Things I Did Yesterday 11/09/08

Stick a fork in me. Yesterday I:

- Foolishly took my heavy winter jacket to work, as the weather has been all a bit topsy turvy. Of course, every time I take my jacket its tend toward more topsy than turvy, and I just don't have a jacket suitable for topsy.

- Worked. Library stuff. Blog proofing stuff. Checking off stock stuff. Bagging stuff. Totally stuffed stuff.

- Came home and read some comics. Not a great week, and I never got around to reading most of the really good stuff (aka BPRD, Invincible, Goon & Criminal). I didn't grab the latest Love and Rockets, as they've gone to a book format and therefore it'll take me a while to get around to it. I've got a year until the next one though, so that ain't so bad. I also want to read the collected edition of Jonathan Lethem's Omega the Unknown series and the Edginton/Culbard Dorian Grey adaptation. Of the stuff I did read, I enjoyed Magneto: Testament #1 and the first issue of Marvel's adaptation of The Stand.

- Watched the second episode of FX skit show The Wrong Door, which was, again, pretty good fun. Like any sketch show it can be hit and miss, but it moves so quickly that it doesn't lose your interest. I also caught up on the latest Robot Chicken episodes, which hold to same principle really, though do reward a certain level of geeky knowledge.





- Watched the Wire to regain some sense of worthiness, because comedy is a bit base and classless, innit?

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Things I Did Yesterday 10/09/08

On the ball I am not. Anyway, yesterday I:

- Went to Russell Square again. It’s a shame that such a terrible cafe has residence there. The cafe itself looks very nice since its refurb about 5 years ago, but the food, drink and service are all abysmal. The guys who run it are surly and temperamental, and like all employers of that nature, they pass it on to their staff. And yet I keep coming back, because the park is without a doubt the nicest place to stop before work, and has a good deal of sentimental significance for me. Also, as I’ve no doubt mentioned before, the shitty coffee has become like a comfort thing now; the acrid, milky flavour of familiarity.

- Worked. Mish-mash of stuff, including libraries, How Late and interviewing for staff. Thankfully it looks like the girl we interviewed is going to take the job, which is a godsend as we were about to hit a staffing drought. So she will be picking up a lot of the shop web copy writing, publicising events and generally assisting Nat. She, for future reference, is named Hayley, and for those to whom it means something, she’s the daughter of one Mr Eddie Campbell!

- Went to see Tom, Tobi, Rachel & Jack (aka Four Sad Faces) record their radio show for BBC7. It was great. I’d never been to a radio recording before, so it was enjoyable for the sheer novelty, but it also helps that the guys are actually funny. It took a couple of hours to record two shows, the first of which is going to be broadcast on my birthday! The second show seemed funnier than the first, but I’m not sure if that was just because I was warmed up by then. Anyway, I recommend you check it out. I'll post details closer to the time. Realised I haven't seen Tom in bloody ages! Gone all showbiz on us now, with his cocaine nose and heroin toes...

- Came home via Angel, where I picked Alex up from the pub. Got in, watched an episode of the Simpsons, and damned if I didn’t fall straight to sleep.

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What I Did The Day Before Yesterday 10/09/08

Holy hoopla! The day before yesterday I:

- Had the day off. My days are all over the bloody place at the moment. Monday/Sunday this week.

- Got out early with Alex and went to Angel to do my morning writing. I am enjoying this, especially the feeling come midday that I’ve done my productive bit for the day.

- Went to Sainsbury’s to get some stuff for dinner. Shopping in the day on a Monday is fun!

- Came home and got stuck in to sorting things out. Did a big purge of DVDs, books and papers. Cleared out my overflowing box of spare cables and did the same to my memento box. I do always hold onto a few things of sentimental value, but I like to reassess and clear out every now and then.

