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Category Archives: reading list
Twelve monkeys? Try twenty-six of the blighters
Via “City of Tongues” (Website of Australian author James Bradley, which I highly recommend as a source of good ideas, reading suggestions etc), I came to Kij Johnson’s site, specifically “26 monkeys.” Worth your time, imho.
Fairy-tale endings and socialist politics… (a cross-post)
Some radical feminist called Sarah Irving has written the following – Despite the sudden descent of a lot of extremely Arctic air onto Edinburgh yesterday evening, it was very much worth venturing out for Sara Maitland‘s unofficial launch of her … Continue reading
Dwight Towers reading Yeats’ “The Second Coming”
Don’t you have something – anything – better to be doing? I tried to upload it as an mp3. WordPress wasn’t having any of it. Therefore a youtube. This is how it SHOULD be read… http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&NR=1&v=KTGHxd674MM
Twelve books by the bedside table right now
Attention Conservation Notice: No reviews (yet), just apologies for and analysis of my “taste” Whoops! Why everyone owes everyone and no one can pay By John Lanchester Straw Dogs: thoughts on humans and other animals by John Gray The Memoirs … Continue reading
Leopard-food doesn’t change its maladaptive spots
Puny, largely defenceless bipeds on the savannah. Easy pickings for any passing leopard with hunger pangs, or the odd peckish hyenna. Rocks, spears, fire, safety in numbers. That’s about it, versus claws and fangs and muscle. And I reckon, warnings … Continue reading
Posted in death, fear, natural world, politics, reading list
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Three cool articles…
The Marsh Arabs of Iraq are on the way back. Really interesting and inspiring post about the Estonian singing revolution of 1988 (non-violent distributed protests involving social learning, etc) The blogosphere’s delusions of grandeur…
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Links 2011-03-19: Private Sector incompetence, calming down and clever parasites
Owen Jones has an excellent post inviting people to submit their stories of the incompetent, bureaucratic and wasteful PRIVATE sector. Many have already taken up his invitation… I had no choice but to part company with them and order lenses … Continue reading
Posted in bureaucracy, climate, competence, fear, natural world, reading list
Tagged amygdala, parasites, Toxoplasma gondii, unpeople
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Guest Post: Mrs Towers defends fritterature
So, apparently I’ve become Mrs T for this purpose. Mildly ironic, since in the 3 months and 13 days (yep, I’m counting) we’ve been in Australia I’ve been getting low-level grief from Mr T’s real family for not changing my … Continue reading
Neologism – “Fritterature”
Noun Umbrella term for the kinds of books that you read when you are frittering away your all-too finite time and energy instead of reading actual proper literature. Into this category falls all thrillers, “airport” fiction, romance novels etc. And … Continue reading
Posted in book review, framing, reading list
Tagged fritterature, High Culture Low Culture, Leavis alone alright
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Links 2011-04-03 Coal, Egypt, Climate Camp, Agentic Deadlock
We are All Wotan have an excellent post on “Jevons Paradox” quoting John Bellamy Foster: “Jevons had no answer to the paradox he raised. Britain could either rapidly use up its cheap source of fuel – the coal upon which … Continue reading
