Amazing Documentary on Photo Journalism – Both Uplifting & Tragic

20 Monday Jan 2014

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Cathy Pearson, documentary, Henri Cartier-Bresson, John G Morris, journalism, photography, programme

I got to watch Cathy Pearson’s tremendous documentary on Photo Journalism called Get The Picture. The documentary’s central narrative is around the life of the Picture Editor John G Morris. The documentary open with John explaining what his role as a Photo Editor was – essentially the guy who commissions photographers, and then chooses the appropriate photos to be used in a publication. This in itself doesn’t sound remarkable until you consider both the publications he has worked for – Life, New York Times, Washington Post and the National Geographic, that’s before you even take into account the his association with the Magnum group. John came to prominence as a Photo Editor during the second world war, and has been involved with Photo Journalism ever since, working with photographers such as Robert Capa, Henri Cartier Bresson and Werner Bischof and his relationship with these photographers and others also contributed to John’s importance. The relationships weren’t simple employer/employee but relationships grounded on mutual respect and trust and as often as not a common set of goals and values in photo journalism – get the truth out to the public of what is happening and let the picture tell its own story.

The documentary from time to time detours to look at important aspects of photo journalism, particularly the work done in conflicts by journalists – reflecting on what motivates these people to go into such dangerous circumstances, the changing conditions – until the 90s journalists where left alone as the protagonists in a conflict saw journalists as means to get their side of a conflict told and now are as much a target as anyone else because they can show the brutalities of conflict and realities of the acts committed. So you can see why I say tragic, but why uplifting? We John has ben widowed 3 times, but managed to move on and not only find love again but embrace life, and fully appreciate what he has, something that really comes across.

If you have even a passing interest in photography, or world events – this is a very worthwhile documentary to watch. Sadly, not nominated in the Oscar’s Best Documentary Feature category this year – which is a shame as it punches a lot more effective than notable winners such as An Inconvenient Truth. On the happier side it does have some other successes.

For more information:

Facebook Page : https://www.facebook.com/getthepicturethefilm
IMDB Entry
SKY TV Info – showing the documentary at the moment
Get the Picture: A Personal History of Photojournalism (Crime and Justice: A Review of Research) – the orignal book by John G Morris

Robert Capa’s Most Famous Photo

Vietnam Execution

W. Eugene Smith

Henri Cartier Bresson in Russia

Gaps in Oracle’s Cloud Cover?

20 Monday Jan 2014

Posted by mp3monster in General, Oracle

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

AWS, Cloud, connector, development, integration, Oracle, Salesforce, SOA Suite

As an Enterprise Integration Architect I need to get my hands dirty with products such as Oracle’s SOA suite and AIA Foundation Pack. In the past, I’ve dealt with this by talking with our infrastructure team – obtaining a VM or a laptop with sufficient guts to host SOA Suite (and it doesn’t have a small footprint). This is all well and fine, but means I have to lug a big old laptop (our current standard laptop spec’s are lovely light machines with SSD’s but just don’t pack the punch for SOA Suite when it comes to memory) or have to leap through a series of security steps to get remote access – again not a problem unless I want to share my skunk works with someone outside the organisation. Nor, do I really want to invest chunks of time building a SOA Suite environment to work with – I don’t do it enough to be able to throw these things together quickly. Even Oracle recognise that with the support for a prebuilt VirtualBox with SOA Suite and BPM. The only problem with VirtualBox is I’ve saved on the build time, but still need that heavy laptop or remote access.

Oracle Cloud Java

With the rise of the cloud, particularly Oracle’s big push (announcements at Open World 2013), Amazon offering small footprint dev platforms more or less for free I thought we’d be able to get a PaaS deployment of SOA Suite – after all Oracle offer a range of Fusion Apps in the cloud (built on top of SOA Suite technologies), have launched development of Java and ADF solutions in their cloud and even offer Weblogic on Microsoft’s Azure. How I wrong could I have been. So I started looking around, perhaps someone has an AMI ready to go – well sort of if I want 10g. So I’ve dug around, and found the odd provider who could deliver what was needed (e.g. Titan GS) but we’re talking big bucks – not a low cost dev/skunk works environment.

This is very surprising really, and sort of ironic, given Oracle’s recent announcement for SaaS Adapters for the likes of SalesForce and WorkDay along with convenience tooling to connect to Oracle Cloud solutions such as HCM. I say ironic, because to use the cloud adapters you can’t have a SaaS middleware; in fact the whitepaper Oracle published on Simplifying Cloud Integration infers/assumes that you’d be hosting your own middleware. So if a midsized business has Has HCM, Taleo etc for their staffing management, SalesForce for the Sales/CRM operations and perhaps EBis or JD Edwards to move your business into the cloud you have to either go IaaS and carry the labour of maintaining the middleware platform or self host (one of the things the adoption of SaaS is trying to free you from).

All of this seems to be a really missed opportunity for Oracle. If the oracle wants to host the world (and I think Larry Ellison would like that) and definitely get into that midmarket sector that JDEwards particularly tries to inhabit they need to make it easy for businesses to cloud all aspects of their IT solution, that includes orchestrating specialist solutions that will be hosted by someone other than Oracle (shock, horror). All of which means SOA Suite (and ideally AIA) need to be in the cloud.

