Times they are a changing?

Reading The Times as I often do (print edition as opposed to online), I happened across various unrelated articles today which presented me with a common theme for the subject of this post. Despite the fact I generally glean most of my news from the internet these days, I still find something strangely comforting about sitting in the sun with a beer browsing through a newspaper.

At this point I have to warn and advise any Sun readers; you are unlikely to find anything of interest in the remainder of this post… I don’t have an Agony Aunt who can tell you what to do with your problem, there is no exclusive behind the scenes gossip from The X-Factor and most importantly, I don’t give a stuff about the footballer who is shagging a wannabe celebrity. Oh yes, and you won’t find a Page Three in this blog!

Keeping abreast of what is actually happening in the world (no pun intended), tends to develop a less insular outlook on life. If you can manage to do that with a reasonable level of intellect and understanding, so much the better. The problem however remains; even those who read the less insatiable journals often display high levels of self-importance or ambivalence towards the remainder of society. However, there are always things we should be thinking about, even when we’re unable to contribute to (or change) the issue personally.

Reading a newspaper is something I’ve always done since my school common room days although at that time, the beer was absent of course. It’s also a habit that I probably inherited from my father (which is where the beer came in) but unlike him, my enjoyment was always inhibited and curtailed somewhat by my lack of dexterity. I generally found difficulty in effectively controlling the broadsheet periodicals. Newspapers which arguably, where and still are the only ones actually worth reading. Being unable to lay the newspaper out flat in front of me, or the onset of even a light breeze, usually meant that particular issue was destined for little more than chip wrappers. I have to admit; the tabloid versions of the more intellectual rags have been something of a godsend to me.

Today I learned a lot about social issues and matters of scientific importance to our society… What did you learn, if anything?