Monthly Archives: May 2021

I was in the office again today, entirely on my own, which gave me the freedom to play loud music and yell at the top of my voice; but that gets old fairly quickly as it turns out. Who knew? … Continue reading →

Sun, 12:56: RT @Scott_Wortley: I recommend reading the full Foster v Jessen judgment. The analysis of Jessen’s utter lack of credibility and reliabilit… Sun, 14:48: Strange Confection: The Commitments and the Battle for Dublin’s Soul https://t.co/ah0qYyuHbx Looking back, thirty (!) … Continue reading →

i) births and deaths 31 May 1940: birth of Peter Mayock who played Ibrahim Namin in Pyramids of Mars (Fourth Doctor, 1975) and Solis in The Deadly Assassin (Fourth Doctor, 1976) 31 May 1948: birth of Lynda Bellingham, who played … Continue reading →

I had a new DNA detective case last week. I connected via Reddit with a young woman in Las Vegas, who I’ll call Maria. She had done the 23andMe test, and was surprised to find that her ancestry was more … Continue reading →

This is the latest post in a series I started in late 2019, anticipating the twentieth anniversary of my bookblogging which will fall in 2023. Every six-ish days, I've been revisiting a month from my recent past, noting work and … Continue reading →

Sat, 12:31: RT @Mij_Europe: “To be quite honest all these solutions are coming from our side… from the UK side we still do not have the basic answers… Sat, 16:02: Forrest Gump https://t.co/rioZQH2tyA Sat, 17:07: I see also that Thursday … Continue reading →

i) births and deaths 30 May 1938: birth of Christopher Robbie, who played the Karkus in The Mind Robber (1969) and the Cyber-Leader in Revenge of the Cybermen (1975) ii) broadcast anniversaries 30 May 1964: broadcast of "The Warriors of … Continue reading →

Fri, 18:26: Friday reading https://t.co/xQcYEgWImr Sat, 09:30: Whoniversaries 29 May https://t.co/j0NBuPMbtJ

i) births and deaths 29 May 1928: birth of Frederick Jaeger, who played Jano in The Savages (First Doctor, 1966), Sorenson in Planet of Evil (Fourth Doctor, 1975), and Prof. Marius in The Invisible Enemy (Fourth Doctor, 1977). 29 May … Continue reading →

Current Wonder Woman: The Golden Age, Vol. 2 by William Moulton Marston Bridget Jones's Diary, by Helen Fielding The Mammoth Book of SF Stories by Women, ed. Alex Dally MacFarlane Invisible Kingdom, vol 2: Edge of Everything, by G. Willow … Continue reading →

Thu, 15:31: RT @BCommNI: We have published our Guide to the 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituencies in NI. It includes information about the review… Thu, 17:19: RT @worldcon2021: Who’s ready to vote for @TheHugoAwards? The Hugo Award ballot is now … Continue reading →

i) births and deaths 28 May 1935: birth of Anne Reid, who played Nurse Crane in The Curse of Fenric (1989) and Florence Finnegan in Smith and Jones (2007) 28 May 1940: birth of Frank Cox, who directed part 2 … Continue reading →

Second paragraph of third story ("The Anatomist's Mnemonic"): Why don't we ask Sam to the party? I've invited Judith. We should introduce them. I was blown away by Sharma's novella, Ormeshadow, which I read at the end of last year; … Continue reading →

Wed, 14:56: RT @POLITICOEurope: Claire Boussagol (@cboussClaire) appointed new CEO of POLITICO Europe. More here https://t.co/9JsStfyFR7 https://t.… Wed, 16:31: Dominic Cummings claims ‘tens of thousands’ died unnecessarily because of way Covid was handled – live https://t.co/SEsuvuUZUW https://t.co/mjUCEpju1E Wed, 16:41: RT … Continue reading →

i) births and deaths 27 May 1926: birth of Peter Ling, who wrote The Mind Robber (Second Doctor, 1968) 27 May 1981: death of Kit Pedler, who co-wrote The Tenth Planet (First Doctor, 1966), The Moonbase (Second Doctor, 1967) and … Continue reading →

