James Padolsey

Video

Mon, 07 May 2012 23:26:35 +0200

Perspective

Tue, 01 Nov 2011 19:54:56 +0100

Only when you stop doing something, and do something else completely different, can you look back and see the thing you were doing for what it was. Most people call this perspective. You can gain small doses of perspective in the strangest of places too. You can talk to the person that gives you your coffee in the morning — I mean really talk to them. You see life, just momentarily, in the shoes of another.

It can be the server in the cafe, the train driver, the nurse, the beggar on the street, the banker, the doorman, the musician in the subway, the neighbours, the children, the family. Perspective is cruel and enlightening.

Looks about right…

Sun, 30 Oct 2011 23:27:17 +0100

Looks about right…

Video

Mon, 19 Sep 2011 08:37:02 +0200

Positivity should require substantiation too

Sun, 04 Sep 2011 19:00:41 +0200

In areas where the majority is neutral and unbiased, people making positive assertions are rarely pressured into substantiation, but those making negative comments are frequently scolded for not citing sources and substantiating their claims. It seems a negative POV is initially suspected incorrect, while a positive view is not questioned to the same extent. Note that this only seems to occur in topics and areas where the default view is neutral. Things like utility products, novels, etc. Not things like the iPhone, a politician, or an ideology — these things tend to polarise opinions, and so are not good examples.

An example of this occurrence is product reviews.

> This is an awesome product. It does everything I need it to do.

Compared with:

> This is a rubbish product. It doesn’t do anything I need it to do.

The second one seems more hostile, angry and totally unsubstantiated. But, in fact, they’re both unsubstantiated. We don’t think to question the former as it puts the product in a positive light.

… And The Updated Version

Sun, 04 Sep 2011 16:30:47 +0200

… And The Updated Version

The 1980s Tory Map of the World

Sat, 03 Sep 2011 23:02:44 +0200

The 1980s Tory Map of the World

I don't know, Timmy, being God is a big responsibility

Thu, 01 Sep 2011 15:35:56 +0200

I don't know, Timmy, being God is a big responsibility

Video

Tue, 16 Aug 2011 20:10:46 +0200

A controversial study conducted in 2001 by tobacco giant Phillip Morris analysed the benefits of premature death to the economy

Tue, 16 Aug 2011 18:24:00 +0200

A controversial study conducted in 2001 by tobacco giant Phillip Morris analysed the benefits of premature death to the economy:

… and concluded that, in 1997, premature deaths saved the Czech Republic $147 dollars through the deaths of smokers who would not live to use healthcare or housing for the elderly.

Video

Mon, 15 Aug 2011 22:17:53 +0200

Charlie Brooker: How to prevent more riots

Mon, 15 Aug 2011 10:37:45 +0200

Charlie Brooker: How to prevent more riots:

If preventing further looting is our aim, then as well as addressing the gulf between the haves and the have-nots, I’d take a long hard look at MTV Cribs and similar TV shows that routinely confuse human achievement with the mindless acquisition of gaudy bling bullshit. The media heaves with propaganda promoting sensation and consumption above all else.

London riots: there were ample signs

Thu, 11 Aug 2011 14:30:50 +0200

London riots: there were ample signs:

Short video taken two weeks ago. Youth in and around North London describe the situation following the closure of youth centres.

unicefuk: Ewan McGregor appeals for the children of Somalia as...

Thu, 11 Aug 2011 11:19:40 +0200

unicefuk:

Ewan McGregor appeals for the children of Somalia as part of our It’s Time to Share campaign.

unicefuk: What goes on behind the scenes at UNICEF during an...

Thu, 11 Aug 2011 11:08:46 +0200

unicefuk:

What goes on behind the scenes at UNICEF during an emergency.

Donate to UNICEF’s East Africa Children’s Crisis appeal.

Video

Wed, 10 Aug 2011 19:40:39 +0200

Recovery, what recovery?

Wed, 10 Aug 2011 18:27:11 +0200

Recovery, what recovery?:

The plain fact is that corporate profits are the only area of the US economy to recover since 2009. Any other claim is a lie

unicefuk: //** AUG 03 IMPORTANT UPDATE ON SOMALIA FAMINE...

Thu, 04 Aug 2011 12:06:23 +0200

unicefuk:

//** AUG 03 IMPORTANT UPDATE ON SOMALIA FAMINE **//

Today, famine was declared in three new areas of Southern Somalia: in Middle Shabelle, Afgoye, and amongst the displaced community in Mogadishu.

This is a children’s famine. Tens of thousands of children have already died in the last few months.

In some areas, the rate of severe acute malnutrition is so high – at least one in five – that if children don’t get help soon, they will die within weeks.

We are the largest supplier of emergency food in Somalia. This week, 11 flights carrying life-saving nutrition supplies will arrive in Mogadishu.

With therapeutic feeding, a child can fully recuperate within four to six weeks. That means we can save lives if we act now.

Act now to save lives. Please donate.

(Above: On 24 July, a toddler clings to his mother as they queue for a food distribution in the Badbado camp in Mogadishu, the capital. © UNICEF/Kate Holt)

If a Married Lesbian Couple Saves 40 Teens from the Norway Massacre and No One Writes About it, Did it Really Happen?

Wed, 03 Aug 2011 22:24:00 +0200

If a Married Lesbian Couple Saves 40 Teens from the Norway Massacre and No One Writes About it, Did it Really Happen?:

Various condemnations surfacing because their homosexuality isn’t relevant to their heroism, but, and this is key: it may just be relevant to the story going under-reported!

Video

Tue, 02 Aug 2011 18:26:09 +0200