Monday, November 27, 2006
Jus' a quick one (YourSpins)
If you scroll down you will find a media player device which, when clicked, will play "Lift me up" by MOBY remixed by none other than myself. Through visiting the Faithless website I discovered this fun interactive music website. Those among my readers who have money to waste..er spend on things such as Logic Pro 7 will probably scoff at the technology it provides- but for the rest of us who don't know an awful lot about music- being able to change the bass from "dub" to "moogy" makes the music a lot more fun.
The site also has a community base, where people can listen to, comment on and rate each other's music. The layout is a bit like MySpace only...good, and people leave comments, make friends bladibladibla. This whol community thing usually bores me, but having the music mizes to focus on makes it a lot more interesting to talk to weirdoes I've never met and never will. Their third party terms aren't as rigid as I'd like them to be but otherwise the site seems pretty ok, and after spending an hour mixing on the Faithless site I wasn't going to complain!!
So if you fancy it come and join me making some music
see you later
The Figleaf
YourSpins homepage www.yourspins.com
My Page
Faithless website - you can remix their new track from here, but you won't be able to save it without joining YourSpins
Thursday, November 09, 2006
Still alive...just
Sorry to have neglected you my friends- i have no excuse to bring before you only my apologies and hope that you will return to me in grace...or something. The comments drought of the past few months put me off- plus the fact that I seemed to have killed off the Carey teens blog with my last post!! But i'm sat by my computer, in desperate need of something remotely creative to do to ease my conscience from the burden brought on by not having done enough work. I don't blame this entirely on myself- the University are to blame I say!!! They have introduced a special series of "student lead workshops" for the duration of the third year- whereby we as students, because of our independence and skill are supposed to be able to run our own lectures once a fortnight without any guidance or support whatsoever- the result: no one turns up and no one does any work!!
As one of the few faithful who turns up to every lecture I should feel proud and snobbish, but the lack of enthusiasm among my peers, as well as the wasted journey time has a serious drain on my ability and desire to produce work- and when the room we're s'posed to be in is locked it doesn't help much either!! All in all it drains me so I don't feel like doing much at all, and am left without a sense of purpose as I struggle to do the best I can for this third year.
Sorry to unload on you all like that- I should really be encouraging you to read my stuff rather than dump a load of my grievances on you, not particularly funny ones either! Other than this, life is decidedly average, so for something positive i'll give you my current reading material and adig up a positive post from my MSN blog to c 'n p for you!
My train book is Moby Dick by Herman Mellvile, a great Leviathan of a book, but very readable- I remember struggling with it when i started reading it at school (it was shortly after i attempted War and Peace, so i was put off big meaty books for a while!) but now I can't put it down, except when I need to get off the train!! Even when he pauses in the middle of the narrative to give an in depth description of the distinguishing features of the different species of whal known to man it's still gripping!!
I'm also reading Untold Stories by Alan Bennet (well I've read the introduction!!) my lecturer reckons it's good so i should really get stuck in!!
I'm now doing some damage to Psalms, book five by King David/God, i recently read Psalm 119, three pages long, 176 verses and all thoroughly worth reading.
OK- the rest of the content of this post is from eons ago and is purely to fill space until I find something decent to write about- enjoy.
The word of the post is posterity
Elan, wonderful Elan
Monday, September 25, 2006
Reading...amongst other things
I had my second day of University, which turned out to be worse than the first in terms of being valueless and frustrating. Once again i spent the day with Edd, which softened the blow somewhat, especially as we decided to go bowling after the induction. I now know less about what's going on than I did before!! I don't know which subjects I'll be studying or why and I'm not even sure when I go in next!! I think I'm doing Prose and Screenplay like last year, and I think I'm going to do what's been called the "Samurai Module" and get involved in a writing project for children with learning disabilities... if they said it right!
Right- onto reading, I once posted up a reading log on this 'ere blog o' mine and I believe I will continue as it is the kind of thing we are encouraged to do at University and you never know you may find it interesting. I've recently finished a collection of short stories by Edgar Allan Poe ( as in 10 minutes ago) so this has prompted me to post up a list of my chosen literature of late. I'll post up what I've read recently, what I'm reading currently and what I hope to read soon- not that 'recently' will encompass anything I've read over the past few months that I can remember well enough to write about.
