A charitable train conductor. "If you feel the need to thank me, the next time you see someone in trouble, you help them out. That will pay me back amply. Tell them to pay you back the same way and soon the world will be a better place."

A 16 minute film about Georgian florist Mikheil Mamulashvili, made in 1959 when he was 86. In Georgian, but enjoy the music and the flowers!

I've also been to Mtskheta, but did not get the same local guide!

Your chance to vote!

On Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: "It is a truth universally acknowledged that one joke isn't really enough to sustain a parody mash-up novel over 300 pages."

it not only found an elegant way of telling a Doctor Who story without the Doctor, it found a way of telling a new series Who story without rubbing our face in its themes.

Paul on the numinous.

"For diplomats, a massive computer leak is not the kind of sunlight that chases away corrupt misbehavior; it’s more like some dreadful shift in the planetary atmosphere that causes ultraviolet light to peel their skin away."

Paul gives his views on e-books and piracy

Me old mate Peter Osborne writes about the Parades Commission in Fortnight magazine

Why Peadar liked it when he was 15 and still likes it now.

I'm in good company!

The UK, as most of us know, is a net contributor to the EU budget. Therefore it’s understandable that people in this country want to learn more about how we benefit from our collective contribution. On this website you can find out how the EU helps with: * Moving around Europe freely and safely* Giving UK consumers a fair deal* Making our food and…

Lunar eclipse tonight. Presumably the usual sacrifices to dark, forbidden gods will bring the moon back.

by my friend Daniel Serwer, who knew Holbrooke all too well.

The end of the Red Sea Shark.

Andrew Rilstone forensically dissents and demolishes the attacks on 'Political Correctness' (UK version at least). It always baffled me why conservatives were so keen on attacking politeness.

Alex reckons that today's terrorists are Desperate, Incompetent, Converts, Kids, Harmless, Economically insignificant, Aimless, Disconnected, and Suicidal.

The best of Five Thirty-Eight.

That La Clinton should want her State Department slaves to play secret agents on the poor old UN donkey – the beast that forever clip-clops on stage to mop up America's failed policies in the Middle East, this decrepit skyscraper on the East River packed with enough asbestos to kill a nation of peacekeepers, this bureaucratic shambles with its pat…

Yahoo maybe not closing Delicious but selling it

“In all my travels I have battled against evil, against power mad conspirators. I should have stayed here! Power mad conspirators! Daleks, Sontarans. Cybermen! They're still in the nursery compared to us!”

Damn. How will I do daily linkspams now?

Yes, this explains it.

My colleague Dean reports from the climate change talks

Neil Armstrong responds to NPR piece about the first moon walk.