New York, New York. So good they named it twice

Its Booked !

Well that’s it done - the holiday is booked and we are now trying to make sure we have everything prepared for when we are away.  We are heading to New York for a few days and I am really excited.  New York, New York so good they named it twice.

Other than the trip that we have managed to book some things to do while we are there (well when I say we what I actually mean is Rob has booked them).  We are going on a boat cruise in the harbour and a helicopter trip over the city.  I am really excited about the helicopter trip as I have never been in one before and it will have great aerial views of some of the sites.  We are hoping to do that at the end as it will be a great way to finish things off  though we will have to see how that works out.

What to do, What to do?
When looking at going away somewhere I like to try and make a list of the things I would like to do/go see/ experience etc.  Someone I work with has given me a book on New York which was great as it gave  us a big shove in the right direction for picking things.

We have now been out and bought a pile of others (well 3) as well so that we can look at what we want to go and see.  The real problem is that there is so much to do and not enough time to fit it all in!

Making it fit
In order to try and make sure we cover at least some of the things we are interested in seeing we are drawing up an ever growing list of what we would like to do.  The plan is then to prioritise it so we have some idea of where to start.  I think we may have gone for too many books to help with this though, as every time I look through one I see something else to add to the list.

As inexperienced as I am with travel and the sheer size of places I was totally dumb founded at the size of New York.  Even getting from the airport to the hotel will take more than an hour.  It has become apparent that we need to group things by the area that they are in and even then we probably will not get to see them all.  This task is being made somewhat easier as one of the books that I have picked up has the various attractions listed by area and you can see how close they are (or aren't) to each other.

Places I am really excited about
Looking through the places that we have picked I am really excited about some of them.  The Natural History Museum is near the top of my list.  I have always loved museums and have heard good things about this one.  Looking through the books and their site they look to have a lot of really interesting things on display and I think this one may be a day trip in, and of, its self.  You can see their site at http://www.amnh.org/ - you should check out the permanent exhibits - they have a whole hall just for fossils!

Another of the places that I am looking forward to seeing is the Bronx Zoo (http://www.bronxzoo.com/ ) I know that a lot of people are not big fans of zoos, but as un-politically correct as it may be - I quite like them.  I hate to see animals that are stressed and exhibiting the concerning behaviours showing that all is not well mentally, but I am a firm believer that not all zoos have to be like that.  I am hoping that this one will not disappoint me.   I am particularly looking forward to seeing the Gorillas and the Sand Cats - I have only ever seen a Gorilla once and have never seen a Sand Cat.

There is so much to plan and look forward to, but I will leave it here for now thinking about going is just making me more impatient :-)

A bit harsh - Perhaps

Having spoken with Robert yesterday about what I had been writing on my blog.  He had read the review I had put up for the Tales of the Nightside books, and he reckons that I was a bit harsh on the series.  So you know what, I took a few minutes and read over the article again and see if this was the case.

Looking at the article I can see how you might think that but I am not sure that I am all that harsh.  There are criticisms of the book but you know I still think I am fair to the books though the comparisons to Neverwhere are probably not that fair - so that may well come under the who harsh thing.

On the whole was I unfair/harsh - perhaps a little.  I have just received the latest set of the books in the series and will read them and perhaps post more on how the series progresses - we will see.

Tales from the Nightside - Simon R. Green

 

 

You may never see London in the same way again, there is always something lurking in that darkened ally way.

Simon R Green is a man whose work I have either loved or hated - there has never really been anything in between for me.  Hawk and Fisher I really liked Deathstalker - has not really done anything for me to be honest with you.  However one day - in a fit of temper I wondered into a local bookshop and found a book that interested me enough to buy it and the book that followed it.  The title of the book was Something from the Nightside and it was the first in the Nightside series - and man was I pleased that I did!

The books are set in modern day London but just not as we know it.  The main city is unchanged but  you are introduced to the underbelly of the city by the hero (?) of the story John Taylor.  Taylor is not from London - well not the London we all know anyway.  He is from the Nightside, a place that exists along side the city, a place where it is always 3am, and a place where people come to indulge in the pleasures they would be punished or derided for anywhere else.  All in all - the Nightside is a very strange and scary place.

This may sound a lot live Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere, and there are indeed a lot of similarities, (you can almost see the Nightside as a twisted and more surreal London Below), but for me this does not  detract from the story its self.  Taylor is a man who lives in the city - having left the Nightside a great many years ago, and he now makes a living (of sorts as a PI) and stays well out of the Nightside - well that is until he gets a case that means he will have to go home again.

From the get go these books have a feel of the old Mike Hammer films (you know the standard PI in his office and in walks a Dame with legs that go all the way......) and the noir feel worked really well for me.  I have always liked that style of writing and always have the sort of picture in the back of my mind when I read those kind of books.  Green manages to ensure that the noir style does not gravitate to the ridiculous - which it could do easily - and keeps the reader entranced as he introduces them to a new side of the city.