But first, a little on my methods. I'm quite methodical when it comes to reading in a number of ways, for example if I read I will read a chapter, a whole chapter and unless I've got plenty of time for more I won't read on- I hate leaving a chapter or short story unfinished and if I have to do this because of inconvenient things like eating then I will rush straight back to my book so I can finish it. I also tend to read set books at set times, I usually have a Train Book which I read, surprisingly enough, on the train- to and from Uni. This tends to be a classic novel so i can fill my brain with good literature before entering the lecture room and it also means that since I have nothing better to do I'm more likely to read it and get through it, rather than at home where I'm more likely to find something else to do. Lastly if a book is in a series I absolutely MUST read that series in order- I consider it my highest literary crime to read book 3 before 1 and 2, and will only do it if I have to or don't know- and then I'll rush out and buy the preceeding books! As you can see I'm quite fastidious (ooh- that'll be my word thingy!) when it comes to absorbing literature.
Right, on with the list shal we?
Stuff I read recently
Oliver Twist: Charles Dickens - Undeniably an excellent novel, though Dickens doesn't half know how to ramble on about things!! Despite this I found the story a gripping and very entertaining one. I don't need to tell you what it was about, but it was interesting to note differences between the novel and the musical and film adaptations, as well as seeing the patterns in the "installments" when it was originally published in newspapers before being bound up in book form.
Starship Troopers: Robert Heinlein - I've yet to see the film, but the book is excellent. It describes a future, military based, society and is an interesting look at how humanity might be if spread out across the stars. Set against the backdrop of the war against the bugs, this book goes deep inside the mind of a soldier from boyhood to leading an elite platoon into battle. It had a clear, understandable style clear of unnnecessary technobabble yet also in a clear futuristic setting.
High Rhulain: Brian Jaques - The Redwall series, should not be mistaken for just being children's literature about talking mice and squirells. These books take the genre and take it seriously, creating stories about wars and heroes in a world much smaller than our own.
Ex Machina, volumes 1 and 2: Brian K Vaughan - I actually commited crime number 1 and read the second volume first, but I coped since this is an excellent series, possibly the greatest superhero series ever written since the classic days of Superman and co. It centers on Mitchell Hundred aka The Great Machine, bestowed with the ability to command any machine to do his bidding. But he decides that he'd do more good as Mayor of New york instead, and so the story centers on his political life while revealing his superhero background in the process. Fantastically written, excellently illustrated- recommended to anyone who can cope with a fair amount of swearing and the odd gory bit.
Selected Tales: Edgar Alan Poe - this falls into my 'train book' category, even though I haven't used the train in a while. A master of words, though also fond of using them rather liberally he also helped create and establish several genres, for example his character Dupin was one of the first detective characters in fiction, and Poe wrote very elaborate mysteries for him to solve, one of which was based on an unsolved murder in Americe, Poe turned out to be right in his assumptions as to who did it and how it was done!! He also wrote some terrible nonsense, such as the Imp of the Perverse, which is about the most boring thing I have ever read, it was an essay on the blatantly obvious fact that human beings like to do things even though they know it's wrong (it's called sin genius!!) and then described the actualy story in about two paragraphs!! But on the whole very readable.
The big four: Agatha Christie - Poirot takes on international super-criminals in this excellent book. I bought it on audio for my dad and then quickly borrowed it as soon as he'd finished with it- I quite like hearing books though I'm more prone to drifting off, then i have to wander across the room to rewind the tape!!
Stuff I'm reading now
With Poe out of the way, a substantial amount of my reading is done, but there are a few things still on the go and I'm certain I shall soon start others.
Cat Amongst the pidgeons - A lot less action than the previous book, yet somehow just as gripping- I think the fact that I have no idea what's going on, and neither do anyt of the characters, makes me enjoy it more- but that may change when Poirot shows up!! Again I'm listening to this one- it's good for when I'm resting my eyes from books and computering
Star Wars Legacy of the Force: Bloodlines : Karen Traviss - The second in the Legacy of the Force series (don't worry I have read the first, I just forgot to mention it!!) and quite entertaining. The galaxy is falling apart (again) but as once friendly planets attack each other it's hard to to tell who are the good guys and the bad guys, and this makes it much more interesting than alien invasions or superweapons- plus Boba Fett's back!!
