A Doctor Who fan fic
There was a fan fic contest on Wattpad. As usual, I was too slow and wasn’t confident enough to enter, but I did start writing a fic. Eventually, I finished it.
Here it is, if someone’s interested. There’s sort of a vegan/animal rights theme so I didn’t post it on my fan fiction site, but I suppose it fits in here.
A bit of whining
Grr. Just when the weather is getting so nice, I have a cold. It’s only been a few days and I’m sure I’ll get better soon, but at the moment, it’s really frustrating. No writing (still suffering from writer’s block), mum’s got her broken finger and her allergic itch and is convinced it’s never going to end, and my sister also has this cold, just when she has to be mentally alert to finish the work for her course. I guess I just feel stressed out about everything that needs to be done. Now. And I can only do the mere basics, because of this cold. Sorry about the whining.
A loud bang
Today, when my sister and I were going home after doing the shopping (dragging heavy shopping trolleys behind us), we heard a really loud bang. It was maybe a block away, but we could see all the way to the place the explosion (?) took place, since there was a parking lot and the waterfront/harbour between us and whatever happened. For quite a long time there was a cloud of smoke hanging in the air over the water. I have no idea what it was. I also couldn’t see anyone who might have been responsible. It was a little scary.
Can paper survive the digital age?
E book
We have long heard about the demise of paper in the digital age, but will there ever be a time when we don’t use it?Read more here.
As long as there are still real, printed books, I don’t mind.
A storybook adventure…
Giggleswick: The Amadán Map by Matthew Mainster
It’s a natural phenomenon — a small country in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean hidden from the rest of the world by a circle of unnavigable fog. It’s called Giggleswick, and twelve-year old Elliot Bisby has never heard of it, that is until he and his family are approached by an unusual man and asked to move there.
I found this story funny and quite light-hearted, just the way I like (some) books. It’s also well written and is based on a very interesting idea. What if there could actually be a secret, ‘magical’ country hidden away somewhere in the world? Like Dinotopia…
I liked the characters. Most of them were very nice and sweet, except for the villains, of course. The only thing I didn’t really like, was what seemed to me to be a dated way of looking at women. The female lead character, a twelve-year-old girl, is depicted ok. She seems equal to the male lead character, Elliot Bisby. On the other hand, Elliot’s mom has very little life outside the house. All she seems to be good for is being pretty and kind and a good housekeeper. Maybe I’m being unfair. I suppose it’s easy to just assume that moms are great and so on, and not give them any real personality, unless you actively try to give every character some individuality.
All in all, this is an enjoyable read for anyone maybe nine and up, or for anyone who’s young at heart.
Maria Lang – Crimes of Passion
A while back I posted a review of Josephine Tey’s novels. It occurred to me that Swedish mystery author Maria Lang (Dagmar Lange), is in some ways similar to this author. Unfortunately, I can’t offer you a page with freebies, but there are two e-book titles available in English, on Amazon.co.uk and on Amazon.com.
I have read a few of her books (in Swedish) and so far I can’t say I have noticed anything political in her writing. What I do see is quite a bit of passion. Her characters are all filled with passion and jealousy. Most, if not all, seem to be motivated by love and sex.
The main characters are Puck (a young woman) who’s a scholar in literature. At the beginning of the series, she meets an attractive young man who is also a scholar, Einar Bure. He has a very good friend, Christer Wijk, who is a cop.
I love this mystery-solving trio. They work so well together. And having a background in fan fiction and slash, I can’t help thinking I could write some really cool fan fiction about them, preferably with a bit of slash. 😉 Something tells me the author might understand the slash, if not the concept of fan fiction – although I know there was fan fiction written early on, based on Jane Austen’s books and the Sherlock Holmes books. Apparently, Maria Lang’s mystery writing colleague Dorothy Sayers was a member of the Sherlock Holmes fandom.
From that first case, the three keep working together solving crimes. The mysteries are quite cosy, but like I said, they were at the time (1940’s and on) considered rather ‘erotic’. Don’t get your hopes up though, what was considered erotic in the 1940’s and 50’s is not what we would call the same thing. They’re a lot of fun to read for someone like me, who is interested in history. The cover art is beautiful and evokes the look of the era, if I may say so. I have seen one of the movies – looking forward to seeing the rest soon – that have recently been made from the first six books (that were recently re-published). It’s really fascinating to see all the details – architecture, cars, fashion, furniture etc. The books are never too graphic or depressing. It’s all just good old-fashioned puzzle mystery fun. Maria Lang also caused a bit of a stir, when one of her characters was gay, long before that became common in literature.
On one of my blogs I’ve already mentioned this, but once when my mum was very young and a student, she used to go to the opera all the time, escorted by an older, married male classmate. They went to all the shows and after a while they began to notice that this author was ‘stalking’ them, taking notes, always looking away, ignoring them if they caught her staring. In the end, my mum and her classmate, who, for the record, weren’t involved, ended up as a young married couple in one of the books.
iPhone 6+ (and 6)
I have had the chance to use both the iPhone 6 and the 6+. By now it’s old news, I know, but I would still like to say something about my impressions. Before the iPhone 6+ I had (and still have) an iPhone 4. I still love that one and I still use it.
As for the 6+ I love it too. I love the big screen, I love the great battery time. In all fairness, my old iPhone 4 still has good battery time. With the iPhone 6 + I might have managed to get by without any e-book readers, surf pads etc, except for one thing: despite the great battery time, I’d probably end up charging it every day. As it is, with normal phone use, it lasts about 5-6 days, just like my old iPhone. Like my old, old iPod Touch used to when it was new (but it’s still pretty good, only a bit small). Using e-book readers, cuts back on my phone battery use. Just don’t get me started on the great battery time of my e-book readers… 😉 (Unfortunately, my beloved Cybook Odyssey Frontlight doesn’t work right now, or rather it doesn’t work without me using the charger cable – not for charging, but to be able to turn it on. If it can’t be repaired, that’s what I’ll do, but I’m still hoping the little problem with the on/off button can be fixed.)
Unfortunately, the iPhone 6 that I’ve had my hands on, has always been trouble, since it was bought. Twice it’s been handed in for repairs (both times it pretty much died when it had to be charged.) That brings me to the other trouble with it – the dreadful battery time. I’ve read somewhere that people in general thinks of the iPhone 6 and 6+ as having better battery time than earlier phones. I don’t know about the 5 and 5s, because I haven’t had any experience with them, but I do know the iPhone 6 is a lot worse than the 4 and 4s. That’s also the impression I got when I read about the new iPhones. The 6+ has both a bigger screen and a better battery life, the 6 has a bigger screen, just not quite that big.
If the iPhone 6 had worked ok and had a better battery time, I’m not sure what my choice would have been. Maybe I would have settled for the 6, because I do have my e-book readers for reading and my computer for writing. I know there are ‘power banks’ that you can charge and take with you, but I’m afraid that such a poor battery will die soon and I’m not sure there would be any point.
Some people have complained about the size of the iPhone 6+. I don’t understand them at all. I find it easy to hold both new iPhones in my relatively small hand (one at a time, naturally, LOL). Sure, I need to use my other hand for the touch screen, but I did that with my older, smaller devices as well.
My conclusion: the iPhone 6 + is awesome. If you’re an Apple fan, who doesn’t want to use more than one mobile device, pick this one.
Ancient skeletons found in India
Archaeologists in India say they have unearthed four human skeletons dating back to the oldest civilisation in the subcontinent, the Harappan or Indus Valley civilisation.
Read more here.
