Archive for November, 2016


Who are Reince Priebus and Stephen Bannon?

November 15th, 2016 by Roger Darlington

Now that the world is having to come to terms with the election of Donald Trump as the President-elect of the United States, there is intense interest in whom he is going to appoint to advise him and serve in his cabinet. We have the first two names: Reince Priebus, 44 year old Chairman of […]

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Word of the day: syzygy

November 14th, 2016 by Roger Darlington

In astronomy, a syzygy (from the Ancient Greek suzugos meaning, “yoked together”) is a straight-line configuration of three celestial bodies in a gravitational system. The word is often used in reference to the Sun, Earth, and either the Moon or a planet, where the latter is in conjunction or opposition. Such a configuration explains why […]

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A review of the new sci-fi movie “Arrival”

November 12th, 2016 by Roger Darlington

If there is life on other planets, the laws of physics suggest that they’ll never make it here. But, if they do, the big problem will be communication. This is the issue at the heart of “Arrival” which has had great reviews but left me disappointed. You can read my review here.

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U.S. presidential election (37): why the Electoral College should be scrapped and why it won’t be

November 11th, 2016 by Roger Darlington

The counting is not quite over in the US presidential election but it looks as if Donald Trump won a comfortable majority in the Electoral College but Hillary Clinton won 200,000 or so more votes nationwide. How can this be? It’s because of how the Electoral College works. The President is not elected directly by […]

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U.S. presidential election (36): stop the world, I wanna get off

November 9th, 2016 by Roger Darlington

I spent the whole of last night at the Marylebone Sports Bar and Grill in central London with a few hundred Americans resident in Britain – all Democrats wanting a victory by Hillary Clinton.  I arrived about 10.15 pm and stayed until the place closed at 5.30 am, so it was 6.20 am before I […]

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The biggest Bollywood movie you’ve never heard of

November 7th, 2016 by Roger Darlington

It’s called “Bajirao Mastani”. See, I told you that you’ve never heard of it. But it was mega in India and it’s certainly worth tracking down. You can read my review here.

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U.S. presidential election (35): the world holds its breath

November 7th, 2016 by Roger Darlington

Tomorrow is polling day in a US presidential election which is widely judged to have been the most bitter and divisive in modern times. In fact, about a third of the ballots likely to be cast have already been made in early voting. That is at least 41 million votes across 48 states. The latest […]

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U.S. presidential election (34): how does the electoral college work?

November 6th, 2016 by Roger Darlington

On Tuesday, at long last, American voters go to the polls in the Presidential election – as well as the election of the whole of the House of Representatives and a third of the Congress. What non-Americans following the election need to understand is that constitutionally the President is not elected by the voters but […]

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A review of the Italian novel “The Story Of The Lost Child”

November 5th, 2016 by Roger Darlington

It’s taken me almost three months, but I’ve finally completed my summer/autumn reading project: to read the four works and 1700 pages that make up the ‘Neapolitan Novels’, an acclaimed series by the Italian author Elena Ferrante. This is a saga of the 60-year friendship between two girls from a poor neighbourhood of Naples after […]

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Which country does the most good for humanity?

November 5th, 2016 by Roger Darlington

You may not be surprised to hear that the answer – again – is Sweden. You might be surprised to learn that the UK comes in at 4th place. The USA is only 20th. Here are the top and bottom scorers: The top 5: 1. Sweden 2. Denmark 3. The Netherlands 4. United Kingdom 5. […]

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