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Articles by Sam Sykes
FinReg Update: FCA Cracks Down On Finfluencers
Are you a 'finfluencer'? Or are you perhaps an investor who has been misled by a 'finfluencer'? The developments summarised below will be of considerable interest in either case. The UK Financial Conduct Authority ("FCA") announced on 22 October 2024 that it is cracking down on 'finfluencers' – that is, 'financial influencers' who may be deemed to promote or advise on financial products and investments on social media, but without requisite FCA authorisation.
The EU AI Act: Implications For UK Businesses And The Future Of Artificial Intelligence ("AI") - Part 2
R Rosenblatt More Rosenblatt was established in the City of London in 1989 and is a trading division of RBG Legal Services Limited, part of RBG Holdings plc (formerly Rosenblatt Group plc). In 2018 we listed on the London Stock Exchange’s AIM market. Central to every relationship that we build is a firm commitment to our clients’ success. In Part 2, we consider the obligations imposed on developers and users of AI systems and reflect on key legal and practical obstacles in the Act's way.
The EU AI Act: Implications For UK Businesses And The Future Of Artificial Intelligence ("AI") - Part 1
R Rosenblatt More Rosenblatt was established in the City of London in 1989 and is a trading division of RBG Legal Services Limited, part of RBG Holdings plc (formerly Rosenblatt Group plc). In 2018 we listed on the London Stock Exchange’s AIM market. Central to every relationship that we build is a firm commitment to our clients’ success.
Spring Film
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2K's Senior SZN (5 Games)
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Worldbuilding Doesn’t Need to Build Everything
A few days ago there was a viral tweet that hit home for me: I wasn’t alive in 1977, but I’m old enough to have seen “geek culture” shift from a celebration of cool shit to a faux academic discipline where fans obsesses over every throwaway line. This attitude has always existed to a degree. When I was a teen, everyone liked Star Wars and some big fans debated things the Kessel Run while a few super fans read extended universe material.
The Weekly Round-up: An 'Attack' on Human Rights and Two Failed Judicial Reviews
14 December 2020 by Sam Sykes Photo: Andrew Parsons In the news This was a busy week. It saw the beginning of a nationwide vaccine roll-out and protracted negotiations in Brussels to stave off a no-deal Brexit (which remains a ‘high probability’ according to the Prime Minister). It also saw the Government announce the appointment of retired Court of Appeal judge Sir Peter Gross to lead the review of the application of the Human Rights Act 1998 in the UK Courts.
The Weekly Round-up: Workers’ Rights and Personal Protective Equipment
In the news Dominic Cummings departed from Downing Street in dramatic fashion this week. The departure may herald a change of tone for this government – but in the meantime, criticisms of government measures continue on human rights grounds. The Joint Committee on Human Rights this week published two reports. The first report provided legislative scrutiny of the Covert Human Intelligence Sources (Criminal Conduct) Bill.
The Weekly Round-up: Operation Cygnus, lawyers in the firing line, and a new undercover policing bill
In the news The ‘second wave’ of UK coronavirus cases is continuing to surge. The government’s scientific experts have warned that we are at a ‘critical moment’ for handling the pandemic, after daily case numbers doubled this week.
The Weekly Round-up: Brexit and some judgments from the European Court
14 September 2020 by Sam Sykes Photo: Chris McAndrew In the news The Prime Minister has courted controversy yet again this week with a new Brexit bill that appears to violate international law. The proposed Internal Markets Bill would give ministers certain powers relating to Northern Ireland in respect of customs rules and state aid.
The Weekly Round-up: A-level Results, Facial Recognition, and Special Educational Needs
In the news This week has been awash with controversy over an unexpectedly harsh set of A-level results, with GCSEs set to follow this Thursday. Because students could not sit exams this year due to COVID-19, results were calculated on the basis of an algorithm taking into account mock exam results, predicted grades, and schools’ past performance. As a result, 40% of students have had their predicted grades lowered, with many losing university places as a result.
