So, I had a weekend in London. What happenned? There was action. There was drunkenness. There was a fantastic night out with friends. There was some of the most delicious Chinese food I’ve had in my life. There was a visit to Essex. There was plenty of exchange voucher action. There was an evening with the frankly incomprable Mr David Devereux. There was a two-and-a-half hour walk back across the wilds of North London in the middle of the night thanks to engineering works on the Tube and the lack of a decent Rail Replacement Service. And above all, there was plenty of socialisation and fun, which has left me blinking somewhat in the aftermath, and reacclimatising myself back to a world where I spend most of my time on my own. I’ve also come to the realisation that about 80% of the TV I’ve been watching is either made by HBO or the kind of stuff HBO would have no problems about showing, meaning that I’ve been somewhat in need of fun (I like The Shield, but the first two episodes of the second season left me feeling like I’d been punched in the stomach, and I know it’s only likely to get more extreme…) and have taken shelter in the simple joys of season 3 of Monty Python’s Flying Circus (god bless Fopp and their £3 offers).

So I’m back, in the right frame of mind, and working on a new project. My main aim is to just get myself writing consistently. If I can do that, I’ll be able to feel like I’m going about things the right way. I’ve chosen my project, and I’m sticking with it until it’s done, no matter how hard it gets.

I’m flirting with the idea of going to the SFX Weekender next February – and I have the extra advantage of getting 15% off admission thanks to being an SFX freelancer. Although I do have the problem that I can’t go on my own (Well, I could, but it would be absurdly expensive – there are no single tickets available. It’s for sharing groups of 2 and above…). Anyone out there like the idea of coming along?

A friend of mine has also proudly announced (in a slightly Braveheart, “Come on lads!” stylee) that he’s going to the San Diego Comic-Con next year. And I’m ever so tempted to say that I’ll join him. It’s certainly something I’d like to at least do once – and if I was ever to do a convention on another continent, I’d rather go to one where the Geek-Out levels would be at optimum for me (frankly, bugger the movie-related stuff – the chance for Comic related geeking out is still epic there).

I’ve also discovered some absolutely hilarious annotations to a truly appalling comics adaptation of Laurel K. Hamilton’s Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter. The only downside is that they’re in reverse chronological order, which results in a bit of brain-melting if you’re reading them all in one go,but they’re truly funny stuff that deserves a look.

There’s a truly massive (and really expensive) Strangers in Paradise omnibus coming out. Truly, my love of gorgeously packaged comic books is one day going to get me into big trouble…

A fantastically odd trailer for the new Coen Brothers movie, A Serious Man.

Gracious. Too many links. Must go and lie down at once…