After the near-ties of the second and third tests, could England possibly make things a little easier for their long-suffering fans in the fourth, at Trent Bridge? One would have expected so, given their performance in a rain-affected opening day - 129/1 at lunch, 229/4 at stumps, and eventually all out at tea on the second day for a very respectable 477. Flintoff made 102, Geraint Jones 85, Trescothick 65, but the last three wickets went for an alarmingly cheap 27 runs. Perhaps a little under-par.

Such problems were far from England's mind as Australia suffered a collapse to 99/5 by the close. Katich and Gilchrist put on some valuable runs in the third morning, and Brett Lee was dangerous while top-scoring with 47, but the Aussies were dismissed for 218. For the first time since 1988, Australia would have to follow on.

Simon Jones had taken 5/44 in the first innings, but suffered an ankle injury and was withdrawn after bowling just four overs. Australia were much more composed in their second innings, with only last man Tait not making double figures. Justin Langer's 61 turned out to be the top-score, though Clarke and Katich both made 50s, Ponting and Warne passed 40. The Aussies clung on until tea on the fourth day, by which time they had ground out a lead of 128. Enough to trouble England, and that late-order collapse on day two was looking more and more costly.

Still, reckoned the England fan, it's only 129 to win. Trescothick attacked Kasprowicz, but fell to Warne's first ball for 27, swiftly followed by captain Vaughan who hadn't troubled the scorers. Strauss fell with 82 more required, followed two balls later by Bell - at least he'd managed to reduce the deficit by three. Pietersen and Flintoff combined, and began to take the game back to the Aussies. Things were looking promising at 103/5, 26 needed. Then Pietersen fell for 23, Flintoff followed quickly, and England required their tail-end to do on Sunday what they couldn't on Friday. Geraint Jones did on Sunday what he didn't on Friday, and get out early, with 13 needed. Somehow, limping along, Giles (7*) and Hoggard (8*) picked up the ones and twos they needed, and England crept past the finishing wire with just three wickets remaining.

England therefore take the match, and lead the series 2:1 with one match remaining. A win for Australia at Theoval in two weeks time ensures that the convicts retain the Ashes; any other result gives England the trophy for the first time since 1987.

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posted 29 Aug 2005, 12.20 +0100

Stuff that interests...

The Sunscreem song, revisited. Or, advice for new university students from someone who has been there before. "Forcing students to feign a deeper understanding about the negative repercussions of alcohol abuse is ineffectual and a waste of university money." "If you are a young heterosexual woman, that stunningly handsome and witty boy you met will turn out to be gay. But probably so will you, so no worries." "You are not cool for buying a 'Reservoir Dogs' poster."

Good piece in to-day's Indytab on failed rock 'n' roll interviews of our time. From the time the editor of Smash Hits puked over Mariah Cantsing's shoes, to Donna Air and the Corrs, to John Lydon telling the Tabloid where to go. Classics, all of them.

Elsewhere, good news from Peter Fincham, the new controller of BBC-1. He's going to take the dancers outside and shoot them. The channel's idents have featured dancers in red, for no adequately explained reason, since Easter 2002. Thankfully, the new controller is a fan of sensible bits between programmes, and wants something more sensible. How's about a return of the computer-generated globe, last seen in autumn 1997. Oh, and can we change the channel's colours while we're at it? Perhaps to, say, black and gold.

Coffee is good for you, according to a study publicised to-day. The scientific research, which is all over the papers to-day, says that coffee provides lots of antioxidents and free radicals, and can help to keep people healthy.

This summer's surprise television hit has been BBC-2's Coast, a twelve-part trip around the edge of the UK. It's made stars of host Nicholas Crane, and historian Neil Oliver has been described by some [1] as the new AJP Taylor. A recurring theme through Coast was people's battle to hold the sea back. Sometimes it worked, but when it went wrong - as in the great storm of 1953 - it went badly wrong.

