I've been struggling recently to find the brain-space necessary to post anything coherent. Between Escape Act, planzai, Crafty Devil, and well, life, i've had plenty of things to talk about but the words just don't line up.

Ok, so when we started making our new Escape Act album, i vowed to get stuck into the old video blogging to help tell the story of what we were at. It didn't work out that way, but i finally summoned the stuff needed to talk about the new album packaging.

Necessity is the mother of invention you say? Yes, it would be great to sell some of these suckers now that they are out. But really, they are such lovely objects, pictures wouldn't do 'em justice....

 

(This is a response to the email below, which was also CC'd with three other recipients.)

 

Hi Colin,

Firstly, thanks for sharing my email address with three complete strangers. I'm sure your Data Protection officer (if you have one) would just love that. Kinda reinforces the travesty of the whole Digital Economy Act affair.

Secondly, your non-reply confirms how damaging the double-job culture is for constituents' needs. I will be voting tomorrow for sure - and i'll be picking a candidate that will devote all their time to Westminster affairs.

Regards

Rich Dale

The Digital Economy Bill has been something i've been *meaning* to get a handle on. Finally this morning I got a chance to do some reading, and frankly i'm horrified to learn that the impending general election means that this steamling pile of anti-privacy anti-creativity poo could get rushed through Parliament without a proper debate. The BPI would be very happy if this were the case, since they recognise that such a debate would likely stop the DEB in its tracks: http://www.boingboing.net/2010/03/12/leaked-uk-record-ind.html#previouspost

There are some very enlightened comments on this article calling for us UK citizens to get the finger out. http://boingboing.net/2010/03/02/brits-tell-the-libde.html

An important point was raised that simply copying and pasting forms letters and popping them off to MPs by the bucket load isn't going to gain any traction. However one commenter suggested that his letter might inspire the rest of us: http://penllawen.tumblr.com/post/452280362/digital-economy-bill

So thanks to Richard Gaywood for enabling me to understand some of the key issues and develop this missive to my own MP.

Dear Mr Robinson,

I am an internet consultant and partner in a fledgling music business.
I strongly believe the Digital Economy Bill requires a full
Parliamentary debate before it should be passed into law and I would
like to know your views on the subject.

I have concerns about several aspects of this Bill, namely:

Privacy
This Bill aims to turn our ISPs into listening stations monitoring
every transmissions of every internet user on the off chance they might
be breaking the law. This is beyond the pale in our
innocent-until-proven-guilty society. Controls regarding wire-tapping
phone calls and physical bugging require stringent judicial review and
consent, yet the DEB simply proposes to open the floodgates to
litigious copyright holders.

Economy
At a time when the economy is still in a most fragile state, it is not
sensible to impose the wholesale monitoring that the bill proposes. The
huge cost associated with this will likely be passed on by the ISPs to
their customers.

"Government research as part of the Digital Britain programme
(http://www.ipa.co.uk/Content/Digital-Britain-broadband-initiative-could-boost-British-e-commerce-by-%C2%A314-billion)
has suggested that the British economy would be £1.4 billion better off
if the target of 100% broadband access by 2012 is achieved. Making it
more expensive for businesses and consumers isn’t going to help that
goal."

Liability
By making account holders liable for transmissions the DEB will naively
open an entirely different can of worms. The vast majority of
law-abiding residential internet users would be appalled to know their
their home wireless security can easily be exploited by determined
hackers - something they can do little to prevent without incurring
huge expense. They will be even more appalled when they are held
responsible for the actions of malicious hackers.

Similarly, public access in libraries, hotels, cafes, which had enabled
internet culture to become embedded in our way of life and helped many
close to the poverty line to get online, is equally vulnerable. Few
people have finances to truly secure their network in such as way as to
avoid third-party liability, nevermind the IT know-how to do it
themselves. The DEB has the potential to wipe out this vital aspect of
internet culture.

The DEB does not reflect the reality of how the internet works and how
quickly technology and usage practices have evolved in the last ten
years. It is attempting to protect the unprotectable. Sites like Google
are now lynchpins of the global economy, yet the DEB would make
provision for taking them down simply because they index links to
alleged infringers. It is fair to say that the DEB will be used as a
weapon to penalise the smaller and defenseless whilst overlooking those
with the legal and financial power to make a stand.

