Month: January 2002

Bugger. I really hate a blank page that continuously stays blank. Especially after writing so much drivel the other night. Now I’m staring at those couple paragraphs and wondering what, if anything, I can salvage from them… and how to go about doing it.

Some days I really wish I could just photocopy my head and, instead of getting a rather bad picture of myself being blinded, words and thoughts would appear. Then all I’d have to do would be to organise my notes.

Oh well. No one ever said it would be easy. Once more into the breach I go. Perhaps if I stare at the page long enough it will start accepting the right words out of fear or something.

G’nite.

Don’t you ever wake up some days and wish you were someone else.

Today brought that wish to me. I woke up, realized that first couple of paragraphs of the novel I’d started writing few days ago were utter shite (without even rereading them), and really wished that I was The Neil for awhile. Or at the very least, that I had his creative talent.

*sigh*

Oh well, back to work on the novel, or maybe the website, Hrrrrm, maybe I should shower first.

Bah! Anyways, later.

And in continuing that last thread. Here is a fairly analytical and interesting review of the Movie and what led up to its making

Broken down into three parts here are the links.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

Hi… Umm, my name is Greg and I’m a Lord Of The Rings Junkie.

Its been about umm, sixteen years. It all started on twelfth birthday when I was given an innocuous black boxed set containing the Lord of the Rings in three volumes and The Hobbit.

Being a carefree, intelligent young lad and unaware of the impact these books held within their pages, I innocently flopped down and began to read them one winter’s morn.

I… I… can’t really describe the feeling that came over me as I immersed myself into those pages. I was immediately drawn into these books and they slowly worked their magic on my system. I was transported into the endless vaults of my mind where the fields were ever verdant and lush, the forests dark and sinister and to the east was always Mordor…

These seemingly simple books ensorcelled me with images of kindly (yet vastly incomprehensible) old wizards, ancient and wise elves, carefree hobbits and tragically noble men. From the day I opened the first pages I knew I was hooked. Yet I did not fear, I embraced the books as my precious own and delved into them time and time again. Every few years I’d pick them up and reread the words that had first ensnared me. I would feed my addiction with other works by other authors and they would satiate my desires for the moment but my mind was ever drawn back to the beginning… like… like the ring trying to find its master.

As my addictions grew, and I satiated my thirsts with other works, somehow… somewhere, I managed to put the books down and move on. Or so I thought.

I… I… I thought I had put it all behind me. I had been clean and sober from that musty tome for over five years. B…bb-but then it happenned. Other addicts like myself had been driven mad b..by the books and had finally forged a film that they hoped would praise the work.

I fretted over this. I tried to ignore the hype. I tried not to think of this new lure. I put my mind to other things and desperately sought to free my mind from its clutches but alas, I was snared.

I gave in to the hype and bought a single volume edition of the Tome because my older ones were now falling to bits out of sheer overuse. I dove joyfully back into the pages and l felt the giddy headrush that a man dying of thirst feels when he at last tastes water again.

I was in heaven. The movie came and I watched with ritualistic awe at the masterpiece in front of me. Sure it wasn’t a word for word retelling, but without change there cannot be growth and the changes I saw were not drastic or blasphemous enough to stir my purist soul.

I’ve only seen the film once, but only because I haven’t had the time to see it more than that. If I could…. I am certain I would be able to sit through 4 showings straight without moving.

I’m Greg and I’m a Lord Of The Rings Addict. *cackles madly then puts on a ring and dissapears*

On the rare chance that you’re all blind and stupid, you may not have noticed the funky new layout that I’m in the process of compiling.

As you can see it’s not that far of a departure from previous layouts but it is my first effort to construct a whole page with a theme that is consistent across all the pages as well as in the underlying code as well.

In the past I’ve just cut and pasted code in a hodgepodge fashion from various sources on the net and previous incarnations of this site. This has resulted in some very sloppy coding in some parts that has held together only by the good graces of the html gods. I’m going to try and fix all that with my meager html talents even if I have to sacrifice a stack of 5 ¼” floppies to the 300 baud Modem Gods.

Well, I think that’s about all I can say for now. Time to get back to coding as Winamp is blasting some decent tunes.

