Monthly Archives: November 2007

Weekend break

Posted on November 29, 2007 by Charles Lambert

I’ll be away for a few days. See you next week. Behave. Here’s something to look at while I’m gone.

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Sick building

Posted on November 29, 2007 by Charles Lambert

The university language centre, where I work, is on the seventh floor of one of Rome’s ugliest buildings, halfway between the Pyramid and St Paul outside the Walls. Thrown up in the 1970s, it manages to seem both shoddy and … Continue reading →

Posted in architecture, rome, work | 1 Comment

Recreational drugs

Posted on November 28, 2007 by Charles Lambert

This is painted on the outside wall of the basement of the building in which I work.The care with which the mushroom has been rendered, in all its – how shall I say this? – hallucinatory splendour is in stark … Continue reading →

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Free speech

Posted on November 27, 2007 by Charles Lambert

In today’s Guardian, Brian Klug makes an interesting point about the brouhaha surrounding the Oxford Union’s decision to invite two fascists – who shall here remain nameless – to participate in a debate on free speech. He points out that … Continue reading →

Posted in freedom of speech, human rights | 1 Comment

Little Monsters update

Posted on November 25, 2007 by Charles Lambert

Little Monsters has been described by a certain Caitriona (thank you, Caitriona!) as a tear-jerker on the Picador blog. The novel’s made me cry in the past for a variety of reasons, but it’s slightly disconcerting (and, of course, wholly … Continue reading →

Posted in little monsters, picador, shameless self-promotion | 2 Comments

Music: Dolly Parton et al.

Posted on November 24, 2007 by Charles Lambert

Have you ever combined two ingredients you’re slightly iffy about and produced something rather wonderful? No, neither have I. I’d started to wonder if it was possible. Until I heard Dolly Parton’s version of Stairway to Heaven. You can listen … Continue reading →

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Shadows

Posted on November 23, 2007 by Charles Lambert

One of the most important, and useful, books to have come out recently in Italy isn’t a novel, but an exposure of the role played by the Camorra, the international Mafia-style structure with its base in the organised crime of … Continue reading →

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Obsession

Posted on November 23, 2007 by Charles Lambert

If you think I’m Johnny One Note when it comes to harping on about gay issues, you should visit the wingnuts’ answer to Wikipedia. It’s called Conservapedia (they always did have a way with words) and you can find it … Continue reading →

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Lies, lies, lies

Posted on November 23, 2007 by Charles Lambert

Leaks from a police investigation into the suspicious bankruptcy of a polling company employed by former PM, Tony Blair, have uncovered evidence that the information broadcast by both the BBC and independent television was deliberately manipulated to present the prime … Continue reading →

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More information than you’ll ever need

Posted on November 22, 2007 by Charles Lambert

I’ve just worked out how to publish photo albums with Picasa. So if you’d like to see all the shots of last summer’s Rome Gay Pride, including the ones that I didn’t post, now’s your chance. Gay Pride Rome June … Continue reading →

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