noodlepie

31 very interesting things: 18. Live video

Live video broadcast on the internet from a mobile phone, webcam or camera embeddable anywhere and everywhere. I still can't quite believe we can do this. I remember thinking wifi was some big hoax that could never work in the real world - what no cables??? - but it does. At work, we're experimenting with live video broadcast with ustream.tv and it's going pretty well - we'll be broadcasting an interview with Nobel Prize winner Joseph E. Stiglitz tonight. Soon, we'll have our first 'field trial' using the mobile phone live video tool Qik with David Axe in Sudan and Chad on his Qik channel here. And later this month, I'm hoping Afghan internet connection speeds will allow us to experiment with Ustream.tv and possibly Yahoo Live with Alex in Kabul. Early days etc. Where will we all be in another four years. Boggle, mind, etc. Now, after watching the video above this morning, I realise I will have to upgrade to the new iPhone... next month... grrr...

31 very interesting things: 15. The scariest character ever to grace celluloid

Say no more... this freak gave me nightmares for 15 years (or thereabouts) Forget your Exorcists, this still gives me the willies.

31 very interesting things: 14. Bauhaus

I was trying (and failing) to convince Rob that I was a 13 year old Bauhaus fan way back when. And that the first gig I ever went to was by Bauhaus at the Birmingham Odeon in July 1983 - oh well... So rather than post the first song by that band that I bought from Berwicks record shop, Rugby in 1982 I'll post one of my favourite post-Bauhaus songs called You the Night and the Music from the short-lived spin off group Tones on Tail. It was one of the 'extra' tracks on a 12" single called Burning Skies released in 1983. And I haven't tagged anyone in a while - Jon?, yes I do still read your blog :) Fancy playing?

31 very interesting things: 13. Pacific Ocean Blue

Well worth getting hold of Pacific Ocean Blue album together with the Bamboo bootleg/unreleased album will apparently be available tomorrow or June - depending on who you read. 33 tracks in all. The vid above is one of the best tracks on a fairly faultless Pacific Ocean Blue. It's called Thoughts of you. The Bamboo album is a bit more bar room, but plenty to savour in there. Looking forward to the Dean Torrence remastered version though

31 very interesting things: 12. John D. McHugh

The first winner of the Frontline Journalism Award is the Irish freelance photojournalist John D. McHugh. He talked about his work and the story of when he was shot and almost killed by a Taliban sniper last year. He's currently in Afghanistan on commission for The Guardian. In a similar vein, I found the chat with Anthony Loyd equally interesting. There's something about the mental makeup of the people who choose to report on war. Something I hope to explore more on this blog in the future.

31 very interesting things: 11. Year Zero

I've read a lot of books about Cambodia and I've spent quite a lot of time in Cambodia. However, of all the books I've read there's one that stands out, Year Zero by Francois Ponchaud. It's a very factual book, there are no frills and that is its strength. Click on the video above to watch a report from John Pilger. It has the same title as the book. However, that's not the reason I include it. I was very young at the time this aired on British TV, but I can still remember seeing the images from this report. For some reason the shots of the empty, litter strewn streets of Phnom Penh stuck in my mind. I didn't imagine I'd end up living near there and visiting regularly back then. I was probably too busy collecting Top Trumps.

31 very interesting things: 10. 41 hours in an elevator

Literally just came across this. Seems to have been a big hit for The New Yorker magazine,

Nicholas White got stuck in a lift. For 41 hours. link via Pods and blogs

Think I'd have gone absolutely stark, ravin' bananas. I hate lifts.

31 very interesting things: 10. American journalism

Quite old now, but so not wrong.

31 very interesting things: 9. Blade runner

Best opening sequence to a film ever. Sadly, I must admit I went to the cinema to see this upon its original release in 1982 and didn't understand a word of it. Funny how it should turn out to be one of my favourite films now.

31 very interesting things: 8. Saigon traffic watching

There's plenty more where this came from, but the one above is quite restrained. Quite peaceful. Pleasant even. Oh and by the way... did some Vietnamese newspaper write about me this week or something? Getting loads of email from Vietnamese folk and 4,000 hits a day or so which is double what it normally is. But, can't see a specific link driving that traffic. Oh well.