Off to Glasgow now. See some of you there.

…arrived safely, but too late to use this evening – thanks, William!

I see Mo Mowlam is seriously ill. I’ve seen her several times over the last few years and she did not look in good shape, so this comes as little surprise…

3) Getting Things Done: How To Achieve Stress-Free Productivity, by David Allen

I rushed out and got this on a sudden whim last week, partly because I was disappointed with the last couple of self-help books I bought, partly because I spent several days last week clearing the decks before I went on holiday, mainly because I’d really like both less stress and more productivity. My self-image is of a laid-back kinda guy who doesn’t work particularly efficiently, and it sometimes comes as a shock to reaclise that some of my colleagues have precisely the opposite impression. It would be nice to bring the two perceptions into closer synchronisation with each other and with reality (whatever that is). Anyway, this was really preparatory reading to help me decide if this is the system I should start trying to implement in my own life. At first glance, it all seems to make sense, so I’ll try it when I get back later in the month, and report back here in due course.

2) The Prize in the Game, by Jo Walton

This is the first of ‘s books I have read, and apparently I’m doing it in the wrong order – the received wisdom seems to be to read The King’s Peace and The King’s Name first, in publication order. But I have limited reading time and many books I want to get through, and one of the items on my agenda is to try and find books from my list of sf and fantasy set in Ireland that are actually worth reading.

My first reaction was faint irritation that I had managed to end up with yet another retelling of the Táin Bó Cuailnge with some names changed a lot (eg Cú Chulainn becomes Darag) and others changed only a little. (This was augmented by deep irritation with the writer of the blurb on the dust-jacket who appeared to have read a completely different book.) But of course that basically dispensed with my having to read it for the plot, and instead I was able to sit back and enjoy both the characterisation and the world-building.

And I must say I can’t think of a retelling of the Táin to match this in terms of believable characters. The fact that the story is mainly told from points of view with which we are not familiar from the standard versions made me think almost for the first time about the events of the legend as they might have appeared to the participants. The relatively minor liberties taken with the plot (and the fact that I hadn’t read the other two novels) meant that I was, slightly to my surprise, in some suspense about the fate of Ferdia, who of course in our standard version falls on the third day of single combat.

Once I had worked out why the Welshism (if that’s a word) “ap” had replaced the Irish “mac” and “nic” as a patronymic/matronymic, it all, within certain limits, became clear. The society portrayed is of course a pagan Celtic one where magic flourishes within certain limits. Women can be equal as warriors, lawyers and kings with men, and have full control of their own fertility. It almost becomes possible to read The Prize in the Game as the author’s concept of the “original” or “real” story of the Táin, before it was filtered by mainly male, Christian editors, rather in the same way that Tom Shippey argues Tolkien wrote his mythology to be the “original” version of which the surviving Anglo-Saxon and Norse myths are but a faint distorted echo (or perhaps a closer parallel is Marion Zimmer Bradley’s treatment of the Arthurian mythos in The Mists of Avalon, though I think Jo Walton is more imaginative with her material here). Reading the book on that basis, I really enjoyed it.

I still have a couple of gripes about geography – mainly that either the chariots go pretty damn fast or the island is very small! – typing these words as I do close to the frontiers of the old and now mostly forgotten kingdom of Oriel, in a village whose name is said by some to be derived from Bricriu of the Bitter Tongue. Many scholars say that Bricriu’s Feast took place over in Dundrum on the coast of County Down. We who have climbed up to the Water Hill Fort near Loughbrickland know better (see here but scroll down to “Water Hill Fort”).

1) Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, by J.K.Rowling

I confess that I read enough of the reviews behind spoiler warnings that I knew what was going to happen, so I was really in it for the ride rather than the plot. And, while it took a while to get going (I see complaining that she has got half way through and not a lot has happened yet) I think this is the best of the series since Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. While the third book marked a turning point in exploring the back-story of Harry’s family and past, this one seemed to me to have some the first real development in terms of his friends and future (after what I felt was a bit of a false start in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix). And I was completely wrong about the identity of the Half-Blood Prince, who I had assumed right from the start must be Hagrid, since we knew he was a half-giant.