There are issues with the book - it does not compare all that favourably with Neverwhere but then I don't think that it was ever intended to be the same thing (not to mention the fact that Green and Gaiman have different writing styles).  In addition to this I found the end a little disappointing - I had hoped it would be a little more surprising, but that it seems was not to be, however it was not so disappointing that I did not read the second novel - Agents of light and Darkness so that says a lot.

As I have progressed through this series I have found that I have stopped seeing the Neverwhere comparisons and now just see Greens universe - and all in all it is an enjoyable one.  You have the mysterious forces, the bad guy who seems to have something to do with Taylor’s past, the mystery of his mother, why is it that everyone wants Taylor dead and why did he really leave in the first place.

All in all this series is a nice piece of light reading, with great characters and fast moving plots - and hell if nothing else you cant beat a book that has avenging angels, a guy who kills people with a razor but just wont die himself and more things that go bump in the night than you can shake a stick at - sounds good to me!
 

 

Holiday Plans

Ok so in the spirit of keeping the site up to date (and in trying to avoid having to sort through a load of photos that I have uploaded) I figured I would add some more random mutterings here.  I have yet to start the great scanning project - I am putting it off until the weekend because I will have to clear a load of space to be able to sit and get it done.  I am kind of dreading the whole thing (for no apparent reason) but I am sure it will go fine. 
 Anyway - onto some cool things - we are planning a holiday - destination still to be confirmed once we have sorted the flights.  We actually have a pretty good idea of where we are off to but I want to get it sorted before I say too much more.  What I can say is that it will be off to far shores again.  We really enjoyed the trip to Paris that we had last year and this time we want to venture further a field.  Hopefully by the end of the weekend we will have everything sorted and we can plan in earnest. 
I really like the planning part - I think it is exciting to look at various books and websites and decided what you are going to do when you are there - I guess that it just my need for control showing it's self though.  I think another part of it is that when I am away  I like to make sure that I am have things to do- not rushed off my feet busy - but I like to plan so that I can go and look at the cool things and not feel like I missed out.  Anyway I may be putting the cart before the horse, seeing as we have nothing booked, but fingers crossed it will all be fine in the long run.

One Last Project (for now)

Yeah I know - no posts for ages and then a whole spate of them in one go - what can I say - predictable as always.

Anyhow - some people may know that over the years I have tried my hand at writing.  Not the random mutterings that I spew out here, but the occasional short story, poem or something longer if the mood takes.  Now over this time I have started (and stopped) on a number of projects and not really done anything with them - usually because I run out of steam before the end.

Recently the bug has bitten again and I have decided to give it another go, but I figure that maybe if I explain here what issues I am having I will be able to work my way through them and get to the end of the whole thing - so anyway that’s my aim.  The posts will be categorised under writing 101 and we will see where we go from there.

Ok so the current state of play as of today is that I have the 2 stories on the go.  I know that this is probably a mistake - a kind of do one thing at a time case in point - but I am not.  I can (at times) have a very short attention span and can get frustrated with things easily so I have 2 wee writing projects to allow me to bounce between them.  I am going to refer to them as Project A and Project B

Project A

Currently I have a couple of short chapters on this one.  It is at the stage of introducing some of the main protagonists to the reader and getting you some background on them and what is going on.  Still in really early days here and I don’t yet have the full picture as to what will happen.

I know how it will start and a lot of what will happen in the middle but not what comes at the end.  I am also having issues with linking everything together.  I am sure that as I flesh out the start a bit more this will come to I (well here's hoping anyway).

The timeframe for this is AU (Alternate Universe) modern day.  Basically modern day world but some things are a bit different than they are here (as far as I am aware anyway).

Project B

This is a far more original character piece than A and it is something that has been rattling around my head for some length of time - it is currently feeling somewhat shy and does not want to come out and play.

In total I maybe have a chapter or 2 of this one as well.  It is still pretty rough and feels like it is slow to get going.  I am hoping that once I get through some of the heavy character intro stuff that it will become less ponderous.  If it does not then I am not sure whether I will keep up with it or not.

In this case I am not sure what will happen in the middle or indeed the end but I have a start and I guess I will just need to let it evolve (this does not sit well with my impatient side - it like to rattle the cage bars and demand attention and fulfilment now.  I am sure there is something in there about the ID, Ego and Superego).  I guess I will just need to focus on the acceptance that it will take time.

Again the timeline for this will be slightly AU modern.  I am trying to stay away from the whole fantasy/high fantasy thing but damn it magic and elves are just cool!

Well it is late so I will leave this here and head off to bed.  Maybe tomorrow the inspiration gremlin will have visited and I will see my path forward again.