Christopher Fowler's Blog, page 478

The Dead In London

I don't really like Halloween. I didn't grow up with the event (I think it was imported into London in the 70′s) and it feels like an excuse to sell stuff to kids, rather than anything real. I can see why it caught on over here, with easy colour-coding and things to buy, but it [...]

Celebrity 10: Transformation

We're rehearsing the play upstairs in a pub that seems to be slowly filling up with furniture. This week it's chairs, not any old chairs but ones that look like they've been shifted off the set of a King Arthur movie. They weigh a ton and all have to be moved, along with King Arthur's [...]

Extinct Creatures

A global conservation study has warned today that one fifth of animal and plant species are under the threat of extinction.

So here's a question: Would you prefer to have a beautiful animal, butterfly, bird or even insect back from the edge of extinction in return for replacing it with something else for the extinction list? [...]

10 Ways To Tell You Live In London

Since London expanded to include all sorts of geographical bits 'n' bobs that used to warrant a day trip to the countryside to visit, it's hard to tell what's London and what's not. The old tube-zone ruling doesn't work as well as it did, so here's a guide.

1. A changing traffic light means 'Run Now!' [...]

Re:View – 'Splice'

Easily the most underrated (and unseen) SF film of the year, 'Splice' revisits the rich territory of experimental science with a story that feels closely allied to Cronenberg's remake of 'The Fly'. Director Vincenzo Natali made 'Cube' and here makes another small-scale drama rich by applying intelligent SF ideas to it.

Two scientists in love, [...]

I Like 'i', But…

The new 'i' newspaper just came out today, and apart from hating the stupid name (how can you email that title to anyone – you should have thought it through, guys!) it's pretty good. Is it 'more upmarket', though? It doesn't seem to be.

Yes, there are serious articles; mortgages, the NHS, Obama, world politics, technology, [...]

The New Spam

'I love it – I'm having spam, spam, spam, spam and spam!'

Actually I don't love it, and especially now, when sites like mine are being hit by a new kind of rubbish spam. What happens is, someone selling, oh, I don't know, sofa covers, writes a comment saying 'I love your work, especially when they [...]

London's New Skyline

The Cheesegrater is back. And so is the Walkie-Talkie.

These skyscrapers had been placed on hold amid fears that the property market would continue falling and the banking crisis would deepen, but in a sign of renewed confidence they've been de-mothballed, and work is starting on them again.

The Cheesegrater will be at 122 Leadenhall near Lloyd's [...]

How A School Stopped The Bullying

I was intrigued to read today about how one London school has ended the problem of homophobic bullying – something which has led to an increase in suicides around the world.

Over the last five years, Stoke Newington Secondary School brought bullying to a standstill by teaching its classes about the wartime code-breaker and father of [...]

Britain Gets A New Newspaper

Having written for the Independent for a number of years I may be a bit prejudiced, but I'm looking forward to tomorrow's launch of i, the first new quality newspaper to be launched in the UK in a quarter of a century. This now brings the number of national newspapers to 12, but I can [...]