Maybe someone should show the series to the people of New Orleans, which is sinking beneath the pounding of hurricane Katrina. Why the devestation? The New Orleansish thought they could box the sea into its little pen, and slowly and gradually allowed the natural defences to degrade. The result: CNN Live At A Hurricane. We laughed when On The Hour and The Day Today invented wars for their convenience, but this is a whole other kettle of fish. Voyeuristic television, especially for those malcontents with a fetish for loose roof guttering.

[1] OK, I've described him as the new AJP Taylor. And that's a compliment.

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posted 29 Aug 2005, 18.57 +0100

The Register's readers opine on Creative Commons licenses. There's a drop-quote in there that explains why I'm keeping everything in this blog (and its siblings) under firm control for ten years from creation:

A Linux advocacy group emails me to ask permission for a reprint of an article, and I'm delighted to grant it. The Daily Express asks for permission, and I tell them where to shove it. Now that's a freedom I don't have by adding an unnecessary license to my work.

Now let's say the Linux advocacy group has been taken over by people I don't like. It asks for another reprint. I can change my mind, of course, but that's because I haven't signed over my rights under an irrevocable license. (And very few people tagging their work with Creative Commons licenses seem to realize that they're irrevocable).

Creative Commons licenses are fine for people who properly understand them, and who want to write something and then let people do what they will with it. For various reasons, I'm not prepared to allow that to happen. I want to be able to tell people to take a hike if I so desire.

Googlewatch, part 53

The anti-Google bandwaggon reaches the hallowed pages of the New Amsterdam Times. "All the news that's fit to print," says the mast-head. Shame it's not particularly new news, some of us have been grousing about the search behemoth for almost a year. The Register witters on about what Google's up to, but not in a way that makes any sense here.

Twit

Lessons for the day, number 83. Don't steal a Handy from a Handyexpert convention.

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posted 30 Aug 2005, 18.16 +0100

Annoyed by the lack of decent programming on the CBC these days? Want to vent your anger at the pig-headed management who think they can beat journalists at their own game? Get thee to the ''Listeners Locked Out'' campaign, Thursday morning at 11.30 in Simcoe Park, adjacent to the Toronto Broadcasting Centre on Front Street. If you plan to come, they urge you to bring a sign stating your support of CBC and your desire to have your favourite shows and personalities back on the air.

(With thanks to Azerbic.)

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posted 30 Aug 2005, 19.17 +0100

In the far-western province of British Columbia, the law on adultery has been re-defined. For some reason, same-sex ummfriends never counted as adultery. They do now. Wonder when the British will follow the obvious logic in this ruling?

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posted 31 Aug 2005, 18.33 +0100

The Birmigham Post reports that the Neustra&zslig;e rebuild is under threat after the national government reneged on a promise to contribute £7 million. The money was pledged by the Strategic Rail Authority, but the Department of the motor car Transport may not deliver the spondoolies.

And it gets worse. The cross-city line, from Longbridge to Lichfield via the universities and Sutton Coldfield, increased from four to six trains per hour during 2002. Now, the dotty DoT has asked Centro to work out how much a four-train a hour service would cost. "Almost the same as a six."

This, I'm afraid, is absolutely typical of the insane way the government tries to run its transport policy. It hands out huge amounts of money for white elephants like Branson's Trainset, but doesn't want to run trains that people do like to use. Centro expanded the cross-city service to six trains an hour because the fours were too full.

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posted 31 Aug 2005, 19.42 +0100

"USD 3.70 a gallon? (€ 0.78 per litre) What did we fight the war in Eye-wrack for? I'd like George Bush to answer thaat."

- A motorist in Chicago.

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posted 31 Aug 2005, 21.12 +0100

A listing of selected television and radio broadcasts, with a deliberate emphasis on culture and intellectual programmes.

Regulars
Composer of the Week (Radio 3, noon): English Mystics.
Book of the Week (Radio 4, 9.45am and 12.30am): The Planets, by Darva Sobel, read by Lucy Robinson and Nick Murchie.
Woman's Hour Play (Radio 4, 10.45am and 7.45pm): Valley of the Dolls, by Jacqueline Susann. (Third week)
Book at Bedtime (Radio 4, 10.45): Corduroy, by Adrian Bell, read by Robert Glenister. A London boy's apprenticeship on a Suffolk farm in the 1920s.

