2008 April: Others
Anchor: Base Index
Other months: March May
Other areas: Business
climate computing education
health international Internet
science social
technology
These are grouped into topics that don't fit elsewhere.
Topics: Books grist
history humour
miscellaneous people places
writing
Ed Pilkington, Emotions run high at Harry Potter's A to Z trial, Guardian, 2008 Apr. 16 (witnesses at copyright infringement hearing seem unable to deliver their testimony without bursting into tears)
Nick Cohen, Satirists once had real bite. Not any more, Observer, 2008 Apr. 6 (: it is never easy to tell the difference between a double-glazing salesman and an artist with a new project to sell)
William Wootten, Dead dogs down under, Guardian, 2008 Apr. 5 (Wootten is charmed by the slithering syntax of John Kinsella's Shades of the Sublime and Beautiful)
Children's books: storytime may be ending for British children, Economist, 2008 Apr. 5 (why storytime may be ending for British children)
James Randerson, Teleportation, time travel and aliens—a vision of tomorrow today, Guardian, 2008 Apr. 2 (in his new book, The Physics of the Impossible, published in the UK today, Professor Michio Kaku, of City University in New York, rates seemingly impossible phenomena according to how likely they are to happen)
Graeme Philipson, Minding the store, The Age, 2008 Apr. 1 (one of my favourite publications used to be a little volume sponsored by EMC and published every two years by the University of California in Berkeley; called How Much Information, it estimated the total amount of information in the world - in books, newspapers, films and stored in optical and magnetic devices)
Third of girls 'have self-harmed', BBC, 2008 Apr. 25 (a third of UK girls and a fifth of boys aged 11 to 19 have tried to harm themselves, a survey suggests)
Darren Waters, Stark warning for internet's future, BBC, 2008 Apr. 24 (is the future of the open and innovative internet at risk?; with the second billion of the planet's citizens due to go online in the next 10 years and an avalanche of online-enabled devices hitting the market with each passing year it would be understandable to assume that the internet is in a healthy position)
Clay Lucas, Act on rail bashings: inspectors, The Age, 2008 Apr. 23 (train passengers are bashing Connex ticket inspectors at an alarming rate, their union says, with 16 admitted to hospital in the past year)
Stephen Cauchi, Exercise gets a Wii bit technical, The Age, 2008 Apr. 20 (call it The Great Indoors; from May 8, Australians will be able to do ski jumping, snow boarding, even tightrope walking - indoors)
Gerard Wright, Building a home in LA, city of angels and AK-47s, The Age, 2008 Apr. 19 (in American cities with high rates of violent crime, urban designers are increasingly providing security where the police fail to)
Video games immune to US slowdown, BBC, 2008 Apr. 18 (US sales of video game consoles and software have grown 57% over the past year, defying the economic downturn)
Mark Lawson, Not in front of the adults, Guardian, 2008 Apr. 18 (the rules governing bad language on TV seek to protect the innocent; but who are they exactly?)
