Generic album announcement

If you're going to promote an album, for god's sake promote it.

Each announcer who's paid to read these album adverts out on the TV don't get any room for review or unbiased thought. All they get is:

{ALBUM TITLE}. The brand-new album by {ARTIST}. Out now.

I wonder how much they get paid for selling their souls?

Eighties Architecture

What the hell were they thinking?

What made them think that they were going to produce a piece of architecture with lasting lengevity, even though it looks like a piece of Lego?

Well, after reading an article from blog.davidteoh.com/archives/2004/11/, I now know.

It was an attempt to glorify the materials used in producing such a building.

In most ugly structures such as the one illustrated in the picture I've borrowed from said blog, the architect was supposed to be glorifying the materials used to build it by making them the main point of the design.

That is one hell of a schoolboy error.

Asking Joe Public to appreciate a building as art when all you've effectively done is take the shine off of it is always going to be a big ask.

People are critical of modern architecture anyway.

"It's too glassy". "It's not glassy enough. I like glass". "It's leaning too far to the left". "It looks phalic".

Nobody's happy with every building they see.

I think that there's something to be said about old school building design and producing breathtaking structures that still appeal to the general public and inspire photographers on a daily basis.

The BBC have just released a magazine article on this very subject. Have a read for some more information.

Happy Birthday!

Signs over motorways, dual carriageways, on roundabouts and other miscellaneous road-markings.

Who the hell thinks anybody cares that it's Dave's 19th today other than Dave? Ring the guy, and wish him a happy birthday. You don't need to broadcast it to the entire M5 and adjacent motorway junctions.

If you really do need to tell Dave that you're really happy it's his 19th and to tell the commuting British public at the same time, at least put some effort into your signs and get a professional artist to do it, rather than scrawling "HAPPY 19TH BIRFDAY DAVE U OLD TOSSER" in red / blue / green spray paint on an old (probably soiled) bedsheet.

Oh by the way, happy birthday to my friend David. He's 19 years of age today.

No, not really.