Procreation Dilemmas

I read an article in the Guardian that highlighted Germany's problems with a declining birthrate. This problem is hardly new, and is one of the chief causes for Europe's continually aging population, something that will come to a head in about 15 to 20 years and will put an untold strain on the health care system. Previously, one tended to underestimate the scale of the problem in Germany compared to other European countries, what with Italy's birth rate falling to below 1.4 children per couple and that of the Scandinavean countries similarly plummeting. On an off note, this has led to many raised eyebrows in terms of the lack of children from Italy's predominantly Roman Catholic populace, particularly considering that utilizing birth control methods is still officially frowned upon by the church. Could it be that they aren't having sex? Somehow I doubt it.

Anyhow, the article showed that over 30% of German women have not had children, a vast majority by choice. This percentage rises to over 40% if limited to women with a University Education. This is a very startling fact indeed. Imagine half of the women with a Bachelor's Degree not having children! I personally was quite staggered by this. This has caused parliament to engage in a debate looking at ways in which to reverse this trend. One solution put forward has been to try and make men play a larger role in raising children, even going so far as stipulating 3 months leave immediately after the birth of a child for the man to help to care for it. This has caused quite a large bit of controversy, rather unsurprisingly, given that many parts of Germany is still quite traditional, and whilst no longer believing strictly in the chauvinistic view of women as "Kinder, Kirch, Kuche" or "Children, Church and Kitchen", still causes politicians to scoff at a man abandoning a real job to change nappies.

This article was of definite interest given the woes that Singapore has had in trying to encourage couples to have more children, with strategies ranging from public "three or more if you can afford it campaigns", to tax incentives, to the point where the government was almost (but not quite) suggesting that it was a civic duty for individuals to marry and have children. There is even a joke about why you must have three children: one to replace yourself, one to replace your spouse, and one to replace the single people who don't want to get married and have kids! Putting everything into perspective, Singapore's problem isn't quite as actue - it's birthrate lies around 1.8 - though that figure is still below the population replacement level (which is slightly above 2).

I remember that Lee Kuan Yew wrote memorably that one of the chief lessons for the new century was that population levels had to be controlled and that governments would have to learn the lesson of allowing uncontrolled population expansion. Recent evidence from Europe and elsewhere suggests that there reverse is quite true as well - governments have to be equally concerned about the lack of population expansion and they had to take measures to get the affluent newer generation to have children. In others words, population control, whichever way it lies, must be government policy. Nothing personifies this quite like Singapore of course, where the irony of the government's line on procreation - that of "two is enough" - cannot be lost on them whenever they ask for "three if you afford it" in the 21st Century.

League Cup Semi-Final

I wandered out yesterday evening in search of some sustenance and found myself hunting around Summertown for a place to have a decent meal. I decided on the Dew Drop Inn which looked like a homely enough pub, and I do have a fondness for pub food. As I took a seat, I remembered that it was the evening of the Carling Cup Semi-Final between my favourite club Manchester United and Blackburn Rovers, and kick-off was due just a couple of minutes from the time I walked in. Never one to refuse a precipitous coincidence when it appears, I settled down for the match.

All in all it was a good game, if a bit scrappy, a torn up Old Trafford pitch not helping things a great deal. The team went in at half time having scored a goal apiece, both goals being a mixture of bad luck and poor defending. Overall, United had by far the better of the play and were unlucky to go in with things level on aggregate; they will be particularly kicking themselves for not putting away a penalty at the stroke of half time, Brad Friedel saving brilliantly from Ruud Van Nistelrooy. After the break it was more frustration as Friedel continued his heroics, saving a Van Nistelrooy bullet header. He was beaten though by a literal slice of good fortune, Louis Saha slicing the ball into the top left hand corner of the net after it had come off his shin rather than his foot from a Fletcher cross. In the end, United held on comfortably for the win and Vidic, the new central defender even got to make his debut as a substitute.

It is a measure of how resigned United are in losing the league title that this match had taken on the significance that it did. This was personified by the relief of the United players at the end of the match, and also by Van Nistelrooy's anguish at his penalty miss. In the past, United had treated the Carling Cup as a bit part tournament crowding the fixture list representing a fine chance for United to blood promising youngsters into the professional game. Now, it is a ticket to Cardiff and a trophy, and thus given far far more weight.

United go into the final as firm favourites to win their first league cup since 1992. Though this competition has never been particularly kind to United, they are expected to come out victorious against a Wigan team that is in their first major final. Still, Wigan cannot be underestimated, particularly after their shock win over Arsenal - they have a team that is rock solid and further to that has a never say die attitude and will not be overawed in the least against United on cup final day. Their strides in the Premiereship this season are testament enough to that. United on the other hand face a serious crisis in midfield, with Ryan Giggs limping off after just 15 minutes of this match with a strained hamstring, adding to the long list of woes he has in that department. He faces a battle to be fit for Cardiff. Alan Smith, the converted striker faces a battle to regain full fitness now to bolster a decidely inexperienced midfield. United also looked far from solid defensively, and will need to work on that particularly against Wigan, where Jason Roberts in particularly likely to punish any mistakes.

