'Allo. I'm Darren, a gentle, intrigued but often confused soul wandering down the lost highway.
Music, movies, TV shows... the usual things that make a child of the '70s' world go round.
I guess I'd call writing a hobby - there's stacks of it in my blog, so feel free to browse.
Work-wise, I've spent the last decade in publishing. I'm currently freelancing as an editor and researcher. I spent four and a half years as a sub-editor for one of the UK's biggest online media companies, and six years writing for kids. I penned more than 40 short stories, a mountain of TV previews and hundreds of corny jokes.
I've written sleevenotes for CDs by The Wildhearts (Moodswings And Roundabouts), Quireboys (Lost In Space) and, er, Various Artists (Bulletproof Poems: The Dogs D'Amour Tribute Album). I've also had a 16,000-word piece on The Wildhearts published in Japanese rock mag Burrn!, and been profiled by computer mag The Mac.
Between 1993 and 1996, I wrote and published a fanzine called Rocks Off, which ran for 10 issues, plus the one-offs Something Weird (a Wildhearts 'zine) and She Didn't Like Rock 'N' Roll.
Other 'zines I've contributed to include Ginger Nuts!, Scuzz, Insane, Rain (a great Beatles 'zine) and Attitude (an Isle of Wight music mag). My most recent work can be seen in Simian Scrolls, a lovingly tended UK publication dedicated to the Planet Of The Apes universe.
I launched and ran Ginger Wildheart's official website, from 1999 to 2002.
I enjoy making movies - shooting holidays, day trips and family get-togethers, and turning them into mini-masterpieces full of cheap laughs and pathos. A well-timed cut and the right music can work wonders.
I'm also a bit of an ape fancier. My favourite day out is a trip to Monkey World in Dorset - a sanctuary for chimps and other apes that have been rescued from lives of misery. I sponsor a 26-year-old chimp called Charlie, who arrived at the park in 1989 suffering with drug addiction and a broken jaw. He's a real character.
I took part in the 2005 and 2006 Great Gorilla Run - an annual fundraising event for The Gorilla Organization (formerly the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund). All runners were sponsored to dress up in gorilla suits and jog 7km around London. To date, I've raised around £3,000 for the charity.
Real-world and internet-type friends. Like-minded folk with similar tastes or interests. Nuthin' fancy.
Artists I rate include Ryan Adams, Badfinger, Dan Baird, The Beatles, Gary Bennett, BR549, Caitlin Cary, Neko Case, Johnny Cash, Ben Folds, Georgia Satellites, Ginger, Jackdaw4, The Jayhawks, Jellyfish, Jonny Kaplan, Last Great Dreamers, Marah, classic Motown, Old Crow Medicine Show, Gram Parsons (and everything he was involved with), Elvis Presley, Quireboys, Raspberries, Jason Ringenberg (and the Scorchers), Lee Rocker, Rolling Stones, Chris Scruggs, Shakin' Stevens, Stray Cats, The Thorns, Wilco, Hank Williams, The Yayhoos...
Oh, that'll do for now.
My favourite genres are horror and sci-fi, two types of film that I fell in love with during childhood. My favourite directors are John Carpenter and David Cronenberg, both of whom I also adored as a kid. I don't think my tastes have changed much in more than 20 years, though my appreciation of movies has.
It's hard for me to pick an all-time favourite film, but if pushed I'll single out Dead Ringers (David Cronenberg, 1988), a movie that says more to me about human relationships than any 'movie about human relationships' ever has. The ending is sad, beautiful and poetic, and makes me cry every time I see it.
I adore George Romero's zombie films, the original Planet Of The Apes saga, any film featuring King Kong, Peter Jackson's Lord Of The Rings movies and the Jurassic Park trilogy.
As far as music flicks go, I'll take Velvet Goldmine, Almost Famous (another contender for my all-time favourite), That'll Be The Day, Stardust and That's The Way It Is, please. Hold the gift wrap - I wanna play with 'em now.
I dig Doctor Who (new and classic series), Firefly, Life On Mars, 24, Medium, Prison Break, Planet Of The Apes, The Incredible Hulk, Crime Traveller, Spaced, The Office, The IT Crowd, My Name Is Earl and Charlie Brooker's Screenwipe.
I can't stand soaps, celebrity-driven waffle, weather reports that go on and on and on and on, and news programmes that, in the absence of any real news, start pontificating.
It's a cliche, but my mum and dad are my heroes. They've given me love and support through every stage of my life. They brought me up right and I'm grateful.
My wife, Tara, is a hero too. Without her inspiring, driving and looking after me, I don't think I'd have achieved half of the things I have.