Recently updated blogs

I recently started reading Richard Flanagan's so-far radiant book Question 7. I read the following passage at lunch today and it should be shared, so here it is: Chekhov believed that the role of literature was not to provide answers but only to ask the necessary questions. One of Chekhov’s earliest stories was a parody of mental arithmetic questions asked of schoolchildren, of which Chekhov’s question 7 is typical: Wednesday, …

Castoria newspaper ad (1915) In yesterday’s post about the name Castara I mentioned a medicine called Castoria, which was a senna-based laxative made for children. Castoria was developed in the mid-19th century by Massachusetts doctor Samuel Pitcher, who patented the medicine in 1868 and sold it as “Pitcher’s Castoria.” Three years later, the formula was purchased by the Centaur Company (headed by Charles H. Fletcher) and renamed “Fletcher’s Castoria.” Advertising …

To round off German Lit Month’s Kafka week, I though I would swerve off in a different direction from the actual writings of the man himself by writing about another author translated from the German – Walter Benjamin. I was browsing through his works and realised that he had actually written essays about Kafka, and I have two in a collection on the TBR – “Illuminations” (translated by Harry Zohn). …

This is sponsored by CoHost. Get in-depth insights into who your podcast audience is including income, family members, social media habits, age, and more with CoHost's Advanced Audience Demographics. Book a demo today.Visit https://podnews.net/update/auspod-24-winners for all the links, and to get our newsletter. The 2024 Australian Podcast Awards took place last night in Sydney NSW. We have a full list of the winners: Podcast of the Year went to Ladies, …

President-elect Trump has vowed to rescind an executive order that imposed AI safeguards, and could use tech to enable mass deportations. How far will California go in the other direction? By: Alex Shultz California Gov. Gavin Newsom is preparing to wage a legal war against President-elect Donald Trump, convening a special legislative session next month... The post Trump Wants Even Looser AI Guardrails. Why California, Despite Passing Over 20 AI …

Back in 2019 I posted an epic ranked list of Christmas mysteries. As and when I have found more to read, I have added these to the list, which currently features 40 books. Some years I may only have one or two titles to add, but this year it seems like I gathered or received a few more than usual, so I decided it might be fun to share those …

The handle for the dressing table/computer desk came on a spur of the moment. I definitely did not want to buy something in, and I didn’t want to turn them on the lathe, though that is always an option. I saw a couple of strips of offcuts on my benchtop left from the drawer support... Source

I don’t see the end of the end credits of movies as much as I used to because they get squashed into a tiny box on Netflix while it begs you to watch something else; and honestly (this is the real reason) I barely watch movies. However I remember the words they used to end with, and I just went and checked a relatively modern movie - Top Gun: Maverick …

In the battle for street safety, crossing guards are on the front lines.Tasked with ensuring that hundreds of children make it from one sidewalk to another unscathed every day, they experience our streets, their users, and those users' habits more intimately than any engineer, officer or elected official ever could. The verdict: The streets, even the ones hugging our schools, are unsafe.Despite being sheathed in reflective gear and stationed in …

Simon’s sizing advice (winter) Friday, November 22nd 2024Tags: CoatsPermanent style Share Share this post Subscribe 22 Comments ||- Begin Content -|| Every six months, I forget what it’s like to run the pop-up shops. They’re only four days each (London and New York) but they’re so intense, just talking to people non-stop for eight hours, giving advice and fetching sizes. I don’t know how salespeople do it. I also find …

looking down a typical residential street in the suburbs of london. i love taking pictures like this because the people are out of frame but close by. they form a community, whether by geography, race, class, or some other means of solidarity. plus there are sometimes cute cats in the window. I’ve been thinking about how trust functions in society. Working with community as a nonprofit is often an exercise …

WowHaus 1960s modernist railway signal box in Berlin, Germany 1960s modernist railway signal box in Berlin, Germany (image credit: Berlin First) Something very different on the market via one of our readers. This 1960s modernist railway signal box in Berlin, Germany. (image credit: Berlin First) I love this kind of industrial renovation project and have featured a UK signal box in the past. But it doesn’t quite look like this …

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Yesterday I went to the Barons Court Theatre and saw Jean-Luc Lagarce’s I Was in the House and I Was Waiting for the Rain to Come, which is staged as part of this venue’s ambitious Voila! Theatre Festival, an annual event featuring multidisciplinary, multilingual and multicultural performance celebrating both British and European creatives. Although Lagarce is unknown in this country, he is a big name in France with many productions …

Local filmmaker Matt Ognibene has a new video on the Charlie Card Challenge – an unsanctioned 6-mile road race against the Green Line along the length of the B branch, from Boston College to downtown’s Park Street station. The Charlie Card Challenge was a bigger challenge this year thanks to the T’s year-long track improvement program, which eliminated 10 slow zones along the B branch since last fall. We won’t …