So a nice evening of football, with full anticipation for a great cup final day to come.

A Guide to US Newspapers

I got this off a random blog, so thanks to smileaday.

The Wall Street Journal is read by people who run the country.

The New York Times is read by people who think they run the country.

The Washington Post is read by people who think that they should run the country

USA Today is read by people who think they should run the country but who don't quite understand the Washington Post.

The Los Angeles Times is read by people who wouldn't mind running the country if they could spare the time and didn't have to leave LA to do it.

The Boston Globe is read by people whose parents used to run the country.

The New York Post is read by people who don't care who is running the country, so long as they do something really scandalous, preferably while intoxicated.

The San Francisco Chronicle is read by people who are not even sure there is a country, or that anyone is running it; but whoever it is, they oppose all that they stand for.

The Miami Herald is read by people who run other countries but need the baseball scores.

Nocturnal Me

I have seriously messed up my sleep cycle - and I mean really seriously this time. I have taken to staying up till 6am or later and waking up after lunch. This is really not an ideal situation and I need to get my life rotating back along societally normal bounds.

Did some serious reading, though much of it non-academic. Read Pompeii by Robert Harris, Speaker for the Dead and Xenocide by Orson Scott Card, In Praise of Slow by Carl Honore among others. I am currently reading Causing Death and Saving Lives, which is a very fine book about practical ethics written by Jonathan Glover. It looks into issues such as abortion and infanticide, euthanasia, war and the question of whether an omission is less blameworthy that an act (i.e if it were the case that I withheld life saving medicine from a person, I am less blameworthy that if I had killed the person directly). The book has the plus point of not only being of personal and intrinsic interest to me, but also relevent to my degree.

Other than that I have cleared up my room and done the laundry, most definitely something to be proud of!

The Big Questions

Part of my coming to Oxford, and choosing to do Philosophy was to find answers to the big questions or at least examine my fundamental beliefs in them. Far from finding any answers, the more I delve into them, the more I realize how little I know, how far away a fixed answer seems. Still, after a vigorous evening of debating with some friends, I realize now that I don't even have a consistent view on many of these questions, a consistent stance that I can take. This list is a result.

• Is there a meaning to life?
  
• Is there a God? What is the nature of faith and belief?
• Can we really know anything?
• How can we live a good and moral life?
  
• What is justice and equality, which conception is best for society?
  
• What is the basis for rights? Are there any that are inalienable?
• What freedoms are intrinsic to mankind? On what basis can we restrict these freedoms?
• What is a democracy, must we safeguard ourselves against some aspects of it?
  
• Should we allow abortions to occur? Should the state allow it?
• What rights if any do animals have? How does this affect our own behaviour?
• Is the death penalty ever justified? If so, on what grounds and in what circumstances?
• Is conscription justified?
• On what grounds is civil disobedience justified?
• What is consciousness? How can it exist?
• When should censorship be allowed and to what degree?
• What leads to the growth of a democracy and its attendant values?
• To what extent is absolute free trade possible and subsidies/trade barriers be allowed?
• Should we legalise drugs?
• Should we legalise prostiution?
• Should individuals be allowed to choose to die and doctors carry out their wishes? How is the witholding of treatment related to this?
• How objective can History be? Are there limits to interpretation within History?
• Can we know that we exist, that we are not dreaming or a brain in a vat?
• Do we have free will or are out lives determined in some sense?
• Should be support affirmative action and other equal opportunity policies?
• Should a state be secular and to what limits? Does this entail restricting certain freedoms (such as the freedom to wear religious attire)
• Is fair trade really effective, and is it really 'fair'?

Any comments/discussions/opinions are greatly welcome.

Quizzes Galore

I had the opportunity, or should I say embarrasment of watching myself on University Challenge again on Monday, this time with lots of other people in the Beer Cellar. Things didn't turn out as bad as it could have been, and it was even enjoyable in a carthartic sort of way. It was a nice way to spend the evening, completed with some darts games with Dan Whittingham.

Much much more pleasing was that Trinity finally managed to triumph in the Turf Tavern pub quiz, but only because they changed the format to set a round on each of the continents. Freed of having to answer troublesome questions of pop music lyrics, we duly won with some aid from Mark Wilson and Daniel Newman.

Another happy point was that I got back my collection for IR in the Cold War and far from being a disaster it was a very decent 65. Almost good enough to make you believe that there is hope for the future yet!

