"It is always great to see a brutal dictator like Colonel Gaddafi being overthrown by his people, even if he is a rather colourful character who brings a certain excitement to the normally bland world of international relations. More than that, though, were the treats that could become available to researchers if the regime fell and its archives b…

"I think the arguments above are mostly pretty solid and convincing, that a no-fly zone would have all sorts of negative consequences and would be in many ways a Bad Thing. What I do not find convincing is that these consequences would be a worse thing than for Ghaddafi to succeed in crushing the rebellion..." "So, much as I am extremely wary of a…

Ursula Le guin on swearing.

My map of LinkedIn contacts. I love this sort of thing.

The history of science fiction, depicted as a whale. Really.

The maps of Europe.

"Have you ever seen a piece of paper clean a bathroom?  I'd love to see that."

The Little Match Girl

Wow, I wish I'd been in those seminars.

The famous libel case brought over an online review: "On March 3, 2011, the Tribunal de Grand Instance de Paris issued its decision in the Criminal Libel Case brought against me based on a complaint by Dr Karine Calvo-Goller. It would appear that the Court ruled in our favor on all issues."

Seemingly oblivious to the democratic fervour sweeping across the Middle East and the Maghreb, the European Union has moved to prop up another autocratic and corrupt regime to the south of the Mediterranean – that of King Mohammed VI of Morocco.

Manchester the rudest city in the (English-speaking) world; El Paso a close second, others (Pittsburgh, Bloomington) way behind.

Wow.

"...the Monkees had a rather good excuse – they weren’t, at least to start with, a band. Rather they were performers in a TV show *about* a band. As they often say themselves, “no-one complains that William Shatner never really captained a Starship”"

Dune reimagined as a children's book

As the ‘post-Cold War era’ turned into the ‘multipolar world’ era, the notion of Western democracy promotion underwent similarly dramatic changes. The West became too weak to pursue democracy-promotion head-on and was seen as being forced to fall back on old-school realist approaches to democracy. But just when this realist approach to democracy-p…

The official video. Wouldn't it be

Boom.

"By what seems more than coincidence, I appeared at The Kilns that very day and learned that unless I carried the papers away with me that afternoon they would indeed be destroyed," Hopper wrote. "There were so many that it took all my strength and energy to carry them back to Keble College." For the past 46 years, Hopper has spent his time siftin…

Hooray!

The problem, however, is that Dr. Trifkovic and his supporters do not want to have a dialogue. As any nationalist would do, they see their version of the past as true and valid, and demand that others believe it, too. While calling for a dialogue they shout at their critics, rather than talk to them and then have the audacity to call such shouting…

The Daleks' Morris Dance

"I, for one, am fed up with following behind with the bucket. I think it's time for women to reclaim our history, so I am really excited about Women's History Month."

Notes from canvassing (in the 2007 Irish election)

Somehow this had passed me by when it was released: Nena looking fantastic at 49, revisiting her classic in an idiom of video games. Compare also the original at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQYQTFudrqc (she was 23 then).

There are good examples of good practice in political communications, and there are bad examples. Yesterday’s performance by the UUP was the absolutely perfect representation of the bad examples. In fact, the UUP contrived to oppose banning sectarian chants at football matches, and then its Health Minister managed to find a more pressing engagemen…

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood. And Robert Frost took the one less traveled. Of course, he also heckled his rivals and started fires to disrupt their poetry readings. But that makes for a terrible motivational poster. Unless you're a petty pyromaniac. In which case, here you go.

Tom Baker's tribute to Nicholas Courtney