kierenmccarthy.co.uk

There are many reasons why people don’t surf. The biggest is probably that very few people live close to an area of sea that produces waves that can be surfed on. But there are others: it’s bloody hard work; it requires a significant amount of co-ordination; you are guaranteed to take in at least three [...]

I forgot to add that I also found two fantastic video clips that demonstrate the sheer madness of the TV news in the United States.
One shows the mindless self-absorption the media has with itself in such an extraordinary way that it could easily be mistaken for genius satire.
[youtube]KBRUalssp0Q[/youtube]
And the other is John Stewart doing [...]

Forgot to say last week that the “US news: utter utter rubbish” rant I wrote a fortnight earlier appeared in a slightly more professional format on the Guardian’s Comment is Free site on Wednesday under the headline: Why TV news in the US is utter rubbish.
The title I sent them was: “Why TV news in [...]

I haven’t had a new poll for a very, very long time. So, sort-of inspired by my pseudo rant last week about TV news in the United States, I have knocked up a new one. It’s on the right-hand side and included below.
That means that I need to review the results of the previous [...]

A very funny example of journalist ego gone mad is zooming around media circles at the moment. And at the centre of it, designer-stubble dork Giles Coren.
Coren’s not a bad writer and he used to write very funny pieces, but over the past year/two years it was clear his ego was getting out of control [...]

I am working from home today which has given me the rare and entirely unsatisfactory opportunity to watch the lunchtime TV news in the United States of America.
People often say that the news in the US is terrible – and it is, it is appalling. But it hit home this lunchtime when I flipped [...]

My computer was shifted to Outlook Exchange yesterday with the result that this morning I have had to re-input all my email account passwords to get at my email.
I knew most of the passwords but the more important ones I have very complex passwords for and rely on accessing my domain accounts directly to recover [...]

I wrote a quick 800-word blog post for the Guardian’s Comment is Free site on Sunday on the fact that iTunes has now become the number one music retailer here in the United States.
It felt good to have a bit of a think and a type. I still amaze myself that I buy any iTunes [...]

So I filed my first US tax return yesterday, and it was pretty good in two senses. One, I used this great online tool provided by H&R Block that did it all for me, walked me through, provided useful pointers, calculated the tax and sent it to the IRS within an hour – very impressive. [...]

This is a picture of a beautiful 1966 split-screen VW camper can that I have just bought on eBay for $10,000.

I am currently arranging for some mechanics to go check it out, and if it’s all good will head down to Poway, California (near San Diego) to go pick it up possibly this weekend.
What [...]