Fine Wine, Future Generations And Notions Of Sustainability by Susan Brown

There is a lot of discussion of the term ‘sustainability’ and numerous definitions of the term. I’m not going to delve into a comparative exploration of these in this post. I’d like, instead, to explore a notion common to a number of definitions of sustainability:  that we need to pass on to future generations a World fit to live in (I include examples of such definitions at the end of the post). Read more…

A Study of Multiple Sclerosis: Description by Alex Dunedin

It was a French neurologist at the Salpetriere in Paris, Jean Martin Charcot, who first described multiple sclerosis in 1868.  He noted the accumulation of inflammatory cells in a perivascular distribution within the brain and spinal cord white matter of patients with intermittent episodes of neurologic dysfunction.  This led to the term ‘sclerose en plaque disseminees’, or Multiple Sclerosis (MS) [12].
In 1933, Thomas Rivers at the Rockefeller Institute demonstrated experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis, an autoimmune demyelinating disease in mammals.  He achieved this with the repeated injection of rabbit brain and spinal cord into primates.  This has led to the generally accepted hypothesis that multiple sclerosis is secondary to an autoimmune response to self antigens in a host [12].
Read more…

7th December 2015: A 90 Minute Introduction to Jazz; Nothing Too Heavy by George Wilson

Jazz Cafe Number 1

Come along to the Blind Poet at 7pm for a music event with George Wilson followed by live music from Sukh:

A 90- minute introduction to jazz, nothing too heavy.
Delivered by a non-professional, non-musician, this short event involves listening to some music on CD, with a little light discussion, for people with a bit of curiosity but little or no understanding of jazz. Hopefully we’ll have coffee available – bring your newspaper if you want, this is meant to be relaxed!
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7th December 2015: Music by Sukh

I am Sukh Logo

Come along to the Blind Poet at 7pm for a music event with George Wilson followed by live music from Sukh:

Doctor by day, musician by night, the young Mancunian songwriter Sukh self released his debut album in 2013 and has been quietly working away behind the scenes since.  Acclaimed for his chamber folk tinged numbers (particularly breakthrough single ‘Kings’), Sukh employs an orchestral element that sounds big enough to uplift and reverb around a space 300 feet high, balanced by gentle comfortable strumming and lupine vocals.  Read more…

Understanding Music Piracy: A Consideration of Research Methodology by Dr Steven Caldwell Brown

In this brief article, I want to share some thoughts and memories from my Doctoral studies into the psychology of music piracy. Above all, I want to engage readers in a wider debate about research methodology, directing curious readers to resources which will satisfy further reading into the topic area. Food for thought…


Starter

Music piracy is one of those things that is difficult to talk about, because people get very emotional. It’s a real thing, something people are engaged in. Read more…

The Study of the History of Languages

Philology is the study of language in written historical sources.  It involves the analysis of literary texts, written records, where they have come from, who wrote them, and what meaning they hold. The philological community has differing beliefs as to many aspects of the history of language, and often these differences have given rise to heated debates.  The history of language can also be viewed as involving a debate about the meaning of things which have been written that have shaped whole cultures and ultimately the way we have come to behave in certain contexts. Read more…