Brumspace Blogs

Pete Ashton: My standard changes to a free Wordpress.com blog

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 03:00:16 +0000

My standard changes to a free Wordpress.com blog - Chris Unitt walks you through the first five minutes of using WordPress.com. I agree with this 100%.

Political Hack UK: BNPublic

noreply@blogger.com (PoliticalHack) — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 00:50:14 +0000

Oh, don't you just love the data security of the BNP?

The highlight of the day was listening to Nasty Nick Griffin being interviewed on the Today programme, when he announced that the BNP was considering action under the Human Rights Act to protect the privacy of their members. The irony that the BNP have consistently opposed the HRA was lost on him.

The Times has plotted membership by postal district and this reveals that areas of higher deprivation have higher BNP membership
only 5 per cent of the party’s members live in areas with high Asian populations and only 2 per cent in areas with larger Afro-Caribbean communities. Eighteen per cent are from white working-class areas... BNP membership is higher in areas that have average or above-average deprivation. As opposed to the 22 per cent of BNP members who live in areas with above-average deprivation, only 16 per cent live in the least-deprived areas

There's the odd member that claims a knighthood - but doesn't appear in any record of knights of the realm - and the handful of members with eastern European names, who don't really seem to have grasped that the BNP isn't noted for being supportive of intra-European migration. One of the local members is listed as a 'private detective.' We all thought he was enough of a dick in public...

Andrew Dubber: Drumkit

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 00:10:00 +0000

We finally managed to get Jake a drumkit. It’s in the garage, which we’ve sort of carpeted (up the walls as well as on the floor) and it’s all set up. It looks and sounds the business. So great to hear him practising at home again.

That’s birthdays and Christmasses taken care of till he’s 18, then.

Chris Unitt: My standard changes to a free Wordpress.com blog

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 18:28:27 +0000

Every time I set up a new wordpress.com blog I make the same changes before I even start thinking about writing a post. The following is really just a crib sheet for myself, but someone may find it useful.

A couple of notes first:

There’s no single ‘right way’ to set up a blog. If you do things differently then great - who wants homogenity?
This is for the free Wordpress.com, not the self-hosted version of WP
I’m posting this in Nov 08. Sorry if the layout and features have changed
I’ve assumed that you’ve signed up and got yourself a blog

Ok, on with it…

Quick list of changes

About page - update content and disallow comments and pings
Delete ‘Hello World’ post
Links - delete Wordpress.com and Wordpress.org and add a couple of my own (if relevant)
Change blog tagline
Add Stumbleupon, Delicious, Digg and Reddit icons to posts
Free up comment publication
Disable Snap Shots
Hide ‘related links’
Update profile details
Choose a theme and some sidebar widgets

Making the changes

I’ve ordered this part as per the tabs at the top of the Wordpress dashboard, only I’ve gone right to left (NB - no need to change anything under ‘Comments’). There’s method to my madness though.

Users

Click ‘Your Profile’ (just above where ‘Manage Users’ is in big letters)
Enter your name (unless you want to be anonymous) and nickname. Choose what you want your name to be displayed as (at the bottom of posts and in comments) from the drop down menu.
Click on ‘Update Profile’ at the bottom of the page

Settings

General - delete the existing tagline that says ‘Just another Wordpress blog’ and replace it with something more suitable (or just leave it blank)
Reading - tick the boxes to add Stumbleupon, Delicious, Digg and Reddit icons to posts
Discussion - untick the box that says ‘Comment author must have a previously approved comment’

Remember to click ‘Save Changes’ at the bottom of each page where you alter settings.

Design

Themes and widgets are really a matter of personal preference, although I’d always recommend getting rid of Snap Shots (the link previews that pop up when you hover a cursor over some anchor text) and ‘related posts’ (the rarely relevant list of posts on other wordpress.com blogs). They’re both irritating.

Themes - scroll through and pick something you like. Click on it to preview it and click ‘Activate theme’ in the top right of the preview window to, well, activate it. The look of your blog will change straight away.
Widgets - these will be dictated by personal preference and the particular aims of your blog. As a basic layout I’d suggest (from top to bottom) Pages, Text (with a brief explanation of what the blog is about), Recent Comments (apparently placing this high up encourages commenting), Categories, Links and Search
Extras - untick ‘Enable snap shots on this blog’, tick to ‘Hide related posts on this blog’

Manage

Posts - tick the box next to ‘Hello World’ and click delete
Pages - click on ‘About’ and change the text to something more relevant. Also scroll down, click on ‘Comments & Pings’ and untick both boxes to disallow them both
Links, tick the boxes next to the two existing links to Wordpress websites and click delete. Then click on ‘Add link’ to insert a link of your own

Write

Pages - add any extra static pages that are needed
Posts - finally, time to write that first post.

Give em a click:

The Coffee Grounds: A little too upfront

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 17:18:11 +0000

A little too upfront? How about this instead?

[Add a comment]

Pete Ashton: Twitter 101, Part 4: Tips for Being Successful on Twitter

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 16:00:04 +0000

Twitter 101, Part 4: Tips for Being Successful on Twitter - A fair amount of common sense in this post for people wondering how to start using Twitter without making a tit of themselves.

Created In Birmingham: Tony Iommi on the Walk of Stars

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 15:26:03 +0000

Normally I’d avoid mentioning (or thinking about) the desperate cry-for-attention that is Broad Street’s Walk of Stars, but the Capsule ladies have managed to find a pretty compelling angle to the latest addition.

