Tag Archives: Lisa Langood

Report from the Grand Tribunal of Stonehenge: Ars Magica UK convention 2010

Posted on August 25, 2010 by Chris Jensen Romer

For anyone reading this who does not really know me well, Ars Magica is a roleplaying game set in 13th century Europe, as it was believed to be. Dragons live in the mountains, wizards study in lonely towers, and faeries haunt the forests. It’s not a computer game — it is a game played like Dungeons & Dragons by people with pencils, paper and funny shaped dice. This was the fourth annual Ars Magica convention here in the UK; I ran the first two, Neil and Sheila ran last years in Cambridge and will host the event in 2011, and there have been three now in the US as well, held the same weekend. This was the largest so far: a total of 37 people being at at least some of the event, though not all were gamers, some were guests of friends dropping in to say hi! Continue reading →

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Dying by inches?: Understanding our NHS as it is now.

Posted on July 13, 2010 by Chris Jensen Romer

OK, today has seen a fascinating (frightening?) White Paper, which looks like completely changing our NHS. I am probably going to talk a lot about back-door privatisation and the threat to our health system, but I thought I would actually read the White Paper first, and as always I encourage others to check the facts for themselves, rather than relying on media spin or what bloggers have to say. So I hope once you have had a look at my little piece you will actually look at the proposals for yourself…. Anyway I appreciate this has been a bit dull (understatement I guess!) but hopefully if you took the time it read it you have a little more idea of the background, and a better understanding of the new coverage of the NHS reforms announced today. Continue reading →

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Wheelchairs, brothels and community spirit!

Posted on June 28, 2010 by Chris Jensen Romer

OK, it seems like forever since I last wrote. I stopped blogging during the election, and it has proved hard to start up again, but I suppose I will slowly get back in to it. Part of the reason is I have been so incredibly busy with the old lady down my street who I have long been friends with; we know go for an hour long walk every evening, and her cup of tea every night takes another hour, with frequent visits during the day eating up my spare time. She’s lovely but the endless phone calls as she has become forgetful do drive me mad! Still I guess this is part of the “big community” we hear so much about — I’m lucky enough to live in a street where people are very friendly, (yes, that includes very much the really nice folks from the brothel that used to be down the road till the big police raid a couple of years back — not that I ever twigged it was a brothel till the police kicked the door in, and I lived next door to it!), and spend a lot of time talking to one another and helping one another out. Continue reading →

Posted in Social commentary desecrated, Uninteresting to others whitterings about my life | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Living with the ‘Enemy’ – the Epistemological Acid Test

Posted on March 10, 2010 by Chris Jensen Romer

I just saw a friend has joined a Liberal Christian forum on Facebook, and it has brought to mind a few thoughts on what many people think is a rather perverse feature of my personality; given that I am a religious and ‘paranormal’ believer, with fairly strong beliefs that I express freely, why do I spend most of my on-line existence in atheist and sceptic sites? Continue reading →

Posted in atheism, Debunking myths, Paranormal, Religion, Science, Uninteresting to others whitterings about my life | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

CJ goes to the cinema: ‘Paranormal Activity’

Posted on December 20, 2009 by Chris Jensen Romer

I don’t often go to the cinema – in order I think I saw The Wizard of Oz (got scared and had to be taken out), Excalibur, Ghostbusters, Mississippi Burning, Dracula, the first Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings part one – The Fellowship of the Ring. That’s it, every film I have ever seen in my whole life at the cinema, until last night. when I went with Becky to see a film called Paranormal Activity.

I have watched about the same number of films on TV, and maybe the same again on DVD (including Star Wars, The Magnificent Seven, Battleship Potemkin, Oktober, Kind Hearts and Coronets, The Producers (original version, never seen the new one) and Dr Strangelove. I have enjoyed all these films, and maybe I should watch more; but I acknowledge that many people watch more films in a month than I have seen in my entire life, so I may be the worst person in the world to review films. However compared with the other films i have seen, let’s get one thing straight – Paranormal Activity, the film I saw last night was not very good. Continue reading →

Posted in Paranormal, Reviews and Past Events | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Christmas Shopping, CJ Style

Posted on December 1, 2009 by Chris Jensen Romer

Bah Humbug! OK, I have to accept that now it’s December people are going to talk about Christmas. Unlike Lisa I love Christmas – and as her birthday is three days before and no one is ever available to go out or do anything for that reason, I can see why she is not keen on it. I have favourite Christmas Songs – I think Greg Lake’s I Believe In Father Christmas is my favourite, which will surprise nobody. Still having to listen to them every time I leave the house is enough to kill anyone. If I had the money buy a copy of Lou Reed’s album Berlin and Pink Floyd’s The Wall just to cheer myself up. Continue reading →

Posted in Dreadful attempts at humour, Social commentary desecrated, Uninteresting to others whitterings about my life | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Religion is NOT a mental illness

Posted on November 17, 2009 by Chris Jensen Romer

The argument that religious belief is a form of delusion is a common one. In psychiatric terms it is not correct; DSM IV clearly states that this, where delusions are stated not to include ‘articles of religious faith’. (American Psychiatric Association, 1994, p. 765)” Continue reading →

Posted in Debunking myths, Religion, Science | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Insomnia, Indecent Exposure & A Bad Reception

Posted on October 8, 2009 by Chris Jensen Romer

Let us start at the beginning – whatever the faults of such a strategy, there is tradition upon its side…

Once upon a time there was a boy called Christian Jensen Romer, and he almost deserved it. Continue reading →

Posted in Uninteresting to others whitterings about my life | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

CJ crashes his bike: a blackly comic end to his cycling days? or a murder plot failed? :)

Posted on June 14, 2009 by Chris Jensen Romer

OK, I’m a bit too hot, after nearly an hour in the sun. I also seem to have a lot of road on me, and grease all over my hands. Most annoyingly, I have a bicycle that sounds like Einsturzende … Continue reading →

Posted in Dreadful attempts at humour, Uninteresting to others whitterings about my life | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

5,000 visits!

Posted on May 20, 2009 by Chris Jensen Romer

Just glanced at the hits counter on the blog and it has reached 5,000 visits to the blog. When I hit 2,000 we had a celebration of sorts – so I guess 5,000 needs marking as well! So a little celebratory wittering about my recent activities seems in order! Today was supposed to be busy with work, and a couple of hours out to go do a piece for an American ghost show. Continue reading →

Posted in Paranormal, Uninteresting to others whitterings about my life | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment