The Null Device

2000/12/7

Oh dear; Alice in Wonderland goes goth. And Wes Craven is involved...

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Left-leaning British newspaper The Guardian is launching a legal challenge against two laws at the core of the British monarchy. The Guardian argues that the Act of Settlement, by banning Catholics from the monarchy and favouring male succession, contravenes the Human Rights Act, while the Treason Felony Act, which prohibits incitement to republicanism, contravenes the European Convention's guarantee of free speech.

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Trainspotter's log: I went down to Heartland this afternoon, and traded in six CDs I no longer listened to (various industriogothic acts, and a few indie albums which didn't grow on me), and bought Baxendale's You Will Have Your Revenge (more on this on my CD recommendations page, though suffice to say it's fun) and Black Box Recorder's The Facts of Life CD1 single (which I bought for the B-sides; I find the top-40 sub-R&B title track quite irritating, though Start As You Mean To Go On is BBR at their ironically detatched finest. (I first found it on Napster and decided I needed a proper copy for my collection; tell that to the RIAA.)

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The typefaces of Barry Deck, the vaguely punk typographer who brought us Template Gothic and Cyberotica, fonts that will no doubt play a big role in a few decades when '90s retro comes in. Via Virulent Memes. (Btw, is the thing about Eric Gill and his dog a verified fact, or just an urban legend?)

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Tension, apprehension and dissension: Thanks to the on-hold music at a music shop, I now have the manufactured R&B/reggae version of Say A Little Prayer playing in my head. Perhaps it's a testament to Bacharach's musical genius that it's such a catchy tune, but why, for the love of God, did it have to be that particular remake?

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Researchers at Japan's National Institute of Longevity Sciences claim that moderate drinking boosts intelligence, and increases the drinker's IQ. Wonder how that works; possibly by culling all the unfit brain cells and making room for the fit ones?

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Graham: re: Synæthesia. Peter mentioned that they're moving. That's a Good Thing in my opinion, as their new location is a lot less out of my way than Prahran (I haven't actually visited them; shameful, I know). There are probably a number of things there I wish to check out, which the regular haunts (such as PolyEster) and the big online shops haven't heard of. Speaking of record shops, I'll be taking some old CDs I no longer listen to to Heartland, and trading them in, most probably for a Black Box Recorder single and/or possibly an album by a UK indie act named Baxendale. Also on my list of stuff to get is the Stone Roses remix album (which sounds pretty interesting, even to someone who didn't get into the Roses other than Fools Gold) and the new Delerium album, which features a number of guest artists including Lisa Gerrard and Kirsty Hawkshaw.

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re: the BBC Theremin simulator: I just played around with it a little (under Windows 98 running on VMWare). It's pretty nifty. Somehow I get the feeling the developers of it listened to quite a bit of Portishead.

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The results of the Annals of Improbable Research's investigation into the sending of odd items through the US postal service:

The balloon was attached to a weight. The address was written on the balloon with magic marker; no postage was affixed. Our operative argued strongly that he should be charged a negative postage and refunded the postal fees, because the transport airplane would actually be lighter as a result of our postal item. This line of reasoning merely received a laugh from the clerk. The balloon was refused; reasons given: transportation of helium, not wrapped.

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