If you want to know my thoughts on anything else, ask away.

: David Ervine – well, I’ve met him a few times, especially in 1996 when my own involvement with the peace process peaked. We always got on well, though we were operating in largely separate sectors of political and geographical space. Noted with some sadness, however, his failure to get the UVF to make even the inadequate gestures towards decommissioning we have seen from other groups, and indeed to disavow paramilitary activity.

: the prospects for a settlement in Northern Ireland – Zero as of right now. But if the IRA were to disarm completely, as Gerry Adams appeared to be hinting in his pre-election gimmickry, things become quite different. The DUP came pretty close to a deal late last year, and I’d have thought that can be done again (and I’m also of the view that all that is really needed is a DUP/SF deal, the others are pretty much irrelevant). Of course, both sides have completely incorrect ideas about the other’s strategy, means and motivation, so it won’t be easy.

: Luxembourg – Grand Duchy rather than Belgian province, I suppose. I’ve had been dealing with their diplomats during the current EU presidency, some of whom have impressed me with their level of engagement. They were allowed to become full members of the euro despite not having had a freely floating currency for some time, a loophole that others (eg Montenegro and Kosovo where the euro is already local currency) are unlikely to be allowed to exploit. Last time I was there properly was just over a year ago when we broke for dinner in the capital en route to Strasbourg. The waiter at our table was from Montenegro, which coincidentally has much the same population. The EU isn’t really in a good position to chide people in other countries for wanting to split up and join separately.

: Turkey’s application to join the EU – am very much in favour. Yes, Turkey has to change first, but an EU that includes a reformed Turkey as an anchor of stability will be a much stronger EU. Those who are against seem an unattractive lot – I noted one senior German politician calling on Turkey last week to play a constructive role on Cyprus which seems a rather outdated position. Sure, there is still some way to go, for instance on the Armenian genocide question. But other things are looking up – for instance, the Young Fogey informs me that a surprising number of the current leadership in Ankara are Kurds by origin.

This is more in the nature of a note to self.

Glad to see articles about Azerbaijan in last week’s Economist and yesterday’s FT. I fear however that I cannot fully go along with those who detect a genuine democratic commitment from the country’s leadership. Take for instance today’s article in Kommersant, which finishes:

Speaker of the Azerbaijani parliament Murtuz Aleskerov has proposed a compromise to the opposition. He said that, if the opposition asks seats in the parliament, it will not be refused and will be given as many mandates as they need.

I personally have the naive belief that the number of seats you win in parliament should be determined by the votes cast by the electorate rather than the deal you strike with the government; silly of me, I know…

Congratulations on the hundredth anniversary of your independence.

It’s a very interesting historical example of the peaceful break-up of formerly united states.

(And a question for my Swedish readers – were you sorry to see them go???)

This is the latest meme – so, why not?

I see Neil Belton’s novel about Schrödinger in Dublin (which I’ve been hearing rumours about for some time) is now out, reviewed in the TLS, the Guardian and the Daily Telegraph. Any of you guys read it yet?

http://www.livejournal.com/community/mapps0405/
http://jawadbutt.blogspot.com/
http://www.livejournal.com/users/jawadbutt/

…and got in touch with the workblogger directly. I couldn’t find an internal email (which is not unusual for interns in our field offices), but did find a livejournal account clearly used by the same person, so posted this anonymous reply to the latest lj post:

[name], if I were you I would be a little more discreet in your blogging. I actually work for ICG and found your blog while doing a routine search of what people are saying about us. Fortunately you have only said nice things about our mutual employers!!! Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone else in the organisation about it, but do remember that what you write here is public, and if I can find it accidentally, then others who may be less friendly (to you or to your employers) can find it as well if they choose to look.

Hopefully that will get the message across.

I’ve just discovered a blog written by an intern in one of our field offices (not one of the offices under my own remit). Full of enthusiasm about the work that we do, which is nice, but also full of really indiscreet stuff about career plans and sex. The writer’s identity is pretty obvious (it’s in the name and URL of the blog).

Tough call here. On the one hand, the kid is clearly not in breach of any internal organisational rule, and what is written about our work is pretty positive, so I don’t feel any pressing need to raise it internally. On the other hand, the blogger is so very indiscreet that I wouldn’t be inclined to hire such a person for any of our paid positions, and a friendly hint to that effect is I think in order.

I think what I’ll do is wait until the blogger’s internship in our office is over, and then send a friendly note suggesting either greater discretion in future or a more anonymised blog. Anyone have any handy advice sheets for this sort of situation?

