Just found this, a photocopied page from the Australian magazine Arena 77 (June-July 2005), about dead-checking, which you don't see portrayed in too many war movies... Evan Wright (RIP), wrote Generation Kill, which was made into a very good miniseries. To be crystal clear - If I were a soldier deployed to a war zone... Continue Reading →
Bard to the Bone explained here. The play: Troilus and Cressida Year written: 1602 Context of the writing (Shakespeare’s career, political events it was responding to): the forever war against the Irish was dragging on, and this is an “anti-war” play about the futility and banality of it all (causes, characters etc). Apparently you can... Continue Reading →
Pankaj Mishra is an Indian public intellectual. His new book "The World after Gaza" is most definitely worth your time. I will write about its argument, its gaps and its reception (predictably tedious and tediously predictable as that has been in some quarters) at a later date. For now, this. One SERIOUS flaw with the... Continue Reading →
If I want to juggle four clubs (and I do) then I need to tackle the weakest point in my current skills - left handed throws with double-spins - a kind of reverse salient. I also need to be honest that I am not yet good enough doing three club cascade double spins. Although I... Continue Reading →
As part of my remedial accumulation of cultural capital, I'm reading the 21 plays outa 37 by Bill Shakespeare where I currently rate my knowledge at Zero. Read more here if you can be bothered (but WHY?). First up, Titus Andronicus. [Wikipedia] Year written: 1592? 1593? Context of the writing (Shakespeare’s career, political events it... Continue Reading →
Daily (often twice daily) focussed 15 minute practices are paying off, I think. There's warm-up, drills and then 'what I am working on'. Which is mostly having two clubs in a hand and throwing double spins to the same hand. Right is stronger than left, and so am going to need to drill my left... Continue Reading →
So, gratitude is due to a) the gods for randomly assigning me to be born in a rich country at a time of relative peace (never mind the slow violence) and in a situation where I got a good education without succumbing (in all ways at least) to the indoctrination b) to the genetic lottery... Continue Reading →
Belling the Cat is a fable also known under the titles The Bell and the Cat and The Mice in Council. In the story, a group of mice agree to attach a bell to a cat's neck to warn of its approach in the future, but they fail to find a volunteer to perform the job. The term has become an... Continue Reading →
Moorhens eh, donchajustloveem? Well, I do, and do a most-days 90 minute round-trip walk along a canal towpath, throwing them aquatic bird food. This gives me the opportunity to both narrate stuff into a voice-recorder and also listen to podcasts. I will do a proper "these are the podcasts I currently find myself coming back... Continue Reading →
So, a few things about me: I have had letters published in the London Review of Books, Private Eye, the Financial Times, the Guardian, various lefty publications (New Internationalist, Peace News (RIP) etc). And in Viz. Viz, for those of you who haven't had the pleasure is an "adult" (scatalogical etc rather than pornographic) magazine,... Continue Reading →
