Weekly Quote W/E 29/12/07

A little bit late again, but who'se to quibble over a few days eh? I am ashamed to see I missed a week, but what with christmas shopping and that I can't be blamed surely? Well I'm going to quickly bring you another quote that adorns my Facebook homepage and who knows I might even post something else before the next one!

"To Alcohol! The cause and solution to all life's problems!" - Homer Simpson, The Simpsons

Till whenever we meet again.

Behind the times

I was alarmed to discover that my PC is starting to get well erm...old! I bought two games this christmas, one for myself and one for a friend which I'm now keeping. The alarming thing about the first was that my processor is too slow. For quite some time my 2GHz processor has been head and shoulders above the requirements for games - but the latest Splinter Cell (which ain't that new actually) requires a 3GHz minimum speed to operate. Since I'm something opf a cheapskate I hadn't bought a new game in some time and had assumed my noble steed would bear the brunt of any new game loaded onto it, but apparently not.

Another game will just about squeeze onto my processor's capability, but I was halted in the installation process because there was simply no space on my hard disk to contain it. I found it hard to believe that my 70G had been consumed already, but I couldn't escape the facts or deny that 70G is actually quite a small amount by today's standards. I uninstalled another game and a few useless programs to make room, but I still haven't loaded it out of shock.

While my 1G of RAM still hold it's head high, some games are starting to demand 2G in their lofty "recommended" stats. So what's a boy to do, I do have money to upgrade and maybe get an external hard drive, but with console exclusivity becoming more and more common, the best route may be for me to succumb and get an Xbox 360.

Your sympathy is appreciated

Word of the post: Perennial - adjective

1.	lasting for an indefinitely long time; enduring

P.S. The other game was Star Trek Legacy if you're interested

Merrylicious Festivatal Celebrationism

Ho! Ho! Ho! Merry Christmas to you all!

(Note: that is much harder to type than to say!)

Well the big day has gone, but it's time I blogged about the fun filled malarky that comprises Christmas. The leadup to Christmas did naturally involve some pannicked shopping, running around the streets of Chester, but thankfully I got pretty much all of it done in two sessions, no wait, three. One gift was for a secret santa for the young people's group at my church. I bought a novelty pen that was about a foot long and still worked!!

My novelty present was very novel indeed. When desperately trying to think of ideas for what people could buy me I jokingly suggested that I could do with a green elephant along with a supply of green jelly babies with which to feed it. And sure enough when i openbed the wrapping of my gift I found a green elephant model (hand crafted) and a pack of jelly babies which rather made my day!! I'll post pictures when I get more batteries for my camera.

I actually found myself in a rather odd, unusually charitable state of mind when I was actually just as excited about other people's reactions to their gifts as I was about recieving mine. I don't know whether that means I'm unusually noble or whether I'm getting more apathetic about what I want, but nonetheless it made the day more cheerful. A factor in this is that I have a longstanding tradition of disguising present which makes it more fun. So a DVD was encased in a chocolates tin, complete with scrunched up paper to fool anyone who tried to shake it etc.

I got some good swag myself, I got a donut maker which I've tried out much to my satisfaction and a mountain of sweets with some DVDs and books thrown in. The amount of food was somewhat disturbing so I guess people think I'm a big eater, but my sister got tonnes of perfume and the like so I guess everyone thinks she smells, which is a small consolation.

I've enjoyed some good Christmas telly, notably the Doctor Who and Extras Christmas specials which were excellent and trips to the cinema to see Enchanted and I Am Legend, both of which were top class of their respective genres.

Well that's enough for now I think, see you soon

Word of the post: Vanquished tr.v.

1. 1. To defeat or conquer in battle; subjugate.
   2. To defeat in a contest, conflict, or competition.

Getting on

Yesterday I went to see my old High School's Carol Service and it was a great event and, as always, set to a very high standard. I arrived only just ahead of the children and managed to sneak in just before the opening procesion, barely finding a seat at all. I spotted a few teachers on my way in, but didn't have time to exchange fond memories with a horde of teenagers at my back ready to march in. I managed to find a seat, shamefully asking if it was free in English - habit that would be frowned upon by the educators I'd just passed.

The children marched in and it doesn't seem too long ago that I was one of them, shivering from standing out in the cold in just a shirt and trousers and occasionally having to deal with the added cold of a well placed snowball strike. Admittedly I don't remember too much of those days, but my better memories come from sixth form when I joined the older boys choir, mostly to get out of lessons, but also because I did genuinely enjoy it. It was a great communal experience as we all had to work together and I got to know a few lads from younger years who are still familiar faces and useful contacts at events like these where most people don't know me. I still remember the old anthem we had, which may have tragically been lost - we'd stand around the piano and start singing "Tom is gay and he's got no friends" repeatedly, moving around until everyone had been sung about, what better way is there to pshych each other up?

We also bolstered the teacher's choir, which now seems to have aquired a few more male voices, which is good as my friends and I provided pretty much the whole bass section back in the day. "Back in the day" definitely seems the way to describe it as I've now gone through Uni and come out the other side leaving a three year gulf between myself and those heady days of youth. I was shocked to see a girl I remember as a cohort in the school production on Nicholas Nickleby who was year 7, maybe 8 and is now a member of the Sixth Form, that made me feel very old!!

I managed to catch up with some friends I hadn't seen since A Levels which was a very pleasant reunion and was glad not to be the only one feeling nostalgic and a bit older!! But it was a great experience and I hope to go to many more.

Word of the post: Cloying –adjective

1.	causing or tending to cause disgust or aversion through excess

Weekly Quote W/E 15/12/07

Ok well I slipped in one post, but it's still not brilliant and I don't have a cold to cover me this time so I have to apologise profusely for lack of content once again and pawn you off with a quote.

"I am not so much disapointed as I am blinded with rage" - Fat Tony, The Simpsons

Till next time...

The power of summon

It seems Facebook has powers over more than just communication, in a rare glimpse of it's true power today I met an school friend I hadn't seen for a while. So it appears Facebook has some ability not only to reaquaint you with friends, but to actually summon them to you!! As it continues to grow one wonders at what new capabilities this website might bring...

Or put another way - I saw my friend the day after adding her on Facebook, what a coincidence!!

Word of the post: Shambolic - adj. Chiefly British Slang

Disorderly or chaotic

Weekly Quote W/E 09/12/07

Well I'm abashed to note that a week has passed without a single post of note, perhaps these weekly things will serve as a reminder to actually post stuff on my blog. As for my absence I blame a cold and a busy work schedule. But enough of my whining, here comes another quotation that tickles my fancy.

"No pain, no pain!" - source unknown...to me at least!

Hopefully I'll speak to you soon

Weekly Quote W/E 01/12/07

OK so it's a little bit late, but i was away on the weekend so was unable to add last week's quote. I'm full of cold at the moment so am unable to think of anything else to write so I'll just post up the next quote from my Facebook profile.

"How can I change the world if I can't even change myself?" - Faithless, "Salva Mea"

Till something interesting happens goodbye

A conspiracy!

While at work the other day, my friend made a shocking discovery. A jigsaw, labeled as a 100 piece jigsaw was found to contain no less than 104 pieces! Assuming that this must be some error on our part we counted and recounted the pieces then assembled the jigsaw to make sure no pieces were missing or belonged to another jigsaw. But there it was, a completed jigsaw with no less than 4 pieces extra to the number clearly displayed on the box. Another jigsaw was checked, it too had four pieces more than displayed on the box. Such widespread deception can only be part of some dark scheme.

Be vigilant - check your jigsaws, if we can't trust Ravensburger it may be too late for all of us!!

In trepidation,

A Figleaf of your imagination.

