tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2862729565948191502Tue, 10 Nov 2009 11:51:22 +0000http://voxford.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (John Kelly)Blogger195125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2862729565948191502.post-1785012210300821053Mon, 20 Oct 2008 10:10:00 +00002008-10-20T06:21:05.721-04:00Greetings to anyone who may have stumbled here from John Kelly's Commons, my new Washington Post blog. John Kelly's Voxford was the blog I wrote during my year in England. It's pretty much moribund, but if you, like me, occasionally pine for England, you might find some memories here, reasons both to miss England and to be glad you're not there. Here's something I wrote about British supermarketshttp://voxford.blogspot.com/2008/10/welcome-post-readers.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Kelly)4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2862729565948191502.post-2111170959774799871Sun, 21 Sep 2008 23:50:00 +00002008-09-21T20:17:02.157-04:00British lifeGuardianI'm in the Guardian again today, a Comment piece that had been pinging around in my head while I was living in England. The premise: The Brits don't have a problem with binge drinking. Well, they do, but that's just because they have a problem with binge everythinging.So, welcome to any Guardian readers who have washed up here at my blog. I'm afraid it's a little stale, given that my day job hashttp://voxford.blogspot.com/2008/09/guardian-angle-binge-britain.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Kelly)8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2862729565948191502.post-1685765121932996777Mon, 25 Aug 2008 11:08:00 +00002008-08-25T07:55:37.457-04:00Washington PostSqueezeI know there are plenty of people who don't believe I work at The Washington Post. (They are, of course, outnumbered by the people who don't care that I work at The Washington Post.) But I do, at least as of this morning, and physical proof can be found on Page B3 of today's edition:A rather easier way to read my column is to go to John Kelly's Washington at washingtonpost.com. I hope you'll readhttp://voxford.blogspot.com/2008/08/washington-post-march.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Kelly)14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2862729565948191502.post-1844784640947618572Thu, 31 Jul 2008 15:09:00 +00002008-12-08T17:35:36.691-05:00rollercoastersbeachvacationHard Rock ParkMyrtle BeachPawleys IslandMy Lovely Wife and I once competed to see who could come up with the least appropriate store for Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. What retail establishment would be most out of place among the crush of shell shops, henna tattoo joints and beachware emporia selling T-shirts emblazoned with "MILF in Training" and "I'm not as think as you drunk I am"? I won with a bookshop selling rare first editions http://voxford.blogspot.com/2008/07/for-your-amusement.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Kelly)12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2862729565948191502.post-8490526739268255866Fri, 18 Jul 2008 12:39:00 +00002008-07-18T09:07:32.976-04:00bloggersWashington PostSo, if certain technical hurdles can be overcome I will, before summer's end, be blogging on washingtonpost.com. The first hurdle, however, is coming up with a name. Will you help me?Obviously "John Kelly's Voxford" isn't gonna fly. But "John Kelly's Washington" is no good either, since the aim is to distinguish the blog from my column of that name. Taking a cue from Voxford I could go with "Johnhttp://voxford.blogspot.com/2008/07/whats-in-name-my-blog-needs-your-ideas.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Kelly)92tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2862729565948191502.post-1242151926708583650Fri, 11 Jul 2008 13:25:00 +00002008-12-08T17:35:36.819-05:00journalismnewspapersI emerged from the Farragut North Metro yesterday morning and collided with a metaphor. A man and a woman were hunched over the newspaper street racks at the corner of Connecticut and L NW. They were scraping the names of newspapers from the brown metal vending machines.The Financial Times had already come off. The Miami Herald had been reduced to "Miam" and the Richmond Times Dispatch was http://voxford.blogspot.com/2008/07/all-news-that-fits.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Kelly)11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2862729565948191502.post-1175185438817751303Fri, 27 Jun 2008 12:35:00 +00002008-12-08T17:35:37.803-05:00University ChurchOxfordgargoylesSt. Mary the VirginIn my manic final days in Oxford I raced around trying to do all the things I'd never found time for in the previous 10 months. I bought a pair of brown brogues at Ducker's on the Turl. I read a book in the Radcliffe Camera, the circular, light-filled reading room that is one of the Bodleian Library's signature elements. And I climbed to the top of the University Church of St. Mary the Virgin. http://voxford.blogspot.com/2008/06/most-gargoylish-friday-ever.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Kelly)6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2862729565948191502.post-7869038299925362440Thu, 26 Jun 2008 12:30:00 +00002008-12-08T17:35:38.053-05:00British lifeOxfordClearing out some of my iPhoto catalogue I came across a few typically English shots. This sign was tacked to a door at Green College:There are two things going on here. The first is the expression "on the latch," a veddy British expression which means to leave a door so it doesn't lock. I don't think we have that phrase in the U.S. The great U.K. pop band Squeeze includes the line in its song "http://voxford.blogspot.com/2008/06/signs-o-times.