2003-10-26
Almost completely forgotten (although the capital of Frisia, Leeuwarden has named the streets in a new development after characters in his books), the Dutch author Havank has been treated to only one biography; this book.
Foley et. al. is the current incumbent of Newman and Sproull: the absolute standard text for budding graphics programmers. The field has widened, deepened and generally ballooned; that's clear just from the difference in page numbers: Foley is twice Newman.
I'm trying to hack Krita into submission. I want a paint application that fakes natural media and the way they work, not just the way they look. So I've started studying C++ and computer graphics, a completely new field for me.
2003-10-20
Between 1935 and about 1975, Havank was the most popular, most widely read Dutch author. Therefore it's no wonder that he has never received much critical acclaim. Still, i consider him not only an author of fine, formulaic mystery novels, but also as the Dutch Wodehouse. But where Wodehouse received acclaim for his similes and virtuoso use of language, Havank was derided for his Popish boarding-school type of humour.
2003-10-01
When I first read the Amazon blurb of Monstrous Regiment, I thought that this might very well be one of the better Discworld novels to appear in recent years. Terry Pratchett seems to need a fresh setting to do his best, and this book was set in a new place, with new characters, too. All set to spark the author's imagination.