Monthly Archives: April 2008

Testing — please help

Posted on April 27, 2008 by acb

I have upgraded this to Movable Type 4.1; a lot may have gone wrong, and I am in any case taking off to Norfolk for the day. So will kind commentators please comment here and let me know if there … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Housekeeping, nördig | 10 Comments

Beat that, Bishop Dow!

Posted on April 26, 2008 by acb

An excellent piece from Rolling Stone of all places about a sort of turbo-charged alpha course. This is more perceptive about the real dynamic of American evangelicalism than you might dare hope: in particular, he gets right the way in … Continue reading →

Posted in God, Journalism | 3 Comments

Comment superfluous

Posted on April 24, 2008 by acb

Below the fold is a screenshot from the Daily Mail’s coverage of the Max Mosley scandal: this is part of an article by Stephen Glover arguing that the world does not need a privacy law, even though the News of … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Journalism | Comments Off on Comment superfluous

For the Duck who has everything

Posted on April 23, 2008 by acb

%(loony)Queen Anne is one of the most sought-after architectural styles. Now your ducks, too, can enjoy it …% From The Field, which curiously fails to report that the firm describes the duckhouse (a floating nesting box) as “inspired by Country … Continue reading →

Posted in Blather | Comments Off on For the Duck who has everything

Ecstatic blurb

Posted on April 21, 2008 by acb

To London, to meet with Pru Rowlandson, the publicity director at Granta. Stunned to discover that she has actually read the book and thought about it. Has no one told her how publishing works? Also, a lovely cover blurb has … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Literature, Sweden | Comments Off on Ecstatic blurb

Thought for the Day

Posted on April 21, 2008 by acb

%(sane)(nothing to do with my life in particular; just a general thought about religion and New Atheist optimism)% It is very difficult to live with as little hope as the situation warrants.

Posted in God | 4 Comments

Bad Sex

Posted on April 20, 2008 by acb

I have just reread, for the first time in years, David Lodge’s novel of the breakup of pre-conciliar Catholicism in England How Far Can you Go? It is probably the book of the worst sex ever written: that is to … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Blather | 4 Comments

Manly

Posted on April 20, 2008 by acb

All modern publicity campaigns centre around a big lie, because they start with surveys of public opinion to discover what is the most inconvenient truth[1] about the subject and then deny it. Enjoy then, the RC diocese of New York’s … Continue reading →

Posted in God | 3 Comments

Revenge!

Posted on April 19, 2008 by acb

There is a quite fantastic article by Jared Diamond in the current _New Yorker_ about revenge, which concludes with the touching story of how his father-in-law’s life was poisoned because he never shot a fascist whom he had at his … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Journalism | 1 Comment

Students

Posted on April 19, 2008 by acb

The use of “Students” in the following story seemed to me to make an important point about higher education today: bq. Sion Hardy, 24, a town planning student at Liverpool University, had been enjoying a night out at a club … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Blather | 2 Comments