This is “La Scala”, the exciting new concept in contemporary outdoor, interactive sculpture (it says here) and the latest “enhancement” to the concrete wilderness of the plaza between library, arts centre & student union at Aberystwyth University. As you can see, it has been carefully designed to blend in, by means of the same bland grey concrete material as its surroundings, and yet also stand out, by means of its monolithic bulk and breathtaking ugliness. Apparently, it “unifies the open space and gives it a sense of drama”; isn’t concrete marvellous?

I look at it and imagine an Aztec priest standing silhouetted at the top with his hand aloft, holding the still-pumping heart of the sculptor ripped fresh from his spasmodically jerking body by the sacrificial knife, as the chanting from the crowd below grows louder in homage to the rising sun behind. But that’s probably just me.

This is also a demonstration of my new Canon PowerShot A40 digicam, of which more anon (also involves the heart being ripped out of things).

Having endured Matrix Reloaded, I’m strongly less inclined to watch Matrix Revolutions. The fact that it features the Meringue-ian again, the comedy foreigner apparently modelled on Herr Flick (“of the Gestapo”), is already one strike against it. That it features Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss, is directed by the Wachowskis and has the word “Matrix” in the title is several more, as I have now developed an abhorrence of all these things. But at least I have had some fun from the film already, without spending any money.

An extract from the New Zealand leg of Aidan’s world tour: > “The boat trip included a traditional Maori welcome, consisting of the presentation of a symbolic twig, a welcome to the craft, after a challenge made using a length of pole carved as a spear. A week later we heard a story of a similar ceremony before the trip where a nominated tourist was hit in the face with the spear during the challenge, resulting in the loss of all his teeth.”

The dental accident does not remotely surprise BB, given the total lack of concern that Kiwis show for Health & Safety practices. Doubtless they slapped him on the back to help him spit out the last few fragments of molar and said, “Are y’alright? Good fer you!”

Another refreshing visit to Aber over, during which BB even saw Aber’s first and already notorious sex ‘n’ drugs shop, Little Amsterdam (on Pier Street should you require any lime green PVC fetish wear, as prominently displayed in the window). It’s open today at 10:30. Local church leaders have already called for it to be closed down because “young people are vulnerable!” (whereas older people are obviously gullible). Yes, they may be susceptible to hoots of derision when they see the aforementioned window display which, other than the lingerie, could only offer a couple of plastic bongs (that looked like vacuum enlargement devices) and a really daring “Cannabis” calendar arranged in front of some cheap gift wrap.

Further up the road, another shopfront advertised “Rachel’s Organic Juices”. Now that really did sound filthy (and far more representative of Aber’s pulse). But it’s good to know that Rachel eats healthily and offers healthy eating herself.

Remember that the BBC’s Big Read web site is open to allow you to vote for your favourite book out of the “top 21”. Remember too that you can vote multiple times (for random choices?), preferably using different PCs, and that you can completely falsify all the demographic information, thus making (more of) a mockery of the entire ridiculous poll. Use your vote unwisely.

Shots from Scotland and Northumbria.

There used to be a saying that in certain working class constituencies in Britain, one could pin a Labour rosette to a donkey and people would vote for it. The voters in California have reversed this aphorism by showing (arguably for the second time) that they will always vote for an ass whatever his political affiliation. Especially if the ass is a celebrity.

At BB, we’re used to disregarding stories about the return of Doctor Who approximately every six months. Usually, these turn out to be either random, hopeful/less speculation or hype for a half-baked spin-off (“Dr Who returns - in cyberspace!”; “Dr Who is back - as a range of exclusive collectible figurines! You’ll want to ‘exterminate’ them all, Who fans!”). For the past fifteen years, the series has been like an embarrassing granny in the BBC’s attic that they bring out on special occasions just so everyone can say, “Aw! Isn’t she marvellous for her age? Could do with her nappy emptying though…”

But this time, it’s different (honest).

Hot on the heels of Jarvis’ latest rail maintenance blunder, NR announce that they’ll be deferring some track renewals to save money. Chief exec John Armitt said:

“But safety comes first, and I do not believe these reductions will compromise safety on the railway.”

In fact, if it keeps Jarvis and their ilk away from the tracks, it will probably improve safety. Rail travellers may sleep easier (car travellers will continue to sit in jams and fume).

For the first time, BB feels sorry for Windows users (normally, we figure they get what they deserve). They’re trying to make headway against a whole battery of M$ bugs, bad patches, IE holes, Outlook holes, RPC holes, viruses, trojans and worms and then they start receiving spam emails like this:

From: “Microsoft Corporation Technical Assistance”

MS User

this is the latest version of security update, the
“September 2003, Cumulative Patch” update which fixes
all known security vulnerabilities affecting
MS Internet Explorer, MS Outlook and MS Outlook Express
as well as three newly discovered vulnerabilities.
Install now to maintain the security of your computer
from these vulnerabilities, the most serious of which could
allow an attacker to run executable on your computer.

The payload is, of course, the latest Outlook worm, Swen-A. You can guess the rest (if not, refer to any Windows advisory from the past five years).