Paul Pritchard grew up in Grimsby. After spending three years being far too distracted at university, he made a career for himself in IT which had the happy consequence of allowing him to work across the UK and - thanks to the EU - beyond. He now lives in Belgium where he runs the Pulpmovies.com website and blogs at Savage Popcorn.
Why do you blog? > I do like the sound of my own voice but also find that putting things down in writing helps me clarify my thoughts.
What has been your best blogging experience? > Feedback - discovering that there are people out there who think that what I have to say is either interesting or entertaining enough to respond to.
What would be your main blogging advice to a novice blogger? > Talk about what interests you, ignore what doesn't.
What are your favourite blogs? > Millennium Dome, Media Watch Watch and Twitch.
Who are your intellectual heroes? > Richard Dawkins, Isambard Kingdom Brunel and Alan Turing were the first three names to come to mind. I'm sure there are many others.
What are you reading at the moment? > Richard Dawkins' How a Scientist Changed the Way We Think.
Who are your cultural heroes? > Russ Meyer, Roger Corman, Ken Russell, Douglas Adams and Pat Mills.
What is the best novel you've ever read? > This is always a tough question, but Dune is one of the few novels I've read more than once. The other is The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
What is your favourite movie? > Either Brazil or Barbarella, depending on my mood.
What is your favourite song? > 'Always Look on the Bright Side of Life'.
What philosophical thesis do you think it most important to disseminate? > Freedom of speech is the freedom upon which all others depend.
What philosophical thesis do you think it most important to combat? > That 'offensiveness' can ever be a good reason to ban something.
Who are your political heroes? > Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Paddy Ashdown.
What is your favourite piece of political wisdom? > I think there's a lot of truth in Douglas Adams' joke about voting for a lizard to ensure that the wrong lizard doesn't get in.
What do you consider to be the main threat to the future peace and security of the world? > The combination of resource shortages and fundamentalist ideologies.
Do you think the world (human civilization) has already passed its best point, or is that yet to come? > We are a remarkably resourceful species, and improving (on the whole) all the time. So the best is yet to come.
Do you think you could ever be married to, or in a long-term relationship with, someone with radically different political views from your own? > Yes, although things can get quite vocal at times.
What do you consider the most important personal quality? > Integrity.
What personal fault do you most dislike? > Pretentiousness.
In what circumstances would you be willing to lie? > To avoid immediate danger to myself or others.
Do you have any prejudices you're willing to acknowledge? > I tend to assume that religious people are inherently irrational.
What commonly enjoyed activities do you regard as a waste of time? > Watching TV when there's nothing on.
If you were to relive your life to this point, is there anything you'd do differently? > No. Obviously we all make mistakes, but it's acknowledging and learning from these mistakes that makes us the people we are now.
What would you call your autobiography? > A Series of Unfortunate Events.
Who would play you in the movie about your life? > Simon Pegg.
What do you like doing in your spare time? > Reading; watching films.
What talent would you most like to have? > An ability to learn languages.
Who is your favourite comedian or humorist? > Chris Morris.
How, if at all, would you change your life were you suddenly to win or inherit an enormously large sum of money? > I'd quit my job and devote the rest of my time to the ever growing list of films I want to watch, books I want to read and places I want to see. I'd probably blog more as well.
What animal would you most like to be? > A sloth.
[The normblog profile is a weekly Friday morning feature. A list of all the profiles to date, and the links to them, can be found here.]
