Archive for May, 2023
Do aliens know that we’re here? They should.
May 15th, 2023 by Roger Darlington
Aliens on nearby stars could detect Earth through radio signals leaked from the planet, new research suggests. Scientists from The University of Manchester and the University of Mauritius used crowd sourced data to simulate radio leakage from mobile towers to determine what alien civilisations might detect from various nearby stars, including Barnard’s star, six light […]
Posted in Science & technology | Comments (0)
A review of the Korean-set film “Return To Seoul”
May 14th, 2023 by Roger Darlington
This is a work that underlines the international nature of modern film production. It is set in South Korea and filmed there and in Romania. The story concerns a French-Korean woman but it is written and directed by a French-Cambodian man. The dialogue is in both French and Korean with some English. The funding is […]
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
A review of the new Japanese film “Plan 75”
May 11th, 2023 by Roger Darlington
In 1973, there was a film called “Soylent Green” which depicted a future Earth (it was set in 2022!) in which rapid population growth and deficiences in supply of food had combined to necessitate that the working classes be provided with artificial nutrients and voluntary euthanaesia. There is a very moving scene where an aged […]
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
Do you do Wordle each day?
May 10th, 2023 by Roger Darlington
Wordle is a bit like life. Each day, it looks impossible. But most days, you find the answer. And there is always tomorrow.
Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments (0)
A review of the movie “Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 3”
May 8th, 2023 by Roger Darlington
I’m a loyal fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), so I wasn’t going to miss this 32nd contribution to the long-running and ever-sprawling saga. Also the Guardians of the Galaxy (GOTG) characters have always been the funniest in the MCU and this volume was billed as their final one as the current team. There […]
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
A review of the book “A Duty Of Care” by Peter Hennessy
May 6th, 2023 by Roger Darlington
I used to know Peter Hennessy in the 1970s when I worked for the Wilson/Callaghan Labour Government and he was the Whitehall Correspondent of the “Times” newspaper. He is now a Professor of Contemporary British History and a crossbench member of the House of Lords. Like many of us, he has thought about the impact […]
Posted in British current affairs | Comments (0)
Which countries have the freest media and which nations have the most controlled media in the world?
May 3rd, 2023 by Roger Darlington
You can find the answers, according to the organisation Reporters Without Borders (RSF), here. Out of 180 countries, top is Norway and bottom is North Korea. The UK is 26 (on a par with South Africa) and the USA is 45 (on a par with Tonga). Media freedom is in dire health in a record […]
Posted in World current affairs | Comments (0)
Holiday in Namibia (10): conclusionÂ
May 2nd, 2023 by Roger Darlington
Namibia is a huge country with a tiny population. The country and the people are poor. Those in work are subject to a national minimum wage of a mere 65 Namibian dollars a day which is about 3 British pounds or 3.5 US dollars. In fact, almost half the population is unemployed with youth unemployment […]
Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (0)