The one thing I found noteworthy which I haven’t seen others comment on is the nature of politics in the wizarding world – clearly Fudge and Scrimgeour are not appointed by Tony Blair, as I had assumned from the other books, but emerge through some other non-transparent process. The Ministry runs everything, but to whom is it accountable?

So, still much to play for in the final book. We’ve put childish things aside – Dumbledore, Hagrid to an extent – and now on for the big finish. Is Snape really evil, or is Dumbledore in a sense complicit in his own demise? (Indeed, will Dumbledore return, like that guy E.T., or Father Jack, or one or two other better known mythic figures?)

I still think the third book is the best, but I will read the seventh faithfully.

< Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone | Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets | Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban | Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire | Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix | Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince | Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows | The Tales of Beedle the Bard >

Can anyone ID a story about a couple whose hot date on the lunar surface turns hotter when they lose the tent with their clothes in?

Arrived. Finished Harry Potter (&tHBP). More anon.

Neil Gaiman provides sensible commentary.

Off tomorrow morning to the in-laws in Kidderminster overnight; then to Loughbrickland for three weeks, inrterrupted in my case by five days at WorldCon. F can’t sleep for excitement. I guess he’ll make up for it in the car tomorrow mornig. I have to go to bed now though, since I’ll be driving…

Back in D&D days I was always fascinated by the Fiend Folio’s descriptions of the githyanki, slaadi and githzerai. What twisted mind, I wondered, could have come up with them?

It was , according to here.

On the internet, you can run, but you can’t hide…

Just happened to browse the Wikipedia entry for the Ulster Unionist Party, and caught a reference to one of its founders being the “Earl of Middleton”. Immediately my hackles rose. He wasn’t made an earl until 1920, well after the party was founded, and more to the point it’s “Midleton”, as in the town in County Cork with associated whiskey, rather than “Middleton”. So I clicked on the “edit button” – my first Wikipedia editing.

And then I clicked around a bit more, and found that Wikipedia had a short article about him already, so I had to go back to the UUP page to make sure that it linked. Then I realised that there were a whole bunch of references to him elsewhere in Wikipedia under his previous name, William St John Brodrick, all of which liked to the page saying “Please write us an article about William St John Brodrick”. So I changed all of those to point to the Viscount/Earl of Midleton article.

A pleasing if somewhat pointless little diversion. I once had a look though Brodrick/Midleton’s papers in the Public Records Office in Kew, but there was little of interest for me, except his invitation from the intriguingly named “Clerk of Crown and Hanaper” to attend the inaugural meeting of the Senate of Southern Ireland. Still, in some obscure way that hour or so going through his papers back in 1991 has now paid off.

I have a very modest Amazon assciates thing going from my website – to be honest I haven’t even pimped it nearly as much as I could. Most of the relevant links are to sf books in and out of print.

So it seems I’ve made £5.40 this quarter in referral fees for the sale of two items – one a collection of Ambrose Bierce stories, which I don’t think I’ve read and certainly haven’t linked to, and the other being the Creative Zen MP3 player. So whoever you are who bought those items after following a link to Amazon from my site, thanks for the unexpected bonus!

Well, after the disappointing kicker to yesterday’s discovery of 2003 EL61, that it is not quite as big they thought, here’s another one, “definitely at least as big as Pluto”. So I’ll have to update yesterday’s table:

Things smaller than Mars but at least as big as Pluto:

BBC is showing Independence Day. An almost entirely silly film apart from the one line “Uh… Mr. President. That’s not entirely accurate” and also Brent Spiner playing a role ever so slightly different from Data.

One of the Flemish channels is showing a very silly film with Rowan Atkinson and John Cleese called “Rat Race”. As a result of some quick research on IMDB, I can tell you that this is the only feature film in which these two particularly funny actors have co-starred. It is dire.

Well, I didn’t quite manage to finish absolutely everything on my desk before turned up to lure me from my office. But by then I’d been working effectively since 0630, so was very lurable. I have to drop my father-in-law to the airport first thing tomorrow, so should be able to clear up what’s left on my desk in about an hour or so.