Saturday

10.30am Radio 4 For One Night Only

The Three Tenors.

6pm BBC7 Journey Into Space

The World In Peril (16 of 20). A cunning plan to hitch a ride on a sphere.

8pm Radio 4 The Archive Hour

Fifty Years of From Our Own Correspondent. Charles Wheeler.

Sunday

11.15am Radio 4 The Reunion

The battle to save Twyford Down.

1pm Radio 2 Elaine Paige on Sunday

Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe discuss their new soundtrack for Battleship Potemkin. Beware: contents may contain Lloyd Webber.

10pm Discovery Year Without Summer

The aftermath of Mount Tambora's eruption in 1815.

Monday

9am BBC Parliament 1987 General Election

David Dimbleby presents the BBC's 12-hour results coverage. It was the second election for Peter's Snow's computer battleground, and the last time interviews were conducted by Robin Day. We'll see the section from 10pm to 4am, but not the film they put on there, nor the Breakfast programme. Coverage resumes at 9.30am, and with a short break for News After Noon, finally makes way for Children's BBC at 3.45. We won't get to see the declarations in Down S, where Enoch Powell was defeated; nor in Shepherd's Hedge, where Gordon T Gopher was returned.

3.45 Radio 4 Who Ate All the Pies?

Ian MacMillan samples local varieties of pie.

6.30 CBBC Blue Peter

The Six O'Clock Blues are no more; the Peter is now the last thing in the CBBC day.

8pm BBC-2 Map Man

Bartholomew's Cycling Map of England and Wales Nicholas Crane, Britain's favourite learning bloke, travels across eight maps that changed the face of Britain.

8pm Radio 4 Document

The real Home Guard was prepared to fight.

8.30 Radio 4 The Fisheries Broadcast

The Fisheries Broadcast has beamed across Newfoundland every day since 1951. Except now, because the CBC's suffering from a lock-out. This is the closest thing Canada has to the Shipping Forecast.

9pm Channel 4 The Man Who Predicted

Rick Rescorla, the head of Morgan Stanley, reckoned that planes would one day hit the World Trade Centre. He was there when his prediction turned up trumps.

9pm Radio 4 Leaves on the Line

The plants and animals that live along Britain's railway lines. Including the trees.

9.30 Radio 4 Six Places that Changed the World

Delhi. With the granting of independence to India at midnight on December 31, 1947, Britain gave up the brightest jewel in its imperial crown.

9.35 BBC-4 Arena

Private Life of the Ford Cortina (1982)

10pm BBC 7 Radio Active

Stop That Crime UK From 1986.

10.20 BBC-4 Arena

Desert Island Discs (1982)

Tuesday

9.30am Radio 4 Further Five Numbers

6 A perfect number.

9pm BBC-2 No Sex Please, We're Teenagers

Three-part documentary about christian youth workers who challenge youngsters not to have sex.

9pm BBC-4 Mercury Prize 2005: Live

Jools Holland and Jo Whiley present the television coverage. Radio 1's blurbage is introduced by Jaykay and Joel. Our money's on Dennis and the Dinmakers.

Wednesday

8.45 Radio 4 The Brandreth Rules: Party Conferences

Conquering

9pm ITV Smarter Than Your Kids?

Parents -v- children in some exams.

9pm Discovery World's Biggest Airliner: Building The Airbus A380

First showing of the plug.

Thursday

9.05 Radio 3 The King's Nosebleed

The results of the 1688 revolution that overthrew James VII and installed William III.

9.10 BBC-4 Jerusalem: An Anthem For England

What are you expecting?

10.03 RTE Radio 1 Music Close Up

Donald Helme and Rock Fox compare the musical lives of Glen Miller and Count Basie.

Friday

7.30 Radio 3 BBC Proms 2005

The Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra has the UK premiere of Mark-Anthony Turnage: From the Wreckage (UK premiere).

