Not Really Listening

Archive for the ‘Blogging’ Category

It’s dark out here, like stepping into a tunnel from the harsh midday sun: In front of you is nothing but darkness, behind nothing but the bleaching light. We stand at the cusp of a new age, this connected world struggling to communicate it’s meaning and emotional content to the man on the street, in the cafe, or in the next seat over, kindly provided by your local transit authority as it subsidises a corporate attempt to make you pay to arrive late at your intended destination, using a service that your demanded taxes have sent a percentage of your earnings to pay for.

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We rarely think about how much our advertising images are manipulated from reality unless we work in a field that’s all about advertising, or imagery. This is true even though the word “Photoshop” has become a common use verb understood by the average man or woman on the street. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s a difficult time of the year; you’re broke because you’ve overspent, there were one too many drinks, once too often, you treated yourself to that extra little treat here and there, and you went and spent some extra money on getting gifts and treats for friends and family.

This month you started paying your credit card bills. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s a tough life out there. There’s a good chance that you spend most of your working day sitting in front of a monitor, slouching forward, and trying to work out the cricks in your neck from the poor posture you employ, which is exacerbated by the cheap office chairs that your employer issues which are focused more heavily on the lowest possible cost than on supporting good posture.

Fear not; there are things that can be done about this unacceptable situation. Here are my top tips for helping you ease and avoid back problems. Read the rest of this entry »

The news recently broke that the owners of UGO (Hearst) had purchased the online component of Ziff Davis’ gaming publication arm, (namely, the 1up.com family of websites), and that Ziff Davis would cease publishing EGM. As a double whammy, it seems like most of the staff are being laid off by Hearst.

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I’m currently reading (slowly) American Psycho. It makes me uncomfortable, but not always in the places you might expect; sure the part where Pat slices out the eyes of a bum makes me slightly uncomfortable at the almost pornographic joy of the explicitness that Pat takes in relaying the details (or more specifically, that Brett Easton Ellis takes) but that’s not a surprise. It is after all one of those passages which is supposed to make you feel that way. It’s comforting in a way to know that you are indeed afected by the horrific senselessness, which helps you decide that, yes, you are probably safely un-psychopathic. Read the rest of this entry »

I’m not one for making New Years Resolutions as they seem pointless and self defeating.

That’s not to say that good things can’t be achieved because of them.

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Boxing day is here, and I’ll be taking the next few days off. Also of note is that today is the start of Kwanzaa, which ends on the first of January.

I’ll posting again regularly in the new year, so until then I shall wish you all a happy new year, and see you on the other side.

P.S. Happy Hanukkah for those of the Hebrew persuasion.

Merry Christmas all. Whatever your opinion of Christmas itself, and however you celebrate it (if you celebrate it) I hope you’re with friends and family. To celebrate I have searched Flickr for pictures that encapuslate Christmas as I see it. Read the rest of this entry »

It is now the last day before Christmas, the shopping should all have been done, and most of you will have started your holidays by the time you read this.

I write this as I prepare to start a half day of work, thankful that I still have a job to go to, and that nobody in my close circle has been laid off as a result of this economic downturn.

Spare a thought for those who have lost their jobs at this expensive time of the year.

The economy sucks, but the wheels of life keep turning. Do your best to avoid running over any-one’s foot!