Death Metal Rooster
Posted by unluckydip | Filed under Web, video
The posting of this probably brings down the tone of my blog (if there is one at all), but I can’t help but like some of the stupid things you can find online. I found this via one of my favourite podcasts diggnation.
Tags: Culture, Diggnation, Heavy Metal, Internet, Podcast, Rooster, video
The Allegory of the cave.
Posted by unluckydip | Filed under Blogroll, Book, Podcast, Web
I’ve recently bought a book called Philosophy – The classics, and it is written by Nigel Warburton, the host of the podcast philosophy bites which i listen to. The book introduces you to 30 of the most important philosophical works that are still relevant today. It gives each book a brief yet informative commentray of the key points they throw up. As a newbie to philosophy it is very well written and addictive book, so much so that i thought i’d share the following extract.
The extract is taken from the first chapter in the book, on Plato’s The Republic. It is a re-telling of the classic allegory of the cave. As someone who had never come across the allegory before it was quite enlightening. You can views further extracts from the book on Google Books and listen to the chapter on plato and others from the Official Podcast, which can be found on the podcast Website and on iTunes.
Click here to listen the Plato Podcast
“Imagine a cave. Prisoners are chained facing its far wall. They’ve been kept there all their lives and their heads are held fixed so that they can’t see anything except the wall of the cave. Behind them their is a fire and between the fire and their backs a road. along the road various people walk casting their shadows on the cave wall; some of them carry models of animals which also cast shadows. The prisoners inside the cave only ever see shadows. They believe shadows are the real things because they don’t know any better. But in fact they never see real people.
Then one day one of the prisoners is released and allowed to look towards the fire. At first he is compley dazzed by the flames, but gradually he starts to discern the world around him. Then he is taken out of the cave and into the full light of the sun, which again dazzles him. He slowly begins the realise the poverty of his former life; he had always been satisfied with the world of shadows when behind him lay the brightly lit real world in all its richness. Now as his eyes acclimatise to the daylight he sees what his fellow prisoners have missed and feels sorry for them. Eventually he becomes so used to the sunlight that he can even look directly at the sun.
Then he is taken back to his seat in the cave. His eyes are no longer used to this shadowy existence. He can no longer make the fine discriminations between the shadows which his fellow prisoners find easy. from their point of view he eyesight has been ruined by his journey outside the cave. He has seen the real world; they remain content with the world of artificial appearances and wouldn’t leave the cave even if they could”
Tags: Book, Cave, Classics, Philosophy, Plato, Podcast, Republic, Web
My top five podcasts.
Posted by unluckydip | Filed under Media, Web
In the early days of my blog i listed what my top podcasts were, since then my list of subscribed podcasts has significantly grown. Below is a list of what I now consider to be my top 5 podcasts. Hopefully some of them are new to you and you’ll enjoy them as much as i do.
5… Philosophy Bites
Philosophy Bites is a short format audio podcast which covers a wide range of philosophical theories. The newest podcast on my list, it updates regularly and takes the form of an interview, where the regular presenters, David Edmonds and Nigel Warburton quiz the guest specialist on a particular philosopher. As a person relatively new to philosophy, this podcast is light and insightful. Definitely worth listening to even if you only have the smallest interest in philosophy.
4… Cranky Geeks
Cranky Geeks is a weekly, half hour technology focused video podcast. The podcast takes the form of a panel talk show, headed by presenter John C Dvorak. Each week there are two guests from the world of tech and regular panelist Sebastion Rupley. Issues discussed on the show are based on technology news and increasingly journalistic stories from the past week. The emphasis of the show is on strong opinion and on generating debate, this said however, the podcast is lighthearted in nature.
3… The Russell Brand Show
The Russell Brand podcast is and audio podcast that is released weekly and is on average and hour long. The podcast is a highlight reel from his award winning BBC radio 2 show and is simply hilarious. Conversations between co-presenter Matt Morgan and pseudo co-presenter Noel Gallagher are argumentative and surreal with great comic effect. Many can find Brand off putting, but in this podcast they will struggle not to warm to him.
2… No Agenda
No Agenda is an experimental audio podcast hosted by tech journalist John. C. Dvorak and radio presenter Adam Curry. As the the title suggests there is no real focus on any particular topic in this podcast. The show takes the format of a conversation between the presenters on subjects that take there interest. Topics tend to lean towards current affairs, conspiracys and technology. The length of the podcast varies, but it is regularly a long show of at least 1 hour. The podcast often offers interesting tilts on stories and can often provide the audience with interesting information, an interesting format which i love.
1… Diggnation
Diggnation is a video podcast that varies between 30 mins and an hour in length. Hosted by Alex Albrecht and Kevin Rose, Diggnation is a weekly tech/web culture show based on the top stories from the social news website Digg.com. Since starting in 2005, Diggnation has gained a cult following and it is in my opinion easy to see why. The show is almost like taking part in a blokey pub conversation, and despite you of course not being able to directly interact, it feels very much inclusive. The podcast is not for everyone, but if you like it, it’s almost guaranteed you’ll in fact come to love it.
