2016
Quote and image of the month for December 2016
Quote: Berger and Luckmann, The Social Construction of Reality. Image: Lorenzo Lotto, Annunciazione.
UTC 2016-12-01 01:02
Words: 381; reading time: 1 minute
Scrapbook for December
Editor's note | Himmel und Hölle | Another mystery of modern life | Turning spare kids into money | Shutting stable doors | FoS website change | Testing for Microsoft | Thank you, President Putin!
UTC 2016-12-01 02:01
Words: 1,481; reading time: 6 minutes
On the road to nowhere
At the moment short, but tremendously expensive. That's OK, the French are paying.
Richard Law UTC 2016-12-28 09:12
Words: 1,630; reading time: 7 minutes
Updated on 2018-04-05
Backup hell: a visit to the crypt
Christmas, the traditional season for tales of horror.
Richard Law UTC 2016-12-26 09:52
Words: 3,732; reading time: 16 minutes
Updated on 2017-02-03
Beyond analysis
Geertgen tot Sint Jans' painting Geboorte van Christus / Nativity at Night.
Richard Law UTC 2016-12-23 12:22
Words: 637; reading time: 2 minutes
Rolling noiselessly through the void
A meditation upon Saint Lucy's day, data adjusted.
Richard Law UTC 2016-12-21 10:14
Words: 319; reading time: 1 minute
Judge Judy, the Divine Comedy for our times
The TV programme is a moral compass among the lost souls of modern America.
Richard Law UTC 2016-12-20 13:15
Words: 1,653; reading time: 7 minutes
John Betjeman's poem 'Christmas'
It takes a proper Christian to write a Christmas poem.
Richard Law UTC 2016-12-18 14:00
Words: 992; reading time: 4 minutes
'Modesty' – or not, as the case may be.
Antonio Corradini's veiled masterpiece: no modesty at all here, in any sense.
Richard Law UTC 2016-12-17 09:30
Words: 586; reading time: 2 minutes
Energy made easy
The thinking person's guide to Energy Derangement Syndrome (EDS).
Richard Law UTC 2016-12-15 10:59
Words: 1,690; reading time: 7 minutes
Updated on 2017-01-04
The Nobel Ceremony 2016
The bling! The frocks! The food! The hypocrisy! No wonder King Charles the Unbathed looks grumpy.
Richard Law UTC 2016-12-11 09:07
Words: 722; reading time: 3 minutes
Who is Schober? what is he?
Why are you asking me? I've no idea either. [9 pages]
Richard Law UTC 2016-12-09 06:40
Words: 21,746; reading time: 1 hour 38 minutes
Quote and image of the month for November
Quote: Jules Laforgue, Winter Coming On. Image: Édouard-Léon Cortès, Place de Madeleine, après la pluié.
UTC 2016-11-01 01:02
Words: 286; reading time: 1 minute
Scrapbook for November
Envy-of-the-World™ – again | Snowflakes of the Month | Back to the palace | Pointless polling | North gets it – not really | Nigel Farage | Trump: change and hopes | FoS website restructured | All Saints' and All Souls' Days 2016 | Emailing for dummies
UTC 2016-11-01 02:01
Words: 2,049; reading time: 9 minutes
OUP WOTY 'post-truth': WTF!
OUP discovers 'objective facts' and sticks it to us knuckledraggers. We still won though, and that's a fact.
Richard Law UTC 2016-11-16 11:01
Words: 820; reading time: 3 minutes
Man and machine
The Bad Aibling rail crash 09.02.2016: the idiot who operated the system, and the idiots who designed it.
Richard Law UTC 2016-11-11 17:43
Words: 615; reading time: 2 minutes
Climate cognitive dissonance
Coping with uncomfortable climate facts: time to give up?
Richard Law UTC 2016-11-07 17:06
Words: 1,665; reading time: 7 minutes
Updated on 2016-11-10
The Schubert trajectory
Standing back for a detail-free biography.
Richard Law UTC 2016-11-04 19:11
Words: 3,726; reading time: 16 minutes
Esprit de corps in elected bodies
Lurches to the left of me, lurches to the right, here I am: stuck in the middle with you.
