http://www.the-pamphleteer.com an experiment in citizen journalism Tue, 05 May 2009 19:21:54 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en By its advertisers shall ye know it - aftershave, televisions, watches, masculine skincare - could it be that the new British version of Wired isn't that interested in the geek market anymore? [caption id="attachment_125" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Wired UK, relaunched in April 2009 (Photo: Josh Russell)"][/caption] Back in the 1990s, when Wired was ... http://www.the-pamphleteer.com/2009/05/the-future-but-not-as-exciting-as-it-used-to-be/ [caption id="attachment_117" align="alignright" width="225" caption="Photo by Jovike"][/caption] It's too easy to criticise The Apprentice. The show is pitched as the world's toughest job interview, in which our brightest and best young business minds compete for a £100k job by demonstrating their superior managerial skills, financial acumen and commercial savvy. But despite ... http://www.the-pamphleteer.com/2009/03/the-apprentice/ Guitar bands are over and girlie electro has triumphed. But dyed-in-the-wool indie-kid, Helen Sloan, finds this a cause for celebration, not commiseration. [caption id="attachment_106" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Photo by Whittlz"][/caption] Indie-rock is dead. The future, apparently, is lady-led electro-pop - Lady Gaga, Little Boots et al - together they form an invincible forcefield ... http://www.the-pamphleteer.com/2009/03/dancing-on-indy-musics-grave-in-fabulous-heels/ [caption id="attachment_76" align="alignleft" width="166" caption="Photo by Chris Dessaigne"][/caption] Homes and decorating magazines are the latest victims of the credit crunch. Circulation figures for Living etc, 25 Beautiful Homes and my personal favourite, the musty-bookshelved, gilt-gessoed World of Interiors, are all heading unceremoniously down the CP Hart marble-and-bronze toilet. This is no doubt ... http://www.the-pamphleteer.com/2009/02/elle-deco-editor-solves-economic-crisis/ Something has gone badly wrong with video games. Once the exclusive domain of geeky boys, gaming has become not just socially acceptable but, well, actually quite popular with normal people. This sad state of affairs is the unfortunate consequence of a long-running de-nerdification of the video games industry: 1947 - The ... http://www.the-pamphleteer.com/2009/02/games-arent-just-for-geeks-any-more-sadly/ [caption id="attachment_44" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Brown and Obama"][/caption] It must have come as a great relief to ‘special relationship’ watchers in the UK that Barack Obama chose Gordon Brown as the first European leader to ring when he assumed office (albeit well after his calls to leaders on other continents). The news ... http://www.the-pamphleteer.com/2009/02/smile-youre-special/ [caption id="attachment_36" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Peter Ustinov with Michael Parkinson in 1971"][/caption] One of the big cultural fibs going around today is that this, uniquely, is the Age of the Celebrity; a time that is defined by our fascination with people who are famous, but we’re not entirely sure what for. There’s actually ... http://www.the-pamphleteer.com/2009/02/the-death-of-the-well-rounded-celebrity/