Word of the post: Ramboesque - adj.

in the aggresive, mindless style of the fictional character Rambo

Weekly Quote W/E 24/11/07

Well since there's not much to actually say about my goings on then I figured some kind of repetitive easy post would come in handy for keeping the blog looking all new and used. Since a dictionary of quotations was bestowed upon me a "quote of the week" seemed like a good idea. OK so most of the quotes will likely come from the Simpsons and other such media, but you never know I might get something good and deep out once in a while.

I'll start off with what's decorating my Facebook page for the first few weeks

"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose" - Jim Elliot

See you, either in a week or if something interesting happens!

More from Chester

I was brought again to the town of Chester by an unfortunate event. On Impulse I decided to go bowling with my friend Tim. Read more about him at his blog - link on my sidebar. But as we arrived at the alley we discovered that the bowl was fully booked until six (we were there at about two) - an unheard of situation. Left with nothing around us but furniture shops we decided to walk from the out of town retail park into chester itself, a good twenty minutes walk or so. Then we walked around chester for a bit grabbed some food and left.

Such events, annoying as they are, can often be quite fun in and of themselves and I must admit that despite the freezing cold we did have a good time. a highlight was listening to a rather extreme street preacher who was denouncing Islam as we passed and then within the same sentence moved on to the evil of materialism, explaining how the sin of sex, drugs and rock 'n roll came about in the sixties, led by "those four horsemen of the apocalypse from Liverpool, John Lennon Paul..." It was certainly an interesting interperetation, though I can't exactly see how the Beatles were sent from God and brought war, pestilence and the like to Earth!!

It certainly made the day out more interesting!! By the way, this isn't the african guy who is regularly in Chester - that guy's a legend!!!

Word of the post: Pugnacious - adj.

fond of fighting, belligerent

Squirrel based musings

I recently took a trip to Chester, which working afternoons only now affords me. As well as perusing the shops I decided to take a little stroll along the walls adjacent to Chester cathedral.

Whilst approaching the walls I noticed there is a designated pigeon feeding area featuring a dovecote type structure and a mass of the undying lords of traffic dust, commonly known as pigeons (if I haven't already posted by pigeon theory I shall do so soon). But creeping towards them, excellently disguised in similar colours was a squirrel, creeping amongst the birds to access the free food. This incident prompted me to remark to myself - "aha! A fox in wolve's clothing!" and it wasn't for some time that I realised that it wasn't quite the phrase I was looking for!!

Later I was reminded that, pests as they may be, squirrels are rather cute too! I observed one licking itself clean in the usual manner of such animals, but then it decided to dry itself off, and grabbed it's own tail and rubbed it's face clean, much as a human would use a towel. Such innovation got that individual squirrel my attention and respect.

Till next time!

Word of the post: Antidisestablishmentarianism -noun

opposition to the withdrawal of state support or recognition from an established church, esp. the Anglican Church in 19th-century England.

There's a new hero in town!!

Caption reads: Time Travelling Secret Agent Dinosaur For Hire

When you can't think of a post to write you can always steal content from Penny Arcade. Penny Arcade is an excellent website featuring regular updates in comic book form and indepth reviews of games both table top and video. If I had the remotest bit of artistic talent I would be doing my utmost best to rip them off, but as it is you're stuck with this blog for now!! The character above was created in a recent comic discussing the Writer's Guild strike - which left Gabe, the artist, on his own to come up with something to write about!!

Better than reading my explanation would be to visit the site itself - you'll find a link in my sidebar

Writer's Bloc 4 - Delusions of Grandeur

This rather unusual item here is a Hugo award, given to the best writers of Science Fiction every year as well as artists, editors, filmmakers and other contributors to the genre. As an aspiring writer of Science Fiction my heart is very much set on getting a Hugo, Nebula or ( a ta more realistic since it's British but still very much in the far distance) Arthur C. Clarke award.


I do like to entertain the vision that my first publication will so wow publishers and readers that it will win the prize and that fame and fortune will no doubt follow. This is almost certainly to be a delusion, especially for a debut piece, though I do hope that I can continue to improve in standard and create a work worthy of rememberance.

As such having a trophy like this is good so there's something to aim for. If I hope for the cool trophy (and hold the realistic expectation that I won't get it in mind) then it will act as a spur not only for me to write, but for me to ensure that my writing is the best that it can be. In Uni it was simple, I wanted to do the best piece of work to get the best grade, the award will hopefully provide the same kind of motivation, and once a piece is finished if it even gets published I'll be most pleased.

But the whole thing does raise the issue of motivation, especially as I'm in the middle of deciding what to to with my future. I would love to be a writer and since I passed my degree I obviously have some competence in the field and I guess it would be good to make use of my three year's training. But there is also the call of teaching, which I've also got a lot of experience in and I also know I'd be making a difference if I went into it.

I believe that my actions should serve not only myself but the God who made me, and this is where motivation comes in. If I'm just out for the glory and the award then I'm probably better off not bothering 'cause there's a decent chance I'll get neither. But at the sime time, the ability to write is a gift from my maker and I want to be able to use it to his glory.

So there are decisions to be made and things to think through...but it still would be cool if I got the trophy!!

Word of the post: Venerable –adjective

1.	commanding respect because of great age or impressive dignity; worthy of veneration or reverence, as because of high office or noble character:

So it DOES make a difference!!!

Well I was a sceptic about the effects of Blogger Action day and in particular my contribution to the events but it seems that I have indeed made a breakthrough as mere days after discussing whether recycling should be made law the government have brought in new initiatives to enforce recycling and to try and drastically reduce the amount of waste going into landfills in the UK. Since the UK is significantly behind the rest of Europe in waste reduction we could end up facing sanctions unless something is done, more reason for the government to want to put this scheme forward.

Essentially the scheme would involve fining people who put too much waste in regular bins instead of recycling. There is of course opposition to the scheme from those with large families whose bins fill up by necessity, but by and large the scheme seems to be put forward positively and sensibly. One aspect that is good is that it can be locally controlled by councils so that the nature of the order can be locally sensitive. Of course whether this works will depend on how MPs implement it and if it is seen to be more for fining people than the environment it may end up being retracted. While fining people isn't always a good option, and it is yet to be seen how this will be met once enforced, it is good that the government is listening to me...I mean seeking practical ways to reduce this nation's waste.

Read more in this BBC report on the issue.

Another plan put into use is for districts to have "travel advisors" or something of the kind to help people plan efficient, environmentally friendly routes to work and to be made fully aware of the options available. This seems positive and looks to be cost effective too.

Anyways, that'll do - we live in interesting times indeed.

Word of the post: Quinquagesimal - noun

the Sunday before Lent; Shrove Sunday.

Just keep swimming...

Ok so I've not blogged for a bit after that epic Blogger Action Day post which I'm sure contributed to doing...something. I may have to check up on some kind of feedback for what the day achieved or my overriding cynicism may take over. If you're reading this and wondering what on earth I'm blathering on about and what it's got to do with the title then you may be interested to know that I have resolved to keep typing whatever comes into my head in an effort to create a semi-worthy blog post and this is just the introduction so let's hope someone calls "lunnch!" before I run out o things to say and...ah - there we go!

a brief introduction into the pysche of Aled there. You may be interested to know that I typed the whole thing without looking at the screen and only two typos - woot!!

Word of the post: Conglomerate - noun

2.	a corporation consisting of a number of subsidiary companies or divisions in a variety of unrelated industries, usually as a result of merger or acquisition.

Silly Me!! Blogger Action Day...a bit late!!

OK I'm a bit shamefaced as I thought the 15th was a tuesday when it was in fact a monday meaning that I completely missed it. But nonetheless I will contribute some environmental based blogging today in the hope that it makes some kind of a difference even if it is a bit late!! I offer no expert knowledge or even a fully formed opinion just a debate on a point which I have wondered about a bit.

Recycling and energy saving: Free choice or by law?

