From the Definitely Worth Subscribing department comes The Economist’s Johnson blog which resurrects the column of the same name that used to appear in the magazine. It’s what Bad Language wants to be when it grows up.
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From the category archives:
Reviews
One of the most popular pages on this site is How to be a freelance journalist, which is based on my experiences in that job in the early 2000s. It’s a tough gig and getting tougher. Because of this post, Marc Leverton interviewed me for his recent book, How to work as a freelance journalist. [...]
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It’s a real shame that this Podbrix set has sold out. I want one. I particularly like the LEGO Space Odyssey calendar and the LEGO Apple II. Perhaps I should go get some LEGO for my birthday; it’s been a while. (Hat tip: Mashable.)
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I went to see Jerusalem at the Apollo Theatre on Tuesday night and Twelfth Night at the Bridewell theatre on Wednesday lunchtime. I recommend them both. Jerusalem was outstanding. Mark Rylance delivered a precise, compelling and surprisingly physical performance in the lead role of Rooster Byron. His character combines Falstaff and Churchill. He is the [...]
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BBC Radio 4 has just started broadcasting a fascinating new series – A History of the World in 100 Objects. For example the second programme discussed this 1.8m year old chopping tool from the East African Rift Valley. It’s the oldest humanly-made object in the British Museum. Neil MacGregor is Director of the British Museum [...]
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“Scratch the surface in a typical boardroom and we’re all just cavemen with briefcases, hungry for a wise person to tell us stories” – Alan Kay. This quote called out to me in Daniel Pink’s book A Whole New Mind. Not least because Alan Kay is a genius who embodies many of the virtues espoused [...]
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The opening chapter of Francis Spufford’s book, The Backroom Boys, is titled “Flying Spitfires to the stars.” That says everything about the book. It’s a mix of nostalgia for an imagined past where Brits invented stuff and changed the world and hope for an imagined future where Brits do, well, pretty much the same thing. [...]
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“How would you like to be a spy?” This is how Stella Rimington was first recruited into the Security Service (popularly known as MI5) in the 1960s. Things are a bit different now, with the Service running regular recruitment ads in my local paper and elsewhere. Many of the changes that have happened were the [...]
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I’ve been on a sci-fi kick recently and I’ve been astounded by the quality of the writing in some of the books I’ve read. The most notable in this regard is Samuel Delany’s Babel-17. This re-released 1967 masterpiece features a cool heroine in a spectacular space opera. Part poet, part space pilot, her mission is [...]
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Colonel John Boyd (USAF) told people that they had a choice: they could be somebody or they could do something. Being somebody meant playing by the rules and getting promoted. Doing something was John Boyd speciality. With virtually no power other than his convictions and persuasiveness he changed air combat, instigated the F-16 fighter programme, [...]
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Zachary Overline
Chris
hell