A short history of the letter J the alphabets last member

14 April 2011

While sitting in the tenth place in the English alphabet, the letter J, which split off from the letter I, was actually the last addition to the writing system.

“J” is a bit of a late bloomer; after all, it was the last letter added to the alphabet. It is no coincidence that i and j stand side by side — they actually started out as the same character. The letter j began as a swash, a typographical embellishment for the already existing i. With the introduction of lowercase letters to the Roman numeric system, j was commonly used to denote the conclusion of a series of one’s – as in “xiij” for the number 13.

Originally published Thursday 14 April 2011.

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Jucy, a film by Louise Alston, with Francesca Gasteen and Cindy Nelson

14 March 2011

Jucy, trailer, a comedy/drama, is the second feature of Queensland filmmaker Louise Alston (All My Friends Are Leaving Brisbane). Alston teams up again with Leaving Brisbane writer Stephen Vagg to tell a story that is — coincidentally — inspired by the actual lives of its two stars, Francesca Gasteen who plays Lucy, and Cindy Nelson as Jackie.

Collectively they are Jucy, their variation possibly of the media penchant of naming celebrity couples by one-word nicknames, such as TomKat, in the case of Tom Cruise and wife Katie Holmes. Jucy screened at the Ritz Cinema, in Sydney, on Thursday 10 March 2011, as part of this year’s Australian Film Festival.

Jackie and Lucy have been best friends forever (BFF) since they met at school as teenagers. Now in their mid-twenties, they have — on an emotional level at least — changed little since those days. Although they don’t live together, they otherwise live out of each other’s pockets, and work together at Trash Videos, which Jackie manages.

Lucy lives in the family’s opulent harbourside apartment. Her mother has taken off to Tuscany indefinitely with a new boyfriend, leaving Lucy with younger sister Fleur (Nelle Lee). Fluer is somewhat of a control freak, who appears to have her life in order, and has taken it upon herself to sort out Lucy. This by way of ultimatum: “get a real job, or finish your degree, or move out of home!”

Tired also of the taunts served up by the people they socialise with, where they are variously referred to as “straight lesbians” or “friends with emotional benefits”, Jackie and Lucy decide things need to change. Each sets a goal in order to prove themselves to their peers. Jackie will find a boyfriend, while Lucy will seek out the job of her dreams.

And the stage production of Charlotte Bronte’s novel Jane Eyre, being planned by the amateur theatre group they belong to, looks like the way both can realise their goals. Should the show succeed, Lucy believes an acting career awaits, while Jackie has a soft spot for the play’s star, Alex (Ryan Johnson), and thinks the feeling is mutual.

Jucy lifts the lid on co-dependent relationships, platonic or otherwise, and peers inside. Here are often murky situations — to say the least — where reality is distorted — to say the least — to the point that nothing else matters. Career ambitions, relationships with other people, and any semblance of a normal life, go out the window in the name of remaining faithful to the “other half”.

Jucy ventures into some heady territory, yet keeps the tone light, and for the most part upbeat. This through the on, and off, stage antics of the Jane Eyre production, and Lee’s comedic carry on as Lucy’s domineering sister. Here’s a story that demonstrates even super close BFF’s can — sometimes — remain best friends without appearing “creepy” to the outside world.

Originally published Monday 14 March 2011, with subsequent revisions, updates to lapsed URLs, etc.

Une Fête dans le Papier, an exhibition by Penelope Benton and Alexandra Clapham

10 January 2011

Penelope Benton, a Sydney based photography, performance and installation artist, and Alexandra Clapham, combine to present a representation of a Versailles-inspired ballroom made entirely out of cardboard.

In this recent collaboration Benton and Clapham propose to marry royalty by birth and royalty by imagination, constructing a Versailles-inspired ballroom entirely out of cardboard such as is associated with the early life of Basquiat the street-artist/dreamer: Basquiat’s cardboard box for a bed, Marie Antoinette’s palace.

In this necessarily flimsy set the two will hold a dinner party, a feast of unimaginable scope, which will be in full view of the public (most likely consisting of starving artists and hangers-on) who will be invited to later riot over the leftovers of the important guests in a literal free-for-all.

The exhibition opens at The Paper Mill, 1 Angel Place, Ash Street, Sydney, on Tuesday, 11 January, 2011 at 6pm, and concludes on the following Saturday, 15 January.

Originally published Monday 10 January 2011, with subsequent revisions, updates to lapsed URLs, etc.

The Social Network film and what it says to bloggers, online publishers

28 December 2010

The Social Network was one of my favourite movies of 2010, needless to say it was something I looked at a couple of times. The story speaks volumes to entrepreneurs and geeks, and anyone who has an idea, or knows of one that could be improved, that others might find cool.