Schools facing gang challenge, BBC, 2008 Apr. 17 (schools are dealing with the "side effects" of gang culture including weapons, according to research)
Neil Davey, Game review: NEVES, Guardian, 2008 Apr. 17 (a puzzler based on an Asian-style paper game with an amiable learning curve that, on occasion, goes vertical)
Michael Fitzpatrick, Robots nag and sofas whine in the land of digital natives, Guardian, 2008 Apr. 17 (South Korea's investment in new tech has led to a booming economy and the world's most wired citizens)
Bridie Smith, 10-point plan for skills crisis, The Age, 2008 Apr. 17 (the national skills shortage could be solved by increasing school and apprenticeship completion rates and giving more support to teachers and trainers, according to a plan by employer and industry groups)
Cate Blanchett and Julianne Schultz, Reviving a creative nation, The Age, 2008 Apr. 16 (to flourish, society depends on a strong cultural heritage as well as innovation; the challenge is to breathe new life into the arts)
Jill Stark, Call for tax rise on potent drinks to curb 'crisis', The Age, 2008 Apr. 15 (alcohol-fuelled violence has reached "crisis point" with new research revealing that one in five Australians has been affected by the problem)
Mobility: Homo mobilis, Economist, 2008 Apr. 12 (as language goes, so does thought; part of a special report)
Bridie Smith, Declining maths study a worry, The Age, 2008 Apr. 9 (a report has found students are shunning advanced maths in senior school years, in part because of a poor experience with the subject; releasing the report yesterday, acting Prime Minister Julia Gillard said fostering student interest in maths was the key to providing "the skills vital for our nation's future wellbeing")
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Annabel Stafford, Dylan Welch and Jordan Baker, High school attackers glorify violence on the net, The Age, 2008 Apr. 9 (one of them goes by the name of "Ruthless-tongan", another by "Let the Ass Kickin Begin"; there's also a group calling itself the "Original Gee40", whose slogan is "Not to be feared, but respected")
David Selbourne, This police state hysteria, Guardian, 2008 Apr. 8 (fanciful libertarians are promoting an idea of freedom that is really the right to do as one pleases)
Jo Tuckman, Beatings and abuse give Mexico's emo teens plenty to feel anguished about, Observer, 2008 Apr. 6 (emos admit they have no ideology beyond insisting on their right to do what they want)
Melinda Houston, Outside the box, The Age, 2008 Apr. 6 (television networks are embracing innovation, interaction and the internet in their pursuit of a tech-savvy, entertain-me-on-demand generation)
Larissa Dubecki, WHen the pen was mightier than the keyboard, The Age, 2008 Apr. 5 (the ubiquity of the computer has relegated good penmanship to the level of scribbles in the margin; children raised on a diet of television and computer games don't develop the hand motor skills that used to be gained as a matter of course through traditional play, says Wakefield, such as using Lego, digging in the dirt and stacking objects together)
Lee Glendinning, The human cost of trying to make geniuses, The Age, 2008 Apr. 5 (the sad story of an English girl whose father pushed her into university at age 13 highlights the risks of hothouse learning)
Aleks Krotoski, It's official: gaming won't turn you into a serial killer, Guardian, 2008 Apr. 3 (the Byron Review highlights a generational gap that harks back to the heady early days of rock'n'roll)
Computers to merge with humans, BBC, 2008 Apr. 2 (by 2020 the terms "interface" and "user" will be obsolete as computers merge ever closer with humans: one prediction in a Microsoft-backed report)
Phil Beadle, On teaching: A step too far, Guardian, 2008 Apr. 1 (computers are no substitute for the real thing)
Peter Wilby, A tonic for the phonics queen, Guardian, 2008 Apr. 1 (in the reading wars, Ruth Miskin is riding high as her method for learning to read takes centre stage)
Dan Glaister, Silicon Valley meetings go topless, Guardian, 2008 Apr. 1 (companies are urging employees to leave laptops on their desks when attending office meetings and engage in human interaction)
Bill Thompson, Who will write tomorrow's code?, BBC, 2008 Apr. 1 (by and large we are merely users of the systems provided, pressing buttons and keys in response to prompts, using 'creativity' tools that constrain our invention, and putting up with failures, disappointments and crashes)
Vincent Dowd, Oil painting 'originated in East', BBC, 2008 Apr. 22 (painting with oils took place in ancient Afghanistan long before it was known in Europe, researchers say)
Ben Schneiders, The waterfront battle and its powerful legacy, The Age, 2008 Apr. 5 (ten years ago next week Australia witnessed one of the most dramatic moments in its industrial history; who really won?)
