The Cold, Hard Truth of What's at the Bottom of the Kettle

Word of the day: limescale
So, this is the nasty build-up sometimes congregates at the bottom of a kettle. Obviously this exists in America but obviously I never noticed because obviously I don't own a kettle. They are awesome though (and electric; these are not old-lady teapots).

Place of the day: Brick Lane
I finally ate some of the delicious curry lining Brick Lane sold by London's Bangali population. As you walk up and down the street, you are harassed by restaurant recruiters selling deals on their curry restaurants (which is how we got a free bottle of wine and 30% off).

Who Needs Facts?
Before I begin writing my big spread of stories on the French rogue trader …

I'll tell you the biggest difference I notice between British journalism and American journalism. It's actually the same comparison American journalists often draw between magazine journalism and newspaper journalism: The blurring of opinion and facts. Journalism here seems to have a little more of an agenda. (However, please note that I'm discluding broadcast journalism from my informal study, as we all know that Fox News-like agendas are a whole other story.)

I thought of this because a couple days ago my boss was coaching me on how to write this story about the event that happened at Soc Gen, the French bank that lost €4.9 billion from fraudulent trades. So my editor presented a huge list of opinions I could take and they sounded like fun, but I thought I was doing a boring story about how the back-office and front-office failed or whatever. I said, "Well this is a little more opinionated than I thought." And he instantly pointed out that everything we do should be opinionated and that American journalists usually have a rough time with this. I said I was fine with that but wanted facts to back it up (obviously, evidence). He agreed and in a way I think perhaps I can come up with the best of both words. It's just about having a thesis and evidence -- American journalism does this too, maybe just a little more anally.

I'm glad that here at an English-based magazine I have the opportunity to practice a lot with journalism. But sometimes I just want to be writing a city council story where every paragraph-long sentence ends in "Brown said." Of course that's boring writing I never even used to do in the States (I was always more of a features writer by trade!), but I'm just saying, that's what England does to me sometimes.

I am now listening to: Every single podcast/vodcast I can find. I am going to miss commuting to work without car and listening to them so much.
Some of my favorites:
NPR: Talk of the Nation
This American Life
Search Engine
On The Media