I am Honest, Witty, and Eccentric.
My Self-Summary
I'm a slight insomniac, I love the quiet of night time so don't be
overly freaked out if you get a message apparently written at 3am
lol. It's one of those random times when I've had a sudden surge of
inspiration and enthusiasm that I just have to take advantage of
before it buggers off and leaves me an exhausted heap once more
:P
Life wise, I'm a music and comedy nut - most of my heroes are
musicians or stand up comedians or variations on that theme. I love
reading fantasy literature, playing and writing fantasy RPG's
(hooray for further profile suicide, but hey as I said at the top
I'm honest lol)
I've been playing World of Warcraft since it's release in the UK
and have been a member of the same guild for almost that entire
time. I love the game, though my enjoyment of it sometimes wavers,
I always come back :) damn that game and the gravity of its many
layers of enjoyment.
I have been in the past a pretty keen blogger (though I haven't
blogged on a regular basis in some time - I am trying to find a
theme I can follow to get back into it as I enjoy writing a lot), I
blogged regularly for a couple of years, it always struck me as
being a nice way of being able to write stuff and see what people
think - thankfully most of my stuff tends to be quite well received
:) if you want to take a look it's here
http://barefoot-wanderer.blogspot.com (yes I use the alias
barefootwanderer everywhere I can) you'll find everything from
stuff about me and my life, to rantings and musings on various
subjects, I also use it to share cool music and other stuff that
I've found, I get great joy from introducing people to music and
stuff they would not normally have found (and tbh nor would I were
it not for the joys of Stumbleupon).
I love to cook and eat, I have always considered eating as a hobby,
and it's one I pursue with great enthusiasm (hence the not quite
slimness of my physique :P something I'm not overly concerned
about, but have recently been encouraged by friends and family to
make efforts to improve my health, which I must say I've found
unexpectedly rewarding). Cooking wise, I'm no gourmet chef but I
can rustle up a few tasty dishes and often do for myself and
friends, I love cooking for my friends and family, gives me a
chance to cook like my Nan (not that I'm as good - but I like
cooking on a larger scale).
I also play the
guitar, I'm self taught and have been
playing for about 12 years now, and it's something that gives me
alot of pleasure - even though I'm nowhere near as good as I'd like
to be - but you've gotta have something to aim for right :)
overall I'm pretty relaxed and easy going, but with a (I think)
pleasantly curmudgeonly streak, with a lifestyle to match, it'd be
nice to meet some more folks with similar interests :) so give me a
shout.
What I’m doing with my life
I work for the web team at a University, a great job which I enjoy
immensely.
Outside of that, I've been working on my own fantasy RPG and the
world related to it for about the last 8 years, I hope to be able
to write novels based on this, as well as the game itself, the
scale of the project is beyond what I had imagined at the outset,
but the whole writing experience has been amazingly rewarding.
Writing is an aspiration.
I’m really good at
Getting people to open up and talk about stuff they wouldn't
normally do (no I don't do it by torture, or blackmail or coercion
of any sort - I'm just a good listener, apparently)
Keeping a positive attitude to life, for some reason I find it easy
to deal with stress, and very rarely flap about things. This comes
in handy, as some of my friends are not so good at it and sometimes
need a little help/reminder.
laughing at myself, and making others laugh - through my own
material or comments or stuff shamelessly stolen from my favourite
comedians and shows :)
The first things people usually notice about me
I look like an ex student who refuses to give up on the scruffy
student look lol. and I like to talk and laugh.
My favorite books, movies, music, and food
I'd go grab a drink - this could go on for a while
Books: anything by the following authors
Terry Pratchett,
Douglas Adams,
Robert
Jordan,
David Gemmell,
James Barclay. My absolute
favourites are
THUD - by Terry Pratchett - easily the best Ankh Morpork City Watch
Discworld book imo. Not the funniest, but the best written (and
that's saying something) the characterisation and plot are just
fantastic, and there's a tension running throughout the book that
keeps you on the edge of your seat constantly.
Ravenheart / Stormrider - by David Gemmel - A wonderful pairing of
books, the conclusion of the four book Rigante series and in my
opinion some of David Gemmels best work.
Legend - by David Gemmel - his first published novel, a fantastic
novel full of examples of true heroism, bits of dark humour, some
wonderfully described battle scenes, and a love story that will
bring tears to your eyes. I read this book about twice a
Year.
Hitch-Hiker's
Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams - wonderful from start to
finish, these books have made me fall out of my chair laughing on
so many occasions I cannot count them. Pure genius.
