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What's Wrong with Classic FM 25 Dec 2011 | 12:04 am
Seeing as we are currently in what is considered - in the nominally "Christian" parts of the world at least - a festive season, I think it most appropriate to share with my readers this deliciously de...
Too Much Democracy Too Soon 7 Dec 2011 | 08:03 am
It was only a few months that I expounded on the dangers of assuming that where democracy is concerned, "more" necessarily means "better." What I hadn't foreseen at the time was that events in the Mid...
Man the Runner, turned Couch Potato 5 Dec 2011 | 12:50 am
A few months ago, I had the chance to view the BBC documentary series "Human Planet". As stunning as the cinematography for the series was, what made the most lasting impression on me was the sheer am...
Japan's Mythical Lost Decade 22 Nov 2011 | 02:27 am
Upon returning from my month-long trip to Japan last year, I noted that the state of the country as evidenced by what I saw was very far from matching the impression one gathers reading about the Japa...
The Goldberg Variations 19 Nov 2011 | 11:31 pm
For many years Glenn Gould's performance had been the last word on the piece, but I have to say that Murray Perahia's take has now firmly replaced Gould's in my estimation: it has all of the livelines...
A Homage to the Weeaboo 17 Oct 2011 | 08:46 pm
It's not exactly surprising to hear me say that I am a great admirer of Japanese culture, especially the artistic and historic aspects, and have spent a great deal of time and effort mastering the Jap...
We are Star Stuff 13 Oct 2011 | 08:07 pm
In the course of the last week, I have learnt of the deaths of two men whose work I greatly admired, first Apple founder Steve Jobs, and today, C and Unix creator Dennis Ritchie. The death of Steve Jo...
Lady Gaga is Boring and Derivative 9 Sep 2011 | 10:11 pm
Commenting at length about the ephemera of popular culture isn't really what I have in mind to write about on here, but on this occasion I must make an exception, as Nathan Heller does such a superb j...
Notting Hill Carnival 2011 31 Aug 2011 | 11:28 pm
Here's a funny thing: as much as I enjoy taking photographs, so much so that I don't mind taking on all sorts of inconveniences to get the shots I want, I've never really been able to muster much enth...
On the Tottenham Riots 8 Aug 2011 | 06:37 pm
As you may be aware, the last two days have seen serious bouts of rioting occur in various parts of London. The instigation for the rioting was the shooting to death of a certain Mark Duggan, whose qu...
