May 2009
58 posts
“Hell, if you can’t win the war on drugs in a prison, where the hell you...”
– David Simon, The Wire ‘Hard Cases’
On Europe, one party is showing the way →
Good article pointing out how the Lib Dems are generally ahead of the Westminster curve, especially when it comes to Europe.
Can you name the London Underground Tube Stations... →
We got 49. Could do better, but could do a fair bit worse too.
Flickchart →
Rank which of the two movies in front of you you like best, and Flikchart will gradually create a list of your favourite films. I had to stop and add this to delicious or I’d have been chosing all day.
The Auteur’s Lenny Valentino is such a...
“The reason that the invisible hand often seems invisible is that it is often not...”
– Joseph Stiglitz
25 And Over. Grow Up. →
I’d like to think I don’t do any of these things, but not many is probably more accurate. I still agree though.
“There is no limit to what a man may achieve in politics provided he is...”
– Ronald Reagan
Why are we silent as Cameron preaches voodoo... →
Excellent article from Johann Hari about Cameron. It points out that not only does he not know how many houses he has he’s also clinging to a form of economics that’s been proved to be entirely crackpot. This man is not our economy’s saviour.
WatchZe Frank on outsourcing his joke writing. A success, I think you’ll agree. (via Laughing Squid)
This reminds me of the spectacular idea I had a few months on how to become rich beyond my wildest dreams*. First, take your job, then outsource it somewhere cheaper. Use the pay from that job to pay for the outsourcing, then go and get another job. You can then proceed to outsource this job....
Apartment Therapy →
This is quickly becoming my favourite blog. Full of pictures that essentially amount to house/design porn, I could stare at these beautifully designed homes all day.
Moving Pootling to Tumblr
Love WordPress though I do, I’ve come to the conclusion that, as a platform, Tumblr is going to better suit my needs. I’m in the process of moving across to Tumblr now, which is why the pootling.net address is currently (at the time of writing this post) is directing to a Godaddy holding page. However, sooner or later you should be able to get hold of all my new posts at that address.
In the...
My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2009-5-24) →
Mono (8)
Radiohead (8)
Raphael Saadiq (7)
Allen Toussaint (6)
Seun Kuti & Egypt 80 (5)
Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by JoeLaz
Spain's Franco 'had one testicle' →
Which begs the question, does fascism cause testicle loss? And will the BNP cover this in their next TV spot?
My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2009-5-17) →
Allen Toussaint (32)
Mono (9)
The National (5)
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (5)
Radiohead (5)
Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by JoeLaz
Billy Bragg: Do we really want ISPs to penalise... →
Excellent, balanced article from Billy Bragg about filesharing.
Charlie Brooker on the BNP and their political... →
Just the man you’d want to be explaining the godawful ineptitude of Britain’s clownish fascists.
links for 2009-05-14 →
Beirut, The Forum - 8th May 2009 →
A good review of a wonderful gig, but I do wonder quite what they’d have had to have done to extract the 5th star from her. Jeez.
Dominic Lawson: It is not the corruption that... →
I think Lawson’s article on the problem, the solution and the heart of what’s so damn galling about all these expenses problems is the best I’ve read so far.
links for 2009-05-13 →
listening to "Knotty Pine - Dirty Projectors ... →
Excellent song from an excellent album (Dark Was The Night) for an excellent cause (AIDS & HIV research). Go buy!
listening to "Knotty Pine - Dirty Projectors ... →
Excellent song from an excellent album (Dark Is
links for 2009-05-12 →
Charlie Brooker on the car crash that is Gordon... →
Harsh but fair. If only the alternatives looked in any way appealing.
1984: The masterpiece that killed George Orwell →
Excellent long article on the writing of 1984, which is a pretty interesting story in its own right. It’s intriguing to thing what Orwell could have achieved if he’d lived to old age.
Books At Home →
A blog about bookshelves. I never even realised my life was calling out for a blog about bookshelves until I found one.
listening to "Enola Gay - OMD" →
Waltz With Bashir reminded me quite how wonderful this song is.
“The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist.” Christopher McQuarrie, The Usual Suspects
Too Long Between Collections →
A remarkably honest comment on a story in the Rugby Observer makes it into the glorious ‘spEak You’re bRanes’ annals. I wonder if he’ll regret pressing send when he sobers up.
links for 2009-05-11 →
Wire creator David Simon testifies on the future... →
An interesting piece that’s pretty convincing. It’s difficult to see what the paid model would look like from here, but I think his arguments as to why it needs to be there are strong.
My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2009-5-10) →
The National (43)
Beirut (35)
Money Mark (19)
Melody Gardot (13)
Beastie Boys (6)
Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by JoeLaz
Amazon.com Knee-Jerk Contrarian Game →
Find a critically-acclaimed work of art, and then look at the customer reviews arranged lowest first. Up pop gems like this for Pet Sounds: “It’s full of bland harmonizing by guys that could barely…
links for 2009-05-09 →