Mark Cantrell's Blog, page 32

Blog: Is a modern OS designed more to manage our neurospace?

Operator error By Mark Cantrell WHEN did I become a slave to the machine? Some might say it was right at the very inception of machinery – rather the crafting of the first tools – while others might suggest it was the advent of the industrial revolution. There was a time when the tool knew […]

Gallery: Live at the UK Indie Lit Fest 2018

Beer and books make for a memorable occasion THE third UK Indie Lit Fest took place at the Kala Sangam in Bradford on 28 July 2018. With authors from across West Yorkshire, the wider UK, and even an international contingent, the event celebrates the great writing and the diversoty of the indie publishing scene. To […]

Society: Weaponised welfare stands in defence of inequality

Destitution by design A leading anti-poverty thinktank has called on the UK Government to call time on destitution. There’s only one problem – ‘flagship’ government reforms to social security helped fuel the rise of hunger and hardship in the first place By Mark Cantrell THE British Government is deliberately plunging some of the country’s poorest […]

Update: Catch me at the UK Indie Lit Fest

Book lovers of Bradford (and beyond) unite It’s the third UK Indie Lit Fest SATURDAY will see the Kala Sangam Arts Centre in Bradford host the third UK Indie Lit Fest, bringing together the cream of independent publishing for a get-together with the book-loving public. Mark Cantrell attended the event for the first time last […]

Society: Poor literacy is a dead giveaway for a killer cocktail of deprivation

Literacy is a matter of life and death, study warns Low literacy skills have been found to be a dead giveaway for a cocktail of deprivation that drastically shortens life expectancy. So what can writers do about it? No more than any other concerned citizen, really, but maybe there’s an added onus for them to […]

News: First ever children’s book makes nature writing awards shortlist

Shortlist for the Wainwright Golden Beer Book Prize announced By Mark Cantrell A literature prize established to promote respect for the natural world, and encourage people to explore the great outdoors, has for the first time included a work aimed at children. The shortlist for the Wainwright Golden Beer Book Prize 2018 was announced this […]

Film: Duncan Jones announces new campaign for 2000AD’s Rogue Trooper

Blue-skinned genetic super-soldier is set to storm the big screen Fans of British comic 2000AD should be well in for a treat if this bears fruit. Moon and Warcraft director Duncan Jones is set to write and direct a movie based on the story of the blue-skinned genetic infantryman, Rogue Trooper By Mark Cantrell WE’VE […]

History: The NHS was born and bred in Wales

Patient reveals Welsh workers inspired Bevan’s vision of NHS A project to assemble a commemorative archive of the National Health Service’s formative years has uncovered a forgotten aspect of its origin story – it’s rooted in the collective enterprise of south Wales miners and steelworkers By Mark Cantrell A patient has told historians how a […]

Technology: Pixar co-founder teaches Slough school the tricks of VR

This is so Ready Player One… By Mark Cantrell IF you’ve seen the movie, Ready Player One, or even read the book, then you’ll be familiar with the idea of a virtual reality school, but it’s not quite limited to the realms of science fiction – some people are trying it out for real. Earlier […]

Fiction: If you go down to the beach today

The Dolphin’s Song By Mark Cantrell WHEN the world turned to dust, the last dolphin left the dying sea to crawl onto the beach of eternity. There she began to wail a lament for all of humanity’s follies. The creature, crippled outside of her watery home, nevertheless defied the crushing weight of her own flesh […]