Music reviews are a sometime thing for the 1320Journal. They tend to be an instinctive response to something remarkable that’s happened to catch my ear. I can safely say, however, that the new solo offering from Scottish jazz pianist Steve Hamilton has done just that. Now, when I tell you that Hamilton is a jazz… Continue reading 1320 Recommends: ‘Between the Lines’ by Steve Hamilton
“It came to me one night in a dream……” Don’t all stories begin this way? Tales of dread horror and gothic fantasy certainly source an enormous variety of subliminal fears, but they often spring from single unbidden thought. I know that the phrase ‘can’t stay in, can’t go out’ was stuck in my head for… Continue reading The Strange History of the Darkling Intruder
It is difficult to write about Covid-19 without feeling that you are simply adding to the cesspool of unsolicited opinion and the ceaseless stream of obfuscating pseudo-facts. It is also hard to not write about Covid without appearing self-absorbed and insensible of the crisis. Yet, it might also be argued that it is an abdication… Continue reading Our Leaders, Our Institutions, and Our Media Have Failed Us. Here’s How.
The manner of communicating the coronavirus crisis to the public has been woeful, if not dismal. The message about just how serious the outbreak will be hasn’t been getting through. Arguably, it had no chance of ever doing so. The immediate confusion that has arisen from the UK government’s “lockdown that isn’t a lockdown” is… Continue reading Communicating Information to the Public during the Coronavirus Crisis
A lot of things will make me pick up a novel. I like a title that infers a great deal without being deliberately obscure. The cover should be similarly suggestive without duping the reader into believing a promise that isn’t going to be fulfilled. The name of the author is less important than the idea… Continue reading Book Review: ‘The Rockblaster’ by Henning Mankell
