Is it worse to be cynical or jaded? | Notes and Queries
ETHICAL CONUNDRUMSIs it worse to be cynical or jaded? Terry Felstead, London What's the difference between ignorance and apathy? I don't know and I don't care... JD, Columbus, US
Surely you mean... is it better to be cynical or jaded? Angela, London People become jaded through repetitive experience. This is reasonable but dull. Cynicism is unreasonable but much more fun. Fred, London UK
At least if you're jaded it implies you've lived a little.
Ive yet to add my youngest sons name to my tattoos. And now hes learned to read
Romesh Ranganathan’s midlife crisisLife and styleHe’ll be upset when he discovers that I have both his brothers’ names, along with Richard Pryor and the Albanian flag – that last bagged me a free meal
I have, over the last few years, become obsessed with getting tattooed. It started shortly after the birth of our first son. My wife and I agreed we would both get the boy’s name inked (classy, I know).
Taking Back Trumps America review: Peter Navarros venomous Maga saga
BooksReviewSeeking to raise money to fight contempt of Congress charges, the former trade adviser shows contempt for his rivals
Peter Navarro’s new book won’t win him many new friends. For just one example of the former Trump trade adviser’s frequently, uh, pungent turns of phrase, he compares Jared Kushner to human excrement.
The Divider review: riveting narrative of Trump’s plot against AmericaRead moreNor does his disdain for the aspirant dauphin end there.
The Last Honest Man: Frank Church and the fight to restrain US power
BooksReviewPulitzer-winner James Risen calls the late Democratic senator an ‘American Cicero’ – and makes a strong case
Frank Forrester Church sat in the US Senate for 24 years. His tenure was consequential. A Democrat, he battled for civil rights and came to oppose the Vietnam war. He believed Americans were citizens, not subjects. Chairing the intelligence select committee was his most enduring accomplishment. James Risen, a Pulitzer-winning reporter now with the Intercept, sees him as a hero.
The Putin has Aspergers story highlights the stupidity of psychological diagnosis from a di
Head quartersScience This article is more than 8 years oldThe “Putin has Asperger’s” story highlights the stupidity of psychological diagnosis from a distanceThis article is more than 8 years oldPete EtchellsCan we tell whether Vladimir Putin has a neurodevelopmental disorder simply by watching videos of him? No, don’t be ridiculous
Late on Wednesday, USA Today reported that a 2008 study by the Pentagon concluded that Vladimir Putin has Asperger’s syndrome. Brenda Connors, the lead researcher based at the US Naval War College, appears to have come to this conclusion based on ‘movement pattern analysis’ – essentially, watching videos of the Russian president, and making some sort of link between the way that he moves, and his state of mind.
A Thread of Violence by Mark OConnell review a masterpiece of murkiness
Observer book of the weekHistory booksReviewThe author’s account of the 1982 Dublin murders committed by the wealthy socialite Malcolm Macarthur deals dazzlingly in moral complexities
Those of us too young to remember the aristocratic Malcolm Macarthur’s criminal spree in 1982 may well have learned about it via contemporary Irish literature. A cultivated socialite whose days were devoted to refined leisure and the life of the mind, at the age of 37, Macarthur found himself in deep financial trouble.
Blackjack (no, not that one) | Life and style
Guide to gamesLife and styleBlackjack (no, not that one)AKA Knock knock, crazy eights
Decks One
Players 4-6 is best
Aim To empty your hand by matching the number or suit of previous discard
Difficulty 2/5
How to playThis is the modern version of crazy eights, or knock knock, with as many wild cards as are physically possible.
Deal five cards each, or seven if there are only three or four of you.
Dave Allen | | The Guardian
ObituaryDave AllenIrreverent comedian whose reflective monologues provoked outrage and delightAt the height of his career, Dave Allen, who has died aged 68, was Britain's most controversial comedian, regularly provoking outrage and indignation in a society that got upset more often - and more easily - than it does today. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, he introduced a laid-back, satirical, personal, storytelling style, first in Australia, and later on British television shows, such as Tonight With Dave Allen and the hugely successful Dave Allen At Large, with a mixture of elaborate sketches and intimate, sit-down comedy.
Erotic stories by Anas Nin consigned to Amazon's adult content 'dungeon' | Short stories
Short stories This article is more than 7 years oldErotic stories by Anaïs Nin consigned to Amazon's adult content 'dungeon'This article is more than 7 years oldNew volume of the author’s erotica, written for a private patron in the 1930s, will not show up in searches except under specific conditions
A new volume of lost writing by the author Anaïs Nin has been consigned by online retailer Amazon to its “adult content dungeon” – which is not as kinky as it sounds.
Inside the school for men caught paying for sex | Sex
‘I just wanted to talk to a female face before being stuck in a box.’ Illustration: Richard Vergez/The GuardianPolice in Texas and across the US regularly conduct operations to catch men seeking sex workers’ services. Programs bankrolled by evangelical churches promise to change them
by Elle HardyPizza had been ordered for lunch, and greasy police fingers were now all over the officers’ weapons. Not their guns – their holsters were slung in a corner of the roadside motel room.