Tag Archives: Change

A diamond among authors

BY      POSTED:      CATEGORIES:  Book and film tips    TAGS:  , ,

330px-Jared_diamondSo we talked about the history of business and trade. Which came first, money or markets, money or interest?

If you’re interested in human history in a broader context, more questions may pop up: Why have we stopped living as hunter-gatherers? Why and when did states evolve? Why did the Mayan and Greenland Viking Empires collapse but not Spain or China? Why did Europeans conquer native America and not the other way round? Why are most African countries notoriously poor while Europe and North America seem to be predestined for wealth? Is it because Africans are less bright than we are?

Guns_Germs_and_SteelJared Diamond, an American biologist and historian, has probed into these questions and gives surprising answers based on his broad knowledge of both natural sciences and society. His most famous books include: *

His books have also been translated into German, but if you want to improve your English, I’d recommend the original versions.

* I don’t want to imply that you should use Amazon. Search for these titles anywhere else, and you may find better offers.

A positive vision

BY      POSTED:      CATEGORIES:  Book and film tips    TAGS:  ,

Here’s a small excerpt from the Transition Handbook book I told you about in class:

It is one thing to campaign against climate change and quite another to paint a compelling and engaging vision of a post-carbon world in such a way as to enthuse others to embark on a journey towards it. We are only just beginning to scratch the surface of the power of a positive vision of an abundant future: one which is energy-lean, time-rich, less stressful, healthier and happier. Being able to associate images and a clear vision with how a powered-down future might be is essential.

I like to use the analogy of inviting a reluctant friend to join you on holiday. If you can passionately and poetically paint a mental picture of the beach, the sunset and the candle-lit taverna by the sea, they will be more likely to come. Environmentalists have often been guilty of presenting people with a mental image of the world’s least desirable holiday destination – some seedy bed and and breakfast near Torquay, with nylon sheets, cold tea and soggy toast – and expecting them to get excited about the possibility of NOT going there. The logic and the psychology are all wrong. …

new-old-town-800x561x8

As a species with the creativity, adaptability and opposable thumbs that enabled us to create an Oil Age in the first place, we can be pretty certain that there will be life beyond it.

—Rob Hopkins: The Transition Handbook – from oil dependency to local resilience. Green Books, Totnes, UK, 2008. ISBN 9781900322188

InStep – your emails

BY      POSTED:      CATEGORIES:  Writing    TAGS:  ,

I’ve taken the pains of typing all your emails into a text file in order to add corrections and comments. On the whole, these are good achievements, although some of you were not very talkative.

Whoever wrote ‘The majority of our staff have expressed’ — I salute you!

InStep relocation – your emails.

capital-lettersCapitalisation in proper names and titles

Job titles are usually capitalised (written with Big Initial Letters) when you’re referring to someone specific:

  • We talked to InStep’s Human Resources Manager.

but not when talking about a job in general:

  • When I grow up, I want to be a human resources manager.

Some words like and, or and prepositions are never capitalised:

  • the Head of Production, the Research and Development Manager

Brassed Off

BY      POSTED:      CATEGORIES:  Pronunciation, Videos    TAGS:  ,

Mark Herman’s 1996 film Brassed Off shows the struggle of a miners’ band to avert the closure of their pit in Grimley, Yorkshire, in 1992. Although Grimley is a fictional village, both the pit and the band existed (the real village is Grimethorpe), and the story is partly true. The real band, which also played the soundtrack to the film, is called the Grimethorpe Colliery Band and has been playing on to this day as a professional brass band.


The film features Pete Postlethwaite (Jurassic Park), one of Britain’s best-loved actors, as band leader Danny, and Ewan McGregor (Trainspotting, Star Wars) playing the trumpet.