On 30th November 1956 the first video recording was broadcast from CBS Television City, in Hollywood.
It was a tape of Douglas Edwards reading the news and was recorded and played on an Ampex Mark IV Video Tape Recorder.
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This episode has a Big Brother theme (Channel 4 not Tony Blair via George Orwell).
We filmed it on 1st June. Hilariously, considering the theme, during the making of this we were told that filming in Piccadilly Station is no longer allowed as it’s a ‘terror threat’.
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If you haven’t seen this fascinating three-part BBC documentary series, you can download it from the Internet Archive:
It explores ‘the origins in the 1940s and 50s of Islamic Fundamentalism in the Middle East, and Neoconservatism in America, parallels between these movements, and their effect on the world today.’
And it shows how politicians have used the terror threat to restore their power and authority in a disillusioned age.
It’s a brilliant use of archive film of all kinds, combined with interviews. Give it a look even if you don’t usually watch this kind of subject, because it’s interesting to see how Adam Curtis the producer combines such diverse visual material.
If you have problems playing MP4 files, just grab the free VideoLan player.
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South Africa’s parliament has voted to legalise same-sex weddings - the first African country to approve such unions.
The controversial Civil Union bill was passed by 230 votes to 41.
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Don’t believe the big fibs that are put around by commercial vested interests today. They make out that Manchester was some kind of gay wasteland before Canal Street took off in the early 1990’s.
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Quality content and creativity are valuable things. If you need proof, just look at the millions of pounds that businesses earn from back catalogues of music, films, TV shows and news footage.
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Delicious! Make it with minced (ground) beef or lamb. I used lamb here…
I start off by frying the minced lamb (about 8oz/250g) in a little olive oil. I always get the really lean meat but I like to see how much fat comes off and drain it away if necessary. But don’t brown it completely.
Put a tablespoon of olive oil in another pan. Add a rasher of bacon that you’ve chopped into small pieces. This flavours the oil nicely.
Put in two small onions, chopped (I used red onions here), and two cloves of garlic also finely chopped. Keep stirring. After a couple of minutes put in a stick of celery and a small carrot, both chopped. You could also add a couple of sliced mushrooms (I didn’t this time). Cook and stir for another minute or two.
Add the minced lamb, stir for a minute (or longer if you didn’t pre-cook it a little before). Then put in a deseeded and chopped red pepper, a can of tomatoes with juice, a tablespoon of tomato puree, some black pepper, a stock cube, a bay leaf, fresh basil or a teaspoon of dried basil, a teaspoon of dried oregano and a pinch of chilli powder. Once this is bubbling, put on the lid and turn the heat right down so it is just simmering. Leave it like that for an hour.
Now watch the video to see how it turned out:
Download: Windows Media (wmv) | Quicktime/iPod
Serve with spaghetti or other pasta. Sprinkle some grated cheese on top (should be parmesan I suppose but cheddar is just fine!). I get my pasta from Marks and Spencer. They do several varieties that are made with free range eggs.
This is plenty for two people. If you cook up a triple quantity you can freeze it. Giving you several quick meals. Anyway, these things are always better at least kept overnight in the fridge, as it lets the flavours mingle.
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Starbucks has been fined £12,000 after one of its coffee shops was found to be infested with mice.
‘Mouse droppings were found next to spoons, knives, cups, clingfilm and boxes of biscuits and coffee that were about to be used, London’s City of Westminster magistrates heard.’
The staff need to wake up and smell the er… mice.
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Reporters and presenters from Channel 4 News have launched their Newsroom Blog.
My favourite TV news… (BBC Newsnight comes a close second).
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View the winners in the competition to ‘Doodle 4 Google - My Britain’.
The competition was open to the UK’s 10 million school children. They were asked to design a Google doodle representing what it means to be British today. See the thirty regional winners here.
There are some wonderful ones.
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