Month: May 2005

  • New French PM

    I know it’s really bad to admit it, but I just know I’m going to struggle with not thinking that the new French Prime Minister, Dominique de Villepin, is a man.

  • US Paperbacks

    One of the most remarkable things I noticed on my recent visit to America (about which, I really really will write something soon. Not that there are any readers here on tenterhooks or anything), was the fact that The Da Vinci Code is not out in paperback in America. This is a book that became…

  • Live 8 Press Conference

    The BBC are about to start streaming the Bob Geldof “Live 8” press conference. At the side of their player is the following disclaimer: This news briefing may contain some strong language which viewers and listeners find offensive.

  • Top Selling UK TV Programmes

    Well that’s actually a misleading headline. The BBC is carrying a report about television programme exports. Based on a survey carried out by Pact – the organisation that operates in support of independent television producers. The report goes on to list Gillette World Sports as the biggest selling TV programme in terms of countries (or…

  • Listen To Something Interesting

    The BBC’s extended podcast rollout has started this week. Keep up to date on this page with what’s available. The Today programme interview is up now along with a 1Xtra show. Look for more in the coming days. In particular, From Our Own Correspondent is a must listen.

  • Blatent Advertising

    The more alert reader may have spotted that my last couple of book reviews have now become adorned with tasteful Amazon ads. I should explain. Obviously this site isn’t quite one to put The London Review of Books to shame just yet, but I do like to read books (and to be honest, I like…

  • Screening Rules

    As I said at the time, they made everyone with a cameraphone check it in at the recent Hitchhiker’s screening. Yet at last night’s Star Wars screening, they just wanted to make sure we switched our phones off (and didn’t bring in video cameras on tripods – that kind of thing). All I needed was…

  • Breakfast Radio Shake-Up

    It’s been an interesting couple of days in the ranch.

  • Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith

    So finally the second trilogy ends in a full circle and we meet ourselves back as we once were in 1978 (or 1977 if you lived in America). The first thing to say about Episode III, as we must call it, is that it’s much better than both Episodes I and II. Overall, Lucas has…

  • Grifter’s Game

    This is the first of the Hard Case Crime books that started being published in the States last year. They feature fantastic period-style covers and are a combination of newly published works and re-published older pieces. In this case, it’s a 1961 vintage book that was originally titled Mona. Block, of course, continues to be…

  • Adam Curtis Interview

    This was in The Guardian last week just prior to his Cannes screening of the Power of Nightmares big screen version is shown.

  • Prague

    I’ve just come back from a sales conference at work in Prague. A good time was had by all, and the people were very friendly. What I didn’t realise was that I was arriving in Prague as the country was going through the closing stages of the Ice Hockey World Cup that was being held…