Author Archives: James - Page 19
Unbroken Fire by Anne Wheeler [Book Review]
Unbroken Fire by Anne Wheeler My rating: 5 of 5 stars Unbroken Fire is the sequel to the awesome Asrian Skies by Anne Wheeler. You really need to read Asrian Skies before embarking on Unbroken Fire. It's not that Unbroken Fire won't be a great read, but that Asrian Skies is too, and it's way better if you read them in the correct order! In my review of Asrian Skies I compared Anne Wheeler to Ann Leckie and Elizabeth Bear. This sequel is even better than the first one, and I stand by that comparison. Anne Wheeler is a really talented author, and she crafts amazing multi-dimensional stories with multiple twists. Following on from the events of Asrian Skies, Unbroken Fire follows Avery Rendon in her quest to free her home planet of Asria from the invading Haedarans. The title's…
Mental Health is Vital
This week is Mental Health Awareness Week. We all need to look after our own mental health, and recognise when those around us are affected by mental health problems. Most of us will suffer from some sort of mental illness, for some it will be the mental health equivalent of a cold and pass rapidly, but for many others it will be more serious. Recent research (A poll of over 4,000 people) has shown that in the last year 74% of UK adults felt stressed to the point that they couldn't cope with something. It's worth knowing what the signs of depression are, as well as for other mental health issues. Protecting Your Mental Health Seven Ways to Look After Your Mental Health (used with permission from Scriberian) I saw this sketchnote by @scriberian that was shared by @GC_Rail on…
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My Communist Grandfather – Jimmy Kemp
I grew up with the story that my paternal grandfather, Jimmy Kemp, was a card carrying communist. I've never been able to prove it, partly because I've no idea how I could. Recently I've spoken with a few of the older family members and heard some interesting family history stories. I love hearing family history stories from people, but I don't necessarily believe them all. However they're a good start point, and if lots of people independently tell you something it adds to the credibility. Jimmy Kemp's story Tanks and soldiers deployed to the streets of Glasgow to prevent the threat of revolution in 1919 (Photo credit: Wikipedia) My grandfather was Jimmy Kemp, he was born and died in Old Kilpatrick. He worked as a gardener at Dalnottar House, and during the war years he was an ARP volunteer. The…
The Secret life of the secret life of reality TV
Steerable camera watching the house (photo: James Kemp) We've had a film crew parked in our street for a week to shoot a reality TV show for Channel 4. Before you get excited, I'm not in it. My neighbours are though, and that means we've had a lot of people waving cameras about. Secret Life of Teenagers A couple of weeks ago our next door neighbour came round to tell us about the reality TV show his partner had signed them up for. The show is being made by the same people that produced The Secret Life of 4 Year Olds. The intention this time was to do something similar with teenagers. The folk next door have three teenagers, so obviously a good start for the production firm. The idea was that the parents would go away for the weekend…
Days of Fire by Samuel Katz [Book Review]
I picked up Days of Fire as part of my background reading for the Divided Land megagame last Saturday. Samuel Katz was a member of Irgun in the mid 40s, and Days of Fire is his story of how Irgun pushed Israel into being. Days of Fire Days of Fire is aptly titled, Palestine from 1944 until the end of the British Mandate was a turbulent place. Thousands of people were killed or wounded in the violence and more were dispossessed. Even before the British withdrew there was a civil war. Irgun were an extremist breakaway group of the Revisionist Zionists. A bit like PIRA three decades later. Mostly they tried to cause chaos and avoid killing people, although sometimes their warnings went unheeded, like the bombing of the King David Hotel. Katz started as a secretary to the South…