Courtesy of The Poke comes this little gem, designed by G. Nolst Trenité to test your pronunciation of English. There are a couple of challenging moments, even for those of us who like to think of ourselves modestly as master word smiths. Good luck! If you can pronounce correctly every word in this poem, you will be [...]
Archive for the ‘culture’ Category
The trouble with words
Posted in culture, popular culture, tagged culture, english, english pronunciation, entertainment, language, words on January 5, 2012 | 2 Comments »
Wooden wonder – Levi van Veluw’s new automata
Posted in arts, culture, tagged artist, arts, automata, van veluw on January 5, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
Automata are non-electronic moving machines that, in ancient times, were used either as toys, or idols or to demonstrate basic scientific principles. Art and design website Colossal carries images and a video of Dutch artist Levi van Veluw’s newest creation, in wood (originally sourced from Faith Is Torment). There is something fascinating and beautiful about [...]
Kodak: harking back to a golden – or rather silvered – era
Posted in culture, history, science, tech, tagged culture, film, history, kodak, tech, technology, the light farm on January 5, 2012 | 2 Comments »
It is sometimes shocking to sit and think how quickly technology has come on in just a few short years. Photography is something I have always enjoyed, being brought up on Dad’s slides and even his own attempts to create a dark room in the attic. I remember my first Kodak camera with its stacked, [...]
Stunning street art illusions
Posted in arts, culture, tagged arts, illusions, public art, street art on November 12, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
I’ve mentioned my love of illusions before. One of the things that has captivated me since I first stumbled across it online is that genre of art where artists compose 3D illusions on pavements, usually out of chalk. There is something genuinely fascinating about the way the brain tricks the eye and some of the [...]
Logs, spandex and the geo-politics of Rocky IV
Posted in arts, culture, film, international, politics, popular culture, tagged film, popular culture, rocky iv, stallone on November 5, 2011 | 1 Comment »
We had a delivery of logs this morning and, singledom introducing a whole new desire to shape up and get fit, I stuck my headphones on – Whitesnake, Alice Cooper and Biffy Clyro - and threw myself into the log heap. As I worked up a sweat, stacking them against the side of the house, [...]
Music by wine glass – the haunting “glass harp” of Robert Tiso
Posted in arts, culture, music, tagged arts, glass harp, music, skoda, tiso on November 5, 2011 | 1 Comment »
There are some strange instruments in this world – and one of them is a staple component of Sunday dinner (at Hillcroft at least): the wine glass. I can recall numerous evenings where we have, after too many bottles of Pinot Noir, attempted to play a few notes between however many happen to be perched [...]
Animals, boats, magic, adventures – and lashings of ginger beer
Posted in arts, books, culture, personal, tagged arts, blyton, books, enid blyton, me on November 4, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
I always wanted to be Barney. Or Jack. Or even Rory. I think I was probably Julian. At best Philip. And sometimes I may have been just a bit of a Dick. Growing up in the countryside, with my imagination and a ready-made gang of four (brother and two cousins), I was never far from [...]
More gaming nostlagia
Posted in arts, culture, entertainment, gaming, tech, tagged arts, games, gaming on October 29, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Boing Boing, one of my favourite quirky blogs, has a great piece of nostalgia for fellow geek gamers. It’s a compilation of classic arcade game deaths. Funny how, for a whole generation, these blocky, pixellated images evoke memories of wet Saturday afternoons hunched over the latest state of the art console. Video games were an [...]
Tea Genius
Posted in arts, culture, entertainment, popular culture, television, tagged ads, adverts, arts, entertainment, television on October 26, 2011 | 2 Comments »
Every now and then you see a piece of advertising genius. I know it’s not completely new, but I love the style and sentiment in this ad for Twinings Tea (I am clearly feeling soppy after a long day!):
The best children’s television programme in the world ever…? (Take 1) #tv
Posted in arts, culture, entertainment, history, television, tagged cartoons, children's tv, entertainment, television, tv on March 25, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
My future brother-in-law, Mr Bagnall, reminded me of one television programme that must be one of my all-time favourite childhood memories. Who could have thought that a five minute short animation of the simplest kind could create such a comforting sense of timelessness? When so many of today’s children’s programmes are such a disruptive mess [...]
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About Me (Ben Williams)
With far too many interests, I've never been known to be short of an opinion - to the infuriation of friends and family alike. As a result, over the years I've come to recognise that "contradictory" and "contrary" are not unfair descriptions of me.My Lib Dem politics, my doubt-stricken Christianity, my love of revolution, my fear of change, literature, art, music, writing, my fascination with new tech, gaming and MMOs, diabetes, my passion for poker, my disdain for gambling, Cornwall, Bavaria, the places that inspire and depress me, my relief in lonely countryside and my attraction to the cruel crush of the city: at some point it will all end up here.
This is my space to share those reflections on all the things that provoke me and just perhaps I'll capture some of those fleeting fragmented thoughts that otherwise are lost in the ether of busy days.
Ben
N.B. For the time being I am taking a little break from the political commentary. History, art, social observation, culture, technology, weather, people, places, faith, religion, entertainment, the arts... But no politics. ;-)
Where am I coming from?
My Political Views
I am a center-left moderate social libertarian
Left: 1.64, Libertarian: 3.29
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- The trouble with words http://t.co/zUnCmKwD 1 month ago
- Wooden wonder - Levi van Veluw's new automata http://t.co/Tp1aw8LR 1 month ago
- Kodak: harking back to a golden - or rather silvered - era http://t.co/BF0kvOIM 1 month ago
- From Scooby Doo to the human beat-box and Queen of the Night: the stunning versatility of the human voice http://t.co/OYOMlOyF 2 months ago
- Iconic 'taches - inspiration for mid-Movember growers #movember http://t.co/2HjuC3s2 3 months ago
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