It is telling that Google, BT, the British Library and many others
oppose the DEB.

I have been a website designer consultant since 1997 and I have worked
all my life in the digital sector. As such, I feel qualified to
understand some of the issues around this Bill, and I feel strongly
that it is overly broad and overly vague.

I am also involved in the grass-root music sector, producing new music
for 20 years and helping young people understand how the music industry
has evolved. The DEB does not represent my interests as a musician or
copyright holder. The internet has enabled me and many like me to
develop sustainable creative businesses, something that was formerly
impossible without the distribution offered by the internet. The DEB
will stifle this new wave of creative businesses by applying the rules
of the 'old' and dying music industry.

That old industry, represented by the BPI has a right to protect its
own interests, but not at the expense of my privacy, right of access,
free speech or creativity. It is frightening that in a recent official
memo, the BPI gladly anticipates that the DEB to be slipped through
Parliament before the election without a proper debate.

In the new internet era it is true that the core issues of privacy,
piracy and copyright need new legislation. However it is not necessary
to effectively criminalise the many for the financial gain of the few.

As a constituent I am writing to you today to ask you, please: do all
you can to ensure the Government doesn’t rush the bill through without
granting us our democratic right to scrutiny and debate.

Please contact me if you require further information.

Yours sincerely,

Richard Dale

a bit of an aide memoir post because i will be making this again....

in addition to my persistent carrot problem the vegetable man has now
taken to concealing a few sweet potatoes in my weekly delivery. on the
off chance i thought that the internet might help me deplete a few of
my sweet new friends alongside some rainbow trout. low and behold...

http://www.essortment.com/all/troutbakereci_rwrj.htm

*****************
This healthy, fast and easy to make stuffed fish bake recipe makes a
great main course for a family meal
or dinner party. This meal is ready in less than 30 minutes. This
recipe serves 4.

INGREDIENTS:

2 cloves elephant garlic, finely crushed

4 oz. sweet potatoes, peeled and diced

4 oz. Spanish onions,

4 oz. trout, skinned, deboned and diced

2 oz. butter, melted

3 oz. all-purpose flour, sifted

1 oz. regular oats

3 oz. Cheddar cheese, grated

seasoning, according to taste

METHOD:

Preheat oven to 400 F (200 C). Using a bowl, combine garlic, sweet
potatoes, Spanish onions and trout. Season according to taste.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, oats and half the Cheddar cheese.
Spoon sweet potato mixture into an ovenproof dish. Top with the flour
mixture and sprinkle on remaining cheese. Bake for 25 minutes until
golden. Serve hot with garlic bread and a light salad for a quick
family dinner.

*****************

Damn tasty and very easy for a single pan dinner.

Beady-eyed readers will notice that the melted butter listed above is
not in fact utilised in the method. I mixed the trout/potato mix with
a tablespoon of olive oil, then dotted a few knobs of butter
throughout the veg after placing them in the pan.

So this week I once more find myself with an abundance of carrots. I also had a bowl of chickpeas soaking in the fridge alongside some lamb steaks.

Chickpeas + Carrots + Google = this amazing salad, which is taste-tastic. http://www.rexroof.com/6/chickpea-carrot-olive-salad/
It combines olives, lemon juice and a ton of spices into a great dish.

The lamb marinade followed a similar vein as per: http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1182863

Also served with a boiled spud, grilled haloumi and some fresh organic lettuce.

I will be making this combo again. Soon.

I love roast chicken, not least of all because you can make some lovely fresh stock with the carcass. Normally this would go into some soup or other but i decided to use the stock and the chicken in a dhal. Dhal is a curry made with lentils and i could eat it all day. Anyway I used a basic dhal recipe as the start point for this. I didn't use too many lentils as i didn't want the sauce getting too thick.

This assumes you've made some chicken stock, and have enough leftover chicken meat.

Chop a carrot into little cubes (little so they cook quickly).
Chop a big onion and soften in oil.
Meanwhile add a good handful of lentils to a pan containing at least a pint of warm stock and bring to the boil.
Simmer once the lentils are at the boil. Skim off any foam.
Thickly slice two cloves of garlic and add to the pan after the onions have started to soften.
Slice a courgette and add to the onion/garlic.
In a pestle and mortar, grind a teaspoon each of cumin, coriander and chili flakes, plus a pinch of salt.
When you're happy with the onions, clear a space and add the ground spices to the pan, allow them to warm through.
When they start to release their aroma, mix through the onions etc.
Back to the lentils... after about 10 mins, add a good teaspoon of garam masala and mix thru the lentils/carrots.
Slices a few tomatoes and add to the lentils.
Get your leftover chicken meat and add to the lentil pan to warm through.
Finally add the onion mixture to the lentil and mix through.
Check the seasoning.
If the sauce is too runny, simmer with the lid off till it reduces.