The Book of Psalms: God et al - Besides being the infallible word of the Lord Most High this is quite a readable book, it is interesting to see the Psalms that don't always get quoted and how king David and others trusted God not just when they were 'in the valley of the shadow of death' but in quite specific places, battles and situations too.
Stuff I'm going to read
Well, I'm quite tired now so you'll have to find out in my next post on reading
Goodbye on and all
Me
Word: Fastidious
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
First day back
But it wasn't too bad as I had Edd with me and we spent a fairly pleasant day in the city wandering around our usual haunts. Our first stop was Forbidden Planet a shop for all things Sci-Fi or comic book, I checked out a few items to compare in price with it's chief rival World's Apart on the way back up. Then we stopped off at Eddie Rockets, the city's authentic 50s diner- where I got probably the biggest hotdog I've ever eaten (and good too, considering the price!) and also discovered that I don't like Kraut, whatever it is! I also had one of their ultra big, ultra creamy vanilla milkshakes- it waswell worth going just for that!! Having filled ourselves we left to find that Save the Children were on lunchbreak and made a quick getaway down the street.
We wandered through the shops and I analysed the contents of each and mulled over what would be worth getting and where it would be best to get it from- HMV's student discounts usually put it in first place, but you never know where you might find half price CDs. We made our way through the shops- Edd purchased and has now joined me in Matrix Online . Through these we proceeded to the Liverpool docks to make another museum trip- this time to the Maritime Museum, a haunt of my childhood, still fresh in my memory- and checking which parcels have drugs in, and sitting on the firing ends of cannons never lose their charm. There were also very informative sections such as a recreation of the interior of a slave ship, being in such a cramped dank and uncomfortable space showed how warped you can get when you think of human beings as 'cargo'
But we returned into the sunlight and made our way back into the centre of commerce- I made my purchases- the chief of which is the new Scissor Sisters album Ta-Dah. An excellent piece of work in my opinion- I loved their debut album and was glad to see the return of this quirky, talented and unbelievably catchy band. I'd heard "I don't feel like dancing" on the radio, but wasn't too sure what the rest of the album would be like, but then I saw a live concert on TV the night before and was totally conviced that the band were as strong as ever. With the second albums of many groups being released this year, we will see who is destined to 'make it' - I sincerely hope the sisters are among those that do. My favourite songs are I don't feel like dancing, She's my Man, Kiss you off and Everybody wants the same thing- but in terms of lyrics, track 3 "I can't decide" takes the cake- imagine one of the chirpiest songs you've ever heard- then put these words to it
"I could throw you in the lake
Or feed you poisoned birthday cake
I won't deny I'm gonna miss you when you're gone
I could bury you alive,
but you might crawl out with a knife
And kill me when I'm sleeping that's why..
I can't decide whether you should live or die
Oh you'll probably go to heaven please don't hang your head and cry
..."
Right- Lost is on, so here's some quick C 'n P content for you all
"
Me me me
Goodbye
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
The big reveal
George W Bush, 43rd President of the United States... just in case you got us mixed up
Philip K Dick - I want to be like him, in terms of writing amazing Science Fiction at least.
Thomas Mittlewerk of the Hanso Foundation
Gil-Galad, high King of the Noldor elves
Donatello, of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Darth Krayt, leader of the new Sith Order
The terrorist/hero known as V
Tank, former Operator of the Nebuchadnezzar
Blinky, the three eyed fish
Well I hope that cleared up some things for you, and perhaps subtly revealed some of the things I'm interested in. But I think you've waited long enough- here it is, finally a picture of the real me exclusively for you, the people who were so bored they kept clicking next so they could browse through everyone's blog.
Here I am!!
Hope that was enough to satisfy y'all of my true identity- 'cause that's all you're getting!! OK, now some more copied content from my old blog! A list of the world's largest snuffleducks- essential readin i assure you.
