Monday, January 29, 2007
Darwin's Great Adventure
Over Xmas I was in England and picked up some goodies in the round of gift-giving that I had specifically asked for. My contention is that the gift one picks for oneself that the donator thoroughly approves of is the best of both worlds. My Dad thoroughly approved of the book he bought for me;From So Simple a Beginning: Darwin's Four Great Books.
I'm only a short way into "The Voyage of the Beagle", and it is a delight. Darwin was a beguilingly clear writer, which may account for the rapidity with which his ideas became famous. "VOTB" was published a long time before "The Origin of Species" and was a bestseller in its day. Reading it with the advantage of hindsight, one can sense where his thought was going, but the contemporaneous reader is only made aware of the intriguing questions Darwin puts.
It holds up very well for a book written by an amateur in the mid-19th Century.
I'm only a short way into "The Voyage of the Beagle", and it is a delight. Darwin was a beguilingly clear writer, which may account for the rapidity with which his ideas became famous. "VOTB" was published a long time before "The Origin of Species" and was a bestseller in its day. Reading it with the advantage of hindsight, one can sense where his thought was going, but the contemporaneous reader is only made aware of the intriguing questions Darwin puts.
It holds up very well for a book written by an amateur in the mid-19th Century.
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
That didn't take long...
PREDICTIONS
1. This is Langer's, McGrath's, Hayden's, and Gilchrist's last series against England, and in order of increasing likelihood, their last series full stop. I think there is a 50/50 chance Warne is still there in 2009 (see prediction below).
1. This is Langer's, McGrath's, Hayden's, and Gilchrist's last series against England, and in order of increasing likelihood, their last series full stop. I think there is a 50/50 chance Warne is still there in 2009 (see prediction below).
Monday, December 18, 2006
Ashes to ashes...roll on 2009.
Well, it's not entirely a surprise .
I thought England's surfeit of injuries to key players would make the defence of the urn difficult, going as it did with a relatively inexperienced squad facing veterans on their home patch. I do think we're probably entering a phase where the urn goes back and forth. I think there's little doubt that the Australian squad will have to lose some of its more venerable members in the near future.
On England's side, Bell and Cook are starting to really look the part against the best opposition, Pietersen is already looking like a great in the making. Monty Panesar looks to be a fixture for the spin option in the team.
It seems like this should be the time to make some predictions...
PREDICTIONS
1. This is Langer's, McGrath's, Hayden's, and Gilchrist's last series against England,and in order of increasing likelihood, their last series full stop. I think there is a 50/50 chance Warne is still there in 2009 (see prediction below).
2. Collingwood gets replaced in the test side by one of the likely lads coming up through the ranks for the West Indies series; Ed Joyce or Owais Shah. I think Bell is turning into the nuggety performer in the side, and we need a more assured batsman at 4. Of course, Pietersen may move to 4.
3. Mike Hussey will be a major thorn in England's side in 2009.
4. Geraint Jones is out of the England team in Melbourne.
5. Andrew Strauss is given back the captainship to the relief of all concerned. Andrew Flintoff shouldn't have to worry about everybody else's game. Let him refind his own game.
6. Shane Warne touring in 2009 will prove to be a mistake, (if it happens).
7. This guy will be in the England side within a year.
8. England side for the first test against Australia in 2009; Strauss, Cook, Shah/Vaughan, Bell, Pietersen, Rashid, Flintoff, Prior, Hoggard, Harmison/Jones, Panesar.
The double choices I'm allowing myself because I have my doubts if the injuries to the two senior players mean they come back at all. Even if they do, I wonder if they will ever recover the form that made them automatic choices.
I thought England's surfeit of injuries to key players would make the defence of the urn difficult, going as it did with a relatively inexperienced squad facing veterans on their home patch. I do think we're probably entering a phase where the urn goes back and forth. I think there's little doubt that the Australian squad will have to lose some of its more venerable members in the near future.
