Now the American presidential race gets serious (2)
August 28th, 2012 by Roger Darlington
“It’s worse to imagine a world with Obama getting a second term than it is to imagine a world without pizza. Because with Obama in a second term, there will be no pizza. For anyone.”
This is the dire warning from Republican-supporting Herman Cain who is an expert on the selling of pizzas and once wanted to be President of the United States.
Posted in American current affairs | Comments (0)
Gettysburg: the visit, the novel, the movie
August 28th, 2012 by Roger Darlington
The battle of Gettysburg was arguably the key conflict in the American Civil War which itself was a seminal period in US history.
On a recent visit to the United States, I toured the battlefield and you can read my account here.
Subsequently I read the award-winning novel of the battle called “The Killer Angels” and you can read my review here.
This Bank Holiday weekend, I watched the four-hour movie “Gettysburg” and you can read my review here.
Posted in Cultural issues, History | Comments (2)
A review of “Shadow Dancer”
August 27th, 2012 by Roger Darlington
Britain is noted for its wet Bank Holiday weekends and this one has been no exception. But I went out with friends to Kilburn in north London to see an excellent film at the Tricyle theatre and to have a delicious Afghan meal at “Ariana II” (“Ariana I” is in New York). You can read my review of “Shadow Dancer” here.
Posted in Cultural issues, My life & thoughts | Comments (0)
“That’s one small step for (a) man …”
August 26th, 2012 by Roger Darlington
I was 21 and a university student when Apollo 11 went to the moon and astronaut Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon. As President of my Students Union, I kept the building open all night so that we could witness live this utterly historic event. So I mourn Armstrong’s death.
But what did he really say as his feet touched the surface of the moon for the first time? There are several accounts here.
Posted in History | Comments (4)
“The Hunger Games” trilogy by Suzanne Collins
August 25th, 2012 by Roger Darlington
One of my projects in a quiet August was to read all 1,400 pages of these three books given me by my daughter-in-law.
I’ve now finished the three novels and thoroughly enjoyed them:
- “The Hunger Games” – my review here.
- “Catching Fire” – my review here.
- “Mockingjay” – my review here.
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
What are the differences between the American and British political systems?
August 24th, 2012 by Roger Darlington
I’ve just up-dated one of the most-visited parts of my web site and now suggest 40 differences between the political systems of the USA and the UK.
Check out the list here.
Posted in American current affairs, British current affairs | Comments (0)
The cutest girl in the world
August 23rd, 2012 by Roger Darlington
As regular readers of this blog will be well aware, I have a granddaughter called Catrin who is now just over a year and half old. I try to see her each week, but I went on a trip to Finland and then she went on holiday to Wales. So, when I saw her this week, it was for the first time for three weeks.
Even in that time, she has grown taller. Also she is becoming more and more vocal and deveping a vocabulary which includes: mummy, daddy, Elmo, bubbles, the names of friends at her nursery, and the names of animals. So far she has not managed granddad.
She is enormous fun and, during the summer, she loves it when I collect her from nursery and take her to the coloured sand on London’s South Bank, officially called “Rainbow Park”.
“Do you think I’m cute, granddad?”
“This is fun – thanks for bringing me here.”
Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (1)
“Your martini, Mr Bond. Shaken not stirred.”
August 21st, 2012 by Roger Darlington
In my teenage years in the 1960s, James Bond was as much a part of my cultural landscape as The Beatles. I read all 14 Bond books by Ian Fleming. As each film came out, I saw it at the cinema, starting with “Dr No” in 1962 and my favourite “From Russia With Love” a year later [my review here]. Over the years, I have seen all 22 Bond movies, the last being “Quantum Of Solace” [my review here].
So I did not take much persuading this week to attend an exhibition at London’s Barbican entitled “Designing 007: Fifty Years Of Bond Style” accompanied by my colleague CIA Agent Felix Leiter (aka my American friend Eric Lee). The exhibition marks the 50th anniversary of Bond films and it is an extensive collection of costumes and models and various artefacts.
Bond and I debate who will take first turn
at driving the Aston Martin DB5
Associated with the exhibition, the Barbican has provided a Martini Bar so that one can really get into the Bond persona. Eric pressed me into trying one. The trouble is that I never drink cocktails and the vodka went straight to my head.
How I viewed the world after my first martini
– both shaken and stirred
Posted in Cultural issues, My life & thoughts | Comments (0)
The London Labour Film Festival
August 19th, 2012 by Roger Darlington
Anna Burton, a friend of mine, has put together an excellent programme of 18 works for the London Labour Film Festival. It will be held at the Prince Charles cinema from 13-15 September 2012.
You can check out the full programme here and you can book any of the films here.
There are not enough films dealing seriously with the world of work and the organisation of labour, but I’ve devoted a special section of my website to reviews of 27 such films, a few of which are featured in the Festival.
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
Reviews of four Jason Bourne movies
August 19th, 2012 by Roger Darlington
I thought that “The Bourne Ultimatum” would be the end of the story but, five years later, the Bourne movie franchise has been rebooted and this weekend I saw “The Bourne Legacy”, a work in which Bourne is constantly referenced but never appears. You can read my reviews of the four Bourne films here.
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)