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<title type="text">Terence Eden’s Blog</title>
<subtitle type="text">Regular nonsense about tech and its effects 🙃</subtitle>
<updated>2026-08-20T06:17:00Z</updated>
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<title type="html"><![CDATA[Book Review: An Immense World - How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us by Ed Yong ★★★☆☆]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/book-review-an-immense-world-how-animal-senses-reveal-the-hidden-realms-around-us-by-ed-yong/"/>
<id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=72903</id>
<updated>2026-07-29T09:03:25Z</updated>
<published>2026-08-21T11:34:36Z</published>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="/etc/"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="Book Review"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="science"/>
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[This is a detailed examination of the various senses possessed by animals. Some will be intimately familiar to you - like sight and sound - whereas some will seem strange and uncanny - like magnetic detection and electro-sensing. Some straddle an almost understandable space like echolocation or tetra-chromatic vision. This isn't a game of Top Trumps where all the animals are ranked by power.…]]></summary>
<content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/book-review-an-immense-world-how-animal-senses-reveal-the-hidden-realms-around-us-by-ed-yong/"><![CDATA[<img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/9781473572737-jacket-large.webp" alt="Book cover featuring various animals." width="200" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-72904">
<p>This is a detailed examination of the various senses possessed by animals. Some will be intimately familiar to you - like sight and sound - whereas some will seem strange and uncanny - like magnetic detection and electro-sensing. Some straddle an almost understandable space like echolocation or tetra-chromatic vision.</p>
<p>This isn't a game of Top Trumps where all the animals are ranked by power. Instead there's a gentle and passionate exploration of what these senses <em>might</em> mean to their owners. It is refreshingly candid about what we don't know, while always trying to convey a sense of wonder about the inherent <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umwelt"><i lang="de">Umwelt</i></a> experienced by the animal.</p>
<p>But goodness me is it long. It seems that every time the editor told the author to cut out a paragraph, he stuck it in a footnote instead. The text is well referenced, but so are the footnotes, which means occasionally encountering sentences formatted like this:</p>
<blockquote><p>Despite several frustrating false leads, nobody’s ever found them.<sup>fn11,36,37,38,39</sup></p></blockquote>
<p>Speaking of which, the general formatting of the eBook is poor. The CSS contains all sorts of weird stuff which I needed to turn off, and is full of comments which probably should have been stripped before the book was distributed.</p>
<p>Science publishers still haven't grasped that eBooks don't need to relegate glossy images to the back of the book - they can go inline with the text!</p>
<p>This is a funny, heartfelt, and (perhaps overly) thorough book. It will gleefully send you down rabbit holes - even if you're ill-equipped to see in the dark and sense the bugs around you.</p>
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<entry>
<author>
<name>@edent</name>
<uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
</author>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[Asymmetric Agents]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/asymmetric-agents/"/>
<id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=73594</id>
<updated>2026-08-20T06:17:00Z</updated>
<published>2026-08-19T11:34:52Z</published>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="/etc/"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="agentic"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="AI"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="future"/>
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[One of the promises of the AI-filled future is that we'll all have highly capable autonomous servants "agents" to work for us. Even back in the 1990s, it was a common trope in future-gazing to insist that a person's personal slave agent would negotiate on their behalf. Ask your meek digital pal agent to find you a restuarant in town, tonight, for a hot date, catering to your dietary preferences, …]]></summary>
<content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/asymmetric-agents/"><![CDATA[<p>One of the promises of the AI-filled future is that we'll all have highly capable autonomous <del>servants</del> "agents" to work for us.</p>
<p>Even <a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/02/how-close-are-we-to-a-vision-for-2010/">back in the 1990s</a>, it was a common trope in future-gazing to insist that a person's personal <del>slave</del> agent would negotiate on their behalf. Ask your <del>meek digital pal</del> agent to find you a restuarant in town, tonight, for a hot date, catering to your dietary preferences, and within your budget. The little <del>butler</del> agent scurries off and, without your intervention, finds the <em>perfect</em> place, negotiates with the restaurant's <del>house boy</del> agent and books you a slap up meal.</p>
<p>Marvellous! You can tell your <del>manservant</del> agent to buy you clothes, reserve a flight, do the grocery shopping, or buy your wife flowers without having to lift a finger.</p>
<p>But, of course, there's a fly in the ointment. Not all <del>valets</del> agents are created equally. You're sending your Raspberry Pi powered <del>peon</del> agent against the full might of Amazon's bazillion datacentres.</p>
<p>Can a low-complexity <del>serf</del> agent be bullied, outwitted, and manipulated by a more capable <del>henchman</del> agent? It seems obvious to me that the answer is yes. Humans have a set of cognitive biases which render us susceptible to advertising tricks. AI may have <a href="https://cacm.acm.org/research/rolling-in-the-deep-of-cognitive-and-ai-biases/"><em>different</em> biases</a> but will still be vulnerable to <a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2017/03/how-to-hypnotise-an-artificial-intelligence/">hypnosis</a> and hacking.</p>
<p>Perhaps having my <del>secretary</del> agent negotiate with your <del>PA</del> agent to find a suitable meeting time for our Q2 KPI Deep Dive doesn't carry this sort of risk. But I'm sure that <del>scumbags</del> advertisers everywhere will be salivating at the thought of waylaying my innocent <del>footman</del> agent on its way to market.</p>
<p>A future where we delegate responsibility to <del>stochastic imbeciles</del> agents is one where we accept that we have no control over their susceptibility to more powerful and malevolent <del>thugs</del> agents.</p>
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</entry>
<entry>
<author>
<name>@edent</name>
<uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
</author>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[And then the men with guns tell you to do it anyway]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/and-then-the-men-with-guns-tell-you-to-do-it-anyway/"/>
<id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=74161</id>
<updated>2026-08-17T11:31:25Z</updated>
<published>2026-08-17T11:34:24Z</published>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="/etc/"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="politics"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="technology"/>
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[In early February 2011 Egypt was in the middle of a political revolution. One morning, everyone's phones suddenly pinged with an alert. The Armed Forces asks Egypt's honest and loyal men to confront the traitors and criminals and protect our people and honour and our precious Egypt. A series of messages arrived all ostensibly from the network provider Vodafone. All pro-regime and all with the…]]></summary>
<content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/and-then-the-men-with-guns-tell-you-to-do-it-anyway/"><![CDATA[<p>In early February 2011 <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/1/25/what-happened-during-egypts-january-25-revolution">Egypt was in the middle of a political revolution</a>. One morning, everyone's phones suddenly pinged with an alert.</p>
<blockquote><p>The Armed Forces asks Egypt's honest and loyal men to confront the traitors and criminals and protect our people and honour and our precious Egypt.</p></blockquote>
<p>A <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/59098813@N06/5411904816/in/photostream/">series of messages arrived</a> all ostensibly from the network provider Vodafone. All pro-regime and all with the undercurrent of violence.</p>
<p>Why did Vodafone send these messages? Earlier in the week, <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2011/01/28/egypt-nationwide-internet-blackout-endangers-rights">all Internet access was cut off</a> now phones were blasting propaganda to the masses.</p>
<p>After the network went down, Vodafone issued a statement saying:</p>
<blockquote><p>It has been clear to us that there were no legal or practical options open to Vodafone, or any of the mobile operators in Egypt, but to comply with the demands of the authorities.</p></blockquote>
<p>Do you have to follow orders? Do you have to obey the law even when it is unjust? Should multinational corporations instruct local executives to be loyal to their parent company or the rulers of the country they live in?</p>
<p>After the messages came in - including promises that "<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/news/blog/2011/feb/03/egypt-protests-live-updates#block-19">The Armed Forces cares for your safety and well being and will not resort to using force against this great nation</a>" - Vodafone Global, safely ensconced in the UK, put out another statement:</p>
<blockquote><p>Under the emergency powers provisions of the Telecoms Act, the Egyptian authorities can instruct the mobile networks of Mobinil, Etisalat and Vodafone to send messages to the people of Egypt. They have used this since the start of the protests. These messages are not scripted by any of the mobile network operators and we do not have the ability to respond to the authorities on their content.</p>
<p>Vodafone Group has protested to the authorities that the current situation regarding these messages is unacceptable. We have made clear that all messages should be transparent and clearly attributable to the originator.</p>
<p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110307151856/http://www.vodafone.com/content/index/press/press_statements/statement_on_egypt.html">Statements - Vodafone Egypt</a></p></blockquote>
<p>A few years later I was at a networking event chatting to a guy. We'd both previously worked for Vodafone. Me in the UK, he in Egypt. I asked him about the incident - he talked about how they built the SMS infrastructure, what they did to secure it, how they prevented spam, and how one day armed men arrived.</p>
<p>I suspect most of us have seen a movie where some flunky in an office refuses the baddies demands to open the safe, and then gets shot in the head. Perhaps you think that's a noble death? He lived with honour and refused to yield! But, in every movie I've seen, the guy's subordinate opens the safe anyway and gets to live.</p>
<p>But we're technologists, right? We can build fail safes and cryptographic proofs and <a href="https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/i-would-simply">simply build infrastructure that can't be abused</a>.</p>
<p>And then the men with guns come and tell you what to do.</p>
<p>I've written before about <a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2013/11/civic-hygiene/">Civic Hygiene</a> - it's the idea that we should be mindful of the ways that our technologies could be misused. The term was coined back in 2010 by the technologist Bruice Schneier</p>
<blockquote><p><a href="https://www.schneier.com/essays/archives/2010/01/us_enables_chinese_h.html">It's bad civic hygiene to build technologies that could someday be used to facilitate a police state.</a></p></blockquote>
<p>But what do we mean by that?</p>
<p>We don't want backdoors in security products - lest hackers break in or evil governments get elected. But we want a way to access our beloved ones' data after they die. It's important that we know that photos haven't been manipulated by propagandists and saboteurs. But we want to send funny memes about that politician we don't like. We don't want police stalking ex girlfriends' cars - but we want dangerous drivers prosecuted.</p>
<p>We want to be alerted about imminent threats, but don't want Governments to use that power for ill.</p>
<p>Way back in the early 2020s, I had a minor role in the UK Government's adoption of <a href="https://github.com/co-cddo/open-standards/issues/73">Common Alerting Protocol</a> the technology which powers cell-broadcast emergency alerts.</p>
<p>Even back then, one of the discussions was around whether the utility of being able to send an unavoidable push notification was worth the risk that someone would send an inappropriate message. Fresh in everyone's minds was the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-42680070">false alarm saying missiles were heading to Hawaii</a>.</p>
<img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/2018_Hawaii_missile_alert_cropped.jpeg" alt="Emergency alert. BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT INBOUND TO HAWAII. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL." width="768" height="343" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-74163">
<p>Too many safeguards means that a genuine alert doesn't get sent in time. Too few safeguards and you can blame "<a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/book-review-the-field-guide-to-understanding-human-error-by-sidney-dekker/">Human Error</a>" for any mistakes.</p>
<p>I don't know which safeguards are in place for the UK's system - <a href="https://www.ofcom.org.uk/siteassets/resources/documents/about-ofcom/foi/2024/march/emergency-broadcasting?v=331069">and most details are exempt from Freedom of Information requests</a>. But it is both easy and fun to speculate on how such a system might be designed.</p>
<p>The Government generates an alert. It specifies where and when the alert should be sent. It sends that message to the network operators via a secure and private channel. Perhaps they also do some out-of-band verification like having the network operator call a pre-determined phone number to check the message's validity.</p>
<p>At which point, the operator can choose to send the message or not.</p>
<p>Or can they?</p>
<p>In August 2026, the UK government instructed network operators to send this message:</p>
<p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/alerts/14-aug-2026-2"><img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/fire-alert.webp" alt="Alert about fire risk in the UK." title="Screenshot courtesy of Skylar MacDonald" width="1024" height="851" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-74164"></a></p>
<p>Did the networks <em>have</em> to send that message? If they thought it wasn't serious enough, could they have refused? As far as I can tell, the law only talks about the fact that operators can disregard "spam" laws in order to send a mass message:</p>
<blockquote><p>A relevant public communications provider (P) may, for the purpose of providing an emergency alert service, disregard the restrictions on the processing of data relating to users or subscribers set out in paragraph (2) if the conditions set out in paragraph (3) are met.</p>
<p>[…]</p>
<p>(3) The conditions are—</p>
<p>(a)P is notified by a relevant public authority that—</p>
<p>(i)an emergency within the meaning of section 1(1) of the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 has occurred, is occurring or is about to occur;</p>
<p><a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2015/355/pdfs/uksi_20150355_en.pdf">Statutory Instrument 2015 No. 355</a></p></blockquote>
<p>I'm no expert, but I can't see anything in <a href="https://www.ofcom.org.uk/siteassets/resources/documents/manage-your-licence/mobile-wireless-and-broadband/cellular/licences/cellular-licence-vodafone-0249664.pdf?v=368347">the spectrum licence</a> nor in the <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/36/contents">Wireless Telegraphy Act</a> which <em>compels</em> operators to process these messages.</p>
<p>The usual British way is to ask people to play nicely and threaten them with regulation if they don't.</p>
<p>Could the networks have refused to send the message about wildfires - or indeed any other message? If your least favourite politician gets their hands on the emergency alert system and tries to abuse it, would you want the networks to stand up to them?</p>
<p>What if the network refuses to send the message because they're worried alerting people about a hurricane will lower the company's profits?</p>
<p>What if armed thugs are sent in and the choice is send the message or die?</p>
<p>I don't know what the answer is here. I think most people agree that it is broadly sensible to have a way to alert the population of emergencies. There's no mass media any more, we're not all listening to a single radio channel, or reading newspapers, or even on the same social media platforms. Sometimes there are emergencies and the Government has a duty to alert people to them.</p>
<p>How would you design a system that simultaneously achieved all these goals:</p>
<ul>
<li>Rapid sending of messages</li>
<li>Careful checking of the content of messages</li>
<li>Ability to quickly target a specific geographic area</li>
<li>Inability to mistakenly send a test message</li>
<li>Requiring strong proof that the message is authentic before sending</li>
<li>Resilient enough to work after significant damage to infrastructure</li>
<li>That networks have the ability to vet and ignore</li>
<li>That networks are compelled to send</li>
<li>Which can only be used for good</li>
<li>And cannot be used for evil.</li>
</ul>
<p>In truth, <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/edent.tel/post/3mt2s2puhuk2x">having experienced fire-starters</a>, I'm not bothered about the contents of this latest message from the UK Government. Given the overstretched fire service and the imminent threat across most of the country, my personal opinion is that it is proportionate.</p>
<p>But it is easy to see why some people feel this might open the gateway to messages which, at best, are irrelevant and, at worst, are similar to the insidious propaganda which appeared on the phones of Egyptians:</p>
<blockquote><p>To every mother-father-sister-brother, to every honest citizen. Preserve this country as the nation is forever.</p></blockquote>
<p>Perhaps you can think of a way to design an alerting system which cannot be abused - but I can't.</p>
<img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=74161&HTTP_REFERER=Atom" alt width="1" height="1" loading="eager">]]></content>
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</entry>
<entry>
<author>
<name>@edent</name>
<uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
</author>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[Thoughts on visiting the Edinburgh Fringe as a newbie]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/thoughts-on-the-edinburgh-fringe-as-a-newbie/"/>
<id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=74021</id>
<updated>2026-08-16T09:29:11Z</updated>
<published>2026-08-16T11:34:21Z</published>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="/etc/"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="EdFringe"/>
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[This was my first ever time at The Fringe™. Here are some scattered thoughts looking at the good, the bad, and the annoying aspects of this madly extravagant exhibition of talent. We saw 23 shows together, and one separate show each. There were more hits than misses, but the frustration of wasting your time on a bad show is rather heavy when there are literally hundreds of other shows on offer. P…]]></summary>
<content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/thoughts-on-the-edinburgh-fringe-as-a-newbie/"><![CDATA[<p>This was my first ever time at The Fringe™. Here are some scattered thoughts looking at the good, the bad, and the annoying aspects of this madly extravagant exhibition of talent. We saw 23 shows together, and one separate show each. There were more hits than misses, but the frustration of wasting your time on a bad show is rather heavy when there are literally hundreds of other shows on offer.</p>
<h2 id="price"><a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/thoughts-on-the-edinburgh-fringe-as-a-newbie/#price">Price</a></h2>
<p>Everything is too expensive. We found student accommodation which was a "mere" £220 per night. I guess that wasn't <em>too</em> exorbitant considering the gouging going on elsewhere - and it did come with a decent breakfast. It was about a 20 minute walk from the Royal Mile, with several performance venues on the way.</p>
<p>The 46 tickets we bought cost us £550 in total - which included a few donations at Free Fringe shows. So an average ticket of £12, which isn't too bad, I guess. You can certainly do things cheaper by only going to free shows and running away when they ask you to pay - but that's a dick move.</p>
<p>£20 for a single hour of stand-up feels like kind of a rip off at times - especially with the mandatory £1.50 booking fee for every ticket. Some shows are a bit cheaper, and Monday/Tuesday has 2-for-1 offers. But it's easy for a couple to spend well over a hundred quid per day seeing 3 or 4 shows.</p>
<p>Festival food and drink prices are inflated - but there's no shortage of supermarkets if you want a meal deal. Restaurants were usual city centre prices. The bars at festival venues were fully taking advantage of their captive audience, but the pubs aren't much cheaper.</p>
<h2 id="the-app"><a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/thoughts-on-the-edinburgh-fringe-as-a-newbie/#the-app">The App</a></h2>
<p>In theory, the app / website is good. In reality they're both a bit frustrating to use. Every time I ticked the box saying "remember my credit card details" and every time it forgot them. Both app and website frequently timed out, failed to add tickets to baskets, and were a bit shonky. The <em>one</em> thing this needs to do is reliably take my money and give it to performers - but it felt like a battle every time.</p>
<p>We missed one show because we couldn't buy a ticket in the app despite being in the queue. The door staff didn't have the ability to sell us a ticket (although some venues can) and directed us to a box office which was dealing with a bunch of people who were bemused that they couldn't pay in dollars.</p>
<p>Inexplicably, the app doesn't have the ability to see show reviews, even though they're present on the website.</p>
<p>There's a good "Nearby Now" feature which is handy when you're exhausted and don't want to trek far. By contrast, there's no easy way to see what's on near the next venue you're going to.</p>
<p>Searching for shows often returns events which are cancelled or sold out.</p>
<p>I wish it were possible to see which shows had undersold and were starting soon. I loved taking a punt on an unknown act who only had half-a-dozen people in the room. Sadly there's no way to grab last-minute deals.</p>
<p>This isn't helped by the total collapse of mobile signal in Edinburgh centre. I tried with a variety of SIMs but frequently only got a trickle of data.</p>
<h2 id="what-to-see"><a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/thoughts-on-the-edinburgh-fringe-as-a-newbie/#what-to-see">What To See</a></h2>
<p>The <abbr title="Fear Of Missing Out">FOMO</abbr> is real! Every show's poster makes it look amazing. The earnest performers desperately handing out leaflets for their own shows are <em>so</em> enthusiastic. Everyone you speak to in a queue has a "must see" which is probably sold out.</p>
<p>We mostly avoided seeing big names. They'll be on telly soon enough or tour down in London. I don't think that act who was big in the 1990s needs my coin as much as some up-and-comer.</p>
<p>You could easily fill a week seeing nothing but Shakespeare in a variety of styles. Or just watch middle-aged white guys have mental breakdowns on stage because they're on their 3rd divorce. Or, as it turns out, fill your boots with Heated Rivalry shows.</p>
<p>We did the tasting menu and had a little bit of everything. It was mostly pretty good with only a few duds.</p>
<h2 id="reviews"><a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/thoughts-on-the-edinburgh-fringe-as-a-newbie/#reviews">Reviews</a></h2>
<p>Even the worst show we saw had a couple of people who declared it the funniest thing ever five stars lol. You can't account for someone else's taste.</p>
<p>I enjoyed <a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/tag/EdFringe">writing my reviews</a> - and I hope they were useful to others - but you're mostly on your own when it comes to what's good. I suppose if you wait until later in the festival there will be more of a consensus about what to see.</p>
<p>My philosophy is to take a punt on basically anything that doesn't look too abhorrent. Even if it is shit, there's be something else along in a minute which will be better.</p>
<h2 id="distance"><a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/thoughts-on-the-edinburgh-fringe-as-a-newbie/#distance">Distance</a></h2>
<p>You'll get your 10k steps in before lunchtime - Edinburgh is a delightfully walkable city. With a bit of planning you can walk a straight line from show-to-show. We didn't plan and traipsed back and forth like the little lost tourists we were.</p>
<p>Venues are mostly well sign-posted. Again, the app is a bit crap at pointing them out, but it'll open your mapping app to navigate you there.</p>
<p>Many of the venues are in historic buildings, so don't expect lifts or escalators. Stairs all the way, baby!</p>
<h2 id="harry-potter"><a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/thoughts-on-the-edinburgh-fringe-as-a-newbie/#harry-potter">Harry Potter</a></h2>
<p>Edinburgh seems like an inclusive and trans-friendly city. Half the acts on the Fringe proudly stated their LGBT+ credentials and most venues we went to had gender neutral loos.</p>
<p>And then every other shop proudly boasts it is 100% definitely where JKR got the inspiration for Harry Potter. Tourists are schelpped between "Diagon Alley" and probably-the-cafe-where-she-wrote while slurping down dayglo butterbeers.</p>
<p>Truly the duality of life!</p>
<h2 id="comfort"><a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/thoughts-on-the-edinburgh-fringe-as-a-newbie/#comfort">Comfort</a></h2>
<p>There's an ancient Edinburgh byelaw which prohibits cushions on seats. No chair may be wide enough to accommodate anything other than the skinniest arse. It also places a moratorium on legroom.</p>
<p>Ok, some of the venues were more comfortable than others, but prepare for a bit of backache.</p>
