Smoochies' Road to Boston

Death

2006-09-12T13:08:00.000+01:00

Well, the resurrection was in vain. I've decided to start again.

Little Grey Cells is where you'll find me from now on. I suggest you getover there soon because I am going to get rid of this one very soon. I think she's on her last legs, so I'm gonna do the decent thing and remove her and forget she every existed. I think she'd want me to do it.

I haven't had chance to post properly at Little Grey Cells yet, but I will get around to it soon.

So say goodbye, so long, farewell, au reviour, sayanora, auf weirdersein and/or later to my road to boston. May she rest in pieces within the speedy wires of the interweb.

Regeneration

2006-08-30T20:06:00.000+01:00

New design, I figure that warrants a regeneration of some posts. Not sure how the design looks in other browsers and/or resolutions. So far, I only know that it looks okay in FireFox at 1024x768. Let me know if it doesn't look right.

Nothing big to post just yet though. We're moving flats so everything is a huge mess and I have sore muscles from all the lifting. So just a couple photos for now, to whet the appetite.

This one is in a Nature Reserve, during a short hike.

And this one is from an old fashioned port that has been refurbished as a sort of museum of all the different shops, buildings and ships. It's called Mystic Seaport.

That's all for now. I'll think of a reaosn to post in the future. Maybe I'll show of all my fancy CG Artwork, or put share some short stories as a reason to get writing again, or even to test out some website designs.

Until then...

Thomas Covenant

2005-09-03T22:56:00.000+01:00

Disclaimer: If you, or any person within a 10 metre radius of your being, does not know the meaning of the word "roynish", please consider yourself too normal to read the following post, as it concerns comments about fantasy that could be found akin to D&D, and therefore is extremely geeky. You have been warned.

Someone once told me to read a certain fantasy trilogy. Said person claimed it to be one of the pinnacles of the fantasy genre. Said person had also NOT read the Book of the New Sun, so was obviously uneducated on the subject of the genre, but nevertheless I persisted with this supposedly fantastic fantasy series.

The series is question was none other than "The First Chronicles of Thomas Covenant". Three pretty big books in all. So I started, and then I stopped soon after. The beginning to the series was incredibly dreary and there was nothing there to make me want to read on. Eventually I went back to it, and it did begin to pick up and ended very well. I had enjoyed it. That was of course until I picked up the next book in the series. It took me three attempts to get through this one. Absolutely nothing happened in the whole book of interest, which may be considered quite an achievement considering the whole book took place during an epic war.

So 2/3 of the way through and I was ready to rip the whole series to bits. But I thought I'd better at least finish it. The final book was much better. It got on with the story telling, twisted this way and that and eventually brought about the climax it had taken so painfully long to get to. The ending, I found a bit of an anti-climax, but I still liked it. So overall, I thought it was an average fantasy, and I said so. A few people seemed to disagree with me.

Next time I was at the library I happened across "The Second Chronicles of Thomas Covenant". Some urge inside me made me get it and so I gave it a go. As it stands now I am nearing the end of only the first book of the second trilogy, and all my thoughts about the series of changed. This latter series is everything the first one wanted to be, and then some.

It jumps right in at the beginning, throws you right into the world which has been twisted from the last series, and then rockets you through it. It makes the original trilogy seem like a very long-winded prologue.

I've no doubt that Donaldson wrote this second series solely because of the success and adoration of the first. However, he outdid himself by actually producing a sequel which overshadows the original.

And I'm not even finished yet.

Speaking of fantasy, I have also been making steady progress through Mr. Potgieter's debut novel, Regor Mortez. Although I have been a lazy sod and still not finished I figured giving it some publicity (by which I mean simply mentioning it on my blog) will buy me the extra time I need to fully digest the exert I have. An exert, I hasten to add that takes up nearly 90 pages in Word.

End of geeky fantasy talk.

In other news, just a small thing to mention is that I moved into the flat that I shall soon be occupying with the ever wonderful and magnificent Mrs. Smoochies. Not really that important, I'm sure you'll agree.

Now if you don't mind, I have a book to finish reading.

Good day (or night, whatever), ladies and gentlemen, and sexy hot women named Joeli.

I don't like surveys

2005-08-30T01:10:00.000+01:00

This is definitely the last one I do.

ten years ago:
Hmm, I was 9. Just finished doing my SATs in school and scoring I think the highest grade in the school. About to start my last year in primary school. Passed a test to get into a really posh secondary school, but decided to go to a crappy common school where all my friends were going. Kissed a girl for the first time. But then she went to the girls version of said posh school the next year and I never saw her again. I also think that was the year I got my Power Rangers Megazord for Christmas, and I still have it today.

five years ago:
Okay, 14. I picked my GCSE options at school, choosing double science, media studies, graphics and PE. I think this was the year when I phased away from the group of friends I entered the school with, and sort of blended into a new group. I think this was the year when I got embarrassed in front of the whole school at an assembly when the teacher said I was the most advanced reader in the school. That's about it, a pretty dull year in all.

one year ago:
Took my first step towards independence and moved into my first flat, with pretty great flatmates now I look back. Went to a lot of parties. Got very drunk a lot of the time. Started university. Did some really weird things including funnels and beer kegs. My mind was pretty messed up for a while, but it all turned out okay. It wasn't the best time of my life, but it was definitely a time I shan't soon forget.

five snacks:
- Cheese
- Apples
- Cold Pasta
- Spinach
- Chocolate

five songs I know all the words to: (just 5?)
- Life on Mars - David Bowie
- One Week - Barenaked Ladies
- Amazed - Lonestar
- It Had to be You - Harry Connick Jr
- You've Got a Friend - Carole King

five things I would do with $100 million:
- Pay off all my debts and any of my family's debts
- Publish "The Life of Regor Mortez"
- Buy a plot of land in Italy that has a beautiful cottage near a nice lake, with a sunflower field out back
- Travel the world
- Save the rest

five places to run away to:
- My quiet place round the back of Liverpool Cathedral
- Bath/Shower
- Bed
- Comic Store
- A random walk for as long as I feel like it

five things I would never wear:
- Thong
- Sleeveless top
- Earring, or any other kind of piercing
- Any item of clothing depicting Man U in any way, shape or form
- Spandex

five favorite TV shows:
- Family Guy
- QI
- Blackadder
- Digital Picture of Britain
- How to Start Your Own Country

five biggest joys:
- Joeli
- Comedy
- Photography
- Stories
- Tea

five favorite toys:
- Photoshop
- Jigsaws
- Computers
- Camera
- My upside Goofy figure with the wobbly legs

Smoochies' World Wide Web A-Z

2005-08-12T22:08:00.000+01:00

I thought it'd be fun to do an A-Z of websites that I have visited. Basically, all I'm gonna do is put a letter in the address bar and pick a website that comes up. I'll deal with any letters that don't turn up in a minute. Now, on with the fun.

A: http://www.absolutecross.com/ - a great site for people interested in websites, graphic design or programming.

B: http://www.buddyhead.com/music/rulesofrock/audience.html - a list of the golden rules one must obey when in the audience of a rock concert.

C: http://collegesexadvice.com/ - I don't suppose anyone will believe me that I stumbled across this site when Googling "Hitchhiker's Guide". It's very informative though.

D: http://www.deviantart.com/ - the ultimate artist's website. One of only a few sites I visit regularly.

E: http://engadget.com/entry/1234000950053739/ - I know everyone in the world wants one of these.

F: http://fratguyantics.com/ - just a random site that usually has some funny stuff on it.

G: http://gorillamask.net/ - a great site for finding links to funny stuff.

H: http://www.hiddenskills.net/ - a visually impressive Photoshop site.

I: http://www.imdb.com/ - the ultimate source of movie information.

J: No J's!!

K: http://www.killagraphix.com/ - a random site I found about graphical design.

L: http://ladidadidum007.blogspot.com/ - Joeli's blog, but of course

M: http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/ - I'm cheap, so what?

N: No N's!!

O: http://www.ontvangstrapporten.nl/ - where I download stuff for Football Manager.

P: http://www.photoshopcafe.com/ - one place where I try to learn how to use Photoshop

Q: No Q's!!

R: http://www.retrocrush.com/ - funny stuff about classic pop culture.

S: http://sinfulshirts.com/ - very offensive, but some funny, t-shirts.

T: http://www.thedesignworld.com/ - another site about web design and graphics.

U: No U's!!

V: No V's!!

W: http://ww2.sextoysex.com/sex/start/bs/bestsellers_penisextension.html?a=sextoyspro - I really don't know why or how or when. I think Hugh Grant, or Colin Firth, or Harry Potter has been on my computer.

X: http://xposed.com/ - like FHM, but online, and free!

Y: http://www.yesbutnobutyes.com/ - a random blog I looked at once.

Z: No Z's!!

Okay, now I'm gonna fill in those missing letters. To do this I'm just gonna try random URLs until I find one that works. That's all.

J: http://www.jesters.com/ - Toys!!!

N: http://www.nutella.it/ - :D :D

Q: http://www.quark.com/ - apparently it's some kind of software.

U: http://www.uaresobeautiful.com/urso/ - because I'm such a sweet guy. :P

V: http://www.vaginajunction.com/ - Couldn't resist. 1000 points to anyone who can tell me where I got it from.

Z: http://www.zanzibar.com/ - Well I wasn't gonna just do zoo.

Well that's all for now. A small glimpse to the secret world of Smoochies. Hope you enjoyed.

Why not?

2005-08-11T23:34:00.000+01:00

It's not like I can fool anyone into believing I'm busy or anything. Don't all rush in at once though. :P *

1. Reply with your name and I'll respond with something random about you.
2. I'll tell you what song/movie/book/fictional character/SOMETHING reminds me of you.
3. I'll pick a flavor of pudding to wrestle with you in.
4. I'll say something that only makes sense to you and me. Well, maybe just me.
5. I'll tell you my favorite memory of you, should I have one yet.
6. I'll tell you what animal or plant you remind me of.
7. I'll ask you something that I've always wondered about you.
8. If I do this for you, you must post this on your journal. You MUST. It is written

* I resevre the right to make as many sexual/rude/offensive comments as I deem are needed to make this entertaining.

The Unfamiliar

2005-08-07T18:21:00.000+01:00

I have to admit that I don't consider Stephen Donaldson to be that good of an author. Contrary to anything Potty may say, I think his books are much too wordy and don't have enough of a story to them. In fact, having read 4 books by him I actually found his Afterword to one of those books the most interesting thing he's written.

The book in question is The Real Story, the first in the Gap series. Donaldson tries to explain where the inspiration for this, and his other stories comes from. He says that in order to write anything one must have two ideas. A novel based around one idea will inevitably fall flat and dull before long. Using an example that is sure to prove popular with a lot of people, Harry Potter. One idea is the of a young Orphan child who lives a not very nice life who finds out he's special in some way. The other idea being of a school for magic. Put them together and you get the most overrated bestseller ever.

But that's not all. Two ideas are the key, however it's not that simple. Donaldson goes on to explain, based on what was said by an older author whose name escapes me, that these ideas should ideally consist of the familiar, and the unfamiliar. What he means is that one of the ideas should be something you know about, either through personal experience or good research, and the other should be like a setting for this other idea. Something fantastical, interesting yet fictional, where your familiar idea can be played out. Again, looking at Harry Potter, the familiar and unfamiliar can be seen.

Thinking about it I figured that every great book or story is built upon this theory. At least in my opinion. I think this is why Terry Pratchett and Philip Dick appeal to me so much, both take a solid, familiar story and set it in a strange, unfamiliar setting. Of course it doesn't just apply to sci-fi and fantasy. The Alchemist uses a similar formula. Jane Austen does the opposite, using the familiarity of the times and settings of her novels and places the unfamiliarity of the behaviour of her characters in that time.

Maybe this theory for writing a great story is in some way connected to Phi, the magical number that justifies the beauty of a person or a plant or a photograph. Perhaps the ratio of familiar to unfamiliar is 1.61803399, or maybe the number of pages squared divided by the number of words will equal the golden ratio. If I wasn't such a lazy person I might do some valuable research into it and make myself millions, but I just can't be bothered. Sorry.

So, now, to my point. I've decided to apply this formula to my blog in the hope of makes the most aesthetically pleasing to read blog posts ever. However, right now, I only have one idea, or inspiration, just the familiar, and that is that people are bugging me to post something. I have yet to find an unfamiliar to couple up with that, hence why this post is so utterly pointless and boring. But hey, it's your own fault for reading it. Surely you had better ways to spend those last five minutes?

Of course, any suggestions for possible unfamiliars I could incorporate into the next post, and by incorporate I of course mean use and take full credit for, can be sent to the following address: iwannagivesmoochiesallmymoney@yahoo.com

--Iain

P.S. It definitely won't be as long to my next post. I have to start getting my mind active ready for going back to uni. Rambling every so often on here should achieve that.

Gee...

2005-06-09T00:11:00.000+01:00

I must be bored, I'm writing something on my blog. I was tempted to do a Potty and lay my blog to rest, poor thing hardly gets fed anymore, and I'm starting to feel sorry for her. But I don't think I have the energy to deal with the media backlash if I ever did such a thing. And there would be one, believe me, even if it was just me with a banner saying "Smoochies 4EVA" on it, at least that'd be something.

I always knew I loved football, but I never knew how much until now. The football season is over, and there is officially no more football until the middle of August. It's been so long since I went without football, about 2 years since last summer was the European Championships so there was football on all summer. But now I find myself skipping to the sports channels every time I switch the TV on, hoping that maybe perhaps there'll be some football on, even if it is only the repeat of Liverpool winning the European Cup for the fifth time, thus making us the best football team in Europe, and therefore the best city in Europe and since Europe has the best football teams, that ergo makes us the best city in the whole wide world (except maybe perhaps for Boston).

I have a confession as well. I have fell into the depth of geekdom (alright EVEN further) and have started to read a huge fantasy series, The Wheel of Time. Now I do have an excuse, every other book in my house has been packed away, and I needed to read something, so I delved into by To-Be-Destroyed bag for something to read. Worst thing is, it's pretty good. Whatever next? I'll be praising Harry Potter. God I hope not.

Oh, and more things to add to my geeky levels: in the past week I have managed to watch both the original Star Wars Trilogy and the extended edition Lord of the Rings Trilogy. I still prefer 50 First Dates though.

Oh, and I'm pathetic because I cannot solve a Rubik's Cube, it hurts my eyes and my brain and I have to stop after trying for so long. Well, I do only try for 5 minutes at a time. I guess I have a very short attention span.

Well, that's about it for now. Adios amigos.

And people wonder why I don't write anymore...

2005-05-26T21:49:00.000+01:00

for Joeli

Sometimes I may say things that shouldn't be heard,
May not even think before saying a word,
Sometimes I get moody, sometimes I'm just sad,
Don't open my eyes for fear of doing something bad,
I know I am stubborn, and picky as hell,
And annoying too, it's not hard to tell.

But everything I do, everything I say,
Is because I'm thinking of you all through the day,
Even at night, when I'm too tired to sit,
And first thing in the morning, when I get the urge to knit.

I guess what I mean is you're never far from my mind,
You're so smart, and funny, and beautiful, and kind,
I think I can be forgiven, for sometimes losing control,
Since I love you so much, with all my heart and soul.

Eternal Power

2005-05-24T21:51:00.000+01:00

I don't know how I got thinking about this, but somehow I did. And when I start thinking about things I tend to get very carried away, but bear with me.

So, you have power plants, and they basically run by using something to drive a giant turbine, usually coal and other fossil fuels, however there are increasing numbers of hydroelectric and wind plants around nowadays. Anyway, all these turbines are basically is a giant motor that turns a generator that generates electricity. This involves magnets and wires and motors and is very simple but very clever. I'm not gonna bother explaining all that. If you wanna know, look here.

I was thinking that in a basic circuit, you use an electric current to run a motor. The first circuit most people ever make in school (or a light bulb instead of a motor).

Now the turbine is basically a giant motor that is being spun by other means, as I said usually burning fossil fuels, then using the steam to make it turn, like a fan. But, couldn't we somehow connect a motor up to this turbine, which is connected to a generator, which powers the motor. A bit confusing, kind of recursive. But, if you used some external force to initially set the motor turning, the turning of that motor would turn the turbine, which would power the generator, which would in turn power the motor, and so on. So after that initial power usage to set the whole thing going, it should, in theory, continue to run forever (provided all the components are reliable and durable).

So you have this simple circuit running, and the amount of electricity running through the circuit would be determined by the initial power given to the motor by an external source. If this is great enough, this circuit could them be connect in parallel to something else, anything else, and would provide electricity to this thing.

So, in theory, you could power the entire world, forever, given a big enough initial charge. The basic circuit would never stop running. So it would always be generating electricity. Eternal power.

I already know all the flaws in the theory, and I can appreciate why it couldn't be put into practice, but the theory is valid. I know it is!

Anyways, this was all just a cunning ruse to make sure that there wasn't a freaky, naked, half-bike half-naked-lady hybrid on the screen when you first come onto my blog. I think it succeeded.

P.S. I spelt initial wrong every single time in that.

P.P.S. If the word "so" was replaced by boobies, there would be 14 boobies in this post.

Ultimate Chopper

2005-05-09T16:16:00.000+01:00

Ever since someone, who shall remain nameless, got be addicted to American Chopper, I've come to keep an eye out for custom made bikes. I think I should stop now though because I have found the ultimate one. It just doesn't get any better than this.

My birthday is October 30th for anyone who is yet still undecided as to what to get me. :P

Randomness #5234

2005-04-24T01:30:00.000+01:00

"In the whole of your life there are maybe a handful of people who genuinely share your world with you, who for more than a moment inhabit the same place - as if you are imperfect facets of the same being. You owe them, and yourself. That's all."

Food facts

2005-04-18T23:53:00.000+01:00

1 Tomato (which does NOT rhyme with potato) Ketchup goes with everything.
2 The same goes for spinach, surprisingly*.
3 Scrambled Eggs are extremely devious, because no matter how easy they are to cook, they are a million times harder to wash up after.
4 Milk, butter, flour, cheese ... a match made in heaven (or maybe hell since I doubt it's good for you).
5 Bowls are the ultimate serving dish.
6 Spoons are the ultimate eating utensil (besides fingers, and I guess, sporks).
7 Pasta is the 2nd nicest food ever, mostly because of its ease to make (the 1st being any curry).
8 If it takes more than 15mins, it can't seriously be worth it.**
9 Cereal is the ultimate utility food. It can be a snack or a whole meal, it never needs cooking, it tastes really nice, it can be very sweet or not, the list goes on...
10 Meat isn't everything. If I, a very carnivorous male, can get by without it, then so can everyone else (of course when I can afford meat again I'll have it all the time).
11 To own a non-stick pan is a dream of mine.
12 Any food that can be made simply by boiling a kettle immediately gains the prestige of being great.
13 Water is NOT a good substitute for milk.
14 Sleep does make hunger go away...until you wake up.
15 Midnight snacks can occur any time between midnight and 5am.
16 Soup is the food world's equivalent of masturbation. It's nice and satisfying, but at the end of the day you still just want a real meal.
17 Staple foods that will always be in my house are: Bread, Milk, Pasta, Rice, Ketchup, Spinach and Flour. Anything and everything else is a luxury.
18 If it's not on offer, it doesn't get bought.
19 If it's out of date, it still gets eaten.
20 Spam is nice!! FACT!!!

* Surprisingly because I never thought that in my life I would find a green food that I enjoy.
** The opposite should be applied to areas of life other than food.

But what does it all mean?

2005-04-11T22:38:00.000+01:00

You know what I've noticed lately. I do some weird things. Seriously, I do things that would make others look twice. And today I had a thought, what do all these things I do say about me as a person? Surely they're like an insight into my mind or something like that.

First off, When I'm eating--this actually is starting to bug me, but I can't not do it--I always eat the less nicest food first. Sounds like gibberish yeah? Well I don't know how better to phrase it, so I'll give some examples. Say I have a plate of Steak and Chips, or Fish and Chips, well, I'll always start eating with the chips. If I have a curry, I always eat a load of rice first before eating any chicken. With Spaghetti Bolognese I always eat some spaghetti first before eating bolognese. You get what I mean now? I seem to always eat the side first. I know why I do this, it's like a saving the best for last thing. But, what's happened on more than one occasion is that I've filled myself up before finishing off the main bit of the meal. The nicest bit. That's why it annoys me. Surely this is some insight into me, right? Maybe it means I'm wiling to wait for the best thing, that I'm very patient. Okay, so maybe not. But I definitely can wait for things.

Another thing I do is clear away dishes. Maybe I get this from my mother, but I don't think so. But whenever I finish eating something, I cannot just sit there and leave the dirty dish next to me. I have to take it out, and more often than not wash it. I think all this means is that I have the makings of a neat freak in me, but so far he's been suppressed. Maybe one day he'll come out and clean my room for me. But that's just wishful thinking.

One thing I am definitely guilty of is not doing work. But I blame SEGA and Konami for that. If they didn't bring out such highly addictive games then maybe I wouldn't always resort to playing them instead of working. Particularly Football Manager 2005. When you first look at it, it looks a simple boring game, but I can play it for hours and hours and hours. It's more addictive than alcohol or cigarettes or any other drug. I need a Football Manager patch, Football Manager's Anonymous, anything to get me off it. You see, I'm twitching now. That's because I'm at the computer lab and can't play it. I'm actually getting fidgety now, I want to go home. I want to go and play it. It's waiting for me. It needs me.

