Rob Spence

  • End of the book?

    BBC NEWS | Technology | Microsoft scans British Library Reading stufff like this makes you wonder how long the printed book has got left. But the book has a great resilience, and I can’t imagine a time when it would be more pleasant to sit under a tree on a summer’s day with a hand…

  • Blunkett resigns

    BBC NEWS | Politics | Blunkett resigns from the CabinetBlimey! Cabinet minister does honourable thing shock horror…

  • Jail for eBay phishing fraudster

    BBC NEWS | England | Lancashire | Jail for eBay phishing fraudster A long time ago, in another lifetime, I taught this man. The last thing I recall him saying to me was that he was going to be famous one day. Well, he made it.

  • The English Disease

    Weekly book reviews and literary criticism from the Times Literary SupplementThe last time I mentioned Theodore Dalrymple in this blog, I received an angry comment from a reader in which Dalrymple was labelled a fascist. I replied, mildly, that although I could see that Dalrymple was certainly conservative (and maybe Conservative) that didn’t mean he…

  • Famous portrait ‘not Shakespeare’

    BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Arts | Famous portrait ‘not Shakespeare’This is hardly a shock. Actually, if you google for the Grafton portrait, the first hit is the Norton site claiming it’s Marlowe. This is another example of the way that Shakespeare gets romanticised. We seem to want to possess him, and an authentic portrait…

  • Keep on Blogging…

    …because it’s changing the world aparently, according to this article on the new Flock browser. I just liked the picture.

  • Word verification on

    I’ve reluctantly turned this on, as I keep getting comment spam from brainless morons in Coleslaw Arizona…

  • Malayan pantoums

    Guardian Unlimited | The Guardian | Stephen Fry’s Malayan pantoumsI agree with McMillan about Fry – he does seem, damn him, the complete renaissance man. McMillan is a lively and interesting poet, who has written much whimsical and humorous stuff, but who has a serious side too. I like “The Er Barnsley Seascapes” for their…

  • The last Leeds post

    Leeds, Live it, Love it > Visitors > HomeHere’s the website displaying that logo. Now, call me a cynic if you like Duncan, but that copyright sign is next to the word Leeds, so it does look like you’ve attempted to copyright the word. Amazon have trade marked “And you’re done” I notice, and lots…

  • Almost the last Leeds post…

    So here’s the logo that doesn’t copyright the word Leeds. It sure looks like it does though, doesn’t it?