Some thoughts...

Apart from the slight guilty feeling of reading newspapers because papers comes from trees I can't help but bemoan this article by BBC News Magazine. Sure papers are cumbersome but I still enjoy them. I know of people who uses AvantGo daily to catch up on the latest news (which are more up to date than prints) on their PDA, but unfortunatedly for me - reading news on a 3.6" LCD screen on a bumpy bus or tube journey isn't that convenient.

I am so glad of the new Berliner size for The Guardian. It means no more broadsheet fumbling. I still think that the new masthead isn't great (even their website hasn't been updated to reflect the new Guardian Egyptian styling) but overall having a more compact paper is a major plus, especially when it is just slightly larger than a tabloid. They also have a blog up regarding the relaunch.

Speaking of the Berliner, I noticed a couple of ads on Monday's The Guardian. I was stupid to miss them but some of the ads are quite slick - taking advantage of the Berliner launch. The front page has a small ad box with "Bigger isn't always better..." followed by page 2/3 bottom spread by BT: "Unless you're talking about our offer for Broadband from BT". Pretty cool huh? I thought it might have been a shot at The Daily Telegraph by the editors but it was by BT. Page 7 has a full page Beemer ad with "The pages may be smaller but sometimes they are harder to turn". And page 22 has "Shrink to fit." by lastminute.com.

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You are probably sick the iPod Nano by now but I will press on. Some of you will know that I am a complete iPod hater. Fortunatedly one week on and I have yet to see a single Nano in sight on the underground! Yes! Unfortunatedly I kinda liked the Nano. Okay I still won't buy one because I know that there are much better players out there (and I can use my PDA/mobile as a digital music player) but apart from the usual ugly click wheel, the Nano is quite sexy.

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I find this issue quite funny. (Thanks to Annie for updating as I have missed the previous coverage) It is even funnier when the guy behind the product admitted that they are receiving the fewest orders from London. The whole thing is silly anyway. Asian people would want to use these kinds of bags? If you visit the website you will notice a text with the words "How can we help to reduce fear in London?". Funny. I would think such bags would spread fear by reminding commuters around us that people without see-thru bags are potential bombers.

A silly arguement really. I travel on the bus daily and the tube twice a week and so far it is business as usual. Tubes are still as packed. Buses are still as late. People are still as patient. iPods are still everywhere. Tourists are still as rude. Fitness First bags are still used. Nothing has changed.

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We took the number 13 bus last weekend after a night out in Soho. It was a Routemaster. A quick journey of jumping up at Oxford Street and hopping back down at Finchley. I am still mourning its pending death. Sigh. I like the new bendy buses but they just lack soul. Perhaps in 50 years time they may be hailed as a historical artifact as a London moving landmark but somehow I just can't see it.

Same feeling with the D Stock on the District Line. As much as I hate its out-datedness (most of the District Line trains to Ealing Broadway hasn't been renovated yet) I hope that the new trains are not as ugly as the CG drawings posted on the bottom of this webpage. I like the new proposed interior but the front is hideous and looks like a Spiderman train. Even with the corporate livery, it looks like all the other metro trains used in other cities. Souless. (Note: Bombardier also built the hideously ugly STAR trains used in KL, the LRT trains are better)

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BTW, I will be heading to Brighton for the weekend. I think I will abstain from web access for the time being, even though with Jenni's office nearby that would be pretty difficult. Sometimes the brain needs a rest from online socialising.

Note: Absolut Icebar opening 1st October.