Tag Archives: obituary

Mixed emotions: Papa was a rolling stone

Posted on Thursday, 26. May 2022 by hmvh

Anyone looking through old photographs knows to expect to see pictures of those who are no longer with us. This is normal. Not so in my case: A few weeks ago I was sorting through old photos of my father while, simultaneously and elsewhere, he lay dying a bitter and lonely man. Life is cruel. Continue reading →

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The legacy of Lou Ottens

Posted on Thursday, 15. April 2021 by hmvh

Lou Ottens, the Dutch inventor of the Compact Cassette as well as the Compact Disc died last month. He was in charge of a team of Philips engineers in Hasselt, Belgium who wanted to develop a portable tape recorder / dictation device and the associated tape cartridges for the home consumer. This was achieved by simplifying, miniaturising and re-imagining several existing concepts and products. Little could he know what legacy his personal frustration with open-reel tapes would leave. Continue reading →

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The rise and fall of Bookogs, Comicogs, Filmogs, Gearogs and Posterogs

Posted on Friday, 11. December 2020 by hmvh

About four months ago the sites Bookogs, Comicogs, Filmogs, Gearogs and Posterogs closed down. They provided much of the same features as Discogs (the audio recordings database) but (as their names suggest) catered specifically for the cataloguing of books, comics, films, audio gear, and posters, respectively. Continue reading →

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My mother? Let me tell you about my mother…

Posted on Thursday, 30. November 2017 by hmvh

2017 is a year filled with anniversaries. 2017 happens to be the “incept date” of Leon Kowalski, the replicant in the original Blade Runner movie from 1982. This year is also the one where fans would finally be treated to the unnecessary sequel, Blade Runner 2049. Furthermore, 2017 marks the 20th anniversary of my mother’s passing.
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Windows Phone is dead

Posted on Wednesday, 15. November 2017 by hmvh

This year marks the tenth anniversary of the introduction of the iPhone. The first commercial Android device was released a year later; today Android has the largest installed base of any operating system. In 2010 Microsoft also heeded the call with the ill-fated Windows Phone 7 (based on Windows CE). “Too little, too late”, one might say, nor was there an upgrade path to 2014’s superior Windows 8/8.1 generation (now based on Windows NT). And they were pretty damn good. Continue reading →

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There can be only one

Posted on Friday, 25. November 2011 by hmvh

Yes, I remember the day following the 24th of November 1991 clearly. Radio played Queen tunes up and down, TV broadcast more than the usual fare of past videos and eulogies, and so-called experts crawled out of the woodworks to lament what a gifted performer was lost to a disease barely understood. Everyone suddenly outed themselves as fans, and sales of Greatest Hits II, which all too co-incidentally had been released barely a month prior to Freddie’s demise, soared. He is repeatedly polled as the greatest rock vocalist ever, and Queen’s set at Live Aid in 1985 is widely regarded as the greatest rock performance of all time. Continue reading →

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Michael Jackson

Posted on Friday, 26. June 2009 by hmvh

Expect reissues of his back catalogue to be in production and in the shops in a matter of days. A new double Greatest Hits on the shelves by the end of July. The definitive DVD and a plethora of unofficial biographies in time for Christmas. Family fighting over his estate will start by the end of next week. Rumours over whether he’s actually dead or not to begin circulating by sun down. Continue reading →

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