What Strange Creature Bimbles…?

I often find rewards in computer games slightly puzzling, not merely in what they are but when they are received. For the last couple of weeks, I've been playing Sable, a game about a young woman undertaking her coming-of-age quest on a world that is a blend of many things from hunter-gatherer to high-tech. The … Continue reading What Strange Creature Bimbles…?

I Speak to Serve

Earlier today I learnt that Betty Boothroyd, Baroness Boothroyd, died yesterday. While I didn't always agree with every nuance of her politics, neither did I despise them; and I share her belief that politics is about public service and is something that everyone should involve themselves in. Today's other political news reminds me of a … Continue reading I Speak to Serve

Double or Nothing (UPDATED)

Apparently, the UK Armed Forces are not merely lacking for money but are probably overfunded. Which makes Ben Wallace MP's claim it is being hollowed out seem rather self-serving, like a manager trying to make his department look important by "winning" the biggest budget competition. How do I know the Armed Forces are overfunded? Because … Continue reading Double or Nothing (UPDATED)

This Dresséd Plot

I am greatly fond of parklets and other schemes that focus on streets as connections for humans rather than vehicles. So Michael Rakowitz’s (p)LOT: Proposition 1 installations spoke to me as soon as I heard about them. However, it also triggered a cascade of other, sometimes conflicting, perspectives. The current reality of most domestic vehicles … Continue reading This Dresséd Plot

Factfulness: Ten Reasons We’re Wrong About the World – and Why Things Are Better Than You Think by Hans Rosling, Ola Rosling, and Anna Rosling Rönnlund

The Roslings offer a series of guidelines that might both avoid incorrect conclusions and make us happier. Growing from Hans Rosling’s experiences of people from all walks of life having a radically incorrect understanding of the world, sometimes even in their own field, this book offers ten nigh-ubiquitous but deeply flawed heuristics that lead to … Continue reading Factfulness: Ten Reasons We’re Wrong About the World – and Why Things Are Better Than You Think by Hans Rosling, Ola Rosling, and Anna Rosling Rönnlund

Women in the Martial Arts, ed. Carol A Wiley

Focusing not on a single statement of what women’s martial arts is but on multiple perspectives on how martial arts isn’t the domain of male fighters that popular imagery portrays, this book will speak not merely to women with an interest in the martial arts but to anyone interested in diversity as a whole. Wiley … Continue reading Women in the Martial Arts, ed. Carol A Wiley