I've returned to London after living in the North (Sheffield) for six years. While there I learned to eat chips and gravy, talk to people on public transport and occasionally call total strangers "duck".

I also have a public blog here: http://arkadychenko-theblog.blogspot.co.uk/

I'm making the most of being back in London and all the gigs I can go to and events I can get involved in. I've always loved music and I'm even learning to dance (ballroom)! I still pop up to Sheffield to see friends I have there as well.

By day I'm a programmer at Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, based in Oxford Circus where I work with people developing games for the PlayStation Vita, PS3 and PS4.

I studies physics and astrophysics at University and like to keep up with what's going on in space.

...not getting run over around Oxford Circus. In my days when I did a lot of amateur theatre I wrote original music and scripts.

My first name is really unusual, so I often get asked about that. I'm named after a fictional detective, though not a famous one, and share the name with a Bond villain. I would tell you which one but a gentleman's got to have some mystery, right?

Films: Probably the best film ever made is The Princess Bride. It's funny, has some fantastic characterisation and some beautiful swordplay. The book is also fantastic, but in a slightly different way. In general, I also like any film with Ellen Page in (e.g. Whip It or Juno) or with Heath Ledger (e.g. A Knight's Tale, Imaginarium)

Books: This is much easier to do by author, right? Douglas Adams, hands down. It's really easy to own all his books because he's a slow writer, and only managed eight of them. Although The Hitch Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy his best known series, Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency is, without doubt, his best book. People should also read Last Chance To See which is basically a book about endangered animals that's really enjoyable. Instead of just making you feel guilty it makes you feel we're all in this together.

The other biggest writer is Terry Pratchett. With thirty-nine adult books in the Discworld series there's a lot of material. Small Gods is a stand-out for one of the most terrifying villains I've ever read. Vorbis isn't scary because of the monstrous things he'll do, but scary for the monster he could turn you into.

Music albums: I have so many guilty pleasures here. My tastes are quite eclectic and cover many genres, depending on my mood. For rock, it's Iron Maiden who still know how to write a good melody; for pop Robbie Williams because I'm a sucker for a cheesy lyric and an anthemic tune, and for orchestral get me some How To Train Your Dragon or Pirate's Of The Caribbean soundtracks.

TV Series: Firefly was one of the best put together series ever, until it got cancelled. If you've watched it you'll know what I mean. Doctor Who is a staple. The writing is really strong (normally) and the setting allows the writers to tackle anything they like so there's always a nice variety over a season. Oh, and Stephan Moffat writes monsters that will make you scared of everything. It's brilliant.

Computer Games: This could be an essay all by itself. Portal is the best game ever made, I think. The writing is so tight and the gameplay perfectly paced. I've also played all the Assassin's Creed games and most of the DLCs. I love driving games. Race Driver: Grid is a favourite. The other cars race realistically, blocking and trying proper overtaking and there's a good variety of cars to keep everything fresh.

I'm going to assume that I get all the necessities I need to survive. Beyond that:

1. I'd go absolutely crazy without other people to be around.
2. An internet connection and my laptop. I'm like computer games and webcomics. It's also where I store most of my writing.
3. A notepad and pen are essential for writing stuff down. When I'm writing a song or a scene it's much easier this way.
4. My Kindle. Read ALL the books!
5. The guitar I play is the same one I had when I was fourteen. It's seen me through a lot of gigs from when I had a band and I've written most of my music with it.
6. If I go too long without pizza I get cravings. Let the pan base vs. thin crust wars commence!

That song I heard on the radio this morning, but which I can't remember the lyrics, title or artist of. You know the one? It goes: *Tuneless humming*. Recognise it? Oh...

...in a pub with friends, ceilidh dancing or getting an early night ready for a busy weekend.

Although I'm not Russian, my name is. An actual Russian man tried to teach me how to pronounce my name properly once. I couldn't do it. (And still can't.)

You like showing people new things.
You like discovering new things.
You found a typo, grammar or spelling mistake in my profile.
You didn't find any typos, grammar or spelling mistakes but you were looking for them.
You are my long lost sister, who was adopted, so we can unite and overthrow the evil Galactic Empire.