Sunday 22 March 2009

TV

Dancing On Ice
2009 Final
God I hate Ray Quinn. I'm mentioning it purely to say that.
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

I've Never Seen Star Wars
1x01 Clive Anderson
The intriguingly-titled radio series transitions to TV, filling the Room 101-shaped hole in the schedules. (Interestingly, the second series of the radio version has only just finished broadcasting. One has to wonder if it will continue if the TV version takes off...)
The concept is fairly simple: comedian Marcus Brigstocke subjects a guest to five cultural experiences that they've never tried before. For example, his first guest is Clive Anderson, who is made to spend an hour in a flotation tank, read Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus, play the National Lottery, watch Withnail and I, and have a go at judo.
It's a slightly unusual format, but also quite a fun one with lots of potential. And, obviously, varied cultural experiences are right up this blog's street.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Lark Rise to Candleford
2x12 Episode 12 [season finale]
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

QI
6x12 Food (extended edition) [season finale]
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Articles

Dunblane apology from Sunday Express
and
Why did the Express say sorry? by Anton Vowl
(from The enemies of reason)
"There was a time when you couldn't mobilise support for a campaign... Facebook, Twitter and blogs -- those things contemptuously dismissed by 'proper' journalists -- weren't about; there was no way of connecting together separate angry people... Whatever you think of online petitions, and many doubt their effectiveness, the one against the Express gained 10,000 signatures in a very short space of time...
Newspapers haven't learned it yet, but they will soon. You can't get away with it any more. People are watching. People are checking. And, more importantly, they can mobilise support against you very efficiently when you step out of line."
Lots of other good points here too. The Express flatter themselves to death (sadly, not literally) in their apology though.

And an instance of blatant theft...

Take a look at this article, posted 11th November 2008: Book of phone numbers 'left on doorstep' (by Andrew Taylor, from )

Now, take a look at this one, posted 12th November 2008: Security Leak ('by' Dave East, from Dave: the blog)

Notice anything? Yes, that's right -- Dave's totally plagarised him. This is especially amusing in light of the copyright notice carried on Davie's own front page:

Never use anything off this site, be it writing, images or html code, unless I say otherwise. I am very attached to my work and don't usually respond well when others help themselves to it. Copyright is protected by law and is in effect the minute something is created, whether the author has a © notice or not - but if you want me to spell it out, I claim copyright on everything posted on this site, unless I acknowledge that it comes from another source.

Ooh, what a dirty little liar!