November 2008
“The upper classes really shouldn’t open their mouths on television.” Charlie Brooker, Screenwipe
“A market is never saturated with a good product, but it is very quickly saturated with a bad one.” Henry Ford
links for 2008-11-27 →
“I think that God in creating Man somewhat overestimated his ability.” Oscar Wilde
Shami Chakrabarti defends Jon Gaunt following his... →
Jon Gaunt called her “the most dangerous woman in Britain” and she wrote his former employers a letter saying “From a personal point of view as someone who has been on the receiving end of Jon…
Pitchfork's Top 100 Albums of the 1990s →
Yes, I don’t agree with all of the ordering (is The Soft Bulletin really that good?) but then that’s true of any list of this type. I think, though, that this is likely to point anyone without an…
Illustrated Catalog Of ACME Products →
Want to know your Rocket-Powered Roller Skates from your Correspondence School of Boxing? This is the site for all your ACME needs.
links for 2008-11-25 →
Depressive realism →
“Depressive realism is the proposition that people with depression have a more accurate view of reality.”
Dunning-Kruger effect →
“The Dunning-Kruger effect is an example of cognitive bias in which people who are worst at a task show the most illusory superiority, rating their own ability as above average.”
Heresy Corner: Baby P and the Facebook Furies →
“The law is not, and never has been, an instrument of private vengeance; in fact, it is the opposite. Primitive or decayed societies are governed not by criminal law but by blood-feuds and vendettas,…
David Mitchell: I've always wondered about... →
“It doesn’t surprise me that the economic downturn has affected Woolies though. What surprises me is that it ever made money in the first place. It’s always struck me as a shop that sells a baffling…
“Life is something that happens when you can’t get to sleep” Fran Lebowitz
My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2008-11-23) →
Gui Boratto
Buena Vista Social Club
LCD Soundsystem
TV on the Radio
Diana Ross and The Supremes
Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by JoeLaz
links for 2008-11-22 →
Mark Lawson: Gaunty, you were right →
I agree with Lawson entirely on this one. And I too don’t like either Gaunty or BNP members.
“If you tried to give rock and roll another name, you might call it ‘Chuck Berry’.” John Lennon
Deceived by their parents' flattery, today's... →
I’m eternally grateful for a mother who was very happy to tell my I was good at some things and not very good at others. Working as a teacher for a few years certainly opened my eyes to the fact that…
Heresy Corner: John Sergeant and the Death of... →
I think this is a great article, although I think the comparisons with the nanny state are probably stretched past the point of credulity.
Reza Aslan on a new translation of the Quran by... →
And in the process gives a potted story of the text and a history of its translation. Fascinating.
links for 2008-11-21 →
Four philosophical questions to make your brain... →
My interest (and degree) in philosophy doesn’t give me the answer to any of these questions, but it means I can pose questions like this at most annoying times when no-one wants to hear them, which…
“All is vanity and everybody’s vain. Women are terribly vain. So are men — more so, if possible.” Jerome K. Jerome, On Vanity and Vanities
Keep Calm and Carry On →
Good collection of links from Metafilter about the rather wonderful wartime posters. I didn’t know, however, that the Keep Calm… poster was not really used during wartime.
Social Media Statistics →
How many users does Facebook have? How many Tweets are sent daily? Here are the answers.
BNP Membership List Causes Griffin To Reconsider... →
“The liar’s punishment is, not in the least that he is not believed, but that he cannot believe any one else.” George Bernard-Shaw
links for 2008-11-19 →
“It is easy to lie with statistics. It is hard to tell the truth without it.” Andrejs Dunkels
Polly Toynbee: This frenzy of hatred is a disaster... →
Toynbee hits the nail on the head again. Social Work was a career I ummed and aahed about for a while, but would I even vaguely consider it now? Not in a million years.
“When the gods wish to punish us they answer our prayers.” Oscar Wilde
My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2008-11-16) →
Okkervil River
The Onion
The Four Tops
The Isley Brothers
The Beatles
Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by JoeLaz
links for 2008-11-14 →
Dawn of the jazz age: Sir Duke Ellington's... →
Might I suggest that pointing out to the US all of the best bits of their culture, the ones they regularly miss, is something that the UK do very well?
links for 2008-11-13 →
Polly Toynbee: Judge Dacre dispenses little... →
Polly Toynbee, I could kiss you for this beautifully written, spot-on-the-money article about that nasty little arse Dacre.
links for 2008-11-12 →
Noah and the Whale, Koko, London - Gillian Orr's... →
“Yes, the prerequisite brogue-footed, plaid-clad indie kids were accounted for, but, more surprisingly, also present were the more mature after-hours office crew, testimony to the impact of their…
“Dance first. Think later. It’s the natural order.” Samuel Beckett
My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2008-11-9) →
Douglas Adams
Fleet Foxes
Arcade Fire
Blur
Noah and the Whale
Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by JoeLaz
links for 2008-11-09 →
“Evolution is more grounded in my experience than angels.” Barack Obama
An Open Letter to Barack Obama →
by Alice Walker
Thief sent 'sorry' letter to shop →
Nice to see step 9 getting a little news coverage.
links for 2008-11-08 →
