Making ______ Better Again, wherever that may be, has always been an extremely discomforting concept. Whether it is spoken in English, German, Italian or any other language, the idea that some unknown point in history is for some reason the enviable destination of modern society is worrisome. Never are these points in history defined. There is only ever a general reference to some point before today. The crazy thing about that uncertain point in the past is that we all experience the nostalgia of the past. The days when life was easier. The days when we were younger and cared less. The days from when even if we’d had difficult lives, time has managed to get our minds to block out the bad stuff anyway. So we mew for days that probably weren’t great anyway because however bad they were, they must have been better than the bad of today.

Yet when those days were bad, politicians were making these same promises and look where we are.

Look where we are.

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PS. The transcript has been generated automatically and does not always reflect what has been said with 100% accuracy. I hope however that it will still provide some clarity on the content...!

#RiseUp #BeCurious

What drives us to celebrate insignificances when pain is banging on the windows crying out for a helping hand? Why do we believe that some have the right to the glitz and at the same time care not that so many will never know any of the freedoms we take for granted?

This reflective, critical, and frustrated monologue expresses what has taken me some time to put together. It places at the centre the Nobel Peace Prize but it is not that institution that really matters at all. It is the society which we have allowed to grow so dispassionate, so cruel and uncaring that thinks only for its own comforts that causes me to question who we really are.

I welcome opinions of every kind so please come and find me on social media at:

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Should I really have to ask? 😉 If you like the developing story of this social journey unfurling in my series of podcasts, feel more than free, feel partially responsible for spreading the word by subscribing and sharing and where possible, liking. It is greatly appreciated! Thank you!

Oh, and if there is a possibility to do some rating, that would be nice as well. Thank you.

PS. The transcript has been generated automatically and does not always reflect what has been said with 100% accuracy. I hope however that it will still provide some clarity on the content...!

#RiseUp #BeCurious

Oscar Wilde remains one of the greatest writers in the modern era. A genius with the pen he was born in Dublin, Ireland on October 16 1854 an died on November 30th 1900 in Paris, France. He took his artistic talents from his mother Jane Francesca Elgee, a poet and a journalist.

He published his fairy tales for his two sons in 1888. His only novel, the Picture of Dorian Grey was published in 1891 to a very negative response owing mostly to the depiction of homoeroticism. The dialogue in this book is some of the best dialogue I have ever had the pleasure of reading. His truest talent lay in the writing of his plays, Lady Windermere’s Fan in 1892, A Woman of No Importance in 1893, An Ideal Husband in 1895 and the Importance of Being Earnest, also in 1895.

Losing a case he had brought for libel against the Marquis of Queensbury for having accused him of homosexuality, he was arrested and tried for gross indecency and was sentenced to 2 years of hard labour. He wrote De Profundis while in prison.

When released in 1897 he wrote The Ballad of Reading Gaol for his concerns about prison conditions. He spent the rest of his life wandering around Europe, penniless, staying with friends. He died in a cheap hotel in Paris of cerebral meningitis.

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Should I really have to ask? 😉 If you like the developing story of this social journey unfurling in my series of podcasts, feel more than free, feel partially responsible for spreading the word by subscribing and sharing and where possible, liking. It is greatly appreciated! Thank you!

Oh, and if there is a possibility to do some rating, that would be nice as well. Thank you.

PS. The transcript has been generated automatically and does not always reflect what has been said with 100% accuracy. I hope however that it will still provide some clarity on the content...!

#RiseUp #BeCurious

This is a treasure of a story because it speaks to the hearts of many who would today happily be forgotten about by the authorities. Not through criminality or to avoid financial duties, but just because people are so fed up of all the oversight, control and continuous badgering. If only a few more streets could get mislaid like this, how might their value increase as a result? Not that they could ever be officially sold, but still, romantic ideals don’t always need to be grounded in reality.

Patrick William Simpson Waddington was an English actor. He was born in York in 1901 and died in York in 1987. Born into the arts as the grandson of a piano manufacturer who also managed the theatre Royal York, Patrick began his career singing before moving on to the stage, often in upper class roles and then film and TV.

In 1951 he became the General Secretary of the Actors Charitable Trust.

I welcome opinions of every kind so please come and find me on social media at:

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Should I really have to ask? 😉 If you like the developing story of this social journey unfurling in my series of podcasts, feel more than free, feel partially responsible for spreading the word by subscribing and sharing and where possible, liking. It is greatly appreciated! Thank you!

