Perseids

I wonder what more anyone needs than watching the meteors streak overhead. Tiny grains of sand burning up in the skies are just brilliant (ho ho). And that we can explain and predict them over thousands of years. Class. And beautiful beyond belief.

The decline of religious institutions

The slow whiny death of british christianity is a characteristic Hari evisceration of organised religion. I agree that most of the state religious subsidies and allowances should be cut, but found myself wondering why I felt that the argument was a little bit of a...

The Rake has progressed

Another great show (The Rake’s Progress) at Glyndebourne. Singing, orchestra, direction, staging, set and lighting all first class. Some good tunes and lots  of laughs too? Perfect. And a catered picnic, which while not quite the spirit, means we have no...

A future for journalism/ists

The tyranny of chronology in journalism. Lots of thought provoking elements there. The attempt to make the atom of news somewhat smaller than the story is a good one, and not far removed from what I was trying to do at Datamonitor. (Which was making every data point...

Q+A on prohibition

What Prohibition Can Teach Us About Marijuana Legalization. Lots of good Q+A here. I wonder how the death rate from alcohol looked when Americans drank three times as much as they do now in the early 19th century?