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Kelly)13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2862729565948191502.post-7274235008458114355Wed, 25 Jun 2008 12:35:00 +00002008-06-25T08:44:37.564-04:00carslectureDatsun roadsterI understand that there are certain native cultures in Africa where a person's wealth is determined by how many cows he owns. What's important isn't the condition of the cows, but the number. Ten scrawny, emaciated cows are preferable to five fat and healthy cows. We have the same thing in America, but we do it with cars instead of cows. Why have one flawless Toyota Camry when you can have a http://voxford.blogspot.com/2008/06/assault-with-battery-or-its-alive.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Kelly)9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2862729565948191502.post-2117283151679634764Tue, 24 Jun 2008 12:46:00 +00002008-12-08T17:35:38.461-05:00Oxfordair travelBritish AirCharlieIn the end, it was the most painfree trip we'd taken during our year abroad. No Heathrow Terminal 5 luggage roulette, like with Rome. No cattle-call RyanAir boarding hell, like with Dublin. No last-minute snag with the dog's crate, like when we'd moved to England in the first place. To paraphrase Shakespeare, nothing became Oxford like our leaving of it.We'd been fretting over our luggage--two http://voxford.blogspot.com/2008/06/amber-well-greenish-waves-of-grain.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Kelly)8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2862729565948191502.post-7230180485501952813Mon, 23 Jun 2008 03:59:00 +00002008-06-23T00:00:08.279-04:00OxfordCharlie's walk, the final ritual that I've done every morning for the last 10 months. The streets are bit different at 4 a.m. A man I recognize as a homeless Big Issue seller from St. Giles bicycles past on the Woodstock Road, followed 20 yards behind by his dog, trotting to keep up. Perhaps they do this every morning.Charlie and I walk around the basketball courts near the radio station, go http://voxford.blogspot.com/2008/06/sun-shines-on-oxford.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Kelly)11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2862729565948191502.post-3239091589248839977Fri, 20 Jun 2008 07:26:00 +00002008-12-08T17:35:38.806-05:00journalismtravelOxfordgargoylesEver tried to put 50 pounds of, um, anything in a 20-pound bag? Then you know exactly how our packing is going for our imminent return to the States. We brought too much with us when we came here 10 months ago. We bought a bunch of stuff while we were here. British Air reduced the weight of luggage passengers may bring. And now we're trying to pack.We're in a triage situation. If it's an article http://voxford.blogspot.com/2008/06/friday-grab-bag-last-days-of-saigon.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Kelly)6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2862729565948191502.post-6552654697078494985Wed, 18 Jun 2008 08:04:00 +00002008-12-08T17:35:39.100-05:00OxfordIrelandWoke early and tossed in bed. It's hard not to wake early these days, as the sun rises around 4:30 a.m. and doesn't wink out totally until going on 11. And it's hard not to toss in bed. My time in Oxford swirls around the drain and I have so many things to do before we leave: sell excess possessions (bicycles, printer, digital keyboard; make me an offer), arrange car rental, pack up, clean the http://voxford.blogspot.com/2008/06/saying-goodbye.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Kelly)18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2862729565948191502.post-6792610763227380814Fri, 13 Jun 2008 08:55:00 +00002008-12-08T17:35:39.441-05:00journalismgargoylesDaily MailCambridgeWhat is it with the Daily Mail and underarms? They're obsessed with whether female celebrities have shaved their armpits. Savvy celebrities who hope to avoid the Mail's censure by simply wearing a long-sleeved shirt are out of luck. As the paper reported this week: "Tara Palmer-Tomkinson flashes her sweaty armpits in transparent shirt." No, I have no idea who Tara Palmer-Tomkison is (can a readerhttp://voxford.blogspot.com/2008/06/shirt-happens-britnews-roundup.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Kelly)7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2862729565948191502.post-4905910955522879605Thu, 12 Jun 2008 08:59:00 +00002008-06-12T05:00:13.614-04:00journalismDaya Kishan ThussulectureReuters Institutecitizen journalismtelevisionBBC"News as Entertainment: The Rise of Global Infotainment" is the name of the new book from Daya Kishan Thussu. And Daya Kishan Thussu is the name of the University of Westminster professor who spoke yesterday to the Reuters Fellows. Just as one shouldn't judge a book by its cover, so one probably shouldn't judge a book by an hour-long seminar followed by an informal Q&A, and yet that's what I'm http://voxford.blogspot.com/2008/06/running-with-dogs-of-neo-liberal.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Kelly)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2862729565948191502.post-4886976247353551733Wed, 11 Jun 2008 07:55:00 +00002008-12-08T17:35:39.793-05:00videoBritish lifeLondonAt the Science Museum in London on Saturday I visited an exhibit called "Dan Dare & the Birth of Hi-Tech Britain." Dan was a 1950s English comic book hero, devoid of superpowers but possessed of that plucky can-do spirit that the British so love. The exhibit nicely integrated the futuristic comics with the strides the UK made as it pulled itself out of its post-WWII doldrums. There were examples http://voxford.blogspot.com/2008/06/strange-things-i-have-seen.