Recent Reading

I have just started a new book - 'Dead Souls' by Gogol. For some reason all Russian authors (and I seem to read a lot of them) give their books deeply depressing titles which can be quite off putting since the novels themselves are often gems. The back of my penguin edition of 'Dead Souls' includes the following comment about Gogol:

'Over the next ten years, many of them spent travelling in Europe, Gogol's obsession (with the novel) intensified, eventually driving him to madness, religious mania and death.... it raises the fundamental question of an author's involvement in his work, of how far a creative artist's outlook on life can impinge on the lives of his heroes without leading, as in Gogol's case, to insanity and suicide'

I thought I should mention the other books I have been reading since Christmas. All follow the Russian theme...

1. Dostoyevsky - Crime and Punishment -
This is the best Dostoyevsky I have read - It really keeps you turning the pages and is a cogent and detailed examination of the human conscience, its effect on life and its Theological connections. This is a good place to start on Dostoyevsky.

2. Dostoyevsky - The Brothers Karamazov -
Like Crime and Punishment this uses a moral dilemma to expose Dostoyevsky's take on the human (and in particular the Russian) condition. It does so through the prism of a group of brothers embroiled in a dispute with their father. I rate this novel to be almost as profound as Crime and Punishment - there is something very raw about Dostoyevsky's storytelling which I find most gripping. He is obsessed with the idea that the Russian People stumble when they loose sight of God.

3. Dostoyevsky - The Devils
I have just finished this one, so can remember a little more... Like the others it starts slowly. For about a third of the novel it is a real struggle to keep reading as he takes a long time building the characters before anything significant happens. However, by now I have come to realize that it is always worth it in the end because when major events do take place one understands them far better having established a relationship with the characters. This novel was Dostoyevsky's last. Many of the events in it are based on his experiences - one of the main characters is an old style Russian novelist who is portrayed as prodigiously arrogant and snooty - this is a characterisation of Dostoyevsky's arch rival Turgenev. The events connected to the essential story in the novel - that of an underground communist cell and its effect on the narrator's town - is grounded on the activities of similar cells which were exposed in a Russian trial shortly before the novel was written. It is masterfully written, is seen by many as a prophesy of what was to come and is again an intriguing (though less focused and certainly less well structured) examination of Russian morality. Definitely worth a read.


4 - Dostoyevsky - The House of the Dead
I struggled a little with this one. It is Dostoyevsky's own account of his time in a Siberian Prison camp. It is fantastically detailed and gives an excellent picture of his experience. This is both its greatest asset and its biggest drawback. Let me warn you - it gets extremely monotonous! I understand that this is merely a reflection of the monotony of prison life, and the book should not be compared to the author's novels, but it seems to me that Solzheinitzyn had a much better idea in his (roughly) equivalent account of prison life - 'One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich'. As the title suggests, Solzehenitzyn just picked a day, and explained it in still greater detail than Dostoyevsky. By confining himself to one day, Solzhenizyn introduces a structure to the book which makes it easier to read as well as giving a sense of the minutely pre-ordained structure that exists for inmates - something which Dostoyevsky tries to explain but fails to convey owing to his habit of jumping from one little tale to another. Read 'The House of The Dead' for a detailed and thorough account of one man's experience in Siberia. Don't expect it to be gripping.

5. Dostoyevsky - Letters from the Underworld
Fabulous short stories with the same oomph which makes Dostoyevsky's novels so gripping. These are remarkably brutal and insightful examinations of life through Dostoyevsky's eyes. His great skill is in painting brutal pictures and leaving it to the reader to decipher and make moral judgments. Worth a read.

6. Tolstoy - Anna Karenin
A pleasant change for Dostoyevsky's brutal objectivism. This book is really fantastic. What I like most about it is the way in which Tolstoy so imagninatively builds up his characters such that the reader is variously infatuated or repelled by them. As the novel proceeded I saw glimmers of humanity in characters who I had grown to despise and cruelty in those I had felt at one with. Underlying it all is a search for the meaning of life and an experiment to determine whether the route taken by any of the characters would lead them to this meaning. At times deeply deeply depressing, the novel, like Dostoyvesky's, culminates by providing the main character with an understanding of the God he long sought.

7. Solzheinitzyn - The First Circle
This is a more modern take on the vast brooding examination of human nature that defines Russian literature. It revolves around a Stalinist prison for engineers and portrays the fear, despair and diminution experienced by those whose actions, words or thoughts were objected to by the Soviet regime. It is a historical text, a treatise on the human mind and a moving account of humanity in the teeth of a bureaucratic machine. Recommended.

