Comments for Martin Westlake

Comment on The Brussels 20 k by Marc

Marc — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 14:59:24 +0000

Nice job, Martin. As usual.

Comment on Morels by Hugo Kijne

Hugo Kijne — Fri, 17 May 2013 17:16:41 +0000

It’s hard to miss the kantarels, the mushrooms my grandmother fried after my brothers and cousins and I had found them. They almost always grow under birch trees.

Comment on Morels by Martin

Martin — Thu, 16 May 2013 16:11:55 +0000

I was worried as well, Christian, but it is actually very easy to identify morels and very difficult to be mistaken.

Comment on Morels by Christian

Christian — Thu, 16 May 2013 14:52:34 +0000

I remember going into the forest whit my grandmother when I was little, she knew all the edible mushrooms, and lots of berries. So we picked lots of them each autumn. Incidentally, I did not even like to eat them, I just liked the collecting and the long walks with my grandmother. Unfortunately, the fallout from Chernobyl stopped that tradition… and by the time it was safe again, she had died, and no one of us really remembered how to distinguish the edible from the poisonous ones, so we never took it on again…

Comment on Morels by Martin

Martin — Thu, 16 May 2013 11:33:08 +0000

Groan!

Comment on Morels by Hugo Kijne

Hugo Kijne — Wed, 15 May 2013 13:33:31 +0000

I like the morel of this story

Comment on The Great Degeneration by Hugo Kijne

Hugo Kijne — Tue, 07 May 2013 13:37:38 +0000

Actually, he apologized. Apparently he had forgotten that Keynes was married and that his wife had a miscarriage. Clearly not a historian of family life.

Comment on The Great Degeneration by Martin

Martin — Mon, 06 May 2013 17:47:50 +0000

He did indeed – and rapidly retracted them.

Comment on The Great Degeneration by Hugo Kijne

Hugo Kijne — Mon, 06 May 2013 14:38:31 +0000

Maybe Ferguson is in the news for all the wrong reasons at the moment, but he made those stupid and some would argue hateful statements about Keynes, didn’t he?

Comment on Bernstein’s MASS by Stravinsky’s Oedipus Rex - Martin Westlake

Stravinsky’s Oedipus Rex - Martin Westlake — Sun, 05 May 2013 15:42:08 +0000

[...] and music (Stravinsky called it an ‘opera-oratorio) to add to the Clarke/Westlake list (see this post). Stravinsky’s music creates an authetically claustrophobic sense of inexorable destiny. We [...]

Comment on The social media improve writing? by Back to the communal tent? - Martin Westlake

Back to the communal tent? - Martin Westlake — Sun, 14 Apr 2013 16:57:12 +0000

[...] advanced by Gillian Tett in this morning’s Financial Times (on counter-intuitive theses, see this previous post). Now a celebrated economic journalist but originally a cultural anthropologist, Tett spent time [...]

Comment on The 2020 Presidential election by Martin

Martin — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 05:59:41 +0000

I hope I have started a trend with Chelsea, Per!

Comment on The 2020 Presidential election by Per Sommerschield

Per Sommerschield — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 09:59:47 +0000

In fact Michelle will only be 56 in 2020 – she isn’t yet 50! Yup, presidents (and their spouses) are getting younger…

Comment on To see Commissioner Lewandowski by Hugo Kijne

Hugo Kijne — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 13:20:20 +0000

I hope you speak Polish.

Comment on The 2016 Presidential election by The 2020 Presidential election - Martin Westlake

The 2020 Presidential election - Martin Westlake — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 09:57:52 +0000

[...] of America, American media pundits were speculating about a Hillary Clinton Presidency in 2016, as this post recalls. But as an article by Edward Luce in this morning’s Financial Times reports, the [...]

Comment on Christian Weger: about to live our dream by Haude Lannon

Haude Lannon — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 16:03:44 +0000

Nice post! We should all do the same. I’ll probably do the Machu Picchu for my 40th..just to make sure I stay fit;-)

I hope you are well.

Haude

Comment on Of Bev Tempest and retiring heroines by Martin

Martin — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 06:50:29 +0000

I’ll try and do that for you, Roger. Martin

Comment on Lucrezia Borgia by Cleveland Moffett

Cleveland Moffett — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 21:47:16 +0000

Yes, I vehemently agree that the staging of Lucrezia Borgia was worse than ludicrous. Surely we go to the opera to see loveliness as well as hear it and the men in black, the huge skull and the massive face of Batman’s Joker were constant ineradicable distractions. The singing and orchestra were better than good, but since I closed my eyes much of the time I might as well have stayed home with my stereo. And yet such fatuous gimmicks are a constant temptation of stage managers. When will lthey learn that such “originality” has long since been exhausted?
Cleveland Moffett

Comment on Of Bev Tempest and retiring heroines by Roger Stamp

Roger Stamp — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 18:04:59 +0000

Is it possible to forward this E-mail to Beverly Tempest as we were members of the same class at University of Surrey graduating in 1974 from the BSc Hotel and Catering Administration course, but we lost contact about 15 years ago.

