Month: October 2013

Once they were everywhere. High-spirited rappers roamed free across the earth, bringing joy into the lives of others through their ability to bust a rhyme. But almost without warning they were gone. Whether they were wiped out by an asteroid or a sudden change in temperature, I couldn’t say. One day, they dominated the airwaves with pulsating beats and exhilarating lyrics. The next they were silenced by a chronic infestation of boy bands and Celine Dion. It was no longer enough for a rapper to be funny – you had to be shocking in order to drag attention away from all the pre-fabricated pop artists who rolled off the assembly line. The era of the friendly rap artist was over.
Continue reading “When Kris Kross Ruled the Earth”

Samuel Beckett wrote ‘Waiting for Godot’ and was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. In the unlikely event that I should ever write the story of ‘Waiting for the Technical Staff to Respond to My Support Request’, it’s unlikely that I’ll be asked to travel to Stockholm to pick up an award. Until now, everything had run so smoothly. I had given myself completely to the ‘Orange’ corporation and I had enjoyed the ability to download music, movies and so forth without having to leave my couch. Suddenly and for the first time, I realised the Internet might actually serve some kind of purpose. That is, of course, until it all went so horribly wrong.
Continue reading “Me Versus ‘The Man’: Part Two”

I’ve always had an uneasy relationship with technology. Having seen the film ‘Electric Dreams’ at an impressionable age, I accept that computers have a sizeable dark side and are capable of evil. Gorgio Moroder’s ubiquitous soundtrack to the film served only to reinforce the point. As we continue to outsource more and more of our everyday tasks, surely the day cannot be too far away when all the laptops and smart phones of the world rise up in a brutal takeover. Indeed, I fear that preparations are well advanced. I can only hope it’s not too late.
Continue reading “Rage Against the Machines”

Everybody loves an underdog. Trouble is, ‘underdog’ status is generally well deserved and anyone stuck with the title is more likely to suffer an absolute trouncing than they are to triumph against the odds. This is especially so when your adversary is not another person or even a team but a corporation. When doing battle against a company, you are not merely pitting yourself against a brand name and logo but the very establishment that permits big business to get away with murder of not only the blue, but red, beige and turquoise variety also. When faced with such a foe, it is very much a case of ‘the underdog’ versus ‘The Man.’
Continue reading “Me Versus ‘The Man’: Part One”