Black Mirror: 15 Million Merits

'The second episode is a satire on entertainment shows and our insatiable thirst for distraction set in a sarcastic version of a future reality.

In this world, everyone is confined to a life of strange physical drudgery.

The only way to escape this life is to enter the 'Hot Shot' talent show and pray you can impress the judges.'

Watch it: http://www.channel4.com/programmes/black-mirror/4od#3264068

Where's the good fiction by women gone?

"In a recent blog for the Scottish Review of Books, I wrote about the lack of quality fiction by women currently being published. Or should I say, not being published. I speak as a reviewer: I review paperbacks and hardbacks for Scottish and London broadsheets, approximately 20-25 books per month, and mainly books by women. My London editor had complained she couldn't find enough fiction by women to send me; the book cupboard in my local newspaper office was almost bare of any (and by "any", I mean fiction by women that isn't chick-lit, a Tudor romance, doesn't involve vampires/witches/demons, or isn't formulaic crime). Where was the good stuff, I asked? The original literary novel, or the high-end commercial work?"

Read More: http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/dec/09/good-fiction-women-gone?INTCMP=SRCH

Trend Watch: Mini Books and Microfictions

'We’ve been noticing a growing trend in micro-fiction in recent years, and particularly in recent months: in fact, two of the books on our list of new must-reads for December fall into this category, so we thought we’d better take a look at it.

'Flash fiction or micro fiction is usually described as fiction under a thousand words, though much of it is much shorter — in fact, many traditions of flash fiction have self imposed word limits, like the popular 55 Fiction form. There are reigning masters of the field, like Julio Cortázar and Fredric Brown — and of course, everyone knows the most famous piece of micro fiction, supposedly penned by Hemingway: ”For sale: baby shoes, never worn.” Though the form has been around for a long time, it seems to be having a moment. This past year, we became obsessed with a literary journal devoted to the form, Esquire held a flash fiction contest judged by Colum McCann, and several books of tiny fiction have caught our eye. Click through to check out some of our favorite examples of micro fiction from the recent past, and let us know what you think in the comments.'

More: http://flavorwire.com/238633/trend-watch-mini-books-and-microfictions

'To rejoice in beauty'.

Wrote some more words and so does not hate the weather, for the weather meant that I stayed home and did that. Ergo bad weather can be good weather. Sometimes.

Margaret Atwood says Twitter, internet boost literacy

Rather than turn our noses up at Twitter, we should celebrate it and the internet as new platforms for instant communication and as drivers of literacy, says CanLit legend Margaret Atwood.


"A lot of people on Twitter are dedicated readers. Twitter is like all of the other short forms that preceded it. It's like the telegram. It's like the smoke signal. It's like writing on the washroom wall. It's like carving your name on a tree. It's a very short form and we use that very short form for very succinct purposes. There is a guy out there who is writing 140-character short stories — I just followed him today…but that's the exception. It's sort of like haikus [and] prose," Atwood said.


http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/story/2011/12/05/margaret-atwood-digital-twitter-publishing.html

Mark Zuckerberg: Inside Facebook

In just seven years, Mark Zuckerberg has gone from his Harvard college dorm to running a business with 800 million users, and a possible value of $100 billion. His idea to 'make the world more open and connected' has sparked a revolution in communication, and now looks set to have a huge impact on business too.

Emily Maitlis reports on life inside Facebook. Featuring a rare interview with Zuckerberg himself, the film tells the story of Facebook's creation, looks at the accuracy of The Social Network movie, and examines Facebook's plans to use the personal information it has collected to power a new kind of online advertising.


Mark Zuckerberg: Inside Facebook

You Need To Get Off Facebook