'Culture'

Christmas cards vs. Facebook

Posted on December 22, 2009 ~ Filed Under Culture

Happy Christmas!
This is the Christmas card I drew and sent this year, but which also threw me into a frenzy of confusion about Christmas card etiquette.
When I was growing up there were two sorts of Christmas card givers and you had to pick a side. One set of people gave a card to [...]

Dear HSBC,

Posted on November 20, 2009 ~ Filed Under Culture

I have just visited your Islington branch and have a few questions.

Why are you playing music in this branch? Are you under the impression this bank is an optional shopping experience, which you seek to enhance, or somewhere that people might visit for leisure? Do you believe that all your customers are under 25, [...]

NSID Afpak meeting photo on Flickr

Posted on November 17, 2009 ~ Filed Under Culture

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NSID Afpak meeting, originally uploaded by Downing Street.

Check out this photo on Flickr. It’s in the Downing Street Flickr stream and I found myself intrigued by the table furniture. Empty candlesticks and nice water glasses. I would [...]

Lovely animation

Posted on November 16, 2009 ~ Filed Under Culture

A really lovely piece of animation. (via Alison Bechdel).

VAT changes and cashflow

Posted on November 25, 2008 ~ Filed Under Culture

(I’m ignoring the fact I’ve not updated this site in months to bring you a half-formed thought about something I know virtually nothing about. Fun, heh?)
I’ve been wondering about the VAT changes that are coming in on Monday. If VAT and the savings of 2.5% really will make a difference to what people buy, which [...]

Fear and confrontation

Posted on March 8, 2008 ~ Filed Under Culture, Diary

As I was cycling home from work yesterday evening, I decided to stop off at Waitrose at the Barbican. As I pulled up at the bike racks outside the shop, I saw some kids hanging around eyeing up the bikes. I chose an area close to the shop entrance and started to sort out locking [...]

Ben Goldacre on biometrics

Posted on November 26, 2007 ~ Filed Under Culture

Ben Goldacre has written a great piece for the Guardian about ID cards and why biometrics are not to be trusted. I have mixed feelings about Ben Goldacre – I think he is too quick to dismiss as quackery things that science can’t explain, but he is truly excellent on pointing out the misuse of [...]

Sexual abuse is sexual abuse, regardless of who’s abusing who

Posted on November 2, 2007 ~ Filed Under Culture

Here’s a report on the BBC website about a female tennis coach who sexually abused a girl in her charge. Why mention it here? Because the BBC has chosen not to headline the piece something like “lesbian child abuser”, but instead “Tennis coach jailed for sex abuse” and I am happy about that (the headline, [...]

Zoe Williams on accepting new radio presenters

Posted on October 12, 2007 ~ Filed Under Culture

There’s a nice piece by Zoe Williams in the Guardian today about the length of time it takes to accept new radio presenters (and overcome the hatred of the annoying trails they make). She makes the excellent point that most listeners have little awareness of stations other than the one they are loyal to. Jane [...]

Finding good pancakes in SE1

Posted on September 1, 2007 ~ Filed Under Culture, Diary

Ever since we came back from Canada, I’ve had a craving for a good stack of American pancakes, eaten out, for breakfast one weekend morning. This simple craving turned into a bit of a quest when I realised it’s not so easy to get pancakes around here. I posted a question on the SE1 website [...]

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