Notices by Nicholas Whyte (nwhyte@wandering.shop)

Oscar-winning films from worst to best (in my humble opinion), apart from Oppenheimer which I haven’t seen yet.

(If I remember to do two every day, I’ll get through them all before the ceremony.)

95) Platoon (1986)

Depressingly violent. I felt no empathy with any of the protagonists at any stage. There is no named female character. And Barber’s *bloody* Adagio for Strings, all the *bloody* time.

https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/platoon/

In general I disapprove of point-and-laugh mockery posts, but this one is particularly bizarre.

“I laughed at my sister’s Tragedeigh and now I’m uninvited to the baby shower I’m planning”

https://www.reddit.com/r/BestofRedditorUpdates/s/6uv7nDGE6E

A fantastic use of time - visiting Mithras sanctuaries in Europe and beyond. I fully approve.

https://religioacademici.wordpress.com/2024/12/23/visiting-mithras-sanctuaries-in-europe-and-beyond/

Can American Abandonment Help Europe?

Nathalie Tocci and colleagues making a virtue of what may be necessity.

https://www.foreignaffairs.com/united-states/can-american-abandonment-help-europe

Carne Ross on how to become independent:

1) The international system hates new states.
2) You only become independent by pushing for it yourself.
3) International law doesn't matter much.
4) The state that matters most is the one you are leaving.
5) Never give up.
6) The international community's commitments don’t matter much.
7) The United States is crucial.
8) The threat of violence is effective.

(Please read the piece before commenting here.)

https://carneross.substack.com/p/how-to-make-a-state

A lovely story from @davidallengreen David Allen Green about finding something you loved as a child, forty years on with the help of the internet.

Also about just how crap it is to post an AI-generated reply when you have not checked its accuracy.

https://davidallengreen.com/2024/12/twelfth-night-till-candlemas-the-story-of-a-forty-year-book-quest-and-of-its-remarkable-ending/

43 years today since Blake’s 7 ended with (spoiler) the entire regular cast being mown down by the bad guys, surely one of the bleakest endings to a classic sf TV series ever.

And it's done in style; has Blake gone over to the dark side? We find out that he hasn't; Avon doesn't find out in time, and takes his vengeance for a destroyed idealism. And then they all die. Even knowing it was coming when I watched it again a few years back, I was stunned by the drama of the climax. Classic stuff.

Profile of Alan Garner at 90.

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2024/dec/14/we-shared-a-quick-sense-of-humor-novelist-alan-garner-on-alan-turing-and-experiencing-time-slips-in-the-pennines

Lovely piece from a year ago about getting elected to a seat on a rural English local council.

https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-politics/2023/12/a-bluffers-guide-to-rural-politics

Under-reported horror - a football crush on 1 Dec in Nzérékoré, Guinea - official reports say 56 died, NGOs say 135, and my sources say 300.

Made worse by security forces’ use of tear-gas, and running people over while evacuating government ministers.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cj49d0wzp2wo

George R.R. Martin’s obituary for Trent Zelazny.

https://georgerrmartin.com/notablog/2024/12/07/r-i-p-trent/

Irish voters went to the polls on November 29, delivering results reflecting continuity and transformation. While the traditional ruling parties, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, maintained their grip on power, Sinn Féin's momentum faltered, and the far-right surge many anticipated never materialized.

Read my complete analysis here: https://apcoworldwide.com/blog/the-2024-irish-election/

Your IKEA product name is your name spelled backwards with an umlaut.

I am ETŸHW, a rather spiky bookend.

The best known books set in each country: South Korea
The Vegetarian, by Han Kang
https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/the-best-known-books-set-in-each-country-south-korea/
#Uncategorized #TopBooksInEachCountry #WorldSouthKorea

Doctor Who and Humanitarian Interventions – How a Time Lord foreshadows the Responsibility to Protect

https://opiniojuris.org/2024/10/30/fourth-annual-symposium-on-pop-culture-and-international-law-doctor-who-and-humanitarian-interventions-how-a-time-lord-foreshadows-the-responsibility-to-protect/

I see that the man who painted over children's cartoons in order to boost his chance of becoming leader of the opposition now demands that Britain's former colonies show gratitude for having 'Christian values' imposed on them. (Not linking to the Mail, find it if you want.)

A nice piece about anchovies and history.

https://engelsbergideas.com/reviews/a-little-history-of-the-anchovy/

Before 1689, only three kings of England had set foot in Ireland during their reign. Can you name then?

“Claw” doesn’t rhyme with “four”.