Don’t ask me how I found this review, but, goodness me, there are some strange programmes on TV.
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09Nov06 — 6
The Ludlum Retirement
Best-selling thriller writer Robert Ludlum, author of The Bourne Identity, The Acquitane Progression, and The Moscow Vector, announced the end of his blockbuster career yesterday. Speaking to a packed meeting at the American Publishing Society conference in Florida, Ludlum said, “There comes a time when a man has to accept that he has run out […]
Read More08Nov06 — 0
The History Of The Future Past
Look at these fascinating slides of a 1959 lecture made about plans for the moon landings.
Read More08Nov06 — 0
White Album
I didn’t have time to browse through them all, but there are some excellent photographs in Time‘s White House Photo Blog.
Read More06Nov06 — 5
Sadly Straight
Thursday evening, last week: I’m standing at the bar buying my round in a not-gay pub in Brighton when a man I’ve never met before starts talking to me in a way I am reluctant to categorise as “forward” until he moves in close, starts rubbing his hand up and down my chest, and tells […]
Read More05Nov06 — 0
A Correction And A Recommendation
Recently Shalom Lappin and I were interviewed by Ha’aretz about the Euston Manifesto. The published article completely confused and misrepresented our views, though I doubt this was out of malice; the reporter hadn’t brought his recorder so he took notes of our conversation in Hebrew and drank beers as he did so. I haven’t mentioned […]
Read More27Oct06 — 0
My Kind Of PR Professional
I don’t believe that depicting Steve Irwin as a two-dimensional cartoon figure wandering around Hell with a stingray barb sticking out of his chest is admirable (or particularly funny or insightful satire), but I admire South Park‘s spokesman for his response to those who feel it to be disrespectful to the recently deceased TV wildlife-taunter […]
Read More27Oct06 — 1
Consulting Intelligence
Thanks to the Anonymous Economist for sending me a copy of a New York Times article that highlights some of the monumental point-missing of the current debates about (for example) Iraq and the War on Terror simply by asking a dumb question. CAN YOU TELL A SUNNI FROM A SHIITE? By JEFF STEIN FOR the […]
Read More26Oct06 — 21
In Our Defence
Shuggy is complaining about Norm’s and my spelling of “defence” as “defense” and Christopher Hitchens’ spelling of “labour” as “labor”: Lenin does it. So does Pootergeek. As does Norm. Politically different, yet the same problem; they all spell ‘defence’ with an ‘s’. Which is an Americanism. I’m happy for the Yanks to do this but […]
Read More23Oct06 — 0
Frozen Moment
This is a beautiful example of the possibilities of social software and of the impression of three-dimensionality you can create with slide film.
Read More20Sep06 — 0
Dude Central
Jeff Bridges is a quirky and talented actor. He has also an interesting Website. Like me he puts his music and his photographs and his bad jokes online. Unlike me he’s a hugely successful Hollywood superstar with great hair. Check out his urinal endorsement. Nicole Kidman’s not going to be doing an ad for Armitage […]
Read More08Sep06 — 4
Indispensable
Wikipedia will eventually triumph over all other existing encyclopedias. Does any edition of Britannica or Encarta have a “List of films ordered by the use of the word ‘fuck’“? Yesterday’s featured article was about philosopher and socialist Hilary Putnam, who is the Putnam in the “Quine-Putnam indispensability thesis” and definitely my kind of thinker. (By […]
Read More07Sep06 — 12
Captcha!
Commenters here might have noticed that, this week, PooterGeek acquired a new CAPTCHA, that is a test to check that you are, er, “human” before your comment is accepted by the system. It’s to discourage spammers from clogging up this blog with links to their poker, porn, and Viagra sites. The PooterGeek CAPTCHA is basic: […]
Read More15Aug06 — 3
My Kind Of Loser
Al Gore seemed to have been engineered by a mad scientist to become President of the United States of America: born in Washington DC to a former senator, elite education, lots of practice being Vice-President to one of the more distracted actual Presidents, George W. Bush for his opponent, tall, good hair. How could it […]
Read More09Aug06 — 14
Superman
Having popped out a couple of twins, Israeli bloggess Gloria Salt is back. Via the comments on her most recent post, I stumbled upon the output of “nationally syndicated Libertarian columnist and author” Vin Suprynowicz. Via his commentary on the war in Lebanon… It’s typical for those who crave peace to try compromise and appeasement. […]
Read More04Aug06 — 1
Lethal Weapon
The current lead story on The Onion‘s online radio station is: “Mel Gibson Launches Rockets Into Israel“.
