I spent most of Saturday in Nashville last weekend, the first time I had ever been there. I was there in order to speak on Brexit to a professional conference, but applying the Woodrow Wilson principle meant that I had some time to look around town, though not to take in any of its musical heritage. My old friend H had briefed me about one of the most extraordinary things I have seen in America: a full-scale replica of the Parthenon as it would have been in its prime (or as that was imagined in the 1890s).

It doesn't quite have the same dramatic setting as the original, but it's a striking effort. The Nashvillians of 1897 went to the trouble of getting plaster casts of the Elgin Marbles and filling in the bits that they thought were missing as best they could. It's a really striking piece of work.
But then you get inside. And, good lord, the statue of Pallas Athena, reputedly the largest indoor statue in the Western world, which dates not from 1897 but from 1990, well,
It's difficult for a mere photograph to convey quite how disturbing arresting Alan LeQuire has made it.
The detail on, for instance, the goddess's shield is incredible.That's pretty mind-blowing. The rest of Nashville's monuments are more normal stuff. There is a nice women's suffrage monument (Tennessee's ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920 was crucial to getting women the right to vote), again by Alan LeQuire, though the position of the sun made it difficult to get good shots:
Over at the Tennessee State Capitol, I was surprised to discover a dead president. Tennessee was the home state of three nineteenth-century presidents, though in fact all three were probably born in North Carolina. The most obscure of the three (despite the Mexican-American War) is the one buried in the Capitol grounds, James Knox Polk; he had also been governor of Tennessee from 1839 to 1841 before becoming president from 1845 to 1849. He died only three months after leaving office; his wife lived on another 42 years in their family home where he was buried in the garden. After she died, their house was demolished and they were both moved here. Apparently there are plans afoot to move them on again to the Polks' country place, in Columbia TN, 75 km south of Nashville.

The two other local-ish presidents are both commemorated with statues on the eastern side of the capitol grounds. Again, the angle of the March sun gave me some difficulty in capturing them, but here's Andrew Johnson (president from Linconln's assassination in 1865 until 1869), by Jim Gray, hidden in the trees on the southeastern corner:

And there's not much doubt about who Tennesseeans' favourite local president is; Andrew Jackson has a splendid equestrian statue outside the capitol, between the one of Johnson and Polk's tomb. It's a replica of the one by Clark Mills in Lafayette Park in DC (though the plaque at the base suggests inaccurately that it's the other way round), so I wasn't too worried about catching the detail. The capitol itself is rather nice.
So that's Nashville. I don't know if I will ever be there again, but at least I can say I've been.

The trip ended on what I thought was a flattering note: when I requested a glass of wine in the airport bar, I was asked to prove my age! Readers, I turn 52 next month. Alas, my friend Natalie (who actually lives in Tennessee, though at the other end) informs me that all customers are carded by law, so the question was not as complimentary as I thought.

Marty won the Oscar for Best Motion Picture of 1955, and picked up another three, Best Director (Delbert Mann), Best Actor (Ernest Borgnine) and Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay (Paddy Chayefsky). Betsy Blair and Joe Mantell were nominated for Best Supprting Actress and Actor respectively, and it also got nominations for Best Art Direction-Set Direction and Best Black-and-White Cinematography. The other contenders for Best Motion Picture were Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing, Mister Roberts, Picnic and The Rose Tattoo. I haven’t seen any of them.




IMDB users rank Marty 15th or 11th of the films of 1955. Six films are ahead of it on both rankings: Rebel Without A Cause, East of Eden, Lady and the Tramp, To Catch a Thief, The Night of the Hunter and The Seven Year Itch. The only one of those that I have seen is Lady and the Tramp. Others that I know include Guys and Dolls, The Ladykillers, and The Dambusters; and I have the Broadway cast album of Kismet but have not yet watched the film. That’s unusually broad for me - I think the best year since 1942 (soon to be 1943 once I get to the Retro Hugos). Here's a contemporary trailer, fronted by Burt Lancaster (who we saw two years ago) as the producer; it includes the one scene that perhaps has weathered the years least well.



It is mercifully short, at 91 minutes apparently the shortest film ever to win the Oscar for Best Picture (or equivalent) - that's less than 40% of Gone With the Wind. It's the story of the eponymous Marty, a New York butcher who thinks he will never find love, and then actually does. I found it a charming character study and portrayal of a place and time, beautifully shot; not utterly compelling, but convincing enough. I'm putting it between a third and halfway down my list, between It Happened One Night and The Life of Emile Zola (1937). (Technical note: a bit surprised to find yet another black-and-white film made this late.)

Whitewashing: To start with the usual complaint: the black population of the Bronx was not massive in the 1950s - 6.7% in the 1950 census, 11.5% in 1960 - and, sure, the story is mainly set in the Italian community, but I don't think that excuses there not being a single black person visible in the entire film. (Just for reference: we've had two black speaking parts altogether since Gone With the Wind, 16 years ago.)

Plot: Although it’s a romance, I was pleased that( massive spoilerCollapse )The chemistry between Ernest Borgnine and Betsy Blair as Marty and Clara is very watchable, and nicely filmed.




The two of them are also well located in their respective somewhat suffocating family backgrounds. (I note that Clara's parents sleep in separate beds, per the Code.)




It loses marks, of course, for the gender stereotypes (though both main characters are shown as trapped by their parents' and peers' expectations), and there is one rather skeevy moment between the two principals. That aside...

