Nerd Church - A Few Ruminations on Perspective

You can see exactly the same thing as someone else... and somehow you both see it differently.

Sometimes that's because you were looking at what happened from a different angle - a physically different angle, where you literally saw things differently.

For example, videos taken from different angles lead people to believe different versions of events.

People see details that are blocked from the view of others, but in turn they lose details that others can see.

Nerd Church - Caffeinated Current Events: Dear Lord, the Breakfast (Brexit)

I swear to God. I swear to Iesu Grist. Wtf parliament dudes?! Wtf?!

Breakfast (or, as some people call it, Brexit,) isn't going too well, so I'm hear to explain in a caffeine-fuelled, (hopefully) satirical fashion!

(Note: these are my opinions, you can totally disagree with me, I don't mind.)

Yep, this is another 'Caffeinated Current Events' post - 'cos you lot seemed to like the last one.

(It's a little like Drunk History - only sober and present-day, so... not.)

Nerd Church - Media Overload: Quality, Quantity, and Diversity

There is more media and entertainment in our world today than ever before.

Even putting to one side the numerous web-pages and status updates that are published every single second, the rate at which new books, films, TV shows, songs, etc. are being created and published is immense.

Month In Review(s) - December 2018

In order to fully boot 2018's a** out the back door, there's still a little business to attend to - in this case, December's wrap-up.

Except for Christmas (which is always amazing - I love Christmas,) December sucked.

Nerd Church - The Writer Diaries: I Need To Be More Patient With My Writing

I've recently started re-writing a story/novella/novel* that I started writing when I was a teenager... about a decade ago.

And I want it to be finished.

But I know that there's a butt-tonne of work to do to it (I'm basically re-writing the whole thing and making it less... melodramatic...  as well as changing the focus a bit.)

*It's been the length of all of these at one time or another 🙈

Nerd Church - Listen Up, 2019, We Need To Talk

Dear 2019,

We gave 2018 plenty of time and patience and care. And it still stabbed us in the back (and possibly some other places...)

So, despite the efforts of your elder siblings (years 2016 through 2018,) we're still standing, and still not giving up on hope.

But how about you make this easier for us?

Nerd Church - Why Christmas Is More Important To Me Than Ever

I love Christmas. I adore Christmas.

Christmas. Is. Amazing.

More than that, this year, I NEED Christmas!

Nerd Church - 50+ Things It's OK To Feel When You're Grieving

Grief doesn't care about 'should.'

Grief will feel how grief feels.

Nerd Church - Perfect Imperfection

I've written and re-written this week's Nerd Church post about a hundred times.

I've attempted several different topics, several different ways, and nothing seems to be right.

Month in Review(s) - November 2018

Maybe you should all just assume that it wasn't a good month, unless I tell you differently? 😅

It'll save a lot of time and make me feel like I'm whining a lot less!

Nerd Church - Seeing People

"Hang on," I told my work-colleague, then I strode off.

"Where are you...? There's nothing over there! What are you gonna do, get a taxi?"

"No..." I call back over my shoulder; why the hell would he think I was gonna get a taxi? We had like, five minutes to get back from lunch.

I count out pound coins as I walk. 1... 2... 3. I head towards the guy in the red tabard, smiling, "I'll have one!" I call.




He smiles at me, and I wonder how everyone ignores that smile.

How could you?! I've heard of smiles that light up a room, but his lights up the street.

"Thank you darling!" he says, his voice almost a song, "God bless you!"

This is the Big Issue seller who helped me get through at a time when life was darkest.

Nerd Church - If You Change Your Mind, You Know Where I Am

(Re: the title - yes, I spotted a chance to quote Panic! lyrics 😅)


Why are we, as hooman beans, so reluctant to change our minds?

Do we think there'll be some sort of moral judgement if we do?

Do we think we'll look bad or unintelligent?

Nerd Church - Hope in the Butt-End of the 2010s (or, the News is Always Awful, But We Can Still Smile Sometimes)

"Have you seen the news?"

"No... what's happened now?"

...We all dread it.

Because everything in the world just seems to be going downhill continually.

Nerd Church - Remember Them, Too

I think it's important to remember, 100 years to the day after the end of the First World War, that marginalised people have always been part of, done their part for, and made the ultimate sacrifice for, this country.

When you remember those who served, remember that Black and Ethnic Minority (BAME) people, Muslim people, Jewish people, LGBTQ+ people, and many, many, other marginalised people, served this country too.

(I'm sure this also applies to other countries like the US, Canada, Australia, etc., but I can only speak for the UK here.)

Month In Review(s) - October 2018

Argh. October.

October was pretty much like the previous months - stressful, full of family worries, and working uber-hard.

My grandparents are both still in hospital. Life is still hectic.

Only October also managed to give me the gift of about four or five different colds. I'm one of those people who get colds on a rotating-door type basis. 😷

Nerd Church - Scream, America, Scream

I praise liberty
The freedom to obey
Is the song that strangles me
Well don't cross the line 

Oh dream, America, dream
I can't even sleep
From the light's early dawn
Oh, scream, America, scream
Believe what you see
From heroes and cons

- Green Day, 21st Century Breakdown

From the video for 21st Century Breakdown. Via @greenday on Giphy.

My God, America.

Can you not see yourselves?

From where we're standing, in the rest of the world... we're scared. We're scared FOR you, and we're scared OF you.

We have problems of our own. Awful problems. We can't deal with yours too.

Your rights are being eroded, slowly but surely. People are suffering because of the policies your government has put in place.

Nerd Church - My Real-Life Ghost Stories

It's Halloween on Wednesday... let's make this week's Nerd Church spoopy!

Do you believe in ghosts?

I do...

Kind of.

(You know nothing is ever simple with me!)

Nerd Church - That Feeling When... Why Labelling Emotions Is Healthy (Ft. #Science)

(Warning: this post discusses mental health stigma, and grief.)



In the UK, there's a TV programme live on Sunday mornings sometimes called Sunday Morning Live.

(I know, right? How did they come up with that name?!)

It's a sort-of chat show with a moral/social/ethical/semi-religious basis.

It can be decent. It can be awful.

Largely I only watch it because before 1pm on a Sunday I don't exist beyond zombie coffee-drinker; my anger at the more extreme guests tends to help me wake up while the rest of the programme is still happily sleepy.

Anywho, last week, they were asking whether there's a mental health crisis in the UK.

Now, you can argue statistics and definitions on that one until you're blue in the face and unable to look at another decimal point or percentage sign for a good long time...

...but we can all agree that good mental health is... well... good.

Nerd Church - Caffeinated Current Events: A Glossary

I'm full of coffee and political opinions!

Let's talk about some of the words and phrases we're using in 2018!

Disclaimer: This is satire, or trying to be anyhow, so that's why it sounds like I'm taking things lightly!

Also, I do talk about Brett Kavanaugh, so, heads up.

Nerd Church - The Writer Diaries: The More You Learn About Writing, The Less You Seem To Know

It’s weird. It’s really weird.

The more you write, the less confidence you have in what you’re writing.

You notice every goddamn flaw like it’s screeching at you.

(If you’re writing horror, maybe it is. But I guess that would be the point, right? 😆)

The more you write, the more convinced you are that you’ll never be a ‘good’ writer – whatever the hell that is.

And then, with this weirdly inflated sense of imposter syndrome filling you, you try to seek out the wisdom of the all-powerful interwebs.

And that goes about as well as you can expect…