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Articles by J S Bird

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About J S Bird

A retired academic, Jeremy will contribute article on subjects that attract his interest. More Posts

Getting something straight

I am do not regard myself as a racist. In opening my contribution today with that statement I’m conscious that – as per Shakespeare’s “The lady doth protest too much, methinks” dictum – it has the danger of exposing me as exactly what I’m claiming to not be, but nevertheless I need to [...]

March 18, 2019 // 0 Comments

I’m no expert, but …

This morning I am coming out of the closet – this after a long chat with my fellow Ruster Jane Shillingford at a social gathering hosted by a mutual friend – to declare myself resolutely behind our sports department’s campaign to eliminate unfair gender discrimination in sport by the [...]

March 5, 2019 // 0 Comments

Modern life

If you asked me to list the most negative aspects of modern life – and indeed possibly in the entire history of the human race – I would unhesitatingly nominate as joint Number One the 21st Century’s technological wherewithal [e.g. the internet, social media, website ‘cookies’, [...]

February 15, 2019 // 0 Comments

The subjectivity and sincerity of different views

For my sins, yesterday I happened to watch a segment of Good Morning Britain, ITV’s early morning show anchored by Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid in which some advance relish Morgan took on an elected member of the Scottish Parliament – and the Scottish Greens spokesman on Europe – named Ross [...]

January 30, 2019 // 0 Comments

At last – a solution to all ills (not)

It was always going to come to this, of course, when you think about it. With our capacity for scientific and technological exploration and advancement limited only by the confines of the human ability to dream – one day someone was always going to be able to ‘square the circle’ between [...]

January 7, 2019 // 0 Comments

Fascinating comparisons

From time to time we spot items in the British media that are worthy of being brought to Rusters’ attention, hence my post today. If we are to believe the ‘popular’ scientists who either present TV/radio programmes or pitch up as experts on the internet and/or in the media, it is [...]

November 28, 2018 // 0 Comments

Is it everyone else – or just me?

Bland generalisations can always cover a multitude of sins, prejudices and misjudgements. However, one ironic aspect of making occasional contributions to the Rust (if I can be forgiven a touch of gallows humour here) is that if – because of a memory that is becoming less sharp than it once was  [...]

November 3, 2018 // 0 Comments

Artisan gins – a sort of a review

Today, my Ruster friends, a departure. Earlier this week I took the unique step of calling Algy Belville – whom I had previously only met at The Rust’s editorial two-day summer party in August on board the 120 foot super-yacht of ‘mine host’ Bob Tickler in the Brighton marina, a [...]

October 31, 2018 // 0 Comments

Biopics – the complexities of a difficult art form

Today I take the risk of venturing into territory upon which I am no expert – movies, and a particular genre at that – without any justification for doing so other than, like any observer travelling upon the time-honoured proverbial (legal) Clapham omnibus, I am entitled to hold opinions and [...]

October 24, 2018 // 0 Comments

There’s nowt so complicated as folk

To begin today, first a necessary disclaimer paragraph or two. Women and men – never mind anyone technically (physically or mentally) somewhere in between – are simultaneously both very similar and very different. I’d suggest that logic and scientific research tells us this, though no [...]

October 11, 2018 // 0 Comments

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