As for my problem, its either the pain of building something on Amazon or setting up several copies of the VirtualBox deployment linked to a common GIT repository, and hope those I would like to collaborate with can also get their hands on the virtualbox and connect to GIT.

Enterprise Security – A Data Centric Approach – Chapters 5 & 6

17 Friday Jan 2014

Posted by mp3monster in Books, General, Technology

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Aaron Woody, Enterprise Security, security processes

Continuing with Enterprise Security: A Data-Centric Approach to Securing the Enterprise by Aaron Woody Chapter 5 gest into some of the security processes and technologies to securing you compute platforms covering topics such as:

anti-virus (or not),
network lock down through the use of local firewalls built into the OS (so people can’t then just access the server by any means they desire SSH, RDP, telnet etc)
user permissions
auditing (so you can see what is happening/happened and by whom)
detection of file change in parts of the system that shouldn’t change except through specific mechanisms e.g. OS files should only change when patching the OS

But more importantly the chapter links these kinds of activities to the analysis of risk and previously developed trust models. So that you can understand how much security is suitable and justifiable. The ideas along with the pros and cons of each activity are well explained and clearly presented.

Chapter 6 takes us back to central theme of the book – data. With our policies and models identified we need to locate the data – this is harder than it may sound, not everything is in a database (the amount of business operation that runs on spreadsheets on people’s desktops, is endlessly amazing and then compounded by how we make the data collaborative – emailing, moving with personal USB storage, cloud services and on and on). To help find, track and potentially constrain it (prevent undue leakage) the book walks through the ideas of classification and ownership/accountability and then really starts to tie together the earlier chapters, as well as introduce some additional technology concepts such as the encryption of data when in transit and at rest. Like chapter 5, you don’t need a PhD to understand where to apply security and why – the doing maybe a different kettle of fish of course.

Previous blog entries:

There is also a supporting website for the book athttp://www.datacentricsec.com/
Enterprise Security - A Data Centric Approach

Ed Harcourt – Time Of Dust

09 Thursday Jan 2014

Posted by mp3monster in Music, Music Reviews

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Ed Harcourt, Kathryn Williams, Music, Parliament of Rooks, review

So we’re not even 2 weeks into 2014 and its time to get excited about a new album release. Ed’s latest is more of a mini album available now as a download and physical media at the end of month.

Unlike the more acoustic work of late, this release takes the piano lead performance to but leverages rich orchestral and synth layers giving a more of widescreen drama.

The widescreen drama coupled with some really amazing lyrics from the horrors of war (Parliament of Rooks) “we were only doing what the captain said, we all went down with the ship” to the safest of love songs “love is like a minor key, a jaded weeping willow tree, it hooks its claws until blood is drawn“.

Finally a bonus of Kathryn Williams on backing vocals you really can’t go wrong with your £3.49 on iTunes or £8 on Amazon for the CD and immediate auto rip download.

Ed, we want more….. Play it again Sam

Ed’s site – http://edharcourt.com/

Vinyl Junkies – Adventures In Record Collecting A Review

09 Thursday Jan 2014

Posted by mp3monster in Books, Music

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

book, collecting, Music, record collecting, record collector, record collectors, records, Robert Crumb, Thurston Moore, vinyl

So I’ve been luxuriating in reading some books more for the pleasure of it (rather than technical stuff to help authors or the day job). This book is about, record collectors, the act of record collecting and the general love for music both mainstream, obscure and just down right freaky. For the music fan this is Mills & Boon reading. For those related or taken on the challenge of a partner who is a record collector an insight into the mind of your loved one.

The books tries to explain the passion of collecting from many different perspectives, through the eyes of collectors (some famous – like Peter Buck (of REM fame), Robert Crumb (cartoonist) and Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth), others not so famous but equally obsessed. From a psychologist point of view – clinical (relationship to low sertraline) to psychotherapy. As a result we get discussions about the sensuality of vinyl and wonderful quotes like “CDs are like sex with a condom”.

We explore the kinds of collecting that go on – from types of records – old pre-war 78s, 1st issues of records, special prints like shaped coloured vinyl, those quickly taken out of circulation through to records that just seem to be rare and then the plain odd like albums commissioned by Listerine (the mouthwash) advocating the product’s wonders to people thinking they’re going to make it big putting out just tuneless oddities, to the child like contributions like Sammy Squirrel Teaches the Multiplication Tables (Which apparently has a publisher’s address on the cover of The Metaphysical Motivational institute, Drawer 400, Ruidoso, NM) and psychotic wonders such as “Sit on My Face, Stevie Nicks” by the Rotters and Naughty Rock ‘n’ Roll by the P-Verts or maybe various artists on the Sugar Tits Label.

As the book progresses we get a chance to be taken on an exploration of the validity of the portrayal of collector/obsessive music fan portrayed in Nick Hornby’s book High Fidelity by the character Rob Gordon (portrayed by John Cusack in Stephen Frears‘ cinematic adaptation); music collectors are geeky single men that can’t sustain a relationship etc.

