Monthly Archive for December, 2005

Shure ec3 earphones update

Published
by
Sal
on December 16, 2005
in Gadget Reviews
. 0 Comments

Shure ec3 earphones with coin

I was too quick to criticize this product: It turns out that it was not faulty at all, I had merely installed the soft-rubber gromets incorrectly which caused the delecate wave-guide to become bunged. In the end there was no need to return them, there was no fault.

Sorry Shure - for now you are back in my good books and your product gets the Stodge.org seal of approval (for what that is worth). If the Shure audio company has not been made bankrupt by my cruel remarks and the boycott of all their products that might have occured as a consequence, I apologise. I shall not malign thee any more.

Shiure ec2 in packaging

When I was planning to return my ec3 earphones, I bought a spare pare of Shure ec2 earphones which are excellent but now redundant. My ec2 remains in it’s plastic box, unused and unloved.

Owning two pairs of nearly identical earphones is as crazy as “taking two bottles into the shower”; A practice which Vidal Sasoon abolished in the late 80s.

I predict that one lucky friend will find this in their parcel on St. Jesu’s day - will it be you?

Shure ec3 earphone

Published
by
Sal
on December 10, 2005
in General
. 2 Comments

Shure ec3 earphone

So I splurged a hundred squid on a pair of earphones. Given that they weigh less than 25g in total, these have to be the most expensive thing per unit mass I own.

 
It’s such a shame that they broke down on the first day that I owned them. The left-earphone keeps (almost) cutting out. It goes nearly silent and the only way to restore approximately normal sound is to pan the balance all the way to the left, cancelling out the oddness.

 
Verdict: They look cool, feel nice and sound great but they are fragile as a quail’s egg.

 

Christian Voice gags Springer (Again)

Published
by
Sal
on December 7, 2005
in Art and Politics
. 4 Comments

In response to threats from the right-wing radical pressure group “Christian Voice”, Sainsbury’s and Woolworth’s have decided not to stock the DVD of “Jerry Springer The Opera”. According to Haringey MP Lynne Featherstone, the supermarkets decided not to stock the DVD after only ten letters of complaint.

I’ve decided to do absolutely none of my Xmas shopping at either of these shops. They claim that the most important factor in deciding what to stock is “What customers want”. They have incorrectly inferred from the desire of ten Christian Voice members that their customers would be offended to see this product on their shelves. Ironically, more people in the UK have seen and enjoyed “Jerry Springer the Opera” than are members of that pressure group.

The real sadness is not that a bunch of high-street shops refused to stock an interesting, artistic home-grown title but that these shops cannot accept the responsibility that goes with being a cultural outlet. They sell media and art much like they would sell a cabbage or a pack of cigarettes. It’s merely another product on the shelf, and if people shout loud or long enough they will take the product off the shelf.

From: customerservice@sainsburys.co.uk
Subject: Other Questions

Dear Randi,

Thank you for contacting us. I am concerned to hear you are unhappy with our decision to no longer sell Jerry Springer, the Opera DVD’s in our stores. I can understand how disappointed you must feel and I hope you will accept my sincere apologies.

Our entertainment range is particularly important at Christmas and we take many factors into consideration when deciding which titles to stock. Ultimately, the most important factor is what our customers want. In response to some to some of the feedback we have received, we have decided not to sell the Jerry Springer DVD’s this Christmas.

I have passed your comments onto our marketing department. I would like to assure you they have taken your comments seriously and will bear them in mind for the future.

Once again thank you for contacting us. I hope that despite your disappointment you will continue to shop at Sainsbury’s in the future. May I take this opportunity to wish you merry Christmas and a happy New Year.

Kind regards,

Sarah Rose
Sainsbury’s Customer Services

[THREAD ID:1-2AIOVI]

—–Original Message—–
From: xxxxx@stodge.org
Sent: 06.12.2005 01:19:45 PM
To:
Subject: Other Questions

The following comments have been made:

Full Name: Randi Mooney
Email: xxx@stodge.org
Subject: Christian Voice and Jerry Springer: The Opera on D
Comments:

In a typical week I spend £120 pounds on groceries from your Harringey supermarket.

For the entire Xmas period, I intend to shop at elsewhere. I am taking this action because of your refusal to stock the DVD “Jerry Springer the Opera” in response to pressure from a minority group calling themselves “Christian Voice”

I think your firm has been somewhat spineless to give in to unreasonable demands from a radically religious minority group.

Escape Stodge

Published
by
Sal
on December 5, 2005
in Podcasts
. 0 Comments

I remain utterly fascinated by Escape Pod, the weekly science fiction podcast magazine which just podcasted it’s 30th episode this week. Over the last month or so I have observed a new trend in this series; Steve and his assistants are busy reclaiming and reanimating defunct sub-genres of science fiction and fantasy.

The recent stories have been new takes on old ideas until recently considered off-limits to the aspiring writer (the kind of writer who wants his books seen in airports and public transport systems of fashionable countries). No writer worth his letters wants to do monsters, superheroes and dragons any more that’s been done to death right?

Clearly Steve and the the growing band of writers he has attracted disagree: For example, the ludicrously titled Episodes 24 (”Death Trap of Dr. Nefario“) concerns an attempt of a famous comic-book character to foil a typically comic-book evil plot, however the story is told from the perspective of the psychiatrist who has to deal with the super-hero’s many neuroses. The conclusion is that only somebody with serious problems would be drawn to the super-hero lifestyle in the first place

Only three weeks later Steve gave us “Iron Bars and the Glas Jaw“, an attempt what might happen if a super-hero messes up his super-heroizing and has to face the consequences in a small-town jail cell and a county-sheriff who just wont stop lecturing him.

He could break out of the cell an instant but must refrain from further violence because of a Byzantine set regulations that govern interactions between the “supers” and the “normals”. Once again, a novel twist lifts this story above the genre established by Marvel and DC comics. The fun in this story comes from exploring how a legal system might co-exist with a legion of super-powered vigilantes.

The latest eposode (at the time I click the “publish” button) is “Aliens Love Oranges”. not so much science fiction (the existance of the titular aliens is only hinted at the very end of the story), but a work of fiction about science; It’s a story of an outsider finding some kind of purpose because of through science and friendship. I liked this story because it shows that science fiction doesn’t need to rely on a high-concept or as Garth Marenghi says a “What If” in order to be a valued part of the genre.

Now just in case Steve finds this article, for being your number-one fan, Is there any chance of a link-back on your site? Steve, would you mind linking to the Resonance FM Podcasts page? A little link? Pretty Please?

Fan Fiction Fad

Published
by
Sal
on December 4, 2005
in General
. 0 Comments

I am delighted to announce that my favourite programme in London’s Resonance FM has grown popular enough to attract it’s own fan-fiction. The first recorded work Hooting Fan-Fic was published on Frank’s own site, however this oddball story by Tristan Shuddery seems to be the second. Do please let me know if you observe any more.