Anyway, enough of that temptation mumbo jumbo. Point is, I've had 2 weeks to do some work that was due in today, and when do I end up doing it? Tonight. I was sitting in my flat, not doing it, even though it is due in tonight. I had to drag myself to the computer lab just so I wouldn't be distracted. And lo and behold, I had it done in 2 hours. I guess that shows that I can work well under pressure, so long as nothing is distracting me. But that was nothing that anybody didn't know already. I am very easily distracted. Especially from any kind of work.

Oh, and I just had to post this picture before I finished. It is a combination of my two most favouritest things in the whole wide world. It's Joeli (the woman I love more than anything in the whole wide world), and Liverpool (the best football team in the whole wide world). I can't stop drooling over it. It's just the best thing ever.

Told ya.

*sigh* I love her so much.

Books for all!

2005-04-02T00:45:00.000+01:00

I'm having a vast book clear out, which means, any books that I will never read again, or will never get around to reading, have to go. I was going to just give them all away to charity, or to a 2nd hand bookshop, but I figured I'd be generous and offer them to all my buddies first and foremost. So here is the long list of all the books I'm going to get rid of. If any of them tickle your fancy, just let me know and you can have them, for free. Think of it as an early birthday, or early Christmas present.

And no making fun of the utter crap that is included here.

I, Robot - Isaac Asimov

The Currents of Space - Isaac Asimov

~~Street Lethal - Steven Barnes~~

Eon - Greg Bear

~~Timescape - Gregory Benford~~

Something Wicked This Way Comes - Ray Bradbury

The Postman - David Brin

The River of Time (x2) - David Brin

Sundiver - David Brin

Witches' Brew - Terry Brooks

Impakto - Richard Calder

~~Wyrms - Orson Scott Card~~

~~The Worthing Saga - Orson Scott Card~~

~~Farewell, My Lovely - Raymond Chandler~~

~~The Long Good Bye - Raymond Chandler~~

~~Greetings, Carbon-Based Bipeds! - Arthur C. Clarke~~

Imperial Earth - Arthur C. Clarke

Computer One - Warwick Collins

The Tenth Planet - Edmund Cooper

Timeline - Michael Crichton

The Fifth Miracle - Paul Davies

Nova - Samuel R. Delany

Necromancer - Gordon R. Dickson

Cryptic Crimes - John Dunning

~~Gridlock - Ben Elton~~

Krondor Tear of the Gods - Raymond E. Feist

Magician - Raymond E. Feist

The Black Hole - Alan Dean Foster

Legend - David Gemmel

Beyond Blair Witch: The True Haunts - N. E. Genge

Backwards (Red Dwarf novel) - Rob Grant

Seasons of Plenty - Colin Greenland

Worlds - Joe Haldeman

~~Things Snowball - Rich Hall~~

Podkayne of Mars - Robert Heinlein

The Day After Tomorrow - Robert A. Heinlein

Methuselah's Children - Robert A. Heinlein

The Great Dune Trilogy - Frank Herbert

Fluke - James Herbert

Expecting Someone Taller - Tom Holt

Faust Among Equals - Tom Holt

My Hero - Tom Holt

Paint Your Dragon - Tom Holt

Snow White and the Seven Samurai - Tom Holt

~~Wish you Were Here - Tom Holt~~

Ye Gods! - Tom Holt

Blade Runner 4: Eye and Talon - H. W. Jeter

The Eye of the World - Robert Jordan

Cageworld: No1 Search for the Sun - Colin Kapp

Polar City Blues - Katharine Kerr

~~The Gunslinger - Stephen King~~

A Perfect Spy - John le Carre

~~The Star Fraction - Ken MacLeod~~

The Ninja - Eric Lustbader

The Ring of Five Dragons - Eric Van Lustbader

Masquerade - Gayle Lynds

The Mind of Mr Soames - Charles Eric Maine

Dragonflight - Anne McAffrey

Restoree - Anne McAffrey

The White Dragon - Anne McAffrey

The Secret of Life - Paul McAuley

Desolation Road - Ian McDonald

The Rituals of Infinity - Michael Moorcock

Silverheart - Michael Moorcock and Storm Constantine

Survival Kit - Frederik Pohl

Footfall - Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle

The Mote in God's Eye - Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle

Free to Trade - Michael Ridpath

The Marketmaker - Michael Ridpath

~~Trading Reality - Michael Ridpath~~

Jitterbug Perfume - Tom Robbins

~~Escape from Kathmandu - Kim Stanley Robinson~~

The Great Pursuit - Tom Sharpe

Wilt - Tom Sharpe

The Unlikely Spy - Daniel Silva

The Man in the Maze - Robert Silverberg

Final Fantasy: Spirits Within - Dean Wesley Smith

The Guardian - Nicholas Sparks

Dragonlance: Firstborn - Paul B. Thompson and Tonya R. Carter

The Mind Cage - A. E. van Vogt

A Pocketful of Stars - Various

Antigrav - Various

Beyond the Stars - Various

4 books in one (feat. 2001: A Space Odyssey, I Robot, Day of the Triffids and The Demolished Man) - Various (Arthur C. Clarke, Isaac Asimov, John Wyndham and Alfred Bester)

Hugo Award Winners 1963-1967 - Various (edited by Isaac Asimov)

Science Fantasy Stories - Various

Science Fiction Stories - Various (chosen by Edward Blishen)

Writers of the Future - Various (presented by L. Ron Hubbard)

Forgotten Realms: Pool of Radiance - James M. Ward and Jane Cooper Hong

Siege: To Green Angel Tower part 1 - Tad Williams

Castleview - Gene Wolfe

Well that's them all. Let me know if you want any.

Guess who's back...

2005-03-30T00:52:00.000+01:00

I'm back from exploitations afar. Okay, so I know I should post something, but I'm not in a very creative mood, so this is going to be more like a list of how things went, minus some stuff that people probably don't want to hear.

On the Friday I had to catch my flight I stayed up until 3:30am watching crappy late night TV that just seems to consist of naked ladies. Then waited for 30mins in the cold for a bus. Stayed on the bus for 2 and a half hours, falling asleep a few times in the process. I flew to Zurich first, slept the whole flight. Zurich is a pretty impressive airport, big, and with lots to do, but like any airport for a man, boring as hell when you run out of money for the arcade machines. Waited a few hours before finally flying to Boston.
FINALLY got to see Joeli again, and to reaffirm her gorgeousness and perfection briefly, before heading back to her place.

I got my present from Helen, which I read on my flight back, well, the first chapter, and it's pretty good so far. Thanks again, Helen.

So during my stay, we managed to:

nearly burn the house down

spill Pespi all over the bed

spill coffee all over the blankets

successfully cook:

mac&cheese

spinach&eggs

leftover-KFC-chicken-sandwhiches

meatballs

watch some movies despite a very disagreeable laptop

dance and I got taught how to slow dance

go the cinema

go to a Friendly's

meet Joeli's family who I really liked

meet Tanya

not have the previous 2 sets of people kill and/or dismember me

learn the immense humour in moaning publicly

see Fenway Park

break a window (temporarily, I hasten to add)

see the sexy dress being worn in it's complete and full glory

experience the wonders of Fluff

rediscover the brilliance of Lucky Charms

found new uses for tea (and other hot drinks)

That's all I can remember right now. Sorry. I know I got lazy with the whole list thing, but I can't really remember the order things happened in, and a lot of things aren't nearly as funny to be read as they were to be lived.

At the end of the day I had an awesome week, I wouldn't've changed a minute of it. I don't think I have smiled more uncontrollably in all my life so far. It's weird how I can be so far away from my house, and yet feel completely at home.

Oh, and the journey back sucked so much I'm not even gonna mention it. Except that I had to watch Bridget bloody Jones yet again. I think I've seen that movie about 6 times now, and I still hate it.

--Iain

P.S. for the person who found this site when googling for Smoochies...I know I'm a world renowned sex-god, but back off, there are no naked pictures of me to be found anywhere, or sexy videos, and unless you can fix broken DVD drives I doubt there ever will be.

P.P.S. I love you so much Joeli, thanks for everything.

The Road to Boston begins...

2005-03-17T00:14:00.000Z

I couldn't very well waltz off to Boston and not leave at least one post before I go. I head off in 12 hours , if anyone is interested. And I fly in 32 hours 35 minutes. And I'll be in Boston in 39 hours 15 minutes. And the time is ticking away, so by the time I finish this post it'll be even closer.

Everything else that is coming up I have found during my many hours of procrastination. Because of this I dub the rest of this post...
The Procrastination Station

First off, funny comics. These ones are especially funny if you are into video games. VGCats.

I like this one:

...because I just bought that game and loved it.

And this one:

...because who doesn't hate Microsoft in some form?

Next set of comics are Digital Purgatory, which are extremely funny. But perhaps you have to be a geek to like them. I don't know. I'm a geek so I don't pay attention to any requirements.

That's enough comics for now. Alright, alright, that's all the comics I have. I guess I better put something cutesy and girly up now for all the ladies who read my blog.

There she is is a pretty old flash, but I love it, the animation is so good, and the whole thing is so well done. And the music is great. I've already told several people about it before, but now there is a sequel. There she is, step 2, which is not as good as the first one, but still the animation and music are great.

Okay, enough procrastinating now. I better post something good to keep certain people happy.

I've been messing around with style sheets lately, my original plan was to have some buttons on the blog that allowed you to change the colours of the layout, but that won't work because of the stupid blogger bar at the top of the screen. So I'll just rotate them randomly, or I'll set up some code that randomly picks one each time you load the blog, similar to what I did with the songs in the status bar. If you have any preference of colour between grey, green, blue or red, just let me know and I'll switch it. I suppose that code be construed as procrastination, but it's really just research for my next coursework that involves making designing a website.

So that's pretty much all I ever do now. I sleep, get up, go to classes, sleep, talk to Joeli, teach myself some more HTML/CSS/XML, sleep. I lead such an exciting life.

While I was packing I thought it would be a good idea to take some knitting with me on the plane to keep me occupied. Then I remembered you weren't allowed to take knitting needles on planes. You can take darts, but not knitting needles. Go figure. Anyway, so then I thought I'd pack them in my case, but THEN I thought what if I get called for a search and they search through my case and find knitting, how am I supposed to explain that without just saying, "I'm gay". I know what them security guards are like, it'd be like sticking a bullseye on my butt, so the knitting stays at home.

And just for the record, I don't believe Godzilla has bad breath.

A quick fact for everyone: living opposite a building site is not fun. Especially when they have one of those chute thingies that lead down to the skip (dumpster :P). I think those things are designed to make as much noise as possible when the minimal of stuff is sent down them. The only reason I bring this up is that it'd be nice, once, to wake up naturally and not by a noise that is so loud it makes up think that the building is collapsing.

I promised a good post, and of course I have delivered. Well, would've delivered if I'd had more time. Unfortunately I have to get to bed now so that I don't sleep in a miss my train tomorrow. That's when I go to London, by the way. So that I can get on a plane tomorrow, in case you didn't know, to Boston. Where I finally get to see Joeli again, and everything will feel right in the world again.

So until I get back (whenever that may be), Adios!

It's that time again...

2005-03-08T02:02:00.000Z

Movie Recommendation

You scored as Mindfuck.
Congratulations, you scored Mindfuck. You've probably seen a lot of movies, and have grown to hate mainstream shit. You're looking for the movie that will leave you breathless, and with 21 questions to think about. Check out: Donnie Darko, Being John Malkovich, Pulp Fiction, Memento.

Mindfuck

85%

Artistic

65%

Sci-Fi/Fantasy

65%

Sadistic Humour

60%

Drama/Suspense

50%

Mindless Action Flick

45%

Romantic Comedy

25%

Movie Recommendation.
created with QuizFarm.com

Pfft, I could've told you that before I took the quiz. Notice what is at the bottom? Tottaly accurate quiz!

Music Recommendation

You scored as Ska.

Classic Rock.

75%

Ska

75%

Country

75%

Emo & More

71%

Indie

63%

Indie Rock

50%

Mainstream

46%

Britpop

42%

Hip Hop and Rap

17%

Hardcore

17%

Industrial

17%

Punk and Pop Punk.

Music Recommendation
created with QuizFarm.com

Ska?! I guess I like it. But it was a 3 way tie, and, again, I could've told you the other two before I took the quiz. But At least it's kind of official now.

Which Disney character is your alter ego?

You scored as The Beast.
Your alter ego is The Beast! But that is only a name... you are kind hearted and sweet, people just misunderstand you.

The Beast

88%

Goofy

75%

Sleeping Beauty

69%

Donald Duck

63%

Peter Pan

56%

Pinocchio

44%

Snow White

44%

Cinderella

19%

Ariel

19%

Cruella De Ville

Which Disney Character is your Alter Ego?
created with QuizFarm.com

Well how about that? I didn't think that. Goofy was number 2, and he is my favourite Disney character ever, so maybe I answer a question wrong. Wait a minute...Sleeping Beuaty? Yeah, I definitely must've answered a question wrong.

Okay, that's all for now. More when the internet gets working in my flat again. That'll be soon hopefully.

Okay, one last one, for Joeli, and I swear I did not fix this in any way.

Which Red Sox Player Are You?

You scored as Johnny Damon.
You are Johnny Damon!! You are very down-to-earth and like to joke around a lot. This is apparent through your appearance. You are known for looking unkempt, perhaps even caveman-like, but everyone loves you for it. Oh yea... Johnny is my homeboy!

Johnny Damon

83%

Manny Ramirez

73%

Curt Schilling

73%

David Ortiz

70%

Kevin Millar

63%

Theo Epstein

50%

Mark Bellhorn

47%

Jason Varitek

40%

Which Red Sox Player Are You?
created with QuizFarm.com

Picture it

2005-03-06T23:53:00.000Z

So, I found this while mindlessly looking through random blogs. I think it's a good idea. Oh yeah, and quick mention to the message thingimobob over on the right (or it might be the left if I change my layout anytime soon). Feel free to leave a message, and I took off the obscenity filter, so say what you want.

Go to Google image search.
Type in your answers to the following questions and post the first postable image result for each:

1. Place you grew up
2. Place you live now
3. Favourite cartoon
4. Favourite food
5. Favourite drink
6. Favourite song
7. Favourite smell
8. Favourite shoes
9. Favourite word (careful!)
10. Nickname

----------

1. Kirkby, Liverpool

2. Liverpool City Centre

3. Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles

4. Pasta

5. Fanta Fruit Twist

6. For Sure - LostProphets

7. Petrol

8. Trainers

9. Bugger

10. Smoochies (just for you, Joeli)

New Look

2005-03-04T00:05:00.000Z

So, as you may have noticed, I have designed a new look for my blog. It's not totally unique, as I stole some guys basic template then modified it to my own selfish needs. Now, I can only be sure that it'll look right on IE6, but I shall endeavor to make it look good on all other browsers, when I am not totally pissed off at HTML code. Also, there are some things wrong with the layout now, so I apologize for them if you stumble across them, if not, I'm not gonna tell you what they are, so you can just assume it works perfectly. Which it completely does.

What else? Oh yes, nothing. Sorry. I have nothing else to write about.

I have essay after essay to write for Uni. And now I have a report to write about the ethics of online music sharing. Should be fun.

I was reading an old kids book of mine about Greek mythology yesterday. It's funny how every hero's parents are told at his birth what he is going to do, then they always try to stop it, but never can. And it's also a bit disturbing the amount of incest that went on in them days. And, after reading about Oedipus, I have to say I think he has been greatly misinterpreted. For starters, he was abandoned at birth (something again to do with a prophecy that I can't remember now) and raised by foster parents. He then accidentally kills his true father, the King, not knowing it was him. He is then revealed for who he truly is, and is forced to become king, which includes being made to marry the current Queen, AKA his mum. I think Freud took way too much psychiatric license with the legend in turning it into a theory that every little boy wants to screw his mum.

I know that was totally random, but I'm a totally random kind of person, and little things like that are what interest me. So if you don't like it, tough.

And I promise at least one very good post before I head off to Boston, which happens 2 weeks today in case anyone didn't know.

-- Iain

Describe Yourself

2005-02-26T00:53:00.000Z

This is just a fun little quiz thing. Basically, you choose a band/artist, then only answer the questions using their song titles. Simple. I'm bored, so here's mine.

Band: Counting Crows

Are you a male, or female: Mr. Jones

Describe yourself: Einstein on the Beach

How do some people feel about you: Murder of One

How do you feel about yourself? Monkey

Describe your family: Children In Bloom

Describe your current girlfriend/boyfriend: All My Love

Describe where you want to be: Round Here

Describe what you want to be: New Frontier

Describe how you live: High Life

Describe how you love: Amy Hit the Atmosphere

Share a few words of wisdom: Why Should You Come When I Call?

It's harder than is looks. Especially when you are silly enough to choose a band with so few songs to pick from.

--Iain

A Scanner Darkly

2005-02-25T00:55:00.000Z

I don't think anybody knows how excited I am to see this movie. It is one of my favourite books of all time, not just my Philip K. Dick, and I recommend it to everyone. It is so utterly unforgettable.

When I first heard they were making it into a movie, I was excited, but worried that they'd screw it up because it'd be so difficult to capture aspects of the novel on a simple movie screen. And then they cast Keanu Reeves, Woody Harrellson, Robert Downing Jr., and Winona Ryder. Things weren't looking good. But now, the trailer is out:

A Scanner Darkly Trailer

Looking at the style they've chose to make it actually makes me more exciting. Animating over the top will be able to cope with the immense aspects that made the novel so spectacular. And Keanu Reeves doesn't seem that bad a casting.

I foresee the movie becoming one of these underrated cult successes, were either people love it or hate it, and there is no middle grounds.

I'm fairly confident I'll love it. But it will never outdo one of the greatest books ever. I think I'm gonna have to read it again sometime soon.

--Iain

Harry's Back

2005-02-20T15:21:00.000Z

Okay, so, I’m done making stuff for Harry. I think he’s getting a bit too greedy asking for all this stuff. I finished a scarf for him, and put a bobble on his hat, as seen in the following photos.

My first attempt at a scarf cocked right up, so, being the resourceful man that I am, I saved it in some way, and now it’s Harry’s girdle. He was getting a conscious of his tummy, so he is very grateful for that.

You have to admit, he does look rather suave.

I doubt you’ll get anymore knitting anytime soon. I’ve kinda knitted myself out, and I’m feeling really sick, so I won’t be doing much of anything over the next few days, except resting up, drinking plenty of fluids and taking my vitamins.

Oh, I have a funny joke to tell.

A man is walking down a street in Belfast when all of a sudden he is dragged into a dark alleyway.
"Are you Catholic or Protestant?" said a threatening voice. The man thinks for a second then states clearly:
"Neither, I'm Jewish."
"I must be the luckiest Arab in Ireland."

And that's all.

-- ~~Smoochies~~ Iain

Harry's Hat

2005-02-16T21:18:00.000Z

Well, life is moving on, slowly but surely, and absolutely nothing of note has happened at all. Not a thing. I guess it's down to the fact that it's February, classes are starting to get more hectic, work is getting harder, the weather is getting miserabler, and there seems to never be any hot water in our flat.

So sorry, nothing to report.

Why the hell am I posting then? Well, because I finally finished knitting something today. The first time since the wonderous, most magnicent scarf that I made, complete with tassels. The best thing about this is I had no idea what I was doing or how to do it, but it's turned out okay(ish) and at least it looks good.

Ladies and Gents, I present...

Harry's Hat

Yes, Harry is a penguin, and he is damn proud of it. I wonder what he'll get next from my magical bag of old yarn and random differently sized needles.

--Iain

Economics and stuff

2005-02-07T22:42:00.000Z

Who invented economics? Really? What is the point? It is just a bunch of utter common sense that everybody in the whole entire world knows. Yet I still have to have 2 hours of lectures of it a week, and if I don't pass it I fail my first year. And if that wasn't bad enough I have the lecture 4-6 on a Monday, after being in since 9 in the morning. And now they have the gall to try and take away my free day with a silly one hour 'workshop', fat chance of me going to that. I'll just get the book out and read it before the exam like I did with management and hope for the best.

One of my other lectures started up today, it hadn't been on for 2 weeks as it's only a 10 week course. Human Centric Computing, which is the fancy way of saying user interface, which is the fancy way of saying the stuff on the screen. It seems a bit like a hippy class, discussing the right colours to use to sooth the mind and other stuff like that. But that's made up for by the young Italian woman who lectures it.

I have a message for Potty that I'm sure he'd love for me to pass on over this. Joanna says hi and wants to know when you are gonna come visit next. You see, I figured I'd better use that funnel, the one Potty got me for Christmas, for some reason other than a hat, so I took it into the kitchen and Joanna was there and she asked me where I got it and I said Potty, and you can probably guess that rest.

I've recently finished reading a book called "House of Leaves". I wouldn't say it was good, but it sure does fuck with your mind. And afterwards there are so many questions you want answered. But then you realise that that is what happened to the guys in the book. Then there are all these websites devoted to the book, to explaining things, and as you read them everything comes together. But then you feel maybe you are getting a bit obsessed, which is again what happens to the guys in the book. It's a clever book. If you have a few weeks to spare, read it, then come to me and explain some stuff.

Oh, and quick piece of movie advice for everyone: do see Meet the Fockers, don't see Ocean's Twelve.

'til next time.

