Monthly Archives: August 2016

Non-fiction: 2 (YTD 31) Drama and Delight: The Life of Verity Lambert, by Richard Marson Ghastly Beyond Belief, eds. Neil Gaiman and Kim Newman Fiction (non-sf): 1 (YTD 20) The Beggar Maid, by Alice Munro Play scripts: 7 Dido, Queen … Continue reading →

Second speech of third scene (Act 2 Scene 1): ABIGAIL: Now have I happily espied a time To search the plank my father did appoint; And here, behold, unseen, where I have found The gold, the pearls, and jewels, which … Continue reading →

Second speech of third scene (Act 1 Scene 3): [Faustus invokes Mephistopheles] FAUSTUS: Sint mihi Dei Acherontis propitii! Valeat numen triplex Jehovae! Ignei, aerii, aquatani spiritus, salvete! Orientis princeps Belzebub, inferni ardentis monarcha, et Demogorgon, propitiamus vos, ut appareat et … Continue reading →

Hous of Commons Research Briefing – Brexit: impact across policy areas A level-headed survey.(tags: eu ukpolitics ) Boundary changes could affect up to 200 Labour seats, says analysis Yep. More small seats are Labour; more large seats Tory.(tags: ukpolitics ) … Continue reading →

Second speech of third scene of Tamburlaine, Part One (Act 2 Scene 1): MENAPHON [describing Tamburlaine]: Of stature tall, and straightly fashioned, Like his desire, lift upwards and divine; So large of limbs, his joints so strongly knit, Such breadth … Continue reading →

Fear of That Which I Cannot See There’s definitely no parasitic nematodes on that mate. You should be fine.(tags: Funny ) Ian Traynor, Europe editor of the Guardian, dies aged 60 A gentleman, and an honest and dogged journalist.(tags: deaths … Continue reading →

While on holiday, I read the complete plays of Christopher Marlowe, my first encounter directly with his work. It was very interesting; I know Shakespeare to a certain extent (I read/listened to the entire canon a few years ago, starting … Continue reading →

One of B’s housemates died last week. He was 40, and just didn’t wake up one morning. Like her, he would have been unable to tell anyone that his tummy felt sore, or his chest felt tight, or his head … Continue reading →

How a Self-Published Writer of Gay Erotica Beat Sci-Fi’s Sad Puppies at their Own Game Wow.(tags: disability sf ) A Pocket Guide To Northern Ireland For WW2 US Servicemen. Hilarious!(tags: Northernireland wwii ) Radical Futures and Conservative Sensitivities Great deconstruction … Continue reading →

Current Watership Down, by Richard Adams (finishing up at a chapter a day) Cuckoo Song, by Frances Hardinge The Apex Book of World SF: Volume 4, ed. Usman T. Malik Brother and Sister, by Joanna Trollope  Last books finished The … Continue reading →

Several significant changes to the Hugo rules were ratified by this year's WSFS meeting. Although discussion has tended to focus on the new tallying system dubbed EPH (short for E Pluribus Hugo) by its creators, two of the other amendments … Continue reading →

I normally like to do these posts on the night, but circumstances prevented me this year. Next year will likely be a different matter… Results are listed here, full details here

Have you recovered from Worldcon? Good. I was travelling all weekend, and then back at work last week, so even if the statistics had been out earlier I couldn’t have easily processed them. This is the first of three posts … Continue reading →

25 myths and facts about Ukraine and Ukrainians In case you were wondering.(tags: ukraine ) Trump campaign CEO once charged in domestic violence case Jeepers.(tags: Uspolitics ) You may think the world is falling apart. Steven Pinker is here to … Continue reading →

Second paragraph of third story (“Breeds There a Man…?”): He was saying, “That’s right! He came in here and said, ‘Put me in jail, because I want to kill myself.’[”] I have fallen out of love with Asimov much more … Continue reading →

Decline and fall of the British lobbying empire Lots of professional contacts seeking new passports…(tags: eu ) Boucher, Backbone and Blake – the legacy of Blakes 7, by @ehorakova Brilliant piece.(tags: ukpolitics sf ) The top 10 reasons Brexit isn’t … Continue reading →

Second sentence of third chapter: The observatory presented itself to their eyes as a self-contained little community, without neighbours, and perched on the extreme end of the land. There were three buildings: a small, stone—built dwelling house, a low workshop, … Continue reading →

Exoplanet discovered orbiting Proxima Centauri Wow!!!!(tags: astronomy ) I created the burkini to give women freedom, not to take it away What it was meant to be about.(tags: religion sexandgenderandsexuality france ) 12 ways to make it look like Brexit … Continue reading →

Second paragraph of third chapter: Soon, the car and its headlights were cutting through the night at a steady eighty. Another for my (very short) list of sff set in Belgium, this is a story of a Roman soldier yanked … Continue reading →

Banks’ Brexit wishlist Summary of the UK financial services industry’s position paper(tags: ukpolitics eu ) Belgium denies NSA helped in Salah Abdeslam manhunt: report Countering the spin swallowed by Buzzfeed.(tags: waronterror Belgium ) Brexit casts a shadow over UK development … Continue reading →

Second frame of third page: Wow. How come nobody told me about this sooner? (Well, yes, I know you told me. I should have listened.) This is a glorious exploration of the cultural history of Sunderland and its immediate vicinity, … Continue reading →

The Brexit Culprits You Never Saw Coming Clumsy title but interesting content re British agriculture.(tags: eu ukpolitics )

Second paragraph of third chapter: For Ranjit, the experiment was not so successful. Gamini was away, so he had no one to enjoy it with, and world news remained bad. I wasn’t sure if I would enjoy this, Clarke’s last … Continue reading →

Brexit X-men: how the prime minister’s key negotiators are coping Not all that well.(tags: ukpolitics eu )

Second paragraph of third chapter: The angel was actually a collection of data equations and mathematical emulations that had once been a Ship. Probably. Now it was reborn as Gabriel, though he preferred to go by the name given him … Continue reading →

It’s time to defend Brexit, says the Spectator Getting worried?(tags: ukpolitics eu ) 20 Big Questions about the Future of Humanity Q: Will sex become obsolescent? A: No.(tags: science ) The Hidden Danger of Big Data In 2015, mankind produced … Continue reading →

Current Watership Down, by Richard Adams (finishing up at a chapter a day) The Sea and Summer, by George Turner Les Lumières de l’Amalou, by Christophe Gibrlin and Claire Wendling The Collected Stories of Roger Zelazny, Vol 3: This Mortal … Continue reading →

Second paragraph of third chapter: This particular room was shared by Ace and a science geek called Abner Apple. The guy was a professor, despite his youth. But that wasn’t so unusual here on the Hill where it seemed everyone … Continue reading →

Present at the Creation How ISIS really was created (part 1 of 3).(tags: waronterror iraq syria ) Pro-EU folks in the UK: keep making your case, don’t apologise Amen.(tags: ukpolitics eu ) The UK won’t opt for CETA+ because it … Continue reading →