I’m in the home stretch with the Beatlebook now – with a little luck I’ll be getting it uploaded tonight and I can get on with real work again. In the meantime, some links:
CosmicOs is a Free Software project to essentially create a computer program which can be used to communicate with alien intelligences. Fascinating stuff.
Laurie Penny on Facebook, capitalism and geek entitlement
Charles Stross reveals the plot of a book he once planned to write but now won’t
Sci-Ence! Justice Leak! 
The best of luck with that Beatles book. You seem to have been juggling so many projects for such a long while and I’d imagine that ticking another off of the list would be a very good for your soul.
Don’t be too kind, Colin! Andrew’s stress is my couldn’t-do-it-myself!
Nah, actually…to be truthful I simply don’t have the musical knowledge. I’m a songwriter, but what Andrew knows about even bongo drumming surpasses everything about assonance and dissonance that I know. Pleasures of Internet friendship! You meet smarter people than you.
I don’t have *that* much musical knowledge myself – just a few months of studying music at university before I dropped out. I can bluff my way through this stuff, but I’m a lot less knowledgeable than I seem…
Liar. You forget I’ve read your Mono Masters reviews. You may not have much official education but you’ve obviously worked hard at wrestling to the ground the practical musical knowledge one needs to get the whole ROYGBIV deal, instead of the…what is it, Andrew, the…CBY…?
Aw, crap. What is it.
Anyway, shut up you. I’m buying at least two copies of your Beatles Book because in my judgement as a Beatles expert (“the greatest Beatles genius in the universe!” – name the actor) who knows a lot of people who are extremely clever about music apparently you rip them up, challenge some stuff, exhibit real Beatles love, reinvigorate all kinds of stuff! Interestingly, I put forward to them your idea that Lennon hated his own voice. Not a new idea, but very well-argued by you w/ reference to “Anna” and “Not A Second Time” and “She Said She Said” and “Help”…anyway, SO CRAZY this week Yoko was interviewed and asked that question: “did John hate his own voice?”
YO: “He did, but we all loved it. Greatest rock voice ever, but I could never convince him of it, no one could, Paul couldn’t, George couldn’t, nor Ringo.”
WOW!
So the thing about him double-tracking, hiding…I mean it seems incredible. John Lennon, of all people, disbelieving in his voice.
And, Good God…now there’s a new box set?
Andrew, how’m I s’posed to afford this stuff?
SIGH!
It’s like…if the money’s all for Yoko’s “peace initiative”, I can justify not buying it in the same breath I could justify buying it if I had the money. That’s okay. Those things are the same, then. And I guess if I go to any Starbucks I can hear it?
Okay.
Lord, to hear Lennon’s voice truly unleashed though…this is like religion to me.
I think I must probably email Yoko. Suggest to her that I would be willing to film the wind (name that TV show!) if I could just get the “Gimme Some Truth” thing for one day?
SIGH SIGH SIGH.