Ship without a rudder

typed for your pleasure on 3 April 2006, at 12.21 am

Sdtrk: ‘The sun ain’t gonna shine anymore’ by The Walker brothers

It’s Sunday eve! I should be writing Emails and calling people, but instead I’ve been playing through ‘Devil may cry 3‘ using Vergil (he doesn’t have a gun — he just launches spectral swords at his opponents instead), and watching the original (read: Good) ‘Bedazzled!‘ So I have nowt of any real significance to write about today. Sorry!

Alright, well, I sorta do.
You know me — I loves me some Sixties culture, especially if it’s from the UK or Europe, and the more nostalgic or obscure, the better. In between DMC3 and ‘Bedazzled!’, I had a sit-down in front of the computer for a bit, subsequently got distracted on the Autoroute de l’information, and found an ace site which replicates, in Flash, the idents and break bumpers from British television stations, from the late Fifties, to the early Eighties. They’d show idents such as these before a television programme, just in case you’d wandered in or whatever and simply had to know what station you were viewing. Upon retrospect it doesn’t make a tremendous amount of sense — how could you not know what channel you were on? — but UK television had, and still has, a very alternate universe vibe to the way they run things. ‘Terrestrial’? ‘Satellite’? ‘Regional programming’? Huh?

Anyway, the page that grabbed my attention is from a site called 625: Andrew Wiseman’s Television Room, which is quite interesting in and of itself, but my favourite areas are the Flash reproductions of station idents, and the clocks and opening bumpers for school programmes. Due to their minimalism, quite a few of those graphics had a certain air of menace to them; which makes them all the more appealing for me, anyway. Just have a look at the one for Ulster Television, for example; subtle, yet sinister. Or the BBC2 Colour one from 1967! Look at it! Look at it.

*looks at time/date stamp* Gah, it’s Monday already?! What the hell happened to my evening?

Random similar posts, for more timewasting:

It's not cruel, it's.. 'playful' on July 26th, 2006

Celebrating the One Week Anniversary ov 'Shouting to hear the echoes' on July 26th, 2004

5 have spoken to “Ship without a rudder”

  1. Tim writes:

    Well Davecat, I have been watching Garo, which is pretty-good, as well as Kamen Rider Kabuto, good, and magirangers, good,but is a little silly. You guys and your Devil May Cry! I liked the first one, however, there is too much Michelle taint on it now, so I have to look away. I guess if I was a rail-thin dude, with pretty hair and a fancy trenchcoat, or lust after them, then I could “get it”. However, I am nothing of such, so again, I must look away. Garo treads the michelle taint as well, however, because I was tipped of to it, post-Mikki, I feel a little better about it.

  2. veach writes:

    Just a kwik note

    Tho’ not snapperheading back, am still perusing the creative veins of others and wanted to murmur my thanks in your general direction.

    Laughed to tears at/with ‘perils of the internet – a cautionary tale’ and am now a lurker who rarely writes (one of your 3 1/2 readers).

  3. Tim writes:

    . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _________
    . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . / It’s a trap!
    . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _,,,–~~~~~~~~–,_____ ____/
    . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ,-‘ : : : :::: :::: :: : : : : :º ‘-, . . /. . . .
    . . . . . . . . . . . . .,-‘ :: : : :::: :::: :::: :::: : : 😮 : ‘-, . . . . .
    . . . . . . . . . . . ,-‘ :: ::: :: : : :: :::: :::: :: : : : : :O ‘-, . . . .
    . . . . . . . . . .,-‘ : :: :: :: :: :: : : : : : , : : :º :::: :::: ::’; . . .
    . . . . . . . . .,-‘ / / : :: :: :: :: : : :::: :::-, ;; ;; ;; ;; ;; ;; ; . .
    . . . . . . . . /,-‘,’ :: : : : : : : : : :: :: :: : ‘-, ;; ;; ;; ;; ;; ;;| . .
    . . . . . . . /,’,-‘ :: :: :: :: :: :: :: : ::_,-~~,_’-, ;; ;; ;; ;; | . .
    . . . . . _/ :,’ :/ :: :: :: : : :: :: _,-‘/ : ,-‘;’-‘’’’’~-, ;; ;; ;;,’ . . . .
    . . . ,-‘ / : : : : : : ,-‘’’ : : :,–‘’ :|| /,-‘-‘–‘’’__,’’ ’ ;; ;,-‘ .
    . . . :/,, : : : _,-‘ –,,_ : : : ||/ /,-‘-‘x### :: ;;/ . . . .
    . . . . / /—‘’’’ : # : : : : : | | : (O##º : :/ /-‘’ . . . .
    . . . . /,’____ : : ‘-# : , : : : : ‘-,___,-‘,–,, . . . . . .
    . . . . ‘ ) : : : :’’’’–,,–,,,,,,¯ :: ::–,,_’’-,,’’’¯ :’- :’-, . . .
    . . . . .) : : : : : : ,, : ‘’’’~~~~’ :: :: :: :’’’’’¯ :: ,-‘ :,/ . . . . .
    . . . . .,/ /|\| | :/ / : : : : : : : ,’-, :: :: :: :: ::,–‘’ :,-‘ . .
    . . . . .\’|\ |/ ‘/ / :: :_–,, : , | )’; :: :: :: :,-‘’ : ,-‘ : : : , .
    . . . ./¯ 😐 | : |/ :: ::—-, :/ :|/ :: :: ,-‘’ : :,-‘ : : : : : :
    . . ..| : : :/ ‘’-(, :: :: :: ‘’’’’~,,,,,’’ :: ,-‘’ : :,-‘ : : : : : : : :
    . ,-‘ : : : | : : ‘’) : : :¯’’’’~-,: : ,–‘’’ : :,-‘’ : : : : : : : : : ,-‘
    / : : : : :’-, :: | :: :: :: _,,-‘’’’¯ : ,–‘’ : : : : : : : : : : : / : : : : :
    / : : : : : -, :¯’’’’’’’&r squo;’’’¯ : : _,,-~’’ : : : : : : : : : : : : : 😐 : : : : : :
    : : : : : : : :¯’’~~~~~~’’’ : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : | : : : : :

    you’ve been admiral ackbar-ed!

  4. Davecat writes:

    Tim –
    You can’t let That Tart ruin everything for you! You do that, and the terrorists win, you know.
    And clever lad with the Ackbar there! Sadly, it just impacted upon the surface.

    Veach –
    Glad to see you still exist, even though you’re no longer motoring rapidly on the InfoBahn. Thanx for dropping in, and *cliche* don’t be a stranger!

  5. SafeTinspector writes:

    Another Veach sighting! There! I spotted him!

    Hey, DC, if you want a limey’s take on the current state of the BBC, this fellow frequently comments upon it.
    http://drfeelgoodsteve.blogspot.com/
    (note:he is not exclusively concerned with TV)

Leave a charming reply