Largest snuffleducks |
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Thank you for reading
The Figleaf
Word of the post - Superfluous
Friday, September 01, 2006
Pressing on
OK, now here's what you're really after- some ancient article i dug up from behind the sofa, well here it is my pretties, here it is...
"A teen no more!
Greetings Address book people!
See you soon everyone- try not to die or anything yeah?
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
The death of a blog- the birth of another
A few people have been kind enough to draw attention to my blog- so I feel i should return the favour and highlight a few blogs that are worth a glance.
Program Filez My creation: A fansite for the Matrix and more specifically the Matrix Online MMORPG- if neither of these interest you it's probably better to pass this one over.
Teatime My mate Tim's blog- Tim is one of the best bloggers I know, he blogs hard fast and says lots of things about his precious bike
Life's Student Caleb's blog, he posts long deep serious posts and they've all got Dr Who in them somewhere!!
Pasta Davey My most regular commenter as of now- posts about his lovely permanent holiday in France, where he happens to be a missionary- lots of pics, lots of links to BBC news!
That'll do for now- I'll just hunt for something to paste in- goodbye my pet monkeys!!
"
Trains!!!
And that's goodbye from me...
Saturday, August 19, 2006
Blogspot Exclusive- The Ratfish!
Just in case I get sued for plagiarism or whatever I'm at least going to acknowledge the source- this info comes from Elasmodiver a database on all things shark. There you are guys, a bit of advertising for ya- I scratch your back you don't steal the meager savings carried in a rag bundle off mine...ok?
Elasmodiver is an image database of sharks, skates, rays, and chimaera's from around the world. It began as a simple web based field guide to help divers find the best places to encounter different species of sharks and rays but it has slowly evolved into a much larger project containing information on all aspects of shark diving and photography. There are now more than a thousand shark pictures and sections on shark evolution, biology, and conservation. There is a large library of reviewed shark books, a constantly outdated shark taxonomy page, a monster list of shark links, and deeper in the site there are numerous articles and stories about shark encounters.
SPOTTED RATFISH
View all available Spotted Ratfish Pictures in the SHARKIVE
Common Names: Spotted ratfish.
Latin Name: Hydrolagus colliei
Family: chimaeridae
Identification: Broad, flat, duckbill shaped snout containing incisor shaped teeth. Large eyes. Prominent, venomous spine at leading edge of dorsal fin. Tapering tail constitutes almost half overall length. Coloration brown or grey with white spots. Skin smooth and scaleless. Can give off an iridescent, silvery sheen. Triangular pectoral fins well developed. Fins grey or dark.
Size: up to 97cm in length.
Habitat: Sand and mud bottoms and sometimes rocky reefs. from 0 to 3000ft.
Abundance and distribution: From Southeastern Alaska to Central Baja. Common from British Columbia to Northern California.
Behavior: Swims slowly across sand in search of prey. Crushes clams, crabs, and shrimp etc. in forward facing "incisors". Food located primarily by smell. Uses its pectoral fins for locomotion.
Reproduction: Oviparous. After elaborate courtship rituals the female lays a spoon shaped egg capsule. The extrusion process can last 18 to 30 hours and the capsule is retained on thin tendrils for between four to six days until finally caught on the seabed or planted in the sand.
Observations:
Photographs: Ogden point ( ratfish), Maple bay (egg capsule), Vancouver Island, Canada.
Similar species:
Reaction to divers: During the day moves slowly. With patience it is possible to get quite close. Although able to inflict a mildly toxic wound, it is not aggressive and prefers to maintain a safe distance.
Diving logistics: In British Columbia this Chimaera is quite easy to find. One very nice dive is off of the Ogden Point breakwater. This is a 1km long jetty that runs away from shore into about 120ft of water. From about 2/3rds of the way along, the water is deep enough to support ratfish. To find them simply take a compass reading away from the breakwater and head directly out into the sand. The terrain is fairly featureless and unappealing but supports a reasonable number of ratfish. I have seen about 10 ratfish within a few minutes here at about 80ft in November. Ogden Point Breakwater has a full service dive shop at its base and offers air and nitrox fills. The walk out can be a bit challenging in full gear. The breakwater itself offers excellent shore diving with opportunities to see wolf eels and giant pacific octopuses. Spiny dogfish (Squalus acanthias) may be encountered at the far end of the breakwater but this area is deep and current swept.
