i think it was ALL ABOUT CATS and have no problem w that whatsoevs
― I accidentally sonned your dome (stevie), Thursday, 5 April 2012 16:08 (twelve years ago) link
I overheard a girl in my SU bar say that Laurie Penny was her hero. Ooof. Also, does she still live with Nicholas Lezard? His column in the NS is 'great'/HOW DOES HE GET PAID TO CONTINUALLY WRITE THAT UTTER UTTER SHIT
― Blue Collar Retail Assistant (Dwight Yorke), Friday, 6 April 2012 07:48 (twelve years ago) link
No, she doesn't live there any more.
He was looking for a new housemate, but the New Statesman column about this seems to have been taken down. Here's the most you can now see of it:
I need a new young, female housemate (not in a pervy way)
― Alba, Friday, 6 April 2012 08:30 (twelve years ago) link
you can find the whole column if you put one of the initial sentences into google - i am not surprised they took it down as it's super dull but also makes him sound like even more of a tosser than that guardian article did. and also because he's like 'laurie's away until june, i'd like a new young female housemate until then then please, it's not a sex thing, it's just that young women aren't threatening and won't argue with me'.
― unchillhenge (c sharp major), Friday, 6 April 2012 09:01 (twelve years ago) link
When I find it through Google I get a "page not found" when I actually click on it.
― Alba, Friday, 6 April 2012 11:26 (twelve years ago) link
yes, but the article's still there in the whole edition on pagesuite professional (whatever that is): http://edition.pagesuite-professional.co.uk/launch.aspx?referral=other&pnum=61&refresh=4c1LxE7081Db&EID=0cf2fdfa-ce26-40cc-9ed0-d8757e6aa675&skip=&p=61
― unchillhenge (c sharp major), Friday, 6 April 2012 13:56 (twelve years ago) link
It's been a long time since I hated a columnist that much. And not even writing in the Daily Fail.
― Popcorn Supergay Receiver (Masonic Boom), Friday, 6 April 2012 14:06 (twelve years ago) link
omg that bit about University Challenge
― Rudy Ray Reardon (DJ Mencap), Friday, 6 April 2012 14:11 (twelve years ago) link
Thanks for the link (I think).
― Alba, Friday, 6 April 2012 15:02 (twelve years ago) link
who are all these awful, awful people and why do they think we care about them?
― I accidentally sonned your dome (stevie), Friday, 6 April 2012 17:48 (twelve years ago) link
It just gets stranger and stranger.
In G2 today, a confused piece by Barney Hoskyns about Southern rock (i.e. Allmans, Skynyrd) which basically says that Southern rock is great but actually it's not because of the area's history of racism. Great logical thinking there.
I don't get either why the Grauniad has suddenly decided to have a downer on Amazon. Lots of drivel both in print and on the website about poor benighted booksellers being put out of business by Amazon, it stops new writers coming through EXCUSE ME! Haven't I had a book out for the best part of a year? And who is stocking it in their shops? Precisely one in central London and it's not just me either - all you see when you go into Waterstones is the same old bullshit, celebrity kitchen nightmares and lots of loss-leader discounts. Take away the discounts and you have Daunt Books. Whereas Amazon actually stocks my book and that's where nearly all my sales have come from. If places like Waterstones were serious they'd tell their Finance & Marketing departments to go take a hike and actually take chances on stocking books by new or unknown writers. Rave reviews in The Wire and Mojo, called the best music book of 2011 in the Telegraph of all places - but none of that means anything to the chains - finance say shit, Waterstones jump on the shovel.
So I don't actually give a toss about how much tax Amazon are or aren't paying; they sell new writers, and bookshops do not, and until that changes bookshops have no right to have a go because they should be doing a hell of a lot more for the likes of us.
― Here he is with the classic "Poème Électronique." Good track (Marcello Carlin), Friday, 6 April 2012 20:35 (twelve years ago) link
they sell new writers, and bookshops do not
not out of altruism, but because they make a healthy profit off those writers, and should pay tax on that. can't get with this "don't tax the job creators"-esque angle, i'm afraid.
