Entries Categorised as 'Opinion'

Book Review – Blouse Roumaine

May 17th, 2009 · No Comments · Opinion

Blouse Roumaine by Constantin Roman

Blouse Roumaine by Prof. Constantin Roman is a book like no other. Written over a period of 7 years, as a labour of love, and finally released online, in eBook format, for the world to get it hands on, it takes the premise of the Blouse Roumaine, as painted by Matisse, Picasso and other, and purveys its symbolism as one of national identity and gender.

The book covers the lives of some 160 Romanian women, some by birth, some by marriage and some merely by the confluence of politics & history, and plays out their real, and often harrowing stories in the forms of full-length biographies and quotations by them and of them. For those that think that Romania is nothing more than Dracula and Ceaucescu, the book has a lot to teach you, trawling back through history to antiquity and bringing you slap bang up-to-date to the present day. The roster of women in the book includes, royals, aristocrats, politicians, political instigators and prisoners, starlettes, musicians, and athletes, to name but a few callings. Many are well-known, but equally, many have been off the radar for decades, if not centuries.

Though perhaps seemingly highly academic, the Blouse Roumaine is as much of use and interest to academics as it it to those who are interested in Romania, Eastern Europe, Gender and Feminist Studies, and wide-ranging interest and general knowledge as a whole. The book is by no means an encyclopedia of Romanian Women and is more an anthology of selected voices. Many unheard till now. And with many of these grand dames of recent Romanian history passing away with each year that goes by, most recently Monica Lovinescu, it is all the more important to give them the exposure and recognition they deserve beyond their beloved homeland. The fact that the book is in English rather than Romanian, as was a recently published and more than coincidentally similar book from Humanitas, the Romanian publishing house, is a massive bonus to its author, Prof. Constantin Roman, and his vision for the book to reach a much wider audience.

Though the price tag of some $32.99 might seem like a lot, the book stretches to a whopping 1000+ pages and includes quotes, biographies, bibliographic references, discographies, chronologies, online resources, indices, appendices and much more. The forward by Prof. Catherine Durandin and the 20+ page introduction regarding women of the Balkans through the ages are worth every cent you spend in purchasing the eBook.

Without a doubt, the Blouse Roumaine bathes this East European country in a light never seen before, and those who thought they knew everything there is to be known about the country should think again.

To find out more and purchase the eBook, visit blouseroumaine.com.

And Finally …

May 6th, 2009 · No Comments · Opinion

So, today, Last.fm announces that they are announcing Visual Radio. Not to be confused with Video or TV, visual radio, amongst other things allows users to play music and watch pic-after-pic loaded into the flash player with the Burns effect. “So what!” you might say to yourself, and i would be inclined to agree. The innovation of music and video, or should i say moving pictures, is nothing new. When the first broadcast went out via MTV on August 1st, 1981, some 28 years ago, that was an industry changing event.

Last.fm-Visual Radio
What this new player does for Last.fm though is to bring them up-to-date with what is going on out there on the web in their own industry, not so much the visual stuff but with other hidden features in the new player, like Combo Radio, which puts them back in line with services like Spotify. The new combo feature will also be hugely welcomed by long-time listeners given the propensity for Last.fm to get highly repetitive, an offshoot of listening to the same stuff all the time, which, given that humans are creatures of habit, is highly likely.

Given the recent ruckus over making non UK US and DE site visitors pay-to-play its clear that the biggest update to this player is the opportunity to monetize, less so on the affiliate side, but in the background images and elsewhere that allow Last.fm to push their own warez and those of their current advertising paymasters, Vodafone as we speak. The massive update to the player more likely paves the way for new forms of advertising in player than were not being exploited before. Perhaps in video, or equally as likely in audio. With an increasing need to actually monetize and pay up for the “exorbitant” fees rights holders are demanding the commercial pressures to inject new styles or advertising are in abundance. But all this is really window dressing.

Beyond all the above, design-wise, it’s a shame that the player and the rest of the content is pushed far down the page, thus forcing you to scroll up and down the page to both see the visuals and take advantage of the data: similar artists, events, shouts and whatever else, that loads in each time a new song starts on the player. It’s alright if you have a spare 19 or 24″ display in in a vertical position hooked up to your computer but even on a high-end apple mac book pro you are forced to scroll up and down. There are other obvious bugs too but I am sure they will work them out in due course as the masses pile in to try it out.

Overall, the design is pleasing, though maybe too busy for my liking, and very usable once you get used to it, and judging by comments left on the blog announcement of the new listen pages, the visitors-at-large are generally liking it too, even if they don’t watch and listen at the same time.

I am sure the guys at Last are actively partaking in a bout of mutual back-slappery, all too pleased with their recent endeavours and the fruits of their labour. If not, then I am sure the chap smiling in the picture is happy as the update brings even more dollars gushing in.

