Got it at Last.

The thing that always amazed me about blogging was that so many people could find the time to let us know how they were spending their time. It’s taken me so long to get my head around the idea that although the majority of blogs are self-indulgent pools of brain-vomit, the best are far from journalary: they are insightful, funny and very often useful representations of someone’s life and how they interact with the world in which they live.

Twitter confused me too: who cares what you are doing all the time? But then I started to see the benefits. Its set-up prevents you from rambling – with a character limit you there is little space for verbosity – and by forcing you to take such a streamlined approach to your thoughts, the resulting tweet often elicits either interest or laughter. I still don’t care how much your shopping was or what colour pants you’re wearing*, but if you want to tell me something useful or hilarious, well, that’s just fine.

So I finally succumbed to the internal peer-pressure and have started up a blog. I will try not to talk too much about myself: I am barely interesting in the flesh – when digitised I imagine I will be close to unbearable. Instead I’ll try and focus on the things that are going on in the world and have somehow come to my attention.

So who am I? Twenty four lacklustre years ago I was born in Dublin. I moved to England three years later, received a mediocre education, ‘earned’ a degree from the University of Sheffield – it’s printed on absorbent paper; great for mopping up spills – and then bounced from job to job until I wound up working for Swatch. I’ve been writing seriously for about three years, but started at the tender age of seventeen; finishing my first novel the night before my eighteenth birthday.
All in all, it was shit.

Fortunately, though the ideas that went into it were pretty good and have spawned an eighteen book series, which I’m working on whenever I get the chance.

Now, I love sport, specifically the NFL, football and road cycling. At one point in my life, I harboured dreams of becoming a sports journalist, but instead decided to focus on the long road to authorship. That said, most of my posts will be commenting on world sport. And if not sport, then art: and if not art, science. But never what I had for breakfast (unless it was three boiled arts and science on toast).

Last but not least, I write for and publish a small newssheet with my friend Max. It’s called THE HARE: you can pick-up a free copy from Bar Centro; Night and Day; and Tiger Lounge in Manchester, and also The Oakwood; The Beehive; and occasionally The Star in Glossop, Derbyshire. THE HARE is a twenty-page publication, which is concerned with the news of the day. It’s published monthly and so provides more of a commentary on what’s going on rather than covering breaking news – like the Economist, only better and free.

If you want a copy, or would like to write for THE HARE, send me an e-mail at THEHARENEWSPAPER@HOTMAIL.CO.UK.

Have a good day!

Rob

* You may tell me about hilarious pants – that is also fine.