My blog broke :(
Okay I'm back. I have some retro-spective entries to stick in but they'll arrive shortly.
Meanwhile, I feel I should create this: my BooksToRead list.
Okay I'm back. I have some retro-spective entries to stick in but they'll arrive shortly.
Meanwhile, I feel I should create this: my BooksToRead list.
FavouriteMovies
I thought I'd pre-compile this list, so I don't get put on the spot next time someone asks me what my FavouriteMovies are.
A long time ago (8th February 2004) I wrote...
...you should all go home and watch "Big Fish" at the cinema. What follows is an essay I just wrote explaining exactly why Big Fish is a good.and perhaps great.movie: DreamingOfBigFish
(one) The happy brain (or the proper stimulation of synapses, receptors, and endorphins)
For anyone who wants to know how I am (a reasonably common question), I'm well. And I mean well! I'm cheerful. The reason I'm cheerful is that I'm playing a lot of sport, and thus earning myself many endorphins. Chemical (and yet natural) happiness.
Philosophers as a rule were a generally unhappy bunch. Those who have made a claim to unhappiness? Plato?, Aristotle?, SorenKierkegaard?, ReneDescartes?, DavidHume?... the list is long. The general consensus is that thinking about things too much makes you unhappy as you understand the generally unhappy plight of the world at large.
Solution? They obviously didn't do enough exercise. So stop thinking so damn hard and go for a run.
Philosophers as a rule were a generally unhappy bunch. Those who have made a claim to unhappiness? Plato?, Aristotle?, SorenKierkegaard?, ReneDescartes?, DavidHume?... the list is long. The general consensus is that thinking about things too much makes you unhappy as you understand the generally unhappy plight of the world at large.
Solution? They obviously didn't do enough exercise. So stop thinking so damn hard and go for a run.
(two) Casting the net, fishing on the web.
Church on the web. It seems for real, and if I was a person who followed the 'net press, I ought to have heard of this earlier. http://shipoffools.com/church/
I was amused by the "rapture" - the minister disappeared in the middle of the service, when his computer crashed :)
On completely unrelated note: why hasn't anyone written a pun about nuclear fishin'?
I was amused by the "rapture" - the minister disappeared in the middle of the service, when his computer crashed :)
On completely unrelated note: why hasn't anyone written a pun about nuclear fishin'?
(Two): The long dark tea-time of the Blog.
It occurs to me that there is something fundamentally arrogant about a Blog. It presupposes that someone out there in the big wide (and wild) web will actually want to read anything I have to say.
That's a pretty big presupposition, and one that has no basis in fact. For individuals, this might be the case, but for the bulk of bloggers, including my own sorry sad-sack self, this is probably wildly untrue, and will lead to a large degree of unhappiness.
That's a pretty big presupposition, and one that has no basis in fact. For individuals, this might be the case, but for the bulk of bloggers, including my own sorry sad-sack self, this is probably wildly untrue, and will lead to a large degree of unhappiness.
(One): A Board Game of Thrones
A Game of Thrones was originally a book by George RR Martin. (http://www.georgerrmartin.com/) It is part of the epic Song of Fire and Ice series, which is regarded by many as one of the best fantasy stories every written. It still lacks a conclusion, and with the promise of at least 2 more books in the series that can be a big claim to make, but it is easily the most realistic, gut-wrenching, well-imagined fantasy series I have ever read. Real things happen, such as bad guys winning, good guys dying, and people win by screwing other people over. Fantastic and gripping.
But remarkably, a board game has been made based on this fantastic book. A good link is this: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/viewitem.php3?gameid=6472
I want someone to play it for me and tell me how good it is. Better yet, buy it for me as a birthday present!
But remarkably, a board game has been made based on this fantastic book. A good link is this: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/viewitem.php3?gameid=6472
I want someone to play it for me and tell me how good it is. Better yet, buy it for me as a birthday present!
The importance of punctuation.
Yay. I've just played with PmWiki and customised it some (so I can use Haoran-formatting rather than PmWiki Formatting: see PmWiki.CustomMarkup) This, for instance, is an em-dash: —, this is bold bold and this is italics: italics. Yay.
Also: I've made two starts on two nifty little stories. The first one is a fairy tale, and the other is called WintersConversation.
Also: I've made two starts on two nifty little stories. The first one is a fairy tale, and the other is called WintersConversation.