If I would contact her, I would be grateful

Roger Stamp

Comment on Marmalade Skies… by Martin

Martin — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 16:58:41 +0000

Happy days indeed, Dave. The Tithe Farm has been completely pulled down now. What a shame. I think I saw David Bowie at the Roundhouse (the memory can play tricks) before he got famous. I never got to the Horn of Plenty. Looking back, there was a lot of talent around. All the best, Martin

Comment on Marmalade Skies… by DAVE WILLIAMS

DAVE WILLIAMS — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 16:45:34 +0000

I LIVED IN STANMORE DURING THE SEVENTIES, WENT TO THE DREADFUL CHANDOS BOYS SCHOOL, AND TRAVELLED ACROSS TO THE TITHE FARM MOST SUNDAY EVENNGS. I SAW ALMOST ALL OF THE BANDS YOU MENTIONED EITHER AT TITHE FARM, HARROW TECH, ROUNDHOUSE, MUSIC MACHINE, HORN OF PLENTY IN ST ALBANS AND, OF COURSE, THE MARQUEE. THERE WERE OTHER MORE OBSCURE BANDS, AS I RECALL; CROW, HUSTLER, GLOBAL VILLAGE TRUCKING COMPANY COME TO MIND….HAPPY DAYS…..

DAVE

Comment on Daniel Burgess 3 April 1929 – 11 September 2012 by Martin

Martin — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 18:35:32 +0000

I don’t think so, but I’ll check and get back to you. Martin

Comment on Daniel Burgess 3 April 1929 – 11 September 2012 by Mathilde Kramer

Mathilde Kramer — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 10:11:39 +0000

I’m looking for a Danny Burgess who was a sergeant with the 49th (West Riding) infantry division during the war, in the recce unit. I wonder weather this might have been your uncle?

Comment on Odd Thomas by Hugo Kijne

Hugo Kijne — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 18:05:11 +0000

That had to be ‘difference.’ Plus the fact that the killer, clearly a mental case, could just grab his mom’s assault weapon, kill her first and then go on a rampage. As Michael Moore tweeted: ‘if only the first victim had had a gun none of this would have happened,’ which is always the NRA’s response, while in reality most victims in the VS are killed with their own guns or with guns that belong to family members.

Comment on Odd Thomas by Hugo Kijne

Hugo Kijne — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 17:59:59 +0000

The main diference is the age of the victims.

Comment on Odd Thomas by Martin

Martin — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 16:24:58 +0000

I very much hope so. The difference, I suppose, is that Aurora was before the elections and now Obama is a second termer…

Comment on The West Wing by Martin

Martin — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 16:23:42 +0000

As I recall, it was because of the slow-burning plot device of the President’s MS. But I agree with you. It’s a very fine series.

Comment on The White War by Paola De Pietri’s To Face - Martin Westlake

Paola De Pietri’s To Face - Martin Westlake — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 15:15:09 +0000

[...] World War. This particular part of that attrocious conflict, evocatively analysed and described in Mark Thompson’s The White War; Life and Death on the Italian Front, 1915-1918, took place at altitude and in the [...]

Comment on Odd Thomas by Hugo Kijne

Hugo Kijne — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 15:03:42 +0000

You may be wrong about the gun control follow up, the tone is different this time.

Comment on The West Wing by Hugo Kijne

Hugo Kijne — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 15:01:02 +0000

I don’t know where you found that ‘schmaltzy’ criticism but in my humble opinion it’s one of the best series ever made.

Comment on Source Code by Moon - Martin Westlake

Moon - Martin Westlake — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 10:13:54 +0000

[...] fiction drama, Moon, directed by Duncan Jones. The director, who went on to make the intriguing Source Code, was once known primarily for being David Bowie’s son but now, with two excellent films under [...]

Comment on Captain Martin by Martin

Martin — Thu, 27 Dec 2012 15:54:52 +0000

Aye, aye, sir!

Comment on Captain Martin by Hugo Kijne

Hugo Kijne — Thu, 27 Dec 2012 15:36:27 +0000

Congrats and no sixpack for you. Next time I have to cross the Schelde I expect you to be the ferryman.

Comment on The peace prize by Hugo Kijne

Hugo Kijne — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 14:36:19 +0000

All the more reason to go see Steven Spielberg’s ‘Lincoln’ when you have a chance.

Comment on Exam time – Examen Brevet de Conduite General by Martin

Martin — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 22:12:54 +0000

Nothing, dear Zoltan, can surpass the mastery of the lock gate lights at Zemst (except, perhaps, knowledge of the night lights of trawlers working together on the high seas).

Comment on Exam time – Examen Brevet de Conduite General by Zoltán Krasznai

Zoltán Krasznai — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 20:14:57 +0000

Congratulations Martin (and wife). I am still before my final sailing navigation exam that I missed in 2008 whan my (1st) son was born 2 weeks earlier than foreseen, just on the day when my exam was scheduled in Ostende. But I remember of the pleasures to learn extensively on the specific navigation rules of the Escaut/Schelde.

