The Road Not Taken

New Year's Eve represents a good opportunity for reflecting on what has just passed and on what may lie in the year ahead. More than any other time of the year (except perhaps birthdays) you wonder how you may change things (wanting to 'improve' is hopelessly positive). In the spirit of this I post Robert Frost's famous poem "The Road Not Taken", one of my personal favourites and wonderfully apt given the circumstances.

1. The Road Not Taken


TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;


Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,


And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.


I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

Books Galore

I made a trip to Borders yesterday which was probably not the best of ideas given the post-Christmas sales. I ended up buying a few books on offer that were resistable at full price but not when discounted to half price or less. Among these were Dava Sobel's The Planets - it looked pretty popularist, but I am sure it will have lots of interesting facts. I also succumbed and got the giant mass of a book by Robert Fisk (coming to 1200 plus pages) about his experiences in the Middle East as a correspondent and journalist for over 25 years. I admitted being skeptical about Zadie Smith and her recent Booker prize shortlisted work but I ended up getting a copy in hardback at half price, which I reasoned would have been the price of a paperback copy anyway. I also indulged in the usual 3 for 2 offers in this case getting Susanna Clarke's highly recommended Dr Strange and Mr Norrell, Robert Harris' Fatherland among them. I also ended up getting a copy of a 'local' book called the Oxford Murders that was 2 pounds off and looked intriguing.

This morning was spent watching Spirit: Legend of the Cimarron which was one of the Dreamworks animated features. The animation was wonderful, if the storyline rather cliched in terms of painting things in black and white. Of course the necessary hogwash about spirit, determination, love, home and loyalty and never giving up was there in spades. Enjoyable nonetheless, if not taken too seriously.

Spent quite a bit of time reading Zadie Smith's On Beauty, which is the fourth book on the Booker prize shortlist that I am reading. I am definitely enjoying this book far more than White Teeth, her much lauded debut. One reason is probably because it deals with academia and politics which are much closer to my heart.

The Past Few Days

Things have been rather unproductive on the whole. College has been very quiet and not many people have been about, meaning that my 12 hour shifts have been spent idly perusing the newspapers (The Times, Guardian and Independent), reading (mostly non-academic stuff) and watching television.

I did catch the movie the Constant Gardener one evening, and it was certainly quite enthralling stuff about a pharmaceutical company's abuses in Africa and the complicity of the British diplomatic service in the dirty dealings. There was good acting throughout from Ralph Fiennes and an irrepressable Rachel Weisz who is certainly one of the more talented young British actresses of today, even if she gets much less in the way of publicity. The director, Fernando Meirelles, who was responsible for the highly successful City of God, does capture the look and the feel of the African slums tremendously well. Only downsides: an over restless camera which zooms in and out more frequently than is necessary and comfortable, and a rather strident moral tone and sentiment which some might find mildly off-putting, but given the subject matter may actually be quite necessary. In any event, something I am quite willing to accept (I refrain from using the word forgive).

I went through a bit of a musical phase, watching bits of Bedknobs and Broomsticks and Singin' in the Rain (which I have both seen many times). I also got to catch the movie version of South Pacific, that memorable Rodgers and Hammerstein musical featuring the song "One Enchanted Evening". It was pretty good fun with quite a few catchy numbers. I guess there is something about the musical that I love - the spring that it can put in your step, the catchy tunes and lyrics. Watching some of the older classics makes me want to try and watch them all. My apetite was definitely whetted even more when I caught a programme on the 100 best musicals of all time on Channel 4.

As to what I have read, I completed the first of Ian Fleming's James Bond novels Casino Royale, after also recently finishing Live and Let Die which was the second in the series. Bond comes across quite differently in the novels - far more at risk of being outsmarted by and being in danger from his enemies, and thus more human in a way. The debonair charm and weakness for women and the high life remain constant elements though. I also completed Alain De Botton's books The Consolations of Philosophy, which is one of the more admirable of the glut of popular philosophy books that have turned up in recent times (I must admit to be rather disturbed when I saw Winnie the Pooh and philosophy among other things). In 6 excellent chapters he looks at Socrates, Seneca, Epicurus, Montaigne, Schopenhauer and Nietschze as providing consolation for 6 seperate everyday ills. It was entertaining, and extremely readable in De Botton's unique style, and is definitely to be recommended.

