Archive for November, 2015
U.S. presidential election (13): the astonishing rise of Ben Carson
November 8th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
To almost non-Americans – and, I suspect, many Americans – the current success of Ben Carson in the race to become the Republican candidate for the US Presidency is simply amazing. The retired neurosurgeon with no experience of politics has now overtaken Donald Trump – himself a political outsider – who has previously been in […]
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A review of the classic crime movie “Heat”
November 7th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
In 1995, Michael Mann wrote and directed a terrific film called “Heat” which was the first to feature the stars Robert De Niro and Al Pacino together. I have just revisited it and reviewed it here.
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A week in the life of a consumer advocate
November 7th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
As I have a portfolio career currently working with six organisations, my schedule is very varied and some weeks are fuller than others in terms of meetings and events. This past week has been especially busy, with meetings every day, and three occasions in which I have chaired events. On Monday, I chaired the Customer […]
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A tribute to my university friend Dan Filson
November 6th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
I have just learned the sad news of the recent death of Dan Filson. In the late 1960s/early 1970s, Dan and I were at university together, both of us studying Management Sciences at the then University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST). In the academic year 1969-70, we both served as full-time sabbatical […]
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How to be healthy
November 6th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
In my new Friday series revisiting the advice in the Life Skills section of my web site, today I invite you to consider “How To Be Healthy”.
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10 words of the year
November 5th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
“Collins English Dictionary” has chosen “binge-watch” as its 2015 Word of the Year. the word means “to watch a large number of television programmes (especially all the shows from one series) in succession”. Vee and I have done this most recently with series 1 of “Homeland”. You can view all 10 of Collins’ words of […]
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BBC One to film “His Dark Materials” trilogy
November 4th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
It’s great news that BBC One is to produce a television adaptation of the brilliant “His Dark Materials” trilogy by Philip Pullman. I really admired the books: “Northern Lights” – my review here ‘The Subtle Knife” -my review here “The Amber Spyglass” – my review here The first novel was turned into a film called “The […]
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Word of the day: pabulum
November 3rd, 2015 by Roger Darlington
In the United States, former Florida governor Jeb Bush is really struggling to make an impact in his effort to become the Republican candidate in next year’s presidential election. In an attempt to revive his campaign, he has gone on the attack in relation to his rivals, declaring: “The campaign trail is littered with candidates […]
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A short guide to the Canadian political system
November 2nd, 2015 by Roger Darlington
While I was in Kenya a couple of weeks ago, there was a General Election in Canada with a spectacular result. Having started out in third place, the Liberals stormed to a decisive victory, so that the new Prime Minister is Justin Trudeau, son of the two-time PM Pierre Trudeau. As a result, I’ve updated […]
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A review of the novel “Dominion”
November 1st, 2015 by Roger Darlington
II you like your novels long and thrilling – and especially if you’re interested in recent history – then “Dominion” by C J Ransom could be for you. You’ll find my review here.
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