So this week, I actually went out and did something with my life! Shocker right? First off I played tennis with Emma, Ben and Joe which was a laugh as always. Yeah we're not very good and we mostly spend out time talking and trying to find the tennis balls but still it was a good laugh. Then I went round Jake's for a BBQ to celebrate his birthday which was hilarious as always whenever Jake's nearby and then we come to today (and the reason this post is slightly later than usual).
I tried archery! It's a skill I've always wanted to learn and well now I've done it! Thanks to Lucy who's a member of the Mayflower Archery club, she let me know there was a come along and try weekend going on, so I went down there earlier and tried it out. As I arrived I got handed a wrist/arm guard to stop the bowstring shredding my forearm and told to go over to the guy by all the bows and arrows so I did. He looks at me, turns to the box of arrows draws out three of these long arrows and says "These look about right for you, but you'll have to share that guy's bow." I turn to look at this guy and the bow, it's almost as tall as me! I later found out that Recurve bows (such as this one was) are meant to be just shorter than you and the arrows are meant to be slightly longer than your draw length. Anyway as my turn to shoot comes up the guy tells me what to do and how to do it properly and then says I'm on my own. So I step up to the line and nock an arrow, draw the string back to my cheek (kinda heavy for me at 26/28 pounds) and aim down the shaft at the target, the guy says "Good, now let fly!" So I fire and hit the outer blue zone for like 4 points. Then I fire my other 2 arrows scoring successively better with each one and creeping closer to the bull. So after a couple more turns firing 3 arrows apiece I'm beginning to get the hang of it, hitting the inner 8, 9 and 10s. Sadly I had to leave 'cause well a guy's gotta eat right? But I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and hope that in the future I'll be able to take it up as a more active hobby. Maybe there's an archery club at Uni but I'll have to find that out later.
Speaking of Uni, this time next week I should be chillin' with my bros up in Lincoln! To say I can't wait is an understatement. I'm dying to get back on the Ultimate pitch and throw a disc about again, it's been far too long. Although my lectures and stuff don't start for a little while when I get back I'm heading up there to go job hunting. Need to be able to eat and do all those other things students do, and for those I need that money stuff. I'm hoping to avoid bar work where possible but if it's inevitable then I guess I'll have to learn to live with it, money is money after all right?
Although I can't wait to get back to Lincs, I'm gunna be sad to leave Billericay again so soon, it seems like I've hardly caught up with anyone while I've been back, guess I'll just have to make the most of this last week here. I could always head back later but as I've said, I really need to find myself a job while I'm there and the best time to do that would be before all the first years turn up I reckon.
That's all I've got to say for now, I should really start packing some of my gear for uni....
Catch ya later folks
Monday, 27 August 2012
Monday, 20 August 2012
Slow going.
This week I literally have nothing to write about. Seriously, nothing note worthy has happened. I finished reading The Hobbit and have now started reading The Fellowship of the Ring. Thought about starting to write short stories again, key word being "thought", I haven't actually put my mind to it yet. Some crazy ass heat wave going on which I hate, I've always been more of a wintery guy. Other than that there's really nothing going on back here in Billericay, which is it's own kind of hell....
Oh well only a couple more weeks til I'm back in Lincoln, should be awesome. I've missed that place and actually having things to do. Yeah lectures may be boring as sin but at least they gave me something to pretend to be doing. While I've been home I've pretty much spent all my time playing Battlefield 3 with Ali....
Some day I'll get a life, but it won't be today.
Hopefully next week I'll have something to talk about.
Catch ya later folks
Oh well only a couple more weeks til I'm back in Lincoln, should be awesome. I've missed that place and actually having things to do. Yeah lectures may be boring as sin but at least they gave me something to pretend to be doing. While I've been home I've pretty much spent all my time playing Battlefield 3 with Ali....
Some day I'll get a life, but it won't be today.
Hopefully next week I'll have something to talk about.
Catch ya later folks
Monday, 13 August 2012
There and back again...
Yeah, I just started reading "The Hobbit". Of all things I could write about this week, I'm going with possibly one of the greatest fantasy novels ever written. This piece of work inspired most (if not all) of modern day fantasy writing and so far, it's easy to see why. But before we get there lets start at the top. I'm surprised it's taken me this long to read it, considering how famous this particular book is and especially after the Lord of the Rings movies and the unveiling of The Hobbit movie development. Needless to say I'm reading it now to prepare for the upcoming trilogy (We'll get to this later). I haven't read the LotR books yet but they're my next targets after finishing The Hobbit. Okay, let's jam.
