©Sean McManus - www.sean.co.uk
Twitter RSS www.sean.co.uk

UK freelance journalist and author Sean McManus

Home > Blog

Sydney photo exhibition in Paris

16 September 2006


Thumbnail: Sydney Opera HouseMy photograph of Sydney Opera House is due to be one of the images shown in an exhibition opening next week in Paris. 'L'eau, source d'architecture' looks at the relationship between architecture and water. The exhibition is curated by Francis Rambert, director of the French Institute for Architecture in Paris, and
architect Pascale Blin.

The exhibition runs from 20 September to 29 October, open Tuesday to Sunday. Admission is free. After the Paris show (full details in French), the exhibition is due to go to Toulouse.

There are additional photographs of Sydney on my travel map.

Labels: ,


Bookmark and Share
Permanent link for this post

Book review: 'Who moved my Blackberry?' by (Martin Lukes and) Lucy Kellaway

10 September 2006


Martin Lukes: who moved my Blackberry?This book is a bit like having the munchies and over-indulging on cheesy wotsits. Each bite tastes great (although you hit diminishing returns after about half a bag), but when you've finished, you still feel kinda empty.

That's because although there are some great jokes in this book (particularly in relation to branding), very little happens. As regards having a plot it's no more a proper novel than wotsits are proper food. Take a slice through the book at any page and the characters are pretty much in the same position, give or take a bit of office politics and lust. It doesn't help that the lead character is loathsome in every way. He's lazy, manipulative, sexist, self-important and selfish. We never seem to laugh with him - only at him, and darkly.

'Who moved my blackberry?' is a satire of office life, based on a column published in the FT bylined to the fictional Martin Lukes. The book unfolds through records of emails, which makes it quick and easy to read and creates some comic opportunities. Some seem a bit wasted (like when his Blackberry goes missing and someone impersonates him - that idea might have been a short story in its own right in other hands). The big joke is that we never see anyone doing any proper work, just producing 'initiatives' and playing politics.

For people who work in large corporations, a lot of this will probably ring uncomfortably true. If you get through chapter one and accept that the rest of the book is pretty much the same, it's an ideal book for you.

Labels:


Bookmark and Share
Permanent link for this post

0 comments

Dip into the blog archive

June 2005 | July 2005 | August 2005 | September 2005 | October 2005 | November 2005 | December 2005 | January 2006 | February 2006 | March 2006 | April 2006 | May 2006 | June 2006 | July 2006 | August 2006 | September 2006 | October 2006 | November 2006 | December 2006 | January 2007 | February 2007 | March 2007 | April 2007 | May 2007 | June 2007 | July 2007 | August 2007 | September 2007 | October 2007 | November 2007 | December 2007 | January 2008 | February 2008 | March 2008 | April 2008 | May 2008 | June 2008 | July 2008 | August 2008 | September 2008 | October 2008 | November 2008 | December 2008 | January 2009 | February 2009 | March 2009 | April 2009 | May 2009 | June 2009 | July 2009 | August 2009 | September 2009 | October 2009 | November 2009 | December 2009 | January 2010 | February 2010 | March 2010 | Top of this page | RSS