Discovered the short story 'Transience' (1949) by Arthur C. Clarke, inspired by this poem by A. E. Housman:

XLV

Smooth between sea and land

Is laid the yellow sand,

And here through summer days

The seed of Adam plays.

Here the child comes to found

His unremaining mound,

And the grown lad to score

Two names upon the shore.

Here, on the level sand,

Between ( Read more... )

https://www.thinktankmaths.com/games/good-energy-for-2022/

Six tiny ones.  Let's see how long they survive!

With regret, I have to report that the culture wars have reached the hitherto docile and apolitical realm of the Tolkien Society. As we speak, there are people plotting to disrupt their proposed seminar on diversity. This is because some right-wing idiot (and UKIP candidate) called Sargon of Akkad (I kid you not) posted a whiny YouTube video about ( Read more... )

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Ta Katie T'a Quitté

( Lyrics )

In the last few weeks, the Guardian has introduced a new subgenre of articles about SME owners from a variety of sectors (some Brexiter, some Remainer) realising just how fucked they now are.  But I'm particularly loving this latest twist in the saga: the government is officially advising businesses that the only thing they can do to survive is to ( Read more... )

I've tried to bring my link posting down to a minimum in recent months, but can't forbear posting this:

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/oct/28/england-coronavirus-covid-test-and-trace-teenagers

Animal FarmIt had become usual to give Napoleon the credit for every successful achievement and every stroke of good fortune. You would often hear one hen remark to another, "Under the guidance of our Leader, Comrade Napoleon, I have laid five eggs in six days"; or two cows, enjoying a drink at the pool, would exclaim, "Thanks to the leadership of ( Read more... )

I googled 'drizzle'.  The first example sentence in the first hit that comes up is 'Scotland will be cloudy with patchy drizzle'.  I find that hilarious.  Scotland is literally the dictionary definition of rain!  And guess what I see looking out the window right now?

LA CIGALE ET LA FOURMI ( Read more... )