Borgnine: As the central character, Borgnine is hugely convincing. He does a tremendous eye-roll in his first scene, as various women customers nag him to get married; his punching a street sign in joy after his accidental date with Clara is a lovely moment; and as well as the chemistry with Betsy Blair, he is great with Joe Mantell as his friend Angie and Esther Minciotti as his mother. I didn’t get anything like as vivid an impression of him in From Here to Eternity.
Cinematography: The best aspect of the film for me was its solid portrayal of the Bronx as a place. There are a couple of key moments here - one of them is the opening street scene, set on Arthur Avenue in Belmont, the Bronx. I'm glad to report that the butcher's shop where Marty works is still extant, now Vincent's Meat Market at no. 2374.
A more recent iconic video filmed around the same location: Lady Gaga's Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say).



One scene that particularly intrigued me for its setting was the dance hall. Look at the top there - that's actually a disco ball! I ahd no idea that they were around that early, but that only shows that I haven't watched Casablanca closely enough, because there's one visible in one of the flashback scenes.
Anyway, it is charming enough. You can get it here.

The film was based on a teleplay - the first such to win an Oscar for best Picture - so there's no book to read and I don't think the original script is available (though the shooting script for the film is online).

Next up, after a run of seven films with more or less contemporary settings, it's back to the nineteenth century and Around the World in Eighty Days.

1920s: Wings (1927-28) | The Broadway Melody (1928-29)
1930s: All Quiet on the Western Front (1929-30) | Cimarron (1930-31) | Grand Hotel (1931-32) | Cavalcade (1932-33) | It Happened One Night (1934) | Mutiny on the Bounty (1935, and books) | The Great Ziegfeld (1936) | The Life of Emile Zola (1937) | You Can't Take It with You (1938) | Gone with the Wind (1939, and book)
1940s: Rebecca (1940) | How Green Was My Valley (1941) | Mrs. Miniver (1942) | Casablanca (1943) | Going My Way (1944) | The Lost Weekend (1945) | The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) | Gentleman's Agreement (1947) | Hamlet (1948) | All the King's Men (1949)
1950s: All About Eve (1950) | An American in Paris (1951) | The Greatest Show on Earth (1952) | From Here to Eternity (1953) | On The Waterfront (1954) | Marty (1955)
21st century: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)

• Thu, 12:22: RT @jameschappers: I once wrote a front page story about @NicolaSturgeon during the Scottish indyref campaign with the headline “The Most D…
• Thu, 12:40: RT @iainmartin1: @BrunoBrussels @Sime0nStylites @TomMcTague @pmdfoster She's increasingly resigned to no deal and two thirds of the cabinet…
• Thu, 12:56: RT @kathy__odonnell: The publisher of the study which invented ‘Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria’ admits that the science was faulty, issues co…
• Thu, 14:39: RT @rtenews: "The mood has hardened here in Brussels" @tconnellyRTE with the latest on #Brexit | https://t.co/Exx3CzDeCP https://t.co/yjFgf…
• Thu, 15:14: RT @ninaism: #UPDATE: "In the case of a negative British vote then we'd be heading to a no deal. We all know it. And it's essential to be c…
• Thu, 15:16: RT @Usherwood: Let's consider where #EUCO is at right now on extension: 1/
• Thu, 15:19: RT @mazdachris82: @tompeck Brown turned a national crisis into a damage limitation exercise. May turned a damage limitation exercise into a…
• Thu, 15:34: RT @damonwake: Come to think of it, if anything can turn the ERG against no-deal, it's being forced into it by the French. https://t.co/jMa…
• Thu, 16:05: RT @PropertySpot: In May 2016, David Davis described the Brexit negotiations as a chessboard where the final checkmate is inevitable. "My…
• Thu, 16:49: Ambassador @USAmbEU Sondland on US downgrading of EU representation in 2018: “It was a shitty thing to do. We don’t… https://t.co/okqpH8dpeT

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George Washington, born 22 February 1732 (NS), became President 30 April 1789, aged 57 years 67 days;
served as President until 4 March 1797, aged 65 years 10 days (thus becoming the only ex-President)
died 14 December 1799, aged 67 years 295 days,
held the record as longest-lived President for another 3 years, 250 days after his death:
14 years 113 days in total as the longest-lived president.

John Adams, born 20 October 1735 (NS), served as President 4 March 1797 to 4 March 1801.
He outlived Washington on 20 August 1803,
died 4 July 1826, aged 90 years 247 days,
held the record as longest-lived president for another 175 years, 99 days after his death:
198 years 51 days in total as the longest-lived president.

Ronald Reagan, born 6 February 1911, served as President 20 January 1981 to 20 January 1989.
He outlived Adams on 11 October 2001,
died 5 June 2004, aged 93 years, 120 days,
held the record as longest-lived president for another 2 years, 158 days after his death:
5 years 30 days in total as the longest-lived president.

Gerald Ford, born 14 July 1913, served as President 9 August 1974 to 20 January 1977.
He outlived Reagan on 10 November 2006,
died 26 December 2006, aged 93 years, 165 days,
held the record as longest-lived president for another 10 years, 333 days after his death:
11 years 13 days in total as the longest-lived president.

George H.W. Bush, born 12 June 1924, served as President 20 January 1989 to 20 January 1993.
He outlived Ford on 23 November 2017,
died 30 November 2018, aged 94 years, 171 days,
held the record as longest-lived president for another 111 days after his death:
1 year 118 days in total as the longest-lived president.