Tony Iommi - guitarist for Black Sabbath - is the next person to be honoured, which ties in nicely with the Home of Metal project:

Home of Metal encourages fans of Black Sabbath to be photographed wearing their prized band t-shirts. Images will be taken by the Birmingham photographer Steve Gerrard. The photographs will then go on display on the Home Of Metal website and in future exhibitions.

That’s all happening on 23 Nov at 6.30pm, with Kerrang hosting live bands in Centenary Square earlier in the afternoon. More info on the Home of Metal blog.

Capsule are hosting Racebannon + Trencher + Dream Dreams The Dreamer at the Hare & Hounds later that evening. They’ve also got Clinic at the Factory Club tomorrow (Thurs) night.

Last word goes to Tony (from the Walk of Stars website):

It’s great – it’s really an honour – I’m really proud of it … I was shocked! It’s so nice to have things like that! I’ve got one out in LA but I’m not from LA – It’s so nice being recognised in your home town”

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Pete Ashton: The covers from the orignal Love & Rockets series

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 15:03:26 +0000

The covers from the original Love & Rockets series - A lot of these are design classics. I have a personal fondness for those in the 30’s but that’s because it’s when I became a regular reader. via Mondoagogo

Pete Ashton: Ocarina

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 14:58:36 +0000

Ocarina - “the first true musical instrument created for the iPhone”, aparently, and even if it fails at that (which I don’t think it does) it’s a wonderful example of good thinkings. You blow into the microphone and the app translates the chhzzz from your breath into a nice tone. You then play this by touching the screen and moving the phone around. It costs 59p and is well worth it. Check the videos.

Pete Ashton: Failing hard drive sounds

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 14:57:29 +0000

Failing hard drive sounds - Audio of crashing heads and stuck spindles. Via Gruber who rightly calls them “Some of the most terrifying noises known to man” but there’s also something intriguing about the rhythms. I may have to construct a tune…

Pete Ashton: Oren Marshall

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 14:53:50 +0000

Oren Marshall - Avant-guard tuba player who uses loop samplers and effects in his performance. Saw him on Sunday and was so impressed I bought his CDs. Lots of audio on this page.

Pete Ashton: Why Gen Y Is Going to Change the Web

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 14:53:49 +0000

Why Gen Y Is Going to Change the Web - If you ignore the marketing profiling nonsense this is a nice guide to how people are engaging with the Interwebs these days. Just don't take it too seriously.

Pete Ashton: High quality YouTube video hack

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 14:53:47 +0000

High quality YouTube video hack - Jason Kottke explains how to edit the YouTube embed code to get nicer results. Hacking embed codes is fun. I should write a guide sometime.

Pete Ashton: The secrets of aXXo, BitTorrent's top movie pirate

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 14:53:46 +0000

The secrets of aXXo, BitTorrent's top movie pirate - I predict the Dark Internet will be a hot subject for investigative journalism in the future. This stuff is fascinating because it's so secret yet pervasive.

Pete Ashton: Where the things in Cloverfield happen

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 14:53:45 +0000

Where the things in Cloverfield happen - "This is like where you see the monster all knocking Times Square around and these bombers fly overhead and they're all shelling the monster this is that ill scene the dude takes from the roof of that girl's building when they are escaping"

Pete Ashton: Digital Mentor » Thoughts from Birmingham

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 14:53:43 +0000

Digital Mentor » Thoughts from Birmingham - Because of time more than anything else I've been watching the Digital Mentor project from the sidelines. It's looking really interesting. This is a transcription of the first meeting they had in Birmingham.

Pete Ashton: How to Directly Market Your Art (or Anything Else) on Twitter

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 14:53:42 +0000

How to Directly Market Your Art (or Anything Else) on Twitter - This is a rather good guide to starting to engage with Twitter by giving in a purpose. I'd imagine what follows is a more social use of the service but you have to start somewhere.

Pete Ashton: I can has cheezburger … and pathos?

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 14:53:41 +0000

I can has cheezburger … and pathos? - The lolcats, the Internet's most famous felines, may be hilarious. But in their yearning, I see nothing less than the tragedy of the human condition.

Antonio Roberts: Bookmarks for November 14th through November 19th

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 14:08:20 +0000

These are my links for November 14th through November 19th:

jp2a — JPEG to ASCII converter - Like ASCII Art? (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ASCII_art) You'll like this program!
ImageStamper | Stay Copyright-safe - Great if you're worried about copyright of your images on flickr
Home : Harry Blackett - An artist living and working in Birmingham. He work specialises in archives and architecture. Check it out!

Created In Birmingham: Links for November 19th

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 12:36:21 +0000

Rhubarb Radio: Want Airplay?
Send your material to: Rhubarb Radio, c/o Reception, The Custard Factory, Gibb St, Birmingham, B9 4AA
The WGGB blog - News from the West Midlands
The first 9 months of the Writers Guild, West Mids branch
Let It Go … - Birmingham Post - Lifestyle Blog
Fiona Ferguson waxes lyrical about the opening of Heard and Not Seen and implores you to at least check out the website
Light. #1 | A Distorted Reality.
Alexander Young is serialising a short story called ‘Light.’ on his blog. This is part 1
Birmingham Jazz News
Birmingham Jazz have a blog
Opportunity for performances in Paradise Forum - Audiences Central
Argent, who run Brindleyplace and Paradise Forum, are interested in theatres and other performing arts organisations who would like to perform in Paradise Forum in the run up to Christmas

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D'log: Cephalopod Works

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 07:10:05 +0000

Miquel Barcelo with Philippe Parreno, “Cephalopod Works” (Flash link), opening at London’s Pilar Corrias gallery on 26th November 08.