I've always wondered whether recycling would one day become law. As a follower and sometime writer of Science Fiction I often envisage a future where recycling is strictly enforced and is even more of an ever present reality than it is now. But whether it should be a present day reality I'm not quite sure.

Encouraging people to recycle is all well and good but most of us have enthusiasm in short bursts not like the myriad environmental campaigners that seem to have a constant source of energy and concern (and full respect to them by the way.) Anyway, my point is that encouraging us to recycle with things like Live Earth will work but the enthusiasm will die away after not too long for most people so should more be done?

Some things do work. Our local council, and doubtless many others, send lorries to collect paper and plastic recycling every fortnight on much the same basis as a bin lorry i.e. you put your stuff outside your house and they take it away. The paper goes to a factory that produces sheets for newspapers and something similar happens to the plastic I'm sure. This system works, but it only works if people choose to do it. Most people I've seen do, but doubtless (like in our house) many paper and plastic items go in the bin and then to the landfill.

Should recycling be enforced then? The problem lies in enforcing the law because it would be unfair to punish people just because they forgot to put their newspaper in the recycling or accidentaly slipped a can into the plastic bottle bank. And I most definitely think it would cause unrest if the police were sent round or hefty fines were applied because of this problem. But I do think the government could perhaps put sanctions on excessive waste (though again you'd have to debate what is "excessive") or restrict the amount of waste that goes out.

How about positive enforcement? I think things could be done on a more positive basis to enforce recycling. For example waste could be taken away not to be dumped but to recycling centres. No doubt this is already taking place, but if Recycling facilities were to completely replace landfills then it would at least get rid of the eyesores that landfills are if nothing else. It could also encourage people to sort their rubbish more if it was all going to be recycled. Again logistically and in terms of energy consumption this may be impractical at the moment but I think it's something we should be heading towards. They could also start things like encouraging companies to only make/sell energy efficient bulbs.

A last point. OK so I clearly don't know everything and not all my points have been followed through and have more to do with the government that most of my readers. But I guess if we show an interest in recycling then the powers that be are more likely to do something about it. Anyway to close, there's something I know should be enforced. Standby lights on VCRs and whatnot should be abolished. We have a DVD player and a Freeview box, both of which display a constant red light when plugged in. This is totally unnecessary, I can tell whether it's on by pointing the remote at it and seeing if something changes - I don't need a red light constantly on and it's a great waste of energy when you put all these units in the UK together. They're not needed and companies should stop installing them.

Enough from me for now - I hope that some of it was worthwhile

Word of the post: Mega

pref. Large:

Making notes

Reading the diaries of Alan Bennet has made me note that it's often the little things that pop into your head that make interesting reading as well as larger issues like the one mentioned in the previous post. So I will endeavour to articulate a thought I had now in the hope that it will be readable and that maybe some of you will sympathise with it.

I frequently have the experience of listening to the start of a piece of music and immediately I start bopping my head or tapping my feet only to realise a few seconds later that it's a tune I loathe and that feeling of "ooh this song" is brought on by a subconcious recognition of a despised tune. One I get frequently at the moment is the new song by James Blunt. Like many others I hate James Blunt on principle (though I'm not entirely sure what the principle is!) but the opening riff on the new record is very catchy and it takes a while to clock on to the fact that I don't actually want to listen to this song!!

I do think it is an interesting phenomenon (well a slight oddity at least) that I should, on recognition of a piece of music, immediately think I like it. Perhaps it shows my character, always willing to give the benefit of the doubt - but then since I have a more or less written law forbidding myself to listen to Atomic Kitten for more than 10 seconds under any circumstances I'm not entirely sure that's it!! Maybe it shows that hated tunes get more ingrained on the mind than loved ones, or maybe it just shows that I'm picky about music and I get muddled sometimes - who knows. There are no answers today, only thoughts and questions.

Anyone else have similar experiences?

Word of the post: Mottled - noun

2.	a diversifying spot or blotch of color.

Could be good

I don't know if any bloggers read the blogger buzz page but you do find some interesting items there - such as blogger play. Well I found a new one - Blogger Action Day. This is a day for bloggers to unite about one issue - the environment. I think the general idea is for everyone involved to post something about the environment and what can be done on their blog, thus flooding cyberspace with a wealth of information and opinion on what is wrong with our world and what might be done about it. The date is Tuesday the 15th and I will try and get involved and add the two or three readers I have to the several million expected viewers of the event.

Well - here's a banner for it - t'is pretty good, saves me thinking of something from real life to post up!!




Word of the post: Countenance - noun

1.	appearance, esp. the look or expression of the face

Hinter zu normal

Just a quick point noting that blogger now shows the "post published page in English once again...just as I was starting to get used to the German. Ah well!

On the box

With a bunch of new shows on their way I have become more aware of the slightly alarming amount of television I expose myself to and this is set to increase this week. With three new shows on arrival in addition to several I'm commited to already this will add up to a fair few hours per week in front of a screen - not that that's anything new! Anyways, just to demonstrate the issue and show you what I'm interested in I'll give you a run down of the programs I'm watching and plan to watch over the next few weeks - links to official sites included.

Coming Up:

The Sara Jane Adventures. 30 mins. BBC1 Mon 5:00This has already started but I missed the first episodes because of forgetfulness and commitments at the time of broadcast. The series is a Doctor Who spinoff, similar to Torchwood but aimed at children instead of adults. The lead role is taken by Sarah Jane Smith, a former companion of the Doctor, who investigates and halts the plans of aliens in her neighbourhood with the help of her adopted son and his friends...but not of the Doctor or his TARDIS. The first episodes featured the return of a Doctor Who enemy, the Slitheen.

Ugly Betty. 1hr. CH4 Fri 9:00A surprise favourite of mine, I tuned in to series one to see what it would be like and quickly fell in love with the characters and the show itself and am eagerly awaiting the arrival of series two on friday. Ugly Betty is the story of a fassion obsessed Latina who gets her dream job of working at Mode Magazine by being the only applicant her boss Daniel wouldn't be compelled to sleep with. Her unbridled optimisim gets her through every day working in a place where her matted hair, braces and lack of coordination (both in clothes and in general) are scorned. What I love about this show is it doesn't spend the whole time preaching about how beauty isn't skin deep, it just tells Betty's story and along the way we learn that all the characters have a history and at least a hint of depth below their shallow facade.

Robin Hood. 1hr. BBC1 Sat 7:30 The adventures of everyone's favourite charitably minded thief continue on BBC1. I wouldn't class this as a favourite, but it makes very good saturday evening telly and tells the story with heart, humour and something else beginning with h that doesn't come to mind. I think that Keith Allen steals the show as the Sherrif and the creators have been good to put a unique spin on things. The show will generally feature Robin defeating a far superior number of soldiers (one wonders how they still manage to recruit soldiers in Nottingham!) but it has been intelligent enough to stop before becoming formulaic and remains a worthwhile program.

On now:

Heroes. 1hr. BBC2 Wed 9:00 I tuned into this expecting to hate it but soon found it compelling viewing. The show features a collection of characters who all develop unique powers from flying to reading minds to absorbing other powers...through various means. Some hide from their powers, others embrace them, all of them want to know why they have them. But they have to deal with real life, the authorities and a superpowered killing machine who wants to take what's theirs. Through the means of time travel and foresight powers the story revealed that there was a big threat to combat, namely that of a nuclear explosion and as the individuals take their seperate paths we know they will join and they will all have to face their destiny.