Richard Law UTC 2016-11-01 09:17
Words: 859; reading time: 3 minutes
Quote and image of the month for October
Quote: René Descartes, Meditations on First Philosophy, Meditation III. Image: Edward Hopper, Automat.
UTC 2016-10-01 01:02
Words: 167; reading time: 1 minute
Scrapbook for October
More intimations of mortality | Alan Turing, useful genius | Dismantling Hillary | Aberfan: a tale of two inquiries | Matt Ridley: Global Warming versus Global Greening | Snowflake of the Month | A grave question | More Waugh | The plague of politics | Intimations of mortality | Mummy knows best | Looking over your shoulder | Spare the rod
UTC 2016-10-01 02:01
Words: 2,553; reading time: 11 minutes
The Man in Black: an expert writes
Art historians – they are just not like us. The tedious tale of this slapdash portrait continues.
Richard Law UTC 2016-10-26 10:44
Words: 1,968; reading time: 8 minutes
Updated on 2017-11-07
Freedom of speech
Alive and well and at ease in Swizerland, its home since the 18th century.
Richard Law UTC 2016-10-23 14:30
Words: 856; reading time: 3 minutes
Updated on 2016-10-24
A victim remembers
A gentle encounter behind the tarpaulin.
Richard Law UTC 2016-10-22 09:30
Words: 783; reading time: 3 minutes
The conquering hero
That Batley and Spen by-election.
Richard Law UTC 2016-10-21 10:12
Words: 579; reading time: 2 minutes
Schiaparelli
Yet another European bites the dust on the red ink planet.
Richard Law UTC 2016-10-20 10:52
Words: 1,149; reading time: 5 minutes
Updated on 2018-11-27
The Man in Black
No, not that one, the other one – the expensive one. It's still all about cash, though.
Richard Law UTC 2016-10-17 10:15
Words: 2,519; reading time: 11 minutes
Brian Cox: the zombie staggers on
Back in your box, Jean-Jacques!
Richard Law UTC 2016-10-10 09:37
Words: 634; reading time: 2 minutes
Bees pulling strings
It's always the same in hierarchical societies.
Richard Law UTC 2016-10-07 17:08
Words: 1,373; reading time: 6 minutes
Those formative years
The truth never hurt anyone. The compact guide to developing a thick skin.
Richard Law UTC 2016-10-06 16:02
Words: 1,045; reading time: 4 minutes
John Dalton, 250 years old
One of the founding fathers of the Scientific Revolution. Thank you, Sir.
Richard Law UTC 2016-10-05 09:03
Words: 491; reading time: 2 minutes
The grape harvest
French white wine: alcohol, child labour, girls for hire and a certain unmistakeable 'finish'.
Richard Law UTC 2016-10-04 07:56
Words: 1,171; reading time: 5 minutes
Babi Yar
Where is there an end to it, the soundless wailing.
Richard Law UTC 2016-10-03 10:41
Words: 810; reading time: 3 minutes
Updated on 2019-07-28
Bible studies
Short meditation for Sunday 2 October involving the Bible, that essential book for atheists. Oh… and that other book.
Richard Law UTC 2016-10-02 11:04
Words: 1,258; reading time: 5 minutes
Updated on 2016-10-25
The Jacobin Conspiracy
Making the mood music of Schubert's times. [6 pages]
Richard Law UTC 2016-10-01 09:00
Words: 14,407; reading time: 1 hour 5 minutes
Quote and image of the month for September
Quote: Marianne Hem Eriksen, Doors to the dead; T. S. Eliot, Burnt Norton. Image: Martinus Rørbye, Entrance to an Inn in the Praestegarden at Hillested.
UTC 2016-09-01 01:02
Words: 391; reading time: 1 minute
Scrapbook for September
Late learning | Immigrants, always resented | Snowflake of the Month | Design update | Feed a cold, starve a fever | One mystery fewer | Restoration and reconstruction | Missing links | The medium is the message, Tim | Quelle finesse!
UTC 2016-09-01 02:01
Words: 2,120; reading time: 9 minutes
Wrong again
And again and again. Ashes and hyssop time on this website.