Other than that things have not been tremendously productive. Had another revision tute, and finished a couple of novels - Speaker for the Dead was incredibly good. Hope to start getting seriously productive next week.

Desert Island Discs

I just listened to a program on BBC Radio 4 where famous people were interviewed and asked to choose 8 'Desert Island' pieces of music - 8 songs or pieces of music that they couldn't live without. They were also asked to choose a single CD, a single book and a luxury item. I thought it was a fabulous idea and so inspired here are my selections, but finding it difficult to pick individual pieces of music I have chosen 8 CDs.

In no particular order:

1. Kind of Blue by Miles Davis Quintet

This is a somewhat boring choice as Kind of Blue is probably the most famous and popular jazz recording of all time, but it is quite easy to see why. It was the first ever proper jazz CD I had ever bought, and it really swept me away from the opening chords of So What (I can heard it reverberating in my head right now). It was just magical listening to it the first time and it inspired a love of jazz that has continued to this day.

2. Songbird by Eva Cassidy

She has the most lyrical and haunting voice, able to speak directly to you and smooth over any sorrowful ache in your heart. I listen to Eva Cassidy when in the immortal words of Herman Melville, there is a deep dark September in my soul. A CD I most certainly could not live without. If forced to choose particular tracks, I would have to say the opening track 'Fields of Gold', 'Autumn Leaves' and 'Over the Rainbow'. Of the three, most favour the latter two, but my absolute favourite track has to be Fields of Gold. I have listened to it over and over again and there is a kind of wistful longing there that is truly heartbreaking. I think part of the reason for my fondness for it was that the first time I heard it played was as accompaniment to the great figure skater Michelle Kwan who is reknown for her expressiveness and elegance on the ice. The combination of the two were well and truly unforgettable.

3. Chopin Waltzes performed by Dinu Lipatti

Of all the classical composers, I must admit to having the greatess fondness and weakness for Chopin. His work is probably not as complex and intellectual enthralling as that of some other composers, but it seems to be able to communicate directly to me. Beneath the lovely melodic tone of Chopin's compositions, I find that the best pianists can bring out a sense of longing almost of loss, that permeates his work. I have always speculated that this reflected his status as a refugee in Paris and that aching feeling was for his Polish homeland which had been invaded. The choice of his waltzes would suprise many - they are probably the lightest of his work (other than the mazurkas) and hardly as complex as the Ballades, Polonaises or even the Nocturnes, let alone his two later piano sonatas. I have a real soft spot for this CD, and Lipatti is the perfect pianist to play Chopin - he has the lightness of touch and most importantly the feel for the pieces. Some say that it was a match made in heaven - Lipatti was Polish himself and died tragically at a young age of cancer. Indeed, the CD was recorded when he was in a stage of remission. The result is just stunning, beauty personified, conveying a real depth to the music which cannot fail to touch you.

4. Surfacing by Sarah McLachlan

This is another CD I have played repeatedly and is loved by my sister a great deal as well. I remember not being able to bring it with my when I left for Oxford and buying a copy in the middle of the term because I just felt like hearing it. Perhaps, I have developed a sentimental attachment to it, which does lend credence to it being chosen as a desert island disc. McLachlan has a beautiful soprano voice that puts much of today's so-called "superstars" to shame, and her songs are beautiful and touching. If I had to choose specific tracks I would have to pick "Adia" and "Do What You Have To Do" over "Angel" which was made famous by being featured in the movie City of Angels. A CD to treasure for me because of its familiarity if nothing else.

5. Les Miserables the Complete Cast Recording

I have always had a great love of musicals, and this one more than any other has been my favourite. I have seen it thrice on stage and I can sing out huge portions of it from memory. I will bring it with me only so I can stage my own production with myself in every role! Les Miserables is so popular because it speaks of universal feelings - love, loss, patriotism, guilt - it is all there. It was a terrible dilemma choosing between this and so many other great musicals - Chicago, Cabaret, Phantom, many of Sondheim's work and so on, but it was any easy choice in the end because Les Miserables is the most universal of all musicals. If you are stuck alone on a desert island, what better can you do to have a feel for humanity than listen through a recording of Les Miserables?

6. Collection 1 and 2 by Stacey Kent

I have always had a great love of jazz vocalists, so my collection of Desert Island Discs would have been incomplete without one. Finding a specific CD was a nightmare, however. I thought about a compilation, which would have the benefit of a number of class vocalists but I rejected it on the grounds that I normally shun compilations - I find that it panders to popular taste and rejects some of the more excellent and challenging music. Besides, I find it nonesensical that you can try to summarize an artist like Ella Fitzgerald, say, in a single disc. In the end I settled on Stacey Kent, one of the premiere jazz vocalists, again out of familiarity and comfort. I love her voice, which is so brilliantly radiant, perfect for the nice bouncy tunes, but she occasionally shows a mature deeper touch that illuminates the darker jazz standards. It was a difficult choice over the classic vocalists like Ella, Sarah Vaughn, Billie Holiday and even Diana Krall (whom I had grown up listening to) but Stacey Kent won out.