The book is however 10 years old – and sadly doesn’t reflect how the rise in Mp3s has impacted. As everything get ripped and becomes for ever available (legally or illegally) on the web, what is happening to the passion of the hunt for the mysterious, weird and rare? Who knows, but its fun hearing the stories.

Vinyl Junkies

Enterprise Security – A Data Centric Approach – Chapter 4

01 Wednesday Jan 2014

Posted by mp3monster in Books, General, Technology

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Aaron Woody, book, data, Data-Centric Approach, enterprise, Enterprise Security, network security, Security

Continuing into a chapter 4 of
Enterprise Security: A Data-Centric Approach to Securing the Enterprise by Aaron Woody we start to look at some technical aspects of security and technology covering things like the capabilities of new generation of firewalls, DNS security and so on. The information is presented in a very readable manner.

As an Enterprise Technology Architect, and having security specialist friends I thought I was reasonably well informed in this aspect of IT, but the book still taught me me things. Interestingly, perhaps not intended but the chapter left me with a number of things that could be incorporated into development governance that would make the work of network security a lot easier.

The chapter continues with lots of really helpful references many, maybe all are incorporated into a series of appendices that are full of helpful information references and links. If these are made available on the book’s website (see below) it would likely become a must go to site for security resources.

It does leave me asking one question how does this all fit in when using a PaaS solution such as those offered by the likes of Amazon and Rackspace?

Previous blog entries:

The book has been published by Packt (who at the time of writing are running a promotion – more here)

There is also a supporting website for the book at http://www.datacentricsec.com/
Enterprise Security - A Data Centric Approach

Enterprise Security – A Data Centric Approach — Chapter 3

29 Sunday Dec 2013

Posted by mp3monster in Books, General, Technology

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

Aaron Woody, book, Data-Centric Approach, review, risk, Security

So I’m back to reading Enterprise Security: A Data-Centric Approach to Securing the Enterprise by Aaron Woody. I’ve not finished reading the book yet but as I’m reviewing one or two chapters at a time, I thought I’d blog about Chapter 3 – particularly given its value (previous blog entry here and here).

Chapter 3 goes by the name of Security As A Process, which addresses the processes to determining security risk, the analysis of cost benefit of implementing security features to address those risks. The chapter then goes on to provide guidance on defining good policies and standards.

In hindsight the process for determining and analyzing the security risks and classifying them is fairly obvious – it took the reading to to draw the points and the mechanisms into focus. But the fact it makes sense in hindsight suggests that the approach the workability and the chance for the business to understand the risks and challenges being taken on.

The chapter also provides some really good information sources for people to use to support the adotion of the processes described. Some I’ve known about such as the SANS Institute others I hadn’t.

I have to say that based on the strength of this chapter alone I’d recommend the book to any architect who is seeking to develop practical appreciation of addressing security considerations or understand what they should be looking for what to ask for in a new organisation. Those trying to drive up the quality of processes or get across the need for a more proactive security strategy that is also pragmatic – reading this chapter alone should help provide some serious points to get a handle on things.

The book has been published by Packt (who at the time of writing are running a promotion – more here)

There is also a supporting website for the book at http://www.datacentricsec.com/
Enterprise Security - A Data Centric Approach

Appetite for Self-Destruction: The Spectacular Crash of the Record Industry in the Digital Age

29 Sunday Dec 2013

Posted by mp3monster in Books, General, Music

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book, industry, knopper, Music, p2p, review

With the holiday break, I’ve had a bit of time to get through some reading, including finishing Appetite for Self-Destruction: The Spectacular Crash of the Record Industry in the Digital Age. This an excellent book on how the music industry has managed to shoot itself in the feet a number of times (and with a canon at that); although it does only cover events upto 2008 (as we enter 2014 it would be brilliant to see an additional chapter to get insight into how the resurgence of vinyl and the rise of Spotify has impacted thinking – beyond the deadlines of complaints by the likes of Thom Yorke about Spotify).

Thw book feels well researched (certainly references hold testimony to this), but at the same time it doesn’t read like a dry academic read that you would associate with such a well researched text. But given the attitudes and behaviours of some of the individuals in the big labels their egos run riot far more than most of the ‘rock gods’ that they’re trying to sell.

Steve Knopper has done a great job with the book and I’d recommend it to anyone interested in music or how technology such as peer-to-peer has impacted the media industry. You dont need to be a music fiend or geek to find this a satisfying read.

Steve’s website is http://knopps.com/

Packt Books $5 Promotion

19 Thursday Dec 2013

Posted by mp3monster in Books

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

$5, amazing offer, books, Microsoft, Oracle, Packt, Packt Publishing, promotion, reading

My friends at Packt Publishing have just told me they are repeating last year’s amazing offer of ebooks at a flat price of $5 (for us Brits that’s £3.05) go here. The Offer runs from sometime today (19th Dec) through to the 3rd of January.

The offer covers both their Open Source books, but also their Enterprise books as well (lots of Oracle and Microsoft publications).

Given the pricing you can’t go wrong. I know last year I ended up with about 6 months of technical reading.

Checkout : http://bit.ly/1jdCr2W