David M. Brown's Blog, page 96

#BlogFlash2012: 30 Days, 30 Prompts, 30 Posts: #3 – Colour

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This month Mr B and I are taking part in #BlogFlash2012, run by Terri Giuliano Long.

The idea is simple: 30 Days, 30 Prompts, 30 Posts. Every day there’s a new visual prompt and you have to produce 50-100 words on the theme. The beauty of it is, you can produce anything from a simple anecdote to a piece of flash fiction.

There’s also a Facebook page so you can follow along and swap links.

I am also taking part in NaBloPoMo August.

#BlogFlash2012: #3 Colour

Dave

The question “What is your favourite color?” is not one you want to get wrong at the Bridge of Death as Arthur and his knight found out in Monty Python and the Holy Grail. I suppose given the choice I would have to choose purple. I’m not really sure why.

The football team I support – Barnsley FC – are known as the Reds and I have no purple attire, but there is something about the color that I love. Perhaps that’s why one of the races in my novels – the Legantkians – have purple hair!.

1x1 pixel #BlogFlash2012: 30 Days, 30 Prompts, 30 Posts: #3 Colour

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Donna

Things that bring colour to my life:

My husband David

My six rescue cats: Razz, Kain, Buggles, Charlie, Frodo and Bilbo

My family/friends

My work

My love of books

If there are days when it seems that things are a little grey, I try and think about all of the things that bring colour to my life. Then the world seems brighter.

NaBloPoMoWhat is the sweetest thing someone did for you today?

My husband brought me a cup of tea in bed because I was bleary eyed and struggling to wake up. Sometimes the simplest things are the sweetest.

#BlogFlash2012: 30 Days, 30 Prompts, 30 Posts: #2 – A Furry Friend

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This month Mr B and I are taking part in #BlogFlash2012, run by Terri Giuliano Long.

The idea is simple: 30 Days, 30 Prompts, 30 Posts. Every day there’s a new visual prompt and you have to produce 50-100 words on the theme. The beauty of it is, you can produce anything from a simple anecdote to a piece of flash fiction.

There’s also a Facebook page so you can follow along and swap links.

I am also taking part in NaBloPoMo August.

#BlogFlash2012: #2 A Furry Friend

Dave

For millions across the globe, a furry friend will usually encompass either a dog or a cat. Growing up, my family were always dog lovers. To us, cats were the enemies, preying on birds that came into our gardens or opportunists looking to pilfer fish from the pond.

Today, I am a joint owner of six cats and my previous reservations about them have been somewhat diluted despite one cat often bringing dead mice to the house! They’re very different to dogs but are still loyal friends and companions I’m grateful to have.

1x1 pixel #BlogFlash2012: 30 Days, 30 Prompts, 30 Posts: #2 A Furry Friend

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Donna

My kitty cat is Mr Kain

He has some funny foibles

His quirks could drive you quite insane

Dave has almost lost his marbles

But he was very sick this year

Indeed we nearly lost him

And now we hold his traits quite dear

Knowing what it nearly cost him

NaBloPoMoWhat is the sweetest thing someone said to you today?

Today somebody referred to my husband’s novel as ‘beautifully written’. Even though the comment wasn’t directed at me, David always insists that the release of the novel was very much a joint venture. I maintain he would have done it without me. Whichever is true, my heart filled with immense pride when I heard that. That was a sweet sweet moment.

#BlogFlash2012: 30 Days, 30 Prompts, 30 Posts: #1 – Thinking

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This month Mr B and I are taking part in #BlogFlash2012, run by Terri Giuliano Long.

The idea is simple: 30 Days, 30 Prompts, 30 Posts. Every day there’s a new visual prompt and you have to produce 50-100 words on the theme. The beauty of it is, you can produce anything from a simple anecdote to a piece of flash fiction.

There’s also a Facebook page so you can follow along and swap links.

I am also taking part in NaBloPoMo August.

#BlogFlash2012: #1 – Thinking

Dave

Humans and animals are both capable of thought but as a species we humans have transcended the levels of the rest of the animal kingdom. Every technological achievement began as an idea. What we can do is extraordinary.
At the same time, animals are capable of feats we cannot fully understand such as their navigation and survival in extreme environments. For all the benefits of our advancements I still believe we are the most dangerous animals in the world. How we apply our many great achievements – for good or evil – is what separates us from the rest of the world.