<p>Toilets are plentiful in most venues, and theres no shortage of pubs to pop in to if you need refreshment or relief.</p>
<p>Scotland isn't known for its heat, but some of the venues desperately need air-conditioning in their foyers and auditoriums. A few were handing out free water to the swealtering punters - but probably best to bring your own</p>
<h2 id="would-i-come-here-again"><a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/thoughts-on-the-edinburgh-fringe-as-a-newbie/#would-i-come-here-again">Would I Come Here Again?</a></h2>
<p>Yeah! I reckon so! Probably not next year, and probably with more of a plan about which "must sees" I wanted to see.</p>
<p>Staying closer to the centre is more expensive, but might have made it easier to see some if the shows later in the night.</p>
<p>There is <em>so</em> much talent, <em>so</em> much variety, and <em>so</em> much joy in the city that it becomes rather infectious.</p>
<p>If you can afford the train fare, hotel costs, tickets, booking fees, pints, chips and all the other people desperate to stick their hands into your wallet - then it is a great adventure.</p>
<img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=74021&HTTP_REFERER=Atom" alt width="1" height="1" loading="eager">]]></content>
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<thr:total>3</thr:total>
</entry>
<entry>
<author>
<name>@edent</name>
<uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
</author>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[Book Review: Slags by Emma Jane Unsworth ★★★⯪☆]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/book-review-slags-by-emma-jane-unsworth/"/>
<id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=72687</id>
<updated>2026-06-29T19:43:11Z</updated>
<published>2026-08-15T11:34:42Z</published>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="/etc/"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="Book Club"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="Book Review"/>
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[I'm really not sure what to make of this book. It was recommended by my book club as something between tragedy and comedy. The characters are excruciatingly well written - if you (or your friends) shoplifted Impulse body-spray back in the 1990s, you'll be hit by a terrifying wave of nostalgia. It reminds me of this excellent essay by Marie Le Conte about consent. What can a teenage girl…]]></summary>
<content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/book-review-slags-by-emma-jane-unsworth/"><![CDATA[<img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/slags.webp" alt="Book cover featuring a teenage girl smoking." width="200" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-72688">
<p>I'm really not sure what to make of this book. It was recommended by my book club as something between tragedy and comedy. The characters are excruciatingly well written - if you (or your friends) shoplifted Impulse body-spray back in the 1990s, you'll be hit by a terrifying wave of nostalgia.</p>
<p>It reminds me of this excellent <a href="https://youngvulgarian.substack.com/i/152315586/a-column">essay by Marie Le Conte about consent</a>. What can a teenage girl consent to? What will fuck her up for years to come? What if she doesn't mind being a <em>little</em> fucked up?</p>
<p>The prose is amazing, the plotting perfectly paced, and the denouement satisfying - with lots of retrospectives "Oh! I get it now"s.</p>
<p>Despite the hectic and hilarious story, I still felt a little sordid reading it. There's a streak of sadness running through it, intertwined with some unbearably heartbreaking poetry.</p>
<blockquote><p>It’s always raining and there’s nothing to do except dream and they don’t even give you much time to do that with all the coursework.</p></blockquote>
<p>It is entertaining and fun - but you need a strong stomach and a casual disregard for the overall happiness of your protagonists.</p>
<p>One note - there are a few odd / broken styles in the ePub. Nothing too disruptive, but some passages have a slightly smaller font size for no discernable reason.</p>
<img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=72687&HTTP_REFERER=Atom" alt width="1" height="1" loading="eager">]]></content>
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<thr:total>1</thr:total>
</entry>
<entry>
<author>
<name>@edent</name>
<uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
</author>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[Edinburgh Fringe: Target Audience ★★★★★]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-target-audience/"/>
<id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=74018</id>
<updated>2026-08-14T18:10:20Z</updated>
<published>2026-08-14T18:45:41Z</published>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="/etc/"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="comedy"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="EdFringe"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="Theatre Review"/>
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Easily the best show I've seen at the Fringe. For plot-related reasons, a television company asks a literary genius to create a "pro-weapons sitcom". It is a fast paced mix of the sitcoms 2012 and Episodes. The jokes come at a steady pace - some attack with the furiousity of bullets, others the the subtlety of a knife in the night. All four of the cast are spectacular. Turning the…]]></summary>
<content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-target-audience/"><![CDATA[<p>Easily the best show I've seen at the Fringe.</p>
<p>For plot-related reasons, a television company asks a literary genius to create a "pro-weapons sitcom".</p>
<p>It is a fast paced mix of the sitcoms 2012 and Episodes. The jokes come at a steady pace - some attack with the furiousity of bullets, others the the subtlety of a knife in the night.</p>
<p>All four of the cast are spectacular. Turning the sometimes-stock characters into powerful avatars. The amoral Zuckerbergian horror of data driven decision making is the perfect manure in which to grow comedy roses.</p>
<p>It stands well against any classic farce and I hope it tours until the end of the world.</p>
<p>A special shout out to the Pleasance Above for being the most comfortable venue in Edinburgh! Raked auditorium, cushioned seats, and air conditioning all make for a delightful theatrical experience.</p>
<img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=74018&HTTP_REFERER=Atom" alt width="1" height="1" loading="eager">]]></content>
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<thr:total>0</thr:total>
</entry>
<entry>
<author>
<name>@edent</name>
<uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
</author>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[Edinburgh Fringe: Stand-up Philosophy ★★★⯪☆]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-stand-up-philosophy/"/>
<id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=74015</id>
<updated>2026-08-14T14:53:00Z</updated>
<published>2026-08-14T15:16:26Z</published>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="/etc/"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="comedy"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="EdFringe"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="review"/>
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[For a pay-what-you-want show this was decent. Three comedians doing sets on the theme of philosophy - followed by a Q&A where the audience poses philosophical conundrums to them. It more-or-less works as a gimmick. Although an early afternoon crowd may have been more likely to ask questions anonymously. I've never seen a Sikh doing an unnervingly accurate impression of Trump before. Daman…]]></summary>
<content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-stand-up-philosophy/"><![CDATA[<p>For a pay-what-you-want show this was decent. Three comedians doing sets on the theme of philosophy - followed by a Q&A where the audience poses philosophical conundrums to them.</p>
<p>It more-or-less works as a gimmick. Although an early afternoon crowd may have been more likely to ask questions anonymously.</p>
<p>I've never seen a Sikh doing an unnervingly accurate impression of Trump before. <a href="https://www.damanbamrah.com/">Daman Bamrah</a> did a perfect routine which blended his philosophy with the perils of the bum-gun. An unexpected but hilarious combination.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.sidsingh.org/">Sid Singh</a>'s set trod a fairly standard path through reactions to racism, but his discussion at the end about the inherent problems involved in writing controversial material was excellent.</p>
<p>Tying it all together was <a href="https://www.alexfarrowcomedy.com/">Alex Farrow</a> who perfectly brought together the various philosophical strands and proved why Albert Camus was a fan of Stewart Lee.</p>
<p>A great set of acts at a decent price.</p>
<img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=74015&HTTP_REFERER=Atom" alt width="1" height="1" loading="eager">]]></content>
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<thr:total>0</thr:total>
</entry>
<entry>
<author>
<name>@edent</name>
<uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
</author>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[Edinburgh Fringe: Waiting for Wonka ★★★⯪☆]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-waiting-for-wonka/"/>
<id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=74091</id>
<updated>2026-08-14T12:21:21Z</updated>
<published>2026-08-14T12:31:07Z</published>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="/etc/"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="EdFringe"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="Theatre Review"/>
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[This play is fucked up! Such a brilliant concept - what happened to the kids from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory after they were rejected by Wonka? Stuck together in a Big-Brotheresque household, they trauma-dump on each other. New Zealand's Half Trick have shrunk their full-length play into a Fringe-standard 60 minutes. That does make it a little brusque and, simultaneously, a bit…]]></summary>
<content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-waiting-for-wonka/"><![CDATA[<p>This play is <em>fucked up!</em> Such a brilliant concept - what happened to the kids from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory <em>after</em> they were rejected by Wonka? Stuck together in a Big-Brotheresque household, they trauma-dump on each other.</p>
<p><a href="https://halftrick.com/#wonka"><img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/naughty.webp" alt="Waiting for Wonka poster saying naughty children get nothing." width="800" height="1125" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-74093"></a></p>
<p>New Zealand's Half Trick have shrunk their full-length play into a Fringe-standard 60 minutes. That does make it a little brusque and, simultaneously, a bit repetitive. The characters don't get quite enough room to breathe. Mike Teavee has, of course, become an incel online troll - perfect! - but the rest haven't changed much.</p>
<p>The horrors of industrial accidents mixed with corporate malfeasance makes for an excellent comedy. The cast inhabit their characters perfectly, each totally believable as a childhood favourite who has become a deeply troubled adult.</p>
<p>I'd be delighted to read a full length novelisation of the script. It is a witty and terrifying update to a book I devoured as a child. Only now do I realise that it was also devouring me. Truly when you gaze into the lake of chocolate…</p>
<img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=74091&HTTP_REFERER=Atom" alt width="1" height="1" loading="eager">]]></content>
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<thr:total>0</thr:total>
</entry>
<entry>
<author>
<name>@edent</name>
<uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
</author>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[Edinburgh Fringe: Doris, Dolly and the Dressing Room Divas ★★★★⯪]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-doris-dolly-and-the-dressing-room-divas/"/>
<id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=74012</id>
<updated>2026-08-13T21:32:42Z</updated>
<published>2026-08-13T22:23:25Z</published>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="/etc/"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="EdFringe"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="review"/>
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Quite simply marvellous! Three Scottish divas giving us their interpretations of the greats while backed by an excellent pianist. So many shows at the Fringe skimp on sets and props - not this! A luscious array of costumes, hats, wigs, and ruby slippers bring the characters to life. The framing is thin but serviceable - the backstage helpers are reminiscing about their favourite stars and bring …]]></summary>
<content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-doris-dolly-and-the-dressing-room-divas/"><![CDATA[<p>Quite simply marvellous! Three Scottish divas giving us their interpretations of the greats while backed by an excellent pianist.</p>
<p>So many shows at the Fringe skimp on sets and props - not this! A luscious array of costumes, hats, wigs, and ruby slippers bring the characters to life.</p>
<p>The framing is thin but serviceable - the backstage helpers are reminiscing about their favourite stars and bring them back to stage. It is a fun and campy evening, without ever straying into parody or obsequiousness.</p>
<p>Sadly a few technical gremlins crept in, but the cast are absolute troopers and dispensed with them.</p>
<p>Oh, and there's an incredible Sweary Poppins who steals the show.</p>
<p>In amongst the Fringe's high concept art, fiendish new writing, and blokey-standup, it was a real treat to see a good old fashioned revue.</p>
<p>Highly recommend.</p>
<img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=74012&HTTP_REFERER=Atom" alt width="1" height="1" loading="eager">]]></content>
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<thr:total>0</thr:total>
</entry>
<entry>
<author>
<name>@edent</name>
<uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
</author>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[Edinburgh Fringe: The Musical Mystery Caller ★★★★★]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-the-musical-mystery-caller/"/>
<id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=74064</id>
<updated>2026-08-13T19:01:23Z</updated>
<published>2026-08-13T20:21:53Z</published>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="/etc/"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="EdFringe"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="review"/>
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Walking down the street, I noticed a ringing phone box so, naturally, I answered it. What happened next was a few minutes of pure fringe magic! I had a little chat with the caller, he welcomed me to the smallest venue in the fringe, and then he improvised a banger of a song based on my peculiar proclivities. What a treat to have a front row experience at a one man (and one audience member)…]]></summary>
<content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-the-musical-mystery-caller/"><![CDATA[<p>Walking down the street, I noticed a ringing phone box so, naturally, I answered it.</p>
<p>What happened next was a few minutes of pure fringe magic!</p>
<p>I had a little chat with the caller, he welcomed me to the smallest venue in the fringe, and then he improvised a banger of a song based on my peculiar proclivities.</p>
<p>What a treat to have a front row experience at a one man (and one audience member) show. The song was heartfelt and beautiful, played and sung with panache - albeit down a twisted copper pair of limited bandwidth.</p>
<p>He didn't reverse the charges, so it didn't cost me a penny! Which, given the high prices of most shows, was an absolute bargain 😃</p>
<p>If you hear a phone ringing, you should always answer it and say hello.</p>
<img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Imagepipe_59.webp" alt="Me in a phone box listening intently." width="1542" height="2048" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-74067">
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<thr:total>1</thr:total>
</entry>
<entry>
<author>
<name>@edent</name>
<uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
</author>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[Edinburgh Fringe: Miscast Sondheim ★★☆☆☆]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-miscast-sondheim/"/>
<id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=74045</id>
<updated>2026-08-13T18:05:07Z</updated>
<published>2026-08-13T18:45:15Z</published>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="/etc/"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="EdFringe"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="review"/>
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[I'm not sure what they're teaching at LAMDA, but it certainly isn't vocal projection. We were forewarned about the technical difficulties - but if a trained stage singer can't reach the 6th row of a tiny theatre, that can't be blamed on the backstage team. The show advertises itself as: What happens when you take Sondheim’s most beloved music and turn it on its head? Ingénues become villains, vi…]]></summary>
<content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-miscast-sondheim/"><![CDATA[<p>I'm not sure what they're teaching at LAMDA, but it certainly isn't vocal projection. We were forewarned about the technical difficulties - but if a trained stage singer can't reach the 6th row of a tiny theatre, that can't be blamed on the backstage team.</p>
<p>The show advertises itself as:</p>
<blockquote><p>What happens when you take Sondheim’s most beloved music and turn it on its head? Ingénues become villains, villains deliver delicate ballads, and comic sidekicks step into tragedy.</p></blockquote>
<p>But, bluntly, that's not what was delivered. The gender swapping and colour-blind casting was fine, but there was no sense that this was a twist on the songs. They were all delivered in a straightforward fashion.</p>
<p>In fairness, there were a couple of truly excellent singers - Adam Boggs McDonald was spectacular and Paulina Hill was an absolute showstopper. The twist on Agony by Angelia Castillo and Adelia Castillo worked well.</p>
<p>Sadly the rest was over promised and under delivered.</p>
<p>Another show seen purely in the basis that we had an hour free and the venue was close. That's generally a pretty sound strategy for seeing shows - but you have to accept the risk that you might not like what you get.</p>
<img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=74045&HTTP_REFERER=Atom" alt width="1" height="1" loading="eager">]]></content>
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<thr:total>0</thr:total>
</entry>
<entry>
<author>
<name>@edent</name>
<uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
</author>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[Edinburgh Fringe: Hot Flush – A Bold, We’re Old(ish) Burlesque Show ★★★☆☆]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-hot-flush-a-bold-were-oldish-burlesque-show/"/>
<id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=74009</id>
<updated>2026-08-13T16:25:57Z</updated>
<published>2026-08-13T16:45:02Z</published>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="/etc/"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="EdFringe"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="review"/>
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Are menopausal women hot? It is often said that pornographic actresses move straight from "barely legal" to "MILF" without so much as moment in between. Unlike the fringe's other burlesque shows - which seem to exclusively feature nymphettes and twinks with nary a grey hair between them - Hot Flush focuses on the over 40s. Look, you probably don't want to read a review of how tempting I found…]]></summary>
<content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-hot-flush-a-bold-were-oldish-burlesque-show/"><![CDATA[<p>Are menopausal women hot? It is often said that pornographic actresses move straight from "barely legal" to "MILF" without so much as moment in between. Unlike the fringe's other burlesque shows - which seem to exclusively feature nymphettes and twinks with nary a grey hair between them - Hot Flush focuses on the over 40s.</p>
<p>Look, you probably don't want to read a review of how tempting I found each temptress, nor a multivariant testing of their erotic powers - so let's just say this…</p>
<p>The lecture in the middle about the menopause and how to cope with it was very educational.</p>
<p>The performers were all talented and the costumes (before removal) were sufficiently sufficient for their purpose.</p>
<p>The main problem is that it is staged at the <em>least</em> sexy venue on the fringe. A basement meeting room which looks more suitable for a regional sales conference than a burlesque. Perhaps if they were going for a Belinda Blinked cabaret it might have worked better.</p>
<p>The performers coped well with the technical difficulties (no doubt caused by a moralising theatre ghost) and recovered their momentum well.</p>
<img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=74009&HTTP_REFERER=Atom" alt width="1" height="1" loading="eager">]]></content>
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</entry>
<entry>
<author>
<name>@edent</name>
<uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
</author>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[Edinburgh Fringe - Eleanor Morton: The Mermaid ★★★⯪☆]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-eleanor-morton-the-mermaid/"/>
<id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=74006</id>
<updated>2026-08-13T13:44:52Z</updated>
<published>2026-08-13T14:55:59Z</published>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="/etc/"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="comedy"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="EdFringe"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="review"/>
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[The undisputed queen of short-form viral video comedy snacks takes to the stage. Well, swims to the stage. The Mermaid is a delightful and gentle amble through the confusing world of a girl who just wants to become a mermaid. Less standup and more storytelling, nevertheless it packs in the laughs with some rather clever jokes, a bit of bawdy humour, and - a rarity on The Fringe - a decently…]]></summary>
<content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-eleanor-morton-the-mermaid/"><![CDATA[<p>The undisputed queen of short-form viral video comedy snacks takes to the stage. Well, swims to the stage.</p>
<p>The Mermaid is a delightful and gentle amble through the confusing world of a girl who just wants to become a mermaid. Less standup and more storytelling, nevertheless it packs in the laughs with some rather clever jokes, a bit of bawdy humour, and - a rarity on The Fringe - a decently designed set!</p>
<p>It stands out by being well-rehearsed (surprisingly not a given here) and with no technical glitches during the performance (and, again, I cannot stress enough how unique that is). Eleanor Morton is an absolute professional who knows how to put on a quality show.</p>
<img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=74006&HTTP_REFERER=Atom" alt width="1" height="1" loading="eager">]]></content>
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<thr:total>0</thr:total>
</entry>
<entry>
<author>
<name>@edent</name>
<uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
</author>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[Book Review: Coding Literacy by Annette Vee ★★⯪☆☆]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/book-review-coding-literacy-by-annette-vee/"/>
<id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=72659</id>
<updated>2026-08-13T11:41:26Z</updated>
<published>2026-08-13T11:34:09Z</published>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="/etc/"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="Book Review"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="coding"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="Computer Science"/>
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[This is a disappointing and frustrating book - not least because it so nearly hits the mark. The subtitle is "How Computer Programming Is Changing Writing" - but it never gets close to discussing that topic, let alone deeply examining it. Instead, it is a book mostly focussed on the history of what we mean by "literacy" and, by contrast, what it meant to be "illiterate". As per the standard…]]></summary>
<content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/book-review-coding-literacy-by-annette-vee/"><![CDATA[<img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/m_9780262340236-cover.jpeg" alt="Book cover." width="304" height="450" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-72660">
<p>This is a disappointing and frustrating book - not least because it so <em>nearly</em> hits the mark.</p>
<p>The subtitle is "How Computer Programming Is Changing Writing" - but it never gets close to discussing that topic, let alone deeply examining it. Instead, it is a book mostly focussed on the history of what we mean by "literacy" and, by contrast, what it meant to be "illiterate".</p>
<p>As per the standard for academic monographs, it is more interested in endlessly discussing the semantics of a term than engaging with its impacts. The historic stuff is genuinely fascinating. But the endless diversions about what Academic A thinks and how Academic B rebuts is a little tedious. There are clear parallels between a pre-literate society relying on the village scribe and the modern family having that one cousin who "knows computers" - but it is only weakly explored.</p>
<p>There are moments when it seems like the author is really going to delve in to what coding literacy actually means:</p>
<blockquote><p>The relationship between programming as a practice and computer science as a discipline is a central tension in the contemporary programming campaigns that invoke literacy,</p></blockquote>
<p>But it rarely goes beyond surface level. Most people can write - but only few can write a novel. Many can engage is literary criticism - but few take it any further. How does that model fit on to coding? The book doesn't discuss, but there's an easy parallel there. Only a few people can write an app, but many can use it. Anyone can write a review of an app, but not many can do so from a position of literacy.</p>
<p>This was published in 2017, so written a decade or so before LLMs became seemingly ubiquitous. Nevertheless, there are some historic titbits which seem to fit nicely into today's world:</p>
<blockquote><p>As early as 1961, Peter Elias claimed that training in programming languages would soon cease because “undergraduates will face the console with such a natural keyboard and such a natural language that there will be little left, if anything, to the teaching of programming. [At this point, we] should hope that it would have disappeared from the curricula of all but a moderate group of specialists.”</p></blockquote>
