The Age of Demons

I'm currently re-reading The Demon Haunted World by Carl Sagan and these two passages struck me as pertinent in today's digital age.

"Science arouses a soaring sense of wonder. But so does pseudoscience. Sparse and poor popularisations of science abandon ecological niches that pseudoscience promptly fills. If it were known that claims to knowledge require adequate evidence before they can be accepted, there would be no room for pseudoscience. But a kind of Gresham's Law prevails in popular culture by which bad science drives out good.....

"But there's another reason: science is more than a body of knowledge; it's a way of thinking. I have a foreboding of an America in my children's or grandchildren's time  - when the USA is a service and information economy; when nearly all key manufacturing industries have slipped away to other countries; when awesome technological powers are in the hands of a very few, and no-one representing the public interest can even grasp the issues; when the people have lost the ability to set their own agenda or knowledgeably question those in authority; when clutching our crystals or nervously consulting our horoscopes, our critical faculties in decline, unable to distinguish between what feels good and what's true, we slide, almost without noticing, back into superstition and darkness. The dumbing down of America is most evident in the slow decay of substantive content in the enormously influential media, the 30 second sound-bites (now down to 10 seconds, or less), lowest common denominator programming, credulous presentations on pseudoscience and superstition, but especially a kind of celebration of ignorance."

I see this as evident on social media, where any old story, credible or not, is passed on as if 100% factual and true without any effort to verify the claims made. It then spreads like wildfire. The gullibility of the general population appears to knows no bounds and healthy skepticism seems to have died a death.

The Midlothian Question for Heroes in Israel

Tian Tian comes out in favour of independence, says Edinburgh Zoo.

I do think the word hero is overused today. We were watching an item on the local news about an RFC pilot in WWI who took off from Cotswold Airport for his first posting in France (via Kent) and died when his aircraft crashed not far from where he took off. He was being hailed as a hero. A hero is the guy who was depicted last week on the docu-drama "Our War", who remained at his machine-gun post in the face of certain death so that his platoon could retreat. He won a posthumous VC.

When I look back to my late teens and early 20s, I thought I was both immortal and invincible - as any teenager or 20-something similarly does - the thought of death was just so far away as to be not even a possibility. I too would have been up for a war - against my later-middle-aged judgement. I don't, however, think that would have made me a hero.

The UK government has said; "What is clear now is that we have agreement that if the current ceasefire ends in Gaza, which we all hope it doesn't, and there was a resumption of significant hostilities, then there would be an immediate suspension of those arms export licences to Israel that give cause for concern."

A bit strange, considering Israel has abided by every cease-fire and Hamas has been the party to resume hostilities. One wonders who runs the UK government - the people, or Hamas (which the UK has listed as a terrorist organisation) and its lobbyists.

Drink Labeling

How have we managed for the last 12,000 years of civilisation without warning labels on alcoholic drinks?

Emmerdale with Beards

What's happened to Emmerdale - the everyday story of farming folk in Yorkshire (not that I've seen an episode in more than 30 years)? Saw an advert for it last night and it looked more like a promo for a high-octane police series.

Have you noticed how bearded blokes have been rehabilitated recently? You hardly see a TV advert without a bearded bloke.

The Ethnic Vote

Baroness Warsi is in the news saying Cameron needs to do more to attract the ethnic vote, but with the exception of supporting Hamas against Israel, is singularly lacking in telling us what these ethnic-friendly policies would be.

Overheard in the Devon Combes

I had just exited a public loo on the harbour in Ilfracombe.

Chairman: "You don't want to go in there - it's disgusting; the seat has been ripped off, there's loo paper all over the floor and urine all over the place."

Hay: "I suppose it wasn't so bad before you went in there..."

We stayed in a lovely farm B&B near Lee Bay (Shaftsboro Farm). Lee Bay is the most magical place - a bit like Readymoney Cove in Fowey, but even better - and with free parking.

We also took in Woolacombe, (which is hideous, being crowded with holiday makers from the Midlands) and Ilfracombe (almost as hideous, but just your average, Victorian seaside town and all that entails).

I really can't understand why people want this (which was before the crowds started arriving):

Rather than this at Lee Bay (which is a mere 10 minutes away):

I guess I'm rather glad they don't. I suppose it's because Woolacombe has kids' theme parks, whereas Lee Bay can be a tad dangerous with all the rocks - but kids need to learn how to enjoy themselves (as opposed to having entertainment laid on for them) and stay out of danger. Also, Lee Bay has just one pub - although one where the landlord makes his own brew.

