David Bowie: Six Songs from Six Decades

  Daniel Kalder gives his take on David Bowie's long and consistently great music career, from Space Oddity to Blackstar... David Bowie: what a career, what a talent. When the news of his death broke on Monday I immediately shelved the piece I had prepared on his recent (and excellent) release, Blackstar. Instead- I now ... Read More...

Milan K. Part One: The Teenage Years

Daniel Kalder discovers a French comic book about Vladimir Putin, which reveals much about how western Europe struggles to categorise the Russian president... As regular visitors to this site will know, I have an interest in bandes dessinées, i.e. French comics. Every now and again I like to bring a particularly ... Read More...

A Short History of Useful Idiots

Daniel Kalder examines the phenomenon of otherwise intelligent people falling head-over-heels for murderous tyrants... Mussolini: you might think he was just a blustering fool in a fez, but once upon a time many people took him very seriously. I remember my shock when, aged 15 or so, I learned from my ... Read More...

Retroworld or, The EU in Space

Daniel Kalder on a space adventure that would really annoy Nigel Farage... I’ve never been much of a Star Trek fan. It’s not because I don’t like Science Fiction- Star Wars and alien invasion B-movies were a big part of my childhood, I grew up reading 2000AD, and I wrote my ... Read More...

Crime and punishment and posthumous pardons

Justice for the dead - Daniel Kalder wonders whether it makes sense... The other day I read an interesting story: Apparently a recent investigation in Russia’s Far East has just resulted in Fyodor Dostoyevsky being cleared of instigating contempt of court. I’m sure that came as a great relief to the ... Read More...

Bibliophile or Bibliomaniac?

Forced to move house, Daniel was facing the dreaded prospect of a book clearout. Luckily he managed to find a novel solution... This week I have been moving house, as my landlord decided to sell the building I was living in. It’s been a major pain in the neck, especially as ... Read More...