Menu 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 Home Updates list Contents list Site search About Beginning Schubert Schubert collection 2016 Quote and image of the month for December 2016 Quote: Berger and Luckmann, The Social Construction of Reality. Image: Lorenzo Lotto, Annunciazione. Posted on 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! Posted on 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. Posted by Thersites on 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. Posted by Austin Morris on 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. Posted by Mad Mitch on 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. Posted by Richard on 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. Posted by Austin Morris on 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. Posted by Thersites on 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. Posted by Mad Mitch on 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). Posted by Thersites on UTC 2016-12-15 10:59 Words: 1,696; 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. Posted by Thersites on 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. Posted by Richard on UTC 2016-12-09 06:40 Words: 307; reading time: 1 minute Quote and image of the month for November Quote: Jules Laforgue, Winter Coming On. Image: Édouard-Léon Cortès, Place de Madeleine, après la pluié. Posted on 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 Posted on 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. Posted by Austin Morris on 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. Posted by Thersites on UTC 2016-11-11 17:43 Words: 615; reading time: 2 minutes Climate cognitive dissonance Coping with uncomfortable climate facts: time to give up? Posted by Mad Mitch on 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. Posted by Richard on 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. Posted by Mad Mitch on 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. Posted on 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 Posted on 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. Posted by Thersites on 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. Posted by Mad Mitch on 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. Posted by Thersites on UTC 2016-10-22 09:30 Words: 783; reading time: 3 minutes The conquering hero That Batley and Spen by-election. Posted by Thersites on UTC 2016-10-21 10:12 Words: 579; reading time: 2 minutes Schiaparelli Yet another European bites the dust on the red ink planet. Posted by Thersites on 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. Posted by Thersites on 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! Posted by Richard on UTC 2016-10-10 09:37 Words: 634; reading time: 2 minutes Bees pulling strings It's always the same in hierarchical societies. Posted by Mad Mitch on 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. Posted by Thersites on 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. Posted by Mad Mitch on 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'. Posted by Richard on 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. Posted by Mad Mitch on 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. Posted by Mad Mitch on 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. Posted by Richard on UTC 2016-10-01 09:00 Words: 2,111; reading time: 9 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. Posted on 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! Posted on 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. Posted by Thersites on UTC 2016-09-24 09:18 Words: 68; reading time: 1 minute That Sappho thing Hold on tight to your dreams. Posted by Thersites on 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. Posted by Richard on UTC 2016-09-22 13:56 Words: 1,243; reading time: 5 minutes Channelled speech Decorating the slaughterhouse with geraniums. Posted by Mad Mitch on 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. Posted by Thersites on UTC 2016-09-17 14:02 Words: 505; reading time: 2 minutes Wishful thinking There are practical limits to making allowances, however worthy. Posted by Thersites on UTC 2016-09-15 16:15 Words: 502; 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. Posted by Mad Mitch on 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. Posted by Richard on 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. Posted by Richard on 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. Posted by Richard on 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? Posted by Mad Mitch on 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. Posted on 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 Posted on 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. Posted by Mad Mitch on 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. Posted by Mad Mitch on 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. Posted by Thersites on 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. Posted by Austin Morris on 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. Posted by Richard on 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. Posted by Richard on UTC 2016-08-15 07:40 Words: 46; reading time: 1 minute Quote and image of the month for July Quote: Robert Graves, Goodbye to All That. Image: William Orpen, Ready To Start. Self Portrait. Posted on 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 Posted on UTC 2016-07-01 02:01 Words: 1,031; reading time: 4 minutes The Bastille Spirit The Green Fairy is not your friend, Brendan. Posted by Mad Mitch on 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? Posted by Richard on 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. Posted by Mad Mitch on 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. Posted by Thersites on 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. Posted by Thersites on 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. Posted by Thersites on 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. Posted by Richard on UTC 2016-07-07 12:10 Words: 6,825; reading time: 31 minutes UK politics 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. Posted by Thersites on 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). Posted on 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 Posted on UTC 2016-06-01 02:01 Words: 2,375; reading time: 10 minutes The Tory Chosen Ones Toeing the party line. Posted by Thersites on UTC 2016-06-28 10:35 Words: 428; reading time: 1 minute EU Referendum, mopping up First thoughts after