Jimmy Carter, born 1 October 1924, served as President 20 January 1977 to 20 January 1981.
He has just today outlived Bush.

• Wed, 12:56: Bercow's Brexit decision is legally correct https://t.co/j9G0v97NcV "In short, the government should not have been… https://t.co/1RjlivhOOR
• Wed, 13:39: RT @faisalislam: Here is the letter to Tusk: https://t.co/y4eRdGW4Lw
• Wed, 13:41: RT @rowena_kay: If I was the EU reading that letter, I'd be entirely unconvinced that even passing the MV would lead to any sustainable bas…
• Wed, 13:41: RT @pmdfoster: Yes. That final para "I am confident" ...you can feel hearts sinking. https://t.co/TFB1sXFJt2
• Wed, 13:42: RT @AFP: #BREAKING European Commission says June 30 Brexit delay brings 'serious' risks https://t.co/ZwaQQkFB2Q
• Wed, 14:36: RT @damonwake: Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! https://t.co/YdAjHHTJju
• Wed, 16:05: RT @CasMudde: The Netherlands hold provincial elections today, which somewhat complexly, determine makeup of Senate. This is good primer by…
• Wed, 16:43: RT @kevinhorourke: @economistmeg I don’t think the EU is playing chicken at this stage..
• Wed, 16:44: RT @KeohaneDan: German foreign minister: "Theresa May's letter has not solved any problems. If the European Council must decide on an ext…
• Wed, 16:45: RT @DaveKeating: Tusk has called a #Brexit press conference for 5pm. Speculation that he will say May’s letter has arrived too late for the…

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• Tue, 16:05: RT @jonnymorris1973: New on my blog: my best Doctor Who short story, The Thief of Sherwood. https://t.co/u1USDkUlZk https://t.co/qNM0fWB2oc
• Tue, 17:11: Paddy Ashdown – a frank remembrance https://t.co/q8GqXqQpAP Rather brutal stuff, but necessary reading, from Trevor Smith.
• Tue, 17:57: RT @MichaelPDeacon: Why didn't you tell us the Meaningful Vote was going to be meaningful https://t.co/bWvgOa2gsg
• Tue, 17:57: RT @seanjonesqc: Brexiters imagined this would be the moment when Jonny Foreigner looked across the poker table and into our flint grey eye…
• Tue, 18:09: RT @JenniferMerode: Significant. Michel Barnier gives his view on a longer extension: it "needs to be linked to something new, there needs…
• Tue, 19:21: Tuesday reading https://t.co/op8KL0pKBn
• Tue, 20:48: Blistering. https://t.co/1lIA1eo40y
• Wed, 04:32: RT @lewis_goodall: Well, that worked well. https://t.co/TtkdGqBHTw
• Wed, 10:45: Cybersecurity in the works of J.R.R.Tolkien | Kaspersky Lab official blog https://t.co/5CKy55ZTjf Sometimes what yo… https://t.co/iW0MGwDcBq
• Wed, 10:50: No, sadly a French minister didn't call her cat 'Brexit' https://t.co/8KYIRyv4gb via @FRANCE24 Yeah, I felt it was too good to be true!

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Hugos impacting my reading time pretty seriously...

Current
A Little Life, by Hanya Yanagihara
Daniel Deronda, by George Eliot
Combat Magicks, by Steve Cole

Last books finished
λ1
κ1
(In that order.)

Next books
Troll Bridge, by Neil Gaiman and Colleen Doran
The Botany of Desire, by Michael Pollan

• Sun, 12:56: On the Lib Dem leadership. https://t.co/N6PRiemX6E
• Sun, 14:20: RT @joncstone: Brits buying halloumi is 6% of all Cyprus’s trade https://t.co/wvbuUQQNx8
• Sun, 14:48: Don’t bet there’ll be a third vote on Theresa May’s deal https://t.co/dLocrDVuKZ Gawdddd.....
• Sun, 16:05: Wow. https://t.co/mEHYzk3wtE
• Mon, 09:55: RT @MichaelAodhan: @pmdfoster @SamuelMarcLowe We, NIRC, @Freight_NI and @ManufacturingNI, did the figures and under the backstop if we are…
• Mon, 10:10: RT @davidallengreen: One key to understanding Brexit so far is that EU27 has not dumped on Ireland in the way the UK would have done had th…
• Mon, 10:19: Awful news. https://t.co/7mphwAdOZw
• Mon, 10:24: RT @Usherwood: Let's not forget where we are right now: 1/
• Mon, 10:45: Lou Reed & John Cale dressed as Batman & Robin https://t.co/3LXloGpZA3 In the early days of The Velvet Underground,… https://t.co/cH2cvXBfhs
• Mon, 10:46: RT @tconnellyRTE: https://t.co/Bam2UJE39o

