Showing posts with label Nic Jones. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nic Jones. Show all posts

Sunday 7 November 2021

The Problem With Attention To Detail: Bellingcat


On the final chapter of  "We Are Bellingcat" by Elliot Higgins and it has just been dealing with the pressures on the organisation and individual members in investigating crimes using their open source method. The nature of the work is incredibly intense , and because it involves war crimes, images and videos on social media and a lot more this can result in PTDS for some investigators.

I wont go into the details and would suggest you read the book to see what this incredible team are doing.

The final sentence in the "Mice Catch Cat" is very pertinent , not just to Bellingcat  , but to other organisations and teams that I know are developing.

"While it's true I could do little to stop an attack, our opponents can do nothing to stop what we are becoming"

Bellingcat are a force for good as are the people that I speak of, and I have just found there is a film here

Appropriate music is Midnight Oil's "Beds Are Burning" , Peter Garrett being an active ecological politician as well as still fronting the band.

I am not sure if you are aware of my writing on Vocal but these are a few of my stories if you would like to sample them:


  1. Three Reasons Why I Love Settle
  2. Keep Me In Your Heart For A While - Warren Zevon
  3. Five Funny Facebook Friends - Stalwarts of The Stand In Newcastle
  4. Become A Vocal Facebook Group Member And Bathe In The Positivity
  5. A True Folk Hero - Nic Jones


Friday 1 September 2017

Less Is Not More



I think it was a line from "Frasier" when Doctor Crane said "If Less is More, Just Think How Much More More would be!!" , which is about right for most things.

I look at some of my old blog posts and they are barely fifty words, now I think I average maybe 250 , though some may even be bigger than that. This first paragraph has already hit seventy words, and I seemed to remember at school we were expected to deliver an essay in one of two hundred words. Mybe that's just my imagination twisting, maybe it was 500 or a thousand words for essays. That would give  you more space to develop the essay. One or  two hunder is hardly anything so I think maybe I made a mistake.

Anyway tonight I completed Fargo and Submarine, and I clocked up 12.5K steps on my walk after worrying I would be behind on the first day, but I am a thousand steps ahead.

I didn't see any rats today, though it was mostly an urban walk in.

I am quite tired now, and I only listened to a single album today , but it was the wonderful Penguin Eggs by Nic Jones.  It opens with Canadee-I-O possibly the most beautiful acoustic introduction that I can think of, and continues in a wonderfulk folk vein with amazing playing and singing throughout. For some reason I avaoided the song though I had heard much about it, expecting it to be standard folk fare, but it is anything but. Nic was involved in a horrific car accident disintegrating vertually evey bone in his limbs and the some but in the last few years he has reappeared on stage with his son and others.

I'll include the original and the return version of Canadee-I-O so you can marvel and this very special talent.
Oh and this post is about 320 words, so it's above my average.

Time for bed now.

Tuesday 5 November 2013

200



This is my 200th blog post this year, so I can still obviously use a keyborad. At some point I want to try and dictate a post into my phone on some microphone and put it up unedited to see if it makes sense. I've still got around sixty days left this year so possibly expect to finish on 240 or 250 posts.

I was hoping to do the Pickering to Whitby steam train run , but just checked the timetable and the winter one kicked in this week, which means no midweek trains. C'est la vie.

Either Facebook or Google have stopped allowing the use of Youtube or embedded images when I post a link to Facebook, which is annoying. I didn't want an image of me for each post, I wanted something relevant to the actual post. I will research into why this is happening.

Anyway, the holiday is continuing with much relaxation, watching The Wire, Game Of Thrones and Boardwalk Empire. I now have lots of technology at my disposal so I can download stuff off BBC's iPlayer so I caught up with the excellent Orphan Black on my iPad as well as a program on The Who's Quadrophenia.

Orphan Black
As I type this I'm listening to the J Geils Band using my Samsung Note phone as a music player, though just switched it to the wonderful Penguin Eggs by Nic Jones, an album that should be in everyone's collection.

The thing is where I am in Ampleforth I don't have a mobile signal, so that means another form of total relaxation. It's sometimes nice to just cut yourself off, although I'm obviously posting this, and keeping abreast of the times using the BBC site and posting on Instagram as well so people can see what I'm finding interesting. Well I'm going to put an image on here and a John Cooper Clarke song that I loved from the first moment I heard it, with some great lines and a soft porn soundtrack, take a listen. Everyone have a wonderful day everyone.

Tuesday 1 October 2013

A Birthday Is Just An Excuse To Have A Good Time

Well today is my birthday and the biggest surprise was more than a third of my Facebook friends wishing me a happy birthday in one way or another either directly on the site (75 and counting) via email (5) and card (10) , and I am really touched. It really has been a pleasant shock. On the one hand it's easy to post a happy birthday greeting , but it's much easier not to,

So it's a thank you to everyone who wished me a happy birthday. I got some nice presents , had a nice tea and watched a wonderful program about the brilliant Nic Jones and his amazing comeback from tragedy.

This is the first post of this month , but I'm just in a very happy mood before I go to be bed. I was considering posting a Rebecca Cother picture, but she may think I'm becoming obsessed with her. Her pictures have really made an impression on me and follow the link and you will see what I mean.

Anyway, again thank you to everyone and sleep soundly. A little bit of Nic for you you all

Monday 29 August 2011

A Record Shop In Hexham!!




The Front of Gojo Records Hexham
A nice surprise today , decided to drive over to Hexham and was shocked to notice on the main drag a shop that appeared to be selling records. On closer examination discovered it was music and video rental as well , and had a small but excellent selection of CDs , good enough for me to purchase two of them , "Game Set and Match" by Nic Jones (they also had Penguin Eggs as do I) ,  and "Yan, Tan, Tehera Methera" by The Bad Shepherds!!

The Bag and the CDs


Enclosed are the photographs of the shop doorway and the bag and CDs I bought. Love the fact that they don't even have the area code on the phone number and they only take cash or cheques. Good to see that there are still shops selling music!