Have you heard about ARTEMIS? Don't worry, it's not another one of the NSA's high-tech spying programs - unless they're looking for terrorists by scrutinizing our ancestors' private communications, which, in the light of recent revelations, isn't actually that implausible. I first became aware of the project a few months ago when I was invited by email to pass judgement on some prospective logos. I picked the other one, which just goes to show how much I know about corporate branding. At the time I wasn't really sure what Artemis was, save for the fact that it was named after the Greek goddess of hunting, wild animals and virginity. I've been wondering which of her three characteristics the new project would resemble and, rather disappointingly, it turns out to be the first. Artemis is Gale's new research platform. It's a space where users can access and analyse material from multiple digital archives using analytical new tools. In it's own words: "Artemis is a path-breaking research experience that unites Gale's globally acclaimed digital archives and reference collections. By building a seamless research environment for multiple collections, Gale is creating the largest digital humanities and social sciences collection in the world. Starting with Eighteenth [...]

As an academic and bleeding-heart liberal I've long considered it my duty to read The Guardian. It's hard going sometimes, but most days I manage to grit my teeth and get through it. Lately, however, my commitment has started to waver. In my weaker moments I find myself logging onto the Daily Mail website and gawping wondrously at its bi-polar diet of moral outrage and showbiz gossip. It seems that an eight year old American girl has been murdered by a sex offender that her family befriended in a Walmart, but on the plus side Abbey Crouch is showing off her beach body and Tulisa looks super slim in a tight print dress as she parties for the first time since her drugs arrest. It's a relief just to know that she's OK. Of course, I'd never admit to reading any of this stuff. I leave The Guardian website open on my office computer in order to impress passers-by, but browse the Daily Mail  in incognito mode and only when the house is empty. After all, calling somebody a 'Daily Mail Reader' is just about the worst form of abuse imaginable in the lefty intellectual circles I frequent. If my occasional acts of [...]