Category: LAZLO FERRAN

Do we Need a Social Market Economy?

Angela Merkel - leader of the social market economy in Germany
Angela Merkel – leader of the social market economy in Germany

My thoughts have been building on this for a while and this may be little more than a rant but I want to put my ideas up for discussion.

Let me paint you three pictures:

1. I recently had to scrap my 1995 BMW 3 series car. I had always serviced it at a BMW dealer, often paying more than £1000 per year on things like new suspension, brakes, etc and the thing was as well-maintained as a 20 year old car can be. And yet its market value was less than the price of a replacement bonnet! I had bumped into a van which had high bumpers and these had pushed in the grill, thus bending the bonnet. The lights also needed realigning and possibly the grill needed replacing but the damage was minimal. Think of all the complexity of a car like that, a system that tells you when it needs servicing, air-bags, h-plane adjustable seats, sun-roof, electric windows and a beautifully reliable and powerful engine. And yet its total value was less than a basic piece of pressed steel which probably cost all of £20 to make. Luckily, because my car had been well-maintained I got an offer near the maximum for a car of that age but if it had been tatty it could have been worth only £150 or even less. What a waste of metal and technology! What a wasteful society we live in! That car could have run for another 20 years with a new bonnet. Continue reading “Do we Need a Social Market Economy?” →

Cheaper Way to buy the Scifi Iron Series?

The War for Iron: Element of Civilization - Boxed Set
The War for Iron: Element of Civilization – Boxed Set

Now you can!

The War for Iron: Element of Civilization – Boxet Set is now available for £8.99 on:

Google Play: The War for Iron Series – Boxed Set
Amazon: The War for Iron Series – Boxed Set

And look out for the deluxe, illustrated edition soon!

Get all 3 books: Too Bright the Sun, Unknown Place, Unknown Universe and Worlds Like Dust together for the price-busting $8.99!! making a saving of nearly of nearly $4!! Continue reading “Cheaper Way to buy the Scifi Iron Series?” →

Film Review: The Blue Max (George Peppard)

The Blue Max - 1966
The Blue Max – 1966

The 1966 movie, The Blue Max, stands out in my mind as the only movie I can think of without a hero.

I watched The Blue Max last week (okay I admit it, I have it on DVD). I am a huge fan of aviation films and this one is all about a German Air Force pilot in World War I. Skip the bits about aircraft if that is not your thing but that’s not really the primary point of this film.

Briefly, Bruno Stachel is an infantry corporal in the trenches. From a working-class background, he nevertheless longs for the noble arena of death in the skies and enlists in the German Air Force. He proves a talented pilot but his new squadron of officers, enlisted from the ruling classes, do not accept his ambitious ruthlessness. They have a strict code of conduct, which he breaks in many ways, including bedding the top-scoring Willi’s aunt and lover, the Countess Kaeti. Willi’s nobility, until now, has extended to taking Stachel under his wing but now the gloves are off and the two duel for supremacy in the skies and in bed. Continue reading “Film Review: The Blue Max (George Peppard)” →