Monthly Archives: July 2005

My Idea Changed

Last night, when I couldn’t get any online access from the hotel I am staying in, I had plenty to say. Right now I seem to have forgotten all that I wanted to speak about so this is a nice reminder to say watch the Flickr sidebar for updates from my trip to Milan!

If you read yesterday’s entry you would have seen the On This Day link to a piece I posted in 2002. The shoes have only been used twice.

Finally for now, ‘Seven years today, on 27 July 2012, the Opening Ceremony of the 30th Olympic Games will take place in east London’ (according to an email I just received from London 2012. The clock is ticking and I’m already excited and tomorrow The National Lottery ‘Go for Gold’ scratchcards will hit the streets.

On this day…

2007: Read The Manual
2004: Administrative Apologies
2003: Buffalo Soldiers
2003: Another Russian Birthday
2003: Not Another Teen Movie
2002: How do you say Happy Birthday in Russian?
2002: Marry Me

Coming Soon To A Browser Near You

I have always loved cinema trailers. Often – and you know this is true – they are so much better than the films. Well, I thought I’d try a trailer of my own. Look into the bar on the right of this site. See the Man of the Moment box? Since January 2004 it’s been Andrew Kinlochan. So … coming soon to Listen To Musak and new for 2005 a wholly new Man of the Moment entry.

Sorry, I know it’s not got one of those big American voices or some thumping out-of-this-world music but it’s the best I could do. In the meantime pick up the best of the previous entries: ex-boyband star Mark Owen, TV hero Dermot O’Leary or music for the new Millennium from Justin Timberlake.

Quick notes: I’m currently using the v5 style sheet in case you’re reading this in years from now and I’ve moved things. If you’re using an RSS reader then click here to go to the real Listen To Musak site.

On this day…

2006: Here Comes Zune
2002: All For A New Pair of Shoes

Button On The Podium

jenson button bar hondaAh what a great day: At the front, Jenson began to close on Michael Schumacher during the second stint of the race and by lap 30 he was on the FerrariÂ’s gearbox. Over the next 15 laps he tried to force the seven-time world champion into a mistake and on lap 45 it happened: Jenson pulled a masterful overtaking manoeuvre into the hairpin [source] [larger image]

UPDATE 27 July: I wish I had time to write but for now I will just quote, ‘The Lucky Strike B.A.R Honda team heads east to Budapest for this weekendÂ’s Hungarian Grand Prix hoping to repeat the podium finish achieved in Germany’ [source]

On this day…

2003: Home again
2002: City Hall

Fans Vote On Qualifying Rules

If you follow Formula One you’ll know the rules surrounding qualifying have been chopped and changed over recent years – I suspect mainly for television. When I was at Silverstone last weekend I was surprised how interesting the qualifying laps were to watch under the current one-lap format. The rules are set to change but this time fans are being asked for their input. You can vote on the official formula one site.

On this day…

2003: 40 Days and 40 Nights
2003: Consumers Around Your Product
2003: No More Netscape
2002: London Life Underground
2002: 50 things
2002: I say “medieval” – You say “medireview”

In Case Of Emergency

Sometimes the simplest ideas are by far the best. Bob Brotchie, from the East Anglian Ambulance Service, had a great idea to enable the emergency services to contact somebody close to you if you are involved in an accident. The ICE (In Case of Emergency) entry in your mobile ‘phone’s contacts list is brilliant. Read on for more or check out this story at BBC News.

East Anglian Ambulance Service have launched a national “In Case of Emergency ( ICE )” campaign with the support of Falklands war hero Simon Weston and in association with Vodafone’s annual life savers award. The idea is that you store the word ” I C E ” in your mobile phone address book, and against it enter the number of the person you would want to be contacted “In Case of Emergency”. In an emergency situation ambulance and hospital staff will then be able to quickly find out who your next of kin are and be able to contact them. It’s so simple that everyone can do it. Please do. Please will you also forward this to everybody in your address book, it won’t take too many ‘forwards’ before everybody will know about this. It really could save your life. For more than one contact name ICE1, ICE2, ICE3 etc.

