http://www.imdb.com/news/ni0866618/

For the link phobic:

Tennant for St. Trinians

Scottish actor David Tennant is heading back to school - he has signed on to play a villain in the sequel to St. Trinians.

The star has landed his first major role since quitting as the beloved Time Lord in iconic sci-fi show Dr Who last year.

He will play evil baddie Pomfrey in the latest installment of the franchise, set in a chaotic all-girls school in Britain.

He will be joined by Colin Firth and Rupert Everett, who both starred in the 2007 movie - alongside Girls Aloud star Sarah Harding.

The 2007 remake, which kickstarted Bond girl Gemma Arterton's career, was a surprise hit, raking in $22 million (£15 million) at the British box office.

So yeah... turns out you can drift/powerslide a bike - I did that today on the last corner home. Scary as hell when you don't know what's happening.

I have read The Recollections of Rifleman Harris, I have laughed out loud to Spike Milligan's Hitler: My Part in His Downfall, and I have reveled in John Kinkaid's Adventures in the Rifle Brigade.
But I have never, in all my years, read a better war memoir than George Macdonald Fraser's Quartered Safe Out Here. In his wonderfully flowing text, Fraser recounts his time as a private and lance corporal in the 14th army during the final months of the Burma campaign. It is, by turns, hilarious, thought-provoking, heart-rending and action-packed, but throughout, it is amazingly good fun and a great read.

So if you want to know what life was like for a soldier in Britain's army in 1945. Read it.

I'll be there, as will the majority of the NY steampunk scene. So come on down and have fun.

Today is the 194th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo, in celebration, I've compiled a list of the best history books I've read this year that I feel would be enjoyable to the general public, or that small portion of it that associates with me.

Billington, James, The Icon and the Axe
A wonderfully written and thoroughly researched history of Russian culture and society, starts back in Kievan Rus, and sweeps forward in a rather wonderfully monumental way.

McPherson, James, Battle Cry of Freedom
The best single volume history of the Civil War. Eminently readable, and chock full of wonderful turns of phrase. A remarkable book, and frankly, in one volume, all you need to know about the Civil War.

Barbero, Alessandro, The Battle: A New History of Waterloo
This reads almost like a grand novel, Waterloo has enough pomp, tragedy, and human interest to fill several hundred novels, and Barbero writes in a way that lets the facts speak for themselves.

Morgan, Edmund, American Slavery, American Freedom
A detailed analysis of the history of Colonial Virginia from Roanoke to the 1770s. Economic history that is both interesting and easy to read. At its heart, it's a book designed to examine the development of slavery and how slavery and republican ideas could both emerge from Virginia, side by side, in the way that they did.

Wood, Gordon, The Radicalism of the American Revolution
This is a remarkable book. After reading it, one has a much better understanding of why Americans act and think the way they do, and how that thinking came to be. Wood has basically written the history of ideas from the monarchical 1750s through the ideals of republicanism, and into the democratization of the early 19th century.

Those are the ones I can think of off the top of my head, but more will undoubtedly soon follow. Do let me know if you pick any of these up, and what you think of them.

For all my friends who liked Star Trek, and all my friends who didn't, and for the one person I know who wants his childhood back, and without the large gaping hole in it thankyouverymuch.

Read This Now.

Wishing all a happy and contemplative Glorious 25th of May.

Truth, Justice, Freedom, Reasonably Priced Love, and a Hard Boiled Egg.

See the little angels... rise up...

For any of my friends who have heard me rattle on about the evolution of combat technology or the ridiculous amounts of changes that can happen to military thinking and practice in a relatively short time and thought "Yeah, but what does that mean in layman's terms?"

This brief passage by John Keegan sums it up rather well. He's talking, by the way, of world war one troops

"A brigade of infantry, 3000 men, when supported by its third of the divisional artillery, could in consequence discharge each minute (emphasis added) a volume of fire at least equal to that of the whole of Wellington's 60,000 firing volley and salvo at Waterloo."
(Keegan, John, The Mask of Command, p. 248)

Early 20th century (naughts and teens) foxtrot is fan-bloody-tastic.

That is all.

PS: One-step ain't bad either.

AC/DC are back in the states for the second half of their Black Ice tour - the summer stadium shows. As many of you know, I saw them in the fall at MSG, so I can vouch for the quality of their show.

They will be playing at Giants Stadium on July 31, I will be going. Tickets go on sale this Saturday at 10 am.

Anyone interested?

I've been lucky enough to see some spectacular actors perform Noel Coward's works; Alan Rickman in Private Lives springs to mind.

That said, the current revival of Blithe Spirit is one of the best I've seen. Angela Lansbury is stupendous as the frankly insane Madame Arcati, Susan Louise O'Connor is hilarious as the sprinter of a maid Edith, but my heart must always belong to the wonderful, flippant, and brilliant Rupert Everett as Charles Condomine. Each performance is worth seeing it for, as are Coward's words, but the combination? Amazing. See it. Now.

Also, ladies, Rupert Everett is just as scrummy from 3 feet away as he is on screen. Front row seats for the win.

This looks absolutely spectacular, I have my 3rd May movie trip.

Now... who wants to tango with Colin Firth?

May I recommend Kings?

I know nothing can replace Battlestar, but I'm really enjoying Kings, and I get of a BSG-esque vibe from it - human-centric sci-fi done very very well.

Seriously, this is one of the best new shows I've seen in a very long time, and remember, I'm hard to impress - I watch British TV.

The Muppets sing Noel Coward.

Hey guys,

Just wanted to give you some preliminary notice...

Gaelic Storm will be in NYC on April 10th
Nightwish will be in NYC on May 2nd

I just realized, the combination of those two bands says just a bit about my musical tastes.

...but it's so, well, me, I had to post it.

So, I just became part of a very strange community...

history_macros 

Come and take a look!