Must watch: Presenter hit by a football

It’s childish, it’s mean and it’s not particular clever. But there’s nothing funnier than seeing someone get hit by a football.

The victim of this stray lump of leather was a German TV presenter called Jessica Kastrop. We hope that she’s feeling better – hopefully the two million hits on youtube will soften the blow, so [...]

By Simon Rice | Sport | Thursday, 26 August 2010 at 4:04 pm

Anti-hipster snark, 1967-style

With American Apparel on the way out, it’s worth remembering that all the anti-hipster sentiment unleashed in the western world by Gawker, Ad-busters et al was alive and kicking way back when Nick Denton was in nappies and the internet really was just a series of tubes. Voiced more eloquently than of late by none other than [...]

By Jack Riley | Notebook | Thursday, 26 August 2010 at 3:29 pm

The Coalition hoist by its own petard

What the Institute for Fiscal Studies has produced is simply a less selective snapshot of the short-term impact of the Budget than the Treasury produced in June:

By Ben Chu | Eagle Eye | Thursday, 26 August 2010 at 2:53 pm

Chris Ryan targets Medal of Honor

Electronic Arts has announced that SAS hero and best-selling author Chris Ryan will pen a prequel novel to upcoming videogame release Medal of Honor.

By Michael Plant | Games, Notebook | Thursday, 26 August 2010 at 1:11 pm

The mysterious origins of the Google phone box

The clamour of enthusiasm for the new Google Voice phone boxes set to appear in colleges and airports across the US calls to mind a story I heard from one Google employee when visiting their London base last year with Simon Usborne, who was writing his own adulatory take on the web giant.
As the piece mentions, [...]

By Jack Riley | Notebook | Thursday, 26 August 2010 at 12:29 pm

The Spirit of Ed Miliband

Can anyone else hear an unattractive whine? Oh, it’s coming from Ed Miliband’s supporters. It seems that they do not like one candidate for the Labour leadership pointing out some important differences with another candidate.
According to Nicholas Watt at The Guardian, Ed Miliband “showed his irritation with what he regarded as a barely concealed personal attack”, [...]

By John Rentoul | Eagle Eye | Thursday, 26 August 2010 at 11:47 am

Fit To Drop 7: When is a shop salad not so healthy?

There am I, trying to eat healthily, popping out to the shops for a nice salad lunch. But you can never be complacent.
Check out today’s article from The Independent: Revealed: the salads that contain more salt than crisps.
A thorough sample of 268 salads from shops, cafés and fast-food chains were checked.
A tiny 2 per cent [...]

By Martin King | Notebook | Thursday, 26 August 2010 at 11:39 am

Jennifer Aniston and Hollywood’s problem with women

For all the criticism, Jennifer Aniston’s topsy-turvy film career ultimately reflects as badly on the industry behind the movies she stars in as it does on her.

By Guy Adams | Arts, The Foreign Desk | Thursday, 26 August 2010 at 6:49 am

Introducing The Independent newspaper(.li)

The Independent; now available on paper.li, the trendy web service which builds a digital newspaper out of a Twitter account or, in this case, list. Have a look at ours here, and, since it’s republished regularly, check back for daily versions.

By Jack Riley | Notebook | Wednesday, 25 August 2010 at 5:01 pm

Fabio Capello: The new parasailing donkey

Today’s Sun had a back page lead with the headline ‘Jackass’ and a picture of Fabio Capello with donkey ears underneath it.
The article reads: “Donkey Fabio Capello has stuck a hoof into England’s brave new world – after just one game.
“The gormless Italian vowed to rebuild after our World Cup debacle by bringing in young [...]

By Simon Rice | Sport | Wednesday, 25 August 2010 at 4:59 pm