livingbrands

Tony Benn lays into the BBC live on their own news about Gaza!

What a hero. O for the days when the left actually stood for something, and stuck to their guns...

Post digital

Been catching up with a big pile of reading on the train - there are some things that just demand the hard copy treatment, rather than a quick skim on line.

Which, I guess, is the point of Russell Davies' 'new schtick'. Do read it, but I will let him summarise the key points...

1. "Screens are getting boring. It's really hard to impress anyone with stuff on a screen any more. However clever you've been. However much thought you've put in. However good the tech is. No-one's impressed. They've all seen better stuff in ads and movies anyway - when will on screen stuff be as good as that? Whereas doing stuff in the real world still seems to delight and impress people. Really simple stuff with objects looks like magic. Really hard stuff with screens still just looks like media."
2. "There are a lot of people around now who have thoroughly integrated 'digitalness' into their lives. To the extent that it makes as much sense to define them as digital as it does to define them as air-breathing. ie it's true but not useful or interesting."
3. "The stuff that digital technologies have catalysed online and on screens is starting to migrate into the real world of objects. Ideas and possibilities to do with community, conversation, collaboration and creativity are turning out real things, real events, real places, real objects. I'm not saying that this means that these things are therefore innately better, or that the internet has 'come of age' or any of that nonsense. I just mean that there are new, interesting things going on IRL and that they have some advantages (and penalties) that don't apply online."

In a strange act of syncronicity, next on my list was Gigonomics, an article from the Economist's More Inteligent Life magazine, looking at the changing nature of the music industry. Which made a not disimilar point to Russell: that as 'digital' has sucked the money, thrill and (collective) enjoyment out of music, so the analogue world of live gigs has picked up the slack, delivering a tangible, visceral experience iTunes could never offer (and one people are prepared to pay thru the nose for).

As Miles Copeland, former manager of the Police and music biz guru says: "You can digitise a song. You can’t digitise a concert." By which I think he means the experience of being there, rather than filming it on your iPhone and sticking it on Youtube.

All of which has just reminded me of something I read awhile ago (though can't remember where): that for teens, digital stuff is so inegrated into their lives as to no longer be particulalry special (Russell's point). But getting something thru the post is a reall event and a huge thrill, as it so rarely happens.

So maybe there's life in the old DM dog still (as long as what you're sending has true value).

10 things we didn't know before the 4th week of 2009

1. In camel racing the jockeys are electronic robots.
2. Ken Clarke doesn't own a mobile phone.
3. Ancient Persians were the first to use chemical warfare against their enemies.
4. Tony Hart designed the original Blue Peter badge.
5. The bubonic plague still exists.
6. Barack Obama's chief speechwriter is 27 years old.
7. Demand for online pornographic movies peaks at 1116 GMT on Sundays.
8. Film-maker Ridley Scott directed the advert for Apple's first Mac computer in 1984.
9. English businesses do not have to accept Scottish banknotes.
10. Indonesia is the world's largest exporter of edible frogs.

(Borrowed from the BBC)

The banks lost billions

So how much money have the banks lost? A nice chart from JP Morgan showing market capitalisation declines over the last 6 months (hmm, shows them doing quite well!)...

 

From here, via here)

What Obama said

Here's the word cloud, to get a sense of the themes...

 

And here's the full transcript...

My fellow citizens: I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.

Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because we the people have remained faithful to the ideals of our forebears, and true to our founding documents.

So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.

That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.

These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land - a nagging fear that America’s decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights.

Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America - they will be met.

On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.

On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.

We remain a young nation, but in the words of scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.

In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of shortcuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted - for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things - some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.

For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life.

For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.

For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sahn.

Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.

This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions - that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.

For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act - not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology’s wonders to raise health care’s quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. And all this we will do.

Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions - who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.

What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them - that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works - whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public’s dollars will be held to account - to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day - because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.

Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control - and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our gross domestic product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart - not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.

As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our founding fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience’s sake. And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.

Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.

We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort - even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet. We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.

For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus - and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.

To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society’s ills on the West - know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.

To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world’s resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.

As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us today, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages. We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment - a moment that will define a generation - it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.

For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter’s courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent’s willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.

Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends - hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism - these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility - a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.

This is the price and the promise of citizenship.

This is the source of our confidence - the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.

This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed - why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall, and why a man whose father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.

So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the year of America’s birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:

“Let it be told to the future world … that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive…that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet (it).”

America, in the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children’s children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God’s grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.

God bless you, and God bless the United States of America.

Radio silence

Maximum workload means minimum blogging at the moment. Just in case you erre wondering. In the meantime, you'll have to make do with something a bit more short form over at Twitter.

In praise of heroism

No more heroes any more sang the Stranglers back in 77. And 30 years on, we seem to live in an age when heroes seem more dead than ever; an age of cynicism and individualism, where the role models we do have spend most of their time getting drunk and being generally obnoxious.

Is it any wonder our world is so selfish and self centred.

But then, occasionally, a good, old fashioned hero comes along that captures the imagination. Captain Chesley 'Sully' Sullenberger III, who ditched US Airlines Flight 1549 safely into New York's Hudson River fits that bill perfectly.

57 years old, and looking like someone from WW2 Bomber Command, Sullenberger is an unlikely hero in our age of superficial achievement where appearances are everything. But his real heroism and true achievement has hit a nerve, as the press coverage...and his 100,000 Facebook fans show.

Maybe it's a sign of things to come in Obama's new age of hope, but let's seek out and celebrate real heroism...and dump empty 'celebrity' in the gutter, where most of adherents seem to enjoy lying.

As Hugh goes on to sing Something Better Change. And for our own well bring it needs to.

PS - Burnel & Greenfield: were they not an awesome combination!

10 things we didn't know before the 3rd week of 2009

1. Motown was originally called Tamla.
2. Northern Rock and Lehman Brothers were both founded in 1850. And both failed in spectacular fashion exactly a year apart.
3. There are more than 50 million lightning strikes in Brazil each year, on average.
4. Countdown is French.
5. The fast food that generates the most litter is McDonald's.
6. City traders with long ring-fingers make more money.
7. A typical Google search produces between 0.2g and 7g of carbon dioxide.
8. An intense ketamine high gives an out-of-body-experience known to recreational users of the horse tranquiliser as the "K-hole".
9. The first man to view the Moon through a telescope was not Galileo. He was English.
10. John the Good was bad and William the Bad was good.

(Borrowed from the BBC)

Be true to yourself

Slumdog Millionaire is clearly a brilliant film. But as Andrew Collins points out it isn't (just) a feel good movie. Even if that's how it's being positioned...

There's feel good moments, yes, but so much more to it than that…a lot quite dark and challenging.

It's as if the distributors aren't confident the reality will be as appealing a sell as the perception that Slumdog is this year's Mamma Mia.

But as we always say, celebrate the truth of who you are rather, than try to be something you're not - it only leaves people disappointed.

And I wonder how many people will go to see Slumdog and fail to see its brilliance because they were expecting something much fluffier.

PSFK Good Ideas come to London

Quick request from Piers at PSFKto point out that Good Ideas Salon is going to London on January 30th. And it's going to be the best ever, not least because our own (in the loosest sense obviously) Mark Earls will be opening precedings! Details are here.