The CannibalRabbit bites back
I just knew that I had to have this T-shirt as soon as I saw it; even though it’s yellow!
A brief panic ensued when I realised that it was yesterday’s shirt, and the good people at woot.com [^] release a new design every day. I thought that I had missed out, but luckily there were left-overs. This t-shirt is titled "Death has Keen Eyesight [^]" and has more than a little of the "Were-Rabbit [^]" about it.
Now I just have a four or five weeks to wait until it’s delivered.
I got home tonight just in time to see some of the footage of the fire at the Grand Pier in Weston-Super-Mare. The Grand Pier is very much a key piece of the Weston landscape, and a landmark of the sea-front.
The Grand Pier - Wikipedia Commons - RodW
(Photo Credit: Wikipedia Commons – RodW)
Weston was a great part of my childhood, with frequent family day-trip by train to the town though summer. It must have been a logistical nightmare – usually at least 6 adults and 4 children – up for an early train loaded up with provisions for the entire day.
The visit to the Grand Pier, and pouring a hand-full of 1p pieces through the one-armed bandits was always a much anticipated way to cap-off the day. I’ve heard from two cousins to let me know of the bad news (thank-you, Linda and Nicola), that’s some sort of an indication of what this place means to us all.
Yes, we had freezing-cold days on the beach there, and showery days, but we were on holiday. But it was deck-chairs, buckets and spades, sand-castles, ice cream, fish and chips, and the Pier were what Weston was all about.
Last year, on our honeymoon, Mrs CannibalRabbit and I managed a flying visit just after the Pier had closed-up for the day, and we had fish and chips on the promenade. Then I had one of my childhood questions answered; what’s it like when everyone has gone home? Just like it is during the day – only without all of the people. Now I just wish that I had bothered to walk down the sea-front a little way and got a photo from the other side of the pier, into the sunset.
Grand Pier Sunset - CannibalRabbit - May 2007
Sarah Illenberger's Woolen Brain and Kidney
There is something about these woolen organs created by Sarah Illenberger [^]; delicate and realistic, yet fluffy. This isn’t quite as macabre as the test lab bunny from a few months ago, but the brain really put fuzzy logic into context.
An interview with Simon Pegg, of Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead fame, has just gone up at Wired.com [^]. In it he talks about the development of the British hit series “Spaced”, which is just being released in the US on DVD.
The cast of Spaced
When we wrote it, … there wasn’t a sitcom that was aimed at twenty-somethings. Everything was really off the mark. It was brightly lit sets with attractive people talking about sex. It was inaccurate. There was a lot more to it than sex. We weren’t being spoken to. As a viewer, I enjoy being spoken to very specifically. It’s amazing when you connect on a personal level. We said: “Let’s write something’s that specific to our own experience.” Simon Pegg on Wired.com
In it Simon talks about some of the movies that he has made, and is making now, and scotches the rumour that he will be the next Dr Who if David Tennant ever leaves. Here’s looking forward to an Australian release – perhaps it can go on my Xmas pressie list!
Internet Crooks
There have been a couple of different views of internet scammers that I have read recently.
At Wired.com [^] recently there was a comparison of the con-man in the digital and pre-internet ages. Lore Sjöberg argues that in earlier times the con-man was an artist, individually tailoring each scam for each victim. Once you had been bled, at least you had a good story, a very expensive story, as some form of consolation. In the digital age you are just one recipient amongst many thousands being targeted but the scammer today. Has the art of the scam been lost, or maybe the scam is just mass-produced so many other things in this modern age.
Confidence tricks revolve around gaining the confidence of the victim, and as obvious as most internet scams appear there are still plenty of victims. This victims are often new to computers and the internet, luckily there is a group looking out for them – and I don’t mean the “security” software companies either. The Age [^] has run a story about a group that are working on getting revenge on internet con-artists. This group are known as scam-baiters, and they actively seek-out scams. Along with the revenge aspect they also work with authorities to publicise the the issues and help to provide evidence for a conviction.
It seems that as far as the digital scamming is concerned the art may very well have moved on to the scam-baiters. The efforts that they go to for no return, other than being able to feel good about themselves, are amazing.