It was also a film, that through many of its lines, also spoke I thought, to bloggers and online publishers. While a lot of lines could be quoted in a variety of contexts, here are a few that I thought were especially relevant to writers working online.

I need to do something substantial in order to get the attention of the clubs.

The blogosphere has its own variation of the final clubs — the undergraduate social clubs of Harvard University — though such things don’t appeal to everyone… I don’t care to belong to a club that accepts people like me as members. In other words always do your own thing.

I shouldn’t have written that thing about the farm animals. That was stupid. But I was kidding for gods sakes. Doesn’t anybody have a sense of humor?

Humour is subjective… anyone who has been writing online for even a short period of time will appreciate this comment.

The internet’s not written in pencil. It’s written in ink.

Ain’t that the truth? Need I say more.

It won’t be finished. That’s the point. The way fashion’s never finished.

If you’re onto a good thing you’ll be doing far more than merely writing and posting articles.

We don’t even know what it is yet. We don’t know what it is. We don’t know what it can be. We don’t what it will be. We know that it is cool. That is a priceless asset I’m not giving up.

Never underestimate the value of cool in the rush to monetise, or turn a profit.

He was right. California’s the place we’ve gotta be.

You might already live in California, but that’s not the point, your blog could seriously take you places and you need to be ready to move with it.

We lived in farms, then we lived in cities, and now we’re gonna live on the internet!

I suspect bloggers and online publishers realised this well before Facebook came along.

Originally published Tuesday 28 December 2010, with subsequent revisions, updates to lapsed URLs, etc.

A certain type of screw head in time saves almost 29

15 December 2010

The more common, well-known, Flat and Phillips screw heads are just two of some 28 varieties of screw drive type… you may therefore need to expand the range of screwdrivers you own in case you encounter any of the not so common sorts. Image via Apartment Therapy.

Originally published Wednesday 15 December 2010.

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Ladies of the Letterform, an art show by Sofles, Lo-Fi Collective, Sydney

10 December 2010

Here’s your chance to see the work of Australian graffiti and street artist Sofles.

Sofles has burst from the anonymity of the graffiti world onto a public stage in a manner comparable to the explosive impact of his images rendered on canvas, brick, paper and human bodies. Witness blank space being filled with imagery from the over-running cup of his enigmatic mind.

Ladies of the Letterform is quite possibly Lo-Fi Collective’s last ever exhibition so make sure you don’t miss it. The show takes place at Lo-Fi Collective, Floor 3, 383 Bourke Street, Surry Hills, Sydney, on Thursday, 16 December, 2010 at 6pm.

Update: I posted some photos from the show on my Flickr page.

Originally published Friday 10 December 2010, with subsequent revisions, updates to lapsed URLs, etc.

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Illustration by Eric Slager, the muppets go minimal

6 December 2010

Since I can’t get enough of minimal design and illustration… graphic designer Eric Slager’s Minimalist Muppets illustration series.

No Cookie Monster then?

(Thanks Jessica)

Originally published Monday 6 December 2010.

The ghost stations of East Berlin by video train

6 December 2010

After the German cities of West Berlin and East Berlin were completely partitioned following the construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961, accessing one side of the city from the other — was at first — pretty much out of the question for all but a small number of people.

One group unaffected — to a degree — by the separation of the city were West Berlin train commuters who used a small number of underground services whose lines crossed into parts of East Berlin, as they travelled from one area of West Berlin to another.

While trains still ran through East Berlin, they did not stop at stations on the eastern side of the border. Many of these stations closed during the period the city was divided by the wall were dubbed “ghost stations”, and were usually heavily guarded by East German troops.

~~The YouTube video~~, above, contains footage filmed from the driver’s compartments of West Berlin trains as they passed through a couple of East Berlin’s ghost stations.

Update: unfortunately the original YouTube video has been taken down as a result of a copyright claim.

Originally published Monday 6 December 2010.

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Sydney Harbour Bridge climb, December 2010

2 December 2010

This article was originally posted in December 2010. As such the climb packages referred to may have changed, or be out of date.

I don’t know how many times I’ve been over Sydney Harbour Bridge, whether by foot, bus, train, or more often while driving to and from the NSW Central Coast. Too many to count. But there’s no escaping the kick that accompanies each crossing of one of the best known bridges in the world.

And in the next few days I’ll be experiencing the bridge in a completely different way when, thanks to the people at BridgeClimb, I go on my first BridgeClimb.

Sydneysiders, and those familiar with the bridge, have doubtless seen the small — almost ant-like — groups of climbers making their way up or down the bridge’s gently curving arches. Or watched climbers pausing to take in the vistas of the city, harbour, and surrounding Sydney Basin, once they reach the summit, one-hundred-and-thirty-four metres above the water.

