Yearly Archives: 2003

Arab humour

Posted on September 17, 2003 by acb

Here is a legendary fart from the 1001 Nights. I found it through the indefatigable tnh. This is not from Disney Arabia. The qadi spent the forty days upon his bed in deep mortification, not daring to move for fear … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Blather | 2 Comments

Impossible things must happen

Posted on September 17, 2003 by acb

I rather liked this quote from Kevin Drum’ s interview with Paul Krugman, the sane economist:Train wreck is a way overused metaphor, but we’re headed for some kind of collision, and there are three things that can happen. Just by … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in War | Comments Off on Impossible things must happen

Shame and horror

Posted on September 15, 2003 by acb

To Saddlers Wells last night, with Felix and his RADA friend Lucie, to see a production by Robert Wilson, whom they revere. I had bought the tickets on the phone and chosen the upper circle for the best view. Unfortunately, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Blather | 2 Comments

Intermittency

Posted on September 14, 2003 by acb

I had a return of the horrendous posting problems that afflicted me in June. they’re caused by an obscure fault in an NTL cache server, and mean that no http requests over a certain size can get out. This breaks … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Blather | 2 Comments

distance learning

Posted on September 13, 2003 by acb

Worked like hell yesterday writing up the Anna Lindh murder, for the Evening Standard (twice, because it had to be entirely rewritten after she had died), and then the Times. On top of that I wrote a column for the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Journalism | 1 Comment

“Bag the head”

Posted on September 10, 2003 by acb

This is a phrase that I needed translating into English. It comes in The Mask of Zorro, a deeply crappy film that my daughter and her friend found on video in a Swedish B&B. They just loved it, and claimed … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Travel notes | 1 Comment

JHFC on a crispy toasted cheesit

Posted on September 10, 2003 by acb

This just in from the home of the brave and the land of the free:Under the new program, the airline will send information about everyone who books a flight to the TSA, including full name, home address, home telephone number, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in War | 1 Comment

They like me; they like me; they really really like me!

Posted on September 10, 2003 by acb

So to a worm party in Cambridge, where almost all the people I wrote about have gathered for a 25th anniversary bash. Sydney Brenner was there, and Sulston, of course, and Bob Waterston, Phil Anderson, Judith Kimble, John White. Some … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Worms | 1 Comment

domestic violence

Posted on September 10, 2003 by acb

I’m meant to be writing something deadly funny about the Swedish euro referendum today, but got distracted by the front page of the tabloid Expressen, which had a bizarre story of domestic violence I had never come across before. Continue reading →

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But why is it in English?

Posted on September 8, 2003 by acb

One reason I tend to write and think so much about the war — apart from believing that it may turn out to have been a mistake of 1914 proportions — is that the blogs I read are overwhelmingly American … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Blather | 7 Comments