Nice old map of Poland before the Partitions here.
Blog
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Categorical imperative
In the current New York Review, Ronald Dworkin suggests more teaching of philosophy in schools, saying:
People who can master the intricacies of peer-to-peer file-sharing through the Internet should have no trouble with the Categorical Imperative.
You can decide for yourself at the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
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Welsh national anthem
Paul Flynn provides illustrations for a phonetic version of the Welsh national anthem:
My hen laid a haddock, one hand oiled a flea,
Glad farts and centurions threw dogs in the sea,
I could stew a hare here and brandish Dan’s flan,
Don’s ruddy bog’s blocked up with sand.Dad ! Dad! Why don’t you oil Auntie Glad ?
Can whores appear in beer bottle pies,
O butter the hens as they fly !And here (mp3) is the real thing.
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Sarkozy vs. Inheritance Tax
Le Monde reports that Nicolas Sarkozy, llike Steven Byers, would like to be rid of inheritance tax.
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Reaction effect
A relaxing, beautiful and unwinnable flash game: try and get a chain reaction going.
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Er, that looks almost exactly like a…
Which corporate logo looks most like a penis? B3TA decides.
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Plan Amsterdam
Route finding maps of Amsterdam, by car, bike or foot, at Routecraft.
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Dracula in Bath
David Suchet films a scene for the new Dracula on Abbey Green.
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Travel notes: Bath (1)
Unhealthy delights in Bath, with an excellent cream tea at the Courtyard, off Church Street, and then 100g of mint humbugs from the excellent sweet shop next door.
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Uitmarkt 2006
In Amsterdam for Uitmarkt 2006 – the sort of open-access culture that Amsterdam does really well. It’s a three-day preview of the year’s forthcoming events, from classical music, through books to theatre. We had a great time at the singalong event for the year’s forthcoming musicals – a mix of Anglo and Dutch stuff ranging from Annie to a musical apparently about the Dutch navy (it wasn’t clear, but Dutch flags were a big feature).
One of the forthcoming Dutch musicals was called “Wat Zien Ik?” (What do I see?), which I remember only for its rather catchy number “Het Café van Bet”. It’s about a hooker’s life in the red light district of Amsterdam, but the musical turns out to be an adaptation of a play by Albert Mol. It was turned into a 1971 film (English title: Business is Business), directed by a young Paul Verhoeven, who later went on to direct Showgirls, Basic Instinct and RoboCop.