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• Sat, 12:05: RT @pmdfoster: “ It’s not where we wanted to be, but it still leaves us with cards to play.” ⁦@CitySamuel⁩ selling the backstop... and rath…
• Sat, 12:06: RT @DPhinnemore: Once again, the Saturday morning read from @tconnellyRTE is a must. Capriciousness and Cox On Cox: 'when he [first] ar…
• Sat, 15:57: RT @GoodwinVianna: While you're still horrified by the mosque shooting, I'm going to share something I don't normally share. Because tomor…
• Sat, 16:05: ‘The Left Hand of Darkness’ at Fifty https://t.co/0MDF1SglT7 @CharlieJane writes.
• Sat, 17:50: RT @bricksilk: In this just-published further Opinion on the PM’s #Brexit deal, we take a dim view of new legal arguments attributed to the…
• Sat, 19:39: RT @NCOILorg: @NCOIL Keynote Luncheon speaker Nicholas Whyte @nwbrux Senior Director, Global Solutions @APCOWorldwide shares his thoughts o…
• Sat, 20:00: My week on Twitter 🎉: 38 Mentions, 39.5K Mention Reach, 161 Likes, 77 Retweets, 181K Retweet Reach. See yours with… https://t.co/c8ofxJezNo
• Sat, 20:36: Saw this extraordinary John Gable portrait of Alice Roosevelt Longworth in the @WillardHotel yesterday. There are m… https://t.co/YUkA53JbGp
• Sat, 20:48: RT @peterjukes: Let’s name them. Rod Liddle. Douglas Murray. Katy Hopkins. Trevor Kavanagh. Alison Pearson. Melanie Philips https://t.co/Km…
• Sat, 22:16: RT @CarolineGruyter: "Since we joined the EU in 1973, we have held up mirrors to other Europeans in Brussels. We loved showing them what we…

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• Fri, 12:19: RT @Dublin2019: In case you haven't heard... Today is the deadline for nominating @TheHugoAwards. So if you haven't done so yet it's time t…
• Fri, 12:23: RT @DmitryOpines: 1/ - Dmitry's Guide To Writing A No-Deal Is Project Fear Article - Are you a Tory Lord who once had to share a cab with…
• Fri, 12:28: Public Prosecution Service spells out in detail Bloody Sunday decisions via @irish_news https://t.co/FJbJVBE7nh Useful detail.
• Fri, 12:29: RT @drewharwell: The New Zealand massacre was livestreamed on Facebook, announced on 8chan, reposted on YouTube, commentated about on Reddi…
• Fri, 12:56: An Irish pub born in the Dark Ages https://t.co/3xaP6X9cyJ 1100 years of serving drinks in Athlone!
• Fri, 13:08: RT @JP_Biz: Silver Hill Foods, the cross-border duck business which featured in the @tconnellyRTE book, has been bought by Fane Valley, the…
• Fri, 13:39: RT @ChrisGiles_: 🚨 PUBLIC SERVICE KLAXON 🚨 Thread below linked to this column provides all the information you might want (and probably mo…
• Fri, 13:59: RT @TheScepticIsle: I set out a vision for & argued for a “Liberal Brexit” & was openly supportive of free movement & the Single Market. My…
• Fri, 15:13: RT @jonworth: Making sense of the week - #Brexit diagram V18 ‼ UK requests long extension: 84% ‼ No Deal 15% ⬇️⬇️⬇️ Gen Election 33% ⬆️ M…
• Fri, 16:05: The power of one country to influence treaty ratification https://t.co/x7A82KP0bk Interesting!

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• Thu, 12:47: RT @jonworth: #Brexit Diagram V17, after yesterday's votes. 👎 No Deal was already priced in, so little change on that. No Deal 32% ↔️ Gen…
• Thu, 12:56: Fintan O’Toole: ‘Yeats Test’ criteria reveal we are doomed https://t.co/kXZqZXD6gq If Heaney is fashionable, the ti… https://t.co/DnKX0gJDnH
• Thu, 14:57: RT @LBC: Eddie: “What about people who have changed their minds on Brexit?” Liz Truss: “I don’t think people have changed their minds”…
• Thu, 15:08: RT @Dublin2019: Tomorrow, the 15th of March, is the deadline for nominating @TheHugoAwards. So if you haven't done so yet it's time to star…
• Thu, 15:46: RT @Billbrowder: BREAKING: European Parliament passes resolution calling for an EU Magnitsky Act with Sergei Magnitsky’s name on it. The vo…
• Thu, 15:50: RT @HeaneyDaily: On a Wednesday morning early I took the road to Derry Along Glenshane and Foreglen and the cold woods of Hillhead: A wet w…
• Thu, 16:00: 40 hours to go to make your Hugo nominations! https://t.co/nFTRHRtVbA
• Thu, 16:05: That’s really lovely. https://t.co/XEgV4kGCuM
• Thu, 16:30: RT @ConorCradden: @nwbrux I nominate David Cameron and Theresa May for 'Brexit' (Fantasy category)
• Thu, 17:11: How I Would Cover the College-Admissions Scandal as a Foreign Correspondent https://t.co/FaD5JOIkAf The USA’s “enti… https://t.co/tjV9S2AGHR

