Jeckecko

Arabella Weir…

…on carbon credits

“Think of the deal as Catholicism for the environmentally aware - you can pretty much do what you like but you have to atone for it later by buying something that makes you feel better about doing the thing you probably ought not to have done in the first place. Carbon credits are Hail Mary’s for green wannabees.”

…on piss (and shit)

“I absolutely never wash and I’m proud to say the smell of wee coming out of the four un-flushed toilets in my house is positively overwhelming. Making our contribution to water-saving, this family is sticking rigidly to the if it’s yellow just be mellow and if it’s brown it goes down mantra.”

Arabella Weir, The Independent Magazine, 27th January 2007.

Technology inspires?

The inspiration is this: if technology empowers people, where are the powerful, meaningful messages?

Scott Berkun

Slabworth

Start your day with Le Grand Content

Le Grand Content was the first arrival in my RSS reader this morning and turned out to be a perfect antidote to a miserable morning’s weather in Brighton.

Created by Clemens Kogler, Karo Szmit and narrated by Andre Tschinde, the animation is a super sweet parody on powerpoint culture and tackles life’s all-important big issues: death, cable tv, emotions and hamsters.

The Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy and Santa Claus are the first sources of religious doubt.

Make tea and toast and serve with a slice of infographics.

As a footnote, it’s worth noting that the movie was inspired by my new favourite website which I’m not even going to try and explain. Save to say, it makes another fine accompaniment to breakfast.

0º of separation

Adem, Vashti Bunyan, Vetiver and Juana Molina teamed up for the opening night of the 0º of separation tour at Brighton’s corn exchange last night. I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect and being completely honest was a little uneasy about twelve people playing one another’s songs after just five days practice.

To add to the trepidation, the bands took the stage without any applause. To me, it seemed to be a reflection of mixed expectations.

It didn’t take long for me to realise that I had absolutely no need to be concerned. Barring a token Stones cover to end the set, I loved every song. The stage brimmed with somewhat diffident but unmistakable talent, each song paying suitable homage to it’s original but with a little added 0º special sauce.

As an Adem afficionado, it was inevitable that Vetiver and Juana Molina would end up standing out for me. Molina was the only artist to play solo and talking to a few people afterwards, she obviously captivated everyone else as much as me.

Just like Vashti, she’s got a pretty unusual background and her music is just as unexpected. Mixing folk and electronica with sublime Spanish vocals makes for an intriguing combination. Prefuse 73’s side project, Savath and Savalas is about the closest comparison I can make.

Among other places, the tour visits London and Bristol. Definitely worth the trip if you can get hold of a ticket.

3/3

Starting simple

Rough round the edges is an understatement, but my motivation here is just to get something up and running. Previous attempts at blogging have normally involved a long period of procrastination as I ‘design’ something. Hence this time, I just wanted something clean and simple.

I have no idea where this will go…but I guess that’s part of the fun.

When I get a chance I’ll probably try and explain a few things – the name for starters – but for now I’m happy with starting simple.