But a trek to the top of the bridge isn’t the only aspect of the BridgeClimb experience.

Depending on how much time you have, and how bold you’re feeling, you can venture right into the heart of the bridge, traversing catwalks and steel stairways as road, rail, and pedestrian traffic streams below your feet.

Thinking you’d like to try it yourself? I don’t blame you. There are numerous climbs to choose from, which take place during the day and evening, seven days a week. It is also possible to arrange dawn and twilight climbs.

Of course you might like to treat someone else to the experience also, especially given it’s that time of year. And just as there are several climbs to choose from, there are also a number of BridgeClimb Gift Certificates available.

A Blue Gift Certificate for instance permits the holder to take one of the three climbs at night time. For a little more flexibility, a Gold Gift Certificate allows climbs during the day or after dark. If you really want to push the boat out, a Titanium Gift Certificate also includes the option of climbing at either dawn or twilight, in addition to the day and night slots.

Climbs — which take place in all but the most extreme of weather conditions — can range from 2¼ hours in length for The Express Climb, to 3½ hours for both The Bridge Climb and The Discovery Climb. Before setting off you will be outfitted with a BridgeSuit, and other clothing if needed, depending on weather conditions at the time of your climb.

While it’s a good idea to read-up about the climb beforehand, about the only thing you really need to know is that photography is a no-no during the climb. But that doesn’t mean you won’t come away without photographic evidence of your time on the bridge, as the guide, who has a secured camera, will take photos throughout.

Obviously cameras — and any other loose items, including phones — pose a risk to pedestrians and traffic on the bridge, and possibly even vessels on the harbour, should they be dropped or fall. This then is an experience that you will mostly have to file to memory.

That shouldn’t be too difficult though. After all, it’s not everyday you’ll have the opportunity to saunter around one of the world’s most iconic structures.

My thanks again to BridgeClimb for the opportunity to partake of the BridgeClimb experience.

Originally published Thursday 2 December 2010, with subsequent revisions, updates to lapsed URLs, etc.

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The Social Network, a film dramatisation of the founding of Facebook, by David Fincher

29 October 2010

A scene from The Social Network, a film by David Fincher.

The Social Network (trailer), directed by David Fincher, is based on Ben Mezrich’s book The Accidental Billionaires, which he penned with the help of Eduardo Saverin (Andrew Garfield), one of the co-founders of social network Facebook, who later fell out with CEO Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg).

Bookended between numerous litigation sessions in lawyers’ offices, The Social Network pieces together the early days of Facebook through a series of flashbacks. The story focuses mainly on the roles of Zuckerberg and Saverin in creating the network, and how they dealt with raising money and profile, while fending off people claiming they had stolen the Facebook idea from them.

After his girlfriend, Erica Albright (Rooney Mara), ends their relationship, Zuckerberg, a technically brilliant but emotionally cold Harvard University computer science student, hastily builds Facemash. It’s a hot-or-not style website that compares female Harvard students with each other. Zuckerberg sources the photos Facemash needs by effortlessly hacking the databases of Harvard’s colleges.

Although Facemash is quickly shut down, word of Zuckerberg’s programming and hacking skills spread, and he’s soon approached by twins, and fellow students, Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss (both played by Armie Hammer). They have an idea for an exclusive Friendster/MySpace clone, but want to restrict membership to only those with Harvard email addresses.

They ask Zuckerberg to help, but after agreeing he instead creates the first version of Facebook, then called The Facebook. His friend and roommate, Saverin, puts up one thousand dollars to cover web hosting in return for a thirty percent share in the venture, and role of CFO.

The Facebook proves a hit with Harvard students, and other universities in the US and Britain are soon admitted to the fold. Meanwhile Napster founder Sean Parker (Justin Timberlake) hears about The Facebook and arranges hefty financial funding for Zuckerberg. Saverin however sees Parker as a threat to his influence, which quickly becomes a source of tension between him and Zuckerberg.

Any dramatisation about an organisation as ubiquitous as Facebook is certain to be of interest to a large number of people. Unlike many highly anticipated films that might play on the hype surrounding their subject matter though, The Social Network does not create false expectations.

Facebook made clear before the film’s release that neither they, nor Zuckerberg, had any involvement in the production of The Social Network. And while Zuckerberg does not present as a villain per se, his portrayal by Eisenberg is far from flattering.

Facebook has certainly had a controversial history (are stories of the early days of Friendster and MySpace anywhere near as colourful?) and it seems every other week brings news of another alleged privacy breach, or a new court action of some sort. Is it therefore a portent of things to come that the final scene plays out in a lawyer’s office?

Originally published Friday 29 October 2010.

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