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John

About Me

Beardy, married, jobbing historian. Non-stalker. Only mildly strange. I'm actually Halle Berry. Spamming is NOT a valid lifestyle choice.

My Interests

I have some! Nah. It's all covered below. Oh yeah, I have been known to play the odd video game.

I'd like to meet:

Probably not anyone who thinks they're IN the bible. Certainly not people who dress up their pets. Other than that. Sure. Buy me a beer. We'll talk.

Music:

The Clash, Kate Bush, Metallica's Load. Maiden's Piece of Mind. Crowded House. The Foos (again), Pink Floyd. AC/DC (BJ). Jimi. Some blues. Robert Cray. And Jools Holland (Hop the Wag). Bit of Cajun/Zydeco now and then. KT Tunstall. Rediscovering Neil Young. Just perfect. UFO. Creedance! The wonderful Blue Oyster Cult. Tom Petty. Currently playing 'Drastic Fantastic' by KT Tunstall and 'Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace' by the Foo Fighters

Movies:

So many films. So little space. Favourite film of last year was Children of Men. Best recent (ish), Hot Fuzz, 300, Inside Man. Rings. Matrix, but ONLY the first one. Please STOP THE REMAKES! I also confess to loving Notting Hill. I know. Just seen Cronenburg's History of Violence. Brilliant. I have a fondness for John Carpenter. No Zombies! I like Paul Greengrass. Eighties sci-fi and schlock. They remade 'The Hitcher'. Bastards. Just seen 'the Bourne Ultimatum'. Superb. Danny Boyle's pretty good. Old school faves. Godfather I&II, Serpico, Manhunter, the Goonies. Many more.

Television:

Crime. CSI. Bit of Sci-Fi. West Wing. Currently hooked on Heroes. Firefly (sigh!). My Name is Earl, Black Books, Two and a Half Men. House is usually worth a look. Green Wing. I really like Dexter. Sandrine Voillet's 'Paris' was stunningly good. As is Sandrine! The Shield is just about the best thing on TV. Check out NASA TV. (Thank you, Di)

Books:

Crime fiction: John Connolly, Robert Crais, Jack Kerley. A little sci-fi. Like Raymond Feist, Terry Brooks, Peter F. Hamilton. Philip Pullman, Mike Carey, Richard Morgan, Stephen King's Cell was his best in years. Harlan Coben doesn't disappoint. I can't believe I forgot to add Dennis Lehane! Check out John Twelve Hawks. Michael Connelly's 'The Overlook' is superb. Alan Campbell's 'Scar Night'. Very weird and surprisingly addictive. The story's the thing. If it's well written, I'm in. Non fiction would include Richard Dawkin's 'God Delusion'. Just wonderful. John Regan's 'The Irish Counterrevolution'. There's a new history of the Spanish Civil War just published. Niall Ferguson's 'War of the World' is pretty provocative stuff. Can we please stop with the biblical/archaelogical puzzle/strain/code nonsense? It's over. Dan Brown spoiled it for everyone.

Heroes:

Charles Darwin, anyone who fought in WWII, Richard Dawkins, Joss Whedon, Anyone who works in a hospice, Stephen Fry, Rich Hall, Condoleeza Rice (no, really), Bill Clinton, Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, David Attenborough, Alan Johnston. Anyone who goes into space (except those uber-rich space tourists). The people of Burma

My Blog

Evil Entropy

I need glasses. Seriously. Age has finally caught up with me and I need them to read and type without throwing up. (No focus+migraine=barfarama). So, of course, I've been whinging constantly. Picked t...
Posted by John on Mon, 05 Nov 2007 01:30:00 PST

Bill Bailey

Was at the Bill Bailey gig in Belfast last night. It was achingly funny. I mean, tears streaming, sore belly laughing. Thing is. I can't really repeat anything that was said and make it sound funny or...
Posted by John on Fri, 02 Nov 2007 04:28:00 PST

Alright. Just Stop it.

Alright. That's just fucking enough! My mail box has recently suffered an influx of messages urging me to check out young laydeez' pages. The messages start with 'Hey. I just saw your picture and tho...
Posted by John on Tue, 30 Oct 2007 03:56:00 PST

Schadenfeude, Books and Sleepless Nights

I've been hearing a certain amount of schadenfeude in some quarters on the California fires. (I love 'schadenfeude'. It's like those Germans have a different word for everything!). Personally, I ...
Posted by John on Sat, 27 Oct 2007 04:42:00 PST

Confessions of a Cat Chaser

I hate cats. I know. On Myspace, judging from some of the pages, such an admission is like standing up at your local Hamas meeting and announcing that, all said and done, the Prophet was probably ...
Posted by John on Wed, 17 Oct 2007 02:52:00 PST

Just Passing the Time

I'm waiting on delivery of a new fridge. I know what you're thinking. Yup. The rock 'n' roll lifestyle of the historian! I had to take the bulb out of the old one because it was heating up the food. I...
Posted by John on Thu, 11 Oct 2007 02:19:00 PST

Felix Castor, BOC and a Flight of Nostalgia

This has been an odd week. Nothing has gone completely to plan and everything has seemed to have a flaw. Example. Started back to work, which was brilliant, but there are quibbles over my hours and st...
Posted by John on Sun, 07 Oct 2007 07:27:00 PST

Shut Up and Dance

I love the fact that in the middle of whatever troubles and strife in peoples' lives we all have this ability to say 'fuckit. Let's party'. I went to a great gig last night in Belfast. Steve Rile...
Posted by John on Sun, 30 Sep 2007 03:43:00 PST

A Book Review, of Sorts.

I had a dreadfully fraught day yesterday. Ever have one of those days when you just look at all the shite going on and think 'Fuckit. Just hand me the beer'?Anyway. To ease my impotent outrage, I fini...
Posted by John on Fri, 28 Sep 2007 04:34:00 PST

Burma and Belfast. Sometimes I Despair.

I'm very angry today. I've been watching and listening to events in Burma with nothing but admiration, and not a little fear, for the protestors in Rangoon and elsewhere. I hope the international...
Posted by John on Wed, 26 Sep 2007 05:10:00 PST