Other diving locations submitted by readers:
References:
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Pacific Fishes of Canada - J.L.Hart. Fisheries Research board of Canada. Ottawa 1973.
Pretty awesome huh?
Catch ya later dudes and uncool people
The Figleaf
Word thingy- chronology
Monday, August 07, 2006
Catching up- writer's blog
Here goes:
"Writer's Blog
Enjoy- comment I dares ya!!
Tuesday, July 04, 2006
Netiquette, or the MSN rant
First of all- my word of the week sort of thing:
Perfunctory- adj superficial, hasty, done merely as a matter of form, half-hearted, perforemed carelessly, indifferent.
What i really like about this word is that is has a definite meaning, yet sounds ike a word you'd make up just to sound clever- I had to check the dictionary just to make sure it was real. I certainly believe that this adjective has often been used without it's meaning coming across at all.
OK, back to business, my chance to yabber on at the hand that feeds me- MSN messenger. While MSN is certainly a very cool device it has a number of annoying quirks, as do the people that use it, myself included though I like to think that I'm immune to all that! I originally did this as a series of small articles on MSN and its use- but I present them to you in complete form
Section 1- Microsoft Network Messenger, the stigma and ignorance surrounding MSN
"Are you on MSN?" I heard for once again, knowing that now MSN had come into our brief summer relationship, it wouldn't last much longer. "OK then, what's your mobile then?" Blinking back the tears I explained that I didn't posess a mobile phone, she looked back at me startled. I hastily added that I did posess an e-mail adress, which seemed to cheer her up slightly- knowing that I wasn't a total trogladyte, but inwardly i was sighing. She was of a different generation to me, yes she'd e-mail at first, but she was used to the brief, letter economical texting or instantaneous conversation online- she wouldn't want to write long meaningful e-mails to me, no- i was just as well saying goodbye as "Keep in touch"
Now this tale, for those who are breaking out the hankies isn't true, or at least the romantic implication of it isn't true but there have been plenty of potential mates that I have met over the summer, had a great time with, and never spoken to again because e-mail is to much hassle. Now I have obivously joined the MSN generation, but i still feel there is this oppresive element to it- like a great international clique that you can only join if you've downloaded this one specific messenger.
Because MSN has been spread across the world as THE messenger, though other brands may be of equal quality, likely even superior. But since it has been packaged into our brousers, included on our PCs, everyone has it and expects that others should join the club. So the question is not- "do you have a messenger?" it's "do you have MSN" . I don't mean to diss MSN as it is a handy service , though as I've mentioned it can be very annoying. I'm just saying think about those people who don't have this device and make sure you don't ignore them because they're not part of the club- and don't bully them into joining either- it's hard, having been on the other end i know.
But the question "do you have MSN" exposes a great ignorance- people don't actually know what MSN is. MSN rather boringly stands for Microsoft Network- basically anything that Microsoft provides on the internet- such as search functions, websites and yes messenger is incorporated into MSN, yet the word has come to mean a way to instantaneously communicate across distances online and through text.
So the next time you (or I) ask someone "do you have MSN?" just think about what you're asking- what do you really mean when you ask this question- and what would you do if they said no?
Section 2- The Software
Now we discuss the program itself, the workings and manerisms of the MSN software. I have long held that MSN (Messenger) is the "Small Child" of software- Microsoft built software that is. Not to say that other devices are necessarily better, I'm just saying that Microsoft built MSN with annoying the general public in mind. This is mostly a marketing/advertising thing, 'Soft want you to buy and use their product therefore, like any company, they throw it in your face.
Computers come with MSN (and a whole load of other software you might not want) installed- Internet Explorer (which come as standard) has a little MSN icon at the top telling you to use it- come on, all you have to do is click (then sign up, maybe get a new e-mail adress, tick a load of boxes permitting them to advertise to you 24/7 etc. And you get a handy little gizmo, easy as that.
