Monthly Archives: October 2018

Non-fiction: 3 (YTD 45) Here’s My Card, by Bob Popyk Seychelles: The Saga of a Small Nation Navigating the Cross-Currents of a Big World, by Sir James R. Mancham Behind the Sofa: Celebrity Memories of Doctor Who, ed. Steve Berry … Continue reading →

Tue, 12:56: RT @JamesCrisp6: You can see the minutes of thought that went into this terrible design. https://t.co/eLGIFYtD8y Tue, 16:05: Really interesting thread, esp how Czechs are outliers on a number of issues compared with their neighbours. https://t.co/bZTWYNTJGv Tue, 18:52: … Continue reading →

Second paragraph of third chapter of Larque on the Wing: Emergency bells were ringing in Larque’s bones. She had to find Sky. I confess I had never heard of Nancy Springer before reading this novel, which shared the 1995 James … Continue reading →

Mon, 12:56: The Brexit trap: is there any way out? https://t.co/IMioa2AuSO @GeorgeEaton at @NewStatesman thinks not. Mon, 16:05: Former #DoctorWho producer Derrick Sherwin has died. This is my review of his autobiography, Who’s Next? https://t.co/IsjheZ8oY6 Mon, 18:04: Monday reading https://t.co/buZxmVDJgm … Continue reading →

Current The Vampire’s Curse, by Mags Halliday, Kelly Hale and Philip Purser-Hallard Hybrid, by Shaun Hutson Baptism in Blood, by Jane Haddam Last books finished Behind the Sofa: Celebrity Memories of Doctor Who, ed. Steve Berry Gentleman’s Agreement, by Laura … Continue reading →

Sun, 12:56: RT @Hanna_Jameson: There was a throwaway sentence in a textbook I was reading: “In 1793, the French actress Olympe de Gouges was guillotine… Sun, 15:40: .@Boswachter_Marc and a colleague. #arenbergfestival https://t.co/32Gr5bxtq1 Sun, 16:05: Last week a senior source … Continue reading →

Leuven is commemorating the contribution to the city of the Arenberg family, local bigwigs for centuries who are still around despite all their property being confiscated in 1918 because they were too German. A big chunk of that property is … Continue reading →

Sat, 12:30: RT @innocent: Don’t forget to put your clocks back before bed tonight. Here’s how: https://t.co/ZLI8qmjRIf Sat, 12:56: Britain Isn’t Just Losing Brexit. Europe Is Winning It. – Foreign Policy https://t.co/rtNdBJLsKx A survey of busine… https://t.co/ZNcVUGneOe Sat, 13:08: Fomes … Continue reading →

Fri, 18:29: Ireland votes today: presidential election and blasphemy referendum. #Aras18 https://t.co/yYsfVCyPUh Fri, 20:48: Universal Credit: When will the government listen to the evidence? https://t.co/RIUum1uycd “there is no excuse to c… https://t.co/UsBikMdKT9

Ireland has had a president since 1938, and today is the 14th presidential election in that time. Almost certainly, the winner will be the incumbent, Michael D. Higgins, aged 77, poet, former sociology lecturer, former Minister for Arts, Culture and … Continue reading →

Thu, 12:56: Navigating Brexit (19 pages, PDF) https://t.co/D56i7exM1V Had not seen this before – effective presentation by Nort… https://t.co/hPQ26VULKJ Thu, 16:05: How Nick Clegg’s new job at Facebook shows Britain doesn’t matter any more to Big Tech https://t.co/96eHsqQwqM Inte… https://t.co/WDvGXLdvxK … Continue reading →

Second paragraph of third chapter: Cependant, rien que par mes rêves quand j’étais endormi, j’aurais pu apprendre que mon chagrin de la mort de ma grand’mère diminuait, car elle y apparaissait moins opprimée par l’idée que je me faisais de … Continue reading →

Wed, 12:56: How to Configure Your iPhone to Work for You, Not Against You https://t.co/dM2SAGTo75 This is tremendous advice. I… https://t.co/XkareAeawE Wed, 12:57: Thanks for great view of my bald patch on left of first two pictures! https://t.co/yoiTD6I52g Wed, 13:15: … Continue reading →

Second paragraph (and first paragraph of embedded quote) of third chapter: This is what the cover page of Seychelles Political Castaways stated when it was published in 1976, the year of our independence: Seychelles: ninety-two islands and atolls lying 1000 … Continue reading →