1x1 pixel #BlogFlash2012: 30 Days, 30 Prompts, 30 Posts: #1 Thinking

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Donna

It’s 3 a.m. and I am thinking:

too wide awake. My heart is sinking.

These wee small hours can be too lonely,

an audiobook is scarely company.

At 5 a.m. the sun is rising.

My inner nag begins chastising.

I go to sleep as Yorkshire stirs

but curse my inner night owl first.

NaBloPoMoName something sweet you ate today

Today’s sweet thing would have to be a clementine. I absolutely love ‘little oranges’ and the real sweetness.

#BlogFlash2012: 30 Days, 30 Prompts, 30 Posts: #1 – Thinking | Thank you for reading Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dave

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Published on July 31, 2012 21:00

Photo a Day July – Day 30: Calm #photoadayjuly

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The “Photo A Day July” challenge is an opportunity to take snapshots of 31 seemingly straightforward aspects of your life in a fun/interesting/unique way. You can see my other posts here.

I have set up a Pinterest board and you can also follow me on Instagram. If you’re doing the challenge, please leave your Pinterest board or Instagram feed (or wherever you’ll be posting your pictures!) in the linky below.

Day Thirty: Calm

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I’m rounding off Photo a Day July today with my day 30 photo. Even though it means I’m actually finishing on the 31st, with an image from the 30th, there’s a good reason! Yesterday my phone – and therefore camera – was completely incapicitated after I dropped it in the bath. Thankfully, after 20 hours in a bag of rice, I was able to charge it and it seems – touch wood!!! – fine. So, I was also able to rescue my calm photo and therefore, quite fittingly I feel, round off with that.

Photo a Day July – Day 30: Calm #photoadayjuly | Thank you for reading Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dave

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Published on July 31, 2012 15:55

Book Review: Chique Secrets of Dolce Amore – Barbara Conelli

Chique Secrets of Dolce Amore (2012) [image error] Fascinating, enthralling and seductive travel and life tales about unexpected encounters with the capricious, unpredictable and extravagant city of Milan, its glamorous feminine secrets, the everyday magic of its dreamy streets, the passionate romance of its elegant hideaways, and the sweet Italian art of delightfully falling in love with your life wherever you go.

When we talk about “the city of love”, most of us immediately think of Paris, Venice, Rome or another famous metropolis whose romantic stories we know from movies and novels. But to Barbara Conelli, none of them are the real city of love. To the author, love doesn’t mean passionate gestures, big promises of eternal devotion, ardent embraces, torrid kisses, or stormy arguments followed by even stormier reconciliations.

To the author, love means something completely different and much simpler. The smell of morning cappuccino and fresh pannetone at Pasticceria Marchesi. A brisk stroll through the awakening city and sensual curves of gold shadows on the wet paving of Via della Spiga. Joyful shouts of bohemian artists and their graceful muses at Fornace Curti. A cri spy panzerotto savored in the company of cantanker ous pigeons on the piazzetta of San Fedele. Old furniture stores in narrow streets and adorable trinkets she can never resist. The tinkling of a tram from 1929 with uncomfortable wooden seats and a hundred-year-old conductor. Sublime flamingos and peevish peacocks in an emerald-green garden that has never been owned by anyone. Remote nooks and crannies whose secrets have been revealed only to her and the few ghosts with aristocratic hearts who appear in them from time to time. Visionary dreams, inextinguishable hopes, the desire to live, the courage to create, the strength to grow.

To the author, love means all this and much more. This and much more is what she receives from the city that makes you fall in love a hundred times a day, breaking your heart over and over again, only to make it beat faster five minutes later. Milan. Barbara’s city of love. The city she has adored since the year dot because i t’s just like her: it has dozens of faces, it laughs and cries at the same time, it’s vain, unpredictable, and you never know what mood it wakes up with.

Join Barbara Conelli and submerge yourself in the secrets of this magical city that has been breathing love for centuries. Love that is dignified, childish, creative, treacherous, passionate, painful, forgiving, crazy, insane, unbridled, endless, fleeting, unfaithful, platonic, carnal, hateful, desperate, volatile, conceited, and divine. The kind of love whose chalice you quickly drain, so that on the next corner, you can reach for another one, even more delicious and intoxicating.

Amazon US Amazon UK B&N GoodreadsReview: Chique Secrets of Dolce Amore

Welcome to Milan, as seen through the eyes of Barbara Conelli. As someone who clearly loves this city, she takes you beyond the tourist laden streets and down the back alleys of the city, to discover the parts she loves. Along the way, you will encounter some of the more well known landmarks of the city but their history will be explained in a way that goes beyond the travel guide summaries.