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• Wed, 12:10: RT @AlbertoNardelli: NEW: The EU thinks that delaying Brexit makes sense only in three scenarios: 1) prepare for no deal 2) to ratify the…
• Wed, 12:29: RT @dannyctkemp: ‘I have drawn you a unicorn’. Tusk’s Instagram scores again 🦄 https://t.co/erA3UxbQvz
• Wed, 12:56: RT @michael_deforge: Mark Twain didn’t learn to read until he was 63 Stanley Kubrick was only 41 when he faked the moon landing Paul McCart…
• Wed, 15:29: RT @RTENewsPaulC: Lots of head scratching at the European Parliament on UK border proposals - MEPs wondering why British Govt treating NI d…
• Wed, 15:29: RT @hayward_katy: The UK has published its approach to cross-border movement of goods in N.Ireland under a No Deal scenario, as the PM prom…
• Wed, 15:43: RT @NinaDSchick: Meanwhile, @JamesCleverly, Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party, says No Deal Brexit shouldn’t be taken off the table…
• Wed, 16:05: RT @MavenOfMayhem: Hello, and welcome to Canada, where we eat poutine and have been sharing bathrooms and change rooms with self-ID’d trans…
• Wed, 16:26: RT @leonardocarella: The belief that Italy, Hungary or Poland may veto an A50 extension is inversely proportional to the believer's command…
• Wed, 16:29: #TakingBackControl https://t.co/Al2q2gsSff
• Wed, 16:51: I get quoted by @aoifewhite101 on @vestager: https://t.co/TwloS8ykoe

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• Tue, 12:30: RT @tconnellyRTE: Key points from Geoffrey Cox: The legally binding provisions of the Joint Instrument + the content of the Unilateral Dec…
• Tue, 12:56: The Great Star Wars Heist | Carl Cunningham and Rancho Obi-Wan https://t.co/1OPzQ0ItpB Extraordinary and rather sad story.
• Tue, 15:24: RT @NigelDoddsDUP: Sufficient progress has NOT been achieved at this time. https://t.co/tZpLQ5giUy
• Tue, 16:05: John Bolton: Trump’s Shrewd National Security Adviser https://t.co/QY1zgqIY7M ‘“He could have risen faster if he ha… https://t.co/Afg9gI1gxz
• Tue, 17:11: Jeremy Corbyn and the truth about Tom Bower's book https://t.co/fXw4fYdHqZ A thorough and damning demolition by… https://t.co/kqRNaJmtQ8
• Tue, 18:13: RT @amcunningham: Thanks for sharing this @nwbrux - it's important for what it says about the quality of political discourse in the media t…
• Tue, 18:35: RT @GeorginaEWright: Really though, if you are confused about what changes the Prime Minister brought back, and what they actually mean for…
• Tue, 18:39: RT @Mij_Europe: If May's deal is defeated tonight, as seems likely, I suspect it will impact - and complicate - the debate in the European…
• Tue, 18:49: #TakingBackControl https://t.co/Mo0YpIcGFO
• Tue, 19:21: RT @pmdfoster: Of all the Brexiteer beliefs, this has been the hardest to squash. Confusing mitigation measures - even more generous ones…

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• Mon, 12:56: Lying. https://t.co/SfqE0QIAho
• Mon, 13:25: Good discussion at end of last week. Who knows how things will look by the end of this week??? https://t.co/7OrxLPyhC1
• Mon, 13:54: RT @asabenn: "To borrow Donald Tusk’s terms: there is a special place in hell for MPs who voted for Article 50 yet now refuse to endorse th…
• Mon, 16:05: James Meek on Brexit and the myth of St. George https://t.co/x19GC6rXn2 Good thoughtful piece.
• Mon, 17:11: Kevin Barry: The belligerence and brilliance of Flann O’Brien https://t.co/medfJ8IpmO Great piece about a great biography of a great writer.
• Mon, 18:46: Thread. https://t.co/Vo51m1T2Iy
• Mon, 19:10: RT @Lennardvot: @JGForsyth This is clutching at straws and the opinion of some lawyer is irrelevant. There are three ways to end the backst…
• Mon, 19:52: RT @pmdfoster: So it appear there are to be two statements - a joint one and a unilateral UK one setting out the conditions on which the UK…
• Mon, 20:48: In 1969, someone sent Robert Fink a telegram. It was finally delivered last month. https://t.co/RhzCIFmTST Nice little story.
• Mon, 21:07: RT @gossjam: Oh no. https://t.co/6bY80tMaSC

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• Sat, 12:56: No dealers must dream on: A conversation with Ivan Rogers https://t.co/H70DVLk6o4 Verbatim, so not as well structur… https://t.co/rtwsD5lbMQ
• Sat, 13:08: RT @AlbertoNardelli: A Mysterious Hardline Brexit Group Run By A Young Tory Is Now The Biggest Spending Political Campaign On Facebook. But…
• Sat, 14:24: RT @oliver_daddow: @FabianZuleeg @Cardwell_PJ Calls to mind this from John Major, on Maastricht Treaty negotiations in early 1990s. https:/…
• Sat, 14:44: RT @Freight_NI: 1/5 The @CommonsNIAC report on the backstop and Irish border has just been published. A few things that stand out in initia…
• Sat, 14:48: What do the people of the world die from? https://t.co/PU0Ze3W2j6 Grimly fascinating statistics.
• Sat, 16:05: RT @pollytoynbee: Click on this: needs magnifying glass to find tiny slice we contribute to EU. Red bus utterly misleading - Will any but u…
• Sat, 17:07: RT @SebDance: It wasn’t the EU27 that booted the UK out. It wasn’t the EU27 that likened the UK to a Soviet gulag. It wasn’t the EU27 tha…
• Sat, 17:07: RT @DeborahMeaden: To be fair, we are beginning to look a little unhinged. We propose a backstop position, they agree it, we go back and sa…
• Sat, 20:00: My week on Twitter 🎉: 226 Mentions, 12.2K Mention Reach, 1.75K Likes, 503 Retweets, 125 Replies. See yours with… https://t.co/KKoHVDQuuA
• Sat, 20:48: The endless Brexit lies have left us in an Orwellian nightmare https://t.co/AfCJ9Tz2D3 Fair, from @jonlis1.

