Two films about masters of the information age
June 9th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
A handful of men (women do not seem to figure) have created mega companies that have come to utterly dominate the information age: Facebook, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Twitter.
In recent years, there have been films about two of these men: “The Social Network” [my review here] about Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook and “Jobs” [my review here] about Steve Jobs and Apple. I saw the first movie on its release in 2010 but I have only just caught up with the second which came out in 2013.
Both films are worth seeing but “TSN” is by far the better.
Posted in Cultural issues, Science & technology | Comments (0)
What do the radicals of this generation want when they win power? Not what earlier generations wanted.
June 8th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
“… what do the radicals of this generation want when they win power? The success of Syriza, of Podemos in Spain and even the flood of radicalised young people into the SNP in Scotland makes this no longer an idle question. The most obvious change is that, for the rising generation, identity has replaced ideology. I don’t just mean as in “identity politics”. There is a deeper process going on, whereby a credible identity – a life lived according to a believed truth – has become a more significant badge in politics than a coherent set of ideas.”
This is a perceptive comment in a piece in today’s “Guardian” newspaper by Paul Mason, economics editor of Channel 4. I think that we are seeing a serious and sustained loss of support for established political parties (and churches) as we witness a decline of ideology (and theology). Many people – especially young people – no longer have a ‘big picture’ view of the country or the cosmos; instead identity is taking over from ideology.
These trends have massive implications for political programmes and policies. As Mason explains:
“A 25-year-old who has known only temporary work, on an individual, performance-driven salary, is going to find the concept of a wage agreement puzzling. A young person who expects to move jobs, cities and even countries several times over in their working life would, if asked to design a welfare state from scratch, do so in a way that allows people to carry their entitlements with them. And designed from scratch today, by a generation hooked on choice and networks, it is unlikely the NHS or education would come out as monolithic single systems.”
These trends also have enormous implications for political parties and democratic politics. I have written about the challenge to the older democracies here.
Posted in World current affairs | Comments (3)
The importance of the Battle of Hastings and the Norman Conquest
June 7th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
I like to attend short courses at further education colleagues in order to continue learning, keep the mind active, and postpone dementia. This weekend, I was at the City Lit college in London to do a one-day course entitled “Making Sense Of The Battle Of Hastings And Its Aftermath”. Our lecturer was the redoubtable Michael Bloomfield.
The battle took place on Saturday 14 October 1066. It was not in fact located at Hastings on the coast but at a hill some seven miles north-west of the town which was later named Battle.
In those days, battles tended to last only a few hours before one side was deemed to have won. However, the Battle of Hastings started at around 9 am and went on until dusk.
The English were led by King Harold II while the Normans were commanded by Duke William II. We do not know the precise number of troops invovled on either side, but the English are thought to have had around 7,000 men while the Normans are believed to have had about 10,000. It was a bloody conflict with the estimated dead being perhaps 4,000 English and 2,000 Normans.
Famously the Normans won and Harold was killed, although the arrow in his eye has no more evidence than the Bayeux Tapestry which features some misrepresentations.
The Norman Conquest changed England. It introduced a new political system, a new language, a new system of land holding, a new direction for Anglo-Scandinavian society and a reform programme for the church in England.
The Norman Conquest also came to define what we now call the United Kingdom. The Normans were not satisfied with conquering England and, over the next few centuries, tried to conquer Ireland, Wales and Scotland. They succeeded with the first two and failed with the last despite several wars over the centuries.
The seminal point about the Norman Conquest is that it was the last successful invasion of England and therefore Britain.
The single most important fact in understanding the nature of the British political system is the fundamental continuity of that system. Britain has not had a revolution of the kind experienced by so many other countries and Britain has not been invaded or occupied for almost 1,000 years. Is this true of any other country in the world? I can only think of Sweden.
You can learn a lot more about the Battle of Hastings on the relevant Wikipedia page.
Posted in History | Comments (4)
My 13th short story: “The Away Day”
June 6th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
We really don’t know what’s going on in other people’s lives and so perhaps we should make allowances. That’s the theme of my short story “The Away Day” which you can read here.
Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (0)
Two more fun days with my darling granddaughter Catrin
June 5th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
I haven’t blogged for a couple of days because my hands have been full looking after my granddaughter Catrin who is now almost four and a half.
Almost a year ago, I blogged about a visit we made to Legoland and I commented then: “This was something of a trial run to see if I could manage the logistics and if she would like the place. The travel went fine and she enjoyed it, but I think that she’s still a bit young to get the most out of it, so we’ll leave another visit for a while.”
