Finally, I can talk about Star Wars

I managed to make it all the way to the cinema without being spoiled, which was a relief.

Film was great fun, and managed to combine old and new very well.

If you like "Star Wars" then you will almost certainly like this, which is very-much "More Star Wars". If you don't, then you won't.

I shall almost certainly go and see it again, so I can experience it without expectations hanging over me.

theweaselking has a good review here, which points out Abrams' usual problems with time/distance (which were one of the major things that pulled me out of it). Worth reading the comments.

theferrett has a review here, looking at the plot in more detail, which I largely agree with.

And between the two of them they cover pretty-much everything I think about the movie. Which is great, because I don't have to actually set my brain to the task of writing a review.

Also, for filling in the missing bits:
What's going on with The Resistance and The First Order.

25 questions from The Force Awakens, and some answers to go with them.

33 questions that IO9 want answered

Personally, having to fill in the blanks of the background politics, history, etc. is one of the things I've never minded, and sometimes enjoyed. One of the things that made Star Wars successful was that it frequently hinted at a larger universe, which made it feel bigger, and more real, than it would otherwise have done. "The Clone Wars" were just a throwaway line in "A New Hope", for instance - flavour that gave fans something to imagine. But if you want to know the relationship between The Republic, The Resistance and The First Order, then off you go :-)

Comments almost certainly will contain spoilers, of course.

Interesting Links for 24-12-2015

• Scottish minimum alcohol pricing plan 'may breach EU law'
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• US stops British Muslim family from boarding flight to visit Disneyland
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Christmas Loot List

Christmas is not, of course, about the loot.

And yet, every year, there seems to be some.

This year there was a Sonos: Play 1, which I am looking forward to using to expand the number of rooms with music in them at home.

And some bluetooth headphones (the Plantronics BackBeat Fit, which was a great model last year, and thus a reasonably priced model this year).

And Predestination, a well received movie based on a Heinlein short, which I'd quite like to see.

And the three of the new Marvel Star Wars comics: based around Leia, Luke, and Vader, and set after the end of A New Hope. It looks like an awful lot of fun (spoilers, obviously, from a certain point of view), and the Vader comic is written by Kieron Gillen, whose work on Thor was solid, and whose The Wicked + The Divine is a favourite.

I also finally got the compilation of Digger, which will make Simon happy, as he's been going on about how great it is for years.

And the complete collection of Nextwave:Agents of H.A.T.E., Warren Ellis' absolutely ridiculously silly take on superhero teams. Which I will be lending at gwendysmile when I see her next.

Oh, and Julie got me the Six Stages of Debugging T-Shirt a few weeks ago, which also made me happy.

And now, turkey.

(Some of you may be wondering why this is happening on December 24th. For Historic Reasons my family starts Christmas at first star on Christmas Eve. Something to do with Austrian ancestors. Personally, I'm off to eat lots of food, you can google it for yourselves.)