On England's side, Bell and Cook are starting to really look the part against the best opposition, Pietersen is already looking like a great in the making. Monty Panesar looks to be a fixture for the spin option in the team.
It seems like this should be the time to make some predictions...
PREDICTIONS
1. This is Langer's, McGrath's, Hayden's, and Gilchrist's last series against England,and in order of increasing likelihood, their last series full stop. I think there is a 50/50 chance Warne is still there in 2009 (see prediction below).
2. Collingwood gets replaced in the test side by one of the likely lads coming up through the ranks for the West Indies series; Ed Joyce or Owais Shah. I think Bell is turning into the nuggety performer in the side, and we need a more assured batsman at 4. Of course, Pietersen may move to 4.
3. Mike Hussey will be a major thorn in England's side in 2009.
4. Geraint Jones is out of the England team in Melbourne.
5. Andrew Strauss is given back the captainship to the relief of all concerned. Andrew Flintoff shouldn't have to worry about everybody else's game. Let him refind his own game.
6. Shane Warne touring in 2009 will prove to be a mistake, (if it happens).
7. This guy will be in the England side within a year.
8. England side for the first test against Australia in 2009; Strauss, Cook, Shah/Vaughan, Bell, Pietersen, Rashid, Flintoff, Prior, Hoggard, Harmison/Jones, Panesar.
The double choices I'm allowing myself because I have my doubts if the injuries to the two senior players mean they come back at all. Even if they do, I wonder if they will ever recover the form that made them automatic choices.
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
UPDATE : Let's see what happened to the google bomb of Republican targets...
--AZ-Sen: Jon Kyl
--AZ-01: Rick Renzi
--AZ-05: J.D. Hayworth
GONE !
--CA-04: John Doolittle
--CA-11: Richard Pombo
GONE !
--CA-50: Brian Bilbray
--CO-04: Marilyn Musgrave
--CO-05: Doug Lamborn
--CO-07: Rick O'Donnell
DEFEATED !
--CT-04: Christopher Shays
--FL-13: Vernon Buchanan
HANGING ON TO A VERY DODGY ELECTION RESULT !
--FL-16: Joe Negron
DEFEATED !
--FL-22: Clay Shaw
GONE !
--ID-01: Bill Sali
--IL-06: Peter Roskam
--IL-10: Mark Kirk
--IL-14: Dennis Hastert
--IN-02: Chris Chocola
GONE !
--IN-08: John Hostettler
GONE !
--IA-01: Mike Whalen
DEFEATED !
--KS-02: Jim Ryun
GONE !
--KY-03: Anne Northup
GONE !
--KY-04: Geoff Davis
--MD-Sen: Michael Steele
DEFEATED !
--MN-01: Gil Gutknecht
GONE !
--MN-06: Michele Bachmann
--MO-Sen: Jim Talent
GONE !
--MT-Sen: Conrad Burns
GONE !
--NV-03: Jon Porter
--NH-02: Charlie Bass
GONE !
--NJ-07: Mike Ferguson
--NM-01: Heather Wilson
--NY-03: Peter King
--NY-20: John Sweeney
GONE !
--NY-26: Tom Reynolds
--NY-29: Randy Kuhl
--NC-08: Robin Hayes
--NC-11: Charles Taylor
GONE !
--OH-01: Steve Chabot
--OH-02: Jean Schmidt
--OH-15: Deborah Pryce
--OH-18: Joy Padgett
GONE !
--PA-04: Melissa Hart
GONE !
--PA-07: Curt Weldon
GONE !
--PA-08: Mike Fitzpatrick
GONE !
--PA-10: Don Sherwood
GONE !
--RI-Sen: Lincoln Chafee
GONE !
--TN-Sen: Bob Corker
--VA-Sen: George Allen
DOUBLE GONE !
--VA-10: Frank Wolf
--WA-Sen: Mike McGavick
DEFEATED !
--WA-08: Dave Reichert
--AZ-Sen: Jon Kyl
--AZ-01: Rick Renzi
--AZ-05: J.D. Hayworth
GONE !
