I'm more interested in the subject than the writer. O'Neill was the leader of the Irish side in the last struggle between the old Gaelic order and the London government; surrendering after nine years of war in 1603, he slipped away to exile in Rome and died there. For O'Faolain's purposes, he is of course a hero in that he tried but failed to establish an independent Irish state. But there were a couple of interesting slants which prevent it from being a hagiography.
Hiram Morgan has disproved one of the key planks of O'Faolain's narrative, that the young O'Neill was fostered in England, and Morgan is rather better on the overall politics and culture of the era. It's a bit of a shame, actually, because O'Faolain is big on the importance of communication and even compromise with the English, and O'Neill's (fictional) early life in England equips him to be the right man for this job. Where O'Faolain does better than Morgan is on the human level. His sixteenth-century Ireland is a rather sexy place (certainly in comparison to the repressed de Valera / McQuaid state). O'Neill's marital history is explained in great detail, including the elopement with Mabel Bagenal, the daughter of one of his regional English rivals. O'Faolain is fairly neutral rather than scandalised about this; I guess that he hoped his readers would draw their own conclusions.
And his account of the end of the war is rather good, though here he does slip into moral lessons from history a bit. Though a proud Cork man himself, O'Faolain admits that Kinsale was practically the worst place for the Spanish to land; had they come anywhere in the north or northwest coast, O'Faolain reckons they would have won the war fairly quickly. As it was, a less good English leader than Mountjoy could easily have screwed up the siege. But it's impossible to find a positive description of the way the arriving Irish soldiers blundered into a catastrophic and decisive defeat, and O'Faolain goes into splendid descriptive detail about it. O'Neill is in the end the victim of a bad Spanish decision, unusually good English command, and a lack of discipline among his own supporters and allies. My memory is that Cyril Falls, writing only a few years later and as an avowed Unionist, is actually a bit more even-handed in his assessment.
Anyway, not an essential book for historical understanding of the period, but an important book for understanding more recent perceptions of the events. And quite a good read.
- Why are pound and ounce abbreviated "lb." and "oz."?
A straight answer to a straight question.
- The Wheel of Ice, new Doctor Who book by Stephen Baxter.
Coming in August.
- Gorgeous Georgian: Now we can enjoy the cuisine of Russia's fiery neighbour nearer home
...if in London, that is.
- Why You Can Be a Bible-Believer or Anti-Abortion, but not Both | Ken Watts | the daily mull
Part one of a six-part series concluding the the Bible is in fact pro-choice rather than pro-life.
( 6) Ray of Light, 5) No Award, 4) Fields of Gold, 3) The Copenhagen Interpretation, 2) What We Found, 1) Six Months, Three Days )
See also: Best Novel | Best Short Story | Best Dramatic Presentation (Short Form) | Best Fan Artist
...risking my life and the old sub to chase a wild hair through the vast, dark ocean.This would be a jarring enough metaphor if "hare" had been spelt correctly, as a waterlogged animal would not get very far once submerged in the vast dark ocean. With the incorrect spelling of "hair", the entire sentence is nonsensical.
Later on, when we first encounter the ray of light of the title of the story, it appears thus:
...there was a gloaming light in the very far distance. Only, gloaming wasn't the right word.Indeed it wasn't; "gloaming" is not an adjective, but a noun which means "twilight", often more specifically "dusk". The narrator / the author may have meant "dim" or "gleaming".
This one will not be at the top of my ballot paper.
- Caviar Diplomacy: How Azerbaijan silenced the Council of Europe
29 pages, PDF, excellent report.
Edited to add: Per
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif?v=92.1){kind=small}
tortoise in comments I tried again and got 403 hits for "hair" and 59 for "hare". Which is a little more reassuring.- The Deadly Assassin
Andrew Hickey gives his views.
- Angela’s Choice.
"Support for European unity runs far deeper in the political structures of most continental countries than we grasp. British eurosceptics constantly remark that the euro was a political project, as if that is a killer argument. It was. It was supposed to be..."
- 10 things about British Politics as observed by an Irish political anorak.
Jason speaks.
- Harry Potter and the 800 lb Gorilla
How the Rowling / Warner machine treats translators.
- Hayek and the Welfare State, Yet Again
Do get any acquaintances who take Hayek seriously to read this.
