Archive for June, 2008
The American presidential election (43)
June 15th, 2008 by Roger Darlington
‘Mr. Obama is hardly alone in making use of the Web (remember Howard Dean in 2004). What sets him apart is his openness to contributions from those working outside the campaign organization. As he described it to a Time magazine reporter last week, “We just had some incredibly creative young people who got involved and […]
Posted in World current affairs | Comments (0)
Happy Father’s Day
June 15th, 2008 by Roger Darlington
In the UK, this Sunday is Father’s Day (I know that Father’s Day and Mother’s Day are celebrated on different days around the world), so I want to wish a good day to all fathers like me. I had a card and a call from my son Richard and, in remembrance of all the super-hero […]
Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (0)
Cuban dance evening
June 15th, 2008 by Roger Darlington
Since I went on holiday to Cuba [my acccount here], I’ve been more than usually interested in all things Cuban. So I recently had a great night at a performance by the Buena Vista Social Club [my blog posting here]. Last night, together with my wife Vee and brother-in-law Derek, I attended a show of […]
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
Fly past over London
June 14th, 2008 by Roger Darlington
Whenever the Royal Air Force does a fly past over central London, I try to catch it at home since we live almost due west of the city centre and usually catch such fly pasts before the aircraft disperse. Today it was the Queen’s official birthday and so, after the ceremony of the Trooping of […]
Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (0)
Has British politics taken leave of its senses?
June 13th, 2008 by Roger Darlington
Roy Greenslade thinks so – as he explains here – and it’s hard to disagree with him. First, we have the absurdity of a Labour Government making an outrageous attack on our civil liberties by forcing through Parliament provision for detention without charge for up to 42 days by bullying its MPs and even bribing […]
Posted in British current affairs | Comments (6)
Why be a blogger?
June 13th, 2008 by Roger Darlington
“I blog because I find it a form of community and am obsessed with daily writing. It helps me separate what is important, versus the same old stuff I do every day. I actually learn more about the world through the research I do in order to post a blog entry. Also, down deep, part […]
Posted in Internet | Comments (1)
Men on the moon
June 13th, 2008 by Roger Darlington
Between 1968 and 1972, nine American spacecraft voyaged to the moon and 12 American men walked on its surface, the first (and last) human beings to ever leave this planet and land on another celestial body. This incredible story is told in a remarkable documentary “In The Shadow Of The Moon” which was released last […]
Posted in History | Comments (0)
The American presidential election (42)
June 12th, 2008 by Roger Darlington
Five outrageous and untrue smears about Barack Obama are demolished on this new web site.
Posted in World current affairs | Comments (0)
The Needham Question
June 12th, 2008 by Roger Darlington
The Chinese began printing 600 years before Johannes Gutenberg introduced the technique in Germany. They built the first chain drive 700 years before the Europeans. And they made use of a magnetic compass at least a century before the first reference to it appeared elsewhere. So why, in the middle of the 15th century, did […]
Posted in History | Comments (2)
Beware the hoax e-mail
June 11th, 2008 by Roger Darlington
I regularly receive e-mails circulating a warning – usually about some health or safety situation – and urging me to pass on the message to all my friends. From experience, I know that virtually all of these e-mails are hoaxes, although the sender does not realise this and is acting with the best of intentions. […]
Posted in Internet | Comments (2)