A poem for the end of 2024
When thunder flashes and lightning claps The icicles grow upwards from the taps And point to a sodden, saddened sky from whence The coldest rain fulfils the earthly floods Restoring
Reflections upon goodwill towards all
Ebenezer Scrooge, the protagonist of A Christmas Carol, was perhaps the leading economic minimalist of Dickensian times. From rationing the coals that burned in his clerk’s grate to his consumption
Classical music choices for Christmas 2024
Enjoyable seasonal music Two recently released recordings could make for rewarding listening during the 12 days of festivities which celebrate the birth of Christ. The first is aptly titled “Music
Euthanasia: the right to death with dignity
On November 29, the British Parliament resolved by votes of 330 to 275 a motion to alter, in a very restricted manner, the law which relates to assisted dying. For
Portugalidade – A cultural treasury of traditional song, dance and poetry
Folkways Recordings is the non-profit label of the US Smithsonian Institution. Over the past century, it has collated into one archive a vast variety of sounds collected from global sources.
Portugalidade – Contemporary female artists
Wikipedia merits the inclusion of only 22 Portuguese women painters in its listing. A reading of their biographies indicates the social divisions which frustrated so many of their endeavours. Those
Portugalidade – Some suggestions for winter listening
With longer evenings and firesides beckoning, what better way to spend a few relaxing hours than listening, by candlelight, to Portuguese music; perhaps with a glass of wine and a
11 – 11 – 11 – 2024
Those of us who are old enough to have participated in the immense tragedy of the second World War may have the will and corporal strength to give our undivided
Artificial Intelligence – The Halloween Algorithm
AI has introduced variations of chatbots known as griefbots, deathbots or ghostbots Around 450 BCE, Herodotus, the Greek anthropologist/historian, described in his travellers’ compendium to the then known ancient world
Artificial Intelligence – in higher education
The art of cribbing in school examinations has a long history of application starting with the concealment by pupils of answers in minute notes written on one’s skin or their