Anthony Howard and the old New Statesman

I just came across Anthony Howard on Wikipedia. He was the editor of the New Statesman when I used to look forward to every issue of the weekly.

Just out of high school, reading English as an undergrad, I had a thing about newspapers and magazines back then. Shakespeare and Wordsworth were all very grand but, to keep up with the language, one had to read new books and periodicals too. And top of the pops for me were the New Statesman and Time. Continue reading “Anthony Howard and the old New Statesman”

Technology alone isn’t enough

Technology alone isn’t enough, said Steve Jobs. He was right.

This article was written on a PC using Microsoft Word and fact-checked online, drawing information from the internet. It wouldn’t have been possible had Bill Gates and Paul Allen not co-founded Microsoft and Tim Berners-Lee not invented the World Wide Web.

Technology has transformed the world. No wonder everyone from political leaders to parents urges the young to study science and technology. Those are the academic disciplines that help nations progress and provide the best and the most job opportunities in the world today.

Has any other field of study had as much influence on the world? Are innovators like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and Tim Berners-Lee rivalled by economists like John Maynard Keynes and Milton Friedman? Continue reading “Technology alone isn’t enough”

Why write?

What’s the difference between writers and journalists? Journalists write to inform the public about what’s happening in the world. Writers can write about themselves and imaginary worlds. I was reminded of the difference while reading the book, Why Write?

The author, Mark Edmundson, does not contrast writers and journalists. But he could be alluding to journalists when he talks about writers who “write to learn something”. They are sociable, equally at home with others, gathering material, and alone, writing, at their desks, he says. Continue reading “Why write?”

Feedbin, Feedly, Inoreader, Newsblur: News aggregators compared

The Readability bookmarking service was shut down on September 30. But Readability’s armchair icon can still be found in the Feedbin news aggregator. It’s what makes reading articles in Feedbin so simple and easy on the eye. Click on the armchair icon and you get to read the entire article from any website  in a clear, easy-to-read format without having to go to the website itself. Continue reading “Feedbin, Feedly, Inoreader, Newsblur: News aggregators compared”

The sensual strut of Dylan Thomas

Ah, the “sensual strut” of Dylan Thomas! I can’t forget those words of his.

I couldn’t recall the poem where he wrote those words, so I searched Google and found it. It’s not one of his best known poems, but those two words from it – “sensual strut” – sum up the appeal of Dylan Thomas, at least to me. Continue reading “The sensual strut of Dylan Thomas”

Hicky and Aveek Sarkar, Hastings and Mamata Banerjee

Reading about the first newspaper in India reminded me of Aveek Sarkar, the colourful newspaper proprietor.

He is also based in the same city, Calcutta (now called Kolkata), where the Irishman James Augustus Hicky launched the Bengal Gazette or the Original Calcutta General Advertiser in 1780. Continue reading “Hicky and Aveek Sarkar, Hastings and Mamata Banerjee”