Wise Talk

2008 is the Year Of The Rat . Notable Rats include Prince Charles and the Rapper Eminem. Princess Diana was a cow, or perhaps I should say an Ox, since I’m one as well. Curiously, rats and oxen are supposed to get on well. The Rat is the first sign in the Chinese Zodiac and [...]

Today is Friday the 13th. This morning I learnt that Kurt Vonnegut, who came up with the title above, is dead. There is an obituary of sorts in the New York Times. It mentions his most famous novel, Slaughterhouse Five, but glosses over the fact the book is about killing - British and American [...]

As the man who ran the man who organised the destruction of cities across Europe during World War II put it, “democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried.” Considering that he also said that “the best argument against democracy is a five minute conversation with the average [...]

Last night I found myself on Hiroshima FM radio with my wife, Hideko. We had been invited to be on Vibe On Music. They have an interview slot which features local people. Initially the focus was to be on Hideko and what she did. Before the program they telephone interviewed her for around 50 [...]