― I accidentally sonned your dome (stevie), Friday, 6 April 2012 22:10 (twelve years ago) link
being honest, tG is the only online newspaper that i would ever want to give space to my blog.
the fact that this has now happened means i can now make my parents read a page on the guardian website which is a massive result.
― mark e, Friday, 6 April 2012 22:16 (twelve years ago) link
link pls mark e!
― I accidentally sonned your dome (stevie), Friday, 6 April 2012 22:21 (twelve years ago) link
thought that broke the hardcore rules of ile !
but hey as you asked :
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog/2012/mar/26/blog-jam-ireallylovemusic
― mark e, Friday, 6 April 2012 22:27 (twelve years ago) link
excellent stuff, mark!
― I accidentally sonned your dome (stevie), Saturday, 7 April 2012 08:18 (twelve years ago) link
More anti-Amazon rubbish in yesterday's paper; Tim Waterstone, who's got a cheek, and some vested interests on the letters page.
Of course, if Amazon were to go under (extremely unlikely), that would make life much easier for the online Guardian Bookshop.
Elsewhere in yesterday's paper, Deborah Orr appears to confuse current Labour Party policy with socialism. From childhood onwards, we do what we do because deep down we expect a reward for doing it. That's a fundamental part of human behaviour and until/unless 200 ft OMG ZING robots are built to run things, it's not going to change.
Worst was the fawning piece on Green Party London mayoral candidate Jenny Jones where the writer just drops in casually the information that "one of her daughters is a senior editor at the Guardian." FFS. If you're going to set yourself up as the antidote to News International and Associated Newspapers then you should have higher standards and not indulge in the same common nepotism. Otherwise as a newspaper you're not going to be trusted.
And another thing - and this also applies to Labour, the Lib Dems, the BBC and too many other people - never sell out your heartland. If you insist on attracting the ficklest of audiences you'll find that they're the hardest audience to keep. In the meantime, your "heartland" of readers, tired of being taken for granted, will move on, and abandon you.
As far as Amazon, new writers and taxes are concerned; no the situation isn't ideal, but where is the alternative? Where's the figbtback on the part of bookshops? Narrow margins? Lack of shelf space? If they took all the Tesco/WH Smith stuff and 3 for 2 crap out of the shop they'd have more space for new writers, and if they were really clever, or better still grew a pair, they'd use their big sellers to help subsidise the rest of their stock, and because that would attract more punters into the shop, their profit margins would increase. It happened in the seventies; it can happen again. At the moment too many "independent" booksellere are "characters" who think it's still 1912 and books should be hoarded rather than sold. Your business is to sell books, so get on with it and sell them. Never mind how much you paid the distributor in 1978, forget it and get the book out of the shop.
― Here he is with the classic "Poème Électronique." Good track (Marcello Carlin), Sunday, 8 April 2012 11:23 (twelve years ago) link
(sp: "booksellers")
― Here he is with the classic "Poème Électronique." Good track (Marcello Carlin), Sunday, 8 April 2012 11:25 (twelve years ago) link
i think you misunderstand me. i think it's great that amazon support new writers, and keep such a large amount of books in "stock". i don't think it's so great that they shouldn't pay taxes on the profits they make.
― I accidentally sonned your dome (stevie), Sunday, 8 April 2012 12:02 (twelve years ago) link
OK, so you don't want to talk about Amazon's tax avoidance.
Maybe one could talk about their union busting activities (yeah, bog standard for a post globalised world, right) or their appalling record on workers rights, health and safety violations, all of which has been documented pretty extensively in Mother Jones - a paper I'm not aware of having any bookshop of their own or being in direct competition with Amazon...
http://m.motherjones.com/politics/2012/02/mac-mcclelland-free-online-shipping-warehouses-labor
... but you know, who gives a shit about workers rights and being treated humanely or even *safely* so long as they stock *your* books, right? Amazon are simply *uncriticisable* so long as I'm alright, Jack. Socialism at its finest there.
