Recent content by jian

Now watching Steal, which is a beautifully put together series. It’s well written, tightly plotted, and doesn’t treat you like an idiot - it’s like reading a great thriller, you have to stop and look stuff up occasionally (ANPR is automatic number plate recognition, by the way). Unlike The Night...

Oh, absolutely, and I wish them and their children the very best with it. Who’d want to be famous? Not I. (And it’s not the parents’ decision if people are horrible about their kids on the internet, it’s only their decision initially whether and how to expose them to it.)

Sadly, I doubt it, at least about this. Sure, some people will think it's a nice story. Some won't. And in the public domain about the children of celebrities, the tiny number who will be weird and horrible about it are amplified.

Yeah, this is a huge issue. I’m sure there are as many definitions of steampunk as there are people, but for me the commonest thread seems to be riffing off Victorian science fiction (Verne most notably). So we have lots of references to the Nautilus, the Baltimore Gun Club, Around the World...

I really hope Chris Hemsworth discussed doing this with a publicist before saying that on The View, though. I'd have thought so, it's not a sensible thing to just blurt out spontaneously - anything you say on The View should be planned and curated to a T. In any case, it's then reported in...

I think it’s different to tell that story to your friend down the pub than to tell it to a hired publicist who will then write an article about it which will then be discussed by millions of people on social media for a few days. This story reminds millions of people that India Rose Hemsworth...

We need Dr Ball. Dr Ball to the ER! There’s a woman who’s just given birth who’s lost the will to live! “I’m a doctor, not a torturer! This is a vitamin injection! Good day, sir!”

INITIATING MOUTH TO MOUTH PROTOCOL “Arggh, could I get a CPR robot that looks less like literal Death?” WOULD YOU LIKE MOYA TO GIVE YOU MOUTH TO MOUTH “Is that an option? Yes please.” SHE IS NOT COVERED BY YOUR INSURANCE HA HA HA I AM ALSO PROGRAMMED FOR STAND UP

While I think it’s clear that hiring another actor - literally any other suitable actor - would probably have made for a better scene and film and would probably have been cheaper, what I think is weird is that they publicised it happening. It’s framed as an “aren’t we relatable normal people”...

Yeah, exactly. I think the fake climax halfway through the book is making a pretty specific statement, which is something like “yup, this is where the book would end if it was set in Maine, but this is South Carolina, so it’s time for our second villain, complacent patriarchy.” It does affect...

Especially if the author doesn’t live in one!

Exactly. Someone who’d actually want to do this, has been to acting classes, put the work in, etc - they’d probably be being pushed by their parents too (like the HP kids) but at least they’re not getting their first acting job on enforced nepotism. It’s all a bit Brooklyn Beckham, and we can...

And across the pond I’d add “a culture of obedience to authority and general nationalism”, but it depends where, I guess.

Thank you! Yes, it would. It would be nice if it had arms to hug you with, I guess. And the aforementioned hot chocolate tap. I guess wanting a heated teddy bear who hugs you but also massages you and also cooks and cleans is probably a bit too multifunctional. I mean, I don’t want an electric...

Yup, already covered why you don’t need powered heating for most of that. Hugs, yes. Being able to dispense hot chocolate on tap, yes.