This week, we returned to Legoland in Windsor and had a terrific time. The journey there involved a taxi, a train and a bus, but Catrin was fine with the travelling (I suppose the children’s fairy stories on my iPhone helped). It was the perfect day to be there: the weather was warm but not too hot and there were not too many visitors so we hardly had to queue for any rides. I knew my way around better this time and took her to more age-appropriate sections and, in any event, she is a year older and up for all sorts of fun.
We went on lots of rides together: a helicopter ride, a submarine ride, a tower ride, and (twice) a boat ride past Lego figures illustrating various fairy stories. But Catrin was just as happy climbing and sliding in various adventures playground areas. Also she adored the splash area getting thoroughly soaked.
Catrin and I at the submarine ride in Legoland
We were out almost 11 hours before we returned to my home for a sleepover. She was still excited but I got her to sleep with stories and cuddles in the bedroom next to ours. I thought she might sleep through the night after such an exhausting day but, about 1 am, a little face appeared next to mine as I lay in bed fast asleep. She climbed into bed with us and fell fast asleep again. Then, about 7 am, a little voice announced: “I’m awake now. Let’s get up.”
Our second day together was in London and it was a really hot day. First, we had to plant a conker (which we found at Legoland) in Vee’s garden. Then we had to make a Lego kit that we had bought at Legoland: a princess and her bedroom. Next we went out for the day.
At South Kensington, I took her to what I announced was the best ice cream shop in London. Then, suitably cooled down, we went round the corner to the Victoria and Albert Museum – not to look at all the fine art but so that Catrin could splash in the large pond in the central courtyard.
Next stop was London’s South Bank to meet my friend Ellie Stoneley – a very special mum – and her daughter Hope who is about a year younger than Catrin (they have met once before in Cambridge). We started in the extensive sand area where the kids could pretend to be at the beach. Then we went to the Appearing Rooms Fountain which is a very popular annual attraction. This was the third time in two days that Catrin had enjoyed a water feature and that girl just adores the water. The four of us finished up at Gabriel’s Wharf for refreshments and more play.
Catrin was brilliant the whole two days: well-behaved, immensely chatty, and loads of fun. I was one happy granddad.
Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (1)
Who was the greatest pilot of all time? I nominate Chuck Yeager.
June 2nd, 2015 by Roger Darlington
Three of my lifelong interests are aviation, space and cinema. The three topics are brought together in the 1983 film “The Right Stuff”which I recently viewed yet again [see my review here].
This brilliant movie is the story of the first seven American astronauts who were the Mercury team fronting NASA’s efforts to compete with the Soviet Union’s space programme in the 1960s (my teenage years when I followed every flight by both sides). However, the film begins and ends with two amazing flights by American test pilot Chuck Yeager.
Seeing the movie again reminded me of my admiration for this pilot and my enjoyment in 1986 of his autobiography (written with Leo Janos) entitled simply “Yeager”. It is an utterly remarkable story.
In the Second World War, Yeager was an ‘evadee’ and double ace with 11 kills. As a post-war test pilot, he was the first man to break the sound barrier in the Bell X-1, the conqueror of the Bell X-1A after a 51,000 foot fall, and the the burnt and battered survivor of the bale out from an F-104 Starfighter. Oh, and he was a veteran of 127 missions over Vietnam. I nominate him for the greatest pilot of all time.
Chuck Yeager is still alive, now aged 92. You can read more about him on his web site here.
Posted in History, Science & technology | Comments (0)
Last week’s movie-going : four very different films
June 1st, 2015 by Roger Darlington
Last week was half term in London, so I had few meetings and was able to go to the cinema no less than four times. I saw some very different works.
Two European films:
- The Juliette Binoche film “Clouds Of Sils Maria” – my review here
- The new French film “The New Girlfriend” – – my review here
Two American movies:
- The new sci-fi movie “Tomorowland” – my review here
- The new blockbuster movie “San Andreas” – my review here
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (1)
If I understand history correctly …
May 31st, 2015 by Roger Darlington
“If I understand the history correctly, in the late 1990s, the President was impeached for lying about a sexual affair by a House of Representatives led by a man who was also then hiding a sexual affair, who was supposed to be replaced by another Congressman who stepped down when forced to reveal that he too was having a sexual affair, which led to the election of a new Speaker of the House who now has been indicted for lying about payments covering up his sexual contact with a boy.”
Brilliant observation at the “Washington Post” by Orin Kerr, the Fred C. Stevenson Research Professor at The George Washington University Law School.
Posted in American current affairs | Comments (0)
Word of the day: erumpent
May 30th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
Lovely word, isn’t it? I came across it for the first time recently on a television programme to do with the countryside.
It means ‘bursting forth’. An actual example: “The sun spun aloft, an erumpent orb of balling glory thrilling the blue sky with its brilliance.”
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
My 12th short story: “An African Adventure”
May 29th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
This story may not be what you expect. Check it out here.
Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (0)