Owner: Gary William Murning Online URL:http://garymurning.wordpress.com/ Join Date: Fri, 02 May 2008 05:22:10 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: A blog for lovers of books, writing, literature, science and the rational approach to life. Site statistics:Click here
Idiosyncratica — Announcement. 2008-06-20 11:58:57 I bet you all thought I’d forgotten, didn’t you? I am a little preoccupied at the moment with the conclusion of Children of the Resolution, but Mike and I agree that it’s about time we got the ball rolling so, without further ado I’d like to announce our first group topic and introduce you to [...] Read more:Announcement
The Best Way To Blow Up a Car. 2008-06-19 12:12:14 Anyone who has been blogging even for a brief time will tell you that some of the search terms used to arrive at one’s blog can, to say the least, be rather… well, odd. I monitor mine constantly in order to ensure people finding my site are, largely, getting what they want from it. So [...]
What Time Is It, Eccles? 2008-07-10 12:12:50 I was, alas, too young to listen to The Goons the first time around but over the years I’ve heard bits and pieces of them here and there. Today, however I stumbled across the clip below and have been catching up with some of the stuff I’d missed. The simple humour, the naivete of character… [...]
War and Peace. 2008-07-10 05:00:11 Well, I finally made the push and started, after many exercises in avoidance, Tolstoy’s War and Peace
.
I read it in one sitting and… only kidding! I’ve been on with it for a few days, now, and I’m about 160 pages in. I realise, of course, that it’s far too early to judge just how readable [...]
Announcement And a Promise Of More. 2008-07-09 12:25:06 I always think I’ll have plenty of time to concentrate on blogging once I get to the end of a novel, but I never do.
Most of this afternoon was spent on the moors and out around Helmsley way, looking for atmospheric locations for my next novel (We Are Watching, in case you don’t know already!) [...] Read more:Announcement
A Sign of the Times? 2008-07-08 12:19:22 Now, I’m not in any way ashamed to admit that one of my favourite online newspapers is the Times
. Yes, I read others, comparing details and noting bias, but I find this site nice and accessible, easy to navigate with a fairly decent standard of reporting. But recently I’ve noticed a trend that… well, it [...]
We Have Lift Off. 2008-07-07 12:38:34 My first preliminary email regarding Children of the Resolution has now been written and sent. And so the process begins…
Wish me luck!
Come Fly with Me. (No Thanks!) 2008-07-06 11:24:22 US man Kent Couch has flown 200 miles across the Oregon desert in an armchair (surely a couch would have been more appropriate, given his name?) held aloft by helium filled balloons.
And they call us Brits eccentric! I guess the silly season is starting early this year. I especially enjoyed his wife’s comments, however:
“Oh, [...] Read more:Thanks
The Watcher Watched. 2008-07-05 05:13:15 Saturday morning — cooler and greyer than the past few days — finds me four chapters from the end of my edits and feeling very satisfied with the result, if somewhat tired. Settling into that “end of project” feeling, I’m looking forward to a short break before properly starting the research and planning for We [...] Read more:Watcher
Richard Matheson — Legend. 2008-07-03 11:45:55 There are always writers that we know we should have read earlier — that got set aside for something more pressing or beguiling. For me, whilst I have read many, many writers, from the sublime to the ridiculous, the list seems endless. I’ve still to read anything by Dostoevsky, Gunter Grass is waiting patiently on [...] Read more:Richard
, Legend
Et tu, Donald. 2008-07-02 05:13:17 Science does it again. The date in 55 BC on which Julius Caesar is believed to have invaded Britain is wrong. Apparently, the English Channel was flowing the wrong way on the date in question.
On the day which corresponded closely to the traditional date for the invasion, Dr Olson carried out a basic experiment - [...] Read more:Donald
My Fiction and Me. 2008-06-30 19:01:05 As a child, I was not necessarily what you might call an avid reader. I read more than most children, but I was very much a child of the television age. I grew up with Dr Who, The Six Million Dollar Man, Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet, badly dubbed Godzilla movies from Japan and countless other films [...] Read more:Fiction
The Welly Files. 2008-07-24 04:55:03 Now, I was never exactly a huge fan of the X-Files. I watched a couple of seasons and the first movie, and that was about it. But I definitely want to see the new X-Files film – I Want to Believe. Why? Well, it isn’t because Gillian Anderson is in it (or David Duchovny, I [...]
