Author Archives: dgm

Over the past twelve or so months my obsessions have changed, it used to be classical and early modern history as can be seen in the Sighelm obsession, but more recently I’ve returned to an earlier interest, that of the … Continue reading →

Following on from my post six months ago about getting around Bangkok come news that  there’s now a plan to have integrated ticketing in Bangkok by 2015 Bangkok Post : Get a ticket to ride everywhere. If it all goes to … Continue reading →

The last few years we’ve hosted a Christmas party for friends and relations on Christmas Eve and then gone to some other family gathering for Christmas lunch. This year was different, with Christmas falling on a Sunday and also being … Continue reading →

It’s nearly Christmas, and I can’t resist being a grump, put it down to my calvinist upbringing which has left me thinking that Cromwell was a dangerous liberal when it came to Christmas festivities. There’s a meme out there that … Continue reading →

Russian is a beautifully constructed language, with simple near phonetic spelling and a logical grammar – yes there are exceptions and a whole swag of rules, but it’s simple – six cases, three genders, three tenses, the past and future … Continue reading →

Last month I was at a meeting in the University of Maryland Library, and for some reason, the meeting room was absolutely freezing, so during a coffee break I took a walk round the shelves to try and warm up. … Continue reading →

In Evanston  (Illinois, greater Chicago, basically NorthWestern University and the Lake) for a project Bamboo meeting. Like all my visits to the States the whole experience is slightly weird and disorienting. If Australia is Life on Mars, America is most … Continue reading →

Now we all know about the Pre Raphelites – mad sex crazed 1860’s loons who were instrumental in creating a lot of the faux medieval of the Victorian era. They were also damn good artists as the current exhibition of … Continue reading →

work bookshelves, a photo by moncur_d on Flickr. I’m about to move offices so I though I’d memorialize my own little bit of bookshelf porn – amazingly they’re (relatively) tidy and organised …

I’d like to recommend the New Mandala blog for its coverage of politics in South East Asia – its coverage of the Thai election has been superb. As to the election itself, we now have a result, with a landslide … Continue reading →