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posted 01 Sep 2005, 18.41 +0100

A couple of thoughts on the recent inundation of New Orleans. As predicted in Disasters Waiting To Happen last November, an article that pinpointed the steps that needed to be taken. All I might want to say has already been said, so I won't bother repeating it. That would be dull.

There was, I think, a certain inevitability about one piece of spam that floated into the ether to-day. "Katina Relief", with a text burbling on about the poor people of New Orleans, and how a simple donation (via the handily-linked) form would make the scammer so much richer.

But wait! What was that subject line again?

Oh my. They're confusing Katrina (left, as in Katrina Leskanich, former singer with the Waves, part-time Radio 2 disk jockey, and winner of Eurovision in 1997) with Katina (right, as in Lena Katina, the red-headed half of Uckfield duo Tatu, now promoting their jaw-dropping video to All about us, and one rehearsal away from winning Eurovision in 2003.)

Now, what can one do to provide Katina Relief, is it something we should be discussing in a public place like this, and is there a non-trivial risk of turning into an extra from Katrina's (or is it Katina's) latest video clip? We should be told.

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posted 01 Sep 2005, 19.37 +0100

1 September is the national day of Uzbekistan, a large dictatorship, formerly part of the USSR, in central Asia. Craig Murray, the British ambassaor to Uzbekistan, was recalled in 2004 after exhibiting far too much concern on human rights. This extract from his manuscript will be taken down to-morrow.

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posted 01 Sep 2005, 20.19 +0100

It's not been a good week for Tragedies We Could Have Seen Coming A Mile Off. On Monday, New Orleans was hit by a hurricane, and there's been so much coverage elsewhere that saying much from this quarter would be superfluous. I'm trying to do something a little different here, add my small voice to the cacophony of the interweb.

I do note a particular irony in the situation. The leader of the opposition Corporate party, X, made an announcement this morning that "Helpification is, you know, on the wayay". There are clear echoes of President Kerry's slogan from last year, "Help Is On The Way!" We also note that though the New Orleans metropolis was in favour of the victorious Democratic candidate, their voice was drowned out by a strong pro-Corporate vote in the rest of the province. Make of this what one will.

But there is another story out there, one that's been rather swallowed by events. On Wednesday, approximately 1000 people were killed during a crush on a bridge in Baghdad. The crush occurred during a religious festival, following rumours that there was a suicide bomber in the crowd. Tensions were already running high after a mortar attack killed 16.

The origins of this tragedy, in the 2003 invasion of the country, should be obvious to anyone who cares to think about them.

Not that it's particularly easy to keep that sense of perspective when there are so many dramas going on at once. A very good week to bury bad news, as someone more cynical than I might say.

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posted 02 Sep 2005, 21.06 +0100

In another place yesterday, I noted how the denizens of NPR-land had gone doo-lally when Robert Segal bothered to ask a pointed question of someone who claims to be responsible for something. Just the one, mind.

To-day, I hear that things aren't any better in the television arena. Here's the "difficult question" posed by CNN's Daryn Kagan, of National Guardsman Steven Blum:

Well, sir, with all due respect, I think the window of a timely fashion has closed. And there are many people who are wondering why has it taken so long for the National Guard, let's just say, because we have you on the phone, to get in place. Is it because the resources are stretched so thin because the National Guard fighting in places like Iraq and Afghanistan?

To which he got the deserved waffly answer. Now, as pointed questions go, that's utterly rubbish. This sort of deference went out of interviews when Robin Day first picked up a microphone in the late 1950s. The line of questioning Mr Kagan is looking for runs a little something like this:

You've missed the chance, haven't you? Your guardsmen are off fighting dubious wars in far-flung parts of the world, and they're not here to help when they're needed. Isn't that so?

And speaking of dubious wars, I hear that a leading Corporatist spokesmoron, Mr X, has claimed that this week's hurricane was "worse than the attackification on the World Trade Centrey." This is, clearly, a precursor to the Corporatists calling for a War On Global Warmermaking.