In the meantime, I am working my way through John Lewis Gaddis' new general history of the Cold War which I bought recently. It is aimed at the general public and is perhaps too popularist for my purposes, but it does provide quite a bit of food for thought and some useful academic points. I have also picked up a book on Morality and Contemporary Warfare dealing with Just War theory, something that I have found surprisingly interesting once I got started on it in a midnight raid to the library. I hope to finish both shortly.

It's Snowing

The snow was late by a day or two, but it got there in the end, giving us all a rare holiday treat. If we were to take the lyrics of the famous Bing Crosby song metaphorically - as that of the season rather than the day itself, then Britain can claim to have a 'White Christmas' after all. In fact, much to the surprise of everyone, it has been snowing so heavily in some parts of the UK that snow and ice warnings had to be issued. Far from causing alarm, all this has caused considerable delight. Even Oxford, which is reknown for its terrible weather, where it hardly snows for more than a quarter of an hour before it reverts back to rain and where whatever has fallen inevitably turns into a most uncomfortable slush, had some proper snow, even if it for a very short period of time.

I have always had a great love of snow, something undoubtably bred from a childhood in Canada where skiing and ice skating counted as my favourite sports. There is something magical about snow without which the entire winter season seems incomplete, thus the general joy in which it is greeted. Its too bad I seem to be in one place in the UK where snow just doesn't seem to want to happen. It marvels me that in late November when we had snow in the Southernmost parts of England - Devon and Cornwall - it all managed to pass Oxford by. Then again, most of the fun is to be had with other people about - throwing snow balls and the like - and it is rather deserted here at the moment. It would be all the more depressing if it had snowed properly and I had no one to share it with.

A final afterthought - they say that the Inuit (Eskimo is derogatory, or so a friend tells me, the equivalent of 'nigger') have over 20 different words for snow. I wonder if they have a word for snow that comes quickly but doesn't continue; a snow that is not quite snow? I wouldn't be surprised to find that this, much like many other perculiar weather, is confined to the UK. Bill Bryson, among others, once expressed surprise at the fact that the British talked about the weather so much, as he found British weather distinctly uninteresting. As he claims, there are no hurricanes, tornadoes, high winds, droughts or anything remotely scary about it. Besides the social benefits of talking about the weather which is intrinsically important to the normally reserved Brits, perhaps British weather is special in its own mundane way. Perhaps it is just inherently unpredictable not in a spectacular sense (cyclone, tornado, hurricane etc.) but in a common everyday sense. And that makes it all the worse.

Sporting Highlights of the Year

These are my sporting moments and people of the year, in no particular order:

1. England win the Ashes

A series that won the imagination of the nation and many people in the world. For sheer excitement and desire it could hardly be topped as a sporting spectacle. Who can forget the second test which England squeaked by two runs? Or the obstinacy of Australia's tail end in securing a draw at Old Trafford. Then to top it off, Pietersen smashing seven sixes in the final test, and of course that dropped catch. I remember watching with growing excitement on BBC five live radio over the web in Hong Kong as England inched closer to Ashes victory, and could almost smell the excitement.

2. Liverpool win the Champion's League

A truly and utterly unforgetable final, much greater in quality than Barcelona in 1999 and at least its equal or superior in drama. At half time, it looked a hopeless case - after all nobody had come from 2-0 down in 20 years, yet alone a three goal defecit. My friends and I were stuck in a dodgy pub in Oxford with poor beer and were contemplating going home - thank God we didn't. The turnaround itself was remarkable, the double save from Shevchenko jaw dropping, and then of course it came down to the lottery of the shootout where so many English clubs had fallen before. A tremendous final.

3. Roger Federer wins his Third Wimbledon

As if it didn't need anymore emphasizing. It wasn't the fact that Federer cemented his place among the true greats in winning his third title in succession but the manner in which he did so. To say that he obliterated his opponents would almost seem an understatement and journalists alike seemed to run out of superlatives for his magical grass court tennis. Perhaps the best of the lot was the first set against Roddick in the final when he completely bamboozled Andy and made just one unforced error. Then of course he goes and beats hometown hero Andrea Agassi in the final of the US Open two months afterwards....

