The prose, also, is hilarious. "Or they will hear the voice of my trusty rifle, 'Kill-Deer'." etc. Many amusing scare quotes.

I'd forgotten how silly that novel is. Hawk Eye disguises himself as a bear & the otherwise hyper-sensitive native Americans are clueless.

This week I'm looking forward to teaching John Barth and Peter Osborne on Theory and its afterlife. Also doing Last of the Mohicans.

On the damage Michael Gove is doing to schools in the UK http://gu.com/p/3j594

It gets better. Feeding homeless to be banned by Conservative Westminster council. http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/feeding-homeless-to-be-banned-by-tory-run-westminster-113433

I appreciate the critique of rights discourses as much as your next critical theorist, but that is dire. Blatant desire to crush. #tories

"[Theresa May] has just said the next Conservative manifesto will include a pledge to scrap the Human Rights Act." http://bit.ly/1fVvUFQ

Fixing broken spellcheck in Thunderbird 24 http://bit.ly/19PSVnu #bug #email

Newfound Early Draft of Marcuse Book Reveals a Turn Toward Pessimism http://zpr.io/65du

Edinburgh University ends funding for US drone component maker http://bit.ly/1fTWqzg

Foucault Studies Issue 16 September 2013

Snowden Strikes Again: NSA Mapping Social Connections of US Citizens http://zpr.io/652C

RMS On Why Free Software Is More Important Now Than Ever Before http://zpr.io/65re

Automatic Translation Without Dictionarieshttp://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/bnrKgeLAjvQ/story01.htm

If we've not already guessed, 'the woman' is, again, the lady V. of Stencil's mad time-search.

It would, apparently, price the country out of energy markets. #UnderwaterMarkets

As UN states definitive human contribution to warming, Osborne says Britain should not place heavy environmental burden on energy firms.

Letters: Greek universities' future under threat http://gu.com/p/3j5f3

Now on train up to Lincoln to welcome our new students and to get ready for the onslaught of term!

Felt like some Scandinavian political drama. Borgen in Bergen.

Back from Bergen where I spoke on open access immediately after the Norwegian education minister (Kunnskapsminister). Also sat next to her.

Here's that OA Wittgenstein journal I mentioned while at #BergenOA http://bit.ly/185XT1q

'Waterproof iPhone' ad hoax tricked users into destroying their handsets http://gu.com/p/3tqa3

A faster-than-light message could mean financial reporters are breaking the law http://google.com/producer/s/CBIw4si5wAI < that this happens at all is mad

I also had a great chat with somebody from the Bergen Wittgenstein archive. Their journal is embargoed OA, which is a very good start.

And remember kids, you can't spell "funicular" without "fun"!

Had a great time speaking on open access in Bergen. Also explored the funicular railway. #OABergen

Flight to be referred to as the "/alleged/ 16:25 to Bergen, Norway".

Revealed: the violent, thuggish world of the young JS Bach http://gu.com/p/3jxxv

We should be much farther along than we are; something has gone wrong; not much of this preliminary rambling seems relevant.

Final week to apply for a funded MSc in Research in computer science working on Open Access technology http://bit.ly/18mBpYS

Love how video circulating is called "forget Samsung & Apple". As though people believe that tech. superiority is the reason for dominance.

If I hadn't felt so migrainous all weekend, I would have ventured out this evening to see Tony Joe White. Prepping for Norway instead.

Holy hell. University of Athens to terminate all activities. It can't operate because of cuts and lay-offs. http://bit.ly/15m5lrf

That just leaves a conference abstract to write before I head off tomorrow to speak on Open Access in Norway http://bit.ly/16By0mZ

Phew. Today has gone pretty well so far. Read & reviewed a book; got my module handbooks in their final state; inbox zero.

Example used in that article of an "academic indulgence" was a philosophy project on German idealism.

(which samples Taco's Puttin' on the Ritz for anybody who might care!)

where somebody had posted this gem from SebastiAn. Not normally so keen on his stuff, but this... http://bit.ly/16qQ1n0

Marking this afternoon and did a lengthy YouTube detour via Led Zeppelin. I eventually ended up at the ElectronicBlues subreddit...

Brighton people: friend searching for job in ESOL or health assessment. If you know of orgs to whom she could apply, I'd be grateful.

Things confirmed to and/or learned by me today: #1 @ajaxlogos is a really smart guy. #2 there's a great pizza place on Exmouth market.

It is a total scam that the Copyright Licensing Agency’s rules for academic scanning stipulate that only the latest edition may be used.

New project listed on @OpenAccessTools: tei2wikitext by @OpenBookPublish http://bit.ly/16iCIoE

Must get off Twitter and write. #bbl

If you can't find any literary value in Invisible Man then you shouldn't be anywhere near education policy.