7. Bach Goldberg Variations by Murray Perrahia

The Goldberg variations are so wonderfully relaxing, its very essence speaks of calm and control. When I need to relax I have always played the Goldberg, or as an alternative Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 21 Second Movement. But the Goldberg variations seem to me a deeper piece which is why I have chosen it. As to the artist, my pick of Perrahia would seem rather strange. The two Glenn Gould versions are by far the most famous and universally acclaimed, though which of the two you prefer is very much a personal choice. I have never really had a passion for Gould finding him rather too idiosyncratic, especially for a piece like the Goldbergs where technical control and solid steadiness may actually be great virtues. In this respect, Perrahia is perfect.

8. Nevermind by Nirvana

In my teenage years, like most rebellious spirits, I developed a taste for rock music, which I still enjoy. Among the bands I loved were Guns N Roses, Bon Jovi, Aerosmith and Nirvana. People who know me would have expected me to pick a best of Bon Jovi CD, particularly when they have seen me prance around like an utter madman to It's My Life or Living on a Prayer in a club, and indeed heard of how It's My Life was played on my 21st Birthday. Be that as it may, Nirvana has alway been the perfect antidote for pent up anger and stress. If it ever got to a point where I felt like punching a wall, then Nevermind would be what I would turn to. It really is the perfect release valve and is quite aptly titled - in listening to it you really get the feeling that it is fine, that everyone else can go and **** themselves to hell with it. I can imagine that a nice tropical idyll would be lovely for say, the first couple of months. After that things may get a little frustrating. When it reached that stage, then it would come the time for this CD to be whipped out.

Single CD: Tough choice but I will go for Eva Cassidy

Single Book: I have to discount the Bible and the complete works of Shakespeare right off (as that would be cheating), and indeed any anthology or collected works of any sort (if not it would have been a anthology of verse). This being a completely impossible question, I would have to say one of the first books that came to my head without an immediate adverse reaction which would be the Lord of the Rings by J R R Tolkien. I would be tempted to take Tolstoy's War and Peace, if only because it is huge, I have never read it, and I have always been meaning to. If I were really practical I would have chosen a book on tropical flora and fauna as I am quite useless at any kind of plant life and it would be essential to my survival.

Luxury Item: I am tempted to be cheeky here and attempt to cheat. I would request a computer that is powered by a spring (which is wound up) and has been developed for use in Africa. Oh, and on that computer you wouldn't mind putting the complete encyclopedia britanicca, the greater Oxford English dictionary, the complete works of Charles Dickens.........

Collections

Had two collections yesterday which I just about survived, having stayed up most of the evening before to revise for. Don't think they went fantastically well, which means I will have to redouble my efforts at revision.

Later in the evening went by Chiaulings and spent a long time chatting to her and Jeremy, Julian, and Li Lib.

Went home and slept.

Tomorrow looks a lot more relaxing - mahjong in the evening, a bop and some time to prepare for the start of the term.

Nought Week

Its been a typical nought week - everyone has come back to College and things look to be buzzing a lot more.

Been reading rather sporadically and in a rather shotgun manner, something that has been coupled with vain attempts to get my sleep cycle back into whack. Did finish Gaddis book about the cold war, and some other interesting bits and pieces, and started on a Cold War timeline. Gaddis book was clearly meant for a popular audience, but it very gripping nonetheless. Instead of heading back home, I found myself just captivated reading the last chapter of the book about the fall of Communism - it was a wonderful feeling, and something I hope will be present throughout this entire revision period.

Other than that I have been trying very hard to get my revision classes organized and sorted out, which I seem to have done relatively well, all things considered.

Now I shall get down to swotting for my Knowledge and Reality collection taking place tomorrow.....

Sunday

Sunday morning was spent sleeping in after a quite accidental trip to the pub. I took the bus back home after working the whole of Saturday at the lodge and I overshot my stop, landing very nicely in front of the Woodstock Arms. I might have well wandered back home immediately but saw a sign advertising a Pub Quiz on Sunday. My interest piqued, I went inside, hoping to make enquiries and to have a quick pint. Doing so would add to the long list of fine drinking establishments that I have patronised in Oxford - I am trying to see how many I can accumulate before I leave. So instead of an early evening, I got to talking with some pub regulars about quizzes and trivia, having overheard one of them ask another one what he was going to set in the quiz tomorrow. It turned out the other bloke was the person who sets the quiz. Soon found myself ordering a couple more pints and staying to chat. Promised to go down for the pub quiz the next day, and eventually didn't (see below).

