Wow, super cynical title, but I'm intrigued. So, is the iPhone a good thing? I mean, I don't believe in that whole "technological determinism" thing.

Well, as I've always said, "If it works, it's obsolete," which is particularly relevant to Apple products. I mean, why replace my iPhone 5 with an iPhone 5s?

Good point. Do you think you'll talk about how people are able to get some control over technology for their own ends?

Nope. Just as Gutenberg's movable type changed the course of history, so too does my mobile phone. (Blackberries are another conversation altogether.)

You know I never miss an opportunity to celebrate my Welsh peeps. We must band together against the oppressions of the big state and the invisible control of capitalism.

I'm so happy to hear that. Will you let your pals know about it?

I'm in. Look, it doesn't matter if I'm from Sardinia; I've always been a vocal critic of the unbalanced distribution of political and economic rights.

That's right. We need to bring the periphery to the center—and what better way to do that than through a parade?

Right on! We need to honor difference but not accept different treatment. I'll be at the parade wearing my kilt.

Tony, kilts are for Scottish people. We wear paisley shawls and betgwns.

Got it.

Well done!

I just feel like I'm finally going to get the recognition I have always wanted as a novelist.

I've always said you speak to truth, so speak on, brother.

So, it sounds like a science fiction work.

Actually, no. It's about a Welshman named Aelwyn who is tired of being ignored and downtrodden by the British Empire. He galvanizes his community to rise up against the elite and reclaim the idea of culture.

Wow. That sounds a lot like your critical work. What about the "from Mars" bit?

Oh that's just because it sounds catchy, and anyway, Aelwyn feels so foreign to Great Britain that he may as well be from Mars.

Ah…