Oh, a new successful Mars spacecraft launch.

Built right here in my back yard...cooooool.

http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2005/08/08/daily68.html?from_r...

There I was, having a cigarette break outside the office. Minding my own business, a woman came up to me, smiled, said she hadn't seem me around the estate before. I said I didn't live there, but worked for the housing association. "Work for the Housing association" she said , "dressed like worzel gummage?"

Anyone know where the literary cliche of an "American friend" being implicit with adultery comes from?

I'm writing my creative writing dissertation at the moment (thanks to ABC for suddenly coming to life just when I didn't need any distractions!) and for a reasons that are too dull to explain I want my character to be reading a novel in his English class where there is an adulterous American friend. American friends - correct me if I'm wrong - are often associated with adultery. Yes? Any ideas of books that contain these elusive American friends?

So, I find myself in the situation of actually not having to be anywhere particular in the whole wide world and I'm trying to decide where to go/what to do.

(I have about 75p to my name, so Barbados isn't an option)

It's exciting, because I'm not going to let a bit of casual homelessness stop me, but it's a mighty task. Where shall I go? What shall I do?

Anybody ever found themselves in the situation before? I can see it has the potential to be very precarious, but also, if I work it out properly, life changing in a good way.

So Tone, am I right in thinking that you and your foot will be available for a drink from next wednesday onwards - the 17th August? If so, when are we getting together for a summer sesh?

Not referring to the necessity of me, of course...

The article below, by Blake Morrisson, appeared in the Guardian Review last Saturday:

http://books.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,12084,1542959,00.html

http://www.abctales.com/node/543327

Apologies for a moment of self indulgence. I wrote this story recently and was, of course delighted that it was cherried. It was a departure fro me, writing in a different voice, trying to create a character completetly separate from myself and making them feel real.

I don't know if I achieved that realness, if he was a credible narrator. I wondered if anyone had any thoughts on it.

Thanks

Tim

http://www.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30000-13408977,00.html

Mmmm, donuts.

I can highly recommend this very funny novel. It tells the story of some 'brain scientists' in (primarily) German from the late 1800s to the 1930s. It is great satire and very amusing. The final joke may be on the reader because by poking fun at stupid science from a previous era, the reader may well wind up laughing at himself without knowing it. Government funding of stupid science did not end in 1945. It continues to this day all over the world.