Mountains of the Mind, by Robert Macfarlane attempts to answer the question “why do we climb mountains?” by looking at the history of mountaineering, from initial fear to today. A fantastic read, which touches on history, literature, philosophy, geology and psychology.
I finished reading Abhoron, by Garth Nix, a week or so ago, but haven’t got around to writing it up until now.
This is the third part of a trilogy, along with Sabriel and Lirael, set in a land where necromancers can bring the dead to life, and only the Abhoron can return them. This trilogy is up there with Phillip Pullman’s “His Dark Materials”.
Thanks to The Soronator for pointing me in the direction of Bunny Suicides.
Daily life in Iraq carries on. US soldiers kill the driver and front seat passenger of a car that doesn’t stop at a road block. The husband and wife’s five children in the back seat are not killed. The BBC photo gallery of the incident will break your heart. Especially image 3. [via Bloggerheads]
I’d never heard of Ubuntu Linux, until today. Anyone?
With a general election looming, this BBC guide to the policies of the main parties may be of use.
Gadling is a blog — an online magazine — about “engaged� travel. What is engaged travel? Engaged travelers throw themselves (sometimes literally) into action when they travel. Whether sea kayaking in Micronesia or learning how to cook risotto in Italy, Gadling travelers are adventurers.
[update: comments closed (11/09/2006) due to comment spam.]
A list of anomalies in Beatles tracks (sounds, voices, clicks, cut-off drum beats) [via Scott Andrew].
I’ve not looked through the list (it’s linked here manly for Androo to read), but I remember hearing somewhere that Shakespeare can be heard being read in the background of one track. Something to do with thin walls, or a an echo chamber they used, or something.
What happens when you send a data file to a music player? Kinda cool – Acts of Volition: The Sound of Data.