Monthly Archives: March 2012

The success of Jesus and Socrates

Posted on March 25, 2012 by Houyhnhnm

Jesus and Socrates are standard examples of being counter-cultural, of teaching the unpalatable, of advocating unacceptable behaviour, of giving explanations which oppose those of their societies: “The Sabbath was made man, not man for the Sabbath”, “pray for those who … Continue reading →

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I Believe in Father Christmas

Posted on March 21, 2012 by Houyhnhnm

The story goes that some Japanese businessmen wanted to decorate their shopping centre for the Christmas season, so they sent researchers to the UK to get some ideas. Some time later the shopping centre opened with great razzmatazz, and the … Continue reading →

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The Shawshank Redemption

Posted on March 11, 2012 by Houyhnhnm

Why is this a bad film? Because it’s not true to life. The goodies are unrelentingly good, so it’s sentimental, and the baddies all bad, so it’s brutalised. Typical moronic box-office desperation: crank up the violence to make ’em feel … Continue reading →

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Rowan the wizard

Posted on March 11, 2012 by Houyhnhnm

Rowan Williams is how we imagine Pozzo’s Lucky in the days when he used to delight his master with his ‘thinking’ (Waiting for Godot, Act One:) He even used to think very prettily once, I could listen to him for … Continue reading →

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