4. Game 5 of the NBA Finals

After four consecutive blowouts to open the series, with the home team dominant throughout, no one expected the fireworks in this match. Robert Horry had a reputation as a big time player and clutch shooter, but this performance was crazy, even by his standards. He scored 21 points almost all in the final quarter and overtime and capped an amazing performance by sinking a 3 pointer to win the game with 5 seconds remaining in overtime. This was the defining match in a very tight series given more to tight defense and a distinct lack of drama. Not that I for one am complaining. These two teams deserved to be where they were because they did the fundamentals the best, there were built on tough defence, hard work and team play - if people found it unexciting, then so be it.

5. Wigan Athletic in the Premiereship

Before the start of the season, conventional wisdom had it that Wigan Athletic did not have a chance in hell of staying up. They were lucky enough to get into the Premiereship it was said, and should enjoy it while it lasted. The opening match of the season, against the defending champions Chelsea, gave a foretaste of what was to come. It was not that they managed to pull off a shock win - they were desperately unlucky to lose 1-0 to a injury time winner - it was the courage, determination, teamwork and skill that they showed in the match. Reaching second in the table in November however must be something they cannot have imagined in their wildest dreams. A run of 5 defeats have brought them back down to earth somewhat but the fact that they are still challenging for Europe and the Champions League is a real credit to them.

6.Tiger Woods wins the Masters and Open

Slump? What slump? The true measure of Tiger Wood's greatness is that people deem that he is in a slump when he fails to win in 10 consecutive major tournaments. This is forgetting the fact that a single major championship is often seen as the holy grail for any golfer, and that there are many players with wonderful careers that have never won any - look at Colin Montgomerie's continuing quest, not to mention Phil Mickleson before the 2004 Masters. Tiger showed great determination to win the Masters in a play off after bogeying the final two holes - a setback that would have floored many a lesser golfer. Then he continued his love affair with St Andrews (and in majors that mark Jack Nicklaus final participation) by not so much winning as watching his major rivals wilt. A second place finish in the US open and a T-4 in the PGA just added to his incredible feats at the majors this year. So the record so far: 10 majors before the age of 30, the only man other than Jack Nicklaus to win each major more than once, the only man other than Nicklaus to win multiple majors in three or more seasons. The true sign of greatness is when you compete not with everyone else, but with a sense of destiny. The scary sign is that Tiger Woods gives every indication that he can live up to these expectations.

7. Shaun Murphy wins the World Snooker Title

Sports purist often decray that a sport shouldn't be considered a sport unless you are able to work up a sweat in taking part in the activity. To them cue sports like snooker and pool, not to mention darts and bowling don't qualify as "proper sports". Still, I would challenge them to have a go at Snooker - they will probably find it terribly exacting, not only in the level of skill required to make any substantial break, but also in terms of the mental pressure and concentration needed to succeed. The modern game of Snooker has advanced quite considerably in terms of the quality of play with century breaks no longer at the premium they once were. Even more considerable has been the huge influx of talent into the sport and a much more open field in a game that has been traditionally dominated by a small elite. Nothing personified this more than young Shaun Murphy, ranked 48th in the World at the start of the World Championships but shocked everyone to win the title in some style, beating former champion Peter Ebdon convincingly in the semi-finals by seven frames with a superb display of attacking snooker and then dispatching twice semi-finalist and twice-finalist Matthew Stevens 18-16 in a tense finale. A magnificent and well-deserved victory for this rank outsider, and deservingly remembered as a sporting triumph, semantics be damned.

8. Lance Armstrong wins his Seventh Tour De France

Enough his been written about Lance, particularly after his record breaking sixth consecutive victory the previous year, that anything additional would seem superflous. His indeed is a triumph of will over adversity, of guts and determination overcoming all obstacles. His seventh triumph all but cements his place as probably the greatest cyclist in history (purists would plump for Belgian Eddie Merckx) and adds to a record that seems all but impossible to break. His is a truly inspirational story for a supreme sportsman and it is fitting that his feat should be recognised, even if it seems to lack the emotional resonance and much of the significance of last year's victory (in surpassing the record of Indurain and Merckx). The only dark side to this has been the repeated rumours of drug use that have dogged him, which up to now have remained unproven. Still these malacious rumours (till proven) should not detract from Lance Armstrong's remarkable legacy and ground-breaking seventh (and quite possibly final) win.

