conscious reference to plasticbag.de, American Beauty, disposability, functionality and modernity. How good is the site: Adequate at best. Have you got a reliable job? No, not really. Do they have electricity in England: Yes. Do you have indoor 'bathrooms' yet? Yes. What's your favourite colour? Blue. Are you ever going to redesign? Er....

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Should a serious issue be STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/06/2001 09:36:19 PM ----- BODY:

Should a serious issue be protested about seriously? No. At least not when the actions of the entity you are protesting against can be made to seem ridiculous. There is no defence against feeling like an idiot. Aggression causes aggression - being shown up to be absurd cause embarrassment. As Emma Goldman said, "If I can't dance, I don't want to be part of your revolution". You could add after that... "I'll make my own..."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Hey Cal! Look! They've gone STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/06/2001 09:44:09 PM ----- BODY:

Hey Cal! Look! They've gone and mentioned Secret Santa in the New York Times! Woo - and lo there was a day of press...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Find out all you never STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/07/2001 01:25:07 PM ----- BODY:

Find out all you never needed to know about Walford East tube station...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: When B3ta interviewed Dave Gorman, STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/07/2001 02:31:12 PM ----- BODY:

When B3ta interviewed Dave Gorman, it was moida: "Q: Have you found any other Danny Wallaces yet? A: No. But then I'm not looking."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Congratulations to Chris Ware for STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/07/2001 03:54:32 PM ----- BODY:

Congratulations to Chris Ware for winning the Guardian first book award. From the few issues I read independantly, it's well deserved...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: If anyone has a copy STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/07/2001 08:15:33 PM ----- BODY:

If anyone has a copy of Thursday's New York Times, I would really appreciate it if you could e-mail me - Cal and I would like a print copy of the Secret Santa piece.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: There's only two days left STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/08/2001 08:36:44 PM ----- BODY:

There's only two days left to sign up for Secret Santa - so if you want to take part, you're going to have to get a bloody move on, frankly...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I'm always delighted when I STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/09/2001 12:10:51 AM ----- BODY:

I'm always delighted when I come across an attractive and well-thought through adaptation of an old Christmas staple: Advent Calendar.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I'd be very interested in STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/09/2001 12:30:08 AM ----- BODY:

I'd be very interested in hearing the experiences of people who have signed up to The Direct Marketing Authority's lists. They claim to reduce your spam e-mail, the crap through your letterbox and the number of annoying people who ring you up to sell you double-glazing. You can do all these things through this site. Perhaps unsurprisingly - I'm resistant to give my home details and e-mail address to a direct marketing organisation - no matter how apparently honourable their intentions...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Question - is this Sisters STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/09/2001 06:05:56 PM ----- BODY:

Question - is this Sisters of Mercy song a big gay song?

Something Fast

all the things
we never needed
i don't need them now
all the things
were always confidential
and hidden from me anyhow

you can stand all night
at a red light anywhere in town
hailing maries left and right
but none of them slow down
i seen the best of men go past
i don't want to be the last
gimme something fast

God knows everybody needs
a hand in their decision
some of us are not so sure
i seen his own held out
for a ride on television
i think he's still in Baltimore

you can stand all night
at a red light anywhere in town
hailing maries left and right
but none of them slow down
i seen the best of men go past
i don't want to be the last
gimme something fast

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: With flatmates out of the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/09/2001 06:09:34 PM ----- BODY:

With flatmates out of the country for the weekend, peace slowly descends on Tomville...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: You really have to love STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/09/2001 09:53:16 PM ----- BODY:

You really have to love Chris. I mean, he's out for a stroll and he just can't resist that one extra dig. KPMG.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Secret Santa's hat is full! STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/10/2001 11:22:04 AM ----- BODY:

Secret Santa's hat is full! Check your e-mail if you've been participating...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Phew! The Secret Santa e-mails STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/10/2001 07:45:45 PM ----- BODY:

Phew! The Secret Santa e-mails have gone out - I only WISH that they'd done so smoothly... All but 45 of the 621 final Santa e-mails were sent out this morning - the other forty-five (which included some of the ... let us call them ... most vocal of the UK blogging scene) got stuck somewhere in our server and couldn't be retrieved for love nor money...

When we finally did manage to get them out from the damn server, Cal had to go, only having time to export them to a not entirely Mac / PC compatible format, which I was then unable to import into my e-mail program. So the last forty-five e-mails had to be cut and pasted in by hand - since every single one is unique. Which would have been been great if I hadn't been a bit frayed from a day of relatively unsuccessful design work, and put the wrong wishlist URL in ten of them. So there then followed an incredibly apologetic e-mail, a careful and comprehensive checking of the whole process, and then another e-mail sent out to those people with all the details in it, this time all present and correct...

Most of the immediate responses seem to be unbelievably positive. I know that I've already bought my present for the person I'm Secret Santa-ing for...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Terrifyingly accurately, a How British STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/11/2001 08:48:05 AM ----- BODY:

Terrifyingly accurately, a How British Are You? quiz told me, "I am 77.5% British, just like Michael Caine Though you know your way around London you are most likely to retire to the West Coast of the USA."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Google Groups has now fully STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/11/2001 04:04:50 PM ----- BODY:

Google Groups has now fully archived the last twenty years worth of Usenet posts - which means that you can now experience several historical events as they were experienced by people of the time. Or alternatively, you can do what I did, and try and find your first post on Usenet - which seems to be May 1995 for me...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I just got an iPod. STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/11/2001 11:41:10 PM ----- BODY:

I just got an iPod. I've been thinking about it for ages, and the angst of my financial situation has always consumed me. But a momentary glimmer of financial light appeared, and rather than invest in my future I decided that the time had come for frivolity once more. And this glimmer coincided with the fortuitous arrival of said tech item at my local Micro Anvika.

So I'm busy making a pact with Matt that he'll be there when I do the evil deed, and Rob overhears my evil scheme and decides he wants in. And rightly so, because it's going to be an epic trip...

So we hop on a bus after a crafty fag and emerge bouncing and over-caffeinated at Tottenham Court Road. The iPods are almost throwing themselves off the shelves and into people's grubby little mitts. I get the second to last one. They only came in that morning... Matt's waiting outside, because he didn't realise that we couldn't wait for him. Rob accidentally buys himself a Sony Clié. And then we went and ate pies in a pub and it was really nice.

Then miraculously (and only two hours after we left) we're back in the office, and I discover that the iMac I work on doesn't have a firewire port, so I'm left frustrated for still more hours. I fiddle around for a while longer at work and run home to play.

Ten minutes later I'm hideously disappointed. And then half an hour after that, I'm bouncing with excitement once again. Then Kate comes home and we watch Bridget Jones' Diary on video, which she got through the post at work today. Last time we watched it, it was a rough cut - and there's this great bit in the middle of the fight where the screen goes all black and it says "FACE POV / DARCY" or something similar and it kind of spoilt the flow. This time, however, I have to confess I really enjoyed it. Although I now find myself consigned to the mass population of this country who want to bone Colin Firth. But I digress...

It's almost midnight and I have to sleep and this entire post is over-excited arse, but who the hell cares, right? Woo. My iPod is full to bursting with dodgy MP3s of crappy songs from the eighties and I'm kind of tired and I'm going to bed, exhausted and happy and who needs a goddam boyfriend anyway?!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Jason finally reveals what Danza/WHAT STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/12/2001 09:36:36 AM ----- BODY:

Jason finally reveals what Danza/WHAT is, and all I can say is I've got to get me one. They look neat! [And yes, I was in on the joke, I'm afraid].

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I found this one via STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/13/2001 10:58:43 AM ----- BODY:

I found this one via Blogdex, which is always a shameful confession for me: Geoff Nunberg talks about the weblogging phenomenon (Real Audio). In this little radio segment, he compares weblogging, with all it's diarist minutiae to Diary of a Nobody - which started me thinking. Exactly when did the weblogging format cease to be seen as a medium designed for insight and critical judgement and start being viewed as a place where people obsess about the trivia of their lives? I don't think it had occurred to me before that this form of weblog was now the most prevelant - almost to the exclusion of other types. I don't know how I feel about this...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Suggestion for a really devisive STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/13/2001 11:04:43 AM ----- BODY:

Suggestion for a really devisive website: So you go to Blogdex and you travel to the all-time links section. Pulling out the information from that page dynamically, you tag up all the weblogs in the top two-hundred listings. And then you automatically divide this into chunks. The top twenty are labelled "A-list", the next forty are labelled "B-list", the next sixty are labelled "C-list". The final eight are labelled "D-list". No one else is mentioned... Hilarity ensues...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Damn him. Damn him for STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/13/2001 11:15:42 AM ----- BODY:

Damn him. Damn him for being less crap than me. Damn him for redesigning Brainsluice brilliantly in the amount of time it takes me to move a piece of text three pixels to the left, sweat, have a panic attack and lie down. Related question: Is Davo a Hobbit? He does come from Noozle-land, after all...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I was out drinking with STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/13/2001 12:42:21 PM ----- BODY:

I was out drinking with webloggers last night and Matt and I were busy comparing toys, and he showed me the article that he pubished on upsideclown today. And I was blown away.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: KPMG update... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/13/2001 06:55:56 PM ----- BODY:

KPMG update: Just gave a few quotes to a friend at the Big Issue about KPMG - it should be out on Monday if you're interested. In the meantime, Chris was interviewed in the Observer last weekend - here's a salient quote: "In other words, anyone seeking to place a link to it on their site requires prior approval from KPMG. It would be inappropriate for a family newspaper to summarise Raettig's response to this preposterous assertion. The salient point is the staggering contempt for the web implicit in KPMG's stance. It makes one wonder who would buy e-business consulting advice from a firm that takes such a line? "

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Is there a decline in the potential of the form? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 1 DATE: 12/14/2001 10:36:51 PM ----- BODY:

Addendum to post about weblogs obsessing on the trivia of people's lives. I should clarify that I wasn't so much talking about the tendency to write about the trivia of one's life, but about the public perception of the weblogging phenomenon. Since I started it seems to have evolved from being viewed as a kind of web filter or industry comment organ through to being a kind of dynamic diarist medium where quality of writing was paramount to finally being viewed as a populist organ for the dissemination of trivia. I have no problem with weblogs of any of these types - and in fact they all have existed in one for or another for years before Blogger emerged. What I'm slightly surprised by is how the dominant perception of them has changed from journalism to personal writing to trivia. The 'potential' of the form seems to have become less interesting to people...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I really missed Napster... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/14/2001 10:40:11 PM ----- BODY:

I really missed Napster. But then I found Limewire. My file-sharing needs are fulfilled once more. Remember children - as it said on the front of my iPod when I pulled it from the box... "Don't steal music..."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The depressing thing about the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/14/2001 10:45:06 PM ----- BODY:

The depressing thing about the Blogdex All-Time List is that there's nowhere to go but down. In the few months that it has been up and running, I have gradually watched myself slump further and further down the list... Not that it matters, it doesn't mean anything... It's just kind of depressing that each time you pop in and check on who has been linking to your site recently, you see that it has become even less popular than such trivial institutions as Amazon, The World AIDS day 'link and think' campaign and some beardy gentleman called Jeffrey Zeldman. I mean - like anyone cares about them anyway? I've said it before and I'll say it again, "It's all about me..." When will you bastards realise that?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I received my gift from STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/14/2001 10:49:29 PM ----- BODY:

I received my gift from Secret Santa today. It was all wrapped up and I didn't want to spoil it for myself, so I'm going to save it until Christmas Day. Apart from the frustration of keeping the system running (which is more of a frustration for Cal I have to confess, because he handles the technical stuff on this project), this has been a tremendously rewarding experience. I know that other people's gifts have started to arrive as well - and I hope everyone's feeling the mood take them over.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Will someone answer honestly - STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/14/2001 10:51:42 PM ----- BODY:

Will someone answer honestly - do I look like Jack Nicholson?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Simon is responsible for a STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/14/2001 11:04:25 PM ----- BODY:

Simon is responsible for a lot of the evil in the world. Well - maybe not a lot, but he is responsible for a photo-diary including pictures of the latest blogmeet. And frankly that's evil enough for me. Pictures include: Stilllife of unwashed Tom's jowls next to hot bloke sans hair product, Portrait of the Brainsluice as a Young Drinker, Flathead and Coy Girl, The Insane Visionary, Scruff and Scrawn (featuring Tom) and Pannett's Social Pose.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Particularly observant regulars may notice STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/14/2001 11:12:58 PM ----- BODY:

Particularly observant regulars may notice that I've removed the link to TCN from the right-hand column of plasticbag.org. This is because my short stint of regular employment is coming to an end. I have a week more before the sporadics of freelance life take over again. Thankfully I've got a large bottle of tequila left from Gideon's last visit, so I doubt I'll stay depressed for long...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I'm frustrated by dorkslayers. STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/15/2001 01:46:38 PM ----- BODY:

I'm frustrated by dorkslayers.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: There's an interesting article at STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/15/2001 07:57:13 PM ----- BODY:

There's an interesting article at the moment over at The New York Times about a legal restriction on hyperlinking, which is pertinent to the KPMG debacle. One instance in which it is now illegal to link to something (in the US at least) runs as follows: "There had to be clear and convincing evidence that the person responsible for the link (a) knew at the time that the offending technology is on the linked-to site, (b) knew that the offending technology is illegal under the D.M.C.A., and (c) created or maintained the link for the "purpose" of disseminating the tainted code." This refers to the distribution of DeCSS information that breaks the copy-protection on DVDs.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Do you know where all STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/16/2001 01:19:45 PM ----- BODY:

Do you know where all the celebrities hang out in London? If so, do me a last minute favour and go and answer this nice person's questions over at TCN...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Blogger seems to have been STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/17/2001 08:39:22 AM ----- BODY:

Blogger seems to have been buggered for at least the last 24-hours. I've lost many a fine post. Normal service will resume shortly.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: So I have a thing STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/17/2001 02:56:11 PM ----- BODY:

So I have a thing about geeks. What can I say? I like their passion, I like the fact they're slightly bumbling, I like the innocuous clothing, I like the fact that there's a nervousness, I like the being a bit shy. These things appeal to me. But I'm only human, and a red-blooded one at that, so I have to confess that on occasion a fairly well assembled young gent will turn my head. Until now, the two have never before met in one individual... Presenting, Tobey Maguire as Spiderman.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: You know who else is STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/17/2001 02:58:03 PM ----- BODY:

You know who else is cool (if under-represented on the interhighweb)? Serge, the Seal of Death. Now, he's cool... Not hot, particularly. But cool. Definitely cool.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: To what extent is it STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/17/2001 06:59:47 PM ----- BODY:

To what extent is it appropriate when one reaches thirty to still blame one's parents for one's complete inability to relate to other people and form long-lasting and emotionally satisfying relationships? Probably not fair at all. I should stop, really.

When I think of my parents, I think of that famous line, "With patricide, the parents are never completely free of blame". I've always liked that. I don't know where it comes from.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: You know what? Sod the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/17/2001 07:03:50 PM ----- BODY:

You know what? Sod the expense. I'm joining my local gym. Question - is it good to only be able to feel you can take the world on when you feel sexy? What happens when you stop feeling sexy through age? Or when you've got a bit fat and tired? Do you become a recluse and live in a hut? What then, eh? What then?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Random URLs that I tried STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/17/2001 07:06:26 PM ----- BODY:

Random URLs that I tried that shouldn't really exist, but do: Burn the World, whatthefuck.com, bored.com.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Musical Juxtapositions... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/17/2001 07:27:00 PM ----- BODY:

Putting all your favourite songs onto an iPod throws up a few interesting juxtapositions. You're happily wandering through Clerkenwell listening to The Sisters of Mercy in a kind of retro-bohemian, Berlin goth style and you're feeling quite self-satisfied in a homo superior "doesn't get enough sun" kind of way, and then Randy Crawford explodes into your ears with a heavy dose of Street Life. I'm just saying it's strange, is all. Not bad.

Strange songs on my iPod:

Im Nin 'Alu, by Ofra Haza
One of those bizarre songs that you listen to on "Now That's What I Call Fucking Bizarre Pop Music" when you're twelve, but don't realise that it's not normal pop music like Duran Duran, and so you get all excited by it and listen to it over and over and over.
Voyage Voyage, by Desireless.
As above - another weird 'turned up on a tape I bought when I was fourteen' song. This one sticks in my head particularly because Nicky Campbell said something really rude about them on Top of the Pops in 1986. I think he was suggesting that the lead singer wasn't very attractive or something. It was around this period that he said of Lisa Stansfield's "All Around the World", that the poor singer still couldn't find her child despite an extensive global search. How I laughed.
Housequake, by Prince.
They're like relics, these songs. Crusty, freakish and old.
Ghostbusters, by Ray Parker Junior.
I can play this on the piano. By which I mean that I can play the bit that everyone can sing in their heads, not the bridge bits that no one really cares about. Typically, my piano teacher made me learn to play endless dull tunes with names like "Marjuka Number 5" when I was a kid, despite the fact that I kept asking if there was any piano music for the theme tune to "Murder She Wrote". I learnt to play "Ghostbusters" when she wasn't looking, and then I showed her that I could play it, and she made everything more difficult from that point on. Plus, when I got a note wrong, she'd sweep her hands under my arms and moan "No, No!" until I wanted to cave her head in with a brick.
You Spin Me Round, by Dope rather than Dead and Alive.
From the soundtrack to American Psycho. God only knows why I have this. It's like Nine Inch Nails shagged 80s Europop by an alien radiation emitter and gave birth to some kind hideous hybrid pop-dance-rock monster of tacky proportions. "You spin me right round baby, round, round, like a record, baby, right round". For some reason this reminds me of a short-term piece of contract work as a temp in an defence contractor in Norfolk.

Get thee to Limewire, my friends, and build your own screwed-up music collective of the weird taste of Tom. For without these songs bouncing around your psyche, you can't hope to understand the depths to which I've plunged...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Right, that's enough bollocks for STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/17/2001 07:28:15 PM ----- BODY:

Right, that's enough bollocks for one day. I'm off to a Chanukah party.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Never before did I fully STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/18/2001 02:16:44 PM ----- BODY:

Never before did I fully understand the horrible difficulties of being a great big nasty right-wing facist. And when you get bored of that, there's a new quiz at TCN.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Trabaca is a beautifully designed, STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/19/2001 12:08:36 PM ----- BODY:

Trabaca is a beautifully designed, touching site by a young, intelligent and in-the-process-of-telling-everyone-he's-a-poof young man. It's bloody great, and if you don't read it I'll smack you around the face with an articulated truck.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Sigh. Another victim of the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/19/2001 03:19:04 PM ----- BODY:

Sigh. Another victim of the dot.com disaster - and one that you'd think would be the last to fail. How is it possible that a site that did nothing but show other people's TV adverts free could go under? You'd think that multi-national corporations would be delighted by the free publicity, and by people watching and rewatching the promotion of their products. The campaign starts here to encourage Gap and all the other regular TV advertisers to pay to maintain the site - as they should have been doing so all along...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: A recurrent theme at EMAP STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/19/2001 03:38:32 PM ----- BODY:

A recurrent theme at EMAP in recent weeks has been the battle between Cal and I about whether or not Mac Internet Explorer 5 is a good or a bad browser. Seriously. This is the kind of thing that keeps us busy all day. Cal maintains that a browser that doesn't conform to standards is a bad browser. I maintain that IE5 is not substantially worse than IE6 for PCs, and that although it has its problems, it has been lauded as one of the best browsers on the market.

Well now I'm prepared to throw the towel in. Who, in effect, gives a .... when IE 5.1 is out. I'll let you know what I think of it when I get a moment...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On the shock of discovering STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/19/2001 08:35:25 PM ----- BODY:

On the shock of discovering a work-ethic, and the horror of realising that this is why you've never made any money: When payment seems in excess of workload, typically I have increased workload to compensate rather than saying "Thank you very much". I don't honestly know what's wrong with me...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Well, tomorrow I depart fair STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/20/2001 12:53:02 PM ----- BODY:

Well, tomorrow I depart fair London for cold Norfolk, where I plan to spend a week with my family. This will be the longest I have spent with them for about three or four years, so it may end in complete disaster, acrimony and arguments. I have to confess I'm slightly nervous. Still, I'm looking forward to seeing my little brother (now approaching six feet tall aged sixteen) and going to see Lord of the Rings with him. If you wish to buy me a Christmas present, you can - but of course Secret Santa has taken the pressure off you a bit, so don't feel obliged in the slightest.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I can't think of a STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/21/2001 10:09:06 AM ----- BODY:

I can't think of a single thing to say.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: If you get bored of STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/21/2001 10:31:44 AM ----- BODY:

If you get bored of dismal re-run Christmas television and Only Fools And Horses TV Specials, then you should go check out the highlights of iamcal.com - a repository of good weblogging content. [Note for the punter who e-mailed me: "repository" does not mean something you insert anally in order to alleviate disease. That word is suppository.]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Hey look! At work I STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/21/2001 12:00:15 PM ----- BODY:

Hey look! At work I went and designed a site for this guy who works at Heat magazine. Presenting Morning After TV - built and programmed by my glamourous assistant (I'm going to get a smack) Cal Henderson!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The answer to the question STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/21/2001 04:05:07 PM ----- BODY:

The answer to the question Do you love America? is clear. The answer is that America is a myth that many (but not all) free countries aspire to. The USA itself aspires to be America. But it isn't there yet. So yes, I think I love America. But the USA has a way to go yet... And questioning the USA and making sure that decisions are made democratically and in a fair and equitable manner is a way of aspiring to "America" not a subversive attempt to undermine it.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I was on the train STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/22/2001 09:40:05 PM ----- BODY:

I was on the train last night from Liverpool Street to Norwich, and I was sitting opposite this really cute guy. And at the end of the trip I offered him and the other passengers around me the Opal Fruits (sorry Starburst) that I had left over, and he took them, and unlike last time when I did something like this he didn't smile and reveal a massive gap between two of his teeth or have a grating maniac voice - which made the separation all the more poignant for me.

I woke up this morning and it was snowing. And when we went shopping in Norwich, it was snowing. I feel so much more relaxed in Norfolk than I do in London. And weirdly, I feel much in control of my life, and therefore considerably more adult and responsible. To undercut this sensation, I watched Lord of the Rings with my little brother, and bought some more pointless things to give to people for Christmas.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Last time Jason asked me STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/22/2001 09:47:34 PM ----- BODY:

Last time Jason asked me to do something, he told me I must do what he told me because "I AM THE KOTTKE". I laughed indulgently, as you would. Poor chap's losing it!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: What is London? London is STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/24/2001 09:55:10 PM ----- BODY:

What is London? London is a place a hundred-thousand miles away from here, where all the evils of the world live, and they don't know where I am at the moment, and they can't contact me by phone because it's turned off and has been for days, and they could e-mail me, but I'd probably not pick it up. The world outside Norfolk can go fuck itself for one week. I'm not in the slightest bit interested in what is happening out there.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Is Mark going to hell? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/24/2001 09:57:53 PM ----- BODY:

I'm worried about Mark: "One more thing I'd like to record is that today my father implied he thinks i'm going to hell. He explained to me his concern, that he'd like me to be with him when we both eventually die, and he's worried about that not happening, because I study different religions ...now, that's pretty horrible." Of course I'm an atheist, so at one level this would of course sound horrific to me. But I suppose the core question is whether it is worse to believe that your son might not experience an afterlife, or to enforce your beliefs upon them. A horrible situation to be in, for all concerned...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Problem with Blogger security... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/27/2001 01:14:24 PM ----- BODY:

For anyone who's an infrequent user of Blogger - be warned, security at Pyra was compromised recently and you should change your server log-in passwords and Blogger user names. You can check out the "sorry" message here and read up about what happened here. [Metafilter discussion about the problems here.]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Oi Cal! I've got something STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/27/2001 01:19:22 PM ----- BODY:

Oi Cal! I've got something for you to play with! A list apart is looking for people to tell them about Mac IE5.1 CSS rendering bugs. And Lord knows I know you love talking about that!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The most successful Christmas presents STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/27/2001 01:25:38 PM ----- BODY:

The most successful Christmas presents I have given this year have been the dumbest. I gave my brother some chocolate covered crickets and ants and the entire family has been talking about them ever since. Everyone's eaten some. My mother got almost hysterical and turned purple with horror after being forced to eat them by peer pressure. Very entertaining.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: George Bush Funeral Home STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/28/2001 12:22:59 AM ----- BODY:

Pictures - presented completely without commentary - of a building in Norwich, Norfolk, United Kingdom - just off the inner-link between Gas Hill and Anglia Square. Taken shortly after Christmas 2001 while my mother waited in the car.

Addendum: Please read this later note pertaining to the situation in Iraq.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: george_bush_taster.jpg ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Two tiny stories of country-living: STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/28/2001 09:47:29 PM ----- BODY:

Two tiny stories of country-living:

The downstairs loo is out of bounds for me at the moment. Being back in the country has its benefits and its horrors. Prime amongst its horrors is the presence of thousands of bloody spiders. As a child, my bedroom floor was a spider graveyard - two or three spiders would be spotted a week, I'd leap feet into the air, find something aggressive to hit them with and then be too horrified by the corpses to clear them up. Two days ago I went into the downstairs loo to discover that I would be observed by a huge spider sitting half way up the wall. I haven't been in it since. Six hours after meeting my arachnid nemesis my brother went for a pee. He reappeared seconds later saying that he'd have to go upstairs because of the huge bloody spider. At least I'm not alone...

Returning from a film this evening with my brother in the car, we look up at the full moon and notice something neither of us have seen before. Surrounding the moon is a huge circle of difuse light - clean edges on the inside fading gradually to black on the outside. It looks like a huge iris in the sky - electric blue and black. My parents arrived shortly afterwards. Neither of them had seen anything like it before either.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Back in London. STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/29/2001 06:07:35 PM ----- BODY:

Back in London.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I've just installed OSX. First STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/29/2001 10:22:20 PM ----- BODY:

I've just installed OSX. First impressions are remarkably favourable.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Back to basics: It has STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/30/2001 11:34:59 AM ----- BODY:

Back to basics: It has come to the notice of the autocracy of plasticbag.org that Tom Coates has been remarkably slack in updating and maintaining the site of late. Tempted as we are to fire him and employ someone rather more dedicated to the cause, we have instead decided to force him to undertake a few small projects in the run up to the new year. If you would like to participate in these projects, then you should feel free...

Tom Coates Explains Everything: As someone once said - good content on the cheap... Have you got a question for Tom? Would you like to see your name in sparkly lights? Ask him anything about the world and he will supply you with an answer... Warning: Answer may be incorrect. May cause bleeding. Ask Tom a dumb question

A year in plastic: Are you a long-standing plasticbag.org reader? What do you consider the best bits of crap Tom has written over the last year? If you are incorrect you will experience a small, but noticeable, electric shock. Evaluate Tom's crap

Is Tom's life interesting enough to maintain a weblog, or should he just lie? Yes, it's interesting enough, dammit | Lie to us, you loser | The question is bunk - you leave out all the interesting bits...

Upcoming features: (as soon as I can sort out my scanner and Photoshop...) Pictures of Tom and his brother in the snow! A photo of an amusing funeral home! And a brand new sparkling design for the best Plastic Bag site on the net (apart from plasticbag.com and plasticbag.net)!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Tom Coates Explains Everything 1) STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/30/2001 06:04:54 PM ----- BODY:

Tom Coates Explains Everything

1) JaceLV asked me a very personal question about the size of my undercarriage. The answer is that it wouldn't fit in a pen cap but it would have no trouble fitting into the cargo compartment of a 747.

2) Dan asked me whether or not I was really redesigning my site. The answer is that I have actually already redesigned it (as well he knows) - but that the problem is that I can't get the energy together to finish building the damn thing.

3) Vodkabird was foolish enough to ask me how much wood a woodchuck would chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood. I think it would have better things to do with its time. Have a look and tell me what you think...

4) And finally for today, some chap called Graybo asked me, "Are you bored?" - to which the only honest response is that I wasn't until I got your e-mail, old chap... Come on kids... You're not challenging me at all!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: OSX works remarkably more effectively STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/30/2001 06:07:37 PM ----- BODY:

OSX works remarkably more effectively with 440Mb of RAM than it does with 196Mb. Take note children - too little RAM will make your OSX experience a frustrating one.

Tom Coates Explains Everything

1) Bart - if you think of the cat as being at one point in time (a), the transposition of the cat's mind into the mouses body as being at another (b) and their meeting as happening at point (c) - then it seems clear that the cat could not know for certain at point (c) that the mouse he was in fact confronted with was himself temporally translocated and post-sentience-transferral. It wouldn't have happened to him yet. So the only thing you'd be left with was in fact the possibility that the cat might intuit this fact or that the mouse would attempt to communicate with his earlier cat-self. For the cat not to eat the mouse he'd have to place credence in the fact that the mouse was himself after travelling in time - which would be a hard enough concept for me to believe - and I can only assume a cat would have no more luck finding it plausible in every-day life. Plus kudos for being the person with the dumbest question so far!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The most wonderful thing in STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/31/2001 11:01:26 AM ----- BODY:

The most wonderful thing in the world? The combination of these keys with a click on a link in IE 5.1 for Macs: Shift & Apple.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Tom Coates Explains Everything! STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/31/2001 11:13:57 AM ----- BODY:

Tom Coates Explains Everything 1) To Graybo, I answer - I would give my last Rolo to any of the following people, if they were to ask... Peter Harmer, Sigmund Freud, Nick Cornwell, Grant Morrison, David Pannett, Max Thomas, Breckin Meyer, Ivan Massow and a great many others. 2) To Simon I answer: Boxers - since I was fifteen, with a brief dalliance with Calvin Klein Boxer Briefs as a nod to gay fashion - since abandoned. 3) To Darren I answer, if I were ninety years old I would remember nothing about weblogging in 2001 - because I would be too preoccupied with my prostate.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Personal websites are the fanzines STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/31/2001 03:46:49 PM ----- BODY:

Personal websites are the fanzines of the 21st Century. They're photocopied flyers and stapled together scraps of rubbish, with stolen images, ill-thought out words, tremendously creative in an idiosyncratic way. Interestingly though the aesthetic of most of these sites is either clean and ordered (post word-processing ideology of order) or futurist / high-tech (computer people have a habit of glorifying their culture). Not a lot of cut up and photocopied aesthetics. Would such an aesthetic be an affectation or a celebration?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: With all due respect, Mr STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/31/2001 06:39:11 PM ----- BODY:

With all due respect, Mr President...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Another New Year's Eve survived. STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/01/2002 01:30:37 PM ----- BODY:

Another New Year's Eve survived.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The yearly Fray New Year STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/01/2002 02:06:50 PM ----- BODY:

The yearly Fray New Year Special is upon us once more. Twelve stories for twelve months. And you can post your own stories as well. You can see mine here.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Tom Coates Explains Everything Brief STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/01/2002 03:25:09 PM ----- BODY:

Tom Coates Explains Everything

Brief answers only this morning - my throbbing head can answer all, but my fingers are incapable of typing... 1) To TomH I say, It takes seventy-three licks to get to the centre of a Tootsie Pop. And for the other question... What do you mean? An African or European swallow? 2) To Nik I say - If I could be anyone else in the world, I wouldn't want to be William Shatner. And the entity which occupies the Shatner body chose him because he had a thing about hairpieces. 3) To Hewligan I say, I have thought about trying to write a couple of novels, but I'm really lazy and disorganised so I can't imagine it will ever happen. I'm not going to tell you the plots, just in case they're not crap, but they are called respectively "My day in hell" and "Prank". 4) To Vaughan I say - you can't ask three questions - that's taking the piss! So you get very small answers with no explanation - 1985, 2004 and because he's very witty and dresses well. 5) To Paul I say - I have no sense of smell, I'm afraid - strange but true - so I will have to go with "burnt plastic". 6) And to Tom Cosgrave, the answer to the question, "Why oh why can't we all take it easy and enjoy ourselves in life and stuff?" is because Niezsche was right and Epicurus wasn't.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Flashback madness. I'm ten - STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/01/2002 09:17:11 PM ----- BODY:

Flashback madness. I'm ten - I'm living in a little village in Norfolk called Belaugh. On Sunday mornings my dad drives to the nearest village (Wroxham) for the Sunday papers. Sunday is the only day of the week that the papers aren't delivered. I look forward to this all week, because it's pretty much the only time that I can guarantee I'll be able to leave my village and do anything interesting (apart from go to school). More importantly, I get my pocket money then, so it's all really exciting.

This particular weekend, my friend Adam is staying with me. We have remarkably similar tastes, and have been friends for a couple of years, since I started going to the Norwich School after leaving Town Close (where I was really happy). We go into the newsagents and start looking through the comic books. Now I'm sure I bought comic books before that - but I really don't remember then. But I remember reading the comic books I bought that day again and again. And until about an hour ago I didn't remember what they were - and thanks to the internet, here they are! If anyone knows a place in the UK where I can get these, I'd be astonishingly grateful.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The Weakest Link with drag STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/02/2002 01:46:26 AM ----- BODY:

The Weakest Link with drag queens. Whoever thought that up isn't getting paid enough!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Finally I have Office working STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/03/2002 11:22:21 AM ----- BODY:

Finally I have Office working again, which means that I can actually do some work. Hurrah.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Could the iWalk be the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/03/2002 02:39:02 PM ----- BODY:

Could the iWalk be the next Apple big thing? PS. Don't believe the hype [Noticeable weirdnesses include discrepancies between colour and black and white screens, the fact that you never see the pen touching the screen, the fact that the text looks like it's been sharpened in some way, the fact that the buttons and jog wheel are so different from the iPod, the sheer boringness of the product, the fact that very few menus are shown flying around (which would be the first thing you would want to get a video of, but would be hard to render). Etc. etc.]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: They're back, and this time STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/04/2002 12:52:03 AM ----- BODY:

They're back, and this time it's the Second Annual Bloggies. They're currently taking nominations. Last year, plasticbag.org won a couple, making me "Best European Poof". Which was nice! But I wrote less dull crap then, so with any luck this year, someone more deserving will go home with the huge stigma of caring whether or not they're popular and end up being pointed at by friends at the pub and softly mocked.

Having said that, of course, it wouldn't be sporting if I didn't encourage my readers to vote for me. I mean - it would surely be a pyrrhic victory if people felt that all their contemporaries had already abandoned all claims to the throne. So please, feel free to nominate plasticbag.org for any or all of the following: Best European Weblog, Best Designed Weblog, Best Big Poof (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgendered) Weblog and Weblog of the Year.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: More fun fantasy Apple gadgets: STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/04/2002 12:00:38 PM ----- BODY:

More fun fantasy Apple gadgets: the iPad.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: What's up with Kottke? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/05/2002 12:39:02 PM ----- BODY:

What's up with Kottke?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Only the very best web STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/06/2002 12:18:13 AM ----- BODY:

Only the very best web celebrities get their very own templates on MetaTalk.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Weird fact: While there's no STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/06/2002 01:03:04 AM ----- BODY:

Weird fact: While there's no one in the UK who hasn't heard Kylie belt out "Can't Get You Out Of My Head" or seen her writhe around in a rather poorly assembled sheet, it's almost unheard of in America, where she's released a completely different single. The song, which was part of a particularly virulent batch of memetic song experiments developed in a secret subterranean laboratory, is sure to infect the entire US in a few months time...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: You know a forum's really STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/06/2002 09:48:24 PM ----- BODY:

You know a forum's really successful when someone spends time developing a little gadget to help you get the ideal username. Presenting the Barbelith Fictionsuit Generator. This is Count ForbiddenLove signing off...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: You know, just because I'm STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/06/2002 09:50:38 PM ----- BODY:

You know, just because I'm not posting very much at the moment doesn't mean that I'm not working on exciting plasticbag.org related projects. I just wanted to make sure you understood that.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Songs for never-were and used-to-be STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/06/2002 10:04:19 PM ----- BODY:

Songs for never-were and used-to-be lovers: Something So Right, Everloving, Calling it Quits. There are others, but they're too cheesy.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I hate it when Davo STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/06/2002 10:12:27 PM ----- BODY:

I hate it when Davo goes away for holidays. I feel cheated enough by his sporadic posting. But weeks without it? It's just not fair.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Is this what we've STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/07/2002 12:10:50 PM ----- BODY:

Is this what we've all been waiting for? If so, I'm not entirely convinced at this stage, however happy my hero looks.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Another Barbelith offshoot: Which 'Lither STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/07/2002 01:11:38 PM ----- BODY: Another Barbelith offshoot: Which 'Lither Are You?. "I don't believe it, you're Tom Coates. The founder. Doesn't post much anymore. I worry about his bandwidth. Your answers suggest a correspondence of 64% to Tom Coates." ----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: So my first impressions of STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/07/2002 07:06:24 PM ----- BODY:

So my first impressions of the leaked iMac were fairly negative, but as I've seen the specs for the machines and seen them in context, I'm beginning to realise how cool it could be. Be warned, this may actually be the future of computing after all. In the meantime, not a lot more to report from my favourite company - a larger iBook and a new application: iPhoto. My computer is now officially obselete...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Read all about it! The STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/08/2002 12:21:57 AM ----- BODY:

Read all about it! The new iMac reaches Wired.com.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Tasteless comment of the day: STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/08/2002 01:20:35 AM ----- BODY:

Tasteless comment of the day: Davo: In other news, I now smell like Georgio Armani. Tom: What? Dead?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I can't be the only STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/08/2002 01:26:31 AM ----- BODY:

I can't be the only person in the world who finds bits of Movable Type endlessly frustrating. You try and import two and a half years of Blogger entries, and it chokes almost immediately. Or to be more precise, Pair chokes on it. And it chokes half-way through carefully organised files you've made so that you can import in chunks. And when that happens you can't easily go and find the entries that are part of the last batch, because it can't render the list of entries in its entirety without (surprise) pair.com choking on it. Because you see, there's no 'next page' link on the entries page - instead you have to show all entries.

And when it's importing from more than one file, it doesn't import them in a logical order that I can see, so you duplicate some file's entries and miss others completely. And when you get too frustrated with the process, and reconcile yourself to using Blogger until you die, and you try to delete the blog you've created, pair.com choke once more, throwing up endless server errors until you finally want everyone surrounding you to die and are spitting chunks and throwing strops. This can't be right. This is all wrong. Surely.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: And while I'm at it, STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/08/2002 01:32:33 AM ----- BODY:

And while I'm at it, I think it's about time I griped about Blogger. It's a wonderful democratic piece of software that I've used without paying a penny since the day it launched (apart from a tiny donation once). I love it. It's changed my life.

But will someone please explain to me why you can't do a permalink for a day instead of just an entry?! It makes no sense! You have a variable for the archive page's file name. You have date formats that would work well as internal links on a page. Why then is it impossible to put the archive page tag in the date header!? Why doesn't that work!? It should work! And it would immediately increase the adaptability of the service!

And it would mean we could all make site's that work like Jason's if we wanted to, without killing ourselves fighting with bloody Movable Type, which I also love but is still frustrating me beyond human belief.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: If I'm honest, I'm grumpy STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/08/2002 01:34:37 AM ----- BODY:

If I'm honest, I'm grumpy because I've got toothache again. And everything that follows (although all relevant complaints) is probably borne of dental pain. It's toothache like this that started most of the world's major shitstorms, if you ask me. Certainly at the moment I'd cheerfully fuck the world for some free dental work. Damn you Thatcher for screwing up the NHS dentists.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Blogger is down again. But STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/08/2002 10:17:18 PM ----- BODY:

Blogger is down again. But wireless.blogger.com seems to be working just fine!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: A time before plasticbag.org... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/08/2002 11:03:01 PM ----- BODY:

Are you ready to go back in time? Want to read lots of old plasticbag.org crap from before it was even plasticbag.org? Do you miss this?Think every design I've done in the last year and a half has been crap!? Well screw you, mister. Like I give a damn what you think! Or alternatively, check it out!

Flashback!: Riothero's prom!
Flashback!: Tom gets a haircut!
Flashback!: Celebrity Big Brother Quake Castaway Deathmatch!
Flashback!: Tom's fucked-up dream life!
Flashback!: Regular Ivan Massow updates!
Flashback!: Powazek quits. Riothero's Batman!
Flashback!: Mark had a dream!
Flashback!: Tom gets into serious trouble...
Flashback!: Relationship gets to "I run a website and you are on it" point!

I write crap nowadays. I was much more fun then.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The one of my heroes STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/09/2002 12:03:50 PM ----- BODY:

The one of my heroes that isn't Steve Jobs has been interviewed and is his normal dazzling brilliant self. When asked what the world needs now, he replies, "More soldiers".

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On the cover of a STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/09/2002 12:04:47 PM ----- BODY:

On the cover of a book I'm reading there is this statement: "Triumphs of imagination such as the person you love is 72.8% water". Which made me think - is it a triumph of imagination to visualise the person you love as over a hundred pounds of water, or is it a greater leap of the imagination to look at said hundred pounds of water and decide to love it?

But the stuff that makes you human is the other stuff. Right? The 27.2% that isn't water. But that's clearly untrue. You might as well say that the person you love is one fifth coal to four fifths water. You'd still be way off. The person you love is a self-organising generated string of information that has mutated and transformed and lengthened and retransmitted itself over hundreds of millions of years. They are the latest holographic representation of a stream of information broadcast from the ancient past. They are the carriers of chinese whispers passed down from a universe of different creatures that have watched the world change - that have changed the world. And they are the only people that carry this message. Now that's something worth loving.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Me? I don't love anyone. STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/09/2002 12:06:28 PM ----- BODY:

Me? I don't love anyone.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Looks to me like Wil's STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/09/2002 09:12:27 PM ----- BODY:

Looks to me like Wil's onto a winner. He's selling personally autographed Next Generation stuff at the moment - and seems to be making a fair amount of money on it. Poor old Wil. Forever labelled by a character he played in an old sci-fi series.

Speaking of which, he was in the episode of Next Generation that I watched this evening on BBC2. The lines they gave that man must have been enough to drive a young man to suicide. His character was the lamest creature in fifteen star systems. Is it surprising that everyone hated him? Tonight some female character commented something along the lines of, "It's just as well you're cute, Wesley, otherwise you'd be insufferable". If I found him cute I'd be some kinda pervert. So I'm left agreeing with her other sentiments alone. I keep thinking that maybe an older actor might have been able to play these lines in a less annoying way - but I'm not sure it's possible. If you had Wesley for a child, you'd be continually encouraging him to act up. You'd be begging for it. You'd be going, "you want to have sex with a prostitute, son?" or, "Daddy's got some heroin...!"

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: There's going to be an STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/09/2002 09:15:30 PM ----- BODY:

There's going to be an announcement tomorrow regarding Blogger. Could it be that we're finally going to have to pay for the damn thing? Could it be that there'll be some kind of increased functionality? Could it be that Ev has found a business partner who's going to splash millions of dollars in his lap to make the service horrifically amazing?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: My flatmate is buying an STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/09/2002 09:17:02 PM ----- BODY:

My flatmate is buying an iBook. Just to tease me, you understand. I went into town with her today to decide what she needs. Sigh.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Have I been in the papers or something? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/10/2002 11:12:33 AM ----- BODY:

I've suddenly started getting lots of traffic and I don't quite know why. If you've seen plasticbag.org in a magazine or a newspaper or anywhere unusual in an article or something, could you let me know. Thanks.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Want to know what was STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/10/2002 12:56:08 PM ----- BODY:

Want to know what was really going on in the Lord of the Rings? Then read the many secret diaries of the various participants...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Now that someone has actually STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/10/2002 05:39:53 PM ----- BODY:

Now that someone has actually broken the news on a site (rather than just on a mailing list), I think it's time I gave my opinion on the proposed "Premium Blogger" that is rumoured to cost $30 a year. Bear in mind that at the time of posting, there has been no word from Pyra on this app. There's a discussion over at Metafilter, but here's my take on it as posted to UKBloggers:

"The big question then is going to be do you have any idea about how this premium stuff is going to work?

I had a long conversation with megnut when she was still with blogger about what their plans were with Blogger Pro - which this sounds very much like - and the big issue seemed to be what you're getting people to pay for...

For example - are you paying for a premium membership with as many blogs as you like? In which case how do you stop people disseminating the log-in details to run a hundred blogs from the same account? If you ARE running a premium blog - do other people who are allowed to post on the same blog have to pay to use it? Is there a difference between a user who runs fifty blogs each with a thousand posters on each and one who runs one weblog which he posts to every month. Etc. etc.

"There are many more questions - particularly for people whose sites consist of several blogs bolted together...

"I'd pay in an instant. Particularly for extra functionality. But I'm interested in what the service will include. I think there are various ways they could go... five blogs perhaps with a maximum of twenty users between them (for example) would be a good system as far as I was concerned. But there WILL be consolidation of individuals using them.

"Having said that it's still better to have three users paying $10 each than three users paying nothing..."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Of course the best thing STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/11/2002 01:32:34 AM ----- BODY:

Of course the best thing about working from home is that you don't have to go outside. And correspondingly the worst thing about it is that most of your stories involve particularly sticky patches on the kitchen floor, the number of cigarettes you've smoked in a day and how you're duvet has got stuck down one end of its cover (even though that doesn't matter because you move so little and drink so much caffeine that you no longer need to sleep).

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: It's a shame, but it STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/11/2002 09:47:45 AM ----- BODY:

It's a shame, but it seems that there will be no Anti-Bloggies this year.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Via Ev (who's pumping out STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/11/2002 10:06:26 AM ----- BODY:

Via Ev (who's pumping out a resolute 'no comment' on the whole Premium Blogger thing) comes this neat and well assembled Flash-based clock. I'm always extremely impressed when people manage to incorporate a non-computery aesthetic into sites - it's not as easy as it seems.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I'm a weblogging Dame. Who'd STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/11/2002 01:59:56 PM ----- BODY:

I'm a weblogging Dame. Who'd have thought it. In more important news, my source at Time Out has given me seven episodes of the new series of Buffy and Angel, so you must expect slightly sporadic updates for the next five or six hours...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I wish I could take STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/11/2002 10:11:56 PM ----- BODY:

I wish I could take sole credit for this, but I can't. As part of my last job at emap - where I was running TCN, I also designed (and co-designed) a couple of sites. The first one, Morning After TV was launched a while back - but now the other one (which I only worked out basic structure, and did the early design treatments for) has now launched at J17.com. That's right, I've been working for Just Seventeen. How cool is that. Major design kudos goes to Denise Wilton, who's responsible for giving my initial designs a substantial face-lift, and huge tech wiggles go to Cal for building, well, all of it...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The quizzes that do the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/12/2002 02:22:42 AM ----- BODY:

The quizzes that do the rounds of weblogs - I must confess I'm not immune to their charms. But I don't normally link to them - I kind of think that they're cheap content. There's no opinion expressed, everyone has seen them fairly swiftly (so there's no real 'you must see this' value) and - well - most of them aren't really that good. However, having said all of that, this one tickled me pink...

You have a genius intellect and an awesome sense of humor. You can sarcastically put someone in their place without batting an eye. Your only problems seem to be that you have trouble acknowledging your true feelings and you may use your humor as a defense to hide what you are really feeling. But, your godliness overpowers any insignificant flaws you may have. Even if you tend to pass gas during very inconvenient moments. Take The "Which Kevin Smith Male Are You?" Quiz!!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: It may be everywhere, but STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/12/2002 12:36:17 PM ----- BODY:

It may be everywhere, but it's kind of cool...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: This won't mean anything to STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/12/2002 06:33:36 PM ----- BODY:

This won't mean anything to anyone outside the United Kingdom, but if on a Saturday evening you get frustrated by Ant and Dec and their band of merry troubadours, then you be aware that popidiot.com is still available...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Geek CSS question re: putting paragraphs 'inline' STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/13/2002 02:31:15 PM ----- BODY:

Geek CSS question: When I'm writing all my blog entries I put in all the paragraph and line break tags by hand. I feel (for some reason) that this makes things much more adaptable. Except of course that I'm evidently wrong since it presents several formatting problems with things like permalinks.

The first problem is that by definition the permalinks cannot be 'inline'. They have to be placed outside the paragraph tags that I carefully put in each post. Which means that they have to occupy a separate paragraph. In order to get the current effect, I've built in a process whereby Blogger constructs a table around each entry, and I use the first table cell to house the permalink.

But I'm working on converting plasticbag.org to pure CSS layout and this is presenting some problems. If anyone has any ideas about how I might achieve the effect that I currently have on the site in pure CSS (or just how to fake an inline link), then I'd really appreciate your comments...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Matt's built a new skin STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/13/2002 02:43:26 PM ----- BODY:

Matt's built a new skin for Interconnected - designed to be viewable on all kinds of platforms, browsers and screen resolutions.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Most regular Blogger users have STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/13/2002 05:51:29 PM ----- BODY:

Most regular Blogger users have probably seen this before, but here is a clever way to reformat the way that you see your Blogger archives dates. And I have to send out a special thanks to the man who runs the site, Phil Ringnalda, without whom I would have gone insane in my attempts to adapt one of the scripts he hosts...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Another day, another reason to STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/14/2002 09:55:55 AM ----- BODY:

Another day, another reason to laugh uncontrollably at how weird people are. There is a newsreader in the UK called Huw Edwards. He's a slightly podgy Welsh bloke. He's got a nice enough accent, but other than that he's fairly unremarkable. Or is he?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: And I quote from NTK: STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/14/2002 01:36:27 PM ----- BODY:

And I quote from NTK: "Only a couple of days or so left to get your nominations into the "Bloggies" Second Annual Weblog Awards - and perhaps prevent Metafilter, PlasticBag.Org and - imaginatively enough - Blogger.com from scooping all those $20 PayPal prizes again."

I should point out that only the supreme winner of the awards receives any kind of prize.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: All the votes are in STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/14/2002 02:17:48 PM ----- BODY:

All the votes are in for the first stage of the 2002 Bloggies, so I can only hope that the article, Psychology of Weblogs has been nominated, even if it doesn't receive an award. There's a lot of sense in it - particularly the emphasis on personality, story-telling and the the seeking out of creative and innovative linkage.

I got an e-mail a couple of days ago from a guy who wanted to know how to increase traffic to his weblog - god only knows why he chose to ask me, but there you go. I'm not entirely sure that my advice was quite what he was looking for, because I didn't give him any revolutionary tips about secret search engine strategies or ways to control and influence the minds of young, hip and trendy scene-setters. In fact I can summarise what I said to him in just a few points:

Search Engines:
You can get traffic off search engines, but is it the kind of traffic that really interests you? The people who seek your site by running a search about "Sex with lubricated badgers" are going to be disappointed with your thoughts on identifying the gender of the black and white animals. And if you're hoping to catch people who are just looking for a good weblog, remember that there are hundreds of thousands of other weblogs which are just as likely to appear in their search results. My opinion? Don't bother.
Site of the month/day/week etc
Again - why bother. Most of the sites that give out awards do so to get traffic, not to give it to other people. And if they're easy to win, they're essentially useless, and will clutter up your site with badges and logos and buttons. If they're not easy to get mentioned on - such as Blogger's "Blogs of note", then your chances of getting a link are almost ridiculously small - and frankly would be enhanced by paying attention to the only really important parts of the weblog process... Which are...
Good quality design and content
It may be dull, but it remains true - if you write good stuff and present it elegantly, then you'll be well read in no time at all. Case in point - Trabaca is a site that I stumbled upon fairly recently. I've got quite entrenched in my weblog reads of late, and don't tend to wander that much. But this site had an immediate visual impact for me - and it stuck in my head because of that. And then I discovered that it was a delight to read. So now it's a regular destination for me. That's the best model for encouraging regular visitors to your site - give them something worth coming to.

And even though I told myself I wouldn't do this - here are a few ways in which you can up the quality of your design and content:

What's your site about?
You don't have to define yourself too closely, but if you can identify a spirit or a set of subjects that matter to you or that you have opinions about then you're one step towards developing a weblog that people will be able to relate to.
Branding
It sounds really corporate, but just think about it for a minute - if you were building a site about hamsters, then you might do something kind of cutesy. If you were building a site about body-building, then you'd probably go for something really macho-looking. If it's about the things you care about then it should have an appropriate look - one that is right for the discussion of the things you care about. Identify colours, images, themes and a name that works for you and is easily memorable. Make the name short!
Opinions
There are a thousand sites on the net which duplicate the popular links of the moment. Since the appearance of Blogdex, this has started to happen even more regularly. But this is not necessarily a problem unless those links are all you have to offer. What's your opinion of the link? What's your opinion on the story? These are the only things that people can't get on any other site but yours. You may as well play to your strengths!
Story-selection
You went to the shop. That's nice. You had a cookie. Great. You picked your arse. Excellent. Why are you writing this down? A hundred thousand things may happen to you in a day, or maybe nothing will have happened at all, but there will always be something worth talking about. And for everything worth talking about, there will be dozens of things that you did during the day that no one gives a damn about! Today I went to the loo, took two painkillers for my toothache and drank pink grapefruit juice. Do you give a damn? No.
Good quality writing
This one's a bit tedious - check your grammar, check your spelling, feel comfortable going back and re-editing posts that don't make immediate sense to your when you re-read them.

I'm not going to pretend that I do all these things all the time, or that I do them very well. Still - that's my two-penneth. Hopefully you'll find something useful in it.

Addenda: i) On 'story-selection' it has been pointed out to me that as a weblogger you shouldn't want to always appeal to an audience. I say this doesn't matter - whether or not you want to write about what you find interesting or what an audience might find interesting is up to you. But if neither of you find it interesting, then why publish it? ii) A further aside: Remember that this piece is about how to make a weblog get more traffic - not to make it worthwhile, socially valuable or "good". How you do that is up to you...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Films watched over weekend: A STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/15/2002 01:29:25 AM ----- BODY:

Films watched over weekend: A Beautiful Mind, The Princess Diaries, Vanilla Sky and Phantoms. Films that I watched this weekend that I would be interested in seeing again: N/A. Worst film I saw this weekend: Vanilla Sky.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: One of the wonderful things STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/15/2002 01:26:33 PM ----- BODY:

One of the wonderful things about having a little brother who's thirteen years younger than you was that just when you're really supposed to have put childish things behind you, you get the opportunity to do them all over again in the guise of 'playing with the little one'. Which of course meant that my youthful obsession with Lego models managed to exist in a modifed form well into my twenties. Which makes announcements like the Lego Spiderman all the cooler - even as I approach my thirtieth birthday... [via Haddock]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Quote of the day: "Whoso STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/15/2002 04:04:09 PM ----- BODY:

Quote of the day: "Whoso would be a man must be a non-conformist." [Ralph Waldo Emerson]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: An amusing moment this afternoon STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/15/2002 07:16:36 PM ----- BODY:

An amusing moment this afternoon - I got an e-mail from my flatmate recommending that I check out the Buffy Swearing Keyboard, humourously suggesting that it was 'made for' our Buffy-obsessed flat. At which point I had to explain that the keyboard in question was made by a guy I used to work with and that the idea of having Buffy speak loud obscenities emerged one morning when we were outside the office having a cigarette.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: How to get more traffic to your weblog STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: __default__ ALLOW PINGS: 0 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Personal Publishing CATEGORY: Personal Publishing DATE: 01/16/2002 12:18:44 AM ----- BODY: I got an e-mail a couple of days ago from a guy who wanted to know how to increase traffic to his weblog - god only knows why he chose to ask me, but there you go. I'm not entirely sure that my advice was quite what he was looking for, because I didn't give him any revolutionary tips about secret search engine strategies or ways to control and influence the minds of young, hip and trendy scene-setters. In fact I can summarise what I said to him in just a few points:

Search Engines: You can get traffic off search engines, but is it the kind of traffic that really interests you? The people who seek your site by running a search about "Sex with lubricated badgers" are going to be disappointed with your thoughts on identifying the gender of the black and white animals. And if you're hoping to catch people who are just looking for a good weblog, remember that there are hundreds of thousands of other weblogs which are just as likely to appear in their search results. My opinion? Don't bother.
Site of the month/day/week etc Again - why bother. Most of the sites that give out awards do so to get traffic, not to give it to other people. And if they're easy to win, they're essentially useless, and will clutter up your site with badges and logos and buttons. If they're not easy to get mentioned on - such as Blogger's "Blogs of note", then your chances of getting a link are almost ridiculously small - and frankly would be enhanced by paying attention to the only really important parts of the weblog process... Which are...
Good quality design and content It may be dull, but it remains true - if you write good stuff and present it elegantly, then you'll be well read in no time at all. Case in point - Trabaca is a site that I stumbled upon fairly recently. I've got quite entrenched in my weblog reads of late, and don't tend to wander that much. But this site had an immediate visual impact for me - and it stuck in my head because of that. And then I discovered that it was a delight to read. So now it's a regular destination for me. That's the best model for encouraging regular visitors to your site - give them something worth coming to.

And even though I told myself I wouldn't do this - here are a few ways in which you can up the quality of your design and content:

What's your site about? You don't have to define yourself too closely, but if you can identify a spirit or a set of subjects that matter to you or that you have opinions about then you're one step towards developing a weblog that people will be able to relate to.
Branding It sounds really corporate, but just think about it for a minute - if you were building a site about hamsters, then you might do something kind of cutesy. If you were building a site about body-building, then you'd probably go for something really macho-looking. If it's about the things you care about then it should have an appropriate look - one that is right for the discussion of the things you care about. Identify colours, images, themes and a name that works for you and is easily memorable. Make the name short!
Opinions There are a thousand sites on the net which duplicate the popular links of the moment. Since the appearance of Blogdex, this has started to happen even more regularly. But this is not necessarily a problem unless those links are all you have to offer. What's your opinion of the link? What's your opinion on the story? These are the only things that people can't get on any other site but yours. You may as well play to your strengths!
Story-selection You went to the shop. That's nice. You had a cookie. Great. You picked your arse. Excellent. Why are you writing this down? A hundred thousand things may happen to you in a day, or maybe nothing will have happened at all, but there will always be something worth talking about. And for everything worth talking about, there will be dozens of things that you did during the day that no one gives a damn about! Today I went to the loo, took two painkillers for my toothache and drank pink grapefruit juice. Do you give a damn? No.
Good quality writing This one's a bit tedious - check your grammar, check your spelling, feel comfortable going back and re-editing posts that don't make immediate sense to your when you re-read them.

I'm not going to pretend that I do all these things all the time, or that I do them very well. Still - that's my two-penneth. Hopefully you'll find something useful in it. ----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Coates EMAIL: tom@plasticbag.org IP: URL: http://www.plasticbag.org DATE: 01/17/2002 10:58:57 PM Addenda: i) On 'story-selection' it has been pointed out to me that as a weblogger you shouldn't always want to appeal to an audience. I say that this doesn't matter - whether or not you want to write about what you find interesting, or what an audience might find interesting is up to you. But if neither of you find it interesting, then why publish it? ii) A further aside: Remember that this piece is about how to make a weblog get more traffic - not to make it a worthwhile, socially valuable or "good" weblog. How you do that is a completely separate article! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Jo EMAIL: jo.charman@drkw.com IP: URL: http://tinyjo.livejournal.com DATE: 01/25/2002 12:16:42 PM See also http://www.nobody-knows-anything.com/websuck.html - Why (most) webjournals suck - which is basically agreeing with the points you make and going into a bit more detail in some places. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: fairycakes EMAIL: pinkfairycakes@hotmail.com IP: URL: http://www.pinkfairycakes.co.uk DATE: 01/25/2002 12:21:54 PM Thanks for popping in Addenda: i) I do a personal site for me not for traffic. It's my way as a web designer to keep a wee note of my life and I only started doing it cos I found a diary ( the one and only one i ever did) from 1996 and had a giggle reading back - hopefully in a couple of years I'll be able to do the same with my blog. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Jigzaw EMAIL: webwizard@bawls.org IP: URL: http://www.bawls.org DATE: 01/29/2002 05:23:48 PM Amen to that fairycakes! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Jamie Leigh EMAIL: missjamieleigh@aol.com IP: URL: http:// DATE: 01/31/2002 12:44:49 PM Interesting read for sure.... I think my site (without sounded big-headed) is one of those rare sites. I am very proud. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Dan Walker EMAIL: dan@overnow.com IP: URL: http://www.danwalker.ca/ DATE: 02/01/2002 06:21:34 PM The importance of e-mail cannot be overstated. If you want to stay fresh in people's minds, e-mail is the way to do it, as your fans will anticipate your next mail, and people who've forgotten you will be gently reminded that you exist. Put a signup form on your page, get people's e-mail addresses, and mail them stuff. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Kaushik EMAIL: kaushikb@hotmail.com IP: URL: http://banerjee.blogspot.com DATE: 02/05/2002 10:18:16 AM I have been struggling with the same question. A few other ideas that may work: -Textads/pyrads/other variations in weblog communities. They aren't terribly expensive. I believe you can buy 9600 impressions in Blogger for $10 and every 1000 impressions in Metafilter for $2. Daypop has a similar rate. The majority of people who go to these places are webloggers and if you have an interesting caption, some people may actually check it out. -Join communities of likeminded people. Your signature on the e-mail messages that you post to any forum is a good way to introduce your weblog. -This helps. -Posting messages to forums like these. Hoping that someone actually reads them and gets so impressed with your brilliant and insightful remarks and they click immediately on your url! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Kaushik EMAIL: kaushikb@hotmail.com IP: URL: http://banerjee.blogspot.com DATE: 02/05/2002 10:22:00 AM In the previous post, I meant to reference: http://newhome.weblogs.com/pingSiteForm at 'This helps'. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Daisy Antonio EMAIL: daisy@alembong.org IP: URL: http://www.alembong.org DATE: 02/06/2002 08:26:45 PM Thank you Tom, for sharing with us your thoughts on increasing traffic. I agree with what you said, about the importance of contents, in terms of attracting audience. having focus, or what you said "branding." Who would not want followers? However, a few can cut to the chase, of bubble vs. meat. The best to you, ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: chris EMAIL: nospam@nospam.com IP: URL: http://www.letterneversent.com DATE: 02/11/2002 05:17:45 AM Thanks for the tips! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Ghostbusters EMAIL: we@three.com IP: URL: DATE: 02/20/2002 01:57:35 PM you heard me! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: tray EMAIL: tla@tracyapps.org IP: URL: http://tracyapps.org DATE: 02/27/2002 11:50:50 PM *nods* posting messages and comments on peoples websites helps... being NICE to the people is always a definite plus (no one wants to visit your site if you tell them off on their webpage... just a hunch.) and then there is always the "threaten your friends with bodily harm until they visit your webpage" approach.. :-) ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: sistahbeth EMAIL: zabethanne@aol.com IP: URL: http://www.absolutwade.com/bethworld DATE: 03/04/2002 12:09:50 AM i went to the store once AND had a cookie :) I just put stuff up because i can. come by and see me sometime! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: KwanYu EMAIL: kwanyu@rrs.at IP: URL: http://kwanyu.shacknet.nu DATE: 03/04/2002 06:57:38 AM Don't forget affiliate programs too, like nodist net and other places, small text adds for everyone in the group, can send plenty of traffic your way. And word of mouth, i've been writing my blog for around a year now, and suddenly i'm getting 500 (uniquie IP) hits a day looking through my site, and they actually stay on it and follow my links out. It's all fairly cool :) TP ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Morteza Habibnia EMAIL: m_habibnia,@yahoo.com IP: URL: http://yahoo DATE: 03/04/2002 02:57:05 PM Dear sir, Would you please send me email and explain your activites for me.We products Cap &Bottle for Mineral water, Oil , Durinks.We need materials for our company. Your fiathfully Morteza Habibnia Business Manager Name's our company ,LAVAN PLASTIC,. Telefax :0098_021_7543357 ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: bastaard EMAIL: bstrd1@hotmail.com IP: URL: http://bastaard.blogspot.com DATE: 03/30/2002 02:43:01 AM What about posting in this forum? ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tristan Tom EMAIL: tristan@tristantom.com IP: URL: http://www.tristantom.com/weblog/ DATE: 04/08/2002 05:09:23 PM Sex sells. Virtually any sexy blog is sure to get traffic. Not that I have an first 'hand' experience with this... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Seyed Razavi EMAIL: seyed@monkeyx.com IP: URL: http://www.monkeyx.com DATE: 04/09/2002 02:46:50 AM My weblog is pretty new and not getting much traffic. But it gives me a place to hang my thoughts. Which might be enough... but it'd be nice to get some feedback on my thoughts. Even criticism would be nice compared to the deafening silence. http://www.monkeyx.com/ ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Cohkan's Palace EMAIL: cohkandbaf@msn.com IP: 217.121.112.90 URL: http://cohkan.tripod.com/cohkanspalace DATE: 05/02/2002 04:24:43 PM THIS IS A VERY COOL SITE ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Ruy Miranda EMAIL: ruymiranda@globo.com IP: 200.167.240.202 URL: DATE: 05/07/2002 10:46:43 PM Hi, Please can you inform me if a page-blog (a portion of one site) indexed on Google, can have increased its ranking if there is great traffic from different users and no one site with link pointing to them (to the page-blog and to the site where is the page-blog) ? ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: eric EMAIL: d_dbrett@juno.com IP: 166.90.224.233 URL: http://www.angelfire.com/mi4/ericscrap/ DATE: 05/15/2002 11:41:01 PM this site is awesome ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tock V EMAIL: tock_v@yahoo.com IP: 203.222.88.23 URL: http://tockv.sphosting.com DATE: 07/08/2002 05:53:30 AM I have my own personal webpage, as web design is a hobby of mine, and I'm not getting many hits either. So what? It's a hobby! Anyway, this site rocks ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: seby EMAIL: teiubesc@teiubesc.us IP: 213.154.113.52 URL: http://www.lesbiro.net DATE: 07/21/2002 08:24:41 AM the best ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Ryan EMAIL: ryan@ryanisbatman.com IP: 208.141.180.131 URL: http://ryanisbatman.com DATE: 09/28/2002 11:15:42 PM I can't even make a web page, but i have a web journal ;) how's that? ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: shaz EMAIL: lrpolo@yahoo.com IP: 193.60.221.170 URL: http://starshinebaby.blogspot.com DATE: 10/16/2002 04:30:30 PM another way to get people to visit your web site is to make contributions on other people's websites ie writing articles. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Michelle EMAIL: no@thanx.com IP: 80.135.253.206 URL: http://www.vacuity.de DATE: 03/25/2003 11:00:35 AM Thank you for the tipps. :) ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Ajit EMAIL: achauhan_ishir@yahoo.co.in IP: 61.11.30.181 URL: DATE: 06/17/2003 12:16:38 PM Hi I want know how i make keywords for a page? suppose I have about us page of my site. how i make a good keywords for this and how i set my phrase. Please tell deeply. Thanks ajit chauhan ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: gambit EMAIL: gambit@aquaba.co.za IP: 198.54.202.2 URL: http://www.aquaba.co.za DATE: 12/30/2003 11:01:07 PM good stuff, adding keywords to a page is simple, you need to use the meta tag in the "keywords" section add your keywords seperated by , Good luck ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: fanteja2000 EMAIL: fanteja2000@yahoo.com IP: 68.252.50.195 URL: http://www.fanteja.2webh.com DATE: 03/25/2004 01:31:14 AM i have dang if you dring pink juice :) JUST KIDDING ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Rebecca EMAIL: rkshiningtiger@yahoo.com IP: 4.152.192.155 URL: http://www.geocities.com/rkxys DATE: 07/23/2004 01:04:17 AM well, thanks for the tips! i've been blogging for about 8 months...my site doesn't get much traffic, but i'll try out some of the tips. thanks again! ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: One of the hazards of STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/16/2002 11:09:42 AM ----- BODY:

One of the hazards of working for a friend (and from home) is that they see nothing particularly wrong with text messaging you at seven in the morning, when you're still comfortably asleep and warm having been up until 2am playing with code. This will have to stop.

But Danny isn't the only one of my friends acting strangely this morning. The fact that many of my contemporaries have their own personal sites makes tracking their lunacies easier than ever. It's like their affectations, mood swings and quirks are frozen in hypertext amber. Let's see:

Michael has in the course of a month decided to give up smoking, take up yoga and have various parts of his body shot through with metal. It's like he's becoming the anti-Michael - completely different from the man I knew at University. And he's decided to give up smoking by taking Zyban [Official site]. I'm confused by this turn of events - as a smoker myself I can see the attraction of giving up, I can even understand getting help to do so - patches, gum - these things make sense to me. But there's something about taking medication to ween yourself off a habit that seems strange to me. Shouldn't the remedy match the problem in some way? What happened to willpower?

While Michael's becoming a highly medicated "my-body-is-a-temple" kind of guy, Matt is beginning to respond to the world as if it were one huge and continual head-trip. In his latest post he's reading a book on the tube when he comes upon the Hebb Hypothesis. The text he's reading goes like this, "Most viable theories of memory require some form of synaptic modification dependent on the correlation of pre-and postsynaptic neuronal firing (which we will denote as the Hebb Hypothesis)." This triggers a chain of intellectual association-making - a kind of magically synaptic corona - in and around Matt's mind. And he launches into one of the trippiest pieces of writing he's produced in months:

"Outside the feeling of claustrophobia hadn't lifted. I looked up at the blue sky and the buildings and understood what I was seeing what the physical alteration in my machine. Suddenly everything reversed, my brain turned inside-out and instead of clouds and windows I saw the patterns of my brain -- an inverted sphere, the whole universe of my perception as solid brain, and a hole inside, a gap in this solid the exact shape of my old brain, vacant, and me, reflected by the universe inside it, a hologram."

So Michael's become a pharmaceutical Buddha and Matt's become Techie Jim Morrison. And this has all happened while I've slept. Someone seems to have slipped something into the meme-stream this morning. It's having an effect on everyone.

I'll end with David and Meg - two successful, well-paid, essentially sober individuals. Surely these two would be immune from any mass-mind-fuck that's going down? It seems not. For they too have been exploring whole new states of being, by carefully detailing their respective experiences of their local mall - the O2 Centre. Now I too am a fan of this establishment - in fact Meg's descriptions of the fake rocks, piped bird noises and plumes of lit water make me feel almost nostalgic. (Aside: the same effect could be acheived with fibre optic cables, keyhole surgery and a large quantity of beer.) But I'm awed by their desire to chronicle these experiences in such detail. It's as if their senses have been enhanced in some way, and instead of seeing fibre-glass and escalator, they're seeing patterms of light and colour - Acid-visions of modern life...

Is it just me? Am I the only one left with a mundane brain? Am I the only one who can't see the music and feels it passing through me?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Freelance work is sent to STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/16/2002 04:57:48 PM ----- BODY:

Freelance work is sent to try us. It's just designed to drive you mad. Today I've discovered that the �350 that Time Out owe me for writing the gay section of this year's London Guide has been sent to a place I haven't lived in for two years. Two years! This wouldn't annoy me so much if it wasn't for the fact that I worked at Time Out full time for nearly 18 months after I moved from my old flat.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Last night at nine o'clock, STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/16/2002 05:07:41 PM ----- BODY:

Last night at nine o'clock, our flat was struck with a terrible choice. Would it be Brian De Palma's Snake Eyes or Wes Anderson's The Royal Tenenbaums? Several nanoseconds later we had settled on the latter - citing only vastly superior quality and entertainment as our reason. Within ten minutes I had turned to my flatmate and said, "Mella, when this gets to the end can we rewind and watch it again?" She assented. But this delightful fate was not to be, as once the film had ended, we found ourselves woefully drawn to the pulsating breasts and buttocks of Baldwin Jnr and Crawford in tits'n'arse cinema car-crash Fair Game...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Here are five boring reasons STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/16/2002 09:54:49 PM ----- BODY:

Here are five boring reasons why the Google effect will not dramatically affect the need for domain names (as is argued in this article). The article argues as follows:

"The most interesting from a domain-name point of view is this: With the rise of search tools that unerringly bring you to the page you want, the need for a highly specific domain name -- one that a casual Web user would be able to guess -- has practically disappeared."

Boring reason 1: Repeat traffic. If I am an e-commerce based retailer then it does me no good if people only come to my site for a very specific purpose (one product) and then depart never to return, unless of course that's the only product I sell. Because relationships between shoppers and shopping sites are developed over time - the shopper has to trust the company to sell to them. And that means that they have to visit a number of times - each time with a slightly different agenda. Other sites also rely on repeat traffic - even personal site like weblogs operate on the principle that an individual will become involved in reading the content, and return regularly. This actually goes right down to the point where it can be recognised that to a large number of people - finding a site like a weblog through a search engine probably isn't going to be useful to either party. The weblog is unlikely to answer their query like a pure information site would - and is designed for a completely different approach to reading. Memorable site names aid repeat traffic.

Boring Reason 2: Authority. Do you believe what you read on the internet? All of it? Without question? If so then you are incredibly foolish - because for every light-hearted spoof there is a hate-mongers site or a rampant charlatan. If I search for a page about cancer treatments, I want to go to a site that has a name that I trust - my first point of call wouldn't be to a page on GeoCities. The (right) domain name is like a badge, which affiliates you with the institution that you purport to be from much successfully than merely saying that you're from the FBI or MacDonalds. All sites which have a function that requires a relationship of trust between the parties or which needs to come from a trusted source is more likely to achieve that function with a domain name than without one. A domain name suggests you are who you say you are.

Boring Reason 3: Advertising and branding. Because repeat visitors and a relationship of trust are so important to most serious sites, advertising and branding has become tremendously important - from the top (Amazon) to the bottom plasticbag.org). Domain names make this process significantly easier.

Boring Reason 4: How people actually search. The previous three sections have described reasons that domain names remain important. This section goes the other direction, and suggests that while they are important, they have never really been important in the way that Gilmore describes. There are lots of types of searches that people make on the internet. Most of these searches do not fit into the two narrow categories that he elucidates. In fact most of them have never had any relationship to domain names. If you are attempting to ask a question by reference to the internet - you are unlikely to end up at the front page of a site. Once you get past people searching for things like "Hotmail" or "Amazon.com" you are left with searches based on current events, celebrity gossip and searches made to answer all the hundreds of thousands of questions that people want answered. Gilmour makes it sound as if searching had previously been synonymous with the guessing of domain names (albeit much more successful) when in fact guessing a domain has never been a particularly important path to most of the pages on the World Wide Web.

Boring reason 5: And anyway - doesn't the domain name help the search engine? I'm not going to push this too heavily, as there are now many other factors that a search engine takes into account when it's figuring out the relevance of it's search results - but the presence of a domain name certainly doesn't hurt...

Let's go back to the beginning and think about it logically. In fact the search approach that Gilmour describes has only really ever worked in very specific circumstances - like when you're attempting to find a company by using it's trading name or when you're searching for generic domain names - like sex.com or bookshop.co.uk. Once you're outside the remit of those particular limited circumstances, his argument loses much of its plausibility...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Domain names & the "Google Effect" STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: __default__ ALLOW PINGS: 0 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Technology CATEGORY: Technology DATE: 01/16/2002 10:00:04 PM ----- BODY: Dan Gilmour has recently argued that the "Google effect" - ie. the fact that Google and other search engines are now so good that they can locate extremely accurately what someone is searching for - will reduce the demand for new domain names.

"The most interesting from a domain-name point of view is this: With the rise of search tools that unerringly bring you to the page you want, the need for a highly specific domain name -- one that a casual Web user would be able to guess -- has practically disappeared."

I should start off by saying that this statement is of course true. But it's not the same as saying that the use of search engines like Google will radically decrease demand for domain names. Because what he's concentrating on is an individual's attempts to find for the first time a specific type of website or online service by guessing the name. There are many other types of searches, and many other reasons for a domain names existence. But I'm getting ahead of myself... Here, in a nutshell, are my five reasons why the Google effect will not seriously compromise the take up of domain names: Boring reason 1: Repeat traffic. If I am an e-commerce based retailer then it does me no good if people only come to my site for a very specific purpose (one product) and then depart never to return, unless of course that's the only product I sell. Because relationships between shoppers and shopping sites are developed over time - the shopper has to trust the company to sell to them. And that means that they have to visit a number of times - each time with a slightly different agenda. Other sites also rely on repeat traffic - even personal site like weblogs operate on the principle that an individual will become involved in reading the content, and return regularly. This actually goes right down to the point where it can be recognised that to a large number of people - finding a site like a weblog through a search engine probably isn't going to be useful to either party. The weblog is unlikely to answer their query like a pure information site would - and is designed for a completely different approach to reading. Memorable site names aid repeat traffic. Boring Reason 2: Authority. Do you believe what you read on the internet? All of it? Without question? If so then you are incredibly foolish - because for every light-hearted spoof there is a hate-mongers site or a rampant charlatan. If I search for a page about cancer treatments, I want to go to a site that has a name that I trust - my first point of call wouldn't be to a page on GeoCities. The (right) domain name is like a badge, which affiliates you with the institution that you purport to be from much successfully than merely saying that you're from the FBI or MacDonalds. All sites which have a function that requires a relationship of trust between the parties or which needs to come from a trusted source is more likely to achieve that function with a domain name than without one. A domain name suggests you are who you say you are. Boring Reason 3: Advertising and branding. Because repeat visitors and a relationship of trust are so important to most serious sites, advertising and branding has become tremendously important - from the top (Amazon) to the bottom plasticbag.org). Domain names make this process significantly easier. Boring Reason 4: How people actually search. The previous three sections have described reasons that domain names remain important. This section goes the other direction, and suggests that while they are important, they have never really been important in the way that Gilmore describes. There are lots of types of searches that people make on the internet. Most of these searches do not fit into the two narrow categories that he elucidates. In fact most of them have never had any relationship to domain names. If you are attempting to ask a question by reference to the internet - you are unlikely to end up at the front page of a site. Once you get past people searching for things like "Hotmail" or "Amazon.com" you are left with searches based on current events, celebrity gossip and searches made to answer all the hundreds of thousands of questions that people want answered. Gilmour makes it sound as if searching had previously been synonymous with the guessing of domain names (albeit much more successful) when in fact guessing a domain has never been a particularly important path to most of the pages on the World Wide Web. Boring reason 5: And anyway - doesn't the domain name help the search engine? I'm not going to push this too heavily, as there are now many other factors that a search engine takes into account when it's figuring out the relevance of it's search results - but the presence of a domain name certainly doesn't hurt... Let's go back to the beginning and think about it logically. In fact the search approach that Gilmour describes has only really ever worked in very specific circumstances - like when you're attempting to find a company by using it's trading name or when you're searching for generic domain names - like sex.com or bookshop.co.uk. Once you're outside the remit of those particular limited circumstances, his argument loses much of its plausibility... ----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: First things first, let's link STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/17/2002 12:00:01 AM ----- BODY:

First things first, let's link to Matt Jones who showed this to me. The reasons for the link will become clear shortly. There's an interesting trick you can play with referrers which Matt showed me (here). Through use of a few pieces of javascript, you can list the places that people who come to your site have come from. Here's an example:

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: My thoughts on the Google STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/17/2002 12:02:15 AM ----- BODY:

My thoughts on the Google effect have been picked up by Dan Gilmour's weblog on SiliconValley.com.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Apple do, on occasion, evidence STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/17/2002 09:48:52 AM ----- BODY:

Apple do, on occasion, evidence a sense of humour. The fact that they have an entire page on their site (apple.com/myths) about how they're really good actually and Windows isn't really is probably not the best example of it. But they do have one. Honest.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Greetings from Framley... What ho! STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/17/2002 09:58:18 AM ----- BODY:

Greetings from Framley... What ho! It was last Sunday that I went exploring in my little motor car - I call her Gertie after Great Grandma Jemima's dog! Was travelling through the dang countryside with the top down and a nice pipe firmly wedged in my winsome cake-hole when I ended up at the strangest little town you can imagine... Blasted place looked perfectly normal, but on my arrival I gathered from a friendly barkeep that there had been a facist coup in the nearby village of Whoft! Leaving the public house, I saw my old friend Andy Garcia - apparently getting married to one of the local gels. But shortly before I got close enough to talk to him, he was swept away by the overflow from the nearby fluff floods in St Eyot's. Recognising a clearly disturbed native population, I swiftly slid myself back into Gertie and whirred off into the sunset. I won't be going back to Framley...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Happy birthday to Cal, Happy STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/17/2002 10:03:09 AM ----- BODY:

Happy birthday to Cal, Happy birthday to Cal, Happy birthday dear Calvin, Happy birthday to Cal. And many more.... (See you at lunchtime, old chap...)

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: An e-mail exchange with my STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/17/2002 11:13:57 AM ----- BODY:

An e-mail exchange with my darling little brother (16 years old), who is currently located at a boarding school near Peterborough:

Peter: "I am bored and have to do lessons and stuff because I am at Evil Make do work place. I also am bored because I have to have a Retest this afternoon because teachers are mean people who enjoy annoying people......."

Tom: "I had to go to the Dentist this morning, and they're going to take out one of my wisdom teeth and replace three fillings and put in three new ones. So consider yourself lucky. Am very scared."

Peter: "HAHAHAHAHAHA that made looking after old people sound fun."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Ivan Massow - cute but dim...? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/17/2002 07:18:52 PM ----- BODY:

So now Ivan Massow, an old friend of plasticbag.org has gone and done something else controversial. Presumably bored after converting from the Conservatives to Labour, unsatisfied by the controversy concerning the appointment of a financial advisor as Chairman of the ICA, tired of starting and stopping businesses - some successful, some not, bored of being interviewed by Attitude magazine, exhausted by the maintenance of the stream running through his kitchen (apparently) and (more to the point) frustrated by the lack of publicity arising from his resolute refusal to pay for any of the drinks on the few times I've met him out in London (even when I was unemployed), he's now decided to slam conceptual artists. He's a funny chap. Cute though.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I'm working to deadlines. Which STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/17/2002 11:53:18 PM ----- BODY:

I'm working to deadlines. Which is fun. As I'm sure you know. And as a result, I have a deal with myself not to do any work on the plasticbag.org redesign until after eight o'clock at night. Which is a shame, since the process of redesigning is - for the first time - an absolutely epic endeavour. I've taught myself the intricacies of some pretty hardcore CSS, I've collaborated with like a professional designer, I've talked with people who have custom build me odds and ends of javascript, I've been teaching myself how to use movable type. I've done huge amounts and the site still only seems to be about half finished. Will this madness never end?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Aw. According to the Onion, STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/18/2002 10:04:04 AM ----- BODY:

Aw. According to the Onion, the new iMac wuvs me.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: You loved Billy Exorcist (1Mb), STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/18/2002 10:18:22 AM ----- BODY:

You loved Billy Exorcist (1Mb), and you've watched me spin around on a mountain top, Sound of Music style (if you haven't, the button's over on the right). Now it's time for more flash spoofs and movies from Sean Nadeau over at unfilteredfilms.com.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Interestingly, as far as I STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/18/2002 01:40:30 PM ----- BODY:

Interestingly, as far as I can tell, the article which revealed some of Ev's plans for Premium Blogger (which was supposed to appear in the Guardian's "Online" supplement) appears to have not been published after all. I wonder why.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: If you're a London-based web-savvy STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/18/2002 01:45:09 PM ----- BODY:

If you're a London-based web-savvy individual with an interest in contemporary cyberculture then be sure to be in Soho's Golden Square this evening to hear Douglas Rushkoff talk. It should be interesting.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I'll go into greater detail STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/19/2002 12:43:41 PM ----- BODY:

I'll go into greater detail about the talk with Douglas Rushkoff later in the day. But in the meantime, one of the things he suggested was that Attention Deficit Disorder was a disease that gained vast prominence in the US as corporations responded to the threat to advertising revenue that the internet, interactive technology and remote controls posed. Interestingly, I stumbled upon an article this morning in Scientific American that goes directly against this assertion - and which goes to show that it is possible still for people to argue effectively and scientifically against the devices which are funded by paid-for meme propogation and cultural programming. That is - it is still possible for people to fight against television.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: A long list of great STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/19/2002 01:13:04 PM ----- BODY:

A long list of great weblogs compiled purely for my own benefit and with no ulterior motives whatsoever, and certainly nothing to do with stealing ideas for the plasticbag.org redesign or doing a kind of 'state of the weblog nation' thing:

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: When I was a teenager, STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/19/2002 05:45:36 PM ----- BODY:

When I was a teenager, one of my closest friends was called Glyn. He got married last year and I was invited and it was one of the strangest and most wonderful experiences of my life. One of the things that he used to talk about a lot was the size of the moon. In fantasy art, the big breasted woman riding the massive lizard is always framed by a huge glowing orb - a vast moon, shining down on all of us. He felt let down by the world, I think. He felt that the real moon seemed so small in comparison. He wondered to me once whether there was anywhere on the planet that the moon really could appear that large. Perhaps in polar regions. Maybe on top of a mountain.

When I visited my family for Christmas, I saw one of the most astonishing sights of my life. Around the moon was a huge corona - a vast circle of light surrounded it - like a massive, pale-blue version of the effect that you get when you squint at a street light. I stayed outside in the code for several minutes. It was amazing.

A couple of weeks ago I had a dream - most of which I don't remember very clearly. But one thing I do remember is turning around at one point and seeing the moon directly in front of me. As if in a movie I then saw myself - a point-of-view shot slowly backing away from my face. I was clearly amazed by what I'd seen - a vast moon, just above the horizon - so clear it felt like I could reach out and touch it with my fingertips. I remember a huge intake of breath. I felt elated.

This afternoon I've been watching The Dish - an Australian film about the people who worked at the Parkes radio telescope. These people were responsible for receiving the television broadcast of the first moonwalk, which would then be sent around the world to many hundreds of millions of people across the world.

Like all people of my generation, I've grown up with the idea that man has walked on the moon. It's become a fact - dry and dusty. Impressive like the steam engine or the first flight - but not awe-inspiring. Watching this film I started for the first time, I think, to get a sense of the scale of this wonder that was accomplished, about the incredible utopian energies that this one act released. And I looked out of my sitting-room window and in the sky above me was a sharp disc of light. The moon has never seemed larger to me.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Brief words about the Rushkoff lecture... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/19/2002 07:08:24 PM ----- BODY:

Brief words about the Rushkoff lecture: 1) If you are the astonishingly beautiful young man wearing a dark blue jumper with a pale blue and white bullseye on the front, with a tendency to get flushed in the face, then my e-mail address is tom%40plasticbag.org. 2) Before the lecture, Davo was treated to an impromptu performance from my glove puppy and glove bunny. 3) I asked two questions - one about establishing where we look to for definitive information regarding matters that we have no immediate experience of (in essence, "Who should we trust?"), and another about the relationship between individual, community and state. 4) I embarrassed myself in front of Douglas Rushkoff himself by talking loudly about "The Most Important Thing In The World" as we past him after the lecture, and being asked by him what I was talking about, and having to confess that I was talking about cigarettes.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Use Photoshop? Is there something STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/19/2002 07:16:19 PM ----- BODY:

Use Photoshop? Is there something that you've always thought they should add? Then tell Photoshop Wishlist.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Mentioned today in the Guardian's STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/19/2002 07:21:43 PM ----- BODY:

Mentioned today in the Guardian's "The Editor" supplement, the Bloggies, Blogger, metafilter.com, Looby Lu, plasticbag.org and Disturbing Search Requests.

The supplement also included a list of the top 25 words searched for on Cambridge Dictionaries Online over the last year. Amusingly at the bottom they say, "One word (18th) had to be censored from the list". Anyone want to guess what that word was?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Searches on Google that lead STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/20/2002 01:53:02 PM ----- BODY:

Searches on Google that lead people to plasticbag.org: "Huw Edwards short arse", "tom strop", "my first is in chicken", "chaos magick minidisc", "cunt kicking clubs", "Melanie Hill I was in love with her Andy Big Brother", "comic rebecca adult housewives", "kpmg evil", "lucid dreaming sex story review".

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: To launch, or not to launch... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/20/2002 06:03:37 PM ----- BODY:

Question: Is it better to launch something unfinished or to wait an indeterminable amount of time and launch it when it's complete (and when you're thoroughly sick of it)? Answers on a postcard.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Finally, proof (if proof were STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/20/2002 10:05:09 PM ----- BODY:

Finally, proof (if proof were needed) that the new iMac is modelled on the Pixar desklamp.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: My amazing senses have detected STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/20/2002 10:17:52 PM ----- BODY:

My amazing senses have detected that someone on the interhighweb just called plasticbag.org "somewhat worthy". My big snarky bitch glands are swelling. You know who you are. Just don't expect a link, ok? Oh goddamit.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Oh god. I'm on the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/20/2002 10:22:39 PM ----- BODY:

Oh god. I'm on the panel for the Bloggies. Which means I'm one of the poor bastards who gets to reduce the vast number of options available for voting down to a reasonable number. I'm going to be here all night. The list is huge. Apparently over a thousand people have nominated people this year.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Missive to the masses: Suggestions STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/20/2002 11:04:28 PM ----- BODY:

Missive to the masses: Suggestions for ways in which you can enhance your chance of getting past the first stage of the Bloggie nomination process (bearing in mind that none of you know you've even got to the first stage yet):

If your site breaks in my browser on my Mac, then I'm not going to vote for you. Do you understand? This is a matter of conscience.
If you have been nominated for something like merchandising - something that isn't immediately visible on your site - then you're not going to get my vote unless I can find it.
It's unfair, but it's the only way I can judge. If I don't understand the language you write in, then my impressions of your design are probably going to have an inordinate impact.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I've never been more jealous STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/21/2002 12:36:00 AM ----- BODY:

I've never been more jealous of another human being to the extent that I am now jealous of Prol and her new Buffy poster.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Asides from the laborious Bloggie STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/21/2002 01:05:23 AM ----- BODY:

Asides from the laborious Bloggie first-stage nomination process: There are a hell of a lot more good Australian and Noozlelandish weblogs around than there are European ones - or at least they are better represented. It looks like there's been a fair amount of self-nomination in the Best Tagline category as most of the first round examples are pretty damn poor. It's also really obvious where large numbers of people didn't nominate anyone - certain sections are epic battlefields of great sites while others are minor spats down the Post Office between Aunt Ada and Mrs Miggins from Ye Olde Tea Shoppe.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Let the debate continue: Fifty-two STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/21/2002 10:19:10 AM ----- BODY:

Let the debate continue: Fifty-two things they do better in America vs. Fifty-two things they do better in England.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: You know what's a funny STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/21/2002 11:50:45 AM ----- BODY:

You know what's a funny URL? Webugger.com, that's what.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: More misheard lyrics: Destiny's Child: STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/21/2002 12:22:38 PM ----- BODY:

More misheard lyrics: Destiny's Child: Independent Woman, courtesy of that nut at rathergood.com. In person Joel is one of the nicest, most unassuming people you could ever meet. He's really polite and sweet. He looks like he's on some kind of hallucinogen though. All the time.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: A couple of weeks ago STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/21/2002 01:03:40 PM ----- BODY:

A couple of weeks ago I got an e-mail from an old friend at Time Out. She was looking desperately for stories of 'dirty sex'. Not sexy dirty, you understand, but dirty dirty. I responded rather half-heartedly with a fairly tame story from my past, and chucked her the names of a few people who I thought might be better suited.

Five minutes later and there's a ping in my inbox - she's keen on my story, but needs more dirt. So I go into more detail. And then still more detail. Until I finally I've described every excruciating facet of the experience - every smear, smudge and slippery sweaty edge has been depicted in full technicolour horror.

Next time you're meandering through a copy of "London's Living Guide" and you come across a page full of gross-out sex-horror, pause for a moment. I'll give a small prize to the first person to guess which one is mine...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The last time I wrote STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/21/2002 01:18:22 PM ----- BODY:

The last time I wrote something actually amusing was about two years ago - except of course it isn't funny any more because the world's changed so dramatically. If written today, the same post would read, "According to Evhead, Jason is wearing a cool t-shirt with a body tag on the front and an end body tag on the back (if this means anything to you it means that you are a victim of the dot-com crash and are currently unemployable)."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Is it the end of STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/21/2002 03:22:47 PM ----- BODY:

Is it the end of the line for Black Holes?

New Theories Dispute the Existence of Black Holes

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: From a typo made in STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/21/2002 03:29:11 PM ----- BODY:

From a typo made in an AIM message with Matt Jones that mispelled 'quantum' as 'quantuum' we came up with a concept called the 'quantinuum' - a contraction of quantum and continuum. I thought up a definition on the spot for a laugh, "a continuum of uncollapsed possibility". So then I did a search on Google, only to discover that it's a word mentioned in several places on the web already - particularly in an article called Holic Principle and the relations between Physics data. As a super-intelligent Austin Powers might say, "Quantum topological invariance, baby!"

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Every time I apply for STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/21/2002 07:18:45 PM ----- BODY:

Every time I apply for a job at the BBC, I think it will take an hour to fill in the horrible online application form, and it always takes me nearly four. And then even though I get lots of interviews, I never get the bloody jobs.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Today I got the coolest STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/22/2002 10:02:05 AM ----- BODY:

Today I got the coolest e-mail from Douglas Rushkoff. Douglas Rushkoff is cool. I like Douglas Rushkoff. Douglas Rushkoff smokes. I want to make Douglas Rushkoff a new website. I bet other people would help.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: It's very funny. I think. STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/22/2002 10:13:59 AM ----- BODY:

It's very funny. I think. Or it's really mean. And gross. Or funny. Or gross. I can't decide.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I'm not going to comment STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/22/2002 11:15:10 AM ----- BODY:

I'm not going to comment on this piece except to say that I'm horrified. Here's a quote from the it:

"The US came out of [World War Two] with a deep distrust of European wisdom and European advice. No matter how much older and wiser they claimed to be, they hadn't managed to do what we had ourselves: unite a huge area under a single government and live without war. We fought our Civil War, but that was 140 years ago and we've mastered living together ever since. And it took our meddling and our military occupation�to make them live together without war."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: According to a card posted STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/22/2002 12:17:07 PM ----- BODY:

According to a card posted in my local newsagent's window, Andrew McCarthy has now taken up a new career doing high pressure cleaning with jets of water. Good luck to you, old chap.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: This is me, by Georg STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/22/2002 12:40:10 PM ----- BODY:

This is me, by Georg Bush, "This is my flag. My name is georg bush and I am presidant of america. This is a pitur of me. I get to wear a tie evry day. This is my favourit gun...."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: A usability question relating to STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/22/2002 12:46:21 PM ----- BODY:

A usability question relating to Opine Bovine - the links to various other parts of the site are by way of buttons that look like form elements. I did the same thing with Cal on Morning After TV. There's something strange about them. I can't bring myself to click on them, because they look like submit buttons and part of me is convinced that if I click on them I will in fact be submitting some kind of form. Submit buttons also being generally contentless items, my eyes seem to slip over them on the page - as if they only have a meaning in context. It feels like someone started writing interesting little titbits in the bit at the top of the book page where it normally says what chapter or book you're reading. And they did it half way through the book. Just to confuse you.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: A new version of Blogger STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/22/2002 09:07:13 PM ----- BODY:

A new version of Blogger is to be revealed tonight. Will all present please report back to the interhighweb immediately afterwards. I thank you.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Thanks to Davo for producing STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/22/2002 09:11:11 PM ----- BODY:

Thanks to Davo for producing this startlingly accurate identikit portrait of the cute guy from the Rushkoff lecture. Is this you? If so... mail me!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Details of Blogger Pro have STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/23/2002 09:14:49 AM ----- BODY:

Details of Blogger Pro have been released.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: So the day has finally STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/23/2002 09:18:56 AM ----- BODY:

So the day has finally come. I am about to head off to Notting Hill for my dental appointment. One wisdom tooth will be removed. Three fillings will be created. Three others replaced. The horror. The horror.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: A highly entertaining comment by STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/23/2002 12:21:54 PM ----- BODY:

A highly entertaining comment by a member of the Conservative party: "We want to be for people and things, not against people and things". Being for things. Now there's a clear message.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: God was not an information STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/24/2002 11:05:23 AM ----- BODY:

God was not an information architect, usability expert or user interface designer. This much can be gleaned from a cursory glance at vatican.va.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Story of a Dental Appointment: STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/24/2002 11:20:56 AM ----- BODY:

Story of a Dental Appointment: I arrived at the dentist fifteen minutes early. I was extremely nervous. On the way up the stairs I lost the little foam cover to one of the ear-buds for my iPod and spent the next ten minutes wandering up and down the stairs (much to the annoyance of the man laying carpet upon them) seeking it out. I'd have done anything to distract myself.

First came the cleaning and the lecture about not brushing my teeth enough. Then came the rinsing out of my mouth and th little bloody clots that looked fairly frightening against the porcelain. Then the drilling began. After ten minutes of drilling, my jaw felt like it was melting - more from the pressure of being continually open than because of the drilling itself. And after another ten minutes - when I thought it would never end - I was close to collapse. My fingers were tightly clenched, my eyes watering.

At one point the nurse left the room, leaving the dentist to rather unskillfully wield both drill and suction device. Within moments my mouth was full of liquid, and then it was only a brief inadvertant tap near the back of my throat which made me reflexively shut my jaw - in the process forcing water out of my mouth, where it poured across my face and down my neck.

The final tooth to be drilled was one of my front teeth - without a mouth to contain the spray, tiny bits of tooth and water cascaded down upon my face like a cool rain. And then finally the drilling was over. The rest of the process was relatively painless - but I left with a euphoric grin on my face - like I'd just experienced an extreme sport that I didn't want to be part of, didn't enjoy, but left me strangely exhilarated.

I have to go back in two weeks - I'd only had the fillings out - the removal of the wisdom tooth is yet to come...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Much as I am interested STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/24/2002 01:22:25 PM ----- BODY:

Much as I am interested in Rebecca's new books on weblogging, I have some anxieties about them, which I've spelled out in slightly excessive language in a comment over at jish.nu.

Basically I think I'm missing the point a bit, because to me the essence of weblogging has been that it's astonishingly easy and quick to set up. So a handbook seems slightly redundant to me. And a history of weblogging seems interesting, but should not necessarily be written by someone doing weblogging - surely 'history' will get confused with a specific culture? Of course I haven't seen the books yet. So who am I to comment? If you'd told me two years ago that anyone would be interested in a book on weblogging and webloggers I'd have thought you were insane. I still kind of think it's a strange idea.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: How to make hot naked boys out of ASCII text... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/24/2002 05:45:41 PM ----- BODY:

Stage one: Visit the image to html site. Stage Two: perfect HTML pictures of half-naked boys!. Stage Three: Profit!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The nominations for the 2002 STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/24/2002 10:29:47 PM ----- BODY:

The nominations for the 2002 Bloggies have been announced and plasticbag.org is up for two categories - Best European and Best Great Big Homo. If however you are not planning to vote for me then can I suggest voting for Meg and Ultrasparky respectively. Of course I would rather you voted for me. But hey. You know?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I did it. I finally did it. I finished the goddam redesign... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/25/2002 01:08:29 AM ----- BODY:

I did it. I finally did it. I finally finished the goddam redesign. If you find any problems around the site, then let me know immediately - the e-mail address is the same as ever: tom%40plasticbag.org.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Presenting a brief history of STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/25/2002 01:48:36 AM ----- BODY:

Presenting a brief history of Tom. Ten years condensed into a photo gallery for your horror.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Easing into a new design STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/25/2002 10:07:47 AM ----- BODY:

Easing into a new design is like breaking in a new pair of shoes - they may look really nice, but for a while at least, they feel alien and uncomfortable. No doubt as time passes I'll get more comfortable with the redesigned pages. Don't forget - if you find something that doesn't work, just let me know.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: From the new about page's STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/25/2002 10:17:56 AM ----- BODY:

From the new about page's gallery, I present The George Bush Funeral Home.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On Mr Massow's shit-eating grin... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/25/2002 11:32:18 AM ----- BODY:

So my young Mr Massow has gone and done it again. Sometime he's so cool it hurts. He's tacked on a community aspect to his financial services site, and actually had the nerve to stick the main access point behind a great big picture of his face. And he's got the hugest shit-eating smile that you've ever seen in your life. You've got to respect his nerve. Kudos!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: So you wanna see the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/25/2002 01:09:25 PM ----- BODY:

So you wanna see the first online screen-caps of Blogger Pro? Eh?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: And in fashion news... Diesel STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/25/2002 02:08:49 PM ----- BODY:

And in fashion news... Diesel is over. Miss Sixty is last year. The future is Dorcus. Dorcus is where I get all my modern-day loungewear. And I'm not alone. Dorcus is the clothier of choice for Bond assassins and early sixties shady government types.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: And the charge went out STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/25/2002 03:56:33 PM ----- BODY:

And the charge went out across the land - "One of our own is being oppressed" - and her people woke from their beds and took to the streets all wearing a t-shirt emblazoned with the legend, Free Winona Ryder.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Song for a melancholy moment STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/25/2002 03:57:09 PM ----- BODY:

Song for a melancholy moment at home: "One day I'll fly away - leave all this to yesterday. Why live life from dream to dream and dread the day when dreaming ends? One day I'll fly away, fly fly away."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: While the European webloggers nominated STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/25/2002 07:39:08 PM ----- BODY:

While the European webloggers nominated for Bloggies slowly relax in the knowledge that their brilliance has been quietly recognised, the real action is over at the Big Gay camp. While Sparky begs for your vote (so sad...), Ernie howls "Bring it on, girlfriend!" and Choire & Philo sharpen claws and freshen breath, it is left to my good self and redoubtable Jill Matrix to represent the cooler heads - the more adult and responsible side of the race for World's Most Self-Indulgent Homo.

So whaddya reckon? Will it take me taking my clothes off, keeping my clothes on, a complete change of emphasis towards displaying pornography, secret weblogging gossip, or actual blow-jobs to get you people to vote for me? I wanna be the best damn poof in the whole darn world...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Strange Collisions: Barbelith.com is a STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/26/2002 01:37:09 AM ----- BODY:

Strange Collisions: Barbelith.com is a daily diversion at MSN.com: "Read Barbelith: Culture, subculture, the underground, and more."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Sharp-eyed observers may notice the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/26/2002 03:24:44 AM ----- BODY:

Sharp-eyed observers may notice the addition of one tiny syllable to this site overnight. Yes, I've gone professional on your ass. First impressions of the upgraded Blogger are essentially positive. The post-to-future option is extremely interesting - and could be usefully used to help run a schedule as well as for more creative purposes. Draft posts is another useful feature - of course you've always been able to post something without publishing it - but this legitimately provides the possibility of developing content slowly over days or weeks before exposing it to the world.

Other than that, there are various odds and ends that I haven't had the opportunity to play with yet - from title tags (I have yet to figure out what happens if you display title in the template when you have two years of posts without title tags) to the file upload feature (designed elegantly to allow you to specify where you want your files to go - although it would be good if there was an obvious place in settings where you could specify the default location). More interesting is the stuff to come - the return of the wonderful Blogger Search, archiving by post or by day etc. etc.

In the meantime - you can talk at greater length about the launch over at Metafilter.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Help debug plasticbag.org: Let's face STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/26/2002 12:50:47 PM ----- BODY:

Help debug plasticbag.org: Let's face it, I've always depended on the kindness of strangers. And now it's your turn. The site looks great and seems to work on IE 5+ on Macs and PCs, but there are problems with Mozilla and all kinds of other browsers. So I'm starting a short term mailing list - which I expect no one to sign up for - to help advise me on fixing the site up and making it accessible to as many people as possible. Join Plastic People today - particularly if you are a regular reader and Mozilla user.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Translate your [English language] site STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/26/2002 03:24:38 PM ----- BODY:

Translate your [English language] site into English? Well why would you want to do that? Because it's bloody funny [thanks to The Magic Morgan Translatatron].

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: A few months ago I STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/26/2002 04:21:34 PM ----- BODY:

A few months ago I was watching an episode of Changing Rooms with one of my flatmates, when she suddenly turned purple and started pointing at the television. A guy was on the show that she'd known at University. She stared awestruck, in mounting astonishment at what was happening on the screen. Months later, I stumble upon his side of the Changing Rooms story detailed in full. God bless the interhighweb.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I've got a bit of STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/26/2002 04:24:00 PM ----- BODY:

I've got a bit of a crush on Paul Baker. But Ultrasparky has told me that he's heavily attached. So unfair. It's relatively hard to meet nice guys when you're not prepared to leave your house, and I thought I'd found me a keeper here. [Addendum: passport photos through the ages]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Interested in Blogger Pro, but STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/26/2002 11:59:44 PM ----- BODY:

Interested in Blogger Pro, but want to see what you're getting for your money? Here are some screenshots for your delectation - as the interface appears on Mac OSX.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Is 100k enough? Blogger Pro STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/27/2002 12:49:34 PM ----- BODY:

Is 100k enough? Blogger Pro now has a 100k per month limit on the posts that you can make. After that stage it costs an additional $3 per 100k to run. initially I was very comfortable with this amount, but having checked out my usage (there is a link on the bottom of the Blogger Pro front page), I have realised that for plasticbag.org alone I have only been under this usage limit once in the last year. If I were running multiple blogs, no doubt the figure would increase dramatically.

I may be an exception - so I don't want to protest too loudly - but it occurs to me that if I am not, Ev's statement that 100k is "substantially more than the vast majority of bloggers publish - even with multiple blogs - so you probably won't have to worry about it" may be misguided. So I am going to ask people to post up their usage figures for the last year on their weblogs. It's important - I think - that people understand what they are actually paying for.

Your Blog History
Month Post Length % of 100K Extra Cost
1/2001
194027 %194 $3
2/2001
152666 %153 $3
3/2001
220753 %221 $6
4/2001
179824 %180 $3
5/2001
181203 %181 $3
6/2001
173755 %174 $3
7/2001
173534 %174 $3
8/2001
159107 %159 $3
9/2001
138504 %139 $3
10/2001
153041 %153 $3
11/2001
105037 %105 $3
12/2001
88522 %89 $0
1/2002
164834 %165 $3

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The hot men project... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/27/2002 02:59:57 PM ----- BODY:

Is this cheap content? Yes it's cheap content. Is it exploitative? Yes. Is it beneath me? Yes. Do I debase myself by presenting it on the internet? Yes. But how much does it reveal - the stars you've lusted after? What kind of online history would leave out the celebrities that you've been attracted to? I'm rationalising. I accept that.

Wes Bentley in American Beauty played out most of the archetypes of startlingly beautiful, strange and self-confident men that hit me like a bullet in the chest.

While Harrison Ford is confident and cocky, he also has a kind of sheepishness that stops him being just another action star. And Noah Wyle is someone that I heavily identified with when I was thinking of leaving my doctorate - his character in ER was desperate for some kind of success, but felt frustrated in his ambitions.

Tobey Maguire also has a tendency to play confused but good-hearted people.

Another two brooding young men - each with a different charm, but both playing good-hearted characters: Paul Rudd and Breckin Meyer:

In terms of pure physical beauty, you can't go far wrong with Colin Farrell or Alex Dimitriades.

And we'll end with two men I'm embarrassed to find attractive - Steve Guttenberg and Jason Behr...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Frustration: Today's mood is frustration STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/28/2002 10:19:19 AM ----- BODY:

Frustration: Today's mood is frustration - frustration caused by still being owed money from Time Out for work I did in October (and spending hours on e-mail and on the phone trying to get it), frustration caused by mounting bills, frustration caused by underestimating workloads, frustration caused by the worry of huge bandwidth bills and sheer panic about the absence of anything resembling full-time work a month down the line...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: As Davo has said, if STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/28/2002 12:49:56 PM ----- BODY:

As Davo has said, if there's one thing that's going to stop me winning "Best Poof" at the Bloggies it's this picture.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: "Hello, my name is Shetland. STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/28/2002 01:42:40 PM ----- BODY:

"Hello, my name is Shetland. I'd just like to say that I find Biomagnetic K9's last comment extremely offensive, and I think that his ignorant asseretion that sheep aren't able to make purchases as they please is both ill-informed and does nothing to avoid the kind of stereotypes that we sheep have had to put up with. I, personally, would love to get my hoofs of 48 billion dollars." [Does America need to spend $48 billion more on defence?]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: And the frustration continues... A STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/28/2002 05:47:25 PM ----- BODY:

And the frustration continues... A good meal after the frustrations of this morning, everything was looking shiny and new - and more important manageable. But it only takes one e-mail to throw everything up in the air again and leave me dealing with potential financial collapse.

I have a huge overdue bill for web-hosting to deal with at the moment. It was supposed to be paid at the beginning of the month, but uncleared cheques meant that it turned up in my inbox several days later - unpaid. By the time this had happened, it looked like I would have to wait until I got paid the final time for my last full-time job. Although this meant leaving things to the last possible minute, it should have worked - except I didn't count on not getting paid by any of the people I've recently worked for in time for the end of the month.

In essence this means that both plasticbag.org and barbelith.com may disappear on or shortly after the first of the month - precisely the same time, in fact, that my rent will fail to clear. This is not the right way to live one's life.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Are the Bloggies a good idea or a really really bad idea? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/28/2002 10:01:16 PM ----- BODY:

There are a number of people out there who don't like the Bloggies. A fair number of people didn't like them last year either. Just as a matter of interest, I'd be really interested in hearing some of the reasons people think they're a bad or ridiculous idea. Mail me with your opinions. I'm not saying I'll reply to them all, but I might write something longer about some of the debate surrounding them later if I get some good comments.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Don't waste your time here STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/28/2002 11:04:12 PM ----- BODY:

Don't waste your time here - go and read something funny.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: And another day's mail comes STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/29/2002 09:09:04 AM ----- BODY:

And another day's mail comes and goes without any money arriving.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Pop Quiz - if the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/29/2002 10:06:49 AM ----- BODY:

Pop Quiz - if the 1000000000th second of my life will be around twenty past two in the morning of Saturday March 27th 2004 then when was I born? [Useless dates related to your birthday]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Not everyone appears to share STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/29/2002 10:35:01 AM ----- BODY:

Not everyone appears to share my taste in men. This is of course fine... But rise to the challenge people... Or are you too embarrassed to reveal the lusts of your life in a public space?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: What would it mean to STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/29/2002 10:50:49 AM ----- BODY:

What would it mean to go professional as a weblogger. I've been thinking about this today - would it be possible to get �800 a month from people for weblogging? That's pretty much the least amount of money that I can live on (Londoners would understand). And would it be possible to get that amount of money consistently? Could you make a career out of this stuff? And how would it work? Amazon donations? Tipjars? Paypal subscriptions? And what would be the obligation in return?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: It may be less high-tech STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/29/2002 01:21:52 PM ----- BODY:

It may be less high-tech than the Segway, but there's a lot to be said for the reinvention of the tricycle.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The most interesting contribution to STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/29/2002 01:42:53 PM ----- BODY:

The most interesting contribution to the debate on the Bloggies so far has to be on Metafirda. She has produced a list of all the categories and ranked each of the nominees by their position on Blogdex. If the Bloggies are just a popularity contest then her theory is that she should be able to predict the winners. I did something similar last year by comparing Oscar winners with their positions on the IMDBs top 250 films.

Now of course this kind of enterprise is rife with assumptions. The first assumption is that the number of links to a site measures its current popularity. Clearly this isn't necessarily true - links that were popular in the past but haved waned recently will get high positions. Newcomers will not. Unfortunately these figures are all we have to work with - we don't have access to the stats of each and every site on display (and not all of the sites are comparable anyway).

Nonetheless an analysis of any differences between the results of the Bloggies and Blogdex's rankings should help illustrate the kind of processes that are going on - they should give us a clearer idea of what it is that the Bloggies are measuring and more to the point, whether different categories are more involved than others. For example - while "Best Webring" is almost certainly going to be given to the ring that most webloggers have chosen to subscribe themselves to, "Best Tagline" will probably be voted for people judging the respective merits on the spot. I'd be really interested in seeing a comparative tally of the results with the predictions after the awards - perhaps as a combined Fairvue/Metafirda production. End

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Hot naked Mo Morgan action... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/29/2002 02:19:54 PM ----- BODY:

Don't forget that you only have a few hours left to vote for me (and not these other poofs) at the Bloggies. And as a little incentive, here's a post-shower picture of Mr Mo Morgan.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Diesel Sweeties just doesn't seem STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/29/2002 04:14:01 PM ----- BODY:

Diesel Sweeties just doesn't seem to understand the true existential pain of being an evil robot, relentlessly blunt and unable to fully relate with other human beings. That's the only explanation I can find for their latest offering. On a completely unrelated subject, I'd just like to take this opportunity to apologise to many of my straight male friends.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I can't stop myself linking STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/29/2002 10:20:58 PM ----- BODY:

I can't stop myself linking to it because it's so wonderful, but at the same time I'm dreading linking to it because I'm scared that the amount of traffic it might get when people realise exactly how cool it is might stop me from mining it to its core. The site is Singing Science Records - an MP3 repository of 50s Atomic Age Americana - songs that explain Friction, songs that explain Rainfall, songs that explain Newton's Laws of Motion. I've already got all of one album, but there's so much more wonderful stuff there to rifle through. A perfectly wonderful site.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I don't like this game STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/29/2002 11:35:14 PM ----- BODY:

I don't like this game any more. I don't think I'm Arch, Illicit or Warped!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Looking for Tom Coates... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/30/2002 04:53:47 PM ----- BODY:

Do you know a Tom Coates who isn't - you know - me? If so, send me their e-mail address immediately.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: So voting is now closed STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/30/2002 05:04:37 PM ----- BODY:

So voting is now closed on the Bloggies and the results come out this evening at the impossibly late time of 3am UK time. In the meantime, some scamp has put up a rather lo-fi UK alternative at gbloggies.blogspot.com.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Strangest thing that I've said STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/30/2002 11:29:44 PM ----- BODY:

Strangest thing that I've said to anyone in ages: "I'm stuck in your head like a video camera".

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: As part of my duties STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/30/2002 11:47:09 PM ----- BODY:

As part of my duties as Poof Ambassador to Blogdom (my stint as which runs until 10pm tonight [International Fairvue Time]), I have undertaken the mission of finding a same-sex date for a young male weblogger of American nationality, currently residing in Italy. If you would wish to apply for this privilege, then please contact the individual concerned immediately.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: This day is turning out STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/31/2002 02:46:55 PM ----- BODY:

This day is turning out to be one of the weirdest of my life so far. It starts off with plasticbag.org getting the Best European Weblog Bloggie, which is faintly ridiculous but nice enough. It progresses into having my site displayed in an article about weblogging in the Guardian's Online supplement and has so far ended up with a photographer from the Guardian coming to my house and taking pictures of me looking sheepish while kneeling on the floor of my bedroom in front of my computer. Thanks to everyone who voted for me in the awards and particular thanks to Wil Wheaton for not being gay or from Europe.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Our lady of techie queendom... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/31/2002 05:07:31 PM ----- BODY:

It just keeps getting weirder:

Because the Catholic religion wasn't quite ready for you until just now, we've decided to canonise you [see attached]. As a small token of our appreciation for our new-found object of worship, $10.09 is currently beaming itself to your bank account, via the magic of television.
All hail the new saint on the block! Dave and Choire

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Ah well - those of STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/31/2002 08:34:48 PM ----- BODY:

Ah well - those of you who were looking forward to seeing a dumb picture of me in the Guardian tomorrow may have to be patient - or may even be permanently let down. I'm afraid the article looks like it's been held back for a while...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: You know, I'm fairly sure STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/01/2002 10:06:01 AM ----- BODY:

You know, I'm fairly sure that this clipping isn't really from a legitimate newspapter! Still, I'm in full media whore mode at the moment, so I can't go by without linking to it. [pertinent links: acerbia.com, not.so.soft]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Seven years after his disappearance, STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/01/2002 10:30:40 AM ----- BODY:

Seven years after his disappearance, the family and friends of Richey Manic refuse to have him declared legally dead.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I've been resisting looking at STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/01/2002 10:47:23 AM ----- BODY:

I've been resisting looking at Something Awful's Children's Books feature for a few days now, but finally succumbed this morning. The first page is fairly amusing, but they rapidly improve. Sick, twisted comedy horror for the B3ta generation. [via Interconnected]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Vain attempt to exploit current STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/01/2002 10:57:06 AM ----- BODY:

Vain attempt to exploit current interest in plasticbag.org: Tom is currently looking for permanent employment in the London area, particularly in the editorial and structural development of online publishing ventures and/or online communities. If the nice people from the community department of the BBC are listening - I've applied for one of your jobs and I'd really like it.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Must have MP3 of the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/01/2002 11:01:52 AM ----- BODY:

Must have MP3 of the day is "Jesus was Way Cool" by King Missile:

Lyrics:
Jesus was way cool
Everybody liked Jesus
Everybody wanted to hang out with him
Anything he wanted to do, he did.
He turned water into wine
And if he'd wanted to..
He could have turned weed into marijuana
Or sugar into cocaine
Or vitamin pills into amphetimines
He walked on the water
And swam on the land
He would tell these stories
And people would listen!
He was really cool.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The best thing about the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/01/2002 09:00:51 PM ----- BODY:

The best thing about the Anti-Bloggies is the rules.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The last 48-hours has seen STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/02/2002 12:48:03 PM ----- BODY:

The last 48-hours has seen the most extraordinary weather battering the UK. Even safe in Maida Vale, the windows have been rattling and clunking around in the frames. I've made it a mission to go out as little as possible. God knows what it must be like in more exposed areas. When I visited my family over Christmas there was an extraordinary gale blowing - the noise was incredible - and the huge trees in the garden leant and creaked. On the ground it was almost completely still, but you still had a sense of the sheer power of the storm. I don't think there is another weather phenomenon more likely to make you feel at the mercy of huge forces beyond your control...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Everyone is doing it - STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/02/2002 01:20:44 PM ----- BODY:

Everyone is doing it - the new advertising craze on the internet is the simple text ad [article]. The idea of non-irritating, low-bandwidth, low-cost advertising is clearly very appealing to web-regulars, but whether or not it will actually prove to be particularly successful as a potential revenue stream is still in doubt. I'm watching this trend with considerable interest - as as far as I can tell, without the targeting facilities of Google's adwords, text-ads continuing success would completely buck convention...

The trend seems very much to be in the other direction - the most successful adverts that I have observed in recent months have been large and bandwidth intensive (as seen at Wired and Salon. Even Time Out now provides a space for skyscraper-style advertising.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Where are the permalinks? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/02/2002 01:33:59 PM ----- BODY:

A quick answer to a regular question (most recently posed here) - permalinks on plasticbag.org have been removed temporarily while I try and figure out the best way to implement them within the constraints of the new design without resorting to table tags or making it all look ugly. I am also hoping that Blogger Pro will shortly have a permalink-by-day feature, which I would prefer to use...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: 404 to Wayback? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/02/2002 01:40:18 PM ----- BODY:

Every link every posted to iamcal.com is here. You know what would be useful? A kind of bridge site between a link and its destination that redirected you to the most recent archive on the Wayback Machine if a request hit a 404 page...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: What comes after Farscape? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/02/2002 01:59:30 PM ----- BODY:

I've recently been exorcising the lamoid sci-fi geek within me with a regular dose of Farscape, but now the series is over leaving me with no quality space-trash to glue myself to except for ancient re-runs of Star Trek featuring a young and eminently spankable Wil Wheaton. And that's not spankable in the good way. What will I do without the space-opera of Crichton and Aeryn? And will we ever see Crais and Talyn again? Or indeed the rest of the crew of Moya? Or in fact is our hero doomed to float in space forever with nothing but his leather trousers and some NASA industrial lubricant for company?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Free the Mayfair One... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/02/2002 07:29:24 PM ----- BODY:

Word on the street is that there will be a "Free The Mayfair One" demonstration outside the ICA on Monday at 6pm. It looks like Mr Massow may be being asked to step down as the Chairman of the ICA just because he called Conceptual Art a great big pile of saggy dad's pants. The potential for an entertaining evening is huge - whatever ludicrous position you decide to occupy.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Headline competition (2000) STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/02/2002 10:09:02 PM ----- BODY:

In August 2000 I stumbled upon a list of amusing headlines - headlines which for one reason or another had rather dubious double meanings. The headlines read as follows:

Include your children when baking cookies
Something went wrong in Jet crash, expert says
Police begin campaign to run down jaywalkers
Iraqi head seeks arms
Prostitutes appeal to Pope
Panda mating fails, Veterinarian takes over
Clinton wins on budget, but more lies ahead
Miners refuse to work after death
Stolen painting found by tree
War dims hop for peace
If strike isn't settled quickly, it may last a while
Cold wave linked to temperatures
Red tape holds up new bridges
Typhoon rips through cemetery - hundreds dead
Man struck by lightning faces battery charge
New study of obesity looks for larger test group
Kids make nutritious snacks
Chef throws his heart into helping feed needy
Local high school dropouts cut in half
Hospitals are sued by seven foot doctors

For what may very well be completely spurious reasons, I decided that these headlines would be even more amusing with some visual aids to support them - and so I put out a call to the weblogging community of the time. With hilarious consequences...

"Kids make nutritious snacks" by David Pannett

"Prostitutes appeal to Pope" by Meg Pickard

"Include your children when baking cookies" by Brad Morse

"Chef throws his heart into helping feed needy" by Neale Talbot

"Minors refuse to work after death" by Meg Pickard

"Police begin campaign to run down jaywalkers" by Jason Theriault

"Panda mating fails, veterinarian takes over" by Marshall

"Panda mating fails, veterinarian takes over" by Meg Pickard

"Local high school dropouts cut in half" by David Pannett

Unfortunately there's one entry (never before seen) that I have lost the original contributor for. If you made it, please let me know!

"Red tape holds up new bridges"

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: headline_taster.jpg ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Thatcher's head... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/03/2002 01:23:47 PM ----- BODY:

Do you have a spare space on your mantlepiece that can support an eight-foot tall, 1.8 tonne marble statue of Margaret Thatcher? If you are inclined to house the Iron Lady's monstrous visage, then raise your hand now.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Mr Massow vs. the ICA... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/03/2002 03:57:56 PM ----- BODY:

Do you need more clarification on the whole Mr Massow vs the ICA debate? The Schmews has all the answers: "Tracey Emin today blasted comments by Ivan Massow, head of the Institute of Contemporary Arts, who said that most conceptual art was "nothing but a pile of old crap" as a deliberate attempt to upstage and leak details of her latest masterpiece "A Steaming Lump Of Shit Wot I Did"."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On the grind... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/03/2002 08:51:10 PM ----- BODY:

Today I will be mostly grinding away at a tedious site build that I've built about a thousand times before and which I'm now getting thoroughly sick of. But I need the money.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: So it looks like my STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/03/2002 08:54:52 PM ----- BODY:

So it looks like my landlord isn't looking to extend our lease after the end of April, which essentially means that I'm going to have to find a new flat to live in around that time - and probably new people to live with as Kate and Mella look to be going their own way. Possibly together. Possibly not. The financial consequences of finding a new flat are always unpleasant - as is the whole prospect of finding a new place, which is a process that I despise. And of course it would all be substantially easier if I had a regular full-time job to go to rather than endless freelance work.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: A late night ungodly and STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/03/2002 11:24:07 PM ----- BODY:

A late night ungodly and foul mood after eight hours of work on a Sunday evening with two or three more to go, summed up by a Nick Cave song featuring these lyrics:

Since I was no bigger than a weavil
They've been saying I was evil,
That if "bad" was a boot then I'd fit it,
That I'm a wicked young lady,
But I've been trying hard lately...
Aw fuck it... I'm a monster... I admit it....

La la la la, la la la lie,
I'm happy as a lark now,
Everything is fine
La la la la, la la la lie,
Everything is groovy,
Everything is fine,
La la la la, la la la lie,
All God's children...
They all gotta die

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: It's probably not a great STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/04/2002 12:22:14 AM ----- BODY:

It's probably not a great sign of general 'having-a-life-ness' when you're sat in front of computer at half-past midnight, hear the 'ping' of new e-mail and start chanting under your breath, "Please be interesting, please be interesting, please be interesting, please be interesting...."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: And the media blitz continues STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/04/2002 01:28:25 PM ----- BODY:

And the media blitz continues with an article featuring myself, her from not so soft and that Dan Hon fella over at the BBC: I blog, therefore I am.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On Iansie's brief history of Mr Massow... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/04/2002 03:37:34 PM ----- BODY:

It's nice to have Mr Massow to talk about again - plasticbag.org just doesn't feel the same without his regular appearances. It doesn't look like I'm going to be able to make the ICA love-in this evening, which is a terrible shame, so I'm just going to have to make do with Ian's brief history of the man himself.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I've just spent a good STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/04/2002 08:42:36 PM ----- BODY:

I've just spent a good half-hour wandering around the site of a gay guy who e-mailed me. I've read about his recent attack, and his nerves about his HIV testing. Although I have to confess that I skimmed through his coming-out story and spent rather more time wandering through his photo section...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Having trouble with Blogger Pro? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/04/2002 09:31:45 PM ----- BODY:

Having trouble with Blogger Pro? Then you need to look at profaq.blogspot.com.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: So I end today with STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/04/2002 10:39:16 PM ----- BODY:

So I end today with one less tooth than I started it with. That's right - the axis of evil that has been building within my mouth-mountain has finally been excised by the pure democratic might of Mr Moselhi - Notting Hill Dentist and International Man of Mystery.

After perforating my jaw and palate with a thousand tiny jabs from his anaesthic needle, I found my dentist passing time in my mouth with a little light drilling. This is clearly always a good start to a dental encounter. No smalltalk - straight to business - let's drill something good and proper. A quick filling later, I felt almost relaxed. In fact, if I'm honest, the combination of twelve hours without food, forty gallons of industrial anaesthetic and total terror had left me close to tripping. Which is probably just as well.

Do you know how they remove teeth? I certainly didn't. I'm sure we all have ideas, but what kind of horrific ideas are they? Pliers? Hatchets? Shovels? Lasers? In fact I'd like to be able to enlighten you all, but the device that went into my mouth bore no relation to any tool I'd seen before in my life. Not even Mr Moselhi's indication that I would probably feel 'considerable pressure' was really much of a giveaway.

The weirdest thing about the device itself was that it appeared to be designed to be only able to affect the wisdom tooth from the direction of my right ear. This seemed to mean that my mouth had to be forceably relocated about 180 degrees around my head before anything further could be done.

After about ten minutes of 'considerable pressure', Mr Moselhi looked rather exasperated. I started giggling quietly to myself when he turned around. Like you would if you were stuck in a room with a serial killer and after a few hours you noticed he was wearing pink bunny slippers. He reinserted his mystical mystery device, sighed to himself and said "It doesn't seem to want to leave you!".

Suddenly hit with the image of a younger Tom being followed around by his faithful tooth 'Toothy', I became psychadelically elated. I could have my own TV series, like Flipper except dental rather than dolphine! Or Skippy, but less marsupial-ish. Bear in mind that my mouth was stretched around to my ear. My mood improvement may not have been noticeable to the outside world.

"Tom and Toothy, Tom and Toothy"
"They met at the Dentist's pad!"
"Tom and Toothy, Tom and Toothy"
"Toothy drove poor Tommy mad!"
"Tom and Toothy, Tom and Toothy"
"They met at the Dentist's spot!"
"Tom and Toothy, Tom and Toothy"
"One's decaying, one is not!"

After several more minutes, Toothy still resolutely refused to be removed from his home. Ah, faithful friend. Even with Mr Moselhi pulling at him in alternating directions, causing my head to move side to side (which I seem to remember finding very entertaining), Toothy wouldn't be separated from me. Until finally poor diseased Toothy was ripped free with a satisfying crunchy noise and displayed to me in a pair of pliers. Half of him was white and shiny and pristene - the other half black and crunched off. Much like that alien in Star Trek. You know the one.

I sat and admired Toothy for a few moments as my mouth filled with blood and saliva and little bits of ground up tooth. And then I was rinsed clean, patched up and sent on my way, with a final word from Mr Moselhi: "This was not an ... easy ... extraction, " he said. "I think you should go and buy yourself some painkillers". And with this piece of advice lodged loosely into my cloudy mind, I stumbled dazed into the bright lights of Notting Hill.

The rest of the day has been pretty unusual. Of course my tooth wouldn't stop bleeding, and so I've hacked up dishcloths and wedged them in my mouth, used ice-packs and tried lying down with my head back. After a while (and after observing a nice film about English people breaking the sound barrier and a match of snooker involving a very attractive young man) I finally decided to talk to my mother about how to stop the bleeding. She suggested, and I kid you not, wedging a tampon in my mouth. I, of course, declared her insane immediately.

I said, "Is that what you used to say when you were a nurse, mother? Take one tampon and call me in the morning?!" For some reason, she laughed. Laughed! As if there were anything to laugh about! It was completely inappropriate. Don't you agree?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Giving Mr Massow a good firm thump... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/05/2002 11:58:24 AM ----- BODY:

Closer to home, and following the recent spate of publicity that this plasticbag has been getting, Davo has suggested that maybe this quote from Ian shouldn't just be about Mr Massow after all: "It's genuinely difficult to decide whether he's an over-enthusiastic fantasist with a flair for self-publicity, or a charmed boy-wonder who simply needs to learn a few lessons about the way the world works." When I find him I'm going to give him a firm thump.

Speaking of Mr Massow, the Guardian managed to mention the word "pillock" twice in today's article about him. Poor chap's handled this one a little badly, I fear - I don't think anyone would protest if he said that he thought it was time that the art world readdressed itself to the needs of the general public. But instead he had to go and say that he wished art could just be "nicer". Ouch.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Are you nuts? I know, STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/05/2002 05:29:39 PM ----- BODY:

Are you nuts? I know, I know... It's so difficult to tell nowadays. I wish I could provide you with an adequate test online to answer that age-old question, but instead I'm going to present you with some Rohrschach tests, courtesy of the other plasticbag...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I've said it before, and STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/05/2002 05:41:54 PM ----- BODY:

I've said it before, and I've said it again - quality is politically unjustifiable. A lack of talent is the only egalitarian way to be - and I have it in spades. So let's celebrate not the artistically great, but the creations that should not have been created - for these are the products of everyman: The 100 worst films of the 20th Century.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Ethical dilemma of the day: STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/06/2002 11:02:27 AM ----- BODY:

Ethical dilemma of the day: Compare and contrast kottke.org with obscurestore.com. Do they look similar? Yes. Very. Is this a problem? No - they both work very well and, moreover, were both designed by Jason Kottke anyway.

I have been thinking seriously about starting up another site recently - a site that I've been thinking about on and off for a few years now. I don't think it would be particularly labour-intensive to maintain and I think it could be useful and would be good for me. Now in essence it's going to be very much like obscurestore.com except with a different subject matter.

The longer I think about it, the more that Obscure Store has got everything right - they list a few major stories with details, a few lesser ones without - there's a bar with links in it to all the major sources of information on his subject matter. The design is so clean and simple that it almost doesn't appear to be designed at all. Which surely is the mark of truly great design?

So the question comes down to something as simple as this - when a design has got right to the simple essence of what a 'thing' (in this case a website) is about, then is 'copying' appropriate? Clearly I'd be furious if someone copied plasticbag.org without my permission. Even if they changed the colours and fonts and stuck a different background image in place... I suppose what I'm asking is whether or not Jason has refined the design essence of the weblog down to it's basics in the same way that Amazon has for e-commerce sites. And of course now a great many e-commerce sites (even the largest ones) look exactly like Amazon. I suppose what I'm asking is how much of this design can I steal?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Another message from my little STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/06/2002 11:08:48 AM ----- BODY:

Another message from my little brother:

I hear from mum that you had to have some teeth out a few days ago and that it really hurt. I have been told to be simpathetic but I am not sure how to be. How much did it hurt and does it still hurt. Can you like talk or have your gums swollen to 3 times there normal size?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On being a multi-millionaire... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/06/2002 11:31:56 AM ----- BODY:

As of this morning, I'm worth $45,262,148.52 on the Hollywood Stock Exchange. How much are you worth? Not that I'm competitive or anything.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: It may be an amusing STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/06/2002 03:59:09 PM ----- BODY:

It may be an amusing cartoon that displays a son's reaction to his father's record collection, but perhaps more worrying is that the clearly teenage boy has never entered his father's private 'back room' before. What sick activities go on behind this family's closed doors?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The Anne Robinson of the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/07/2002 12:11:05 PM ----- BODY:

The Anne Robinson of the weblogging world, David Pannett, blows the lid on Genie's appalling customer service. Next week on Watchdog - Pop Tarts that kill.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Can someone please explain to STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/08/2002 01:43:09 PM ----- BODY:

Can someone please explain to me why Interconnected isn't read by everyone interested in the potential of online technology and interfaces? It should be. It really should.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: As a female friend once STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/08/2002 01:54:07 PM ----- BODY:

As a female friend once said to me about penises, "It's like carrying a remote control with you all the time on the off-chance that you might want to watch some television." [inspired by Bart]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: While watching The Fluffer at STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/08/2002 02:21:39 PM ----- BODY:

While watching The Fluffer at the cinema, Davo and I were struck by some remarkable similarities between the names of some of the characters and the name of Ralph McGinnis, the young man who maintains Lacking in Emotional Circumstances, visited the UK last year and who designed the posters for the film. The main character (for example) is called "Sean McGinnis". There's also a character called Ralph Shifflett. Coincidence? I think we need to be told.

You can see Ralph's work on the posters for The Fluffer at rs-erections. And I'm sure if you were looking for someone to do some comparable design work in New York, then he'd not protest if I suggested you talk to him about it.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The top 25 web personalities STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/08/2002 02:59:17 PM ----- BODY:

The top 25 web personalities includes some well-known web figures, some tremendous surprises and a good proportion of good sites to bad.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: My crushes of the day STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/08/2002 08:45:41 PM ----- BODY:

My crushes of the day are actor Jesse Bradford and punk-rock poof Stephen Trask. The Jesse Bradford pic comes directly from Ultrasparky's personal stash of half-naked celebrity pictures. Let's all give Ultrasparky a warm hand.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I'm still waiting to get STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/09/2002 11:40:02 AM ----- BODY:

I'm still waiting to get my rejection letter from the BBC for a position as 'Community Producer' that I applied for a couple of weeks ago. The BBC is clearly an organisation that is designed purely to attempt to break my spirit. Over the last year they've advertised quite a few jobs that have really excited me and I've had more than one interview. But I never get the jobs. I got down to the last two for one of them. But I still didn't get it. Occasionally I wonder if someone I crossed as a teenager has risen to the top of the recruitment department and strokes a large white cat and howls maniacally each time I apply. In the meantime I can only link to amusing mock-ups of rejection letters [mentski.co.uk] in an attempt to keep my spirits up.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Noted adult and husband Matt STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/09/2002 11:52:09 AM ----- BODY:

Noted adult and husband Matt Haughey and a cadre of friends and co-workers attempt to eat more than eight Saltines in a minute.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: From Salon - and meeting STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/09/2002 03:57:20 PM ----- BODY:

From Salon - and meeting a sudden spontaneous need on a Saturday afternoon: Everything you wanted about Memento.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: So Will Young has won STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/10/2002 12:50:25 AM ----- BODY:

So Will Young has won Pop Idol. I have to confess that I'm surprised. Delighted but surprised. He's certainly the most likely to be the long-term prospect, he's clearly talented and he's obviously intelligent. But did anyone really expect the British public to go with the most serious contender rather than a young piece of fluff? One final point... I'm not saying anything, but could I just point out that I haven't read a single interview with Will Young that didn't describe his previous lust-objects as 'someone', 'them', 'an ex' and so forth. If someone could find me some more interviews with the young winner of Pop Idol, then I'd very much appreciate it....

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: There are two posts over STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/10/2002 11:29:14 AM ----- BODY:

There are two posts over at overstated.net which should be fascinating to anyone interested in the social dynamics and interactions of weblogs and webloggers. First there's a list of the web's most effective weblog meme spreaders, and then a list of the most accessible weblogs. Both are based around Blogdex, which coincidentally doesn't seem to be working very well today.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: My teenage dreams have finally STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/10/2002 11:32:51 AM ----- BODY:

My teenage dreams have finally come true - how long I have waited for Steve Guttenberg to have a site on the web - and more importantly to have a whole gallery of pictures of him in various stages of dress and undress. Now if we can find a comparable Michael J Fox site, several youthful ambitions will have been fulfilled at once.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The beautiful Baker boy! STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/10/2002 11:43:59 AM ----- BODY:

The uncomfortably gorgeous Paul Baker finally confesses his crushes: "Mr Clooney, Mr L. Perry, Mr Fraser, Mr Beltran, and (even worse than Steve Guttenberg) Mr Clinton. I also have a bit of a thing for Gina Gershon. Don't ask me why." Paul also appears to have become one of Mr Massow's online whores and gone to see The Fluffer. It's like finding that my long-lost gay twin (who got all the good genes) has been languishing in Northern England all my life.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: It's time for a purge STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/10/2002 11:57:43 AM ----- BODY:

It's time for a purge of the links-bin:

Helping Buffy to slay her Financial Demons
"Buffy Summers has made a lot of mistakes in her short life -- she lost her virginity to a vampire, for Pete's sake! -- and her latest error could have long-lasting effects: She didn't consult a financial planner."
Computers that improve themselves
"Evolution had left five logic cells unconnected to the rest of the circuit, in a position where they should not have been able to influence its workings. Yet if Thompson disconnected them, the circuit failed. Evidently the chip had evolved a way to use the electromagnetic properties of a signal in a nearby cell. But the fact is that Thompson doesn't know how it works."
Popular Questions from "Understanding Male Sexuality"
"A share of the group are what I term the "true" bisexuals - actively engaging in sex with both male and female partners. Many of these guys, however, are very unhappy emotionally."
The Captain's Unofficial Justice League Homepage
"It all began in the winter of 1940 with the third issue of All-Star Comics. That issue contained a simple story by today's standards - a group of heroes meeting together to discuss and swap stories."
Tom looks like Pop Idol Will
It's not true, I tells ya...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The Anti-Bloggies have been announced STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/11/2002 11:15:48 AM ----- BODY:

The Anti-Bloggies have been announced and I didn't win anything. Last year I won, "Best Use of a Blog for Personal Benefit". And in related weblogging news, read the Blogger's manifesto.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Untouched, from the Guardian: "Some STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/11/2002 02:35:24 PM ----- BODY:

Untouched, from the Guardian: "Some months after they were married in 1933, Clare Smith's husband Jack came home from work and told her that he now knew how 'it' was done. They had been talking about it at work, but it was such a dirty, disgusting thing that he wouldn't tell her. 'We'll wait until there is a nicer, cleaner way to do it,' he said."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Big on Musical Theatre... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/11/2002 02:43:49 PM ----- BODY:

You can't listen to Davo, he comes from a dimension that's big on musical theatre.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Valentines Evil Approaches... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/11/2002 03:21:23 PM ----- BODY:

That dark and evil day is approaching when nauseating couples drench the world in golden syrup and sashay around showing off their love for one another as if they had licence not to get punched. Which they don't. Thankfully, we have beautiful geeks like Robyn and Dr Love to present ethical and tasteful alternatives: geekout e-greetings.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Good threads on Barbelith... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/11/2002 05:56:39 PM ----- BODY:

One of Barbelith's best threads for ages is getting more and more involving - How are you gay?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Separated at birth? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/12/2002 01:41:46 AM ----- BODY:

Ok, so now five separate people have said that I look like Will from Pop Idol. Most of them have been kind enough to leave out the "older lardier version of...", although it's been implied.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: BBC recruitment horror... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/12/2002 01:44:31 AM ----- BODY:

I've been invited to come for one of four half-day assessments at the BBC, to be followed by a first interview, to be followed in turn by a second interview, all for a job which would require me to be able to start in (just) less than a month. The job excites me - the recruitment process terrifies me.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Introducing BunnyCorp... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/12/2002 01:22:00 PM ----- BODY:

She's finally done it. The ginge from the fringe, the neater B3ta feature! The sap from emap is back! And she presents BunnyCorp! Featuring Deep-fried Bunny! The Company History! And you can end it with tiny pixel pictures of me, Cal, Rob, Joel and... a waving crab...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Is this why I'm grumpy STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/12/2002 01:47:09 PM ----- BODY:

Is this why I'm grumpy so often? Excellent. Now all I need to do is figure out why my jaw hurts all the time at the moment.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Glorious absurd questions for Ivan Massow... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/13/2002 11:37:17 AM ----- BODY:

Do you have the energy to talk to Ivan Massow live on guardian.co.uk this afternoon at 2pm? Some of the questions posted so far are gloriously absurd. One of my favourites reads: "Do you hold with these new-fangled modern paraffin light things? Or would you rather use the tried-and-tested candle?" Another absurdist rant ends, "Finally, I've not followed your carreer before but you seem a genuine and nice looking lad, and not a 'hooray'. I wish you all the best in your life. "

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Dancing iMac. Yeah, yeah, yeah! STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/13/2002 11:53:47 AM ----- BODY:

Dancing iMac. Yeah, yeah, yeah! Dancing iMac. Yeah, yeah, yeah! I was in Central London yesterday and I stumbled upon one of the new iMacs in a shop on Tottenham Court Road. As usual, it was slightly bigger than I expected it to be, but after a few minutes of play it became clear that it was really well put together. The screen is gorgeous, the angling mechanism smooth and beautifully engineered and - of course - the specifications are substantially better than my current computer.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: One of my flatmates has STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/13/2002 07:08:02 PM ----- BODY:

One of my flatmates has asked whether Riaz, a friend of hers from America, can stay in our flat for a few days at the end of the month and bring a friend. Unfortunately, the last time Riaz came to stay he was ... difficult .... company for me - and someone I found very hard indeed to deal with. But I don't feel I can protest too heavily after a guest of mine ended up staying in the flat for over two weeks a while back. There's much more to this story than I can discuss in a public place. Which makes it all the more frustrating.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: So the Oscar nominations have STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/13/2002 07:42:28 PM ----- BODY:

So the Oscar nominations have been announced. I've been holding back from commenting on them until I've had a chance to let my impressions settle a little. And it has to be said that it's a pretty motley selection of movies and performances on offer.

Films like A Beautiful Mind are always good Oscar fodder - nice worthy biopics which stretch an actor to perform the full range of emotions from serious-and-confused to serious-and-angry. But let's be honest - this is not a life-changing film by any stretch of the imagination. Lord of the Rings and Moulin Rouge are both strong on spectacle, and as such they're very unusual "Best Picture" candidates. Of the two, Lord of the Rings is the infinitely superior film - I think for most critics Moulin Rouge was essentially a tremendous Victorian folly - glorious in its ambition, and a bit lacking in artfulness and point. I've yet to see Gosford Park or In the Bedroom.

There's an alternative approach to the coverage of the awards over at the IMDB which might prove interesting to people. And if you get bored of that, perhaps a glance at last year's nominations or the nominations for the year before that will convince you that 2001 will not be considered a vintage movie year...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: How unbelievably cool does this STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/14/2002 12:43:17 AM ----- BODY:

How unbelievably cool does this magazine look? This is post a its first redesign in eighty years, and it still has a wonderful retro-future design feel to it. It feels more like a periodical of sci-fi short-stories or something. I'm in love with it. And if you want to see the kind of wonderful madness that lurks inside it, then it even has a fairly well-assembled site.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I don't know how accurate STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/14/2002 01:06:25 AM ----- BODY:

I don't know how accurate or true any of this is. I wish I knew. I wish I knew who to trust to tell me the truth about such matters. I think we all wish we knew who to trust to tell us the truth about such matters. And in that lies the crisis of modern politics - there's too much for any one person to grasp, and no-one impartial who can keep you reliably informed. Is it any wonder that the voters become disillusioned?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: When you are ready to STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/14/2002 01:41:25 AM ----- BODY:

When you are ready to have a serious conversation about Green Lantern you have my e-mail address - and if you don't, it's tom%40plasticbag.org. Davo sent me this particular parody, mocking the adult comic book fan, and I have to confess that it is funny. Or at least, I imagine it must be if you don't go through the whole thing going, "Wow - I remember Abin Sur - he was cool. And John Stewart. And Guy Gardner. And Jade. And the John Byrne reboot of Superman. And Hal Jordan before he went evil. And Sinestro. And... and... and..." And I imagine it would be particularly funny if you don't finish the article and realise that you missed Kilowog and Arisia and the little chipmunk Green Lantern and the guy who looked a bit like a pickle with lots of arms who used to say things like, "In words of seventeen syllables......." Green Lantern was always my favourite.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Damn you Meg and damn STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/14/2002 12:21:18 PM ----- BODY:

Damn you Meg and damn you Guardian! I didn't want to know that I'm part of the Dido demographic. I have thirteen of the albums listed - more if you include MP3s. I feel hearily disgusted with myself and must now immediately listen to the Pixies a thousand times to remind me why I'm cool. If you want to experience the true shame of my CD collection, the albums I have are hidden in the comments of this entry.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Something wonderful from ObscureStore today: STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/14/2002 12:27:40 PM ----- BODY:

Something wonderful from ObscureStore today: Thomas Ray Mitchell suffers from several psychiatric conditions that include a violent reaction to the words "New Jersey," "Wisconsin," "Snickers" and "Mars," said his attorney, Maria Luisa Mercado. In a statement to police after the March 9, 1999, shooting of Barbara Jenkins, Mitchell indicated that he had wounded her with three bullets from a .38-caliber pistol because she was about to say "New Jersey." [link]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Twenty years of Oscar nominees... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 1 ALLOW PINGS: 0 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Film CATEGORY: Film DATE: 02/14/2002 05:38:05 PM ----- BODY: Every year I look forward to the Oscar nominations - I like the excitement of finding out who has been put up for the awards. I love the sensation of complete astonishment when great films are ignored and ludicrously over-acted twaddle wins. I love the Oscars because sometimes they're so very right and I love them more because sometimes they can be so very very wrong. This year has been the first year when I have looked at the nominations for "Best Picture" and struggled to find a film that I think deserves to be there. But how to account for such a phenomenon? My first assumption was that it must have simply been a terrible year for movies in general. With such a motley selection of candidates available, what hope was there that they'd be able to find - let alone vote for - a truly great film. But how likely is that to be true? There are any number of alternative possibilities. Firstly that they chose the wrong films, secondly that they chose the right films and that my taste is simply getting worse. And behind this are the larger questions - are the films that get nominated for Oscars today worse than the ones that were nominated ten or twenty years ago? Is there a pattern to the quality of film-making that we can track through the Oscars? Enter a totally redundant project - the compilation of some figures about how good or bad the Oscar nominees had been over the last twenty years. I would see, or be damned, if there was any discernable pattern. And in seeing this pattern - "A Beautiful Mind"-style luminous in the world - perhaps I would see if my suspicions about this year's nominees were correct. Or perhaps, "A Beautiful Mind"-style, I would find that I had been living in a world of horrible unreality and an insane lack of judgment. Over many minutes I decided on a campaign strategy. My comprehensive research (to take place over a boring afternoon before Countdown came on Channel Four) would involve: - 1) Going to the IMDB. - 2) Finding all the films nominated for "Best Film" over the last twenty years. - 3) Adding together all the nominees 'user-ratings' for each year. - 4) Plotting them on a graph. Not brain-surgery, I think you'll agree. And hopelessly unscientific - we have no control group, nothing to compare them to... But interesting nonetheless... What will this reveal about our relationship to Oscar movies or indeed our relationship to the cultural products of other times? I can tell you right now that it will reveal nothing. But it remains fun to speculate about what it might have revealed had it not been such an immediately and obviously flawed experiment. And now the graph....

On the left we have the combined score of all the films released in any given year (the years are plotted on the bottom axis). Since all IMDB user-ratings rate out of 10, the range of potential scores for any given year is 0-50 points. But what are we to make of these results? It seems that quite contrary to my initial expectations, the films that have gained Oscar Nominations have in general increased in quality over the last twenty years. Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that all you can deduce is that people have very short memories and rate contemporary movies more generously than older ones. But that still can't account for the horrific drops in quality in the mid and late-eightees... ----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: You start by trawling IMDB for the Oscar nominees for "Best Picture" over the last twenty years. Then you add together their user ratings and plot it on a graph. Hey presto - an instant pseudo-scientific discussion piece... ----- KEYWORDS: ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: jkottke EMAIL: jason@kottke.org IP: URL: http://www.kottke.org DATE: 02/15/2002 07:54:30 AM It's curious to note that the graph starts to trend upward (and stays there) right around the time that the Internet started getting popular with the mainstream. The newest thing is always better because it's new...and as far as IMDB is concerned, new started right around 93/94. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: David EMAIL: David@publict.co.uk IP: URL: http://www.publict.co.uk/blogger.asp DATE: 02/15/2002 09:27:43 AM It would be interesting to take this further. Get a group of victims, erm I mean volunteers, and make them watch a selection of films from each year. Plot the results and see what happens. Would the most recent films receive higher scores? ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Koen EMAIL: koen.kleijn@idtv.nl IP: URL: DATE: 02/15/2002 11:08:21 AM Shouldn't you take some sort of appreciation-inflation into account? Compare the increase in the number of 'mega' art shows - Vermeer, Van Gogh, that kind of thing. Thirty years ago they were exceptional; now they are de rigueur for any major museum and they draw ever larger crowds. Does that mean the paintings have gotten better? Could it be that people simply feel that the importance of 'film' in general has increased, and therefore rate 'important' films higher? ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Ken EMAIL: kendo2@mediaone.net IP: URL: http://www.gis.net/~kendo2 DATE: 02/18/2002 06:12:54 AM I agree that last year (2001) has had a drought of good films; however, the best picture that I saw in this year's crop was "A Beautiful Mind." It's my SWAG (Scientific Wild Ass Guess) for the Best Picture Award. Being that Russell Crowe won the 73rd Oscar for Best Leading Actor in "Gladiator," it seems unlikely that Crowe would win 74th Oscar for Best Leading Actor. Most film pundits, however, would probably agree that the Oscar's are often unpredictable, so who knows? The best film that I saw this year with no (0) doubt--in my mind--is "A Beautiful Mind." The 3.5 stars rating seems correct to my way of thinking. There were no (0) 4 star(s) films this year (2001). My URL has been deleted, and AT&T will soon change my email due to patent agreements. Ken Allison P.S. Make it a "Black Plastic Trashbag." ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Hewligan EMAIL: hewligan@freshfiltered.com IP: URL: http://www.freshfiltered.com/BrainMess/ DATE: 02/28/2002 08:51:06 PM You could take the rating, over time, as the dependent variable, and then run some simple linear regressions (time series) to see what variables are influencing the dependent. You could include: number of movies released that year, number of reviewers (more reviewers may imply a reduction in the quality of the reviews), cost of movies to make in constant terms, etc..... That way you can try and draw some concrete conclusions about just what is contributing to the trend that is so clearly displayed. Hmmmm, but I guess that may also mean that you have lost all sense of perspective in life and have become an econometric geek. Sorry Mum ... does that mean I have to go back up into the attic already? But it is only 9pm ... Mum!!!! Damn! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: marconi EMAIL: marconi791@hotmail.com IP: URL: DATE: 03/02/2002 11:17:00 PM okay, so this would involve way too much work...but how about this: track down ratings from reviews of oscar-nominated films written when the films came out, and plot them instead. if the consensus among reviewers is anything to go by [and lord knows, i'm not arguing that it is] then you ought to be able to tell whether films are getting worse or better. although the nomination of a beautiful mind for best picture does, on the face of it, seem to indicate that they're definitely getting worse. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Coates EMAIL: fmoeran@3sb.law.co.uk IP: URL: DATE: 04/10/2002 03:39:58 PM What about comparing the average rating of the nominated films (as at today's critical values) compared to the rating of the winning film (again, as at today's critical values). That could show us how we view the past's assessment of what was best in their day, and give us ammunition for mocking those older than ourselves - which is always a worthy project. We would of course have to delete all evidence of this experiment, or kill everyone younger than ourselves, to avoid the same fate befalling ourselves of course. I chose the latter - they always make me feel fat so there would be a fringe benefit to the entire project. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Demis EMAIL: demis@tomatopatch.com IP: 62.31.64.2 URL: http://www.tomatopatch.com/ DATE: 07/29/2002 07:32:13 PM I think the reason for the curve heading upwards like that could be interpretted a little differently than most of you guys, but similar to the comment about 93/94 being when the net kicked in. Before then, its fair enough to say that most net users were primarily academics, geeks, and on the more scientific / deskbound end of things. With this very generalised group of people, you tend to get a lot of critics as well as mindless "I LOVED IT!" comments, thus the average being lower. Then of course we have the advent of the AOL generation, when people started voting "10" without thinking, just because the film may or may not have had Leonardo Di Caprio in it. Film criticism is out the window, geek chic sarcasm takes up a lesser percentage, and a lot of voters would tend to be more mainstream. And we all know that the oscars are not a pinnacle of independent cinema or thought, so I do think that the gradual rise could more closely be linked to the gradual rise of "mainstream net-users" versus the 'old school' net-users of the cusp of the 80's/90's.... Just a thought. The obvious exception to the rule being "Titanic" - the 1997 entry on the graph. Lets face it : that movie just plain SUCKED, and I knew that the dip in the graph was 1997 even before i squinted and looked ;) ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tony EMAIL: moviesounds@yahoo.com IP: 12.72.60.109 URL: http://www.moviesounds.com DATE: 01/18/2004 08:08:49 AM I wonder if the quality factor would be higher if these films were chosen as best picture instead. 1982: Blade Runner 1985: Silverado 1987: Empire of the Sun 1990: GoodFellas 1994: The Shawshank Redemption 1996: Fargo 1997: L.A. Confidential 1998: Saving Private Ryan 2001: LOTR: The Fellowship of the Rings 2002: The Pianist The omitted years were good choices, as far as I thought. But for the record, the biggest travesty the Academy has ever committed was not even nominating "2001: A Space Odyssey for Best Picture." Imagine that. A movie the AFI chooses as one if it's Top 100 films of all time, and it didn't even garner an Oscar nomination for BP. And as for worst travesty for Best Actor, my vote goes for Jim Carrey getting the nomination snub TWO TIMES IN A ROW, both for "The Truman Show" and "Man on the Moon", the latter of which he should have won handily. If the Academy can support a genre-crossover actor like Tom Hanks, why the hell is Jim Carrey getting the cold shoulder by the Academy? Makes me sick. ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Look at my graph! It's STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/14/2002 06:49:21 PM ----- BODY:

Look at my graph! It's a graph about the Oscars! It's a graph with no point. All of these links go through to the same graph!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: It's Valentines Day - are STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/14/2002 07:01:31 PM ----- BODY:

It's Valentines Day - are you lost and lonely? Well then it's a terrible shame that I didn't do this earlier. Because I'm considering selling a date with myself over the net on ebay. Would you like to buy me for a meal and some stilted conversation in Central London? Sometime in the first week of March? Then keep yourself glued to your monitor...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I just did a quiz STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/15/2002 04:24:36 PM ----- BODY:

I just did a quiz at the Guardian designed to figure out how much money you should be earning - it works it out by assessing your IQ. At the end of the test the quiz asked me what I was doing with my life. The quiz told me I was wasting it. And, in fact, that I should be earning about �60,000 more a year than I seem to be at the moment. More annoyingly the instructions for the second round of questions made absolutely no sense at all. So I just answered the same for all of them and hoped for the best.

You tell me - do these instructions make any sense? "Does the second shape differ in some way from the first shape? Or could the second shape be the same as the first shape?" The possible answers are "Could be" and "no". Is that 'No the second shape does not differ from the first shape?' or 'No the second shape could not be the same as the first shape?' or is that 'The second shape could be different from the first shape?' or 'The second shape could be the same as the first shape?' - whoever wrote the quiz was a bit dumb if you ask me. Now, where's my �75,000 salary?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: A brief history of the Western World... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 PRIMARY CATEGORY: History CATEGORY: History DATE: 02/16/2002 02:18:10 AM ----- BODY:

One day Mesopotamia is assembled out of bits of twig and mud. It is one of the first places we see the 'Indo-European' language group that will split off into India and Europe forming the basis of most Western languages. The first written work of 'fiction' will be "Epic of Gilgamesh" - Mesopotamian critics give it 'One Thumb Up'. Egypt turns up in North Africa. Everyone surprised. While that's going, Greece gets it on - and lots of separate city states turn up. Athens becomes worlds first democracy then thre's a big war with (I think) the Spartans and then another big war with the Persians (although it could be the other way around and one of them might not have happened). Xerxes was Persian. Herodotus wrote about him.

Then Alexander the Great decides he wants to rule the world and goes a bit nuts bringing Greece, Persia, Egypt, Middle East etc. etc. etc. under his big rule. This is called "The Hellenistic Period". Finally the Romans turn up. They are boring arseholes and no one likes them. But being very organised they build roads everywhere and conquer most of Europe but become gradually corrupt and stretched too thinly. And the Romans ended up being Christians which is kind of ironic considering how many Christians they used as lion-chow. In the end, Goths come and beat them up. Which is not as amusing an image as it sounds.

Then there are dark ages for a very long time in which most of civilisation sucked arse. Civilisation is left to mad monks hoarding books in dodgy cold monasteries in places like 'lindesfarne'. Things gradually get better and monarchies get better organised - the two are not directly related. Technology gets better - someone invents venereal disease and pointy sticks again. Which is a relief as a lot of people thought pointy sticks had been lost when the Romans went nuts. A little bit later, lots of Europeans go and beat up the Middle East in the name of Christianity. Over a thousand years later, the Middle East remains pissed off. Everyone in Europe gets snotty with everyone else in Europe and there are big fights. Sometime around here people decide that science isn't complete horseshit (very gradually and mostly in Italy).

European people send out people to colonise the world and send dodgy missionaries with them who introduce the world to the Catholic Church and syphilis. Which is nice. Except some of the people they meet don't want the Catholic Church or syphilis, so they get killed and stuff. Particularly in South America, North America, Africa, the Antipodes and the bits of Asia that hadn't invented pointy sticks yet. Then England goes all Protestanty which no one is particularly thrilled about. Particularly not the Irish who get in a snark with Cromwell.

America gets all snotty and declares independence. No one cares. It is a dumb country. Americans have wars with themselves for a bit. No one cares. It is a dumb country. Europeans have more wars with each other. No one cares. They're used to it. Freud is born. There are a couple of world wars. Someone invents cool things like planes and electricity and moon rockets. Some of these people are from America which is no longer a dumb country but a fucking scary country. Russia is also a fucking scary country for a bit, but then they let MacDonalds in, so we quite like them now. And on the seventh day Joss Whedon created Buffy.

THE END (OF ALL HISTORY AS LONG AS YOU DON'T CARE ABOUT CHINA, THE MIDDLE EAST, THE CRUSADES, SOUTH AMERICA, MOST OF ASIA, THE COLONIAL STUFF AND PRETTY MUCH EVERYTHING ELSE).

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On Thursday night I went STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/16/2002 12:19:00 PM ----- BODY:

On Thursday night I went to see Ocean's Eleven. The film is amazing, Don Cheadle's accent is offensively bad. The whole cinema groaned whenever he came on. First "The Limey" and now this... What did England ever do to Steven Soderbergh!?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: God as plot device... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Religion CATEGORY: Religion DATE: 02/18/2002 12:25:58 AM ----- BODY:

One of the more interesting quizzes I've taken recently examines the logical consistency of one's beliefs about god. I'm a staunch atheist, and have been for over fifteen years now. My ideas consolidated around the time I was Christened in fact - essentially against my will at the late age of thirteen.

To me 'god' seems such an implausible idea - like a spacial anomaly in Star Trek - something that fulfils a plot function, but seems a bit of a cliché the three-thousandth time it's used to explain why something unexpected happens. People have so much need for a god figure to provide a sense of purpose to life. I don't know if I'm happier for not having a purpose - but I don't think I could have any self-respect if I secretly believed my purpose was a placebo but went along with it anyway.

The quiz tells me that I'm essentially very consistent in my views about god. In fact it only criticises me in one area - and I actually think it's wrong to do so. The quiz told me, "You've taken a direct hit! You said earlier that God doesn't exist and you claimed that if she does not exist there is no basis for morality. Therefore, you are committed to the view that there is no basis for morality. But now you say that torturing innocent people is morally wrong. But if there is no basis for morality, then you cannot rationally say of any act that it is morally wrong."

