Surviving Black Wednesday - and checking out the Big Four
Nicky Woolf's first Edinburgh diary. Wednesday, August 8. Day One. Today, auspiciously for my arrival, is “black Wednesday”. This is the day when shows will statistically report their lowest audience...
View ArticleCameron is the biggest political loser of the Olympics
Booed by the crowds and overshadowed by Boris, Cameron has not had a good Games.It's not hard to identify the political winners of the Olympics. Boris Johnson, who never missed an opportunity to make a...
View ArticleWhy Cameron is wrong about "Indian dance" classes
The PM has again displayed his ignorance.After Boris Johnson called for the reinstatement of the two-hours-a-week school sports target (indeed, he suggested that children do two hours of sport a day),...
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FRED imports EU inflation data; stats nerds jump for joy, start charting things
French healthcare inflation vs US healthcare inflation! Beer inflation! Spanish inflation!A secret weapon in the armoury of economics bloggers is the St Louis Federal Reserve's FRED, a tool which the...
View ArticleThe Friday Arts Diary
Our cultural picks for the week ahead.Art Spread across the city, Edinburgh - Festival Promenade, 2 August – 2 September All Edinburgh Festival punters soon realise that the main problem facing them is...
View ArticleThatcher is the key to the Leveson inquiry
The Leveson inquiry marks the end of an era that began with Thatcher – the figure at the eye of a storm that has been 30 years in the making. Margaret Thatcher was not the first to leverage the...
View ArticleThe economics of spam
Junk emails cost $20bn a year. Not just an irritation.Here's a fascinating new paper (pdf) from the Journal of Economic Perspectives on the economics of spam, by Justin Rao and David Reiley: The...
View ArticleBBC Scotland denies pro-SNP bias
Broadcaster denies claims that Newsnight Scotland is biased towards the Scottish National Party.The BBC has published a letter in today's Scotsman defending itself against claims that Newsnight...
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Chart of the day: sneaky spammers
The above chart is taken from a fascinating new paper (pdf) from the Journal of Economic Perspectives on the economics of spam, by Justin Rao and David Reiley, discussed further here. It shows the...
View ArticleMeta-theatre, voyeurism and the vogue for Lecoq
Nicky Woolf's second Edinburgh diary. August 9. Day two. The day dawns with rude punctuality. I am not, by inclination, an early riser, but by seven the sun is shining through the open window on my...
View ArticleThe Muslim Zakat: a vision of the "big society"?
Re-awakening a sense of comradery.The holy month of Ramadan - a time of fasting and intense spiritual reflection and worship for Muslims - is now well underway. A central feature of this sacred month...
View ArticleHas Mitt Romney picked Paul Ryan as his running mate?
Republican rumours say so.Mitt Romney is to name Paul Ryan as his running mate on Saturday morning, according to Republican sources. The vice-presidential candidate will be named at an event on the USS...
View ArticleAlan White's Olympics diary: The 2012 Olympics alternative awards
Yes, it’s the laziest of all journalistic tropes. But still, what would any sporting event be without an alternative set of awards?The Gerald Ratner Garland for Brand Promotion Failure: As the games...
View ArticleFormer Polly Peck tycoon Asil Nadir guilty of theft
Former Polly Peck tycoon Asil Nadir has been found guilty of three counts of theft.The jury at the Old Bailey is continuing to deliberate over nine further allegations of theft, and has cleared of one...
View ArticleNicky Woolf's Edinburgh Diary: Late-night comedy revues
Comedy at the Fringe is as much about the night-life as the day-life.Edinburgh is as much about the night-life as the day-life, and it's not just for barflys; most comedians and comedy groups up at the...
View ArticleLocal TV won't catch on
Local enthusiasm about new TV franchises is not shared.Having previously been highly sceptical of Jeremy Hunt’s plans to set up a new shoestring local TV network across the UK I have to admit to this...
View ArticleAugusta National golf club, host of the US Masters, accepts first female members
Condoleezza Rice and Darla Moore are the first two women accepted.The Augusta National golf club, in Georgia, US, has just admitted its first two female members, former Secretary of State Condoleezza...
View ArticleShould city-specific immigration come to London?
Imagine handing control of immigration to Boris. OK, not the best way to sell it, but still...Brandon Fuller, a researcher for the NYU Stern Urbanization Project, suggests that American cities could...
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Chart of the day: Who won at the Euro game?
A recent UBS research note, covered by FT Alphaville, suggests that the single currency has benefited Europe's periphery to the detriment of its core. As the graph shows, the Union's worst debtors –...
View ArticleDiana Athill: "Nobody likes the thought of dying – which could be very...
The editor and memoirist on death, life writing and nannying Jean Rhys.On Saturday 25 August, the former editor, publisher and memoirist Diana Athill will be appearing at the Voewood Festival in...
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