<p>But, as the book <em>does</em> briefly discuss, the way the brain is changed by coding literacy forces people to think more in line with a computer. Even if you tell an LLM "build me an app to do xyz", you still need to think about what you're doing, why you're doing it, what edge-cases you need to consider, etc.</p>
<p>But then it is back to the interminable academic squabbling about whether Wittgenstein's definition of an inconsequential term is compatible with Chomsky's.</p>
<p>Perhaps the biggest weakness is that there is almost a complete absence of code! A few examples of <abbr title="Beginners' All Purpose Symbolic Instruction Code">BASIC</abbr> would have done <em>so</em> much to demonstrate how a restricted language set changes how people write and therefore think.</p>
<p>There's a brief exploration about how the typewriter and typesetting changed language and literacy - but where's the examination about how the tyranny of <abbr title="American National Standards Institute">ANSI</abbr> layout curtailed the way programmers wrote? There's an amazing exploration to be done about why coders use <code>=></code> rather than <code>→</code> and how various other symbols got co-opted into their languages.</p>
<p>Instead, it is back to the history books again.</p>
<p>Here's another good example about how writing changed literacy:</p>
<blockquote><p>Written texts provide fewer cues than oral delivery about how to “take” them; for example, ironically, sincerely, or jokingly. Readers must interpret texts, supplying the illocutionary force of the text themselves.</p></blockquote>
<p>It seems obvious to me that this is directly comparable with something like a code review. It isn't immediately clear what a programmer means when they write something down - and even comments can be misleading. What sort of "oral traditions" are we building up?</p>
<p>The book then mostly abandons any pretence of talking about code. I think the author really wanted to write a history book but needed the (then) coolness of tying it to the various "get kids to code" campaigns.</p>
<p>Towards the end, it <em>almost</em> returns to the topic at hand.</p>
<blockquote><p>We choose our words in terms of what is potentially reportable on Facebook or Instagram or Twitter</p>
<p>[…]</p>
<p>Although few people know how to program the devices on which code and computation ride into our lives, their manifestations influence us anyhow. In various ways, we have learned to see ourselves as “computed” by the devices and networks on which we depend.</p></blockquote>
<p>As we might say nowadays "Hey chat! Guess the Cheeto didn't unalive himself today!" - but that isn't really about coding. The people using those substitute words are ignorant of how algorithms really work and think that their clever doublespeak can bypass censorship.</p>
<p>We desperately need more people to be literate in what coding means. Sadly this book only every lightly touches on what coding literacy does to our language, our thoughts, and our society.</p>
<p>I'm giving it 2.5 stars because the history was genuinely interesting - but it completely fails to engage with the topic it promised.</p>
<img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=72659&HTTP_REFERER=Atom" alt width="1" height="1" loading="eager">]]></content>
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</entry>
<entry>
<author>
<name>@edent</name>
<uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
</author>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[Edinburgh Fringe - Heated Rivalry: The Unauthorized Musical Parody ★★★★☆]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-heated-rivalry-the-unauthorized-musical-parody/"/>
<id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=73981</id>
<updated>2026-08-12T21:09:24Z</updated>
<published>2026-08-12T21:22:09Z</published>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="/etc/"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="EdFringe"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="review"/>
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[There are at least four different Heated Rivalry shows at the Fringe this year. Earlier this week we saw Edinburgh Fringe - Heated Rivalry: The Musical Parody!. This is different because it is the unauthorized musical parody. Oh, and it is in the much larger Udderbelly venue. Some people spend the fringe watching every possible interpretation of Timon of Athens - we decided to go for doubles of …]]></summary>
<content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-heated-rivalry-the-unauthorized-musical-parody/"><![CDATA[<p>There are at least <em>four</em> different Heated Rivalry shows at the Fringe this year. Earlier this week we saw <a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-heated-rivalry-the-musical-parody/">Edinburgh Fringe - Heated Rivalry: The Musical Parody!</a>. This is different because it is the <em>unauthorized</em> musical parody.</p>
<p>Oh, and it is in the much larger Udderbelly venue.</p>
<p>Some people spend the fringe watching every possible interpretation of Timon of Athens - we decided to go for doubles of gay hockey sticks.</p>
<img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/fef3a413-0f72-4faf-a33e-691bbd4af37c.jpg" alt="Two hockey player biting a puck." width="250" height="250" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-73984">
<p>So, how does it compare to its twin?</p>
<p>It is good, but <em>deeply</em> conservative. The whole thing is framed through the eyes of a middle-age suburban mom which, sure, is probably a large part of the target audience but felt a bit retrograde. While the other show had a plentiful amount of <em>acrobatic</em> simulated sex with near-nude performers, this only has a couple of shirtless scenes and the actors are reduced to having a couple of trysts with literal mannequins. Weirdly, the one sex scene they perform together takes place behind a sheet. The leads kiss only twice which, for a parody of a show famed for its explicitness makes it all feel a bit Hays Code.</p>
<p>The songs, however, are sumptuous. A full score accompanies the incredibly talented cast. This is <em>very</em> off-Broadway - with soaring melodies, powerful solos, and solid reprises. At times it feels more like a parody of Broadway shows than of the TV show.</p>
<p>That isn't to say this is bad. It is <em>very</em> good. The script is full of delightful references and silly jokes. The lyrics at times are downright <em>filthy</em>! It is an excellent show and well worth seeing - but my heart remains with the <em>other</em> parody.</p>
<img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=73981&HTTP_REFERER=Atom" alt width="1" height="1" loading="eager">]]></content>
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<thr:total>0</thr:total>
</entry>
<entry>
<author>
<name>@edent</name>
<uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
</author>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[Edinburgh Fringe - James Rowland: Team Viking ★★⯪☆☆]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-james-rowland-team-viking/"/>
<id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=73961</id>
<updated>2026-08-12T17:30:11Z</updated>
<published>2026-08-12T19:20:01Z</published>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="/etc/"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="EdFringe"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="review"/>
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[This is a technically precise and emotionally complex show with energetic delivery from a talented performer. Sadly, it did nothing for me. I found it a little one note in terms of storytelling. The rhythm of the story followed all the predictable beats which I thought was a little repetitive. There's no doubt he's a gifted storyteller. The comedy is suitably dark with some good moments of joy …]]></summary>
<content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-james-rowland-team-viking/"><![CDATA[<p>This is a technically precise and emotionally complex show with energetic delivery from a talented performer.</p>
<p>Sadly, it did nothing for me.</p>
<p>I found it a little one note in terms of storytelling. The rhythm of the story followed all the predictable beats which I thought was a little repetitive.</p>
<p>There's no doubt he's a gifted storyteller. The comedy is suitably dark with some good moments of joy and catharsis. It is probably the perfect show for some people but I wasn't the right audience for it.</p>
<img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=73961&HTTP_REFERER=Atom" alt width="1" height="1" loading="eager">]]></content>
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<thr:total>0</thr:total>
</entry>
<entry>
<author>
<name>@edent</name>
<uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
</author>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[Edinburgh Fringe - Garrett Millerick: We Tried it Your Way ★☆☆☆☆]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-garrett-millerick-we-tried-it-your-way/"/>
<id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=73971</id>
<updated>2026-08-12T17:25:43Z</updated>
<published>2026-08-12T17:55:57Z</published>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="/etc/"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="EdFringe"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="review"/>
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Easily the worst show we've seen at the fringe. Garrett Millerick has trained an AI on his stand up. Can it replace him? Yes, but only in the sense that the AI is obnoxiously dull and Millerick is simply obnoxious. He insulted a kid who he'd called on to stage to help him. Not even in a jokey way, just being rude. His splenetic rants against religion and politics were beyond tired. The dating…]]></summary>
<content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-garrett-millerick-we-tried-it-your-way/"><![CDATA[<p>Easily the worst show we've seen at the fringe. Garrett Millerick has trained an AI on his stand up. Can it replace him?</p>
<p>Yes, but only in the sense that the AI is obnoxiously dull and Millerick is simply obnoxious.</p>
<p>He insulted a kid who he'd called on to stage to help him. Not even in a jokey way, just being rude. His splenetic rants against religion and politics were beyond tired. The dating segment was like something from an incel forum. Bitter and uncomfortable.</p>
<p>There's a minor point that's made about whether AI comedy is cheating (yes) and if comedians need to be worried (no). But even when he goes back to performing his organic routine, it is dire. There are a few chuckles to be had, but most of the audience were just looking stricken with second hand embarrassment.</p>
<p>The delivery is a one note rant, the jokes are the shouting of an angry disillusioned man, and the AI is a clanker of the worst order.</p>
<p>Dire.</p>
<img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=73971&HTTP_REFERER=Atom" alt width="1" height="1" loading="eager">]]></content>
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<thr:total>0</thr:total>
</entry>
<entry>
<author>
<name>@edent</name>
<uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
</author>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[Edinburgh Fringe: When Vincent Met John ★★★★★]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-when-vincent-met-john/"/>
<id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=73949</id>
<updated>2026-08-12T14:51:06Z</updated>
<published>2026-08-12T15:30:12Z</published>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="/etc/"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="EdFringe"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="Theatre Review"/>
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[I'm a sucker for anything Beatles related - and the fringe has no shortage of musicals, reinterpretations, and shameless cash-ins of the Fab Four. When Vincent Met John is an oddity in that it is a normal play, rather than a musical. It is also an oddity in being 90 minutes long rather than the standard fringe slot of no more than an hour. What if van Gogh and Lennon could have a conversation?…]]></summary>
<content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-when-vincent-met-john/"><![CDATA[<p>I'm a sucker for anything Beatles related - and the fringe has no shortage of musicals, reinterpretations, and shameless cash-ins of the Fab Four.</p>
<p>When Vincent Met John is an oddity in that it is a normal play, rather than a musical. It is also an oddity in being 90 minutes long rather than the standard fringe slot of no more than an hour.</p>
<p>What if van Gogh and Lennon could have a conversation? They were both tortured artists whose influence spanned the world and only grew after their untimely deaths.</p>
<p>It is incredible!</p>
<p>Much like Yasmina Reza's "Art" this is a meticulous argument about the nature of creativity. And, much like, <a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2025/02/theatre-review-the-last-laugh/">The Last Laugh</a> this feature fastidiously observed recreation of beloved figures.</p>
<p>Can Lennon conceive of someone who doesn't recognise Him? Can van Gogh conceive of Yoko Ono's conceptual art? Is Lennon's braggadocio an impediment to his happiness? Is van Gogh's obsessive nature blocking him from progressing?</p>
<p>The script sizzles. Lennon almost seems to speak in rhyming couplets - as befits a lyricist and poet. It is peppered with throwaway references to his cannon (including many deep cuts for the obsessives). One of those plays where I immediately want to grab the script and study it to death.</p>
<p>Both actors utterly inhabit their characters and give play off each other perfectly. The direction is precise and inventive. Even the set construction is perfectly attuned to the needs of the show.</p>
<p>An astounding piece of theatre and strongly recommended.</p>
<img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=73949&HTTP_REFERER=Atom" alt width="1" height="1" loading="eager">]]></content>
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<thr:total>0</thr:total>
</entry>
<entry>
<author>
<name>@edent</name>
<uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
</author>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[Edinburgh Fringe - Justina Seselskaite: Settled ★★★★☆]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-justina-seselskaite-settled/"/>
<id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=73930</id>
<updated>2026-08-11T20:24:54Z</updated>
<published>2026-08-11T22:23:14Z</published>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="/etc/"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="comedy"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="EdFringe"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="review"/>
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Sometimes at the Edinburgh Fringe, you take a punt on a random show because it's close by and you can't be bothered walking any further. Justina Seselskaite's set was round the corner and started in 7 ½ minutes - so we scurried into one of the less glamorous rooms of The Hilton, sat at the front (as is our wont), and wondered what on earth Lithuanian stand-up was like. It was sublime! There's a …]]></summary>
<content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-justina-seselskaite-settled/"><![CDATA[<p>Sometimes at the Edinburgh Fringe, you take a punt on a random show because it's close by and you can't be bothered walking any further. Justina Seselskaite's set was round the corner and started in 7 ½ minutes - so we scurried into one of the less glamorous rooms of The Hilton, sat at the front (as is our wont), and wondered what on earth Lithuanian stand-up was like.</p>
<p>It was sublime!</p>
<p>There's a rich history of foreign comedians coming to these shores and <del>stealing our jobs</del> making us laugh by pointing out the UK's foibles as only an outsider can. Seselskaite has a witty outlook on the perils of being mistaken for Polish while working in Waitrose, how high-class a Wetherspoons is, and what's up with Manchester’s weird obsession with bees.</p>
<p>The show isn't the most innovative thing on the Fringe; it's mostly straight stand-up. But the game of "guess which English song was plagiarised by Lithuanian singers" was surprisingly entertaining. OK, I won a badge by guessing correctly, so I'm biased.</p>
<p>Settled is a solid piece of work which has obviously been road-tested and honed into a tight set. Excellent observational stand-up from a unique perspective (come on, how many other Lithuanian comedians have you been to see?).</p>
<p><a href="https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/justina-seselskaite-settled"><img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/settled-poster.webp" alt="Poster for a comedy show." width="1347" height="1679" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-73933"></a></p>
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<entry>
<author>
<name>@edent</name>
<uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
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<title type="html"><![CDATA[Edinburgh Fringe: Handel Nine German Arias ★★★⯪☆]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-handel-nine-german-arias/"/>
<id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=73911</id>
<updated>2026-08-11T19:49:10Z</updated>
<published>2026-08-11T20:21:05Z</published>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="/etc/"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="EdFringe"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="review"/>
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Part of going to The Fringe is to expose yourself to new ideas, different art forms, and a range of artworks. Not everything needs to be a "zany" comedy about AI or a loving pastiche of that 1990s disaster movie you love. So I found myself sat in a Unitarian Church listening to a harpsichord and choral organ intertwined with a violin and cello while a soprano soared through Handel's greatest…]]></summary>
<content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-handel-nine-german-arias/"><![CDATA[<p>Part of going to The Fringe is to expose yourself to new ideas, different art forms, and a range of artworks. Not everything needs to be a "zany" comedy about AI or a loving pastiche of that 1990s disaster movie you love.</p>
<p>So I found myself sat in a Unitarian Church listening to a harpsichord and choral organ intertwined with a violin and cello while a soprano soared through Handel's greatest hits.</p>
<p>I'm too much of a philistine to assess its merits - but there's always pleasure watching technically accomplished professionals at the top of their game. I assumed they played the right notes (and in the right order) as the music was delightful.</p>
<p>It was restful and restorative after a long day pounding Edinburgh's pavements.</p>
<img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=73911&HTTP_REFERER=Atom" alt width="1" height="1" loading="eager">]]></content>
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<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> <?xml-stylesheet href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/atom-style.xsl" type="text/xsl"?> <feed xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xmlns:thr="http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0" xml:lang="en-GB" > <title type="text">Terence Eden’s Blog</title> <subtitle type="text">Regular nonsense about tech and its effects 🙃</subtitle> <updated>2026-08-20T06:17:00Z</updated> <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" /> <id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/feed/atom/</id> <link rel="self" type="application/atom+xml" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/feed/atom/" /> <generator uri="https://wordpress.org/" version="7.1">WordPress</generator> <icon>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/cropped-avatar-32x32.jpeg</icon> <entry> <author> <name>@edent</name> <uri>https://edent.tel/</uri> </author> <title type="html"><![CDATA[Book Review: An Immense World - How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us by Ed Yong ★★★☆☆]]></title> <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/book-review-an-immense-world-how-animal-senses-reveal-the-hidden-realms-around-us-by-ed-yong/" /> <id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=72903</id> <updated>2026-07-29T09:03:25Z</updated> <published>2026-08-21T11:34:36Z</published> <category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="/etc/" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="Book Review" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="science" /> <summary type="html"><![CDATA[This is a detailed examination of the various senses possessed by animals. Some will be intimately familiar to you - like sight and sound - whereas some will seem strange and uncanny - like magnetic detection and electro-sensing. Some straddle an almost understandable space like echolocation or tetra-chromatic vision. This isn't a game of Top Trumps where all the animals are ranked by power.…]]></summary> <content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/book-review-an-immense-world-how-animal-senses-reveal-the-hidden-realms-around-us-by-ed-yong/"><![CDATA[<img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/9781473572737-jacket-large.webp" alt="Book cover featuring various animals." width="200" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-72904"> <p>This is a detailed examination of the various senses possessed by animals. Some will be intimately familiar to you - like sight and sound - whereas some will seem strange and uncanny - like magnetic detection and electro-sensing. Some straddle an almost understandable space like echolocation or tetra-chromatic vision.</p> <p>This isn't a game of Top Trumps where all the animals are ranked by power. Instead there's a gentle and passionate exploration of what these senses <em>might</em> mean to their owners. It is refreshingly candid about what we don't know, while always trying to convey a sense of wonder about the inherent <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umwelt"><i lang="de">Umwelt</i></a> experienced by the animal.</p> <p>But goodness me is it long. It seems that every time the editor told the author to cut out a paragraph, he stuck it in a footnote instead. The text is well referenced, but so are the footnotes, which means occasionally encountering sentences formatted like this:</p> <blockquote><p>Despite several frustrating false leads, nobody’s ever found them.<sup>fn11,36,37,38,39</sup></p></blockquote> <p>Speaking of which, the general formatting of the eBook is poor. The CSS contains all sorts of weird stuff which I needed to turn off, and is full of comments which probably should have been stripped before the book was distributed.</p> <p>Science publishers still haven't grasped that eBooks don't need to relegate glossy images to the back of the book - they can go inline with the text!</p> <p>This is a funny, heartfelt, and (perhaps overly) thorough book. It will gleefully send you down rabbit holes - even if you're ill-equipped to see in the dark and sense the bugs around you.</p> <img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=72903&HTTP_REFERER=Atom" alt width="1" height="1" loading="eager">]]></content> <link rel="replies" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/book-review-an-immense-world-how-animal-senses-reveal-the-hidden-realms-around-us-by-ed-yong/#comments" thr:count="1" /> <link rel="replies" type="application/atom+xml" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/book-review-an-immense-world-how-animal-senses-reveal-the-hidden-realms-around-us-by-ed-yong/feed/atom/" thr:count="1" /> <thr:total>1</thr:total> </entry> <entry> <author> <name>@edent</name> <uri>https://edent.tel/</uri> </author> <title type="html"><![CDATA[Asymmetric Agents]]></title> <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/asymmetric-agents/" /> <id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=73594</id> <updated>2026-08-20T06:17:00Z</updated> <published>2026-08-19T11:34:52Z</published> <category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="/etc/" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="agentic" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="AI" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="future" /> <summary type="html"><![CDATA[One of the promises of the AI-filled future is that we'll all have highly capable autonomous servants "agents" to work for us. Even back in the 1990s, it was a common trope in future-gazing to insist that a person's personal slave agent would negotiate on their behalf. Ask your meek digital pal agent to find you a restuarant in town, tonight, for a hot date, catering to your dietary preferences, …]]></summary> <content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/asymmetric-agents/"><![CDATA[<p>One of the promises of the AI-filled future is that we'll all have highly capable autonomous <del>servants</del> "agents" to work for us.</p> <p>Even <a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/02/how-close-are-we-to-a-vision-for-2010/">back in the 1990s</a>, it was a common trope in future-gazing to insist that a person's personal <del>slave</del> agent would negotiate on their behalf. Ask your <del>meek digital pal</del> agent to find you a restuarant in town, tonight, for a hot date, catering to your dietary preferences, and within your budget. The little <del>butler</del> agent scurries off and, without your intervention, finds the <em>perfect</em> place, negotiates with the restaurant's <del>house boy</del> agent and books you a slap up meal.</p> <p>Marvellous! You can tell your <del>manservant</del> agent to buy you clothes, reserve a flight, do the grocery shopping, or buy your wife flowers without having to lift a finger.</p> <p>But, of course, there's a fly in the ointment. Not all <del>valets</del> agents are created equally. You're sending your Raspberry Pi powered <del>peon</del> agent against the full might of Amazon's bazillion datacentres.</p> <p>Can a low-complexity <del>serf</del> agent be bullied, outwitted, and manipulated by a more capable <del>henchman</del> agent? It seems obvious to me that the answer is yes. Humans have a set of cognitive biases which render us susceptible to advertising tricks. AI may have <a href="https://cacm.acm.org/research/rolling-in-the-deep-of-cognitive-and-ai-biases/"><em>different</em> biases</a> but will still be vulnerable to <a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2017/03/how-to-hypnotise-an-artificial-intelligence/">hypnosis</a> and hacking.</p> <p>Perhaps having my <del>secretary</del> agent negotiate with your <del>PA</del> agent to find a suitable meeting time for our Q2 KPI Deep Dive doesn't carry this sort of risk. But I'm sure that <del>scumbags</del> advertisers everywhere will be salivating at the thought of waylaying my innocent <del>footman</del> agent on its way to market.</p> <p>A future where we delegate responsibility to <del>stochastic imbeciles</del> agents is one where we accept that we have no control over their susceptibility to more powerful and malevolent <del>thugs</del> agents.