The Virtual Stoa

Thomas Sankara, prime minister and President of Upper Volta / Burkina Faso. Born 21 December 1949, killed in a coup, 15 October 1987.

Benny Lévy, aka Pierre Victor, French militant, leading ideologist for La Gauche Prolétarienne, later Jean-Paul Sartre’s secretary, and convert to Judaism. Died 15 October 2003, aged 58.

Gillo Pontecorvo, director of The Battle of Algiers, born 19 November 1919, died 12 October 2006.

Julius Nyerere, President of Tanzania, born 13 April 1922, died 14 October 1999.

The Stroppyblog has prominently displayed on its front page Rebcca West’s famous remark that “I myself have never been able to find out what feminism is; I only know that people call me a feminist whenever I express sentiments that differentiate me from a doormat.” I’ve been reading her short biography of Augustine today, and I rather liked this [from p.101]:

“Involuntary episcopacy is one of the few perils which man has been able to eradicate since the time of Augustine, and it is hard for us to realise that it was then a hovering terror, almost as the press-gang once was in England.”

I think there should probably be more Rebecca West-themed blogging, but that may not be a widely shared opinion.

Sidney Webb, Fabian socialist, born 13 July 1859, died 13 October 1947, and, as it turned out, the last beardie in the Cabinet for over sixty-five years.

I’m very pleased to learn of the existence of the Luxuriant Flowing Hair Club for Scientists™, from the same people who bring us the annual Ig Nobel Prizes.

Jim Cairns, Australian socialist politician, and, briefly, Deputy Prime Minister under Gough Whitlam; born 4 October 1914, died 12 October 2003.

Even when Islam-free Week is declared at Harry’s Place, the contributors can’t help themselves, and yet another bloody post about Islam appears…

It was taken off the front page shortly afterwards, but it still (10.20am) exists on the site here.

You can download The Lancet’s new report on “Mortality after the 2003 invasion of Iraq: a cross-sectional cluster sample survey” by Gilbert Burnham et al here [pdf].

Donald Dewar [or here], Scottish Labour politician and first First Minister after Scottish Home Rule, born 21 August 1937, died 11 October 2000.

My goodness. Over here.

Charles Fourier, utopian socialist and prophet of the counter-giraffe. Born 7 April 1772, died 10 October 1837.

… to blogger Nick Barlow, who has recently completed his John O’Groats to Land’s End walk in support of the Brain Research Trust - and, no, it’s not too late to sponsor him…

Ernesto “Che” Guevara, born 14 June 1928; died at the hands of Bolivian soldiers, 9 October 1967. There’s some stuff on the V & A’s recent exhibition on the image of Che over here.

Which Jane Austen Character Are You?

You are Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice. You’re pretty arrogant, but that pride stems from the deep-seated knowledge that you are generally the most superior creature in any given room. The good news is that you are deeply loyal to your family, and you have a generous and charitable streak, even though most people don’t notice because you are too busy practicing a large vocabulary of stern looks.
Take this quiz! Quizilla | Join | Make A Quiz | More Quizzes | Grab Code

This might seem like a surprising result, but it’s actually quite scientific, in that Josephine did the quiz imagining herself to be me and got the same result, too.

I suppose this means I shall have to finish reading Pride and Prejudice. which happens to be one of those books that I’ve started several times, but never finished, which is curious, given that it’s not exactly a turgid read. [via]

I’m wondering whether this would be a permissible entry for Norm’s Musicals Poll?

1. Oklahoma! [5pts] (where the wind comes sweeping down the plain…)

2. Oklahoma! [4pts] (and the waving wheat can sure smell sweet / When the wind comes right behind the rain…)

3. Oklahoma! [3pts] (every night my honey lamb and I / Every night we sit alone and talk and watch a hawk making lazy circles in the sky / We know we belong to the land [yo ho!] / And the land we belong to is grand / And when we say, Yeeow! A-yip-i-o-ee-ay! / We’re only saying, You’re doing fine…)

4. Oklahoma! [2pts]

5. Oklahoma! [1pt]

OK?

(Entries to Norm by 5 November.)