Cornet upper register vs Mouthpiece

I found this mp3 file on my computer so I thought I would upload it as there has been a bit of discussion n one of the boards recently about mouthpieces for high note playing on cornet. I am not sure you need anything special. Any mouthpiece will do. This is me playing an arpeggio to double top C on my Wick 4B on a cornet. OK, the top note is a touch flat, but its good enough.

Cornet High Notes

BNP Leader Nick Griffin to take part in live debate on Christian TV Channel.

I have just heard that BNP leader Nick Griffin is to appear on the UK Christian TV channel Revelation TV this evening in a live debate with the leader of the Christian Party Rev George Hargreaves. You can see the program tonight (22nd March at 9pm on Genesis TV Sky channel 592 or on their web site).

Not only do I find it odd that a Christian TV channel would want to give a platform to the BNP, but the organisers of the debate have sent out an email which includes this:

Churches across the UK have been advised of the debate and asked to urge members to tune in to listen, especially where we know BNP are putting up Parliamentary Candidates or running in local elections.

“We hope this debate, which will be recorded and available for use in churches and by community groups, will ensure that voters in the country concerned about the erosion of our national identity, particularly as a Christian nation might see that the BNP are not the answer but the Christian party is.”

So its partisan and aimed at promoting one political party as well as being deeply ill judged. Who will they be giving a platform to next?


Update:
Revelation TV have confirmed that this debate is taking place via their facebook page. It is going to be on their second channel "Genesis TV". I have updated the links above to point to the correct channel.

Apparently its going to be conducted at a secret location.

I put the following comment on the Revelation-Genesis Facebook page discussion of the debate (I suspect it might be removed so copy here):

Christians worship Jesus who was a Jew. Nick Griffin has authored anti Semitic literature. See this article for evidence http://alassmithandgraham.blogspot.com/2008/01/nick-griffins-anti-semitic-mindbenders.html

I am not sure how the two mix. It should just be a case of strongly condemning the BNP. No need for a debate.

The real issue is that many fundamentalist Christians are drawn to the BNP because of its anti Islamic position. Many others are drawn to UKIP because it panders to the conspiracy theorists (sorry the prophecy watchers although in actuality there is very little difference except one lot tag God onto the end of the conspiracies).

Also, the Christian Party have entered an electoral pact with the Jury team to not stand against their candidates which means there will not be Christian Party candidates in every constituency:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8575947.stm

I think this shows the sort of opportunist political set up that the Christian Party is. Its just as fringe as the BNP and just as publicity seeking. In fact a vote for the Christian party might be enough to let the BNP win in some constituencies.

Here are some arguments against having Christian parties:

http://www.martinturner.org.uk/2009/06/16/so-should-christians-vote-for-christian-parties-heres-why-not/

Update 23rd March 2010:

The 22nd March debate between the BNP's Nick Griffin and George Hargreaves of the Christian Party is now available on youtube. The first part is here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BipZuCMzdM


Update 25th March 2010:

A great article on the debate can be found here which pulls together quotes from different articles written after it had taken place:

http://blog.echurchwebsites.org.uk/2010/03/24/revelation-tv-debate-nick-griffin-george-hargreaves/

I left the following comment on it which I think sums up my feelings after a few days of reflection:

I read your previous article and have been following the story as it played out. You have done a good job of summarising it.

Here were the things that stood out to me:

Both parties have quite similar right wing agendas. In fact its difficult to squeeze a playing card between them on most issues.

None of the questioners pushed Nick Griffin on his previous public anti semitic statements, which I found odd given the pro Israel position taken by that channel.

I thought the quote from the Kingston Guardian about abortion was telling. The root of the issue is that the Christian Party represent a dominionist grouping within Christianity. If they were in charge of the country life would be very difficult indeed for non believers or people of other faiths (think – Oliver Cromwell or the Taliban). In this sense they are actually very similar to the BNP.

I would actually hate to live under an evangelical christian governement of that sort as I would feel that my value as a human being was diminished. Thankfully not all Christians are like this. I just have to keep reminding myself of this.

How to listen to Radio Six International on a G1 Android Mobile phone or in the car

These instructions would also apply to any internet radio station that you have an m3u stream file for, just change the URL of the streaming file. It should also apply to any Android based mobile phone, not just the G1.

Setup
Firstly you will need to install a streaming application called Streamfurious from the Android Marketplace. You only need the free version, not the paid version. Streamfurious is set up to get a list of radio stations from Shoutcast, but I could not find Radio Six International in the Shoutcast system so I had to add it manually as follows:

1. Open the Android web browser.
2. Click on Menu > Bookmarks.
3. Click on Add Bookmark.
4. Type in the name box: Radio Six International - Stream (so you don't later think its a link to .the web site).
5. Type in the location box: http://www.radiosix.com/stream_mp3.m3u

This should now appear in your web browser bookmarks.

Start listening
If Streamfurious was correctly installed it should be the default programme for any m3u files (but obviously not MP3 files). Clicking on the "Radio Six International - Stream" bookmark you just created should launch Streamfurious, buffer the stream and then play it. The audio comes through the speaker on the back of the phone not the telephone speaker. Volume is controlled using the G1 volume control on the side of the phone.

Stop listening
To stop the stream do not use the pause control as the download will not stop and you will eat up bandwidth, both for yourself and Radio Six!
Instead click Menu > More and then select Quit.

Adding an Icon to your Phone Home Page
Make sure you can see your default home page with all the icons on it (or select the left or right extension screens if the main one is full).

1. Press the Menu button.
2. Select Add > Shortcut > Bookmark
3. Select the Radio Six International Bookmark you created earlier.