Second paragraph of third chapter (a long one): Smells came over the still waters of the harbour, unidentifiable, disturbing in a way that she was not sure if she liked or disliked. And distant cries, in a language she did … Continue reading →

Tue, 13:18: RT @APranckevicius: Yesterday’s decision of the European Council in practice. Tue, 18:43: RT @MaxCRoser: Gallup asks people around the world whether they have someone to count on for help in times of trouble. – The map shows the… … Continue reading →

i) births and deaths 26 May 1913: birth of Peter Cushing, who played Doctor Who in the 1965 and 1966 films. 26 May 1927: birth of Julia Smith, who directed The Smugglers (First Doctor, 1966) and The Underwater Menace (Second … Continue reading →

July 2011 started with a visit to Ireland to celebrate my mother's 70th birthday (which actually fell at the end of June; she turns 80 next month). My photos from the party are, frankly, embarrassingly poor. Here's the two best … Continue reading →

Mon, 15:14: @H_Bettsworth and her pizza. (Yes, it has chips/fries on it.) https://t.co/N5vj8ZiQ4X Mon, 18:04: Merovingian metalwork https://t.co/1TgPxJ7rXc Tue, 09:30: Whoniversaries 25 May https://t.co/h3ZJSF3aNU Tue, 10:33: Happy birthday, @FondacioniT !!! https://t.co/p0tLuMeWf6 Tue, 10:45: Aboard the ‘hijacked’ plane to Minsk https://t.co/0qCFi13Fsz … Continue reading →

i) broadcast anniversaries 25 May 1968: broadcast of fifth episode of The Wheel in Space. The Doctor fights back against the Cybermen, and sends Jamie and Zoe on a dangerous spacewalk. 25 May 1974: broadcast of fourth episode of Planet … Continue reading →

Beautiful Merovingian metalwork from a very nice exhibition, "The World of Clovis", in the Royal Museum at Mariemont, of which I was previously unaware. There's lots of other lovely material there, but it was the metalwork that really caught my … Continue reading →

Sun, 12:56: RT @charlottegore: Hello UK. It’s not Political. It’s not that everyone hates you. It’s that to get points from a jury or a televote this y… Sun, 14:48: Really fascinating analysis, comparing major/minor keys, tempo and key changes … Continue reading →

i) births and deaths 24 May 1944: birth of Fiona Walker, who played Kala in The Keys of Marinus (First Doctor, 1964) and Lady Peinforte in Silver Nemesis (Seventh Doctor, 1988). 24 May 1945: birth of Graham Williams, producer of … Continue reading →

I discovered recently that I had a third cousin living on the other side of Brussels, who I had never met but whose grandmother was a Whyte; and then even more recently that I had a fourth cousin twice removed … Continue reading →

Sat, 12:56: RT @alexvtunzelmann: This piece doesn’t pull its punches and says exactly what I’d been thinking about the hypocrisy pouring out of some re… Sat, 14:48: RT @wildforest_matt: Perhaps the problem with discussions over Cecil Rhodes is that people … Continue reading →

broadcast and related anniversaries 23 May 1964: broadcast of "Temple of Evil", first episode of the story we now call The Aztecs. The Tardis lands in medieval Mexico, where Barbara is received as the reincarnation of the priest Yetaxa. 23 … Continue reading →

Jurassic Park won the Hugo for Best Dramatic Presentation in 1994, the only film to win between 1993 and 1997 (TV shows Star Trek: The Next Generation and Babylon 5 won twice each in that period). It beat three other … Continue reading →

Fri, 12:56: RT @Reading_Tegan: Bell https://t.co/rzXJh2eLu7 Fri, 16:05: Georgia’s Hypermodern Parliament Building Faces Uncertain Future https://t.co/4yi3UBtf4x A massive white elephant. Fri, 18:40: Friday reading https://t.co/2a1FqVDGeq Fri, 19:59: Well, I’ve been Pfizered! Second dose in five weeks’ time. https://t.co/gEyvymxmpk Sat, 09:30: … Continue reading →