In Praise Of... Archive

  • Monday 25 March 2013

    THE chances of a man called Bart Simpson appearing before a judge named Mr Burns were slim, if not beyond imagining.

  • Saturday 23 March 2013

    More commonly associated with biblical plagues and reviled for their tendency to munch through crops at an alarming rate, the locusts which have been swarming across Israel for the last few weeks are now finding the tables are turning – quite literally – and they're the ones on the menu.

  • Friday 22 March 2013

    DISCOVERED www.madmeninnotes.com, in which all 65 episodes (3055 minutes) of Mad Men are reduced to a series of Post-It notes.

  • Wednesday 20 March 2013

    THE etymologies are quiet about the word nook.

  • Tuesday 19 March 2013

    Back when I was a 17-year-old-high school pupil, my classmates and I would go out every weekend to the local bar in our home town.

  • Monday 18 March 2013

    NEWS that only three people tuned in online to a live debate at Bristol City Council will disturb those who care for democracy.

  • Saturday 16 March 2013

    "AYE Write!

  • Friday 15 March 2013

    What a relief that, following the discovery of Richard III's remains, filmmakers and television companies appear to be turning their attention to other subjects besides the 16th-century English court.

  • Thursday 14 March 2013

    Good news everyone.

  • Wednesday 13 March 2013

    I THINK it fair to say that I won't be setting fire to my face any time soon.

  • Tuesday 12 March 2013

    I think both times I gave birth I fell in love with the midwife.

  • Monday 11 March 2013

    NEWS that novelist Sebastian Faulks is to step into the stout brogues of God – sorry, PG Wodehouse; I always get these two mixed up – has been greeted with a mixture of incredulity, distaste and applause.

  • Friday 8 March 2013

    Not the sort of gospel music that made John Belushi cartwheel down the aisle in The Blues Brothers, though.

  • Thursday 7 March 2013

    For certain people, it's a fate worst than death and unspeakably ghastly.

  • Wednesday 6 March 2013

    I WANT to watch the internet video of the puppy and the seal playing hide-and-seek.

  • Tuesday 5 March 2013

    Above a suitably statuesque Brian Bolland illustration of Judge Dredd, the cover declares "35 Zarjaz Years".

  • Monday 4 March 2013

    A FRIGHTENING picture is emerging of life in an Amazon warehouse.

  • Saturday 2 March 2013

    Apart from the odd blip of black despair, mostly I regard myself as an optimist.

  • Friday 1 March 2013

    Imagine for a moment that you are an Italian citizen.

  • Thursday 28 February 2013

    Here we go again.

  • Wednesday 27 February 2013

    I REFER not to cleanliness.

  • Tuesday 26 February 2013

    TYPE Ronnie Barker's name into YouTube and get a collection of his greatest hits: Porridge, Open All Hours and, chiefly, The Two Ronnies, and its endless array of sketches studded with jokes and wordplay.

  • Monday 25 February 2013

    SACHA Baron Cohen is the latest star to be hit with the heinous allegation: recluse.

  • Saturday 23 February 2013

    I LOVE the idea that the retro art of napkin-folding is back in vogue.

  • Friday 22 February 2013

    Too often the subject of sexist jokes from male petrolheads who rubbish everything from their parking skills to their choice of upholstery – take a bow Messrs Clarkson, Hammond and May – women are proving that when it comes to pedal power they have as much mettle as the next man.

  • Thursday 21 February 2013

    WHATEVER happened to the days when politicians spoke about politics?

  • Wednesday 20 February 2013

    HANDS: ruddy nuisance, aren't they?

  • Tuesday 19 February 2013

    Still perfecting that Gangnam Style party piece?

  • Monday 18 February 2013

    I'M NOT talking about virtual Americas or North Koreas.

  • Saturday 16 February 2013

    One of my favourite movies from my younger years, Romeo + Juliet, was screened on TV on Thursday night, in honour of Valentine's day.