You know, you’re probably not going to be surprised if I tell you I’ve being doing something I’ve been getting notorious for, are you?
Are You … ?
I hope you not … !
At any rate, I think I can safely say that I’ve been happily emailing the Gazette, again!
Kaiju, Trevor, Kevin …?
Adrian … ?
Go on, tell me you’re surprised, go on, tell me!
Tell me, tell me, tell me … !
AHEM!!
Sorry!
But, at any rate, I’ve mailed them, again, after seeing a feature — in this week’s — about the cost of Essex County Council’s website.
Seems they give quite a bit of taxpayers dosh to Deloitte to handle that: and from what I’ve seen of the ECC site … ?
Not a lot’s on the metaphorical screen …
At any rate, here’s what I said, this time.
Dear Sir,
I’m writing after reading your about the cost of Essex County Council’s website.
And I’ve got to confess, I’m thinking that the IT needs of both our town — and county, by the sounds of things — are being badly served by both our Borough council and our county council.
As many reader’s may know, I’ve long encouraged other people to explore the possibilities open source software, and proprietary alternatives to Windows —things like Ubuntu and Mac OS X— can do for them.
Including the possibilities inherent of things like Flash, as mentioned by Mr Edwards.
Or, indeed, of applications like OpenOffice, possibly the best alternative to MS Office available: again, free of charge, much like other open source alternatives.
Now, on the basis of my enquiries of Essex County Council about the computers used by Essex Libraries, I’m guessing that the ECC have little or no experience of alternative software available to both professional or home users.
And on top of that … ?
Going by your interview with Mr Edwards, it also sounds — to me, at any rate — as if they’ve also wasted quite a lot of tax-payers money on a service that they’ve really not made use of.
Yours,
Here’s hoping that’s published. It only took a couple of weeks to print the one about the town centre … !
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Phew!
And boy, I’m glad THAT bit’s over!
If nothing else … ?
It means that — either after finishing this post, or tomorrow at some point — I’m going to be writing an email to a certain Mr Pickles.
In regards to the wheel clamping.
Tell you in the morning … !
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Now, I’m imagining that you’re wondering about the rest of the pictures I’ve put up, aren’t you … ?
I’ll be honest, it’s because I’ve finally done something I feel I should have done years ago.
At least, something I meant to do, many years ago, when I’d work out a little something.
That something … ?
Was the correct order to read the various shades of short story by Michæl Moorcock that make up the life, times and doom …
Of the chap in the last picture.
The last of the Bright Emperors. The albino sorcerer-king. The White Wolf, himself.
The by now iconic character that is …
And, barring a few other works, I know of fantasy characters, I know of little else like Elric.
Hmmm …
Let me rephrase that: I know of few other’s before Elric quite like what Moorcock wrote of him.
Now don’t go getting me wrong.
I’ve read enough of Michæl Moorcock’s work in my time — mostly within the Oswald Bastable and Corum sequences — to know I’d like what I’d read.
But the keynote Elric stuff … ?
Most of Moorcock’s Elric novel’s I’d kept well away from.
Mostly because there seemed to be quite a lot of it: and none of it in any particular chronological order.
But I recently managed to dig up the book of the same name: Elric, by Michæl Moorcock. Basically, the nine or so core short stories that make up the basic structure o Elric’s life, and published in the UK by Gollancz, back in 2001, as part of their Fantasy Masterworks series.
I’m glad they did that.
I really am.
Because it gave me, at least, the chance to catch up.
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Now, these stories have been summed up a lot better than I could ever achieve.
But the tragic anti-hero, hating and loving the sword he uses to kill and which provides him with the strength he needs to stay alive has influenced — however subtly — a good deal of what was to follow.
I’m half convinced that Peter Jackson, in his film version of Lord of the Rings must have read Elric and passed that on to Elijah Wood. Allowing Wood to present Frodo as hopelessly addicted to the Ring.
And I’m certain that Games Workshop, in their Warhammer universe owe Moorcock quite a bit!
If not royalties, then certainly a VERY polite thank you.
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Which really boils down, ultimately, to one thing.
I’ve taken Elric back to Brentwood Library.
Go get … !
