Jun 292013
 
Higgledy piggledy cities

Last year our government capped housing benefit, and London councils started moving social housing tenants outside of London. The bare financial logic of this is impeccable: why house someone in Kensington or Westminster or Covent Garden when there is housing space much more cheaply in Birmingham or Leicester or Milton Keynes? Unfortunately, there are far […]

Apr 142012
 
Inaugural 100 word review: Sophia McDougall’s Romanitas

100 word reviews I’m starting a new project, to keep me scribbling on this blog. It’ll be completely random, as well as revealing a bit of the subject matter of what I’m currently reading. Here’s the thing: I hate book reviews. I want to like them, and they always start off interesting, but then they […]

Mar 302012
 
Stories of the Smoke – art auction & book launch & more

I’m having a short story published in this anthology, from the excellent editorial entrepreneurial folk responsible for Pandemonium Fiction  and Pornokitsch. Smoke is an anthology searching for new stories pushing out fantastical children that are considered the children of Dickens, in honour of Dickens’ 200th birthday. There are (will be) 100 hardcovers available, all signed […]

 Posted by at 08:30
Jul 262011
 

Of all the things that amaze me about Burning Man, the thing I’ve always found the most amazing is the breadth and variety of people—where else could you sit around talking about art and culture with a socialist doctor, a libertarian stripper, an atheist with a Master’s in Divinity from Harvard, aid workers who crosses […]

 Posted by at 08:52
Sep 062010
 
London Cycling

There’s (Sorry for being not around—I’ve been very busy with several interesting—but unfortunately confidential—projects. I can say, though, that I’ve been investigating strategies for exploring new business opportunities in developing countries rather a lot) Those of you who know me know me on my bike. I’ve had nice ones, crappy ones, and funky ones. It’s […]

 Posted by at 08:52