Comment on Madonna hunting by Martin

Martin — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 17:24:40 +0000

Ciao, Giovanni! Come state i nostri amici colla loro acqua alta? Dobbiamo farci una visita di nuovo questa primavera. Ciao, Martin

Comment on Madonna hunting by Giovanni Sarpellon

Giovanni Sarpellon — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 09:34:39 +0000

io credo che un antiquario, pur di vendere una statuina rotta, si può inventare qualsiasi storia! Ho visto molte statuine di Madonna con Bambino, alcune le ho nella mia collezione, ma mai ho visto in vendita una statuina mancante del Bambino. Spaccare volontariamente una statua della Madonna, pre un credente, è quasi un sacrilegio.
Solo i napoletani hanno il diritto di “insultare” San Gennaro quando non si decide di far sciogliere il suo sangue nella data prevista. Ma i napoletani hanno una licenza speciale…
Buona fortuna nella ricerca.

Comment on A small revolution grows… by Hugo Kijne

Hugo Kijne — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 14:35:28 +0000

Nice statement: if top management can do it, anybody can do it.

Comment on A small revolution… by A small revolution grows… - Martin Westlake

A small revolution grows… - Martin Westlake — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 18:44:15 +0000

[...] Monday I wrote about how I had launched a small revolution, in the form of less paper in the EESC’s management board meetings. One week on, [...]

Comment on Armistice Day by Hugo Kijne

Hugo Kijne — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 14:41:59 +0000

Working for the United States Open University, an affiliate of the OU, I spent 11/11/2000 in Milton Keynes for a training program and experienced that great tradition for the first time. May we never forget.

Comment on Wolfgang Hager by Martin

Martin — Sun, 11 Nov 2012 12:21:06 +0000

Godelieve and I thought of you yesterday. We were at a course leading to the award of our International Navigation Certificates. It all seems so very complicated but, we said to ourselves, seasoned mariners such as Wolfgang probably have no trouble with all of this because you are sailing about all the time. Stay well and see you soon, Martin

Comment on Wolfgang Hager by Wolfgang Hager

Wolfgang Hager — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 16:09:30 +0000

Hi Martin,

got your blog forwarded today. Pleasant memories, pleasantly evoked.

Comment on The annual meeting of the Presidents and Secretaries-General of the national Economic and Social Councils and the EESC, Dublin by Hugo Kijne

Hugo Kijne — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 14:08:47 +0000

Go with the Keynesian paradigm.

Comment on Escape from Alcatraz by The Bird Man of Alcatraz - Martin Westlake

The Bird Man of Alcatraz - Martin Westlake — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 23:06:39 +0000

[...] This evening we followed our schedule of films related to our summer US coast-to-coast trip by watching The Birdman of Alcatraz. Now, for my Uncle M., in the Pyrénées, I should immediately stress that probably nowadays nobody would contest the fact that the original birdman, Robert Stroud, was a surly and nasty piece of work. But Burt Lancaster nevertheless, through sheer dramatic genius, turned his character’s dreary life into a depiction of a zen transition from violence to serenity. From our point of view, it was interesting to see how Lancaster’s character’s escape inwards, contrasted with Clint Eastward’s more plodding escape outwards. [...]

Comment on The Smithsonian – A Journey to the Stars by Olaf Stapledon’s Star Maker - Martin Westlake

Olaf Stapledon’s Star Maker - Martin Westlake — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 16:51:18 +0000

[...] classic’, Star Maker which I have, at long last, finished reading. I mentioned it in passing here. The narrator, who has rowed with his wife, stomps off up a hillside at night, gazing at the stars [...]

Comment on The EESC plenary session: Karel De Gucht, European Commissioner for Trade by Pierre Vimont at the EESC’s External Relations Section - Martin Westlake

Pierre Vimont at the EESC’s External Relations Section - Martin Westlake — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 16:22:03 +0000

[...] also be considered and in this context, as Sandy Boyle underlined (and as was also underlined in the Committee’s recent plenary exchange of views with trade commissioner Karel De Gucht), the Committee and its members are increasingly called upon to exercise a structural [...]

Comment on Cherubini’s Médée by Berg’s Lulu at La Monnaie - Martin Westlake

Berg’s Lulu at La Monnaie - Martin Westlake — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 16:12:59 +0000

[...] Lulu. This is the third Warlikowski production we have seen at La Monnaie, following on from Medée and Macbeth. When I think back to what I wrote in my previous posts, I could see echoes, [...]

Comment on Verdi’s Macbeth at La Monnaie by Berg’s Lulu at La Monnaie - Martin Westlake

Berg’s Lulu at La Monnaie - Martin Westlake — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 12:29:23 +0000

[...] This is the third Warlikowski production we have seen at La Monnaie, following on from Medée and Macbeth. When I think back to what I wrote in my previous posts, I could see echoes, particularly the [...]

Comment on Daniel Burgess 3 April 1929 – 11 September 2012 by Martin

Martin — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 08:14:02 +0000

Looking forward to the party, Alan! Martin