New Media Rules

Like many others, I’ve spent the weekend finding my way around on Mastodon, as Twitter goes from being a hellsite to a place you suspect may soon literally burn to the ground because they fired the guy whose job it was to stop the servers overheating. If you’re interested, you can find me at https://mastodon.ie/@faduda.… Continue reading New Media Rules

Published
Categorised as 200 Words

Martian Robots

Journalists and radio producers love a talking head. No matter what the issue is, it feels good to be able to identify the person at the head of the group who has a strong opinion about it, either for or against. This is why an organisation like Martian Robots can get ahead. All it takes… Continue reading Martian Robots

Published
Categorised as 200 Words

Fanboys

It is often said of sports journalists that they are sports fans. This, the argument goes, makes them reluctant to criticise and challenge. I think anyone who said that doesn’t know many fans. Fans often engage critically. On the other hand, fanboys (and girls) are uncritical – and often defensive. But the real trouble is,… Continue reading Fanboys

Published
Categorised as 200 Words

On Ukraine

[Notes from a Twitter thread, 28FEB] Everyone keeps writing takes about how rapidly Europe reacted to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but I never see one about what I think is the most significant reason why change came so fast: EU soft power. The EU spent seventy years patiently building interconnected webs since ECSE in… Continue reading On Ukraine

Published
Categorised as 200 Words

NaNoWriMo

I wrote a story in November. NaNoWritMo is the national novel writing month, the aim being to “win” by writing 50,000 words. In the end, I produced just short of 60,000 words. It’s got a beginning, middle and end, mostly in that order. But it’s very definitely a zero draft of a story, not a… Continue reading NaNoWriMo

Published
Categorised as 200 Words

Elephant in the Room

It’s weird how invisible the pandemic is in TV. It’s there in the background, reduced crowd scenes, fewer extras, more outdoor action, but mostly unacknowledged. I’m told that references to current events date a show very quickly, but I’m not sure that stands up. Compare to how pop culture dealt with the 2016 US election… Continue reading Elephant in the Room

Published
Categorised as 200 Words

This is how we have always done things

Justice at Dublin Castle. Image via https://www.flickr.com/photos/sparkle-motion/4136092578/

There’s a story in today’s Dublin Inquirer about delays in citizenship applications leading to legal action from applicants. Here’s a quote: “A spokesperson for the Department of Justice didn’t say whether it considers policy reform based on the issues highlighted in cases it settles out of court. But they said it considers court judgments when… Continue reading This is how we have always done things

Nano Nano – Day One

Canon From the introduction by A O’Kelleher to the 1918 translation of the Betha Colaim Chille, Manus O’Donnell’s Life of Columcille: Like many other mediaeval writers, O’Donnell thinks of the traditions which he has collected as a fragment of a once complete and perfect whole. “Be it known,” he says, “that this Life was lost… Continue reading Nano Nano – Day One

Published
Categorised as 200 Words

Writing Prompt

In 1953, Raymond Chandler parodied science-fiction, namedropping Google. Did you ever read what they call Science Fiction. It’s a scream. It is written like this: “I checked out with K19 on Adabaran III, and stepped out through the crummaliote hatch on my 22 Model Sirus Hardtop. I cocked the timejector in secondary and waded through… Continue reading Writing Prompt

Published
Categorised as 200 Words

Revue: Drapier Online

Social media is a strange creature. In some ways, we are back in the 17th century, trying to figure out which pamphleteers are worthwhile. Blogs, in essence, are pamphlets. And bloggers are pamphleteers. AngryDude1966 is the new Drapier, or Thomas Paine. Which is fine. Trouble is, as the web grows more similar thanks to Google… Continue reading Revue: Drapier Online

Published
Categorised as 200 Words