(Also posted to my website – NB the website version will be updated; this entry will not – and in abbreviated form to rasfw.)

This is actually the third year in a row that I have managed to read all the Hugo-nominated fiction (I first tried in 2002 but not everyone saw the merits of on-line publication back then). This year, for the first time, I am myself a voter and will be attending the WorldCon in Glasgow this summer, so I know that at least one vote will be cast along the lines I propose below!

But of course this is not a set of recommendations; this is a personal assessment of which books and stories I thought were good and which were not. I’m aware, from my lack of success at predicting previous winners, that my tastes are not universally shared, and indeed already this year I note that others have seen qualities that I have not in, for instance, Jim Kelly’s “The Best Christmas Ever” and Bradley Denton’s “Sergeant Chip”, whereas my enthusiasm for Mike Flynn’s “The Clapping Hands of God” may prove to be a minority view.

All of this is part of the discourse between writer and reader, and the wider discourse of sf fandom. I’m posting this on my own website, also on my livejournal and in shorter form on rec.arts.sf.written; I hope others find it of interest.

Best Novel

Last year, and the year before, I linked to all the reviews I could find on-line for each of the shortlisted novels. It takes a heck of a lot of time, and I don’t think really added much to the page in the end, and I’m sure there are three times as many on-line reviews this year. So what I’ve done is added a Google search for other reviews after each entry, plus one other reviewer whose assessment was similar to my own, and you can make up your own minds as to who is worth reading and who isn’t. See also brief notes on four of the five by Henry Farrell at Crooked Timber. It’s worth noting that all five of the finalists are from the UK, apparently the first time this has ever happened; Mieville and Clarke are English, Banks is a Scot, Stross is English but has lived in Scotland for years, and McDonald has lived in Northern Ireland since he was a small child. It’s also a very strong list; it would not be too embarrassing if any of these won.

5) The Algebraist, by Iain M. Banks. A really fun story of space opera, which in a less good year would be a strong contender. Our hero has the job of communicating with the inhabitants of his local gas giant, who live life at a much slower pace than we humans do. They may (or may not) be the guardians of an ancent mystery, which explains why a crazed religious warlord is about to invade their solar system. This is not the Culture in which most of Banks’ sf has been set, but perhaps the same universe at an earlier stage of its history. (Though probably not.) It’s funny and fascinating, but the solution to the mystery itself is not totally convincing and I felt the bad guys were a bit one-dimensional, and in particular it was less hard work than some of Banks’ writing – usually a good thing but I felt it was a bit flat. Having said that, the real reason it won’t win the Hugo is that it won’t be published in the US until two months after voting closes. Nonetheless it’s on the Locus Best SF Novel shortlist.

Other reviewsKeith Brooke in infinity plus.

4) Iron Council, by China Mieville. Back to the fantasy city of New Crobuzon, setting of Mieville’s two earlier books, but this time with revolution, and the legacy of a socialist train from years ago in time bringing the ideology back home, combined with the variegated humans and near-humans and the distorted landscapes of Mieville’s created world. Lots of fascinating stuff here, including desperate if unusual love affairs, extraordinary landscapes, and nods to many historical revolutionary movements (New Crobuzon for once more reminiscent of Paris than of London in places). But I felt it went on a bit too long, and the language, while lyrical and wonderful in many places, was verbose in others, and that the ending didn’t really reward the effort I’d had to put in; actually my least favourite of the three New Crobuzon books. Also the fact that Mieville’s politics are well to the left of the average Hugo voter’s will probably put him out of contention. (Of course, that is less true this year than most years.) On the Locus Fantasy Novel shortlist; won the Arthur C Clarke Award.

Other reviewsAdam Lipkin in Bookslut who is a bit more negative than I am.

3) Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, by Susannah Clarke. Big huge book, generally received well though heavily hyped to the mainstream audience. Magic returns to England in the early nineteenth century and helps to win the Napoleonic wars. The difficult relationship between our two protagonists themselves a sort of wizardly rather than musical Gilbert and Sullivan), and between them and the government and the realm of faery, is portrayed in a beautiful pastiche of nineteenth-century literary style, with footnotes the like of which I haven’t seen since The Third Policeman. I loved it on first reading. In comparison with the others, however, it goes on a bit too long, and the pacing is uneven. On the Locus Best First Novel shortlist.

Other reviewsJohn Clute in scifi.com.

