None of us set out to do anything more than be technically ingenious. We succeeded and London nearly died. Surely that’s more than enough to make us redirect our activities. The next time it may be the whole world. Mutant 59: The Plastic Eaters (1971) Kit Pedler and Gerry Davis were a writing duo active … Continue reading Kit Pedler & Gerry Davis: Three Novels
At last, the final instalment of my series of posts about words relating to perihelion. In my first post on the subject, I discussed the various technical terms in astronomical use (and some that have simply been invented by Wikipedians). In my second post, I discussed words formed from the prefix peri-, and its opposite, … Continue reading Perihelion: Part 3
A new hydraulic-pneumatic catapult was installed which had to be proofed so that its performance could be checked before it was introduced into service. For the first launch with it we used an Avenger as being an old and well-tried faithful. It was a startling maiden effort. The aircraft was shot off so violently that … Continue reading Eric Brown: Wings On My Sleeve
Turnhouse Hill (NT 212626, 506m) Carnethy Hill (NT 203619, 573m) Scald Law (NT 191611, 579m) East Kip (NT 182608, 534m) West Kip (NT 178606, 551m) Black Hill (NT 188631, 501m) 17.3 kilometres 960m of ascent I’ve looked down on the improbably pointy Pentland Hills from aircraft approaching Edinburgh airport, and I’ve looked up at them … Continue reading Pentlands: Loganlea Circuit
nɒstˈhiːdəneɪ nosthedony: The pleasure to be gained from examining old objects Many of the [museum’s] objects touched me with nosthedony—the pleasure of returning to the past. For in many of the items I saw reflected a time when human life was different, perhaps less secure, certainly less austere. Brian Aldiss “Appearance of Life” (1976) Like … Continue reading Nosthedony
This I tell you all. Some disaster happened in the past, in the long past. So complete was it that no one can explain to you what it was or how it came about. We know only that it brought darkness and cold. You try to live the best you can. Good, good, live well, … Continue reading Brian Aldiss: The “Helliconia” Trilogy
I recently reported how a publisher had used a quote from a book review on this blog on the book’s Amazon pages. But the quote contained an ellipsis that omitted 350 words and four paragraphs, significantly altering the sense of what I’d originally written. The original post is here. Well, I contacted Amazon to report … Continue reading Cheeky … [Update]
We took a trip around the north coast recently. Although we know the mountainous north-west corner of Scotland well, the Flow Country of the north-east was unknown to us. Our trip effectively began in Dornoch, where I had the single worst meal I’ve had in Europe this century—and I include meals that have actually poisoned … Continue reading North Coast Circuit
Back in the 1960s, I occasionally used to get access to a copy of Mad magazine. As a simple Dundonian lad I found a lot of it impenetrably American at the time, but I do remember being amused by a feature that purportedly gave examples of how publishers got the quotes for their book covers. … Continue reading Cheeky …
So I finished the first part of this build log with the model primed for painting. This one wears the desert camouflage scheme, so it got a layer of Azure Blue on the underside, which was then masked off, followed by a layer of Mid Stone on the upper surfaces. Then there’s the tedious business … Continue reading Hasegawa 1/48 Hawker Hurricane IIB: Part 2