-
Recent Posts
Recent Comments
Archives
- July 2022
- June 2022
- May 2022
- April 2022
- March 2022
- February 2022
- January 2022
- December 2021
- November 2021
- October 2021
- September 2021
- August 2021
- July 2021
- June 2021
- May 2021
- April 2021
- March 2021
- February 2021
- January 2021
- December 2020
- November 2020
- October 2020
- September 2020
- August 2020
- July 2020
- June 2020
- May 2020
- April 2020
- March 2020
- February 2020
- January 2020
- December 2019
- November 2019
- October 2019
- September 2019
- August 2019
- July 2019
- June 2019
- May 2019
- April 2019
- March 2019
- February 2019
- January 2019
- December 2018
- November 2018
- October 2018
- September 2018
- August 2018
- July 2018
- June 2018
- May 2018
- April 2018
- March 2018
- February 2018
- January 2018
- December 2017
- November 2017
- October 2017
- September 2017
- August 2017
- July 2017
- June 2017
- May 2017
- April 2017
- March 2017
- February 2017
- January 2017
- December 2016
- November 2016
- October 2016
- September 2016
- August 2016
- July 2016
- June 2016
- May 2016
- April 2016
- March 2016
- February 2016
- January 2016
- December 2015
- November 2015
- October 2015
- September 2015
- August 2015
- July 2015
- June 2015
- May 2015
- April 2015
- March 2015
- February 2015
- January 2015
- December 2014
- November 2014
- October 2014
- September 2014
- August 2014
- July 2014
- June 2014
- May 2014
- April 2014
- March 2014
- February 2014
- January 2014
- December 2013
- November 2013
- October 2013
- September 2013
- August 2013
- July 2013
- June 2013
- May 2013
- April 2013
- March 2013
- February 2013
- January 2013
- December 2012
- November 2012
- October 2012
- September 2012
- August 2012
- July 2012
- June 2012
- May 2012
- April 2012
- March 2012
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- February 2009
- January 2009
- December 2008
- November 2008
- October 2008
- September 2008
- August 2008
- July 2008
- June 2008
- May 2008
- April 2008
- March 2008
- February 2008
- January 2008
- December 2007
- November 2007
- October 2007
- September 2007
- August 2007
- July 2007
- June 2007
- May 2007
- April 2007
- March 2007
- February 2007
- January 2007
- December 2006
- November 2006
- October 2006
- September 2006
- August 2006
- July 2006
- June 2006
- May 2006
- April 2006
- March 2006
- February 2006
- January 2006
- December 2005
- November 2005
- October 2005
- September 2005
- August 2005
- July 2005
- June 2005
- May 2005
- April 2005
- March 2005
- February 2005
- January 2005
- December 2004
- November 2004
- October 2004
- September 2004
- August 2004
- July 2004
- June 2004
- May 2004
- April 2004
- March 2004
- February 2004
- January 2004
- December 2003
- November 2003
- October 2003
- September 2003
- August 2003
- July 2003
- June 2003
- May 2003
- March 2003
- February 2003
- December 2002
- March 2002
- February 2002
- January 2002
- December 2001
- December 2000
- December 1999
- January 1999
Categories
Meta
Monthly Archives: November 2008
November Books 31 and 32) Two books about Elizabeth I
31) Elizabeth I, by David Starkey 32) The Life of Elizabeth I, by Alison Weir This was a fortuitously good paired reading of biographies: Starkey concentrates on Elizabeth’s life from her conception and birth in 1533 to her accession to … Continue reading
Inspired by somebody else
Is Stephanie Meyer’s book Twilight worth reading? Is the film worth seeing?
More primary source material leading to a biography
Another one of my ancestor’s letters to William Cecil, later Lord Burghley, this time describing his visit to the captive Mary Queen of Scots – one of the few relatively neutral accounts of her lifestyle. I can’t get a precise … Continue reading
November Books 30) Henry IV Part 2
30) The Second Part of King Henry the Fourth, by William Shakespeare I seem to have lost a bit of pace with my Shakespeare project – this is only my third one this month, and I’m not rushing to tick … Continue reading
Four Big Finish releases
Other Lives is one of those rare stories where the only sfnal elements are the Doctor and companions, and the Tardis. On a visit to the Great Exhibition (as promised originally by the Fifth Doctor at the start of Time … Continue reading
Four More Blake’s 7 Episodes
Breakdown – The one about Gan’s limiter breaking down (hence the title). The first half is a bit silly, with David Jackson doing manic grunting and throwing the rest of them around while yet another dangerous sector of space must … Continue reading
Online maps
I saw someone advocating OpenStreetMaps as a source of online mapping information, and thought I would try the various online mapping services with some of the more obscure places of interest to me. Wikipedia is a great starting point: you … Continue reading
Belgium in Doctor Who; Doctor Who’s Belgian roots
I’m a little early, since it isn’t quite the 23rd of November yet by Belgian time, but I thought some of you would be amused by this little collection of pictures and video clips that I have put together: The … Continue reading
November Books 27-29) The Negotiator Trilogy
27) Heart of Stone, by C.E. Murphy 28) House of Cards, by C.E. Murphy 29) Hands of Flame, by C.E. Murphy These three books take ‘s urban fantasies to new territory: specifically New York rather than Seattle, and with her … Continue reading
Those cotton-picking maps
The excellent Strange Maps produced a fascinating overlay of Obama votes in this month’s presidential election compared with cotton production in 1860. Not surprisingly there is a huge correlation: cotton in 1860 => slaves => black population now => Obama … Continue reading
Play the voting game!
