Ktmnky

Surely once it shows up in The Guardian, a meme is dead. And...

Thu, 20 Mar 2008 08:47:26 +0000

Surely once it shows up in The Guardian, a meme is dead.

And now, for this important information.

Vintage Logos - “Collection of vintage logos from a...

Wed, 19 Mar 2008 16:18:00 +0000

Vintage Logos - “Collection of vintage logos from a mid-70’s edition of the book World of Logotypes.”

This particular one is for “Combined Communications Corporation” out of Phoenix, Arizona.

I’ve seen this picture around for years without actually...

Tue, 18 Mar 2008 10:55:45 +0000

I’ve seen this picture around for years without actually seeing it. Always in the background, a sort of racial memory of a time when Exotica ruled the Western world, and cocktails and Hawaiian shirts were the epitome of cool.

It’s been sitting at Luna for ages now, taunting me each time I walk past on my way home from work. When I would go in and enquire, the price was always too high, especially for something that wasn’t an actual painting.

Today, Daphne’s Handbag had it for £35. And I couldn’t say no.

Her name is Tina. And she was painted by J.H. Lynch. And I love her.

5.3 on the Richter Scale, shaking the East Midlands awake just...

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 08:53:19 +0000

5.3 on the Richter Scale, shaking the East Midlands awake just before 1am.

Yes, it’s true, I brought the earthquakes with me when I moved from L.A. Be glad I didn’t bring the hurricanes from New Orleans.

I’ve started listening to the Vintage Horror Radio...

Tue, 29 Jan 2008 03:41:00 +0000

I’ve started listening to the Vintage Horror Radio podcast, a collection of old-time horror radio shows.

There’s just something about spending your morning commute hearing Vincent Price in The Pit and the Pendulum that brightens up even the gloomiest morning.

I bought some Mung beans at Wilkinsons, as part of my current...

Thu, 24 Jan 2008 15:48:35 +0000

I bought some Mung beans at Wilkinsons, as part of my current domestic craze.

I thought Mmm. I love bean sprouts. But stir-fry kits are so expensive and have too many sprouts in them. I will buy some beans, turn them into sprouts, and enjoy the delicious sprouty fruits of my labour.

At the register, the cashier looked closely at the package. “What, you eat them?” she said, looking up at me.

“You grow them then eat them,” I replied.

She looked back down at the package.

“It’s just what’s in stir-fries,” I added.

“Oh…” The cashier looked at the package again. “I don’t eat stir-fries.”

“Oh.”

“I’m a picky eater.” And with that she continued scanning in my purchases.

Oh, I thought to myself. Such people do exist.

In true L’espirit de l’escalier, I wish I had said “Oh, that’s not picky eating. That’s pathetic eating. You’re missing out on one of the great easy pleasures in life because you’re too busy stuffing your face with whatever godawful swill you enjoy while you’re working at the bloody Wilkos! Eat a goddamned bean sprout for once in your goddamned life!”

On the other hand, I hate broccoli. And cauliflower. And most fish.

Laugh-Out-Loud Cats #717 is what my brain does every morning.

Mon, 21 Jan 2008 08:49:08 +0000

Laugh-Out-Loud Cats #717 is what my brain does every morning.

I Can Has Rezearch Papar?, a short paper about the creation of...

Mon, 14 Jan 2008 13:35:06 +0000

I Can Has Rezearch Papar?, a short paper about the creation of Internet memes, including 4chan, Caturday, YTMND, LOLCats, ORLY, and a dozen other acroynms and strange internet speak that you keep on using, but don’t realise where it came from.

Everything I do, I do it for the lulz.

I’m in the middle of re-reading Dale Spender’s...

Thu, 10 Jan 2008 22:12:01 +0000

I’m in the middle of re-reading Dale Spender’s Nattering on the Net: Women, Power and Cyberspace, a 1995 study of gender, power, and technology.

It’s a bit dated, naturally, but it came at a time when I was spending most of my time in my university’s women’s center, working at the small computer lab we put together to get women using the Internet. In fact, I bought this copy when Dale Spender came to speak about women on the Internet. I introduced her, even, and I do regret not spending more time talking to her.

So along with my nostalgia trip over my university days, I’m also enjoying reading this because it’s still relevant today. How women relate to technology, and how technology relates to women.

I do wish she’d come out with an updated version, though. Or post more on her blog. Because I’d love to see what she’d get from blogs, social networking, and even the mighty cliché of Second Life.

(If you’re in the mood for something similar from around the same time, I also recommend Surfer Grrrls: Look, Ethel! An Internet Guide for Us! by Laurel Gilbert and Crystal Kile. And not just because Crystal was my boss back at Newcomb.)

