This page represents only my own views, and not those of any university or other body.
Posted Thursday 15th November 2011 at 11.05pm
Part heart
There's a good review of REM's latest best of here. I won't be buying it, because I have the albums and could never agree with any best of. How can you include Talk About the Passion and not Shaking Through? Why Electrolite and not Departure? Oh My Heart instead of That Someone is You? What were you thinking?
And if I wrote this post again tomorrow, the songs I chose for that little gripe would be different. There's 30 years' worth of music here. REM made about 8 classic albums. If you asked me to make a best of, there'd probably be 75-100 songs on it. Getting it down to 40 would be a nightmare. You can't leave out Exhuming McCarthy! Just a Touch is essential! In one sense you can't get it right. But in another you can't get it wrong. Heck, you could make an incredible album just from lining up track 1 from each of their albums.
Wolves, Lower
Radio Free Europe
Harbourcoat
Feeling Gravity's Pull
Begin the Begin
Finest Worksong
Pop Song 89
Radio Song
Drive
What's the Frequency, Kenneth?
How the West Was Won and Where it Got Us
At My Most Beautiful
The Lifting
Living Well is the Best Revenge
Discoverer
What an album! (And yeah, the omission was deliberate.)
1 comment
Posted Tuesday 15th November 2011 at 8.04pm
An underrated skill
From Lambchop's - underrated - Is a Woman.
Several interesting things happened today, at least two of which I can't, or won't, talk about here. This article from the Guardian will have to do instead. It seems to be proposing that "direct democracy" - in terms of more regular referenda - is a fix for some of the ills of present governmental practice. It then raises, itself, the main problem with this proposal. I am taking this quote out of context, but "it would be prejudicial against the interests of minorities".
I was involved in an argument about this once. Clare College, my college in Cambridge, had - like most colleges and universities - a group of students who were elected to take care of things like welfare, entertainment, and housing, and to sit on college and university committees. At some point the possibility of banning smoking in the bar and common room was raised. This was before (but not too long before) the ban on smoking in all workplaces was introduced in the UK, and it caused a fair stink. The elected group of students therefore decided that we should have a referendum across the student body to decide whether smoking should be banned in the bar. To me, this seemed like a cop-out. Everyone knew the referendum would show that most people supported a ban on smoking. Probably 90% of people in the college didn't smoke.
Was it the right decision to ban smoking in the bar? Yes, I think so. Was it the right decision to hold a referendum on this decision? No, I don't think so. Not only was it a waste of everyone's time, but the smokers were a minority group who stood no chance of having their views - no matter how strongly felt - taken into consideration by the process. One of the main points of having a government (in this case the student committee) is that they can take into account less widely held, but strongly felt, views and come to a reasonable decision for the good of the whole population.
Now the context for the quote from earlier: "the particular minority that was had in mind here being the rich". That is, electing a government helps minority groups have a say; the rich are a minority group and they are having too much of a say. I agree wholeheartedly, but I don't think regular referenda are a way of preventing this. As we have seen in elections in the UK, and the recent referendum on the alternative vote, money can bias democracy as well as governments. Do I have a way of preventing the rich having too much of a say? No. If I did I'd be shouting it from the rooftops. Some possibilities that might go some way to diluting the effect are stricter controls on political party spending (and funding), pressure on journalists to reveal their sources (and funding) and an independent body to ensure that paid-for media is reasonably neutral. That's not to say that no-one should be allowed to express an opinion, but that the media by which they express that opinion should be obliged to give reasonable coverage to a relevant range of opinions.
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Posted Monday 14th November 2011 at 10.25pm
Schminter
I'm starting to think the whole freezing cold Montreal winter thing might have been an elaborate ruse to keep people away. It's mid-November and still 10C plus.
(Bracing myself for the inevitable weather backlash... it'll probably snow tomorrow now!)
Today's xkcd comic was the best one in ages.
1 comment
Posted Thursday 10th November 2011 at 8.14pm
I'm not wearing a poppy this year
I agree with this short article from the Independent. "Wearing a poppy is an act of personal respect for those who fought and died for this country in two world wars as well as more recent conflicts. It is not, or should not be, an exercise in communal conformity." (Actually I don't agree with the "for this country" bit, but for want of a suitably succinct alternative I'll let it roll.)
