It has been a hot, exciting month for those who get a thrill out of sex and punishment – that is, it seems, much of the British public and almost all of its media. There may have been natural disasters, we might be living through a period of economic meltdown, an election may be on… Continue reading Sex obsession and primness: welcome to the new Britain
Read moreHow the audience laughed at Islington’s King’s Head Theatre on Monday when, as part of an evening of politically incorrect music called Taboo-Be-Do!, the singer Victoria Hart delivered a heart-tugging little number from 1928 in praise of a woman’s domestic drudgery. The song “When I Am Housekeeping For You” came from the dark ages of… Continue reading You can never discount the past
Read moreAs the world gets progressively madder, it seems only right and proper that psychiatry is forever updating its list of hang-ups available to us all. This week, with the excitement of a fashion designer launching a new spring collection, American psychiatrists have unveiled what they call “the next generation of mental disorders”. The list, which… Continue reading ‘Disorders’ for the next generation
Read moreSometimes politics writes its own jokes. This week’s news, for example, that Pauline Hanson, who built her political career in Australia on a virulent anti-immigration policy, is herself to migrate to England would seem to belong to the world of satire. Her announcement that she is moving to this country in search of “peace and… Continue reading A big, multicultural welcome to a new immigrant
Read moreIn the very funny American TV series Glee, one adult teacher of teenagers encourages another to be brutal to his charges. “They’re children,” she says. “They need to be treated rough.” It is a good line because these days the slightest hint of teacherly roughness towards pupils is unthinkable. Indeed, to judge by recent events,… Continue reading What children want, they must have
Read moreOne of life’s small treats is to see a philosopher being made to look slightly foolish. When the public pratfall involves a smooth, high-profile French philosopher, the pleasure is particularly acute. Bernard-Henri Lévy is a philosophe engagé who takes himself very seriously. Known in the French media simply as BHL, he can be relied… Continue reading Un philosophe engagé – dans la merde
Read moreThere is no fool quite like an English fool. In American films, the fool, usually played by Ben Stiller or Steve Martin, is essentially an ordinary person having a bad day. The French fool, from M Hulot onwards, has a disconcerting tug of social satire to him. Only the English fool, surely, is defined not… Continue reading Upper-class twits whose time has gone
Read moreThere are many practical advantages to government by panic, as our politicians have recently discovered. Fear is an excellent way to cut through awkward questions. In a pessimistic, timorous world, emotion beats reason into a cocked hat. Right now, government by panic is propelling a series of appalling planning decisions in the name of energy… Continue reading A land despoiled by pylons
Read moreAs a headline, “Journalist murdered in Mexico” is unlikely to set the pulse racing. Even a subhead reading “Government and police not particularly interested” would have most of us wearily turning to the home page for the latest news from Celebrity Big Brother. Extraordinarily, we are living in an age in which censorship through murder… Continue reading These reporters risking their lives deserve our respect
Read moreBefore long there will probably be a Rufus Wainwright song about his mother, the great – and now late – Kate McGarrigle. Rufus’s sister, Martha, might soon be working on a musical tribute, too. There could be something from Kate’s sister, Anna, with whom she sang down the years. A different perspective, more hard-eyed and… Continue reading A musical dynasty true to its art
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