8. Solzheinitsyn - One Day in the Life on Ivan Denisovitch
I have mentioned this already so wont ramble on too much - except to say that it trumps Dostoyevsky's equivalent by attempting only to provide us with a snapshot of life in a labour camp. The reader descends into a world in which prisoners spend hours thinking how they will hide bits of bread in their shirts; are de-humanized by absurd levels of discipline and regain their humanity and sense of purpose through the labour which they are forced to perform. If you haven't read it do so now!

Darkroom Rage

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
I have just spent an hour developing a film which had stacks of great photos on it, only to discover, upon removing the film from the developing tank, that the developer had gone off - thats about 3 months of photographs lost forever.

Bother.

Waiting

Sorry - havent posted much this week. I have spent the whole time preparing for an assessment day in London for the job I am hoping to get in York. Finally its over - was a rather strange experience - A written exam and two advocacy assessments, one of which was before a phenomenally hostile judge. So I hope I passed, but its very hard to tell. The next couple of weeks will be spent trying not to think about various results which come between now and 8th July and which will determine my medium term future...

And so to a weekend off! marvellous!

On the road

Marvellous - today I passed my driving test. 1st time too, though I have been learning for rather too long! I got 9 minors. Embarrasingly I couldnt find 5th gear on a dual carriageway - kept popping it into 3rd accidently. The examiner was very jolly about it though.

I am now at large in my mother's Ford Ka (aesthetically unconvincing) until I get my own beast. Any recommendations gratefully recieved...

Christianity and Human Rights

I cant resist a post on the lecture given at church by a (Christian) High Court Judge on the subject of Human Rights and Christianity. (email me for more). I should start by saying that he was an excellent speaker and put a strong case forward...

He argued that Human Rights and in particular the Human Rights Act were a dangerous humanist intervention into the legal system which created new 'foundational' laws contrary to the Christian Faith. He argued that they engendered a 'rights culture' which went against the message of the bible and contrasted with existing law by placing an emphasis on 'rights' rather than on 'duties'.

His premise was that Christians should seek to create a Christian framework of national laws - that is - that the secular world should be governed by laws based in Christianity. He based this on the ground that God gave His people laws in the old testament, these being laws which should govern all society because they were by their nature good.

I struggle a little with the idea that the Godless world should be governed by rules based on Christianity. Surely the motivation for abiding by a Christian code of morals is a love for and desire to be more like God. If that is so, is it right, is it indeed productive to seek to impose those values upon a society which rejects God?...

Also, I felt a little uncomfortable with his description of Human Rights as they stand currently in law. He suggested that they were not 'derived' rights in the way that tort and contract rights are. In my view they are derived (as opposed to 'fundamental') because

1. They were created and can be removed by Parliament
2. If they conflict with other laws all that Judges can do if they cannot interpret those laws compatibly with the Human Rights Convention is to issue a 'declaration of incompatibility' - which has no legal effect
3. They can be derogated from where the derogation is prescribed by law, necessary in a democratic society and has a legitimate aim.

Thus I consider them little different from, say, negligence. I think I gathered from the judge afterwards that he thought negligence was biblically sound - if that is so surely the basis for his argument on human rights is undermined?

His Honour's second basis for distinguishing between Human Rights and, say, negligence was that Human Rights focused on 'rights' rather than 'duties'. In my submission whilst he is right to say the emphasis was on rights, and that the public was more conscious of the rights, rather than the duties; nonetheless duties exist -public authorities have duties corresponding to the 'rights' of the individual. Thus there is little difference between 'Human Rights' (which involve rights and duties) and, say, negligence (which involves rights and duties)....

Any thoughts?....

Head in the Clouds

I took this at Covent Garden in January. It encapsulates my attitude to London for the first few months I was there (or perhaps I should say half there..) Its a poster of Bryn Terfel, the opera singer, in his native Snowdonia. The poster is up outside the Royal Opera House and you can see Bow Street reflected in the sky, blending into the mountain. (Film: Ilford Delta 3200)
 

Comments

Dowland just alerted me to a difficulty in posting comments on this blog. I have now rectified it - anonymous comments are accepted.

Ridiculous Radio 4

Another ridiculous statement by a radio 4 commentator. This time they were discussing the proposal to allow religious references in civil marriages. One of the interviewees said that 'Amazing Grace' had only a 'passing reference to religion'!!!

