TV

Band of Brothers
Part Nine Why We Fight [2nd watch]

Due South
2x02 The Vault [2nd watch]
I'm labelling all of these "2nd watch" because I definitely watched Due South first time round, but I don't think I've actually recognised any of it yet. (Beyond the very basics of the show's setup, that is.) I guess my memory has wiped the mid-'90s pretty thoroughly, then.

The Mentalist
3x08 Ball of Fire
Nearly caught up with Five (and therefore, as of this Friday, the US).
[Watch it (again) on Demand Five.]

Sarah Jane's Alien Files
1x05 Episode 5
1x06 Episode 6 [season finale]
I've decided this is very good for wrapping presents in front of. For that reason, wish I hadn't left it so long that episodes three and four got deleted from iPlayer.

Fiction

Star Trek: Countdown by Mike Johnson, Tim Jones & David Messina
Number Four (of Four)
The last part rattles along, which is a not unwelcome change of pace. Impressively, it also manages to completely wrap up its own story while still providing background and setup for the film. Job nicely done, chaps.

Articles

Author Slams eBook Piracy, Son Outs Her As a Music Pirate by enigmax
(from TorrentFreak)
Headline says it all, really.

Roger Ebert: ‘There Are Only Two Meaningful Ratings: R and Not-R’ by Germain Lussier
(from /Film)
Insightful. Plus, the US film ratings system is often amusing.
Ebert's original piece, to be read before or after /Film's commentary on it, is here.

Toby Ord: Why I'm giving £1m to charity
(from BBC News Magazine)
This is just quite interesting. For instance: "When I was earning £14,000 as a student, I found I was in the richest 4% in the world, even adjusting for how much further money goes in developing countries. Giving away 10% of that, I found that I would still be in the top 5%." See?

The X Factor takes on the world by Sinead Garvan
(from BBC News)

Perhaps the most insightful - and damning - assessment of The X Factor comes from underground rap artist Dan Le Sac.

"It simply doesn't matter," he says... "I know Joe McElderry won last year, but I couldn't tell you who won the year before. We get rid of it. It recycles itself within a year."