The whole afternoon managed to go by idling surfing the net and without a whole lot of stuff done. I did proof read Sam Longair's extended essay on the London welfare movement in the 1970s and made some basic grammatical and stylistic corrections/suggestions. Other than that, wasn't very productive.

The evening was spent watching a movie with Kimberley - Ang Lee critically acclaimed movie Brokeback Mountain. It has been characterized in shorthand as "the gay cowboy movie", lending the movie a great deal of interest due to the stereotypes it challenged. Of course, as is always the case it was much more than that. I greatly enjoyed the movie on the whole - it was wonderfully paced and very well directed and it had a wonderful balance to it that is really hard to achieve in any movie, let alone one with the sparseness and controversy this one had. Heath Ledger gave a pitch perfect perfomance and the supporting cast was impressive enough. The movie was able to present a picture of Mid-Western American society and its values that offers realy insight and amazingly little in the way of prejudice - in watching it I was never tempted for a moment to judge the social values that prevented the protagonists from achieving their happiness, just the realization that it was a way of life. Some breathtaking scenery and camerawork just added to the feel of the picture. Altogether, this must count as one of the major Oscar contenders.

Charles Kennedy Resigns

Charles Kennedy has just resigned as the leader of the Liberal Democrats in a press conference this afternoon. This has come amidst immense pressure from many of his frontbenchers and statements of no confidence in his ability to continue as party leader, with 25 MPs pledging that they will refuse to serve on the frontbench under Mr Kennedy in the new parliamentary session due to open on Monday.

The ostensible reason for his resignation was his admission that he had a drink problem which MPs claim had affected his performance as party leader in the past. Notable instances of his ill-health , which has often been attributed to an overfondness for alcohol, include his failure to attend Gordon Brown's budget speech last year, and a stuttering speech at last year's Lib Dem party conference. However, given that his problems with drink were well documented in the past, one cannot but feel that this is far from the root cause for the calls for his dismissal.

One does get the sense however, that MPs are increasingly worried that the Lib Dems are a party without any direction, something that seriously inhibits their credibility in fulfilling their claims that they can be a real alternative choice, even in opposition. In that sense, Kennedy's performance at the party conference was all the more damaging, as far from kindling new enthusiasm and stating clearly the strategy the party would pursue in the coming year, he came across as distincly uncertain. Given these fears, it is perhaps not too difficult to understand their wish to have a new person at the helm, given that there is now a huge ideological debate over defining party policies.

Many would rally to the defence of Mr Kennedy by saying that the Liberal Democrats have never come closer to regaining credibility, given their ground breaking performance in the last general election. Yet, many MPs felt that the Lib Dems should have done even better given that the government was being embattled over Iraq, a war that the Lib Dems opposed, not to mention other contentious issues like ID cards, and education policy. It clearly didn't help that the Lib Dems much vaunted decapitation strategy directed against the Conversatives failed miserably and they failed to make any inroads whatsoever into Tory ground - which was seen by party members as the crucial indicator of success.

Kennedy only added fuel to the fire with his actions in recent weeks, when he knew that there was growing discontent directed against his leadership. Far from making attempts to reassure MPs, he was seen - unfairly or not - to be attempting to climb over their heads by appealing directly to the grassroots, where he did get an enormous public outpouring of support. However, as he soon came to realize, a party leader can only maintain his position at the behest of his peers in parliament and as the discontent increased it became increasingly obvious that his position had become completely untenable, and that he was effectively becoming a lame duck.

In many ways, this could not have come at a worse time for both the party and for parliament as a whole. This entire saga has been one of the most bloody, and public executive decapitations in recent (or even ancient) parliamentary history. I would liken it to the modern equivalent of stabbing Caesar on the steps of Pompey's theatre. The past conservative leadership struggles (Thatcher, Hague and Duncan Smith) hardly bare comparison, let alone the neverending Blair vs Brown squabbles. The public impact of such a brutal and open leadership struggle still remains to be seen, not to mention the political credibility of the party as a whole.

Worse still, there hardly seems to be any real credible candidate to succeed Charles Kennedy. Sir Menzies Campbell is certainly well respected, but hardly had the charisma and man of the people quality that Kennedy possessed. Other candidates for the leadership race have yet to come forward, and I am highly doubtful that they possess the combination of experience and public appeal that made Kennedy such a successful leader.

The Lib Dems have also been thrown into disarray by recent events, something that will undoubtedly have a large effect on their ability to act as a cohesive opposition in parliament. This comes at a time when the government is attempting to force many controversial pieces of legislation through the commons, and when the need for cohesive or at least coherent opposition could not be greater.

