Ansible! Ansible!

Dave Langford is back! And better than ever!

John Wyndham is remembered by UK magazine hacks. 'According to new research from the University of Western Australia, maize plants may be communicating with each other by making clicking noises with their roots, an idea that John Wyndham had in his masterpiece The Day of the Triffids.' (Giles Wood, The Oldie, October) 'It may well be that Britain's homosexuals have all gone quite mad recently, the sort of sinister and mysterious development that might occur in a John Wyndham novel.' (Rod Liddle, The Spectator, 13 September) [MMW]

We Are Everywhere. From the Financial Times profile of billionaire Peter Thiel: 'Mr Thiel often references the sci-fi promise and optimism of the 1950s and 1960s. His favourite book is Lord of the Rings. He pays homage to the fantasy series in the Tolkienesque names of his various investment vehicles, such as Mithril Capital Management, named for the lighter-than-air mythical metal; Lembas, a secret-formula bread made by elves, and Rivendell One, a haven city for the forces of good.' (25 August) Does he get menacing letters from the Saul Zaentz Company ordering him to stop this misuse of Tolkien's terms? [MMW]