In 'The Future' (1992) Leonard Cohen sings "Take the only tree that's left And stuff it up the hole in your culture." In "I, Spy", (1995) Jarvis Cocker of Pulp sings "Take a year in Provence, and shove it up your ass." Do I have anything to add? No. Just I suppose that this thing... Continue Reading →
The big picture: waving goodbye to Kondratieff, plausible futures etc…
Big Picture Thinking (BPT) is endlessly seductive, isn't it? What's the old saying? "Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people." (see here for more on this). Well, some mediocre minds can discuss ideas, especially the big sweepy-generalisation-y stuff. Then again, some super-bright folks have a go too. BPT comes in... Continue Reading →
Of Aristotle, courage and #ussstrikes
Anger fades. This is both a 'good' thing and a bad one. After all it's no fun to go through life as angry as I am (trust me on this). Angry at our so-called 'leaders' who mouth pieties and platitudes while not taking actions which would give our species the slenderest chance of survival. Angry... Continue Reading →
“You’ve had your fun” – on emotions, rituals and resistance #USSStrike
So, the USS strike moves into its fourth week, with more industrial action likely. I've just lost a small gig because of it, but am not on the breadline yet. For the Vice Chancellors to climb down now, and admit that their scare campaign around the pension scheme is based on the rubberiest of figures... Continue Reading →
IAM what IAM – on models, muddles and human failure.
Six weeks or so I went to a talk by a man I respect immensely. I knew exactly what I would be getting – he's delivered basically the same talk every time I've seen him, going back over a decade. He explains what we need to do, starting now (we should have started decades ago,... Continue Reading →
Holy Moses or “There’s never an irony policeman when you need one”
We watched the documentary. Excellent if problematic, it was basically a morality play: a bunch of old white powerful men in a self-designed and policed echo chamber are eventually brought low by a scrappy band of diverse (gasp) women. And so immediately after the film there was to be a discussion. And a bunch of... Continue Reading →
Nice power/authority distinction
I have been - by wiser heads than mine - warned off trying to bite off much more for The Thesis, and we all agree with the imperative to Get The Damned Thing Finished. So, am not going to open up the box marked "power" more than a little peek... That's for a mythical post-doc...... Continue Reading →
Brilliant neglected book: “Ecological Pioneers” #Australia #environment
I like to believe I've read a lot these three and a half years (even by my own somewhat Rabelaisian standards). Specifically, on the Australian environment movement/climate change/climate policy etc. I've read a few excellent books, a few stinkers and lots in between (thankfully mostly at the 'excellent' end, and towering piles of journal articles... Continue Reading →
Guilty Pleasure: Jackson Lamb thrillers
Pointy end of the thesis is upon me. I am getting it done. I'd possibly be getting it done marginally quicker if it weren't for Mick Herron's "Jackson Lamb" thrillers. I stumbled on the first, Slow Horses in a charity shop in Glossop (as you do). The conceit looked amusing - what if MI5 had... Continue Reading →
Collegiality v bureaucracy v palm trees and Stamford Raffles. And Instagram.
It's been a while since I posted, because I have been a) thesising b) writing a book chapter (intimately related to a) above)) Still, this and a book I just read (see next post) deserve recording for posterity (or at least until the electricity systems collapse). My friend Mark Carrigan (top bloke, btw) has just... Continue Reading →
marchudson.net 