It's only a number...
Find out exactly what is going on in the world... at a glance.
Gossip by any other name
Have a chat with the literary geniuses of our history... and find out all you ever wanted to know...
Photographic evidence
Hands up everyone who has a computer full of great photos that are becoming resigned to their digital destiny... we have the solution!
Mum's the word
A gift to all mums for Mother's Day... with no calories!
Wake up in style
If you could invent the perfect way to wake up, this may just be it...
Mischief Making
Want to throw a custard pie at your least favourite MP or celebrity? Be my guest...
Zzzzzzzzz...
Join me and indulge yourself in the best National Something Day ever!
I remember, on one of those rare occasions when a college lecture captured my imagination, discussing the moral dilemma presented by a Pulitzer Prize winning photograph.
A tiny, starving Sudanese girl is curled up on a deserted path desperately trying to make her way to a food station in the famine-stricken wasteland. In the background is an ugly and intent vulture seemingly waiting patiently for her to take her last breath so he could dine.
This photograph made the front page of the New York Times in 1993 and the switchboard was besieged with calls from concerned readers asking if the little girl had reached her destination. The paper could only assure the callers that she had left the scene. Her fate was unknown.
There followed much debate about the moral duty of the photographer. How could he take such a powerful shot and not be moved to save the little girl? In retrospect, it may seem like a simple question but this was at a time when journalists and photographers were warned not to touch famine victims for fear of disease and, ultimately, death. As the debate raged on and just a few months after the photograph won the Pulitzer Prize, the photographer, Kevin Carter, committed suicide. I think it is safe to say we have our answer.
This image not only forced people to think but it unceremoniously rammed the message home. Starvation had another face. Not only a pathetic one but a shocking, ugly, horrific one. One without mercy or dignity and one that could not be ignored.
Don't misunderstand me. I am not a proponent of saturation levels of docu-photography to redress the balance between the airbrush and the conscience. But I do believe there is room for both. And, to that end, this week's Web Watch caters for each.
The World Press Photo web site is not for the feint-hearted. Their aim is to encourage professional high standards in photojournalism. The results are sure to make you wince, weep, laugh, smile, shudder, shake and cringe. I thoroughly recommend it.
The sports photography includes a shot bearing witness to the exact moment a US swimmer's head makes contact with the very diving board she has just left. Wince.
The arts section presents an elderly woman leaning over to take a very close look at the 'Mae West Lips Sofa' at a Salvador Dali exhibition. Laugh.
The next winning photograph captures the agony of a blood-splattered young girl screaming with grief just moments after her parents have been shot by US dusk patrol soldiers. Shudder.
Peppered amongst the heart-wrenching is the heart-warming and the artistic. It's quite a journey but one well worth making. And, if you're a little exhausted after your trans-global trip you can always pop over to Pirelli for a little light relief! Bon voyage.