D'log: Nuclear: art & radioactivity

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 07:04:59 +0000

As part of the London exhibition Nuclear: art & radioactivity (until 30th Nov 08), there’s to be a one-day symposium…

“In partnership with the RSA Arts & Ecology, the Arts Catalyst and SCAN present a Nuclear Forum at the RSA on Friday 28th November 08 (10am to 6pm), exploring the impact of nuclear power in art and culture. Prominent artists, writers and experts will discuss their work and engagement with the issues around nuclear energy, from Hiroshima through the 50s’ ‘white heat of technology’ and the Cold War nuclear tensions, to present day energy debates. Speakers include the controversial American ‘nuclear sculptor’ James Acord, whose work caused huge public and media attention as the highlight of The Arts Catalyst’s ATOMIC exhibition in London ten years ago. Free. Please register at art _at_ rsa.org.uk

I was interested firstly because of the delicious font used for the flyer (anyone know the name of it?)…

…and secondly because I was someone who grew up as part of a generation who had the threat of nuclear devastation hanging over them. Which, I suppose, is something I’m “working through” now that I’ve started playing Fallout 3.

D'log: Branching out

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 07:01:02 +0000

John Ogden went in search of tree spirits in the Black Country.

Podnosh: How do you define a neighbourhood?

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 01:16:07 +0000

The apparently very brainy Tom Martin of Substrakt has defined the shape of Digbeth by digbeth (shaped?) tags in flickr. Not a bad way to start. Hat tip Digbeth is good and Antonio Roberts.

Pete Ashton: I has a lust

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 00:49:27 +0000

Damn you Catnip for suggesting I investigate loop samplers. You know that if I start down this road I’m gonna end up with a load of damn effects peddles by the end of next year. And I don’t even play guitar.

Starting down this road is 3… 2… 1…

By The Way...: Ben realised...

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 00:02:27 +0000

That he'd ripped his entire music collection but not actually loaded it onto i tunes to listen to.

Stupid, eh?

Why isn't there a "You've got a lot of music on this computer that hasn't been listened to... would you like it?" popup?

Simon Howes: UB40’s Red Red Wine pub becomes a victim of the Credit Crunch

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 23:50:54 +0000

The Sunday Mercury have covered the closing of the Eagle and Tun. Last time I knew it was open it was being used by Birmingham City University as classrooms. Hopefully the new City Centre campus and thousands of students and local residence coming to Eastside will bring this pub back to life. IT is the world-famous [...]

By The Way...: Rosie Thomas

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 23:40:44 +0000

After a brief flirtation with electronica I seem to be settling back into acousticy, guitar based musical goodness.

One such balm for my soul is Rosie Thomas. She's a comedian/musician/genius from Seattle. She was supposed to play Greenbelt a couple of years ago but didn't come. I'll poke the greenbelt kids in the ribs and get them to book her.

And I just discovered she's got a Christmas album!

If I'm a good boy maybe Santa will bring me a copy!!

And I think I know who'll I'll buy a copy for. *sneaky sneaky*

Created In Birmingham: Plight of the hedgehog

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 23:21:22 +0000

Not strictly creative (although I’m not sure what is these days) but it’s Harry Palmer, so worth a mention.

Join Harry Palmer this Saturday (22nd Nov) near St Martins Church – Bullring, Birmingham (3pm sharp) to hear details surrounding the tragic crisis of the hedgehog in Birmingham

Here’s the flyer:

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Created In Birmingham: Arty pubs

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 22:58:23 +0000

I’m doing this wrong, I know I am. What I should do is go to the places I’m about to mention, ‘experience the art’, get trollied and turn this into some gonzo jounalism effort.

Sigh.

Anyway, there are a few pubs in Birmingham that are pushing the arty side of things - two in Hockley that have been about for a bit (but not all that long) and a new pretender the other side of town.

The Lord Clifden touts itself as Birmingham’s ‘urban art bar’ and makes a fair claim on the title by having work by Banksy, D*Face, Nick Walker, Blek, Obey, Faile and Army Lion knocking about. It’s at 34 Great Hampton Street, Hockley (map).

The Urban Art Bar people also own The Red Lion at 95 Warstone Lane, Hockley (map) which seems to follow the same formula and only opened a month ago (I think). There’s info and a few reviews on the beerintheevening.com page.

The Victoria (website soon come) is the new one - it only opened last Thursday. The pub’s been around for a while but has now been taken over by the people who own Island Bar. The pub now boasts a Birmingham cityscape mural made by the Them Lot collective which is based on the computer game Rampage.

It’s round the back of the Alexandra Theatre at 48 John Bright Street (map) and promises DJs, bands and burlesque shows. It was also the venue for Dr Sketchy’s Anti-Art School the other day (and will be again on 17 Jan).

By The Way...: BNP membership list online.

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 22:56:25 +0000

Yes, I've seen it. Yes, it's genuine.

Yes, it confirmed some thoughts about a couple of students I worked with at the guild who've now moved onto a career in teaching.

No, I won't post the link. And, No, I shouldn't have read it.