--Iain

0.99 = 1

2005-02-02T02:55:00.000Z

Okay, here is how it works, the algerbraic proof:

x = 0.99
10x = 9.99
10x - x = 9.99 - 0.99
9x = 9
x = 1

There we go. I told you. Simple as that. Maybe I'll show the prove that root 2 is irrational one day, because that is a nice proof as well. Now for the good stuff...another list! Yay! Hold your applause. I have entitled this one, More things you didn't know about me, and lots of things you could care less about.

1. In the last few years my dream job would've been a writer or a film director.
2. Before that it was a math teacher.
3. I often like what others don't.
4. I guess I do love Phil Collins, by that I mean there are a lot of songs by him that I really like, not that I want to have his babies or anything.
5. I love Counting Crows. ;)
6. I have the messiest desk in the world.
7. For some reason I am generally always tired.
8. I love slapstick comedy, i.e. Marx Bros, Laurel and Hardy, Three Stooges, etc.
9. I know too much about recent football, players, clubs, etc.
10. I think Grand Theft Auto is amazingly overrated.
11. I get scared very easily.
12. But I love scary movies.
13. The last year was the best year of my life so far.
14. It annoys me the way I've always been educated along the KISS way of thinking, yet everything thing I have to do is so complicated.
15. One of the funniest things I have ever seen is a scene from the TV show Bottom about TVs and rubber ducks, and I tend to tell everyone about it.
16. I'm very good with my money, i.e. I can save it well, but I can also get rid of it very quickly.
17. All my pants are too big for me.
18. Ditto for my shirts.
19. I have the ability to turn sweet and innocent girls into raving nymphomaniacs (apparently).
20. I seem to like writing lists.

Okay, so, since I have run out of things I'll add a list of things that are on my floor that you wouldn't expect to be there:

1. A cheapy polariod camera I got free when applying for a credit card which I later didn't get.
2. A spongey soccer ball clock thingy.
3. An apron with several Santas on it.
4. A wooden bock filled with origami.
5. Some Winnie-the-Pooh wrapping up paper.
6. A black colouring pencil.
7. A bongo.
8. A chap stick.
9. Clean, yes CLEAN clothes.
10. Lots and lots of yarn attached to unfinished knitting projects that I have given up on and threw on the floor.

And that's all your getting for now. No lists in the next post, just a deeply meaningful discussion about the nature of the universe and the meaning of existence and that kind of thing. Quite droll in comparison, really. Maybe I'll include the story of drunk friends at the gay bar just to make it a little bit interesting. You'll just have to wait and see.

--Iain

At least 10 things nobody knew about me

2005-01-29T17:20:00.000Z

okay, I'm gonna push the boat out now and come up with a list things nobody knew about me, and at least 10 of them will be things NOBODY knows, the rest, some people might know. If you are one of those people, I don't wanna hear any whinging, everyone get's at least 10 things they didn't know about me. I dunno how long this list will be, I'll just stop when I feel like it.

Okay, here goes:

1. I can always figure out what is going to happen in a movie before it happens, except perhaps in a few exceptional cases like The Usual Suspects.
2. I once got punched by a friend for telling everyone that he had a "wank" when he slept over at mine. I wasn't making it up, he told me after he'd done it. How nice. I don't speak to him any more, surprisingly.
3. I once got into a fight with some guy because both our best friend's were "seeing" this girl.
4. One of my nicknames in high school was calculator, or calc.
5. I always love to prove any of my teachers wrong by messing about in classes and never doing any work then still getting A's and B's.
6. I always got made to read a poem in the school nativities.
7. I still have my fav baby book and I still read it (Tootles the Taxi).
8. I find it amusing when people get angry when arguing.
9. I loved the original Power Rangers, and still have the fully working megazord toy.
10. I have stubby fingers.
11. I am not as clever as people always seem to think I am.
12. I can never spell nesce...nesess...the word that means the same as mandatory.
13. The book I claim as my favourite (The Forever War) i have only ever read once, and that was when I had begun reading again after a 5 year absence.
14. I absolutely despise David Beckham for no valid reason.
15. I will never ever understand politics, religion, sexism or racism. It all seems so stupid to me.
16. I have ugly knees.
17. But I have pretty eyes (I think, I like them, they change colour sometimes).
18. I sometimes wonder what certain people have done to deserve everything they have.
19. I cry at the smallest things.
20. I know the words to Figaro as sung by Paverotti.
21. I have no style, or sense of fashion.
22. I know Pi to 10 decimal places.
23. I can prove that 0.99 = 1.
24. I know all the words to almost everything the Monty Python team has ever done.
25. I have never had a hero or a role model, but if I had to choose one it would be Michael Palin.
26. If asked nicely, I will do almost anything.
27. I can be a miserbale, introverted sod at times.
28. Or an extroverted sod at other times.
29. But most of the time I lie in the middle.
30. I have lost the feeling of embarassment and will do almost anything.
31. I find fun in writing computer programs that can decipher prime numbers, or other such mathematical operations, or anomalies.
32. I almsot always round things to a "nice even number".
33. I class any multiple of 5 as a "nice even number".
34. I know that black is a colour.
35. I can prove that this is a perfect world.
36. I know all the words to Kid Rock's American Bad Ass, Cowboy, and Forever
37. Suprisingly, 3 of my favourite movies all star Adam Sandler.
38. I am ending here because it isn't a "nice even number".

Maybe more later, that was pretty fun to write. The 10 that nobody should know are 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 12, 16, 20, 33 and 36. Any complaints you can catch me at www.idontgivearatsarse.blogspot.com.

--Iain

New Semester

2005-01-25T20:59:00.000Z

So, a new semester has begun at uni and I have yet another 4 classes to try and learn within the space of a few months. I have an economics class, which, as far as I can tell so far, is utter bullshit. “When supply increases, price decreases”. Really? Shock! It’s funny how you can pick a course like Software Development, and yet the only developing of software you do is discussing how efficient a piece of code is from a program that prints out “Hello World” on the screen.

I do have a strange selection of lecturers though: One really old guy, in his 70s I think, who has the quietest voice and is so utterly boring it is a surprise I managed to stay awake for his whole lecture; There is a German guy who is so strict, first thing he said to us in our first lecture was, “be qviet! When I stay start, dat means dat da lecture has begun and you shall listen, okay!!”, not gonna cross him anytime soon; and finally some middle class guy who thinks he is really funny and clever, which he probably is, and I don’t mind him so much because he tells awful jokes, but I still laugh anyways, “and of course the @ sign, used a lot by those webby people, you know, people with webbed feet”

Considering everyone is getting back from the best holiday of the year, I have surprisingly few stories to tell as nothing at all has really happened in the last 2 weeks. I think something is wrong with me because a) I am ready a sappy love story book, even though I will defend myself vigorously if accused because the book is about time travel so really, logically speaking it’s an action packed sci-fi blockbuster novel, b) I’ve watched so many chick flicks lately it’s unreal, although I have to say 50 First Dates was a damn good chick flick, and finally c) I stole my mum’s Phil Collins CD, although I only stole it for one. Yeah, something strange is definitely happening. A good dose of Robocop and Rambo is needed I think, along with Gia. I’ll get right on that.

Okay, since I have nothing else to say I figured I’ll tell you all 10 useless things that you probably didn’t know about me:

1. I’m very into origami and can make virtually any animal out of paper
2. I think black and white images are much better than full colour ones
3. If you give me a reasonably well known actor I can usually reel off all the other movies they’ve been in
4. My wallet is over 4 inches thick, and currently contains less than £2 in cash
5. I can sew
6. I hate throwing things away, be it old clothes that don’t fit anymore, or boxes that the TV came in, I can always convince myself that I may need it in the future
7. I own way too many books, videos and DVDs
8. I have read way too few of all the books I own, but have watched all the videos and DVDs I own at least three times
9. If I’m not talking or sleeping, I’m usually playing games such as Spider-Man 2, or Pro Evolution Soccer 4, or Football Manager 2005, or Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (thanks Potty)
10. I am really bad at making lists on the spur of the moment, unless you ask me for my favourite anything, then a top 5 will be soon told to you

And that’s all, I hope that was at least slightly interesting, I did put a little bit of effort into it. I really did.

Until next time, whenever that may be…

--Iain

It had to be you...

2005-01-11T01:36:00.000Z

Okay, nearly a whole month since the last post, I know, but what can I say? I'm just not the blog posting type I guess. And when I've spent the last 3 weeks with the only 2 people I care about reading this blog, it's hard to muster up the energy required to write a post. But since that holiday is over, I guess I should post something new.

First off, Happy New Year to everyone! I hope everyone had a great new year and I'd be interested to hear any resolutions you may have. I don't really have any. The same old 'get in shape' one is floating about there, but I don't give a toss about that anymore, it's just be nice if it happened without any effort. My big resolution which I've decided on for 2005 is to continue to give reason for my dad to say he is proud of the man I am turning into. And that's all my resolutions.

I had the best time ever in London over the holidays and I will always remember the whole trip for the rest of my life. If you wanna know what I got up to you should check out Potty's Blog. And if you want to see pictures, I'm sure they'll show up here before long, so keep checking.

As far as the rest of my life goes, I have exams for the nest 2 weeks, then my 2nd semester starts up and the hard work and stressful times begin again until March, when hopefully I'll buzz over to Boston for a week, thus finally bringing about the realization of this blog. Nice huh?

So, um, that's it for now. Until I get pestered and bugged and forced to post again...

--Iain

P.S. The title is because I've had that song stuck in my head for ages now, and I doubt it's gonna go away soon.

Deep and Sensitive

2004-12-12T20:53:00.000Z

Yeah, right. That was just so Potty can’t complain that I didn’t write anything deep and sensitive. Covering my bases.

A quick mention of Potty’s latest post. I in no way accept his terms and conditions, and in fact, they only came about from him cruelly, and with malicious intent, twisting my words around.

Okay, so, this time next week I’ll be in London. Contrary to what you may think, I won’t be drunk, I’ll be calmly relaxing and getting used to my new abode. It seems hard to believe that it’s Christmas so soon. It feels like I only start uni a few weeks ago.

I don’t know whether I’ve learnt much in my time as a student. I know how to program in Java now, and I didn’t know that before. And I also know that pasta and noodles are the cheapest meals that are actually nice. but that’s about it. Oh, and I know living on your own requires some kind of discipline, i.e. not wasting your food money on going out, getting up for lectures, and keeping your room tidy enough so as to not injure yourself when trodding in at 3am. I guess I have learnt a bit after all. I’ve also learnt that a smile will get someone to buy you a drink 90% of the time, which is invaluable when going out with only £3.10.

Oh on a quick side note, being at the time of year it is, I have found 2 new(ish) great Christmas movies: The Santa Clause 2, and, even better than that, Elf, with Will Ferrel. Both great movies that will make any Potty…I mean Scrooge, smile. :P

Okay, I don’t plan on posting again before I leave for London, so If I don’t, here’s wishing you all a great Christmas and a fantabulous New Year.

Alright, I won’t be such a cop out on the deep and sensitive thing. So here I go.

It’s been a hell of a year for me, without doubt the best year of my life. I met so many new people (Joanna, Lynsey, Macey, Simona, Phil, Norman, Lanie, Andy, Tanya, Liz, Sharif, Mark, Chris, to name but a few) as well as getting to know people much better than I did before (Renier, Hannah, Ashley, Laura, David, Debs, even my Dad and my brother). I’ve grown up, turned 19, got my own flat, and started University. And I’ve been to London and Italy. When you think of all that it’s been a pretty productive year.

But that’s not everything. there’s one more little thing that I neglected to mention (no pun intended sweety). Since 24th January 204 she has ben there making me the happiest guy in the whole word, and since 17th May she has given me more than even she will ever know. Of course I’m talking about Joeli, and I know for a fact that this year would have been at least 99.9% worse without her being there. I wouldn’t have learnt the wonder of knitting, or how horrible peanut butter is. I wouldn’t know that ‘The Notebook’ is a great book, or that country music is so bloody brilliantly fantastic to listen to. I wouldn’t realise the beauty of sunflowers, or how seeing one email in the morning could make you so happy. But most importantly I wouldn’t know what it was like to completely and utterly love someone and have them love you just as much in return.

I love you Joeli.

And now that I’ve done my deep and sensitive and sappy and I’m sure vomit-inducing for some, post, I’ll stop there. I’m sure that this is now long enough for everyone. And by everyone one, I mean for Potty. And perhaps he will now stop texting me first thing in the morning asking when I’m next gonna post something. Well, miracles could happen.

There we go. Done. And NO naked cancan girls! Ha!

--Iain

P.S. I’ve also learnt this year that when you start dreaming in Java code, that you have been working too much.

Alright...

2004-11-26T14:09:00.000Z

Mr Potty, I shall post a new post but don't expect anything interesting at all. Some of us aren't lucky enough to get a whole week off work. Some of us are busy day in day out with practical work that we get almost no time to sit down and write a blog post. So just for you, I'm gonna waste a whole post now explaining why I hardly ever post. :P

Happy now?

And some of us aren't lucky enough to go to a lostprophets concert.

And now I have wasted like 5 mins of precious practical work time just to do this. So I have to work twice as hard in the next 5 mins to make up for lost time.

I hope you are very happy.

:P

--Iain

Prostitutes, Bogart and The Christmas Spirit

2004-11-20T21:21:00.000Z

It's amazing how many prostitutes I see on a daily basis. They all seem to hang around the university campus at night. The weirdest thing though is how friendly they all are. I tried to ignore one once and she started telling me off for ignoring her and not being polite, and then she thanked me when I said no thank you. Strange world we live in.

Okay, so now that I got Potty's attention, and probably everyone else, I can move on to something a little less interesting, although not in my eyes, Bogart. Okay, everyone knows how much I love him, I think he's a great actor and there is no better movie star who has ever lived, but I have just seen Sabrina for the first time, and he is fantastic in that as well. Considering the character he plays is an old guy, and is so much different to what he is known for, he pulls it off really well. So I'm encouraging everyone to what as many Humphrey Bogart films as you can lay your hands on as they are all fantastic and he is just brilliant. Just a few greats of his are: Key Largo, Treasure of Sierra Madre, The Big Sleep, To Have and Have Not, The Maltese Falcon, Sabrina, The African Queen, of course, Casablanca. Go watch 'em all, now!!

I was walking through Liverpool today, Saturday afternoon and it was a great sight. Freezing cold weather, yet thousands of people out and about doing Christmas shopping, and everyone in the Christmas spirit. I love Christmas, it's without doubt my favourite time of year. Especially the build up to it. Just thought I would mention that.

As far as uni goes, I don't really wanna talk about it much, I have way too much work to do. Good news though, I have practically passed one of my modules already, so I can put more effort into the other 3, especially my management module which I could fail if I'm not careful.

So that's pretty much everything I've been up to. Not very exciting, but you try having 15 hours of lectures a week, then spending at least another 10 hours doing practical work in a cold computer room until the early hours of the morning and let's see how exciting your life is.

I would share the results of some online inkblot and palm reading tests I did, but it would only increase how sappy people seem to think I am, and I don't really want that. But I will share that I got like 40% higher than the average person in a sex test, which is impressive consider I only had like one sex education class in my entire life. :P

Oh, and I saw The Incredibles today. Not as good as Shrek, or Finding Nemo, but still really good. Gotta love that baby. And it's good to see a movie about a family rather than a single parent, or a bachelor or something.

And that's all.

--Iain

Raindrops

2004-11-14T23:40:00.000Z

Okay, so, I know I said I'd post more, but, you know, I just didn't okay? And now when I get the chance I have nothing particularly witty or interesting to say. Okay, maybe one thing: 35 days to go to the best day of my life. But that's really it. So, I guess I'll just have to share some more writing. This is a really short piece I wrote because I was fed up with sappy stories. It's nothing special, but was fun to write. See what you think.

Raindrops

The raindrops trickle down the windscreen and I find myself focusing on a single one. It hits with a small splat, in amongst already mobile drops, and then proceeds to run. Slow at first, but as it goes it gathers up more, static droplets, becomes bigger and faster before it finally runs out of window and suicide leaps into the nothingness knowing it will never return.
That raindrop has a better existence than I do. It has a purpose, a goal: to reach the bottom of the window. And along the way it meets other raindrops and coalesces. I don’t even want to think about the last time I coalesced with another raindrop.
I change my mind about going for a drive and step out of my car. I am still wet from before, standing outside deciding to get into the car in the first place, so the rain, if anything makes me less wet.
From out of nowhere a gunshot is fired and I flinch violently. I am sick to death of hearing gunshots. I wonder what poor bastard has been shot this time; I bet it has something to do with drugs. It always does.
I climb back into the car. I don’t know why, it just felt right. The engine is still running. I clasp the wheel tightly and put my foot down. The car shoots forward unexpectedly. I had forgotten it was already in drive. Struggling to get the vehicle under my control after such a sudden start, and slippery conditions, I curse at the raindrops as they now obscure my view.
Funny how beings above me always fuck me over at some point. And now the raindrops are in on the act.
I remember about the windscreen wipers and chuckle. Fuckers, I mutter and switch the wipers on.
And yet the raindrops keep coming. No sooner do the wipers get rid of them than a few hundred more are back again. Like a parasite. Desperate to get me in the end. Soon the wipers are going at full speed and I still can’t see anything because of those persistent, evil raindrops.
I can’t see anything, but I hear something. A scream. And I feel something as my car passes over it, like a speed bump. And that is when I decide it’s best to stop.

--Iain

Update

2004-11-07T18:47:00.000Z

Okay, I really am getting slack with the whole posting thing, but since I have so much time to spare right now, and I have nobody to distract me, I guess I can post something.

My birthday was amazing. Best birthday I've ever had. Just everything about it was fantastic, except maybe the next few days. Anyways, so I had a great time, so thanks to Potty for that.

Last week really did fly by, and I wasn't feeling at all well for the most of it. Too many late nights and not enough sleep really did take it's toll on me. So I headed home on Friday and spent the weekend there, relaxing and trying to sort myself out. I'm back now and I think I'm better.

Whoever said university was easy obviously has never been to my university. It's not that the actual content is difficult, it's just that there is so much, and so little time in which to take it all in before moving on to your next lecture. I'm doing alright though, 92 on my first test and 95 on my first practical, but it still is tough. And I still have more gears to which I can crank it up if the needs be. All in all, it's tough, but I can do it.

So, after reading Potty's blog I got thinking about dreams and I've realised that I dream a heck of a lot. There's no point me going into what I dream about, just know that they are good dreams, and anyone who knows me well enough will know what the dreams are about anyways. I never dreamed so much when I was at home, but now I dream almost every single night. It's good, even if they are practically the same dream, I'm not complaining.

Okay, that was random, I know, but I never said it wouldn't be did I?

I watched Lost in Translation again this weekend and that movie does get better every time I see it. In fact, this time it seemed so much funnier. It reminded me how much I have to get to Japan one day. It's such a spectacular place, I need to experience it all one day.

Oh, I got a new phone yesterday. It's the best phone ever. Not only does it have a camera, but it also has GPRS internet. Which means I can check my emails from anywhere at anytime, and I can check blogs and such. It's fantastic.

I can't think of anything else to say, so I'll stop there. I'll try and post more often, but I'm not promising anything.

--Iain

Window

2004-11-03T15:24:00.000Z

Yes, I am still around, just haven' felt like posting anything. and I still don't, so here's a short story I wrote about a week ago. Second one is a condesnsed version of the first. Hope you like.

WINDOW

200 words
The window is opened, yet I can’t see through it. I try, and yet as much as I try I cannot. But a more appropriate word would be I will not. Others can see, choose to see in through it, but I will not allow myself. There are some things a man wants to know, and yet when the opportunity arises he would rather leave it undone, unseen, unknown.
What would I see if I were to look? I am pretty sure I would see happiness. I would see other emotions as well though. Emotions that I don’t want to confront, for to confront them is to admit to not knowing oneself and I do know myself. It is the one thing I base my life upon. So I don’t look.
I may as well look though, for she sees it all. And what she sees and what she knows, I see and I know. Her eyes shine into mine and I know that what she sees is what I want her to see, what I want to see.
And at that moment the window slams itself shut, never to be re-opened again, as its purpose has now been served.

55 words
The window opens.
I dare not gaze into its depths, through it, for fear of what I might see. And yet I know I will be privy to its contents. She sees through it, and she looks at me, gazes into the depths of my eyes. And I am happy once more.
The window closes.

Surveys

2004-10-24T22:51:00.000+01:00

Yes, I'm that bored. The following are 2 surveys I got from Laura's Blog, and I figured I may as well do them. I have done surveys like this before, but not in a long time and I've changed a lot since then. So here you go, this is me. You should already know most of it.