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Kelly)8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2862729565948191502.post-4303102082987938215Tue, 10 Jun 2008 09:30:00 +00002008-12-08T17:35:40.738-05:00British lifebeeralcoholtravelOxfordHook Norton"Do not put your hands in any tubs of liquid," said Nick, our guide, as we entered the Hook Norton Brewery last week. Sensible advice anywhere, really. Putting your hands in strange tubs of liquid is a good way to lose your hand. It's also a way to get you kicked off a brewery tour. And since the whole point of a brewery tour is to get to the end of it so you can sample the beer you've just seen http://voxford.blogspot.com/2008/06/beer-glorious-beer.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Kelly)10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2862729565948191502.post-1427874964593934723Mon, 09 Jun 2008 12:00:00 +00002008-12-08T17:35:43.183-05:00travelOxfordcarsMiniI suppose it makes sense that if people want to act like robots, robots might want to act like people. After all, robots are built by people, to do the things that people do, but to do them more precisely, uncomplainingly, and without ever tiring.That's one of the conclusions I came to after touring the factory where they make the Mini. The human workforce is impressive, of course--some 4,700 "http://voxford.blogspot.com/2008/06/factory-fresh-touring-mini-plant.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Kelly)9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2862729565948191502.post-7575563003180539938Fri, 06 Jun 2008 08:43:00 +00002008-12-08T17:35:43.276-05:00journalismgargoylesDaily MailtabloidsAs different as England and America may be--right-hand drive vs. left-hand drive, "colour" vs. "color," Robbie Williams vs. Robin Williams--it's nice to know that we share some basic traits. One of those is the genetic makeup of the women who ladle out school food. In the States we call them "cafeteria ladies." Here they're known as "dinner ladies." Whatever you call them, they appear to be hewn http://voxford.blogspot.com/2008/06/friday-grab-bag-britnews-roundup.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Kelly)7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2862729565948191502.post-2249453019715325150Mon, 02 Jun 2008 15:18:00 +00002008-12-08T17:35:43.916-05:00Charlie BrookerWashingtonStill beavering away on the paper, so not much in the way of blogging, I'm afraid. But I offer some spatial dislocation to my Washington readers. Here's a photo of Kenilworth Avenue:See, it is Kenilworth Avenue--in Oxford:Non-Washingtonian readers must forgive me. Washington's Kenilworth Avenue is a typically post-apocalyptic suburban highway stuffed with fast food joints, auto parts stores and http://voxford.blogspot.com/2008/06/where-am-i.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Kelly)11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2862729565948191502.post-6463261089723110301Fri, 30 May 2008 09:38:00 +00002008-12-08T17:35:44.146-05:00gargoylesDaily MailhedgehogsSharon StoneBBCDo we really want monkeys able to control robotic arms with their brains? I mean, do scientists even think these things through? To them, it's all "Wouldn't it be great if monkeys could control robotic arms," giving little thought to how it might all end: bionic monkeys rampaging, Terminator-like, through our streets, smashing our doors down with one swing of their mighty robotic arms.Much betterhttp://voxford.blogspot.com/2008/05/friday-grab-bag-monkey-brains-mashup.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Kelly)12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2862729565948191502.post-6331647653389931377Mon, 26 May 2008 06:03:00 +00002008-05-26T02:05:49.762-04:00GuardianNo entry today--it's May Blog Holiday here in the UK--but I offer a commentary I have in the Guardian today on, well, dog crap.http://voxford.blogspot.com/2008/05/waste-not-want-definitely-not.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Kelly)12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2862729565948191502.post-6877756006829590617Fri, 23 May 2008 09:36:00 +00002008-12-08T17:35:45.533-05:00gargoylesDaily MailDaily TelegraphanimalsIs Bella the mongrel the world's oldest living dog? The Daily Mail says she may be 169 years old "in doggie years." But what's this: The Daily Telegraph says Bella is "more than 200 years in canine years." 169? 200? Which one is correct? British owner David Richardson said he's had the Labrador mix for 26 years and she was about three when he got her, making her 29. And anyway, shouldn't that http://voxford.blogspot.com/2008/05/friday-grab-bag-britnews-roundup.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Kelly)8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2862729565948191502.post-1014291263945065007Thu, 22 May 2008 08:44:00 +00002008-12-08T17:35:46.744-05:00travelcarsI like old cars, interesting cars...any cars, I suppose. In Europe, and in England especially, you have a better of chance of seeing something cool than you do in the United States. Here are a few that have captivated me over the last eight months.An old Skoda in Prague:A Fiat 500 in Rome:A Smart car parked outside the Ferrari dealership in Berlin:A Citroen that parks around the corner from my http://voxford.blogspot.com/2008/05/get-your-motor-running.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Kelly)7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2862729565948191502.post-1440491079245836033Wed, 21 May 2008 08:56:00 +00002008-12-08T17:35:47.055-05:00British lifetravelroundaboutsCambridgeYou'd think I would have learned my lesson. After traveling from Oxford to Cambridge by bus last year I did it again this week. It's a punishing trip, not dissimilar to the Middle Passage that ferried kidnapped Africans across the Atlantic. Three-and-a-half hours and only about 20 minutes of that are on roads of anything wider than two lanes. I wrote before about the nausea-inducing whipsaw http://voxford.blogspot.com/2008/05/71-roundabouts.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Kelly)4