- Watched She, from the Hammer Collection box set Matt got me. Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Ursula Andress and Bernard Cribbens. How could it be anything but great? It’s based on the H Rider Haggard novel, and really captures that classic adventure feel. I also started watching The Reptile, but was cut short by Alex arriving home. It was, after all, Soap Night, where a back-to-back marathon of Home & Away, Hollyoaks, Coronation Street, Eastenders and then another Coronation Street is put on for the suds crowd. I made dinner, ate and then went to the bedroom. !boS !em pleH !lliw ym tsniaga ereh dleh gnieb m'I !enoemos esaelP

- Played some Diablo 2. Heh...vulture monsters explode real good.

- Watched some Wire. Still good.

- Skimmed through a book on hauntings in the British Isles by Richard Jones. I have been on a ghost walk taken by Richard Jones, and the flair for melodrama he showed there certainly follows through in his work. Entertaining, though.

- Hit the hay by 11, like all responsible young men should.

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Things I Did Yesterday 08/09/08

The truth is out: I still love comics. Anyway, yesterday I:

- Had my pre-work coffee time in Russell Square, where I had one of my most favourite of experiences: sitting under the awnings of the cafe drinking their shitty coffee, looking out over the park while the rain hammers down only inches away from me. That feeling is something I will always take from London.

- Worked. Did the count for Nat, then sorted out ordering on the Southwark standing order for September. Got annoyed with the sheer level of mess in the mail order shelving unit, so cleared it all out and reorganised it. Turfed out a lot of no-longer relevant small press material, old catalogues and general mess. Not the most high-brow of jobs, but a damn satisfying one.

- Knocked off a little early and met Claudia & Morgan for a coffee, which was very nice. Hadn’t seen them since the wedding, and barely saw them there. So it was good to have a catch-up on their doings (which have been as globe-trotting as ever).

- Headed home to find that Alex had cooked a roast! Mmmm...

- Watched the first part of Charley Boorman’s By Any Means. Like Long Way Round and Long Way Down, only utilising more modes of transport and leaving behind Ewan MacGregor. It was okay, but to be honest, without MacGregor, Boorman just feels a little bit like a spoilt little rich kid. The whole sequence of him tooling about his old home and fooling about with dad (director John Boorman) was cringe inducing. However...I’ll watch the rest as I’m sure once they get on the road proper (which is to say, past Europe) things should get interesting.

- Played an hour’s worth of TF2 and rather enjoyed it. Mainly because I played on my favourite server, which tends to have great custom maps. Also, I did quite well, by my standards, which is always going to make the whole thing more fun.

- Watched the season finale of My Name Is Earl, which I just don’t enjoy that much anymore. It has its moments, but the format feels a little tired.

- Gave Baltimore a rest for the evening and tried out a new fantasy novel, Acacia. Not bad so far, and it has the distinction of being one of the few fantasy novels that doesn’t have a cover I would feel the need to hide on the bus. Quite derivative of the George RR Martin novels though.

- Had a bloody awful night’s sleep.

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What I Did The Day Before Yesterday 08/09/08

Damn you Windows Service Pack 3! My custom theme, destroyed! Anyway, the day before yesterday I:

- Worked. I do hate working a Saturday. There’s something about it that just feels wrong. Not to mention that it’s crazy day. As in the day when all the crazies come to get their comics. Which is fine, when the store is nice and quiet. But on a Saturday afternoon, the store is anything but quiet. Anyway, I did get some stuff done, including an instruction sheet for converting the Diamond order into something ComTrac can use and a letter of complaint to Marvel regarding their current variant incentive program.

- The idea was that Alex and I were going to have a “doing something together” night, but that went out the window. Alex was midway through having a purge of stuff and wanted to carry on (as well as watch the X-Factor). So it was a night on the computer for me.

- Played some TF2, but got bored pretty quick, so I watched The Wire instead.

- That’s about it!

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Hallelujah, Baby!

Jesus Christ...

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Things I Did Yesterday 06/09/08

Summer's done, man! It's done! But yesterday I:

- Had the day off, but got up early to walk down to Angel with Alex. There’s a Starbucks down there that has a great mezzanine floor which isn’t well used first thing in the morning. It’s perfect for writing and reading, and I’m trying to get into the habit of going there so as to get myself out of the house and doing something productive first thing in the day. I get there between 8.30 and 9.00, depending on Alex, and work through until somewhere between 11.00 and 12.00. That means I get stuff done in the morning, when my mind tends to be a bit sharper anyway, and have the rest of the day to do whatever the hell I like. It works pretty well, as I don’t spend the afternoon fretting about doing something worthwhile with my time, thereby procrastinating myself into inaction.

