The Metro is now my sole source of news
There used to be a lot more newspapers lying around the places I work but that seems to have changed. Now it just seems to be the Metro which I … Read More
The Flask Hampstead
The Flask is a pretty decent pub and probably my main drinking spot if I happen to be on Hampstead high street.
Azincourt by Bernard Cornwell
I love Bernard Cornwell’s books. People who know me frequently reel back in awe of my historical knowledge. At least I assume that’s what they’re reeling back from. This knowledge … Read More
The Notting Hill Carnival
I don’t know why I don’t really like the Notting Hill carnival. It’s probably that it just seem a lot of grief – crowds, shuffling slowly through dancing people, piles of rubbish and a massive walk to the tube. All for very little reward.
So What’s Been Happening?
Because of all this I haven’t done much. I read the paper a lot. So er, here’s what’s been happening I found mildly interesting over the past few days:
Halting State by Charles Stross
Halting State is set in the not too distant future. Scotland has devolved (in a political not Darwinian sense), gained independence, and the world is even more saturated with information technology and computer nerdiness than ever before.
The great Swine Flu conspiracy
In China Mexicans were quarantined and in Hong Kong a hotel got blockaded. Eqypt threatened to kill all its pigs and in Afghanistan, there was talk of killing the country’s sole hog. They only have one in the whole country apparently, which is a bit weird.
Science fiction looks different these days
In my youth alien planets were desert but today they are forests. To be specific, in my youth they looked like the Vasquez rocks outside LA and now they look like a Canadian forest.
Prostitutes and Burlesque Dancers vs the Evil Council
I missed two marches in London I would like to have seen.
Killzone 2
Killzone starts off in the mother ship and you are introduced to yourself as Sevchenko or ‘Sev’, a double hard Sergeant in the ISA Special Forces Alpha.
I am now fully nocturnal
This is the life of a transmission controller doing the nightshift. We walk among you looking relatively normal. We work in dark rooms without windows. We literally watch tv for a living hoping it won’t break. We are the ones responsible for putting up ‘Sorry we are experiencing technical difficulties’ pictures as we panic and realise we’ve done something wrong.
Fallout 3 review
This game starts with your birth. Literally. You are pulled out of your mother and see the doctor and your dad – who happens to be Liam Neason (the voice anyway).
Moon landings, dashed dreams, conspiracy idiots.
You may have guessed by now that I get pissed off by conspiracy types that claim we haven’t been to the moon. What they have done is look at all the stuff NASA has put out and rather than construct any decent arguments, have simply picked holes in the ‘proof’.
Ringworld by Larry Niven
Ringworld is superb. I often prefer pre-1980s Sci Fi as it tends to be more idea and philosophy based. The world itself is a very cool, very huge idea and the possibilities for it are almost endless.
Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
When Richard Mayhew rescues what seems to be a wounded homeless girl, he suddenly finds himself sucked into an alternate underground London.
Mexican Fighting Midgets Killed By Fake Prostitutes
Apparently there is a Mexican fighting league that are all midgets. Two of them were out drinking and whoring before a big match (well why not, it sounds like a stressful job) when they got chatting to a couple of hookers.
Ghosts, spirits and demons of Thailand
Although over 95% of the Thai population are Buddhists, there is also a strong belief in Animism or spirit worship. Ghosts and spirits (known as Pii) abound and are found everywhere from offices and homes to haunted trees and fruit groves.
Fathers and Sons by Ivan Turgenev
Don’t be put off by the fact that this book is a ‘Russian classic’, Turgenev’s Fathers and Sons is truly worth a read.
Politicians: their shocking yet hilarious expenses
My favourite has to be: (from Metro) ‘George Osborne charged the taxpayer £47 for two DVDs of his own speech on Value For Taxpayers’ Money.’