Sillygism

Forests are large collections of trees All trees have barks Forests are very noisy places

26 March 2018 1

Halfpenny thought no.1- stock markets

Whenever the stock markets slump, the news is always full of expressions like these ones I have collected: "Apple fails yet again, $123B vanishes." "Investors’ billions vanish as NSE returns worst performance in four years." "Bad Year for Japan Banks as $95 Billion of Value Vanishes." If money vanishes, then the opposite... Continue Reading →

15 November 2016 0

The Poetry of Google Translate

And the long road ahead, I go to bed And the long road ahead, I go to bed Google Translate is amazing when it works. Unfortunately, it only works about half of the time. Even more unfortunately, unless you already know the languages you are trying to translate, there is no way of knowing... Continue Reading →

2 November 2015 2

Zen and the Art of Taxation

Zen Buddhism has a number of koans, the most famous of which is “What is the sound of one hand clapping?” Reflect long enough upon riddles like these and you may reach enlightenment, it is suggested. I would think that the same effect could be attained by meditating on section 509 (a) of the US... Continue Reading →

12 September 2015 0

Signs for Pause

I read a lot and when I don't have a book, I find it hard to avoid reading any of the signs and labels in my vicinity. Sometimes I come across one which makes me pause. Here are a few examples Dementia Bar I spent a couple of nights in a room on the 3rd floor just... Continue Reading →

22 October 2012 0

Reciprocating Soup – The Tantalising Cuisine of Google Translate

The last time I went to Istanbul I had supper at Çiya Sofrasi, a restaurant which is by now famous (a long article about it appeared in the New Yorker and it has also been mentioned by the New York Times). It serves traditional food from distant Turkish provinces which is so different from the standard fare of Istanbul that the... Continue Reading →

1 October 2012 2

Pop-tarts and Gutisk

One of the most attractive things about Wikipedia is its magmatic nature. Here is Nicholson Baker discussing the vicissitudes of just one of its pages: The Pop-Tarts page is often aflutter. Pop-Tarts, it says as of today (February 8, 2008), were discontinued in Australia in 2005. Maybe that’s true. Before that it said that Pop-Tarts... Continue Reading →

16 January 2011 1

The many ways a minaret might be

T(This is a post from 2010). The other day I came across an article in Le Monde about the political situation in Vorarlberg, a region of Austria. Together with Carinthia, Vorarlberg has adopted a law to prevent buildings being erected which aren't "ortsüblich". The best way I have found to render ortsüblich in this case... Continue Reading →

28 March 2010 0

Ounce Dice Trice

For some time now New York Review Books has been re-publishing books which have been out of print for a while. This seems to me to be an excellent idea. In fact, it might be good to have a one week moratorium on new books once a year, call it Reprint Week, and dedicate it solely to old books which have been... Continue Reading →

11 January 2010 1

Thirty-seven ways of looking at a dervish

A secret turning in us makes the universe turn. Head unaware of feet, and feet head. Neither cares. They keep turning. - Rumi As everybody knows, the Mevlevi are an order of dervishes founded in Konya in the 12th Century by the followers of the great mystical poet Rumi and who are best known for... Continue Reading →

8 August 2009 0

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Sillygism

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Halfpenny thought no.1- stock markets

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The Poetry of Google Translate

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Zen and the Art of Taxation

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Signs for Pause

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Reciprocating Soup – The Tantalising Cuisine of Google Translate

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Pop-tarts and Gutisk

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The many ways a minaret might be

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Ounce Dice Trice

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Thirty-seven ways of looking at a dervish

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GW

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