Richard Law UTC 2016-09-24 09:18
Words: 68; reading time: 1 minute
That Sappho thing
Hold on tight to your dreams.
Richard Law UTC 2016-09-23 10:57
Words: 154; reading time: 1 minute
Rustling inspiration
More for Schubert fans: a closer look at Wohin? from Die schöne Müllerin.
Richard Law UTC 2016-09-22 13:56
Words: 1,243; reading time: 5 minutes
Channelled speech
Decorating the slaughterhouse with geraniums.
Richard Law UTC 2016-09-19 09:23
Words: 1,575; reading time: 7 minutes
Updated on 2016-09-20
The houseman's friend
An illustrated guide to emptying the Gtech floor cleaner: a disgustingly filthy corner of the internet.
Richard Law UTC 2016-09-17 14:02
Words: 505; reading time: 2 minutes
Wishful thinking
There are practical limits to making allowances, however worthy.
Richard Law UTC 2016-09-15 16:15
Words: 505; reading time: 2 minutes
Churchill in Zurich
Seventy years ago on 19 September 1946 Winston Churchill delivered his famous 'Europe' speech in Zurich. Only the people were delighted.
Richard Law UTC 2016-09-13 13:01
Words: 1,209; reading time: 5 minutes
Updated on 2016-09-21
Franz's belljar
The belljar of the Austrian Emperor Franz II comes down over his people. Young composers included.
Richard Law UTC 2016-09-13 07:18
Words: 5,510; reading time: 25 minutes
The other Spaun
Crazy uncle Franz Seraph von Spaun: an heroic life of principled resistance bordering on the psychotic.
Richard Law UTC 2016-09-05 10:58
Words: 6,675; reading time: 30 minutes
Walking with Walser
Martin Walser, Heimatkunde and the art of leaving things unsaid.
Richard Law UTC 2016-09-04 17:00
Words: 1,608; reading time: 7 minutes
In praise of Stephen McIntyre
Dipping a curious toe into the murky pond of climate science. Sharks or minnows?
Richard Law UTC 2016-09-02 13:57
Words: 4,000; reading time: 18 minutes
Quote and image of the month for August
Quote: Friedrich Schiller, Wilhelm Tell. Image: Ernst Stückelberg, Wilhelm Tell mit Sohn/William Tell and son.
UTC 2016-08-01 01:02
Words: 537; reading time: 2 minutes
Scrapbook for August
The Fall of Man, not quite | Democratic accident | Nice binary dates | Swiss birthnames in 2015 | 'Deep Insight of the Month' award | Sledghammer vs. dagger… | The official mind | Snowflake of the Month
UTC 2016-08-01 02:01
Words: 1,905; reading time: 8 minutes
Arthur Szyk: FDR's 'Soldier in Art'
Satan Leads the Ball considered.
Richard Law UTC 2016-08-29 19:13
Words: 2,281; reading time: 10 minutes
Climate alarmism
Down the rabbit hole into the strange, topsy-turvy world of climate alarmism.
Richard Law UTC 2016-08-27 12:40
Words: 2,452; reading time: 11 minutes
Updated on 2016-10-29
Citroën DS23
Gone but not forgotten: the rustbucket goddess remembered.
Richard Law UTC 2016-08-26 16:27
Words: 717; reading time: 3 minutes
Updated on 2016-09-01
Artificial Intelligence
Not a very intelligent thing to have.
Richard Law UTC 2016-08-23 12:53
Words: 1,629; reading time: 7 minutes
Updated on 2017-01-03
Portrait of the age
Joseph, Leopold and the Enlightenment manifesto made visible by Pompeo Batoni.
Richard Law UTC 2016-08-20 10:28
Words: 7,070; reading time: 32 minutes
The shipwreck on the winedark sea
Tempestuous times for patient polymaths with time on their hands. [7 pages]
Richard Law UTC 2016-08-15 07:40
Words: 22,960; reading time: 1 hour 44 minutes
Quote and image of the month for July
Quote: Robert Graves, Goodbye to All That. Image: William Orpen, Ready To Start. Self Portrait.