9. Fernando Alonso wins the Formula One Title

Formula One was deemed to be getting boring and many had criticized the dominance of Ferrari and Michael Schumacher as being bad for the sport. Few had any doubt that this dominance would continue, though they expected more competition from the rest of the field as the season began. What the pundits did not expect was that Ferrari would struggle badly throughout the season and that unfashionable Renault would clinch the driver's championship. Alonso became the youngest ever formula one champion and in doing so he showed a remarkable amount of consistency and maturity, the likes of which have not been seen in many of the grizzled veterans he was competing against. His win was greeted with great fanfare not just because it ended Ferrari's dominance, but because he was a genuinely well-liked figure in the sport, quite unlike Schumacher who was considered aloof and was dogged by allegations of unsportsmanlike behavious. Alonso however was quite the opposite, always with a ready smile and time for the press, completely with the egotism that seems a natural prerequisite for formula one drivers. That he was Spanish and handsome to boot must be an added bonus for publicizing formula one as a whole.

Intelligent Design

I have been greatly annoyed by a recent case concerning a civil suit against the State Universities in California. The matter came about due to the fact that several students applying to the Universities attended science classes in religious schools which insisted on using specific textbooks published by religious authorities, and the admissions board had deemed that the textbooks did not posses enough academic merit for the Universities to credit these students with the science classes they attended, thus affecting their chances for entry into University. These students promptly sued the state on the grounds that they were being discriminated against on the basis of religious faith.

This issue in itself is part of the wider debate within America about the calls for the teaching of the theory of 'intelligent design' as a coherent alternative to the theory of evolution itself. This has come admist a reaction from the religious right in America against the mainly liberal and secular school boards. These people claim that the theory of evolution itself is "unproven" and that there is a bias in school curriculum emphasizing this over other "theories" regarding the origins of mankind. They further claim that students are given the mistaken impression that evolutionary theory is the only correct theory available to explain the development of life on earth.

Instead, they claim that evolution must be taught alongside other theories, and that this diversity of viewpoint can only be beneficial compared to the myopic view that students currently have. Chief among these and championed by many on the religious right is the notion of intelligent design. This theory basically states that many of the features inherent in animals and the universe contain characteristics that must be caused by and result from an intelligent cause or agent. This is directly opposed to the idea of evolution and natural selection. According to supporters of intelligent design, their theory is no more or no less valid than the theory of evolution in terms of answering the question of the origin of life and thus should be given equal weight and credit and more importantly should also be taught in school biology classes alongside evolutionary theory, particularly given that the origins of life is such a complex question that evolution itself was not able to prove conclusive as a single cause.

The movement has been gaining momentum since the late 1990s, particularly with the election of President George W Bush, who has openly championed intelligent design over evolution. In recent years school boards in Alabama, Texas, New Mexico, Nebraska and Illionis have moved towards dropping the theory of evolution from the school curriculum. The school board of Kansas actually succeeded in doing so by a vote of 6 to 4 in 1999. Over 20 states have a legal challenge against evolutionary theory is some form or another.

However, one major question that they seem to conveniently overlook is where, if any place at all, should the teaching of intelligent design be placed within education. The overriding question, shunted aside by the religious right, is whether intelligent design is scientific at all. The National Academy of Sciences is very clear on this matter. They said in a statement that intelligent design is "not scientific because such theories cannot be tested by evidence, nor do they generate any predictions or propose new hypothesis of their own". A very clear distinction must be made between what is scientific and what is not, something that the religious right refuses to acknowledge. Science has a very specific methodology which differentiates what is scientific from what is not scientific. This includes elements such as hypothesis being empirically testable, supported or based upon multiple observations, being internally and externally consistent and other such characteristics. Does intelligent design really meet this criteria?

In the case of the school textbooks used by religious schools, they almost certainly do not. The introduction to the textbooks state that the content was written to be consistent with the word of God and the teachings of the Christian faith. More explicitly it said that "the people who prepared this book have consistently tried to put the word of God first and science second". Therein lies the crux of the matter - because like it or not, the people supporting intelligent design have a primarily religious agenda, and the entire theory in stems from this agenda to begin with, no matter how hard they try and pretend otherwise and disguise the theory as scientific. Intelligent design is not fundamentally based on empirically testable or observable hypothesis but on religious faith, pure and simple. If it were to be taught at all, it belongs in a religious education class and not a science one.

Learning And Wisdom

Montaigne put it best when he said that "If man were wise he would gauge the true worth of anything by its usefulness and appropriateness to his life." Therein lies his distinction between knowledge and wisdom. Knowledge is stuff like logic, grammer, mathematics, nuclear physics etc.; while wisdom is a much broader and elusive substance - defined broadly as anything which would help a person to live well. Montaigne took living well to be that of living happily and morally.

