Books You Should Read : Anathem

One of the better Xmas presents I got this year was Neal Stephenson’s latest novel, Anathem. I’m only around 500 pages into it (it’s 900 pages + long) but I can already enthusiastically recommend it as the best new book I’ve read all year. Stephenson is someone whose work I admire intensely (although I’m ashamed [...]

I Aten’t Dead

Just a quick note to let people know that I just got back to the UK after spending most of the last day travelling, hence the lack of response to comments to my most recent posts – I appreciate the way that the libertarian side have been very reasonable and friendly, given the rather nasty [...]

Why I Am Not A Libertarian

Recently, there appears (and ‘appears’ is the word – it’s almost certainly an artefact of looking over a few blogs and reading more into tone than into content, but this is something that has been remarked on by people other than myself) to have been an influx into the Liberal Democrats of Libertarians. This is [...]

The old ones are the best…

I think we’re all in need of a little Christmas cheer right now (I certainly am, after spending the last few days trying to teach myself more Perl. There’s a reason why perl looks like comic characters swearing. Any language in which ”=~(‘(?{‘.(‘^[).)}'^'.)@@]]’).’”‘.(‘|.@[;*^'^'=@$)^]|’).’,$/})’) is actually a valid executable program has serious problems…) and so here’s [...]

He’s Known As Batman, With Robin The Boy Wonder By His Side…

I’m at a disadvantage with this post, because even though I am in the US at the moment, my comic shop isn’t. So everything I am writing right now could be completely contradicted by today’s issue of Batman, and I won’t know for a week or so… One aspect of Batman’s life that has been [...]

Linkblogging for 22/12/08

The Mindless Ones are continuing the interblog circle jerk by interviewing pillock. Choice quote Kirby saved Marvel from drowning by pulling it out of the lake, the Seventies boys kept its heart beating, Claremont and Byrne took over when they got tired, the Nineties stabbed its heart with adrenaline and figured that’d be good enough, [...]

On Luck

I’ve never been someone who made friends particularly easily – a combination of intense shyness and an utter inability to read social signals has seen to that. However, I do have some friends, and I am very lucky that they are, without exception, some of the most intelligent, thoughtful, generous, funny, kind, knowledgeable and (in [...]

Albums You Should Own – I Just Wasn’t Made For These Times

This week’s Albums You Should Own is hamstrung a little by my presence in the US. I haven’t brought the vast majority of my record collection with me, for obvious reasons, and I don’t like writing these things without re-listening to the album in question. So this one is going to be about a less [...]

Why the shock?

So Barack Obama has chosen to have Rick Warren speak at his inauguration, and this has caused a huge amount of shock and outrage among those who voted and campaigned for him. I really don’t understand this. Obama is, and campaigned as, a right-of-centre conservative. This is someone who’s said he’s against gay marriage, for [...]

But Incognito As Batman He Fights Crime At Night

One of the things that people have found most confusing about the ending (if ending it is) of Batman RIP is the question of who exactly was the villain behind The Black Glove. Was he, as he claimed, Thomas Wayne back from the dead (if he was ever really dead)? Was he Alfred (or working [...]