Category: And Now for Something Completely Different

Happy Passover, Chag Pesach Sameach, Ramadan Mubarak and Happy Easter!

15 April 2022
by Peter Bert
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Earlier this week, I realised  that this year, the Abrahamic family of religions celebrate in close proximity to each other: Ramadan and Lent overlap, Passover and Easter commence on the same day, on 15 April – a rare occurrence ever since the Council of Nicaea in 325 separated Christian Easter computation from the Jewish calendar. Wouldn’t it be a good idea if we all focused more on what we have in common, rather that what separates us?

Happy Passover, Chag Pesach Sameach, Ramadan Mubarak and Happy Easter!

 

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RoboJudge 1932

17 January 2022
by Peter Bert
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In the legal community, judicial decision-making aided by or based on artificial intelligence is a hot topic. RoboJudge is the catchword, and you come across articles and seminars titled “Robojudges – the future or fiction?” and the like. When I attended a panel discussion on the topic recently, I recalled reading a similar thought many years go. It was a piece by Kurt Tucholsky, one of the most important journalists of the Weimar Republic (and a lawyer by training), published in 1932:

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The Best Jazz Album 2021 – A Comparative Survey

31 December 2021
by Peter Bert
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This time last year, I was busy reading through and analyzing the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement. This year, I went for something completely different: I looked at Best Jazz Album 2021 compilations put out by different publications. I started with the NYT and Guardian lists and was surprised that there was no overlap at all between these two lists This made me to look further, but the key finding remains. There are relatively few albums that appear on more that one list – jazz critics appear to embrace diversity. I ended up compiling and comparing five lists with a total of 78 entries in one table, while listening to a very wide range of music. Read More

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

24 December 2021
by Peter Bert
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Dear Readers, with this picture of the Frankfurt skyline, taken not too long ago from my office desk, I would like to thank you for your continued interest in this blog! It is hard to believe, but the blog is now in its 10th year, and it‘s still fun. I hope you and your loved ones are enjoying a couple of peaceful days – have a good start to the New Year! Read More