Oh, and if there is a possibility to do some rating, that would be nice as well. Thank you.

PS. The transcript has been generated automatically and does not always reflect what has been said with 100% accuracy. I hope however that it will still provide some clarity on the content...!

#RiseUp #BeCurious

I had my eye on Dept Q for quite some time before taking that plunge into the delights of Edinburgh’s latest crime series (that I am aware of at least). The opening scene sets a tone which continues throughout, not in the violence necessarily but in the mood and characterisation. Aggressive humour meant to overpower and influence, awkward laughter, disconcerted expressions, and a traumatic event that underpins much of what is to come.

Based on a book series by Danish writer Jussi Adler-Olsen, the show is created by Scott Frank and Chandni Lakhani and it came out on May 29th this year on Netflix.

In this review with the TV show and acting expert ‘Unc’ we discuss our thoughts and impressions. There may be one or two controversial points raised, but they are batted away with aplomb, at least I hope they were. Feel free to get in touch with points of disagreement, especially in the case where something completely ridiculous has been stated and requires correction.

Thanks Unc for being yourself so majestically...

This is TwoandaMic. Enjoy!

I welcome opinions of every kind so please come and find me on social media at:

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Should I really have to ask? 😉 If you like the developing story of this social journey unfurling in my series of podcasts, feel more than free, feel partially responsible for spreading the word by subscribing and sharing and where possible, liking. It is greatly appreciated! Thank you!

Oh, and if there is a possibility to do some rating, that would be nice as well. Thank you.

PS. The transcript has been generated automatically and does not always reflect what has been said with 100% accuracy. I hope however that it will still provide some clarity on the content...!

#RiseUp #BeCurious

Rarely does a book make such a splash 90 years after it was first published. Yet this is the case of Sally Carson’s masterpiece Crooked Cross. Reissued after it was rediscovered by Persephone Books this is a story of love, hate, tragedy and politics. It is told as subtly as such destruction can be recounted. It is a shame the world grew so ignorant of the book but I am hopeful schools will pick it up and students around the world will learn of the folly of such hateful politics. As we can see from Gaza, our leaders haven’t learned a thing.

My thanks again to Greg.

This is TwoandaMic!

The Nineteen-Thirties Novel That’s Become a Surprise Hit in the U.K. | The New Yorker

Forgotten literary masterpiece about rise of fascism, Crooked Cross, published by Persephone Books - Midas (The source for the photograph used as the cover for this episode).

I welcome opinions of every kind so please come and find me on social media at:

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Should I really have to ask? 😉 If you like the developing story of this social journey unfurling in my series of podcasts, feel more than free, feel partially responsible for spreading the word by subscribing and sharing and where possible, liking. It is greatly appreciated! Thank you!

Oh, and if there is a possibility to do some rating, that would be nice as well. Thank you.

PS. The transcript has been generated automatically and does not always reflect what has been said with 100% accuracy. I hope however that it will still provide some clarity on the content...!

#RiseUp #BeCurious

Lynchings are a thing of the past – how I wish that statement were fact-based. Considering the nature of politics and the degradation of social justice in the USA I cannot say with any confidence that it is. Terms such as “No foul play” suddenly take on a different meaning. When a loved one is dead and the family cannot understand how such a tragedy unfolded without the participation of ‘unexplained third parties’ then “foul play” can never be truly ruled out. How does a happy and ambitious young man suddenly decide to end his life at the end of a rope, hanging from a tree. A young black man. In Mississippi. A cry for…what? We grieve with the Reed family and hope the true events that took place will come to light and Trey’s soul can find peace.

We also touch on how Trump has decided to make ‘AntiFa’ a terrorist group. There is no such organisation. Being Anti-Fascist is actually a tag every single Democracy and freedom loving party or organisation must have. There is no concept of Democracy that can remain effective in a fascist state. The two are as mutually exclusive as you can get in politics. Unless of course the democracy that is on offer is not real. Whether the USA is a Democracy or a Republic doesn’t matter in this case because a Republic is still a “land of the free”. Not if it’s a fascist state it’s not though. Keep singing that anthem with pride Maga!

Thanks, Esheru, as always for your time.