North Carolina school board bans Ralph Ellison’s ‘Invisible Man’. “I didn’t find any literary value.” http://bit.ly/15Fd1mP

Bertolt Brecht: irresistible force or forgotten chapter in theatrical history? - http://gu.com/p/3tpta

Publication: Gatekeepers in a digital wasteland, The Author http://bit.ly/189kOt7

(but don't forget the tweet before and fight to eradicate precarious labour conditions)

OK, after grim last tweet you can cheer yourself up by watching this amazing String Theory-based cover of b. rapsody http://bit.ly/1ep3moV

However, please include a little cover note/context! Helps to distinguish from corporate spam type efforts & I'm more likely to promote.

I'm very grateful to the person at MMU who sent me a pack of flyers and posters for the Humanities in Public event.

Death of an adjunct - important reading http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/opinion/perspectives/death-of-an-adjunct-703773/

Few employers would pay you to create a product and then allow you to sell the output for personal advantage. Totally odd logic.

Think he's got this wrong. It already /is/ treated differently. Those of us with jobs are paid to do research /and/ are allowed to sell.

Author asked rhetorically why academic labour should, in this case, very treated differently to other forms. Ie right to compensation.

Just read a post asking why academics should have to lose the ability to profit from selling books, either through OA or bulk licensing.

“@catmacOA 55% of DOAJ journals don’t have DOIs ... 41% not yet interested in archiving as they don’t have resources #COASP” < a big problem

Free school meals for infants pledged by Nick Clegg < and we all know the value of a Lib Dem pledge

The secret stock market run by ultrafast machines. http://google.com/producer/s/CBIws-fIsAI null

Fact-checking Thomas Pynchon's Bleeding Edge: whom can you trust? http://gu.com/p/3tz84

“@VersoBooks A Meme For Our Time: smiling MP's proudly opening foodbanks http://wingsoverscotland.com/the-pride-of-britain/” cc @PlashingVole for Paul Uppal

MT @JG_THE: Cable declares Lib Dems have "good policy" record on HE to banish broken fees pledge: http://bit.ly/18064Nn < what a joke

Just noticed that, awesomely, Wordpress refers to its licensing conditions as "Freedoms". Given that it's GPL, that's 100% right.

Despite his name, Beard is the only member of ZZ Top who does not wear a beard.

Philip Pullman: 1.) uses false piracy = theft equation. 2.) poses capitalism as ahistorical norm. Oh great. http://bit.ly/1bltm3g

One of the parts of book-writing that worries me most is the acknowledgements. Who are my unknown unknowns?(that will haunt me)

Thanks to a passing Facebook post by @dzhimbo today has been ZZ Top dominated.

And why, yes, I did just make up #hackSunday.

Been doing some #hackSunday work (through a haze of methotrexate) on meTypeset. Now has beginnings of a test suite! http://bit.ly/14xbnRY

Think Nick Clegg is pretty deluded over LDs remaining king makers. They're going to get obliterated.

“@BigMeanInternet here are some claims the Internet might've helped Jon Franzen not get wrong http://destructural.tumblr.com/post/61235823179/points-the-internet-couldve-helped-jon-franzen-with” < brilliant

Favourite character name in Bleeding Edge so far: Conkling Speedwell.

Dear @LRB and @timeshighered - can I switch my subscriptions to digital only? I don't want more dead tree shipped to me...

Can't wait to teach Lost in the Funhouse: Experimental American Literary Fiction Since the Sixties. And our MA in C21 Lit. Theory.

Spent some time today bashing the handbooks for modules I'm coordinating into shape.

Sounds like a DeLillo situation, but this is one awesome left-wing radical nun http://bbc.in/1eOvRLn

Cumberbatch has serious cognitive dissonance. Horrified by revelations of war crimes. Says Manning deserves sentence. http://bit.ly/1geu8No

Hurrah! Just had an article accepted, too :) #gymTime #knowhowtocelebrate

I'd also like to take the opportunity today to reaffirm my opposition to the death penalty in all cases, no matter how abhorrent the crime.

I'm laughing at the fact that Tim Ware has beaten me to it and registered all the domain names mentioned in Bleeding Edge.

Oh and I see Franzen has decided to troll the internet again.

Please RT (regardless of your discipline) & spread the word to anybody interested: funded MSc in Computer Science http://bit.ly/1dNdtU8

Jonathan Lethem weighs in on Bleeding Edge http://nyti.ms/1aGxcER

Fascinating pieces on medical histories and museum ideologies in @elebelfiore's Humanities in the 21C. Very much enjoying.

Why Anders Breivik is welcome at our university http://bit.ly/17SLcrk

Good piece by @AnnMcKechinMP on @LSEImpactBlog. When I gave evidence to inquiry, I felt she really listened & got it. http://bit.ly/17sMOah

Pro-OA, anti-MOOC. http://bit.ly/1d8xZf6

I know that @PynchonInPublic will be pleased. Bleeding Edge has mention of an inscribed "web of symbols" in a bar bathroom a la Lot 49.

