Author Archives: JC

What am I doing wrong?

Money has been tight for the last few months and it has got me thinking again about how I manage my finances in general. The period between December and January are usually more expensive for me but this year it … Continue reading

Posted in Personal, Ramblings, Society | Comments Off on What am I doing wrong?

Further thoughts on Brideshead Revisted

This is a follow-up to my previous post as I felt it was different enough to warrant its own. This will focus on the characters of Rex Mottram and Celia Ryder. I didn’t mention either at all by name in … Continue reading

Posted in Book Reviews, Literature, Religion, Society | Tagged , | Comments Off on Further thoughts on Brideshead Revisted

Thoughts on Brideshead Revisited

I mentioned a few years ago in a post that I had been intending to re-read Evelyn Waugh’s Brideshead Revisited along with Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment. After finishing the former late last week, I decided I needed to write something about … Continue reading

Posted in Book Reviews, Literature, Religion, Society | Tagged , | Comments Off on Thoughts on Brideshead Revisited

How do I get out of this?

Something that I noticed after converting to Catholicism is the zeal I suddenly felt to bring others into the Church with me. Especially my close family and friends. I had found something good and wanted to share it. This feeling … Continue reading

Posted in Personal, Ramblings, Religion, Society | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on How do I get out of this?

A Most Interesting Man

Simon Leys: Navigator between Worlds by Philippe Paquet (translated by Julie Rose), La Trobe University Press, September 18th, 2017 The name of Simon Leys has appeared a couple of times on this blog. The first quoting portions of his fascinating … Continue reading

Posted in Australia, Book Reviews, Literature, Society | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on A Most Interesting Man

The New Age of Discovery

I don’t like Star Trek but I know enough about it to remember the tagline, “Space: The Final Frontier.” These words began each episode of the original series (as far as I know) and at the optimistic time the series was … Continue reading

Posted in Ramblings, Science, Society | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on The New Age of Discovery

Fantastic Phil’s Time Adventure

Groundhog Day had its theatrical release in the United States thirty years ago as I write. It stars Bill Murray, Andy MacDowell and was directed by Harold Ramis. It was the last time Ramis and Murray worked together on a … Continue reading

Posted in Film, Religion, Society | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Fantastic Phil’s Time Adventure

Entering at the Margins of Classic Chinese Literature

The Water Margin (Shuihu Zhuan) is one of what are known as the ‘Four Great Novels of China’ and was originally written by Shi Naian during the Ming Dynasty and published in 1368 AD. Though there is scholarly dispute on … Continue reading

Posted in Book Reviews, Literature, Society | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Entering at the Margins of Classic Chinese Literature

A Picture of Petty Tyranny

Office Space is a 1999 film directed by Mike Judge and loosely based on his Milton animated shorts. I previously reviewed Idiocracy and intended to come back and cover this at some stage which I am now doing. Though I … Continue reading

Posted in Film, Society | Tagged , , | Comments Off on A Picture of Petty Tyranny

A Short Guide to Modern Love

I unfortunately need to state that I do not approve of any of what follows and though I’ve endeavored to write with a neutral tone — it is somewhat (and probably inevitably) acerbic. This is also related to something I … Continue reading

Posted in Politics, Society | Tagged , | Comments Off on A Short Guide to Modern Love