2) Iron Sunrise, by Charles Stross. Sequel to last year’s nominee, Singularity Sky, a 24th century space opera combined with spy story; perhaps a bit reminiscent of the more successful of Bujold’s early work. The “Iron Sunrise” of the title is an artificially (though possibly accidentally) triggered supernova that wipes out an entire solar system. Features nassty neo-Nazis in space, tough teenage girl protagonist, explosively brilliant prose, plot twisting up and down (though I did think the final twist was a bit too similar to the end of one of his other recent stories). I really liked it, and as it’s had decent circulation in the US it must have a chance of winning. Also on the Locus Best SF Novel shortlist.

Other reviewsThomas M. Wagner at Sf Reviews.net.

1) River of Gods, by Ian McDonald. I realise I’m partly cheering for my home team here. I believe the last Hugo winner from Northern Ireland was Bob Shaw, who was voted Best Fan Writer in 1979 and 1980 (and I think Walt Willis’ “Outstanding Actifan” Hugo in 1958 may complete the list not just of Ulster winners but of Irish winners in toto). However I’d like to think my opinion of this book would be just as high if it had been written by a Californian, or indeed an Indian since that’s where it’s set. In 2047, a hundred years after independence, the sub-continent is embedded in ecological troubles and accelerated technology. The cast of characters includes a comedian who inherits a business empire, a journalist, a policeman hunting rogue AI’s, an American scientist, a politician, a neuter, a small-time crook, a Big Dumb Object, and India itself. McDonald keeps all these balls hurtling through the air, to dazzling effect. A great book in a good year.  Won the BSFA Award. Unfortunately has not yet been published in the US.

Other reviewsChristopher Priest in The Guardian.

Best Novella

Not a bad selection, with only one that really struck me as below par. Anne K.G. Murphy has also reviewed all the nominees at greater length over at Emerald City. She doesn’t rank them but I think comes to similar conclusions to my own.

5) “Time Ablaze” by Michael A. Burstein (HTML, FictionWise). A story of a time-traveller researching a forgotten disaster in New York, who gets involved with the subjects of his research; the latest I suppose in a number of sf-nal stories in response to the 9/11 attacks. It really didn’t work for me; Burstein’s prose, which has never grabbed me particularly, is especially clunky here, the plot is cliched, and the ending predictable almost from the first page. Was on Nebula long-list (but not short-list). I’m afraid I rank this one below “No Award” on my ballot.

Chris Markwyn at Tangent Online liked it. Mark Watson, Anne Murphy and Jemima Pereira shared my scepticism.

4) The other four are OK though. “Sergeant Chip” by Bradley Denton (HTML) is a story about a loyal enhanced canine soldier in a near-future war. Not a lot happens – he does some dramatic fighting, and may or may not live to tell the tale – but it’s nicely told in a blunt, straightforward voice without veering too much into the sentimental. Dog lovers will probably support this one en bloc. It’s also the only military sf story nominated in any category. Was on Nebula long-list (but not short-list); on Locus Best Novella shortlist. Included in the Hartwell/Cramer Best of the Year anthology. Given the way other people have responded to it I wouldn’t be surprised if it wins.

Patrick Nielsen Hayden thought it was the best sf short story he’d read in 2004, and Cory Doctorow was almost moved to tears by it Curtis Chen admits it made him cry). Patrick Samphire, Chris Markwyn at Tangent Online, James Reasoner, Mark Watson, Charles Coleman Finlay, Anne Murphy, Scott Danielson and Jonathan Strahan were also very positive. Only Victor Trey and to an extent Byron Bailey shared my reservations.

3) “Elector” by Charles Stross (HTML) is the culmination of his “Accelerando” sequence of stories, of which several have previously been nominated for Hugos. In typically exuberant Stross style, our post-Singularity heroes are reincarnated on the planet Saturn, and an election is held. I actually nominated this story but on reflection it doesn’t quite come together in the end, and I was left uncertain as to what it was All About. Still, a fun ride. Included in the Haber/Strahan Best of the Year anthology.

Andrew Liptak loved it. Jeremy Lyon and Anne Murphy’s takes were similar to mine, Niall Harrison perhaps a bit more enthusiastic.. Scott Danielson didn’t quite know what to make of it.

2) “Winterfair Gifts” by Lois McMaster Bujold (FictionWise) This story alone will have guaranteed decent sales for the otherwise indifferent anthology in which it first appeared. The latest episode to be published of Bujold’s superb Vorkosigan saga (though preceding the latest novel in internal chronology), here we have the tale of Miles Vorkosigan’s wedding, told from the point of view of the bodyguards. As ever the characterisation and style are great, though the plot didn’t totally grab me. I still nominated it, and being Bujold there must be a good chance it will win.

