Richard Dawkins at the Sydney Writers' Festival
| I was very interested to hear Robyn Williams interview Richard Dawkins for a recent Science Show broadcast from the Sydney Writers' Festival. The topic was of course Dawkins' The God Delusion. I've yet to read this, but definitely have it on my reading list now. I remember reaeding his The Selfish Gene many years ago, and being struck by its clarity and compelling proposition. It seems like The God Delusion is cut from the same cloth. Speaking of cloth, the following is I gather the foreward to the UK edition, and a nice bit of satire;-) [The Courtier's Reply by P.Z. Myers]: I have considered the impudent accusations of Mr Dawkins with exasperation at his lack of serious scholarship. He has apparently not read the detailed discourses of Count Roderigo of Seville on the exquisite and exotic leathers of the Emperor's boots, nor does he give a moment's consideration to Bellini's masterwork, On the Luminescence of the Emperor's Feathered Hat. We have entire schools dedicated to writing learned treatises on the beauty of the Emperor's raiment, and every major newspaper runs a section dedicated to imperial fashion; Dawkins arrogantly ignores all these deep philosophical ponderings to crudely accuse the Emperor of nudity. Oh, hail the Emperor! |
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The Best Laid Plans
| I found The Best Laid Plans by Terry Fallis on the podiobooks.com recommendation list, and I am so glad I did. This is a hartwarming story of a jaded political staffer rediscovering some of his idealism in the form of an Engineering Professor who becomes an accidental MP, turning parliament upside-down in the process. Mr Fallis has created an ensemble of wonderful and unconventional characters, and a story that you can enjoy on so many levels. | |
 The podcast version of the novel is a delight. It is like having Terry tell you the story while sitting on the balcony overlooking the Ottawa River, sipping a good whiskey. The short introductions he does for each episode - mentioning some of the feedback, and updating on publishing plans - lend that personal touch in a way that few have been able to equal.  I'm pleased to see that the publishing deal has come through, and you can now find the Best Laid Plans in print on Amazon. I'm looking forward to my copy arriving soon so I can enjoy this story all over again in printed form (yes, that's how much I liked it!).Join the Friends of “The Best Laid Plans” Podcast Facebook group, or check out the author's site for more information and his blog. Maybe we will see news of a sequel there in the not too distant future... | |
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Gwen Stefani - The Sweet Escape
Gwen's back on high rotation. The Sweet Escape is stuck in my head, not that I mind.  Last time it was Love Angel Music Baby. I was working in Tokyo and I had it permanently in my phone, along with Uplift Spice's first album 射的 (one of my great finds at HMV Shinjuku - my favourite Sunday afternoon haunt). For 6 months.Here's a snap from Gwen's Sweet Escape concert in Singapore. Crap picture, fantastic show. Yep, she really mixed in!  |
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The World is Flat
| I'd heard about Thomas L. Friedman's The World is Flat long before I got to read it of course. Living in Singapore, a nexus of the flattening world, makes for a daily self-evident truth. Finally sitting down to read it, I was totally engaged way beyond my expectations. Friedman's views are well though out and strongly held. It's an impressive analysis, but not dry as a result. By taking us on somewhat of a travelogue with interesting characters and stories along the way, it is a neat voyage of discovery and illumination (although I must I admit to skipping some of the discussion of US domestic issues). A warning though. This can be a frightening read. Helping you see further down the road does not necessarily mean you are comfortable with the destination! It depends from whence you come, and how prepared you (and your children) are for the journey. There is one thought that increasingly niggles however. It strikes me that there is an inherent contradiction between the conventional response of developed nations to the forces flattening the world. We seek to move from sunset to sunrise industries, transform our citizens into high-value knowledge workers. But how sustainable is that? In a flattening world, increasingly it's like trying to hold back the ocean as historic educational and environmental/economic advantages are washed away. At least, this would be a contradiction if we do not lean on a "hidden assumption" that I think Friedman doesn't directly address: the regulation of people and labour that sovereign states and our tribal nature still demand as our right. To me, this seems to be the last frontier of globalisation:
This is border protection in action. The structural mechanism that maintains the "impedence" between nations. It is what helps to maintain differential standards of living, wages and opportunities. Sovereignty. Logically one would think that this is a barrier that must eventually come down as the flattening process proceeds inexorably. Utopia! ... if it wasn't for human nature. One wonders whether there is any possible future in which this could be played out peacefully. Or will politics, tribalism, and xenophobia overcome our more lofty tendencies? |
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