How do you want to escape the current global situation? The biggest video games to come out at the start of 2020 are Doom Eternal and Animal Crossing: New Horizons, so realistically, there’s two ways of distracting yourself: you can either blast demon hellmonsters with big guns or catch fish, do some landscaping and sell … Continue reading Life Lessons from Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Humour
“It’s Research, I Promise”: A Writer’s Google History
This month I’ve been a bit quiet because I’ve been taking part in NaNoWriMo – National Novel Writing Month. Admittedly I’m not going to “win” the month as I’m still well off the 50,000 words target but it’s been really useful for making writing part of my daily routine. I’ve also stopped feeling so paralysed … Continue reading “It’s Research, I Promise”: A Writer’s Google History
Hermione Granger and the Rickly Hallows
It is exactly page 295 of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. The middle of paragraph 5, to be precise. HARRY and HERMIONE are mucking about with her Time-Turner and have just saved the Hippogriff BUCKBEAK from execution. SCENE: Edge of the Forbidden Forest, dusk. HARRY and HERMIONE are leading BUCKBEAK behind bushes. A … Continue reading Hermione Granger and the Rickly Hallows
Carry On, Don’t Lose Your Head
Just because you’ve been decapitated doesn’t mean you have to stop helping your friends. On and off over the past couple of months I’ve been researching into one of my favourite magic cases about a man planning to trap a spirit inside a severed head, and today I realised – bugger – that I’ve been … Continue reading Carry On, Don’t Lose Your Head
Commonplace Cultural Differences 3: USA All the Way
I’ve recently returned from a two-week sojourn in the USA. I'd never been before, though it did feel like I had because everything looked familiar from all the TV and pop culture I’ve ingested over the years. (Honestly, I walked around a mall seeing shops and finally getting jokes I’d never got before. I was … Continue reading Commonplace Cultural Differences 3: USA All the Way
Dick Tales (with apologies to Disney’s ‘Duck Tales’)
It is a truth universally acknowledged that genitalia are funny (and that starting an article in such a way is a massive cliché, I’m sorry). Especially dicks. All through history you can find graffiti of penises, crude jokes and the like. I really don’t know why – perhaps it’s to be edgy, explore taboo ideas … Continue reading Dick Tales (with apologies to Disney’s ‘Duck Tales’)
A Cynical Shop Assistant’s Guide to Christmas Songs
One shop I work in has no Christmas music. This is a blessed relief, but does mean there’s no respite from the frankly odd year-long playlist. The other shop I work at has only two Christmas music CDs. Here are my responses to these tunes, which I’ve had rattling around my head since the start … Continue reading A Cynical Shop Assistant’s Guide to Christmas Songs
On Christmas Shopping Etiquette
So it’s about a week till Christmas – all sorted yet? Me too. This year I’ve had the pleasure of working in two retail xmas temp jobs which have been pretty enjoyable on the whole (not least the staff discounts; between both shops I got all my gifts covered). One is a local geeky shop, … Continue reading On Christmas Shopping Etiquette
On: It was the Undergraduate, in the Library, with the Beanbag
Over the course of my academic career – comprising of school, an undergraduate degree and two dissertations – I have used 14 libraries on an average of 3 per week, been thrown out of 1 and walked the length of the Trans-Siberian railway in going to find a book and forgetting to take the sheet … Continue reading On: It was the Undergraduate, in the Library, with the Beanbag
On Pubs
So, I’ve recently acquired a job in one of my town’s finest drinking establishments. Aside from my sheer amazement that someone thinks I’m a responsible adult who can serve drinks and not scare customers, I’m rather enjoying it so far. The other staff are great crack, I’ve been shown the secret corners of the pub, … Continue reading On Pubs
Scranshums 