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. 1hr. MORE4 Thurs. 10:00 A new show from the creators of West Wing. The show is a behind the scens look at the running of a comedy program, from the floor of the sets to the high towers of the corporation behind it all. The show is clever, witty and engaging and is great viewing as well as a good insight. The show features Mathew Perry of Friends fame who manages play a completely new character, retaining some qualities from his former role but certainly not repeating him and I've lost all feeling of "Hey that's Chandler" and now I'm quite comfortable watching Matt (character's name) in his own right. The show tackles a lot of religious issues and is quite disaporoving of Christianity, in particular the Christian groups who can control the media in America. Sometimes I feel it's just being negative for negativity's sake and the Christian character on the show is as feeble as they come, but the show raises important issues and I applaud it for doing so and find it very intersting viewing.

Well all this, plus regular viewings of Simpsons, occasionally dipping in to Scrubs and strolling through a fourth box set of 24 should reshape me eyes in no time, anyway must dash - i want to grab a shower before Heroes!!

Word of the post: Serendipity –noun

1.	an aptitude for making desirable discoveries by accident.

No more a learner

OK, I would have liked to have posted up a picture of me actually setting my plates on fire, but since my sister is going to use them I won't be having that pleasure. Nonetheless I am pleased to inform you that I have passed my driving test. It feels good to have got it out of the way and I'm certainly glad not to have failed. I was never that fussed about driving, most of my contemporaries having long passed their exams, but it is a useful skill to have and being able to go to meetings and outings without requiring a lift or public transport is quite liberating.

It was an interesting day as it started in omen like fashion with the arrival of my Degree Certificate. I thought nothing of it at the time and still do not, but it was nice to have both areas of my life rounded of nicely in one day - a day for certificates it would seem. It also showed that I am no longer a "learner" in more than one sense. I have often joked that I'm "never going to learn anything else again now" but it would almost seem to have a sense of truth to it, now that I won't be having lessons of any kind for the forseeable future which is strange to think of and indeed I am finding it strange without the imposed structure on my life that learning provides. But nonetheless I am glad to have passed both my degree and driving test and to have recieved trophies for both.

And before closing I'd like to quickly apologise for being absent - it's been hard to choose what to talk about, but you have to acknowledge I've done faily well - I mean I did three posts in one day, that's gotta be a record!! more to come I hope, it's probably about time i did another Writer's Bloc and I have an idea brewing for one.

Word of the post: Modicum - noun

a moderate or small amount

Well whaddya know...

I was just playing around on Blogger Play again and, against my expectations, it turned up something familiar. I'm almost tempted to make this into a game - keep playing until you spot something you recognize - 1 point if it's from TV or whatever, 2 points if it's somewhere you've been etc and 5 points if it's someone you know or posted on a blog you read!! I think that a) it won't take off and b) if it did everyone would just be watching it all day and end up doing nothing else!!

Well anyway this is what I turned up whilst flicking along - an image of someone on the Logos 2, a missionary ship I visited a while ago.


We still get semi-regular updates on the work of the ship as it goes around the world stocked with books and manned by a crew eager to serve God. I recall there actually being a Logos 2 poster of some kind up in church so it's definitely something I'm familiar with, though I haven't seen the ship for a few years now. The blog is run by an American with connections to a mission organization - I had heard of neither before so it's quite a connection that a random image search should bring up something I visited in the UK.

Well it's not quite enough for a game - but it'll fill the odd rainy day!!

Word of the post: Truculent - adj.

1. Disposed to fight; pugnacious.

Is it just happening to me or...

is anyone else having the "Post Published" page come up in German?!!

Caption Competition anyone?

I was just ruminating as to how to encourage more interactive blogging when I came across this on the "Blogger Buzz" section of the homepage, announcing new additions to blogger. This latest one announces Blogger Play, a program that shows the latest pictures to be uploaded to Blogger in an unending slideshow. It can be quite fun to see what is uploaded the worldwide web each day, though of course it is done at your own risk. Blogger run all the pictures through a filter, but there is always a risk one might get through so use with caution. But the wealth of random images could surely lead to a wealth of caption competition type games.

I'll try and think of some game rules, but for now if you're reading this why don't you have a go at this beauty I found...

Anything strike you...do comment with appropriate captions or some such if this takes your fancy. Anyhow - here's the official post from Blogger detailing the site

"Today we’re pleased to launch Blogger Play, a neat little toy we’ve cooked up to show you photos and blog posts as you’ve never seen them before.

Image credit: kiwisweden

Shortly after Blogger launched photo uploading two years ago, one of our engineers whipped up a web page that would show us the pictures that were being uploaded in real time. The result was fun, often beautiful, but above all, compelling. We couldn’t stop watching.

Over the years we’ve kept this photo scroller as part of the Blogger offices, on a monitor or projector, as an interesting (distracting?) slideshow, and a reminder of the diversity and vivaciousness of Blogger blogs. The fame of the scroller spread within Google, until one day we were asked, “so, when are you launching this?”

“Um...,” we replied. But we knew a good idea when we heard one. We got our UI people to come up with buttons and fadey effects and we got our engineers to make the whole thing fast and robust. A bit of work later, and now we can share it with all of you:

http://play.blogger.com/

Blogger Play will show you a never-ending stream of images that were just uploaded to public Blogger blogs. You can click the image to be taken directly to the blog post it was uploaded to, or click “show info” to see an overlay with the post title, a snippet of the body, and some profile information about the blogger who uploaded it. We also wrote a Blogger Play FAQ with more information.

A caveat: we use many techniques, including Google’s SafeSearch technology, to keep the images clean. Nevertheless, on rare occasions an image that you may find vulgar or obscene will slip through our algorithmic filters. Google does not pre-screen the images that appear in Blogger Play, nor is it responsible for their content. To report a terms of service violation, you may fill out this contact form.

— Pete [14/09/07 12:30]"

Feels good to do a bit of C'n P again

Word of the post: Feasible –adjective

1.	capable of being done, effected, or accomplished

Notices

OK, I'm just popping up and noting a few things that have been going on and what I have noticed whilst they were going on.

The first notice I must make is that SAM of The Great Gig in the Sky is the triumphant winner of my Blogger's Challenge with a magnificent score of 7 - well done to you sir!!

And back to me...I made my first attempt to escape the void yesterday, as expected it wasn't as easy as I'd have liked and nowhere near as productive. My methos involved walking into shops, standing around for 5-10 minutes and seeing if I could stand being in there all day - if so then I'd hand them a CV. Constant loud music and busy queues put me off a few and lack of vacancies denioed me other - in the end GAME was the only one that I liked and that had an opening so I duly handed in a CV, whether anything comes of it we shal see.

Whilst not very forthcoming in the primary goal it did succeed in both secondary and tertiary goals. The secondary goal was to get me out of the house and let me do something productive in my afternoon, the tertiary goal was for me to get the latest Star Wars Legacy issue from town (see my SF Blog for more details) which it achieved well and gave added justification for travelling out to get it. I made one other purchase, a rare impulse buy - even rarer a book which I know nothing about, a book whose title and cover drew my eye instantly.

The book is Ringworld by Larry Niven and it struck me because it's name, premise and cover are very reminiscent of the computer game HALO. Doubtless I'm not the first to notice this and I'm sure Microsoft managed to wrangle out of any legal problems as soon as they arose, but it is interesting that a computer game I remarked at being so original should have such a close paralell in this book.

The last thing I noticed whilst reading Alan Bennet's diaries is the term bric-a-brac. For some reason (possibly the "a" in the middle) the term seems inherently Welsh and hearing it used in English conversation seems almost odd, though the term is English...or possibly French. I might look it up some time, but for now I bid adieu.

Word of the post: Mezzanine - n.

1. A partial story between two main stories of a building.

The Void

So I done me coursework, got all graduated and now I'm left in what I have decided to term the void, more commonly known as unemployment. This new state is only just starting to become a reality in my mind. This is partly due to having a fairly full and varied summer, had my time been dull and samey then by now I would be crying out for an occupation, but as it is I still sort of feel on holiday with a vague sense I should be doing something.

