Archive for January, 2013
“The House I Live In” or how America lost the war on drugs
January 19th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
In 40 years, of America’s ‘war on drugs’, more than 45 million arrests have been made. The approach has made the United States the world’s largest jailer with almost 2.3 million individuals incarcerated. This means that the USA has the highest documented incarceration rate in the world with about 1% of all adults in jail. African […]
Posted in American current affairs | Comments (0)
A winter wonderland throughout Britain
January 18th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
Here in London, it started snowing about 8.30 am and only stopped in mid afternoon. The whole scene is now a magical icing of white. I know that almost all of Britain is now under snow – while friends in Australia are struggling with temperatures of more than 40C. In spite of the snow, I […]
Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (0)
A review of the new film “Quartet”
January 16th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
Moviemakers have woken up to the fact that not all film fans are teenagers guzzling popcorn and checking their mobile. So a new stream of films is appealing to an older audience. One current example is the British work “Quartet” which I’ve reviewed here.
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
When is a novel not a novel?
January 16th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
Apparently when it’s an “infranovel” which is what French writer Laurent Binet calls his work “HHhH”, the story of the 1942 assassination of the Nazi leader Reinhard Heydrich. You can read my review of this unusual book here.
Posted in Cultural issues, History | Comments (0)
Don’t you just love Jodie Foster?
January 15th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
I’m a big fan of Jodie Foster. She’s incredibly bright (a degree from Yale and fluent in French), she’s great looking (ask Cydney Bernard), she’s the parent of two boys, she’s a fine actress (“The Accused”, “Silence Of The Lambs”, “Contact”), she’s an accomplished producer and director, and she has chosen to deal with her […]
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
Why is the freezing point of water 32F and not 0F?
January 14th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
Believe it or not, this was a question put to me by a colleague today. She had been asked by one of her children and did not know the answer. Neither did it – but I resolved to find out. The short answer is that the Dutch-German-Polish physicist Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit (1686–1736) chose to make the zero point of […]
Posted in Science & technology | Comments (0)
At last … I obtain the iPhone 5
January 13th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
I must be the only person in Britain who has used the original iPhone for more than five years. I took possession of the iPhone 1 on 13 November 2007 and it has served me brilliantly ever since. I have looked after it and someone in my local O2 store called it “immaculate”. But, for […]
Posted in My life & thoughts, Science & technology | Comments (2)
How many redundant phrases are there to begin a sentence in conversation?
January 12th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
“The thing is …” “To be honest with you …” “To tell you the truth …” “Don’t get me wrong …” “At the end of the day …” “When all is said and done …” “When push comes to shove …” “In this day and age …” “Going forward …” Please can we have a […]
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
How many redundant phrases are there to end a sentence in conversation?
January 12th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
“… you know” “… you know what I’m saying?” “… you know what I mean?” “… so to speak” “… so to say” “… right?” “… innit?” “… going forward” Please can we have a national agreement that nobody will use these phrases?
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
How American capitalism sickens and kills its citizens
January 11th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
“Americans are dying and suffering at rates that we know are unnecessary because people in other high-income countries are living longer lives and enjoying better health. What really concerns our panel is why, for decades, we have been slipping behind.” This a is the comment of the chair of a panel in the United States […]
Posted in American current affairs | Comments (1)