Welcome to The Ironist
ISSN 2817-7363
The Ironist is dedicated to exploring irony wherever it occurs. We have a range of articles, stories and even book reviews which cover historical and contemporary life and events. We welcome you comments, support and submissions.
Awe and Reverence
Once, departing Peking (yes, sometimes I use archaic forms as it highlights either our ignorance, our knowledge, or the follies of current, or former, fashion) Chinese officials were searching everyone’s bags for contraband…
It was a Golden Age
We have the great Charter of Rights and Freedoms, “the highest law in the land” we are told. Ask Jordan Peterson and Tamara Lich if we have rights and freedoms.
The Sober Second Thought
Stopping the Creeping Cancer under Wokeism. Henry Goulburn, PC, one of the British negotiators at the Treaty of Ghent in 1814 (which ended America’s illegal attempt to seize Canada), remarked: “I had no idea of the fixed determination which there is in the heart of every American…”
Sinister Dealings
{In keeping with our tradition of welcoming a variety of perspectives on everyday life, we at The Ironist are open to submissions of matters relating to public interest raised by aggrieved contrarians. We recently received the following from an anonymous contributor....
What is Irony?
"It’s as clear as mud.” Since mud is not clear, the speaker cannot mean what he says. (Let us assume he is male). In fact, he means that what he has heard or read is unclear. Very unclear. He says the opposite of what he means to emphasize his difficulty in...
An Introduction
The modern world has suffered in the past century, and into the present one, from the tyranny of monomaniacs, from murdering monsters of depravity like Hitler, Stalin, and Chairman Mao, to cultural purists infected with the arrogance of privilege, like Trump and...
Happy Valley
If you haven’t seen it yet, Happy Valley is a television series you should see. The last of the series just ended so I want to promote it before it disappears under another surfeit of maudlin Disney rehashes which seem to never stop. You really do want to stay up another hour to see the next episode.
Ozymandias, Egyptian Tombs & the Song of the Harpist
Shelley’s sonnet Ozymandias uses the Greek name for Ramesses II, the most famous of Egyptian pharaohs, and was written as a great statute of him was in transit to the British Museum in a wave of awe and Orientalism sweeping Europe.
The Joy of Mud
Children like to play in mud. It is (or was, for us ‘oldies’), a relatively rare treat to be able to play in the mud. It is slippery, fun, sticky, squishable, slimy, and well, just fun to mess around with wet dirt. You will see kids playing in mud all the time. For a kid, what is more enjoyable?