Chris Dillow
:On Terrorist Probabilities
Philip White
:A Light in the Darkness: Nine-Year-Old Boy Gathers Food, Donations for Victims of Moore, Oklahoma Tornado
Rachel Tan
:How to Report on an Act of Terror
John Wight
:Woolwich Proves That Savagery and Bestiality Is No Respector of Borders
Jon Yates
:After Woolwich, Doing Nothing About Integration Is Not an Option
I had read the quotes and looked at the statistics, but it wasn't until I started speaking to victims of domestic abuse and listened to heartbreaking tales of control and fear that I began to see a different picture. Continue reading...
The name Valentinus has forged a determined path to 21st Century shopping centres, from burial sites north of ancient Rome's city limits, at the source of the trans-Italian Via Flaminia. Continue reading...
Ana's Thought: "My Art is born of endless Passion for the Beauty of Life." As Valentine's Day approaches, people across the world feel moved to speak from their hearts, letting their emotions pour forth in displays of affection for those they cherish. But no paper card or expensive gemstone can... Continue reading...
The naked body. Our instinct is to bloody love 'em. Looking at one, touching one, being wrapped up in and by one. Mm. Damn. Such sensuality, intimacy and pleasure can be expressed and received from the wonderfully naked body. Plus, the hypnotic motion of some appropriately-placed flailing genitalia or boing-ing... Continue reading...
I've been writing as a hobby for many years - the challenge of creating a subject and turning this into a finished novel is thrilling. It's only now I'm retired, however, that I've been able to give it a real go. This is all down to self-publishing. Continue reading...
The Internet was recently abuzz with news of London-based street artist Ben Eine's team-up with Virgin Atlantic to create a 'Gallery in the Air' at 35,000 ft, an exhibition of specially commissioned work by the street artist. Continue reading...
Enter Richard III, who in this production closely resembles David Cameron. Continue reading...
The enthusiasm for a blurred (and yet utterly beautiful) perception of the world as the creative medium to depict reality inhabits the world of London-based photographer Bruno Freitas de Oliveira writ large. Continue reading...
Best known for his various television series, How to Look Good Naked, Gok's Fashion Fix, and more recently, Gok Cooks Chinese, fashion consultant Gok Wan hardly fits the cliché of the standard opera-lover. Continue reading...
At 6ft tall, the package was tubular in shape and large enough to contain a shark - crushing my mother's hopes for a diamond skull. Without a van to drive us back to my studio the only clear option was a ride on the 73 bus, with the Damien Hirst reclining on the seat beside me. Continue reading...
Under the blitz of current Orwell stuff in the media there's a recurring theme: what would the great man have made of the present day, and how right was he about the modern world? Recent chit-chat in my office was broadly positive about his "predictive" powers. Recent chit-chat in my office was broadly positive about his "predictive" powers: Doublespeak (modern political/managerial jargon?), Telescreens (TV, especially those tuned to the Big Brother house on Channel 5!), Napoleon, the revolutionary-turned-authoritarian pig from Animal Farm. Continue reading...
At last great news for libraries! And it's the children who are putting their giant stamp of authority on the matter. Not only are there six writers of children's books amongst the top ten most borrowed authors of 2011/12 but children's fictions titles were borrowed a staggering 81.8 million times over that period. Continue reading...
I always wonder why it is that audiences boo. Opera audiences can get extremely cross about interpretations of their favourite operas, especially the classics. I'm more concerned with the need, the irresistible urge even, to be outraged by a director's interpretation and to give voice to that frustration. Continue reading...
Towards the end of the ninth century, Pope Stephen VI had the body of his predecessor Formosus exhumed, dressed in its sacerdotal attire, and propped up in the council chamber to face trial for trumped-up charges of perjury and usurping the bishopric of Rome. During the "prosecution", Stephen hurled abuse... Continue reading...
Writers are needy, insecure and desperate for approval. Just like everyone else, in other words, but because writers don't get out much they believe these challenges are unique to them, and tend to over-dramatize them. There's nothing new in all this; what's changed is that online reviews are reminding writers of something that, in the end, is probably good for us: everyone is different. Continue reading...
Both auction houses and art and antiques fairs are a great place to gain knowledge and see rare treasures before they are sold into a private collection and disappear from public view. Happy hunting. Continue reading...
There's something for everyone here. For Hollywood neophytes, we learn that Gerard Depardieu (who plays the ship's Cook) was "total fun" to work with. For cineastes, there are some wonderful titbits of information detailing how director Ang Lee approached using 3D. Continue reading...
In fact our morbid fascination with death has been created and recreated in countless different ways. Death has power. It's the number one box office draw. It's why the media concentrate on tragedy. It's why the soap operas kill off a major character to get Christmas ratings. Continue reading...
The Dictionary on the whole speaks about the extraordinary skill and expertise of Fowler as a lexicographer and linguist. A thing about the Dictionary that endears most perhaps is the author's genuine enthusiasm. Continue reading...
Inspiration is an eternal mystery, the fountain that overflows to send rivulets of ingenuity directly into the minds of the receptive. It is as though an arrow of fire is shot from an invisible bow, cutting through darkness to bring brilliance to its target. Continue reading...