It seems to me that morality is a more noble achievement if it is wrought than if it is given. Just because there is no one to judge us at the end of our lives, does not mean that we don't feel the need to be judged? And if there are standards to judge us by - even standards we just decide to judge ourselves by - then does it matter where they come from? ... whether they come from biology, or from society's inculcation of belief, or from the spread of virulent memes. As long as we've fought to clarify our beliefs, as long as we haven't simply believed what we have been told, as long as we've struggled for consistency and clarity and to do what we believe to be best, then why can't we call that a man-made morality to be proud of - and not less proud of because it's in defiance of a godless, arbitrary universe - but more proud that we have been able to create meaning of some kind for ourselves in the midst of total darkness.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: More evidence, if evidence were STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/18/2002 11:52:27 AM ----- BODY:

More evidence, if evidence were needed that Metafilter's Matt Haughey is a god among men.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: An afternoon's MP3 playlist: Michael STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/18/2002 02:28:31 PM ----- BODY:

An afternoon's MP3 playlist:

Michael Jackson - "Don't Stop Til You Get Enough", B*Witched - "Hey Mickey", Jamiroquai - "Deeper Underground", Britney Spears - "Oops! I did it again", David Bowie - "Boys Keep Swinging", Grace Jones - "Pull Up To The Bumper", Death in Vegas - "Dirge", Lauren Hill - "Doo Wop (That Thing)", PJ Harvey - "Good Fortune", Tom Jones & Stereophonics - "Mama Told Me Not To Come", Menswear - "Daydreamer", Ben Folds - "Rockin' the Suburbs", EMF - "Unbelievable", Limp Bizkit - "Rollin'", Madonna - "Music", David Bowie - "Let's Dance", Depeche Mode - "I Feel Loved", Prince - "Raspberry Beret", Nancy Sinatra - "These Boots Were Made For Walkin'", Daft Punk - "Superheroes", Charlatans - "Love is the Key", Daft Punk - "Da Funk", David Bowie - "Modern Love", Ike and Tina Turner - "Nutbush City Limits", Spice Girls - "Who do you think you are?", Dockers - "To Vuo Fo L'Americano", S Club 7 - "Don't Stop Movin'", New Order - "Blue Monday 88", Weezer - "Crab", Hole - "Awful", Salt n Pepa - "Push It", ABBA - "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!", Primitives - "Crash", Death in Vegas - "Aisha", Blondie - "Maria", Smiths - "How Soon is Now?", Destiny's Child - "Bootylicious".

Now answer me this - am I a cool hipster with a hint of trash or a trash glamster with a touch of cool? I can't decide, I really can't....

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: In honour of Don Cheadle's STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/18/2002 02:56:46 PM ----- BODY:

In honour of Don Cheadle's "Worst Cockney Accent Ever", I hereby present the World's Worst Cockney Website Translator Ever, which seems to do nothing but add the word "awright?" every two sentences. Appalling. As my flatmate says - "My poor people!"

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Move along, nothing to see STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/19/2002 12:20:42 PM ----- BODY:

Move along, nothing to see here: I've got a job interview tomorrow and I'm planning to spend much of the day getting myself up to speed with everything on the internet I think I need to know about. And so my first assumption is that I'm not going to post much. But then again, I am going to be roaming the internet looking for interesting information, and that's not that dissimilar from weblogging anyway...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Just as everyone in the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/19/2002 12:21:46 PM ----- BODY:

Just as everyone in the western world has finally succumbed and bought a player - be warned: DVDs are obselete.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Go forth my minions! Perhaps STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/19/2002 12:29:08 PM ----- BODY:

Go forth my minions! Perhaps you could resolve the biggest gripe that people have about the new plasticbag.org design - the lack of attractive looking permalinks. The problem is code-related - I have always scrupulously placed paragraph tags around each and every one of my posts on plasticbag.org. Unfortunately this means that unless I want my permalinks to sit in another paragraph after or before each post, it's very difficult to format them. What I would really like is to have the permalinks as little floating circles to the left or right of the main content box, but every attempt I make to produce them results in a huge and unsightly gap between posts.

The Rules:
- Remember, as post may be more than one paragraph long! You have to preserve the spacing between paragraphs.
- This whole thing could be done pretty easily with tables, but let's face it - tables are retro-tech. plasticbag.org is almost entirely CSS and your solution should be too.
- The best solution (shown to me on another site) gets the mother of all links for a week. Something really big and sexy, plus - er... $10 in their Paypal accounts if they have one.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The worst thing about interviews STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/19/2002 05:27:39 PM ----- BODY:

The worst thing about interviews is how nervous I get and how when I get nervous I fart. Really loudly. Luckily I don't get nervous very often. Or more to the point, perhaps, luckily I don't go outside very much and have no sense of smell.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: There's a book called Running STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/19/2002 05:39:11 PM ----- BODY:

There's a book called Running Weblogs with Slash. For a little while this confused me. Why would anyone need a book for that? But then - of course, revelation - and I realised that you'd probably need a guidebook as to how to persuade his agent to let him do it, ways to placate him when he got a bit drunk and mad, ways to stop the other members of Guns 'n' Roses turning up at your place of work every twenty minutes asking to scab a fiver.

Wednesday, February 20
Today Slash and I went to the shops. And we had the best time!!! I guess that just goes to show that we're really good friends after all. Slash got some fish fingers and I splashed out on some Tartare sauce. He nearly burnt his hair on the way out of the newsagents. God it was so funny. He showed me his new smiley earlier today - it's great - I;{P - I think it sums him up perfectly. Except for the moustache, which I don't really get. We'll have a party when we get home, Slash says. He's my best friend.
Tuesday, February 19
Slash won't put the toilet seat down after going to the bathroom. He's driving me insane.
Monday, February 18
Slash went to some big party yesterday and when he got home he was really drunk. I wouldn't normally mind, but I live here too, y'know? The most annoying thing was that when I got up I had to remove all his stringy bits of hair from the shower plug-hole to stop it overflowing all over the floor. Honestly, I don't think people know what it's like living with an ex-rock god. Aren't my needs important?! I had to get to Kinko's by ten this morning as well...
Saturday, February 16
Today Slash said he thought Nick Jordan was the best British weblogger. How wrong can a guy be!? I keep trying to tell him that it's clearly not going to be Nick Jordan. It's GOT to be Graybo. Slash drank quite a lot after our argument, trashed the hotel room and refused to let me play Unreal Tournament on his PS2 even though he didn't really want to watch Futurama on Fox. I hate him when he's like this. In the end I had to get my Mom to ring him up on his cellphone when he was in the bath. I heard all this laughing from the bathroom, so I guess he's forgiven me... Mom's sure ringing a lot nowadays...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Today is Online Community News STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/20/2002 10:35:01 AM ----- BODY:

Today is Online Community News day at plasticbag towers. Regular updates through next couple of hours:

StreamingMediaWorld.com
More than you could ever legitimately need to know about streaming video and audio media.
CNN Community no more
Looks like it's been like it for a while, but CNN has completely closed down the vast majority of its community operations, leaving only occasional hosted webchats and as-and-when-necessary news-event related message-boards. This is probably because the page impressions these parts of sites provide are not worth the same financially - people using online communities don't tend to click on adverts - and the legal worries and moderation costs.
Top Ten Trends for Online Communities
Particularly interesting survey of the Community sectors that are actually making money - including 'search', 'education' and 'trading' communities.
Future uncertain for feedback sites
The most depressing part of the dot-com boom for me will always be that people miss the fact that the internet at the moment is a relatively low-cost, low-overhead environment. And great sites like Epinions still end up relatively over-staffed and expected to produce huge profits. It's not going to happen. I still have one issue with Epinions - one that I think is core - you can ask for an opinion about a toaster oven, but if you want to know which is the best toaster oven under a certain price, you have to dig around for hours. Makes no sense to me...
Estats: Online Communities
A fairly strange and motley set of statistics about the inter-relationship of IRL groups and the involvement of individuals who experience them online.
What happened when plastic came back
A couple of months ago plastic.com resurfaced. And what were the first reactions...? Pretty much what you'd expect...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: It would be excessively harsh STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/21/2002 01:12:05 AM ----- BODY:

It would be excessively harsh to say that I hated Occupational Psychologists. But it would not be excessively harsh to say that I don't enjoy being tested by them. Let's leave it at that...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: So last night I went STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/21/2002 11:03:44 AM ----- BODY:

So last night I went to eat Ethiopian food in a restaurant called Merkato in Islington with the team of people with whom I freelance. We roamed full and free from the menu, as Danny and Polly have both visited Ethiopia and know what to ask for. The food was frankly more unusual than I'd expected - slightly soggy sour pancakes are layered on a big plate and then supermarket-meal sized blobs of strangely bubbly meat-related products are dolloped out upon it. To eat, simply tear off pancake piece and shovel food into mouth with it.

And yet for all the excitement of the meal itself, the best bit was that one of our party - Neil - arrived at the restaurant at precisely 20.02 on 20/2/02 - a glorious conceit of a date that I commented on loudly at the beginning of my interview to the eyebrow-raisings of my assessors and which has been talked about at length by Mr Kottke.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: A rude cartoon found via STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/21/2002 11:35:21 AM ----- BODY:

A rude cartoon found via cal. Note that I tried for a while to find a picture of 'Viacal' - the fizzy limescale remover - on the interhighweb. But without any success. Leaving me to think that the world is conspiring to fuck up my jokes today. [Thanks to Gina for revealing that the world has indeed fucked up all my jokes by secretly changing the name of the damn limescale remover while I wasn't paying attention - I present: Viakal]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Firda has created the CSS STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/21/2002 12:14:30 PM ----- BODY:

Firda has created the CSS Colouring book featuring several table-less CSS designs for weblogs which you can run off with and adapt to your own sick needs. Firda rules.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: At the time of writing, STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/21/2002 10:54:38 PM ----- BODY:

At the time of writing, the price of buying someone to come and kick your own ass was a mere $1.75. I wonder if it's more if you want them to beat up other people...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Ok, so tomorrow afternoon I STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/21/2002 11:48:05 PM ----- BODY:

Ok, so tomorrow afternoon I should hear whether I got through the whole Occupational Psychologists' testing - first stage of my interview process for the BBC job that I would cheerfully kill for. I'm not feeling very positive about it - in fact I feel heartily ill about it. I'll go into full detail about the horrific experience tomorrow morning, at the moment I just want to pretend it never happened.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I don't know if you're STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/21/2002 11:58:06 PM ----- BODY:

I don't know if you're aware of this fact - but I'm actually going to be thirty years old in roughly four months and twenty-eight days. I only mention this fact now, because clearly thirty is a big milestone and you'll all want to be saving up so you can buy me a nice big sparkly present rather than the old tat you usually buy me (you know who you are). It occurs to me that if you people actually stopped being quite so useless and each sent me �20 via Paypal a year, then I wouldn't have to get a damn job at the BBC anyway. Which would - of course - be their loss not mine. Sigh.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I haven't said anything on STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/22/2002 11:25:09 AM ----- BODY:

I haven't said anything on plasticbag.org because I've been convinced that it would add extra pressure on me and that I'd buckle under it - but I seem to have given up smoking. It's been almost two weeks now without a cigarette. I still want them quite badly, but I'm not having them. My ashtrays still sit in front of me on my desk - and they're still full - I feel like if I threw them away that my totem of stubs would betray me and I'd be scratching my way out of the flat towards the local newsagent. It probably wasn't the best time in the world to quit - but hey...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I don't think Cal is STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/22/2002 11:35:42 AM ----- BODY:

I don't think Cal is talking to me at the moment.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I don't know where he STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/22/2002 05:25:25 PM ----- BODY:

I don't know where he got the information from, but there's a fascinating piece of writing about being born from exploding stars over at barbelith at the moment. It's a lovely, wonderful and transformative idea - it's also a slightly alarming one!

Researchers say twin supernovas two million years ago triggered the evolution of humankind. �These supernovas would have blown away our protective ozone layer,� says Dr. Narciso Benitez of Johns Hopkins University. �Earth lost its protection against ultraviolet rays, and for several hundred years the planet would have been battered by intense radiation.�

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Happy birthday to ickle.org. Now STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/22/2002 09:15:49 PM ----- BODY:

Happy birthday to ickle.org. Now you are one, what will you do now? Will you grow, oh ickle.org? When you are twenty, will you be angry that you can't be called tall.org? Will you be laughed at down the pub. Oh what will become of ickle.org?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Could this be the best STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/23/2002 12:27:31 PM ----- BODY:

Could this be the best magazine cover of all time? Or is it simply the best thing of all time? Or is it kinda dumb? Der Spiegel

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: An otherwise wonderfully fun evening STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/24/2002 11:29:03 AM ----- BODY:

An otherwise wonderfully fun evening celebrating Luke's birthday ruined at the last minute by the discovery that I've lost my uninsured mobile phone, resulting in me becoming suddenly terrified about the potential cost of replacement.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Proposal for a grant? "Dear STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/24/2002 11:31:25 AM ----- BODY:

Proposal for a grant? "Dear Dean of Stuff, I work at your University and I'd really like to do a study of the social networks in the Marvel comic book universe. I hope you will understand how important and useful a piece of research this could be. Yours, A. Nut."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Get it while it's fresh STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/24/2002 11:06:29 PM ----- BODY:

Get it while it's fresh - or more to the point, get it before it's ripped from the internet's bleeding womb by the stainless steel tongs of threatened legal-action... Because Anne Widdecombe is not going to be thrilled about this one...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: So strictly speaking, it's now STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/25/2002 01:30:09 AM ----- BODY:

So strictly speaking, it's now the day when I found out if I'm through to the first interviews for a job at the BBC. We were supposed to find out on Friday, but for various reasons they weren't able to get the information to us. Each interview will be one hour long - and they've allocated three hour slots per job - so that's fifteen candidates in total going through to the second stage. Or at least that's fifteen interviews - I don't yet know whether people will be represented in more than one of the categories. Twenty-four first-stage candidates narrowed down to fifteen second-stage ones - will I be on that list? I doubt it, frankly. I really do.

I haven't felt so invested in the outcome of a job application for ages - I think it's a job I could do well, and perhaps more importantly, that I'd enjoy - but weirdly I don't think that's why I'm so nervous. I'm very uncomfortable with the idea of these psychologists analysing my responses. I have become increasingly convinced that they'll declare me unfit for work in general - and what do you do then? Start a sheep farm? Live in a commune? Take up politics? I'm relatively sure that I can acquit myself well in an interview as well - but my performance in that interview is less important to me at the moment than getting to it.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Google of the future? "I STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/25/2002 12:09:45 PM ----- BODY:

Google of the future? "I am Google! I find many good things. I find that pair of underwear with the little dice printed all over them. And I watch the tape of you with the life-sized Stallman puppet. These are good unique things. Many keywords and links! My masters will say 'much good job, little robot!' Many searchers will find happy links of Stallman puppet see you! Ahhhh."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: To a user of Internet STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/25/2002 12:38:36 PM ----- BODY:

To a user of Internet Explorer on Mac OSX, the "What Sex Toy Are You?" quiz is a beautiful set of constellations. Oooooooh. Pretty....

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I wonder how many people STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/25/2002 12:47:26 PM ----- BODY:

I wonder how many people actually don't realise what's behind this card trick. It's obvious right? Addendum For those who have not as yet figured out the trick - none of the second set of cards were in the first set. So whatever you chose would no longer be present...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Today's crisis of indecision regards STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/26/2002 02:20:07 PM ----- BODY:

Today's crisis of indecision regards the BBC. I was supposed to hear from them about this first interview yesterday. But I have not. Does this mean that I can expect a letter from them through the post in a few days telling me not to give up the day ... er ... - or does this mean that the message got lost when my phone was stolen and the SIM card transferred. Or does it mean that they simply haven't had time to get around to it? This whole process has felt like torture and I'm more than slightly frustrated with them for not making it an educational and smooth-running application. But of course I can't be frustrated - because I as yet do not know if the failure of communication is at my end.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I got home last night STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/26/2002 02:38:07 PM ----- BODY:

I got home last night around 1am, after an accidental curry and caipirinha and slumped immediately into a couple of episodes of Buffy and Farscape. I'm not going to defend my choice of late-night TV - I'm just telling it how it is. Anyway - next thing I know is that it's five in the morning and I'm asleep on the sitting-room floor, and I have that moment of indecision when you think to yourself that just staying where you are would be better than moving to go to bed, but then I gave in to my sedate impulse and lay in bed wide-awake for two hours thinking about all the things I need to sort out in my life.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Even the BBC loves The Strokes... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/26/2002 02:39:26 PM ----- BODY:

Even the BBC loves The Strokes. Where's your stuffy English public service broad-caster now then? Eh?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I have a bloody interview. STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/26/2002 03:18:30 PM ----- BODY:

I have a bloody interview. I'm not occupationally insane after all. I have been assessed and found stage-one (of three) employable. Everything else is bonus from now on - I always assumed that it was just getting me in a room with people that was the problem. "Ah well he looks good on paper, but in person - eeeeesh...." or "Subject: Tom Coates - Makes inappropriate jokes at assessments about Jamie Theakston's sex life - Do not employ". But it turns out that I'm just not good enough for the jobs - not that I'm mad! What a relief!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Question One: Do sites do STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/26/2002 06:03:58 PM ----- BODY:

Question One: Do sites do features of weblogs because it guarantees those same articles traffic? I'm increasingly thinking that this is the case - webloggers love the approval of being mentioned in a paper - it makes us feel important (well it makes me feel important, anyway). Question Two: Can someone tell me what the phrase 'so-called' means in the following sentence (taken from this article about weblogging): "For the last two years or so, so-called Weblogs have slowly built a following among Internet users."?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Hands up who thinks Andrew STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/26/2002 07:15:56 PM ----- BODY:

Hands up who thinks Andrew Sullivan's views on homosexuality are dull, conformist, apologist and retro? That many huh? Ok then. Hands up who cares about Andrew Sullivan's Blogger manifesto? Wow. That few...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I am drooling at the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/26/2002 07:21:33 PM ----- BODY:

I am drooling at the thought of Photoshop 7 because it will be the first version of the software to run natively in OSX - which means I need never ever use OS9 again. Which will be nice.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Guardian Horror... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/26/2002 07:53:08 PM ----- BODY:

At the beginning of February 2002, The Guardian contacted me about the possibility of an interview. For some ungodly reason the lunatic newspaper had decided that it was thrilled by the idea of listen to me jabber on about any decaying rubbish that fell lifelessly out of my mouth. I dutifully obliged.

A couple of days later, they asked me if they could send a photographer around to take a picture. I was of course tremendously flattered - although since I hadn't shaved in over a week and since we'd run out of hot water and since the photographer was going to arrive in about thirty seconds, I wasn't entirely comfortable with how I was going to look.

When the photographer arrived, he was a tremendous friendly mad old guy with thick glasses and thinning hair who asked me to sit in all kinds of strange positions in front of my computer, but never once told me what to do wih my face. By the end of the (brief) session, I was kind of sheepishly grinning in complete embarrassment.

The photographs he finally decided were the best were e-mailed to me a couple of days later. The article, of course, never actually ran in the paper at all - so they now only exist here online... My moment of fame postponed once more... And frankly it's all to the good as I have never looked so goddamned hideous...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I need advice - if STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/27/2002 12:51:52 AM ----- BODY:

I need advice - if you've ever looked at a personal ad on nerve.com then I need your advice. I need you to go and look at a lame web-blokes personal ad and tell me if it's completely full of shit or not. The user-name of the bloke whose ad I want your opinions of is '8bit'.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Press Release: Armitage Media is STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/27/2002 12:06:57 PM ----- BODY:

Press Release: Armitage Media is proud to announce the release of the first single by the winner of "Blog Idol", the stunning Tom Coates. The double A-side (titled "Anything is possible / When you're A-list") will be released shortly via Morgan Music (probably). The cover art in all its glory is available for the press here.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Human beings are like Microsoft STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/27/2002 03:09:48 PM ----- BODY:

Human beings are like Microsoft products - cobbled together in a rough evolutionary fashion over many years, prone to collapse, occasional misfunctioning and systematic farting (both actual and metaphorical). If human beings were like Apple products then we'd all be beautiful and we'd probably be able to fly and read minds by now - although it is possible instead that we'd have become almost totally extinct as a species.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Returned to the 'From You STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/27/2002 03:27:09 PM ----- BODY:

Returned to the 'From You Know Who You Are Department', With Thanks: Say you were at a party with a woman who dislikes you and most of your friends and isn't afraid to say so, and you were chatting to a friend of yours who's just decided to go out with said woman, and you kind of felt the need to know why he was doing it so you asked him, only for her to answer the question several days later in rather twisty-turny grammar on her website by suggesting that she gave the best head in town, wouldn't you reply affectionately that after an exhaustive survey of the male weblogger population - all other qualities aside - her capacity for blow-jobs was considered merely adequate? I know I wouldn't. Because it would be wrong.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: What's Tom's e-mail address? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/27/2002 03:31:59 PM ----- BODY:

By the way, just in case you're desperately searching for my e-mail address like the person who keeps writing "Tom has no e-mail address on his page" and "Please Tom put your e-mail address on your page" in the search box, then my e-mail address is tom%40plasticbag.org.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Impressions of late-night TV: 1) STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/27/2002 11:39:38 PM ----- BODY:

Impressions of late-night TV: 1) three people of very different life positions watch an episode of Sex and the City where four people's very different life positions push barriers between them, 2) George Michael goes Blade-runner as a Sexual Freak in the closest thing to a homo mid-life crisis that you can put on screen for even an obscenely stupid amount of money, 3) an acting coach says to one of her model pupils, "You know what you're really saying is that you want to be....." - the student looks blank, then resigned. "Fucked....?" - there is much nodding and wild-eyed agreement - and perhaps the tiniest tear runs down her face. Another model looks like Wes Bentley.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Another fun morning - today's STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/28/2002 09:13:05 AM ----- BODY:

Another fun morning - today's entertainment includes two months notice (along with my flatmates) to vacate my flat, a letter from the bank explaining that I've gone over my overdraft facility and a nice happy bill from Barclaycard.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: An e-mail regarding 8bit at STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/28/2002 09:14:25 AM ----- BODY:

An e-mail regarding 8bit at nerve.com: "I think that 8bit bloke is full of shit. But tell him that if he is ever in need of a woman to bear his children he should give me�a call."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Another day, another review for STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/28/2002 09:21:08 AM ----- BODY:

Another day, another review for the BBC, this time for the film Basquiat: "In Hollywood movies, the lives of the great creative geniuses all follow a pretty similar path. From humble origins our hero will struggle and nearly give up. Then they will find themselves a supportive girlfriend or mentor and have some kind of transformative breakthrough. And then finally they become alienated from their friends and experience some kind of 'Great Big Crisis'." I mean, we've all been there, right?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: It's the fight that would STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/28/2002 09:27:31 AM ----- BODY:

It's the fight that would not die - Penguin Books versus Katie.com - the latter site is still fighting about the book that Penguin published about sexual abuse and harrassment over the internet which decided to name itself after her site. I first wrote about this a year and a half ago, but I think it's important that it gets some more press - so spread the world - this could happen to any of our sites - and I don't think we'd have the slightest recourse to the law...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Evidence, if evidence were needed, STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/28/2002 10:11:45 AM ----- BODY:

Evidence, if evidence were needed, that Sparky not only appears to have found himself a bloke, but that he also has very fine taste in men. Even if the guy in question does also look like the lead singer of James.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: You have to love Michael STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/28/2002 02:40:10 PM ----- BODY:

You have to love Michael Moore, you really do. I mean he's just so on the money most of the time:

MOORE:� Yes.� I don't -- look, I don't know what the percentage should be, but I certainly� believe, and I've you heard you say the same thing on the show, that you don't think a company like Enron should go, you know, for four years without paying any taxes.�
O'REILLY:� No, it's ridiculous.
MOORE:� Right?
O'REILLY:� It's true.
MOORE:� I mean, that's wrong, right?
O'REILLY:� And a company like Andersen should not be able to split off their Andersen� Consulting, move it to Bermuda and set it up there as...
O'REILLY:� Right, but those aren't Americans.� Those are villains, OK?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: So Davo sends me an STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/28/2002 02:55:59 PM ----- BODY:

So Davo sends me an article from the BBC about Irritable Male Syndrome which explains how particularly stressful circumstances can make your testosterone drop which could lead to moodiness and foulness. I ask him what he's implying. He replies that I know very well what he's implying and to stop being so bloody irritable....

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: If you're bored of an STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/28/2002 07:54:34 PM ----- BODY:

If you're bored of an afternoon and fancy some entertainment, I can more than recommend methylsalicylate. Brooke will help you differentiate your fat mice from your firearms. What more could you ask?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The last time I heard STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 02/28/2002 11:12:34 PM ----- BODY:

The last time I heard them I was probably about ten, maybe eleven. My dad used to play them in the car. He only had this album, ABBA's greatest hits and The Carpenters. He was not the coolest man in the world, it becomes clear to me... Anyway - obviously I've bought the ABBA and Carpenters album since, but never before have I heard the classic songs from the other album, until now... And I can tell you with complete honestly that Neil Diamond is as cool today as he ever has been!... "Forever in Blue Jeans", "Song Sung Blue" - now that's proper music!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Thanks to the wonderful people STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/01/2002 12:08:47 AM ----- BODY:

Thanks to the wonderful people at Haddock.org, I have finally found a sport that I can get behind. And it is a sport. It's definitely not some homo-erotic thing marketed to a very specific niche market. Oh no. Nothing unsavoury about these pictures! Good healthy fun for all the family! If all of your family is male, and between the ages of twenty and twenty-three. And like body oil.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: My interview this afternoon is STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/01/2002 11:13:09 AM ----- BODY:

My interview this afternoon is at four o'clock at the BBC - I'm scared out of my mind, but really quite excited as well. I have all of Barbelith pulling off a piece of chaos magick for me this afternoon - pulling off being the operative phrase here... All I need is some prayer, good will and tremendous positive thinking (oh and to have done my research) before four o'clock and I'm a shoe-in...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Q: "Why are you wearing STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/01/2002 12:23:11 PM ----- BODY:

Q: "Why are you wearing that stupid bunny suit?"
A: "Why are you wearing that stupid human suit?" Brrrr. Creepy....

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: A really good article on STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/01/2002 01:26:07 PM ----- BODY:

A really good article on community development includes this paragraph: "In order to succeed, a virtual community has to have an affinity -- the answer to the question "what would draw these people together?" It has to present a user interface that doesn't baffle the newcomer, but gives a range of options to the experienced user. Building a social space online does not guarantee that people will inhabit it. It has to have a social infrastructure, including simple written agreements to a social contract governing online behavior and sanctions for transgression. It needs skilled human facilitation. And there must be some plan for bringing a continuing stream of newcomers into the community." Which, in essence, says it all.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: News Shock! Prince Philip mad STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/02/2002 12:07:07 AM ----- BODY:

News Shock! Prince Philip mad old racist bastard! World reels in surprise.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The only must see thing STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/02/2002 06:40:39 PM ----- BODY:

The only must see thing on the net today seems to me to be Sparky's flat - frankly it's stunning and I want it, but more to the point it's also incredibly well captured in multiple photos. New Boyfriend, gorgeous flat. Sparky must die...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Everyone else is linking it, STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/03/2002 11:28:26 AM ----- BODY:

Everyone else is linking it, so why can't we? Today's completely lifted link is The Man Project - a stunning and (apparently) simple looking piece of animation which resembles those cross-section models made by slicing up dead people. The most interesting technical part of it seems to me to be the way in which the figure faces, which appears to change as you move the mouse...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The future is Mac Porn. STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/03/2002 11:49:39 AM ----- BODY:

The future is Mac Porn. Don't say I didn't warn you. I stared salivating as soon as I saw the pictures. You can sometimes feel your heart-rate speed-up too. Weirdly I don't think I have this reaction when looking a hot men any more. Tell me doctor, is there something wrong with me?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Proselytising for the computing age STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/03/2002 12:03:38 PM ----- BODY:

Proselytising for the computing age - Why OSX is the future!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Ok - I'm not going STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/03/2002 08:26:46 PM ----- BODY:

Ok - I'm not going to go into detail about my job interview on Friday, except to say that my friends over at Barbelith certainly played their part in trying to get me a job, while in the process... well I've said too much already! Tomorrow I find out whether I've got through to the third and final stage of the process - which will be an interview in two weeks time. Keep your fingers crossed for me, people...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Mr Morgan cannot sleep at STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/04/2002 11:10:36 AM ----- BODY:

Mr Morgan cannot sleep at the moment, so at half-past-one in the morning we met up for a walk around Maida Vale. We broke into Paddington Recreation Ground and talked about Lego and looked through his camcorder at nearby buildings on ultra-zoom. Then I made him a cup of tea and finally chucked him out of the door at 4am.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Here's an interesting link from STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/05/2002 10:49:02 AM ----- BODY:

Here's an interesting link from a couple of months ago - Jakob Neilson and the BBC Front Page. The BBC redesigned their front page a few months ago, shortly after Neilson released his book - which included an analysis of the old site. Neilson's exercise (mainly useful for people who already have the book), takes you through the concerns that he raised about the old design and shows how many of them have now been resolved. More interesting for the geekier members of the studio audience, but hey.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I'm going to say this STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/05/2002 10:50:06 AM ----- BODY:

I'm going to say this quickly and get it over with. I didn't get the Community Producer gig at the BBC, I am gutted. If you want to make me feel better about it then buy me something.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: A good article on the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/05/2002 11:00:39 AM ----- BODY:

A good article on the state of the American music industry: Looking Grim at the Grammys. I don't know how long it's going to take contemporary culture to figure out, but fragmentation is the new monolith - cultures are separating along the lines of interest groups - and people belong to several over-lapping fragmented cultures rather than to the mono-culture. Technology will continue to get more adaptable and less expensive, and that means that the overheads of running a media operation should now be dropping as well. And that in turn means that a variety of entertainment product - small bands, small films, for small markets - some of which may go huge - should return to prominence. The internet is making people weirder. When will you people realise this?!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I'm having a minor moment STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/05/2002 11:30:02 AM ----- BODY:

I'm having a minor moment about an article on the BBC's news site which is very interesting and everything, but also completely 'give away the twist why-don't-you'-ish. The article is about the next Harry Potter movie, which makes me think that you probably should only click here if you've already read the book...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Sing it with me, children... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/05/2002 11:43:48 AM ----- BODY:

Sing it with me, children...

When are you gonna come down?
When are you going to land?
I should have stayed on the farm.
I should have listened to my old man.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: One of the funniest transition STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/05/2002 12:22:24 PM ----- BODY:

One of the funniest transition pages I've seen in forever - Might Big TV is now Television Without Pity...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The last couple of days STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/06/2002 02:49:16 PM ----- BODY:

The last couple of days have been fairly strange exotic beasts - the job disappointment as ever knocked me for a loop for a good twenty-four hours. It's always difficult to be rejected, I think, and I wonder if anyone ever really gets used to it. They always say that as one door closes another opens - but this seems to have been happening so regularly recently that after a while you have to start wondering, is this a revolving door? And am I trying to go through it the wrong way? Anyway - a couple of new possibilities have emerged - one of which looks particularly promising. So I guess I'll just have to try and relax and go with the ride for a little longer...

After lunch yesterday with Cal, Matt and Phil, I ended up wandering around Central London trying t get a bit of perspective on things and finishing off my copy of Moon Palace - which stirred up a lot of thoughts about my father and my (vaguely) impending thirtieth birthday. I went for a brief drink with a friend who was celebrating his birthday and returned home, weirdly satisfied.

Today I'm in much finer form - I've got lots of work to do, lots of things to think about. Part of the cheeriness I'm feeling has to be due to the gift of Fahrenheit 451 that I received today from an anonymous donor as well as the delightful irony of having Sauron (from the Barbelith Underground) buying me a copy of Lord of the Rings from my wishlist. Thanks to everyone!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Oh and if you want STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/06/2002 03:02:53 PM ----- BODY:

Oh and if you want to know what I did on Saturday night, then go and read up about it over at Brainsluice. He leaves out how precisely grumpy I was all evening. That's why he's my best friend.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: A while ago I linked STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/06/2002 03:07:50 PM ----- BODY:

A while ago I linked to an article about old TV shows having new opportunities for product placement because of the potential for digital alteration before rebroadcasting. But it seems that this is only the beginning of the 'touching-up' of the past (for both reasons of 'taste' and money). In a recently rebroadcast movie in the US, underwear was digitally altered and indeed completely added on a young lady kissing Mr Bond. The Smoking Gun has the full story.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: my %guy; $guy{type} = 'underwater guy'; $guy->control_sea; kill $guy, "10 million pounds of STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/07/2002 01:57:30 AM ----- BODY:

my %guy;
$guy{type} = 'underwater guy';
$guy->control_sea;
kill $guy, "10 million pounds of
                  sludge from NY and NJ";

foreach my $monkey (@monkeys) {
    $monkey->gone(heaven);
}

$creature{sky}->suck_into_hole;
$sky->put_in_hole;
$ground = 'not cold';
if ($ground ne 'cold'){
   burn $everything;
   next $turn;
   $mine->too;
}

foreach my $monkey (@monkeys) {
    $monkey->gone(heaven);
}

$joe->rock($me);

if ($man == 5) {
  if ($man == 5) {
    if ($man == 5) {
      $devil = 6;
      }
    $devil = 6;
    }
  $devil = 6;
  $devil = 6;
}
if ($devil == 6) {
   $deity = 7;
   $deity = 7;
}

foreach my $monkey (@monkeys) {
    $monkey->gone(heaven);
}

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Ok - I'm in the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/07/2002 12:25:27 PM ----- BODY:

Ok - I'm in the middle of a big deadline at the moment, so all my thoughts are necessarily truncated. But still - the biggest thing in my head at the moment is my father. He and my mother got divorced when I was two or three and I haven't seen him or heard anything from him since I was about four or five. My mother had a couple of conversations with him when I was about six or seven, but that's it. No more.

I've never really been even the slightest bit interested in finding out about him - all my friends seemed to think that I should seek him out - but why? What possible connection could I have with this man? At least that was always my position. But now I think it's changing. The easiest way to tell what's on your mind is to see how often you find yourself confronted by it everywhere you look - in the books you read, the TV shows you watch. It's like with theories - if you get attached to a theory about the way the world works, then you see evidence for it everywhere. It's not so much that you're making up the evidence, but that your mind is hoovering up associated material left, right and centre...

Anyway - at the moment everything I touch seems to be about absent fathers and having a sense of your own history and about memories. Things as random as Paul Auster novels, films like Memento and TV shows like Sex and the City have all (over the last few days) made me think about my past and my parents. And my father particularly. He'd be in his sixties now - he might be dead. I think maybe I just need to know whether or not he's dead. Head's too full of crap today. Will think about this in more depth later - maybe next week.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Thanks to the anonymous punter STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/07/2002 12:27:29 PM ----- BODY:

Thanks to the anonymous punter who bought me a copy of Moulin Rouge off my wishlist! It's very much appreciated, whoever you are. If only I could find some way of translating plasticbag.org into a way to pay my rent each month!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: If you hadn't guessed from STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/07/2002 03:14:40 PM ----- BODY:

If you hadn't guessed from a brief visit to his site, Cal is colourblind. Hey - what can be said - I have no sense of smell, he doesn't know how to co-ordinate. We all have our crosses to bear. Unfortunately I'm not as absurdly talented as Cal is, so I can't do something tremendously, world-changingly useful - like make a site which allows you to test various colour combinations to see how accessible your site will be. [Addendum: For those who have asked, Cal is a good friend of mine, and I was merely joking about the colour-schemes at his site. In fact even a cursory glance would demonstrate that the colour schemes are great. And that there are lots of them.]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The best thing about writing STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/09/2002 11:04:32 AM ----- BODY:

The best thing about writing something for a print publication is that you get this wonderful chunky piece of solid matter to look at when it's finished. Yesterday through the post came the 2002 edition of the Time Out London guide - of which I wrote all of the gay section (for my sins), with substantial and unfortunately uncredited help from Davo. If you need to know what there is to do in London, then it really is the best guide available. And if you find any glaring errors in my section, then please keep them to yourself!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The most astonishing thing about STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/09/2002 11:10:07 AM ----- BODY:

The most astonishing thing about being without Blogger for a day is not that I was frustrated or annoyed, but that I found myself writing vast selections of little notes and thoughts to Barbelith and Haddock. It seems clear - I have a pathological need to write reams of crap each day - possibly I write so much to stop myself from thinking...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Too many doctorates in the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/09/2002 12:57:50 PM ----- BODY:

Too many doctorates in the air at the moment - which shouldn't annoy me but does because I feel jealous even though I know I made the right decision to leave mine. Probably I'm freaked because I don't seem to be getting anywhere with all the other shit I hoped to do. I don't rule the world, I don't get paid for running a site that I care about, I'm not David Bowie yet and I don't get mentioned in the papers nearly enough. This whole mood was inspired, weirdly, by Freud Action Figures and somewhat ammeliorated by the fact that I'm speaking at a conference about Virtual Communities in a couple of months - alongside some people who recently interviewed me for a job I didn't get. Sigh.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Breaking news: Universe even more STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/09/2002 01:10:56 PM ----- BODY:

Breaking news: Universe even more boring than we all thought. The universe, it transpires, is much like the wallpaper in my bedroom at my parent's house in Norfolk.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On the zeitgeist(s)... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/09/2002 04:36:56 PM ----- BODY:

I love pages that keep track of search requests on the internet. Pages like Lycos' Top 50. These give you a real insight into the community of the internet's most obsessive interests. And of course the most interesting thing about them is how many of the listings in the top fifty that you just have never heard of. A community of net users? Where? I see many communities. Of course most of the search terms would be instantly familar to most American teenagers and early twenty-somethings I imagine... Or would they?

Google's got a page like this too - although it's updated more randomly. But it does have the amusing benefit of pulling out randomly entertaining figures and presenting them as charts. This week, for example...

By far the most interesting of these little enterprises however is Yahoo's Buzz index - which manages to track both the most searched for keywords, but also to be able to track rapid movers, surges or lapses of interest - and over a vast range of categories as well... Who is the US obsessing about at the moment? Anna Nicole Smith - what movie is the world suddenly more interested in than usual? Er... Willow? Well it can't get it right all the time... Do you know of any other parts of search engines that track information like this? If so, let me know.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Inspired by this mad post STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/09/2002 04:58:51 PM ----- BODY:

Inspired by this mad post (for which I can only say that the reason is that people get uncomfortable when they have to think of gay people actually having sex as opposed to decorating their spacious apartments), I present:

Top-Ten-Traits-You-(ie. I)-Like-About-The-Gender-That-You-Generally-Prefer-To-Shag (What it is about blokes I fancy)

They have short scruffy hair that you can breathe through when you're spooning.
They have really nice spine curve from shoulders to bottom.
When men are quite slim and vaguely well exercised, they can kind of sit in these weird positions where all there weight appears to rest on their upper back and where they seem to be triply segmented into chest, stomach, rude-areas/legs - this is the sexiest thing in the world...
Some have really big chunky hands, and some have quite slim, proportioned hands. But they nearly all have hands - which is good.
When they grow a little stubble on their faces they don't look like German athletes, unlike women. In fact they often look better than they do when they're clean shaven.
Men look convincingly mean when they think about sex. Plus you don't have to worry too much about breaking them.
Hot geeky boys get really excited and passionate about weird things that I can identify with. Hot geeky girls get really excited and passionate about weird things that I cannot identify with. Mostly.
Some men have these voices and you can feel the air vibrate when they talk because they're so rich and thick. And you vibrate all the way back through your body whenever they say something, and it's a bit like sun-bathing in sound when they talk. Normally these men smoke too much.
Men aren't supposed to really care that much about what they look like, but mostly they do, but when a guy manages to look great while looking like it was kind of accidental and he isn't entirely happy about it, then they become immediately irresistable. Men do scruffy well.
Defined muscles on the arms and shoulders and down the stomach are just great big invitations for dubious thoughts.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: So it seems a gay STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/10/2002 12:13:24 AM ----- BODY:

So it seems a gay gene runs in the (alleged) resemblance - Pop Idol Will Young has come out. I don't know why he felt the need to make this kind of statement - but more interestingly I don't know why anyone makes statements like these. They're really apologetic feeling - kind of duplicitous-sounding. Surely the best approach would be to say, "Of course I'm gay, you big twonk. Where did you land from - planet totally fucking clueless? Jeez. Next question."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Another shock discovery. First the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/10/2002 02:20:18 PM ----- BODY:

Another shock discovery. First the universe turned out to be really dull, now someone has finally realised that sex is a bit crap too. Is there nothing gripping left in the world? Jesus. Start a weblog already. Everyone else bored of living has...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I've just finished reading Fahrenheit STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/10/2002 02:22:16 PM ----- BODY:

I've just finished reading Fahrenheit 451 and there was a part of it that just made me shiver because to me it felt so apposite. I posted it up on Barbelith for discussion. I'm expecting that some people won't find it as apt or as terrifying as I did.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Buffy: Every single night, the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/10/2002 07:57:51 PM ----- BODY:

Buffy:
Every single night, the same arrangement
I go out and fight the fight.
Still I always feel this strange estrangement.
Nothing here is real, nothing here is right.

I've been making shows of trading blows,
Just hoping no one knows
That I've been...

Going through the motions
Walking through the part
Nothing seems to penetrate my heart.

I was always brave and kinda righteous
Now I find I'm wavering...
Crawl out of your grave, you find this fight
just doesn't mean a thing...

Demon:
She aint' got that swing..."

Buffy:
[pause ] Thanks for noticing...

Demon chorus:
She does pretty well
With fiends from hell
But lately we can tell
That she's just.....

Going through the motions
Faking it somehow....
She's not even half the girl she...
Ooooow!

Buffy:
Will I stay this way forever?
Sleepwalk through my life's endeavour?

Victim:
How can I repay...?

Buffy:
Whatever...

I don't want to be......
Going through the motions
Losing all my drive
I can't even see
If this is really me
And I just want to be...
Alive....................."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I've only just noticed, which STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/11/2002 11:14:14 AM ----- BODY:

I've only just noticed, which probably makes me the second worst person in the world after the inventor of spiders, but Prolific.org has redesigned - and it looks amazingly fresh...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: How depressing - now we're STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/11/2002 01:34:19 PM ----- BODY:

How depressing - now we're all going to have to make our sites work properly in Mozilla. How dreary.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Thanks to Luke for this STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/12/2002 11:03:34 AM ----- BODY:

Thanks to Luke for this one - he's pointed me in the direction of a transcript of an interview between Richard Littlejohn - dubious right-wing journalist - and Will Self - dubious left-wing intellectual. My sympathies are of course heavily with the latter ex-heroin-addict. Although I could be alone in that... Here are a few choice quotes from Self vs Littlejohn:

SELF: It is a 400 page... I've read 200 pages of it and that is a 200 page recruiting leaflet for the BNP.
LITTLEJOHN: Well, you can't comment until you have read the other 200.
SELF: Why? Does it suddenly turn into Tolstoy?
LITTLEJOHN: You'll have to read it and find out, won't you.
SELF: Well it won't take me long.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: There are times when I STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/12/2002 11:20:08 AM ----- BODY:

There are times when I honestly believe that to find out about my life you'd be better reading Brainsluice.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Ever since I read that STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/12/2002 11:30:32 AM ----- BODY:

Ever since I read that Matt Damon and Ben Affleck indulged in anal action (I think it was when I was working at TCN), I've been fascinated by the spectre of colonic irrigation. I remember that scene in LA Story well - "Doesn't it just clear our your mind?" bounces the hippy Californian. "Are you sure they put it in the right end?" asks the cynical Steve Martin.

For a while now it seems my flatmate has been thinking about the idea too and so I suggested with a smile that we go together - experience the thrill of a clean inner butt. However somehow she's always been horrified by the idea of being in a clinic next to each other, with a pipe up our arses, listening to each other crap. I can't quite understand why. Anyway - last night she returned home with news of an article she'd read which finally converted her - in the article a reporter and her photographer went to have extensive and rigorous internal cleaning. When the photographer heard a clunk in a bucket he knew it could only be one thing - the marble he'd swallowed twenty years earlier...

Today I see that Darren has linked to the article in question and now I'm back to being fascinated and appalled by the idea. What do you think? Should I do it? Full details would of course be posted on plasticbag.org.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: "Speaking of happiness, you never STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/12/2002 02:30:24 PM ----- BODY:

"Speaking of happiness, you never thought of mine.... Mentioning loneliness, I feel lonely all the time.... Speaking of Davo, he's in a Noozlelandish magazine..."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I went to a drink STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/13/2002 12:15:59 PM ----- BODY:

I went to a drink for Meg's birthday last night and Davo took lots of pictures - and I look kind of crumpled in most of them. A good evening was had by most, except those poor individuals who had to listen to Luke and I argue about how to run Barbelith for about three hours...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: From the amount of links STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/14/2002 10:34:25 AM ----- BODY:

From the amount of links that my thoughts of colonic irrigation have generated around the net - each one basically amounting to a tacit or explicit do it - I can only assume that either you're all really curious as well or that you think I'm full of crap. The whole High Colonic thing is clearly not just a matter of interest to me. Davo remains appalled by the idea, but Meg and Paul both seemed kind of excited when we talked about it at Meg's birthday. Be warned, there's a practitioner just down the road from me in St. John's Wood. This may actually happen.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: You write a few things STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/14/2002 01:36:52 PM ----- BODY:

You write a few things about colonic irrigation and you end up getting sent huge links to huge images suggesting what it might be like. Thanks again Davo....

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I think I'll post one STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/14/2002 03:43:14 PM ----- BODY:

I think I'll post one thing today that's not related to colonic irrigation. Just the one. Then we can all go on with the poo-fest. Today's game of the day is Make your own mugshot - if you fancy seeing my deluded self impression of myself (it's terrible - I look ten years younger, three stone lighter and much more like David Bowie than is actually the case) then just do a search for a face named 'Tom Coates'. My version of Davo has already inspired pointing and laughing from the Brit-bloggers, so maybe I'm just no good at it. If you feel like doing a version of me (or yourself), then please feel free! I'll mention the best ones on the site...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: My favourite suggestion of the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/14/2002 03:54:02 PM ----- BODY:

My favourite suggestion of the day so far comes via brainsluice (again) and is based around me using this banner and my Barbelith Paypal donations scheme to fund not only my own colonic irrigation - but perhaps also the rest of my life... I'm as yet unconvinced by the idea of the sponsored defudging - but I'm open to persuasion. No jokes, please.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Every day I get more STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/15/2002 01:46:12 AM ----- BODY:

Every day I get more and more aware that when I go to bed there are never any English webloggers left on AIM. In fact there are seldom any East Coast Americans left either. They're either out for the night or fast asleep. I'm left with the San Franciscans and the Los Angelenes...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: How can it be true?! STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/15/2002 11:49:41 AM ----- BODY:

How can it be true that the word atheist can be considered too offensive for a car number place? How can anyone justify that? The retrograde push in liberalism, science and popular politics in America is really beginning to alarm me.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Daypop's new Wishlist tracker is STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/15/2002 12:08:14 PM ----- BODY:

Daypop's new Wishlist tracker is a genius idea, but also - presumably - quite a profitable one! It's a shame that it seems restricted to Amazon.com customers, rather than the UK audience - but then again that does leave a space for someone in the UK to make some money... Additional features could include recently purchased items - and perhaps a way of grouping wishlists by types of products. Plus it would also be a nice touch to feature a cheap random product that you could buy off one of the wishlists in question. It seems unfair that Daypop should reap all the benefits of our greed!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: My first Exquisite Corpse has STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/15/2002 07:12:38 PM ----- BODY:

My first Exquisite Corpse has been posted. My slice is the third one. I was terrified when I sent it in that it would be embarrassingly bad, but it's come together quite well. I feel quite self-satisfied, suddenly...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Six Months That Changed A STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/17/2002 12:38:48 PM ----- BODY: Six Months That Changed A Year: "Julie Burchill: How I liberated Kandahar with the news that Tony Parsons is a bastard." Terror Marches Backwards: "October 19th: Blair announces support for the US intention to bomb during Ramadan but confirms that out of respect for Islam, all food parcels dropped during this period will be empty."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Jason has linked to a STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/17/2002 03:43:28 PM ----- BODY:

Jason has linked to a very handy web presentation on simplicity which I can thoroughly recommend all web creatives to investigate.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: There's a much-linked article at STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/17/2002 03:47:04 PM ----- BODY:

There's a much-linked article at the New York Times at the moment about the future of music-delivery and media - and it basically argues what I've been arguing for quite a while - that it's the Value-Added aspects of music that will be interesting and people will pay for. I've suggested that video, lyrics etc. attached to audio files might be the most obvious, but the article suggests some areas I hadn't thought of - all 20-tracks of a single song could be sold, or bespoke, non-replicatable, productions based upon the acoustics of your room...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: A downloaded life... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/17/2002 05:58:16 PM ----- BODY:

As we wander around the internet, and grab and download files to play with, our computers fill with the assorted detritus of a thousand tiny urges. While cleaning my computer I found a folder called 'unfiled' which contained images that I thought I might use two, three and even four years ago. Just odds and ends. Things that were funny, interesting or beautiful.

I'd love to put them all online for you to see, but perhaps they'll make more sense as a collage - a scrapbook - a kind of stream-of-consciousness insight into bits of my head over the last couple of years...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I haven't started a fucking STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/18/2002 01:06:49 AM ----- BODY:

I haven't started a fucking meme in ages. It's time for embarrasing online web confessions. Today I will confess to being the man who first created the alt.fan.noah-wyle newsgroup. I rule.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: In about eight hours I STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/18/2002 01:07:34 AM ----- BODY:

In about eight hours I start a three month contract with the BBC doing something extremely interesting that I don't really want to go into detail about in a public place at the moment and which almost none of you will ever get to see anyway... I'm scared - to be honest. I know I can do it, but I don't know if I will do it. Which is why I'm awake at 1am in the morning. Thinking.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: What the world needs is STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/18/2002 08:13:58 AM ----- BODY:

What the world needs is a Google of porn. Something that unbelievably simple... Pornfinder.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: My mother rang up this STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/19/2002 03:09:48 PM ----- BODY:

My mother rang up this morning - she'd seen a job for a Web Producer advertised in the Eastern Daily Press - Norfolk's county newspaper (unlike the Evening News which is for dodgy left-wing city-types). The job paid badly and would have involved working at the BBC in Norwich. I couldn't imagine anything worse.

The last few weeks - before getting this short stint at the BBC - I've been seriously considering leaving London. There's very little here that really excites me, there's little that would keep me here... Even now I'm unsure that I've got the patience and tolerance to deal with its griminess and greyness. But Norfolk... Perhaps that's too scary even for me...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Paul's back. I think. Which STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/19/2002 03:13:16 PM ----- BODY:

Paul's back. I think. Which reminds me... How many bloggers can you see?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Breaking news: someone none of STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/20/2002 12:47:22 AM ----- BODY:

Breaking news: someone none of you know has had a haircut. And doesn't it look nice?!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Comic Geeks discuss a 'bris', STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/20/2002 10:07:01 AM ----- BODY:

Comic Geeks discuss a 'bris', the jewish ritual of circumcision: "You know, they're not as valuable if they don't have the original cover".

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I never realised producing a STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/20/2002 01:59:20 PM ----- BODY:

I never realised producing a flow-chart could be so satisfying. I've spent much of the last couple of hours producing my first Visio flowchart and there's something tremendously rewarding about the process. Turning complexity into simple choices, finding a logical sense of development - taking a mess of stuff from all around you and assembling something clear out of it - something with process - something manageable.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: For several years now, the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/20/2002 02:50:27 PM ----- BODY:

For several years now, the 'holodeck' - a place where 'force-fields' and holograms are co-generated to create real-as-life environments - has been a staple of Star Trek storylines. The applications of such a creation - which in theory provides a totally flexible environment - have never really been fully explored. Certain tremendously interesting ideas have been presented - such as using a solid holographic form as the host for an artificial intelligence - but others have been left woefully unexplored - such as entirely solidly holographic (and hence totally flexible and adaptable) space-faring ships. One of the applications that has been explored - albeit in a very slight fashion - is the idea of the holographic interface. While most sci-fi shows have present holographic displays, Star Trek has (once) presented apparently solid interfaces, meshed with pre-existent computers, which were completely adaptable and changed according to the circumstances. What is my point? That one of the first completely light-based interfaces now exists - a projected keyboard that senses how you are using it. The future could be almost completely non-physical interfaces. How exciting is that?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: In days to come, when STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/20/2002 09:37:57 PM ----- BODY:

In days to come, when the world's moved on, will older men - wise and bowed with years - move their hunching fingertips and gesture clumsily to their young? "An honest day's typing for an honest day's wage - you young folk don't know you're born.... We had none of this thought-control in the old days...."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Warning: Prunes and Flapjack may STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/20/2002 10:05:53 PM ----- BODY:

Warning: Prunes and Flapjack may be astonishingly good for the constitution, but they are tremendously bad for your relationships with friends and relatives. It appears that it's not only stress that makes me fart like a global thermonuclear war.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: So the first upgrade to STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/21/2002 10:55:10 AM ----- BODY:

So the first upgrade to the iPod appears - they now come in two varieties - one with a 10Gb Hard disk. The interesting stuff for those of us with older, less happening machines, is that there's now a new set of software for it which allows you to hold your contact information on them as well... I'll be doing that when I get home from the office!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: You know one day I'd STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/21/2002 10:28:13 PM ----- BODY:

You know one day I'd like to unashamedly sing Neil Diamond's "Forever in Blue Jeans" to someone I think's pretty cool. That would rock in a really lame way.

Money talks
But it don't sing and dance
And it don't walk
And long as I can have you here with me
I'd much rather be
Forever in blue jeans

Honey's sweet
But it ain't nothin' next to baby's treat
And if you pardon me
I'd like to say
We'll do okay
Forever in blue jeans

Maybe tonight
Maybe tonight, you and I
All alone by the fire
Nothing around
But the sound of my heart
And your sighs

Money talks
But it don't sing and dance
And it don't walk
And long as I can have you here with me
I'd much rather be
Forever in blue jeans, babe!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Like Haughey, I'm rapidly approaching STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/22/2002 08:44:01 AM ----- BODY:

Like Haughey, I'm rapidly approaching my thirtieth birthday - and so, like Haughey, I'm fascinated by the Bill Keaggy: Age 30 project A different photo, each and every day, for his entire thirtieth year. Many of my friends have taken their thirtieth birthday as an excuse to get the hell out of the country. I'm thinking of doing this too - perhaps a trip to LA and San Francisco this summer? I could go and pay homage to the Blog Pioneers...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: So Amazon listmania has finally STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/22/2002 09:57:07 AM ----- BODY:

So Amazon listmania has finally hit plasticbag.org - presenting The Best 4AD albums ever - the guitar years, by yours truly.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Bizarrely lacking designs of our STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/22/2002 02:49:58 PM ----- BODY:

Bizarrely lacking designs of our time Verisign can't answer the question - 'how do I renew my domain name'. This is particularly amusing considering the question they suggest you ask them...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On padding problems in Internet bloody explorer... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/22/2002 10:38:05 PM ----- BODY:

If anyone can find me any kind of documentation on the differing treatment of the paragraph tag on IE for Macs and IE for PCs (with specific reference to CSS, padding and margins), then I'd really appreciate it if you'd mail me. And if you need an example - compare and contrast plasticbag.org on a Mac and a PC. This issue appears to be one of the main problems that must be solved before effective permalinking becomes an option.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Flash fun from the bunny STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/23/2002 11:31:56 AM ----- BODY:

Flash fun from the bunny that grabs your cursor. And from my dear friends at B3ta comes Britney's naked Cat-a-Phone!. Oh those scamps... I wonder which one was responsible for that idea?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: It's KPMG-link time all over STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/25/2002 08:46:04 AM ----- BODY:

It's KPMG-link time all over again. Only this time, we're talking about Starbucks. In a piece published at Backwash.com, it appears that a man who posted a link to the coffee company about how good Starbucks coffee was has been hit with a cease-and-desist, and been asked to remove said link forthwith. Last time with KPMG I encouraged everyone in the world to link to them immediately. They're an internet business, and so susceptible to looking like an idiot online. With Starbucks, however, it's a little more insidious. We really don't want to give them any more publicity. So I'm thinking a different approach this time...

So link to sites that say that they hate Starbucks. Link to articles that explain how crappy they are. And how they're putting people out of business. Link to No Logo's discussions of clustering corporate culture. Spread the meme everywhere you can. But don't link to Starbucks because..... ooooh scary.... they really don't like that. [PS - don't bother linking to Starbucks Sucks because I think it's been co-opted by the man!]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Firstly go here. And when STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/25/2002 02:44:28 PM ----- BODY:

Firstly go here. And when you've been there and absorbed the true online horror of it all, then go here and explain to me the company I keep!?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: What a weekend - it STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/25/2002 03:11:31 PM ----- BODY:

What a weekend - it may sound trivial, but I don't seem to have stopped moving for more than twenty minutes since Saturday morning. I've caught up with friends from University and played with their three year old daugher. I've been to see The Experiment (read more) and roamed around Waterstones with the chairman of the IAB. I've walked through Regent's Park and up to Primrose Hill with Matt Interconnected, met up with Nick and Katy for coffee, ukeleles and jelly-beans, and come home with Katy to watch 24 and The West Wing before having to (grudgingly) abandon The Oscars at 3am in the morning.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: It may not be as STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/26/2002 09:03:41 AM ----- BODY:

It may not be as interesting as what's on Beck's iPod - but just in case you were interested, here's a text file of everything that's on mine at the moment. We will have no clever comments. I'm nearly thirty for god's sake. Give me a break.

I'd just like to say a tremendous block of cheery thanks to Alan for the Air album that I received last week from my wishlist and to send a stupified by oh-so-bloody-happy face to Stuart - Ganesh on The Underground - for the best present I think I've ever received in my entire bloody life. I couldn't be more grateful if you'd given me Tobey Maguire.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Tremendous news: Popbitch godhead mooted STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/26/2002 02:10:54 PM ----- BODY:

Tremendous news: Popbitch godhead mooted to take over The Face magazine!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Fun with a lesbian (sorry, STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/26/2002 04:38:13 PM ----- BODY:

Fun with a lesbian (sorry, L'espion) camera in and around the office as taken by Mr Matt Biddulph of makeashorterlink infamy: See if you can spot me...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Announcing the relaunch of The STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/27/2002 08:53:49 AM ----- BODY:

Announcing the relaunch of The Barbelith Underground - now with happy sparkly colours, a completely rebuilt back-end courtesy of Cal Henderson and a raft of mostly-functioning new techniques in community self-management that I might write up if I get a moment... Let's just check they work though first...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Barbelith and work are occupying STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/27/2002 07:33:49 PM ----- BODY:

Barbelith and work are occupying most of my waking hours at the moment, so I'll just apologise to the world if you're feeling neglected. Perhaps I can ease your pain with a list of all the ways that you can incorrectly spell Britney Spears.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: And suddenly it's Saturday and STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/30/2002 01:07:57 AM ----- BODY:

And suddenly it's Saturday and I haven't posted for days.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: So my family have all STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/31/2002 02:11:59 AM ----- BODY:

So my family have all gone to bed and the clocks have changed and I look up out of the window of my bedroom where I'm typing away in complete darkness with my shirt off and my iPod playing Air and when I do I see that the moon's yellow through the mist.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: So I'm standing in the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/31/2002 02:16:40 AM ----- BODY:

So I'm standing in the kitchen with my mother and the BBC suddenly switches over to report on the Queen Mother finally kicking the bucket. And we're both drawn towards the TV for a moment, and the atmosphere suddenly becomes slightly tense - like when you hear a friend on the phone and it's suddenly obvious that something bad has happened at the other end of the line because your friend's mood has suddenly changed from face-making to actually interested and worried. And then I say, "About bloody time, frankly!" And my mother bursts out laughing and then looks suddenly serious and then says "I hope that doesn't mean they'll cancel Casualty...." I mean come on - the woman's only been alive this long because she drained 2/3rds of the revenue of the National Health service and because they fed her the blood of teenage virgins mixed with gin four times a day.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: So I'm in the car STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/31/2002 02:20:26 AM ----- BODY:

So I'm in the car with my brother talking to him about my mother and father and I say to him that basically my mother's a bit weird sometimes because you never know what's going to make her irritable. It's like sometimes she's campaigning for an argument. And my brother kind of nods and laughs which with most other people would mean that they agreed, but with my little brother generally means that he's not really listening properly. And then we get home and my mother cooks this amazing meal which she calls 'Jamie Oliver Chicken' and afterwards my father looks incredibly happy and satisfied and says, "We don't often eat quite that well of an evening! Thank you darling!" And then for no reason at all my mother goes completely insane and we all stare at her dumbfounded.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: We take a brief break STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/31/2002 02:22:39 AM ----- BODY:

We take a brief break from stories of Tom's weekend in Norfolk to suggest that you go and check that Yahoo haven't signed you up for an infinity of spam missives. They had me, and I don't recall agreeing to it...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I got some great spam STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/31/2002 02:28:10 AM ----- BODY:

I got some great spam today - it was for naked girlie videos and pictures. It said that it had pictures of young naive girls that had somehow become captured by the evil porn business. It occurred to me that this was both the most highly self-referential porn I'd ever heard of, and also explains why people don't really do anything about those who are being exploited by the porn industry and who really wouldn't want to do it otherwise. It's because the people who watch the porn don't really want to believe that these people are doing it for a career. They want to believe that they started naive and were drawn in and corrupted by the horros of an evil industry. I think it must make it seem more sexy.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: So my brother was thinking STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/31/2002 02:36:27 AM ----- BODY:

So my brother was thinking about getting a Playstation 2 - and I was left with the responsibility of being as impartial as is humanly possible, while in the back of my head a voice was screaming, Why won't you buy it!? Why won't you buy it?! But instead he decided not to buy anything and I bought �130 worth of clothes and shoes I can't afford with money I don't have. Then later in the day I have the nerve to get subconsciously cross with my mother for the one thousandth time when she comments that I used to spend money like water when I was my little brother's age whereas he won't spend a penny on anything. Bloody woman.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: So my brother and I STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/31/2002 02:41:56 AM ----- BODY:

So my brother and I originally bonded over The Simpsons, but now we've bonded over Jackass as well. We sat there tonight from 10pm for three hours until 2am (not a typo - work it out) looking at it with a mixture of delight and horror. We can't figure out whether it's the best TV show ever made or the worst piece of crap ever to air on anything ever. Either way we have decided that after school and university, my brother has to become the UK's answer to Johnny Knoxville. Finally my mother would have something legitimate to complain about... She'd be thrilled...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: One of the most interesting STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 03/31/2002 10:42:30 AM ----- BODY:

One of the most interesting conversations on the net is happening over at Powazek.com literally as we speak. Derek's a well respected community-builder and designer with a long-standing committment to the interhighweb - and he's started a rebuttal of the current mantra, "The Web's Got Boring" which seems to be circulating around New Media circles at the moment. You want a rebuttal? Then spot the bloke at B3ta's Female or Shemale! The web rules. Still.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Factfile: Belaugh, Norfolk STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 PRIMARY CATEGORY: History CATEGORY: History DATE: 04/01/2002 12:14:28 AM ----- BODY:

I returned from my parents' place yesterday afternoon. I'd spent much of the day poking around the village - my young cousin had found a bizzare rusty Victorian-style hook in the garden which had set me to thinking. Belaugh - the village in which I grew up - was mentioned in the Doomsday book many many hundreds of years ago. And yet there are still only eighty residents and fifty houses. This number has barely changed over the years. And while only the church remains of the really old buildings, there must be traces of one thousand years of residency all around the place.

I haven't been in the church in years, even though it's less than five minutes walk from my parents' house. But my mother suggested I went and had a look because there was a small presentation about the history of Belaugh in it. I went and I looked and I was suitably intrigued and decided to dig around on the net when I got home to see what I could find. And this is what I've managed to dig up...

According to one source I've foung the church was assembled in the fourteenth century but still has some incorporated Norman walls and the old font.

Two of the best things I managed to find were from William White's History, Gazetteer, and Directory of Norfolk - one from 1845 and another from 1883.

According to these records, in 1845 Belaugh had twice the inhabitants it does today - a massive 164 residents mainly situated in the village, itself located in the middle of "855 acres of rich loamy land, of which 199 are marsh, 647 arable, and seven plantations". The Old Rectory - which I believe was recently put on the market for something ridiculous like half a million pounds was valued more conservatively in those days. "The rectory, valued in the King's Book at �6, and in 1831, at �420 is in the patronage of the Bishop of Norwich".

By 1881, the population has dropped to 139 - and the church cottages were being rented out for �18 a year. The big news is that someone has noticed the rood screen - which is of particularly good quality (Cromwellians apparently scratched the faces off the figures painted onto it - one classic quote from the time, "The screen hath the Twelve Apostles, their faces rubbed out by a godly trooper.") - and someone's slapped a proper high-pitched roof on it, to replace the thatch that had been there before [See a picture of the church today]. Belaugh has always been a fast moving place...

Interestingly the Traffords have a very strong presence in the area then as now...

Belaugh is located on the river Bure and there's a whole page about the navigable parts of the river which includes several rather glorious pictures.

And to end with a few more images - here's a watercolour of the approach to Belaugh from Wroxham by boat and a victorian watercolour from over the river looking towards the church.

Additional information: Here's a bit more research that I found online in mid 2003.

Here's a map from the late 19th Century (1890 I think). Of particular interest to me is calling the bit down by the 'unsuitable for motors' road, "Belaugh Hole". I've also noticed that my parents home isn't on the map yet, which I could probably have found out by asking them, but hey. It's not the only empty area though - the area around Hill Piece is empty, and Sunny Haigh isn't there either, and there are no buildings up on the main Hoveton / Coltishall road. What are there are some building down by the Staithe - obviously pre-existing the current range of buildings down that road. Very interesting stuff...

More pictures:

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: I'm collating all the information I can find about the tiny Norfolk village of 'Belaugh' where I grew up, as part of my ongoing attempt to get some sense of personal history and where I fit into the world both geographically and personally... ----- KEYWORDS: ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: J Lund EMAIL: belaugh@netzero.net IP: 64.7.52.98 URL: DATE: 02/04/2004 05:02:44 PM My ancestors were all from Belaugh - so I was really interested to find this site. I have visited it many times and keep hoping a house will come up for sale there - I love it. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Jeremy Sinclair EMAIL: jezzatwosheds@btinternet.com IP: 81.153.5.62 URL: DATE: 08/02/2004 01:47:09 PM Although I lived in Coltishall, I used to fish from the Gardens of Beleaugh rectory. My father knew the vicar -Reverend William Addison- through the Royal British Legion. Recently while speaking with my mother the subject of Beleaugh and Reverend Addison cropped up and she mentioned to me that he was the holder of a VC. A small amount of research on the net confirmed the name and the VC but nothing else. I wonder if there is any mention in the church records. He died in 1962. Just a little bit of interesting history, I thought. ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: After a weekend in Norfolk STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/01/2002 01:16:44 AM ----- BODY:

After a weekend in Norfolk I've been attempting to get some greater sense of personal and cultural history by researching the history of the village of 'Belaugh' where I grew up. This is what I've found so far... You'll have to forgive the quality of my writing. I'm a little fried at the moment...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: AOL buys Blogs: "You can't STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/01/2002 12:30:18 PM ----- BODY:

AOL buys Blogs: "You can't really put figures on this," one executive told The Register, "but we think we have 78 per cent of the libertarian news blogs, 91 per cent of the ClueTrain Manifesto fan sites, and 59 per cent of all blogging female arts graduates, many of whom are Virgos," he said. "And the possibilities for vertical integration are endless," he enthused. "No cat will ever go ill again in America again in obscurity."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Riotbeard action... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/01/2002 11:58:55 PM ----- BODY:

Rumour abounds on the net that Mark from Riothero.com has grown a beard. If you have evidence of this, e-mail immediately.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: iBooks are beautiful, but some STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/02/2002 11:35:39 AM ----- BODY:

iBooks are beautiful, but some people miss the various colours that you could make them and pine for something a little more extreme than the pearly white that is currently in vogue. And then again, some people aren't content just to pine...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: When you start work at STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/02/2002 11:39:23 AM ----- BODY:

When you start work at the BBC you are given a temporary pass. They take a really unpleasant photo of you with the world's cheapest digital camera and edit it so that it makes you look like you're gurning, then they laugh and show it to their friends before printing it onto your pass. I've seen them do this. It's true. The best thing about the pass is that if you're very special you get given a little clip to put it onto your belt which includes this little mechanism so that you can pull out the pass on a little retractable cable and then let it go and it wizzes back to your waist. I have had much fun with this already. But the best thing about it is that there actually seems to be a culture involved in the wearing of it. I have been reliably informed that only dorks clip it to the front of their trousers. The hip place to put it is on the right-hand hip...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Today I am muchly loving STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/02/2002 12:24:37 PM ----- BODY:

Today I am muchly loving the cheek of the awesome Firda and her highly entertaining and completely head-destroying Blogger-parody. And if that bores you, then there's always discovering how Google uses pigeons to rate a page's relevance.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: It's not going to be STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/02/2002 12:32:54 PM ----- BODY:

It's not going to be up long, so you should probably go and look at it soon - Queen Mother rises from the dead!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: There's a few really interesting STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/02/2002 10:03:23 PM ----- BODY:

There's a few really interesting debates ongoing at Barbelith at the moment... From the working classes involvement in political struggle, the function of the prison system, queer voices etc, etc. And of course there's always going to be the odd nutty thread. But hey.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Accessing my file... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/04/2002 09:55:18 AM ----- BODY:

Are you desperate to know more more, ever more about your humble narrator? If so, then you could always check out my file at haddock.org...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: It isn't right, it isn't fair... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/04/2002 10:15:29 AM ----- BODY:

"It isn't right, it isn't fair,
There were no spaces anywhere....
I think that hydrant wasn't there..."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Oh Faulty Gaydar... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/05/2002 05:04:41 PM ----- BODY:

My gaydar has always been completly useless, so it's perhaps no surprise that I did remarkably badly at the b3ta gay or straight quiz. It's extraordinarily good fun - and it may tell you something you never expected about Jeremy Paxman!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Big in Japan and Russia... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/06/2002 11:18:14 AM ----- BODY:

So every so often I check my referrers and I see a great big block of them come from a site I've never heard of, so I'll go and check 'em out. And almost every single time they're actually links to my google pornfinder mock-up. Now this would be completely cool except for the fact that absolutely none of referrers seem to be English-speaking. It's become really popular in the Far East and quite popular in (get this) Russia, but the English-speaking world apparently think it's just a bit tacky (evidenced by it only having been picked up by these sites on blogdex). Which of course it is. Perhaps I'm like one of those bands that becomes inexplicably popular in Japan while the whole world looks on in astonishment. Like Shampoo. That's me, that is - the weblogging Shampoo.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Queen Mother Rises From The Dead... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/06/2002 11:21:32 AM ----- BODY:

It's a shame when parodies have to be taken down, it really is. I mean, I work for the BBC, so I can completely understand why they felt that the Queen Mother Rises From The Dead parody was inappropriate, but it's still a shame. You know? I mean, it was kind of funny.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Subtle, huh? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/06/2002 11:26:39 AM ----- BODY:

So there's a guy at work who's twenty-two. He's really nice, he's good fun. But for some reason he hasn't twigged on the whole 'Tom is a big homo' thing. In fact I don't think any of them have. Now in almost every single other job I've ever had I've made it fairly clear that I'm a great big homo really quickly, but for some reason I quite liked the completely-not-an-issue thing of not having my sexual preference being discussed even a little bit. So I didn't mention it. And of course now it's getting harder to say anything. Particularly every time the really nice, well-intentioned 22-year-old makes some dumb joke about how he's worried I might be gay because I don't like football much. Very frustrating. I just don't want to embarrass anyone... Sigh...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I'm a fish... I have no potatoes... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/06/2002 11:48:17 AM ----- BODY:

One of the best things abour working with geeks is that they understand the value of the ludicrous metaphor. Think of it this way: You're building a community site for the BBC, and you have to explain the process of a discussion from germination in someone's mind, to what's put on the final page. You can't do anything intuitive useful like actually discuss real conversations because then you get helpful replies like, "but no one would actually ask a question like that" or "but surely the answer to that one is really obvious?" So instead you have to say things like, "So I'm working at the BBC and I've noticed an lamentable absence of badgers in White City - sort it out!" or "I'm a fish - I have no potatoes - what do I have to do to get served around here?" Geeks understand this intuitively and immediately. Real people look at you funny.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On Jewish men and Gentile men... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/06/2002 11:58:01 AM ----- BODY:

Extracts of an AIM conversation between Dan Brilliant (Jewish, Straight) and Tom Coates (Gentile, Gay) about the merits of Mr Noah Wyle - a conversation that swiftly descends into smut. Tom has just declared (once more) his love for the star of ER.

Dan: hurray for skinny jews with long sensitive faces
Dan: er
Tom: I don't think he is Jewish actually
Tom: I think he's HALF Jewish
Tom: and on the wrong side
Dan: hah
Dan: jew
Tom: hahaha
Tom: fag!
Tom: er...
Tom: I wish people wouldn't keep doing that
Tom: I don't ONLY fancy Jewish people!
Tom: (although it fucking seems like it sometimes)
Dan: it's ok
Dan: jews are very fanciable
Dan: some
Tom: Yeah, but they don't understand the increased sensitivity of the uncut knob-end
Tom: therefore are mostly a disaster in bed
Dan: but i'd love to be fly on the wall of your psychoanalyst sessions
Dan: girls also
Tom: aha!
Tom: interesting
Dan: don't understand the difference
Tom: one you have to stroke with a feather
Tom: one you have to attack with a sandblaster
Tom: get them confused and you're in trouble
Dan: yep
Dan: getting someone to be that violent with one's schlang is hard
Tom: hahahahah
Dan: but necessary
Tom: I wish I felt comfortable enough to put this conversation up on plasticbag.org

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Guess who's coming for dinner... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/06/2002 12:19:11 PM ----- BODY:

Guess who's coming for dinner. Actually he and I and Davo et al are wandering out for meals and sightseeing over the next couple of days. Very much looking forward to it.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: One Hundred Moderation Actions?! STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/07/2002 11:03:13 AM ----- BODY:

Ouch. Early morning alarm when I go to Barbelith and discover that there are over one hundred moderation actions that I'm supposed to investigate. One hundred. One hundred. It is a relief to know that if I don't do them, someone else will...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Perl sings "Monkey Gone to Heaven"... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/07/2002 11:34:14 AM ----- BODY:

I'd just like to apologise to Russell of use.perl.org for posting his adaptation of 'Monkey Gone to Heaven' on plasticbag.org without attributing it to him. I don't know whether he'd be delighted or horrified to know that it had been circulated around at least two of the mailing lists I regularly contribute to (without its author being mentioned). Anyway - I hope this link makes up for it a bit. Apologies...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Grotesque Bat Likes Grotesque Twat! STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/08/2002 11:53:15 PM ----- BODY:

You can view the absence of posts over today as shocked silence after having some mad bloke's statement that the Queen Mum liked Ali G hideously confirmed. Grotesque imagery. Oldest of all old beligerent crones liking the least pleasant, least funny and least tasteful privileged North London comedy slummer. This hideous collision is like imagining Hitler making macrame place mats or seeing Bernard Manning doing Atomic Kitten impersonations.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: It's terrifying really - it's STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/08/2002 11:59:43 PM ----- BODY:

It's terrifying really - it's terrifying that it could take as little as three weeks of sporadic updates to halve the traffic a site gets. Halve! You lightweights. You quitters. I don't know why I bother writing all this guff for you sometimes. It's like your heart's not really in it.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: It's probably quite poor quality STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/09/2002 02:53:50 PM ----- BODY:

It's probably quite poor quality behaviour to spend your two-minutes' of silence frantically typing. But it was the only moment in the morning when I felt I had any time at all to get anything done. Does that make me a bad man? It was a very quiet keyboard!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The thing I'm most looking STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/09/2002 02:54:47 PM ----- BODY:

The thing I'm most looking forward to reading about on the internet at the moment is Bart's thoughts on London. It was very entertaining meeting him, although he looked a little shell-shocked most of the time. But I'm dying to hear what he thought of it all...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Stolen images in the paper... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Net Culture CATEGORY: Net Culture DATE: 04/09/2002 10:51:20 PM ----- BODY:

Well of course the big news of the day is that although I'm not actually one of the people in this advert, at least I know a fair share of them [found here! oops!]. According to the advert they're exactly the kind of people that are needed for the position of 'sales executive' for Teddington, they understand field sales and have a positive attitude and motivation. Whereas I was under the impression that they were a group of idle webloggers, many of whom have actual proper jobs, and who submitted their passport snaps to an impromptu online collection - little expecting that an unscrupulous newspaper advert designer might whip them off to white-passport-photo-slavery in [pron]AZZER-BUY-JAHN[/pron].

Let's examine the advert from the top - I don't know who they all are, but I can point you in the right direction for most of them. Firstly is the redoubtable Davo who is leaving us shortly for Noozleland, then comes Graybo who we are reliably informed by a huge thick arrow has a vibrant personality and lots of confidence (despite appearing to be grimly sitting through a particularly implausible and depressing European art-house movie), then there is a clown - which can only be Mo Morgan during one of his summer holiday educational breaks which he spends in clown drag helping misanthropic Irish children to avoid becoming misanthropic old bastards who work for the government. Beneath him is the well-known poet, homosexual and long-dead fop Oscar Wilde, then there's the beautiful Meg Pickard who seems entirely unthrilled about the whole affair over on her site ('in with anger, out with love'), a substantially younger-than-he-is-today Nick Jordan and finally an out-of-work actor who I imagine probably pays the bills ocasionally by getting stints as 'third homicidal maniac' in Crimewatch reconstructions.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On finishing "Lord of the Rings"... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/10/2002 09:00:00 AM ----- BODY:

On Saturday I finished 'Lord of the Rings' for the first time. I started reading it almost exactly ten years ago and got about one sixth of the way through it before deciding to 'have a bit of a break'. I'm doing better with it than I am with Ulysses though. The race continueth - after ten years Rachel's still on page 34 while I have roared ahead to a remarkable page 46. I'm reading Emergence now. It's quite an entertaining read. I'm not convinced that much of it is really about emergence and self-organisation, and a lot of it seems to be balanced on some fairly precarious conjecture, but it's certainly good to think with.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Conversations about community... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/10/2002 11:30:32 PM ----- BODY:

One of the best conversations on the web at the moment about community development is taking place over at MetaTalk at the moment. It's about how to handle the burgeoning size of Metafilter and it's particularly interesting to me, because I had a conversation with Matt Haughey about this a while back (and about our two radically different communities - each of which are facing a similar problem). And it looks like we've been moving in parallel with some of the ways in which we might attempt to resolve these problems as well...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Ev on Weblogs... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/12/2002 09:58:11 AM ----- BODY:

Ev interviewed: "Well, writing a weblog is, in essence, simply writing. So most of the rules of good writing apply -- clarity, articulateness, conciseness. That doesn't mean it can't be casual, or quirky, or unconventional in style. But those who are either practiced writers or who at least take the time to edit a bit tend to be more readable. Also, not being afraid to add your own personality is important. A big part of what attracts people to blogs is their personal nature, as opposed to corporate media, but some people aren't confortable enough to let themselves show, so they tend to be lest interesting than they could be."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Am I unpleasant or not? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/12/2002 10:31:25 AM ----- BODY:

I'm thinking about a new and completely unpleasant feature for plasticbag.org - based around the 'meet' functionality at hotornot.com. Basically I signed up for this ages ago and occasionally get an e-mail in saying that someone wants to meet me. It's all very embarrassing. Anyway - it occurs to me that I could be completely unpleasant and simply link to every single person who expresses an interest in meeting me - thus revealing the true depths of my personal despair...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The History of the BBC STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/12/2002 10:47:12 AM ----- BODY:

The History of the BBC
It might not be the most astonishing looking site but for those less familiar with the mighty organ of the British media it's an incredibly useful place to start getting informed. I did quite badly in the 1980s decade quiz.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Online Community Report Are you STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/12/2002 10:47:57 AM ----- BODY:

Online Community Report
Are you a community builder? Are you interested in the latest revenue models for online communities? Well ok, so tht's a bit of a long-shot. I think it's interesting...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Jim Bowen 2001 If you're STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/12/2002 10:48:18 AM ----- BODY:

Jim Bowen 2001
If you're British and in your mid-to-late twenties or above, then Bullseye star Jim Bowen probably occupies a very very special place in your heart. Particularly if - like me - a weekend stay with your grandparents as a child involved a heavy dose of 'nothing in this game for two in a bed' on a Sunday afternoon...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Plague Bored by life? Wish STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/12/2002 10:48:38 AM ----- BODY:

Plague
Bored by life? Wish you were dead? Live in London? What a shame you didn't live there in 1665 when you could have been one of the 100,000 people killed off by the Great Plague. Channel Four have all the charnel knowledge...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Mork and Mindy Mork calling STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/12/2002 10:52:48 AM ----- BODY:

Mork and Mindy
Mork calling Orson, Come in Orson. This is Mork calling Orson - complete with cheesy music.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Is there anything good on the web? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/12/2002 10:53:11 AM ----- BODY:

It has been mooted recently by a lot of your more fashionable pundits that the web just isn't as interesting as it used to be. I had this discussion with Matt Webb just the other day, in fact. He swore blind that there was no longer anything interesting on the web. Well he was wrong. And I'm going to link to fucking loads of things today to demonstrate exactly how wrong a man can be...

Street Pornography
It's probably not quite what you think it is, but it's still awfully good. A collection of captured streetlife - fast, unfocused, weirdly composed (if composed at all). Atmosphere is everything.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: E-mail to Blog... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/13/2002 04:33:15 AM ----- BODY:

Did you know you can now post to Blogger (or at least Blogger Pro) via e-mail?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Matt: gninrom doog. Tom: ayeh... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Net Culture CATEGORY: Net Culture DATE: 04/13/2002 02:23:30 PM ----- BODY: Matt: gninrom doog.
Tom: ayeh
Matt: ?neht thgin tsal gnibbulc tuo og uoy did
Tom: sey
Matt: .keew gnol a neeb s'ti .derekcank gnikcuf .htimsremmah ot kcab tnew dna godtoh a tog i
Tom: elihw a rof decnad dna zratspop ot tnew ew
Matt: ?uoy fo ynam
Tom: ?yllaer
Matt: .skeew gnorw fo kcats elohw a dah ev'i
Tom: sdneirf rehto s'ovad fo elpuoc a dna em ,ovad ,nomis ,nai - wef a
Tom: kcul dab
Matt: ?yadot ot pu uoy era tahw ,os
Tom: .okraD einnoD dehctaw tsuj ev'I
Tom: .legnA dna yffuB hctaw thgim won kniht I dnA
Matt: .taht wonk t'nod i
Tom: .kniht, ti evol d'uoY .ti ees ot evah ouy hO
Matt: .raey fo emit siht ta lufituaeb s'ti yltnerappa .wek ot gniog tuoba gnikniht m'i hguohtla
Tom: ?haey
Tom: ?gnihtemos ro retal eivom a rof pu eb uoy dluoW
Matt: ?saedi yna .ees ot gniog er'uoy tahw sdneped
Matt: .noitaripsni rof kcuts etiuq gnileef ,syawla sa ,tub .oot dnekeew siht nwolcedispu na gnitirw eb ot desoppus m'i
Tom: .doog eb dluow ti dna flah dna ruoh na rof citats yalp dluoc yeht !seivom gnikcuf eht s'tI - tsirhC suseJ .smlif cificeps ees ot seivom eht ot og ylno ohw elpoep dnatsrednu t'nod yllaer I
Tom: ?leappa eseht fo yna
Matt: .looc os era srotca krow fo tuo .dnuora gnignah tsuj sruoloc tnereffid ni pu desserd elpoep .CBSH ni ertaeht teerts looc yllaer emos s'ereht yadot htimsremmah ni :yllatnedicni .gnihtemos ro tra ecnamrofrep emos saw ereht fi ebyam ro ,ot koob a daer dluoc i dna rethgil tib a saw ti fi ti referp d'i .gniht eno ylno gniod ot sruoh elpuoc a etacided ot drah tib a ti dnif i
Matt: .se htiw taht ees ot desimorp i tub ..xap'k
Tom: .gniyonna er'uoy dog
Tom: ?gro.gabcitsalp no siht tup I nac
Matt: .ekil uoy fi
Tom: .ekil I
Tom: ?retal klat .tib a rof etamtalf ees og ot evah I
Matt: ).semordnilap htiw dnuora gnikcum tsuj ,em dnim t'nod( ?"was i tac a ro rac a ti saw"
Matt: .puy
Tom: amanap ,lanac a ,nalp ,a nam a
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Long bony finger-wagging... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/14/2002 11:14:58 AM ----- BODY:

During my short life, I have not found many reasons to want to go around Meg's house and smack her on the back of the knees while wagging a long bony finger at her. But I think this picture may have finally pushed me over the edge.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Things other people accomplished... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/14/2002 11:33:31 AM ----- BODY:

Are you feeling adequate today? Not too many crushing self-doubts? Able to look at yourself in the mirror without collapsing? Then what you need is Things Other People Accomplished When They Were Your Age. Guaranteed to make you realise how bloody pointless you are. Meanwhile, if you want to know what the Queen Mum accomplished in her long, rich and incredibly privileged life then go see this particularly fine flash tribute to her. Guaranteed to make you realise how bloody pointless she was.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: What is Blogroots? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/14/2002 07:14:36 PM ----- BODY:

Trailer campaign: What is Blogroots? [Left-to-right: Hourihan | Bausch | Haughey]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Googlematic AIMbot... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/14/2002 07:27:37 PM ----- BODY:

Of course it was all my idea. There we were on the interhighweb - chatting (as is our wont) about his plans to make something truly wonderful using nothing but green paint, tin foil and the leaves of a banana tree. But I said, "No! Why do you waste your time with these things? They are as flotsam. Make me instead an AIMbot that can search Google." And he did.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Cal, interviewed... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/14/2002 07:43:06 PM ----- BODY:

He's the god who coding my crap ideas up and called it Barbelith and the god behind many of today's leading web projects (some secretly - some not so secretly). And now he's been interviewed. I present Cal Henderson.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Blutac is smurf-poo... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/14/2002 08:25:26 PM ----- BODY:

Blutac is smurf-poo. You heard it here first.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Shamanism in a nutshell... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/15/2002 12:04:51 AM ----- BODY:

Today on Barbelith: Shamanism in a nutshell (2): "Shamanistic practice has an incredibly vast range of applications including, business, warfare, prosperity, employment, children, love and friendship, all designed maximise the health of the spirit. JanFreya investigates. "

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Largest collaborative structure... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/16/2002 04:42:29 PM ----- BODY:

So I finished reading Emergence about a week ago, and it's fall of all this conversation about ants and the ways in which they collaborate with one another in order to form huge functioning units, without any of the individual ants 'planning' anything or being 'in charge'. And this morning, what do we see but the largest collaborative venture every created in the history of the world - and it's been made by ants. [Plus: Really cool animated gif from CNN]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: New toy! STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/16/2002 04:43:43 PM ----- BODY:

Oooh. Aaaah. I've got a new toy at work.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: So in a tiny room STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/16/2002 11:15:08 PM ----- BODY:

So in a tiny room in the whitewashed lower-colon of London's BBC Television Centre this evening I (and about ten or so other punters who work mostly on the BBC's intranet) got to talk to and ask lots of questions of Chris Locke - of Cluetrain Manifesto / Rageboy infamy.

I have a whole raft of opinions about some of the stuff that was discussed this evening - some pertaining to my current job working with Greg Dyke's culture-changers at the BBC - some pertaining to some of the casual references to honesty and complete openess in the workplace - and a lot to do with Chris Locke's ideas about trusting people who work for you to work in the best way, letting the people who buy and use your products tell you what they're for and what you're doing wrong, actually empowering them and actually freeing them - because they're going to be free soon enough anyway, and if you don't get with the program, then someone else (the community itself) will. I have a nasty tense feeling down my spine that indicates that I'm horribly bastardising a lot of this. But it's midnight and I'm tired.

Anyway - quite a lot of his ideas are based around the radical many-to-many communications and publishings of the internet that are resistant to hierarchy and let everyone have their say. But I think the sucesses of the internet that he describes develop specifically because it is a property of the internet that quality and usefulness self-promote. Good stuff is linked to. Good stuff is seen. Useful commentary is read.

This may seem like an obvious statement. But it's really not. The hyperlink doesn't only destroy hierarchy, it's also the most profoundly powerful meme-spreading tool in existence. You have an idea - a concept - and suddenly anyone in the world can reference it. And if the meme is good and powerful, then it will replicate itself - it will self-propogate via a tiny mental tendril cyber-represented by a tiny piece of blue-underlined text. The idea in miniature, quasi-spreading. Anyway - the point is that such amazingly creative projects arise on the internet (and more importantly can be found on the internet) precisely because many many other projects are not as good. There is an immediate issue of quality of idea, quality of entertainment, quality of entertain- (or inform-) er.

This means the internet is immediately mediated and stratified. While everyone can communicate - everyone can say something, the interesting people rise to the top and form communities because they are good entertainers, meme spreaders, communicators etc. But the places where Chris is talking about introducing this culture don't have a mechanism built into them which is as simple as the 'hyperlink', and they have additional communication abilities that can submerge interesting conversation, creative working, transformative processes under the person-to-person equivalents of trolling, spam and cracking. If such a transformative way of being is to emerge in the corporate culture space, then a gelling agent must be employed. A structural gelling agent. As 'HTML' is to the web, so the mechanisms of internal structure must frame free-wheeling experimentation and imaginative development.

In my experience on the net - as in business - there are a hell of a lot of people who haven't got the slightest idea what they're talking about and can't even describe what it is they want to talk about that well. Listening to such people within your organisation voice their opinions doesn't enhance your business any more than pretending to listen to them and nodding sagely and trying to make them feel valued would.

What's needed is a mechanism that legitimately frees people from hierarchy by allowing the talented, skilled and imaginative operate as clump-formers - seed crystals that become impromptu centres of trust and creativity. Ideas of webs of trust, of individuals relating to one another and becoming friends of friends of friends, of creative enterprises which aren't top-down governed or top-down selected - but are self-selecting for quality - these are the interesting ways to transform your business. And there's an implicit structure there from the offset...

Appendix: Anyway right at the beginning of his talk, he said that there had been a reaction to something he said in one of his earlier lectures. And it was all about how to get webloggers involved in content creation for big companies like the BBC. And he mentioned that you could get in some of the better writers or people skilled in particular forms of content. And then he mentioned that they could be tremendously useful. And I sat there with a head full of questions - how would they be useful!? Which webloggers was he thinking of? But mostly I wondered if any weblogger really finds it easy to write in the same way in work as out. And I thought probably not - because when larger things are your responsibility other than the vague entertainment of twenty or so London-based-geeks, then you'll probably get slightly more tense about how much of a fuckwit you look... Ends

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Tied to the tracks of the Cluetrain STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: __default__ ALLOW PINGS: 0 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Net Culture CATEGORY: Net Culture DATE: 04/16/2002 11:39:01 PM ----- BODY: So in a tiny room in the whitewashed lower-colon of London's BBC Television Centre this evening I (and about ten or so other punters who work mostly on the BBC's intranet) got to talk to and ask lots of questions of Chris Locke - of Cluetrain Manifesto / Rageboy infamy. I have a whole raft of opinions about some of the stuff that was discussed this evening - some pertaining to my current job working with Greg Dyke's culture-changers at the BBC - some pertaining to some of the casual references to honesty and complete openess in the workplace - and a lot to do with Chris Locke's ideas about trusting people who work for you to work in the best way, letting the people who buy and use your products tell you what they're for and what you're doing wrong, actually empowering them and actually freeing them - because they're going to be free soon enough anyway, and if you don't get with the program, then someone else (the community itself) will. I have a nasty tense feeling down my spine that indicates that I'm horribly bastardising a lot of this. But it's midnight and I'm tired. Anyway - quite a lot of his ideas are based around the radical many-to-many communications and publishings of the internet that are resistant to hierarchy and let everyone have their say. But I think the sucesses of the internet that he describes develop specifically because it is a property of the internet that quality and usefulness self-promote. Good stuff is linked to. Good stuff is seen. Useful commentary is read. This may seem like an obvious statement. But it's really not. The hyperlink doesn't only destroy hierarchy, it's also the most profoundly powerful meme-spreading tool in existence. You have an idea - a concept - and suddenly anyone in the world can reference it. And if the meme is good and powerful, then it will replicate itself - it will self-propogate via a tiny mental tendril cyber-represented by a tiny piece of blue-underlined text. The idea in miniature, quasi-spreading. Anyway - the point is that such amazingly creative projects arise on the internet (and more importantly can be found on the internet) precisely because many many other projects are not as good. There is an immediate issue of quality of idea, quality of entertainment, quality of entertain- (or inform-) er. This means the internet is immediately mediated and stratified. While everyone can communicate - everyone can say something, the interesting people rise to the top and form communities because they are good entertainers, meme spreaders, communicators etc. But the places where Chris is talking about introducing this culture don't have a mechanism built into them which is as simple as the 'hyperlink', and they have additional communication abilities that can submerge interesting conversation, creative working, transformative processes under the person-to-person equivalents of trolling, spam and cracking. If such a transformative way of being is to emerge in the corporate culture space, then a gelling agent must be employed. A structural gelling agent. As 'HTML' is to the web, so the mechanisms of internal structure must frame free-wheeling experimentation and imaginative development. In my experience on the net - as in business - there are a hell of a lot of people who haven't got the slightest idea what they're talking about and can't even describe what it is they want to talk about that well. Listening to such people within your organisation voice their opinions doesn't enhance your business any more than pretending to listen to them and nodding sagely and trying to make them feel valued would. What's needed is a mechanism that legitimately frees people from hierarchy by allowing the talented, skilled and imaginative operate as clump-formers - seed crystals that become impromptu centres of trust and creativity. Ideas of webs of trust, of individuals relating to one another and becoming friends of friends of friends, of creative enterprises which aren't top-down governed or top-down selected - but are self-selecting for quality - these are the interesting ways to transform your business. And there's an implicit structure there from the offset... Appendix: Anyway right at the beginning of his talk, he said that there had been a reaction to something he said in one of his earlier lectures. And it was all about how to get webloggers involved in content creation for big companies like the BBC. And he mentioned that you could get in some of the better writers or people skilled in particular forms of content. And then he mentioned that they could be tremendously useful. And I sat there with a head full of questions - how would they be useful!? Which webloggers was he thinking of? But mostly I wondered if any weblogger really finds it easy to write in the same way in work as out. And I thought probably not - because when larger things are your responsibility other than the vague entertainment of twenty or so London-based-geeks, then you'll probably get slightly more tense about how much of a fuckwit you look... Ends ----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: In which at midnight after a long day at the office, Tom attempts to explain why the transformative effect of the internet on society is not necessarily immediately transferable to business or culture... ----- KEYWORDS: ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: AJ Kandy EMAIL: ajkandy@interstarinc.com IP: 207.35.87.240 URL: http://www.faxserver.com DATE: 05/03/2002 03:28:59 PM Ah! what an opportunity! I recently got on the cluetrain myself and recognized aspects of every company i've ever worked for (including the present one) in their anecdotes. It is difficult to suggest that everyone "Blog Now!"...a bit like saying "Let's all be individualists, together!"...but in a practical sense, what can be done is to foster a blog/Usenet type no-holds-barred intranet. If people have blogs, sure, link 'em up. If they don't, well, give them the tools to do so as they wish. What would be useful in a BBC context is to give everyone (not just the on-air personalities, or the shows, but everyone- producers, staff, production people, EVERYONE) access. Too often in broadcast media the site it either becomes the purview of a few web-savvy types, or it becomes hierarchical - where the gates to access are controlled by a bureaucratic minority. If the BBC (or in Canada's case, the CBC) really wants to be a public broadcaster, it should open itself up...if the credits for a show are posted, every credit should be a hyperlink, or at the least a bbc.co.uk email address...every show could have its companion message board and a cluster of blogs and outside links. too often it's ironically easy for the meeja to become isolated from the very public they serve, and opening up in this way means more connectivity, a shorter feedback loop, and hopefully better and more relevant content. (Heck, with the proliferation of broadcast-quality computer editing suites, why not open up the gates to viewer-produced content?) Sure, it can open the floodgates to a lot of useless crap as well..but as your article states, the cream rises to the surface - good things are linked to, people become authorities because of what they know, not who they know or where they went to school.... ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Another goodbye to Davo... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/17/2002 12:12:34 AM ----- BODY:

So tonight I said goodbye to Davo for the third time in three days, and it was just as difficult this time as it was all the others. I can't imagine anything I want less than for him to leave the country. He will be terribly terribly missed.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: "Dance for me disco monster! STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/17/2002 11:50:24 AM ----- BODY:

"Dance for me disco monster! Dance!"

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Can someone explain to me STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/17/2002 07:39:49 PM ----- BODY:

Can someone explain to me how I'm still at work at nearly eight in the evening, pissed on Pimms, working on templates for an internal work process interface for a project designed to make the BBC the best place in the entire goddam universe? Because frankly I'm drunk and not a little baffled by the whole thing...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Overheard this morning - a STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/18/2002 11:59:33 AM ----- BODY:

Overheard this morning - a woman confuses 'backwards-compatible' with 'reverse-engineer', and I wonder - should you have a license to use words as oneupmanship weapons? [Edited to add - could I possibly start a whole new Sarah Jessica Parker inspired column called 'Geek in the City' all about the tremendously amusing antics of new media workers in London. Or would that be totally lame? Vote lame!]

I went to see a studio flat today in Marylebone - probably it will be outside my financial limits, but it was astonishingly nice. Semi-separated kitchen and studio with lots of power-points and a long corridor down the side of the building towards the bathroom. Plenty of space for book-shelves down the corridor too. I was shown around by a strange tall birdlike woman - all rapid movements and nervous repetition. She started the tour by taking us to the back terrace garden - a wonderful, calm space unfortunately inhabited by a rather surprised half-naked fat old man with partly-scraped-back white-hair and a kind of tai-chi like serenity. "He's probably a sitting-tenant," said Bird Lady, "Probably been here for years...."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Does this, or does this STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/18/2002 02:23:51 PM ----- BODY:

Does this, or does this not, look like the Best Desktop Ever. There are benefits to this current job.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Thoughts on the fronts of STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/18/2002 10:57:35 PM ----- BODY:

Thoughts on the fronts of men's trousers: Many trousers seem to me to be designed to work a little like cod-pieces. The rucking at the front is designed to give an impossibly ridiculous cock-like peak that clearly ISN'T cock, but by its presence distracts from bulges, shapes etc that could be considered cock-like. All men in the world can be divided into those who wear trousers that accentuate their cock or replace it with something larger, or those that wear trousers that manfully withhold themselves. It's uncouth to take your cock out in public. Similarly, it's vulgar to wear trousers that have a sole purpose of cock enhancement. Or such is my opinion...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I'm sorry, but really. What STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/19/2002 10:18:56 AM ----- BODY:

I'm sorry, but really. What the hell is Google Answers all about?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Cut and Paste Culture: Ok STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/19/2002 10:58:17 AM ----- BODY:

Cut and Paste Culture: Ok - this is interesting. Or at least I think it's interesting. Or more to the point, I find it interesting. Anyway - I have these two gorgeous computers on my desk - one's a stunning PC, one's a much more stunning iMac. And I often find myself trying to do things on the PC that can only be done easily on a Mac - like viewing .js files for example. On the Mac, you just open it in IE and it displays on screen. The default position for the PC seems to be to try and run it. Very annoying. So I'm working in Frontpage (don't ask) on the PC and I have the javascript open in the browser window on the Mac, and I copy the chunk I want on the Mac, then turn around and pick up a different mouse and try and paste it into the PC. And it doesn't work. And I look at the screen in blank astonishment. This has happened several times and every time I'm surprised.

So what I'm thinking is, when we cut or copy something from a computer, do we somehow think that we've picked it up physically? Or that we as individuals have kind of copied it to our individual head-space? Or am I just really lame?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: This is almost impossibly close STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/20/2002 10:07:57 AM ----- BODY:

This is almost impossibly close to an idea I once had and have never implemented. Mine was dirtier though.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: One of the things that STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/20/2002 10:20:17 AM ----- BODY:

One of the things that I talked about in my interview for the role of community producer at the BBC - a job that I didn't get, by the way - was about how the BBC was perfectly placed to be the people who made Microsoft's passport program obselete. I mean, they're not beholden to any corporate interests, they wouldn't be able to sell your details to marketers and they have have the infrastructure and world-wide reknown to get away with it. But I wish they'd get a move on.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Today I have a stinking STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/20/2002 10:41:39 AM ----- BODY:

Today I have a stinking cold. I had it yesterday as well. Last night I felt like someone had drained my soul out of my feet. I had nightmares all night as well. But I can't remember any of them. Here are some salient facts you might like to know about colds:

- Every year Americans suffer 1 billion colds.
- Exposure to cold weather does not cause the common cold.
- But cold-causing viruses often survive better in low humidity conditions - for example in the colder months.
- Using aspirin to treat a cold may make you more infectious as you increase the concentration of the virus in your sneezes.
- There is no definitive evidence that vitamin C eases or prevents colds.
- Some people say that Zinc Acetate Lozenges are a clinically proven cold cure. I suspect this may be bullshit.
- If you take normal decongestants and the like you're less likely to splurt out viruses out your nose. You may spread less colds this way.
- Drinking milk does not increase green nasal cold goo.
- Taking Echincea apparently costs a lot and doesn't do much if anything.

I forget where I found out most of those things. I should probably conclude with a US-style disclaimer: "Warning: May be Bullshit! If you die it's not my fault!"

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: K10k is back... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/20/2002 12:45:02 PM ----- BODY:

K10k is back and it's as futuretech and tiny-fonted as ever. Watch as it makes your connection shudder with tiny pixel-goodness. Shiver as your browser struggles to render it. Be awed at its ridiculously high quality. Miss the tiny animated buttons that span round. Be generally very impressed by it, but not that surprised by it. Our rating: Fucking impressive, but not dramatically different.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Responses to a small note... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/20/2002 01:00:51 PM ----- BODY:

VITAL: Read the responses to A small note from a patriot.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Trabaca redesigned once more... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/21/2002 11:54:02 AM ----- BODY:

It used to be the staple of weblogging content - the announcement that someone (a friend / a company) has redesigned their site. Then everyone used to run over and point and critique the site in question and have a little think about whether or not it worked or not as a design and maybe make a few pointers. People don't do that so much any more. I wonder why. Announcement: Barty Trabaca has redesigned!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: "Blake's Seven" Books... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/22/2002 07:58:03 PM ----- BODY:

Reasons not to read any Blake's Seven books (as written by members of the original cast - no matter how cool they might have been): Barbelith.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Diary of the Plague Years... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/23/2002 12:10:57 AM ----- BODY:

Diary of the Plague Years, Day Five: After much careful analysis I can only note that the mysterious semi-liquid is gradually thickening as the days pass, congealing and becoming more solid. And as it does so, my consumption of cold-cure medicines and tissues appears to be declining in parallel. If this can be said to be 'improvement' then I must consider myself 'improved'.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Upgrading Movable Type... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/23/2002 04:35:47 PM ----- BODY:

In a frustrating hour at work in which I couldn't really do what I needed to do because I hadn't got the application that I asked for many many weeks ago, I decided to upgrade to Movable Type 2.0. And it didn't take long to install. And it was of superb and elegant quality...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: From inside the BBC... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/23/2002 05:04:43 PM ----- BODY:

It's weird being inside the BBC when something like this happens.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Peeping Search Tom... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/23/2002 05:32:15 PM ----- BODY:

You dirty so-and-so. You love it don't you... I know you do. Watching. Not typing. Oh no. Just watching what other people have typed. Mmmmm. Oh yes. That's the stuff... Watching people on kanoodle type in 'teen boy decorating'. Oh yes. Or leering at the WWF Backlash requests at Yahoo! Buzz. Stop stop! It's too much. No more. Don't stop! Tell me Jeeves, are they still looking for the popular bridal website 'Martha Stewart Weddings'? And Metaspy - expose yourself to me! Show me people searching for diseases of the middle ages? Or Hank Azaria? And don't ... ever ... stop ... showing ... me search.com requests for Country French, Hot Rods and Custom Muscle Cars! Eurgh. And I'm spent...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Three things about Mulholland Drive... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/24/2002 02:15:44 AM ----- BODY:

Three things about Mulholland Drive, seen last night with Mr Webb, Mrs Webb, Mr Henderson and some bloke called Tom from UMS. Firstly (of course) The Barbelith Thread. Then the (I fear superior) Metafilter thread. And finally the medium-cool Salon investigation.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Ten things to do... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Net Culture CATEGORY: Net Culture DATE: 04/24/2002 11:15:43 AM ----- BODY:

Rather than call someone a wanker, why not...?

1) Have a long, slow, luxurious bath! Perhaps buy some expensive body lotions or bubble bath. Make sure it's nice and hot and just sink into it!
2) Why not get a back-rub? If you're that stressed, a calming back-rub can bring the smile right back to your face for a very reasonable fee.
3) Treat yourself to something small that you've never been able to justify buying before. Something like a CD or maybe some expensive hair products. It's ok to be good to yourself. It really is...
4) Book a holiday! Aggression just slips away when you know you've got a holiday coming up. Think of the beaches, or the nightlife, or the food! Don't you feel calmer already?
5) Why not go for lunch with an old friend? Old friends always like to catch up with each other - and all that chat will bring you right back to what's really important! Don't your problems seem small and insignificant now?
6) And if you can't go out - why not get some wonderful food brought in! There are many glorious places to order food from in London. Just because you don't have time to appreciate them, doesn't mean you shouldn't have time to appreciate yourself!
7) Just take the afternoon off. Work's not everything. Perhaps you'd feel better about things if you just got away from everything for a few hours.
8) A walk in a park is a wonderful way of valuing yourself more and might help you slow down. Smell the flowers! Look at the view! It's not quite a holiday, but it's a good thing to do every now and then...
9) Or perhaps you could have a picnic with friends? That's several ideas all mixed together. And it's bound to make you feel more content and relaxed....
10) And the easiest and simple way to make yourself feel better, and calmer and happier with the world? Just drink a few glasses of water, find somewhere peaceful and have a glorious relaxing afternoon nap...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Would you shag...? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/24/2002 11:30:36 AM ----- BODY:

Soul-searching question of the day: Look into your heart. Would you shag the Sven Snooker Streaker?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Big Issue mention... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/24/2002 02:58:16 PM ----- BODY:

I can't imagine why anyone would be even vaguely interested in reading this again, but I found it online in an old rather badly transcribed form and decided to make it all plasticbag.org style sparky: Matthew Ford writes Read my diary.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On new dumb stuff... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/24/2002 04:22:22 PM ----- BODY:

There's lots of new dumb stuff around the site today that I assembled last night and 'made live' this morning. I'm not going to actually point you towards any of it though. I'm not sure some of it is very good or appropriate reading. So I thought maybe you people could just wander around the place and read stuff and mail me with your comments, bug reports and the like. In order to pre-empt some of your criticisms, the new plasticbag.org now comes with slightly frustrating permalinks that don't quite work right and are a bit of a fuck-up on Macs, which is depressing. But still. Permalinks. See how cutting-edge I am. Sigh.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On mail-to-blog problems... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/25/2002 10:08:18 AM ----- BODY:

And several days after sending the e-mails to Blogger, my mail-to-blog entries finally appear. And have to immediately deleted. Of course.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I love the smell of Photoshop in the morning... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/25/2002 03:50:31 PM ----- BODY:

Another day, another piece of gloriously creative work. You know how it is. You've been there. We've all seen the creative trenches. I love the smell of Adobe Photoshop 7 for Mac OSX in the morning.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Gimme your hands. Cause you're wonderful! STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/26/2002 03:32:39 PM ----- BODY:

Oh no love! you're not alone
You're watching yourself but you're too unfair
You got your head all tangled up but if I could only make you care
Oh no love! you're not alone
No matter what or who you've been
No matter when or where you've seen
All the knives seem to lacerate your brain
I've had my share, I'll help you with the pain
You're not alone

Just turn on with me and you're not alone
Let's turn on with me and you're not alone
Let's turn on and be not alone
Gimme your hands cause you're wonderful
Gimme your hands cause you're wonderful
Oh gimme your hands.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: There is no European viewpoint... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Politics CATEGORY: Politics DATE: 04/27/2002 01:40:56 PM ----- BODY:

There's a hell of a lot of simmering resentment pouring out of America at the moment towards Europe and Europeans. Large portions of the right-wing media are full of it, but it's not only there. There seems to be resentment about the temerity of 'Europeans' to dare to comment on US politics or US foreign policy. I'm not going to comment on any of those things except to say that this idea of a one-nation Europe which shares an ideological position is complete bunk. Scandinavia have some of the most highly taxed and yet progressively left-wing politics in the world. Some European countries are incredibly poor comparatively. Some seem naturally right-wing, some left-wing. Many wounds still exist from hundreds and hundreds of years of co-existence. My mother still refers to the French as 'our natural enemy' (however much I beg her to stop). All the national stereotypes still exist. All the old enmities and alliances remain. All the individual national prides and ways of doing things - all the different senses of what is 'naturally right' as well. Referring to 'Europeans' as an unqualified mass is like referring to 'Americans' in the true sense - and intimating that the USA, Canada, Cuba, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina and all the other Central and South American states share a clear and unified view of what their continents should be moving towards. The difference is that Europe is gradually moving together, as the Americas move apart... For good or ill, only time can tell...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: What's better? What's best? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/27/2002 02:03:05 PM ----- BODY:

One of the most fun and interesting little sites I've seen in ages, whatsbetter.com allows you to rate things in pairs, constructing by association a hierarchy of the best things in the universe. At the moment all your contributions are only added together, so you can see the world's favourite things - but there are a huge number of interesting things you could do with this kind of interface which tie into some ideas I had about a year ago. I really need to talk to Cal.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On imperfect renderings... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/28/2002 12:30:15 PM ----- BODY:

I don't know whether this is something to be proud of or not, but I now appear to have a site that doesn't work perfectly in any browser. Sigh.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: 1st Annual Ninjas vs. Pirates Volleyball match... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/28/2002 12:33:34 PM ----- BODY:

Round One: Ninjas refuse to tell Pirates where game is to be held. Pirates raid Ninja coastal town, burn it down, get drunk. Ninjas sulk, hiss. Final Score: Ninjas 1, Pirates, 3. more

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Find out the weather wherever you are... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/28/2002 12:42:52 PM ----- BODY:

You know what's weird? That after decades of weather forecasting, one of the most amazing things on the internet remains that you can check the weather forecast for any part of the world. And for free! And on the BBC! I mean. That's impressive and useful.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Everything you know is wrong! STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/28/2002 01:31:15 PM ----- BODY:

Everything you know is wrong! Or at least fourteen things of the twenty-seven things I was asked were wrong: Take the disinformation quiz.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On Woomera... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/28/2002 11:56:03 PM ----- BODY:

Today on Barbelith: Woomera - "Woomera, a former missile testing base in the remote southern Australian desert, houses one of Australia's largest centres for detaining of refugees whilst their asylum claims are processed. Earlier this month, a group of protesters and activists managed to breach the camp's outer skin. 50 detainees escaped. More than two days on, 10 of the escapees remained on the run. Activist Aizura Hankin reports from the scene."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Another new Apple product... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/30/2002 11:21:05 AM ----- BODY:

Another new Apple product - this time it's the eMac - a purely for education model of the iMac. It's kind of a retrograde step in a way, but I suspect that it might not remain education-only for long if people like the look of it...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Review me already... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/30/2002 04:28:23 PM ----- BODY:

Go on then. Bloody review me already.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Davo needs a good wallop... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/30/2002 08:15:43 PM ----- BODY:

So he's still off wandering around Europe without me, the little stinker. He's still writing those dumb little stories about all the stupid places he's going to. Geneva. I mean. Does anyone give a damn?! Amsterdam? Feh. I've had it with places that Davo's going without me. They all suck. And then he's coming back here for a minute and it will be nice and fun for like a day. Then he's fucking off again. Pardon my language, but the little bastard needs a good wallop if you ask me. That'd keep him in line. Poncey colonials. Poncing off...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The world is ending... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/30/2002 08:18:05 PM ----- BODY:

The fifth sign of apocalypse is here. My cousin Susanna, known throughout her youth for swearing and changing her hair colour every twenty-two minutes and for sticking things through her ears over the bath and for generally listening to the Cure and growling at everyone - yes, that cousin Susanna - has just joined the committee of her local playgroup... There's only one final sign left to come - the sleeping of the lion with the lamb, and the lamb pulling out a chainsaw and then eating the lion's fleshy entrails. Then it's judgment day. We're all doomed.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Harry Potter: Ninja or Pirate? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 04/30/2002 11:26:49 PM ----- BODY:

Nick: Do you think Harry Potter is a Ninja or a Pirate?
Tom: I think Harry Potter is definitely a Ninja
Tom: it's the cloak of invisibility
Nick: Really?
Tom: but Ron Weasley is WAY pirate
Nick: I would have said the relentless good feeling made Harry a pirate.
Tom: I'm going to categorise EVERYONE into categories of ninja and pirate from now on
Tom: Kate - ninja
Tom: Mella - pirate
Tom: Toby - pirate
Tom: Nick - ninja
Tom: Fenner - ninja
Tom: Tom - ninja
Tom: Saddam Hussein - pirate
Tom: Margaret Thatcher - pirate
Tom: Bill Gates - pirate
Tom: Steve Jobs - ninja
Tom: Noah Wyle - pirate
Tom: Steven Spielberg - pirate
Nick: Can I post this list?
Tom: if you want!
Nick: Nahhh.
Tom: I didn't think so
Nick: Half the names mean nothing...
Tom: pussy
Tom: - ninja
Tom: doggy - pirate
Nick: But you could post a list...
Nick: Doggy?
Nick: Oh, right.
Tom: doggies! SOOOO pirates.
Nick: That's SO true.
Nick: My God.
Nick: Now that would start a discussion, all right.
Tom: Hahaha
Nick: And Ninjas are, of course, creatures of the night, subversive, rejecting the male authority...
Tom: exactly
Tom: much like...
Tom: Britney Spears
Tom: - ninja
Nick: Subtle rather than confrontational, weaker in a head-on confrontation...
Tom: actually no. she's a pirate
Nick: What?
Tom: close run thing though
Nick: Thank you.
Tom: depeche mode are ninjas
Nick: Yes.
Nick: Harrison Ford?
Nick: Pirate.
Tom: pirate
Nick: George Clooney?
Tom: pirate
Nick: Pirate city....

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: In the middle of a brain-fart... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/02/2002 08:19:33 PM ----- BODY:

So for some reason, after a tiring but basically successful day, I became totally and utterly consumed by self-doubt and a desire to hack myself into ribbons mentally, and so I did it and then I felt awful and crap and like I was the most useless person in the world, so I used my tactic of making sure that you play music which redirects your mood from passive to active - which made me angry (which was good), and then for a little bit I felt like everyone else was shit, which was a novel shift in perspective, and then I came home and now I want to complain at someone, but I probably shouldn't because they'll think I'm being self-indulgent. Which I probably am. It always worries me when I can't tell. Like it worries me when I don't know if I'm talking too much. Or when I feel conversations spiralling out of hand and I don't know how to steady them out again or withdraw gracefully. Other people have those horrible moments when you don't know how to make your laughs sound genuine, even though they are. Right?

I don't know why I should feel the need to go through all this palaver. I normally keep my occasional brain-farts extremely private and controlled - and I don't know why I should feel like such a bloody inadequate thirty-year old. Where did all this stuff come from? Is it because I was stuck in a room with people all day, and because I find talking to large groups of people so unbelievably terrifying. What the fuck has happened to me after a year of privacy that makes the outside world so overwhelming at times? And when did everyone get so confident that they were right? And where's the thing in the world that I can be best at that would justify my existence?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: How to ask someone out on a date... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/02/2002 08:23:30 PM ----- BODY:

Advice that other people may find amusing, but which today is really sticking in my head: How to ask someone out on a date.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: People post crap, when you're a blogger... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/02/2002 09:58:44 PM ----- BODY:

People post crap, when you're a blogger
All sites look crappy, when you're A-list
Chicks' sites are boring, they are all flowery
Streets stay outside - where I never go...
When you blog....

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Too much fluff and not enough bum... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/03/2002 08:46:01 AM ----- BODY:

Review: Too much fluff and not enough bum? I'll show you....

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: 80% of their campaign promises... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/03/2002 08:57:27 AM ----- BODY:

An interesting piece of research from the BBC suggests that New Labour have fulfilled 80% of their campaign promises since they came into power. Now, I think we've all felt disillusioned with the Labour party at some point during the last few years, but surely 80% is a pretty astonishingly high figure. Particularly for a country that increasingly believes that politicians don't do anything of value. Unfortunately, such good news is rather undercut by the two seats won by the BNP in Burnley.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On my permalink nipples... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/03/2002 09:00:52 AM ----- BODY:

Permalink nipples? Oh that's great. Just great. "Click on my permalink nipples, baby..." - "Move your hand over my permalink nipples..." - or perhaps the most disturbing, "Move your mouse over my permalink nipples..."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Why is Kottke a good weblogger? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/04/2002 09:28:27 AM ----- BODY:

Why is Kottke a good weblogger? We've all read The Tipping Point by now. He makes messages 'sticky' (I wonder how many other people could have thrown five hundred people at plasticbag.org in a day) - 'permalink nipples' is as close to the most-clickable-link-ever as you could hope to get for an audience of webloggers. He is a true information-gathering maven, operating within a medium that radically enhances his ability to act as a meme-disseminating connector / salesman. And contextually, he was one of the first to undertake the blogging experiment before the explosion of numbers - making him the logical 'founding-father' of the new wave of webloggers. Like it or not, everything Jason says on the internet carries more weight than even your site.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Models of Distributed Community... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/04/2002 09:30:48 AM ----- BODY:

If I wrote and edited technology stories for a living, I too would make every effort to flog my own weblog. Self-promotion in a tech-culture must be a lot about zeitgeist-surfing. As it is, I nearly have a career path again, suddenly. I'm a community-producer / expert with vast numbers of teeming models for distributed community welling up in my widdle mind.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Mr Webb is off the Emerging Tech... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/04/2002 12:18:33 PM ----- BODY:

So, Mr Webb is off to San Francisco for the Emerging Tech Thing- and I'm putting out an appeal on his behalf - will someone look after him for us? He's too valuable to the UK New Media elite to be damaged... Plus he knows all there is to know about Googlematic Aimbots...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Rolling Stone's 50 uncoolest records... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/05/2002 12:50:47 PM ----- BODY:

Rolling Stone's 50 uncoolest records that you should buy immediately: I am deeply ashamed that I don't own any of them... I used to own Listen without Prejudice, but I gave it away to my best friend's sister when I was seventeen. I maintain that Pet Shop Boys' Actually is a really good record, even though my tape copy of it (which I bought cheap as a knock-off in Turkey when I was sixteen) wore out about a thousand years ago. And although I never had the Barenaked Ladies album, I think my friend Glyn did, and I seem to remember it being played when we drove around the south of England when I was nineteen, camping in fields and by the sides of roads. I do quite want the Weezer record though.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Bank "Holiday" Weekend... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/06/2002 09:40:29 PM ----- BODY:

Bank "Holiday" Weekend:
Saturday: Work in the office (4 hours), Movie (Panic Room), Drink (2 Mojitos), Meal (New World)
Sunday: Work in the office (4 hours), TV (West Wing, Strictly Ballroom, Empire Records), Sleep at 2.45am
Monday: Work in the office (3 hours), Lunch (Dim Sum at New World), Shopping (1 magazine), More Work in the office (4 1/2 hours)

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: What will be in OSX? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/08/2002 09:01:59 AM ----- BODY:

So what will be in the next release of OSX? A build-in chat app for one (although I'm not sure that's strictly useful any more), SMS-messaging via Bluetooth phones, a map interface to Sherlock, AI-based spam filtering in the Mail app, an upgrade to Quartz to speed up rendering times. Plus - spring-loaded folders, graphics-tablet functionality, network software, Quicktime 6.... I'm drooling already...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: EU logos and flags... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/08/2002 05:08:20 PM ----- BODY:

I don't know what's more terrifying frankly - that the European Union are considering an eye-bleeding new logo to represent themselves with, or that the logo resembles almost exactly an eye-bleeding site I've just built for the BBC's intranet... [also BBC News]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Plastic bags and history's landfill... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/08/2002 05:12:42 PM ----- BODY:

What happens when the Plastic Bag is finally consigned to history's landfill. Will the world's antipathy have been rained down on it so hard that the name itself will live through history in infamy? In which case - excellent - no problems there - I can keep the domain name cheerfully! But what if it becomes a name lost in history? What if in two years time no one has even heard of them. People forget so quickly. I know - after all the barbelith was a perfectly cromulent word for 'happy fun place' merely three weeks ago... But today, no one has the slightest idea what it means...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Ninja or Pirate? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/08/2002 05:17:20 PM ----- BODY:

The debate continues... Which is the side to be on? Is it Ninja or Pirate?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: An e-mail I sent to Channel 4... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/08/2002 05:39:14 PM ----- BODY:

An e-mail I sent to Channel 4:

Dear Channel 4,

I watched "The Truth about Gay Animals" and frankly I was appalled. I'm a gay man in my late twenties and I was actually looking forward to the program, but it turned out to be the worst kind of rubbish I'd ever seen. It completely disgusted me. The fact is that there's a really important issue there. It's all to do with whether or not homosexuality is perceived as something that happens in nature or whether it's a purely human thing - a thing of choice, of 'morality' rather than something that happens cross-species.

It may be a facetious thing to have to argue, but a lot of people around the world still believe that homosexuality is an unnatural practice perpetrated by the godless and the evil. Whether or not there is any evidence for different sexualities in other species cuts over issues of sexuality, issues of morality, issues of genetics, issues of society, prejudices of science. Etc. Etc. Etc.

Scott Capuro in my eyes looked all the way through it like he was bored and frustrated out of his mind and spent a good proportion of his time being cruel to people from previous generations who were taught that gay people were disgusting and evil. The people he was being cruel to - although I think personally that they should probably know better - were nonetheless clearly trying to be as nice as they could, even though they clearly felt uncomfortable.

I was actually EXCITED by the prospect of this program, that it was on at all! I thought it would be an interesting insight into scientific prejudice, origins of sexuality and the like AND have a few laughs in it. All in all the best kind of documentary. But in the end, I turned off about 2/3rds of the way through in disgust. There was NOTHING to redeem it in the parts I saw. And I was essentially offended by it. I have even written to Channel 4 to complain! I mean - I love Channel Four!

But this made Channel 5 look enlightened.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: My hairdresser lies to me... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/09/2002 12:13:45 PM ----- BODY:

The lady at the hairdressers yesterday said that the receeding temples look was really hot at the moment and that all the young guys were having their heads shaved in that pattern. But I think she might have been humouring me.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: If I ring again, will they call the police? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/09/2002 04:34:02 PM ----- BODY:

How come I keep seeing adverts for flats suitable for single women and none that are suitable for single men? And even when they're not specified as such, how come I keep getting told when I ring up the landlords, "No, sorry, it's for single women only," with a tone of voice that suggests that if I ring again, they'll call the police...?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Getting depressed about London flats... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/09/2002 09:28:07 PM ----- BODY:

It's at times like this when you really wish you had a digital camera. I went to see a flat today in Mornington Crescent with a friend of mine, and was so horrified and depressed by what I saw that I needed an extremely stiff vodka and tonic. Imagine a room ten feet by twelve feet on the top floor of a crumbling building where not even the banisters are stable enough for you to put any weight on. Stick a bed in this room. Give it a view over the back of some crumbling estate. Add low ceilings, a bathroom big enough to fit a bath in, which they apparently did in the thirties and a kitchen that fits into a cupboard. Imagine the most depressing site you've ever seen in your life.

I've lived in a lot of places in my life. Some haven't had paint on the walls, some have had damp walls behind the bed. But none have been as soul-destroying as this place. There's no way I could do it. And this is where we find ourselves - in a world where people in London have to be earning forty or fifty thousand pounds a year before they can afford to get a mortgage and where the average wage in London is around half that. And where you pay over �500 a month for the privilege of living in a hole in the ground.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Cool things about Apple products... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/10/2002 12:44:59 AM ----- BODY:

Two things I love about my Apple products. 1) I can wake my computer from sleep and after a few hours I can ask, I wonder how long it's been since I rebooted my baby... And I can check by going to Terminal and typing 'uptime' and it tells me: 12:40AM up 6 days, 15:17, 2 users, load averages: 2.52, 2.67, 2.53. Six days. That's really nice. First OS I've ever had that could make a claim like that. 2) Because today for the very first time I pressed the central button on my ipod while a song was playing and suddenly realised that you can easily skip to any point in the track you're on just by using the jog wheel. I bet everyone else knew that. But still. It's really cool.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: How to find a flat in London? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/10/2002 12:54:10 AM ----- BODY:

So how the fuck do you find a flat in London that isn't stupidly expensive. I mean seriously. How the fuck? I'm sorry to resort to swearing but I'm already sick of this process and it already feels like it's completely not ever going to happen and I'm going to be destitute and miserable. I'm so angry I could kill everyone in the world.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Ninja Giant Robot or Pirate Giant Robot? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/10/2002 09:19:41 AM ----- BODY:

Matt Jones isn't ninja or pirate (he maintains). He claims to be a a giant killer robot. When pushed, he was unprepared to say whether or not he was a ninja giant killer robot or a pirate giant killer robot.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Do styled form elements look less interacty? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/10/2002 09:34:05 AM ----- BODY:

I genuinely love the new BBCi search facility. I think the design is elegant - the large tabs are simple but really really obvious and functional, and the whole layout is easy on the eyes and clear. The only thing I don't like is the search box itself. Weirdly, styled the way it has been, it is less obvious to me on the page. It looks a certain amount more graphic-like, and a certain amount less like a piece of browser functionality... Interestingly this is less the case on a browser like Chimera on OSX, which automatically anti-aliases all the text on the page...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: BTOpenworld sucks ass... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/10/2002 10:26:50 AM ----- BODY:

Grrr BTopenworld sucks: "We are currently investigating a problem with the BTopenworld mail servers, this is affecting the sending and receiving of E-Mail. Please bear with us as we endeavour to resolve this problem as quickly as possible. Meanwhile we apologise for any inconvenience."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: What proportion of your income should you spend on rent? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/10/2002 07:57:58 PM ----- BODY:

I've heard a lot of different angles on this one in the last few days, so now I'm opening it up to the floor. I once heard someone say that you should pay one-third of your income in rent. That's all I can remember. One third on rent, one third on something else and a final third on something else again. Now of course my first question is whether or not that's supposed to be pre-tax salary or post-tax salary. And today a friend in the US said that you should never pay more in rent than one week's salary. Thus leaving three-quarters for living and saving. So what's true? What's the correct ration to spend on a place to live? Won't somebody tell me!?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Clothing and the abyss... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/11/2002 12:11:28 PM ----- BODY:

While I should be organising a place to live, I spend the time instead throwing away huge amounts of crap that would be a tremendous hinderance should I ever find a place to live. Among the many things that have gone is the purple t-shirt that a flat-mate once brought home swearing that it would 'really suit' me. So far saved from the abyss is the pair of Abercrombie and Fitch blue extra-huge combats with things all over them that I bought and loved, and only subsequently realised made me look completely ridiculous. And found for what appears to be the first time: my two-sizes too large geniune Nathan Barley t-shirt, which I'm either going to have to auction or give to the T-shirt king.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: David Fincher to be directing MI-3? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/12/2002 11:23:56 AM ----- BODY:

Will David Fincher - godlike director of Fight Club and The Game, and mediocre director of Panic Room and Alien 3 really be directing Mission Impossible 3? Tell me it's not so!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On things I did instead of the things that I should have been doing... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/12/2002 12:00:18 PM ----- BODY:

A brief list of things that I have been reading today and / or plan to read today after lunch with some very old friends in Primrose Hill and instead of doing what I should actually be doing, which is looking for a bloody flat:

Weblog Tool Round-up
In which consensus is drawn that of the various weblog tools and applications, Movable Type is the best. Which (in as far as the article goes) I would probably agree with. Particularly as of version 2.

Much ado about Blogging
In which Salon completely miss the point again (along with everyone else) about what the journalistic use of weblogging will be in the next ten years. I could tell you all what it is, but I'm concerned that someone else will do it first and if they do - no huge career for me! More on this stuff later. By the way, if anyone is looking for someone with incredible weblog experience who's a trained journalist with experience in print and web, who also understands design and functionality and is prepared to pay me a fortune to work with programmers to demonstrate what's going to replace the New York Bloody Times, then just e-mail me!

The Scourge of Arial
In which this guy argues that Arial is a bad copy of an unfashionable font (Helvetica) and that no one should really be using it any more as it's basically only used by people who aren't very professional.

Celine Dion fucking evil bitch
She kills iMacs! KILLS them! This is not the behaviour of a much-loved scrawny songstress. She's supposed to be like sugar and spice, not CDR DEATH. One can only wonder how long it will take an iMac owner to sue the bitch's bony ass off.

Webmonkey's Guide to PHP
Having decided that a certain basic knowledge of PHP would not do me any hard - particularly as the Underground is now coded in it - I turn to Webmonkey for help...

Typecasting
Are you the kind of person who thinks that when Voyager travels through some space-gas, it shouldn't generate vortices because there is no atmosphere? Are you interested in typography? In which case, this article should thrill you - it did me... In it the author takes you through several major modern movies set in the past and compares and contrasts their use of 'period' fonts. More interesting than it sounds... [and there's still more at fawny.org]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On being excited about Spiderman... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/12/2002 11:14:58 PM ----- BODY:

I'm so excited about Spiderman I might burst. And of course it doesn't hurt that Webb and Jones have both said vaguely positive things about it. What I might take umbrage at - if I were inclined - is the suggestion that "Coates is going to absolutely love this movie, in a really unhealthy way". God only knows what that means, but it either means my adolescent wish-fulfilment fantasies will all be fulfilled. Or I suspect - more accurately - Matt is commenting on the innate attractiveness of geeks.

Either way, I'm not totally convinced by the world 'unhealthy' - there's too much native alarm in my system about that word. Too many contexts in which it isn't entirely appropriate.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On idiotic pets... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/12/2002 11:42:57 PM ----- BODY:

In a conversation with a friend about dealing with the little irritations that having to deal with other people can engender, the comment is made, "I think the trick is to be better than everyone else, and then treating them as idiotic pets."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Spiderman Meme Recycling... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/13/2002 12:05:54 AM ----- BODY:

Post Spiderman Meme Recycling: This cartoon demonstrates that all your sexualities are belong to us. Tobey Maguire is the new fetishised male. Geek culture finally got a bit of muscle behind it. And I declare myself to be the first of a new species of sexually aware human - the man who is only interested in shagging nervous geeky visionaries.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Whatever happened to Mark Olynciw... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/14/2002 09:30:28 AM ----- BODY:

Feature: Whatever happened to Mark Olynciw? Mark was the darling of the weblogging scene. The scamp redesigned hourly, wrote fast witty pithy gems of lunacy. He asked a lot of questions and pissed off less people than became his immediate blog-slaves. I'm told he used to strip every Thursday night on his webcam, but that might be a lie. He had a private weblog for a while, but his parents made him stop doing that. And then he got everyone else in his family completely absorbed in weblogging. And then he stopped. And vanished. Occasionally bizarre photographs seem to place him at rabbinical school in Saskatchewan. But beyond that... No one knew...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Estimates of Income Tax... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/14/2002 10:36:08 AM ----- BODY:

If anyone knows a place online where you could type in your income and see roughly how much tax you should be paying (obviously this will be aimed primarily at people based in the UK) then mail me. I'm looking for estimates here, not forms that take three months to fill in and are directly submitted to the Inland Revenue.

i-resign salary calculator, supplied by Paul of digitaltrickery.com
Listen to Taxman - thanks to Kees for this tax calulator correct as of 2000.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: In Heaven... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/14/2002 11:05:23 AM ----- BODY:

I'm the Pixies' song, In Heaven: "You're mysterious, picky, and a bit aloof. Some people say you have a very cheery personality, but it's hard to say because you mask your emotions behind dark pretenses. You enjoy watching obscure movies and going to plays, but by the end of the day you're usually too wound-up by the ironies of your life to relax."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The ironies of my life... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/14/2002 11:10:37 AM ----- BODY:

Today I'm too wound-up by the ironies of my life to truly relax. Flat-hunting is truly the most nightmarish experience that a misanthropic intensely private brooding young genius should ever be forced to endure. The crises of faith about money, the moments of horror about the state in which one might find oneself living. It's all too overwhelming. I now have to find a place within the next two weeks, and today I just said I needed 24 hours to think about a place that costs �910 a month. A MONTH. Along with all the other bills I'd have to pay, that doesn't leave a lot of money for fun and biscuits. It's all too much. I can't cope.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Some great articles from BBC News... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/14/2002 01:43:07 PM ----- BODY:

Every single day I get loads of spam. Loads. More than I think is strictly normal. Dozens of messages. Every day. And it's very frustrating. But what had never occurred to me today is how many messages I would be getting without the ISPs filtering them at source. But an article at bbc.co.uk has revealed that the spam problem is larger than most regular users think: "The problem is a lot worse than consumers think. A lot of it is filtered out before it reaches them," said Joe McNamee from Euro ISPA (Internet Service Providers' Association).

I'm regularly startled by the range of fascinating articles on news.bbc.co.uk - and that article on spam is just the tip of the iceberg. In recent days we've seen behind the scenes at Google, the first Segway crash and a survey revealing that Russian businesses bribe more abroad than any other states. Stunning.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Do we need a weblog foundation? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/14/2002 01:44:15 PM ----- BODY:

The question of the day is do we need a weblog foundation? And it's being debated at this moment over at metafilter.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On Yahoo's anti-spam advice... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/14/2002 10:03:00 PM ----- BODY:

It's difficult to tell whether it's because they were recently accused of being pro-spam when they automatically defaulted all their web-mail users to the 'receive lots of crap' option, but Yahoo's anti-spam advice is not only very good, but is being publicised via banner ads all over the place.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Fix my site! STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/14/2002 10:29:19 PM ----- BODY:

Ok. Because I have an infinity of other things that I should be doing instead - including writing a presentation for a conference that's getting remarkably close and move and sort out my next job and pack everything and sort out my taxes and... and... and... - I have of course decided instead to suddenly become serious about resolving the problems with plasticbag.org's rendering on Mozilla. And when I say that I've become serious, what I mean is that I'm hoping desperately that one of you out there will be able to sort out the problem. Amaze your friends, fix a mostly functional CSS-based site!

Anyway, in order to be able to do this most effectively, I've uploaded the full plasticbag.org Blogger template and you can access the CSS files for the front page and the archives. They're very different. See if you can figure out why... Winning entry will be able to show me a functioning copy of plasticbag.org displaying a couple of entries (over more than one day).

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Star Wars. In an hour. Screw flathunting. STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/16/2002 12:38:02 PM ----- BODY:

Guess who's going to see Star Wars! In an hour! On a weekday! Instead of looking for a flat!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Positive feelings about the new Star Wars film... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/16/2002 08:29:02 PM ----- BODY:

So I went to see Star Wars this afternoon with Cal and Nick and frankly we were very impressed. That's not to say we couldn't gripe - because god knows we could - the dialogue is as bad as it is in all the other films, the plot (such as it is) is swamped by episodic diversions, some of the characters aren't doing what they should be doing (when did Obi Wan get so bloody lame and were Mandalorian Warriors all as naff as Jango Fett) and the whole thing could have been twenty minutes shorter (and each individual episode within it - particularly the battle scenes could have been correspondingly shorter as well). But despite all this, it was really not a bad film at all.

Of course the horror of the event is that before it had even started the nostalgia kicks in. You think you're going to be immune, but you're there in the cinema and the 20th Century Fox drum-rolls sound and then the Star Wars music kicks in and the logo appears and you're ten again, Star Wars forcibly inserted into your DNA - your reactions as formulaic and robotic as if you were a puppet on a string. Which a lot of men around my age must feel like to be honest. And as you sit there, you're always overwhelmed by hope, expecting it to be shit but unable to accept that it will be.

But even stripped of decades of obsessive love, this is still a film that you can actually enjoy. There's action and drama and interesting and well-designed aliens and a real look and feel that inspire you to want to believe, and much less offensive ethnic stereotyping and a few (mostly but not exclusively ill-judged) jokes and Yoda.... Well, Yoda kicks butt...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Careless writing costs blog-readers... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/16/2002 08:31:03 PM ----- BODY:

Thought of the day: Careless writing costs blog-readers. Is there such a thing as acceptable losses? Can you reclaim a site for your own idling agenda after it's gone so completely mainstream?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On Barbelith: "Fortunate Son"... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/17/2002 12:17:16 AM ----- BODY:

Today on Barbelith, Fortunate Son: In 1999, James Hatfield's book, Fortunate Son was published and almost immediately taken off the shelves amid revelations that its author had once been imprisoned for attempting to hire a hit-man. The book, amongst other things, alleges that George Bush Senior arranged to have his son's conviction for cocaine possession expunged from the records. In May 2001, a month after Fortunate Son was republished, Hatfield's body was found in a hotel room. What is the story behind the story of Fortunate Son? Gavin MacDonald investigates.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On being nervous about my flat... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/17/2002 07:59:41 AM ----- BODY:

I'm up, showered and on the net by eight am. I was awake before seven. And I don't have to be at work before one. Why am I up? Because I'm nervous. Why am I nervous? Because I'm going to have to commit to a flat. Why does that worry me? Because I haven't finalised a job yet. Why have I not finalised the job yet? Because I'm being pulled in two directions at once, and each day the pull from one direction or the other seems to increase or slacken off.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I may or may not have a flat... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/17/2002 09:38:18 AM ----- BODY:

So I decide to put an offer on a flat and everything seems to be fine, and then the woman rings up and says that she got it wrong and the place had an offer put on it yesterday afternoon and that they might go for it instead and it's very frustrating and at times like this I think mind may well snap.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Will I get my tiny flat? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/17/2002 12:46:10 PM ----- BODY:

An endless amount of work awaits me in Marylebone, but I can't go in until I've heard about whether man and wife flat-stealers have declared their endless love for my little flat around the corner. If they've bailed then it's all mine. Mine, I tells ya. Otherwise.... So all the work in the world will have to wait just a few more minutes. Maybe half an hour or so. And in the meantime I'll stay here and play with my OSX mini-app of the day: World Clock Deluxe

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Ten things to do at 1am... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/18/2002 09:26:53 AM ----- BODY:

Ten things you could do at 1am to stop you being bored (dedicated to James Cronin):

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: A cheer for the Rebels? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/18/2002 12:24:10 PM ----- BODY:

A cheer for the Rebels? A hiss for the Empire? Perhaps no more. Perhaps no longer.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I may have a flat... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/19/2002 11:51:17 AM ----- BODY:

I may have a flat. This is tremendous news. It's a little place in Maida Vale for one person. It's got a little sitting room. It's got a little bathroom. It's got a little kitchen. It's got quite a big bathroom. I'm just waiting for my references to go through, and if they do go through then I can move in next Saturday.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Google toy of the morning... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/21/2002 08:55:32 AM ----- BODY:

Toy of the morning is labs.google.com, which is where the arch search engine appears to test out all kinds of natty little gizmos that it hasn't fully developed yet. My favourite toy is Google Sets - where you type in a few words and it tries to guess other things that belong in that set. For Example: You type in 'Tony Blair' and 'George Bush' and you get back Yasser Arafat, Russell Crow and Tiger Woods. That would be the set of 'publicity hungry people' then...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: For b3ta: My Fat Lardy... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/21/2002 03:06:31 PM ----- BODY:

B3ta set the challenge. And I rose to it:

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Entertaining facts about Telewest... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/22/2002 08:43:05 AM ----- BODY:

Entertaining facts about Telewest: So I'm moving out of my flat in just a couple of days and I'd like to get cable television in the place I am moving to. However I don't know the postcode of the new place, so I can't easily type it into the little box on their website that tells you if you can get service. That's why I decide to type in my current postcode, which is W9 1LE (try it for yourself - this game is quite entertaining). When you type in the postcode the site politely informs you that they don't handle that postcode, but that ntl do. They even helpfully provide a link through to the page in question where you can type in your postcode again. Except of course NTL deny covering that area too. And they helpfully decide to redirect you... back to Telewest again. The irony has taken my neck in its teeth and is beginning to playfully shake...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Space news of the day... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/22/2002 08:53:04 AM ----- BODY:

Space news of the day is that China are planning to mine minerals on the moon - which seems to me to be 1) a complete waste of money and 2) possibly the coolest thing that any country has done in decades. [Update: Turns out it's not true though.]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On The Sweet Suite... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/22/2002 05:48:42 PM ----- BODY:

Tonight I am going to The Sweet Suite for the second time. In case you're unfamiliar with this venue, it was assembled by a coterie of leading London homosexualists including the infamous Mr Big, Boy George and er... We were supposed to get picked up in a big pink limousine outside First Out, but I think my host had to cancel it, which is a shame. Last time I went I became rather over-excited by the range of "Sex and the City" and "Seven Deadly Sin" cocktails and found myself falling over a lot and vomiting much of the following morning. Mr Webb is obsessed with the place. I should be packing.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Online zeitgeisting... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/23/2002 06:48:44 PM ----- BODY:

I'm catching up a lot with the online zeitgeist today via Daypop and Blogdex, which - if I could still do scrolling marquees I would probably attach a tagline to: EAT THEM AS PART OF YOUR NUTRICIOUS BREAKFAST. Because of this quite a lot of the links that I reference have already been referenced to death. Which is why I'm going to add to the links with commentary and opinion....

Resurfacing Animosity Awaits Bush in Europe
The Washington Post has taken what would appear to be a fairly bland topic - the fact that fractures are becoming clearly visible between Europe and America around the 'War on Terror' - and explodes it into an incredibly balanced depiction of the current fundamental differences between the two cultures. As such this article is probably a must read for all English Eurosceptics, American Supremacists and everyone who really doesn't understand that one of the fundamental political divisions in the world today is between collaborative and nationalist approaches. There's a discussion on Barbelith about this discussion too.

Filepile password up for auction
Now I've wanted access to filepile for what seems like an eternity, but although I was using it back in the longago, I never actually appear to have registered. And of course now you can't get in for love-nor-money. It says very clearly on the site that it's not that hard to write (as PHP software goes), but god knows I couldn't do it. The fascinating thing about this is that people are prepared to fight for access to a service of information, plus that people aren't prepared to merely share it. This password actually is sellable. I suspect that if it wasn't for the rabid copyright infringement that the site represents they'd have made it into a pay-for service months ago....

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Introducing Metalinker... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Personal Publishing CATEGORY: Personal Publishing DATE: 05/24/2002 03:16:52 PM ----- BODY:

Another Thinkblank conception (this time co-created by Cal and I) was thought of yesterday and launches in a very beta version today. It's called Metalinker (because now it's retro cool to use the prefix meta) and if you're reading this on the front page of my site, you should be seeing its effect all over the place.

Simply speaking, Metalinker is a way of connecting weblog posts about a similar subject together. With the simple addition of a small amount of javascript to your page, your completely normal weblog posts are suddenly annotated - each link has placed after it a simple link to Blogdex's list of other people who have referenced the same link.

It's not a complex idea, but it's quite an elegant one and one we think that gestures towards some of the functionality that a future web might include as standard - a kind of self-referential, reciprocally-linking semantic model that our little toy only skirts around (with all the glamour of an almighty hack). We hope you enjoy it!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On the use of Metalinker... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/25/2002 12:08:47 PM ----- BODY:

And the first site (other than me) to start using metalinker is Bottle Rocket Science. Are you trying it out? If so, mail me!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: In which Tom moves house... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/25/2002 12:10:16 PM ----- BODY:

Today is big giant moving day. And so updates will necessarily be sporadic at best...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Metalinker abroad... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/27/2002 12:05:33 PM ----- BODY:

There's another metalinker user over at lifeofsmallbeer.co.uk. And it's been linked over at Nick Denton's site who e-mailed me and suggested that perhaps Movable Type could integrate it into their next release, which is an interesting idea...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I shall never move again... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/28/2002 02:04:16 PM ----- BODY:

Moving house is exhausting beyond measure. Won't someone remind me never to do it again. Last night after work I decamped back around to my old place to help clean with my flatmates. Eight o'clock came and went. As did nine. Then ten and eleven. And finally midnight rolled around. I eventually left the building at 1am and fell into bed sweaty and exhausted. This evening I have to go back again to take final meter readings and hand the keys over. And my new flat looks like someone at a crap factory overloaded the crap storage device and crap went everywhere. I've still not even connected my computer to the net. Mind-destroying. Never again.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Water found on Mars... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/28/2002 02:11:06 PM ----- BODY:

Water found on Mars
So now it's more than possible that there was once or is still some kind of limited life on the planet, it's more than possible that human beings will visit the planet. It's more than possible that some kind of semi-permanent presence could be made on the planet too. It's all overwhelmingly exciting.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Conversations about metalinker... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/28/2002 02:23:04 PM ----- BODY:

Other people talking about metalinker: one, two, three, four, five, six. It's weirdly popular in Germany too.

One of the best comments (and most useful potential features) comes from Webvoice: "This script automates the "other linkers" links I manually add from time to time. However, Blogdex should be an API to make this application more compelling. The metalink wouldn't appear if you're the only one to have posted any given link (I hate links to emptiness,) and the number of other referrals to that link (e.g. [3]) would be more useful than just a link to the list of other links (ain't it getting too meta to make sense?)"

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Stop saying "but" - start saying "and"... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/28/2002 03:52:36 PM ----- BODY:

Most wonderful piece of positive management arse I've heard in a long time: "Stop saying 'but', and start saying 'and'". And that's a really dumb idea, surely? And moreover you may think it has some positive aspects and how on earth are you supposed to express when something's a bad idea?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On The Edwardian Country House... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/28/2002 09:27:31 PM ----- BODY:

I can't be the only person who has been watching The Edwardian Country House religiously. And I can't be the only person for whom a great proportion of the attraction of the show has been Ken Skelton, the Hallboy.

Tonight's episode was extraordinary and fascinating - collisions between staff and family - collisions between barely 20th and barely 21st Century life - collisions between the head of the household and the wonderful character of the astonishingly proficient, hard-working and idiosyncratic French cook. If this is a series that comes to the US, all Americans among our party should definitely invest the time...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Dave Winer linked to Metalinker... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/28/2002 10:10:09 PM ----- BODY:

And then the funniest thing happened. Dave Winer linked to Metalinker.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Behind the scenes of "The Edwardian Country House"... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/29/2002 12:59:50 PM ----- BODY:

How cool is this - the second footman from 'The Edwardian Country House' only has his own website. I mean good god. All the behind the scenes gossip and stuff. But no pictures, unfortunately, of the lovely hall-boy. I should stop really. I'll get a reputation. Update: And he's not the only one! Kenny Skelton has one too! [Thanks to Alan Taylor for that one.]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Metalinker on Daypop... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 05/29/2002 09:41:15 PM ----- BODY:

And now Metalinker has reached Daypop. Nice.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Billy Bragg on Top of the Pops... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/01/2002 11:07:26 AM ----- BODY:

Was I the only person in the world who saw Billy Bragg on Top of the Pops last night using long words and singing about modern art and anti-monarchism? The lyrics were full of phrases like 'abstract notions' and the song ended with 'Gilbert and George are taking the piss....' repeated about a dozen times. One of the most surreal TOTP moments of all time I think...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On the return of Mo Morgan... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/01/2002 11:08:37 AM ----- BODY:

Gestures of defiance let down by an inability to carry-through number three hundred and twenty in an ongoing series: MoMorgan.com is back.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Going to see the Breeders... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/02/2002 12:01:51 AM ----- BODY:

In which Tom goes to see The Breeders:
I don't go to concerts very often. When I was a teenager I was too lame, when I was in my early twenties I wanted to do it all the time but I only liked crappy indie groups (still do mostly) and so while everyone else was going to raves and stuff I went to occasional concerts by Stereolab and Julian Cope. And then I started teaching undergraduates, so I kind of stopped going. Too old. Felt ridiculous.

I went to see The Breeders tonight with Cal and had a great time. I last saw them in concert in Bristol about eight years ago and since they haven't really released a lot since then, most of the people in the audience had got all old and saggy with me. Which was quite nice actually. All their songs are two minutes long and don't really make much sense, but they have really nice solid bouncy drums and nice stop-start chunky guitar bits and they smoke cigarettes while playing and giggle at each other and bicker and it's great! And they also played the theme tune to Buffy, which was really odd and then they dedicated a song in which one of the men shouted 'We don't care about you' and then yelled Fuck you!. I love the Breeders.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On the Breeders' concert... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/02/2002 11:05:39 AM ----- BODY:

I wasn't the only person I know at the Breeders concert last night. Chris was there too. Let's search the web for some reviews and let's search blogdom for more weblogging Breeders fans:

Reviews: Village Voice: "The Breeders finally released a new album, Title TK, on May 21. The CD's mere existence is an accomplishment." Cleveland Free Times: "Title TK sounds like a record that could have benefited from an extra year�s wait, and from the fresh insight and creative input that the new band members might have brought with them." Phoeniz New Tims: "When focused, the Breeders can still pump out a hook that actually sticks � "Has anyone seen the iguana?" the Deals repeatedly intone on "Sinister Foxx." But the rest of TK sounds absolutely shell-shocked."

Bloggers: Slatch.com: "Friend: So I turn around at the bar and guess who's standing next to me? Me: Who? Friend: Kim Deal."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: In which Sweden whip England's ass... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/02/2002 11:58:51 AM ----- BODY:

Now look - I don't know a hell of a lot about football. And frankly I don't care that much about football either. So this whole 'World Cup' thing is flying rather over my head. But when I woke up this morning and turned on the TV to find this Sweden vs. England thing happening, I thought it couldn't do any harm to leave it on in the background. And now 67 minutes into the game I can't help but notice that Sweden are whipping England's ass. What the hell is that about?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On overwhelming film experiences... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/03/2002 10:20:04 AM ----- BODY:

Anyone vaguely interested in superhero trash will be delighted to know that X-men 2 sounds like it's going to be one hell of a ride. And speaking of over-whelming movie experiences, I've just seen the Spider-Man trailer on TV for the first time.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Evil advertising whores... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/03/2002 01:29:03 PM ----- BODY:

Link dump: Evil advertising whores.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Each man kills the thing he loves... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/03/2002 07:08:09 PM ----- BODY:

Yet each man kills the thing he loves,
  By each let this be heard,
Some do it with a bitter look,
  Some with a flattering word,
The coward does it with a kiss,
  The brave man with a sword!

Some kill their love when they are young,
  And some when they are old;
Some strangle with the hands of Lust,
  Some with the hands of Gold:
The kindest use a knife, because
  The dead so soon grow cold.

Some love too little, some too long,
  Some sell, and others buy;
Some do the deed with many tears,
  And some without a sigh:
For each man kills the thing he loves,
  Yet each man does not die.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: It's a Right-Rockin' Royal Jubilee! STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/03/2002 07:47:59 PM ----- BODY:

Ricky Martin's going disco-crazy, Brian May's gone guitar-axe-psycho, there are bemused royals all over the place and an S Club member who ate all the pies. There's humour from Lenny Henry, an audience of 200 million people and later in the evening - Rod Stewart (*gasp*), Queen (*not that one*), Tony Bennett (*he's still alive?!*), resident evil Annie Lennox and thirteen thousand teen sensations. It's a right rockin' royal TV jubilee sensation and no mistake. Gawd bless ya Ma'am and your incredibly privileged family too...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: God Bless The Queen... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/03/2002 08:50:25 PM ----- BODY:

I couldn't stop myself. God knows I tried. I spent ages tarting this up more, but in the end I cut all the fluff out of it and kept it to the basics - an image of a modern queen, remembering the bizarre horrors of a history of imperialism and really hard to get into frocks, with a little sex pistols shoved in for good measure. Country remember - fifty years of a sovereign, even a nominal one, isn't necessarily an entirely good thing.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: What a bloody bizarre evening's STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/03/2002 11:32:02 PM ----- BODY:

What a bloody bizarre evening's television: The BBC | USA Today | CNN. I only wish I had pictures...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Cuter than Queens, more fluffy STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/04/2002 10:30:22 AM ----- BODY:

Cuter than Queens, more fluffy than jubilees, more endearing than a football match against Sweden - it'll take the torch from hotornot.com and run with it: Rate My Kitten!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: There's a new version of STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/05/2002 06:05:28 PM ----- BODY:

There's a new version of Metalinker available now that that solves some of the problems with IE on the Mac.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I'm thuper thanks for asthking, STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/05/2002 07:54:15 PM ----- BODY:

I'm thuper thanks for asthking, all things conthidered I couldn't be better I must thay. I'm a thouth park character as well. I made a little model of mythelf too. I look tho thweet.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I've no idea whether this STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/06/2002 01:11:34 PM ----- BODY:

I've no idea whether this is true or not - I guess people in the UK will see this evening:

Day 13, 12:50

If the housemates ever get a task based on their knowledge of geography, they would be advised to steer Jade well clear of answers.

As Jade woke Spencer this morning, her remarkable lack of geographic nous came to the fore. She may have already consumed a few small alcoholic beverages to toast her 21st birthday, but the following transcript is somewhat tough to comprehend. Starting by asking Spencer what he does for a living, this is bound to go down as a Jade chat that will live with her forever:

Spencer: "You know you see those people in Venice standing on the back of gondolas, pushing it around?"
Jade: "They don't do that on the Thames though, do they?"
Spencer: "No. I don't work on the Thames. I work in Cambridge."
Jade: "Is there not the Thames there?"
Spencer: "No!"
Jade: "Is there a river called the Cambridge river?"
Spencer: "Yeah, it's called the Cam."
Jade: "Really? You swear? I only thought there was the Thames. I thought that was the main one in London."
Spencer: "It is. I don't live in London."
Jade: "I'm confused. I thought Cambridge was in London. I knew Birmingham weren't in London."
Spencer: "Would you like to go and tell the group what you just said?"
Jade: "No..."
Spencer: "Cambridge is a city."
Jade: "But we've got a city in London."
Spencer: "Yes. This city is called London. And there's different parts of it. Cambridge is a city."
Jade: "Of where? Kent?"
Jade: "Well England's a country, London's a city, Bermondsey's just a throw-off. Now where are you? What's your country, and what's your things?"
Spencer: "What country am I from? England. The city is called Cambridge, the county Cambridgeshire."
Jade: "So not Kent then?"
Spencer: "Nooooo.... The region is called East Anglia."
Jade: "East Angular? That's abroad. Is there not a place called East Angular abroad?"
Spencer: "Jade, have you been taking the stupid pills again?"
Jade: "Every time people tell me they work in East Angular, I actually think they're talking about near Tunisia and places like that. Am I thick?"
<<...>> <<...>>
Spencer: "Well, I hate to say it, but you are."
Jade: "Cos Scottish and Irish and all that comes under England, doesn't it?"
Spencer: "No... They come under Great Britain. Scotland and Wales have their own flags. Northern Ireland and Ireland are different."
Jade: "So they're not together? Where's Berlin?"
Spencer: "Germany..."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Some people I know: Mr STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/06/2002 04:15:34 PM ----- BODY:

Some people I know:

Mr Webb, who has a website. Phil also has a site. Mo - unsurprisingly - has a site too. Oh gosh, Jones has a site. That was a surprise. I think James has a site as well, but I don't know the URL. Anno doesn't. But she does have a sword (not pictured). Yoz has worked on a thousand different things. Rob was one of the geniuses behind B3ta. Denise is another. And I work with Andrea. She's nice.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: E-mail survey: I'm presenting a STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/07/2002 12:42:47 PM ----- BODY:

E-mail survey:

I'm presenting a paper on weblogs in a couple of weeks at a conference and I need you guys to do me a favour. I need people to send me a few basic details about their weblogging experience or their experience of weblogs - really basic stuff - it shouldn't take long. If you're interested then e-mail me on tom%40plasticbag.org and you should get an automatic reply including the questions I'd like you to answer...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: So I went to see STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/09/2002 12:39:50 AM ----- BODY:

So I went to see Spider-Man this evening with Cal and Jones. Thoughts: The upside-down kiss is incredibly sexy, I've got to get me a Tobey Maguire, it's great that they've managed to be so faithful to the original plot, somehow it's a bit flat, and Cal speaks too much during emotional bits in films...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Blogger get legitimately grumpy with STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/09/2002 12:41:41 AM ----- BODY:

Blogger get legitimately grumpy with a weblog for circumventing terms of service.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Finally a solution to the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/09/2002 12:51:45 AM ----- BODY:

Finally a solution to the ever present problem of Earwax. Or at least someone has found the gene responsible for it. Which is great because I've been on-and-off deaf for the last several weeks, to the extent that I'm waiting desperately for a soho-based ear syringing clinic that was post-poned because of Betty Britain's golden handshake [kind of via Boing Boing]. Damn you seeping ear goo. When will you learn!? With great power comes great responsibility!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: XCOM2002 and TAKING IT OUTSIDE STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Personal Publishing CATEGORY: Journalism CATEGORY: Net Culture CATEGORY: Personal Publishing CATEGORY: Social Software DATE: 06/09/2002 11:35:38 PM ----- BODY:

I don't even know where to start on today - I've not felt so mentally depleted and exhilarated at the same time for ages. I've spent the day with NTK and Haddock at Extreme Computing 2002 and the spin-off Take it Outside. I've been on three separate panels and talked so much that the pubs and bars around were full of beasts of burden missing rear limbs.

Where to start? Perhaps with an explanation - why haven't I mentioned these conferences, why haven't I mentioned these panels on plasticbag.org over the last couple of weeks? I suppose there are a couple of reasons - firstly I was scared, I didn't want to make too much of a big deal about them because I was nervous about being able to do them - it's been a few years since I talked in front of people. Secondly I guess I didn't feel that there might be any reason for people to come and listen to what I had to say - why advertise what might be unbelievably boring? Why draw attention to something that might end badly? It may sound over-cautious, but there are a lot of things that could have gone wrong. Why not take things a little slowly.....?

Brief piece of scene-setting first: I met up with Cal and Jones at the Starbucks opposite the British Library, and then moved over to the Camden Centre to meet up with Denise from http://www.b3ta.com. Rob from B3ta also turned up after a while, as did James from unfortu.net.

First impressions are complex and confusing - there's a room full of geeks and weirdos and I feel totally at home. There's a block of hot people and whole racks and tables of strange and exotic people - running stalls with products from the obscure to the mediocre. Spectrums are everywhere. The C64 militia are in evidence. Steve LeStrange (I think) performs on stage. Very odd. After a stiff drink I retired to the pub for the first Take it Outside panel of the day...

Online Communities: The real world, only worse? with Stefan Magdalinski (moderating), Cait Hurley, Denise Wilton and me. First panel of the day gets off to a slightly choppy start, but for me was the most rewarding of the day. The debates centre around the relationship between virtual and real life communities. The stuff I think I found most fascinating were the debates about where online and offline communities differ, where they are similar and where they could be different.

Various parties contended that the two were more similar than normally given credit. Others (myself included) argued that differences emerged in stuff like stable identities, verbal and visual conversational cues, the inability to blot people out, the edges of workable communal space, the lack of differences in 'volume' of people speaking as well as in the way in which the relationship between people was solidified through relationships enshrined in software. One of the things I was very keen to emphasize was the possibility of building new political systems via the medium of community software - so in a sense I was very keen to decalre that online communities still had to potential to be radically different from the real world, and might even be better in some ways.

One of the other angles that was interested was that of moderation and how it's undertaken. Obviously Barbelith was my point of reference here - with it's new sense of distributed moderation being a very early stage towards my long-term objective of moderator-less, hierarchy-less governance in virtual space. But interestingly, although most of us could report experiences with trolling that meant that we felt some kind of comprehensive moderation process was necessary (whether it be top-down monarchist, feudal-moderation-lords, or distributed anarchist-style), B3ta reported a vast amount of traffic (I don't know if I can report the number) along with a remarkable lack of trolling. Jones postulated that this was to do with strength of brand, while I retreated towards my more traditional model of interpretation - that there was something intrinsic to the model of the board and the board software that combines effectively with the subject of the board in order to make an environment that is not conducive to trolling...