It's terribly conflicting as this is exactly the same mentality that created a blog like redwatch. (A site that publishes names and addresses of left leaning people around the country, nice)

Surprisingly I don't feature on that page. (Which is quite nice actually. I don't want fascists knowing where I live and work- although you don't have to be Miss Marple to work all that out) Edgbaston usually puts around 300 votes into the BNP column. That's never going to solidify into an actual win for them. And is why I will always campaign against the BNP.

Podnosh: Linda Hines Blogs - another win for the social media surgery.

admin@podnosh.com — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 22:47:55 +0000

I’ve just found another blog (courtesy of the Be Birmingham site) set up following last months Birmingham social media surgery for Blog Action Day. (Next surgery November 26th is also supported by the Third sector Assembly and BVSC but continues to use volunteers from the Birmingham Bloggers group. Community groups and voluntary orgs hugely welcome, please click here for details)
Bend it Like Linda can be found here. She writes:

Hi, this is my first experience of blogging so I’m a little nervous about what to write! I live in Perry Common and have been actively involved in my comunity for 18 years now. I was recently invited to become a “Community Champion” by Be Birmingham which means that I represent the community at a very high level and am able to feed others views and ideas into the strategic partnership

Linda Hines is a remarkable woman (who’s nerves I can understand but they might surprise some) who first became an active citizen when the council told her they would have to demolish her house. I’ve worked with her a number of times, including with residents for regeneration, the Third Sector Assembly, the local strategic partnership and the now defunct b:cen. Whoever gets to coach Linda at our next surgery will have a great time.

If you want to prepare yourself listen to the sometimes tearful story of why she does what she does please listen to this podcast from the Grassroots Channel in July 2006.

I've just found another blog (courtesy of the Be Birmingham site) set up following last months Birmingham social media surgery for Blog Action Day. (Next surgery November 26th is also supported by the Third sector Assembly and BVSC but continues to use volunteers from the Birmingham Bloggers group.nbsp; Community groups and voluntary orgs hugely welcome, please click here for details) Bend it Like Linda can be found here.nbsp; She writes: Hi, this is my first experience of blogging so Irsquo;m a little nervous about what to write! I live in Perry Common and have been actively involved in my comunity for 18 years now. I was recently invited to become a ldquo;Community Championrdquo; by Be Birmingham which means that I represent the community at a very high level andnbsp;am able to feed others views and ideas into the strategic partnership Linda Hines is a remarkable woman (who's nerves I can understand but they might surprise some) who first became an active citizen when the council told her they would have to demolish her house. I've worked with her a number of times, including with residents for regeneration, the Third Sector Assembly, the local strategic partnership and the now defunct b:cen.nbsp; Whoever gets to coach Linda at our next surgery will have a great time. If you want to prepare yourself listen to the sometimes tearful story of why she does what she does please listen to this podcast from the Grassroots Channel in July 2006.

Created In Birmingham: Stan Sulzmann and the Heritage Orchestra

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 21:34:46 +0000

I saw the The Heritage Orchestra at the Town Hall (one of their rather good resonance events) last month and they were great, so I was chuffed to hear about Birmingham Jazz’s plans for celebrating Stan Sulzmann’s birthday:

Stan Sulzmann has had a long relationship with Birmingham Jazz and is a Honorary Fellow at Birmingham Conservatoire. So when Stan mentioned that he will be 60 this November, plans were immediately put in place to mark the event in Birmingham with a concert with a small version of The Heritage Orchestra (THO) and with arrangements of Stan’s material by both Jules Buckley and Stan himself.

Stan will be playing with THO’s 13-piece string section plus an extended rhythm section with piano, bass, drums, guitar and percussion. There will also be new material written for the occasion by Stan himself and by THO members Tom Richards and Sam Bullard

Woo-hoo! It’s on Sat 29 Nov at the CBSO Centre and tickets are available NOW!

Info about Stan Sulzmann’s 60th Birthday Celebration is here along with all the other stuff Birmingham Jazz have got on this month (ooh, Portico Quartet on the 28th).

Created In Birmingham: Opera Warwick - Dido and Aeneas

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 21:20:19 +0000

Warwick Uni’s opera, drama, and dance societies have got together and are putting on performances of Purcell’s ‘Dido and Aeneas‘ at a selection of churches around the West Mids, including a show at St Martin’s church on Wed 26 November.

There’s plenty more info on the press release here.

Andrew Dubber: The coincidence

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 18:53:52 +0000

I went into Jibbering Records today for a coffee with a friend of mine to talk about an online music project.

As usual, Rich (aka DJ Cro) was there, and he had just taken receipt of the new 7″ single he’s releasing by an artist called Serocee on his label Crate Escape Records (though this is labelled as being from JamBrum Records - for reasons that are too insider to try to explain).

Rich played me the record - the video for which is above - and I picked up number 11 of a limited run of 200.

I happened to have with me on the laptop a copy of a record by a friend of mine back in New Zealand. Andrew Spraggon releases as Sola Rosa and his new album is coming out early next year, so I’m led to understand - but I thought Rich might like to hear some of it.

I played a few tracks, which were met with approval. And then ‘I’ve Tried Ways’ came on.

“Oh, I think you’ll like this one…” I said.

“Um… that’s Serocee on vocals. What the hell?” said Rich.

And it was. What are the odds? I get a new record from Birmingham and a new record from New Zealand, play one to the person behind the other - and they feature the same guy.