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• Fri, 12:00: RT @GuidoFawkes: Quote of the Day is Karen Bradley on Believing What She Says... https://t.co/51uAgOTgDV https://t.co/4COO7FUjkr
• Fri, 12:56: RT @philipstephens: After Brexit, Britain will be a rule-taker https://t.co/NHEipOJQrC
• Fri, 13:09: RT @KaliaPolitics: Very interesting article by @nwbrux on what to expect from the 2019 European Parliament elections and the role that #Bre…
• Fri, 15:22: Latest APCO Brexit Bites, with comment from me. https://t.co/33mbn9EOyN
• Fri, 15:39: RT @bbcdoctorwho: Happy #InternationalWomensDay! Straight from the set of S12, here's some of our wonderful cast talking about the women th…
• Fri, 16:05: RT @ScottHech: Manafort was sentenced to less than a woman who voted while on probation without knowing she wasn’t allowed to. She was sent…
• Fri, 17:11: RT @arrroberts: "also born" https://t.co/RZjXP7OfGv
• Fri, 17:31: RT @pmdfoster: Shorter @MichelBarnier - We are not talking the blame here. - The UK has clear choices. As this weeks talks show, they c…
• Fri, 17:48: RT @MichelBarnier: 👇 I briefed EU27 Ambassadors and EP today on the ongoing talks with #UK. Following the EU-UK statement of 20 Feb, the EU…
• Fri, 18:19: RT @tconnellyRTE: Quick thread on the Barnier statements: This essentially going back to the NI-specific backstop: ie, if it really wants t…

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• Thu, 12:41: RT @nick_gutteridge: Loiseau again makes the very important point that's it's absurd to think EU would actively want to trap UK in the back…
• Thu, 12:45: RT @GuitarMoog: A serious contender among many thousands of candidates for the title Peak Brexit. The Consultancy firm hired by DFDM Liam…
• Thu, 12:56: Karen Bradley is speaking to the wrong audience on Northern Ireland https://t.co/yuGhgGbkwX @patrickkmaguire is kin… https://t.co/KLvBuCXtud
• Thu, 14:36: RT @SJAMcBride: The remarkable thing is that when she came back to the Commons to clarify her remarks, Karen Bradley did not have the polit…
• Thu, 14:40: “My position and the position of the government is clear” - no it isn’t, because she still hasn’t said that her sta… https://t.co/G4OHpSB854
• Thu, 17:11: RT @TweetChizone: @Nicole_Cliffe Oh God I can’t even tell this story and not cry. I used to manage an LGBT bookstore, when bookstores were…
• Thu, 18:18: RT @ivanobp: @nwbrux Oh I think it's quite clear, Nicholas! She's not sorry because she can't see that she's said anything wrong, just that…
• Thu, 18:23: RT @georgeeaton: A year ago, Amber Rudd said the new registration scheme for EU migrants would be “as easy as setting up an online account…
• Thu, 19:20: RT @georgeeaton: The facts have always been the same: 1. You need a permanent customs union or the "backstop" to guarantee no hard Irish…
• Thu, 20:48: RT @JamesKanag: I'm not convinced that the political parties understand where "Middle England/Wales" exists. Analysis indicates Ipswich, Se…

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• Wed, 12:20: RT @nick_gutteridge: Commission spokesman: 'Barnier informed Commissioners that while the talks take place in a constructive atmosphere dis…
• Wed, 12:56: The Making of the Fox News White House https://t.co/ZggcU1Imr4 Grimly fascinating. (Long read from The New Yorker.)
• Wed, 14:36: RT @APCOBXLInsider: The #EU2019 transition raises many questions. Luckily #apcoworldwide provides insights on matters such as #Brexit, #pop…
• Wed, 15:26: Holy shit. https://t.co/1SLRLncE86
• Wed, 16:05: "Parliament is a weird place to be a working class woman. You have to work twice as hard to be heard" https://t.co/1t3Vmr05ej Great piece.
• Wed, 16:18: Oh yeah? https://t.co/a4TIMDdZ4V
• Wed, 17:09: RT @Peter_G_1: @nwbrux So Karen Bradley has shown herself to be a recruitment agent for the dissidents.
• Wed, 17:11: She Slipped Past My Age Filter https://t.co/J0LhniOIsT Awww.
• Thu, 01:22: RT @AlexKane221b: By any yardstick of measurement Karen Bradley is the worst SoS NI has had.
• Thu, 01:23: RT @mikenesbittni: One way or another I have had dealings with the last 13 Secretaries of State for NI. Karen Bradley consistently demonstr…