I have been personally disappointed by comments suggesting that Mr Kennedy had gone to far in using his image as an average Joe, characterized by his demons with the bottle, in garnering personal popularity at the expense of party credibility. According to these cynics, his recent admissions were nothing more than another press exercise targeted at gaining sympathy. I think these accusations are disgraceful and unjustified. It takes a lot of courage to admit to personal weakness, more so when you are a politician, and Mr Kennedy should be given respect for owning up, even in the face of his past attempts to subvert scrutiny on his drinking habit. Given the present government's preponderance of spin, it is rather harsh and extremely cynical to see all this as a public persona PR stunt.

For all his failings at a personal level, Mr Kennedy has done immensely well to consolidate the Lib Dems as a credible party - credible enough to be considered a serious contender for opposition. I heard Lord Jeffrey Archer speak on British politics and the state of the conservative party at the end of 2003 and he said that his greatest fear for the conservatives was from the Liberal Democrats and that he found this all the more remarkable consiering their position in the 1980s. Lord Archer remenisced about how the Shadow Home Affairs minister would suddenly be seen speaking out on Development issues or in the capacity of the Arts and Culture brief due to the fact that the Lib Dems had so few MPs that they couldn't even fill an entire shadow cabinet. That this is no longer the case has a large part to do with Mr Kennedy; whether this continues to be without him as leader remains to be seen.

090106 - Check out this in depth coverage of Charles Kennedy's resignation and the Lib Dem leadership contest on the BBC website.

Ditigal Revolution in Books

It has been hyped up before, most memorably by Bill Gates, who said that he hoped to have 75% of books purchased digitally by the year 2005, but the results thus far has been generally disappointing. The main problem is that digital devices haven't been able to produce the clarity that is required for extended reading, particularly due to what many consider excessive glare in the display. Of course, there is the huge sentimental attachment that people have to books as they are - the look, feel and smell of a book, and the comfort that people derive from it.

However, Sony have just announced the launch of a new device called the Sony Reader which claims to be a massive advance in display technology, doing away with the backlighting of traditional digital screens and promising "clarity and resolution to rival paper itself". The device is also tremendously portable with the screen about the size of a paperback novel page, and with a battery life boasting the ability to last for 7,500 page turns. It's memory is also large enough to hold up to 80 novels, besides other common document files like pdf and word files. Adding a thumb drive would mean being able to add to the storage space significantly

All in all, this device looks remarkably versatile, and if the display is everything it is made out to be, that it could mark the beginnings of a significant inroads in digital viewing technology. It has certainly piqued my interest, though I find it hard to imagine myself abandoning my habit of lugging a paperback along with me everywhere I go. The Sony Reader does offer immense practicality and efficiency - imagine the content of 80 books at the equivalent weight of just one. Not to mention the fact that it makes it very convenient for long plane trips when you want to be spoiled for choice and see what piques your interest during the journey.

I am definitely tempted and may just spoil myself when it hits the stores in Spring 2006.

Information about the Sony Reader can be found here.

The Pleasures of Reading and First Attempts at Cooking

Spent most of the day at home, alternately reading for pleasure and for revision. Made some serious inroads into Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell and found it getting more interesting. The plot does seem to be heading somewhere after all the slow and patient build up. But given that I really enjoy the style in which the book is written, I have savoured the book so far, though others might find it a tad tedious. It certainly was more pleasurable than International Relations Since 1945: A Global History, though I must admit to finding that very interesting as well.

Damien came over to cook some chicken and sausages for dinner which was very nice. I actually succeed quite well in making the spaghetti including the sauce. My life was made easier with the purchase of a can of tomato puree though. Will try and continue these baby steps into the scary world of cooking.

The only blight in the day involved erstwhile housemate getting upset when I asked her (over MSN no less because I didn't want a confrontation) to clear up the sink which had dirty crockery she had used left for a couple of days. She stormed in, washed it all up and stormed out. It would have been highly difficult to prepare food otherwise. I guess she was stressed about work but aren't we all and was chirpier after dinner.

Battle of the Wardrobes

I read about the above with much amusement in the Guardian online. Apparently, two Christian colleges in the US are both claiming to be the proud owners of the wardrobe that inspired the epynonymous creation in C.S Lewis' novel the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Both were purchased from his Oxfordshire home by Wheaton and Westmont colleges respectively and have contrasting but compelling claims. The full article can be found here. I cannot help but laugh at the whole situation and wonder what all the fuss is about.

On a happier note, I am now thinking of applying to Brown University - the deadline is the 1st of Febuary so I will have to move quickly, but it is definitely a possibility.