*Starts singing along with The Ramones’ “I wanna be sedated”*

In the meantime, I’ll leave you with some more quizzes to amuse yourselves with. Enjoy

Take The Addams Family Test Here!

Take The Scooby-Doo Test!

Take the Which Beatle Are You? Quiz.

Just because it’s Friday, and since I still really haven’t found a practical use for this blog, I shall continue to innundate you all with a plethora of stupid quizzes.

Hrrm… Why am I suddenly reminded of the old Roman phrase about keeping the crowds satiated with bread and circuses…

Which Simpsons Character Are You?

Take the Corporate Mascot Test

I tashte like Alcohol. Heh. Heh. I taste like beer. I like beer. Buy me a beer. I’m not drunk, I can drink plenty without… What was I saying? Beer. What Flavour Are You?

And Finally….My Personal Favourite.

Are you sick of online personality tests?

Once again we delve into the realm of useless quizzes

This time round we find out that I am:

I am 87.5% British, just like
Mr Bean
Shy to the point of ridicule, you’ve probably never been out of the UK.

Take the Brit Quiz @
http://www.darrenlondon.tripod.com/britquiz1.htm

I like rummaging around the web. Sometimes you find some really interesting reads amid all the useless crap that is out there. (And yes, for those that were wondering, I do classify most of my site as a useless egocentricity with only occasional redemptive qualities).

Today’s interesting and thought compelling article is brought from the mind of one of the members of the band Moxy Fruvous. You can read about it here. http://www.jianghomeshi.com/hmp6.html

Okay. So somehow I’ve got mindlessly addicted to these stupid quizzes. *shrug* Oh well.

Here’s the latest couple that I came across. And yes, one of them is yet another Lord of the Rings quiz, thanks for noticing.

Which Evil Criminal are You?

Gandalf the Grey If I were a character in The Lord of the Rings, I would be Gandalf, Wizard, a guardian against the Dark Lord. In the movie, I am played by Ian McKellen. Who would you be? Zovakware Lord of the Rings Test

Okay.

So one of the first things you discover when you first set up a blogger journal is that, well… you aren’t the first kid on the block to have one. Everyone else is already there ahead of you and you instantly become part of a little niche community on the web dedicated to baring your heart, soul or dirty laundry where the world can see it.

Each of these little subcultures has their own little quirks and amusements. Take for example the myriad of mini-polls and quizzes that are created specifically for and by people who use bloggers.

Show all of your friends!: “Which Great Roman Emperor are you?”; “Which Serial Killer are you most like?”; “Which member of the Partridge Family is your long, lost twin?”; Etc., etc., yadda yadda yadda, ad infinitum.

Now this isn’t a bad thing in and of itself. I mean c’mon, some of them are pretty humourous, especially if you pick ones that interest you. I’ve found out that I’m most like:

Lucas from the movie Empire Records


Take the Which Empire Records Character are You? Quiz.

The disease Rabies


Take the Affliction Test Today!

A Gauntlet Adventurer


Which Pre’85 Video Game Character Are You?

As I said, useless, diversionary fun for one and all despite being highly inaccurate at times. But hey it’s better than surfing p0rn all night long. What gets me though, is when bloody marketing companies clue into the fact that “Hey, there’s a demographic/niche marketplace that we haven’t exploited yet.” and summarily proceed to annoy the piss out of people like me by creating an alluring little quiz much in the vein of those posted above but with one small catch… To find out the answer to the quiz you have to submit your e-mail address so as they can mail it to you (and also put your address on yet another listbot spam server).

Here’s a tame example of such a quiz (trust me there are worse out there, though I couldn’t be bothered to find one at the writing of this). Overall, it is a decent and fun quiz but it dissapoints in the end.

Which Lord Of The Rings Character are you?

I’m all for fun and games but I’ll gladly set it aside if there is a way to avoid coming in contact with more spam. I mean how many people actually believe in the “Make $1,000,000 in the comfort of your own home!” email? I certainly don’t, but apparently some friggin’ spam-daemon mail bot says I do.

But enough. I’ll let you go play with the quizzes and I’ll just carry on ranting in the corner.

And if anyone cares…

I was Gandalf.