Six minutes that explain our current understanding of the composition of the universe
June 27th, 2014 by Roger Darlington
We still have a lot to learn as explained in this clever little video.
Posted in Science & technology | Comments (0)
How often do you go to the theatre?
June 26th, 2014 by Roger Darlington
Although we live in London which has a multitude of theatres, we see far, far more films than plays. But this week was my birthday so I booked for us to see two plays: the theatrical productions of the two Hilary Mantel novels “Wolf Hall” [my review of the book here] and “Bring Up The Bodies” [my review of the book here].
The two plays are by the Royal Shakespeare Company and performed at the Aldwych Theatre. They are really fine performances, but the staging is very bare (there are numerous changes of location and time) and there are a lot of characters (about 35 in each play).
Comparing the cinema with the theatre, i have to say:
- Not all London theatres are air-conditioned (the Aldwych is)
- Vision is not always unobstructed (we had tall people in front of us both times)
- Actors cannot use natural voices but have to project
- The seats are not always comfortable (London theatres were built for smaller people)
- You have to book in advance and cannot just walk in
- The tickets are so expensive
But we will keeping going to the theatre from time to time. It does suffer something different.
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (2)
Do you keep a daily note of some aspect of your life?
June 25th, 2014 by Roger Darlington
As I have explained here, I’ve kept a daily dairy for more than 50 years. In narrative form, I simply record how I’ve spent that day: meetings attended, people met, work done, films seen, books read. There is very little reflection or emotional analysis,
But I know that other people record simply one aspect of their day and it is often some kind of surrogate for how they were feeling that day.
So one man I knew recorded the weather than day. A woman I knew noted the state of her legs which caused her ill-health. One guy assesses how hostile or otherwise his wife was towards him that day.
I believe others note their weight or the number of calories consumed or the number of steps walked. I have heard of people recording how much they have spent each day.
Do you keep a daily note of some aspect of your life?
Posted in Miscellaneous, My life & thoughts | Comments (1)
The truth about obesity: 10 shocking things you need to know
June 24th, 2014 by Roger Darlington
- Nearly two-thirds of the UK population is either overweight or obese.
- Obesity is shortening our lives.
- Obesity could bankrupt the National Health Service.
- It’s an unfair fight between anti-obesity & food industry marketing.
- Obesity took off in the have-it-all 1980s.
- Snacking is a newly created behaviour.
- The food industry is behaving as the tobacco industry did.
- Your brain, not your stomach, tells you when to stop eating.
- By the age of five, it is almost too late to intervene.
- Obese children are increasingly being taken into care.
Each of these facts is expanded in this article.
Posted in British current affairs, Social policy | Comments (0)
England gleaming in the afternoon sun
June 23rd, 2014 by Roger Darlington
Great weekend weather – and great photo from Reid Wiseman on the International Space Station here.
Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments (0)
Today is Manchester Day and here are 10 reasons for Mancunians to be proud
June 22nd, 2014 by Roger Darlington
I spent the first 23 years of my life in Manchester, going to school and university there, and still have close relatives in the city.
So today we celebrate Manchester Day and here are 10 reasons why Mancunians are so proud of their city.
Posted in British current affairs, My life & thoughts | Comments (0)
The two new movies I’ve seen this weekend
June 22nd, 2014 by Roger Darlington
They were very contrasting in subject and style:
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (2)
The long and the short of it
June 21st, 2014 by Roger Darlington
If you live in the Northern hemisphere – and the majority of the world’s population does – then today is the longest day of the year. So enjoy the daylight, as I will in London.
If you’re an England football fan (football is not my thing), you’ve just witnessed the shortest World Cup run of the national side in the history of the tournament. Expectations of the England side were low and they lived down to them.
Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments (0)
The other D-Day: Operation Bagration launched on 21-22 June 1944
June 21st, 2014 by Roger Darlington
“There were two D-days in June 1944. The landings in Normandy on 6 June, Operation Overlord, recalled so movingly a fortnight ago, are part of British national memory. The other D-day remains virtually unknown both here and in America. Yet it was equally important in ending the second world war. And it also marked the dawn of cold war Europe.
On the night of 21-22 June 1944 the Red Army launched its summer offensive in Belorussia, three years to the day after Hitler invaded the Soviet Union. In 1941 the Germans had achieved total surprise, encircling millions of Russian troops and thrusting right up to Moscow and Leningrad. In 1944, however, the tables were turned. Operation Bagration, named for a Tsarist marshal who had fought Napoleon, hit the Wehrmacht with no warning.
In five weeks, the Red Army advanced 450 miles, driving through Minsk to the outskirts of Warsaw and tearing the guts out of Hitler’s Army Group Centre. Nearly 20 German divisions were totally destroyed and another 50 severely mauled – an even worse disaster than Stalingrad.”
Now read on …
Posted in History | Comments (0)
Which company are we talking about?
June 20th, 2014 by Roger Darlington
“the most influential company in the world”
“the world’s most admired company”
“the only company that really mattered at all”
“his system had overtaken the web and the world”
So, which company are we talking about? Microsoft, Apple, Google, Facebook, Amazon?
It’s actually a fictional company called “The Circle” which is at the heart of a novel of the same name by the American writer Dave Eggers. I’ve just started to read it.
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)