- Went into town and bought books for Josh’s birthday. I do love shopping for books, even if they’re not for me. I love bookshops. I try to always spend a little time in bookshops on my days off. There’s something incredibly relaxing about them. Frustrating too, given the number of books I want to read but probably never will, but on the whole it always feels like a worthwhile use of time. A Good Thing.

- Came home and pottered about. I had intended to do some organising of stuff, which Alex is hip-deep in at the moment, but never quite got around to it. Bloody internet.

- Watched The Fall, the new film by Tarsem Singh. It starts out well, promising to be something a bit special, like The Princess Bride married to the sensibilities of Guillermo del Toro, and there’s no doubt that the man makes a beautiful film. But it’s ultimately a bit flat. Which is a shame, because it is stunning looking, even though there are a couple of scenes that have taken their inspiration from Ron Fricke’s Baraka. Which, by the way, you should absolutely see.



I originally saw Baraka in the Paramount theatre in Wellington back when it was released. That was great, but I was lucky enough to catch a 70mm print of it playing in Madrid about 5 or 6 years ago and it was mind-blowing.

- Started watching Bill Bryson’s Notes From A Small Island tv series, but stopped after about half an hour. It wasn’t anything special and I think I’ll just read the book. Or get the audio-book. Speaking of which, I’ve started on the audio book for The Lost Continent, which I’m enjoying. I do find the narration a bit jarring though. I’m used to Bryson audio books being read by Bryson, and this is not. But distractingly it is very much his narrative voice.

- Realised that I stopped watching World at War about halfway through. Must get back to it.

- Watched a couple of Wire episodes. Gonna be a kick in the pants when I finish them.

Carry on reading...

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Something Good For Your Soul

Couple of things actually. Y'know, YouTube really is a wonderful thing, even if it's now akin to trawling through a really good rubbish tip.





Hell, yes!

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Things I Did Yesterday 05/09/08

Holy moley, my day off is evaporating! Oh well, another tick on the clock. Anyway, there's nothing like looking back to put off the present, so yesterday I:

- Worked. Started early, got the filing done and finished early.

- Came home and faffed about. Read my web pages, chatted to the esteemed Dr Wu and watched Joe Biden. Bit of panto in there. "That's more of the same". Jesus.

-Ate dinner and watched Eastenders. Oh Stacey! What are you doing?

- Played some TF2. I feel the end of my current playing splurge is near. Which is no bad thing.

- Watched an episode of My Name is Earl. We've had the final two episodes sitting around for bloody ages.

- Read some more Baltimore bad news, then hit the sack.

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What I Did The Day Before Yesterday 05/09/08

Do I remember? Yes, yes, the day before yesterday I:

- Worked. Delivery day, so that was pretty much that!

- Came home and read comics. Highlights? Dead of Night: Devil Slayer #1 was a promising start to the mini-series. Fables #75 looked stunning, but felt a bit anti-climactic. Jonah Hex #35 was probably my pick of the week. Beautiful art by JH Williams III and a nice, twisted little story. I also enjoyed Sub-Mariner Depths #1 and (improbably) continued to enjoy Chuck Dixon's alternate history WWII story Storming Heaven. Otherwise it was a bit of a damp squib of a week. Ah well, they can't all be winners.

- Watched Barack Obama's DNC speech. Man, can that guy orate. Check the little powerhouse show around the 34-minute mark. It's quite funny to compare his style to the chummy, good ol' boy style of Bill Clinton. Funnier still to compare it to the charisma-free panto show of the RNC. What the hell was all that "I want to..." blah blah "He wants to..." blah blah "BOOOOO!" nonsense in McCain's speech? Man, American politics is such a fucking circus.

- Went to bed and dreamt of puppies. Being eaten by Kate Bush.

