Monthly Archives: December 2020

Squintlepiece

Posted on 31 December 2020 by Henry Gee

The Turkey City Lexicon is a document from the SF Writers of America that offers advice to would-be authors of science fiction, pointing out the pitfalls that snare the unwary novice. A Pitfall for the Unwary Novice: from https://www.starwars.com/databank/sarlacc A … Continue reading →

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That Was the Year That Was

Posted on 29 December 2020 by Athene Donald

2020 is a year we are all likely to want to forget, and yet it is likely to be unforgettable. Some can make a little joke about that Does it bother anyone else that next year is pronounced “2020 won” … Continue reading →

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Books of 2020

Posted on 29 December 2020 by Stephen

I made what I think was a smart move at the beginning of 2020. Instead of waiting until the year’s end and then struggling to recall what I thought of the books I had read, I created a Twitter thread of … Continue reading →

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In which life imitates art, and an epidemic leaps off the page

Posted on 29 December 2020 by Jennifer Rohn

In mid-November, a journalist from BBC Southeast contacted me about a perplexing rise in COVID-positive cases in the nearby borough of Swale, a mainly rural part of Kent known for its fruit orchards, beer hops and vast areas of marshland … Continue reading →

Posted in Epidemics, Lablit, Science Funding, The profession of science, Writing | Comments Off on In which life imitates art, and an epidemic leaps off the page

AdHederance

Posted on 27 December 2020 by Henry Gee

Over the festive period I’ve been ploughing through a volume of some vastness entitled 65 Great Tales of the Supernatural (ed. Mary Danby). I bought this grimoire secondhand a long time ago. It contains many well-anthologised old chestnuts such as … Continue reading →

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Photographs of 2020

Posted on 27 December 2020 by Stephen

My computer tells me that I took over 2,400 photographs in 2020. Here are my favourites. I’m afraid I have failed to whittle them down to fewer than seventy-five. Click on the first image, taken on a winter walk on … Continue reading →

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Memories of Trains

Posted on 23 December 2020 by Athene Donald

What a rubbish year this has been, on different fronts. We are in a far worse state than could conceivably have been imagined this time last year and, the start of vaccinations apart, there is little light visible to cheer … Continue reading →

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Litreview

Posted on 20 December 2020 by Henry Gee

Yes, it’s that time again, when I list the books in the year just passed that I have most enjoyed. I’ve been doing this since 2014. That’s when I started noting authors and titles of books I’d read in a … Continue reading →

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Why Unicorns Aren’t the Answer

Posted on 15 December 2020 by Athene Donald

I’ve railed against pinkification, and the ‘gift of pink’ in the past – especially at this time of year when presents, notably toys and clothes, are to the fore for Christmas purchase. I hadn’t realised that books, too, come with … Continue reading →

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Naturistical

Posted on 14 December 2020 by Henry Gee

Thirty-three years ago today Sgt Pepper taught the band to play I started work at Nature. I joined as a junior news reporter on a three-month contract. It’s the longest three-month contract anyone has ever had. Because I am a … Continue reading →

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