Monthly Archives: August 2005

Henry Williamson

Posted on August 31, 2005 by acb

If he is remembered now, it is as the author of _Tarka the Otter,_ a fine book that is still in print. But he was more than a nature writer. He’s one of the three really good writers I know … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Literature | 1 Comment

A small epiphany

Posted on August 31, 2005 by acb

Hamish McRae has yet another article in the _Independent_ today arguing that globalisaiton is wonderful, or at least inevitable; and that we will be fine in this country providing we compete for the jobs that require intelligence rather than cheap … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in British politics | Comments Off on A small epiphany

The sods of the copybook headings

Posted on August 30, 2005 by acb

Well, I have just learned something interesting. If you are going to make backups onto CD, it’s not enough to make them regularly, keep backups of the backups, and so on: it’s also important not to use cheap bulk CDs. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in nördig | 5 Comments

The glories of Venice

Posted on August 28, 2005 by acb

I have only just discovered the detective novels of “Sarah Caudwell,”:amazon Claud Cockburn’s daughter by Jean Ross (who was the original of Sally Bowles). They got great reviews when she died a few years ago, but I loathe the puzzle … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Literature | 4 Comments

Fame’s posterior trumpet

Posted on August 27, 2005 by acb

“Trivers”:http://books.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,12084,1556482,00.html is out. It will be the last profile I do for the _Guardian_ since that slot is a casualty of the redesign; and I’m glad it was so much fun. It was one of the best jobs, perhaps the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Journalism | 3 Comments

The Brazilian Whacks

Posted on August 22, 2005 by acb

This week’s _Wormseye_ (below the fold) an angry reaction from at least one reader, Allan Hodgson. I’ve moved it out of comments in a Voltairean spirit. bq. I could not disagree more with Andrew Brown’s comments in a Worm’s Eye … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Journalism | Comments Off on The Brazilian Whacks

The art of punditry

Posted on August 22, 2005 by acb

The many fans of Stephen Glover will treasure today’s column in the _Independent._ He starts with a long nostalgic look at the old days as a leader writer on the _Daily Telegraph:_ bq. ” … There were at least 10 … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Journalism | 1 Comment

Search engine spamming wars?

Posted on August 22, 2005 by acb

This is really strange: this morning I had six messages from MT blacklist in my inbox reporting suspected new comment spam. It was certainly spam: six comments all saying bq. i come from <A Href=”http://www.google.com”>best search engine</A> http://www.google.com and all … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Net stories | 2 Comments

Russia is our fatherland

Posted on August 21, 2005 by acb

P. Smirnovsky’s _A Textbook of Russian Grammar_ is obviously a book that should be written, even if P. Smirnovsky is unable to undertake the task because he is dead, or possibly never lived. This week’s “Author, Author” competition in the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Blather | 1 Comment

lament for the younger generation

Posted on August 15, 2005 by acb

“Marlborough”:http://www.marlboroughcollege.org/ College is “trying to expel”:http://education.independent.co.uk/news/article305937.ece a boy merely for being thick and unpleasant. Perhaps you had to have been there to understand how absurd this is. It’s like being thrown out of Big Brother for being a shallow exhibitionist. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Blather | 9 Comments