News That Matters

Clifford Thurlow

The Lucretius Problem, by Clifford Thurlow
205a, Clifford Thurlow

The Lucretius Problem, by Clifford Thurlow

leer en español The Lucretius Problem is believing the worst thing that has happened is the worst thing that can happen. In the present age, a ridiculous assumption. This conundrum belongs to Titus Lucretius Carus, a Roman philosopher born a century before Christ who believed in evolution – things can only get better – and thought the earth was infinite, not a sphere. With its myriad deities, Lucretius believed that ‘the nature of the gods is an utter lack of interest in humans and their affairs.’ He taught his students that Nature is constantly experimenting, killing off the weak and promoting organisms that have the best chance of survival. Lucretius wrote: ‘Anyone who has not seen a great river before will think upon seeing one for the first time that none could ever be larger...
El problema de Lucrecio,<br/> por Clifford Thurlow
Clifford Thurlow

El problema de Lucrecio,
por Clifford Thurlow

read it in English El Problema de Lucrecio consiste en creer que lo peor que ha sucedido es lo peor que puede suceder. En la época actual, una suposición ridícula. Este enigma pertenece a Tito Lucrecio Caro, un filósofo romano nacido un siglo antes de Cristo que creía en la evolución —las cosas solo pueden mejorar— y pensaba que la Tierra era infinita, no una esfera. Con su miríada de deidades, Lucrecio creía que «la naturaleza de los dioses es una absoluta falta de interés por los humanos y sus asuntos». Enseñó a sus alumnos que la Naturaleza experimenta constantemente, eliminando a los débiles y promoviendo organismos con las mayores posibilidades de supervivencia. Lucrecio escribió: «Cualquiera que no haya visto un gran río antes, al verlo por primera vez, pensará que ningun...
Nothing means anything, by Clifford Thurlow
203b, Clifford Thurlow

Nothing means anything, by Clifford Thurlow

leer en español         If nothing means anything, what’s the point – in anything? Love, hope, dreams, desire, having babies – existence? This was the conundrum Albert Camus wrestled with after the slaughter of the Second World War when Europe lay in ruins and the future looked as grey as the past. Post-war writers rejected the notion of a caring God and sought meaning in new isms and new ways at looking at the world. Camus set out aged 22 to explore nihilism – the philosophy founded in Russia before the revolution and championed by André Breton. As he studied nihilism, he slipped into those dark places of the mind where shadows lengthen, and reptiles lay their eggs. He finally clawed himself out of the mental quick sands into the misty fields of existentialism ploughed by Jean-Paul...
Nada significa nada,<br/> por Clifford Thurlow
Clifford Thurlow

Nada significa nada,
por Clifford Thurlow

read it in English         Si nada significa nada, ¿qué sentido tiene nada? ¿El amor, la esperanza, los sueños, el deseo, tener hijos, la existencia? Este fue el dilema con el que lidió Albert Camus tras la masacre de la Segunda Guerra Mundial, cuando Europa estaba en ruinas y el futuro parecía tan gris como el pasado. Los escritores de la posguerra rechazaron la noción de un Dios compasivo y buscaron significado en nuevos ismos y nuevas formas de ver el mundo. Camus se propuso a los 22 años explorar el nihilismo, la filosofía fundada en Rusia antes de la revolución y defendida por André Breton. Mientras estudiaba el nihilismo, se adentró en esos oscuros rincones de la mente donde las sombras se alargan y los reptiles ponen sus huevos. Finalmente, logró salir de las arenas movedizas...
This shall pass,<br/> by Clifford Thurlow
Clifford Thurlow

This shall pass,
by Clifford Thurlow

A love forged in war. A dream worth dying for.We Shall Pass is a sweeping tale of passion, sacrifice, and idealism set against the brutal backdrop of the Spanish Civil War. When Robbie Gillan, a working-class Scotsman, joins the International Brigades, he finds more than a cause—he finds Alice, the daughter of a British intelligence officer, and a love that defies class, politics, and the chaos of battle. In the tradition of For Whom the Bell Tolls and Birdsong, Clifford Thurlow’s poignant novel brings to life the forgotten volunteers who fought fascism with nothing but conviction, courage, and each other.Alfredo Behrenshttps://mybook.to/qkiNQCompartir en  I wish to sponsor by advertising
Happy reading, <br/> by Clifford Thurlow
201b, Clifford Thurlow

Happy reading,
by Clifford Thurlow

leer en español         Reading makes you happy. In fact, reading keeps you healthy, open, energized and helps you get a good night’s sleep. Oscar Wilde said: ‘If one cannot enjoy reading a book over and over again, there is no use in reading it at all.’ If Oscar had lived in the age of television he would have been one of those people who believed TV was for appearing on, not for watching. Research shows that monitor screens of all kinds, big and small, smartphones and home cinemas, deadens the brain cells and softens the synapses. If the grey matter is not stimulated, it is harder to enjoy life’s small pleasures: walking in the countryside, smelling the roses, morning sex with the sun slipping through the window, reading. When you read a novel, you leave your ego outside the...
Leer te hace feliz, <br/> por Clifford Thurlow
Clifford Thurlow

