Category Archives: Other Writing

Middle of the night, random half-asleep post (sorry)

I can’t sleep again so to entertain myself I checked my emails (that can be entertaining and passes a couple of minutes) and then had a play around with the wordpress app I have on my phone. I’ve been looking at the stats for the blog. I’m shocked; in April this year it’s had more than three times as many views as the previous best month, December 2012. I can only assume it’s because of increased awareness. I should have connected my blog up to social media sooner. I pretty certain it has nothing to do with the quality of writing.

Anyway, thanks to everyone who has taken the time to read my scribbles and/or followed this blog. I shall do my best to keep you all entertained and informed in the future.

Bye

Rose

Record Store Day

Today is/has been Record Store Day, an international event that started in America to promote independent record shops. In these days of large corporations/chain stores, online shops and downloads, record shops are becoming rarer. It seems like a sensible idea to have a promotional day to help these small businesses.

I’m ashamed to admit I’ve never been in to one. I have three fairly good reasons for this.
a) I only developed an interest in music 18 months ago so I completely missed the stage most normal people seem to go through in their teens where they discover music and all that surrounds it, b) I’m painfully shy so even if I knew where there was a decent music shop locally I would be too scared to go in, and
c) I live as far from the centre of culture and civilisation as it’s possible to get, metaphorically speaking, while still being on Earth. I’m exaggerating, it only feels like I live in a wasteland of chavs and ignorance.

I had a look on the Record Store Day website, thinking I’d use today to get over one of my fears (or at least reduce it a bit), maybe see if there was anything I liked, and found the nearest record shops are 30+ miles away (less if I were prepared to go to Hull *shudder*). That’s either a fair bit of petrol or a bus or train fare depending on where I’m going. I may have mentioned this already, but I’m a bit skint at the minute. So not happening. Drat.

Maybe next year.

Completely separate from my main nonsense tonight; I haven’t been able to post the entry I was going to put up about the random bands that follow my Twitter, because I was at a party at my sister’s and she banned me from using her wifi as I was meant to be being sociable. I don’t see why I can’t be sociably antisocial?

I got my manky feet out and scared people with them as revenge and also told my little sister I was planning to get a massive tattoo on my back and dye my hair multicoloured for Download.

As soon as I get to a wifi connection I’ll post the blog entry I wrote yesterday. It’s really frustrating not having the internet at home right now.

Rose

What I spent my afternoon doing…

I have Twitter, you may or may not know this, but I do. Occasionally I get new followers, can’t imagine why, and sometimes they are bands drumming up support. Usually I don’t take much notice, which is very rude of me, I know, but I’m still a bit weird about the whole concept. However I was at a loose end this afternoon and started looking through my list of Twitter followers at the bands on there.

I started looking them up, listening to a few songs and looking at their websites, social network pages, YouTube channels etc. The blog post I have written with my summaries is too long to do on my phone, so I’m going to type it up on the laptop and when I get to a wifi connection tomorrow I’ll post it.

Bye, have a good weekend,

Rose

[Edit: I was banned from using the internet at my sister’s house as it was a party. Apparently that means I have to be sociable *sigh* As a result I can’t get the planned blog post up just yet. Normal service will be resumed just as soon as I can persuade someone to let me use their wifi connection. 20/4/2013]

Question…

I’m currently reading a book I’m reviewing for Book Hub Inc, and it’s sending me batty. I’ve never reviewed books for other people before; I generally read something because it’s taken my interest and then write about it. But I thought I’d give it a go.

I chose a non-fiction book that the title and blurb suggested was scientific in nature. I’m about a third of the way through it, and I want to slap the author. No, really I do. My question is, when I write my review how blunt am I allowed to be? Is, say, a variation on ‘the author is ignorant and talking out of their arse’ too much? My ‘I don’t like misinformation’ sense is screaming, thus the itchy palms.

I might be forced to write two reviews, the polite version for the company I’m reviewing for, and the blunt version for here. They’ll both say the same thing, just with different words.

Right, back to it.

Rose

The frustrations of being broke

I really like my Spotify account. All that music, just waiting to be played. And all completely legally as well. It’s great.

Well, except for the slight problem that when I’m waiting for new albums to drop I have to wait just a bit longer. If I could afford it I’d buy hard copies of most of the albums I would like; but I can’t and Spotify gets me round that problem. I buy very few physical copies of albums, which is usually fine, an arrangement I’m happy with because I don’t have a huge amount of space and some stuff is difficult to get hold of.

But not right now, right now I really want to hear the new Fall Out Boy and Sacred Mother Tongue albums.

And I can’t.

Because Spotify doesn’t have them yet. They’re on iTunes already, and it’s not long past midnight. I shall check again later today, but it’s very frustrating all this waiting.

Rose

[Edit: I’ve just thought of something else that frustrates me about being broke; I have no internet connection, which leaves me relying on friends and family for the use of their wifi, which I hate. 20/04/2013]

Short story competition

http://www.britishfantasysociety.co.uk/news/the-bfs-short-story-competition-is-back-2/

I saw this on Twitter about a minute ago and I’m already cursing the fact that I don’t have internet at home. The website is too big to open on my BlackBerry. I’m actually considering entering the competition, but I want to read more of the details.

Going now, I still haven’t had breakfast and I have more music to listen too and write about.

Rose

In none writing related news…well, actually…

I have a job interview next week.

If I get the job I’ll probably be working twelve hour shifts, which means I’ll have less time for writing, but more money to do the things I like to write about. It’ll work out somehow. I’m not going to stop writing just because I finally get a decent lab job.

That’s it, that’s all I was going to say.

Hang on, no it’s not.

I was reading ‘The shifting price of prey’ by Suzanne McLeod, but I couldn’t get into it, despite enjoying the earlier books in the ‘Spellcrackers.com’ series. It’s going back to the library. I might take it out again in the future.

Books I’m looking forward to reading this year include:

The Science of Discworld IV by Terry Pratchett, Jack Cohen and Ian Stewart
Published 11th April 2013

The Long War by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter
Published 20th June 2013

Albums I am looking forward to hearing this year:

Fall Out Boy
‘Save Rock and Roll’
15th April 2013

Sacred Mother Tongue
‘Out Of The Darkness’
15th April 2013

HIM
‘Tears on Tape’
29th April 2013

30 Seconds to Mars
‘Love, Lust, Faith + Dreams’
21st May 2013

I intend to review them all.
And now I must go, I’ve got a computer booked at the library in ten minutes.

Bye Bye

Rose

Just as soon as I get my laptop to a wifi connection…

Good afternoon,

Having a bit of a lazy day today since my back is bad again. But I have managed to get a bit of writing done. I went out yesterday afternoon to a place that does children’s parties. Not because I’m weird, mostly groups of children irritate me, no, it was my godson’s birthday party. And since the venue is in a tourist town I thought I’d review it, for anyone unfortunate enough to be caught in Cleethorpes on a wet day. I shall probably post my review on Saturday.

Other than that I’ve been for a walk, did some of my computer course work and finished reading ‘The Black Butterfly’ by Mark Gatiss. And eaten six Cadbury’s Creme Eggs – which is not something I recommend anyone doing. I feel quite unwell now 😦

Bye,

Rose