Sam Sykes Junior Recruiting Tape
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Sam Sykes DB Tape
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Seven Blades in Black
"Gunslingers and mad mages and monsters, oh my. Sykes' latest is a brutal and vulgar epic yet still fun enough that - and I say this as the highest of compliments - makes me wish like hell it ends up with an adaptation into a role-playing game." — Chuck Wendig, New York Times bestselling author
SEVEN BLADES IN BLACK
Another ultraviolent doorstopper opens the Grave of Empires fantasy trilogy, from the author of God's Last Breath (2017, etc.). Welcome to the Scar, a continent ravaged by the vicious and seemingly endless war between the elitist Empire and the egalitarian Revolution. To this once beautiful land came the famous Sal the Cacophony riding a giant bird named Congeniality.
Seven Blades in Black
Acclaimed author Sam Sykes returns with a brilliant new epic fantasy that introduces an unforgettable outcast magician caught between two warring empires. Her magic was stolen. She was left for dead. Betrayed by those she trusts most and her magic ripped from her, all Sal the Cacophony has left is her name, her story, and the weapon she used to carve both. But she has a will stronger than magic, and knows exactly where to go.
Sam Sykes Sophomore Season Highlights
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Book Review: Pathfinder Tales: Shy Knives by Sam Sykes + Book w/ Signed Bookplate Giveaway
Book Review: Pathfinder Tales: Shy Knives by Sam Sykes + Book w/ Signed Bookplate Giveaway ***The giveaway is now over, thanks to everyone who entered!*** I received a review copy from the publisher. This does not affect the contents of my review and all opinions are my own.
Building Nerdy Common Ground with Tie-In Fiction
It’s kind of hard to imagine going back to an era where nerds were persecuted, a la Revenge of the Nerds. Not that it’s hard to remember that time, of course. It was still in my lifetime where playing Pokemon in fifth grade was cool and playing Pokemon in sixth grade meant your social life was over.
Brave Chef Brianna: A Refreshing Treat | Three If By Space
If I’m being honest here, I picked up “Brave Chef Brianna” for a few reasons. The first being that I enjoy the author, Sam Sykes’, work. The second being that I share the name of the titular character. If I’m being completely honest, the name is what sold me on the comic completely. “Brave Chef Brianna” is a four part series that takes place in a world similar to ours, but not identical. Brianna (per Sykes it is pronounced “Bree-AW-nah.
The City Stained Red (eBook)
After years in the wilds, Lenk and his companions have come to the city that serves as the world's beating heart. The great charnel house where men die surer than any wilderness. They've come to claim payment for creatures slain, blood spilled at the behest of a powerful holy man. And Lenk has come to lay down his sword for good. But this is no place to escape demons.
The Tremendous Continuity of Science Fiction in Conversation With Itself
Please enjoy this encore post on this year’s science fiction, originally published August 2016. Reading Naomi Kritzer’s “Cat Pictures Please,” which just won the 2016 Hugo Award for Best Short Story, I was reminded of both John Varley’s 1984 “Press Enter” and Isaac Asimov’s 1956 “The Last Question”, as well as its direct call out to Bruce Sterling’s 1998 “Maneki Neko”. The narrator of “Cat Pictures Please” is consciously aware of its predecessors and engaging directly with them.
Finding Nerdy Common Ground with Tie-In Fiction
Please enjoy this encore post on tribal nerdery, originally published October 2016. Sometimes I wonder what color my vomit will be when someone tries to hold up Revenge of the Nerds as an important cultural piece of pop culture history. That might sound crude, of course, but in my defense I didn’t specify what would cause the bodily ejection.
Guy Turns McCafe Cup into Viral Pic
A pen to a McCafé cup makes for a viral story. Author Sam Sykes took to Twitter over the weekend and well he added some ink to his cup of Joe that isn’t so kid friendly. Come to think of it though, it just may be a great message to send your boss while at work today, but don’t unless you want to quit or get fired. The picture depicts two mittens along with the slogan “Warmest Greetings.” This illustration gives Spreading Holiday Cheer a whole new meaning!
