Month: February 2014

In its day the Club of Rome was a very influential book.  I was around in its day and bought a copy.  The woman I was later to marry bought a copy too, so for many years we had two copies.  It seemed particularly inappropriate given that one of its messages was that we are using resources too prolifically.  It is hard to imagine how big an impact it had nowadays.  After Silent Spring I would say it was the book that did most to create the environmental movement.  

I am working through the chapters of Gibbon’s Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire translating the majestic sweep of the original narrative into modern English. There are times when this gets tough, and this is one of them. Gibbon is a great writer and this is one of his greatest sections. I will do my best, but please bear with me here. Right, on with the story.

“Nobody listens to me round here.  I feel like a Leonard Cohen record.” – Neil, The Young Ones

Faced with a time consuming and not particularly brain consuming task at my computer the other day, I threw out a request to my Twitter chums.  I’d listen to the first album somebody suggested.  The suggestion that came back was Leonard Cohen Live At London.