In Defence of Weblogs - grassroots content management systems of the future, or just a load of self-obsessed secret diaries of Adrian Mole? with Neil McIntosh, Ben Hammersley and me. The largest panel of the day for me took me to the main stage of XCOM itself - but seems to have not been a total success, mainly because of problems with the acoustics in the room. From on stage there didn't appear to be much if anything wrong with the sound, but guaging from Cory's piece on his experience of the panel it seems that we were the only ones who could hear it. In fact often I appear to have been arguing totally the opposite to what Cory managed to hear - so I think I'll probably clarify some of the basic positions that I wanted tried to present rather than talk through the whole experience...

The main questions presented were concerned with the relationship between weblogging and journalism, weblog content aggregation and its potential to be a competitor or complement to news sites, the function of weblogging above and beyond it's ability to reflect boring peoples' boring existences rendered interminably online.

Consolidating some of Cory's transcript of the piece (concentrating on the stuff that I'm purported to have said) leaves us with this:

Dave: Aren't blogs desined to cut down repetition? Tom: Some people blog for fun, for self-promotion to pursue a special interest or to stay in touch with a bunch of friends. Dave: Aren't blogs desined to cut down repetition? Tom: No, my tool is designed to connect with with other bloggers with similar interests. You can get 200, 500 opinions on a given subject. Tom: {Cory couldn't make out a word here} There's a need for an editor -- whether it's Slashdot like automation or a human being. My fave: kottke.org.

Actually a large block of this needs further clarification. My positions are as follows:

Dave's first piece of devil's advocacy was concerned with the angle that there are too many weblogs producing too much banal and boring content. There's no way to deny (of course) that there's a certain amount of truth to the allegation that there are a lot of boring weblogs out there - my position is that it's like the web itself - there are many hundreds of thousands of sites out there boring to almost everyone or indeed absolutely everyone. But there isn't a shortage of space on the internet - it doesn't matter! You don't have to read them all.

The tool he refers to is metalinker - a Cal and I co-product. When Blogdex was first launched, I was very resistant to it - I argued then (with some justification) that Blogdex wasn't about loving weblogs, but was instead about allowing people to get links stripped from all the weblogs without actually having to go through the horrible process of reading those weblogs. Increasingly I've begun to think that while that is true, there is an alternative use to Blogdex - a use which encourages linkages between posts made by different webloggers, which allows a debate to spiral over many sites and be trackable.

One of the other things that Dave suggested as a possibility was that the lowering of the bar when it came to DTP didn't result in thousands of different magazines, but instead a colonisation of the space through cost-cutting at major magazine publishers. The suggestion that weblog 'space' could be taken over by corporations seems to me to be totally flawed - at the most basic level because the cost of distributing magazines remained after the development of DTP - something that wouldn't affect weblogging.

This brought us around again to the idea of journalists and webloggers competing with one another. Which at the moment is patently ridiculous. However interestingly there does appear to be a parallel at work between the two - vox pops and columns are staples of journalistic work that have significant parallels with weblog culture. I mooted a situation whereby with a combination of the way in which things like blogdex and Google News grouped and gathered news and linkages with the a centralised weblog content aggregation process and some kind of feedback mechanism, you might be able to assemble a site that produced interesting online news commentary in almost real time in a way that might challenge conventional models of news media. Someone from the audience at this point suggested that an editor might be crucial for this process. But it's simply not true. I even used my phrase of the moment in my reply. Algorithms will be editors. Or perhaps editors will be algorithms. Or maybe feedback will be the model that generates fake editors. And maybe it will be personalised...

Towards a Common-Place Web: online writing and social memory [As part of TakeItOutside] with Nick Sweeney moderating, Giles Turnbull, Karlin Lillington and a visit from Cory Doctorow. The final talk for me again concentrated on journalism and weblogging - and I don't know how useful it was. I'm exhausted this evening - so I think I'll leave writing about it until tomorrow...

What else? Weirdly it's some of the less loud and vibrant parts of the day that stick in my head. It's sitting on the steps opposite the conference place at the end of the day feeling slightly thin, grey and worn out. It's the conversation with Webb and Phil in the hall while it rained outside. It's the huge bucket of KFC and the frustration of trying to prove something that maybe didn't need to be proven and failing nonetheless. It's going ideas-wild about tube maps on the way home. It's watching the last ten minutes of the Buffy musical with Cal and pizza at the end of the evening. It's thinking about the next conference, in just over a week, at which I have to present a paper only 2/3rds written and still in the ugliest powerpoint format of all time...

Related links: Onlineblog, Ben Hammersley, XCOM gets slashdotted, Sashinka | If you want to e-mail me about anything discussed over the day (or want to pay me to help develop a weblog aggregation news resource) then e-mail me on tom [at] plasticbag.org | DO YOU HAVE A PERTINENT LINK OR COMMENTARY ON SOMETHING THAT HAPPENED ON THIS DAY, IF SO LET ME KNOW.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: An attempt to write a huge piece on my experiences of XCOM and TAKING IT OUTSIDE, at which I sat on three panels and left very very tired. ----- KEYWORDS: ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Moof EMAIL: me@moof.org.uk IP: 217.39.19.141 URL: http://moof.org.uk/ DATE: 06/10/2002 01:17:07 AM Well, I only saw the main hall event and I could just about hear what you were saying. It wasn't so much the hall acoustics, as the fact that there was so much other noise from the stalls that drowned you out. Anyway, something that caught my eye in a newsfeed today is the fact that UC Berkeley are going to start holding classes on blogging (http://www.wired.com/news/school/0,1383,52992,00.html). The people doing this are journalists, or journalism lecturers, which might put a whole new slant on your earlier comments about the cross between the two. But they are certainly valid in the blogging world up to now. I still feel myself that a blog is above all a personal view on life, and I don't think it needs to be particularly brilliant journalism. Sure, if you wish to report news, or add opinion to current affairs, feel free to do so, but trying to pass off a blog as a serious journalistic organ limits you on what you can put in your blog, as you're less likely to feel you can get away with the ocassional short post sayin "ooh, lookee here at this interesting link" or whatever. I liked your (was it yours or Neils? I can't remember) point about the whole "online community" nature of blogs. I only read a certain few blogs about people or things that interest me, with the ocassional foray into other peoples' as and when I come across them. I started off just reading my various uni friends' blogs and branched off from there. Some blogs have a very limited readership, partly because of the subjects covered, or partly because they aren't really well-known. An interesting tangent that I don't feel was explored particularly much is how to advertise yourself to the blog community. I don't think there are any particularly easy ways to spread the word, as I doubt many bloggers coudl afford to pay for advertising, so people need to find other ways of making themselves known. Getting Slashdotted for a particular opinion is one way of going about it, I suppose, but other than that it veguely relies on memme and link propagation, which can make finding good bloggers hard, or can make people starting to blog loose faith as they feel they are hardly getting any readership whatsoever, and so don't feel the need ot put the effort in. Another issue is how to advertise yourself to the world at large, and whether you want to. I'm going to make a confession now: I hadn't heard of you, Neil, or Ben prior to this show. Obviously, you're popular enoguh to have won a prize for your blog, and the other two are popular enough to have been invited up by Dave. I'm not going to ask what makes a good blogger again, as Dave already grilled you with that question, but how does your average Joe Internet Punter manage to find himself reading a good-quality blog? ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Mike Butcher EMAIL: mike@mbites.co.uk IP: 62.30.112.3 URL: http://www.mbites.co.uk DATE: 06/10/2002 12:58:09 PM Sorry. Algorithms can't write cracking headlines. Enjoyed your views in the pub. Mike (not a blogger - as yet) ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: np EMAIL: neuro@fsmail.net IP: 209.181.55.224 URL: http://www.neuroprosthesis.org/blogger.html DATE: 06/10/2002 01:50:36 PM Tom I commented in the comments section of Online blog in a discussion with Neil and also on our site. Thanks for responding there and good luck with the new tool. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Paul Makepeace EMAIL: paulm@spam.paulm.com IP: 64.125.129.70 URL: http://paulm.com/ DATE: 06/10/2002 03:29:28 PM offtopic?: While algorithms might not compete with the best of The Sun's headline composers, there's an impressive piece of software generating (writing?) often insightful summaries of news pieces, as 5-7-5 haikus: http://www.headlinehaikus.com/ ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I'm completely exhausted but have STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/09/2002 11:43:10 PM ----- BODY:

I'm completely exhausted but have done the absolute utmost I can to write up my experiences today at XCOM and TakeItOutside. I've written so much. And still there is more. You may have to deal with a partial piece of writing...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Question: It contains some of STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/10/2002 11:55:19 AM ----- BODY:

Question: It contains some of the best daily linkage in Blogdom and has been going for years and yet linkmachinego still suffers from a dearth of people commenting on the links that are posted. Why? I don't get it. It's such a cool site.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Two days of solid traffic STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/12/2002 10:23:56 PM ----- BODY:

Two days of solid traffic and nothing to say for myself. My lovely audience are getting a pretty raw deal, if you ask me. I should be punished for my inaction. But I haven't been strictly inactive. I've spent one day working from midday until four in the morning - ably supported my an early morning walk around Maida Vale with Mr Curmudgeon Morgan. I've experienced a solid day of dreaming and designing with the cream of the BBC. And I've had my bloody ears oozed out by an unhelpful male uber-nurse. I have hearing back. The world's a better place because now I can hear myself singing when I'm waiting for the bus.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: XCOM was mentioned on Wired STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/12/2002 10:54:20 PM ----- BODY:

XCOM was mentioned on Wired today. Oh hang on - noone gives a stuff about XCOM any more. That was days ago. What they care about is that I was mentioned in the same article. Because I'm way more important. European Weblogger of the Year, doncha know. Twice. Was best poof of course. But these things pass...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: You know what's depressing? If STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/12/2002 11:29:28 PM ----- BODY:

You know what's depressing? If Apple made loos, I'd probably buy one.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: More mentions of XCOM and STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/13/2002 05:38:02 PM ----- BODY:

More mentions of XCOM and plasticbag.org: bobzilla, theregister.co.uk.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Crucial XCOM-spin-off related topical news STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/13/2002 06:19:14 PM ----- BODY:

Crucial XCOM-spin-off related topical news item from Stand.org.uk:

Post Office To Steam Open Your History File [from stand.org.uk]

One of the more extreme powers the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) handed out two years ago let government agencies obtain "traffic data" without a judicial warrant.

Traffic data is best described as the writing on the envelope of a message, instead of its contents. It can be the list of phone numbers you have called in the last six months. Or a full list of Websites you have visited. Or the times you log on, and from where. Or who you e-mail, or what programs you've downloaded, or what newsgroups you read. Or the position of your cellphone last Tuesday at five.

Because the risk of abuse of this power (there's no judicial oversight - all that's needed is the permission of a suitably high-powered boss), those who could wield it were strictly limited. Only the police, Customs and Excise and the secret services were allowed access to traffic data in the original act.

Not any more.

On Friday, the Home Office petitioned parliament to add a vast array of organisations to that list. If their passes, everyone from the DTI, any local authority, the Food Standards Agency, the Home Office themselves (of course), and staggeringly enough, Consignia. The final entry in the list says that "A Universal Service Provider within the meaning of the Postal Services Act 2000" has the same power as the secret services to read your traffic data. There's only one USP in Britain right now, and that's the provider previously known as the Royal Mail.

If the idea that the fricking Post Office has access to your web logs (access which would cost a competitive company millions, and would probably get them investigated by the Data Protection people), let alone every minor apparatchik on the block, you might want to kick up a fuss about this. It's due to appear before MPs on June 18th, and the Lords a little after.

How do I find out more?

Read the Order before Parliament. It's very short (although the list of allowed organisations is very long - two minutes should do it).

Flick through our quick notes on the original RIPA law. (The notes are based on an earlier draft, so the section numbers are a bit off. But you get the idea.)

What can I do?

Fax your MP now. The Order is to be debated next Tuesday, and these things are usually rubber-stamped. Tell your MP which groups you don't want to be spied on by (list them all), and tell him why. Explain what traffic data means (your MP might not now how wide-ranging it is). Explain it in terms he or she can understand - if they're a Conservative, explain how it's government prying into people's lives. If they're Labour, talk about civil rights. If they're Liberal, say what you like - the LibDems are usually down with this sort of nonsense. Ask for a reply.

It'll take twenty minutes of your time. It'll make a difference. Members of Parliament hate having this sort of wide-ranging power sneaked past them as much as you do. If you're feeling a bit lazy today, you could forward this message to one of your more overactive friends. And then write your letter tomorrow.

Experts

If you're a journalist, or want to write a detailed piece for others, you can contact Ian Brown (+44 7970 164526) at The Foundation for Information Policy Research (FIPR). As ever, they were the ones to spot this piece of nastiness first. And if you're feeling flush, for �25 you can join the Friends of FIPR which will get you advance alerts and a warm feeling about these issues.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: If you want to support STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/13/2002 06:46:50 PM ----- BODY:

If you want to support the stand.org.uk campaign against the infringement of your rights below and would like to have the text of it on your site, but are perhaps too lazy to actually reformat it all, then you should be delighted - you can simplify the whole process by downloading this text file and cutting and pasting the whole thing into Blogger or Movable Type - available in both 'for lines break enabled' and 'completely formatted for you' varieties.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Toy of the day: A STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/16/2002 05:17:11 PM ----- BODY:

Toy of the day: A terrifying glimpse into how you can construct my terrible visage out of the faces of otherwise attractive and good-looking young men.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Currently fascinating threads on Barbelith: STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/16/2002 05:22:01 PM ----- BODY:

Currently fascinating threads on Barbelith:

• A solar system resembles ours
• Subordinating science to ideology
• Documentary on US war crimes
• The Tipping Point

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: You see one of the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/16/2002 05:31:23 PM ----- BODY:

You see one of the wonderful things about Google is that it has a good block of intelligent people constructing small systems within itself that stop hierarchies getting encrusted with process and allow everyone to come up with nice clean ideas - and to discuss it amongst themselves. I'm thinking of talking to someone at the BBC about something like this - as a process it's lovely - as a technical experiment it's fairly simple and easy - and if restricted to suitably small groups of people, it could have a tremendously energising effect on any company or group of people.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I hate the fact that STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/17/2002 12:44:11 PM ----- BODY:

I hate the fact that I get so obsessively picky about stuff that I'm presenting to people that I can still be chopping it around twenty-four hours before I'm suppose to present it. I hate that this might mean that I don't get to spend the evening with Davo. I hate that I am having to figure out Powerpoint and Visio like someone from marketing. What a day...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Ok so the day of STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/18/2002 09:35:11 AM ----- BODY:

Ok so the day of the conference finally arrives and it is in many ways as close to a laxative as you can get without going to a pharmacy. The paper is essentially finished - so now my only concerns are how the hell to actually get it to the venue. There are times when using a Mac causes problems. I don't have a laptop, so it will be burn it to a CD and stick it online and hope for the best...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Best and most fun news STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/19/2002 10:49:43 AM ----- BODY:

Best and most fun news of the day is that friend and colleague James Cronin, one of the people responsible for faxyourmp.com was on television last night, being eighteen different types of government-ass-kicking-cool. You can watch him rule the world if you've got realplayer.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The first version of the STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/19/2002 11:26:56 AM ----- BODY:

The first version of the presentation I gave yesterday is now online. Titled "Building new communities - Learning from Weblogs", it's about "How weblogs straddle personal and social spaces and the potential implications for developing new communities". You can download the PowerPoint file here: Learning_from_Weblogs_final.ppt.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: It's quite difficult for me STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/19/2002 01:40:54 PM ----- BODY:

It's quite difficult for me to know whether or not I'm allowed to link to this page. I guess I should probably ask permission first. But I've sent them the actual text that I'd like to write about them. So hopefully they'll get back to me soon and I can put up all my opinions then....

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Update on the stand.org.uk campaign STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/19/2002 01:56:14 PM ----- BODY:

Update on the stand.org.uk campaign to stop firemen rifling through your phone logs... they've only gone and given in already!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Exciting kind-of semantic web news STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/20/2002 12:46:43 PM ----- BODY:

Exciting kind-of semantic web news of the day comes from Sifry's Alerts [via boingboing.net], who have found a way through SOAP to add related Google articles to the end of any Movable Type weblog post. Find out more.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Stage one: The astonishingly cool STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/20/2002 12:53:09 PM ----- BODY:

Stage one: The astonishingly cool UKBloggers Tube Map (which I maintain is unfinished). Stage two: The Ikea Game (which I maintain is unfeasibly cool). Stage three: Profit? We all love Cal. Particularly me. I think I love him most of all.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: [INSERT] Massive post lost by STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/20/2002 01:23:31 PM ----- BODY:

[INSERT] Massive post lost by Blogger Pro about the costs of running a community. [/INSERT]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: One month from my thirtieth STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/20/2002 02:21:12 PM ----- BODY:

One month from my thirtieth birthday and finally the preparations begin...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: So Davo has arrived in STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/20/2002 04:23:06 PM ----- BODY:

So Davo has arrived in Sparkyland and is now being looked after. Davo will be much missed. He was in London for a few days - just passing through you understand - and we all went out for a huge Chinese meal and then turned up late to a pub quiz at London's unfashionable Retro Bar. Later in the evening back at my place, he and I and our mystery guest for the evening talk about crap and giggle at badly made soft-porn before fitfully falling asleep. Poor old Davo looked knackered. I hope Sparky looks after him, otherwise they'll be trouble...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Via Obscure Store: Man who STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/21/2002 10:55:10 AM ----- BODY:

Via Obscure Store: Man who had bottomite sex with Llama gets three years in prison: "A weeping Brandon R. Eldred pleaded with a judge for leniency, saying he should be sentenced lightly for his crimes because he was remorseful, had found religion and had changed his ways."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Not caring about football is STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/21/2002 11:12:07 AM ----- BODY:

Not caring about football is a mixed blessing. England go out of the World Cup and of course it's still disappointing because so many people you know do care about it, and you want them to be happy. So you have to try and identify with their pain anyway. Certainly you're not allowed to smile while walking through London. You're supposed to look miserable, or at least kind of flat. Everyone looks at you. Remind yourself - everyone else is kind of depressed. And you're very definitely not allowed to be secretly relieved that the world won't completely stop so that everyone can watch football every two or three days...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Thanks to Haddock for pointing STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/23/2002 10:45:18 AM ----- BODY:

Thanks to Haddock for pointing me in the direction of this one. Surely someone had to have been aware that there was something vaguely entertaining about calling an association of Plastic Surgeons "baps.co.uk"?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Mobile phones embedded in teeth, STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/23/2002 11:11:28 AM ----- BODY:

Mobile phones embedded in teeth, with tiny speakers transmitting the noise up the jaw-bone into the ear? It's not a particularly new idea, but it's quite an attractive one - and there's a model of what one might look like at the Science Museum in London at the moment.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On Cherry Coke... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/23/2002 06:53:14 PM ----- BODY:

My startling relevation of the day is that if you cut two cherries in half and place them with some ice at the bottom of a glass and pour Coke over the top, then you get a drink that's remarkably like Cherry Coke - except a bit nicer. This has surprised me because I always assumed that Cherry Coke had almost nothing to do with either cherries or Coke.

Perhaps terrifyingly, there is a hell of a lot of information about Cherry Coke on today's interhighweb of which I will only reference the highlights or the weirdshit. It turns out that Coca-Cola owns half of the world's soft drink market and spends $1.6 billion on advertising - which makes it the world's number six advertiser [link]. In 1913 another company was making a mint cola drink but noticed later on that people were becoming interested in the idea of cherry soda fountain beverages [link]. Although CherryCokeWorld has been taken down (at the request of the Coca-Cola company), you can actually still get into it by skipping directly to one of it's internal pages. Which are - I must confess - weird and alarming. There are other weird cola sites too. Final fact: while Mo Morgan loves Cola-Cola, Cherry Coke makes him want to barf.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Buffy sings for me STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/24/2002 10:31:01 PM ----- BODY:

I must have watched the Buffy musical episode a hundred times. It's funny, it's well paced. There's a lot there to enjoy. I even downloaded the songs and stuck them on my iPod. Which was nice. Now I can wander down the streets singing to myself - completely ignoring the ridicule of my peers and passers-by.

But increasingly I've become fascinated by two very specific songs on it. The first main song about Going through the Motions and one at the end - Walk Through The Fire.

I couldn't be more cheesy if I tried - and often I try to be cheesy because it's kind of amusing - but it's horrific how much I find myself identifying with the hackneyed sentiments and overblown clichés within each of these two songs. It's like after a year of continual panic about money, ongoing tensions have been draining from my body. My life is getting better. But as it does so, I'm looking around at what's left around me, and frankly I'm not overly impressed. So much of what I like about myself - the fire, the passion - has been beaten down by the last couple of years, and it's difficult to see how much impact that stuff has until you're given enough space to take stock and look around.

How can I be exhausted at four? How can I be at home wide-awake at two in the morning, bored out of my mind? Where did the energy go? Why do I feel so disconnected from the ambitions and lives of the people around me who should be my peers... Where's the thing I get to sing about? How do I get it back?

   I touch the fire
   And it freezes me
   I look into it
   And it's black
   Why can't I feel?
   My skin should crack and peel.
   I want the fire back.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Consumer Products... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/24/2002 10:34:45 PM ----- BODY:

The temptation to find my mojo in consumer products is almost overwhelming, but I maintain that I will not have my whelm bastions occupied by soliders of Digital Ixusdom. No Sir...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Warchalking STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/25/2002 08:39:24 AM ----- BODY:

Finally a good idea from Matt Jones - possibly inspired by the recent Doc Searls / Ben Hammersley meet - warchalking. Bluntly put, a set a simple symbols that you can draw as graffiti wherever you find a wireless network - thus making your fellow bandwidth hobos very very happy.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Dream Diary... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/25/2002 11:24:38 AM ----- BODY:

So the other day I was talking to Matt Webb while having some kind of minor panic attack after seeing someone wearing a suit at UpMyStreet.com. That wouldn't normally worry me, except since I was about to sign a contract for the job I've taken with them that I start in two weeks time. An hour after this conversation, Stef would be pouring vodka down my throat. It's complicated. Bear with me.

Anyway - we backtrack now to the conversation with Matt and he's showing me a site where this guy draws people's dreams and I'm vaguely remembering that I wrote about a dream including characters from Dawson's Creek at some point in the past, and so I did a search for it, and found it today and weirdly it actually even features Matt himself. Which is odd. And I still don't know what it means...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I'm going deeper underground STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/25/2002 11:31:02 AM ----- BODY:

I really don't know whether I should be linking to this, but part of me feels that hidden things should be brought to the surface after a while when they no longer have the capacity to hurt anyone, rather than remain hidden interminably. So I'm presenting Cal's completely unauthorised Subterranean Journal of Tom Coates - every post that I've made in the comments of plasticbag.org for the last couple of years. It's a hell of a lot more savage than plasticbag.org normally is. And probably much more entertaining because of it... Be warned: Your sites are not safe! It's the day the comments tags rose from the dead...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Upside Porn... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/25/2002 12:19:23 PM ----- BODY:

The web's a weird place. No one's going to deny that, I'm sure. But normally you can count on UpsideClown to provide classy and intelligent (if often incomprehensible) writing. But not today... Oh no... Today it's Football Slash Shower Fanfic day apparently. I feel dirty and corrupt and used and ... vaguely horny. God how depressing. Eurgh.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Essential Blogging... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/25/2002 12:44:06 PM ----- BODY:

I'm not the first person to have noticed that there's a kind of irony about the cover of Essential Blogging being covered in cats. But I can't remember who the other person was. Meanwhile thanks to emptybottle.org for the kind comments about Learning from Weblogs [2.8Mb].

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Metalinker reminder... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/26/2002 12:36:03 PM ----- BODY:

For those of you still wondering why I haven't got metalinker running on plasticbag.org, it's because of a bug in Mac IE5 that causes the browser to quit if a window is closed that contained a metalinker-enabled site. Since I am primarily a Mac-user and since I've often got plasticbag.org open in a window - this has caused me substantial problems over a reasonable amount of time...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Warchalking II STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/26/2002 12:39:50 PM ----- BODY:

News: Warchalking hits the Daypop #1 spot.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Song of the day... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/26/2002 01:35:14 PM ----- BODY:

Subterranean Song Archive: Song of the day today is Things have Changed, by Bob Dylan. The lyrics are inordinately morbid, but there's something about the presentation that appeals to me - it's kind of jaunty. Which is nice.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Coming up for air? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/26/2002 04:15:48 PM ----- BODY:

So I had a bit of a difficult evening last night, and so when I work up on my sofa at two-thirty in the morning, I pretty much figured that I'd be a bit the worse for wear this morning. But when I heard the call to prayer from my neighbours bedroom through the connecting wall at six-thirty in the morning, I seriously thought I'd go insane. Unable to sleep again, I showered and slumped in front of the TV to pass the time. Except that forty minutes after slumping, I noticed that time had passed two hours and forty minutes. At this point I realised that my watch had stopped during the night and that I was already twenty minutes late for work. When I finally arrived I plugged myself into some music and have barely surfaced all day...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Warchalking III... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/26/2002 09:20:21 PM ----- BODY:

It's all the web can talk about today, and rightly so: Yahoo News on Warchalking.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Damn you BBC firewall! STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/27/2002 10:01:54 AM ----- BODY:

I decided on Jason's advice to install Kung Tunes - a little app that allows you to upload a file to your server while you are listening to iTunes, so you can tell the world what you're listening to at that very moment. Except of course I can't get it to work through the BBC's firewalls.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On resolve on the face of unlikely allies... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/27/2002 10:23:26 AM ----- BODY:

In a motion that was originally inspired by the tact-free B3ta Hate-figure challenge but has since turned into something else entirely, I've been wandering around looking at period anti-Hitler propaganda. There's one image that particularly stunned me - Russia, the UK and the US united against Hitler. It's a weirdly frightening poster, particularly because of the total resolve on the faces of the unlikely allies.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Jon Pertwee Aerobics STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/27/2002 02:32:43 PM ----- BODY:

I've tried many forms of exercise in my short, sexy life - but my favourite by far is Jon Pertwee Aerobics. Simply download the 'throwing shapes' screensaver from bbc.co.uk/doctorwho, install as appropriate, and then mimic the movements of the Dancing Doctor- ideally to something like Dolly Parton's '9 to 5'.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The Filth are back STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/27/2002 04:41:27 PM ----- BODY:

Grant Morrison's new project, The Filth looks like it's kicking into gear much faster than most of his work. The new previews over at PopCultureShock reveal that it's a book about the people that 'wipe the arse of the world'.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Burning Man STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/27/2002 04:43:38 PM ----- BODY:

So I've got my thirtieth birthday in less than a month and I was planning to go to San Francisco with Davo about now, but I ran out of money at exactly the wrong time, so that didn't happen. But now some people I know are talking about Burning Man - which frankly I'd love to go to... But the money, oh the money... Everything's so confusing and expensive...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Playing games with communities... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/27/2002 05:04:35 PM ----- BODY:

There's a huge and fascinating article by Derek Powazek over on DesignForCommunity.com at the moment that I really want to respond to, but feel that I probably shouldn't until 1) Cal and I have finished Barbelith and 2) I've had more time to digest it thoroughly. In the meantime, why not discuss the article?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: You're shit in bed STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/27/2002 10:27:55 PM ----- BODY:

Sometime in the last few weeks, someone did a search on this site for you're shit in bed, which I would like to say narrows it down a bit, but can't.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: BTOpenworld suck ass STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/28/2002 09:16:45 PM ----- BODY:

So I got an e-mail from my ISP today - and boy are they stroppy with me. Apparently on some recent weekends, I've been connected to the internet for twelve hours in a day. Apparently I have to learn how to "use the internet more effectively" or they'll cut me off. I hate them.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Warchalking is so over... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/28/2002 09:59:12 PM ----- BODY:

I can't believe my life has come to this - bragging about knowing Matt Jones to my own goddam cult. I feel all mucky and corrupt. Ah - and I see the backlash has begun. Soon all the world will move at the speed of blog...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Without the aid of Kung-Tunes STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/28/2002 10:50:05 PM ----- BODY:

Without the aid of Kung-Tunes you would not have known that

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Parties are cool STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/30/2002 02:37:15 AM ----- BODY:

Just been to a big gay party. Am drunk. Nice people were there. Was taken by particularly nice person. A couple of people hit on me and everyone else was thinking about it, I reckon. Am golden god. Am also drunk. Lewisham is weird. Huge positive vibes to everyone at said party. Particularly James for taking me to said party. And to Dan and Tony, who I'll probably never meet again.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Hairytongue.com STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/30/2002 11:55:42 AM ----- BODY:

This morning's gentle hang-over has been eased by a lie-in and an ice-cold coke. But more serious hangover sufferers this morning should consider the cures at hairytongue.com - particular favourites include placing ice-packs on your nipples, listen to pounding music and then running to the loo for a number two, giving your grandfather crack and then eating him, and eating a microwaved melange of rice krispies, milk, cheese and chilli powder...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: America - one godless nation... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/30/2002 04:17:58 PM ----- BODY:

Over at Slate at the moment is a fascinating article about The Pledge of Allegiance: In fact, the founders opposed the institutionalization of religion. They kept the Constitution free of references to God. The document mentions religion only to guarantee that godly belief would never be used as a qualification for holding office�a departure from many existing state constitutions. That the founders made erecting a church-state wall their first priority when they added the Bill of Rights to the Constitution reveals the importance they placed on maintaining what Isaac Kramnick and R. Laurence Moore have called a "godless Constitution."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: In which Rosemary Clooney dies... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/30/2002 04:33:14 PM ----- BODY:

After I went to Los Angeles for the first time, Kerry - my West Coast correspondent - sent me a tape of songs to listen to. It was a really odd selection of tunes - but most of them I'm still listening to. One song has spread like wildfire - wherever I play it people want to know wht it is - people at work even hum it now whenever it comes on. The song is 'Mambo Italiano' by Rosemary Clooney, who died on Saturday aged 74.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On getting broadband... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/30/2002 04:56:35 PM ----- BODY:

Stage One: Yesterday I rang up BTOpenworld - who are cross with me because I use the internet improperly. My plan? Get broadband ADSL. Then no one shouts at me any more. Plus I get to do big downloady things. Except there's a hell of a lot of people telling me that it's trickier than it looks... More information as I have it...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Why aren't we all superheroes? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/30/2002 11:28:14 PM ----- BODY:

Inspired by a recent viewing of Unbreakable and a really frustrating e-mail exchange in which intention and meaning passed like ships in the night comes a complaining rant from the pen of your author: "I thought this bright new future was supposed to be one where we were all super-heroes. I don't want to be a side-kick. I've never wanted to be a side-kick - I've spent most of my adult life trying to prove I'm good enough to be a super-hero of my own! If the choice is side-kick or super-villian, I know which road I'd take... At least people take super-villains seriously..."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On the Faculty of the Invisible College... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 06/30/2002 11:52:51 PM ----- BODY:

Anyone interested in the kind of people who hang around on Barbelith should investigate Barbeblogs immediately... There's a lot of good stuff out there...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Staking a stick at Matt Jones... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/01/2002 01:50:58 PM ----- BODY:

More Matt Jones than you could shake a stick at this morning. The most important article being over at the BBC's dot.life section. I've heard that the eyebrows follow you wherever you go. Even to the loo. So be wary. I'll say no more. Slightly less hi-tech and slightly less high-impact is the cartoon over at joyoftech.com which is annoyingly hard to permalink to.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Self-perpetuating linkwankery part 10450... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/01/2002 02:05:32 PM ----- BODY:

Observant plasticbag fans will probably have noticed the "How did they get here" box at the bottom of the page - a cunning piece of kit supplied by Stephen's Web. Concept in a nutshell - publically available referrer log - how did people get to this dumb site anyway - that kind of thing...

Now the interesting part of this whole palaver comes when you have a couple of people both using the system. Let's say - for example - that 0 fresh decided to use it. And let's say - for some unknown reason - that person decided to come to plasticbag.org twice. Suddenly it's on my referrers log. Which means it shows up in the little box at the bottom of the page. Which means that people click on it and go back through to him. Which makes his little box record a referral from me. Which means that the relationship between our two sites starts to become stronger and clearer. People note that plasticbag.org sent twenty-five people to 0 fresh and so come to the site expecting me to have said something. And of course I haven't. But then people reading plasticbag.org see that five or six people have been referred from 0 fresh. So they go to see what all the fuss is about. This relationship is like a link in the mind that gets stronger the more that it is used - but it's a link between Stalin and Anusol. Or any two random things that aren't really connected at all.

So what am I saying? Is the tool useless? No! Is it particularly useful - well it could be, particularly when there actually were people using it to keep track of explicit references to each other. But in the meantime it could be exploited by anyone linking to any site - as long as they both use the system. Suddenly, there are links that last days without the slightest reason, without the slightest connection. At times like that you have to take control - and that's what I've done. No one's squeezing traffic out of me without me linking to them. But since I can't stop them getting the traffic - I'm just going to have to bite the bullet and sanction it. Hence yet another bloody link to 0 fresh.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Speaking of Anusol, You never thought of mine.... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/01/2002 02:14:46 PM ----- BODY:

Speaking of Anusol (and Stalin), I was surprised to discover today that the Piles Advisory Bureau is sponsored by the zinc-filled butt cream. And more surprised still to see that the PAB is currently running a competition to win a Spa visit or a personal CD player... Go figure...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: How to spot a Highwayman... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/02/2002 01:53:57 PM ----- BODY:

He is a dandy highwayman? Or maybe he's a New Romantic throw-back? Or maybe he's a bit of gay homosexual? How do you spot a highwayman?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The BBC needs Freaky Babies! STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/03/2002 02:00:03 PM ----- BODY:

It may be hard to believe, but this morning at work I was asked to produce this picture of a freaky baby for a very important BBC event. Turns out they won't need it after all. Which is a relief. But all that work - I couldn't let it all be wasted...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Bartificial Additives! STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/03/2002 08:24:58 PM ----- BODY:

It's all shiny and new and designed just for you - Barty Trabaca has remodelled his online pied-a-terre in a contemporary apple green and powder blue combination with some experimental avante-garde typography and a stunningly apropros Mac OSX Aqua style inverted heart motif. Bravissima, Barty... Bravissima...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On launching new projects STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/03/2002 09:09:51 PM ----- BODY:

Is there anything more stressful in New Media life than launch dates? I've been at the BBC three and a half months and Friday will be my last day working with Greg Dyke's Making it Happen project. During my time with the project I have reorganised and redesigned a static version of their intranet site, developed (with Matt Biddulph) an internal, web-interfaced ideas management system for handling all the ideas about transforming the BBC that come into Making it Happen, and hopefully tomorrow the discussion and community site that I've developed with help from Cal, Denise and current site-editor Andrea Dashfield, will launch. Assuming of course that it's finished. Hopefully we'll get it all polished off before Thursday evening, so there can be one day of functional live excitement before I head off to another new job at Upmystreet.com. Not a lot in the way of rest at the moment...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On Boremongering... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/04/2002 10:44:12 AM ----- BODY:

Word of the day: Boremonger - being someone who in defiance of international treaties commits crimes against humanity of the order of resolutely producing offensively boring content designed to pulp the higher faculties of the brain.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Passed over by the Guardian... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/04/2002 11:57:23 PM ----- BODY:

Bloody Guardian Unlimited. Unlimited my arse. Limited. Limited in linkybloglove for yours truly. Link to every other bloody weblogger in the universe why don't you. Don't worry about me. It's not that I'm a dirty link slut. Oh no. But really... PS. Congratulations to much-loved young up-and-comer Simon Minor 9th for being mentioned first!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On the end of a tiny era... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/05/2002 12:05:05 AM ----- BODY:

It occurs to me that the job at the BBC that I've just finished might very well have been the most satisfying working experience of my life to date.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Google Link mapping application... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/05/2002 12:42:01 PM ----- BODY:

I think I'm in love with the Google Link Browser. It's particularly good fun when you're playing with weblogs.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: My boss's son has a website... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/05/2002 08:36:49 PM ----- BODY:

I found a neat little site this evening, with a few elegant little touches - become looks rather unassuming, but contains a full version of Connect 4, Pong, a rather elegant font called Feynman, and my favourite feature - the photo gallery that resizes the window to the size of each photo displayed... And the best thing is that I can't tell you how I found the site...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Buffy vs. Osama Bin Laden... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/06/2002 09:08:43 AM ----- BODY:

So it's Buffy vs Osama Bin Laden - Round one, Ding Ding! Metaquoting from Metafilter: "Any structured intellectual approach to describing this situation � and planning for it � is so uncertain that a valid structure can only be developed as an exercise in complexity or "chaos" theory. I, however, would like you to think about the biological threat in more mundane terms. I am going to suggest that you think about biological warfare in terms of a TV show called "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," that you think about the world of biological weapons in terms of the "Buffy Paradigm," and that you think about many of the problems in the proposed solutions as part of the "Buffy Syndrome." [via prol's linkmatic ubermind]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Weird irritating Blog top 30... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/06/2002 09:11:45 AM ----- BODY:

Another annoying top list of UK weblogging: Which UK weblogs are the most popular Internet destinations?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Saying farewell to Captain Fez... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/07/2002 12:54:36 PM ----- BODY:

Yesterday was a bit overwhelming. I went for dim sum to say goodbye to Luke, met l o a d s of g e ee ks in Soho Square, went shopping with Cal and a guy called Paul, returned to Luke in the pub where thousands of webloggers and Barbelites mingled, then Cal and I went to see Scooby Doo which we entirely loved, then it was back to the pub again for a few hours, before a trip for Cornish Pasties with Drunken Matt and Darren before returning to the pub again. So I'm quite tired today. I'm still digesting it all. You will never hear me speak of it again. Farewell Luke! And hello to Prol who was with us in spirit.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Introducing Whorechalking... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/07/2002 01:54:10 PM ----- BODY:

First there was war-dialing - where brute force was used to ring hundreds upon hundreds of phone numbers in the hope that one of them would give you access to a computer network. Then came war-driving - where geeks drove around with wifi enabled laptops looking for unsecured wireless networks. And then came Warchalking, where people could mark up in a symbolic language what wireless networks they had find. And by way of a natural process of development, we come to the zenith of all such enterprises - cutting the very heart of the human condition - catering for the most basic of base needs. Introducing: Whorechalking!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On starting at UMS... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/08/2002 10:36:36 AM ----- BODY:

I feel sick.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On Lucky Star - advert, not movie... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/08/2002 12:01:09 PM ----- BODY:

It purports to be a film trailer. But the film isn't on Benecio Del Toro's entry on IMDB. It has a funky website, but it looks like a car advert. It's directed by Michael Mann, corporate-hunting director of The Insider, and yet it's actually a fucking advert for Mercedes Benz [more].

It can't just be me that thinks this is really immoral, can it? I mean - surely it's false advertising for a start? There is no product of that name. In fact it's purely designed to make people believe it's a movie and fool people into associating the car with it. It's designed to mislead. Surely that's appalling? That can't be right?

PS - is this the kind of thing you associate with cool, decent, well-meaning, non-exploitative, intelligent happy brands - or is it in fact utterly duplicitous and foul?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Party in the Park 2... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/08/2002 12:18:40 PM ----- BODY:

Weblog Party in the Park head-and-shoulder shots confirm that I am no longer the slimmest, nor the prettiest British weblogger. Sigh. Life is cruel.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Scissors, Paper, Stone... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/08/2002 03:48:34 PM ----- BODY:

Long standing assumption: In the game of 'scissors, paper, stone' unless informed of the tendency of men to choose scissors on their first attempt, most men will tend towards choosing scissors on their first attempt. Scissors having psychological attractions for men, apparently, that are above those of paper and stone - considered perhaps passive or weak materials. Research on paper, scissors, stone: The First International RoShamBo Programming Competition [via Boing Boing]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: A history of the ancient world... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/09/2002 03:30:13 PM ----- BODY:

So I was in Borders today, kind of looking for some kind of decent contemporary history of the Ancient World, because for some reason I never really managed to fit together some of the periods that I studied when I was more academically inclined, and it occurred to me that it might be nice to be able to answer some of the damn questions people ask me about (particularly) Roman civilisation. But they didn't have anything, so I left empty-handed...

... only to arrive back at my gorgeous computer to be confronted with the weblog of Julius Caesar - so entirely a great idea and so entirely an entertaining and well-designed site...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On Blogchalking... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/09/2002 11:20:47 PM ----- BODY:

What the hell is wrong with you people? Whorechalking is way funnier and more useful than fucking blogchalking.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: New York Mac Orgy... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/11/2002 12:01:11 PM ----- BODY:

It must be the coolest Mac party of recent memory - the free-for-all Lapdance (to be held next Thursday in New York). Sponsorted by Wired, it will take place at Remote Lounge, a "digital entertainment lounge" in the East Village. I'm so jealous I could vomit.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Upmystreet STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/11/2002 03:03:35 PM ----- BODY:

So I'm approaching the end of my first week at upmystreet.com and so far I've mostly experienced a substantial degree of culture shock. It's so quiet here. The main noise is far-away typing and air conditioning. My normal exuberant wit feels very out of place here. There's almost no opportunities for loud disco dancing at all. And no blonde girl to wave at from an upstairs balcony...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: 30 days to a more accessible weblog STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/11/2002 03:44:54 PM ----- BODY:

Yet again, I'm probably the last person in the world to have noticed this - but Haughey has found a profoundly useful and important site that tells you How to make your weblog (and by extension your website) more accessible.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The web is over STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/12/2002 04:01:53 PM ----- BODY:

If you've ever read upsideclown.com, then the only thing you need to know is tha the web is over - print is back.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Dreams STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/13/2002 09:05:12 AM ----- BODY:

Ok so I just had a dream that I was on a bus and I saw an huge poster on a bus stop which was blue and the name of a friend at the top with a picture of the friend kind of reclining at the bottom. I remember being suprised and remarking to the man on the bus with me that I knew the guy in the picture. I got a bit of a glare back. I guess he wasn't very impressed. Weirdly this part of the dream was way more interesting that the bit where I had sex with Tom Cruise on a big bed on the ground floor of Selfridges.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: In the midst of cameras... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/13/2002 09:39:09 AM ----- BODY:

In an important defence against the erosions of privacy and the introductions of a surveillance culture - as well as in an acceptance of the gradual erosion of copyright - we acknowledge Hacktivismo who are shortly to announce a new protocol for anonymous, secure, private file-sharing.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Broadband STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/13/2002 09:46:32 AM ----- BODY:

I'm supposed to get my broadband today. Fast interhighweb access 24/7 from my very own living room. Will anything in the world ever be safe from my rampaging eye? Will I now be able to download all those huge OSX updates without being cut-off after half-an-hour? Only time will tell.

Updates: Broadband rocks. Am thoroughly enjoying it. I can now tell the world that the yet-another-sequel to Halloween looks really bad.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Birthday STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/13/2002 09:52:17 AM ----- BODY:

So I was having a conversation with Matt Webb about my upcoming birthday when I will be thirty years old, and I said to him, "How do you think I can mention my birthday and link to my wishlist without seeming really cheap and mercenary?" And he said, "Since when did that stop you?" And you know what...? He was right...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Spiderman won't make you gay STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/13/2002 10:39:06 AM ----- BODY:

What the hell is it about the world that makes the word 'gay' so intrinsically funny to people? Currently doing the rounds: Spiderman will make you gay. I've got very very mixed feelings about this. I don't think it's overtly homophobic, but then I'm pretty comfortable with being a poof. The more I look at it, the more I think that it's the kind of thing that drives young teenage poofs further into the closet, prolonging years of misery and giving kids at school yet another way to be vile to each other. What do you think?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Your password's too short STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/14/2002 12:22:59 AM ----- BODY:

Without Haddock I would never have stumbled up this one: Your Password Must Be at Least 18770 Characters and Cannot Repeat Any of Your Previous 30689 Passwords . [via James]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Dodgy people in the world STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/14/2002 12:53:52 AM ----- BODY:

There are some dodgy people in the world, with an exciting range of sexual interests that are more or less unfathomable to me. And then I'm sure that there are some things that get me off that probably would seem like the actions of a Martian to many other people. And then there are very very weird people. Warning: Less funny than excruciatingly gross!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Amazon Recommends.... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/14/2002 08:40:28 PM ----- BODY:

I don't have gay spending habits. This is the only assumption that I can come to. After going diligently through all of Amazon.co.uk and adding and rating all the things that I own, the DVD recommendations page for 'Erotica' shamelessly tells me that I need a DVD which will explain how I could better pleasure a woman. In my experience pleasuring a woman actually isn't that hard - a Selfridges voucher normally works quite well. It's quite satisfying to see videos called The Lover's Guide - What Women Want and click firmly on the little button underneath that reads 'not interested'!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: More fun with Amazon... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/14/2002 08:57:34 PM ----- BODY:

So there's this new feature on Amazon.co.uk where you can buy two things together that are apparently connected for a slightly lower price. It's a really neat little feature that tries to determine what kind of things would interest you and encourages you to buy them together. Except it's a little too good at it's job I fear - buy "An erotic love story packed with stunning young men - for the gay man" and Amazon thinks very carefully about your interests and preferences and promptly spits out Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Too wonderful... What a combination... I wonder if his parents know...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: One final word on Amazon... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/14/2002 09:40:21 PM ----- BODY:

Issues of sexuality aside, it occurs to me that there are a variety of things that it would make a hell of a lot of sense if Amazon knew about you in order to better suggest products. The easiest example? Mac vs PC. Why don't they just ask me? It would make things so much easier.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I was a teenage twenty-something... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/14/2002 09:56:07 PM ----- BODY:

So if I was going to be writing an autobiography anytime soon I think I'd call it I was a teenage twenty-something. I've come increasingly aware that I'm an awful adult. I'm just useless at it. When I meet people I think are sexy and interesting and fun I become a relentless teenager - my voice bounces up two octaves, I say dumb dumb things (if I can think of anything at all to say) and I immediately forget all the things that I'm proud of that I've accomplished and instead concentrate on how incredible and astonishing the other person is. You're supposed to get over this stuff when you're fifteen or something...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The Thirtieth Birthday Project STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: __default__ ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/14/2002 11:07:37 PM ----- BODY: BEFORE WE EVEN START: Buy me a bloody birthday present already! On the 19th of July 2002, I will be thirty years old. But with only a few days to go I find myself confused about it. It's a milestone, clearly - but a milestone of what? Does you life change - or is it going to end up being exactly the same - just moreso? What should I expect from it? What should anyone expect from it? So what I'm suggesting is this... Rather than me writing a whole piece about the experience - why not open it up to everyone? Why not get everyone of you who has turned thirty to post their stories? Why not get everyone of you who knows a good site or joke or piece of information post it for all of us to see? Then in the years to come (!) other people who are completely bloody freaked out about the whole thing can have all this wonderful stuff to make them feel better or worse... ----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: Rather than me writing a whole piece about the experience - why not open it up to everyone? Why not get everyone of you who has turned thirty to post their stories? Why not get everyone of you who knows a good site or joke or piece of information post it for all of us to see? ----- KEYWORDS: ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Coates EMAIL: tom@plasticbag.org IP: 217.40.232.111 URL: http://www.plasticbag.org DATE: 07/15/2002 01:32:04 AM To start things off - here is a picture of a man who has just turned thirty... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Ian EMAIL: iana2@mac.com IP: 203.134.44.133 URL: DATE: 07/15/2002 02:12:38 AM Well the pic's interesting, because if you were counting the silly years in the mode chinoise, you'd ALREADY be thirty (remember womb time?) So dearest, what you can glean from this is just how little it all matters. Relativity will get you in the end. Go out and get laid for chrissakes ;-P ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: teddy EMAIL: teddy @handbag.com IP: 213.1.45.2 URL: DATE: 07/15/2002 02:14:33 AM "If you haven't turned rebel by twenty you've got no heart; if you haven't turned establishment by thirty you've got no brains!" (Kevin Spacey) 'A poet more than thirty years old is simply an overgrown child.' H.L. Mencken ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: dave EMAIL: djanka@mindspring.com IP: 216.175.115.67 URL: DATE: 07/15/2002 05:55:20 AM Thirty�qthe promise of a decade of loneliness, a thinning list of single men to know, a thinning brief-case of enthusiasm, thinning hair. -- narrator Nick Carraway in The Great Gatsby, ch. 7 Actually it's not that bad at all. It's like Christmas in a way: the drama is all in the build up, while the actual event isn't that big of a deal. And so far, my 30s have proven to be infinitely better than my 20s. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: mike EMAIL: mikejla@btinternet.com IP: 195.102.146.4 URL: http://troubled-diva.blogspot.com DATE: 07/15/2002 10:55:10 AM My twenties were, in many ways, aspirational. I was still trying to construct the person I thought I wanted to be. Turning thirty, I abandoned the faux maturity and started acting like I damned well pleased. This was very liberating. I wouldn't go back. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: g r e g EMAIL: at0mized@earthlink.net IP: 65.179.201.166 URL: http://www.atomized.blogspot.com DATE: 07/15/2002 12:55:16 PM What the last guy said! As a symbolic threshold, it's a perfect opportunity to shed undesirable elements from your life and get on with it as you always meant to. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Vaughan EMAIL: vaughan@whereveryouare.org IP: 132.185.132.13 URL: http://www.whereveryouare.org/ DATE: 07/15/2002 03:46:30 PM The main thing I learned about turning thirty was to avoid bookshops. Bookshops. Avoid. Do not go to bookshops. Do not step inside bookshops. The reason? Well, the books, frankly. Specifically, the 3 for 2 sales. Browse through these particular piles of novels, and you will see title upon title of thirtysomething trash. I don't need to list the authors, because we all know them. These books are uniformly depressing - mostly because they feature people having supposedly crap post-thirty lives - but they're not! You read them and end up thinking, "Hey, cool life! Wish mine was like that!" And then you get drunk on very cheap vodka. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Buni EMAIL: stuart.unitt@ntlworld.com IP: 62.254.0.7 URL: http://www.bunitt.blogspot.com DATE: 07/15/2002 04:45:06 PM You can ask any one of my friends what I was like in the build up to last 4th May, my 30th b/day. I was saying more often than not that I was really looking forward to my thirties, that everything I had worked hard for during my twenties would make for an excellent foundation for everything I wanted to do in my thirties. Now that I've been 30 for a couple of months, I can see personal changes occurring very gradually. I am shedding youthful pursuits that don't mean that much to me anymore. Related to that, I've even shed a couple of people whom I found myself normatively moving away from as we no longer have so much in common. I'm enjoying myself, basically doing things that I want to do, defining who I am and will be for the next decade. Good luck, Buni ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Derek M. Powazek EMAIL: dmp@fray.com IP: 64.174.47.196 URL: http://powazek.com DATE: 07/15/2002 05:59:39 PM Here's a vintage {fray} story that may be of use: the big three-oh. There are quite a few posts to keep you busy, too.... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: matthew EMAIL: bliss322@yahoo.com IP: 205.152.57.135 URL: DATE: 07/15/2002 07:35:48 PM two good things about turning 30: 1. you get to go through the spanking machine - a gauntlet-esque celebration where you crawl under everyone's legs (they're in a line) while they paddle the shit out of your bottom -- whooo big fun 2. noone can tell you "no" during the entire year (rolling calendar). I made this rule up myself, but i've insisted that my friends stick to it and so far it's working out, mainly because they're all younger and will be expecting to get their respective 'year of whiny demands' as well. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: chela EMAIL: chelablog@hotmail.com IP: 154.5.231.219 URL: http://chela.blogspot.com/ DATE: 07/15/2002 11:56:24 PM Celebrate it, man. When I turned 30 I threw myself a salon evening, and made my friends come and sing or recite or perform in some other way. They were all terrible, but I was impressed that they even tried. I performed too, and was possibly the worst of the lot, but dammit, I took the risk. Your thirties are about finally becoming the person you've always thought you could be but were afraid to reveal to your friends and family. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Pete EMAIL: pete@bugpowder.com IP: 217.41.7.225 URL: http://peteashton.com DATE: 07/16/2002 01:29:28 AM Turning 30 two months after you (sept 19). Just split up with my girlfriend this weekend and about to move out of our flat. My job's getting easier by the week and I'm treading water and want to move on. There should be an opportunity to do so soon. I've just realised how many friends I have and how important they are to me, and not in a soppy, mournful way but because I think I've finally realised that I'm actually alive. Bring it on. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: jon EMAIL: jonathan.r.hope@strath.ac.uk IP: 130.159.248.44 URL: DATE: 07/17/2002 02:04:07 PM I'll be 40 in September, and my 30s have been the best decade of my life: more in control; able to pick and choose which fashions and fads to throw myself into without worrying about getting it wrong; the people I've slept with have been more sorted, better at sex, and more fun to talk to before and after; plus my 30th birthday was the best ever - till my 37th (and I hope, my 40th). I could do without the grey pubes and the two-day hangovers mind you... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: lyssa EMAIL: lyssa@bitch.org.uk IP: 195.92.168.167 URL: http://bitch.org.uk DATE: 07/17/2002 02:38:58 PM I turned 30 on Saturday 13th July. Best birthday I've had for a long time. I worried in a vague way about being 30 for a while before, feeling as though I *ought* be to worried about it, more than actually having a reason to worry. This is possibly connected to a relative who, at my 21st birthday ball, intoned in my ear, "Enjoy it while it lasts, because 30 comes awfully fast." Boy was she right - where did my twenties go? Now it's been and gone. Nothing has changed, I still don't have any wrinkles, I still drive too fast, I still swear too much and I'm still single. Rar. Bring on the thirties. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Graybo EMAIL: graybo@grayblog.co.uk IP: 172.181.16.177 URL: http://www.grayblog.co.uk DATE: 07/18/2002 04:25:14 PM You will *feel* more sorted, even if your life may not actually *be* any more sorted. It's a strange sensation, but it works. Quite liberating. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Steven EMAIL: nutcote@nutcote.demon.co.uk IP: 212.228.251.128 URL: http://www.plep.org DATE: 07/18/2002 07:50:12 PM Tom, I turned thirty last month, and took a long trip to New York and San Francisco to celebrate. It was great. It felt more like a coming of age than my 18th or 21st birthdays... One thing I have noticed, which shows itself in several different ways, is to do with feeling more positive and less stressed... more capable, almost. The time leading up to it was a little stressful, in terms of assessing 'how well I'd done' so far... now it's over, it feels good (and so far, better than being a twentysomething). Sorted. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: ian (blogadoon) EMAIL: ian@iansie.com IP: 193.237.236.2 URL: http://www.iansie.com/nonsense/blog.html DATE: 07/19/2002 05:26:15 AM I remember my thirtieth birthday (sorta) I remember my fortieth birthday. And I remember my fiftieth birthday, too. With each one, I moved further away from the urge to stamp my feet, throw myself on the carpet and scream ..."but it's so unfair." And nearer to appreciating that the more living I do, the more I find out about myself and what makes me special. Now I look back on my thirtieth birthday and wonder "just what was I celebrating exactly?" ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: steven EMAIL: nutcote@nutcote.demon.co.uk IP: 195.50.100.20 URL: http://www.plep.org DATE: 07/19/2002 07:18:49 AM Oh yeah, happy birthday. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Pei EMAIL: serein@sic.per.sg IP: 128.243.220.22 URL: DATE: 07/19/2002 12:24:21 PM Happy Three-Oh Birthday Tom. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Jules EMAIL: jmmanno@juno.com IP: 63.169.100.113 URL: http://lotus29.diaryland.com DATE: 07/19/2002 04:55:47 PM I've been 30 for almost a whole year now (31 on July 28th!). The actual birthday had me stressed because I felt like I had wasted the last half of my 20's doing whatever I wanted, with the intent to "someday" be doing something "real." Whilst friends got married and had babies, I was still dating my now husband. It all felt like I had years to go before having to start being a "real grown-up." Then...BANG!...30! It made me wonder what the hell I thought I was doing with my life. As the months after the birthday ticked by the stress lessened, but for the first time I have the sense that if I'm planning to do something, I better start now. I finally (after 7 years) married the boyfriend, but as far as career (not sure) and family (not yet) go, I'm still working on it. So hopefully the advice of some of the older people that posted here, is correct; that your 30's are much better. At least, maybe people will stop treating me like someone right out of Uni that couldn't possibly know what she's talking about. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Joanne EMAIL: joanne@full.co.uk IP: 217.35.163.116 URL: DATE: 07/22/2002 12:25:28 PM 30. Thank god. You don't worry so much, you don't care so much. You don't have to pretend so much or try so hard. You might start looking after your skin a little better and it will probably take you longer to recover from a night in the pub. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Jerwin EMAIL: jerwin@2xy.org IP: 66.185.85.81 URL: http://www.2xy.org DATE: 07/23/2002 01:54:10 AM I turned 30 eight months ago. I'd rather be 20. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Nick EMAIL: nickdock@clara.co.uk IP: 134.146.9.20 URL: http://www.theubiquitoushub.com DATE: 07/29/2002 03:15:03 PM I turned thirty on the 24th of July - I took a pill or two and ended up thinking I was James Brown and danced till dawn. But how does it feel? Give me a few months and i'll let you know ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Lissa EMAIL: Herman_melissa@hotmail.com IP: 199.230.26.129 URL: DATE: 07/29/2002 06:33:37 PM Its when I realised that people who looked really old to me felt more or less the same as they always had inside, and that the same thing had low and behold happened to me. And that maybe I was never going to "arrive" at that grown up life I was expecting, so I may as well stop worrying about trivial stuff and enjoy life. Oh yeah - and if I worry about trivial stuff, that's just me so I don't mind too much. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: tim EMAIL: tc_stephens@hotmail.com IP: 210.48.107.19 URL: DATE: 07/30/2002 03:14:02 AM There's no need to attribute any significance to turning 30 at all if you don't want to. For example, you must have come across one of those terminally pedantic people a couple of years ago who insisted that the new millenium didn't actually start until 2001. Same thing here: you're actually in the last year of your twenties. What's more, with advances in nutrition and medical research in the West, life expectancy is on the whole about 15 years longer than it was a generation ago. So in terms of emotional and personal development, you're entitled to push things out proportionally, which means you've effectively only just turned 23 and a half. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Riley EMAIL: ri_ley@btinternet.com IP: 212.134.36.251 URL: http://www.spittoonsandsabres.com/our_birthday/ DATE: 07/30/2002 01:25:50 PM When I turned 30 I experienced two things which I'd not had before. A birthday cake, infact several, and a birthday party....see URL.... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Sarah Heidt EMAIL: Sarah@SarahHeidtPhotoCraft.com IP: 207.75.181.220 URL: http://www.SarahHeidtPhotoCraft.com DATE: 07/31/2002 07:53:33 AM I'm just 33 and I cannot remember anything about my thirtieth birthday. Not how I celebrated, not what I received, not what I even thought about it. But I had already had my first child by then and all my anxiety about getting responsible and being biologically beside-the-point were taken care of when I became a parent. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: dorian EMAIL: loaf@isness.org IP: 212.111.42.130 URL: http://www.isness.org/dory/ DATE: 07/31/2002 02:01:47 PM I'm thirty. come to my party. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Dolan EMAIL: tom@sparklefluff.com IP: 217.36.3.77 URL: http://www.sparklefluff.com/blatantoptimism DATE: 08/04/2002 03:21:01 PM On the day I turned thirty, I found out my boss (who'd been ill in hospital with something brain-related) was unlikely to be returning, so I needed to take over trying to run things. So in a very real sense I had responsibility thrust upon me on that very day. Which I responded to by getting riotously pissed. I think it's an illusion though - at around late-28, you start turning all that experience into wisdom and become less of a nob. At 30, you kind of know you're still going through that stage and have a bit of room to manouvre. At 32, that's it, you're stuck that way forever. That's when you should have a party with the few friends who are still prepared to tolerate you... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Paul B EMAIL: bakerjp@exchange.lancs.ac.uk IP: 194.80.32.11 URL: DATE: 08/09/2002 02:08:46 PM I was 30 this May. It ended up being a very low-key affair. A couple of friends came around that night, but that was just a co-incidence because it was the only night that was free. We watched Cecil B Demented and had pizza. I wasn't bothered by being 30 at all. I've achieved what I want to achieve in my 20s, but I was starting to feel like I'd overstayed my welcome as a 20-something anyway. I read somewhere that by 30 people's personalities are pretty much stabilised. And I hope that's the key to being 30 - stability. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Shannon EMAIL: athalome@yahoo.com IP: 172.146.193.116 URL: DATE: 08/09/2002 11:04:19 PM I turned 30 on March 26. Mainly I remember crying in the car and being frustrated with myself for not keeping tissue in the car. I remember my father's 30th birthday. He would have had soemthing in his car to wipe his eyes and blow his nose with, not that he would have ever sat in his car crying. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Christian EMAIL: christian_0@hotmail.com IP: 194.203.138.155 URL: DATE: 08/15/2002 10:35:59 AM Turned thirty last Monday. Can't think of anything to say about it at the moment. I'll think of something while I'm on the treadmill at the gym I joined last Tuesday. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: jeanie EMAIL: jeanie@ruby-online.co.uk IP: 212.19.85.146 URL: http://www.ruby-online.co.uk DATE: 08/23/2002 10:44:06 AM I turned 30 on August 8th. I kept looking in the mirror expecting to look or feel dramatically different as people said I would but the same reflection looked back at me. The one thing that I've thought about more, in my 20's I always said I'd have kids when I was 30, now that's here I'm just not sure any more. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Vicky EMAIL: gretcheng@lycos.co.uk IP: 62.7.81.63 URL: DATE: 08/23/2002 07:18:28 PM I went off the rails a bit the year I turned 30, but it was 2000, so I think it was some sort of Millenium-related weirdness. No actually I think it was just a reaction to realising I wasn't where I thought I'd be at 30. So I went a bit mad, drank far too much and eventually came down and sorted my head out. Now I have some direction and know who I am and think your 30's are way better than your angsty 20's. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Fiona EMAIL: fifibella@lycos.com IP: 194.130.252.1 URL: DATE: 08/28/2002 04:08:11 PM When I was 30 I had a huge party and invited everybody I've ever known (about half came). I got so drunk on cocktails that I forgot about being 30 aand had an excellent time. It was so good, I did it this year when Iwas 31. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Crisp EMAIL: jonastep@hotmail.com IP: 61.223.154.211 URL: DATE: 09/02/2002 03:19:12 PM I forgot... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: bobbieeeee EMAIL: bobbiesalthouse@mac.com IP: 138.88.42.136 URL: DATE: 09/10/2002 07:03:11 PM I can't even remember when I turned 30, that's how unimportant it is now. I turned 50 last year and that's pretty mind-boggling. The important thing is to live each day, and not to be bound by arbitary limits such as age and your perceptions of it. Geologically speaking, if you are alive, you are young. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: bobbieeeee EMAIL: bobbiesalthouse@mac.com IP: 138.88.42.136 URL: DATE: 09/10/2002 07:03:58 PM I can't even remember when I turned 30, that's how unimportant it is now. I turned 50 last year and that's pretty mind-boggling. The important thing is to live each day, and not to be bound by arbitary limits such as age and your perceptions of it. Geologically speaking, if you are alive, you are young. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Lori EMAIL: lalexander72@hotmail.com IP: 209.102.103.16 URL: DATE: 09/19/2002 10:42:46 PM HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!! Today's my birthday too (September 19, 1972)! I woke up at midnight and started a mural in my hallway of the story of my life (up until now). It occured to me I have a long life ahead of me and not much wall space. Life is good. And from what all the 30 somethings I know - it only gets better. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: patricia EMAIL: info@lunanina.com IP: 165.121.65.56 URL: http://lunanina.com/musings/ DATE: 01/19/2003 02:23:47 AM In 45 days I'll finally be 30. I've been waiting for this day since I was in my teens. Back then I hated not being taken seriously just because of my age and I wondered at what age I would stop feeling like a child playing at being a grown up. I chose 30 for some reason. I don't expect my 30th year to fix things or for people to magically start treating me differently. I'm just happy that the 14 year old in me finally gets what she's wanted for so long. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Agnes from Marseille EMAIL: aberthoz@hotmail.com IP: 193.117.220.101 URL: DATE: 03/31/2004 09:30:40 AM Well... I am about to turn 30, in 3 days exactly. I have been talking about it for the last 6 months as a great thing I wanted to celebrate like you'd celebrate a great event. However, the closer I was coming to the date, the harder it was for me to become concrete about it, not because I gave up on the idea but I was wondering what exactly I wanted to celebrate. Myself? The achievements of my first three decades? Well, they are not great so far. My life is just as normal as anyone else. After more thoughts, trying to be less morose, and less egocentric I found a reason to celebrate it: My friends and my wonderful boyfriend. I have achieved at 30, love, friendship, trust and consistency. They are so important to me and I don�t know where I would be without them. So that�s what I am going to celebrate with them! ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Heathers for fun and profit... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/15/2002 01:41:11 AM ----- BODY:

Best film of the eighties - Heathers - contains a variety of cool quotes. But the shooting script puts an entirely new spin on some scenes. Worth reading for the sheer number of classic lines...

HEATHER MCNAMARA
Look, heather left behind one of her
Swatches. She'd want you to have it,
Veronica. She always said you couldn't
accessorize for shit.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Whedonesque launches... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/15/2002 11:40:19 AM ----- BODY:

Cool Buffy link of the day comes courtesy of Prol and friends who have been working on Whedonesque for ages now. It's a discussion board of the Metafilter tradition - only concerned with nothing but the products of Joss Whedon - Buffy creator. Good show, people! Good site! And destined to be huge...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Wishlist on Blogdex STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/15/2002 01:14:27 PM ----- BODY:

For some unfathomable reason, my wishlist has suddenly hit #17 on Blogdex despite only having been linked to by me. It occurs to me how much fun it would be to get my wishlist to #1 on Blogdex, plus how much extra loot I'd get for my birthday. Which would be cool. So charge your glasses ladies and gentlemen and link today - ideally using this exact phrase: It's Tom from plasticbag.org's Thirtieth Birthday Wishlist Bonanza! Or some crap like that...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: What's crap about the web... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/15/2002 06:20:10 PM ----- BODY:

You know what's crap about the web? People no longer propogate my memes when they're really shit, just because I tell them to. What's that about? Jeez, people. How often do I have to explain this relationship to you? I write dumb crap up here every day, and you're supposed to do my bidding without question in return. It's not bloody difficult! Shall I write it down for you in capital letters on little bits of paper you can carry with you?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I broke my spork STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/15/2002 11:35:36 PM ----- BODY:

Kind of grumpy this evening. I went to see a really lame film with Cal which was really really funny, but that I got all mournful in the bus on the way home. I think it's cos I broke my plastic spork at lunch-time. Maybe it was like a symbol, like they have in books that chicks like. Or something. One thing cheers me up - that tomorrow I can reveal to Cal that Anthony Hopkins character in the movie we saw was called 'Gaylord Oaks'.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Six feet under is fucking Dallas, ok? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/16/2002 12:25:32 AM ----- BODY:

Why the hell hasn't anyone apart from me noticed that Six Feet Under is like the indie Dallas it's ok to like? I mean you've got the good natured, idealistic, scruffy one and his nervous, edgy, spiky partner. You have the mother who's the head of the family - the dead oppressive father in the background. And we finally know why JR was such a bastard and why he had to muck around with so many women - desperately trying to prove that he's not a repressed poof left in charge of the business. And there's even another company trying to take them over. All you need is the Funeral Barons Ball!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The weather in Norfolk STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/16/2002 08:47:25 AM ----- BODY:

For all those interested - this is what the weather's like in Norfolk for the next five days.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: A working definition of 'ming' STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/16/2002 10:54:20 AM ----- BODY:

A word much used in the UK at the moment is 'ming'. Not the Chinese dynasty - and not the intergalactic warlord either. But it's a word that's in fairly common usage at the moment and it's also a word that has yet to hit America - which it may never do. And you'll never understand how funny Whorechalking is if you don't know about it:

ming Verb. To smell or look unpleasant. E.g."Oooh, mings in here! Who's farted?" [A dictionary of slang]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Google interface takes over the world. STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/17/2002 12:02:24 PM ----- BODY:

You know what's interesting? That a few years ago everyone was emulating Amazon and Yahoo! when they thought about designing e-commerce and information directory-based sites - but nowadays everything looks so much better when it looks like Google.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: What if you held a big weblogging competition and nobody came? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/17/2002 12:25:26 PM ----- BODY:

Idle thought of the afternoon - What if you held a really big weblogging competition and nobody came?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Steve Job's Keynote Speech STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/17/2002 08:06:46 PM ----- BODY:

Bigs news of the day has to be Steve Job's Keynote speech. A world of monkish zealots turns New York-wards for two hours of self-congratulation and wonder. The chips they put in our heads are working better each year. Soon Steve will be able to talk to all of us through naught but mental telepathy.

There's a hell of a lot to talk about in what he came up with today - some of which I'll be talking about as the evening progresses. But to give you a flavour of my thoughts on the day - and to give you a laugh - the first thing I'll do is put up a transcript of a keynote-paralleled AIM conversation held in real time over the two hours of the speech between four people with significant interest in our lords and saviours, Apple. More entertaining perhaps than strictly useful... [watch this space]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The Guardian Best British Weblogger Award STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/18/2002 09:25:24 AM ----- BODY:

The news of the day is that the Guardian are running a Best British Weblogger award, which I'm going to link to with the words 'a bloody stupid idea' because then maybe that'll get onto the front page of Blogdex.

Things to consider:
Would a weblog called 'Everything the Guardian gets wrong' be likely to win? Or how about one that wasn't really a weblog at all, like b3ta? How about one that was completely made up - utter, complete lies? And what would happen if webloggia simply refused to take part (which is my secret hope)? There don't seem to be any criteria for these things... More likely in time, each and every bloody site would turn into fellatetheguardian.com. And for the purposes of those of you who came in late What if you held a really big weblogging competition and nobody came?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: A public response to Neil McIntosh STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/18/2002 05:05:16 PM ----- BODY:

A reply to Neil McIntosh of the Guardian's Online section - who I don't hold fully accountable for the concept I'm only prepared to refer to as 'a bloody stupid idea' (and I advise you to do the same). Neil suggested on a publically available mailing-list that when I suggested that the Guardian's motivations for a weblogging award might not be entirely altruistic that they were much more likely to generate traffic for webloggers than the other way. He also thinks (as I do not) that webloggers won't prostitute themselves for attention and that the event is rather like the Guardian's first book award. I have replied as follows:

"Thanks for replying so thoughtfully Neil."

"Before I start, I'm going to state right off that when I talk about weblogging, I'm generally talking about the most common kind of weblog - there's a bit of their life in there, a bit of their interests, a few links, some thoughts or monologues etc. I think most of it applies to varying extents to the other things that people do as well, but maybe not all..."

"Taking your last post first, I think there is a sizable difference between the first books prize and this - in that the authors in the first books prize are professional writers who write both for art's sake and for money. They are, in a sense, already prostitutes, already 'in it for the money'. That's fine, we all have to make a living!"

"But this simply isn't the case for the vast majority of webloggers, who are doing it out of love, out of having a space to express themselves - and often a place to put their lives out in the open. In the process these people are often exposing themselves in quite significant ways. There seems to me something profoundly wrong with asking people to compete in such an environment. At some level it's inevitably a competition of self-exposure - it's asking people to take the space that they've used to talk openly and honestly about their thoughts and their interests and often their lives not because it's a valuable and profound space for them to communicate, but to compete against their friends for money!"

"Obviously there's also an aspect which is about popularity, and being read and your opinions listened to as well. But if you look at the opinions that matter to people, it's mostly not celebrities or media figures. In many ways, for a large number of people, they're almost the enemy! They're relics from the past where for the most part we are kind of the future - the future where everybody is a superhero! Where we all get a slice of the cake, a bite of the cherry. And more importantly, there's a real feeling that these people most often don't understand what we're doing anyway! We've seen people like this for years - it's all PR blurb and airbrushed skin. I don't think that's what the weblogging publishing revolution is about! Make them start their own weblogs! (Jen excepted, she's so blog)"

"I suppose what it comes down to is this sense of WHAT IS A WEBLOG FOR? When you talk about book prizes - then you're really talking about a product that is made for the consumption of audiences - press is important because you sell more copies, good reviews are fundamental because you sell more copies, prizes are good because they allow you to make a living. The book itself is something created for the people who are going to buy it. But significantly at least one aspect of running a weblog is to have a place for yourself, that means something to you. It's a place that's not supposed to be for sale."

"If you asked people "How do you feel when you lie about your life on your weblog", you'll probably some really mixed answers, but a decent number of them will express that this is something that makes people feel really uncomfortable and untrue to themselves. There's a bit of a confessional in it, there's a bit of a the personal diary in it, there's a bit which is about having an artifact of your life and thoughts which you can keep with you."

"This feels to me too much like selling out, too much like old trees. You say it's the choice of the blogger themselves, but is it really? Who can turn down the possibility of winning �1000 for what they do everyday anyway? And of course that's going to affect how people post. Did you not watch the Bloggies at all? Everyone played up to their audiences. It was almost the point!"

"Anyway - I'm getting a bit heated now, and I have so much work to do that I'm going to back off now. But I would like to say that I've already had conversations with people yesterday and today who 1) don't understand how something like this can even be judged, 2) don't find the idea of the competition particularly palatable or in the spirit of why they took up - or continue to do - weblogging but 3) feel rather disgusted with themselves that they probably will enter, because the potential exposure is too irresistible and the potential financial reward vaguely intoxicating. It's also already drawn out the competitive instincts in a few people too - seriously - you may not believe it, but it's evident behind the scenes."

"I hope that's all vaguely clear and not too lunatic or nuts. Obviously I'm not talking for anyone but myself and everything I'm describing could just be my interpretation of the conversations I've been having. Everyone else may very well disagree with every single thing I've said."

"PS. You're absolutely right - the Guardian has done lots to promote weblogs, which I think we're all - or at least those of us who've been mentioned in them :o) - are profoundly grateful. And clearly no individual weblog is going to double the traffic to the Guardian's weblog or to that part of the site. But I think you're being overly demure when you say that this will send substantially more traffic to the weblogs concerned than it'll receive itself. I think we can expect this to be metafiltered, probably slashdotted, potentially b3ta'd (which I believe to my horror has tens of thousands of e-mail subscribers and is one of the most highly trafficed websites in the country now) - quite apart from the sheer number of links it'll get on weblogs."

"For good or ill - intentionally or unintentionally - this will generate a substantial amount of traffic for the Guardian's site... It may not have been a motive, but I think I could pretty much guarantee that you couldn't buy the number of page impressions you'll get out of this by paying for �2000 of banner ads!"

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Ban the Bl*gging Guardian STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/18/2002 05:22:02 PM ----- BODY:

Do you think the weblogging competition is kind of tacky? Have you said so on your site? mail me and I'll link to the post!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Fuck me, I'm thirty years old STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/19/2002 12:01:25 AM ----- BODY:

Omigod, I've just turned thirty.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Overwhelming birthday wonder STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/21/2002 10:52:12 PM ----- BODY:

I'm rather overwhelmed by what's been happening over the weekend, so I'll just start by saying how happy I am, what wonderful friends I have and link to Meg's account of Saturday night.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Denise bakes Tom a cake STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/21/2002 11:20:12 PM ----- BODY:

Awesome thanks to Denise for baking me this tiny pixel cake!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On having superpowers STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/21/2002 11:28:01 PM ----- BODY:

I think my superpowers are my friends, who are lovely and wonderful and make me able to do all kinds of cool things that I couldn't do by myself.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: You've got mail. STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/21/2002 11:48:25 PM ----- BODY:

I got two e-mails about my birthday that were important to me this year. One from someone I didn't expect to hear from, another from someone I really hoped I'd hear from. So one of them is really cheery - and you have to wonder why. And the other was really sober and you think, should it have been? I think maybe people are like songs. Some songs have a huge impact on you - they make you happy, they make you sad, they make you shake your head around so hard that I think maybe your brain gets all small like balled-up white bread bouncing around your skull. But you never know whether a song you used to love will make you dance or leave you cold - or just make you think of something dumb you once did which makes you smile. Some people only listen to dumb songs . I wonder - do you choose your taste in music or does it choose you?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Holding onto the feeling STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/21/2002 11:56:28 PM ----- BODY:

I kind of can't stop writing. Everything's all smooshie. It's all daze and blurry soft-focus. Not drunk soft-focus, but kind of happy internal trashy soft-focus. Like a bad novel's cover. I've got all these little pictures in my head - sunsets, Pimms, cartwheeling friends, Cossacks, kebabs, candy floss, boating irishmen, big bearded men with scrambled egg, handfulls of goat-feed. And when I think about them everything just feels really kind of warm and wonderful. And I know it's a feeling that's not going to last, because I can feel some edges already. But god I had a wonderful time.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: What happened to your gas supply, Tom? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/22/2002 12:01:16 AM ----- BODY:

Oh shit! I completely forgot to write about this, so I'm going to do it now, while I'm all full of blog-love. On Tuesday I came home after work to change for a dinner thing, except when I got home I couldn't get in. The gas board had come around, broken into my flat, taken the gas meter, changed the locks and left! The last tenant hadn't paid their bills and information about me hadn't got to them yet. So for quite a lot of last week I was washing in kettle-boiled water out of a really big saucepan that I don't think I'll use for entertaining any more. Plus no heating or cooking facilities either. I really should get that sorted out!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Onlineblog defends the Best British Blog awards... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/22/2002 08:57:41 AM ----- BODY:

As a brief aside before I get all excited about my lovely birthday weekend again (which I've no doubt is boring the world to death), I should probably return to the issue of the Guardian 'Best British Weblog' award - which is currently being defended over at Onlineblog.com. I feel a bit sorry for Neil, actually, because clearly the intent behind the event is completely altruistic - but as anyone who has participated in things even vaguely like this in the UK knows, the only thing you can guarantee about throwing something large and full of implication before webloggers is that you're going to get a fair amount of stick for it. Someone somewhere isn't going to agree with it, or think it misses the point, or is prepared to fight about it. It's just a shame that this time the person throwing a strop has to be me... Increasingly though I'm wondering if there is enough groundswell of support to make a sufficiently large statement by not entering. By itself a weblog is a tiny tiny thing, mostly incapable of generating any kind of change. But weblogs are jumping off points for memes, and memes in blogspace can be all powerful. But if the meme doesn't travel... Perhaps a better idea would be to enter the competition on the understanding that there is the tiniest possibility that it might give you a platform to explain why you think the whole thing was a bad idea in the first place in the most public and outspoken way... Although that could just be an attempt at rationalisation...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: More about my birthday... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/22/2002 09:02:16 AM ----- BODY:

Contrary to popular reports, my thirtieth birthday in Norfolk was not a weekend retreat for a cabal of elite webloggers. Quite the opposite in fact - I invited Mo Morgan for god's sake! But there were webloggers there because I have friends who are webloggers. So thank you to Mo above, Cal, Matt and Meg and Paul for trekking across country to keep me company. Paul has written up his side of Saturday evening here.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Blogroots STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/22/2002 09:12:10 AM ----- BODY:

I've had my first interaction with Blogroots.com today - which I knew was on the horizon, but had somehow completely managed to miss the launch of. It's a metafilter-style board in structure (except that it has a nice category feature that reminds me of Whedonesque) - and it's all about weblogs and weblogging. It's quite an interesting project in and of itself, but of course I came in at this thread - which is about (you guessed it) the Guardian's weblog award...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Writing badly STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/22/2002 09:15:36 AM ----- BODY:

Today ladies and gentlemen, I will mostly be writing like a barely-literate hack with no grasp of the English language and a tendency to create long, convoluted sentences with little structure, pace or glamour.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Story of a wonderful weekend STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/22/2002 09:54:19 AM ----- BODY:

Birthday in a nutshell (I'll complete the post over the day):

Thursday 18th July
Midday: There's a tube strike in London so I'm working from home. The plan is to write a spec for a project at my new job at UpMyStreet, pack everything I need to take to Norfolk with me and then hop onto a train - having organised my gas problem at some point during the day.
4pm: The spec is still far from complete. I am starting to sweat.
8pm: The spec is still far from complete. I am starting to sweat.
10pm: Have a freak out about the spec. Far from complete.

Friday 19th July
12am: And suddenly, with the spec still far from complete, it's my birthday and I'm thirty. I send a few e-mails and text messages, go for a little walk around outside and feel like a tremendous weight has been lifted off my shoulders.
2am: The spec is still far from compleete, but I've done enough for one day. Haven't managed to get to Norfolk yet, but I'll do that in the morning...
7am: Wake up exhausted like someone has dumped a bucket of cold water on my face and look around frantically. Check my watch which has been broken for the last two and half weeks. Yes, it's still broken. Scrabble around for bags and clothes and things I have to take to Norfolk.
8am: Everything's packed, but do I take a shower? I have no hot water, after all - not until the gas is fixed. Decision made on spur of moment - damn the shower. Run outside and wait for bus.
8.30am: Bus still hasn't arrived. I now have an hour to get to the train station.
8.45am: The bus just drove past fully loaded with people.
8.55am: Arrive at tube station having given up on bus. Am carrying huge bag of crap. Tube station is closed due to flooding.
9.05am: Arrive at other bus stop, hop onto bus - surely everything will be ok now.
9.30am: Have moved about ten minutes walk down the road. Old ladies are lapping us. They've literally walked around the world once while we've been in this queue.
9.40am: Get off bus and walk to nearby tube station. Pay for ticket and walk through barrier. Take off iPod headphones. A message comes over the tannoy, "There are no southbound services on the Bakerloo line at the moment". Swearing, I turn tail and get back on a bus.
9.50am: God it's hot on this bus.
10.00am: Arrange to meet Nick C. and drive up with him from Primrose Hill as whole public transport thing is slowly destroying my mind.
10.25am: Bump into old friend at tube station. Declare that I am thirty. He's older than me. Feel like I've joined a club.
10.40am: And we're off to sunny Norfolk!
11.45am: Nick and I are driving around in the sun and it's really good fun and we're talking and really enjoying ourselves. I keep getting nice text messages from friends, and then - while driving through Elveden - I get a phone call from Gideon in St. Petersberg wishing me a happy birthday which is so entirely cool.
2pm: Arrive at my parents' place in Norfolk kind of sweaty and exhausted. Which makes it sound like we arrived at orgasm rather than a nice house in the countryside, but we really didn't. We lounge around for a while, I show Nick around the house and the village, we have a drink, get cleaned up and wait for the first people to start arriving...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Internet Magazine think I'm funny STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/22/2002 06:40:14 PM ----- BODY:

Now this is funny: search Google for 'a bloody stupid idea'. And how did I find out about that? By reading this very entertaining little article at Internet Magazine... I'm kind of surprised - I don't want this to seem like a campaign - I'm just trying to explain why I think the Guardian competition isn't really in the spirit of weblogging and encourage people who think the same to say so. If you want to enter, you won't get lynched!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Thanks STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/22/2002 09:47:46 PM ----- BODY:

One of the most gob-smacking parts of my birthday weekend was when my web-chums circled around me and, separating me from the flock of non-geeks, herded me gently but insistently into the conservatory. There they revealed to me that there had been a huge behind-the-scenes conspiracy going on for some weeks to get together enough money for me to get a digital camera. My eyes got a bit weird and scared when they told me this. Wider and weirder when they told me about this and mentioned who had contributed...

Well today I went with Katie and Mo Morgan to a little camera shop in North London and bought a little Ixus V2 with the ill-gotten gains, so finally you can expect a decent amount of pictures on plasticbag.org. It was really surprisingly exciting and I felt all weird but kind of nice about it. Well anyway - I'm going to e-mail everyone independently, but I thought I should do it all publically too. So lots of thanks to:

While I'm at it - thanks to Ms Hourihan for her instructions on how to destroy the world with computers - and to the other couple of people who sent me stuff from my wishlist - but didn't put their names in!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Sucking on a Marseille Fig STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/24/2002 12:51:30 PM ----- BODY:

So this guy at work is in a band called the Marseille Figs, and he's been sending me a couple of links through the day. It's kind of Pogues-Blues-Bluegrass with a bit of a sense of humour. I'll probably get lynched for that. Anyway - if you want to hear the kind of thing he plays then I'd recommend Wreck of the Old - and if you like that, he'll be on ResonanceFM.com this evening.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Useful articles on communities and moderation STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/24/2002 04:13:32 PM ----- BODY: ----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Warchalking on the BBC STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/25/2002 10:26:33 AM ----- BODY:

If you've been as fascinated by the whole warchalking thing as most of the geeks on the web seem to have been, then you'll be delighted to know that there was a piece on the BBC's Six O'Clock News about it yesterday - if you've got Realplayer, you can still watch it. It only vaguely misses the point - which is a significant improvement on most mainstream media...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Anita Roddick Fact of the Day STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/25/2002 12:50:34 PM ----- BODY:

Amusing fact about Guardian Best British Blog award judge Anita Roddick. She's supposed to be running her own site, except if you want to write to her the only e-mail address you can use is staff@anitaroddick.com. Thanks to Mr Morgan for that one (and for looking after my flat while the gas man came).

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Things I don't really care about STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/25/2002 01:21:51 PM ----- BODY:

Things that other webloggers are talking about today that I don't think are very interesting:

Salon's Weblogs
It's a dumb idea. When I was writing Learning from Weblogs (PowerPoint, large) I thought a lot about how people might think about adding weblog features to their sites in order to enhance their communities. The actual hosting of weblogs seemed to me a dumb idea mainly because of collisions of branding and the association of your site with crap - or even offensive - content. It might work, I guess, but I don't understand why you'd want to do it anyway... [Dork]
Asteroids destroying the world
Blah, blah, blah. Is this all anyone ever talks about nowadays? How can I put this carefully - it's very unlikely to happen! Channel 4 in the UK have a breakfast TV show called RI:SE - and they spent most of this morning talking about what you'd do if an asteroid was destroying the world tomorrow. I think the whole thing's a bit of a relief - now I don't have to worry about pensions, getting fat, contracting any unpleasant diseases or going jogging regularly. Plus no more need to worry about recycling. I can become the boorish horror I always aspired to be.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: plasticbag.org RSS STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/25/2002 03:40:32 PM ----- BODY:

If you have a use for it, then you can now get an RSS feed from plasticbag.org at http://www.plasticbag.org/rss/plasticbag.xml. And why should you want such a thing? Well one good reason is because if you're on a Mac you could read the whole site through NetNewsWire Lite instead of coming to this dumb page every day. It's a bloody wonderful little application - try it immediately if you can...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Tufte nonsense STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/25/2002 06:19:40 PM ----- BODY:

Fertile customers of plasticbag drivel-log - would that I had time to chat! But for the first time in over a week I have hot running-water at home and I'm so excited I might ... wash myself! And I have a lot of self-cleaning to do - because after seeing these stunning Tufte-related diagrams I'm covered in a thick glutinous layer of human drool.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Metafilter's bizarre text ad celebrates 'suicide girls' STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/25/2002 08:55:29 PM ----- BODY:

I've just experienced the first text ad that I've actually wanted to click on. More than that, even - I've just experienced the first text ad that against all the odds I did click on. What did it say? "Suicide girls - punk/goth girls. read their blogs, see them naked." That's got to be the best advert ever. Even if you're a poof. And much respect must go to metafilter - even when it takes ads for porno, it's got to be stunningly well-designed.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Tom Coates in NetNewsWire syndications export shock STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/26/2002 06:20:12 PM ----- BODY:

If you're a Mac OSX user (and as such probably using NetNewsWire all over the place since I recommended it a couple of days ago), then you might be vaguely interested in seeing who I'm currently reading! And if you've got NetNewsWire you can directly import it!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: .cock STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/29/2002 11:48:09 AM ----- BODY:

So it occurs to me that if the Cook Islands formatted their top-level domains in the same way as the UK does, then you could get a site which would end in .co.ck - which shouldn't really completely amuse me, but somehow does anyway. If Austria did it you'd get co.at - which isn't anywhere near as funny, but is a bit like my last name. If Canada did it and Lao People's Democratic Republic did it too, and you combined them you'd get the name of a leading soft-drink manufacturer and the core ingredient in cocaine. Germanians would be speaking in co.de. In South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands you'd be able to hear the co.gs turning when you visited their sites. All Lithuanian guns would be co.lts. While Morocco would be in a co.ma. In Niger they'd have ice cream co.nes. Probably that would make Peru so jealous that they wouldn't be able to co.pe anymore. There are many more potential ones on this page, but I'm at work so shouldn't be buggering around...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Tom is in the Guardian, because Tom fucking rules... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/29/2002 11:57:10 AM ----- BODY:

So if you fancy a laugh go and get your lardy arse over to the Guardian where you can read all about My New Media. It was done over the phone - which was a bit weird - and as such is dribbling with the kind of weird rhythms that stick out like badgers in ice-cream in my spoken voice. But it's also been edited down quite a bit which is why some of the comments don't really make all that much sense... I might expand on the questions later in the day if anyone's interested - and thanks to Laura Barton for putting me in there in the first place!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: BBC in Lemmings but with poofs shock STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/29/2002 03:18:29 PM ----- BODY:

Ok. Have you ever played 'Worms'? Were your tiny blobby creepy crawlies just a little too heterosexual? Did you hanker for some exploding thong action? Do you need a rolling tranny to bitch-slap your Village People friends? Then check out Gaylords - a b3ta-style flash game in which one or two poofs can take on lots of robo-poofs. And who is the genius behing this endeavour? Would you believe it's Auntie Beeb?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On posts I don't have time to write STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/29/2002 03:33:56 PM ----- BODY:

One of the terrible terrible (oh the pain) crises of weblogging is that when you have anything to write about in your life you have no time in which to write about it. So summaries of posts that I wanted to write but didn't have time would probably be:

Austin Powers was good. Go figure.
Cal made me buy an X-Box.
Halo is really good.
The UpsideClown party was good fun.
Dan from Venusberg.org has trousers with piss-flaps.
Sitting in Primrose Hill is really nice.
Shit! I left my keys in Primrose Hill.
How I gave a bottle of champagne to the taxi driver who helped me rescue my keys.
Why is everyone trying to set me up with their friends?
I'm on a weird low-carb diet.
Lunch with the guy from Guardian Unlimited was very interesting, and now I've got some good ideas.
Air Conditioning is a very very good thing.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Guardian debate has dodgy introduction... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/29/2002 04:03:40 PM ----- BODY:

So at the end of last week I entered into an e-mail debate with Simon Walden from Guardian Unlimited about the Best British Blog award. The debate was supposed to be a public way of voicing some of the concerns about the award that I've been hearing from people around the community as well as my own relatively strong feelings on the subject. I was approached because I'd made the loudest stink about the whole thing, I think, rather than because of any other criteria.

Well I'm reasonably happy with how the debate itself turned out - and in fact it's now online at the Guardian in full. I'm less thrilled with the introduction that they've written to go on top of it, which characterises me, slightly unfairly I think, as a grumpy curmudgeon trying to spoil all the fun, rather than someone who thinks that the Guardian acted inappropriately. Still, never mind...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: All Consultants are scum STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/29/2002 07:20:18 PM ----- BODY:

I have an almost overwhelming urge to buy this mug - except it's got to be so expensive to ship cross-atlantic. Are there no caféshops (!) equivalents in the UK that are any good!?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On Dorian's Freaky Eye... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: __default__ ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/29/2002 10:30:47 PM ----- BODY:

It's probably not worth going into this in great detail - particularly as I don't specifically know the detail. But the salient facts are: 1) Dorian came from someone and they'd done something to his eye. 2) His eye looked really really freaky. 3) I had a new digital camera and really really wanted to share. In related news Dorian was thirty today which makes him a soul brother to me in every way.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: In which Tom is greatly disgusted with life STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/31/2002 12:17:55 PM ----- BODY:

So you're given a choice between thing A and thing B.
And thing A and thing B are as nice as can be.
And there's nothing you know that will help you, you see...
How do you decide 'tween thing A and thing B?

Thing A has the glamour, the style and the verve.
Thing A is the best if you have got the nerve.
But that man who came asking and begging on knee.
He talked and he talked of the cool of thing B

Thing A was unsure, but then suddenly not.
Now that thing's the thing that the other thing's not.
But you already decided that B was for you.
Whatever dear reader should our hero do?

He went with his heart which said "you must be true",
To back out on whim is the wrong thing to do.
And integrity means that you can't just decide,
To laugh at the man to whom 'yes' you'd replied...

A month gone and what's wrong? Do you feel you were had?
Has thing B that was promised so good gone so bad?
And if it is peace that you're trying to find...
Thing A would have driven you out of your mind.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On the Royal Norfolk Golf Club STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/31/2002 04:52:17 PM ----- BODY:

So my dad is seriously into golf, and plays all the time. He's been into golf for years. I used to try and play a bit, but I was completely bloody useless at it, so I don't do that any more. Anyway - my mother is a 'lady member' of the golf club - or at least used to be. I think she got bored of it. Anyway - the 'lady members' are very much there on sufferance. They don't get to go into most of the bars, they don't get to play on Saturdays and they are generally ridiculed by most of the proper members. But not any more! It now turns out that the golf club won't get a drinks license unless they let women in as full members - and that means with full voting rights. It's only a few decades late, but it's still a step in the right direction...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Ten signs you're being 'whipped' STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/31/2002 05:36:07 PM ----- BODY:

So I was like talking to a friend at work and I asked him if he wanted to come over and play Halo all evening with Cal and I and he said he couldn't and I said he was like totally whipped or something and he didn't know what that meant so I like entirely showed him.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Fuck it, I give up STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 07/31/2002 11:50:41 PM ----- BODY:

Matt Jones's site is currently on fire. If you're reading anything about the net at the moment, you should be reading that and not whatever infantile ramblings I'm preparing of an evening.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Head like a field STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/01/2002 12:23:26 PM ----- BODY:

Today my head feels as woolly as dozens of sheep. Ideas kind of have to fight for space next to smelly mutton and can't make themselves heard over the relentless soft bleating from every direction.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Peter Mandelson STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/02/2002 11:05:36 AM ----- BODY:

Now like him or loathe him, Peter Mandelson is Labour (and hence probably has his heart roughly in the right place) and a poof. So he can't be all bad. More to the point, he's clearly a very media-savvy gentleman with a certain flair for the dramatic and a not-entirely-shit web presence. Perhaps unsurprisingly the site skips over some of the more controversial aspects of his involvement with the political system, but remains essentially an extremely well-crafted piece of informational publishing.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: It's tacky, it's crass, it fits nicely up your ass STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/02/2002 12:05:01 PM ----- BODY:

Sometimes I think that I'm just like this poor (spoof) gentleman. So to make me feel better and superior, I sent the man concerned a little $1 donation. And the e-mail address the money is sent to? savemyhands@yahoo.com!

On a related issue - I asked Matt whether it would be a bad idea to get a t-shirt printed that said 'AIM me if you want a shag' with my AIM name after it. And he said, nope.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: In Which Tom Has Trouble Comprehending Kottke STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/02/2002 12:15:52 PM ----- BODY:

I fear I may be alone in being utterly confused about Jason's latest post about Andrew Sullivan. The sheer number of similes swimming around the place like laser-mounted sharks in a very small pool make, erm, those sharks, erm, get cramped and laser each other or something. One thing is clear though - Jason uses the phrase 'self-congratulating hogwash' about the ludicrous Andrew Sullivan and as such is very much my hero and ally.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Upsideclown 2002 STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: __default__ ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/02/2002 05:18:58 PM ----- BODY:

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On dumb linking policies STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/02/2002 11:42:33 PM ----- BODY:

So I'm known for having little patience when it comes to dumb linking policies. Just in case you're not remembering the whole dumb-linking thing - this is when a company like KMPG says KPMG says you have to get permission before you're allowed to link to them. It's dumb. It's a policy. It's about linking. Are you with me yet? Anyway - lots of other people think this kind of thing is dumb too. And someone's founded a weblog about it. That's kind of cool.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Towards a genealogy of weblogging... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/03/2002 06:10:00 PM ----- BODY:

So when they come to write the history of weblogging - will there be much evidence of the inter-relationships, the hidden parallels and links that lie between webloggers? One of the nicest things I've seen in ages, and potentially a really interesting and useful site, BlogTree.com is trying to assemble a weblog genealogy of inspiration - who inspired who to start a weblog? I've often said that the two people who got me really excited about the true potential of the web were Jason and Derek, but looking back to my first ever entries on the site, I see that Meg Hourihan was an early influence as well. You can see my 'Pedigree' if you're interested, or if you want to participate yourself: Who inspired you to start your weblog?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Addendum to a genealogy of weblogging STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/03/2002 06:17:59 PM ----- BODY:

PS. In a conversation with Matt the other day about 'generations of weblogging' inspired by a post on sashinka.blogspot.com Matt made the stunning comment that 'first generation webloggers' basically means anyone who started weblogging before you did, while 'second generation' means you and people you consider your peers. So even though I've been weblogging for three years (nearly) I consider myself a second-generation weblogger after Meg, Jason, Evhead, Camworld and Memepool.

But now of course that's no longer true - you can measure your generation - it's simply how many generations you are below the founding godhead of weblogging as detailed on Blogroots. And don't be starting to fool yourself here - everyone was inspired by more than one weblogger - and the generation you belong to will be the one younger than the youngest one of your influences. So Jason may be your father, but if I'm your mother then you're third generation at best. Got that?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: If I were a bell... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/03/2002 07:05:26 PM ----- BODY:

If I were a bell Dinah Washington
[being a song that makes me feel happy]

Ask me how do I feel
Now that we're cosy and clinging
Well sir all I can say is if I were a bell I'd be ringing!
From the moment we kissed goodnight
That's the way I just gotta behave,
And if I were lamp I'd light
Or if I were a banner I'd wave.
Ask me how do I feel,
Little me with the quiet upbringing
Well sir all I can is if I were a gate I'd be swinging,
And if I were a watch I'd stop popping my spring
Oh and if I were a bell
I'd go ding dong ding dong ding.

Ask me how do I feel
From this chemistry lesson I'm learning
Well sir all I can is if I were a bridge I'd be burning!
Well I knew my morale would crack
From the wonderful way you looked
Boy if I were a duck I'd quack,
Or if I were a goose I'd be cooked.
Ask me how do I feel?
Now that we're fondly caressing....
Pal if I were a salad,
I know I'd be splashing my dressing....
Or if I were a season I'd surely be spring
And if I were bell,
Say if I were a bell
If I were a bell I'd go ding dong ding dong ding!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Mark's in town... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/04/2002 05:51:38 PM ----- BODY:

Long term weblog enthusiasts may remember a precocious web-brat called Mark Olynciw, who used to run the site riothero.com. Well turns out he's in London again and I'm going to see him this evening. What fun!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Mark in London (2000) STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/04/2002 06:06:23 PM ----- BODY:

Last time Mark was in London (sometime in the year 2000), Katy from kitschbitch.com and I went to meet him and his mother and his friend Vance. Katy and I took Mark and Vance to wander around Soho...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: mark_taster.jpg ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The Guardian's Best British Blog Award STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 1 ALLOW PINGS: 0 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Personal Publishing CATEGORY: Personal Publishing DATE: 08/04/2002 06:22:27 PM ----- BODY: In July 2002, the Guardian announced that it would be running a Best British Blog award with a prize of ��1000, to be judged by a group of judges ranging from Anita Roddick to Jen Bolton (ex of threadnaught.net). Immediate reactions from around British weblogging were very mixed. Some people thought the competition was an amusing diversion, but quite a sizeable group thought the awards process was a strange and kind of ridiculous idea that would do little for webloggers or weblogging. I was quite outspoken about my feelings towards the competition - and for this reason (and because I'd been the lucky recipient of the Bloggies' "Best European Weblog" award - I was asked to participate in an online debate with Simon Walden, representing the Guardian. The transcript of this debate is below - or you can view it on guardian.co.uk if you'd prefer... The transcript: To: Simon Waldman
Sent by: Tom Coates When Simon introduced this competition he said that the Guardian had quickly embraced personal publishing. he's quite right - the Guardian has probably done more to encourage people to start their own weblogs than any other organisation in the UK. But I think it has now moved from supporting a grass-roots movement to attempting to appropriate it. If weblogs are valuable at all, they are so because they give people a place to talk about whatever they want, however they want. Your weblog could be an intimate, personal space to get advice about your burgeoning sexuality, a frequently updated news feed about software development, or a soapbox to declare your extreme political views. The thing that unites all these people, however, is a certain authenticity of voice - these are real people talking openly about the things that matter to them. In my opinion, pitting such radically different and very personal sites against one another undermines that authenticity, just as it demeans the motivations of the people who created them. But more importantly, it seems to me impossible to judge and unfair to do so. Is one person's life trauma a better read than another's thoughts on contemporary politics? And should we really be delighted that some cod-celebrities and old-tree hacks are setting themselves up to be the judges of our communities? I'll be voting with my feet and boycotting the contest. To: Tom Coates
Sent by: Simon Waldman Tom, Your description of what makes weblogs so valuable shows the sort of eloquence and intelligence and I would expect from someone who has already won several awards for his weblogging activities (we'll come to them in a minute). But, I think your reaction against our competition lacks some of your usual clarity of thought. Yes, "pitting different types of weblog against each other" isn't easy - any more than comparing comedies and thrillers in the Oscars, or classical music and drum and bass in the Mercury prize - but it isn't impossible, and it certainly doesn't undermine blogging. After all, it has been done before - remember? You are the proud owner of the title "European Blogger of the Year" according to the Bloggies. This award similarly pitted different blogs against each other - right across the continent. So are you saying it is all right to do this all the way across Europe, but not across Britain? Or would you like to hand your awards back as a matter of principle? This competition is the result of our respect for the movement, not an attempt to appropriate it. We would no more try and appropriate blogging than we'd try to herd cats, juggle jelly and push water uphill at the same time. We have almost 180 years' history as a radical newspaper. Representing and promoting diverse and minority voices is something we have done for decades, regardless of the medium. This is why we - including many of those you dismiss as "dead-tree editors" - find weblogging so exciting, and why we are looking and will continue to look for ways to support and promote it. We've had hundreds of entries. Shame you're not among them, but we'll survive. To: Simon Waldman
Sent by: Tom Coates Of course you'll survive - a well established newspaper like the Guardian isn't going to be affected by the groans of motley, partly washed web enthusiasts. Unfortunately, the weblogging world doesn't have 180 years of history behind it - and as such is much more vulnerable. Your two points - that prizes like this are common in other media, and that my protests are hypocritical - reflect (I think) a misunderstanding about the nature of personal publishing. The things that make weblogs special and different to other media are exactly the things that make large-scale media awards for them redundant. Weblogs are not (just) written to entertain audiences, but are also spaces where people can talk openly about their lives. Asking people to compete in self-revelation, to play up to the cameras, seems wrong to me! Webloggers aren't prostituting themselves for cash. In fact one important aspect is to have a place for yourself, somewhere personally important. Asking people to expose themselves for cash seems wrong to me! Most webloggers form friendships with both readers and other webloggers. An external body encouraging competition between friends also seems wrong to me. And the Bloggies? They're incomparable. It's a tiny event that no one takes seriously, with negligable prizes, and which has little interest to anyone outside weblogging. But most importantly, it's an award in which every participant, every judge and every voter is a weblogger or weblog reader (and an equal) rather than an inexpert "real-life big name", whose qualifications and ability to judge remain totally suspect. To: Tom Coates
Sent by: Simon Waldman Tom, I'm not going into a judge-by-judge defence of our panel, but we wouldn't have chosen them if we didn't think they were perfect for the task. They are all keen webloggers or readers. Most have been involved with the net for the best part of a decade. They are all very able and, thankfully, willing to judge. Your suspicions are ill-founded. I respect the personal nature of personal publishing. This is why we are not forcing anyone to enter, nor are we allowing people to be nominated against their will. If some people see their weblog as something for themselves, or a small group of friends, they have nothing to fear from this competition. However, what is wrong with people wanting to raise the profile of their blogs, and have the chance of earning some money at the same time? We just want to promote and reward the best British bloggers, if, and only if, they want to be promoted and rewarded. And, judging from the number of entries we have had, it seems there are plenty who do. Moreover, our assessment of "best" includes all the values that you hold dear - particularly authenticity. "Playing up to the camera" will not be appreciated. This is hardly a large-scale media award. We have put in place a decent (but still reasonably modest) cash prize, not because we want people to prostitute themselves, but because we think anything less would seem mean. We think it is a perfectly fair reward for the amount of effort that anyone has to go into to keep up a decent blog. I can see what you're afraid of. I just don't think that we're it. When News International discovers weblogs, don't worry, I'll be there fighting it with you. To: Simon Waldman
Sent by: Tom Coates I think at this point I should make clear that I don't believe that the Guardian is intentionally exploiting weblogs or that they are consciously aware of the potential damage this could do to a community in its infancy. I have total confidence in Lloyd Shepherd, the Guardian's chief producer at Guardian Unlimited when he said recently: "It's all good clean fun. We didn't do [the competition] to wind anyone up - we were trying to raise the profile of British blogs as well as our site. It's supposed to be a win-win situation". But despite this I think you're being disingenuous when you say that you want "to promote and reward the best British blogs, if and only if, they want to be promoted and rewarded". Your prize is called "The Best British Blog" award - and declares itself to be an attempt to find that mythical beast - even though many British weblogs are boycotting it on principle and even though the criterion of "the best" actually means the personal feelings of a very limited and unrepresentative group of people. Perhaps with a less outrageously presumptuous name - "The Guardian Weblog of the Year" maybe - it would seem less arrogant. Perhaps with prizes that appealed to people who were in love with the medium (creative software or training or even an experience worth writing about) it would seem less out of touch. Instead, the Guardian has declared itself an arbiter of weblogs - it has moved from being a paper that delights in participation in a community to one that feels it has the right to be the judge of it. It's time for the Guardian to stop promoting weblogs from the outside, and instead start actively helping the community from within. There are many ways it could be constructive - from sponsoring a real-life British weblogging event to providing new ways for weblogs to interact with each other or with the Guardian's site. Can't we put this ludicrous contest behind us and do something more useful with our time? To: Tom Coates
Sent by: Simon Waldman Tom, One of the prime reasons we embarked on the competition was to help start the debate about how a traditional media owner such as ourselves can engage with a movement that is in many ways the very antithesis of traditional media. So, your suggestions on how we might improve the competition in future years, or get further involved with the weblogging community, are very welcome. The start, I hope, of an ongoing dialogue. If changing the name from "Best British Blog" to "Guardian Unlimited Weblog of the Year", or something similar, would help win you and others over, then we're happy to consider it (it's not quite as snappy, but it'll do). We did consider different prizes, but in the end, we decided to stick with cash as we felt it was better to let people decide what to spend it on themselves, rather than trying to second guess people's needs and wants. Our favourite idea was a "Supermarket Sweep" at PC World, which we thought would be good fun, but a little pricey - (and yes, we did debate whether webloggers would really want to buy from PC World). At the end of this flurry of emails, I hope you can see that our intentions were good, even if you disagree with our actions. The cash we have put up, the senior executives we have put forward as judges, the space we have given to it both in print and online are a sign of respect for the weblogging community, not an attempt to lord over it. I think we both agree on what makes weblogging so wonderful. I like to think that over the next year - long after this competition is over and the winner has blown his or her winnings - we will embark on a number of initiatives that might help it stay that way. All the best, Simon ----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: I've been quite outspoken about the Guardian's Best British Blog award - and for this reason I was asked to participate in an online debate with Simon Walden, representing the Guardian. ----- KEYWORDS: ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Carla Scarlett EMAIL: carlasdomain@hotmail.com IP: 209.246.111.250 URL: http://memo.antville.org DATE: 08/05/2002 01:01:39 AM For the past five years or so, as I read the various journals, diaries or now commonly called "blogs" I would encounter on the internet, I could hear and identify with the true, unfiltered voices of the various writers who wrote from the heart. What I found within many of the entries was a totally uncut style of writing--writing which was personal, direct, bold, raw. These writers didn't seem to care much about whether they had "hits" or not to their pages. To them, writing was a means of expression, and they wrote to their heart's content.. Audience or not, they wrote what they felt. The subject matter varied from the philosophical to the mundane. The more mundane, the more interested I became and I began to feel a certain sense of "knowing" the writer on a personal level. Many a time I found myself aghast at some of the personal details these writers exposed about their lives--drug use, fighting sicknesses such as Cancer or AIDS or their revelations of family issues or other domestic crises. Often, the writers tried in earnest to convey bravery in a matter of fact tone, but fear spoke volumes instead. To the unsuspecting reader of a random journal entry, there was no apology given, yet, there was an unspoken agreement that if one didn't like the writing one could always leave. Often however, the various sites were sprinkled with things such as a favorite dish, color, book, video, game, a piece of clothing and what not. Most importantly however, ratings did not seem to be utmost on their minds. They did not beg or advertise that people leave comments or feedback. Times have changed. The trend is now commonly called "blogging." I have come across really good blogs. Unlike the diaries and journal of the past, these have a certain feel, sound and look of "newness" to them-- an air of freshness. The designs are more eye-catching and they involve you and compel you to read on. The tone is still very serious, direct and matter-of-factly although terminology--hooch, hoe, bitch, etc.-- sometimes slip in. Additionally, biographical notes identifying the writer usually appears in the menu now. The writings while they are still variously about about what one does, see, hear and how one feels; about sex, boyfriends, brothers, sisters, mothers, fathes, buddies or spouses, these days reveal a sense of distress, loneliness--the "blues"-- and are often either scarcastic, sentimental, bitter, boastful or naive. Above all, many are warehouses for links. Don't have anything to say? populate the space with links to this and that friends' blog, but reader beware, for the next link you click on might lead to another blog with less to say and steeped in links. In recent weeks a blogger's contest ensued on blogger.com for charity--a noble cause. Now, with this competition the Best British Blog Award, I can only expect that bloggers will be fighting between themselves-- what I have to say is better than what you have to say! or I am the best! and in so doing, will be defeating the whole purpose of the "medium" as you put it, as one of personal space and freedom of expression. Admittedly, such a competition might at best, raise the profile of the various entrants; at worst, it will and I can't say this any better than you Tom: "undermine authenticity." Blogs are not meant for competition purposes for just what is really being judged? The writing style or the content? or is it the design, or the substance of the person's life conveyed in the blog? I ask a similar question to Tom's, is the self-exposed detail that one person shares about his or her life more or less important than another's? It eludes me as to how the various blogs will be judged and under what criteria. Perhaps it is my ignorance that stands in the way of supporting such a contest and if it is, educate me, give me thy knowledge. Peace! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: deej EMAIL: dj@sassylad.co.uk IP: 217.207.226.210 URL: http://www.sassylad.co.uk DATE: 08/05/2002 02:46:08 PM I've recently been cajoled into submitting my little collection of wibblings and rants to the Guardian best british blog competiton. I'm fully expecting the entry to fall flat on it's face, but it's always worth trying. The concept of "best *british* blog" does confuse me somewhat... two of my favourite reads are in America and Norway, and yet they're not going to count. Why should it just be a british thing? I am however hedging my bets quite firmly on it being a london based blog that wins. I've got a theory on that one, which at some point in the near future I might expand on: but until then we'll call it a hunch. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Dicky EMAIL: rich@clagnut.com IP: 193.82.96.102 URL: http://www.clagnut.com/ DATE: 08/15/2002 02:49:13 PM Tom argues that the compo goes against the essence of blogging; that we shouldnt be judging peoples outpouring of thoughts, emotions and ideas. On the face of it, this may seem a sound objection. But those of us in the blog community judge web logs all the time; there are some we visit regularly and others well visit once and never return to. We are inherently making judgments on subconscious or conscious criteria we love /loathe the design, the tone of voice, the insightful writing, the links, the dog photos. We have our own (maybe mental) lists of blogs which are good and forget about blogs which are poor. Is The Guardian not just bringing this into a public arena? Yes, the judging will be highly subjective. A blogger constantly slagging off the paper or the competition judges is surely less likely to win. But I find it hard to believe that people will be tailoring their blog content in an overt attempt to impress the judges; its certainly pretty sad if they do. I do concede that folks may pay more attention to their blog keeping it updated more regularly, may be even checking the spelling not really such as bad a thing. You can position your cynicism of The Guardians motives anywhere you like from a benign celebration of British blog culture, to a shallow attempt to get more readers and ad impressions, but I for one will be entering the competition. Not because I think I could win, or even that I want to (��1000 aside) but because I want more people to read my blog. Thats pretty much what its there for. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: James EMAIL: james@recumbentgaze.net IP: 62.255.32.6 URL: http://www.recumbentgaze.net DATE: 09/10/2002 12:13:51 AM Seems to me the transcript highlights the fact that this is not a right/wrong debate. Rather, that there are different viewpoints, valid in their own terms. I like blogs, but I also like movies, books, art etc. and they have 'competitions' which are equally subjective and ideologically questionable. The blog is unique because anyone can do it, but I don't think that makes it singularly 'special'. I'm sure there are many artists, writers etc who object to their competitions, because they offend their idea of artistic or literary integrity. I don't think there's any 'appropriation' here - it just couldn't be done because the web is so vast, democratic and anarchic, and I'm sure the G. recognise that. A competition about content that is often personal is a little strange, but I'm glad to see that 'playing to the camera' is both recognised and not appreciated. I see valid points here on both 'sides'. I suspect that some entrants will also have ideological objections, but entered the event for practical reasons - just like the hypothetical artist. Seems to me that's what the G. want to provide for. It's a bit of game, and I suspect most people realise the 'winner' may or may not have real value since who can define what that is? There probably are a few useful criteria - like the authenticity cited above. But entering, winning, not winning, does not directly equate with value or worth. Someone may derive great benefit from personal publishing and yet may not have a popular blog. So who is the judge? In those circumstances, outside opinion is irrelevant. But that doesn't mean it follows, therefore, that a competition is best avoided. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: HomeOfficeJoey EMAIL: HOJ@homeofficejoey.com IP: 212.219.59.222 URL: http://homeofficejoey.blogspot.com/ DATE: 02/25/2004 03:33:34 PM God, I didn't actually disagree with the Guardian awards till I read this, now I'm unsure on the grounds that this Simon guy is totally patronising: "Your description of what makes weblogs so valuable shows the sort of eloquence and intelligence and I would expect from someone who has already won several awards for his weblogging activities" I trust Tom was suitably flattered to have recieved such an accolade from that well-known, "radical" newspaper, The Guardian! ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Employment STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/05/2002 04:21:38 PM ----- BODY:

So I found my favourite poem online again today - I talk about it every so often on this site - it's called Employment and it's by George Herbert. It's a strange poem - not particularly cheery, full of references to a god that I cheerfully secularise when I'm reading it - but somehow a call to action, and an acceptance of a fundamental desire to do good works.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Welcome to Princeton STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/05/2002 06:43:18 PM ----- BODY:

True or not - this Princeton Acceptance Letter is such an unbelievably gorgeous and funny piece of design that you'll need it to be real.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Proposal for a new relationship between weblog and mainstream publishers STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Personal Publishing CATEGORY: Journalism CATEGORY: Personal Publishing CATEGORY: Social Software DATE: 08/06/2002 11:21:41 AM ----- BODY:

The Situation:
Imagine, if you will, that a prominent web magazine had decided to start hosting Weblogs. Imagine if shortly afterwards another prominent online publisher said they were doing the same. And then imagine if rumours abounded that they weren't going to be the only ones. And then imagine that you had been talking with a representative of a major UK newspaper who revealed to you that - if only for a short while - they too had been thinking of hosting weblogs on their site. What would you think? Would you think 'what a wonderful thing for the medium'?

The Problem
Well of course it's entirely possible that it would be a wonderful thing for the medium - but it almost certainly wouldn't be a particularly wonderful thing for the publisher! Think about it for a moment - most people who become committed to weblogging eventually choose to set up a site of their own somewhere - sometimes with a domain name of their own - often with a design that's resolutely their own. The logical consequence of this (surely) is that after a while any site that offers free weblogging with little flexibility in design or personalisation will eventually be abandoned by the dedicated. And in their wake nothing a but huge wasteland of tumbleweed blogs and - dare I say it - unreadable sites. How does that reflect well on boston.com? Or Salon?

The Reason
It doesn't take a genius to gather what is happening in corporate world at the moment - weblogs are 'in' - they've finally stopped being fashionable, and so are suddenly now becoming acceptable to the mainstream. Your executive at BigPublisher.com suddenly thinks that weblogging is the heart of the internet - the web finally fulfilling its promise. And of course they're right... But does understanding the importance of weblogs and weblogging correspond to understanding how an information publisher should relate to weblogs and weblogging? I would say no....

The Solution?
I'm not going to claim to have the definitive answer to how (say) the BBC should interact with the 'revolution in personal publishing' (which is, I might add, the longest bloody revolution ever, I think) - but I have got a couple of suggestions. And they revolve around not trying to usurp the common space that weblogs exist in, but in developing ways of cementing and building upon the interactions between those two very different beasts - mainstream and personal publishers.

Provide tools that allow webloggers to hook into your content. At the most trivial, this includes newsfeeds and RSS/RDF feeds. Let people put them on their sites, but also let them play with them - let them develop interesting idiosyncratic ways of looking at the information you create.
Look at the meta-tools that exist already for webloggers - Blogdex and Daypop for example. Adapt these tools to provide a different insight into the content you produce. For example: Create a "What the web is reading" page on The Guardian - this page being nothing more or less than Blogdex's recent links thing, but only reflecting Guardian articles. Your visitors get a guide to the best stuff on your site as chosen by the web itself. You get traffic to those articles and demonstrate your respect for the aggregate power and intelligence of the weblogging community as a whole. If you included the 'sources' aspect of Blogdex as well - so that everyone who has commented on an article on the Guardian is automatically linked to from the Guardian's site, then you get a situation where both weblogger, publisher and reader benefit - the weblogger in terms of traffic, the publisher in terms of traffic but more importantly by being able to demonstrate a public, conversational aspect to their sites without any of the cost of development or legal implications. And the reader is directed to the very best content you have to provide as well as to second level commentators who might be able to provide a different perspective...

Conclusion: So here's my challenge to large online publishers: rather than admiring the medium and trying to reincorporate it into your traditional models, why not respect what makes it different - the sheer volume of people doing it, the sense of link-filtering, the personal comments and ideas that it generates - and work to make the relationship between mainstream and personal publishers a symbiotic one borne of mutual respect for what makes us so different (and yet complementary) to one another? [Comment on this post]

Addendum:
I don't want people to think I'm talking about Blogspot sites here - which fill a valuable niche in providing cheap or free presences for people who wish to be creative without investing large amounts of cash (but which - fundamentally - can be stripped of advertising, corporate branding and completely personalised).

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Mainstream Publishers & Weblogs STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 1 ALLOW PINGS: 0 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Personal Publishing CATEGORY: Personal Publishing DATE: 08/06/2002 11:35:36 AM ----- BODY: The Situation: Imagine, if you will, that a prominent web magazine had decided to start hosting Weblogs. Imagine if shortly afterwards another prominent online publisher said they were doing the same. And then imagine if rumours abounded that they weren't going to be the only ones. And then imagine that you had been talking with a representative of a major UK newspaper who revealed to you that - if only for a short while - they too had been thinking of hosting weblogs on their site. What would you think? Would you think 'what a wonderful thing for the medium'?

The Problem: Well of course it's entirely possible that it would be a wonderful thing for the medium - but it almost certainly wouldn't be a particularly wonderful thing for the publisher! Think about it for a moment - most people who become committed to weblogging eventually choose to set up a site of their own somewhere - sometimes with a domain name of their own - often with a design that's resolutely their own. The logical consequence of this (surely) is that after a while any site that offers free weblogging with little flexibility in design or personalisation will eventually be abandoned by the dedicated. And in their wake nothing a but huge wasteland of tumbleweed blogs and - dare I say it - unreadable sites. How does that reflect well on boston.com? Or Salon?

The Reason: It doesn't take a genius to gather what is happening in corporate world at the moment - weblogs are 'in' - they've finally stopped being fashionable, and so are suddenly now becoming acceptable to the mainstream. Your executive at BigPublisher.com suddenly thinks that weblogging is the heart of the internet - the web finally fulfilling its promise. And of course they're right... But does understanding the importance of weblogs and weblogging correspond to understanding how an information publisher should relate to weblogs and weblogging? I would say no....

The Solution? I'm not going to claim to have the definitive answer to how (say) the BBC should interact with the 'revolution in personal publishing' (which is, I might add, the longest bloody revolution ever, I think) - but I have got a couple of suggestions. And they revolve around not trying to usurp the common space that weblogs exist in, but in developing ways of cementing and building upon the interactions between those two very different beasts - mainstream and personal publishers.

Provide tools that allow webloggers to hook into your content. At the most trivial, this includes newsfeeds and RSS/RDF feeds. Let people put them on their sites, but also let them play with them - let them develop interesting idiosyncratic ways of looking at the information you create.
Look at the meta-tools that exist already for webloggers - Blogdex and Daypop for example. Adapt these tools to provide a different insight into the content you produce. For example: Create a "What the web is reading" page on The Guardian - this page being nothing more or less than Blogdex's recent links thing, but only reflecting Guardian articles. Your visitors get a guide to the best stuff on your site as chosen by the web itself. You get traffic to those articles and demonstrate your respect for the aggregate power and intelligence of the weblogging community as a whole. If you included the 'sources' aspect of Blogdex as well - so that everyone who has commented on an article on the Guardian is automatically linked to from the Guardian's site, then you get a situation where both weblogger, publisher and reader benefit - the weblogger in terms of traffic, the publisher in terms of traffic but more importantly by being able to demonstrate a public, conversational aspect to their sites without any of the cost of development or legal implications. And the reader is directed to the very best content you have to provide as well as to second level commentators who might be able to provide a different perspective...

Addendum: I don't want people to think I'm talking about Blogspot sites here - which fill a valuable niche in providing cheap or free presences for people who wish to be creative without investing large amounts of cash (but which - fundamentally - can be stripped of advertising, corporate branding and completely personalised).

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: Mainstream publishers seem increasingly to be letting their readers start weblogs on their sites - but is this really the best way for them to connect with the personal publishing revolution? ----- KEYWORDS: ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Ian EMAIL: ian@iansie.com IP: 193.237.236.2 URL: http://www.iansie.com/nonsense/blog.html DATE: 08/06/2002 06:25:57 PM Hooray, a chance to agree with you at last. But (there will always be a but) I think there are even simpler measures that publishers can take to encourage blogs to link to them. Like: do NOT use frames Like: do NOT require registration Like: DO structure your file-set in a transparent and predictable fashion etc. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Bill EMAIL: billblog@mermaniac.com IP: 64.175.32.215 URL: http://www.mermaniac.com DATE: 08/06/2002 07:53:12 PM Well said, and I think your solutions are dead-on. The one wild card in the equation is Salon's announcement that it will eventually charge a fee of $40/year for bloghosting. If there is a huge influx of cash, it's possible that we might see Salon loosen up and do some interesting things with blogs. I think a "what the web is reading" tool would be a natural for Salon, for example, and Userland is already building tools to create a Salon blogging community. The reality, I'm afraid, is that there won't be very many users eager to pay for the privilege of producing a Salon-branded blog, and that any money brought in will immediately go toward other departments of Salon which are hemorrhaging cash. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: TomD EMAIL: tom@sparklefluff.com IP: 217.34.78.120 URL: http://www.sparklefluff.com/blatantoptimism DATE: 08/07/2002 08:16:57 AM I suspect that ultimately the way that (say) the BBC will incorporate weblogs is pretty much the same way that it incorprated good webpages. Hire some of the people involved and get them to bring their audience with them. It's a model that worked in the early days of the web, and before that with any form of creative talent. Standup goes Open Mic->Club booking->Radio->TV, for example Personal publishing a threat to journalism? No, it's a sandpit (albeit a very highly featured and well connected one) where the good people can choose to sell out or not... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Neil EMAIL: plasticbag@getintofilm.com IP: 132.185.240.12 URL: DATE: 08/08/2002 03:06:02 PM So salon will charge - they have to, they're a business. BUT, given the huge civic benefit that widespread, simple, cross-platform access to weblogs & community spaces would give the UK, why does the BBC not treat this as a new definition of public service for a networked age? ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Dolan EMAIL: tom@sparklefluff.com IP: 62.255.64.5 URL: http://www.sparklefluff.com/blatantoptimism DATE: 08/08/2002 11:37:37 PM I guess because they don't need to be involved? It's kind of wierd, because I know they've got all this anti-competitive stuff in their charter, but there also seems to be an attitude of 'if we don't *need* to be involved in it for it to be a success, and it's more likely we'll cock it up, why should we be?' that seems to be coming out recently. Makes a change from the big-red-rock-eater days... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Seyed Razavi EMAIL: seyed@monkeyx.com IP: 62.231.146.14 URL: http://www.monkeyx.com DATE: 08/09/2002 10:50:58 AM I thought buying community sites as a means of increasing your readership was a pointless exercise. It seems weblogs offer little more for the commercial publishers. Plus aren't weblogs just op-ed pieces mostly, with links thrown in? I can understand their own staff having weblogs on the company's site by why would they buy other weblogs or host them? Probably just a fad that will pass. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Dolan EMAIL: tom@sparklefluff.com IP: 62.255.64.5 URL: http://www.sparklefluff.com/blatantoptimism DATE: 08/16/2002 01:53:18 AM I don't think they'll buy online real-estate. They'll just buy people. They know how to do that. ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Excerpt from an interview with Grant Morrison STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/06/2002 11:51:03 AM ----- BODY:

From a new interview with Grant Morrison: "The time of lo-fi weirdness is almost upon us. This is when everyone has to open up their heads and spill out their personal shit for all to see, without trying to catch the trend. I think the current focus on craft will shortly be replaced by a focus on integrity and uniqueness." Remind you of anything? [Thanks to Darren for pointing this out.]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: So it's that Buffy time of the month... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/07/2002 10:45:51 AM ----- BODY:

So it's Weird Buffy News time of the month again at plasticbag.org as once more I prove exactly why I have such trouble finding guys prepared to date me...

Breeders to guest-star on Buffy?
It's hideously-cool-life-collision time as NME reports that the Breeders' stars Kim and Kelly Deal are likely to appear in an upcoming episode of Buffy - inspired by their incredibly rousing rendition of the Buffy theme tune which is a staple of their life sets at the moment (and which I saw them perform a couple of months ago with Cal). Drool.
Buffy musical to be released?
Noise stateside seems to be that they are going to release the Buffy Musical Episode on CD, which would pretty much entirely rock, except that I can't find any evidence for this on Amazon.com or co.uk.
Whedoneque still rocks
And you should all go there immediately...

Didn't I hear something about Sarah Michelle Gellar quitting?!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: This guy on the road kind of looked at me funny... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/07/2002 10:57:13 AM ----- BODY:

Ok. So I don't want to sound paranoid - because that would never do - but I was walking down Oxford Street this morning and this really tall guy with fluffy hair looked at me, did a moue of recognition, half-smiled/half-laughed and kept walking. It could have been a moue of ridicule rather than recognition - obviously the first thing I did was check my hair wasn't too bad. But it was fine. Or kind of fine, anyway. He can't have been moue-ing at that? Surely?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: So it's all change at Blogroots... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/07/2002 11:32:10 AM ----- BODY:

Blogroots - which started as a metafilter.com style-board with a very narrow focus has gone through a bit of a transformation in the last 24 hours - and now celebrates a new look, a bit of promotion for the book that it's connected with and two major new features - an 'about blogroots' weblog called RootsNews and a BlogPopuli section which is ostensibly for trackback syndication via Movable Type, but which allows you to manually ping the site (which essentially amounts to you being able to self-blog threads you've written that you think are interesting). The site looks great, and is gradually coming into its own as a community and information-sharing resource...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Are you looking for Lord of the Rings on DVD? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/08/2002 01:54:36 PM ----- BODY:

Everyone I know seems to want to own Lord of the Rings on DVD and yet no one I know is buying it. They're all waiting for the four DVD set that's coming out in November. I'm no exception. But if you are looking to buy yourself a copy - the cheapest place I've seen them in the UK is at Dixons, where they are �16.99. This compares with �19.99 at Virgin. Should you care...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: My first public and scary experience of homophobia STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/08/2002 02:04:32 PM ----- BODY:

I had a really nice evening last night. Really cool. But I don't want to talk about that. What I want to say is that wandering through Soho last night I experienced my first public piece of badgering because of being gay. First ever. I don't mean by this that I've never had people wander past a bar I've been at and shout stuff in - because I have. And I don't mean by this that I've never met people who don't think that being gay is evil or stupid or disgusting, because I have.

But this was the very first time ever that I've actually experienced a group of people outside name-calling and being physically intimidating and aggressive. Except they weren't really that intimidating at all. The whole event was startlingly stereotypical - but also very brief, and - I think - easy to rise above. You can almost understand it - insecure teenagers trying to assert their heterosexuality to their friends, trying to look hard. It's a bit sad, but not particularly worrying.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: If it's so bad, why does it feel so good? On Spy Kids 2 STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/08/2002 02:11:29 PM ----- BODY:

I can't be the only person desperate to see Spy Kids 2. When Spy Kids came out no one would see it with me. I'd say, "but it's Robert Rodriguez!". But they wouldn't listen. Davo wouldn't go. Meg wouldn't go either. No one. So in the end time just passed and I didn't get to see it until I picked it up in a sale one day and thought it was absolutely wonderful. I showed it to Cal as well, and I think he liked it too. I'm very much excited by the sequel. But will anyone come and see it with me?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Oompa Loompa STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/08/2002 04:10:16 PM ----- BODY:

I've had the tune in my head all day and I haven't been able to get rid of it - so why the hell not just give in to those darker impulses - why not revel in the wisdom of tacky inappropriately-amusing over-moralising tiny badly-painted people?

Gum chewing's fine when it's once in a while
It stops you from smoking and brightens your smile
But it's repulsive, revolting, and wrong
Chewing and chewing all day long...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Barbelith goes to RSS... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/09/2002 12:09:35 PM ----- BODY:

Probably the most useful newsfeed that the world has yet seen - you can now get get Barbelith RSS-feeds, which can be restricted to any individual forum or groups of fora, and can be organised by most-recently-updated as well as by most-recently-started threads... While I'm on the subject - I've started a fairly tendentious thread on the board at the moment, which I'm concerned sounds misogynist. I'd appreciate your thoughts.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Weblogger Frustration 101 STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/09/2002 12:16:33 PM ----- BODY:

I hate it when the one thing you really want to talk about is the one thing that you know you really shouldn't talk about - the one thing that you entirely can't talk about. It's Weblogger Frustration 101 stuff though. I should really know better. When your online friends become offline friends (and almost family), when your offline friends and family finally get themselves connected, then the range of your conversational material becomes immediately more limited. To the person concerned - you should know who you are - I very much hope you're having a good time and look forward to talking soon.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Ellen Fleiss is my hero STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/10/2002 10:58:54 PM ----- BODY:

So we're sitting at work the other day - the assembled table-age consisting of myself, other Tom, Dan, Phil and Dorian - and someone's watching the Apple Switch commercials, and then finally hits on the awesome wonder that is Ellen Fleiss. All through her (apparently) stoned dialogue we're awestruck with wonder. I keep expecting her to say the word 'borked', but I don't think she ever does. At the end she says, "I'm Ellen Fleiss and I'm a student" and the only reply you can really come up with is, "Well duh!". I mention all of this because apparently she's becoming quite the cult figure at the moment - hence (and here I'm liberally ripping off Wired for the thousandth time this month): the fan site, the other fan site and the caféshops store. (I'm not going to link to Metafilter because they get linked to too much anyway.) When I grow up I want to be Ellen Fleiss!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: My poor iPod STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/10/2002 11:10:54 PM ----- BODY:

Oh tis a sad tale, the tale of tiny wee iPod. iPod the daring, iPod the brave - now iPod the battered has gone to its grave. Or not to its grave, but maybe to the gluemill - for iPod now only kind of works now. I don't know why - I don't know whether the gentle shocks poor iPod suffered were what pushed him over the edge, or whether it was the scratch, scratch, scratch of keys against his face. Oh why did I mistreat him so? No more than normal use, I thought, but now he's beaten down and broken and I feel so bad.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I'm conflicted by the wonder of our weapons... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/11/2002 01:39:09 AM ----- BODY:

I'm in the market for some threadless action. I need those t-shirts/posters/things. Oh yeah. There's a particular poster I'm very keen on. But can a young metropolitan homosexualist really get away with naked ladies on his wall - however phallic the imagery? I declare myself officially a crap poof. Bring me the style, panache and hair of a glamour-man post-haste. I'm turning into middle-aged hetero-mulch before mine own eyes.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Wishlists for schools and charities STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/11/2002 01:55:58 PM ----- BODY:

Now this is a good idea - Wishlists for schools and non-profit organisations. I wonder if there's something like this for schools and organisations in the UK. It would be great to be able to donate something specific to a school that actually has a tangible benefit to someone. Cared about English - donate a novel you loved. Cared about Computer Science - donate a text-book or a piece of useful software...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Alarming quotes from "Public Relations Society of America" STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/11/2002 10:14:42 PM ----- BODY:

Here are a two particularly alarming quotes from a piece from the Public Relations Society of America site, from the article: Pitching Blogs: Latest Type Of Online Media Vehicle May Provide Valuable PR Opportunities

"The question is how to land your clients in the right blog at the right time in order to reap the benefits of their highly receptive audience."
"Many [webloggers] still consider their sites to be personal forums for their views and perspectives, and are wary of corporate or PR interference."
- note the use of the qualifying 'still' as if to imply that this is in fact not the case, will not be the case for much longer or should not be the case for much longer.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The Olynciws in London... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: __default__ ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/11/2002 10:41:31 PM ----- BODY:

Well riothero appears to be back and functioning - and with its rightful owner at the helm. It's diffucult to tell whether or not his meeting with Matt and I was what pushed him back into it or not. Here's the pictorial fruit of three meetings in London.

The first meeting in London takes Mark, Matt & Es and I to Balans Café in London's fashionable Soho. First impressions are that Mark looks much more like a Spanish waiter than he used to...

We managed to catch Matt in a rare pensive mood at one point in the evening. Matt's hair is unstyled and his t-shirt comes from threadless.com.

No doubt I was saying something exceptionally funny in this picture, although god knows what it was. Note how my face looks all inflated and weird in this picture as if I'd just turned thirty and turned into mush on the spot.

I made Matt take lots and lots of pictures of me on this evening in a vain attempt to get one that didn't make me look like a drooling octogenarian. All these attempts were hideous failures. He will be punished...

We had so much fun we all completely lost track of the time. We all get to the tube late, and miss our trains. Matt makes sure that Mark gets a cab back to his hotel. Later Mark will give me some money to give to Matt and I'll spend it all on drink, drugs and wild wild women. But don't tell Matt, ok?

Tuesday lunchtime and it's time to hang out with Mark and his mum in Jonathan's on New Oxford Street, near Holborn. A lovely time is had by all (I hope). At one point, almost symbolically, a plastic bag is blown in from the street. Thankfully, no riots or heroes follow it in...

In which Mark looks sheepish for the camera... He'll thank me when he's all old and crusty.

The final picture is a bit of a farce, frankly. Last evening in London for Mark, I try to get some people together at the last minute and kind of fail, I get rained on so my hair goes all wonky and horrible and I'm all grim and sticky and tired and insane looking, we think about going to see a film but there isn't really a film to watch, so we kind of mill around a bit. We try to take ONE good photo of us sitting in a café - after about a dozen and some very dirty looks, Mark holds out his arm and snaps us from a distance. We both look a bit stupid, frankly, but it's the best of a bad lot...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Translating with a Russian Accent... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/12/2002 04:06:49 PM ----- BODY:

Ok - first things first - today I noticed in my referrers for the first time an article about the 2002 Bloggies from what appears to be some kind of newspaper or magazine in Russia. Now my first instinct was to declare it immediately cool and pass swiftly on. Except then I remembered that Babel Fish might do a translator for Russian. Travelling swiftly across I discovered almost immediately that I was in fact correct - and one translater later I have a fully readable - if vaguely nonsensical - article bouncing about in front of my bonce.

But what is this? Does Babelfish translate with an accent? For in Russia they don't have weblogs - they have veblogs. I know this to be the case because I won Best European Veblog. And Mr Wheaton? Well, if you can make sense of the fact that he is credited as 'Sewed Shyueaton Reinforced-concrete pillbox No', then you should be delighted to hear that the awards he won were, "Veblog of year, the very same the most ridiculous of veblog, the very same best American veblog, the very same the best motto of vebloga, the very same best promoushen of vebloga". Which is, you know, nice...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Independent vs. Rogue States STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/12/2002 05:43:26 PM ----- BODY:

I'm not going to comment on the Independent article that talked of regime change in the rogue state of the USA, except to say that it's very definitely the closest thing to a must-read on the net at the moment.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The Fat State of Blogdom... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/13/2002 08:29:27 AM ----- BODY:

It's quite hard to reach my keyboard from the floor where I have been rolling around in glee for several hours now, delighted by the fact that Blogdom has declared itself more concerned with Domino's Pizza charging for delivery than nuclear detente or censorship. Sometimes you've got to love Blogdex. If you need to know the lard-arses that are terrified by the end to free carbohydrate delivery, then you should check out Blogdex's list of sources.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Why you don't really need to buy "We've Got Blog" since you can get it all online for nothing! STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Personal Publishing CATEGORY: Personal Publishing DATE: 08/14/2002 10:33:31 AM ----- BODY:

Ok, before I start this one, you're going to want to bookmark this entry if you're even vaguely interested in weblogs, and it'll be much easier to both bookmark and read if you click through to the archived entry which (through the magic of CSS) is formatted all differently and excitingly for maximum clarity of reading...

If you were interested in reading - but uninterested in paying for - the collection of articles printed in the book We've got blog (which includes an introduction by the esteemed Rebecca Blood), you may be surprised to realise that almost all of the pieces within it are freely available on the interweb. And don't worry - most of them are just as interesting online as they are squirted onto paper. Even Joe Clark's Deconstructing "You've Got Blog" is as irritating online as it is off - perhaps even more so.

Here's the full run-down for anyone interested...

Anatomy of a Weblog by Cameron Barrett.
Been Blogging? Web Discourse Hits Higher Level by Glenn Fleishman.
Blogged Down in the PR Machine by Jordan Raphael.
The Blogger Code by Ron Yeany.
Blogging as a form of Journalism by J.D. Lasica.
Blogma 2001 by the Blogma2001 Committee.
Building an Online Community by Matt Haughey.
Credo of the Web Log Writer.
Deconstructing "You've Got Blog" by Joe Clark.
The Four Noble Truths of Blogging from fishrush.com.
Good links vs. Good discussion: A metafilter discussion by the residents of Metafilter.
Here Come the Weblogs from Slashdot.
In the trenches with a weblog pioneer by John S Rhodes.
The Internet is not killing off conversation by Douglas Rushkoff.
The Kaycee Nicole (Swenson) FAQ.
Let Slip the Blogs of War by Tim Cavanaugh.
The Libera Manifesto by Chris Pirillo.
Linking 1-2-3 by Lawrence Lee.
More About Weblogs by Cameron Barrett.
Portrait of the Blogger as a Young Man (from Feed Magazine).
Put The Keyboard Down and Back Away From The Weblog by Neale Talbot.
Ten Tips for Building a Bionic Weblog.
The State of the Blog by Giles Turnbull.
Weblogs: A History and Perspective by Rebecca Blood.
Weblogs: A New Source of News by J.D. Lasica.
Weblogs: Lessons Learned by Kulesh Shanmugasundaram.
Weblogs (Good God Y'all) What Are They Good For (Absolutely Nothing) by Neale Talbot.
We Didn't Start The Weblogs by Nikolai Nolan.
What the Hell is a Weblog and Why Won't They Leave Me Alone? by Derek Powazek.
Why I weblog by Brad Graham.
You've Got Blog by Rebecca Mead.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Popbitch factoid #1 STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/15/2002 08:13:40 AM ----- BODY:

Another day, another stunning factoid from the popbitch people: "Newark is the only town in the USA which is an anagram of Wanker".

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On Cross-Cultural Associations: Hygiene, Flattery and the term "Blogrolling" STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/15/2002 03:29:35 PM ----- BODY:

What follows is the definition of a word that is relatively well known to webloggers across the world at the moment, that has been taken up quite quickly by American webloggers, but has strangely not been taken up as quickly by people in the UK.

\Blog''roll'ing\ n. [apparently coined by Doc Searls]
1. The placing of links in a semi-permanent sidebar-style form from one weblog to another, initially designed to be a short-cut for the creator of the site, which has subsequently become a place to demonstrate admiration, mutual respect, link-flattery and a tacit appeal for a return link of some kind.
2. The practice of individual webloggers to link repetitively and flatteringly to the posts and comments of their friends and online favourites.

Here is the word that 'blogrolling' is supposed to be a pleasant corruption or extension of - a word which one assumes is more familiar in the US than in the UK:

\Log''roll'ing\ n. [from Dictionary.com]
1. The exchanging of political favors, especially the trading of influence or votes among legislators to achieve passage of projects that are of interest to one another.
2. The exchanging of favors or praise, as among artists, critics, or academics.

What follows is the word that most English people will assume the word 'blogrolling' is a pun on - a word that is as utterly familiar to us as our own names and a word that casts a considerably less high-brow aspect on the whole 'blogrolling' phenomenon.

\Bog''roll n.
A slang term for toilet/lavatory paper - derived from the use of the word 'bog' to refer to the water closet or 'bathroom' in the United Kingdom - being a soft or semi-abrasive absorbent material with the specific purpose of removing excess faecal substance from one's bottom after excretion...

Inspired by Been 'blogging'? Web discourse hits higher level.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On the Best of British - Nostalgia and Television STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/15/2002 08:51:33 PM ----- BODY:

There are times when the BBC does something well. And when the BBC does something well it does it very well. Take their online title sequence archive for example. Loads of famous RealOne-Up-The-Wazoo-ed TV show memories from the last one million billion years. Most of which I remember - since I am ludicrously, stupidly, absurdly old. Key favourites - and memory-inspiring moments include:

A Very Peculiar Practice
There are loads of entries about A Very Peculiar Practice in my feeble diaries of the time. I was obsessed. It was so gloriously bizarre - a young doctor completely out of his depth in some modern University where Nuns rifled through the bins. I tried to replicate an image from the credits with Microsoft Paint on the early PCs in my school computer lab.
Red Dwarf
It come on TV when I was sixteen. I remember the weekly ritual of turning all my lights off in my bedroom and watching my parents old clapped out TV with the sound down and the door shut so that when my parents went to bed I wouldn't disturb them too much. I used to have to do that a lot. My parents went to bed really early. Still do.
Doctor Who (Peter Davison)
I remember Tom Baker turning into Peter Davison more than I remember losing my virginity. I remember being utterly confused by the whole thing. And being completely glued to his run. I remember when Adric died and there was no credits music. I remember being really freaked out by that.
The Adventure Game
It appeared to be on all the time - thousands of times a week maybe. Maybe more. And it made utterly no sense whatsoever either. Every single characters' name was an anagram of 'Dragon'. Everyone in the UK around my age knows this already...

Other memorables: Box of Delights, Butterflies, Bergerac and Battle of the Planets.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: In which Tom takes a huge link-dump STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/17/2002 11:52:27 AM ----- BODY:

I've been collecting links for a few days now - things that I have really wanted to talk about, but just haven't had time. So rather than get weighed down by them, consider yourself lucky - all the links, none of that bloody burbling preamble that you normally have to suffer... Be warned - what follows is jotter-style commentary at best - and completely without style or class...

Buffy gets advise from Dr. Laura
A frivolous piece of fun: "That's not the point. The point is, it might not seem like a big difference now, but when you're 77, he'll be over 300. How can you get married and have children - and notice the order I put that in - with a man 224 years older than you?"
Barbelith reopens its doors for new memberships
I'm not making a big deal out of this one, because it might not last for long. With no publicity at all, we've had over a hundred new members in the last three days. I don't want to swamp the place.
Pixellation - the way of the pixel
Discussion community of pixel artists and pixel enthusiasts.
Badgerland
Thanks to John Watson for sending me to a site full of information about badgers.
PixelArt Tutorial
So you want to be a pixel artist? From The Almight Grass Tile to Animating a basic attack (and lots of stuff in between).
Riothero Redux
I'm kind of hiding this link down the page in the hopes that I won't scare him off - Mark 'Riothero' Olynciw is back, and has started personal publishing again. I'm a little nervous about the prospect of him quitting again, so I don't want to go on about how great he is yet...
Spy Kids 2
Go and see it, because it's really good fun. Cal and I went to see it last night and bloody loved it.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: iCal STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/17/2002 11:22:07 PM ----- BODY:

For reasons I don't really want to go into at the moment, I'm looking for screencaps of iCal for a little project I'm working on. If you're unfamiliar with the application, it's Apple's new calendar application that you can download for free (once you've installed MacOSX.2). E-mail me, if you find anything...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On London Underground STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/17/2002 11:39:16 PM ----- BODY:

London's Underground system is as frustrating as it is iconic and vital. It's the world's oldest underground system, it's teeming with people whenever it's open - which (ironically) isn't as often as it should be. The tunnels are too old and small to allow the trains to have any kind of air conditioning, and it's prone to radical over-crowding. Daily use of it drives most Londoners to a state of vengeful apoplexy several times a week - standing up next to some sweating warthog of a man, crammed on platforms like self-canning sardines. So perhaps it's hardly a surprise that all over the tube at the moment are these extraordinary adverts...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: An Englishman in Moscow STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Journalism CATEGORY: Journalism DATE: 08/18/2002 07:51:40 PM ----- BODY:

I think we'll start with a little background... Several years ago when I first moved to London, I stayed with an ex of mine who lived in Belsize Park with his boyfriend of the time. They had a spare room, and I had nowhere to live, so all-in-all it was a fairly amicable arrangement. My ex worked on the science desk at the Economist. One evening - fairly close to the point where I was about to move out and get my own place - he pulled me outside to ask my advice about something. He'd been offered the position of a foreign correspondent - in Mexico. I was, of course, thrilled for him and stunningly jealous. He didn't know whether or not he should take it. But of course he should. I knew then that I'd miss him a lot, and I miss him still.

From the first moment he left the country he started sending back these group mails about what he was getting up to abroad - and to be completely honest I tended to delete them unread. They were ok reading, I guess, but I didn't like how impersonal they were. But as time progressed they got more and more interesting. At a certain point I remember talking with him about this over AIM and suggesting to him that he should really start a weblog - that the life of an Englishman in Mexico City must be fascinating to so many more people than the group of close-ish friends his e-mail termed 'The Privy Council'. But he never really agreed with me. Nothing was done.

A few months ago he revealed to me that he was leaving Mexico and moving to Moscow, again learning the language as he went, moving to a country where he knew no one at all. What a challenge. I'd have been terrified. But this time he's finally got his act together, and while he hasn't started a weblog, he's done something that's more suited to sporadic updates - he's started a broadcast-style mailing list about what it's like getting familiar with living in Russia - a mailing list that anyone can join...

You can go weeks without receiving anything, but increasingly they're little gems of culture-shock, written unpretentiously and honestly. Here are some example chunks:

On crashing his car
"I shall spare you the rest, except to note that whereas a typical British or American police car probably carries a GPS system, video camera and one or two computers, a typical Russian one merely has three radios of which one does not work; and that when a Russian traffic policeman is dealing with an accident, he stops two passing drivers at random and ropes them into to take all the measurements of the scene and then sign the diagram, so that there are independent witnesses."

On finding a flat
"Marklen, my temporary Man Friday, recovering well from the bump on the head I gave him in the car crash, explains that Muscovites renting out property do not widely advertise it because they are afraid that someone will come along, kidnap them and take over the premises. So we had to hire an estate agency."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On the discovery of a new word... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/18/2002 11:06:45 PM ----- BODY:

Metaspore n. A bastardisation of the word 'Metaphor' with semantic cross-over with the concept of the 'meme' - the metaspore being a violently self-propogating meme with particularly little interest in the survivability of its hosts, with propogation being of such a speed and virulence that conceptual spread is maintainable even though long-term prospects of communication disintegrate when the meme spreads globally. An example of a highly dangerous meme could be the suicide cult, or the concept of teenage suicide itself (cf Micronesian suicides in Malcolm Gladwell's 'Tipping Point'), while the most obvious contemporary candidate for status of 'metaspore' might currently be global capitalism in its full environment-damaging form.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Curing Mo of Sinful Pride STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/19/2002 12:06:09 AM ----- BODY:

There's a weblogger of some reknown called Mo Morgan. Mo has created a useful resource for webloggers which is very much worthy of a link. I heard about this resource because Mr Morgan sent me an instant message mentioning that if I wanted to blog it, I could. He insisted that I didn't have to link to it, or anything. Just that I could. So I asked if he wanted me to blog it. And he replied, "Not particularly. But if you wanted to, you can." So I kind of leant back and said, "So you don't want me to link to it, then?" And he come right back with, "No".

So what's going on here? Clearly Mr Morgan did want me to link to the resource in question. But it appears he's too proud to actually ask me to do it. I pressed and I pressed - just ask me I said, and I will link to it. But he consistently replied, "No". In fact by the end of the conversation he said, "No - Please don't link to them..." So if Mr Morgan mentions his new resource to you, you know what to do... Let's cure him of this sinful pride - make him beg...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Incidence of Weird Shit in Maida Vale STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/19/2002 05:34:29 PM ----- BODY:

A few months ago I moved house. I was living on Morshead Road in Maida Vale and I moved to a thirties block of flats on Shirland Road. Anyway - various things happened to me when I moved into the new flat - things that I had to spend time while at work sorting out. Things like my gas being cut off and my locks being changed. Annoying stuff. So I'm at work and this woman hears me talking on the phone about my block of flats and comes over and says that she lives there too - although she's just about to move out. We have a laugh about it - it's funny, it's a nice little coincidence, and then forget all about it. Until today I hear her on the phone and she's moved into my old flat on Morshead Road. The exact same flat. Possibly even the same room.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On lyrics of genius... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/19/2002 05:57:59 PM ----- BODY:

Some songs make you burst from sheer weight of emotion. Some make you want to dance like a coked-up electro-shocked duck in the mating season. Some, on the other hand, are dripping with ludicrously stunning lyrics... It's even more fun reading them when you haven't got a clue what the song is...

1 Picked up a boy just south of Mobile
Gave him a ride, filled him with a hot meal
I was sixteen, he was twenty-one
Rode with us to Memphis
And papa woulda shot him if he knew what he'd done

2 I drank the portion she offered me
I found myself on the floor
Then I looked into those big green eyes
And I wondered what I came there for....

3 There was this boy who had two children with his sisters
Who were his daughters, who were his favorite lovers
I got no lips, I got no tongue
Where there were eyes, there's only space
I got no lips, I got no tongue

4 Well you can't live with em
Or without em
You never really know a thing about em
It's hard to believe that all that's there...
is a rag and a bone and a hank of hair...

5 The ladies buy their ice from me
They dig my fast delivery
They love the way I move about
I don't make a mess
I get in and out...

6 Hey goombah, I love a how you dance a rhumbah
But take a some advice paisano
Learn how to mambo
If you gonna be a square
You ain't a gonna go nowhere

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I'm Federal Agent Jack Bauer, and this is the hairiest gearstick of my life. STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/19/2002 06:20:54 PM ----- BODY:

"Right now, fruit pastilles are plotting to carve runes on a forking brogue. My Tipp-Ex bottle is darkly-dressed, and Penny Blacks that I work with may be rotten. I'm Federal Agent Jack Bauer, and this is the hairiest gearstick of my life." Genius Surreal 24. And now for your complete vialog: Darren, via Sore Eyes via As Above.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On the launch of Haddock Blogs STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/21/2002 12:23:08 PM ----- BODY:

Update-monitors of yesteryear beware - the dark-times have come for your kind. For Phil Gyford has shown the way of the future with Haddock Blogs. It's a very simple premise - a web-based interface that collates the various RSS/RDF feeds from a group of weblogs and assembles a contents page from them that updates each and every hour.

The potential for this kind of first-stage weblog content aggregation is huge - particularly for interest or social groups. Haddock being, in this case, a community of friends based around a mailing list. But you could do the same thing for all weblogs with an RSS feed if you wanted, or use category fields or clustering to form highly focused sites about anything from Buffy to PGP...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: He went home, so they could live happily ever after, 2000 miles apart STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/21/2002 12:44:03 PM ----- BODY:

Of all the terrifyingly heart-breakingly funny cartoons I've seen on Salon, Cold Pursuit is probably the one I identify with most. It's the story of two people in love with each other who individually conspire not to be with one another. My favourite line: "Which made him wonder why she had never succumbed to his indifference".

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On a night of bad-sleeping... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/21/2002 02:33:01 PM ----- BODY:

You can arrive home at eleven exhausted and drained. You can try and watch TV for a while and fall asleep during the horrific climax of an episode of one of your favourite TV series. You can stay asleep on the sofa until three in the morning, and then stumble awake to find your hall has been flooded by the dodgy tap in your bathroom. You can mop it up half-heartedly and robotically before wandering bedwards. You can lie awake in bed for two hours unable to sleep, before finally succumbing a little before six in the morning. And then you can wake in a panic because you think you're late for work, only to find that you've only been unconscious for an hour. You can get up and try and watch the end of the TV show you were watching the night before and doze off in the middle of it. Just don't expect to feel so hot the next day. Okay?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On my obsession of the month... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/21/2002 02:44:57 PM ----- BODY:

Above and beyond the lustful need for a new iPod (mine is bashed and broken and lying in the basement of secret branch of MicroAnvika with Joe the iPod Man) is my need, my craving for Jaguar - the upgraded version of MacOSX. I've been reading reviews and watching the countdown for several weeks now. Someone asked me a while ago how long it was until it came out. I knew this figure to within one hour. Sad, it's true. But all these new features: iChat, Mail, Address Book, Rendezvous and iCal...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Behold I am the City Creator, maker of tiny pixel empires... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/21/2002 05:43:11 PM ----- BODY:

From earliest times when man first scraped pointer cross pixel, the goal of all humanity has been the creation of almighty empires of pixels - vistas of microscopic blocks of brightly coloured light coming together to form perfect tiny universes populated by oddly chunky tiny little people. As harbinger of the wonders to come came eboy's pixel palaces - but finally we can all scratch out our little piece of tiny heaven out of light itself... Presenting CityCreator.com - a creation of Cal and Denise. Bow down, ye new Gods of the unantialiased - and bear witness to the dawn of a new age...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On Public and Private - thanks to Matthew "Muscle" Webb... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/22/2002 01:14:28 PM ----- BODY:

I'm prone to ramble - so let's start with the link: Public and Private - random unposed portraits of people taken on the corner of Edgware Road and Marble Arch. The site is beautifully designed, simple and elegant and the photos are of the highest quality and tremendously poignant. Perhaps it has a special significance for me because I travel through this part of London every day on my way to work, switching wherever appropriate between buses 6 and 98.

By way of meta-commentary - thinking about the process of choosing a link to post - I think it's worth saying that I planned initially to post this link yesterday but I decided that it might spoil the impact of Cal and Denise's amazing City Creator, so I managed to restrain myself. Is this tactical blogging? Is it immoral? It's difficult to tell. Clearly there's a value in the as-it-happens authenticity of weblogging.

As a further aside - this constitutes yet another link I've borrowed (stolen) from the wonderful Matthew Webb - who manages to post significant gems like this in parallel with commentaries about RSS/RDF aggregation and links about the wonders of anal bleaching - links that I've followed up myself on the interhighweb to uncover a particularly fascinating post to an agony aunt on anal advisor which includes the lines:

"Several people have written to me asking me about skin bleaching in the anal area. First, let me assure you that the way your ass looks now is perfectly normal; in most people, the puckered flesh of the anus is naturally a few shades darker---or a slightly different color---than the rest of their skin."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: "What have you done Erik?" STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/23/2002 10:17:31 AM ----- BODY:

"Doesn't it wake you in the middle of the night. The feeling that someday they will pass that foolish law and come for you and your children? Take you all away?" Ladies and gentlemen, the X-men 2 trailer. 'Nuff said, true believer...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On how I actually felt really quite bad for Wil Wheaton STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/23/2002 11:17:17 AM ----- BODY:

When Wil Wheaton started weblogging, I though it was great. I loved the fact that the culture of weblogs allowed us all to enter a world that - for the most part - remains completely invisible to the general public - a world of faded celebrity, auditions and call-backs. I loved the fact that he actually seemed to be a pretty decent bloke and that he had a sense of humour and a sense of perspective. I got quite excited when I heard he was going to be in the next Star Trek movie - he's my age, he's exposing himself on the net - I kind of felt weirdly like one of my peers had made good again.

After a while, I moved on to reading other sites - Wil runs a very popular site, it's not like he needs my patronage, and there are so many people out there to connect with, however fleetingly. But I was drawn back today by a fragment of news - that his scene had been cut from the movie - and read his commentary on the phone call he received, and it's actually just really sad and poignant and weirdly affecting. Be strong, Comrade Wheaton. Soon thirty will come and the weight will be lifted and your perspective will change and all will respect and admire you. It happened to me. Kind of.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: How the internet saved me from all my worst fears STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/26/2002 07:20:38 PM ----- BODY:

The glorious Andy Pressman of beautifully designed Oh Messy Life! infamy has posted a picture of a singular poster. The poster reads, "Then it hit me, I'm not going to be famous, I won't get to be a rock star, I am going to be stuck on the payroll doing work that doesn't interest me for a very long time". And it reminded me of something I posted eighteen months ago which read:

"It's slowly beginning to dawn on me that I'm never going to be famous, I'm never going to be truly exceptional, or lauded over - I'm never going to travel to the moon, I'm never going to kill someone, I'm never going to gazelle on stage. This may be one of the most crushing realisations of my life"

But I was wrong. These are the words of the old world that we all used to live in. The world before the internet, before weblogs, before we realised the truth. In the future we will all be superheroes if we want to be. This is a distributed world - a world in which the barriers to flight have been lifted. You don't have to be a multi-millionaire to make your mark, you don't have to have all the luck in the world to rise up from your origins and hold your head up high. This is the post-American Dream - to live in a world in which you can get the respect you deserve simply by posting rubbish to the internet, by talking about your interests, your dreams and your interests. The man who made that poster has already proven himself wrong. His words, his image have been ripped from the streets of New York and broadcast into the ether. Hundreds of people have already seen it across the world and taken his words and thought about their lives. An impact has been made. And, like the impacts that we all make online, it should be celebrated. So this is my clarion call, here is my manifesto. Throw away the doubts that bind you. Shed your bodies and celebrate what makes you unique and important - all the stuff that helps you sleep at night - and take to the net. We need you. We love you. We want you. Nothing else is important.

Addendum: Thanks to Matt Jones for the related conversation over AIM that ended with us agreeing that an ISP with built in weblogging functionality and a low bandwidth limit could do worse than use the slogan: "In the future everyone will be famous for 15Mb".

Related: Wired On the size of the weblog nation

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: WARNING: HALF BAKED AND BADLY WRITTEN ---> On having official work policies on weblogs and weblogging... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/26/2002 09:12:52 PM ----- BODY:

Anyone who's worked in any kind of office at any point in their lives has probably had to sign a contract or a piece of paper that outlines what is acceptable and what is unacceptable behaviour in the office. As part of this often comes a short edict about 'abuse of the internet', which generally is taken to mean downloading child pornography or not getting any work done at all because you're busy playing 'Go' on a network with someone in Japan. If you abuse the internet, you will get fired.

Of course abuse of the internet is a fairly loose term, which as yet doesn't have a consistent meaning between jobs. I remember an article in the press in the UK a few years ago which held that a woman who booked a holiday during her lunch break at work could be fired for abusing the internet. Most of us who live at least a third of our lives online reacted with a certain amount of horror to that. After a while, the net becomes an extension of your head, or your hands, or your ears or your eyes. Being separated from it in a working environment becomes ridiculous. The capacity to chat to a coworker on AIM about a work-related matter becomes normal - as does the ability to ask a friend in another country for a link about icon design.

