Al Gordon

Audio

Thu, 02 May 2013 00:23:52 +0100

"Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself."

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 16:30:40 +0100

““Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.””

- Leo Tolstoy

Pet Human

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 22:33:14 +0100

Pet Human

Photo

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 23:49:41 +0100

This was still waiting for you when Liv opened the door...

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 23:34:33 +0100

This was still waiting for you when Liv opened the door #catstalker for @missawogbade cc: @elianepigott

Audio

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 22:01:32 +0100

Audio

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 20:33:09 +0100

Things that make life worth living → Our Galaxy

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 20:32:51 +0100

Things that make life worth living → Our Galaxy

Following on from post last week… here’s why Google...

Wed, 20 Feb 2013 14:15:43 +0000

Following on from post last week… here’s why Google are going to win the next gen tech wars. Via @Janeymac

What is going to be hot in 2013

Wed, 13 Feb 2013 00:00:58 +0000

Ok so I meant to post this stuff as a New Years list of things that I think will be big in 2013. But I chickened out.

So, as we’re now safely into February I thought I’d drop them anyway. Most are obvious, but feel free to agree or disagree:

2013

1. The Apple has fallen from the tree.

We hope it’s not true, such is the brand loyalty Apple evoke, but the reality is, post-Steve, Apple have really failed to deliver anything radically new. More worrying, the searing refusal to compromise on design has dwindled a little. Sure, they’ve got full battery (well 98% as soon as you disconnect the charger) but these days that does not last a company like Apple long. Unless they pull off some groundbreaking surprises in the next year (the long awaited full scale Apple Television or major software/cloud advance), then expect the slow painful decline of one of the worlds brightest stars.

2. Don’t underestimate Google.

These guys are way smarter and cooler than anyone gives them credit for. Five years ago device was everything - which is why Apple ate everyone for breakfast - but now half the planet have a smart phone, application of information is everything. Google are light years ahead on the digital age. One one level it’s freaky, on another awe inspiring. Server rooms the size of aircraft hangers underground in Belgium. Is it Belgium? (…flicks to Google…) They even paint the subterranean pipes Google colours, because they care. Expect some big advances in 2013 that shoehorn Google into every home.

3. Facebook is so for Zombies.

It’s so dead it’s not funny. Ok, I hear you say it’s exploding in the developing world, yadda yadda, but honestly, who wants to be invited l endless events that no one cares about. It’s messy, complicated, they’ve broken the cardinal rule of selling their users souls. Expect mass exodus in 2013. Look what they already did to Instagram.

4. Twitter is still the gold standard.

#EnoughSaid

Their Vine video thing is also very promising.

5. Expect Micro-Networking to be big.

Ok, The Path is a slow burner, but the concept is good: a closed, ultra private social network that only allows you 150 friends. Only problem is that currently there are only about 5 people on it. But this idea will run eventually.

6. Netflix is Already Huge and Going to Transform TV.

It’s very possible that 2013 will be the year Netflix does for TV what Apple did for music. Their business model is excellent, they have an intuitive interface and intelligent model. They’ve cleaned up in the US last year, and that money will be heading into other territories. And they’ve started making awesome content. House of Cards is the best political drama since the West Wing. And they made it for their own network. So, that should tell you something about their potential. They’re currently in talks with Dreamworks on a kids series. If you don’t have Netflix, get with the program.

All of the above brain dump may be incredibly obvious… What are your predictions for the year ahead?

#tech #future #digital

Photo

Sat, 02 Feb 2013 23:48:39 +0000

Babbage’s Difference Engine 1832 - father of the modern...

Sat, 12 Jan 2013 11:56:50 +0000

Babbage’s Difference Engine 1832 - father of the modern computer

If you're interesting in Social Media, then this is important

Mon, 07 Jan 2013 23:54:32 +0000

If you're interesting in Social Media, then this is important

True creativity involves learning experiment with what is in...

Mon, 07 Jan 2013 23:46:39 +0000

True creativity involves learning experiment with what is in your hand, right now.

The french painter Matisse was one of the most important artists of the 20th Century. In his seventies, and in poor health, Matisse found himself bedridden and unable to paint.

One day, lying there in bed, he started playing with a pair of scissors the nurse has left at his bedside, cutting pieces of coloured paper into shapes.

Almost by accident, the paper started to form fascinating images on his lap. He began, with the help of his assistants, to assemble these shapes onto canvases. With what little he had, the great artist had experimented and it led to what many consider to be his most important work, art that is now famous the world over.

The impact of this period can still be seen today in the visual arts. For example, both the London 2012 logo and the Rio 2016 logo are inspired by Matisse’s paper period.

Boris Johnson @mayoroflondon at @HTBChurch Classical Carols

Sun, 16 Dec 2012 08:38:43 +0000

Boris Johnson @mayoroflondon at @HTBChurch Classical Carols

A Connecticut Winter: Why Our Hearts Break

Sun, 16 Dec 2012 08:35:21 +0000

A Connecticut Winter: Why Our Hearts Break:

Excellent article by @rebekahlyons

Jesus Wept // Some Thoughts on Newtown

Sat, 15 Dec 2012 08:38:00 +0000

Tonight when I heard to tragic news of the shootings in Newtown CT, the first thing I did was to creep into my kids room as they slept and sit there in stunned silence thinking ‘how on earth could someone do that?’ Then I wept. And prayed.

Here are some thoughts on Newtown:

It’s impossible to make sense of events like Newtown, because they are precisely non-sensible. God did not intend a universe where children are shot while they play.

God doesn’t enter these moments with a neatly arranged argument or a justification. Instead, and rather uniquely to the Christian faith, God in Jesus simply comes to the epicentre of our pain and weeps with us.

God is present at the epicentre of our suffering.

John’s Gospel tells the story of how Jesus arrived at the house of his friend Lazarus, who had died four days previously. When faced with the loss, the pain, the grief, Jesus’s response is noted in the shorted verse in the Bible. John 11:35 simply says that, “Jesus wept.”

Events like Newtown remind us that the universe is a deeply moral place. Our natural sense of outrage, anger and grief is a proper reaction to the evil we see in these situations, and our longing for good. We live in a moral world, where evil and good are in stark contrast.

God is a loving Father who experiences the horror of losing his own child, in order to make us eternally safe, even in a broken world. God is present in our pain and our horror.

God is with the terror of the victim and the swelling grief of those who have lost loved ones. Unique in all religions is the Christian concept of the suffering God, who comes amongst his creatures and experiences their pain by dying in their midst on the cross.

When we feel hopeless, we hope in Jesus Christ. As Jurgen Moltmann wrote, “God weeps with us so that we may one day laugh with him.”

This is on my friend @julianparmiter’s record player right...

Fri, 07 Dec 2012 19:00:52 +0000

This is on my friend @julianparmiter’s record player right now #itschristmastime #theresnoneedtobeafraid

Friday morning Fire

Fri, 07 Dec 2012 10:08:51 +0000

Friday morning Fire

Thank you @rendcollective for lending me the Huggy Bear coat...

Thu, 06 Dec 2012 23:50:15 +0000

Thank you @rendcollective for lending me the Huggy Bear coat #boom #thatshowweroll #lovetheirish