Richard Wagner's Lohengrin

When I mention Lohengrin, I get three possible reactions: the opera, the chocolate bar, the wedding march. Lohengrin is the Wagner opera where you need a guide and a map to try and make sense of it. Richard Wagner concocted the libretto from poems, Greek mythology, and fake history. The end product has nothing the viewer recognizes as any story they ever heard. At the opera, they then spend hours in limbo or are busy rifling through the program they bought.

Only Stupid People Pay for the Same Thing Twice

Am I stating the obvious? I don’t think so, and maybe you’ll follow my reasoning. Far from paying twice for the same thing, sometimes we end up paying for the same thing many times over. Going through an example might help you make up your own mind.

The Shamans Got It Right: Placebo Works

The results from a study into the workings of placebo products and the placebo effect show that a harmless substitute 'medication' works. The compound being made up of sugar or flour works just as well as the real thing containing pharmaceutically active components. Conclusions may be drawn with wide-ranging consequences.

How Economy Works

How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? Who hasn't heard or said it? But his post is not about the famous woodchuck. This is the story of Chuck Forest who inherited a forest and grew rich on wood. How he did it? Read on. It is the real American dream come true.

London Spy: A Review

BBC has broadcast the first of five parts of London Spy. During build-up to this first episode, all kinds of allegations were thrown about by all kinds of people, mainly because the main characters are all gay, I suppose. Now the real thing is out and open to all to assess, I hope we can get back to what really counts. I for my part was entertained and impressed. The latter is mainly due to the work of director Jakob Verbruggen.