The Aroma of Hot, Fresh Coffee...

Hair Pie: Bake 1

2008-05-14T00:23:47Z

Giant Lego Man Pulled from Sea

2007-08-09T11:47:46Z

AMSTERDAM (Aug. 8) - A giant, smiling Lego man was fished out of the sea in the Dutch resort of Zandvoort on Tuesday.

Workers at a drinks stall rescued the 8-foot model, which has a yellow head and blue torso.

"We saw something bobbing about in the sea and we decided to take it out of the water," said a stall worker. "It was a life-sized Lego toy."

A woman nearby added: "I saw the Lego toy floating toward the beach from the direction of England."

"NO REAL THAN YOU ARE"

I know. I know.

alexandersmith @ 2007-07-11T12:40:00

2007-07-11T11:42:36Z

The Tech Lab: Charles Stross

UK science fiction writer Charles Stross, author of novels Accelerando and Singularity Sky, posits a future in which all human experience is record on devices the size of a grain of sand.

News Today

2007-06-09T00:48:22Z

Bear robot rescues wounded troops

The US military is developing a robot with a teddy bear-style head to help carry injured soldiers away from the battlefield.

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Patient bleeds dark green blood

A team of Canadian surgeons got a shock when the patient they were operating on began shedding dark greenish-black blood, the Lancet reports

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The nose of a UK Astute class nuclear submarine rolls through the streets of Barrow-In-Furness, Cumbria. The first 7,000 ton behemoth will be launched in early June.

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alexandersmith @ 2007-05-08T19:39:00

2007-05-08T18:43:48Z

No playground for 'super school'

2007-05-06T13:01:49Z

The most expensive state school in the UK will not have an outdoor space for students when it opens in September.

Alan McMurdo, head of Peterborough's £46.4m Thomas Deacon Academy, said "I think what the public want is maximum learning."

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'Smart dust' to explore planets

2007-04-18T09:18:26Z

Tiny "smart" devices that can be borne on the wind like dust particles could be carried in space probes to explore other planets, UK engineers say.

The devices would consist of a computer chip covered by a plastic sheath that can change shape when a voltage is applied, enabling it to be steered.

Details were presented at the National Astronomy Meeting in Preston.

Dr John Barker, from the University of Glasgow, said the particles could use wireless networking to form swarms.
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Beijing's penis emporium

2007-04-07T19:40:40Z

There are many thousands of Chinese restaurants around in the UK and everyone has their favourite dish, but only in China itself do chefs specialise in a range of slightly more unusual delicacies.

The dish in front of me is grey and shiny.

"Russian dog," says my waitress Nancy.

"Big dog," I reply.

"Yes," she says. "Big dog's penis..."

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Lost Kup

2007-04-05T12:20:39Z

http://www.myspace.com/lostkup

Help a brother out, yeah?

Benefit staff to use lie detector

2007-04-05T12:08:37Z

Lie detectors will be used to help root out benefit cheats, Work and Pensions Secretary John Hutton has said.
So-called "voice-risk analysis software" will be used by council staff to help identify suspect claims.

It can detect minute changes in a caller's voice which give clues as to when they may be lying.

The technology is already used by the insurance industry to combat fraud and will be trialled by Harrow Council, in north London, from May

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Talking CCTV

2007-04-04T13:06:02Z

"Talking" CCTV cameras that tell off people dropping litter or committing anti-social behaviour are to be extended to 20 areas across England.
They are already used in Middlesbrough where anyone seen misbehaving can be told to stop via a loudspeaker, controlled by control centre staff.

Home Secretary John Reid has earmarked nearly £500,000 to add speaker facilities to already-existing cameras.

Critics say the cameras are absurd and an intrusion into everyday life.

No More White Men

2007-03-30T12:09:02Z

The Hammersmith Palais, which closes this week, was immortalised by The Clash's (White Man) In Hammersmith Palais, a song Joe Strummer ended his gigs with right up to his death in 2002. But what's the song all about?

The Britain of The Clash is no longer with us. "I live by the river" was the clarion call of the dispossessed in their 1979 hit London Calling; nowadays, it's the boast of a Thameside double-mortgage condo-dweller.

And the scene of the previous year's (White Man) In Hammersmith Palais is now to be demolished for an office-and-restaurant complex.

In 1919, a former tram shed in west London became the Hammersmith Palais De Danse, the beginning of thousands of nights of jazz, swing, pop, rock, bhangra and ska - as well as the School Disco phenomenon.

Work in Progress

2006-09-20T00:19:08Z

Rob's birthday...

2006-08-12T02:36:48Z

...and so another custom card.

And, from Anonymous Tip, Adrian the Guitarist:

Photobucket resize like bastards

2006-08-11T15:59:57Z

Album cover

2006-08-03T21:11:36Z

alexandersmith @ 2006-07-30T19:51:00

2006-07-30T18:53:56Z

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Since it's the Hot New Thing

2006-05-16T16:04:44Z

I don't even read Marvel Comics, but what ho!

I Might Be Jesus

2006-05-03T19:02:56Z

I Might Be Jesus, originally uploaded by Alexander HJ Smith.

Today I saw God, and he said "Son, get up that tree".

More Illustration

2006-04-09T23:39:19Z

Taran, the drummer, colour:

alexandersmith @ 2006-04-09T02:21:00

2006-04-09T01:23:55Z

Work in progress on Taran, the drummer. Colour version soon-ish. I imagine.

Unsubtle Theft

2006-03-30T19:19:43Z

Unsubtle Theft, originally uploaded by Alexander HJ Smith.

I left the house today. This is proof, I tell you.

Illustration

2006-03-27T21:31:23Z

I'm doing some artwork for a mate's band. They're MySpace is here. This is a picture of the lead singer.
I have also done them a mascot-cum-logo (heh, cum), whose own MySpace page is located here.

Reminder - Alan Moore

2006-02-28T16:07:38Z

There will be a rare TV interview with Alan Moore on "The Culture Show," BBC2 7pm on March 9th. This will include contributions from Jonathan Ross and Iain Sinclair.

Boo

2006-02-11T02:40:47Z