BookCrossing readers and Nathalie at Fantasy Romance Writer loved it, as did I on first reading.. Cyndy Lynn Speer at the SFSite, Adrienne Martini at Bookslut, Paula Klug at A Romance Review and Ellen D Micheletti at All About Romance liked it. The Pandora’s Box reviewers and Rebecca Gold were baffled by the Vorkosigan references, though Jane Bowers at Romance Reviews may have become a convert. Anne Murphy felt it wasn’t very original.

1) “The Concrete Jungle” by Charles Stross (HTML, PDF) I hadn’t read this before the nominations deadline, but if I had I probably would have put this alone on my list. Concrete cows in Milton Keynes; bureaucracy, geekery, software and magic; secret agents, office politics, and unspeakably strange beings; all very much in your face. I loved it and I hope it wins. On the Locus Best Novella shortlist.

Rick Kleffel, Cat Eldridge, Neil Ikerd, Christian Sauve, David Chess and Anne Murphy also loved it. Paul Di Filippo in the Washington Post and Michael Rawdon liked it. Rich Horton at the SF Site, Rick Klaw at Revolution SF, Paula Guran and Michael Berry in the San Francisco Chronicle liked it but felt it suffered in comparison with the rest of The Atrocity Archives, the collection in which it was first published. If they’re right, I’d better get hold of the whole book. (Some on the Asimov’s message board took the opposite view.)

Best Novelette

This is a particularly excellent selection and a particularly difficult choice. To be honest I wish it were possible to take the Hugo away from this year’s Short Story category and give an extra award here. All five of these stories are very good and deserve wide circulation. Anne K.G. Murphy has done a brief survey of the nominees for Emerald City.

5) With great reluctance, one has to start pruning somewhere. “The Faery Handbag” by Kelly Link (HTML) is another typically thought-provoking fantasy from this author, set in contemporary America; the narrator’s grandmother’s handbag holds all kinds of things, including missing menfolk. A beautiful story, perhaps just a little insubstantial. On the Locus Best Novelette shortlist.

A.M. Clifford, Jonathan Strahan Hilary Williamson at BookLoons and Tim Pratt and Gwenda Bond loved it. Grey Walker at Green Man Review and Andi Shechter liked it. Cheryl Morgan found it “highly entertaining”, and her colleague Anne Murphy highly recommends it.

4) “The People of Sand and Slag” by Paolo Bacigalupi (HTML, FictionWise) is a rather disturbing story about some genetically modified warriors guarding, well, something, while playing various horrible games with each other’s bodies they regenerate fast and can eat anything, including sand and slag, which is fortunate as that’s mostly what they get). Their preconceptions and relationships with each other are turned upside down when they adopt a stray dog. Included in the Dozois and the Haber/Strahan Best of the Year anthologies. If I have a problem with the story I suppose it’s just that I found it nastier than necessary to make the point.

Rich Horton “liked it a good deal”. Byron Bailey “greatly enjoyed it”. Mark Watson felt it went a little to far.

3) “The Voluntary State” by Christopher Rowe (HTML, FictionWise) Soma-With-The-Paintbox-In-Printer’s-Alley and Jenny-With-Grease-Beneath-Her-Fingernails are citizens of the Voluntary State of Tennessee, their lives enhanced by biotech and nanotech under the apparently benevolent dictatorship of the Governor. They get caught up in a fiendish Kentuckian plan to overthrow the regime. Fast-paced and beautifully described, and in fact the only one on this list that I personally nominated, but on re-reading I felt it had some hidden shallows. Shortlisted for the Nebula. Included in the Dozois and the Haber/Strahan Best of the Year anthologies.

Eugie Foster, in a long and thoughtful review for Tangent Online, loved it. Susan Groppi thinks it’s “excellent”.  Andrew Hatchell: “truly fabulous”. Matthew Cheney: “breathtaking”. Philip Brewer: “awesome”. Kurtis Roth says it will “peel your head off” and this is a Good Thing). Brian at WeirdWriter loved it too.  Gwenda Bond describes it as her favourite story of the year, but she is married to the author.

