Random burblings since 1999
I’ve always meant to do something like this but never found the time… ohh ok, the inclination, before. Perhaps that’s because it is somewhat overly narcissistic but, well, that’s never stopped me before..
So here is a (skewed) look at the past year, as seen through the eyes of this blog:
Continue reading “So, that was 2007, was it?”
My new job is taking a lot of my time, and as it’s kick started my dormant professionalism, it’s also sapping my book reading time as well. Coupled with that I do seem to be on a non-fiction bent of late, I’m part way through “Make it Stick” and have just ordered some books with titles that include the words “simplicity”, “Nurnberg funnel” and “minimalism”. I blame Malcolm Gladwell.
Don’t get me wrong, I still have a teetering stack of unread books at home but they are mostly novels and I’m just not in the mood to start them.
So, whilst Louise is just discovering Dan Brown and is disappearing off to bed at 9pm so she can fit in a couple of hours of reading, I’m stuck staring at my stack (I said STACK!) and wondering what to read next. In short (but let’s face it, when have us bloggers ever bothered with ‘short’), has anyone got any book recommendations?
And yes, I know that recommending books and music for people is always tricky, but the archives can help you there. Mind you I’m currently try to suss out what the next “blink” or “tipping point” book is, and from my limited research there doesn’t seem to be another “must read” book doing the blog rounds at the moment, but feel free to prove me wrong.
DOH. What an idiot.
I’m forgetting that THE book of the moment is Shaggy Blog Stories! My copy arrived yesterday, so that’s first in the list, but after that…
There was a fairly massive “UK blog event” last week, which culminated in the publishing of a book called Shaggy Blog Stories (you HAVE ordered your copy, haven’t you?). It was a remarkable undertaking and everyone involved should be, and has been, rightly applauded. Plaudits well earned if you ask me.
Of course, as with anything and everything, there has been a little bit of a backlash which mike has handled with his usual aplomb (I do wish he’d stop making things looks so damn easy). I guess some people always presume the worst in these situations and I think that reflects more on them than they care to realise.
Now, I should point out that I’m not in the book. Nor was I involved in the creation process. Hell, I didn’t even offer a contribution. And I’m not for a minute suggesting that I wasn’t given the opportunity to be involved, and I’m quite sure that had I offered, mike would have found some use of my ‘talents’. This post is most certainly not a “toys out of pram” moan, nor a dig against anyone who was involved.
However the simple fact is that I wasn’t, for a variety of reasons that I’ll mention in a minute, involved with this project at all. On any front.
This irks.
And I’m not sure why.
Continue reading “Conceited”
Don’t just sit there, GO BUY IT (it’s fer charideee, mate..).
Press Release follows
Continue reading “Shaggy Blog Stories”
How tardy of me.
At some point, deep in the midst of my brain-melting week, I received an email from mike. Mike had had a big idea. That, in itself, is nothing new. Mike has big ideas all the time and, largely, puts every other blogger, that has ever existed, now and before, to shame.
I really must learn to punctuate, the previous sentences contains too many commas and that can’t be good for you…
The big idea, in aid of Comic Relief, is detailed on mike’s site:
What I’m proposing is to assemble and publish – in the space of just seven days – a paperback anthology of blog writing, that can be sold to raise funds for the charity.
The book will be called Shaggy Blog Stories: a collection of amusing tales from the UK blogosphere.
Genius.
So, if you is a person wot blogs, and you have writed a funny post, no matter how long ago, then let mike know.
All the details are on his site, and uptake looks good so far, but it could be better!!
Me? I don’t do funny that often, so I’m hoping a suggested practical joke will suffice…
Anyway, don’t just sit there. Head over to Troubled Diva and see what all the fuss is about.