The distinction is important because Montaigne himself felt that in his schooling, a great deal of knowledge was imparted to him and that he was taught to be "learned but not good or wise" and he emphasized that this was a serious deficiency. He declared that what was important was not to find out "who knew most but rather who knew best" This is rather an interesting pronouncement given the spate of criticism surrounding education in Asia in general and Singapore in particular, with its emphasis on abstract questions and rote learning. This problem seems to be one which has endured over time - from 16th Century France to the present day and it seems to extend beyond the whole debate about creative thinkng and the ilk. Being able to think is more than having knowledge - it is about the ability to reflect and to consider and decide what is right from wrong, what is worthwhile and meaningful, and that is something that is seriously lacking in education today.

On a more personal note, I must admit to long having desired knowledge, seemingly on its own merits. I have a great love of random facts and trivia, and I treasure them for their own sake - as the only saying goes "knowledge for knowledge sake". There is a practical benefit in the accumulation of random facts that I must admit to - that of personal pride. It allows one to (attempt to) impress with the assidously weighted fact or statistic, the telling quip, the random piece of trivia that would (hopefully) elict a favourable response. However, this quickly becomes tiresome if practiced to too great a degree. Given Montaigne's definitions, can I be said to be barking up the wrong tree?

The greater danger that Montaigne put forward is one that is still exceedingly commonly held today - our tendency to try and seem intellectual and cultured by quoting famous writers and thinkers, very often to the detriment of ourselves. Montaigne summarized it best when he said that we are "richer than we think we are, each one of us". The greater irony lay in the fact that he himself resorted to quoting the great philosophers - Seneca, Plato, Aristotle and Cicero - not only when they expressed something he felt in a sublime way which he could not match but in order to "hide his weaknesses behind their great reputations". This is ironic because Montaigne himself has been now put on the same pedestal and feted and quoted along with all of the ancient greats he himself revered. He of all people will be the first to acknowledge the wonderful benefits that a couple of centuries can do to other people appreciating one's work.

Why this is sad is that we often have no real reason to feel inadequate, and often this leads us to look to the accepted greats and mimic them in order to look wise instead of speaking and thinking for ourselves. Indeed, it is quite telling who our own personal interests and thought are often devalued in our own eyes and being insignificant when they seem to contradict some higher intellectually and culturally accepted norm. Montaigne was all too right when he said that we tend to devalue ourselves.

There is a place for knowledge. Facts and learning, what we have accumulated in our study in school and university are the bedrock of everything. True wisdom comes, however, in understanding how we can best lead our lives. In that sense the quest for knowledge is a never-ending one, whilst the quest for wisdom is a continuing journey with changing destinations.

Cultural Stereotypes

We live in a world where cultural stereotyping of any form is an extremely dangerous activity. This is a day and age of keywords like access, and meritocracy, where what is celebrated is 'difference' - with a positive spin. Every institution is supposed to show its diversity, and many often go to great lengths to do so. Symptomatic of this trend is the University of Michigan, who photoshopped one of its prominent black students among spectators at a football match which he just happened to not have attended.

Yet, in my time in the UK, and particularly the time spent working in the lodge, I am afraid to say that at the most general level at least, many of the stereotypes hold a grain of truth of them - and far more often than not, it is the negative rather than the positive stereotypes that fit this trend.

Most common among the widely held stereotypes is that of the rude chinese tourist. This has been borne out many a time at Trinity. A prime example is the group of tourists who had the nerve to open the main gates leading up the driveway from the outside and happily stroll down the lane - after realizing that the College was closed. It wasn't just the daring and utter lack of civility in doing something like that, an act that would be unimaginable for many others, it was utter lack of an attempt to show contrition or to apologize once they had been caught. Instead, they proceeded to insult me in mandarin, assuming I could not understand them. It is always unfair to generalize in any form, but it does seem that many chinese who travel overseas seem to have the attitude that the world should be beholden to them. Given this, it isn't all that surprising that they leave such a negative impression on people.