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• Tue, 12:56: RT @JP_Biz: Jim Harra: 'My main worry for day 1 is there is insufficient time for traders who wish to comply...even if we announced tomorro…
• Tue, 15:13: I cast the first vote here, and it was for Ian Marter. https://t.co/yw0o6UZvHO https://t.co/KmTgqMUEZ1 https://t.co/BTGIML0osQ
• Tue, 16:05: Rembrandt in the Blood: An Obsessive Aristocrat, Rediscovered Paintings and an Art-World Feud https://t.co/tdf3I0Xqa0 Brilliant story.
• Tue, 17:11: Navigating Blackness In Acting https://t.co/Vb9fipjwkB My @APCOWorldwide colleague Chris Allen reflects.
• Tue, 17:33: Very interesting! https://t.co/fUfz2ZhvHx
• Tue, 20:48: RT @DanForys: @HeleneBismarck @davidallengreen This might answer 1 - https://t.co/vgMvsn5fQm
• Tue, 22:00: 250 hours to go to make your Hugo nominations! https://t.co/nFTRHRtVbA
• Tue, 22:47: RT @JP_Biz: The Head of the NI Civil Service has sent an updated no-deal Brexit letter to the local parties warning of "grave" consequences…
• Wed, 00:05: Tuesday reading (a couple of minutes late) https://t.co/Gb3U5w67K2
• Wed, 08:04: RT @Peston: Attached is the official position of the official Brexit campaign. Vote Leave said UK would not even start the legal process to…

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Current
A Little Life, by Hanya Yanagihara
Daniel Deronda, by George Eliot
κ1

Last books finished
Present Danger, ed. Eddie Robson
ι1

Next books
Troll Bridge, by Neil Gaiman and Colleen Doran
The Botany of Desire, by Michael Pollan

• Mon, 12:12: Best of luck to @spendarovski. https://t.co/VeJWQHJLxj
• Mon, 12:17: RT @Guy_Stallard: Thread to read https://t.co/i3JuhErWfV
• Mon, 12:47: RT @ELarrissy: Thread https://t.co/hdi8FDudj4
• Mon, 12:56: RT @OxfordDiplomat: Marr: In terms of individual deals, how many are now on track? Fox: Em, that is. Marr: You must know the answer? Fox…
• Mon, 13:17: RT @clumperino: Interesting thread from EU27 perspective. https://t.co/8I3g6VRKep
• Mon, 13:47: RT @dduane: Thread. https://t.co/6U0oEZdMQ6
• Mon, 14:00: In case anyone's interested, my write-up of the Savile Inquiry into Bloody Sunday: https://t.co/0gK84UefhC… https://t.co/rIaE0y4EOq
• Mon, 14:17: RT @Roy_Isserlis: Not very hard to outmanoeuvre a bollard. https://t.co/x6UdPazglv
• Mon, 14:47: RT @omminc: Excellent summary of how we got here ! https://t.co/PrgxAWTgPB
• Mon, 15:17: RT @LoeningMarkus: Want to understand the state of #Brexit? Read this brilliant thread by @nwbrux https://t.co/UU8TOCkC8g

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• Sun, 12:56: RT @BrigidLaffan: This is a brilliant historical dissection of the fork in the road that Britain finds itself. Why no contemporary Cobden?…
• Sun, 13:27: As usual, an excellent thread on the Brexit state of affairs from @PMDFoster, who I rate as the clearest-thinking U… https://t.co/BgNly7y1Qn
• Sun, 14:48: RT @jasonomahony: Why would anyone believe the promise that the UK won’t concede food safety in trade talks from the same people who swore…
• Sun, 16:05: RT @uk_domain_names: Defra has put out a detailed Brexit preparedness notice, explaining exactly how dead the UK fisheries industry will be…
• Sun, 16:10: This is a thread about how Leavers are wrong about EU perceptions of the UK position on “No Deal”, ie leaving the E… https://t.co/KS5k8tJ4tO
• Sun, 17:57: RT @duncan_morrow: Interesting thread, and a perspective seldom understood in the UK press.. Especially this one. https://t.co/kTDhqGs7LV
• Sun, 18:17: RT @davecl42: Recommended thread... https://t.co/5kprkge9aN
• Sun, 18:37: RT @Matthew_Kilburn: Conclusion of a thread from thoughtful observer @nwbrux . https://t.co/AJFVXyl9bn
• Sun, 18:45: Proving one of my earlier points. https://t.co/YQWvyMzPGx
• Sun, 18:57: RT @s13GES: Not much to add, just one point: The effect of no deal may help to sharpen focus on UK side (at the very least it helps to make…

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• Sat, 12:14: First visit to Brussels for @MichelleGomez at @comicconbxl https://t.co/fo0gzOmhkK
• Sat, 12:56: RT @jonnymorris1973: Here's a thing. It was originally the plan for Mission to the Unknown to feature seven delegates, not six (not includi…
• Sat, 13:08: RT @KeohaneDan: This was unfair of me. @CER_Grant never wanted Ireland “thrown under a bus” - in 2017 (which I was referring to) or since.…
• Sat, 13:55: RT @yesdaddyperalta: michelle gomez laughing is everything tbh https://t.co/dQAQHvvKLv
• Sat, 13:56: When you discover that someone you’ve known online for years is standing ten metres away from you... https://t.co/CtiUfSv275
• Sat, 14:17: RT @SluggerOToole: .@naomi_long "Her claim to the House of Commons that she has approached resolving the impasse with “laser-like focus” is…
• Sat, 14:31: RT @BrigidLaffan: Time for @FineGael to join this list https://t.co/DA1r4i5vHc
• Sat, 14:48: The Electoral College Is the Greatest Threat to Our Democracy https://t.co/Ni0tLGnaPw Good point.
• Sat, 15:23: RT @Peston: The more I think about this implicit attack on Eurotunnel by Chris Grayling, the more extraordinary I think it is - because it…
• Sat, 16:05: Ahead, the infinite darkness of war https://t.co/jKpr8Ilmba @praveenswami’s pessimistic take on Pakistan/India relations.

