Gone Tomorrow

Breathe today
For what may pass tomorrow,
And hold it
For what may not.
But take the time to tell
tomorrow's boy
That, last night, we
kissed like lovers.

A Great Find

Our forebear, Christopher Hitchens, has written, uncharacteristically, about Evelyn Waugh's magisterial Brideshead Revisited for The Guardian today. He begins and ends by bemoaning the latest film adaptation, which was never going to be as good as the earlier television series (why remake perfection?). And yet, at the heart of Hitchens' article is a perfect appraisal of why Brideshead is so good. If you're studying Brideshead for any kind of upcoming exam read Hitchens piece as a perfect model of how to construct an academic essay.

Mortality

I saw two perfect, unbroken rainbows today; the first in the west as the sun rose, and the second in the east as the sun began to set. How many more occasions will I have in my life time in which I can boast of the same phenomenon? Twice? Three times maybe? Perhaps its symbolic of a latent rejuvenation...

Surprise Surprise

Not only do they pester Stem Cell research as inhumane, not only do they wish to teach dogmatic fallacy in our schools, not only do they support a separation of stately law and sharia law, but they also want to ban the simple inoculation against Cervical Cancer, a sexually transmitted disease (entirely preventable). This Roman Catholic School in Manchester is denying its female pupils from being administered the Cancer vaccine on no grounds whatsoever. Are there no depths to which they will not sink, as they grapple with slumping authority all over western Europe? How much more of this backwardness must we endure before sense is brought before 'respect'? AIDS as punishment for homosexuality; 9/11 as punishment for fag-liberation; condoms worse than the devil; measles vaccines as demonic poison? Please, people.

What to read before you die...

Richard Wilson writes for The Times: "10 Books Not To Read Before You Die". Annoyingly, this was the most read article on Saturday. If you read his list of books, you'll immediately be struck by the fact that all the books he refers to you are either classics (Homer's Iliad) or modern classics (Joyce's Ulysses). Need I say any more? This list reads like a banal attempt of petty polemics that does nothing to elevate my opinion of this, likely, juvenile writer. Proudly, I've read four of the books on the list, and for those I have, it's noticeable how simple and erudite his descriptions and synopses are, which brings me to the conclusion that he has neither read the books he laments, nor has he done even the most basic research. Why was I completely unsurprised to see The Dice Man crop up at number 6? Luke Rhinehart's modern, cult classic is the most entertaining exploration of the Human psyche since Heller's Catch-22, which, thankfully, did not make the list, but probably only because Wilson hadn't heard of it. As much as book-lists often make us feel as if we've wasted our lives, no matter how long it takes, make sure to read those books, and avoid Wilson's articles.

Unravel

While you are away
My heart comes undone,
Slowly unravels
Like a ball of yarn.
The devil collects it
With a grin.
Our love, in a ball of yarn.
He'll never return it.

Tony's Gaff

During Tony Blair's latest cop-out interview on The Daily Show (one of the least funny shows on US television, by the way), he said it would have been "difficult" for him to have converted to Catholicism during his premiership, because religion is seen as "a very private matter" in Britain. Let me explain why he's wrong. The real reason why it would have been very, very difficult is much more simple. The fact is, people are educated beyond the quasi-fatuous, unquestioning nature of American school-children. When we hear of Palin's evangelism, or Obama's devotion to his faith, we're sickened by its welcome. If our Prime Minister proclaimed anything beyond a mild interest in private religion they would undoubtedly be publicly destroyed; it would be, I'm proud to say, an act of political suicide. Let me join the swathes of elevated people in the US who predict that it's only a matter of time before the same phenomenon occurs in American politics and campaigning. Whether this is the product of a distancing attempt on behalf of the British population away from the Muslim uprising remains to be clarified. We've all had a 9/11 moment - it could be the fatwa released against Salman Rushdie in 1989, or the Danish cartoon killings in 2006, etc. - but any act that is seen to alienate the people carrying out these faith-motivated actions is embraced; denouncing religion is one such act. And so, even Bush's claim that he was motivated by his prayers to invade Iraq made many British people choke on their cornflakes. Glad I cleared that one up.

Perfect

Congratulations, Richard, on your new banner!

