Monthly Archives: July 2007

Colour and speech

Posted on July 30, 2007 by acb

According to “Language log”:http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/004766.html there is a study out suggesting that Nerds, or dorkenheimers, are identified in the Californian school system because they are “too white” and avoid all the “Black” stylings of speech and dress traditionally[1] affected by white … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Blather | 2 Comments

Conservatives and homophobes

Posted on July 28, 2007 by acb

Damian Thompson [“has been examining”:http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/ukcorrespondents/holysmoke/july07/anglicancommunionover.htm] the problem of homosexuality and the Anglican Communion on his _Telegraph_ blog, and this has led to at least one delightful misunderstanding: commentator “Terwilliger” writes bq(loony). You are quite correct Damian but sometimes it is … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Blather, God | 2 Comments

A defence of the Bishop of Hereford

Posted on July 27, 2007 by acb

I have been reading the _Church Times’s_ [“coverage of the case”:http://www.churchtimes.co.uk/content.asp?id=42275] of the Bishop of Hereford, Dr Anthony Priddis, who has just been reprimanded by an Employment tribunal for [“refusing a job as a youth leader”:http://www.thinkinganglicans.org.uk/archives/002536.html] to a gay man … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in God | 4 Comments

Two stories of secluded life

Posted on July 26, 2007 by acb

From the latest LRB: Graham Greene is staying in a leper colony in the Congo: bq. We tried to protect Greene from people’s curiosity. The most obvious nuisances were those who wanted his opinion on some manuscript they had in … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Literature | 1 Comment

Pick of the week, haha

Posted on July 22, 2007 by acb

I have never managed this before, but a bit of “the programme”:http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/science/pip/v8tsm/ I made with Louise has made this week’s [“Pick of the Week”:http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/factual/pickoftheweek.shtml], a collection culled from everything on BBC radio. So that’s very chic. Tune in for little … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Journalism | Comments Off on Pick of the week, haha

Losing his religion

Posted on July 22, 2007 by acb

I have been meaning to write about this for ages wrt Steve Bates, but there is [“a (too) long piece”:http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-me-lostfaith21jul21,1,4492552,print.story?coll=la-headlines-frontpage] in the LA Times (via [“Pharyngula”:http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2007/07/promoting_a_few_links_up_top.php]) by their former religion correspondent explaining why he gave up the business after losing … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in God, Journalism | Comments Off on Losing his religion

A thought on history

Posted on July 22, 2007 by acb

The point of history is surely, still, to discover “what actually happened”:http://crookedtimber.org/2005/09/07/als-eigentlich-gewesen/#comment-98035 but the past can only be understood if we know what actually didn’t happen. People’s actions, their understandings of the world, can only be understood in the light … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Literature | Comments Off on A thought on history

Lost history

Posted on July 20, 2007 by acb

I keep by my bed, as an antidote to hopes of progress, a volume of the _Cambridge Modern History_ dealing with the Thirty Years’ War. It wouldn’t be an antidote if I were certain that we had left these times … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in God, Sweden | 1 Comment

Before I forget

Posted on July 17, 2007 by acb

_Svenska Dagbladet_ “reports”:http://www.svd.se/dynamiskt/inrikes/did_16249947.asp — though I can’t find it in the current PNAS — that researchers at the Karolinska, working with a team in Florida, have managed to reverse Alzheimer’s disease in mice by combining stem-cell transplants into the brain … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Science without worms | 1 Comment

This one’s for the vicar

Posted on July 17, 2007 by acb

“A testimony”:http://www.theonion.com/content/radio_news/christian_loan_shark_prays from the Onion. Continue reading →

Posted in Blather | 1 Comment