Another reason I'm not suprised at being idle is because I've been idle for quite some time. Uni was never demanding in terms of time consumption so I'm already used to having lots of days in the week to spend on myself. Had I been on a more demanding timetable no doubt this new state of affairs would be more of a shock to the system.

A third reson for my lack of unease is distractions. Empty days can while away much easier when you've got Facebook, a new series of Battlestar Galactica (series 1 so no spoilers you who've seen further!) and four series of Red Dwarf freshly purchased. These activities each demand at least 30 mins of your time and put together can fill a sizeable chunk of the day. This combined with some slightly more noble pursuits such as reading (currently Alan Bennet's diaries which makes my blogging feel very inferior) can help make those clock hands swing faster.

The last reason is that I'm not completely idle. I have been given a lot of responsibility by my church, some of it already existing, some if it completely new and not a little bit daunting such as running the youth work with a few friends that are the same age as I am. It's going well but we still have a lot to learn and there's a lot of preparation involved which helps give a sense of purpose.

But still I have reached a point where I see the need for work and a structured day (especially after buying said TV series!!) and so I will put my efforts into finding work of at least a temporary nature from hereon in.

Word of the post: Albeit - conjunction

although; even if: a peaceful, albeit brief retirement.

Squirrels!!

Well I was gonna start with a more common picture of a squirrel but when an image search turned up this beauty I just couldn't resist posting it! I haven't done a rant type post or talked about life in general for a while and this post struck me as an opportunity to do both without being too dull or aggressive - we'll see how things go.

Squirrels are a common feature of my life, given that one or two will visit my garden on a more or less daily basis. They gain access via a tall tree which connects to a tall hedge which connects to some small apple trees which connect to our lawn - all easily traversed with a squirel's natural agility. So common is this intrusion that it's hard to think of life without it and odd to speak to more urban folks who don't have bushy tailed visitors like we do.

While the squirels are very cute, especially in photographs, nature documentaries and Grosvenor Park(?) in Chester where they gladly come and eat nuts out of your hand, they do represent a problem and can be something of a pest. In my younger years I was an avid reader of nature books and attended various clobs which taught how the common greay squirrel has drive the much more attractive red squirrel into near extinction in our isles - something which needs to be addressed. The problem they represent in our garden is that they view the bird feeders as a ready source of food. Why these feeders should remain exclusive to avian visitors is not quite clear, but nonetheless squirrels go for them and are often particularly aggresive when they do so, mauling the containers open and scattering the precious grain to the floor. It is notoriously difficult to make things squirrel proof as they are seemingly born to be able to break into things - there seems to be nothing they can't climg up, swing down, hang upside down off or stuff their little faces into!! I also noticed recently that they produce a noise which seems to represent Daffy Duck being strangled to death and not the cute squaks you'd expect. All this makes them a dominating and annoying figure in the garden and they need to be warded away.

Which is where the fun starts! A cry of "Squirrels!" will drive our dog into a frenzy of speed unlike anything else. Commands like "Walkies", "Outside", "Biscuit" or "Hooshagabooshywa" will certainly increase his pace and have him barking and jumping around. But "Squirrels" puts him on an alert level and sends him scurrying into the garden at speeds no other command can produce. This is always amusing to see, especially when he heads for the base of the large tree (the common source of squirrels) and misses the nearby squirrel completely!! He has never caught a squirrel yet and we doubt he'd know what to do if he did, but it's good to watch.

So Squirrels: a cute pest that can be very amusing!!

Word of the post: Murine - adjective

pertaining to or resembling a mouse or rat

Edit: The word of the post is a random choice, picked from a list I add to as an when words take my fancy, given my negativity towards squirrels in this article this posts's word is a bit of a coincidence!!

Writer's Bloc 3 - American Studies

OK so still not a word more written, but plenty of thinking done and plenty more thinking to do. I'm starting to feel that I can probably wrangle together a complete first chapter (or prologue as it may turn out to be) without going to in depth and then correct all my grievous errors later.

Regardless some research needs to be done, particularly on America and it's government as they are the focus of my piece. Though of course the piece is set in the future it needs it's roots in reality. And as it's set on Earth and not a distant planet and in a future where not too much has changed besides some key technologies the governmental structure and tradition needs to correlate very closely to the real thing.

Herein lies the problem. Most of my knowledge of the American government comes from 24 and Splinter Cell, both featuring imaginary branches of the government both dedicated to stopping large scale terror, albeit with different methods and aims. Both are excellently written and I'm equally captivated by watching Jack Bauer beat the clock to stop a virus as I am to control Sam Fisher as he seeks to hunt down a guerilla leader across several countries. The two have slowly started to merge until I'm half expecting Bauer to don the tripple green goggles and hide in the shadows and wait for Fisher to disagree with protocol and demand his daughter's safety...oh wait he does!!

Anyway, these sources are my best information on the American government, 24 moreso as it focuses on the President and his campaign - I wouldn't even know that there was a California Presidential Primary if I hadn't heard Jack's voice say it over and over in series 1! But since neither CTU nor Third Echelon exist it looks like I have my work cut out to get things accurate.

I'd best get back to it, if nothing else writing this piece has given me stuff to blog about!

Word of the post: Harangue –noun

1.	a scolding or a long or intense verbal attack

Writer's Bloc 2 - First Page

I've held off this article mostly to let the Blogger challenge get noticed, I've had two takers so far, one dropped out on reasonable grounds and another who'se blog is apparently to high brow to stoop to my level! The challenge achieved it's main goal, which is to get people to actually read and comment on this thing, and it got at least one participant who was completely new to my blog. The standing record is Seven - if anyone is interested read the previous post and see if you can beat it.

The other reason I've held off is because I've not really written much and it's kind of embarrasing - but honesty is what these articles are about so I've decided to press on regardless. In one sense a first page is a meaningless thing, it's just a tiny fraction of what will be a large piece and by the time the whole thing has been written, rewritten and edited no two words will remain the same.

But on the other hand it's a big step and a good sign of things to come. Writing the first page means taking the idea from your head and actually putting it on paper (or screen to be accurate) and making what could be into what is. This can be an ugly and disillusioning process and can serve to show which of your wild imaginings that seemed genius at the time simply don't work. Writing it down means testing your writing skills as well as your imagination, putting the project onto a different playing field. Working through the first page, which took me well over an hour, made me face the reality of writing a book and reminded me of the seriousness of the task.

I've got a long way to go, but the first step is there to spur me on and while starting to write shows the greatness of the task it also shows the goal ahead and the pleasure of creating new work. I've currently taken it as far as it can go without more research so expect to get more snippets of information in the near future.

Farewell for now

Word of the post: Exemplar - noun

1.	a model or pattern to be copied or imitated

Blogger's Challenge - "Next Blog"

OK, I've tried this before and it may fall flat on it's face again, but I'll try and rope in the help of my fellow bloggers and we'll see how it goes. My aim is for bloggers to interact and basically to get people to actually read/comment on my blog!! And so I set out this challenge, to click the "Next Blog" button above whatever blog you're reading (presumably mine or yours) and keep clicking through the randomly generated blogs that appear when you do so to find ones that match the categories I set out. The categories are:

1. A blog written by a woman
2. A blog with a custom background
3. A blog from a foreign country (U.S. and U.K. don't count even if you don't live there!)

These shouldn't be too hard to find, I think I'll give it till the end of September for people to catch on. Once you've found your three leave a comment ;) on my blog and post up your results on your own. The winner will be the one who finds all three in the least amount of clicks. Before you get to it here are some groundrules that I'm making up!

1. You cannot filter through blogs you know - you have to use the "Next Blog" button
2. No backtracking - you can stop and start as often as you like, but each click counts
3. It has to be three seperate blogs, if one blog has one or more categories it can only count as one (however you don't have to categorise it immediately, you can wait to see what turns up)
4. If you like it then I'd really appreciate you passing it on and pointing people to my blog where it came from.

