Ofcom has ruled that an advert about the congestion charge shown on ITV earlier this month directed viewers to a website that “contained material that was almost exclusively in support of the congestion charge” and, as such, broke the Television Advertising Code rules on political impartiality. You might think this is quite a serious [...]

I went to see the Le Corbusier exhibition in Liverpool yesterday. It was pretty good, although I found the layout a bit confusing - I prefer a chronological approach rather than a thematic one if it’s not a subject I’m especially familiar with. I’d also have liked a bit more of a focus on the [...]

If you’ve been following me on Twitter (that’s about three people then), you’ll have noticed that on Saturday I went on “holiday” up the M1.
Starting at the Ace Cafe bikers’ hangout on the North Circular - a prototype for the modern service station that reopened in 1994 after a 25-year closure - we travelled up [...]

One of a series designed by Tristan Eaton, with quotes from real voters. If you ask me, and I’m aware you probably aren’t, this has every chance of becoming a future design classic. More here.

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I’m thoroughly enjoying Journey to the East, Jamie Hewlett and Damon Albarn’s animated title sequence for the BBC’s Olympics coverage. Much better than some of the dross that’s actually taking place in Beijing - I mean, really, who wants to watch the Czech Republic win gold in shooting, let alone watch it in high definition, [...]

I went to the closing down sale of Danish furniture shop Ilva in Manchester today. Predictably, the place was a lot busier than the two previous times I’ve been there.
When Ilva opened its three UK stores a couple of years ago - in Thurrock, Gateshead and Piccadilly - it was supposed to be the new [...]

Coldplay have started dressing like extras from Les Miserables. I saw them on Jonathan Ross last night; they were wearing vaguely military garb and seemed to have bits of flag tied around their arms. At least one of them was wearing a stupid hat.
I suppose it ties in with the artwork for their new album, [...]

Amazon’s Kindle e-book reader, which was launched last November, appears to be undergoing what might be called a soft relaunch with the help of the Guardian. Apparently, nobody likes the expensive, horrible-looking gadget but it’s rated as Bloody Great by, er, Amazon.
According to the paper’s report from the US BookExpo trade fair, Amazon CEO Jeffrey [...]

Since Simon Cowell rolls his eyes and tuts like a bored suburban housewife following virtually every act that appears on Britain’s Got Talent (which his company, Syco, co-produces), why doesn’t he just piss off and do something else for a living?
Just a thought.
Similarly, am I the only person who finds it faintly disturbing when Cowell [...]

Can there be anything more depressing than the new British film Three and Out? I haven’t seen it, of course, because it’s shit. How do I know it’s shit if I haven’t seen it, you ask. Well, just look at the poster (I reply) - in fact, just look at the font used on the [...]