Good to meet you, ! I got (as you no doubt expected) completely drenched running from the pub to my car. But safe and dry at home now.

Also got home to find the latest Interzone waiting for me. I hardly dare open it – it feels somehow heavier. Anyway, a nice way to start the weekend. Even if the weekend is going to be slightly interrupted by work.

PS: tells us that 2003 EL61 may not be as big as I’d hoped. Oh well.

Wow! A new trans-Neptunian object maybe twice the size of Pluto! That would make it the largest object found in the Solar System since Neptune in 1846!

Things smaller than Mars but at least as big as Pluto:

All knowledge is contained in livejournal – this guy had the statement a good half hour before the BBC.

The leadership of Óglaigh na hÉireann has formally ordered an end to the armed campaign. This will take effect from 4pm this afternoon.

All IRA units have been ordered to dump arms. All Volunteers have been instructed to assist the development of purely political and democratic programmes through exclusively peaceful means. Volunteers must not engage in any other activities whatsoever.

The IRA leadership has also authorised our representative to engage with the IICD to complete the process to verifiably put its arms beyond use in a way which will further enhance public confidence and to conclude this as quickly as possible.

We have invited two independent witnesses, from the Protestant and Catholic churches, to testify to this.

The Army Council took these decisions following an unprecedented internal discussion and consultation process with IRA units and Volunteers.

We appreciate the honest and forthright way in which the consultation process was carried out and the depth and content of the submissions. We are proud of the comradely way in which this truly historic discussion was conducted. The outcome of our consultations show very strong support among IRA Volunteers for the Sinn Féin peace strategy. There is also widespread concern about the failure of the two governments and the unionists to fully engage in the peace process. This has created real difficulties. The overwhelming majority of people in Ireland fully support this process. They and friends of Irish unity throughout the world want to see the full implementation of the Good Friday Agreement.

Notwithstanding these difficulties our decisions have been taken to advance our republican and democratic objectives, including our goal of a united Ireland. We believe there is now an alternative way to achieve this and to end British rule in our country. It is the responsibility of all Volunteers to show leadership, determination and courage. We are very mindful of the sacrifices of our patriot dead, those who went to jail, Volunteers, their families and the wider republican base. We reiterate our view that the armed struggle was entirely legitimate.

We are conscious that many people suffered in the conflict. There is a compelling imperative on all sides to build a just and lasting peace. The issue of the defence of nationalist and republican communities has been raised with us. There is a responsibility on society to ensure that there is no re-occurrence of the pogroms of 1969 and the early 1970s. There is also a universal responsibility to tackle sectarianism in all its forms.

The IRA is fully committed to the goals of Irish unity and independence and to building the Republic outlined in the 1916 Proclamation. We call for maximum unity and effort by Irish republicans everywhere. We are confident that by working together Irish republicans can achieve our objectives. Every Volunteer is aware of the import of the decisions we have taken and all Óglaigh are compelled to fully comply with these orders.

There is now an unprecedented opportunity to utilise the considerable energy and goodwill which there is for the peace process. This comprehensive series of unparalleled initiatives is our contribution to this and to the continued endeavours to bring about independence and unity for the people of Ireland.

The IRA is fully committed to the goals of Irish unity and independence and to building the Republic outlined in the 1916 Proclamation. Our decisions have been taken to advance our republican and democratic objectives, including our goal of a united Ireland. We believe there is now an alternative way to achieve this and to end British rule in our country.

Well, naturally I’m glad that’s happened. But as one of the people on whose behalf the armed struggle was supposedly being waged, and who never felt it in the least bit legitimate, I have little sympathy for the process of “unprecedented internal discussion and consultation” and much resentment that opportunities, and even lives, were lost by the Republican movement’s failure to issue a statement like this ten years ago. Or indeed twenty-five.

Dan Savage gets contradictory advice from his readers. (Warning: sexually explicit, not safe for work, also rather funny if you think sex advice columns can be funny.)

Sent to me by an academic friend in Belfast, who wishes (for now!) to remain anonymous!!!!!

Cultural Traditions

A game for two to six players

Objective of the game:
To improve the standing of your Cultural Tradition by (a) increasing the Territory under your control or by (b) gaining Prestige Points.

