Clarity
How a Halloween?
Posted 31 Oct 2008
How did Halloween evolve as a holiday into what it is today? For those of you who aren’t familiar with the specifics of the American holiday (particularly as it is in America), children dress up in costumes and go door-to-door threatening the occupiers with harm unless given candy. No, that’s not the exact tone, but it is effectively what happens. Masked children, often in large groups, occasionally wielding an imitation firearm or sword, rove through neighbourhoods demanding sweets from those citizens foolish enough to open the door to their brigandage. Surely, that’s what ‘Trick or treat’ means!
The road less travelled
Posted 30 Oct 2008
Commuting, Daily Life | 1 Comment
Yesterday morning, there was a terrible crash on the M40 motorway (which runs between London, Oxford and beyond). Unaware of the crash, I jumped onto the M40 only to find myself sitting still. Traffic literally crawled along until the highways department shuffled cars off the motorway and onto side roads.
Normally, sitting in traffic frustrates me. But for some reason yesterday was different. For starters, the crash causing my delay was fatal. That gave me pause to appreciate that whilst stuck twiddling my thumbs in my car, I was, rather thankfully, still alive. And then, as I drove along the subsidiary roads towards my destination (near Heathrow), I was stunned by the beauty of the morning. It had snowed during the night and, even though it was a bright sunny morning, it was still crisp enough for the snow to decorate the English countryside in a spectacular way. Yet as the sun warmed the hills, the snow glistened and melted in fairy-tale fashion.
And as I drove, I began to ponder the existence of ‘goodness’ and ‘badness’, and their role in our lives. The ‘badness’ of a terrible road accident – and the death of one of the drivers – gave immediate rise to me being given the opportunity to witness a rare scene of winter beauty in the Chilterns. No, I am not suggesting that the ‘goodness’ that I experienced on the picturesque roads between Milton Common and Henley outweighs the ‘badness’ of the end of the lorry driver’s life. But I am suggesting that there definitely is a connection between these two opposites. And that connection filled my thoughts for much of yesterday.
Protect your friends’ anonymity!
Posted 29 Oct 2008
Daily Life, People | 6 Comments
Do you ever wonder if your friends and acquaintances are leading secret double lives and are secret agents for organizations that don’t officially exist?
No?
Well, I don’t really wonder about that either. But for some reason I do always feel a tinge of guilt whenever I call a hotel looking to speak to my friend who is a guest there, and I ask for them by their real name. I mean, what if the friend checked in under an assumed name and I am totally blowing the cover? Wouldn’t I feel like the jerk for compromising his or her safety (even if it was unintentionally)?
Unsuspecting car crushed by tree
Posted 28 Oct 2008
Daily Life, Signs | 3 Comments
An unsuspecting driver was crushed by a tree in Dublin last week. Tree devastated by incident; claims “didn’t look both ways before crossing.”
On the streets of Dublin one can observe many construction sites, happy indicators of economic growth (provided the construction hasn’t stalled in today’s economic climate), powerful deterrents against smoothly-flowing traffic, and the bane of tourists seeking unobstructed pictures of famous landmarks. I was however, happy to stumble upon this sign near a construction site entrance:
WATCH OUT! We wouldn’t want anyone to be crushed by a Giant Sequoia or even just hit by some heavy lemon.
A recent study reports …
Posted 27 Oct 2008
Daily Life, Language, News, The Little Things | Leave a Comment
A recent study reports that a reference to a vague and undefined “recent study” is among the best ways to lend credence to an otherwise unsubstantiated “fact” of dubious origin.
Have you ever noticed how often one encounters the phrase “a recent study” (or a near approximation) in the news and via email? It makes me laugh because quite frequently the specific report is not referenced anywhere in the story. When creating this post I did come across arecentstudy.com, which seems to actually reference new reports when they are published — unfortunately the site hasn’t been updated since May 29, 2008.
Keep your eyes open! I have a feeling you may see “a recent study” show up soon, decrying the “disparaging remarks made on certain quirky little blogs on the topic of ‘recent studies’.”
