A review of the thriller film “Argo”
December 20th, 2012 by Roger Darlington
If this was not a true story, it would be unbelievable – my review here.
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A review of the rom-com movie “It’s Complicated”
December 20th, 2012 by Roger Darlington
The film stars the incomparable Meryl Streep and you can read my review here.
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My decade of analysing developments on the Net
December 19th, 2012 by Roger Darlington
Ten years ago, I spoke to the then General Secretary of the then Connect, a trade union representing managers and professionals in the communications sector.
I was critical of the then contributor to the union’s magazine on Internet issues and offered to do the job myself for free. My offer was accepted and, a decade later, I have now written a total of 75 columns on all aspects of the digital revolution.
As I submitted each column for the paper version of the union journal – now called “Connected” – I put the text on my web site with hyperlinks to make the piece more information-rich. I have recently tidied up the relevant section of my site and you can dip into any of the articles here. See how much has changed …
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How the world’s largest economy is hurtling towards a fiscal cliff
December 17th, 2012 by Roger Darlington
Those who feel that the United States political system is now fundamentally dysfunctional can quote in evidence how Congress is unable to agree measures which will avoid the US economy falling off a so-called fiscal cliff in a couple of weeks time.
You can read why and how this is likely to happen here.
Posted in American current affairs | Comments (0)
How to think critically
December 17th, 2012 by Roger Darlington
For the third consecutive year, my permission has ben sought – and obviously given – for my website essay on “How To Think Critically” to be used on the Junior Military Officer course at the United States Naval War College.
If my advice is good enough for the American military, you might want to check it out here.
Posted in American current affairs, My life & thoughts | Comments (1)
Preparing for the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of World War One
December 16th, 2012 by Roger Darlington
This week, I visited the Imperial War Museum in central London to view an exhibition of photographs taken by Cecil Beaton during the Second World War.
I found that most of this fascinating museum is closed for major redesign, starting with the opening in 2014 of a new section on the First World War to mark the centenary of that war.
Meanwhile there is an interesting web site providing recollections of that war and information on how the centenary will be marked by many organisations.
Posted in History, My life & thoughts | Comments (0)
A review of “Seeking A Friend For The End Of The World”
December 15th, 2012 by Roger Darlington
Great title for a less than great, but eminently watchable, movie which I’ve reviewed here.
It might give you some tips for 21 December which some people think will see the end of the world. But I’m sure that I’ll be blogging on 22 December. Hope that you’ll be reading …
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When will Americans see sense on gun control?
December 15th, 2012 by Roger Darlington
- 1966: Charles Whitman kills his wife and mother and then 14 others at the University of Texas
- 1976: Edward Allaway shoots 7 people in a library at California State University Fullerton
- 1984: James Huberty shoots dead 21 people at a McDonald’s in California
- 1986: Postal worker Pat Sherrill kills 14 people at a post office in Oklahoma
- 1989: Patrick Purdy kills 5 children and wounds 30 others at a school in Stockton, California
- 1991: George Hennard kills 23 people at a cafeteria in Texas
- 1998: Mitchell Johnson & Andrew Golden shoot dead 4 students and a teacher at a school in Arkansas
- 1999: Two students at Columbine high school kill 13 and injure 20, before killing themselves
- 2005: Jeffrey Weise kills his grandfather, his partner, a teacher, a security guard, and 5 fellow students in Minnesota
- 2006: Charles Roberts kills 5 young girls in an Amish schoolhouse at Nickel Mines
- 2007: A student kills 32 and injures dozens more at Virginia Tech university
- 2009: 13 people are killed in a mass shooting at Ford Hood military base in Texas
- 2012: 12 are killed and 58 injured in a shooting in a movie theatre in Aurora
- 2012: 26 people – 20 of them children – are shot in a school in Newtown, Connecticut
In the United States, there are an estimated 270 million private firearms. This is twice as many guns per head as the country with the next highest rate of firearms ownership on the planet which is the failed state of Yemen. Yet only about 20% of Americans actually own a gun. It’s time for the majority to insist on much tighter gun controls.
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The Darlington family Christmas letter
December 14th, 2012 by Roger Darlington
So the Christmas tree is up, almost all of the Christmas presents have been bought, and most of our Christmas cards have been posted. Each year, we compile a family newsletter to include with the cards to people of whom we have seen little of nothing in the previous year because of time or distance. It is easy to mock such circulars, but recipients seem to like them and I really enjoy receiving them from others.
I always put our Christmas letter on my web site and there are now 17 of them (although we’ve been sending them for ever). For the online version, I can add a few links and a few photos. You can check out the 2012 letter here.
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Exactly 100 words on being a doting grandfather
December 13th, 2012 by Roger Darlington
My dear friend Ellie Stoneley has a wonderful blog about her experience of conceiving, carrying, delivering and raising her gorgeous baby daughter Hope.
She drew my attention to a fascinating project being run by Charlie Plunkett – the mother of Cole – who is compiling a book of contributions from parents and some grandparents which all have to be exactly 100 words in length.
Charlie has accepted this contribution from me about my relationship with my granddaughter Catrin who is two next month:
Catrin’s best fun with me is a climbing game. I sit down with her standing on my lap and holding her hands up in the air. She climbs up my chest and onto my shoulders, standing high and proud, but still holding on to my hands. We then pretend that she falls, but I’m still holding her hands and ‘catch’ her with my outstretched legs. She shrieks with excitement and the game ends when I release her hands and tickle her chin while she laughs hysterically. When I fall back smiling broadly, she looks up at me and cries: “Again!”
Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (4)