Podcasts, Radio, TV, Books, Cycling, Photography and More
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RAJAR Q3 2026
This post is brought to you in association with RALF from DP Software and Services. I’ve used RALF for the many years, and it’s my favourite RAJAR analysis tool. So I am delighted that I continue to be able to bring you this RAJAR analysis in association with RALF. For more details on the product, contact Deryck Pritchard via…
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Mars
Mars really is spectacular at the moment. Without even trying, and just looking up in a firework filled, and streetlight heavy London sky, it’s very easy to spot – just near The Pleiades. In other news, Inmarsat is launching a massive satellite on Monday afternoon which is part of their global broadband system. It’s being…
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Current Word Of Our Time
Juicy
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Magazine Malarkey
I love reading magazines, and buy far too many. But some of the marketing scams are beginning to really annoy me (As a small aside, people who call magazines “books” should be shot, and then frogmarched down to their local Ottakers, Waterstones, Blackwells, Borders or library and shown what a “book” looks like). I think…
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Free DVDs
While the newspapers continue to spend money on promotions like it’s going out of fashion, I’m happy to reap the rewards. So this weekend, on Saturday there’s Like Water For Chocolate in The Independent, which I haven’t seen for years, but enjoyed at the time. On Sunday, the Sunday Telegraph has the slightly strange Orlando,…
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Talk to the Hand
This time two years, Lynne Truss’ Eats, Shoots and Leaves was the de facto gift for those people you hadn’t already bought a Christmas gift for. And yes, I do know that we’re not in any way close to Christmas yet. It really annoyed me seeing the “gift” sections of Waterstones and WH Smiths today.…
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Good Night And Good Luck
“Good night and good luck” was the sign-off given by Edward R Murrow, and it’s the title of an astonishingly good film directed by, and co-starring George Clooney which examines Murrow’s battle against the tyrant Joseph McCarthy. Clooney plays Murrow’s produced Fred Friendly, but the real star of the show is undoubtedly David Strathairn as…
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The Sun Editor
While spousal abuse is no laughing matter, there’s something ludicrous about this remarkable story. I did a double take when I saw it come up as “Breaking News” on Sky News (who, to their credit, ran the story as big as it deserves, despite being a fellow News Corp outlet). [Update] This story gets stranger…
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Bach To The Drawing Board On Downloads
It looks like the Beeb have backed down on the issue of downloads, and there won’t be any Bach Concertos, Suites or Masses available free of charge at the end of the year when the BBC plays his entire repertoire. I’ve argued before how this is exactly what the BBC should be doing – particularly…
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The Avengers on BBC Four
Have I told you how much I love BBC Four? Truly, madly, deeply – that’s how much. I’ve just seen a trailer to say that The Avengers are coming soon on the channel. Fantastic news! From the looks of the stylish trail, they’re starting with the Emma Peel episodes. Roll on the re-released DVDs…
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Sky News Again
I’m not entirely convinced that Sky News have quite got their new widescreen system sorted out. Viewed on a 4:3 TV, there are some strange distortions in some clips, in particular, people appearing wide and fat (as opposed to the tall and thin you might expect). It means that close ups of Adam Boulton become…
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Funland Scheduling
OK, what genius scheduled BBC Three’s new comedy thriller Funland? Heavily trailed across terrestrial channels, it premiered with an hour long episode on Sunday at 10.00pm. The next episode followed tonight, except that it was actually two episodes back to back. In fact, they could easily have edited out the end credits and opening credit…
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Pulp Fiction In Breach
This really annoys me. Basically BBC Three (a channel I’ve railed against before, but Funland was quite good last night, and Stuart Murphy’s going, so who knows), has been found in breach of showing Pulp Fiction too soon after the watershed. In the past the BBC has played the film from 9.45pm which is seemingly…
Hadrian’s Wall
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