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• Fri, 12:56: How the Web Became Unreadable https://t.co/20lkeVzCf2 Amen.
• Fri, 15:17: RT @pmdfoster: Right. It's Friday. A quick #Brexit sitrep, as I understand it, with chats from both sides. Tldr: the tiller of SS Britanni…
• Fri, 15:28: RT @DanielBoffey: NEW: Michel Barnier has told EU ambasssors that there has been no progress. Brits keep on banging on about time limit and…
• Fri, 15:40: RT @AndrewDuffEU: Other views are available, but here’s mine ⁦@FT⁩ https://t.co/2jwOMbBqiS
• Fri, 16:05: RT @snazdoll: THIS on #GreenBook https://t.co/hoK8g2ISqn
• Fri, 17:11: The Unsolved Mystery of the Earth Blobs https://t.co/fQGKuG0eFp This is absolutely fascinating - strange huge blobs… https://t.co/Bi8fI6zE3P
• Fri, 18:19: RT @vincecable: In any normal world Chris Grayling would have been fired long ago. It is incomprehensible that he is still in his role afte…
• Fri, 18:22: RT @FaithNaff: Some guys at the bar were talking to me. It was a nice conversation. One had been reading the paper and eventually said some…
• Fri, 18:38: RT @EU_Commission: Happy Martisor 🇷🇴 & Baba Marta 🇧🇬 day, both welcoming the upcoming spring! Bulgarians wear small yarn dolls called “Mart…
• Fri, 18:57: RT @markdevenport: Birmingham pub bombings: Who were the victims? https://t.co/kHLblYH4r0

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A day late - have been under the weather this week.

Non-fiction: 5 (YTD 7)
ε1
ζ1
Script Doctor: the Inside Story of Doctor Who 1986-1989, by Andrew Cartmel
Tweaking The Tail, by John Leeson
The Life of Sir Denis Henry, by A.D. McDonnell


Fiction (non-sf): 4 (YTD 7)
Fanny Hill, by John Cleland
Candide, by Voltaire
Expo 58, by Jonathan Coe
The Capital, by Robert Menasse


sf (non-Who): 4 (YTD 12)
The Fire Sermon (sample), by Francesca Haig
η1
Bitter Angels, by C. L. Anderson
θ1


Doctor Who, etc: 1 (YTD 3)
Molten Heart, by Una McCormack


4,400 pages
5/14 (YTD 11/31) by non-male writers (ε1, Haig, η1, Anderson, McCormack)
1/14 (YTD 2/31) by PoC (ζ1)
1/14 (YTD 2/21) reread (Candide)

Reading now
Present Danger, ed. Eddie Robson
A Little Life, by Hanya Yanagihara
ι1
Daniel Deronda, by George Eliot

Coming soon (perhaps):
Troll Bridge, by Neil Gaiman and Colleen Doran
The Botany of Desire, by Michael Pollan
De Terugkeer van de Wespendief, by Aimee de Jongh
Dark Lord of Derkholm, by Diana Wynne Jones
A Sunless Sea, by Anne Perry
Feersum Endjinn, by Iain M Banks
The Ginger Man, by J. P. Donleavy
Bland Ambition, by Steve Tally
Nebula Awards Showcase 2011, ed. Kevin J. Anderson
In Another Light, by Andrew Greig
Stepping Stones: Interviews with Seamus Heaney, by Dennis O'Driscoll
“Goat Song”, by Poul Anderson
The Wind in the Willows, by Kenneth Graham
1913: The World before the Great War, by Charles Emmerson
The Making and Remaking of the Good Friday Agreement, by Paul Bew
The Paying Guests, by Sarah Waters
Five Women Who Loved Love: Amorous Tales from 17th-Century Japan by Ihara Saikaku
Better Than Sex: Confessions of a Political Junkie by Hunter S. Thompson
The Weather on Versimmon by Matthew Griffiths

• Thu, 12:56: Trump’s Bone Spurs Finally Heal In Time For Vietnam Trip https://t.co/nV4vSgXaTi LOL!
• Thu, 13:09: Robust and clear rebuttal by the European Commission of Hungarian government’s scandalous claims about migration po… https://t.co/AN09J25VfK
• Thu, 13:10: RT @dannyctkemp: @damonwake 'The scenic but flat region bordering Belgium and Germany, but claimed by neither...'
• Thu, 15:51: RT @Usherwood: Right then. Having talked about 'accidental' no-deal outcomes, I realise that I've never tried to map out exactly how this…
• Thu, 16:05: Eight observations on a delay to Brexit https://t.co/4EH0MhgVvR By @davidallengreen.
• Thu, 17:11: RT @yourthiccfriend: I recently saw a tweet claiming Ireland has yet to produce any great female artists and you know what that's a load of…
• Thu, 19:53: RT @douchebagstrat: It's not about post-data curation, it's about post-social media bite-sized content
• Thu, 20:48: North Carolina Operative Indicted in Connection With Absentee Voter Fraud https://t.co/qDg1KLiXyI This is a really shocking story.
• Thu, 23:08: RT @pickwick: hey guys did you know that André Previn was a prolific, diversely talented, Oscar- and Grammy-winning musician as well as the…
• Fri, 10:19: RT @EU_Commission: The Hungarian government campaign distorts the truth and seeks to paint a dark picture of a secret plot to drive more mi…

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