intelligentsia v. intellectuals: where are we up to now?
Thursday, January 14th, 2010I’m reading this book on the Russian revolution. It’s very interesting and readable, and not too long (406 pages- well you know, Russia is a big place). The third chaper, entitled “The Intelligentsia”, I found rather alarming- not only were some of the tenets of socialism and/or communism noticeably reactionary and ill-considered (by all means [...]
why is literature always so depressing?
Monday, February 2nd, 2009small boy in badly-fitting clothes, no shoes- truly dismal
I’m reading Frank McCourt’s Pulitzer prize winning Angela’s Ashes, the book that reputedly started the trend for miserable childhood memoirs, and boy, is it depressing. I can blast through Holocaust memoirs with barely a tear, so it isn’t the gloom-laden subject matter itself that’s problematic here- wretched [...]
vintage pocket calculator
Friday, March 14th, 2008Do you remember the first time you saw a pocket calculator?
I was about six or seven, and for some reason my Dad had borrowed one from another, presumably richer, person. Apparently, they could be got for under $100 in those days, although I don’t know how much that was in British pounds. I remember [...]
historical bias
Wednesday, February 20th, 2008I’m more than halfway through watching Simon Schama’s 2000 TV series, A History of Britain now, and no closer whatsoever to understanding the psyche of the nation of my birth. If anything, it’s all getting more and more confusing. There do appear to be some general trends, but they seem quite similar to trends in [...]