- Eurovision 2012- what you see and don't see (VIDEO)
@arzugeybulla 's Storify summary.
- #Azerbaijan: Turning Over a New Leaf? - International Crisis Group
I was too optimistic, back in 2004.
- The Fortsas hoax
A peculiar bit of literary history.
- #Azerbaijan: Authorities Violently Disperse Peaceful Rallies
@HRW release quoting my old friend Giorgi Gogia.
- #Azerbaijan journalist blackmailed with sex video
How to deal with dissenting voices.
- I give up
Jon Worth decides that he cannot bear the prospect of running for the European Parliament as a Labour candidate in the UK.
- Blue Peter is Who I Am
The difference one TV programme can make.
Edited to add: I now realise that Randall Munroe is in fact a nominee but that none of his work has been included in the Hugo Voter Package. He is getting my top vote anyway, and I have revised the others down a place.
Without very much hesitation, I rank them as follows:
| 6) Steve Stiles. Three of the pieces submitted are weak jokes; the fourth is more interesting, a bloke looking out of the frame with a screaming face reflected in his sunglasses. But not interesting enough to shift him from the bottom spot on my ballot. |  |
 | 5) Brad Foster. This was the one artist whose work I did already know, in that he provides cover cartoons for Ansible. Nothing seriously wrong with any of the pieces but they are pretty basic. The best is the logo for last year's CONDFW, excerpted here. |
| 4) I hesitated a bit about Taral Wayne, because the first two pieces are a gnome joke and a jack o'lantern leering at a furry creature of some kind. But the other two are both rather good, a planetscape crowded with fannish references and a lovely long-focus landscape, nicely realised, with a trademark furry explorer. I like both better than I like any of the Foster or Stiles pieces, so Wayne goes above them. |  |
 | 3) We are in a slight chalk and cheese situation with Spring Schoenhuth, whose medium is metalwork rather than graphic art. The jewellery photographs we have been given to judge her work on are all beautiful pieces which one would like to own; there's a sense of consistent attention to detail. It may be slightly quirky of me, but I put her third. |
| 2) That brings us to Maurine Starkey, three of whose four pieces impressed me as having a story to tell; I was underwhelmed by her Close Encounters fanzine cover, but her Sherlock Holmes homage, her skeleton resting in flowers, and especially the weird children on the cover of Askance #24 would all make me want to pick up whatever they adorned and also look for more from that artist. |  |
 | 1) Randall Munroe. A consistent cause of delight and entertainment, and occasionally education and enlightenment. |
So, the Hugo Voter Package has successfully educated me about the Best Fan Artist category, though slightyl misled me by the absence of one of the nominees' work. More to come.
See also: Best Novel, Best Short Story, Best Dramatic Presentation (Short Form)
Best Novella: “The Man Who Bridged the Mist,” by Kij Johnson
Best Novelette: “What We Found,” by Geoff Ryman
Best Short Story: “The Paper Menagerie,” by Ken Liu
Ray Bradbury Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation: Doctor Who: “The Doctor’s Wife,” written by Neil Gaiman, directed by Richard Clark
Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy Book: The Freedom Maze, by Delia Sherman
Grand Master Award to Connie Willis.
Solstice Awards to John Clute and posthumously to Octavia Butler.
Service to SFWA Award to Bud Webster.
Congratulations to
papersky!!! (And to the others of course.Jo Walton, Ken Liu, and (slightly to my surprise) Geoff Ryman are all first-time Nebula winners. Kij Johnson had won twice before, making this her third. (Years of birth: 1951, 1960, 1964, 1976; but not necessarily in that order.) Neil Gaiman had of course won two Nebula Awards for written fiction, but this is his first Bradbury Award (he had been nominated for Best Script for Princess Mononoke.
- When publishing goes wrong…Starring Undead Press
Nightmare experience for writer's first publication.
- Two dangerous myths about a 'Grexit'
Myth 1) Greece faces disaster; Myth 2) the remaining Eu doesn't.
- Brussels Express
A documentary about bike messengers in Brussels, the most congested city in Europe with only 4% cycling traffic.
- How John Roberts Orchestrated Citizens United
The inside story of the death of US democracy.