And then you get to the weblog, which may prove to be the latest thing to be legislated around: via blogroots comes this fairly reasonable policy on weblogs. It's a balanced view of them - carefully measuring both the need of businesses to cover their own asses and the need for individuals to feel they have online free expression. Unfortunately, while it is eminently pragmatic, that doesn't mean that it's actually morally right. Something that seems eminently clear to me is that the needs of business impinge on the rights of the individual to have a life 'outside work' a hell of a lot more than they should...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: MacOSX.2 and BtOpenworld STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/27/2002 12:15:22 AM ----- BODY:

Warning: If you are an OSX user in the UK who is using BTOpenworld's broadband service and is thinking of upgrading to Appe's latest operating system OSX.2, then be aware that the Alcatel SpeedTouch USB modem does not work with Jaguar and you will be left without any kind of web access. There are no functioning drivers for the Alcatel modem compatible with OSX.2, and no information on when there will be. I have discovered this to my cost, and I'm sure I'm not the only one.

BTOpenworld have also helpfully declared that they no don't even support OSX ("It'll work, but we can't give you any help on it and stuff"). I'm eager to spread the word on this one - and I'm also eager to be a bridge for any updates people might have. Mail me.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Insane ADSL update... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/27/2002 01:13:40 PM ----- BODY:

Ok. The latest news for BTOpenworld customers struggling with broadband access via crappy alcatel modems is that you might just as well stick your thumb up your ass for all the help they'll provide at the moment. In the meantime, according to a helpful correspondent who is high up at a Mac print-publication, Hermstedt ADSL modems (around �139) come with fully working OSX.2 drivers. Which is a nice if expensive solution. Equally expensive but apparently the solution if you're planning to use Airport is the solution that Matt Webb suggested to me - buy an ethernet router of some kind and stick it between the Alcatel modem and the computer. Apparently this will help...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On BTOpenWOE STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/27/2002 03:29:26 PM ----- BODY:

A brief ADSL related aside. Are you having problems with BTOpenworld? Then you need to know about btopenwoe.co.uk.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On RSS feeds / CSS and Jason's Kottke's redesign of NetNewsWire STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/27/2002 03:56:44 PM ----- BODY:

Yesterday I posted a substantial rant on kottke.org about the role of RSS feeds and readers. Here's an excerpt: "Perhaps this is one of those times when we all realise that the potential uses for an adaptation of the technology exceed what people designed it for. RSS feeds are the palm-friendly templates that we've never all designed for, they're the truly cross-platform designs for the site that open up issues of accessibility for people using alternative readers because of blindness.".

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: So if you're going to sell your soul down the river for �25 and a box of liquorice allsorts, you'd better get your bloody move on... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/27/2002 05:51:41 PM ----- BODY:

Over the last few weeks I've become the semi-official online promotional orifice of the Guardian's Best British Blog competition, and with just over a week and a half to go, it's time to remember - if you're planning to sell your soul down the river for �25 and a box of liquorice allsorts, you'd better get your bloody move on...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: BTOpenworld and ADSL - the news is good... Kind of... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/27/2002 08:37:44 PM ----- BODY:

[Note added September 21st, 2002: There is apparently a new driver - version 2.0 - that is available for users of MacOSX. It's available here. As of this date I haven't tried it, because I'm too nervous that it'll bugger up my connection. If you have tried it, let me know how you got on with it via e-mail.]

Firstly an apology to both my regular readers for going on about my problems with BTOpenworld and Alcatel's SpeedTouch USB ADSL modem. Placing this information online may seem annoying to many of you, but the wonders of the internet and Google mean that if I get it online it will never die and can help people for months to come. That's one of the other wonderful things about the internet and modern search engines - knowledge can once again become something that is added to by each and every person on the planet co-operatively without fear of it being lost. Or at least that's the theory...

So to start off with here's the good news - it seems there is a fix for the 1.6 version of the Alcatel drivers for OSX Check your current version numbers, because if you are using older ones then you'll have no luck with this fix. The latest versions can be downloaded from from SpeedTouchProfiles.com. These drivers don't work in and of themselves, but apparently can be made to work by altering 'version number format and matching', whatever that means. You can read the whole fix here: It takes a froggy to tame a frog!!

Now for the bad news. The fix is almost totally incomprehensible to me and looks like it's likely to remain so for quite a while to come. If anyone can walk me through it, I'll do whatever it takes to bring you pleasure in your life. In the meantime, the site you need to know about if you're having any problems with running Alcatel's ADSL on MacOSX is run by Antonio Strijdom.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Shock news from the technology and entertainment industries... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/28/2002 08:01:07 AM ----- BODY:

Take a seat. No really, sit down. You're going to be shocked by this. Sony have decided to stop making Betamax VCRs! I know! I know! Who saw that coming?!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: One for the non-geeks... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/28/2002 12:10:20 PM ----- BODY:

We're seeing the acronyms everywhere at the moment - RSS & RDF. They're becoming icons of webspace like HTML and CSS. But interestingly, unlike HTML and CSS, almost no one seems to know what they stand for. So to clarify - and obfuscate - in the same stroke, let me reveal to you the wonder of geek naming conventions. RSS stands for 'RDF Site Summary' of all things. And RDF in turn stands for the the elegant and punchy, "Resource Description Framework". Aren't you glad you know that?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Being a heartfelt gesture of thanks towards Mr Matthew Webb, underappreciated OSXpert STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/28/2002 03:01:39 PM ----- BODY:

[Note added September 1st, 2002: If you are looking for solutions to your ADSL/Alcatel/Jaguar problems, then I would take Mr Webb's advice and read this extremely helpful guide to upgrading your drivers]

Several years ago, when I was still doing my postgraduate work in Bristol, I had a friend called Louise who was very into the healing arts of Reiki. I'm not a great fan of alternative medicines - I don't dismiss them out of hand, but I'm a sceptical man. Something has to be plausible for me to advocate it. Louise and I went shopping one day, and returned back to my flat exhausted and grumpy - and my feet were killing me. At this moment - slumped in my sitting room - Louise asked me a very strange question. She asked me, "Would it freak you out if I said I could make your feet feel better from right here over the other side of the room?" My eyebrow stretched so high I thought it might never come down again...

Bear with me, because I'm coming to the point. All regular visitors to plasticbag.org over the last few days will be familiar with the problems I've been having with the ungodly enemies BTOpenworld and Alcatel. But my story has a happy ending, and it's all to do with the wonders of MacOSX.2. Last night, you'll recall, I discovered that there was a fix for the Alcatel drivers that was floating around on a discussion board. A fix which, although it would work, was beyond my technical expertise.

Enter Matt Webb who sitting comfortably in his house in Hammersmith sent me a message via iChat. He suggested that he might be able to fix my ADSL drivers from the other side of London. Would this freak me out? Absolutely. But I went along with it. First I determined my IP address from my network preferences panel. Then I turned on 'remote access' in the sharing panel. Then I made Matt an account on my computer and gave him administrator privileges. This took two minutes. And then, while we chatted, he connected to my computer with SSH through my modem, fixed all the files through Terminal, gave a bit of a smiley grin and told me it was finished. We signed off, I restarted my computer with all the cables plugged in - and now I have a fully working broadband connection.

Now I don't really know who to celebrate here. I've got no idea whether or not something like that would have been possible on a standard Windows installation, I've got no idea whether the instructions given were particularly clear or ludicrously complicated. I don't even know whether this is something that Matt feels completely comfortable doing, whether he fixes things like this every day Lone-Ranger style... What I do remember is that old line from science fiction, "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic".

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Now this is the way to go about winning a bloody stupid competition... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/29/2002 10:23:55 AM ----- BODY:

"If it were up to a public vote, a la the bloggies, I most certainly wouldn't win, but with a panel of judges I've definitely got a chance. Of the eight judges, I've sent five of them a mince pie in the post, and I threatened Anita Roddick with throwing rocks at customers of the local Body Shop unless I get her vote. This one's in the bag." [Lawrie Malen]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On professional weblogging and BBC Scotland... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/29/2002 02:30:58 PM ----- BODY:

So it looks like Meg Hourihan's article about professional weblogging was prescient. BBC Scotland is the latest organisation to try their hand at corporately sponsored personal publishign (of a kind) with the launch of Scotblog. It's a fairly strange site mixing stories of particular interest to Scots with very personal musings on postcards. Is this really what Meg meant, I wonder? At least it's a change from the Guardian's useful but dry link-based site. [via Darren]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Being "Blast from the past" time on plasticbag.org STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/29/2002 04:37:16 PM ----- BODY:

Barely inspired by this very boring looking article which I couldn't be bothered to read, I've spent a good twenty minutes trying to uncover The Ten Secrets of a Successful Website - a much much less boring microsite bashed together by Jason Kottke when he was doing cool creative things with 0sil8.com rather than being godfather of weblogdom. Here's a particularly choice quote:

"When dealing with a web site, especially a corporate web site, branding is the most important thing. Therefore, the logo has to be the most visible element on the site. That means it has to be on every page, preferably in the upper lefthand corner of the page. the logo must also be large... Set your screen to 640x480 resolution and make sure the logo takes up a quarter of your browser window. Of course, this means that the content will be pushed down the page a little. Don't worry, content isn't that important and people will find it if they really want to. And again, if you can animate or make your logo 3D, that will increase its impact even more."

And while I was at 0sil8.com I thought I'd better mention some other classic Kottke that you young folks were probably too busy sniffing glue and having underage sex to have seen the first time around:

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Sex is a bit shit really... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/29/2002 05:03:08 PM ----- BODY:

Ok. Sex. I mean - why? I mean, let's be honest - It's a bit shit isn't it. I mean it's not like computers? It's all unreliable and irritating. Ok maybe it's like computers running Windows... People only pretend to like it anyway so they can fit in. It's like Eastenders. No one wants to watch it, but if they don't, how the hell are they going to have anything to talk about at dinner parties? Sex is exactly the same. And I don't watch Eastenders. PS. Anyone who decides to burst my bubble on this one is going to get a smack...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: We are all plasticbag.org STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/30/2002 03:09:43 PM ----- BODY:

I can't be the only person who's in awe of how good plasticbag.org is. Each and every day that Tom fellow (what a looker!) writes extraordinary - self-promotingly - witty garbage about all many of things that I don't give a damn about. That's got to be seriously hard work, right? I mean, talent like that doesn't just fall drunk out of trees, now does it? Well here's your chance to prove how common and banal a skill weblogging really is! I'm calling this one "We are all plasticbag.org" - write a post in the style (if there is one) of this here site. Make it funny, crappy, elegant, pointless, artful, wondrous - awe-inspiring even. Best ones get posted on this here hallowed Indian burial ground...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Ho! Mr Hammersley! Excellent article, old chap! Take a bow... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/30/2002 03:39:34 PM ----- BODY:

My XCOM co-panellee Ben Hammersley has finally done something useful with his time, other than write huge tomes on RSS, co-create Warchalking, figure out when his dogs were born and wear that bizarre murderer-style hat. He's written a good introduction to Newsreaders for the Guardian. It's a fluff piece obviously, but it's nice good fluff because we all agree with it. Like candy floss. If you're interested in subscribing to plasticbag.org you may be looking for that foul little orange button with 'XML' written on it. But you won't find it, because it's bloody horrible looking. Instead you can find the feed here.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: "You're a congressman's son! Why didn't you stomp that hippie?!" STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/30/2002 04:09:12 PM ----- BODY:

If you liked Spider-Man, you'll love.... The Amazing George W.: "My father's downfall is my fault... Now I know... With Power comes Responsibilitude..."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I've got that Friday feeling STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/30/2002 04:36:50 PM ----- BODY:

Damn it. We've all been so good - working hard all week, trying to make a meagre crust to take home to our children, animals and additional dependants (adopted and virtual). I think we deserve to cut loose a little - don't you? Punk style? So here's my guide to ways to get completely over-excited about the dumb work week's ending in fire and sparkly bits. Viva Las Weekend!

You could turn your computer up to eleven and prepare to rock out with Punk Kittens
Or you could stick a fork in the eye of Osama bin Laden (yawn)
Kill millions with dumb game three Hangomoto!
Do incomprehensible stuff at Dumb-Dumb.com
Jump off the diving board at the Lido at habbohotel.com - you won't regret it.
And then when you've done all that, go and rock out with the Punk Kittens again. So good I linked 'em twice...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Cooler than you. Cooler than your heroes. The Web Pong Cometh. STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/30/2002 05:19:09 PM ----- BODY:

If you've got something to smack your gob with, keep it handy. You're going to need it in a moment. When beautiful sword-fighting deviant geek goddess Anno Mitchell showed it to me, I wasn't prepared. My gob was left empty and unsmacked for several agonising seconds. You're going to want to be prepared for this. But before we start, remember these simple instructions - the 'euh' button will stop the wonderful thing happening and make everything good and normal again. The keys you are looking for are on your number pad: "8" and "2". Are you ready? Can you contain your excitement? Then experience the Awesome Ungodly Full Screen Explorer-Based Cross-Platform Pong Extravaganza. Don't say I didn't warn you...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: If the BBC can't get it right.... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 08/30/2002 08:01:06 PM ----- BODY:

Now I've started using 'titles' to my weblog posts, but if you're not reading the site through some kind of RSS feed you won't know what any of them are. I'm not keen on breaking up the flow of my posts on the main site though, so let me spell it out for you just this once... The title of this post is If the BBC can't get it right...

Now the BBC runs a number of mailing lists. Once I signed up for one of them when I was trying to keep up with one very specific aspect of what they were doing. The list I signed up to was called 'Communicate'. I'd like to provide a link to the page in question, but I can't find it on the site anymore. Anyway, after a while I decided to unsubscribe and so followed the link on their site to this page. I filled in my information and got this reply:

Thank you for requesting the Communicate Newsletter. You will receive 3 information emails, and only need reply to 'Confirm Subscribe' to begin your subscription.

1. Majordomo Results
(There is no need to reply to this email - it is just to advise you that your email address has been used to subscribe with us)
2.Confirm Subscribe
(You MUST reply to this message by simply clicking the 'Reply' & then 'Send' buttons in your email program)
3.Welcome to Communicate
(This message is to welcome you to the Newsletter, please retain it for your future reference)

You'll notice - of course - that this is welcoming me to the newsletter. Humph I thought. Maybe they've got the copy wrong. But no. I continued to receive the newsletter. So I followed the other instructions relating to signing off the list. Let me spell this stuff out:

"If you wish to unsubscribe from this newsletter or have received it in error, please click here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/communicate/newsletter/news_unsubscribe.html or send a blank email to majordomo@lists.bbc.co.uk stating 'Unsubscribe Communicate' in the subject line (keep the rest of the e-mail blank)."

Ok, well I tried the first one, so I thought I'd try the second one. Only to be sent (immediately) a reply that went like this...

"This message shows the result of status of your request to subscribe, unsubscribe, or alter your subscription to one of the BBC's mailing lists.
**** No valid commands found.
**** Commands must be in message BODY, not in HEADER.

Hmm. Interesting. So that information was just wrong then? Note at no point around here is there any e-mail address that I could use to contact anyone directly if I actually can't get the damn thing to work. And the BBC isn't a small organisation. There must be 40,000 or more people working for them at any one time. It's not beyond the bounds of reason that I might never figure out who to contact... Anyway - I'm fairly sure I've tried this other approach as well - with the commands in the 'proper' place, and that it didn't work either. But I'll try. Again.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On being a 'workshy fop' STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/01/2002 03:07:56 PM ----- BODY:

I'm not one for the constant tracking of page impressions, but I do check my stats every couple of days to find out if anyone's crouched behind an Ice Rink whispering about me behind my back. Once you reach my level of web celebrity you have to be careful about these things. You wouldn't understand, I'm sure. Anyway, because of a recent upgrade in the kind of reporting facilities I have, I now know the search terms that people are using to come to my site. Now of course everyone else has had this ability for years. I used to have it too. Sigh - those heady days of youth... I'll never get them back now...

I'm commenting on this recently regained ability because I keep getting referrals from people who search for Workshy Fop. Turns out I'm the third most visible fop on the planet according to Google. What an honour. Clearly this too is an honour that most of you have little chance of even beginning to aspire to. But if you want to see if you even rate, might I suggest submitting your picture to Am I a Workshy Fop or Not?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I wonder if I have Candida STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/01/2002 03:15:25 PM ----- BODY:

A while ago I went on a low-carbohydrate diet to try and lose some weight. And although the diet itself was borderline impossible to maintain, I did find that my skin cleared up, I stopped farting all the time, my moods radically stabilised and I felt much more energised and up for stuff. Now I've been reading about Candida and I'm thinking, "Hmm well that all sounds remarkably familiar..." I should go to the doctors really...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On getting a fake tattoo STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/01/2002 04:04:04 PM ----- BODY:

I went out last night to G.A.Y. ostensibly to see have a dance around and get drunk and watch the Sugababes, except I got a bit depressed and cynical quite early on in the evening and spent a couple of hours glaring at half-witted poofs all desperate to pair off as quickly as humanly possible. So instead, my friend Nick and I wandered off and got fake tattoos sprayed onto our aging flesh. Here's mine:

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Notting Hill fucked up my fucking life again... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/01/2002 11:08:07 PM ----- BODY:

You don't want to watch Notting Hill. You really don't. But it's on television and it's so bloody sticky and although you know it's kind of going to make you want to kill everyone if you catch more than a moment of it, if you do catch a moment of it then it's got you in its massive drooling fangs and it won't let go - by god - no. But I don't want any of it. I don't want the crappy friends with broken bits, and I don't want the Aryan Nation version of West London. I don't bloody Ronan Keating howling in my sensitive earbits. And most particularly I don't want the godawful shame of getting really emotionally involved in it - and worst of all the hideous embarrassment of suddenly wanting one of those least fashionable of all things... A bloody boyfriend. It's a phase. I'll get over it. Godammit.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On Nationalism and Masculinity... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/02/2002 08:49:28 AM ----- BODY:

I started a thread on Barbelith yesterday called Crises of Modern Western Life in which I suggested that the two fundamental crises attacking Western identity at the moment were crises of nationality and crises of mascunlinity: "Both are fundamentally linked in some profound ways that I'm not sure I'm able to articulate - but are to do with ways of deriving pride or self-respect from some aspect of self-definition. I was wondering if anyone felt they could extend some of this thinking in a useful direction - suggest some linkages, some failures in my thinking or perhaps some other crises that my subservience to colonial middle-class hetero-patriarchal values may have forced me to put under some kind of erasure... " I'd appreciate any thoughts anyone might have...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: A murderer's web confessional? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/02/2002 10:47:01 AM ----- BODY:

A boy who bullies other kids at school gets hit by a car. Under the pretence of helping him, one of his previous victims drags him roughly to the curb, and while 'trying' to get him into the recovery position keeps pushing his body around until he's convinced that he's broken his neck. The boy dies shortly afterwards. The previous victim gets away scott-free. Or does he? First things first, because the neck-breaker decides to brag about his actions on Kuro5hin.org, triggering debates on both Kuro5hin and Metafilter about what should be done should the story prove to be true. And in the process they've named the individual concerned and posted the local police department's telephone number.

This situation brings all those fundamental weirdnesses of the internet right back to the fore in my mind - the freedom of expression presented gives you access into the minds of people that were previously completely invisible to you. And sometimes that's unpleasant, scary even. But what's the truth here? Who online can know? Is this a talented fantasist's rantings or an error in judgment by a remorseless man who believes still in the myth of total online anonymity? Is he sitting at home in Cornwall cold-sweating like a pig, or is he ice-cold, suited and booted at work? It's difficult to know what to think, except that either way it smacks slightly of sociopathy...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Rip the heads off the puppies, you puppy-hating bastard you... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/02/2002 02:05:34 PM ----- BODY:

They're pink and they're asking for it and frankly you'll be all too willing to oblige. It doesn't seem to hurt the little bitches either... Pink exploding-head doggies courtesy of Anno.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: BBC newsfeeds for all! STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/03/2002 02:29:33 PM ----- BODY:

Newsreaders like NetNewsWire - like web browsers - get more and more useful as more resources come online that they can read. Which is why it's such tremendously good news that BBC News has now released a public beta of an RSS feed to the general public. Thanks to Matt Jones for this one.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On the bankrupcy of music STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Radio & Music CATEGORY: Radio & Music DATE: 09/03/2002 03:01:23 PM ----- BODY:

In the spirit of the Royksopp video for "Remind Me" comes a new infographically inspired video for a song by Legowelt. As videos become more and more spectacular and sophisticated (Michel Gondry's work being particularly astonishing), I increasingly begin to wonder about the music that they are being attached to. Surely the songs cannot cost that much to assemble or perform? Certainly nowhere near as much as the videos must cost to make. Has the promotional device outstripped the product in creativity and artistic value? More at Barbelith

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: It's September, godammit! Where the hell is my iSync!? Where the arse is my iCal!? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/03/2002 05:47:18 PM ----- BODY:

Apple have been teasing us too long. I bought OSX.2 and frankly it's lovely (took me a while to adjust, but now I'm in heaven). But what about iCal? What about iSync?! They say they'll be released in September. But it is September godammit?! Where the hell are they!?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On not entering the Guardian's Weblog Competition... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/04/2002 01:07:11 AM ----- BODY:

With a little under three days to go until the Guardian's Weblog Competition closes, I'm now looking for British webloggers who didn't enter and aren't planning to do so. If that describes you (for whatever reason), then e-mail me and I'll let you in on what I'm scheming.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The "Not the Best Weblog" Project STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Personal Publishing CATEGORY: Personal Publishing DATE: 09/04/2002 11:58:57 AM ----- BODY:

What is it?

The "Not the Best" project is really simple. It's a tiny piece of code that post or stick in your template that will add the "Not the Best" box onto your site. The box includes a link to every British weblogger who decided not to participate in the Guardian's Best British Blog competition. If you didn't enter and you send in your site's URL, we'll add it to the box and it'll be updated on everyone's sites immediately.

How do I add the box to my site?

Here's the code you need to cut and paste... You can put it on your site as a normal post in your weblog, or you can add it to your template. Whatever makes you feel most comfortable...

<script language="javascript" src="http://www.plasticbag.org/files/misc/bestbritishblog.js"> </script>

Here's what it looks like at the moment...

What are the benefits to me?

On one side it gives you a chance to say publically and to the most number of people: 'Best British Blog - not for me'. But more positively it also means that everyone gets to meet other people who feel the same way as them. And it might introduce new people to your weblog...

Why are you doing it again?

When the Guardian announced that it was going to run the Best British Weblog competition there were a wide variety of reactions. Some people were delighted and entered immediately. Others thought it was a slightly weird idea and entered anyway, others (like myself) thought it hadn't really been thought through properly and wasn't necessarily a good thing for webloggers and weblogging in general.

As we approach the announcement of the winner of the award it seems like the perfect time to celebrate some of the curmudgeons and grumps that (for whatever reason) decided not to play... And to waggle a friendly nose-finger at the Guardian in the process as well. Hence the "Not the Best" project...

But before I go any further I think it's only fair to make it clear that anyone who has entered should feel that they have all of our best wishes. Good luck to you in the competition! And well done in advance if you should win. This isn't about making other webloggers feel bad in any way.

Everyone who didn't enter the competition had a different reason for doing so. Some people just thought they didn't really have a chance of winning. Which is valid! Some just felt uncomfortable competing, others thought it was a popularity contest, some just didn't understand the criteria that you could use to judge this kind of thing. Whatever your reason for not entering - altruistic, idealistic, jaded, bored or forgetful - you should feel able (welcome even) to participate...

So enjoy the variety of sites that decided fame and fortune were not for them - and if you want to join in the project yourself, remember - just stick this line of code on your site, and then e-mail a link to tom [at] plasticbag.org and I'll add your site as soon as possible...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: On one side it gives you a chance to say publically and to the most number of people: 'Best British Blog - not for me'. But more positively it also means that everyone gets to meet other people who feel the same way as them. And it might introduce new people to your weblog... ----- KEYWORDS: ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Peter EMAIL: peter@nakedblog.com IP: 62.31.64.2 URL: http://www.nakedblog.com DATE: 09/04/2002 03:30:00 PM Then you could have a competition to find the best of the blogs which didn't enter the competition... the possibilities are endless. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Gene EMAIL: anon@winklepickers.com IP: 195.92.81.250 URL: DATE: 09/04/2002 04:17:52 PM Seeing as a large proportion of people who submitted their blog to the competition probably did so not thinking they would win, or agreeing with the idea, but rather as yet another quick and easy chance to publicise their weblog, I would say what you're doing here is the perfect response. Getting a link right there on some of the most popular weblogs in the country is exactly what those people would love - and exactly what you're now giving to all the people who resisted. It's like a form of poetic justice isn't it. Good work sir! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: dug EMAIL: dug@pumpernickle.net IP: 213.123.251.139 URL: http://www.donkeyontheedge.com DATE: 09/06/2002 01:15:31 AM Surely entrance to bbwl shouldn't preclude entrance to wbwl -- I 'd like to win best, most average and worst... The whole concept that my random musings and opinions are better or worse that anyone else's random musings and opinions is just plain silly (which I'm assuming, is your point). Keep up the good work:-) ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Stephen Downes EMAIL: stephen@downes.ca IP: 24.231.19.84 URL: http://www.newstrolls.com DATE: 09/06/2002 03:23:32 PM Hiya, we polled our readers and the seven who felt it worth responding generally agreed that we are not the best British blog. Could have something to do with the fact that we're not British. Anyhow, we posted the box, but it's too wide. Could you narrow it by a half inch or so? Thanks. Stephen Downes, CTO, NewsTrolls http://www.newstrolls.com ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Leonie Gold EMAIL: leonie_gold@yahoo.co.uk IP: 158.152.135.129 URL: http://innercityproblempage.blogspot.com/ DATE: 09/26/2002 09:58:22 AM Well, don't say 'I told you so'. Thick-as-mince here thought I might get somewhere in that competition by at least *trying* to do something a bit different with the blog format. Why did I waste my time not giving my views in Iraq, opinions on movies and listing what I'm listening to this week? Why did I bother thinking that trying to help and entertain people through an interactive medium was a good idea and moved the blog idea on a bit from personal wank? (present company excepted...) For the moment, mine is a grassroots free blogspot-hosted blog, for certain good reasons, so there's no cute graphics. And problem pages are a girly thing, aren't they? Stupid, stupid me. OK. Sour grapes over. I was learning from scratch, so the design is somewhat primitive. Going to redesign & re-host soon :-) Thanks for your good work. ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: This is 'not the best' blog in Britain STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/04/2002 04:17:32 PM ----- BODY:

Did you decide not to enter the Guardian's weblog competition? If you didn't, then why not participate in the Not the best project - a small pod list of people who decided not to take part for whatever reason. You can stick the pod on your site really easily, and if you didn't enter and want to be listed on it then you can do that too. Have fun with it...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On the pronunciation of Ancient Greek... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/04/2002 05:23:40 PM ----- BODY:

I spent years learning Ancient Greek at University. If challenged I can spout off the first few lines of Euripides' Bacchae (my favourite tragedy) in a deep and rolling voice - a suitable voice for the god Dionysus who speaks them. But of course no one really completely knows for certain what it sounded like when it was spoken out loud... People have researched phonemes and attempted to reconstruct accents and pitch and rhythms from the intensive application of philology, but no one really knows. Still, it's fascinating to listen to some of the examples you can find on the net. Here's some Homer (Iliad 18, 39-96), some Aeschylus (Agamemnon 503-537) and some Plato (Symposium 172ff) from this site, which also includes some astonishingly weirdly assembled Ancient Greek Music. And all because I wanted to know whether 'noos' was pronounced 'no'os' or 'noose'.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Subjective Best British Weblog (after kevan.org) STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/04/2002 05:42:25 PM ----- BODY:

Inspired by kevan.org's comment about the Guardian award: "The whole thing seems dangerously adjacent to a World's Greatest X mug - pointless when presented by a panel of strangers, but quite meaningful and interesting if someone I know is explaining their reasoning. So I'm hereby forging meme #1 of the Subjective Best British Weblog competition, inviting people to nominate their current favourite and tell the world why. No prizes or vote-tallying, just a meaningful signpost to somewhere worth going." Agreed!

Unfortunately my subjective Best British Weblog is a secret one that a friend maintains and that I'm not allowed to link to. But my second favourite is probably interconnected.org - mainly because Matt writes things that often are just beyond my technical expertise, and he's almost never flippant or clumsy with language, but thinks through what he wants to say carefully and thoroughly. But most importantly because he's got a kind of weird visionary streak that means that you pick up on some of the frantic energy that motivates him through his writing and it helps you think more imaginatively as well... And as far as I'm concerned, that's what it's all about...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Five search requests from the last five hours... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/05/2002 12:15:21 AM ----- BODY:

There are many ways to find a site. These are some of the ways that people found mine in the last few hours...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: No more songs about letters... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/05/2002 03:30:53 PM ----- BODY:

I bought an album by the Bangles when I as about fifteen in the late eighties, and it had a song on it called "Return Post". And I listened to it again the other day for the first time in ages and it occurred to me that it's probably one of the very last songs of its kind - a song about love letters and the postal service. It will no longer make any sense at all in a few years time... Read the lyrics

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Utterly mercenary Tom wants some fucking cash for all his hard goddam work... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/05/2002 03:49:52 PM ----- BODY:

I can't find the link or I'd post it. If Jason had a search box it would have been easier to find. But I know that it's true. I know it. I remember it clearly - Jason asking someone to sponsor his site in exchange for an iBook. Now I once won an Anti-Bloggie (apologies for Google cache version) for being an unbearably mercenary and foul human being that craved money with a passion. But if that's so true, how come I never thought of getting people to paypal me donations (see related Wired news article) to buy myself a laptop with? I mean, there was a time last year when I was going to auction off dates with myself on ebay to pay the water bills. I'm supposed to be shameless. Well anyway, I've bloody thought about it now and no mistake... Keep watching the skies.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Aimee Mann returns (and no one saw fit to tell me about it) STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/06/2002 10:53:38 AM ----- BODY:

I don't know what's worse - that Aimee Mann should have just released a new album or that no one saw fit to mention it to me. If I wasn't such a crumbling wreck of proto-senility of course, then I'd have known about it etherically, like all "young people" do about the things they care about. Aimee Mann's always been a bit of a guilty pleasure for me - the icon of the emotional and insecure female singer-songwriter being a bit of a Big Gay Cliché and everything. But over time I've come to accept that you're allowed to listen to music like this and still retain some grasp on your masculinity if you balance it with a good heady dose of the Sex Pistols, The Pixies and some relatively hardcore dance stuff. Quite how this meshes with my current Bobby Darin obsession escapes me...

In related linkage, it's worth checking out Aimee Mann's new site - it's all a bit Flash-heavy, but it's quite stylish and includes large amounts of well-assembled audio clips and the like - plus it looks (although I don't believe it is) partially designed by Daniel Clowes of "Ghost World" fame.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: "That link again, it's Mr Kottke..." STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/06/2002 12:10:29 PM ----- BODY:

Thanks to Neal, Nico, Steve and Grant (among others) for pointing out how useless and inexpert a wannabe web savant I am. The post in which Jason prostitutes himself for a few hundred dollars worth of fine fine Apple product is here.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: A fascinating piece on the relationship between orality and literacy and journal-writing... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/06/2002 12:20:46 PM ----- BODY:

"Even in a personal diary addressed to myself I must fictionalize the addressee. Indeed, the diary demands, in a way, the maximum fictionalizing of the utterer and the addressee. Writing is always a kind of imitation talking, and in a diary I therefore am pretending that I am talking to myself. But I never really talk this way to myself. Nor could I without writing or indeed without print. The personal diary is a very late literary form, in effect unknown until the seventeenth century (Boerner 1969). The kind of verbalized solipsistic reveries it implies are a product of consciousness as shaped by print culture. And for which self am I writing? Myself today? As I think I will be ten years from now? As I hope I will be? For myself as I imagine myself or hope others may imagine me? Questions such as this can and do fill diary writers with anxieties and often enough lead to discontinuation of diaries. The diarist can no longer live with his or her fiction. " (Orality and Literacy, Walter J Ong, Routledge1982)

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Guardian "Best British Weblog" closes today STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/06/2002 12:59:55 PM ----- BODY:

Whatever my personal opinions of the prize - the Guardian's "Best British Weblog" prize closes today. Good luck to everyone who entered! I secretly want Matt to win (nobody knows that though - don't spread it around) because I think he'd be completely surprised and geniunely touched. But whoever wins, enjoy it! (And to anyone who thinks that they might win, go and read Meg's piece and make sure that your house is in order before everything goes ballistic.) Raise your glasses one and all to the wonders of Webloggia!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Buffy: Once More With Feeling (available on Amazon.com not .co.uk) STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/06/2002 03:37:36 PM ----- BODY:

Very little to say about about this except that you can't get it in the UK yet... Buffy, The Vampire Slayer: Once More With Feeling.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Trivia about Bryan Adams STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/07/2002 11:25:59 AM ----- BODY:

Interesting fact: In the summer of 1969, Bryan Adams was precisely nine years old.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: How gay is Captain Nice? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/07/2002 02:05:41 PM ----- BODY:

How gay is Captain Nice? He's my hero... (courtesy of TVParty.com)

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On putting on an old suit... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/07/2002 11:19:26 PM ----- BODY:

There's nothing that reminds you more about the evolving (expanding) nature of your own body like an old suit. I only have one suit - it's a lovely brown/grey number that I got when I first moved to London five or six years ago. At the time it was a snug fit, but over the years snug appears to have become closer to vacuum packing than clothing. I wouldn't mind so much if it was a development forward, but it appears to be a development sideways, which is very much the last thing I was expecting... If it continues at this pace I'm going to be infinitely wide and just as deep as I always was. I'll be like a huge huge two foot thick piece of man-paper. And then nothing will fit me. The shame, the shame...

So here it is, me in my suit with the worst tie in the world, busting out all over with some of the most ludicrous hair I've ever managed to cultivate. Sigh.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Unable to comment on our own revolution? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Personal Publishing CATEGORY: Personal Publishing DATE: 09/08/2002 03:19:13 PM ----- BODY:

There's an article in Internet Magazine this month about weblogs and weblogging which starts with these words...

Weblogging - what's it all about? A bunch of losers prattling on about what they had for breakfast and pretending they found links that Memepool unearthed eons ago? Or the new hope, coming up from the grassroots, for a Web counterculture that's finding itself increasingly drowned out by large corporations? Don't know? Want to find out more? Then read this survey of the blogging world by Kim Gilmour. [Their emphases]

Let's get the stuff that might undermine my argument out in the open straightaway. Yes - I found this article because someone e-mailed me about it. Yes, there is a screenshot of plasticbag.org in it. And yes, plasticbag.org is listed in the section called Essential Blogs as well, along with Microcontent News, BlackbeltJones.com, Megnut, Scripting News, Swish Cottage, Not.So.Soft and Wil Wheaton Dot Net. I don't think this is particularly relevant to what I'm going to be talking about - but you may disagree.

Right. Back to the beginning then. Let's look at that opening paragraph for a moment. Firstly let's take issue with the site that's mentioned prominently - in fact let's point out that Memepool is in fact a weblog. It may be a weblog pioneer that predated blogger, but it remains a weblog. This is just a minor gripe. I have no major issue here.

More interesting is the statement about weblogs as the 'last, best hope' against 'large corporations'. And here's where the irony of the whole article comes very clearly into focus. Because as you read the article - which (among other things) ostensibly is describing how personal publishing is a work of resistance by the little guy against the homogeneity of mainstream media - it becomes very clear very quickly that the only people that they've talked to for this article are representatives of corporations, business and mainstream media. And all of these representatives have some kind of vested interest in weblogs and weblogging. In fact while the emap publication talks a lot about the utility of weblogging, the fun of weblogging, even the egos of webloggers at no point does it believe that webloggers have the intelligence or authority to actually have a legitimate opinion about their medium.

This is probably the right point to drag in our old friend Simon Waldman from the Guardian, who in fact does have a weblog of his own, although it's hardly what he's known best for. Simon is very definitely a weblog enthusiast, someone I don't believe is interested in 'exploiting' weblogs, and someone who earnestly believes in the power of the revolution in personal publishing. Interestingly he's also the man behind the Guardian's Best British Weblog Award. And he's also the man that in our recent debate said this:

"This competition is the result of our respect for the movement, not an attempt to appropriate it. We would no more try and appropriate blogging than we'd try to herd cats, juggle jelly and push water uphill at the same time."

Now I'm more interested in gesturing towards the attitude of the writer of the article than I am at Simon. But nonetheless, for someone who states publically that he doesn't want to appropriate blogging to be quoted or referenced seven times during the article - talking about everything from the nature of weblogs as democratic publishing through to the ethics of impartiality online - seems more than a little ironic. I don't want to pick on Simon, because if he's been asked for his opinion then why on earth shouldn't he give it, but not once are the questions of integrity, pretensions to journalism, cliquey-ness etc ever addressed to the people who are in the best position to comment - political webloggers, personal webloggers, warbloggers, techbloggers.

In fact if we collate the people who are quoted in the article (in a 'for this article' way rather than the scant quarter sentences ripped off from someone's site) we come up with this:

Simon Walden Seven mentions
The director of digital publishing at Guardian Online has his own weblog, certainly. But I don't think he'd consider it unfair if I said that he was far from an expert on webloggia.
Evan Williams Seven mentions
One of the earliest webloggers to use Blogger - but essentially interviewed because he was one of the creators of the software in the early Pyra days.
Steve Browbrick Two mentions
Steve is the founder of Another.com, a site which does web-based e-mail. His presence in the article is completely unexplained.
Rob Taylor Two mentions
The developer of a weblog comments system.

So here's my conclusion, and this isn't true either of all publishers (the Guardian is a welcome exception here) or mainstream media groups, but I think it is true of many. Despite their protestations to the contrary, most mainstream publishers who say that weblogs represent a new democratising of the media still lapse into talking to figures with substantial 'authority' in the 'real world' rather than webloggers themselves. It seems that even though we represent a 'counterculture that's finding itself increasingly drowned out by large corporations', the mainstream media is still more prepared to go to representatives of these businesses and corporations when they want an opinion about personal publishing. It seems that when talking about personal publishing, mainstream media still doesn't credit webloggers with the intelligence, integrity or ability to even comment on their own revolution...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: In which - taking as an example a recent article from Internet Magazine - I make a claim that despite their protestations to the contrary, most mainstream media outlets still don't credit webloggers with the intelligence, integrity or ability to even comment on their own revolution... ----- KEYWORDS: ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Gert EMAIL: gert.blog@REMOVE.brixton.fsworld.co.uk IP: 195.92.67.69 URL: http://gert68.blogspot.com DATE: 09/08/2002 11:24:49 PM I agree with the main thrust of your article. I would like to add that I find it refreshing that the writer has included you, Meg and, er, Swish. I say that because I get so bored reading articles about how blogging is all about Andrew Sullivan and Instpundit etc etc, and how it's a way that people can have shouting matches take on the mainstream media in discussing matters of world importance. I see a variety of sites where people have a bit of fun, or work through mental health issues; sites where amateurs like myself discover we have the ability to maintain a (small) audience and thus maintain the discipline of writing. Most of all, it's a learning experience. For me, learning about HTML, learning how to write for an audience, and, most of all, learning about myself. I find the connections fascinating: how I discover sites that lead me to others, and how I find my readers commenting on sites that I believe they found via me. And I'm just one of the little people. I think an analogy would be to describe the digital camera solely in terms of what it does for photojournalists etc, without discussing what it does for the millions of amateurs who have changed the whole way they take photographs, and even look at the world around them. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Seyed Razavi EMAIL: seyed@monkeyx.com IP: 62.231.146.14 URL: http://www.monkeyx.com DATE: 09/09/2002 03:54:54 PM It may be that for a publication to reach non-bloggers it has to have non-bloggers acting as guides. This is not atypical of the way media treats any specialist pursuit. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Coates EMAIL: tom@plasticbag.org IP: 213.123.133.47 URL: http://www.plasticbag.org DATE: 09/10/2002 12:16:57 AM That's true and a completely valid point. But then again, it's also good journalistic practice (speaking as an ex-journalist) to actually interview some of the people you're talking about as well. You do a feature about people who collect bottle-tops, you talk to some of the people who collect them... Even if it's in passing! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: nick sweeney EMAIL: nick@nonspace.org IP: 62.254.64.6 URL: DATE: 09/11/2002 10:33:31 PM Mr. Coates will admit, though, that another print publication went straight to his door when asked to get some suitable comments on the whole weblog phenomenon. It's an absurdity that people essentially rehash previously-written works down to the lowest common denominator, in terms of the sources regarded as primary, but Danny O'Brien nailed it with his 'four waves of media' thing... ;) ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Kim Gilmour EMAIL: kimg@internet.emap.com IP: 217.33.194.194 URL: http://www.internet-magazine.com DATE: 09/27/2002 05:14:25 PM Thanks for taking the time to read and "analyse" my article! I did believe that Evan Williams was a truly representative blogger - despite the fact that yes, he did develop the Pyra software - and Steve Bowbrick is a web pioneer with his own blog (the URL of which should have been mentioned in the article). The angle of the story was more on the media organisations that may see blogs complementing their commentary. I, perhaps wrongly, assumed that doing a box-out on essential blogs so that people could see for THEMSELVES what they had to say was sufficient. One could even argue that because certain bloggers thought the Guardian's blog competition was a "bloody stupid idea", then why should they even care about being involved in a feature about them in the first place? :) I should point out that I interviewed Simon, Steve and Evan a couple of weeks before the Guardian even announced that they were doing a weblog competition (and they happened to be half the judging panel!). "D'oh!" was the word to spring to mind! I did attempt to contact a few of the other weblog pioneers, and indeed I have even tried to email you on a couple occasions about blogs, but no reply. Last of all, if you'd emailed us about your apparent "lack of voice" in the article, we would almost have certainly included it in our mailbox section. Hopefully, next time we mention blogs, you and your peers might like to be more involved. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Allain EMAIL: hallaow@iprimus.com.au IP: 210.50.56.185 URL: http://hallaow.2ya.com DATE: 11/25/2002 04:39:14 AM I see weblogs as a way of "Time Capsuling" (is that a word?) information and to let anybody that wants to make the effort what is happening in your life, business or study. So I guess we could use it to help other people (in the study sense), make contacts and (if your desperate) sell products. It's a better way of talking to everyone over the internet because emailing has become of the years an advertising tool where people trash mail they suspect is spam ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Not the Best British Blog (part er... thousand) STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/08/2002 03:44:18 PM ----- BODY:

Because the deadline for entries has now passed, I've temporarily dropped the 'Not the Best' box down to the bottom of the page. When the winner is announced, I'll bounce it back up to the top for a few more days before we all move on to more interesting and dynamic new projects...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Is it wrong for a homosexualist to heavily identify with Bruce Springsteen? I think it must be. STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/08/2002 09:01:17 PM ----- BODY:

It's difficult for me to justify my current enthusiasm for Bruce Springsteen. He's hardly the firmest young boyband dominated Gayland, nor is he the current hipster dance music sensation that the digiterati are wolfing down. And he's so entirely unrepresentative of the music that I normally listen to. But there's something strangely compelling about it...

I get up in the evening,
And I ain't got nothing to say,
I come home in the morning,
I go to bed feeling the same way.
I ain't nothing but tired,
Man I'm just tired and bored with myself.
Hey there baby, I could use just a little help...

You can't start a fire,
You can't start a fire without a spark,
This gun's for hire,
Even if we're just dancing in the dark.

Message keeps getting clearer,
Radio's on and I'm moving 'round my place,
I check my look in the mirror,
I wanna change my clothes, my hair, my face.
Man I ain't getting nowhere,
Just living in a dump like this.
There's something happening somewhere.
Baby I just know that there is...

You can't start a fire,
You can't start a fire without a spark,
This gun's for hire,
Even if we're just dancing in the dark.

You sit around getting older.
There's a joke here somewhere and it's on me,
I'll shake this world off my shoulders.
Come on baby the laugh's on me...

Stay on the streets of this town,
And they'll be carving you up all right.
They say you gotta stay hungry,
Hey baby, I'm just about starving tonight.
I'm dying for some action,
I'm sick of sitting 'round here trying to write this book,
I need a love reaction,
Come on now baby, gimme just one look.

You can't start a fire,
Sitting 'round crying over a broken heart,
This gun's for hire,
Even if we're just dancing in the dark.
You can't start a fire,
Worrying about your little world falling apart,
This gun's for hire,
Even if we're just dancing in the dark.
Even if we're just dancing in the dark.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: So I'm watching the Lost Boys and thinking to myself, "Is it just me or did people look properly hot back then?" STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/08/2002 09:26:47 PM ----- BODY:

It might just be the sexual equivalent of geese imprinting on badgers they're brought up with, but I'm watching the Lost Boys and thinking to myself, "Is it just me or did people look properly hot back then?". Young people nowadays just don't have the big hair or substantial shoulder pads of yesteryear. Where's today's Bobby Ewing, I ask myself. Nowhere I can see...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Is your site inaccessible to people in China? If not, why not? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/09/2002 10:14:36 AM ----- BODY:

China has recently been blocking access to a whole variety of sites across the world, including BBC News and Google. Now you can test to see if your site has been blocked. Plasticbag.org remains non-threatening to the culture of China. Which is a terrible shame... The temptation to start summarising and heavily quoting huge blocks of BBC articles is almost overwhelming... [via Jones]

So at work today someone said that they didn't want the dictator of Iraq replaced with some American glove puppet. But I say it all depends on which particular glove puppet is set to rule in his place. I vote for the ex-pets.com sock puppy...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On the strange timeliness of Matt Webb's posts... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/09/2002 06:56:27 PM ----- BODY:

Anyone looking closely at Haddock Blogs might have noticed an interesting trend in Matt Webb's recent posting to his site. He seems to post precisely twice a day - at ten in the morning and at three in the afternoon. Each and every day. Since Friday. Which is interesting, because I happen to know for a fact that Mr Webb is in fact on holiday this week, which leads me to suspect that secretly he's automated the whole posting process in some cunning and as-yet-to-be-divulged way. Which makes me think - he's posting more regularly at the moment than when he's here, and everything is of equal quality to his normal posts. So in many ways, it's almost better that he's not actually here...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: In the Navy! STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/09/2002 11:55:57 PM ----- BODY:

So anyway the story is short and lacking in pith. So you're just going to have to go along with it, relish the pictures and move on with your lives. My co-worker Mr Gyford went to Burning Man. He and his group of messy degenerate friends decided to go in full seafarers garb. Along the way I got to try on a uniform. It's ridiculous, but I took pictures anyway.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Rejoice, ye users of OSX.2! For the great iCal cometh! STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/10/2002 11:04:29 AM ----- BODY:

While it's downloading, I have a few scant moments to say to the world - rejoice! For the iCal cometh...!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: It's difficult to know what to say today... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/11/2002 05:45:32 PM ----- BODY:

Half a world away from Ground Zero, London is on alert today - worried about whether we might be the targets of some kind of commemorative attack. But these are exaggerated fears. Alerted security forces probably make this the safest day to be in a large city since 9/11 itself. And in and around these tensions the same things go on in our lives. Daily things. Little things. Like me picking up my iPod from the repair shop. Like having been stuck on the bus for hours this morning. Like how beautiful the sky looks today. Like how I overslept because I was loath to wake from a longing but desperate dream and how it's stayed with me all day. And I'm ashamed because these are the things that have been in my mind. And not the world-breaking, heart-shattering weirdness of a year ago today...

For obvious reasons it's difficult to know what to write about. I thought about (belatedly) making the whole site monochrome, as Yahoo has done. I thought about long pieces of writing about Infoshare or maybe writing about where I was - what I was thinking - on that early afternoon last September. Except that my first reactions when I heard about the planes was one of complete disbelief - humour even. Who knew that the plane was a passenger jet and not a tiny one-man prop plane? Who knew (who wasn't near a television) that it was a terrorist attack? Who knew so many people would die... I don't want to think about that again.

I've thought about what I should write all day (and for much of yesterday as well). I can't think of a single thing that I could convey a thousandth of what needs to be said. Everything would be gestural at best - facile, empty. Everything would be inelegant - although maybe that's the only kind of thing that would make any sense today anyway. Maybe our thoughts should be large and savage and potent and overwhelming. Maybe they should be as large as they can while there's time for them to be so, before we have to get on with the business of living in the world again.

The only thing I can think of that comes close to being meaningful is a quote from the novel of a much wiser man than I. In Kurt Vonnegut's Timequake a world suffers a calamity and no one knows how to deal with life when it's over. A man walks around telling people, "You were sick, but now you're well again, and there's work to be done". There's a sentiment to take with you. Look around you now. Think about the world in which we live. And think about the sense of closeted safeness that most of the Western world felt one year and one day ago. And say it with me now, to yourself and to the regimes and leaders all over the world from London and the US, from Afghanistan to Iraq, "You were sick, but now you're well again, and there's work to be done".

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Hello Kitty 40,000 STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/12/2002 05:59:36 AM ----- BODY:

While working (playing) with a new template for a site that I work on - designing, in fact, a complete "Hello Kitty" skin for it if I'm forced to be honest - I stumbled upon one of the most glorious images I've seen in a long long time. In a universe gone mad, will Kitty and her crack troops be able to bring a deathly order back? Hello Kitty 40,000

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Here's something wonderful for September 12th... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/12/2002 10:23:53 AM ----- BODY:

Dorian, the guy I work next to at an UnnamedMediaService is having a baby! He didn't tell anyone for ages, and then he kind of mentioned it surreptitiously over AIM. When I turned over to look at him, he had the biggest grin on his face and a kind of conspiratorial wiggle in his eyebrows. A bit like he'd done something wrong at school that he was actually really proud of. Mischievous, maybe? It's difficult to describe. He looked like he was going to burst any minute - like literally explode. I think it's the coolest thing that's ever happened to anyone. Ever. And already there are baby pictures to gawk at... From nine weeks to thirteen weeks... And he's putting more up soon...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Over a year after the web goes wild, popbitch catches up... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/12/2002 11:38:33 AM ----- BODY:

I feel absolutely unbearably bitchy for doing this, but really... A full year after the web goes wild for it, popbitch's latest newsletter catches up with the faked moonlanding site...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Meme Overload... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/12/2002 12:34:54 PM ----- BODY:

No! I am Spartacus...

Addendum: Don't buy this album. I have no idea whether or not it is good or not. But the challenge went out and I had to rise to it.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Steve Jobs IS Agent Triple (OS) X... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/12/2002 02:59:46 PM ----- BODY:

Steve Jobs stars as Xander "Triple (OS) X" Cage, the notorious underground thrill seeker and computer visionary who until now has been deemed grumpy by the press... Download the full wallpaper today!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On B3ta, homophobia and teen suicide STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Gay CATEGORY: Gay CATEGORY: Net Culture DATE: 09/13/2002 02:44:30 PM ----- BODY:

The post below may be edited through the day. I have written it in a blaze of fury and irritation, and the language, grammar and spelling has suffered as a consequence.

What the fuck is going on with B3ta? Each and every week there's the same range of crap jokes - the crap jokes that we've come to love - but increasingly one of those jokes each week seems to be about stupid funny gay people and how freakish, stereotypical and generally funny they are. I'm not going to deny that sometimes their jokes are really funny, and I wouldn't comment in the slightest if it was a relatively rare occurrence - no one wants to live in a world where people can't make any kind of tasteless jokes at all - but this really seems to be becoming some kind of obsession. And the excuse that I've heard is that it's just 'schoolyard japery' - stuff that doesn't really mean gay at all - like the idiots who wander around the place saying, "Marriage is so gay" - is just bullshit. At a certain point you have to look at the kids who grow up in these schoolyards - gay kids - who are surrounded by anti-gay sentiment each and every day. As a child, you don't even have to know what being gay means to know fairly early on that it's not something you're supposed to be - that it's bad and wrong and shameful. And b3ta is not only sanctioning this culture in schools, it's fucking promoting it and extending it to adults!

Let's start with a bit of a survey of the first few 'gay offerings' by B3ta I could find. If you know any others, let me know.

And by way of juxtaposition, a couple of years back I wrote an article On Homophobic Bullying in Schools. Let's just see what kind of effect 'gay' jokes can have on kids...

In November, an inquest heard that a 15-year-old choirboy had been found hanged in his bedroom. Darren Steele had been left at home watching Neighbours by his mother when she went out for the evening. When she returned she found him dead. A note by his body explained that he had killed himself because of the bullying that he was suffering at school.

Darren had been bullied because other students thought he was gay. At the inquest, his friends explained that he had been regularly taunted as a 'gay boy' and a 'poof' because of his interests in drama and cookery. Over the previous five years he had been systematically punched, verbally abused and even burned with cigarettes by other students. He never told a teacher.

His mother's statement reads: "I saw Darren kneeling on the far side of the bed. His face was blue. I went downstairs screaming 'my son is dead'."

There's more if you can stomach it.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: One final additional comment about B3ta... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/14/2002 11:38:48 AM ----- BODY:

Following on from yesterday's rant about B3ta, I just want to add that I didn't make this post to the b3ta board (they managed to spell Barbelith wrong for a start) but that the responses from some of the board's regulars weren't exactly heartening... I like my nice liberal forum much more...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Barty Trabaca comes out to his parents... And I was there when the letter arrived... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/14/2002 11:54:38 AM ----- BODY:

And just to show that good things happen as well, and that being an unruly poof isn't entirely about stropping around the place causing fights - Bart from Trabaca has had the best news. He decided to come out to his parents by sending them a letter. He's been agonising about it on his site for months and he's been absolutely terrified about their reaction, but in the end he sent a letter and yesterday received a reply from his father saying that they were still best friends and that they're keen to come and visit him over the weekend and make sure he's ok. Which is totally, perfectly the best possible thing they could have done. They understood what a big deal it was to him, and completely want to make him feel connected and loved. Bloody genius people.

I was online and chatting to Bart when the letter arrived, and he got a bit freaked so I rang him up (in New York) and we chatted. It was so nice hearing how happy and relieved he was. Good on you, old chap. You've earned your spurs, you're in the union, you've got your license to practise...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Blo.gs STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/14/2002 01:32:12 PM ----- BODY:

It's been around for a while, but I've never really commented upon it. Blo.gs sems to take over where weblogs.com left off a while ago. You can visit random sites, browse blogs and most importantly track your favourites. The site doesn't render particularly well on a Mac, but it remains fairly useful...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: My brush with a Pop Idol... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/15/2002 11:03:39 AM ----- BODY:

This couldn't happen in America. Not where they have proper pop-stars who live the lifestyle - wandering between parties and premieres with coke, drink and sexual fluids oozing from their noses. Americans know how to do things properly when it comes to stardom. Except with Anne Robinson. And Simon Cowell. But I'm getting ahead of myself...

Our evening begins, strangely enough, with a discussion between Simon and I about the state of the music industry. As bands get more and more prefabricated, and the audience they're being pitched towards gets younger and younger - isn't there a chance that the music industry is gradually pushing itself unsustainably towards blander, less 'relevant' music? How long until rhythm, lyric and melody themselves are completely sacrificed to firm, tanned boys pouting at the camera in full-on pre-teen sex-free idol-porn? Only time will tell.

Simon and I were in town to catch up with each other and watch The Bourne Identity, which was empty but diverting. And when it ended we went our separate ways. Him trainwards back to Guildford, me to the Number 6 bus-stop on Regent's Street. And it's clearly the bus-stop of stars, because number one recording artist and third-place Britney-murderering PopIdol Darius was also milling around there with a group of friends... After a while they wandered off, just giving me time to send a few apparently-interested-in-a-kind-of-ironic-way-but-actually-quite-excited text messages to a few dozen friends, acquaintances, co-workers and complete strangers, before my bus arrived. Truly - mine is a life of true glamour...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Best British Weblog... An update... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/15/2002 11:44:34 AM ----- BODY:

So it's four days until the winner of the Guardian's Best British Weblog is to be announced and interesting new facts are emerging about how it's being conducted and the attitude of (at least one of) the judges. Via Quinquireme I came upon Bowblog - which is the site of Steve Bowbrick, one of the Guardian-elected arbiters of our huge online community. He talks a bit about the Not the Best Project in vaguely completely-missing-the-point kind of terms, but I'll pass swiftly over that. What I won't pass over are these particularly stunning statements:

"I think the competition will prove to be a real validation for the new form and, I hope, a springboard for the weblog's leap into the mainstream."

And my particular favourite:

"It's always difficult to see your clever, groovy, pioneering passion popularised but I'm certain that even the elite would prefer the visibility and influence that competitions like this will provide to obscurity and irrelevance."

Is there anyone out there who runs a site who feels that weblogs really need validation any more? Three years after they exploded, with hundreds of thousands of sites in the world, talking on every subject possible? Is it really the Guardian's place to give you permission to feel good about your medium? Bugger off. And looking around the room again, I ask you all - do you really think that the Guardian's able to rescue us all from the 'obscurity and irrelevance' that we're apparently all languishing in?

Some more interesting information can be gleaned from these couple of posts - the judges have received a list of 'dozens' of weblogs. Clearly this doesn't amount to everyone who entered - when I met Simon Waldman he told me that several hundred people had entered. So who's been written off the list before it even gets to the judges, and on what grounds? Who the hell is actually judging this thing?

I'll tell you what - next year make the name less tendentious, conduct the competition openly and honestly, and don't be so bloody full of what you can do for us - stop treating it as something that a superior grown-up media organisation is doing as a favour for the little tiny people - and maybe some of this year's grumpy 'refuseniks' won't be able to claim that this is more about co-opting our revolution than it is about promoting the medium... Do that, and I might even enter... In the meantime, I'm going to completely agree with Quinquireme when she says... "Look mate, you've totally missed the point. You're not validating us, we're invalidating you!"

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Meanwhile, it looks like everything didn't go as well for Bart as he'd hoped... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/15/2002 10:08:55 PM ----- BODY:

And while people tell me that there's still some battles on B3ta's mailing list about my post the other day, across the Atlantic a young gay man who's had enough trouble in his life already is now having to deal with post-coming-out fallout from his parents. Bart did the deed a couple of days ago and their first reaction seemed really positive, but since then things have gone downhill. I feel awful for Bart - completely awful. I think it's terrible that the world can make it so difficult for young gay men and women. And I just cannot understand how anyone can try and stop accurate information being distributed to parents and children. Or why any religion, society or political persuasion would want to make gay teenagers' lives any more difficult than they already are. It scares and - frankly - disgusts me.

My own experiences of coming out were very different from Bart's. In the early nineties, there was no internet to be a first point of call. I had no contact with any other gay people or impartial information of any kind except for a late-night television show. That show was literally the only thing I had in the world that told me that there were other people out there who were like me. And to be honest, they weren't really like me - they were very politicised, very scary looking people. It wasn't until my year out before University that I came out to anyone, and that was undertaken in a pretty half-assed way. He didn't even realise I'd done it for weeks. It just kind of happened in the background. And it took me until my first year at University to come out to anyone else, and it was a few years after that before my mother and I had the fateful argument that ended with me telling her what a bloody difficult woman she was and that, by the way, I was a big homo.

If there are any teenage gay guys out there who are having trouble with their parents, then you could do much worse than send them information about PFLAG. They may sound a bit worthy, but they're really good decent people. I had the honour of arranging an event at my old university with some people from the English branch. They were amazing. There's a really good PDF that's worth downloading too: Our Daughters and Sons: Questions and Answers for Parents of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered People. And feel free to e-mail me if you want to have a talk about anything...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Google doesn't jump to the pertinent anchor on a page... I wonder why not... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/16/2002 12:44:03 PM ----- BODY:

Less than a rant, more than a query - today I'm interested in the way Google handles links to pages which contain internal anchors. For example, if you do a search for 'Greg Dyke' on my Atomz powered search facility, then you get this exact link, whereas Google if presented with a similar search term (but not exactly the same as Google clearly won't rate me quite as highly), then you get this page returned. The difference? One has picked up the internal anchor on the page and the other hasn't. Is there any particular reason why Google doesn't leap to the relevant internal anchor? Is it to do with the specifics of weblog content?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Daypop remains down, culture-whores and link-vultures everywhere turn to Blogdex for solace... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/16/2002 12:55:11 PM ----- BODY:

Odd link of the day - Daypop is out of action at the moment - it turns out it was out of disk space. But while it's being fixed, it turns out you can visit the archives to find out what were the most blogged-about sites from any day in the last several months. On my thirtieth birthday, for example, the daypop top 40 was obsessed with Amazon Light, the relaunched iPod and the damn Guardian Best British Blog competition. In the meantime Blogdex is mostly still up and running if you're still suffering Daypop-withdrawal.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Do you want to know what it's like coming out? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/16/2002 03:13:37 PM ----- BODY:

I don't know if this is going to have the same impact for people who haven't gone through it, or worried about going through it, as it has for those of us who have. But if you want a fairly accurate picture of what coming out to a parent feels like for most people, then this excerpt from a BBC TV Series 'Diners' will provide it. The important things to notice here are Paul's nerves and vague mishandling of the process (he's clearly sheepish and embarrassed), the heartfelt emotion by his mother and finally his look of confusion and worry - he's just plain scared - at the end... It's not hardcore, it's not violent - it's two people in a restaurant talking. But it's still difficult and upsetting viewing...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Are weblogs and webloggers sexist and homophobic? I say, no! STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/17/2002 05:15:07 PM ----- BODY:

So the question of the moment is Are Weblogs Sexist? It's a stunningly weird thing to argue for such a medium - where anyone can have their say and link to whatever and whomever they wish. But I suppose it's possible to argue that the community favours, and tends to link to, posts by men - although I think it's untrue. Someone in the same thread argues that gay webloggers are also almost invisible, but that goes directly against my personal experience, so I find it difficult to take seriously. In fact, in a discussion with Cal a while back, the suggestion was mooted that gay men particularly might be over-represented in our little community - particularly in the UK. My personal feeling is that this again is unfounded, and that it's merely our ability to be open and visible that makes us so evident. However, if you're really looking for a lesson to learn from all of this, then could I suggest is that we should all keep aware of how easy it is to be parochial when you're writing about your life. Something that's comprehensible to the widest amount of people will probably also be more interesting for them.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Is iCal a forward-thinking blogtool for meatspace? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/18/2002 12:49:00 PM ----- BODY:

So last night, while as glued to Forever Young as you legitimately can be, I had a long involved AIM-conversation with Ian Betteridge about whether or not iCal is a meatspace blogging tool. His argument was that the sharing of information about oneself freely on the web constituted weblog-like behaviour. But I maintain that the publishing of calendars is a very distinct creature, as separate from weblogs as a project plan is from a teenage confessional...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: It's showbiz wedding time at weblog central... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/18/2002 02:55:58 PM ----- BODY:

"And it's finally official: Meg and Paul are getting married! This is of course genius news about two friends of mine that I think are wonderful and totally adore. It's enough to inspire you with hope and cheery feelings way in excess of anything generated merely with amphetamines and alcohol. Good on you kids..."

"it's also an event that will resonate through Blogdom, whether they like it or not (and they damn better bloody like it because I can't stop shouting about it everywhere I go). I've already put in two or three begging calls to be official reporter for blogdom - but don't expect pictures, because I think they're going to Hello! magazine. I remain concerned that I might be called to play the role of (old) maid of honour or bridesmaid - but I take heart in the possibility that Davo may have to return to England to stand beside me in a crimplene frock."

"But at this time of happy wonderings, ladies and gentlemen, let us not forget those who have been laxer about their nuptials. While Meg and Paul's news warms the cockles of all our hearts, will now a world full of expectant webloggers now turn their wiggling eyebrows and pointed expressions San Francisco-wards?"

"This is Tom Coates, reporting live from Los Angeles for the Weblog Entertainment Network..."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Oh god - not more books on bloody weblogging... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/18/2002 03:40:07 PM ----- BODY:

First we had The Weblog Handbook , then We've Got Blog , then We Blog (all of which I've read or am reading). Then there's the O'Reilly Essential Blogging, which I haven't read yet - and now Blogging by Biz Stone and Blog on by Todd Stauffer. Is there really a market for all of them? So far, I'm embarrassed to confess, the one I've enjoyed most has been Rebecca Blood's Weblog Handbook, which actually managed to remind me what it was that drew me to weblogs in the first place. Personal and engaging with a clear and almost kindly voice... Much recommended for beginners, and worth reading for those of us who've been around the block a few times...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: NetNewsWire Pro Features Announced... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/19/2002 02:08:59 PM ----- BODY:

Mac-users and weblog enthusiasts have generally been pretty stunned by how neat and useful NetNewsWire Lite is at keeping them up to date with what's going on around the web. It's like a combined update list and weblog reader that sits on your desktop and fills everything with light and wonder. (Of course there's a huge battle going on behind the scenes about the future of the RSS format, but we'll pass swiftly over that.) Recently, there's been talk of a Pro version of the software that you'd have to pay for, and to be honest I've been suspicious - it's such a nice elegant little application - it doesn't feel like anything is missing from it at all... But having seen this list of pro features I'm drooling... Weblog editing, filters, different views... Mmmmm....

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: False alarm! Weblog competition winners announced this time next week... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/19/2002 02:10:51 PM ----- BODY:

A brief thanks to the crew at onlineblog for letting me know that the Guardian Best British Blog Award is to be announced this time next week...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Nokia brands warchalkers "Thieves" STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/19/2002 02:26:55 PM ----- BODY:

So Nokia have declared the practice of warchalking to be a "simply stealing" according to an article at the BBC: Wireless hitchhikers branded as thieves. I'm beginning to feel quite a lot of sympathy for Matt Jones on this one - as time passes, it's increasingly clear that he's the figurehead of the 'movement' whether he likes it or not. And the mainstream media is more often than not mischaracterising the issue at hand, scaremongering to put it bluntly, making it seem like the action of insane terrorist cracker types, rather than community-minded liberals.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Skies, sites, time and boredom... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/19/2002 09:03:34 PM ----- BODY:

I wonder - if weeks pass when you can't think of anything to write on your site, if you have months where the most pleasant thing you can imagine is looking at the sky, if you're vaguely content, but time seems to pass at a tremendous rate and nothing seems to happen. Does all this mean that you're really living your life to the full?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I'm the only gay eskimo in my tribe... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/19/2002 10:44:22 PM ----- BODY:

You'll laugh, I know. You'll think it's funny. You won't understand the true pain behind such a song. The longing, the pain. I may die. Hang on a minute, I need a lie-down. Oh that's better. So sing along with me, cigarette lighter held high. I'll be with you brothers and sisters - tears streaming down our faces as we remember our northern cousins... If you laugh, I'm coming around your house and I'll punch you in the face...

I'm the only gay Eskimo
I'm the only one I know
I'm the only gay Eskimo
In my tribe
I go out seal hunting with my best friend Tarka
But all want to do is get into his parka
I'm the only gay Eskimo
In my tribe
Well me and Nukflukchukbuk
We both like blubber
But me I've got this crazy fetish for rubber
I'm the only gay Eskimo
In my tribe
And the seals they sing....
[Full lyrics]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: ONE: A very short Space Odyssey... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/19/2002 11:17:54 PM ----- BODY:

"What's the problem, HAL?"
"I think you know the problem, Dave. I've gone nuts."

Micro-linkage saves lives. Remember that. And this mighty micro-linkage comes from the massive mouth of the Minor 9th. From monkey bone to lunatic space computer, you need to see the epic: One. A Space Odyssey [filmed entirely in Legovision].

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Speedtouch USB release driver 2.0 for OSX.x STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/20/2002 01:32:55 PM ----- BODY:

Apparently I turn up quite high in the search results for grumpy users of Alcatel's Speedtouch USB ADSL modem. That would probably explain why, when they released a new version (2.0) of the driver for MacOSX (where previous drivers have - at best - a spotty record), I received an e-mail informing me of the fact, and asking if I'd publicise it. I'm delighted to, of course, but I'm too nervous to actually install it just in case I lose my connection again. Has anyone out there in not-a-big-wuss world installed it and run it with Jaguar yet? If so, e-mail me and tell me how it went and I'll then inform "the world". WARNING: Tom's world may be smaller than yours.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: My favourite search request in a very long time is... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/21/2002 03:05:14 PM ----- BODY:

Today's top classy search that led to the door of plasticbag.org: What to do in London when you have a bored girlfriend that doesn't know what she wants to do...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: There are three asides to every story... Being the worst post ever on plasticbag.org... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/21/2002 09:42:45 PM ----- BODY:

Matt Webb never links to weblogs. Ever. Except when they're talking about some ludicrously complicated piece of where-RSS-will-be-in-20-years-ery, or something ludicrous-mac-rumour-with-a-utopian-edge-ish. He certainly never links to any funny weblogs. That, it seems, would miss the point.

Aside (1) on the rhetoric of webloggery. You know full well I'm about to say something to the effect of "Matt Webb has just linked to this really funny weblog". Bear with me. Go along with the pretence that I'm about to do something so revelatory that you'll implode with pleasure and surprised. It'll make me feel better. I promise.

Aside (2) on being facetious. When I was about eleven I said something really really similar to the line above in an essay about something or other at school. And my teacher read it out in front of the whole class and said I was facetious. And none of us knew what that meant, and I've carried it with me as a scar for the rest of my life and it still brings pain to my heart when I think about it. So let's pretend for a minute that I'm not being facetious, and maybe in that way I'll get over that minor childhood trauma.

Aside (3) on what facetious means. Definitions of facetious according to dictionary.com include, "cleverly amusing in tone", "characterized by wit and pleasantry; exciting laughter; as, a facetious story or reply" and "playfully jocular; humorous". In retrospect, I don't think he was using the word correctly, as it seems to be quite a good thing to be. Learn this lesson well, children. Teachers know jack shit.

So anyway, against all the odds, Matt Webb has just linked to this really funny weblog. Or at least he claims it is funny. I haven't actually looked at it and don't intend to either. Because this whole preamble was a way of excusing the fact that I'm about to link to a really funny weblog. Didn't see that coming, did you. Ha.

Unbrokenglass.com is about the institutionalised dating misadventures of a young Jewish woman - and she's had many. I'm not entirely up on my Jewish dating practices (or indeed any dating practices), but it appears that there's some kind of precursor to computer dating that forms a significant component of Judaic cultural life. Without fear or shame of being pointed at down the pub for being the saddo who put the personal ad in the paper, you are set up with a variety of men or women (depending, note, on your own gender - and not your personal preferences) and then experience the wonder of eating food, chatting amiably and surrupticiously chewing off your own arm over the course of the evening. Eating food, chatting amiably and chewing off of one's one arm being the only three components of the dating experience I've as yet experienced. And your Rabbi helps too, which is nice.

Here's a choice quote from unbrokenglass.com: "I have to say that the guy who approached me had a phenomenal likeness to Bart Simpson. Very American-like of him really. I mean, he was short, blond, his hair was exactly like Bart Simpson's, big round eyes complete with squeaky yellowish voice and manic smile. I wanted to make a joke about it but I very tactfully decided to shut up."

God what an awful, overwritten post this is. I'm turning into a right hack.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: If this truly is the future of Google news, then the project I've been trying to persuade people to undertake for the last six - eight months is dead. STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/22/2002 12:51:31 AM ----- BODY:

According to Google Blog there's potentially a new front-page emerging for Google News. The current page can be viewed at news.google.com, and its apparent replacement is here.

To be honest, this news doesn't fill me with the love and happiness that you might expect. About six months ago I thought of something that has probably been thought of many times in the past. It was a kind of news site that used things like Daypop and Blogdex to determine what was timely and interesting to people on a per-link basis, which could then be pulled together using something like Google News to a by-story list and which could then be attached to commentary from the weblog community directly on the page. It would be like having a world of columnists and op-ed writers ready not only to collectively decide between them what was newsworthy, but also to directly comment on the stories on the same page as the story was displayed. It would be an immediate vox-pop. A gauge of a huge community of divergent interests... That's when I started to get excited, because essentially you'd be talking about a site that allowed anyone in the world to write a comment piece on breaking news stories.. And this extended right past webloggers themselves to mainstream writers. And if you could figure out a way of organising micro-payments you might be able to read the thoughts of academics, actors, writers, thinkers from all over the world - along with your friends, the people who share interests with you, the democratically expert... This would be the place where a world of webloggery demonstrated that being mainstream didn't mean individuals writing like 'proper professionals', where a journalist could equally be conceived as the person who was nearest to the event when it happened. Where the sheer value of hundreds of thousands of webloggers could be condensed and purified and injected straight into the world's new media bloodstream.

Most importantly, although I knew that other people were thinking along similar lines, no one actually seemed to be doing anything about it. I talked to friends about the idea and how useful and cool it could be. Some were intrigued, some bored - as you'd expect. I wrote the whole thing down and pitched it in the general direction of people who might be in a position to allow me to develop a system as part of my working life. And now Google News is so close to the first stages of something I really wanted to be part of, and I feel like I did when I was in the middle of my doctorate, watching the dot-com boom happen all around me, knowing that wonderful things were happening elsewhere that would fascinate me, but that I had to accept I wasn't able to be a part of... It's terrible to have invested so much of yourself in an idea only to see it go ahead without you. Even if you're hardly the first person in the world to see the potential...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Paralysed by choice... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/23/2002 03:45:57 PM ----- BODY:

Today the new Beck album was released. It had multiple covers. But which one to buy? Which is the right one? Which is the authentic cover and which are knock-offs? Which one expresses my desire for authenticiy most effectively? Which one declares, "I'm not interested in posing, I'm here for the music"? Which one is the most ostentatious? Because I don't want that one. Which one will date the most? Which one is iconic and which are ludicrous? How do you make these decisions, these simple decisions, when there's nothing to choose between them? How long can you stand in front of the counter in HMV paralysed by choice? At what point does indecision, does the inability to act at all, become legitimately frightening?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On reading the British Government Dossier on Iraq's Weapons of Mass Destruction... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/24/2002 03:58:36 PM ----- BODY:

I hereby declare my intention to read through the British Government's much promised dossier on Iraq's Weapons of Mass Destruction, which is freely available from a number of different governmental and non-governmental sites. [Download the PDF (428kb)] This document is supposed to clarify why some kind of action against Saddam Hussein is of the utmost importance. However, I'm about a third of the way through John Pilger's The New Rulers of the World, and am increasingly suspicious of Governmental motivations (both in the US and UK) with regard to this conflict. I've downloaded the document, and will be posting my ill-educated and worthless opinions of it as I proceed.

Foreword: The document starts with a two page foreword by Tony Blair which details the particularly unusual circumstances surrounding the release of the document. He states that the document is based on the work of the Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC). The material it collects is normally secret, and it is apparently "unprecedented for the Government to publish this kind of document". The introduction further states that Mr Blair believes that it demonstrates without doubt that Saddam Hussein (referred to regularly as simply "Saddam", which seems odd to me - as if he'd refer to the US's government as "George") has continued to build weapons of mass destruction. But he also states:

"I believe people will understand why the Agencies cannot be specific about the sources, which have formed the judgements in this document, and why we cannot publish everything we know. We cannot, of course, publish the detailed raw intelligence."

This is both totally expected, and utterly frustrating. Because at heart it leaves the document as inevitably a set of assertions. Assertions presented without substantial back-up or evidence. And although of course everyone understands why such information can't easily be published, it unfortunately leaves the door open for doubt and suspician over its validity.

Finally, a comparison from the introduction. Tony Blair: "Saddam has used chemical weapons, not only against an enemy state, but against his own people." American researchers John Mueller and Karl Mueller (from Pilger's book): "Economic sanctions have probably already taken the lives of more people in Iraq than have been killed by all weapons of mass destruction in history."

From the Executive Summary: When it comes to summarising the position of the document, the Executive Summary is brief, clear and startling reading. Whether or not it accurately represents the situation is of course inevitably a matter of faith in the legitimacy and accountability of our leaders. If it is accurate, then it is fairly chilling. The first three points detail what presumably amounts to previously public information about Iraq's continued development of chemical, biological and nuclear weapons. The fourth point outlines what are perceived to be his attitudes towards these weapons, while the fifth asserts there is evidence that the regime is covering up new developments in them.

The sixth is the most startling point. It outlines a set of judgements or predictions about Iraq, which include that they have a wide range of protocols, mechanisms and military arrangements for the use of chemical and biological agents, developed mobile laboratories, tried covertly to acquire materials for nuclear devices including attempts to get "significant amounts of uranium from Africa", illegally kept and further developed long-range missiles and learnt how to conceal sensitive equipment and documentation from inspectors.

The seventh point is merely a statement of the source of these judgements, the eighth a statement that Iraq are breaking the law, the ninth a statement that declares the risks of keeping Hussein as leader, and the tenth declares that Iraq funds its programs via illegal activity with an income of $3 billion in 2001.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Buffy returns to television. Americans don't realise how lucky they are... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/25/2002 08:36:03 PM ----- BODY:

So Buffy returns with its seventh, and potentially last, series. And as usual Americans will see it now, people with cable or satellite in the UK will see it in January, and the rest of us will have to wait until the box sets come out or it comes on terrestrial. Which will probably be (at the earliest) next August. In the meantime, the only scraps of information that we can get over this side of the pond are stories on sites like Whedonesque. It's a cruel, cruel world we live in...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: And a full eight hours after I started the coding, plasticbag.org's redesign is... incomplete STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/26/2002 01:53:11 AM ----- BODY:

As those of you who aren't reading this site through the medium of NetNewsWire have probably already noticed, plasticbag.org has gone through a bit of a redesign. This one, for perhaps obvious reasons, is called kottkesque and is pure CSS once more. Unfortunately, despite me having worked on it for the last eight hours, it's 2am and it's still incomplete. I decided - against my better judgement - to do quite a lot of the building on this one while the site was live, because I hoped I'd work faster and get the damn thing done. And that has mostly worked.

Known bugs at this stage include:

Form elements on the top right of the page don't sit right on the page on most Windows browsers.
Sometimes links in comments and in list elements aren't formatted correctly.
There is no gallery section yet, merely an empty directory listing with some old-style pages within it.
There are no permalinks yet (this is a difficult one to fix, but I'll see if I can enlist Cal).
The links use a border property in CSS rather than the normal text-decoration - and as such don't appear as intended in some earlier Window's browsers. This will be fixed shortly.
The search results page is still formatted in the site's old style.

If you've noticed any errors on the pages that aren't part of the above list, then mail me (including details of the error and a screen-cap if possible) and I'll endeavour to sort them out as quickly as is humanly possible - ideally within the next twenty-four hours. I know this isn't the most professional of behaviours, but hell - it's my personal site, I can do what the hell I like. I'll also be undertaking some general tweaking over the next few days, as well as (hopefully) putting up a gallery of screenshots from previous incarnations of the site. If you're one of the people who found the old site unmanageable, then welcome back. And if you hate it and it makes you cross, then find someone who you don't like in real life and give them an earful on my behalf. I'm off to bed. Good night!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The Guardian's Best British Blog award is announced... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/26/2002 10:16:16 AM ----- BODY:

...and the winner is ScaryDuck. For those of you who came in late, the Guardian have finally announced the winners of the Best British Blog competition. Congratulations to everyone who was shortlisted - particularly the winner Scary Duck and my particular favourites: LinkMachineGo, Anglepoised, Blogjam, Gina Snowdoll, Interconnected and Minor9th. Over at Metafilter there's a thread to discuss the resutls, where I promise - I will try to behave. And if you want to explore the range of weblogs that didn't enter (and some of their reasons for not doing so), then you should investigate The "Not the Best" Project.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: 101 interesting facts about bruises... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/26/2002 10:01:33 PM ----- BODY:

I've got a huge black bruise on my leg. It's the size and colour of an over-ripe plum. I don't know where it came from. In fact all I do know is that I didn't get it through doing anything fun. But enough about my complete lack of a sex life - today I'm here to tell you where bruises come from.

A bruise or contusion is caused by some kind of knock or bump to the skin. The soft tissues under the skin are full of tiny blood vessels called capillaries. When you bash yourself, these rupture and spurt out red blood cells all over the shop. This is bad. When your body starts to metabolise these cells - literally reabsorbing them - then the bruise will go through a series of colour changes - from red to purple, purple to blue/black, blue/black to green, green to yellow before finally turning a browny skin tone. This colour means the injury is nearly completely healed.

Smurfs are blue - but don't leap to the conclusion that their skin is simply bruised all over. In actual fact Smurf skin is naturally blue. It would therefore be wrong to assume that they are experiencing serial physical abuse of any kind. If you think about it carefully, you will realise that you have never seen a yellow, black or purplish Smurf, which you would expect if their skin colour was a result of being bashed around by callous human beings or Gargamel.

Many types of people have blue skin which isn't the result of being beaten up. My favourite non-bruised blue people are The Blue People of Troublesome Creek who intermarried so much that they had loads and loads of children with blue skin. Sometimes people think that Nightcrawler has blue skin, but I'm reliably informed that it's actual fur. Whether or not he is bruised underneath the fur is between him and his God.

Some people find bruises and being bruised really really sexy. They're a bit strange, but much less strange than the people who like to pretend to be furry animals or robots. And way less strange than people who find squeezing spots or watching footage of nuclear bombs to be trouser rocket-launchers (or whatever the girl equivalent is). If you like sexy bruises, then you're probably in the top-left corner of this map of fetishes.

I believe that if you pick up the magic key in Bestiality and build up enough experience points fighting the kobbolds around Furverts, then it's possible to completely traverse the map, building up a number of exciting STDs in the process, before coming upon the Orthopaedic Braces in the citadel of Medical Bondage. Watch out for elves. Especially the ones interested in Messy Fun. But I'm wandering off topic...

There are a lot of pictures of bruises on the internet. I found lots and lots via Google images. Some of them are really grim and upsetting. But sometimes they're quite funny. These two guys have bruises and are quite funny, for example. And this guy's bruises are really impressive. If I was going to have a bruise that didn't hurt much to get and looked really cool, I'd get some like his. I wonder, what kind of bruise would you like most?

If you like bruises or are interested in bruise-related issues discussed above, you can find out more about them here:

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: In which Tom's subconscious reveals him to be going insane... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/27/2002 08:43:54 AM ----- BODY:

I was woken by a tiny trollish man this morning, regailing me with stories of how his 'cubby hole' was flooded by something emerging from my flat. I stood there dressed in nothing but a towel on with my head all clumpy and slow while he insisted that I must have just had a bath. I should be grateful really - he woke me from one of the most unpleasant dreams I've ever had.

I was in a place that resembled a huge, brightly lit locker room. It was as if they'd removed the gym from the building and made it all into a locker room. Some of the walls had mirrors on them. I was there for a shower of some kind. A huge institutional-looking man led me to my locker, which was a strange shape - deep and wide, but only about three inches high - and in it was were two packages that looked like they contained the towels you get at Chinese restaurants to freshen up with after eating. I didn't know what to do with them initially, but under the steady, relentless gaze of the institutional man, I gradually I came to understand that one of these towels was saturated with some kind of soapy chemical substance, and the other removed it. You were expected to strip naked, rub yourself down with it and then use the other one to 'rinse' yourself. The institutional man said that sometimes the first part of the body that you touched with the towel sometimes reacted badly with the chemicals and would swell up - and he recommended using it on my chest as that would be less noticeable or dangerous. He did this bluntly - aggressively - like I didn't really have much in the way of choice. I stripped off, took the towel and started wiping myself with it, but immediately started to feel strange and dizzy. Walking to a mirror I saw that some parts of my skin had ruptured under the pressure of the chemical towel - particularly on the side of my body - and that I was slowly become covered with substantial bleeding holes. And that's when I woke up, with a weird troll-like man lurking outside my door, obsessed with flooding. What a way to start the day...

In unrelated news, Alan Storm has informed me that being bitten by a purple fly can turn Smurf's purple. Note - this is very definitely not the same process as normal bruising.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Trawling through the archives... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/27/2002 11:20:25 AM ----- BODY:

I spent a little time trawling through plasticbag.org's archive this morning, and came upon this post, which I think has to be one of the best things I've ever written:

Time and need are connected in some strange extravagant way with one another. The more desire you feel, the longer seems the time you have to wait to see it fulfilled. The harder you exert a pull, the further you seem to have to strain. Relationships between people can be measured by their perceptions of time. "I haven't seen you in ages," he cries. "I seem to see him all the time," she complains.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I was in bed when they broke in... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/28/2002 11:00:00 AM ----- BODY:

[This post was written on Saturday 28th September 2002 in a notepad on a train to Huntingdon, following the break-in at my flat in London, and transcribed onto plasticbag.org the following afternoon.]

It's not been an easy week. I suppose that's what I should start by saying. It's not been an easy week. I didn't expect the man in my flat. I didn't expect some other stuff either. But mostly it was the man in my flat that threw me.

I'm going to a wedding. Maybe that's where I should start. Simon is marrying Adele. I've known Simon since I was sixteen. We met at school. And he's getting married in Bury St Edmunds. Today (Saturday) in fact.

Typically I've not been very organised. It wasn't until Wednesday that I'd organised a hotel. And it wasn't until yesterday that I knew what train I would be taking. And only last night did it occur to me that my suit needed cleaning. And it was quite late in the evening before I finally twigged that my late-night dry-cleaners weren't going to have enough time to get it clean before they closed.

Old faithful memory came to the rescue with an epic scheme - I would fill the bath with hot water, hang the trousers above it and close the bathroom door. The magic of steam wouldn't clean them, of course, but it might get the creases out. And so it did. But it left them slightly damp.

My flat is small and kind of hectic and I live on the first floor. For the Americans amongst us, who don't know the concept of 'ground floors', you should read that as, "I live on the second floor". So to help my trousers dry a little, I opened a window a couple of inches to let a bit of a breeze in. And then I went to bed.

To get to Huntingdon this morning, I had to get up fairly early. So I set my alarm for seven-thirty. But for some reason I woke up before that - just before seven in fact. And I knew immediately that there was something wrong. I could hear noises and I was surprisingly cold. My first reaction was that there was someone in my flat - but how often do you get that kind of momentary paranoid thought when there's really noone there? A noise, some wind - or maybe a book falling over or some paper rustling. You don't take it seriously if you're an adult. I turned over and tried to get some more rest.

But it was no good. I was nervous and I didn't know why. I turned on the TV in my bedroom and caught some news, and then pulling on a towel I got up and wandered into the sitting room.

And there was a man in it - almost halfway out of the window wearing a blue baseball cap, a two-tone blue hooded fleece, dark skin, startled eyes and my DVD player under his arm.

He bounded down from the window and sprinted around to the road at the front of my building. I pull open the front door and chased him into the street - barefoot, wearing a towel at seven in the morning. But he was too fast and was wearing proper shoes. A man with a van nearby told me to get in and we chased him. He'd abandoned the players somewhere and was walking calmly down a nearby street. Jumping out of the van, I ran after him, but he turned a corner and when I got there he had gone.

I'm writing this on a train to Huntingdon, and I'll type it up when I get home tomorrow. Around me are hills and countryside - England at its best. It's a beautiful morning. I've spend over an hour talking to the police and driving around West London estates with an officer, trying to identify the guy. He was nowhere to be seen. I've lost my DVD player and my new X-box. And worst of all he stole the camera that all my friends clubbed together to buy me for my thirtieth birthday has been taken as well. That he's managed to spoil that memory for me - even a little - is more upsetting than almost everything else.

He left some dirty handprints on the window frame. He got his hands dirty climbing up the drainpipe. I had to leave there so that they can try and get some fingerprints off them sometime in the next couple of days. Then I can start trying to scrub them off. But I think that even if I get rid of all visible traces, that mark of vulnerability that he's left on my home will remain for a long time to come.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Forty-eight hours later STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/30/2002 09:59:30 AM ----- BODY:

I left for Simon and Adele's wedding on Saturday morning, and had a quite extraordinary time. I'm not going to go into too many details, except to say that it was the first part-goth wedding I'd been to, and I met some really nice and interesting people. The most bizarre aspect of the whole day was probably that I sat next to a charming woman called Joh at the dinner and we got on really well. It wasn't until I got home that I realised that she had a weblog - and moreover a weblog that linked to me! But she didn't recognise me, it seems, because she refers to me in her post about the event as 'Some-Bloke Tom'. It's a small blogging world.

But of course in the back of my mind the whole time was my flat and the break-in. Would I notice that anything else had gone missing when I returned? How would I feel about the place generally - would I feel safe? Had the guy returned while I was out? Would he?

The most horrible part of the day was when I returned home. When I got back to London I seemed to find an almost infinite amount of ways to avoid coming back to my flat. And when I did I was shaking. I was surprised by the strength of my reaction. Over the weekend I'd sifted through all the things that the police had said to me - in particular that the burglar may have returned several times over the night. And when I got home I noticed that the dirty hand-prints that described the passage of the thief through my flat went right up to my open bedroom door. Not only did he know I was here, but he'd seen me sleeping. He'd been in my bedroom. And he still proceeded to quietly return to the sitting room and work his way through my personal belongings.

The fingerprint people are supposed to arrive sometime this morning, and I've had a phonecall from the police asking if I'd come in and look through some photographs. But it's forty-eight hours since I last saw the guy. I don't know if any identification I could make would be even vaguely accurate. I felt weird enough as it was driving around the streets, being directed to stare at every young black man we passed. I don't know if I could live with myself if I made a false identification...

While I was at the wedding a friend of mine said that he has at the front of his address book the words, "Don't phone home for sympathy". He said that it was the role of parents to be angry at you for anything that happened. It would always be your fault. But I felt unsafe in my own flat by myself, so I needed to talk to someone. My mother's first reaction was exactly what I expected. She said I was a twit for leaving the window even slightly open. But she calmed down after that, and after a long conversation, I think I actually felt slightly better about everything...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: When the crime scene investigators arrived... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 09/30/2002 03:52:51 PM ----- BODY:

When the crime-scene investigors arrived, it was like a real-life TV show. Just like on the show there was a man and a woman. They had a certain banter going between them. They had boxes within boxes of powders, tapes, plastic-sheets and cutting equipment. They looked at each and every handprint. They covered my windows and window-frames in powders and pulled off fingerprints with strips of rigid sticky-tape.

The whole experience was strangely reassuring. The woman laughed with glee a number of times at the stupidity of my burglar. From within the flat alone she managed to get distinct fingerprints for each and every one of his fingers on both hands. She also managed to get a clean shoe-print. And when they saw the drainpipe that they'd climbed up, she sounded so astonished and triumphant at the sheer number of clear prints she found that I couldn't help but feel better about the whole thing. Now all I have to do is clean the whole flat from top to bottom and find some way of buying some new stuff that doesn't involve having a large insurance pay-off (I have no contents insurance at the moment).

Find out more about Crime Scene Investigation and Forensic Science:

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Wide awake, 4am... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/01/2002 12:07:23 PM ----- BODY:

You think you're fine with everything until you wake up at 4am convinced there's someone in your flat again. Last night I went to bed at a reasonable hour with all the windows in the house closed and locked. All but one - the tiny one in the kitchen which no one could fit through which gets rid of the smell of unwashed dishes. But that didn't stop me waking up with a start at 4am convinced that there was someone in the flat. And I wasn't comforted by looking out all of the windows, walking through all the rooms and turning on most of the lights. This is going to take longer than I'd thought...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On the tube strike in London... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/02/2002 08:26:54 AM ----- BODY:

So today is the second tube strike in London in a week. As of 8.30pm last night, the Tubes shut down, and they won't reopen until tomorrow morning. This leaves cars, cabs and buses as the only options for getting into the centre of town. And of course they're completely overwhelmed with extra demand. Getting into Central London today is essentially a waste of time. If you don't believe me, then read the BBC strike survival guide or wander through a huge list of London traffic web-cams.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Tom's journey to work (through the medium of cams)... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/02/2002 08:49:22 AM ----- BODY:

Well I'm planning to work from home this morning, and make a stab at getting into town around lunchtime. But if you want to experience the full London going-to-work experience, then why not follow my bus route with me through the medium of cams?

Outside my flat is a bus stop. I get the number six. It travels down towards Warwick Avenue, curls eastwards, and then turns right onto...
Edgware Road - Oh joy. The wonders of the traffic jams on Edgware Road. I love you so much. Often people walk past the bus. Often people get off the bus to walk instead, and try and catch up with other buses further down the road. This stage normally doesn't last long and the traffic really speeds up by the time I reach...
Marble Arch - Turning eastwards again by the Tyburn - the Turkish restaurants of Edgware Road behind me, the wonders of Oxford Street in front of me - what more of a life could any man want. It's just such a shame that I have to get off at...
Regent's Street - Damn you, Number Six. Why oh why must you turn right onto Regent's Street - forcing me to get out of you at John Lewis and bounce onto any passing 98 or 8 bus. That is, of course, if there are any buses. Because otherwise I end up walking towards...
Centrepoint - where Oxford Street turns into New Oxford Street. I used to work just around the corner from here at Time Out. Now I work slightly further up the road towards...
Holborn tube - at Holborn tube, my bus would have gone slightly too far. But this is where I get my weird soya milk, wheatgerm, banana and spirulina smoothies each and every day... They're a lurid green colour. Score.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Yesterday's paranoid episode went something like this... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/02/2002 11:08:23 AM ----- BODY:

Without a DVD player, I've been reduced to watching episode after episode of Buffy on video. So I'm in my flat with the lights off and all the windows closed when I hear a noise outside. And yet again, I'm immediately up at my windows, scouring the darkness outside - expecting at any moment for a face to loom up in front of me, trying to get into my home. I wander around the flat checking all the windows and turning lights on so I can check the room, then turning them off so I can see outside more easily. It's about twenty minutes before I can sit down again...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: It's worse than we thought... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/02/2002 03:13:40 PM ----- BODY:

Received via e-mail this morning along with the caption, "It's worse than we thought". I've got no ideas about it's origins, but it's pretty entertaining...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The Return of Donnie Darko... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/02/2002 11:32:26 PM ----- BODY:

Almost a year ago I went to see Donnie Darko at the London Film Festival. I wasn't expecting a lot before I went in, but I adored it. I eagerly waited for its arrival at the cinema, but it never arrived. It was given a fairly low-key release in the States, and then vanished without a trace. When I wanted to get a copy on DVD, I had to get it sent to me from Japan.

But now it's coming to London. The reviews are appearing, and they're pretty sensational. There are tiny stickers dotted all around the underground. Cal even saw a trailer. Time Out's written about it (but they haven't put the article online, so unfortunately I'm unable to link to it). People are calling it the best American movie of the year. It's still going to get a low-key release, and I doubt it'll do hugely well in the mass market. But I'm practically panting at the opportunity to see it again on the big screen...

From the Sight and Sound review: "Boiling the plot down to a few lines, or even to the 400-word synopsis that appears elsewhere in this issue, risks making the story's knotty skein of incident sound either trite, ridiculous or incomprehensible. But here we go anyway. The bulk of the movie follows a timeline in which its title character (hungrily played by Jake Gyllenhaal), a disturbed teenager who appears to be suffering from paranoid schizophrenia, is led by visions of Frank, a man in a fake-fur suit and nightmare rabbit mask, to commit a series of crimes while sleepwalking in his small town in 1988."

Official Site: DonnieDarko.com

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: MIT OpenCourseWare Launches... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/03/2002 10:32:05 AM ----- BODY:

I've been exploring MIT's OpenCourseWare site - a collection of full lecture notes, exams and assignments which allow you to be trained in a number of MIT undergraduate courses. At the moment, two courses particularly interest me - Problems of Philosophy (very much in the Anglo-American tradition, but interesting nonetheless) and the rather more challenging Laboratory in Software Engineering, which I suspect would be utterly beyond me. There isn't a huge range of courses online yet, but I have a feeling this could be an extremely significant and important move that really has the potential to empower and educate people.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The future is kottkesque... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/03/2002 11:40:58 AM ----- BODY:

When plasticbag.org went kottkesque (which I somehow insist on pronouncing kot-key-esk rather than the more plausible kot-kesk) I was concerned that I'd be taken apart for being unoriginal, or for even stealing his design. But at the same time I felt comfortable asserting that, after considerable thought, the design of kottke.org was simply the most elegant solution to the formatting of weblogs. And now it seems to be catching on: Gas Giant reveals upcoming design...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Clay Shirky on being paid for weblogging... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Personal Publishing CATEGORY: Personal Publishing DATE: 10/03/2002 05:05:16 PM ----- BODY:

Clay Shirky on Weblogs and the Mass Amateurization of Publishing: "This destruction of value is what makes weblogs so important. We want a world where global publishing is effortless. We want a world where you don't have to ask for help or permission to write out loud. However, when we get that world we face the paradox of oxygen and gold. Oxygen is more vital to human life than gold, but because air is abundant, oxygen is free. Weblogs make writing as abundant as air, with the same effect on price. Prior to the web, people paid for most of the words they read. Now, for a large and growing number of us, most of the words we read cost us nothing."

Key-point summary (all of which I agree with) for those without the intellectual stamina to read a short article on the web:

For the vast majority of us, writing a weblog will not make us money.
Other distributive media products cost money to produce.
Because they cost money, they have to be sold for money.
Hence books compete on the bases of quality and cost, demand and supply.
With no cost to produce and with instantaneous, skill-less publishing, there is no scarcity - in fact there would be almost infinite competition - and hence no easy way to make money out of them.
Individual donations (tips) based on perceived value (or affiliate deals) may make a limited amount of money... but...
It's not going to pay your bills, and while we're at it, why the hell would you want to anyway?

There's only one line I don't agree with - "the people who have profited most from weblogs are the people who've written books about weblogging". In fact I suspect these people have made almost no money at all, unless they've been added to University book-lists. More likely, the people who've made money are freelance web-savvy journalists publishing for mainstream press...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Functioning Quantum Cryptography "within seven years"... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/04/2002 08:54:20 AM ----- BODY:

I've been fascinated with cryptography since I first used PGP - and more fascinated still since Cryptonomicon explained to me how cryptography worked. I've never read a book that gave me more information on contemporary cryptographical techniques - which is probably why it was classed as a munition for a while in the US (and therefore couldn't be exported).

Today there's an article on BBC News (Light Holds Key to Uncrackable Codes) which reveals that significant progress has been made on Quantum Cryptography - the most significant benefit of which is that if a decryption key is intercepted, then the act of observation changes it. This means that it's immediately apparent to the 'legitimate' parties that the key should be changed.

But to a certain extent, the article confuses me. I had assumed that most people and governments would be using some variation on public key encryption. This kind of encryption works on the assumption that it's much easier to multiply numbers together to provide a huge key than it is to work out from that key what numbers were multiplied together. Because factoring is so difficult mathematically, it's also pretty much the holy grail of contemporary cryptanalysis.

With public key encryption, each person has two keys - a public one that can be disseminated freely which is used to encode messages that can subsequently only be decrypted by the private key. Think of it this way - the process of encrypting is like the process of multiplying together two large prime numbers - quite easy. But the process of decryption is like trying to work out what those original numbers were - a process which takes such a huge amount of computer time that it's functionally impossible to figure out (without the private key). Which such a system there's no benefit in keeping the public key secret, and no reason to circulate the private one. So I suppose I'm curious as to the benefits of Quantum Cryptography in it's current form. Quantum Cryptanalysis, on the other hand....

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Not the World's Funniest Joke... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/04/2002 12:17:48 PM ----- BODY:

Not the World's Funniest Joke: An Alsatian went to a telegram office, took out a blank form and wrote: "Woof. Woof. Woof. Woof. Woof. Woof. Woof. Woof. Woof." The clerk examined the paper and politely told the dog: "There are only nine words here. You could send another Woof for the same price." "But," the dog replied, "that would make no sense at all."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Bill Clinton, Salon and the "Labor" party of the United Kingdom... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/04/2002 04:28:04 PM ----- BODY:

Is it insulting? Probably not. Is it frustrating? Very definitely. Bill Clinton has given a speech to the Labour party conference in Blackpool - and it's a good speech. A bloody good speech. So good, in fact, that it's been transcribed completely for Salon.com. But all through the transcription, one thing sticks out like a journalistic sore thumb. Time and time again, the article changes the name of the British left from the "Labour" party to the Americanised "Labor". It's probably been done with a spell-checker by some half-arsed intern, but still... It's unforgiveably bad journalism, laughably poor sub-editing, and atrocious proof-reading. Is it any wonder that people think America is insular and isolationist, if major press institutions can't even be bothered to put in the ten seconds of effort it would take to spell the name of our governing party properly? If I could find an e-mail address, I'd send in a complaint.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Fame Academy comes to TV... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/04/2002 09:11:58 PM ----- BODY:

The TV show's up before the site is, although it seems the site is appearing before my eyes. I've only watched about half an hour of it - I mean, proper television came on and I had to turn over. That's right ladies and gentlemen, Fame Academy has come to television. And already I have a favourite, Ainslie is a fluffy little star in the making. Although he can't dance for shit.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Empire reviews "Donnie Darko" STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/07/2002 09:52:35 AM ----- BODY:

Empire reviews Donnie Darko: "On a shadowy, non-existent street in Weirdsville, USA, first-time writer-director Richard Kelly lives next door to David Lynch and Greg Araki. In order to keep up with the neighbours, he has crafted his own magnificently bizarre hybrid of suburban paranoia and apocalyptic teen angst... Although this feature debut is a little lighter and less artfully obscure than David Lynch�s best work, Donnie Darko is nevertheless a mini-masterpiece that marks the arrival of brave new talents in Gyllenhaal and Kelly. Cult glory surely beckons. Five Stars."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Being a statement of design irritation with train tickets... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Design CATEGORY: Design DATE: 10/07/2002 10:09:12 AM ----- BODY:

Over the weekend I went to visit my younger brother, Peter, in Oundle where he goes to a boarding school. My parents came as well - they picked me up from Peterborough train station and we all went out for an extremely pleasant lunch in a pub called The Pheasant, somewhere between Kettering and St. Neots. But this is not what I want to talk about today.

As I have said, I travelled to Peterborough by train. This involved me buying a set of two train tickets, each one of which was about a quarter of the size of a piece of A4 paper - if that sheet was cut into four horizontal strips. For some reason this shape really reminded me of a piece of design work in Edward Tufte's extraordinary book on information design, Envisioning Information. In this book, one of the projects he explores is the creation of train timetables - how to keep them clean and clear and informative. And (you may be ahead of me here), the best example of a well-designed timetable he comes across is approximately the size of one quarter of a sheet of A4 paper - if that sheet was cut into four horizontal strips.

More often than I care to recall, I've travelled somewhere with a return ticket, with little or no idea as to when my returning train is likely to depart. Particularly with tickets that are 'open' returns, it would be profoundly useful to have that kind of information with you. So why on earth isn't it printed on the back of the ticket? A bespoke return time-table assembled with all the information about the kind of trains you can travel on, your likely date of return etc. would be a godsend, and presumably not a particularly difficult thing to develop. My question, then, is why doesn't this exist already?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Worst (and best) performing MPs... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/07/2002 01:12:38 PM ----- BODY:

Wouldn't it be interesting to know precisely which Members of Parliament didn't bother to respond to their constituents? Like - say you ran a service that helped people fax their MP, and you added a feature that let people say if they'd had any response fourteen days afterwards... And then you collated it into a big table of performance data? And then you found Iain Duncan Smith, Peter Mandelson and Boris Johnson at the bottom of it? Wouldn't that be interesting?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Labor redux... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/07/2002 01:35:17 PM ----- BODY:

And four days after I e-mailed pretty much everyone at Salon about the appalling lack of journalistic skill evident in the repeated mis-spelling of "Labour" (the political party, not the noun) in their transcript of Bill Clinton's speech in Blackpool, they still haven't fixed it. Here are some examples again:

"Bill Clinton electrifies a British Labor Party conference with a more sweeping vision for global peace and progress than the current president has been able to muster."

"Former President Bill Clinton delivered the following remarks before the Labor Party Conference in Blackpool, England, on Wednesday."

"New Labor, this government, has not allowed that dichotomy to occur in Great Britain. "

But if you look carefully, someone's got it right in the caption of the image at the top of the page - "Former President Clinton speaks at the Labour Party annual conference in Blackpool, England, Wednesday". If you would like to remind the news team of Salon that basic fact-checking remains an important part of their jobs, then feel free to e-mail: news@salon.com, Joan Walsh, Ed Lempinen, Eric Boehlert, King Kaufman or Michelle Goldberg.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Darkorama... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/07/2002 04:09:54 PM ----- BODY:

I had lunch with Cal, which isn't unusual. I'm always having lunch with Cal. Like almost every day. Today - on the way back to the office - we saw poster after poster for filmic obsession Donnie Darko - flyposters, mainly. I peeled it from the side of a phone booth and stuck it on my chest as we walked down the street. It's by my desk now.

I'm so excited I may well burst. The net's full of Darkorama at the moment - from the thread on Barbelith. to the audiogalaxy article, right through to the find out which Donnie Darko character you are quiz. I should get paid for the amount of promotion I'm doing for this film. If you're out there 20th Century Fox, I still really need an iBook.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Homicide and Suicide statistics across the world... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/08/2002 09:25:32 PM ----- BODY:

A few days ago I was startled by this chart of homocide and suicide statistics across the world. It's a surprisingly difficult chart to interpret - the disparities between regions are extraordinarily large and only really lend themselves to suggestions of massive cultural difference.

For example, in the Americas for every 100,000 deaths - 19 are homicides and eight are suicides. In Europe, on the other hand it's the opposite story - many less homicides (eight) and many more suicides (19). The Western Pacific and Australia is littered with suicides but has an almost non-existent homicide rate, and it seems that the Eastern Mediterranean is the least violent place to live - less than thirteen people out of every thousand die violent deaths - from both suicide and homicide. And men world-wide are more likely than women to die both at their own hands and at the hands of others.

But where are such differences coming from? Is the lack of homicides in Europe an effect of strong gun laws? And if so what is the reason for the high suicide rate? Is it a factor of comparative comfort of living or is it instead that those who die from homicide in the UK would find themselves pursuing a violent death in the US?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: In praise of the sub-optimal solution... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Net Culture CATEGORY: Design CATEGORY: Net Culture DATE: 10/08/2002 10:06:17 PM ----- BODY:

Here's an interesting trend - an increased incidence of people praising the ill-designed. Firstly let's start with a post at new favourite weblog diveintomark.org. In a long post about RSS called In praise of evolvable formats, he states:

"RSS 0.9x and 2.0 are the Whoopee Cushion and Joy Buzzer of syndication formats. For anyone who has tried to accomplish anything serious with metadata, it?s pretty obvious that of the various implementations of a worldwide syndication format, we have the worst one possible. Except, of course, for all the others."

As all of us who have been watching RSS know, there are now three main competing standards - (Dave Winer's favourites and personal missions) 0.91 and 2.0 and the alternative 1.0. The three standards fall into two main groups that share many features, but have some remarkable differences as well. These differences are generally beyond my technical expertise, but seem to be polarised between 'messy, unrigorous and evolving' and 'clean, complex and relatively static'. Mark continues:

"Designed formats start out strong and improve logarithmically. Evolvable formats start out weak and improve exponentially. RSS 2.0 is not the perfect syndication format, just the best one that?s also currently practical. Infrastructure built on evolvable formats will always be partially incomplete, partially wrong and ultimately better designed than its competition."

The other interesting post on these lines comes from Matt Jones. He cites an interview with Don Norman in which is stated: "The Internet has been successful, but it could have been designed better". Jones' retort? "Arrrgh! The internet is successful precisely because it was engineered to be 'good enough', it's strength is that it is suboptimal; and, most importantly, doesn't stop people designing it better."

I'm vaguely fascinated by these arguments. I like this idea of the useful fudge that doesn't try to be the most elegant and functional solution, but is evolvable. But I'm having trouble geting a grasp on the precise criteria for developing such solutions. One answer might be in attempting to design simple systems which have the capacity to inter-relate and which can be removed and replaced like components - components which don't necessarily all have to co-exist to make a useful product. Another might be the holy-grail of creation on the internet - open standards which allow many people to add their minor creative addition to the mix - inspiring in turn subsequent developments - pushing creativity. A final one might be the simplicity of the governing rules of the system - or perhaps even something as simple as the ability to generate something functional with the most limited set of instructions or components. Or perhaps I'm completely missing the point?

Addendum: I had an interesting conversation with Matt Webb following this post, of which this was my most significant contribution: "There's an interesting paradox in play when you start talking about the best things being suboptimal, when in fact what you're actually saying is that the various criteria of optimality are simply not what they are perceived to be by people operating in a traditional product-oriented mode. Nonetheless I like the concept of aiming towards suboptimality - it kind of reminds me of the suggestions of postmodernity that the Enlightenment project is directed towards closure and hygenic perfection - the clockwork universe - a model that can conceive of no place for things outside itself and attempts to reduce those things to irrelevance - when in fact when you push the model to its absolute limits it collapses in on itself leaving nothing at all..." "

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Wired.com redesigns... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/11/2002 10:27:44 AM ----- BODY:

For the last two or three years, I've had Wired.com as my default homepage. I find that I glance through the main articles every time I open a browser window, and that this keeps me essentially up to date with most of the must-know goings-on in tech, net and science news. I never buy the magazine. I've cited the site as an example of the very clearest web production, with unobtrusive branding, clearly formatted articles and a good sense of how to write for the web.

None of this is likely to change... but despite their redesign, not because of it. That's not to say that it's bad - because it's not. And when all the errors around the place were fixed (the permanent horizontal scroll-bar on Mac IE 5 that is the consequence of a 100% width div, the frequent SSI errors, the weirdly formatted advertisement tag that you can't quite tell is intentional or not), then it'll look classy and will be fairly usable.

But there's still stuff that seems strange. We're still stuck with the bloody terralycos bar, which looked roughly out of place on the old design and looks mind numbingly terrible on the new one. There's major navigation / advertising creep, pushing the content full feet down the page. The colour scheme - ice blue, black, white and lime - screams retro-tech, but it also screams 'cheap use of the colour-invert feature in Photoshop'. The advert, which has grown inhumanly large, sits really uncomfortably on the page.

And most importantly, the place where they put the actual content seems to have been shrunk and de-emphasised radically - with all the emphasis (and an unnecessary amount of space) dedicated to the fluffier aspects of the site. A more cynical man might connect that change of emphasis with the incredibly limited amount of articles currently on display...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Kitten Rock-Star Transpectacular... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/12/2002 01:14:53 PM ----- BODY:

Pub-rock kittens sing Independent Woman - another meisterwerk by Joel Veitch. The kittens have previously performed such epics as Led Zeppelin's Immigrant Song, Fell in Love With a Girl by the White Stripes and John B's We Like the Music. Kittenmania sweeps the globe...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I've said it before, and I'll say it again... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/12/2002 06:55:19 PM ----- BODY:

I've said it before, and I'll say it again... If you're cold and you are shamed, lying naked on the floor, then bloody get up and put some clothes on. I have a sneaking feeling that might help things a little...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: You tell me you've got everything you want, and Marianne Faithful can sing? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/12/2002 09:28:39 PM ----- BODY:

According to a TV show I've just been watching, the Beatles' song "And Your Bird Can Sing" was a dig at Mick Jagger's relationship with Marianne Faithful. If it's true, it's too wonderful for words - and has completely reinvigorated that song for me. But although it's extremely entertaining, I can find no evidence for it on the internet. Please let it be true... Please!

Tell me that you've got everything you want
And your bird can sing
But you don't get me
You don't get me

You say you've seen seven wonders
And your bird is green
But you can't see me
You can't see me

When your prized possessions
Start to wear you down
Look in my direction
I'll be round, I'll be round

When your bird is broken
Will it bring you down?
You may be awoken
I'll be round, I'll be round

You tell me that you've heard every sound there is
And your bird can swing
But you can't hear me
You can't hear me

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Riding along with the Internet Bookmobile... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/14/2002 10:06:20 AM ----- BODY:

Riding along with the Internet Bookmobile: Michael Hart is one of those people who straddle the line between visionary genius and obsessive nutcase. "You know that episode of "Star Trek," when they look in the computer to find some 20th century book that tells them what to expect when they go back in time," Hart says. "How do you think those books got in the computer? That's me."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Chicken with its head cut off... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/14/2002 10:28:19 AM ----- BODY:

So why the paucity of updates? Why the off-the-cuff, commentary-free nuggets that I've been feeding you lately? There's a couple of reasons, none of them serious. Firstly, the community project I've been working on at work went into its first stage of testing at the end of last week, which meant everything got a bit hectic. Hopefully I'll be able to show some of it to the outside world in the coming weeks, but in the meantime it's nose/grindstone time.

I thought I'd be more creative on the weekend but it turned out that my thinking-coherently gland, having been radically over-stimulated last week, kind of went into shock. So I spent most of the weekend watching The West Wing, while sorting through papers and bills (total cheques written out - �2001.94). My beautiful computer stayed mostly quiet in the corner of the room.

There are other reasons. Other things to do. I'm supposed to be writing a piece on the ways in which mainstream media interacts with weblogs. I'm supposed to be talking to Cal and Denise about (at least) two different spare-time-projects. And I'm supposed to be thinking of what I can do to celebrate this weblog's third birthday, which is in a little over two weeks. It's all very exciting, but my tiny brain hurts...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Anyone need to practice their Italian? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/14/2002 03:51:40 PM ----- BODY:

There's an interesting weblogs-related article up at 24ore.com. Except it's in Italian: � un contagio da Blogs. Oh and except I only think it's interesting because when I ran it through babelfish it came up with loads of incomprehensible stuff and the line:

"We make the case simpler than a person who starts a Blog writing of its life or its interests", explains Tom Coates, expert of Weblogs.

Which is, you know, nice. Still that doesn't resolve my fundamental problem - my desperate need to know what the badly translated phrase, "In this way, via continuous superimpositions, detailed lists are formed interest community, than they become rich to vicissitude", means. Amongst other things...

So what I'm thinking is how incredibly cool it would be if someone needed to practice their Italian to English translation abilities and was prepared to stick an English language version somewhere on the interhighweb...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On the Wired.com redesign... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/15/2002 09:40:36 PM ----- BODY:

Today, under the direction of Phil Gyford, I stumbled upon a fascinating interview with the man behind the redesign of Wired.com - a design that I am gradually warming to. There are parts of the design that annoy me profoundly - particularly on the front page (the unnecessary width of the left-hand column and the eye-straining colour combinations are especially irksome), but one thing I can't fault them on - they've used valid XHTML and CSS, pushing the standards for the web ever forward. I tend to forget how scary such a move is for companies, who suddenly may find their site looking ugly in Netscape 4.x. I suspect I forget this because many weblogs - myself included - have been designing without tables for over a year now (although I never can be bothered to finally drag myself that extra foot over the finish-line and properly validate). But then it's easier for us. Fluffier. More trivial.

Anyway, before I get over-excited again, here's the interview with Douglas Bowman of Wired news, and a little quote to whet your appetite: "I remember one project for Lycos where we had nested tables 10 levels deep. I counted them myself. It wasn't that every level was absolutely necessary to reproduce the intended design effects. But each table ensured the flexibility we needed if certain modules and pieces of content appeared or disappeared. When you get to that point, the amount of markup you have to sift through to find anything becomes ridiculous. Until this redesign, Wired News wasn't even using CSS to style the content inside tables. The sheer amount of redundant <font> tags inside every cell was probably enough to double file size. "

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: In which Willow mentions "Google"... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/16/2002 01:24:54 AM ----- BODY:

So it's official. In the episode of Buffy broadcast in the States this evening, Willow will mention the practice of "Googling" for a name. And it will be funny. And lo, Google will be iconic.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Badman productions (don't say I don't do anything for you, Seany...) STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/16/2002 11:26:24 PM ----- BODY:

One of my esteemed occasional-hosts in Los Angeles, Sean Nadeau, has finally assembled a site for all the astonishing flash animations he's done for all kinds of weird people, including The Flaming Lips. Best thing he's ever done? Tom does the Sound of Music.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: High Court Hang-Ups STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/17/2002 02:47:22 PM ----- BODY:

High court hang-ups:

Counsel: Now, Mr Chrysler � for let us assume that that is your name � you are accused of purloining in excess of 40,000 hotel coat hangers.
Chrysler: I am.
Counsel: Can you explain how this came about?
Chrysler: Yes. I had 40,000 coats which I needed to hang up.
Counsel: Is that true?
Chrysler: No.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Websites on Buffy... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/17/2002 05:19:22 PM ----- BODY:

A couple of days ago I posted about Willow mentioning Google on Buffy, and how cool that was. Exact exchange was, I believe, "Have you tried googling her?", followed by Xander's shocked, "Willow, she's only seventeen!"

Ahem. Maybe you had to be there... Anyway - in the course of the episode, when in fact they google the girl in question, they stumble upon her site, where they find what can only be described as some bloody awful poetry. The site was visible on screen for a few moments. And here's the extraordinary bit - it actually exists and is online: Cassie Newton's Poetry and Paintings. There's a thread on Metafilter all about it as well...

I had a conversation with a friend a short while ago about how similar this was (in some ways) to the AI game concept that Spielberg and Dreamworks dreamt up. Dan (the friend) and I, discussed whether or not the Buffy universe would be a suitable place for a game of the same size and scale as the AI one. Was it rich enough? Was it varied enough? Does it have enough scale, shape or granularity? And the answers, as Dan says, are clearly yes.

The question then is where or when you could launch such a thing - what potential benefits it could accrue for Joss Whedon and/or 20th Century Fox. The most obvious use for such a game would be as a parallel story structure to any potential Buffy-related movie, or as a long-teaser campaign for a Buffy-universe TV series. But I wonder - would there by any way in which an online Buffy game could emerge that paid for itself? Or are these kinds of games destined to be classy, intelligent and engaging promotional materials alone?

PS. Should Mr Whedon and the Buffy creators be interested in such a venture, I know exactly which people should be developing it - and one of those people should be me. My e-mail address (on the off-chance), remains tom%40plasticbag.org.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Buffy Online Gaming: Some Assembly Required? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/18/2002 10:23:32 AM ----- BODY:

Yesterday I was talking about a Buffy-universe immersive online game - whether it could hope to make any money and whether or not it could hope to be successful or interesting. Since then, the debate's really taken hold - particularly on the sites of Dan Hon and his brother Adrian - both of whom were involved to varying degrees with the cloudmakers that was responsible in large part for the community that grew up around the AI game. The sheer scale and intelligence of their responses is quite beyond my ability to summarise, so instead I thought I'd link through to the individual posts in as-close-to-chronological order as I could manage, which brief thoughts as and when they occurred to me:

Dan Hon's "I've Got A Theory"
Probably the best thing published on the web in the last twenty-four hours, Dan Hon's article (because it has to be seen as such) is probably the best online guide to some of the costs and techniques involved in a good immersive interactive game that there is.
Adrian's replies
While Joss Whedon, creator of Buffy, is undoubtedly a nice guy who would give this sort of game a second thought, I assume that Fox holds all the rights to Buffy..."
Bronwen joins in
"Think of it this way: last week, ratings for BtVS were 3.8/6. To put that into perspective, JAG won the time slot with ratings of 11.0/16. Now, make any sort of guesstimate whatsoever about how many of those BtVS watchers would go online to read something about the show, and compare that to the JAG percentage. "
Dan Hon's "Once More With Feeling"
A follow-up to Adrian's post, attempting once more to explain why such a game might be a practical thing to attempt.

I can't emphasize enough how interesting Dan's first post above is, or how insightful it is. Read immediately. Useful stuff...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Cut-up musical culture... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Radio & Music CATEGORY: Radio & Music DATE: 10/18/2002 11:19:57 AM ----- BODY:

Every medium for transmitting music brings with it new practices for listening to it - and these in turn filter back into the way we interact with it, categorise it, manipulate it. The earliest ways of transmitting music were memory and repetition - music at this stage was simple and rhythmic and easy to transmit (think nursery rhymes and folk songs) or was not designed to be played the same way twice - rhythmic drumming tropes playing off each other - again and again... Sheet music required musical literacy, access to instruments and - in the popular fora at least - very clearly separated the music (what's written on the paper) from the rendition - the same songs might appear in versions for brass, piano, strings, woodwind, etc...

Recorded music brought with it a whole range of new issues. Transmission was now conducted at the level of rendition rather than the iconic 'music' level. But whole new ways of categorising music came along with the requirement of 'grouping' music into artist or theme, and placing it on two sides of plastic to be packaged as a product. And as the amount of product grew, the need for popular sense of categorisation emerged - was this rock 'n' roll, or bossanova? Tapes were more portable and resilient, but also bizarrely a backward-step in accessibility - gone was the random access mode of the record-player's head. CD's brought that back, and in the process removed the need for each side of an album to feel like a coherent entity. Albums ceased to be structured around two arcs that would last twenty minutes (records), moved past the longer side-structures of tapes (each side lasting potentially up to forty or fifty minuts) and settled on a CD format in which the listening experience is uniform, discrete and self-contained. Seventy-eight minutes played end-to-end created different listening arcs. And the randomise function? Songs began to be removed from the album-context, to be viewed once more as individual entities. But they weren't fully removed - after all, a listening experience randomising one album still limited what music you might hear next - a Beck album will only have Beck tracks on it. No matter what order you decide to hear them...

The resonance we feel, the response we have, and the way we categorise and separate different songs and different types of songs is fundamentally linked to the medium through which we hear them. Which is what makes the experience of listening to music through something like an iPod so extraordinary. Many of my friends migrate whole albums over to their MP3 players - and continue to listen to them as separate blocks, chunks of music. But I don't understand this at all. My approach was immediately to treat my music collection as categorisable only by the fact that these songs all to a certain extent are 'mine'. As my co-worker Dorian has commented - they are linked in as much as they are some kind of soundtrack to my life...

This produces some astonishing cut-ups - songs thrust together that don't seem to be belong together on paper, but which flow together extremely well when you're listening to them. Take this morning's passage into work for example:

"I'm Your Boogie Man", KC & the Sunshine Band
"White Noise Maker", Frank Black
"Pilots", Goldfrapp
"Oi Provenza il mar, il suol", Giuseppe Verdi (La Traviata)
"The King of Rock 'n' Roll", Prefab Sprout
"Little Lies", Fleetwood Mac
"Honky's Ladder", Afghan Whigs
"Tear Me Down", Hedwig and the Angry Inch
"Manhattan", Dinah Washington
"Crash", Primitives

There are at least six separate genres in that short selection, but by dint of 'rescuing' them from their context and placing them together in sequence, the specifics of those genres - the things that keep the separate if you will - merge and smear. What becomes pertinent is increasingly what unites them - a taste, a sensibility, a listener - and I think this is increasingly why sampling culture and artists like DJ Shadow find themselves working in a genre-less space, and why such a space is likely to increase radically. The walls are tumbling down - and do we have technology to thank? Or blame, for that matter? And what will be the next push in media transmission to extend the tendency even closer towards fluidity of use?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: In praise of skies... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/20/2002 02:13:00 AM ----- BODY:

You don't get to see a lot of sky when you live in a city like London. For the vast proportion of the time the sky is an adjunct to your life. It's outside your frame of reference. It's barely relevant in fact. It's the thing above the buildings, but only because there's got to be something above the buildings. For the vast proportion of the time you're surrounded by walls.

I feel different when I'm in the country now. There's more sky there, and it tends to take centre-stage. I've come to love the sky since I've lived in London - because I miss it, I suppose. Sometimes you catch glimpses of it - the sun sets down Oxford Street when you're standing near Holborn, and the walls become a frame for the sky for a moment. I feel like I'm straining my neck. In the country, the sky pushes down on the earth. It keeps everything in perspective. How can things seem important when there's streams of colour in every direction as far as the eye can see? And the clouds hang in strips, or build like islands. And the sun ruptures through it all.

One of the most transformative experiences of my life was to do with skies. I was driving towards Bristol from London and it was raining everywhere. It was just before sunset, but it seemed like the night because the clouds were so thick. The air was more water than air and it was very difficult to see anything. And then for a few moments the sun came below the level of the cloud, and the sun was pink and red, and literally everything turned pink. The clouds lit up pink from below in all directions, the road was wet and reflected pink upwards. Every particle of water in the air caught the light and glinted and flashed. It was probably the most beautiful thing I've ever seen in my life.

When I went to Los Angeles to see Kerry and Sean, we went to the pier. And we saw Tyne Daly from Cagney and Lacey. And there was a man on the pier with a bubble-blowing machine. And when the sun set over Malibu, I think I nearly cried because it was so beautiful. And I think Sean and Kerry thought I was a bit soft, or a bit insane.

There are times in the city when the buildings seem to high, they seem to block out the sun too much. They get in the way. Then the things that happen around us lose their perspective. They grow out of proportion. They're huge. Their shadows are huge and cold. And then the relationships that have frayed and fallen apart seem spectre-like, inhuman. And the future seems formless yet empty - like it's on a reel or tape loop, like it's the skipping sound of a CD gone wrong. And then you take comfort in your friends, such as they are (or great as they are), and wait for something new to happen.

I saw Gideon and Nick today. We shopped for coats. I talked to Matt Webb over AIM, and met up with Kelly to celebrate her birthday. I met four new people today. Two were women, two were gay. I spoke to Danny on the phone, and tomorrow we're going to see XXX. And I e-mailed my other Nick to see if he wanted to join us. And then there was the text message conversation with someone I've only recently been back in contact with. I've got a presentation to prepare and a sitting-room full of cold curry and empty drink cans. And a younger brother who means more to me than anything else in the world.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Doonesbury! Weblogs in Doonesbury! Dude, we're establishment already... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/21/2002 10:34:36 AM ----- BODY:

So what does it mean when weblogs get into Doonesbury? Are we still radical (if we ever were)? Are we established now? Must the world bow down and worship those (me) who have been weblogging for a very very long time? Is Oprah next? As Murray Lachlan Young once said about fame - "Who's my guru? Where's my hamster?"

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Doonesbury Day Two... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/22/2002 12:25:38 PM ----- BODY:

This is going to get old quite quickly I think. Not the cartoons themselves, but the fact that I'm planning to link to the new one each day for as long as they're about weblogs and weblogging: Doonesbury Oct 22 2002.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: A piece of writing from a book about Baudrillard pertaining specifically to Nietszche and history... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Gay CATEGORY: Gay CATEGORY: History CATEGORY: Politics DATE: 10/23/2002 11:31:25 AM ----- BODY:

I've been re-reading a little book on Baudrillard because it's the only thing that fits in the pocket of my brand new coat (excessive money spent - we'll say no more about this). In it I've stumbled upon a section about Baudrillard's relationship to history and his debt to Nietszche that really appeals to me. It goes like this:

Friedrich Nietzsche, in his Unfashionable Observations of 1874, criticised historical inquiry in his time for making the present look just like another episode, and the creative acts of individuals humble by comparison. It burdened individuals with more knowledge than they could absorb; it encouraged a resigned relativism because change implied that the present was unimportant; and it generated irony and cynicism because it engendered a sense of late arrival..."

When I was doing my doctorate I got really excited by a passage in Forster's Maurice - it's a fairly iconic passage used in a lot of scholarship in a fairly throwaway fashion. In it, the character of Dr Cornwallis, teaching young undergraduate men (including our hero) says of a piece of translation that they are about to undertake, "Omit: a reference to the unspeakable vice of the Greeks". I remember thinking this was extraordinarily radical considering how we now approach history. Current academic practice is one of dislocation - people in the past were nothing like us. They are incomprehensible to us by the standards that we generally operate by, and we have to hygenically and distantly analyse their behaviour with none of the emotional outbursts and resonances that we might use to examine contemporary matters.

This is considered true in basic historicist approaches, but even more true in historicist approaches to literature, where the assumption seems to be that one of the implicit acts of criticism is some kind of model-making of the minds of the audience (or author) of a work. Only by understanding the people do you understand the work. Personally I always thought this was a highly dubious intellectual move - particularly when undertaken in an absolutist fashion. Too many questions emerge from this kind of behaviour: Whose is the mind? Who does it represent? What about divergent readings from the period? Does it idealise a particular kind of reading or intepretation? Is the mind that we use to understand the text simply itself generated by us from the text itself?

Similarly there are problems with a complete lack of historicism, of course. It would be delightful to think that one could try and force a modern mind through a text without any historical information whatsoever, in such a way that they were encouraged to think about the text purely in terms of contemporary society - but it's simply not possible. The mind constructs a fictional world as it reads - it contextualises, it tries to fit disparate and apparently nonsensical elements together. The practice of reading a work removed from historical context is simply an exercise in the conceptual reconstruction of that period. And this is never more true when you're thinking about texts in other languages, where even basic comprehension the text requires a reconstructive leap.

So why is the statement in Maurice so challenging? Because it amounts to a statement that texts from outwith your cultural frame of reference aren't just there to be examined analytically and distantly, nor even merely to undermine your assumptions of 'normality' and push you towards total moral relativity. Instead they can have very real and potent social and political effects. They are inevitably political, weapons / devices with no function other than to stimulate, entertain and use in argument and discussion to forward a case, a goal, a political end...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Who's afraid of community participation? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: __default__ ALLOW PINGS: 0 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Social Software CATEGORY: Social Software DATE: 10/23/2002 11:01:12 PM ----- BODY: There's a fascinating post about the emergence of the UK Weblogging Community at notsosoft.com at the moment. One of the tools that has strengthened relationships between UK-based webloggers (of which there are several - pubs being a significant one of them) has ceased to function - the GBlogs Update Tracker has shut down so that its creator can concern herself with (considerably) more important creative work. But does the removal of a tool signal the end of a community project? And was UK Weblogging's emergence as an active and vibrant interconnected community ever a project? The most interesting aspect about some of the debate that has ensued in the responses to Meg's post is how uncomfortable people seem to be with the concept of being part of a "community" at all. Also fascinating is the assumptions of what participating in a community involves. The assumption seems to be that being a member of a community is something chosen, something that involves heavy participation, and something that requires each of its participants to be friends with one another and socialise. These aspects of participation are almost held up as spectres - huge achievements that one would have to wish to overcome in order to participate. I can't tell whether it's because we're English or because we're bedroom-bound webloggers that being part of such a community seems to terrify so many people. It could be just the reification of individuality that has brought us to this place. But I think it's unfounded. And I think it's unfounded because this sense of community is artificial and overblown... Let's look at a couple of examples - when people talk about the local community of people in a village do they mean that (1) they all go drinking with each other all the time, or (2) that they are familiar with each other's existence, may know each other (sometimes only by several degrees of separation) and share a vague vested interest in their local environment? I would contend it's the latter. And when people talk about the 'gay community' or the 'Jewish community', they're not referring to individual social groups of friends, but instead to a roughly shared set of goals, aspirations, interests or cultural principles. In web circles, community has come to mean different things. Mostly we think of specific sites or services designed to create communities, like Habbo Hotel, Metafilter or Barbelith. If we push ourselves we might extend this to Usenet groups or even Instant Messager communities or e-mail. But fundamentally these are tools for helping communities to germinate, develop and extend themselves - not the communities themselves. Just as the communities themselves are not necessarily defined by drinking with one another, or by believing exactly the same things. Do all members of Metafilter go drinking with one another? Do they all participate to the same extent? In fact what community represents, what community is is something much looser than a definition surrounding the activities that the members undertake with one another or the tools that they use to communicate with one another. These can be sidelines in fact - at best, they strengthen the bonds - maybe they make possible communities between people who would not be able to form them otherwise. But that's all... I do consider myself a member of a community of UK webloggers. And I feel that way because we all have something in common - a shared experience maybe, or a desire to learn from one another, an interest in other people who validate our 'hobbies' or maybe it's just because what matters to one of us is more likely to matter to other ones of us. I don't share my politics or my sexuality with many of these people. Nor my gender, many of my interests, my ethnicity or my obsession with Buffy. I also consider myself part of an online community of webloggers in general - an ever-growing group of people who share certain things with me, including the fact that they might be at home writing a huge post at eleven o'clock at night, or that they feel a need or a desire to express themselves. I also consider myself part of a community of gay webloggers, and gay people on the internet in general, and in fact gay people in general. And then there are the communities surrounding the issues of design that I'm interested in. And the communities of people who are interested in Buffy. Some are communities which manifest themselves through geographical proximity, closely shared values, friendships, sex even. With other communities there will be none of that at all - simply a shared characteristic, or chromosome, or interest. We're all members of hundreds - thousands even - of different overlapping communities all the time. Some are tiny, some are huge. Some are more important to us than others, but all are important to an extent. And it's nothing to be ashamed of! ----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: The most interesting aspect about discussing "UK weblogging culture" is how uncomfortable people seem to be with the concept of being part of a "community" at all. Perhaps more fascinating still are the assumptions of what participating in a community involves... ----- KEYWORDS: ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: James EMAIL: james@chachacha.co.uk IP: 80.225.50.46 URL: http://www.chachacha.co.uk DATE: 10/24/2002 03:57:16 AM So, unless I'm really tired and whatever I'm reading isn't making any sense whatsoever, what you've done is taken Meg's basic premise and expanded upon the definition of the word 'community'. I myself hate the word. It's really not a nice word. It may not be the worst word out there, but it's pretty bad. It reminds me of the local 'special' school (and the associated childhood insults); the 'rebel' teenagers who smoked and stayed out late - 'ooh, what would the community think?'; of fuddy-duddy Neighbourhood Watch schemes; of badly mis-spelt Church newsletters; of ridiculous politically-correct tabloids references to 'asylum-seeking foreign refugee scum'; of the silly woman next door who is wary of the 'ethnic minority' family down the street. So, yeah. I guess 'community' is a fitting word for what we have: we have the politico-warbloggers; the uninformant who links to mainstream news sites while completely missing the point of the story told; the blatant stereotype I've shoved in just because I'm putting my side of the argument; religious propaganda spreaders who ping and abuse; the camgirls; the 'nerdy' kids who pay no attention in school and thus learn computers better than the rest of us because their heads are emptier. The gblogs list is like a street; you click on one member of the list, and it's like knocking on someone's door. You can tell that this is an open community, because most people don't require you to have a key - there's no registration process on most blogs, almost never need to register to read what's being written. Tch, eh? Like my Grandmother always said - life was better when you never had to lock the doors properly and the neighbours always popped over. I knew her wisdom would come in useful somewhere. Or maybe it's just a fledgling community - more like the cavemen who hadn't figured out how to roll the rock in front of the door yet. Following that analogy, in a few hundred net-years of evolution, you'll have to be authorised for a 'key' to get into a blog. And the super-classy ones - like a five star hotel - will want you to pay. Would you lock up your blog to prying eyes if you could? But anyway - that's besides the point. Forgive me, it's 3AM. I could argue about whether or not that it's a true community, but what there is, is art imitating life, because this is an artform made out of people's lives, on the whole. Blog my thoughts onto my site, and, although visitors may not like what I are saying, they tolerate it - just like how anyone from my 'real' 'community' can make a judgement on me based on walking past my house and how it looks - because, just by viewing my site, they are coming into my personal space. Then again, they might throw paint on my windows if they don't like what I say to them. To be honest, I feel like the rowdy neighbour in the blog 'community'. No-one pays me any attention in the street, I don't often talk to anyone and I don't expect them to talk back. Doesn't mean I'm going to give up my space, though, because I own it and I'm paying for it (hmm, does this make blogspot users the rental tennants of the 'community'? Do they give up and move away quicker than the rest of us would? Maybe, when they haven't invested in their own domain name home). 'Community', in essence , is a show of respect. IRL, it is being able to live side by side, whether the two sides agree or not, or even talking to each other or not. The same applies online - one blog can't force another off the web (like how the average neighbour can't often force the next door dwellers out) and whether or not I am interested in the person writing or topic of discussion, doesn't mean I have to 'come in for a cuppa tea' every day - I just log off and keep walking past from then on. Unless I don't want to. I acknowledge the prescence in some way, even if I don't like it. Frankly, I'm always seeing names in lists of blogs that I'll never click on just because I don't like the name, or the address, or whatever. I'm picky. Yes, it's my own fault. More importantly, does this all show that webloggers are stuck in one place in this big old internet thing? Can you weblog and not keep cropping up amongst the same old lists of sites? Because the whole linking phenomenon makes that idea kind of impractical. If I could stop people from linking their site to one of my posts, would you? If I could tell google not to spider my words, would I take that option? Yes. I would. So I'm probably not a member of the so-called community. I'm sure that other people probably wouldn't act so drastically. Maybe they see themselves as part of a community. Like Buffy fans, say, as opposed to Buffy watchers. What does this make me? A nethead who doesn't like blogging? An anti-sociopath who doesn't get on with his neighbours? Ooh, that's close to the bone. So that's why I reckon that there's a blog community. And it's also why I'm not a part of it, or more like someone who's stuck in a twelve month lease in a part of town he doesn't like, but not for any aesthetical reasons. So why am I here? Like, say, living in Paris, I like the history, I like the potential, but I can't be there full time because I don't know the language and I wouldn't make any sense. Sorry, I've been rambling. And it's late. Worst. Post. Ever. And so on. Feed me back if you think I've made any points whatsoever. Next up: 'Blogging - it's more like speech writing than diary-writing, innit?' ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Darren EMAIL: darren@timemachinego.com IP: 217.34.92.238 URL: http://www.timemachinego.com/linkmachinego/ DATE: 10/24/2002 09:27:05 AM The Gblogs Update Tracker isn't dead. It was only resting.... http://www.timemachinego.com/ukblogs/ ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Gina EMAIL: gina-snowdoll@rocketmail.com IP: 213.2.158.19 URL: http://gina-snowdoll.blogspot.com DATE: 10/24/2002 11:13:20 AM The word "community" has been hijacked into meaninglessness. Witness the media's favourite post 9/11 expression: "the international community". There is no such thing! It is an oxymoron. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Coates EMAIL: tom@plasticbag.org IP: 212.111.42.130 URL: http://www.plasticbag.org DATE: 10/24/2002 05:31:21 PM I don't think that's strictly fair. It's oldest root we know of is communis, the latin for 'common' which was used as the basis for the word communitas - meaning fellowship. This travelled through Old French towards the middle english 'communite', meaning citizenry. In fact the usage of community as something that only refers to tight-knit groups of geographically and socially friendly people is relatively new. The usages which include things like comunities of similarity, communities as representing segments of society or between those sharing common interests are far older - congruently as old as those that refer to groups of people as political entities... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: John EMAIL: john.furnival@btinternet.com IP: 195.92.194.18 URL: DATE: 10/26/2002 09:42:19 PM The idea of a web community (virtual) is built on the principal of hope. It's the hope (of webloggers, e-commerce, IRC, message boards etc.) that all individuals will interact. In 'built communities' planners, architects and politicians have attempted, over time, to build communities on hope ' they hope people will live together, interact, communicate, bond, equalise and most importantly trust each other. In the late 19th and early 20th Centuries wealthy industrialists in the UK like Hartley (Jam), Leverhulme (Soap) and Salt (Milling) created and built urban villages to house their workers. These 'visionaries' saw the value in creating communities and providing welfare ' good housing, sanitation, churches, schools etc. They gave something ' hope, and got something back - commitment. The individuals involved in these communities were unique in that they had something 'in common'. The experiment in the UK of 'high rise' and of New Towns to solve 'inner city' problems of the 60's 70' and 80's has shown that by artificially bringing people together to create 'new communities' failed. Many of these new communities have now degenerated and represent some of the most socially dysfunctional areas in the UK. The social cost to this generation has been huge. To be member of a 'virtual' community (I think that is the best way to describe it) is different, - it's one of personal choice. It's about the choice of wanting to belong, to share ideas and it's the creation of an on-line personality. This is its dynamism. One of the greatest issues for 'virtual' communities is one of trust (apart from security of financial transactions). Trust is developed over time ' you trust your parents, your teachers (well some of them), your neighbours (well some of them), and your friends (well some of them), your ISP, your server? - trust is earned. Virtual communities are instant and therefore nature transient. They 'evolve' organically by referral (I've even read today about 'referral marketing') by links and by email. There is no need to build relationships. No need for commitment. No need for dependency. Just state your case and move on. No need for trust. Or is there? ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: mike d EMAIL: imperialdoughnut@hotmail.com IP: 195.92.168.165 URL: http://imperialdoughnut.blogspot.com DATE: 10/29/2002 11:10:33 AM I'd like to belong to 'the community' but to tell you the truth whenever I've tried I've been shunned. Be it on message boards, the Yahoo! list, I've even spent countless hours hunting down and persuading people to partake in my local Blog Meetup (Liverpool) but to no avail. Your blog was the very first British one I found (early 2000) and to some extent it gave me the inspiration to do my own. I've had my blog for 2 years now and I love it to bits, so much so my mind works totally in blog posts. But I feel I have more connection with Bloggers living just about everywhere else but blighty. Not to sound like a moaning teenager, despite being one, but I just don't get respect. Apart from being the stereotypical nostalgia-lovin' angst-ridden student I have no domain, my pseudo-essays are on relatively immature topics and I do not recycle the same topical drivel that everyone else does. It the eyes of the so-called pioneers that can only equal 'crap'. The way some 'a-list' bloggers reacted to Scary Duck being crowned top blog (a competition I was short listed in - and as only one of 4 free hosted sites) underlines this. Perhaps this elitism only exists in my head but I'm not the only one who sees the UK Blogging community split into classes... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: lawrie EMAIL: lawrie_malen@yahoo.com IP: 172.181.50.59 URL: http://www.gaijindesign.com/lawriemalen/index2.html DATE: 11/01/2002 01:22:39 PM community schmommunity... buffy rocks! and in light of this, i am going to submit the word 'schmommunity' to collins, the dictionary people. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Stuart EMAIL: hg@hydragenic.com IP: 194.200.135.68 URL: http://hydragenic.com DATE: 11/01/2002 03:40:06 PM Tom - I think one of the most interesting aspects of this discussion, which you touch on briefly above, is the lack of a clear distinction between "community" as something quite high-level & conceptual and as something more pragmatic & tangible. To elaborate: the same word can be used to refer to "the internet community", "the weblog community", "the Blogger community", "the UK weblog community", "the London weblog community", "the London blogmeet community" or "the webloggers who drink in the Coach and Horses pub in Soho at 5:17pm every Tuesday night community". When the same word covers the whole spectrum from macro- to micro-, differences of opinion are inevitable. I suspect that some people feel that they aren't part of a "weblog community" because they don't link, they don't read (m)any other sites, they don't meet other bloggers, etc. They might not be open to the more abstract notion of "community" (commonality?), which potentially includes them whether they like it or not. James - you can tell Google not to spider your words, plus most other well-behaved search engines too. Do a search on "robots.txt" for more information - it's an easy process. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Perry de Havilland EMAIL: PdeH@libertarian-samizdata.net IP: 81.5.146.53 URL: http://www.samizdata.net/blog/ DATE: 11/19/2002 02:23:02 AM Another thing that limits the notion of a 'community' of UK blogs is many blogs are really doing very different things. Journal blogs, Tech blogs and Pundit blogs, well, not quite 'never' the twain shall meet, but certainly not very often. I have hosted three 'Blogger Bashes' in London at which about 20-30 folks turned up representing 7 to 10 blogs (eight of my blog's contributors live in or near London). Yet they were all politically oriented pundit blogs and hardly any of us knew any Journal or Tech bloggers, both of which actually out number us pundit bloggers by quite a margin. We are all in our own ghettos and I am not sure that really matters all that much. I probably have more common interests with a US, Canadian or Australian pundit blogger than a London Journal blogger who might live around the corner from me to be honest. ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: A screen-cap from earlier today... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/23/2002 11:40:55 PM ----- BODY:

Taken by young Jamie Cronin, this screen-cap from earlier today will forever preserve the day when the train from London-South Wales was delayed by a large inflatable hamburger on the line...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On participation in online communities... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/24/2002 12:04:06 AM ----- BODY:

So I was reading a post at Meg's site called You - yes you - at the back: you may not talk in class. Best post title ever. Anyway... That's not the point. I had a comment to make about it, so I went and started to write it, and then next thing you know it's about a year and a half long and still incomplete. So like a fairly large seedling, I decided to transplant it to my site, intially for the normal part of the site, but then - you know what - it got even larger, so now it's stuffed like an embarrassing piece of furniture in the attic of my site:

Who's afraid of community participation?
The most interesting aspect about discussing "UK weblogging culture" is how uncomfortable people seem to be with the concept of being part of a "community" at all. Perhaps more fascinating still are the assumptions of what participating in a community involves...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Remember.... You're a FAG... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 1 DATE: 10/24/2002 09:32:27 PM ----- BODY:

I probably shouldn't be posting this, but Davo sent it to me when I was at work, and I nearly spat my drink across three quarters of the office. God only knows the intention of the person who created it. God only knows if it's supposed to be silly or hurtful... But when sent from poof to poof, it's like being in on the funniest joke ever...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On the horror of warblogging... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Personal Publishing CATEGORY: Personal Publishing CATEGORY: Politics DATE: 10/24/2002 11:48:31 PM ----- BODY:

This is a difficult post to write. It's difficult because I've avoided writing it for far too long. It's difficult because it forces me to face some things that I've tried to pretend weren't happening. And it's difficult because it undermines my faith in humanity and forces me to give up some of the illusions that I've desperately operated under for several years now.

About one year, one month and two weeks ago, the World Trade Center in New York was destroyed. All around the world, people looked on with horror at what was occurring. And before all the recriminations started, before the rhetoric became overwhelming, before the civil liberties were eroding, and before dissent became unpatriotic, there was this bizarre moment of pause, of stunned silence. And in that moment, there was a remarkable unity of feeling and purpose around the world. It was only when we all opened our mouths again that everything went to hell.

It was in this moment of shock that webloggers first started broadcasting their tiny, newly-vulnerable voices into blogspace. Some talked of their experiences of being in New York or of the feeling of vulnerability that all Americans suddenly felt - a vulnerability they'd never felt before. Some responded with exclamations of disbelief or anguish. But I think a large number couldn't say anything at all - how could one say anything valuable in these moments.

Most of the people I know in the UK who ran weblogs didn't know what to say or do. There was nothing that could be expressed that would be useful - nothing that could be done but sympathise from a distance. Many of us felt utterly powerless and yet desperate to do something. We came up with a project at the time that I think did some good. But then it's really impossible to tell.

In most of this stuff, most of us tried to be impartial, non-confrontational and politically of a space that wouldn't offend people who had just lost friends and family. That was the most important thing in the immediate aftermath - the orphaned, the widowed, the bereaved. As it should have been. Not political point-scoring or the use of those deaths as justification for military action. No flag-waving or advocating of interest groups that needed a say.

It would be months later before I would become aware of the phenomenon of the warblogger - months where information had filtered out gradually, where stances had calcified and battle-lines were beginning to be drawn. I started to notice politically radical statements appearing with semi-regularity on some people's sites - and entirely new sites appearing out of nowhere advocating extreme universalising positions of every kind - evil muslims, the hypocrisy of Europe, the righteous thunder of America...

To my shame, only once did I make any kind of stand. I sent an e-mail to Stephen Den Beste about (what I considered to be) his overblown anti-European rhetoric - and he responded. I got a fair amount of short-term fallout in the form of highly unpleasant e-mails and comments posted on people's sites. And I think at the time I decided that several things should stop me continuing with any kind of debate on these issues in public. Some of these I think are still valid, some of which I now think I could characterise as cowardice or laziness, nothing more...

The fact is I believed warblogging in its most hawkish, blood-hungry mode to be the short-lived rantings of extremists - and not representative of American online communities or weblogging communities in general. And because of this, I've got on with talking about the things that I personally find manageable or stimulating, and have kept far away from discussion of wars in Iraq, or bombings in Afghanistan, or racist violence in Europe and America, or the way all these events have been cynically used for party political ends, or the way in which state-sanctioned warfare is being transformed into a continuous enterprise just as civil liberties in all areas are being slowly limited. I haven't said a word about the level of irony I felt when it became clear that Hollywood's grasp on file-sharing technology meant more to most people than the fact that people were being held illegally across the world.

I've kept my mouth shut through all of this stuff. And I'll probably continue to keep it shut, to be honest. But I needed an outburst today because of the stuff that I've been forced to come into contact with recently - the verbal attacks against Anil Dash for example - appal me beyond measure. I feel actual physical sickness at sites declaring whole religions to be at fault for the actions of tiny groups of often pooly-educated poor extremists. And this is the tiniest tip of the ice-berg.

I don't know how to say it in any other way except to say that as an episode in web history, I personally believe that Warblogging has been shameful, horrific and a stain on us all. The escalation of warblogs is a disaster for development of personal publishing, and a crippling blow to the individual integrity and worth of weblogs and weblogging. This whole media - a media which was supposed to be about freedom of expression, allowing everyone to have a voice and a space to talk openly and honestly - has turned increasingly into the worst kind of soapbox punditry, witch-hunting and as a platform for violent warmongers and nationalists. And I'm afraid I feel partly responsible...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Looking for people to try out new community project... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/25/2002 11:31:00 AM ----- BODY:

I'm looking for people to try out a new community project that I've been developing at work. It's a completely new way of organising message-boards and I think potentially it's quite exciting. If you wish to participate or are interested, then e-mail me at tom%40plasticbag.org - it's going to be of most interest to people who live in the UK...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: A summary of Doonesbury Day Five: Weblog Gibberish (and links to the episodes you might have missed)... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/25/2002 02:31:25 PM ----- BODY:

October 26 I've had it with Linux! Regime Change has failed! Let's think inside the box, people! It's time to put the pedal to the paradigm! Join a sleeper cell, then quit and turn everyone in! Got war? Is our children learning? Mark my words, so you can find them later!" That's right... I am Jenny McTagarthy, Girl Pirate! (You may have missed how big is my fan-base and a crush on Jenny...)

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On the insecurity of Blogger... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/25/2002 11:04:10 PM ----- BODY:

First things first - here's a quick (rough) timeline of what happened from my perspective:

3.30pm Phil Gyford notices that something has gone wrong with the listing of plasticbag.org posts on Haddock blogs. My assumption? Something has gone wrong with haddock blogs...
3.40pm A quick glance at my RSS feed revealed that each and every link attribute on my RSS feed now read as 'hacx0red'. My assumption? Someone has hacked into my server...
3.45pm In still logged into my Blogger account so I go and check the settings. There's something very wrong going on - my password, my e-mail address and the URL for my site have been replaced with the word 'hacx0red'. My assumption? Someone has hacked into my Blogger account...
• Screenshot One
• Screenshot Two
• Screenshot Three
3.50pm Beacuse I'm nervous about logging out, I try logging in with a different user name in a different browser. This does not work. My assumption? The world's gone freakin' craaaazy...
3.53pm I start telling people that I think Blogger's been hacked. People freak out.
4.00pm The UK's weblogger mailing list becomes full of nervous people, and the information starts going out. Various people try to work out how to get in contact with Ev. We finally manage to get the word to Anil Dash who sends the word on further...
4.10pm Danny O'Brien and Phil Gyford are getting the word out to Scripting.com.

So where does this leave us? It leaves us nervous, I think. It leaves us with less faith than before that it's safe to leave the collective writings of years in the hands of a centralised service like Blogger. What would be lost if 700,000 people lost days, weeks, months or years of writing at the same time? Significantly I think if there was an import / export facility to Blogger that would allow people to keep their own back-ups, then this would be less of an issue. In the meantime, I'm afraid I have to confess that while I'm very impressed by the speed of Blogger's reaction, I'm not overly impressed by the stuff that they've written about the experience. I think it's important that someone explains to us why we should not be worried by this hack on an archive of content that - after all - was created and belongs to each of us...

Further reading: Slashdot.org, Anil Dash, Quicktopic thread, Blogger Status.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On the responsibility of linkage... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Net Culture CATEGORY: Net Culture CATEGORY: Personal Publishing CATEGORY: Politics DATE: 10/27/2002 01:12:26 AM ----- BODY:

Ok. Right. This is where things start to get interesting. Firstly, a metaphor. Imagine if you will a solar system - let's make it a binary system with planets that fly around it. Watch the suns move around one another. Watch the planets move around the suns. Watch the moons move around the planets. Watch their stable arcs cascading around one another. The reason they do this? We all know the answer - the various entities have an influence on one another that we call gravity... This influence, exerted by each and every participant in this system, is what keeps the system stable. If the gravity was dramatically lower, the celestial bodies would fly off from one another into deep space. If the gravity was dramatically higher, the celestial bodies would collapse in on themselves, forming one body - a symbolic monolith...

Let's move in a different direction for a moment. Must we as liberal individuals believe in a world that gives each and every opinion equal weight. Are all views equally "valid", "worthwhile", "right"? And where does this leave us when we vehemently disagree with the tactics that people promoting these views start to use? And where do we end up when the views we must consider "valid" are precisely those views which don't believe other views to be "valid", "worthwhile", "right" and are prepared to say so, and/or do something about it.

This last assertion is one of the simplest paradoxes of liberalism. But it's not a model worth operating with. And here's where the solar system comes in. Because a world in which we - as individuals or groups - are unable to extert any kind of pressure on anyone else for doing what we believe to be wrong resembles a solar system without gravity - an immediate explosion occurs, critical divergence, utter lack of stability. And a world in which we - as individuals or groups - are able to extert total pressure on anyone else for doing what we believe to be wrong resembles a solar system with absolute gravity - an immediate imposion occurs, monolithic thinking, totalitarianist repression, totally lack of motion, inertia, death.

The weblog space is a space that bends under the pressure of traffic and influence. But mostly it bends under the strength of reputation (earned by "good work" or unearned by association and / or tacit sanctioning by those who have done "good work"). And I now believe that as an individual operating responsibly in this sphere, I have to be aware of any and all potential abilities I have to legitimately (ie. without lying, cheating or unfairly manipulating the situation in any way) exert whatsoever influence I might have in order to stop what I perceive to be morally wrong, corrupt politics, cheap argument and potentially warmongering. (And yes - if you're beginning to catch on - I am again talking about warbloggers). I think I've come up with something that I believe to be appropriate action in these circumstances, and it's to do with the responsibilities of being linked to...

At the moment one very specific site is in my mind. This site, which I will not link to, links to a considerable number of intelligent and interesting people. Many of whom don't share the politics or attitude of the man in question. Each one of these people is in a situation to act in such a way that would demonstrate their profound disagreement with those views simply by dint of their link being on his page. What I'm suggesting is that there is a power that comes with being linked to - and it's a power that one should not only be aware of, but should feel the responsibility to employ - whether by sending a simple e-mail askind the link to be removed ("I do not wish to be associated with the bile-ridden drivel on your site"), or more proactively and campaigningly by using an .htaccess file or something similar to serve up a page which declares that you refuse to be associated with the views of the person whose site you've just left.

It's not a lot, I know, but it's the first thing that I can think of that actually represents some kind of weblogging 'direct action' - some kind of (almost negligible at the individual scale) gravitational influence that can be exerted by a site to act in such a way that it makes itself known as protesting without driving additional traffic to the thing they're protesting about... And the best thing about it is that it's entirely non-violent, non-flaming, non-confrontational. It's a kind of passive politics - refusal to participate - refusal to allow yourself to be referenced - a bizarre kind of work-to-rule... The power of the inbound link should not be ignored...

PS. To clarify, maybe I can give a couple of examples... Let's say a site links to yours that is homophobic - not a specific link to a specific page, but rather a general blog-rolling style link. To mention that site - to link to it - will promote their agenda, give them more page impressions, more people reading the crap they write. So what you could do instead is use an .htaccess file to shunt them through to a site that debunks myths about being gay.

Follow-ups:

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: How to fill a 5Gb iPod... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Radio & Music CATEGORY: Radio & Music CATEGORY: Technology DATE: 10/27/2002 10:57:46 PM ----- BODY:

So here's what the thing would be if I were really bored and absurdly anal on a Sunday early-evening... As an iPod early-adopter, I may be the last person left in the Western hemisphere with a mere 5Gb to fill. And I've ripped nearly 12Gb of my own albums onto my computer. So I clearly have a problem here - how do I choose what to put onto it? Of the 2822 songs currently on my Mac, only 535 songs have yet to be rated (star ratings out of five - rating songs is the new 'alphabetising my record collection'), and these include several new albums I've bought recently along with some older stuff that I don't really want to write off just yet, but at the same time can't really say that I've demonstrated much inclination to listen to either...

There are several considerations - one being the highly frustrating way that the iTunes randomise function only randomises the first time you make a playlist - so you can't have one list that changes dynamically. This is highly frustrating.

Quickly - some dumb figures: 5 star songs: 281, 4 star songs: 991, 3 star songs: 691, 2 star songs: 286, 1 star songs: 38. In principle the scoring mechanism that has evolved works like this - I would not be averse to listening to at any time any song that gets three to five stars. Two star songs are an irritation. One star songs are just irredeemably awful. One star songs are mostly from Moby's "18" or represent the most self-indulgent of The Magnetic Fields' oeuvre... Other considerations to bear in mind - classical music is interesting, but not always ideal for listening to on the bus or down the street, I add new music all the time and wish it to be represented on my iPod before I have had the chance to assign it a rating, humourous songs often become less humourous after a fairly short amount of time. There are many many other criteria in play here as well - so many in fact that ideally I would need someone to do some comprehensive analysis on the subject and return to me with a set of criteria that one could use as a basis for evolving appropriate smart playlists. Here's my attempt so far...

5-star songs:
This smart playlist operates according to the following principles:
My rating is 5-stars, Genre is not Educational or Classical, limited to 1210 Mb selected by random.
Significantly, this represents essentially every single 5-star song I own except for a batch of scientific songs by Tom Glazer that may be empiracally wonderful but can become irritating, and classical pieces which are often simply too long to warrant inclusion.
4-star songs:
This smart playlist operates according to the following principles:
My rating is 4-stars, Genre is not Educational, Classical or Humour, limited to 650 songs selected by random.
This represents 2.69Gb of the space on my iPod, except that since several of my smart playlists randomly select some of the same tracks, there is no particular benefit in specifying exactly how much space it should occupy. This is a fairly savagely cut selection from the 991 songs that I've given a full four stars too. There simply isn't space to do otherwise. Note the addition of humour to the banned genre... Five star comedy may remain entertaining... Four star may not...
4-star songs (running):
This smart playlist operates according to the following principles:
My rating is 4-stars, Genre is not Educational, Classical or Humour, limited to 200 songs selected by date added.
Now we have to add an element of movement into the organisation of the iPod. Since we can only have a selection of the four-star songs that are available, a choice has to be made as to which ones will be chosen. A purely random selection that isn't dynamically different each time would relegate some songs to obscurity, and more importantly would remain uniformly distributed - there would be no sense of progress... By choosing the 200 most recently added 4-star songs, I make sure that my iPod changes and responds to my daily whim...
Most Played:
This smart playlist operates according to the following principles:
My rating is better than 2 stars, limited to 300 songs selected by most played.
This list has precisely the opposite function of the one above - to be a stable chart of songs that I seem to not want to be without. The removal of anything with a rating under 3 stars makes sure I don't accidentally get stuck with something I've come to hate.
Recent Additions:
This smart playlist operates according to the following principles:
My rating is not 1 stars / 2 stars / or 3 stars, limited to 60 songs selected by recently added.
Essentially this list is simply to catch stuff that I've added but have not as yet come to a conclusion about. The removal of anything with one, two or three stars means that I don't waste time listening to stuff that I have come to a conclusion about, while anything that has yet to be rated remains included.
Recently Played:
This smart playlist operates according to the following principles:
My rating is not 1 or 2 stars / or 3 stars, limited to 40 Mb, selected by last played.
Because it's possible that I could have a song in my head when I leave my flat, and for it not to be on my iPod, I instituted a list that kept track of what had been listened to in roughly the last forty minutes and made sure that was always with me. A tiny additional list that has been a complete life-saver many times...

This feels a bit Open University-esque. It's an almost total waste of weblog space as well. Except that I am serious - if someone out there has done some research into these things I'm sure that a company like Apple would be interested... A default 'my music collection' playlist that intuited what kind of things you actually wanted to carry around with you (with whatever obscure algorithm it used) would probably be quite appealing to some people...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Regarding the responsibility of linkage... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/28/2002 10:47:10 AM ----- BODY:

An excerpt from an e-mail I sent yesterday - partially adapted for publishing on plasticbag.org- explaining why I think we need a campaigning or protest tool in excess of the simple publishing of opinions - perhaps along the lines of my proposed inbound link strategy...

Basically, I'm trying to work out if there is some kind of direct action or demonstration that one can do within the blogosphere other than simply express one's opinions. I'm looking for another approach because of this double-bind: if you link to a person with extreme views in order to debunk them, then to an extent you're actually promoting them - you're sending traffic to them, you're giving their views a certain legitimacy. But if you don't link to them, and you don't publically talk about them, then aren't you like the man who lets evil flourish through his inaction? What's the right thing to do?

