EASTER BUNNY?

A public appearance by yours truly... Quick! Run for cover!

I shall be attending Eastercon, aka Olympus 2012, at the Heathrow Edwardian Radisson. I'm dipping out of panel appearances this year, but I should be signing books on Sunday night. I will be in the spotlight for a bit, since I'm presenting the BSFA Awards.

Say hi if you're around...

DOWN WIT DA KIDZ, INNIT?

I've never been one to keep track of the music scene. (Al Reynolds can discourse intelligently on the topic, but not me.) If you're defined by the music of your late teens, then I'm a Led Zeppelin guy, but I've never had my finger on the musical pulse. (And I was dead surprised to find out, years after Saturday Night Fever, that the Bee Gees were blokes. Not that anyone sings basso profundo outside opera.) Al Stewart was the best performer I saw during my student years.

So not knowing the names of current groups is not a sign of aging, more like business as usual. But I know what gets the blood pumping, and never mind that I'm in my mid-50s... This is what my brand-new not-yet-trained-to 62-minute workout playlist looks like. (Most workouts, I expect I'll either play it through twice, or once with my previous playlist.)

Since there's a couple of old tracks buried in there, there's no hope of maintaining street cred. But here we are:

Bring It On, by Tom Erba & Nathaniel Dawkins
Fireproof, by Pillar
Training Montage, by Vince di Cola
Muzik, by Knoc-Turn'all
300 Violins, by Jorge Quintero
My Time, by Fabolous
'Till I Collapse, by Eminem
Remember the Name, by Fort Minor
Eye of the Tiger, by Survivor
X Gon' Give It To Ya, by DMX
The Wings of Icarus, by Celldweller
(Rock) Superstar, by Cypress Hill
We Made It, by Buster Rhymes feat. Linkin Park
Lose Yourself, by Eminem
It's A Fight, by Three 6 Mafia
Put On, by Young Jeezy

Motivation is all.

It's a fight...

HOME SWEET HOME

Just back from a week in Oxford, being a student for 5 days again. Apologies to any of my Oxford-based friends whom I didn't contact. My bad. But my days were full.

I get to meet interesting people, which is great. But no more lectures for me now. Just a thesis to write.

Chris Mays wrote an interesting comment to my previous post - and my answer is longer than this post... Thoughts on genre, but more specifically on pseudonmyms, and why I believe I really, really need one.

Having said that, the name I was thinking of... sucks. Big time. Thanks to Jim for pointing that out (politely).

Had a late workout last night. Kettlebell swings (two-handed, double and single-handed); dumbbell deadlifts; KB renegade rows; DB one-arm rows; double KB clean-and-presses; DB bench press; high-tension band triceps pushdowns; EZ-bar curls; DB triceps kickbacks; DB hammer curls; DB wrist curls and DB reverse wrist curls. Abs and stretching. I'd missed my weights...

Mixing kettlebells with other weights is clearly a minority activity, but they're just tools to achieve a purpose. Best to carry more than a hammer, if you're a carpenter. While in Oxford, I did shedloads of dand-baithaks along with wrestler's bridges. No gym required.

Doing exercises with 2 kettlebells at a time is new to me. Good stuff. The night before was largely running, this evening will be cardio of some kind plus bagwork.

Age is a state of mind.