September 2013 – Quaerentia

The humiliation of incarnation… Iain Banks somehow, surprisingly, gets it… sort of

Post author:quaesitor
Post published:30th September 2013
Post comments:5 Comments

Iain Banks (known as Iain M Banks when he’s writing science fiction) had the most extraordinarily fertile imagination. It was one of the reasons his books have been so loved and respected. His last SF book before he died of cancer in June at only 59 was The Hydrogen Sonata, in his Culture series. I’d not read any of his books before but was very struck by the way people talked about him over the summer, and so decided to make amends. Well, I certainly dived into the deep end.

(more…)

Double-entendres: the problem with symbolic shortcuts

Post author:quaesitor
Post published:23rd September 2013
Post comments:1 Comment

This is not a particularly profound post (which, incidentally, is not to claim that regular posts on Q are either), but having just finished Sarah Lyall’s rather delightful (if affectionately acerbic) The Anglo-Files: A Field Guide to the British, I came across this amusing story from the Blair landslide of 1997 at which a record number of women (very patronisingly described at the time as Blair’s babes) were elected to Parliament. (more…)

The perils of drink – but it’s not quite what you think

Post author:quaesitor
Post published:20th September 2013
Post comments:0 Comments

It’s Friday, and so that would normally call for some Friday fun. Well, this post more or less qualifiesasa bit of fun, but it’s also a bit of seriousness too. So I’ll let it stand on its own merits. Here is a very helpful and salutary public health warning from the great nineteenth century social reformer and polemicist William Cobbett. It has much to teach us. As I’m sure you’ll agree… (more…)

Countdown to Dallas 1963: the inside story of a Sophoclean tragedy

Post author:quaesitor
Post published:13th September 2013
Post comments:2 Comments

This is a great year for conspiracists – from the 50th anniversary of the assassination of President Kennedy to the constant dribble (and occasional torrent) of government surveillance revelations. It’s all happening. So i’ve been trying to get my head around the whole Kennedy thing. A few years back, I read the seminal bio by Robert Dallek, An Unfinished Life, which is the best place to start (beautifully written, brilliant insights). But have just finished Thurston Clarke’s JFK’s Last Hundred Days which is a week by week account of those final months of his life and presidency. Tragedy is a word much diluted by overuse and misuse – (more…)

Why getting popcultured is no bad thing: thoughts on Steve Turner’s latest

Post author:quaesitor
Post published:6th September 2013
Post comments:1 Comment

Regular Q readers will know that matters pop-cultural are regularly considered here. And one of my favourite books of recent years on any subject is the brilliant Popologetics by my friend Ted Turnau. But regulars will also know that I am a fan of Steve Turner’s books, not least because he has a great way with words (I only wish he’d apply that to poetry again!) and has unrivalled experience in writing about the world of popular culture from a deeply theological perspective. So I was very excited by the arrival of his latest: Popcultured. (more…)