Archive for March, 2007
The origins of the Darlingtons
March 21st, 2007 by Roger Darlington
Do you know the origin of your surname? My family name is Darlington and someone of the same name has researched the origins. I find names absolutely fascinating and I’ve written a comprehensive review of naming practices around the world. Let me know if you’d like me to tell you something about the meaning or […]
Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (0)
The violation of women’s rights
March 20th, 2007 by Roger Darlington
The latest meeting of the UN Commission on the Status of Women did some good work in approving resolutions on ending female genital mutilation, against forced marriage of girls, and promoting the protection of women and girls from HIV infection. However, it also made itself a laughing stock by naming only one country for the […]
Posted in World current affairs | Comments (3)
The fear of thought
March 19th, 2007 by Roger Darlington
Thanks to my ever-thinking friend Nick Hobson for drawing my attention to a wonderful quote from the philosopher Bertrand Russell on the fear of thought. If you share Russell’s view that “Thought is great and swift and free, the light of the world, and the chief glory of man”, you might like to check out […]
Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments (1)
Our 25th wedding anniversary
March 19th, 2007 by Roger Darlington
Today is a very special day for Vee and me – it is our 25th wedding anniversary. In fact, we’re both working today, so we’re going to have a proper celebration on Friday evening when we go for dinner at Vee’s favourite restaurant. Then, in the summer when the weather is warmer (there’s a light […]
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The new Wembley stadium (2)
March 18th, 2007 by Roger Darlington
Last weekend, I blogged about the construction of the new Wembley Stadium. Yesterday was Wembley Stadium Community Day when some 35,000 local residents were given the chance to visit the stadium free of charge and the owners were given the opportunity to test various systems. By entering an absurdly simply quiz in our local newspaper, […]
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An explanation for “Lost”?
March 16th, 2007 by Roger Darlington
If you’re British and you have Virgin Media, you’ve just lost “Lost” – and I’m sorry for you. If you’re British and you have Sky, then – like me – you’ll still be hooked. In the last but one episode, they discovered a character called Roger. Can you believe the coincidence? But he’s long dead. […]
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (1)
A new word for you: Manichaeism
March 16th, 2007 by Roger Darlington
Earlier this week, I was watching “The Daily Show With Jon Stewart” when he interviewed Zbigniew Brzezinski, the former National Security Adviser to President Jimmy Carter. When commenting on the failure of the current US President, Brzezinski accused George Bush of “Manichean paranoia”. I’m convinced that nobody in the audience – and even possibly Jon […]
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The clash of religion (2): how Iraq is being partitioned
March 15th, 2007 by Roger Darlington
To many in the West, the conflict in Iraq is seen as a battle between coalition forces and Iraqi insurgents – but it’s not that simple as two facts make apparent. First, there is virtually no conflict in the northern third of the country where Kurds are predominant. Second, appalling though coalition casualties are, the […]
Posted in World current affairs | Comments (15)
The clash of religion (1): how India was partitioned
March 14th, 2007 by Roger Darlington
This year is the 60th anniversary of the partition of India in 1947 (the actual date is 14-15 August) and this week Channel Four television ran a one and half hour drama documentary on the momentous events of that period. It was good that the new post-war Labour Government immediately recognised the need to grant […]
Posted in History | Comments (0)
Britain’s unfinished books
March 13th, 2007 by Roger Darlington
A couple of weeks ago, I did a blog posting about Britain’s favourite books. This week, we have the results of a survey of books which Britons buy but do not manage to finish reading. In fact, it’s a very rare experience for me not to finish a book – it’s partly that I usually […]
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (3)