Why I Will Always Buy My Music From Aquarius Records, SF

May 2nd, 2009 · No Comments · Opinion

In a day and age when people are increasingly buying music online, either in physical format or download, and have access to just about every single item ever published, I will still continue to buy my music from Aquarius Records. Why you ask yourself? Well, if nothing else, for the following reasons:

Aquarius Records is like a friend. It is a living breathing organism. It is the kind of friendly face, warm smile and knowledgeable source that Amazon and iTunes never can be. Sites like Last.fm try to emulate this with their social networking component, and do so successfully, but they are not a shop. Because of the ability to humanize the store, through its employees, owners and most importantly its history, it’s possible to feel an attachment to the store.

Aquarius Records provides access to content and distribution channels that few others do. By tapping into the prolific San Francisco music scene and by acting as a valued member of the community they are able to help those musicians by giving them a willing audience and ready market worldwide. The only site that can really come close, currently to this level of access is myspace. Last.fm, Spotify and whomever, are great for the major label back catalogue but they do less well at a grass roots level.

Aquarius Records isn’t just a store, they are also provide some form of editorial content. Every two weeks they put out a new arrivals list with some 100 reviews and probably near 300 audio samples. many of these items are limited edition runs that might barely reach a larger audience, but it’s still cool to be able to read, listen, learn and possibly even be one of those to get your dirty mits on the few copies that they have. They also do in-store editions which are posted online for those unlucky enough not to be able to reach the store for the show.

Last, but not least, I buy from Aquarius because I want to not only help them, but because I prefer to buy CDs and not MP3s. This isn’t a fuddy duddy, old skool, die hard attitude and unwillingness to change old habits, it is a purely practical choice. The practicality of it stems from the fact that once I buy the CD I can do as I wish with it, rip it in whatever format I like and put it wherever I like. If anything ever happens to the files I have made I can always go back to the cd and re-rip. If you buy an MP3 what are the chances you can gain access to it again once your hard drive has crashed, iPod has been stolen, or some other catastrophe?

The 18th April 2009 was Record Store Day, and although I didn’t end up buying anything from aQ or anywhere else on that day, I think that my concerted effort to help, support and promote Aquarius and other indie music stores over the last 6 years, not least with over 100 purchases totalling circa 1500 CDs has been a very real benefit. As @giantlawnmower suggests, Record Store Day should be every day, not just once a year. And although it sucks that we have to get the music industry and consumers out of the woodwork to help support indie retailers once a year, it proves a point that people need to wake up and support their local music community, retailers and all, rather than just take-take-take.

Even if you don’t buy at all, subscribe to their mailing list, and if you feel so inclined, support this worthy 40 year old San Francisco institution by donating via paypal from their home page!

Whatever Happened to The European Wine Lakes?

April 28th, 2009 · No Comments · Opinion

If you ever asked yourself the question, you now have the answer. It turns out those wiley MPs in Westminster are siphoning them off to the whitehall cellars. According to the BBC the Whitehall cellars contain £800,000 worth of booze. As if the palace of Westminster wasn’t party enough.

Clearly high off the alcoholic fumes, it’s no wonder British MPs come up with half-baked bills and plans, do nothing for the populous at large and do everything to stave off the prospect of losing the benefits and other treats they rob the country for.

With Brown, Cameron and Clegg up to their neck in the stuff (and no I don’t mean shit) its hardly surprising we don’t have an effective 3 party democracy, and with MPs voting down MEP-style benefits, they really must have it good, after years of complaining about the fat cats of Strasbourg swiping off the cream.

Oh well, time to slump back in my arm chair and breath a sigh of resignation. Either that or to dream up a new gun powder plot a la Guido Fawkes, god bless his merry soul.

‘Bill set to expose gender pay gap’ but how about some transparency on MPs Pay & Expenses?

April 26th, 2009 · No Comments · Opinion

Back on my favourite topic of Somali pirates, British MPs are at it again. Apparently what’s good for the goose ain’t good for the gander. The BBC has published a piece of news that tomorrow MPs will be hearing The Equality Bill that:

“aims to tackle discrimination against a range of groups including women, the elderly and those from lower social classes.”

Ms Harman, Minister for Equality, says the recession is no excuse to leave inequalities unchecked, and quite right too, but whatever happened to the chance of closing the equality gap between general joe public tax-payer and those who sit at Westminster? If only we could all claim huge salaries, expense second homes with all modern thrills attached, be assured gold-plated and copper-bottomed pensions at the exchequer’s expense.

Maybe it is time to re-enact the great uprising of 1381, otherwise known as the Peasants’ Revolt or Tyler’s Rebellion.

DeathWatTylerFull