REVIEW OF 2019

MY WORD OF 2019  RE-BALANCE

BOOKS READ IN 2019  

FOCUS:  THE SCIENCE FICTION OF H G WELLS

H G WELLS-  THE TIME MACHINE/  THE FIRST MEN IN THE MOON/  WAR OF THE WORLDS/  THE ISLAND OF DR MOREAU

CAPITALIST REALISM- Mark Fisher

THE OVERSTORY- Richard Powers

THE AGE OF SURVEILLANCE CAPITALISM- Shoshanna Zuboff

HOW MUSIC WORKS-  David Byrne

NIGHT BOAT TO TANGIER- Kevin Barry

SONG AND DANCE MAN-Michael Gray

TEAM HUMAN- Douglas Rushkoff

NO ONE BELONGS HERE MORE THAN YOU- Miranda July

ON FIRE- Naomi Klein

WILLIAM BLAKE NOW- John Higgs

WHO IS THAT MAN?- David Dalton

BOB DYLAN:  BEHIND THE SHADES TAKE 2- Clinton Heylin 

REVOLUTION IN THE HEAD- Ian MacDonald

A FABULOUS CREATION- David Hepworth

CHRONICLES- Bob Dylan

STAYING WITH THE TROUBLE- Donna J Haraway

CLEAR BRIGHT FUTURE- Paul Mason

THIN AIR- Richard Morgan

POSTER BOY- N.J. Crossley

THE UNINHABITABLE EARTH- David Wallace-Wells

THE WAR THAT ENDED PEACE- Margaret MacMillan

I AM DYNAMITE  A LIFE OF FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE- Sue Prideaux

SILENT SPRING- Rachel Carson

THE VORRH- B. Catling

MY RE-READS

OLAF STAPLEDON- Last and First Men

HOMER  THE ODYSSEY  (Emily Wilson’s Trans)

OSCAR WILDE  LETTERS AND ESSAYS  (Vol 3 Folio Collected Works)

THE COMPLETE SHERLOCK HOLMES-  Arthur Conan Doyle

THE SONNETS- William Shakespeare

MUSIC OF 2019 

FOCUS: THE REDISCOVERY OF BOB DYLAN

HIGHLIGHTS

BOB DYLAN

THE MOBILE FIDELITY REMASTER OF BLOOD ON THE TRACKS  LIMITED EDITION

THE MOBILE FIDELITY REMASTER OF BLONDE ON BLONDE  LIMITED EDITION

NEW MORNING (Mobile Fidlity)

TIME OUT OF MIND

MODERN TIMES

MORE BLOOD MORE TRACKS

OH MERCY

LOVE AND THEFT

TRAVELLIN’ THRU

THE BEATLES

THE BEATLES  5OTH ANNIVERSARY RE-ISSUE  ABBEY ROAD

ANGEL OHLSON 

ALL MIRRORS

NICK CAVE AND THE BAD SEEDS 

GHOSTEEN

BRIAN ENO AND DAVID BYRNE

MY LIFE IN THE BUSH OF GHOSTS  ENO AND DAVID BYRNE

MY PODCAST OF 2019  

HOW’S IT ROLLING BOB?

MY GREATEST TRIUMPHS OF 2019  

·       I WROTE MY FIRST SCREENPLAY AFTER COMPLETING A SCREENWRITING COURSE  (BUT SEE GREATEST REGRET)

·       I wrote an entire training programme for social workers working with Looked After Children and personally delivered it.

·       I successfully interviewed for a position with the Social Work Regulator for England

MY GREATEST REGRET OF 2019  

NOT FINISHING A SINGLE PIECE OF WRITING

MY BIGGEST LEARNINGS OF 2019  

·       THE UTTER USELESSNESS OF BINARY POLITICS.  Politically, 2019 was a monstrosity of division. There appeared to me to be a complete lack of any sense of respectful discourse or willingness to listen to different views.  This boorishness was echoed by social media and reflected in politician’s behaviour with the single honourable exception of Jeremy Corbyn who, whatever your political views about him might be, behaved with courtesy and grace throughout, while being subjected to the most vicious and vitriolic lies and accusations, I have ever seen.  The entire media were a disgrace.  The publically funded BBC came across as biased and in the service of the right wing of the UK.  There should be an enquiry into its behaviour and its leadership.

·       The growth of far right nationalism and the increasingly open behaviour of racist thugs in our society is a warning from history.  An Islamophobe is now our Prime Minister who has openly insulted Muslim women.

·       If democracy is only as good as our education system, then our education system must be broken.

·       THE IMPORTANCE OF STRATEGY TO EVERYTHING.  There has to be a better way to do this.  It begins with the study of history, particularly military history.  How to make the best decisions in extreme circumstances is an essential skill.  Decision making in war is the example.  We are not seeing any world leaders with a strategic mindset.  Possibly with the exception of Jacintha in New Zealand.  But there is also AOC and Bernie in the US and Gina Miller.  There’s Edward Luttwak. 

·       MENTAL AND EMOTIONAL HEALTH IS LIKE A GARDEN; YOU MUST TEND THEM!

MY MAN OF 2019 

JEREMY CORBYN

 

MY WOMAN OF 2019 

GRETA THUNBERG.  
 
But also a shout out for AOC who has burst into the US Congress like a stunningly beautiful thunderbolt.

MY FOCUS FOR 2020

STRATEGY/ MILITARY HISTORY/  NAPOLEON/ POLITICAL THEORY/ CHESS/  GUITAR/  SOCIAL WORK THEORY AND STRATEGY/  LEADERSHIP/ PHYSICAL FITNESS/ CYCLING ON THE BROMPTON-WHAT IS POSSIBLE?/MORE BOB DYLAN/ THE ISSUE OF ISRAEL

MY RELATIONSHIPS WITH MY WIFE AND CHILDREN AND FRIENDS

CONTACT

MONEY
ONE WRITING PROJECT A MONTH - MINIMUM-COMPLETED AND SENT OFF

MAY 2020 BE A YEAR OF PEACE AND JOY FOR YOU AND YOUR LOVED ONES