Archive for August, 2009


Is this the sickest man in America?

August 31st, 2009 by Roger Darlington

I refer to Arizona pastor Steve Anderson. Check out the evidence.

Posted in American current affairs | Comments (1)


Welcome to the Middle East

August 30th, 2009 by Roger Darlington

This weekend, the travel section of the “Observer” newspaper is mainly about the Middle East and apparently the region one of growing popularity to British travellers. As this piece puts it: “Once regarded as a dangerous no-go zone, the Middle East is emerging as the hottest travel destination of the year. While many countries are […]

Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (0)


The Japanese general election (1)

August 29th, 2009 by Roger Darlington

Tomorrow the Japanese will vote in a general election which is likely to be historic, since it seems certain that the Liberal Democratic Party – which has held power for 53 of the last 54 years – will lose to the Democratic Party of Japan. Japanese politics is a mystery to most people outside the […]

Posted in World current affairs | Comments (0)


My sixth short story

August 28th, 2009 by Roger Darlington

A month ago, I set myself the objective – set out in this posting – to write five short stories this summer. I have now achieved this target but the ideas are still flowing. So today I publish my sixth short story entitled “A Friend Indeed”. What do you think?

Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (10)


Wikipedia’s 3 million articles

August 27th, 2009 by Roger Darlington

Has anyone noticed? Wikipedia now has over 3 million articles in English. In October 2007, I wrote a column entitled “Is Wikipedia the best site on the web?”. At the time, there were almost 2 million articles in English. It is one of the few web sites that I use every day and it’s remarkable […]

Posted in Internet | Comments (0)


The Battle of Châlons

August 27th, 2009 by Roger Darlington

This evening, I watched a really interesting television programme about the life of Attila, the notorious leader of the Huns. The programme included detail of the Battle of Châlons in 451 when Attila’s forces were defeated by a coalition led by the Roman general Flavius Aetius and the Visigothic king Theodoric I. For many historians, […]

Posted in History | Comments (0)


How old do you feel?

August 27th, 2009 by Roger Darlington

Having read four books of short stories (as inspiration for my own short story writing), I’ve just read a totally different book called “Counter Clockwise” and subtitled “Mindful Health and the Power of Possibility”. As far as I know, it’s only been published in the USA so far and I bought it online. The official […]

Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments (0)


The pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood

August 26th, 2009 by Roger Darlington

I’ve enjoyed watching the six-part BBC television series on the pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood which went under the title “Desperate Romantics”. I’m sure that it took considerable licence with the facts but it told the story of this art movement with verve and colour and some naughtiness. The BBC web site on the series provides details on […]

Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)


A perfect storm of shortages

August 26th, 2009 by Roger Darlington

“As the world’s population grows, competition for food, water and energy will increase. Food prices will rise, more people will go hungry, and migrants will flee the worst-affected regions. That’s the simple idea at the heart of the warning from John Beddington, the UK government’s chief scientific adviser, of a possible crisis in 2030.” This […]

Posted in Environment | Comments (0)


New twist to filesharing debate

August 25th, 2009 by Roger Darlington

In a world in which most copyrighted material takes digital form and most consumers have access to a broadband connection, it is all too easy technically and usually cost-free for users to copy, distribute and adapt copyrighted works. In a news release and a statement issued by the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills (BIS) […]

Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments (0)