Archive for March, 2015
Do you understand the difference between Sunni and Shia Islam? (1)
March 11th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
I have just started to read “Zone Of Crisis: Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran And Iraq” by Amin Saikal, an Afghan-born scholar of international affairs who is Director of the Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies at the Australian National University. Afghanistan and Pakistan are predominately Sunni states, while Iraq and Iran have a Shia majority population […]
Posted in World current affairs | Comments (1)
The Great Wall of China: fact and fiction
March 10th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
Only this week did we finally get round to watching a Channel Four television programme recorded three months ago concerning the Great Wall of China. It turns out that there was not one wall but 16 walls originally built some 2,200 years ago. The total length of these walls adds up to 21,000 kms which […]
Posted in History | Comments (0)
How to fly round the world without using any fuel
March 9th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
I like seeing the world, but I have a low boredom threshold and I enjoy my sleep – so I would be a terrible candidate to fly an experimental aircraft all around the globe. Swiss pilots André Borschberg and Bertrand Piccard will take turns piloting a single seater craft called Solar Impulse 2 for 21,747 […]
Posted in Environment | Comments (0)
U.S. presidential election (3): who will be the Republican opponent to Hillary Clinton?
March 8th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
“On the Republican side there are already more than a dozen potential candidates jockeying for position. So 10 months before a single voter will cast a ballot – and 20 months before the 2016 presidential election – the race to succeed Barack Obama has begun. At the outset of the race the position of the […]
Posted in American current affairs | Comments (0)
It’s International Women’s Day
March 8th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
There are many forms of discrimination and many cases of inequality but, in the history of humankind, there is nothing that equals the scale and severity of discrimination against women and the inequality which women suffer. So today. International Women’s Day, I send my love to all the wonderful women in both my personal and […]
Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments (0)
The naked truth: 11 things you never knew about ancient Greek and Roman bodies
March 7th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
As part of a promotion of a course at London’s City Lit further education college, this interesting list has been prepared: Well rounded individual 1. The Ancient Greeks were the first to produce free standing, three-dimensional statues. Previously it was more common to carve figures on stone representing only the front or the side. Poker […]
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
Middle Name Pride Day 2015
March 6th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
Apparently today is Middle Name Pride Day. I had no idea that there was such a name until I heard a reference on the radio. But … here goes. My middle name is Alessandro which is Italian because my mother was from Naples. What’s your middle name and why?
Posted in Cultural issues, My life & thoughts | Comments (0)
The latest photograph of my granddaughter Catrin
March 6th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
Super cute Catrin (just four) models a hat borrowed from a young Spanish woman whom we befriended at “our favourite cafe”
Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)
Some recommendations for World Book Day
March 5th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
I have always loved books and reading and I support World Book Day as a way of promoting writing and literature not just in schools but everywhere. You can read my reviews of a range of fiction works here. My granddaughter Catrin is going to have a new book for our bedtime reading tonight – […]
Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)
A star is born: the Swedish actress Alicia Vikander
March 5th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
You may not have heard of her but, believe me, you will. After roles in a number of Scandinavian films such as “A Royal Affair” [my review here], she is beginning to appear in English-language movies like “Ex Machina” [my review here]. She is beautiful and talented and has a special relationship with the camera. If […]
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (1)