Robert Sharp

Pupil Barrister

Month: March 2009 (Page 2 of 4)

Twitter Books

24 March 2009 / / 2 Comments

There’s a lot of banter around about how print is dying and the net is taking over.  Here’s a couple more ways in which print and the web are in symbiosis.
First, James Bridle at BookTwo.org says:

Well, someone had to do it, and I think I’m the first. I’ve archived my first two years of twittering to a hardback book.

Image below.  I’m glad it has been typset so well.  Its reminiscent of Things Our Friends Have Written on the Internet.

James Brindle archived two years of twitters into a hardback book. Photo by STML

James Brindle archived two years of twitters into a hardback book. Photo by STML


Meanwhile, Adam from downBOUND has edited HeadTweets, a book of Old Wives Tales/Conventional Wisdom on the subject of headaches.  The pithy one-liners are the the perfect contributions to solicit online, and Twitter seems the perfect tool for the job.
Note here how the web doesn’t short-circuit the entire publication process.  These are projects that still require an editor (maybe not so much in James’ case) and a designer in order to make them readable.

Update

The ridiculously huge Daily Dish blog will be self-publishing a book version of the popular A View From Your Window feature.  No mention of where the revenues for this will go.

Update December 2009

There will be no revenues for the Daily Dish book.  Its a labour of love.

Mobius Tube

21 March 2009 / / 6 Comments

Here’s the conundrum I am grappling with today, concerning the Northern Line on the London Underground.
When you embark at London Bridge, the Northbound and Southbound lines are arranged in what I would describe as the Continental style.  That is, to the right of each other.  It is the left set of doors that open.  However, when you disembark at Angel, the two lines are arranged in the Commonwealth style.  That is, they are to the left of each other.
How is this possible?  It must mean that the two lines twist around one another, like a double-helix.  Either that, or we have some sort of Subway Named Mobius beneath London.  Can anyone explain the peculiar engineering or physical geography that causes this to be the case?
I wonder, do maps of the actual underground network exist anywhere online?  Not the Harry Beck maps, or its Google representation but a accurate scematic of the actual tracks, junctions and stations.  I fancy it might be quite a fascinating labyrinth.

Underground Ad Space

Underground Ad Space. I only use this image 'cause I haven't taken one of the actual tube trains yet.

Update

A rollercoaster that’s a mobius strip.

Another Update

Eurostar enters the fourth dimension?

Every day thousands of travellers take the Eurostar to a strange and foreign land. No, not Paris; the Fourth Dimension. Although many visitors to Paris don’t realise it, at the heart of the city is a portal to hyperspace. As you emerge from the Paris subway into the financial district at La Défense you are greeted by a huge four-dimensional cube.

Abolish Seditious Libel

20 March 2009 / / 2 Comments

English PEN (my new employers, for those who haven’t been paying attention) have just published a letter in The Times, backing an ammendment to Coroners & Justic Bill by the the Liberal Democrat Evan Harris:

On Monday Parliament will have a unique opportunity to repeal the arcane and antiquated offences of seditious libel and criminal defamation. These two crimes date from an era when governments preferred to lock up their critics than to engage them in debate, and are incompatible with the universal right to freedom of expression. Their repeal is long overdue, and will send a powerful signal to states around the world which routinely use charges of sedition and criminal defamation to imprison their critics and silence dissent.

There’s more at the Times Online…

Blogging Can Kill You

19 March 2009 / / 0 Comments

… in Iran.  Omid Reza Mir Sayafi, Iranian blogger Dies in Prison.

In December, he was sentenced to two and half years in prison for allegedly insulting religious leaders, and engaging in propaganda against the Islamic Republic of Iran. Mir Sayafi was still awaiting an additional trial for insulting Islam.
…
In an interview [fa] with Human Rights activists in Iran a few days before going to prison, Omid Reza said his blog was a cultural blog and not intended to be insulting.

This is via the Global Voices Advocacy site, which has been nominated for a 2009 Index of Censorship Freedom of Expression Award.

Defamation of Religion

12 March 2009 / / 2 Comments

This doesn’t look good:

Stressing that defamation of religions is a serious affront to human dignity leading to restriction on the freedom of religion of their adherents and incitement to religious hatred and violence…

The above is tajken from a text of a proposed UN Human Rights Council Resolution, seeking to condemn “defamation of religion”.  It only seems to mention Islam, however, and also says:

Deplores the use of the print, audio-visual and electronic media, including the Internet, and any other means to incite acts of violence, xenophobia or related intolerance and discrimination towards any religion, as well as targeting of religious symbols and venerated persons…

The problem here is that incitement to hatered and defamation of religion are two different things. English PEN argued this point when a Bill of similar spirit was introduced in 2005. Part of the problem is that intolerant groups like the BNP use the cover of religious criticism to veil their extreme xenophobia, and to inspire violence. But on the other hand, the idea of blasphemy and defamation are increasingly used to block any criticism of religion, which is never healthy.
The UN Watch blog says that the resolution is likely to be adopted, but is not binding on individual countries.  Nevertheless, it could mean that the UN is neutered in many human rights/free speech cases, such as the current travesty in Afghanistan, where Pervez Kambaksh has been sentenced to 20 years in prison on blasphemy charges.
I’ve always thought that both constructive criticism, and even satire, of any given faith was a sign of acceptance, like the teasing banter between teammates.  Its a sign that the majority agree that the minority group is here to stay, and must be engaged with.  Indeed, thoughtful criticism of a religion is also a tacit admission that it contains valuable aspects too. It is something to be welcomed, something that makes everyone strong.
That’s not how others see things, though.

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