Danny Katz, Shampoo. A word that will leave you in tears, The Age, 2008 Apr. 17 (some things in life are so abominably GODAWFUL they have their godawfulness built right into their names - things such as Horlicks, which is a yeasty malty English beverage, and only tastes more Horlicky when you drink it warm)
Facebook and Google: Poaching, Economist, 2008 Apr. 12 (the defection of a prized chef is a worrying portent)
Tom Hyland, Alas, poor language, The Age, 2008 Apr. 6 (Gobbledegook is a complex art form, but Kevin Rudd has mastered it effortlessly)
Simon Hoggart, Terminal mints and cheesy muffins, Guardian, 2008 Apr. 5 (everyone seems to be obsessed these days with being in constant touch with everybody else)
Miki Perkins, April Fools' joke backfires on student, The Age, 2008 Apr. 2 (a hoax bomb threat was emailed to all senior school students at Haileybury College, an independent school in the south-eastern suburb of Keysborough, about 9.30am yesterday)
Kathryn Hughes, April Fools' dismay, Guardian, 2008 Apr. 1 (most people reach the age of 41 before they tire of practical jokes; I was six and three-quarters)
Jim Schembri, The Paperless Society: we got gypped, folks, The Age, 2008 Apr. 1 (paper cuts prove that the future has failed us)
Charles Peattie and Russell Taylor, The Alex Cartoon Strip, IHT, 2007 April (highlights: 23 25)
Jacquie Byron, The netting circle, The Age, 2008 Apr. 17 (trestle tables have been replaced by keyboards for many Melbourne crafters thanks to a website based in Brooklyn)
Stephen Moss, The fine art of extracting an interview bombshell, Guardian, 2008 Apr. 3 (Ginny Dougary goes into interviews looking to find something out, rather than be smart or play the publicist's game)
Mark Brown, All change: Mint unveils new coin designs, Guardian, 2008 Apr. 3 (goodbye from Britannia and farewell from the crowned lion, thistle, plumed ostrich feathers and portcullis)
Adam Tschorn, Obama finds a reliable type to deliver message, The Age, 2008 Apr. 2 (in the US presidential race, typefaces say almost as much as the words they form)
Melissa Fyfe, Swimming with bluefin tuna lucrative starter for locals fishing for tourists, The Age, 2008 Apr. 24 (the little tour boat idles outside one of the many mansions in South Australia's Port Lincoln marina. This particular waterside palace stretches across three blocks and belonged to Tony Santic, tuna millionaire and owner of champion horse Makybe Diva)
Edwin Maher: bias cuts both ways, The Age, 2008 Apr. 13 (once known for his quirky pointers as the weatherman on the ABC news, Edwin Maher now anchors the English-language news for China Central Television)
James Randerson, Revealed: the vegetarian Eden that was home to Adam, Eve and T Rex, Guardian, 2008 Apr. 5 (Dawkins's worst nightmare, Australian creationist preacher Ken Ham, takes his literalist Biblical message on a tour of the UK)
Sherrill Nixon, Power talking, The Age, 2008 Apr. 5 (some consider him Australia's most powerful thinker; others stress he is also a man of action; as co-chairman of this month's 2020 Summit, Melbourne University vice-chancellor Glyn Davis is confident it can be much more than a meaningless gabfest)
Sarah Churchwell, Ornery rendition, Guardian, 2008 Apr. 4 (Oliver Stone's Bush biopic?; it's a tale of two Americans playing fast and loose with the truth)
Ed Pilkington, Oliver Stone rushes to finish Bush film, Guardian, 2008 Apr. 3 (script asks: 'How did an alcoholic bum become most powerful leader in world?')
Gerard Wright, Building a home in LA, city of angels and AK-47s, The Age, 2008 Apr. 19 (in American cities with high rates of violent crime, urban designers are increasingly providing security where the police fail to)
Carmel Egan, Never-ending stream threatens to run dry, The Age, 2008 Apr. 13 (water from Victoria's once seemingly limitless underground reservoirs is being sucked up by thirsty towns, farms and irrigators faster than it can be replaced)
David Adam, The Thames it is a-changin': wildlife returns to the river, Guardian, 2008 Apr. 8 (a colony of seahorses has made the river its home it has been revealed, along with fish, dolphins, seals and porpoises)
Adam Morton, Garnaut floats Gippsland as greenhouse gas trap, The Age, 2008 Apr. 5 (in a speech to the State Government's climate change summit, Professor Garnaut said the Latrobe Valley and Bass Strait had an extraordinary number of sites suitable for storing greenhouse gas underground)