In the news … January 2021
Commentary on news items and the news media itself.
Posts
Breaker Morant (1980)
A landmark Australian film made relevant afresh as we consider contemporary war crimes.
Managing fear of change
Managing fear and resistance to change requires insight and tact .
Poor literacy: career stumbling block?
How literacy skills might determine ’employability’ and promotion opportunities.
The lens of insanity
Simple language and dumbed-down concepts must not become anti-intellectualism.
A primer on liberal democracy
Liberal democracy is not anything anyone wants it to mean. It has long and profound traditions.
Kingdom of Heaven (2005): two very different films
This is Ridley Scott’s most significant film, deserving a re-evaluation after the disaster that was the studio edit.
‘As if’ is not ‘what is’
Thinking about complex matters in terms of simplified models and metaphors can be very helpful when it comes to dealing with intractable subjects, but if […]
Scott Morrison: the low road
Morrison represents the lowest road possible when it comes to leaders.
Typography reveals more than just words
The serif is a constant companion, a known quantity, a faithful servant of the words.
Fight Club (1999), 20 years later
Not the celebration of toxic masculinity and anarchic revolt often assumed.
How we trust ‘knowledge’
Personal experiences can lead us to invalidate even credible ‘knowledge’, and deference to other authorities can lead us to accept irrational ideas.
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (1979)
Arguably the best television adaptation of a novel, still, after more than 40 years.
In the news … December 2020
Commentary on the news in December 2020.
What does Nietzsche say to us today?
How I came back to Nietzsche after years of having struggled with his dense prose, ambiguity, and my confusion about his meanings is, as so […]