Kingsgate Bridge - Ink Drawing

Jackson - proven innocent?

Michael Jackson has been found not guilty on all counts, Radio 4 told me. However, they had a commentator on who kept saying he had been 'proved innocent' - this is nonsense! He hasnt been 'proved innocent', rather, he has not been proved guilty - there is a difference! The Prosecution have the burden of proof in a trial - it is them trying to prove the defendant's guillt. All the defence do is try to stop the prosecution proving guilt. If a defendant is acquitted this does not mean he is proven innocent.

Right, got that off my chest...

Miller and Tod on Ilkley Moor

Sorry about the white line - thats the scanner. This is part of a host of new photos I have done in the darkroom and which will appear on Gav's website soon

Leaden Sky

Are we fundamentalists?

Back to that fundamentalism debate I had on Thursday. It ran as follows:

Argument 1:
The word 'fundamentalist Christian' is seen by the public at large as referring to a small group of people who believe that it is ok to kill non-believers. As a result it is inadvisable for a Christian to describe themselves as fundamentalist. Since we are called to love our enemy it is clearly wrong to kill them. Thus someone who thinks that we should kill them is not truly a Christian. Whatever we think personally of the word 'fundamentalist' it is not appropriate to use it to describe ourselves if we are a Christian.

Argument 2:
Fundamentalism is an intrinsic part of Christianity - I am a fundamentalist because I believe in absolute black and white truths which can never be taken away from. Liberal secular society objects to fundamentalism because that society allows people to believe anything so long as they don't profess to absolute truths which affect others. It is right for a Christian to allow themselves to be called a fundamentalist because, to quote Paisley 'a fundamentalist is someone whose only foundation is Jesus Christ'. By adopting the word 'fundamentalist' we are challenging non-Christians and bringing truths to their attention.(By the way I have mentioned Paisley quite a lot recently - I don't necessarily think he is always spot on, but he takes strong lines on things so is at least a useful provocateur)

Argument 3: Its enough for us to call ourselves Christians. We don't need to ally ourselves to any other words...

Which is it?

Dogma

Gentle reader

I was well up for some serious hard work this weekend but for some reason I cant muster the requisite passion. Hopefully it will come tomorrow because my deadline is Friday.

Today I was walking down a path from church and there were a couple of monkeys who had parked their cars blocking it. This annoyed me. I got home, picked up a hammer (which I needed to bash some nails into the bottom of the cross in church so it stood up). The aforementioned monkeys shot off like a bullet when they saw me. I don't think they were expecting me to come back weilding a hammer. This was all quite amusing, and (I should add) pleasantly legal (I had a 'reasonable excuse')

A Blatant Plug

I heartily recommend my brother's short stories which can be found here. Some of these stories are included in his book 'The Calling of the Ocean and Other Stories' which he is selling to raise money for his work with Latin Link in Peru this summer. If anyone wants a copy (£4) let me know!

Dissappearing website

My sidebar has dissappeared. If anyone spots it let me know

All hands to the deck

Today I picked up my final assessment papers which have to be handed in next Friday. I have loads of time but feel an urge to press on and get writing. As such there will be a few days of reduced blogging!

A Concrete Bollard

Today was full of stuff. It was mainly spent in Court 5 of the Royal Courts of Justice, watching Criminal Appeals. I will fill you in tommorow

A couple of interesting things: I was waiting for Jon Cox outside the house of commons and found myself sitting on a concrete bollard next to Robin Cook. I probably should have engaged him in a debate, but I couldnt muster the will to talk about anything, so we just sat on our own for a few minutes. Surreal!

Discussion with Jon over dinner revolved around the old chestnut of fundamentalism. Am I a fundamentalist?.. Is sin really relational?... Should I pray for a majority of politicians to be Christians?.. Can Muslims and Christians co-exist in modern Britain?... Questions Questions

I'll have more to say tommorow
Oh, I got through my interview for job next year - next stage is assessment day in a couple of weeks.

Ian Paisley and the Pigeons.

Today has been a long wind up to a pupillage interview in London. I think the interview went well - they asked me interesting questions and I felt I at least had a chance to get my teeth into it.

I have really got into sermonaudio.com which is a brilliant and huge database of sermons on mp3. On the way I listened to '5 Steps To Genuine Revival' by Ian Paisley. This was a superb sermon - having only come across Paisley in a political context, I wasn't aware of what a brilliant preacher he is - good old fashioned style.

