The Bloody Apprentice

A friend pointed me to this the other day, and quite funny it is too - footage of the BBC's popular reality show The Apprentice, painstakingly edited so as to make a monkey out of Sugar and its contestants (though they often do a fair job of that themselves). Contains some strong language though, so don't watch if you're easily offended.

And while we're on the subject of The Apprentice - does anyone actually know what job it is that the winner gets? Organising the stationery at Amstrad HQ? Or perhaps researching new areas for Sugar's businesses to expand into - as in Harry Hill's gag about 'Amsstairs' ("No, we don't sell 'amsters, we sell Amsstairs")? Any suggestions welcome.

Is That Really A Computer Screen In Front of You?

Only just noticed that it's World Philosophy Day today - though quite what that entails, I'm not sure. I would've found out sooner, too, but there doesn't look to me much media coverage (in this country at least), and Google haven't bothered to alter their iconic logo in honour of the event, as they usually seem to do for other, often much lesser, events. Mind you, as a friend of mine pointed out, how would Google pictorially interpret 'Philosophy' even if they decided they were going to? Answers on an e-postcard, please.

Little coverage aside, however, there's an interesting article by philosopher David Bain in the BBC online magazine, titled 'Four philosophical questions to make your brain hurt' (certainly one way to sell it). Reading through them, it was a pleasure to be reminded of some of the fundamental philosophical debates that've fascinated philosophers since the beginnings of ancient Greek civilisation (Ethics, Theory of Mind, Scepticism, Free Will vs Determinism); those which I enjoyed - and was occasionally infuriated by - when studying the subject during my years as an undergrad.

On the whole, it's obviously an article aimed at those who haven't approached philosophy in earnest before, but definitely worth a look for those who have, too. I think philosophy's an often underrated subject and it would be good to see a wider interest in it - especially in a time when rigorous, clear-headed and rational thinking is as important, and needed, as ever.

Oh, and for those who would accuse philosophers of lacking a sense of humour (as if Derrida weren't proof enough by himself), the caption that accompanies the article's image is a good 'un...

Charlie Brooker's Newswipe

A bit late catching up with this, but flicking through BBC iPlayer in a brief fit of boredom last week I noticed that Charlie Brooker is back on our screens with Newswipe - a series following on from the brilliant Screenwipe. Except instead of taking satirical and pessimistic swipes at the crap on TV, Newswipe takes a Day Today-esque look at - you guessed it - the news, or rather, the way news is covered by the likes of BBC, ITV and Channel 4 these days.

The clip above is from the first part of the first episode, and for those who like the look of it, the third installment is on BBC4 tomorrow (Wednesday) at 10.30pm.