chris nixon : nixonbyname.com

I think this is the best video I have seen on Flickr since the feature was launched. A haunting and telling comment on 24-hour rolling news channels.

Uploaded on to Flickr by Pixelsurgeon

[via Boing Boing]

Following my post last month about the (L) China campaign, I recieved a lot of comments from people who were unhappy about my taking a measured approach to the subject. Apparently I was wrong to question China’s human rights record in any way. This was a bit disappointing, and I felt that the commenters had missed the point of the post.

Those comments have disappeared for now, as I have moved the comments system over to Disqus, and I can’t port them accross quite yet.

Amnesty International and Boomerang in the Netherlands are promoting a campaign to positively promote China *and* human rights. From their site:

China is a beautiful country and has a lot to proud of; it’s economic achievements and their magnificent culture. But there is also a different side to China. China violates human rights systematically. There is no freedom of press and Internet. No other country in the world caries out more death penalties than China. Activists who stand up for human rights are being imprisoned. We must change this.

This campaign is created for those who are tired of the China bashing, but want to see improved human rights in China

I’d be interested to see if this campaign takes on in the same way as the original (L)China campaign.

Tomorrow is the 10th Anniversary of the final episode of Seinfeld. It’s a show that never really caught on in the UK thanks to horrendous BBC scheduling, something which also killed off the brilliant  Larry Sanders Show. In the US however, Seinfeld was king.

I’m currently working through every season again, and I have to tell you, it really stands the test of time. It was a show about nothing, yet said so much about society. OK occasionally a joke about car phones may remind you that it’s not set in the current day, but everything else rings true even after all this time.

The Guardian observes:

It seems striking that while The Office, our defining sitcom of the 21st century so far, gave us an out-of-character happy ending with Tim and Dawn together and David Brent having at least not embarrassed himself on a blind date, Seinfeld ended with the four main characters, not married, not successful, not even happy, but sitting in prison about to start a one-year jail sentence. When it comes to comedy, perhaps we Brits are less sophisticated than we like to think.

There is nothing in the current schedules that matches it’s subtle humour. It would not get commissioned today. The smartest stuff never gets off the starting block, or gets cancelled early. It was American TV comedy’s finest moment.

Come on…I’m sure somebody can take this idea and run. I’ll feature any efforts that link back.

Trembling Blue Stars by Chris Nixon

The Scottish Samurai by Chris Nixon

Thomas Blake Glover, known as the Scottish Samurai was credited for much of the industrial reform of Japan, lived just down the road from my house.

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Scholastic by Chris Nixon

I pass this beautiful building on my way to work ever day.

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Brig o’ Balgownie by Chris Nixon

The Brig o’ Balgownie has been closed to traffic for a good few years. The locals can sometimes be a bit ‘nippy’ about photographers. I think they want to keep it a secret.

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Pan’s Labyrinth by Chris Nixon

This huge hollowed out tree trunk is about half a mile from my house reminds me of Guillermo del Toro’s fantasy worlds.

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Spring Domination by Chris Nixon