When I was in Australia, I ended up with a smartphone (the handset was as cheap as the cheapest non-smart model, so I thought 'why not?'). There were two consequences a) I met up with someone who I'd have otherwise missed because I was able to check email on the move b) I freaked the... Continue Reading →
How Keyzer Soze got his name…
Director Bryan Singer and writer Christopher McQuarrie originally conceived of The Usual Suspects as five felons meeting in a police line-up. Eventually, a powerful underworld figure responsible for their meeting was added to the plot. McQuarrie combined this plot with another idea of his based on the true story of John List, who murdered his... Continue Reading →
It’s the quiet ones you have to watch out for… or “Gaudy versus powerful”…
So, imma try to join dots between The Last of Sheila, Australian climate politics and Bobby de Niro as Louis Cypher, with a little Clarice Starling, 'Parker,' Gene Hackman and Julian Rathbone thrown in for good measure. It all starts with this, from my PhD thesis research - The incredible Lenore Taylor wrote a piece in... Continue Reading →
Event Report; ‘Connecting national energy transitions with changes in urban energy systems’
Professor Aleh Cherp, Central European University (Hungary) and University of Lund (Sweden) yesterday gave a seminar titled 'Connecting national energy transitions with changes in urban energy systems', at the University of Manchester. This below is mostly rough notes, and I may have mangled, so please don’t take as gospel. Mostly it’s an aide-memoire and ‘things... Continue Reading →
Podcast on #Australia #climate policy #auspol
The very cool people at Beyond Zero Emissions, on 3CR (community radio in Melbourne) interviewed in November. Here's a link to their page about it. (it's cut and paste below) BZE radio talks to Marc Hudson: Marc is studying the strategic responses of the Australian coal industry to the challenge of climate change. He is... Continue Reading →
First draft of history? Gaia help us all
It is way too easy, as a historian of the present, (cough cough) to get seduced by newspapers. They're detailed, not infected with the memoirist's ability to fit the events into a convenient/coherent narrative - and in theory the journalist doesn't have a dog in the fight. ... Except, no. If there ever was a... Continue Reading →
Of professors, binge-writing, tortoises, hares, foxes and hedgehogs
So, there's an Aesopian fable to be re-written, perhaps? Not so much with tortoises and hares, but (Berlin's) foxes and hedgehogs. But actually, surely it's possible to both a fox and a tortoise? A fortoise? Is it possible to argue this a fortiori? Among university professors, for example, getting tenure is a major hurdle... Continue Reading →
Thlogging as the way forward? Hmm
I am going to need SOME trick to write this bloody thesis. Pretending it is a series of blog posts? Thesis -blogging, aka "thlogging"? Maybe? Or just 'Shut Up and Write' and 'Write or Die' and writing buddies. I definitely have enough material. Some of it really rich. Just need to (re)assemble it and think... Continue Reading →
Extracting value from the Festival of Ideas #AdlFoI
Show me. Don’t tell me. Show me that sharing and challenging are important enough to keep a clear promise to a 2/3 to 1/3 split between sage-on-the-stage and audience interaction. Alternatively, if you’ve no intention or capability to enforce a 30 minute/15 minute split between talking and Q and A, then don’t promise it. It’s... Continue Reading →
Seven blog posts about one event? Really? #tediousselfpromotion
The only way I know what I think is to read what I wrote. Sort of. And then that writing serves as an aide-memoire (and, yes, a calling card on occasion). Here's a list of the ones I did after today's Festival of Ideas event. Athenian Democracy? A few funny things will need to happen... Continue Reading →
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