Tozer, whom I listened to on the way back, is not such an obviously powerfully advocate, but his sermon 'What Is It To Accept Jesus?' was also fabulous - looking at the danger of the word 'acceptance' being taken as passive.

I am also a BIG fan of Ben Medlock's music page. The first track is my favourite - this is really superb stuff.

A pigeon hit the train whilst Ian Paisley was on. Lots of feathers flew about.

Number of taxis in London?

My interview today went pretty well. It was probably the least cryptic of all the interviews I have ever had. The only mysterious question was "How many taxis are there in London?" I wont tell you my answer until you have all guessed though (they told me after I got it hideously wrong). I wonder what significance can be drawn from the answer to such a question.

I seem to give all my copy to trains at the moment, so I wont release my wrath today, except to say that as a result of signal faliures at Woking, the whole network was an enourmous disaster and despite leaving myself half an hour in case of delays, I was still three quarters of an hour late for my interview. Why on earth the station manager told us at 10.05 that the train due to appear at Farnborough 9.31 would arrive at 9.34 I will never know... Perhaps his watch was working backwards today.

Sign spotted by driving instructor outside Church in Aldershot:
'Donate an Organ: Give your Heart to Jesus'

Rose Tinted What?

What do you mean 'rose tinted lens'?!

Also check out the photos I have just inserted below, from visit to Durham last week.

How to stop a train

OK someday I will have a normal, uneventful journey somewhere, but it hasn't happened yet.

Today I got to Waterloo, and was 10 minutes into walking to college, half way across the bridge, when I suddenly went cold and stopped. I had left my glasses on the train. I stopped and realised that I had to sprint back like a mongoose to stop the train leaving.

Having pegged it to Waterloo I asked official #1 which platform the train was on. I shot to the platform he indicated and searched the far carriage carefully. No sign.

Official #2 told me to go to the station reception, which is inconveniently outside the station. I went there and official #3 told me another platform. I went to this platform and realised immediately that the train there wasn't the one I had come on. official number 4 agreed that it was blue and not white. He hadn't seen my glasses. Return to official #2 who told me to go to another platform. Official #5 on that platform showed me an empty box and shrugged his shoulders. Back to official #3 at the station reception. Suitably pleased that I had worn myself out and was therefore genuine, he fiddled about, decided that the train had left for Alton, and promised to telephone the conductor and tell him to search the carriage.

Crestfallen and in despair, I walked out of the station. Half way to college I suddenly stopped, checked my shirt pocket in which my glasses sat, unaware that they had shortened my life.

Re:turn2Selph

Recent observations:

A conversation I overheard in North London today: Two women were discussing whether another woman would allow 'Tracey' to stay in her house (presumably on holiday or something). It ran as follows:

A: 'Sheila said she didnt know she could ave Tracey'
B: 'She said WHAT?'
A: 'She said she didnt know she could ave er'
B: 'What does that mean like?'
A: 'It means like that she doesnt want er in er house'
B: 'Ow does it mean that....she doesnt know she could have... oh I dunno'
A: 'I take it as like she ates Tracey's guts'

There followed an almighty shouting match. I retired to the next carriage to read my book. Later on a 20 something sat on the seat opposite me, chatting on his mobile phone. He was summing up his life as follows "I get bored stiff at work then come home and stare at the four walls".

Travelling by car with the Farewells is a most excellent experience. They seem to know what each other is thinking and can communicate in a strange etherial language which involves making words out of the last three letters in passing licence plates.

Tommorow I am going into london later for a lecture by a Circuit Judge. On Tuesday I have a rather crucial interview for the job I want next year.

The title of this post is taken from Dave O'Connor's debut album, which will be available shortly.

White House action

Here are a couple of photos from my stay at the White house. They were all done on Miller's camera. Check out her blog for more.


Eve and Dave dress as shopping bags... at least it keeps them off the streets.


A spot of babbers

Wednesday - Friday

Some interesting discussions today surrounding the following questions:
1. Is sin relational?
2. If so does sin occur at the point at which a choice arises, at the point of decision arising from the choice or at the point that decision takes effect.
3. If sin arises at the point of decision, does the decision have to be made by the sinner?

I have also renewed a passion held in the distant past for Badminton, and discovered that privet hedges can loose their appeal.

Today is Saturday. This day 22 years ago was a significant event in my existance..