Robert Sharp

Pupil Barrister

Category: Diary (Page 153 of 300)

Things that happen to me, or things I do

Harper Lee on the Modern World

1 June 2010 / / 2 Comments

In The Times, Ben MacIntyre quotes Harper Lee, in one of her very few public utterances since 1964:

Today, aged 84, the author of one of the bestselling novels of the last century lives as she has always lived, with her older sister, in Monroeville, surrounded by books. In one of the very few quotable things she has said in the past 40 years, she remarked: “In an abundant society where people have laptops, cell phones, iPods and minds like empty rooms, I still plod along with books.”

I am tired of this lazy shortcut, which equates using technology with stupidity of having an ’empty mind’.  Clay Shirky’s essay on ‘Cognitive Surplus’ (which I believe is the topic of an entire book to be published next week) dismantles this idea.  What do Lee and the other smug detractors of the Internet think we are doing with all this technology?  We are consuming ideas.  We are thinking, collectively more deeper and with more eclecticism than ever before.  Such technology liberates us from the (admittedly) homogenizing forces of mass media, and instead allows us to seek out a greater spread of ideas, art forms and entertainment.  When people sneer at this,I think it is just a form of elitism: The “laptops, cellphones and iPods” allow anyone access to the world’s information, not just those who can afford the money and space to store tons of bound paper on shelves (aesthetically pleasing though that is…).
See also: Kafka would have had a twitter feed…

Blogger Wins Libel Case

13 May 2010 / / 5 Comments

The journalist Dave Osler, contributor to Liberal Conspiracy and many other places, today won a libel case that had been brought by Tory (former Respect) activist Joannah Kaschke.  Jack of Kent has a little bit of analysis of Dave’s case and was first to tweet the positive outcome.  I am sure he and/or Padraig Reidy of Index on Censorship will report with a full analysis of Justice Eady’s ruling soon, but the analysis from Dave’s lawyer Robert Dougans of Bryan Cave (also Simon Singh’s lawyer) is that it sets a very good precedent for bloggers, and how much responsibility we take for wayward comments posted unmoderated on our websites.
I took some photos of Dave Osler and wellwishers outside the court (including another Liberal Conspirator, Paul Evans).

True, the last photo does show Dave sipping champagne (which might undermine his reputation as a staunch defender of the working class) but otherwise it is worth noting that both Dave and his partner looked relieved rather than happy.  This case has taken three years to defend, and for much of that time he has had to defend himself.  Months have been spent preparing a defence against someone who appears to be a vexatious litigant, time that could have been spent freelancing.  Substantial costs are unlikely to be recovered, meaning Dave is severely out of pocket.
One of the Libel Reform Campaign’s recommendations is the establishment of a fast-track libel tribunal to deal with cases like this.  Although Dave Osler has won his case, its another example of why the English libel laws are not fit for purpose.

Coalition

12 May 2010 / / 2 Comments


Welcome to our new Prime Minister, David Cameron, and his deputy, Nick Clegg.
The above image was taken in M&S a couple of weeks ago.  Then this morning, I read the Alain de Botton thinks we need a Prime Minister built on precisely these values:

But what we crave most is normality.  However much we may want our intellectuals or artists to be passionate, strange, a little deformed and prone to outbursts of joy or fury, recent experience has left us in no doubt as to the dangers of eccentricity.  We need a Prime Minister as imagined by the menswear range of Marks & Spencer.

Creativity in reading

10 May 2010 / / 1 Comment

Library Parabola

The original British Library reading room, now at the centre of the Great Court, British Museum. Photo by Sifter on Flickr


I just gatecrashed a meeting some of my colleagues were holding, about writers running workshops in UK prisons.  One of the authors made the point that the term ‘creative writing’ can actually have a negative effect on the people attending these workshops, because it implies that writing is the only creative act.
What needs to be emphasised, he said, is that reading is a creative act too – Using your imagination to reconstruct the story and fill in the blanks, between the words the author has sketched.  This is well worth remembering, lest we invest all our admiration in writers, and neglect the other half of the equation, readers.
There’s another kind of creativity in reading too, which is in choosing just what to read.  Making connections between authors, and between their stories, constructing a network of books, choosing which literary pathway to follow – these are supremely creative acts too.

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