Indeed, this can be contrasted to the behaviour of other people I have seen over the past few days. British people tend to ask politely whether I knew which other Colleges were open and inquire as to when the College would open. Americans tended to be a bit pushier and would openly express disappointment and inquire whether there was really no way in which they could be let in. Others, particularly the Spanish and Italians would pretend not to see the sign walk in and either act dumb (you really are closed?) or brashly walk back out as if they hadn't done anything.

I am told that it is often fun to sit by a cafe window, enjoying a coffee and observing the people going past, how the human character truly illuminates itself. I do better - I sit in the lodge, warm and heated and I get paid to do it.

A Season of Giving (and Receiving)

It has been a very relaxing albeit not too productive couple of days. On the upside, I had dinner with Cleo, a friend of DT and an A Star scholar who was leaving Oxford permanently to go back to Singapore, along with her German boyfriend. They were both really lovely people and I greatly enjoyed their company.

I received lots of new stuff thanks to the generosity of Cleo including a upstanding lamp, new kitchen stuff, and best of all a futon which has been brilliant. DT got a printer and a scanner among other stuff.

I also opened the presents that DT got for me and they were really lovely. I am really touched by her generosity and thoughtfulness. I went shopping yesterday for some Christmas presents in return.

I write this as I start my first day in the lodge, working over the vacation period. Its been relatively quiet overall, and Graham the head porter ensured that I am pretty well stocked up on Sainbury microwavable meals, snacks and even a couple bottles of wine. I have also got a nice room in the Lodge Annexe with sheets and stuff nicely done up, so its all good really.

Watched some holiday television including most of Gunga Din, one of those oldie movies involving a rebellion against the British Raj and an indian who desperately wants to be a soldier and who (of course) dies gloriously to save the day and is given his wish, but couldn't help but cringe at all the cultural stereotyping. Was more looking into Bringing Up Baby, one of the Cary Grant/Katharine Hepburn movies, but had various matters to settle and lost interest in it in the end. There are lots of holiday movies coming up, some of which I may end up watching, but it does mean that I doubt my time in the lodge will be dull to any degree.

Putting Things into Perspecitve

On a more sober note, we often go though life feeling frustrated at the most mundane things, being impatient where a bit of understand would have done wonders, and in my case generally being stubborn and argumentative. Sometimes though things happen which really put things into perspective.

I just heard from JC the most terrible news - that a close friends of hers as well as a close relative are both dying. I stayed with JC over the summer and spent some time with her family which was wonderful fun, and she is really one of the liveliest, bubbliest people I have ever know, and her family were completely wonderful. To think of this happening, it completely stopped me in my tracks. Given situations like this, life's petty squabbles seem a lot less fundamental.

Quotation of the Week - On Public Opinion

"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who matter don't mind and those who mind don't matter" - from that fountainhead of all wisdom Dr Seuss.

But seriously, it is a very human tendency to worry about how other people view you. This is unsurprising seeing that human beings, by their very nature are social animals, and human interaction form the basis of our lives, be they with family, friends or acquaitances. However, it is very easy to fall into the trap of taking public opinion too seriously, to the detriment of what we individually think is right, to constantly worry about how we are perceived in the public eye. There is a negative tendency today equate what is right as what the majority of people believe.

This is borne out most of all by the politics of today, as Fareed Zakaria has pointed out succintly in his book the Future of Freedom. Politicians seem to care endlessly about opinion polls and public perception. In such an environment it becomes increasingly impossible for a politician to do what is right rather than what is publicly acceptable, a dangerous trend if there ever was one.

We should perhaps take the example of the first and greatest of all philosophers, Socrates, who was always quick to point out the inadequacy of public opinion as a guide to what is right or wrong. For him being a philosopher was a search for truth, with truth being something that was logically consistent, not merely commonly accepted. As he said in his trial - you may condemn me but I will still speak what I think to be the truth each time even if you were to kill me a hundred times. Speaking of living up to one's beliefs, Socrates of course famously did so to the largest possible degree in drinking the hemlock and dying as a result.

So, we should live for what we believe in, and ultimately the people we care about, the people whom we care for are those who will be able to accept us for what we are.

A Nice Weekend

I had quite a nice weekend with cookouts in my flat on Saturday and Sunday evenings which was lovely in spite of the usual little squabbling. Damien came over on both occasions and cooked chicken wings on Sunday. Gillian cooked Spring Rolls on Saturday which turned out well despite being short of several ingredients.

Had a lovely weekend with DT coming over and spending time with me. It was wonderful just doing little things like going shopping at Somerfield's and talking and listening to music. She bought me a load of presents for Christmas which I am very touched by.

