Monthly Archives: May 2017

A good month this month, aided by some long flights and other journeys, and a couple of sunny weekends of sitting in the garden reading. Non-fiction: 4 (YTD 16) Descartes' Clock, by Gary Powell Broederschap: Pleidooi voor verbondenheid / Fraternité: … Continue reading →

Second paragraph of third chapter: Nicholas de Fleury was not brought to Ham in bonds, nor deprived of his senses, but he was under guard, and had been for the week of the journey from Angers. On the way, they … Continue reading →

A lot of you are kind enough to ask sometimes about the situation of the girls – B, who turns 20 next month, has no language ability at all, and lives full-time in a care facility half an hour to … Continue reading →

Current Watchmen, by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons (a chapter a month) Warriors ed. George R. R. Martin and Gardner Dozois Katherine Howard: The Tragic Story of Henry VIII’s Fifth Queen, by Josephine Wilkinson Last books finished An Equation of … Continue reading →

Why you should care about the Muslim headscarf ban Hear, hear, @aryngbeck!(tags: humanrights eu race )

I posted last week about my efforts to discover whether or not the house where I lived in Germany in the summer of 1986 was, as my landlord's daughter claimed, situated astride the old frontier between the Grand Duchy of … Continue reading →

When Your Child Is a Psychopath Chilling, long read.(tags: psychology )

I’ve just finished updating the Northern Ireland elections site with the results from the 2017 Assembly election and candidates for next month’s Westminster election. (Also details from the 2011 referendum on the Alternative Vote and the 2016 Brexit referendum.) Massive … Continue reading →

In Brexit, transparency is a tool – and Europe is using it The fiends!(tags: eu ukpolitics brexit )

The best Pope/Trump pictures and captions LOL(tags: uspolitics funny ) The Conservatives just pledged to take our democracy back decades by bringing FPTP to elections that never used it.(tags: elections ukpolitics democracy )

Gran who suffered heart attack at job centre was too scared to leave as she feared losing benefits Yep. UK government war on sick and poor continues.(tags: ukpolitics )

Global leaders throw political support behind polio eradication and transition G20 backs ending polio.(tags: polio ) Science fiction’s new golden age in China Indeed.(tags: China sf )

Mount Everest’s famous Hillary Step destroyed, mountaineers confirm Crumbs.(tags: everest ) Edward and Catherine Despard The Anglo-Irish rebel and his Jamaican wife.(tags: race History ireland ) What’s in a name? My old friend Andrew Smith: “I have the most common … Continue reading →

Current Watchmen, by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons (a chapter a month) An Equation of Almost Infinite Complexity, by J. Mulrooney Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen, by Lois McMaster Bujold Every Step You Take, by Maureen O’Brien Last books … Continue reading →

(See also update to this entry from a week later.) I lived in Germany for five months in 1986, working on an archaeology site near the city of Heilbronn. Along with several of the other (paid) volunteers, I lived in … Continue reading →

Elvish as she is spoke What Tolkien was doing and what other people did to it.(tags: tolkien languages ) What Donald Trump Needs to Know About Bob Mueller and Jim Comey Fascinating (long) read.(tags: uspolitics )

Second paragraph of third chapter: Get up, you fool, fight the pain and run. The thought spurred him into action, forcing him up from the ground. He had only forty yards to go, so he lowered his head and sprinted … Continue reading →

The Tory ‘dementia tax’ could backfire for Theresa May Ugh.(tags: ukpolitics )

Second paragraph of third entry (Doctor Who – The Edge of Destruction): Issue 127 of Doctor Who Magazine (August 1987) reported the book was planned for the second half of 1988. It was brought forward when Doctor Who – Attack … Continue reading →

Ukip is more likely to stand candidates against Remainers No surprise.(tags: ukpolitics ) How Breakfast Became a Thing A marketing success.(tags: Marketing food ) How Did Russiagate Start? Matt Tabibi has some sceptical questions.(tags: uspolitics ) Dutch king reveals double … Continue reading →

Second paragraph of third section: "Hello, I'm Chuck," I say, formally introducing myself. I am quoted (well, paraphrased) in the crucial second section, in which author Chuck Tingle, miserable after the defeat of Space Raptor Butt Invasion in the 2016 … Continue reading →

Emmanuel Macron: A New Hope for Europe? My colleague @MathildeBouvier on the new landscape.(tags: france ) Some Recent Irish History John Bruton has not forgotten 1997.(tags: ireland ) New consensus in Germany – Brexit should be clean, and Britain should … Continue reading →

Second paragraph of third chapter: ‘Why, I remember doing the very same thing myself!’ her grandfather had often said to the younger, more easily influenced members of his family. I recorded that I enjoyed Mythago Wood six years ago, but … Continue reading →

Brexit: Avoiding the vortex @AndrewDuffEU warns how both sides could screw up.(tags: ukpolitics eu brexit )

Second paragraph of third chapter: 'I see you're enjoying yourself,' said Maan to her in English. Well, this was heartily recommended to me and you were right. It's a great massive epic of India immediately post-independence, told from the point … Continue reading →

10 Things I Learned Arguing With Strangers Online Actually quite good advice.(tags: internet rhetoric ) Some Very Curious Maps of London Sounds like an interesting book!(tags: london maps )

Current Watchmen, by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons (a chapter a month) Argonautica by Valerius Flaccus The Dalek Factor, by Simon Clark The Stormcaller by Tom Lloyd Last books finished Saga, vol 6, by Fiona Staples and Brian K. Vaughan. … Continue reading →

Ultimately the rest of the EU doesn’t really mind what happens in the UK’s general election – it just wants decent negotiation partners Jon nails it here.(tags: ukpolitics eu brexit ) ‘the kiss’ 15 years on: meet the models and … Continue reading →

How to revive TTIP @tonylgardner’s (wild) optimism with sober reflection on past mistakes.(tags: uspolitics ttip eu ) Leave the Abbey, Join the Playground: The Crucial Influence of Foreign Breweries on Belgian Beer A syncretic tradition.(tags: beer Belgium ) General Election … Continue reading →