I swear, I’m not this bad. Honest.

Wed, 02 Jan 2008 07:36:48 +0000

I swear, I’m not this bad.

Honest.

I just signed Chegwin up to the Nottingham Evening Post’s...

Sat, 29 Dec 2007 16:56:53 +0000

I just signed Chegwin up to the Nottingham Evening Post’s Prize Pet of the Year Competition.

Entries appear in the paper on February 11th. I expect everyone in Nottingham to vote for him.

This collection of Russian space-themed Christmas cards seems to...

Thu, 20 Dec 2007 19:16:21 +0000

This collection of Russian space-themed Christmas cards seems to have been created specifically for me.

It’s as if, 50 or so years ago, someone went “Let’s combine space, and Christmas, and modernist design, because, in the future, there will be this woman named Kate and she loves this stuff!”

Thank you, person from the past!

One day, Keith Chegwin, you shall be usurped. Your name will no...

Wed, 19 Dec 2007 11:21:00 +0000

One day, Keith Chegwin, you shall be usurped. Your name will no longer show up as #1 entry on Google for “chegwin”.

One day, a single goldfish shall take your throne, reducing you before the power of his mighty awesomeness. Through his website, through his Myspace, and now through his Twitter, Chegwin shall reign supreme!

Watch your back, Mr. Chegwin. Watch your back.

Sometimes, there’s a costume. It might be for sale. And...

Wed, 19 Dec 2007 08:42:48 +0000

Sometimes, there’s a costume. It might be for sale. And you might want it with a passion you didn’t think you could have over a few scraps of cloth.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you: Karl Hungus’ Cable Repairman outfit.

He’s come to fix the cable.

Welcome to the tiny town of Lemurania, part of MyMiniCity.

Mon, 17 Dec 2007 13:23:42 +0000

Welcome to the tiny town of Lemurania, part of MyMiniCity.

May your days be filled with terror and tentacles! Don’t...

Mon, 17 Dec 2007 08:18:28 +0000

May your days be filled with terror and tentacles!

Don’t forget! Cephalopodmas falls on December 22nd by the human calendar! Get your special squamous someone something fetid!

I so have a new holiday now.

On the bus today, the CCTV television was broken, showing...

Fri, 14 Dec 2007 10:43:37 +0000

On the bus today, the CCTV television was broken, showing nothing but static.

Which made me think about リング, the Japanese horror movie about a cursed video tape.

If the static switched to the video, and it was shown to an entire bus, would it affect everyone on the bus? What about the people who were reading or knitting or just staring out the window? Would Sadako come to the same bus one week later, no matter who was on the bus, or would she come to the people individually?

But just the image of a video playing, silently, on a slightly scratched and abused bus CCTV television, people staring at it confusedly. It finishes and they look away, wondering what sort of marketing campaign made something so horrific, when every mobile in the bus starts to ring. A cacophony of ringtones, from the shrill MIDI-based defaults to the rough recorded-off-the-radio homemade ringtones to the slight buzzing from a mobile set to silent.

A rush of activity as people dig in coats and bags, pulling out the still ringing mobiles. Some can’t bring themselves to answer, staring at their mobiles and the “NO NUMBER” flashing merrily on the screen. Others quickly divert to voice mail, or turn off their phones, or keep them buried down at the bottom of their bags.

But some answer. And through the muffled static and unholy grinding, a whisper cuts through, echoed across several networks, through different handsets, telling everyone:

“Seven Days”

As I move closer and closer to moving house, I find myself...

Mon, 10 Dec 2007 15:44:56 +0000

As I move closer and closer to moving house, I find myself constantly playing with FloorPlanner, a Flash-based interface that lets you build your house and move about furniture without the actual hard labour.

Excellent for someone who only owns a minimum of furniture and a maximum of books/toys/rubbish.

The Enigma of Amigara Fault. Some astoundingly...

Mon, 10 Dec 2007 11:55:00 +0000

The Enigma of Amigara Fault. Some astoundingly creepy-but-work-safe horror from Junji Ito’s Gyo. It sends shivers down your spine, it’s a delightfully slow build in only a few pages, and the ending is brilliant.

Found on Neatorama.

Cowboys For Christ, Robin Hardy’s novel, is tenuously a...

Fri, 07 Dec 2007 10:37:00 +0000

Cowboys For Christ, Robin Hardy’s novel, is tenuously a sequel to The Wicker Man, involving resolute virginal Christians, lewd Scottish villagefolk, and ancient terrifying traditions.

Alas, it is not a direct sequel, which means I’ll never get that opening sentence I secretly long for…

Officer Howie was right. The crops did fail.