Spoilt ballots are always one of the more fun parts of an election campaign for the participants. Here are some from the current nail-biter between Al Franken and Norm Coleman for the Senate seat in Minnesota.
November Books 26) Theatre of War
26) Theatre of War, by Justin Richards A fairly standard New Adventure, introducing the sinister character of Irving Braxiatel, renegade Time Lord and cultural collector, with lots of fun archaeology for Benny and combat for Ace. The actual plot is … Continue reading
November Books 25) Science Fiction Hall of Fame
25) Science Fiction Hall of Fame: The Greatest Science Fiction Stories of All Time, edited by Robert Silverberg This is one of those classic collections, assembling the top sf stories published before 1965 as voted for by the membership of … Continue reading
November Books 23) 30 Hot Days, 24) Glafkos Clerides: the Path of a Country
I’m on my way home from Cyprus, and while I was there picked up and read two books which give considerable and vivid detail on two aspects of the island’s recent history. 23) 30 Hot Days, by Mehmet Ali Birand … Continue reading
Salute to Cem Özdemir
I’m delighted to hear that Cem Özdemir is the new co-leader of the German Greens. I’ve known him since shortly after he was elected to the European Parliament in 2004, mainly (but not exclusively) on the Cyprus issue where he … Continue reading
Weekend in Cambridge
Anne and I went back to Cambridge this weekend, for the first time since our year group’s reunion in 2000. We arrived very late on Friday (having got snarled up with Brussels traffic, and thus had a long wait for … Continue reading
November Books 22) Year’s Best SF 13
22) Year’s Best SF 13, edited by David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer As always, a generally good selection, with a lot of the stories revolving around virtual identities and gaming. I had read two of the 25 before, as … Continue reading
November Books 21) Alias vol 4: The Secret Origins of Jessica Jones
21) The Secret Origins of Jessica Jones I’d been looking for this for ages, having very much enjoyed the first three books in the series. Jessica Jones, superhero against her will, confronts her internal demons, both the guilty secret of … Continue reading
November Books 20) Henry IV Part 1
20) The First Part of King Henry the Fourth, by William Shakespeare It always puzzled me a bit that my English friends seemed to have a better knowledge of Shakespeare’s history plays than I did, and only now has the … Continue reading
November Books 19) Who Goes There
19) Who Goes There (Travels through Strangest Britain, in Search of the Doctor), by Nick Griffiths This is a brilliant book, and I think could be enjoyed even by non-Who fans provided they have at least a mild interest in … Continue reading
Four Big Finish audios
Three more as I work through the BF back catalogue, and also the latest of their offerings. Live-34 is an excellent experiment in format. The story is told as four half-hour episodes of live radio on Colony 34. The oppressive … Continue reading
November Books 11-18) The Captain Underpants series
11) The Adventures of Captain Underpants, by Dav Pilkey 12) Captain Underpants and the Attack of the Talking Toilets, by Dav Pilkey 13) Captain Underpants and the Invasion of the Incredibly Naughty Cafeteria Ladies from Outer Space (and the Subsequent … Continue reading
Cousins
F holding little cousin S very carefully: U and F inspecting their little cousin, her mother warding off U from doing it too enthusiastically:
V speaks
Captain (Rtd) Valentine Esegrabo Melvin Strasser interviewed here, by Awoko. The interview took place at a local pub. Awoko: How do you receive the news that you are dead?Strasser: I was shocked, as this place is filled with machines which … Continue reading
Naming of Parts
NAMING OF PARTS, by Henry Reed To-day we have naming of parts. Yesterday, We had daily cleaning. And to-morrow morning, We shall have what to do after firing. But to-day, To-day we have naming of parts. Japonica Glistens like coral … Continue reading
November Books 10) Emma
10) Emma, by Jane Austen I had read Pride and Prejudice and Persuasion previously, and frankly liked them more. Emma Woodhouse is a manipulative snob, and while the author clearly disapproves of her manipulations and occasional rudeness, she entirely endorses … Continue reading
2008 Films 6) Richard III (1995); and The Kingmaker
I was very strongly recommended to watch Ian McKellen’s Richard III after I had read the script and listened to the Arkangel version. Well, , and , you were right. It is an extraordinary tour de force, set in a … Continue reading
Small political party disintegrates, no casualties reported
In a week full of exciting electoral news from the USA, Scotland, the Maldives and New Zealand, you could be forgiven for missing the fact that one of the parties in the current Irish government coalition has formally disbanded itself. … Continue reading
Companion Chronicles again
Big Finish’s series of Companion Chronicles, two-hander audio plays featuring companions of the first four Doctors, get better and better. Here we have Susan, Victoria, Jo and Leela brought back to life by Carole Ann Ford, Deborah Watling, Katy Manning … Continue reading