No spoilers! Not real ones, anyway… I just saw Alien Covenant. I was a bit concerned that it might be all promise and not deliver the goods (a bit like the rather crappy Prometheus that preceded it). But guess what? … Continue reading Alien Covenant. A movie review.
This review contains spoilers. I never got the chance to see Lion in the cinema. In some ways, I’m glad I didn’t. Not because it’s a bad movie, but because it’s a movie that guarantees I’m going to cry, and … Continue reading Lion. A tear-filled movie review.
This is a uni piece I wrote a few months back. It was actually the first appearance of Alpha Girl, Beta Max and Me. I’ve removed the academic references and included one of my discussion thread responses from that week. … Continue reading Borrower.
No spoilers here! I loved John Wick, the Keanu Reeves actioner from a few years back, about a retired assassin who returns to the business after some local mobsters steal his car and kill his dog. The movie features plenty … Continue reading John Wick: Chapter 2. A Movie Review.
Having just gotten over the excitement of being nominated for the Awesome Blogger Award (read about it here), I was surprised and excited to find I’d been nominated the next day by Sonyo Estavillo from https://lilpickmeup.com/ for another, the Versatile Blogger Award. I’m only able to post this now as I have been doing assignments, seeing movies, posting other (shorter) stuff, researching blogs to nominate and generally screwing up my life (as I usually do each waking moment of my day). Being the humble person that I am (NOT!), I was delighted to receive this nomination and thank Sonyo from … Continue reading Versatile Blogger Award Nomination – Woo hoo! Cheers and thank you 😊
I’ve just found out (well not really just, but almost just) I’ve been nominated for the ‘Awesome Blogger Award’ by outrightallie. Outrightallie’s blog is awesome, and I’d nominate her back, but she already has been, and if I did so again she might get stuck in a reality-distorting and paradoxical blog award feedback loop. Or not. This was quite a surprise, as I didn’t think anyone actually read my blog (yes, I have a few followers, but I just thought those likes were ‘courtesy’ likes – you know, like on Facebook, or as I like to call it Fakebook–when you have friends who … Continue reading Awesome Blogger Award Nomination – What the?!
I received ‘Tales of the Yawning Portal’ the other day, after ordering it from the Book Depository. I’d heard that Wizards of the Coast (WoTC) were updating some of its best known modules to 5e, and was looking forward to … Continue reading The Laid Back DM #4 – ‘Tales of the Yawning Portal’ Leaves me Yearning for Something Better
My novel is back on track! Plus, exciting news about a book I’m reading (yawn!) Continue reading Novel Daze
I guess you can tell by the title of this post that I love this game. I included it in my recent ‘Top 10 Tabletop Role Playing Games’. Continue reading Mindjammer – SF role playing that’ll bring you back for more
I’ve been threatening to do a Fate Core review for some time now (it’s one of my Top 10 Favourite Role Playing Games), but you know how it is, so much to do and so little time… But today’s the day! Continue reading Fate Core System – Story telling table top role playing at its finest
I just finished reading Touch, a book by Elmore Leonard. I’d read Mr Leonard’s Ten Rules of Writing (which I discussed in an earlier post you can find here), but hadn’t had the opportunity to sample his actual writing. Now, … Continue reading Touch, by Elmore Leonard. A book review.
My teenage son, Padawan-Nerd-in-Training, stayed over on the weekend (as he does every weekend, so nothing new there). Padawan is a YouTube fan and has a number of channels he subscribes to. I, being an antiquated, internet hating has-been, try to avoid anything internet related other than this blog. Padawan showed me a few videos that were really interesting, about why crap videos and news stories attract so much internet attention. This video talks about the theory behind clickbait, fake news headlines and human behaviour: For more about clickbait, the YouTube algorithm and why we as an audience click particular types of stories, check this video … Continue reading Clickbait! The what’s and wherefore’s
This is a uni piece I wrote some time ago. It was meant to be a letter to a friend about something I was very serious or concerned about, using real referenced materials. I went with satire and irony. Continue reading Letter to a Facebook Friend
Patrick Ness is a great author. He writes books for young adults – teen fiction, I guess you call it. The big difference between him and many other writers of that genre, is that his books carry a weight, a … Continue reading Patrick Ness is an awesome writer. But don’t take my word for it…
Album: Integrity Blues Band: Jimmy Eat World Label: RCA records (Sony) Length: 11 songs, 47 minutes Summary: Deep and thoughtful, dark-edged alt-rock from the fan favourites Jimmy Eat World is an American alt-rock band hailing from Arizona. Darlings of the alt-rock and … Continue reading Integrity Blues: Jimmy Eat World (album review)
Laidback DM: SteveStillStanding.com 