John Bullock

New Toy! (Taken with instagram)

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 12:42:11 +0100

New Toy! (Taken with instagram)

Breath, Sooty, breath! (Taken with instagram)

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 09:44:25 +0100

Breath, Sooty, breath! (Taken with instagram)

Anti-Creationist Tidbit: The Odds

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 13:03:42 +0000

A common Creationist argument is that it’s a hell of a stretch to believe that, not only did Earth just happen to be the right kind of planet for life, and just happen to be in the right kind of place for life, but that we also happened to evolve on here, and that, in the face of those odds, it’s almost more plausible to believe in a god creating the world.

Yes, the odds are immense. But here’s the thing; if there was only one planet in the entire Universe that was capable of supporting complicated life such as Earth does, then we would be on it. This is not because God made it so, or because we are incredibly lucky, it is simple existence.

If the odds were ten kabillion to one that our planet could “just happen” to develop as it has in our Universe, then our planet is that one in a kabillion. If it weren’t, we wouldn’t be here to talk about it!

Random Thought on the Word "Gay"

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 07:11:00 +0000

This popped up in my Tumblr feed. If you can’t be bothered to click, it’s a set of pictures explaining that calling someone “gay” as an insult doesn’t (and shouldn’t) work, because the people being called gay either aren’t gay or don’t (and shouldn’t) care that they are being called gay.

My first thought was, “fair enough”.

Then I thought, hang on; part of John Green’s argument is explaining what the word “gay” means, and why it can’t be applied to a video (which doesn’t have a gender and, thus, cannot be attracted to the same gender), and that got me thinking.

“Gay” didn’t always mean homosexual. Once upon a time, it was used to describe someone who is merry or cheerful. Words change meaning all the time.

In my own circles, I have often heard the word “gay” used as a joking insult. This kind of behavior is mocked in the brilliant film, Shaun of the Dead, where Simon Pegg’s character declares that he “loves” his girlfriend, and Nick Frost replies, “Alright! Gay.”

Context is difficult to get across in text comments, and it could be that the people John Green refers to are exclusively the kind of people who use the word “gay” with venom, but I can’t remember the last time I heard someone use the word as insult who wasn’t joking around or being playful.

So, at what point do we consider the meaning of a word changed? I’m sure there would be a number of offended homosexuals if “gay” were to just become an alternative for “not good” or “lame”, but that only makes me wonder how many cheerful and merry people were offended when the word started getting used to describe people who like people of the same sex.

This is more thinking out loud; I’m not decided myself, but the thought interested me.

What do you think?

Ha! An Oscar-worthy performance from Joe Bereta…

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 06:49:48 +0000

Ha! An Oscar-worthy performance from Joe Bereta…

wilwheaton: Good question. (via reddit)

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 12:46:58 +0000

wilwheaton:

Good question.

(via reddit)

Atheism isn’t a religion, it’s a personal...

Sun, 15 Jan 2012 16:05:04 +0000

Atheism isn’t a religion, it’s a personal relationship with reality.

wilwheaton: (via Stop Online Piracy Act: What You Need to Know...

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 07:08:44 +0000

wilwheaton:

(via Stop Online Piracy Act: What You Need to Know [INFOGRAPHIC])

This is a long video, but definitely worth watching. Especially...

Sat, 03 Dec 2011 15:56:26 +0000

This is a long video, but definitely worth watching. Especially if you think you’re religious. There are no cats in this video.

The ramblings of a nerd!: Bella Swan vs Buffy Summers

Sat, 26 Nov 2011 17:49:22 +0000

The ramblings of a nerd!: Bella Swan vs Buffy Summers:

coolblondenerd:

So I am adding the finishing touches to something that started the other day about how terrible Twilight is. I’ve been sick and too weak to Tumble. In the meantime here’s a little comparison between the heroines with the same initials; Stephanie Meyer’s Bella against Joss Whedon’s Buffy.

1….

bubbleteacup: rochecoach: OH GOD I WANT TO REBLOG THIS SEVEN...

Sun, 20 Nov 2011 18:53:05 +0000

bubbleteacup:

rochecoach:

OH GOD I WANT TO REBLOG THIS SEVEN HUNDRED TIMES.

:|

coolblondenerd: Haven’t Tumbld in a while but this picture is...

