July 2009
11 posts
10 Reasons Not to Tumbl Something
nickmcglynn:
chrismohney:
1. I found a hilarious link! It’s been on Tumblr five times already, on Digg before that, and 4chan before that.
2. I found a hilarious tumblr! It’s been reblogged five hundred times, and it’s fake.
3. I found a hilarious picture! It’s not really funny; see also both 1 and 2 above.
4. I took an amazing picture! Twelve other people already photographed and tumbled...
2 tags
Despair
There’s something about blogging. There’s an allure to working on a piece of writing without deadlines. Without word-limits. Without questions to answer. After all, we’d all like to think we’re the sort of people whose minds churn out off a relentless stream of interesting things.
But most of us, in truth, are tedious souls. And so, we sit, hunched over laptops, our eyes...
10 tags
Spectator death-spiral I
Another rant about British journalism.
Boris Johnson is many things. A mayor with a knack for losing deputies. A remarkable journalist who does not take himself too seriously. A rather good editor, who improved The Spectator no end. How much? Well, it’s pretty easy to work out how much by observing the dreadful nonsense being pushed by the current editorial team.
It feels like shooting...
3 tags
Dim Dorries
It’s not nice to tease people for not being able to spell. I’d not poke a dyslexic. But, sometimes, misspelling reveals that a writer has no idea about what they are saying. Nadine Dorries, MP for Mid Bedfordshire said that “a strong feeling of De Ja Vue overcame me this morning as I listened to the Today programme.” This is not quite as funny as her praise of John...
6 tags
The Telegraph death-spiral III
It’s worth noting that the Telegraph’s comment pages are probably the UK’s worst, riven as they are with prejudice, ill-considered yammering and - frankly - grave stupidity.
Exhibit I - Daniel Hannan, an (ex?) Telegraph leader writer and an MEP - around one-tenth as clever as he thinks he is. The Times’ Oliver Kamm and The Guardian’s Michael White have both provided...
1 tag
The Telegraph death-spiral II
There’s some good fun to be had by googling the Telegraph’s website for their apology wording. For example, a quick browse reveals that it made some pretty big post Hutton Report allegations - by accident - and screwed up on the expenses scandal
But, yikes, I’d hate to be the person who made this screw-up.
“Our obituary of Lady Jeanne Campbell (Sept 22) said she had a...
1 tag
The Telegraph death-spiral
The Daily Mail receives an enormous amount of abuse. Much deserved, much undeserved. Sadly, however, the Mail’s special place in folklore detracts from the appalling standard of other papers - especially the Telegraph.
An example:
23rd June 2009 —
“Women who drink alcohol, wear short skirts and are outgoing are more likely to be raped, claim scientists at the University of...
So, how to start?
Is it possible to write a first post on any format without being incredibly knowing and self-referential about writing a first post? Apparently not.