Highlights
Count Binface and electoral theatre
Don’t be a costumed loon — It’s trivially easy to stand for Parliament in the UK. Any loon can do so. You need ten electors to nominate you and £500 for a deposit – and it’s actually been getting easier. The deposit was introduced in 1918 (£150 – quite a lot of money then). Before […]
I hate this
But does it matter? — I don’t usually say that sort of thing here. I try to be more measured, less personal. I’m talking about the police face recognition vans obviously. This might not surprise you: I mean that I don’t like them. I’m an old git after all, a man who’s written here before […]
Where is my patriotism?
Come, love of country, fill my heart… — I do love Britain. I guess I love England more. London most of all. I hope that in my life I’ve honoured the place I live and not disgraced it or undermined it (I support England and GB in sporting events – I fly a little flag […]
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Memex lives!
Gordon Bell, engineer and innovator responsible for – among other things – the DEC VAX computer, has entered “nearly everything possible from his entire life” into his computer as part…
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Quotas for BBCi
Owen Gibson in The Guardian wants the BBC to be compelled to apply the 25% independent production quota to the web.
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Anti-singularists
Singularities and other tech-determinist fantasies are shown the door in John Seely Brown and Paul Duguid’s The Social Life of Information. This is the sanest, most humane book I’ve read…
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You’ll have to wait until the interval…
I’m afraid I’m bringing this concert to your attention about 15 months late. Luckily the ‘performance’ isn’t due to finish for another 637 years so you have time to get…
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The Singularity
Proper Science Fiction writer Vernor Vinge is preparing his speech for the day the singularity doesn’t happen. Although I should probably get on with preparing mine for the day after…
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A gruffalo? What’s a gruffalo?
If you’re in charge of small children (3 and up) and you can still get tickets, I think you should take them to see Tall Stories Theatre Company’s deliriously entertaining…
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Forecasting
I’m bookmarking The FT’s page of predictions for 2003 from business, finance, politics, diplomacy and culture mainly so that I can check back next year to see how they did.…
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New religions
If you were to invent a new religion – a post-enlightnment, post-Darwin, post-DNA, post-space travel religion – what would it look like? Would it scrap a conventional, external deity in…
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Oh no it isn’t!
Happy Christmas From Steve Bowbrick! — .Have a great new year, stay in touch and do let me know what you’re up to.
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Creative Commons
Let me get this straight right up front: I think the public domain is critically important to human advancement, I think the net is its most important representative on this…
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Readership in need of renewal
Peter Preston highlights the effects on newspaper publishing of the UK’s falling birthrate and aging population.