</p> <img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=73594&HTTP_REFERER=Atom" alt width="1" height="1" loading="eager">]]></content> <link rel="replies" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/asymmetric-agents/#comments" thr:count="4" /> <link rel="replies" type="application/atom+xml" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/asymmetric-agents/feed/atom/" thr:count="4" /> <thr:total>4</thr:total> </entry> <entry> <author> <name>@edent</name> <uri>https://edent.tel/</uri> </author> <title type="html"><![CDATA[And then the men with guns tell you to do it anyway]]></title> <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/and-then-the-men-with-guns-tell-you-to-do-it-anyway/" /> <id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=74161</id> <updated>2026-08-17T11:31:25Z</updated> <published>2026-08-17T11:34:24Z</published> <category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="/etc/" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="politics" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="technology" /> <summary type="html"><![CDATA[In early February 2011 Egypt was in the middle of a political revolution. One morning, everyone's phones suddenly pinged with an alert. The Armed Forces asks Egypt's honest and loyal men to confront the traitors and criminals and protect our people and honour and our precious Egypt. A series of messages arrived all ostensibly from the network provider Vodafone. All pro-regime and all with the…]]></summary> <content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/and-then-the-men-with-guns-tell-you-to-do-it-anyway/"><![CDATA[<p>In early February 2011 <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/1/25/what-happened-during-egypts-january-25-revolution">Egypt was in the middle of a political revolution</a>. One morning, everyone's phones suddenly pinged with an alert.</p> <blockquote><p>The Armed Forces asks Egypt's honest and loyal men to confront the traitors and criminals and protect our people and honour and our precious Egypt.</p></blockquote> <p>A <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/59098813@N06/5411904816/in/photostream/">series of messages arrived</a> all ostensibly from the network provider Vodafone. All pro-regime and all with the undercurrent of violence.</p> <p>Why did Vodafone send these messages? Earlier in the week, <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2011/01/28/egypt-nationwide-internet-blackout-endangers-rights">all Internet access was cut off</a> now phones were blasting propaganda to the masses.</p> <p>After the network went down, Vodafone issued a statement saying:</p> <blockquote><p>It has been clear to us that there were no legal or practical options open to Vodafone, or any of the mobile operators in Egypt, but to comply with the demands of the authorities.</p></blockquote> <p>Do you have to follow orders? Do you have to obey the law even when it is unjust? Should multinational corporations instruct local executives to be loyal to their parent company or the rulers of the country they live in?</p> <p>After the messages came in - including promises that "<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/news/blog/2011/feb/03/egypt-protests-live-updates#block-19">The Armed Forces cares for your safety and well being and will not resort to using force against this great nation</a>" - Vodafone Global, safely ensconced in the UK, put out another statement:</p> <blockquote><p>Under the emergency powers provisions of the Telecoms Act, the Egyptian authorities can instruct the mobile networks of Mobinil, Etisalat and Vodafone to send messages to the people of Egypt. They have used this since the start of the protests. These messages are not scripted by any of the mobile network operators and we do not have the ability to respond to the authorities on their content.</p> <p>Vodafone Group has protested to the authorities that the current situation regarding these messages is unacceptable. We have made clear that all messages should be transparent and clearly attributable to the originator.</p> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110307151856/http://www.vodafone.com/content/index/press/press_statements/statement_on_egypt.html">Statements - Vodafone Egypt</a></p></blockquote> <p>A few years later I was at a networking event chatting to a guy. We'd both previously worked for Vodafone. Me in the UK, he in Egypt. I asked him about the incident - he talked about how they built the SMS infrastructure, what they did to secure it, how they prevented spam, and how one day armed men arrived.</p> <p>I suspect most of us have seen a movie where some flunky in an office refuses the baddies demands to open the safe, and then gets shot in the head. Perhaps you think that's a noble death? He lived with honour and refused to yield! But, in every movie I've seen, the guy's subordinate opens the safe anyway and gets to live.</p> <p>But we're technologists, right? We can build fail safes and cryptographic proofs and <a href="https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/i-would-simply">simply build infrastructure that can't be abused</a>.</p> <p>And then the men with guns come and tell you what to do.</p> <p>I've written before about <a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2013/11/civic-hygiene/">Civic Hygiene</a> - it's the idea that we should be mindful of the ways that our technologies could be misused. The term was coined back in 2010 by the technologist Bruice Schneier</p> <blockquote><p><a href="https://www.schneier.com/essays/archives/2010/01/us_enables_chinese_h.html">It's bad civic hygiene to build technologies that could someday be used to facilitate a police state.</a></p></blockquote> <p>But what do we mean by that?</p> <p>We don't want backdoors in security products - lest hackers break in or evil governments get elected. But we want a way to access our beloved ones' data after they die. It's important that we know that photos haven't been manipulated by propagandists and saboteurs. But we want to send funny memes about that politician we don't like. We don't want police stalking ex girlfriends' cars - but we want dangerous drivers prosecuted.</p> <p>We want to be alerted about imminent threats, but don't want Governments to use that power for ill.</p> <p>Way back in the early 2020s, I had a minor role in the UK Government's adoption of <a href="https://github.com/co-cddo/open-standards/issues/73">Common Alerting Protocol</a> the technology which powers cell-broadcast emergency alerts.</p> <p>Even back then, one of the discussions was around whether the utility of being able to send an unavoidable push notification was worth the risk that someone would send an inappropriate message. Fresh in everyone's minds was the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-42680070">false alarm saying missiles were heading to Hawaii</a>.</p> <img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/2018_Hawaii_missile_alert_cropped.jpeg" alt="Emergency alert. BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT INBOUND TO HAWAII. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL." width="768" height="343" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-74163"> <p>Too many safeguards means that a genuine alert doesn't get sent in time. Too few safeguards and you can blame "<a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/book-review-the-field-guide-to-understanding-human-error-by-sidney-dekker/">Human Error</a>" for any mistakes.</p> <p>I don't know which safeguards are in place for the UK's system - <a href="https://www.ofcom.org.uk/siteassets/resources/documents/about-ofcom/foi/2024/march/emergency-broadcasting?v=331069">and most details are exempt from Freedom of Information requests</a>. But it is both easy and fun to speculate on how such a system might be designed.</p> <p>The Government generates an alert. It specifies where and when the alert should be sent. It sends that message to the network operators via a secure and private channel. Perhaps they also do some out-of-band verification like having the network operator call a pre-determined phone number to check the message's validity.</p> <p>At which point, the operator can choose to send the message or not.</p> <p>Or can they?</p> <p>In August 2026, the UK government instructed network operators to send this message:</p> <p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/alerts/14-aug-2026-2"><img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/fire-alert.webp" alt="Alert about fire risk in the UK." title="Screenshot courtesy of Skylar MacDonald" width="1024" height="851" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-74164"></a></p> <p>Did the networks <em>have</em> to send that message? If they thought it wasn't serious enough, could they have refused? As far as I can tell, the law only talks about the fact that operators can disregard "spam" laws in order to send a mass message:</p> <blockquote><p>A relevant public communications provider (P) may, for the purpose of providing an emergency alert service, disregard the restrictions on the processing of data relating to users or subscribers set out in paragraph (2) if the conditions set out in paragraph (3) are met.</p> <p>[…]</p> <p>(3) The conditions are—</p> <p>(a)P is notified by a relevant public authority that—</p> <p>(i)an emergency within the meaning of section 1(1) of the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 has occurred, is occurring or is about to occur;</p> <p><a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2015/355/pdfs/uksi_20150355_en.pdf">Statutory Instrument 2015 No. 355</a></p></blockquote> <p>I'm no expert, but I can't see anything in <a href="https://www.ofcom.org.uk/siteassets/resources/documents/manage-your-licence/mobile-wireless-and-broadband/cellular/licences/cellular-licence-vodafone-0249664.pdf?v=368347">the spectrum licence</a> nor in the <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/36/contents">Wireless Telegraphy Act</a> which <em>compels</em> operators to process these messages.</p> <p>The usual British way is to ask people to play nicely and threaten them with regulation if they don't.</p> <p>Could the networks have refused to send the message about wildfires - or indeed any other message? If your least favourite politician gets their hands on the emergency alert system and tries to abuse it, would you want the networks to stand up to them?</p> <p>What if the network refuses to send the message because they're worried alerting people about a hurricane will lower the company's profits?</p> <p>What if armed thugs are sent in and the choice is send the message or die?</p> <p>I don't know what the answer is here. I think most people agree that it is broadly sensible to have a way to alert the population of emergencies. There's no mass media any more, we're not all listening to a single radio channel, or reading newspapers, or even on the same social media platforms. Sometimes there are emergencies and the Government has a duty to alert people to them.</p> <p>How would you design a system that simultaneously achieved all these goals:</p> <ul> <li>Rapid sending of messages</li> <li>Careful checking of the content of messages</li> <li>Ability to quickly target a specific geographic area</li> <li>Inability to mistakenly send a test message</li> <li>Requiring strong proof that the message is authentic before sending</li> <li>Resilient enough to work after significant damage to infrastructure</li> <li>That networks have the ability to vet and ignore</li> <li>That networks are compelled to send</li> <li>Which can only be used for good</li> <li>And cannot be used for evil.</li> </ul> <p>In truth, <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/edent.tel/post/3mt2s2puhuk2x">having experienced fire-starters</a>, I'm not bothered about the contents of this latest message from the UK Government. Given the overstretched fire service and the imminent threat across most of the country, my personal opinion is that it is proportionate.</p> <p>But it is easy to see why some people feel this might open the gateway to messages which, at best, are irrelevant and, at worst, are similar to the insidious propaganda which appeared on the phones of Egyptians:</p> <blockquote><p>To every mother-father-sister-brother, to every honest citizen. Preserve this country as the nation is forever.</p></blockquote> <p>Perhaps you can think of a way to design an alerting system which cannot be abused - but I can't.</p> <img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=74161&HTTP_REFERER=Atom" alt width="1" height="1" loading="eager">]]></content> <link rel="replies" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/and-then-the-men-with-guns-tell-you-to-do-it-anyway/#comments" thr:count="10" /> <link rel="replies" type="application/atom+xml" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/and-then-the-men-with-guns-tell-you-to-do-it-anyway/feed/atom/" thr:count="10" /> <thr:total>10</thr:total> </entry> <entry> <author> <name>@edent</name> <uri>https://edent.tel/</uri> </author> <title type="html"><![CDATA[Thoughts on visiting the Edinburgh Fringe as a newbie]]></title> <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/thoughts-on-the-edinburgh-fringe-as-a-newbie/" /> <id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=74021</id> <updated>2026-08-16T09:29:11Z</updated> <published>2026-08-16T11:34:21Z</published> <category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="/etc/" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="EdFringe" /> <summary type="html"><![CDATA[This was my first ever time at The Fringe™. Here are some scattered thoughts looking at the good, the bad, and the annoying aspects of this madly extravagant exhibition of talent. We saw 23 shows together, and one separate show each. There were more hits than misses, but the frustration of wasting your time on a bad show is rather heavy when there are literally hundreds of other shows on offer. P…]]></summary> <content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/thoughts-on-the-edinburgh-fringe-as-a-newbie/"><![CDATA[<p>This was my first ever time at The Fringe™. Here are some scattered thoughts looking at the good, the bad, and the annoying aspects of this madly extravagant exhibition of talent. We saw 23 shows together, and one separate show each. There were more hits than misses, but the frustration of wasting your time on a bad show is rather heavy when there are literally hundreds of other shows on offer.</p> <h2 id="price"><a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/thoughts-on-the-edinburgh-fringe-as-a-newbie/#price">Price</a></h2> <p>Everything is too expensive. We found student accommodation which was a "mere" £220 per night. I guess that wasn't <em>too</em> exorbitant considering the gouging going on elsewhere - and it did come with a decent breakfast. It was about a 20 minute walk from the Royal Mile, with several performance venues on the way.</p> <p>The 46 tickets we bought cost us £550 in total - which included a few donations at Free Fringe shows. So an average ticket of £12, which isn't too bad, I guess. You can certainly do things cheaper by only going to free shows and running away when they ask you to pay - but that's a dick move.</p> <p>£20 for a single hour of stand-up feels like kind of a rip off at times - especially with the mandatory £1.50 booking fee for every ticket. Some shows are a bit cheaper, and Monday/Tuesday has 2-for-1 offers. But it's easy for a couple to spend well over a hundred quid per day seeing 3 or 4 shows.</p> <p>Festival food and drink prices are inflated - but there's no shortage of supermarkets if you want a meal deal. Restaurants were usual city centre prices. The bars at festival venues were fully taking advantage of their captive audience, but the pubs aren't much cheaper.</p> <h2 id="the-app"><a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/thoughts-on-the-edinburgh-fringe-as-a-newbie/#the-app">The App</a></h2> <p>In theory, the app / website is good. In reality they're both a bit frustrating to use. Every time I ticked the box saying "remember my credit card details" and every time it forgot them. Both app and website frequently timed out, failed to add tickets to baskets, and were a bit shonky. The <em>one</em> thing this needs to do is reliably take my money and give it to performers - but it felt like a battle every time.</p> <p>We missed one show because we couldn't buy a ticket in the app despite being in the queue. The door staff didn't have the ability to sell us a ticket (although some venues can) and directed us to a box office which was dealing with a bunch of people who were bemused that they couldn't pay in dollars.</p> <p>Inexplicably, the app doesn't have the ability to see show reviews, even though they're present on the website.</p> <p>There's a good "Nearby Now" feature which is handy when you're exhausted and don't want to trek far. By contrast, there's no easy way to see what's on near the next venue you're going to.</p> <p>Searching for shows often returns events which are cancelled or sold out.</p> <p>I wish it were possible to see which shows had undersold and were starting soon. I loved taking a punt on an unknown act who only had half-a-dozen people in the room. Sadly there's no way to grab last-minute deals.</p> <p>This isn't helped by the total collapse of mobile signal in Edinburgh centre. I tried with a variety of SIMs but frequently only got a trickle of data.</p> <h2 id="what-to-see"><a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/thoughts-on-the-edinburgh-fringe-as-a-newbie/#what-to-see">What To See</a></h2> <p>The <abbr title="Fear Of Missing Out">FOMO</abbr> is real! Every show's poster makes it look amazing. The earnest performers desperately handing out leaflets for their own shows are <em>so</em> enthusiastic. Everyone you speak to in a queue has a "must see" which is probably sold out.</p> <p>We mostly avoided seeing big names. They'll be on telly soon enough or tour down in London. I don't think that act who was big in the 1990s needs my coin as much as some up-and-comer.</p> <p>You could easily fill a week seeing nothing but Shakespeare in a variety of styles. Or just watch middle-aged white guys have mental breakdowns on stage because they're on their 3rd divorce. Or, as it turns out, fill your boots with Heated Rivalry shows.</p> <p>We did the tasting menu and had a little bit of everything. It was mostly pretty good with only a few duds.</p> <h2 id="reviews"><a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/thoughts-on-the-edinburgh-fringe-as-a-newbie/#reviews">Reviews</a></h2> <p>Even the worst show we saw had a couple of people who declared it the funniest thing ever five stars lol. You can't account for someone else's taste.</p> <p>I enjoyed <a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/tag/EdFringe">writing my reviews</a> - and I hope they were useful to others - but you're mostly on your own when it comes to what's good. I suppose if you wait until later in the festival there will be more of a consensus about what to see.</p> <p>My philosophy is to take a punt on basically anything that doesn't look too abhorrent. Even if it is shit, there's be something else along in a minute which will be better.</p> <h2 id="distance"><a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/thoughts-on-the-edinburgh-fringe-as-a-newbie/#distance">Distance</a></h2> <p>You'll get your 10k steps in before lunchtime - Edinburgh is a delightfully walkable city. With a bit of planning you can walk a straight line from show-to-show. We didn't plan and traipsed back and forth like the little lost tourists we were.</p> <p>Venues are mostly well sign-posted. Again, the app is a bit crap at pointing them out, but it'll open your mapping app to navigate you there.</p> <p>Many of the venues are in historic buildings, so don't expect lifts or escalators. Stairs all the way, baby!</p> <h2 id="harry-potter"><a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/thoughts-on-the-edinburgh-fringe-as-a-newbie/#harry-potter">Harry Potter</a></h2> <p>Edinburgh seems like an inclusive and trans-friendly city. Half the acts on the Fringe proudly stated their LGBT+ credentials and most venues we went to had gender neutral loos.</p> <p>And then every other shop proudly boasts it is 100% definitely where JKR got the inspiration for Harry Potter. Tourists are schelpped between "Diagon Alley" and probably-the-cafe-where-she-wrote while slurping down dayglo butterbeers.</p> <p>Truly the duality of life!</p> <h2 id="comfort"><a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/thoughts-on-the-edinburgh-fringe-as-a-newbie/#comfort">Comfort</a></h2> <p>There's an ancient Edinburgh byelaw which prohibits cushions on seats. No chair may be wide enough to accommodate anything other than the skinniest arse. It also places a moratorium on legroom.</p> <p>Ok, some of the venues were more comfortable than others, but prepare for a bit of backache.</p> <p>Toilets are plentiful in most venues, and theres no shortage of pubs to pop in to if you need refreshment or relief.</p> <p>Scotland isn't known for its heat, but some of the venues desperately need air-conditioning in their foyers and auditoriums. A few were handing out free water to the swealtering punters - but probably best to bring your own</p> <h2 id="would-i-come-here-again"><a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/thoughts-on-the-edinburgh-fringe-as-a-newbie/#would-i-come-here-again">Would I Come Here Again?</a></h2> <p>Yeah! I reckon so! Probably not next year, and probably with more of a plan about which "must sees" I wanted to see.</p> <p>Staying closer to the centre is more expensive, but might have made it easier to see some if the shows later in the night.</p> <p>There is <em>so</em> much talent, <em>so</em> much variety, and <em>so</em> much joy in the city that it becomes rather infectious.</p> <p>If you can afford the train fare, hotel costs, tickets, booking fees, pints, chips and all the other people desperate to stick their hands into your wallet - then it is a great adventure.</p> <img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=74021&HTTP_REFERER=Atom" alt width="1" height="1" loading="eager">]]></content> <link rel="replies" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/thoughts-on-the-edinburgh-fringe-as-a-newbie/#comments" thr:count="3" /> <link rel="replies" type="application/atom+xml" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/thoughts-on-the-edinburgh-fringe-as-a-newbie/feed/atom/" thr:count="3" /> <thr:total>3</thr:total> </entry> <entry> <author> <name>@edent</name> <uri>https://edent.tel/</uri> </author> <title type="html"><![CDATA[Book Review: Slags by Emma Jane Unsworth ★★★⯪☆]]></title> <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/book-review-slags-by-emma-jane-unsworth/" /> <id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=72687</id> <updated>2026-06-29T19:43:11Z</updated> <published>2026-08-15T11:34:42Z</published> <category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="/etc/" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="Book Club" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="Book Review" /> <summary type="html"><![CDATA[I'm really not sure what to make of this book. It was recommended by my book club as something between tragedy and comedy. The characters are excruciatingly well written - if you (or your friends) shoplifted Impulse body-spray back in the 1990s, you'll be hit by a terrifying wave of nostalgia. It reminds me of this excellent essay by Marie Le Conte about consent. What can a teenage girl…]]></summary> <content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/book-review-slags-by-emma-jane-unsworth/"><![CDATA[<img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/slags.webp" alt="Book cover featuring a teenage girl smoking." width="200" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-72688"> <p>I'm really not sure what to make of this book. It was recommended by my book club as something between tragedy and comedy. The characters are excruciatingly well written - if you (or your friends) shoplifted Impulse body-spray back in the 1990s, you'll be hit by a terrifying wave of nostalgia.</p> <p>It reminds me of this excellent <a href="https://youngvulgarian.substack.com/i/152315586/a-column">essay by Marie Le Conte about consent</a>. What can a teenage girl consent to? What will fuck her up for years to come? What if she doesn't mind being a <em>little</em> fucked up?</p> <p>The prose is amazing, the plotting perfectly paced, and the denouement satisfying - with lots of retrospectives "Oh! I get it now"s.</p> <p>Despite the hectic and hilarious story, I still felt a little sordid reading it. There's a streak of sadness running through it, intertwined with some unbearably heartbreaking poetry.</p> <blockquote><p>It’s always raining and there’s nothing to do except dream and they don’t even give you much time to do that with all the coursework.</p></blockquote> <p>It is entertaining and fun - but you need a strong stomach and a casual disregard for the overall happiness of your protagonists.</p> <p>One note - there are a few odd / broken styles in the ePub. Nothing too disruptive, but some passages have a slightly smaller font size for no discernable reason.</p> <img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=72687&HTTP_REFERER=Atom" alt width="1" height="1" loading="eager">]]></content> <link rel="replies" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/book-review-slags-by-emma-jane-unsworth/#comments" thr:count="1" /> <link rel="replies" type="application/atom+xml" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/book-review-slags-by-emma-jane-unsworth/feed/atom/" thr:count="1" /> <thr:total>1</thr:total> </entry> <entry> <author> <name>@edent</name> <uri>https://edent.tel/</uri> </author> <title type="html"><![CDATA[Edinburgh Fringe: Target Audience ★★★★★]]></title> <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-target-audience/" /> <id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=74018</id> <updated>2026-08-14T18:10:20Z</updated> <published>2026-08-14T18:45:41Z</published> <category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="/etc/" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="comedy" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="EdFringe" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="Theatre Review" /> <summary type="html"><![CDATA[Easily the best show I've seen at the Fringe. For plot-related reasons, a television company asks a literary genius to create a "pro-weapons sitcom". It is a fast paced mix of the sitcoms 2012 and Episodes. The jokes come at a steady pace - some attack with the furiousity of bullets, others the the subtlety of a knife in the night. All four of the cast are spectacular. Turning the…]]></summary> <content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-target-audience/"><![CDATA[<p>Easily the best show I've seen at the Fringe.</p> <p>For plot-related reasons, a television company asks a literary genius to create a "pro-weapons sitcom".</p> <p>It is a fast paced mix of the sitcoms 2012 and Episodes. The jokes come at a steady pace - some attack with the furiousity of bullets, others the the subtlety of a knife in the night.</p> <p>All four of the cast are spectacular. Turning the sometimes-stock characters into powerful avatars. The amoral Zuckerbergian horror of data driven decision making is the perfect manure in which to grow comedy roses.