Only other things of note recently - last Monday (12 Dec) was the screening date for Trinity's appearance on University Challenge. It was fun watching it in the JCR with a whole bunch of interview candidates, though just mildly embarrasing. Afterwards, went to the pub with Jonny Ayling, Ben and Alex and got pretty well sloshed. I remember going back to Alex's and toasting each other with his London Pride over goodness knows what, but had a wonderful time anyhow.

I have also just been told that I have been accepted as a contestant on Mastermind, quite possibly the most prestigous (intellectually at least) quiz show in the UK, if not worldwide. I am quite pleased about it and will be going down to Manchester at the end of March for filming. Should be pretty enjoyable.

Other than that, I managed to catch King Kong with Douglas and Damien on Friday evening, and I really enjoyed it. The special effects were something to behold, and worth the price of admission alone, but the true amazing thing is that the movie actually managed to make the relationship between Ann Darrow and King Kong affecting. On the downside it is a tad self indulgent, what with one hour's worth of an opening sequence before they even reach the island. Also, some B grade elements are maintained, particularly the savages on the island, but that perhaps due to the fact that it is a homage.

Literary wise, I am finishing John Banville's The Book of Evidence, and I am also reading Robert Nozick's Anarchy, State and Utopia. The latter is definitely brilliant, and a surprisingly good read for a book on political philosophy.

Also, I finished up on my application to Columbia, and I managed to get transcripts posted off, now am looking to complete applications to Harvard, Georgetown, Yale and hopefully Oxford and LSE as well.

Lodge Work and Other Miscellany

First, I shall begin by expressing my annoyance at the sudden removal of the ability to edit the time and date of a post. This function was one of the main reasons that I switched from Xanga in the first place enabling me to write retroactively about my day once it already had passed, an important factor seeing that I often post beyond midnight, not to mention the fact that I often write about events a few days after they happen. I dislike writing "On Wednesday I did this..... on Thursday this" as I find it rather clunky, but I guess now I have no choice.

Did a 6 hour shift in the lodge on Sunday, as interview candidates were arriving - 45 of them in all. I guess they hired me because despite the Sunday porter's earnestness and good nature, it was "best if he had some help" in the words of another of the porters. As mentioned before, I quite enjoy lodge work even if it is a bit tiring, so I was happy for anything that came my way.

Seeing all these interview candidates arriving all nervous, excited and somewhat lost does make me feel positively old - not just in years, but in experience. You feel like the grizzled old veteran in some war campaign shaking your head in wonderment at the 'green' ones coming in. It certainly highlights the extent to which my time here is coming to a close.

On a totally unrelated note, I heard that Trinity is actually one of the most competetive Colleges to get in for PPE, which I certainly found surprising seeing that we do not have the strongest of track records for it in any respect. Part of the reason is undoubtedly the small number of students we take in. From the number of people coming for interviews, it is undoubtedly the case that we remain one of the more popular Colleges by application, period.

Monday was filled with a vague attempt to get some work done. Did meet DT for dinner and we studied together in the library for quite awhile, though with some distractions. Am whetting my appetite by reading Fareed Zakaria's book on illiberal democracy which isn't strictly academic, but has some useful and interesting points on liberal institutionalism and democratization.

Tuesday was spent nicely wandering around town, doing some errands. Had a fine lunch at the Radcliffe Arms - the last time I had been was with Zakir ages ago. Was famished and ordered a huge amount of food. Whilst waiting for the pub to open, I wandered over to Jericho Books which I had passed often, but never at a time when it was open. This is unsurprising seeing that I am only in Jericho for dinner, or to catch a movie at the Pheonix. It was a lovely secondhand bookstore, with a very good stock of various eclectic academic titles - something unsurprising seeing its location in Oxford. Ended up buying books (but of course!), a 5 pound bargain of a book on Foreign Policy analysis which will be very useful for IR revision, and a brand new copy of Berlin's Four Essays on Liberty, which I just could not resist for 7.50 pounds. Got two Terry Pratchett books as well at good prices. Dinner in hall was followed by the Turf Tavern pub quiz (my Tuesday tradition) with several of the interview helpers. It would have been perfect if not for the freezing cold weather. As tradition dictates (and Murphy's law rules) we came in Fourth, yet again, losing out Third by a point.