I'm certainly not trying to set up rules of governance of the internet or regulate it - I'm just suggesting that if free speech is the only political tool at our disposal, then we'll inevitably end up with people having to shout more and more loudly in order to be heard at all. The ambient volume therefore just escalates and drowns out more nuanced, less absolutist or dogmatic attitudes. It should be possible to express ones dissent (or horror) with some kind of silence, sit-in or direct action - something maybe a bit like the Beatles returning their MBE's to Buckingham Palace...

Obviously this is not to say that the specific tactics I suggested are necessarily appropriate or the right way to go, but I think the motivation behind the idea is a good one, and I'd be interested in anyone else's suggestions...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: London poster inspires a total lack of confidence in the world... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/28/2002 02:59:14 PM ----- BODY:

I've had issues with the levels of surveillance that are appearing in the UK for quite a while now. When I lived in Hampstead I remember remarking that there was no point between my front door and my desk at work where I was not on at least one camera. Every so often someone decides to celebrate the terrifying amount of cameras around us all and hey normally do that with a poster telling us all how safe we are now that we're continually examined. Just recently a new poster started appearing around London, and frankly it's terrifying beyond measure. It looks like the cover of a 1950s alien-invasion novel, and drips with the sentiments of 1984's Big Brother posters. But it's difficult to know what to complain about - the poster itself is more than a little distasteful, but at least it's triggering a little alarm from liberal parts of the country. Without it we'd probably accept this stuff without a second thought...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Oh for god's sake... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/28/2002 04:36:45 PM ----- BODY:

With regard to the people who are slamming my comments on 'the power of the incoming link' [1 & 2] - could I just clarify that I was not talking about Stephen Den Beste... The theory - that the non-specific warblogger that I've referred to recently was Mr Den Beste - was first taken up I think by Flit and has now spread to a number of other sites, including Instapundit and Bitchpundit. Each of these sites has its own particularly charming stance on what I've said. But it's all based on a false assumption, I'm afraid, because I wasn't talking about him at all... As such I'm going to take Flit's statement at face value and accept that the misunderstanding was not intentional and accept his pre-emptive apology...

There are a few things that I clearly still have to clarify... I'm talking about individuals having a different way to campaign for what they believe in - whatever 'what they believe in' might be. The fact that I'm left-of-centre clearly informs the things that I feel strongly about - the things that I'm prepared to campaign for. But essentially all I'm looking for is a way for a community of individuals to have more influence - more, but equal influence - on each other because I think that there have to be campaigning techniques that operate in addition to argument or debate... If you're not convinced by the techniques I suggested, then that's ok... I'm not trying to present a fait accompli...

One of the things that people have talked about is how I'm trying to restrict people's freedom of expression so that only people who agree with my particular brand of politics can be heard. This is simply, bluntly, once and for all, just wrong. I believe that everyone should be able to stand up for what they believe in - I'm just suggesting a way in which people can do that. The approach I've suggested might be hideously flawed, but it doesn't stop the individual concerned writing what they want on their site, nor does it stop anyone else linking to them. So i can't see how it interferes with their freedom of speech at all, or how it isolates them. All it does it give some people a public way to register their protest without writing about it (and thus in a way promoting it) on their own sites.

I've had a lot of feedback on some of this stuff, and it's been fairly mixed - the more sober stuff has been the most interesting - some people view it as a useful and poweful kind of protest, others think of it as against the idea of the web as a discursive space, and others think that such a view gives legal credibility to people who want to control incoming links to their commercial sites. Some of these I agree with - some of them I don't... I've been less thrilled with the responses from people whose level of argument has been to criticise my teeth though or who describe anything they don't agree with as "Saudi-Arabian-style". My favourite one of these comments though has been the one that describes me as having, "a serious inferiority complex when it comes to learning from [my] moral and intellectual superiors." I quite liked that one...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On the usurpation of a screening of Donnie Darko... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 10/30/2002 11:25:21 PM ----- BODY:

I can't even count the amount of times recently that I've written about the movie Donnie Darko. I'm obsessed by it, it's clear. But now you have the chance to get obsessed with it too, and I'm going to help you do it. No, I'm not going to pay for it. No, I'm not going to rub your ears and hold the popcorn while you watch it. Instead I'm inviting you all to come and see it with me, and with all the other loony friends that I've got that happened to be available on the same night. And the night? Tomorrow. Halloween.

Well that's actually slightly innaccurate. In fact what's actually happening is that Barbelith is inviting you to experience Donnie Darko Movie Madness tomorrow night. We're going to claim the whole cinema for cool people, nice people, fun people - you know... my people. I'm totally serious about this.. It's a great film and you're all more than welcome - you're expected to attend. And after the movie? Some kind of drinking, I should think... Yes definitely... A drink. Maybe several...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: A weekend in Norfolk... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: __default__ ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/04/2002 11:50:24 AM ----- BODY:

A weekend away from London is one thing - a weekend with the family is quite another. You never know whether it'll be pleasant or nightmarish. Will it end with smiles or scowls? It was nearly a disaster before I even arrived. The trip across London was a nightmare in rain and public transport, and I missed my train by thirty seconds. The next train was double the price, and some bloody woman who had claimed two seats glared at me when I asked if I could sit down for the two hour journey... Halfway through the journey - an hour away from Norwich, I took a picture of Colchester station...

The following day we decided to go to the beach. My memories of the North Norfolk coast basically revolve around my step-father trying to get me to swim in the North Sea and it being cold and rainy. So I was a little grudging about the plan, but we all piled into the car nonetheless and drove north...

My suspicion had evaporated by the time we reached Brancaster. The day was beautiful, and the sky - the thing I miss most of all in London - was, well, everywhere. My mother and brother wandered off in one direction...

... while my father took the dog off for a bit of a paddle ...

The beach was almost empty - there was a couple playing with a kite, and some people walking a couple of dogs on the horizon. But for the most part, there was nothing for miles around us in every direction... Even looking away from the beach...

My brother has an incredible throwing arm. He can launch a tennis ball into orbit, throwing at least twice as far as any of the rest of us can manage. Our dog - Tango - loves this, and will run backwards and forwards for hours and hours, fetching ball after ball...

At the high-water mark, the beach was crunchy with shells...

After a while we stumbled upon some mud-flats... It's easy to walk on mud-flats for about twenty seconds, and then all the grippy parts of your shoes fill with clay and crap, which makes the soles of your shoes feel like huge slippy pats of butter, only black...

Some of the mud-flats rise up into creases by some kind of weird natural process. If you get close to them and photograph them close-up, they start to resemble hills, mountains and canyons...

Anyway - no walk can last forever, so we turned to head back to the restaurant, only to be confronted by one of the most beautiful skies I'd ever seen...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On the third birthday of plasticbag.org... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/04/2002 12:14:04 PM ----- BODY:

On Friday morning, plasticbag.org reached the age of three years old. It seems like a fairly major milestone to me - maybe three years is the time when you begin to think to yourself, "Is this actually something I'm going to be doing for the foreseeable future - maybe for the rest of my life?" A scary thought...

If you're interested enough - and god knows why you would be - you can still read the first weblog post I ever made over a thousand days ago... A thousand days... It would be good to be able to say that I'd posted almost every day of that time, but since I've just bunked off for almost a week, I think that might seem a bit cheeky...

So what's happened over the last three years? What have I accomplished? I've met loads of new friends. I've gone from starting work at Time Out to being Production Editor of their website, through to unemployment, helping out on TCN, working on an education site for Europeans and Ethiopians and building a community for the BBC. Now I'm at UpMyStreet.com. I've had a couple of different relationships - mostly disasterous. I've sapped around quite a bit - as if there was a storm-cloud perpetually around me, and bounced around like a puppy for much briefer, but much more memorable, amounts of time.

I've written an awful lot of crap on my site, but I've also written odds and ends that I'll always be able to keep and look at and be proud of. I've also pissed any number of people off. Which probably suggests I'm doing something right...

So where to go from here? God knows. I'd be lying if I said I never got bored of thinking of something to offer up to the world each day. I do. Show me another three-year vintage weblogger that doesn't feel that occasionally. I don't think the future will contain as much about my personal life, because I think after a while the more you write about something, the thinner it gets... It's like you wear it out. After a while you want something that's just for you - that's yours alone and that you share with no one. I've already been writing less and less about what I do away from the computer... So I think the future probably lies more in the ideas that I have, or the opinions that I need to express. Maybe that's the direction that weblogging itself will be taking as the huge Blogger Boom generation of the last two years settles down and tries to find a sense of purpose for their sites - a reason to keep writing every day. I can only hope that'll be interesting enough to keep you guys sticking around...

In the meantime, thanks for coming and I'll see you all in three years time... xx Tom

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Weblogs and Journalism (Part One) STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 1 ALLOW PINGS: 0 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Personal Publishing CATEGORY: Personal Publishing DATE: 11/05/2002 11:05:29 AM ----- BODY: Last month - along with many other people - I agreed to participate in a questionaire about the relationship between weblog publishing and online journalism. I'll be putting my responses online as I finish each major section of the questionaire. Today - it's about my personal experience of weblogging... 1a) Can you give some details about how long youve been writing your weblog, how much you write, whether anyone else contributes to it? I've been writing plasticbag.org for just over three years now. I write something almost every day, to the extent that I've probably only missed thirty or forty days in total over that period. No one else contributes to it - except in the form of friends suggesting links to me or me sourcing links and/or things I wish to talk about from other sites (at which point, where possible, credit is given). Guest-blogging - where someone takes over your site while you go on holiday - is something that I've never understood or allowed to happen on plasticbag.org (although I have on occasion guest-blogged for other people). 1b) What motivated you to start? Has your motivation changed? The motivation to start was a desire for novelty - nothing more or less. Three years ago there wasn't any kind of inter-weblogging 'culture' of any kind. At the time, I was much more interested in assembling little projects or micro-sites and seeing if people came to them. Occasionally I'd make a stab at something larger - like The Bomb - but I'd never really thought of (or even heard of) weblogs. When I bought my first domain, I put some of the sites that I had developed on some subdirectories, but I didn't have anything to put on the front of the site. I think I managed somehow to get exposed to evhead.com or kottke.org (I was a complete follower of Jason's 0sil8.com work, which I still love) and through them found Blogger. At that point I think I literally went, "Well why the hell not stick this up... It's quick and easy and it doesn't particularly matter if no one looks at the damn thing..." Within a couple of months it was the busiest thing (in terms of page-views and in terms of the response I was getting over e-mail) I'd ever done. My motivation for running the site has changed a lot over the years. Initially I think the freedom of being able to talk about your life completely freely and without any anxiety that anyone you know will ever find out was tremendously liberating. I think a lot of people who start off with weblogging as a form of personal publishing feel that way. But that's almost inevitably doomed, since unless you're very isolationist and incredibly careful about your identity, at some point your on and offline lives inevitably merge to some extent. You tell a couple of friends in real life, or people you meet online start to become more important to you. At some point you have to start acting with a bit of discretion. I think for many people (and I count myself among them), even if you didn't start your site as a way to have 'a voice' of some kind, that soon becomes the reason to maintain it. People feel pretty disenfranchised from the world around them - mostly their voices - their opinions - don't really matter in the slightest. Weblogs - for good or ill - make people feel that they're being listened to - that their opinions matter. If that was all they did, then I'd say that was enough - but sometimes these opinions are actually useful or well-informed or reflect a kind of expertise you don't often see in the mainstream media - and then you're actually doing something useful that helps the world or pushes a creative process further. 1c) How has your weblog changed, in style or content, over time? I've answered many of these questions above, but clearly yes. Graphically it's changed a lot - the design has gone further into the background, but more importantly the content has changed from undirected rantings to a less personal and more commentary/ideas-based type of writing. I feel I've moved from writing a diary or journal to writing a kind of fragmentary column. Other people manage this transition (if they make it) in different ways - some, like Meg from NotSoSoft have shifted from diary to a kind of lifestyle / creative writing column. 1d) Has blogging changed the ways or extent that you relate to public events and issues? Yes. Absolutely. Totally. In the sense that if an event seems particularly significant to me, or I think I have something to add to the debate surrounding it, then now I feel I can write something about it - something that might have some meaning for someone other than just myself. The sense of political impotence is reduced - there is finally something to do that's between talking about it to friends and going on a march! I think it's really that simple. That's not to say that you can or will always react to every news story that comes along. A huge number of webloggers just didn't know what to say or do when the World Trade Center came crashing down. For all the people talking about their experiences, there were others who couldn't put finger to keyboard - didn't feel qualified or entitled to comment... But at least these are now personal decisions. We can choose when to be silent... Next: Ideas of weblogs as journalism ----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: In which Tom publishes his responses to an e-mail survey about the relationship between weblog publishing and online journalism. Part one is about my personal experience of weblogging and my motivations for writing... ----- KEYWORDS: ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: brenda EMAIL: brenda@brendastardom.com IP: 217.70.64.232 URL: http://brendastardom.com DATE: 11/28/2002 01:48:02 PM This was interesting to find. I began my site as an online extension of satirical or not-so-satrical radio reports I did in the 80's. I have a real news background, but I hate mainstream news. I'm embarassed by the beginning posts, but I'm getting back up to speed, finding myself writing a column, very politically slanted, but written in a way that causes a laugh and some long hmmmm's. I view it as a column, as there's nothing about my personal life. It's about world issues taken from another angle, but somehow I've gone into bloglandia, blogs linking to me and that's really flattering to the point of my wondering what I'm really doing. I guess it depends. Column, blog, whatever, as long as the message gets out there. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Chris EMAIL: chris@turbonerd.com IP: 63.239.99.187 URL: http://www.turbonerd.com DATE: 01/06/2003 08:26:08 PM I've wrestled with this question myself over the years, and my site's gone through several iterations and designs as I've tried to make sense of juat what it was I was trying to accomplish with it. Suddenly I find using the word "column" to describe it clarifies things substantially. Thanks. =) ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On Weblogs and Journalism (Part One) STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/05/2002 11:12:56 AM ----- BODY:

I've been asked to participate in a survey about weblogs and journalism and, since it's quite a detailed survey inviting lengthy responses, I've decided to put my replies online as a series of micro-articles. The first one goes up today, and is mostly concerned with my personal relationship to weblogs and my reasons for maintaining one...

On Weblogs and Journalism (Part One)
People feel pretty disenfranchised from the world around them - mostly their voices - their opinions - don't really matter in the slightest. Weblogs - for good or ill - make people feel that they're being listened to - that their opinions matter. If that was all they did, then I'd say that was enough...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On Barbelith, cameras and going to Norfolk... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/06/2002 11:11:54 AM ----- BODY:

More observant plasticbag.org punters may have noticed that there's been a new addition to the gallery: A weekend in Norfolk.

Some of you might be wondering how this happened... "How did Tom," you might ask, "take all these lovely photographs of Norfolk beaches and skies when his camera was stolen only a few weeks ago?"

Losing my camera really upset me. It was bought for me by some of my closest friends and some of my favourite web people - really really sweet friends who clubbed together for my thirtieth birthday. So when it was stolen it was as if someone had smeared mud all over one of my favourite memories. I was gutted.

Anyway - time passed and then suddenly out of the blue without any warning whatsoever I found a paypal payment for $400 in my inbox complete with a link to this web-page. All my friends on Barbelith had clubbed together to replace not only the camera, but to claim the memory back as well... I'd had absolutely no idea whatsoever - they'd conducted all their business on an invisible Barbelith ghost thread!

So now I have a twice-bought camera saturated with happy memories of my thirtieth birthday and valued friends - only now it's enhanced by an incredible act of charity from a group of lovely Barbelites... You couldn't have asked for a better gift...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Introducing... UpMyStreet Conversations... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Social Software CATEGORY: Social Software DATE: 11/06/2002 05:29:42 PM ----- BODY:

So I can finally tell the world what I've been working on for the last few months - and in fact, more to the point, I can finally try and get some of you people to try it out.

UpMyStreet Conversations is a new kind of online community site for the UK. In some ways it's almost anti-web. Where the web has "traditionally" been about uniting people on the basis of shared interests no matter where they live in the world, this site takes as its first assumption that people who live nea one another already have at least one shared interest - their local environment... But this interest is increasingly not catered for - people in cities are talking less and less to one another. In fact most of us barely communicate with our neighbours at all. And the vasy majority of the social spaces that we all used to share have been dismantled or evaporated. So how can we expect communities self-organise? And how are they expected to join together politically? How can they protest about problems where they live?

So this is the cool bit - it works on a really simple principle that scales and adapts really well to changes in posting. And while it's geographically based, it's not based on legislative or government boundaries. And a lack of population density doesn't mean you'll be sitting in an empty board with no one to talk to, either, because the posts you see reflects your local population density...

Well anyway... I'm not going to go into too much detail at the moment, because it should be pretty self-explanatory and i want to see how people engage with it... Let me know what you think...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Apple news, oh Apple news, oh sweet sexy Apple news... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/07/2002 02:40:55 PM ----- BODY:

I've been thinking of buying an iBook for well over a year now. Well over. Maybe like two years or something. And now Apple have announced that they're dropping the prices (substantially) and upping the specs a bit. And the lust is overwhelming. I genuinely need one now. It's like a craving. It's beyond a craving. It's like a biological urge. I'm like a salmon being pulled upstream by an instinct so strong that I'm prepared to risk being pulled out of the river on a small piece of string, be gutted, coated in breadcrumbs and fed to some over-bited inbred Appallachian teen hairdresser-wannabe. That's how much I need one.

In related news, Anakin Skywalker tired of the Jedi's blue-sword-of-death and decided to switch to a more idiosyncratic and stylish brand, Apple have released a Powerbook that could outrace Superman and also burns DVDs, and I really really want an iBook.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On Americans and America... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/07/2002 05:44:22 PM ----- BODY:

So we wake up to a world in which G.W. Bush has more power than ever, which is not a world that feels any safer to me. Across the world the rather resigned expectation is that the USA will be even less interested in the views of the international community than before - even as a new book is published that aims to explain to Americans why the world isn't entirely thrilled by the behaviour of their government:

How the world sees Americans
"I was surprised that people were really able -- and I heard this repeatedly -- to distinguish between America and Americans. There's America in the sense of the official government and the military. That official face of America in the world is not very well liked. And then there's Americans -- the people of the country, the ideals of the country, our popular culture. It was quite a sophisticated view, I thought, considering that they are very far away. Yes, America is in their face all the time, but the part of America that is in their face is that official part. They were able to still say, but you know, we love Americans and we love what you stand for. I heard that over and over again from all different walks of life and all different parts of the world."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Some of my favourite UpMyStreet Conversations STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/08/2002 10:02:43 AM ----- BODY:

UpMyStreet Conversations is starting to pick up now, which means that I can start directing people to some of the best and most useful threads that I'm finding on it...

Congestion Charges
Does anyone know when these are due to be introduced? What are the boundaries going to be>? And do we, as residents of London have any say on the matter?
Tired of the same old bars
I'm sick of going to the same old bars near to work in the Tottenham Court Road - Holborn area. Can people suggest good pubs to help me out?
Mobile Phone Masts
I live in a really built up area but the council have deemed it appropriate to put mobile phone masts on top of a nearby council block (Rochester Square). Although I have requested more info and research documentation from the Camden Council it is slow in coming and I wondered if anyone knew of any information sites that could give me more info on the threats of the masts...
Local Broadband (ADSL)
Is there anyone else in the Breckland/Great Hockham area (Gt. Hockham exchange) that would like to see BT upgrade the local exchange to deliver ADSL to the local populace, if BT is to be believed there is virtually no interest in broadband for this area! I find this very hard to believe.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The Awesome Clay Shirky... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Social Software CATEGORY: Social Software DATE: 11/08/2002 07:07:44 PM ----- BODY:

So Matt Webb and I went to a talk-followed-by-panel held by the iSociety people today. The feature performance was the awesome Clay Shirky, with support from a variety of charming panelists, including weblogging's own Matt Jones.

The panel was essentially about the next level of community software and community sites online. Interestingly, though, the word "community" was almost totally unused through the whole occasion. Perhaps for reasons I don't as yet understand, that word has become suddenly unfashionable. Instead we were talking about "social software".

But the nomenclature is essentially trivial. Clay's talk was extraordinarily fun for me, because he was working over areas that I've been thinking about and working around for the last couple of years now - how do we take community functionality and sites to the next level, what parts of our assumptions and utopian dreamings about online community must we give up, and what should we keep in mind while designing the interactions for the next five-ten years?

I've got my own theories about a lot of this stuff - much of which I'm going to try and assemble into 'publishable' form over the weekend. In the meantime, here's a micro-summary of Clay's piece:

We live at the beginning of a third golden age of social software.
1. E-mail
2. IRC / MUDs / MOOs / Usenet
  (The Web erupts here, but is primarily a publishing medium rather than an interactive one)
3. Now Weblogs / Wikis / Trackback / Jabber & Groove / Slashdot-style collaborative filtering
But where will we be in 5-7 years time?
Blocks to the development of next-stage communities
1. We have the wrong historical models and exotic "extremist" ideologies:
  1. The suggestion that the web should represent a shift or collapse in "identity"
  2. The need to prove purity of 'online culture' by foregrounding immersive MUDs and MOOs
  3. Assumption (because of scarcity of humans online) that we would be using this technology to meet people we didn't know offline
2. We have the wrong assumptions about real-life groups:
  1. We assume that a group is the same as a collection of individuals
  2. We assume (utopian) that membership should be totally open
  3. We assume that a group should be able to function the same with ten people or ten million people in it
We are ill-served by the current metaphor of architecture and space, instead we should consider the construction of social software as like building a ship:
1. Ships are places where people come together
2. ... but they come together in order to get somewhere
Groups tend towards self-sabotage, they do so because behind every "sophisticated" workgroup ostensibly designed to accomplish a specific goal, "basic" group strategies are secretly persuing very different ones. These are
1. helping people to find mates
2. identifying and uniting against enemies
3. venerating or idolising a figure, institution or ideology.
Clay's suggestion for improving social software:
1. Design social software that is half-space and half-tool (help people figure out when they've run aground or accomplished something).
2. Make the formation of a constitution a fundamental part of creating a community space.

This concept of "constitutions" is something that's very close to my own concept of the politics of social software - something that I'm working on writing up at this very moment and the first part of which is apparent in the way Barbelith hangs together...

More: Matt Webb i) writes about the day and ii) publishes his plain-text notes.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: For the love of God, won't someone listen to... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/08/2002 09:21:14 PM ----- BODY:

If you're looking for the intelligent post, you need to skip straight past this one, because I'm only mucking around in it. Okay? Anyway... I know I'm a big whore when it comes to getting stuff through my sites. It's not something that I'm proud of (he lied), but it seems to be the case. But really - I don't want to be greedy! I know when to stop with the begging. But having said that, of course, it's always possible that I'm a vile, scheming, greedy bastard who thinks, for the love of God, won't someone listen to Jeremy?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Suggestions for an application to auto ID3 things... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/09/2002 10:00:50 AM ----- BODY:

You know what would be incredibly useful? A little application that you could run on a whole batch of MP3s that tried to work out what they are based on length and any text that was in the ID3 tags. So you'd grab all your MP3s that weren't fully tagged up and you'd chuck em all in a folder. You'd get your ID3alizer and set it to work. It would have song length information and a set of search terms that it could run against each one of them (derived from whatever dysfunctional tags you had to work with, if any), starting with the artist. It would then present you with a screen that had the current ID3 tags on the left and the suggested replacements on the right with a simple 'Is this correct? Yes / No' set of functioning criteria. If it wasn't correct, it'd just suggest the second alternative. Stick a track preview button on the same screen (to remind you what the track is if you've forgotten) and you'd have an incredibly useful little application.

Useful related links: CityofSound says: "Sounds like it might work nicely as a brute-force, lo-fi (cheap!) alternative (or precursor) to the collaborative-expert-based service I outlined previously."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On the simple joys of designing favicons... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/09/2002 07:10:18 PM ----- BODY:

There's no need for favicons. No need at all. They're normally badly designed, they extend page design into the application itself (which I think is probably wrong) and they make your favourites menus all messy. Nonetheless, they are extraordinarily good fun to design - tiny little micro-branding-projects in 16x16 pixels that don't take long and can be strangely satisfying. All this I discover years after everyone else of course. You can see the new favicons on this site, Barbelith and on the never-was-finally-build project, filmsoho.com...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The history of one of the main UK weblogging communities... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/09/2002 09:39:32 PM ----- BODY:

I've just stumbled upon a fascinating piece by Dan Hon which goes into considerable detail about the way in which the UK weblogging scene evolved a community of sorts - a community that not every UK weblogger is a part of, but a community of and for webloggers anyway. To my knowledge, this is the first time this micro-history has been written down and published on a site and it may be of interest to anyone who cares about the ways in which stuff that happens online solidifies into matter and then collapses into real-life communities. One of the most interesting aspects of the article is that it posits that often the community (or the potentiality for community) radically predates the tool or forum used to facilitate it. Related posts: I talk about what it means to be part of a community | Meg writes about community versus community tools.

From Dan: "Would anyone say that a community existed? Possibly. Maybe not quite just yet. What you would be able to say, though, is that there existed an arbitrary set of people, say, people who write blogs and live in the UK, who were on the tentative cusp of actually starting to talk to each other on a regular basis - they hadn't yet got organised."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Absolute Bottom 50 Urban Legends... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/10/2002 11:48:01 AM ----- BODY:

The Absolute Bottom 50 Urban Legends (number 17): "This buddy of mine who works in San Francisco - he knows this guy who worked for a DotCom company that wrote a business plan, broke even, cut costs, and is on the road to profitability!" [via Mr Webb]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: God Bless You, Mr Vonnegut... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/10/2002 12:12:45 PM ----- BODY:

One of my favourite authors is Kurt Vonnegut. One of his favourite authors is Kilgore Trout. Kilgore Trout is what Kurt Vonnegut would be if life was a ludicrous joke and reality was one of Kurt Vonnegut books. Kilgore Trout writes stories. Mostly they're quite short. And thanks to a link from a nice chap on Metafilter you can now read all of Kilgore Trout's stories without the laborious time expenditure of reading Kurt Vonnegut's short, devastating and brilliant novels. My favourite goes like this:

   In 2BR0TB [Kilgore Trout] hypothecated an America in which almost all of the work was done by machines, and the only people who could get work had three or more Ph.D's. There was a serious overpopulation problem, too.

   All serious diseases had been conquered. So death was voluntary, and the government, to encourage volunteers for death, set up a purple-roofed Ethical Suicide Parlor at every major intersection, right next door to an orange-roofed Howard Johnson's. There were pretty hostesses in the parlor, and Barca-Loungers, and Muzak, and a choice of fourteen painless ways to die. The suicide parlors were busy places, because so many people felt silly and pointless, and because it was supposed to be an unselfish, patriotic thing to do, to die. The suicides also got free last meals next door.

   And so on. Trout had a wonderful imagination.

   One of the characters asked a death stewardess if he would go to Heaven, and she told him that of course he would. He asked if he would see God, and she said, "Certainly, honey."

   And he said, "I sure hope so. I want to ask Him something I never was able to find out down here."

   "What's that?" she said, strapping him in.

   "What the hell are people for?"

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On iBlog and the potential of an Apple-designed desktop weblogging iApp called "iJournal"... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/10/2002 12:51:26 PM ----- BODY:

I don't know whether to be delighted or grumpy about iBlog - the new weblogging software package for Mac OSX. I'm delighted because I've been thinking about how you might develop something very much like it. And I'm grumpy because I've been thinking about how you might develop something very much like it. Do you see how that works? In fact, I spent a good couple of days working on a design / concept mock-up of how I thought such an application should work. This work is now essentially useless. Still never mind.

Nonetheless, here are some of my thoughts about desktop weblogging applications:

Firstly, an application of this kind should allow people to design modules and interfaces for the various packages, services and softwares already in existence (Blogger, Movable Type etc).
Secondly (and related to the first point), the application should be able to function as an interface to an online service where posts could be stored centrally , Blogger-style. This would allow a web interface which is a crucial part of the whole ease-of-use weblogging aspect. The application could sync with the most recently updated or created posts, which can then be worked on and edited offline without compromising that sense of possession and security that comes of having the files locally.
Thirdly, Apple should be building an application of this kind as an iApp because it extends the ability of the less web-savvy, web newcomers and the people who turn to Apple because of clarity and ease of interface. They should also be doing it because it could potentially add substantial value and utility to the .mac service.
Fourthly, Apple controls a vast amount of other information which can be published to the web or specifically to .mac services - from iCal diaries, address book contact information and iPhoto albums. Even iTunes has spawned applications designed to make it easy to place what you're listening to online. I makes total sense to organise a potential central point where you could bring all this information together - just as personal weblogs have been doing for the last few years.
Fifthly, Apple made a terrible mistake in allowing other people to use the brushed metal finish which has been associated with their core applications. The metal made them seem stable, solid, reliable and core to the operating system - ie. trustworthy and reliable. This piece of branding genius is now inevitably going to be compromised....
Sixthly, I much prefer the name iJournal, myself...

For more debate and discussion e-mail me or post a comment to the Blogroots thread, which I will check on regularly...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The Gore Vidal Observer Article in full... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/12/2002 01:16:24 PM ----- BODY:

I'm posting a link to the Gore Vidal Observer article that was published a few weeks ago. At this point I'm going to take the cowardly option and declare up front that I'm not posting it because I either agree with it or disagree with it - in fact, on the vast majority of key points I'm far from able to confirm or deny any of the facts or opinions stated - but simply because I have as yet not seen it published anywhere online. Again - it may have been put online by someone weeks ago, and I may have simply missed it. So here it is: Gore Vidal on the enemy.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Being drier than the driest thing ever... (On Gore Vidal)... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/12/2002 04:25:46 PM ----- BODY:

This relates to my earlier post today, particularly with reference to the Gore Vidal article which a friend and colleague was reading out loud to me. The friend concerned finished reading out a particularly horrifying bit and then said, "And it's Gore Vidal... Gore Vidal!" At which point, for some reason, in a completely flat and apparently innocent tone - with nary a trace of eyebrow flicker, I replied, "I rather think that gay people should restrict their opinions to interior design and clothes and leave matters of international politics to heterosexual men, don't you?" The fraction of a second of stunned silence was truly transcendent.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Web design masterclass... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/12/2002 05:00:53 PM ----- BODY:

So I've been being all creative recently. First I redesigned Venusberg.org for Dan, and then Phil and I helped out Mr Webb with his CSS. Designing Dan's site was particularly interesting for me - it's my first design that's based entirely around typography (although of course that doesn't mean that some of the typography isn't rendered as an image). Mostly I'm very happy with it, except a few irritations have crept in - there aren't enough date formats for me in Blogger, so that doestn't look as classy as I might have liked - and there are some irritations with the way it translates line breaks as well that meant I couldn't do the half-em paragraph breaks that I wanted. But otherwise, I'm pretty happy with it and I hope he will be too... My favourite part? The font for the logo is based on the letters at the base of Trajan's column...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Do you wear clothes? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/13/2002 03:28:32 PM ----- BODY:

This was pointed out by a friend of mine. It seems now that Amazon is so worried about offending it's naturist clientele that it refuses to even imply that all its customers might be wearing clothes. More worrying is the concept that you can buy unclean underwear from the web's largest online store. And perhaps more disturbing still is that the customers who buy this stuff are the same customers that decided to buy Licence to Kill on DVD. The image of Bond-watching, clean-underwear-sniffing, spy-lovin' naturists is almost enough to put me off my fascinating daily workload...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: In which I respond to a huge post about social software with a huge post about social software... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Social Software CATEGORY: Politics CATEGORY: Social Software DATE: 11/13/2002 11:29:31 PM ----- BODY:

Must-read interaction/community techblog of the moment is City of Sound, a site that I found initially via the Slipknot be-hoodied Matt Jones. Our two otherwise independent vectors of interest have recently collided quite heavily around MP3s, list-making and social software, with - I think - some quite interesting results. Our latest interaction is around the issue of social capital - which is a current hot topic of debate around government and online community circles, and which I've been working on (in a kind of weirdly indirect way) on UpMyStreet Conversations. Dan (the author) has taken me to task quite reasonably about this statement that I made recently:

"(P)eople in cities are talking less and less to one another. In fact most of us barely communicate with our neighbours at all. And the vast majority of the social spaces that we all used to share have been dismantled or evaporated. So how can we expect communities self-organise? And how are they expected to join together politically? How can they protest about problems where they live?"

In Dan's response he suggests that technology has already started to rebuild these communities of geography and that I was being over-dramatic to talk about all communication in cities being in a process of freefall decline. He is of course, completely right - and I have gone into astonishingly dreary detail over on his site in response. In fact when I clicked 'submit' it occurred to me that I'd written so much that it might have made a better post on plasticbag.org - so I'm going to append it below in full. Forgive any typos or bad grammar - I'll have a second look at it tomorrow and fix the most obviously horrific mistakes...

Actually you're completely right, but I think if we look at these things in terms of their recent history alone we might lose some perspective. I'm going to go for a bit of a trip on a hypothesis-rocket now, so please bear with me if it seems based on completely anecdotal and speculative evidence - I'm about to read Putnam's "Bowling Alone" about the decline in social capital in the States. Maybe that that point I'll be in a better position to talk about this stuff...

At this thing on social capital and social software that I went to the other day with Matt Webb from Interconnected.org people were talking about this decline in interactions in cities and urban spaces. People were debating the reasons for it, the connections between take up of "virtual online communities" and "interest communities" and the like - and some were in fact debating the existence of such a decline.

I'm going to contend that there has been such a decline in interactions and the extent to which we know our neighbours, but I'm going to argue that this isn't an effect of technology like the internet - it's an effect instead of technologies like television, technologies like the car and having a more mobile work-force. I'm also going to argue that it has something to do with population density and the impermanence of habitation for some people. So essentially I'm pushing this decline back over the last hundred years or so, rather than the last ten years. And I wouldn't want to argue that everyone has experienced it either - I grew up in a village in the countryside where everyone knows everyone. So it's not universal. But I think certainly in urban spaces it is a very real fact...

From what you've written above, it looks like my statements have been interpreted to mean that I think such a social decline is an inevitable effect of the technologies we've been using and that UpMyStreet Conversations represents (finally) a solution. But actually that's miles from what I think. What I would argue is that rather than exacerbating the social decline, the internet (unlike many one-to-one communication technology) has finally started to reform the social fabric - to bring back communication between people on the basis of interest groups (and what could be a greater interest group than people interested in the area in which they live - now available to people without the social danger and anxiety of actual and immediate physical interaction). In fact I think I'd argue that the take up of this technology - of the community stuff of the internet - reflects a gap in our lives - a need for it - that previous decay in social capital has created.

In a nutshell... Social interactions based on neighbourhood have been deteriorating for decades - particularly in highly transitory urban areas. New technologies have connected us with huger, but more distributed interest communities, and have recently begun to facilitate and enhance those limited local geographical interactions that we still have left. And there is now a tremendous human need left unfulfilled that we can now meet. And UMS Conversations is one way for us to help do that... I think..

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Being a short post to compensate for the really long one - with the express purpose of giving Cal something to read, since I know he gets bored easy.. STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/13/2002 11:37:33 PM ----- BODY:

I finished reading Elements of Typographic Style a couple of weeks ago now, and I've not stopped raving about it since. It's truly a stunning book - a bible of technique - that encompasses the whole range of typographical behaviours from the appropriate use of hyphens, the most functional and effective page layouts through to a detailed examination of elements of individual type-faces, glyphs and the art of being respectful to the writing you are type-setting... More importantly, I think it gives a degree of insight into a man's belief in the integrity, intelligence and quiet dignity of artisanship - which is something that may sometimes seem inflexible and uncreative, but which is a sure mark of absolute and total quality. Very much recommended.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On writer's block... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/13/2002 11:43:53 PM ----- BODY:

You'd never know it to look at the amount of writing I'm currently pumping through plasticbag.org at the moment, but I'm currently experiencing a fairly alarming creative block. I have three pieces of longer writing on the go at the moment - three pieces that are addressing issues that I often write about on this site (the relationship between personal and mainstream publishing, the relationship between weblogs and journalism, and the implicit politics of the discussion board). None of them are going well. Each and every one of them is in my head in an essentially complete form, but there's something between my mind and my fingers that is interfering with their transcription. This is yet another one of the reasons I left academia - because the process of writing became a painful and difficult one - a situation rife with angst in it's literal Old High German sense... Eurgh...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On Tom's Ten Tip Top Tunes... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/14/2002 12:40:03 AM ----- BODY:

Ten Tip Top Tunes for Tom: Being a list of songs that I'm listening to over and over again at the moment and which if you had less conscience and were prepared to (immorally) steal music through some kind of file-sharing application, you should probably download immediately. Bearing in mind that I couldn't countenance such behaviour obviously.

Lonesome Tears, by Beck
The most played song I own (says Mr iTunes), Lonesome Tears has been played about a gajillion times since Sea Change was released last month. Best song on the album. Wonderful.
Temptation, Heaven 17
I miss power pop like this - escalating chords in this song quite alarmingly resemble the end of Lonesome Tears. I always wonder if the woman who belts out the twirly bits was brought in afterwards to spice up a slightly boring song or not...
Nutbush City Limits, Tina Turner
Because post-Ike Tina Turner may have been a great big-haired 80s power balladeer, but 70s Tina Turner was a spiky hardcore edgy song-belter with enough spine to scale many a dinosaur.
Poplife, Prince
Liking Prince only became a crime when Prince's music became criminally awful. I'd suggest this was when he started thieving from temples. Personal opinion of course - many people like his crapper work. Nonetheless, there's got to be a place in life for Pop Life. Because life it ain't too funky. Unless it's got that pop.
Top of the World, Shonen Knife
You know what's great? Happy Japanese Punk-Pop Pixies singing bouncy Carpenters' songs with quite bad accents. Kurt Cobain loved Shonen Knife. And then he killed himself.
God Save the Queen, Sex Pistols
The most tuneful and iconic of the Sex Pistols' ouevre is just a bloody good laugh when you're in the lift by yourself in the mornings (carrying your green soya smoothie with spirulina to your creative desk-job - sigh...).
Get Free, The Vines
"I'm gonna get free, I'm gonna get free, Ride into the Sun." For some reason this and Randy Crawford belting out "Someday I'll fly away" have been stuck in my head for the last few holiday-free months.
The Killing Moon, Echo and the Bunnymen
Donnie Darko biking down a moutain road in the early morning light cracking through the branches as 80s indie icons get cruelly kissed as the sky's all hung with jewels. Fate, up against your will. Through the thick and thin. Whatever...
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, Elton John
This boys too young, but he's not too proud, to be singing these Elton John inspired blues. Back to the howling old owl in the woods. Hunting the horny back toad. I've finally decided my future lies beyond the Yellow Brick Road.
I'd Love to Change the World, Ten Years After
From a film where liberal intellectuals kill all the right-wing bastards they can, until they meet the ultimate bastard, who then persuades them not to kill him, before killing them and becoming a satanic President of the USA. Everywhere is freaks and hairies, dykes and fairies... Good film...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Another image sent to me from Davo... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/14/2002 11:19:20 AM ----- BODY:

So again - I don't know if this image is accurate or whether it's a piss-take, and I can't tell whether it's offensive or incredibly funny. It's probably doing the rounds of e-mail at the moment so I'll apologise straight-off if you've seen it dozens of times before. But whether it's true or not, thanks to Davo for sending me an image of this receipt - apparently given to someone who'd ordered a Bacardi Breezer...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Why do I waste my time with this shit when I could... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/15/2002 12:33:45 PM ----- BODY:

I think there must be nothing I'd rather do at the moment than pop over and spend a couple of nights in Paris with Jason and Meg. Money and time are stupid things and annoyingly scarce.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: So it's fast approaching "that time of the year" again... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/15/2002 01:11:16 PM ----- BODY:

Well it's swiftly approaching that time of the year again - and that means it's time for Cal, Denise and I to throw open the doors of Secret Santa 2002!

"The idea of Secret Santa is very simple - you pull a name out of a hat and buy that person a present. Your name is in the hat as well, so someone buys you a present too! Everyone gets a present! Everyone's happy!"

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Where's the urge to change the world gone? Where's the idealism? Where's the na�vety? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Politics CATEGORY: Politics CATEGORY: Radio & Music DATE: 11/15/2002 08:20:12 PM ----- BODY:

Over my life I've found myself motivated by music more than almost anything else. That push that the right song can give you more often than not is the thing that shoves my mood or sensibility forward. It's a spiritual kick up the arse. It's music as mood-enhancer - music as engine for mental change and transformation.

At the moment, I look around and I see a lot of routine. A lot of people doing a lot of things that they've done before. A lot of people (myself included) travelling around and around like a needle in a record. The opportunities to jump out of this routine seem only to be skips between tracks, silences before the next song starts. They're not enough. Does a life change itself by going on holiday? Does a person become a better person by taking a break? Maybe the thing to do instead is to keep forcing yourself back to your work - even the work that we seem to skip over or fall exhausted from. Perhaps especially that work. Maybe the work that we do - that we do for ourselves or for the things that we believe in - is the life-transformative thing. Particularly when you don't have a partner to get in the way. Particularly when it's unlikely that you're going to have a child.

It's a weird conversation for a Friday night, and it's inspired by something even weirder. It's inspired by a kind of semantic implosion and a confluence of pop-culture imagery. It's inspired by the monotony of yet another year of BBC's Children In Need Telethon. It's inspired by the upcoming appearance of the people from Fame Academy on that telethon - people with actual talent and ability whose aspirations and dreams are being turned into marketable products (isn't that worse in a way - that it's not their talent that's for our consumption - that it's their hopes?). And it's inspired above all by listening to - for the first time in ten years - a bone fide musical relic of the early 1990s - Tears for Fears' Sowing the Seeds of Love.

Bear with me, because this is a serious post about a vaguely dumb song. And I think it's importantt. This trivial anthem - this vaguely silly, backwards-looking, cod-Beatles anthem - matters to me now in a way it didn't at the time. It's a song about action - liberal action - designed to be an way of energising people who want the world to be something to be proud of. It's a call to examine your morals, your interests, your creativity. And while it's utterly lacking in muso credibility, it does something that most liberal heart-felt songs don't do - it points towards the possibilities of a better future rather than wallowing in the problems of the present. It's trivial because it's idealistic. But it's brilliant for that reason to. Or maybe not brilliant - maybe it's just nice that it exists...

Hear the line: High time we made a stand and shook up the views of the common man. It sounds patronising, but in my heart I have to accept I believe it. If you're a worried man - then shout about it. Open hearts - feel about it. Open minds - think about it. Everyone - read about it. Everyone - scream about it ! I believe that too. [More lyrics]

The band that wrote the song basically split as a result of writing it. It was too intense, too committed a process to be an easy ride. The man who cared most about making it clean and pure - even if it was saturated in spritzes of pop imagery- had to care too much about the song if it was ever going to be finished to his satisfaction - if it was going to be a something worthwhile. Something not "for sale". And whether you think the final result was crap or not, it was not routine - it was inspired by genuine feeling, a sense of need, of aspiration and of almost fanatically hard work... I wonder to myself - do we need someone now - whether in the micro-culture of weblogging, or in the greater creative world, or even in centre-left politics, to put that work in? I'm beginning to think so. We need a new ethic of creativity - or a return maybe to an ethic of transformative creative responsibility. And maybe that can start with the creative individualism of webloggia.

I'm going to end this rather epic post about trivial music, responsibility and the ethics of creativity by talking about another song - and pointing towards a kind of approach to our creative endeavours that has the capacity to break us out of our routine and our creative ruts - to help reinvigorate us all politically and productively. It's called "Emile" by Pressure of Speech. It's not a pop-song. It wasn't released as a single. Instead it's a bit of an odd little piece of music with some reading over the top of it by a man callled Emile de Antonio from a documentary about his life called Mr Hoover & I. It's got some stunning phrases in it about creativity and responsibility - insights that I think apply to all aspects of our lives, but are perhaps particularly potent when looking at weblogs:

Perhaps the only thing that's worthwhile is to make something that isn't really for sale, except on your own terms - which is "I made it. It's true. If you don't like it, to hell with you. I want you to like it, or I'd be crazy, but I'd rather be crazy than have you like it because it was false - because it was what you wanted from me instead of what I wanted..."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Let's play movie catch-up with your host... Tom Coates... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/16/2002 10:47:25 AM ----- BODY:

Three comments about films...

So I went to see Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets with Cal a couple of days ago. It's kind of a complicated story as to how that ended up happening. It certainly wasn't planned. It's far from an awful film, but it's far from brilliant either. The special effects are pretty stunning - considerably better than in the first film - but the pacing is leaden, the characterisation pretty slapdash and threadbare and, well, it's still a bit long... It's worth seeing, but don't get too excited...
Harry Potter's length might have been a disappointment, but I went and bought the extended DVD of Lord of the Rings [US | UK] a few days ago, and that's substantially better than the film that was shown in the cinema. It's a full half an hour longer than the theatre version - mostly exposition and character-development - and it feels substantially richer and you feel more invested in it as a result. Most interestingly, I think, it exposes how odd the pacing was on the theatrical version, particularrly in the Cate Blanchett / Lothlorien episode...
While we're talking filmic nonsense, I've put a very old review of The Patriot online - mainly because I was talking to Meg about the film yesterday and because it's such a revisionist piece of crap that someone has to stand up and be counted and say so...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: From the book of Internet Revelations... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/16/2002 12:18:25 PM ----- BODY:

This might come as a bit of a shock to some of you, so sit yourselves down. From the book of Internet Revelations: "It is possible for a website to have a function to users above and beyond the making of interesting or pretty graphs out of its usage statistics".

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Apple and the Pirate Everyman STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: __default__ ALLOW PINGS: 1 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Technology CATEGORY: Radio & Music CATEGORY: Technology DATE: 11/17/2002 06:06:03 PM ----- BODY: "Don't Steal Music" says the sticker on the top of every new iPod - a 5-20Gb Firewire hard-disc with built in MP3 player. But is Steve Jobs' Apple being disingenuous? Because from the outside, their entire operation seems built around helping information to be free - every effort is being made to make software and music and imagery as easy as possible to create, copy or disseminate. And why? Because they're in the hardware business... Let's go back to first principles here and quickly scout through some of Apple's offerings. First things first - computer hardware. Apple have done a huge amount to popularise and demystify the writable CD/DVD culture, with almost all of their computers coming with either a CDR or Superdrive as standard. The functionality for such devices fulfils a double function - as a storage media for backing-up or transporting large files or as a way of printing media hard-copies - CD duplicates, home-made DVDs. Now the software that supports it - iTunes is just an MP3 player with a few bits of fluff on it. But it is a good MP3 player, and more importantly it's a non-proprietary, non-copyright enforcing, song-organising MP3 player. While default players on PCs use technology like Windows Media, iTunes very specifically sticks with the most popular, least controllable and most readily available form of music format. iTunes makes the process of ripping CDs incredibly simple - and that doesn't only mean your own CDs, it means any CD you get close to. And in order to stop the use of these MP3s to be restricted to your computer (even if they might sound great with your high-quality Harman/Kardon speakers), you can also take them anywhere you want with your iPod. iMovie and iPhoto meanwhile may not allow you to rip DVDs to your computer, but they operate on the principle that if you get digital footage onto your computer it should be as easy as possible to edit them and burn them on convenient media. Create, edit, burn, distribute. Now to software distribution - OSX's disk-copying software (released as standard) makes it simple to take full images of any install media you have and keep them on your computer. Or burn them to CD and give to your friends. Or put them online. Or distribute them however the hell you like. But none of this is unique to the Mac platform or to Apple as a company. So what is it about the way that Steve Jobs operates that sets Cupertino apart? In order to answer this you have to look at their own software offerings. From operating system through all its consumer applications, Apple actually doesn't seem to particularly care if you pay for them or not. The vast majority (iTunes, iSync, iDVD, iMovie, Mail, iChat etc) are completely free. The odd one - like Quicktime - consists of a free element with a small upgrade cost. Some, like the software upgrade to OSX.2, seems like quite an expensive pay-for software option (��90), but can easily be copied and distributed on CD-R without ever having to type in a software registration key. It's only at the professional end of the software market where Apple asks for money, and even then that doesn't seem to be there only reason for selling the software. The fact that major music-software companies can be bought up by Apple - companies that then immediately stop selling the PC versions of their product - makes it clear that the financial aspect of the deal is almost secondary. They're simply (for the most part) not interested in selling software. And this vision extends even further to the way they write their software now - OSX.2 is based on an essentially free form of Unix, iTunes stores all its information in XML, iCal uses a publically formed standard way of holding calendar data. In every area, Apple has pushed away from proprietary software technologies and restrictions and moved towards the creativity, interdependance and freedoms of open standards. Apple has tried - wherever possible - to live by the adage that information wants to be free. It's decided not to fight this aspect of information but instead encourage it, help it to be free. And in fact try to make it as free as possible... The reasons for all this, of course, are that - for good or ill - at the moment copyrighted material and intellectual property are endangered and cornered beasts anyway. As yet no-one really knows the effects of this development, but I think it is clear to all concerned that (whether or not it is really happening at the moment) the gradual increase in technology, bandwidth and storage capacity provides an enormous potential for simply routing around traditional media-distribution outlets. Whether this will hurt the entertainment and software industries is as yet unclear - because as yet they mostly haven't even tried experimenting with different types of consumer-interaction - but whether it hurts them or not, it will certainly have an impact. In my opinion Apple sees such battles as essentially over already, and has moved in a completely different direction. Why try to sell the intellectual property itself when you can simply sell the best platform for distributing it? Why worry about software sales at all - when you can work instead on making it so that people have to buy your hardware to use it? And why consider one off payments on products when you can move towards getting people to pay for services (like .mac - the value of which is directly related to the number of free applications that gain more value when you pay your yearly fee). Apple is one hundred percent ahead of the game here - so far ahead, in fact - that it's completely unable to say it loud and clear. That's why they have to keep saying again and again, "Don't Steal Music", when everyone knows that they're only doing it to cover their own backs. The fact is that they know that however much money is being made through the selling of software, music and copyrighted material, the future isn't in protecting the trade routes - it's in making everyone a pirate... ----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: "Don't Steal Music" says the sticker on every new iPod. But is Apple being disingenuous? Because no other platform in recent history has done as much to help information (and entertainment media) to be easy to create, copy or disseminate... ----- KEYWORDS: ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Marcus Wetherell EMAIL: freonmonkey@hotmail.com IP: 217.35.154.81 URL: http://www.freontech.com DATE: 11/19/2002 08:14:17 PM Interesting article, the majority of which I agree with strongly, with a couple of minor caveats: "The fact that major music-software companies can be bought up by Apple - companies that then immediately stop selling the PC versions of their product - makes it clear that the financial aspect of the deal is almost secondary." A little disingenuous - surely the reason Apple cease PC support is a longer-term move to drive musicians to buy Apples and thus increase Apple's market share in that sector, which I would call a definite financial reason ;) "In every area, Apple has pushed away from proprietary software technologies and restrictions and moved towards the creativity, interdependance and freedoms of open standards." I agree with this statement for the most part, with the distinct exception of the Quicktime player, which while based on an industry standard, certainly doesn't count as an open standard. How come I still can't download a Quicktime codec to use in my choice of video playing software? Answer: because Apple aren't keen on the idea of a user being able to use a freeware player to do what it costs money to do in QuickTime - such as play a movie in full screen mode! This does seem to be at odds with the other recent trends in Apple's free software releases, so I'm hoping that will change... I would say that Apple may be appearing - in the short term - to be playing a dangerous game by providing tools that could be used to facilitate copyright infringement. However, I also suspect they will be moving to cosy up with the music and film industries ala Microsoft and hitting Apple users with the same kind of Digital Rights Managements (DRM) "features" that Microsoft are busy fitting Windows Media Player up with. In fact, as I have to download most movie trailers in Quicktime format, I'm inclined to wonder why the movie industry would be making Apple its partner in such ventures unless they had some kind of "understanding". (Conspiracy theorist? Moi?). I also wonder how long it is before we see Apple bringing out their own specification of Microsoft's Palladium technology. Palladium - broadly speaking a technology to facilitate DRM at the hardware level - is going to be implemented on PCs within the next ten years. It would be nice to think that in the near future, Apple could potentially capitalise on this and emerge as a "free media rights" platform when such technology on the PC prevents PC users from saving anything onto their hard drive that Microsoft doesn't want there. The question is, will Apple end up implementing their own version of Palladium? ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Mike Gerhardt EMAIL: blog@mikemedia.com IP: 43.231.251.196 URL: http://www.mikegerhardt.com DATE: 11/20/2002 01:28:07 AM I'm pessimistic that Apple will continue to maintain such openness when it comes to digital media restrictions. Sooner or later, I fear, they will succumb to pressure from other, more powerful business interests. That said, now is the time to buy Apple hardware and to take good care of it. As computer systems get more restrictive, "classic" hardware from a brief period of freedom could become a great thing to have. I'm betting that 2003 will be a banner year to invest in Apple hardware. One thing I'm curious about is how Steve Jobs feels as a corporate leader straddling the two worlds of hardware and content (Apple and Pixar). He must have some heated discussions with Michael Eisner. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Andrew M. EMAIL: apfmara@sandia.gov IP: 134.253.26.12 URL: DATE: 11/20/2002 06:56:33 PM This article is way off. Although Apple hasn't yet taken the draconian closed standards DRM measures that Microsoft has to monopolize the distribution of media content, casting Steve Jobs as pro media piracy seems absurd considering he is also CEO of Disney's most successful moviemaking wing Pixar. Seems to me that Apple is making ease of use paramount to their strategy, while Microsoft is content to continue to erode fair use rights in favor of monopolizing several industries through key buyouts and threats of burying opponents through leveraging existing monopolies, flooding the marked with temporarily cheap hardware, or litigation. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: dorian EMAIL: loaf@isness.org IP: 217.39.37.74 URL: http://www.isness.org/lofoto/ DATE: 11/20/2002 07:35:37 PM I see your point, but I think it's more to do with petty piracy. I think that real pirates use better machines to copy things: link |link these are small examples. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Anthony Hunt EMAIL: hunt_anthony@hotmail.com IP: 217.155.102.66 URL: DATE: 11/20/2002 09:57:08 PM Yeah interesting... but I think you got one thing wrong. Sure, the future isn't in protecting trade routes. But it's not in making everyone a pirate either. It's in making everyone a creator. In economic circles it's called democratising the media industry. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Ry Rivard EMAIL: rivard@braxtonian.com IP: 66.118.81.35 URL: http://www.braxtonian.com DATE: 11/21/2002 04:53:29 AM Apple isn't going to win over market share by controlling content and limiting access to its applications, like Microsoft is doing. Instead it can only attract new users and new developers by keeping things open. It doesn't have the advantage of the masses only the advantage of being open, free and right. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: cappy o EMAIL: captainobvious@example.com IP: 144.136.231.38 URL: DATE: 11/21/2002 02:03:27 PM Just a nitpick -- the i* apps aren't free, they are included in the cost of the operating system, or even the hardware in Apple's case. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Jerome EMAIL: jchh@sfsu.edu IP: 130.212.234.47 URL: DATE: 11/22/2002 05:43:13 PM I'm a bit confused by your petty quip above simply because they sound as if they're coming from an extremely disgruntled, Microsoft-controlled British PC user.Yet I still feel compelled to address some points you've made simply because they seem untrue, misleading and "disingenuous" in their own right: Here are my thoughts to your thoughts: I'm sure you agree software based on open source having open standards is the way to go as your own site, "Powered by Moveable Type" is donationware, which is how many in the open source world acquire funds. Interestingly though, I don't see "Tom Coates" or "plasticbag.org" anywhere on the Moveable Type donor list (though you've probably contributed $$ anonymously, I'm so sure). Why rip Apple for embracing this same concept with iTunes, or why rip iTunes for being flexible? By your statement "iMovie and iPhoto meanwhile may not allow you to rip DVDs to your computer," you are agreeing that Apple has not made it as easy to burn and distribute DVDs. So are they making users into pirates? Please be more realistic: Apple did not create Napster, Kazaa, Hotline or LimeWire; those who use those services - independent of OS or hardware - seem to be the ones with whom you really have contentions. So why is Apple solely to blame? Lastly, the iPod as of yet is not able to download mp3s without a host (i.e. desktop computer). It's Sony who's making their mp3 players capable of connecting to and downloading straight from the internet! That and Sony's mp3 players so far are NOT Mac compatible. Who's making pirates now? I don't mind critiques of Apple or of their practices because I like the open source movement and will support it. But to suggest Apple is the only one in the game trying to earn money while you neglect the fact Microsoft owns more than half of the desktops in the world seems to be extremely myopic journalism. I would like to see a re-write of this article taking into consideration more factors than just Apple which adversely affect copyright and intellectual property protection. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Dead_Ed EMAIL: dead@no.no IP: 24.219.16.118 URL: DATE: 11/22/2002 06:49:41 PM Also, I would say that Sony itself is more "straddling the fence" when it comes to the DRM conundrum. Sony makes lots of computers and also (directly instead of indirectly like Pixar) makes lots of movies and other copyrighted media (Sony Music group etc.). ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Nathan EMAIL: nathanst@yahoo.com IP: 67.118.188.50 URL: DATE: 11/22/2002 07:15:49 PM By your argument, you make me into a pirate because I use a Mac. Just because I can break the law, doesn't mean I do. Do we blame car manufacturers for making cars that can go fast, when the speed limit is so much slower? Ultimately, it comes down to the responsibility of the user. If they want to steal software/music, they are going to do it regardless of the platform they are on. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Mark EMAIL: mark12b@yahoo.com IP: 216.254.1.146 URL: DATE: 11/22/2002 08:35:56 PM Apple makes music easy to rip and burn, which is *not* piracy. They make it easy for me to convert my CD collection to an iTunes jukebox (and maybe carry that collection around with me), and that's not piracy either. In some circles, downloading music illegally must be so common that folks think "everybody does it." But I don't know anyone who does (seriously). It's pretty easy to avoid, *especially* if you only use Apple products. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Coates EMAIL: tom@plasticbag.org IP: 217.45.55.62 URL: http://www.plasticbag.org DATE: 11/22/2002 09:15:25 PM Some of the responses to my piece above are surprising to me - because I tried fairly hard throughout the piece to not actually express my opinions about whether or not this 'piracy' was a good thing or not. Or whether or not it's even relevant whether it's a good thing or not - because essentially I don't think that it is. What we're calling piracy here is just one aspect of a larger movement - where information of every kind travels, spreads and is used, manipulated and transformed in the best and fastest way possible. I think Apple is helping this world come into being at the moment, while companies like Microsoft and Sony are trying to work against standards, towards proprietary models and to restrict that speed of movement. It's fairly obvious to me that Apple are going along with open standards for the same reasons that Linux have - because if you make things open you have nothing to lose, only market-share to gain. Which is why I don't necessarily believe that they'll be pushing this agenda forever - but even if they don't, there will always be a manufacturer, a software or operating system developer or an application developer who gets the same kind of satisfaction from helping information be free... I don't think it matters whether we like it or not and I don't think it even matters if it's morally right or wrong either. In fact the only thing that matters is... is it the future? I tend to think that it is, and that one aspect of this is that copyright and intellectual property are going to experience some kind of change whether we like it or not... A couple of replies to people: Yes people pay for the iApps when they buy the hardware (even if you download them separately) - but that was in fact part of my argument... They become an incentive to buy the hardware rather than a product to buy themselves. Which is what I said - Apple sells hardware! No - I don't make you a pirate when you buy a Mac. Individuals choose to pirate software or music and I'm not recommending it or saying that it's something that I believe in. I do think it's a side-effect of the greater shift in play here though... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Steven James May EMAIL: crt@hotmail.com IP: 68.5.212.72 URL: DATE: 11/22/2002 09:30:20 PM There exists no entity on earth that possesses the power to "make anyone a pirate". That is a personal, ethical choice on the part each of us. It is not the job of Apple Computer or Microsoft to police our computers. It is their job to make great functional products. It is an absurd statement to suggest that any product manufacturer wants people to break the law. It is BEYOND ABSURD that Apple Computer feels the need to post 'DON'T STEAL MUSIC' on their iPod. Could you imagine buying an automobile that comes with a big red sticker that reads: 'DON'T RUN OVER PEOPLE'? ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Baldur Bjarnason EMAIL: kvasir@unishade.com IP: 194.117.133.198 URL: http://www.unishade.com/cgi-bin/index.cgi DATE: 11/23/2002 07:33:26 PM Interesting. I wrote up a short post on this earlier on my blog but I think I may have been a little bit too hasty in quickly judging this to be another one of those "copyright is doomed" pieces. Well, it is, but it is also more. The point about Apple's business strategy being different from most other corporate computer companies is a good one. It is a strategy that democratizes content production and distribution. What I disagree with is the idea that copyright is in some way a "cornered beast" today. If it is a cornered beast, then it has always been cornered. Ever since Dickens raged against the Americans for copying and distributing his books without paying him his due. The movie industry is making more money than ever. We have more television channels than ever. And the music industry has only seen around a ten per cent drop is sales (caused mostly by mismanagement, a bona fide economic slowdown as well as the fact that most of its products are rubbish). If we would have seen a forty per cent drop in music sales, as well as a corresponding drop in film industry profits, in a healthy economic climate, then, yes, copyright is an endangered beast. But a year where the film industry sees record profits and the planet's most 'pirated' movie (Spider-Man) shows record profits, all in the middle of a budding depression? Don't think so. You are right about how the changing technology fundamentally alters the way we approach media and content. I just haven't seen any evidence, yet, that this is endangering the concepts of copyright and 'intellectual property'. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Coates EMAIL: tom@plasticbag.org IP: 213.123.132.186 URL: http://www.plasticbag.org DATE: 11/23/2002 09:08:04 PM Well that's the huge question isn't it - is this kind of technology hurting the entertainment industries or not. Personally, it seems to me that at the moment it probably isn't. Whether it will is another thing completely. As technology has escalated it has moved towards the most free and simple means of distribution. This brings up the most basic aspect of economics - if a product is not scarce, it can have no cost. If we are to accept that this kind of technology will become increasingly available, increasingly cheap and increasingly mobile, then don't we also have to accept that the capacity of companies to charge for it will decrease in proportion? That is - at least - if they continue to approach their business in the same way. The traditional approach to dealing with a lack of scarcity is to provide a service around its delivery, a higher quality product or a means to do something new with it (like help make it portable). Open Source software companies make their money out of helping to support people using the software. People who sell bottled water are essentially providing portability and an 'enhanced' quality to something that all Western people can get their hands on pretty easily and unbelievably cheaply... God only knows what the model will be for music or video (movie theatres, in my opinion, will remain profitable for as long as they continue to offer the incredibly scale and quality of their productions), but it seems undeniable to me that they'll need a new model in due course... Two more things: There's a nice piece at the BBC here: Efforts to stop music piracy 'pointless' which was found by Doc Searls ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Anonymous EMAIL: na@sorry.com IP: 203.109.254.57 URL: DATE: 11/25/2002 12:11:16 AM This stems from the eventual idea that computers will end up the controlling applience for all the household appliences. with that in mind you can look at the computer from the following angle: - Do you pay extra for the software in your Stereo with it's digital tuner, and programmable/random track selection for CD's - Do you pay extra for the software in your DVD player with it's ability to play encoded movies onto your TV screen Those are the 2 most obvious places software is used in appliences yet the cost of the software within them is never listed seperately when you go to buy the applience. Apple are seeing computer's heading the same way (and have done for a very long time). Another itme to think about, IBM once said something like, there is no money in the software. They said this about the time Microsoft was asking to write DOS for them, in the short term, IBM clearly wasn't right, but perhaps they were right in the long term? ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Doug Stringham EMAIL: dougstringham@mac.com IP: 12.254.141.203 URL: DATE: 11/25/2002 12:52:32 AM Software companies are NOT the judicial branch of the U.S. governement... nor any other government that I'm aware. So... instead of doing legal intervention with spyware, encrypting, etc. leave this to the proper authorities. Even the feds can't come into my home without a proper warrant that must be proved up in front of a judge. So why does Microsoft and other companies assume that they can? Not promoting piracy, but I'm certainly against the 'big brother' aspect of certain software and operating systems that are out and are currently being developed. Whatever happened to freedom? ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: bopuc EMAIL: me@here.com IP: 65.94.121.115 URL: DATE: 11/25/2002 03:45:31 AM 1- I have at this moment a 20Gig library of MP3s, 99% of which come from the 'net or friend's CDs. My computer is plugged directly into my stereo and I have an iPod for when I'm on the move (car stereo or headphones). A dream come true: all my music, anytime anywhere. 2- Everybody is always talking about music and movies when copyright is mentioned. Ironically many of the journalists and pundits are published authors... I want what I just described above about "my" music to also apply to TEXT media... I want every book I have ever read (and have yet to read) in digital format (preferably in some XML/PDF form) and fully searchable at all times. Writers think it's hard to make a buck now? Just you wait! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: A Random Gent EMAIL: as@as.as IP: 216.209.132.96 URL: DATE: 11/25/2002 07:35:39 PM I am the most angry person I know. The reason being that I have never pirated *any* software. I don't have *any* copied CDs or MP3s. I don't have *any* movies taped off HBO or whatever. I *DO*, however, tape my CDs to play in my car tape deck. I *DO* want the right to burn my own legally purchased CDs to my computer and play them on an MP3 player. I am absolutely infuriated because the RIAA's "anti-piracy" crap strikes at the heart of the legitimate user more than at the pirate. The pirate will hack their stupid protected CDs and will go about their business unfazed. I, the legitimate user, will find that my Shakira CD will crash my computer if I try to play it, and there is no way for me to keep my hands clean and still enjoy my purchase. I will be forced to use illegal patches, hacks and cracks to enjoy my legally-purchased music. I am being FORCED to become a pirate in order to enjoy my fair-use rights. The very people who claim to be against piracy are forcing me into it. And I will go the RIAA one further: I will happily become a pirate as a protest if it goes any further. I have about 550 legally purchased CDs, lots of rare stuff and imports, and I guarantee that every single CD will find their way onto the net just to spite these people. I have never done ANYTHING wrong to these people, and yet they are coming down on me without reason. It's bad enough that they "obsoleted" my extensive record collection, and refuse to reissue the majority of my albums on CD. They are a bunch of greedy corrupt thieves. As you can tell, I have recently lost all respect for the recording industry. I'm going to buy USED CDs from now on, and CDs from independents where possible. They're forcing me to become anti-establishment. It's just not right what they're doing. I don't have a Mac, but I am thinking of "switching". The more I hear about Apple's ideology, the more I like them. If they are the system of "pirates" and the free, then that's definitely where I am going. I've had it with Microsoft, the DMCA, and the RIAA, and they haven't even started to put the pressure on yet. I'm not contributing to a fascist nightmare police state. No way. I watch as the government wipes our rights and freedoms away like they were a mistake and am eerily reminded of pre-WWII Germany. Bush is following in Hitler's footsteps far too closely for my taste. There's no balance in the world anymore, and this anti-piracy movement is actually a small sliver of the larger anti-freedom movement. Be afraid. The world is a' changin', and it's not for the better. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Marcus EMAIL: freonmonkey@hotmail.com IP: 216.40.48.20 URL: http://www.freontech.com/default.asp DATE: 12/23/2002 01:39:10 PM As it seems to tie in with at least some of what is being said here with regards to MP3s and piracy, I thought I'd mention a recent article in The Register which compellingly suggests that recent record sales have fallen, not due to piracy, but because of a reduction in the actual number of releases by the record companies. Oh, and sorry for the boorish length of my initial post, if I could edit it I would, believe me... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: PHREK EMAIL: yeah@right.net IP: 24.247.4.187 URL: DATE: 03/27/2003 05:22:36 PM Seems to me, your RESEARCH is quite incomplete ... Quote: "Apple is one hundred percent ahead of the game here - so far ahead, in fact - that it's completely unable to say it loud and clear." --- Surely you jest !? Seems that "Wintel Users" are the Veterans in this arena ... Search google for "WAREZ" (Name given to things Pirated) The RESULTS might just suprize you ... Hmmm Seems that PC Users indeed CORNER the perverbial market ... How could this be ? Perhaps the Apple� Users are Using their Harware/Software and Rebelious ways to FEED the booming Wintel� WAREZ MARKETPLACE !? Get a grip ... Sounds like a jealous rant to me ... Invest in a new iMac G4 and quit-yer-bithcin' ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Sam Walker EMAIL: asan102@spymac.com IP: 216.70.46.3 URL: DATE: 12/03/2003 01:21:48 AM In response to the first comment... QuickTime is very much an open codec. Absolutely any application in OS X can take advantage of Quicktime - it's built right into the Mac OS. And as far as I know, the same is true on the PC side. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Andreas EMAIL: andikeller@gmx.net IP: 217.2.53.20 URL: DATE: 01/26/2004 09:18:21 AM Hello Tom, your article is great in many ways it casts light on current trends and movements towards the end of copy.right. From the other comments I feel that most of your critics haven't got your point. But what is next? Lets look even a step further: With the fall of copyright patents will be next. Without patents, commercial research will cease while research at universities will become the single leader for innovation. Young people (20-30) will spend their most creative phase not in making money but in doing research which will become public domain immediately after (consider it as a way for a career jump-start for inventing cold fusion at age 25 and making it public domain). What will this mean? Research will explode, because with every knowledge freely available it will become terrifically easier to comine existing things into new things. We are at the dawn of a great age: the information age. And as Tom pointed out, companies will not be able to stop this information from being free. So Apple is going the right way: It is relying on hardware sales, not software(=information)-sales and will thus ultimately succeed. ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: We raise our hands to the strange phenomena.... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/18/2002 01:59:18 PM ----- BODY:

So I'm wandering through my referrers and I come across an exact replica of all the content of my site only on livejournal. And I think to myself - why that's a little strange. And it has comments, which my site doesn't. So in many ways it's actually better. It's been pulled out of my RSS feed as far as I can tell. I wonder - is this automation happening with other people as well? And who is the sinister presence behind the scenes that pulls the strings? Update: What a funny old world - Culprit / Punter found and all is well with the world...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Being one of my favourite rhetorical tropes.... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/18/2002 04:24:40 PM ----- BODY:

I knew it had a name - and I've been trying to remember what that name was for years. I've asked friends, family, professionals, experts - but evidently my friends and family weren't studying rhetoric and the experts and professionals were experts and professionals in completely the wrong fields. But I now know the name for the rhetorical trope where you mention by omission ("I won't mention the prime minister's predeliction for brandy - or bring up (yet again) the chancellor's fetish for ladies underwear"), and that name is... paralepsis. [Find out more about rhetoric]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The future is fridge magnets... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/19/2002 12:20:55 PM ----- BODY:

Never let it be said that Bill Gates has lost his touch. I mean certainly the man responsible for Windows and Office can't really be blamed for the fact that everyone hates his company. Nor is he directly responsible for the X-box not selling at all. Nor indeed can he be held to account for completely not noticing the potential of the internet. No, I think it's clear that Gates is a man with a mission - a true visionary genius. Which is why I'm prepared to forgive his obsession with the tablet PC and celebrate instead the concept that will take the Western World firmly into the 21st - maybe even the 22nd - century: Smart Fridge-Magnets!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On two articles pertaining to the entertainment industry and piracy... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/19/2002 12:46:17 PM ----- BODY:

I've read two articles today about the ways in which the entertainment industry is interacting with computing and the internet - and unsurprisingly both touch on issues of piracy. The first article (Fox Exec wants help ending piracy) is about Peter Chernin's upcoming speech at Comdex. He's expected to argue that restricting the reproduction of copyrighted materials to end piracy would also reinvigorate the tech economy. The other article (Online casting calls snub Apple) is from c|net and is about the way in which media and entertainment companies are passing the Mac platform by in favour of the wider distribution of Windows-based technology. And here's a quote from Apple themselves:

Apple's Schiller said the company is not concerned about losing out on the next generation of digital media services, noting that current industry-approved offerings are barely out of the gate while others are on thin ice legally. "We don't want to evangelize products that encourage illegal behavior," he said.

If you don't mind me saying so (and I hope you'll forgive me for being so harsh) both of these people - Schiller and Chernin alike - are talking absolute and total bollocks. In fact it's never been clearer that in terms of conventional models, the entertainment industry and the computing industry are working directly at loggerheads here. Piracy in its current form is both the result of, and increases to be promoted by, rapid technological take-up and change. The desire to download a movie or a selection of MP3s is one of the things that lies directly behind the popularisation and take-up of broadband technologies, and everyone knows it. Similarly burning music, storing music, playing good quality entertainment products - all require decent hardware, and moreover encourage the purchasing of more or higher quality hardware by bringing the computer in to an ever more central entertainment role in the home. Who do they think they're kidding?

Meanwhile Apple claim to be avoiding encouraging illegal behaviour? Then why have they made an entire operating system and way of interacting with media products that has made illegal behaviour - or to put it another way, behaviour that is not copyright-centred - easier than ever before? It makes absolutely no sense whatsoever...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Further to my post about Apple and piracy... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/19/2002 04:15:50 PM ----- BODY:

Further to my post earlier today, I've decided to release an only mostly-finished article I've been writing about the ways in which Apple computers seem to me to be almost facilitating piracy - and in my opinion rightly so... Please forgive me if it seems slightly hackneyed and if you find any blatant inaccurracies or spelling mistakes mail me and I'll correct them immediately...

Apple and the Pirate Everyman
"Don't Steal Music" says the sticker on every new iPod. But is Apple being disingenuous? Because no other platform in recent history has done as much to help information (and entertainment media) to be easy to create, copy or disseminate...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Oxford Street between Oxford Circus and Bond Street tubes... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/20/2002 04:11:45 PM ----- BODY:

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Six hours of buses, trains, walking and waiting... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/21/2002 09:15:02 PM ----- BODY:

3.30am Finally go to bed. Have been working for fourteen hours with only an hour break for Celebrity Big Brother. Autopsies have gone on in the background. 6.45am Alarm goes off. Get up, shower, shove loads of files online, check e-mail. 7.30am Leave flat. 8.10am Fight through rain and buses - arrive at work, print out loads of things. Twitch. 8.50am Leave for Holborn tube, run to get onto train. Fall over, hurt leg. 9.00am Bakerloo line not working. Get out and catch bus. 9.30am Arrive at Paddington for ten o'clock train. 10.10am Train still not boarding... 12.00pm Train supposed to arrive in Cardiff. 12.45pm Train arrives in Cardiff. 1.10pm Arrive at BBC Cardiff. 2.00pm Start presentation. 3.30pm Finish presentation. 4.00pm Leave BBC Cardiff. 4.50pm Train leaves for Paddington. 7.00pm Train arrives at Paddington. 7.30pm Arrive home. Sit in dumb, slack-jawed silence watching Home Front in the Garden in my overcoat. 9.00pm Write blog-entry.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: What I want to get myself for Christmas... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/22/2002 05:45:02 PM ----- BODY:

If I thought for one minute that I would be able to get any credit from anyone (knowing as I do how inexplicably dodgy my credit rating appears to be, I would sign up for this in a moment. Particularly as I could get my darling little iBook (hear how it calls my name) for just �183.17 a month... Drool...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Today on Barbelith: Autopsy - Spectacle or Science? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/23/2002 11:46:12 PM ----- BODY:

Today on Barbelith: The Autopsy: Spectacle or Science?:

The first public autopsy in Britain for 170 years was greeted with reactions almost as predictable as the process of the postmortem itself. But why have the medical establishment and the media been so squeamish? Brooke Magnanti investigates.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On traffic... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/23/2002 11:54:36 PM ----- BODY:

So three times in recent memory, plasticbag.org has experienced fairly substantial increases in traffic. The first time was when a conflagration of warbloggers decided to take me to task about something I'd written about the power of the inbound link. This post was widely misinterpreted - even to the extent of being mentioned at the Revenge of the Blog Panel in the States by Glenn Reynolds as an example of "people not clear on the concept" (although the context of the transcript is a little unclear as to what concept in particular he's referring to). But even though it was misinterpreted, it still sent a good few people to my virtual door - even if they were mostly brandishing fiery torches and threatening to burn down my castle.

Shortly after this came the incident at Blogger when (thanks to Phil (and indirectly to the current Pyra crew) I found myself in the unenviable position of being able to alarm and terrify two-thirds of blogdom with my scare stories about random hax0rs with world-destroying uber-weapons.

And in the last couple of days, my piece on Apple and the Pirate Everyman (which was widely given rousing yeah and so whats by friends of mine before I put it online) has been picked up by Macintouch.com, Doc Searls and Caf� au Lait (among others). And again, as a result - a short-term surge in traffic.

It's always nice to get more traffic to your site - it's nice to be read. Makes you feel like you're not completely talking into the ether. But at the same time it's also weirdly paralysing. When something on my site gets picked up by a large new audience that haven't had any experience of me before, I tend to feel a bit overwhelmed and confused by it all. I can't think of anything to say when there are (new) people watching. I get stage-fright - glued to the spot by expectant eyes. Or maybe it's more complex than that. Maybe I feel embarrassed when the politically active come to read a political post and find instead a poem about iBooks. Maybe I feel still more embarrassed when the Mac Gods and Open Source Pioneers end up wandering through my site on the days when I want to write about the huge amount of crisps I have in my kitchen cupboards.

Sometimes I think it would be much easier to write a site - you know - about something...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Why are there less overtly political left-wing or centrist weblogs? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Politics CATEGORY: Personal Publishing CATEGORY: Politics DATE: 11/24/2002 07:32:03 PM ----- BODY:

Are there less left-wing or centrist political weblogs than right-wing weblogs? And if so... Why? It's a sentiment I've heard a lot in recent months, particularly in relation to the warblogging phenomenon. If it is true, I have some theories as to why it might be the case - but I have little or no evidence to back them up with. And without evidence I have to accept the possibility that a substantial block of personal presumption and prejudice may be behind them too.

One of my theories would be to do with the inherent lack of absolutism and black-and-white ideology in liberal (in the British sense), centrist and left-wing thinking - particularly after most hard-line socialist and communist projects have tended towards failure. I would suggest that a suspicion of one-on-one narratives of cause and effect and a general belief in some kind of cultural relativism makes it very difficult to produce rhetoric of a kind that is most suited to weblog writing (or for that matter political-rally-style speeches). I'd say also that many right-wing weblogs are more than comfortable with the so-called realpolitik approach to politics and the world which looks towards (above everything else) the preservation of friends and family and a certain way of life. Real-politikal approaches never pretend to be considering all the possibilities or possible ramifications of their approaches, generally because (the argument goes, and it's relatively convincing) the more nuanced and sensitive a policy is, the more it is crippled from accomplishing its stated aim. The Christian right could be seen as an extreme example of this kind of move towards simplicity (rather than pragmatism). For some hardline individuals on a great number of issues there simply is no room for debate or a multiplicity of opinion at all. Could this be one reason why weblogs - with their short, punchy and easily-digestable blocks of rhetoric have been ideally suited to right-wing arguments?

Another argument is purely historical. After the attacks on the World Trade Center, I think it's fair to say that fear and aggression towards foreigners and some ethnic minorities probably increased in America. I say this only because of the reactions of some of the people who were there at the time and some of the subsequent reports - the Canadian whos parents were Iraqi who was deported from the States to Iraq, the Indian friend of mine who experienced harrassment, the weblogger whose ethnicity was continually in question. If (understandably) the disaster moved popular sentiment to the right (which it seemed to) and if at the same time the disaster was one of the things that pulled people towards weblogging, then it's hardly surprising that weblog-space suddenly lurched heavily towards the right.

Why this hasn't self-corrected over time is a more complicated matter, but I can say from personal experience that the sheer number and moral certainty of current right-wing webloggers is intimidating (occasionally terrifying). This in itself would not be a reason to avoid debate, except that (as is often the case with most organisations and affiliations of people) some of its more extreme members are not only vocal (as they should be), but are aggressive and quite prepared to demonise those that don't disagree with them. I know several people who talked about politics only to find themselves targetted by these people and who now avoid the whole debate.

So is the reason for the lack of left-wing weblogs due to intimidation by the right, is it just a function of recent history or is it simply because those on the left find the medium too narrow for the politics they'd wish to discuss? Or are there other reasons? I'm interested in anyone's opinions of this matter, so if you post something about it please don't forget to let me know about it.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: A few things that are interesting me at the moment... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/24/2002 07:43:23 PM ----- BODY:

Manifestos, Disclaimers, Bills of Rights, Constitutions, Codes of Practice (voluntary or otherwise). A lot of these things are filtering through my mind at the moment. Here are some examples:

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The favourite films of the Celebrity Big Brother Contestants... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/24/2002 09:02:04 PM ----- BODY:

Ok, I don't want to be scathing. I really don't. But on the site for Celebrity Big Brother you can find out the favourite films of the various contestants. Some of them aren't particularly surprising - Anne Diamond likes Some Like It Hot and Les Dennis is a bit of a fan of It's a Wonderful Life. They make a certain amount of sense. And it also makes a certain amount of sense that Sue Perkins (who unrelatedly and incidentally comes from Planet Lesbolia) might be a fan of All About My Mother.

On the other hand do we really believe that boy-band wash-out Mark Owen is really obsessed with Life is Beautiful? Or that the all-over cosmetically enhanced Melinda Messenger finds The Royal Tenenbaums more thrilling than boob jobs? And even if we're being generous enough to buy them, do we for a minute think that hard-man gold-toothed Drum'N'Bass star Goldie - the man who has spent four days in comedy wigs and goggle-eyed specs - is really obsessed with watching Magnolia over and over again?

I'm being a snob. I'm going to hell. A few more celebrity factoids: Mark Owen it seems is an obsessive fan of renowned homosexualist Rufus Wainwright and Anne Diamond loves Star Trek and looks terrifyingly like my old academic supervisor. How exciting is that.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On bits of train stations... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/24/2002 09:54:05 PM ----- BODY:

A trip from London to Cardiff and back - and just think of all the things that I could have experienced! And what did I experience? Almost bloody nothing. Train to Cardiff. Cab to BBC Cardiff. Talk for a couple of hours. Can to train station. Train to London. Tube back home. So what did I take pictures of? Bits of bloody train stations...

Firstly - a few bits of Paddington's roof - the newer parts that is - the curves, the lights. It's elegant and wonderful.

Other bits of the roof have this tremendously arcane quality - god knows when this part of the roof was assembled, but look at it - it's like the membranes of a insect's wing! A huge, crumbling, monstrous wing!

Those struts and panes - structural and elegant - lines slim and piled upon one another - half scaffolding and half greenhouse. This station - halfway towards Cardiff - really appealled to me...

The light in Cardiff in the early evening was honey-coloured and smooth. It's all tiles and smooth banisters - architecture that was designed to weather well and last. You can tell that it's struggled with the pressures put upon it - but it feels lived-in, homely - and weirdly British...

A pure and elegant vanishing-point - lines disappearing into the distance, segmented into blues, blacks, reds and yellows. A stunningly beautiful image from Cardiff station...

Back in London - and like an image directly out of the Industrial Revolution the monstrous carcass of Paddington stretches before you. You can almost smell my exhaustion. To home. And to bed!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Winston Churchill is the Greatest Briton... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/24/2002 11:19:39 PM ----- BODY:

According to slightly dumb BBC TV programme and the voting whims of a country of BBC TV watchers, Winston Churchill is the Greatest Briton ever. The case for his superiority was put by the ever charming and smart Mo Mowlam. But watching the programme, one has to wonder... Did she have a special relationship with the cigar-chewing curmudgeon? Could they be related? There is a startly resemblance...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Hideous Apple Security Breach... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/25/2002 04:46:12 PM ----- BODY:

Righto. This isn't going to do my campaign for Apple to give me an iBook gratis any good at all. Still - never mind. It has to be done. So I'm wandering cheerfully through my referrer logs and I find a weird referral from a site with Apple in the URL. I follow the link to find a little article posted about my recent Apple rant. Then I realise that not only am on an Apple site, I'm actually already logged in as a young gentleman called Jared Foster who is taking part in the Campus Rep Program at Florida University.

But how can this be? Surely Apple wouldn't be storing crucial login information and passwords in the URL? Except they have. And it's not like it's a little site containing no important information. In fact by the time I realised what was going on, I'd already seen a lot of information that should be very carefully protected. Now - if I wanted to - I could have access to all of Jared's personal information, his timecards, the contact details of loads of people at Apple and - moreover - trade secrets on the Campus Rep Program and also the confidentiality agreement that everyone who participates in the program has to sign.

Now I'm a tremendous fan of Apple's computers and software and wish nothing but success to them. I've been promoting Apple's stuff here on this site for years simply because I love it. But this is a fairly horrifically substantial security breach for a company like Apple to countenance. And I think that it should be brought to the attention of the public.

Some personal information (small selection from much available)
Timecards information (it's possible to click through further, but I thought that would be invasive)
Ironic confidentiality notice at the bottom of each page

Follow-up: I've been talking to some people with greater knowledge of security than me, and potentially this is a problem that has been caused by a security flaw in the browser that the person used who was followed the referral link to my site rather than an Apple security issue. Clearly this would leave Apple relatively free from blame in this matter. I personally would also be relieved. More information as I have it - certainly I have no interest in lambasting Apple for a problem if it is not their responsibility...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Bringing the scale back... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/25/2002 11:30:49 PM ----- BODY:

Here's something I've been thinking about that that ties into Joel's idea that an e-mail service that charged one cent per e-mail would help counteract spammers. I've been thinking about the scalability of user-functionality online. From the position of a user the process of sending e-mail scales reasonably well - or at least it basically scales linearly - the incremental cost in effort for each e-mail being dependent only on the elegance of the software you have to automate your e-mail sending process. Adding a financial aspect to sending e-mail doesn't change the nature of the curve, but it does raise the incremental cost (albeit only financially).

Now there are a variety of reasons why (for example) you'd want to send lots (thousands or tens of thousands) of e-mails, but the main reason will probably be advertising or spam - kinds of e-mail which are generally perceived as an abuse. In fact I would hazard a guess that it becomes increasingly likely that someone is abusing the system the more e-mails they send. (Incidentally - what shape do we think the curve of numbers of e-mails sent vs. numbers of people sending them would be?) So we're in fact not interested in stopping people sending spam, we're interested in discouraging people from sending large blocks of e-mail generally...

Essentially what many systems online need - the systems that are prone to abuse that is - are graphs of 'difficulty of use' that are exponential - start almost flat and then escalate heavily afterwards. I think this could be true for e-mail (although I suspect it would be impossible to implement outside of a closed system) but also for related processes like posting to message boards or creating online identities... Wouldn't it be ideal if it was tremendously simple to send up to a hundred e-mails a day, slightly harder to send the next hundred and almost impossible to send ten thousand? We're not used to thinking in this way, because the dot-com explosion was all about scale and size and making everything work at large-volume and making everything easy for users. But there's a difference between clarity of function and purpose and ease of use. Maybe there are processes that should be harder generally - and more specifically maybe there are processes that should become harder the more they are used...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: By way of response to Cory Doctorow.... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/27/2002 05:29:57 PM ----- BODY:

I don't have comments on my site - or at least I do have comments on my site but not on my daily ramblings because I don't want the responsibility of maintaining them. I'm not always going to have the time to read them. I'm not always going to have the time to make sure they're working properly... Cory Doctorow wanted to reply to my post from Monday but couldn't find a place to do it effectively. As a result he posted his response to Matt Jones' site. I hope he doesn't mind, but I'm going to replicate it here so that I can respond to it properly...

"Now there are a variety of reasons why (for example) you'd want to send lots (thousands or tens of thousands) of e-mails, but the main reason will probably be advertising or spam - kinds of e-mail which are generally perceived as an abuse. In fact I would hazard a guess that it becomes increasingly likely that someone is abusing the system the more e-mails they send."

This is why every one of these proposals that I've seen so far net out with a system where the very wealthy and powerful can afford mass communication, and the poor cannot. The ability to send alerts out to very large groups of people is the ability to have a functional democracy. EFF, Greenpeace, ACLU, CDR, NTK... There are thousands of good and worthy advocacy and information resources that send out tens of thousands of messages at a go, using the same tools spammers use. Popular speech never needs defending. When mass communication is given back to solely the rich and powerful, the Internet's promise of samizdata, of Journalism 3.0, of real liberation, is eroded.

Joel's idea was that if you spent one cent per e-mail then spamming would become uncommercial. Cory in turn suggests that this would mean that only the rich could send mass e-mail and that this would effect grass-roots democractic practice online. Straightaway one has to question whether or not anyone should be able to send mass e-mail the way that spammers do - whether it be for a noble cause or not. We already have a low-budget tool that is designed for mass publishing, and that tool is the web - ultimately democratic in that people can publish on it whenever they want and given the extra advantage of being immediately an opt-in way of viewing content...

But ideal usage and practical implications are different things - clearly it is wrong that those with money should have much more power to abuse the processes of e-mail than the poor (and I think that you could make a fairly easy argument for abuse here in that there seem to be few legitimate applications for mass e-mail that couldn't be undertaken elsewhere). But even here we have a problem, because such an issue would only be a problem with a linear curve, while I was talking about the advantages of providing systems that scale badly - and exponential curves. With these the incremental cost would be disproportionately high at higher volumes - someone with twice as much money to spend would very definitely not have twice the power...

Moreover, and I think most importantly, I was using Joel's proposal as a jumping off point for the concept of exponential graphs of 'difficulty of use' - not money. Rather than thinking of incremental cost, I was thinking of incremental effort. Think of it like juggling - two balls are relatively easy, three or four within most people's grasp, five or six is the work of masters, while twenty would be practically impossible. In terms of web usability, think about the effort involved in maintaining multiple identities on a discussion forum... Essentially there is none. You might have to post every six months in order to stop your account being deleted, but that's about it. As a result there are lots of empty accounts used by abusive people to post anonymously or harass people, evading all attempts to ban them. If you could strengthen the link between user and user-name (without having to make it a one-on-one solid link) then you'd be a long way towards being able to have some impact on these problems. One of the ways you could do it is to find a way to make maintaining one user-name relatively easy, two slightly harder, three much harder and four or five an unmanageable feat of inhuman endurance... In effect, the effort involved in user-name maintenance would scale exponentially...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Matt Haughey on Digital Restrictions Management.. STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/27/2002 05:46:18 PM ----- BODY:

If you enjoyed (or hated) my piece on Apple and the Pirate Everyman, then you might find Matt Haughey's piece on Digital ~~Rights~~ Restrictions Management interesting:

Whatever replaces Windows XP will be forever married to this type of technology. Sure, open file formats like ogg vorbis or mp3 will stick around, but Microsoft, movie studios, and the record industry will push Windows Media Player and Liquid Media formats as hard as they can, releasing their works only in formats with DRM baked in.

Addendum: And there's another article over at Mac Musings called: Copyright, Common Sense and Fair Use which is not entirely disconnected from my thoughts on Apple's lack (so far) of DRM...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Another response from Cory Doctorow... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/27/2002 11:34:28 PM ----- BODY:

Ok. I've had a response from Cory Doctorow about what I wrote earlier today and in the spirit of adequate redress (so it doesn't look like I'm controlling the media where we're debating), I'm just going to post it in its entirety so that people can read it and then direct everyone over to Matt's site where you can see my reply (and any subsequent comments that Cory's interested in making) in context and on a level playing-field...

Unfortunately, I can't reply to you on your blog, Tom, so here's my response: Whether we're talking about money or effort or difficulty is irrelevant. A computational tax (hash-cache) or an effort tax both translate into an advantage for those who can lay hands on additional resources (i.e., the rich) at the expense of those who can't. There is no scarcity here. This is an amazing and unprecedented occassion in human history: plenty. A commons that is nonzerosum. We need new tools for managing such a commons, but tariffs that create scarcity where none exists are like "fixing" the problem of high-speed travel by putting horseshoes on railroad engines.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On Flash navigation systems... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/27/2002 11:37:16 PM ----- BODY:

I don't really approve of sites that use Flash for primary navigation, but if you're going to do it then make it as classy as this. And while you're there you can read the article on Mobile Weblogging which isn't total bunk.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On the differences between syndication and publishing... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/27/2002 11:59:04 PM ----- BODY:

I'm partly linking to Mark's article about the differences between syndication and publishing on my site so that I don't forget to read it tomorrow when I'm more conscious.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Two Lord of the Rings links before bed... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/28/2002 12:11:30 AM ----- BODY:

Right-ho. I'm off to bed in a minute, but before I go I thought a couple of nice Lord of the Rings links might compensate for all the obsessively technical stuff I've been forcing down your throats recently. So let's start with a fascinating article about the CGI involved in producing a cinematic version of the Battle of Helm's Deep and end with the first review I've seen of the Two Towers - and it's a five-star one at that...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: You don't know... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/28/2002 10:00:02 PM ----- BODY:

Matt Webb has been away on holiday for almost a week. But you couldn't tell, could you? His alien tentacles have created tiny robot typing minions to write content for him while he's away. He's also assembled this other device that means that you can create new content out of old ropey bits of crap that you have lying around. Not that he's using that at the moment... Not that you'd know though. It has occurred to me that I could just start running all my content again from just over three years ago until now and that the only thing that would give it away would be that some of the links wouldn't work. Not that my life's really repetitive or anything, or that nothing's really changed in three years or that I need a boyfriend or anything. I don't know why you'd think that. Furthest thing from my mind. Sigh. Actually, I'll tell you one thing for nothing while you're reeling from the lack of web-related content... One thing has changed over the last three years. Now everyone I lust after has a long term partner. Age is a terrible thing. Never get old, my children...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Oh the humanity... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/28/2002 11:24:46 PM ----- BODY:

I work with this guy. He's wearing a jelly ring on his nose. It's got "Lord of the Rings" branding on it. Earlier today I tried to draw a little red patch on his hair with a white-board marker when he wasn't looking.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: What was said... And what was meant? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/29/2002 11:37:33 PM ----- BODY:

I met someone for lunch today. And he said I wasn't like he was expecting at all. He said I seemed more naive than he'd thought I'd be... Which I think was a compliment, but I'm not quite sure... He said I was taller than the person he'd mistaken for me in the pub with the barbie-dolls on the walls, which I think was a compliment but I'm not quite sure... He wasn't quite like I thought he'd be either. But he was charming, intelligent and very good company.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Found images... One for the geeks... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 11/30/2002 11:42:22 AM ----- BODY:

The first in a series of found images - stumbled upon without significant context... This one being for the geeks in the audience...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The XML feeds of everyone I read via NetNewsWire... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/01/2002 04:02:59 PM ----- BODY:

For anyone who uses NetNewsWire or a similar rss/rdf reader or is interested in the sites that I read on a daily basis - here's a complete list of the feeds that I check each day: ( blogdex: recent ), BBC Technology, Ben Hammersley, BlackBeltJones Work, BoingBoing.net, CityofSound, diveintomark.org, ext | circ, Google Weblog, Google News Search: Gay, Hypermedia and Virtual Communities, iamcal.com, Interconnected.org, kottke.org, LinkMachineGo, LoFoTo, maccentral, megnut, metafilter, minor 9th, Mo Morgan, Radio Free Blogistan, Rushkoff.blog, Scripting.com, tomalak.org, Wired, Write The Web. Or you can download the whole list.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: A picture of Tom, yesterday... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/01/2002 05:10:54 PM ----- BODY:

My friend Fenner is getting married, and he's having a stag weekend abroad that I can't go to. So he and I met up with mutual friend Nick yesterday to kind of see him off. We went to Nick's club, which was closed. And then to a restaurant that Nick chose, but then rejected because there were no hamburgers. Eventually we found a Mexican place with cocktails. So I drank quite a few, and we talked of lasers in the Antarctic, mermaids with irritated nipples and the benefits of the "Breakfast Margarita", a glorious concept that puts pink grapefruit juice into the standard recipe making it eminently suitable for calming the nerves before that early-morning meeting. Not that I'd ever do that, obviously.

When we finally parted company four hours later, I was a little drunk and excitable. I met another Nick in Soho and we wandered up to the Yard, where this photo was taken. Then it was off to the cinema to see L.I.E. where I managed to embarrass Nick by pointing at people (before the film) and saying in a stage whisper, "Do you think he's a paederast? No? How about him? He looks like a paederast..." Some people have no sense of humour... Oh and I saw a guy in a bar who made me double-take. So if you were out in Rupert Street yesterday evening and you were wearing a grey t-shirt with a kind of laced-up front and you have a little beard tuft in the middle of your chin, then Hello, my name is Tom - can I buy you a drink? is what I meant to say...

Tom Coates 2002

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On Chanson D'Amour... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/01/2002 06:46:21 PM ----- BODY:

Presenting for your delectation the laughably awful lyrics of an atrocious auditoriy nightmare by Manhattan Transfer that is so sublimely awful that I might even decide to have it played at my funeral. That would be a sight. My parents sitting there with their eyes all open, trying not to snigger. My grandmother looking horrified at the indignity of it all. Chrissy in the back row giggling like a madman... So with no further ado.. Chanson D'Amour...

Chanson d'amour, ra da da da da, play encore.
Here in my heart, ra da da da da, more and more.
Chanson d'amour, ra da da da da, je t'adore.
Each time I hear, ra da da da da,
Chanson, chanson, d'amour.

(Sax solo)
Ra da da da da
(Sax solo)
Ra da da da da

Chanson d'amour, ra da da da da, je t'adore.
Each time I hear, ra da da da da,
Chanson, chanson, d'amour.
Every time I hear
Chanson, chanson, d'amour

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On democracy and online community... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Social Software CATEGORY: Social Software DATE: 12/03/2002 02:45:52 PM ----- BODY:

Here's a really useful piece of writing by Robert Putnam, author of the astounding Bowling Alone about the decline in social capital in America:

Anonymity and the absence of social cues inhibit social control - that is, after all, why we have the secret ballot - and thus cyberspace seems in some respects more democratic ... Research has shown that on-line discussions tend to be more frank and egalitarian than face-to-face meetings ... Some of the allegedly greater democracy in cyberspace is based more on hope and hype than in careful research. The political culture of the Internet, at least in its early stages, is astringently libertarian, and in some respects cyberspace represents a Hobbesian state of nature, not a Lockean one. As Peter Kollock and Marc Smith, two of the more thoughtful observers of community on the internet, observe, "It is widely believed and hoped that the ease of communicating and interacting online will lead to a flourishing of democratic institutions, heralding a new and vital arena of public discourse. But to date, most online groups have the structure of either an anarchy [if unmoderated] or a dictatorship [if moderated]"

This is particularly relevant to the ongoing debate I'm still having with Cory Doctorow and to my thinking about the inherent politics of message-boards and online communities.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Bottle-necking and diseconomies of scale.... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/03/2002 11:59:09 PM ----- BODY:

Here's a not-particularly-good example of how diseconomies of scale can interfere with the practices of those who would abuse the network and transform it into something it was never supposed to be - a broadcast medium... The BBC News article Computer viruses face slow down (a couple of days old now) talks about how creating bottle-necks in the network can interfere with the spread of computer viruses. A virus is - I suppose I could argue - a weird entity that changes bits of the network into broadcast nodes, eventually bringing it all down as a direct consequence...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: How micro-fame will make people undertake more tiny miracles... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Net Culture CATEGORY: Net Culture DATE: 12/04/2002 12:18:23 AM ----- BODY:

Why would someone built a model of the Enterprise out of Lego? Or perhaps I should ask (because I spent most of my early teenage years building Lego models of TV and movie space-crafts and vehicles) why would anyone decide to make a scale model of the Enterprise, investing considerable money and effort in the process and putting detailed pictures of the whole process online? I think the answer would be something like micro-fame.

Before this weird online culture fusion called the internet happened, individuals were forced to seek the approval of their peers by conforming or by accomplishing things that their real-life friends and family thought were valuable. This low-level success was based on a narrowly focused set of criteria set by your upbringing, your neighbourhood, your school or job... And if you wanted to take it further then you were forced to somehow breach the membrane that separated the 'ordinary' from the 'famous' - something that only the incredibly talented or incredibly lucky could do...

This made the world relatively predictable - relatively safe. Ideas were constantly created and constantly abandoned as ever, but there was the continual encouragement of environment not to be one of the people who did anything 'odd'. The internet has changed all that. There's now an audience for the strangest and smallest little projects. All the disconnected people around the world who might find a Lego Enterprise cool are suddenly connected up. It's worth making that tiny little thing you thought would be quite cool once, it's worth writing the dumb ideas down that you thought no one would ever listen to. Because the odds of finding people who will care about them, will gel and relate to you, will celebrate your idea or project and make you famous (tiny-fame, micro-idol), is radically improved. The future will be full of dumb projects, tiny ideas, silly concepts - each celebrated by their own bespoke fan-base... And human creativity will have taken a massive leap forward...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On the manufacturing of scarcity... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Design CATEGORY: Design CATEGORY: Design CATEGORY: Social Software DATE: 12/04/2002 12:58:52 AM ----- BODY:

I really want to write a proper response to this piece on randomchaos.com which discusses the ethics of 'manufacturing scarcity'. But I've been meaning to write something thorough and intellectually satisfying for days, and nothing's coming. So I'm just going to concentrate on a couple of key points...

Scott says: "Difficulty should never be created. All work should increase ease (in a general sense, work should be self-destructive). I say this because this is the only path toward what seems to me to be an obvious ideal of work being optional." I think I'd have trouble arguing with the sentiment - but there are problems with relating it directly to these circumstances. Take the use of the word 'difficulty' - if making one thing harder really does make many hundreds of thousands of other things easier (in the case of e-mail for example), then collectively the weight of 'difficulty' on the community is lowered. We make it hard for people to burn down their houses by fitting smoke alarms and using flame-retardant foam in furniture. This makes it easier for people to live without burning their houses down. We make it hard for people to have their debit/credit card PINs stolen, by making a decision not to print them on each and every connected piece of paper connected with banking. All around us are products and services dripping with usability decisions based around making certain uses easy by making others harder...

Scott also says: When Tom says the lack of scarcity of avatars is a consistent problem for community spaces, he is wrong. The inability to associate avatars with real people is the problem, and Tom is wrongly assuming that scarcity is the only way to create this association. Actually that's also a profoundly interesting question. One of the things that the internet was particularly celebrated for when it first went mainstream was this ability to shed your identity - to be more anonymous. By forcing people to directly associate identity with avatar, then privacy becomes a huge issue and people find themselves unable to talk freely or honestly. I believe the function of the online community-builder is to locate the particular and unique benefits of online communication and celebrate them - while at the same time not assuming that every aspect of online communication is of benefit. When I talk of scarcity, I'm actually talking about the labour of maintaining them - an identity should be an effort to use. That effort should be negligible for the maintenance of one identity, but substantial for the maintenance of more than one.

Example time... Take for example the simple interaction of logging-in and logging-out of a site. Let's assume that a computer will have only one browser on it and that only one user can be logged into the site from that computer at any one time. Imagine a circumstance where the process of logging-in is extremely time-consuming, but the user that is logged on will remain logged on indefinitely afterwards. The cost of maintenance here is a one of transaction of 'logging-in'. But if that user is trying to maintain two identities, that 'effort' increases dramatically. Each time he or she wishes to switch identities they have to go through the whole logging-in process. If the process took an hour then a user with one account will spend one hour logging in. Ever. A user with two will spend one initial hour logging in and then an additional hour each time they wanted to change identity. Make it so that you have to post once a week or your account expires, and you add one hour of work each and every week for each account that a user has. Immediately, it's just much easier to maintain one...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: A brief gripe about Technorati.com... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/04/2002 01:05:28 AM ----- BODY:

I know it's not finished yet and everything, but Technorati still hasn't figured out that plasticbag.org is a weblog or that plasticbag.org, www.plasticbag.org and plasticbag.org/index.shml are the same page. I just want to have my own little 'Cosmos'. It doesn't seem too much to ask..

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Announcing the first, and probably only, product of Barbelith Interviews... An Evening with Grant Morrison... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/04/2002 01:16:13 AM ----- BODY:

New today - there's a huge slab-like rambling tome of an interview with Grant Morrison over at my other major ongoing project (barbelith.com). Here's a sexy quotable:

"The space in The Invisibles, the idea of reclaiming space is based on Situationist ideas - I'm interested in the idea of re-empowering the imaginative city and making detournements through the architectural spaces; that was a thing my friends and I used to do a lot. And cameras; because obviously they're the real colonisers of space just now, social space, they're keeping the homeless out of the multiplex shopping centres, they prevent 'bad things' from happening to it, there are more and more of them all the time."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: New stuff on the right-hand menu... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/05/2002 11:59:53 AM ----- BODY:

I've added a couple of nice little things to the right-hand menu of the site today. You can now talk to people who live near me and work near me via UpMyStreet Conversations. The site's progressing quite well - there are more conversations every day and new uses for the software keep emerging. Some people are just asking about areas they are moving to, debating London's new congestion charges or complaining (at length) about layabout teenagers - but others are using it to answer very specific questions or even just to meet new people. I'd love it if UK webloggers decided to put a link to their local areas on their weblogs - I think that could really make it a useful and interesting place to relate to your local geography... But I guess I'll just have to wait and see if that takes off...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: There are too many funny facts in this article for me to be able to take it seriously... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/05/2002 12:26:43 PM ----- BODY:

Ok. I can just about buy the idea that you can use soundwaves to cool things down, and that you might be able to assemble a fridge that operated by those principles. I can almost buy the idea that two researchers are using "enormously loud sounds to keep their chiller cabinet cool". And I'm grudgingly prepared to accept that one might be able to convince people that, "the sounds pumped through the Penn State fridge reach 173 dB, tens of thousands of times more intense than any rock concert". But you have to start laughing when you read that a fully functioning acoustic fridge has been launched into space. And you're going to look stunned and giggly when you're told that "sounds of 165 dB would cause a person's hair to catch fire from the frictional heating caused by air undergoing such intense compression and expansion"! [BBC News | Thermoacoustic Research at Penn State University]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On my failings as a geek... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/05/2002 12:28:35 PM ----- BODY:

If I was a better geek, this article on XFML at diveintomark.org would be fascinating, illuminating and revelatory. Instead I stare at it in desperation, terror and confusion as the words change and resolve themselves in front of me to read, "Rhubarb rhubarb rhubarb rhubarb rhubarb". This is not the kind of thing I'm supposed to admit in public.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: If you need a baking sheet then it counts as cooking... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/05/2002 11:04:51 PM ----- BODY:

I'm a master of the pre-packaged culinary treat. You get it in a packet. You put the packet in the oven. You take the packet out of the oven. You have lovely food. It's that simple! So as I'm sure you can imagine I was horrified to discover that the Lemon Chicken I purchased from Sainsbury's required a baking sheet. You have to remove the chicken from the packaging, place it on a baking sheet and then add the sauce shortly afterwards. But if there's a baking sheet, then it counts as cooking. And if it's cooking food rather than magic oven food - where's the pleasure?! It's an invasion. I feel violated. I'm exhausted.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Yet again manufacturing scarcity... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Social Software CATEGORY: Social Software DATE: 12/06/2002 12:06:14 AM ----- BODY:

In the interests of fair exposure, I'm going to link back to Scott's response to my response to his comments on my thoughts about manufactured scarcity, although I'm going to have to leave a more thorough response for another day as I have much to digest and process on other issues today. In the meantime, I'm just going to make two small points. When he says:

People in modern China (or even in a future America where the government has been granted broad control of its citizens) may have a valid desire to maintain anonymity online that is clearly more important than my annoyance with spam. (Capital letters my own)

This was in fact my initial point - that one can't strip anonymity from the net without destroying much of its power for the disenfranchised. Hence when we're assembling our micro-community structures online, we work to build a way of interacting that celebrates as much of the power of the web while simultaneously working to stop some uses of that power that could cause that community to collapse in upon itself completely. The nature of the web, web programmers and free software / open source projects (and indeed the market itself) means that there will probably not soon be a monopoly on community technology that stops people simply choosing another form of software to declare their home if the one they are in fails to meet their needs. That is probably the best place to resolve this debate - in net citizens' interactions with, choices between (and accomplishments enabled by) various types of community software.

I don't see how Tom's example system could prevent a user from sitting at a single computer all day creating identities and then passing those identities around to other computers -- assuming it can even prevent a computer from doing the same.

Again - it wouldn't at all. But in my initial rough gestural example, the logging-in process would be time-consuming - which would mean that very specific speed bumps would be placed between new identity creation and new identity posting. This could radically slow down the amount of new users that someone could effectively maintain per computer. It's a question again of difficulty - you do not have to make something impossible in order to stop it happening - you simply have to make something not worth the energy, time or money that you'd have to invest. That's how public key cryptography works - not by making it impossible to break the code, but by making it take impossibly large amounts of time...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: A terrifying excerpt from Richard Stallman's website... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/06/2002 12:14:28 AM ----- BODY:

From Richard Stallman's (creator of the free software movement and the man behind GNU which is itself at least partially behind Linux) website:

I'm a single atheist white man, 49, reputedly intelligent, with unusual interests in politics, science, music and dance. I'd like to meet a woman with varied interests, curious about the world, comfortable expressing her likes and dislikes (I hate struggling to guess), delighting in her ability to fascinate a man and in being loved tenderly, who values joy, truth, beauty and justice more than "success"--so we can share bouts of intense, passionately kind awareness of each other, alternating with tolerant warmth while we're absorbed in other aspects of life. My 19-year-old child, the Free Software Movement, occupies most of my life, leaving no room for more children, but I still have room to love a sweetheart. I spend a lot of my time traveling to give speeches, often to Europe, Asia and Latin America; it would be nice if you were free to travel with me some of the time.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The only thing worth watching on the internet... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/06/2002 02:19:46 PM ----- BODY:

Everyone in the UK pays a license fee for their television which means that we can have a high-quality public-sector television broadcaster: the BBC. The BBC also has the most-popular site in Europe. And yet while I'm delighted that it's there, and don't begrudge paying the organisation, there have only really been two things that I use them for - BBC News (TV & web) and Fame Academy. Well now there's a third reason to pay the license fee: BBC Kitten Cam. Tiny kittens, real-time, 24 hours a day (although at night it tends to be completely dark)...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: 100 Greatest Gay Britons... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/06/2002 04:35:53 PM ----- BODY:

If I had to choose the gay men that I consider to be worthy of the 100 Greatest Gay Britons poll that is happening over at Naked Blog, I would probably make sure that the following were among them: EM Forster, Alan Turing, Siegfried Sassoon, Cary Grant, Dirk Bogarde, Morrissey and Neil Bartlett.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: No! No! It's a sin against television! STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/06/2002 09:49:16 PM ----- BODY:

This will mean nothing to the people who come here to read rambling usability articles, or stuff on social software - or even the few people who come to hear me ramble on about what happens after-hours. This will only make the slightest sense to those few people in the world who are obsessed with Fame Academy, or more specifically Ainslie. Will the world please explain to me how David, the self-satisfied little pop tramp with a potential career as long as his butt-hair could possibly beat Ainslie? I mean, sure... Ainslie can't really sing in tune that well... And yes, he has a tendency to get all worked up and run around like a lunatic, and coat himself in mud, and hide in cupboards... But at least he's not a wanker?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Danger! Danger! High Voltage! STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Radio & Music CATEGORY: Radio & Music DATE: 12/07/2002 09:50:07 PM ----- BODY:

Prepare to have your world widened - for Meg is right - the song (and video) for Danger! High Voltage by the Electric 6 is about to colonise your consciousness and redefine music for you for the next twelve months. It's going to be huge. The following images will be burned into your retinae. Await the coming..!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Towards a way of measuring a stale paradigm... (ps. needs an edit which I'll come to later) STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Social Software CATEGORY: Social Software CATEGORY: Technology DATE: 12/07/2002 10:36:45 PM ----- BODY:

Let's start by positing the idea that Thomas Kuhn is right when he talks of paradigm shift - that ideas don't simply change slowly over time, but instead occasionally move with seismic speed, size and repercussions. That the progression from Newton to Einstein could never be accomplished piecemeal, but had to happen by an instantaneous leap.

Let's split this concept in two directions which will interact with it differently - that it's not only theories that can operate in this way, but also products. Let's think for a moment why a theory reaches the point where one can tell a paradigm shift is about to take place... Normally it's because a large-scale incongruity of data appears that seems to contradict the theory. Small scale contradictions emerge all the time - and they can be treated as exceptions (or more precisely circumstances where the theory is unlikely to fall down, but where it seems likely that there is more going on than we are able to perceive initially). But the more minor contradictions that emerge, the more special circumstances that appear, the more likely it is that someone will try to resolve them with a higher level theory that will encompass more of them...

What's the equivalent for products? I would argue that the mark of a stale paradigm - one in which there is significant need for a paradigm shift - would be one in which one (or both) of two things happens. Firstly branding could emerge as the most important aspect of the product itself - with a complete absence of reasons to distinguish between two products (since both accomplish precisely the same function) then the arms race moves into pure marketing. This is a significant difference between products and theories, in that there can be two products that are essentially identical (or functionally competing for the same mindshare in the same area) in which neither can in and of itself ever be dismissed on any grounds other than taste.

The second (and more interesting) aspect might be that the product would experience non-essential feature-creep - the complementary opposite (mirror-image) of the flaws in the theoretical paradigm - minor issues with the way they are used or interacted with that are resolved by the partial dilution - or working around - of the initial paradigm. Thus a product might evolve hundreds of secondary features, none of which are crucial to its use, and which are mostly used by very niche audiences or by all audiences on very rare occasions. A side effect of this might be a market saturated with apparently radically different solutions to the same marginal problems, none of which achieve any apparent dominance simply because none of them have enough of an edge over any other.

Classic examples of stale paradigms? Shoes (evidence is branding and redundant feature-creep), Word Processors (evidence is redundant feature-creep) and Community websites (evidence is massive feature-creep [cf. Infopop's Ultimate Bulletin Board] and a recent proliferation of subtly different community applications, none of which have achieved paradigmatic dominance).

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Three Stories of The Invisible Poof... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/07/2002 11:16:57 PM ----- BODY:

So the story goes like this... A friend of mine who used to work at The Express is talking with some friends in the office. She happens to mention me in conversation. A passing acquaintance of hers stops with a start... "Tom Coates?" she asks... "You know Tom Coates from Time Out?" My friend nods... The acquaintance gives a disapproving look... "I've heard things about him," she says. "He's supposed to be incredibly homophobic..."

You have to laugh. But then you also have to stop for a moment and look around nervously. How did I get here? My tendency to jokingly call other people poofs has got me into considerable trouble in the past, although my habit of referring to myself a great big poof has got me out of just as many... I always assume that the joke is understood - that people get that because I have strange trouser-feelings towards other men, I can say the word 'poof' when other people can't... As a result it feels strangely liberating, and weirdly a bit like it's challenging some entrenched conceptual positions somewhere down the line... So in one way, I suppose, it's a statement of personal resolve with a little bit of overt confrontationalism thrown in for good measure.

More interestingly, perhaps is the way this kind of behaviour acts as a weird kind of bonding agent between traditional advantaged (straight) and disadvantaged (gay). I don't know if it's a collusive, mutually-useful, atmosphere-reducing strategy though or whether it's all that and also a weird kind of selling-out. Does it buy into or even support our culture's nervousness about the potentially sexualised aspect of man-to-man friendships? [check out Eve Kosofsky-Sedgwick's Epistemology of the Closet if you're interested in this stuff]

Here's another example for you... An old (straight) friend once looked mischievously towards me just as I beat him in an argument and said - in the most school-boy style that he could manage - "Yeah, well maybe, but you're ... a big homo!" After I'd spat my drink out of my nose, and howled in delighted outraged glee, I did the only thing I could do in the spirit of the occasion - I said, "Am not! Take it back! Take it back! You're a big gay homosexual..." As I look back at this I can see more clearly than ever that this episode was basically a disavowal of any sexual component that might exist in our relationship. The fact that each of us felt capable to declare in turn, and comfortably, that we weren't big homos - even when we both knew quite clearly that one of us was and was pretty comfortable with it - was evidence that our relationship had become easy, comfortable and free. But at the same time, in retrospect you wonder if this is an appropriate way to structure your sexual identity.

When I look at my relationships with gay men, they're strained at best. I have a few very close gay friends in London - many less than I had in Bristol. Some are close as family to me, some of these ponced off to New Zealand and deserted me and I don't see why I should forgive them. But while I've always found overly heterosexual posturing tedious, after a flirtation with gay identities, I've also come to find the trivial assembly of scene-based identities in London deeply irritating - even repulsive. There's more honesty in the basic down-and-dirty sex that happens continually around London than there is the posing and posturing of the gay scene. Or at least so it seems to me at the moment.

I suppose, at thirty, I'm finding myself at a weird crossroads. Am I a self-hating gay man who finds himself unable to feel anything but repulsed by the community of my fellow poofs? I don't think so.. But there's something wrong, somewhere... Else why would I feel so invisible? Why would my sexuality have deteriorated so fundamentally in importance to me. Most people I meet don't know I'm gay. Many people who read this site don't know I'm gay. Despite being best poof in the world once, significant gay sites have just not even noticed my man-friendly tendencies... But this is wrong! They should know. It's important to me. Maybe the answer comes from another story... I'm walking down a street with a straight friend of mine, and we're watching the hot boys walk by, and I'm lamenting my lack of relationship (for the thousandth time) and asking if they thought I was just criminally fucked-in-the-head and they reply... "Tom, I don't know how to say this, but I hope you'll take it as a compliment... I don't think you're in the slightest bit fucked up about being gay, I think you're fucked up about everything else..."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On the Social Software Summit in New York... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/08/2002 12:03:25 PM ----- BODY:

It continually upsets me that things like the Social Software Summit in New York happen and that I don't get to go to them all. Hearing Clay speak on areas very close to my heart in London recently was tremendously useful and interesting, and I find it intensely frustrating that there are debates ongoing around the world that really matter to me that I can't attend. Hence my need to buy an iBook, hide in Norfolk and finally assemble some of my thoughts into a publishable form...

P.S. That's Matt Jones on the left there. And aren't there are a lot of Apple laptops in concept-forming-land...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The Unwedding of Ultrasparky... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/08/2002 12:12:05 PM ----- BODY:

Of course the most important news in blogdom at the moment is the upcoming big gay wedding of Sparky and the Rooster (thanks to Google Images for those photos). I can't say congratulations enough! I'm stormingly jealous as well - Dan is a wonderful sweet man who I've met once or twice now, and Rooster is... well... really hot. [proper pictures of the lovely couple (you're looking at number one and two on that page)]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: In which Tom mentions that he's just started his first Wiki... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/09/2002 11:04:53 PM ----- BODY:

Little to say except that I've spent some of this evening working to install my first ever Wiki using UseMod. I've got a very specific project in mind - getting a group of less-than-totally-tech-savvy community members to get together and assemble their own FAQs, site history and help files. Adrian Hon's recently got something similar going with the Metafilter Wiki which I'm very impressed with. This feels extremely interesting and experimental - very much like weblogging did three years ago - but as far as I can tell Wikis already have a weight of history building behind them. I'll keep writing about how the project appears to be going (but I'm not planning to link to it from plasticbag.org just yet).

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: First thoughts on Wiki STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Social Software CATEGORY: Social Software DATE: 12/10/2002 01:37:52 PM ----- BODY:

A few thoughts on Wikis:

There aren't enough simple sets of instructions for people who are completely unfamiliar with Wikis. It's quite hard to make the mental leaps necessary to get past that very initial stage of frustrated apathy. But once you do it's tremendously easy to use and has essentially no further technical learning-curve. Suggestion - someone writes a guide to starting a wiki in non-wiki format for a change.
The most significant aspect for me is this sense of pottering, of idle investment - that it's not important to achieve perfection, consensus or conclusion and so any small piece of work you do feels like a valuable contribution - a step in the right direction. They're even faster to use than weblogs, and more flexible (with all the benefits and problems that involves).
The next stage in development would seem to me to be an aesthetic one and a usability one - there's clearly work that needs to be done before they go fully mainstream, and if publishers are going to approach this kind of stuff then they're going to want some reassurement that the content won't simply be lost - so some kind of collaborative moderation system will probably have to emerge there (at least for commercial applications).

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On Dan Hill's "Adaptive Design" Piece... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Design CATEGORY: Design DATE: 12/10/2002 02:07:41 PM ----- BODY:

I still haven't completely formed my opinions on the recent IA seminar on "Adaptive Design" I attended (Dan Hill from cityofsound speaking). He's put up the presentation along with some notes which should make the whole process rather easier. The one thing that I know stuck in my head throughout the whole thing was that there was a regular appeal towards building adaptive sites with an architecture that allowed experiementation and adaptability. There were a few more people talking about component-level systems like Lego as well. They too kept talking about the simple rules of the system that governed the use of these blocks. Everyone seemed to think that the job of the designer was the development of rules and components within self-contained sites. I kept thinking of Operating Systems and the Internet - universal computing machines lying behind the scenes forming an architecture. And then I started thinking of Applications and Sites as the components within these machines. In a sense we're already designing components within a larger open system - allowing individuals to assemble their own 'machines' (which amount to their interactions with computers). Maybe we're getting this all wrong - maybe we shouldn't be looking at the products we make and trying to componentise them still further. Maybe we should just look to simplify what each function does and have them hang off one another by using standard formats and useful proceedures for interoperability...

I'll give you a quick example. Blogger is a way of storing content in a particular format. It can feed that information out as e-mail, html and rss. The e-mails can be sent to me to be viewed on my e-mail client, or they can be sent to Yahoogroups where they can be displayed out of context or repurposed to be sent out to large groups of people or in a digest format. The HTML can be viewed by a web browser (of which there are several different types including speech browsers, braile browsers etc) or pulled into databases (a al Blogdex and can also be printed out to be carried around with me, or put into a palm pilot, or screen-capped and adjusted. RSS feeds can be read by applications like NetNewsWire or by IM programs like Trillian or they can be aggregated (as on Haddock Blogs) or they can be put into databases and reused. Each one of these is a component. Each one of which is something that a user decides (or decides not to) use in assembling the magic "machine that makes things happen" (ie. their person computing space). So maybe that's what we should be concentrating on - single use (or simple use) applications or sites that do something very well, can be removed or replaced from the processing chain of information. Maybe that's adaptive design. Maybe it's got nothing to do with us making the architecture at all. It's already there.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Only a few Secret Santa hours left... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/10/2002 04:53:52 PM ----- BODY:

With only a few hours to go, this is just a last minute reminder that Secret Santa 2002 closes in a couple of hours. Get there quickly before the Elves get irritable...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The dream I had a couple of nights ago... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/11/2002 11:42:27 PM ----- BODY:

So in the dream, my mother is putting powder-blue mascara onto my eye-lashes. But it's all clumpy and grotesque - like water thickly mixed with blue flour. She's convinced it's a really good idea. I'm not horrified by the concept, but I'm also relatively unconvinced it's going to work.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: An introductory guide to Keynesian Economics... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/12/2002 12:01:15 AM ----- BODY:

A link without an origin, I found this explanation and background to Keynesian economic analysis a few days ago, but couldn't think of enough commentary on it to make it worthwhile. In the end I retreat to the anecdotal. I did Economics A-level at school. I was quite bad at it, and the teacher told my mother than I was bone-idle. I don't think I'll ever forgive him for that. I have a picture somewhere of Ben and Julian standing by the window with teenage hair and school-uniforms. And even if I lost the photo, the image would stick in my head regardless.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Time Out mentions Whorechalking... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/12/2002 12:09:44 AM ----- BODY:

So for a couple of days now I've been staring blankly at the plasticbag.org secret statistics page, trying to work out why around four thousand people each day have decided to wander around Whorechalking. So it turns out it gets a tiny irony-free write-up in Time Out London this week and that loads of people want to read all about this weird salacious new way of recommending prostitutes (and geeks) to one another. Print media is so dead it's not even funny.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: While cleaning out my virtual closet I found... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Social Software CATEGORY: Social Software DATE: 12/12/2002 12:38:51 AM ----- BODY:

While doing a routine purge of my computer I stumbled upon three graphs made to illustrate the difference between an increased marginal 'effort' cost and an exponential one. This is a flashback to a now old argument about whether or not usable systems should scale badly in order to counteract large volume-abuses of a system.

If this graph shows the effort needed to accomplish a certain number of things on a normal website...

Then this one would show what would happen if the accomplishment of each 'thing' required extra effort - say if it required a small additional amount of financial cost...

The problem with that system would be that your ability to abuse through volume is directly proportional to how much money you have. The rich (effort or financial) get to flood the system however they want. But a system that self-consciously scales badly in terms of user effort would look more like:

I don't really want to comment on it any further, but I thought it might illustrate the concept I was talking about a few weeks ago.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On finally buying an iBook... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/13/2002 11:38:07 AM ----- BODY:

Right. It's done. Finally. The wait is over. Almost eighteen months after I first swore that I'd sell my soul if someone would give me an iBook, I've finally snapped (like a twig in a blender) and actually gone and bought one. So I'm now typing this weblog entry on the keyboard of a 12" 800Mhz G3 iBook with 640Mb of RAM and a 32Mb Video card. Bow down in jealous awe.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The history of woot, whoot and w00t... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Net Culture CATEGORY: Net Culture DATE: 12/14/2002 12:08:33 AM ----- BODY:

Inspired (a long time ago) by a conversation with Matt Webb and Dive Into Mark's History of the tilde, I started researching the history of the exclamation w00t and it's two parallel analogues woot and whoot. Then I got hideously distracted and my plans to write the definitive work had to be abandoned. So instead, you'll have to make do with this graph of the incidence of the three different terms on Usenet over time - figures courtesy of Google Groups' search results pages...

There's a larger version of this graph available here.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: A few thoughts on Jason Kottke's post on HIV... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Gay CATEGORY: Gay DATE: 12/14/2002 11:27:50 AM ----- BODY:

I suppose this is an example where a politically neutral examination the transmission of a viral entity through a network suddenly takes on a huge weight of real-world issues and commentary and ends up looking totally different. Jason Kottke has written an intelligent post about the spread of HIV through the gay community outlining some of the areas that one would have to examine more fully before it would be possible to make a statement like: "Although he was considered part of a high-risk group, HIV is host agnostic. With just a slight twist of events, the virus could have first found its way into the straight communities of North America."

All well and good, except that analysing anything to do with as emotive and politically volatile as HIV or 'gay culture' - however indirectly - may end up accidentally buying into some of the language and unspoken ideologies that have been weighed against same-sex relationships. I'm just going to highlight a few of the unspoken assumptions and issues that I see emerging from Jason's post - while appreciating as I do so that it clearly wasn't his intention to say anything politically dodgy.

Jason asserts of Gaetan Dugas, alleged Patient Zero within American soil: "since Dugas was a homosexual, he probably got it from another homosexual who got it from another homosexual, etc. By the time it got to Dugas, AIDS was probably already established in the gay community; he just accelerated its progress." Clearly being in a high-risk group (gay men having unprotected anal sex with a variety of partners) it is likely that he would have contracted the disease through his relationships. But the assertion that since he was gay he caught it from other gay people doesn't follow and gets dangerously close to supporting the 'gay plague' position that was prevelant when I was a frightened teenager growing up in rural Norfolk. In fact he or one of his partners may very well have contracted it from another person or species of animal of sexuality unknown. More importantly large numbers of people contracted the disease through infected blood transfusions or by blood contact via injury.

And if he did contract it from another gay person that doesn't mean it was established in the gay community. If it was a disease that jumped species, then it's just as plausible that he contracted the disease from a gay member of the 'farming' community. All these community structures have frayed edges and bleed into one another.

Which brings me to another point of argument, the stereotype of a community of 'promiscuous homosexuals' as if this group existed world-wide as a uniform monoculture. Actually instead this community was to a large extent culturally isolated among a particular metropolitan liberal west coast culture of gay men - and even then probably amounted to just the most visible and socially active component of the gay people in that area.

This gets even more complicated when you bring time into the equation as well - because it's not promiscuous homosexuals that spread diseases - it's nothing but particular exchanges of bodily fluids - and in the age of the readily-available condom, that translates to the statement that it's ignorance and lack of information that spread diseases (not the gender or sexuality of the people concerned at all). I know for certain that there's a generation of gay people today who have loads of sex with a large variety of people but manage to do so while being very much less likely to contract or spread STDs simply because they are more careful.

Which brings us right down to the crux of the matter - when Jason asks whether the partners of straight people are "more or less likely to spread the disease through their own promiscuity than the partners of promiscuous homosexuals" he makes at least one implicit accidental move that throws his whole post into question. Because if we are isolating homosexuality as a risk-factor in the spread of veneral disease then we also have to consider that gay women are far far less likely to contract or spread HIV than almost anyone else. Because the issue here is not that promiscuous homosexuals spread disease, it's that people who have had unprotected anal sex are more able to transmit HIV than other people - whether they be straight, gay, men, women or anywhere in between...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: While I'm doing the gay thing... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/14/2002 11:54:09 AM ----- BODY:

While I'm doing the gay thing, and more to remind myself than anyone else, here are a few of the stories that I got this morning when I did a search for 'gay' on Google News - just to show the battles are not yet won and that there is still a weight of prejudice and misinformation that must continually be fought...

Three plead innocent in slaying of transgender Newark teen
Remember this is a world in which murdering gay people can be considered to be a problem that the murderer has rather than a crime - cf. homosexual panic.
A Church seeks healing
In which this statement is made: "Liberals are pushing the notion that the Catholic clergy should be opened to women, or married men, while conservatives are suggesting the priesthood be closed to gay men." This is despite the fact that the vast majority of child sexual-abuse happens inside families and is perpetrated by straight men against young female relatives.
This Rawhide Kid rubs me the wrong way
And I quote, " Tamara and I were sitting at home on a Friday night about a month ago. I clicked on pay-per-view by time and got a list of movies. Then I scrolled up to previews and clicked. The last thing I expected (or wanted) to see was two shirtless males in a passionate love embrace, groping and playing tonsil hockey. It was as close to keeling over as I've ever come. Even closer than the morning I opened the paper and spied the headline "Men kissing men makes me sick" on one of my columns. I'm not saying everyone's viewing habits have to be the same. But is it really necessary to make scenes like this available to 12-year-olds?" And I ask - if heterosexual scenes like that are not made available to twelve-year-olds either then you might have a point... Otherwise you're just a member of that prejudiced group of nutters that can no longer say proudly that they think gay people are disgusting without getting pelting with fruits...
Besieged Suisun City Chief says he's gay
And because it is still somehow acceptable to stereotype gay people as feckless nancies, it's ok to write this: "It is a distinction that will almost surely focus more attention on the relatively tiny, 28-officer department to see what happens in the macho bastion of law enforcement when a gay man is leading the way."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The next couple of weeks.. STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/14/2002 12:29:33 PM ----- BODY:

So it's coming up to Christmas and all over blogdom people's sites are juddering a bit as they try to balance work, Christmas shopping, party-season-stuff and seeing their families. Personally I'm planning to go at least partially offline for a couple of weeks, catch up with my reading and try and assemble some coherent writing out of some of the ideas I've been having recently. This having been said, I imagine that posting to this site will probably slow down considerably in the short-term, but everything will be back to normal and bright and sparky early in the New Year... Assuming - of course - that I ever recover from seeing Greg Dyke dancing to Dee-lite's Groove is in the Heart at a Christmas party a few days ago...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Jesus Christ... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/14/2002 12:46:15 PM ----- BODY:

Oh for god's sake. There isn't a Santa Claus. It's your parents. They do it all. Ok? I mean, come on... How thick are you people?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On being increasingly unimpressed by Technorati... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/15/2002 10:30:37 AM ----- BODY:

For an automated service that does little more than aggregate a few useful tools - most of which were already present in sites like Blogdex - Technorati is surprisingly clunky and weirdly formed. I mean, for a start it has somehow managed to come to the conclusion that my site hasn't been updated for the last ten days. That doesn't seem entirely likely to me... If only Mr Morgan would pull his finger out...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: New picture on the Mirror Project... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/16/2002 11:39:27 PM ----- BODY:

When I decided to put a new picture of myself up on the Mirror Project I decided to write a little text to accompany it. The text is stunningly anodyne:

My daily trip to work involves me getting the number six bus from Elgin Avenue. The bus travels down towards Warwick Avenue and the around towards Edgware Road.

Being on the bus is peaceful and productive - normally it's the only time when I'm away from computers and keyboards. I tend to take the opportunity - like so many other Londoners - to read a book and listen to some music...

On this morning, the air was clear and fresh and the light was bright. I sat right at the front of the bus, and found myself looking at myself clear as day in the reflection. Behind the glass - a black screen. Behind the screen - the driver... Behind me you can see other people on their way to work... You can see other buses too...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Two submissions to ETCON 2003... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/17/2002 12:22:46 AM ----- BODY:

So I've submitted two proposals for ETCON 2003 - one on 'Personal and Mainstream Publishing' and one on 'The Despotism of Social Software'. I have no idea whether or not they'll be even vaguely interesting to the parties concerned, but I guess I'll find out soon enough...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On receiving anonymous presents via Amazon... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/19/2002 10:34:52 PM ----- BODY:

So today I received a packaged from Amazon which I thought was my Christmas shopping arriving, but it wasn't. It was a gift for me from my wishlist. I haven't opened it yet, but I don't think it's my Secret Santa because it looks quite big and expensive. Which makes me wonder, who was it? Did you send me a gift? If so let me know who you are (either now or after Christmas Day) so I can thank you. In the meantime, I hope everyone's having a lovely run-up to Christmas...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Yesterday was a very good day... (written shortly before going to sleep last night) STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/19/2002 10:35:28 PM ----- BODY:

So I'm sitting in the single bed that I sleep in when I'm visiting my family and the floor is covered in wrapped and half-wrapped presents and I'm trying to remember when I last had such a genuinely nice day. I woke up to hear my parents gently bickering with one another, and my mother's frantic hoovering. But by the time I'd got downstairs, they were practically out of the door - off to do some Christmas shopping. My brother and I chatted for a while and then flicked through the vast amounts of music channels that Sky provides before finally assembling coats and gloves and going out ourselves...

Eleven-thirty and we're wandering through John Lewis and Debenhams making rude comments about the slow people and the people with really bad hair. And we're trying to think of presents for our mum and one of our grandparents and that particularly annoying cousin - and sneakily buying each other presents on the side when we think the other one is kind of looking away. And we find something really cheap in the sale at Habitat that we can give to that awkward person who's impossible to buy for and it's a complete fudge and we don't care.

And then we go to the cinema - me swearing like a trooper at any car that tries to get in our way - my brother getting slightly over-excited. And we have to go to the top floor of the car-park where the light's really bright and strong because there are so many other people around. And we're going to see The Two Towers because we've both been excited about it forever and we go and see it and it's pretty good but not as good as it should have been but we're still kind of awed by the battle of Helm's Deep.

And we're driving home picking apart the bits of the film that we don't like and we give it marks out of ten and then compare notes about the coolest characters and the biggest changes to the plot and the whether that character was taking the micky and whether Orcs should sound like characters from "On the Buses" and whether Ents would really be like that, and although we're not sure that the film was as good as we would have liked, our conversation is probably better fun than any film could ever be.

Back at home mum and dad are grumbling at each other in a kind of amiable background noise kind of way, and they let my brother put on the cricket because he's not at home that much and so can get away with murder. And we show them the presents we've bought other people and then I go and grab the cheese that I'd bought in London a couple of days previous from where it's being stored in the cellar and we sit in front of the fire and open the packages one by one and everyone in the family sniffs them and makes appreciative noises.

And then my brother and I go upstairs with my mother and start wrapping up presents on my bedroom floor. My brother decides to tease my mother a bit and so I join in and it's one of those occasions where if we got it slightly wrong we'd get lynched, but we didn't so it was tremendously entertaining. And we're looking through the presents that we bought for no one in particular and now have to decide who to give them too - like the Paul Auster book or the tiny bottle of lemon after-dinner liquer and trying to work out who would love a present like this, before my mum goes and finishes the toad in the hole while I'm checking my e-mail and then we all have a huge meal.

Whereupon my brother and I are abandoned in the sitting room with hundreds of TV channels and a roaring fire, and we watch loads of music videos and discuss the history of new metal and then watch Tom Green and Monica Lewinsky and then turn off all the downstairs lights and go to bed... What a nice day...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On the augmentation of human social networking abilities... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Social Software CATEGORY: Social Software DATE: 12/19/2002 11:05:32 PM ----- BODY:

I've been reading Augmenting Human Intellect: A Conceptual Framework, by D.C. Englebart (Stanford, 1962) and there's this really interesting paragraph in it that I think is true:

The process of developing this conceptual framework brought out a number of significant realisations: that the intellectual effectiveness exerxised today by a given human has little likelihood of being intelligence limited -- that there are dozens of disciplines in engineering, mathematics and the social, life and physical sciences that can contribute improvements to the system of intellect-augmentation means: that any one such improvement can be expected to trigger a chain of coordinating improvementsl; that until every one of these disciplines comes to a standstill and we have exhausted all the improvement possibilities we could glean from it, we can expect to continue to develop improvements in this human-intellect system; that there is no particular reason not to expect gains in personal intellectual effectiveness from a concerted system-oriented approach that compare to those made in personal geographic mobility since horseback and sailboat days.

Anyway this got me thinking about social software and what it's relationship was to this kind of intellect-augmenting philosophy and I suppose I came to the conclusion that the objectives of social software were to do with the cyborgisation or augmentation of human beings. In particular I thought of that the functions of social software were threefold:

removing the limitations placed on social contact by external factors such as language and geography.
compensating for the overloads that this removal of limitations might generate.
uncovering and improving on the mechanisms that people use in their social interactions with one another - making rational decisions about which are still appropriate and which can be replaced by software or technology.

I have to think about this a bit more fully, but I'd appreciate any thoughts anyone might have...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I wonder if the Bloggies are going to happen again this year? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/22/2002 09:33:01 PM ----- BODY:

No real reason. Just wondering. Does anyone know if the Bloggies are happening again this year?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: For essentially the same reasons STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/22/2002 10:04:59 PM ----- BODY:

For essentially the same reasons that I paid Blogger money to go pro, I will certainly be buying NetNewsWire Pro when it is finally released. The beta has just been put online and I'll be downloading it as soon as I'm near a decent web connection. The lite version is such a staple part of my daily life now that it would be churlish not to help fund further developments. If only there were a decent PC version for those less Mac-fortunate...

I'm trying out the posting functionality now - and frankly I'm very very impressed. This could totally transform the way I write as well...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On Tiny imperfections... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/23/2002 11:46:24 PM ----- BODY:

There's the smallest imperfection on the track-pad of my iBook. It's atom-sized, it's a mote - a tiny little piece of dust that's unremovable and feels like a microscopic coarseness when I run my index finger over it. It irritates me more than I can possibly explain. And my feeble attempts to rub it down or remove it with my fingernail make me scared that I'm going to wreck the pad or put a huge scratch across it. I can't do anything about it though, and it's clearly not reason enough to take the machine back. So I'm hoping that expurgating my irritation on the weblog page - venting my repressed micro-rage - will allow me to get back to loving the rest of my beautiful and awesome machine. And if that doesn't work, maybe buying an Airport card will...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On copy-protected CDs... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/25/2002 11:11:55 AM ----- BODY:

So I got my first copy-protected album this morning as a gift for Christmas. Or at least I think it was copy-protected. My first reaction? I'm going to have to take it back. My main places for listening to music? On my iPod, my home computer playing through my stereo (how else can you get massive amounts of tracks played randomly?) or on my iBook. I still buy CDs - in fact I buy loads of them. But as a rule they get ripped to my computer and then stacked neatly on a shelf never to be played again. As far as I'm concerned, CDs are a content-delivery system (like software coming on CD-ROMs), not a media to be played...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: What kind of weird inspired genius would buy me a present like.... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/25/2002 11:23:17 AM ----- BODY:

What kind of weird inspired genius would buy me a present like this? That's not to say it wasn't an inspired choice - because I always get very excited when Diarmuid proceeds to spend my licence fee on a nice garden for someone else. He does such beautiful work. He's a proper designer. Not like that hack Llewellen-Bowen. Oh no. When they work together you can feel the friction between classy designer and hack...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Why does the BBC hate the shows it buys? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/25/2002 11:59:06 PM ----- BODY:

So you're a massive public service broadcaster that employs roughly forty thousand people, running a number of national and international TV shows and radio stations as well as having the most trafficked website in Europe. And you buy some American TV shows to show as part of your output. These shows have a substantial fan-base. Why on earth would you abuse them so terribly!? When there was an episode of this popular TV shows that was nominated for an Emmy - an episode I might add that was particularly celebrated and considered to be a particularly special one - what would you do? Would you hack it to death and then completely neglect to advertise it - even after postponing it for two weeks so you could show the bloody snooker? Why does the BBC hate the shows it buys? Why doesn't it buy stuff it has faith in and then treat it accordingly? Stunningly irritating.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: My extended family is full of insane freaks who buy me dumb fucking Christmas presents... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 1 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/26/2002 12:03:18 AM ----- BODY: Now comes that part of the year when you rush out and buy those odds and ends that you hoped you'd get for Christmas but didn't because no one in your family really understands the real you - no matter how many times you try to explain it to them. ----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On the Pepys Diary Project and the clotting of the memestream... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Personal Publishing CATEGORY: Personal Publishing DATE: 12/27/2002 07:04:48 PM ----- BODY:

The word/phrase 'lazyweb' (which I believe was coined by Matt Jones) refers to the way in which if you describe something you'd like to exist online then someone else somewhere else will build it for you. But what do you call it if you never mention it and yet someone builds it anyway? The meme-stream is getting thicker, I think. Congealing. Clotting.

Well anyway - that's my theory for Phil's stunning creation of the Pepys Diary Project - which is a far more elegant, thorough and well-built creation than I could ever have conceived of - let alone built. It's essentially a republishing of the diaries of Samuel Pepys - an incredibly prodigious and thorough London-based diarist from the 1660s. He wrote over ten years worth of diaries - which including descriptions of the black plague and the Great Fire of London. Essentially each entry is to be published in 'real-time' weblog-format from this coming January 1st. And it comes complete with the ability to add 'annotations' which hopefully will be a place where people can collaboratively research and explain what's going on in each entry... All in all it's a stunning piece of work...

When I was thinking around this area I did a lot of research into the possibility of finding decent journal-based or diary-based out-of-copyright material - but there's a surprising shortage of it. It seems that the form of the journal or diary is very much historically contingent. It's a recent form of self-expression. Here's a piece from Walter J Ong's "Orality and Literacy" which I posted a few months ago on the matter:

"Even in a personal diary addressed to myself I must fictionalize the addressee. Indeed, the diary demands, in a way, the maximum fictionalizing of the utterer and the addressee. Writing is always a kind of imitation talking, and in a diary I therefore am pretending that I am talking to myself. But I never really talk this way to myself. Nor could I without writing or indeed without print. The personal diary is a very late literary form, in effect unknown until the seventeenth century (Boerner 1969). The kind of verbalized solipsistic reveries it implies are a product of consciousness as shaped by print culture. And for which self am I writing? Myself today? As I think I will be ten years from now? As I hope I will be? For myself as I imagine myself or hope others may imagine me? Questions such as this can and do fill diary writers with anxieties and often enough lead to discontinuation of diaries. The diarist can no longer live with his or her fiction. " (Orality and Literacy, Walter J Ong, Routledge1982)

Still - you'd think that there would be a great many diaries that were in the public domain - ie. published between the seventeenth and roughly the late-nineteenth / early-twentieth century. But if there are, it seems impossible to find them. The most evident one available is Dracula, which is available on Project Gutenberg [Dracula by Bram Stoker] and essentially operates as a set of several arch and wordy journals. The length of each of the entries makes it far from ideal. In fact most of the material that would be ideal for weblog republishing comes much later. I'd be thrilled to be able to put the Diary of Anne Frank online, for example, and I think it could be a tremendously powerful and valuable thing to do. But that's unlikely to be available for quite some time to come...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Ra�lians claim they've created the first human clone... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/27/2002 07:35:29 PM ----- BODY:

In an article on the New York Times' website, Religious Sect Announces the First Cloned Baby [via Scripting.com]:

Ra�lians are followers of Ra�l, a French-born former race-car driver who has said he met a four-foot space alien atop a volcano in southern France in 1973 and went aboard his ship, where he was entertained by voluptuous female robots and learned that the first humans were created 25,000 years ago by space travelers called Elohim, who cloned themselves.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Using Airport to connect a G4 Mac and an iBook (connected to the net via BT ADSL)... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/29/2002 12:03:11 PM ----- BODY:

I'm looking for advice (and/or links) on how one might go about sorting out the wireless networking of one G4 desktop Mac and one lovely sexy-new G3 iBook (both running OSX 10.2.3), the former of which is currently connected to the interhighweb via an Alcatel USB ADSL modem and BT Broadband. Some of the possibilities that I've been presented with so far:

Buying an ADSL router, an Airport base-station and an airport card. [In which case any advice on which router to buy would be extremely helpful]
Buying two airport cards (which apparently would allow my ibook to connect to the web without the need for a base-station or router

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On the ethics and responsibilities of running a web-site... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Technology CATEGORY: Technology DATE: 12/29/2002 12:32:29 PM ----- BODY:

The ethical and legal problems that occasionally Google is confronted with are essentially the same as any site run by any individual or business: Do I have an obligation to the people who use my site? How do I reconcile that with legal considerations? How do I reconcile that with my personal need to make money (either from my site or without my site interfering with that process)? A recent (but already well-linked and not particularly new) article in Wired - Google vs. Evil - talks about the kinds of decisions that have been made in what must now be the world's most useful search-engine company. If only all online enterprises were as angst-ridden and committed to self-examination...

The company's growth spurt has spawned a host of daunting questions that no data-retrieval system can easily answer. Should Google play ball with repressive foreign governments? Refuse to link users to "hate" sites? Punish marketers who artificially inflate site rankings? Fight the Church of Scientology's attempts to silence critics? And what to do about the cache, Google's archive of previously indexed pages?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Among my other Christmas presents was a salutory reminder... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/29/2002 01:38:33 PM ----- BODY:

Over Christmas I was given some Clinique for Men eye-firming lotion and hair-gel, some soap, some Armani scent, a novel about Heroin addiction and a book called "How to be Alone". Add this to the wedding I went to yesterday and increasing status as 'weird-fifth wheel' at my friend's and colleagues parties and gatherings (those that I'm still invited to) and all I can do is thank god that I have work that I enjoy. Where's my tiny house in the countryside with my labrador and chunky jumpers? Bah. Humbug.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On a lack of fearlessness in man to man contact... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Gay CATEGORY: Gay DATE: 12/29/2002 09:01:05 PM ----- BODY:

So through the magic of a constantly updating Google News RSS stream to NetNewsWire¹, today I stumbled upon a piece in the Orange County Register called Manly Images. It's an article about how John Ibsen - a researcher into early photography and masculinity - has discovered that men before the 1930s were much more intimate with one another:

"From the dawn of photography before the Civil War through the 1920s ... it was customary for two or more American men to visit a photographer's studio to have their portrait taken together," he writes. "Posing for the photographer, the men would often drape their arms nonchalantly around each other and would sometimes hold hands." These days, he notes, a more common way for adolescent men to spend time together is to go to the movies on a Saturday afternoon - and even then, they are likely to sit with an empty seat between them.

Immediately I was reminded of Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick's concept of the relationship between homosocial relationships and homosexual relationships. She argued that man-on-man friendships have been structured around the continual disavowal of any gay component - that the neurotic denial of any sexual component either was recently or has always been one of the most significant structuring principles of society's conception of how men can relate to one another. And indeed, if you read the article further, this is one of the assertions of the article itself.

This new reticence, he noted, coincided with the introduction of a new way of thinking about sex. "The notion of people having a specific sexual identity is a modern notion. People weren't nearly so much inclined to think of sexual identity before the late 19th century," he says, noting that the word "homosexual" comes from a German word that was coined only in 1869. But in short order, homosexuality and homophobia came to be intertwined with the concept of masculinity and what it means to be male.

But if men used to be more comfortable with one another's bodies and the physical expression of affection, could they be so again? It's quite possible that this comfort was directly connected to the invisibility and complete suppression of concepts of homosexual relations. Or it could be that there simply wasn't as much anxiety associated to such relations. But I'm afraid I think that it's more likely that having a free and non-disenfranchised gay community probably means (at least in the short-term) a greater degree of anxiety for straight men. Until - that is - we move even further from the stereotypes and the repression and find a place where people no longer feel ashamed even to be suspected of being gay...

Note 1: Courtesy of voidstar you can get a bespoke Google News RSS-feed via this incredibly simple basic format: http://www.voidstar.com/gnews2rss.php?q=gay&num=15 - where in this case 'gay' is the word I want regularly updated news about...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On Schott's Original Miscellany... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/29/2002 09:31:52 PM ----- BODY:

I initially had a few reservations about Schott's Original Miscellany. After all, wasn't it just one of those funny fact books that people with knitted loo-roll covers place in the toilet? But when you see it - when you get your hands on it and investigate its pages - everything changes. It feels wonderfully archaic and traditional in a really reassuring way - the paper is good quality, the binding is luxurious, the art resembles the woodcut work of Eric Gill. And the facts within it aren't just funny trivia - they're actually significantly useful piece of information, fragments of literary interest, selections of philosophical quotes. Maybe it's just a trivial little book to help make the self-satisfied middle-classes feel more witty and interesting... But it doesn't matter. I'm a fan...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Move along. Nothing to see here... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/29/2002 09:52:43 PM ----- BODY:

If you believe I have a reputation at all, then sit comfortable while I abandon all claim to intellectual expertise, skill or insight and instead link to this really nice picture of Tobey Maguire which makes my heart-rate pick up pace and my vision get all weird and blurry...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: And the winner of Yahoo!'s Person of the Year is... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/29/2002 10:54:40 PM ----- BODY:

And the winner of Yahoo!'s Person of the Year is George W Bush, which I'm sure has come as quite a surprise to anyone not living in the USA. Whatever one's personal opinions, I think it's quite likely that the rest of the world would find such a 'victory' inappropriate, unlikely, completely out of the blue. I would love to be able to have the figures at hand, but from my impressions of the media in my country and the general consensus of general opinion that one absorbs in day-to-day life, the vast majority of the world has a radically different view of him. The worrying thing about this is less that there is a radical discord between public opinion on this issue in the US and the rest of the world, but that it can only be a sympton either of a radical cultural divergence between the US and the rest of the world or between the coverage of the leader in the media. Here are a few articles from BBC News that I think hint at some of the international impressions...

Russia 'regrets' US anti-missile plan (Russia)
'Moron Bush' aide resigns (Canada)
A Tale of 'Two Speeches' (Romania)
Schroeder shunned by 'cordial' Bush (Germany)
US Jews and Arabs criticise Bush (Jews & Arabs)
Bush Bestriding the World?
Europe concerns over US Iraq policy

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: And I have to confess, now even I think the world has gone insane... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 12/30/2002 03:11:43 PM ----- BODY:

The weirdest quote of the day comes from Anne Widdecombe about the weirdest, least pleasant and most ludicrous story of the day. She said, "Jesus Christ said suffer the little ones to come unto me, not that they should be eaten for public entertainment."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: And the Bloggies are back... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/01/2003 11:14:30 PM ----- BODY:

So the annual weblog awards voted for by the community and for the community have come around once more. It's Bloggies 2003 and there are strange new exotic categories for nominations and brand new opportunities for scampery and fun. A couple of things to remember: (1) Davo and Luke now very definitely are eligible in the Best Australasian category, (2) if you really want to be exposed to loads and loads of new weblogs then it's best to be a judge if you can (I'm not going to be this year), (4) plasticbag.org will be quite comfortable being nominated in these categories: Best European, Best GLBT, Best Designed, Weblog of the Year or Best Article or Essay (if you can't find any good ones you could always nominate the article in the Guardian which talked about the differences between the Bloggies and the Guardian Best British Weblog award). I'd even cheerily take a Lifetime Achievement Award off your hands if you were drunk enough to proffer it... (5) Other good weblogs you should look towards over several categories are cityofsound.typepad.com, interconnected.org, ultrasparky.org, BoingBoing.net and (particularly for the geeks) diveintomark.org. All very much recommended for very different reasons...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Happy New Year... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/01/2003 11:49:49 PM ----- BODY:

So the New Year has started, and while we may not have the most to look forward to economically or politically, but personally I feel it's started well. Movies and drink with friends, Indian meals, Chinese meals and many movies (including Chicago) have capped off a very pleasant holiday period, which - for me - well and truly ends tomorrow when I return to work full-time. It's all had a slightly crippling effect on my wallet, though. So I doubt there'll be much partying or many expensive lunches for the next few weeks. But I'm not letting that stop me get WiFi'd up the wazoo! That's the most important tech thing for me to do at the moment...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On the 'nagging artificial girlfriend'... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/02/2003 10:31:52 PM ----- BODY:

You couldn't ask for a better quote, really. You can almost hear the tone of voice as he said it. The former soldier was talking about the new robot that can sense emotions, and which is designed to be a companion to combatants in the field. And what did he say?

"Speaking as a former soldier, the last thing I would want is an artificial girlfriend by my side to nag me about how I am feeling while out in the battlefield," said John Petrik, corporate communications officer at the Office of Naval Research. [Wired News]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The neighbours of the siege in Hackney... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/03/2003 03:57:28 PM ----- BODY:

One of the largest news stories in the UK at the moment is the ongoing siege in Hackney. A man is holed up in a flat with a hostage and a gun and has been for several days. Some of the neighbours have been evacuated from their homes or put under armed guard until the situation is resolved. Normally these people would be distant figures for me - our only connection the one-way cordon of the television set keeping us apart. But not any more. This is the age of the internet. So local residents are now talking to one another and to the outside world via UpMyStreet Conversations: "This is literally up my street". It's a fascinating on-the-ground view of everything that's going on in the area, and if you have any questions for the locals, that's where I'd go to ask them...

Further reading: trueboy.blogspot.com | iWire

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On Dead Ringers and Doctor Who... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/03/2003 04:24:06 PM ----- BODY:

While doing a search for something completely different, I stumbled upon the Dead Ringers team doing some Tom Baker Doctor Who pranks. The first one I listened to, and probably my favourite, has the impressionist ringing up the real-life version of Tom Baker to discuss problems with K9 on his home-world of Gallifrey... Highly entertaining...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On Mr Morgan... Long will he be missed... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/03/2003 11:22:13 PM ----- BODY:

I don't know if his decision to take his weblog down is final or whether he's just having a short break, but either way Mo Morgan's weblog will be much missed.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: A quote from Jonathan Franzen's Why Bother? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Social Software CATEGORY: Social Software DATE: 01/03/2003 11:38:45 PM ----- BODY:

A quote from Jonathan Franzen's Why Bother? (from his book of essays How to be Alone) that I think is interesting in that it presents a different perspective - a tangential perspective perhaps - on the loss of social capital that is described in Putnam's Bowling Alone:

"Superficially, at least, regionalism is still thriving. In fact it's fashionable on college campuses nowadays to say that there is no America anymore, there are only Americas; that the only things a black lesbian New Yorker and a Southern Baptist Georgian have in common are the English language and the federal income tax. The likelihood, however, is that both the New Yorker and the Georgian watch Letterman every night, both are struggling to find health insurance, both have jobs that are threatened by the migration of employment overseas, both go to discount superstores to purchase Pocahontas tie-in products for their children, both are being pummeled into cynicism by commercial advertising, both play Lotto, both dream of fifteen minutes of fame, both are taking a serotonin reuptake inhibitor, and both have a guilty crush on Uma Thurman."

Another quote from the same collection (only this time from the essay Imperial Bedroom) casts an unconventional eye over the issues of privacy in the 21st Century. There's much here to respect, if not agree with:

The "right to be left alone"? Far from disappearing, it's exploding. It's the essence of modern American architecture, landscape, transportation, communication, and mainstream political philosophy. The real reason that Americans are apathetic about privacy is so big as to be almost invisible: we're flat-out drowning in privacy.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Being a rant about - and to an extent a caricature of - some of the excesses of the Social Software movement... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/06/2003 05:00:00 PM ----- BODY:

The Excesses of Social Software: There's a post over at Matt Jones' site at the moment concerned with attempts to define and discuss social software [~~Defining~~ Discussing 'Social Software'] and I find myself reacting to it in a completely unexpected way. Social software of one form or another has formed the core of most of the stuff I've worked and played with for the last several years, and I expected myself to find this resurgence of interest in these kinds of interactions fascinating and useful. But there's something about the abandonment of concepts of 'online community' and the complete rejection of familiar terms and paradigms like the message board that worries me. [more ...]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The excesses of "Social Software" STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Social Software CATEGORY: Social Software DATE: 01/07/2003 12:06:21 PM ----- BODY:

There's a post over at Matt Jones' site at the moment concerned with attempts to define and discuss social software [~~Defining~~ Discussing 'Social Software'] and I find myself reacting to it in a completely unexpected way. Social software of one form or another has formed the core of most of the stuff I've worked and played with for the last several years, and I expected myself to find this resurgence of interest in these kinds of interactions fascinating and useful. But there's something about the abandonment of concepts of 'online community' and the complete rejection of familiar terms and paradigms like the message board that worries me. There seems to be a bizarre lack of history to the whole enterprise - a desire to claim a territory as unexplored when it's patently not. And more importantly a remarkable lack of implementation and experiment around the place. Where are the projects that people are assembling and playing with? Where's the experience in running communities? Where's the actual engagement in how people operate with each other in online environments...

The other aspect of the whole situation that I find interesting (to go off at a tangent) is this repeated assertion that social software, message-boards and the like, are over-complex paradigms that confuse the general public. A phrase I've heard a lot recently asserts that when we build these social spaces, these tools or devices - these workflows of human interactions - that we should always remember that we're not building them for us. There seem to be two assumptions operating here - that the general public are profoundly stupid and that (because they have as yet not noticed this fact) designers are probably pretty thick as well. In my experience neither is true (although to be fair neither is strictly false either).

This phrase - not for us - is being used a lot at the moment about types of site (like message boards and instant messaging applications for example) that already have a significant amount of history and precedent behind them - types of site that have at least partially 'gone mainstream'. But rather than adapt and evolve these sites (firstly making them simpler or removing extraneous functionality and then taking these simpler sites and adding new struts or concepts into them) the urge seems to be to abandon them completely and build something new - something that this time will be simpler and more effective than all the other paradigms that have fallen by the wayside already. And what are we likely to end up with after all of this process has been conducted? Sites that fulfil many of the same functions (if not exactly the same functions), but which fulfil them via completely new paradigms that have been designed rather than evolved - meaning that they're sites that people are now forced to try and understand from scratch with little or no precedent to rely on. And these paradigms normally cannot adapt with the increasing demands of users or their increasing web savvy. To make a specious analogy - when you give people a space-hopper rather than a bike with training wheels, you can't really be surprised when they never graduate to the bicycle in adulthood... The bicycle in this example being those forms of interaction that have spontaneously emerged out of the web's memespace and proliferated naturally and easily across the web - sites like the message board or the weblog or even the Wiki have done...

That's not to say that innovation isn't important because clearly it is, but the innovation must come with the realisation of how to fulfil a need - and to do that we have to look at how those needs have been met to date and where there's scope to bring our insights to bear. In Clay Shirky's inspired piece that touched on the failings of early community software he talked about the assumptions that had led us to our current unsatisfactory 'social software' (this was before the definition of social software became victim of the urge to split it so commensurately from earlier, more familiar 'community' definitions). And he came up with these problems:

We have the wrong historical models and exotic "extremist" ideologies:
1. The suggestion that the web should represent a shift or collapse in "identity"
2. The need to prove purity of 'online culture' by foregrounding immersive MUDs and MOOs
3. Assumption (because of scarcity of humans online) that we would be using this technology to meet people we didn't know offline

All these assumptions were led by a fascination with the extreme possibilities of technology available at the time rather any investigation of what people were likely to - in the long-term - actually want or indeed functionally be able to do. The current hysteria reminds me very much of this attitude, these errors of first-principle and this disrespect for history and observable characteristics of how human beings actually seem to behave. It would be a terrible shame if the potentially functional, interesting and intelligent uses of social software were delayed by an explosive interest in fashionable concepts¹ followed by a ten year trough of frustration - abandoning individual web-users and independent creative types like the webloggers, message-board implementers and wiki-owners to quietly (and unfashionably) get on with it like they've been doing for years...