</p> <p>It stands well against any classic farce and I hope it tours until the end of the world.</p> <p>A special shout out to the Pleasance Above for being the most comfortable venue in Edinburgh! Raked auditorium, cushioned seats, and air conditioning all make for a delightful theatrical experience.</p> <img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=74018&HTTP_REFERER=Atom" alt width="1" height="1" loading="eager">]]></content> <link rel="replies" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-target-audience/#comments" thr:count="0" /> <link rel="replies" type="application/atom+xml" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-target-audience/feed/atom/" thr:count="0" /> <thr:total>0</thr:total> </entry> <entry> <author> <name>@edent</name> <uri>https://edent.tel/</uri> </author> <title type="html"><![CDATA[Edinburgh Fringe: Stand-up Philosophy ★★★⯪☆]]></title> <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-stand-up-philosophy/" /> <id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=74015</id> <updated>2026-08-14T14:53:00Z</updated> <published>2026-08-14T15:16:26Z</published> <category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="/etc/" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="comedy" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="EdFringe" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="review" /> <summary type="html"><![CDATA[For a pay-what-you-want show this was decent. Three comedians doing sets on the theme of philosophy - followed by a Q&A where the audience poses philosophical conundrums to them. It more-or-less works as a gimmick. Although an early afternoon crowd may have been more likely to ask questions anonymously. I've never seen a Sikh doing an unnervingly accurate impression of Trump before. Daman…]]></summary> <content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-stand-up-philosophy/"><![CDATA[<p>For a pay-what-you-want show this was decent. Three comedians doing sets on the theme of philosophy - followed by a Q&A where the audience poses philosophical conundrums to them.</p> <p>It more-or-less works as a gimmick. Although an early afternoon crowd may have been more likely to ask questions anonymously.</p> <p>I've never seen a Sikh doing an unnervingly accurate impression of Trump before. <a href="https://www.damanbamrah.com/">Daman Bamrah</a> did a perfect routine which blended his philosophy with the perils of the bum-gun. An unexpected but hilarious combination.</p> <p><a href="https://www.sidsingh.org/">Sid Singh</a>'s set trod a fairly standard path through reactions to racism, but his discussion at the end about the inherent problems involved in writing controversial material was excellent.</p> <p>Tying it all together was <a href="https://www.alexfarrowcomedy.com/">Alex Farrow</a> who perfectly brought together the various philosophical strands and proved why Albert Camus was a fan of Stewart Lee.</p> <p>A great set of acts at a decent price.</p> <img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=74015&HTTP_REFERER=Atom" alt width="1" height="1" loading="eager">]]></content> <link rel="replies" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-stand-up-philosophy/#comments" thr:count="0" /> <link rel="replies" type="application/atom+xml" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-stand-up-philosophy/feed/atom/" thr:count="0" /> <thr:total>0</thr:total> </entry> <entry> <author> <name>@edent</name> <uri>https://edent.tel/</uri> </author> <title type="html"><![CDATA[Edinburgh Fringe: Waiting for Wonka ★★★⯪☆]]></title> <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-waiting-for-wonka/" /> <id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=74091</id> <updated>2026-08-14T12:21:21Z</updated> <published>2026-08-14T12:31:07Z</published> <category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="/etc/" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="EdFringe" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="Theatre Review" /> <summary type="html"><![CDATA[This play is fucked up! Such a brilliant concept - what happened to the kids from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory after they were rejected by Wonka? Stuck together in a Big-Brotheresque household, they trauma-dump on each other. New Zealand's Half Trick have shrunk their full-length play into a Fringe-standard 60 minutes. That does make it a little brusque and, simultaneously, a bit…]]></summary> <content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-waiting-for-wonka/"><![CDATA[<p>This play is <em>fucked up!</em> Such a brilliant concept - what happened to the kids from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory <em>after</em> they were rejected by Wonka? Stuck together in a Big-Brotheresque household, they trauma-dump on each other.</p> <p><a href="https://halftrick.com/#wonka"><img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/naughty.webp" alt="Waiting for Wonka poster saying naughty children get nothing." width="800" height="1125" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-74093"></a></p> <p>New Zealand's Half Trick have shrunk their full-length play into a Fringe-standard 60 minutes. That does make it a little brusque and, simultaneously, a bit repetitive. The characters don't get quite enough room to breathe. Mike Teavee has, of course, become an incel online troll - perfect! - but the rest haven't changed much.</p> <p>The horrors of industrial accidents mixed with corporate malfeasance makes for an excellent comedy. The cast inhabit their characters perfectly, each totally believable as a childhood favourite who has become a deeply troubled adult.</p> <p>I'd be delighted to read a full length novelisation of the script. It is a witty and terrifying update to a book I devoured as a child. Only now do I realise that it was also devouring me. Truly when you gaze into the lake of chocolate…</p> <img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=74091&HTTP_REFERER=Atom" alt width="1" height="1" loading="eager">]]></content> <link rel="replies" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-waiting-for-wonka/#comments" thr:count="0" /> <link rel="replies" type="application/atom+xml" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-waiting-for-wonka/feed/atom/" thr:count="0" /> <thr:total>0</thr:total> </entry> <entry> <author> <name>@edent</name> <uri>https://edent.tel/</uri> </author> <title type="html"><![CDATA[Edinburgh Fringe: Doris, Dolly and the Dressing Room Divas ★★★★⯪]]></title> <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-doris-dolly-and-the-dressing-room-divas/" /> <id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=74012</id> <updated>2026-08-13T21:32:42Z</updated> <published>2026-08-13T22:23:25Z</published> <category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="/etc/" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="EdFringe" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="review" /> <summary type="html"><![CDATA[Quite simply marvellous! Three Scottish divas giving us their interpretations of the greats while backed by an excellent pianist. So many shows at the Fringe skimp on sets and props - not this! A luscious array of costumes, hats, wigs, and ruby slippers bring the characters to life. The framing is thin but serviceable - the backstage helpers are reminiscing about their favourite stars and bring …]]></summary> <content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-doris-dolly-and-the-dressing-room-divas/"><![CDATA[<p>Quite simply marvellous! Three Scottish divas giving us their interpretations of the greats while backed by an excellent pianist.</p> <p>So many shows at the Fringe skimp on sets and props - not this! A luscious array of costumes, hats, wigs, and ruby slippers bring the characters to life.</p> <p>The framing is thin but serviceable - the backstage helpers are reminiscing about their favourite stars and bring them back to stage. It is a fun and campy evening, without ever straying into parody or obsequiousness.</p> <p>Sadly a few technical gremlins crept in, but the cast are absolute troopers and dispensed with them.</p> <p>Oh, and there's an incredible Sweary Poppins who steals the show.</p> <p>In amongst the Fringe's high concept art, fiendish new writing, and blokey-standup, it was a real treat to see a good old fashioned revue.</p> <p>Highly recommend.</p> <img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=74012&HTTP_REFERER=Atom" alt width="1" height="1" loading="eager">]]></content> <link rel="replies" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-doris-dolly-and-the-dressing-room-divas/#comments" thr:count="0" /> <link rel="replies" type="application/atom+xml" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-doris-dolly-and-the-dressing-room-divas/feed/atom/" thr:count="0" /> <thr:total>0</thr:total> </entry> <entry> <author> <name>@edent</name> <uri>https://edent.tel/</uri> </author> <title type="html"><![CDATA[Edinburgh Fringe: The Musical Mystery Caller ★★★★★]]></title> <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-the-musical-mystery-caller/" /> <id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=74064</id> <updated>2026-08-13T19:01:23Z</updated> <published>2026-08-13T20:21:53Z</published> <category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="/etc/" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="EdFringe" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="review" /> <summary type="html"><![CDATA[Walking down the street, I noticed a ringing phone box so, naturally, I answered it. What happened next was a few minutes of pure fringe magic! I had a little chat with the caller, he welcomed me to the smallest venue in the fringe, and then he improvised a banger of a song based on my peculiar proclivities. What a treat to have a front row experience at a one man (and one audience member)…]]></summary> <content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-the-musical-mystery-caller/"><![CDATA[<p>Walking down the street, I noticed a ringing phone box so, naturally, I answered it.</p> <p>What happened next was a few minutes of pure fringe magic!</p> <p>I had a little chat with the caller, he welcomed me to the smallest venue in the fringe, and then he improvised a banger of a song based on my peculiar proclivities.</p> <p>What a treat to have a front row experience at a one man (and one audience member) show. The song was heartfelt and beautiful, played and sung with panache - albeit down a twisted copper pair of limited bandwidth.</p> <p>He didn't reverse the charges, so it didn't cost me a penny! Which, given the high prices of most shows, was an absolute bargain 😃</p> <p>If you hear a phone ringing, you should always answer it and say hello.</p> <img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Imagepipe_59.webp" alt="Me in a phone box listening intently." width="1542" height="2048" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-74067"> <img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=74064&HTTP_REFERER=Atom" alt width="1" height="1" loading="eager">]]></content> <link rel="replies" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-the-musical-mystery-caller/#comments" thr:count="1" /> <link rel="replies" type="application/atom+xml" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-the-musical-mystery-caller/feed/atom/" thr:count="1" /> <thr:total>1</thr:total> </entry> <entry> <author> <name>@edent</name> <uri>https://edent.tel/</uri> </author> <title type="html"><![CDATA[Edinburgh Fringe: Miscast Sondheim ★★☆☆☆]]></title> <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-miscast-sondheim/" /> <id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=74045</id> <updated>2026-08-13T18:05:07Z</updated> <published>2026-08-13T18:45:15Z</published> <category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="/etc/" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="EdFringe" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="review" /> <summary type="html"><![CDATA[I'm not sure what they're teaching at LAMDA, but it certainly isn't vocal projection. We were forewarned about the technical difficulties - but if a trained stage singer can't reach the 6th row of a tiny theatre, that can't be blamed on the backstage team. The show advertises itself as: What happens when you take Sondheim’s most beloved music and turn it on its head? Ingénues become villains, vi…]]></summary> <content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-miscast-sondheim/"><![CDATA[<p>I'm not sure what they're teaching at LAMDA, but it certainly isn't vocal projection. We were forewarned about the technical difficulties - but if a trained stage singer can't reach the 6th row of a tiny theatre, that can't be blamed on the backstage team.</p> <p>The show advertises itself as:</p> <blockquote><p>What happens when you take Sondheim’s most beloved music and turn it on its head? Ingénues become villains, villains deliver delicate ballads, and comic sidekicks step into tragedy.</p></blockquote> <p>But, bluntly, that's not what was delivered. The gender swapping and colour-blind casting was fine, but there was no sense that this was a twist on the songs. They were all delivered in a straightforward fashion.</p> <p>In fairness, there were a couple of truly excellent singers - Adam Boggs McDonald was spectacular and Paulina Hill was an absolute showstopper. The twist on Agony by Angelia Castillo and Adelia Castillo worked well.</p> <p>Sadly the rest was over promised and under delivered.</p> <p>Another show seen purely in the basis that we had an hour free and the venue was close. That's generally a pretty sound strategy for seeing shows - but you have to accept the risk that you might not like what you get.</p> <img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=74045&HTTP_REFERER=Atom" alt width="1" height="1" loading="eager">]]></content> <link rel="replies" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-miscast-sondheim/#comments" thr:count="0" /> <link rel="replies" type="application/atom+xml" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-miscast-sondheim/feed/atom/" thr:count="0" /> <thr:total>0</thr:total> </entry> <entry> <author> <name>@edent</name> <uri>https://edent.tel/</uri> </author> <title type="html"><![CDATA[Edinburgh Fringe: Hot Flush – A Bold, We’re Old(ish) Burlesque Show ★★★☆☆]]></title> <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-hot-flush-a-bold-were-oldish-burlesque-show/" /> <id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=74009</id> <updated>2026-08-13T16:25:57Z</updated> <published>2026-08-13T16:45:02Z</published> <category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="/etc/" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="EdFringe" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="review" /> <summary type="html"><![CDATA[Are menopausal women hot? It is often said that pornographic actresses move straight from "barely legal" to "MILF" without so much as moment in between. Unlike the fringe's other burlesque shows - which seem to exclusively feature nymphettes and twinks with nary a grey hair between them - Hot Flush focuses on the over 40s. Look, you probably don't want to read a review of how tempting I found…]]></summary> <content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-hot-flush-a-bold-were-oldish-burlesque-show/"><![CDATA[<p>Are menopausal women hot? It is often said that pornographic actresses move straight from "barely legal" to "MILF" without so much as moment in between. Unlike the fringe's other burlesque shows - which seem to exclusively feature nymphettes and twinks with nary a grey hair between them - Hot Flush focuses on the over 40s.</p> <p>Look, you probably don't want to read a review of how tempting I found each temptress, nor a multivariant testing of their erotic powers - so let's just say this…</p> <p>The lecture in the middle about the menopause and how to cope with it was very educational.</p> <p>The performers were all talented and the costumes (before removal) were sufficiently sufficient for their purpose.</p> <p>The main problem is that it is staged at the <em>least</em> sexy venue on the fringe. A basement meeting room which looks more suitable for a regional sales conference than a burlesque. Perhaps if they were going for a Belinda Blinked cabaret it might have worked better.</p> <p>The performers coped well with the technical difficulties (no doubt caused by a moralising theatre ghost) and recovered their momentum well.</p> <img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=74009&HTTP_REFERER=Atom" alt width="1" height="1" loading="eager">]]></content> <link rel="replies" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-hot-flush-a-bold-were-oldish-burlesque-show/#comments" thr:count="0" /> <link rel="replies" type="application/atom+xml" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-hot-flush-a-bold-were-oldish-burlesque-show/feed/atom/" thr:count="0" /> <thr:total>0</thr:total> </entry> <entry> <author> <name>@edent</name> <uri>https://edent.tel/</uri> </author> <title type="html"><![CDATA[Edinburgh Fringe - Eleanor Morton: The Mermaid ★★★⯪☆]]></title> <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-eleanor-morton-the-mermaid/" /> <id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=74006</id> <updated>2026-08-13T13:44:52Z</updated> <published>2026-08-13T14:55:59Z</published> <category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="/etc/" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="comedy" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="EdFringe" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="review" /> <summary type="html"><![CDATA[The undisputed queen of short-form viral video comedy snacks takes to the stage. Well, swims to the stage. The Mermaid is a delightful and gentle amble through the confusing world of a girl who just wants to become a mermaid. Less standup and more storytelling, nevertheless it packs in the laughs with some rather clever jokes, a bit of bawdy humour, and - a rarity on The Fringe - a decently…]]></summary> <content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-eleanor-morton-the-mermaid/"><![CDATA[<p>The undisputed queen of short-form viral video comedy snacks takes to the stage. Well, swims to the stage.</p> <p>The Mermaid is a delightful and gentle amble through the confusing world of a girl who just wants to become a mermaid. Less standup and more storytelling, nevertheless it packs in the laughs with some rather clever jokes, a bit of bawdy humour, and - a rarity on The Fringe - a decently designed set!</p> <p>It stands out by being well-rehearsed (surprisingly not a given here) and with no technical glitches during the performance (and, again, I cannot stress enough how unique that is). Eleanor Morton is an absolute professional who knows how to put on a quality show.</p> <img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=74006&HTTP_REFERER=Atom" alt width="1" height="1" loading="eager">]]></content> <link rel="replies" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-eleanor-morton-the-mermaid/#comments" thr:count="0" /> <link rel="replies" type="application/atom+xml" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-eleanor-morton-the-mermaid/feed/atom/" thr:count="0" /> <thr:total>0</thr:total> </entry> <entry> <author> <name>@edent</name> <uri>https://edent.tel/</uri> </author> <title type="html"><![CDATA[Book Review: Coding Literacy by Annette Vee ★★⯪☆☆]]></title> <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/book-review-coding-literacy-by-annette-vee/" /> <id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=72659</id> <updated>2026-08-13T11:41:26Z</updated> <published>2026-08-13T11:34:09Z</published> <category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="/etc/" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="Book Review" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="coding" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="Computer Science" /> <summary type="html"><![CDATA[This is a disappointing and frustrating book - not least because it so nearly hits the mark. The subtitle is "How Computer Programming Is Changing Writing" - but it never gets close to discussing that topic, let alone deeply examining it. Instead, it is a book mostly focussed on the history of what we mean by "literacy" and, by contrast, what it meant to be "illiterate". As per the standard…]]></summary> <content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/book-review-coding-literacy-by-annette-vee/"><![CDATA[<img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/m_9780262340236-cover.jpeg" alt="Book cover." width="304" height="450" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-72660"> <p>This is a disappointing and frustrating book - not least because it so <em>nearly</em> hits the mark.</p> <p>The subtitle is "How Computer Programming Is Changing Writing" - but it never gets close to discussing that topic, let alone deeply examining it. Instead, it is a book mostly focussed on the history of what we mean by "literacy" and, by contrast, what it meant to be "illiterate".</p> <p>As per the standard for academic monographs, it is more interested in endlessly discussing the semantics of a term than engaging with its impacts. The historic stuff is genuinely fascinating. But the endless diversions about what Academic A thinks and how Academic B rebuts is a little tedious. There are clear parallels between a pre-literate society relying on the village scribe and the modern family having that one cousin who "knows computers" - but it is only weakly explored.</p> <p>There are moments when it seems like the author is really going to delve in to what coding literacy actually means:</p> <blockquote><p>The relationship between programming as a practice and computer science as a discipline is a central tension in the contemporary programming campaigns that invoke literacy,</p></blockquote> <p>But it rarely goes beyond surface level. Most people can write - but only few can write a novel. Many can engage is literary criticism - but few take it any further. How does that model fit on to coding? The book doesn't discuss, but there's an easy parallel there. Only a few people can write an app, but many can use it. Anyone can write a review of an app, but not many can do so from a position of literacy.</p> <p>This was published in 2017, so written a decade or so before LLMs became seemingly ubiquitous. Nevertheless, there are some historic titbits which seem to fit nicely into today's world:</p> <blockquote><p>As early as 1961, Peter Elias claimed that training in programming languages would soon cease because “undergraduates will face the console with such a natural keyboard and such a natural language that there will be little left, if anything, to the teaching of programming. [At this point, we] should hope that it would have disappeared from the curricula of all but a moderate group of specialists.”</p></blockquote> <p>But, as the book <em>does</em> briefly discuss, the way the brain is changed by coding literacy forces people to think more in line with a computer. Even if you tell an LLM "build me an app to do xyz", you still need to think about what you're doing, why you're doing it, what edge-cases you need to consider, etc.</p> <p>But then it is back to the interminable academic squabbling about whether Wittgenstein's definition of an inconsequential term is compatible with Chomsky's.</p> <p>Perhaps the biggest weakness is that there is almost a complete absence of code! A few examples of <abbr title="Beginners' All Purpose Symbolic Instruction Code">BASIC</abbr> would have done <em>so</em> much to demonstrate how a restricted language set changes how people write and therefore think.</p> <p>There's a brief exploration about how the typewriter and typesetting changed language and literacy - but where's the examination about how the tyranny of <abbr title="American National Standards Institute">ANSI</abbr> layout curtailed the way programmers wrote? There's an amazing exploration to be done about why coders use <code>=></code> rather than <code>→</code> and how various other symbols got co-opted into their languages.</p> <p>Instead, it is back to the history books again.</p> <p>Here's another good example about how writing changed literacy:</p> <blockquote><p>Written texts provide fewer cues than oral delivery about how to “take” them; for example, ironically, sincerely, or jokingly. Readers must interpret texts, supplying the illocutionary force of the text themselves.</p></blockquote> <p>It seems obvious to me that this is directly comparable with something like a code review. It isn't immediately clear what a programmer means when they write something down - and even comments can be misleading. What sort of "oral traditions" are we building up?</p> <p>The book then mostly abandons any pretence of talking about code. I think the author really wanted to write a history book but needed the (then) coolness of tying it to the various "get kids to code" campaigns.</p> <p>Towards the end, it <em>almost</em> returns to the topic at hand.</p> <blockquote><p>We choose our words in terms of what is potentially reportable on Facebook or Instagram or Twitter</p> <p>[…]</p> <p>Although few people know how to program the devices on which code and computation ride into our lives, their manifestations influence us anyhow. In various ways, we have learned to see ourselves as “computed” by the devices and networks on which we depend.</p></blockquote> <p>As we might say nowadays "Hey chat! Guess the Cheeto didn't unalive himself today!" - but that isn't really about coding. The people using those substitute words are ignorant of how algorithms really work and think that their clever doublespeak can bypass censorship.</p> <p>We desperately need more people to be literate in what coding means. Sadly this book only every lightly touches on what coding literacy does to our language, our thoughts, and our society.</p> <p>I'm giving it 2.5 stars because the history was genuinely interesting - but it completely fails to engage with the topic it promised.</p> <img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=72659&HTTP_REFERER=Atom" alt width="1" height="1" loading="eager">]]></content> <link rel="replies" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/book-review-coding-literacy-by-annette-vee/#comments" thr:count="0" /> <link rel="replies" type="application/atom+xml" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/book-review-coding-literacy-by-annette-vee/feed/atom/" thr:count="0" /> <thr:total>0</thr:total> </entry> <entry> <author> <name>@edent</name> <uri>https://edent.tel/</uri> </author> <title type="html"><![CDATA[Edinburgh Fringe - Heated Rivalry: The Unauthorized Musical Parody ★★★★☆]]></title> <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-heated-rivalry-the-unauthorized-musical-parody/" /> <id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=73981</id> <updated>2026-08-12T21:09:24Z</updated> <published>2026-08-12T21:22:09Z</published> <category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="/etc/" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="EdFringe" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="review" /> <summary type="html"><![CDATA[There are at least four different Heated Rivalry shows at the Fringe this year. Earlier this week we saw Edinburgh Fringe - Heated Rivalry: The Musical Parody!. This is different because it is the unauthorized musical parody. Oh, and it is in the much larger Udderbelly venue. Some people spend the fringe watching every possible interpretation of Timon of Athens - we decided to go for doubles of …]]></summary> <content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-heated-rivalry-the-unauthorized-musical-parody/"><![CDATA[<p>There are at least <em>four</em> different Heated Rivalry shows at the Fringe this year. Earlier this week we saw <a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-heated-rivalry-the-musical-parody/">Edinburgh Fringe - Heated Rivalry: The Musical Parody!