Modern writers have a problem, and it’s called The World. It’s noisy and distracting. The solution is simple…destroy it. More on that in a minute.
Posts under ‘The Axe To Grind’
Dear PETA, Yours Despairingly (Once Again)
In what is turning to be a yearly series, I’m over at EcoSalon raising a weary eyebrow at the latest antics by the People For The Protection Of Animals. The usual arguments apply: “Any publicity is good publicity” vs. “Hey, people are animals too” (because PETA’s human rights record is a little patchy). So it [...]
Doctor Who Gets Whoier?
On Monday evening, a teary David Tennant stared out at 10 million of us, wailed “I don’t want to go!”, lit up like a Swedish straw goat and turned into Matt Smith (above). For the 11th time, British TV has a new Doctor Who.
An Uncomfortable Truth
Earlier in the week, I was enjoying being uncomfortable again. Comfort is a concept I’m not…comfortable with (damn my language and its grammatical quicksands). Comfort is a state of being you should probably only dip into, to enjoy with a contrasting experience in the forefront of your memory. You stamp the snow off your boots, [...]
It’s All In The Delivery
“Oh, we can’t guarantee when he’ll be delivering the new dishwasher”, they told my Mum. “Sometime on Thursday, definitely. But the drivers make up their own schedules to inflict maximum inconvenience on their customers. We can hear them giggling over the radio as they work them out. It’s an ugly sound, yet strangely compelling, like [...]
Avatar: Let’s Pretend, But Better
On December 18th, James Cameron’s new film Avatar will hit film theatres worldwide. You’d think the whole world would be in a lather. And it was, until the first trailer came out.
Opera Mini 5 and Skype Mobile: How They Shamed Me
For the last 2 years, I’ve ignored the Cardinal Rule of IT Gadgets. And I only realised it last night. If you know me in three dimensions (that sounds rude – oh, you know what I mean), then you will have met my phone. I show my phone off at the drop of a hat. [...]
Why I Play Games
I saw my chance, I took it. This one is a rant that’s been waiting in the wings of my brain for the last, ooh, half-decade. This article is the breezy version. Agreed, many games are mindless fun, churned out by the numbers to wring cash out of undiscerning amateur gamers (or their parents). EA, [...]
Abandoning you momentarily…
…to write about abandoning cities, over at WebUrbanist. (But back here this evening to talk about campsites).
Reader’s Digest books: Read and Digest
It’s recently struck me that Reader’s Digest, one of the most popular magazines in the world, is a paper-based blog. Staunchly populist – and conservative and anti-communist, depending on the era – the magazine has been publishing condensed news stories and adverts in a visually arresting fashion since 1922. It’s uncluttered, breezy and the kind [...]
