Here are some of the things I’ve been reading August 31st from 14:24 to 22:49:

• Facing up to the financial facts | birminghamnewsroom.com – Birmingham City Council's Chief Exec Stephen Hughes: "The truth is, that if we are to protect the public from the consequences of these spending reductions, we need revolutionary change in the way we provide services."

  We are going to have to look at ideas that might have seemed inconceivable only a short time ago.

• Slices of soup – towards a new definition of local media | ASH-10 – "….the future of online media looks a lot like soup. There will be carrots and they will be important but on the whole it’ll be a murky and opaque and very hard to perceive as anything other than a whole."
• The 2010 Social Networking Map / Flowtown (@flowtown) – 2010 map of social media
• – ‘Do not sue’ Part II: stories and leads wanted! – an Easy-Waiver (loosely based on what you’d sign to hire a mountain bike, go paintballing etc).
• Your guide to organising a street party or fete – Communities and neighbourhoods – Communities and Local Government – "We want to make it easier for you to hold these sorts of local events, without having to plough through mountains of forms and red tape. So we have produced this simple step by step guide to how to hold a community event in your local area. It includes one simple form for you to use to let your local authority know about your plans."