Charlie Brooker on "How to prevent more riots"

Charlie Brooker uses his regular column in The Guardian to give us his own unique take on the Riots. Read it here.

Mark Kermode and the Intelligent Blockbuster

Critic Mark Kermode has outspoken views on the movie industry's underestimation of the mainstream film-goer's intelligence. He is just as vocal about the audience's "diminished expectations". Read his comment in The Observer here.

Is graffiti selling out?

The image above is from See No Evil - Bristol's Street Art Project, a massively successful undertaking by a forward-thinking city. But in his Guardian ArtBlog, Jonathan Jones asks whether this commercial popularity is killing the spirit of street art.

Historic Castle to keep graffiti?

The Earl of Glasgow, who owns Kelburn Castle, has sought permission from Historic Scotland to keep the graffiti that covers part of the building. Originally the images were only supposed to be in place for 3 years, but the Earl is now arguing that the artworks have been so popular that they should be allowed to stay. Read more on the BBC News website.

Edinburgh's mysterious paper sculptures

Since last March mysterious paper sculptures, carved from books, have been appearing in Edinburgh. Two more have now appeared to coincide with the Edinburgh Book Festival. Read more about these curiosities at this link.

'Zombie Boy'

Rick Genet is from Montreal in Canada. He has gained notoriety from an appearance in the video of Lady Gaga's 'Born This Way'. His website has a wide range of links to press articles about his celebrity, including 'The Montreal Gazette' and 'The Toronto Sun'.

The Culture of Critique

This article from 'Wired' questions the proliferation of comments and reviews that accompany almost every online article, blog post, video or market.

Animated Tattoos

This article on the 'Wired' website shows how the technology used in QR (Quick Response) codes can be used to create animated tattoos. It includes a link to a film of the finished piece.

Awkward Teens

Ten, now successful adults, describe their adolescent years. Comedians Stephen Merchant and Hardeep Singh Kohli, model Erin O'Connor and actress Katherine Parkinson are amongst those that tell of the sometimes painful experiences of being in their teens in this article from The Guardian.

JD Sports and the riots

This article in The Guardian asks questions about the marketing strategies of the retailer hit hardest by the riots

A Teacher's View of the Riots

Emma Jones is a former teacher and resident of Tottenham. This her contribution to the debate posted on 'Mortarboard Blog' in The Guardian.

Many of the rioters are just kids

A bit of light relief from 'The Poke' satirical blog:

Banksy on Phone Hacking

Alternative Cultural Olympiad?

The Cultural Olympiad is an event that will coincide with the 2012 Olympic Games. The work of many well known British artists, such as David Hockney, Lucian Freud and Damien Hirst will be exhibited. But currently on display around the East London Olympic construction sites are artworks of a very different kind. Graffiti artists such as the Burning Candy Crew have decorated the industrial landscape of the Lee Valley with their own vibrant imagery. The website 'Londonist' has posted examples of their work and asks whether this street art will still be there in a year's time.

Plan B's Message to Rioters

Plan B's distress at what he sees as class betrayal is obvious in his audio message to looters on the NME's website.

The Role of Social Networking

There have been many comments and theories about role that social networking had in the riots and their aftermath. Here are some links that take a variety of viewpoints.
The Guardian reports on David Cameron's speech to Parliament in response to the riots, where he calls for a clampdown on social media sites.
In contrast, this article from 'The E word' reports how the Manchester Police used Twitter and Facebook to their advantage during the course of the unrest. This report, also in The Guardian tells the story of a 21 year old club DJ who cycled for hours around Bristol giving up to date and accurate information about the riots in his home city. Also on the BBC website is an article about Andrew Bayles' photograph of the 'Broom Army' volunteers who cleaned up after the riots.
The story of 89 year old barber Aaron Biber and the money raised to help him after his shop was trashed, is told on the blog 'Keep Aaron Cutting'.
DeLoot London is a website set up to encourage people to shop at and support those independent shops that were looted during the riots.

Competing Arguments to explain the causes of the riots

The very useful article on the BBC website brings together many comments from varying sources on the underlying causes of the riots, from consumerism to spending cuts and a lot more.

This post by Jonathan Maunder on the 'Pluto Press' blog, criticises the media's response in general. It discusses the idea of 'structural' and 'subjective' violence.

Absent Fathers

Here are two views from The Telegraph about the importance of a father figure in preventing crime. One is from Cristina Odone and another from Ed West.

Has British Society lost it's sense of community?

Telegraph Columnist Ed West points to the Turkish shop keepers of Dalston, East London, as the true embodiment of 'Community'. Go to the newspaper's website to read his blog.

Russell Brand and Peter Oborne comment on the riots

Russell Brand in The Guardian and Peter Oborne in The Telegraph start from very different viewpoints, but come to similar conclusions in the debate on the ethics and morals of judging the rioters.

Birmingham - August 2011