2) “Biographical Notes to ‘A Discourse on the Nature of Causality, with Air-Planes’ by Benjamin Rosenbaum” by Benjamin Rosenbaum (HTML, PDF, FictionWise) is an alternate history, tales of derring-do at high altitude between airships mixed with philosophical and counterfactual reflections, nicely paced and written. If there’s a problem with this story, it is perhaps just a little too clever – the first line, for instance, includes a reference to a well-known real life feminist sf convention which may be lost on many readers. Of course it may well win for precisely this reason.

Sherwood Smith at The SF Site and Dan Percival liked it. Therese Noren loves the pirates’ emblem: “In a yellow circle, two round black dots stared like unblinking demonic eyes; beneath, a black semicircle leered with empty, ravenous bonhomie.“

1) “The Clapping Hands of God” by Michael F. Flynn (HTML). I thought this was exceptional. At first it seems to be a straightforward “first contact” story – human surveying team arrives on a planet full of aliens – with the extra little twist that the viewpoint character is an observant and devout Muslim. The team’s efforts to understand the alien culture are distorted by their own expectations, as is the reader’s (well, this reader’s) anticipation of what the story is going to be about. Included in the Dozois Best of the Year anthology. I really hope this wins, though won’t cry if it is Rowe or Rosenbaum, or indeed either of the others.

Chris Markwyn at Tangent Online liked it a lot; Anne Murphy wasn’t so sure.

Best Short Story

Really this is a very poor selection, a point also made by “Safe Light”, in a thoughtful review of all five nominees, and by Tero Ykspetaja. I don’t particularly care for Sawyer’s writing, but the other three nominated authors have all produced stuff I enjoyed much more than this. I’m very surprised that Benjamin Rosenbaum’s “Embracing-the-New” wasn’t shortlisted, nor were the other two stories I put on my nominations form. My biggest dilemma, to be honest, is whether or not to put “No Award” top of my list. The best of these stories is just about of award-winning quality, but far inferior to the best in the other categories.

5) “Shed Skin” by Robert J. Sawyer HTML, Word, RTF, PDF, WordStar, FictionWise). In a future where people can transfer their personalities and property rights to robotic selves, casting aside the flesh, what happens to the flesh? A silly premise, which leads to an unconvincing conclusion. Was on Nebula long-list (but not short-list). First published in the same issue of Analog as Burstein’s “Decisions”; won the Analog readers’ poll. I see it’s been expanded to novel length; one to avoid.

Yoon Ha Lee in a thoughtful review was left underwhelmed. Several other livejournal readers agree with me one doesn’t). Mark Fox also questions the premise. Mark Watson thought it was “fairly routine”. But James Schellenberg liked it.

4) “The Best Christmas Ever” by James Patrick Kelly HTML). The last man alive is comforted by his robot helpers, who organise a Christmas celebration for him. I normally hate stories with cute anthropomorphic robots, and this was no exception. Included in the Haber/Strahan Best of the Year anthology.

Eugie Foster, in a typically thoughtful review, liked it more than I did; so did Zhaneel, “Safe Light”, Scott Danielson and Jonathan Strahan.

3) “Decisions” by Michael A. Burstein HTML, FictionWise) Astronaut appears to have gone through a time warp; the truth turns out to be much stranger. First published in the same issue of Analog as Sawyer’s “Shed Skin”. Burstein’s prose has not always been as clunky as it is here and in “Time Ablaze”, has it?

Scott Danielson liked it. Mark Watson did not.

2) “A Princess of Earth” by Mike Resnick HTML, FictionWise). Old man meets famous fictional character John Carter, of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Mars books) for long rambling conversation and cop-out ending. Won a straw poll in Turku, Finland.

“Parsoni” and Mark Watson loved it. Chris Markwyn in Tangent Online liked it. Scott Danielson thought it was fun.

1) “Travels with My Cats” by Mike Resnick HTML, FictionWise). Only half-decent story in the list. Time-slip romance between author and reader across the decades. I found the protagonist’s passivity very irritating. Shortlisted for the Nebula. Won the Asimov’s reader’s poll. If I’m in a generous mood the day I fill in my ballot paper, I may put this ahead of “No Award”.

Scott Danielson, “Fiftytwo” and Andrew Liptak and Chris Markwyn at Tangent Online loved it. Mark Watson liked it. Simon Owens thought it was pretty poor.

Comments welcome below or on rasfw.

I bring the latest news from the Games of the Small States of Europe. Cyprus is well ahead with 87 medals, including 36 gold, with Iceland and Luxembourg not too far behind, and Monaco, Andorra, Malta, San Marino and Liechtenstein bringing up the rear. Sorry to see that the Vatican didn’t enter a team, but I suppose the cassocks get in the way for running, and they’d be at a disadvantage in the women’s events.