That’s just bizarre.

But She's A Girl: Shadow sister

butshesagirl@rousette.org.uk (bsag) — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 18:10:06 +0000

[Something I wrote in my head at the end of last week, cycling home.]

The bright full moon is floating down the river, trembling and fractured by the breeze. A rider's lamp behind me spawns my shadow sister, moving in front of me, solid and hunched against the chill. She weaves left and right, now skimming across the grass, now sliding over the gravel path. I'm fascinated by my projected self, encountering the future ahead of me, but keeping me company on this cold, dark night.

Eventually, the rider passes me. My shadow sister slows then disappears, and I feel a sudden ridiculous pang of loss for something which was just a trick of the light. Despite knowing how she was born, I find myself looking for her for the rest of the journey, wondering if she's around the next corner, or waiting for me in the trees.

Pete Ashton: The Laurie Taylor Test

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 17:19:47 +0000

There are many things I love about Radio 4 (and a few things I really can’t be doing with) but the my most favouritist thing ever is probably Thinking Allowed with Laurie Taylor. Partly it’s his wonderful voice but that alone isn’t enough to distinguish TA from the other wonderful voices on R4. Peter Day’s In Business is a fantastic listen despite the subject matter thanks to his vocal tones but there’s something special about how Laurie does his stuff, more akin to John Peel, now I think of it.

I like to keep a stock of unlistened TA podcasts for rainy days and insomniac nights and recently found them useful for solving a dilemma. My brain has a tendency to wake up in the middle of the night. Everything is quiet and calm and ideas and notions bubble up no matter how tired I might be. When it gets to 3am I have to make a decision. Will I try and get to sleep or will I give up, make some tea, and start working? In order to decide I do the Laurie Taylor test.

I turn off the lights and start playing a random TA podcast. It doesn’t matter what it’s about just as long as Laurie is presenting it. The battle is now on between his calming voice and his stimulating subject matter. Which will win out? If I’m asleep after half an hour then I’m asleep but if my mind is still racing then I might as well get up. And whatever happens I’ve probably learned something interesting in the process.

Podnosh: Social Media Surgeries - breeding in Brum

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 15:46:32 +0000

We Share Stuff has announced a new set of Sunday morning internet surgeries in Erdington – building on what else has been developing in Birmingham.

so put Sunday 23rd November in your diaries as the ‘We Share Stuff’ team will be at The Red Couch cafe, Erdington each Sunday morning from 11:00am to around 1:00pm. The surgery will be free to attend and the cafe itself serves a wide selection of drinks and snacks. So if you’re curious about the Internet, want to know how to get a voice online, or merely want to drop by for a chat, please do. The atmosphere is real friendly and we promise not to bombard anyone with jargon. It’s all about showing you how easy the Internet is becoming.

It’s an important reminder than no one needs any formal organisation to be able to offer this help, just somewhere warm with wifi and somebody willing to serve a hot drink or two.

Meanwhile the Birmingham Bloggers group (with space and support from BVSC & the Birmingham 3rd Sector Assembly) is running a second social media surgery for voluntary organisations and community groups from the city Wednesday, November 26th, 2008 from 5.30pm to 7.00pm at the same venue at the first one (BVSC in Digbeth – see map link ~~4.064941&sspn=14.149238,34.101563&ie=UTF8&ll=52.478389,-1.891923&spn=0.014219,0.033302&z=15&iwloc=A”>here~~). If you came last time you are always welcome to come again. Please sign up by clicking ~~4.064941&sspn=14.149238,34.101563&ie=UTF8&ll=52.478389,-1.891923&spn=0.014219,0.033302&z=15&iwloc=A”>here~~). If you came last time you are always welcome to come again. Please sign up by clicking ~~4.064941&sspn=14.149238,34.101563&ie=UTF8&ll=52.478389,-1.891923&spn=0.014219,0.033302&z=15&iwloc=A”>here~~). If you came last time you are always welcome to come again. Please sign up by clicking ~~4.064941&sspn=14.149238,34.101563&ie=UTF8&ll=52.478389,-1.891923&spn=0.014219,0.033302&z=15&iwloc=A”>here~~). If you came last time you are always welcome to come again. Please sign up by clicking here

just so we know how many folk may turn up.

The original surgeries run by Pete Ashton may be thinner on the ground this winter – unless of course more of us pop along to keep them going – but you can still find him at Rooty’s.

Custard Factory Blog: Big City Plan summarised

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 15:21:29 +0000

The Birmingham Central blog is currently going through the council’s Big City Plan and producing some very useful summaries of the notions contained therein. Part 3 is particularly of interest to us as it deals with the connectivity issues across the city centre and the various options for the quarters under development including Digbeth / Eastside where the Custard Factory resides.

it also has some nice diagrams. If you like diagrams.

via D’log

Created In Birmingham: More on the Big City Plan

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 15:14:34 +0000

As far as the Big City Plan is concerned, so far there’s been plenty to talk about but nothing in writing to pick apart. Birmingham Central have picked out highlights of the

City Centre Masterplan (Big City Plan) Report from Acting Strategic Director of Development at Birmingham City Council to the Cabinet meeting on the 24th November

There follows multitudinous charts, maps and options. Worth a read if you’re interested in what’s being planned. (via D’log)

In fact, if that floats your boat then you might be interested in the next Creative Republic event. They’ve rescheduled the Creative Masterclass with Michael Wolff for Thurs 27 Nov at Fazeley Studios. The aim will be for Michael to

take on the challenge of developing a fantasy brief for that imaginary role, a creative director for Birmingham

Attendance is free but you’ll need to sign up via their website.