Survey 1

The Basics
1. Full Name: Iain Graham Kelly
2. Age: 18
3. Birthday: 30-10-85
4. Gender: Male
5: Race: White
6. Height: 6'0''
7. Weight: A lot, don't know for sure.
8. Hair Color: Brown
9. Eye Color: Green/Brown
10. Place of Birth: Fazakerly, Liverpool, England

Family
11. Siblings? One brother; Neill; 24
12. If you're an only child, do you want brothers or sisters? N/A
13. Parent's Names? John and Maureen
14. If you were born the opposite sex, what would your name have been? Jennifer
15. Do you like your family? Yes
16. Ever run away from home? Yeah, but only to my Nan's house
17. Ever thought about it? N/A
18. Do you feel like your parents spoil you? Not at all
19. Do you not get along with your family? No
20. Do you have big family get togethers ever? Nope

Friends
21. Best Friend(s): Erm...Renier, Ashley, Laura, Debs...I have many more friends, but they are the few who I would do anything for if they asked
22. What do you have in common with them? Nope much really, sense of humour
23. What do you like to do with them? Talk, go out, get drunk, watch movies, etc...
24. Most trustworthy? Well, I'd tell Renier anything I guess
25. Funniest? Debs
26. Dumbest? Don't be silly
27. Smartest? Don't be silly
28. Best Laugh? Ashley
29. Best Eyes? I'll say Laura since she is the hottest
30. Best Hair? Laura
31. Funniest to be with? Renier
32. If you woke up one morning and your legs were gone, who would you call first? The paramedics
33. Who's the person you talk to most on the phone? Renier
34. Who do you see the most? Ashley
35. Who have you known the longest? Ashley
36. Do you think you're a good friend? Yes
37. The one you will always talk to no matter what? All of 'em
38. Most likely to never fall in love? They'll all fall in love
39. The one you think secretly hates you? David, but I wouldn't say he was a best friend

Love Life
40. Are you in love? Yes
41. Do you have a boyfriend/girlfriend? Yes
42. If so, are you in love with them? Yes
43. Do you have a crush? Sort of, not sure whether it counts as a crush though
44. Do they know you like them? Yes
45. How long have you liked them? Since 25th January 2004
46. Ever done anything stupid to impress them? Yes
47. Have you experienced unrequited love? No, although I thought I did
48. Do you find it hurtful or romantic? Confusing more than anything
49. Even know what it is? Yes
50. Are you a virgin? Yes
51. Believe that a person shouldn't have sex before marriage? Not for me to judge
52. Believe in casual sex? No
53. When do/did you plan to lose your virginity? I don't know when, but I know who it would like to be with ;)

The Future
54. Do you plan on having children? Yes
55. Do you plan to get married? Yes
56. How old do you want to be when you get married? Whenever
57. How old do you want to be when you have your first child? At least mid-20s
59. What would you name the boy? Not sure, never thought about it
60. What would you name the girl? Jennifer
61. Do you plan on going to college? Been there, done that, at Univeristy now
62. If so, where do you want to go? N/A
63. What do you plan on majoring in? Software Development

Sleep
64. How do you sleep? In a bed, alone :( for now ;)
65. Do you dream at night? Yes
66. Do you remember your dreams? Sometimes
67. What time do you go to bed usually? Depends, 11pm-2am
68. What time do you wake up normally? Either 8am, or 11am
69. Do you find waking late nice or annoying? Nice
70. What time do you wake on weekends? When I'm not tired anymore
71. Do you sleep with one pillow or two? Two thin ones

Yourself
72. How old are you mentally? Sometimes 7, sometimes 77
73. Describe yourself in 5 words? Nice, friendly, quiet, big, and fantabulocious!
74. What are your worst qualities? I argue a lot
75. What are your best qualities? I admit I'm wrong a lot (ask Joeli for more comprehensive list)
76. How long does it take you to get ready in the morning? 10 mins
77. Do you have a job? Yes
78. If yes, where? Modo, a bar/club
79. Do you have a car? No
80. Are you funny or serious? Funny
81. Creative or not? Creative
82. Logical thinker or lateral thinker? Both
83. Outgoing or shy? Both
84. Lazy or active? Lazy
85. Have you ever been hyperactive? Yes
86. Are you happy with the way you look? I guess
87. What would you change? Lose some weight
88. Do you wear makeup regularly? No
89. Do you have a large wardrobe? No
90. If you had to rate your personality from 1 to 10? 9
91. If you had to rate you looks from 1 to 10? 4
92. Rate your style? 5
93. How do you think other people see you? With their eyes

Morals
94. Have you ever been drunk? Yes
95. Taken drugs? Yes; once
96. Stolen? Yes
97. Shoplifted? Yes
98. Tried to commit suicide? No
99. Thought about it? No
100. Lied to a boyfriend/girlfriend? No
101. Gotten into a fight? Yes
102. Would you date a drug addict? No
103. Are you discriminatory? No
104. Have you been a hypocrite in the past? Yes
105. Do you have an open or closed mind to other people's beliefs and feelings? Open

Favorites
106. Color: Blue
107. Food: Italian
108. Dessert: None really
109. Number: 7
110. Music: Country, Jazz, Blues, Rock, Oldies
111. Band: Counting Crows or Lostprophets
112. Solo Artist: Frank Sinatra
113. Actress: Sandra Bullock, Nicole Kidman, Diane Keaton, dunno really
114. Actors: Humphrey Bogart
115. TV Show: Family Guy
116. Letter: J
117. Word: Fantabulocious
118. Swear Word: Crap
119. Day of the Week: Friday
120. Month: December
121. Season: Winter
122. Fruit: Apple
123. Vegetables: Mushrooms
124. Ice Cream: Strawberry Cheesecake
125. Movie: Donnie Darko, Singin' in the Rain, Lost in Translation, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Maltese Falcon...the list goes on
126. Cartoon: Family Guy
127. Car: Any 4x4
128. Animal: Sheep
129. Soda: Fanta
130. Scent: Armani
131. Candy Bar: Not sure
132. Restaurant: Any
133. Day or Night: Night
134. Hot or Cold: Cold

Sports
135. What's your favorite sport? Football
136. What's your favorite sport to watch? Football
137. Do you have a favorite team of any sort? Liverpool F.C., Boston Red Sox, and England in everything
138. Do you do lots of sports? No
139. If so, what do you do? N/A
140. Are you capable of going to the Olympics for your sport? I'm capable of anything
141. Ever won anything for sports? Probably, in school

Ever...
145. Snorted drink out of your nose? Yes
146. Giggled like an idiot? Yes
147. Embarrassed yourself and pretended like nothing happened? No
148. Tripped in front of someone you liked? No
149. Said something really stupid? Yes
150. Snorted while laughing? Yes
151. Fallen off a bed? Yes
152. Sleepwalked? Yes
153. Sleeptalked? no
154. Fallen for your best friend? No
155. Had thoughts and laughed, though no one understood you? Yes
156. Been caught "doing something"? Yes

Tastes
157. What do you prefer in a girl/guy? Breasts, legs, butt, kidding! I guess just for them to like me for who I am
158. What is a major turn on? Sense of humour, blushing, smiling, laughing, confidence
159. What is a major turn off? Piercings, tatoos, seriousness
160. Is physical appearance important to you? Not at all, although I did get damn lucky
161. Is intelligence important to you? No

Number
162. Times you had your heart broken? 0
163. Times you've broken a heart? 0
164. Boys you've kissed? 0
165. Girls you've kissed? 1
166. Tight friends? 6-7
167. Scars on your body? 1
168. Things in your past that you regret? No regrets
169. CD's that you own? 20 odd

Random
170. Something important on your nightstand: My hat
171. Astrological sign: Scorpio
172. What do people think about you that isn't true? That I am clever
173. What really annoys you? Small minded people
174. What movie still gives you the creeps? The King and I, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, IT
175. Do you believe in love at first sight? Sort of
176. Who is your homie for life? Debs
177. Your definition of a true friend: Someone who you'll do anything for
178. What do you notice first? Ermm...Cheese?
179. Do you think you'll make it far in life? Yes
180. What's one thing everyone should always do? Be loved

Survey 2

Describe.............
1. the shoes you wore today: Black...shoes
2. Your eyes: Brown/Green
3. Your fears: Having regrets

What Is..............
1. Your most overused phrase: "Stop being a pessimist"
2. Your thoughts first waking up? *sigh* Joeli
3. The first feature you notice in the opposite sex: Smile, laugh
4. Your best physical feature: Nose
5. Your bedtime: 11pm-2am
6. Your most missed memory: Family trip to Europe when I was a kid

You Prefer..........
1. Pepsi or Coke: Pepsi
2. McDonalds or Burger King: BK
3. Single or group dates: Never been on any
4. Adidas or Nike: Nike
5. Chocolate or Vanilla: Chocolate
6. Cappuccino or Coffee: Coffee

Do You.......
1. Smoke: No
2. Curse: Yes
3. Take a shower everyday: Yes, unless I'm feeling lazy
4. Have any crushes? Sort of
5. Who are they? Joeli
6. Do you think you've been in love? Yes
7. Want to go to college: Done it
8. Like high school: Yes
9. Want to get married: Yes
10. Type w/your fingers on the right keys: Yes
11. Believe in yourself: Yes
12. Get motion sickness: No
13. Think you're a health freak: No
14. Get along with your parents: Yes
15. Like thunderstorms: Yes

In the Past Month Did/Have You.......
1. Gone to the mall: No
2. Eaten Sushi: No
3. Been on Stage: Yes
4. Been dumped: ...Not really, hard to say
5. Gone Skating: No
6. Made homemade cookies: No
7. Dyed your hair: No
8. Stolen anything: No

Have you Ever....
1. Flown on a plane: Yes
2. Missed school because it was raining: Yes
3. Told a guy/girl that you liked them: Yes
4. Cried during a movie: Yes
5. Ever thought an animated character was hot: Yes
6. Had an imaginary friend: No
7. Cut your hair: Yes
8. Had a crush on a teacher: No
9. Been caught "doing something": Yes
10. Been called a tease: Yes
11. Gotten beaten up: No
12. Been in a fight: Yes
13. Shoplifted: Yes

The Future....
1. Age you hope to be married: 19 ;) no, any age will do, whenever i'm ready
2. Numbers of Children: At least 1
3. Describe your dream wedding: As long as it's with a certain someone I don't care
4. How do you want to die: Old
5. What do you want to be when you grow up: A computer programmer
6. What country would you most like to visit: Japan

Opposite Sex...
1. Best eye color: Green
2. Best hair color: Brown
3. Short or long hair: Long
4. Best height: 5'2'' :P
5. Best weight: Anything
6. Best first date location: Anywhere
7. Best first kiss location: Somewhere in the moonlight, or an airport arrivals lounge :P

Number of......
1. Number of drugs taken illegally: 0
2. Number of people I could trust with my life: 1
3. Number of CDs that I own: 20+
4. Number of piercings: 0
5. Number of tattoos: 0
6. Number of scars on my body: 1
7. Number of things in my past that I regret: 0

Favorites....
1. Shampoo: Head and Shoulders
2. Fav. Color(s): Blue
3. Day/Night: Night
4. Summer/Winter: Winter
5. Lace or Satin: Satin
6. Fav. Cartoon: Family Guy
7. Fav. Food: Italian
8. Fav. Movies: Donnie Darko, Singin' in the Rain, Lost in Translation, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Maltese Falcon...the list goes on
9. Fav. Sport: Football

Right Now......
1. Right Now Wearing: Jeans and grey t-shirt
2. Drinking: Nothing
3. Thinking About: Joeli
4. Listening to: TV

In the Last 24 Hours.....
1. Cried: No
2. Worn Jeans: Yes
3. Met someone new online: No
4. Done laundry: No
5. Drove a car: Yes

Do You Believe In......
1. Yourself: Yes
2. Your friends: Yes
3. Santa Claus: No
4. Tooth Fairy: No
5. Destiny/Fate: Yes
6. Angels: No
7: Ghosts: No
8. UFO's: No, and Yes
9. God: Yes

Friends and Life..........
1. Do you ever wish you had another name: No
2. Do you have a girlfriend/boyfriend: Yes
3. Do you like anyone: Yes
4. Which one of your friends acts the most like you: Debs, strangely
5. Are you close to any family member: Mum, Dad, Brother, Uncle
6. What's the best feeling in the world: Knowing that the person you love loves you
7. Worst Feeling: Being away from the one you love
8. What time is it now: 10:50pm

There we go. Fell free to ask any questions of your own. I'll be happy to answer them. Doubt you even bothered to read it all. Lazy sods. :P I think you should all do them for yourselves, if you have the time that is.

--Iain

Sorry

2004-10-24T19:26:00.000+01:00

I haven't really felt the need to post anything here for a while now, and I still don't really feel the need, but I thought I had better post something, if only to let you know I'm still alive and kicking. The other reason for lack of posts is lack of things to post about. I'll do my best now to drag some stuff up.

First off, another apology. I am exhausted right now because I was up until nearly 4am watching the World Series and I still didn't see it all. So excuse any mis-spellings or stuff that doesn't make sense.

I got a job. Well, i got 2 jobs, but I'm only gonna explain about one for now, as the other I don't start for a few weeks yet, so I'll explain it then. The other job I start on Monday and it's working in a bar/club. I'm not sure whether I'm cut out for that kind of work, but it doesn't affect my uni schedule and I'm gonna get paid, so I may as well give it a go.

I've seen 3 new movies that I'll give brief mention to.

The Day After Tomorrow - Utter crap. It's just so laughable.
Alfie - Okay I guess. Definitely a chick flick. Women will like it.

Another film I saw was Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and I got a bit to say about this one. First off, it's an excellent movie. Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet are at their best in the lead roles and there is a great support cast including Elijah "Frodo Baggins" Wood and Tom Wilkinson. The story is about a guy Joel, who learns one day that his girlfriend, Clementine, has had him erased from her memory. He cannot deal with this, so he has the procedure done to him to erase her. The film takes place for the most part inside Joel's mind as he realises he doesn't want to forget the good times and he realises how much he does love her, despite how bad things had become between them, that's just the nature of relationships. I won't spoil the ending, but when it was finished I was blown away and it made me love a certain someone that little bit more. I recommend you go see it.

I think that's all I have to say about stuff. Oh, yeah, Potty is coming up to visit me later this week for my birthday, so I'll have some interesting stories to post about soon. And if I don't mention them you can be damn sure he will.

So that's all for now.

--Iain

Prezzies!

2004-10-17T21:19:00.000+01:00

So it's not my birthday for like another two weeks, but when I get a parcel that I know if for my birthday, I can't be expected to just leave it unopened for so long. So I opened it.

I think pictures speak louder than words for what was inside. And this is only a two of the things inside.

Jealous? You should be.

Anyways, so not much else to report, so that's about it for now.

--Iain

Funny Stories

2004-10-10T20:33:00.000+01:00

I just realised that so many funny things have happened to me over the last 3 weeks, and yet I never write about any of them. Well, I lie, I wrote about the fire alarm story, but there have been so many more since then, and I just don’t write about them. So now comes the time for ‘Funny Stories’ that aren’t actually that funny, but I’ll remember them for a while yet.

First off, going back 2 Saturdays… Every Saturday night they have this thing called Time Tunnel at the university guild of students. Well, Joanna and I went to the first one 2 Saturdays ago to see what it was like. It was bad, awful music and just a kind of school atmosphere. At one point a woman came up to me with a bucket of condoms and shoved them in my face, so I took one. That condom is now stuck up on the wall in our lounge, since I don’t have any use for it…sadly…yet. ; )

Anyway, so, I didn’t drink that night, so I can’t use the excuse that I was drunk for what I did, become I can use the excuse I love to dance. I was dancing with this like stage thing behind me, and there were 2 girls on the stage ruffling the hair of all the guys who went past. They thought it was hilarious as most of the guys had obviously spent hours on their hair and they were messing it up. Anyway, I got close enough to them and they did it to me. Now, you should know me that I don’t give a crap about my hair. It’s long, curly and generally a mess, so I don’t care what happens to it. So, I ended up getting a sort of hair massage from both these girls.

Then I ended up on the stage with them dancing. And here comes the bad bit. I ended up dancing to S Club Party by S Club 7, doing the actions and everything as this girl showed me. And then Stayin’ Alive came on by the BeeGees and I was off dancing that again. If YMCA had come on next nobody would’ve been able to stop me. But it didn’t luckily.

And to complete the night we had the ABBA tribute band Bjorn Again performing live where I ended up singing all the words to all the songs and not feeling sad for knowing them. I hate ABBA, but I know all their songs.

Yeah, so that was 2 weeks ago now. You want more?

Last Friday I was knitting during my lecture. A friend had dared me to do it not knowing that I don’t care, so I did it. Not only did I get lots of funny looks, I also made him really embarrassed to be sitting next to me. Fantastic.

More?

Um…I nearly poked my eye out with a plastic fork one night when walking home drunk. I fell up the stairs when coming back home one night, and I wasn’t even drunk. I did a dance on a chair in the 24-hour computer place because I was just so happy. I tried to teach a friend Philosophy using Monty Python’s philosopher’s drinking song as my main criteria. I stood holding a door open the other day for like 5 minutes just to be nice to anyone who happened to want to go through. I joined the Photography Society at uni and got asked if I’d like to take pictures of the Athletics Society naked for a calendar.

Sorry not to elaborate on any of them, but they are pretty much self explanatory. An explanation doesn’t add anything to them.

So as you can see many a mad thing happens in my life, and there are so many more things that I haven’t even touched upon yet. But they’ll have to wait until another post. Now back to thinking about Slex…erm…I mean…to thinking about fluffy bunnies and pink candy floss and slex. Damnit!

--Iain

P.S. If you wanna know why slex and not just sex, ask Laura.

The Dark Tower

2004-10-08T01:30:00.000+01:00

It's 1:30am, and I have got lectures tomorrow, but I just can't sleep right now.

I finally finished the last book in the Dark Tower series, and thus have finally finished the series.

Now, I have quite a few favourite books, and I have written reviews for all of them. But this book, because it really is one long book, I just cannot write a review for. There is both too much to say, and too little to say, at the same time.

The book is stunning and will stay with me forever. I will most likely never read it all again as it is the most complete story I have ever written and to read it again, well, it just wouldn't be the same.

That's all I have to say about it except that I imagine this book will go on to be greater than Lord of the Rings and will be known as a masterpiece of all literature, if not the greatest story ever told.

--Iain

'Slex' and Candles

2004-10-04T22:43:00.000+01:00

Job in bar with PS2? Never heard back from them, so I didn't get it. And I've kinda given up on a job. I have budgeted myself to last until my next loan comes in, so if a miracle occurs and I do get a job then that'll just be extra money in my pocket. And I probably couldn't juggle a job and uni at the same time unless I worked nights and weekends, which would result in me being tireder than I already am. Not a promising concept.

As far as people worrying about their lack of "slex", well, I think that the more you look for it the harder it'll be to find. Perhaps the problem is the fact that you are looking for it which makes you seem a bit desperate which leads to other conclusions, if you get what I mean. You're probably thinking 'that's easy for you to say', and I bet Potty is definitely thinking that, but I've yet to see him put my theory into practice. I don't even see how it is easy for me to say, i'm just as 'slexless' as everybody else, but I don't complain about it. But then again I'm not as horny as most people, so it doesn't bother me. Actually, I'll bet it does bother me a little, but I just don't share stuff like that because I'm an innocent boy who only ever has pure thoughts and never thinks about 'slex'...

I wonder how many people believed me there. -1? -2?

I've started writing again. And by started writing again I mean I've read through all my old stories and found a few that I'm willing to work on. I've got a finished story which is about a religious end of the world, and another finished story that is just silly. And I have 3 unfinished stories that I really want to finish because the plots to them are fantastic if only I could tie them all up and finish them.

I bought some candles today for a neighbour's birthday. I've only spoken to her once, and she is as mad as the maddest of hatters, but she lives across the hall, and we have cake in so we may as well do something nice and give her some. How great would you feel on your birthday if some random people you've only ever seen once turned up on your door with a cake with candles and everything for you? Pretty good I'll bet.

That's about all I have to say right about now. Oh yeah, one more thing, since I have 'decided' to no longer put myself down I'll have to change my profile description now, but I have no idea what to put. It'll be changed by the time anyone reads this, so I think I better apologize now for whatever it says. Sorry it's so unimaginative and boring.

--Iain

What was the point?

2004-10-01T22:41:00.000+01:00

My first "real" week in uni is over and it wasn't that bad. Yes, ULMS151 is very hard, but the rest of my classes is just basic stuff that I did in college. Pretty easy so far.

I'm feeling a lot better. Not coughing as much so the near-fatal disease I had is now over. Or near enough.

And that's really it. I have no funny stories to tell, or opinions to share, or epiphanies to reveal. In fact, this is a pretty shit post. Sorry. I apologize. I'll post a better one when better stuff happens to post about.

--Iain

Sickness

2004-09-28T22:38:00.000+01:00

I am really sick. I have been coughing non-stop for about a week now. I think it is a combination of having a cold and going out every single night to places where people smoke. I bought some cough medicine today so hopefully that should kick in in a day or two. Until then though I am not going out again until I am no longer coughing uncontrollably every five minutes.

So right now I am in a 24-hour computing centre. It is a bargain. You pay £10 for a swipe card then you can come here whenever you want to, anytime of the night and get on a computer and the internet. Great thing is the card I got will last my entire university career. So I imagine I'll be seeing a lot of this place.

There is actually a sign on the door that says "Students are not allowed to sleep on these premises. Anyone found sleeping will be asked to leave and will be banned from coming again". Rough deal. And I'm not allowed any food or drink in with me so bang goes the idea of a pot of coffee. I'll just have to be strong and stay awake.

So I've officially started all my classes. The 3 computing ones are okay. I've done it all before so it shouldn't be too hard. Even though the lecturer of COMP103 can't speak English and has the most boring voice ever, I think I should be alright with it.

As for ULMS152, my other class this semester. Well that is hard. They seem to assume that everyone who is doing it has either done History or Business Studies. I have done neither so I really am being thrown in at the deep end. It's basically a class about Organizations and Management and the history thereof. Which is stuff like Fordism, Taylorism and Marxism. It is quite interesting when you get the conflicts over how work should be handled, but it is incredibly hard for me to take in. I see myself struggling with it. But I'll try my best.

