Category archives: life
Hands in the machinery
There’s a lot of truth in Matthew Crawford’s article The Case for Working with your Hands, although although the attempt towards the end to link it to the financial crisis is a little clunky. His general points about the value… continue reading »
Saturday night under the stars
As I sit on the terrace looking up at the night sky over the Mediterranean, what’s going through my head? 1. I don’t do demonstrations any more – I’ve been charged by horses, clubbed with batons, narrowly avoided a lungful… continue reading »
Bruce Sterling on the Design of the Balkans
I never realised that Bruce Sterling had married Jasmina Tesanovic and lived in Belgrade for a few years. Well done Bruce. In this talk, he reflects on what Balkan society can tell “us”, by which he means of course the… continue reading »
Time under water
“What’s that coming over the hill? Is it a monster? Is it a monster?” – The Automatic You think of these migraines as something outside yourself. When you wake from an afternoon hibernation, you think to yourself, “Is it gone… continue reading »
Planet Suicide
First: A teenager in the US state of Florida has committed suicide in front of a live internet audience. Abraham Biggs, 19, from Pembroke Pines, near Miami, killed himself hours after announcing his intention to do so on his blog.… continue reading »
Unbearably Alone in Moscow
The New Statesman presents findings from the Fear in the Mega-Cities survey (so far, so Dredd), which I’m afraid simply aren’t very interesting, and only one thing stood out for me. In Paris, Rome, London, New York, Cairo and Sao… continue reading »
Call me Ismail
This week, legendary sports journalist Rod Curtis was my guest at the building site that I call home. Rod lives in Tirana, and drives the only car currently available in Albania, a black Merc. It’s been a pleasure having him… continue reading »