Yearly Archives: 2004

good sex in films

Posted on February 1, 2004 by acb

I finally went to see Lost in Translation today, and the scene where he wakes up next to the cocktail pianist is one of the funniest, saddest, and best-acted things I have ever seen on screen. No nudity; no writhing; … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Ad script for the RIAA

Posted on February 1, 2004 by acb

Was Satan the father of file-sharing? Listen to his own words on apple-sharing. Then decide. ‘O fruit divine, Sweet of thyself, but much more sweet thus cropt, Forbidd’n here, it seems, as onely fit For Gods, yet able to make … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Fire

Posted on February 1, 2004 by acb

By the standards of the middle classes we are not rich at all but it is astonishing how well free trade lets us live. Last night I ate a plate of mussels for supper, and then some bread and cheese … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Blather | 1 Comment

Memo to Downing Street

Posted on February 1, 2004 by acb

“Unfounded allegation” is two words, not one. Andrew Gilligan’s allegations were false. They were not unfounded. Continue reading →

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Wind

Posted on January 31, 2004 by acb

According to the weather service, the south west wind at Stansted airport is only about 50km/h this evening but it feels a whole lot more on the ridge that runs north from Saffron Walden. The sight of trees being tousled … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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War and lies

Posted on January 30, 2004 by acb

This is a shorter version of the argument in the Wrap today. I think it matters. There are three ways in which Britain went to war on a false prospectus. The first, well-covered, is the WMD business. But this was, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Can this be true?

Posted on January 23, 2004 by acb

“It is now quite firmly established that the voice the schizophrenic ‘hears’ is his own; he is talking to himself silently without realising it. As simple an obstacle as having the patient hold his mouth wide open is sufficient to … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Science without worms | 3 Comments

Sex

Posted on January 23, 2004 by acb

I can’t use the word when I’m writing for the Guardian’s web site, so I decided this week to write about journalistic ethics there instead. But I’m still interested in sex. Earlier this week I read three widely different novels … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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I want a universe not parallel to this, please.

Posted on January 22, 2004 by acb

Can anyone please explain why an Amazon.com search on John M. Ford, (no link for obvious reasons) turns up a list headed by the 1535 Edition of John Calvin’s Insitututes of the Christian Religion? There will be no marks awarded … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Literature | 4 Comments

Exterminate the brutes

Posted on January 21, 2004 by acb

I was trying to sell a radio programme on the way that scientists are just vanishing from the world the other day, and ran up against an unexpected problem: my prospect thought that this was no bad thing, and they … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Blather | 1 Comment