I have mixed feelings about Chique Secrets of Dolce Amore. The enthusiasm that Conelli has for this city is beyond criticism and this is a book that clearly has much love behind it. The various chapters have all the hallmarks of stories that have been passed from person to person and the history of Milan in this book is as much about the fiction and the legend as the facts and the figures.

Where the book falls down for me is that I feel it’s both a little short and also a little difficult for me to fully embrace as I haven’t visited Milan and feel that I don’t know enough about this city to fully appreciate the gems that the author is trying to uncover for me. To me, it’s a little like deciding to cook and suddenly going from having a vague idea of how to make toast to being in a cordon bleu cooking class.

To me, this would be a perfect gift for someone who has been to Milan or intends to go. It would be an ideal accompaniment to a guide book as it injects a wonderful dose of magic into the idea of an already intriguing city and feels like she is showing you through the secret doors of the city in order to see it in another way. It’s certainly unlike any travel book I have ever encountered and was an enjoyable – though rather short – read that I’d likely recommend to lovers of travel, Italy or both!

Verdict: 3/5

(Book source: reviewer received a copy via WOW! Women on Writing in exchange for a fair and honest review)

Trailer: Chique Secrets of Dolce Amore

Book Review: Chique Secrets of Dolce Amore – Barbara Conelli | Thank you for reading Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dave

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Published on July 30, 2012 21:00

Game Review: Resonance

About Resonance (2012) [image error]

When a brilliant particle physicist dies unexpectedly, the race is on to secure his terrible new technology before it falls into the wrong hands. The lives of four playable characters become entangled as they fight against the clock to find the dead scientist’s secret vault.

The suspicions they harbor, the memories they guard, the connections they share – all will converge as these four ordinary people work together to prevent a potentially cataclysmic disaster.

Steam WebsiteReview: Resonance

I have a particular love of puzzle adventures that stems back to the days before graphic wizardry, when story, puzzles and getting your brain going were the key fundamentals of a game for me. Even now, despite the vast array of games on the market that offer both stunning visuals and amazing gameplay, I’m still drawn back time and time again to those retro style games that just let you dip into a few hours of fun mind-teasing.

Resonance is one such game and – in true retro style – combines great music, an excellent storyline, a generous splash of humour and some great characters. The game brings several characters (a journalist, doctor, scientist and cop) together to try and solve a murder and stop a potentially devastating weapon falling into the wrong hands.

One of the things I loved about Resonance was the ability to switch between characters in order to achieve different things. In many parts of the game, this was absolutely vital, having to use all four characters at once to work through a particular section. The second thing I loved is that it relied on logic, memory and common sense – but not in the silly “if you use the ray gun to open the tin of anchovies you can lure the cat that you didn’t know had swallowed the key and then open the locker that’s buried in a location you haven’t been to yet” way of some games. Instead, a keen eye and some patience is largely enough, though the game certainly does have its taxing moments.

The game allows you to bank memories so you can refer back to key events/revelations easily and not have to break off to keep copious notes but it also allows you to drag and drop memories and items into conversation, as well as allowing you to add items you can interactive with to a ‘thought bank’ so you can go and talk to people in other locations about them. This isn’t something I’d come across previously and I felt it really added to the game (and is probably one of the reasons it feels so logical and structured).

For the amount of gameplay and the price (I paid around $10/£6 on Steam), this is exceptional value and incredibly good fun. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to adventure and/or puzzle fans. It’s an absolute treat for a leisurely weekend and I’m thrilled I picked it up.

Verdict: 4/5

(Game source: reviewer’s own copy)

Resonance Trailer

Photo a Day July – Day Twenty-Nine: Last Thing I Bought #photoadayjuly

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The “Photo A Day July” challenge is an opportunity to take snapshots of 31 seemingly straightforward aspects of your life in a fun/interesting/unique way. You can see my other posts here.

I have set up a Pinterest board and you can also follow me on Instagram. If you’re doing the challenge, please leave your Pinterest board or Instagram feed (or wherever you’ll be posting your pictures!) in the linky below.

Day Twenty-Nine: Last Thing I Bought

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The last thing I bought was Resonance from Steam – I played through it this weekend and you can check out my review.

