Monthly Archives: September 2013

The latest political plagiarism scandal

In the aftermath of the German general election last weekend, we have been seeing heads rolling (metaphorically of course – no one is guillotining politicians) on a scale unseen since the French revolution. Victims so far include Philipp Rösler and … Continue reading

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Back from the UK plus some random observations about Norfolk, TV and the elections

Okay, so I’m back from Norfolk. Actually, I got back late Wednesday evening, but I needed yesterday to take care of things that didn’t get done while I was gone. I also took lots of photos, so there will be … Continue reading

Posted in General, TV | Tagged , , , , , , | 11 Comments

In Norfolk

I’m sitting here in a pub/coffee shop in Norwich, using the free WiFi to check my e-mail and the election results, cause BBC News isn’t all that adequate regarding the smaller parties. Unfortunately hotel WiFi isn’t working properly, so I … Continue reading

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Off to the UK

In a few hours, I’ll be flying off to the UK. I don’t know how good my Internet access will be, so expect light blogging and don’t be surprised if I can’t respond to every comment rightaway. I had planned … Continue reading

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A few words about the German general election

This Sunday, Germany will hold a general parliamentary election. If this fact has escaped you so far, you’re not alone, for supposedly more than half of all young voters aged 18 to 29 have no idea that there is an … Continue reading

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Black Blade Budd recommends: Piratey Reads for “Talk Like a Pirate Day”

I was just about to compose a new post for the Pegasus Pulp blog, when a strange fellow with a peg leg and a parrot on his shoulder suddenly appeared in my office. His name, he announced in a strange … Continue reading

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In Memoriam Marcel Reich-Ranicki

One of my personal literary heroes, Polish-German literary critic Marcel Reich-Ranicki, died today aged 93. Here is a wonderful tribute from Kulturzeit with plenty of Reich-Ranicki clips and here are two more obituaries from the New York Times and the … Continue reading

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Time Travel and Gender

Back in July, Anna Smith asked at The Guardian “Why can’t women time travel?” and laments that mainstream time travel movies almost always feature male protagonists. My initial reaction to that article was: But women do time travel. There are … Continue reading

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Vechta Photos and the Best Bakeries in Northwest Germany

I’ve been keeping this under wraps until all the papers have been signed, but in the fall semester I will be teaching English at the University of Vechta again. I already taught English at Vechta a couple of years ago. … Continue reading

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Yet more Worldcon and Hugo Reactions

The discussion about Paul Cook’s attempts to define SF for the rest of us seems to have died down, but it seems we’re still talking about Worldcon and the Hugos and if/how they should change. My last round-up of Hugo … Continue reading

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