UTC 2016-07-01 01:02
Words: 828; reading time: 3 minutes
Scrapbook for July
Turkey: the choice | You ask, we answer | Two charts | Respected journalist | Hip dysplasia | Goddess | In video we trust | The chosen ones choose | Boots
UTC 2016-07-01 02:01
Words: 1,031; reading time: 4 minutes
The Bastille Spirit
The Green Fairy is not your friend, Brendan.
Richard Law UTC 2016-07-17 08:08
Words: 869; reading time: 3 minutes
Classic books
The great unread, a mountain to be climbed? Or shall we just skirt round the outside, like sensible people do?
Richard Law UTC 2016-07-16 10:45
Words: 2,675; reading time: 12 minutes
Renaissance mechanics
Skilful recreations of some classical paintings as garage workshop scenes.
Richard Law UTC 2016-07-14 09:37
Words: 39; reading time: 1 minute
Devaluing the family
Let's not upset the childlessly carefree with all these nasty value judgements.
Richard Law UTC 2016-07-10 11:14
Words: 2,099; reading time: 9 minutes
Updated on 2016-10-04
Andrea Leadsom, next Prime Minister of the UK
Without a shadow of a doubt.
Richard Law UTC 2016-07-08 18:30
Words: 1,666; reading time: 7 minutes
Updated on 2016-07-12
Dinner in the desert
Help yourself to whatever you want; the choice is yours. Just don't vomit on your host.
Richard Law UTC 2016-07-08 10:01
Words: 567; reading time: 2 minutes
The cradle of the Habsburgs
Great oaks from little acorns grow. Not only that, Emperor Rudolf I died 825 years ago on 15 July 1291.
Richard Law UTC 2016-07-07 12:10
Words: 6,825; reading time: 31 minutes
UK grassroots guide
Puzzled and confused by politicians? Empress Maria Theresia knew what to do. The thinking person's guide with detailed construction plans suitable for every level and all budgets.
Richard Law UTC 2016-07-01 10:29
Words: 1,017; reading time: 4 minutes
Quote and image of the month for June
Quote: Basil Bunting, Briggflatts. Image: Aureliano de Beruete, Espinos en flor. Plantío de los Infantes (Flowering Hawthorn).
UTC 2016-06-01 01:02
Words: 232; reading time: 1 minute
Scrapbook for June
Leave means leave | Jo Cox™: the people speak | Hitting nail on head time | Jo Cox™ | Journalist falls off bar stool | Richard North's posting pause | Mark of respect | Nutjob loners | The funeral parlour | Gotthard conundrum | Envy-of-the-World™ | Gotthard tunnel. Gotthard tunnel? | Brown people
UTC 2016-06-01 02:01
Words: 2,375; reading time: 10 minutes
The Tory Chosen Ones
Toeing the party line.
Richard Law UTC 2016-06-28 10:35
Words: 428; reading time: 1 minute
EU Referendum, mopping up
First thoughts after the non-deluge.
Richard Law UTC 2016-06-24 09:58
Words: 646; reading time: 2 minutes
Voters
Now you see them, now you don't.
Richard Law UTC 2016-06-23 08:11
Words: 156; reading time: 1 minute
The fine art of wonderment
The Vincent van Gogh guide to Platonic astonishment.
Richard Law UTC 2016-06-22 11:22
Words: 2,494; reading time: 11 minutes
Updated on 2016-06-25
Infamous last words
For all things there is a time: a time to sniff; a time hold your nose and look away.
Richard Law UTC 2016-06-19 06:54
Words: 933; reading time: 4 minutes
Gretchen am Spinnrade
Schubert again. This time the seventeen year-old's 'stroke of genius of the first order'.
Richard Law UTC 2016-06-13 17:41
Words: 2,970; reading time: 13 minutes
The alien hatches
Blood on the body, the table, the walls and the floor – just don't mention the Tiber.
Richard Law UTC 2016-06-09 10:12
Words: 1,323; reading time: 6 minutes
Updated on 2016-06-24
Carbon dioxide: the science is settling nicely
More vindication for the Chief Scientist of this website.
Richard Law UTC 2016-06-08 16:01
Words: 1,145; reading time: 5 minutes
Updated on 2016-06-09
Ignorant? Uninformed? Thick?
