Monthly Archives: November 2012

Dissolving Society

Posted on November 30, 2012 by the archivist

For once, I was actually sitting in front of a TV set when Fiona Bruce announced on BBC1 6 o’clock news last night that the government were intending to introduce minimum alcohol pricing. A raddled ex-alcoholic was then interviewed saying how it … Continue reading →

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The Strange Death of Leo Tolstoy

Posted on November 29, 2012 by the archivist

Leo Tolstoy is best known as the author of War and Peace and Anna Karenina. This is how Wikipedia describes his death: Tolstoy died in 1910, at the age of 82. He died of pneumonia at Astapovo train station, after … Continue reading →

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House-sitting

Posted on November 28, 2012 by the archivist

I’m going to be house-sitting for my brother for the next week or so, while he’s on holiday with his wife. It’ll be a sort of holiday for me too, or at least a change of environment. I moved in today, … Continue reading →

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The Half-Life of Facts

Posted on November 27, 2012 by the archivist

Here’s a book I’ll be wanting to buy when it comes out as a paperback: The Half-Life of Facts. In 1870, German chemist Erich von Wolf analyzed the iron content of green vegetables and accidentally misplaced a decimal point when … Continue reading →

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The Unbalance Sheet

Posted on November 26, 2012 by the archivist

H/T An Englishman’s Castle for a link to John Brignell’s The Unbalance Sheet, from which I’ve learned two new words: Obreption is seeking to gain advantage by misstatement, i.e. lying. Subreption is trying to do it by concealing part of … Continue reading →

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Re-defining Paedophilia, Salami-Style

Posted on November 25, 2012 by the archivist

H/T DP. It seems that St Cuthbert’s Rugby Club has been a bit too light-hearted about the Jimmy Savile affair: The St Cuthbert’s Society Men’s Rugby Club at Durham University reportedly asked first year students to come as young girls, second … Continue reading →

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Tobacco Query

Posted on November 24, 2012 by the archivist

I still haven’t harvested my tobacco, and more and more of the lower leaves are drooping and turning gold/yellow. I’ve been too busy, one way and another. A few weeks back, when a couple of the plants reached the top … Continue reading →

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Sexual Politics

Posted on November 23, 2012 by the archivist

Several comments today set me thinking about men and women, and sexual politics. These days the discussion mostly centres around the equal abilities and rights of men and women in most respects, and the need for this equality to be … Continue reading →

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Destroying A Culture

Posted on November 22, 2012 by the archivist

A bit puzzled today. I’m getting a row of adverts down the right hand side of my browser screen. At first I thought it was WordPress, and they’d introduced advertising. But it happens quite often when I look at non-WordPress … Continue reading →

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Saecula Saeculorum

Posted on November 21, 2012 by the archivist

I’ve been rather intermittently reading The Fourth Turning over the past week or so, which someone kindly sent me (and which I must send back when I’ve read it). When I first opened it, I found it a bit too … Continue reading →

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