May 2010
44 posts
“Samantha meets a foxily grey-haired Danish architect who looks about as...”
– Peter Bradshaw on Sex and the City 2. Scathing (but funny).
Sex and the City 2 | Film | guardian.co.uk
“I’m pretty sure 1997 is when this started. It was after Lady Diana was...”
– A letter to the BBC Magazine Monitor blog from reader Iain F MacMillan.
It’s long been an annoyance of mine. The day after Michael Jackson died, we had ‘BREAKING NEWS!’ all day.
If you ask me, Michael Jackson dying was breaking news. Everything else thereafter was...
“I just want someone to cuddle me.”
– Lengthy but impressive feature from a student at Wellington Journalism School in New Zealand. I used to teach there, and set up this website. To see brilliant journalism like this makes me proud beyond measure.
Welly underbelly: world’s ‘best’ brothels not what they seem - NewsWire.co.nz
Lembit Opik takes up comedy career →
“
DID you hear the one about the Lib Dem MP who lost his seat?
He had to stand up.
And if you think we’re joking, think again – as deposed Liberal Democrat MP for Montgomeryshire Lembit Opik has announced he’s to embark on a new career as a comedian instead.”
“Foursquare is unique in that it not only allows users to broadcast their...”
– Long live The Onion.
New Social Networking Site Changing The Way Oh, Christ, Forget It | The Onion - America’s Finest News Source
“I find it ironic that people are essentially saying these mascots don’t...”
– My favourite comment in response to the ludicrious Olympic mascot “outrage” which predictably erupted yesterday.
BBC - Roger Mosey’s Blog: London 2012 mascots - what’s your view?
“Letters To Juliet tells the fictional story of a young American journalist who...”
– That’s all well and good, but I think this article fails to ask the killer question: Who are these nutters writing to Juliet?
And does anyone write to Romeo?
Dear Juliet: the fans who write to Shakespeare’s heroine | John Hooper | World news | The Guardian
“I wholeheartedly support the bid, because I believe that hosting the tournament...”
– Gary Lineker quits Mail on Sunday column over Lord Triesman sting | Football | The Guardian
WatchMindblowing.
I was one of the many stuck in the ash cloud, and getting gradually more grumpy about it. But after seeing this clip - I think I have to just sit back and accept that sometimes the Earth just does its thing.
One commenter on a blogpost by BoingBoing described this clip as “like a warm bath for my mind”. Perfect.
Iceland, Eyjafjallajökull - May 1st and 2nd, 2010 (by Sean...
Top 5 geek items we'll look back and laugh at →
The curse of the English international | The... →
My friend Dan Clough with his usual unbiased (ahem) views on Blackburn Rovers.
This time, he’s sounding off about the lack of Rovers players in the England squad - both now and in the past.
He’s been foaming at the mouth - literally, he admits it - about Paul Robinson, Rovers’ in-form ‘keeper, being left out.
I was gutted too. He’s been brilliant this season, more...
London's 'new Routemaster' design unveiled →
Looks classy…
Meeting the first ladies of Africa →
Unlike the Michelle Obamas or Sarah Browns of the West, it’s very rarely you get to hear from the wives of African leaders. Veronique Edwards from BBC Network Africa manages to get an exclusive audience with five first ladies of the continent. A good read.
“And on Thursday, a man I was interviewing was struck in the head by an...”
– A vivid and frightening piece of reportage from Thomas Fuller at the ever-brilliant New York Times.
In Bangkok, Gunfire Outside a Reporter’s Window - NYTimes.com
UPDATE: Not just any guy, either - he was a ‘rogue Thailand general’
Classic F1 - Monaco Grand Prix 1982 extended... →
They don’t make sports telly like this anymore!
Flickr: POO AND WEE DIRECTIONS →
This is what the internet’s all about, isn’t it?
BrazilName - Generate your own Brazil football... →
Bit of fun for a Friday. David Lee spits out “Leeta Santos”. Hmm.
Fake Yo-Yo Trickster Fools Every TV Station... →
Love this.
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“If you look at his form for Rovers, there has not been a better goalkeeper who...”
– Big Sam Allardyce is bang on the money about Paul Robinson. Can’t believe he didn’t get picked.
BBC Sport - Football - Paul Robinson’s World Cup omission angers Sam Allardyce
“Just realised you can record calls on an iPhone by conference calling yourself...”
– Not sure if this works - but seems logical. And brilliant.
UPDATE: On second thoughts, I doubt this would work too well… surely there’s a maximum length for a voicemail?
ANOTHER UPDATE: Apparently conferencing in iPadio (rather than your voicemail) will then turn it into an mp3 or...
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Is the Guardian secretly planning a subscription...
The Guardian has been quite vocal in its slapping down of Murdoch’s payment plans for News Corp websites.
The Times goes paid very shortly - I won’t be subscribing - and the eyes of the world will be on it.
Not least within Fleet Street - where every paper will be paying close attention to the successes and (more likely) failures of the Times paywall. And as I write this, @psmith has...
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BBC News - Relatives 'should see body', report... →
(by me)
Imagine a close relative suffered a sudden, violent death. Would you want to see the body?
A new study has concluded that relatives should always be given the choice - no matter what condition the body may be in.
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Ofcom investigates Sky News presenters
UK media regulator Ofcom is investigating allegations of partisan reporting by two news journalists working for BSkyB.
The cases, concerning Sky News political editor Adam Boulton and news anchor Kay Burley, each received a “few hundred” complaints to the regulator.
An Ofcom spokeswoman confirmed that, as of today, an interview between Boulton and former Downing Street spokesman...
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BBC News - Istanbul's tuneless muezzins get voice... →
(by me)
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“Justin Bieber eat your heart out.”
– Alastair Campbell muses on his sudden Twitter surge after his spat with Sky’s Adam Boulton yesterday.
Hear the latest from Alastair’s Blog: Sign up for RSS feed
Swimmers evacuate pool after poo found in water →
What is it about the word ‘poo’ that just makes anyone, even the most serious of adults, giggle?
Poo.
POO!
“Something completely unexpected happened. I did a piss.”
– Brooker on typically hilarious form.
Political leaks on primetime | Charlie Brooker | Comment is free | The Guardian
'Love seats' on Copenhagen buses →
Because everyone *loves* getting chatted up on a bus.
The ChatRoulette Election →
Fun use of ChatRoulette for election polling. And pleased to see Stuart Heritage in the Graun too… big fan of his work.
BBC News - BBC election coverage: Log on and tune... →
It’s going to be an exciting night!
BBC News - What happens after the election? →
A good flowchart explaining what’ll happen after the election results are in.
“Since ‘gmail’ is 50% fewer characters than ‘googlemail’...”
– - Software engineer Greg Bullock.
Eh? Really? When was the last time you actually typed out an email address? Stupid.
BBC News - Googlemail to become Gmail in UK 