Archive for September, 2013
The latest debate on American exceptionalism: Obama vs Putin
September 15th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
There is an notion – ill-defined, but important in political discourse in the USA – called “American exceptionalism”. The term has recently been used in very different ways by President Barack Obama of the United States and President Vladimir Putin of Russia. In his address to the American people on the situation in Syria following […]
Posted in American current affairs, World current affairs | Comments (0)
A review of the excellent new movie “Rush”
September 15th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
The Academy Awards season is still many months away, but I’ll be really surprised if Ron Howard’s new movie “Rush” does not garner a number of nominations. Check out my revierw here.
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
Five years after the collapse of Lehman Brothers, a short story partially inspired by that traumatic event
September 14th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
Five years ago this weekend, the American giant Lehman Brothers was allowed to go under, triggering a set of huge financial ripples which, all around the world, we are still feeling. Four years ago, I started writing short stories and a lead character in my very first was a victim of the Lehman collapse. The […]
Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (0)
What will other life forms think of humankind when they bump into Voyager 1?
September 13th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
It’s fascinating news that the first manmade object has left the solar system. It is, of course, the satellite probe Voyager 1 which was launched as long ago as 5 September 1977. Some scientists are still not convinced that its current position is really outside the solar system, but this is a technical argument that […]
Posted in Science & technology | Comments (0)
A railway station with more lines than usual
September 12th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
Today I used Victoria railway station in central London for one of my regular trips out to Snodland in Kent where I was chairing the Customer Challenge Group for South East Water. It is such a busy station that they’ve put coloured lines on the floor to indicate the direction to follow to find various […]
Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (0)
Up to 10,000 visits to my web site
September 11th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
My web site – which includes this personal blog NightHawk and my professional blog CommsWatch – continues to receives a large number of visits, but the number varies by the day of the week and the month of the year. This week, I’ve had a couple of days with just over 10,000 visits – something […]
Posted in Internet, My life & thoughts | Comments (2)
To what extent has Britain become a less politically committed society?
September 11th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
“Identifying with a political party is known to increase significantly the likelihood of voting for that party at election time … Traditionally party identification was rooted in social class … At the same time the Labour and Conservative parties took distinct positions on issues, mirroring their class-based support. As class self-identifications have changed and parties […]
Posted in British current affairs | Comments (0)
To what extent has Britain become a less Christian society?
September 11th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
“There is little doubt that a substantial change has taken place, with a marked decline in the proportion who describe themselves as belonging to a particular religion. In 1983, around two in three people (68 per cent) considered themselves to belong to one religion or another; in 2012, only around half (52 per cent) do […]
Posted in British current affairs | Comments (0)
A review of the new rom-com “About Time”
September 9th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
If you liked “Four Weddings And A Funeral”, you’ll enjoy “About Time” – fewer weddings but otherwise a similar formula. You can read my review here.
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
Is this the least violent period in the history of humankind?
September 8th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
Most people are convinced that we live in violent times – perhaps the most violent times. But it ain’t necessarily so. I was visiting friends yesterday and, on the kitchen table, was the book “The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined” by Canadian psychologist Stephen Pinker. Now I am never going to read […]
Posted in History, Social policy | Comments (0)