Second paragraph of third chapter: Apart from the slight pain in my hands I have rarely felt so well and tranquil and at ease in my body as I did that morning when I first began to speculate about where … Continue reading →

Tue, 12:56: Guest post: “The aim of my Bill is to stop women facing the criminal courts for decisions about their own bodies… https://t.co/k5D5Kk2hEF Tue, 14:18: RT @greensideknits: Have just found out that @VivFaull is to be introduced as Bishop … Continue reading →

Second paragraph of third chapter: After that terrifying encounter, Adelaide had starlight in her soul. She knew she would follow the Dalek into space – not seeking revenge for the loss of her parents, simply to get out among the … Continue reading →

Mon, 12:44: RT @LyudaKozlovska: Worrying to see @EPPGroup & @TheProgressives (who signed #BringHerBack petition to stop SIS abuse!) voting this Thu on… Mon, 12:56: Corbyn’s gift to the Tories and Mrs May – his boycott of the House of Lords … Continue reading →

Current Words of Radiance, by Brandon Sanderson Last books finished Doctor Who: The Widow’s Curse, ed. Tom Spilsbury The Cloud Roads, by Martha Wells Next books Earth Girl, by Janet Edwards Retour sur Aldébaran, tome 1, by Leo The Vampire’s … Continue reading →

Sun, 12:56: A Stanford psychologist on the art of avoiding assholes https://t.co/ALOn3uuvpC A conversation. Sun, 13:22: Looks even more one-sided than the Finnish presidential election in January! https://t.co/eaFVYDXwmz https://t.co/6QsyXqxT3m Sun, 13:33: RT @jonlis1: As @nwbrux put it, ‘give up the … Continue reading →

As previously mentioned, I enjoyed both the short-lived Doctor Who spinoff TV series Class and its associated novels

Sat, 12:17: RT @Dublin2019: Come meet the team at @Octocon today! https://t.co/pewVH7np5g Sat, 12:17: RT @Dublin2019: Putting the ‘Irish’ into an Irish Worldcon at @Octocon https://t.co/giEHysHrID Sat, 12:56: Another Brexit policy failure. https://t.co/hYwEghqVVI Sat, 12:57: RT @GuitarMoog: For Moldova, as … Continue reading →

Second paragraph of third chapter: “Come off it,” said Louis Wu. “You can’t breed for luck the way you breed for shaggy eyebrows!” The archetypal “Big Dumb Object”, the Ringworld of the title is a million miles wide and 600 … Continue reading →

Fri, 12:32: RT @Oxenstierna_IRL: pretty sad report from DUP core area – Carrickfergus, to be precise – well away from potentially troubled borderlands… Fri, 12:38: A great evening. https://t.co/tlmZyMJ4Tn Fri, 12:54: Haddock! https://t.co/rW4zHswXQb Fri, 12:56: Fighting 15s and Brexit Day … Continue reading →

Second paragraph of third story (“The Tunnels to Heaven”, by Andy Bodle): All was still but for the occasional passing functionary. The Reminder Screens were projecting the same old slogans. The Facilitator at the desk was reciting her Tenets as … Continue reading →

Thu, 12:56: George R. R. Martin, Fantasy’s Reigning King https://t.co/Jm5fDstf6h Great NY Times profile. Thu, 14:49: RT @OliverKamm: Anthea Bell OBE, Order of Merit of , died this morning aged 82. She was a literary giant: among great C20th/C21st transla… … Continue reading →

Second paragraph of third chapter: Stress the value of having your phone number handy. Elaborate on the benefit of a business relationship with you and your company. I am a keen networker, as most of you know, and I occasionally … Continue reading →

Wed, 12:56: What it’s like to fall 31 miles to Earth after your rocket fails https://t.co/pp3wzpCizx Wow. Wed, 13:36: Putting Up Roots, by Charles Sheffield https://t.co/GGJLm80LPu Wed, 15:49: RT @NonWhiteHat: I’m not going to bother tallying the laws violated in … Continue reading →

Second paragraph of third chapter: Even so, Josh didn’t have high hopes when they finally reached the dining room. He was used to carryout meals, or eating on the run in fast-food places, because his mother was always rushing off … Continue reading →