But the problem is, once you've installed it, MSN still isn't happy- in fact it insists on being in your face all the time. MSN is programmed to appear when you log on to your PC, sign itself in, give you useful information like MSN Today (what is that about!!) and advertise updates to you incessantly. Now these features can quite easily be turned off, but the point is that off the shelf MSN comes with annoying as standard.
For example- the auto-sign in feature was my fault- I clicked the button that made it sign in by itself. Why did i do such a thing? why did I end up with MSN signing in when I wanted to do work, so I was disturbed by well meaning people who thought I wanted to chat- why when I played a game and finally quit did I find six people who had thought they could talk to me- but thought I was very rude not talking back- why would i sign up for that? I'll tell you why- because every single time I logged in to MSN a little message popped up advising me to turn on this feature, it got such a pain that I gave in, not knowing how much worse it would be.
As i said these features can be turned off, and I will instruct those who have to deal with this junk as to how in a minute, but let me reiterate MSN's childishness. Compared to an old wise program such as microsoft Word "Are you sure you want to delete that?" MSN pops up every morning saying boo! Look at me use me use me! Too much hassle to sign in, I'll do it for you, I can handle it honest! You obviously know nothing about the outside worl so here's some celebrity gopssip for you to read. eventually it'll start talking to your mates for you- you come on to do some work and before you know it you've blackmailed your best mate and asked that girl you met last week to marry you!!
OK, basic instruction in how to make MSN slightly less annoying. First i will detail the features that are troublesome with MSN.
1. Auto sign-in- I think you've got the picture
2. Popping up- most people don't mind this, but you may not want MSN to appear on your screen every time you log on
3. MSN Today, a thing that pops up with news events and quick access to your e-mail- I can' t see any decent purpose for it, so you'll probably want to get rid of this
4. Those annoying alerts and sound- again works for some
OK, to adjust all of these- open the MSN main program, go to the top and select TOOLS and then OPTIONS, you should see a screen which is entitiled "Personal" and has your screen name etc. Cycle through the different options and you will see various check boxes which you can tick/untick to remove or add MSN's features.
1, 2 and 3 are covered in General, and 4 in Alerts and sounds- I hope this makes MSN usage a little more pleasant.
Section 3- LOL
Why?! Why?! Why do people have to say 'lol' all the time on MSN?!!! Now in general I will admit I don't have a problem with people saying this so you don't need to go on a mega guilt trip for saying this- though if you decide to change your ways I applaud you. But this is mainly due to it being such a common part of conversing (ooh, I love that word- I'll look it up for next time maybe) on MSN that you hardly notice it- but that for me is part of the problem. This is starting to get a bit personal- but hey, it's my blog is it not?
When I started utlising MSN Messenger ("MSNing" is NOT a word ok?!!) I entered at the end of the period when lol was correctly used. LOL, for those of you blessed with ignorance of the word, stands for "Laugh Out Loud". So it used to be typed in when someone heard something of such hilarity that they literally did laugh out loud, needless to say i heard this quite a bit, and they needed to type something to show they heard and enjoyed the joke without having to type "hahahahahaha!!" or something like that.
But over time "lol" developed into a way of expressing the slightest degree of merriment. LOL became a standard reply to pretty much anything said since MSN is generally a forum for mildly amusing conversation as it is extremely lacking when serious talk is needed- due to people talking over each other etc. So lol is used all the time and is even starting to creep outside of Messenger usage. And Lol's original purpose is lost- this is visible from the fact that phrases such as LMAO and ROFL (I think) are being brought in to replace the original meaning of lol. Lol has become a trigger reflex, something that is said without though or meaning and this is what irritates me about it, the fact that people are saying I'm funny yet not meaning it in the slightest- just typing something they know fits- I DO have feeling people!! I think something needs to replace this system so we can have a system that actually fits the conversation- till something better comes along I'm going to stick with "hehe" it expresses that I am amused and in the appropriate degree.
I think this topic has had it's runtime so i will find something new to bemoan (ooh that's a good word too- long and completely pointless!) or perhaps even praise, whadya know I might even talk about my life.
Enjoy your lives folks
The Figleaf
Saturday, June 10, 2006
The 3 S's of summer
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
A year gone bye
Didn't think so...