The Seldom Seen Roundabouts

Traffic flow in Tucson is horrendous, particularly in and out of the university during term time. Parking permits are limited to a first come-first serve basis, and those who don't have permits have no chance of getting to classes on time if they are even thirty seconds late. You simply cannot expect to drive any faster than a cyclist on the inside channel. Gladly, therefore, I am without a car here in Arizona. I zip around on my bike, taking advantage of the cycle lanes seldom seen in Europe. Tucson was built after the invention of the motorcar, and it shows. Everything is wide, angled, and organised, but it is without one important aspect: flow. It brought me great joy to hear of Kansas building nearly 1000 roundabouts in the past two years. Obviously, traffic-flow has improved tenfold. Not to mention the exhaust-emissions that have been reduced by 60%. Roundabouts are glorious things; something that you only notice when you're without them (there is not a single roundabout in Tucson, nor much of the States). Everyone knows what they're doing at a roundabout - you give way to the right, you expect people to yield on your right, they always do, safety and the human spirit work in total harmony at roundabouts. When the system breaks down on rare occasions, because someone is being careless, you feel no qualms in giving them a piece of your mind, and onlookers would most certainly take your side. It is a travesty that most of the south-west has no roundabouts. One concern is that Tucson's drivers will not be able to deal with the many aspects of a roundabout: the concentration required and the various codes of practice and etiquette. The abysmal testing system is to blame for this, but so too is the over-simplification of the roads. Well done, Kansas, set the rest of America a precedent.

Palin Again

The aforementioned covers of Time magazine in the past couple of weeks have raised eyebrows left and right, literally, but this week they've again succumbed to my presumed journalistic pre-glorification. Sarah Palin's profile fills the front cover, posing as some sort of art-house modelle. Somewhat surprising that this picture wasn't used, whether real or not, ask yourself why? Naturally, her orthodox Christianity worries me, and she has a lot to answer to on her flip-flopping on the "Bridging issue". However, Hitchens has dug up an interesting snippet from a questionnaire she answered before her 2006 election as governor of Alaska (which people describe as being typically Canadian, yet having all the signature nuances of globalized America - shopping channels, Burger King, etc.). She was asked to comment on the phrase 'Under God' used during the Pledge of Allegiance. She responded: "Not on your life. If it was good enough for the founding fathers [it's] good enough for me, and I'll fight in defense of our Pledge of Allegiance." Obviously, this only compounds my religious fears, and it's interesting to note that she clearly doesn't know her history; the 'under God' section of the pledge was only inserted during the 50s, much to the annoyance of the constitutional purists. Palin has become a parody of bad soap opera, influencing enough of the fickle, female, Clinton supporters to seemingly switch their political allegiance and vote Republican for one reason only - an all-American Goddess. Nancy Gibbs sums this all up better than I ever could in her essay for Time: "It's hard to watch an accomplished woman walk the tightrope under lights this bright and with stakes this high; we don't want it to look too easy, but we don't want to see her fall."

Election Entertainment

The furor surround Gov. Palin is typical of the media fickleness that encroaches into the 2008 Election every day. Just as we thought it couldn't get any more ludicrous, any more biased, any more divisive, any more irritating, the vice-presidential selections have swung the entire print and visual media back towards McCain. They've even tried to vouch this suggestion, claiming that, due to McCain's years, he may well kick the proverbial bucket before the end of his second (if not his first) term, leaving Palin in charge. I've even taken the liberty of watching her make speeches, firstly at her unveiling, and then at the party congress. One word - vacuous. rhetoric is left turning in its grave. What we have here is a direct attack, a direct pursuit of people's values and beliefs; as if tapping into groupthink denotes good politics. Ha! Politics? I see nothing of the sort here, friends. Listen to her, listen to them all. Do not watch, close your eyes and listen to what they have to say. You will be left bereft, I promise. America has turned even the most boring of current affairs, politics, into entertainment, just as it has done everything else. The election cannot be discussed at length in an intimate environment. Instead we're confronted by loud, headstrong quasi-intellects shouting about the obvious as if we couldn't figure things out for ourselves. Discussion about the autumn general is no more of an election, but more of a Big Brother eviction - the least popular gets the boot, while we make do with the other.