Schools Visit and Lots of Reading

I helped out with a schools visit today. The kids were from St Edmund's Arrowsmith School and they were mostly around 16 I think. Toju, Sam Longair and Kimberley were also helping out - Kimberley had just gotten in that morning and it was nice to see here back. It was the usual schools thing - a talk and Q&A session, followed by a tour of the college and a treasure hunt round Oxford where they had to look for the answers to various clues. There was also an interesting activity where they were given information about a crime and had to act variously as either the prosecution or the defence which was quite challenging I thought. The bonus in helping out was of course a free dinner in hall. Later on, went to Wine Rack and bought three bottles of wine on 3 for 2 offer and a bottle of port for just 5 pounds. Was sorely tempted to get a nice bottle of Whisky and I probably will, once the wages at the lodge comes through.

The previous day was spent reading for the most part. I read through Robert Harris' book Archangel, set in comtemporary Russia and featuring a startling revelation having to do with a diary that Joseph Stalin kept. It was an enthralling and spellbinding read. The author was really able to create a superbly authentic feel of contemporary Russia and how it has not fully exorcised its past. It definitely stirred my interest in many of the great figures of the Soviet cold war era - Lenin and Stalin most of all, but also Krushchev, Molotov and Brezhnev. It was fantastic stuff, with another brilliant ending, something to rival Fatherland. Indeed, I had enjoyed Fatherland so much that I went straight out and bought this one and finished it that night. I also bought another Wodehouse book - Something Fresh - which was the book in which Blandings Castle and all its various inhabitants were introduced. So much for my resolution to buy less books.

Among other literary pursuits, I have started on Dr Strange and Mr Norrell by Susan Clarke. It caused quite a stir when it came out with the general conscensus that it was the 'literary Harry Potter' but I resisted the hype before finally deciding to get it on the recommendation of Douglas who seems to be enjoying it immensely. It is quite a hefty book - all 900+ pages of it, but after getting through the first 200 pages or so I must say I am enjoying it a great deal. It has a very English late Victorian kind of style to it and a very subtle humour which is really wonderful. I also read through a short biography of Abraham Lincoln called Out of the Wilderness, and I am in the process of starting a much larger one by David Herbert Donald. Lincoln is a figure I have always greatly admired and I consider him to be the greatest of all the American Presidents - definitely a far cry from the Presidents of today.

I had a nice dinner with Sinead - pasta - in exchange for wine. I brought up two half finished bottles which weren't particularly good and were clearly the worse for wear in having been opened for awhile. I was apologetic and promised to do better and buy some good wine (which I have since done). It was nice chatting with her about all sorts of random stuff. Emma her roomate joined in for a bit. It seems everyone is returning - Toju, my roomate arrived back today, as did Damien and many others are expected back soon. Its nice to see the place fill up with people - College is rather quiet otherwise.

Absolute Disaster.....

I feel like an utter and total idiot. Things have gone completely pear-shaped with my Harvard application and it is completely my fault. The main thing is that I got the deadline wrong - I thought it was today the 3rd of January but it turns out it was yesterday. I really shouldn't have procrastinated for so long but I thought I could have finished it off today. Things have not been easy seeing that I was pretty much marooned in the lodge over the past 12 days or so, but I really should have checked the deadline and furthermore I still had yesterday to finish it, which I didn't. Now I went to all the trouble of getting things posted, to get recommendations and to write my statement of intention for nothing.

Seeing that I decided not to apply to the M.A at Yale - too much economics focus, lack of funding opportunities, it leaves me with just Columbia and Georgetown. I must definitely apply to Oxford and maybe LSE now.

I really can't believe this has happened. I am simultaneously utterly and totally depressed and so angry with myself. I really have to start taking life seriously - this is an utter and total joke, even given all the extenuating circumstances. This kind of foolishness can change destinies.

Cold comfort: there is always next year.

Update: I have since finished off my Georgetown application and got it sent off. Hopefully there will be a good chance for that one. But reality still stands: I need to get my life sorted.

On a happier note, I had dinner with Julie at the Noodle Bar. It was nice getting some proper food down me instead of the microwavable stuff that I had been eating previously.

Terribly Lazy Day Yesterday

Had a most luxuriously lazy day yesterday. Spent much of it lying in bed and getting far more sleep than was strictly necessary, including a afternoon nap borne out of sheer laziness. I finished the Wodehouse book Leave It To Psmith which was extremely funny and very enjoyable indeed. I do love the dry english humour and I love Wodehouse's wonderful contruction of coincidences in his plot and how everything builds up so nicely. I started Robert Harris' Fatherland in the evening, just before dinner and got hooked on it. It is a fantastic thriller - a real page turner if there every was one set in an alternate world in which World War II turned out rather differently. Quite delightful in keeping one at the edge of his toes, and really unputdownable. All this sounds like cliched hype, but is true in this case. This is far better than Dan Brown - the writing is of a far higher quality, and there is a much greater sense of atmosphere.