- Fascism on the Farm: Freddy the Politician
The talking pig goes political, seven years before "Animal Farm".
- Two men rob internet cafe at gunpoint, but forget to log out of Facebook first | Naked Security
Top Tips!
- To the woman who accosted me on my way to the para transit van tonight. « Ballastexistenz
What it feels like if you treat someone like a child just because they cannot talk.
- When your child is not welcomed – dealing with jerks
Uncaring members of the caring professions.
- Somebody please, for the love of god, fix shipping/couriers
A great rant.
- Morocco/Western Sahara: No Action on Police Beating of Rights Worker
"If there is impunity for police who beat up a citizen who works for an international organization in broad daylight, in front of witnesses and despite formal complaints, it’s clear how vulnerable ordinary citizens are."
- Somali piracy: EU forces in first mainland raid
First ever attack by any EU military mission?
- Can the FBI understand intelligence?
The CIA don't think so!
- The wrong Carlos: how Texas sent an innocent man to his death
I you know anyone ho supports capital punishment, get them to read this.
- Enclave-Hunting in Switzerland
Campione d’Italia, Büsingen am Hochrhein and their lesser-known cantonal equivalents.
15 May 2011: I commemorated the death of Peter Grimwade (among other Whoniversaries), wrote up a Doctor Who audio starring Mary Tamm and quoted Neil Gaiman on Who.
15 May 2010: I gave a grudging yes to the new British coalition government, reported that Northern Ireland's local government reform was to be delayed yet again (it has just been restarted), and reviewed a Hugo-nominated novel that didn't much impress me.
15 May 2009: I complained about twitterbots from British Columbia, reviewed Shakespeare's The Tempest and The Wizard of Oz, and added a thought about the links between the Tin Woodman and the Cybermen.
15 May 2008: I wished my wife a happy birthday (I was in Albania I think), and mourned the demise of the daily RFE/RL news bulletin.
15 May 2007: I reviewed the second volume of Proust's In Search of Lost Time, an Iain Banks novel and an early Doctor Who story.
So, what about you?
- The problem with nerd politics
Cory Doctorow on interfacing with the real world.
- Dell response regarding insensitive comments from Mads Christensen
@Dell apologises (on Google Plus so nobody will see it).
- What a performance
The ten best managerial excuses for poor performance.
- Herman’s hermit kingdom
When Andy met Herman. #fb
- Marginalized
Complaints from medieval scribes. "St Patrick of Armagh, deliver me from writing!"
- The Floppy Disk means Save
Brilliant, if you haven't already seen it.
- Jumping through hoops
How London got the Olympics.
- EU cookie law compliance (in WordPress)
Does your blog obey European law on cookies?
- Dresscode: Blue tie and male |
Dell computers has a message for women: "Shut up, bitch!"
- They Took His Life and Threw it on a Skip by Julia Jones
The writer Francis Wheen lost most of his archives in a fire last month.
The Moon and the Sun won the 1998 Nebula for Best Novel, one of those years when the Nebula process came up with an admirable choice from a strong field. I have read three of the other shortlisted books, and two of them - Bujold's Memory and George R.R. Martin's A Game of Thrones - are particular favourites of mine, though perhaps less obvious Nebula winners. I have also read (though was much less impressed by) Connie Willis' Bellwether; the other nominations were King's Dragon by Kate Elliott, Ancient Shores by Jack McDevitt, and City on Fire by Walter Jon Williams. (Blue Mars and Forever Peace won the Hugos around this time.)
- Karabakh: 'frozen' conflict nears melting point
The ever shrewd Wayne Merry warns of the increasing certainty of war.
( 6) Deadline, 5) No Award, 4) A Dance With Dragons, 3) Leviathan Wakes, 2) Embassytown, 1) Among Others )
NB that three out of five of these feature dead girls in frequent conversation with central characters. In two cases it is the narrator's sister.
See also: Best Short story, Best Dramatic Presentation (Short Form)
- How an angler and two government bureaucrats may have saved the Atlantic Ocean.
Extraordinary and appalling.
- Azerbaijani President's Family Benefits From Eurovision Hall Construction
Surely not!!!
- A film festival in the Sahara desert: Like a mirage
An extraordinary cultural event.
- Facebook Social Readers Are All Collapsing
Good. I hate them.
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