Notices by Nicholas Whyte (nwhyte@wandering.shop), page 2

Amor and Psyche; with Mercury in the background. (At the Gallo-Roman Museum in Tongeren.)

Why, Amazon? Why?

Er, sorry I forgot to mention this earlier, but I am giving a lecture in Belfast tomorrow evening at Ulster University. Title: “Pushing Boundaries: A century of change in the politics of Belfast.” See you there?

https://tinyurl.com/230423talk

My anatomical peculiarities
Sliding hiatal hernia, pig bronchus, supernumerary renal arteries, dolichocolon, leg length discrepancy
https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/my-anatomical-peculiarities/
#Uncategorized #LifeHealth

Very interesting piece on Sibelius’ 7th Symphony. Quotes Simon Rattle on its ending: “It’s the most depressed C major in all of musical literature. There’s no other piece that ends in C major where you feel it’s the end of the world.”

https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/music/2024/02/the-symphony-without-sequel

Envious of all my US-based friends who managed to catch the eclipse yesterday. Back in August 1999, we saw that year's eclipse with Anne's parents, a very small F (just two and a half weeks old) and two-year-old B who could still talk a bit at that stage. We fought through traffic which had come from most of Northern Europe and eventually came to rest just outside Guise. Clouds covered the sky as the light dimmed and eventually totality fell.

B commented "Dark", and then, thoughtfully, "Sunset". The clouds broke just as totality was ending and we had a good view of the "diamond ring" effect, and of the rest of the partial phase. It was pretty amazing. I must admit I'm looking now at options for northern Spain or western Iceland on 12 August 2026...

Moonraker’s Bride, by Madeleine Brent
The plot twists are pretty absurd, and yet I kept on being sucked back into it.
https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/moonrakers-bride-by-madeleine-brent/
#Uncategorized #Bookblog2024 #WorldChina

Doctor Who: The Star Beast
So, wasn't tonight's episode brilliant? Tennant and Tate back on form. (The coffee bit at the end was just a bit silly, but I forgive it, just because).
https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/doctor-who-the-star-beast/
#Uncategorized #DoctorWho #DoctorWho14 #WriterSteveLyons

Chengdu Worldcon: Meet the Future, by Ken MacLeod

https://kenmacleod.blogspot.com/2023/11/chengdu-worldcon-meet-future.html?m=1

Best Fanzine goes to Zero Gravity Newspaper! Great to have a Chinese winner.

Lodestar Award goes to Akata Woman, by Nnedi Okorafor (who is actually here)

In my line of work, I sometimes have clients who are upset that someone has said something mean about them - usually, but not always, on the Internet - and want advice on how to hit back with maximum point-by-point rebuttal, also impugning the motivations of the other party.

This approach is almost never a good idea, especially if the client is somewhat less than 100% in the right.