After Doctor Who (first one we’d seen for four weeks due to travelling) we happened to catch a fascinating documentary about the British referendum on staying in Europe, thirty years ago tomorrow.

I think the referendum is actually the first political vote I remember. I don’t remember either of the 1974 elections (and we were in America for the first of them) or the long-forgotten Constitutional Convention elected on 1 May 1975 in Northern Ireland. But I think I actually put “Yes” campaign stickers on my schoolbag. Not a big deal, of course; most of the middle-class South Belfast Catholic population would have been in favour of Europe then, probably even more so now.

Most of the politicians featured in the documentary were as I remember them; Jenkins if anything more effective than in the 1980s, Shirley Williams (the only one of them who I’ve actually met) as ever, Douglas Hurd looking more reasonable then than he did in later life. On the anti-Europe side, Tony Benn still seems to embody the concept of being a “swivel-eyed loon”, and Enoch Powell, Ian Paisley, Peter Shore, all utterly mad. The one who surprised me there was Barbara Castle, who I remember from the 1980s (when she had basically retired) as a much more sane person. I guess she took defeat gracefully.

But the utterly brain-melting moment was that on the day before the referendum, a Youth Vigil For Peace in favour of a united Europe was held outside Parliament at Westminster. And the keynote speaker, in a fantastic sweatshirt showing all nine flags of the European member states stretched tightly across her chest, was

no

it is not possible

Margaret Thatcher, then the newly elected leader of the Conservative Party, and completely in favour of European unity.

As someone once said, it’s a funny old world.

Slightly surprised to see today’s Guardian running articles on both H.P. Lovecraft and Philip K. Dick – slightly more surprised that one article is translated from French, the other is a review (by Michael Moorcock, no less) of a book translated from French. Also see Jon Courtenay Grimwood’s brief notes, which I think will encourage me to buy Steph Swainston’s but not the others.

20 people from my friends list, at more-or-less random:

Who is #8 going out with? Nobody, as far as I know.

Is #9 a boy or a girl? Neither. #9 is one of the Great Old Ones.

Would #11 and #2 make a cute couple? An interesting and gossip-worthy sf couple anyway, though I think it’s unlikely!

How about #18 and #4? Now that’s an interesting thought! It would be an academically high-powered combination…

When was the last time you talked to #12? Never spoken to her, though hope to see her at WorldCon.

What is #6’s favorite band? One of the world’s worst kept secrets! The Super Furry Animals.

Does #1 have any siblings? No idea, but I don’t think so.

Would you ever date #3? [Assuming an implicit ‘if you were both single’] I think we’d be on for long deep friendly chats over a pint rather than a romantic relationship.

Would you ever date #7? No. He’s not really my type!

Is #16 single? Married, as far as I know.

What’s #15’s last name? Hamill.

What’s #10’s middle name? Not convinced that she has one.

What’s #5’s favorite thing to do? Broadcasting. Or maybe drinking cocktails.

Is #13 hot? She’s not bad!

Would #14 and #19 make a good couple? A fantastic combination of belly-dancing and knitting…

Tell me a random fact about #11: Is (or at any rate was) a card-carrying member of the unmerged Liberals.

And #1: Was the first peron I met who I’d got to know through livejournal.

And #3:

Have you ever had a crush on #20? She looks cute, but I’m not her type!

Where does #9 live? R’lyeh. Or Edinburgh.

What’s #4 favorite color? Red, I suspect.

Would you make out with #14? [Again, assuming an implicit ‘if you were both single’] She’s very cute!

Are #5 & #6 best friends? They don’t know each other at all, as far as I know!

Does #7 like #20? Again, they don’t know each other at all, but they have things in common!

Does #8 like #19? Once again, they don’t know each other at all

How did you meet #2? Seems to have been by posting a comment about the US elections on her livejournal in February last year.

How did you meet #18? Reviewed one of her books on my website, emailed her about a related topic.

Does #10 have any pets? Don’t know, don’t think so.

Is #12 older than you? By a few months.

Is #17 the sexiest person alive, or what? Of course!

Who on the list have you known the longest? #6

Who on the list lives furthest away from you? #2. (Or, for certain definitions of “distance”, #9.)

Running from the conference to the Metro on Monday evening, I answered a voicemail from a journalist asking my views on the French referendum; I checked his paper on-line yesterday and didn’t see his article, but good old Google News Alerts has now flagged it up for me.