Still, if you're unsure what to do next, CNN is able to help. The Annoying Bottom-Of-The-Screen-Ticker is telling us all about a three-hour Larry King special How You Can Help, telling how you can help the international relief effort for the victims of Katrina.

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posted 03 Sep 2005, 10.50 +0100

Off to the city centre to-day, to see the time trial stage of the Tour of Britain. It was a short stage, a 4km loop around the Convention Centre, up the back of the NIA, then down to finish by charging up Broad Street. Had the first four days of the tour finished in the traditional mass sprints, to-day would have been pivotal; as it was, Thursday's break has effectively decided the tour in favour of Nick Nuyens, leading to a slight anti-climax about to-day's proceedings. He still won the race today, finishing the course 0.75 seconds faster than anyone, and just over a second faster than the second man overall.

It's not the first time I've seen this race; far from it. When it was known as the Kellogg's Tour, I saw it at Malvern in 87, Lichfield in 88, a couple of miles away from home in 89, a stage finish in Birmingham in 91, a start in Buxton three days later, and a stage start in Brum in 93. The tour closed after the 94 edition, and was only brought back last year.

Anyone interested in spotting your author on the magic tellybox will wish to watch BBC-2 next Sunday (the 11th). There's coverage between 1.35 and 3pm, I may be visible on the right of the picture, about 200m from the finish line, two or three back in the crowd. Look for the short-sleeved green shirt.

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posted 03 Sep 2005, 16.09 +0100

One of the Sindie's alumnae, Zoë Heller, has got married, much to the surprise of her family. I'm not quite sure why the book critics disliked Everything You Know quite so badly, it was a perfectly good (but not outstanding) book. I'm not quite sure why book critics bother, to be frank, they're more influenced by fashion and peer group pressure than is reasonable.

The article also reports that Ms Heller has settled in New Amsterdam, and will set her next novel there. It's strange how her career has become so similar to Emma Forrest's, another Bright Young Writer who has shipped across the pond. Ms Forrest's last work suffered from its setting; I trust that the same fate will not befall Ms Heller.

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posted 04 Sep 2005, 13.31 +0100

Hold it! Rupert Murdoch's purchase of myspace.com has been delayed, while the current site owners do battle with their investors. Apparently, the Dirty Digger is trying to leap in for a quick sale at below the market price. Anyone would think this was The Times, or something...

Mary Wakefield, in to-day's Torygraph, picks up on something that I've missed for obvious reasons.

Reading about the anarchy in New Orleans - guns fired at rescue helicopters, car-jackings, rape and pillage - it struck me how different the real America is to one we see in films. Remember The Day After Tomorrow? Disaster is predicted and the whole southern half of the States evacuates in an efficient and orderly fashion. Those left behind form helpful little gangs, working for the communal good. No one takes pot shots at the National Guard and the only scavengers are wolves.

It's not surprising that there's a fictitious idea of America kept alive on screen - the US needs a cheering and unifying self-image. Nor is it surprising that it's not entirely true, that there isn't a square-jawed aspiring action hero in every suburban home. What is odd, though, is how hurt and vindictive well-respected politicians and canny pundits get when real Americans fail to live up to the Hollywood myth. Take Peggy Noonan, for example, star columnist for the Wall Street Journal: "As for the tragic piggism that is taking place on the streets of New Orleans, I hope the looters are shot," she wrote last week. "One of the things that keeps us together, and that lets this great lumbering nation move forward each day is the sense that we will be decent and brave in times of crisis, that the fabric holds, that under duress it is American heroism and altruism that take hold and not base instincts born of irresponsibility, immaturity and greed."

It would be nice if Peggy were right, but I suspect she's in for more disappointment. New Orleans is, or was, a fabulous place, but it was riddled with gun shot well before Katrina. Even in America, the only place you can guarantee decency, bravery, heroism and altruism is in the movies.

The BBC reports on the modern clichés of advertising. Here's one they missed... People will watch the adverts without muting the sound.

The Obs tells of how southern hospitality is a thing of the past.

