Blogging and E-learning

Having recently started my own blog site (the one you’re reading now!), perhaps I should be expected to be enthusiastic about the prospects of using blogs for e-learning. The Learn to Blog, Blog to Learn article suggests blogs’ informality means they can be good learning resources and “the best [of the resources out there] rises […]

North Korea’s Nukes

There are cautious reports of progress in the current six-nation talks aimed at resolving the impasse on North Korea’s nuclear capability and withdrawal from the non-proliferation treaty. To understand what’s at stake the excellent report in August’s Prospect magazine gives a chilling account of possible scenarios for North Korea’s collapse. Even if the talks go […]

Neil Young ‘Rust Fest’ 26-28 September

I was accosted at the Cambridge Folk Festival by Paul Docker because I was wearing a rare Neil Young t-shirt that he hadn’t seen before. Yesterday I spent an enjoyable evening with Paul and friends — enjoyable for such as me who like debating the relative strengths of different Neil Young albums (as well as […]

The Draughtsman’s Contract

Peter Greenaway’s The Draughtsman’s Contract is re-released at the ICA this month. As a big fan at the time, I was curious to see how this standard-bearer for British art cinema in the ’80s (and for FilmFour) looks in hindsight. In short, it’s easier to see why people loved it — in particular the bravura […]

Cambridge Folk Festival – Review

A great festival, once I’d battled the trains to get there. I was attracted by the headline names — particularly Julian Cope, Linda Thompson (who subsequently cancelled), Laura Cantrell, my first chance to see Alasdair Roberts, and to a lesser extent Steve Earle and Rosanne Cash. But it was the time I spent in the […]