My reviews of books on the English language
January 18th, 2012 by Roger Darlington
I feel fortunate that English is my native language since it is the global language and so useful. I’m really interested in the use of the language and, over the years, I have read several books on the subject.
There was “Mother Tongue” by Bill Bryson [my review here], “Eats, Shoots And Leaves” by Lynne Truss [my review here] and “English As A Global Language” by David Crystal [my review here]. My first book of 2012 is another book by Crystal entitled “The Story Of English In 100 Words” which I have reviewed here.
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
Baby Catrin one year old today
January 17th, 2012 by Roger Darlington
Did I mention that i have a beautiful granddaughter called Catrin? I thought I might have made reference to her.
Well, little Catrin is one year old today. I was present at her birth day [see posting here] and I will be there for her birthday (I’m babysitting while mom and dad go out for a little celebration).
Rich & Emily have been great parents and Catrin is such a happy little girl. I just love being with her.
“I’m one now, granddad!”
Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (1)
What is American exceptionalism?
January 17th, 2012 by Roger Darlington
In my web site essay “A Short Guide To The American Political System”, I mention the notion of American exceptionalism. When he read my latest up-date of this essay, my astute American friend Michael Grace picked up on my reference to American exceptionalism and made some interesting remarks on the notion in the context of the current American political scene:
“Your discussion on American exceptionalism is prescient as we expect to hear a lot about this topic during the election mostly from Republican candidates. The thought was popularized by Tocqueville when he called Americans “exceptional” and has been seized upon ever since by right-wingers and reactionaries as a test of patriotism. What makes the current discussion different from the past is the popular connection between American exceptionalism and natural law, or natural rights, as endowed by “our Creator”. The implied ties between American exceptionalism and God is pretty heady stuff since this thinking suggests that America is immune from the laws of history. We are “exceptional.”
Current forms of American exceptionalism go like this:
America is the first nation created by intent and design to recognize the “natural” rights of citizens that flow from the basic laws of humanity as handed down by God to Moses which are specified in our founding documents, the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. Hence, American exceptionalism derives from natural law as revealed by God. To deny or question American exceptionalism is to deny the God-given destiny of America to be the guardian of human freedom and liberty to all mankind and the world. Therefore, any intervention or any action that supports this objective is justified. As a result, all Americans, particularly our leaders, must be whole-heartedly committed to fulfilling this destiny to preserve our “God-given” liberties and freedoms, otherwise you cannot be a “true” American or trusted to a leadership position.
Many Americans think that our schools, our leaders and our culture have failed to reinforce this belief in our citizens and our children and, as a result, we are “weaker” than before which threatens our liberties. Already the demagoguery has started with Romney accusing the President of “apologizing for America” which—of course—he has never done, nor is there a specific instance that Romney can point to in making this claim because it never happened. But it makes for a good sound bite and many Americans believe him. Unfortunately, during times of economic turmoil and fear, ultra-nationalism that provokes national pride has a mass appeal.”
Posted in American current affairs | Comments (0)
Twenty predictions for 2112
January 16th, 2012 by Roger Darlington
The BBC has invited readers of its web site to make predictions for the world a century from now and asked a couple of futurologists to assess the likelihood of the 20 chosen by the BBC. Check them out here.
If Prediction 3 is correct, come back in 2012 to see how well the forecasts worked out.
Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments (1)
How the Internet is impacting news and newspapers
January 16th, 2012 by Roger Darlington
The editor of the “Guardian” today tells his readers:
” .. we’re well aware that, increasingly, you tell us that what you want from the printed newspaper changes as you seek out, or absorb, breaking news from the web, mobile, TV and radio. Half of you now read the paper in the evening, by which time you want more pieces that explain events and contextualise them.”
This is one illustration of how the Net is reshaping the landscape of news rapidly andy dramatically. This is the subject of my latest bimonthly column on Internet issues which you can read here.
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A review of “War Horse”
January 15th, 2012 by Roger Darlington
Steven Spielberg’s film adaptation of “War Horse” opened in the UK this weekend and Vee and I went to see it with our friend Spence. They admired it more than I did. You can read my review here.
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
Fans continue to raise funds for troubled Darlington
January 13th, 2012 by Roger Darlington
Am I in financial difficulty? No – it ‘s a different story.
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International Year of Co-operatives
January 13th, 2012 by Roger Darlington
In case you missed it (!), today marked the start of the United Nations International Year of Co-operatives. You can learn more here.
My friend Ed Mayo is the Secretary General of Co-operatives UK and has written this interesting essay to make the case for more co-operation.
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Word of the day: entropy
January 12th, 2012 by Roger Darlington
The shortest – but not the easiest – examination question I ever saw read simply: “Entropy. Discuss.”
A simple explanation of entropy is that it is the state of disorder in a system and the natural tendency for all systems to have increased disorder.
A fuller explanation is here and a very full exposition is here.
Does it matter? (sorry for the pun if you’re of a scientific disposition). Well, it’s the reason why the universe will come to an end.
Posted in Cultural issues, Science & technology | Comments (1)
What are we going to do about Iran’s nuclear intentions?
January 12th, 2012 by Roger Darlington
I am especially interested in the future of Iran since I visited the country only two years ago and know how much people there would like a more liberal regime. You can read my account of the trip here.
This week, we have the news that a fourth attack has been made on a scientist involved in Iran’s nuclear programme.
These assassinations raise complex moral issues and real questions of practical impact and unintended consequences. These are issues which I sought to explore in my short story “A Shot In The Dark” which you can read here.
Posted in My life & thoughts, World current affairs | Comments (0)