James Yuill announces a new album

London "folktronica" (i know - wanky genre names abound) artist James Yuill has just announced that he is releasing a new album in June. Movement in a Storm will be his third release through Moshi Moshi.

The Egodeity really likes this guy, and hopes he can bring his blend of computer experimentation, along with a ear for a acoustic melody to a wider audience this year.

Any more news will follow, but in the mean time, I posted an mp3 of a song (The White Crow) from his debut album here, to give you a taste of his stuff.

The Official Rules of Drinking Pro Evolution Soccer (or Drinking Pro Evo)

(NB This is for the Playstation version of Pro Evolution Soccer. It should be easy enough to transfer to other versions)

1.1 Matches are decided over two legs, with away goals, and penalty shoot outs if necessary.

1.2 Both players pick a random team by holding the Square button while looking at each other and counting to three, letting go of Square at the same time ON three.

1.3 When two teams are selected, the strips must be selected to be as similar as possible (eg two predominantly white strips, if possible).

1.4 The lineups must be the default selections, and remain so over the two legs, with no substitutions, or tactical adjustments permitted.

2.1 During Gameplay, before the start of each half, at the final whistle, and any stoppage in play, a drink must be consumed. A player may not continue until his/her drink is consumed, and returned to it's resting surface.

2.2 The game cannot be paused for any reason. If a player pauses for any reason, they must immediately consume two fingers of drink (or any other pre-approved unit), while the game continues to be played by their opponent.

2.2.1 If a player's drink is depleted, he/she must restock while the game continues in their absence. Any opportunities to drink that an absent player missed must be honoured with two fingers of drink (or any other pre-approved unit).

2.3 Any time a player concedes a goal, they must consume two fingers of drink (or any other pre-approved unit).

3.1 The winner after two legs has to be presented with the winner's trophy, which is a shot (ideally in a miniature trophy), concocted by the losing player, of any combination of alcoholic beverages, and edible solids.

3.2 The victory must be captured in visual record for historical posterity.

4.1 The match is replayed with different teams, selected at random (holding L1 and Square and counting to three, cf rule 1.2), and continued ad nauseam ad infinitum.

Quentin Letts is one of the better writers in the Mail, which, i know isn't actually saying much. His snide gossipy columns on the day-to-days inside the Palace of Westminster are some of the closest things I have encountered to intelligent right wing opinion. Today, he was writing a sketch about the Westminster village having some websites blocked, including a joke site that compared Tony and Cherie Blair to a horse's arse. However, the Mail Online sub editors obviously feared the wrath of their dictator boss, Paul Dacre, because the wrote the address of the website with spaces in it, so it wouldn't be picked up as a link. Heaven forfend that the Mail should be seen to be responsible for a traffic spike to http://www.filthyjokes.freeserve.co.uk/.

Homophobe Iris Robinson reveals she attempted suicide over her own infidelities

Tonight Iris Robinson, wife of DUP leader Peter, admitted that she attempted suicide (H/T Centre Right, Conservative Home) at one stage last year after she had engaged in an extra-marital affair. This is the MP who famously declared that homosexuality was worse than child sexual abuse, and she of the expenses fiddling.

She had already declared her intention to stand down between Christmas and New Years - a notoriously slow time for regional news (ever notice how the rolling news channels focus heavily on international events in this period?), and now she buries this disclosure under the UDA's decommissioning announcement. She has certainly shown incredible cowardice in the public face of this episode of her political life - something you could hardly accuse her of previously. She's going now, but will hardly be missed.

Ian Hislop, Alan Rusbridger, and Colin Myler as witnesses for the Commons Media select committee

Ian Hislop, the editor of the Private Eye, Alan Rusbridger, editor of the Guardian, Colin Myler, current editor of the News of the World (NOTW), as well as his newspaper's lawyer, Tom Crone, were before the House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee today, in their capacity as witnesses in the Committees ongoing investigation into Press Standards, Libel and Privacy.

The NOTW representatives were interviewed first, and then separately Hislop and Rusbridger were interviewed as a pair. I found Myler to be the most reasonable sounding editor of the right-wing press that I have seen so far, and certainly his answers seemed closer to reality than Mail or Express editors'.

On a seperate note, relating to the fact I was questioned multiple times on a previous visit by Westminister officials, the last two times I went to the Palace of Westminster, my trip was largely uneventful in this regard. I will excuse that one time and suggest that there was heightened tension due to the fact that it was Budget Day.

Myler was speaking under a cloud of the impending libel case brought by Max Mosley, meaning some of what he said may jeopardise the trial, which may explain the presence of Crone, although it is also possible that the Committee called upon him specifically to get the lawyers points of view, although his contributions were minimal.

Myler opened with a brief statement about how the industry as a whole is suffering at present, with the fall in advertising revenue, and the rise in digital culture, and now the privacy rulings are putting further pressure on the newspapers.

He described how he was surprised he got sued by Mosley, because of his position as the elected head of the FIA, and its 100m+ members. He said that the Mosley story was legitimate, because one "can't divorce" the fact that he is a public figure, and his activities in soliciting prostitutes. The costs for the privacy case (and there is an impending libel case), he said were £60,000 damages plus £900,000 in legal costs, and he saw no noticable enhancement in sales. When asked why he would run the story, he simply replied because it was a "very good story," and pointed out the fact that all other news outlets ran with it.
Paul Dacre and Peter Hill both declared they wouldn't have ran the story, he is told, because they are 'family newspapers'. Myler refutes this claim, stating he also runs a family publication, and that people are intelligent and discretionary enough to decide what they buy - "that's why we have the best press in the world."
He informs the panel that Mosley had been made aware that he was potentially being tailed, but he still chose to go to the apartment, and was therefore taking a calculated risk when he met the women.