Happy hunting bloggers

Word of the post: Circumspect - adjective

1.	watchful and discreet; cautious; prudent: circumspect behavior.

Writer's Bloc 1 - Interesting Theory

Jus' keeping up the blogging. Well now that Uni's over I'm finding myself in the position of wanting to write stuff, but without the direct motivation of having to hand something in it's hard to get going. So I'm going to use this blog as a sort of journal and to keep a public record of my progress that will hopefully spur me on to complete the project. As of this moment I haven't written much beyond an opening line, and a closing line that came to me in a stroke of genius while I was asleep. I won't say much about it for now as there is still a risk of it being another aborted project. But I've been doing a lot of planning and research and part of the focus of this will be to post the stuff I discover whilst digging background info. All I'll say of the piece for now is that it's Sci-Fi, set in America and involves conspiracy theories which leads to what I'm about to pass on - in good ol' C 'n P style I present possibly the whackiest conspiracy theory I've met so far, though I expect to see many more.

Microsoft sends messages on Wingdings Font

The Wingdings Font included with Windows has a history of controversy. In 1992, only days after the release of Windows 3.1, it was discovered that the character sequence "NYC" in Wingdings was rendered as Skull and crossbones symbol, Star of David, and thumbs up gesture. This could be interpreted as a message of approval of killing Jews, especially those from New York City.

Microsoft strongly denied this was intentional, and insisted that the final arrangement of the glyphs in the font was largely random. Various other combinations of Wingings characters are alleged to have special significance by conspiracy theorists, but these results are likely purely coincidental.

This theory and others came courtesy of This Site - one of the saddest I found was that Sept. 11th was orchestrated by the US Government (or the power behind it). I hope I'm not ignorant in hoping that the government wouldn't even concieve of such a plan. Well that's all for now i think.

Word of the post - Belligerent - adj.

1. Inclined or eager to fight; hostile or aggressive.

Graduation

Well the event itself has been and gone by a fair bit now so it's about time I got on and blogged about it eh? It was a good day and it felt good to have a formal celebration of all that hard work I'd done. The gown itself was fun to wear and made you feel silly and respectable at the same time! Thankfully there were dressers there to assit with putting on and the gown did not reach the floor so the risk of tripping up was significantly decreased. The hat however was much larger than I'd anticipated and wobbled somewhat- but hairclips were at hand to alleviate that problem. So everything was set and we were all ready. My parents and good friend Edd were along for the ride and after some mooching we got settled in. It was good to see my friends again and to see how they'd all gotten on since we left, reactions to the event varied from giddy excitement to wanting to get out of these silly clothes!!

Then came the two second wonder where I got up and shook hands with the Vice Chancellor, complicated by having to wait on a steep ramp that made you put all your concentration into not falling backwards. Then you were up, your name was called you shook hands, people clapped and it was over - gone in a blink, but nonetheless a great experience. Then we sat down for the rest of the grads from the ICDC (International Centre for Digital Content) and maybe somehwere else, it was interesting to note that for at least one course the entire year was made up of asian students. Then we had the honorary fellow, which in our ceremony was David Morrisey, star of Blackpool, Basic Instinct 2 and the recent series Cape Wrath. It was nice to have a famous face, though I was jealous of the previous day's graduands who had Brian May!!

Then there was a lot of standing up and sitting down again and clapping, we were handed the little JMU badges that are the official token of your graduation (I still haven't recieved my certificate!!) and then we were pronounced graduates of the university, class of 2007. Interestingly you remain a graduand (a term I didn't know existed until it was pointed out to me) right through the ceremony and it wasn't the clothes or thehand shaking that made you a graduate, but you only became one when the Vice Chancellor proclaimed you to be one.

Then I mooched around town for a while and hurt my foot from wearing formal shoes for too long!! Well that's enough for now - other than to resume my word of the post thingamy

Auxiliary –adjective

1.	additional; supplementary; reserve: an auxiliary police force.

Last Words

I had me ol' graduation recently so I will be eagerly blogging about that before too long, but before I do I'd like to do my final post covering the words that have taken my fancywhilst blogging over the past fifty posts or so. From now on I will resume adding a favourite word to each blog post and including a definition should space allow for it, since I now have a log of all the words I have used I won't need to worry about using the same word twice - the fear that spurred me to do these posts in the first place. Well if you've read that I hope you've enjoyed them, but for the forseeable future this will be the last - savour the moment folks, savour the moment...

Perfunctory –adjective

1.	performed merely as a routine duty; hasty and superficial: perfunctory courtesy.

Sacrilegious- adj.

1. Grossly irreverent toward what is or is held to be sacred.

Retroactive –adjective

1.	operative with respect to past occurrences, as a statute; retrospective: a retroactive law.

Meh - lacks an official dictionary definition, though no doubt one is pending. A word indicating indifference commonly used by youth culture.

Melancholy - noun

1.	a gloomy state of mind, esp. when habitual or prolonged; depression.

Well there they go, but worry you not I have plenty more words waiting to explored, as well as a few more ideas to revive my attempts at interactive blogging - we'll see how it goes eh?

Results Day

I was a little surprised to hear that an official looking letter from JMU had arrived at home, given that it was a day early. At first I was worried that I had gotten the date wrong and missed an opportunity to see friends, check how everyone had gotten on etc. But it seemed that an imminent postal strike had delivered me my results one day early. I can't say that I was nervous as I opened the envelope, probably more aprehensive...but then again I love that word and i'd take any excuse to use it!! As I tore off the gummy stuff I had the odd flare of emotion, the wild hope that maybe I'd gotten a first, the fear that I'd slipped up and gotten a 2:2 (which is of course a very respectable grade, but I had averaged a high 2:1 so far so it would have meant a significant drop in standard to fall down a whole grade) and then I pulled out the paper and found just what I'd expected - a good ol' 2:1 which I'm very pleased with as are all my family.

So results day came, and as per usual there were no other students in my Uni building!! I had a check of the results sheets and found that most of my friends had gotten 2:1s as well, so I was glad for them, though a little jealous of those who got 1sts!! I tried a more likely location - The Pilgrim, a second home to many writing students where I found two friends who I hadn't seen for a while. We chatted about the usual, the future and what on earth is going to happen in it!! Though I didn't see many of them it was good to have a decent chat with some rather than a load of meaningless niceties with several. Then I wandered around a bit, took advantage of a 3 for 2 offer in the science fiction section of Waterstones - and I'm now very afraid of what WHSmith's 3 for 2 on ALL books will do to my bank balance!!!

Well that's it, I've a feeling there was something else, but that'll do

Farewell

I just noticed - this post brings me the big Five-O thanks to all those who actually read this thing!

Stuff I've read recently 1

OK, so it's actually been a very long time since I wrote a book review post so there's bound to be lots of nooks that I've read since that last one that I've completely forgotten about, but I'm gonna try and bring your as much as possible of what I can recall. I want to try and get these done more regularly, hence the number in the title, but we'll see where that goes. I'm going to restrict myself to giving you the book information, opening and/or significant lines and a brief review - we'll see how that goes huh?

The Book of Proverbs - God et Solomon

"The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel: ... The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline."

A very helpful book, pleading with the reader to seek wisdom, to control their actions and above all to seek God. The book is a series of short sharp statements on life which are often simple and basic, but at the same time very profound. The broken up nature makes it easy to read and memorise

Ecclesiates - God et "The Teacher"

" The words of the Teacher, son of David, king of Jerusalem: 'Meaningless! Meaningless!' says the Teacher. 'Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless."

Not quite what you'd expect in the Bible huh?! But a very good comment that's very relevant to our society that's obsessed with the latest thing and places and extreme priority on what we "do" which is all meaningless in the end, so you have to either find meaning in God or "make your own meaning" as seems to be very popular.