Notes: (1) I'm sorry, but Slashdot.org is not an emergent system. It's just not. That's a facile analogy...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: What is it about "Social Software" that is starting to worry me? Is it the abandonment of concepts of 'online community' and the complete rejection of familiar terms and paradigms like the message board? Is it the increasing lack of history? Or is it the desire to claim a territory as unexplored when it's patently not? ----- KEYWORDS: ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Sunir Shah EMAIL: sunir@sunir.org IP: 24.43.17.245 URL: http://usemod.com/cgi-bin/mb.pl?SunirShah DATE: 01/08/2003 03:14:09 AM I wouldn't worry so much about the shifting sands of fashion. There will always be the quiet undercurrent that continues to develop the better answer. While history has shown this does not necessarily mean the better answer wins, on the Internet at least we have the advantage of keeping our efforts persistent for longer periods--proviso we try--and that means maybe one day we can ratchet ourselves forward, even in the long now. It gives me great satisfaction to believe that MeatballWiki will still be around in fifty years after all today's blogs have died. When I started MeatballWiki almost three years ago, my goal was to create a holistic pattern language of social interaction. I started by cataloguing the historical uses online. I've since learnt that the rather short history of online communication speaks only very little--an important little, but little nonetheless--towards the problem of how to improve social interaction with the network. By studying the history of human interaction, I think we could learn a lot more about the future than by studying our imaginations. Human nature is about the only thing that hasn't changed all that much in five thousand years. Anytime someone says to you that everything is going to change, they're of course lying (to you or to themselves). Sometimes it's exciting to believe you're at the cusp of the future, but we're always at the cusp of the future. I heard today that Albert Camus pointed out that the best way to contribute to the future is to give everything to the present, and I have to add the corollary that the only way to give everything to the present is to understand how we got here. I say the "post-WELL" environment we are in now in 2003 is a simple return to daily life. And speaking of which, I have some hacking to do on UseModWiki's new translator, so no more waxing eloquent. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Coates EMAIL: tom@plasticbag.org IP: 81.132.42.110 URL: http://www.plasticbag.org DATE: 01/10/2003 09:25:19 AM I went to a lecture recently where Richard Stallman was talking about copyright in the digital age and he started by saying one really interesting thing. Basically it can be summarised as: Changes in technology do not change fundamental ethics, but ethical decisions may have radically different consequences in context. ie. Ethics remains the same but the way in which technology brings some elements to the fore or pushes them back into irrelevancy depends on technology. It's very easy to confuse our current historical mode of 'being ethical' with the underlying nature of 'being ethical', because while the former is a child of the latter, they are very much not the same. I think the same is probably true about 'being human'. If we can dislocate ourselves up and out of our preconceived notions of human behaviour then we might be able to find a 'deep grammar' of interaction that allows us to make more transformative technologies... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Andrew EMAIL: andrew@heyotwell.com IP: 128.83.231.83 URL: DATE: 01/10/2003 05:36:23 PM "If we can dislocate ourselves up and out of our preconceived notions of human behaviour then we can..." As if this urge was itself a new idea. It's so critical for designers, programmers, or whomever to realize that new technologies don't confer on us any special perceptive abilities; i.e., if those who've come before us in many fields haven't been able to "dislocate" themselves out of their own preconceived notions of human behavior, why in the world would we be able to do it? (Unless you're thinking of someone in particular?) ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Coates EMAIL: tom@plasticbag.org IP: 213.123.137.254 URL: http://www.plasticbag.org DATE: 01/11/2003 08:04:37 PM First things first, I'm not claiming any new ideas or insights here - I'm just combining them in different ways or bringing them to the attention of new and emergent communities. Secondly, I think the point I was making was that there's a tension between contingency and essentialism - and that that's what we explore. You say that 'if those who've come before us in many fields haven't been able to 'dislocate' themselves out of their own preconceived notions of human behaviour, why in the world would we be able to do it', but I would argue that that process has actually happened many hundreds of thousands of times over the years. It's the sense of being able to pull ourselves out of PRECONCEIVED ideas that I'm talking about - not dislocating ourselves from 'being human'. The hope is that we work around the facilitation of fundamental human instincts and skills - we work to augment those, facilitate those interactions and help compensate for an overload that such a process might engender. But we can't' confuse our current perception of the limits or instincts of humanity - which will tend to be inherently meshed in with our understanding of our place in relationship to current technology and culture - to what the actual potential might be. A comparable example - a few hundred yeras ago it was believed that human beings couldn't survive when travelling over 30mph. The fact that those perceived limits were innaccurate does not undermine the fact that the human body does have limitations. What those limitations might be (and how they might be changed, compensated for or removed) is essentially why we are here... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Steinberg EMAIL: steiny@barrysworld.com IP: 62.3.68.52 URL: http://www.voxpolitics.com DATE: 02/27/2003 12:55:44 AM Here here, Tom! The point you've made picks up on one of my most consistent complaints about non-technical new-technology evangelists - the fact that they're often guilty of throwing entire maternity wards out with the bathwater because they're not sufficiently knowledgable about issues they're dissing. Discussion groups like emint agonise about how to make online communities functions smoothly. They realise that a single button placement can be the difference between an easy, enjoyable forum experience with a vibrant community, and a nightmare that you give up on in 15 seconds. Those who are more ignorant of the issues assume that any problem they once had logging into a bulliten board was in fact symptomatic of a heretoforth unnoticed structural flaw in the whole of BBS systems! Which then (handily) signifies the need for a new paradigm! And a new book! So, as you rightly suggest, the idea then spreads that the current generation of technologies 'isn't easy enough for the big time'. Instead we need new technologies which, unsurprisingly, are SO COOL that can only be expressed using lots of words like 'paradigm' and 'holistic user experience'. This is because the writers really don't have a clue how to make it work, or even how to keep an IRC chan with 5 people in it interested. Meanwhile, the real builders of the next generation - such as the authors of vBulliten or upmystreet.com , just keep quietly improving their products, drawing people in, integrating, ammassing and expanding, slowly involving more and more real web users. They've already captured a huge proportortion of all the people online looking for any kind of help or assistance with any kind of issues - no small feat. Let's be honest - we don't need a totally new kind of social software. We just need steady improvement to what we have, and more channels of access to it. The ideas are already so good they've transformed the lives of people engaged deeply in online communities. They will keep doing so if we don't abandon the path of incremental improvement in favour of the pursuit of radical bollocks. PS: For a completely analagous situation - check out the foul mouthed rant I added as a comment to the end of this post about an 'intellectual' view of gaming. http://www.theisociety.net/archives/000448.html ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: William Blaze EMAIL: not@today.com IP: 65.104.16.39 URL: http://www.abstractdynamics.org DATE: 04/10/2003 12:23:54 AM Great observations, I've been bothered by some of the same things. There seems to be a serious regression in the conversation quality now that people spend all their time blogging instead of talking on boards and lists. Posted more on my site. And of course that's a perfect example of one problem with blogs, they are structured to fragment the conversation onto dozens of sites, making it hard, if not impossible, to follow along. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: trolls EMAIL: trolls@donthaveone.org IP: 142.177.79.135 URL: http://en.wiki.oekonux.org.uk/Troll-friendly_wiki DATE: 05/31/2004 05:35:08 PM The troll-friendly wiki is one of the best proposals for how to deal with political excesses of fascism among social software sysops. ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: In a little less than 20 minutes, it's Steve Jobs Keynote time at Macworld... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/07/2003 04:50:17 PM ----- BODY:

In a little less that twenty minutes, it's time for the January Steve Jobs Macworld Keynote speech. This is the speech that sets the scene for the next year of Apple products - heck, it's the speech that announces most of them. As usual, the rumour sites have been going insane, with the most plausible suggestions coming from Think Secret. As usual, the relevant clump of people at work will be watching the whole thing over Quicktime and making sarcastic comments to each other over iChat.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Live Blogging of MacWorld... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Technology CATEGORY: Technology DATE: 01/07/2003 05:14:54 PM ----- BODY:

And here's where I will be live-blogging Macworld as I watch it over Quicktime in real-time.

There's apparently a video stream of the keynote stream going into the Vatican.
68% of people going to Apple's Switch Pages are using Windows.
51 Apple Stores across the US.
Revenues: $148 million from stores, with 50% of these sales going to Windows users.
News about iSync and iCal updates.
In Japan iPod has 42% market share. Burton.com have built the iPod controls into the sleeve of the jacket. Trivial, but entertaining...
There are 5 million currently active users of Mac OSX.
"If you've got Windows apps that you've got to run (for some reason)..." Virtual PC has been released. Pro Tools stuff has been released. Or whatever that might be...
Final Cut Pro, number one Pro editing package in the world. Apple now releasing Final Cut Pro in a cut-down version as Final Cut Express.
No new products will boot into OSX. Steve made a dumbass slip and said we're focusing all our efforts on 9. Ha! Loser.
Digital Hub - they've launched all their iApps, and now they're getting them to work together better. Putting music on Movies, putting music on iPhoto, putting photos into Movies. They've completely integrated these applications now.
iTunes: "There are hidden features in iTunes 3 springing to life today!"
iPhoto: New version - iPhoto 2 launches - integrated with iTunes, One-click Enhance, Archive to CD-Rs and DVDs, Retouch brush...
iMovie: New interface, more precise audio editing, soundtracks from iTunes, "Ken Burns Effect" for inserting still images into movies, added some sound effects from Skywalker sound, Chapters, etc.
iDVD - now on version three. All integrated and stuff. Weird professional 'filtery' things... You can age your movie to make it look like old film.
You can still download iTunes, iPhoto and iMovie for free, but iDVD is really expensive to send through the net, so you can only get it with al the other apps on a CD for $49. Calling it iLife.
New Application! Safari - turbo browser for OSX! Tested against all the other browsers including Chimera, and it's apparently faster than all of them - three-times faster than IE on a Mac for downloading stuff and showing pages. Launch times, 40% faster the IE, and much faster to do Javascript.
"They wanted to innovate", Google integration, a whole new way of doing bookmarks and ease of use. Looks really good. Looking forward to seeing this one, even though it's got the brushed metal appearance. The bookmarks feature operates just like iTunes' libraries and playlists. You can send them rendering bugs on the fly as you surf the web as well.
Safari is based on Open Source KHTML stuff and they're excited by Open Source and are planning to release all their improvements on the web today. Beta release. Free download starting today!
Keynote - presentation application "for when your presentation really needs to work". And it was built for Steve... Alignment guides. Could this be a cheap or free PowerPoint killer? Full Alpha-channel transparent graphics based on PDF. Exports into PDF and Quicktime and Powerboat. But it also can open and edit PowerPoint files. How much? $99. Available now.
17" Powerbook. And still only 1' thick. And it's got the industry first of underlit keys so that people can read the keyboard. Ambient light sensors to tell when they need to come on as well! 6.8 lbs. And it's not Titanium any more - Aircraft-grade Aluminium that's 'hard anodized and not painted'. 1Ghz G4, 1Mb L3 Cache, Superdrive, geForce4 64 mb of memory with Firewire 800. Wireless equipped with built-in Bluetooth. Lithium Prismatic battery tech - 4.5 hours of life even with 17" screen. $3299.
Airport news: 2 million 11 Mbps speed - now Airport Extreme takes things up to 54 Mbps (802.11g) - fully compatible with all current hotspots. New Base-station has up to 50 users. Wireless Bridging. USB printing. Selling for $199.
One more thing: 12" inch Powerbook. 1.2 inches thick. 4.6 lbs. Smallest Powerbook ever. Full-sized keyboard. Smaller than the iBook. 867Mhz G4. geForce4 420 Go. 32 Mb of Graphics. Slot-load Combo. Wireless built in. Bluetooth build in. Airport Extreme ready (extra $99). 5 hours battery life. Cost: $1799. Looks pretty amazing.

All in all, it's been a pretty astonishing MacWorld - with some seriously good kit up for sale. I don't regret getting the iBook though - the only comparable product that I'd be interested in is the miniature Powerbook, and i don't think I'd have been able to afford it anyway. Next time. Next time.

I hope everyone's had a good MacWorld! And I'll post again when I've had a bit of rest!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: One more thing.. STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/07/2003 07:18:23 PM ----- BODY:

One more thing as I download my new Apple browser and look towards the pub:

Safari
Notes: DiveIntoMark's review of Safari and information on Safari CSS bugs and sucesses
Final Cut Express
Keynote
iLife
Powerbooks

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On the Guardian and UpMyStreet Conversations... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Social Software CATEGORY: Social Software CATEGORY: Technology DATE: 01/09/2003 09:45:54 PM ----- BODY:

There's at least one clear analogue for the process of (1) getting exciting by a work project, (2) getting completely involved in said work project, (3) going at it like a mad badger and (4) collapsing exhausted afterwards. And the afterglow is at least equally pleasant. Today UpMyStreet Conversations finally comes out of beta and has been launched to the world at large by an article in the Guardian: The Square Mile. We've worked on a few small-scale UI tweaks over the last few weeks and we think that we're getting closer to making the apparently simple concept easy to use and communicate. There area couple of tiny ones to come - but they're really enhancements and should emerge over the next week or so. I doubt anyone will notice them but me.

The process of developing the UI and functionality of the site has presented some particularly interesting challenges which I've been mostly responsible for working through - along with Dan Burzynski (back-end programmer), Dorian McFarland (front-end programmer) and Stefan Magdalinski (who thought up the idea in the first place). Throughout the process my particular aspiration was to make it almost so obvious to use that people completely ceased to notice how novel it was. This involved paring down the message board functionality to its simplest core and concentrating on fully understanding the very distinct issues that a geographically-organised board might engender.

For example - most discussion boards operate with time as a major axis. This is so common that it almost doesn't occur to people that it could be done any other way - new 'topics/threads/conversations' sit at the top of the page, and either (1) gradually deteriorate in importance through time (Metafilter, Slashdot.org, Plastic - where the content to be discussed is timely and has a limited shelf-life) or (2) move to the top each time they are updated. Time has been the main way that all message-boards have come to be directed - and so removing it as the core organising principle of a board presents profound challenges to users. Core concepts evolved - the 'here/now' bar reflects the co-dependency of the two axes of geography and time - as you increase the time-scale you are investigating the more threads become visible across the country. This means that your ten nearest threads are likely to be very close to you. As you decrease the time-scale to short periods, the conversations become fresher, but (since they are selecting from a diluted stock) more geographically distributed. Our concepts of tracked threads as well also hopefully balance this desire to keep it simple and comprehensible while essentially building in a completely different view of the site on offer...

So that's it - that's Conversations Version 1.0 - and I think we're all quite proud of how it's turned out. And I'll be more proud still if it continues to be useful and interesting to people...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Rejected by ETCON... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/10/2003 02:54:01 AM ----- BODY:

Well there's bad news and there's good news. The bad news is that at least one of my papers for ETCON has been rejected, which means that since (essentially) I've already written the damn thing, all I need is for Cal to get the project that I was going to publish it through organised and then I can put it online. That is the good news - just some minor editing and rewriting required. And possibly some more conceptual and mock-up work. In related news, the other paper I submitted a proposal for (the big scary one that I've been thinking about for months) has yet to be rejected. So there is still hope remaining. Although not necessarily much...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Steve Guttenberg is gay... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/10/2003 04:01:52 PM ----- BODY:

So Steve Guttenberg is gay. Except of course he probably isn't gay. That bit might have been made up. Or an error, maybe. On my part. Don't sue. I wish Steve Guttenberg was gay, because I had such a huge crush on him when I was fifteen. Not that that's why I think he's gay. Not that I do. Certainly not. Don't sue.

The reason I (don't) think Steve Guttenberg is gay is this article about him: Steve Guttenberg Takes on Rear Ends, Leonard Maltin, And Directing. The first thing I thought when I read this was are these journalists mocking Steve Guttenberg by saying that he's gay? and the second thing I thought when I read it was are these journalists trying to communicate that Steve Guttenberg is gay because they know he is and he won't say it out-loud? Not that he is gay, you understand. Don't sue me.

Anyway - here are the things in the article that make me think that they're trying to horribly mischaracterise Steve Guttenberg as being a big homo. First there's the phrase "takes on rear ends". No comment. Then there's the fact that the movie he's doing is about straight men and gay men living together. Then there's this exhange: iW: By the way, before we hang up, do you want to share any personal information. I have no idea if you're single or married? Guttenberg: Just single. iW: Single and available? Guttenberg: I don't really talk about it.

Plus, you know, he has a blonde golden retriever called Sandy.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Do you want compulsory ID cards in the United Kingdom? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/10/2003 05:48:37 PM ----- BODY:

Do you want compulsory ID cards in the United Kingdom? I would hazard a guess that you don't. If that's the case then get over to stand.org.uk now and do something about it:

Hands up everybody who's really excited about the introduction of universal Identity Cards for every man, woman and child in the country! No? Well, that can't be right. Lord Falconer says that in one of the widest ranging consultations conducted by a government, they've been fair swamped with positive endorsements of the Government's Entitlement Card plans.

With just a few days to go before the end of the consultation, the Home Office is saying that overall the public's reaction is hugely positive.

The cynics amongst you might comment that that's because the only people who have been really gee-ed up about downloading a 13MB PDF (here's the HTML version we knocked up), scrutinising its every word and then writing up their fascinating points of view are those with an axe to grind about ID cards in the first place. Like the IT companies who are desperate to sell the government a brand new solution. Or the civil servants who've been hankering after this massive simplification of their dozens of databases for decades. Or the private companies like credit agencies who would dearly love to have a single ID to store all the data they're collecting on you.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On Pete Townsend, Child abuse and Child pornography... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/11/2003 06:30:19 PM ----- BODY:

The appalling nature of child abuse and the unpleasantness of child pornography notwithstanding, this article on Pete Townsend seems to me to highlight how cultural hysteria around these issues is leading to some extraordinary legal situations. 1300 people arrested for visiting web-sites - even grotesque and disgusting ones? How does that work?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On the lazyweb - iTunes remote... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/11/2003 08:17:54 PM ----- BODY:

So I have an iBook. And I have a desktop computer. They are both Macs. My desktop computer is plugged into a stereo amplifier. I use it to play mp3s that I've rippped from my ample music collection. But mostly I use my lap-top for everything now. My home computer is nothing but a grotesquely powerful wireless networking bridge and jukebox. But I'm getting increasingly frustrated because I want to be able to control my jukebox from my main computer. From my laptop. My first reaction to having wireless networking is that I should be able to use my laptop as some kind of remote-control. I need a bridge a way of interacting with my main computer - something that will let me control iTunes long-distance... I hereby invoke the lazyweb...

Is this the answer? iHam on iRye 1.1.1

In related - posted-after-the-fact - news, I'd like to thank Euan for pointing me towards iHam on iRye (above), which is one of the best applications with a chronically stupid bloody name I've ever used. I am now comfortably sitting on my sofa wirelessly connecting to my desktop computer and completely controlling iTunes. I will be able to do this from any room in my ludicrously tiny flat. Including my bedroom. While I'm in bed. All in all, excellent stuff. And in related news, Matt Webb has pointed me towards the iTrip - an achingly gorgeous little piece of kit that you plug into your iPod. The iPod then broadcasts the music it's playing in such a way that it can be picked up by any nearby FM radio. Stunning. I must have one...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: A brief list of some interesting articles I've read today: STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/12/2003 12:20:44 AM ----- BODY:

A brief list of some interesting articles I've read today:

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On the possibility of using web-navigational schemes to communicate data rather than site-structure... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Design CATEGORY: Design DATE: 01/12/2003 01:10:50 AM ----- BODY:

I'm two-thirds of the way through my second Edward Tufte book, The Visual Display of Quantitative Information. Now, before your eyes glaze over and you start skipping over to one of those proper weblogs where they talk about sex and disastrous relationships and the movies they've been to see recently, I want to try and convince you that the books of Edward Tufte are fun and interesting. I have no obvious reason to read them - I'm not a statistician and I don't work with graphs - and yet I find them endlessly pleasurable. I suppose there are several reasons for this , although some of them might be unexpected. Firstly, they are books which are intellectually stretching without being wordy or incomprehensible. They immediately open up realms or spheres of engagement with the world and with the information in it that are normally hidden from people. Secondly they are profoundly sensual experiences. Printed on high-quality paper, mixing textures between covers and cloth and sheet - these are quality publications. The typography is beautiful, the diagrams are never less than beautifully rendered - and occasionally they are simple beautiful diagrams, charts and the like. And finally they have the charm of the Schott's Original Miscellany (in that they contain as asides blocks of utterly unexpected information and background) without the handicap of being about nothing... In fact all of Tufte's books are satisfying because they exude the care of the artisan or the craftsman - someone with a profound expertise in, and love/respect for the process of creation of quality. In this respect his books really remind me of Robert Bringhurst's Elements of Typographic Style, another book that beautifully expresses passion and expertise based around a respect for quality.

Which is probably why, when I was reading The Visual Display of Quantitative Information, I was so surprised to come upon a paragraph that was so completely alien to the practices of web clarity and usability. In it, Tufte states some beliefs that have long-since been rejected from web design - ostensibly because they are smack of elitism and are impractical - even costly. He states, in effect, that we shouldn't forsake complexity just to communicate with our audience. Here is a brief quote from a much larger section of the book concerned with novelty and different paradigms of information-presentation:

Moreover, it is a frequent mistake in thinking about statistical graphics to underestimate the audience. Instead, why not assume that if you understand it, most other readers will, too? Graphics should be as intelligent and sophisticated as the accompanying text.

The section concerned is a lot longer and more detailed than the quote above, and is fundamentally about revealing complex and large amounts of information through graphical means - rather than about navigation or layout. But it's still interesting to me. He talks about how most diagrams used in the national press (if compared with those used at schools and colleges) are of a pre-adult level, and that we shouldn't allow this to happen. We should respect the intelligence of our audience. The comparison with the title of Steve Krug's brilliant web usability book Don't make me think! (much recommended) couldn't be more striking.

So what is it about web navigation and site structure that means we should treat our users as idiots while infographics are allowed to treat their viewers like grown-ups? Unfortunately the answer is ultimately extremely simple - infographics are designed to transmit useful information and that information is the final goal of any interaction with them. This isn't true of web-navigation. Web navigation is designed to structure and communicate information about how to find different information. Web-navigation (and my doctoral supervisor in Bristol is literally turning over in her tenure as I say this) is for the most part nothing but meta-information - no one (except web UI professionals) visits MSN.co.uk for the information communicated by the navigational scheme. It's fundamentally uninteresting.

But this does not necessarily have to be the case - it seems to me eminently possible that we might be able to generate a hybridised system whereby web navigation actually itself holds valuable information - much like Tufte demonstrates the axes of a graph can be redeveloped to carry additional information about the data that they frame (I'll see if I can find a visual representation of this as soon as I get a moment). I have at this time no sense of how one might go about doing this (except through a cascading series of inter-navigating graphs) but there seems to me to be a certain amount of potential in this line of investigation... More on this later (perhaps)...

Addenda: How to pronounce Tufte (after kottke.org).

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On 'doing a Kottke'.... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/12/2003 09:30:06 PM ----- BODY:

I've been getting really behind with the stuff that I want to write on plasticbag.org recently, which probably explains why when I do write something it's fairly hardcore and intensely thought-through rather than a piece of conversational life-fluff. So I'm going to experiment with Jason's remaindered links approach for a couple of days until I feel I've caught up with the world, although I don't think I'll do it for long, because I'm not convinced that anyone reads or clicks on lists of links. Nevertheless there is a value to the process, if only in that my link to them (like everyone else's links to them) constitutes a micro-vote on the utility of the article or resource in question, aiding Blogdex and Daypop reflect the mood of the web-community and helping Google serve the best possible search-results to its visitors...

My new favourite weblog of the moment (and added to my NetNewsWire subscriptions) is monkeyx.com...
There's a couple of interesting face-perception tests over at the BBC's Science site at the moment...
Cory Doctorow points and laughs at you for getting all stressed out about WiFi...
There's a new content management system on the way from the guy behind textism.com...
Two search requests that get people to my site: How to bag a man and G.W. Bush's boyfriend...

iCommune looks like it's going to be brilliant - as soon as there's better auto-discovery...
A man of principles and passion, and prepared to stand up for them, could Martin Sheen be the best President America never had? 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6...
"My gun rights are more important than my gay rights..." Compare this news story with this thing I posted a million years ago...
Why are Kottke and Megnut two different weblogs? Funny. If you're in the know.
A new home for left-wing weblogging in the UK: PolitX.org...

Three films in order of quality (worst first): Star Trek: Nemesis | Spider | Chicago
A collection of wishlists for webloggers...
For Buffy fans only: The Diary of the First Evil...
Some UI design lies for your delectation...
I'm hiding my shame down here where no one will see - my second paper to ETCON on the despotism of social software also got rejected...

Read about the most overhyped and under-reported stories of 2002...
Find out why my mate Phil turned Pepys' Diaries into a weblog...
Did you know? The song 'I'm Going Slightly Mad' by Queen was inspired by the delirium that can affect people in the later stages of AIDS-related decline? Find it 'quirky' now...
Memeufacture is very much a step in the right direction when it comes to using weblog content in an aggregated way - but it's not there yet. Please employ me to be the person who makes this come true...
Matt Webb talks about Adaptive Design For Weblog Software

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On doing nice things for other people... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/13/2003 05:27:26 PM ----- BODY:

Three things. A) The first thing is that I'm going to send you all over to Sparky's house and remind you to make a donation to Sparky and Rooster's Big Gay unWedding - which you should be able to find a link for half-way down the page on the left. Congratulations again, guys. I only wish I could come over and congratulate you both in person. B) Mr Kottke's advertising his wares in his window again, so if you're looking for someone with considerable talent who concentrates in clear, simple, user-centered design, microcontent, and the writable web then you should aim yourselves towards his updated portfolio. C) A Friend and secret-trash-professional has launched themselves blogwards at Trash Addict and you should go and investigate immediately so that the novelty doesn't wear off...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On the first two weeks of 2003... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/13/2003 11:56:13 PM ----- BODY:

So what have you seen in the first two weeks of 2003? Shortly after New Year I travelled up to Suffolk to visit a friend who had rented a cottage by the sea for her thirtieth birthday. The weather was stunning and we got to walk on the beach.

The morning after the night before we travelled around a bit, ending up wandering around the astonishingly intact Orford Castle.

While wandering around the village we found several restaurants serving fish and an amazing place that smoked fish and cheese and hocks of ham, and you could watch them doing it (and take photos).

And when we returned to London it wasn't more than a few days before the weather had changed completely, and blue-skies and ice-cold winds had turned into huge flakes of snow. Here's the view from my back window:

I'm quite happy with the stuff I've done and seen so far this year. If it's all of a comparable standard, I think I'll be quite satisfied...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On what I've seen and where I've been since the beginning of the year... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/14/2003 12:03:45 AM ----- BODY:

Since I don't talk nearly enough about the trivia of my life on the site any more, I thought I'd briefly allude to my trip to Suffolk and put online a scant few of the pictures I took when I was up there. I think they came out quite well: The first two weeks of 2003.

Orford Castle

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I wonder what would happen if I went looking for fights? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/14/2003 12:29:37 AM ----- BODY:

Often as I'm taking the bus home of an evening, I pass a man who looks a bit like a dynamic middle manager standing on Oxford Street near to John Lewis talking about God very loudly through some kind of 'voice-enhancement-device'. I found him profoundly annoying. From my position he's just standing up there advertising a way of life that seems to be based around the abandonment of a sense of moral responsibility and condemning people whose lifestyles don't fit the model of Middle-Eastern propriety two thousand years ago. It seems a bit weird to me. I keep wanting to go up to him and say things like, "I commit the sin of buggery!" Even though I very seldom do and when I do I don't like it very much. Or maybe, "I do dirty things with men!" Which I do slightly more often and quite enjoy, but doesn't seem entirely immoral enough. Or maybe buy him a novel or something. So that he has something else to do instead of shout at me all day.

But actually I have a lot of respect for the poor chap. He's established some things he believes in and he probably gets a fair amount of aggro but still he's prepared to stand up and do his bit. Occasionally I look around my own soap-box by the side of the road, and check my voice-publishing equipment and wonder what on earth to talk about - even as I know there are a million things I'd like to say. In fact, worse than that, I find myself backing away from confrontation even about some of the things I believe in strongly. I had real trouble writing about Martin Sheen leading the anti-war protest in Los Angeles the other day because I was genuinely proud of him, proud to know that a man whose work I enjoy has the fire and the energy and the commitment to stand up and be counted. But when it came to writing about it, I became immediately timid. I kept qualifying things - we should respect his actions even as we might not necessarily agree with them - he was a great man whether or not you thought his cause was just. So I'm feeling a bit ashamed of myself today, and I'm thinking to myself, "What if I didn't back down on issues like these?". I'm even thinking, "I wonder what would happen if I went looking for fights..."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: For the pre-school psycho in your life... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/14/2003 02:38:12 PM ----- BODY:

Are you children never satisfied? Do you find yourself buying them ever more toys that they seem to discard almost immediately? Do they have a strange menacing glint in their eyes that you find ungodly? Terrifying, even? Then get them one of the new range of toys from John Lewis. Guaranteed to keep them quiet!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Do you want to know if you're happy (but already know that you're lazy)? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/15/2003 05:08:24 PM ----- BODY:

A few weeks ago there was an article on the BBC's site called The Formula for Happiness which explained that scientists had somehow managed to work out precisely the right way to calculate how happy someone was based upon several core criteria of their lives. This story has been picked up by boingboing.net and ran yesterday. But if you don't want to go through the whole palaver of calculating the whole thing by hand (as indeed I didn't) you can now go and have it calculated for you by DotCode's Calculate your happinesss.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: You need a good connection for this one... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/16/2003 03:22:55 PM ----- BODY:

A good connection to the interhighweb and a love of computer games is all you need to appreciate the Jackass of X-Box gaming: Warthog Jump by Randy Glass. With only a few dozen grenades, a few dead marines and a rocket-launcher, Randy catapults Halo's Warthog transports into the air in elegant studies of gaming pyrotechnics. Highly recommended and highly entertaining. Much improved if your sound is on, and the download is about 20mb, so not for the modem-users among you...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On the increasing distance between Europe and the US... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/16/2003 04:38:14 PM ----- BODY:

Two hundred-thousand people have voted. And the response should be at the very least sobering for the American and British governments. The question asked: Which country represents the greatest threat to world peace in 2003?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On why I didn't sleep well last night... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/18/2003 09:31:36 AM ----- BODY:

The dream - the recurring one - is the one where I go back to school after my degree to do more A-levels, and have to wear the same school uniform and am older than everyone else, but because I also have to hold down my job as well, I'm hardly ever there and then the exams come around and I'm terrified that I'm going to fail. The interesting nuance in the night of trauma that I just experienced was that I was doing an A-level in a language & literature class in something like Ancient Aramaic (or even Greek - which I'm supposed to be able to read) with only one or two other people, and the person in charge of teaching me, and who was sitting in the exam room with us was Stefan Magdalinski, my boss at UpMyStreet.com. He was oddly inscrutable, like he knew what all the questions were. He kept smirking in a (mostly) kind way. Drove me insane...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Observations and Speculations on Music STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Technology CATEGORY: Radio & Music CATEGORY: Technology DATE: 01/19/2003 08:35:05 PM ----- BODY:

I spent much of yesterday in a strange venue - a converted public toilet. In front of a Hawksmoor church near Spitalfields market in London is a small glass structure - probably no more than 7ft x 7ft x 14ft. It's surrounded by a set of wrought iron railings. If you were looking for a meeting venue or a bar, you wouldn't notice it. But in fact it's just the top of a staircase that goes into an underground structure. Underground there's a new bar and a set of decks, but there also remain traces of public-sector tiling. The roof above is concrete struts with glass tiled pavement slabs forming hundreds of mini-skylights that let in a certain amount of greyish London light... I was in this public convenience for a short brainstorming session about music websites, the music industry and ways in which people go about discovering new music they like. Lots was discussed and I've been letting it settle in my mind to see if I can come to any general conclusions. So far my insights into the music industry have been limited to:

Like everything else, music is becoming more componentised. Groupings of songs distrubuted as a unit have been a staple of the music industry since the transition from printed to recorded music. But these have often been as much a factor of the media available and the costs and ease of distribution than about how people would ideally like to listen to music. The closest thing we have to how people would ideally listen to music is probably radio - songs selected from a larger assortment based on assumptions of audience preference etc. etc.
But is there a difference between listening to music and buying music? The function of an artist or an album is that it provides two easy axes by which we can find other songs that we are likely to enjoy based upon our preference for one song. I like Beck's song "Lost Cause", therefore I'm likely to enjoy other songs by Beck, and particularly other songs on the album "Sea Change". So it could be that compiled batches of media - in the form of albums might conceivably represent useful groupings for distribution.
Now - while it's possible to consider batches or compilations of songs useful for distribution, that does not necessarily mean that CDs, Vinyl albums or other physical media have much of a future. If we are to accept that componentisation is the most likely end result for the the use of music, then at present this amounts to MP3 and comparable formats as representing the primary medium. This also ties into increasing digitisation of media. At present the only effective ways of getting MP3s are via personal 'ripping' (copying of songs from physical media to digital media) or the distribution of said MP3s online between individuals, via file-sharing networks or from companies. The distribution of MP3s online represents a relatively fast and effective way of getting hold of songs - if you can find them and if bandwidth is of a satisfactory level. The benefits of physical media at present then are that they make it easy to find the songs you want and at a quality that you want. Physical media are also better catered for in the mass market and can be moved between distinct media players quickly and easily.
This aspect is significant and important to people - the ability to have access to as much of their media at any time, in an easily distributable way that can be used across several platforms is of significant interest to people.
Technology - bandwidth and storage capacity - are continually increasing. In addition to these inevitable improvements, increased interoperability and improvements in wireless communication between devices are likely to be on the agenda.
It's profoundly difficult to know at what point bandwidth and storage capacity will level out over the next ten years or so. Different availabilities and pricing levels of bandwidth and / or storage capacity will have profound consequences on which technologies become dominant. Alongside the difficulties in prediction come real-world legal, financial, monopolist and inter-company situations that may cheerfully scupper the development of the best or most effective means of managing musical distribution - or indeed the distribution of any media in an effective way.
The benefits of centralisation are becoming increasingly clear as well. E-mail protocols like IMAP still haven't received general take up, but as more people find themselves using multiple computers (which seems to be a likely situation - probably following the approach of people buying multiple televisions or stereos), centralisation away from the home seems to be a plausible way of handling this. There's clearly a market here in being the company or the ISP that handles all your personal information centrally.
Technologies are starting to appear that gesture at early-adopter's desires to centralise music playing as well. From applications like iHam on iRye (which allows you to control iTunes running on one computer from another) and applications designed to control how music is played on a network to devices that broadcast on short-range FM frequencies the audio output of MP3 players - there is a clear desire to be able to collate music in one place and yet play it anywhere.
Closing 'The Analogue Hole' - the 'problem' of the Analogue hole is one that quite a lot of people are working at in record companies at the moment. The issue is that at present there is little or no way to stop people copying music into a digital format from an earlier analogue version of it. And more to the point, there's no apparent way of stopping people playing digital music that's full of encryption through a standard set of interconnects. The music is recorded again - relatively faithfully - but into digital from an analogue input. Fundamentally here, the issue is that there is no way of building in security at this level without self-consciously breaking the technology - you have to fight against the natural flow of development and 'progress' in order to build this stuff in. And all you need is one person copying things in an effective manner and one effective means of transmission to make all your work redundant. In essence then, the only way to resolve this situation is to 'fix' hardware so that copying becomes fundamentally impossible, which cripples the computer for many legitimate uses. My advice - give it up. Not worth the effort. Take the long term view...
Ok. Medium-term, then. Music companies are in trouble. They can't control copying of music easily or effectively and bandwidth / storage advances will only make the copying of music easier and easier. It seems inevitable that MP3 or an equivalent format is going to come to dominate the playing of music, and I would suggest that this is likely to happen within ten years. Sales of CDs will probably continue at a legitimate and effective rate, but mostly as a music delivery system - nothing more. Devices such as the iPod will quickly come to dominate this market, but the biggest problem will be integration with other music-playing devices. It's too much at the moment to expect the general public to link up their computers (with all the cables and complexity that that involves) with their stereos either at home or work.
Certain technologies allude to how this stuff is likely to work more effectively in the future - increasing broadband, applications like iSync and technologies like wifi and wireless networking really do suggest the possibilities of a large variety of interoperable devices functioning together and separately at the same time.

Conclusions: If music companies can weather the intermediate period between the limited, cable-utilising bandwidth of today and the potential multiple-computer + networked appliance households of the future (indeed if they can help facilitate such a world) then they could still survive and develop brand-new channels which could facilitate a faster and more immersive use of music generally. Increases in bandwidth should mean that there is little or no advantage in storing information locally rather than on some kind of server over the internet - and this should apply equally with music files. Wireless networking and always on internet connectivity could mean that music is streamed to where you are rather than downloaded as well, but until that happens, perhaps some form of 'syncing' between client player and online resource could occur. This allows access to your music via any platform wherever you are - and all those geek-pertinent records about what you're listening to and how.

Functionally if could work a little like this: The record company has a relationship with several different online music providers. The punter registers with any one (or several if they wish) music providers. There is no fee for being a member, no subscription at all. They then input their registration information into their smart stereos, their smart portable players, their phones, their laptops - whatever. Via a computer or via any interface on any of the smart machines, new music can be bought via the music provider for whatever market conditions suggest is an appropriate price (I would suggest in a world where a CD cost around ten units of currency that a download of the complete album should cost around five or six while an individual song from the album (assuming ten tracks) should probably cost one full unit. The song can be 'sold back' to the distributor / record company at any given time for half the current sale value (which will clearly drop over time). The provider takes a cut of the money made to reflect their running costs and the quality of their service and the record company takes a cut which it distributes back to the artists concerned. Any machine which has the password and user information of the centralised owner can play their centrally stored songs. The 'stream' or 'sync' - whatever - only works on one machine at any one time (or you can buy more than one license if you want), but a number of different streams or syncs can be active on any one machine at any one time (ie. if you go to a party and you want to bring some music with you, you just add your logon to the player at the party. Bingo - double the songs available to you. This also means that on your iPod or your home stereo you can have a number of accounts from rival competing distributors of music (say HMV / Amazon / Virgin for example) who compete on price and service. From your perspective, though, you just have one repository of songs...

If you heard a song you liked on the radio or at a friends party too, they would be able to 'give' it to you easily by picking it up and sticking it in your files (if they wanted to transfer ownership and stop listening to it themselves), or they could just tell you its name - or you could click on 'buy this song' and put in your account and password information wherever you were and it would be added to your account centrally. At the nominal cost per song (according to my working price structure above at current rates, an album would probably cost about ��7 and a single song around a pound) and the capacity to sell it back / throw it away and recoup up to half of that cost later, there would be little incentive to find a cheaper mechanism - particularly as you'd lose out on the always accessible nature of a centralised distribution.

Songs that you own on CD already or as MP3 could be played on the machines in question but could not easily distributed between the various appliances you own. Effectively, they are stored locally - or if someone wishes to set up a service allowing you to store them centrally and play them as a separate channel (like one of the normal distributors above) then I'm sure you'd have to pay for the service.

I want to make clear that I'm not particularly interested in the moral questions around this particular distribution mechanism. It doesn't seem to me to even be pertinent whether capitalism is moral any more - particularly not in these circumstances. What I am attempting to outline is a way in which record companies might be able to approach making money by giving people real incentives to buy from them by improving the functionality, accessibility and utility of the music-listening experience rather than by trying to shut down technology that they don't approve of.

This is clearly a rough piece of straight-out-of-my-head thinking which could clearly do with a tighten up and an edit. I may improve it and edit it over the coming days. Any changes I make will be commented on in the source code

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: Being a long list of observations about the ways in which people are starting to use music and its relationship to computing practice generally, with some thoughts about how the music industry should be working in the longish-term... ----- KEYWORDS: ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Toby Slater EMAIL: mail@tobyslater.com IP: 62.190.233.173 URL: http://www.tobyslater.com DATE: 01/20/2003 06:51:24 PM Very interesting piece. The functionalities you suggest are of course possible and have been championed before, most notably by DRM companies. But personally I think it's a pretty complex vision of the future, and one which I imagine would require limiting rights-management technology to work. Why not have music and movie copyright owners charge all companies which profit from digital media - notably ISPs and p2p networks such as KaZaA - and allow them to distribute the material online either on an advertising-supported or a subscription basis? ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Coates EMAIL: tom@plasticbag.org IP: 212.111.42.130 URL: http://www.plasticbag.org DATE: 01/21/2003 11:37:09 AM You say that it's a complex version of the future, but it's no more complex than Record company / distributors / retail outlets / consumers at present - and the current system requires you to change type of media and tranfer things between respective 'clients'. Well the problem with advertising is that it just doesn't work particularly well - there's simply no market at the moment - and it's an unstable foundation to lay the future of an industry upon. Secondly, you might be able to get Kazaa to pay money to distribute digital content, but how are you going to get Gnutella users? The free networks are likely to expand and redevelop in highly distributed and difficult to manage ways. If you use MP3s or equivalent file formats then copying is inevitable. The only way you stop people copying and using free networks is by offering them functionality above and beyond what they can get from MP3s they've downloaded. And it seems to me that the logical way to do that is to capitalise on the slightly-less than completely simple job of having your music with you all the time, detached from any physical media you own, music that can be updated and changed wherever you are through a wide range of different clients. Music that can - in fact - be bought and sold really easily as well... While you're on the move. Wherever you are. For as long as you want it. I don't see any problem at all with letting people download MP3 versions or rip or distribute MP3 versions of the songs in this model, because they'll simply not easily be transferable to you central repository - they'll still be stuck on your MP3 player or your home stereo rather than on your mates computer or your mum's stereo or in the car - wherever you happen to be... Anyway - apart from the conclusions I came to, do you have any comments on the observations in the first part of the piece? ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Resurrecting "You've Got Blog"... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Personal Publishing CATEGORY: Personal Publishing DATE: 01/19/2003 10:31:29 PM ----- BODY:

I can't quite believe that we're doing the rounds of You've Got Blog again. But ever since diveintomark.org linked to it, I've been getting a new batch of referrals coming through to plasticbag.org - presumably from people who haven't read it before. The reason I'm going to put my boot in again is because I still think it sits like a kind of poisonous lump of spite in the middle of webloggery and it really needs to be addressed. It takes many things that are obvious and have always been obvious and casts them in the most negative light possible, and at the same time it makes some assertions that are just plain ludicrous and can be proven to be wrong.

Joe calls this statement evidence of the incestuous nature of weblogging: �The other people who have blogs... read your blog, and if they like it they blog your blog on their own blog.� He digs at this statement as if it were evidence for insularity, disconnection, power-mongery - playground politics, essentially. But what he's pointing out is a wonder of weblogging, not a failing of them. The reason weblogging has spread so far and so fast is because people who read them end up starting them. Weblogs are a viral medium of expression, spread by contact with webloggers. In fact, the worst case scenario for weblogging would be it it had become just another medium for some privileged well-paid people to talk to the general public. Everyone who likes weblogs should have one of their own. That's the whole point.

"Counterblogging fails the test of novelty two ways: The links aren�t fresh (they�ve been traded back and forth like saliva in a kiss) and no new events from bloggers� real lives are depicted." Again the assumption is that each weblog is a micro-publishing empire in and of itself - designed to communicate only to non-webloggers. But one of the strengths of weblogging is that each weblog can act as part of a massive, distributed multi-threaded conversation that goes on all around the web. And as to links not being fresh - well people choose what they link to - no one is coerced - and the more the link is posted, the more the community indicates that the link is important. This importance is almost a kind of aggregated voting - which is helping Google help to get 'important' or pertinent articles seen more widely and read by more people. It's not ideal yet, but it's really getting there. That's the whole point.

Joe says about the A-list: "Finally, independent confirmation of an obvious fact that is self-servingly denied by the Weblog aristocracy itself: Despite no appreciable difference in the �thoughtfulness� of their respective Web criticism, some Webloggers are superstars." Since when was it news that some weblogs get more traffic than others? Some sites get read more than others because people enjoy reading them, because they're consistent, because the people who write them have a special insight into what's going on in the world around them, because they've been around longest. Whatever. There is no accounting for this interest, except by saying that people are interested. This is obvious. What's also true is that if you do something good or great or write well or are particularly interesting then anyone can get people interested. And because of the increasing size of the weblog community (or communities) there are ever more people to become interested as well.

Joe says about the 'publicity stunt' of the little-girl-on-a-bicycle, "That clearly was not the intent, but the effect was the same, highlighting the incestuousness and insularity of the cr�me-de-la-blogging-cr�me." He says, "The girl-on-a-bike prank was the rankest example yet of the mutual admiration society of the Weblog intelligentsia, deploying multiple identical coded messages ... just because they could." Without wishing to go into detail about the event - my part in which is still slightly embarrassing to me - that's simply untrue. But the fact that people might use their sites to communicate stuff to their friends, families or loved ones - perhaps subtextually - doesn't mean that there's a cruelty or incestuousness behind the scenes. It might be possible to argue that at certain times certain webloggers have had significant influence, but most webloggers seem to become pretty immune to influence after a while. Independent people choose to post and do whatsoever they wish. And quite right too.

Joe points out that most people write in order to be heard. Yes. I think to an extent that's true. Most of us, in our daily lives, don't really get listened to very much - not our opinions, not our beliefs. Weblogs give us a space to speak and be listened to. Some people will only be heard initially by a very few others. Some who have been around a while or have written something particularly interesting, insightful or entertaining will be heard by thousands. But writing to be heard isn't the same thing as writing for an audience. Writing for an audience suggests you're betraying yourself for popularity. Writing for the web should be - and I think mostly is - about allowing people to present themselves as honestly as they feel comfortable with. And seeing what kind of reaction they get...

Next point - Joe slightly later says that "If you�re not an A-list blogger, you will stay off that list forever." This is simply untrue. Firstly it posits this weird clique of webloggers who everyone adores. Which is untrue. Which has never existed. But more importantly, if you look at lists of popular weblogs - the ones that are most linked is probably the best measure - you continually find that (among some of the old faithfuls) new ones have emerged continue to emerge and reach prominence. Even diveintomark.org (which is fast becoming one of the web's favourite reads) started a full year and a half after plasticbag.org, nearly three years after Jason's and a full seven months after Joe's article. Weblogs come and weblogs go - some start well-read, some become well-read and may others cease being read at all.

Joe's final point is that everyone who ran a weblog - and was A-list - has loads of cash and is heavily involved in the internet scene. Lucky bastards is heavily implied. But it's simply untrue. When I started my site I was unemployed or temping as a secretarial assistant in London. When my site started getting popular I was working inputting film production credits into quark documents on a freelance basis that could have ended at any time. I was responsible for all films that started with the letters P-Z. I did 4,000 films in all over six months. I earned little money, and when I finally got a permanent and stable job being an Editorial Assistant on timeout.com, I took a pay-cut. And I was far from the exception...

So there you are - an article that has a certain hideous potency in weblogging circles has little of substance within it. It's one huge over-dramatisation of one man's issues and irritations which has very little relationship to reality. The fact that it's caused irritation and controversy is no reason to believe that it 'hit close to the mark' - in fact it's irritating because it's so profoundly not close to the mark. As an attempt to describe the varied people who undertake weblogging and the ways they interact with one another, it's bitter, it lacks faith in human nature and it mischaracterises many well-intentioned people. Hopefully, this limited rebuttal will help limit some of its damage...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The plasticbag.org second link-dump... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 DATE: 01/19/2003 11:00:33 PM ----- BODY:

Being a set of links that I don't have either the time or the inclination to write up properly, even though I know no-one will actually click on any of them:

Syndirella - Is this NetNewsWire for Windows?
Does Larry Lessig have a public domain workaround?
It was Cal's birthday on Friday. You can buy him a present here.
Anil Dash now runs a pure link-log in his left-hand-pane...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Robbie Williams supports prostitution and organised crime... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Technology CATEGORY: Technology DATE: 01/20/2003 06:01:59 PM ----- BODY:

So Robbie Williams supports prostitution and organised crime? Well - according to the culture minister Kim Howells, he does... And why? Because he supports 'internet piracy'. After all, as we all know, music distribution online is all about making lots and lots of money - so much money that organised crime had to get in on the act! I suppose it's more than we could hope that anyone in power would actually get the internet enough to understand which things are likely and plausible and which things are just scaremongering and stupidity. Here's a quote from Mr Williams:

Williams, speaking at a music conference in Cannes, is reported to have said:"I think it's great, really I do. There is nothing anyone can do about it. I am sure my record label would hate me saying it, and my manager and my accountants."

And here's a corresponding quote full of stupidity from Kim Howells:

"In saying that piracy is a 'great idea', Williams is doing the work for international gangs involved in drugs and prostitution who find music piracy an excellent way of laundering their profits."

I would suggest that you e-mail him or fax him explaining internet piracy to him - explaining that no one makes any money from it - but of course he doesn't have a website or an e-mail address. I was then going to suggest that you send him a fax, but unfortunately faxyourmp.com is down because one of the volunteers who runs it has the builders in. Quite why such a core service isn't supported by the Government remains a mystery...[Read more idiocy at Google News]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: How to contact Kim Howells and tell him what a plonker he's been... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 0 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Technology CATEGORY: Politics CATEGORY: Technology DATE: 01/21/2003 04:02:42 PM ----- BODY:

Thanks to Matthew Davis, George Wright and Tim Duckett for writing in with various e-mail addresses for Dr Kim Howells, the Minister for Culture who so resolutely confused music piracy online with drug-dealing and prostitution and in the process declared that Robbie Williams supported international gangs and terrorism. If you wish to have a go at explaining to the gentleman in question exactly where his logic went wrong, his address is kim.howells@culture.gov.uk. Here's my e-mail. Try as I might, I couldn't stop myself sounding smug and superior...

Dear Doctor Howells,
     I was disappointed to notice that you recently conflated internet piracy of music (as 'advocated' by Robbie Williams) with the selling of fake CDs, videos and tapes. They are - as I'm sure you've now been informed thousands of times - completely different issues. The most significant difference is that not even record companies have found any ways yet to sell music online and make money out of it - which is clearly untrue about physical media. That criminals could have exploited this non-market as a way of laundering their profits is at best unlikely and at worst ridiculous.
     The kind of piracy that Mr Williams was talking about is conducted by members of the public putting songs online (either through peer to peer technologies or simply on the web) for other members of the public to download. While this is clearly a morally questionable act that's been debated in the press over and over again, there doesn't appear to be any way to make any money out of it whatsoever. This fact is known to the many millions of Britons who have used applications like Napster to download music.
     That the government I voted for could be quite so clueless about things like this - particularly in the area of culture where intellectual property issues, copyright and digital distribution are huge emerging issues - is frankly terrifying to me! Perhaps you should find some way of keeping yourself informed about such matters before standing up and making a fool of yourself (and by association me for voting for you).
     Yours faithfully,
     Tom Coates
     http://www.plasticbag.org

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On being nominated for 'Best Designed Weblog'... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 1 DATE: 01/22/2003 12:18:27 PM ----- BODY:

Well the nominations have been announced for Bloggies 2003 and this year I've not been nominated for either "Best Poof" or "Best Eurotrash". It's always a terrible shame when people who do so well in childhood fail to live up to their early promise, don't you think? Nonetheless, there is cause for celebration! Of all things, plasticbag.org has been nominated for the category of "Best Designed Weblog"!

My co-contenders in this category include Snazzykat, Neurotic Fishbowl, the gloriously lovely Loobylu -- subliminal: she eats babies and kicks puppies - you don't want to vote for her - plus anyway she's far too good -- and the frankly intimidating thinkdink. Obviously I don't hold out tremendous hope for victory, but that won't stop me pulling out my bull-whip and looking threatening until you agree to go and vote for me...

Typically, of course, such a nomination couldn't have come at a worse time. There are small oddnesses creeping in around the site which you probably haven't noticed yet, but will shortly. Something is stirring beneath the placid exterior of plasticbag's webloggery that may give you pause to wonder, "What on earth is he up to?" Trust me, it's nowhere near as exciting as it may initially sound. More later...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The Genius, the Expert and the Christmas Turkey... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 1 DATE: 01/22/2003 03:15:52 PM ----- BODY:

I don't believe we ever needed more reasons to love Kurt Vonnegut. But if we did need more reasons, Matt Webb's extended quotation from the Vonnegut book Bluebeard would certainly suffice. In the excerpt, three types of people are outlined who must be present during any kind of intellectual revolution: the Genius, the Expert and Christmas Turkey. Sometimes you have to wonder if any industry has ever been more full of the third type than the web industry:

The third sort of specialist is a person who can explain anything, no matter how complicated, to the satisfaction of most people, no matter how stupid or pigheaded they may be. 'He will say almost anything in order to be interesting or exciting,' says Slazinger. 'Working alone, depending solely on his own shallow ideas, he would be regarded as being as full of shit as a Christmas turkey.'

In The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell called these people "Mavens", "Connectors" and "Salesman" and we all bought his book and called him a genius. Go figure.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Link-dump in extremis... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 1 DATE: 01/22/2003 10:16:42 PM ----- BODY:

According to Mr Webb and Mr Gyford (with whom I work), it is inappropriate web behaviour to have four full lines of bookmarks in your Mozilla toolbar, all waiting to be properly written-up and posted to your site. Probably less appropriate still are the eleven tabbed browser windows I have open as well, each containing something I'd like to talk about in more detail. So - because it remains vaguely fashionable, and because I'd much rather go and play Black and White - I'm going to do yet another link-dump. Don't hate me. I'll come up with some proper content one day. I promise...

Wireless Cultures at the Tate Modern
"Driven by a Brechtian ideal to 'mobilise the user and redraft him/her as a producer', small grassroots groups are connecting neighbourhoods into local area internet networks. How can these spark new areas of creative practice, and what precedents were set by the historical radio pioneers? This half-day seminar explores the use of wireless communication in artistic and social contexts..."
Butterfly etymology
In what must be one of the most deliciously wonderful pieces of etymology ever, I discovered today that the word psyche - which I knew came from the Ancient Greek word for 'soul' or 'wind' or 'spirit' also meant butterfly. The word today - of course - generally refers to a quasi-scientific concept of 'mind' that is heavily implicated in Platonic divisions between mind and body...
People react to the Bloggies
Despite the fact that the nomination and judging process of The Bloggies is open and well-known the first round nominations seem to have surprised quite a few warbloggers and celebrity bloggers. There are a number of possible reasons for this, of course. One reason is that right-wing warbloggers are self-selecting to be less community-spirited and engaged in 'society' (these being the realms of wooly liberals) and so may simply not have bothered to volunteer to be first round judges. Or of course it could be that warblogging and the associated celebrity figures are much more widely read by members of the public than they are by other webloggers. Admittedly some of the nominees are a little weird and there are some very notable absences, but it hardly seems fair to lambast the nomination process for their own inability to motivate their colleagues to take part... (The nomination process is as follows: members of the public nominate and some volunteer to be first-round judges. Then a percentage of the volunteers are randomly chosen to become second round judges who visit a substantial block of the nominated sites and then vote on their favourites, whittling them down to a manageable five per category. These five are presented to the public to vote upon.) And anyway - it's supposed to be a fun content to take part in - a way for a community to get together and chat about stuff. Like a village fete or something. It's not particularly serious...
10 ways to tell if your co-worker is an extra-terrestrial
"Many top scientists believe that aliens live secretly among us. The sneaky intergalactic travelers often pose as our friends, neighbors and co-workers while they learn the ways of Earth. But how can you tell invading aliens from real humans?"
Joe Clark talks balls
One of the most interesting things about Joe Clark's site is how often his arguments hinge upon how everyone has a vile self-serving secret agenda, or how they're nasty manipulative people that want to squish the common {gay cinema/web usability/accessibility expert} man or that they occasionally make typos (and are therefore clearly incompetent and unpleasant).
They don't get blog
Found while wandering through the Bloggies nominations for best article, this piece on how people like Andrew Sullivan miss the point with weblogging (spitting on community, talking about publishing) really hit home for me and reminded me a lot of a piece I wrote a while ago for a talk at the BBC. In it I argued that mainstream publishers had - to date - only interacted with weblogs on the most superficial level, as something to write about or as a territory to claim. Journalists often take the second approach when they go online. I also wrote about this in my debate with Simon Waldman about the Guardian's Best British Blog prize. There is something very profoundly different about the polyphony of voices interacting and arguing one another. It's not just a way to shout your opinions as loudly as possible in as flat and featureless a way as possible. Engaging in that community - not of webloggers, but of citizens who happen to be empowered to respond and engage with you - is the whole point as far as I'm concerned.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On the strange priorities of 8 mile... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 1 ALLOW PINGS: 1 DATE: 01/23/2003 11:03:41 PM ----- BODY: There's no denying that 8 mile is a perfectly serviceable bit of cinema. And there's no denying that it packs a few punches and that Eminem himself pulls off a perfectly adequate performance. And the world that is represented is compelling and mostly realistic. But I have to confess, as I looked at the seriousness with which they approached the combative rap scenes, I found myself unable to fully grasp why these were quite such big deals. It's two grown men calling each other names in rhyme, surely? It's artful and creative - gutsy even - but at no point did you get the feeling that these were battles of life and death. And weirdly, in the background, the threat of eviction and homelessness with a small child to look after seems almost trivial... Strange priorities... ----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Two degrees from Al Gore... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 1 DATE: 01/24/2003 12:01:28 AM ----- BODY:

So here's a conversation that I'd love to have been party to: Douglas Rushkoff spends a couple of hours with Al Gore. And in his post about it, Rushkoff has the charming naive enthusiasm of a teenage crush. And by all accounts with good reason:

But still, I could imagine him back in the dorm room, sitting up all night with the rest of us and dreaming about how things might be - if we were ever in charge. With Gore, much more than Clinton, we almost got one of us in there. This was an inspiring thought to me, until I realized that this might be as close as we ever get

I've had a couple of minor collisions with Douglas Rushkoff in my life. I e-mailed him once about our mutual crush Grant Morrison, and managed to keep a conversation going online for a few days about The Bomb and whether or not he was doing a treatment for an Invisibles movie. And then a few years later Davo and I went to see him speaking in a café in Golden Square, where I desperately wanted to speak about a dozen times and finally squeezed out one rather hopeless question before becoming distracted by a cute bloke.

Nevertheless, I consider this to be one degree of association between us - the same solid degree of separation that would exist if we had shagged like bunnies or grown-up together in Arkansas. Diseases I had that day may have infected him. It's possible. Which means that Al Gore could have been en-common-colded by me once-removed. If the disease lay dormant for just over twelve months and only sprang into action at the hint of uncharismatic but otherwise cool presidential candidates. We're practically brothers.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On Undesign... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: __default__ ALLOW PINGS: 1 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Design CATEGORY: Design DATE: 01/26/2003 03:44:57 PM ----- BODY: Much to my delight, there's a picture of plasticbag.org in an article on "Undesign" in this week's copy of Graphics International: Lo-fi Allstars. If you want to see the article in context complete with images, then you have to download the PDF. There's something really nice about having your design genius recognised in a professional magazine, even if said genius is a tarted up hand-me-down from more serious and well-trained individuals. You know who you are. Having said all that, there is something that I'd like to take issue with. The article seems to be conflating two completely different concepts of design, and in the process is doing a disservice to both. Firstly there's the kind of design that is undertaken by someone like Jason in the design of his weblog - a form of design that he's recently posted about. This kind of design derives from allowing the content to take centre-stage, simplifying the rest, cleaning away anything that isn't necessary and leaving people with a simple and clearly branded content delivery system. Being flash with design, he suggests, rather misses the point. I totally agree with his strategy here (and so I should - I've ripped him off enough). It's a strategy that reminds me very much of craftsmen, artisans and the like - a respect for your medium, a desire to do something clean and clear and elegant that fulfils its purpose practically and effectively. This is a school of undesign that is dripping in the craft of design. It's almost ur-design or even deep-design, in the same way that people have searched for years for 'deep' grammatical structures in language. What it isn't is slipshod, dirty or inelegant. On the other side of the scale is the work done by Rob Manuel of b3ta in the promotion of a do-it-yourself, scrappy, "shit is good" aesthetic. I used to work with Rob and I know he feels very strongly - and again, I think, correctly - that the more polish you put on a visual joke then the more likely it is that the humour is lost. He aims for characterful and exciting pieces of work above all - get it done, get it out, if the joke's good then it'll thrive. It's a design strategy that can only work in terms of content, though - not structure - and if you step back and look at how b3ta as a site is structured - both in terms of Information Architecture (if you can say something like that about b3ta without being slightly ridiculous) and overt navigation - then it's a supremely elegant interconnected mesh of simple pages. And the design for the pages themselves concentrates - just as much as Jason's work does - on being clear, non-invasive and well-branded. So if you're coming into this field fresh from the outside world, and you want to get involved in the new weblog-chic (yet again) then keep this in mind - a good site must necessarily be well-designed. It's designed to be a clear and unobtrusive content-delivery mechanism with no sharp-edges and no confusing bits of functionality. It's designed to clearly communicate the structure of a site and the nature of a brand. This takes work and is simply not the same thing as making something look pretty. It's only in the content itself that you can play - and even then some content is perfect for 'born sloppy' approaches (humour and horror for example), while other content (news content, financial reports) still have to look authoratitative... [If you're interested in reading still more on this issue, I've had another stab at explaining myself over at marketingfix.com]. ----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Coates EMAIL: tom@plasticbag.org IP: 213.123.155.150 URL: http://www.plasticbag.org DATE: 02/02/2003 04:24:47 PM For anyone who's interested, there's an good follow-on from the Graphics International article on Undesign over at 37signals. ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The first form of writing native to the web....? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 1 ALLOW PINGS: 1 DATE: 01/26/2003 03:51:53 PM ----- BODY: I've heard it before and I know it's not a particularly stunning thing to say, but I still feel a weird rush of pride and enthusiasm when someone says something like this: "Weblogs are arguably the first form that is native to the Web. They emerged from two key elements of the Web: hypertext and the ability for anyone with an Internet connection to create a Web page." [NY News] ----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Bon mots about Trackback... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 1 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Personal Publishing CATEGORY: Personal Publishing DATE: 01/27/2003 12:39:28 AM ----- BODY:

A select few AIM bon mots about trackback from the last 24 hours or so that demonstrate that I have absolutely bugger-all idea what I'm doing on the internet and should probably go back to sheep-herding or something like that - something that's not as intellectually taxing and that I can't be so resolutely, systematically bad at:

"Question: Is trackback a pile of fucking arse that makes no sense whatsoever and doesn't do what it says on the tin except in the most circuitous and ludicrously bad way possible?"

"How Trackback works in a nutshell: So linky article links to linked article then the linky thing sends a little note to the linked thing saying I'm trying to link to you and the linked thing goes So the fuck what? and the linky thing asks Didn't I do this right? and the linked thing goes No, you don't use the actual URL you use a magic different one that you don't know and can't easily find automatically unless you understand weird magic code and the linky thing goes You're shitting me and the linky thing says No."

"Trackback isn't new-fangled, it's just bad-fangled."

"Someone said to me that the what of trackback was genius even if the how was terrible. I want to suggest that the same holds true of a brick that you claim can travel faster than light."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Final thoughts on the Bloggies... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 1 ALLOW PINGS: 1 DATE: 01/27/2003 09:15:32 AM ----- BODY: I think it would be going over the top to say that the web has been rocked by suggestions that a group of Texan webloggers have 'gamed' the Bloggies. After all, the awards are very clearly niche-interest and geeky. More than that, even - they are supposed to be trivial - fun. In fact I think the reason they're not uniformly despised is because of the innocence that surrounds them - an innocence that was the main reason why participating and being nominated was such a pleasure. These are your geeky peers. This is what they think. So you have to ask why on earth would anyone want to game them? It just makes the whole event, which is supposed to be a kind of weird coming-together of webloggers, just feel like every other kind of award ceremony - a scrabbling for adulation with no shame, no solidarity, no sense of community. It's a shame. I understand Nikolai's resistance to getting involved at this stage, but just for the record this is what I think should happen. Firstly, the people who have block-voted should have their sites removed from the nominations. Secondly, the votes they cast during the judging process should be discounted. Thirdly the list of five best sites that emerges from this filtered judges' list should be merged with whatever's left from the current five nominations. And then voting should begin again. It would probably mean a few more people in each category - maybe up to eight in some - but I think it's the only way to handle it appropriately. Let the community decide. ----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: What is a Designer? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 1 DATE: 01/27/2003 04:50:28 PM ----- BODY:

From What is a Designer? by Norman Potter:

"In the field of product design, the professional extremes might be said to range from studio pottery and textile design at one end of the spectrum to engineering design and computer programming at the other. This is a very broad spectrum and clearly there are serious differences at the extremes. In the communication field, a similar spectrum might range from, say, freehand book illustration, to the very exact disciplines of cartography or the design of instrumentation for aircraft."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Celeste EMAIL: celeste@daymakerfreeserve.co.uk IP: 195.92.168.170 URL: DATE: 01/28/2003 08:32:55 PM I'll go back to figuring out how on earth to install Moveable Type now. I wish I understood computers. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: charlotte potter-powell EMAIL: charlotte.potter-powell@univ.ox.ac.uk IP: 129.67.23.154 URL: DATE: 10/26/2003 05:54:38 PM I don't see the value of this particular quotation. As far as I understand it the more important principal which Norman Potter lived by was one of humility as a designer and as a person. As a maker he hoped to be sensitive towards tools and inherent properties of materials,to teach, to make useful and beautiful things for a wider community and for their own sake, and to avoid the pretensciosness, elitism and egotism whcih might sometimes be part of the design world. ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I don't really want to talk about it... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 1 ALLOW PINGS: 1 DATE: 01/28/2003 12:25:46 AM ----- BODY: I went to a tanning salon. Obviously I'm ashamed of myself, but it was that or fill in my tax return. I thought to myself, "You know what I'd like to do? I'd like to go to a tanning salon!" Because that's the kind of thing you do on a Saturday in January.... Obviously. The salon in question was almost empty - there was just some skinny-looking gay bloke hiding in a booth around the back and the one-hundred-year-old grandfather who minded the counter. My choice - "Fifteen minutes of irradiated cancer-creation, please!" The crumbly old geeker looked at me like I'd landed from space - as if it was possible that I'd accidentally just asked him for his prostate in a jar without realising it. "I should think ten minutes would be enough for you," he murmured with eyebrows wiggling. So I grudgingly conceded and stood in my light-giving booth like it was some kind of alien hot-stuff storage-tank on my way to Planet Sex. Afterwards I felt disappointed. I looked in the mirror and thought, "Well that didn't do any good". It wasn't until later that evening that I was forced to realise that - evidently while I wasn't looking - someone had decided to colour in all of my body with a pink flourescent highlighter pen. It took another twenty-four hours for the upper layers of my facial epidermis to emigrate in search of more fertile farmlands and less harsh weather conditions... But it doesn't matter. There's no need for anyone to ever find out that I secretly look like a cross between The English Patient and a recently broiled lobster underneath my shiny shirts. And if anyone asks I can just say, "I don't really want to talk about it..." ----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: How has Blogger changed your life? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: __default__ ALLOW PINGS: 1 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Personal Publishing CATEGORY: Personal Publishing DATE: 01/28/2003 10:49:26 PM ----- BODY: This post marks the end of a personal era. Over the last three and a bit years I have religiously written something into Blogger almost each and every day. From late 1999, when I'd been in London less than a year, to getting my job at Time Out, to my disasterous relationships, through my period of limited work, right around to my stuff with EMAP, the BBC and UpMyStreet - Blogger has been with me. It's been to conferences with me, it's been to Los Angeles with me (twice) and New York with me (once). It's seen me make any number of dumb personal websites, been with me when I watched the Twin Towers collapse. It's sat beside me as I witnessed global news events and dumb websites involving kittens. Blogger has helped me make any number of great new friends (so many in fact that I'm bound to leave some out accidentally). Today I say goodbye to Blogger and Blogger Pro. I've finally come to a decision. I've finally made the leap to Movable Type. It's a strange sensation - knowing that I won't be seeing that comforting black, blue and red site each and every day. My reasons are probably clear to most people so I won't go into them - I couldn't be critical of the service if I tried. It's done so much for me - and for remarkably little in return. So instead, to say goodbye, I'm going to use one of the new features available to me and ask you all to raise your glasses and answer the question: How has Blogger changed your life? ----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: David EMAIL: david@queermusings.com IP: 12.238.235.133 URL: http://www.queermusings.com/ DATE: 01/28/2003 11:11:17 PM I would have to say that Blogger has given me a chance to feel like I'm doing more to improve life in America. I've always been politically active in the sense that I would write to different political figures. Blogger has offered me the opportunity to encourage others to do the same. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Charlie B EMAIL: HereInside2003@aol.com IP: 172.182.81.92 URL: http://hereinside.blogspot.com DATE: 01/28/2003 11:43:00 PM Tom - why do only a few of your postings have a comment facility -- or am I missing something really obvious? ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Dolan EMAIL: tom@sparklefluff.com IP: 62.255.64.6 URL: http://www.sparklefluff.com/blatantoptimism DATE: 01/29/2003 12:03:41 AM It got me going. It helped me find a voice. And then, once I'd found it, I ran like hell from the sandpit and went to MT. (Er, and the fact I've singularly failed to say anything deep or profound *since* I changed to MT is neither here nor there). ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: shauna EMAIL: shaunybear@yahoo.com IP: 168.132.10.51 URL: http://pussycat.shauny.org DATE: 01/29/2003 12:20:24 AM Blogger sucked me in with the pretty colours, starting out as something to pass the time at a very very dull job and ending up making me remember what a kick you can get out of writing. Tom, importing your archives must have been fun... so many years of posts to give bloody titles to! Heh :) ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Coates EMAIL: tom@plasticbag.org IP: 81.132.16.97 URL: http://www.plasticbag.org DATE: 01/29/2003 12:41:03 AM I'm not planning to put the comments onto all my posts. I feel weird enough letting people comment on my work-related stuff, let alone the stuff where I drone on about my flat being a mess or my hair needing a cut. And yes - importing everything into the site was far from entertaining... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Pete EMAIL: pete@bugpowder.com IP: 81.132.79.187 URL: http://peteashton.com DATE: 01/29/2003 12:44:02 AM When I first used Blogger it scared me but I soon got the hang of it. It was probably the first web-ap (other than email) I really used on a daily basis for my own site creation. Without it I wouldn't have built up two sites and a significant audience for both. It also started my learning curve - I would never have started using MT without it. While I don't use it now I'm ever so grateful. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: rebecca EMAIL: nerdygirl@nerdygirl.com IP: 64.65.138.193 URL: http://www.nerdygirl.com DATE: 01/29/2003 01:09:00 AM I used to do everything by hand, which made archiving a huge pain. Blogger takes care of that for me, leaving me more time to... er... sit in front of a computer and not update my archives by hand. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Chris EMAIL: chris@mistercrunchy.com IP: 146.115.115.224 URL: http://www.mistercrunchy.com DATE: 01/29/2003 04:29:09 AM I had a vague idea about doing regular updates on my website. I'd never even heard the word "blog." Finding and delving into Blogger was like a Christmas morning that lasted three weeks. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: yb EMAIL: bradford@youngbradford.com IP: 66.81.222.87 URL: http://www.youngbradford.com DATE: 01/29/2003 05:23:00 AM I never had the discipline to sit down, pen to paper, and write out my thoughts. Blogger made doing that easy. It has also brought new jobs, celebrity interviews, and several real-life journalist jobs. It has also consumed way too much of my time. But who is counting? ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Euan EMAIL: blaven@mac.com IP: 217.155.42.151 URL: http://www.theobviousblog.net/ DATE: 01/29/2003 07:35:02 AM Like yb I have tried and failed to keep a diary countless times but Blogger made it easy and fun to jot down my thoughts. It gave me a way of having a voice and a way of chucking my ideas out into the world. I started up just before 9.11 and it felt particularly important at the time to try to make the world a better place. Also like yb the networking aspect of blogging has been amazing and resulted in me getting to know and meet the guys who wrote Cluetrain within months of starting. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Ralph EMAIL: ralph@rs-erections.com IP: 67.121.84.106 URL: http://www.rs-erections.com/wb/lec.html DATE: 01/29/2003 08:39:51 AM Because of Blogger... and barbelith... I kissed a sweet, neurotic British boy on a Sunset Blvd. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Vaughan EMAIL: vaughan@whereveryouare.org IP: 132.185.240.12 URL: http://www.whereveryouare.org DATE: 01/29/2003 10:21:24 AM Because Blogger allowed me to produce a website when I knew less than a handful of HTML tags; because it appeared to me - and still does - to be resolutely non-geeky (Moveable Type is great, but it's geeky); because it allowed me to find a place to put my words each day; because when I started using it there was a little sense of a Blogger "community"; so many reasons, really. Like you, when I switched from Blogger to MT, it did seem rather like the end of an era. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Jack EMAIL: jack@submitresponse.co.uk IP: 217.35.47.20 URL: http://www.submitresponse.co.uk DATE: 01/29/2003 11:25:00 AM When I started using Blogger a couple of years ago, I knew two or three html tags; now, having learnt the rudiments of web design by endlessly tweaking my blog template, people are actually giving me actual money in return for making websites (I still have difficulty believing this). So, yeah, Blogger has changed my life a fair bit, in that it gave me a new hobby to obsess over which has now turned into a tiny corner of my career. That said, I just switched to Moveable Type too... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Ohad EMAIL: ohad@NOSPAMtellinglies.org IP: 212.179.239.207 URL: http://tellinglies.org/nomad/ DATE: 01/29/2003 12:08:10 PM When I found out about blogger I was a young soldier with a passion for writing, until then, all of my writing was done on my grey notebook which I always carried. When I found out about blogger, I started publishing to the web, then, being a native Hebrew speaker (and writer) I managed to make blogger work in hebrew and started one of the first Israeli weblogs. Blogger helped me become a better, more popular writer, it's simple yet genius interface has contributed more than any other website or software to developing the creative, personal & warm side of the world wide web. Thank you, blogger. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Graham EMAIL: sp@m.com IP: 198.142.148.141 URL: http://grudnuk.com/vm/ DATE: 01/29/2003 12:22:23 PM Blogger changed my life because, even though I've hardly ever used it, it's given me a whole bunch of people to point to and laugh at. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Wild EMAIL: richwild@funjunkie.co.uk IP: 217.33.105.2 URL: http://www.funjunkie.co.uk DATE: 01/29/2003 01:18:11 PM (Although I don't use blogger) weblogging has changed my life because before it, my life was full of meaningful and complex crap. Now I get the opportunity to enrich my living experience with a load of useless tat many times a day. It helps to keep me from thinking too much. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Lubin Odana EMAIL: lubinodana@hotmail.com IP: 194.80.32.11 URL: http://trashaddict.blogspot.com/ DATE: 01/29/2003 02:01:20 PM Blogger is an important stop-release for me. It allows me to rant on about unimportant topics or random thoughts in the deluded belief that people 'out there' might find them interesting. It means that people who interact with me on a daily, real-life basis don't get bombarded with this, but that I have an oulet all the same. I also feel on the periphery of a community, but what's new there? ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Emma EMAIL: Leathercondom@yahoo.co.uk IP: 195.92.194.18 URL: http://www.leathercondom.blogspot.com DATE: 01/29/2003 07:47:30 PM I say things on my weblog that I would NEVER say in real life. Blogger is an alternative universe for me, where I am allowed to be myself without fear. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: megnut EMAIL: meg@megnut.com IP: 24.193.88.35 URL: http://www.megnut.com DATE: 01/29/2003 09:44:54 PM Well goodness, where to start? It distracted the company I co-founded from what we were initially trying to build -- a project management application -- and sent us all on a crazy journey that continues to this day. Seeing people use it, love it, and berate it, makes me happy, sad, and proud all at once. If it hadn't been for Blogger I wouldn't have worked with the brightest people I've ever worked with, I wouldn't have met my boyfriend, I wouldn't have met more than a hundred other people I've met through my site and weblogging. It still breaks my heart that I'm not part of it sometimes, but I'm glad to see it continue. And more than anything, I'm happy people have found so much value in it. PS. Tom, you should change the preview template for comments, it's coming up as the default and not in your site design. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Coates EMAIL: tom@plasticbag.org IP: 81.132.16.97 URL: http://www.plasticbag.org DATE: 01/29/2003 11:13:40 PM Ah. Right. So what you're saying is that my switch to Movable Type is a bit of a clunky fudge that seems slightly underprepared for? You'd not be wrong - there seems to be a bug with either Blogger or Chimera that means if you edit the template it completely empties all the tags of all the useful information they contain. When you publish - boom - your site is all crappy-lookin'... Guess who did that the other day and decided to push through his half-assed plan without check it all through properly... D'oh. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Caroline EMAIL: vonb@xs4all.nl IP: 145.58.4.54 URL: http://prolific.org DATE: 01/30/2003 09:15:23 AM I'm not sure if Blogger has changed my life, apart from the people I've met through the act of blogging. But I've always done my growing up in public. Writing awful poetry in the schoolpaper, working for fanzines, connecting with people world wide through music fan dom, writing with 30+ pen pals. I was always part of some underground community. These days the numbers are bigger, the audience wider. But it's not been a personal change for me. (Can I just say that I want to take the plasticbag.org design to my bedroom and worship it on my knees? It takes Jason's idea and exploits it to the max. Love it.) ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Coates EMAIL: tom@plasticbag.org IP: 81.132.16.97 URL: http://www.plasticbag.org DATE: 01/30/2003 09:35:50 AM Oh go on then... You can say it if you have to... You brought flowers too? Oh, how sweet! But really, you shouldn't have! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Bryan Behrenshausen EMAIL: ectoman@epix.net IP: 166.66.162.64 URL: http://www.stillnotcool.com DATE: 01/30/2003 01:18:09 PM Blogger now = food. When I'm hungry, I experience an almost subconcious sensation that drives me to the refrigerator, or causes me to pipe up and ask "Hey, when's lunch?" In much the same way, Blogger has engendered and consequently is satisfying a similar need. When I am panged with the urge to write, I now almost unknowingly think: 'I should jot this down for the blog later' or 'Wouldn't that make a great entry.' To not write later is to starve. Like some of my other appetites, my lust for Blogger has become insatiable. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Andrew EMAIL: a.huff@me3dia.com IP: 64.221.68.161 URL: http://www.me3dia.com DATE: 01/30/2003 08:05:39 PM Although I made the switch to Movable Type myself about nine months ago, Blogger is where I started. It gave me a method and an opportunity to write every day with the knowledge that there'd be an audience (however small). My writing has improved thanks to this whole weblog thing, and that's great. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Seth Werkheiser EMAIL: sethwerkheiser@oddpost.com IP: 206.67.182.211 URL: http://www.buzzgrinder.com DATE: 01/30/2003 08:56:50 PM I started out with PHPnuke, then thankfully, after too many headaches and dreaming in PHP code I switched over to Blogger. It was refreshing to see content handled so easily. To be able to tweak a date or a font color for everything with just a few clicks. I moved onto Movable Type as well but Blogger was a great place to start. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: James EMAIL: james@chachacha.co.uk IP: 80.225.76.58 URL: http://www.chachacha.co.uk DATE: 01/31/2003 02:47:13 AM I wonder how many people signed up to blogger because of it's funky logo and main site? Call me shallow, but (at least) half the reason I bothered was because the site design was so lovely back at the end of 1999/beginning of 2000/whenever I first discovered blogger. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: steef EMAIL: steef@solearabiantree.net IP: 128.239.111.224 URL: http://www.solearabiantree.net/blog/armadillo.html DATE: 01/31/2003 01:52:17 PM To paraphrase Lewis Black: Blogger™ is the best — and worst — thing about democracy. It's the best because anybody can post anything to the web. It's the worst because anybody can post anything to the web. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: pat EMAIL: pat@fieldmethods.net IP: 68.49.159.224 URL: http://blog.fieldmethods.net DATE: 01/31/2003 06:04:20 PM It may seem a little over the top to put it like this, but I didn't really think the internet was personal at all until Blogger showed up. In fact, I didn't really think there were *any* normal people on the internet until Blogger. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: s3d EMAIL: s3d@dreamingsea.net IP: 212.137.30.138 URL: http://www.dreamingsea.net DATE: 02/03/2003 12:09:11 PM I forget where I heard about Blogger, but being the curious type (and intrigued by the whole blogging scene), I checked it out about a year ago. It didn't take much to convince me to sign up, but unfortunately and for no apparent reason, I could never get the damn thing to work. As a result of my frustration, I spent months searching and testing all the CMS programmes I could download over a dial-up connection. Then, one day, I stumbled across your fantastic site during my research and it inspired me to try out and use MT on a personal domain that has been parked for three years. As for the question: 'how has Blogger changed my life?', well, it made me realise that usually the best way of getting what you want is to do it yourself... ----- PING: TITLE: Link dump... URL: http://WWW.simonwaldman.co.uk/archives/000021.html IP: 213.232.71.149 BLOG NAME: words of waldman DATE: 01/29/2003 06:05:51 PM Have been ill for a few days, enough time to browse the following, but not to comment on them. Wired: ----- PING: TITLE: How has Blogger changed your life? URL: http://www.dashes.com/links/archives/20030126.php#004943 IP: 64.26.0.108 BLOG NAME: anil dash's daily links DATE: 01/30/2003 05:26:54 PM http://www.plasticbag.org/archives/2003/01/how_has_blogger_changed_your_life.shtml ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Building Trackback into plasticbag.org... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: __default__ ALLOW PINGS: 1 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Personal Publishing CATEGORY: Personal Publishing DATE: 01/29/2003 05:48:26 PM ----- BODY: A few days ago I wrote a post on trackback and how incomprehensible it was. And then I got two or three more people to explain it to me and it turns out I understood it all along. The reason I was so dumbfounded was that it seemed like such an unlikely and ungainly solution. It was almost as if someone had written documentation for the process of 'Opening a can of beans with a banana'. You understand the objective (you must open the can of beans), you understand what a banana is (yellow, pointy, looks a bit like a winkie) and you understand what a can is (tuna and beans come in them). And yet when you try to bring all three elements together, fundamental connections just don't seem to be being made... Anyway - the concept is now firmly embedded in my psyche. And just like everyone else with trackback enabled, I have been thinking about how to show off my new functionality and how proud of it I am. So where to start? As with any other design process you try to work out what the thing that you're trying to design actually is. And that's when the shock bit happens - you realise that trackback is an automation of the process of saying, "So and so is talking about this post!". That's all. Nothing more. And you realise that when you write those words on your site, you never consider it to be something that consitutes a discrete kind of technology at all. In fact, it's not anything different from the stuff you normally post... This interests me a lot. It seems like the way we've come to build trackback into the our sites works on the principle - first and foremost - that for the purposes of the weblog reader it does constitute something additional - value- / functionality-added. But it's not! In fact the only reason we're segregating it from the body of our posts is because it's got a different name. Most of my site is comprised of 'includes' of one kind or another, but I never feel the need to draw attention to that fact. And I don't think one should do that with trackback either. So here's how it's going to work. This site is totally Trackback enabled (or at least I hope it is - I haven't tested it very much yet). But you won't see a trackback URL for hand-pinging anywhere - if you can see it operating - if you can see the gears spinning - then as far as I'm concerned, the design has failed. Every trackback ping will be presented as if it were part of the post it's linking to rather than an appended piece of information. And that's not just on the individual post's page, but also on the index page of plasticbag.org itself. Obviously this places restrictions on the amount of information that I can display wiithout de-emphasising the rest of the content too heavily, but I think its the best approach. And the best thing? Hopefully you'll never see the word 'trackback' on this site again... ----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Liz EMAIL: liz@itcs.com IP: 129.21.217.20 URL: http://www.it.rit.edu/~ell/mamamusings/ DATE: 01/29/2003 09:21:07 PM You probably should update your archive templates to show the trackback entries, instead of just the main index page. Otherwise the trackback links aren't available to anyone who goes directly to the entry, and disappear entirely once the post "scrolls off" the main page. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Coates EMAIL: tom@plasticbag.org IP: 81.132.16.97 URL: http://www.plasticbag.org DATE: 01/29/2003 10:41:52 PM Which templates are you talking about Liz? As some of you have probably already noticed, the monthly archives aren't really working properly yet. Or they're working properly but they're not in the relevant templates yet. But the trackback pings should be visible on this page... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: nando EMAIL: nando@[DELETE_ENTRE_COLCHEIAS]obarquinho.com IP: 200.193.27.82 URL: http://obarquinho.com/nando DATE: 01/30/2003 12:02:48 AM Now you're talking! It's weird, but you were also right when you wrote your first impressions about trackback, because while it was only a generic routine link in the bottom of every post, its purpose was pratically invisible. when you open the door and let the content show itself, gotcha. it hardly seems what it was as a single trackback link. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Liz EMAIL: liz@itcs.com IP: 24.93.24.53 URL: http://www.it.rit.edu/~ell/mamamusings/ DATE: 01/30/2003 12:08:18 AM If you go into the templates page in mt management, you'll see the list of index templates, and below that, a list of archive templates. If you select the "Individual Entry Archive" template, you can add the same code to it that you did on the main index template. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Liz EMAIL: liz@itcs.com IP: 24.93.24.53 URL: http://www.it.rit.edu/~ell/mamamusings/ DATE: 01/30/2003 12:09:21 AM Ah...but just noticed that you've already done it. :-) Never mind... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: JoeyT EMAIL: invalid@invalid.net IP: 200.193.27.82 URL: DATE: 01/30/2003 01:10:09 AM What's the URL I must ping to trackback your post? ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Mark EMAIL: mark@cheap-date.org IP: 4.17.253.125 URL: http://www.cheap-date.org/journal/ DATE: 01/30/2003 05:49:02 AM Hmm, I kind of like how you arranged the Trackbacks, Tom -- less clicking and thinking for the reader. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Coates EMAIL: tom@plasticbag.org IP: 81.132.16.97 URL: http://www.plasticbag.org DATE: 01/30/2003 09:31:31 AM Joey - I think the point of what I'm saying is that I'm not going to put that URL publically on the site anywhere. You can use auto-discovery and then that should work. Or alternatively you can dig around in the search code and try and find it if you want... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Phil EMAIL: phil@gyford.com IP: 212.111.42.130 URL: http://www.gyford.com/ DATE: 01/30/2003 10:09:08 AM It's a very nice implementation of Trackback - looks nice and minimal. I'm not sure I like getting rid of the Trackback URL though. Yes, it's ugly and dumb but some people use it and it seems that you're making Trackback less useful just so it's a bit prettier. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Phil EMAIL: phil@gyford.com IP: 212.111.42.130 URL: http://www.gyford.com/ DATE: 01/30/2003 10:12:03 AM In fact, it now occurs to me that the Trackback link could/should be hidden behind a link, rather than printed in full all ugly-like on the page. I'm not sure why I didn't think of this sooner... I'll do it on my sites when I get a moment. I guess the downside is that hordes of people who don't understand Trackback might try clicking the link, which will do nothing... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Coates EMAIL: tom@plasticbag.org IP: 212.111.42.130 URL: http://www.plasticbag.org DATE: 01/30/2003 11:13:36 AM But won't that take you just to a page with an error message? There don't really seem to be any good implementations at the moment that don't have some kind of cost associated with them. My feeling is that this is one of those circumstances where the prototype implementation gains ground and becomes established when it just shouldn't. Trackback becomes a complete (albeit clunky) thing - complete unto itself - with auto-discovery. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: nando EMAIL: nando@DELETECAPSobarquinho.com IP: 200.193.27.82 URL: http://nando.obarquinho.com DATE: 01/30/2003 11:33:50 AM Yes, auto-discovery is the only and perfect answer to Tom's concept. JoeyT: I've tried to ping the post permalink and it didn't work, you got to set auto-discovery on. I'm thinking maybe it would be nice to put a box in the blog telling the blog is full trackback enabled but you have to set auto-discovery on. Tom: thanks for you idea, I'm starting using (and testing) your solution on my blog. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Jack EMAIL: jack@submitresponse.co.uk IP: 217.34.78.60 URL: http://www.submitresponse.co.uk/mt/ DATE: 01/30/2003 04:09:09 PM I'm with Nando: there needs to be some sort of indication that trackback is there, and not everyone will want to turn autodiscovery on... I've ended up setting my site to display any trackbacks at the end of the post, but left a trackback link in place for people who need the url. which is a bit of a mess... ----- PING: TITLE: Tom Trackbacks URL: http://www.benhammersley.com/archives/003955.html IP: 217.199.170.171 BLOG NAME: Ben Hammersley.com DATE: 01/29/2003 06:07:30 PM Tom introduces Trackback. He's confused now. Just wait...just wait... ----- PING: TITLE: trackback integration? URL: http://www.it.rit.edu/~ell/mamamusings/archives/000310.html IP: 129.21.21.1 BLOG NAME: mamamusings DATE: 01/29/2003 06:12:51 PM Tom Coates expresses frustration with the role and nature of trackback technology, and says that he's designed his site to ----- PING: TITLE: Is it working? URL: http://www.nicomorgan.com/2parchives/001161.php IP: 66.11.162.232 BLOG NAME: My 2p DATE: 01/29/2003 06:17:01 PM The real question is: Is it working? ----- PING: TITLE: Another site I need to check out further URL: http://www.engel5.net/weblog/archives/2003/01/187.php IP: 203.194.209.197 BLOG NAME: AYM - Weblog DATE: 01/29/2003 06:26:41 PM He's decided to wrap Trackback into his site so completely that you never see it because "if you can see it operating - if you can see the gears spinning - then as far as [he is] concerned, the design has failed." Amen. ----- PING: TITLE: Trackback Integration URL: http://www.submitresponse.co.uk/archives/000284.php IP: 81.3.64.11 BLOG NAME: Submit Response DATE: 01/29/2003 06:47:21 PM A good point about the way trackback ought to be an 'invisible' feature is made at Plasticbag.org. (You might need ----- PING: TITLE: Trackback, metacrap and semi-latent semantics URL: http://dannyayers.com/archives/000747.html IP: 66.70.189.63 BLOG NAME: Raw Blog DATE: 01/29/2003 08:07:54 PM An interesting post at Plasticbag.org. Trackback has been enabled there, but "...if you can see it operating - if you ----- PING: TITLE: PlasticBag on Trackback URL: http://obarquinho.com/nando/memorias/2003_01.html#003857 IP: 66.33.197.8 BLOG NAME: wowblog! DATE: 01/30/2003 02:49:53 AM Tom Coates do PlasticBag colocou o trackback no ----- PING: TITLE: Next lesson URL: http://www.nigelhammersley.co.uk/archives/003962.html IP: 217.199.170.171 BLOG NAME: Nigel Hammersley DATE: 01/30/2003 05:16:17 PM OK so now i know how to put links into my blog text and Ben has added trackback though i ----- PING: TITLE: Trackback URL: http://www.frownland.com/article/152 IP: 209.68.2.4 BLOG NAME: Frownland DATE: 01/30/2003 11:59:15 PM An elegant Trackback solution ----- PING: TITLE: Trackback: A nice implementation URL: http://thetimesink.net/2003/DCB030127.html IP: 12.81.22.114 BLOG NAME: The TimeSink DATE: 02/01/2003 07:30:05 AM ...wherein the author implements a very nice version of the same trackback element he was questioning a few days before. ----- PING: TITLE: I don't know much about Trackback... but I know what I like. URL: http://WWW.simonwaldman.co.uk/archives/000033.html IP: 213.232.71.149 BLOG NAME: words of waldman DATE: 02/05/2003 08:15:57 AM I don't really understand Trackback. There, I said it. I feel much better now. Well, I sort of understand it...but ----- PING: TITLE: Plastic TrackBack URL: http://refugio.f2o.org/archivos/000494.php IP: 63.237.54.244 BLOG NAME: El Refugio DATE: 03/13/2003 11:40:25 PM Siguiendo los consejos de Tom Coates acerca de los trackbacks en Movable Type hice algunas modificaciones a la forma en ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The weblog them. The weblog us. STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: __default__ ALLOW PINGS: 1 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Personal Publishing CATEGORY: Personal Publishing DATE: 01/31/2003 07:04:07 PM ----- BODY: Once more into the breach. We're riding back into familiar territory, only this time we're doing it with a different purpose - to provide a different perspective on One Pot Meal's piece on A-listers and the rest of us. First the figures. Yes it's true - some webloggers get more traffic than others. In fact I think it's quite likely that the popularity of weblogs will follow some kind of weird Power Law - as (it seems) does everything else these days. By this I mean for every weblogger there is who gets a thousand page views a day, there are probably a thousand who get one. With thousands of weblogs being created each and every day (and most of us not reading thousands of new weblogs a day), it seems clear that something is happening along the way... Is it a function of the medium that means that some will be well read and some will be invisible? And did you have to be there at the start to be one of the 'elite'? Is it a fact of life that some sites will be "popular" while most languish. Have we recreated yet another celebrity subculture? But what does it actually mean to be popular in blogspace? There are hundreds of thousands of active webloggers across the world. If you cut off the hundred with the most traffic then the rest of us probably get between ten page-views and a thousand page-views a day. It may seem like a radical difference, but what is it compared to the hundreds of thousands that many medium content sites get each day? Or the millions that the world's most popular sites get? It's worth reminding ourselves that individually pretty much every single weblogger is effectively invisible to anyone outside our community. Bluntly although I may get a hundred times the traffic that you do, that still might only constitute an extra 990 pages served. That's a number that would barely register as of interest to any commercial operation. If BBC News lost that many readers tomorrow, it would probably never notice. So what's my point? Individually most webloggers are as nothing to the world at large. With the exception of reputation-building experts, weblogs are powerful only in aggregation. But we are powerful, we are impactful, we are important when those clumps emerge - where people agree with one another - when concepts, thoughts, missions, campaigns, disputes, ideas bubble up to the collective frontal lobes of the hundreds of overlapping communities that webloggery constitutes. This is not a medium that's been built to make some famous and keep others down. The technology defies that kind of elitism by dint of its very existence. And the people who seem within the community to be our 'heroes', our aspirational 'greats' - well mostly they're nothing but visible citizens of blogspace - like the people who sit on parish councils, or the people on the PTA or the people who go to book groups. Celebrities? I don't think so. ----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Coates EMAIL: tom@plasticbag.org IP: 81.132.16.97 URL: http://www.plasticbag.org DATE: 01/31/2003 07:18:08 PM Going back and reviewing this piece in more detail subsequently, I find I'm not totally convinced by the way I argued it, even though I still agree with my conclusions. I think fundamentally, the piece of information that I should have included but which I left out, was that this so-called set of 'A-listers' who seem to be so solid and impenetrable a group are clearly not. Else how could the warblogging community thrive so quickly and effectively? And people like diveintomark.org or Aaron Swartz have become well-respected and enthusiastically linked-to representatives of the culture very swiftly as well. There's something weird about this whole thing for me - as if weblogging actually was still thought to be the monoculture that it probably was three years ago when there were only a few dozen people doing it. However much the 'charts' may say otherwise, we're really not in competition with each other for traffic and respect. At worst we're at competition with ourselves to write compelling content that's of value to other people. And that seems ok to me... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: steve EMAIL: s@onepotmeal.com IP: 151.199.44.103 URL: http://www.onepotmeal.com DATE: 01/31/2003 07:43:38 PM Thanks, Tom. Your point about the flexibility of 'A-listers' as a category, especially the example of warbloggers, gets exactly at one of the points I was trying to make. Namely that there are multiple and flexible routes to success (assuming, for purposes here, that we define success as visibility). And while I think that there are ways in which power and influence online compare to offline--ie, some people have weight to throw around--I don't think it's as simple as 'person X is popular, and they have the power to decide whether person Y succeeds or not'. And, as you say, it's all success in a particular, fairly insular sphere. I have to admit that I feel a bit guilty about heading 'once more into the breach': I was really thinking in hypotheticals and concepts, but through my own (perhaps poor) choice of examples it's being read as commentary on specific people far more than I meant it. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Vaughan EMAIL: vaughan@whereveryouare.org IP: 195.92.67.68 URL: http://www.whereveryouare.org DATE: 02/01/2003 12:19:36 AM Call me blinkered if you like, but I think I'm proud to say that I only ever briefly recognised what constituted an A-list (if indeed, such a thing exists) - and that would be back when I first started blogging and was (briefly) interested in the "blogging community". These days, I wouldn't know what an A-list blog was if the writer came up and repeatedly slapped me round the face while shouting, "I'm A-list! I'm A-list!" And that makes me happy. Too often, I find that the hugely successful bloggers write to pander to their audience, rather than writing what they want to say. I don't want to read writing that simply exists for the common denominator - we can get that from thousands of other media sources. I read weblogs for the essential individuality of each writer. Oh, and the line: "individually most webloggers are as nothing to the world at large." I couldn't agree more. To use a somewhat more American phrase, I really think it's time that blogging got over itself already. The navel-gazing is fast turning into sickening narcissism. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Coates EMAIL: tom@plasticbag.org IP: 81.132.16.97 URL: http://www.plasticbag.org DATE: 02/01/2003 12:47:28 AM I quite like narcissism! More seriously though, I do think these things are worth debating and I'd almost like the encourage people to think quite carefully about what they're doing when they blog. This is the first technology that's really facilitated many thousands of people to 'broadcast' their opinions into the ether in a semi-permanent fashion and while no individual weblog is particularly important, I do think that these hundreds of thousands of people joining in could be demonstrably significant in changing the way in which mainstream media operates with the general public. But I guess we'll have to wait and see on that one... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Clay Shirky EMAIL: clays@panix.com IP: 141.149.59.247 URL: http://www.shirky.com/ DATE: 02/01/2003 03:27:26 AM Jason is right. Diversity + preference = inequality, and the greater the number of people in the system, the greater inequality. That's not sociology, that's math. The element of time is also vital. The warbloggers appeared in a much sparser ecosystem than the one that exists today, for example, so new entrants becoming part of the 5% of the blogosphere that accounts for 50% of the traffic will have a harder time. I'd also dispute that "no individual weblog is particularly important." Instapundit, boingBoing and andrewsullivan.com _are_ particularly important. Check your own traffic some time, and you will see that the distribution from other weblogs is _also_ a power law. If what weblogs do -- putting things out there for people to read -- is good, then doing more of that is better, and some sites do more of it, a lot more, and that gap is increasing, not decreasing. "Mainstream media" is just a synonym for "stuff I'm already used to." As we get used to weblogs, they will become mainstream media too, and will take on the trappings of mainstream media. They will have an above-average effect on traffic, they will not be able to link to everything that comes to their attention, they will have to implement processes to decide what is 'blog-worthy', and when that happens, as a result of their success, the people whose work is deemed non-blog-worthy will start bitching about how they have become like the mainstream media. And they will be right. Mainstream media is not the way it is because it's run by dolts. Its the way it is because as audiences scale up, center-to-edge connections continue to rise, but edge-to-center and edge-to-edge connections don't (and can't). This is happening, today, to blogs, and 2 years from now, some of the current A list and some new entrants will be full-fledged old-media-like _channels_. Glenn and Andrew are already close to that now. -clay ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Jon Baas EMAIL: wlc540@yahoo.com IP: 66.72.233.237 URL: http://www.jonbaas.com/weblog.html DATE: 02/01/2003 07:49:09 AM You all have some good points, and I agree in general... (sans too much philosophical talk for right now I am insanely tired, and probably would not even know what I am typing in the first place.)... Diversity is what weblogs are all about. Myself, I've been successfully blogging for almost a year now, and I really don't care if I have a thousand people a day reading my blog or whatnot. Blogs are about individuality, creativity, ...a look into the mind and observations of another human being. The exchange of opinions, observations, and the intermingling of individual personalies is what makes this world go round. It's about humanity, and since we're all human (or at least I would hope so...) there is much we can learn from each other, even if it is not earth-shattering. I've become a regular reader hear at plasticbag.org, and I can honestly say this, I am learning much from my readings of this blogging individual. I am amused, intruiged, compelled, and even sometimes in disagreement... but, afterall, in a society of freedoms which we enjoy so, isn't that what blogs promote. .... I'm proud to be a blogging individual, and eager as always to share my insight and personality with those interested in reading. (Ha... ok, who knows how much sense that prolonged comment made. I can be very philosophical, but I guess it's not easy at these levels of fatigue... ok... bed time.) Regards, A seriously tired blogging individual, Actor/ Artist, -Jon Baas ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Coates EMAIL: tom@plasticbag.org IP: 81.132.16.97 URL: http://www.plasticbag.org DATE: 02/01/2003 12:22:51 PM Clay - obviously I bow to your expertise in these matters, but I'm not sure I agree. In my original version of this piece I do have a chunk about the hundred most popular weblogs and how special rules might come into effect at that level, but it seemed half-hearted and clumsy so I left it out. Here's where I disagree - mainstream versus personal publishing first. They're clumsy terms and I accept that - perhaps I could describe them better as centralised versus distributed publishing. But terminology aside, I think there are a number of qualitative differences between the two, one of which is just obvious - that the weblog of an individual represents that individual and is the work of that individual, rather than the conglomeration of works by a variety of people, rather than a clumping together of sources under a banner of brand. It doesn't sound like much, but it is - people's interests change, their emphasis changes, their relationship to work changes - a weblog can never hope to be as stable and reliable a long-term product as a newspaper or television station. People take holidays. Newspapers don't. A close analogy might be the celebrity-based TV comment show or the newspaper column - but shows come and go, newspaper columnists change perspective. A weblog doesn't match with a channel, it matches one of the things that can be put into a channel. The fact that they're interesting to people might in fact be based on the fact that they're not the same as old established media channels. They might reflect the Tivo / MP3 era of componentised media blocks that people assemble to meet their own needs and values as they want...

Secondly the network that lies behind the individual weblogs remains of crucial importance. The links and commentary and stories that circulate through blogspace have to start somewhere and be picked up by a hell of a lot of other people to manifest strongly enough to jump species and escape from weblog-circles (or to reach the most trafficked sites). We become exposed to the maximum amount of potent memetic material as a direct result of the size of the network that is looking for this material - and even the least read weblogs have a weight there. It is the connections between all individuals individuals that matter here. The size of each individual is important, but it is less important than you'd think.

A couple of examples, which I think also demonstrate some of the differences between the distributed and centralised, personal and mainstream... (i) There's the power of the incoming link - that one might be a low-traffic site that links to a high-traffic site with a pertinent point and the high-traffic site notices the impact in the referral log and chooses to respond in kind with a link and a reference. This is the oldest and most widely established way of distributing memetic material from the smaller to the larger weblogs. It happens everyday and it works. (ii) And while referrer logs depend on the amount of through-put traffic to make an impact, link-tracking functionality and trackback don't - Blogdex, Daypop, Technorati all base themselves around a uniquely democratic and distributed system of establishing the value of a piece of micro-content. Everyone's vote is equally important, equally valuable. And each may contain legitimate commentary. Trackback - for all its flaws - is also a uniquely democratic piece of kit that (once you've got past the legitimately tricky expertise barrier of figuring out how it works) builds two-way links that mean that the most-trafficked still have an honest relationship with the least trafficked.

The whole system has emerged in such a way - and continues to emerge in even more of away - as to assert the individual value and significance of each microcontent 'vote', and not only to assert it but to make it reciprocal - to partially redistribute the traffic. As ever, it seems, the technology tries to make the world as quickly moving, as resistant to entrenched power structures and as close to nodal networks as it can...

Finally, I want to have a few words about the power of aggregation and aggregated content. This seems to me to be fundamental. As far as I can tell the next big shift in weblog-tech is going to be the site that brings the best writing from webloggery to the surface in the most timely and organised fashion possible. It seems to me to be directly related to processes and algorithms like Google's - as seen in action on Google News - which themselves work on the basis of microcontent votes - gestural links and clustering derived from the decisions of hundreds of millions of active net users. And it seems to me to be related to the idea of prominent webloggers not being channels, but content for channels. Aggregated weblog content, either bespoke for individuals (cf. desktop aggregators like NetNewsWire or developed Blogdex style to provide the net's best take on the very best links and commentary available each day - these seem to me to be the next stage models of channels. Modular sites that compete with one another to provide the best mix or the most accurately interesting information each and every day seem to be the wave of the future. And this is what I mean by us being potent and powerful together - the links that leap the species are the ones that achieve massive currency in weblogdom - the ones one everyone's sites. That's the power we have to harness and I think it's a power that dwarfs Glenn Reynolds or Jason Kottke and will continue to do so. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Coates EMAIL: tom@plasticbag.org IP: 81.132.16.97 URL: http://www.plasticbag.org DATE: 02/02/2003 11:41:03 AM Clay - one other thing in your post that I really disagree with - you say this: "If what weblogs do - putting things out there for people to read - is good, then doing more of that is better, and some sites do more of it, a lot more, and that gap is increasing, not decreasing." In my experience of weblogging, you get more people reading you if you write relatively short pieces of good quality and insight than you do if you write lots. In fact, it might even be said that there is a fairly small saturation limit that people feel about getting content from any individual weblogger. People often read weblogs for the diversity of opinion and if you find your daily reading time increasingly colonised by one particularly fiesty writer, you end up skim-reading or getting bored of them. And interestingly, the most successful memes can be those that are just given time to be taken up. The more time a post is in a position of importance at the top of your site the more likely it is to be linked, the more likely it is that it'll reach that early tipping point and spread from one or two sites to blogdom in general and the more people will end up reading it. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Dan Hartung EMAIL: lakefxdan@aol.com IP: 172.163.94.7 URL: http://www.lakefx.nu/ DATE: 02/03/2003 05:51:21 AM Tom: good job on the numbers. I checked the blogging ecosystem, as good a metric for the "first hundred" as any, and the first blog I found after #100 that had a public counter was Virginia Postrel -- whose extreme tracker daily average is 1044. But I would agree with you: although the ecosystem list has a number of old-school early bloggers on it (you're at #90), it also has some recent stars. Many are in the instapundit orbit of political blogs, but still others are not. Creative Commons, a relatively new project, is at #15 (which isn't strictly fair, perhaps, given its linkback nature by default). By the way, the number of linkbacks required to remain on the list of 500 seems to rise by about one a week; it's now at 50. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Henry Copeland EMAIL: henry@pressflex.com IP: 24.91.228.56 URL: http://www.blogads.com/weblog DATE: 02/03/2003 02:16:46 PM Clay's argument that 'the blogosphere is elitist and will soon become mainstream media' contains two generalizations that should be untangled. a) Yes, Clay is probably right that 5% of the blogs will always account for 50% of blog traffic. But it is wrong to talk about "The" blogosphere. We'll certainly have hundreds of blogospheres, each with its own elite and power law distribution. And we don't need to worry about stasis any time soon. These new spheres will be emerging for a long time. Glenn Reynolds obviously won't be the hub for French bloggers, and BoingBoing won't be the hub for evangelical Christians. New bloggers will invent and serve new spheres. b) Clay suggests that because mainstream media is elitist (ie governed by the power law), all elitest media is mainstream media. "As we get used to weblogs, they will become mainstream media too, and will take on the trappings of mainstream media," he says.

Sure the blogospheres may each display elitist traffic distrubutions. But Clay's equation of blogs and mainstream media elides the many traits -- links, chronology, personality, blogrolls, 95% lower overheads, Google-friendliness, trackbacks -- that make blogs different from (and subversive of) today's dominant media, aka "mainstream media." Lumping the two classes of media together is like declaring, 1.5 million years ago, that "homo erectus shares traits with the ape, so we can safely ignore their differences." What makes blogs unique? I'll advance the argument that a key difference between blogs and today's media is corporate structure. As media organisms, blogs have shorter life-cycles, smaller metabolisms and are run by flexible egos. Up against the old, thick-shell, high-burn, multi-cell media organisms, the blog is an ideal candidate to evolve and exploit new media challenges. Weird, subversive, new things will come to pass. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Coates EMAIL: tom@plasticbag.org IP: 217.40.197.37 URL: http://www.plasticbag.org DATE: 02/08/2003 07:59:28 PM I don't know whether it was this conversation or another that inspired Clay to write Power Laws, Weblogs and Inequality, but either way it's a very interesting and well-researched development on some of the thoughts we've been investigating here... ----- PING: TITLE: great clay shirky comment on the weblog power law URL: http://www.dashes.com/links/archives/20030126.php#004964 IP: 64.26.0.108 BLOG NAME: anil dash's daily links DATE: 02/01/2003 06:32:12 AM http://www.plasticbag.org/archives/2003/01/the_weblog_them_the_weblog_us.shtml ----- PING: TITLE: Untangling the strands URL: http://WWW.onepotmeal.com/blog/archives/001187.html IP: 64.71.137.114 BLOG NAME: OnePotMeal DATE: 02/03/2003 02:35:18 PM In follow up to my post about online power and influence, and the many inciteful comments added here in my ----- PING: TITLE: To the winners...the spoils URL: http://WWW.simonwaldman.co.uk/archives/000046.html IP: 213.232.71.149 BLOG NAME: words of waldman DATE: 02/11/2003 04:27:18 PM Some very interesting writing this week about the concentration of traffic/ links onto a very small number/ proportion of blogs ----- PING: TITLE: Glocalisation disguised as Personal Publishing URL: http://randgaenge.net/2003/02/01.html#a1229 IP: 81.223.242.209 BLOG NAME: thomas n. burg | randg�nge DATE: 08/18/2003 01:07:00 PM Weblogs sind ein weiterer Weg der Glocalisation ----- PING: TITLE: Weblogs and power laws URL: http://www.kottke.org/03/02/weblogs-and-power-laws IP: 24.123.114.130 BLOG NAME: kottke.org DATE: 06/22/2004 10:08:15 PM Many systems and phenomena are distributed according to a power law distribution. A power law applies to a system when large is rare and small is common. The distribution of individual wealth is a good example of this: there are a very few rich men and... ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: iPhoto 2 and iMovie 2 are now available... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 1 ALLOW PINGS: 1 DATE: 01/31/2003 08:20:50 PM ----- BODY: Just in case you haven't heard yet - iPhoto 2 and iMovie 2 are now both available for download. I'm off to get my copies now and if I have anything pertinent to say about them, you can be sure I'll post about it... In the meantime, if anyone has any criticisms or thoughts on how they've been improved / debased, feel free to write a comment below... ----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Greg EMAIL: greg@consequently.org IP: 203.20.229.2 URL: http://consequently.org DATE: 01/31/2003 11:24:38 PM One thing which looks like an improvement in iMovie -- I am able to import QuickTime .mov files directly as clips. (Just drag them from the finder into the clip window.) I'm 95% sure that you couldn't do that in previous versions. You needed to use QuickTime Pro to convert them to DV files before importing. This makes things lots more convenient for me. (My little digital camera makes .mov files.) ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Coates EMAIL: tom@plasticbag.org IP: 81.132.16.97 URL: http://www.plasticbag.org DATE: 02/01/2003 12:10:45 AM I was talking to Matt Webb about the integration with iTunes and he told me that he thought it was fairly half-hearted. But I was playing with the slide-show feature in iPhoto and I have to say I thought it was neat. I was impressed at how quickly I could assemble a nice piece of Christmas schlock with a bit of holiday music and a few pictures of the family. It's silly and trivial, but it's nice. More impressive is the way iPhoto has been sped up so that it's actually worth using regularly... I haven't played much with iMovie yet though... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: robert cowan EMAIL: rbcowan@sympatico.ca IP: 65.95.186.211 URL: DATE: 09/25/2003 03:15:02 AM Where is the download for iMovie 2 for OS9.1? ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Superfast Superfunny Extrapotent Linkfun III STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 1 DATE: 01/31/2003 09:54:43 PM ----- BODY:

Being a list of (relatively) recently-found funny and/or weird links that are too insubstantial to write anything critical or interesting about and that have been piling up in my 'do something with' box for quite a while, only to be released on a Friday evening in an almost sexual explosion of trivia and spontaneous uselessness:

From B3ta's photoshopping crew comes: Basically, it was fucked...
Home Despot: "Free election fixing reminders! Loads of oppression advice!"
If Blog Names Were Band-Names. Plasticbag, "sounds like Sigue Sigue Sputnik".
100 Greatest Music Videos from Slant.
Stunning Recursive Flash Imagery that's likely to boil your mind.
Tatooine chic meets Blancmange Telly-tubby underworld: BoVision
Don't buy stinky diamonds for your woman says Anil Dash.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Signing away your rights in perpetuity? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: __default__ ALLOW PINGS: 1 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Net Culture CATEGORY: Net Culture CATEGORY: Personal Publishing DATE: 02/01/2003 12:33:09 AM ----- BODY: First things first, Creative Commons is a great idea that I thoroughly approve of and plan at some point to participate in. But I'm being a little more reserved about it than other people seem to be. And the reason? Whether or not I wish to exploit the rights afforded to me by copyright, I'm anxious about the concept of giving them up in perpetuity. Here's the thing. Webloggers are - by nature, perhaps - faddish people. The memes that spread around the net are often spread by webloggers. Other than e-mail, weblogs are probably the most effective down-home meme-spreaders on the planet. Hence we have blogchalking, son of warchalking, we have googlism, we have the Friday Five. We have Blogger Code and we have quiz after quiz after quiz. People are XHTML 1.0 compliant, and then they're not. They're transitional, then they're strict. They're three-column. Then they're kottke-esque. All these memes are transient and reversable. Change your code, change it back. New design, change it back. Put up a meme, take it down or apologise for it. Muck it around as well, change it, adapt it, rerelease it into the wild. But Creative Commons isn't like that. It's not reversable. You're giving up rights (that maybe you shouldn't have - I'm not in the mood to debate that) forever. You're retroactively putting (to a greater or lesser extent) all the work associated with your site in the public arena. And there's no way take it back. Legally you wouldn't have a leg to stand on. Now the chances of someone wanting to do something with the content on most weblogs is pretty limited. And the Creative Commons people are brilliant people who have developed a way of giving up only the rights that we're individually comfortable with. And moreover we tacitly allow people to participate in a fairly loose and unenforced honour-code version of copyright every day - that's the commenting and copying, the cutting-and-pasting that is part and parcel of writing in a style that is always at least partially scholiastic in nature. So I'm not saying that you shouldn't participate if you're sure that's what you want to do. Far from it. Jump in. Just be sure you recognise the scale of what you're doing before you display the notice. It's possible that a decision made on a whim on a Thursday afternoon at the pub could come back to haunt you later on... ----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Mac EMAIL: macdara@macdaraconroy.com IP: 194.145.130.165 URL: http://macdaraconroy.com/ DATE: 02/01/2003 12:31:01 PM i recently licensed the copyright of my site under a creative commons licence, but i thought long and hard before doing so. i didn't want to throw my work willy-nilly into the public domain, but on the other hand i wanted it to be open for others to explore, replicate and quote freely from as long as i am credited. (sure, as a proprietor of a low-traffic blog that's pretty narcissistic of me, but that's one of the reasons i started a blog in the first place, the whole 'look at me!' factor.) regarding the web, i think this is fair. as to whether i would license say, a book or a screenplay under a creative commons license? that's a different question, one that i'd have to think harder and longer about. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Dawn EMAIL: dawn@drivingwithdawn.com IP: 209.178.190.72 URL: http://www.drivingwithdawn.com DATE: 02/01/2003 10:06:07 PM I have also been debating whether to license my site under a Creative Commons license. I would like to because it seems like such a cool idea, but what stops me is the fact I don't understand copyright issues at all. (scary, isn't it?) I do plan to participate, but I'd like to understand exactly what I am getting into before I join. (which is funny because I'm usually so impulsive...) ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Armin EMAIL: spam@grewe.co.uk IP: 217.35.43.141 URL: http://www.ministryofpropaganda.co.uk/ DATE: 02/01/2003 10:56:34 PM Thank you for putting my nervousness about this into words. I went to Creative Commons several times and looked at all the different licenses. Every time I left without selecting a license, thinking I'm not sure about this and don't want to do it just because everyone else is doing it. Oh, and you forgot geo-url in your list of memes going around ;-) ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Ian Betteridge EMAIL: ianb@well.com IP: 80.3.64.5 URL: http://www.ludicrous.org.uk DATE: 02/02/2003 05:15:19 PM Ummm... actually I think you're missing the point about Creative Commons. You're not giving up copyright, in any sense: You still own your copyright material, lock, stock and barrel. CC is all about giving other people a license to use your work in a way that's useful, but which doesn't stop you doing anything with it. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Coates EMAIL: tom@plasticbag.org IP: 213.123.155.150 URL: http://www.plasticbag.org DATE: 02/02/2003 06:06:10 PM I want to clarify again that I'm not against the Creative Commons project - in fact I'm an eager exponent of it. I just want to make sure that people know what they're doing when they sign up to it. You're quite right of course - obviously you can do anything you want with your own material - but what I'm saying is that if you say that other people can use your material for commercial purposes, then in essence you can't then withdraw that permission subsequently should you change your mind. The material that you've placed in the public sphere can't realistically be taken be taken back. It may sound like a trivial point and obvious to everyone - but I'm not sure that all of the people who take on the creative commons license are aware of that. I just want them to go into it with their eyes open, comfortable with the idea that they're entering a long-term relationship with 'the commons'. Having said all of that, if I am wrong and this is not the case, I would appreciate any clarification you might be able to provide... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: heather EMAIL: heather@jezebel.com IP: 64.174.47.195 URL: http://www.harrumph.com DATE: 02/03/2003 01:06:36 AM "You're retroactively putting (to a greater or lesser extent) all the work associated with your site in the public arena." Actually no. With the Creative Commons license, it's not blanket coverage. You can pick and choose what elements you put online that are covered by the CC license. While I've covered everthing, had I wanted to, I could have selected day by day what photographs would be covered. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Coates EMAIL: tom@plasticbag.org IP: 213.123.151.49 URL: http://www.plasticbag.org DATE: 02/03/2003 08:52:09 AM Still, most people seem to be slapping the license onto their sites without a care in the world - and it's still true that the photos you open up to use cannot have those restrictions placed back upon them again, isn't it? ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: heather EMAIL: heather@jezebel.com IP: 64.174.47.195 URL: http://www.harrumph.com DATE: 02/03/2003 02:00:50 PM Without a care in the world? I'm not privvy to the thought process involved with everyone's decision, so i can't say whether or not they slapped a license onto their site in this manner. In my own case i went back and forth for abouth three weeks. And the restrictions, you're most likely correct. Why don't you ask a few people instead of assuming we're all sheep? ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Coates EMAIL: tom@plasticbag.org IP: 212.111.42.130 URL: http://www.plasticbag.org DATE: 02/03/2003 03:23:51 PM God, I'm sorry Heather - I didn't mean to sound snippy. The whole point of my post was to express my worry that a lot of people weren't necessarily putting a lot of thought into their decisions to put their work into Creative Commons, which is unsurprising, I think, since so many disposable memes pass through the blogging sphere. I certainly wasn't trying to say that everyone hadn't thought it through, or that it was a bad thing for people to do. I wasn't trying to imply that people were sheep at all, I was just trying to make sure that people who were thinking of entering into it thought through the implications. That's all. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Anna EMAIL: kookymojo@yahoo.com IP: 62.189.82.155 URL: http://kookymojo.blogspot.com DATE: 02/05/2003 11:12:05 AM I have to agree with you, Tom (and Mac). I work in the copyright "sector" (as it were), so I at least have some knowledge of licensing issues, but I know that the subject of copyright and IP alienates and confuses a lot of people. I was initially hesitant to add a CC license to my site until I had considered and reconsidered the ramifications (not just of my site, but on the internet as a whole, actually). There's also my personal problems with the majority CC's approach coming from an American perspective and American law. This is an issue I have with much of the internet, since such a large proportion of it is approached with the American perspective rather than an international one. But I'm not sure how it's possible for the CC to get around that, short of hiring legal advisors from every single country in the world... ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On moral ambivalence and heroism... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 1 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Politics CATEGORY: Politics DATE: 02/02/2003 04:00:06 PM ----- BODY:

Kurt Vonnegut - the writer of Slaughterhouse 5, my favourite book of all time - finally joins my rogues gallery of personal heroes. I'm not sure it's an honour that he'd aspire to, or even accept - particularly given the company he's going to be keeping - but he doesn't get a choice in the matter. It's my list. If he doesn't like it, he can write his own damn list...

He joins a motley group consisting of Steve Jobs, Grant Morrison and Sigmund Freud - all of whom I think are aware of the sheer complexity of life and living, the difficulty of operating morally within the world, and who strive nevertheless towards some kind of positive constructive change, significant or profound insights or the building of elegant and beautiful things. These are probably the only ethics that I understand. These are probably the only beliefs that I can stand behind.

To my knowledge, none of my heroes are women and none of them are gay. This could be a failing of the world, a failing of myself or a failing of women and gay people.

Of the four, Kurt Vonnegut is clearly the most overtly politically motivated - but he stands for a form of humanism rather than for sectarian or party politics. This doesn't mean he's not prepared to lay into our leaders and representatives in government or big business. Quite the opposite. Here's an extended quotation from a recent interview with him:

I myself feel that our country, for whose Constitution I fought in a just war, might as well have been invaded by Martians and body snatchers. Sometimes I wish it had been. What has happened, though, is that it has been taken over by means of the sleaziest, low-comedy, Keystone Cops-style coup d?etat imaginable. And those now in charge of the federal government are upper-crust C-students who know no history or geography, plus not-so-closeted white supremacists, aka 'Christians,' and plus, most frighteningly, psychopathic personalities, or 'PPs.'

To say somebody is a PP is to make a perfectly respectable medical diagnosis, like saying he or she has appendicitis or athlete?s foot. The classic medical text on PPs is The Mask of Sanity by Dr. Hervey Cleckley. Read it! PPs are presentable, they know full well the suffering their actions may cause others, but they do not care. They cannot care because they are nuts. They have a screw loose!

And what syndrome better describes so many executives at Enron and WorldCom and on and on, who have enriched themselves while ruining their employees and investors and country, and who still feel as pure as the driven snow, no matter what anybody may say to or about them? And so many of these heartless PPs now hold big jobs in our federal government, as though they were leaders instead of sick.

What has allowed so many PPs to rise so high in corporations, and now in government, is that they are so decisive. Unlike normal people, they are never filled with doubts, for the simple reason that they cannot care what happens next. Simply can?t. Do this! Do that! Mobilize the reserves! Privatize the public schools! Attack Iraq! Cut health care! Tap everybody?s telephone! Cut taxes on the rich! Build a trillion-dollar missile shield! Fuck habeas corpus and the Sierra Club and In These Times, and kiss my ass!

The most important part of this quotation for me is the part marked with italics. As I look around me at the very vocal parties trying to make the complex moral issues surrounding an attack on Iraq seem simple and obvious, I feel repelled. There are people on every side using cheap argument and charged sloganeering to steer public opinion. There are people on "both" (as if there were only two possible approaches to any problem) sides appealling to patriotism, or to deep-seated prejudice of every kind, or appeal to people's self-interest or on their nervousness and sense of vulnerability.

Which brings us back to heroes. We choose figureheads to represent our interests or our beliefs. We choose to give respect to people whose arguments convince us, or who have knowledge and experience that we think is important or relevant. Each of us makes miniature heroes out of our politicians when we support them, or the experts that we quote when we're defending a position.

If I have any advice for anyone who's reading this and still doesn't know where to place their support in this and any other political situation - how to choose your heroes as it were - I would say this and nothing more. The people who present conflicts like this, decisions of this scale, as either / or situations entered into because there are no other options (be this in defence of war or against war - or any other debate) - these are the people who we should be suspicious of. Because they're the ones for whom all debate has been shut down, they're the ones who couldn't be persuaded that their position is wrong if you had all the evidence in the world. They're the ones who have positions that are fait accompli, that they'll defend and fortify - bringing arguments and figures to bear individually as if they were tanks or planes, selecting whatever information suits their position at any time.

Living isn't about anything, but much of the process of wandering through life requires us to make difficult decisions - to try and work out what the best thing to do is in difficult circumstances where there are a variety of perspectives, where no side is completely free of stigma or shame, where pragmatism tells you a different thing from your beliefs. People who would hide these decisions from you, take these decisions from you, who would treat you as children - they don't deserve your respect, let alone your adulation. These people are not to be trusted. Do not allow yourself to be spoken to as if you were a child or an idiot by the people you chose to govern you unless you're prepared to have them make terrible decisions in your name. Because however many heroes you might have, you don't have to wake up and face them in the mirror in the morning.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: groc EMAIL: groc@NOSPAMgroc.org.uk IP: 195.92.198.75 URL: http://www.groc.org.uk/blog/ DATE: 02/03/2003 01:41:59 AM I picked up on being wholly suspicious of left/right either/or black/white thinking from having an interest in the works of Edward De Bono. He points to it as a massive failing at the heart of western education. It's all down to everyone having a reluctance to do any real thinking - in fact the whole formal education is geared to shutting down the whole process of questioning. Instead people are taught how to defend arguments -the best of them can swear that black is white and that the Earth is flat. Which of course has nothing to do with searching out answers or whether what their arguing about is right or wrong. Just that their eloquence wins out. You can see it expressed at it's worse in our own Parliment -left wing vs right wing with no other choices allowed. It's a frightening thing. We really need to start outgrowing this nonsense. ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Anti-Americanism versus Anti-Europeanism... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 1 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Politics CATEGORY: Politics DATE: 02/02/2003 04:48:36 PM ----- BODY:

Presented with limited commentary, two articles about the relationship between Europe and America. One from the Washington Post (Politicians With Guts) that makes the stunning suggestion that a continent of states should make decisions on international politics based upon whether or not they owe the United States a favour for helping out in a war that ended sixty years ago, while simultaneously somehow suggesting that any disagreement with American foreign politics is tantamount to setting-up death-camps:

By using the word "generosity," they even implied that Europeans might now owe the United States a little generosity in return ... Britain's most gifted scholars sift through American writings about Europe searching for signs of derogatory "sexual imagery." In Paris, all the talk is of oil and "imperialism" (and Jews). In Madrid, it's oil, imperialism, past American support for Franco (and Jews).

The other article is from the New York Review of Books (Anti-Europeanism in America) which talks about the stereotypes of the European:

Europeans are wimps. They are weak, petulant, hypocritical, disunited, duplicitous, sometimes anti-Semitic and often anti-American appeasers. In a word: "Euroweenies." Their values and their spines have dissolved in a lukewarm bath of multilateral, transnational, secular, and postmodern fudge. They spend their euros on wine, holidays, and bloated welfare states instead of on defense. Then they jeer from the sidelines while the United States does the hard and dirty business of keeping the world safe for Europeans. Americans, by contrast, are strong, principled defenders of freedom, standing tall in the patriotic service of the world's last truly sovereign nation-state.

And gets to the crux of the issue:

Anti-Americanism and anti-Europeanism are at opposite ends of the political scale. European anti-Americanism is mainly to be found on the left, American anti-Europeanism on the right. The most outspoken American Euro-bashers are neoconservatives using the same sort of combative rhetoric they have habitually deployed against American liberals. In fact, as Jonah Goldberg himself acknowledged to me, "the Europeans" are also a stalking-horse for liberals. So, I asked him, was Bill Clinton a European? "Yes," said Goldberg, "or at least, Clinton thinks like a European."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: barry EMAIL: mail@bloggy.com IP: 66.108.223.98 URL: http://bloggy.com/mt/ DATE: 02/02/2003 06:58:27 PM William Pfaff has a great column in the IHT on this topic. I particularly like the fact that he points out one reason the Europeans try to avoid war: They have experienced it in ways the U.S. has not. Europe and America: Some know more about war ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Sarah EMAIL: sarah@leto.co.nz IP: 203.96.111.237 URL: http://leto.co.nz/ DATE: 02/02/2003 07:20:08 PM Anti-Americanism, Anti-Europeanism, it's so much easier to attack stereotypes than it is to debate the issues isn't it? Find yourself a straw-man and a match and everyone will be so absorbed in the ensuing fire that they don't notice what's actually going on around them. Of course, everybody knows New Zealanders are infinitely morally superior... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: nick sweeney EMAIL: nick@nonspace.org IP: 62.254.64.6 URL: DATE: 02/02/2003 09:12:10 PM There's a great deal of media indoctrination on both sides, as you might expect, particularly when it comes to the 'war debt' argument that Europe should blindly accept As has been noted, not simply by the left, the US sat on its hands in the name of individual freedom from September 1939 to December 1941, and previously, from June 1914 to 1917; US losses on the WW2 battlefield were much lower than those of most European (and Asian) nations, with no mainland civilian attacks, and nothing like the devastation of either the Somme or Gallipoli or Stalingrad or... etc. In short, the last time Americans were killed en masse on home territory was when they were killing each other in the 1860s. My attitude towards war is coloured by my grandparents' cultural memory of WW2, and by the historical legacy of the generation before that, and its experience of WW1. It's vindicated by that experience. As for Kagan's particular piece of dreck, which is particularly distasteful for its waving the anti-Semitism shroud in the way that only Americans can: it's worth noting that he doesn't pay attention to the fact that at least three of the signatories of that particular letter have questionable pasts: the PMs of Poland and Hungary were Politburo apparatchiks, and Berlusconi is a crook with neo-fascist tendencies. (The Danish and Spanish PMs are also right-wing populists, the former being especially good at bashing immigrants. Gosh, where have we heard that before?) Moral courage? My arse. 'Pettiness and insecurity'? No, not really: just the feeling that while Blair would need Dyno-Rod to extract his tongue from George Bush's behind, other leaders in Europe have captured the continent's mood and are actually fulfilling their mandate. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: qB EMAIL: frizzy_logic@hotmail.com IP: 193.195.0.102 URL: http://frizzy_logic.blogspot.com DATE: 02/03/2003 12:00:57 PM Thanks for those links. Kagan and Garton-Ash have obviously been at odds for some time. I take it that the sneering reference in Kagan's WP article to 'Britain's most gifted scholars sift through American writings about Europe searching for signs of derogatory "sexual imagery".' refers back to Garton-Ash's NYRB piece. Garton-Ash himself refers to Kagan's 'influential' paper Power and Weakness in Policy Review. Notice we're back to the dualism with which the issue seems to be plagued. Not quite as simplisticly offensive as 'you're either with us or against us' but for me perhaps even more worrying for being less crass. As far as the 'debt/gratitude' issue is concerned, my father talks about the debt Europe owes the US as a result of the Marshall Plan which helped rebuild Europe after the second World War. I do not agree that this act, which demanded no recompense, should now act as a moral pressure to make decisions some might regard as immoral. Whether the plan was motivated by altruism, enlightened self-interest or a clearly-focused eye on the main chance, it is interesting to compare that initiative with US efforts at 'nation-building' in Afghanistan: see http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/2405191.stm for instance - there are many more. Thanks for prompting me to organise my thoughts a bit on this (specially since my site's down and I can't do it there!). ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Smoking and the smoking gun... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 1 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Politics CATEGORY: Politics DATE: 02/03/2003 11:55:03 PM ----- BODY:

Here's another intriguing article from the New York Times: Ah, Those Principled Europeans. Here's a stripped-down outline of the article in question:

Europeans, GMOs and Smoking:
- Europeans have to make clear when they're selling food that contains genetically modified organisms.
- This is a rebellion against America and high-technology.
- This can be demonstrated still more clearly because Europeans smoke like chimneys.
- Smoking is much more dangerous than eating genetically modified organisms, therefore they must just be doing it to spite the Americans.
Europeans, America and Iraq:
- Europeans are not defying the US for any of the good reasons that do exist (these reasons are not mentioned or explored).
- Europeans are ignoring the fact that young Iraqi people want democracy and wish to escape from the rule of their dictatorial leader.
- In fact, just like with GMOs and smoking, Europeans are just against the war because they are simply against whatever the US wants to do.
- Because Europe wants to constrain the power of the United States they end up inevitably on the morally questionable side of Iraq.
- This is weakness masquerading as moral superiority.

Point-by-point, then. European governments are not the people who put the issue of GM food on the international agenda. In fact many European governments - including the British government - have been traditionally in favour of genetically-modified products. It has been (in order) green activists, some parts of the media and finally the general population that brought this issue to the forefront of politics. They are the ones that campaigned the display of this kind of information. Government had very little to nothing to do with it. Anti-American sentiment has absolutely nothing to do with it.

I've dug around a bit and it does seem to be the case that there is more smoking in Europe than in America. But this difference doesn't seem to be as extreme as the New York Times article suggests. The best place I found for comparative statistics (that also illustrate differences between the member states of the EU) was The World Health Organisations Tobacco Atlas from 2002. While the number of male and female smokers in Europe were generally higher than in the United States, this wasn't uniformly the case and several key European countries had fewer smokers than the US. Particularly interesting were the maps of comparative cigarette consumption [PDF of World-wide Cigarette Consumption]. According to this measure, most European countries are in exactly the same band of smoking intensity as the US and Canada. A few are heavier smokers. A few smoke less. These hardly seem to be figures that one could use to support a systematic theory of European hypocrisy.

So i) the labelling of GMO wasn't done because of America-bashing, but because of green activists and ii) the differences in smoking habits between the EU and the US aren't that dramatic. What we might then go on to point out is that labelling something as a GM crop - although it might conceivably add to the cost of producing foodstuffs - is not necessarily designed to stop people buying it, just to allow consumers to make that choice for themselves. There's an awful lot of stuff that you are required to put on food labels in the EU [EU Food Laws] - from whether a product contains nuts, through to lists of ingredients, through to basic nutritional information. It doesn't necessarily follow that making sure products are labelled with pertinent information makes them sell any less well. Otherwise none of us would buy cheap, high-calorie foodstuffs.

The second half of the article - where the analogy is drawn between European smoking habits and their refusal to give total assent to a war with Iraq - contains some interesting statements, many of which may contain some elements of truth. Clearly - as the article states - there are good reasons for not going to war. There are always good reasons for not going to war - the most significant of which is that people have a tendency to get killed. Secondly it seems entirely likely that there are people in Iraq who wish to depose Saddam Hussein. There were lots of people who wanted to depose him during the last Gulf War, and who in fact rose up against him. And yes - it seems likely that many European countries are uncomfortable with the idea of any country acting unilaterally against another without the assent of the international community. These things are almost certainly true.

But just like with the perceived motivations for European decisions on GMOs and smoking - there are some tenuous logical bridges being built. Firstly a disagreement with unilateral action is not anti-American - it is simply that America is the one contemplating unilateral action - just as it happens to be America that supplies a good proportion of the world's GM food and technology. Secondly, the existence of dissident groups within a country is not necessarily enough reason to suggest deposing its leader, nor is it a guarantee of support should one invade. George Bush Senior tried to persuade the Iraqi people to rise up against Saddam Hussein. He succeeded, they did. And they were left exposed when the west withdrew from the region subsequently. Whether they'd be as comfortable to rise up again isn't entirely clear...

Finally, the logical problem comes down the statement that the Europeans are being forced into morally bankrupt pro-Iraqi positions by their selfish resistance to the American (and British) position. But in fact there are no European leaders who would stand up and defend Saddam Hussein. None. But nor are there many convinced that the proposed invasions would radically improve the situation of people across the world or the lot of the Iraqi people - who (we are reminded) are also victims in this situation. In fact it's the polarising of the debate into "You're either with us or against us" rhetoric from the States and from American media that is pushing Europe more steadily and defiantly in opposition. The sensation that they are being pressured to attack rather than persuaded to attack is - and should be - profoundly discomforting. For if all positions other than the one advocated by the United States come to be perceived as by dint of their opposition intrinsically immoral, then the whole world's in a pretty bloody dangerous space...

Addendum: This article has been discussed by a wide variety of different sites from all sides of the political spectrum. I want to openly deny at this stage an allegiance with either the pro or anti-war lobbies. I have yet to fully make up my mind about the need, the expediency, the pragamatics or the morality of a potential conflict. What I have made up my mind about is that it's too bloody serious an issue to let people sloganeer, to have individuals try and shut down necessary debate or to dismiss opposing viewpoints as the products of selfish, diseased or un-Christian degenerates. Thousands of people are likely to be killed as a result of this action - it's immoral not to agonise over whether it's the right decision or not.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Dan Hon EMAIL: ec@danhon.com IP: 195.92.168.169 URL: http://danhon.com/ec/ DATE: 02/04/2003 12:23:49 AM About smoking and the labelling of GMOs: one other way of approaching the requirement of labelling is that it empowers the consumer. Leaving aside all arguments that consumers won't choose GMOs anyway (in that case, you have to persuade consumers that GMOs are safe anyway, and should be doing a better job), consumers right now are aware of the risks that smoking entails. The time has gone by of those who smoke without knowledge of its effects. Conversely, unlabelled GMO foods take that choice away from the consumer. In effect, the government is saying that you don't have a choice, that it doesn't matter. I would much rather that governments and corporations spent their money persuading consumers that GMOs were safe (honestly, mind), than legislating that consumers were to be denied the choice at all. That, if anything, smacks more of a nanny state. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: nando EMAIL: nando@DELETECAPSobarquinho.com IP: 200.193.27.82 URL: http://obarquinho.com/nando DATE: 02/04/2003 01:03:33 AM GMOs affect not only the person who choose to be affected, but all biodiversity around the specific GMO, including several microorganism, vegetal and animal communities. And, honestly, it's too much lifes being (bad) affected because of so little research, experience and public clarification (and all this unjustified worry). To smoke is a problem of the smoker that affects only other people when in public places, period. I'm in (South) America. I think it's a matter of intelligence, caring, respect and law. It's not a matter of prejudice or anit-this or anti-that. And when I see a well known newspaper like the NYT publishing something like that I wonder if the USA isn't becoming completely neurotic. Point by point: + Europeans, GMOs and Smoking: 1) Europeans are right, this is consciousness, respect and caring for nature and people. 2) Joke. 3) Joke. Offensive one. 4) Bad research. Bad argument. --- + Europeans, America and Iraq: 5) This is a war obsessive psyque: why always have to talk about DEFYing? 6) America doesn't have a clue of dictatorial leaderships around the world, they're only momentarily aware of what's going on Iraq now and by the eyes of their one media. 7) Joke. 8) Joke. Complex one. 9) Too much judgement, too much accusing, so little mirroring, so little respect. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Todd EMAIL: toddius@livejournal.com IP: 151.204.118.237 URL: http://www.livejournal.com/users/toddius/ DATE: 02/04/2003 01:22:02 AM Perhaps it should be mentioned that the Friedman piece linked to is an Op-Ed, not a news story. Quite a different proposition. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: nick sweeney EMAIL: nick@nonspace.org IP: 62.254.64.6 URL: DATE: 02/04/2003 05:18:38 AM The best critique of the Friedman op-ed (as others have said, one of his sloppiest yet) is that he's hoisted on his own non-sequitur: his arguments for war in Iraq are coherent, but have nothing to do with the arguments adopted by the Bush administration.

Tom: you devoted far more time and thought to your reply than Friedman did to his piece. (From reading it, the op-ed seems like it was knocked off in an airport departure lounge or hotel room somewhere to meet a tight deadline.) I'm of the Bill Hicks opinion: don't over-analyse it, just say 'piece of shit!' and move on.

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Coates EMAIL: tom@plasticbag.org IP: 213.123.151.49 URL: http://www.plasticbag.org DATE: 02/04/2003 09:05:22 AM Obviously you're both right, but at the same time it appals me that we don't hold people's spite-filled opinions to the same standards of accuracy that we do news articles. Op-Eds are supposed to be the things that help us make sense of the sea of data that we're confronted with. Innaccuracy like this shouldn't be encouraged or countenanced. Still - it's the last political article I'm doing for a while, so that's something... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Bobbie EMAIL: bob@bobzilla.co.uk IP: 193.122.208.99 URL: http://politx.ohskylab.com DATE: 02/04/2003 12:12:13 PM And, let's not forget that the EU is currently going through the process of implementing some of the most stringent anti-smoking advertising laws we've ever seen; laws that will actually cost large sums of money in industries such as sport. To be honest, I think the political chasm between the US and Europe are spreading to the point of being irreconcilable - especially when media coverage loves to hype up the atlantic divide. It's a difficult, and dangerous, thing to watch unfold in front of you. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Neil Mc EMAIL: neil.mcintosh@guardian.co.uk IP: 62.254.128.6 URL: http://www.onlineblog.com DATE: 02/04/2003 12:14:54 PM Tom - Your own analysis is clearly more carefully thought-out than the piece itself - all credit to you. But I'd disagree with your last point in the comments about op-eds' purpose. Yes - the best ones (IMHO) explain, analyse, argue. But, as with anything in a newspaper, they could also be there to provoke, inflame, outrage or entertain. I suspect this one - given its tone - falls into the latter category, and could be dismissed as being a bit of froth, albeit quite provocative froth. Or a piece of shit, of course. Either way, I'm sure the NYT op-ed editors will feel it has achieved its purpose. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Coates EMAIL: tom@plasticbag.org IP: 212.111.42.130 URL: http://www.plasticbag.org DATE: 02/04/2003 12:29:33 PM I still think that people have a responsibility not to spread disinformation or to lie. I wouldn't necessarily want to legislate to stop them doing so, but I think they should be taken to task - shamed even - when they do so. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Bobbie EMAIL: bob@bobzilla.co.uk IP: 193.122.208.99 URL: http://politx.ohskylab.com DATE: 02/04/2003 12:43:21 PM "A responsibility not to spread disinformation or to lie" ... Especially when they regard themselves as highly as the NYT. It's cheap. Unfortunately it's also effective. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Neil Mc EMAIL: neil.mcintosh@guardian.co.uk IP: 62.254.128.6 URL: http://www.onlineblog.com DATE: 02/04/2003 02:30:48 PM I sense the author gets things wrong through lack of understanding, research or care, rather than through any deliberate attempt to misinform or smear (that would require a higher level of craft than is on show in the piece to do that). And (Bobbie) it's obviously an important right for writers to make an arse of themselves in public, just as it's a right for the rest of us to pick them up on it. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: nickie EMAIL: distraction@free.fr IP: 62.10.10.196 URL: http://distraction.free.fr/ DATE: 02/04/2003 03:14:27 PM Yes, it was clearly provocation, and could almost be appreciated in its heavy sarcasm if it wasn't published in times like these... and then, one thing is sarcasm, another misinformation and lies, indeed. Tom, your critique is excellent, and so much better informed. Just one very minor point, re: the food labelling for GMO's: I wouldn't say it was mostly "green activists" pushing for those laws on labelling - though you do actually say it's also the people, but "not the governments"... well that's not entirely true, of course the UK is more in favour of GMO's in general than other countries in Europe, but not because of the respective positions on the US policy, it's just that the UK is more in favour of anything to do with biotech (the UK is even the only country in the world, actually, to have approved of genetic manipulation of embryos, which unless I'm mistaken even the US is against).

Basically, the EU has put out directives based on its own principles and regulations in the field of agriculture and foods in general, so on the one hand, yes they took in the concerns of both environmentalists - which includes also Green political parties sitting in Parliaments, not just activists from NGO's or looser groups - and also took in the consumers organizations concerns, as well as motions from many non-environmentalist political forces. But those directives are also a natural consequence of the pattern of laws on foods established by the EU, which started out by regulating a lot of things about health requirements in food processing, even before the GMO issue came up. Like you say, there's tons of labelling! But it's only fair, because with the mad cow scandals in recent years, and previous lack of controls on the origin and security of foods, on their compliance with health regulations, it's actually a lot more logical to have strict requirements on labelling, at least, within the EU system. In the US, all beef is local, you don't even need that kind of strict and thorough labelling, you know where it comes from, and if it's imported I believe it also says so very clearly, that's required by the FDA, which is also extremely strict on the kinds of food that can be imported in the US, possibly even stricter than the EU. Point is, if you're eating non-imported 100% American foods, you can be "sure" that what you're eating is ok because it will only be sold after it's checked as compliant to FDA standards. (Aside from the GMO issue, I mean). Whereas in the EU you got 12 and soon-to-be-more countries, with very different standards and regulations and practices of food making prior to the EU laws, so these laws were required. I mean, there's a lot of controversy on EU directives even on that, sure, but the labelling itself is possibly the best thing they did. It's really a forced interpretation to see it as "anti-American", and the GMO issue is a matter of consumer choice indeed. Plus, the risks Friedman glides on so slyly... it's not actually true there's "no proven risks" - there's not even enough studies on humans yet! There's a lot of controversy over how GMO crops affect the soil and plants and foods growth themselves, though, based on studies indeed. But that's another matter.

Sorry for lengthy addition. I really appreciated your logical, reasoned distinctions. Very fair too. There'd be a lot of criticism to level at European governments, they have indeed behaved very contradictorily in this issue on Iraq, but there's no need like Friedman does to take it to new levels of xenophobia on entire populations. Seems for some now the "Europeans" are just as collectively despicable an enemy as the "Islamofascists", eh... it's a bit mad, isn't it. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: nickie EMAIL: distraction@free.fr IP: 62.10.10.196 URL: http://distraction.free.fr/ DATE: 02/04/2003 03:22:39 PM ... and sorry, I thought the paragraphs would be broken up, eh. I'd have kept it shorter. Nick Sweeney: true! but it's even better when someone else takes the time to debunk that kind of thing properly. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Coates EMAIL: tom@plasticbag.org IP: 212.111.42.130 URL: http://www.plasticbag.org DATE: 02/04/2003 03:44:42 PM Sorry about that design 'feature' nickie - I get concerned that people lose visual track of who's said what if there are paragraph breaks in at the moment, but I'll go and add a couple manually into your last post to make it sit more easily on the page... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: nickie EMAIL: distraction@free.fr IP: 62.10.10.196 URL: http://distraction.free.fr/ DATE: 02/04/2003 04:00:38 PM wow, thanks, Tom, well beyond the call of duty as they say. I'm too prone to lenghty posts, unfortunately. Oh, and my apologies to you for talking about the EU/UK difference on GMO like... you weren't actually in the UK! I hadn't sussed that out yet. (by the way, love the design of this site) ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Bobbie EMAIL: bob@bobzilla.co.uk IP: 193.122.208.99 URL: http://politx.ohskylab.com DATE: 02/04/2003 04:43:39 PM Good point, Neil: if writers were not allowed to make an arse of ourselves in public, where would any of us be? When I said cheap and unfortunately effective, I mean that opinion-forming commentary and punditry does not have to rely on facts if it can use commonly-held supposition and conjecture instead (and that exists on the web even moreso than in print). but the NYT considers itself a quality paper, so I'm surprised that they let someone lash off something quite so lame. (and I think par marks would definitely be good in longer comments, Tom.) ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Emma EMAIL: Leathercondom@yahoo.co.uk IP: 195.92.194.18 URL: http://www.emmad.blogspot.com DATE: 02/04/2003 07:49:45 PM The whole point of being a newspaper journalist is to get your facts right. If not, what are you getting paid for? You may as well write a novel. On a much smaller scale, the writer of the opinion column in my local paper talks bull every week, completely contradicting the factual articles sharing the page, which infuriates me. It doesn't matter if it's an opinion based piece, if the facts aren't correct then it's just lazy journalsim and shouldn't be printed - because there's always someone out there who's going to believe it and appreciate the ammo. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Bobbie EMAIL: bob@bobzilla.co.uk IP: 212.67.114.42 URL: http://politx.ohskylab.com DATE: 02/04/2003 09:39:38 PM It's not entirely true that newspaper journalists are paid to get their facts right. Subeditors are paid to get journalists' facts right. It's an entire cottage industry built out of the inability of a single person to do their job properly. Columnists are paid to annoy you. Who cares if they get the facts right? ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: mitch EMAIL: mitchtemporarily@hotmail.com IP: 130.102.42.97 URL: DATE: 02/05/2003 08:02:56 AM No! It's immoral to engage in agonizing when it's so clear that war is {wrong|right}. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Coates EMAIL: tom@plasticbag.org IP: 212.111.42.130 URL: http://www.plasticbag.org DATE: 02/05/2003 12:59:28 PM It has come to my attention that the source I initially used for the figures about the numbers of deaths in the Second World War come from a potentially dubious source. The site hitler.org claims to give an "impartial" and "unbiased" view of the Third Reich. Although I have no evidence that its scholarship is anything but solid, the possibility exists that the site might represent, or at the very least be seen to represent, an apologia for the crimes of the Nazi Regime in Germany. So while I'm not in a position to argue with any of the figures they have supplied, I have decided to seek alternative figures from a more widely respected source. I have changed the relevant link within the text of the piece above to reflect this. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Dennis EMAIL: dennismlee@hotmail.com IP: 128.42.25.97 URL: http://www.falsecognate.org DATE: 02/05/2003 04:20:26 PM Not that this was really the main thrust of the post, but I'd just like to say that the EU directive mandating the labeling of all food items with greater than 0.9% GMO content is a de facto ban on GM foods. This is due to the environment in the EU towards GMO. Various lobbying groups are rabidly against GMO, and have managed to convince the uneducated public that GM is bad, flying in the face of all available scientific evidence.

The terrible thing is that the general populace is content to regurgitate soundbites as fact and really doesn't care to take the time to learn the truth. For example, why should purified vegetable oil be labeled as GM? There's no DNA or protein left in it! Anyway, education is the key, but no one seems to want to be educated... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Coates EMAIL: tom@plasticbag.org IP: 212.111.42.130 URL: http://www.plasticbag.org DATE: 02/05/2003 05:08:16 PM Dennis, I think most of the issues people have with genetically-modified foods are more to do with anxieties about them being grown in the wild, cross-breeding with other crops, growing out of control or spreading insect resistance and the like to other crops. There are other issues that some consumers have with the particular politics or economics of the companies that patent entire species - but most commonly it's the environmental issues that are the concern. The genetic material of the food in the shops is less the issue than the risks associated with growing it in the first place. And while there are cases cited of allergens from nuts being introduced into other foods by genetic modification, I don't think anyone apart from the most clueless of people believe that by eating genetically modified foods they'll turn into weird hybrid people or anything like that. My personal feeling is that if there are a decent number of people who feel that they have ethical or social or economic objections to buying genetically-modified produce, then they should have the option to refuse to sponsor it. They can only have that option if they are told whether or not it is GM or not. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: john EMAIL: john@theonlyjuan.net IP: 65.27.232.152 URL: http://www.theonlyjuan.net/ DATE: 02/06/2003 12:53:32 AM Thanks for a carefully considered, point-by-point analysis of what is ultimately a loose collection of anti-European stereotypes woven into a sometimes amusing narrative. I'd have to agree with Emma, such writers should try their hands at novels instead. Unfortunately, the average reader tends to believe that everything on the page is "news" or "fact" (I'll bite my tongue and leave corporate-owned news media politics out of this), so what you see is Joe Average repeating the editorials as fact without actually looking at the arguments presented, which is all an op-ed piece really does. Thanks, Tom, for waiting to cast your war vote. I have an opinion on the issue, but I agree... with so many lives at stake on both sides, to cheer mindlessly for or against war is to oversimplify the issue. Choices in which human lives hang in the balances on both sides shouldn't be simple. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: john EMAIL: john@theonlyjuan.net IP: 65.27.232.152 URL: http://www.theonlyjuan.net/ DATE: 02/06/2003 12:53:58 AM Thanks for a carefully considered, point-by-point analysis of what is ultimately a loose collection of anti-European stereotypes woven into a sometimes amusing narrative. I'd have to agree with Emma, such writers should try their hands at novels instead. Unfortunately, the average reader tends to believe that everything on the page is "news" or "fact" (I'll bite my tongue and leave corporate-owned news media politics out of this), so what you see is Joe Average repeating the editorials as fact without actually looking at the arguments presented, which is all an op-ed piece really does. Thanks, Tom, for waiting to cast your war vote. I have an opinion on the issue, but I agree... with so many lives at stake on both sides, to cheer mindlessly for or against war is to oversimplify the issue. Choices in which human lives hang in the balances on both sides shouldn't be simple. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: tor EMAIL: dealpas@justice.com IP: 66.108.55.188 URL: http://unsub.blogspot.com DATE: 02/07/2003 07:17:28 PM In defense of Friedman's comments regarding smoking, while it may be true that smoking in Europe, especially France and Germany, occurs at exactly the same rate as in the U.S. (but couldn't WHO have broken it down by state? the U.S. has states bigger than most european countries - would be a little more accuate IMO), *secondhand smoke* is much more of a problem in Europe than in the US. Friedman perhaps wasn't explicit enough about the differnce between people who smoke and second hand smoke, but I think that was his point, given his comments about needing a chest x-ray. Sure, not labeling GMO foods takes, to some degree, choice away from the purchaser (it *is* possible to find out who uses GMO and avoid those manufacturers, it is just more difficult than having a handy little warning on the can) - but second hand smoke takes that choice away from everyone in the restaurant or movie theater, which is far worse. I think his point is valid - why get your panties in a bunch about GMOs (which was driven by the media looking for the next "Oh my GOD, your food is going to KILL you!" story more than anything else) when every time you go out to dinner you inhale the equivalent of a pack of cigarettes, which *will* kill you. Should we go to war? I dunno, I see points on both sides. I don't think that the europeans are being honest about their reasons for avoiding war, any more than the Bushies are being honest. But there is a knee-jerk reaction among the left in the U.S. that tends to side with the europeans no matter what, and I'm not ready to get on the bandwagon. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: nickie EMAIL: distraction@free.fr IP: 62.10.20.95 URL: http://distraction.free.fr/ DATE: 02/09/2003 09:24:52 AM Dennis: the labelling is in no way a 'de facto ban on GMO foods', it's just labelling, not a health warning like on cigarettes, which still sell a lot anyway, and make a huge business also for US companies. This is not about US or not US, and has no relation to the war issue - tor: you have a fair point there. There's a tendency to knee-jerk reactions also among the left in Europe to side against the US no matter what. The anti-US position at the political leadership level is only France and Germany really, and its a battle of interests mostly, but most tend to assume it's about ideals. ----- PING: TITLE: Tuesday links URL: http://danhon.com/ec/mtarchives/000375.shtml IP: 217.158.168.16 BLOG NAME: ext|circ DATE: 02/04/2003 01:49:15 PM Blah, blah new iMacs sci.space.shuttle's Columbia Loss FAQ 1.4 which you should read if you think real life is ----- PING: TITLE: No smoke without fire URL: http://politx.ohskylab.com/archives/000355.php IP: 64.21.147.60 BLOG NAME: politX DATE: 02/04/2003 04:52:18 PM An interesting, though fatally flawed, op-ed piece in the NYT: Ah, Those Principled Europeans. Basically, it's claim is that Europe ----- PING: TITLE: The Right to Peaceably Assemble URL: http://www.mpwilson.com/uccu/2003/02/04.html#a703 IP: 67.86.120.154 BLOG NAME: The Universal Church Of Cosmic Uncertainty DATE: 10/25/2003 11:29:36 PM Now this bends my brain around a post... ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: A brief history of Muzak... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 1 DATE: 02/04/2003 12:37:32 PM ----- BODY:

So here's an interesting fact for you... 'Muzak' - that most despised of all musical genres - isn't in fact a genre at all. Nor is it a derogatory term or insult - it's actually the name of the company that thought of the idea of playing canned music (to soothe the dangeourously rebellious instincts of factory workers) in the first place. The Muzak company is still going to this very day - its name derives from the combination of the word 'music' with the name of the company's founder's favourite company, "Kodak". [Thanks to Fenner for the link.]

"When Gen. George Squier patented the transmission of background music in the 1920s, that is music from phonograph records delivered over electrical lines, he soon found out that it not only soothed the minds of his workers, it enhanced their production. What the general never knew is what his idea would become circa 1998: Muzak. All 2,000 employees, all 250,000 subscribers and all 80 million listeners worth."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Useful links for commercial web publishers... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 1 DATE: 02/05/2003 11:28:51 AM ----- BODY:

Today's very serious and unflighty link-dump consists of three stories of particular interest to commercial editorial sites - particularly those that started as print ventures and have transferred some (or all) of their content to the web. Not the most fun set of links for anyone else though - I got really involved in print-to-web transition stuff and concepts of editorial publishing online while I was working at timeout.com a few years back

Deep-Linking in the World Wide Web
I remember the first time I heard about a site getting angry about someone deep-linking to their content. It made no sense to me then and it makes no sense to me now. However, this article manages to clearly explain (and hopefully in a way that's clear to the general public) why it's a foolish idea to put restrictions on deep-linking into law. The most crucial point is that if one wishes to restrict which pages are accessible via a link, then it's a trivial operation to do so via one's server settings. [via kottke]
Newspaper sites move to registration model
"It once was the Web bogeyman. The idea of making users register before entering newspaper Web sites gave everyone the willies. Surely this would lead to a huge drop in audience. Maybe The New York Times could survive that, and The Wall Street Journal could even charge for access, but those are very special cases." Before anyone starts waggling fingers and saying that people should have been registering for sites years ago, it's important to keep in mind that the web audience has become more savvy and skilled over the last three years. Secondly it's important to remember that your traffic may only drop by a quarter, but that quarter represents all the people with whom you haven't yet got a strong relationship - an market that's identifiably one you would want to expand into. And before you all start getting ideas, you should remember that people will register for sites because they're either curious or because they have a significant need or interest in the material on the other side. You have to offer content that's more interesting to your potential audience than the stuff they can get easily elsewhere, and it helps to have a more established and respected brand as well.
New Biz on the Blog
I've been meaning to write about this Guardian piece on making money from weblogs for a while now. I've been particularly interested in what Nick Denton has been doing with Gizmodo and Gawker because (unlike a lot of other people) I think there are legitimate business possibilities in niche weblogging ventures like these. Quite apart from advertising and affiliate revenues, there's the possibility of building legitimate grass-roots brands that could then syndicate or write bespoke content to larger publishing ventures (a gawker.com column in Time Out New York perhaps?). And then there are the possibilities surrounding the extension of these initially low-cost bleeding-edge brands and developing them then across other media - a gawker TV show could work exceptionally well. In fact my only problem with these enterprises? My personal antipathy towards the odious Mr Denton himself. Still, never mind...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Uk Weblogging's two new flavours... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 1 ALLOW PINGS: 1 DATE: 02/05/2003 04:51:12 PM ----- BODY: I should have posted about this before Christmas, but I got distracted and disorganised and forgot all about it. If you're a weblogger in the UK, and you want to meet and talk to other UK webloggers, then you might like to know about UKBloggers. It started as a mailing list for webloggers in the UK and has now split into two distinct sections - a weblog discussion list and a social list for chatting and mucking around. As a parallel announcement, there is a bit of real-life weblog aggregation happening this Friday evening at a pub near Great Portland Street tube. Likely candidates to be present include: Cal Henderson, Meg Pickard, Mo Morgan, Matt Webb, Nick Jordan, Michael Leigh and myself. The evening is currently expected to get going around 7.00pm and you can find all the details on the social list. Hopefully we'll see you then... ----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- PING: TITLE: Construction Time Again URL: http://www.doyoufeelloved.com/blog/archives/2003_02.html#000106 IP: 66.33.193.54 BLOG NAME: Do You Feel Loved? DATE: 01/26/2004 10:32:37 PM Don't be alarmed by the silence that has preceded this post, and the silence that will follow it... ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On Acts of War... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 1 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Politics CATEGORY: Politics DATE: 02/06/2003 09:23:06 PM ----- BODY:

There are two links I've seen on the net in the last couple of days that fill me with terror and foreboding. And I mean this literally - lying in bed awake at three in the morning worrying about what the world will be like in five years time. Time and time again I run through the various arguments for and against a war in Iraq - and time and again I find myself unable to take a position on the events themselves. But what is increasingly obvious to me is the terrible nature of the rhetoric and reasoning emerging from some quarters of the States at the moment. For this war - if it is coming - to have any legitimacy, then these arguments need to end straight away. Any war - if it comes - must be seen to be happening for the right reasons and to be seen to be being done for the right reasons as well.

The first link was on the site that I've spent the last few months building at UpMyStreet. On the community part of the site there was a conversation started called Selective Memory Loss: Germany & France. In this piece an American citizen argued a case I've heard quite frequently recently - that because of their action in the Second World War, Europe (particularly Britain and France) owe the United States a favour and should therefore support their war against Iraq.

The horror of this argument must surely be clear to everyone? Wars must not be entered into because of pressure from other countries or debts from the past. They must surely be entered into only because the war seems to be the unpleasant responsibility of the people concerned - that not to enter into war would be itself unethical. If the French and the German people - and their leaders - genuinely believe that a conflict in Iraq is not a moral enterprise, then they have no choice but to refuse to engage in it - even to try and stop such a war happening. And if America or Britain objects to such resistance, then it is their responsibility to persuade, to convince, to make the case.

The other article is even more terrifying. A representative of the Pentagon declares France to be 'no longer [an] ally' of the United States. Here's a quote from the article in question:

Perle went on to question whether the United States should ever again seek the endorsement of the U.N. Security Council on a major issue of policy, stressing that "Iraq is going to be liberated, by the United States and whoever wants to join us, whether we get the approbation of the U.N. or any other institution."