Had dinner with Peter Ho, and a couple of his Brasenose friends which was nice enough. It was rice with a kinda of spicy dish of potatoes and meat cooked up by Peter's friend. It was amazing how he managed to just get the dish going in no time at all and makes me resolved to learn how to do some basic cooking.

Going to be a very busy day tomorrow: moving out of the Lodge Annexe, starting revision, shelving books in the library. But its time to knuckle down to stuff.

My Year in Books

According to the list that I have been keeping, I read 86 books in total last year (with three still uncompleted). I have decided to choose my ten best of the year (in no particular order). There were definitely tough decisions to be made as I did read many delightful books, and fewer poor ones.

One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksander Solzehnitsyn

Solzehnitsyn's account of a day in one of the Russian Gulags or concentration camps is scarily captivating. In reading it, one gets a feel for humanity in all its base essence - a ceaseless struggle for warmth and food and bare survival. Yet within this harshness the author still shows our ability to transcend that which is truly inspiring.

Guns, Germs and Steel and Collapse by Jared Diamond

I am technically cheating here as these are two seperate books, but I would like to think of them as two seperate sides of the same coin. Guns, Germs and Steel examines the development of different societies and postulates reasons for the difference in wealth and technology and development that have come about in our modern age. Collapse examines why it is the case that some societies collapse and die out while some others do not. Jared Diamond is a most remarkable scholar with a breadth of knowledge that is just simply awe inspiring and his arguments are certainly compelling. Read these two books, you will definitely learn a great deal.

The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien

As I said before, to call Tim O'Brien a war story writer is like classifying Dickens as a Victorian Social critic - the added qualifications are superfluous. He is just a great writer, period. This books of interlinked short stories is captivating and written with a subtlety and lyricism that belies the harshness of its subject matter. This started a love affair with the author that extended to much of his other writings.

The Peacemakers by Margaret MacMillan

A brilliantly researched book about the Paris Peace Conference that wonderfuly illustrates the personalities that made the key decisions as well as the circumstances in which they carried out the enormously difficult task of post war settlement. Wonderfully illuminating, and eminently readable history.

Gilead by Marilynne Robinson

To say a novel is beautifully written is to lapse into cliche nowadays, but one has a tendency to do so in describing this novel, 20 years in the writing and winner of the pulitzer prize. Every word seems so perfectly nuanced and well placed, it is a treasure trove of delight from beginning till end.

Hitler: Hubris by Ian Kershaw

Assidously researched (as the multitudunous footnotes would attest) this was hailed as the biography to end all biographies of Hitler. Ian Kershaw has established himself as the foremost expert on Hitler and Nazi Germany and it certainly shows in this monumental work. The most powerful aspect of the work is Kershaw's determination to put Hitler into the context of German society in the period and to try and answer the question of how a highly advanced and cultured society could fall into the spell of Nazism. A powerful work that should be read by anyone even remotely interested in power and its abuses.

All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque

The most famous anti-war novel ever written and rightly so. Remarque's novel about the disillusionment end the ending of the innocence of youth is a powerful evocation of the senselessness of war. It contains some very powerful descriptions, and though it can be a bit heavy handed at times, it is a very moving, and very important work that serves as a testament to the suffering present in war.

Freakonomics by Dubner and Levitt

A rare thing indeed, a popular, fascinating book on ecomomics that doesn't contain equations and isn't polemical in any way. Levitt really does make his subject come alive with examinations of wht drug dealers live with their mothers, how sumo wrestlers and teachers are similar and many other wonderfully strange and interesting questions that can be answered with the basic tools of economics: preferences, incentives, scarcity and choice. Pure brilliant fun.

Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson

This one of the most lyrical and amazing books I have ever read. There are passages that leaves you gasping and that you can just read again and again. A wonderful book of the discovery of adolescence. A must read, pure and simple.

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

This is classic Ishiguro - the classic 1920s English style of writing that just reads oh so easily. The plot slowly unfolds as the narrator describes her time at a seemingly innocous bording school that is keeping something from their students. It leads to an ending that is so perfectly natural, yet heartbreaking all the same. A wonderful book that was very unlucky not to win the Booker.

New Year Resolutions

In the spirit of wishful thinking here are my new year resolutions (in no particular order):

1. Keep regular sleeping hours and wake up on time

2. Be more organized and schedule my time better

3. Work harder and attend lectures

4. Take better care of myself

5. Manage finances better

6. Keep in contact with people

7. Learn how to cook

8. Be less argumentative and learn to listen more

9. Read More Books (try and read 2 books a week)

This is the list for now. More will be added as I think of anything else that needs improving. Suggestions are more than welcome!