Jon Curnow's Digital Home
A quick note about Jimmy Young’s replacement
At the end of last year, I wrote a few words about the departure of Jimmy Young from BBC Radio 2. His replacement started yesterday and, unfortunaelty, I was working and unable to listen but I thought I should post a link to this review of the show at The Guardian.
The original newtalk station, LBC, is back on the air on FM in London
This morning, London’s news and talk station, LBC, came back on air. Of course, LBC is not really new, nor has it really been away. The Chrysalis Radio Group have acquired the London speech licences from London News Radio and is continuing to use the LBC name (LBC being the original London commercial news station).
Sadly, despite the name’s heritage of almost thirty years, day one seemed a bit shambolic. The most noticeable and irritating part for me is the constant paper shuffling that goes on when the presenters are on air. I suspect that, back when the news talk version was on AM, this wasn’t very audible. Now, it’s irritating. Then there are presenters whispering to each other but still clearly there. It’s as if there is no off button on the microphones. This evening, there seems to be no off button on the computers that play the commercials, as poor Clive Bull seems to be suffering because the advertisements keep starting, and he seems blissfully unaware that they are about to play.
Still, I am pleased that the rolling news format has moved to AM. Not because it’s on AM but because it means most of my portable radios (which are FM-only) have the more interesting of the two talk stations. These early teething troubles will, hopefully, be rectified and we’ll have a decent commercial talk station for London again (although, IMHO, BBC London seems to have been doing a fine job). I just wonder who is going to listen to the rolling news on AM.
UPDATE (7 January): Pleased to see I am not the only person who has noticed the technical glitches at LBC. Despite these, I have been listening quite a lot over the past couple of days as it’s been fairly entertaining. I just think it’s pretty sad that these problems arise on re-launch day with all the fanfare that goes with it. The new owners have had the station for a while and should have ironed out all this on the old format by now.
Links: Robbie Vincent’s Comment | LBC Timeline | Reborn LBC hits airwaves
A film investigating America’s gun culture, contrasting it with Canada’s similar laws but lower death rates.
What a fantastic film! Michael Moore’s Bowling for Columbine is as good a piece of filmmaking as any I have seen for several years. It is also a documentary, which means, I guess, that few people will see it. Well, you should.
It’s an investigative piece that looks at the United States of America’s love of guns – in all their forms. While it appears many Americans think it’s a constitutional right to protect their family with a shoot-first mentality, Moore contends that this obsession with the freedom to bear arms results in unnecessary deaths (accidental and intentional). Contrasted with Canada, which has similar gun laws and ownership but considerably fewer deaths, it seems Moore may have a point.
The statistics played out on the screen are not always given a context, and some of his points are rather laboured, but Bowling For Columbine has some moments you’d think were fiction (the final K-Mart statement – I won’t spoil it), yet are horribly real.
And yes, the clip that’s been doing the rounds of the film shows Moore getting a free gun when opening a bank account, which appears very real. Funny, it really does appear that these things really do “only happen in America”.
A backstage tour at The Duke of York’s Theatre is a fascinating look at the old London theatre.
It is often said that those of us who call London home do not benefit from the great advantages that the capital city brings. People have been heard to suggest that Londoners do not use London. Well, glancing through a copy of this week’s Time Out, I came across the backstage tour of The Duke of York’s Theatre on St. Martin’s Lane and decided to go. The tour wasn’t very expensive and lasted almost two hours and I reckon it must be one of the best value guided events around.
It is a fascinating tour of the old London theatre that was built when the area was underdeveloped and helped transform that side of Charing Cross Road into the entertainment area it is today. It’s the theatre that first staged Peter Pan, the theatre that first saw actors agree to the formation of UK Equity, and it has seen many greats play its stage since.
I can now say that I have appeared on the West End Stage, and standing on the stage looking into the auditorium, I was surprised at how close theatregoers would appear to the actors. I was also struck by how small the stage area really was and by how big the under-stage area is. Also intriguing to know that Capital Radio once owned it.
A lesson learned, that’s for sure. I will be spending more time each week with the what’s on listings and trying to take advantage of some of the things this city has to offer.
There are, perhaps predictably, few surprises in this second film. However, it remains a stunning piece of cinema and one that I will certainly see again and again.
Being New Year’s Eve I decided to hide away from some excessive partying and see Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers in central London.
The second cinematic instalment starts more-or-less at the point we left of with Frodo dreaming of Gandalf’s fall. I began by thinking we were in for a decent length of re-worked footage from the first film but, of course, I was wrong.
If you haven’t seen the first film and haven’t read the books you will need to do one of them before seeing this film for no concession is made to explain the previous tale. Thus, we must accept that the Fellowship is now split into three and we have three stories.
Frodo and Sam’s tale gets darker as the film progresses as Frodo comes under the influence of the ring. They are joined by Gollum which is a superb character despite being a computer-generated image.
