Because I’d much rather be watching the Sharks take on Team USA in the Olympic final.

– A.S. Byatt has some long thoughts about Alice that seem to me to prove that everyone brings their own biases to reading a book.

– The Finnish government continues to subsidize important cultural activities such as science fiction fanzines.

– This year the UK will be celebrating the 50th birthday of Alan Garner’s The Weirdstone of Brisingamen. Report in The Guardian here, and official web site here.

– Some folks at NASA think a new propulsion system could mean a trip to Mars would take just 39 days.