Stuff I've read recently 6

It's not been too horrendously long since my last one of these I don't think and with Christmas and being far busier than I've ever been before I think I'm excused (though that excuse is already starting to sound tired.) Anyway here's a look at some of the literature that's stumbled across my way in recent weeks.

The Bible - God et al

Right well I've caught up with myself and am now in 1 Corinthians, having read the Gospels I missed and jumped over the ones I didn't...yeah. Anyway the combination of the story of Jesus along with Paul's God-inspired instruction has been very helpful reading. I should really think about how to do these things properly, but I think just letting you know what I've been up to will suffice for now.

Running the Race - R.C. Sproul

A nifty collection of pieces from Sproul's work aimed at graduates who are looking at what to do next with their lives, it felt appropriate to my situation and it was on my bookshelf so I decided it was worth reading. The book tends to aim at the non-Christian, which is probably it's remit so I can't criticise it on that, but I did find some of the subject matter, a lot of which deals with postmodernism and worldviews, a little heavy handed and the fact that it was drawn from a number of previously published books and articles meant it felt a little disjointed at times. But nonetheless it speaks truth and wisdom and is a valuable read especially for someone finishing University.

Marvel 1602 - Neil Gaiman

I'd been intrigued by this book and it's author for some time so I decided to pick it up. The book covers the stories of famous Marvel characters and looks at them as if they had been born and changed during the reign of Elizabeth the 1st. It weaves a fascinating tale, with the X-Men as feared "Witchbreed" hunted by the Spanish Inquisition and many other heroes struggling to find their way. For me it was a great way to become familiar with Marvel characters like Nick Fury and Dr Strange by putting them out of usual context, but it also spun a fascinating mystery that I eagerly turned the pages to unravel.

Captain Corelli's Mandolin (Abridged Audio) - Louis de Bernieres

Perhaps this would usually be by "main" as it is one of the great modern classics but as I picked it up as a free abridged audio in one of those newspaper giveaway thingies I'll put it amongst it's commoner friends or it's less well renowned friends I should perhaps say. The epic love story begins with a sleepy Greek island discussing the distant possibility of invasion by wartime forces. This invasion comes in the form of the Italian forces who occupy the towns and bring with them the kind and gentlemanly Captain Corelli, who falls in love with the girl in whose house he stays, and gradually she with him. But love is never simple and certainly not so in war and as the Axis loses and a group of rebels decide they should rule and as peace finally returns the story of two lovers takes it's time and brings more into their lives than they could imagine.

Star Wars Coruscant Nights: Jedi Twilight - Micheal Reaves

As always I'm a big Star Wars fan so reading this book was a foregone conclusion, but I got into this book a lot more than I expected to it and was pleasantly surprised as I read it, something I wouldn't expect when reading my favourite genre. The story covers the life of a fugitive Jedi living in the underlevels of Coruscant where the sun is blocked by the gleaming towers where the civilised folk live and the Empire rules. His life changes dramatically when Darth Vader comes looking for him and so do a bunch of others, some friends, some foes, some with no idea of what they truly desire. A great ensemble of new characters and a few well placed cameos make this a treat for SW fans and a gripping story in a fantastic setting makes it a worthy tale in it's own right.

Sandman Vol1: Preludes and Nocturns - Neil Gaiman

I got my hands on another piece of Gaiman's work, perhaps his most famous, well in the comic book world at least. The Sandman weaves an epic tale of what happens when the God of Dreams is captured by an occult group seeking to imprison Death itself. The consequences for the world are grave when dreams are denied them and for those who seek to take his power when he finally breaks free and exacts his revenge. Dream, or Morpheus, journeys across our world, and goes literally to hell and back to regain his power coming across villains who want to control his abilities and a few familiar DC characters also as his journey goes on. A fascinating and disturbing tale that stands out on the graphic novel bookshelf.

The Arrival - Shaun Tan

Incredible book introduced to me and devoured during an English lecture! A fantastic graphic work using only it's captivating illustrations to tell a believable tale of a displaced refugee in a fantastic world, yet with all the difficulties faced in the real world such as the need for food, and language and cultural barriers. Thoroughly captivating.

Batman: Year One - Frank Miller

A fascinating read as I begin to see more and more of Miller's influence on Christoper Nolan's new Dark Knight on screen. The book covers the return of playboy millionair Bruce Wayne to Gotham and how he takes his first tenuous steps as the caped crusader, tackling the gunmen, dealers and bent cops of the city. It also weaves a compelling tale of Lt Gordon's arrival in the city, how he too has to face up to corruption and makes his stand in the criminal city. I was surprised by it's brevity considering the power and punch of Dark Knight Returns, but it is still a great story of the caped crusader.