Players may choose from the following colour counters:
Red, White, Blue, Green, White (do not confuse with earlier white) and Orange (may also be referred to as Gold).

Players also choose a symbol which gains recognition as the individual player gains Prestige Points.
Players may choose from the following or invent their own symbol:

• Bowler Hat
• Hand (red)
• Land Rover (armoured)
• Ballot Box (armalite contained inside)
• Dove (slightly soiled)
• Bomb (defused)

At the beginning of the game each player controls an equal number of adjoining areas.

During each players’ turn they may attempt to do one of the following:

1. Strengthen their Tradition’s internal control
2. Increase the area under their control
3. Increase their International Prestige
4. Draw a Cultural Tradition card

1. Internal Control
Players may gain Prestige Points by strengthening control of the areas they already own. This may be done in the following ways;

A) Marking out Territory

A player may choose to increase control of their area by the use of Territorial Markings. In each turn a player can choose to do one of the following;
Kerb painting, wall murals, erect flags, erect arches.
Territorial Marking outside the control of the player may also be attempted but is subject to Mediation (see below).

B) Internal Housekeeping

Use their own Paramilitary Organisation (see below) to maintain control of the area. May lead to the loss of International Prestige Points but the effect can be lessened by the successful use of a Political Party if the player has one.

2. Increasing the area under the player’s control

Players may seek to expand their influence into either neutral areas or those of opposing players. This can be done through the successful use of Territorial Marking or by instigating a Cultural Tradition in the area. Players roll dice to determine whether they have been successful in Territorial Marking. They have less chance of success in areas controlled by other players than in neutral areas. A player can gain control of an area more quickly by establishing a new Cultural Tradition, however, this is open to challenge by other players who can say, ‘This is offensive to my Cultural Tradition.’ The attempt then goes to Mediation.

Creating a Cultural Tradition

Players may attempt to gain Prestige Points by creating a Cultural Tradition.
Cultural traditions may be celebrated within the area under the players’ control relatively easily. A greater number of Prestige Points may be gained by celebrating a cultural tradition outside the players’ immediate control, however, this can be Challenged (see below) by other players.

If successful the player has created a Cultural Tradition and gains Prestige Points.

Types of Cultural Tradition

Cultural Traditions can take any form, however, music, art and film festivals are popular options. Marches and Rallies may also be attempted, however, this can have a negative impact on Prestige Points if unsuccessful.

Creating Paramilitary Organisations and Political Parties

After the first round players may seek to create a Political party or Paramilitary Organisation. Players may choose to name their organisations (the words; People’s, Democratic, United and Socialist are popular – as indeed is Popular – but these are purely for cosmetic purposes and have no effect on game mechanics since the Political Parties and Paramilitary Organisations operate in much the same way).

Political Parties help improve Prestige but can face Political Embarrassment from the activities of paramilitary organisation or other set-backs.

Challenges

At any point in the game a players’ attempt to create a new Cultural Tradition can be challenged by other players. A player issues a challenge by stating, ‘This is offensive to my Cultural Tradition’. The player’s chance of succeeding in creating a new Cultural Tradition is reduced in proportion to the number of other players who claim that their Cultural tradition has been offended. Each player may issue three Challenges per game.

If a Cultural Tradition is challenged it goes to Mediation – roll two dice and check result (if the result is drawn the cultural tradition does not take place in its original form but can be attempted again in subsequent rounds).

3. Increasing International Prestige

Players may seek to gain points by increasing their international prestige. This can be done by sending a foreign delegation abroad or by receiving representatives from other countries (roll dice). International Prestige may also be lost due to the activities of Paramilitary Organisations or by conflicting international support.

4. Drawing a Cultural Traditions Card

In each turn a player may choose to draw a card from the board rather than attempt to increase Prestige Points. Cards may modify the players’ future attempts to increase Prestige.

Examples:

• Win a European Union community development grant – add one to roll.
• A delegation from your Political Party meets the Prime Minister – add one to roll.
• US President says you are playing a vital role in the peace process – add one to roll.