I welcome opinions of every kind so please come and find me on social media at:

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Should I really have to ask? 😉 If you like the developing story of this social journey unfurling in my series of podcasts, feel more than free, feel partially responsible for spreading the word by subscribing and sharing and where possible, liking. It is greatly appreciated! Thank you!

Oh, and if there is a possibility to do some rating, that would be nice as well. Thank you.

PS. The transcript has been generated automatically and does not always reflect what has been said with 100% accuracy. I hope however that it will still provide some clarity on the content...!

#RiseUp #BeCurious

What does it mean to have a school in your locality? Why do people move to areas in cities that provide basic services like healthcare, education, employment, transportation, alimentation and entertainment?

When these services are taken away, society dies, communities die.

When Ravenswood High School was closed down in the 1970s, so many dreams went with it. Though it is hard to tell why decisions are taken or whether anything sinister even occurred at all, questions must be asked to avoid similar failures in the future. In the name of doing something good, why take such risks as may threaten the existence of a school?

That is the story of Ravenswood High School. That is its tragedy.

Thank you, Walter, for taking the time to talk with me. A shout out to everyone who attended Ravenswood High School in East Palo Alto.

This is TwoandaMic.

Ravenswood High School, East Palo Alto

I welcome opinions of every kind so please come and find me on social media at:

Instagram: TwoandaMic

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Should I really have to ask? 😉 If you like the developing story of this social journey unfurling in my series of podcasts, feel more than free, feel partially responsible for spreading the word by subscribing and sharing and where possible, liking. It is greatly appreciated! Thank you!

Oh, and if there is a possibility to do some rating, that would be nice as well. Thank you.

PS. The transcript has been generated automatically and does not always reflect what has been said with 100% accuracy. I hope however that it will still provide some clarity on the content...!

#RiseUp #BeCurious

This entire hearing was performative politics with a heavy dose on the “performance”. There was no substance to it. Nobody truly gave a damn. They were playing to the cameras and pretending the entire time. People appeared, said what they said, made out they were angry, crossed a faded line or two, and moved on to their next appointment. Even the head of the committee left early as he had another appointment. Farage trundled off to lunch.

Hypocrisy doesn’t carry enough of a punch for it to cover everything that went on here. That is the state of politics almost everywhere. The saddest thing is that it is performed mostly by people who need votes to be elected. Democracy has made great actors of our representatives but has entirely failed in achieving representation of what matters to us.

What follows is a monologue of my thoughts on that committee meeting and some of the people there.

One final note: NIGEL FARAGE IS NOT PRIME MINISTER MATERIAL AND NEVER WILL BE!

This is TwoandaMic!

I welcome opinions of every kind so please come and find me on social media at:

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Should I really have to ask? 😉 If you like the developing story of this social journey unfurling in my series of podcasts, feel more than free, feel partially responsible for spreading the word by subscribing and sharing and where possible, liking. It is greatly appreciated! Thank you!

Oh, and if there is a possibility to do some rating, that would be nice as well. Thank you.

PS. The transcript has been generated automatically and does not always reflect what has been said with 100% accuracy. I hope however that it will still provide some clarity on the content...!

#RiseUp #BeCurious

The only guarantees in life are death and taxes so the saying goes. We should add to that injustice as well for it has accompanied human civilisation since the dawn of our time.

We see it today, in our technological, advanced and moral societies, where our supposed level of understanding has risen above that of the barbaric. When we see what is happening in the world I am convinced that all we have done is to find ways of being more technologically barbaric than ethically advanced.

This poem is dedicated to the fallen soldiers of the British Expeditionary Force in August 1914 and I dedicate my recitation to the fallen of Palestine whose own search for freedom and justice goes on while the world sells weapons to the aggressor.

This is TwoandaMic

The photo has been taken from the National Portrait Gallery (NPG x2966; Laurence Binyon - Portrait - National Portrait Gallery)

I welcome opinions of every kind so please come and find me on social media at:

Instagram: TwoandaMic

Twitter: TwoandaMic1

TikTok: Twoandamic2

Should I really have to ask? 😉 If you like the developing story of this social journey unfurling in my series of podcasts, feel more than free, feel partially responsible for spreading the word by subscribing and sharing and where possible, liking. It is greatly appreciated! Thank you!

Oh, and if there is a possibility to do some rating, that would be nice as well. Thank you.

PS. The transcript has been generated automatically and does not always reflect what has been said with 100% accuracy. I hope however that it will still provide some clarity on the content...!

#RiseUp #BeCurious