--CA-04: John Doolittle
--CA-11: Richard Pombo
GONE !
--CA-50: Brian Bilbray
--CO-04: Marilyn Musgrave
--CO-05: Doug Lamborn
--CO-07: Rick O'Donnell
DEFEATED !
--CT-04: Christopher Shays
--FL-13: Vernon Buchanan
HANGING ON TO A VERY DODGY ELECTION RESULT !
--FL-16: Joe Negron
DEFEATED !
--FL-22: Clay Shaw
GONE !
--ID-01: Bill Sali
--IL-06: Peter Roskam
--IL-10: Mark Kirk
--IL-14: Dennis Hastert
--IN-02: Chris Chocola
GONE !
--IN-08: John Hostettler
GONE !
--IA-01: Mike Whalen
DEFEATED !
--KS-02: Jim Ryun
GONE !
--KY-03: Anne Northup
GONE !
--KY-04: Geoff Davis
--MD-Sen: Michael Steele
DEFEATED !
--MN-01: Gil Gutknecht
GONE !
--MN-06: Michele Bachmann
--MO-Sen: Jim Talent
GONE !
--MT-Sen: Conrad Burns
GONE !
--NV-03: Jon Porter
--NH-02: Charlie Bass
GONE !
--NJ-07: Mike Ferguson
--NM-01: Heather Wilson
--NY-03: Peter King
--NY-20: John Sweeney
GONE !
--NY-26: Tom Reynolds
--NY-29: Randy Kuhl
--NC-08: Robin Hayes
--NC-11: Charles Taylor
GONE !
--OH-01: Steve Chabot
--OH-02: Jean Schmidt
--OH-15: Deborah Pryce
--OH-18: Joy Padgett
GONE !
--PA-04: Melissa Hart
GONE !
--PA-07: Curt Weldon
GONE !
--PA-08: Mike Fitzpatrick
GONE !
--PA-10: Don Sherwood
GONE !
--RI-Sen: Lincoln Chafee
GONE !
--TN-Sen: Bob Corker
--VA-Sen: George Allen
DOUBLE GONE !
--VA-10: Frank Wolf
--WA-Sen: Mike McGavick
DEFEATED !
--WA-08: Dave Reichert
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Gay Republicans
Fantastic post by Stirling Newberry at TPM cafe goes deep into the weeds of Foleygate to examine the nexus of homosexuality and the alliance between "social conservatives" and "fiscal conservatives". I use the quote marks because Newberry goes some distance in showing why these shorthand definitions don't quite tell the whole story.
Favourite things: the identification of the Republicans as "borrow and squander right wing socialists"; the title of a forthcoming book by Rick Perlstein, Nixonland: The Politics and Culture of the American Berserk, 1965-1972.
One thing he doesn't talk about,but which would fit seamlessly into his essay, is the whole field of "gay conversion".
Favourite things: the identification of the Republicans as "borrow and squander right wing socialists"; the title of a forthcoming book by Rick Perlstein, Nixonland: The Politics and Culture of the American Berserk, 1965-1972.
One thing he doesn't talk about,but which would fit seamlessly into his essay, is the whole field of "gay conversion".
Friday, October 06, 2006
Friday Night Foley's
Initially I was going to write down my thoughts about the utter justness of this scandal in view of the astonishing hubris of the Republican Party's leadership. However, Glenn Greenwald has already done it for me.
It's undoubtedly this hubris that has Hastert, Reynolds et al. asking everybody to move on when it is obvious to all but the 27% of the US population impervious to fact and logic that there were bound to be more pages coming forward with accounts of Foley's attentions and more disclosures of the House leadership looking the other way.
It's undoubtedly this hubris that has Hastert, Reynolds et al. asking everybody to move on when it is obvious to all but the 27% of the US population impervious to fact and logic that there were bound to be more pages coming forward with accounts of Foley's attentions and more disclosures of the House leadership looking the other way.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
