“Any time is a long time when you’re breathing water.”

July 29, 2008

Christopher Hitchens’ article in Vanity Fair tells the true experience of being waterboarded. Not pleasant reading, but necessary.

The author catches his breath after undergoing his first waterboarding session.
http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2008/08/hitchens200808?printable=true&currentPage=all

Shall we play a game?

July 24, 2008

Wired has an interesting look back at War Games, the proto-geek move that deluded a generation that messing around with an Amstrad would somehow change the world.

WarGames: A Look Back at the Film That Turned Geeks and Phreaks Into Stars

Free writing software

July 18, 2008

Just a quick note to mention that www.giveawayoftheday.com is offering Liquid Story Binder for free today.  It’s a piece of software designed make it easier to produce books, plays and so on.  Haven’t looked at it yet and am slightly dubious as to its worth (I think less is more when it comes to stuff like this and prefer to have fewer bells and whistles between me and the page), but at the price of precisely nothing, it’s surely worth a gander.

 

(Offer expires at approximately 7AM GMT on 19th July 2008)

Iran II - The Return

July 17, 2008

With the news today that the US is preparing to place embassy staff in Iran for the first time in nearly 30 years, it’s worth taking a look at this article in Wired (together with the accompanying gallery) which details just how the diplomats were evacuated in the first place.  It’s a strange old story that involves the CIA faking a Hollywood movie in order to smuggle the US civil servants out of revolutionary Iran.  Definitely worth a look and needless to say, it would probably make a great film.

Wired.com: How the CIA Used a Fake Sci-Fi Flick to Rescue Americans from Tehran

All American Hero

July 16, 2008

Warren Ellis on writing a G.I. Joe adaptation

HASBRO: No, Warren, you cannot wipe Beijing from the face of the earth.

ME: Shit. (pause) What about Moscow?

HASBRO: Wiping Moscow from the face of the earth would be fine.

Armageddon Session Vol.2: Live from the Bunker

July 15, 2008

RubbishBunker
Just realised that I haven’t plugged the latest DJ Rubbish album, which is available now from Amazon.co.uk. It’s his best yet - somehow managing to be simultaneously more coherent and more insane. No mean feat.