Monthly Archives: August 2008

Lost knowledge

Posted on August 31, 2008 by acb

Of which British 20th Century figure was its said by an American onlooker that his misfortune was that “He was born a Roman and died an Italian”? It could have been Churchill or possibly Keynes, though I think that Keynes … Continue reading →

Posted in Blather, British politics | 1 Comment

Nature notes

Posted on August 31, 2008 by acb

I went out for a long, new walk yesterday — after living here for nearly twelve years there was still a path out of town past the football ground that I had never explored and that I only discovered by … Continue reading →

Posted in Blather | Comments Off on Nature notes

A wonderful tombstone

Posted on August 30, 2008 by acb

I was emptying my camera card today and came across these two pictures: front and back of a gravestone in Strethall Church (which itself is rather wonderful, dating back to around 900AD). Here is the Major-General’s daughter: And this is … Continue reading →

Posted in Blather, Travel notes | 3 Comments

Spectator Review

Posted on August 30, 2008 by acb

An amusing review in this week’s Spectator, with one quote that’s going straight onto the paperback cover: “as perceptive as Bill Bryson—and, often, just as funny” I will make a page of reviews tomorrow.

Posted in Journalism, Literature, Sweden | 3 Comments

That speech

Posted on August 29, 2008 by acb

I swear I heard Obama say that the essence of America was “Hoping for a better future round the bend”.

Posted in Blather, USA | Comments Off on That speech

Why should anyone else feel good?

Posted on August 27, 2008 by acb

Something about the events of the last week have convinced me that Obama will lose horribly this autumn, and that the Clintonites were right in their assumption that America will not elect a black, metropolitan liberal president. I can’t quite … Continue reading →

Posted in USA, War | 7 Comments

An infinitely gloomy picture

Posted on August 26, 2008 by acb

Comes via John Naughton: it shows the bloggers’ room at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, and half the comments seem to be people saying “Look! We’re just like real journalists!”. The accredited bloggers are penned with their laptops in … Continue reading →

Posted in Journalism, Net stories, USA | Comments Off on An infinitely gloomy picture

The Saunders defence bites back

Posted on August 26, 2008 by acb

Do we really want a certified nutter running Pakistan? It would appear from today’s FT that the US and Britain are perfectly happy with the prospect. When Asif Ali Zardari, Benazir Bhutto’s widow, was trying to fight off corruption charges … Continue reading →

Posted in War | 3 Comments

She’s done the research

Posted on August 26, 2008 by acb

“The Sandoz acid was the Cadillac of drugs. The Owsley acid was a Mercedes with two flat tyres. It was a bumpy ride…” Carolyn “Mountain Girl” Garcia, from a podcast Q&A session with an audience I found on my disk, … Continue reading →

Posted in Blather, Science without worms | Comments Off on She’s done the research

Freud vs God and John Wilkins

Posted on August 24, 2008 by acb

Catching up on feeds this morning, I found John Wilkins making against Christians my point about how idiots believe: Christians, who have an extensive body of traditional dogma which they like to reassure themselves is true and consistent, like to … Continue reading →

Posted in God | 4 Comments