Ian Hamilton Finlay, 1963 [aged 37 ( Read more... )

I received my Open Learning box of Chemistry goodies. (Only the main course stuff, there is another, even more exciting package supposed to be arriving with components for the laboratory course)

Chemistry Textbook: It is heavy (obviously) and will be a useful addition to the collection of old textbooks I keep for flattening my prints. I started ( Read more... )

I heard Canada Post might go on strike in April. Good thing I ordered all that crap now, huh ( Read more... )

Cousin: "Do your hockey coaches ever swear?"
Cousin's son (12): "Yeah, a lot"
Cousin: "What swears do they say?"
Cousin's son: "They say the C word"
Cousin: "Oh... uh, what word is that?"
Cousin's son: "...crap"

My Long Weekend!!! was pretty much wasted with internets mush (YES I need to spend hours looking at my LibraryThing inventory, reading random useless wiki shit, etc) and sleeping ( Read more... )

Andrew Rawnsley reveals: [in his new book The End of the Party that I obviously need to get asap]

"The chancellor's fury was titanically demented even by his standards. 'You put fucking Milburn up to it,' Brown raged down the phone. 'This is factionalism! This is Trotskyism! It's fucking Trotskyism!' Blair was nonplussed. He had not even seen the ( Read more... )

(lifted from Sir Joshua) Tomorrow Apple will give away a free iMac to the first person in each Apple Store to shout "iMAC HUNT"

Blah Blah so now I feel it's not fair that I haven't talked about JULIAN BARNES, who is sort of this rival of Martin Amis's even though his writing is not at all similar, thankgod

In a way I think Barnes is better, more consistent and more universally appealing1 so please if you're looking for author recommendations, read Barnes first:

* A ( Read more... )

ILX + Martin Amis = truthiness

Martin Amis does look very good, though. In an awfully old-fashioned way. He's a Dead White Male bewildered to be alive.

I love Martin Amis's sentences. That's his talent. No-one writes better sentences. He just can't put them in the right order to make a great book (apart from Money)I don't quite agree but the ( Read more... )

As mentioned by ciara_belle, a list of "1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die" and yes this list does exist as an actual book itself. OF course the list is based on some individuals' opinions only, there are some very good choices but in turn, having read the list I now have to share MY very important opinions on it

* Good call on Lanark by Alasdair Gray, ( Read more... )