Personal links
This page lists links of a more personal and private nature. Life is not – and should not be – “all work and no play (makes Jack a dull boy).” To continue invoking proverbs, the rationale behind this idea is probably universal, for example, “Man does not live by bread alone” (The Bible – Luke 4:4, Matthew 4:4), which goes “hand in glove” with John Donne‘s statement that “No man is an island, entire of itself” (Devotions upon emergent occasions, Meditation XVII).
- Dictionary.com
- Contains dictionaries, thesauri and encyclopedia. Check out the free service “Word of the day.” [access]
- Doonesbury
- Probably my favorite strip since years. We’ve kind of evolved and grown together. In the early days my hero was Zonker. Zonker has however not evolved over all these years, contrary to the other denizens of the Doonesbury universe – they marry, divorce, have kids and die and, in general, engage with and are involved in the society (even if it is a society several of them are very critical of). At present I possibly feel closer to Mike. This is quintessential American critical and political satire, always on top of things and with a critical angle on people and issues both inside and outside of the Beltway (which may be why this strip unfortunately has a limited audience outside of the USA). [access: website|Cast Bios]
- The new dictionary of cultural literacy
- Although written from within as well as being aimed at the American culture, this reference work actually has a much broader appeal in its aim to provide the touchstone of being an involved citizen in a globalized and multicultural world. Citation: Hirsch Jr., E. D., et al., eds. 2002. 3rd ed. Bartleby. [access]
- Phrases.co.uk
- Billed as “what you need, when you need it.” Check out the free service “A phrase a week.” [access]
- Shoe
- Another top American political comic strip. Set in the Tree tops community (to be taken quite literally – it actually takes place in the tree canopy – somehow, somewhere), the inhabitants consist largely of birds that live out a life that echoes and parallels life on the ground, with mostly very clear allusions to political America. [access]
- signandsight.com
- A free-spirited liberal intellectual motor on the Internet. Aims to foster trans-European debates and the creation of a European public space. [access]
- The Tartini Festival
- This festival of mostly baroque music takes place in Piran, Slovenia in August-September. Piran is a quaint coastal village located in the northwestern part of Istria, opposite Venice and south of Trieste. I was in Piran in January 2007 together with Moijca and dedicated and entrepreneurial Istria ruin-hunter Vlasta Svetina, and learnt about the festival, which takes its name from Piran’s great son Guiseppe Tartini. He is a new composer to me, otherwise, among my favorite baroque composers are Dario Castello who lived and worked in Venice in the early baroque period. Two of the key organizers of the Tartini festival are Jasna Nadles and Milan Versajkov, Vlasta’s daughter and son-in-law. [access]
- Trout Unlimited
- North Americas foremost organization for anglers, in all sizes and variations, but particularly those patient and stubborn guys (and gals) – including myself – that believe that fly fishing is the very pinnacle of existence. I am a proud lifetime member of this auspicious organization. [access]
- vox publica
- A Norwegian online journal devoted to democracy and freedom of speech. [access]