Archive for March, 2016
U.S. presidential election (23): should the Democrats choose Hillary or Bernie?
March 11th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
Some of my closest American friends are working their hearts out for Bernie Sanders and he is doing far, far better than almost anyone expected in his quest to win the Democratic nomination for the US presidential election in November rather than the presumptive candidate Hillary Clinton. But for me, while my heart says Bernie, […]
Posted in American current affairs | Comments (0)
How to make a good presentation
March 11th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
Almost every week, I attend a conference or meeting at which speakers make PowerPoint presentations. On almost every occasion, a speaker uses slides that contain so much text that those present cannot read it, mainly because the words are so small but also because there is so little time devoted to that particular slide. In […]
Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (0)
How to cover “War And Peace” in six hours
March 10th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
Two months ago, I did a posting explaining that I was never going to read Leo Tolstoy’s mammoth novel “War And Peace”, but that I was looking forward to watching the BBC television adaptation of the book. The adaptation was in the form of six one-hour episodes broadcast a week at a time, but this week […]
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
Are you a healthy weight?
March 10th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
To determine if you are a healthy weight, you need to calculate your body mass index (BMI) which takes account of your gender, age, height and weight. You can check out your BMI here:
Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments (0)
Do you know the price of a postage stamp?
March 9th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
The price of stamps for a standard letter up to 100g will rise by 1p on 29 March. The cost of a first class stamp will increase to 64p, and the cost of second class will rise to 55p. In addition, Royal Mail will increase the price of sending small and medium parcels by 5p […]
Posted in Consumer matters | Comments (0)
Word of the day: millennial
March 8th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
In today’s “Guardian” newspaper, there is a major feature on so-called millennials. But what exactly is a millennial? Wikipedia states: “Millennials (also known as the Millennial Generation or Generation Y) are the demographic cohort following Generation X. There are no precise dates for when the generation starts and ends; most researchers and commentators use birth […]
Posted in Cultural issues, World current affairs | Comments (0)
Word of the day: susurrus
March 7th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
I am currently reading a novel titled “The Book Of Strange New things” by Michel Faber and came across the unfamiliar word ‘susurrus’. I checked it out – it means a soft murmuring or rustling sound or a kind of whisper.
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
U.S. presidential election (22): how did it come to this?
March 6th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
In an article in today’s “Observer” newspaper, the prospect of Donald Trump as the Republican candidate against Democrat Hillary Clinton causes sheer amazement: “The bombastic, swaggering, sometimes vulgar billionaire has stunned the political world, plunged the Republican party into civil war and, among the pundit class, relegated the prospect of the 240-year-old republic’s first female […]
Posted in American current affairs | Comments (0)
A review of the new movie “Deadpool”
March 5th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
This is not a film for everyone’s tastes. But, if you like super-hero movies, are broad-minded, and yearn for something a bit different, this could be for you. You can read my review here.
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A review of the new movie “London Has Fallen”
March 5th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
American movies love to show US presidents in peril. Three years ago, we had “Olympus Has Fallen” [my review here] immediately followed by “White House Down” [my review here]. The first of these has now spawned a sequel – “London Has Fallen” – which has just been released and you can read my review here.
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