Author Archives: odeboyz

The Changing Meaning of Statues: Actual and Potential

Posted on April 1, 2021 by odeboyz

“The extent of his [Edward Colston] charity was immense, exceptional and nationally recognised. When his portrait was published in London a year after his death in 1721, the engraved description described him as “the brightest Example of Christian Liberality that … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Philosophy, Politics | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Big Brother: 2021 Version

Posted on March 29, 2021 by odeboyz
Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Film Review: One Night In Miami (AmazonPrime) (2020)

Posted on March 29, 2021 by odeboyz

On 25th February 1964* Cassius Clay met three friends in a hotel room. He’d just become World Champion and was immediately recognised as an all time ‘Great’. Sam Cooke was a superstar singer and black businessman. Jim Brown was a … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Joe and the Three Legged Chicken

Posted on March 25, 2021 by odeboyz

Joe was driving and noticed a chicken keeping pace with him. Just then the chicken accelerated using all three legs. Joe followed the chicken down the lane into a barnyard. ‘Did you see a chicken running really fast?’ he asked … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Winston Churchill’s Political Apprenticeship

Posted on March 25, 2021 by odeboyz

As a Cabinet Minister he had three outstanding qualities: he worked hard, he carried his proposals through Cabinet and Parliament, and he carried his department with him.1 Winston Churchill was Britain’s greatest prime minister. He was a mature politician when … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Politics, War | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Ethnic Food

Posted on March 22, 2021 by odeboyz
Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Film Review: The Apartment ~ Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine (1960)

Posted on March 22, 2021 by odeboyz

Billy Wilder, the director, cast a satirical eye over the sleaze and corruption of office work in New York. In the hands of another director it could have been very dark. The fundamental misogyny of American life at that time … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Getting a job in an Estate Agency*

Posted on March 18, 2021 by odeboyz

When applying for a job as an estate agent, the interviewer worried that my CV was a bit small. I said actually it’s really cosy and I was immediately hired. * Estate agent = real estate in US Alex Kealy … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Michael Gove and the Politics of School Uniform

Posted on March 18, 2021 by odeboyz

We will support schools to introduce traditional blazer-and-tie uniforms, prefects and house systems.1 Michael Gove, parliamentary debate, 2010 Background Michael Gove, alumni of Robert Gordon College, Aberdeen, parades traditional values, which he claims to epitomise. He’s a Conservative cabinet minister. … Continue reading →

Posted in education, local politics, Politics, School | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Nazi SS Doctors and the CIA: post 1945

Posted on March 15, 2021 by odeboyz

“They [CIA doctors] did, however, benefit from the guidance of Camp King’s staff doctor, Walter Schreiber, the former surgeon general of the Nazi army, who had overseen research at concentration camps in which prisoners were frozen, injected with hallucinogens, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment