More questions

rparvaaz asked:

1. What do you think about religion?

I'm an atheist. At least in the sense that I do not believe in a god or gods who take an active interest in whether their worshippers are homosexual or eat lobster or even kill each other in various horrid ways. If there is some metaphysical 'first cause' or whatever then I'm sure it will be profoundly uninterested in me singing its praises. I find it surprising that people find some comfort in neolithic goat herder superstitions but evidently they do. Fair enough. Just don't use them as an excuse to ban me from eating lobster or for perpetuating AIDS in sub Saharan Africa. k thx.

2. Do you have any 'guilty pleasure' books?

Yes, apart from the pr0n stash of course, I compulsively reread books about Stalingrad and the detailed design of various kinds of WW2 weaponry.

3. What is your level of interest, if any, in India?

I'm quite interested in an abstract, intellectual way. The history is fascinating. I'm not drawn to the 'exotic' side in the way the lemur is for example. I suspect that were I to visit I would be rather horrified.

4. Has life been as you expected it to be, or did it happen while you were busy making plans?

Certainly not as I expected but then I always had a hard time imagining life past about 35. I think I really, really expected to die young. I think things sort of happened without me either planning or not planning them.

5. Why do you read my journal? Not complaining, but am curious as I would have judged most of it as 'too frivolous for you'. :)

We all have a frivolous side. I read you mostly for the occasional insights into a number of Indian and international affairs I wouldn't see from anyone else. Your comments on the history of the independence movements in India are especially interesting. What is the Indian equivalent of "Fenian bastard"? Just kidding!

Yet another interview

From f4f3

1. I really need some new music to listen to (sorry guys, but Duke Special ain't cutting it). Who would you recommend?

Have you tried The Mrs Ackroyd Band? Almost anything by Shostakovich is good value. I particularly like the quartets and some of the piano pieces.

2. I think my holidays are more or less spoken for this year, but if I could sneak in another week, where should it be?

Do you know Cornwall at all? The far west (west of Penzance) is interesting though best avoided during anything close to school holidays.

3. Are you more or less radical than you were when you were 20? (answer referring to no more than 3 late period Billy Bragg songs)

That's a good question. In the sense that I no longer have much faith in the proletarian revolution and am much more sceptical about the role of government, one would have to say less radical. I've left my "Red Flag" phase (as I suspect Mr. Bragg has too, though not perhaps comrade Gaughan). I'm still deeply rooted in the tradition of English radicalism which, rightly or wrongly, traces a descent back to at least the Levellers so "The World Turned Upside Down Still" resonates. Ultimately, I'm an optimist about ordinary people and a believer that their collective wisdom trumps that of those who think they are born to rule. "Between the Wars".

4. Do you think of yourself as English, Canadian, Lancastrian - whatever?

Yes. Whatever. Identity is a strange thing. It only gets stranger when one moves around.

5. And in the same vein, and since I'm less brave than rparvaaz, how do you perceive you?

How do I perceive me? An overachieving underachiever. I've done some amazing things that other people have profited from. I've never been able to parlay it into anything of lasting use to myself; whether material or emotional. I also identify as a cat lover.

The wisdom of the f-list

The windchill is forecast to go to -35 tonight. Both of us have to go out this evening. This raises the key question of who gets to wear the Barney coat.

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