― Popcorn Supergay Receiver (Masonic Boom), Sunday, 8 April 2012 12:45 (twelve years ago) link
This was pretty dire. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/apr/07/copenhagen-really-wonderful-reasons
― gyac, Monday, 9 April 2012 13:20 (twelve years ago) link
Jenny Jones is the Green Party candidate for London mayor. That's a Guardian heartland story. That her daughter works at the Guardian was declared in the piece. Do you really think the Guardian should ignore her because her daughter works there? It's hardly Rebekah Brooks going riding with David Cameron, is it?
― Viva Brother Beyond (ithappens), Monday, 9 April 2012 23:28 (twelve years ago) link
?!?
― And I have been called "The Appetite" (DL), Tuesday, 10 April 2012 14:40 (twelve years ago) link
Online Guardian bookshop is a tiny part of Guardian business. Generates about 10 bob, and I'd bet it's run through a partner (might even be Amazon, as with the links to buy CDs on album reviews) - there's no Guardian warehouse full of books. The Guardian's reports about Amazon are not generated by some big commercial push to take over the online book retail market.
― Viva Brother Beyond (ithappens), Tuesday, 10 April 2012 16:26 (twelve years ago) link
We'll see about that.
Meanwhile Potty Toynbee says every UK citizen's tax details should be open to public scrutiny: "when we look back, we will view privacy as the cheat's charter." Also "taxes are the price you pay for civilisation." Eh? Civilisation has to be paid for?
i.e. "the only people who want privacy are those who have something to HIDE."
Murdoch and Syria would love her, and Labour are out of power for 20 years minimum.
― Here he is with the classic "Poème Électronique." Good track (Marcello Carlin), Tuesday, 10 April 2012 19:11 (twelve years ago) link
cynical, or just being honest?
― caek, Wednesday, 11 April 2012 16:26 (twelve years ago) link
xp, she's talking about privacy with regard to taxation, rather than privacy in the more general sense though, isn't she? That's standard practice in Finland, Sweden and Norway. I'm reasonably sure Assad's elites wouldn't want the rest of the country knowing how much they make.
― Une semaine de Bunty (ShariVari), Wednesday, 11 April 2012 17:17 (twelve years ago) link
Marcello continues the great ILE/Guardian crossover:
Letters: From Harley St to Fred the plumber – transparency and tax returns
― Alba, Thursday, 12 April 2012 14:02 (twelve years ago) link
Aw, I thought it was going to be about the Guardian bookshop's imminent coup against Amazon.
― And I have been called "The Appetite" (DL), Thursday, 12 April 2012 17:05 (twelve years ago) link
Barbara Ellen
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/jun/03/barbara-ellen-kick-out-stay-at-home-kids
Such a nasty piece to write in the middle of an economic downturn/depression. The Observer should boot her out pronto.
― Bob Six, Sunday, 3 June 2012 10:50 (eleven years ago) link
It's 100% true to form, unfortunately. With David Mitchell turning increasingly reactionary in recent weeks, their comment section has been alarmingly close to the Telegraph's at times.
― Temporarily Famous In The Czech Republic (ShariVari), Sunday, 3 June 2012 11:11 (eleven years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79qX7l4y-q4
― cissémanwhore (DJ Mencap), Sunday, 3 June 2012 12:10 (eleven years ago) link
can't believe Barbara Ellen is the Happy Shopper Julie Burchill
― korea opportunities (Noodle Vague), Sunday, 3 June 2012 12:14 (eleven years ago) link
tbf Burchill was saying exactly the same thing back in the NME in '83.
I've never known the Observer not to be a carbuncle of rightwing douchebaggery but Graham Norton did a similar rant on his radio show last week. I suppose it saves having to think about inconvenient things like causes.
(Actually, Norton's a totally reactionary old queen; yesterday he carpeted guest David Baddiel for daring to ask for a relatively obscure track from the BBC archives. He was all "how dare you, that's not what we're about, RIGHT?" Actually, Graham, that IS what it's all about, otherwise Radio 2 might just as well be LBC or Magic FM and take advertising rather than protection money from licence payers, decimating your music library to subsidise Mr Norton's lifestyle)
― Here he is with the classic "Poème Électronique." Good track (Marcello Carlin), Sunday, 3 June 2012 12:47 (eleven years ago) link
p badhttp://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/lostinshowbiz/2012/jun/07/ridiculous-name-jay-electronica?newsfeed=true
― blossom smulch (schlump), Saturday, 9 June 2012 20:15 (eleven years ago) link
serious question: is Tim Dowling the most infuritaingly unfunny 'funny' writer in the UK?
