Londoner

03 May 2004

To put it mildly: the last six weeks have been quite hectic.

Five weeks last Friday, I was out at the theatre with a friend, and had my mobile phone on silent. I got out at half ten, and as we headed into town for some beers, I listened to my answerphone. And I’d been offered a job – one that I’d known might have been a possibility, but wasn’t holding out for.

And it began on the following Monday at 9am. In London.

I was shellshocked, to say the least. Slightly dazed, we headed into town for aforementioned beers and ended up dancing to the Smiths. Which as far as I’m concerned, is a good night. On the Sunday, I packed some bags, and went to stay with some friends who I cannot thank enough.

Fast forward six weeks from that first day. It’s May Day. I’m employed. I now live in London, in a very lovely flat that I managed to find surprisingly quick. I’m settled in; a routine is beginning to emerge. I’m tired at night, but stuff gets done, and I live a pleasant life. During my time at university, I made a fair few friends in the city, and I’m so glad to have them nearby now. Six weeks ago, I was unemployed and living at home. To be honest, I had been for a while. And I wasn’t sure where I was going to end up, or if I’d ever get a job, or anything. Not one of my best times. Hit its nadir pretty much the week before The Job.

And now I’m here. And, with any luck, it’ll never be like that again. Something’s been started, and I feel it’ll be very good. Which is why, even though like Tom I’m prone to putting off all my grand plans – a talk at NotCon, the novel, the album, various articles – I’ll still probably get around to them some time. Sometimes, just being here is enough.

Rainy Bank Holiday

03 May 2004

It’s a horrid wet bank holiday here, so what better to do than a little bit of template munging? Finally got up off my backside and did what I’ve been planning on doing for a long while. The content in the right-hand column is now all entirely generated by Moveable Type; it’s no longer in the template. This makes it far easier for me to up the linklist (long in need of doing), and edit the Colophon and About sections. It’s also probably a slightly better use of available technology, and has given me a brief burst of satisfaction. Which is always nice. Next thing to look into, probably: RSS for the linklog. I’ve got RSS for the main blog, as the “about” box top-right will tell you. In case you hadn’t noticed.

pacmanhattan

03 May 2004

Throw together some people in silly costumes, 80s videogaming nostalgia, wi-fi technology, and running around New York, and what do you get? PacManhattan. Live-action, wireless tracked, Pac-Man. Brilliant. (I’m on a wireless-based geolocation trip at the moment…)

matineevid

03 May 2004

I’ve just seen the video for Franz Ferdinand’s Matinee. It’s sublime, it really is; you’ll understand when you’ve seen it.

Links text

03 May 2004

lukelog
plasticbag
ext|circ
2lmc spool
linkmachinego
interconnected
methylsalicilate
minor9th
venusberg
whole lotta nothing
kottke.org
blackbeltjones
cityofsound
foe romeo
ben hammersley

orbyn
qwertyuiop
kitschbitch
as above
doyoufeelloved?
Technorati Profile

Colophon Text

03 May 2004

infovore.org is (ideally) set in Gill Sans, Hoefler Text, and Verdana, and it was constructed in Arachnophilia 4.0 and BBEdit. Content management provided by the mighty Movable Type, hosting by the delightful 34sp. Many thanks to Dan Hon and Tom Coates for their help and inspiration. Content and layout (c) T. Armitage 2003,2004.

About text

03 May 2004

infovore.org is the personal site of Tom Armitage, a twenty-something compulsive consumer of words in rows. That’s me on the left.

Having graduated from a degree in English, I now live in London, working in New Media. When I’m not doing that, I tend to consume things; music, writing, art, film; food. Film especially.

On the off-chance I’m not devouring information of some form, I’m probably creating something. There are various fictive projects in the background (including the novel), there’s a relaunch of Omnivore to be dealt with, there’s a lot of music I’m working on, and then odds and ends of web software and design. And a ton of photography. All for fun, honestly. I like making things.

In particular, I really like making things for the web. I think I’ve finally found my canvas of choice. I’m not as good at it as I’d like, but I think that’s probably because I set my standards rather high. Once I realise I’m not going to become Zeldman, Kottke, Bowman or Meyer any time soon (and that it took them a fair few years to get there), I’ll probably be a lot more content with my lot. Until then, I’m doing my best to improve. This site is one of my better attempts at design for the web.

I started my first weblog, entitled tajmahal, in late Februrary 2001. Powered by Blogger, it was a mixture of links, commentary, and personal journal. It ceased in July 2003, when I finished my degree. It’s not online at the moment, but I’m planning to republish it to this site at some point.

Infovore as a site consists of a longer weblog on the left, with commentary, tales far- and not-so-far-fetched, anecdotes, and general whinging. Common subjects featured here (aside from whinging about how little I’ve done) include web design, software and technology, art and culture, and food – along with the odd personal note. To its right is a briefer linklog of interesting or amusing bookmarks – some are just that, bookmarks to myself; others are intended for wider consumption; all are probably of interest to someone out there. If you find them all interesting, you’re probably my ideal reader.

Emergency exits can be found to your rear, or in the links section, where other sites I regularly enjoy are now yours for the taking. Finally, if you want the content of the site in the RSS reader of your choice, an RSS feed is available.