Monthly Archives: February 2020

Non-fiction: 6 (YTD 12) The Idea of Justice, by Amartya Sen The Pleasant Profession of Robert A. Heinlein, by Farah Mendlesohn The Critique of Pure Reason, by Immanuel Kant – (did not finish) A Popular History of Ireland, by Thomas … Continue reading →

Fri, 12:56: The extraordinary story of how My Little Pony fandom has been infiltrated by far-right activists. Not mentioned he… https://t.co/IOaEPRV463 Fri, 13:03: RT @prospect_clark: Everyone, on the liberal left & the authoritarian right (including, ahem, @prospect_uk) debates the the … Continue reading →

May 2005 was a massively busy month. Most notably from the family point of view, we mounted a massive expedition with little F and littler U to Washington, New York and Boston, seeing spaceships and whales, for my brother's wedding … Continue reading →

Thu, 12:56: RT @GeorgePeretzQC: A thread on Article 5 of the Northern Ireland Protocol. This is the provision that governs what rules must be applied t… Thu, 14:48: RT @mediadefence: Judgment just out: @Khadija_Ismayil arrest and detention ruled unlawful by … Continue reading →

Second paragraph of third chapter: I pulled the window open and checked that the half-litre I had left out on the sill was still there. I could have kept it in the freezer of my fridge but there's something pleasing … Continue reading →

Wed, 12:56: A Vaccine Won’t Stop the New Coronavirus https://t.co/1rUQr9eZPN Most of us will probably get it. But most of us will probably be OK. Wed, 16:01: 400 hours left to nominate for the 2020 Hugo, Lodestar, and Astounding Awards, … Continue reading →

This is the last Wednesday roundup for a few years; because of the leap year I’m moving to Thursdays from next week. Current The Almost Nearly Perfect People: Behind the Myth of Scandinavia’s Utopia, by Michael Booth Small Island, by … Continue reading →

Tue, 12:56: Do you remember LiveJournal? It was part of my teenage identity. https://t.co/iBvkmgzG5W Ah yes. I actually still u… https://t.co/oEsolkETGp Tue, 16:05: Anti-Semitic carnival polarizes Belgian politics https://t.co/ITKGP65Fs5 This is appalling. Another reason why I could never vote for … Continue reading →

Second paragraph of third chapter: Ashoka argued against intolerance and in favour of he understanding that even when one social or religious sect of people find themselves opposed to other ones, ‘other sects should be duly honoured in every way … Continue reading →

Mon, 12:56: Iran’s leadership rigs an election — and still loses https://t.co/H7VFvjxyl5 Very telling. Mon, 16:05: Sanders sends Democratic establishment into panic mode https://t.co/CH6TNjFmIg Most of my Dem friends were Biden su… https://t.co/Qvn826ACI7 Mon, 17:11: Why John McDonnell’s comparison of … Continue reading →

Forgot to do this when they were announced last week. Best Novel Goodreads LibraryThing owners av rating owners av rating The Ten Thousand Doors of January, Alix E. Harrow 127373 4.13 561 4.17 Gideon the Ninth, Tamsyn Muir 67339 4.26 … Continue reading →

Sun, 12:56: RT @BurpleMan: My Irish passport is so technologically advanced it allows me to live, work and study in 27 other countries https://t.co/1… Sun, 14:19: Another great thread. https://t.co/WZuP5f82oG Sun, 15:47: April 2005 books https://t.co/F5tkGRssVL Sun, 20:15: In the … Continue reading →

April 2005 began for me with a job interview to run a Brussels-based thinktank (I didn't get it, and the thinktank has since folded), and also included trips to the USA (Washington and New York) and, for the first time … Continue reading →

Sat, 12:35: RT @simoncoveney: This is unfortunately a good assessment of where we are on #Brexit and why the issue will dominate Irish politics for the… Sat, 15:13: Oliver! https://t.co/uFMsx8k6IQ Sat, 17:51: Just had a wee chat with Julian Glover … Continue reading →

Fri, 12:56: RT @eoinyk: Irish passports are the seventh most powerful in the world in 2020 https://t.co/SXTsFXiUOU Fri, 16:05: Knowing all the Doctor Whos in order will get you 70 points instantly, immigrants told https://t.co/dXGJVi5nuT All too believable. Fri, 17:11: … Continue reading →