Song of Songs - God et Solomon

"Solomon's song of songs. Beloved: 'Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth - for your love is more delightful than wine."

This book is also a little unusual in that it's about love between a man and a woman, and while the poetry is weird to modern readers it expresses a passionate and sexual love between man and woman. I don't really understand much more of it, but it is interesting to see that it has it's place in the Bible and that love between man and woman in the context of marriage is important.

The book of Isaiah - God et Isaiah

The vision concerning Judah and Jerusalem that Isaiah son of Amoz saw during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah."

A very political book by a very political man, revealing God's plan for the world and the nation of Judah/Israel. it's most famous for chapter 53, which is a very clear prophecy of the coming of Jesus.

Well that's a chunk of the Bible done, I don't claim to have any decent knowledge so my reviews shouldn't me taken as anything more that cursory and insignificant, there's plenty of people who know what they're talking about if you want a better idea of what they teach. Okay, on with the other stuff.

Stormbreaker - Anthony Horowitz

"When the doorbell rings at three in the morning it's never good news."

The first book of the smash hit Alex Rider series, i recently managed to get an audio book of it for free and I loved it. I'd read another book previously and seen the film so i was very enthusiastic and it didn't dissapoint. This series takes the typical "boy becomes spy" theme and adds one critical difference - it's good!!

Third Girl - Agatha Christie

"She wanted to consult you about a murder she might have commited."

Okay that's not quite the opening line but it gives the best impression of what the story's about, the story takes several twists and turns and leaves Poirot without the pattern he needs to solve the murder...if there even is a murder! A good read (or listen in my case) and a testament to Christie's versatility.

The Affirmation - Christopher Priest

"This much I know for sure. I am Peter Sinclair, I am English and I am, or I was, twenty nine years old. Already there is an uncertainty and my suredness recedes. Age is a variable; I am no longer twenty nine."

A very good read, but be prepared to be confused. A man's journey of self discovery leads him to distant and unreal places - excellently written and very engaging. The author is best known for The Prestige, which recently came out in the cinema and if you've seen it you'll know the kind of mind bending story to expect.

Moby Dick - Herman Mellville

" Call me Ishmael. Some years ago - never mind how long precisely - having little or no money in my purse and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world."

A good long read if ever there was one!! Melville's book is as much about whale's and whaling as it is about Ahab's hunt for his nemesis so don't expect to catch sight of thw white whale till you near the final pages. While it isn't boring it is a hard read and takes time to get through, but you'll know a lot more about whales at the end, and you get occasional glimpses of the story as you progress!! It is good with diverse and engaging characters and a fantastic setting.

Well there ya go, that's me. there's a few Star Wars and Doctor Who books I've been exposed to, but I think I'll discuss them on my science fiction blog if at all.

See you next time

Some choice words

I recently realised that there's actually a very large amount of literature that I've been exposed to recently, and after placing a large order for geeky star wars books on amazon recently I'm going to attempt to catch up with the white whale soon before I end up giving you a monstrous list!! I've also been exposed to good writing in other forms, 24 being a very inovative and addictive series!! But there's also been some shoddy writing out there too - one that's stuck in my head is the attrocious single by "Liz Kay" produced by the creators of Cascada - "When love becomes a lie, it's time to say goodbye" then ad infinitum... freakin' genius!!

OK, time to get on with a few more words that have taken my fancy.

Superfluous –adjective

1.	being more than is sufficient or required; excessive.

Heinous - adjective

hateful; odious; abominable; totally reprehensible: a heinous offense.

Parochial –adjective

1.	of or pertaining to a parish or parishes.

Chronology –noun, plural -gies.

1.	the sequential order in which past events occur.

Bemoan – verb (used with object)

1.	to express distress or grief over; lament: to bemoan one's fate.

OK, well there's one more o' these then I can get back to picking words that take my fancy as they come, hope you've enjoyed reading these so far - if you have a favourite do drop a comment or why not blog about it yourself?

Farewell

The Real World

Hello dear reader

So I have now finished the grand old adventure that is University. It is a weird feeling, at the same time relieving, terrifying and confusing. The most disturbing things is that I'm shockingly emotionless about the whole affair, I've been desperately trying to churn up some actual feelings so that when I eventually wrote this post it would be full of enthusiasm and truth about how I feel...whereas I'm writing simply because i realised I should probably get round to it.

An unfortunate fact of my course, combined with my staying at home, is that you can on occasion, be quite isolated from everyone else. I find this hard to understand since at the start of the course they placed such a great emphasis on groups and getting to know each other and then as time went on split us into smaller and smaller groups with less time spent with other students! So by the end when we had four weeks study leave we had no one to meet up with and get alongside. On the last day I met about two people when I went to hand in my coursework, and later when down for the "social" but was only there for the beginning end (i.e. the bit where everyone's sober!!) before the extremely temporary nature of the Merseyrail network forced me to leave early without seeing many of my friends. So without the "whole gang's here" feeling it was quite an anti-climatic end to what has been a pretty good experience on the whole.

I guess another factor in my apathy is the fact that I'm working full time until the end of term so I've had very little time to get used to the "it's all over" feeling because I'm too busy doing something else!! The work is good and pays well, but it does leave me feeling more tired than I'd anticipated so I'm not looking forward to seeing what the ol' 9-5 is like, what a way to make a living?!! Also a key factor in my apathy is that I'm quite apathetic!!

But I also got a taste of the terrifying the other day when I attended a graduate recruitment fair in Liverpool and got a first hand experience of how hard it is going to be to get a job, expecially a job that I'd enjoy and that is relative to my experiences and what I'm qualified in. It seems that everyone is interested in accountants and managers these days, that and oil riggers and the odd technician. I was dissapointed to see that nothing even remotely connected to my world, say a local newspaper, advertising firm or more ideally games industry or something like that, but none of them were present. So it looks like an uphill struggle which I'm not looking forward to too much.

Well, as I said I've not much to say. It feels good to have all that coursework out of the way, but at the same time I'm going to miss that communal crazyness of school and uni, and I'm gonna miss learning stuff too - we'll see what the future holds eh?

I just finished one of the books I'm reading, so if I manage to finally spear the great monster that is Moby Dick I might post up one o' me book review thingies. It'll probably take longer than I expect so I'll probly post up a word thingy soon too.

Ciao

If I can get a word in edgeways...

Well now - I am a graduate (depending on my results in June!) and i suppose a lengthy post on how I feel and what my plans are, but frankly I don't know much about either. I will endeavour to come up with something more substantial, but for now here are a few more of the words that have taken my fancy as I blog away.

Fictitious –adjective

1.	created, taken, or assumed for the sake of concealment; not genuine; false: fictitious names.

Posterity –noun

1.	succeeding or future generations collectively: Judgment of this age must be left to posterity.

Hmm, that wasn't quite what I thought it was, though it still makes sense, to me it sounds like a mildly debilitating/embarassing illness for some reason!!

Virulent - adjective

1.	actively poisonous; intensely noxious: a virulent insect bite.

Fastidious - adjective

1.	excessively particular, critical, or demanding; hard to please: a fastidious eater.

Rambunctious –adjective

1.	difficult to control or handle; wildly boisterous: a rambunctious child.

Well that's your lot, enjoy, I do have a lot of free time so I'll make sure to blog again soon

Farewell

Some classic C 'n P

I started this blog at some point in the past to copy 'n paste my rambling from my MSN 'space' to a more globabl setting where people might actually read it (fat chance!) Thankfully the blog has flourished and taken it's first few steps on it's own feet until now it has reached a stage when it's well...hobbling at least! Anywa, as I'm still bereft of real content and I cannot spend too much time here I will post one of the few remaining articles from the old blog here for you now. By a twist of fate it happens to be the article I wrote after finishing Uni last year, which is fitting as my final university days creep forward.

