The politics of well-being is not a new phenomenon. There have been many times in history when governments have sought not merely to increase their coffers, but to enhance the well-being of their citizens. That, in fact, was the model of Christian society for some centuries; it was the philosophy behind Confucian societies; it was Read more…
Sunday, 4 September 2011
Thursday, 1 September 2011
[This is a fairly long essay about the, er, essay. If you want it in a downloadable and printable form, go here.] 1) My first stint in journalism was as an intern at Tatler magazine. It was in 2000, just after university, when I was suffering from acute social anxiety. Tatler magazine is not a Read more…
Friday, 26 August 2011
Well, I finished my book yesterday and sent in the manuscript. I’m off on holiday in a few days, but seeing as I’m kicking around at a loose end…here are some interesting things I’ve come across in the last few days. Howard Gardner, the Harvard psychologist who came up with the theory of multiple intelligences, Read more…
Saturday, 20 August 2011
Interesting times in the publishing industry. Last week, literary agent Andrew ‘the Jackal’ Wylie suggested authors would increasingly by-pass publishers to sign deals directly with Amazon. This week, we’ve seen the first big deal of this type, with Tim Ferriss, the author of the Four-Day Body, signing a seven-figure deal with Amazon, with royalties meant Read more…
Friday, 5 August 2011
This week, the stock market collapsed, the US government almost defaulted, the euro teetered, and – worst of all – the Beefeaters got accused of growing dope at the Tower of London. I mean…seriously folks….I knew things were bad, but growing dope at the Tower? It’s high treason! Thank you. I’ll be here all week. Read more…