Faber Finds

The Ministry of Type has a post up about a new imprint from Faber & Faber called Faber Finds which brings out of print books back from oblivion. This is only possible with Print on Demand so books are only published once they've been ordered, but more intriguingly, this allows each Faber Finds book to sport a unique computer-generated cover design; PostSpectacular details the process of creating a “design machine” capable of generating the infinite "number of unique designs, one for each single book ever printed in this range." Everything about this venture is fascinating and the way Marian Bantjes' border designs are assembled is remarkable.

Society & Its Outcasts

"Prisons, mental hospitals, and other institutions are a thermometer that measures the sickness of the larger society. The treatment society affords its outcasts reveals the way in which its members view one another - and themselves." Thomas O. Murton in Accomplices to the Crime (1969)

"Against Racism"

Pascal Bruckner has written a good article about the obscene spectacle that was the Durban conference and about what our reaction should be to its repeat next year:

Europe must take a firm stand against this buffoonery: boycott it, plain and simple. Just as Canada has done. Perhaps we should also think about dissolving the Human Rights Commission or only letting truly democratic countries in. It is intolerable that in the year 2008 - like in the thirties - nations which recognise justice, the multi-party state and freedom of expression are being brought before the tribunal of history by the lobbies of fanatics and tyrants.

Treehouses

From David Thompson's Friday roundup comes a collection of German Treehouses. They are incredibly impressive and put the rickety dollhouses seen on these shores to shame.

Testing Tanks

Does exactly what it says on the tin (except they're not tanks).

Litterers "are like the Wests"

People who drop sweet wrappers are acting like a Gloucester couple who tortured, raped and murdered at least 12 young women, an Anglican bishop has said.

In a letter featured in parish magazines in the Diocese of Lichfield, the Bishop of Stafford, Gordon Mursell, wrote: "Fred and Rosemary West represent merely the most extreme form of a very common philosophy of life: I will do what makes me happy, and if that causes others to suffer, hard luck."

"In fact you could argue that, by our refusal to face the truth about litter, we are as guilty as they were - we are in effect kidnapping young women and submitting them to a brutal ordeal of torture and rape before murdering them and burying them in the garden."

He said people were "right to be disgusted at these crimes" but that "mere disgust is too convenient".

"There are lessons for all of us to learn," he added.

Battlestar Operatica

I've made no secret of my love for the reimagined Battlestar Galactica and one of the features that makes it so unique is its soundtrack;
Bear McCreary's compositions are astounding in their originality, their influences, and in the sheer quantity he is able to score for what is a weekly television series.

Best. Video. Ever.

If you don't agree: you're wrong.

Going On

I failed to pick up on quite how amazing this song was when the second Gnarls Barkley album was released, but I now agree with Kanye West, this is the best song on it.

A Popular Choice

David Thompson has a post up about the horror of Guardianistas at Boris Johnson's election. The 'racist' and 'snob' epithets continue to be popular - all that hard-hitting research by Compass must have really swayed opinions - but the comment that really underlines the left's problem with Boris is Vivienne Westwood's:

"Boris as mayor? Unthinkable. It just exposes democracy as a sham, especially if people don’t vote for Ken."

Johnson won a bigger mandate on a bigger turnout; democracy hasn't been exposed as a sham, it has been demonstrated in action.