As well as telling you about the past I may as well bring you up to speed with the present. I just finished my second year at John Moores University Liverpool after about a month of sitting at my computer typing up scripts, stories and essays and then editing them in a process so slow and painful it usually gives me some sort of ilness. I marginally escaped a cold, but ended up with a serious case of square eyes, which i unsuccesfully tried to alleviate by watching pointless telly and reading!
Once I came to the last assignment due and made it into town despite the complete breakdown of the trains in Liverpool (only one station out of four is open!!) i decided to catch up with some friends from school who due to timetable clashes I hadn't been able to see much of. I won't bother to embarrass them by posting pictures...for now at least!
My word of the post- retroactive, never use it- love it to bits!!
Here's a few more pics of the museum
Monday, April 24, 2006
Random post I made
"
Hello nonexistent blog viewers!! I'm determined to keep up this thing if it kills me, well I can't see this actually being worth my life and if I were to die attempting to keep this up then I would no longer be able to keep it up therefore rendering void my effort to keep it up so it would be best if I didn't keep it up at all in the first place, but then that would put all this good meaningness to waste so I'll settle for just keeping it up halfheartedly. Therefore even before finishing this paragraph I've rendered it all null and void so it would probably be best to delete the whole thing but that would then waste all that I've just written and you wouldn't be able to see that I decided to delete it you would just see nothing and not know that I had deleted anything at all which is very bewildering indeed! Back to reality (and what is reali... oh never mind!) and my life is generally about as dull as the fact that I'm telling you it's dull. My time is often chewed up by two computer games, Knights of the Old Republic and Matrix Online the first of which is an exceedingly long game, the second is online and thus never ends! I do however find time to read, work on assignments and occasionally do something creative. I will endeavour to fit in this blog a little more often- though it's no longer an assignment I think I'll keep up my reading log as it was quite interesting to do and should be more fun now that there's no pressure. I may attempt something regular to keep this up- like a word of the week or summat I'd wish you a happy new year, but since you may read this much later that it's publication I wish you good day!! Word of the week: Meh? (Anyone got a dictionary definition?)" I'll keep you up to date with the word of the week thing as these are obviously old ones, my current one is Melancholy a word meaning said, but to me sounds like it should mean happy (mainly 'cause it rhymes with Jolly!!) Enjoy your lives people Me |
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Wednesday, April 19, 2006
Reading Log
A Scanner Darkly- Apparently it's coming to the screen soon, starring Keanu Reeves and Winona Ryder so I won't reveal the plot. Essentially it concerns a future where drug use is widespread and police are fighting a losing battle against it. We follow one officer as he is giving an assignment that will push his already tortured mind to the limit. This story was a lot darker than a lot of Philip K Dick's other writing or perhaps more acurately it was sadder as it came from the heart. The story was based on Dick's own experiences of drug abuse- and the novel ends with his memory of all his friends.
"This has been a novel about some people who were punished entirely too much for what they did. They wanted to have fun, but they were like children playing in the street; they could see one after another of them being killed- run over, maimed, destroyed- but they continued to play anyhow."
V for Vendetta- recently released in the cinema and if you still fancy seeing it I'll keep my mouth shut about the plot. The story features quite possibly the coolest hero in comics, constantly wearing a smiling mask and quoting shakespeare whilst killing thugs he fights to bring down a system of corruption and cruelty. I like the fact that the main hero is an insane terrorist and yet we can happily support him on his rampage across London. I'm fairly ignorant of the comics world but i think this is some of the best comic book writing there will ever be.
Minority Report- a short story collection featuring it's namesake and the basis for the fim Totall Recall a good collection of stories on the whole. Written by Philip K Dick, a true master of Science Fiction these stories were helpful to me as I attempt to write my own Sci-Fi shorts. However these were clearly early works and I could see that some were prototypes for other novels that would come later- one even featured the same character as the novel Ubik! I could begin to pick up on his style too- the ending is always a big shock, though I'm still not good enough to guess what the shock will be yet!
Right, that'll do for now- more to follow.
Monday, April 17, 2006
Welcome to my world
I suppose moaning wasn't the best way to start this, but hey- it prepares you for the rest of the contents coming up soon, but for now, there's a chance of something decent on TV, so goodbye for now people of Planet Earth