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Things I Did Yesterday 02/09/08

Is it getting chilly, or is it just me? Anyway, Yesterday I:

- Got up early to get into work for 7am, as John Lewis were going to deliver our wedding gifts sometime between 7am-1pm. It was my day off, so I wasn’t thrilled, but I figured I’d get in, get a coffee, read my web pages and then once someone else arrived I’d go off and do some writing.

- Got myself a coffee, read my web pages and once the guys arrived at 9.30, I went off to do some writing. Actually, I didn’t get away until about 10.15, but that’s how it is, getting away from Gosh.

- Sat in Russell Square and wrote in a decidedly meandering fashion. I do enjoy sitting there, shitty coffee and awful service aside. It’s a comfort thing.

- At 12 I headed back to the store to find no gifts. I called John Lewis, but while I was on hold the stuff showed up. Result!

- Got a black cab (outfitted with a very friendly driver) back home with the stuff loaded in the back. Unfortunately I couldn’t open it until Alex got home.

- Watched the original Cape Fear, which is a great little film. I need to watch the Scorsese one again, I think, but Robert Mitchum is brilliant. His mix of charm and menace hasn’t dated in the slightest. Whatta bastard. Whatta guy.

- Started season three of The Wire, which for the first fifteen minutes felt like I had missed an episode. It highlights one of the things I love about the show: it doesn’t talk down in the slightest. It demands you keep up, and if you fall behind then you’re on your own.

- Played some Diablo 2, which was fun, but damned if I could remember what was going on since I last played it. I had a bunch of quests to complete but couldn’t remember where I needed to go and so on. So most of my time was spent reorienting myself.

- Tidied up my PC. I’m a bit of an app junkie. I love trying out new programs that perform functions that sound great on paper, but in practice I just never use. Well, usually, anyway. I have got some great little gems that are a default part of any install I do now. Trouble is, I never uninstall the duds straight away, so every now and then I have to go through and do a bit of housecleaning. Now one day I might sit down and properly reorganise my photos....

- Is anybody else sick of the stuff Apple is pulling at the moment? I upgraded iTunes the other day, and damned if they’re not trying to install Safari as well now! I don’t mind them suggesting it to me, but they’re default checking the option to install it. Bad Apple, bad! Let alone all the little tendrils they’ve got into my system now. They’re getting to be as bad as Real or AOL. Yes, yes Mac users, I know it’s all smooth and wonderful for you and I should just buy a Mac, but putting Apple into a competitive software environment is really showing them for the bastards they are.

- Had takeout from Miso to celebrate our first month of marriage. We’re classy folk, don’t ya know!

- Opened our pressies! Got some great stuff, but god only knows where it’s all going to go. We were already pushed for space. Still, mustn’t grumble!

- Went to bed with our new pillows, which are nothing short of heavenly. Seriously, these things are amazing. Hungarian goose down with a duck feather core. That’s living the life, that is!

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Things I did Yesterday 01/09/08

Hell, I been married a month! Anyway, quick as you like, yesterday I:

- Sat in a cafe writing in the morning, thinking about how nice it is in the winter when you’re inside, warm and dry, looking outside in the cold & wet. Then it started pissing down about 5 minutes before I had to head into work, and it didn’t seem like such a great idea any more.

- Worked. I was owed time from Thursday, so I worked through lunch and knocked off at 2.30, which was nice. The only thing I really did of note was convert this month’s order form into something our system can use.

- Got home and got to work uploading wedding photos.

- Read some comics: Wolverine First Class, which was good fun; Amazing Spider-Man, which was very pretty, but introduced one of the lamest concepts I’ve seen in a while; and something else that left such a strong impression on me that its awesomeness has wiped my brain of its existence. Jesus....what was it...

- Helped Alex start filling in thank you cards for our wedding gifts. Watch out for those!

- Watched Forgetting Sarah Marshal, which was nice enough but not as funny as I was expecting. I would pay to see that puppet Dracula musical.

- Hit the hay so I could get up early today to be at work for the delivery of our gifts from John Lewis! Pressies!

Carry on reading...

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