Brum Blog #8
Originally pubished 23/12/06 here.
Heritage Corner
I'm a bit ambivalent about the Blue Plaque scheme whereby buildings are marked according to what notable person from history lived in them. There's something rather superficial about them, especially when the original building has long been demolished. That said, some nice patterns do emerge, even if they don't really mean anything. Take for instance William Hutton's plaque. He opened a bookshop in Birmingham in 1750. Where his house stood is now the location of High Street Waterstone's branch. Which is, y'know, interesting in a psycho-geographical echoey kinda way.
Still, it's no doubt a good thing to bring the history of the city to the surface and even if these plaques don't say much on their own they do build an awareness of what has been. For more information the Birmingham Civic Society runs the local scheme and has a big list while BirminghamNet has a photo gallery.
Also noted: In a Previous Life is a neat thread that's developed on the Birmingham Flickr group where members research the history of buildings in the city.
Wheel News
According to icBirmingham the recently departed wheel of Broad Street is now overlooking the amusingly similarly named Broad Beach in Brisbane, Australia. Here's a photo:
Also of note from that article is that Broad Street is know as "Birmingham's Golden Mile" which will come as news to those who call it a "Boschian Fleshpot of Despair".
BiNS Orgy
Jon Bounds of Birmingham: It's Not Shit has had a productive couple of weeks. His review of the year is a must read and the Brummie of the Year award went to Jason Furnell, a cricketer by all accounts, with Danny Reddington of the recently closed Reddington Rare Records came in second.
Brum Blogwatch
Some local blogs new on my radar:
Pete Lewis "a research student, photographer, skier, free software advocate, balti-eater and aiming-to-be all-round friendly guy, living in Harborne"
Brum Project isn't about the city per se but stands for Birmingham Re-Usable Materials and is connected with Birmingham Uni's Information Services department. So pretty niche then.
The Wireless is Andrew Dubber's (of New Music Strategies) music blog. Currently he's running down his top 30 albums of the year.
Antonio Gould is a new media consultant pushing the Long Tail ethos and social software usage in that area.
The Deplorable Word is Tom Martin's blog that I've been following for a while so it's not really new to me. Might be new to you though. Primary focus is interactive media stuff but strays into other things, as you do.
News News
Trinity Mirror are trying to sell all their Midlands-based titles including local behemoths the Post and Mail. A leakage of revenue to online advertising is blamed. The fact that they're shit newspapers isn't mentioned. I've got a case of the schadenfreudes.
Heritage Corner
I'm a bit ambivalent about the Blue Plaque scheme whereby buildings are marked according to what notable person from history lived in them. There's something rather superficial about them, especially when the original building has long been demolished. That said, some nice patterns do emerge, even if they don't really mean anything. Take for instance William Hutton's plaque. He opened a bookshop in Birmingham in 1750. Where his house stood is now the location of High Street Waterstone's branch. Which is, y'know, interesting in a psycho-geographical echoey kinda way. Still, it's no doubt a good thing to bring the history of the city to the surface and even if these plaques don't say much on their own they do build an awareness of what has been. For more information the Birmingham Civic Society runs the local scheme and has a big list while BirminghamNet has a photo gallery.
Also noted: In a Previous Life is a neat thread that's developed on the Birmingham Flickr group where members research the history of buildings in the city.
Wheel News
According to icBirmingham the recently departed wheel of Broad Street is now overlooking the amusingly similarly named Broad Beach in Brisbane, Australia. Here's a photo:
Also of note from that article is that Broad Street is know as "Birmingham's Golden Mile" which will come as news to those who call it a "Boschian Fleshpot of Despair".
BiNS Orgy
Jon Bounds of Birmingham: It's Not Shit has had a productive couple of weeks. His review of the year is a must read and the Brummie of the Year award went to Jason Furnell, a cricketer by all accounts, with Danny Reddington of the recently closed Reddington Rare Records came in second.
Brum Blogwatch
Some local blogs new on my radar:
Pete Lewis "a research student, photographer, skier, free software advocate, balti-eater and aiming-to-be all-round friendly guy, living in Harborne"
Brum Project isn't about the city per se but stands for Birmingham Re-Usable Materials and is connected with Birmingham Uni's Information Services department. So pretty niche then.
The Wireless is Andrew Dubber's (of New Music Strategies) music blog. Currently he's running down his top 30 albums of the year.
Antonio Gould is a new media consultant pushing the Long Tail ethos and social software usage in that area.
The Deplorable Word is Tom Martin's blog that I've been following for a while so it's not really new to me. Might be new to you though. Primary focus is interactive media stuff but strays into other things, as you do.
News News
Trinity Mirror are trying to sell all their Midlands-based titles including local behemoths the Post and Mail. A leakage of revenue to online advertising is blamed. The fact that they're shit newspapers isn't mentioned. I've got a case of the schadenfreudes.
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