Thursday, November 10, 2005

A miscellany indeed

After one of my good friends (whose blog can be viewed at http://rantingrambler.blogspot.com/) recommended that I create a blog, I must confess that I am unsure of what to do with it. Obviously, I shall endeavour to fill it with content of some interest - although perhaps that of a more esoteric nature - rather than the gramatically-challenged recollection of events, threadbare jokes and trite remarks that accompany several weblogs that I have observed.

Unfortunately, such interesting content inexorably fails to materialise (if the initial portion of this post serves as a benchmark, at least) and hence this blog will likely be a place to unleash my rather bigoted views - and drab anecdotes - upon the vast and well-traversed network we call the World Wide Web. I suppose that my loyal reader base and I will have to see how this one plays out, so to speak.

So, to begin. I attended a trio of chemistry-related lectures at Bristol University on Wednesday and thoroughly enjoyed them; it was refreshing to escape the college and they have certainly led me to ponder a career in the subject - evidently they achieved their goal for at least one individual! I was also interested to note that Dr. John Emsley, who gave a fascinating presentation on the use of chemicals in everyday products, has written several books. Since they recieved excellent reviews on Amazon.co.uk, I am considering a purchase; expect to see my opinion if this is the case.

On the topic of literature, I have recently finished The Rain Maker by John Grisham. It was very readable - I found myself shunning my AS Physics work for "just another 5 minutes" turning the pages, and this mentality carried me a long way past the 8.30 starting time that I had alotted myself. While not normally a fan of books written in the first person, I felt that it added to the immersion factor, and as it built towards the climax of the trial, this really enhanced the conveyance of panic and trepidation that our protagonist and his clients experience. Obviously, I've glossed over the finer aspects, but it's a good read, and highly recommended.

Interestingly, I've actually managed to create a rather substantial post, as well as one that renders the title of the blog quite apt - this truly is a veritable smorgasboard of opinions and occurrences. I shall try to post on here regularly, but there are no guarantees - my rigorous schedule of college work, Battlefield 2, and Day of Defeat: Source might not permit it. I will keep you posted (the pun was intentional).