The Monday Mix (08/05/2023)
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The Monday Mix (08/05/2023)
Hi friends,
The Coronation was a bizarre event this past weekend. I tried to watch most of it but I was bored stiff after 20 minutes. I didn’t realise it was going to last over two hours, I thought it would be done in an hour or so. But I couldn’t get through it as it was so confusing. I didn’t know what was happening! I think Charles walked around the throne five times while I was watching it without sitting down!
Nassim Taleb made a valid point about all of this. He stated that as the monarchy here has no political power, the ceremonies come across as bizarre and old-fashioned. The Coronation was a show power of the monarch. A demonstration of their importance and, that they were God’s representative on Earth. As we now live in a democracy, this ceremony no longer has the importance or significance it once did. It feels archaic and a nod to past days.
Will the monarchy in the UK survive for another 50 years? Probably. But I think the pomp will be scaled back. It’s estimated that the Coronation cost £500m in a country that has some of the highest rates of poverty in northern Europe and more food banks than McDonald’s. It’s not sustainable going forward and hopefully, the monarchy is trimmed down to the same size and scale as those in Scandinavian countries. But I won’t hold my breath.
My reading list for May will be sent on Wednesday. Here’s what I want to share this week.
Russia Has a Vodka Addiction
This piece's headline will hardly surprise most of you, but the fact that Putin is a teetotaller might be. It was to me anyway. That he created a huge public Vodka company to enrich himself isn’t much of a surprise but it is a grim look at life in Russia. This piece is depressing in several ways and highlights how Putin has used a wide range of tools to enrich himself and his cronies all the while making ordinary Russians suffer more and more.
The Benthic Battlefield
What did the Allies do with large munition stockpiles after the war? In a lot of cases, they dumped them in the sea. This piece about one such dumping off the coast of Kiel makes for grim reading. Environmental considerations were probably never factored into the decision but it seems these munitions might be leaking chemicals harmful to marine life and our own. Then, you have another problem, which is that you can dive down and recover these munitions which are still live in a lot of cases. It makes you wonder how many of the stockpiles exist in the seas around us.
Disgust and Public Health and Hygiene
Reading this after Covid won’t have the same shock factor as when it was originally published. But it’s still interesting to read just how much things have changed in 100 years. The author states that people in Britain at the start of the 20th century tolerated flies in the house. They had no idea they spread disease. Reading this from my own perspective, it’s incredible to think this was ever the case. Disgust is a powerful tool to get people to reconsider their practices. I’m sure many people would look differently at the meat on their plates if they visited a slaughterhouse and saw how that meat was processed.
Music
As it was Coronation weekend, here is a piece of music most associated with it. Zadok The Priest is a catchy tune and the Champions League theme is actually based on it!
Book I’m reading - Notes From The Underground by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
The only Dostoyevsky book I’ve read is Crime and Punishment, which I read a long time ago. This is a much shorter book by comparison and also has another of his stories, The Double. I’m enjoying it so far, even if it’s not the most upbeat read!
Quote I’m pondering: – “Patience is the key to joy.” – Rumi
That’s all for this week.
Until next time,
Tom