A review of the new movie “Deadpool”
March 5th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
This is not a film for everyone’s tastes. But, if you like super-hero movies, are broad-minded, and yearn for something a bit different, this could be for you. You can read my review here.
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A review of the new movie “London Has Fallen”
March 5th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
American movies love to show US presidents in peril. Three years ago, we had “Olympus Has Fallen” [my review here] immediately followed by “White House Down” [my review here].
The first of these has now spawned a sequel – “London Has Fallen” – which has just been released and you can read my review here.
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
How to make a good speech
March 4th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
I started public speaking at school and then university with debating competitions, so I’ve about 50 years experience and I’ve tried to distill my advice here.
Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (0)
U.S. presidential election (21): the delegate count so far
March 3rd, 2016 by Roger Darlington
Following all the excitement of Super Tuesday, where do the Democratic and Republican candidates for the presidential election now stand in terms of the actual number of delegates secured?
To win the Democratic nomination, 2,383 delegates are needed. Hillary Clinton now has 595 so she is 25% of the way there. Bernie Sanders has 405.
To win the Republican nomination, 1,237 delegates are needed. Donald Trump now has 319 so he is 26% of the way there. Ted Cruz has 226, Marco Rubio has 110, and John Kasich has 25.
It is looking increasingly likely that the presidential contest will be between Clinton and Trump. Seems like a ‘no brainer’ to me, but these are strange times in politics.
Posted in American current affairs | Comments (0)
Things I learned on my latest visit to the British Museum (3): the location of the Parthenon sculptures
March 3rd, 2016 by Roger Darlington
This week, I visited the British Museum with a family of Czech friends. Of course, I’ve been to the museum on many occasions but, on each such visit, I always learn something new.
The majority of the surviving sculptures of the Parthenon are roughly equally divided between the British Museum in London and the Acropolis Museum in Athens. Other pieces are held by the Louvre Museum in Paris, the Vatican Museums, the National Museum in Copenhagen, the Kunthistoriches Museum in Vienna, the University Museum in Wurzburg, and the Glypothek in Munich.
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Things I learned on my latest visit to the British Museum (2): the origin of the term Phoenicia
March 3rd, 2016 by Roger Darlington
This week, I visited the British Museum with a family of Czech friends. Of course, I’ve been to the museum on many occasions but, on each such visit, I always learn something new.
By the beginning of the first millennium BC, the territory on the north coast of modern Lebanon and Syria was known as Phoenicia. The name derives from the Greek word for ‘purple’, referring to one of the principle industries of the region, the extraction of dye from murex shells and the production of purple-coloured fabrics.
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Things I learned on my latest visit to the British Museum (1): the origin of the word mausoleum
March 2nd, 2016 by Roger Darlington
This week, I visited the British Museum with a family of Czech friends. Of course, I’ve been to the museum on many occasions but, on each such visit, I always learn something new.
One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World was a huge tomb built for Maussollos, a satrap in the Persian Empire, between 353 and 350 BC at Halicarnassus (present day Bodrum, Turkey). The modern word ‘mausoleum’ derives from the Latin form of his name.
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The Academy Awards recognises the remarkable Alicia Vikander
March 2nd, 2016 by Roger Darlington
There were not many surprises in this week’s Academy Awards and it was right that Leonard di Caprio won an award at long last for his eponymous role in “The Revenant”.
A surprise to some may have been the award of Best Supporting Actress to the Swedish Alicia Vikander for her role in “The Danish Woman” (which I haven’t actually seen), but I am sure that this is deserved.
Over a year ago, I did a posting identifying Vikander as the hottest actress in Hollywood. Just under a year ago, I did another posting arguing that a star was born. You are going to hear a lot about this remarkable talent.
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
Did Conservative candidates cheat on election expenses to enable return of a Tory Government?
March 1st, 2016 by Roger Darlington
“Two dozen Tory MPs failed to declare thousands of pounds spent on their winning election campaigns in marginal seats, a ‘Mirror’ [newspaper] investigation has found.
None of the 24 Conservative candidates whose constituencies were visited by the controversial RoadTrip battlebuses included the cost within their election budget locally.
And 20 of them could have breached strict campaign spending limits had they declared it.
Breaching these limits is a criminal offence and could lead to calls for by-elections.”
Full story here.
Posted in British current affairs | Comments (0)
A review of “Trumbo” – a film about the Hollywood Ten
February 28th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
“Are you, or have you ever been, a member of the Communist Party?” During the ‘red scare’ of the late 1940s, this was the question posed to those called before the House Un-American Activities Committee in the United States.
In this evening’s Academy Awards, Bryan Cranstan has been nominated for Best Actor for his performance in the eponymous role in the film “Trumbo” which examines this dark period of American history. I don’t think he will win – I believe the award with go to Leonardo di Caprio for his role in “The Revenant” – but Cranstan is brilliant in his portrayal of the screen writer who was impriosned by the state and blacklisted by Hollywood.
You can read my review of the film here.
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