Some cards can have a detrimental effect on the player:
Examples:

• Paramilitary activities abroad cause Political Embarrassment – minus one from roll.
• Members of Political Party are caught spying on other players – minus one from roll.
• Prime Minister says political process might go forward without you – minus one from roll.

The game ends when everyone becomes thoroughly bored with it.

So, a colleague mentioned to me casually that actress Sandra Bullock is half Albanian.

Really? I mean, I know about the Belushi brothers, John and Jim (whose father came from the same village as independent Albania’s first proper leader Fan Noli, the one who was overthrown by Ahmet Zogu later King Zog); and a quick glance at her WikiPedia entry seemed to confirm the news:

Bullock was born to the late German-born opera singer Helga Meyer, and American-Albanian voice teacher John Bullock.

But it didn’t quite ring true to me; “Bullock” is not an obviously Albanian name. Not very much more digging and I came up with what appears to be an authorised biography:

Her mother, Helga, the daughter of a German rocket scientist, initially studied to be an opera singer in Nuremberg. To support her studies, she worked as a clerk, one day being called to the town’s Palace of Justice (where the notorious post-WW2 trials took place). Here she was to takes letters for the new head honcho, one John Bullock. Bullock, originally from Birmingham, Alabama, was a Juilliard scholar who’d joined the Army as a runner and risen to become the boss of the military Postal Exchange for the whole of Europe.

So, if the Sandra-is-Albanian story is true, we are being asked to believe that at the height of the Cold War, in the late 1950s and early 1960s, the US Army allowed its PX operation for the whole of Europe to be run by an Albanian? I somehow think not. Also notable that the people posting on this pro-Albanian website seem to laugh at the idea.

Almost certainly she (or someone) told a journalist once that she is half German, half Alabamian, and the journalist misheard the second bit (and possibly had never heard of Alabama). And so a legend was born.

Happy birthday, Sandra! She is 41 today.

The Russian way.

Everyone’s doing this…

the Prankster (47% dark, 30% spontaneous, 16% vulgar)

your humor style: CLEAN | COMPLEX | LIGHT Your humor has an intellectual, even conceptual slant to it. You’re not pretentious, but neither are you into what some would call ‘low humor’. You’d laugh at a good dirty joke, but you definitely prefer something clever to something moist. You probably like well-thought-out pranks and/or spoofs and it’s highly likely you’ve tried one of these things yourself. In a lot of ways, yours is the most entertaining type of humor. PEOPLE LIKE YOU: Conan O’Brian – Ashton Kutcher

Inspired by , I shall make myself a badge that looks like this:

According to BBC latest, next season of Doctor Who will see the return of Sarah Jane Smith, played by Elizabeth Sladen!

Hat tip to .

So, the guy who’s setting up his own organisation, which sounded to me like a very attractive alternative to my current employment (see my posts with job hunt tags), has started copying me on his memos to colleagues and potential colleagues. And it’s pretty clear that the funding isn’t there yet, and quite possibly will never be there. So I’m recalibrating my career thoughts.

There are two possibilities.

First off, the continuing mirage of a job as political adviser to some senior international figure is attractive, despite my failure to land a post with the European Commission last September. I may be being over-sensitive, or over-optimistic, but I have detected hints being dropped in my direction by a couple of senior EU people in connection with the coming Kosovo talks. So, plan: this week, try and make my interest known to people before I leave on my holiday.

Second, there’s always the private sector as a lobbyist. That will take some time to work into, since I basically decided not to go for it last year. But my other options are few. I am not going to back into electoral politics until I can see a way of landing a winnable seat, and also not until the situation at home has settled down a bit. Anne needs all the support I can give her with the kids.

So, I’m back to where I was in December 2003.

This is on my rarely-used filter for those of you based in Ireland:

The publisher O’Brien Press is looking for a receptionist for 8-9 months, starting at the beginning of October.

Contact:

Ivan O’Brien
Sales Director, The O’Brien Press Ltd
Tel: +353 1 4923333; Fax: +353 1 4922777; Direct: +353 1 4055627
E-mail: ivan@obrien.ie; Web: www.obrien.ie

11) The Tough Guide to Fantasy Land, by Diana Wynne Jones.