Enjoy!

Done and dusted

Well ladies and gents I am done for the year, oh yes you heard me, as you carry on plodding through your examinations and coursework I am officially on holiday- ahh the joys of being an arts student!! But it wasn't just me there as I signed off my last assignment, no my fellow Liverpudlians of all persuasions had also finished which left me free to spend my last day with some old friends.

I caught up with Edd first in WHSmith because, genius that I am, I had forgotten to buy a folder for my work- we quickly selected the cheapest and moved on. As we past up Bold Street my highly trained senses told me something was wrong and only my lightning reflexes got me clear of an eager looking person with a badge and a clipboard before I vanished untraceably into the crowd. I called out to Edd, but he wasn't so lucky and in a situation like this it's each man for himself. I had to clear an army of them before i was able to duck into a shop, using all my techniques, the wall, the imaginary phonecall, the spontaneous jog to get clear. Admittedly it would probably be better to just give money to charity but I've got this down to a fine art

At any rate, we reconvened and made it up through the outskirts of Chinatown to my building to drop off that last piece of coursework. Then we headed back down via an alternative route to Wetherspoons where we took advantage of their Burger and Beer lunch promotion and met up with Alaw, who I'd only spoken to once briefly since school. It was a good time to catch up and talk about old times...and present times too as we each eventually came to fully realising that a year of Uni had gone by. After enjoying a pleasant lunch we and Alaw parted ways with a hug and a promise os "see you soon"... we'll see what happens.

After that Edd and I went for the ultimate student day out...to the Natural History Museum. After mounting about a hundred steps we found out via a tiny sign that the entrance had moved. We arrived at the new entrance, which now boasted a modern decor and some of the museum's pride and joys magnificently displayed including a monstrously big spider crab which is a highlight of any visit, and enormous totem pole and a Pterodactyl skeleton suspended from the ceiling.

Inside we found much of the delights from childhood visits- the planetarium, the mummies, the dinosaurs, as well as a host of new discoveries including an aquarium which was great because you don't often see that many living specimens in museums and a really cool bugs section which also boasted living creatures and a section that showed you what creepy crawleys look like up close. After a good few hours we left in high spirits and I left to catch my bus because the train service is... oh never mind!

Well that's it- another academic year gone by, I'm sure the nostalgia will hit in soon, but for now I'm just glad that I don't have to anything.

See you soon people.

My word of the post- retroactive, never use it- love it to bits!!

If I can say a word or two

Since I'm in the middle of a large workload I don't have much to report on my comings and goings. My only venture out was to go and see Spiderman 3 with friends - the only day I decided to go out and enjoy myself happened to be the day that torrential rain came down, but otherwise it was a good time! Well I've got coursework to do and the distractions of Facebook and Splinter Cell to compete with so I can't add any original content so I'll instead review a few more of my blog words.

Panorama - noun

1.	an unobstructed and wide view of an extensive area in all directions.

Iconoclastic –noun

2.	a person who attacks cherished beliefs, traditional institutions, etc., as being based on error or superstition.

The –definite article

1.	(used, esp. before a noun, with a specifying or particularizing effect, as opposed to the indefinite or generalizing force of the indefinite article a or an): the book you gave me; Come into the house.

Anarchism –noun

1.	a doctrine urging the abolition of government or governmental restraint as the indispensable condition for full social and political liberty.

Quintessential –noun

2.	the most perfect embodiment of something.

Well that'll do for now methinks, see you next time my brain turns to mush and I need a diversion!

2007 - year of the trilogy

This year has and will be playing host to the third parts of some epic movie trilogies. Film makers seem keen to try and stretch a trilogy out of their franchises once their first flick has made a decent profit. Trilogies are effective in that they allow a larger story to be developed without elongating it too much. These third parts are good for rounding off a storyline, though doubtless many film directors will attempt a fourth. Ah well there's things to do so I'll cut to the chase and leave you with a list of the trilogy round offs to come this year.

Spiderman 3 - currently in the cinema, featuring Sandman, Venom and the New Goblin

Shrek the Third - The big green thing returns and has to face the responsibilities of being King - out May 18th

Pirates of the Carribean: At World's End - The third part featuring a mission to rescue Jack Sparrow from beyond the grave and the pirates of the world are thrown into a fight for survival - out May 25th

Ocean's Thirteen - George Clooney's team are back and the stakes are higher than ever as they take on Al Paccino - out June 8th

The Bourne Ultimatum - Matt Damon returns as the amnesiac agent who returns to threaten the CIA with a haunting message - "I remember everything" - out August 3rd

Rush Hour 3 - Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker take a trip to Paris in another crime fighting adventure - out August 10th

Well there ya go, and with second parters like Fantastic Four and 28 weeks later also out soon it looks to be an interesting year at the cinema

Note- trailers courtesy of Apple.

X - My contribution to politics

Today was voting day --whoopdeydo!

It was a tad confusing to say the least. In Wales we have about three times more things to vote for because we have the Welsh Assembly and various other political forces at work which can make putting a cross in a box (or in our case two crosses on two seperate sheets) that little bit more difficult- so if you find voting a bit confusing bear a thought for us...unless you are welsh (and there's a decent chance you are) then you know what I mean.

I always try and take elections as seriously as possible, though it's never easy - I tend to eliminate the one's I know I won't vote for like BNP, Communists (though they do have good policies) and the Monster Raving Lo...I mean UKIP! Once there's a group of candidates with policies I can see are beneficial it all becomes a war for each one to discredit the other, so I find it's easiest to ignore the manifesto promises and look at who would be the best choice for my local constituency since that is going to make the most impact on me

The trouble is that there's a whole load of different elections with a whole load of different issues at stake, and I'm still getting used to the whole idea. I do however think that voting is important and not doing it, as many do, is how the evil controlling fascist societies of pretty much every science fiction film will get into power 'cause one day maybe no one will care. I guess what's also important is to take an interest and to follow it up and make sure the elect keep their promises.

The human footprint a show documenting the impact of one human being on the planet made an interesting point in that if you just vote and take no interest then your collective contribution to democracy over your lifetime will consist of a piece of graffite about an inch long! And whining about policies, sending angry letters to your councillor and even going on the odd march are key factors in sustaining true democracy - as one man out it "bellyaching is the cornerstone of democracy"

Anyway so these are my experiences and (ignorant, uninformed and overly opinionated no doubt) thoughts on voting in Britain today. Have fun with it folks

XXX

BMW Advert - Seeing Music in colour

If you haven't seen it I just thought I'd share this advert with you courtesy of YouTube. It's basically just an advert showing off BMW's cars and how great they think they are, but the add really appeals to me in an artistic sense. First of all I love the piece of music (can anyone fill me in on it's name - Dan I'm looking in your direction) but i also love the colours and textures that go with it. I think that is how music should be, full of colour and life.

Media player visualisations go some of the way towards creating this effect, I remember once spending about an hour with friends when we projected visualisations onto the ceiling and lay on the floor listening to music and watching the ceiling being filled with colour and patterns, when we finally got up it took quite a while to adjust back to normal light!! But even these don't quite cut it as they follow a preset pattern and the colours are just random - this advert goes further, giving bursts of colour when the sound explodes and weaving patterns in the buildups.

Since I have a condition called Synaesthesia, which links various sensory areas of the brain, I do, to a very small degree, experience music in colour. There are some people with the condition that would probably see a piece of music in this fashion every time, it depends on which areas of the brain are affected. I see colours for different pitches, and that's only occasionally, and textures for sounds but I can definitely see a logic to having individual patterns and colours for pieces of music.

Anyway that's enough from me - basically I really like this piece!! I might blog about synaesthesia when I'm less busy.

If you're viewing this on facebook, you'll have to go to my actual blog to see the Youtube content