</a>. This is different because it is the <em>unauthorized</em> musical parody.</p> <p>Oh, and it is in the much larger Udderbelly venue.</p> <p>Some people spend the fringe watching every possible interpretation of Timon of Athens - we decided to go for doubles of gay hockey sticks.</p> <img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/fef3a413-0f72-4faf-a33e-691bbd4af37c.jpg" alt="Two hockey player biting a puck." width="250" height="250" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-73984"> <p>So, how does it compare to its twin?</p> <p>It is good, but <em>deeply</em> conservative. The whole thing is framed through the eyes of a middle-age suburban mom which, sure, is probably a large part of the target audience but felt a bit retrograde. While the other show had a plentiful amount of <em>acrobatic</em> simulated sex with near-nude performers, this only has a couple of shirtless scenes and the actors are reduced to having a couple of trysts with literal mannequins. Weirdly, the one sex scene they perform together takes place behind a sheet. The leads kiss only twice which, for a parody of a show famed for its explicitness makes it all feel a bit Hays Code.</p> <p>The songs, however, are sumptuous. A full score accompanies the incredibly talented cast. This is <em>very</em> off-Broadway - with soaring melodies, powerful solos, and solid reprises. At times it feels more like a parody of Broadway shows than of the TV show.</p> <p>That isn't to say this is bad. It is <em>very</em> good. The script is full of delightful references and silly jokes. The lyrics at times are downright <em>filthy</em>! It is an excellent show and well worth seeing - but my heart remains with the <em>other</em> parody.</p> <img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=73981&HTTP_REFERER=Atom" alt width="1" height="1" loading="eager">]]></content> <link rel="replies" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-heated-rivalry-the-unauthorized-musical-parody/#comments" thr:count="0" /> <link rel="replies" type="application/atom+xml" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-heated-rivalry-the-unauthorized-musical-parody/feed/atom/" thr:count="0" /> <thr:total>0</thr:total> </entry> <entry> <author> <name>@edent</name> <uri>https://edent.tel/</uri> </author> <title type="html"><![CDATA[Edinburgh Fringe - James Rowland: Team Viking ★★⯪☆☆]]></title> <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-james-rowland-team-viking/" /> <id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=73961</id> <updated>2026-08-12T17:30:11Z</updated> <published>2026-08-12T19:20:01Z</published> <category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="/etc/" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="EdFringe" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="review" /> <summary type="html"><![CDATA[This is a technically precise and emotionally complex show with energetic delivery from a talented performer. Sadly, it did nothing for me. I found it a little one note in terms of storytelling. The rhythm of the story followed all the predictable beats which I thought was a little repetitive. There's no doubt he's a gifted storyteller. The comedy is suitably dark with some good moments of joy …]]></summary> <content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-james-rowland-team-viking/"><![CDATA[<p>This is a technically precise and emotionally complex show with energetic delivery from a talented performer.</p> <p>Sadly, it did nothing for me.</p> <p>I found it a little one note in terms of storytelling. The rhythm of the story followed all the predictable beats which I thought was a little repetitive.</p> <p>There's no doubt he's a gifted storyteller. The comedy is suitably dark with some good moments of joy and catharsis. It is probably the perfect show for some people but I wasn't the right audience for it.</p> <img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=73961&HTTP_REFERER=Atom" alt width="1" height="1" loading="eager">]]></content> <link rel="replies" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-james-rowland-team-viking/#comments" thr:count="0" /> <link rel="replies" type="application/atom+xml" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-james-rowland-team-viking/feed/atom/" thr:count="0" /> <thr:total>0</thr:total> </entry> <entry> <author> <name>@edent</name> <uri>https://edent.tel/</uri> </author> <title type="html"><![CDATA[Edinburgh Fringe - Garrett Millerick: We Tried it Your Way ★☆☆☆☆]]></title> <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-garrett-millerick-we-tried-it-your-way/" /> <id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=73971</id> <updated>2026-08-12T17:25:43Z</updated> <published>2026-08-12T17:55:57Z</published> <category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="/etc/" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="EdFringe" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="review" /> <summary type="html"><![CDATA[Easily the worst show we've seen at the fringe. Garrett Millerick has trained an AI on his stand up. Can it replace him? Yes, but only in the sense that the AI is obnoxiously dull and Millerick is simply obnoxious. He insulted a kid who he'd called on to stage to help him. Not even in a jokey way, just being rude. His splenetic rants against religion and politics were beyond tired. The dating…]]></summary> <content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-garrett-millerick-we-tried-it-your-way/"><![CDATA[<p>Easily the worst show we've seen at the fringe. Garrett Millerick has trained an AI on his stand up. Can it replace him?</p> <p>Yes, but only in the sense that the AI is obnoxiously dull and Millerick is simply obnoxious.</p> <p>He insulted a kid who he'd called on to stage to help him. Not even in a jokey way, just being rude. His splenetic rants against religion and politics were beyond tired. The dating segment was like something from an incel forum. Bitter and uncomfortable.</p> <p>There's a minor point that's made about whether AI comedy is cheating (yes) and if comedians need to be worried (no). But even when he goes back to performing his organic routine, it is dire. There are a few chuckles to be had, but most of the audience were just looking stricken with second hand embarrassment.</p> <p>The delivery is a one note rant, the jokes are the shouting of an angry disillusioned man, and the AI is a clanker of the worst order.</p> <p>Dire.</p> <img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=73971&HTTP_REFERER=Atom" alt width="1" height="1" loading="eager">]]></content> <link rel="replies" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-garrett-millerick-we-tried-it-your-way/#comments" thr:count="0" /> <link rel="replies" type="application/atom+xml" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-garrett-millerick-we-tried-it-your-way/feed/atom/" thr:count="0" /> <thr:total>0</thr:total> </entry> <entry> <author> <name>@edent</name> <uri>https://edent.tel/</uri> </author> <title type="html"><![CDATA[Edinburgh Fringe: When Vincent Met John ★★★★★]]></title> <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-when-vincent-met-john/" /> <id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=73949</id> <updated>2026-08-12T14:51:06Z</updated> <published>2026-08-12T15:30:12Z</published> <category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="/etc/" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="EdFringe" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="Theatre Review" /> <summary type="html"><![CDATA[I'm a sucker for anything Beatles related - and the fringe has no shortage of musicals, reinterpretations, and shameless cash-ins of the Fab Four. When Vincent Met John is an oddity in that it is a normal play, rather than a musical. It is also an oddity in being 90 minutes long rather than the standard fringe slot of no more than an hour. What if van Gogh and Lennon could have a conversation?…]]></summary> <content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-when-vincent-met-john/"><![CDATA[<p>I'm a sucker for anything Beatles related - and the fringe has no shortage of musicals, reinterpretations, and shameless cash-ins of the Fab Four.</p> <p>When Vincent Met John is an oddity in that it is a normal play, rather than a musical. It is also an oddity in being 90 minutes long rather than the standard fringe slot of no more than an hour.</p> <p>What if van Gogh and Lennon could have a conversation? They were both tortured artists whose influence spanned the world and only grew after their untimely deaths.</p> <p>It is incredible!</p> <p>Much like Yasmina Reza's "Art" this is a meticulous argument about the nature of creativity. And, much like, <a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2025/02/theatre-review-the-last-laugh/">The Last Laugh</a> this feature fastidiously observed recreation of beloved figures.</p> <p>Can Lennon conceive of someone who doesn't recognise Him? Can van Gogh conceive of Yoko Ono's conceptual art? Is Lennon's braggadocio an impediment to his happiness? Is van Gogh's obsessive nature blocking him from progressing?</p> <p>The script sizzles. Lennon almost seems to speak in rhyming couplets - as befits a lyricist and poet. It is peppered with throwaway references to his cannon (including many deep cuts for the obsessives). One of those plays where I immediately want to grab the script and study it to death.</p> <p>Both actors utterly inhabit their characters and give play off each other perfectly. The direction is precise and inventive. Even the set construction is perfectly attuned to the needs of the show.</p> <p>An astounding piece of theatre and strongly recommended.</p> <img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=73949&HTTP_REFERER=Atom" alt width="1" height="1" loading="eager">]]></content> <link rel="replies" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-when-vincent-met-john/#comments" thr:count="0" /> <link rel="replies" type="application/atom+xml" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-when-vincent-met-john/feed/atom/" thr:count="0" /> <thr:total>0</thr:total> </entry> <entry> <author> <name>@edent</name> <uri>https://edent.tel/</uri> </author> <title type="html"><![CDATA[Edinburgh Fringe - Justina Seselskaite: Settled ★★★★☆]]></title> <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-justina-seselskaite-settled/" /> <id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=73930</id> <updated>2026-08-11T20:24:54Z</updated> <published>2026-08-11T22:23:14Z</published> <category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="/etc/" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="comedy" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="EdFringe" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="review" /> <summary type="html"><![CDATA[Sometimes at the Edinburgh Fringe, you take a punt on a random show because it's close by and you can't be bothered walking any further. Justina Seselskaite's set was round the corner and started in 7 ½ minutes - so we scurried into one of the less glamorous rooms of The Hilton, sat at the front (as is our wont), and wondered what on earth Lithuanian stand-up was like. It was sublime! There's a …]]></summary> <content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-justina-seselskaite-settled/"><![CDATA[<p>Sometimes at the Edinburgh Fringe, you take a punt on a random show because it's close by and you can't be bothered walking any further. Justina Seselskaite's set was round the corner and started in 7 ½ minutes - so we scurried into one of the less glamorous rooms of The Hilton, sat at the front (as is our wont), and wondered what on earth Lithuanian stand-up was like.</p> <p>It was sublime!</p> <p>There's a rich history of foreign comedians coming to these shores and <del>stealing our jobs</del> making us laugh by pointing out the UK's foibles as only an outsider can. Seselskaite has a witty outlook on the perils of being mistaken for Polish while working in Waitrose, how high-class a Wetherspoons is, and what's up with Manchester’s weird obsession with bees.</p> <p>The show isn't the most innovative thing on the Fringe; it's mostly straight stand-up. But the game of "guess which English song was plagiarised by Lithuanian singers" was surprisingly entertaining. OK, I won a badge by guessing correctly, so I'm biased.</p> <p>Settled is a solid piece of work which has obviously been road-tested and honed into a tight set. Excellent observational stand-up from a unique perspective (come on, how many other Lithuanian comedians have you been to see?).</p> <p><a href="https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/justina-seselskaite-settled"><img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/settled-poster.webp" alt="Poster for a comedy show." width="1347" height="1679" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-73933"></a></p> <img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=73930&HTTP_REFERER=Atom" alt width="1" height="1" loading="eager">]]></content> <link rel="replies" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-justina-seselskaite-settled/#comments" thr:count="0" /> <link rel="replies" type="application/atom+xml" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-justina-seselskaite-settled/feed/atom/" thr:count="0" /> <thr:total>0</thr:total> </entry> <entry> <author> <name>@edent</name> <uri>https://edent.tel/</uri> </author> <title type="html"><![CDATA[Edinburgh Fringe: Handel Nine German Arias ★★★⯪☆]]></title> <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-handel-nine-german-arias/" /> <id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=73911</id> <updated>2026-08-11T19:49:10Z</updated> <published>2026-08-11T20:21:05Z</published> <category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="/etc/" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="EdFringe" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="review" /> <summary type="html"><![CDATA[Part of going to The Fringe is to expose yourself to new ideas, different art forms, and a range of artworks. Not everything needs to be a "zany" comedy about AI or a loving pastiche of that 1990s disaster movie you love. So I found myself sat in a Unitarian Church listening to a harpsichord and choral organ intertwined with a violin and cello while a soprano soared through Handel's greatest…]]></summary> <content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-handel-nine-german-arias/"><![CDATA[<p>Part of going to The Fringe is to expose yourself to new ideas, different art forms, and a range of artworks. Not everything needs to be a "zany" comedy about AI or a loving pastiche of that 1990s disaster movie you love.</p> <p>So I found myself sat in a Unitarian Church listening to a harpsichord and choral organ intertwined with a violin and cello while a soprano soared through Handel's greatest hits.</p> <p>I'm too much of a philistine to assess its merits - but there's always pleasure watching technically accomplished professionals at the top of their game. I assumed they played the right notes (and in the right order) as the music was delightful.</p> <p>It was restful and restorative after a long day pounding Edinburgh's pavements.</p> <img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=73911&HTTP_REFERER=Atom" alt width="1" height="1" loading="eager">]]></content> <link rel="replies" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-handel-nine-german-arias/#comments" thr:count="0" /> <link rel="replies" type="application/atom+xml" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-handel-nine-german-arias/feed/atom/" thr:count="0" /> <thr:total>0</thr:total> </entry> </feed>
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"title": "Book Review: An Immense World - How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us by Ed Yong ★★★☆☆",
"description": "This is a detailed examination of the various senses possessed by animals. Some will be intimately familiar to you - like sight and sound - whereas some will seem strange and uncanny - like magnetic detection and electro-sensing. Some straddle an almost understandable space like echolocation or tetra-chromatic vision. This isn't a game of Top Trumps where all the animals are ranked by power.…",
"url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/book-review-an-immense-world-how-animal-senses-reveal-the-hidden-realms-around-us-by-ed-yong/",
"published": "2026-08-21T11:34:36.000Z",
"updated": "2026-07-29T09:03:25.000Z",
"content": "<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/9781473572737-jacket-large.webp\" alt=\"Book cover featuring various animals.\" width=\"200\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-72904\">\n\n<p>This is a detailed examination of the various senses possessed by animals. Some will be intimately familiar to you - like sight and sound - whereas some will seem strange and uncanny - like magnetic detection and electro-sensing. Some straddle an almost understandable space like echolocation or tetra-chromatic vision.</p>\n\n<p>This isn't a game of Top Trumps where all the animals are ranked by power. Instead there's a gentle and passionate exploration of what these senses <em>might</em> mean to their owners. It is refreshingly candid about what we don't know, while always trying to convey a sense of wonder about the inherent <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umwelt\"><i lang=\"de\">Umwelt</i></a> experienced by the animal.</p>\n\n<p>But goodness me is it long. It seems that every time the editor told the author to cut out a paragraph, he stuck it in a footnote instead. The text is well referenced, but so are the footnotes, which means occasionally encountering sentences formatted like this:</p>\n\n<blockquote><p>Despite several frustrating false leads, nobody’s ever found them.<sup>fn11,36,37,38,39</sup></p></blockquote>\n\n<p>Speaking of which, the general formatting of the eBook is poor. The CSS contains all sorts of weird stuff which I needed to turn off, and is full of comments which probably should have been stripped before the book was distributed.</p>\n\n<p>Science publishers still haven't grasped that eBooks don't need to relegate glossy images to the back of the book - they can go inline with the text!</p>\n\n<p>This is a funny, heartfelt, and (perhaps overly) thorough book. It will gleefully send you down rabbit holes - even if you're ill-equipped to see in the dark and sense the bugs around you.</p>\n<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=72903&HTTP_REFERER=Atom\" alt width=\"1\" height=\"1\" loading=\"eager\">",
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"content": "<p>One of the promises of the AI-filled future is that we'll all have highly capable autonomous <del>servants</del> \"agents\" to work for us.</p>\n\n<p>Even <a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/02/how-close-are-we-to-a-vision-for-2010/\">back in the 1990s</a>, it was a common trope in future-gazing to insist that a person's personal <del>slave</del> agent would negotiate on their behalf. Ask your <del>meek digital pal</del> agent to find you a restuarant in town, tonight, for a hot date, catering to your dietary preferences, and within your budget. The little <del>butler</del> agent scurries off and, without your intervention, finds the <em>perfect</em> place, negotiates with the restaurant's <del>house boy</del> agent and books you a slap up meal.</p>\n\n<p>Marvellous! You can tell your <del>manservant</del> agent to buy you clothes, reserve a flight, do the grocery shopping, or buy your wife flowers without having to lift a finger.</p>\n\n<p>But, of course, there's a fly in the ointment. Not all <del>valets</del> agents are created equally. You're sending your Raspberry Pi powered <del>peon</del> agent against the full might of Amazon's bazillion datacentres.</p>\n\n<p>Can a low-complexity <del>serf</del> agent be bullied, outwitted, and manipulated by a more capable <del>henchman</del> agent? It seems obvious to me that the answer is yes. Humans have a set of cognitive biases which render us susceptible to advertising tricks. AI may have <a href=\"https://cacm.acm.org/research/rolling-in-the-deep-of-cognitive-and-ai-biases/\"><em>different</em> biases</a> but will still be vulnerable to <a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2017/03/how-to-hypnotise-an-artificial-intelligence/\">hypnosis</a> and hacking.</p>\n\n<p>Perhaps having my <del>secretary</del> agent negotiate with your <del>PA</del> agent to find a suitable meeting time for our Q2 KPI Deep Dive doesn't carry this sort of risk. But I'm sure that <del>scumbags</del> advertisers everywhere will be salivating at the thought of waylaying my innocent <del>footman</del> agent on its way to market.</p>\n\n<p>A future where we delegate responsibility to <del>stochastic imbeciles</del> agents is one where we accept that we have no control over their susceptibility to more powerful and malevolent <del>thugs</del> agents.</p>\n<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=73594&HTTP_REFERER=Atom\" alt width=\"1\" height=\"1\" loading=\"eager\">",
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"title": "And then the men with guns tell you to do it anyway",
"description": "In early February 2011 Egypt was in the middle of a political revolution. One morning, everyone's phones suddenly pinged with an alert. The Armed Forces asks Egypt's honest and loyal men to confront the traitors and criminals and protect our people and honour and our precious Egypt. A series of messages arrived all ostensibly from the network provider Vodafone. All pro-regime and all with the…",
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"content": "<p>In early February 2011 <a href=\"https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/1/25/what-happened-during-egypts-january-25-revolution\">Egypt was in the middle of a political revolution</a>. One morning, everyone's phones suddenly pinged with an alert.</p>\n\n<blockquote><p>The Armed Forces asks Egypt's honest and loyal men to confront the traitors and criminals and protect our people and honour and our precious Egypt.</p></blockquote>\n\n<p>A <a href=\"https://www.flickr.com/photos/59098813@N06/5411904816/in/photostream/\">series of messages arrived</a> all ostensibly from the network provider Vodafone. All pro-regime and all with the undercurrent of violence.</p>\n\n<p>Why did Vodafone send these messages? Earlier in the week, <a href=\"https://www.hrw.org/news/2011/01/28/egypt-nationwide-internet-blackout-endangers-rights\">all Internet access was cut off</a> now phones were blasting propaganda to the masses.</p>\n\n<p>After the network went down, Vodafone issued a statement saying:</p>\n\n<blockquote><p>It has been clear to us that there were no legal or practical options open to Vodafone, or any of the mobile operators in Egypt, but to comply with the demands of the authorities.</p></blockquote>\n\n<p>Do you have to follow orders? Do you have to obey the law even when it is unjust? Should multinational corporations instruct local executives to be loyal to their parent company or the rulers of the country they live in?</p>\n\n<p>After the messages came in - including promises that \"<a href=\"https://www.theguardian.com/news/blog/2011/feb/03/egypt-protests-live-updates#block-19\">The Armed Forces cares for your safety and well being and will not resort to using force against this great nation</a>\" - Vodafone Global, safely ensconced in the UK, put out another statement:</p>\n\n<blockquote><p>Under the emergency powers provisions of the Telecoms Act, the Egyptian authorities can instruct the mobile networks of Mobinil, Etisalat and Vodafone to send messages to the people of Egypt. They have used this since the start of the protests. These messages are not scripted by any of the mobile network operators and we do not have the ability to respond to the authorities on their content.</p>\n\n<p>Vodafone Group has protested to the authorities that the current situation regarding these messages is unacceptable. We have made clear that all messages should be transparent and clearly attributable to the originator.</p>\n\n<p><a href=\"https://web.archive.org/web/20110307151856/http://www.vodafone.com/content/index/press/press_statements/statement_on_egypt.html\">Statements - Vodafone Egypt</a></p></blockquote>\n\n<p>A few years later I was at a networking event chatting to a guy. We'd both previously worked for Vodafone. Me in the UK, he in Egypt. I asked him about the incident - he talked about how they built the SMS infrastructure, what they did to secure it, how they prevented spam, and how one day armed men arrived.</p>\n\n<p>I suspect most of us have seen a movie where some flunky in an office refuses the baddies demands to open the safe, and then gets shot in the head. Perhaps you think that's a noble death? He lived with honour and refused to yield! But, in every movie I've seen, the guy's subordinate opens the safe anyway and gets to live.</p>\n\n<p>But we're technologists, right? We can build fail safes and cryptographic proofs and <a href=\"https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/i-would-simply\">simply build infrastructure that can't be abused</a>.</p>\n\n<p>And then the men with guns come and tell you what to do.</p>\n\n<p>I've written before about <a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2013/11/civic-hygiene/\">Civic Hygiene</a> - it's the idea that we should be mindful of the ways that our technologies could be misused. The term was coined back in 2010 by the technologist Bruice Schneier</p>\n\n<blockquote><p><a href=\"https://www.schneier.com/essays/archives/2010/01/us_enables_chinese_h.html\">It's bad civic hygiene to build technologies that could someday be used to facilitate a police state.</a></p></blockquote>\n\n<p>But what do we mean by that?</p>\n\n<p>We don't want backdoors in security products - lest hackers break in or evil governments get elected. But we want a way to access our beloved ones' data after they die. It's important that we know that photos haven't been manipulated by propagandists and saboteurs. But we want to send funny memes about that politician we don't like. We don't want police stalking ex girlfriends' cars - but we want dangerous drivers prosecuted.</p>\n\n<p>We want to be alerted about imminent threats, but don't want Governments to use that power for ill.</p>\n\n<p>Way back in the early 2020s, I had a minor role in the UK Government's adoption of <a href=\"https://github.com/co-cddo/open-standards/issues/73\">Common Alerting Protocol</a> the technology which powers cell-broadcast emergency alerts.