Recommended reading

Having moved on from my literature review (finally!) and onto the first chapter of my Ph.D, I have a recommendation for those of you who have an interest in Scottish politics and devolution.

I'm currently reading The State of the Nations 2008 edited by Alan Trench, which provides an overview of devolved politics in the UK from 2007 until early 2008, recounting the challenges faced by respective governments in Scotland and Wales, their successes and failures and the every-growing turf-war between Westminster and the devolved legislatures. It's part of a series of books charting devolution from its first year (1999-2000) through several volumes (2001, 2003, 2004 and 2005) to the most updated volume.

It's well worth a look.

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1001 Days that Shaped the World

Apologies (again) for the slowdown in blogging. I guess I'm feeling utterly uninspired by global events and the New Year has brought with it its usual January slump. Who knows, maybe after today I'll have some positive stuff to write - though as we all know, good news isn't really news at all.

On that note, I'm currently reading a book I got for Christmas titled "1001 days that shaped the world." It is an interesting book, and runs from the Big Bang as its starting point to the Chinese earthquake of May 2008, with 999 other world-shaping events in between.

It is written very much from a western, if not Christian, perspective, taking Biblical events as fact for some of the early events - which are, at the very least, debateable. Nonetheless, its very interesting to read about some of the events that these authors think have shaped the world. Funnily enough, there's no mention of the creation of the Scottish Parliament - though the power-sharing agreement in Northern Ireland does merit inclusion.

I guess another event today may make it into the next edition. But that got me thinking. Any suggestions for a "top 5 world changing events? Interesting to see how different people rate events I guess. Maybe not. But if you are bored/ inspired/ reading my waffle, feel free to post your thoughts.

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Stephen Fry's America

I've been thoroughly enjoying the excellent BBC series Stephen Fry in America which the great entertainer has also written a book about (which, incidentally, is on my Christmas list if anyone is interested!).

However, one thing that has been driving me nuts about this series is not so much that it is short (6 episodes of one hour each, Sundays at 9pm) but the fact that they cram so much into each one.

For example, yesterday's episode had Stephen Fry start of on the US-Canadian border in Montana. He's briefly (like, for less than 2 minutes) shown at the continental divide in Idaho before taking his taxi through Wyoming, North and South Dakota, Nebraska, Colorado, Kansas and Oklahoma and finishing at the Rio Grande at El Paso, Texas. 10 states in one hour...

That, for me, was just too much to cram into such a short time. Why didn't they make it a 10-week run? Or, at the very least 8? There's so many interesting things about each state, especially at the present time, that the BBC could have shelled out a bit more for editing (I think they've got a bit of money spare at the moment) and let us see more of Stephen's adventures.

Anyway, it's well worth a look, if, like me you are interested in the USA. But you have to concentrate hard - there's a lot to take in.

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Something different

I'm not usually the type that enjoys a "serious" film - preferring my entertainment to take the form of lighthearted humour. However, I was dragged out to the cinema on Saturday evening to take in the terrifically sad "The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas".

I won't spoil it by telling you what happens, suffice to say that the film is based on a young boy's experience living near Auschwitz during the Holocaust - and the girl along the row from me spent the entire film in floods of tears.

I am man enough to admit having a lump in my throat leaving the theatre. I guess the advice is this: If you are going to see it, take a packet of hankies. Even if it just so you can pass them along to the girl next to you crying her eyes out.

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