Monthly Archives: June 2012

Non-fiction 6 (YTD 28) The Tipping Point, by Malcolm Gladwell Jar Jar Binks Must Die, by Dan Kimmel The Flowering of New England 1815-1865, by Van Wyck Brooks The Steampunk Bible, by Jeff VanderMeer with S.J. Chambers et al. The Young … Continue reading →

It took me a while (and several long journeys) but eventually I managed to watch all four of the nominated films in this category, having seen the first series of Game of Thrones when it was broadcast last year. My … Continue reading →

As I worked through my Hugo Voter Packet, I eventually reached the file labelled “Digger_Optimized.pdf” and opened it. My heart sank as I realised that it is 830 pages in length – I think only A Dance With Dragons is … Continue reading →

I had been looking forward to rereading this. When I first read it, shortly after publication, the dystopian setting of a near-future USA torn apart by social conflict and religious extremism seemed a bit far-fetched; in these days of the … Continue reading →

The Revenants, by Ian Potter, was a free download for DWM subscribers a month or so ago. William Russell returns as Ian Chesterton, telling the story of how he and Barbara were apparently abandoned by the First Doctor in Orkney … Continue reading →

Jenny Jones questions Stephen Greenhalgh Watch the tongue!!!!(tags: ukpolitics )

There is a format that works much more often than not for Doctor Who: take an isolated building, and develop beyond the usual base-under-siege story by making the inhabitants a collection of strange indiviuals each with their own hidden motivations. … Continue reading →

I am months behind on writing up my recent Big Finish listening, but one has to start somewhere. The three Road Trip audios take Bernice Summerfield, played as ever by Lisa Bowerman, to the edge of the universe in a … Continue reading →

This is a beautiful video of a politician having a bad hair day, and indeed a bad tongue day. It helps my enjoyment immensely to recollect the individual concerned as a young Tory activist in my Cambridge student days. But … Continue reading →

Panderee’s Box – Haley Sweetland Edwards (NYT) In Georgia, more media freedom could mean a more polarized political debate; but that’s a good thing.(tags: ) The Olympic torch – from Hitler to Headingley Penelope on sport and ritual.(tags: ) From … Continue reading →

Insufficiently Boring An insider’s take on “the worst IT disaster in British banking history”, the RBS crash.(tags: banks internet ) ‘Fascinating’ (raises eyebrow) The Asimov / Roddenberry letters.(tags: sf )

Farewell Elizabeth Shaw One of the best DW vidders pays tribute.(tags: doctorwho ) The Increasingly Monolithic Republican Party Commentary from Lincoln Mitchell.(tags: uspolitics ) If History Repeats, Everyone’s VP Guess Is Wrong | RealClearPolitics …but I think it will be … Continue reading →

June Books 18) The Unwritten: Leviathan, by Mike Carey and Peter Gross This is the second of this year’s Hugo nominees for graphic novel which I have read – a pleasing narrative of young Tommy Taylor, who gets separately from … Continue reading →

Since we are now past the Solstice, I thought it might be intertesting to see what sf stories have been set in 2012 (and were written some time before 2012). This is not an exhauistive listing, just the things that … Continue reading →

How a dentist and a corrupt French Commissioner are responsible for weird science and Kill Bill videos | Jon Worth | At the intersection of the EU, UK politics and tech #sciencegirlthing explained.(tags: sexandgenderandsexuality eu )

(Apologies to those who follow .)

Caroline John (“Liz” in Doctor Who) Interview 1999 – YouTube The actress reminisces about her career.(tags: doctorwho ) Caroline John interview Summary of the Youtube interview.(tags: doctorwho ) Dick Bruna: Miffy and me – audio slideshow Awww!(tags: writing ) sir_guinglain … Continue reading →

BBC News – Doctor Who actress Caroline John dies aged 72 Sad news.(tags: death doctorwho ) Doctor Who News: Caroline John (1940-2012) (tags: doctorwho ) wshaffer: RIP, Caroline John (tags: doctorwho ) miss_s_b | RIP Caroline John (tags: doctorwho ) … Continue reading →

Museum of Endangered Sounds Some of these are sounds you might never have wanted to hear again…(tags: history ) Middle-Aged Woman Angrily Demanding Price Check On Rice Pudding Was Once Carefree Youth, Onlookers Speculate | The Onion – America’s Finest … Continue reading →

The end of the story of the writing of The Lord of the Rings, including Tolkien's attempts to plot out the very end of the story – Gollum always had a role in the destruction of the Ring, but exactly … Continue reading →

Another Second Doctor novel featuring Ben and Polly (no less than five spinoff books are set between The Power of the Daleks and The Highlanders, if you count a Telos novella and an annual). Although there is an interesting idea … Continue reading →

This is a tremendous novel, ancient pagan mysteries linked with dubious academics and sinister conspiracies, all based around a fictional sinister Catholic university in Washington DC; not so very different from the plot elements of Dan Brown's novels, only much … Continue reading →

“As a British citizen I have always objected to being forced into bankruptcy in a foreign jurisdiction…” « Slugger O’Toole The extraordinary case of the IRA hungerstriker turned property magnate who clings desperately to his British citizenship…(tags: northernireland ) The … Continue reading →

What Would a Second Obama Term Bring? Realistic assessment on the limitations of the presidency.(tags: uspolitics ) Aung San Suu Kyi – Nobel Lecture “The peace of our world is indivisible. As long as negative forces are getting the better … Continue reading →

An interview with Dani Rodrik on Erdoğan, Gülen, and the future of Turkish politics | Balyoz Davası ve Gerçekler Fascinating.(tags: turkey )

Another excellent series of podcasts from the BBC, exploring Shakespeare’s plays in the wider context of culture, politics and knowledge of the times; twenty 13-minute pieces, all presented by Neil McGregor, the Director of the British Museum, who was such … Continue reading →

I confess that I haven't completely read two of the five nominees, but I am sufficiently confident in what I have sampled of them to vote as follows: 1) The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, Third Edition. The first two editions … Continue reading →

This is perhaps the single most beautiful book in the Hugo Voter Packet, with lavish illustrations of the very visual subculture which it describes. I must admit it also turned around my own opinion on steampunk – I had a … Continue reading →

I have just been listening to the new Big Finish Fourth Doctor play, The Trail of the White Worm, which reunites Tom Baker and Geoffrey Beevers as the Doctor and the Master, clearly and explicitly set between The Deadly Assassin … Continue reading →

Which of Doctor Who’s 11 Doctors is your boss? Not sure, myself!(tags: doctorwho ) Behind the scenes in the EU Catherine Ashton greets the new president of Serbia. (Page is in Croatian but embedded video entirely in English.)(tags: serbia eu … Continue reading →