Tue, 15 Nov 2011 21:36:49 +0000

coolblondenerd:

Haven’t Tumbld in a while but this picture is too awesome not to share!

What to Expect From Me...

Sun, 06 Nov 2011 10:35:11 +0000

I’m procrastinating. It’s nothing new; along with chocolate, procrastination is probably one of my biggest weaknesses. What am I procrastinating from? My latest (and soon to be first real and available) novel.

The novel in question (more info here) was intended to be a short affair, straddling the line between novella and novel, and would be self-published so that finally after years of getting up at 4am to write before work, I could hold a book that I wrote. Unsurprisingly, it ended up being longer than intended.

Rough ideas of the lengths of novel/novellas place the divide at anything from 30 to 50 thousand words. However, the SFWA Nebula awards place the cut off point at 40,000 words, so I went with that. It’s currently at 52, but I have some editing to do. Still, it’s nearly done!

So, the point of this post? Other than to avoid doing what I’m supposed to be doing, that is. I thought I’d lay out my [near] future plans for all that are interested (and so I have them written down to reference).

Finish this novel, obviously - I estimate (most like erroneously), that I have a few days, maybe a week left of working on this novel before it will be ready to force upon the kind and beautiful people that have agreed to pre-read it for me. Their opinions in hand, there will be one more rewrite, then, so long as the extremely talented and equally beautiful people that have offered to do cover art and edit the thing haven’t changed my mind, it’ll be away to them and, finally, release.
Attempt a reading - I fervently hope to have this available in audio form, it all depends on how much I hate my voice after the first page…
Overhaul my website - jbullock.co.uk will be getting a new look and purpose. There are so many places on the Internet to post this kind of thing that I hardly feel the need to have a “blog” any more. The site will become a place where I aggregate all my other stuff (Tumblr feed, Twitter, G+ etc) and post updates on writing related escapades (for example, short story publication, book available, told to “stop bothering us” by publisher).
Write something else - Back to the keyboard. What I’ll be writing is uncertain. There’s the Wrong Universe series of short stories that I started writing (I’m currently leaning towards writing another one for my next project), there’s a NaNoWriMo 2010 manuscript that is skulking on my hard drive unedited, there’s the 100k+ novel I’ve been writing on and off for nearly two years, and there are about thirteen other ideas I want to turn into stories.

So there you (and I) have it. Now, I really should get back to editing this novel, or it’ll never be done.

msg: via brycedotvc:nxtgn

Mon, 31 Oct 2011 15:17:25 +0000

msg:

via brycedotvc:nxtgn

Possibly too much time on their hands but, who cares; I LOVE IT!

Tue, 25 Oct 2011 05:50:21 +0100

Possibly too much time on their hands but, who cares; I LOVE IT!

justinrampage: Homer Simpson gets a 3D zombie redesign in...

Fri, 21 Oct 2011 20:29:37 +0100

Zombie Homer J. Simpson

Homer J. Simpson

justinrampage:

Homer Simpson gets a 3D zombie redesign in deviantARTist TranzorZ3D’s new fan art model. We even get an original Homer to compare to.

“Mmmmmmm braaaaains…” - Zombie Homer

Zombie Homer Simpson / Original by TranzorZ3D

Via: io9

A Random Idea Fragment - The Monster Hunter

Wed, 19 Oct 2011 07:13:43 +0100

A Random Idea Fragment - The Monster Hunter

Patrick Stewart: Squeezing nature’s best bits!

Wed, 12 Oct 2011 04:56:16 +0100

Patrick Stewart: Squeezing nature’s best bits!

Tentative Blurb for my Current WiP

Fri, 07 Oct 2011 07:18:27 +0100

The last thing Tom Keighley remembered was nearly being hit by a car one grey, wet, Monday morning.

That was nearly a hundred years ago.

When he is plucked from a strange contraption in a mysterious building in the middle of nowhere, Tom is thrown into the tiny world of Charles Brook, the last beacon of humanity known to exist in the world. Tom must find his place in the Brook, a village where the streets are so narrow, your shoulders touch the walls. A place where only the well armed or foolish go outside at night.

A place where the high, thick wooden walls keep out the dead.

beagrie: I laughed, but I’m not entirely sure that this...

Fri, 07 Oct 2011 04:47:30 +0100

beagrie:

I laughed, but I’m not entirely sure that this isn’t true!