The reason that I wear a poppy isn't that I'm proud to wear a poppy, or to donate money to injured soldiers or relatives of dead soldiers or whatever. I do it to remember, and to remind other people that they should remember, what people went through and what people fought for.
I hope I'll never know, but I remember those who did, and those who still do.
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Posted Wednesday 9th November 2011 at 11.39pm
Winter mix 2011
About once a year I decide to upload a playlist to 8tracks. Here's this year's effort. You may recognise some songs from recent songs of the week. (Note that for legal reasons the tracklist will be randomised if you play it more than once in a day.)
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Posted Thusday 3rd November 2011 at 11.28pm
Vege-tables
To celebrate the two-month anniversary of my new blog system (or maybe just because today was the first time someone tried to do it), line breaks in comments will now appear as they should. Thanks, Nathan.
Sleep a lot, eat a lot, brush 'em like crazy,
Run a lot, do a lot, never be lazy!
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Posted Wednesday 2nd October 2011 at 11.20am
What a bunch of bankers
And I thought French banks were stupid...
It turns out it will cost me $43 for a chequebook. For that price I can have my choice of picture in the background and cheesy quote on the cheque. Whoopy doo. Here's a heads-up: I just want to be able to use my bank account to do banky stuff, like, er, give money to other people, accept money from other people, buy stuff, things like that. Is that too much to expect? It even costs me $1.50 every time I want to transfer money to someone online (unless they have an account at the same bank as me).
In the UK,
a) My account is free.
b) They send me chequebooks regularly.
c) The online banking is extremely secure.
d) I can send money online to whoever I like easily, securely and for free.
e) I can use my debit card to buy things online.
f) I can withdraw cash from any bank's cash machine for free.
g) I can use my account as much as I like.
In France,
a) My account costs about 5 euros a month.
b) They send me chequebooks if I ask for them.
c) The online banking is quite secure.
d) I can send money online to whoever I like for free, although it's a bit of a palaver.
e) I can use my debit card to buy things online.
f) I can withdraw cash from any bank's cash machine for free.
g) I can use my account as much as I like.
In Canada,
a) My account is $10/month, although because I'm a student that's waived.
b) It costs me $43 for a chequebook of 50 cheques (no option for fewer for cheaper).
c) The online banking only requires one password, that I just type in.
d) It costs me $1.50 every time I want to send money to someone.
e) I can't use my debit card to buy things online.
f) It costs me $1.50 to withdraw cash from any cash machine other than my own bank's.
g) I get 25 transactions "free" per month* and each extra transaction costs $1.50.
*Subject to the costs highlighted above.
9 comments
Posted Tuesday 1st November 2011 at 2.06pm
RAMQQPPDIP
The "Régie de l'assurance maladie du Québec Quebec Public Presription Drug Insurance Plan" is a hell of a moniker. Québec, Quebec, so good they named it once with an accent, once without.
"Under Canadian federal law, all citizens and permanent residents are entitled to free basic heath care, wherein each province administers their own system. Unlike most other provincial health plans, the Quebec health plan does cover prescription medicines for many people. The annual cost varies depending upon each person's situation."
Interesting how the cost of free health care varies depending on your situation.
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Posted Friday 28th October at 12.49pm
BBC NHU
I think I wrote on here once that the BBC is something Britain can still be proud of. This article by Ed Yong concentrates on the science/natural history side of their output. Does anywhere else in the world record such stunning natural history programmes as Blue Planet and Planet Earth? I guess I should have some idea, having lived in four different countries, but I tend not to own TVs - in fact I generally just watch BBC iplayer!
1 comment
Posted Wednesday 26th October 2011 at 3.34pm
Welsh rarebit
If you're only going to learn one sentence in German, I recommend "Mein Hamster ist gestorben." One sentence in Swedish: "Kanske ar jag kar i dig." And in Welsh, it has to be "Torra fy ngwallt yn hir." This might be the only ever Welsh song of the week. Make the most of it.
To quote another Super Furry Animals lyric, Marie Curie was Polish born but French bred. HA! FRENCH BRED!
This, from this isn't happiness made me laugh (thanks Nick!):
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