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Continue reading →: Dentistry – dentinogeneris imperfecta
It’s bad enough having to look at the ravages of time each morning in the bathroom mirror. When your teeth start breaking, it might be time for you to don your best sealskin coat and boots and head outdoors towards an icy oblivion. Luckily I am not an old-fashioned Inuit, so…
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Continue reading →: Crowdfunded politics
In the UK there is an organisation called MoreUnited founded by the former Liberal Democrat leader, Paddy Ashdown that is looking for contributions online. Their aim is to help get people elected who sign up for their core values. Is this another way to boost votes for the Liberal Democrats…
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Continue reading →: Macron vs Gerontocracy
The French political system has been described as a gerontocracy, in other words a society ruled by old men. This description could equally apply to authoritarian governments around the world. The ‘old boy network’ helps to maintain the status quo, where privilege and wealth are tickets to political power. Emmanuel Macron is…
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Continue reading →: Punk poetry
If you haven’t come across the punk poet, John Cooper Clark, you’re in for a treat. Here’s an example of his wit and verbal dexterity: I WROTE THE SONGS I wrote the songs that nearly made The bottom line of the hit parade Almost anthems, shoulda been hits Songs like……
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Continue reading →: Back to Poetry
This blog wanders down many lanes that have nothing to do with poetry. Except that everything has to do with poetry. It is a concise way of holding up a mirror to the world, exploring ideas and playing with language. Emotions are explored by neuroscientists, philosophers and poets because of…
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Continue reading →: Visual Art
Having become a curmudgeon, it behoves me to criticise art exhibitions that get my goat. One such travesty was the Lost in Narration art exhibition at the MAC in Belfast. A slow motion film following a rhino called Sudan wandering about with its armed protectors in the wilds of Kenya…
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Continue reading →: Life
The taking of a human life can serve many purposes. Revenge is the most understandable. A victim’s nearest and dearest would probably want to see the life of their loved one’s killer ended. A life for a life. The state might endorse that sentiment, but dress it up in judicial…
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Continue reading →: Clean Thursday
Easter is upon us and there are various customs and traditions associated with this religious festival. There is the welcome end to Lent’s fasting with gastronomic delights such as Simnel cake and hot cross buns. Clean Thursday is a Russian tradition to prepare the house for the Easter festivities with a…
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Continue reading →: All right thinking people
European response to migration has been fragmented. Germany’s Angela Merkel opened the borders to offer the hand of friendship to thousands of refugees fleeing war in the Middle East. The UK voted (37% of the electorate) to leave the EU in a referendum prompted by scare stories of unlimited emigration from…
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Continue reading →: Turkish referendum
The Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, failed to persuade two thirds of the Turkish parliament to grant him more powers. So he has instigated a referendum on 16 April on 18 amendments to the constitution. This would, in effect, transform Turkey from a parliamentary democracy to a presidential state. It would also…
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