Archive for October, 2015
Remembering the Soviet role in the space race
October 13th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
When I was an adolescent in the 1960s, the space race between the USA and the USSR was at full pelt. It was an exciting time with a new achievement almost every few months. But, of course, we knew much more at the time about the background to the American space programme compared to the […]
Posted in History, Science & technology | Comments (0)
More Americans killed by guns since 1968 than in all U.S. wars
October 12th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
More Americans have died from guns in the United States since 1968 than on battlefields of all the wars in American history. Each year, the number of firearm-related deaths reach almost the equivalent of U.S. casualties in the Korean War. You can sees a visualisation of the relevant data here.
Posted in American current affairs | Comments (0)
A review of the new vertiginous film “The Walk”
October 11th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
For all of us, the Twin Towers in New York evoke terrible memories of 9/11. But, before that, they were iconic buildings that attracted millions of tourists (I visited several times) – and one amazing French tightrope walker. The feat of Philippe Petit was shown in the accomplished documentary “Man On Wire” [my review here] […]
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A review of the thrilling new movie “Sicario”
October 11th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
I’m a big fan of British actress Emily Blunt and it’s good to see her now taking more action roles. She’s excellent in the new thriller “Sicario” but so are her fellow thespians Josh Brolin and Benicio Del Toro. You can read my review here.
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
We have a world class triathlon star in the family
October 11th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
Vee’s nephew David Rowe is an amazing athlete who has run marathons and even performed in triathlons around the world. This weekend, he competed for the second time in the Ironman World Championship which was held in Kona, Hawaii. First, he swam 2.4 miles (3.9 kms) in 1 hour 14 minutes 20 seconds; then he […]
Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments (1)
A rare visit to the theatre to see “Farinelli And The King”
October 10th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
Although we live in London, Vee and I go too rarely to the theatre. One of my New Year resolutions for 2015 was to try to go to the theatre around once a quarter and this weekend we managed our third visit of the calendar year. We went to the Duke of York’s Theatre (opened […]
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
How the world’s population is becoming heavier and heavier
October 10th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
“In 2010, 11.5% of adults, or 565 million people, were obese. By 2014, that had already risen to 13% (670 million) … if the trajectory does not change, 17% of adults will be obese by 2025. There will be 170 million adults with a BMI above 35, which is the threshold for urgent medical treatment, such […]
Posted in Social policy, World current affairs | Comments (0)
My 31st short story: “Dying For A Pint”
October 9th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
For the past 31 Fridays, I’ve been revisiting my collection of short stories. This week’s piece – “Dying For Pint” – is the last that I have written and you can read it here. Perhaps inspiration will seize me and I’ll write some more stories sometime. Meanwhile I hope that you’ve enjoyed at least some […]
Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (0)
A review of the new film “Miss You Already”
October 9th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
Not all cinema can be escapist entertainment; sometimes a movie looks at life in all its pain and rawness. “Miss You Already” is about breast cancer viewed through the prism of female friendship. I was impressed and tearful. You can read my review here.
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
What’s really happening now in North Korea?
October 8th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
“It is estimated that 30-50% of North Korean GDP is now produced by the private sector … Kim Jong-un is different: he quietly encourages the market economy … Kim Jong-un wants to apply to his country a model of authoritarian capitalism, a so-called “developmental dictatorship”. This model worked very well in Taiwan and South Korea and now […]
Posted in World current affairs | Comments (0)