Eagle Eye
“(Not) a reactionary nostalgist in the republic of letters”
Another furiously aspiring speech from Michael Gove today:
All of us who are parents would be delighted if our children were learning to love George Eliot, write their own computer programmes, daring to take themselves out of their comfort zone and aspiring to be faster, higher or stronger.
Unless, of course, we write for Guardian Education…
Jacqueline Wilson [...]
By John Rentoul | Eagle Eye | Thursday, 9 May 2013 at 11:57 am
Irony: Not on Twitter
Once again, I have been caught out by the lack of a backward-sloping ironic typeface on my computer. I gathered, yesterday, that an association football manager had resigned, so I said on Twitter:
I don’t think Ferguson should have given in to media hysteria like this. He apologised for his tasteless comments about Keynes being gay.
The [...]
By John Rentoul | Eagle Eye | Thursday, 9 May 2013 at 11:16 am
Forthcoming Titles
I am pleased to say that Faber Finds is reissuing my 2001 biography, Tony Blair: Prime Minister, as a paperback and e-book on 20 June. It comes in a plain cigarette wrapper (pictured).
The new edition has a 20,000-word Afterword to cover the 2001-07 period and to provide an assessment of Blair’s record as Prime Minister.
I [...]
By John Rentoul | Eagle Eye | Wednesday, 8 May 2013 at 9:43 pm
Top 10 Books People Buy But Don’t Read
The Top 10 series in The Independent on Sunday’s colour supplement New Review started with the “Top 10 Worst Beatles Songs”. This Sunday’s “Top 10 Misquotations” has already gone to press. But I still need your help with the following weeks.
By John Rentoul | Eagle Eye | Wednesday, 8 May 2013 at 11:05 am
What to do without Google Reader?
Most of you won’t know what I’m talking about, but those of us internet fogeys who use Google Reader have just had a reminder that Google is “ceasing to support” it from 1 July.
It used to be called a blog aggregator, and for a while before Twitter it was the main way in which I [...]
By John Rentoul | Eagle Eye | Tuesday, 7 May 2013 at 6:28 pm
“Has the internet killed the Loch Ness monster?”
Number 940 in my series of Questions To Which The Answer Is No was asked by Philip Hoare, in the Guardian, on the 80th anniversary of the monster’s invention last week.
Number 941 is on the front of today’s Guardian (pictured):
Was 1963 the start of modern life?
Thanks to Patrick Hennessy.
Number 942 was asked by the Daily Mail:
Maggie: The masterpiece. [...]
By John Rentoul | Eagle Eye | Tuesday, 7 May 2013 at 3:48 pm
Desert Island Discs
The democracy of blogs and Spotify mean that we can all be on Desert Island Discs.
By John Rentoul | Eagle Eye | Monday, 6 May 2013 at 7:27 pm
David Davis on a “mandate referendum”
No, I didn’t know what it meant either. David Davis explains it well in this transcript of his interview with Andrew Neil on the BBC’s Sunday Politics. But it is the politics of fruitcake and David Cameron will, of course, have nothing to do with it. Politely.
AN: Joining me now from his Altrincham constituency, former [...]
By John Rentoul | Eagle Eye | Sunday, 5 May 2013 at 9:12 pm
Sunday reading
To try to impress the new editor I have three articles in The Independent on Sunday today.
In the political column I suggest that the local election results on Thursday were not good enough to give Labour any confidence of winning a majority at the next general election.
This is partly on the grounds that the UKIP [...]
By John Rentoul | Eagle Eye | Sunday, 5 May 2013 at 8:03 pm
Adonis on UKIP, Clegg and Heathrow
Andrew Adonis has been interviewed by The Times today (pay wall). Full of good stuff, as ever, including:
You deal with UKIP not by abusing its leaders but by tackling the causes of its protest vote: too few good jobs, a crisis of youth inactivity and a weak, remote government with no plans, which can’t get [...]
By John Rentoul | Eagle Eye | Saturday, 4 May 2013 at 6:03 pm
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