Links
Art
Bagnall’s Retreat
Cartoonist John Bagnall is fascinated with disappearing ways of life and this is given outlet in both his excellent comic strips and his informative musings on the place of religion in the modern world, plus a fascinating and ever-growing collection of art from olden days – including hand-painted signs, architecture and advertisements.
The artwork of Niall Cameron Richardson
Brother R’s amazing sketchbook drawings.
Kingly Books
Illustrator and art tutor Marc Baines is the impresario of this Glasgow-based publishing house, which puts out impressive collections of new and old work by the most interesting members of the late 80s UK small press comics scene. See also the Kingly Reprieve imprint which reprints little known novels by Hollywood greats such as Sam Fuller and Val Lewton.
Music
The Sound Projector
The online companion to Ed Pinsent’s music periodical, featuring back issues, radio show downloads and playlists, and plenty of visionary / strange art. Better listening through imagination!
The Fall online
The best band (or as MES would have it, ‘group’) in the world.
Resonance FM
London’s premier art radio station.
WFMU
Freeform radio broadcasting from New Jersey, USA.
Politics
There is hope for it…
Spiked Online
The most insightful source of political analysis around.
The Institute of Ideas
Claire Fox and co, putting life, purpose and intellectual rigour back into public debate via their annual festival The Battle of Ideas and numerous smaller-scale events around the UK and the world.
The Manifesto Club
Humanist campaigning network, which aims to develop ‘the theory and substance of a new progressive politics’.
Parents with Attitude
Jennie Bristow’s excellent website for ‘parents who want to engage in an adult debate about the issues affecting their lives, and the world that they live in’.
Life
Dancing Blue Seal
Reviews of restaurants of all stripes, from the posh to the plain, accompanied by photos of every dish and written in mouth-wateringly enthusiastic style by a man for whom ‘greasy’ is a good thing.