The second group of Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas go in search of Merry and Pippin only to find themselves rushing to the aid of King Theoden of Rohan and featuring some amazing battles sequences. Merry and Pippin themselves find the company of the Ents whose role seems to have been played down in the film. The Ents are my favourite characters from the books and I had been waiting to see if they could be brought to life convincingly on the screen. Peter Jackson has done an amazing job on them and I was only saddened that they didn’t appear more.
There are, perhaps predictably, few surprises in this second film. There is little to discover in the central characters and, with perhaps the exception of Gollum, very little seems to be learnt about newer characters. However, it remains a stunning piece of cinema and one that I will certainly see again and again.
The Guardian has a summary of the main players. Other reviews can be found at Empire Online and Teletext.
A visit to Denia by the sea on a sunny December Sunday.
Heading for the last day of the year and it’s a lovely sunny Sunday in Denia. Walking round the town we got the urge to price apartments and villas and there are some fantastic little developments around here.
The old square was full of Spaniards sitting and talking in the shade and the fountain in the middle was full of beer cans. I can only assume the result of some Saturday night on the town! Remarkably peaceful and quiet really – we watched the ocean for a while before sampling the delights of the local Paella.
This really is quite peaceful really. Such a shame we can’t spend a lot longer here. It’s a relaxing change from the busy streets of London.
(This post was uploaded on my return)
But mainly I am disconcerted by the food. Forget the olives and the smoked meats which look so very tempting. It’s the regular fruit and vegetable stall that amazes me.
The sun was shining over the villa’s swimming pool and the breeze was light across the patio. Boxing Day, the day to recover from the excesses of the previous day, was the perfect day to wander into the nearest town and, upon arrival, we found the local market in (almost) full swing.
The market in Javea town is the kind of market that you do not see too often at home. One wonders, however, if much of it is there for the tourist trade. I am assured it was different last week but the Christmas holidays mean there are fewer traders.
I am taken with several things at the market. Firstly, it is very friendly. This may seem an odd thing to say but I find this kind of street-stall market back home often borders on the agressive. Traders don’t so much ply their wares but thrust them upon you. Secondly, it’s a very mixed market. There is food (to take home) and food to eat while wandering but there are household goods, clothes and a large (very large) selection of leather bags.
Thirdly, I am taken aback by the lack of labels. Walk round my local market on a Sunday morning and all the clothes stalls are straining under the weight of Tommy, Nike or whatever today’s fashion label is (the authenticity of the goods I cannot vouch for). Here, it all seems remarkably brandless.
But mainly I am disconcerted by the food. Forget the olives and the smoked meats which look so very tempting. It’s the regular fruit and vegetable stall that amazes me. The range is astounding and we couldn’t name all the fruits on show. They also look real. By this I mean they are of varying colours, shapes, sizes and, to be honest, in various states of decay. The aren’t the identical specimens you find on the shelves of your local supermarket at home. Of course, I know I can find home/farm-produced organic foodstuffs in England but I’d just forgotten and this market is the day I was reminded.
Maybe it should be a resolution for the new year. Find and use my local farmer’s market.
I am in Javea on Spain’s Costa Blanca for Christmas. The usual grey skies and frost of a British Christmas Day are part of the experience for me and have been all my life. The sun and the warmth were a little disorienting at first. Now, of course, I realise Christmas is still the same.
I am in Javea on Spain’s Costa Blanca for Christmas. It’s very different yet very similar. I have family around me. We had turkey and all the trimmings yesterday and opened presents around a (paper) tree. We have plenty of (cheap, Spanish) wine, Christmas pudding and mince pies. The sun, however, is shining and we are able to sit outside and sit in the warmth (if there is a sheltered spot from the wind).
The usual grey skies and frost of a British Christmas Day are part of the experience for me and have been all my life. The sun and the warmth were a little disorienting at first. Now, of course, I realise Christmas is still the same.
Happy Christmas.
For almost thirty years the JY Prog has been a ratings winner. Lunchtime ratings of five million should not be sniffed at. And today, as he bid the Radio 2 airwaves farewell, I had a listen.
Broadcast radio is a big passion of mine, and there is an event that happened today that can not pass without comment. Sir Jimmy Young presented his last show on BBC Radio 2 this morning – bringing to an end twenty-nine (or so) years on the air. There is much discussion as to the reasons behind his departure (here and here), but I don’t want to go into them. It doesn’t really matter that I have rarely listened to his show. I am usually in the office where we don’t listen to the radio (except today, as I am on my own) or, if I am elsewhere, there are other stations I prefer. I do, however, think there are a couple of things worth commenting on.
Firstly, for almost thirty years the JY Prog has been a ratings winner. Lunchtime ratings of five million should not be sniffed at. Jimmy Young has managed to stay at the top of his profession longer than many. In this celebrity-obsessed, five-minute fame world, Jimmy Young’s achievement should not go without recognition (his Knighthood at the start of the year a testament to his appeal). Where presenters rarely last three years, JY lasted almost three decades.