Read More03Aug06 — 2
Mad Choons
Yesterday evening, while I was eating me tea, I had the Cambridge Folk Festival on the radio. Luckily I wasn’t paying too much attention to the introductions so I had no advance warning of Salsa Celtica‘s “signature blend of big-band Latin dance music with Scottish accents”. They’re tight as a Highland midge’s nether parts and […]
Read More02Aug06 — 4
A Magician
When I was a kid I was fascinated by a 3-D photo viewer called the View-Master. Last night as I lay in bed with my ThinkPad having finished off my latest post on the Wedding Photography Blog, I followed Design | asides from my blogroll there to the Magnum Photos site and experienced the same magic I […]
Read More21Jul06 — 1
The Onion Does Le Tour
Following Blognor Regis’s coverage of the Hollywood-style comeback of Floyd Landis in the Tour, I did a Google News search for the latest and I found this real story from the online version of The Gainsville Sun: LACK OF LANCE HURTS AREA INTEREST By Elizabeth Hillaker Special to the Sun July 21. 2006 6:01AM As the Tour […]
Read More20Jul06 — 6
The Evidence-Based Politics Of Envy
Further to my recent post about executive salaries, here’s an article from Tuesday about how the tech firms that pay their CEOs the most give the lowest returns to investors. [via Slashdot]
Read More17Jul06 — 0
Bush And Blair Burn Up The Mic [Uncut]
Via Normblog I read the Times‘ transcript of an accidentally broadcast conversation between George W. Bush and Tony Blair at the G8 summit. By downloading the original recording and processing it with various digital sound programs I have been able to reconstruct the inaudible parts of the exchange. Here I present the full transcript, with […]
Read More02Jul06 — 7
Backatchya
Slashdot links to a tale of how a systems administrator scammed a 419 scammer, helped indigenous craftspeople, and obtained two rather nice wooden sculptures. The Age writes: “When he found a willing victim, his anti-scam unfolded in much the same way as a typical 419 scam, promising payment only after a substantial investment had been […]
Read More30Jun06 — 0
La Nausée
A service station just off the Fifth Circle of Hell, very early in the morning, somewhere around the peak hour for suicide attempts: My journey time has been tripled by the closure of relevant sections of the M11 and the M25. The woman who lives in my sat nav has been asked to re-calculate the […]
Read More19Jun06 — 0
Not Araucaria
I’m not very good at crossword puzzles. My dad, however, was schooled by Jesuits, did classics at university, taught English for decades, and collects useless information. If you wanted to build an elite special forces crossword-solving unit then that is probably how you would train its members. Since he is a connoisseur of the biggest […]
Read More17Jun06 — 4
When Humourless Lefties Attack
After you’ve read this blog’s harmless and amusing comparison of real college life with co-ed porn movies, check out the comments, where, for no immediately obvious reason, a visitor launches an irrelevant tirade about, well, you can probably fill in the rest if I reproduce the last couple of sentences: “I hope those Iraqis kick […]
Read More16Jun06 — 0
How Cool Is This Man?
I’ve just had one of those “ain’t life sweet?” moments: finally, after a long hot drive home from my parents’, I got to eat my dinner whilst I listened to the BBC Radio 4 Front Row special about musician and producer Quincy Jones. Asked about his famous Las Vegas live recording with Frank Sinatra, he begins: […]
Read More14Jun06 — 9
“Here Come The Boys From Brazil, Terry”
They start an international football competition looking horribly over-rated. They lead by a goal from one impressive long shot in the first half, but are made to seem pedestrian in the second as they do their best to defend the slim advantage. Some of their passing is shockingly inaccurate. At least one of their star […]
Read More07Jun06 — 3
Break Out The Bucks Fizz
On the subject of christenings, someone at the Motley Fool has noticed that the name of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s new child, “Shiloh Pitt”, is a world-class spoonerism waiting to happen.
Read More01Jun06 — 4
In The Post
I keep being told that the Euston Manifesto Group is being funded by The Lizardoid Hegemon: “Lets be quite clear about this; the ‘Henry Jackson Society’ and the ‘Euston Manifesto’ are out-and-out right-wing neoconservative organisations set up deliberately to confuse and belittle the Left. They are supported directly by wealthy American neoconservative organisations and are […]
Read More31May06 — 8
Women And Money
Further to my two articles about Playboy last year, here and here, those of you who have the requisite plug-in installed might want to watch this smart and very short film by Laurie Anderson. [Provided they let you stream small video files, it’s safe for work.] [via Exploding Aardvark]
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