August, ambition, Alexandr

Will Miliband gobble Gordon? Will Big Phil do Sir Alex? Will the caterpillars eat ALL the nasturtium?

What would Alexandr say if he weren’t back in the USSR, sleeping big?

Douglas Coupland’s Life After God stuff is twee, almost unbearably, but it could be worth having voices around if they remind us of the voices that are gone.

‘ “Well,” he said conclusively, “however much you pray, it doesn’t shorten your stretch. You’ll sit it out from beginning to end anyway.”
“Oh, you mustn’t pray for that,” said Alyosha, horrified. “Why d’you want freedom?...”
[The pair are doing time in a Soviet gulag]
“…In freedom your last grain of faith will be choked with weeds. You should rejoice that you’re in prison. Here you have time to think about your soul”…
…Alyosha was speaking the truth. His voice and eyes left no doubt that he was happy in prison. ’