My scarf is coming along quite well. I take it with me everywhere, it's even here with me now. The width is still the same and won't be changing unless I cock up, again, but it is about twice as long now. How good am I? Only been knitting a few months and I'm already knocking out an awesome scarf.

I still haven't got a job. But in fairness I haven't really been looking. My student loan came in today and there is more than enough there to last me until next year, never mind next semester.

So, despite my sickness, I am the happiest right now that I have been for a long long time. Everything seems to be settling down into a nice shape that I can live with happily and comfortably. I am very grateful for that.

Wouldn't you just know it? The one time I can stay online in like a month without worrying about how much it costs, and nobody is around. Typical. Oh well.

Can't think of anything else to say so I'll end it there.

Toodles folks!

--Iain

Has it been a week?

2004-09-27T19:28:00.000+01:00

Has it really? Since I last posted? It doesn't seem that long. Okay, a summary of the last week. I went out every night and danced in a club, except Wednesday when I watched movies in some friends' flat and Sunday when I sat up with the neighbours meeting them. And today lectures started. That's about it. Sure, there were a lot of little stories and funny happenings in between, but I can't be bothered even trying to remember any of them.

I bought myself some knitting needles and red yarn and have started knitting a scarf. I am fed up of the bed press knitting is getting from certain people, naming no names, Potty!! So I am going to try and keep everyone updated on how my scarf is going. Right now it is about yay long ......... and yay wide ............ More dotty descriptions in the future.

Oh, the final Dark Tower book by Stephen King finally got to delivered to me and I love it. I feel like those kids who wait for the next Harry Potter book, except I feel better because The Dark Tower series is so much better than Harry bleedin' Potter. I've been reading it non-stop for hours and there is still loads to go. When I finish I'm going to write a review on the whole series, and so as not to keep you in suspense it gets a 10 out of 10 already and I haven't even finished it yet.

Oh, and something weird is happening to me. My pants are getting looser. And my belt is getting bigger. And all my shirts are too baggy now. I think everything is growing around me. I refuse to believe I am losing weight because I'm not. All my clothes are just getting bigger.

Well, I guess this'll have to do for now, gonna go read some more. Then knit some more. Then read yet more again.

--Iain

If I ever see another fire alarm again it'll be too soon

2004-09-20T16:28:00.000+01:00

So 2 of my flatmates moved in yesterday. At the same time. The flat was in a bit of chaos what with parents and boxes going two and fro and me having got in at 3 the previous night. It was a nice introduction to the people you're going to be living with for the next year.

Anyway so, they are really nice girls. First there's Lyndsay. She's from the Liverpool area and is incredibly picky. Won't eat bacon that she hasn't cooked, has to have the right spoon to eat cereal, but you wouldn't think it when talking to her as she is really nice and down to earth. She's studying Law.

Second is Joanna, or Jo, just not Joanne. She is from Yorkshire and is, simply put, crazy. She is so bubbly and happy at every little thing. She's also a lot of fun to chat with as she will talk about anything. She's studying Architecture.

So, with it being our first night together we decided to go out. Since it was a Sunday a lot of places were closed. But we found some good places and had an okay time. Well, any night you get to dance to 'Livin' on a Prayer' is an okay night in my books. Got back home relatively early, 12:30/1 and went to bed.

End of night. Wrong. Now is where the title of this post comes into play.

4am. Yes there is a 4am in the morning, two 4 o'clocks in the day, I have seen it! A fire alarm starts blaring out. I panic, as you do, as there was smoke all over the place. Grabbed keys and a shirt and got my butt outside.

Turns out a bin shed had caught a blaze and the wind had carried the smoke in our direction. Had to stand outside in the freezing cold for about 30 minutes while the firemen sorted it out.

Eventually we were let back into the flat, and we invited some people back with us for a cup of tea since they weren't allowed back into their building. So anyway, it's just funny how you meet people no matter what the circumstances. So, while making the tea Joanna gets a bright idea, and comes into the kitchen with this flowery apron, throw it over my head and ties it up. But that's not all. The tea is now made and she puts it on a sunflower tray for me to carry through. As soon as I stepped foot into that lounge everyone started laughing. Just what you expect to be doing at 4:30 in the morning while a fire alarm is going off.

Because oh yes, I forgot to mention, the fire alarm was still blaring now. The guys we invited over left and we went to bed to await the alarm stopping. But it didn't. A knock on the door later and it turns out the alarm is broken and it'll take the engineer 2 hours to get here. Fantastic.

Somehow, Lyndsay slept through all this, but me a Joanna sat up watching kid's TV and chatting for the rest of the morning. 7am it finally stopped, just after we had tied my pillow over the alarm with a piece of black ribbon Joanna had.

No point going to bed now then was there? So we stayed up. Lyndsay got up and we all went shopping, came back, went to a freshers fair and got a bunch of free posters and leaflet for clubs and bars all over the city. And just now we've stuck them all up in the lounge and it does look pretty good.

A pretty eventful two days then. I cannot wait for bedtime tonight. Never before have I been so excited about the prospect of going to sleep. In fact, I'm only writing this now to stop myself falling asleep, because if I do, I know I'll wake up at like midnight and won't be able to sleep anymore. And then I'll be in a vicious nocturnal cycle I'll never get out of.

That's all for now, I hope you've all had a nice giggle at my expense. And if not, why not? Am I not good enough to be laughed at? :P

--Iain

A few nights...and a happy birthday!!

2004-09-17T11:31:00.000+01:00

So yeah, I know I haven't posted anything for a few days, but there are 2 reasons for that: one is I figured everyone would rather read about Laura's life than mine as it is so much more interesting, and I didn't want to push it down the page, and the other reason is that everything that's happened I've been telling to people individually, and it's not fun repeating yourself.

So, last Tuesday night I went out on a pub crawl. Had to go on my own as my friends ditched me at the last minute, but I still had fun. Met a geordie 'lass' called Sharon who only talked to me because I look like a taller version of her friend. She let me hang out with her and all her friends for the night which was an education in itself as I've never hung out with a group of women in a bar before, it was fun.

Went dancing that night, which I love to do. Got to rub butts with some random hot woman who thought it'd be fun. I wasn't complaining.

Got home around 1am and then was up at 5 the next morning, but I felt great, no hangover or nothing.

Wednesday kinda drifted past. I can't remember anything that happened but it went by quite fast.

Yesterday night, I went out again to meet up with Sharon. Met a few more people, some guy called Mark who was fun. He lives in the same street as me so I may bump into him again. He's a funny guy, but then all Scottish people are funny.

So, me, Mark and Sharon went out and got drunk. I won't go into details as they are quite rude and I'm not really sure how to phrase it. But we were laughing a lot all night, so it wasn't anything bad. I have to say it's evil for a bar to sell drinks for £1 on a Thursday night. They know damn well that everyone will have stuff to do the next day. Evilness!

I went dancing again last night. But not for long. We ended up in a club that was playing rap and r&b music. Now I can dance to anything, but that music last night was just awful. I can't see how anyone can dance to it. There was just no beat or anything. So if anyone knows how to dance to that kind of music could you please let me know in case I'm ever there again.

Didn't get in until 2am last night and I've just woke up feeling like shit. But I had stuff to do so I had to get up else I would've stayed in bed all day long.

So that's what I've been up to the last few days.

Oh, I've got a quick shout out to make. I don't even know if she reads this blog, but I'm sure her dearest brother will point it out to her. This is me saying a very Happy Birthday to Mr Potty's sister. I don't even know her name as someone never told me, but I know it's her birthday today and I've never been one to pass up singing happy birthday to someone. So here goes...

Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday dear....Potty's sister!!
Happy Birthday to you!!!!!!!

Yay! Hip hip hooray and all that lark. Have a great day!

So, there's my good deed done for the day. Now I got yet more errands to run with a head that feels like it's in a vice. And before you ask no it's not in vice, I did check and I'm not that kinky.

--Iain

On Laura's behalf

2004-09-12T20:21:00.000+01:00

It's seems darling Laura is having difficulties with her blog, i.e. she can't log in to post, so I've volunteered my blog to her until she gets things sorted. The following is Laura's blog post, enjoy.

--

Hi everyone, sorry bout being away for so long but as always things are just a bit too insane around here and I'm just hanging on. I'm also being smart this time and typing the blog in Microsoft Word before I put it into the actual website so that I don't lose it and curse at everyone around me. I am feeling less depressed than I was and so I'm not going to complain and talk about how miserable I am like I have before. I have so much to say; I still have these notes I used for the last blog I was going to write but it's all such old news that I don't know if I want to talk about any of it or not. I'm going through a few of these post-it notes here trying to decide if any of it is worth mentioning again. Essentially what happened around last weekend was that my dad totaled his car that he had been using to take to work everyday and had to sell the parts because it could not be repaired well enough to drive again. He is okay but he was pretty bummed about it for a few days and he seemed like he was in a better mood when I saw him at my school's football game last Saturday.
The first game was quite fun for me. It was hot but I love marching band and no matter what the situation, I can enjoy it. The game was terrible and our team was pretty bad but I think the main reason is that in the past few years they've been spoiled because they've done quite well and this first game of the season was very disappointing. They are playing Ohio State tomorrow and I can't even imagine how bad that game is going to be. The new uniforms that were ordered for the band this year are quite nice and I like them better than my high school uniforms but once again, my massive skull refuses to fit the helmets. I'm not the only person who has a problem (there are about 30 others) but the helmets are small and although they are adjustable, I can't make it fit comfortably. Apparently, the band director is going to order some larger helmets and I certainly hope he does because when I came off the field last Saturday, I felt like my skull was crushed in the front. However, I did get excited because I saw my high school band director of whom I admire a great deal and I forgot about that damn helmet. Tomorrow, my school is playing Ohio State and it is an away game that the band is going to along with the team(we don't go to all of the away games). I have to get up at 4:30am tomorrow because they are starting to load up at 5:15am and we are leaving at 6am. Even if I just get a little sleep, I know I'm going to pumped about it when I get over there but then about an hour after I've been on the road, I'll pass out from exhaustion. I love traveling and doing stuff with marching band so much because I have so much fun with everybody and I just plain love band. We'll be gone all day and won't be back til midnight and then the rest of the month we just have band competitions around the area.
The past couple days I had not been feeling too good emotionally. I haven't had any major problems but I had had so many little ones that it drove me up the wall. I'm better now, although I had to deal with some pretty shitty stuff last night and this morning. I was up studying and didn't actually fall asleep until about 2am last night; I had an exam in First Aid at 9am and I was going to get up at 6am and study some more until I had to be over there. At 4am the damn fire alarm went off in my building and I fell out of bed and freaked because it took me a minute to figure out what was going on. I was in my pajamas and grabbed my keys and went down the stairs with the rest of the herd to go outside. We were all half awake and crabby and when we got outside it was so crowded and cold. Then we were stuck out there waiting for half an hour with the alarm going off the entire time. I was wearing thin pj's and was freezing my ass off and looking around for cute guys with my friends but unfortunately there are none in Holderby. What had happened was some severely drunk people had come in and one of them thought it would be funny to pull the fire alarm(at 4am) so everybody is okay but the girl who had done it walked out of the building while we were all out there waiting and I think every single one of us was ready to attack her because she was acting like it was so funny. So then I got back in and went back to sleep; I set my alarm for 7am because I knew I'd be okay with that. I did fall back to sleep but apparently my power went out before my clock went off and I didn't wake up until 11am this morning. I got the problem taken care of but I missed my test and I guess I'm going to have to take it next week. Fortunately, even with all of that shit to deal with, I'm actually feeling okay and I think everything's going to work out alright.
I'm not going to say a lot about this because I don't know if anyone else in band besides Candice is going to see this(I doubt it but I can't be too sure) but I want to mention something about these freaky sex/relationship dreams I've been having lately. On a regular basis I have weird (but nice) dreams about Kiefer Sutherland and Charlie Sheen, but there are two particular band members that I had some really strange dreams about and I can't imagine why but I can't even look at one of the guys without thinking about the dream and it's driving me crazy. I'm not attracted to him at all and I can't imagine why of all the hot guys in the band, I would dream about this one. Candice knows who it is and I won't say the name and I hope that she will be kind and will not say anything about who it is to anyone because if word got out I'd be so fucking embarrassed. But Candice is a very nice person and I don't think she would say anything. She's been dealing with some tough shit recently and I'm praying for her and I think that everything is going to turn out okay for her; I'm just praying that God will help her deal with it okay and I really care about her so I'm really hoping it's going to work out for the better for her. I've been in a rough relationship before too and it's not easy to deal with but I know that she will be alright. Anyway, back to the sex dreams. I'm not going to go into detail about what happened but I've had one about somebody every night this week and that has never happened before. And with the one about Charlie, there was actually no sex involved because I woke up just when things were getting good. The one about Kiefer was actually kind of depressing because it involved the problem of the age difference and us being in love with each other and my family hating me for it. Just thought I'd say a little bit about all that since it's been on my mind so much.
What else is there to talk about? Other than all of the above, things haven't been the absolute worst. I've gotten to talk to Iain recently which was very nice but I haven't gotten a chance to talk to Mort in a while and I know he's going to be very busy with his clients and such and I'm hoping that it all turns out for the best for him. I'm getting busier with school as the semester rolls along so I won't get as much time to talk online and I'm going to try to get a good blog up at least once a week. I've got so much going on that it's hard to make time and when I do have free time, I am so tired I can't sit up to do it. When I get a computer for my dorm, it will be so much easier to keep up online and I will have more opportunities to talk to my online friends because I wont' have to go by the library hours for everything. I'm trying to think if there is anything else I want to say. Last night I was talking to a couple of my friend in UMS who are getting ready to turn 25 and they were talking about how they were feeling so old and we were joking around about how the day that you turn 25, it hits you like a brick wall and when I got back to my dorm I got to thinking about poor Morty who I believe just turned 24. I'll have to get over to London at least in the summer of next year before he becomes 25 and goes insane. No, I think he'll be okay. Oh, there is one more thing I wanted to do on this blog before I stop and that is to post up some of these love quotes that Candice had on her blog because they were heartfelt and I think that anyone can understand them and I don't think she'll mind if I use them. I know she's been having a tough time and that maybe they have helped her in some way. Here they are:

"I never thought I'd risk the chance of getting hurt again, but for some reason when I'm with you, it all seems worth it."

"Sometimes I wonder if I should love him for what he was, hate him for what he did or cry because he changed me."

"Love is seeing him how no one else does. Love is when you know he's not perfect, but you see him perfectly. Love is thinking about him day and night, through the day and in your dreams. Love is when he means the world and even more to you. Love is when no one else understands how you feel. Love is the BEST feeling you can feel that touches your heart in ways words can't explain."

"I don't ever want another person to get a chance to understand how incredible you are."

"Love begins with a smile, grows with a kiss, and ends with a teardrop."

"When your heart gets broken, you start to see the cracks in everything."

"The joys of love made her human, and the agonies of love destroyed her."

"There is no part of the body that when broken, hurts as badly as the heart."

I swear, I read those first few and cried for half an hour because it's so incredibly true and from my own experience with love, it just about tore me apart. But I'm okay.

I don't have anything else to talk about for now but hopefully I'll be back around next week to post again. I'm going to go eat lunch and then watch Apocalypse Now because I'm in some kind of Martin Sheen phase right now and I've only seen a little bit of it. To Mort and/or Iain, it will be Monday before I even have another opportunity to get online again. I won't have my cell phone on Saturday because it is out of range in Columbus, OH from here. But if you want to call, I'll be around all day Sunday.

Lots of love to all of you and those of you who help to make my life easier to deal with,

Laura

*"At first I thought, if I were Superman, a perfect secret identity would be "Clark Kent, Dentist," because you could save money on tooth X-rays. But then I thought, if a patient said, "How's my back tooth?" and you just looked at it with your X-ray vision and said, "Oh it's okay," then the patient would probably say, "Aren't you going to take an X-ray, stupid?" and you say, "Aw fuck you, get outta here," and then he probably wouldn't even pay his bill."*

The Bachelor Pad

2004-09-10T20:05:00.000+01:00

Well, I am finally here. Sitting in my room, music on, internet sorted, everything working. So as of now I think I can consider myself officially moved out.

I have taken photos of the room as it is now. A mess basically. I can't be bothered setting my computer up properly and neatly, so it really is all over the place. Being on dial-up the photos are taking an age to upload, but hopefully they should be done by the time I finish this post. So long as I don't stop right now.

...

Still haven't met any roommates. I know somewhere has definitely been here because they left the lights on when I came this morning, but I still haven't seen him.

I have seen other people though. There is a flat full of girls across the hall from me. I've said hi to them as we bumped into each other while moving, but that's it. Can't even remember what they looked like but I'm pretty sure they were hot. I know where I'll be going for a cup of sugar. ;)

I completed an application form for the bar around the corner. I really hope I get an interview. It's so convenient and really cool inside. It has this huge plasma screen TV with a PS2 hooked up to it that you can play. And they'll have all the football televised. Perfect.

At last, the photos are uploaded. Please excuse the mess the place is in, but here is the link to the photos. My bachelor pad.

Okay, so, there's that done. Might go down to the pub now, or watch a movie. I am quite bored already. And I can't go out anywhere because I forget my shoes. All I have are trainers.

*sigh*

Well, that's all for now...

--Iain

...and I'm gone

2004-09-09T11:23:00.000+01:00

So, my internet finally shut down last night. I got behind in one of the payments and I forgot to pay it, so they cut me off. No biggie. It's co-incided well with me moving out. I have bought myself a modem and will move my computer tomorrow so hopefully I'll be back to my old tricks again soon, just not as often as I'll be on dial-up and I haven't got that much money to spare. Whenever I can I'm gonna sneak off to the library, where I am now, to post something on my blog and check my emails. They don't have MSN though otherwise I'd just live here in my free time talking to people.

I've got all my stuff unpacked, didn't take that long, and the only reason I came in here at all is because I needed to buy some stuff: the aforementioned modem, some sticky tack to put my posters up with, drawing pins, and a laundry basket, none of which I have yet except for that darn modem.

I figured out today that I will have a landline in my room. As soon as I get back I'm gonna sort that out then people can call me there and it will cost a fraction of what it costs to call my mobile. And they supply me with a phone. Somethings are made easy for you in this life it seems.

So, yeah, that's where my day stands so far. I won't be around later on, unless Telewest decided to be nice and switch my internet at home back on. But hopefully tomorrow I'll be up and running again. Fingers crossed.

Now, onto more pressing matters. Toes. Do you know who has nice toes? In fact, I would go as far as to say the nicest toes in the world? No. I know. And she knows it too. And the only reason I'm bothering to type this is I know it'll make her laugh when she reads it. Maybe not laugh uncontrollably, but definitely at least titter mildly.

Another thing. I know not many of the people who read this know Laura, in fact I think only Potty knows her, but I'm still gonna ask a favour of you for her. She has been feeling like shit lately, her words, not mine, and as much as I tried last night, I don't think I did much to cheer her up. The bloody internet cut me off from talking to her, so I called her and we talked, well she talked, I just listened, for a good half hour I reckon, using up all the credit on my phone in the process. Why am I telling you this? Well, I couldn't cheer her up last night, so this is my next attempt to cheer her up, since I probably won't be online later to talk to her. I want everyone who reads this to leave a comment just saying something like "get well soon Laura" or something like that. I know she'll appreciate it. Thanks guys, and gals.

Well, my time has run out on this computer so I'll have to stop there. I'll see you when I next see you.

--Iain

Got me keys!

2004-09-08T20:06:00.000+01:00

At, bloody, last! My tenancy agreement finally came in the post today. I took it in to the office and within twenty minutes I had my keys in my hand and was standing in the middle of my new bedroom. Such a great feeling.

Now I am busy packing all my stuff. Deciding what, and what not, to take. And making a list of stuff I need to buy, like a laundry basket and a rug.

The room itself is cool. It has telephone internet access, but only for a few more weeks...because then they are getting broadband! I'll probably end up taking my computer with me, if I can find a cheap modem, but I still plan on buying a laptop. So I shouldn't disappear offline at all, unless there are problems setting up the internet when I get there, which there will be no doubt.

I'll probably start moving stuff in tomorrow. There is a bar as you go into the halls, and they are looking for staff, so I'm gonna enquire there. It'd be perfect, working a 10 second walk from where I live, and having the uni about 30 seconds away. Ideal really.

Haven't met my roomies yet, only one of the other rooms has been taken, but I'm bound to bump into them in time, so I'll let you know what they are like then.

I'll take pictures as soon as all my crap is sorted out and put away, you don't want to see pictures of a messy room after all. I just hope there is enough room, I have so many more clothes than I thought.

Oh, and I have my new address. If anyone wants to send me flatwarming money...I mean cards, then let me know and I'll pass it on to you.

--Iain

On Writing

2004-09-07T15:22:00.000+01:00

Well, I'm really bored. My tenancy agreement still hasn't come through so I can't move out just yet. And since I ran all my errands yesterday I have nothing to do today. I've watched a few movies, one really good one that I've just done a review for (Frailty). I even wrote a short story of sorts for the first time in ages. I was looking through all the stories I've wrote in the past, and I really wish I could finish some of them as I think the stories are great, just not well written. All they do now is sit there and gather virtual dust. I'm sure one day I'll get the bug back again and will be able to finish them, but for now they just seem so lonely sitting there, not even finished but so promising.