Second paragraph of third essay ("Pen, Pencil, And Poison – A Study In Green", about Thomas Griffiths Wainewright) – brace yourself, it's a long 'un: This remarkable man, so powerful with 'pen, pencil and poison,' as a great poet of … Continue reading →

Thu, 12:56: EU reaffirms: Western Sahara products to be labelled as such https://t.co/730l8bOuL0 Hahahahaha Thu, 14:07: RT @damonwake: Foreign correspondent achievement unlocked: invitation to the Irish embassy St Patrick’s Day party. Thu, 18:36: Selangor, by Gerry Barton https://t.co/IGsQE2Bihj Thu, 18:47: … Continue reading →

Second paragraph of third chapter: Beneath the canvas awning which shaded the deck aft of the second-class cabins and lounge, Kenneth Clouston sheltered from the sun's burning rays. Reclining in a cane chair he looked out over the discoloured water … Continue reading →

Wed, 12:56: Dems Beware: Don’t Be Like Mitt in 2012 https://t.co/O5yrb66v3J Very interesting analysis. Wed, 13:06: RT @pmdfoster: Stunned off my ski lift by this No 10 tweet – not just because of its brazen disingenuousness, but because of what … Continue reading →

Current Children of Ruin, by Adrian Tchaikovsky Last books finished A Popular History of Ireland, by Thomas D'Arcy McGee (Did not finish) The City in the Middle of the Night, by Charlie Jane Anders The Aachen Memorandum, by Andrew Roberts … Continue reading →

Tue, 12:56: Reading Buttigieg https://t.co/nfT76Os052 Great piece. “he understands that hatred and intransigence are not the cu… https://t.co/77uGOiXrIn Tue, 16:05: Former UUP leader: Unionism must realise it is no longer a majority in Northern Ireland https://t.co/uWLHtgzVdq Well said, @MikeNesbittNI. Tue, … Continue reading →

Second paragraph of third chapter: She’d been away in Boston only two weeks. How was that long enough for a hostile takeover at home? Iano and his new friend Pete Petrofaccio had cooked up a scheme of stopgap repairs to … Continue reading →

Mon, 12:56: RT @bohnny68: I’d heard about #gally1 for years but it’s a long way from Australia to LA. Finally came last year and loved it. But THIS yea… Mon, 13:58: RT @Paul_Cornell: So that happened. What an odd life … Continue reading →

March 2005 was a momentous month. I travelled twice to London and also to Thessalonica for a big Balkan conference. My Kazakh intern A left my office after a fairly brief stint; she then moved to Florida, took a family … Continue reading →

Sun, 12:56: RT @PiersatPenn: Dry bones in Ghent Walls made of human bones discovered under Ghent cathedral https://t.co/RQWtfRPiuu Sun, 14:48: Alan in Belfast: A Lament for the Lost Lives of the Troubles (QFT from Friday 11 October) https://t.co/vdSxZKzn7B Sounds deeply … Continue reading →

Two Fives One Six A Three and a Twelve These are etheric beam locators! The wonderfully colourised Daleks Master Plan Slightly blurry Nine I got what I came for And finished in a room with a thousand other fans watching … Continue reading →

Sat, 20:44: RT @Paul_Cornell: The first JoDoc I’ve seen. Awesome work. #gally1 https://t.co/BhZetwXXim Sat, 20:48: RT @DPhinnemore: “on the EU side, there is a determined sense of what the legal certainty is. However, on the UK side, there appears to … Continue reading →

Alpha Centauri The Fourth Doctor Davros The Runaway Bride The Happiness Patrol “I’m behiiind you!” My inner 15-year-old can’t quite believe it.

Fri, 12:56: The Northern Ireland Secretary of State league https://t.co/7XtJNiIqR8 Harsh but largely fair. I would put Peter Br… https://t.co/5qhW3IWstg Fri, 17:11: Sacking Julian Smith creates problems for Boris Johnson, rather than solving them https://t.co/VL3d8HNAnh Yup. Fri, 23:35: RT @MSmithsonPB: … Continue reading →