Colganology: I'm getting bigger down under (Oo-er!)

Tuesday, October 07, 2008

I'm getting bigger down under (Oo-er!)

A nice little mention of The Sarah Palindrome today in the Canberra Times. If you haven't read my US electoral Round yet, click here. It won't be on the Times Online site forever.

11 comments:

Stuart Peel said...: Fab. I have friends down there, I shall instruct them to buy your book immediately.; October 07, 2008 8:40 pm
Stevyn Colgan said...: Cheers Stu!; October 07, 2008 9:07 pm
Jon M said...: Brilliant article! And now down below too! Cartoon sparkles too!; October 07, 2008 9:42 pm
Stevyn Colgan said...: Thanks Jon!; October 07, 2008 11:04 pm
Janet said...: Congratulations on the press coverage in Oz (what's with Sarah's tongue in that photo, though?), and I really like the latest cartoon. Hey, your cartoon features an interesting tongue as well. THERE'S a connection for ya!

Janet; October 08, 2008 1:04 pm
Stevyn Colgan said...: Thanks Janet. A lot of the Palin coverage seems focussed on her looks - as sad and shallow as that is - and the press seem to always print photos that make her look slightly suggestive. It's already given her the nickname of President MILF (don't look it up ... it'll lead you to some awfully dodgy websites - suffice to say it means 'Moms I'd like to F***) and, I'm reliably informed, a porn film has been rushed into production using a lookalike.

It's called 'Nailin' Paylin'. Note the clever alternative spelling to avoid litigation.

Whatever happened to political agendas? When were they hijacked by fashion commentary and porn-alikes?; October 08, 2008 1:45 pm
Janet said...: Well, I guess I'm a bit more naive than I realized. I'm not fond of the woman, but shame on people for coming up with this crap.

It's enough to make a person completely anti-political. But I believe you have to keep trying to fight the b*stards!

Janet

PS I love this slogan, that I just heard yesterday: Vote for Obama/Biden. Alaska needs its governor back.; October 08, 2008 2:02 pm
Stevyn Colgan said...: Janet - Yup. Drives me mad. But great slogan!; October 08, 2008 2:53 pm
Michele said...: Loved the article, Stevyn! Glad it's making its way around the globe.

Just ordered your book from Amazon UK. Can't wait to read it! :-)

M.; October 08, 2008 4:17 pm
Stevyn Colgan said...: Michele - Bless you! I hope you enjoy it! And next time you're over here I'll sign it!; October 08, 2008 5:02 pm
Michele said...: Deal!; October 08, 2008 5:14 pm

Praise for Joined-Up Thinking

'I found myself fascinated and somewhat dizzy. Most impressive' - Stephen Fry

'Dizzily intriguing' - The Bookseller

'The book that nails that odd, slightly unnerving feeling that everything really is connected' - John Mitchinson (Co-author of QI: The Book of General Ignorance)

'This is not a stocking filler - this is a real book. Buy several copies and keep one' - Daily Telegraph

'Quite simply the best way to spend time when not shopping, sleeping or preparing food' - Tony Hawks (author of Around Ireland with a Fridge)

'Can I recommend a book? It’s Joined-Up Thinking by Stevyn Colgan. The author shares my love of trivia’s interconnectedness - far from being ‘random info’, the facts in our brain only come to light because some other fact reminds us of them. It’s this quality that made me love the book - you almost want to have a conversation with it. For instance when it revealed that Charlie Chaplin was born on 16th April 1889, I wanted to say ‘that was only four days before the man he played (in all but name) in The Great Dictator (ie Adolf Hitler). The book’s packed with great info, from the derivation of the phrase ‘letting the cat out of the bag’ to the name for the thin bits of a cricket bail. Spigots, since you ask' - Mark Mason (author of The Importance of being Trivial)

'If you've ever looked at the Eiffel Tower and wondered how it's related to Dracula, then Stevyn Colgan is your man. Yes, it's trivia porn' - London Lite

'He connects each piece of his trivia puzzle in a concise, chatty, easy to follow, even logical, manner. This free-flowing style does not, thankfully, lend itself to pause and evaluation, but does allow for a great deal of chuckling and chin-stroking. This is the sort of book that you will read and then spend the next month or so scratching your head and wondering just how it is, exactly, you know that avocados are poisonous, that indigo is really just a shade of violet, or that Wilma Flintstone had two maiden names, Pebble or Slaghoople, depending on which episode you watched, or that former British Prime Minister Tony Blair owns a telephone that resembles a Harley-Davidson. He is the master of the trivial, the collector and cataloguer of the forgotten and inane - but no matter how worthless and unnecessary the information, Colgan has the knack of making it all sound intensely fascinating' - New Zealand Herald

'Stevyn Colgan has a theory; everything in the world can be connected through 'six degrees of information'. Trying to prove it takes us up some strange alleys - in the first chapter we go from Sir Isaac Newton inventing the colour indigo to 2007's most popular day for marriages - but his engaging style means we don't get stuck down the road of intellectual whimsy' - Maxim

'It's a very smart style to a trivia book, and will I am sure be one of the hits of the forthcoming season' - The Bookbag

‘People who know me are aware of a particular knack I have of being able to jump across subjects and back without losing a heartbeat. Stevyn Colgan's book, 'Joined-Up Thinking', is a variation on this which I could well see being turned into a pub quiz or even a TV show. The latter could be even more of a possibility as Colgan has connections to the 'QI' BBC TV show. You're going to walk away from this book knowing a lot more than when you started.’ - SF Crows Nest

'The premise of the book is simple - the surprising connections between seemingly random and unrelated 'things', looped around so you keep meeting your tail. How Colgan manages to find all these connections, unravel them and create something coherent and entertaining out of them is beyond me. But I'm glad he took the time, as the result is vastly fascinating and had my mind whirring round after itself for hours - immense fun!' - Falmouth People