We would really like to have your considered opinion on Brexit.
Richard Law UTC 2016-06-06 09:02
Words: 584; reading time: 2 minutes
Updated on 2016-06-09
No X please, you're not British
An electoral shambles, just what is needed for a close-run referendum result.
Richard Law UTC 2016-06-03 09:32
Words: 1,576; reading time: 7 minutes
Updated on 2016-06-23
Sahra[sic] Wagenknecht
Neo-Stalinist political lunatic of the first order; a fantasist, too.
Richard Law UTC 2016-06-01 08:31
Words: 1,343; reading time: 6 minutes
The green tick
The successful parasite does not kill its host. Blood sucking in Norway gone wrong.
Richard Law UTC 2016-06-01 09:31
Words: 564; reading time: 2 minutes
Quote and image of the month for May 2016
Quote: Stefan Zweig, Die Welt von Gestern: Erinnerungen eines Europäers. Image: Friderike und Stefan Zweig auf einem Bahnhof/The Zweigs on a station platform.
UTC 2016-05-01 01:02
Words: 393; reading time: 1 minute
Scrapbook for May
Equation | Not a good end | The Donald | How to feel inadequate | Unbalanced revulsion | Le Temps des cerises
UTC 2016-05-01 02:01
Words: 1,031; reading time: 4 minutes
At the court of the Sun Queen
One of Hillary Clinton's courtiers speaks out: the result is not reassuring.
Richard Law UTC 2016-05-28 09:37
Words: 912; reading time: 4 minutes
Before Schubert
The ancestors who made him possible. [5 pages]
Richard Law UTC 2016-05-24 08:40
Words: 11,945; reading time: 54 minutes
European wars
Your cut-out-and-keep guide, specially designed for the use of British Prime Ministers.
Richard Law UTC 2016-05-10 14:54
Words: 338; reading time: 1 minute
In search of lost timelessness
That midnight feeling.
Richard Law UTC 2016-05-10 09:47
Words: 1,482; reading time: 6 minutes
Saving time
Why?
Richard Law UTC 2016-05-08 12:34
Words: 1,123; reading time: 5 minutes
Updated on 2016-12-11
The EU referendum to date
An incoherent shambles, totally predictable.
Richard Law UTC 2016-05-04 08:19
Words: 905; reading time: 4 minutes
The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism
One reason among many for the decline and fall of the Habsburg Empire. [9 pages]
Richard Law UTC 2016-05-01 07:40
Words: 11,188; reading time: 50 minutes
Quote and image of the month for April
Quote: William Shakespeare, Cymbeline. Image: Dandelions: Two photos of a Swiss alpine meadow taken three weeks apart.
UTC 2016-04-01 01:02
Words: 246; reading time: 1 minute
Scrapbook for April
Aide-memoire | #BringBackOurMen | Heartwarming | Dressing gown | Boaty McBoatface | John Whittingdale, chick magnet | The devastating power of hashtags | The terrorists are winning | Butch Spaniards on the rampage | A helpful tip for savers | Headline of the year candidate | The helping hand
UTC 2016-04-01 02:01
Words: 2,509; reading time: 11 minutes
Cherry blossom time
Unfortunately coinciding with April snow time this year.
Richard Law UTC 2016-04-25 07:21
Words: 154; reading time: 1 minute
Dark chocolate, green lunacy
Fear and loathing in the aisles: buying chocolate the insane way.
Richard Law UTC 2016-04-22 07:56
Words: 1,141; reading time: 5 minutes
Out of the swamp
More Schubert. Matthisson and Brun wallow, Goethe and Schubert ascend to the light.
Richard Law UTC 2016-04-17 17:08
Words: 3,534; reading time: 16 minutes
Richard North
Psychiatric case review: condition worsening.
Richard Law UTC 2016-04-14 16:17
Words: 1,771; reading time: 8 minutes
Updated on 2016-08-16
Do not sleep…
…while the stewards of the world are busy.
Richard Law UTC 2016-04-13 15:31
Words: 1,044; reading time: 4 minutes
Imperial chemistry
Emperor Leopold II's secret and dangerous hobby.
