Oh no. I might have to admire Russel Brand. At least he’s frank about the situation he’s got himself into.
BBC News – Newsnight – Paxman quizzes Russell Brand on the cult of celebrity
Ymerodraeth State of Mind…
Kenneth Clarke on geeks…
“If I was a sort of floating voter, I would say ‘this is a very attractive sort of geek here, but is he actually anybody who can run anything’? Geeks are people who should advise people who lead countries and lead governments, it seems to me.”
Kenneth Clarke relishes life back at the centre of government | Politics | The Observer.
I suppose what the UK government needs is more public school boys who’ve done nothing but study politics and work in marketing.
Surviving the midlife crisis…
“They are just bog-standard kids: much the same as everyone else’s.”
Surviving the midlife crisis: a 10-point guide | Society | The Guardian.
No they’re not; they’re mine.
It’s super Dad time…
Homemade Spacecraft from Luke Geissbuhler on Vimeo.
IHES photos…
As an added bonus you can play “Where’s Mrs W.”…
Editions Belin – Les déchiffreurs
More seriously a lovely series of photos together with text that gives a small idea of what it’s like working in the world of pure maths.
We’ve learnt nothing…
We’ve just been through a crisis caused by people putting too much faith in markets.
I have no idea with Angelgate is true or it’s possible impact but this makes me laugh…
Fabrice Grinda: Musings of an Entrepreneur » Angelgate is overblown!
Another cry of put your faith in markets and it’s be fine. We’ve learnt nothing.
Complicated Voting Systems…
I watched an explication of the Labour election process in the UK last night. Seemed very straight forward; or at least I thought that I’d understood it first time.
However, the TV presenter referred to it as complicated. It seemed odd to me that she’d passed that judgement on something that they’d explained in 2 mins.
However, it seems that she was not alone in her judgement.
The Blitz…
The UK TV schedules are full of programs about the blitz. The stories are all about pilots and heros fighting over the channel.
However, I’ve never understood what this must have felt like on the ground until now…
Greece…
Is this what the end of the post-war European period will look like?
“No success of any kind is regarded without suspicion. Everyone is pretty sure everyone is cheating on his taxes, or bribing politicians, or taking bribes, or lying about the value of his real estate. And this total absence of faith in one another is self-reinforcing. The epidemic of lying and cheating and stealing makes any sort of civic life impossible; the collapse of civic life only encourages more lying, cheating, and stealing.”