Archive for July, 2011
A review of “The Tree Of Life”
July 14th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
It may be one of the oddest films ever released on the big screen but it is bold and ambitious. I’ve reviewed Terrence Malik’s “The Tree Of Life” here.
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
Oh brother (and sister), where art thou?
July 13th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
I was a national trade union official for 24 years of my working life and believe that all genuinely free societies need strong, representative and independent labour organisations. I’m a fervent film fan and love movies of most genres. These two interests come together in respect of films that feature trade unions or least workers […]
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The fascinating science of mirror neurons
July 11th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
I’ve just started reading a book called “The Social Animal” by David Books. Early on, Brooks introduces the new thinking of neuroscientists about the idea of mirror neurons. One way of trying to understand this notion is to read the relevant Wikipedia page here. Another approach would be to watch this seven-minute video:
Posted in Science & technology | Comments (0)
The heated debate over a carbon tax for Australia
July 11th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
Every nation on the globe needs to be thinking about its contribution to global warming and debating what it needs to do to reduce its carbon footprint. This is especially the case for Australia which simultaneously contributes more than its ‘fair share’ of emissions and is especially vulnerable to the impact of climate change. On […]
Posted in Environment, World current affairs | Comments (0)
The end of the “World”
July 10th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
Today has seen publication of the last edition of the “News Of The World after 168 years of its history. It’s been an amazing week as the scandal has exploded and, of course, it’s far from over. One of those most responsible for exposing the wrong-doing has been the “Guardian” investigative journalist Nick Davies. In […]
Posted in British current affairs | Comments (0)
Derren Brown – the great mentalist
July 10th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
Last night, Vee and I joined our friends Eric and Cindy to attend the Shaftesbury Theatre in central London for a show mounted by the British illusionist Derren Brown. It is called “Svengali” and it is the fifth of his theatre tours. Brown asks his audience not to reveal the nature of the show to […]
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Thought For The Week now received by 1,700
July 9th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
Each Sunday, I send out an e-mail with my Thought For The Week (and notes of new items on my web site). The circulation list – which is genuinely worldwide – has just reached 1,700. You can check out the 600+ thoughts sent out over the last 12 years here. If you’d like to receive […]
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The “News of the World” scandal reminds me …
July 9th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
… of a short story I wrote two years ago entitled “The PM And The MP”. Check it out here.
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One million visits in first six months of 2011
July 7th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
Like most people who have a web site, I regularly check the traffic statistics to see how much interest there is in my material. I’m pleased to say that, if the first six months of this year, the total number of visits to my web site – which incorporates my personal and professinal blogs – […]
Posted in Internet, My life & thoughts | Comments (0)
A review of “Green Lantern”
July 6th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
How many super-heroes movies can one take? In my case, quite a lot. “Green Lantern” – reviewed here – is not the best but it’s not the worst either.
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