1. Where are you currently and why? Where would you rather be on an ideal day in an ideal world?
Currently sitting in my prisoneresque ball chair in the corner of the living room. The view from my window is entirely filled with lush green springtime foliage with a sprinkling of blossom and bluebells. It was raining when I started this but it's got sunny again suddenly so the next sentence will probably be written some time after this one. Yeah, started raining again. Lovely while it lasted though, the old steam engine that sometimes drives past drove past, with it's customary tail of angry motorists behind it. Where would I rather be? I don't know. It's more about who you are and what you're doing that where you are. Although if we're talking ideal world then I'd be living in a big dome on Mars, like we were supposed to bloody have by now, with a sassy robot companion and telepathic girlfriend. I would probably settle for a jetpack, though.

2. Tell us your moblog story, how did it all begin for you, what purpose does Moblog have for you?
Funny story: My housemate built a website, and it turned into quite a big deal. From day one Moblog's been this crazy device that I saw being built in my living room which then brought images and interesting people from around the world and pumped them directly onto my monitor. 5 years and running and I'm still being surprised at what people do with it and use it for, the least being all the lovingly tailored spam I delete.

3. What was your childhood obsession? What happened to it?
Doctor Who. RTD's currently aiming it squarely at the lowest common denominator but it's a tough old beast so I remain hopeful that it can be dumbed up again.
Thing is, I became a fan of the show from the books. Back in the long long ago, before videos and DVDs and other such delights, they produced quickie novelisations of the stories that were a vital part of any fan collection. Now, as a kid I mostly didn't have a TV so I had never seen the show on TV. And because the writers seldom included details like how when characters shout loudly the scenery sways or how lasers look like unconvincing electronic effects I was under the impression that most Doctor Who was a lot better than it actually is. During the early 90s they started releasing more stories on video and they were also stripmined on UK Gold, which became a crash course on the limitations of TV production from the 60s to the 80s. Really, it's a wonder I still like it.

4. Name three things you would change in your life that would make you happier?
jet pack
time machine
sassy robot

5. You strike me as a reader, who is your favourite non fiction author and why?
Not necessarily non-fiction but Robert Anton Wilson was an author I read in that magical teenage time when things can really get into your mindspace and twist them in new directions, so I'd have to say pretty much anything by him.

6. What random piece of information or trivia fact do you use often to impress people?
Whatever random piece of information seems most appropriate at the time. Or whatever I've just read. Man, this is like being asked to tell a joke. My mind empties of all thought. Er. Biscuits are nice.

7. What's your motto? Your tagline? Your favorite saying?
I don't know. Now, am I saying that I don't know what my motto/tagline/saying is or that i don't know is my motto/tagline/saying? Makes you think, eh? Mmm? Isn't it?

8. I know you have a deft turn of phrase, would you or are you considering writing a novel/journalism/short stories?
I've got several files on this computer somewhere which contain quick ideas, sudden genius thoughts or turns of phrase that strike me. I should probably try and get better at expressing whatever it is that inspired me to save them because it's mostly just full of random stuff like "14 hats in Donald Rumsfeld??" that time has rendered completely meaningless. I don't think I've got anything particularly interesting to add to the world's surplus of words at the moment, so no.

9. What is your favourite TV show of all time? Please recap in your own words your favourite episode
See q3. I'm not really one for this kind of mojo-listmaking impulse. My CDs have never been organised, my DVDs all a-higgle and a-piggle and the state I keep my comics in has provoked anger and astonishment in propar collectorz. Also, there are over 150 stories which I've seen, heard or read all of at least twice (depending on whether the Beeb destroyed them), and there are literally only a handful of them that are truly bad. Most are fairly shonky, but occasionally manage to transcend the limitations of their production. Even at it's best you're never more than 3 seconds away from some unconvincing scenery/dialogue/acting/props/costumes/special effects/sound/music/trees/lighting/camerawork, picking out one episode out of several decades of cutting edge done on a shoestring is difficult. That said, the one with the statues was very good wasn't it?


10. Of all the places you have traveled or lived, is there one particular place that feels most significant?
Norwich.

Posted by Rich