For about two months now I've been waiting for and then recovering from a major surgery. As a result I've been consuming a lot of electronic media. It's been a steep learning curve looking for something new to consume as I rapidly used up known territory. Of all the material I found, the most impressive … Continue reading Civilisation: A Personal View
Note: I wrote this piece about 6 years ago, but somehow it got lost. I found it again today and thought it was worth revisiting. At the station I spot the friendly barista who works in the local coffee shop where I like to sit and write. He seems delighted whenever he sees me in … Continue reading The Elephant House
I wrote this piece in 2012. At some point it got lost from the website. I have edited this version a bit. At first it was just graffiti. A few grotesque figures painted with a fine brush in red ink, around doorways. Each work had an ethereal beauty. Each work was signed Spot. There were … Continue reading Spot
Religious relatives used to remind me of your Yahrzeit but I didn’t need that. I would mourn you every day. In the same way as I feel that everyday is my birthday. Anniversaries are too literal. They make these things into duties. But recently I haven’t thought about you too much. So why am I … Continue reading In Place of Yahrzeit
Josh and Julie were my parents-in-law. They were brought up in Iraq, but were expelled when they were in their 20s, went to Israel for a while, and ended up in London. They spoke English with a strong accent and different syntax. During the first gulf war, many Iraqis were interviewed on the radio, and they … Continue reading Josh, Julie and the Iraqi English accent
A discussion about ableist language stimulated by this article has made me aware of my habitual use of words like idiot and stupid. If that’s offensive (as the article suggests) then I’d prefer not to use them. Also they are a form of thought-stopping; they reject the person or behaviour that is described without explaining … Continue reading Some writing principles and the style guide that I haven’t written
Some memories are created by family myths. This story about my father, FDK, may be an example. In the early 60s FDK spent a few months at the National Radio Astronomy Obervatory in Greenbank, West Virginia. An emissary from the Sterrewacht in Leiden came to Greenbank to give a seminar about Professor Jan Oort’s latest theories. Oort was … Continue reading Astronomy and lightning
[This post was originally titled Grammar and the Great White Males. This offended some of the people it referred to. I think they are right. Hence the new title] The Grammar Police keep on picking me up when I discuss good grammar, spelling and punctuation, saying things like “I thought you said grammar doesn’t matter.” I … Continue reading Grammar and the Grammar Police
Saturday, 8 January 2011 at 18:06 UTC overheard on a train: *my gay mate phones me up and asks me “are you gay yet? No? Thats a shame! How are you anyway*?” Tuesday, 7 June 2011 at 19:30 UTC+01 theres machine gun fire outside. really. Thursday, 16 June 2011 at 17:20 UTC+01 And for my … Continue reading My FB life
This is the story of a trip to Lewis, Harris and Skye, how it was planned, what we saw, some of the food that we ate, and other bits and pieces along the way. Sunday 17th August 2014 I'm staying over at Phil's house after we've played a strange gig at a cycling event. Over dinner I … Continue reading A trip to the islands
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