Self-righteous and Lazy Journalism

Over the past couple of days, the media has once again been in the spotlight, with Murdoch deemed neither fit or proper, and the role of England football manager being given to someone who the press hadn’t pre-approved and are now seemingly liable to destroy. But are the media really in a position to be [...]

A Moment Of Clarity

Everyone needs to spend time thinking but the main problem these days is that there’s always a distraction. A text message, a phone call, an email, a tweet, people always react so quickly to what are essentially rude interruptions into our daily lives. They conspire to put you off getting to the bottom of the [...]

La Dolce Vita – The Affs’ Good Life In Rome

I’ve never done much travel writing before, probably because I haven’t travelled enough to warrant it, but having just been on a rather jolly excursion to Italy, I thought I’d wrap it all up in a bit of a report. The trip to Rome started (as many holiday discussions do) in the pub as a [...]

Alcohol – Is It Really A Danger To Society?

Alcohol, or booze as I like to call it, is always in the news for one reason or another. Whether it’s due to mass hysteria that alco-pops are turning Britain’s kids into feral nightmares or that the supposedly cheap cost of plonk somehow contributes to the downward spiral of alcoholic life, alcohol often gets a [...]

Public Transport – An Investigation

Many of you reading this will know about my regular grumbles with public transport. I’ve been commuting in and out of Manchester for the best part of a decade now, hopping on and off buses, trains and trams to get to various destinations, but this year, I decided to look a little bit more scientifically [...]

The Affs Awards 2011 – Gig of the Year

Following on from my Album of the Year Award, and keeping to the musical theme, next up is the Affs Gig of the Year Award for the best acts to tread the boards throughout the past 12 months. As a 2011 resolution, getting out and about to see more live bands was always going to [...]

The Affs Awards 2011 – Album of the Year

Well, the year has now been and gone and it seems fitting, nay customary, to perform some sort of wrap up on the past 12 months. As one of my resolutions is to write even more this year, what better way to kick off 2012 with the first ever Affs Awards for services to popular [...]

The Techpocalypse 2011

So, it’s been an interesting week for technology users to say the least. First, we get the announcement that many were expecting regarding the latest iPhone, the 4S from Apple. No redesign outwardly, but inside is a processor faster than before, a new, improved camera and a whole host of other lovely features courtesy of [...]

Dr Dee – Has Damon Albarn Bitten Off More Than He Can Chew?

The Manchester International Festival is well under way and part of this year’s spectacular programme is the latest work from Blur frontman Damon Albarn. A seemingly bizarre and brave concept, the piece is described as an “English Folk Opera” centring on the 16th Century astrologer, navigator, alchemist, occultist and royal adviser Doctor John Dee. Dee [...]

Transformers: Dark of the Moon – A Critique

There’s a lot to be said for the ingenuity of turning a simple toy line into a cartoon and comic book, an animated movie, a series of live action movies and back into a successful toy line again. In the 80s, Transformers and their twisty turny limbs and sometimes lethal choking hazard weaponry were all [...]