Recently updated blogs

Some years ago, when I was making some dungeon tiles, a guy gave me these.They'd taken all the miniatures out, but apart from that they appear to be complete.Fortunately, I have large numbers of plastic miniatures sitting around doing nothing, and although they won't match the Warhammerish minis that originally came with the game, they'll do the job just fine.So now, after years of basically doing nothing with these games, …

It's time for another figure from the Dragonfly crew and this time it's Jane "Glenda" Mullighan. Glenda is an interesting figure as she's another character based on a vintage international variant figure. Glenda was originally part of Plastirama's G.I. Joe: Comandos Heroicos from Argentina and was a repaint of Scarlett. Glenda was blonde instead of a redhead and sported a blue and white jumpsuit with a vac-metallized torso. She's similar …

I wrote over on WordPress.org about breaking the status quo with a Joost/Karim fork. It’s a perfect time as Automattic is re-focusing its work while the legal stuff is going on.

In The Korea Times Kwon Mee-yoo has an overview of what's appearing in English translation, in From sci-fi to healing fiction, Korean books cross borders in 2025.

As artificial intelligence (AI) agents increasingly mediate our digital experiences, the role of human interaction with information is evolving. Machines are becoming our primary intermediaries for searching, synthesizing, and summarizing information, often performing these tasks faster and more efficiently than we ever could. However, not all interactions are equally suited to machine facilitation. There remain critical situations where direct human engagement—particularly visual interaction—is indispensable. I’d like to explore a few …

Now read on… Slow readers get eyestrain and a crick in the neck as BUCK ROGERS episode 2 (Tragedy on Saturn) begins with a STAR WARS type crawl recapping the previous installment. The letters seem to diminish more neatly and naturally than the ones in what I suppose we must call A NEW HOPE. I […]

This weekend’s escapist, light-hearted superhero post from Balladeer’s Blog deals with some of Marvel’s superheroines. THE CAT – Greer Nelson caught on to a conspiracy to take over the world via armies of women clad in superpower-granting costumes. She donned the prototype and called herself the Cat before taking down the entire sinister organization. Operating out of Chicago, the Cat also clashed with the Owl, Commander Kraken, Man-Bull and the …

FreedomlandMichael Tuviera's The Kingdom is that rarity in Filipino films, a high-concept production that in this case answers the question: what if the Spaniards never landed? What if the Philippines-- here renamed Kalayaan (Freedom)-- remained Malay in culture and tradition?An ambitious idea but not entirely original; in science fiction it's an entire subgenre, answering all kinds of what ifs: What if the Protestant Reformation never happened (Kingsley Amis' The Alteration)? …

The movie version of West End and Broadway mega-hit Wicked took home the second Golden Globe Award for Cinematic and Box Office Achievement at the weekend’s star-studded ceremony. First awarded last year, when blockbuster Barbie took the prize, the award was established by the Golden Globes’ new organising body, Dick Clark Productions to recognise ‘the year’s most acclaimed, highest-earning and/or most viewed films that have garnered extensive global audience support …

. I am proud to publish this edited extract from GRAVE STORIES by a graduate of my writing course. ‘The Gravedigger’ invites you to come into the graveyard, where all of human life is to be discovered. Follow GRAVE STORIES I am taking bookings for the next writing course, HOW TO WRITE A BLOG THAT PEOPLE WILL WANT TO READ on February 1st & 2nd. Come to Spitalfields and spend …

The history of The Walt Disney Company is inextricably linked to the greater Los Angeles region, and the destruction from the devastating fires affecting thousands in our area is truly heartbreaking. We will be supporting vital organizations offering essential services on the ground, including the American Red Cross, the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation, and the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, among others. Additionally, we’ve been working around the clock …

The 2025 NAMM Show - the annual trade show of The National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) - is scheduled for January 21–25 in Anaheim, California.… Read More 2025 NAMM Show Coming January 21–25

ShareThe Supreme Court on Friday evening added three new cases to its docket for the 2024-25 term. The cases, which involve issues ranging from the constitutionality of appointments to an HHS task force to student loan forgiveness and mootness in tax cases, are likely to be among the final cases argued during the current term. In Becerra v. Braidwood Management, the justices agreed to take up a challenge to the …

Online searches for NHS advice on common childhood illnesses surged in 2024, according to new figures compiled by NHS England. Five of the ten most visited health conditions on the NHS website last year mostly affect children, with three of them seeing significant increases compared to 2023. Visits to the hand, foot and mouth disease […]

Replacing a 1960s library, the Studium’s characteristic undulating shape marks the entrance to the Esplanade campus. The Esplanade campus was developed at the end of the 1950s to respond to the University of Strasbourg’s growing need for space. Architect Roger Hummel was tasked with a campus master plan, assisted by Alfred Kronenberger, Abraham Weinstein and Maurice Bourstin. A vast open area to the east of the city that was formerly …