Today has started with Underworld (music), will progress to Pynchon (novel) and then to @elebelfiore (critical university stuff). Not bad,

You know it's bad when... "Zuckerberg said the government had done a "bad job" of balancing people's privacy" http://bit.ly/17RBh5b

So far, Bleeding Edge v good. Enjoyed the bitching about window.open javascript popups and Pynchon's fabrication of Arabic leet #31337

Many thanks to Umberto Rossi for the recordings!

Very pleased to say that recordings from International Pynchon Week 2013 are slowly being added to the website http://bit.ly/13KS0FT

If Breaking Bad had been set in the UK http://bit.ly/16jJz5v #NHS

Oh yes.

Hmm. Slight change of plan. I've got my hands on the new Pynchon book a week early!

Can't understand who would DDOS charity devoted to kids' reading and literacy. @playbythebook

... followed by all afternoon in hospital on a drip. Hurrah.

A day of several parts. Some article writing this morning to harness feel-good factor of excellent reader reports on book.

The NSA's next move: silencing university professors? http://bit.ly/15hudOP

Finally going to get to listen to the Thinking Allowed episode on Michel Foucault. Geekily excited.

Some commentary on the BIS recommendations from @RickyPo http://bit.ly/1b0DxKq

The world reacts to the Syria crisis http://bit.ly/195K2Yk via @adelinekoh

Is what I do "digital humanities"? http://bit.ly/1dXAJik

But if they want a "functional market" & note that current publishing choices not driven by price, then need to expose researchers to costs.

I can see why BIS want green - hoping to win hearts and minds, separate from feared APCs.

Hey you, don't watch that, #DHThis.

Special event in Brighton: Granta Best of Young British Novelists 9th October 2013 http://bit.ly/17kWaEY via @DrKatyShaw

Work on open access technology, get a masters degree in Computer Science: funded place http://bit.ly/1awCcvB #ecrchat #phdchat

Unfortunate metaphor, but:
Anti-war activists battle to get their voices heard in WW1 centenary events http://bit.ly/17N4HgL

Mountain of Love great this evening! If you don't know them, they're good. 2/3 Alabama 3 members. Sopranos theme.

The Disorder of Things: A Foucauldian Approach to the Work of Nuruddin Farah (2013) http://bit.ly/17HfaOR

Thomas Pynchon’s Bleeding Edge, reviewed. - http://mobile.slate.com/articles/arts/books/2013/09/thomas_pynchon_s_bleeding_edge_reviewed.html?original_referrer=http%3A%2F%2Fm.facebook.com%2Fl.php%3Fu%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.slate.com%252Farticles%252Farts%252Fbooks%252F2013%252F09%252Fthomas_pynchon_s_bleeding_edge_reviewed.html%26h%3DUAQFxkREA%26s%3D1

They do lower the quality slightly (despite claims to contrary), but they're pretty damn good.

Gotta say, though, that I am so freaked out about losing my hearing that I think they're worth it http://bit.ly/18KGmsX

I am definitely not cool. Off to a gig tonight (http://bit.ly/18KGjgS) and first thing I do is dig out my gig earplugs.

", to decide whether to take someone’s life or liberty" -- Judge Kozinski on the Milke case.

"‘No civilized system of justice should have to depend on such flimsy evidence, quite possibly tainted by dishonesty or overzealousness"...

Debra Milke released from death row after it is revealed that the /only/ evidence was from perjuring police officer http://bit.ly/1aVoEZS

Political Initiation in the Novels of Philip Roth http://bit.ly/1epDrfn

10 days until the release of Pynchon's new novel, Bleeding Edge!

Found some time for a couple of hacks on OAButton. The bookmarklet now has a "report" link & can, if next pull request accepted, be closed.

Cloning the #OAButton code, just in case I got some time to look at it ;)

Panopticon: Experimental Tales of Jeremy Bentham (2013) http://bit.ly/155RpiW

I feel bad writing "in haste" in emails. Everything is always done in haste. Maybe "in SNAFU".

The project is work on a typesetting component for inclusion in Open Journal Systems. Open Source, Open Access.

Tell your ComSci departments!

Please pass on this funding opportunity to anybody who might be interested in doing a funded MSc in Computer Science http://bit.ly/1dNdtU8

Do you want to do a funded MSc in Computer Science by Research @unilincoln? I've teamed up with @pkp for just that! http://bit.ly/1dNdtU8

OK, here's #TheNews...

Have a very exciting piece of news to announce later this evening. #needlesspretease

You gotta laugh at operator 4G logic. Price it high because "there's no demand". Use low uptake as evidence for the fact there's no demand.