Aiming for the Number One Spot. 2008-07-24 04:03:19 At the time of writing, my blog is rated number two in the Top Blog Area Literature Section. Okay, so it’s just been reset and could be considered a bit of a fluke, but still I intend to grab the number one spot — however briefly! Read more:Number
Recognize Anyone? 2008-07-23 04:10:25 Does this really sound like me?
What Gary William Murning Means
You are deeply philosophical and thoughtful. You tend to analyze every aspect of your life.You are intuitive, brilliant, and quite introverted. You value your time alone.
Often times, you are grumpy with other people. You don’t appreciate them trying to interfere in your affairs.You are usually the [...] Read more:Recognize
, Anyone
We Are Watching — On Novels and Databases. 2008-07-22 11:44:14 Today came as something of a relief. I have not succeeded, due to a number of distractions and research requirements, in progressing any further with the chapter outlines for We Are Watching
, but last night I found myself telling my parents all about it — what I had so far, where I hoped it would [...] Read more:Novels
, Databases
A Bump in the Road. 2008-07-21 11:29:09 Today I hit a bit of a problem with the chapter outlines for We Are Watching. I’m succeeding in shaping the plot in its necessary form, but with three chapters outlined it still hasn’t really ignited for me. I like the opening, my characters, the story so far but… I suddenly find myself questioning whether [...]
My First Blogging Award! 2008-07-18 12:11:42 Well it seems my highly entertaining and remarkably astute Antipodean friend, Archie, has chosen me to be a recipient of the Golden Primate Award
For Blog Excellence. Apparently, in my hands words are lethal weapons — one of the best compliments I’ve ever been given. It rates up there with the time someone told me [...] Read more:First
, Blogging
Literary Snobs. 2008-07-17 12:23:26 Today has generally been a very good day. I got three very nice shirts from Marks & Spencer (those lovely linen and cotton mix, soft-touch jobs) and, this morning, I heard from the assistant to the agent I’d approached regarding Children of the Resolution. She — the agent — was “very interested” in reading the [...] Read more:Literary
The Difficult Questions. 2008-07-16 12:16:37 This is partly in support of my friend Lottie, who’s been getting quite a bit of flak recently for addressing very genuine and much-needed points in a debate from a position of experienced authority. I won’t go into the details here, and nor will I link to the website where all of this occurred (it’ll [...]
Save the Planet — Eat Skippy! 2008-08-10 12:46:03 Farting cows and sheep are bad for the environment, as I’m sure we all already know. They produce methane gas which is more damaging to the environment than carbon dioxide. An Australian scientist has a solution, however.
Switching from beef to kangaroo burgers could significantly help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, says an Australian scientist.
“Tut-tut, tut-tut,” [...] Read more:Skippy
A Week Is a Long Time. 2008-08-10 04:30:29 It’s been an interesting week in the blogosphere for me. My stats are steadily climbing and this week has seen me reach (with one day left) another weekly high. The comments I’m receiving are, as always, extremely helpful and encouraging (not to mention entertaining!)
This aside, as I mentioned in a previous post, I was interviewed [...]
Let’s Go Fly a Kite! 2008-08-09 12:03:46 There’s something almost spiritual about flying a kite. As a kid, there was nothing I liked better than going to the coast and flying my Barnstormer Stunt Kite — hovering it close to the ground and then pulling back on one line and letting it rip and ripple its way to its highest point. It [...]
The Pakistani Spectator Interview. 2008-08-08 12:16:10 Yesterday, quite surprisingly, I had an interview request from The PakistaniSpectator
. After first taking a look around the site, I agreed to answer a few questions on blogging etc.
The interview can now be seen here.
Beijing 2008. 2008-08-08 12:10:25 Well, in spite of a few bloggers out there insisting that I should switch off in protest, I this afternoon watched the opening ceremony of the Beijing
Olympics (in high-definition!)
It was my intention to write a longer piece on this regarding the various political/human rights issues but I’m afraid I’m rather short on time.
So, briefly — [...]
Where the Buck Stops. 2008-08-07 12:10:21 I’m getting just a little bit tired of the current assault on social networking sites by people who, frankly, should know better. Questions regarding who bears the brunt of the responsibility when it comes to protecting children on these sites still all too often miss the point.
For example, today I read this article in which [...] Read more:Stops
Are You a Dancing Queen? 2008-08-06 12:29:03 Heading out Thornton-le-Dale way today, just to get a “feel” of the place, I heard something on the radio that struck me as the perfect blog piece with which to follow up the numerous Dawkins posts of the past few days. A subject both bright and breezy, perfect for a summer’s afternoon — and not [...] Read more:Dancing
, Queen
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