Maybe I'll force myself to write again. I love writing so much, frustrating though it is, there isn't much better than sitting down and just letting the words flow out when you've got a solid idea. It even makes up for the annoyance you feel when the idea peters out, or, even worse, you have no ideas.

I think it was after reading 'The Life of regor Mortez' that has got me thinking of writing again. Most of the time I was reading that I found it hard to believe that plain old Potty had written it. And it made me want to write something like it. I have tried that in the past, but I only got so far and I didn't like the idea any more so I gave up. I really should try and finish that fantasy story as a few people have read it and said that they liked it.

I have over 70 stories started. 70 potentially great stories and yet only about 8 of them are finished. And do you know how many of them 70 odd I like? Not one. I love the ideas of some of them as I think they are quite innovative, but I don't like the way I've written them. I'm just not a writer.

I wonder if there is a job for somewhere who gives writers ideas? Because I have plenty of ideas that I would love to see as stories, but I guess I'm a bit selfish because I want to write them. I know how I want them to look like and I just can't get it like that. I want to hear the reactions from people when they read my shocking twist in one story, or when they get angry at what I put in another story. But to do that I have to finish the stories which I just never do.

Foggit. Buggrit. Enough talk of writing. I'm writing now aren't I? And this is just as fun as writing a 70,000 word story about strange animals that are a cross between a horse and a camel.

My boring day hasn't been completely in vain though, I managed to find some very cool stuff online. If you haven't seen any of these cartoons, watch them. Some are funny, and some are just plain strange, but you have to respect how well made they are.

Salad Fingers: ep 1 - Very Disturbing
If you like it: Ep 2, Ep 3, Ep 4

Neurotically Yours - A bunch of hilarious toons. I recommend you watch them all, but the coffee house ones are in particularly funny.

Prowlies at the River (click 'Watch This Movie' to view) - One of the finest flash cartoons ever made, the animation is second to none.

De_Aztec (click 'Watch This Movie' to view) - Anyone who has played CounterStrike online will enjoy this one.

I think that's enough for now. We'll see how bored I get later on as to whether I give you some more stuff to watch.

--Iain

random

2004-09-06T17:55:00.000+01:00

Okay, I have no idea what I'm going to write about, but I figure if I start writing something will come out. So let's see.

My tenancy agreement didn't come today, so I can't go and get the keys to my flat yet. Maybe tomorrow. Postman didn't come until like 11am today, meaning I couldn't get out to run errands until dinnertime, which is a pain because town is very busy around dinnertime. I usually like to get in early to avoid the crowds, but if I did that today, I might miss the mail, and miss the tenancy agreement so then when I got home I'd have to go straight back to town again. Annoying.

Anyway, so I ran my errands, well, all but one of them. But the one I didn't do wasn't an errand, I'm not sure what it was, but it wasn't an errand. I was planning to go talk to the receptionists girl I'd given flowers to last week, but I couldn't. It's not that I was nervous, although I was that wouldn't have stopped me, or embarrassed, I just didn't think it was fair on her. I think I wanted to do it for the wrong reasons. So I'm gonna leave it a few days and see how I feel then, and if I still want to I'll go back, if not, then I won't.

I told you something would come out of this if I just started writing.

--Iain

The Life of Regor Mortez by Renier Potgieter

2004-09-05T17:49:00.000+01:00

First off, I think I better apologize, I've had this story for what seems like forever now and I've only just finished it. I feel bad, but I'm glad that I did get through it because it is an interesting story.

The story is quite simple. Regor Mortez is a Hunter, which is kind of like a mercenary between worlds. He gets paid to do missions, traveling to many different worlds to do so. But one of the missions seems like a waste of time, accompanying a princess from one place to another, surely not a job for a hunter. But the mission is more than it seems.

The book has so much innovation, such as the ways of the Hunters and the beings from other worlds, each described to the smallest detail, as is the world in which they are. Worlds ranging from foresty trails to futuristic, sky-scraper clad cities.

The story itself takes while to get going, almost half the book in fact, but that's not a bad thing. The first half is used to set the scene, so that you understand the main character and what his life is like. This makes the second half all the more better as you feel like you know Regor.

All the while there is there story of Regor's past, his lost love, which slowly becomes revealed more and more and makes you understand his character more. It also plays a much bigger roll in the big scheme of things than I was expecting.

It is an action-packed fantasy, with lots of fights and battles, each described very well down a single sword thrust. Sometimes hard to follow yet always exciting to read.

Overall, I enjoyed the book. It definitely is not your normal fantasy as there is a lot in there that will get you thinking and certain things that go against the grain of your typical heroic fantasy books.

My Rating: 9 out of 10 ;)

P.S. This book is not available in the shops for some unknown reason, but if you get in touch with the author, Potty he may be kind enough to let you read it.

Quick update #1

2004-09-04T18:43:00.000+01:00

I'll be back later to post something longer, but I think I need to clear a few things up first.

Adrienne, FUBAR stands for: F***** Up Beyond All Recognition, I'm sure you can figure out what the asterisks stand for.

And the stuff that was on my mind was not about Joeli. Well, of course some of my thoughts are about her, but the stuff I was thinking about then wasn't about her. Just to clear that up.

More later...

--Iain

...probably...

2004-09-03T21:02:00.000+01:00

Slight good news. I have paid the deposit on the flat, paid the rent up until Jan 17th, and now I just have to wait for the tenancy agreement to come through, then I can go in, wait a few hours and I get the keys. So this time next week I'll be in my own place.

There is a phone connection in my room so I should still have the internet. This computer is so....FUBAR, that it'll be lucky if it works after moving. I'm sure I can get it going and it'll have to do until I can get a job and save up enough for a laptop.

I've got so many thoughts going on in my mind right now. So many that it's hard to single out just the one and concentrate on it. Plus the fact that I don't think I want certain people to know about any of it, so I'm not gonna even try to put them down here. If you know me well enough, then you probably can guess what I've been thinking about, or you probably know as I've probably told you. And I think I'm gonna say probably one more time to add to the alliteration. Probably. :P

I'm rambling again so I definitely must have something on my mind. In case you haven't realised, when I start rambling it because I have stuff on my mind but don't know whether I should talk about it or not. Maybe I should get myself a proper diary that nobody can read, that way I can let everything out. Nah, that'd just be sad. Writing with nobody reading. Just like this blog first started out like.

There go the rambles again. Sorry. Gonna shut up now to spare you all.

--Iain

Almost there

2004-09-02T22:31:00.000+01:00

I've nearly secured a flat somewhere. And I would've by now if they'd not filled their adverts with complete bullshit and were just upfront about everything to begin with.

The ad says £60 a week, so I assume that every week, I have to pay them £60. Wrong! What I have to do is pay them the whole rent upfront, which is around the £2,500 mark. Plus a £250 deposit. Now if they'd told me that I needed a lump sum I could've sorted that out by now, but no, they let me get half way through the applications before saying, so do you want to pay your £1,100 (pay in 3 installments) in cash or by direct debit? Feckin' hell!

So I spent today looking at the flat and then trying to find someone to lend me the money until my student loan comes through and I can pay them back. Luckily, a family friend was more than willing to help. So tomorrow morning I shall go and see then, WITH money this time, and this time tomorrow I could very well be in my own apartment.

One bad point is the apartment does not have the internet...yet. I'm leaving my computer at home, so when I come back to pick stuff up I'll still be able to get online, plus there are computers at the library and on campus, but as soon as I move out for good, I won;t be online anymore. Well, not to talk to people. I'll still pop on every now and again to read blogs and write in mine and perhaps send emails to keep friends informed as to my doings. But soon the glory of unlimited internet access at any time shall be gone for me, so I better make use of it while I can.

Oh, and since Potty will want to know, one flat I may get is a 4-bedroom shared flat that I would be sharing with 3 performing arts students, one boy and two girls. Same age as me. See, I told you you would want to know that.

I suppose money is a slight worry to me right now, but I'll have a job soon and I'll definitely have enough to get by one. Just perhaps not enough for frequent trips down to London.

Oh, also did something completely out of character today, but since I've told pretty much everyone about it, I don't see the need in typing it out. You all know what I mean. We'll just have to see what comes of it, or if I start to do more things like that.

So, yeah, right now I'm feeling tired, but on top of the world. Can't wait to move out and get started with my uni life, should be a fun experience.

And hopefully I shall be around with some good news tomorrow. :D

--Iain

About time...

2004-09-01T23:33:00.000+01:00

...I posted something.

Apartment hunting is going well. Have 3 places lined up and going to see one of them tomorrow. Should be sorted soon.
Job hunting is going okay. Have a bunch of jobs that I just need to enquire about now. Will do that soon.
And that's about it as far as my life goes at the moment.

I saw my uncle today. He lent me a DVD he has collaborated of a family holiday around Europe over 10 years ago. I was 7 at the time when me, my uncle, mum and dad, brother and 2 cousins went camping around Europe. I remember nothing of it, but watching the video back is so funny because seeing me is like watching someone else. I can't believe I was like that.

No feelings to get out this time. Sorry. I talked to a friend about it instead and don't need to write about it anymore. Maybe next time.

Seems a pretty pointless post this one, but then I do lead a pretty pointless life, the 2 go hand in hand. Hopefully something more exciting to come soon.

--Iain

New beginnings, new hair cut

2004-08-31T22:00:00.000+01:00

So I finally got my hair cut today. I haven't had it cut this year and it was beginning to get unruly. I got it trimmed down and now I just look ridiculous because I have short curly hair the likes of which I've never had before. I guess I'll just have to live with it.

So anyways, time to get some thoughts out I think. You know, I never used to understand what being in love used to have to do with that organ in your body that pumps blood around, and I'm not sure there is any direct connection, but I know now where the idea comes from as it is from that same area that all the feeling comes from, at least that's where it comes from now. And that is where the strange feeling are coming from now.

I wouldn't say I has hurting, and I wouldn't say it makes me feel uncomfortable this sort of emptiness I'm feeling, it's just annoying. It's like there's a piece missing, or a gap or hole there that needs filling. I don;t know what was there before, but I want it back because it is annoying me now. It's such a weird feeling and unlike any I've ever known, and it doesn't hurt like a lot of people say it does, it's just a persistent little bugger.

I think my head is a little screwed up because it doesn't know whether I am still in love or not. I don't want to be because it's just not practical anymore, but it's hard to push against your nature. I'm sure it's go in time. No, not go, I don't actually think it'll ever go, but at least it'll fade away and hopefully will let something else takes its place.

I really do mince my words sometimes. How is it that I can never put anything simply? Oh well, if you're mad enough to be reading this blog about me, you're probably mad enough to be able to decipher all that I just wrote.

Anyway, on with more interesting matters, my extremely busy day.

It started with me up at 7am and taking the dog for an hour long walk which must be at least a couple of miles. I've been trying to do that every morning because I don't want to join a gym now because I'll be moving soon and then it'll just be difficult to get to and I'd never bother going.

So after walking the dog I went into town to sort out some things. First up was accommodation. I need somewhere to live during uni. I went into the campus and asked about halls of residence on site but found that I had missed the deadline and that all they had left was catered accommodation which involves no kitchen and having to eat every meal in a dining room with like a million other people. The visit there wasn't so bad though thanks to the gorgeous customer service girl who served me. She had the patience of a saint because I didn't know what I wanted when I first went in, and she smiled a lot which I like. Nothing better in this world than a smile and I don;t care that she gets paid to do it, it's still nice.

After reluctantly leaving her I made my way to the private student accommodation building where an equally nice, if not as pretty, woman showed me how to go about finding somewhere to stay.

Then it was a trip to my bank to sort out my student account and my credit card which went smoother than I could've hoped. Followed by a long wait in a Post Office queue just to get a form stamped and sent off for my provisional driving license. I really should've done that a year ago, but I decided to concentrate on my studies and it paid off in the end. An A in maths can't be bad.

I then went to the job centre in search of employment, which I didn't find. The only jobs having either too many hours or need experience I don't have. Oh well, I'll keep on looking and see what turns up. Need a job badly though to pay rent on the flat I'm still searching for.

I've now made up a shortlist of 4 places that I'd like to stay and I have to call them all up tomorrow and arrange to view the apartments soon. The sooner I can move in the better.

So then I got home and nearly passed out from fatigue. Luckily I had some Laurel and Hardy taped to watch, so I feel asleep watching them, only to wake up at the end, rewind them and watch them again. I love slapstick humour, it's a shame we don't see more of it nowadays.

I'm sure there is more I could talk about, I could even delve into the apartments I've shortlisted so everyone can see how good a deal I may be getting, but I feel this post has gotten long enough as it is and I know that everyone probably more scanned over it than read it.

So I'll finish by telling you all to bug Renier to tell you the joke about the pineapple rings, it's so funny. Second funniest joke I've ever heard. The first being a nun joke that I love telling people, but which needs to be done in person after a few drinks in order to be appreciated well.

Shut up Iain, long post keeps getting longer, now shut up...

Who says talking in the 3rd person isn't good for you?

--Iain

Friends

2004-08-29T23:48:00.000+01:00

I've been feeling pretty bad lately, nothing I want to go into, but hopefully everything will be sorted over the next few days. Anyway, it's been the kind of feeling bad when you are trying not to think about something but can't help but do so. Anyway, so, it's at times like these that you tend to realise how important friends are to you. So, basically, since I've got nothing better to talk about, and since I'm still feeling pretty bad, I want to thank 4 people.

First is Emma. She doesn't read this blog, i don't think, but I still want to thank her because it's nice to have someone who I can talk to about musicals and stuff and get a good conversation out of. She's also an incredibly nice person who cheers me up when I'm feeling down. So thanks to her.

Second is Debs. Now she definitely doesn't read this blog but I think I want to thank her the most. I won't beat around the bush, she isn't young, in fact she could be my mother, but she is still great to talk to. Whether we're talking Sinatra, or old movies, or just gossiping about members of her forum I always have a smile on my face and will usually end up laughing. Big thanks to her for being around and talking to me, I'll have to get her a present when I see her in October to let her know how much I appreciate her being around.

Next I'll put Renier. Although he hasn't been around much, I can still talk to him about anything and some of his funny texts have been good to read when I've been feeling bad. So thanks Potty, it's helped me a lot. Oh, and it's his birthday next Sunday, so everyone make a big deal out of it.

Lastly, but by no means leastly is Laura. She's only been around for the past 2 days but she has been fantastic to talk to. Before then I hadn't heard from her in about a month and hadn't properly spoken to her in quite a few months. Anyway, I'd forgotten how much fun we'd had, me, her and Potty, and it's been good catching up on things, even if it has only been me and her with Potty missing, it's still been fun. It's helped me a lot to take my mind of other things and I just want Laura to know how much I appreciate it. You're a really good friend and I hope we'll still be friends for years to come.

It's funny, all of the above people I've met online, and they are all quite different from one other and yet I'm proud to call them all my friends. And people say the internet can be a bad thing. Bah! Some of the best things in my life have come from the internet, heck, THE best thing in my life came about because of the internet.

So, yeah, hopefully things will start to get back to normal soon and perhaps I'll stop feeling so sick, only time will tell. I hope everything works itself out.

--Iain

Travels, cinema and credit cards

2004-08-28T19:54:00.000+01:00

I can see myself becoming a travel freak. My dad tells me I'll have to hit all the European capitals soon, what with flights costs a pittance, and I guess I will. I love traveling. Maybe it's just a subconscious desire to get away from home, or perhaps it's just the fact that I like people, and enjoy meeting foreigners or people from other areas. I only wish it was as cheap to go to America and Asia as it is to go to Paris.

I went the cinema today to see The Bourne Supremacy. Near the end of the movie and alarm goes off and we have to leave the building. 30 mins we wait outside as the fire brigade comes and resets the alarm system. We get back in to watch the last 5 minutes before leaving yet again.

Bad news, I guess it's bad news, is that I'm getting a credit card. I got offered one by my bank and I'm not going to pass it up. Reasoning is I'll keep it for emergencies, and I hope that I can do that but I doubt it. At least I'll have my student loan to pay off any debt I get into with it.

That's all for now. Oh yeah, one of my dear friends, Cheeky/Laura, has got herself a blog now, so go and check it out. She's a cool person, much cooler than me, so it should be interesting. Pleasantly Confused.

--Iain

Movies and other stuff

2004-08-27T18:58:00.000+01:00

Bought a load of movies today. Gaslight, Sabrina, Roman Holiday, A Day at the Races, What about Bob?, To Catch a Thief, Harvey and The Third Man. Seen a few of them already, but I'm confident they are all good.

I've set up a reviews blog. I think this is just a passing phase to be honest and the amount of reviews is bound to drop soon, but at least I tried.

Okay, now some stuff about me that is sure to bore everyone but I don't care as I want to write about it.

I got the results of my A-Levels the day I got back from Italy, followed by a letter of confirmation from The University of Liverpool which I have sent off finally confirming that I have a place in University.

So there comes the next problem, where am I going to live? My mum is selling the house and buying my Nan's house which will give her a clear 100 grand profit to clear all her debts. And apparently the only thing stopping her from doing so before was me. That made me feel bad so I'm moving out no matter what so she has no excuses for her now. But where does that leave me? I'm not sure yet. Probably Halls of Residence, but some friends have said they may consider sharing a flat somewhere. Everything will be sorted out soon I hope.

Learning to drive now as well. Dunno where I'll fit in the time to do it, but it'll get done.

I also need to get a job. I would get one now, and I may even go and look for one next time I'm near the Job Centre, but for now I've decided to wait until after I start Uni. That way I can fit my hours around my course.

So that's pretty much everything I've done, or have got to sort out in the next few weeks. Should be an extremely hectic time.

Oh, and as regards knitting, do I look like I give a monkeys about what men should do? It's just another hobby I can turn to when I get bored, plus you can do it while watching TV or a movie so it is helping me develop multitasking skills which should be invaluable in later life. Drinking beer AND watching the footy.
--Iain

...at last

2004-08-26T23:19:00.000+01:00

I Finally got all my photos from Italy sorted out. A lot of them are bad and many are blurred, but there are a few good ones in there. There were so many I had to split them up into 4 parts. A lot of them my need explanations, but I'm not going to go through and explain every single one right now, so just ask me which ones you want explaining, if any, hint hint, and I'll explain them ones.

Italy (part 1)
Italy (part 2)
Italy (part 3)
Italy (part 4)

Not much else to say, which is odd as I seem to have a lot on my mind. But I guess it's just stuff I'd rather not talk about, heck, I don't even like thinking about it sometimes, but it's not like we get a choice about what we think about, it's just there sometimes and there's nothing we can do about it.

Oh, I've almost finished a painting. It's not good in any way shape or form, it's just a bunch of random lines and shapes that I'm painting in different colours, but I don't care because it's fun to do. Oh, oh, and I also started knitting again, and this time it is definitely going to be a scarf. No...frogging, i think it's call, it this time, I'm concentrating and I'm gonna finish it. Really. No joking.

Getting kinda late now, so I better wrap it up...

Expect a few movie reviews soon (Strictly Ballroom, Adventures of Priscilla: Queen of the Desert) , and possibly a book review (Crime and Punishment) if I ever get time to read. I got fed up updating my site and this thing is so much easier to maintain so I think I'll just shift my book reviews over here. May open up a new blog just for reviews, haven't decided yet. Watch this space. No, not that space, THIS space. Sheesh, you'd think you people could watch the right space.

--Iain

Here's Johnny, part 2

2004-08-26T13:33:00.000+01:00

Okey doke, time for a post.

Firstly, the title of the last post, and of this one. Well, that is because of an occurrence while in Italy. When meeting the locals in the place I was staying I'd introduce myself as Iain. But nobody could understand the spelling so I explained, in great difficulty due to the language barrier, not an actual barrier, a metaphorical one, that Iain spelt with two i's is the Scottish spelling meaning John. At that everyone would go, "Ah, Johnny!!" and henceforth I was Johnny to everyone. And it wasn't pronounced as in The Shining, but rather the j was pronounced like the j in Taj, making it even funnier I'm sure you'll agree.

Italy is a pretty amazing place, so much different to what I'm used to. Everyone is so much friendlier, that was very obvious. Even walking down the street and passing a complete stranger they would strike up a conversation with you, or at least try to. I like that. This morning I was walking the dog, passed about 10 people, let on to all of them and only 2 responded in any way. What a sad place I live in.

The landscape of Italy is amazing. Every town is situated on a mountain and as far as I could see there were mountains in the distance. Wherever you looked you were greeted with a beautiful sight. And there are sunflowers everywhere. In supermarkets to by, huge fields of them everywhere, and so many sunflower decorated items, from crockery to salt shakers to fly swatters.

I went to Rome twice. I have to say I wasn't impressed. If you take out the landmarks like the Colosseum and the Vatican is would be a dire city. I felt dirty just walking around it. Graffiti everywhere, beggars using their children to get money, it was horrible. The sights were breathtaking, but that's all that it has going for it in my opinion.

Photos of Italy are still on the way. It's taking a lot of time and I have to do it in stages and I get fed up of sorting them out very quickly, so it'll be some time yet. Sorry. Soon though.

Now I know I said I was going to include a lot of thoughts and conclusions I came to while I had time to step back and think about things, but I've decided against doing that. For a start they aren't fun or entertaining in any way, and some of them are just plain stupid. Just more proof that I think too much sometimes and that it can be bad for you. But, then again, it also proved to me that things do happen for a reason as I was doubtful about even going to Italy, but now I've been it really helped be sort things out. Obviously it hasn't helped me stop rambling though.