Demonstorm - James Barclay - the conclusion of the Six book (two
trilogies) Raven series. James Barclay is in my opinion now the
best living writer of heroic fantasy with David Gemmels very
unfortunate passing. Demonstorm is an absolute triumph, for those
who read the whole series there were parts where it feels like your
heart is being ripped out. No other author can make you empathise
and associate with a character so much, everything about the raven
books was pretty special but demonstorm stands out above them
all.
Sabriel/Lirael/Abhorsen -
Garth Nix - brilliant stuff, a great
setting, great characters, and a fantastic story that still has
surprises in the final stages.
Northern Lights / Subtle Knife / Amber Spyglass -
Phillip Pullman - again,
wonderful stuff, i devoured these three books in a little under a
week, I just could not put them down.
Love All The People -
Bill Hicks - this book changed my
life. Bill Hicks was a stand up comedian, an excellent stand up
comedian. What set him apart was that as much as wanting to make
people laugh, he wanted to open people's minds and make them think
in a slightly different way, towards the end his act became quite
philosophical - but still funny. He was possessed of a fearsome
intellect, and solid steel balls when it came to saying what he
beleived to be truth, a truly inspiring comedian. Sadly I only
discovered Bill a couple of years ago - more than ten years after
his untimely death in 1994. I recommend this book for the sheer
experience of seeing his act develop as the years go on. There is
some really shocking material in there, but he was a genius of the
highest order as far as comedy goes.
The Five People You Meet In Heaven - this has to be one of the most
beautiful and inspiring books I've ever read. I won't spoil it for
you - but you really should read it - it's utterly beautiful.
Comedians
Bill
Hicks,
Ed
Byrne,
Eddie
Izzard,
Billy Connolly,
Phill Jupitus,
Bill Bailey,
Ross Noble,
Dave Allen,
Lenny Henry,
Ben Elton,
Dave Gorman,
George
Carlin,
Robin Williams,
Richard Pryor,
Chris Rock,
Frankie Boyle,
Russel
Howard.
Movies (this section will be shorter i promise) Lord of The Rings,
Trainspotting, Brotherhood of the Wolf, Hudson Hawk, Bill and Ted's
Excellent Adventure/Bogus Journey, Donnie Darko, American Beauty,
Serenity, Braveheart, The Matric, Equilibrium, Kill Bill, Lock
Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch.
Music:
Counting
Crows,
Lifehouse,
Del Amitri,
Gin Blossoms,
Smashing Pumpkins,
Metallica,
Queen,
Pink Floyd,
Rolling Stones,
Aerosmith,
Enya,
Moya Brennan,
Seth Lakeman,
Cara Dillon,
Erik
Mongrain,
Jessi Robertson,
ELO,
Nick Warren,
John Digweed,
Faithless,
Eminem,
Goo Goo Dolls,
BB King,
The Wailing Jennys,
Show of
Hands (the folk duo, not the rock band),
Bellowhead Michael Orlando,
Nickel Creek and many
more - but if I don't stop now, I never will - I like a bit of
everything)
Foods Pizza, Steak and Blue cheese sauce, Steak and Ale pie,
Lasagne, Pasta Bakes, Vegetable soup, Tomato and Basil soup, French
onion and Gruyere cheese soup, Celery and Stilton soup. oh and
Bread, all kinds of Bread :)
The six things I could never do without
Guitar, PC & Internet access, Friends & Family, Food,
Music, Laughter
I spend a lot of time thinking about
all kinds of stuff philosophy, religion, science, when the next
Terry Pratchett book will be out. Basically I tend to let my mind
wander - just so I can follow it and see where it takes me.
recently I've also been wondering why cats are just funny - I have
recently been spending a frankly unhealthy amount of time trawling
through http://icanhascheezburger.com/ and laughing my arse
off.
I've also been pondering my increasing tendency towards
curmudgeonliness (either that word exists or the spell checker just
exploded)- nothing I like more than to rant about things that get
on my nerves (lol an ever increasing and absurd list that has
included (and likely still includes) at one time or another -
people who don't walk on escalators, people who listen to music on
those shitty little speakers on their mobile phone, and the
seemingly endless array of adverts for bingo websites that seem to
be all over TV at the moment.
On a typical Friday night I am
more than likely at home, with a friend or two around, watching
dvd's, messing around on the net, playing WoW and having a laugh
(Ha! who says men can't multi-task)
The most private thing I’m willing to admit here
Hell I don't know, ask me something and I'll see lol - i try to be
open, but sometimes you might have to prod a little. But such
enquiries often lead to interesting conversations so it's all good.
You should message me if
you like what you read here or even if you didn't - I love a good
debate :)