As long as you keep walking briskly it's warm enough to be out in shirtsleeves but there won't be any need for sunscreen ( again ) today. Down south they're preparing for a heatwave. The BBC 6 am broadcast leads with the English teams 3-2 victory over Mexico in the World Cup.
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Someone has left a pair of Wellington boots on the spot where Patrick Hamilton was burnt to death in the 1520's. The site of his martyrdom is marked by the letters PH set into the cobble stones :https://spookyscotland.net/patrick-hamilton/
It's one of those old traditions that any student who steps on the letters will fail their exams. During term time you often see absent minded teenagers suddenly making abrupt course corrections in order to avoid doing so.
After their graduation ceremony, with the risk of failure a thing of the past, many of the new graduates make a point of walking on the spot. Some ( as these youngsters in this photo are doing ) even stop to record the moment on their i-Phones.
Perhaps the Wellington boot owner thought he was going to flunk his exams and got an unexpected 3rd ? He certainly made his point. I wonder how long it will be before the Wellingtons are 'rescued' ?
I've finished reading JD Vance's new book 'Communion'. This dip into doctrine didn't take long to finish. I hope it's not disobliging to say its a lightweight book and not just because its a thin volume set with large typeface. In summary: JD talks while God listens carefully and takes notes. There's no doubting who calls the shots in this dogmatic telling. Things fall off shelves in bars and are interpreted as signs of divine approval. Redemption and shame as concepts are ignored. The book is outwardly reasonable and will appeal to a target audience all too aware of the mote in their neighbours eye but ignorant of the beam in their own. Politicians need self belief to function and there's a lot of it to be found here.
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Turn up the sound :https://x.com/Protect_Wldlife/status/2073357769126662509
Surprise of the day :https://news.rub.de/english/press-releases/2026-07-02-philosophy-how-empathetic-rats-are
11 comments:
Hari OM
A concise and worthy review, Angus, managing to say in one paragraph what the clergyman was a little too polite about and took an entire article! Those are some smart looking wellies... YAM xx
I was wondering about reading it. It seems important to understand the values of the man likely to be the next Republican candidate. Other than that he absolutely IS the guy who argued dogma with the Pope, does it grant any such insight?
This is a very political book and its easy to be critical of it because of the author rather than the content. Many folks have written him off after his verbal bullying moment in the Oval Office. It asks the question any young father is faced with - ' I knew how to get my kid into a good college but am unprepared to make him a good man '. It then goes on to avoid answering this question while blaming criticism of himself and the administration on 'elite fastidiousness'. The bottom line is that immigration and woke philosophy are de-Christianising the US and Europe. Some will find this attractive others less so.
Loved that article on grocery tourism - a traveller after my own heart.
I like the, "best features are that it's a thin volume set with large typeface." Having read his first book, he has a deep understanding of why lower class and working class middle Americans are unhappy. He has leveraged that dissatisfaction to make a career. Even if he is married to an immigrant, and the push against primarily Catholics from south of the border. The hypocrisy is not seen by those who are deep in despair.
I loved the link to the whales communicating! I, too, loved the article on grocery tourism. We have for many years sought grocery stores to discover characteristics of the local population. I’d rather see J. D. Vance’s wife as the Republican nominee in 2028.
England's victory over Mexico was apparently a match to remember, although one can't help feeling sorry for Mexico (unlike thuggish Paraguay). I read your book review to my husband this morning. I recall him asking me a number of years ago why I so dislike Vance - I think he understands now. Vance's advisor in law school was Amy Chua, who is perhaps better known as the author of "The Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother" and she apparently encouraged him to write "Hillbilly Elegy." I really disliked both of those books and won't read this one. On the other hand, I enjoyed the article on supermarket tourism. We also always try to visit a supermarket wherever we go, although it can be very frustrating given the limitations of suitcases. I had to look up Arnica.
On s more superficial note, How do those young women manage cobblestones in HEELS? I can barely navigate them in sneakers...
They change into flats as quickly as they can.
Your review of Vance's book is an absolute masterpiece, 'nuff said.
The wildflowers along the beach are very fine.
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