Everyone should rush out and get this. At least, anyone who’s ever enjoyed more than one of the great fantasy series. Diana Wynne Jones is, of course, a superlative author of fantasy novels for younger readers (and one of two for older readers as well – I particularly enjoyed Deep Secret which my sister got for me a few birthdays ago). But here she takes an affectionate but acerbic look at the cliches of fantasy fiction. To take one example from near the beginning:

COSTUME: It is a curious fact that, in Fantasyland, the usual Rules for CLOTHING are reversed. Here, the colder the climate, the fewer the garments worn. In the SNOWBOUND NORTH, the BARBARIAN HORDES wear little more than a fur loincloth and copper wristguards (see CHILBLAINS and HYPOTHERMIA). However, as one progresses south to reach the ANGLO-SAXON COSSACKS, one finds VESTS and BOOTS added to this costume. Further south still, the inhabitants of the VESTIGIAL EMPIRE wear short SKIRTS and singlets and add to this a voluminous wrapper on cold days. Therafter, clothing steadily increases in thickness and quantity, until one finds the DESERT NOMADS in the tropics muffled to the eyebrows in layers of ROBES (see HEATSTROKE).

She is hilarious about the standard ecology and economy of fantasy novels, and the ubiquity of STEW (which “seems to be an odd choice as staple food, since, on a rough calculation, it takes forty times as long to prepare as steak”). I had a wry smile on my face for most of the book – the one bit that made me laugh out loud was her description of PanCeltic Tours and PanCelts, which certainly irritate the heck out of me when fantasy authors write Oirish novels and get it wrong (someone on my friends list has tagged her locked entries on this subject with the keyword “begorrah”). Too long to reproduce here, at least being faithful to the typography. Anyway, go and buy it.

The house where I grew up in Belfast was built around 1930 (the post box on the corner was marked “E_VIIIR” which ties it down to a particular eleven-month period in 1936). The gates were falling apart with rust when we were children in the 1970s, but a little name plate attached to them indicated that some previous owner had wanted the house, otherwise an unexceptional suburban semi-detached, to be known not merely as “215 Upper Lisburn Road” but as “Le Sars”. My parents’ French dictionaries offered no clue as to what “sars” might be (this was long before it became an infectious epidemic) and it remained one of those minor puzzles from childhood that one is left with.

Thanks to the glories of the internet, however, I now know that Le Sars is a small French village which was on the front line during the Battle of the Somme during the first world war, and was captured by the British in the first week of October 1916 in the Battle of Le Transloy. An Irish soldier, Henry Kelly, won the Victoria Cross during that battle, and I wondered if perhaps he might have settled in Finaghy after leaving the army; but it’s pretty clear from the information on-line that he spent most of his life in Manchester (though spent time fighting against Franco during the Spanish Civil War), so it probably wasn’t him. Indeed as far as I can tell from skimming the on-line sources, most of the British troops involved in the capture of Le Sars seem to have been from the North of England.

Of course, that wouldn’t prevent a veteran of the Great War from settling in south Belfast a few years later; it’s also entirely possible that my skimming of the internet has not given me a completely accurate picture of the make-up of the forces. When I have a chance, I’ll have to go and check the Belfast street directories and find out who was the first person to live in the house when it was built, and then see if I can track down their war record. Of course, Le Sars itself is only two hours’ drive from here; but battles are rarely commemorated in much detail on the site where they actually took place.

It all reminds me of the vivid first world war scenes in Robertson Davies’ fantastic novel Fifth Business (the first book in his superb Deptford Trilogy). Horrendous, but an inescapable part of modern history.

From :

List 10 things in a day that give you a moment of joy, and tag five of your friends:

1. My wife
2. My family
3. My daughters asking me to tickle them
4. My son telling me about the latest things he’s read/made/done
5. Seeing my wife (and sometime children) sit down to eat a meal that I’ve cooked
6. Watching Buffy (or indeed anything) with my wife
7. Conversations with high-level officials who are interested in the subject and able to do something about it
8. Doing TV or radio interviews (I’m such a media whore!)
9. The first sip of wine or beer at the end of the day
10. The start of any Beethoven or Sibelius symphony