'Culture'

US Defense of Marriage Act: Gay? Not in our Government…

Posted on October 19, 2006 ~ Filed Under Culture

There’s a piece on Crooked Timber about the Defense of Marriage Act in the USA. The key is:
It denies benefits to legally recognized same-sex spouses of federal employees.
What is amazing to me about this is that the Government is saying that states can do what they want, but bigotry will be alive and well if […]

Webcameron

Posted on October 14, 2006 ~ Filed Under Culture, Web ideas

I’ve just been looking at Webcameron, the new website from the Conservative Party bringing lots of videos of David Cameron, leader of the Party, to an internet near you. I’d heard about it, of course, but hadn’t thought much of it until a Labour MP made a (really bad) spoof and put it on YouTube. […]

The theme of invisibility in The Night Watch by Sarah Waters

Posted on October 13, 2006 ~ Filed Under Culture

At the risk of revisiting the horror that was my English A Level, I thought I’d write a few words about The Night Watch by Sarah Waters. I finished reading this a couple of weeks ago, and I’ve not got a new book on the go, so it’s been bouncing around my head a bit. […]

FAQ: Are body piercings appropriate for a solicitor?

Posted on September 5, 2006 ~ Filed Under Culture

Sarah just drew my attention to the Law Society of England and Wales FAQ, including the great question
“I am going to be my own boss now. Can I pierce my lip and wear a ring through it, or is that going too far?”
The answer is pretty good including “You should consider whether in this […]

The PM Programme has a Flickr account

Posted on August 30, 2006 ~ Filed Under Culture, Web ideas

This made me laugh today: Flickr: BBC Radio 4 - PM Programme. There are several things that are brilliantly entertaining (in a techie way) about this in my view.
1. It’s a free account
2. The pictures are TINY and out of focus. Gloriously amateurish.
3. They haven’t set up a proper url for it (e.g. http://www.flickr.com/photos/radio4pm/)
And the […]

How the US health system gets in the way of entrepreneurship

Posted on August 22, 2006 ~ Filed Under Culture

Here’s an article on Lifehacker that, in passing, sums up how the lack of a decent free health service in the US seems to get in the way of the leap to self employment. This is interesting as self-employment and entrepreneurship are at the heart of the American dream, but apparantly not that well supported […]

The joy of owning a PVR

Posted on August 17, 2006 ~ Filed Under Culture, Diary

I was chatting to Céline the other day when she told me that her life had just been changed by a piece of technology. There followed a good 15 minutes of enthusiastic information about the joy of owning a hard disc television recorder, or PVR. I didn’t believe it: I mean, what could be so […]

Straight constable proudly leading gay police in Brighton - from Pink News

Posted on August 4, 2006 ~ Filed Under Culture

Pink News reports that a straight constable will be proudly leading gay police in Brighton tomorrow.
The interesting this for me is I think it’s absolutely brilliant, but I must admit there’s a residual part of me that gets a bit militant and wants only gay people in these parades. I’m not sure where that comes […]

The homophobia of the playground is not appropriate on national radio

Posted on June 8, 2006 ~ Filed Under Culture

A little late to write on it, but I’ve been quietly seething. The BBC Board of Governors has decided that it was not offensive for Chris Moyles to refer to something (a ringtone, as it happens) as “gay”, using “gay” to mean pathetic or not very good. The justification for this is that young people […]

Wife. Mother. Leader… Oh, purleeze!

Posted on April 11, 2006 ~ Filed Under Culture

I am currently being driven nuts by the ads everywhere, but everywhere, for Commander in Chief (new on ABC1 in the UK, yada yada). The program is about the first female President of the USA, and the strapline is “Wife. Mother. Leader”. I don’t think any of us who grew up with Margaret Thatcher can […]

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