</p>\n\n<p>Even back then, one of the discussions was around whether the utility of being able to send an unavoidable push notification was worth the risk that someone would send an inappropriate message. Fresh in everyone's minds was the <a href=\"https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-42680070\">false alarm saying missiles were heading to Hawaii</a>.</p>\n\n<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/2018_Hawaii_missile_alert_cropped.jpeg\" alt=\"Emergency alert. BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT INBOUND TO HAWAII. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL.\" width=\"768\" height=\"343\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-74163\">\n\n<p>Too many safeguards means that a genuine alert doesn't get sent in time. Too few safeguards and you can blame \"<a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/book-review-the-field-guide-to-understanding-human-error-by-sidney-dekker/\">Human Error</a>\" for any mistakes.</p>\n\n<p>I don't know which safeguards are in place for the UK's system - <a href=\"https://www.ofcom.org.uk/siteassets/resources/documents/about-ofcom/foi/2024/march/emergency-broadcasting?v=331069\">and most details are exempt from Freedom of Information requests</a>. But it is both easy and fun to speculate on how such a system might be designed.</p>\n\n<p>The Government generates an alert. It specifies where and when the alert should be sent. It sends that message to the network operators via a secure and private channel. Perhaps they also do some out-of-band verification like having the network operator call a pre-determined phone number to check the message's validity.</p>\n\n<p>At which point, the operator can choose to send the message or not.</p>\n\n<p>Or can they?</p>\n\n<p>In August 2026, the UK government instructed network operators to send this message:</p>\n\n<p><a href=\"https://www.gov.uk/alerts/14-aug-2026-2\"><img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/fire-alert.webp\" alt=\"Alert about fire risk in the UK.\" title=\"Screenshot courtesy of Skylar MacDonald\" width=\"1024\" height=\"851\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-74164\"></a></p>\n\n<p>Did the networks <em>have</em> to send that message? If they thought it wasn't serious enough, could they have refused? As far as I can tell, the law only talks about the fact that operators can disregard \"spam\" laws in order to send a mass message:</p>\n\n<blockquote><p>A relevant public communications provider (P) may, for the purpose of providing an emergency alert service, disregard the restrictions on the processing of data relating to users or subscribers set out in paragraph (2) if the conditions set out in paragraph (3) are met.</p>\n\n<p>[…]</p>\n\n<p>(3) The conditions are—</p>\n\n<p>(a)P is notified by a relevant public authority that—</p>\n\n<p>(i)an emergency within the meaning of section 1(1) of the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 has occurred, is occurring or is about to occur;</p>\n\n<p><a href=\"https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2015/355/pdfs/uksi_20150355_en.pdf\">Statutory Instrument 2015 No. 355</a></p></blockquote>\n\n<p>I'm no expert, but I can't see anything in <a href=\"https://www.ofcom.org.uk/siteassets/resources/documents/manage-your-licence/mobile-wireless-and-broadband/cellular/licences/cellular-licence-vodafone-0249664.pdf?v=368347\">the spectrum licence</a> nor in the <a href=\"https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/36/contents\">Wireless Telegraphy Act</a> which <em>compels</em> operators to process these messages.</p>\n\n<p>The usual British way is to ask people to play nicely and threaten them with regulation if they don't.</p>\n\n<p>Could the networks have refused to send the message about wildfires - or indeed any other message? If your least favourite politician gets their hands on the emergency alert system and tries to abuse it, would you want the networks to stand up to them?</p>\n\n<p>What if the network refuses to send the message because they're worried alerting people about a hurricane will lower the company's profits?</p>\n\n<p>What if armed thugs are sent in and the choice is send the message or die?</p>\n\n<p>I don't know what the answer is here. I think most people agree that it is broadly sensible to have a way to alert the population of emergencies. There's no mass media any more, we're not all listening to a single radio channel, or reading newspapers, or even on the same social media platforms. Sometimes there are emergencies and the Government has a duty to alert people to them.</p>\n\n<p>How would you design a system that simultaneously achieved all these goals:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>Rapid sending of messages</li>\n<li>Careful checking of the content of messages</li>\n<li>Ability to quickly target a specific geographic area</li>\n<li>Inability to mistakenly send a test message</li>\n<li>Requiring strong proof that the message is authentic before sending</li>\n<li>Resilient enough to work after significant damage to infrastructure</li>\n<li>That networks have the ability to vet and ignore</li>\n<li>That networks are compelled to send</li>\n<li>Which can only be used for good</li>\n<li>And cannot be used for evil.</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>In truth, <a href=\"https://bsky.app/profile/edent.tel/post/3mt2s2puhuk2x\">having experienced fire-starters</a>, I'm not bothered about the contents of this latest message from the UK Government. Given the overstretched fire service and the imminent threat across most of the country, my personal opinion is that it is proportionate.</p>\n\n<p>But it is easy to see why some people feel this might open the gateway to messages which, at best, are irrelevant and, at worst, are similar to the insidious propaganda which appeared on the phones of Egyptians:</p>\n\n<blockquote><p>To every mother-father-sister-brother, to every honest citizen. Preserve this country as the nation is forever.</p></blockquote>\n\n<p>Perhaps you can think of a way to design an alerting system which cannot be abused - but I can't.</p>\n<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=74161&HTTP_REFERER=Atom\" alt width=\"1\" height=\"1\" loading=\"eager\">",
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{
"id": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=74021",
"title": "Thoughts on visiting the Edinburgh Fringe as a newbie",
"description": "This was my first ever time at The Fringe™. Here are some scattered thoughts looking at the good, the bad, and the annoying aspects of this madly extravagant exhibition of talent. We saw 23 shows together, and one separate show each. There were more hits than misses, but the frustration of wasting your time on a bad show is rather heavy when there are literally hundreds of other shows on offer. P…",
"url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/thoughts-on-the-edinburgh-fringe-as-a-newbie/",
"published": "2026-08-16T11:34:21.000Z",
"updated": "2026-08-16T09:29:11.000Z",
"content": "<p>This was my first ever time at The Fringe™. Here are some scattered thoughts looking at the good, the bad, and the annoying aspects of this madly extravagant exhibition of talent. We saw 23 shows together, and one separate show each. There were more hits than misses, but the frustration of wasting your time on a bad show is rather heavy when there are literally hundreds of other shows on offer.</p>\n\n<h2 id=\"price\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/thoughts-on-the-edinburgh-fringe-as-a-newbie/#price\">Price</a></h2>\n\n<p>Everything is too expensive. We found student accommodation which was a \"mere\" £220 per night. I guess that wasn't <em>too</em> exorbitant considering the gouging going on elsewhere - and it did come with a decent breakfast. It was about a 20 minute walk from the Royal Mile, with several performance venues on the way.</p>\n\n<p>The 46 tickets we bought cost us £550 in total - which included a few donations at Free Fringe shows. So an average ticket of £12, which isn't too bad, I guess. You can certainly do things cheaper by only going to free shows and running away when they ask you to pay - but that's a dick move.</p>\n\n<p>£20 for a single hour of stand-up feels like kind of a rip off at times - especially with the mandatory £1.50 booking fee for every ticket. Some shows are a bit cheaper, and Monday/Tuesday has 2-for-1 offers. But it's easy for a couple to spend well over a hundred quid per day seeing 3 or 4 shows.</p>\n\n<p>Festival food and drink prices are inflated - but there's no shortage of supermarkets if you want a meal deal. Restaurants were usual city centre prices. The bars at festival venues were fully taking advantage of their captive audience, but the pubs aren't much cheaper.</p>\n\n<h2 id=\"the-app\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/thoughts-on-the-edinburgh-fringe-as-a-newbie/#the-app\">The App</a></h2>\n\n<p>In theory, the app / website is good. In reality they're both a bit frustrating to use. Every time I ticked the box saying \"remember my credit card details\" and every time it forgot them. Both app and website frequently timed out, failed to add tickets to baskets, and were a bit shonky. The <em>one</em> thing this needs to do is reliably take my money and give it to performers - but it felt like a battle every time.</p>\n\n<p>We missed one show because we couldn't buy a ticket in the app despite being in the queue. The door staff didn't have the ability to sell us a ticket (although some venues can) and directed us to a box office which was dealing with a bunch of people who were bemused that they couldn't pay in dollars.</p>\n\n<p>Inexplicably, the app doesn't have the ability to see show reviews, even though they're present on the website.</p>\n\n<p>There's a good \"Nearby Now\" feature which is handy when you're exhausted and don't want to trek far. By contrast, there's no easy way to see what's on near the next venue you're going to.</p>\n\n<p>Searching for shows often returns events which are cancelled or sold out.</p>\n\n<p>I wish it were possible to see which shows had undersold and were starting soon. I loved taking a punt on an unknown act who only had half-a-dozen people in the room. Sadly there's no way to grab last-minute deals.</p>\n\n<p>This isn't helped by the total collapse of mobile signal in Edinburgh centre. I tried with a variety of SIMs but frequently only got a trickle of data.</p>\n\n<h2 id=\"what-to-see\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/thoughts-on-the-edinburgh-fringe-as-a-newbie/#what-to-see\">What To See</a></h2>\n\n<p>The <abbr title=\"Fear Of Missing Out\">FOMO</abbr> is real! Every show's poster makes it look amazing. The earnest performers desperately handing out leaflets for their own shows are <em>so</em> enthusiastic. Everyone you speak to in a queue has a \"must see\" which is probably sold out.</p>\n\n<p>We mostly avoided seeing big names. They'll be on telly soon enough or tour down in London. I don't think that act who was big in the 1990s needs my coin as much as some up-and-comer.</p>\n\n<p>You could easily fill a week seeing nothing but Shakespeare in a variety of styles. Or just watch middle-aged white guys have mental breakdowns on stage because they're on their 3rd divorce. Or, as it turns out, fill your boots with Heated Rivalry shows.</p>\n\n<p>We did the tasting menu and had a little bit of everything. It was mostly pretty good with only a few duds.</p>\n\n<h2 id=\"reviews\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/thoughts-on-the-edinburgh-fringe-as-a-newbie/#reviews\">Reviews</a></h2>\n\n<p>Even the worst show we saw had a couple of people who declared it the funniest thing ever five stars lol. You can't account for someone else's taste.</p>\n\n<p>I enjoyed <a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/tag/EdFringe\">writing my reviews</a> - and I hope they were useful to others - but you're mostly on your own when it comes to what's good. I suppose if you wait until later in the festival there will be more of a consensus about what to see.</p>\n\n<p>My philosophy is to take a punt on basically anything that doesn't look too abhorrent. Even if it is shit, there's be something else along in a minute which will be better.</p>\n\n<h2 id=\"distance\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/thoughts-on-the-edinburgh-fringe-as-a-newbie/#distance\">Distance</a></h2>\n\n<p>You'll get your 10k steps in before lunchtime - Edinburgh is a delightfully walkable city. With a bit of planning you can walk a straight line from show-to-show. We didn't plan and traipsed back and forth like the little lost tourists we were.</p>\n\n<p>Venues are mostly well sign-posted. Again, the app is a bit crap at pointing them out, but it'll open your mapping app to navigate you there.</p>\n\n<p>Many of the venues are in historic buildings, so don't expect lifts or escalators. Stairs all the way, baby!</p>\n\n<h2 id=\"harry-potter\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/thoughts-on-the-edinburgh-fringe-as-a-newbie/#harry-potter\">Harry Potter</a></h2>\n\n<p>Edinburgh seems like an inclusive and trans-friendly city. Half the acts on the Fringe proudly stated their LGBT+ credentials and most venues we went to had gender neutral loos.</p>\n\n<p>And then every other shop proudly boasts it is 100% definitely where JKR got the inspiration for Harry Potter. Tourists are schelpped between \"Diagon Alley\" and probably-the-cafe-where-she-wrote while slurping down dayglo butterbeers.</p>\n\n<p>Truly the duality of life!</p>\n\n<h2 id=\"comfort\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/thoughts-on-the-edinburgh-fringe-as-a-newbie/#comfort\">Comfort</a></h2>\n\n<p>There's an ancient Edinburgh byelaw which prohibits cushions on seats. No chair may be wide enough to accommodate anything other than the skinniest arse. It also places a moratorium on legroom.</p>\n\n<p>Ok, some of the venues were more comfortable than others, but prepare for a bit of backache.</p>\n\n<p>Toilets are plentiful in most venues, and theres no shortage of pubs to pop in to if you need refreshment or relief.</p>\n\n<p>Scotland isn't known for its heat, but some of the venues desperately need air-conditioning in their foyers and auditoriums. A few were handing out free water to the swealtering punters - but probably best to bring your own</p>\n\n<h2 id=\"would-i-come-here-again\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/thoughts-on-the-edinburgh-fringe-as-a-newbie/#would-i-come-here-again\">Would I Come Here Again?</a></h2>\n\n<p>Yeah! I reckon so! Probably not next year, and probably with more of a plan about which \"must sees\" I wanted to see.</p>\n\n<p>Staying closer to the centre is more expensive, but might have made it easier to see some if the shows later in the night.</p>\n\n<p>There is <em>so</em> much talent, <em>so</em> much variety, and <em>so</em> much joy in the city that it becomes rather infectious.</p>\n\n<p>If you can afford the train fare, hotel costs, tickets, booking fees, pints, chips and all the other people desperate to stick their hands into your wallet - then it is a great adventure.</p>\n<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=74021&HTTP_REFERER=Atom\" alt width=\"1\" height=\"1\" loading=\"eager\">",
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{
"id": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=72687",
"title": "Book Review: Slags by Emma Jane Unsworth ★★★⯪☆",
"description": "I'm really not sure what to make of this book. It was recommended by my book club as something between tragedy and comedy. The characters are excruciatingly well written - if you (or your friends) shoplifted Impulse body-spray back in the 1990s, you'll be hit by a terrifying wave of nostalgia. It reminds me of this excellent essay by Marie Le Conte about consent. What can a teenage girl…",
"url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/book-review-slags-by-emma-jane-unsworth/",
"published": "2026-08-15T11:34:42.000Z",
"updated": "2026-06-29T19:43:11.000Z",
"content": "<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/slags.webp\" alt=\"Book cover featuring a teenage girl smoking.\" width=\"200\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-72688\">\n\n<p>I'm really not sure what to make of this book. It was recommended by my book club as something between tragedy and comedy. The characters are excruciatingly well written - if you (or your friends) shoplifted Impulse body-spray back in the 1990s, you'll be hit by a terrifying wave of nostalgia.</p>\n\n<p>It reminds me of this excellent <a href=\"https://youngvulgarian.substack.com/i/152315586/a-column\">essay by Marie Le Conte about consent</a>. What can a teenage girl consent to? What will fuck her up for years to come? What if she doesn't mind being a <em>little</em> fucked up?</p>\n\n<p>The prose is amazing, the plotting perfectly paced, and the denouement satisfying - with lots of retrospectives \"Oh! I get it now\"s.</p>\n\n<p>Despite the hectic and hilarious story, I still felt a little sordid reading it. There's a streak of sadness running through it, intertwined with some unbearably heartbreaking poetry.</p>\n\n<blockquote><p>It’s always raining and there’s nothing to do except dream and they don’t even give you much time to do that with all the coursework.</p></blockquote>\n\n<p>It is entertaining and fun - but you need a strong stomach and a casual disregard for the overall happiness of your protagonists.</p>\n\n<p>One note - there are a few odd / broken styles in the ePub. Nothing too disruptive, but some passages have a slightly smaller font size for no discernable reason.</p>\n<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=72687&HTTP_REFERER=Atom\" alt width=\"1\" height=\"1\" loading=\"eager\">",
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"label": "Book Club",
"term": "Book Club",
"url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog"
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"label": "Book Review",
"term": "Book Review",
"url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog"
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{
"id": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=74018",
"title": "Edinburgh Fringe: Target Audience ★★★★★",
"description": "Easily the best show I've seen at the Fringe. For plot-related reasons, a television company asks a literary genius to create a \"pro-weapons sitcom\". It is a fast paced mix of the sitcoms 2012 and Episodes. The jokes come at a steady pace - some attack with the furiousity of bullets, others the the subtlety of a knife in the night. All four of the cast are spectacular. Turning the…",
"url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-target-audience/",
"published": "2026-08-14T18:45:41.000Z",
"updated": "2026-08-14T18:10:20.000Z",
"content": "<p>Easily the best show I've seen at the Fringe.</p>\n\n<p>For plot-related reasons, a television company asks a literary genius to create a \"pro-weapons sitcom\".</p>\n\n<p>It is a fast paced mix of the sitcoms 2012 and Episodes. The jokes come at a steady pace - some attack with the furiousity of bullets, others the the subtlety of a knife in the night.</p>\n\n<p>All four of the cast are spectacular. Turning the sometimes-stock characters into powerful avatars. The amoral Zuckerbergian horror of data driven decision making is the perfect manure in which to grow comedy roses.</p>\n\n<p>It stands well against any classic farce and I hope it tours until the end of the world.</p>\n\n<p>A special shout out to the Pleasance Above for being the most comfortable venue in Edinburgh! Raked auditorium, cushioned seats, and air conditioning all make for a delightful theatrical experience.</p>\n<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=74018&HTTP_REFERER=Atom\" alt width=\"1\" height=\"1\" loading=\"eager\">",
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{
"id": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=74015",
"title": "Edinburgh Fringe: Stand-up Philosophy ★★★⯪☆",
"description": "For a pay-what-you-want show this was decent. Three comedians doing sets on the theme of philosophy - followed by a Q&A where the audience poses philosophical conundrums to them. It more-or-less works as a gimmick. Although an early afternoon crowd may have been more likely to ask questions anonymously. I've never seen a Sikh doing an unnervingly accurate impression of Trump before. Daman…",
"url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-stand-up-philosophy/",
"published": "2026-08-14T15:16:26.000Z",
"updated": "2026-08-14T14:53:00.000Z",
"content": "<p>For a pay-what-you-want show this was decent. Three comedians doing sets on the theme of philosophy - followed by a Q&A where the audience poses philosophical conundrums to them.</p>\n\n<p>It more-or-less works as a gimmick. Although an early afternoon crowd may have been more likely to ask questions anonymously.</p>\n\n<p>I've never seen a Sikh doing an unnervingly accurate impression of Trump before. <a href=\"https://www.damanbamrah.com/\">Daman Bamrah</a> did a perfect routine which blended his philosophy with the perils of the bum-gun. An unexpected but hilarious combination.</p>\n\n<p><a href=\"https://www.sidsingh.org/\">Sid Singh</a>'s set trod a fairly standard path through reactions to racism, but his discussion at the end about the inherent problems involved in writing controversial material was excellent.</p>\n\n<p>Tying it all together was <a href=\"https://www.alexfarrowcomedy.com/\">Alex Farrow</a> who perfectly brought together the various philosophical strands and proved why Albert Camus was a fan of Stewart Lee.</p>\n\n<p>A great set of acts at a decent price.</p>\n<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=74015&HTTP_REFERER=Atom\" alt width=\"1\" height=\"1\" loading=\"eager\">",
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{
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"term": "EdFringe",
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{
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{
"id": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=74091",
"title": "Edinburgh Fringe: Waiting for Wonka ★★★⯪☆",
"description": "This play is fucked up! Such a brilliant concept - what happened to the kids from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory after they were rejected by Wonka? Stuck together in a Big-Brotheresque household, they trauma-dump on each other. New Zealand's Half Trick have shrunk their full-length play into a Fringe-standard 60 minutes. That does make it a little brusque and, simultaneously, a bit…",
"url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-waiting-for-wonka/",
"published": "2026-08-14T12:31:07.000Z",
"updated": "2026-08-14T12:21:21.000Z",
"content": "<p>This play is <em>fucked up!</em> Such a brilliant concept - what happened to the kids from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory <em>after</em> they were rejected by Wonka? Stuck together in a Big-Brotheresque household, they trauma-dump on each other.</p>\n\n<p><a href=\"https://halftrick.com/#wonka\"><img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/naughty.webp\" alt=\"Waiting for Wonka poster saying naughty children get nothing.\" width=\"800\" height=\"1125\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-74093\"></a></p>\n\n<p>New Zealand's Half Trick have shrunk their full-length play into a Fringe-standard 60 minutes. That does make it a little brusque and, simultaneously, a bit repetitive. The characters don't get quite enough room to breathe. Mike Teavee has, of course, become an incel online troll - perfect! - but the rest haven't changed much.</p>\n\n<p>The horrors of industrial accidents mixed with corporate malfeasance makes for an excellent comedy. The cast inhabit their characters perfectly, each totally believable as a childhood favourite who has become a deeply troubled adult.</p>\n\n<p>I'd be delighted to read a full length novelisation of the script. It is a witty and terrifying update to a book I devoured as a child. Only now do I realise that it was also devouring me. Truly when you gaze into the lake of chocolate…</p>\n<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=74091&HTTP_REFERER=Atom\" alt width=\"1\" height=\"1\" loading=\"eager\">",
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{
"label": "Theatre Review",
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{
"id": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=74012",
"title": "Edinburgh Fringe: Doris, Dolly and the Dressing Room Divas ★★★★⯪",
"description": "Quite simply marvellous! Three Scottish divas giving us their interpretations of the greats while backed by an excellent pianist. So many shows at the Fringe skimp on sets and props - not this! A luscious array of costumes, hats, wigs, and ruby slippers bring the characters to life. The framing is thin but serviceable - the backstage helpers are reminiscing about their favourite stars and bring …",
"url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-doris-dolly-and-the-dressing-room-divas/",
"published": "2026-08-13T22:23:25.000Z",
"updated": "2026-08-13T21:32:42.000Z",
"content": "<p>Quite simply marvellous! Three Scottish divas giving us their interpretations of the greats while backed by an excellent pianist.</p>\n\n<p>So many shows at the Fringe skimp on sets and props - not this! A luscious array of costumes, hats, wigs, and ruby slippers bring the characters to life.</p>\n\n<p>The framing is thin but serviceable - the backstage helpers are reminiscing about their favourite stars and bring them back to stage. It is a fun and campy evening, without ever straying into parody or obsequiousness.</p>\n\n<p>Sadly a few technical gremlins crept in, but the cast are absolute troopers and dispensed with them.</p>\n\n<p>Oh, and there's an incredible Sweary Poppins who steals the show.</p>\n\n<p>In amongst the Fringe's high concept art, fiendish new writing, and blokey-standup, it was a real treat to see a good old fashioned revue.</p>\n\n<p>Highly recommend.</p>\n<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=74012&HTTP_REFERER=Atom\" alt width=\"1\" height=\"1\" loading=\"eager\">",
"image": null,
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{
"id": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=74064",
"title": "Edinburgh Fringe: The Musical Mystery Caller ★★★★★",
"description": "Walking down the street, I noticed a ringing phone box so, naturally, I answered it. What happened next was a few minutes of pure fringe magic! I had a little chat with the caller, he welcomed me to the smallest venue in the fringe, and then he improvised a banger of a song based on my peculiar proclivities. What a treat to have a front row experience at a one man (and one audience member)…",
"url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-the-musical-mystery-caller/",
"published": "2026-08-13T20:21:53.000Z",
"updated": "2026-08-13T19:01:23.000Z",
