http://www.blogit.com/Blogs/Blog.aspx/alexanderabradley/To blog is for the less'r man / Who yearns to publish but never can / To join him would a folly be / While email missives do for me (Jonathan Swift, 1746) hourly12000-01-01T12:00+00:00http://www.blogit.com/Blogs/Blog.aspx/alexanderabradley/3664The Friday Thing - the fantastic email newsletter that I write for has switched to a way of working. Rather than waiting until Friday, subscribers now receive an issue every time a big (British, US or international) new story breaks. And the weekly Friday issue has been completely re-vamped, complete with new features and a gaggle of new writers. In other words your £10 (less than $15) a year now buys you much, much more. You should really subscribe. No question about it....http://www.blogit.com/Blogs/Blog.aspx/alexanderabradley/3663MARRIAGES MADE IN HELL Getting married in the London Dungeon may not be to everyone's tastes but, for Stephen Smith and Kathleen McDermott, being sentenced to death, attacked by vampires and forced to drink 'blood' was the wedding they'd always dreamed of. Kathleen, a window dresser, and Stephen, a freak, were first given a guided tour of the dungeons before being 'arrested', tried and sentenced for a crime they didn't commit. Not unlike a slimmed-down, tasteless, council, gothic, version of...http://www.blogit.com/Blogs/Blog.aspx/alexanderabradley/3661The Sun reports that 'a prominent member of the British Royal Family has been involved in an [homosexual] 'incident' with a servant'. Yes, unbelievable as it might sound, one of the Royals is gay. But which one could it be...? - Prince Edward [Evens] - Prince Phillip 4/1 - Prince Harry 6/1 - Princess Michael of Kent 10/1 - Prince William 30/1 - Prince Charles 65/1 - Victoria Beckham 100/1 - The Queen 160/1http://www.blogit.com/Blogs/Blog.aspx/alexanderabradley/3489The current issue of i-D magazine (pretentious - sorry, uber-cool, British style rag) contains a reference to something I wrote. It is described as 'brilliant...but inherently classist'. Proles.http://www.blogit.com/Blogs/Blog.aspx/alexanderabradley/3098Q: What do you say to a media studies graduate with a First? A: A big Mac and large fries please. It's easy to make jokes about Media Studies students. Almost too easy in fact. They get lent up to three and a half grand a year to sit in the pub, talking about Hollyoaks and mulling over difficult questions like 'To what extent does pop culture's celebration of childlike qualities represent a challenge to the values of mainstream society?'. Jesus, if we didn't make jokes about them, we might...http://www.blogit.com/Blogs/Blog.aspx/alexanderabradley/3097Richard Harris will be best remembered for his partnership with Orville The Duck - but there was much more to his lengthy career than end-of-the-pier shows and novelty chart hits. Born in Dublin in 1930, Harris made his first film, 'Alive and Kicking' - starring Stanley Holloway - in 1958. Despite providing the inspiration for BBC children's magazine programme, 'Live and Kicking', E! Online's http://www.eonline.com ) review of the film... 'When three elderly ladies are threatened with...http://www.blogit.com/Blogs/Blog.aspx/alexanderabradley/2070So, next Saturday I'm off to Washington DC for a week to speak at a conference thing with a friend of mine. We then have another six days to bum about in your nation's capital. Having never visited DC before, we have no idea how to fill our 144 hours Any suggestions?http://www.blogit.com/Blogs/Blog.aspx/alexanderabradley/2050According to a recent report by independent think-tank, the King's Fund, doctors from black and minority ethnic groups are less likely to be promoted to consultant grade than their white counterparts. They are also more likely to be sidelined into unpopular specialities and inner-city general practice. No shit. The same scandalous state of affairs can be found in the police force, the civil service and just about every aspect of the private sector - non-white people (I would use the phrase...http://www.blogit.com/Blogs/Blog.aspx/alexanderabradley/1511Two blog-type posts in one day. Damn me. Here's an interesting thing.... "Now that President Bush has enlightened us with his new "Plan" for the Middle East, we can only wonder how long it will take him to realize that his plan is useless and meaningless. Although his speech was riddled with rosy descriptions he envisions for the utopian Palestinian State in the far future, George W. Bush managed to avoid any mention of the present situation in the same parcel of land where all these...http://www.blogit.com/Blogs/Blog.aspx/alexanderabradley/1498At the risk of becoming a blogger, I thought I might relate an amusing part of my day. It is Sunday after all. I have just booked a flight from London to Washington D.C on Travelocity (subtext: I am comfortable with technology and have a budget for intercontinental travel, please sleep with me) and, during the booking process, was asked whether I had any special meal requirements. All the usual options were available.... Vegetarian Vegan Kosher Bland Sorry... Bland? "Excuse me stewardess, I...