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  • Geography professors perform the YMCA

    I can’t see my English colleagues doing this somehow… These guys from Manchester’s Geography Dept performed for their Christmas do. I wonder what would be appropriate for other departments?

  • Not all about you

    Novels are not all about you, Natasha | The Guardian | Guardian UnlimitedLovely letter from Ian McEwan in reply to the review of his new book. His point is, as he says, one which you would hardly think needs to be made, but clearly it does. I’m always amused when people cite John of Gaunt’s…

  • Like, you know

    More from Taylor Mali. Once again, he’s absolutely on the button with this demolition of vagueness in speech.Hat tip: anonymous.

  • Radio Daze

    Chez Topsyturvydom, we no longer have one of Mr Baird’s televisual apparatuses, so the wireless is our main mass medium. The DAB radio in the kitchen is habitually tuned to Radio 4, with Radio 2 providing the meal soundtrack, except on Tuesdays. At other times, we’ve recently tried theJazz. Although I can’t be doing with…

  • Queen Coleen

    I’ve read the Guardian, man and boy, for a very long time- but after reading today’s issue, I’m seriously considering a change. The front page – the front page! – of today’s issue is dominated by a photo of Coleen as Venus. The Weekend magazine’s main feature is a further portfolio of her in the…

  • Introducing the book

    I loved this. I was reminded of an old cartoon, showing a monk slumped over a manuscript weeping. Two other monks are watching, and one says “I see the copier’s broken down again!” Hat tip: Bibliobibuli

  • Now, this is what you call snow

    BBC NEWS | World | Americas | Upstate New York buried in snowAs usual, Britain collapses into chaos because a few flakes of snow have fallen. I think we don’t bother having any contingency plans so that we can have heart warming “spirit of the blitz” stories on the evening news. The British legion club…

  • Where’s my African readership?

    According to the Clustr map, someone is clicking on Topsyturvydom all over the place, except Africa. Truly, the dark continent…

  • Humans blamed for climate change

    Humans blamed for climate change Who knew, eh? There was me, blaming the monkeys…

  • North and South

    The novel by Elizabeth Gaskell used the North-South divide as its central conceit. Here’s a modern take on the phenomenon, now exacerbated by the metropolitan bias of the media. Somehow, you feel those BBC types wouldn’t be quite so discombobulated if their putative move was to, say, Brighton rather than Salford…