Archive for August, 2025
Ever heard of the Overton Window?
August 28th, 2025 by Roger Darlington
The Overton window is the range of subjects and arguments politically acceptable to the mainstream population at a given time. It is also known as the window of discourse. The key to the concept is that the window changes over time; it can shift, or shrink or expand. It exemplifies “the slow evolution of societal values and norms”. The term is […]
Posted in Social policy | Comments (0)
A review of the book “The Laws Of Connection” by David Robson (2024)
August 19th, 2025 by Roger Darlington
Let’s be honest, there is some hyperbole here, starting with the title (social sciences, like psychology and sociology, do not have ‘laws’ in that the sense that physical sciences, such as physics and chemistry, do) and continuing with the subtitle “13 social strategies that will transform your life” (it will take more than reading this book to […]
Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments (0)
The dramatic poverty reductions in Mexico
August 18th, 2025 by Roger Darlington
So much of the news could lead one to think that we live in the worst of times, so we sometimes need to be reminded of good news. We’re told that all politicians are the same and that governments never achieve anything. Well, the last president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador (known as Amlo), […]
Posted in World current affairs | Comments (0)
A review of the new rom-com with an edge “Materialists”
August 17th, 2025 by Roger Darlington
“Past Lives” (2023) was written and directed by Korean-Canadian Celine Song as a wonderfully-assured debut feature film. I loved it and have now seen it three times. In her second work, Song is again writer and director and, for me, it is another delight. The structure of the two movies is essentially the same: a […]
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
A review of the latest “Superman” blockbuster movie
August 11th, 2025 by Roger Darlington
If since the 1980s, three actors can portray Spider-Man and no less than six can play Batman, then I guess we can have four representations of Superman: Christopher Reeve (1978-1987), Brandon Routh (2006), Henry Cavill (2013-2021) and now David Corenswet. More significantly, we have a new writer and director James Gunn, who did such a […]
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“Late Shift”: a foreign film with a universal message
August 5th, 2025 by Roger Darlington
This is an unusual film, wonderfully made and with a powerful narrative. It is Swiss and located in German-speaking Zurich. In fact, virtually the entire film is set in one building, a local hospital, and over just one night, the titular shift. We follow the work of one dedicated nurse Floria (played magnificently by Leonie […]
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