Birmingham Post News Blog: Angry MP Complains About Being Silenced (In A Long Speech)

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 15:12:36 +0000

MPs are angry that they only have 90 minutes to debate plans for new regional Commons committees, which will oversee the work of Government in regions such as the West Midlands.

Sir Patrick Cormack (Con Staffordshire South) has led opposition, with an impassioned speech accusing the Government of stifling debate.

He said: "We make a mockery of this place if we do not have time to debate important issues."

So far, he's been talking for 35 minutes. As I write, the actual debate on how we run our region hasn't begun.

Created In Birmingham: Tweedeleededeedee, Sir Ru Barb and the Green Wolf

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 14:50:13 +0000

‘Tweedeleededeedee, Sir Ru Barb and the Green Wolf‘ is the next project from The Destroyers and is an ‘urban folk opera written by Paul Murphy with a score by Frank Moon’.

Set in no particular time this opera draws freely from past, present and future to create an upbeat cautionary tale for discerning audiences of adults and children

It’s a family affair by the looks of things, and will be taking place on Sat 6 Dec at the Town Hall between 11am and 1pm. The first 45 mins will be a workshop to prepare the kids for singing roles in the chorus for the performance, which will start at 12pm.

Pete at Spaghetti Gazetti reminded me of this. His post also has the flyer and a story about Paul Murphy from back in the day.

Custard Factory Blog: News in brief

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 13:51:32 +0000

Items of interest found around the Internets

New Birmingham Studios to offer homes to creative firms. - Lots of information in this Birmingham Post article about Fazeley Studios.
City councillor wants Birmingham to celebrate creative communities - Birmingham Post - With the Creative City Awards coming up Councilor Neville Summerfield bigs up the creative industries:
“As a civic leader Birmingham City Council has to establish and nurture progressive partnerships with all sectors of industry, within its city walls and outside them. It is our duty and our proud responsibility to create a culture of communication, recognition and mutual respect from which a healthy marriage of the private and the public sectors can be free to build the roads to future successes.”
Plus+ Roundup - Who said what about the design festival.
Birmingham Creative City Awards finalists - The contenders for the council’s annual awards are up featuring a number of Custard Factory and Big Peg tenants. The ceremony is on Saturday November 29th.
Time for Birmingham to support the independent arts - Helga Henry of Fierce Earth and Creative Republic, calls on Birmingham to extend the support given to the CBSO et al to smaller independent outfits. It does sound like she’s talking about Digbeth here…

Custard Factory Blog: New Substrakt site

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 13:06:23 +0000

Something of a spate of website redesigns at the moment. Must be the time of year. Here’s Substrakt’s new site:

By The Way...: Here be pirates...

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 12:50:59 +0000

It's always a bit weird when I read about pirates taking a ship or stealing something.

I still have visions of a galleon with canons, sails in the wind, peg leg, parrot etc. Curse you Johnny Depp, curse you and your bad theme park based films!

I was reading yesterday about some pirates taking a tanker and all I could think was: yehaaar, me hearties.

*shakes head*

Here's the latest: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7734733.stm

Custard Factory Blog: New Fused site

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 12:50:43 +0000

Fused launched their new website last week, intended to compliment their quarterly magazine and extend it’s mission. Looking good!

Celeste H: Further Adventures with the NHS

noreply@blogger.com (C Hutchins) — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 12:39:18 +0000

I went today for a psychiatric assessment. I spend a lot of time being evaluated, alas. This one was at a Tower Hamlets Primary Care Trust medical center. It seemed like most of the other people there were for more body-focused medical stuff. It didn't have the kind of security that Dutch mental health centers have. Indeed, the doors opened automatically as I approached.

My appointment letter was for "Ms Celeste," which is better than Miss, at least. The receptionist looked at the letter and looked at me and asked who the appointment was for. I said my name. She looked at me a long second and then said ok and told me to sit.

The shrink was youngish. He had a student sitting in, a man about my age. I said I was ok with that. "Just ignore him" said the shrink. Right.

He had me go on and on about my childhood. Which, frankly, is not that interesting. Any fascinating memoir of my life would start later. I mean, the first time a gender shrink asks you about your childhood, you get to construct a narrative of yourself in regards to gender. Did you always know something was different? Were you blissfully unaware? Did others point out locations of difference that you didn't see for yourself? All of this tempered by the understanding that the receiver of said narrative is a hurdle between you and hormones/surgery/whatever you've come for.

So I banged out a narrative for an hour about how I'm a totally reasonable sane person. He wasn't a gender specialist, so when I said FTM, he asked what that stood for. So gender issues weren't even that present in the conversation. He did use the phrase "Gender Identity Disorder" though, and it got my hackles up a bit.

I don't like being called disordered. At all. The catholic church calls homosexuality "intrinsically disordered," which is a value judgment that I'm not keen on either. Why must every location of difference be called a disorder? Could it be a condition instead? Some other medical phrase? I'm proud of who I am. Indeed, to be different means that you have to be proud or be crushed. My identity is not a disorder, it's just atypical.

