Archive for August, 2014
Where did ISIS or the Islamic State come from?
August 14th, 2014 by Roger Darlington
The BBC explains in the short video and timeline here.
Posted in World current affairs | Comments (0)
The Imperial War Museum and the First World War
August 13th, 2014 by Roger Darlington
I have visited the Imperial War Museum in London many times but, on 19 July 2014, the museum reopened with new First World War Galleries to mark the centenary of the outbreak of what used to be called the Great War. So today I revisited the museum with my Sloval friend Ivan to see the […]
Posted in History | Comments (1)
A tribute to the actor Robin Williams
August 12th, 2014 by Roger Darlington
Susan Schneider, the widow of the acclaimed actor Robin Williams, has said of his death: “As he is remembered, it is our hope the focus will not be on Robin’s death, but on the countless moments of joy and laughter he gave to millions.” In that spirit, I encourage you to revisit some of his […]
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
So is fruit really good for you or it is actually bad for you?
August 11th, 2014 by Roger Darlington
I had a long conversation recently with a relative who told me that most fruit is not good for you because of the sugar content. There’s a lot of conflicting information on the Internet, but this advice from an Icelandic guy seems sensible to me. So it seems that I can keep eating a banana […]
Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments (0)
“Hard Choices” (4): my review of the memoir
August 10th, 2014 by Roger Darlington
I have now finished reading the 600-page memoir by Hillary Clinton of her four years as America’s Secretary of State. You can read it here.
Posted in American current affairs, History, World current affairs | Comments (0)
American presidents (7): Bill Clinton
August 9th, 2014 by Roger Darlington
The final session of my City Lit course on post-war US presidents covered two: the elder Bush and Clinton. This session saw a return of the lecturer Paul Hadjipieris who had previously covered Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter. He is a personable and able lecturer and we all learned a lot. Bill Clinton was the […]
Posted in History | Comments (1)
American presidents (6): George H W Bush
August 8th, 2014 by Roger Darlington
The final session of my City Lit course on post-war US presidents covered two: the elder Bush and Clinton. This session saw a return of the lecturer Paul Hadjipieris who had previously covered Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter. He is a personable and able lecturer and we all learned a lot. George H W Bush […]
Posted in History | Comments (0)
Word of the day: argot
August 7th, 2014 by Roger Darlington
Argot is a specialised idiomatic vocabulary peculiar to a particular class or group of people, especially that of an underworld group, devised for private communication and identification. I guess classic examples would be the language used by criminal gangs or prison inmates, but the term argot is used more widely to refer to specialised jargon […]
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American presidents (5): Ronald Reagan
August 6th, 2014 by Roger Darlington
This week, I was back at the City Lit to resume the course on post-war American presidents. Our lecturer this time was Mark Bedford and we looked at Ronald Reagan who was the 40th president and served from 1981-1989. He took us through Reagan’s ascent to the White House as well as his two terms as […]
Posted in History | Comments (4)
Confused by all the conflicts in the Middle East?
August 5th, 2014 by Roger Darlington
The “Guardian” newspaper today helpfully provides a short guide to 15 of the nations in the Middle East explaining who they support and who they oppose. Check it out here.
Posted in World current affairs | Comments (0)