And now on to the 'main' course

Well it;s two books actually, one's SF t'other's not, neither fit into the usual 'classic' category reserved for the main as I decided to branch out a bit, but anyway these books are "what I was reading"

Neuromancer - William Gibson

A fantastic book, one of the seminal works of "cyberpunk" the subgenre of Sci-Fi that explores the gritty possibilities of cities under corporate control and man and machine so closely integrated into a network referred to as "The Matrix." The film you're obviously thinking of now draws a lot on this book, but took it to new hights. The Matrix in this book is more akin to the internet, with gleaming towers of corporate databases and walls of 'ice' that must be cut through to get to the precious data inside. Case, a hacker 'cowboy' who'se lost his ability to jack in is swept back up into the data thieving world he once thrived on, but soon finds himself a well placed pawn in a much bigger plan. Excellent mind bending read.

Man Bethau Hwylus - Wil Sam

Welsh literature has not been a familiar presence for me since I left high school so I decided to give this book, a gift to me on my birthday I think, a go. It took a while to get my brain used to what I was reading, but I found the book pleasant and amusing. The title loses something in the translation, but is there to present a series of short reccolections from the life of a prominent Welsh language author. The story is pleasant as it doesn't attempt to be biographical or to show hoe it shaped the author's life, it is simply a collection of tales about things and people that come to his mind when thinking of the area he grew up and lived in. While it gave my brain a good workout I'm glad of the exercize and of the chance to read some real and amusing stories in my own language

Well that's you lot, or my lot I guess I should say. Well I've only to decide what to read next now!

Word of the post: Bypass –verb (used with object)

5.	to avoid (an obstruction, city, etc.) by following a bypass.

6.	to cause (fluid or gas) to follow a secondary pipe or bypass.

7.	to neglect to consult or to ignore the opinion or decision of: He bypassed the foreman and took his grievance straight to the owner.

Weekly Quote W/E 27/12/08

With it being Christmas I think I'm excused a postless week!

"Garnet is usually the one who writes stuff. Her writing's neater than mine. So often I get her to do my schoolwork. She doesn't mind.

Yes I do." - Double Act, Jacqueline Wilson

Weekly Quote - Festive Edition

This is an adaptation of a kid's Christmas carol that myself and a few friends wrote at school - enjoy!

"Syrthio lawr y grisiau
Presantau yn y tan
Santa wedi marw
Nadolig wedi canslo."

Translation? You'll have to ask...

Merry Christmas everyone!!

Fo 'Shizzle

In what seems like a never ending quest to humiliate myself (see number 23 from brighton post) I've decided to share another mostly thought based pastime of mine with the wider world (also known as Tim and Sam)

I'm quite a fan of using the 'izzle' suffix when thinking out things to say and then occasionally slipping it in to conversation. This doesn't stem from any real desire to be cool, but rather from the amusement of playing the kind of word game that I did as a kid, which is now culturally acceptable amongst the elitists of cool and 'ard who would never give the time of day to most of my other pastimes. The other thing I like about doing it is that I haven't got a clue what I'm doing.

A few of my favourite uses:

Chizzle my bizzle mizzle = Cheers, my best mate

Joe Bizzle in the Hizzle = Joe B in the House

I do like getting into more elongizzle and nonsencizzle sentizzles that confizzle most dizzles who hizzle them, which makes them more fizzle for mizzle ya dizzle? Here's some shizzle from Wikipizzle on the subjizzle...

"Izz" infix usage

Although there are no hard-and-fast rules governing its usage, in general, the izz infix technique is performed by inserting izz, usually after a word's last pre-vowel consonant in its final syllable without deleting any letters.

Examples: minute becomes minizzute, and Kazakhstan becomes Kazakhstizzan. One-syllable words generally translate better with this technique: cream becomes crizzeam, for example.

It can also be performed by inserting izz at the beginning of a lone vowel: A becomes Izza and O becomes Izzo. This specific technique is implemented in Jay-Z's song "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)" found on his album The Blueprint.

It can also be added onto the end of words, as in the phrase Fo' shizzle meaning for sure and televizzle meaning television.

Origins

The origins of '-iz' spawn from the postwar harlem renaissance when little black girls used to stand on the street and jump rope, making up nursery rhymes on the fly. Sometimes the words wouldn't fit the measure and so they would use '-iz', or doubling letters or syllables in words to make it fit the measure.

While Snoop Dogg and Jay-Z are credited for popularizing these techniques in the early 2000s, previous artists used them or similar forms earlier.

Shizzle

Shizzle is a rap slang word for "sure", coined by E-40 and popularized by rap star Snoop Dogg. It has been adopted by several rappers and reggae deejays and is commonly used as: fo' shizzle as in, "for sure", often paired with "my nizzle" as in, "my nigga". This pairing became popular after Snoop Dogg used it in his song, "What's My Name (Part 2)" on his Album Tha Last Meal. At the beginning of the song, Snoop talks over the beat:

Izzle kizzle, fo' shizzle

My nizzle, what you sizzle?