Gerrard Scott spoke to his brother Peter from the Ramada Hotel in New Orleans where he has been stranded without assistance with wife, Sandra and seven-year-old son Ronan for the past six days. "Those that didn't fit their criteria were told to help themselves. The police said they were evacuating Americans, and took away the majority. The British who were left all thought the police would come back, but nobody has. They have just been left."

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posted 04 Sep 2005, 14.03 +0100

Another week, another German number one. This week's is Durch den monsun, performed by Tokio Hotel. It's a rather engaging mid-tempo song. Die Firma land in third place with Die eine 2005, which I've not yet heard. Norway has a new topper, too - Tsjeriau from Ravi and DJ Lov.

Domestically, the Gorillas have their first ever number one single, with Dare doing the business. Crap from Jessica Simpson, snoozes from David Gray, and something I've not heard from Les Rhythms Digitales also land in the top ten, with Gwen Stephanie and Katie Tunstall just outside. Paul Fab Macca Whacky Thumbs Aloft McCartney puts Fine line into the top twenty, his biggest hit since 1997. We're pleased to see My Chemical Romance land at 27 with The ghost of you, and Funeral For A Friend can only make 36 with their first new single of the year, Monsters.

No surprises on the albums list, where McFly's Wonderland defeats all-comers, including Kayne "Bush Doesn't Care About Black People" West - Late Registration takes a distant second. Not much else of note - Eric Claptout, Iron Maiden, Rhihanna all have new top 40 albums.

North Europe's Top Twenty

*20 NE Green Day - Wake me up...
 19 19 Gorillas - Feel good inc
*18 18 Kelly Clarkson - Breakaway
 17 re Us 5 - Maria
*16 re Dezil - San ou (la riviere)
*15 NE Juanes - La camisa negra
 14 15 Porcupine Tree - Lazarus
 13 12 Pinocchio - T'es pas cap Pinocchio
 12 10 Coldplay - Speed of sound
*11 11 Ilona Mitrecey - C'est les vacances
 10  5 Charlotte Church - Crazy chick
  9 13 Schnappi - Schnappi, das kleine Krokodil
* 8  9 Raphael - Caravanne
  7  7 Kelly Clarkson - Since you've been gone
  6  6 Ilona Mitrecey - Un monde parfait
* 5  8 McFly - I'll be OK
  4  3 Crazy Frog - Axel f
* 3  4 Shakira - La tortura
  2  1 Daniel Powter - Bad day
* 1  2 James Blunt - You're beautiful

Two new entries this week, Juanes we discussed last week, and Green Day are the most boring corporate rock entities on the planet. Congrats, though, to James Blunt, hitting the top after an 11-week climb. He's the thirteenth number one single this year.

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posted 04 Sep 2005, 14.28 +0100

An unusual, but not particularly unlikely, end to August, as the Azores High spilled warm and humid weather across the south of Britain, while cooler weather dominated the north. When the lines met, on Wednesday evening, there was thunder.

29 Mo humid, showers late 14/23,  0.3
30 Tu sun, humid          14/26,  0.0
31 We sun, cloud, thunder 14/28,  1.4
01 Th sunny spells        16/22,  3.9
02 Fr sun                 11/22,  0.0
03 Sa cloud to sun        12/23,  0.0
04 Su haze, sun, humid    14/27,  0.0

No fewer than 31 degree cooling days this week, making it the hottest since the week of 11-17 July. The summer's total is now 214 (173/184 at this stage last year.)

Help is on the way - already, it's clouding over, with a line of thunder showers trundling their way slowly along the M5. The frontal system will not be swift to clear, the Azores high is forcing a series of shallow lows over Greenland and Iceland, before running into the roadblock of a high-pressure area over Poland. The practical upshot is that we're never going to be that far from a shower, with the prospect of some strong westerly winds in the north from Tuesday. Showers and more seasonal conditions will remain for the rest of the week; while Theoval won't get five days without play, the first two days could well be as much off as on.

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posted 04 Sep 2005, 17.03 +0100

older writing... write to