Terrorism and Temporality in the Works of Thomas Pynchon and Don DeLillo http://bit.ly/154MtLg

In case you missed it, I wrote this about library budgets & the sale of the Shakespeare first folio for @guardian http://bit.ly/17RUPIw

BOSS: Biannual Online-Journal of Springsteen Studies, First Issue http://bit.ly/14w1r9j

Foucault, Bourdieu et l’État pénal à l’ère néolibérale (2013) http://bit.ly/14oXqsM

Beyond the Victorian and Modernist Divide - France (Normandy- University of Rouen), March, 27-28 2014 http://bit.ly/14oXqJe

Lowell Observatory Pushes To Name an Asteroid "Trayvon" http://bit.ly/18GX1hh

"Linux would be safer"

"Closed-source software is easier for the NSA to backdoor than open-source software."

"Be suspicious of commercial encryption software, especially from large vendors."

Bruce Schneier's piece on crypto is the best I've read so far (predictably, given that he is amazing): http://bit.ly/15CljxN

Hmm. Except, NSA also claim to be able to exploit "indigenous" cryptographic systems... "Non-commerical crypto infosec system"

That looks like confirmation that they've introduced flaws (timing attacks etc.)

"Properly implemented strong crypto systems are one of the few things that you can rely on"

Wonder if open source components are vulnerable? Presumably not, they are, rather, just inserting flawed implementations into products.

OK, so the NSA has broken SSL? Game over.

That can be problematic for early career researchers who want to submit to assessment exercises. You'd think 3 years later you'd be safe.

I have another book chapter submitted in 2010 that still isn't out. Edited collections /are/ important for Hums., but they are so slow.

Oh, by the way, it /is/ a very fine and well-produced book, BUT, that book chapter I just tweeted... I submitted it in 2010.

Publication: Terrorism and the Cold War in Thomas Pynchon's Against the Day and Don DeLillo'€™s Underworld http://bit.ly/15C3fnp

Gathering from the responses of others, there may be an edited collection of Pynchon essays in today's post. Going home just got even better

Phew, just written a big lecture section on C. Perkins Gilman and (lack of) intersectionality. Looking forward to this one.

*ducks*

Toni Morrison: Paradise, Love, A Mercy http://bit.ly/1alG16R

CFP: Digital Humanities 2014 http://bit.ly/14rDXlU

CFP: 14th annual Foucault Circle (2014) http://bit.ly/1ak16hT

Been hacking this evening on meTypeset. Can now be run asynchronously from any folder. (Fixed relative dir issue.) http://bit.ly/14xbnRY

Just finished reading Jennifer Egan's The Keep. That's one fine fun piece of metafiction!

Just to play devil's advocate: couldn't some of the wealthy institutions criticizing UoL for selling folios help the lib. out financially?

MT @alibrown18: my guide to transferring a journal to Open Journal Systems. Comments, err spots welcome. http://bit.ly/1air1qt < brilliant

If anyone based in Brighton can recommend a (wo)man with a van, please let me know. Friend has been let down by her movers for tomorrow.

The Penguin Press trailer for the new Pynchon novel, Bleeding Edge, is too terrible to post. Don't know what they were thinking.

Nina Power on Samuel Beckett's How It Is http://bit.ly/15APzlN

Raymond Scott: "Don't you wish that we were in an eighteenth-century drawing room?" Adorno: "No." http://bit.ly/17J96XY H/T @svejky:

I can't vouch for its content (as I can't read Greek) but Issue 5 of the Greek Pynchon publication "The Zone" is out: http://bit.ly/17J20md

The Birth of Territory is published http://bit.ly/18nLYdG

Linux 3.11 Released http://bit.ly/14lW5xy

Today is a "start with Don DeLillo, move on to Jennifer Egan with some tech geeking in between" kinda day.

Review: Colin Coopman, Genealogy as Critique (2013) http://bit.ly/1e7GYyB

Two out of three articles sent off today and a heap of admin crushed. Take /that/ inbox.

That there is a perf. art company called GETINTHEBACKOFTHEVAN pleases me greatly, as it should all Withnail fans http://getinthebackofthevan.com/

The week of three article deadlines has begun.

And the model of selling software is what did that, linked to a cult of individual entrepreneurship.

If you want a computer literate society, people have to be able to dig around to see how software works. You can't do that if it's closed.

What Osborne doesn't get is that entrepreneurship broke ComSci teaching. The Gates-Jobs paradigm of "closed" fosters simple consumerism.

I almost nodded at one sentence in George Osborne's article on ComSci teaching in schools. Then frowned as it went on to "entrepreneurs".

Radio 4 doing a good job this afternoon with Saturday Night and Sunday Morning dramatisation and now Seamus Heaney recordings.

What is it like to publish in the journal 'Neo-Victorian Studies'? http://bit.ly/1dxH83G #Open_Access #review