the non-deluge. Posted by Thersites on UTC 2016-06-24 09:58 Words: 646; reading time: 2 minutes Voters Now you see them, now you don't. Posted by Thersites on 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. Posted by Mad Mitch on 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. Posted by Thersites on 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'. Posted by Richard on UTC 2016-06-13 17:41 Words: 2,968; reading time: 13 minutes The alien hatches Blood on the body, the table, the walls and the floor – just don't mention the Tiber. Posted by Thersites on 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. Posted by Mad Mitch on 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. Posted by Thersites on 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. Posted by Thersites on 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. Posted by Mad Mitch on 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. Posted by Thersites on 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. Posted on 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 Posted on UTC 2016-05-01 02:01 Words: 1,027; reading time: 4 minutes At the court of the Sun Queen One of Hillary Clinton's courtiers speaks out: the result is not reassuring. Posted by Thersites on UTC 2016-05-28 09:37 Words: 912; reading time: 4 minutes Before Schubert The ancestors who made him possible. Posted by Richard on UTC 2016-05-24 08:40 Words: 282; reading time: 1 minute European wars Your cut-out-and-keep guide, specially designed for the use of British Prime Ministers. Posted by Mad Mitch on UTC 2016-05-10 14:54 Words: 338; reading time: 1 minute In search of lost timelessness That midnight feeling. Posted by Thersites on UTC 2016-05-10 09:47 Words: 1,482; reading time: 6 minutes Saving time Why? Posted by Mad Mitch on 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. Posted by Mad Mitch on 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. Posted by Richard on UTC 2016-05-01 07:40 Words: 1,193; reading time: 5 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. Posted on 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 Posted on UTC 2016-04-01 02:01 Words: 2,509; reading time: 11 minutes Cherry blossom time Unfortunately coinciding with April snow time this year. Posted by Mad Mitch on 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. Posted by Thersites on 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. Posted by Richard on UTC 2016-04-17 17:08 Words: 3,531; reading time: 16 minutes Richard North Psychiatric case review: condition worsening. Posted by Thersites on 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. Posted by Thersites on UTC 2016-04-13 15:31 Words: 1,044; reading time: 4 minutes Imperial chemistry Emperor Leopold II's secret and dangerous hobby. Posted by Richard on UTC 2016-04-05 16:08 Words: 2,782; reading time: 12 minutes The real Lili Marleen Certainly not hanging around lamposts. Posted by Mad Mitch on UTC 2016-04-03 07:18 Words: 882; reading time: 4 minutes The Habsburg lip Branding a dynasty with a genetic defect. If you've got it, flaunt it. Posted by Richard on 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. Posted on 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! Posted on UTC 2016-03-01 02:01 Words: 750; reading time: 3 minutes Bedsheet, spreadsheet How much is your health worth to you? Posted by Mad Mitch on 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. Posted by Austin Morris on 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? Posted by Thersites on 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. Posted by Mad Mitch on 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? Posted by Richard on 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. Posted by Mad Mitch on 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. Posted by Richard on 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. Posted by Mad Mitch on 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. Posted by Richard on UTC 2016-03-02 07:16 Words: 663; reading time: 3 minutes Montségur, 16 March 1244 The ashes of the 'Friends of God'. Posted by Richard on UTC 2016-03-04 07:10 Words: 666; reading time: 3 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. Posted on 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 Posted on 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. Posted by Mad Mitch on UTC 2016-02-27 07:12 Words: 119; reading time: 1 minute Language Lab The untouchables: decimate and beg the question. Posted by Austin Morris on 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? Posted by Mad Mitch on 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? Posted by Mad Mitch on 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. Posted by Richard on UTC 2016-02-07 16:50 Words: 194; reading time: 1 minute The grass on the weirs Serenity amid the tumult of life. Reflection and regret. Posted by Richard on 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. Posted on UTC 2016-01-01 01:02 Words: 228; reading time: 1 minute Rabid lexicography The insensitivity, it drives you mad! Posted by Austin Morris on 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! Posted by Mad Mitch on 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. Posted by Austin Morris on 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. Posted by Thersites on 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. Posted by Richard on 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. Posted by Thersites on UTC 2016-01-18 10:08 Words: 457; reading time: 2 minutes Mohammed: not my prophet Do I have a choice? Probably not. Posted by Thersites on 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? Posted by Mad Mitch on 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. Posted by Richard on 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. Posted by Thersites on 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. Posted by Richard on UTC 2016-01-09 11:14 Words: 2,704; reading time: 12 minutes The dismal science Still guessing after all these years. Posted by Thersites on 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. Posted by Austin Morris on 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. Posted by Austin Morris on UTC 2016-01-05 19:20 Words: 1,573; reading time: 7 minutes Souvenirs Which is real, the souvenir or the memory? Posted by Richard on 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! Posted by Mad Mitch on UTC 2016-01-03 15:21 Words: 859; reading time: 3 minutes Updated on 2016-01-09
