written by Martin on Oct 28, 2007
I know I’m coming late to the party, but after watching an episode of ‘The West Wing’ tonight, entitled ‘Posse Comitatus‘, I browsed around to find the origin of the song featured near the end, entitled ‘Hallelujah‘.
You probably know the song, it’s been featured in numerous movies and TV programmes, including Shrek and ER.
It was written by Leonard Cohen, and has been covered by artists ranging from Rufus Wainright, to Bob Dylan and John Cale (Cale’s version appears in Shrek, but Wainright’s version appears on the soundtrack).
However, the version in question was covered by Jeff Buckley an influential American singer-songwriter who died tragically at the age of 30.
Buckley’s version of the song is widely regarded as one of the greatest songs of all time, and is listed in Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Songs of all time at 259.
And, by God, they’re not wrong: watch a version of Buckley playing the song on YouTube.
written by Martin on Oct 27, 2007
ProPublica is a forthcoming news agency fronted by Paul Steiger, the former managing editor of The Wall Street Journal and will specialise in investigative journalism when it is fully staffed in 2008.
Perhaps they should employ a proof-reader to cast an eye over their web copy too – I spotted at least one typo on the introduction page.
written by Martin on Oct 25, 2007
Put an end to personal body odour problems for good with the Flat-D Flatulence Deodorizer.
written by Martin on Oct 21, 2007
Channel Four is running a literacy campaign aimed at getting children to read, called Lost for Words.
The promotional statement on the TV trailers reads:
“One in five children leaves primary school unable to read properly.”
Should it read: “One in five children leave primary school unable to read properly.”?
My thinking is this: the ‘one’ in the ‘one in five’ statistic refers to a group of people, not an individual; if it referred to an individual, the use of ‘leaves’ would be correct (as in ‘One child leaves school every week unable to read’).
Am I right, or wrong?
written by Martin on Oct 19, 2007
Not wishing to labour a point, I’m posting another Unruly Media video to try and judge reaction.
To be honest, I’m neither sure what this video is for, or what it’s supposed ot be about – but it’s not bad.
written by Martin on Oct 11, 2007
Take a look at the video above. It’s part of a viral marketing campaign for Bacardi, directed by Alex Rutterford.
When I started up Copydesk, I studiously avoided advertising, partly as a result of my background with the BBC, but it’s starting to seem inevitable.
Let me know what you think in the comments.
