Blowing the Whistle on the 'McLad Phenomenon' Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, August 6th 2009 Scottish men don’t have good health, life expectancy or know how to open up about their emotions. They drink too much, are easily prone to violence, and are more likely to be the victims of violence. Negative images abound about men in modern society and Scottish men in particular. From Rab C. Nesbitt to the male characters in ‘Taggart’ and the ‘Walking Wounded’ lost men in McIlvanney’s and Kelman’s novels, it all seems a bit grim. Is it really this bad and why do these portrayals

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The Cult of the Self and the Power of Capitalism: Two Thinkers Comments August 3rd 2009 I have just been reading two of my favourite websites, Pop Matters, which covers contemporary culture, and the brilliant OpenDemocracy. In the former, a review of a book by Chris Hedges - ‘Empire of Illusion: The End of Literacy and the Triumph of Spectacle’ – throws up a number of interesting points. According to Hedges, American society is characterised by: The cult of self dominates our cultural landscape (and) ... has the classic traits of psychopaths: superficial charm, grandiosity, and self-importance; a need

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‘Broken Britain’ and Why Some People Are More Unequal Than Others? Gerry Hassan Compass, July 31st 2009 Response to comments on ‘Broken Britain’ article on Compass website: http://www.compassonline.org.uk/news/item.asp?n=5129#comments I think it is much simpler and more complex than people seem to be saying. For example, it is not difficult to start by acknowledging the reach of ‘Broken Britain’ and that the left has lost its way. Some find it difficult to acknowledge Labour has done some decent things in power, while others find it difficult to be critical of anything. These both seem inherently conservative positions. Continue Reading ‘Broken Britain’ and Why Some People Are More Unequal Than Others?

Britain is Not Broken: Can We Tell The Complex Story of Modern LIfe? Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, July 27th 2009 A spectre is haunting Britain. Fear stalks the land. Older people are scared to go out at night. Younger people are demonised. There is a general sense of malaise about the decline of good manners, respect and trust. ‘Is it Just Me or Is Everything Shit?’, ‘Grumpy Old Men’ and other such titles fill bookshops. These tap into a wider belief that something has gone wrong in society and illustrate the strength of a culture and mentality of pessimism. Continue Reading Britain is Not Broken: Can We Tell The Complex Story of Modern Life?

By-Election Ripples By-elections happening and awaiting – Norwich North and Glasgow North East – have been causing waves and having an impact. Norwich North’s Tory victory is being presented in the simple one-track media story of ‘Brown is doomed’ which some of the usual suspects (step forward Charles Clarke) are then trotted out to validate. The truth as always is more ambiguous. David Cameron’s limited rebranded new look Conservatism is not sweeping all before it, and is not striking a convincing chord with voters. (more…)

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On the Death and Influence of Leszek Kolakowski We learn history not in order to know how to behave or how to succeed, but to know who we are. Leszek Kolakowski, The Idolatry of Politics, 1986 Leszek Kolakowski died last week at the age of 81. Hardly a household name. A Polish ex-Communist thinker and philosopher who was expelled by the authorities in the purges of 1968 – as Zygmunt Bauman was. Kolakowski had enormous reach and influence as some of his obituaries recognised – Timothy Garton Ash in The Guardian (1), The Times and surely much more to

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Why Gordon Brown is Still Standing! Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, July 21st 2009 Gordon Brown has been Prime Minister and Labour leader for two years. During this time, he has been battered, patronised, ridiculed and written off as useless, and not the telegenic type of politician required in the modern age – such as Tony Blair and David Cameron. (more…)

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Last nite on Newsnight Scotland with Lorraine Davidson talking about the forthcoming Glasgow North East by-election - or should we say to be promised some time in the distant future by-election. I love by-elections, and have done from an early age – when my formative experiences where the double excitement of the Liberal-SDP Alliance briefly sweeping all before it and the force of Vincent Hanna descending on campaigns like an elemental force. Both scared the two main Westminster parties, and Hanna gave the world his sidekick in Andrew Rawnsley (what a gain that was!). Continue Reading Glasgow North East Thoughts

Sue Palmer, 21st Century Boys: How Modern Life is Driving Them Off The Rails and How We Can Get Them Back on Track Sue Palmer is the one-woman force that brought us ‘Toxic Childhood’, a powerful and wonderful polemic about how we relieve the modern pressures piling up on parents and children. 21st Century Boys sees her bring her mixture of good old-fashioned ‘commonsense’, impatience and radicalism to what has gone wrong with boys and how they are portrayed. Palmer believes in the power of play, but ‘free play’, not the ‘structured play’ of policy-makers and is damning of the

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Lotte Lenya sings Kurt Weill’s The Seven Deadly Sins and Berlin Theatre Songs This is a brilliant reissue and remastering of some of Lotte Lenya’s finest recordings recorded in 1955 and 1957 in Berlin. This is late or mature period Lenya covering Weill’s material with a rich, deep voice filled with the insights and nuances of a life of experience. She has a similarity to Billie Holiday’s voice changed utterly in the same period or Frank Sinatra in his twilight years had a hollowed out voice which carried with it magnificence. Continue Reading What Gerry is listening to