Then funding came up. He asked me when my student visa expires and started talking about "planned elective surgery." Which, I mean, Tower Hamlets is not awash in cash. It's one of the poorest boroughs in London. Why should they allocate their tax money to a foreign student? I don't know how NHS funding works, but it seems to be geographically divided. Are the residents of Tower Hamlets the main funding source for their primary care trust? Or does it come out of a large pot and then is distributed by population?

In order to change my documents in California, I need to get top surgery. Also, to be able to go swimming or wear a T shirt ever again in my life. So if the NHS won't fund it, I can . . . wait or self-fund. I don't think it's reasonable to try to get it too far from where I'm actually living, so surgery in California is not a good plan unless I move back there. It's possible for people in the UK to "go private" which means pay themselves for stuff rather than wait for the NHS to decide to pay for it. I have no idea how much this would cost here, nor if it would effect them covering my T prescriptions or anything else. Aside from whether or not I could afford it, there's issues about recovery time. It's long. I won't be able to lift things for weeks. This sort of situation requires close friends and I've only lived here since August. So even if I got NHS funding, it still might not be a reasonable plan. So maybe I'm destined to wait years no matter what.

When I do get it, if I still have savings, the first thing I'm going to do is buy the bike jersey I've been wanting, which I so can't wear right now.

Birmingham Post News Blog: Are we all getting a Christmas bonus from the taxman?

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 10:45:39 +0000

Gordon Brown has been hinting again that the Government is planning to cut taxes when it presents its pre-budget report on Monday, November 24.

He told the Commons that "fiscal measures" were needed, in order to "help businesses and families now."

The Conservatives are trying to push the argument that the money to pay for tax cuts will have to come from borrowing - which will need to be paid back.

Tory leader David Cameron urged the Prime Minister to "be straight with the British people" and admit the cash will eventually have to come out of our pockets, in the form of higher taxes in years to come.

But this is a little disingenuous, as the Tories must have noticed that the Government has said more or less that.

Birmingham Hall Green MP Steve McCabe, a Government whip, said openly that the money will have to be repaid, when he spoke to the Birmingham Post & Mail recently.

Employment Minister Tony McNulty has said the same.

It's not quite certain that this will mean higher taxes, as tax revenues will rise once the economy starts to grow again even if tax rates remain the same, assuming spending is controlled.

But Labour have made no attempt to deny that taxes could eventually have to rise, and with good reason.

Mr Cameron is probably right in his prediction. But Labour are gambling that voters won't worry to much about the future if they get some extra cash in their pockets now, and if they are convinced it is all for the benefit of the wider economy as well as themselves.

What may be a problem for Mr Brown, however, is that he has raised expectations to such a level that people will be expecting a give-away mini-budget next week.

If his vaunted "fiscal measures" amount to an increase in tax credits for the low paid and a bit more on the winter fuel allowance, families on average wages who are feeling the pinch but aren't poor enough to qualify for the windfall may feel hard done by.

Online Journalism Blog: Lessons in community from community editors #7: Angela Connor of WRAL.com

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 09:46:57 +0000

I’ve been speaking to news organisations’ community editors on the lessons they’ve learned from their time in the job. Today, Angela Connor, Managing Editor/User-Generated Content WRAL.com and GOLO.com

1. Acknowledge good work

As a community manager, it is important to make your members feel valued and appreciated. When you come across a great blog, interesting comment or great photo, send your compliments to the author, and do it publicly on their profile page or directly on the content.

Remember, you’re the community leader and your opinion matters a great deal. So don’t be stingy with it. Positive reinforcement goes a long way, and it will make that member feel valued and vested. Once that happens, they’re in for the long haul.

2. Ask for help

As the person responsible for the well-being and growth of the community, it’s easy to feel and operate like an island, putting all of that work on your own shoulders.

But as the community grows, so does the number of stakeholders. Use them to your advantage.

Contact your top posters and most involved members and ask them to greet and reach out to new members. Ask them to work on a community-driven FAQ. Tell them what kind of content you’d like to see more of and ask them to help you build it.

Not everyone will jump right in, but you may be pleasantly surprised by the level of response.

3. Know when to walk away

Community management is a tough job and there are days when it can be extremely stressful. From trolls running rampant to direct abuse from visitors and an overflowing inbox filled with pettiness, sometimes it can really take its toll.

When you find yourself feeling like your head is going to explode or as though you’ve reached the end of your rope, get up and walk away. Or better yet, log off the site and just take a deep breath.

Find a message board for community managers and vent with like-minded souls familiar with your plight. And remember, there’s always tomorrow.

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D'log: Detroit accelerators

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 08:44:46 +0000

Detroit — a city not unlike Birmingham in its post-war dependence on large car makers — has commissioned a New Economy Strategies consultancy report (PDF link) on…

“the best practices strategy of large creative accelerators“

…for the purposes of growing creative clusters. As studied in: London; New Zealand; Australia; Winston-Salem (USA) ; Providence (USA); Orlando, Florida (USA); and Charleston (USA).

The 29-page report is available here (PDF link), and there’s also a podcast…

“Chris Ilitch of Ilitch Holdings, Inc. and special guest Kelly Lee, Executive Vice President of Innovation Philadelphia [...] speak with guest host Sabrina Keeley, Vice President of Detroit Renaissance, and discuss the benefits of a creative economy accelerator.”

“creative sector businesses are now eligible for state ‘mega tax-breaks’ in our state” (Chris Ilitch)

Given the recently expressed concerns of the Custard Factory’s Bennie Gray, Detroit’s findings seem as though they might be both timely and potentially transferrable.

