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Why Every Journalist Should Go and See 'The Artist'

January 30, 2012

Jean Dujardin and Bérénice Bejo in Michel Hazanavicius' The Artist. Photo courtesy of Entertainment Film Distributors

It's not exactly groundbreaking to hail The Artist as a great film. With three Golden Globes already in the bag and ten Oscar nominations to go with almost universal critical acclaim, saying you think it's pretty good isn't exactly controversial. I expected to be impressed, but was shocked by how profoundly moving I found the film when I went to see it at the weekend. In large part this is down to how immaculately crafted a piece of cinema it is, but what sealed the deal was that, in what seemed to be an unavoidably obvious subtext, The Artist turned out to be a film about me. ... more »

posted: 30/01/2012 | comments »

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The Strange Story of Britain's Joint Strike Fighter

January 29, 2012

The cockpit of the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter: photo - Lockheed Martin

In November, I had the chance to travel to Texas and Maryland to see the factory where Lockheed Martin are assembling the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, and to meet some of the British team who are testing the aircraft as part of the 700-strong US Navy and Marine Corps Integrated Test Force at Patuxent River Naval Air Station. A piece written from this access is published today, in the Live section of the Mail on Sunday. ... more »

posted: 29/01/2012 | comments »

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There's Magic in the Music

January 28, 2012

Sleeve of The Jimmy Castor Bunch's 1974 LP, Supersound

Just a quick one today. ... more »

posted: 28/01/2012 | comments »

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Contemplating Life Without a Smartphone

January 27, 2012

Public Enemy on stage at the IndigO2, November 14, 2010. Shot with my HTC phone, so you'll have to take my word for it

While most of the outraged chatter today has been about Twitter's new policy on state censorship (and for an insightful view about why the company may be doing the right thing, have a look here), the big changes-to-our-terms-and-conditions announcement for me this week was Google's upcoming privacy revamp. Not least because if these changes go ahead, I'll likely have to get rid of my smartphone.... more »

posted: 27/01/2012 | comments »

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China, Russia and the West: Will It Be Dialogue and Understanding or Cyber War?

January 26, 2012

Detail from a DigitalGlobe satellite image of Beijing during the parade marking the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Republic, October 1, 2009

I can't really report in too much detail from the Cyber Defence and Network Security conference I attended today, partly because I'm short of time right now, and partly because, with the proceedings taking place under the Chatham House Rule, I've got to be careful that I don't end up accidentally implying attribution of quotes and points of view to speakers whose names appear on the published agenda. But what felt like the most important theme of the day was the urgent need for purposeful dialogue between the west and east - because at present, the misunderstandings are legion and the risks of a continuing failure to meaningfully engage could prove catastrophic. ... more »

posted: 26/01/2012 | comments »

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A Quick Canter through More DGI Highlights

January 25, 2012

An Ordnance Survey surveyor checking that maps of the London Olympic site are correct. Photo from the OS Flickr stream

In a change from the the longer format, here's a quick list of a few things I learned at DGI 2012. ... more »

posted: 25/01/2012 | comments »

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Video Games, Satellite Imagery and Alexander the Great: More from DGI 2012

January 24, 2012

Costa Concordia, as seen from a DigitalGlobe satellite, January 17, 2012. Photo from DigitalGlobe's Flickr stream; used under guidelines for editorial use on the DigitalGlobe website

Even though it may be taking place under a blanket of mainstream news media indifference (see yesterday's post for my thoughts on that), the discussions at the Defence Geospatial Intelligence conference currently taking place in London have been substantial, absorbing and fascinating. They may not be considered as newsworthy as the breakdown of Seal's marriage, 'Appy 'Arry's courtroom hilarity or the latest barbs slung between people who might run for president or those slugging it out to be mayor of London, but to my thinking the topics have been as urgent and important as they are frequently complex and cognitively demanding. ... more »