I would think this quotation would speak for itself. Unilateral action on the basis of overwhelming superiority of power rather than a certain degree of international consensus is the very model of a dictatorship. And the idea that the most powerful country in the world essentially gets to do what it wants unchecked in the world is terrifying beyond measure. It may seem ridiculous to Americans, but I think quite a lot of Europeans are beginning to wonder what would happen if America turned its attention our way... It almost makes you pine for the Cold War...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: john EMAIL: john@theonlyjuan.net IP: 65.27.232.152 URL: http://www.theonlyjuan.net/ DATE: 02/06/2003 09:42:36 PM It's terrifying to me as an American, as well. The presumption of a select group of leaders in the United States that the U.S. can act on its own power with "whoever wants to join us," simply because the U.S. believes itself to be the most powerful country in the world, is terrifying. Not only (and you're right on this, Tom) is it the very model of a dictator's behavior, but also because even an extremely powerful country with a select ally or two can still be readily defeated if most other countries feel compelled to do so. For the world's sake, I hope it doesn't come to that. (Can you imagine how many lives would be lost in, for example, U.S. & Britain versus Asia, Europe & Africa?) ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Coates EMAIL: tom@plasticbag.org IP: 213.123.151.49 URL: http://www.plasticbag.org DATE: 02/06/2003 10:08:08 PM This is going to sound really trashy, but I keep thinking about that episode of the West Wing where President Bartlett wants to reign down hellfire after a plane is shot down with a friend of his aboard. Leo McGarry defends a 'proportionate response' in attacking the country that attacked the plane, saying to him, "We are behaving the way a superpower ought to behave. You think racheting up the body count's going to act as a deterrent?.... So my friend, if you want to start using American military strength as the arm of the Lord, you can do that. We're the only super-power left. You can conquer the world like Charlemagne. But you better be prepared to kill everyone and you better start with me, 'cause I will raise up an army against you.... Of course, it's not good. There is no good. It's what there is. It's how you behave if you're the most powerful country in the world. It's what our fathers taught us." [A Proportionate Response] I think that's all the world wants from the US - a proportionate response - and I'm sure we'll get it... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: lashlar EMAIL: lashlar@whisperingwords.net IP: 202.188.198.223 URL: http://www.whisperingwords.net DATE: 02/06/2003 10:56:31 PM There is a part of me, bitter and angry and feeling betrayed by this present American government, that hopes that if America invades Iraq, that the rest of the world rises up at last and shows the United States that it may be a superpower, but if the nations of the world unite, it can be brought down. I hope that if America decides to pull a Nazi Germany on the world, that Russia and China, Africa and Europe, go toe to toe with America and Britain and not stop until they've brought America down to its knees, the way Nazi Germany was brought down. Because frankly, the America of the present resembles Nazi Germany to a frightening extent, and I mourn the loss of the America that my father knew, when he went there as a stranger in a strange land, from a country newly liberated by America's insistence on Britain's divestment of its colonial possessions. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Jen EMAIL: uberchick@uberchick.com IP: 208.33.155.252 URL: DATE: 02/06/2003 10:59:17 PM While it's terrifying to see the political leaders of the U.S. engage in totalitarian discourse, but it's even more daunting that the average citizen is adopting the same discourse. A frighteningly large number of people are just as intoxicated by America's strength in global politics and economy as their megalomaniacal leaders that they quickly forget the grave consequences that could arise from this. Woe is the day that the freedom with which they are able to voice their opinions is jeopardized because they've paved the way for even more extreme leaders to take their seats. As unlikely as this may seem, it's gravely sobering to see an increased prevalence in the type of reasoning portrayed by the two articles mentioned. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Coates EMAIL: tom@plasticbag.org IP: 213.123.151.49 URL: http://www.plasticbag.org DATE: 02/06/2003 11:36:53 PM Just for the record - I've deleted David's post about the relationship between the Hawks in the American government and Judaism / Israel. I've done this for two reasons, firstly because it could easily be considered anti-Semitic, secondly because no evidence was presented to support it and finally because he didn't put an e-mail address or website URL on the post concerned. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: James EMAIL: james@chachacha.co.uk IP: 80.225.56.193 URL: http://www.chachacha.co.uk DATE: 02/07/2003 06:36:53 AM I don't support a war, but do think that the internet - and, hey, TV too - is responsible for so much mis-information that it's no wonder that any right-thinking person has their doubts about what our leaders are getting us into. I'm sure if you took a step back from the links and stories that are spread around - and just concentrated yourself on straight news conferences or transcripts, say - you'll find that Bush and Blair aren't saying or supporting much of what the bloggers, 'pundits' and newscasters are claiming that the pair are saying and supporting. Hopefully that would work, anyway. So, to shove all that into a sentence: it's the clueless idiots who run the internet/media who scare me more than Bush and Blair. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: charlie b. EMAIL: HereInside2003@aol.com IP: 172.183.156.41 URL: http://hereinside.blogspot.com DATE: 02/09/2003 03:34:09 PM I cannot agree that the US is behaving in a manner which can be appropriately be likened to or described as "dictatorship", or that there is any moral or historical rule that requires states to submit their understanding of their own national interest to an international body before they can act on them. It is in the nature of states, and a necessary condition of their existence, that they must be free to do whatever is necessary to proect their people, according to their own understand of that. It is absurd to insist that the United Nations, with many members that actually are dictatorships, and the Security Council (which includes China and Syria, as well as Russia) is politically, morally or militarily entitled or equipped to control the foreign policy of the United States. It is, of course, distressing to find that there is a state with the power to do much as it wishes, something that has not been true since the the sixteenth century. But hurling silly invective around won't change that. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Coates EMAIL: tom@plasticbag.org IP: 217.40.197.37 URL: http://www.plasticbag.org DATE: 02/09/2003 07:08:38 PM Much as any citizen of a country cannot act in any way that they see fit in order to do what they believe is in the best interest of their families (we would not expect a court to look favourably on a man who executed people because he 'believed them to be a threat') - nor is a country on the international stage able to act in any way that it feels is appropriate without regard to the views of the rest of the international community. The whole point is to stop rogue states doing tremendously damaging things. We expect that of Iraq. We expect that of the United States. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: charlie b. EMAIL: HereInside2003@aol.com IP: 172.179.169.74 URL: http://hereinside.blogspot.com weblog DATE: 02/10/2003 07:25:39 AM I am afraid that there is no basis in history or theory on which to base the claim that the "international community" (what is that precisely?) has legitimate authority to control the actions of individual states. While courts do indeed deal with the actions of individuals who might act according to their own notions of right, rather than the law, this is not true of states, and the analogy is inappropriate. There is no world government (and the United Nations certainly is not one) nor is there an international law, except to the degree that nations individually agree to it, and voluntarily abide by it. I would be interested to read the sources, in philosophy or international law, that establish any basis for the claim that states have permanently surrendered their claims to sovereignty to an international body; and the means by which that international body enforces its will against that of individual states. Claims about the so-called "international community" are simply personal opinion dressed up in a vocabulary that pretends to authenticate them. "We expect that of..." Who is "we"? And how do they arrive at their decisions and seek to enforce them? Not by any process comparable to the domestic courts of law. It is worth examining the history of the United Nations to see what it was intended to to, and what it has done. The Security Council is structured so that any of the permanent members (which included the soviet union when that state existed) may block the wishes of the others. As a result the actions of the great powers are formally protected from any interference by any supposed "expression of the will of the international community". On that basis the United Nations stood by saying and doing nothing while the soviet union did as it wished in eastern europe. The only reason it was possible for the United States to obtain United Nations approval for action in korea in 1950 was that the soviet union, in a fit of pique over other matters, was boycotting the Security Council. If a resolution condemning the United States for any of its actions was proposed at any time in the future, the United States would be completely within its rights to veto it. Even if the United States stood alone, there would be no legal basis for coercing it. The only thing would be to expel it from the United Nations, and that would simply ratify a permanent disjunction between one state and the rest. It would not happen. The idea of recourse to the general assembly (full of the most odious dictatorships on earth) to coerce the United States would be equally absurd. Further, since the United States provides the budget of the United Nations, i am not sure how it would function without it. So by what authority does the United Nations pronounce on Iraq? To exactly the extent that the great powers (and not the "international community") permit. If the structure of the Security Council allows countries that are not great powers to block the wishes of the great powers, they will be ignored, sooner or later. The accord reached over Iraq in 1991, when it invaded kuwait, was possible only because the soviet union was disintegrating, and no longer able to exert its accustomed influence -- and the United States was willing to do the fighting. Had any state on the Security Council stood up for Iraq (or against the wishes of the United States) the United States and others would have had to have acted without United Nations approval, or allowed Iraq to get away with it. Had, for any reason, the United States declined to to the fighting for the United Nations, it would not have had the power and the resources to do anything itself, and nor would any other member of the "international community". For information, the United States has never acknowledged any international constraints on its sovereign powers, and did not join the League of Nations in 1920. It is worth looking into the likely fate of the United Nations without the United States. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Dallas Patterson EMAIL: nye@fidalgo.net IP: 66.218.194.39 URL: DATE: 03/17/2003 07:48:30 PM Indeed, the United Nations has no right in law or treaty to deny Kuwait, the United States, Great Britain, and their other allies the right to act in their self defense against breaches of the peace, acts of war, and continuing threats to peace and security committed by the Saddam Hussein Regime of Iraq. Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations guarantees these nations the right to use armed force as a means of compelling Iraqi compliance with international law and the United Nations resolutions. The Coalition nations are required to refer the matter to the United Nations Security Council, but there is no requirement in the Charter of the United Nations for the Coalition nations to refrain from using armed force while the United Nations remains unsuccessful at compelling Iraqi compliance. ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Casting the microcontent vote... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 1 DATE: 02/06/2003 11:24:08 PM ----- BODY:

Today's microcontent votes - to be recorded in turn by Blogdex, Daypop and Google (thus resulting in a certain increase in the statistically measured 'worth' of the linked-to artifacts in the world-wide infosphere) go to..

New Kids on the Blog
A facile quotation from this profoundly trivial article: "Blogs are sparking lively debate in media circles about whether they constitute real journalism and whether they will siphon readers from traditional news publications, but that seems like hooey to me." [via Megnut]
A dictator on the web
It's always nice to get a nice review, and I've got a particularly nice review over at an Australian news site today: "Plastic bag is a good name for this blog, which is a grab-bag of topics, ideas, personal and professional observations from one Tom Coates". The only thing I'm uncomfortable about is being described as an 'avowed anti-war blogger'. If only it were true - it would be nice to be so certain of things! The only things I'm definitely against are short-termist thinking, nationalism, cheap arguments and sloganeering.
Blackcore Weblog
Since I got a nice review, I think it's only fair to pass on the good vibes by giving someone else a pat on the back. So I'm going to recommend that everyone go and wander around Blackcore, which is a well-designed, well-structured and well-written weblog powered by Deep Black.
Cal builds too much
The monstrous creature responsible for the backend of Barbelith, City Creator and Secret Santa is my mate Cal Henderson from iamcal.com. Turns out he's also responsible for every other page in the entire universe as well! Who knew!?
Outrage on Homophobic Bullying
Of all the issues that bug the hell out of me, homophobic bullying at schools and the lack of education and support for young gay people is one of the ones that drives me most insane. Lots of worthwhile resources here that should be read by anyone seriously interested in making the world a better place in what should be relatively simple, easy ways (if it wasn't for bigots and extremist religious idiots).
Map of the Muslim World
If your taste in humour extends to the ultra-jet black as mine does, then you may find this cartoon map of the Muslim world organised by how 'dangerous' they are entertaining in a hollow laugh kind of way. Look out for the part 'preoccupied with starvation'...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- PING: TITLE: Are epidemics bad for your blog? URL: http://radio.weblogs.com/0120356/2004/03/07.html#a506 IP: 212.198.60.13 BLOG NAME: taliesin's log DATE: 03/07/2004 08:29:51 PM Still in rude and frosty vein, I buried myself deeper in my lunchtime reading, after shaking his hand, when Andr ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On cramping and burning... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: __default__ ALLOW PINGS: 1 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Health CATEGORY: Health DATE: 02/09/2003 02:02:48 AM ----- BODY: Massive stomach cramps that double you over in pain. Acidic excretia that burns as it's released. It's past midnight now, and so I'm in the fourth day of my bodily rebellion. The initial putsch subsided on Friday, but stray contingents believe their cause still has a chance of victory. They fight on. The front moves forward. The front moves back. And the body politic reverts to biochemical anarchy. That came from there? Some people revel in illness, some people fight against it. I just get bored. You need a nearby spouse or mother to make the experience of illness worthwhile. Otherwise - without someone to be ill towards - you're left with nothing whatsoever to do. Concentrating on anything swiftly becomes impractical. TV shows get repetitive and dreary. It's like being at work with nothing to do and no one to talk to. That is - of course - if your job happens to be 'Crapping for England'. I've been out, it's true. I went to meet some webloggers on Friday night. I had breakfast with Matt and Cal on Saturday morning. Because you work on the assumption that you're probably getting better. Because you don't think it's still going to be going on later in the day... The films are the good bit. The being in bed when you can't sleep late at night, letting them flow over you. The gentle films with fields in them. The ones with quilt-making and home-cooked foods. The sweatless pornography of domestic wholesomeness that's so desperately appealing when you're feeling a bit sorry for yourself in your pigsty of a flat. I like the films. They're nice because they're distracting and they make you think of nicer things - important things. Maybe just fragments of images - like kisses for dares in crappy pubs, like cool air in the night with a view over the city, like a body in the blue light of a cross-road streetlamp when the curtains aren't quite closed properly. I suppose there's a need for the mysterious when you're reduced to belching piles of squirting pouches filled with lurid liquids... ----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- PING: TITLE: No But... URL: http://www.leto.co.nz/labyrinth/000353.php IP: 219.88.241.226 BLOG NAME: (leto) DATE: 02/09/2003 05:02:38 AM I just feel really bad now. Here am I complaining about a wee bit of bottom tenderness when poor Tom has been reduced to "belching piles of squirting pouches filled with lurid liquids..." It all sounds terribly uncomfortable. But undeniably amusing. In... ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The blocked and the unblocked... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 1 ALLOW PINGS: 1 DATE: 02/09/2003 10:16:39 PM ----- BODY: Typically - just as my body decides that it no longer has any need for any form of valve, sphincter or fluid control mechanism of any kind - my ability to write has been confronted by what can only be described as an enormous blockage. I have all these things I want to write about and no idea whatsoever about how to approach writing them. It's as if - shock of all shock - digestive collapse can make you think about things other than writing crap for the general public. What a strange idea. ----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Trackbacks and Simple Comments... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 1 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Personal Publishing CATEGORY: Personal Publishing DATE: 02/10/2003 08:47:30 PM ----- BODY:

I posted a while back about the artificiality of treating Trackbacks as something distinct when we were developing the design of our weblog pages. I wrote at the time:

" ...the only reason we're segregating [Trackback] from the body of our posts is because it's got a different name. Most of my site is comprised of 'includes' of one kind or another, but I never feel the need to draw attention to that fact. And I don't think one should do that with trackback either."

My assumption was that Trackback should be incorporated into the bodies of one's posts. They should appear in context on the front page of your site as if they were always part of the post they were attached to. In this way, I felt, they could be elegantly assimilated into the flow of formless and unstructured content that constitutes a 'post' rather than being assigned or allocated a piece of typological real estate to sit within.

Another particular anxiety of mine was the way that one structured the link-text when one had so many specific types of information and functionality to hang off the link. Assuming that (in defiance of Movable Type's standard templates) you're not prepared to commit the sin of navigational pop-up windows, then link-text becomes a significant problem. One inevitably seems to end up with the unstructured (overstructured?) permalinks of the kind that can be seen at benhammersley.com. Because all the information pertaining to a post is to contained on the same individual archive page, each link to that page has to carry the date of that post, a link to its permanent URL, it has to gesture to the existence of comments functionality, and separately to Trackback functionality. It also has to make it clear that you can see these comments and Trackbacks and that you can add to them. And it has to tell you the number of Trackbacks and comments as well. Link-text overload.

The metaphor of the link is of a connection between a word/phrase and a document - the word simultaneously acting as the link origin and a description of the destination. This relationship often gets stretched under the weight of weblogging, but shouldn't have to bear the burden of so many ostensible destinations... By pulling the trackbacks into the body of the post itself, I hoped to be able to strip that element from the links - there would no longer be trackbacks / permalink (entry) / comments, but just the more manageable and self-explanatory entry (mine) and occasionally comments (everyones).

Recently I came across Simple Comments - which is a Movable Type plugin that clearly responds to the same anxieties of UI, but which attempts to solve them by moving in the other direction. Rather than incorporating the trackbacks into the body of the post, Simple Comments attaches them to the comments facility. It's a very neat solution to the issue, but I think it's misguided. My main reason for concern? Rather than ending up with a discrete post followed by a readable interchange between interested parties (an asynchronous conversation through time, all contained on one page and with a clear means of response - much like you'd get in a thread on a discussion board like Barbelith), you end up with a set of responses interspersed by decontextualised and truncated posts from other sites. As a result, I think the tendency is to encourage a form of interaction where the visitor responds to the initial post itself, rather than participating in an ongoing conversation or debate.

Your visitors will learn nothing - because nothing emerges - from the simple ability to express their opinion about your initial post. An actual community though - whatever content it may hang off - is another matter entirely. Active and significant discussion can emerge - people can express their opinions about one another's arguments, finding interesting ideas and running with them, developing them further. It might not be the kind of interaction you might expect on a site designed to help you express yourself, but while it might cause problems of its own, it's a good deal more satisfying and constructive an interaction than simply soliciting (positive or negative) criticism...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Coates EMAIL: tom@plasticbag.org IP: 217.40.197.37 URL: http://www.plasticbag.org DATE: 02/10/2003 09:09:09 PM I'd just like to apologise at this point to anyone who's thinking, "What a bloody cheek! He's only had comments for the last ten minutes". Before you get rightly riled, I should just point out (really briefly and humbly) that I've been working in building online communities for ages now. So I'm not talking complete bollocks. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Nicklas EMAIL: n@carbonatedink.com IP: 62.127.56.21 URL: http://www.carbonatedink.com/me/lostpages/ DATE: 02/11/2003 12:47:45 AM Simple Comments has two flaws, and too me they're pretty large. First, you can read the entire comment while the trackback on the other hand is only presented as an excerpt. The point of the trackbacked entry might not get through in this tiny allocated space because it can be much much longer. This is because comments and trackbacks are two separate entities all together, and they should be kept that way. Otherwise the trackback serve no purpose at all. The second flaw is a direct result of the way it is presented: the value of a completely different entry is reduced to that of a comment. It is as if it has no real value outside the "original context" and that is a very false presumption. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Rory EMAIL: rory@speedysnail.com IP: 194.81.244.110 URL: http://speedysnail.com/ DATE: 02/11/2003 06:09:25 PM I'm not sure that trackbacks 'serve no purpose' when used this way, Niklas (although I wouldn't necessarily intermingle them with comments myself). You might want to read this blogroots thread... http://www.blogroots.com/comments.blog/264 ...where pb wishes for a way of automatically 'bringing back home' all the comments we leave around the web to one place, our blogs. (A lot of us do something of the kind myself sporadically and by hand.) Trackbacks are a step in that direction: using them, our words can sit on our own sites *and* serve as a comment on someone else's. That's valuable. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Rory EMAIL: rory@speedysnail.com IP: 194.81.244.110 URL: http://speedysnail.com/ DATE: 02/11/2003 06:11:03 PM Oops. Sorry, Tom. Got an internal server error the first time, hence the double-post. Do your magic comment-deleting stuff... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Rory EMAIL: rory@speedysnail.com IP: 194.81.244.110 URL: http://speedysnail.com/ DATE: 02/11/2003 06:18:56 PM And I forgot to delete a redundant use of 'myself'. But on the plus side, your post now plays host to my very first trackback ping. Crack open the champagne, yawn indifferently, etc. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: stavrosthewonderchicken EMAIL: stavrosthewonderchicken@hotmail.com IP: 211.226.32.99 URL: http://www.emptybottle.org DATE: 02/12/2003 10:20:50 AM I've got a few beers in me, I'll have to admit, but I think you've helped me understand one of the things that's been bugging me about the way that trackback, cool as it is, is being used on most sites. I was going to implement SimpleComments soon myself, but I see (through beer goggles) that I probably want to do something else with the way trackbacks are integrated into stuff. Still not sure what that might be, but that's alright. Thanks, Tom. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Coates EMAIL: tom@plasticbag.org IP: 212.111.42.130 URL: http://www.plasticbag.org DATE: 04/08/2003 01:29:48 PM No problem. Glad to be of help! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Gary LaPointe EMAIL: lapoint2@msu.edu IP: 204.39.86.21 URL: http://garylapointe.com/mypointe/ DATE: 10/01/2004 03:39:19 PM I like the idea of merging them for several reasons:

It's one less item I have to list in entry.

People don't have to look at both to see what people think. I have one advantage, I don't get many of either so it's not a big issue for my readers to have them mixed. I may even display them in two seperate columns so that they are both there but there are still distinct differences... Gary PS - And when I am doing a trackback, I post twice (1) with info that will make my trackback be more useful and (2) again so the message is a little more structured.

----- PING: TITLE: Yakshaving URL: http://husk.org/blog/arch/yakshaving.html IP: 217.10.129.148 BLOG NAME: chaff DATE: 02/11/2003 10:46:26 AM I've added comments and a full RSS feed (at index_full.rdf). Knock yourself out. ----- PING: TITLE: More on displayng Trackbacks URL: http://www.dellah.com/orient/2003/02/11/more_on_displayng_trackbacks.shtml IP: 193.195.59.250 BLOG NAME: From the Orient DATE: 02/11/2003 12:22:55 PM Tom Coates has incorporated any Trackbacks he gets into the body of his post (as an unordered list). He came ----- PING: TITLE: The Machine That Goes Ping URL: http://speedysnail.com/2003/02.html#000420 IP: 203.30.194.13 BLOG NAME: speedysnail DATE: 02/11/2003 06:16:11 PM Despite the concerns raised by Tom Coates and his readers, I might implement SimpleComments here to merge trackback pings into the comments box, if only because the unloved 'tb' link ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Three small site changes... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 1 DATE: 02/11/2003 10:59:07 AM ----- BODY:

Because I never tire of boring people stupid with little tweaks and quirks around the site, here's an update about three small changes to the way the site is operating:

Taking my cue from Dan Hon, plasticbag.org's commenting interface has been changed in accordance with the recommendations from Antipixel (that are shortly to be integrated into the default Movable Type templates), which provide a simple, space-friendly and usable alternative to the standard templates I was using. [Spookily this coincides exactly with Paul Mison making the same decisions.]
While I haven't as yet been totally thorough and systematic in their implementation, I've also had a go at making the site slightly more usable for people with accessibility issues. I have - of course - been using diveintoaccessibility.org as a guide for this process - which I will complete more thoroughly at a later date.
On the bottom of the individual archive pages of this site you will find a small panel called "BBC: On This Day". This is essentially a piece of meaningless fluff that directs you to the BBC's On This Day entry for whatever day the post was produced. It's far from perfect, and it's not particularly useful as yet, but it's connected to larger ideas I'm having about providing context and timelines for weblog entries. More about that soon, hopefully. In the meantime, if you want to know how the link is generated in Movable Type, the code is here.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Phil EMAIL: phil@gyford.com IP: 212.111.42.130 URL: http://www.gyford.com/ DATE: 02/11/2003 11:43:21 AM A big improvement on the Comment form Tom... but surely one of the radio buttons should be selected by default? The HTML specs state that sets of buttons should always have one selected and from a UI point of view it also makes sense. For some reason tabbing from the "Homepage" input field takes me to the "Weblog" link at the top of the page, rather than the next element in the form. I've *no* idea why that is. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Phil EMAIL: phil@gyford.com IP: 212.111.42.130 URL: http://www.gyford.com/ DATE: 02/11/2003 11:44:56 AM Oh, and I notice you've got rid of the Preview button. Any particular reason (I'm sure there is!)? On Pepysdiary.com I changed the templates so that at first there is only the Preview button, no Post, to force people to at least have a brief look at what they're posting. It's dramatically cut down on the number of posts with errors. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Phil EMAIL: phil@gyford.com IP: 212.111.42.130 URL: http://www.gyford.com/ DATE: 02/11/2003 11:48:12 AM And another thing Coates! Why does this form not pay any attention to my linebreaks? There should be one after that exclamation mark above. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Coates EMAIL: tom@plasticbag.org IP: 212.111.42.130 URL: http://www.plasticbag.org DATE: 02/11/2003 11:52:40 AM Phew! There's a set of comments to respond to. The tabbing thing might have something to do with my attempt to implement accesskeys, which I will investigate further. You're quite right about the radio buttons, which again I will investigate further. And I reformat the comments to get rid of line breaks because unless you're writing a bloody essay it's more important to me that it's really clear where your comment starts and ends than it is that you get to have line-breaks installed... That one's proving unpopular but I don't care! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Coates EMAIL: tom@plasticbag.org IP: 212.111.42.130 URL: http://www.plasticbag.org DATE: 02/11/2003 11:57:42 AM You know the weird thing about the comments on this thread was that I was literally on my way to turn them off when I saw Phil's explosion of insights. I'd just thought to myself, "Well no one's really going to care about that stuff..." ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Anna EMAIL: kookymojo@yahoo.com IP: 62.189.82.155 URL: http://kookymojo.blogspot.com DATE: 02/11/2003 12:10:10 PM I noticed the "On this day" feature a couple of weeks ago; think it's a great idea! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Phil EMAIL: phil@gyford.com IP: 212.111.42.130 URL: http://www.gyford.com/ DATE: 02/11/2003 12:38:33 PM I've noticed that on the conventional MT comment interface the 'Remember Me' checkbox is always unchecked, even if your details have been remembered. You have to remember to check it each time or else it's going to forget your details when you post a second time. I've been meaning to fix this dumbness using PHP (easier for me than fiddling with Javascript). ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: megnut EMAIL: meg@megnut.com IP: 24.193.88.35 URL: http://www.megnut.com DATE: 02/11/2003 03:04:47 PM One major peeve (and I don't know why the MT template doesn't do this by default): you should indicate which fields are required (name and email but NOT URL). Also, when one tries to submit the post without a name, the "Comment Submission Error" page is still in the default MT design. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Casey Bex EMAIL: caseybex@soon.com IP: 81.86.245.111 URL: http://www.1heluva.com/cgi-bin/join.cgi?refer=23911 DATE: 02/11/2003 07:31:08 PM I'm just laughing at the arguements over the comments! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Coates EMAIL: tom@plasticbag.org IP: 217.40.197.37 URL: http://www.plasticbag.org DATE: 02/11/2003 07:55:08 PM Yes - again - you're quite right. I'll work on those straight away. The Content Submission Error Page is a real annoyance that is to do with me having installed MT on my barbelith domain. While every other page works fine, the comments pages seem to demand to use the Barbelith URL. Very upsetting. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: David EMAIL: me@cloudsoup.com IP: 62.31.64.2 URL: http://www.cloudsoup.com DATE: 02/24/2003 07:30:59 PM Tom, v applaud your interest into accessibility. Might you be interested in using your much-visited and highly-linked plastic bag to push the issue a bit? ----- PING: TITLE: alterations URL: http://macdaraconroy.com/archive/2003/02/alterations.html IP: 64.39.15.88 BLOG NAME: macdaraconroy.com DATE: 02/19/2003 06:39:07 PM If you're a regular visitor you may have noticed a few subtle alterations to the appearance of this site. Nothing ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The end is nigh for clumsy irony... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 1 DATE: 02/11/2003 11:15:01 PM ----- BODY:

Ok. Here's a funny one for you. Dame Edna Everage - that woman who is you know actually a man (sorry if I spoiled that for you) and who makes a living by saying really funny offensive things that satirise Australia, the nouveau riche and the terminally classless - that same Dame Edna Everage manages to crack a joke in a Vanity Fair column suggesting that a reader shouldn't bother to learn Spanish because there's nothing worth reading in it - and it's the language of "leaf blowers" and "the help". Rather than finding this an entertaining satire on the kind of ludicrous self-involved people who actually think such clap-trap, Latina magazine gets into a big strop about it (via Gawker) subsequently forcing poor Vanity Fair to actually apologise. It sure is a sorry day for clumsy irony.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Camilo EMAIL: camilo@confusedkid.com IP: 67.30.211.37 URL: http://www.confusedkid.com/primer DATE: 02/12/2003 04:05:19 AM You mean they (VF) actually apologized? Behold the power of the new minority! Or perhaps they were afraid of the cartels (and I am Colombian, so there). ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: phil jones EMAIL: interstar@postmaster.co.uk IP: 200.163.2.206 URL: DATE: 02/12/2003 03:23:25 PM Serious question : Why should we expect Latina magazine to know who Edna Everage is? Or be able to differentiate her from her crass stereotype just based on an (in character) interview? In a small cosy culture we can expect everyone to know these things and realize what the shade of irony is going on. But in a global culture, perhaps we can't lazily assume this. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Coates EMAIL: tom@plasticbag.org IP: 212.111.42.130 URL: http://www.plasticbag.org DATE: 02/12/2003 03:45:54 PM Well, to be fair, Edna Everage has had a high profile presence in Ally McBeal for a couple of years on American television, and the magazine seems to be aimed at English-speaking American citizens. Moreover Edna Everage was being featured in Vanity Fair - a fairly high profile American Magazine - which suggests that she's not exactly unknown. And even if you're prepared to give them the benefit of the doubt and say that they might not have known who she was, it would be only appropriate to find out who she was before suggesting that she was the kind of person that she was clearly parodying... I mean, she is a man in pink hair wearing diamante bat-wing sunglasses - it's not entirely beyond the bounds of reason to think that she might not mean to be taken seriously..! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: razorhead EMAIL: razor@razorhead.co.uk IP: 62.190.225.122 URL: http://ulterior.razorhead.co.uk DATE: 02/12/2003 07:14:05 PM imagine if In Sickness and in Health crossed the pond. Ouch. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Peter EMAIL: peter@nakedblog.com IP: 62.31.71.100 URL: http://www.nakedblog.com DATE: 02/13/2003 12:19:24 PM Oh I don't think for one moment that the people at Latina are offended - they're just jumping on the publicity bandwagon. And why not? ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Evelyn EMAIL: evaelyn@hotmail.com IP: 12.42.30.130 URL: DATE: 02/19/2003 11:11:32 PM I believe that the spanish speaking community deserved this apology. I've never seen or read a magazine in spanish insulting or making offensive comments towards the americans, or people that speak foreign languages. We deserve respect as any other human being. We help americans to build their businesses in latin communities, so we believe our language should be respected as well. Language should be a matter of communication and useful to unite not to break us apart. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Coates EMAIL: tom@plasticbag.org IP: 81.132.19.12 URL: http://www.plasticbag.org DATE: 02/19/2003 11:29:00 PM But I think that's the point - the magazine didn't make any offensive comments about Spanish-speaking people. The magazine put in an advice column written by a comedian / drag act. It's not supposed to represent actual opinions any more than when Tenacious D talk about themselves as 'changing rock history'... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Evelyn EMAIL: evaelyn@hotmail.com IP: 12.42.30.130 URL: DATE: 02/19/2003 11:57:19 PM I just hope this will become a thing of the past soon. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Rose EMAIL: sweetstuff4204u2@aol.com IP: 152.163.189.132 URL: http://www.geocities.com/rosie_rose420 DATE: 02/20/2003 10:42:44 PM Tom are you really that gullible? You are clearly missing the reason why Edna's response had such an impact. Comical intent or not, it was offensive, whether anyone knew who he/she (Edna) was anyone could quickly perceive this person as a moron. I'm sure "they" (we) felt offended at first, but researched before jumping into conclusions that would cause such controversy, I did so anyway, and I'm sure others did too.. common sense. Hispanic people, a lot of the time are portrayed as "the help" and or "leaf blowers" in the media and to have a distinguished magazine such as Vanity Fair depict that kind of bigotry, is rather shocking, when Latino people are the second largest minority in the United States (not to mention America was possibly founded by a man of Spanish decent, as evidence exhibits, its history my friend).. But I'm sure you've read that... If something like this was directed to the African-American community, things would have been alot more chaotic, boycotts wouldn't be questioned, and their apology wouldn't have been so dry. Prior to this VF made a good move when a distasteful comment about blacks was brought up, it wasn't published(http://www.hispaniconline.com/pol&opi/readers_response_maldonado.html). Yet, Hispanic people ask for an apology and they recieve something along the lines of "Yeah.. Sorry, about what Dame Edna said".. Obviously not wanting to take responsibility. Why is it taboo to crack jokes about Blacks, yet its funny to joke about Asians, Jews and Latinos, ect.? Shouldn't every group receive respect? There's also a differnce between written humor and spoken humor. Tone and taste is a sententious part of good comedy. Get Real. By the way, I came upon this site while searching for articles on the topic. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Coates EMAIL: tom@plasticbag.org IP: 81.132.19.12 URL: http://www.plasticbag.org DATE: 02/20/2003 11:38:26 PM Rose - I greatly appreciate your insight on this matter. But I think I have to make it clear that I'm not unfamiliar with the idea of jokes or slurs based upon prejudice and stereotype. After all the most commonly used insult used in British schools at the moment is 'gay'. I'm in no way advocating racist slurs any more than I'd advocate anti-gay rhetoric - I think such behaviour is intolerable. But that's also why I have to say that I think there's an over-reaction here. Dame Edna is a character - like a camp matriarchal version of the UK's Alf Garnett. Her comments are a satire on stupid white people, not an insult to Spanish-speaking people! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Rose EMAIL: sweetstuff4204u2@aol.com IP: 152.163.189.132 URL: http://www.geocities.com/rosie_rose420 DATE: 02/22/2003 10:42:10 PM Well Tom, a lot of the time comedians use personal opinions and life experience or enforce the silly opinions of others in their material. Perhaps Barry uses this Edna character as a means of expressing his own views, thinking no one will mind because its "Edna" who is the idiot. But then again, I might be analyzing her/him/it too deeply. The fact is, his reponse could have been written differently, perhaps pointing out the negatives of the French or German, why single out the Latino community? I agree, the entire issue is being exaggerated, but maybe its about time "the help" shows a little pride. I'm sure things are different in the U.K. my engish friends have tons of insight they've shared. But in the US Hispanics take the back seat, haven't complained till now, just continued washing their white employers arse's to earn a rather pathetic living. It's Bollocks I tell you! or is it Bullocks... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Rose EMAIL: sweetstuff4204u2@aol.com IP: 152.163.189.132 URL: DATE: 02/22/2003 10:47:08 PM Response, English.. typos irk me.. ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Microcontent Voting... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 1 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Personal Publishing CATEGORY: Personal Publishing DATE: 02/12/2003 12:02:37 AM ----- BODY:

Definition of Microcontent Voting: A recent trend in weblog circles, the "microcontent vote" has emerged from several historical contingencies. In particular, the increasing use of tools like Movable Type has encouraged the posting of longer, more involved pieces of writing - writing fit to occupy a fully independent web document in and of itself. Due to a scarcity of time, this excess of wordy posting necessarily leaves the weblogger enervated and recumbant - in turn leaving a considerable number of interesting links uncommented upon - uninvestigated. The most logical band-aid to this increasing problem of weblog exhaustion? 'Remaindered links sections' (unordered lists of links with little or no commentary) and even 'linklogs' have emerged - secondary weblogs attached like small cleaning fish to the huge gills and gnashing teeth of weblog monsters like kottke.org, Anil Dash and interconnected.

The value of these dedicated linklogs or multi-link posts is debatable. It seems that it would be relatively rare for any individual to follow these lists with the same interest and joie de vivre with which they might follow the 'main' site. It would not be beyond the bounds of reason - in fact - to argue that no one actually clicks on the links contained within them at all. But perhaps their utility isn't based around their presence on the site in question... And maybe that utility isn't for the readers of that site at all...

One of the most obvious reasons for their use is that they represent relatively cheap content for weblog authors. Other than the intellectual labour in finding the material in the first place, little effort is required to post it to the weblog in question. Commentary (if any) can be sparse and pithy. The second obvious (and connected) reason for their use is that they represent a quick way of getting interesting links published upon one's site. They are a speedy enterprise. Both of these depend on the crucial final point - that they represent links that the author believes should be seen but has not the time or the inclination to write about further.

As such - the 'linklog' or the 'remaindered links' post represents nothing more clearly than a simple statement on the quality (or the newsworthiness) of the links in question. It is nothing more or less than a vote that "this is worth reading". And these votes are increasingly being collated by sites such as Popdex, Blogdex and Daypop - transforming the mindless daily drudge work of weblog-worker-bees into a neatly ranked link-honey of utility and joy to all...

The novelty of the link upon your site is no longer the issue - the issue is merely is it good? If you answer honestly, then the community itself can decide what's worth reading. Every citizen of weblogland has the right to the microcontent vote. They have the right to use them and the power to do so. And the power carries right through the weblog indices into Google's indexing and from there into the browsing experiences of everyone throughout the world. Use your votes wisely. For Microcontent Votes are Power.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: 8bitjoystick.com EMAIL: jmetcalf@8bitjoystick.com IP: 140.178.33.123 URL: http://www.8bitjoystick.com/ DATE: 02/12/2003 12:10:54 AM I actually don't worry about being highly ranked or the worlds most popular blogger. I could make my site much more popular if I did certain things and talked about certain topics but that would violate the reason I have my blog. It is not a matter of selling out it is a matter of being true to your own voice. I tend not to link to and write about stuff on Blogdex or Daypop unless It directly affects me and I have something to add. I am actually trying structure my site more like a Zine than a blog. I would like to see more reviews and articles than fluff about me and my life. I guess I am more inspired to create an off-kilter magazine-like creation than a 100% autobiographic narcissistic masturbatory weblog. Not to say that those are bad and all weblogs are autobiographic narcissistic masturbatory or to say that it is a bad thing. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Coates EMAIL: tom@plasticbag.org IP: 217.40.197.37 URL: http://www.plasticbag.org DATE: 02/12/2003 12:14:56 AM That's really interesting, but I'm not convinced it's particularly related to what I was writing about - which was the increasing way in which weblog writers are using their sites (consciously or otherwise) to cast votes about which links are interesting, newsworthy or just good quality. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Erik Benson EMAIL: erik@mockerybird.com IP: 207.171.180.101 URL: http://erikbenson.com/ DATE: 02/12/2003 01:04:36 AM I agree that it's possible to debate that links offered in quick link lists may be of less value to the reader, but I personally don't think that's necessarily the case, for a couple different reasons:

1) Link lists can be updated more easily, and therefore may be updated more often. The value created by freshness may outweigh any value lost in the quality of the link.
2) Even if it doesn't outweigh the value lost, all content on a page doesn't necessarily have to have the same value--the author's design of the page should factor in this imbalance and put the most valuable content in the most prominent place, and the least valuable content somewhere less prominent, like the sidebar.
3) We cannot assume that making things easier necessarily produces content of lower quality (isn't that the same accusation that weblogs have been fighting since day one?)--otherwise the weblog that provided the best writing would be built with weblog tools that were the most difficult to use (and a program that required you to scan in hand-written pages, converting it to text might replace Movable Type for aspiring writers). It's just as easy to link to quality articles and provide valuable commentary through a link list as it is to post an entry of the same quality, maybe easier. It just needs to be more deliberate than before, since the restrictions have to be self-imposed rather than imposed by the tool.
4) I would argue that it's probably not even necessary to make this comparison of quality. If advantages and disadvantages are present, the function of link lists will eventually shift to take advantage of those advantages--one possible shift could be in their replacing the use of browser bookmarks. Several times I've linked something really quickly and come back later to respond to it more fully.

I may have read into this a little too deeply, but it's something I'm thinking about at the moment. I've also started to think of my weblog as a collection of buckets for content that wants to be delivered at different speeds. How far can we push convenience, and will that only make us more aware of the need to put restrictions on ourselves in order to produce quality content? ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Coates EMAIL: tom@plasticbag.org IP: 217.40.197.37 URL: http://www.plasticbag.org DATE: 02/12/2003 01:19:46 AM I think you're overplaying the extent to which what I've written is supposed to be a criticism. As my latest post suggests, I'm not anti-linklogs at all. But I think there are interesting questions emerging around them, the main one of which being is anyone actually clicking on them? ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Anita Rowland EMAIL: anita@anitarowland.com IP: 207.202.198.171 URL: http://www.anitarowland.com/ DATE: 02/12/2003 01:22:30 AM "no one actually clicks on the links contained within them" I do call up Anil's links (in the search pane) and check them out most days, if I haven't already seen the targets. The snarky tool-tip titles make it fun. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Erik Benson EMAIL: erik@mockerybird.com IP: 207.171.180.101 URL: http://erikbenson.com/ DATE: 02/12/2003 01:37:27 AM Yeah, I figured I was, but I got on a roll and couldn't stop. :) Regarding the microcontent voting angle, I know that Cameron (from blogdex) is interested in creating a parser that can distinguish permanent links and temporary links (ie, the difference between a blogroll and a mention in an entry), which would let him then assign different weights on entries depending on link type. This could become interesting, because then it would be necessary to decide whether or not a permanent link was worth more or less than an entry in a post (probably less since it's not as indicative of a conversation that's occuring), and these link lists could provide an extra wrench in the gears. Yes, I think there are definitely some interesting questions emerging. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: fabio sergio EMAIL: fabiosergio@freegorifero.com IP: 62.13.170.12 URL: http://www.freegorifero.com DATE: 02/12/2003 09:31:36 AM I had approached the theme of "linklogs" a little while ago, from a very similar perspective, basically as one of the results of the "always-on" nature of our tools and (thus) lives. Fascinatingly enough I had also linked it to recent considerations around "power laws" and the effect they have on "competition" in the blogosphere(s). Tom is now talking about links=votes, which adds a new interesting twist on the plot... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Rory EMAIL: rory@speedysnail.com IP: 194.81.244.110 URL: http://speedysnail.com/ DATE: 02/13/2003 12:08:47 PM In these days of huge blogrolls and a list of daily reads as long as your arm, any blog is effectively a 'link dump', whether the links are all in one post or split up into several entries posted over the course of the day. If you only visit a particular blog once every day or two, you're confronted with the same plethora of potentially interesting links to explore, whether they're separate main blog entries with extensive commentary, a single link-dump main blog entry, or a string of brief links trailing down a side-bar. As for whether anyone is clicking on them, it depends. If it's a blogger I trust, I trust them to exercise as much editorial care in their link lists (whether as a link-dump post or as a side blog) as they would in an olde-style blog post of a single link with one-liner commentary. If I've got the time, I'll click on everything in a link-dump post; if not, maybe just the ones that look most interesting. It's the same problem at MeFi these days - every post has become a link dump, and who has time to check every link in them? ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Kati EMAIL: blog@idared.net IP: 213.46.246.84 URL: http://www.idared.net DATE: 02/14/2003 10:06:46 AM As for "is anyone actually clicking on them?" Yes, i am! In the past few days i have clicked on at least 4-5 of kottke's sidebar links, just because the link text made me curious. (and other times at other blogs - but this is the one that immediately comes to my mind) I don't think sidelogs and linklogs are useless, if there is other stuff in the blog that makes you read it, there is a chance that - when you're done reading the main content - the list of links on the side will tickle your curiosity a bit and you'll at least skim them and maybe find one or two worth to check out. That's what happens with me anyway. ----- PING: TITLE: Tom deconstructs Microcontent Voting URL: http://suckahs.org/links/2003_02.php#001596 IP: 64.247.12.144 BLOG NAME: Suckahs Daily Bookmarks DATE: 02/12/2003 12:42:28 AM http://www.plasticbag.org/archives/2003/02/microcontent_voting.shtml ----- PING: TITLE: Why I LinkBlog URL: http://www.paranoidfish.org/notes/2003/02/12/1311/index.html IP: 217.175.234.42 BLOG NAME: paranoidfish.org/notes DATE: 02/12/2003 01:38:51 PM Lately, I've realised that the real reason I keep my linkblog going is the effect it has on my main weblog... ----- PING: TITLE: Link Logs and Such URL: http://www.ordinary-life.net/blog/archives/001599.php IP: 209.50.252.235 BLOG NAME: Ordinary-Life.net DATE: 02/12/2003 07:18:25 PM I've been doing this for awhile. Nice to help start a trend. I just happen to use a yahoo directory-like script to make it very easy for me. ----- PING: TITLE: Readings URL: http://www.qpalzm.org/archives/000052.html IP: 217.163.9.108 BLOG NAME: qpalzm.org DATE: 05/02/2003 03:52:37 PM Following the lead of kottke.org remaindered links, interconnected.org mini links, plasticbag.org micro content, and whatdoiknow.org enjoying, qpalzm.org will soon have a rolling links section. This is kind of like a home for links that you want to sha... ----- PING: TITLE: Le magasin du dollar de l'hyperlien... URL: http://www.afroginthevalley.com/archives/000026.html IP: 149.99.191.76 BLOG NAME: A Frog in the Valley DATE: 02/07/2004 06:17:26 PM Hyperliens � louer, c'est le titre de mon nouveau linklog...... ----- PING: TITLE: Subtlety URL: http://www.submitresponse.co.uk/archives/subtlety.php IP: 81.3.64.11 BLOG NAME: Submit Response DATE: 02/12/2004 04:05:48 PM Two problems, two solutions, and a trite conclusion: The problem with links, in the context of weblogs, is that they... ----- PING: TITLE: Are epidemics bad for your blog? URL: http://radio.weblogs.com/0120356/2004/03/07.html#a506 IP: 212.198.60.13 BLOG NAME: taliesin's log DATE: 03/07/2004 08:30:03 PM Still in rude and frosty vein, I buried myself deeper in my lunchtime reading, after shaking his hand, when Andr ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Cosmic Polling Booth, I praise thee... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 1 DATE: 02/12/2003 01:12:11 AM ----- BODY:

Björk's QuickTime Gallery
Stunning Björkish videos presented in full through the magic and wonder of quicktime. Complete with small amounts of information about what exactly the tiny foreign lunatic was taking during filming.
The Les Dennis Experience!
Indescribably funny kind-of-fan-site for the UK 'comedian' and Celebrity Big Brother Windbag. "Few people know that Les Dennis owns a big boat that is manned almost entirely by Dwarves! 'Dwarves are easy to control and don't expect much pay' Les told us when we rang to confirm the rumours." Warning: Stinking Rude Bits Unfit for Young 'Uns.
NetNewsWire launches
$30 for NetNewsWire Pro version 1. I'll be downloading and paying for that tomorrow then. Anyone on a Mac who hasn't already got it probably should and if you haven't got OSX, then it's worth getting it just to run NNW. In fact, I think it's probably worth getting a Mac to run it. Excellent geeky goodness for all the weblog family...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Dumb Theories about Buffy... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 1 DATE: 02/12/2003 09:52:32 PM ----- BODY:

So how do I do this without spoiling things for people in the UK who don't know what's going to happen? And how do I do it without sounding like a total dork? How - in fact - do I talk about Buffy Season Seven (as being shown in the States at the moment) without giving too much away? It's a tough one, certainly. Perhaps an impossible one... Nonetheless, I must take my strength from the example provided for me by my televisual heroine! Battle on against all the odds! Fight for what is right! Kill all the vampires! Um.

Ways in which Tom increasingly resembles Xander Harris:

Frankly not as thin or as devastatingly hot as used to be.
Knows too much about Star Wars, Star Trek, Comic Books.
Hair unruly.
Considers Anya to be Goddess but wouldn't have married her.

Ways in which Tom increasingly resembles Andrew:

I think I'm kinda gay.
Knows too much about Star Wars, Star Trek, Comic Books.
Looks good in black.
Occasionally kills people to look cool to hot guys. Did I say kills people? I meant gave people lovely presents and help with their homework and stuff. Phew.
Has never successfully slaughtered a pig.

Dumb Theories about the End of the Series:

Buffy can't be a slayer any more.
Something important - significant - has to be sacrificed.
There have to be a couple of happy endings. Anya / Xander?
Buffy and Spike are not meant to be together forever.
"Cos you gotta have Faith..."

Other ways I could humiliate myself in front of my weblogging peers:

Tom Coates baby pictures.
"Why I was wrong" - a series of articles examining every thing I've said on my site over the last three and a half years that subsequently turned out to be completely wrong.
The plasticbag.org 'Comic Relief' special?
Everyone likes stories about digestive problems...

I think maybe it would be for the best if we just forgot I ever wrote this post. Let's all just move along. Nothing to see here. Just too much caffeine and not enough good TV.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Coates EMAIL: tom@plasticbag.org IP: 217.40.197.37 URL: http://www.plasticbag.org DATE: 02/12/2003 10:25:02 PM I'd just like to say at this moment that I will definitely return to writing proper posts about like tech stuff and social software and the like in a minute. I'm really a very serious and grown-up individual. Good at parties. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: john EMAIL: john@theonlyjuan.net IP: 65.27.232.152 URL: http://www.theonlyjuan.net/ DATE: 02/12/2003 11:40:17 PM Buffy's pretty grown-up and serious. Well, maybe not, but there are plenty of elements in the show for the grown-up and serious. (Or perhaps, as a Buffy fan, I'm just trying to rationalize/rationalise it.) ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: avril EMAIL: PunishPunacc@aol.com IP: 172.139.89.71 URL: http://my-infatuations.net/saint DATE: 02/13/2003 12:11:44 AM I agree with everything you said but I think Buffy dies and Dawn goes on to be the slayer. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Rob EMAIL: RobertWrayUK@aol.com IP: 62.252.0.5 URL: http://www.robertwray.co.uk/ DATE: 02/13/2003 01:35:21 AM Ummm, Tom, Buffy rocks! (As does Angel, but purely because of David Boreanaz.) Have you seen the Angel episode entitled "Spin the Bottle"? And more to the point, does the phrase "Hello Salty Goodness" mean anything? PS. Wasn't Glory just a gay icon? ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Gordon EMAIL: snowgoon[@]bigfoot.com IP: 62.189.46.34 URL: http://www.snowgoon.co.uk DATE: 02/13/2003 09:11:04 AM I think you should post anything you like, spoilers and all. Of course I don't watch Buffy (or Angel) so I don't really care one way or the other. Oh and don't try and blame these things on caffeine, that's my excuse! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Lubin Odana EMAIL: lubinodana@hotmail.com IP: 194.80.32.9 URL: DATE: 02/13/2003 09:44:30 AM I have a shameful secret. I think I am the only person of my peer group who doesn't "get" Buffy. I've watched it on numerous occasions, but I just can't get into it. Maybe I was put off forever by watching the Luke Perry film Buffy The Vampire Slayer in the early 1990s. Still, at least it's saved me hundreds of pounds in not buying all those boxed sets. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: hilary EMAIL: hcperkins@yahoo.co.uk IP: 132.185.132.12 URL: DATE: 02/13/2003 09:58:51 AM I say break out the baby pictures and go for broke. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Nicklas EMAIL: n@carbonatedink.com IP: 62.127.57.143 URL: http://www.carbonatedink.com/me/lostpages/ DATE: 02/13/2003 11:05:19 AM Bah! Money sereves no purpose unless spent in a rightious way. And what can be better than buying boxes of Buffy? The show, not the actual character. While it is Tom's site and all, I'm thankful that he thinks of us poor bastards who haven't seen more than season 6. And I agree with John. Reading posts about Buffy is much more fun than reading "Oh no, I think there will be a war in five minues. [five minutes later] Twelve minutes I mean. [and so on " for a few months. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Coates EMAIL: tom@plasticbag.org IP: 212.111.42.130 URL: http://www.plasticbag.org DATE: 02/13/2003 11:47:35 AM Lubin! You can call yourself a trash addict and you don't like the original Buffy movie?! That film is an inspired classic that my friends and I watched with absolute delight when we were teenagers. Here's a trivia question for you - can you name two Oscar winners that were in that film? Here's a clue - don't put much faith in Donald Sutherland... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: katy EMAIL: katy@kitschbitch.com IP: 129.67.65.91 URL: http://www.kitschbitch.com/ DATE: 02/13/2003 01:56:01 PM Inspired by the original buffy movie, I have now indoctrinated every wannabe thespian in Oxford to do the "how funky is your chicken, how loose is your goose... So shake your caboose" dance as part of their warmup. it's fucking genius. Oh, and never mind the baby photos, I've got a couple of pictures of Tom that are super-embarassing! Bribes sent to the address below.... just kidding, love you really ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: joh EMAIL: joh@bluejoh.com IP: 80.3.64.5 URL: http://bluejoh.com/abyss/ DATE: 02/13/2003 04:06:37 PM Personally, I'd love to see the 'plasticbag.org Comic Relief Special'... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: patricia EMAIL: info@lunanina.com IP: 165.247.95.65 URL: http://lunanina.com/musings/ DATE: 02/19/2003 04:55:34 AM I don't know what it says about me that I truly believe "That's sooo five minutes ago" is just about one of the best movie lines ever written. And the hairstyles. Let's not forget the bangs. Just those high, spiky things were enough to inspire fear into many a vampire I'm sure. Or at the very least, anyone who cares about the ozone layer. ----- PING: TITLE: No matter what he thinks, he\'s not as fat as Xander URL: http://www.24weblog.com/index.php?p=31 IP: 217.163.9.108 BLOG NAME: 24weblog.com DATE: 02/13/2003 12:03:30 AM Weblogger Tom Coates has posted a good article to his site concerning a certain TV series and how to write about it, whilst not spoiling the plotlines for a UK audience. Unfortunately, it's all about Buffy The Vampire Slayer, and not '24', but... ----- PING: TITLE: Ways in which Tom... URL: http:///archive/atf/2003_02.inc#002797 IP: 209.68.1.85 BLOG NAME: After the Floods DATE: 02/18/2003 10:57:43 PM Ways in which Tom (who has "Dumb Theories about Buffy" resembles Giles: 1. He is a sexy love god. ----- PING: TITLE: No matter what he thinks, he's not as fat as Xander URL: http://www.24weblog.com/2003/02/13/12.02.28/ IP: 217.163.9.108 BLOG NAME: 24weblog.com DATE: 01/18/2004 05:03:38 AM Weblogger Tom Coates has posted a good article to his site concerning a certain TV series and how to write about it, whilst not spoiling the plotlines for a UK audience. Unfortunately, it's all about Buffy The Vampire Slayer, and... ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Tove Jansson's Moomins STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 1 DATE: 02/13/2003 11:48:30 AM ----- BODY:

Recently, in a visit to Covent Garden's fashionable Magma graphic design store, my eyes found themselves irresistably drawn to a reprint of a Tove Jansson Moomin picture book from the late 1950s. The book - called unselfconsciously The Book About Moomin, Mymble and Little My [cover] - tells the story of how young Moomintroll stumbles upon Mymble, whose mischievous daughter has become lost in the wilds of Moominvalley. Each page is a stunning piece of design and artistry conveying an incredibly atmospheric - and uncomfortably scary - world. I bought the book immediately - there's work inside that reminds me of the woodcut artist and typographer Eric Gill. This is not the kind of childrens book that people seem to make any more.

There aren't really enough really good sites about Tove Jansson or the Moomins online - certainly not that convey the full impact of her artwork - but I've compiled a few useful links for anyone who wants more of an introduction to her work:

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The Valentine's Day Link Massacre... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 1 DATE: 02/13/2003 11:38:43 PM ----- BODY:

It's the day before Valentine's Day, that most accursed of all days. Accursed for all time because of the way the saint in question was beaten with clubs and beheaded for worshipping the 'wrong' super-powered fantasy figure. The same day of disaster and terror that saw the gangland executions of seven mobsters in 1929. This day of poisonous snacks and symbolically ripped-out bodily organs. Like the Roman Saturnalia only without any of the fun and with a hell of a lot more Meg Bloody Ryan, is there really anything worse than Valentine's Day?

Well I can't make the stupid day go away, but I can distract you with frivolous trivia and trashy links!

Interview with IHT.com's designer
I spent ages trying to find out about who built iht.com when it first launched, and now there's a whole interview with its creator over at new-favourite-weblog ordinary-life.net.
Faith - the TV series?
As Buffy approaches what seems like it should be an ending, what comes next? Could it be a Faith TV series - maybe with support from Willow the witch? If so, count me in...
Rogue Semiotics on UpMyStreet Conversations
Now this is why we build Conversations in the first place: '"How much do I love UpMyStreet? Well, a decent amount, particularly as it serves the basic but essential community function of being like standing in the greengrocers for five minutes."
Sea Lions Guard US ships
" The sea lions have been trained to carry a special clamp in their mouths which they can attach to a suspicious person, Commander John Wood, Special Operations Officer Naval Forces Central Command, told Reuters" [Thanks Meg]
Poor Old Adam loses his job in Apple Store
"When I went to pbzone.com my heart sank, my knees went weak. it was that oh fuck feeling that you know when something really bad has happened."
Sharon and Grant get married
The nicest site I've ever ever found in my referral logs.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- PING: TITLE: How I Feel About Valentines Day URL: http://www.queermusings.com/archives/003179.shtml IP: 209.239.41.29 BLOG NAME: Queer Musings DATE: 02/14/2003 09:22:44 AM While Garry shares my feeling about Valentines day and used the fewest words possible to describe it, Tom over at ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Why I didn't go on the Stop the War march... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: __default__ ALLOW PINGS: 1 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Politics CATEGORY: Politics DATE: 02/16/2003 12:06:26 AM ----- BODY: Today 750,000 people in the UK converged on London to take part in the "Stop the War" march. And here - if such a thing is possible - is where I try to put into words my reasons for not being one of them. Pretty much everyone I know from work went on the march. Many other UK webloggers marched too. Friends of mine of every political persuasion were there. But I wasn't. Why? I keep asking myself what holds me back. Why don't I feel able to throw myself behind such a huge and popular cause? It isn't because I'm a fan of Saddam Hussein. That's for certain. And it's not because I believe that the US has no interests in the area that it's trying to protect. And I know that I find the rhetoric of many pro-war people terrifying - designed to incite fear, hatred and a sense of revenge. And the links between Al Qaeda and Iraq? Speculative at best. We probably have more obvious and stronger links with these organisations. After all, someone worked to keep the USSR out of the Middle East... In my heart I think the reason I'm not standing up with everyone else against this war is because I think there are two very separate issues that need to be detached from one another and I think I've been scared that this march conflates them. To start off with, I don't have any reason to be against a "moral" war - if indeed this is one. Indeed, I would not even be against a pragmatic war. We may be have been the ones who put Hussein where he is today, we may have sold him the weapons, we may have propped up his regime, we may have interests in the area - but if he poses a threat, if his regime is bloody and dictatorial, then this makes us more responsible, not less. If anything something should be done because we fouled up so atrociously in the past. What I am against, and I think it's something that I share with a good proportion of the people on that march today, is the feeling that the United Nations is an institution that shouldn't be bullied, dismantled or circumvented. Fundamentally, if I'm against anything here, it's the rejection of the checks and balances of the international community. If you're having problems with the way they do things, then you try and change the minds of international community, or you work to change the institution in a way that makes it work more effectively. You don't get to ignore the law just because no one can stop you breaking it. There's too much to be lost - a world of stability that we're still nowhere near, but which we've been fighting for over the last six decades. More, even. It's the noblest goal I can think of. But it has to be a world of stability that we reached through reaching a consensus, and not by imposing our opinions - our values. I've had the news on in the background all day, and a good proportion of the people on these demonstrations don't seem to be protesting war at all. They just want a war that's conducted in their name - if it is proven to be necessary - to go through the proper process, to be undertaken as a solemn responsibility of an organisation that represents all the major peoples of the world. That's all. If I'd known that this morning, I think I might have joined them... ----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: dorian EMAIL: loaf@isness.org IP: 217.35.149.239 URL: http://www.isness.org/dory/ DATE: 02/16/2003 12:10:53 AM I hear you Tom (although I'm not *completely* with you :o) ) ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Mike EMAIL: mike@barkingmoose.com IP: 68.83.36.242 URL: http://www.barkingmoose.com/ DATE: 02/16/2003 01:01:55 AM Very well said. What's getting lost in the shuffle in all this building up to war is the role the US (and UK) had in creating Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden in the first place. Until there is some sort of honest dialogue about dealing with these root causes, I gotta say I'm not too optimistic about what will happen after the smoke clears in Iraq. And the way things are going in Afghanistan, I don't think those types of concerns are unfounded. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Julian EMAIL: julian_griffiths@hotmail.com IP: 62.252.32.6 URL: DATE: 02/16/2003 01:18:07 AM For someone so edgy regarding "warblogging", your latest posts have been some of your least annoying and most compelling reads (I mean that very nicely). You put into words almost exactly what I feel. I'm not adding to discussion here, I know - just agreeing with you. (Which isn't to say I haven't enjoyed your site for the last several years -I have- but I am compelled to simply nod my head in this instance.) ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Eric J EMAIL: ericj@webraw.com IP: 24.165.169.147 URL: http://www.webraw.com DATE: 02/16/2003 02:06:00 AM Well said. Your comments have helped me to solidify the very fluid opinions I have about whether war with Iraq is a good or bad idea. I work in the news business and believe me when I say, every single person in our business believes we are going to war and frankly, want it to happen because war is good for news. My main problem with the reasons is why now? Why give Saddam a pass for several years and suddenly draw a line in the sand? What you said about working to change the U.N. from the inside is probably the most brilliant and common sense thing I've heard about this whole issue. Here in the USA when crazy, gun-toting militia men want to 'change' America we argue that it's best to do it through our flawed legal and judicial system. If they don't like that then elect people who will support their ideas. America should do the same with the U.N. Change the U.N. to make it more effective. Ok, now I'm just repeating what you said but I'll wrap this up by saying that I have this gnawing suspicion that this whole thing is an elaborate bluff. Maybe it's wishful thinking, I dunno. But only time will tell. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: David EMAIL: david@queermusings.com IP: 12.238.235.133 URL: http://www.queermusings.com DATE: 02/16/2003 04:28:04 AM All of this makes me wish that Clinton was still in office. In a recent interview with Katie Couric on the Today show (http://www.msnbc.com/news/871318.asp?0cb=-214136125) he talked about it is important for us to go through the proper channels of the UN. He also said that it was important for us to look determined for war versus eager for war. I think that's the problem Bush and to a smaller degree Blair seem eager for war. I don't know if I agree with Clinton when he said that we don't need another UN resolution to go to war. I do agree with him when he says we have to give the inspectors time. My favorite part of the interview was �I don�t think the president needs another Security Council Resolution, as a matter of international law. I think politically, if he could get it, it would be great. For the simple reason that, if we had to go without another UN resolution � if we had to go and European powers or Russia or China are vocally opposed to this, then there will always be the suggestion that this was, in effect, a pre-emptive strike. I know the administration has said pre-emptive strikes may be justified in some places. But we�ve never done that. And democratic powers normally wait to get hit before they hit. On the other hand, if it is the UN, carrying out the UN mandate, and we�re doing this because for 12 years he has defied the UN mandate to disarm, that is not a pre-emptive strike. It�s a police action designed to protect the world from chemical and biological weapons." Sorry for the long post, I probably should have done my own, and trackbacked to you... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Josh On EMAIL: josh@futurefarmers.com IP: 68.164.31.227 URL: http://www.theyrule.net DATE: 02/16/2003 05:39:57 AM Tom, The UN does not represent the weight of world opinion. I wish there was something that did. What it represents in my opinion, is the interests of the richest and most powerful people in each of the constituent nations. And to be more precise, it only really gives force to the five permanent members of the security council. One look at the Ivory Coast, should tell us that they are not acting out of a humanitarian desire, but rather in their own self interest. Where real justice, and change will come from is an organized and committed public. I am I am thinking of the civil rights movement, the Vietnam anti-war movement et al. We should also remember the 100 000's of Iraqis who have died as a result of the sanctions imposed on Iraq by the UN. After two administrators of this program quit in disgust and dispair, it should tell us something. No doubt there will be more opportunities to make this decision, next time I hope you march, because we are the checks and balences for the international system! And it is wayy off kilter from my perspective! Take care... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Josh On EMAIL: josh@futurefarmers.com IP: 68.164.31.227 URL: http://www.theyrule.net DATE: 02/16/2003 05:40:20 AM Tom, The UN does not represent the weight of world opinion. I wish there was something that did. What it represents in my opinion, is the interests of the richest and most powerful people in each of the constituent nations. And to be more precise, it only really gives force to the five permanent members of the security council. One look at the Ivory Coast, should tell us that they are not acting out of a humanitarian desire, but rather in their own self interest. Where real justice, and change will come from is an organized and committed public. I am I am thinking of the civil rights movement, the Vietnam anti-war movement et al. We should also remember the 100 000's of Iraqis who have died as a result of the sanctions imposed on Iraq by the UN. After two administrators of this program quit in disgust and dispair, it should tell us something. No doubt there will be more opportunities to make this decision, next time I hope you march, because we are the checks and balences for the international system! And it is wayy off kilter from my perspective! Take care... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Vaughan EMAIL: vaughan@whereveryouare.org IP: 195.92.67.66 URL: http://www.whereveryouare.org DATE: 02/16/2003 11:34:26 AM Oh, I know exactly what you mean, Tom. I'm sure that your thoughts were also the thoughts of a good many people on the march yesterday. But then, for the sake of clarification, I guess you have to say 'Stop the War' rather than 'Stop Rushing Towards War Without Going Through The Proper Channels and Getting the Full and Unequivocal Backing of the UN First'. This morning, on quiet reflection of yesterday's events, I remain more impressed (stunned? surprised?) that in these politically naive and disinterested days, the UK can actually mobilise millions of people to actively march in protest about something. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Ian EMAIL: ian@humphrey78.freeserve.co.uk IP: 80.192.208.92 URL: DATE: 02/16/2003 01:49:40 PM It is pleasing to see some sense written. The reason that masses marched was because they feel left out of politics and the media does not inform them. It is easier to march and talk about 'morality' than to recognise continued contempt by Iraq for the UN and actually do something. The UN is a talking shop and stringing out decisions an international disease. People only react to directly personal involvement and then look for simplistic solutions on single issues. It is always easier to appease than take action. To expect the UN to suddenly become effective after 50 inglorious years is naive. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Ian EMAIL: ian@humphrey78.freeserve.co.uk IP: 80.192.208.92 URL: DATE: 02/16/2003 01:50:24 PM It is pleasing to see some sense written. The reason that masses marched was because they feel left out of politics and the media does not inform them. It is easier to march and talk about 'morality' than to recognise continued contempt by Iraq for the UN and actually do something. The UN is a talking shop and stringing out decisions an international disease. People only react to directly personal involvement and then look for simplistic solutions on single issues. It is always easier to appease than take action. To expect the UN to suddenly become effective after 50 inglorious years is naive. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Ian EMAIL: ian@humphrey78.freeserve.co.uk IP: 80.192.208.92 URL: DATE: 02/16/2003 01:51:11 PM It is pleasing to see some sense written. The reason that masses marched was because they feel left out of politics and the media does not inform them. It is easier to march and talk about 'morality' than to recognise continued contempt by Iraq for the UN and actually do something. The UN is a talking shop and stringing out decisions an international disease. People only react to directly personal involvement and then look for simplistic solutions on single issues. It is always easier to appease than take action. To expect the UN to suddenly become effective after 50 inglorious years is naive. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Coates EMAIL: tom@plasticbag.org IP: 213.123.147.67 URL: http://www.plasticbag.org DATE: 02/16/2003 04:19:17 PM But that's why what needs to be done in these circumstances is look at the problems we're having as a reason to work for the empowerment and restructuring of the UN so that it is able to make decisions like this. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Marcus EMAIL: freonmonkey@hotmail.com IP: 217.39.84.223 URL: http://www.freontech.com DATE: 02/16/2003 07:03:00 PM Tom, I agree with your final paragraph: I think you misunderstood what a lot of people went on that march for. I was there. It consisted of a broad coalition of ideologies and people from all walks of life, whose sole unifying banner was that they didn't want to see an invasion of Iraq. Beyond that, opinions of people I spoke to differed greatly - some "never" want war waged, some "not yet". But what a turnout. And what a great stand for the will of the people. Short of sabotaging tanks and overthrowing the UK and US governments, I think there is little more that the average subject or citizen can do. To pretentiously paraphrase Shakespeare: those against the war who stayed in bed should feel a little bit ashamed, and hold their manhoods/womanhoods (delete as appropriate) cheap that they didn't march with us on that day. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: charlie b. EMAIL: HereInside2003@aol.com IP: 172.180.29.27 URL: http://hereinside.blogspot.com DATE: 02/17/2003 01:38:26 AM I found your comments very interesting Tom, and the responses to them. I don't want to repeat my earlier views about the rights of nations to act in their own interests. It is also the case that people and peoples may wish to see collective action for a common purpose, and to do that through a super-national organisation. The two principles are not at variance, and part of the problem in discussing this subject has been a failure (by governments and commentators) to distinguish national interest, national policy (which might include agreements with other countries), and international requirements. All are operative. However, with respect to the structure of the UN, it is out of the question that the operative principles of the organisation will change, and the countries that take part in the UN process do not leave their national interests and policies behind when they assemble on East 42nd Street. They will all use the UN to defend and advance their national, regional and alliance interests. Thus, as we know, France is seeking to bolster its international importance, and to move Europe away from the US and towards a more coherent bloc of which its is leader. German leaders are seeking to hold on to power after absolutely disastrous, mandate-shattering domestic elections, by playing the one card they have left. Russia is very concerned about the prices its own oil will fetch (central as it is to all its plans), and about is numerous contracts with Iraq. The idea that the arms inspectors need more time is a blind. What are the inspectors to have more time to do? To find concealed weapons (that would trigger UN action)? Or to "control" and "contain" Saddam. The latter I assume. The trouble is that everything the inspectors do (and remember how hard it was to get Saddam to accept them in the first place) depends entirely on the massive US and UK military presence that has been built up in the region. Without it, would there be any cooperation at all? How soon would they be forced to leave? How would Saddam be controlled then? Is it likely he can be trusted without the threat of coercion? Even then, what of the poor Iraqi people? (and I so agree with what you say about tnat) The issue therefore appears to me not to be about the policy of the UN (about which there can be argument, discussion and agreement) but how it is enforced. Any threat of military action depends on the US, the only country with the men, equipment and money to do the job. We cannot surely ask the US to keep a force of 250,000 permanently stationed in the Gulf, at its own expense. There has to come a time when it will be used or not. But I did not receive that message from the protest marches. They did not say "WAR: Not now, but if and when it becomes necessary". No. They said "America=Evil" and "Bush=Hitler" and "War=Oil" and No War, and Make Tea Not War, and No Attack on Iraq. If Bush and Blair followed the demands of the protesters they would immediately disengage all armed forced and remove them from the Gulf. THEN what would the UN do? ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: charlie b. EMAIL: HereInside2003@aol.com IP: 172.180.29.27 URL: http://hereinside.blogspot.com/ DATE: 02/17/2003 01:39:29 AM I found your comments very interesting Tom, and the responses to them. I don't want to repeat my earlier views about the rights of nations to act in their own interests. It is also the case that people and peoples may wish to see collective action for a common purpose, and to do that through a super-national organisation. The two principles are not at variance, and part of the problem in discussing this subject has been a failure (by governments and commentators) to distinguish national interest, national policy (which might include agreements with other countries), and international requirements. All are operative. However, with respect to the structure of the UN, it is out of the question that the operative principles of the organisation will change, and the countries that take part in the UN process do not leave their national interests and policies behind when they assemble on East 42nd Street. They will all use the UN to defend and advance their national, regional and alliance interests. Thus, as we know, France is seeking to bolster its international importance, and to move Europe away from the US and towards a more coherent bloc of which its is leader. German leaders are seeking to hold on to power after absolutely disastrous, mandate-shattering domestic elections, by playing the one card they have left. Russia is very concerned about the prices its own oil will fetch (central as it is to all its plans), and about is numerous contracts with Iraq. The idea that the arms inspectors need more time is a blind. What are the inspectors to have more time to do? To find concealed weapons (that would trigger UN action)? Or to "control" and "contain" Saddam. The latter I assume. The trouble is that everything the inspectors do (and remember how hard it was to get Saddam to accept them in the first place) depends entirely on the massive US and UK military presence that has been built up in the region. Without it, would there be any cooperation at all? How soon would they be forced to leave? How would Saddam be controlled then? Is it likely he can be trusted without the threat of coercion? Even then, what of the poor Iraqi people? (and I so agree with what you say about tnat) The issue therefore appears to me not to be about the policy of the UN (about which there can be argument, discussion and agreement) but how it is enforced. Any threat of military action depends on the US, the only country with the men, equipment and money to do the job. We cannot surely ask the US to keep a force of 250,000 permanently stationed in the Gulf, at its own expense. There has to come a time when it will be used or not. But I did not receive that message from the protest marches. They did not say "WAR: Not now, but if and when it becomes necessary". No. They said "America=Evil" and "Bush=Hitler" and "War=Oil" and No War, and Make Tea Not War, and No Attack on Iraq. If Bush and Blair followed the demands of the protesters they would immediately disengage all armed forced and remove them from the Gulf. THEN what would the UN do? ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Chloe EMAIL: chloeincommunicado@watermelonpunch.com IP: 199.224.94.247 URL: http://www.watermelonpunch.com/ DATE: 02/17/2003 02:37:50 AM This is very much how I feel. Though I'm not for a war... It DOES have a lot more to do with feeling bullied, embarrassed, and inappropriate. The people in power in the U.S. these days rarely seem to adequately or accurately represent this American. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Frank [American] EMAIL: frank@fperkins.com IP: 67.86.58.242 URL: http://www.fperkins.com/news/ DATE: 02/17/2003 03:06:42 AM Wow.. someone wishes Clinton was back in office. In desperate times, we need a man with absolutely no morals. As another one of your astute readers pointed out, the march wasn't for peace, but rather an anti-American march. Bush=Hitler? Does anyone with a half a brain not realize that SH has been a dictator since 1979? He was elected with 100% of the vote in his last election. I guess nobody caught the CNN special about the Iraq citizens that protested against the govt and were taken away and never heard from again. We deserve the right to defend ourselves and we will do it, with or without the UN. Since when does France represent the common man's point of view? France is afraid that if they make a stand toward terrorism they will be the target of future attacks. I may have lost my mind, but didn't they have one of their oil tankers hit by terrorists? I'll leave you with this. "America is often said to be a 'hyper power,' yet our actions are repeatedly frustrated by an endless train of objections and obstacles. America has fought distant wars to defend whole continents from a succession of aggressors, but the beneficiaries of the safety we have ensured often devote their energies to impeding our efforts to help others," Hyde said. "We shoulder burdensome responsibilities for the benefit of the entire globe, but too often we must do so alone." ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: kenny EMAIL: lopati0@lycos.com IP: 24.125.21.109 URL: DATE: 02/17/2003 04:58:20 AM yeah, i'm kind of ambivalent too :) so are iraqis! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Mike EMAIL: mike@coffeecorner.org IP: 66.140.131.93 URL: http://www.coffeecorner.org DATE: 02/18/2003 03:13:56 PM Spot on, and I agree fully. (I was only in the march long enough to get back to my hotel. Ack.) Here's the crux for me: I agree that the UN should not be flaunted or ignored as an international body. But who is doing the flaunting? Iraq, for its continued lack of compliance with declarations? The UN, for not enforcing the consequences of those declarations? Or the US, who has rushed headlong to enforce its will before the UN can decide? I don't mean to spin that question towards any particular answer. Frankly, I think it's a bit of all three. But that's the main difference I've seen (re: the UN) between Europe and the US. Over here, it's Iraq that ignores the UN. Over there, it's the US. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Sam EMAIL: miserablebastard@hotmail.com IP: 80.1.26.113 URL: DATE: 02/19/2003 12:42:51 AM I'd feel more a lot more comfortable with a war against Iraq if it had UN backing, and it would have been hypocritical to march against it. Can someone tell me what interests the UN was protecting in East Timor and Kosovo? ----- PING: TITLE: Why I didn't go on the Stop the War march... URL: http://suckahs.org/links/2003_02.php#001620 IP: 64.247.12.144 BLOG NAME: Suckahs Daily Bookmarks DATE: 02/19/2003 12:17:38 AM http://www.plasticbag.org/archives/2003/02/why_i_didnt_go_on_the_stop_the_war_march.shtml ----- PING: TITLE: The day in pictures URL: http://www.thehighrise.org/weblog/archives/2003_02.html#000617 IP: 212.187.158.99 BLOG NAME: thehighrise DATE: 01/19/2004 06:56:48 PM Pictures are worth a thousand words, or something like that, so if you don't want to read the reports of... ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Google buys Blogger... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 1 DATE: 02/16/2003 12:17:31 PM ----- BODY:

The only news today in the blogosphere is that Google has bought Blogger. I have an almost infinite amount to say about this subject, but it doesn't look like I'm going to have time to say it for a few days. Apologies...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: sonia EMAIL: 9@lifeintheday.co.uk IP: 12.82.65.30 URL: http://lifeintheday.co.uk DATE: 02/16/2003 06:22:00 PM This has got to be the most random thing I've heard today. I still don't know what my opinion of it is, though ... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Coates EMAIL: tom@plasticbag.org IP: 212.111.42.130 URL: http://www.plasticbag.org DATE: 02/17/2003 11:44:34 AM I have to say I think your feelings on the matter are shared by the majority. Everyone's relieved that this probably means they won't go bust for a while. And everyone's delighted that it'll probably mean that Blogger Pro functionality improves and continues to develop. What other implications it might have... Well, I guess we wait and see... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Bart EMAIL: bart@trabaca.com IP: 212.27.35.146 URL: http://www.trabaca.com DATE: 02/17/2003 01:27:53 PM I take it that Google will eventually integrate Blogger and/or vice-versa and am wondering what this could mean for non-Blogger weblogs. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: deej EMAIL: dj@sassylad.co.uk IP: 217.44.92.212 URL: http://www.sassylad.co.uk DATE: 02/18/2003 08:02:41 AM I can't help but feel it's a bad idea, I'm not sure why yet but everything that google has done recently seems to be a step towards the dark side of monopoly - and the takeover of blogger is just another step... I'll be moving over to my own CMS as soon as my blogger pro subscription is up. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Steven EMAIL: sprice2@worcestershire.gov.uk IP: 193.128.154.24 URL: DATE: 02/18/2003 02:10:36 PM http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/2775249.stm The BBC's take on the whole 'Blog' situation. It may enlighten those of you who have yet to catch up with the events mentioned in this post. ----- PING: TITLE: �Google compra Blogger? URL: http://ALT1040.com/archivo/000326.shtml IP: 205.214.88.56 BLOG NAME: ALT1040 DATE: 02/16/2003 06:01:39 PM Al parecer Google compr� Pyra, la compa�ia que hace Blogger. No hay mucho que decir, no es noticia confirmada, no hay nota de prensa. Solo un art�culo en un weblog, un post en metafilter y un comentario muy extra�o de Ev. Si es cierto, desde ma�ana en ... ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On people who can't smell... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 1 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Health CATEGORY: Health DATE: 02/18/2003 04:41:24 PM ----- BODY:

Last night I cooked myself a meal on my gas hob. This morning, on the way into work on the bus I became convinced that I hadn't turned the gas off. I had to get off the bus halfway through my journey, find another bus and return home to check. Fourteen hours had passed.

For most people this kind of situation would be unthinkable. If the gas was lit - how many times would I have had an opportunity to notice the flames? If the gas was not lit, how strong must the smell get? How obvious must it have been? Except, of course, that (along with all my other freakishnesses) I have no sense of smell. Or if I do, it's so ludicrously truncated and ineffectual as to be useless. The signals that other people take for granted just aren't present for me.

For the most part, I'm highly suspicious of gas appliances, although it's practically impossible to find a rental flat without them. And if you don't believe that it's a real issue, then I've got an example for you. When I lived with my ex-flatmates Kate and Mella, on at least two separate occasions they returned to the flat to find it stinking of gas. On one occasion the cooking flame had been blown out by a breeze and I simply hadn't noticed. Not getting any heat from the hob, I'd simply assumed it was off. The flat, slowly but surely, had been filling with gas (with me in it) for getting on for fourteen hours. I'd had a terrible headache all day and had no idea why...

Here are some interesting facts (and links) about (and for) people who can't smell (which is known as Anosmia):

Anosmia Foundation
A slightly melodramatic association attempting to get Anosmia considered a disability and taken more seriously as a problem. While clearly not being able to smell does cause difficulties in life (from safety issues, food appreciation and anxiety about personal hygiene), I've never considered it a particularly serious problem. Maybe I should reconsider...
Congenital Anosmia Pages
Most interesting for its reader feedback, where people talk about their experiences of limited or total lack of smell - the most scary ones being associated with horrific cases of food poisoning and gas leaks. I never eat anything that's even vaguely past its sell-by date, and often throw things away even if they just look a bit dodgy.
Dangers and Safety Precautions Related to the Olfactory Dysfunction Anosmia
Some interesting points here that I hadn't fully considered: "Household cleaners can be a risk factor because the odor of the chemicals will not be noticed to warn the person that the chemicals are toxic and should be used in a well- ventilated area. Warning labels should be read as a reminder of the chemicals involved in such things as hair products, bathroom and kitchen cleaners, insecticides, etc. Our sense of smell keeps people aware of automotive troubles."
Diagnostic pathways
How to diagnose what may have caused anosmia by following a simple flow-chart.
The Cranial 1 Quick Sniff
Diagnose problems with your sense of smell with this astonishingly weird smell flick-book thing. Every home should have "single-use odor presentations for the testing of olfactory function".
Anosmia Yahoogroup
An Anosmia mailing list for sufferers and their friends discussing treatments, information and providing support for those who have lost their sense of smell later in life.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Nigel EMAIL: grabcopy@hotmail.com IP: 195.92.168.164 URL: http://www.audiolympics.blogspot.com DATE: 02/18/2003 09:20:05 PM I have returned home from the Thelwall Viaduct every day for eight years to switch off my gas. Every day I am 24 minutes late for work. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Bryan EMAIL: bryan@thesamis.net IP: 130.15.205.179 URL: http://www.thesamis.net DATE: 02/18/2003 10:08:02 PM My sister has no sense of smell too - thanks for the links, I'll forward them her way. She's been to see countless specialists, been put on special diets, etc, but nothing seems to do any good. She still makes me smell her clothes for her before she goes out to make sure they don't stink :p ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Gert EMAIL: gert@madmusingsof.me.uk IP: 81.152.99.36 URL: http://www.madmusingsof.me.uk/weblog DATE: 02/18/2003 10:34:59 PM My Aunt lost her sense of smell in a car crash about 40 years ago. She is now 82 and my cousins have started worrying about her, and gas (and alcohol, but that's another story). Not unreasonably, she points out to them that she has survived 40 years without smell. I can smoke in her flat. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Marc EMAIL: marc.bohlmann@epost.de IP: 80.138.144.182 URL: http://www.bagofgoodies.de DATE: 02/18/2003 10:47:10 PM Mmmmm ... shouldn't that gas appliance turn of the gas, once the flames goes off? At least that's what they do here in Germany. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Vaughan EMAIL: vaughan@whereveryouare.org IP: 195.92.67.75 URL: http://www.whereveryouare.org DATE: 02/18/2003 11:40:38 PM Just lately, I've become utterly convinced that my bouts of extreme tiredness are due to my gas boiler being unsafe. It's just above my bath, and I have been known to stare at the flame through the little window to see if it's burning too orange or yellow, and not enough blue. In truth, I'm probably just a mild hypochondriac who should get out more, but if no one hears from me for more than three days, please call the following number ... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: qB EMAIL: frizzy_logic@hotmail.com IP: 194.217.194.138 URL: http://frizzy_logic.blogspot.com DATE: 02/19/2003 12:11:02 AM I had almost no sense of smell for as far back as I can remember and was deeply paranoid over the personal hygene issue. Anything else wasn't a problem and it was a considerable advantage in some chemistry lessons. My sense of smell suddenly and disconcertingly became (initially almost unbearably) acute during the early stages of my second pregnancy and hasn't diminished since. But is it true what people say about the acuteness of senses of smell and taste being linked? Because I didn't notice any sense in my sense of taste, which I had always regarded as being fine. I don't, by the way, in any way suggest pregnancy as a cure for anything, let alone anosmia. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Ian A EMAIL: istrada@iprimus.com.au IP: 211.26.68.3 URL: http://northbysoutheast.blogspot.com DATE: 02/19/2003 02:11:28 AM So when you got back, had you actually left the gas on? Have you tried strategically placed signage, like say, at the front door, over your pillow etc? Kind of like mobiles that you have to dodge with the message "Have you turned off the gas you smelly bastard?!" ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Kurisuchan EMAIL: perretperret@hotmail.com IP: 195.92.194.13 URL: DATE: 02/19/2003 03:12:17 AM I find that my sense of smell is particulary acute when I have a bad hangover... which wasn't always welcome when I lived in a squat in Hackney. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Vicky EMAIL: v@vb.otg IP: 195.92.168.171 URL: http://www.vodkabird.org DATE: 02/19/2003 07:00:38 AM I can empathise with the having to return home to ensure that the gas/iron/whatever hasn't been left on - until one day I actually did leave the iron on all day, and what do you know? The house was still standing. I think it's a case of as you get older you trust your memory less. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: arseblogger EMAIL: arseblogger@arseblog.com IP: 80.58.50.170 URL: http://www.arseblog.com DATE: 02/19/2003 07:50:41 AM Might I suggest you invest in a canary, or some other kind of small bird, and leave it perched in the kitchen, in close proximity to your gas hob. All you need to do in the morning is check and see if the bird is still alive. If it's lying flat on its back on the bottom of the cage, chances are you left the gas on. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Graham EMAIL: gths@flat-earth.org IP: 203.164.7.157 URL: http://grudnuk.com/vm/ DATE: 02/19/2003 07:55:58 AM This reminds me of that silly old vaudeville joke about the dog with no nose: "How does he smell then?" "Terrible!" ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Coates EMAIL: tom@plasticbag.org IP: 212.111.42.130 URL: http://www.plasticbag.org DATE: 02/19/2003 10:55:59 AM Typically - obviously, even - I hadn't left the gas on at all. The flat was perfectly intact and non-explosive. I felt like a bit of an idiot, and even more of an idiot when I had to explain why I was forty-five minutes late for work. Still... Never mind... Better that than a huge explosion decimating my neighbours... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: s3d EMAIL: s3d@dreamingsea.net IP: 212.137.30.138 URL: http://www.dreamingsea.net DATE: 02/19/2003 11:54:46 AM Is it true that a lack of/diminished sense of smell is more likely to be a 'male thing', in a similar way that 1 in 4 men are colourblind? Only most men I know can't tell sour milk when it's way past its best, like my partner who always sniffs the milk bottle, even if he's just watched me open it... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Coates EMAIL: tom@plasticbag.org IP: 212.111.42.130 URL: http://www.plasticbag.org DATE: 02/19/2003 12:04:13 PM Yup - apparently it is much more common in men than women. God only knows if there's an evolutionary reason for that or if it's a side-effect of something else... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Steven EMAIL: sprice2@worcestershire.gov.uk IP: 193.128.154.24 URL: DATE: 02/19/2003 04:58:45 PM When you consider that your taste can only differentiate between sour, salt, sweet and bitter and that your smell sense makes up for the rest, I find it hard to grasp the idea of not being able to know what things smell like. Bacon butties for one :p You know what they taste like, but can't enjoy the smell of them. Damn shame, that one. Are there people out there with similar problems but related to no taste (and I don't mean what they wear/listen to/the people they hang out with - or any other oh-so-humourous comments)? ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Linda Razzell EMAIL: linda@batwing.co.uk IP: 62.49.31.155 URL: DATE: 02/20/2003 12:32:44 AM I am confused - smell and taste are said to be linked but my partner, who has a dangerous lack of ability to smell (gas, bad food etc )also has a most acute sense of taste, far greater than mine. He was once a chef, and a very good one. I have only known him to identify a smell twice in twenty years - one was pine disinfectant and the other, drains! How can this be? ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Steven EMAIL: sprice2@worcestershire.gov.uk IP: 193.128.154.24 URL: DATE: 02/20/2003 09:16:22 AM With regard to Linda's post "...smell and taste are said to be linked...". The aspect you have to consider is the loss of one sense greatly enhances the others. We all know that when someone loses their sight, the other senses, in particular, Hearing try to compensate for the loss and in most circumstances do so admirably. Therefore, there must be some link with loss of smell (a key sense) and the increase in sensitivity of the taste buds. The human body works in mysterious ways... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Simon EMAIL: ieatspamfortea@minor9th.com IP: 62.252.0.5 URL: http://www.minor9th.com DATE: 02/20/2003 10:51:32 AM This is a bit freaky - I only read this post this morning, but last night I dreamed that I blew up our house by leaving the gas on. Having said this, I think it's mainly to do with the fact that Transco are building us a moat / putting in new gas pipes outside our house... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: scott reynen EMAIL: scott@randomchaos.com IP: 218.173.146.34 URL: http://weblog.randomchaos.com/ DATE: 02/28/2003 02:05:48 AM first, i want to say how happy i was to read this post. while i do have some sense of smell, i have very little. it's not something i was even aware of until i was about 20 years old. since then, i've realized that my food preferences are much more texture-oriented than those of most people. i wonder, is this true for other anosmiacs? (i'm so excited to finally learn the word to describe this condition!) ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: latha EMAIL: steelhearted@indiatimes.com IP: 219.65.91.48 URL: DATE: 05/21/2003 09:06:43 AM I have no sense of smell ever since I remember. Will it affect my child if I conceive? ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Blue EMAIL: jjbeckman@bigpond.com.au IP: 144.139.163.77 URL: DATE: 12/04/2003 01:12:50 AM My sense of smell is non existant. I have no memory of ever being able to smell. It wasn't until I was 9 or 10 that I realised I couldn't smell. I was staying with my cousin & couldn't resist putting on some of her nail polish. Even though I hid my nails, she still knew I had it on. I asked her how she knew & she said she could smell it. It does cause me some problems. I have recently bought a house with a gas stove & am a bit worried about leaving the stove on etc. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Florence EMAIL: www.florrence1984@yahoo.com IP: 216.78.51.137 URL: DATE: 01/10/2004 12:46:38 AM I have not been able to smell almost for a year now. That scares me terribly. I wanted to know if there is any treatment to restore my sense of smell. I have tried taking zinc, but it didn't work. Please let me know of any suggestions of how one sense such as a person's sense of smel can be restored if possible. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: nicole toombs EMAIL: the1uvbeenwaiting4@yahoo.com IP: 66.56.205.227 URL: DATE: 01/12/2004 12:52:35 AM i am only 17 and ive never had a sense of smell. i fear that when i am to move out on my own that i'll leave my gas on constantly and being a smoker will light myself up in flames. does anyone know of any operations or helpful things i could to do possibly be able to smell again? thanks a million ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: helena EMAIL: punjabi@hotmail.com IP: 82.43.210.7 URL: DATE: 01/25/2004 07:18:35 PM i have no sence of smell, or touch. I have learnt to get used to it. I think these people should get used to the way they were born too. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: robert EMAIL: mrthey@lycos.co.uk IP: 195.195.164.218 URL: DATE: 03/02/2004 04:24:40 PM Hi everyone, My name is Robert Potts. I am a communication student currently researching anosmia for my final project. I am very interested to hear form any anosmics about their experiences of everyday life. Especially congenital anosmiacs conception of what smell actually is, as they have never smelt. I am interested to meet people who might wish to participate in a documentary that explores the loss of the sensory dimension of smell. I am interested to hear from anyone and willing to start correspondance that may help to raise awareness or promote communication between anosmiacs. If you could indicate what country or town you are in this would be greatly appreciated. Yours faithfully, R ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Thekken EMAIL: thekk_suk@yahoo.com IP: 167.206.189.62 URL: DATE: 03/05/2004 03:15:37 PM Anosmiac, I've finally figured out the word to describe my condition. I'm 28 years old, I figured out when I was pretty young that I can't smell a thing. I remember having blocked nostrils all the time and as a matter of fact I still do. Whenever I tell someone that I can't smell they ask me "what!!?? then how do you taste?" I've never felt that smell had anything to do with taste, I do enjoy my food like everybody else but the truth is "yes I can't smell". I knew that this was a disability, but didn't think that this was serious and common enough to be attributed a name, stupid me. Certain points mentioned by some contributors are absolutely true in my case. I dab myself with cologne, deodarant, use mouthwashs' all the time... keep a ready supply of mint on me, all due to the cardinal fear of being unhygienic. My wife does my scouts job of giving me a sniff now and then to see everything's alright. I never thought something was amiss until today when I came across this forum and a chance stumbling on to some related websites. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Gail EMAIL: gailmccall@reachone.com IP: 216.177.228.116 URL: DATE: 04/14/2004 03:00:00 AM This is the first that I ever heard of other people that can't smell. I had surgery last month (3/4/04). My doctor diagnosed a brain tumor by my lack of smell. Everything went well, but I had concerns about not smelling. My concerns are the same as everyone here. It helps to know a little about what other people do to get by too. There are lots of reasons for not smelling. So thanks for the learning experience. Also, I find no connection to lack of smell and lack of taste. I find in my case that I try to taste more to compensate for not smelling. I have people around that help with hygene and safety issues. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Lisa EMAIL: snoogie_woogie@hotmail.com IP: 65.33.51.87 URL: DATE: 08/03/2004 04:59:21 AM I'm 27 I've never had a sense of smell. I've always been okay by this, I forget most of the time. Tonight I started reading about it for the first, anosmia, and it has gotten me thinking. Does it affect my memory? Being sexually attracted to certain people? Would I act differently if I could smell? Would I be more confident in public? I put on deodorant 3 times a day, used to have friends pick out perfume for me, and occassionally forget that it is bad and clean the bathroom with the door closed. The other day I spent an hour staining an interior door before realizing that I should open the windows. I'm amazed that wood and strawberries (before they are torn open) have a smell. Robert, if you are still out there I'd be interested in corresponding with you for your documentary. I'm from the US. And for you other people with anosmia, please share more details about your stories! The are so good to hear. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Judi EMAIL: justjudim@telkomsa.net IP: 155.239.105.35 URL: http://telkom DATE: 08/15/2004 09:07:40 PM my friend has anosmia and I feel so sorry for her because I cannot imagine a life without being able to smell! In this day and age, surely this condition can be treated/cured? She does not have a tumor, is not sick/asmathic or have sinus problems, she just cannot smell! She can differentiate between sweet/sour/salty tastes only. Her doctor said she has Calman/ Kalman disease???? I cannot find info on this? Anybody out there who can tell us about this? ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Marta Kay EMAIL: mkm221@zoominternet.net IP: 146.186.63.229 URL: DATE: 10/21/2004 04:18:00 PM I had a severe brain injury which in turn I was told that my scent valves were crushed this was in 1991. Is there anything that I can do to mend this, not being able to smell has many disadvantages ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: BBC News redesigns... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 1 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Design CATEGORY: Design DATE: 02/19/2003 12:50:32 PM ----- BODY:

The newly redesigned BBC news launched last night - the redesign being an attempt to keep the basic UI and architecture of the site intact while bringing its design in line with the rest of the BBC. The most substantial change is the shift from a 640px to an 800px wide layout, which has some clearly positive consequences. The available space for the articles themselves is now substantial, but not so wide that your eyes have trouble finding the beginning of the following line. However, the redesign isn't perfect, and if I was forced to pick holes with the way it has been restructured they would be:

I miss the news being in one column. The single column format - much like the weblog format - highlights chronology, promotes the idea that the material is novel, cutting-edge, breaking news. Having three news stories grouped at the top is an interesting shift with one obvious advantage - it allows them to decide what story demands the most emphasis rather than which story is simply the most timely. Unfortunately it now feels more like feature-content than news content.
The internal home-pages (cf. Scotland) don't seem different enough from section to section. It's quite easy to get disoriented within the structure of the site - as if you were in a huge building where all the rooms looked the same. I think this problem could be very simply resolved by sizing-up the signage (increasing the size of the page-heading alone would probably help considerably).
The "good recent features" bar that spreads horizontally across the front page and sectional home-pages (three pictures with taster-copy on a beige background) produces some HTML layout issues. Primarily, it restricts what you can place in the top section of the third content column. The Education section has a prime example of the problems it can cause. There's too much copy inside it, which is pushing the horizontal bar down the page, leaving a block of white space in the middle of the central content columns. And if you limit the length of the text on that side, you can end up with nasty gaps of white space there as well. It might not sound like much of an issue, but I wonder what it looks like with text-zooming on or unorthodox font-sizes.
Fundamentally, my main issue is that there's clearly more screen real-estate available but there doesn't appear to be the same amount of actual news on the page. I suppose the only way to do that would be to measure the area of all the illustrative images, the number of stories linked to and the number of characters spent on the page on the stories involved. Has anyone got the time to do this?

What are your thoughts on the BBC News redesign? Leave a comment here and then head over to the discussion taking place over at Metafilter.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Anthony EMAIL: afinucane@o2.ie IP: 62.254.167.3 URL: http://antoglitterball.blogspot.com DATE: 02/19/2003 01:20:09 PM I really like the BBC site, but the only downside I can see in the new version is that it doesn't validate to HTML or XHTML. I would have thought that the beeb would have been aware of the importance of such validation for accessibility issues etc. But all in all it's a great site. Yet again the beeb surpases the rest. [Also have a look here for some web designers views to the new look!] ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Anthony EMAIL: afinucane@o2.ie IP: 62.254.167.3 URL: http://antoglitterball.blogspot.com DATE: 02/19/2003 01:20:36 PM I really like the BBC site, but the only downside I can see in the new version is that it doesn't validate to HTML or XHTML. I would have thought that the beeb would have been aware of the importance of such validation for accessibility issues etc. But all in all it's a great site. Yet again the beeb surpases the rest. [Also have a look here for some web designers views to the new look!] ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: buttercup EMAIL: buttercup@kaius.com IP: 217.33.194.194 URL: DATE: 02/19/2003 01:23:54 PM Tom said: "but I wonder what it looks like with text-zooming on or unorthodox font-sizes." Not that they've used resizable fonts. Their reasoning is a little shaky on this: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/2778423.stm ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Marcus EMAIL: marcus@neverthink.com IP: 216.40.52.20 URL: http://www.neverthink.com DATE: 02/19/2003 01:32:49 PM I can't believe that in 2002 they've replaced the old design with another fixed-size table-based layout. BBC News is a site that clearly lends itself to a liquid layout with CSS positioning. Ngh. That aside, first impressions are good. Information is more clearly laid out and generally more visually accessible than before. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Bobbie EMAIL: bob@bobzilla.co.uk IP: 193.122.208.99 URL: http://politx.ohskylab.com DATE: 02/19/2003 01:45:39 PM I have mixed feelings about it. Like you, Tom, I think the double column layout decreases the 'prominence' of news items, although I don't think it's really correct to assume they used to put the newest story on top. I don't like the features bar across the middle (I think it breaks the flow). And I also think that the site simply looks like it has less news on it, whether that's true or not. But comparing it to some other news providers, it's still fairly successful and the new layout works fine on my machine, so I can't be too nasty. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Seldo EMAIL: plasticbag@seldo.com IP: 192.146.136.129 URL: http://www.gaygeeks.org DATE: 02/19/2003 01:51:52 PM Yuck! The new look is awful; headlines with no detail behind them. The new look is suspiciously similar to cnn.com, but less readable. And CNN isn't exactly the model to be following at the moment anyway: it is losing ground heavily to Fox news (www.foxnews.com) which has a website with more detail about more headlines on its front page. This is the nail in BBC News' coffin for me; I already thought their previous format was too heavy on images and sensational junk, and switched to the Times (www.timesonline.co.uk) which has lots of detail. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Phil EMAIL: phil@gyford.com IP: 212.111.42.130 URL: http://www.gyford.com/ DATE: 02/19/2003 02:39:36 PM Re: validation... it doesn't help that they have no encoding type and their DOCTYPE line isn't capitalised correctly. So the W3C validator can't even tell how to validate the page. They seem to have cunningly set the page width to be two words wider than my browser window. I like the extra width for reading stories but I don't like the two columns of headlines on index pages. They're both the same weight and importance so my eye doesn't know where or how to browse. With a single column there's only one way - down. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Phil EMAIL: phil@gyford.com IP: 212.111.42.130 URL: http://www.gyford.com/ DATE: 02/19/2003 02:41:05 PM And Jesus, credit me with some intelligence and let me use paragraphs in my comments will you! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Coates EMAIL: tom@plasticbag.org IP: 212.111.42.130 URL: http://www.plasticbag.org DATE: 02/19/2003 04:39:58 PM Just a reminder to some people... If you want to say something off-topic, then could you please do it by e-mail rather than on the site. Thanks very much. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Bobbie EMAIL: bob@bobzilla.co.uk IP: 193.122.208.99 URL: http://bobzilla.co.uk/weblog DATE: 02/19/2003 05:55:50 PM Ooh. Saucer of milk! Back on topic (ahem) I don't think *detail* is necessarily the key, but clarity. I just don't really know what to look at when I load the BBC news page any more; nothing particularly stands out to my eye. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: James EMAIL: james@chachacha.co.uk IP: 213.52.140.99 URL: http://www.chachacha.co.uk DATE: 02/19/2003 09:08:19 PM No matter what you think of Fox News or its website, remember that it's not news - they deal in 'fair and balanced' opinion, not news. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Rob EMAIL: blog@robertandrews.co.uk IP: 62.252.32.6 URL: http://www.robertandrews.co.uk DATE: 02/19/2003 11:04:18 PM First of all, I like the design; in general, it's a huge improvement over the previous incarnation, which was showing its age. V3/800 is more elegant, cleaner and more in keeping with much of the rest of BBCi's pages. Secondly, whilst the design is obviously finalised, you should allow some leeway for transition and adaptation to that design on the first day of the new look. The issue you raised re: white space down to the central content bar is one staff are aware of and will certainly overcome. I don't see much of a problem on the index as it stands now. I don't think anyone is disputing that the top story plus the lower two continue to constitute the top three stories in the news agenda. If there is one thing, however, it's the reduced prominence of stories below this placing (ie. top right, flowing to bottom left depending on index), which don't now carry a standfirst in addition to their new, smaller type size. But generally I'm wholly supportive - the new layout allows for much more promotion of material and is a great leap forward after many months of work. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: denise EMAIL: hello@styledeficit.com IP: 62.30.114.135 URL: DATE: 02/20/2003 08:02:41 AM I agree with Bobbie. Looking at it from the most basic level, nothing stands out and i don't know where to look first. The central column on all the pages seems to bash into the column on the right. The kerning on the right compared to the text in the centre also seems different and it's just too much detail trying to compete with the main story. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Morris EMAIL: tom@bbcity.co.uk IP: 62.171.198.5 URL: http://www.bbcity.co.uk DATE: 02/20/2003 10:45:28 AM Ah. I couldn't care less. I read it via RSS! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Bart EMAIL: bart@trabaca.com IP: 80.11.117.166 URL: http://www.trabaca.com DATE: 02/20/2003 11:57:43 AM I was actuallly thinking the same thing Seldo said about the new design now being CNN-esque. The primary reason why I go to Salon.com for news is that there's one column that lists all the important headlines one after the other in chronological order. I'm always rather frustrated by CNN.com because it's nearly impossible to tell what's new and what isn't. I'd have to go through all the individual categories (World, U.S., Entertainment, Technology...) instead of just one. Salon does use multiple columns, but they're clearly divided into navigation, current news, and a less-frequently updated features columns. I also noticed that the new BBC site didn't ask me if I'm in the UK or not, but that could just be because there's a cookie on this computer (I'm at my school's computer lab) that I'm not aware of. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Ben EMAIL: ben@magnetbox.com IP: 209.98.64.2 URL: http://www.magnetbox.com DATE: 02/20/2003 03:01:33 PM The comment I am wondering about is this "as a result, there'll be less scrolling" quote from the editor. Are they basing the user's desire to not scroll on some sort of real data or testing, or is this a hunch or decision made by a designer/boss? Will there be a "Glass Wall 2: Electric Boogaloo" that goes into details such as their usability issues? ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Ben EMAIL: ben@magnetbox.com IP: 209.98.64.2 URL: DATE: 02/20/2003 03:06:18 PM In regards to sending off-topic things via e-mail, I have an off-topic thing, but I literally cannot find your e-mail address anywhere on your site. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Martin Conaghan EMAIL: martin@copydesk.co.uk IP: 132.185.240.12 URL: http://www.copydesk.co.uk DATE: 02/20/2003 03:07:50 PM I've knocked out a quick example of how this could look over at The Copydesk. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Matt EMAIL: systemattic@mac.com IP: 213.210.21.170 URL: DATE: 02/20/2003 05:03:03 PM RE: CNN-esque redesign. Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't BBC News Online originally modelled on CNN.com? It seems that there's always been a resemblence between the two and this latest redesign is merely the Beeb following suit. ----- PING: TITLE: Posh Frock URL: http://danhon.com/ec/mtarchives/000414.shtml IP: 217.158.168.16 BLOG NAME: ext|circ DATE: 02/19/2003 02:21:20 PM BBC News Online launches its redesign. It's wider. Tom weighs in, as does Metafilter. Oh, and this was amusing: hi ----- PING: TITLE: �� ؍�� .��.�� URL: http://i.hoder.com/archives/006317.php IP: 64.21.12.2 BLOG NAME: Editor: Myself (Persian) DATE: 02/19/2003 07:00:39 PM �؍�� ߍ�� ؍��ߍ�� ؍�� ߍ�� .��.�� ߍ�� . �� ƍ�� ֤�� Ѥ� �� ܍�� ܍�� ----- PING: TITLE: Here is the News URL: http://musak.curnow.org/entries/000802.shtml IP: 66.33.213.10 BLOG NAME: Listen to Musak DATE: 02/23/2003 03:59:45 AM The BBC has redesigned its news website. To me, it is one of the best news sites around and all done without any advertising. ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Thursday Microcontentage... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 1 DATE: 02/20/2003 06:14:54 PM ----- BODY:

There's a great big thing in my head at the moment - all conceptual and wiggling - that I've been trying to write all day. So far, no luck. I'm stuck about two-thirds of the way through. So to pass the time, here's a few links from around the web that I've been meaning to write up for ages.

Not only has Cal redesigned, but he's also put in place a wide variety of CSS skins. You can now get your Cal experience in kottke, b3ta or plasticbag flavours...
Next month at the ICA: Grant Morrison in Conversation. From the programme, "The night kicks off with Morrison in conversation. The discussion will focus on the form, content and history of comic books."
Along the lines of my BBC On this Day feature comes Macdaraconroy's Word of the Day bar using Movable Type date formatting to make the link.
Co-inspiration for much of my initial enthusiasm with web stuff, Derek Powazek has just redesigned fray.com. It's a really nice new look - my only anxiety being that the colour scheme seems coincidentally to suit the most recent entry on the site. I don't know how good it will look with more disparate material...
I got Freeview! At home! Extra channels of mostly mediocre less-than-yummy not-very-goodness, but a few (BBC3, BBC4, BBC News 24) definitely worth the price of the box. And no monthly fee. Good job.
And finally... Blah, blah, blah, weapons of mass destruction, New X-men 2 trailer, good commentary on the lazyweb, Dan Hon on the Inflection Point, Ceci n'est ce pas une potato...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The Ostrich of Journalism... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 1 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Personal Publishing CATEGORY: Journalism CATEGORY: Personal Publishing DATE: 02/21/2003 03:43:51 PM ----- BODY:

God what a stupid article. What a profoundly stupid article. I mean let's not even start with the condemnation of Google as the closest thing to an online Superpower, because while there may be some truth to it, at the moment it's pretty much just unsubstantiated scare-mongering. But reopening the 'weblogs as journalism' debate again? Now that really is stupid. Particularly if you're not going to make any effort to look past the obvious towards a slightly more nuanced and intelligent reaction. For god's sake, internet expert, push it a little further.

"Blogging is not journalism. Often it is as far from journalism as it is possible to get, with unsubstantiated rumour, prejudice and gossip masquerading as informed opinion. Without editors to correct syntax, tidy up the story structure or check facts, it is generally impossible to rely on anything one finds in a blog without verifying it somewhere else - often the much-maligned mainstream media.

Now I have no interest in getting involved in this "are they" / "aren't they" debate - except to repeat my scandalous assertion that in fact news journalism is etymologically a subset of "journalism" - ie. journal writing - making news journalism in many ways a 'special case' / subset of weblogging. But I have to be honest, the idea that the limit of this whole debate could be 'are weblogs going to replace journalism' - well it pisses the crap out of me. Because while some journalists are sitting around complaining about about how you can't trust anything you read unless it's had an editor to correct the grammar, the actually interesting and significant debates are being totally ignored.

These are the debates about what effect an empowered and vocally reactive readership might have on journalism, or the debates about the implications of the huge traffic peaks that can happen when all of webloggia turns your way. These are the debates about how incredibly useful and important it would be to gauge statistically which news stories actually do matter to people, and what it means when hundreds of thousands of people decide to take the news they've been given and do something with it - push it further, do their own research - on occasion refusing or challenging the initial piece. How would that change the job of a journalist? What effect would that have, will that have, in two / five / twenty years?

In fact while these journalists are busy shoring up their own defences neurotically against the unlikely threat of freelance weirdos like myself putting them out of a job, they're studiously resisiting every opportunity to actually interact with this huge distributed community.

This kind of facile superficial reaction would be totally acceptable if it came from well-established print journalists unfamiliar with what's emerging online. But from technology journalists it smacks of disgruntlement, paranoia and a profound refusal to think past the most obvious conclusion they come to. These are individuals who have been told by some idiot at a dinner party once that their industry is under attack and have decided it's time to put these "upstarts" in their place.

The whole thing is based on a really simple misconception - they keep viewing each individual weblog as if it was competing with the New York Times. But instead of doing that, they should be looking at how hundreds of thousands of (proper media) readers have completely shifted from passive reception of news to repurposing it, commenting upon it and - on occasion - challenging it... If they don't do that, if they don't shift from building defences to looking for the opportunities, then they really are going to be put out of a job - not because they've been squeezed out by other webloggers, but because some other companies (maybe even that tiny Google start-up everyone's talking about) will find some way to do it first and do it better...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Richard EMAIL: ry1@caspianpublishing.co.uk IP: 217.150.100.73 URL: DATE: 02/21/2003 05:06:10 PM C'mon, your over-defensive attitude towards "print journalists" just makes your case look weak. I'm a magazine editor and the reason my readers can trust me more than you isn't because I'm published on dead trees and you glide effortless through the ether, unbounded by conventional ties and in connection with the power of the hive brain. They trust me because I spend all my time investigating the very specific topics they're interested in and I have very few chances to say things to them (once a month), so I only say the most interesting things, not everything, whether I've thought it through or not. Which in this case, you haven't. Tsk, talk about tarring us all with the same brush... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Coates EMAIL: tom@plasticbag.org IP: 212.111.42.130 URL: http://www.plasticbag.org DATE: 02/21/2003 05:34:09 PM Ok - you couldn't get more illustrative of my point here. Firstly, I'm not in any way 'tarring you all with the same brush'! I specifically talk about how this article is stupid and evidences a lack of thought about the relationship between weblogs and mainstream print media, that 'some journalists' don't know what they're talking about, that it's something that technology journalists should have thought about in more depth. Secondly, I've delivered papers on this very subject to several institutions, including the BBC, so caricaturing my engagement with this issue as 'gliding through the ether' or suggesting I'm not thinking it through seriously is profoundly misguided of you - and, I might add, exactly the kind of 'we don't need to bother about this stuff' attitude that infuriates me. Thirdly, to suggest that I don't know what I'm talking about when it comes to journalists is just untrue - I'm an ex-journalist with training and experience in both online and print writing and editing. Finally your personal attempts at 'thinking it through' has managed to miss the entire point of my piece in the first place, which is that weblogs individually aren't journalism - that question's boring and trivial (and frankly old). But by saying 'weblogs aren't journalism' and leaving it at that, the arguments about what it is and how it could be useful or interesting to mainstream publishers are ignored. And there's a hell of a lot of scope there - scope that Google have noticed, even if you haven't... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Ben EMAIL: ben@longmans.net IP: 62.190.236.241 URL: http://longmans.net/blog DATE: 02/21/2003 05:36:21 PM The irony of this simplistic BBC article is that a large part of it is lifted straight out of an article that did the rounds of the blogosphere a week or so ago, and which goes uncredited. At least most bloggers have the courtesy of acknowledging their sources. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Coates EMAIL: tom@plasticbag.org IP: 212.111.42.130 URL: http://www.plasticbag.org DATE: 02/21/2003 05:50:06 PM In addition, I believe google-watch was set up by someone whose attempts to spam google were suppressed, leading to a subsequent court case in which Google's position was supported. The man who wrote that mantra last week clearly has an axe to grind. The fact that the BBC article reuses its arguments so naively is, I'm afraid, very definitely not the mark of someone undertaking careful, thorough research. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: arseblogger EMAIL: arseblogger@arseblog.com IP: 80.58.50.170 URL: http://www.arseblog.com DATE: 02/21/2003 07:14:19 PM and you glide effortless through the ether That would be 'effortlessly'. Thank god for sub-editors, eh? ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: david EMAIL: david33@yahoo.com IP: 66.168.231.50 URL: DATE: 02/22/2003 08:18:00 AM Hmm, I thought the article was dead on, and your reaction to it seems to support my opinion. Thanks for the link. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Peter EMAIL: peter@nakedblog.com IP: 62.31.71.100 URL: http://www.nakedblog.com DATE: 02/22/2003 10:43:23 AM Very well put, Tom. I particularly like the way you distinguish between individual weblogs and the aggregation. If there's anyone left who still doesn't understand the difference then they really aren't trying. I too have written extensively for the national press, and I find, frankly, that the two main things editors are interested in are that (a) your piece isn't libellous, and (b) you've spelled proper names correctly. "Mistakes" (if any) simply provide fuel for the letters column! I see commentators such as Burchill (high on opinion, low on hard content), as being probably the first to go, as this is already a very successful branch of weblogging. I think "effortless" is OK for gliding. Poetic. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Justin EMAIL: websurfing@frostbytei.com IP: 67.34.83.82 URL: http://frostbytei.com/sight/ DATE: 02/22/2003 05:43:44 PM As Peter said, very well put. Your article itself was a perfect example of how webloggers use their medium to challenge the news out there. Sad some people can't grasp that. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Ben James EMAIL: ben@blogtastic.com IP: 80.193.54.123 URL: http://www.blogtastic.com DATE: 02/22/2003 07:46:56 PM The reaction to Thompson's article has made me think... The blogosphere is more than just a network for the passage of news and thought; it's a growing, evolving creature which is passing the test of natural selection with flying colours. We all know how quickly and strongly blogging is growing, and here we're seeing how well-adapted it is to fending off intellectual attack. The blogosphere is a well-oiled, distributed yet closely connected, self-regulating yet intellectually frontier-pushing, thought machine. Traditional journalism is not extinct; it still serves important purposes. But blogging is far from being confined to a niche. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: James EMAIL: james@recumbentgaze.net IP: 81.96.110.44 URL: http://www.recumbentgaze.net DATE: 02/23/2003 12:47:19 PM I think you�re expressing a personal and specialised interest which doesn�t have a wider factual basis. You won�t change the power established journalism has with an etymological fine point, and I doubt if blogging will either. Your words are more rhetoric than fact. Specifically, who are the �empowered and vocally reactive readership� who do their own research? It�s a great idea and I wish it were true. There are a few about, but not many. As with the WWW, so with blogdom: the signal to noise ratio is quite high and most blogs revolve around relatively trivial content or specialised personal interests. Why would a journalist or media house be interested in interacting with that, especially when their research is generally far more rigorous? They have the time, the contacts and the resources. Most blogs are a different kind of activity. They�re like an interactive personal column, and that�s what they�re good at. I don�t think there�s an attitude of �putting upstarts in their place�, because the establishment has nothing to fear. I think that�s a personal comment that�s not generally applicable. Repurposing and challenging the established news? Again, great idea and I wish it were happening. But it�s not; that�s not what most blogs do, except maybe in a very cursory way like a conversation in a pub. The aggregation thing is an interesting point but I�m not sure it fits your idea because what, exactly, is aggregated? I don�t think it�s an ideological or political force. I sense that it�s more about fashion than critical thinking. Enthusiasm for blogging is one thing, but it has to be based on facts rather than (laudable) ideals that are not borne out. When the �net first appeared people had a similar kind of aspiration � it was going to transform society etc. It didn�t, and it rapidly became a commercialised medium. I liked those original ideals � I still do � but on the whole, they are not borne out and I have to acknowledge that fact. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Daniel Brandt EMAIL: info@google-watch.org IP: 24.206.82.97 URL: http://www.google-watch.org DATE: 02/23/2003 05:19:11 PM Tom Coates has it wrong. Google Watch was started by me. The guy who got penalized by Google is from SearchKing. There is no connection between us. A journalist would have checked out something like this, but bloggers don't bother. My phone number is on my home page, along with my email. Bill Thompson's piece is right on. Even if he was partially inspired by my site, so what? He gave Google Watch a link in the sidebar. Even if he didn't, I'd have no problem with his piece. He speaks the truth, and that's all that matters. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Coates EMAIL: tom@plasticbag.org IP: 213.123.124.106 URL: http://www.plasticbag.org DATE: 02/23/2003 10:08:16 PM Apologies Daniel - it's true I have no evidence to link you to the SearchKing gentleman. I wouldn't write something like that in the body of a piece without checking it thoroughly - it was ill-judged of me to not be as thorough in the comments... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Matt EMAIL: systemattic@mac.com IP: 80.194.214.174 URL: DATE: 02/23/2003 11:10:17 PM Daniel, while Tom may have got his facts wrong, it seems that he's right to suggest that 'you have an axe to grind'. Is it true that the motives behind your Google Watch site are not to seek the truth for the benefit of all web users, but to discredit Google and its technologies as a personal revenge against Google giving you a lowly PageRank? If this is the case, then your plan is working, and just when bloggers are unsure over whether the Google/Blogger deal is a good or bad thing, it couldn't have been executed at a better time. I wonder if Bill Thompson was aware of your motives when he appropriated your accusations into his piece for the BBC, or maybe he didn't bother to check. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Daniel Brandt EMAIL: info@google-watch.org IP: 24.206.82.97 URL: http://www.google-watch.org DATE: 02/24/2003 02:05:08 AM The Salon piece was an ambush. Most of my interview with the "reporter" was about my privacy concerns with Google, which turned into an article that was mostly about how "Mr. Anti-Google" doesn't like his rankings. For a better piece about what makes me tick, try this link: www.pressaction.com/pablog/archives/000839.html My main site, www.namebase.org, does okay in Google. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Bobbie EMAIL: bob@bobzilla.co.uk IP: 193.122.208.99 URL: http://bobzilla.co.uk/weblog DATE: 02/24/2003 12:24:58 PM Well, the article seems to be something of a bash-out if you ask me: it's really two different pieces (both of which seem half-baked) that really have little in common. Firstly, the writer seems miffed about people saying 'blogging is the new journalism'. As both a journalist with a national UK newspaper and a regular blogger over the past two or three years, I am so tired of this argument that I've worn myself out. Blogging *relies* on journalism; blogs don't (and can't) challenge news media; they can't even give you much of a lead on breaking stories (especially since they draw their breaking news from traditional platforms). As for Google's 'power' that's another thing entirely: something worth investigating, of course, but surely worth investigating more thoroughly and with dedication - not swiftly and simply. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Bill Thompson EMAIL: bill@andfinally.com IP: 80.1.205.171 URL: http://www.andfinally.com DATE: 02/25/2003 08:21:57 AM It's been fascinating to see the discussion generated by my BBCi article. I'm sorry that Tom thinks I'm profoundly stupid, but (as you might expect) I disagree with him :-) Couple of minor points: I did bother to research Google Watch, Matt, because that's what I do. But just because someone is against something doesn't mean that their claims should be discounted, and I was disturbed by the almost entirely complimentary coverage of Google online. I've written a lot about privacy policies and the difference between the US self-regulatory approach and the EU model. I prefer the EU model, and I think that Google should be accountable for the data it holds about me and millions of others. Someone has to start challenging the sacred cow. As for blogging, I admit that I knew that what I wrote was going to stir things up, but I was provoked to re-enter the debate by the frankly silly things that were being said about Google buying Pyra. I teach a class in online journalism (yes - I get to infect young minds with this stuff too!) and we'd had a long discussion about the question, so I'd been mulling it over. However I agree entirely with Tom that there is a far, far more interesting debate to be had here - as long as we can agree on the distinction between what happens on sites like this and what happens on Guardian.co.uk, BBCi and other sites. And yes, of course this includes more than just news journalism. I'm interested in how journalism changes and in looking for opportunities rather than building defences. I have felt for some time that 'blogging' is as contested a term as 'new media' and one that has outlived its real usefulness. The range of weblogs, the different motivations of those writing online, the capabilities of the tools used, all mean that there are as many ways to use a blog as there are to use a piece of paper. Some will use print to publish well-researched news stories that threaten the powerful, some will write pamphlets, others lies and libels. We do not have to treat it all alike, and I'll stop doing that in the hope that everyone else does too. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Martin EMAIL: martin@copydesk.co.uk IP: 132.185.240.13 URL: http://www.copydesk.co.uk DATE: 02/25/2003 04:03:09 PM Ok Bill, but we're all dying to know your thoughts on this: If blogging isn't journalism, why is your column at BBC News called 'Bill Blog'? I take it you don't class yourself as a journalist then? ----- PING: TITLE: Proper Journalism URL: http://frownland.com/article/164 IP: 209.68.2.4 BLOG NAME: Frownland DATE: 02/21/2003 05:01:17 PM Bill seems to be suggesting that if you don't work for the BBC or a big publication then the opinion you express in your weblog isn't informed and therefore worthless. ----- PING: TITLE: That old blogs vs journalism debate URL: http://WWW.simonwaldman.co.uk/archives/000073.html IP: 213.232.71.149 BLOG NAME: words of waldman DATE: 02/22/2003 01:14:31 PM Bill Thomson has written a piece for the BBC about Google being a bit too powerful. I've written something similar ----- PING: TITLE: Storm/ tea-cup scenario URL: http://WWW.simonwaldman.co.uk/archives/000083.html IP: 213.232.71.149 BLOG NAME: words of waldman DATE: 02/26/2003 04:55:26 PM Had Bill Thompson proposed giving Saddam Hussein a Nobel Peace Prize, he would have probably been given an easier time ----- PING: TITLE: Bloggingens betydelse: optimisterna URL: http://www.gustavholmberg.com/tomrum/archives/001277.html IP: 209.68.1.93 BLOG NAME: Det perfekta tomrummet DATE: 02/27/2003 12:47:45 PM En av flera reaktioner p� Bill Thompsons artikel om Google, denna g�ng kritisk: "the idea that the limit of this ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Why Content Publishers shouldn't host weblogs... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 1 DATE: 02/23/2003 11:29:03 AM ----- BODY:

This is a post about why mainstream content publishers shouldn't host weblogs on their sites - and the special circumstances under which they might be able to make it work. Firstly the reasons why they shouldn't do it:

If you have an established and authoritative brand associated with the fact-checked information that you publish, you run the risk of diluting that image by having your logo or URL associated with content published by members of the general public.
This is much less of a problem with discussion forums and community sites than it is with weblogs, because weblogs can use any voice they like (from authoritative to playful) and mostly don't need to allow any means of conversational redress from other users - ie. it's easier to confuse a weblog with the brand's main content.
There is also an associated problem (familiar to anyone hosting user-generated content) with legal liability - it's considerably easier to remove a legally dubious post from a discussion board than it is from a weblog, because webloggers view (with reason) the space as essentially theirs, and immune from intervention from on-high.
There is no reason to assume that being in the position to encourage the take-up of weblogging will mean that you'll keep the ones you want to keep using your service. In fact:
1. The longer someone has been weblogging, and the more invested they are in it, the more likely it is that they're going to want to get a domain name of their own.
2. These same people are also likely to want to use extended functionality at some point and will probably try and move to a dedicated application or provider who can more adequately fulfil their weblogging needs.
3. A dedicated long-term weblogger may not wish to be associated with the brand of your service any more and may choose to leave.
The effect of this is that dedicated, popular and authoritative webloggers will leave your service, leaving behind only new webloggers, and abandoned or 'low-quality' sites.
And the final reason not to host weblogs is that there's no need to do so. If you publish compelling and blog-worthy content on your site then it'll get just as much take-up in webloggia as if you were hosting the weblogs themselves.

Now the special cases - the ways to approach something like this if you're determined to do it:

There's value and utility in the information you can glean out of a database of people's weblog posts. These can help inform editorial decisions and make it possible to spot emerging news / public interest stories. This information (and the multiple ways it can be used within your site) is simply valuable. If you have an established brand, you are more likely to be able to get a decent amount of it.
Probably the best way to implement it after this stage, then, is to use an associated brand and publicise it heavily on your main site. That way you're putting in that element of distance that stops you being quite so heavily associated with what is written, while still reaping the benefits from it...
And to counter natural migration from your service (indeed to capitalise upon it and monetise it) then:
1. Firstly, make it possible for your webloggers not only to leave, but also to come back. People resent being put into a position where they are 'trapped' into using only one personal publishing tool, and may publicise this as a reason not to use the service in the first place.
2. Secondly, give them a clear upgrade path - give them various levels of functionality which they can move between. You can try and monetise this if you wish. If the functionality is good enough, people will pay.
3. Thirdly, use the fact that your running a high-profile publishing business as an opportunity to reward the weblogs you host that you think are particularly good. This is a hell of an incentive to be 'one of the fold'.
4. Fourthly, not only don't try and force people to stay within your design and branding, but make it possible for people to migrate from the branded presence completely. Many webloggers will want (at some point) to purchase a domain name of their own and get more powerful server functionality and access, but many won't know how to approach this kind of stuff. If you can build mechanisms to keep this process as simple and as easy as possible, then you can keep your webloggers happy, keep them using your service, and in the process get a cut on the price of the domain name, charge for the enhanced hosting (or the removal of adverts, if you've used them) and you still have access to the content they're producing.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Vaughan EMAIL: vaughan@whereveryouare.org IP: 195.92.67.65 URL: http://www.whereveryouare.org DATE: 02/23/2003 12:02:00 PM I'm speaking purely from an editorial, rather than a technical, point of view - but I think one of the special circumstances under which mainstream content publishers *should* host blogs (although I'm much against the idea too) is if they can provide something that others do not - plug a hole in the market, as it were. I think (and here's the biased bit) that the BBC, as a public service corporation, should be expected to do that - see, for instance (and cue even more bias) the BBC's weblog on what's happening in and around disability and the media. Who else is going to do something like that? (oh, http://www.bbc.co.uk/ouch/weblog/ since you ask) Personally, I'd like to see the Beeb doing more weblogs that cover 'unpopular' and less immediately fashionable areas. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Coates EMAIL: tom@plasticbag.org IP: 213.123.124.106 URL: http://www.plasticbag.org DATE: 02/23/2003 12:30:15 PM I think I'm specifically talking about content publishers hosting weblogs for the general public (like Blogspot). I think mainstream publishers using weblogs as a cheap form for journalists to publish niche interest stuff is a really really good idea. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: David Brake EMAIL: david@davidbrake.org IP: 62.30.164.182 URL: http://blog.org/ DATE: 02/24/2003 09:05:11 AM I can see no reason whatever that a media organization should host weblogs - at least not for journalistic reasons. You say, "there's value and utility in the information you can glean out of a database of people's weblog posts. These can help inform editorial decisions and make it possible to spot emerging news / public interest stories." - but you can get that simply by encouraging your journalists to keep up with the blogosphere out there. No need to host it yourself. The only exception would be someone like the BBC who might host weblogs not for journalistic reasons but to fill a gap for public interest reasons. Blogger/Blogspot seems to be doing a pretty good job of that though and thanks to Google they will probably do an even better job in future. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: filchyboy EMAIL: christopher@safersex.org IP: 64.30.194.235 URL: http://safersex.org DATE: 02/25/2003 06:17:55 AM I think it is safe to say that vested interests make such a scheme at least, beneficial. Both the vendor and the client have a vested interest in the initiation of the relationship. The vendor gets a downstream client to receive the vendor's data and the client gets the opportunity to use weblog tools and the access to the "community". After that the issue becomes managing the relationship. The vendor has the more strenuous position and so must excert more effort to maintain a relationship, and potential upstream revenue. I would suggest that it is the job of the vendor to actively maintain that relationship. If the vendor chooses not to actively maintain that relationship then they have no business, at least to my understanding, in getting involved in the blog space in the first place. As Tom points out, the clients' relationship is far more malleable. In fact over time there will be classes of bloggers which must be matched with the appropriate tools sets. If the vendor can maintain such tool sets and incentivize to the needs of the writer then the vendor may maintain his downstream. As an example, Amazon has quite a vested interest in hosting blogs. One of the most popular topics in the blogosphere is books and music. If Amazon were to present a space for hosting weblogs along with a tool set that fully supports the wealth of data available in Amazon's databases, quick and easy referal linking to books and other products with full access to sales reports, accounting, access to periodic review copies, complete outline support, etc. it stands to reason that the needs of writers and the needs of the merchant will coincide. Surely now you can come close to what I describe using a combination of interfaces built for google or amazon with what the firms have made available to developers. But if Amazon were to use their own team to build tools upon which writers can ply their trade it could prove to be quite beneficial to both parties. ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Monday Morning Linklog... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 1 DATE: 02/24/2003 06:46:40 PM ----- BODY:

Depressingly, at some point it looks like I'm going to be compelled to go for the full separate link-log option, but at the moment you're just going to have to make-do with the annotated lists that I slap up every so often...

Safari to get tabbed browsing
If you're a fan of tabbed browsing, then this article (which includes scary looking pictures) is interesting, if not entirely reassuring. Positive feature: 'x' on each tab allows you to close it. Negative feature: apparently an entirely new form of tab style - hanging downwards from the URL.
Daypop Wordbursts & Top Blogs
Two new toys from the daypop crew today. Wordbursts is the more interesting of the two - following on from the New Scientist article about trend-spotting in webloggery from a few days back. I don't know that such a shallow analysis will reveal any particularly huge trends at this stage, but there's no denying that it could in the long-term. The 'Top Blogs' thing is more notable for the internal Google-style weighting system - the more heavily linked-to a weblog is, the greater its 'page-rank' and in turn the more effect its links have. It's an interesting approach, but one I have to think in more depth.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- PING: TITLE: Monday Morning Linklog... URL: http://www.wearehugh.com/515 IP: 209.61.186.253 BLOG NAME: WE ARE HUGH DATE: 02/26/2003 04:26:57 PM plasticbag: "The 'Top Blogs' thing is more notable for the internal Google-style weighting system - the more heavily linked-to a weblog is, the greater its 'page-rank' and in turn the more effect its links have." ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On Google's trademark... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 1 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Net Culture CATEGORY: Net Culture DATE: 02/26/2003 04:59:26 PM ----- BODY:

Over on kottke.org at the moment there's a piece by Jason on Google's response to verbing. The story goes like this - there's an entry on Wordspy for a the verb to google. Google decided to respon to this entry by sending a letter telling them that they shouldn't publish stuff like this because it dilutes their brand. Jason's comment?

"That letter from Google is a bluff, an example of a corporation using their significant corporate resources (i.e. time and money) to make individuals - who generally have neither time nor money, relatively speaking - do what the corporation wants them to do, regardless of legality."

Unfortunately in this particular case, I believe that Google are in the right and Jason is incorrect. The problem is not particularly one of Google trying to force the little-guy into acquiescing. In fact Google have to go through processes like these to stop their brands becoming normal parts of language. When you're trained as a journalist, you're told that you have to capitalise brand-names. If you don't, the company concerned is forced to write to you requiring you to make it clear that it's a brand. If it doesn't do so - and cannot demonstrate that it's done so, then the word can be associated with any product at all. Classic examples are things like Hoovers and Frisbees - they're synonymous with the object themselves, but they have to be routinely defended otherwise Hoover (the company) loses the right to the brand name - and anyone on the planet can market a vacuum cleaner as 'a hoover'. If Google don't protect their trademark and it entered general speech, then there would be nothing legally to stop altavista renaming themselves altagoogle, or Google search.

At least that's the way it works in UK law as it pertains to journalists. I'll try and find some more information on this subject shortly.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- PING: TITLE: Thursday morning URL: http://danhon.com/ec/mtarchives/000432.shtml IP: 217.158.168.16 BLOG NAME: ext|circ DATE: 02/27/2003 12:27:34 PM Blah blah new iPod rumours Via Brad, Vaguely Right and D-squared digest, the latter of which pokes fun at... ----- PING: TITLE: Suck It Like A Hoover: URL: http://www.fauxhemian.dk/archives/000229.html IP: 193.88.12.35 BLOG NAME: There Is Nothing To Not Be Amazed At DATE: 02/27/2003 01:41:28 PM Jason Kottke has interesting comments on a letter sent to Wordspy regarding their entry on Google as a verb. Wordspy ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: I'm voting LIBERTY X... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 1 DATE: 02/26/2003 10:27:22 PM ----- BODY:

So Project Stupidly-Long-Post about this iWire post is taking much longer than I'd expected, and work's suddenly started taking up my mental space for the first time in a month or so, and I've been trying to get some stuff finished for Ben Hammersley and my door's being fixed (long story behind that one connected to an earlier post of mine). And basically this all adds up to a busy little Tom who can't think of things to write on his site. Except he's been collecting things he does want to talk about, and rather than discard them, he's going to do another linklog. But he's going to do it shamefully and in full recognisance that he's basically shirking his intellectual responsibilities to the world. And with the shirking of intellectual responsibilities in mind, let's jump straight into...

The Latest Liberty X video
The were the anti-group-by-committee pop-group that was itself made by committee and managed to come out with considerably more attitude than the demographically-generated Hear'say. Obviously that doesn't make them any good - but at least they have the class to take the piss out of themselves. This rather high-quality cover features the band mass-producing hundreds of duplicates of themselves in an effort to get high quality mass-culture pop product out to the masses. Highly entertaining and much recommended...
Katy's Coccyx
So this is totally the grossest thing you'll see on the web today - my good friend Katy Kitschbitch has had an operation on her lower back - and decided not only to keep what they removed, but also to take meaty pictures of it and put them online. Utterly grotesque. Strangely compelling. Get well soon, Katy!
Tom Lenk on Buffy spin-offs
"Danny and I keep suggesting that the season finale, which is potentially the end of the show, should end with me kneeling down at Jonathan's grave, putting blood on my face like Willow did [when she resurrected Buffy]. After I resurrect him, we build a robot of Warren, and then we have our own show. Then we're hired by the government to use our powers for good, and we're given a watcher, which would be played by Morgan Fairchild!"

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Let them hate as long as they fear... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 1 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Politics CATEGORY: Politics DATE: 02/28/2003 10:47:05 AM ----- BODY:

Excerpts from John Brady Kiesling's letter of resignation sent to Secretary of State Colin L. Powell:

Dear Mr. Secretary:
     I am writing you to submit my resignation from the Foreign Service of the United States and from my position as Political Counselor in U.S. Embassy Athens, effective March 7. I do so with a heavy heart...
     The policies we are now asked to advance are incompatible not only with American values but also with American interests. Our fervent pursuit of war with Iraq is driving us to squander the international legitimacy that has been America�s most potent weapon of both offense and defense since the days of Woodrow Wilson. We have begun to dismantle the largest and most effective web of international relationships the world has ever known. Our current course will bring instability and danger, not security.
     We should ask ourselves why we have failed to persuade more of the world that a war with Iraq is necessary. We have over the past two years done too much to assert to our world partners that narrow and mercenary U.S. interests override the cherished values of our partners.
     We have a coalition still, a good one. The loyalty of many of our friends is impressive, a tribute to American moral capital built up over a century. But our closest allies are persuaded less that war is justified than that it would be perilous to allow the U.S. to drift into complete solipsism. Loyalty should be reciprocal. Why does our President condone the swaggering and contemptuous approach to our friends and allies this Administration is fostering, including among its most senior officials. Has �oderint dum metuant� really become our motto?

For those without the benefit of a Classical education, oderint dum metuant means Let them hate as long as they fear. You can read this letter in full at The New York Times.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- PING: TITLE: "oderint dum metuant" URL: http://obarquinho.com/nando/memorias/2003_02.html#003952 IP: 66.33.197.8 BLOG NAME: wowblog! DATE: 02/28/2003 12:31:41 PM Abaixo, trecho da carta de ren�ncia que o... ----- PING: TITLE: Pressure From Within URL: http://nslog.com/archives/2003/02/28/pressure_from_within.php IP: 66.111.66.231 BLOG NAME: NSLog(); DATE: 02/28/2003 03:26:31 PM Our current Dubyament, errr, government doesn't seem to care what the population thinks, or what the rest of the world thinks, so maybe they'll respond to some pressure from within. From John Brady Kiesling's letter of resignation to Secretary of State... ----- PING: TITLE: A selfish, superstitious empire thrashing toward self-destruction URL: http://www.oddverse.com/2003_02_j_archive.txt#001685 IP: 212.187.158.87 BLOG NAME: Oddverse DATE: 03/03/2003 04:29:34 PM Via plasticbag.org, I'd like to draw attention to John Brady Kiesling's letter of resignation to Secretary of State Colin L. Powell Excerpts below: The policies we are now asked to ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The return of the Bangles... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 1 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Radio & Music CATEGORY: Radio & Music DATE: 02/28/2003 11:17:44 AM ----- BODY:

The Bangles are back! And the Thriller-like corpse of my trashy, teenage self has risen from the dead and is doing a little dance inside me. I mean - it's the Bangles! I had my first major crush while listening to the Bangles! I wrote off a car while listening to the Bangles! I was the person who bought the Susanna Hoffs solo record! They're core to my adolescent and pre-adolescent self. And it's not only me! The first song my little brother recognised on television was Eternal Flame (the only Bangles song I hated). He used to call it "One Eye" because there was a big eye at the beginning of the video. I think he still kind of likes it. He certainly wasn't keen on Atomic Kitten's version (I think he felt it was sacrilege).

I mean, look at them! They're iconic! There's the cool depressive one on the left that you actually believed could write songs. She was responsible for "Following", the weird stalker anthem that I loved when I was fourteen. Then there's Susanna Hoffs, who was kind of tiny and pixie-like and all my straight male friends really wanted to shag. And then the lead guitarist who looked a bit too much like the prom queen to be taken seriously. And finally the weird blonde drummer who looked a bit like a man in drag. How much do they rule?!

The Official Bangles site

I once owned the Bangles Greatest Hits video that I bought when I was about sixteen. But we had this party in my second year at university - a party in which we had to call an Ambulance because someone got alcohol poisoning - and then someone stole the stereo and then someone set fire to the television and that spread to the videos that were placed nearby. No more Bangles video. Sigh.

And now the news is that they've got a new album coming out and it's bound to be terrible (even though I swear that their other albums are all really really good) but obviously I'm going to buy it and stick it on my iPod and try to look cool when people ask me what I'm listening to. And I think they're coming to London to play live. And I really want to see them, but I bet no one will go with me.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- PING: TITLE: 2003-02-28 15:17:29 URL: http://www.theplasticcat.com/links/included/archive/2003_02.html#000608 IP: 212.187.158.83 BLOG NAME: The Plastic Cat Links DATE: 02/28/2003 04:37:35 PM Hot wet celeb virgin teen pussy just click here now. The sexy secrets of the male multiple orgasm. Freak out some Economists. Plasticbag salutes The Return of the Bangles! All my memories of primary school trips play with Eternal ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: High Octane Link Fuel... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 1 DATE: 02/28/2003 04:15:46 PM ----- BODY:

Fill your browser with your link-fuel and let's Easy Rider information interstate 666. Feel the breeze in your hair - fluff-links for the quasi-hip:

Matrix: Reloaded phones from Samsung?
Positive Search Engine Feedback with ktheory (via Jason)
Gay Boyfriend by the "Ukes of Hazzard".
I should hate it, but I don't.
The Valentine�s Day Card Massacre.
I asked for all cocks, but what can you do?
Google / Blogger FAQs - funnier than it should be.
Rob's Safari Wishlist (via Jason)

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On the avoidance of harm... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 1 DATE: 03/02/2003 11:16:00 PM ----- BODY:

There's some fascinating stuff around about the relationship of depressive illness to strategies of harm avoidance:

Clinical depression is associated with two modulations occurring simultaneously and chronically, dysphoria and the generalized stress response. Dysphoria is a modulation that is part of the harm perception/avoidance axis. This is an emotion we all feel when we perceive a futility in our current behavior and experience disappointment. In contrast, we experience anger and aggression when the disappointment is perceived as being caused by an external source. When the disappointment causes dysphoria, the modulation shift increases behavioral inhibition, increases anticipation of harm, increases harm avoidance, increases introspection, decreases exploration of the environment, decreases reactivity to external stimuli, decreases appetite for food and decreases sexual appetite.

In short, it coordinates functions that allow us to retreat, introspect and to redirect our efforts in a more effective direction. In this instance, dysphoria facilitates adaptation to disappointment. [mentalhealthandillness.com]

I like that. Dysphoria faciliates adaptation to disappointment. Lots of interesting things fall out of investigations like these, but this sense of harm avoidance is the one that interests me most - that the depressive personality and the introverted personality are heavily connected. That the wallflower reacts to disappointment, attributed internally. Fascinating stuff.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- PING: TITLE: Dysphoric URL: http://paulfrankenstein.org/archives/000573.html IP: 166.84.153.98 BLOG NAME: Frankenstein DATE: 03/03/2003 04:51:14 AM A very interesting piece I found over at plasticbag: On the avoidance of harm... It also sounds depressingly familar. Pun intended. ----- PING: TITLE: Introversion and mental health URL: http://www.frizzylogic.org/archives/000073.html IP: 66.246.77.12 BLOG NAME: frizzyLogic DATE: 05/10/2003 03:22:38 PM Something that has been exercising me greatly over the last few days is this post by Tom at plasticbag. The entry quotes from, and has a link to, a "magazine" called Mental Health and Illness. Tom finds the article he... ----- PING: TITLE: Introversion and mental health URL: http://www.frizzylogic.org/archives/000073.html IP: 66.246.77.12 BLOG NAME: frizzyLogic DATE: 03/10/2004 08:57:37 PM Something that has been exercising me greatly over the last few days is this post by Tom at plasticbag. The entry quotes from, and has a link to, a "magazine" called Mental Health and Illness. Tom finds the article he... ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Sunday night celebrity countdown... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 1 DATE: 03/02/2003 11:39:54 PM ----- BODY:

Being a brief list of the celebrities that I've come into fleeting contact with over the last month or so. The gentle reader is expected to bear in mind that said celebrities are unlikely to be of the stature of your major Hollywood Oscar winner, since most were spotted milling around Covent Garden, Soho or Piccadilly Circus...

The guy with the hair from the Salon TV show.
For the Americans among us, The Salon is a reality TV show set in a hair and beauty establishment (allegedly just off London's shimmeringly glamourless Shaftesbury Avenue). The gentleman I spotted from the show was strolling down towards Piccadilly Circus one late-winter's evening, with a few passers-by taking pictures of him. He looked slightly dumb-founded and as if he was rather enjoying it.
Matt Lucas, TV's entertaining man-in-a-baby-suit.
Matt Lucas (alias "What are the final scores?" George Dawes) went to the same university as me. In fact he not only went to the same university as me, but he went at the same time and was friends with a couple of friends of mine. But I barely new him, and so didn't feel an urge to reintroduce myself to him when we both found ourselves stuffing our faces on nearby tables in the Leicester Square Kentucky Fried Chicken. Some poor, rather dumb-looking chap tried to get an autograph, but clearly it wasn't an appropriate time.
The quite-cute-one-off-The-Office.
Celebrities are clearly intrinsically grumpy people. I go to this hair place in Soho, and have done since I worked at Time Out. I always knew that it used to be cool, but I'd never seen an actual living celebrity in there before. Today was different, however. Because Martin Freeman (who plays the nice one from the Office) stomped in eager for hair-rescue. The only unfortunate thing about this encounter is probably that he's not really known (primarily at least) for the quality of his haircuts. In fact maybe a bit anti-known. So in a sense him coming into my hair place probably isn't the best sign of my continued style.
Stephen Gately.
The anaemic butterfly in bizarrely successful prefab pop-group Boyzone somehow managed to defy nature by becoming a weird fat caterpillar-like non-solo-star. But that was then - as the other day my work colleagues and I spotted the bad-skinned and newly-skinny, tiny pop-singing, proto-West-End-starring Joseph-in-his-designer-stressed-denim while on our way to a nice little restaurant in Covent Garden. He kind of had that look on his face that Chandler got in Friends when he came into the room with his new Tom Selleck-alike moustache. Only scarier and much less good-natured. We avoided him. And maybe pointed a little.

So there you go. My last month's celebrity encounters. Anyone spotted anyone more interesting?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Moof EMAIL: me@moof.org.uk IP: 202.74.168.5 URL: http://moof.org.uk/ DATE: 03/03/2003 06:45:53 AM Well, I spotted a person who was apparently the Australian equivalent to Julian Clary walking in the Sydney Mardi Gras parade with some SecuriDykes making sure he wasn't being encroached upon, but I only know that was him because the ladies either side of me told me. I have strenuously avoided meeting any Neighbours stars, despite being given the opportunity, while in Melbourne. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Reid EMAIL: reid@explodingfist.com IP: 65.211.22.135 URL: http://www.explodingfist.com DATE: 03/03/2003 09:39:52 AM Last Saturday I found myself running next to James Nesbitt in the gym and the Tuesday before that I saw Daniel Beddingfield in my local Sainsburys. It was obviously a good week for celeb-spotting in East Dulwich. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Will Davies EMAIL: wdavies@theworkfoundation.com IP: 217.45.255.241 URL: http://www.theisociety.net DATE: 03/03/2003 01:20:12 PM Just nipped out for a sandwich and saw former rapper and sometime footballer, John Barnes, walking down Pall Mall. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Plums EMAIL: lickmyplumsbitch@yahoo.co.uk IP: 172.179.85.88 URL: http://www.plumshome.blogspot.com DATE: 03/03/2003 06:37:45 PM Last week seemed to be Chris Eubank week. Saw him twice. This is, admittedly reasonably common round here, but both times he was driving his giant metallic blue truck, now much improved by having the words 'Blair and Bush: integrity not war is the solution' painted on the back. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Liz EMAIL: ell@mail.rit.edu IP: 24.93.24.53 URL: http://www.it.rit.edu/~ell/mamamusings/ DATE: 03/04/2003 11:32:14 PM Nope. But since you mentioned the Bangles, I did want to let you know that my husband is friends with their road manager. If you want to add them to your "celebrity encounters" list next time they're in London, let me know--we can probably help. :-) ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Coates EMAIL: tom@plasticbag.org IP: 212.111.42.130 URL: http://www.plasticbag.org DATE: 03/05/2003 11:52:57 AM Well patently I'd like that more than anything else ever, but at the same time I'd be completely star-struck and weirded out by it, so maybe it's not such a great idea... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Donna EMAIL: donna_232@hotmail.com IP: 81.135.43.98 URL: DATE: 09/20/2003 11:41:11 PM Not really a comment, I just wanted to know if dainel beddingfield had a personal email address,just wanted to knoe if anyone knows where too get it... ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Blogger & Pyra redux... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 1 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Personal Publishing CATEGORY: Personal Publishing DATE: 03/03/2003 11:05:18 AM ----- BODY:

Keen-eyed new media news spotters will have seen the article this morning, Google takes the plunge (by Bobbie Johnson) about the search engine company buying Blogger. Bobbie got some comments off me, a couple of which made it into the piece. Here are the rest of my comments, should you be interested:

(1) What do you think has made Blogger so successful: why did you choose to use it?

Blogger was a sideline for Pyra originally - they made it for themselves to play with and I think that shows in the first product. It was really basic but it was extremely easy to use, incredibly practical and - most importantly - it allowed you to publish your weblog through to your own personal web-space on the web, wherever that might be. There were web professionals who had written their own little content management systems, of course. And there were these centralised journalling and weblogging sites for people who just wanted to write stuff, but there was nothing that really catered for that sudden influx of new web-obsessed netizens, eager to find things online, keen to build things and desperate to play with the new medium. Plus this was the time that everyone was starting to buy domain names that they didn't have anything to do with.

(2) How do you think it contributed to the growth of weblogging in general?

Of course it's impossible to say in retrospect, but I think it was Blogger's feature set, simplicity and general amenability (combined with the spirit of the time) that really got people playing with these tools in the first place. I'm not sure it would ever have sparked off to the degree that it has without their involvement. It's no accident that Blogger is still the largest weblogging concern running - even though it doesn't have anywhere near the features of many other systems it's still one of the most self-explanatory, simple and bluntly effective tools out there. Without it I would be surprised if the community would have developed to be even a tenth of the size...

(3) Do you think there are any surprises in store for Blogger users?

Terrifyingly, I don't think there will be any surprises at all. And that's not because they won't do anything, but because thousands of webloggers all started talking about the stuff they could do at once - sorting wheat from chaff, thinking up applications, new toys, horror stories, business plans - basically just fun things to do with weblogs and Google working together. I'd be surprised if there were any thoughts about the future of Blogger that hadn't travelled several times around the hundreds of thousands of weblogs that are out there. But that's ok! Because some of those ideas were pretty damn cool...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Bart EMAIL: bart@trabaca.com IP: 212.27.35.146 URL: http://www.trabaca.com DATE: 03/03/2003 03:50:42 PM My very first blog was through Blogger and what got me to start it in the first place was just how easy it was. Fill out a simple form and boom, you can start blogging. I didn't actually stay with Blogger very long since I was learning PHP at the time and wanted to try making something on my own with PHP/MySQL (which I still use today...), but Blogger's definitely great for those first steps. Do you think this is it for Google's blogging aquisitions? Because I can't think of any other popular service that hosts blogs on its servers like Blogger does, but you'd think there'd be lots of competing ones by now. And if Blogger really is it for Google, then it seems to me like their options are extremely limited unless they do in fact end up doing something that favors Blogger bloggers over non-Blogger bloggers. ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Big Gay Linkage... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 1 DATE: 03/03/2003 08:45:16 PM ----- BODY:

Ok. Next year I want to be a Best Gay Chap nominee again. Do you understand me? I'm not satisfied with just being known for my design skills. I want to be the world's best homo. I know I don't talk about it very much, but that's just because being gay is really boring, not because I'm not any good at it. I'm really good at it. I'm the Leonardo Da Vinci of Big Gay Shit. Am I convincing anyone? I should stick to talking about weblogs really. At least then I know what I'm talking about...

Jonno's Cute Dead Guy of the Week
My personal favourite has to be Louis Lingg, who was not only an anarchist and really hot, but also blew himself up in jail by putting a bomb in his mouth. You don't get much cooler than that.
Christina Aguilera's Beautiful video [real: lo | med | hi]
You know when pop-stars can be as sensitive as this, it's almost worth having them exploit our pain to sell records! I hope she gets another really big house. I really do.
Diesel Sweeties' tasteful take on gay lovin'
"I am an eccentric millionaire. Indie-Rock Pete, I will pay you for eccentric gay sex experimentation."
Soccer Practice by Gay Pimp
This utterly terrible song about hot soccer jocks is mostly entertaining for its dodgy gay subversion of 'ho'-centred rap/pop videos. Also partially entertaining for taking the piss out of sporty straight-boys. Warning: Quite rude, ungodly and just plain wrong.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: andrea EMAIL: andreatam@shaw.ca IP: 24.76.102.58 URL: http://mildlyobsessive.com/ DATE: 03/04/2003 07:15:20 AM i will nominate you for best gay chap if you only wear purple, and share your collection of george michael cds. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Coates EMAIL: tom@plasticbag.org IP: 213.123.152.58 URL: http://www.plasticbag.org DATE: 03/04/2003 09:02:03 AM Horror of horrors! I have no purple clothing of any kind, and the one George Michael tape I once owned I gave to my friend's sister when I was seventeen because it was quite bad. Sigh. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: mike EMAIL: mikejla@btinternet.com IP: 217.205.37.3 URL: http://troubled-diva.blogspot.com DATE: 03/04/2003 11:15:43 AM Yeah, but Tom - you've already been Best Gayer once. No point in re-visiting old ground, is there? After all, plasticbag.org is so much more than that. I suggest instead that you try and collect the set. Buy a webcam! Move to Canada! Start a new "secret" weblog! Sell merchandise! Write more humourous stuff! Write more political stuff! Actually, I vote for: write more political stuff. I like it when you do the political stuff. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Luke EMAIL: luke@captainfez.com IP: 203.18.241.5 URL: http://www.captainfez.com/blog/ DATE: 03/05/2003 03:38:49 AM You mean I have more George Michael than you do? Ye gods. Maybe I'll get nominated for best straight-acting not-quite-there-yet blogger? That's what people I used to work with thought, anyway. Must've been the George. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Coates EMAIL: tom@plasticbag.org IP: 213.123.152.58 URL: http://www.plasticbag.org DATE: 03/05/2003 08:34:18 AM Luke! No! Tell me it isn't true! You've been corrupted by the firm thighs and novelty facial hair of George Michael!? That's terrible! (turns on Liberty X) Well at least I know I'm cool... ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Ethical Weblogging Part One STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 1 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Personal Publishing CATEGORY: Personal Publishing DATE: 03/04/2003 04:55:49 PM ----- BODY:

Update: Wednesday March 5 - The text of this post has been slightly edited and adjusted in an attempt to tighten up and clarify my argument. I believe that my position is essentially the same, but you are advised that some of the comments that follow this post were responses to an earlier version.

With Blogger's acquisition by Google, the weblog space has changed more fundamentally than I think any of us had previously realised. The main impact of that acquisition is not faster servers or a better weblog infrastructure, it's that marketing and public relations firms - always more brand-conscious than perhaps they should be - have noticed Google turn our way, and (carefully following the integrity-based brand's line-of-sight) have finally noticed us... "What is this new grassroots phenomena?" they seem to be asking - as if the press hadn't written about almost nothing else on the web for the last three years, "... and how can we get it promoting Dr Pepper?"

First things first - why should they care? They should care because there are hundreds of thousands of weblogs out there - and they're all connected to each another, spreading information and ideas around the web at tremendous speeds. The bums-on-seats factor is huge - get something on Metafilter and you can guarantee thousands of views. Get it on b3ta, tens of thousands. Get it on Slashdot, hundreds of thousands. And that's not including the impact of the thousands of personal sites. Nor does it include the people who read those sites, pick up links and e-mail them to their friends, to their bosses, girlfriends and mums. Weblogs are becoming the natural meme ecology - almost as good at spreading ideas as e-mail but with one particular advantage for marketeers - their sole raison d'etre is to point people at other web pages. They are almost inherently a tool for rating and promotion. They are public opinion made manifest. In fact the only mystery is that marketers haven't been trying to exploit them before...

Doc Searls has argued that this incursion by marketeers will be routed around - like so much censorship or damage - by the distributed nature of weblogging. I'm less convinced, and the reason I'm not convinced is that to a lesser - and mostly unacknowledged - extent, weblogs have already had their integrity 'corrupted' - we're already advertising things for companies in return for money. The most common and widespread form of integrity-reducing advertising we are undertaking are Amazon referrals. I'm not taking a high-ground here - I often place them on my site when I've bought something that I thought was particularly good, or wanted to reward an artist I like. We don't tend to think of them as interfering with our credibility or compromising our integrity - but we make more money if we write in a way that puts more Amazon links into our sites, and we make money if those links are recommendations....

The 'Project Blogger' approach is a simple and effective one - you make webloggers (members of the public) feel important and special as 'in the know' opinion formers. You ask for nothing in return because that could be perceived as pressure. Inevitably this will be something that people sign up to believing that there's no price to pay. Except they've been given expensive and cool things by a marketing organisation - so there's always the pressure of a threatened withdrawal. There's no such thing as a free lunch, and you pay with the soul of your site - the place you've carved out as a place of personal expression becomes yet another platform to sell rich teenagers Nike shoes...

There's a really good article about weblogs as marketing devices over at chronotope at the moment which I think drags a lot of the issues into the light of day. There does seem to be a perceptual difference between the analysis of weblogs from outside and attempts to manipulate them or direct them through advertising or promotional approaches. The people behind this campaigning strategy honestly cannot seem to see how their work might deform or debase the integrity of individual sites, and I suppose we couldn't expect them too. But this does seem to me to be the crux of the issue - that as soon as advertising enters the space of personal publishing, integrity becomes questionable - the particular authenticity of weblogs and diarist content becomes under threat.

So now that the marketeers and public relations people have turned towards us - what are we to do about it? The idea that weblogging would need any kind of united sense of ethics hasn't previously been very palatable to people, but I think that's changing - Nick Denton has made some very sensible comments on Blogger Freebies that try to clarify what an individual's responsibilities might be considered to be and he in turn links to Mitch Ratcliffe's Ethics and Blogging and Rebecca Blood's piece on Weblog ethics. In turn Rebecca mentions Dave Winer's position from quite a while ago. There's a resurgence of interest in the rights and responsibilities of the 'good' weblogger, which I think should now probably be opened up for debate and discussed at greater length.

