My father sent me this just now. This is incomprehensible. It’s exciting, and suggests that the days of rapid rail travel are not over, as well as making possible environmentally responsible cross-continent travel without using æroplanes!

This is a high speed train built by the Alstom rail group in Belfort , France, which shares manufacturing facilities with the GE Energy Products Europe EPE Gas Turbine group. The video was provided by the GE EPE Chief Engineer in Belfort.

Here’s the video (sorry, I’ve not a good way of embedding it here, so click the link below if you’re not getting anything), with some statistical numbers beneath it for those who can absorb them in meaningful ways. Personally, it’s in the range past “really fast” in my mind.

World’s Fastest Rail Train (current)

The Chunnel Rail Link goes approx. 300 KMH
This train peaks at 574.8 KMH
which is 357.2 MPH
or, if you’re still not really impressed:
Mach 0.482, almost ½ the speed of sound!
…on the ground!
…without a jet engine behind you!
…and it’s a trolley!

Building on last month’s successful meeting re-examining the existing publishing model, we’ve lined up renegade publisher and artist Robert Chaplin of independent publisher Library Editions to give us his take on end-running the Old Boy’s Network.

On Monday May 18^th at the Shebeen Club, Royal Canadian Academician Robert Chaplin will discuss publication and treasure, vis a vis the extinction of codex in the electronic age, and the importance of perfect rhyme and meter with respect to the mainstream absorption of hip hop.

Robert Chaplin was born under a lucky star and has fed pancakes to WhiskeyJacks. He will be launching his fourth Library Edition trade hardcover Brussels Sprouts & Unicorns on Thursday May 21^st at Walrus, 18^th & Cambie.

• Who: Robert Chaplin and the Shebeen Club
• What: our monthly meeting
• When: 6-9pm Monday, May 18^th
• Where: The Shebeen, behind the Irish Heather, 210 Carrall Street in Vancouver [map here]
• Deets: $15 includes dinner and a drink, so what are you waiting for?

Within the world of Twitter, Friday is called “Follow Friday”, when you dedicate a status update to promoting those people you follow due to their supreme quality of information contained in their updates or are particularly entertaining. This is a blog and not Twitter, I know. But that’s what today’s post is about even so.

Damn it, this is my blog, so I’ll do what I please with it!

And you’ll pay attention to those I promote as well, as it shall improve your life!

It will, really!

New people on the top of the list so that you notice them more easily. So… notice them!

Lord Likely’s journals have been located and are being propagated Emme Rogers has tips on life and dating (which is a microcosm of life) Raincoaster of Vancouver has the important material Warren Ellis is a sick and twisted being; click “BAD SIGNAL” on the right to sign-up for irregular invasion of your in-box Christopher Fowler writes books which you will now buy many copies of Sheldon is a daily dose of the under-appreciated ‘silly’ variety The Rime of the Postmodern Mariner, Rhys Hughes’s blog, is also silly CBC Radio live feeds (choose from Radio1, Radio2, & Radio3 across the 4½ national time-zones) Earlier with Lee Rosevere has repeats of the 17-minute weekday show and more Tim Lebbon is a writer who makes you like books with dragons Simon Strantzas is a writer writing about writing Tentative Equinox (and the comments are often just as entertaining; here’s the RSS feed for those) Charlie Brooker writes words for the Guardian

Erica Hargreave is a local writer and charming conversationalist Lord Likely explains the ins and outs of “Thrust Thursday” Emme Rogers will fill your life with outrageous joy Raincoaster is… simply good to follow. Do so. Now. Warren Ellis is a sick and twisted being CBC Vancouver provides programme information and new media thoughts Tim Lebbon often speaks of his dog Dave Kellet is the artist behind Sheldon Mari Adkins is an editor, writer, and cat obsessive Peter M. Wilson retired from the Vancouver Sun in 2007 and has tech thoughts Deb Pickman likes making theatre and the colour pink The Tyee is probably the new Vancouver Sun, only more socialist Charlie Brooker gets to tweet words the Guardian won’t print Darth Vader (not really, but it’s quite funnny) Eddie Izzard is a talented monologuist Theatre at UBC is a good source of arts news and theatre information

Now do all that, and fill your life with all the pointless wastes of your day that I use to avoid washing dishes and things.

See how helpful this blog is?

For those of you who can use a reminder — and even for those who don’t need one — this evening it’s time to show that you really are willing to participate in something that almost perfectly defines that oft-used expression “it’s the least one can do”. For 60 minutes light a candle and read by its light… or find something fun to do in the dark. [ahem] But whatever you do, above all, be safe!

Thanks to the genius which is Mari Adkins, I checked out this post here: “[publishing] The banal evil of the Google copyright settlement | jlake.com”.

Apparently the Google plan of putting every book in the world on-line is cleared to happen, and all writers (or their estates) who do not wish their work(s) to be available to everyone without charge have a little under two months to state their objection in writing. If they do not do so, they have no legal right to control of their writing.

All over the world there is the sound of authors saying “Eh? How’s that again? Isn’t this completely opposite to anything that’s ever been agreed?” The answer to that is ‘yes, it certainly is, but it’s too late now.’

For a dose of “the new reality”, let’s try this on for size, shall we?

The real problem, the evil here, is the notion now being put into practice that a copyright license can be asserted by a third party in the absence of the copyright holder specifically forbidding it.

All through modern copyright history until now, a licensor seeking a sub-right was required to negotiate with the copyright holder before exploiting that license. No differently from a tenant seeking to rent a property is required to negotiate with the landlord before they move in.

As of now, I no longer control the sub-rights to my copyright. Under the terms that Google and the Authors Guild have set up, anyone who wants to make a commercial use of them can do so. It’s up to me to notice, to be aware, and to take steps to defend my copyright. If I don’t, well, too bad for me.

And if you don’t think Hollywood lawyers aren’t already all over this, you’re dreadfully naïve.

Have a read through the article for the complete run-down, especially you authors, as this will have an effect on everything you’ve ever written or will write ever again.

And I’m working on the long-mentioned post about my last day in London right now, so that’ll be here tomorrow. No really, it will! I swear!

None of you care do you…? Well, alright, my mother will, but that hardly counts, does it?