Permutation City Blog

A boy goes to China with his father, a mister, who has settled in a rural village. He flees when rebels burn the village and kill his father. He then encounters a female botanist who wants to go to Tibet. Part of this is the boys conflicted religious views as he encounters a strange life in the wider world.

A growing-up story for a teenage boy. It bumbled along through a year or so of his life. There were several routes I thought it might take but it didn't. An enjoyable enough read.

Those who remember the Moomins might not know that it orignally appeared in the newspapers as a comic strip. Familiar characters appear but the stories feel a bit different. It feels like it's dealing with more adult issues, admittedly in a different way.

Looking at globalisation, the growth of brands, the co-opting of culture into adverts and the invasion of adverts into all areas of life, the loss of local jobs and the working conditions in the foreign jobs that take their place, and what people have done to try and stop all this. This was an good book but difficult to read because it angries up the blood.

A new job brings many strange happenings and you wonder why they are so instant about you leaving the office on time. Office work is combined with sourcery. This urban fantasy comedy book was an enjoyable read.

This details the analysis of everyday things in a rigorous scientific manner. Can the date of your birth actually change your life? What is the truth about lies? How people make up their minds and more. An interesting little read.

I read this after seeing a programme on the best of booker and thought I'd give it a go. While it did take me some time to get into the story I enjoyed it. Later a few fantasy elements turned up which was a surprise. I did find it quite a hard read in general and would be pushed to provide details of the plot.

This place is just of Buchanan Street near Princes Square and serves a canteen-style menu. It's simple, quick, and tasty. The steak pie looks glorious although the chips were slightly below par. Definitely interested in going back to try some more. They also serve a range of 2 for 1 pizzas which can't be bad.

An interesting sequel to book of the film E.T. It follows the extra-terrestrial back to his home planet where he is in trouble from his Earthly excursion. It's a bit of fun which kids of the right age will enjoy.

I like the original and had already heard bad things about this before I went in. While I wouldn't say this is definitely a bad film, it's definitely not a good film. I don't know quite what audience they were going for but I don't think they hit any of them. The story doesn't make much sense, the action isn't that exciting, and the performances are unexceptional. The single thing that did catch my attention has been much talked about in sci-fi but I can't remember it on film (off the top of my head.)