Not much else to say now. I've just finished watching 'Singin' in the Rain' for like the billionth time and I still love it. I may write a quick review for it later on, but I don't see why I should, everyone's seen it already and I'd probably only get laughed at by Potty for giving it a 10 out of 10, which it deserves.

Speaking of Potty, I would like you all to send him your best wishes as he apparently has a tough client to deal with at the moment. There, now nobody can say I never think of others.

Off to finish a painting now, and to watch the Marx Brothers. Maybe more later, maybe not, maybe maybe. Definitely Maybe!

--Iain

P.S. Erm...Okay, thank you Emily for commenting on my blog. Do I know you? If I do, I'm really sorry, I've forgotten, so can you jog my memory?

Here's Johnny

2004-08-25T17:17:00.000+01:00

Yay! I'm back from Italiano!

This is only gonna be a quick post as I have just got home and switched my computer on and the amount of blogs and information i have to read just kind of overwhelmed me. So I'm gonna have to take it all in slowly.

So expect another post soon which will:

1. Explain the title of this post

2. Include some of my Italian exploits

3. Have all my photos up for seeing, all 1150 of them

4. Include a lot of thoughts I've had to time to sort out whilst I've been away

5. And will be very very long I suspect.

So until tomorrow probably, or later tonight...

Arriverderci!

--Iain

Italiano

2004-08-10T18:27:00.000+01:00

8 hours from now where will I be? Leaving for the airport.
12 hours from now where will I be? On a plane.
14 hours from now where will I be? Rome.
Jealous?

I'm gonna be gone for 2 weeks, and when I do get back, sheesh, I'm gonna be busy. Gotta sort my place at the university out, sort a job out, sort a place to live out, but forget about all that. This is a holiday and I intend to relax to the best of my powers.

Oh yeah, and about all the movie reviews, well, I watch a lot of movies and sometimes I like to tell people about them, so expect some more. You may even expect some book reviews as well as my real site is kinda going down hill. I just don't have the will any more to keep it updated whereas this all I do is type what I want and click publish and it does it all for me. You may call me lazy, you may call me efficient, I call me the former, but who cares?

I shall have a lot of pictures to share once I get back, no holding back this time like I did in London, if I see anything that I look at twice, snap! it's a photo.

So yeah, I should be back in 2 weeks time and I'll probably be acting a little different due to being fried alive everyday for 14 whole days. But in them 14 days I hope to get to see:

The Sistine Chapel

Vatican City

The Pope

The Pope Mobile

The Trevi Fountain

...and that's just in Rome. With any luck I may get to Florence, and in that case all I want to see is any and all Da Vinci musuems, and that church that has a painting that was supposedly the first painting to ever take into account mathematics in using perspectives.

So there's the plan of action. How much of it will get acted remains to be seen but I hope all of it. And possibly some more.

So, until August 25th...

Ciao!

--Iain

Butterflies

2004-08-06T14:09:00.000+01:00

So I get up this morning, go outside into the day after the storm the night before and it's a beautiful day. As well as that there are all these butteflies around the place, so, of course, I grab my camera and go photo taking. I took quite a lot and most of them didn't come out right. It's difficult to take a photo of a butterfly, not the least because they are so small and hard to spot in amongst all the flowers. Anyway, all the pics I took can be found here.

Then, after uploading them to my PC, I opened Photoshop up and began to mess around. I know precisely the effect I am going for, but I haven't got the right picture yet to achieve it. The following 2 photos are just me messing around to make sure that it will work when I find, or create, the right background.

The Background I want is of a desolate, post-apocalyptic world, with this butterfly kind of overlooking it. I think it could look pretty good if I could get it just right, and if I ever remember to do it.

--Iain

Nature

2004-08-05T19:59:00.000+01:00

Wow, this blog seems to be getting out of control. One post I'll be spilling all my thoughts, the next I'll be showing off all the stuff I've done recently and then after that I come along with a boring post about the origins of famous sayings. i don't know what to say, sometimes I just get bored and fell the need to post something, so I post whatever is on my mind at that moment. Okay, so time for me to try and get a decent post going.

So, storms. Great aren't they? We've just had a fairly big one. I love it. I must've sat for 40 minutes just staring out of the window. Saw some forked lightning a few times, amazing stuff, just wasn't quick enough on my camera to get a photo of it. But just trust me, it was amazing.

It's strange how much I like nature when you consider that the career I'll probably end up in is as anti-nature as you get. I mean, computers are 100% man made, nothing natural about them. They are even used to try and recreate nature, something which they will never be able to do.

I always hated biology. Loathed it and probably still do. I'm not interested in the facts behind things, I just enjoy them as they are. Things like storms. Even tidal waves. I read an article a few weeks back about these freak tidal waves that occur in the middle of the Atlantic that are more than 80 feet high. It's just incomprehensible, like the size of a Blue Whale. Does anyone actually know how big a Blue Whale is? Sure people know it's big, but do they know how big? 100 feet long! 100 tons! Let me put that into contrast; it's longer than 5 giraffes on top of each other is high, and weighs more than 30 hippos.

A lot of things in the world amaze me actually, now that I think about it. Even little things. And simple things. I'm not gonna go into any of them, but next time you are flicking past some boring documentary, stop on it and watch for five minutes and you're bound to be amazed by at least one thing that is said.

I have no idea where all these thoughts came from. All I said was how much I love watching storms and next thing I know I'm talking about Blue Whales and documentaries. How sad am I? No, please don't answer that, I already know.

Okay, I made a deal with myself that I wouldn't do any more really long posts, that I'd try and keep them short. So I'm gonna stop typing right about......now.

--Iain

Famous Sayings

2004-08-03T21:22:00.000+01:00

So I've spent the last couple of hours discovering the origin of famous sayings in the English lanngauge. Some of them are probably a load of crap, but they are interesting none the less.

Saved by the Bell / Dead Ringer
In the olden days they started running out of places to bury
people, since England was such a small place. So, they would dig up coffins and would take their bones to a house and reuse the grave. When reopening these coffins, 1 out of 25 coffins were found to have scratch marks on the inside and they realized
they had been burying people alive. So they thought they would tie a string on their wrist and lead it through the coffin and up through the ground and tie it to a bell. Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all night (the "graveyard shift") to listen for the bell, thus, someone could be "saved by the bell," or was considered a "dead ringer."

Beggars Can't be Choosers
Started in 13th century England, this saying comes from a free government pamphlet that was handed out when the Black Plague came about. Before that time it was fashionable, for those in the upper class, to sharpen one's teeth on the elbow of a passing vagrant at the cost of two ha' pennies. However the Black Plague came about and caught many an aristocrat unawares.
In 1351 England's hierarchy, alarmed by the death of the only ones they deemed worthy of life, had a pamphlet printed entitled simply: 'Beggars Can't Be Chewed' warning the upper class citizens to steer clear of this oft used practice. Thus began England's descent into their current dental hygiene standards which spawned the speech impediment necessary to turn the phrase into it's modern day counterpart.

An Apple a Day Keeps the Doctor Away
Note that the saying does not say 'keeps doctors away' but references a specific doctor. That doctor? Doctor Viedrick Von Riktold. In 1762 Dr. Riktold would wander the streets of England and remove entire organs from children he managed to trip with his cane. He would also work tirelessly to find missing pets, only to tie them to a stake and entice the pet's owners into a cage. Dr. Riktold would then remove organs from both the pet and owners. He was never arrested since he worked for free on actual patients when he wasn't harvesting the organs of the innocent. Hell, how many people would give up free health care?
After a full three years of this people discovered the 'good' doctors severe allergy to apples and took to carrying them in their pockets to ward him off during a chance meeting in the streets.

Cross My Heart and Hope to Die / Titty Twister
How in the world can you 'cross your heart', and why would you 'hope to die'? This expression dates back to the dawn of the Aztec civilization, when the Aztecs weren't pouring molten gold down their enemy's throats they were enjoying many games the we still play today. Many don't know that 'hop scotch' wasn't a child's game but a deadly right of passage. One day, as the legend goes, the mighty king of the Aztecs, John Aztec, was watching over his kingdom and grew angry at the lies that were spreading since the opening of 'Ye Olde Aztec Barne', a place that sold cheap Aztec pottery disguised as priceless Aztec antiques.
So the king called the owners of 'Ye Olde Aztec Barne' into his court and demanded that they tell their customers the truth about their wares. The owners refused citing that there wouldn't be any 'truth in advertising' laws for a few dozen centuries.
But the king was a wise man so he came up with a compromise: the owners must wear a special chest plate that crossed their heart, whenever a buyer questioned whether a piece of pottery was authentic or not they could twist the piece that crossed over the owner's heart. This caused the owner so much pain that he hoped to die.
Thus is also the origin of 'titty twister'; the name of one of the owners was 'Tim Titty'. So when someone says this to you, you are fully authorized to twist his or her titty.

Smart Alec
According to etymologist David Wilton the most likely origin was suggested by Gerald Cohen in a 1985 article which appeared in the publication Studies In Slang. Cohen suggests the origin dates back to 1840's New York City fraudster Aleck Hoag, who, with his wife posing as a prostitute, would rob the customers. Hoag bribed the police to escape prosecution, but ultimately paid the price for being too clever when he tried to cut the police out of the deal, leading to the pair's arrest. In describing Hoag at the time, the police were supposedly the first to use the 'smart alec' expression.

The Wrong Side of the Bed
1870 Brewer says the origin is from ancient superstition which held it to be unlucky to touch the floor first with the left foot when getting out of bed. Earlier versions of the expression with the same meaning were: 'You got out of bed the wrong way', and 'You got out of bed with the left leg foremost' (which perhaps explains why today's version, which trips off the tongue rather more easily, developed).

Chip Off the Old Block
Was until recently 'of' rather than 'off', and dates back to 270 BC when Greek poet Theocrites used the expression 'a chip of the old flint' in the poem 'Idylls'.

Close But No Cigar
From early USA slot machines which used to give a cigar as a prize.

Make Ends Meet
The metaphor was originally wearing a shorter (tighter) belt.

Gibberish
First came into European language in various forms hundreds of years ago; derives from 'Geber' the Arabian; he was an 11th century alchemist who wrote his theories on making gold and other substances in mystical jargon, because at that time in his country writing openly on alchemy was punishable by death.

Kick the Bucket
In early English a bucket was a beam or pully, by which slaughtered pigs or oxen were hung by their feet. (The sense of something rising up and 'kicking' or hitting a beam is found also in 'kick the beam', an old expression meaning to be of very light weight, the beam being the cross-member of weighing scales; a light pan on one side would fly up and 'kick' the beam.)

I think that's enough for now. Some pretty interesting ones there. I'll be sure to put some more up if I find them. Until then, ciao.

--Iain

Photoshop

2004-08-02T14:12:00.000+01:00

I've taught myself the basics of Flash, so I thought after that I would go back to Photoshop and see what fancy effects I could cook up in it. The idea is when I am moderately capable in both pieces of software, I can combine them to do something that may be better than average, perhaps even something good.

So here are a few Photoshop pictures I have done in the last day. Some look pretty amazing when you first see them, but when you see how it's done they become less impressive. You can click on any of them to make them bigger, which you may have to do to see the detail.







Wow, I never realised there were so many. I guess that is why I was up until 3:30am last night.

That's all for now. I'll do a better post about me soon as I'm going to Italy in just over week, so I'll have to leave something decent to be read while I'm gone so nobody misses me too much.

--Iain

Elterwater

2004-07-31T21:37:00.000+01:00

So I was awake at 7:30am this morning, left the house at 7:45am. Now this is incredibly early for me, and considering I didn't go to bed until 2am the night
before I was a bit tired. But I was up and ready to leave nonetheless.

Up to the Lake District I went, and for any none Brits the Lake District is a region in the very north west of England that is extremely pretty and is full of mountains and lakes. A quaint little lake called Elter Water. Walk around the whole thing, with a slight detour that involved me getting completely and utterly lost, but I'm here now so it turned out alright. Overall I walked about 7/8 miles and took a lot of photos. There are some good ones and some not so good ones.

There was one particular spot with a small waterfall, that was impressive and I have a lot of photos of that. There's no actual path down to the bottom of the fall so it basically involves climbing through all this craggy rock and nearly breaking your neck. Worth it though. And as well as the waterfall there were several magnificent views, which was good considering I didn't go up any hills.

Here is a link to all the photos I took, hope you like them. Elterwater

That's it for now. No more new flash yet and not much to report on anything else, so this'll have to do ya for now.

--Iain

Flash

2004-07-28T11:45:00.000+01:00

My very first Flash! Okay, for all you filthy minded people out there, and I know there are a lot of you, I can see you, hiding at the back there, when I say Flash, I do not been in a naked, long rain-coat kind of way. I mean as in animation.

I was dabbling around in Flash to try and make this blog look better and learnt how to do some cool stuff. I haven't implemented any of said cool stuff into this animation, because I am taking it one step at a time, starting out simple. This isn't good, and I can't quite get the stem to disappear when it needs to, and the grass is messed up, but apart from that it works, and it's finished, so I am happy. I've made two version, the only difference being that the latter version has a nice little tune behind it. That's all.

Sunflower

Sunflower (with Music)

...

After doing the sunflower I decided to try and make a cool banner title for the blog. I haven't really tried for anything hyper cool yet, but here are 3 basic ones I have done so far. Boy, this Flash stuff is addictive.

Full screen

Full screen

Full screen

...

Full screen

Full screen

I think that's enough flash for one day. Perhaps more tomorrow, but definitely more in the future.

...

Oh well, one more can't hurt.

Full screen

--Iain

Just a quick note...

2004-07-27T19:51:00.000+01:00

...to say that I am in the process of changing the layout and look of my blog. As you may already have noticed, or should have already noticed, I have jumped to a new template. I'll be fiddling around with this for the next few days (and nights) adding my own, home-made images and such. I shall let you know when it is finally finished as much as I like it, but just an advanced warning, if you see something that doesn't look right, or perhaps you think that some of the colours aren't easy on the eye, please let me know. It's for your benefit, I don't read this blog.

--Iain

The Stresses of Being Me (not many)

2004-07-27T13:47:00.000+01:00

Have you ever noticed how the more you feel like doing something, the less things there seem to be to do? I mean I'm sitting here, it's the middle of the day and I want to do something, anything, and yet I can't find, or even think, of one single thing to do. So I thought I'd try and come up with a new blog post. Nice and easy way to waste some time.

I got a letter this morning from the company that is handling my university application. It was basically a letter of information about what to do in certain situations. It's such a horrible time as so much of what I decide now will effect my life forever. And I won't even be here when my exam results come through, so I have even less time to sort myself out. I have to get in touch with the university, make sure my place is confirmed, get in touch with the loan people to tell them that everything is going as planned, if it is going as planned that is. At least after that I get nearly a month to recover before actually starting the course.

It's very silly the way university applications work. You have to choose the course you want a whole year before you start it, whilst you are still in college completing the exams which the grades of will determine what courses you can do. So, in other words, you have to predict how you are going to do, apply to a course based on that, and then pray to God that you make them grades. All in all, rather stressful. Luckily it's almost over for me now. Then university starts with a load more stress.

As if that wasn't enough for me, my Mum is thinking of selling our house. I've lived in this house for about 12/13 years and all of a sudden she wants to sell up and go move in with my Nan. Now, my Nan is going mad, and I can't spend more than 5 minutes in a room with her without needing to scream, so there is no way I could live with her. So if my Mum does sell the house I'll have to find a flat somewhere.

Problem one, I have no money for a flat. I don't have a job. I did plan to get one this summer but then I get told I'm going on a holiday to Italy for 2 weeks in the middle of August, so bang goes any chance of getting a job for the summer. Not that I'm complaining. I want to go to Italy. But it is messing things up a lot.

So when I get back from Italy, as well as having all this university cafuffle to sort out, I'll have to get a job and save up some money so that when my Mum does sell up I'll be able to afford rent on a crappy little flat. The only plus side of all this is that when I start university I get a student loan, so I won't be completely moneyless.

So basically, all of that is running around inside my head pretty much all of the time now. I know there is not much I can do about it, but I can't help but worry that something is going to go wrong, or I'm going to do something wrong. Normally I wouldn't give a monkey's, but considering how much this is going to mess with my life...it's actually quite scary. But then, everyone has to go through this, and everyone else manages, so I guess I will too.

There is actually more stuff that is going through my mind, but I'll save that stuff for another time, if ever. I don't you'll want to know it though as I'm pretty sure that this stuff is just me being stupid.

Anyway, that's enough boring stuff about me. Time for something interesting. I found this incredibly catchy flash loop a few days ago. It is very silly, but I find it difficult to stop watching it. Judge for yourselves.
Magical Trevor

And to finish off I think I shall have a quote by one of the funniest men to ever have lived, one of my favourite comedians, and definitely my favourite magician:

"So he said 'I'm going to chop off the bottom of one of your trouser legs and put it in a library.' I thought 'That's a turn-up for the books.'"
Tommy Cooper (1922 - 1984)

Have a look around this website for a glimpse of comic genius.

--Iain

Quick Edit: The book I quoted in the last post was Mostly Harmless by Douglas Adams, book 5 in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy trilogy. Very funny book.

Rushing

2004-07-25T16:20:00.000+01:00

I've been feeling ill for the past couple of days. Nothing serious. I'm not in pain or incapable of doing things, I just don't feel well. I still feel a bit rough, but I'm bored so I thought I'd add something new here.

One good thing about not feeling well is the amount of movies you end up watching. In the last 2 days I've watched: Ghostbusters(fantastic); Big(great); Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?(freaky); To Have and Have Not(very good); Hercules, Samson and Ulysses(utter crap) and The Postman Always Rings Twice(good). And I still have several more movies rented and taped to watch.

Since I haven't been feeling well I haven't cooked anything in a while, so I can't enlighten you with any more splendiforous recipes yet. It's difficult to cook when you have no appetite.

I did have a look around the library for any biographies on Pascal but couldn't find any. I still found like 7 other books I wanted to read though so I'm all set reading wise for a while.

Oh, I decided to Google my online identity and I was shocked to see that there are over 600 pages featuring me in some way. So if you are interested, do it and you can see the slimey trail I have left throughout the internet. And if you find anything...prurient(I love thesauruses) then that was obvious someone else using my name to frame me. Ignore it.

One thing that has been on my mind of late is the impatience of people in general. It bugs me. I had to go out to see my Nan as we got a message from her telling us to come down, so my Mum and I went down to see her. Now that was fine, but since we were out we had to go and do every other chore my Mum had to do. This annoys me because it's like trying to get everything done in the one day, whereas I like to space things out. If I have several things to do, I do them over several days. It's probably just me though, I've never seen the rush to get things done and I like going out, so why not space everything out and take it all easy?

Another example of impatience is my brother. We still have a lot of spare computer parts lying around our house, and we decided that as soon as we can get a monitor and a hard disk drive that we would build my Mother a computer. So my brother comes in today and tells me to get all the stuff out. I ask what's the point as we haven't got a hard drive or a monitor. But he still insists that I get it all out just so it's "out" for when we do have the stuff. Again, what's the rush?

There are numerous other accounts of human impatience I can think of from college but these two have happened recently and are fresh on the mind. Sometimes I think the world is going to fast, and yet people want it to go even faster. Everyone should just relax and slow down instead of rushing everything which I am sure is what leads to high stress. I know it's different if you have deadlines to meet and such, but it's better to do something slowly and get it done feeling good, than to rush it and be stressed out when it's finished.

"Everybody today seems to be in such a terrible rush; anxious for greater developments and greater wishes and so on; so that children have very little time for their parents; Parents have very little time for each other; and the home begins the disruption of the peace of the world"
Mother Teresa (1910 - 1997)

There is this one song that I have been listening to for weeks now. I've known it for months, but everytime I switch on my radio it seems to come on, and I end up listening to it more and more and liking it more and more. It's called "Chicks Dig It" by Chris Cagle, and it is a proper country song. I heard it what must have been about 3 months ago and I enjoyed it but didn't give it a second thought, but now I love it. I never realised what it was about first time 'round. Basically it's about not being afraid to do something stupid and embarrassing yourself because in the end your embarrassment will fade away, and all you'll be left with is the memories of such things. Oh, and of course, the chicks will dig it. So check it out if you have the facilities to get it. If not, see me and I'll see you get a listen to it.

Well, that's all for now, I'm going to get back to reading my book. Here's a quick exert so you know the type of book I'm reading.

"The major difference between a thing that might go wrong and a thing that cannot possibly go wrong is that when a thing that cannot possibly go wrong goes wrong it usually turns out to be impossible to get at or repair."

50 points to anyone who can tell me what book it's from.

--Iain

Pascal

2004-07-23T21:05:00.000+01:00

Since sex is apparently the first thing on my, and everyone else's mind, I shan't be expanding on that thought as, for one, I don't want this blog to go x-rated, and I'm sure you all already know everything there is to know about sex.

So I'm going to have to dig a little deeper into my mind to find something to write about, not too deep though. There are dangers down there that no man dare face alone, especially within the confines of his own mind.

Okay, I've found something, and I didn't have to dig too deep to find it.

For any computer lovers out there you may have heard of a programming language called Pascal, and for any mathematicians you are probably familiar with Pascal's Triangle, which is used for binomial expansions if my memory serves me correctly. Well, I was looking at some quotes before when I came across one by the man himself:

"I have discovered that all human evil comes from this, man's being unable to sit still in a room."
~Blaise Pascal (1623 - 1662)

And after I read it I thought, yes, that's pretty much what I think, and have always thought. So I went on to find some more quotes by this guy. Here are some that I found:

"I have discovered that all human evil comes from this, man's being unable to sit still in a room."

"Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from a religious conviction."

"Since we cannot know all that there is to be known about anything, we ought to know a little about everything."

"Kind words produce their own image in men's souls; and a beautiful image it is. They soothe and quiet and comfort the hearer. They shame him out of his sour, morose, unkind feelings. We have not yet begun to use kind words in such abundance as they ought to be used."

"We must learn our limits. We are all something, but none of us are everything."

"We conceal it from ourselves in vain - we must always love something. In those matters seemingly removed from love, the feeling is secretly to be found, and man cannot possibly live for a moment without it."

"Can anything be stupider than that a man has the right to kill me because he lives on the other side of a river and his ruler has a quarrel with mine, though I have not quarreled with him?"

"If you want people to think well of you, do not speak well of yourself."

"All the miseries of mankind come from one thing, not knowing how to remain alone."

So, after reading all of those, and more, I came to the conclusion that I like this Pascal guy. I agree with almost all of his quotes and his outlook of certain things. And if you did want to know what some of by thoughts are, well, look at the quotes, a lot of them are how I think.

I am on the look out for a biography of him. I haven't found one yet, but he was a very famous mathematician, physicist and philosopher so somebody must have written a book about his life, and I intend to find it. I really admire this man, despite what little I know about him.

I suppose I better even out all this boring talk with something fun, so here is a great little Spider-Man 2 video I found. It's Lego!
Lego Spider-man!!!

So that's it for now. More about Pascal when (if) I find it.

--Iain

What do you want?

2004-07-22T01:08:00.000+01:00

On the back of an interesting conversation with Adrienne I have decided to try and give this blog some structure. And by structure what I really mean is stop all the randomness and get down to some serious blogging.

But I have no idea what I should write about. Thoughts? Issues? Books? Cooking? My life? Other people's lives? Things that bug me? Movies? Music? I just don't know. So I'm going to leave it open to whoever actually reads my blog. There you go, do you get this kind of interactivity from other blogs? Oh, you do? Well then........sshh!

Anyway, so, let me know what you think this blog should be all about and whatever seems the most appealing to me I'll do, and do so on a regular basis. It's all well and truly up to you. Feel free to mix and match things like, for example: "Hi, I'm Bob and I'd like you to tell me about what's on your mind all day, and also throw some music in there hot stuff!" or "Yo, bitch! This is DeadlyCarvingKnife, otherwise known as Mick, and I want to read about philosophy and junk and what you think about the issues of the world, so yeah, do that or I'll smash your face in!"

As Captain Planet says: The power is yours

--Iain

Mindless nonsense, oh, and a nifty chicken recipe

2004-07-20T22:21:00.000+01:00

I don't know about everyone else, but I was fed up of seeing that last post everytime I ended up on this page checking for comments (hint hint) so I thought I'd create a new post just so I don't have to see it all the time. Sure, it was important to get it all said, but I don't want to be reminded of it all the time, so that is the main purpose of this post.

Well, since I need to say something, I may as well explain a recipe for a really nice tomato chicken. For anyone who doesn't care about cooking...tough! I do, so shut up and read on, perhaps you will learn something you can impress your friends with. Heehee, I feel like a proper chef. Especially now that I am going to list what you will need.

-Chicken Breasts
-Tomatoes
-Can of tinned tomatoes
-Onions
-Spring Onions
-Garlic
-Olive Oil
-Spice
-Any other vegetable you would like

First, defrost some chicken breasts. I used four skinless, boneless breasts, but you use whatever you have available. Then, fry some onions in a little olive oil. Chop them small and leave them until they are about three quarters done. Then, put the chicken into a casserole dish, or something similar, and toss the onions in with it. Place in the oven on a low heat for about 30 minutes.

Now, while the chicken is cooking it's time for the tomato bit. Take 2 spring onions and chop them up finely. Then chop up some tomatoes, how many, and how finely is up to you. I used 4 little ones chopped quite thickly. Throw all that into a frying pan, along with whatever else you like vegetable wise, then add some salt and pepper and garlic. Leave that frying away for about 5 minutes, then, open a can of tinned tomatoes and pour that over it all. Stir constantly, adding any other spices you feel is right. Leave to cook on a low flame until the chicken's 30 minutes are up.

Take the chicken out and simply coat it with the tomato sauce from the frying pan. Make sure all of the chicken is covered, then place the dish back in the oven, on a low heat, for at least 40 minutes, I left it in for an hour.

Once done, serve with whatever you feel like: Chips, Potatoes, Salad, whatever you feel like. The result is a scrumptious meal.

There, now was that hard? And it was an informative way to fill up some of a post.

Oh yes, there is something else I could say. I was getting bored just now, so I decided to go flight searching, to see how much a flight to Boston is going to cost me. What I found out really made me happy. The price of a return flight, direct, is three times less than I was expecting. I thought all my student loan would vanish on that flight, but not even half of it will, that means plenty more for accommodation and spending money. If I ever get time to go that is though. University is a full time thing, maybe it'll take me months before I get some free time. Who knows? But at least now I know it won't set me back as much as I was expecting.

And I have a new favourite song of the moment, "Ain't that a Kick in the Head" by Dean Martin.

Well, that's about all for now, and I think I've been successful in pushing the last post down the page somewhat.

--Iain

The last few days

2004-07-18T22:56:00.000+01:00

It's been a pretty rough few days for me, but now I'm going to try and sort out everything that has happened just so that I have a record of it somewhere as I think it's important that I do remember these last few days I have they have helped me a lot.

So, I figure that it all started in motion in London of all places. Listen to this, sounds like the intro to a really bad and cheesy movie. Anyway, first night in London, Renier asks our two dorm-mates out to dinner. Now that was fun, I'll admit it, but perhaps it wasn't such a good idea.

When I get to a computer that night I send an email to Joeli telling her what I've been up to, and from the reply, I could tell immediately that I'd fucked up (to be crude). Me going out with some other girls and saying how great they were was not a smart idea, even though I told Joeli that she was the only one for me, I'd definitely set something off inside her.

Now I understand what that was, but at the time I did being to get worried. So later that weekend I tried to call her. Every hour for four hours but no answer, but I did leave a message on her answer phone. And it was that message that helped me an awful lot. Funny how insignificant things affect your life so much.

For the next few days after I was back from London I got several emails from Joeli, but there was something wrong with them. They seemed rushed, and very...un-Joeli-like. So again, I could sense something was wrong, and I even think I knew what was going to come.

Then, come Thursday. The email came. Worst case scenario upon me. She wanted this to be over. They whole email was leaned towards the idea that it was in no way my fault, and that she just was not ready for anything. Now, first reaction by me was, "whatever makes her happy". At first, when I started the reply I was saying how if this was what she wanted then so be it. She knows best.

But half way through writing that I stopped, and I deleted the whole thing. I've only known Joeli 6 months, but I do feel I know her, and I knew that this wasn't what she really wanted. So I put up a fight. The reply said how I thought she was getting scared, and how I wasn't about to just give up on this so easily, and neither should she.

Now there were a lot of emails over the next few days, and I said a lot that I really didn't mean, and I was very selfish and said a lot of mean things. So for that I apologize. But I wasn't about to let the best thing that has ever happened in my life slip through my fingers so easily. And I knew, I knew, that she didn't want to give this up really. So we persisted with the emails, getting our thoughts out, and then we stopped.

I took a step back and let her think. At least I tried to, but it was hard and I still sent some emails. And when she came online we talked, and it was really strange because we chatted for hours, two nights in a row, and we chatted as if nothing was wrong. As if we were a couple of really old friends and it was fun, it was funny, it was great, it was everything it always had been. The only hard thing about that was, when I left, I didn't tell her I loved her, not for the lack of wanting, but simply because I wanted her to think about everything, and I didn't want to be pushing her.

Cut a long story short...shorter than it would have been, we sorted everything out. I realized that even when I was trying to stay away, trying not to think about her, I couldn't. I was desperate every minute of every day to send her an email, to beg her not to give up on us, but I withheld myself. That also showed me that I could survive without her. But they were a horrible few nights, going to sleep thinking that this might be the end of the best thing that has ever happened to me.

So, now, everything is sorted. Love may not be enough, but it is enough to keep this together for now. And we'll each go on with our lives knowing that we do love someone out there, and that we are loved in return. And eventually everything will come together and it will be the best thing that there ever was.

So, I guess the morale I got from this whole situation was not to give up so easily. To think things through and don't immediately go with your first thoughts, as first thoughts can be changed, actions cannot, well, not as easily. If you feel something is right, and I mean really feel it, then go for it, do not let it get away from you no matter what, and in the end, whatever happens will be for the best. And you will come out of it stronger than you first started. This much I have learned, and I think I am lucky to know this at such a young age, with so much of my life ahead of me.

Well, that was a ramble and a half. I'm actually not sure whether I should post this or not, it is very personal and I don't know if I want others reading it. But then again, I do want others to see that everything does turn out well in the end. Oh what the hell, the only people who read this thing are people I would tell all this to anyway.

Oh, and on a small note, I haven't read this over, so it may be stupid, but I don't fell like changing anything, so if it is stupid, deal with it!

--Iain

London Sunday

2004-07-15T19:11:00.000+01:00

Since Potty is temporarily computerless (halleluijah!) I have been ordered to finish off the London stories. I'm going to be picking up from Sunday morning, so if you want to know about Firday and Saturday, scoot over to Potty's Blog and read.

Okay, everyone up to date? Good, then I shall continue.

Sunday morning we get up not in time for breakfast, which is understandable after crawling in at 3am and not getting to sleep until at least 4am. Putting it that way it becomes pretty impressive that we were up by 10am.

We said goodbye to Alina as she left to go and stay at the Hilton for the night, and then we started another day of sightseeing.

First place on our list was Hyde Park. Of course, being the ignorant fools we are, we are on the tube, which is fuller than a tin of sardines, and it isn't until an annoucement is made by the train driver that I realise that it is Party in the Park that day, which is basically a huge concert featuring lots of famous singers and bands that takes place in the middle of Hyde Park.

So we still go to Hyde Park, walking down Oxford Street to get there, and they we walk right around the concert and through the other parts of the park. As we walked there came a guy rollerskating past us, except he seemed to have a directional problem as he could only skate backwards, looking over his shoulder. All in all the effect was pretty stupid and not cool.

Further down we came to a bunch of skaters, and from a distance we see this guy dancing on roller-blades, and he is awesome. Spinning, turning, everything and yet still keeping his balance. It was only when we got closer that I realised it was a woman, Potty was still none the wiser.

Just past that we had the priviledge of watching 2 dogs fight over a stick. Both swam out into the middle of the lake, and each had one end of the stick in it's mouth and they were swimming back to shore with it together. I was lucky enough to get a picture of this.

Doggies

This helpfulness didn't last as when they both reached the shore a fight broke out as to who got the stick.

After Hyde Park we went to the Natural History Museum. Now I somewhat rushed through it as I felt really weary. The combination of heavy drinking the night before, and at least a 2mile walk trhough Hyde Park didn't do any good for me and I felt awful.

We then proceeded to Buckinham Palace, which is a hell of a lot smaller you think. Still impressive though, I mean, the Queen lives there, what more could you want?

After that we went back to the hostel and went on to NOT take anyone out. Instead we had an online game of Counterstrike, in which I totally dominated Potty, totally.

And that was pretty much it for the Sunday. I may have missed a lot of things out, and I'm sure Potty will let me know if I have, but for now that's all there is. I think I'll leave Moday, my last day, for another post as I am getting a bit bored with all this typing now.

--Iain

London Photos

2004-07-13T16:07:00.000+01:00

Since I am feeling really lazy right now (what else is new?) I'm just going to post the link to where all the pictures are, and you can all surf through them at your leisure.

London Piccies

Each picture has at least a small story behind it, so if you want to know anything, feel free to ask Potty anything.

--Iain

From London town

2004-07-09T23:52:00.000+01:00

Okay, so, I'm in London now, and a lot has happened. But since Potty is sitting next to me typing it up as I type this, I think I shall be a lazy, and somewhat cheeky, little sod, and shall just put a link to his blog where you can read up on all the saucy details. Not that there were any saucy details, but, you know, saucy is such a good adjective to use.

Anyways, London Exploits.

A quick edit to say the last few days have been interesting to say the least. A heck of a lot has happened, and I'll have stories to tell for years to come. What a town London is!

So, if you haven't already, check out Potty's blog (link is above) for all our sordid tales. He is updating it slowly but surely, and I have just wrote the longest email in the history of long emails telling Joeli all about the last few days, and they took me nigh on 50mins, and considering I only have 11mins left online, I don't think I can do that again now. Plus, it's really boring to repeat myself. And, it give Potty so more hits. So go read his blog and enjoy.

Pics coming soon...(or so he says)

--Iain

Back writing

2004-07-08T14:56:00.000+01:00

I've got absolutely nothing to say except I told you so. I just knew this blog was going to die, and here it is, dying, because I have nothing to write about. I guess that's what I get for writing emails every night that are quite long, when it comes round to the blog, I don't feel the need to repeat myself so I end up with nothing to post.

I should have something to post next week, when I get back from London, not least about a visist to a certain bar containing a waitress with "mighty cleavaged breasts". I forsee not much being remembered over the next few days.

I've started writing a story, a sort of fictional biography. It's been a long time since I've wrote anything that wasn't meant as a joke, or an exercise to waste time. I'm not too hopeful of it turning out good, but I think it will end up being long, I get that feeling now that I can keep adding to it, for ever if necessary. It's not very long, but since it's ongoing I shall take a page out of a friend's book, and put the story in it's own blog, that way I can keep adding to it as I go on. I've called it My Life for now as a working title.

That's all for now.

--Iain

"I'll just leave that air of doubt circulating"

2004-07-06T19:34:00.000+01:00

Not much on my mind today, so not a lot going on here also, since this is kind of like my mind. Well, an edited version of my mind, basically, it's just the rubbish stuff that's in my mind that I put in here, usually. Sometimes there will be good stuff, but not often.

I finally got around to doing something, and tomorrow it shall be done and dusted. I wish I could elaborate as to what the something is, but the someone who that something is for will probably be reading this, and it will spoil the surprise. So, sorry everyone, you'll just have to live with the mysterious version.

I cooked dinner today for the first time in a while. Spaghetti ala Carbonara, except I used tagliatelli instead of spaghetti, so I guess that makes it Tagaliatelli ala Carbonara. I've done it before but I expanded my recipe this time to include mushrooms and squirt cream. It turned out pretty nice, a bit too spicy though, I think I used too much pepper.

I'm all set for London now, just need to buy my ticket tomorrow, pack a bag and then I'm set to go. I do realise that that is all anyone has to do to go to London, but, well, you know, this is me, I like to be different and state the obvious.

Potty has sorted me out with a room; an 8 bed dorm. So I am grateful to him for that, and I know he'll be happy because I've mentioned his name and linked to his blog, which should get him a few more of those precious hits. Oh, he has finally sorted it out so that you can comment anonymously on his blog, so you don;t need to have a blog to say something about what he writes. He likes his comments, probably more than I do, so do have a look at his blog and say something, anything, he likes anything. In case any of you with filthy 'gutter' minds have strayed from the point here, I mean he likes anything comment wise, although, well, I can't speak for him personally, so I'll just leave that air of doubt circulating and swiftly change the subject.

My aunt is coming down to visit tomorrow, my mad aunt. I'm going to meet her at the station in the morning (buying my ticket to London at the same time), should be fun. She can get a bit hyper, and, being married to my uncle, I can't really blame her. My uncle lives upon embarrassing people in public. Whether he is yelling in the chemist's, asking her if they need any more condoms, or whether he is making everyone order there bread in French when staying in France and then making us run down the street shouting "I've got it!", yesiree, you'll never blend into the background when my uncle is around.

Well, considering I have nothing on my mind, this is a fairly decent length post. I should be proud of myself, in fact...yes I think I deserve it.

There, I just patted myself on the back.

I think I shall end with some results of some online quizzes I have been taking. And before you say it, yes, I have way too much time on my hands.

What movie do I belong to?

What Greek God am I?

And the big one: Who am I?

I think that's enough for now, and besides, I can't find any more quizzes to take.

--Iain

"a penny spent is a penny you will never see again"

2004-07-04T17:39:00.000+01:00

Now, I'm not claiming to be the best painter, or to even say that painting is easy, but I am slightly frustrated at the fact that I know what a bush looks like, and I know what a tree looks like; they are both green and leafy, so, why, when I paint a bush green does it look like I have sneezed over the picture? Foggit, I'll never me able to paint well, and look at that, I'm even picking up someone's South African colloquiallisms, I need to take a break.

I'm always get fristrated with myself because I want to write something, anything, any kind of story, but I just can't. All I have so far is a blank page. Maybe this is writer's block? But I'm not a writer so how can I get blocked? It's just illogical, maybe I have some other kind of block, but as far as I am aware, on the writer's version means you can't write anything. There is no point me saying, "Hey, I've got Scouser's Block!" because the most likely response I'll get is "Got to the Doctor's then!". Bah, writing, who'd do it? It's just a pain in the...neck.

Oh, and in case that last paragraph hasn't given you a clue, I tend to stray from the point a lot. It's not that I find it hard to keep along the same line of conversation, it's just I think it's quite fuinny when you can turn a conversation about not being able to write into that of a contagious disease. It has taken me minutes to master this skill, and I don't plan on not not doing it any time soon.

Thinking about it, I think this is one of the traits people find annoying in me. This and arguing the toss all the time. I argue so much I sometimes wonder if my name isn't Mr D. Advocate.

Money. Everyone wants more of it, even when the people who want it most are generally the people who have enough of it to be happy. I'm annoying myself as I'm supposed to be saving up money for a trip to Boston, or the surrounding areas, but I am also terrible for spending money. Even now, as well as going to Italy for a fortnight, I'm going down to stay in London for a weekend. I don't think the latter will put me out of pocket too much, but still, a penny spent is a penny you will never see again. I wish I could win the lottery, just think of all the problems that would solve for me, as well as making at least a hundred new ones I'll bet.

Well, they were some nice mini-rants there. Painting, writing and money, I think I've done quite well for one sitting. Oh, and I have decided, since I suck so much at coming up with titles that I will take the best line out of my entire post, and use that as the title from now on. This method is also sure to confuse people to the subject of each post, making sure that they actually read this crap. Oh yes, I do have an evil side as well.

Mwhahahahaha!

--Iain

...like milk in a broken refridgerator, this stinks

2004-07-03T20:09:00.000+01:00

I'm going to try and get into a routine with these, the idea being that if I keep posting at the same time everyday perhaps, even when I get fed up, I'll still post something. Hoep it works.

I was reading Potty's, sorry, Slightly_Potty's blog and it certainly brought back memories. I had some fun times back in the old MSN Books chat room. Weather I was constantly badmouthing the Harry Potter lovers or basically just being a pain, it was fun. Too bad it had to end, but now I think about it, if it had to end, it was better it ended how it did, during a peak, or at least a peak to me. It would've been worse if it'd slowly faded away to nothing.

Thinking about everything I'd say it's been quite an 8 months, a lot has happened, I've made lots of great new friends, especially after the closing of Books, I seemed to get to know people better. I think it'd fair to say I have changed quite a lot, I don't seem to care anymore about what people think, and I'm more than happy to accept anything that is thrown at me. I guess I owe most of that to Joeli who not only gave me a lot of confidence in myself, but also gave me something to believe in, and right now, I think I am the best I have ever been in my life and it seems as though everything is as perfect as could be.

Barf. Let's stop that now before I start quoting poetry, or worse, creating poetry!

Okay, time to make this blog thing worthwhile by posting some interesting stuff.

If I can even think of anything interesting. How about a few cool pictures?

Okay, only one cool picture, it was all I could find (as if I looked that hard!) but I think it's as good as 2 or 3.

That's it for now, if I think of anything else...I'll be thinking of something else, and it'll depend on the time and the place and whether I can be bothered as to whether I mention it here.

--Iain

Popping the cherry.....so to speak

2004-07-03T01:22:00.000+01:00

Okay, so, third time lucky with a blog. Or at least I hope so, I'm actually giving it a week before I get bored and just leave this here to fester and die like a fly stuck in jam on a hot day.

I suppose I better get this over with. My good friend Renier, or Pottie as for some unimaginable reason he now likes to be known, has just started a blog mostly dedicated to his writing, but there's bound to be the odd joke or sexist comment in there eventually, so pop over and have a read. He is a pretty funny guy, he thinks Manchester United are a good football team, what more proof do you need of his hilarity? Anywhere but Here

Another friend of mine is Adrienne. She's had her blog for quite a while now, and it's still going strong. She doesn't do anything special, but she does a lot of things, and it's interesting to read about them all. She's even in a band, what more could you want? Alredhead's Blog

Although I have like 30 stories to my name, mostly unfinished, I don;t write an awful lot. But, I did did write a short story the other day. It was actually an exercise from a writing forum, and I decided to go for the comedic angle...and failed miserably, but if I don't share these crap stories, then I don't make other people look good, and then they break my legs, so here it is. The Fishing Boat (It's only a thousand words, so not very long)

Well, I guess that's all for now.

Au revior (to the nobody who is reading this, crap, I'm becoming delusional, I'm say goodbye to nobody....and in FRENCH!)