Sprezzatura

There is a famous anecdote that during a Conservative Party policy meeting, Thatcher removed her copy of Hayek’s Constitution of Liberty from her handbag, slammed it down on the table and declared, “This is what we believe.” Oof, it's been a while. It's been over three years since I wrote an intro to the blog - technically my second post, but the first post where I thought about what the fuck I was doing on a long-term basis. I've gone on a lot of tangents since then, and taken a LOT of breaks, but since I'm going to try and get back into writing on a more consistent basis around here I thought I'd go back and check what still rings true and what's no longer important to me. Let's see how I did. I'm going to do things in a weird order, but hopefully it will be clear why once I have finished. 2. On Sprezzatura The key to this entire blog is not JUST Sprezzatura. That gets first billing because it's a particularly snazzy name. The key is what I'll...

Welcome to the blog. Here are some things you'll need to know. 1. On Multicultural London English I'm going to use it all the time, and I'm not going to explain what anything means. I'm serious. No more linking to Urban Dictionary. Yes, it's incredibly exclusive and insular. No, I don't care, it's praxis. One's locale is everything. Specificity is everything. It's right there in the Communist Manifesto - "The intellectual creations of individual nations become common property. National one-sidedness and narrow-mindedness become more and more impossible, and from the numerous national and local literatures, there arises a world literature." I know that sounds utopian and good but it's actually terrible, I promise. Accents and sports teams are pretty much all we have left to differentiate ourselves, and I intend to use them both to their full extent. You get me? Safe, lad. That's what the "do sul" in the blog name is by t...