Richard Law UTC 2016-04-05 16:08
Words: 2,782; reading time: 12 minutes
The real Lili Marleen
Certainly not hanging around lamposts.
Richard Law UTC 2016-04-03 07:18
Words: 1,443; reading time: 6 minutes
Updated on 2026-04-03
The Habsburg lip
Branding a dynasty with a genetic defect. If you've got it, flaunt it.
Richard Law UTC 2016-04-01 07:28
Words: 1,811; reading time: 8 minutes
Quote and image of the month for March
Quote: Gilbert Ryle, The Concept of Mind. Image: Albert Edelfelt, Good Friends, Portrait of the Artist's Sister Bertha Edelfelt.
UTC 2016-03-01 01:02
Words: 177; reading time: 1 minute
Scrapbook for March
Tears: an instrument of foreign policy | Wasting police time | Headline of the year award | Rigour, not mortis | Geography made easy | The god of the forest | Hyacinth time | Swiss referendum updates | The Dohlen are here!
UTC 2016-03-01 02:01
Words: 750; reading time: 3 minutes
Bedsheet, spreadsheet
How much is your health worth to you?
Richard Law UTC 2016-03-24 15:17
Words: 3,147; reading time: 14 minutes
Updated on 2016-11-16
What's the French for 'dodo'?
Whatever it is, it's dead.
Richard Law UTC 2016-03-23 07:41
Words: 577; reading time: 2 minutes
Lenten thoughts, newly assembled
As Christians come to the end of Lent, a period of self-denial and reflection, we ask the question: is it good not to spend money?
Richard Law UTC 2016-03-18 19:17
Words: 1,023; reading time: 4 minutes
Updated on 2016-03-24
Heinrich Heine, 17 February 1856
A tardy commemoration of the 160th anniversary of the death of Heinrich Heine.
Richard Law UTC 2016-03-17 09:31
Words: 1,215; reading time: 5 minutes
The great survivor
The Swiss artist Hans Erni's monster mural Die Schweiz, das Ferienland der Völker. Rescued, but why and for whom?
Richard Law UTC 2016-03-14 12:42
Words: 2,604; reading time: 11 minutes
The Swiss muddle
Switzerland, Britzerland! So much rubbish, so little time to dispose of it all.
Richard Law UTC 2016-03-04 13:24
Words: 1,053; reading time: 4 minutes
The Hans Erni lockdown
Imprisoned in museums and coffee table books, his work is destined for internet oblivion.
Richard Law UTC 2016-03-03 08:12
Words: 1,348; reading time: 6 minutes
Switzerland: now safe to visit
Another spine is pulled from the Swiss hedgehog. After safer travel we now have worry-free flatpack shopping. It may not end well.
Richard Law UTC 2016-03-01 10:02
Words: 610; reading time: 2 minutes
Tristram's bad start in life, 2 March 1718
Two hundred and ninety-eight years ago Tristram Shandy was conceived – anything but immaculately.
Richard Law UTC 2016-03-02 07:16
Words: 663; reading time: 3 minutes
Montségur, 16 March 1244
The ashes of the 'Friends of God'. [5 pages]
Richard Law UTC 2016-03-04 07:10
Words: 6,580; reading time: 29 minutes
Quote and image of the month for February
Quote: Fink et al., The Oasis of Happiness: Toward an Ontology of Play. Image: Benjamin Williams Leader, February Fill Dyke.
UTC 2016-02-01 01:02
Words: 315; reading time: 1 minute
Scrapbook
Solar Impulse update | Spare the rod, spoil the child | Swiss snow having orderly fun | The propagation of nonsense | Accumulated wisdom | Some more people not saying things | Eamonn and Ruth's little secret | Headline of the year award
UTC 2016-02-01 02:01
Words: 936; reading time: 4 minutes
From a night of frosty wreck
From George Meredith's The Thrush in February.
Richard Law UTC 2016-02-27 07:12
Words: 119; reading time: 1 minute
Language Lab
The untouchables: decimate and beg the question.