On this day…

2005: links for 2005-07-17
2003: Rain Breaks Heatwave
2003: Gay Consumers Are Good
2002: Amazon Light

Harry’s Here

Thank goodness. At midnight the latest Harry Potter book went on sale. For the last six months – almost every time I have purchased anything in one of the major book stores in London – I have been asked if I would like to reserve a copy. The answer is always no. In recent weeks it’s started to get irritating. I don’t want to pre-order Harry Potter nor do I want an oversized chocolate bar at half price because I was buying a magazine. Just sell me the magazine, please!

Anyway, there’s more on this at BBC News or you can visit the UK Publisher’s site or, I guess, you could go and see what J. K. Rowling has to say about it (apart from thanks for all the cash).

On this day…

2005: links for 2005-07-16
2003: Paris Photographs
2002: “Less Substantial Thinking”

Trafalgar Square Vigil

journalists reporting into a programme live from trafalgar squareYesterday I observed the two minutes of silence to remember those killed in last week’s bombings. After work I walked to Trafalgar Square to take part in the vigil. I arrived just after it had started but heard a lot of the speakers. There were moving speeches, prayers and poems from across the political and religious spectrum. There were leaders from the major churches and religions showing a united front. There were London celebrities with sincere words calling for a united city. Sebastian Coe spoke of the Olympic bid and how we’ll build a fitting tribute to the people who lost their lives last Thursday. There were union leaders and politicians who uttered words of support.

But the biggest applause went to members of the transport companies whose buses and trains were attacked and for the emergency services who attended the sites to rescue victims. For once we were not a celebrity-obsessed nation but were there to support the people who keep London moving and safe.

The vigil seemed to go on forever. Perhaps it was too long but when everybody’s words were sincere how could you stop it? It was a united city saying ‘we will not back down in the face of your bombs. You will not break us’.

Sadly, for the media, it was just another news story. There were camera crews from across the globe at one end of the square and various reporters were applying their make-up or dabbing the sweat from their brows as technicians plugged in things and waved cues. Behind all the the tributes coming from the front of the square were a selection of “Londoners are gathered …” and “back to you in the studio”. Reports were being filed in a number of languages via a fleet of satellite trucks being powered by noisy generators in the corner of Trafalgar Square. Maybe its because I was right beside the media as I couldn’t get further into the square but the chatter (and the smiles and laughing of some of the production staff) seemed inappropriate somehow. I hope they got their story.

On this day…

2006: Changing The Face of Pop
2003: A 4 Minute Warning
2002: Spending Money At Last

Two Minutes Silence

Just before 12 noon today my colleagues and I walked onto the London street outside the Holborn office where we work. It was a bright, hot sunny day in Central London. The kind of day that has you sweating within moments of being on the street. When we reached street level we walked into a crowd of people that had come from the buildings all around. These were office workers whose desks are probably just metres from mine but I don’t see them. I probably walk past them most days as I approach the door to the office but I just don’t see them. Today, we stood crowded onto the street together.

At 12 noon the bus turning the corner in front us stopped and the driver turned the engine off, right across the junction. The taxi at the traffic lights opposite didn’t move when the light turned green and the cyclist near him didn’t try and jump the red light. Most of the pedestrians who were walking stopped.

A silence descended upon London. Not the silence usually associated with a city. A city’s silence is usually punctuated by horns and alarms, by mobile ‘phones ringing or engines passing. No, this silence was eerily silent but it was silent.

And we bowed our heads to remember.

It was a moment when this huge, diverse city that I call home was united in thought. It’s a moment I don’t think anybody who was there will forget.

On this day…

2003: 1789 And All That
2003: Wind Power
2003: Power of the Idea
2002: Number One
2002: Ask Homer (and remember HotWired)