I served this with basmati rice.

I like to let my onions brown well, so they add a nice smokey flavour to the dish. You could also add a can of chickpeas to bulk it out.

This made a very rich and tasty curry. Not sure how faithful to the original, but hey.

ok, so this was so damn tasty that i munched my way thru it before taking a picture, honest!

every pancake Tuesday i ring my mum for a reminder of the recipe for batter, which i prepare, then promptly forget. so it here it for posterity...

- sift 8oz of plain flour into a large bowl, and add a pinch of salt
- make a dent in the middle of the flour mound
- add two eggs into your dent and start to fold into the flour
- measure out just over half a pint of milk
- add the milk gradually
- melt a large knob of butter and stir this into the milk
- leave the batter to rest for as long as possible

according to my mum, you don't want to stir/mix the batter too much or it'll get tough. rather you want to fold it so that you introduce air as you milk, and mix as little as possible. also its worth testing the batter to make sure it spreads thinly on the pan - if not, fold in some more milk...

so while i left the batter to rest i made the filling:

- heat a pan with some oil and butter
- slice an onion and leek and add to the pan
- add a sliced clove of garlic and soften the whole lot for about 10 mins
- wash two skinless salmon fillets, season and coat with oil
- once the veg are soft push them to the side of the pan
- add the two salmon fillets and cook, turning after 5 mins
- add two tablespoon of creme fraiche and mix thru the onion/leeks
- add salt and plenty of black pepper and grate some parmesan into the pan
- next add a few glugs of hot water
- gently stir, breaking up the salmon into large chunks, combining the sauce
- cover and take off the heat while you make your pancakes

pancakes - fairly simple
- heat the pan
- add some butter (not needed if you have a non-stick)
- add a good ladle of batter and spread evenly
- wait until you see bubbles appear
- turn and cook until done

serve the filling rolled in the pancake with some steamed veg.

In my continuing battle to deplete my carrot stockpile I made a very pleasing Carrot and Lentil soup this week, as follows:

1. heat some oil in a large pan and boil the kettle
2. slice a leek, an onion and a clove of garlic
3. sweat the veg in the oil, keeping an eye so they don't stick
4. meanwhile roughly chop about 5 medium carrots
5. add a teaspoon of sage and another of thyme to the pan, and give everything a stir
6. add the chopped carrots, season and stir
7. after a minute add about two pints of good stock, i used chicken
8. add about a cup of lentils and stir
9. cook until the carrots are tender
10. allow to cool and then blend, leaving a few carrots for texture
11. add half a cap of red wine vinegar and stir through
12. eat immediately, or leave in the fridge for a day or two to let the flavours develop

result pictured. mmmmmm!

Last night a bunch of impassioned music folks met up at the Spring and Airbrake to air thoughts about the future of the NI Music Industry as a consequence of the closure of NIMIC.

For me the evening was extremely positive as it was clear early-on that there are basically two interest groups - service providers and other grass roots businesses, and, creators / promoters / exporters of IP a.k.a. music content. These groups actually have very different drivers and goals, although everyone contributes to the vision of a successful indigenous industry.

And what i realised on reflection is that we've been several steps ahead of ourselves. NIMIC was doomed from the start as it attempted to be all things to all people, when what we really needed was an understanding of the components of the industry, the level they were at, and what needed to be done with each individual sector to make it fit for purpose. We can never be greater than the sum of our parts, because the parts aren't fully formed!

As music businesses, we really need to understand our goals (and differences) and organise around them. If that means different groupings, then great! They're more likely to achieve more, and when necessary speak with a single voice.

On a personal level this has helped me reaffirm the intent behind my various activities. Escape Act's development, and my work with Open Music Media Belfast both focus broadly on export and development of brand and content. This is the area that I'm most passionate about, and if those with other passions can be equally clear, then perhaps we'll start to having the building blocks of an industry.