Archive for October, 2009
Sixty years young
October 25th, 2009 by Roger Darlington
Today Vee and I attended a celebratory lunch to mark the 60th anniversary of our dear friend Georgeanne. She certainly doesn’t look or act her age. As well as a present, I gave her a print out of my web notes on “Why It’s Fun To Be In One’s Sixties In Britain”.
Posted in Science & technology | Comments (0)
Tim Minchin on Jonathan Ross
October 24th, 2009 by Roger Darlington
This weekend, I caught the Australian musician cum comedian Tim Minchin on “Friday Night With Jonathan Ross” on BBC television. He composed a special piece for the show which you can view here: This is another terrific performance by Minchin:
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
Time for the Tobin tax?
October 23rd, 2009 by Roger Darlington
Today the new Task Force on International Financial Transactions and Development will meet in Paris where it will be chaired by French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner. It will consider an idea often known as the Tobin tax. Now there is growing support for such a tax – but what is it? Put simply, it is […]
Posted in World current affairs | Comments (0)
Word of the day: synchronicity
October 22nd, 2009 by Roger Darlington
Some of my friends use this word quite a lot, but I confess that I’ve never been sure what it meant. I looked it up on Answers.com here. As a result, I’m no clearer. Any offers?
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (5)
International Day of Climate Action
October 21st, 2009 by Roger Darlington
This Saturday 24 October is the International Day of Climate Action . Already, over 4000 creative events are being planned in over 170 countries – from the slopes of Mount Everest to the underwater reefs of the Maldive Islands, to the parks and streets of your own communities. Activists will be uploading images of their […]
Posted in Environment | Comments (0)
Iran – here we come
October 21st, 2009 by Roger Darlington
Today I collected our visas and tickets from Cox & Kings for our forthcoming holiday in Iran. I’ve already read two books on the history of Iran. Another thing I do before each trip abroad is to check out my own advice on “How To Travel Wisely”.
Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (1)
Murder in South Africa
October 20th, 2009 by Roger Darlington
It is well-known that South Africa has one of the highest murder rates in the world as evidenced by the statistics. The annual homicide rate per 100,000 inhabitants is around 40 in South Africa compared to 6 in the USA or 2 in the UK. What is less appreciated is that the police in South […]
Posted in World current affairs | Comments (0)
Fewer films but more filmgoers
October 19th, 2009 by Roger Darlington
As a massive movie fan, I was interested in this article which highlights the fall in Hollywood films – from just over 600 last year to fewer than 400 next year – at the same time as ticket revenues look likely to climb by 2% this year. The key factor is probably the same one: […]
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
Word of the day: doozy
October 18th, 2009 by Roger Darlington
Don’t know what it means? Never even heard of it? Well, that was me at the start of the week. But we’ve had two young Canadians staying with us and they introduced me to the term. It seems that, depending on the context, it can mean almost anything – see these suggestions.
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (1)
The modern history of Iran
October 18th, 2009 by Roger Darlington
In just under two weeks time, Vee and I will be travelling to Iran for what promises to be an unusual and fascinating holiday. In preparation for the trip, I have already read a full history of Iran which I reviewed here. Now I have just completed a more detailed history of the last century […]
Posted in History | Comments (0)