So what do you think? What are the particular ethics of writing a weblog? Is it possible to preserve your integrity while taking advertising?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: David EMAIL: david@queermusings.com IP: 12.238.235.133 URL: http://www.queermusings.com DATE: 03/05/2003 01:54:42 AM Does an Amazon referral really reduce the integrity of a weblog? I would say yes if someone wrote in a fashion that allowed them to include one or two referrals in every post. It does make me rethink the practicality of having separate pages set up for some of my favorite items that I've purchased through them. There are other ways to reduce your integrity that I think makes a reader feel more pressure to either submit to the will of the writer, or just stop reading the weblog. For example, there was one weblog that I read on a regular basis, until the writer started ending every post with a Paypal link. He was pretty clear in is "request" for donations. He pretty much stated, "donate or I'll stop posting." I think with anything it is in how it is approached. I actually pulled a link from my weblog due to the writer decided he wanted to join every referral program available on the net. Were as myself, and the other blogs that I link to, use referral links sparingly with no real expectation of making money from them. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Coates EMAIL: tom@plasticbag.org IP: 213.123.152.58 URL: http://www.plasticbag.org DATE: 03/05/2003 08:47:52 AM Now - I'm a regular Amazon affiliate, so I don't want to push this position too hard - but there is a clear qualitative difference here. If you are an affiliate, the implication is that you chose to link to Amazon rather than 1) an alternate e-commerce site and 2) rather than a non-commercial site. So straight-away you are essentially selling your links for the possibility of financial reward. And inevitably you leave yourself open to the possibility that people will believe you to be prostituting your opinions in order to get money. Now the fact that we don't generally consider these people to have no integrity is probably because everyone does it and no one really makes any money out of it. How much integrity can be bought for thirty quid a year (if you're lucky). I kind of disagree with you on the donations thing, though. I mean - it's a clear corporatisation of weblogging, and you're right, it does say, "I'll stop if you don't pay me", but at the same time it leaves the person concerned beholden only to the readers not to people who want to sell shoes to the readers. Of all the approaches to financing a weblog, it's probably the least morally troubling to me - although it's clearly a bit tacky... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Marcus EMAIL: freonmonkey@hotmail.com IP: 217.39.174.122 URL: http://www.neverthink.com/weblog DATE: 03/05/2003 09:06:20 AM Every time I come across an Amazon referral link in a weblog, it does make me shudder slightly. It's an endorsement of the product that goes beyond just saying "hey, this is really good" - it says "hey, this is really good, and I get paid money if you buy it". Suddenly the weblog has a QVC element to it. I agree, it doesn't necessarily mean much if the money earned is unsubstantial - but it's still commercialisation by stealth - a banner ad without the banner. What I'd really like to see is some honest figures detailing how much the most-read webloggers make out of Amazon referrals; I think that would aid the debate one way or another. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: John Fogde EMAIL: john@warhol.dk IP: 80.63.126.65 URL: http://fauxhemian.dk DATE: 03/05/2003 01:49:11 PM I think if you want to make money on your weblog you should go for it. The only problem I can see is if you don't make it perfectly clear that you're sponsored by whatever companies have thrown money your way. Because it will most certainly alter (or taint) the way you start writing and your readers should know that you're no longer able to be objective on certain products. The plugs you give to products, articles, and websites are now influenced by a paycheck and not necessarily by what interests you, so if you don't inform your readers that you're being paid you are misleading them. Personally, I don't think this will be a problem to most webloggers. Most weblogs have small audiences and won't be approached with endorsement deals. But that doesn't mean some of the more popular ones won't be offered money to mention stuff. And if that happens it would be nice if people made it clear now that if you aren't honest about these things your readers will object. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Cobb EMAIL: cobb@mdcbowen.org IP: 4.47.0.173 URL: http://www.mdcbowen.org/blog DATE: 03/06/2003 08:13:14 AM A writer writes. A blogger blogs. I'm a writer posing as a blogger. Having been a writer posing as a poet once, I've had my share of contempt for writers who write to be paid. But I don't see the problem because I have seen the most incredibly depressing thing, which is sad, tired, people browsing the discount section of decrepit bookstores parsing useless words. There are few things that are more pathetic than the feeling of desparation a writer feels when he has nothing to say, knowing everything he wants to say has been said before better, and nobody cares about that anyway. This is the feeling elicited holding the weight of a five hundred page novel on sale for fifty cents. If the blogosphere disappeared tomorrow, would it be missed? Only if some of those words belonged to you. If nobody ever tracked back, would you still write? If there were no comments section, would your soul float into the ether just the same? The fate of the blogosphere is the same as the fate of bad literature. We are going to have to get used to the idea that digital creations are cheap. People napster up our verbiage because they have disposable attention, but they don't pay much do they? Feel the pain of obscurity. It's good for you. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Coates EMAIL: tom@plasticbag.org IP: 213.123.152.58 URL: http://www.plasticbag.org DATE: 03/06/2003 09:45:48 AM Well frankly I think you're talking rubbish. If the blogosphere disappeared tomorrow, I'd miss it terribly - and not because my words disappeared, but because all the people whose work I read would no longer be there. Nor would the friends that I had made while weblogging. This is not a debate about readerships or fighting obscurity, and nor is it anything to do with the particular tools one puts on one's site. I put trackback on this site about a month ago, but managed the previous three and a half years cheerfully without it. I put comments on my site at the same time. Let me say this again: this debate has nothing whatsoever to do with how many people read weblogs and whether they're obscure or not - it's to do with how we decide whether to trust the weblogs that we choose to read. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Stuart EMAIL: smudie@blethers.com IP: 213.11.117.254 URL: http://www.blethers.com DATE: 03/06/2003 10:23:17 AM In my opinion, taking money from the Man in doesn't necessarily compromise your blog; it's more a question of how often you do it, and to what extent you're honest in what you write. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: fugu EMAIL: fugu@blowfishnet.info IP: 62.202.92.30 URL: http://www.blowfishnet.info DATE: 03/06/2003 02:49:08 PM The media industry has to solve this problem on a daily basis: On the one hand ads help newspapers survive on the other hand if the papers are too much tied up with the public relationship bussiness they loose their readership's trust. On the long run this is most damaging to the revenue. Blogosphere faces the same challenge and their are two ways out of the catch-22 situation: No money-making with your blog or full declaration. Who is paying? Why and how much? That's it! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Marcus EMAIL: freonmonkey@hotmail.com IP: 217.39.174.122 URL: http://www.neverthink.com/weblog DATE: 03/07/2003 09:18:54 AM If you start using your hard-won trust and credibility as a blogger as a means of earning money (however small the amounts), then it will to some extent tarnish your credibility in the eyes of a given percentage of your readership. Simple as that. The numbers involved are arguable, but I think that's the bottom line. Anyway, who needs to make money out of blogs? I thought these were supposed to be for fun. Why not just make no money at all and retain full credibility, instead of lessening that trust by taking payola from Amazon et al? If it really does boil down to �30 a year in commission, I think I'd rather not have that �30 and feel righteous (if not downright smug) in my utterly uncommercialised integrity. (I could go on, but I don't want to fill up somebody else's space with my meanderings, so I'll continue this on my own blog). ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tim Ireland EMAIL: tim@bloggerheads.com IP: 195.92.168.169 URL: http://www.bloggerheads.com/ DATE: 03/07/2003 10:01:28 AM Please pardon the necessary linkfest... I think there's a a sustainable future in weblog marketing if it's addressed correctly. I also foresaw the coming of the clueless. I know it doesn't necessarily make me psychic, but it's why I published the following articles last year and made damn sure they would get found: http://www.google.com/search?q=weblog+marketing It's also why I'm doing this: http://www.bloggerheads.com/raging_cow/ ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Gavin Bell EMAIL: me@gavinbell.com IP: 132.185.132.12 URL: http://takeoneonion.org DATE: 03/07/2003 04:30:28 PM I had similar thoughts to this, over the past few weeks, I've only recently started a weblog , and have been observing my behaviour, I started writing quietly on my own for a month or so. Once I had a public blog, I thought that I'd want to recommend books to friends and family, so I setup a Amazon associate account. I noticed that I'd be tempted to write about a book I read sometimes just to link to it in the hope that someone might buy it and i'd offset my hosting costs. I've resisted and only linked to books etc where I genuinely have enjoyed or think the author is great. Hence no banner ads or blatant electronics promos, my website is my thoughts, not a catalog. One of the things I noticed was the benefit I was providing to amazon in terms of better deep links into their site. It struck me that I was probably doing more work than I was getting in return from sales in a purely monetary analysis. So why do I continue? partly because I want to tell people about books etc I've read, but if I tell them then they might want to read it, so amazon provide a service by selling the book I'm talking about. To paraphrase the cluetrain, if our weblogs are a conversation and conversations are about the exchange of information. Sometimes I can't share the information because it is a book or a film, so I link to a source for the product and I happen to make a small percentage on the linking. I guess it is a fine balance, you can see if someone has a book for sale every link, or has lots of banner ads, so you can read the commercial activity of the author. We are quite attuned to product placement having seen countless examples of it since the soaps started. Yet it is reasonable for a website host to make some money, if it has no direct cost to the person who buys a product. I'm less clear about the paypal or amazon honour schemes, but can see they have their place for some people. I suppose implicit advertising is harder to track, if the fact that I talk about Apple is reasonable, what happens if I have an Apple Store affiliate, does this make me a bad blogger ? On a different note this micro economy does provide a mechanism for amazon and google to aggregate us and thus look at higher level population stats, they can analyse the incoming clicks and do trend analysis for ads or offers. So if we as a body didn't use amazon or google then they'd lose a good source of market intelligence. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Matt EMAIL: incoming@scotlandsoftware.com IP: 80.194.144.39 URL: http://www.scotlandsoftware.com/blog/ DATE: 03/09/2003 05:34:03 PM Didn't see any way to trackback, so I've posted a follow-up to Tom's comment on my own blog. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: John EMAIL: shandy_w@hotmail.com IP: 80.47.200.162 URL: DATE: 03/09/2003 05:51:37 PM I've noticed that Amazon is quoted by everyone. In the interest of ethical blogging (and this is a bit of mental gymnastics), why not support your local economy by linking to an independent bookshop that delivers internationally. This would support diversity in a field of commerce increasingly strangled by the corporate giants and perhaps ensure that the bookshop around the corner that's great to browse around doesn't go under. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: chutney EMAIL: chance@myirony.com IP: 170.140.17.6 URL: http://www.myirony.com DATE: 03/12/2003 09:13:20 PM Yet another response at http://www.myirony.com/archives/000258.html. ----- PING: TITLE: calm URL: http://www.theonlyjuan.net/000070.html IP: 66.216.124.46 BLOG NAME: theonlyjuan.net DATE: 03/05/2003 03:58:14 AM Today was more pleasant than those before it. Nothing particularly bad happened, the weather was reasonably nice, and I even ----- PING: TITLE: Product Placement In Weblogs URL: http://www.neverthink.com/weblog_archives/individual/2003/03/product_placement_in_weblogs.shtml IP: 80.71.2.160 BLOG NAME: Never Think DATE: 03/05/2003 11:34:18 AM Project Blogger is a new marketing initiative whereby companies can harness/subvert weblogs in order to have their products mentioned. ----- PING: TITLE: Ain't Singin' For Pepsi Ain't Singin' For Coke: URL: http://www.fauxhemian.dk/archives/000233.html IP: 193.88.12.35 BLOG NAME: There Is Nothing To Not Be Amazed At DATE: 03/05/2003 03:21:58 PM If you're the type of person who knows his overs from his wickets then this is the game for you ----- PING: TITLE: Ethical Blogging URL: http://nslog.com/archives/2003/03/05/ethical_blogging.php IP: 66.111.66.231 BLOG NAME: NSLog(); DATE: 03/05/2003 10:47:03 PM I read four articles yesterday (1, 2, 3, 4) about the "ethics of blogging." I'll be blunt: I think it's a bunch of hooey. If... ----- PING: TITLE: That difficult advertising phase... URL: http://WWW.simonwaldman.co.uk/archives/000097.html IP: 213.232.71.149 BLOG NAME: words of waldman DATE: 03/06/2003 12:19:34 AM Quite fascinating watching this debate over blogs being used as marketing tools (thanks Tom for such a comprehensive round up). ----- PING: TITLE: The Big Picture URL: http://www.emptybottle.org/glass/003173.php IP: 64.21.37.2 BLOG NAME: EmptyBottle.org DATE: 03/07/2003 03:09:27 AM Tom at plasticbag.org pulls together several things that I've ranted about in Apoplectic Poultry Mode here recently (and that people ----- PING: TITLE: Ethical Referral Links In Weblogs URL: http://www.neverthink.com/weblog_archives/individual/2003/03/ethical_referral_links_in_weblogs.shtml IP: 80.71.2.160 BLOG NAME: Never Think DATE: 03/07/2003 11:07:10 AM This post is an extended version of a comment I've written on the still-raging debate over at plasticbag.org about the ----- PING: TITLE: blogging and the ethics of affiliate stores URL: http://takeoneonion.org/archives/000053.html IP: 194.153.168.159 BLOG NAME: take one onion DATE: 03/07/2003 04:53:44 PM In response to an article on plasticbag.org about the ethics of weblogging, I posted a reply, which I'm extending here. I feel similarly about the creeping commercial activity on websites that are ostensibly uncommercial. Consider this post my declara... ----- PING: TITLE: stuff on blogging URL: http://www.epersonae.com/snapping/archives/000253.php IP: 216.40.212.43 BLOG NAME: Snapping Links DATE: 03/08/2003 03:36:14 AM various thoughts about the business and ethical implications of weblogging.... * Blogging for fun and profit * ethical weblogging part ----- PING: TITLE: Commercial Free URL: http://www.musak.org/entries/2003/03/commercial_free.shtml IP: 66.33.213.10 BLOG NAME: Listen to Musak DATE: 03/10/2003 09:29:54 PM Should Blogs carry advertising? ----- PING: TITLE: Blogging, ethics, and moolah URL: http://www.myirony.com/archives/000258.html IP: 209.217.36.5 BLOG NAME: MyIrony.com DATE: 03/11/2003 07:28:08 PM Earlier I talked about the conflicts between two pro-globalization movements: globalization-from-above and globalization-from-below. The blogosphere is clearly a protagonist in the globalization-from-below movement. With Google buying Blogger and Dr. P... ----- PING: TITLE: Blogging, ethics, and moolah URL: http://www.myirony.com/archives/000258.html IP: 209.217.36.5 BLOG NAME: MyIrony.com DATE: 03/11/2003 08:35:28 PM Earlier I talked about the conflicts between two pro-globalization movements: globalization-from-above and globalization-from-below. The blogosphere is clearly a protagonist in the globalization-from-below movement. With Google buying Blogger and Dr. P... ----- PING: TITLE: Weblogs, Watchdogs, Democracy URL: http://www.sauer-thompson.com/archives/philosophy/000152.html IP: 66.246.57.2 BLOG NAME: philosophy.com DATE: 03/12/2003 03:18:30 PM Some dicussion about the meaning of weblogging in the light of the possible impact of the market has been kicking around as I result of this postby Tom Coates and this post n by the Happy Tutor I would like to connect this discussion to John Quiggin's ... ----- PING: TITLE: Monday's No Fun, Tuesday's The Same: URL: http://www.fauxhemian.dk/archives/000282.html IP: 193.88.12.35 BLOG NAME: There Is Nothing To Not Be Amazed At DATE: 06/16/2003 10:57:45 PM I recently mentioned that American comedians of Middle Eastern decent were beginning to joke about life in the US after ----- PING: TITLE: Viral marketing, coming soon to a blog near you URL: http://www.blethers.com/weblog/archives/000537.php IP: 217.163.9.30 BLOG NAME: Blethers.com DATE: 04/07/2004 11:19:57 PM Simon Waldman (whose site I discovered only last week and who has some very interesting thoughts on the philosophy of blogging) writes today about the use of blogs as marketing tools. I was particularly intrigued by Project Blogger, in which... ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: In lieu of content... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 1 DATE: 03/06/2003 11:41:50 PM ----- BODY:

As a result of one of the most profoundly tiring days I've had in a very long time, please accept this link-log with my apologies. I'm so exhausted I feel like I'm melting into goo. Back to your regularly scheduled programming tomorrow morning:

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Value Judgements on two kinds of networks... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 1 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Technology CATEGORY: Technology DATE: 03/08/2003 12:12:07 PM ----- BODY:

I don't have the expertise or the discipline to dive into this as fully as I would like, so I'm just going to sketch out a few thoughts which maybe someone else would like to pick up and run with.

There are two articles currently doing the rounds that both talk about the value and utility of being part of the networked world, and what it means to participate within it. The first is about the internet - it's called World of Ends and it's by the inspired Doc Searls and David Weinberger. The second is about international politics and it's called The Pentagon's New Map and it's by Thomas PM Barnett.

The first article - Doc Searls and David Weinberger's - was immediately something I felt a desire to rally behind. It's states what we have come to perceive as the obvious facts about the internet: that it can't be controlled, that it should exist without governance, without regulation, that it routes around 'damage', that the internet consists of an agreement, that no one owns it, that everyone can use it, that everyone can add to it, that trying to deform the network lessens its power - lessens its democratising utility. I agree with all of this stuff.

The second article filled me with immediate distrust and discomfort. It's about countries which are disconnected from the 'network' of globalisation. Here's a quote:

"That is why the public debate about this war has been so important: It forces Americans to come to terms with I believe is the new security paradigm that shapes this age, namely, Disconnectedness defines danger. Saddam Hussein’s outlaw regime is dangerously disconnected from the globalizing world, from its rule sets, its norms, and all the ties that bind countries together in mutually assured dependence."

This is a paean to the power and value of globalisation as a force for good. He continues:

Show me where globalization is thick with network connectivity, financial transactions, liberal media flows, and collective security, and I will show you regions featuring stable governments, rising standards of living, and more deaths by suicide than murder. These parts of the world I call the Functioning Core, or Core. But show me where globalization is thinning or just plain absent, and I will show you regions plagued by politically repressive regimes, widespread poverty and disease, routine mass murder, and—most important—the chronic conflicts that incubate the next generation of global terrorists.

There seem to be some significant parallels that could be drawn between these two models of global scale-free networks that call into question the appropriateness of our (my) judgements about both globalisation as a democratic / capitalist process and the internet as a communications / publishing process. There's a collision here that I feel the need to investigate.

For me, the freedom and lack of regulation of the internet was an obvious goal - inevitably positive - while the spread of globalisation represented something tremendously powerful, but also threatening, difficult and dangerous. While the internet seemed to dismantle hegemony, globalisation also seemed to support it - promote it. But by seeing them in parallel, depicted simply as analogous networks that operate on protocols, some of my value judgements about each of them seem to be spreading to infect the other.

My anxiety about globalisation as a hegemonising power is now spreading into my feelings about the internet - could the power-law aspect of the internet that I've not previously had issue with actually not be analogous with multinational corporations doing terrible soulless inhuman things across the world. Rather than being analogous, could they in fact be the same thing? Could the infiltration of globalisation's spread through the world be the same 'liberating', equalising, opportunity-producing phenomenon that I've believed the internet to be?

There are other weird connections or analogies that can be drawn between the two articles / systems - some of which seem to collide with my argument or rephrase it or push it in a different direction. But each one of them seems to be to point towards something out of my reach at the moment. One analogy seems weirdly to be between disconnected states that constitute a threat to the network and to the very organisations that seem to be behind globalisation - large corporations who push for proprietorial behaviours in an interconnected space. Compare and contrast:

Think about it: Bin Laden and Al Qaeda are pure products of the Gap—in effect, its most violent feedback to the Core. They tell us how we are doing in exporting security to these lawless areas (not very well) and which states they would like to take “off line” from globalization and return to some seventh-century definition of the good life (any Gap state with a sizable Muslim population, especially Saudi Arabia). If you take this message from Osama and combine it with our military-intervention record of the last decade, a simple security rule set emerges: A country’s potential to warrant a U.S. military response is inversely related to its globalization connectivity.

"Remember, though, that if you come up with a new agreement, for it to generate value as quickly as the Internet itself did, it needs to be open, unowned, and for everyone. That’s exactly why Instant Messaging has failed to achieve its potential: The leading IM systems of today — AOL's AIM and ICQ and Microsoft's MSN Messenger — are private territories that may run on the Net, but they are not part of the Net. When AOL and Microsoft decide they should run their IM systems using a stupid protocol that nobody owns and everybody can use, they will have improved the Net enormously. Until then, they're just being stupid, and not in the good sense."

In this model, a fundamentalist state is kind of like a Microsoft or an AOL trying to spread propriety in the interconnected, protocol-based space. In trying to defy or censor or 'improve' the architecture to fulfil their needs they simply threaten the existence of the network in the first place. Except that the network is too huge and too integral to everything to be threatened. Terrifyingly / wonderfully / confusingly the network routes around it. Or does it? Am I losing my mind?

I'm far too close to my own mental collision at the moment to know if I'm hallucinating connections that don't exist or if I'm merely stating the obvious. It seems to me that I'm not - it seems to me that there has been clear lines drawn between them and us through books like Naomi Klein's No Logo that I think are probably at least more problematic now. If only to me. Anyone got any thoughts? Can anyone shoot me down? Or push it further?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Mac EMAIL: macdara@macdaraconroy.com IP: 213.202.161.109 URL: http://macdaraconroy.com/ DATE: 03/08/2003 02:56:46 PM I do need to sit down and think about this some more, but on the fly, it seems to me that the connection between the two pieces you discuss is more coincidental, or complimentary, rather than anything else - especially regarding the concept of globalisation. In the pages of 'Fences and Windows' Naomi Klein herself talks about the difference between the (positive) globalisation of society (activism via the internet as one example) and the Big Bad Wolf that globalised capitalism appears to be. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: nick EMAIL: nick@only.org IP: 62.254.64.6 URL: DATE: 03/08/2003 03:39:43 PM It's a straightforward distinction between the cultures of top-down and bottom-up connectivity. Barnett's 'Core' comes as a tentacular incursion, binding all that it touches to a rule set that may allow for 'strictly defined areas of doubt and uncertainty', but does so by exerting classic ideological control: dissent is framed and often denuded within dialectic. (Consider the response of the US media to the anti-war protests.) Also, Barnett is engaging in a fair amount of 'correlation-equals-causation' thinking. It doesn't sit well with a couple of critiques: the one noting that the conditions of his 'Core' actually create the 'Gap' as a necessary antithesis(and as a kind of mirror image) because markets function on a principle of friction, arbitrage opportunities. The other noting that what he's proposing is not so much emergent 'network space', but the fabrication of emergence, which is nothing of the kind. It's a false dichotomy: or, at best, a crude attempt to separate conjoined twins. Anyway, Deleuze and Guattari are your friends here, in their talk of 'smooth' and 'striated' spaces. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Doc Searls EMAIL: doc@searls.com IP: 68.6.46.246 URL: http://doc.weblogs.com DATE: 03/08/2003 08:32:08 PM The Pentagon's New Map is nothing less than a hugely rationalized blueprint for the American Empire. It articulates, in the lucid language of a single author, what the committee that wrote The National Security Strategy of the United States of America could only mumble in fuzzy bureaucratese. And for that we should be grateful. It lays out very clearly our country's agenda in the world today.

That agenda operates on what George Lakoff calls Strict Father morality:

The use of the word ?evil? in the administration?s discourse works in the following way. In conservative, strict father morality (see my Moral Politics, Chapter 5), evil is a palpable thing, a force in the world. To stand up to evil you have to be morally strong. If you're weak, you let evil triumph, so that weakness is a form of evil in itself, as is promoting weakness. Evil is inherent, an essential trait, that determines how you will act in the world. Evil people do evil things. No further explanation is necessary. There can be no social causes of evil, no religious rationale for evil, no reasons or arguments for evil. The enemy of evil is good. If our enemy is evil, we are inherently good. Good is our essentially nature and what we do in the battle against evil is good. Good and evil are locked in a battle, which is conceptualized metaphorically as a physical fight in which the stronger wins. Only superior strength can defeat evil, and only a show of strength can keep evil at bay.

In the strict father model, which constitutes the conceptual underpinnings of conservatism, Lakoff says,

Life is seen as fundamentally difficult and the world as fundamentally dangerous. Evil is conceptualized as a force in the world, and it is the father's job to support his family and protect it from evils -- both external and internal. External evils include enemies, hardships, and temptations. Internal evils come in the form of uncontrolled desires and are as threatening as external ones. The father embodies the values needed to make one's way in the world and to support a family: he is morally strong, self-disciplined, frugal, temperate, and restrained. He sets an example by holding himself to high standards. He insists on his moral authority, commands obedience, and when he doesn't get it, metes out retribution as fairly and justly as he knows how. It is his job to protect and support his family, and he believes that safety comes out of strength.

In other words, this model is predicated on the fact (not just the idea) that the world is a dangerous place (which it is). It is somebody's responsibility to make the world safe. The Bush Doctrine is a direct expressoin strict father morality, felt keenly by the administration of the only government in a position to exercize it.

Look at the White House web page, and you see Strict Fatherhood all over the place. There's Our Dad himself, George W., playing the part, sincerely, even convincingly. The top concern is national security. This plays out in executive orders and proclamations about homeland security, the Iraqi threat and the rest of it. It's all there, more vivid than it ever was under Ronald Reagan.

Lakoff says the liberal counterpart of the conservative Strict Father model is the Nurturant Parent model. Like conservatism, liberalism and its concerns proceed from a model of the family, though quite a different one:

The primal experience behind this model is one of being cared for and cared about, having one's desires for loving interactions met, living as happily as possible, and deriving meaning from one's community and from caring for and about others. People are realized in and through their "secure attachments": through their positive relationships to others, through their contribution to their community, and through the ways in which they develop their potential and find joy in life. Work is a means toward these ends, and it is through work that these forms of meaning are realized. All of this requires strength and self-discipline, which are fostered by the constant support of, and attachment to, those who love and care about you.

The key difference is that the liberal model, the Nurturant Parent model, proceeds from the fact (not just the idea) that the world is a good place (which it is).

I point all this out more to make sense out of the Pentagon Map than to explain World of Ends. It seems both David Weinberger and I subscribe to Nurturant Parent morality, which I guess means we're liberals (though I think of myself as an odd species of nurturant libertarian). That nurturant streak, I think, suits us tempermentally to understanding the Good Place nature of the World of Ends we call the Net.

But World of Ends is not a political statement, but rather it's a technical and economic one that folks from both political wings should find agreeable. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Richard Bennett EMAIL: richard@bennett.com IP: 12.210.33.189 URL: http://www.bennett.com DATE: 03/08/2003 09:21:27 PM With respect, Doc, "World of Ends" is more a political statement than a technical one, because it severely misstates the nature of the Internet, as all your critics have pointed out. On your other point, most of the world is really not a Good Place, because most of the world's people like in poverty, privation, and oppression. The best path to a better life for the majority of the world is the adoption of American-style capitalism and secular, representative democracy. In the Cold War era, America supported dictators if they served our needs in the fight against Marxist authoritarianism. Now that the Cold War is over, American influence can be used - and should be used - to promote the dissemination of America's liberal values throughout the world. Believers in your Nurturant Parent (really Nurturant Mother, because it's feminist ideology you seek to propagate) model have to admit that the United States is the prime example of a feminized society. By bringing other nations into this orbit, the Bush Doctrine increases and enhances nurturant values, it doesn't stunt them. If you really believe in these values, and value consistency, you have to support the Bush Doctrine. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: nick sweeney EMAIL: nick@nonspace.org IP: 62.254.64.6 URL: DATE: 03/09/2003 06:56:32 AM The best path to a better life for the majority of the world is the adoption of American-style capitalism and secular, representative democracy.

One would hope, indeed, that the USA might adopt a version of capitalism that's not 'American-style': that is, one without its Enrons, corporate welfare and federal pork, all of which currently must make Adam Smith spin in his under-tended grave. And also that it might adopt a secular, representative democracy that abandons the influence of the religious right, and such undemocratic obsolescences as the electoral college: which was, after all, set in place in an era when the political class was white, middle-class property owning males, and the masses could not be trusted with a hand in the process?

Isn't it a truism that nurturing parents should want their children to do things better than they themselves did? Or that nurturing parents should be able to guide their children away from the mistakes that they made, and continue to make because they're old and set in their ways? Isn't an aspect of the American dream that the next generation should succeed where the current generation failed? In fact, Doc is right: the US has too often played Dickensian Father rather than Nurturing Mother.

Now that the Cold War is over, American influence can be used - and should be used - to promote the dissemination of America's liberal values throughout the world.

Again, they might well be best promoted in the USA itself. Unless you mean such dissemination as the selective funding of community health organisations in the developing world based upon whether or not their have any involvement in the provision of abortions.

By bringing other nations into this orbit, the Bush Doctrine increases and enhances nurturant values, it doesn't stunt them.

As we shall see by the nurturing power of high-explosive over Iraq.

If you really believe in these values, and value consistency, you have to support the Bush Doctrine.

If you really think that, you can only be a supporter of the Bush administration. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Coates EMAIL: tom@plasticbag.org IP: 213.123.152.58 URL: http://www.plasticbag.org DATE: 03/09/2003 11:10:08 AM Thanks, Doc. Your statements about the familial models of American politics really have helped me get a better grasp on the way the US is being run at the moment. But to bring this discussion right back to first principles again, I'd like to take issue a bit with your line: But World of Ends is not a political statement, but rather it's a technical and economic one that folks from both political wings should find agreeable.

The problem is that the argument you present states that these are facts of life inbuilt into the very architecture of the internet - and that to fight against that architecture for whatever reasons (however couched - morally, ethically, politically, financially) is foolish, doomed and also (to an extent) a bit wrong. The problem I have is that the same arguments are made about the global financial markets - that there's no place for regulation, that pure laissez faire economics and the pure spread of interconnected international capitalism represents an unfettered good. Now I don't know your politics - you may also believe in the power of the completely unfettered market. But that clearly is a political decision, and I think - to an extent - those politics are reflected back onto your view of the internet.

Certainly that's the position I find myself in - believing one thing with relation to the global network of the internet and another with regards to the glocal network of the market. I suppose, to bastardise my 'pain' slightly - I'm looking for someone who can explain to me why it's OK to hold such different opinions, or where the qualitative difference exists that would allow me to reconcile them... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Doc Searls EMAIL: doc@ssc.com IP: 68.6.46.246 URL: http://doc.weblogs.com DATE: 03/09/2003 02:49:55 PM I'll admit to a political agenda for World of Ends, to the extent that we do want it to influence legislation and regulation (in a mostly libertarian direction, fwiw). A question: Who among us here likes the DMCA? Who wants to see Hollywood tell Intel how to make its chips and Dell how to make its PCs? Who wants the telcos and cable companies to keep building out the "last mile" of the Net as an asymmetrical plumbing system biassed for entertainment? Who wants companies like AOL, Yahoo and Microsoft to continue making non-interoperable instant messaging systems (or longs for the days when email systems couldn't send messages to each other)? Who wants to see the feds continue protecting the telcos, the record companies and other walking fossils from the new facts of market life in the far more connected world the Net has made? Who wants to see more, rather than less, federal regulation of wireless networking such as wi-fi? Who wants to see fewer frequency bands made available for free and open wireless networking? Probably none of us. Are we going to sit on our hands and watch quietly while Hollywood, the telcos, the cable companies, the media giants, Congress and regulators continue to treat the Net like something that needs more limitation, more regulation, more industrial protection? That's what we're up against here. And that's what World of Ends is about. I'm sure Dr. Weinberger and I made mistakes with it. (Hey, it's still a draft.) But if it contributes to a better understanding of the Net, especially by those whose misunderstanding causes the most damage, it will have had some measure of success. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Coates EMAIL: tom@plasticbag.org IP: 213.123.152.58 URL: http://www.plasticbag.org DATE: 03/09/2003 03:40:13 PM Well none of us want those things. But then again, I don't like the idea of companies employing sweatshop labour in the Far East. My question remains - is regulation of the freedoms of the global economy analogous in any way to regulation of the freedoms of internet? ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Richard Bennett EMAIL: richard@bennett.com IP: 12.210.33.189 URL: http://www.bennett.com DATE: 03/09/2003 09:54:49 PM Some of us do want some of those things. The Telcos will sell you symmetric DSL for a certain price, and they will sell you asymmetric DSL for a lower price. This is because the Telcos are businesses, not charities, and it costs them more to provide you with symmetric service. If you aren't going to use the symmetric service, and most people aren't, why pay for it? The "World of Ends" would deprive people of their choices in how they spend their connectivity dollars, and that's unacceptable. As a technical description of the Internet, how it works and how it got the way it is, The "World of Ends" is flat wrong in almost every respect. It appears that you've decided to employ the Big Lie technique in order to advance your agenda regarding all these political issues. That may not be the best way to go. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Coates EMAIL: tom@plasticbag.org IP: 213.123.152.58 URL: http://www.plasticbag.org DATE: 03/09/2003 10:24:27 PM At this stage I think it's only appropriate to start warning people that I've only got a limited interest in being the host to a discussion about the legitimacy of the "World of Ends" document. Nor do I have a particular interest in being the host to a debate between "hippies" and "the right". What I have put up for discussion is simple - is there any value in the analogy between the internet and global capitalism. If there is value in it, then let's unpack it. If there isn't - show me why there isn't... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Richard Bennett EMAIL: richard@bennett.com IP: 12.210.33.189 URL: http://www.bennett.com DATE: 03/10/2003 04:01:03 AM The Internet is like Global Capitalism in one significant respect: they're both good things that promote progress and freedom. Of course, the fact that they're good things isn't to say that they're perfect things, or that certain aspects of both shouldn't be regulated.

The Internet has a problem with spam, and it has a problem with enabling terrorist and other illegal organzations. These problems need to be addressed somehow.

Global capitalism probably spreads the junk aspects of American and European culture to the far reaches of the planet, and it's probably not good that kids in Borneo wear Arrowsmith tee-shirts, listen to Brittany Spears, or find support in Jacques Chirac's anti-American droolings.

That being said, there certainly are some similarities between attempts to regulate the Internet and attempts to regulate global commerce - both tend to be misguided, because they're undertaken by people who don't genuinely understand what they're dealing with. But isn't this the nature of regulation in all of its forms? Somehow we muddle through.

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: chrislunch EMAIL: chris@feeshes.freeserve.co.uk IP: 63.137.144.2 URL: DATE: 03/10/2003 04:20:35 PM To return to Tom's question directly (and to gingerly step into one of the best comments threads I've seen for ages on a blog) then there are strong analogies between the internet and global capitalism, but they are not as immediately and clearly divisible as we seem to be arguing here. The best analogy is the one you make earlier, where you make the connection between the internet and free markets. Both are unrestrained system, but systems that rely upon understood protocols to function. The internet, as Doc et. al. point out, is not in itself politicised. But, the minute Doc put pen to paper, it became politicised in the way that he frames and describes it. The internet is not libertarian. The internet is not despotic either. But, the uses that the internet is put to can make it either - Microsoft and AOL successfully use its protocols to create walled garden nation states, whereas other software uses the internet as a global commons. In the same way, the railway systems of the world have performed a similar function. Whilst, on the one hand, early railways brought connectivity and work to rural communities, the tracks were also used to export a political message deep into those communities themselves. The network, in the hands of the crap private rail companies in the UK, becomes dysfunctional and despotic. But, in the hands of the wonderful French or Japanese libertarian, public companies, the railway becomes a wonderful public service. Chris. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: phil jones EMAIL: synaesmedia@postmaster.co.uk IP: 200.163.2.77 URL: http://www.synaesmedia.com DATE: 03/11/2003 09:57:50 AM I'm looking for someone who can explain to me why it's OK to hold such different opinions, or where the qualitative difference exists that would allow me to reconcile them... For me the difference is this. On the internet we only care about the overall, statistic properties of the system. If a packet gets lost, no problem, send it again. Packets are dispensible. The global economy is different because we care that the individuals have rights and dignities which we must respect. If a kid goes hungry, that may be a good thing from an overall perspective. But we have a moral obligation to treat this as a failure of the system. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Steinberg EMAIL: steiny@barrysworld.com IP: 62.3.68.52 URL: http://www.voxpolitics.com DATE: 03/12/2003 12:00:51 AM Good show, Tom. It is glad to see another digerati, fully inculcated in the myth of 'the value neutral internet' finally come of age. Global capitalism and the internet have lots of things in common. a) They're both networks that do rather more good than harm - but they still do plenty of harm. b) They both manifest classical liberal values, but (crucially) these have evolved from very different sources. In the case of the internet these were a side-effect of the technical requirement of getting it up and running. In the case of capitalism they evolved more directly from political philosophies of governance. c) Regulation can be beneficial for each, and too much regulation will definitely be harmful to either. Doc would disagree with the first part of this, but I would posit that WC3 standards are a form of light touch regulation from a non-governmental source. They're certainly analagous to lots of non-compulsory standards designed by all sorts of offline government regulators. What I'm saying here isn't rocket science. It is just to point out that a big, powerful network of any kind is going to embed certain values, and have negative effects as well as positive ones. But saying this still sometimes seems to come across as a kind of herecy. It's almost as bad as suggesting that perhaps the blogosphere isn't actually that good at filtering really important ideas (shock!). But that's for another day... ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Saturday Night Linkage... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 1 DATE: 03/08/2003 06:53:23 PM ----- BODY:

I'm still reeling from writing that last post in a blast of confused and desperate-to-get-it-out-there enthusiasm. And I still have no idea whether it's total bunk or not. So I'm going to throw out my linklog for the evening and leave it at that. Tomorrow I may write about any of the following things that have been going on:

Giving a statement to the police about my burglar;
Getting tickets to see The Bangles live in concert;
Spotting Jake Gyllenhaal in Chalk Farm tube;

But all that's for tomorrow. Tonight, you must simply accept limited microcontent votage with a little snide commentary. This is what's going down:

Google's Memory Upgrade
The relationship between Google/Blogger and the Memex as explored by Steven Johnson. And in the process, Mr Webb's thoughts are referenced.
Let them hate as long as they fear
"So oderint dum metuant it is. I could talk about the foolishness of such blatant bullying � or about the incredible risks, in a multiethnic, multiracial society, of even hinting that one might encourage a backlash against Hispanics."
Weblogs are all blah blah blah
From the people who brought you, "God, isn't it annoying how the world is still round?!" and "Don't you find it infuriating how light, you know, works?!"
Camino 0.7 is released
Only interesting to those of you with OSX of course. Camino is the new name for the browser-previously-known-as-Chimera.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The first sign of the googlopalypse? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 1 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Technology CATEGORY: Technology DATE: 03/09/2003 05:53:43 PM ----- BODY:

It's the first sign of the apocalypse - Google is throwing up errors all over the shop. I've checked with a few other people to see if it's happening with them too. My favourite response was from Matt Haughey who essentially said that he couldn't really chat at the moment since he was currently onstage at SXSW doing a panel on online journalism with JD Lasica, Dan Gillmor and the guy from crabwalk.com. But yes, he'd just noticed it too...

Of course everyone's first assumption is going to be that Ev broke it.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: fugu EMAIL: fugu@blowfishnet.info IP: 62.202.93.203 URL: http://blowfishnet.info DATE: 03/10/2003 08:17:22 AM We've had a great deal of buzzing about the Blogger/Google thing. The people in favourite of the deal were talking of more reliability... Now to come to the point: Im maintaining a blog powered by Blogger (not hosted there) and I am not able to change the templates of my blog at the moment. Could it be that Google's troubles are somehow connected with the problems of Blogger? Would be interesting to hear more on this story. ----- PING: TITLE: Broken Google! URL: http://danhon.com/ec/mtarchives/000441.shtml IP: 62.149.37.15 BLOG NAME: ext|circ DATE: 03/09/2003 06:33:55 PM The sky is falling; Google is breaking (17:47 GMT 9 March 2003) with the following error message: Server Error The... ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Fresh and fertile Monday linkage... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 1 DATE: 03/10/2003 12:15:35 PM ----- BODY:

You know, really, if you think about it, it's totally ok just to steal links from Popdex, Blogdex and Daypop because you're still only going to steal the good links and that helps everything self-filter even more effectively. Or something...

Grant Morrison on 'The Filth' [via Darren]
Innoculating readers by injecting them with dirt.
The Tyranny of E-mail
Clear and intelligent instructions on 'how to get things done'.
Gorey's Gashlycrumb Tinies
"N is for Neville who died of ennui."
The New McCarthyism
We've heard the phrase "Anti-American" before...

More later in the day when I've had another stab at finishing my long piece on weblogs as conversation.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- PING: TITLE: Bli effektivare! URL: http://www.gustavholmberg.com/tomrum/archives/001309.html IP: 209.68.1.93 BLOG NAME: Det perfekta tomrummet DATE: 03/10/2003 02:06:32 PM N�tet kan vara ett svart h�l, tidsm�ssigt, och ibland undrar jag om man inte fick mer gjort med penna och ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On Doughnuts, Wifi, e-democracy and Section 28... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 1 DATE: 03/12/2003 12:12:12 PM ----- BODY:

I wonder if it's converting to Movable Type that means that I find it so hard to write. I wonder if it's the fact that each entry gets its own full page to sit-upon that makes me nervous about short posts or fragments of life-commentary. I get this anxiety that I won't be able to think of enough to say to warrant a full stark blank white page. And if I know I've got enough to say, then I get angsty because writing then becomes this significant job of work that really should take second-place to something more work-minded...

Could the Universe be shaped like a doughnut?
A particularly good debate has arisen about the shape of the universe - does it infinitely extend in all directions or does it curve back upon itself? Cosmologists are always having these kinds of debates - just a few years back some nutters were trying to convince us that the world was spherical.
Wifi in Starbucks
T-mobile extends its plans to put wireless internet access in Starbucks branches, but makes the UK prices four times as expensive as the US ones.
Tom Steinberg comments on UpMyStreet Conversations
In the process he references an ongoing thread that criticises the site for reflecting the interests of its current users. In my opinion this represents a stunning misconception of the purpose of the site and 'politics' in general.
The increasingly brilliant politX posts about Section 28
Section 28 is the piece of legislation designed to stop teachers talking to students about gay people and what it means to be gay. Conservative backbenchers are fighting to keep it in place, despite the fact that gay teenagers are most at risk of attempted (and successful) suicides.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- PING: TITLE: Tom pondersponders if it's Movable URL: http://www.ludicrous.org.uk/mt/archives/000343.html IP: 212.227.119.10 BLOG NAME: Technovia DATE: 03/13/2003 12:23:45 AM Tom pondersponders if it's Movable Type. I think it's just the time of year. I've definitely noticed that a lot ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Will Blogdex fix it for me? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 1 DATE: 03/12/2003 11:51:05 PM ----- BODY:

Right. I'm on a mission. I'm wacked out on Dr Pepper and dog-related endorphins, I've just watched Mission Impossible on TV and I've got at least three posts I want to get written by eleven o'clock. Let's be honest with each other for a moment - I'm not going to get any of them done if I fanny around 'thinking' about them or 'trying to get the spelling right'. So let's get on with it, shall we - starting with an appeal to the godhead of microcontent voting... "Please Mr Blogdex (if you haven't done so already) could you fix it for these links to get absurdly popular?"

Reinvigorate.net
I don't know who the hell these people are, but they sure know how to make elegant and well-assembled real-time stat-checking web interfaces. Unlike places like thecounter.com or extreme stats, there's no advertising, no monthly fee and your stats are all nice and password protected. More entertaining still is the fact that you can have a little Flash MX window open that shows you traffic to your site in real-time as it happens. It can't possibly scale, of course, but it's bloody nice now. Have a play while you still can...
Trash Addict
This post is merely another part of my semi-regular plugging of Trash Addict as one of the most generally and genuinely entertaining weblogs out there. The reason I keep getting surprised by its excellence is that it (like so many other weblogs I'd like to read regularly) doesn't have an RSS feed. So I can't read it via NetNewsWire. This makes my reading of it more sporadic - with the weird side effect that I'm always surprised how good it is.
SETI project reaches next stage
Any article that starts with the line, "After more than a million years of computation..." is going to be OK with me. In full-on web-geek Star-Trek loving, Farscape-missing dorky can't-get-a-boyfriend mode, I find the SETI@home project endlessly fascinating and exciting. The idea that they've now got a reasonable assortment of potential signals from across the universe to investigate is ludicrously wonderful. Dear God, I hope that any aliens we find aren't interested in quite smart, dextrous new beasts of burden. [More at Wired]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: A wifi hypothetical... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 1 DATE: 03/13/2003 11:39:55 AM ----- BODY:

So here's a hypothetical situation for you. Let's say that there's a Starbucks in the high street. Let's say that this Starbucks runs a wireless network in association with T-mobile. And let's say that they charge for access to this wireless network. Now let's say that above this Starbucks is a flat. And let's say that in that flat is a geek. And let's say that this geek is running his own Wifi node, that he leaves open to the general public and advertises on something like consume.net. So the average customer to Starbucks has two options - the pay-for service supplied by Starbucks or the free one run by the guy upstairs.

Now here's the thing - how long do we think it would be before Starbucks tried to shut him down? Days? Hours? Minutes? And why do I get the feeling that they'd probably be successful in doing so? This seems to be a situation that's likely to crop up in the next six to eight months or so (if it hasn't done so already) so I'm interested - what would the legal implications be?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Darren EMAIL: darren@timemachinego.com IP: 132.185.132.12 URL: http://www.timemachinego.com/linkmachinego/ DATE: 03/13/2003 12:15:33 PM I don't see how Starbucks could shut down the hypothetical geek legally -- the two nodes could co-exist in the same building on different frequencies so it's not like he's stopping customers using the expensive starbucks node. Starbucks do have an advantage -- they can advertise their services to their customers but I suspect the average wifi consumer will learn to scan for different networks and choose the cheapest one. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Jez Higgins EMAIL: jez@jezuk.co.uk IP: 62.30.55.88 URL: http://jez.jezuk.co.uk/ DATE: 03/13/2003 12:28:53 PM I agree. What's is the crime and where's the offence? It might not be a geek in the upstairs flat, of course. It could be the place across the road - which might be a lone geek shut in his garrett or, perhaps, more likely some big company that hasn't (or doesn't) secure its WAPs. As more and more people start using wifi, there could be any number of WAPs covering that lucky coffee drinker. Are Starbucks (or whoever) going to try and face them all down? "This is my shop, and I don't want you're filthy radio waves in here?" just isn't enforcable in law. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: paulpod EMAIL: paulpod@neuromantics.net IP: 217.154.6.98 URL: http://www.neuromantics.net DATE: 03/13/2003 01:12:22 PM This shortly isn't going to be a hypothetical situation for me (and others i presume). I've been running xmthmkt.net for a year now. I imagine nothing much will happen, however I'd like to bet I'll have a better signal strength (thanks to the meter tall 10db antenna in my living room window) so auto connecti clients are liekly to jump straight on mine. Another problem could turn out to be abuse: If someone unleashes a virus via my node do i get in toruble? If someone surfs or serves some child porn from my node (unlikely in starbucks, true) do i get in trouble? If I transparently monitor traffic do i get in trouble? Could turn out that these issues may close open privately owned networks anyway, with fear of legal nastiness doing starbucks lawyers job for them. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Coates EMAIL: tom@plasticbag.org IP: 212.111.42.130 URL: http://www.plasticbag.org DATE: 03/13/2003 01:33:07 PM I wouldn't be so sure that Starbucks can be relied upon to operate so fairly - or that the courts would necessarily support the independent trader in these matters. I've been talking to Matt Webb about this stuff, and he says that he thinks I'm too late - that this kind of thing has already taken place. I'm doing some research online to see if that's true, but at the moment all I can find is this geek.com article in which it is claimed that Starbucks have damaged the connectivity of a local free wifi network by pushing their own network in the same part of the spectrum... I'll post more if I find out anything else... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Jez Higgins EMAIL: jez@jezuk.co.uk IP: 62.30.55.88 URL: http://jez.jezuk.co.uk/ DATE: 03/13/2003 02:58:04 PM Starbucks or MacDonalds or anyone else may not be relied upto to act fairly or reasonably, but that's not what you asked. In the article geek.com article you cite it's the free provider who are taking Starbucks to court, not the other way around. Regardless of the outcome, I don't see that case would have any bearing in the country, though. Is your question another manifestation of the Property or Commons question? ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: AR EMAIL: andrew@yellowcandy.com IP: 217.36.9.68 URL: http://yellowcandy.com DATE: 03/13/2003 08:26:01 PM I've been wondering about this recently, as well... I think this is likely to be an issue here in the UK sooner than in the US, after the T-mobile pricing structure is publicised (�47/month for unlimited access! More than twice what I pay for home ADSL...) in the next few days. Also, T-mobile has been very careful not to test market the service anywhere near university housing here in Oxford, which means essentially that it's not being tested here at all. Will there also be conflicts with the new pub-connectivity/ McDonald's (!) connectivity? ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: pete EMAIL: monkiboi@monkiboi.net IP: 80.177.96.252 URL: http://www.monkiboi.net DATE: 03/14/2003 01:57:34 PM I'd never considered this (primarily because i don't use wifi) but i presume each wireless node would (could) fall under the same guidelines that ISP's have to follow. i say this because essentially both allow access to the internet so they fall under the same catagory. i don't think Starbucks could legally challenge another ISP (operator) on the basis of electomagnetic radiation. possibly electomagnetic interference but that would only apply if the geek node happened to operate on the same frequencies. Starbucks would surely have to prove that their system is being degraded by the interference for this to work. i think it would be easier for Starbucks to install EMC shielding in the ceiling of the coffeshop thereby disabling access to the geek wifi node from within the shop. of course that may be considered anti-competitive and we all know where that kind of thing leads to. does anyone else keep writing Startbucks? just me eh? ----- PING: TITLE: 2003/03/13 12:33 URL: http://2lmc.org/spool/?id=1861 IP: 217.10.129.148 BLOG NAME: 2lmc spool DATE: 03/13/2003 01:14:27 PM A Wifi Hypothetical ----- PING: TITLE: Tom Coates is also asking URL: http://www.mikel.org/arch/2003_03_09_mikelarch.html#004521 IP: 64.56.239.34 BLOG NAME: mikel dot org | Michael Boyle's weblog DATE: 03/13/2003 03:52:57 PM about the implications of a private citizen operating an open WiFi network in an area where a company like Starbucks is trying to sell access in his post entitled, "A wifi hypothetical." If any of the readers of this site have information on this quest... ----- PING: TITLE: WIFI 4 FREE URL: http://8letters.co.uk/weblog/old/2003/03/index.html#003201 IP: 209.68.2.52 BLOG NAME: 8letters: Weblog DATE: 03/18/2003 02:37:53 PM Tom poses a hypothetical question about WIFI and Starbucks. I read about this a few weeks ago and have to ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: A microcampaign to turn on autodiscovery... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 1 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Personal Publishing CATEGORY: Personal Publishing DATE: 03/13/2003 02:22:21 PM ----- BODY:

1) Key Problems with Movable Type. If you're a Movable Type user then you probably share a few key experiences with me. To start off with, you've probably mis-spelt it Moveable Type more than a few times. You've probably chortled to yourself as you realised your mistake. How foolish you've been. Ha! The other thing you've probably done at some point is scratch your head to the point of bleeding about this whole "Trackback" malarky. I know I have. I know because my outboard brain tells me so.

2) Solve the Trackback confusion by turning on 'Autodiscovery'. One of the most confusing aspects of the whole Trackback debacle is this idea that a different URL is used to ping for trackback than the URL that you use to visit the post itself. This aspect of the relationship is essentially very simple, but it's quite hard to explain and so remains essentially incomprehensible to many web-users. So it's important wherever possible to not draw attention to this process - in fact to conceal its workings as much as possible. The best way to do that is by encouraging the use of autodiscovery. Autodiscovery works like this - when you post something that includes a link to a trackback-enabled weblog, your version of Movable Type goes and has a look at the trackback-enabled weblog's page and tries to find the trackback URL associated with the thing you're linking to. Then it pings it. Nice and easy. You don't have to know the trackback URL (which means they don't have to display the trackback URL anywhere as well). It also means that there's no clunky manual pinging process. It's all nice and neat and self-contained and (more importantly) easy to explain to punters. So why don't you go anc check that autodiscovery is turned on right now...

3) Trackback manners. In fact, I think there's probably only one set of circumstances where it's not a good idea to use auto-discovery, and that's the same set of circumstances when it's not appropriate to use Trackback at all. As far as I'm concerned there are at least two of these. Firstly, there's when you don't accept trackback pings yourself. Frankly, if you're not prepared to maintain your place in the embedded conversation, then you don't deserve to participate at all. The other circumstance when you shouldn't enable Trackback at all is when you're maintaining a pure and commentary-less link-log - like the side-panels on kottke.org or anil dash. I think it's important to try and remember what Trackback is for and what it's not for - it's not supposed to be simply a way for you to get a link to your site on highly-trafficked weblogs (although clearly that's what some people use it for). It's supposed to be a way of maintaining the links between posts in such a way that the thread of a conversation can be maintained. If you're not contributing to the conversation in any way, then there's no need for you to use Trackback. In fact every time you do so, you slightly diminish the utility of Trackback and the likelihood of people following the links therein...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Michael EMAIL: mboyle@mikel.org IP: 198.80.25.76 URL: http://www.mikel.org/ DATE: 03/13/2003 04:01:49 PM Don't want to ask too much of you, but... It would be a great service if you wrote up a "how to" describing how you got trackback to work as you did (with the sites inline like that). The popup window business is practically a trackback killer for me - in addition to being yet another template to keep up to date, I've had about enough of popup windows of any kind. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Coates EMAIL: tom@plasticbag.org IP: 212.111.42.130 URL: http://www.plasticbag.org DATE: 03/13/2003 04:30:27 PM Would it help if I just posted up a copy of my template somewhere? I should do a proper write-up, but I've got so many other things I should be doing (to earn money) instead... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Michael EMAIL: mboyle@mikel.org IP: 198.80.25.76 URL: http://www.mikel.org/ DATE: 03/13/2003 04:46:20 PM That would be great. Like you are, I am busy, and like you were, I am totally perplexed by trackback in general. I get the final product, I just can't visualize the process. The way you've simplified the presentation of the links is a great leg up, and seeing how that happened in the code would probably be plenty. Thanks in advance. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Marcus EMAIL: freonmonkey@hotmail.com IP: 216.40.52.20 URL: http://www.neverthink.com/weblog/ DATE: 03/13/2003 05:27:24 PM I've got Trackback autodiscovery turned on, but actually implementing Trackback into my own posts is proving to be a pain in the arse (and thus meanining I unintentionally fall into your "lazy no good blog leeches sucking readers off my traffic" category). If you did share the secret of a transparent Trackback set-up, that would be a great service to the blogging community. There doesn't seem to be anything else on the Internet explaining it... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Mac EMAIL: macdara@macdaraconroy.com IP: 213.202.161.102 URL: http://macdaraconroy.com/ DATE: 03/13/2003 07:38:27 PM i was initally flummoxed by trackback when i started using movable type just over a month ago, but i figured it out by doodling a diagram on a scrap of paper. maybe that was easy for me because i studied some logic at university. once i realised that the trackback code could be pasted into my individual post template without any hacking or similar tomfoolery everything worked fine. maybe that's what confuses people, the fact that since trackback has its own neat little separate template and pop-up window thingy, most users fear they'll break it if they try to modify it for their own needs? ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Jack EMAIL: jack@submitresponse.co.uk IP: 81.132.189.201 URL: http://www.submitresponse.co.uk/mt/ DATE: 03/13/2003 08:25:46 PM My one reservation when it comes to autodiscovery is that it applies itself every time you rebuild an entry, which means you end up repeatedly pinging whoever you've linked to when you delete a comment or fix a mistake. (Unless there's some setting I've missed in Movable Type?) Other than that - the more invisible the process the better, although I've merged trackbacks and comments (with the SimpleComments plugin) which maybe confuses matters further... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Vaughan EMAIL: vaughan@whereveryouare.org IP: 195.92.67.209 URL: http://www.whereveryouare.org DATE: 03/13/2003 10:58:29 PM Of course, not that I don't think that Trackback is a superb idea and all that, but what if - like, well, me for instance - you're a blinkered and insular weblogger who never writes the sorts of posts that anyone in their right mind would ever consider linking to or, indeed, tracking back to? For anyone with far too great an idea of their own importance - so probably like most bloggers - there's nothing more dispiriting than a whole line of zeroes in brackets running their way down one's beautifully-designed web page (mental note: must get out more). ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Graham EMAIL: gths@flat-earth.org IP: 203.164.8.31 URL: http://grudnuk.com/ DATE: 03/14/2003 01:02:12 AM I had autodiscovery turned on for about the first month I had the MT setup, and it made the posting procedure as slow as a wet fortnight. So I turned it off again. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: JimmyT EMAIL: mail@lehopictures.com IP: 216.232.58.138 URL: http://www.lehopictures.com/the_joint/ DATE: 03/14/2003 01:43:39 AM Well, I've tracked to you, autodiscovered a link which I assume is your trackback log or something, and now I wonder if this is working or not... I can't find your trackback log for this post!! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Coates EMAIL: tom@plasticbag.org IP: 213.123.152.58 URL: http://www.plasticbag.org DATE: 03/14/2003 09:00:57 AM To Jimmy - I incorporate my trackbacks into the posts themselves - they're appended to the end of the entry (sometimes the page needs to have another comment added for them to show up properly). To Vaughan - we the same is true - lots of my posts don't get any trackbacks at all, but because I incorporate them directly into my post, you never see any zeroes anywhere. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Rory EMAIL: rory@speedysnail.com IP: 194.81.244.110 URL: http://speedysnail.com/ DATE: 03/14/2003 11:39:17 AM I explained trackback to a friend a while ago as an automated version of emailing someone to let them know you'd posted a comment on an entry of theirs, and having them insert an 'update' link at the end of said entry to say that you'd commented on it. Which makes me wonder what the point of having it is at all. As an automated system, it's open to the sort of advertising abuse you point out (although the blog author can always delete such pings if he or she wishes). Worse, it gives the *appearance* of conversation when actually there is none. If a blog receives a stack of pings, it looks as if its author is engaged in a 'conversation' when actually they're just being used as a high-profile bulletin board. If they were truly engaged in a conversation, they would be *talking back* in a separate post or comment on their blog, and would be dropping links to other blogs into that conversation as a matter of course. Automating this process may relieve blog authors of any sense of obligation to hold up their side of the conversation. If they don't want to hold up their side of the conversation, that's fine, but to give the appearance that they are simply by hosting a bunch of trackback links seems a little misleading; and if they go further than hosting the trackback link by actually commenting on it, well, isn't that the sort of 'manual linking-back' that trackback is supposed to replace? I can see trackback making sense in group blogs like MeFi where there is no single author being engaged in conversation; I can even see it making sense in high profile blogs where a community grows up around a single-author blog whose members want to talk among themselves with or without the blog author's involvement (although surely comments boxes are sufficient for that; you can link to your blog posts in a comment if necessary); but it makes no sense as a replacement for the blog author actively taking part in a cross-blog conversation. The only argument for it might be that a trackback ping is more discreet than a direct email, a cough behind the hand rather than an outright request for recognition and response; and that seems ridiculous. Those on the receiving end of a ping know that it was deliberately sent by another human being seeking their attention (or free publicity); how is that more discreet than a one line email saying 'Hi, I liked your post on XYZ, you might like to read my response here...'? A couple of days ago I finally got around to changing my trackback system to mimic yours, Tom - trackbacks embedded at the end of posts (though not relying solely on autodiscovery as you recommend). But today I'm pulling the whole thing out. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: mike EMAIL: mikejla@btinternet.com IP: 217.205.37.3 URL: http://troubled-diva.blogspot.com DATE: 03/14/2003 11:57:48 AM This is a bit like the offside rule in soccer, isn't it? "No, look, it's really simple, honest - let me run it past you one more time..." My head hurts! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Rory EMAIL: rory@speedysnail.com IP: 194.81.244.110 URL: http://speedysnail.com/ DATE: 03/14/2003 12:12:21 PM Hi, members of the plasticbag.org community (and Tom, who receives this comment in an email automatically). You might like to read my comment on Tom's post here: http://speedysnail.com/2003/03.html#442 ...although it's actually just a slight rewording of my comment above, broken up into proper paragraphs. Trackbacks? We don't need no stinkin'... etc. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Jon Curnow EMAIL: jon@curnow.org IP: 213.235.7.195 URL: http://musak.org DATE: 03/14/2003 02:35:56 PM There's a useful thread on the Movable Type support forums on to include trackbacks in your posts - I used it and it worked fine. http://www.movabletype.org/cgi-bin/ikonboard/ikonboard.cgi?s=3e71e6d14c4affff;act=ST;f=18;t=8952;hl=trackback+and+include Also, I'm sure my instance of MT only pings the trackback with the first publish and not at each rebuild. But I'll have to look into that ... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Bobbie EMAIL: bob@bobzilla.co.uk IP: 193.122.208.99 URL: http://bobzilla.co.uk/weblog DATE: 03/14/2003 02:37:07 PM oh, the irony! "it's not supposed to be simply a way for you to get a link to your site on highly-trafficked weblogs" ... followed by a half dozen trackback links from relatively random sites... it's almost, dare I say it, like some Comic Relief wheeze. I don't mean to be so naughty, sorry, but it's Friday and I want to go home... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: James EMAIL: james@ordinary-life.net IP: 67.87.47.14 URL: http://www.ordinary-life.net DATE: 03/16/2003 12:26:59 AM Bobbie, all the sites seemed to discuss the pros/cons related to this post and its ideas. Some where shorter like mine but all seemed fairly relevent. I purposely made sure I added at least some content in response to plastic bag, mostly agreeing ;). I really think that's the most you can expect. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Morris EMAIL: tom@bbcity.co.uk IP: 80.225.81.74 URL: http://www.bbcity.co.uk DATE: 03/22/2003 11:15:04 PM I just installed TrackBack on to my Drupal installation, and it all works fine. I've even put a link to my site from MetaFilter. Traffic-me-do! I think it's one of the coolest things ever, actually. ----- PING: TITLE: Trackbacks, spam and conversations URL: http://husk.org/blog/arch/trackbacks_spam_and_conversations.html IP: 217.10.129.148 BLOG NAME: chaff DATE: 03/13/2003 04:43:11 PM Ruminations on trackbacks after 2lmc goes ping crazy. ----- PING: TITLE: Auto discovery URL: http://www.madmusingsof.me.uk/archives/006238.html IP: 66.246.77.12 BLOG NAME: mad musings of me DATE: 03/13/2003 07:28:09 PM I'm consciousthat I'm slightly breaking 's rulesTom's rules by not really contibuting much to the debate. I like the idea ----- PING: TITLE: Plastic TrackBack URL: http://refugio.f2o.org/archivos/000494.php IP: 63.237.54.244 BLOG NAME: El Refugio DATE: 03/13/2003 11:42:54 PM Siguiendo los consejos de Tom Coates acerca de los trackbacks en Movable Type hice algunas modificaciones a la forma en ----- PING: TITLE: Trackback madness URL: http://www.lehopictures.com/the_joint/archives/000034.html IP: 139.142.244.21 BLOG NAME: The Joint DATE: 03/14/2003 01:39:32 AM This is me trying to figure out how to use trackback and wouldn't you know it but plasticbag.org has just posted about it. So now, as the theory goes, and I have autodiscovery clicked on, MT should figure out that... ----- PING: TITLE: Trackback Usage URL: http://www.ordinary-life.net/blog/archives/001683.php IP: 209.50.252.235 BLOG NAME: Ordinary-Life.net DATE: 03/14/2003 02:48:02 AM An interesting discussion of TrackBack over at Plasticbag. I mostly agree with the sentiment. Though I don't think there always has to be a full blown conversation happening. It really depends on how you use it. You can include the full post as a comme... ----- PING: TITLE: Trackback, phpBB, etc. URL: http://www.brockerhoff.net/bb/viewtopic.php?p=354#354 IP: 200.165.20.202 BLOG NAME: Stochastic Aleatory Ontological Expostulations DATE: 03/14/2003 04:08:12 PM ...In related posts, Tom Coates at Plastic Bag is campaigning for trackback autodiscovery. I'm amazed how many Movable Type weblogs don't have this turned on; trackback is certainly a hard feature to grasp, even though MT does make it quite easy... ----- PING: TITLE: Track Back URL: http://8letters.co.uk/weblog/old/2003/03/index.html#003196 IP: 209.68.2.52 BLOG NAME: 8letters: Weblog DATE: 03/16/2003 07:36:25 PM Tom discusses TrackBack - I've had it switched on for months but have seen very little point in it. I ----- PING: TITLE: 2003/05/15 12:56 URL: http://2lmc.org/spool/?id=2474 IP: 217.10.129.148 BLOG NAME: 2lmc spool DATE: 05/15/2003 02:40:44 PM NNW wishlist ----- PING: TITLE: 2003/06/12 15:29 URL: http://2lmc.org/spool/?id=2727 IP: 217.10.129.148 BLOG NAME: 2lmc spool DATE: 06/12/2003 03:52:00 PM extensions in urls considered harmful ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On the meltdown at the Guardian... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 1 DATE: 03/14/2003 01:51:10 PM ----- BODY:

Mad outbursts in national newspapers are like the rays of sunshine glinting through the storm clouds of international news. It's lovely to be able to sense the person who wrote the news, and get a sense of his or her vibrant perspective on the events they're writing about. It adds interest to information that you might otherwise wish to totally disregard. Like for example information on Cricket! So let's turn towards today's cricket report on Guardian Unlimited. It starts reasonably enough:

"It's really simple: India are already through, New Zealand have to win."

But then it goes a little pear-shaped:

"Meanwhile, have you ever thought what sort of life is this and what the hell am I doing boarding a train for Moorgate at 6.30 In the morning and then standing around for ages waiting for a tube while staring at a sign telling you that if you wait for four minutes you can board a train to Uxbridge I'd rather wait four hours for a journey with the Grim Reaper quite frankly and then you get to work and then there's this and I know the cricket's good and all that but I've got out of the wrong side of bed this morning and in any case it's not as if I'll write a cracking match report and then get rewarded by being sent on a wonderful assignment around the world because I'll be very surprised if any of my bosses will read any of this let's be honest they won't although on the other hand that's probably just as well.."

And that's before the weblog-style grumpy commentary kicks in! I mean - classy, fascinating comments emerge like, "Asger Kring works for a Copenhagen media company that publishes several newspapers. "Do you want me to inquire whether they are looking for an over-by-over commentary guy?" Yes. Yes. YES! YES! YES!!!! Not that I'm desperate or anything." By the ninth over, people are writing in with their improvisational 'hit the keyboard with your fists' comments:

"I must have a different keyboard-banging technique from Leonard," types John Kirby with his big fists. "I get 'ytcdskljojnvds.lkzsedli;j un fesalmjni vfesa;lmija;mju fceiv faewj;omivrewaomiu; svfeomijuhlvesmu;oilgvrstmjloivtrseomiju,' which looks rather like Finnish."

God, my sides would be shaking hard as Shakin' Stephens if it wasn't (as Matt has pointed out to me) potentially a 'wacky' Red Nose Day thing. Wouldn't that just drain all the life out of it? Like all the life out of it? I hate Red Nose Day. It's so desperate and tiring and forced. And they think they're being so cool and down with the kids. Grrr. Wankers.

Addendum: Worth reading the comments on this one - you might learn something. I certainly did.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Steinberg EMAIL: steiny@barrysworld.com IP: 62.3.68.52 URL: http://www.voxpolitics.com DATE: 03/14/2003 02:16:54 PM Wouldn't it be ironic if this meme created the backlash that finally put the bullet in the dying beast of Red Nose Day? ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Bobbie EMAIL: bob@bobzilla.co.uk IP: 193.122.208.99 URL: http://bobzilla.co.uk/weblog DATE: 03/14/2003 02:32:45 PM Actually they're like that all the time, Tom. It's got nothing to do with Red Nose Day. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Neil Mc EMAIL: neil.mcintosh@guardian.co.uk IP: 194.205.4.1 URL: http://www.onlineblog.com DATE: 03/14/2003 02:39:15 PM Tom - I'm disappointed you didn't read the very similar antics during the World Cup last summer, when some of their commentaries were much more interesting than the matches themselves... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Mark EMAIL: mwmc01@yahoo.co.uk IP: 207.121.103.5 URL: http://www.londonmark.blogspot.com/ DATE: 03/14/2003 02:47:31 PM The Mexico v USA game is a particularly classic minute-by-minute and was quoted by Gary Lineker as part of the BBC coverage of a later USA game. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: azeem EMAIL: azeem@azhar.co.uk IP: 213.208.108.177 URL: http://azeem.azhar.co.uk DATE: 03/14/2003 03:15:00 PM Dude it is a conspiracy. No doubt about it. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Coates EMAIL: tom@plasticbag.org IP: 212.111.42.130 URL: http://www.plasticbag.org DATE: 03/14/2003 03:22:31 PM Neil, I really don't think you should be disappointed as such - my knowledge of sport and sporting commentary is far from complete but that's because of a total and abiding lack of interest, not because I'm being slack! Can it really be true that they write like that all the time? I hope it's true, but I fear I will never again be in a position to check... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: deej EMAIL: dj@sassylad.co.uk IP: 217.44.92.212 URL: http://www.sassylad.co.uk DATE: 03/14/2003 03:23:18 PM If it gets taken down it's available here to chuckle at: http://www.sassylad.co.uk/blog_stuff/guardian_capture.htm ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Neil Mc EMAIL: neil.mcintosh@guardian.co.uk IP: 194.205.4.1 URL: http://www.onlineblog.com DATE: 03/14/2003 04:12:16 PM Tom - really, it is. Their commentaries are worth reading even if - like me - you have no interest in cricket. One of the few things on the web (apart from Winer in full flow) that's likely to inspire a hearty guffaw. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Coates EMAIL: tom@plasticbag.org IP: 212.111.42.130 URL: http://www.plasticbag.org DATE: 03/14/2003 04:56:28 PM For those of you who aren't aware - Neil works at The Guardian and helps to maintain a site at OnlineBlog.com - so I guess he's probably pretty trustworthy. I think this is highly entertaining though, since I've been sent the link by independent people about fifteen times since 1pm, none of whom saw it on my site and all of whom believe the Guardian to be pushing its correspondents to the point of insanity! It's clearly doing the rounds of the internet, and I wouldn't be surprised if it's the most-read episode of that particular stroke-by-stroke column ever! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: s3d EMAIL: s3d@mac.com IP: 212.137.30.138 URL: http://www.dreamingsea.net DATE: 03/14/2003 05:21:31 PM I agree on two points: 1) sport commentaries are better than the actual event, 2) wearing a hairy red nose and deeley-boppers *is* desperate and tiring and forced, but spending an hour and a half of work's time attired with such gizmos and ending up with over �50 in small change has got to be worth the effort...hasn't it? Ah well, suit yourself... ~; p ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Darren EMAIL: darren@timemachinego.com IP: 132.185.240.15 URL: http://www.timemachinego.com/linkmachinego/ DATE: 03/14/2003 05:23:55 PM Yeah, I remember some of the commentary from World Cup 2002 very well... 'It's a berth in the last eight of the World Series for the States, and you can't say these jocks haven't deserved it after a superb offensive display. Germany await: there'll be a hell of a lot of towel-flicking in the locker room tonight. Actually, despite my tedious riffing, this needs to be said: the US have been worthy winners today. And many apologies to Beau Giles from San Francisco, who has sent me an email with the subject heading: Dude, you're totally harshing my buzz, man.' ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Nicklas EMAIL: n@carbonatedink.com IP: 62.127.52.69 URL: http://www.carbonatedink.com/me/lostpages/ DATE: 03/14/2003 07:36:40 PM Really. This Red Nose Day is even more incomprehensible than Cricket, and being a furriner my mind wasn�t created to ever truly get Cricket in the first place. But sport commentaries can be rather fun. I too have zero interest in any sport, but I still read the Hunter Thompson piece on ESPN.com. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Stephen Dunn EMAIL: stephen@cuica.co.uk IP: 193.115.130.232 URL: DATE: 03/14/2003 07:43:57 PM Trust me. I work at the Guardian, and this was not a "Red Nose Day" prank. This stufff is run of the mill for their regular minute by minute coverage. So less of your "grrrr Wankers" sneering, thankyou! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Jon EMAIL: jerimm@essex.ac.uk IP: 213.107.224.5 URL: DATE: 03/14/2003 07:49:36 PM Did this remind anyone else of Complicity by Iain Banks? ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Coates EMAIL: tom@plasticbag.org IP: 213.123.152.58 URL: http://www.plasticbag.org DATE: 03/14/2003 08:07:24 PM Surely this takes liberal self-hatred a little far though? Plus also - does everyone work at the Guardian? Why don't I work at the Guardian, that's what I want to know... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Neil Mc EMAIL: neil.mcintosh@guardian.co.uk IP: 62.254.128.6 URL: http://www.onlineblog.com DATE: 03/14/2003 08:37:54 PM Tom - you mean you *don't* work at the Guardian? Damn - I'll never visit again :-) ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Ben Hammersley EMAIL: ben@benhammersley.com IP: 62.128.179.3 URL: http://www.benhammersley.com DATE: 03/14/2003 09:07:38 PM I work for them, but they don't let me in the building. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: CATFUNT EMAIL: paul@liketv.com IP: 81.77.133.249 URL: http://www.catfunt.net DATE: 03/14/2003 10:27:43 PM I wrote for The Guardian when they had Shift-Control which just makes me old. It was the days when Paul Robinson would write about getting a haircut. I guess that makes him a pre-blog blogger. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: CATFUNT EMAIL: paul@liketv.com IP: 81.77.133.249 URL: http://www.catfunt.net/blog DATE: 03/14/2003 10:27:59 PM I wrote for The Guardian when they had Shift-Control which just makes me old. It was the days when Paul Robinson would write about getting a haircut. I guess that makes him a pre-blog blogger. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Jonathan Sanderson EMAIL: jonathan@quernstone.com IP: 62.252.224.6 URL: http://www.quernstone.com DATE: 03/14/2003 11:59:40 PM Of course, there's a long tradition of bizarre and amusing cricket commentary; Test Match Special has never been particularly po-faced, from Johnners corpsing, through 'The batsmans' Holding, the bowler's Willie,' to discussion about fruitcakes sent in by listeners. Cricinfo's coverage also has its wittier moments. I thoroughly approve of the Guardian's contribution to the corpus, having heartily enjoyed it on many occasions. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Jonathan Sanderson EMAIL: jonathan@quernstone.com IP: 62.252.224.6 URL: http://www.quernstone.com DATE: 03/14/2003 11:59:59 PM Of course, there's a long tradition of bizarre and amusing cricket commentary; Test Match Special has never been particularly po-faced, from Johnners corpsing, through 'The batsmans' Holding, the bowler's Willie,' to discussion about fruitcakes sent in by listeners. Cricinfo's coverage also has its wittier moments. I thoroughly approve of the Guardian's contribution to the corpus, having heartily enjoyed it on many occasions. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Vaughan EMAIL: vaughan@whereveryouare.org IP: 195.92.67.74 URL: http://www.whereveryouare.org DATE: 03/15/2003 01:51:29 AM I don't work for The Guardian either - but after the week I've had (check the media sections), I'd very much like to. Gissa job. I could do that. Go on, gissa. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: qB EMAIL: frizzy_logic@SPAMLESShotmail.com IP: 80.177.18.254 URL: http://frizzy_logic.blogspot.com DATE: 03/15/2003 03:56:51 PM The sports bits are the only parts of the Today programme worth listening to. Red nose day - even my totally teleholic 8-year-old couldn't take more than four minutes of it and [gasp] turned the television off himself. Once-in-a-lifetime experience. Or perhaps annual experience. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Bobbie EMAIL: bob@bobzilla.co.uk IP: 193.122.208.99 URL: http://politx.ohskylab.com DATE: 03/18/2003 05:04:41 PM So, out of all the comments above, nine of them are from Guardian employees or contributors. Erk! ----- PING: TITLE: Journalist loses plot, finds Web site URL: http://azeem.azhar.co.uk/archives/000481.php IP: 195.82.99.3 BLOG NAME: azeem.azhar.co.uk DATE: 03/14/2003 03:02:47 PM Ok. Cricket can be dull but sometimes a writer's frustrations creep out. Perhaps a little too vehemently. Still, he makes... ----- PING: TITLE: Guardian Cricket Writer Comes Unstuck URL: http://macdaraconroy.com/archive/2003/03/guardian_cricket_writer_comes_unstuck.html IP: 64.39.15.88 BLOG NAME: macdaraconroy.com DATE: 03/14/2003 10:16:55 PM The link for this piece might not be live for long, so I've copied the best bit for everyone to ----- PING: TITLE: Guardian Writer loses it URL: http://www.mcshasta.com/blog/archives/000280.php IP: 216.110.36.12 BLOG NAME: mcshasta DATE: 03/20/2003 10:34:59 PM The Guardian Unlimited is the UK's most popular online newspaper. They always have well written articles and seem to have ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Has B3ta been spammed? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 1 DATE: 03/14/2003 07:28:45 PM ----- BODY:

Apologies: I don't know for how long it has been the case, but the game is now loading for me in a separate window - this could have been a change at their end or a browser bug at my end. Please disregard all that follows.

Every Friday, b3ta send out their newsletter - a newsletter that goes out to many thousands of people and is known world-wide. The newsletter contains links to fun things made by B3ta people as well as to cool things send in by members of the public...

Except this week it's different. The b3ta newsletter contained a link to a game described as follows:

">> Stroke the Kitty Game <<
"I've made a new game", writes Jibbed, "I've
named it Kitty Stroke. The cat needs your help.
She's in dire need of some serious stroking
action. Stroke that cat as if your life
depended on it." TIP: The aim of the game is
to follow the cat with your cursor. Great.
http://www.magic-carpet.freeserve.co.uk/thb/kittystroke.html

When you click through to the page, however, the game isn't there at all. It has been replaced with a button that claims to launch the game, but instead launches an affiliate link to Sky Digital. Also on the page is an advert for OneTel. Now, as far as I can make out, there are two explanations for this state of affairs. 1) The people at the other end changed the page "accidentally" or 2) The people at the other end decided to co-opt the mailing list and use it as a cheap and easy way of making some money.

Which leaves us with the question: Given that we don't want our cool mailing lists and independent bits of cool and homegrown content usurped by unscrupulous idiots - how do we make sure that they make no revenue out of this? Presumably neither Sky nor OneTel wish to have their affiliate programmes abused in this kind of way...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Dan EMAIL: spanky_spangler@hotmail.com IP: 62.49.23.237 URL: http://www.thisispull.co.uk DATE: 03/15/2003 12:24:36 AM I for one am dubious.... a previous issue of the newsletter has headlined viral stuff they've made for hula-hoops and lastminute.com in the same issue. I think b3ta has begun imploding - the messageboard is getting more clogged up with crap all the time, also some traces of latent homophobia... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: b3ta@b3ta.com EMAIL: b3ta@b3ta.com IP: 217.39.79.34 URL: DATE: 03/15/2003 01:51:08 AM We have no idea. We posted the link in good faith. After the newsletter went out the link changed. We have changed the web copy of the newsletter accordingly. See here. http://www.b3ta.com/newsletter/issue80/ ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Coates EMAIL: tom@plasticbag.org IP: 213.123.152.58 URL: http://www.plasticbag.org DATE: 03/15/2003 09:23:26 AM Thanks Rob - it's as I suspected - someone out there seems to have tried to abuse the good faith put in them by the B3ta crew to make a little money. So now - how do we stop these people making money out of it? ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Meg EMAIL: spam@notsosoft.com IP: 62.3.109.33 URL: http://www.notsosoft.com DATE: 03/15/2003 10:50:52 AM Hmm. I clicked on the link in the b3ta mail at about 6pm, and it went through to the game. By the time you posted the rant above, it had indeed changed - but the game still actually loads, in addition to the Sky affiliate thing - in case you're desperate to play, it's here. My guess is that someone submitted it, then once it appeared in the newsletter, saw the opportunity to make some cash to offset their costs. Not very bright, but hardly grand larceny. And it's not that good a game anyway... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Wolfie EMAIL: wolfie_paranormal@hotmail.com IP: 172.182.243.64 URL: http://www.1heluva.com/cgi-bin/join.cgi?refer=23030 DATE: 03/17/2003 10:32:33 PM Well expressed :o) ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Danil G EMAIL: granstream@tiscali.se IP: 217.209.176.94 URL: DATE: 03/21/2003 12:00:36 AM Still can't get it in latest Mozilla/1.3 - if I don't cheat. Don't bother, I'm fine under most circumstances.. Possible reason, however. From source code: embed src="file:///C:/Documents and Settings/Jon/Desktop/kittyStroke.swf" There's an outer tag that should be OK, but Mozilla like their quirky Gecko (i.e., trying to imitate "IE compliance," I guess.) Apologies: And whatever pertinent means?! I'm sorry if I wasn't.. ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: A Singular Lack of Integrity? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 1 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Politics CATEGORY: Politics DATE: 03/16/2003 08:03:53 PM ----- BODY:

On the news now, a correspondent reported from the Azores where the pro-war-in-Iraq lobby have been meeting. She said something I found startling. Apparently at several points during the last few months it had looked like the UK/US position would get upwards of nine/ten votes in the Security Council. That was until France declared its intention to use its veto. At this point the other countries saw no advantage in voting to approve a war that couldn't happen anyway - and which might cost them an election. Almost to a man, they changed to a no vote.

I've expressed repeatedly my anxieties with any upcoming war with Iraq - that while it's clear to me that Saddam Hussein is an unpleasant man who should be removed, the route that I believe has to be taken is one of international collaboration. I do not believe that any country or group of countries should be able to act internationally (unless they have directly and individually been provoked) without at least the vaguest assent from the international community. My opinion has been that, should there be failings in the United Nations, then it is the job of the world to change the United Nations, not to disregard it.

But my whole position has relied on the integrity of the people concerned. If countries act in an honourable way, then I have respect for their opinions. And I've argued to defend the assumption that people are acting honourably. I have continually argued for France's right to express its dissent from the opinion of the international community. And I've been hostile to the possibility that France or the United States should try and bargain with, threaten or buy the votes of any other country on the Security Council or across the world.

But where is this integrity, exactly? France has crossed the line a couple of times. The United States and the UK have demonstrated that they're not averse to a little bullying as well. And now we hear that the votes of the rest of the Security Council depend only on what they think will play well with their electorates. Our world is run by monsters and hypocrites and if I could retire from it, I would.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Frankenstein EMAIL: paulf@panix.com IP: 66.108.225.89 URL: http://paulfrankenstein.org/ DATE: 03/16/2003 09:07:40 PM It is a truism among students of international relations that all foreign policy is driven by domestic politics. What you're seeing is the inevitable expression of that axiom. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Coates EMAIL: tom@plasticbag.org IP: 81.132.43.124 URL: http://www.plasticbag.org DATE: 03/16/2003 09:59:38 PM I think that's a difficult statement to justify, because it encodes two very different ideas in one - firstly, that one works internationally 'in the interest of one's country' and secondly that one does things to secure an electorate. The first is clearly true, and probably should be. You represent the interests of the people who elected you first and foremost, responsibilities that are only restricted by international treaties. The second is often true but not always (why otherwise would Blair be so pro-war when his country is not?), and is what I have issue with. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: nick sweeney EMAIL: nick@nonspace.org IP: 62.254.64.6 URL: DATE: 03/17/2003 12:29:30 AM The line that Chirac said he'd veto in all circumstances is bullshit. Obviously, Jack Straw doesn't feel the need to translate the 'ce soir' bit of Chirac's statement. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: qB EMAIL: frizzy_logic@SPAMLESShotmail.com IP: 80.177.18.254 URL: http://frizzy_logic.blogspot.com DATE: 03/17/2003 01:27:07 PM The six current non-permanent members of the UN Security Council are Mexico, Chile, Pakistan, Guinea, Angola and Cameroon. I do not know much about Chile, so leaving that aside Mexico is the only country among them which has held anything that could come within radar range of a democratic election within decades. I know for certain that the human rights records of Guinea, Angola and Cameroon are among the worst in the world. I also know that the "economies" of Angola and Guinea rely heavily on oil production - which has considerable US investment. Cameroon hosts the outlet of an enormous oil pipeline which brings crude from Chad to the sea. These countries do not have an electorate to represent or worry about, they are monstrous self-perpetuating oligarchic kleptocracies. When it becomes clear that a veto-wielding nation (France) is going to scupper the resolution then the others are in the annoying position of no longer having leverage (financial and political) over the US and can, by way of compensation, curry favour with other interest groups. There really is no such thing as a free lunch. America is becoming the imperialist power of our age. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: phil jones EMAIL: synaesmedia@postmaster.co.uk IP: 200.163.2.77 URL: http://www.synaesmedia.com DATE: 03/17/2003 02:14:54 PM Could be the other way round. The other countries *never* wanted to support the US, but felt pressure to do so. Once France has signalled it's determination to veto, the pressure is off these countries. They can do what they *really* wanted without it being their fault that the US doesn't get what it wants. France is acting as lighting conductor for US rage. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: phil jones EMAIL: synaesmedia@postmaster.co.uk IP: 200.163.2.77 URL: http://www.synaesmedia.com DATE: 03/17/2003 03:04:19 PM Could be the other way round. The other countries *never* wanted to support the US, but felt pressure to do so. Once France has signalled it's determination to veto, the pressure is off these countries. They can do what they *really* wanted without it being their fault that the US doesn't get what it wants. France is acting as lighting conductor for US rage. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: qB EMAIL: frizzy_logic@SPAMLESShotmail.com IP: 80.177.18.254 URL: http://frizzy_logic.blogspot.com DATE: 03/17/2003 04:10:48 PM Re my earlier post - got my guineas in a knot... oil-based economy is Equatorial Guinea. For Guinea (Conakry) please substitute "mineral rich devestatingly poor country enmeshed in regional conflicts". Or, better still, ignore me entirely and read (which you probably have done already) http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/2835913.stm, the last para being the saddest. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Charlie B. EMAIL: HereInside2003@aol.com IP: 137.205.8.2 URL: http://hereinside.blogspot.com DATE: 03/18/2003 01:34:09 PM qB should certainly be ignored, since (s)he informs us that "the six current non-permanent members of the UN Security Council are Mexico, Chile, Pakistan, Guinea, Angola and Cameroon." The UN Security Council in fact has 15 members. In addition to those listed by qB there are Spain, Bulgaria, Germany and Syria. Nor is ignorance of the political development of Chile an excuse for sweeping it into absurd generalisations about representative elections. Why anyone might or might not have done something when they are no longer obliged to do so is a speculative irrelevance. The point is that there is no basis for engaging in discussion of any aspect of voting on a resolution if one of the possible desired outcomes has been precluded. However, all this aside, I am completely bemused by the sudden aversion to domestic public opinion influencing foreign policy: I thought that that was precisely the goal of all demonstrations (especially the one last month in London) against the war. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Charlie B. EMAIL: HereInside2003@aol.com IP: 137.205.8.2 URL: http://hereinside.blogspot.com DATE: 03/18/2003 01:59:11 PM I should add with respect to Mr Cook that the Prime Minister demoted him from Foreign Secretary immediately after the 2001 General Election victory. Mr Cook's principal responsibility as Leader of the House of Commons became reform of the House of Lords, but the Prime Minister contradicted his proposals and ensured that no further action would be taken on the issue before the next Election. Mr Cook's career is over as long as Tony Blair remains Prime Minister (which Ms Short's is not). If Tony Blair should, by any chance, fall from power, then the most effective -- possibly the only possible -- challenge to Gordon Brown to succeed him would need to come from someone outside the Cabinet, who bears no responsibility for the war policy. Mr Cook has always nurtured ambitions to be Prime Minister, and his resignation now (quietly, but carefully prepared over the last few weeks) is an astute move. Indeed, if Mr Cook, as a senior and capable figure, is to be the focus of left-wing and anti-Blair organising, it is important that HE, and not Ms Short, should be the big resignation. No doubt that it why she was denouced for "grandstanding" last week, and why she has been perhaps persuaded to stay in the Cabinet. Mr Cook simply has to appear principled and measured, and allow his henchmen and other supporters to do the work for him with MPs. Not too difficult a task when the back-benches are full, after 6 years, of grude-bearing failed ministers, sacked or let go by the Prime Minister. I noticed that Frank Dobson was sitting next to Mr Cook when he made his Commons statement (and patteed him when he sat down). Mr Dobson was a hopeless Health Minister (responsible for much of the mess the NHS is still in) and was sacrified, most unwillingly, in the London Mayoral elections which Ken Livingstone won. The leader of the anti-war rebel MPs (and the man who praised Mr Cook so lavishly on the TV) is Chris Smith -- another absolutely hopeless minister who got the push. Indeed, Mr Cook's supporters are headed by a pretty dreadful bunch of has-beens, and it is that fate which Mr Cook is desperate to avoid. Oh, did I mention principles? No? There might be one or two conveniently sprinkled around. But not enough to emulate unless you have something to gain by doing so. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Coates EMAIL: tom@plasticbag.org IP: 212.111.42.130 URL: http://www.plasticbag.org DATE: 03/18/2003 02:00:49 PM It's a fine distinction to be drawn, clearly - but we know that governments have more information than the general public. If it's a moral issue, then it's the role of the government to try and do what it believes to be best and to try and get the public behind it. If it fails to get the public behind it, then it's still susceptible to their subsequent voting at the next elections. Essentially, then - one responsibility of government is to reach out and persuade the people that they know what they're doing. Backing away from that responsibility because - in this case - there's no practical way of getting the thing done seems to me morally suspect. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Paolo EMAIL: blackpencildesign@hotmail.com IP: 65.92.188.193 URL: http://www.blackpencildesign.com DATE: 03/21/2003 05:30:35 PM The real issue of contention is, should anyone be going to war with Iraq? It is clear that Saddam's regime is morally courrupt. It is clear that given half the chance, Saddam would surge his borders to envelope as much oil producing land as possible. It is also clear that many of his people live in constant fear and that true democracy does not exist to them. What is not clear is why the United States and its so called "allies" would suddenly be concerned with the lives of Iraqi people. How many of the pro-war populace care(d) about Rwanda, or Cuba, China, Korea, etc.? It upsets me to see so many people swallow the selling job that the Bush administration has been spouting about the 'just cause' of this war. Here is an exerpt from an article titled, "What is the war's 'brand strategy'?" -By Lou Marano that best describes what so many are falling for. "[Tracey]Riese said that in 1776 American colonists transformed the Revolution from a contest between powers to a struggle for "liberty" by enlightened citizens. The Civil War, which began as a struggle between two economic systems and constitutional interpretations, took on new meaning when Abraham Lincoln reframed it as a battle for the soul of a nation 'conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.' " With the right sugar coated topping people will swallow the most foul things. ----- PING: TITLE: Big Things Stirring URL: http://www.ordinary-life.net/blog/archives/001701.php IP: 209.50.252.235 BLOG NAME: Ordinary-Life.net DATE: 03/19/2003 02:48:23 PM kottke sums up the war which comes as close to my thinking as I've seen so far. Tom Coates also has a well worded opinion that strikes me as well thought out. Because Opinions are like... well you know, here's mine.... ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Clutter on your desktop... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 1 DATE: 03/16/2003 10:27:46 PM ----- BODY:

Clutter is my favourite new OSX toy. It starts off as a tiny little window that links in with iTunes. While you're listening to music, it pops online and grabs cover images from Amazon. Now that - in and of itself - is quite entertaining. But then it gets really good. You can drag the covers off onto your desktop and pile them up like there were CDs on your floor. And when you want to listen to an album, you just double click on the cover. iTunes then makes a bespoke playlist and starts playing it straight-away.

There's a couple of really interesting aspects to this. Firstly, there's this nostalgic yearning for groupings of music in album-like shapes. Many of us using toys like the iPod have got used to thinking about the future of music as being song-sized - componentised. It feels kind of weird to start playing with albums again. But then again, maybe the rampant componentisation that we're currently experiencing is a push too far - a utopian idea of totally fluid information chunks that will prove to be illusory and against the best interests of human beings. It could be that the 'album' is about to enjoy a resurgence. I'll tell you one thing for nothing - the predictable and consistent noise of an album is much easier to work to than the on-the-fly "Greatest Hits Of Your Life" approach...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- PING: TITLE: The units of music URL: http://www.bentbacktulips.co.uk/archive/2003/03/17/the_units_of_music.html IP: 64.235.242.129 BLOG NAME: bent back tulips DATE: 05/11/2003 11:43:58 PM Visual art is often lost on me. However, the photographs of Jean-Luc Bénazet, which I happened upon by chance, held me captivated for a full half an hour, just looking through the intriguing tangle of landscapes, portraits[1], architectures and,... ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Sunday night / Monday morning STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 1 DATE: 03/16/2003 11:11:31 PM ----- BODY:

We all need things that are good to think with - interesting or fascinating questions that are worth exploring. Here are a few interesting questions people around the world have been asking this week...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: In support of Robin Cook... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 1 DATE: 03/18/2003 12:17:28 AM ----- BODY:

For those Americans amongst our company who may not know who he is, Robin Cook was, until this morning, Leader of the House of Commons. He was a high-placed member of the British cabinet, and an ex-Foreign Minister. Today he resigned in protest at what he believes to be the inappropriate rush to go to war without the support of our international allies. He gave a rousing and intelligent speech in the House of Commons that has been circulated on all the UK TV stations, and which received a standing ovation from his colleagues. I can't as yet find a transcript online, but I've found a RealAudio version from the BBC. I advise everyone to watch it. Addendum: Here's a transcript of the speech from the BBC.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- PING: TITLE: Bush: "You have 48 Hours" URL: http://www.mcshasta.com/blog/archives/000281.php IP: 216.110.36.12 BLOG NAME: blog DATE: 03/18/2003 02:06:31 AM President Bush just finished his announcement to the US and the World. He basically stated that Saddam is indeed a ----- PING: TITLE: Robin Cook URL: http://www.leto.co.nz/labyrinth/000431.php IP: 219.88.241.226 BLOG NAME: (leto) DATE: 03/18/2003 09:28:39 AM Where I stop being banal for a minute. Only a minute mind. The resignation of Robin Cook was mentioned on the radio a number of times this morning, but without knowing much about British politics, and Robin Cook in particular, it was hard to get a sens... ----- PING: TITLE: 2003/03/18 08:33 URL: http://2lmc.org/spool/?id=1907 IP: 217.10.129.148 BLOG NAME: 2lmc spool DATE: 03/18/2003 11:36:06 AM Robin Cook's resignation speech ----- PING: TITLE: If a door is closed, karate chop it open. URL: http://www.alttext.com/archives/03/03/030318.html IP: 24.123.114.130 BLOG NAME: Alt Text DATE: 03/18/2003 06:19:46 PM If you spot terrorism, blow your anti-terrorism whistle. If you are Vin Diesel, yell really loud. This, and more advice can ----- PING: TITLE: The Iraqi Problem URL: http://macdaraconroy.com/archive/2003/03/the_iraqi_problem.html IP: 64.39.15.88 BLOG NAME: macdaraconroy.com DATE: 03/18/2003 08:30:52 PM I haven't really posited anything here about the current situation in the Middle East. This is because, in part, I ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: My nights are headache grey... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 1 DATE: 03/20/2003 05:15:46 PM ----- BODY:

Two nights in a row I've left work with a burnt-out grey headache. Desperate-need-for-a-holiday time is here, and thankfully Actually-going-for-a-holiday time is rapidly approaching. But more on that later. More rested today - my head spinning a little, but with bits of brain no longer oozing from my ears - I can start to bring sense to the memeworld around me. Panic no longer. For I am back...

Steve Bell's Iraq Cartoons [via LMG]
A word about your mobile phone [via Dan]
iPod updater 1.2.6
Old but entertaining sexuality questionaire
Cal's favourite bash.org quote du jour
Weird irony: Missing Bill of Rights copy recovered
Simon likes IV chords
Interesting Google functionality
(but their labelling and nomenclature sucks ass...)

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- PING: TITLE: Statistics and job interview URL: http://www.bentbacktulips.co.uk/archive/2003/03/21/statistics_and_job_interview.html IP: 64.235.242.129 BLOG NAME: bent back tulips DATE: 05/11/2003 11:37:43 PM Every so often you come across a metaphor or a turn of phrase that catches your eye and dials in directly to your mental circuits - Tom Coates' phrase "a burnt-out grey headache" caught my attention, because I've never quite... ----- PING: TITLE: Statistics and job interview URL: http://www.bentbacktulips.co.uk/archive/2003/03/21/statistics_and_job_interview.html IP: 64.246.52.17 BLOG NAME: bent back tulips DATE: 09/28/2003 07:45:28 PM Every so often you come across a metaphor or a turn of phrase that catches your eye and dials in directly to your mental circuits - Tom Coates' phrase "a burnt-out grey headache" caught my attention, because I've never quite... ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The Bangles at the Shepherd's Bush Empire... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 1 DATE: 03/21/2003 01:43:42 PM ----- BODY:

Now, somewhere between fifteen and twenty years ago, I was a singular fan of the Bangles. I had all three of their albums, from the weird and vaguely unlistenable first one, through the poppy second album through into the lush soft rock third album. I hated Eternal Flame (still do), but loved songs like "Following", "Glitter Years", "Crash and Burn" and "Be With You". I will make no apologies for this. I get pleasure from them still.

Last night I went to see The Bangles in concert with friends Francesca and Es. I went to see The Bangles in concert and not only was it really good fun, it was also a really good concert. Of course my initial assumption had been that it would be a vaguely tragic occasion - some kind of ludicrous nostalgia-milking exercise for the nearly-middle-aged. But while there was no shortage of the middle-aged in the audience, the band themselves didn't look in any way out-of-place, out-of-fashion, self-indulgent or flabby. No - they were clearly a sharp and capable band up for having a very good time while rocking like pop-rock bastards...

When I was a kid, it never even occurred to me that I'd get to see them live. And when I booked the tickets it never really occurred to me that the whole experience would be so full of resonance and weird, trashy, idealistic, teenage emotions. Now, having seen them live, I realise that I've fulfilled a teenage dream that I didn't know I had. And while it's not without a hint of embarrassment, I feel bloody wonderful. If you get a chance to go and see them in concert, then go. I think you'd be surprised how much fun you'd have...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: New ideas for sit-coms... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 1 DATE: 03/21/2003 09:51:54 PM ----- BODY:

Does anyone remember this TV series? It had like six "friends" - three 'boys' and three 'girls' -and they kind of lived in this really obvious set in New York and the friends who were boys were Dorky/Slutty, Dorky/Sarcastic and Dorky/Mass Murderer and the friends who were girls were Sassy/Obsessive, Sassy/Self-Obsessive and Sassy/Certifiable? God, you're got to remember it! It was huge about eight years ago... You remember? It was called "Friends"? Maybe it wasn't on TV where you come from. Anyway - the point is, that somehow I just caught an episode of it - it's still on TV! - and goddam is it terrible. Absolutely excruciatingly awful.

So anyway, I'm talking to Kerry - you remember Kerry, he's my chum in LA - and we're trying to work out why anyone ever watched that show "Friends", and we're trying to think up brilliant alternatives and I think we've done terribly well:

Pitch One: My first suggestion was a bit of a doozy - basically it's a sit-com about hot naked gay men making out - What's not to love?! When you think about it it's a miracle that no one's thought of it before. Location ideas? Fraternity house shower room maybe? Kerry suggested a wrestling team theme - but that's no good. As I explained to him, US wrestling teams wear weird wrestling outfits. You have to have grown up with them to associate them with lustful feelings - no one else in the world understands that particular weird fetish. And foreign markets are so very important nowadays - you don't want to make a show that people in New Zealand think is lame, do you? I mean, do you? Essentially, the only truly international sit-coms - maybe the only truly international TV shows - are the totally naked ones. I mean - check out Oprah - do you really think that her show would have been popular in Kazakhstan if she'd been wearing clothes?

Pitch Two: How about a sit-com in which Shania Twain is brutally murdered in a different way each week? It's got loads of potential catchphrases and running jokes. Each week she could start singing some power pop piece of ... art ... and then - right in the middle - an anvil could fall onto her head, or she could look down and realise that she's been pushed off a cliff. It would be like Kenny in South Park, but infinitely more satisfying. And think of the potential for spin-offs! I mean just off the top of my head I can think of "Death to J Lo!" and "The Hideously Thrilling Regular Decapitation of Christina Aguilera!"

You know - I'm wasted working in community software. I should be working in Hollywood! They know how to reward visionary geniuses out there. I mean - look at Joel Schumacher! He gave Batman nipples!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Nicklas EMAIL: n@carbonatedink.com IP: 62.127.59.175 URL: http://www.carbonatedink.com/me/lostpages/ DATE: 03/22/2003 11:28:58 AM You know, I would believe that it was possible to find a problem with the naked concept, and eventually I got it. Of all the people in the world, I never want to see the majority of sit-com stars naked. I would have to poke out my eyes to escape the horror. But some sit-coms in the nude? Hey, I'm all for that as long as they cast them properly. I don't say quit your day job, but take a small vacation. Go there. Give us gold to watch -- amongst other things. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Maritn Conaghan EMAIL: martin@copydesk.co.uk IP: 132.185.240.12 URL: http://www.copydesk.co.uk DATE: 03/22/2003 12:34:01 PM You would love to have seen Mark Millar and Grant Morrison's sitcom submission to Jonathan Ross's company a few years ago. It was for a series of one-off pilot programmes that were allegedly made in the 70s, but could never be aired because they were so offensive. One was called 'Knickers in a Twist' - a sort of version of The Good Life, with the Briars and Kendall characters running a brothel next to an uptight Penelope Keith character. Another was called 'Kiss My Royal Arse', which followed the exploits of a different member of the Royal Family every week, following their disbandment, as they try to re-integrate with common life. Each episode would portray a series of disastrous jobs for people like Prince Edward, ending with a sacking for the hapless Royal and a two-fingered 'Citizen Smith' style salute to the audience followed by a shout of "Kiss my Royal Arse!". Another one was similar to Father Ted (way before FT was commissioned), but I can't remember the details - something about a bunch of priests getting a nun pregnant, forcing her to get an abortion, only to discover the terminated baby was the second coming of Christ. They had an idea in there similar to Love Thy Neighbour too, but I can't remember the specifics. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Lubin Odana EMAIL: lubinodana@hotmail.com IP: 194.80.32.10 URL: http://trashaddict.blogspot.com/ DATE: 03/22/2003 01:54:19 PM I like your naked gay men sitcom idea. I think it should be set in a generic urban gay village that nobody ever leaves, and the 6 main characters should be played by the same buff tanned 19 year old actor - the only way to tell them apart will be by slightly different hairstyles or clothing. The show could be called "Clones", and there could be some other characters who'd also be stereotypes - a politically-aware lesbian with spiky blonde hair (possibly mixed-race too), someone plucky in a wheelchair, and a flamboyant black drag queen called Miss Ebony Tease who proffers sassy words of wisdom and a padded shoulder to cry on. It will show on BBC3 and be hugely successful. In fact, I patent it! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: john EMAIL: john@theonlyjuan.net IP: 65.27.232.152 URL: http://www.theonlyjuan.net/ DATE: 03/22/2003 04:44:34 PM Didn't the BBC do that one already? ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Coates EMAIL: tom@plasticbag.org IP: 81.132.33.63 URL: http://www.plasticbag.org DATE: 03/22/2003 10:40:30 PM Thank God for Lubin! Who else could have researched such matters in such detail: "The loves and lives of the residents of Dyke Street. It looks a bit minimalist and has characters called Bev and Mandy, and they hang out at a bar that has a pool table and drink pints and play on fruit machines so if you're middle-class you'll probably be horrified at how common everyone seems." [link] ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: groc EMAIL: groc@NOSPAMgroc.org.uk IP: 81.132.145.140 URL: http://www.groc.org.uk/blog/ DATE: 03/24/2003 02:06:50 PM If that was to ever happen I think I'd develop instantaneous terminal internalized homophobia and die on the spot. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Sic code EMAIL: jenny_johnson_ca@hotmail.com IP: 207.88.76.143 URL: http://www.sic-naics-codes.com DATE: 03/25/2003 10:52:26 PM I watch Friends all the time. I love that show, it's so funny. I thought it was a new show. ----- PING: TITLE: frienatical zealot? URL: http://www.lifeintheday.co.uk/archives/000005.html IP: 66.246.54.225 BLOG NAME: Lifeintheday DATE: 03/29/2003 08:52:01 AM Tom Coates paints quite an accurate portrait of one of my favorite things, and I find it hilarious. Please note... ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Are you sure? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 1 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Politics CATEGORY: Politics DATE: 03/21/2003 10:53:18 PM ----- BODY:

I went to see Richard Dawkins talk at the Douglas Adams Memorial Lectures a couple of weeks back. Dawkins was introduced by Stephen Fry, who quoted Niels Bohr in saying, "Anyone who is not shocked by quantum mechanics hasn't understood it".

I'm not going to be talking about the war much for the foreseeable future, but you'll probably notice a dramatic increase in the blackness of my humour. I should think the cynicism index will probably peak in fairly short order too. In fact, my only piece of advice to people on both sides of this issue is an analogue to Bohr's comments - anyone who is 100% sure of the morality of their position with regard to the war in Iraq probably hasn't understood the issues involved. Be prepared to have your mind changed. Remain open to new ideas. Protest / Advocate only what you really believe to be true... In the meantime, here are a couple of war-related links that are barely about the war at all...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Morris EMAIL: tom@bbcity.co.uk IP: 80.225.50.80 URL: http://www.bbcity.co.uk DATE: 03/22/2003 10:51:41 AM Douglas Adams - the last true genius to inhabit this Earth. Now, where did I leave my digital watch? ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Marc Bohlmann EMAIL: kaisersosa@gmx.net IP: 80.138.191.186 URL: http://www.bagofgoodies.de DATE: 03/22/2003 01:02:36 PM Indeed it can be troublesome to argue about this war and it can be even more troublesome to justify your own position, which is why I stick to what I really belive in: that dealing with your problems in a violent, military way is backward. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: charlie b. EMAIL: HereInside2003@aol.com IP: 172.179.44.206 URL: http://hereinside.blogspot.com DATE: 03/22/2003 11:59:05 PM Tom, you are very right. I was given a moderately strong upbraiding in the "Making Light" comment box for underestimating the potential for damage to the Kurdish people of a Turkish invasion when the war began. I said I was not convinced (though I felt worried). I must now admit that I was wrong. I did not give the issue nearly sufficient credence or weight. To admit error, or change with self-examination and thought is, I hope, some evidence of open mindedness. I have seen you do it, Tom. But there is also an awful ignorance of fact, and from his article in today's Guardian that ignorance is something Prof Dawkins wishes to entrench. He is a disgrace to his own brilliance. ((Oh, and well honoured in the breach, Marc!) ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: tristan EMAIL: tristan@souljacker.net IP: 62.64.225.242 URL: http://www.impavidus.net DATE: 03/23/2003 05:47:40 PM given your interest for stats and so on, i thought this might interest you, it's a questionnaire on Iraq which shows you how everybody 'voted,' it's better than i make it sound, ho hum. hello from manchester ;) ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Neave EMAIL: paul@magneticn.co.uk IP: 212.135.204.146 URL: http://www.neave.com/ DATE: 03/24/2003 04:09:53 PM I've been trying to get my head around all of this war-in-Iraq thing and I've come to the conclusion that I can't come to a conclusion about it. Points being:
1. War is wrong.
2. Saddam is wrong.
3. Killing is wrong.
4. War and Saddam kill people.
5. Blair has a brain.
6. Bush doesn't have a brain.
7. The media overwhelm us with conflicting information.
8. We can't possibly understand this situation as well as the government.
9. And that's scary - we have to rely on Bush and Blair.
10. We don't trust the media, Bush or Blair.

So what do we do now? Good question. Sit on our hands or take to the streets... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: David Coulter EMAIL: dhc50@netzero.com IP: 192.135.122.2 URL: DATE: 03/24/2003 10:19:22 PM Sure it's easy to sit back and say war is wrong, but what happens to the inocent people who are suffering under a tyrant. Will talking to him help? Maybe he needs to be given a time out. Maybe a week in Las Vegas will help. Only a fool would belive that talking to someone like Saddam, Hitler or Stalin would accomplish anything. The only thing the understand is force. Evil men rule when good men sit on their "morales" and do nothing! I will be suprised if you post this since it appears you only post those in line with your view. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: David Coulter EMAIL: dhc50@netzero.com IP: 192.135.122.2 URL: DATE: 03/24/2003 10:19:44 PM Sure it's easy to sit back and say war is wrong, but what happens to the inocent people who are suffering under a tyrant. Will talking to him help? Maybe he needs to be given a time out. Maybe a week in Las Vegas will help. Only a fool would belive that talking to someone like Saddam, Hitler or Stalin would accomplish anything. The only thing the understand is force. Evil men rule when good men sit on their "morales" and do nothing! I will be suprised if you post this since it appears you only post those in line with your view. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Coates EMAIL: tom@plasticbag.org IP: 81.132.33.63 URL: http://www.plasticbag.org DATE: 03/24/2003 11:02:48 PM Well then I'm delighted to prove you wrong. Your argument is facile and ridiculous and exactly the kind of thing I've been talking about. I don't have any doubt whatsoever that Saddam Hussein should not be in charge of Iraq, but you'd have to be facile to think that's the only issue involved here. I repeat - if you think you have it pegged to 100%, then you don't understand anything - from our desire to have Hussein removed and the world's anxiety about action without international sanction, to our fears about international terrorism and our anxieties about post-Hussein reconstruction. I won't be part of anyone's cult - pro or anti. I have no interest in walking in step with a group, so please feel free to take your rhetoric elsewhere... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Christina EMAIL: movingatescapevelocity@hotmail.com IP: 68.159.205.178 URL: http://livejournal.com/users/blacklynx DATE: 03/27/2003 08:09:03 PM Major word. You are one dude who knows where his towel is, ne? ;) Seriously, I don't think anyone I've talked to seriously about this war hasn't expressed misgivings no matter what side they fall on. Personally, I am pro-war at this point, but as you said, that doesn't mean I have no qualms about it at all. In fact the only thing I am 100% sure about is that I wish there was no need for a war at all. ----- PING: TITLE: Are you sure? URL: http://www.wearehugh.com/616 IP: 209.61.186.253 BLOG NAME: WE ARE HUGH DATE: 03/22/2003 09:30:24 PM plasticbag: "I'm not going to be talking about the war much for the foreseeable future, but you'll probably notice a dramatic increase in the blackness of my humour." ----- PING: TITLE: More Words on the War URL: http://macdaraconroy.com/archive/2003/03/more_words_on_the_war.html IP: 64.39.15.88 BLOG NAME: macdaraconroy.com DATE: 03/23/2003 05:25:15 PM ...anyone who is 100% sure of the morality of their position with regard to the war in Iraq probably hasn't ----- PING: TITLE: More Words on the War URL: http://macdaraconroy.com/archive/2003/03/more_words_on_the_war.html IP: 64.39.15.88 BLOG NAME: M. Ellis Conroy's OM&TR DATE: 08/25/2004 02:13:53 AM …anyone who is 100% sure of the morality of their position with regard to the war in Iraq probably hasn’t understood the issues involved. Be prepared to have your mind... ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Designing for extreme readers... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 1 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Personal Publishing CATEGORY: Journalism CATEGORY: Personal Publishing DATE: 03/23/2003 03:35:02 PM ----- BODY:

So a mainstream news site is often comprised of many hundreds - thousands - of individual news stories. These stories are mostly designed to fit into a pretty clear taxonomy which reflects "what the news site is for". This taxonomy is normally pretty clearly defined and normally has a pretty wide top level (the items that deal with the news alone are divided up into anything from seven to twelve sections - world, business, science, politics etc). Articles may be faceted or sit under several headings (heterarchical organisation), but the taxonomies concerned are fairly clear (often inherited from org-charts derived from parallel print products - but never mind, eh?). This kind of taxonomy results in the need for left-hand navigation (it's simply difficult to put large lists horizontally on a page). This kind of navigation, in turn, is well-suited to the kind of readers that a news site tends to get - people who have an ongoing relationship with the publication in question (ie. they knew of the site before they went there) and are therefore prepared to browse the site because they came to it as a specific first port of call for a kind of information or to answer a specific question.

Weblogs are very different beasts - particularly those weblogs which are based around single-entry archives. Firstly, they don't tend to have clearly definable taxonomies. Some may - but they are the exception, and tend to be the more professionally oriented. So there's no need for large navigational structures or organised heterarchies. Weblogs are also not first port of call sites when you're trying to answer a question or get a specific kind of information. They are specifically designed to be feeding out information as and when the publisher wishes, and not in direct response to anything going on in the world outside. You cannot guarantee that Jason's site - on any given day - will provide you with all the news you need to know about any subject. Nor is the site organised to make the finding of entries on a specific subject matter as simple as possible. This is not a flaw in Jason's site - nor is it a flaw in weblogging in general. It's simply the way the form is structured.

In fact, while news sites are a coherent whole into which individuals dip themselves, weblogs have two very different types of readers with two very different forms of interaction. Firstly, there are those with a long-term association or relationship with the person / site in question. Secondly, there are those who are directed to a specific internal page by a link from another weblog or via an unfortunate (or inspired) search request. These extremes are more radical than a news site. On a weblog, it's entirely possible that someone might find themselves on a specific internal page without having the slightest idea of the context of a post whatsoever - or anything about the site in question. This will be still more true about a site that allows people to publish individual entries to individual pages - like Movable Type.

Essentially, while a substantial group of readers are treating your site as an ongoing narrative centred around the presence of a singular human author, many other people are seeing nothing more than an infinitesimal slice of your content. For all they care, your weblogging application might not be producing one coherent site at all - in fact to any individual member of this second audience, your weblog will consist of just one of dozens / hundreds / thousands of bespoke self-contained and only loosely connected one-page sites that all happen to share a design. One of them might see "What Tom Coates did at the pub last night", one might see "Niels Bohr and the War in Iraq", another "Extreme Readers and Weblogging". This group further breaks down into two groups - the group that might be persuaded to hang around for longer and those who came for information and information alone.

Most weblogs are designed for the weblog-literate - who you might want to lure across the rest of the content on your site by supplying them with previous / next links or calendars ,or by illuminating your (probably fairly haphazard) taxonomies through displaying lists of categories. But the average member of the general public will understand the page that they find themselves upon only if you supply context - above and beyond that supplied by a standard news or article based website. They need to be able to assess your trustworthiness, they need to be able to estimate the value of your writing. They also need to be able to figure out precisely what kind of writing it is.

So here are a few recommendations to webloggers who wish to be comprehensible to these readers:

Place a small piece of explanatory text on your individual archives explaining the structure of your site.
Elucidate or link clearly to information about you - the author of said weblog - including any pertinent details that make you qualified to talk about what you're talking about (if it is a personal site, then that's qualification enough).
For this audience it's important to recognise that you're not necessarily going to want to promote your own personal 'brand', so leave your navigational links simple, clean and self-explanatory.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: gjw EMAIL: gjw@despammed.com IP: 129.127.41.28 URL: http://the-fix.org DATE: 03/23/2003 11:55:19 PM For a while I have been considering placing some kind of explanatory text on my individual archive pages. Since I moved from my own PHP-based system to Movable Type, I have had a dramatic increase in people searching for an obscure topic in Google, finding it on a 2 year old archive page on my site, and leaving a comment asking for help with the problem. Often these comments are written in language that suggests they believe my website is a help form or discussion board, not just my own random links. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Dawn EMAIL: dawn@drivingwithdawn.com IP: 209.178.191.136 URL: http://www.drivingwithdawn.com DATE: 03/23/2003 11:59:35 PM I've often thought about the visitors who come to the individual entry pages of my site via search requests. Like most webloggers, I do include main navigation on every page. This navigation includes a link to my "about" page. I also list my categories on these individual pages. However, after reading this, I wonder if I too should place a little bit of explanatory text on my individual pages. People probably don't know what the heck my categories mean (even though I try to make them as self-explanatory as possible), nor do they click on my "about" link so they know what the heck they stumbled across when visiting my site. I don't even do that on my home page -- now I am wondering if I should. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Xavier EMAIL: xavier@exit13.f2o.org IP: 138.88.114.135 URL: http://exit13.f2o.org/blog/ DATE: 03/24/2003 04:52:07 AM I'm in the process of redesigning my blog right now with Movable Type and one thing that I'm trying to address off the bat is the problem (if it can be called a problem) of users stumbling across individual archived entries of mine. Usually they are not part of a bigger scheme although sometimes I have been known to issue series, so I am including on each page a little bit about my site so that users don't have to click through an extra link to find an "about me" page and can get a more basic understanding of where all the stuff they're reading had come from. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Neave EMAIL: paul@magneticn.co.uk IP: 212.135.204.146 URL: http://www.neave.com/ DATE: 03/24/2003 12:07:22 PM Wow, you don't half go on about not a lot. How about a brief summary for each blog, that way we can get to the gist of entries quicker without having to skim read the lot. (As you can guess, I have not read this article at all but gave a cursory glance at the title and started to prattle on in the comments section, hence contradicted myself entirely.) We live in the MTV generation, where people have less-than-goldfish attention spans. Get to the point! Life's too short. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Coates EMAIL: tom@plasticbag.org IP: 212.111.42.130 URL: http://www.plasticbag.rog DATE: 03/24/2003 01:34:23 PM Weird one this, Neave. A fair few other people have e-mailed to tell me this piece was particularly useful for them. I tend to think it's a bit overlong as well, but then we're not always the best judges of these things. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Marcus EMAIL: freonmonkey@hotmail.com IP: 216.40.52.20 URL: http://www.neverthink.com DATE: 03/24/2003 04:53:17 PM An important issue, perhaps, but a ridiculously easy one to address. I have "Weblog" written at the top of my weblog, and "Weblog - Individual Entry" written on each individual entry page. Anybody who doesn't have the presence of mind to click on the "About" link to find out more about the weblog author should probably be kept away from sharp objects like computers. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Dave EMAIL: dave@noemail.com IP: 195.92.168.174 URL: DATE: 03/24/2003 05:08:09 PM If I ever see another weblog entry about weblogs I'm going to jump out of the fucking window ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Coates EMAIL: tom@plasticbag.org IP: 212.111.42.130 URL: http://www.plasticbag.org DATE: 03/24/2003 05:55:22 PM To be fair, Dave, this weblog is partially about weblogs - although I understand your frustration. Often when at news.bbc.co.uk, I become overwhelmed by the irritating number of apparently impartial factual and timely pieces of writing there... Damn them! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Marcus EMAIL: freonmonkey@hotmail.com IP: 217.35.159.249 URL: http://www.neverthink.com DATE: 03/24/2003 09:03:23 PM (Tee hee to the both of you). One thing I would say, as a point of constructive criticism - I don't think the red links overlay very well on the blue background. The red bleeds quite badly on my screen, anyway. I'd suggest black and underlined or something similar. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Kennedy EMAIL: kennedytaylor@yahoo.com IP: 64.246.11.20 URL: DATE: 03/24/2003 09:15:32 PM I'm with Neave on this one. It continually baffles me why anyone with such an obvious interest in weblog usability would continually hector their poor readers with the kind of interminable prose that you do. You've got an excellent grasp of matters concerning layout and navigation - and you've obviously got a much better than average grasp of the English language - but your communication is continually apalling, the worst kind of academic babble. This is the Internet. Brevity is vital. Clarity is key. You get neither here. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: s3d EMAIL: s3d@dreamingsea.net IP: 212.137.30.138 URL: http://www.dreamingsea.net DATE: 03/25/2003 12:30:13 PM Are weblogs really that difficult to fathom for the uninitiated? To be honest, I think the terminology surrounding weblogging is more baffling to newbies rather than the the stucture of the content itself... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Martin Wisse EMAIL: plasticbag@cloggie.org IP: 62.58.35.2 URL: http://www.cloggie.org/wissewords/ DATE: 03/27/2003 04:06:25 PM "This is the Internet. Brevity is vital. Clarity is key." Speak for yourself. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Coates EMAIL: tom@plasticbag.org IP: 212.111.42.130 URL: http://www.plasticbag.org DATE: 03/27/2003 04:30:34 PM No offense, Kennedy, but you're talking about a specific kind of writing designed for a very specific type of audience. This post was clearly designed for a different group of people than much of my other stuff - it was more directly aimed at Information Architects and the like who may be taking weblog-style posts into the mainstream. As to 'this is the internet, brevity is vital, clarity is key' - well brevity is always important - clarity is always important. But precision is just as important - and for this particular audience on this particular subject precision, explanation and context trumps brevity. On a related note - plasticbag.org remains my personal site. I answer to no-one, so I write precisely as I wish to and however I feel is appropriate. My readers (both of them) also have no obligation to keep reading the site and yet do so anyway. I must be doing something right... ----- PING: TITLE: The Weblog Manifesto--A Response URL: http://www.myirony.com/archives/000272.html IP: 209.217.36.5 BLOG NAME: MyIrony.com DATE: 03/24/2003 12:58:19 AM Worried that Google's acquisition of Blogger is a bad omen for the world of weblogging, Mark Anderson at the American Sentimentalist launches a salvo calling for new thinking among his fellow webloggers. Even though it is still a draft, Mark's well tho... ----- PING: TITLE: Peer Influences URL: http://danhon.com/ec/mtarchives/000467.shtml IP: 62.149.37.15 BLOG NAME: ext|circ DATE: 03/26/2003 02:57:28 PM Thanks to Tom's prompting, I've tidied up the design of the two weblogs here, ext|circ and ext|linklog. Text is now... ----- PING: TITLE: news vs. the blogs URL: http://www.vervelab.org/archives/2003_03.html#000093 IP: 162.42.208.240 BLOG NAME: verveblog DATE: 03/27/2003 07:22:16 AM really great article on the differences in organizational structures and resulting design implications of news oriented sites vs. individual weblogs. a very coherent articulation of an issue i didn't even know i was struggling with. a singular absence ... ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Blogroll revisited... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 1 DATE: 03/24/2003 02:21:33 PM ----- BODY:

I'm slowly and systematically working my way around plasticbag.org, sorting out the weblog sidebar. I'm trying to find the best ways of helping the site to explain itself on each and every page - without compromising cross-site and inter-post navigation. It may sound naff and unremittingly tedious to you, but I'm finding it intensely satisfying. As a side effect of this process, I've decided to have a hack at the part of the sidebar that deals with my favourite weblogs. This is now almost a direct copy of my NetNewsWire subscriptions, which means one of two things - either everyone's getting an RSS feed, or I'm gradually ceasing to read people without them...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Observation on the Trackback "How To"... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 1 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Personal Publishing CATEGORY: Personal Publishing DATE: 03/25/2003 02:09:04 PM ----- BODY:

I don't know what it is about Trackback that makes it utterly impossible for anyone to explain it well. Certainly the How Trackback Works (from cruftbox.com is a scruffy but noble attempt to make it comprehensible to people. But I think it's going to fail because it explains the process before it adequately explains the concept. I think it has another failing too: it concentrates on explaining the mechanical and clunky 'do it by hand' approach of getting trackback URLs and pumping them through the 'pings' interface. No-one's going to get it until everyone's using autodiscovery.

Ben and Mena Trott's version (Trackback for Beginners) is well-written and comprehensive, but essentially incomprehensible. I think it's because it doesn't concentrate on explaining the core uses of the functionality (get person x to automatically link back to me when I post something about them), but instead tries to go right back to first principles. Personally I'm not only not interested in someone Trackbacking my site simply in order to get a mention, I'm actively against it and don't think they should be mentioning it - let alone promoting it. On a weblog (at least) there's got to be reciprocity of some kind otherwise it's going to be the most-spammed feature in online history.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Marcus EMAIL: freonmonkey@hotmail.com IP: 216.40.52.20 URL: http://www.neverthink.com/weblog DATE: 03/25/2003 02:24:46 PM I guess this is my cue to repeat my plea that you share your secrets to a transparent TrackBack link setup with us TrackBack simpletons! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Coates EMAIL: tom@plasticbag.org IP: 212.111.42.130 URL: http://www.plasticbag.org DATE: 03/25/2003 02:38:30 PM Yeah, I know, I know. I'm just so horribly behind at the moment that I barely have time to scratch out my daily witterings... I'm thinking about it. Honest... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Rory EMAIL: rory@speedysnail.com IP: 194.81.244.110 URL: http://speedysnail.com/ DATE: 03/25/2003 04:39:32 PM I still don't see how autodiscovery improves the 'trackback as self-promotion' situation, or the lopsidedness of trackback 'conversation' between high-profile bloggers and low-profile bloggers. All it does is shift the burden of pinging from the human to the machine. What's the net benefit of automating what is essentially an act of sending a message from one person to another? Most automated email is, after all, spam; how would a world of widespread autodiscovery trackbacking avoid that fate? ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Coates EMAIL: tom@plasticbag.org IP: 212.111.42.130 URL: http://www.plasticbag.org DATE: 03/25/2003 05:09:28 PM Well trackback clearly has two effects - first thing it does is encourage people to link to you and discuss your posts, because they will get a counter-link in return that will bring people back to their sites. Whether that's good or not isn't really relevant. The second thing it does is encourage people to follow on a post they've read onto another person's site - automatically, all the time... That seems to me to have one really obvious benefit - that "low-profile webloggers" get the opportunity to write something that will be seen. I don't know how long it will be until Trackback becomes totally spammed into oblivion (certainly trackback management stuff will probably appear in the next year or so) but I think autodiscovery makes several things easier (finding the URLs to ping without having to actually look for them etc) and a few things harder (just deciding to go 'check me out' on someone else's site). I remain unconvinced that trackback is going to change the world, but if we're going to try it out then it only makes sense to try and get people to do it properly... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Michael EMAIL: michael@cruftbox.com IP: 204.128.192.72 URL: http://cruftbox.com DATE: 03/25/2003 05:17:43 PM scruffy? ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Coates EMAIL: tom@plasticbag.org IP: 212.111.42.130 URL: http://www.plasticbag.org DATE: 03/25/2003 06:24:06 PM Eep. Busted. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Rory EMAIL: rory@speedysnail.com IP: 194.81.244.110 URL: http://speedysnail.com/ DATE: 03/25/2003 06:42:50 PM Bloody autodiscovery, eh? ;) ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: omit EMAIL: timothompson@yahoo.com IP: 209.217.166.66 URL: DATE: 03/25/2003 09:25:09 PM As you said in another post about TrackBack(I think), the name "TrackBack" gives no help as to what its function is, which is "comments from other websites". I think it just needs a better name or description because its purpose is not self-evident without explanation. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Anil EMAIL: anil@dashes.com IP: 66.108.7.149 URL: http://anildash.com/ DATE: 03/26/2003 09:24:59 AM Tim, TrackBack does a lot more than just comments from other websites. TrackBack's a protocol, and remote comments, as you've described, are one of the things it can do. It can also say, "I have a post that's relevant to the topic your site is aggregating information on." Which is pretty cool, too. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Coates EMAIL: tom@plasticbag.org IP: 212.111.42.130 URL: http://www.plasticbag.org DATE: 03/26/2003 12:09:09 PM I don't think there's any doubt that Trackback can do loads more than the basic core use that we're all starting off with. But the issue here is how to get people using it at that very basic level and explaining it to them in a way that they'll understand. The people who can understand the various other uses of Trackback aren't really the people who need instruction on it! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Rory EMAIL: rory@speedysnail.com IP: 194.81.244.110 URL: http://speedysnail.com/ DATE: 03/26/2003 01:41:02 PM On Anil's point about its other merits: don't get me wrong, I can see the value of trackback for dealing with *automated* sites, or for large, community sites that feel less 'personal' because of their size. Automation can even be useful on a personal site, as Matt Haughey has shown by pinging song info from WinAmp to his blog. But automating the process of saying 'hello, I wrote about your post' is not going to be particularly attractive to everyone. And this ties in with exactly this issue of selling trackback to the masses. Why should we assume that people don't 'get it', and that this is why few use it? It's been around for a while now, after all. What if they do get it - the main selling point of remote commenting, that is - and just don't think it's particularly useful? If the main value of trackback turns out to be, in fact, its value in updating automatic aggregation services, or alternatively its value as an internal blog-management tool (the way Matt's using it), then it's being sold in the wrong way. An alternative might be to present it as an aggregator-pinging service, and have an option in MT configuration to switch autodiscovery on *for specific sites* (which the user nominates, perhaps adding their URLs in the same way they add entry categories), with the assumption being that those sites will be high-profile blogs or portals. But this would still leave the door open to trackback spam. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: omit EMAIL: timothompson@yahoo.com IP: 209.217.166.66 URL: DATE: 03/26/2003 08:54:17 PM Yes, Anil, I know what you're talking about (like sxswblog or austinbloggers.org), and that usage is valuable as well. Perhaps that should be given a separate function or nomenclature, even though it's the same technology behind it. Once people see what Trackback can do, I think there is an "aha!" moment, especially with aggregation services, which are really cool. People want to know what they can do with trackback, not how it works. "Oh, I can link my comment to his post?" or "If I check this box, my post will show up on this blog as well as mine?" This relates to Tom's earlier comments about transparency--the gears should not show. For example, if you use a permalink, shouldn't your post ping the person's site you're linking to? By using the permalink, you're saying, "I am specifically commenting on those specific comments on that person's site." I suppose this is known as autodiscovery. This gets to the heart of a Movable Type problem--one which may limit its ability to become the leading blogging tool for the masses. Like Greymatter before it, it is a geek tool. Endlessly customizable, configurable and scriptable--but to do this, you have to have a lot of knowledge about scripts, PHP, server configuration, etc. Out of the box, it is not user-friendly (to the point where you have to pay somebody to install it or else cruise forums, consult friends with technical know-how and spend a lot more time with it, just to get it to do most of the same things you were already doing with your previous Fisher-Price blogging tool). There's too many steps necessary to do anything in MT. I like the page for downloading the new Madonna mp3, where it says, "There is no step 3. Three steps is too complicated!" Yes, it is. Even for blogging tools. A problem with Trackback's lack of adoption is the fact that Blogger has not integrated it (and despite it being outre among many bloggers, Blogger is still the tool of the blogging masses). As for the spam issue--maybe a site's owner (or members) should have the ability to approve or deny trackback pings, perhaps by an approval process (site owner receives an email saying "so-and-so has pinged your site. approve or deny?") or a Slashdot-style vote-up or down process. ----- PING: TITLE: Trackbacking made simple URL: http://raravis.net/archives/000012.php IP: 204.215.189.243 BLOG NAME: Raravis | Uniquities from the world of wonder... DATE: 03/25/2003 04:31:48 PM This post in itself is a Trackback, I'd thought I'd let you know. I have many a time tried to explain the principle of Trackbacking, but to no avail, so for those of you who simply don't understand it, here... ----- PING: TITLE: TrackBack Tom URL: http://nslog.com/archives/2003/03/25/trackback_tom.php IP: 66.111.66.231 BLOG NAME: NSLog(); DATE: 03/25/2003 06:12:05 PM Tom Coates made me wonder how long TrackBacks will exist before they become useless and spammed, just like our inboxes. My own thoughts also include... ----- PING: TITLE: TrackBack for beginners URL: http://brilliantcorners.org/archive/2003/03/trackback_for_beginners.php IP: 63.151.147.106 BLOG NAME: Brilliant Corners DATE: 03/25/2003 11:44:49 PM In response to the recent discussion over what TrackBack is, Six Apart has provided "A Beginner's Guide to TrackBack." It does a pretty good job of explaining TrackBacks in a general sense, but it doesn't completely cover the reasoning of why it should... ----- PING: TITLE: Don't Hide Your TrackBack URL: http://www.musak.org/entries/2003/03/dont_hide_your_trackback.shtml IP: 66.33.213.10 BLOG NAME: Listen to Musak DATE: 03/27/2003 01:15:58 AM Don't hide TrackBack - make it obvious ----- PING: TITLE: testing! URL: http://www.rainbucket.com/log/archives/000026.html IP: 80.177.94.180 BLOG NAME: rainbucket dot com DATE: 03/29/2003 02:54:38 PM this is my first trackback.. wooo! ----- PING: TITLE: TrackBack to the source URL: http://brilliantcorners.org/archive/2003/04/trackback_to_the_source.php IP: 63.151.147.106 BLOG NAME: Brilliant Corners DATE: 04/09/2003 08:31:44 PM Last week, I posted a link on MetaFilter which pointed to the "poetry" of Donald Rumsfeld. I rarely post anything to MeFi since I often come across the good links and stories after they've already shown up everywhere else. Anyway, I had this great link... ----- PING: TITLE: Trackbacking made simple URL: http://bluegrooves.net/archives/2003_03.php#000010 IP: 66.246.28.241 BLOG NAME: bluegrooves || in pink DATE: 09/03/2003 10:56:02 PM This post in itself is a Trackback, I'd thought I'd let you know. I have many a time tried to explain the principle of Trackbacking, but to no avail, so for those of you who simply don't understand it, here... ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Good things to do with noises... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 1 DATE: 03/25/2003 02:35:52 PM ----- BODY:

Noise. Where would we be without it? Trapped in a sensory-deprivation tank, perhaps. Maybe - at a push - in space (although we'd have to not have any air-tanks or helmets or anything to experience the absence of noise, and I don't know what the auditory effects of boiling blood, near-absolute zero temperatures and explosive bodily decompression might be)...

The Sound of Things to Come
Through the magic of transmitting sound to directionally precise co-ordinates the HyperSonic Sound Amplifier (which has got to be about an hour and a half away from being usurped as a band-name) enables really specific and clearly defined parts of the 3-D real-world to be exposed to noise in such a way that people a couple of feet away can't hear it at all. The most depressing part of this otherwise fascinating story is that the best thing they could come up with as an early application was a Coca-Cola machine that suggested you buy one when you went past... "Wouldn't a Coca-Cola feel pretty good about now?"
Babel Fish on the Horizon?
A company is working to produce a device that uses text-to -speech software to take something someone says to you in French (for example) and then run it through a translation matrix of some kind (like Babelfish, but presumably not as funny) before speaking it out again. Essentially a portable computer translation device. In all likelihood, it's going to work like a dog strapped to a badger in a big bowl of custard.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- PING: TITLE: Badgers are funny URL: http://www.guydickinson.com/sheep/archive/000670.html IP: 217.206.220.106 BLOG NAME: a clever sheep DATE: 03/25/2003 08:45:59 PM On plasticbag.org, Tom was describing some Good things to do with noises... One of the items he mentioned was SpeechGear's ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Brief thoughts on e-mail newsletters... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 1 DATE: 03/25/2003 10:39:58 PM ----- BODY:

The site for the Text E-mail Newsletter Standard is a well-intentioned and intelligent attempt to develop some standards for plain-text e-mail newsletters. It only falls down because the accessibility-conscious design strategy they've taken doesn't seem to be actually very easy for the non-visually impaired to read. I'd be really interested in the opinions of the b3ta and popbitch crews on this subject - they've made readable plain-text e-mails an artform (although screen-reading the ascii logos must be excruciating). cf. Stef's comments on screen-reader browsers.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: The sky over Primrose Hill... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 1 DATE: 03/27/2003 09:55:33 PM ----- BODY:

A couple of weeks ago I went to visit a friend in Primrose Hill. On the way over the bridge across the train lines I saw a beautiful sky. I like skies. You don't get to see them enough in cities.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: NetNewsWire Strawpoll... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 1 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Technology CATEGORY: Technology DATE: 03/27/2003 10:46:41 PM ----- BODY:

Inspired by a terrifying conversation with Dan Hon in which he revealed that he had 135 subscriptions strapped to his groaning copy of NetNewsWire, I decided to do a bit of a straw-poll. Not enough people were available online for me to do it properly though, and I'd had quite a lot of caffeine so I got quite impatient, so here are some unsubstantiated rumours glued together with some implausible guff

Spies situated on the shiny pinacle of nearby Trump Towers have spotted Meg Hourihan striding through "The Internet" with roughly thirty subscriptions in NetNewsWire yapping after her like tiny dalmation puppies. But our insiders think that more is going on here than meets they eye... Could she be reading many more sites via bookmarks?

The mysterious shadowy figure of Anil Dash is said - shockingly - to have rejected the one true church of NetNewsWire and to have narry a subscription at all. Indeed, he's recently seen cavorting with old-style "browsers" in a down-town speakeasy filled with cookies and bookmarks.

Your humble editor can only confess to around forty subscriptions - several of which are also not strictly 'read' as such, while several other people... {blah blah blah... time passes} ... with a stoat where the sun don't shine. But enough about that particular mystery weblogger...

Back to the issue at hand, the quest for the Ultimate Subscriptions Champion was proceeding apace. Throughout my investigations, the great mythical moon monster of Captain "Zeitgeist" Doctorow kept cropping up. Could this silver surfer of the cyberspaceways be an RSS man-mountain? One of our sources claimed he had in his secret underground lair a massive installation of NetNewsWire linked by thick fibrous cables to three hundred or even more subscriptions, each of which would be downloaded freshly each day! Such dastardly decadence! Sadly, the truth is a little more prosaic - after e-mail contact, Cory has confirmed that he's only attached to around 120/130 sites... Our winner therefore remains - undefeated - Dan "Bandwidth" Hon - whose every crippling refresh breaks the very fibre of the internet underfoot. All hail him, for he is the geek of all geeks...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Coates EMAIL: tom@plasticbag.org IP: 212.111.42.130 URL: http://www.plasticbag.org DATE: 03/28/2003 10:25:07 AM Updates from the masses! Cory writes in to compensate for his NetNewsWire inadequacy by claiming that he has i) a couple of hundred sites that are set to poll once a week using pineapple and ii) an hourly e-mail from infominder looking for updates on another 100 sites as well... Possibly, though, he's just trying to look cool in front of Ben Hammersley who declares Dan Hon to be "a girl" - citing his own concurrent two hundred and twelve subscriptions... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Bridge EMAIL: tom_bridge@mac.com IP: 65.206.93.10 URL: http://radio.weblogs.com/0116463 DATE: 03/28/2003 02:40:55 PM Brent Simmons has 147 subscriptions according to his interview with MacSlash. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Rainer Brockerhoff EMAIL: rainer@brockerhoff.net IP: 200.165.21.195 URL: http://www.brockerhoff.net/bb/viewtopic.php DATE: 03/28/2003 04:44:06 PM I'm at 165 currently, this includes some dozens of news sites where I usually read only the headlines. I wish NetNewsWire had some built-in system to help me track which subscriptions should be dropped, but I've been unable to come up with suggestions that don't raise immediate objections... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Andy Baio EMAIL: log@waxy.org IP: 4.38.40.97 URL: http://www.waxy.org/ DATE: 03/28/2003 05:01:47 PM I have exactly 50 subscriptions at the moment. Pretty lightweight compared to you people. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Bill EMAIL: b@brilliantcorners.org IP: 63.250.222.254 URL: http://brilliantcorners.org/ DATE: 03/28/2003 06:17:12 PM I have 57 weblogs in my Syndirella aggregator, which I use only occasionally. I still read many sites that don't provide RSS feeds (i.e. Diaryland and Pitas users), so at this point the news reader just isn't an ideal solution to reading websites. Still waiting for a better alternative. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: George EMAIL: george@allaboutgeorge.com IP: 208.142.153.36 URL: http://www.allaboutgeorge.com DATE: 04/06/2003 05:02:44 AM 106 and climbing ... ----- PING: TITLE: There she goes again URL: http://danhon.com/ec/mtarchives/000469.shtml IP: 62.149.37.15 BLOG NAME: ext|circ DATE: 03/28/2003 08:27:09 AM Via Brad, Edward Tufte examines a PowerPoint slide. Brilliant. Rich Baker on Genes, People and Languages. Every few months,... ----- PING: TITLE: 2003/03/28 09:47 URL: http://2lmc.org/spool/?id=2022 IP: 217.10.129.148 BLOG NAME: 2lmc spool DATE: 03/28/2003 09:51:13 AM Yoz on DST ----- PING: TITLE: 99 read buh-logs, floating on my TiBook screen. URL: http://www.allaboutgeorge.com/retro/000460.php IP: 66.33.197.204 BLOG NAME: ALLABOUTGEORGE.com DATE: 04/01/2003 11:27:45 AM Flash the message, something's out there.So, yes, a certain blogger's optimism and a little industry on my part have led... ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: George Bush Funeral Home... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 1 DATE: 03/27/2003 11:13:32 PM ----- BODY:

There's a page on this site that's recently been getting a fair amount of traffic. It's a page in the gallery which includes pictures of an establishment in Norwich, Norfolk called the George Bush Funeral Home. I don't know how I feel about this. I took the pictures a couple of Christmasses ago after September 11th but before any massive pro or anti-war demonstrations were happening - and way before Iraq was even back on the international agenda. I'd seen the building years before of course - on my way back from school when I was a kid - only suddenly becoming a source of black satisfaction when George Bush the first got into power and when the first Gulf War was underway...

I don't get that feeling any more. People linking to those pictures in 'approving' terms' seems cheap to me. Tacky. Glib. It's not an image that helps people think in different terms about anything. It doesn't give people any more context or an understanding of any larger issues. It's too easy an image to be 'decent' (in the moral sense). I feel more and more that a grasp of this issue must be fought for, worked at. What's black humour in times of dissent becomes propogandist in times of war.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Sarah EMAIL: sarah@leto.co.nz IP: 210.86.77.18 URL: DATE: 03/28/2003 12:47:59 AM Just my opinion for whatever its worth. Why don't you include the text of that post on the page with the photo on it? People are using something you've created in a way that you're not happy with. Point that out. Let them know what your motivations were when you took the picture and how you feel about it being used as propaganda. If it's something that's really bugging you then make that clear. But ultimately though, you can't control people and you can't be responsible for the way they think and act. Sometimes you just have to let go. Use your energy on the people that actually matter to you. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: martin EMAIL: martin.belam@currybet.net IP: 80.189.17.50 URL: http://www.currybet.net DATE: 03/28/2003 01:53:59 AM i am having a similar issue where my post about dolphins and sea lions being trained for use in the gulf from january is getting hit a lot now it is happening. i posted an image from the news wires [which is being widely published now] as an addendum to the post, which led to it being linked to by people thinking it was comedy or photoshoppery, which has led to people leaving joke comments on the post. and i don't know what to do about it either. i don't want to delete the comments [free speech, liberty, and the values of a connected world], but people are linking to the image out of context, and stealing my bandwidth. so aside from rotating the filename of the image every eight hours i'm stuck with it. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Sarah EMAIL: sarah@leto.co.nz IP: 210.86.77.18 URL: DATE: 03/28/2003 02:58:47 AM Martin - there is an article at scriptygoddess which explains how to use .htaccess to protect your images. You might find it helpful in your situation. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Scaryduck EMAIL: scaryduck@fastmail.fm IP: 132.185.240.13 URL: http://scaryduck.blogspot.com DATE: 03/28/2003 11:23:07 AM Tom --- OK, I'll own up linking to those pics, but I've linked to the page rather than the pics themselves, so you can see the context they were posted in. Besides, that also gives the visitor the option of staying around and seeing the rest of your site. As for people ripping off your pics, I'm sure there's some sort of remote linking device you can use. This sounds suspiciously like the "deep linking" argument that's been doing the rounds for some time. All the best - Al ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: arseblogger EMAIL: arseblogger@arseblog.com IP: 80.58.50.170 URL: http://www.arseblog.com DATE: 03/29/2003 02:34:35 PM Tom, I think you're taking it too seriously. George Bush Funeral Home - haha. 5 seconds of laughter, no big thing in the great scheme of things though. ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: When e-mail clients attack... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 1 DATE: 03/28/2003 10:20:51 AM ----- BODY:

This probably couldn't be any more trivial, ridiculous or infantile. But - just occasionally - OSX's Mail.app's tendency to truncate e-mail subjects and place an ellipsis at the end of the line has unintentionally funny side-effects...

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Playing linklog catch-up... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 1 DATE: 03/28/2003 12:20:27 PM ----- BODY:

Lots to get through this morning - all the stuff that I've meant to talk about in greater depth but haven't had time to do so... Apologies to all concerned for trivialising your hard work...

My favourite new kind-of-weblog is definitely 2lmc.org. I'm a particular fan of the design, but also the really funny geek humour;
Giles Turnbull - esteemed British web enthusiast - has written a piece called Camino and Safari Compared for O'Reilly. Good sensible stuff;
An annoying article for Adobe compares the performance of After Effects on the PC vs. After Effects on the Mac and comes to the conclusion that Macs are half the speed. I'm not going to dispute the results, only that people should bear in mind that it's equally possible that the two versions of After Effects might not be of the same speed or quality;
My co-worker Dorian's stunningly cute and gorgeous little baby boy has started doing little early-morning exercises. Aw...
Sex in the X-men? Maybe not in the movie, but certainly in the comic book - Sex in the X-men (via The LinkMachine);
Is Nick Jordan - esteemed British weblogger - also Nick Jordan - esteemed provider of penis-enlargment pills?
Joho the Blog's piece on Links with Value is a better version of what I was trying to say in my piece The Responsibility of Linkage;
I just bought this Tucano Second Skin case for my iBook - and it's much recommended. The only way it could be improved is if it zipped fully open so you could leave your computer sitting on it;
Jason's finally given in and kottke.org is now syndicating full posts through .rdf. Frankly this is delightful and means that my daily NetNewsWire browsing experience is better than ever;
Found on textism..com - a neat way to clean up Word HTML. This works pretty well, but also seems to strip out several special characters rather than encoding them (later note - oops - should read the instructions properly);
Lance talks about coming to London - it was great to finally meet him and I hope we showed him a good time.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- PING: TITLE: 2003/03/27 14:04 URL: http://2lmc.org/spool/?id=2014 IP: 217.10.129.148 BLOG NAME: 2lmc spool DATE: 04/03/2003 03:34:58 PM buffer overflow attacks ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: What is Trackback? (part one) STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 1 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Personal Publishing CATEGORY: Personal Publishing DATE: 03/31/2003 08:29:37 AM ----- BODY:

As part of an (hopefully) ongoing series - here's the most very basic introduction as to what Trackback can do. This is not a study of how it is done - and it makes certain assumptions that I'll go into in an upcoming lesson (assuming I get around to it) - but I think it might be enough to get that basic first point across to people who are confused by all the other stuff it can do...

You can also download this image as a .pdf what_is_trackback.pdf. This diagram was created in the awesome OmniGraffle - a product of the Omni Group. I plan to use it loads more from now on...

Addendum: This is not supposed to be directed at the average weblogger of a few months standing. This is just for those newbies who've not managed to see it in context enough or who don't find the name particularly descriptive.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: s3d EMAIL: s3d@dreamingsea.net IP: 212.137.30.138 URL: http://www.dreamingsea.net DATE: 03/31/2003 05:00:03 PM ...my Mum loves you... ~: ) ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Reader EMAIL: reader@read.com IP: 81.86.207.221 URL: DATE: 03/31/2003 05:43:12 PM Hmmmnn, not at all condescending. Maybe you could tell us all how hyperlinks work now. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Dawn EMAIL: dawn@drivingwithdawn.com IP: 12.42.51.28 URL: http://www.drivingwithdawn.com DATE: 03/31/2003 07:56:44 PM The basic functionality of trackback I understand. However, I hate having a (usually empty) trackback link after every post. The way you display your trackbacks is much more elegant. How do you do it? ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Dave EMAIL: dave@noemail.com IP: 195.92.194.12 URL: DATE: 03/31/2003 10:55:08 PM I don't understand at all ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tom Coates EMAIL: tom@plasticbag.org IP: 217.28.129.84 URL: http://www.plasticbag.org DATE: 03/31/2003 11:12:37 PM Dear "Reader" - if I was writing for a completely non-web-savvy audience, I would explain hyperlinks. In this case, this is designed to be written for a non-blog savvy audience. So there you go. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: JimmyT EMAIL: mail@lehopictures.com IP: 216.232.58.138 URL: http://www.lehopictures.com/the_joint/ DATE: 04/01/2003 12:38:03 AM Amazing all this trackback madness lately. You'd think by now we'd all have it, but I guess it is a little complicated. Someone needs to start a trackback blog or something to show the creative ways people are using the technology, beyond the basics. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: pete EMAIL: monkiboi@monkiboi.net IP: 80.177.96.252 URL: http://www.monkiboi.net DATE: 04/01/2003 12:08:00 PM as someone who finally understood what 'trackbacks' were only a few months ago i wish someone had bothered to do something like this when the idea first came out. the name doesn't really help either. 'off site comments' would have told me a lot more than 'trackback' could ever hope to achieve. not quite so snazzy though is it? there's also the fact that not everyone uses MT or whatever blogging tool that incorperates trackbacks so there's no incentive for some to really get to grips with it. but while i now understand trackbacks i still fail to see the point of them. instead of having a post with a number of comments that i can follow i now have to follow the trackbacks, which have their own comments, on which the original poster may also have added something to. then once i've finished i have to return to the original page, try and pick up the thread and then go to the next trackbacked link. i must be *really* missing something here!? sorry to go slightly off topic on the last bit tom. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: s3d EMAIL: s3d@dreamingsea.net IP: 212.137.30.138 URL: http://www.dreamingsea.net DATE: 04/01/2003 01:18:13 PM I think TrackBack has potential, but only once people realise that its true value lies in the form of 'further reading' or 'see also' type links, rather than just using it as a means of saying..."Oh look, Tom's written another article on his site today..." and blatantly getting a link back to their own site for not a great deal of effort to them or worth to the reader. I like the idea of TrackBack, but won't be bothering following TrackBack URLs if the latter perpetuates. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Choire EMAIL: choire@eastwest.nu IP: 172.203.73.142 URL: http://www.eastwest.nu DATE: 04/01/2003 06:09:33 PM I actually do believe that trackback is one of the most important innovations in the way we use the web (or at least, how we may use it in the future), The problem is I have a hard time caring enough to install it and make it look like something I would use. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Martin Wisse EMAIL: plasticbag@cloggie.org IP: 212.238.82.186 URL: http://www.cloggie.org/wissewords/ DATE: 04/01/2003 08:06:05 PM So I'm using Phposxom as a blogging system, which does not have trackback and I'm wondering if and how I could use trackback manually? ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: pete EMAIL: monkiboi@monkiboi.net IP: 80.177.96.252 URL: DATE: 04/01/2003 10:11:26 PM s3d: i agree. some people seem to see trackbacks as a euphemism for 'increase my google rating'. i've even seen trackbacks where the trackback consisted of a 'look at this' type link or a quoted passage from the original post. surely it's the blog equivalent of spamming comments and chatboxes with 'hey everybody. come visit my site!'. if it was a form of further reading then i think it would be fine. in fact it'd be great. but it's not. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Buzz Andersen EMAIL: buzz@scifihifi.com IP: 198.173.142.227 URL: http://www.scifihifi.com DATE: 04/01/2003 11:45:59 PM Martin, The Moveable Type people have a standalone trackback implementation, which can be adapted for use with Blosxom and variants (incl. PHPosxom): http://www.movabletype.org/trackback/ I use it with Blosxom, but I'm not familiar with PHPosxom, so I couldn't tell you how to integrate it exactly. You might take a look at some of the work Matt Gemmell has been doing on Thistle (which started life as a variation on PHPosxom). ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Andy EMAIL: andyfaeglasgow@yahoo.co.uk IP: 130.209.241.223 URL: DATE: 04/15/2004 10:49:30 PM RE: Misuse of trackback Surely people gain a link back to their site simply by including their homepage in the appropriate field? What is the point of putting an additional trackback? Andy ----- PING: TITLE: Trackbacking made simple URL: http://raravis.net/archives/000012.php IP: 204.215.189.243 BLOG NAME: Raravis | Uniquities from the world of wonder... DATE: 03/31/2003 09:02:57 AM This post in itself is a Trackback, I'd thought I'd let you know. I have many a time tried to explain the principle of Trackbacking, but to no avail, so for those of you who simply don't understand it, here... ----- PING: TITLE: TrackBacks Tough to Understand? URL: http://nslog.com/archives/2003/03/31/trackbacks_tough_to_understand.php IP: 66.111.66.231 BLOG NAME: NSLog(); DATE: 03/31/2003 01:35:20 PM I don't understand what's so difficult to understand about TrackBacks, but this surely wouldn't clear it up if I was confused. TrackBacks are links to... ----- PING: TITLE: What is Trackback? (part one) URL: http://www.wearehugh.com/650 IP: 209.61.186.253 BLOG NAME: WE ARE HUGH DATE: 03/31/2003 04:58:17 PM plasticbag: "This is not a study of how it is done - and it makes certain assumptions that I'll go into in an upcoming lesson (assuming I get around to it) - but I think it's enough to get that basic first point across to people who are confused by all... ----- PING: TITLE: do you understand trackback? URL: http://www.rainbucket.com/log/archives/000046.html IP: 80.177.94.180 BLOG NAME: rainbucket dot com DATE: 04/01/2003 12:34:17 PM And this is where i argue why trackbacks should be explained. I have to say that even though i am not a newbie to blogging, i am a newbie to MT and having a blog at my own domain. In... ----- PING: TITLE: trackbacks for the newbie... URL: http://www.bgmccollum.com/home/archives/000010.html IP: 12.129.211.120 BLOG NAME: as if i care to comment DATE: 04/03/2003 04:24:19 PM plasticbag.org | weblog i was once a newbie. ive since been enlightened. i just found this quick explanation at the link above. included in the article are links to other articles about trackbacks. i wish everybody used them...... ----- PING: TITLE: On Trackback Abuse And A Possible Solution URL: http://www.neverthink.com/weblog_archives/individual/2003/04/on_trackback_abuse_and_a_possible_solution.shtml IP: 80.71.2.160 BLOG NAME: neverthink.com DATE: 04/26/2003 08:39:47 PM (Note: I was in the middle of replying to Adrian's thoughts on Trackback abuse, when I realised that what I ----- PING: TITLE: UserLand Trackback Test URL: http://weblog.kimberlyblack.com/archives/000051.html IP: 162.42.210.236 BLOG NAME: Navigating Business with Technology DATE: 07/25/2003 08:37:56 PM So what the heck is a TrackBack and what is it used for? Read the MT manual's definition page for TrackBack. Here's SixApart's specification for it. A couple of different definition pages here and here (Tom Coates). Here's a working... ----- PING: TITLE: Trackbacking made simple URL: http://bluegrooves.net/archives/2003_03.php#000010 IP: 66.246.28.241 BLOG NAME: bluegrooves || in pink DATE: 09/03/2003 10:55:55 PM This post in itself is a Trackback, I'd thought I'd let you know. I have many a time tried to explain the principle of Trackbacking, but to no avail, so for those of you who simply don't understand it, here... ----- PING: TITLE: The meaning of trackback URL: http://cradle.mine.nu/archives/2003/10/20/1658 IP: 216.67.227.157 BLOG NAME: Wingie's Cradle DATE: 10/20/2003 11:55:24 AM Been getting a lot of Trackback® Pings lately. To my disgust, a lot are not including links to my entry. To me, its like free links for them. Is Trackback® that hard to understand? As Tom Coates put it in... ----- PING: TITLE: About Downing Street Says URL: http://www.downingstreetsays.com/about.html IP: 132.185.240.122 BLOG NAME: Downing Street Says DATE: 03/01/2004 11:04:18 AM ----- PING: TITLE: Why is Orrin Woodward Blogging? URL: http://www.webraw.com/quixtar/archives/2004/07/why_is_orrin_woodward_blogging.php IP: 209.61.185.17 BLOG NAME: Quixtar Blog DATE: 07/29/2004 03:23:48 PM Why has Orrin Woodward, leader of the Quixtar group Team of Destiny, started a blog? This is the same man who struggled to limit access to formerly public articles. However, now he's publishing a blog, one of the most open and candid forms of communica... ----- PING: TITLE: Whither trackbacks? URL: http://www.magpiebrain.com/archives/2004/09/20/trackbacks IP: 193.111.201.129 BLOG NAME: magpiebrain DATE: 09/20/2004 10:21:42 AM So lets look at the figures. Number of posts: 272. Number of comments: 506. Number of trackbacks: 12. Spot the odd one out? Trackabcks have been enabled since virtually day one of this blog, and have been surprisingly underused. I’m... ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Slashdot and Conversations STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 1 DATE: 04/01/2003 05:57:35 PM ----- BODY:

I'm a bit of an enforced holiday at the moment. Evidently I've been getting too crazed with work as last week my boss started passing me notes saying things like "You need a holiday" and "Get out of my company". So it's ironic that after all those months of carefully tending UpMyStreet Conversations that it should be the first workday that I'm out of the office this year that the site gets Slashdotted.

I haven't had a chance to read through all the comments yet but mostly people seem interested in the concept of geocoding content generally - with Conversations itself getting fairly limited coverage. Nonetheless I'm hoping for a few insights here and there... It's a pity that Slashdot's audience is so US-centric, of course - since the site is designed for people who have UK postcodes. Most of the people who come via Slashdot won't be able to participate in any particularly meaningful way.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Apposite but Innaccurate... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 1 DATE: 04/03/2003 01:36:02 PM ----- BODY:

There's a quote going around the internet at the moment that's widely attributed to Julius Caesar - and it's tremendously rousing and potent and apposite. Unfortunately, I've seen no evidence whatsoever that it's not also total bunk.

"Beware the leader who bangs the drums of war in order to whip the citizenry into a patriotic fervor, for patriotism is indeed a double-edged sword. It both emboldens the blood, just as it narrows the mind. And when the drums of war have reached a fever pitch and the blood boils with hate and the mind has closed, the leader will have no need in seizing the rights of the citizenry. Rather, the citizenry, infused with fear and blinded by patriotism, will offer up all of their rights unto the leader and gladly so. How do I know? For this is what I have done. And I am Caesar."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: From the Financial Times this morning... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 1 DATE: 04/04/2003 10:51:10 AM ----- BODY:

From the Financial Times this morning: UpMyStreet.com in Administration

"Upmystreet.com, one of the pioneers of the UK internet sector, yesterday followed many of its long-gone peers into administration as financial pressure led the company to file for protection as it sought a buyer. Tony Blin-Stoyle, founder and managing director of the company that provides local information to users, said the company had chosen a "prudent course of action" that he hoped would give it time to find a buyer. "We have filed for admini-stration, but still have time as we are fully solvent while looking for a buyer," he said. Upmystreet developed a reputation for high-quality database technology that made use of the internet's ability to link people with information relevant to them and won a string of awards. Its website links consumers to postcode-based information such as council tax rates, house prices and local businesses, while its commercial services help business and public sector bodies organise their web-based information. The group, owned in part by News International, BSkyB and NM Rothschild, earns annual sales of about �2m but has suffered from the media and technology slowdowns."

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Wants: song by Denice Williams, featuring Jekyll and Hyde? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 1 DATE: 04/04/2003 11:08:29 AM ----- BODY:

I'm back in London now, looking around me suspiciously and thinking about what to do next. But the first thing I want to do is resolve an issue that's been driving me insane for about three years now. When I was a kid, my mother used to listen to fairly terrible cassettes in the car on the way to school - this must have been somewhere between 1981 and 1985. She had this album in the car and it was kind of Motown and it had a song on it which I really liked. Mum swears it was by Denice Williams. All I remember about it was that it had a line about a guy seeming to be like Jekyll, but actually being like Hyde. You see - clearly a quality song. Anyway - does anyone (i) know what the name of said song is? (ii) know where I could get a CD or decent quality MP3 of it?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Marcus EMAIL: freonmonkey@hotmail.com IP: 216.40.52.20 URL: http://www.neverthink.com DATE: 04/04/2003 12:43:30 PM I'm bored at the office, so I thought I'd take a quick scoot round Google. Amazon sells a variety of Deniece Williams albums (Deniece being an apparent alternative spelling to Denice)- if you want my advice, if you can't come up with a specific song title, either buy them all (ulp), or search them out with Kazaa et al. You might strike gold. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: prince april EMAIL: secretprince@patrickwolf.com IP: 217.155.44.153 URL: DATE: 04/07/2003 06:49:02 AM there is a serge gainsbourgh song about dr jeckyl and mr hyde... it is an amazing song... kinda motowny... check it out mr tom. x p.a ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: On Paralepsis (Part Two) STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 1 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Language CATEGORY: Language DATE: 04/05/2003 11:16:11 AM ----- BODY:

One of my favourite words is paralepsis (I've even talked about it before). It's a word from the ancient study of rhetoric and it essentially means that you state loudly the subjects that you're not going to talk about - in the process bringing what you're omitting into the forefront of people's consciousness. Here's an example:

"Let's not get bogged down here... Let's pass swiftly over the vicar's predeliction for cream cakes. Let's not dwell on his fetish for Dolly Mixture. Let's not even mention his rapidly increasing girth... No no - let us instead turn directly to his recent work on self-control and abstinence..."

It's an immensely satisfying and highly entertaining piece of verbal fun, even if it is also a bit of a blunt instrument. Paralepsis is a collision of statement with intent - it presents itself both as an obvious paradox and as the extension of language's ability to use fragments of fact to allude to larger and more involved passages or narratives - the paralepsis is a signpost that there's more going on here than the person's in a position to talk about, even as he or she talks about it. It's an insidious move as well as a revelatory one, and it reveals one of the greatest difficulties of speaking the truth - that even if one doesn't lie one can easily mislead. This is the terrible sin of 'lying by omission' - of using carefully selected and accurate information in such a way that totally mischaracterises the situation in hand. And an extension of that is the way self-censorship tries to stop individual people making connections of this kind. We all need a weird kind of internal paralepsis, perhaps, to make those connections that we don't want to make out loud - or perhaps we feel we can't...

Which is all, in its way, merely an introduction to one of the most blatant, glorious and important use of paralepsis I've seen in my life. From the Onion: I Should Not Be Allowed To Say The Following Things About America...

P.S. For the Americans amongst us, "Dolly Mixture" is a peculiarly British kind of sweet that traditionally you would buy in small paper bags by weight from large glass (or later plastic) bottles held behind the counter. I can find little about their origins online, but I believe they got their name by being small enough to look like food for dolls' tea parties and the like. Shamefully, they are a personal favourite.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: ----- KEYWORDS: ----- PING: TITLE: Two problems solved, and a new one URL: http://www.quernstone.com/archives/000134.html IP: 66.33.197.11 BLOG NAME: Jonathan Sanderson's Weblog DATE: 04/05/2003 01:34:38 PM I have new glasses. Oh yes, I can see again, and it's a slightly disturbing experience. My right eye in ----- -------- AUTHOR: Tom Coates TITLE: Oh Self-Correcting Blogosphere... STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CONVERT BREAKS: 0 ALLOW PINGS: 1 PRIMARY CATEGORY: Personal Publishing CATEGORY: Personal Publishing DATE: 04/05/2003 12:55:21 PM ----- BODY:

I'm going to be playing catch-up for a while here - picking up on things that I would have written about except I took a holiday (never again). First things first, let's have a gander at this article: Anti-war slogan coined, repurposed and Googlewashed... in 42 days (on 'The Second Superpower'). This is an extraordinary piece of work that manages to merge legitimate concerns with some of the most neurotically paranoid reasoning I've ever seen. The argument is simple - the phrase "The Second Superpower" originally referred to "World Public Opinion", but because someone subsequently wrote some politically castrated techno-utopian article with the same name (and said article got taken up by some 'significant' webloggers) if you now do a search on Google for the term, you find no trace of the original meaning. All that remains is the knock-off.

The article seems to ascribe this change to a kind of weird A-list cabal of webloggers. This is true in that a certain group of people who are much-linked-to have linked to the article in question - that's reputation-based rankings operating to save us from people writing "The Second Superpower" three-hundred times in their meta tags. Unfortunately it's also rubbish in the sense that - as a vast conjoined semi-self correcting connected network of webloggers exists - all it takes is one Register article (picked up in turn by other webloggers) for this problem to self-correct. People get so tense nowadays... And about so very little... In the meantime, let's all raise a glass to you, oh gloriously self-correcting blogosphere...

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