It was engrossing and entertaining.  However I can see why the Iranians would be pissed off with the portrayal of the Persians.  I know the Spartans regarded the Persians as decadent, and so maybe certain things were put in to make them look that way to a modern audience, plus the Spartans’ intolerance for physical deformity had to be contrasted ( Read more... )

Rugby

What a dreadful weekend to be supporting England & Scotland.

Gym

I’ve joined the gym.  It’s one I used to belong to some years ago, but under new (and clearly improved) management.  On Saturday I decided to try a class that I remembered as being quite good; but forgot that that was when I was doing ta-kwon-do.  I am still barely able to use ( Read more... )

Discuss

This article from The Register amused be greatly, as a taster, here’s their first tip:

Leave your reason at the door. You must NOT have any form of conventional logic in your flame. If you're thinking then you're not writing a flame. This is possibly the hardest aspect of producing a flame and that is why we start with it. Unless you are ( Read more... )

http://www.forteantimes.com/uncon2006/index.html

I'm thinking of going on Sunday - I've heard good things about the speaker on Angles & Faries.

My friend smoke_rising has put out the following request, and I thought I'd pass it on, in case you know of anyone ( Read more... )

This Saturday, from 2-4 in Trafalgar Square is a rally in favour of freedom of expression. It’s about freedom for everyone to speak without the fear of violence. http://marchforfreeexpression.blogspot.com

I think the news items below explain best why I feel I need to go:

Dutch film maker Theo van Gogh has been stabbed and shot dead in ( Read more... )

The Legislative and Regulatory Reform Bill is being put forward by the government on the basis that it will allow the government to cut red-tape for businesses more quickly and efficiently. But it’s worded so that it will allow the government to make and change the law all by itself, by-passing Parliament completely ( Read more... )

“what escapes most commentators is that both Muslim and Christian views on Darwinism are a recent product of the attack on scientific certainty in the West….It is the argument between the proponents of science and its cultural relativist critics in the UK and the USA that should be our real target. Standing up for science now means being prepared ( Read more... )

The hard arguments about vivisection
Some scientists advocate experiments on animals while simultaneously apologising for them; bad move.
At a time when animal experiments are widely criticised, it is no surprise that their defenders emphasise these experiments' clinical benefit. However, this argument fails to defend basic scientific research and to ( Read more... )