D'log: 75 comics currently being made into films

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 08:31:26 +0000

A big list of 75 comics currently being made into films. The problem being, of course; how many comic-films can you remember rising above simple forgettable entertainment? Nausicaa (an animation)? X-Men 2? American Splendor? And er… that’s it, to my mind. But even if all but five of the 75 are likely to be dross at best, I have some hopes for any feature-film featuring the Marvel icons Doctor Strange and Nick Fury.

D'log: Big bits

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 08:12:05 +0000

Birmingham Central picks the meaty bits off the City Centre Masterplan (aka The Big Plan).

Update: there’s now also a digest of the Big Plan Options.

D'log: Reverse geocoding

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 08:02:08 +0000

Birmingham’s Subtrakt (kudos to them for recently winning a gong) point to a fascinating new ‘place-shaping’ ability for a Flickr/Google Maps API mashup…

“Flickr recently made a loads of interesting geo information available, by plotting the outside edge of geotagged photos they’ve managed to roughly show where a ‘place’ is according to people who have taken photos in that area.”

And they show an example of Digbeth. The reverse geocoding can be done via the Shape of Alpha API, it seems.

D'log: Morning Travelogue

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 07:03:31 +0000

Morning Travelogue, a video-blog by a London bloke who’s decided to try walking to work.

Warning; sea-sickness inducing wobbly camerawork. He really needs a tripod (probably tricky in Central London, if you don’t want van-loads of police suddenly jumping on you) or a camera with video stabilisation. Or else he needs to practice for a steadier hand in fairly static shots and pans, and then to run the videos through freeware such as Deshaker before he puts them online.

D'log: C:Cubed

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 07:01:05 +0000

The Arts Council are launching their Digital Content Development Programme for the West Midlands (previously piloted in South Yorkshire from 2005) at the ill-fated The Public building in West Bromwich on Thursday 4th December 08.

It’s a three-year programme, overseen by Steve Manthorp, and in South Yorkshire its remit was…

1) give annual research and development (R&D) awards of up to £50,000 to leading artistic, media and technical talent to explore the creative and economic possibilities of innovative content for new and emerging media platforms.

2) [smaller] awards help you take proposals from initial concept to pilot or prototype stage, where they could attract further development funding, production investment or full commissioning.

3) [enabling] creative and digital companies and individual practitioners to work with partners anywhere in the world.

At the West Bromwich launch there’ll also be talks by the already-launched 4iP, and ideas-generation activities…

“This is your chance to find out about [...] 4IP and the Digital Content Development Programme. Meet the funders and find out what they are looking for. The day will bring decision-makers from key regional arts organisations and digital agencies together [...] Up to three winning ideas created at C:CUBED will be awarded £1,000 development grants”

It’s on a Thursday, so I can’t go even if I had an invite — but it seems that the event is to be webcast…

“This event is invitation only, but sessions will be webcast live and available online.”

[ Hat-tip: Dave Harte ]

Antonio Roberts: The Shape of Digbeth - A Cat

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 22:52:02 +0000

I saw this (via here):

And I instantly saw this:

The Shape of Digbeth, ladies and gentlemen, is a cat. If you should encounter this cat please have a supply of catnip with you.

The Coffee Grounds: The Great JezUK Computing Lab Infrastructure Rejiggle of 2008 - A Noisy Fan

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 22:17:55 +0000

The noisy fan belonged to Animal, my email and subversion server. It was never the quietest machine and it had gradually become noiser and noisier over the years. In the past few months, it had started intermittently clattering. Now one noisy cooling fan doesn't a impending catastrophic hardware failure make, but it was a constant nagging reminder that the machine was ever more aging. Rather than wait for the box to eventually keel over I decided, in a non-specific mañana kind of way, to preempt it by doing an infrastructure makeover.

Over the past year or so, I'd toyed with buying another Linkstation, reflashing it to turn it into a proper little computer (rather than a dedicated fileserver) and set that up to handle the email. It's sounds like a fun little project, but the seemingly non-stop changes in hardware and the necessary knock changes to software make for somewhat of a moving target. Plus I'm naturally inclined to laziness.

Clattery-clattery ... but I had to do something. I had, after all, decided. I just needed something to come along and magically make rejiggling less faff, while simultaneously avoiding the risk of breaking anything that already works. And where do you find something like that ...

[Add a comment]

By The Way...: Ikon Gallery new exhibition.

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 22:16:50 +0000

http://www.ikon-gallery.co.uk/

*wonders if Deirdre Alden will make a fuss about this one*

If she does then she's at least consistent.

If she doesn't then she's an opportunistic fame seeker.

There's certainly one exhibition which should catch her all seeing, shock seeking, swivelling eye. The Madonna and Child. Only it's not Mary, it's a chimp. D'you see what the artist did there? Clever stuff. Bet no one will threaten to blow up the ikon, smash it's windows, bet there won't be angry protests about having this sort of filth so close to Christmas... won't someone think of the children!?

Should be good for the Daily Mail/Birmingham Evening Mail letters page.

Of course, yours truly won't be commenting. Oh no.

Digital Rant: WordPress gets high honours

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 21:23:00 +0000

I was very impressed to read WordPress’s accessibility out of the box. There are a few issues to iron out before AAA is reached but that’s pretty good going I think you’ll agree! So if you are looking for a blogging engine or a simple CMS go for WordPress.