― Blue Collar Retail Assistant (Dwight Yorke), Friday, 22 June 2012 11:24 (eleven years ago) link
what 'funny' writers are actually funny though?
Marina Hyde obv (though she's not a LOL writer in any case)Caitlin Moran (though - whisper it - less and less these days)I guess Grace Dent but I don't care about TV so rarely care about her writingand uhhhhh
― bitch I'm on the 242 (lex pretend), Friday, 22 June 2012 11:37 (eleven years ago) link
basically there's no excuse for anyone to act like a comedian or a FOOL as they were once known
― bitch I'm on the 242 (lex pretend), Friday, 22 June 2012 11:38 (eleven years ago) link
i really like tim's pieces, tbh. alex, yr nutso!
― Just saying. (stevie), Friday, 22 June 2012 12:39 (eleven years ago) link
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog/2012/jun/22/glastonbury-2012-live-coverage?intcmp=ILCMUSTXT9383&CMP=EMCMUSEML1647
a ha hahaha ha ha hah ha ha oh dear.
― Mark G, Friday, 22 June 2012 12:44 (eleven years ago) link
Lucy Mangan might be twee as hell but I still get a smile more often than not from her writing. Marina Hyde is such a fantastic writer that it seems unfair to compare against her.
― boxedjoy, Friday, 22 June 2012 13:47 (eleven years ago) link
I can never understand why people rate Marina Hyde.
― ooooiiiioooooooooooooooaaaaaaaaoooooh un - bi - leevable! (LocalGarda), Friday, 22 June 2012 15:03 (eleven years ago) link
Is Barney Ronay strictly sport still? He can do lively-funny writing better than almost anyone there. Dowling the worst of comic hacks.
― woof, Friday, 22 June 2012 15:13 (eleven years ago) link
xp you don't actually rate ANYONE as far as i can tell
― bitch I'm on the 242 (lex pretend), Friday, 22 June 2012 15:23 (eleven years ago) link
i like lots of things, you just assume that anyone who doesn't share your microscopic and demented world view is as hate-filled as you actually are.
― ooooiiiioooooooooooooooaaaaaaaaoooooh un - bi - leevable! (LocalGarda), Friday, 22 June 2012 15:45 (eleven years ago) link
― woof, Friday, June 22, 2012 3:13 PM (2 hours ago) Bookmark
Dunno, but his piece on Milner today was v enjoyable.
― If you live in Thanet and fancy doing some creative knitting (Fizzles), Friday, 22 June 2012 18:06 (eleven years ago) link
do u have any opinions about barney ronay
hes alright but he doesnt really understand football very well
― dis civilization and its contents (nakhchivan), Friday, 22 June 2012 18:09 (eleven years ago) link
oh i'm preparing myself right now for the onslaught of people writing about wimbledon who can turn out good sentences but have no idea about the sport
really good interview with petra kvitova in the grau today...and then right in the middle "surprisingly, she lost in the 1st round at eastbourne"
LITERALLY EVERY TENNIS FAN PREDICTED THAT UPSET AAARRRGHHHH. Kvitova is in mediocre form and Makarova is great on grass/at Eastbourne. "surprisingly" kmt kmt kmt
― bitch I'm on the 242 (lex pretend), Friday, 22 June 2012 18:15 (eleven years ago) link
Haile Gebrselassie set world records – honestly – on Scatman John. Apparently the 1994 novelty techno track, Scatman (Ski Ba Bop Ba Dop Bop), had the exact time signature that the Ethiopian athlete needed to pace his 10,000 metre runs.
― gonna send him to outer space, to hug another face (NickB), Monday, 25 June 2012 13:34 (eleven years ago) link
Must have spent an age experimenting with 19/4 and 13/8 until he found some solid 4/4 beats.
― gonna send him to outer space, to hug another face (NickB), Monday, 25 June 2012 13:35 (eleven years ago) link