So when I first started reading it I noticed a couple things, first and foremost the way it's written. It's put quite strangely, I don't think I've read anything like it before...or I've just gotten used to the Noir style of The Dresden Files (Book 14 out soon, woop) and so it seems kinda unusual. Then I noticed that I was reading it in Sir Ian McKellan's voice....which is both strange and awesome in equal parts. I think I know why I'm reading it like that though, even though the story isn't written from Gandalf's point of view. I think it's because when you watch the LotR movies, Ian McKellan does a little narrator-y part at the beginning and that's kinda stuck somewhere in my head and so now I'm reading it in his voice. Like I said, strange but awesome. Then I noticed something I wasn't quite expecting to see.
Poems. Well....they're meant to be songs but they read more like poems. They're everywhere. Seriously everywhere. I'm not really complaining about them, they're well written and make sense (unlike some) and I think make quite a nice story telling device, but I wouldn't like to see them used more often in books. I think they work well in this book because of the setting, could you imagine a modern day book written with poems in every chapter while our Heroes go off on an adventure around the world? Okay....maybe you could but my point is that they wouldn't really fit. Here they do and like I said they're well written and make sense so overall I'm not complaining.
Like I said earlier, it's not hard to see how this book has inspired so many authors. Even though it's written in quite an odd way (or at least to me...) it's amazing how well Tolkien sets the scene and manages to help you really imagine the events that are going on. I mean the scene where Bilbo is trading riddles with Gollum? Brilliant. I could imagine the scene quite clearly with the two of them on the subterranean lake shore.
All in all The Hobbit is a fantastic piece of story telling and I'm not even halfway through! It's clear how easily it could be adapted into a movie and I'm sure Jackson will do a fantastic job....but I can't help but wonder how he's going to make it into 3 movies? It's only 300 or so pages long...the LotR books are huge and it shows in the 12hrs of movie they went on to become! I'm sure he'll manage to do it and probably turn out another 3 epic movies. I mean there are alot of opportunities to expand on some of the stuff written in the book but even so I find it hard to see a trilogy in it. Although I am expecting them to follow suit and be 3hrs long (possibly 4 with extended cuts) again. I'm sure when they're out then they'll be spectacular!
I don't use the word "epic" often when describing things but the LotR film trilogy were truly epic movies. They are 3 of the few movies I would describe as "epic". Others include Toy Story 1 and 3, Saving Private Ryan, Band of Brothers (Not a movie but....) and a couple others. There are good movies, great movies and the truly epic movies, movies done on such a scale and to such an awesome quality that it's hard to think of any other term that applies.
Well that's pretty much it for now, I'm gunna go back to reading.
Catch ya later folks
PS. Well done Team GB on your most successful Olympic Games to date.
So when I first started reading it I noticed a couple things, first and foremost the way it's written. It's put quite strangely, I don't think I've read anything like it before...or I've just gotten used to the Noir style of The Dresden Files (Book 14 out soon, woop) and so it seems kinda unusual. Then I noticed that I was reading it in Sir Ian McKellan's voice....which is both strange and awesome in equal parts. I think I know why I'm reading it like that though, even though the story isn't written from Gandalf's point of view. I think it's because when you watch the LotR movies, Ian McKellan does a little narrator-y part at the beginning and that's kinda stuck somewhere in my head and so now I'm reading it in his voice. Like I said, strange but awesome. Then I noticed something I wasn't quite expecting to see.
Poems. Well....they're meant to be songs but they read more like poems. They're everywhere. Seriously everywhere. I'm not really complaining about them, they're well written and make sense (unlike some) and I think make quite a nice story telling device, but I wouldn't like to see them used more often in books. I think they work well in this book because of the setting, could you imagine a modern day book written with poems in every chapter while our Heroes go off on an adventure around the world? Okay....maybe you could but my point is that they wouldn't really fit. Here they do and like I said they're well written and make sense so overall I'm not complaining.
Like I said earlier, it's not hard to see how this book has inspired so many authors. Even though it's written in quite an odd way (or at least to me...) it's amazing how well Tolkien sets the scene and manages to help you really imagine the events that are going on. I mean the scene where Bilbo is trading riddles with Gollum? Brilliant. I could imagine the scene quite clearly with the two of them on the subterranean lake shore.
All in all The Hobbit is a fantastic piece of story telling and I'm not even halfway through! It's clear how easily it could be adapted into a movie and I'm sure Jackson will do a fantastic job....but I can't help but wonder how he's going to make it into 3 movies? It's only 300 or so pages long...the LotR books are huge and it shows in the 12hrs of movie they went on to become! I'm sure he'll manage to do it and probably turn out another 3 epic movies. I mean there are alot of opportunities to expand on some of the stuff written in the book but even so I find it hard to see a trilogy in it. Although I am expecting them to follow suit and be 3hrs long (possibly 4 with extended cuts) again. I'm sure when they're out then they'll be spectacular!