Secondly, and to me a great contribution to broadcasting, Jimmy Young’s show has always been an interactive experience. There has always been audience involvement and comment long before talk shows, shock-jocks, email and message boards were around (or even thought of). It’s something that should not be forgotten, and I believe it has been a great contribution to broadcasting.
Thirdly, his style may not be to everyone’s taste, but Jimmy Young has been able to interview some of the top politicians of the day and get them to answer questions without resorting to aggressive interview tactics. He was able to ask the questions many people would like to ask Prime Ministers directly. In an era where politicians (and politics) have been reduced to the level of a sound bite, this is also an achievement worth noting.
Finally, the way in which he has left the network has been sad. It was leaked 18 months ago that Radio 2 were talking to others about taking over the show. In itself, that is not an unreasonable thing for the network controller to do. For it to become a public affair (with questions in the House of Commons) is quite the opposite.
As BBC News has said, it’s a sad end to a remarkable career. Just don’t mention his recording career!
There has been great discussion recently about pop-ups. Are they doomed? Well, it’s a subject close to my heart as, being in the online advertising/research business for many years, they have become an important part of my life.
I have to ask, how they can properly be controlled? They are a useful marketing tool and can be useful to site publishers outside the advertising arena but some companies have exploited them far too much. MarketingFix notes that Netscape has announced it’s going to start offering the facility to block pop-ups. Interestingly, the pop-up filter has to be enabled by the user and then “Once enabled, the filter is preset to allow pop-ups on some sites, including several of AOL’s own properties”
I only wish it was possible to stop the multiple spawning.
Bond has been around for 40 years. Is he sill up to it?
I saw the new James Bond film today. Apparently, Bond is 40 – which means the formula has been around for a while. Die Another Day is as cheesy as many a Bond, yet it remains an entertaining cinema experience. I’m sure, however, that it won’t be voted a classic. It’s less secret-agent more agent-detective and the Bond-girls are now more MI5-partners (or more accurately NSA-partners). There are some fantastic scenes on the ice (using The Eden Project as a backdrop) and gadgets galore. If I had any complaints about the film it would be the quality of some of the effects which is, to say the least, not up to standard. [Official Site]
Celebrity Big Brother is back on Channel 4 and, I guess, I am adding to the spin around it by making this comment.
I wonder which of the Celebrity Big Brother contestants (who all go into the house later today) is not trying to kick-start their career?
And Mark Owen is a Rufus Wainwright fan – now that’s a departure from Take That.
My ex-colleagues at Engage AdManager have bought the company from Engage.
I am happy today! My ex-colleagues at Engage AdManager have bought the company from Engage to re-form Accipiter – the company Engage acquired in 1998 (or thereabouts).
Engage has slowly been moving out of the online space. When I worked for them they owned a large number of online companies. The selling of AdManger to its management seems to leave them with no pure-play online offerings.
I just want to wish the new AdManager management all the luck in the world. They are a fantastic group of people and if you’re in the market for an online advertising solution, you’ll find best of breed at www.accipiter.com.
As I started redeveloping this site, it became apparent that I wanted to link to my collection of daily blog reads and this became the place to keep them.
In common with any page of links, many of the pages noted below have long since moved, closed or cease to be updated in any regular kind of way. Facebook and Twitter have meant some of those who I used to read have moved on to the next way to communicate their thoughts. I keep this here as a nice reminder of the early days of blogging! I’ve tried to link to archived versions of many of the sites.
As I started redeveloping this site, it became apparent that I wanted to link to my collection of daily blog reads and this became the place to keep them.
The first, almost daily, read is Jase Wells. I guess I have been something of an invisible online stalker to this site for years. I have watched it move, change and develop since sometime in 1994 when I first came across it. It still remains one of the best personal homepages on the web – and I am very pleased to see that he has turned it into a blog.
Next on the list is Tom Coates’ plasticbag.org – which must be one of the best around and, if I am honest, I miss it if he doesn’t post. You will find notsosoft linked from there which, I think, contains some of the best writing on the web.
trabaca, posterboy, eric and contrasts.net provide additional regular reading from the US, while Adam’s photoblog provides stunning pictures on a regular basis. overyourhead is a UK take, while prolific is based in Amsterdam. Haddock blogs is a collection of well-known UK internet names.
Of course, blogsphere is represented well by Metafilter which I try and check out most days.
Other’s of note include Nick Denton and Brendan O’neill for opinions; Scott Andrew, Ben Hammersley and Jason Kottke for web-related stuff and Stuart Towns for his travelogue.
Finally, if you’re not interested in reading the ramblings of people you may never have heard of, then click along to Will Wheaton’s blog which is a fascinating take on the world of celebrity.
The Guardian said, Is it a horror film? A black comic parable of Generation X angst? A teen drama with a psycho edge? If not, what the hell is it?
Possibly the strangest and most compelling film I have seen all year and it’s not had a great deal of coverage. Donnie Darko’s website is very wierd and I am not sure you’ll get much from that. Tom, on the other hand, raves about it. You can read more reviews here or at The Guardian. I can’t explain it. Go see it.