Monthly Archives: September 2006

Timeless torture

This is a _Worm’s Eye_ column from November last year: Everyone knows that in Stalin’s Purges between 1935 and 1940 perhaps fifteen million people died after various forms of torture. It is less known that throughout this Terror the Russian … Continue reading Continue reading

Posted in War | 1 Comment

An argument for which I will not charge royalties

bq. I thought I could not longer be shocked by the hatred and depravity of the usual crew of dhimmitudinous liberal al-Guardianistas who will see nothing good in any of the actions of this administration. Typically, they are screaming in … Continue reading Continue reading

Posted in War | Comments Off on An argument for which I will not charge royalties

What does this mean?

Tim Garton Ash, “in the _Guardian_ today,”:http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/story/0,,1882501,00.html concludes by saying: bq. At this pivotal moment, we who live in the rest of the world, beyond the Washington beltway, also face a choice. We can watch like spectators in the cinema, … Continue reading Continue reading

Posted in War | 2 Comments

Mike Ford, a review never published

I did actually review his most recent book[1] for the _Guardian._ They never printed the review, because the book,sent me by PNH, was never published here. But I did send it to him, and got a kind note back.[2] Below … Continue reading Continue reading

Posted in Literature | Comments Off on Mike Ford, a review never published

A friend you should have had (a note to Rupert)

Did you ever come across Mike Ford, “memorialised”:http://nielsenhayden.com/110.html at “Making Light”:http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/008033.html these “last few”:http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/008034.html#008034 days? He wrote the lovely “sonnet”:http://www.cafepress.com/speceng/1026245 in our living room. But go and read the linked posts anyway. They make a fence now, between us and … Continue reading Continue reading

Posted in Literature | Comments Off on A friend you should have had (a note to Rupert)

Textile despair

Some of the people who read this — I’m looking at you, Hammersley — know quite a lot about Movable Type. So maybe, somewhere you there on the lazyweb, is the person who can tell me why the individual archive … Continue reading Continue reading

Posted in Housekeeping | Comments Off on Textile despair

God’s magic telephone

Sam Harris asks[1] why we should respect George Bush for saying that he talks with God in the privacy of his bedroom. If he said that he talked to God using a magic telephone, then people would think him mad. … Continue reading Continue reading

Posted in God | Comments Off on God’s magic telephone

Notes from a scrapbook

Is religiously inspired morality a crane or a skyhook? That is to ask: when a religious person attempts to build their character in a particular direction, are they building on pre-existent morality, or hoiking down something from God or the … Continue reading Continue reading

Posted in God | Comments Off on Notes from a scrapbook

Some people only feel like this on Mondays

People keep telling me I’m gloomy these days. Very well; I’m gloomy. Let me share. Here are some fragments from the latest _NYRB._ bq. “Tim Garton Ash”:http://www.nybooks.com/articles/19371 In the relationship with Islam as a religion, it makes sense to encourage … Continue reading Continue reading

Posted in Blather | 8 Comments

Getcha Quechua flashcards here

The FWB is currently doing a Latin A level with an imaginative teacher, who has her pupil[1] doing Latin Scrabble. Googling for a tile set led me to the “University of Toronto,”:http://latinscrabble.larkvi.com/ and from there to “Liberation Philology,”:http://members.aol.com/libphil/ a small … Continue reading Continue reading

Posted in Net stories | Comments Off on Getcha Quechua flashcards here