I don't use the word "epic" often when describing things but the LotR film trilogy were truly epic movies. They are 3 of the few movies I would describe as "epic". Others include Toy Story 1 and 3, Saving Private Ryan, Band of Brothers (Not a movie but....) and a couple others. There are good movies, great movies and the truly epic movies, movies done on such a scale and to such an awesome quality that it's hard to think of any other term that applies.
Well that's pretty much it for now, I'm gunna go back to reading.
Catch ya later folks
PS. Well done Team GB on your most successful Olympic Games to date.
Monday, 6 August 2012
Gold rush
Don't ya just hate it when Monday kinda sneaks up on you? I woke up this morning thinking it was still Sunday....no idea why. Anyways, last week I said I wasn't really following the Olympics and I'm still kinda not, I couldn't tell you who won what in what event for which countries other than Michael Phelps is pretty much the USA swimming team and destroying everyone at pretty much all the swimming events and that Team GB came from nowhere to end up 3rd on the medal table, seemingly taking all the golds they could in about 4days....Oh and Andy Murray took Olympic Gold yesterday from Roger Federer! Other then that? I got nothing.
Yeah. You read that right. Murray took the freaking Gold from Roger Federer! It was undoubtedly the best I've ever seen Murray play. He was incredible. Admittedly he had a bit of a shakey start but after the first few games he really picked himself up and went on to storm it, at one point he took 10 games in a row, one after another....that's almost unheard of, especially when talking about Murray and yet yesterday we all saw it happen. Federer was playing great, he always does, but he was definitely not at the top of his game. I kept thinking "Maybe he's holding back to let Murray get overconfident?" but as Murray took the first and second sets I began to wonder if Federer was injured or something. Then the third and final set rolled around, Federer seemed to rally himself (no pun intended) and fight back but it was a case of too little too late and Murray went on to secure a straight sets victory, 6-2, 6-1, 6-4. Truly was the best I've ever seen him play, he fully deserved the Gold medal.
In other news, I've decided to start running. After not doing anything for 3months I thought I'd better start doing something if I'm going to survive the first training session when I get back to Lincoln. First time I ran my 2.1mile lap I was aiming for 20mins, since that's standard length of an indoor frisbee match, and got 19:35 which I think was pretty damned good even though when I got back I didn't feel like moving again ever. Second time I got 18:26 and then today I got 16:52. It hurt. It hurt alot. Fastest time I've put down so far, I think I'm just gunna have to try and equal it for a while, since that was a battle. I was and still am knackered. But it's good practice for when I get back right?
Went to a BBQ round Matt's on Friday night. That was hilarious, although the next day everyone was complaining of gnat bites, I counted 11 on just my legs....wearing shorts seemed like such a good idea that morning but then the next day....bad move Spud. Oh well, live and learn right? Still the night was a good laugh. Spent a while air banding in his living room with Connor and Toby 'cause we're just that cool.
Well that's pretty much all I've got to say at the moment,
Catch ya later folks.
Yeah. You read that right. Murray took the freaking Gold from Roger Federer! It was undoubtedly the best I've ever seen Murray play. He was incredible. Admittedly he had a bit of a shakey start but after the first few games he really picked himself up and went on to storm it, at one point he took 10 games in a row, one after another....that's almost unheard of, especially when talking about Murray and yet yesterday we all saw it happen. Federer was playing great, he always does, but he was definitely not at the top of his game. I kept thinking "Maybe he's holding back to let Murray get overconfident?" but as Murray took the first and second sets I began to wonder if Federer was injured or something. Then the third and final set rolled around, Federer seemed to rally himself (no pun intended) and fight back but it was a case of too little too late and Murray went on to secure a straight sets victory, 6-2, 6-1, 6-4. Truly was the best I've ever seen him play, he fully deserved the Gold medal.
In other news, I've decided to start running. After not doing anything for 3months I thought I'd better start doing something if I'm going to survive the first training session when I get back to Lincoln. First time I ran my 2.1mile lap I was aiming for 20mins, since that's standard length of an indoor frisbee match, and got 19:35 which I think was pretty damned good even though when I got back I didn't feel like moving again ever. Second time I got 18:26 and then today I got 16:52. It hurt. It hurt alot. Fastest time I've put down so far, I think I'm just gunna have to try and equal it for a while, since that was a battle. I was and still am knackered. But it's good practice for when I get back right?
Went to a BBQ round Matt's on Friday night. That was hilarious, although the next day everyone was complaining of gnat bites, I counted 11 on just my legs....wearing shorts seemed like such a good idea that morning but then the next day....bad move Spud. Oh well, live and learn right? Still the night was a good laugh. Spent a while air banding in his living room with Connor and Toby 'cause we're just that cool.
Well that's pretty much all I've got to say at the moment,
Catch ya later folks.
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