Reading Time: 5 minutes If we now have to distinguish between true and fake art, in the same way as fake news, life is really beginning to feel like a lottery. It’s one thing having doubts about the validity of news items appearing on Facebook, but if you cannot trust Sotheby’s, then who can you trust? One thing’s for […]
Culture
When Progressive Rock Meets Progressive Politics
Reading Time: 7 minutes As we made our way to the concert hall, not a single one of us under the age of 55, I didn’t really know what to expect from a progressive rock band that I last saw at the Hammersmith Odeon, in 1981. Progressive rock is rather like progressive politics. It’s complicated, sometimes pretentious, and even […]
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Jafar Panahi: “3 Faces” – The Sounding Of Iranian Traditional Values
Reading Time: 3 minutes Banned Iranian film producer, Jafar Panahi, has managed to cast criticism on traditional Iranian values, without actually doing so. What he did was extremely clever and comprised a particular way of filming, by which we ended up literally accompanying him, and actress Behnaz Jafari, on an outing deep into the Iranian mountains. Deceptively simple, the […]
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One “D” Or Two? – Bilingualism And “Le Brain”
Reading Time: 7 minutes Bilingualism isn’t all fun, I’m afraid. There are certain words in English that I loathe, and there are certain words in French that I hate, when I’m forced to spell them. I still haven’t found a way of remembering that the French word “adresse” and English word “address” are spelt differently whilst, apparently, meaning the same thing. […]
The Dutch Cartoon Competition Was Wrong Because Geert Wilders Organised It
Reading Time: 6 minutes The cancelled Dutch cartoon competition was not about Islam. It was all about Geert Wilders. It was way too long since we heard from the flamboyant leader of the Dutch extreme-right-wing party PVV, Geert Wilders. Let’s face it, the Dutch parliamentary elections are a thing of the past, and the present coalition is doing very […]
José Mourinho’s Constant Wrath Lands Him In Dante’s Inferno
Reading Time: 4 minutes As a Manchester City supporter, I won’t cry too loud about the troubles José Mourinho finds himself in, at Manchester United. I’m referring to laughing until I cry, of course, and the fact that we must always show respect for the opposition, no matter who they are. Showing respect is a quality that Mourinho doesn’t […]
Planet Of The Apes…Men In A Post #MeToo World
Reading Time: 5 minutes Just as I thought that the oppression, harassment, and exploitation of women, were part of the male genome, I came across a “non-profit” organisation that claims to be able to cure most men from being fondling creatures in underground trains, hotel rapists, and housewife-beaters, in the space of 48 hours. The Mankind Project, responsible for […]
Between Good And God
Reading Time: 8 minutes The biggest problem that causes such a violent opposition between secularism and religion is, not so much in the moral values of the Holy Scripture – which, if not distorted, are much closer to our moral values than you might feel it safe to think – but the interpretation of their meaning, their politicisation by […]
Brexit Musings (27) – Love Island: A Glimmer Of Hope For Remainers
Reading Time: 4 minutes He stole a kiss on a rock, overlooking the still ocean. A silhouette of love, a shadow of feelings. And as the sun disappeared over their new horizon, they were encompassed by the warm glow of dusk. He took her closer and whispered tenderly, “You know, my love. You know that this could never have […]
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Blocking On Social Media: “Get Out Of My Virtual Life, You Virtual Man!”
Reading Time: 4 minutes I never thought this would happen to me, but it has. Someone out there, in virtual reality, had the audacity to ban me from their virtual life on the net. I thought that it had no meaning, but it has. I now realise that you can ignore somebody you don’t even know exists, in the […]