worries from Oli Clark on Vimeo.

“First time I read the dictionary, I thought it was a poem about everything.” Steven Wright.

I love lists. I don’t love them in the classic interview answer way: “I’m a very organized person, I love making lists”; I love them in the cliched contemporary theatre director way: “I love reading lists”.

Lists are a simple way of breaking away from the tyranny of ‘the story’ because they don’t share the rules of a story. They have beginnings, middles and ends only in so far as there is always the first entry, the last entry and some in the middle. Continue reading “The joy of index” »

Where better to fry your brain than the British Neuroscience Association Festival of Neuroscience?

The various stall holders here insist that none of their equipment will fry your (or a mouse’s) brain, merely measure or stimulate it’s activity. This is more than some of the speakers can guarantee, but then that’s not their fault, I’ve the right to be here but no right to understand anything that’s being said. Continue reading “Neuroscience Conference” »

Our agent at Birmingham University tipped me off about a free public lecture by Dr. Elaine Fulton for the Cadbury Research Library. Knowing my fondness for and familiarity with The Anatomy of Melancholy the agent thought I may be interested in The Nuremberg Chronicle; indeed I was. I went and I learned some stuff, another piece in the vast jigsaw of everything that will never be completed. Anyway that’s not the point, the point is – what an amazing treat it was to be able to go and listen to a clever person at a university talk about something interesting but obscure for 45 minutes and this reminded me how much I love universities, which is a lot. Continue reading “Universities” »

So the race is officially on for cities wishing to become UK City of Culture in 2021 succeeding Hull this year and Derry-Londonderry back in 2013.

We are familiar with this concept. The title throws spotlight on culture in a particular city for a particular year. Glasgow famously used its status as European City of Culture in 1990 as a catalyst to rebrand and regenerate itself and Liverpool repeated the trick when the title had escalated to European Capital of Culture in 2008. Winning the title UK equivalent doesn’t come with a cash prize but it is claimed Hull has raised a budget of £32m. Handled correctly the title generates a publicity bonanza for the winner, community pride, international tourism and increased chances of the city winning bids to host other cultural events across that year. Continue reading “Coventry City of Culture 2021?” »