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Monday Reading
A day later than I usually do this kind of thing, but I thought it was still worth sharing some of the writing I’ve enjoyed most over the past week or so. And a day without my extended ramblings is...
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Split personalities
I remember as a kid being on holiday and going to some sort of country fête-type thing. On one of the stalls was this guy with a CB radio. I was fascinated by the idea that from this one box this guy...
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Farewell Herald Tribune
Today saw the publication of the last ever edition of the International Herald Tribune. The newspaper has been in print for 126 years. It is not going out of business, it is being renamed the...
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Pay attention
I’m probably reading too many things right now. I have several books on the go, plus some other books that I haven’t officially given up on, but probably won’t be picking up any time soon. There are a...
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JFK and Without JFK
The old cliché was that everyone remembered where they were when they heard JFK had been shot. That is far less relevant as the years go on. The obvious reason is that there are fewer people about who...
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Sunday Reading
The return of a list of stuff I’ve enjoyed reading, and think you might enjoy too… The Chorus (Part One, Part Two, Part Three) An astonishing piece of writing on the meaning of flags, our sense of...
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Wait Until Next Year Annual Awards 2013
You will have to imagine that this is a star-studded gala, attended by the great and good in all their finery, rather than some hastily cobbled together awards for the best of 2013. I don’t think I’ve...
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Observed scene
There are three gentlemen, suited. They are displaying the standard behaviours of a business meeting. All three are a little too smiley, a little too stilted. One of them has a big black hat that he...
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Thoughts from your correspondent
The more eagle-eyed of you might have noticed I’ve been enjoying a brief sabbatical from this place. Now, I’m eager to move this post beyond just one of those “I haven’t been posting for a while”...
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Saturday Night Movie: Don DeLillo Documentary
This documentary was broadcast over 20 years ago, yet a lot of it still feels relevant and true. Don DeLillo worked on the documentary alongside the BBC, touching on the themes of a lot of his novels...
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You Like Potato – Matters of taste from Woody Allen to Céline Dion
In Woody Allen’s Manhattan the protagonist Issac Davis talks into a tape recorder, listing what he believes makes life worth living. It is a key scene and a clever device. The list gives us an insight...
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Saturday Night Movie: The South Bank Show – J.G. Ballard
I’ve finally got around to reading some J.G. Ballard – I’m starting with Vermillion Sands but any recommendations on what to read next or guidance on books to avoid would be very welcome. This...
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Gotta get a move on tryin´to find a man I know – A near-review of Vulgar...
Vulgar Things by Lee Rourke is a book about a man who goes to Canvey Island, then Southend, to sort out the affairs of his uncle who has recently died. That’s as much plot as you need. I don’t want to...
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The Baffler and The Nostalgia Gap
Nostalgia is a form of propaganda, an exercise in laughter and forgetting, in which the right visual iconography and perceived authenticity can create a longing for an existence which is no longer...
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500
After very nearly six years this post is the 500th on the blog. A small achievement and probably also a bit of a daft one. It is only a number. Why didn’t I celebrate the 431st post? Or the 497th? By...
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un-direction
During my odd brain-breaks this week I’ve found myself heading down the internet rabbit hole of geofiction. Geofiction is essentially the art of drawing maps of imaginary places. I wouldn’t find it...
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The signed editions
There’s a really interesting post over at the blog of author Jonathan Gibbs, concerning the cult of the signed edition book. You should probably just go over there and read it rather than let me...
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They do not love you
The problem with Robert Appelbaum’s book Working the Aisles: A Life in Consumption lies with me. I saw the title. I read the blurb. I looked at the cover, showing a trolley being guided through a...
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Slight Return From A Slight Break
Last month there were 27 posts at this place. This month none, until this one. I’m not sure it is a case of quality versus quantity, as a load of posts isn’t necessarily great and this post is...
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The Late, Late 2014 Post
It might be 2015 already, but for the sake of completism or something along those lines I figured I’d round-up the year just gone. 2014 was on a personal level the best year yet, but this isn’t the...
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