An Icon will be added to your home screen. Clicking on this will launch Radio Six International in Streamfurious.

Playing in the car
The audio output from the G1 phone is via the mini USB socket on the bottom of the phone. The same socket is used for connecting the charger. This type of charger socket is the new agreed standard for most new mobile phones.

My Mini has a 3.5mm auxiliary socket for plugging in an ipod which then appears on the "Aux" button on the car stereo. A lot of other cars have the same type of socket now, but the G1 phone does not have a 3.5mm socket. You will need to obtain a mini USB to 3.5mm adaptor lead (cheaply available from Ebay or Amazon). And plug this into a 3.5mm plug to 3.5mm plug audio lead.

Additional connecting possibilities
My Mini also has a USB socket (used for powering an ipod and controlling track selection from the in car audio system). The USB socket can be used to charge the G1 phone, but you would need to make a special lead which could charge the phone and allow the audio output to get to a 3.5mm plug. This would allow the phone to charge while it was being used to listen to Internet Radio.

[Update: Someone has beaten me to it. You can already buy such a cable.

From the product description on Ebay:

11 pin Mini USB to 3.5mm headphone Y splitter adapter cable

This high quality mini USB adapter is designed to allow you to use standard 3.5mm headphones via your mobile phone, and at the same time charge your phone via the the external USB port. This item is designed for use with HTC mobile phones.

This would still require a USB to mini USB lead to go from the adaptor to the Mini USB socket.]

The Mini also has a bluetooth interface for the phone which allows the phone memories and audio to be accessed through the car audio system. It might be possible to hijack this to get the audio transmitted via bluetooth rather than through the 3.5mm lead.

If you don't have an auxiliary connection

The only realistic option is to attach the phone to one of the miniature FM transmitters designed for MP3 players and tune it in on the car radio. Personally I think that would be a process too far. There would just be too much to set up and too many potential points of failure, but there is no reason why it shouldn't work.

Internet Radio on the move
This is the $64,000 question and I have not tried it enough to be able to give a firm opinion on how reliable it is. Its entirely dependent on network provider coverage. I use T-Mobile which is one of the worst coverages in my area. Vodafone or O2 would be better. I will give it a thorough road test and post the results. One thing which helps is that the Radio Six International m3u stream is at quite a low bitrate compared to other Internet radio stations so its likely to be more reliable.

Coverage Results
I listened on the drive in to Edinburgh from Livingston. I only have 2G coverage at my house and the stream played perfectly. On the way in I had two forced application closes. This is a common problem with Android applications. Both may have been due to buffering problems but I could not monitor that while I was driving. Both the closes were quite early on and in bad coverage areas. Once I was nearer the city it was fine all the way in. This will need further investigation.

Other Uses
Switching the G1 phone to wifi and using it in the house allows listening to the stream on earphones without using any mobile phone bandwidth. The phone can also be plugged into the hi-fi amplifier, allowing listening with no need for a computer.

Revelation TV Moving to Spain via a Spanish Broadcasting Licence

It was announced yesterday that Revelation TV would be moving its broadcasting licence from the UK to Spain. This is presumably because they have been unable to operate within the OFCOM Broadcast Code.

Considering that their prevous breaches of broadcasting standards were around issues like homosexuality and abortion they can now rest happy, knowing that they can say as many nasty things as they like about homosexuals, or show as many aborted foetuses as they like during childrens hour.

Presumably they will still be happy to accept gift aid support from the UK government whilst broadcasting from offshore?

From their official announcement:

All TV stations have to have a license issued by their regulatory authority. Since its inception in 2003 Revelation TV’s license has been with the UK regulator, Ofcom. The staff at Ofcom have been helpful to the Station, but there have been issues of conflict as Revelation has sought to be truthful to its Christian basis.

Revelation TV now has a Spanish license and the new Channel will begin to operate under that licence from the 1st of April. Since the beginning of 2010, Howard has been commuting between London and Spain to make the necessary arrangements for the Station to comply with the requirements of its Spanish license.

Of course "their regulatory authority" is still OFCOM. They are just choosing to sail under a flag of convenience so they don't have to comply with British standards, just like many of the sex chat channels on Sky. Strange bedfellows indeed. In fact OFCOM is clamping down heavily on the sex channels, which is the sort of broadcasting regulation you would thing Revelation TV would be happy to be part of. Instead, they are joining a free for all with no standards..

See this article for further background information on Revelation TV:

http://www.ecalpemos.org/2009/04/genesis-tv-and-revelation-tv.html

A Potted Biography

Born in Edinburgh in 1967 ,the result of a fling between my mother and a much older man, after which she ran away from London on the first train north. A half brother and three half sisters turned up later.

Adopted and brought up in Stirling, with considerable time spent in Fife in the family caravans.

Worked for Dixons for a short time when I left school.

Then to college for an HND in Communication Studies and on to a job working for the RNIB where I did everything from emptying collecting boxes to travelling the country smashing out Basil Brush's teeth with a hammer (after some kid detached them and choked on them).

Then to university to read Divinity (this didn't work as I am now an atheist).

Got married while a student and have three children.

Then back to the voluntary sector and head of fundraising with various charities.

Then got fed up and started a business. Sold that in 2007 via a merger. Fell out with the new owners and sold half my shares in 2009.

Now working at the Eric Liddell Centre in Edinburgh doing fundraising (mainly trusts and foundations) and general marketing. I have a lot less money than I used to, but a lot more personal satisfaction.

When I am not doing that I play the trumpet, penny whistle, listen to music and read books.

Full professional profile here.