All that glitters is not (digital) gold: the uncertain future of Bitcoin
We want to believe today that technology will set us free. Having experienced the immense changes of the technological and internet revolutions, we find the world a freer place today than it has ever been, a world of unparalleled freedom of information. We wonder where the next force of revolutionary emancipation will emerge.
Imaginative Anthropology: In Celebration of Ursula K. Le Guin
Ursula K. Le Guin was raised by an anthropologist and a writer. Not just any anthropologist: her father Alfred L. Kroeber, was the first person to earn a Ph.D. in anthropology in the United States, and after graduating from Columbia University he founded the first anthropology program at Berkeley. This was where Le Guin grew up, in a redwood house near the school, and spending summers in Napa Valley.
This Costume of John Carpenter’s The Thing is Exactly What it Appears to Be!
We here at Tor.com do everything we can to promote the idea that October Is The Greatest Month. With that in mind, we’re pleased to share this amazing rendition of John Carpenter’s The Thing. Of course, now Earth will be overrun by terrible shape-shifting aliens, and we’ll never be able to trust anyone again, but it’s a small price to pay for such a stellar costume. [via Dread Central!]
Tie-In Fiction, and Stepping Outside of Tribal Nerdery
Sometimes I wonder what color my vomit will be when someone tries to hold up Revenge of the Nerds as an important cultural piece of pop culture history. That might sound crude, of course, but in my defense I didn’t specify what would cause the bodily ejection.
A Long Lost Character is Returning to Game of Thrones Next Season!
Io9 is reporting that a long-lost, much-missed Game of Thrones character is returning to the show next year! Click through for more information, but be warned, everything beyond this point is a spoiler. Io9 has found news of the upcoming Game of Thrones season on the Spanish site Los Siete Reinos! Apparently, scenes are being shot near Dragonstone (which used to be Stannis Baratheon’s headquarters) that feature Tyrion Lannister, Davos Seaworth, and… Gendry?
An Expensive Adventure: Atlantis: The Lost Empire
Disney executives could not help but notice a few things during the 1990s. One: even accounting for inflation, science fiction films continued to do very well at the box office, if not quite grossing the same amounts as the original Star Wars trilogy. And two, many of the fans who flocked to Disney animated films, theme parks and the newly opened Disney Cruise Line were teenagers. Why not, executives asked, try an animated science fiction or adventure film aimed at teenagers?
Being Productive...
Are you sure you want to delete your account? You'll lose everything, forever! Of course not!
Promise of Blood (Powder Mage Trilogy)
The Age of Kings is dead... and I have killed it. Field Marshal Tamas' coup against his king sent corrupt aristocrats to the guillotine and brought bread to the starving. But it also provoked war with the Nine Nations, internal attacks by royalist fanatics, and the greedy to scramble for money and power by Tamas's supposed allies: the Church, workers unions, and mercenary forces.
The City Stained Red (Bring Down Heaven)
A city begins to break apart at the seams. Lenk and his battle-scarred companions have come to Cier'Djaal in search of Miron Evanhands, a wealthy priest who contracted them to eradicate demons — and then vanished before paying for the job. But hunting Miron down might be tougher than even these weary adventurers can handle as two unstoppable religious armies move towards all-out war, tensions rise within the capital's cultural melting pot, and demons begin to pour from the shadows...
[GUEST POST] Sam Sykes (THE CITY STAINED RED) on Why Writing Should Be Hard, and Why Hardship Makes Good Stories
Sam Sykes has done many things worthy of note, most of them involving violence of one manner or another. Amongst his feats of strength, he counts the following: Wrestling a Kodiak bear to the earth Defeating nine of ten prime ministers Founding, and later destroying, the East India Company The Renaissance Those are most likely true, as Sam Sykes is not given to lying without cause.
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