"content": "<p>Walking down the street, I noticed a ringing phone box so, naturally, I answered it.</p>\n\n<p>What happened next was a few minutes of pure fringe magic!</p>\n\n<p>I had a little chat with the caller, he welcomed me to the smallest venue in the fringe, and then he improvised a banger of a song based on my peculiar proclivities.</p>\n\n<p>What a treat to have a front row experience at a one man (and one audience member) show. The song was heartfelt and beautiful, played and sung with panache - albeit down a twisted copper pair of limited bandwidth.</p>\n\n<p>He didn't reverse the charges, so it didn't cost me a penny! Which, given the high prices of most shows, was an absolute bargain 😃</p>\n\n<p>If you hear a phone ringing, you should always answer it and say hello.</p>\n\n<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Imagepipe_59.webp\" alt=\"Me in a phone box listening intently.\" width=\"1542\" height=\"2048\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-74067\">\n<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=74064&HTTP_REFERER=Atom\" alt width=\"1\" height=\"1\" loading=\"eager\">",
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{
"id": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=74045",
"title": "Edinburgh Fringe: Miscast Sondheim ★★☆☆☆",
"description": "I'm not sure what they're teaching at LAMDA, but it certainly isn't vocal projection. We were forewarned about the technical difficulties - but if a trained stage singer can't reach the 6th row of a tiny theatre, that can't be blamed on the backstage team. The show advertises itself as: What happens when you take Sondheim’s most beloved music and turn it on its head? Ingénues become villains, vi…",
"url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-miscast-sondheim/",
"published": "2026-08-13T18:45:15.000Z",
"updated": "2026-08-13T18:05:07.000Z",
"content": "<p>I'm not sure what they're teaching at LAMDA, but it certainly isn't vocal projection. We were forewarned about the technical difficulties - but if a trained stage singer can't reach the 6th row of a tiny theatre, that can't be blamed on the backstage team.</p>\n\n<p>The show advertises itself as:</p>\n\n<blockquote><p>What happens when you take Sondheim’s most beloved music and turn it on its head? Ingénues become villains, villains deliver delicate ballads, and comic sidekicks step into tragedy.</p></blockquote>\n\n<p>But, bluntly, that's not what was delivered. The gender swapping and colour-blind casting was fine, but there was no sense that this was a twist on the songs. They were all delivered in a straightforward fashion.</p>\n\n<p>In fairness, there were a couple of truly excellent singers - Adam Boggs McDonald was spectacular and Paulina Hill was an absolute showstopper. The twist on Agony by Angelia Castillo and Adelia Castillo worked well.</p>\n\n<p>Sadly the rest was over promised and under delivered.</p>\n\n<p>Another show seen purely in the basis that we had an hour free and the venue was close. That's generally a pretty sound strategy for seeing shows - but you have to accept the risk that you might not like what you get.</p>\n<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=74045&HTTP_REFERER=Atom\" alt width=\"1\" height=\"1\" loading=\"eager\">",
"image": null,
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{
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{
"id": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=74009",
"title": "Edinburgh Fringe: Hot Flush – A Bold, We’re Old(ish) Burlesque Show ★★★☆☆",
"description": "Are menopausal women hot? It is often said that pornographic actresses move straight from \"barely legal\" to \"MILF\" without so much as moment in between. Unlike the fringe's other burlesque shows - which seem to exclusively feature nymphettes and twinks with nary a grey hair between them - Hot Flush focuses on the over 40s. Look, you probably don't want to read a review of how tempting I found…",
"url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-hot-flush-a-bold-were-oldish-burlesque-show/",
"published": "2026-08-13T16:45:02.000Z",
"updated": "2026-08-13T16:25:57.000Z",
"content": "<p>Are menopausal women hot? It is often said that pornographic actresses move straight from \"barely legal\" to \"MILF\" without so much as moment in between. Unlike the fringe's other burlesque shows - which seem to exclusively feature nymphettes and twinks with nary a grey hair between them - Hot Flush focuses on the over 40s.</p>\n\n<p>Look, you probably don't want to read a review of how tempting I found each temptress, nor a multivariant testing of their erotic powers - so let's just say this…</p>\n\n<p>The lecture in the middle about the menopause and how to cope with it was very educational.</p>\n\n<p>The performers were all talented and the costumes (before removal) were sufficiently sufficient for their purpose.</p>\n\n<p>The main problem is that it is staged at the <em>least</em> sexy venue on the fringe. A basement meeting room which looks more suitable for a regional sales conference than a burlesque. Perhaps if they were going for a Belinda Blinked cabaret it might have worked better.</p>\n\n<p>The performers coped well with the technical difficulties (no doubt caused by a moralising theatre ghost) and recovered their momentum well.</p>\n<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=74009&HTTP_REFERER=Atom\" alt width=\"1\" height=\"1\" loading=\"eager\">",
"image": null,
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{
"id": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=74006",
"title": "Edinburgh Fringe - Eleanor Morton: The Mermaid ★★★⯪☆",
"description": "The undisputed queen of short-form viral video comedy snacks takes to the stage. Well, swims to the stage. The Mermaid is a delightful and gentle amble through the confusing world of a girl who just wants to become a mermaid. Less standup and more storytelling, nevertheless it packs in the laughs with some rather clever jokes, a bit of bawdy humour, and - a rarity on The Fringe - a decently…",
"url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-eleanor-morton-the-mermaid/",
"published": "2026-08-13T14:55:59.000Z",
"updated": "2026-08-13T13:44:52.000Z",
"content": "<p>The undisputed queen of short-form viral video comedy snacks takes to the stage. Well, swims to the stage.</p>\n\n<p>The Mermaid is a delightful and gentle amble through the confusing world of a girl who just wants to become a mermaid. Less standup and more storytelling, nevertheless it packs in the laughs with some rather clever jokes, a bit of bawdy humour, and - a rarity on The Fringe - a decently designed set!</p>\n\n<p>It stands out by being well-rehearsed (surprisingly not a given here) and with no technical glitches during the performance (and, again, I cannot stress enough how unique that is). Eleanor Morton is an absolute professional who knows how to put on a quality show.</p>\n<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=74006&HTTP_REFERER=Atom\" alt width=\"1\" height=\"1\" loading=\"eager\">",
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{
"id": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=72659",
"title": "Book Review: Coding Literacy by Annette Vee ★★⯪☆☆",
"description": "This is a disappointing and frustrating book - not least because it so nearly hits the mark. The subtitle is \"How Computer Programming Is Changing Writing\" - but it never gets close to discussing that topic, let alone deeply examining it. Instead, it is a book mostly focussed on the history of what we mean by \"literacy\" and, by contrast, what it meant to be \"illiterate\". As per the standard…",
"url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/book-review-coding-literacy-by-annette-vee/",
"published": "2026-08-13T11:34:09.000Z",
"updated": "2026-08-13T11:41:26.000Z",
"content": "<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/m_9780262340236-cover.jpeg\" alt=\"Book cover.\" width=\"304\" height=\"450\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-72660\">\n\n<p>This is a disappointing and frustrating book - not least because it so <em>nearly</em> hits the mark.</p>\n\n<p>The subtitle is \"How Computer Programming Is Changing Writing\" - but it never gets close to discussing that topic, let alone deeply examining it. Instead, it is a book mostly focussed on the history of what we mean by \"literacy\" and, by contrast, what it meant to be \"illiterate\".</p>\n\n<p>As per the standard for academic monographs, it is more interested in endlessly discussing the semantics of a term than engaging with its impacts. The historic stuff is genuinely fascinating. But the endless diversions about what Academic A thinks and how Academic B rebuts is a little tedious. There are clear parallels between a pre-literate society relying on the village scribe and the modern family having that one cousin who \"knows computers\" - but it is only weakly explored.</p>\n\n<p>There are moments when it seems like the author is really going to delve in to what coding literacy actually means:</p>\n\n<blockquote><p>The relationship between programming as a practice and computer science as a discipline is a central tension in the contemporary programming campaigns that invoke literacy,</p></blockquote>\n\n<p>But it rarely goes beyond surface level. Most people can write - but only few can write a novel. Many can engage is literary criticism - but few take it any further. How does that model fit on to coding? The book doesn't discuss, but there's an easy parallel there. Only a few people can write an app, but many can use it. Anyone can write a review of an app, but not many can do so from a position of literacy.</p>\n\n<p>This was published in 2017, so written a decade or so before LLMs became seemingly ubiquitous. Nevertheless, there are some historic titbits which seem to fit nicely into today's world:</p>\n\n<blockquote><p>As early as 1961, Peter Elias claimed that training in programming languages would soon cease because “undergraduates will face the console with such a natural keyboard and such a natural language that there will be little left, if anything, to the teaching of programming. [At this point, we] should hope that it would have disappeared from the curricula of all but a moderate group of specialists.”</p></blockquote>\n\n<p>But, as the book <em>does</em> briefly discuss, the way the brain is changed by coding literacy forces people to think more in line with a computer. Even if you tell an LLM \"build me an app to do xyz\", you still need to think about what you're doing, why you're doing it, what edge-cases you need to consider, etc.</p>\n\n<p>But then it is back to the interminable academic squabbling about whether Wittgenstein's definition of an inconsequential term is compatible with Chomsky's.</p>\n\n<p>Perhaps the biggest weakness is that there is almost a complete absence of code! A few examples of <abbr title=\"Beginners' All Purpose Symbolic Instruction Code\">BASIC</abbr> would have done <em>so</em> much to demonstrate how a restricted language set changes how people write and therefore think.</p>\n\n<p>There's a brief exploration about how the typewriter and typesetting changed language and literacy - but where's the examination about how the tyranny of <abbr title=\"American National Standards Institute\">ANSI</abbr> layout curtailed the way programmers wrote? There's an amazing exploration to be done about why coders use <code>=></code> rather than <code>→</code> and how various other symbols got co-opted into their languages.</p>\n\n<p>Instead, it is back to the history books again.</p>\n\n<p>Here's another good example about how writing changed literacy:</p>\n\n<blockquote><p>Written texts provide fewer cues than oral delivery about how to “take” them; for example, ironically, sincerely, or jokingly. Readers must interpret texts, supplying the illocutionary force of the text themselves.</p></blockquote>\n\n<p>It seems obvious to me that this is directly comparable with something like a code review. It isn't immediately clear what a programmer means when they write something down - and even comments can be misleading. What sort of \"oral traditions\" are we building up?</p>\n\n<p>The book then mostly abandons any pretence of talking about code. I think the author really wanted to write a history book but needed the (then) coolness of tying it to the various \"get kids to code\" campaigns.</p>\n\n<p>Towards the end, it <em>almost</em> returns to the topic at hand.</p>\n\n<blockquote><p>We choose our words in terms of what is potentially reportable on Facebook or Instagram or Twitter</p>\n\n<p>[…]</p>\n\n<p>Although few people know how to program the devices on which code and computation ride into our lives, their manifestations influence us anyhow. In various ways, we have learned to see ourselves as “computed” by the devices and networks on which we depend.</p></blockquote>\n\n<p>As we might say nowadays \"Hey chat! Guess the Cheeto didn't unalive himself today!\" - but that isn't really about coding. The people using those substitute words are ignorant of how algorithms really work and think that their clever doublespeak can bypass censorship.</p>\n\n<p>We desperately need more people to be literate in what coding means. Sadly this book only every lightly touches on what coding literacy does to our language, our thoughts, and our society.</p>\n\n<p>I'm giving it 2.5 stars because the history was genuinely interesting - but it completely fails to engage with the topic it promised.</p>\n<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=72659&HTTP_REFERER=Atom\" alt width=\"1\" height=\"1\" loading=\"eager\">",
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{
"id": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=73981",
"title": "Edinburgh Fringe - Heated Rivalry: The Unauthorized Musical Parody ★★★★☆",
"description": "There are at least four different Heated Rivalry shows at the Fringe this year. Earlier this week we saw Edinburgh Fringe - Heated Rivalry: The Musical Parody!. This is different because it is the unauthorized musical parody. Oh, and it is in the much larger Udderbelly venue. Some people spend the fringe watching every possible interpretation of Timon of Athens - we decided to go for doubles of …",
"url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-heated-rivalry-the-unauthorized-musical-parody/",
"published": "2026-08-12T21:22:09.000Z",
"updated": "2026-08-12T21:09:24.000Z",
"content": "<p>There are at least <em>four</em> different Heated Rivalry shows at the Fringe this year. Earlier this week we saw <a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-heated-rivalry-the-musical-parody/\">Edinburgh Fringe - Heated Rivalry: The Musical Parody!</a>. This is different because it is the <em>unauthorized</em> musical parody.</p>\n\n<p>Oh, and it is in the much larger Udderbelly venue.</p>\n\n<p>Some people spend the fringe watching every possible interpretation of Timon of Athens - we decided to go for doubles of gay hockey sticks.</p>\n\n<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/fef3a413-0f72-4faf-a33e-691bbd4af37c.jpg\" alt=\"Two hockey player biting a puck.\" width=\"250\" height=\"250\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-73984\">\n\n<p>So, how does it compare to its twin?</p>\n\n<p>It is good, but <em>deeply</em> conservative. The whole thing is framed through the eyes of a middle-age suburban mom which, sure, is probably a large part of the target audience but felt a bit retrograde. While the other show had a plentiful amount of <em>acrobatic</em> simulated sex with near-nude performers, this only has a couple of shirtless scenes and the actors are reduced to having a couple of trysts with literal mannequins. Weirdly, the one sex scene they perform together takes place behind a sheet. The leads kiss only twice which, for a parody of a show famed for its explicitness makes it all feel a bit Hays Code.</p>\n\n<p>The songs, however, are sumptuous. A full score accompanies the incredibly talented cast. This is <em>very</em> off-Broadway - with soaring melodies, powerful solos, and solid reprises. At times it feels more like a parody of Broadway shows than of the TV show.</p>\n\n<p>That isn't to say this is bad. It is <em>very</em> good. The script is full of delightful references and silly jokes. The lyrics at times are downright <em>filthy</em>! It is an excellent show and well worth seeing - but my heart remains with the <em>other</em> parody.</p>\n<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=73981&HTTP_REFERER=Atom\" alt width=\"1\" height=\"1\" loading=\"eager\">",
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{
"id": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=73961",
"title": "Edinburgh Fringe - James Rowland: Team Viking ★★⯪☆☆",
"description": "This is a technically precise and emotionally complex show with energetic delivery from a talented performer. Sadly, it did nothing for me. I found it a little one note in terms of storytelling. The rhythm of the story followed all the predictable beats which I thought was a little repetitive. There's no doubt he's a gifted storyteller. The comedy is suitably dark with some good moments of joy …",
"url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-james-rowland-team-viking/",
"published": "2026-08-12T19:20:01.000Z",
"updated": "2026-08-12T17:30:11.000Z",
"content": "<p>This is a technically precise and emotionally complex show with energetic delivery from a talented performer.</p>\n\n<p>Sadly, it did nothing for me.</p>\n\n<p>I found it a little one note in terms of storytelling. The rhythm of the story followed all the predictable beats which I thought was a little repetitive.</p>\n\n<p>There's no doubt he's a gifted storyteller. The comedy is suitably dark with some good moments of joy and catharsis. It is probably the perfect show for some people but I wasn't the right audience for it.</p>\n<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=73961&HTTP_REFERER=Atom\" alt width=\"1\" height=\"1\" loading=\"eager\">",
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"categories": [
{
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{
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{
"label": "review",
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"url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog"
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{
"id": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=73971",
"title": "Edinburgh Fringe - Garrett Millerick: We Tried it Your Way ★☆☆☆☆",
"description": "Easily the worst show we've seen at the fringe. Garrett Millerick has trained an AI on his stand up. Can it replace him? Yes, but only in the sense that the AI is obnoxiously dull and Millerick is simply obnoxious. He insulted a kid who he'd called on to stage to help him. Not even in a jokey way, just being rude. His splenetic rants against religion and politics were beyond tired. The dating…",
"url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-garrett-millerick-we-tried-it-your-way/",
"published": "2026-08-12T17:55:57.000Z",
"updated": "2026-08-12T17:25:43.000Z",
"content": "<p>Easily the worst show we've seen at the fringe. Garrett Millerick has trained an AI on his stand up. Can it replace him?</p>\n\n<p>Yes, but only in the sense that the AI is obnoxiously dull and Millerick is simply obnoxious.</p>\n\n<p>He insulted a kid who he'd called on to stage to help him. Not even in a jokey way, just being rude. His splenetic rants against religion and politics were beyond tired. The dating segment was like something from an incel forum. Bitter and uncomfortable.</p>\n\n<p>There's a minor point that's made about whether AI comedy is cheating (yes) and if comedians need to be worried (no). But even when he goes back to performing his organic routine, it is dire. There are a few chuckles to be had, but most of the audience were just looking stricken with second hand embarrassment.</p>\n\n<p>The delivery is a one note rant, the jokes are the shouting of an angry disillusioned man, and the AI is a clanker of the worst order.</p>\n\n<p>Dire.</p>\n<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=73971&HTTP_REFERER=Atom\" alt width=\"1\" height=\"1\" loading=\"eager\">",
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{
"id": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=73949",
"title": "Edinburgh Fringe: When Vincent Met John ★★★★★",
"description": "I'm a sucker for anything Beatles related - and the fringe has no shortage of musicals, reinterpretations, and shameless cash-ins of the Fab Four. When Vincent Met John is an oddity in that it is a normal play, rather than a musical. It is also an oddity in being 90 minutes long rather than the standard fringe slot of no more than an hour. What if van Gogh and Lennon could have a conversation?…",
"url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-when-vincent-met-john/",
"published": "2026-08-12T15:30:12.000Z",
"updated": "2026-08-12T14:51:06.000Z",
"content": "<p>I'm a sucker for anything Beatles related - and the fringe has no shortage of musicals, reinterpretations, and shameless cash-ins of the Fab Four.</p>\n\n<p>When Vincent Met John is an oddity in that it is a normal play, rather than a musical. It is also an oddity in being 90 minutes long rather than the standard fringe slot of no more than an hour.</p>\n\n<p>What if van Gogh and Lennon could have a conversation? They were both tortured artists whose influence spanned the world and only grew after their untimely deaths.</p>\n\n<p>It is incredible!</p>\n\n<p>Much like Yasmina Reza's \"Art\" this is a meticulous argument about the nature of creativity. And, much like, <a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2025/02/theatre-review-the-last-laugh/\">The Last Laugh</a> this feature fastidiously observed recreation of beloved figures.</p>\n\n<p>Can Lennon conceive of someone who doesn't recognise Him? Can van Gogh conceive of Yoko Ono's conceptual art? Is Lennon's braggadocio an impediment to his happiness? Is van Gogh's obsessive nature blocking him from progressing?</p>\n\n<p>The script sizzles. Lennon almost seems to speak in rhyming couplets - as befits a lyricist and poet. It is peppered with throwaway references to his cannon (including many deep cuts for the obsessives). One of those plays where I immediately want to grab the script and study it to death.</p>\n\n<p>Both actors utterly inhabit their characters and give play off each other perfectly. The direction is precise and inventive. Even the set construction is perfectly attuned to the needs of the show.</p>\n\n<p>An astounding piece of theatre and strongly recommended.</p>\n<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=73949&HTTP_REFERER=Atom\" alt width=\"1\" height=\"1\" loading=\"eager\">",
"image": null,
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"url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog"
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{
"label": "Theatre Review",
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},
{
"id": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=73930",
"title": "Edinburgh Fringe - Justina Seselskaite: Settled ★★★★☆",
"description": "Sometimes at the Edinburgh Fringe, you take a punt on a random show because it's close by and you can't be bothered walking any further. Justina Seselskaite's set was round the corner and started in 7 ½ minutes - so we scurried into one of the less glamorous rooms of The Hilton, sat at the front (as is our wont), and wondered what on earth Lithuanian stand-up was like. It was sublime! There's a …",
"url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-justina-seselskaite-settled/",
"published": "2026-08-11T22:23:14.000Z",
"updated": "2026-08-11T20:24:54.000Z",
"content": "<p>Sometimes at the Edinburgh Fringe, you take a punt on a random show because it's close by and you can't be bothered walking any further. Justina Seselskaite's set was round the corner and started in 7 ½ minutes - so we scurried into one of the less glamorous rooms of The Hilton, sat at the front (as is our wont), and wondered what on earth Lithuanian stand-up was like.</p>\n\n<p>It was sublime!</p>\n\n<p>There's a rich history of foreign comedians coming to these shores and <del>stealing our jobs</del> making us laugh by pointing out the UK's foibles as only an outsider can. Seselskaite has a witty outlook on the perils of being mistaken for Polish while working in Waitrose, how high-class a Wetherspoons is, and what's up with Manchester’s weird obsession with bees.</p>\n\n<p>The show isn't the most innovative thing on the Fringe; it's mostly straight stand-up. But the game of \"guess which English song was plagiarised by Lithuanian singers\" was surprisingly entertaining. OK, I won a badge by guessing correctly, so I'm biased.</p>\n\n<p>Settled is a solid piece of work which has obviously been road-tested and honed into a tight set. Excellent observational stand-up from a unique perspective (come on, how many other Lithuanian comedians have you been to see?).</p>\n\n<p><a href=\"https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/justina-seselskaite-settled\"><img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/settled-poster.webp\" alt=\"Poster for a comedy show.\" width=\"1347\" height=\"1679\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-73933\"></a></p>\n<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=73930&HTTP_REFERER=Atom\" alt width=\"1\" height=\"1\" loading=\"eager\">",
"image": null,
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"categories": [
{
"label": "/etc/",
"term": "/etc/",
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{
"label": "comedy",
"term": "comedy",
"url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog"
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{
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"term": "EdFringe",
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{
"id": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=73911",
"title": "Edinburgh Fringe: Handel Nine German Arias ★★★⯪☆",
"description": "Part of going to The Fringe is to expose yourself to new ideas, different art forms, and a range of artworks. Not everything needs to be a \"zany\" comedy about AI or a loving pastiche of that 1990s disaster movie you love. So I found myself sat in a Unitarian Church listening to a harpsichord and choral organ intertwined with a violin and cello while a soprano soared through Handel's greatest…",
"url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/edinburgh-fringe-handel-nine-german-arias/",
"published": "2026-08-11T20:21:05.000Z",
"updated": "2026-08-11T19:49:10.000Z",
"content": "<p>Part of going to The Fringe is to expose yourself to new ideas, different art forms, and a range of artworks. Not everything needs to be a \"zany\" comedy about AI or a loving pastiche of that 1990s disaster movie you love.</p>\n\n<p>So I found myself sat in a Unitarian Church listening to a harpsichord and choral organ intertwined with a violin and cello while a soprano soared through Handel's greatest hits.</p>\n\n<p>I'm too much of a philistine to assess its merits - but there's always pleasure watching technically accomplished professionals at the top of their game. I assumed they played the right notes (and in the right order) as the music was delightful.</p>\n\n<p>It was restful and restorative after a long day pounding Edinburgh's pavements.</p>\n<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/themes/edent-wordpress-theme/info/okgo.php?ID=73911&HTTP_REFERER=Atom\" alt width=\"1\" height=\"1\" loading=\"eager\">",
"image": null,
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{
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"url": "https://edent.tel/"
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{
"label": "/etc/",
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}