Leer te hace feliz,
por Clifford Thurlow

read it in English        Leer te hace feliz. De hecho, la lectura te mantiene sano, abierto, con energía y te ayuda a dormir bien.Oscar Wilde dijo: «Si uno no puede disfrutar leyendo un libro una y otra vez, no tiene sentido leerlo».Si Oscar hubiera vivido en la época de la televisión, habría sido una de esas personas que creían que la televisión era para aparecer en ella, no para verla.Las investigaciones demuestran que las pantallas de monitor de todo tipo, grandes y pequeñas, smartphones y home cinemas, amortiguan las neuronas y ablandan las sinapsis. Si la materia gris no se estimula, es más difícil disfrutar de los pequeños placeres de la vida: pasear por el campo, oler las rosas, el sexo matutino con el sol colándose por la ventana, la lectura.Cuando uno lee una novela, deja su ego ...
Hands of Fate,<br/> by Clifforf Thurlow
200c, Clifford Thurlow

Hands of Fate,
by Clifforf Thurlow

leer en español        My hands have a mind of their own. They draw on memory and experience to press the keys that spell the words you are reading with your eyes and transfer to your brain to unscramble, savour, counter and store.Hands find the light switch in the dark. They find the itch that needs to be scratched. The hands on the clock never stop. They tick off time, measure our days. Hands are like the winds and tides, rarely still. We may share our mother’s eyes and our father’s nose, but our palms and fingerprints are unique. It is where destiny is written.Hands make us human. Our relatives, the monkeys and apes, lack the agile thumbs and sensitive fingers Michelangelo required for carving the David, Picasso in painting Guernica, John Lennon playing Imagine.The piano requires ten fi...
Manos del destino,<br/> por Clifforf Thurlow
Clifford Thurlow

Manos del destino,
por Clifforf Thurlow

read it in English        Mis manos tienen mente propia. Se nutren de la memoria y la experiencia para pulsar las teclas que forman las palabras que lees con los ojos y las transfieren a tu cerebro para descifrarlas, saborearlas, contarlas y almacenarlas.Las manos encuentran el interruptor de la luz en la oscuridad. Encuentran la picazón que necesita ser rascada. Las manecillas del reloj nunca se detienen. Marcan el tiempo, miden nuestros días. Las manos son como el viento y las mareas, rara vez se detienen. Podemos heredar los ojos de nuestra madre y la nariz de nuestro padre, pero nuestras palmas y huellas dactilares son únicas. Es donde se escribe el destino.Las manos nos hacen humanos. Nuestros parientes, los monos y los simios, carecen de los pulgares ágiles y los dedos sensibles que ...
The right word, by Clifford Thurlow
199a, Clifford Thurlow

The right word, by Clifford Thurlow

leer en español          If you want to find the right word, stop looking. It will find you.Words don’t like being prodded about. They want to be left alone. They mingle in dusty corners, conspiring to keep the lost word hidden. They appear – when they appear – like the evening primrose that blooms in the dark when no one is watching. If you want to find the right word, she’ll be in the shadows.Words have a taste, sweet but subtle, like dark chocolate. Or bitter and implied, like an oyster with a teardrop of lemon. Words carry the scent of old bookshops and childhood memories. Strung together they have a flamenco rhythm, steeped in duende. The right word hits you like rain on your face on a sunny day.Words are cruel and spiteful sometimes, wise and loving at others. Words have a sense of i...
La palabra correcta,<br/> por Clifford Thurlow
Clifford Thurlow

La palabra correcta,
por Clifford Thurlow

read it in English       Si quieres encontrar la palabra justa, deja de buscarla, que ella te va a encontrar.A las palabras no les gusta que las acosen. Quieren que las dejen en paz. Se mezclan en rincones polvorientos, conspirando para mantener oculta la palabra perdida. Aparecen, cuando aparecen, como la flor de primavera, que florece en la oscuridad cuando nadie las ve. Si quieres encontrar la palabra justa, estará en las sombras.Tienen un sabor, dulce pero sutil, como el chocolate negro. O amargo e implícito, como una ostra con una gota de limón. Las palabras llevan el aroma de las librerías antiguas y los recuerdos de la infancia. Enlazadas, tienen un ritmo flamenco, impregnado de duende. La palabra justa te golpea como la lluvia en la cara en un día soleado.Las palabras son crueles y...
Sunflowers, by Clifford Thurlow
196b, Clifford Thurlow

Sunflowers, by Clifford Thurlow

leer en español        On Saturday, I bought two sunflowers at the Chelsea Gardener and planted them in a pot in the front garden. Everyone who passes sees their smiling faces and smiles back. Sunflowers know the secret of life is to follow the sun. The Sun God Apollo once fell in love with a water nymph named Clytie. When his attentions moved on to a rival nymph, he changed Clytie into a sunflower whose head always turned to the sun. I am not sure how the Greek myth came into being as the sunflower is native to North America, but mythology like religion is only a metaphor. Flowers turning their heads to the sun is called heliotropism. They all do it, people too, but sunflowers with their emoji faces and corona of bright yellow petals create a fireworks display of colour and light. ...