What, Why & How do we Know ?
I am at last re-reading Mikhail Bulgakov (1929 / 1966) “The Master and Margarita”. The first time I started (and failed to complete) reading it in April 2017 I said this: All I can say so far is M&M’s seriously weird and compelling. Some cross between Salman Rushdie’s “Satanic Verses” and Neil Gaiman’s “American Gods” … Continue reading “Master and Margarita – Reloaded”
A new overload of bookmarked pages to capture. Life remains complicated for reading and writing for domestic and work reasons, so I’ll dump most here without reading or reviewing in detail for now. Resources for later. Philip Goff on this old chestnut … Hacking, White and McGrath all referenced (but not Anthropics …) ‘Is the … Continue reading “Link Dump”
I’m reading Dan Brown’s latest in a similar mode to my readings of Lee Child. That is it’s a genre and author that really holds no interest other than witnessing what a best-seller looks like and attempting an understanding how it’s constructed. Who am I to call it drivel? Stylistically neither has won me over. … Continue reading “Our Destiny in Dan Brown’s Origin?”
Loved reading Neil Gaiman’s American Gods, the so-called “author’s preferred text” version from 2004 with the extra epilogue chapter. It made a big impression but I never did get round to writing a full review, beyond this passing reference. Never been a fan of fantasy or sci-fi fiction generally, with a few satirical and philosophical … Continue reading “#AmericanGods”
Just started reading a startlingly different book “The Master and Margarita” by Russian author Mikhail Bulgakov. I’d never heard of him or the book before I picked it up from my mother who is doing a University of the Third Age (U3A) course in Russian Literature. She was given the book by an old maths … Continue reading “Mikhail Bulgakov – The Master and Margarita”
Day job not going so good right now, a little under the weather and dog-tired yesterday, I accidentally deliberately slept in this morning. But, I finished my C J Werleman notes on the tube, stepped out into the sunshine, grabbed a great breakfast at a little cafe I’d not previously noticed between the tube and … Continue reading “Extending the Hand of Friendship @cjwerleman”
This story of several writers pulling out of an event where Hebdo are to be honoured with an award. Quotes Salman Rushdie, and a twitter storm has arisen. Showing that the following are consistently held: Condemn Hebdo murders. Defend Hebdo’s freedom to publish. Celebrate Hebdo’s courage to publish. Criticise Hebdo’s actual publications and motives. As I have done … Continue reading “Twist on Free Speech and Hebdo”
Interesting responses to my critical post of the recent LAAG event below. Defensive and now, sadly, largely ad-hominem. Apparently the number and size of my balls affect the arguments. I’d drafted a couple of yards of replies on Friday afternoon, to the initial handful of comments that day, but the aggressive responses continued over the … Continue reading “Atheist, Rationalist, Secularist and Humanist – What’s in a Name?”