Richard Law UTC 2016-02-26 14:22
Words: 1,538; reading time: 6 minutes
Updated on 2016-02-26
Swiss democracy, seriously compromised
Fighting the ruling classes. Do Swiss referendums matter, or are they just national focus groups?
Richard Law UTC 2016-02-22 09:55
Words: 1,390; reading time: 6 minutes
Updated on 2016-03-03
False gods in graven images
Will the real John Walker please stand up?
Richard Law UTC 2016-02-17 15:12
Words: 1,537; reading time: 6 minutes
Die Forelle
Fishy tales, speculations, a decade in a dungeon, oblivion and immortality. You can't beat a good song. [5 pages]
Richard Law UTC 2016-02-07 16:50
Words: 18,547; reading time: 1 hour 24 minutes
The grass on the weirs
Serenity amid the tumult of life. Reflection and regret.
Richard Law UTC 2016-02-01 13:24
Words: 2,788; reading time: 12 minutes
Quote and image of the month for January 2016
Quote: Edward FitzGerald, The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. Image: Ivar Arosenius, Backusfest.
UTC 2016-01-01 01:02
Words: 228; reading time: 1 minute
Rabid lexicography
The insensitivity, it drives you mad!
Richard Law UTC 2016-01-26 13:50
Words: 1,519; reading time: 6 minutes
Updated on 2016-01-26
Not like us
Our continental friends, God bless them!
Richard Law UTC 2016-01-25 07:35
Words: 2,821; reading time: 12 minutes
Updated on 2016-05-07
Language Lab
A collection of Americanisms and the Great British Stress Shift.
Richard Law UTC 2016-01-23 17:05
Words: 1,243; reading time: 5 minutes
IKEA's loose screw
The last thing you want in a cheap flatpack company is a screw loose. Steptoe and Son go scandi noir.
Richard Law UTC 2016-01-19 15:04
Words: 1,202; reading time: 5 minutes
Nathan's rings
Lessing's Nathan, not called 'the Wise' for nothing.
Richard Law UTC 2016-01-18 16:14
Words: 925; reading time: 4 minutes
Brief Encounter II
Fings ain't wot they used to be: Not every man is Trevor Howard. Girls should listen to the accumulated wisdom of the ages.
Richard Law UTC 2016-01-18 10:08
Words: 457; reading time: 2 minutes
Mohammed: not my prophet
Do I have a choice? Probably not.
Richard Law UTC 2016-01-17 13:50
Words: 590; reading time: 2 minutes
Updated on 2016-02-06
Lunatic calendars
A cheerful month-long Ramadan fast in Svalbard (a.k.a. Spitzbergen) in summer. Is it supper time yet?
Richard Law UTC 2016-01-17 13:01
Words: 857; reading time: 3 minutes
Hemingway under the hood
Let's lift the lid on the genius and his chiasmic creations.
Richard Law UTC 2016-01-15 16:34
Words: 1,859; reading time: 8 minutes
Sharing the risk
We agree with Mark Steyn on almost everything — just not this.
Richard Law UTC 2016-01-09 17:00
Words: 1,067; reading time: 4 minutes
Updated on 2016-01-10
Bathtime for St. Kevin
Seventy-two reasons not to read 'Finnegans Wake'. And one reason to do so.
Richard Law UTC 2016-01-09 11:14
Words: 2,704; reading time: 12 minutes
The dismal science
Still guessing after all these years.
Richard Law UTC 2016-01-06 16:04
Words: 66; reading time: 1 minute
The below above
The mould spreads slowly but surely into the jam below.
Richard Law UTC 2016-01-06 11:20
Words: 534; reading time: 2 minutes
Sanitised swearing
A trigger warning: sensitive souls should have the sal volatile handy.
Richard Law UTC 2016-01-05 19:20
Words: 1,573; reading time: 7 minutes
Souvenirs
Which is real, the souvenir or the memory?
Richard Law UTC 2016-01-03 20:02
Words: 129; reading time: 1 minute
Rockers do it better
Stylish exits by those two rockers, Lemmy Kilmister and Arthur Schopenhauer. They'll be back!
Richard Law UTC 2016-01-03 15:21
Words: 859; reading time: 3 minutes
Updated on 2016-01-09