The DigitalGyoza Awards – 2019 in Review

Feb 2, 2020.Reading time 6 minutes.

The end of 2019 not only ushers in a new year, but a whole new decade. 2020 still sounds like the realms of science fiction and far flung future, but yet here we are in the flesh, and the world looks set to be as bewildering, maddening and eventful as it’s ever been. But what about 2019? How to summarise it? Do I have any fond memories or exciting moments of the last year? What were my absolute favourites that I experienced? Whether it be novel, film, music, what raised the hairs on my neck or hit me right in the feels?

Here are my personal top 3’s of 2019.

James O’Brien’s How To Be Right

Sep 23, 2019.Reading time 4 minutes.

Not all is lost for a world gone wrong…

The world is a weird and troubling place right now. (To be fair, its always been pretty weird, but right now feels especially boggling.) The current state of global affairs feels like satire adopted as policy. With fake news, alternative truths, and brazen offence in the face of accountability, parody & reality have been forcibly conjoined, stitched at the hip.

Swapping learning, understanding and experience for ill-thought views and the echoes of whispered bias can produce a very closed, one-sided view on a variety of subjects. Opinion threatens to replace evidence. And as always, the most vocal are of the opinion that their opinion is evident.

So how do you reason with those so intent on being heard?

Whilst I’m not an LBC regular listener, I’d heard several excerpts from James O’Brien’s radio show and appreciated his calm, rational approach to challenging & questioning motives of the most forthright of callers. (The famous “shape of your bananas” Brexit exchange will stick with me for a long time.) However, any account of what’s right or wrong from an individual perspective has the risk of appearing self-righteous if not well executed, and could simply come off as preaching. So even with my positive expectations I went into “How to be right in a world gone wrong” with mild apprehension.

Spread The Word’s London Short Story Prize Open for Entries

Aug 26, 2019.Reading time 1 minute.

Spread The Word’s London Short Story Prize 2019 is currently open for entries. The Prize was launched in 2013 to platform talented short story writers in London. They have published six anthologies, celebrated six winners, have run two London Short Story Festivals and profiled over 50 talented short story writers.

The winner of the London Short Story Prize 2019 will receive £1000 and their short story will be published in Open Pen London. Two highly commended writers will each receive £250. The full longlist will see their short stories published in the London Short Story Prize 2019 Anthology.

Music to My Ears – Tool’s Digital Acceptance

Aug 22, 2019.Reading time 2 minutes.

So, for the best part of the past 48 hours, this has been my personal soundtrack. Many of us thought this day would never come, but here we are. After famously being so staunchly against the move to online music platforms, Tool have finally released their full discography onto both digital download & streaming services.

Since the band’s profile appeared on Spotify this past Friday Aug 2nd, they have already amassed over 1.5 million followers. In addition, their album Lateralus is currently sitting as no.1 on the iTunes Album Chart, and five of Tool’s tracks are in the top 10 of the platform’s Downloaded Songs Chart.

In Other News #002

Aug 22, 2019.Reading time 5 minutes.

Between sweltering record heatwaves, malfunctioning transport networks, trespassing dogs and national flood warnings, this week has been quite unusual to say the least. It’s just typical that by the time the weekend comes around, the “glorious” temperatures that baked us alive on our fragile daily commute are replaced with greying skies and miserable torrential rain. As luck would have it… Ok, enough of that. What else have I have been up to lately?

First of all, I finally dusted off SuperHot (pun not intended) after leaving it on the virtual shelf for quite some time, and eventually beat the main campaign into submission. I’d hit a brick wall on the later levels and put it to one side, but I’m so glad I came back to it. Man, I love this game. The core mechanic of “time only moves when you do” mixed with chaotic replayability reminiscent of Hotline Miami, and the bombastic style of That lobby scene from The Matrix creates an experience worthy of the “One more go” club. The icing on the cake are the dystopic and subversive plot events that unfold as you progress. There’s a lot of fun hidden gems within the game’s menu system too. On completion of the campaign, I seem to have unlocked both an endless mode and challenges. And I thought I was finally free…

Aug 22, 2019.Reading time less than 1 minute.

A novel worth writing should hold you to ransom. – Richard Skinner

I’ve only just started reading Skinner’s Writing A Novel, but this particular quote really resonates with me.

When it Rains, it Pours – The Rain Season 2

Aug 22, 2019.Reading time 2 minutes.

Season two of The Rain was a wild ride. As with music, the sophomore release is always perceived as more challenging, the original serving as a benchmark. However once again the creative team of Jannik Tai Mosholt, Esben Toft Jacobsen and Christian Potalivo delivers triumphantly.

Picking up right from the end of the first season, the surviving members are desperately trying to find a cure for Rasmus before Apollon’s soldiers can capture them and deliver him to the hands of the nefarious corporation. A lead points them in the direction of a group of scientist defectors, where they meet several new compelling characters, and again the show does a great job of peeling back the layers of each one to explain who they are and how they came to be in this situation.

Bird Box is a “Dreadfully” Good Read

Aug 22, 2019.Reading time 3 minutes.

Josh Malerman’s Bird Box is a wonderfully crafted tale of modern-day survival against a deadly mysterious force of evil, woven with dread and the fear of the unknown from the get-go. I can honestly say it has been one of the most enjoyable reads for me this year so far. Whilst I’m not typically a fan of the horror or psychological thriller genres generally, I found myself enveloped in the adventure, eager to find out what would happen next.

Miniature Painting, A Rediscovery

Aug 22, 2019.Reading time 3 minutes.

Once upon a time in the early to mid 90’s a much younger version of myself discovered Games Workshop, and its fantastic worlds of Warhammer Fantasy, Warhammer 40K and Necromunda amongst others. Many a weekend would I spend trying my hand at painting miniatures, or battling at the local store. However it wasn’t long before I fell into the common trap of having more unpainted models than finished pieces, and it all became a bit too daunting. I also was never happy with half the stuff I painted. It wasn’t long before the whole lot was put to one side, and eventually stowed away in the loft. I never had a big collection, but there were models I wanted to finish that just never got to be.

Cut to present day, and my parents visiting a much older, late thirty-something me. They’ve come bearing gifts, including a couple of small figurine boxes, and a familiar carry case with a “space marine” sticker emblazoned across the side. Oh boy.