Archive for February, 2009


Some favourite places in London

February 28th, 2009 by Roger Darlington

A favourite cafe – Gaby’s A favourite cake place – Valerie A favourite restaurant – Incanto A favourite pancake place – Kensington Creperie A favourite card shop – Medici A favourite art gallery – Courtauld Gallery A favourite museum – Victoria & Albert A favourite cinema – Curzon Soho A favourite street – Museum Street […]

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“Everything is amazing and no one is happy”

February 26th, 2009 by Roger Darlington

Many thanks to my friend Dominic Ridley for drawing my attention to this amusing clip from Louis CK on the Conan O’Brian Show. We should all moan less and be happier. How? Check out my advice here.

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What does “Jai Ho” mean?

February 25th, 2009 by Roger Darlington

A few weeks ago, I thoroughly enjoyed viewing the feel-good movie “Slumdog Millionaire” [see my review here] and my wife surprised me on Valentine’s Day by giving me the soundtrack CD of the movie. The final song is called “Jai Ho” and is played during an exuberant dance sequence at the end of the film […]

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Real Help Now

February 24th, 2009 by Roger Darlington

You probably won’t have noticed it but the British Government has just launched a new web site to explain to UK citizens what it is doing to tackle the economic recession. It’s called “Real Help Now”. The idea is said to borrow from the the wish of the Obama administration in the United States to […]

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Seen a black swan recently?

February 24th, 2009 by Roger Darlington

Actually, you are living through one – the global financial crisis that has stunned bankers and traders around the world. Actually you are one – in evolutionary terms, your chances of being here are “a chance occurrence of monstrous proportions”. The concept and the quote come from Nassim Nicholas Taleb in his bestselling book “The […]

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Academy Awards 2009

February 23rd, 2009 by Roger Darlington

Last night was a great evening for the British at the 81st Academy Awards ceremony – for full list of nominations and winners, see here. “Slumdog Millionaire” won no less than eight Oscars including Best Film and Best Director [see my review here] and, after six nominations, Kate Winslet, won the Best Actress accolade for […]

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“The Counterfeiters”

February 22nd, 2009 by Roger Darlington

I’m guessing that you’ve never heard of the film “The Counterfeiters” – but this Austrian work the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film last year. I’m guessing that you’ve never heard of “Operation Bernhard” – but this secret German plan devised during the Second World War was the largest counterfeiting operation in history. And […]

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Am I a Buddhist?

February 21st, 2009 by Roger Darlington

A reader of my web site has recently e-mailed me to ask whether I am a Buddhist. Apparently he thought from my writings that I might be. In fact, I am not. I am a humanist. But what do Buddhists believe? They don’t believe in God or an after life – which is fine by […]

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A new kind of hero

February 21st, 2009 by Roger Darlington

If this story is true (check out the photo), then Indian Babu Sassi is a new kind of hero. Certainly he has a top job.

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Forgotten World (165): Suriname

February 20th, 2009 by Roger Darlington

Suriname is the smallest state in terms of area and population in South America. The country is the only Dutch-speaking region in the Western Hemisphere which is not a part of the Netherlands. Since independence from the Netherlands in 1975, the former Dutch Guiana has endured coups and a civil war. Former military strongman Desi […]

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