Photo a Day July – Day Twenty-Eight: Cup #photoadayjuly

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The “Photo A Day July” challenge is an opportunity to take snapshots of 31 seemingly straightforward aspects of your life in a fun/interesting/unique way. You can see my other posts here.

I have set up a Pinterest board and you can also follow me on Instagram. If you’re doing the challenge, please leave your Pinterest board or Instagram feed (or wherever you’ll be posting your pictures!) in the linky below.

Day Twenty-Eight: Cup

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Without doubt my favourite cup and it keeps my tea/coffee hot for ages!

Book Review: The Vagabond King – James Conway

About The Vagabond King (2011) [image error] When his mother dies and he discovers the man he believed was his father is not, sixteen year old Chris is haunted by a mysterious apparition that forces him to question his pampered existence and embark upon a quest to find himself. Hoping she will “make a man of him”, he seeks sanctuary in the home of Magda, a middle aged waitress with a penchant for sex, only to discover she lives with her father, a cigarette smoking, beer swilling immigrant.

Chris hates his shabby new surroundings at the end of the street and the shabby old man at the end of his life who spends his days listening to old blues records and making Chris fetch him fresh cans of beer. But, when the old man tells tales of Communism, torture, escape and the mysterious medallion he wears, Chris learns that, like the old man’s skipping records, history repeats itself and the roles we play have been played many times before.

Amazon US Amazon UK GoodreadsReview: The Vagabond King

Growing up is never easy for anyone. Our teenage years are often a difficult time and while many thrive, others struggle under the weight of so many pressures. There are no easy solutions to maturity though, it’s simply a case of riding the wave and getting through. In James Conway’s The Vagabond King we have a teenager who is approaching maturity when his life is turned upside down by tragedy and revelation.

Chris is the main character in the novel and at the outset his mother passes away leaving him with a father he discovers actually isn’t his real father after all. This becomes too much for Chris who runs away from home and finds a roof with a local waitress, Magda, and her father, simply described as the Old Man. Though much older than him, Chris desires Magda intensely while the Old Man begins to teach him of his past and helps give Chris a new perspective on life.

This is one of those books where events wise not very much happens. A bit like a film such as Lost in Translation or Withnail & I, what is important is what’s said rather than what happens. Chris is devastated at the outset by the death of his mother and he tells us how she embraced many religions in the run up to her death, trying to find and understand herself before breathing her last. When Chris learns that his father isn’t really his father, he feels no reason to stay and goes in search of his own self and wonders about who his real father is.

The local waitress Magda is twice as old as Chris but being in his late teens and full of hormones he lusts after her, though she shows no interest in return despite often going on dates. Magda allows Chris to live with her and she teaches him of world religions, the similarities between the faiths, while her father has many stories from his days in Hungary, encounters with the Soviet Union, his flight overseas and his love of the Blues and beer. While Chris gets himself work he and Magda divide their time between keeping the Old Man company. Chris finds the Old Man somewhat annoying to begin with but over time they become closer and Chris begins to learn about life and as a result begins the final stages of his maturity.

I quite enjoyed The Vagabond King. The Old Man’s reminiscences were the best parts of the book. Other times some of the narrative felt uneventful but there’s no denying this is still a very well written book. The ending was very apt building on the message that history always repeats itself and it is one of the final lessons that Chris learns from his time with the Old Man and with Magda. This won’t appeal to all readers especially if they want an eventful read. This is a more ponderous albeit well executed narrative.

The Vagabond King is an intense yet uneventful read. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing dependent on the sort of books you enjoy but I feel that this will be an acquired taste rather than appealing to the mainstream. I felt it was a good book but some readers will inevitably find it unsatisfying. That said, how is that different to any other book?

Verdict: 3/5

(Book source: reviewer received a copy in exchange for a fair and honest review)

Book Review: The Vagabond King – James Conway | Thank you for reading Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dave

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Published on July 28, 2012 08:40

Photo a Day July – Day Twenty-Seven: On the Road #photoadayjuly

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The “Photo A Day July” challenge is an opportunity to take snapshots of 31 seemingly straightforward aspects of your life in a fun/interesting/unique way. You can see my other posts here.

I have set up a Pinterest board and you can also follow me on Instagram. If you’re doing the challenge, please leave your Pinterest board or Instagram feed (or wherever you’ll be posting your pictures!) in the linky below.

Day Twenty-Seven: On the Road

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The feathered friend equivalent of “On the road”! Conveniently seen “On the road” (or rather canal) on the way home from town.