As we left Woolacombe the crowds started to arrive and the single road into the place was at a standstill for several miles. Yet, inexplicably, the people kept pouring in.

Not surprisingly, we returned to Lee Bay.

On the way home we called in at Lynmouth (quaint, but touristy), Porlock (quaint and filled with food emporiums) and Watchet (industrial and a bit of a nightmare I was glad to leave behind).

Name Those Band Members

Given there was absolutely bugger-all worth watching on regular TV last night, we resorted to the usual stand-by - Vintage TV and a programme called Classic British Soft Rock.

Now who can name the members of the following bands (a point for every correct answer - without cheating):

1. Supertramp,
2. The Eagles (except for Don Henley),
3. Moody Blues (except for Justin Hayward),
4. Roxy Music (except for Bryan Ferry and Brian Eno),
5. The Small Faces (no, Rod Stewart was not a member - that was The Faces), 
6. The Nice,
7. The Average White Band,
8. Dexys Midnight Runners (except for Kevin Rowland) - and yes, the missing apostrophe is how they spell it.

For additional points, who can honestly say they can understand what is being said in the songs by the following:

1. Dexy's Midnight Runners,
2. Manic Street Preachers.

Despite sterling resistance for the last 10 years, I fear we're going to have to subscribe to some cultural pay TV channels to stand any chance of receiving programmes other than those to do with other people's boring jobs, police patrolling the roads in cars, cooking or inane soaps. TV is now pandering to the lowest common denominator and being made on the cheap. Even the BBC is guilty of dropping its standards.

Going away for another holidayette, this time in Devon, so a small hiatus in output till Saturday.

Understanding the Ununderstandable Mood

British artist Jake Chapman has said taking children to art galleries is a "total waste of time". He said  parents were "arrogant" for thinking their children could understand artists like Mark Rothko or Jackson Pollock.

I'd go further - no-one but Rothko, Pollock or psychiatrists can understand Rothko or Pollock - or indeed the Chapman brothers. Anyone who says otherwise is fooling themselves.

Rothko 

Pollock 

An understandable Pollock

While we were in Latvia, Hay wanted to visit the Rothko museum in Daugavpils (Rothko was Latvian). Luckily it was a 3 hour drive from where we were staying, so we didn't go. In any case, if you've seen one Rothko, not much is gained by seeing another - it's a bit like seeing a wall covered with Dulux testers. The same can't be said as strongly for Pollock, although many were a bit samey.

Hay agrees with Chapman that some people visit an art gallery for some peace and quiet, which is hard to find with children (or me) being present and volubly ridiculing the said "artworks". I contend children tend to see through the arty bullshit and prick the pseudo-intellectual, self-conceit of many so-called artists.

If something is ununderstandable, could it just be standable?

In another news story, Dell Research says it is working on mood-reading software that could be ready for sale within the next three years. I wonder what it will make of on-line Daily Mail readers...

Holiday Aftermath for Parking Fees

We've just spent one week of a 2 week holiday abroad. The final week was meant to be an opportunity to do all manner of jobs around the house that have been waiting for a clear week to get done.

So much for good intentions - I predict, with a high degree of certainty, those jobs will not get done.

Some of the time will be spent preparing my defence against a certain parking company, who have issued me with a court summons for not paying a £2.20 parking fee back in June, despite the fact I did pay (and have a corrobarative statement from a work colleague to support that, as well as an unreceipted expense claim), but never received a ticket from the parking machine. 

They're claiming £175 (a £100 fine and £75 in lawyers' expenses - which will probably climb). I refused to pay their fine and said I'd see them in court. From what I understand, they can only claim back the £2.20 parking fee and cannot issue a fine. I intend to make them disclose the registered ticketed takings from the machine and the actual takings, predicting a discrepancy of £2.20 - or possibly more.

Any Questions While on Holiday?

Got back from our holidays yesterday and managed to catch  Any Questions, which has a tradition of not having politicians on the panel in August.

What a refreshing debate - no politicians trying to score political points and dragging any debate down to the level of PM's Questions. Yesterday we were given Mary Beard, Rod Liddle, Clive Aslet and Richard Dannatt. All very civilized.

Now for a selection of the holiday snaps of Latvia (we loved every minute of it).