Reading Lists

I don't have a great deal to talk about today, not much has happened to me since the last post other than watching an episode of Lark Rise to Candleford and a new RPG campaign I'm partaking in called Tube-trains and Trolls starting. I don't have much going on today either, other than a screening of the Polish film 'Interrogation' for Comparative Literature in the late afternoon/early evening.

In the absence of things to discuss I figured you might like to know what I'm going to be reading over the few couple of weeks. I presently have 2 piles of books that I'm reading through, 'Uni pile' and 'Pleasure pile'. I'm going to be aiming at reading 100 pages of a book from each pile every day (so a total of 200 pages a day).

Uni pile

• 'Orlando' by Virginia Woolf
  
• 'The Complete Dramatic Works' by Samuel Beckett (I'll be reading 'Waiting for Godot', 'Not I', 'Krapp's Last Tape' and 'Catastrophe' from this collection.)
• 'The Human Stain' by Philip Roth
• 'Great Expectations' by Charles Dickens
• 'Jane Eyre' by Charlotte Bronte

Pleasure pile

• 'Journey to the Centre of the Earth' by Jules Verne
• 'Emma' by Jane Austen
• 'The Jewels of Aptor' by Samuel R Delany
• 'For Your Eyes Only' by Ian Fleming
• 'The Great Starship Race' by Diane Carey

Once these piles are complete (If all goes to plan I should finish both piles at roughly the same time, although I may get through the Pleasure pile a bit faster in which case I'll read 200 pages a day of the Uni pile until it's complete) I shall form another Pleasure pile and the Uni pile will be replaced with books and essays analysing and criticising the books I've read this semester. Fun stuff eh?

I'll leave you all for now to get on with this reading! Until next time.

Vroooom!

Yes, today marks the start of the new Formula 1 season. And as Formula 1 is really the only sport that I follow my Sundays from now until November shall have me enjoying cars go fast around a circuit. The season has started with a Ferarri 1-2 victory after Vettel's Red Bull car ran out of wings 3/4 of the way through the race. Highlights I believe are being shown on BBC1 at some point if you are interested and the next race is 2 weeks today, March 28th at 7am.

My girlfriend fails to see the appeal of Formula 1, she's much more a rugby/football kind of girl. I guess I just enjoy the strategy, the speed, the technology.

Moving on, what else has happened to me in the last few days. Not a great deal, attended a flat party that got shut down by the police at midnight on Friday night, that's more or less it actually.

Anyway, it's Mother's Day here in the UK so go do something mother-related rather than sitting and reading an internet blog! At least I have the excuse that my mother is presently in Cambodia.

Until next time.

Has it really been that long?

Ok I can't quite believe it has been 2 weeks since I last posted a blog entry, my bad. In my defence I have been busy with many things. I've been reading and writing essays for uni. I've started work on a new sci-fi short story but I'm not sure where it's going so it's kind of stalled for a little bit which isn't brilliant, but it'll get written somehow! I still need to get someone to read over the Steampunk short story I wrote before I submit that anywhere to try and sell it. My girlfriend has been laid up in bed ill for the better part of a week and it has also been her birthday so all that's been keeping me busy.
So long story short, sorry for lack of updates it won't happen again.

Now then, onto the present!
Today is a Thursday, and what this means is that tonight is another Steampunk get together, we're having a general crafting/chatting/drinking session this evening which ought to prove fun and with any luck I should come away from it with a nicely painted ray-gun. Which to my shame would be the first truly steampunk piece of costume I'd own, I don't even have a pair of goggles yet, something that will be correctly shortly no doubt!
This week has also seen me sign up once more for Script Frenzy, an online writing challenge whereby the aim is to write 100 pages of script in 30 days, I'm either going to be scripting an episode or two of a Steampunk infused film noir style detective show or I'll be writing a 1950s style sci-fi movie. I've yet to decide but I'll keep you posted on that as it occurs, kick off for writing is April 1st.

That's all for now, expect a new post in a day or two I promise!

Steampunkery, in writing and in action

Well, despite getting hideously drunk on Tuesday night I've still managed to be somewhat productive of late.
Last night saw me going to a very cool TechMeetUp in Glasgow with talks from web designer Neil Scott and Me and the Giants developer Dave Sapien. Beer was drunk, pizza was eaten, iPhone apps designed for toddlers were greatly enjoyed. A good night was had by all.
Today I've been able to get round to finishing a short story I've been working on for about a week and a half now. It's simply entitled 'Ruth' and is a Steampunk science fiction short story set in the American Civil War, it runs to about 4,750 words and I'm going to see if I can sell it, if I do manage to I'll let you know where it's readable. And if I don't manage to sell it I may end up posting it online somewhere, so one way or another you'll get to read it if you're interested.
Tonight is also the weekly Glasgow University E. Steampunk Society (GUESS) and tonight is a showing of Franklyn which ought to prove entertaining followed by the weekly trip to the student union.
I'll leave this post for now but I do have quite a bit in the works that I'm sure I'll discuss at length another time.
Until next time.

Introductions, the pleasure is mine.

Well then, I'm as Englishman who currently finds himself residing in Glasgow, dating a German and sharing a room with an American after having shared with an Irishman and a Scotsman. So yes, my life is hurtling headlong towards a big cosmic punchline any minute now. My normal method of communicating is via Twitter (@Banderbear91) however, after being called a twitter-addict by my girlfriend I've given up Twitter for lent and made the jump from microblogging to full blown blogging.

Other things you should know about me, I'm a wannabe writer (but who isn't these days I suppose), I'm a literature lover and student but also have strong interests in science, maths and computers. I'm an active Steampunk (Google it) and so take great pleasure in being seen in Glasgow in Victorian outfit.

That's all for an introduction.