Fo' shizzle bizzle, ha ha

(Lyrics)

Snoop Dogg himself probably did not expect the phrase "Fo' shizzle my nizzle" to gain such popularity.^{[citation needed]} First, the phrase is broken by a long pause on the track itself, suggesting that Snoop himself considered "Izzle kizzle, fo' shizzle" to be one phrase ("It's okay, for sure") and "My nizzle, what you sizzle?" to be another ("My nigga, what you say?"). Snoop's laughter at the end of the blurb further suggests that the whole intro was just meant to be a joke, albeit one that caught on quite broadly.

A simple example is translating the word "house", to become "hizzouse".

An example of a sentence using this technique of slang is:

• This new doggyfizzle televizzle gon' be off the hizzle, fo shizzle.

• Translation: This new Snoop Dogg television show is going to be off the hook (meaning great), for sure.

The song Double Dutch Bus, written by Frankie Smith originally spawned the use of 'izzle' as a suffix for words. While used in its purest form and true meaning as listed above, izzle as a suffix was rarely used, with exceptions occurring in a song now and then.^{[verification needed]} But as the pop and rap scene grew increasingly successful, the phrase became quite popular.^{[verification needed]} Those who heard the phrase, not understanding its meaning, often misinterpreted it, and further spread it without fully understanding it.^{[verification needed]}

This has led to the use of Shizzle to mean "s***", in its slang form meaning "cool", to replace any noun in popular speech, much like "shizznit", as in "my shizzle's hella fizzle, yo." Such terms can be used in slightly more polite company, or to get past censors on TV or radio.

"Shizzle my Nizzle" has also become a popular phrase to express surprise in New Zealand, popularised by Glen Browne who is also the author of the wildly popular Diggy Dr Brzay's word of the Dzay

I think also that on of my biggest influences in liking this is the classic Orange cinema add with Snoop Dog himself going up against the Orange crew.

"Let's roll y'all" - love it!

Word of the post:Redundant –adjective

1. characterized by verbosity or unnecessary repetition in expressing ideas; prolix: a redundant style.
2. being in excess; exceeding what is usual or natural: a redundant part.

A perfect plate

BL06 AWW

Driving yesterday I was behind a car with this numberplate or something to a similar effect and thought it accurately summed up the home for this text you are now reading. Props to Sam for spotting it!

Word of the post: Nefarious - adjective

extremely wicked or villainous; iniquitous

Weekly Quote W/E 13/12/08

"If a person has ugly thoughts, it begins to show on the face. And when that person has ugly thoughts every day, every week, every year, the face gets uglier and uglier until it gets so ugly you can hardly bear to look at it." - The Twits, Roald Dahl

I tried it

Don't worry it all still seems to be working...well give it 24 hours eh?

Word of the post: Clemency –noun, plural -cies.

1.	the quality of being clement; disposition to show forbearance, compassion, or forgiveness in judging or punishing; leniency; mercy.

2.	an act or deed showing mercy or leniency.

3.	(of the weather) mildness or temperateness.

Weekly Quote W/E 06/12/08

" 'I'm not going to run away' Stanley said.
' Good thinking' said Mr Sir. ' Nobody runs away from here. We don't need a fence. Know why? Because we've got the only water for a hundred miles. You want to run away? You'll be buzzard food in three days.' "- Holes, Louis Sachar

Jus' writin'

I want to do my blog, but I'm not really with it in the ideas or alertness departments so I figure I'll just ramble on for a bit in the hope that my constant blargh (or stream of consciousness to literary types) will be amusing or readable- I daren't hope for both.

One thing I've spotted already which is tickling me is that the imported spellchecker for blogger flags up "blog" and "blogger" as spelling mistakes, you'd think they'd take the time to put in their own product names as correct spellings, but hey I guess they're busy or something.













I was introduced in a lecture to a fantastic book called The Arrival which has a fantastic setting but a very real sense of character and loss. The story is a tale of displacement, of a refugee fleeing and unknown danger to a foreign land where the food, language and customs are all alien and he struggles to find work, shelter and friendship. The genius of the book is that the story is told completely through illustrations which are breathtaking in detail and emotion. It takes a while to get into the story, but once you're in you are definitely hooked.

And on the same day it was kinda weird 'cause there was snow and stuff and on one side the sky was very much cloudy and grim, but on the other side it was solid blue, but not your typical sunny day blue sky, it was much darker, a shade I'd never seen before, much closer to purple than sky blue actually. I pointed it out, but people were a bit busy listening to the lecture so I didn't get much response, but I found it interesting anyway. The other kind of sky I notice is when it's snowing and the sky goes pure white and you have to concentrate to see the clouds.

I don't like planning

I like Video Games

I wish I was Spiderman

Word of the post: Antioxidant –noun

1.	Chemistry. any substance that inhibits oxidation, as a substance that inhibits oxidative deterioration of gasoline, rubbers, plastics, soaps, etc.

2.	Biochemistry. an enzyme or other organic substance, as vitamin E or beta carotene, that is capable of counteracting the damaging effects of oxidation in animal tissues.