The Idler (Issue 35) War on Work

by Dan Kieran (Author), Dan Kieran (Author), Gavin Pretor-Pinney (Author), Tom Hodgkinson (Author)

• Used

  Paperback
  2005

  $4.55

  What is The Idler? The Idler is a magazine (well, OK, like Granta it's published in book form, so perhaps it's a 'periodical') that celebrates freedom, fun and the fine art of doing nothing. The Idler team believe that idleness is unjustly criticised in modern society when it is, in fact, a vital component of a happy life. Each issue we bring you a unique and varied collection of features, reviews, interviews, short stories, photography, cartoons, art - and lots and lots of humour. We aim to comfort and inspire you with uplifting philosophy, satire and reflection, as well as giving practical information to help in the quest for the ultimate idle life. Contributors to this edition: 1. Pete Doherty some exclusive writings 2. Keith Allen his A-Z of life and nude photos from his Naked Keith 2005 Tsunami Appeal calendar 3. Nicholas Blincoe on his ancestor who was the model for Oliver Twist 4. Chris Donald with a view from the loo 5. Jeremy Dellar contributing something folk art-ish 6. Richard Donkin (Financial Times columnist) on medieval warriors and their distaste for work 7. Pat Kane attacks Will Hutton and the tradition of joyless pro-work propaganda 8. Holiday in Cambodia why Pnom Phen is an idler's paradise 9. Alex James on the joy of sheds 10. and Damien Hirst

• Used

  Paperback
  2008

  $4.55

  We are born free but are everywhere in chains. Our culture needs some fresh air. We are boring ourselves to death by re-packaging the same flavorless pap based on a patronizing and second-hand version of what we think other people want. Meanwhile, out there, the world is as complex, beautiful and mysterious and ever. Which is why QI and The Idler have joined forces to celebrate curiosity. As Dorothy Parker once sagely noted, curiosity is the cure for boredom, but there is no cure for curiosity. It is endless and free, unlike television, wine or the water in our taps. It is more pleasurable and reliable than sex. It's what makes us human. Your hosts are Mr John Lloyd, founder of QI and the producer of legendary television shows including Blackadder and Spitting Image , and Mr John Mitchinson, co-creator with Mr Lloyd of The Books of General Ignorance (General and Animal) .They have filled every spare inch with the absurd and curious learning that fans of QI will know and expect. In addition, there is the first ever published extract from Mr Lloyd's 'lost' novel, fifteen never-before-seen, spanking-brand-new General Ignorance questions, the QI prospectus for a New School, Mr Justin Pollard's list of history's wildest stories and William Morris is rescued from ye olde gift shoppes and restored as a revolutionary hero. So, read on, and help us overthrow the tyrant boredom. You have nothing to lose but your chains.