About nuggetoftruth

*A Britican: A British American, or American Brit – a citizen of both countries with an invested interest in the politics and culture of each.

Everything on nugget of truth comes from me. It’s called Nugget of Truth not to be presumptuous but because Nugget is a nickname of mine (the history of the name is silly so I won’t bother explaining). I write to give my honest thoughts on the world around me: the truth as I see it.

This blog is full of film/art/music/book reviews, interviews with people I find interesting, articles about American and British politics, and the occassional comment I wish to make about anything (these will usually be in the ‘For What It’s Worth’ list or The Britican Perspective).

Most of the content on here is original to this site. However some of it comes from work I’ve submitted for my journalism diploma, articles I’ve had published elsewhere, and my editorial column on the online literary magazine Calliope: Voice of the Writers.

A little background for those who care.

I’m a journalist, in my mid-20’s. I was born in the U.K., and am both a British and American citizen. In June 2008 I moved to California to begin a writing job in Malibu. I try to keep an open mind about the world around me, but there might be a hint of bias at times. After all, this is my own blog and it’s not affiliated with anything else. But I try to be fair and open-minded.

I received my Bachelor of Arts degree in American Studies from the University of Wales at Aberystwyth. Since then I’ve traveled, spent time working for the Halifax Bank of Scotland, and studied at the London School of Journalism.

I also studied creative writing, for six months, with thrice-published novelist Sophie King – a.k.a. journalist Jane Bidder.

I’ve been published by the Independent, Wandsworth Borough News in South London, and the RAF News. I have also done some work experience at one of the country’s top newspapers, the Sunday Telegraph.

Generally my interests are politics, film, literature, music and studying the zeitgeist. I’m an absolute information junkie, devouring books, magazines, and newspapers but not to the point of missing out on experiencing real life. After all, real life is where one can meet real people and gain real wisdom and perspective.

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My father is a Scouser, born in Liverpool during The War; he still complains that he didn’t get to eat sweets (or ‘candy’ as my mother would say) until he was a teenager thanks to rationing. My mother was born in California but spent her teenage years in Vermont and so calls herself a New Englander – which is crazy as everyone knows California is way sexier. (Note: I asked her why she won’t call herself a Californian – she says it’s because she gets annoyed when, after calling herself a Californian to a Brit, she gets asked, ‘What are you doing over here then?!’. Apparently New England doesn’t elicit much of a response.)

I have one younger brother. He’s probably smarter than me, a funnier writer than me, and he got the tall, blonde, skinny, tanned genes. Despite this I don’t hate him and in fact am rather fond of him, especially when he shares his popcorn.

Random fact: I have an irrational addiction to magazines and newspapers and hate to throw them out, even the ones that are five years old. I live in fear of throwing out a vital, unread article that might change my life. In fact, I have permanent readers’ guilt.

Favourite film of all time: The Wizard of Oz; I’ve seen this so many times. I loved it as a kid because of the shoes – I wanted a pair so badly. They were like pornography for feet. They would appear in my dreams by night and by day I would wear my dull, normal shoes and feel sad. I saw the real things in the Smithsonian and they were faded. What a great metaphor for childhood, eh?

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And now for the disclaimer: I’m not responsible for the content of sites linked to this page! If I notice something interesting on another site or blog then I might make a link to it, but I’m not constantly checking the content of those sites, and occassionally there might be something offensive on one of them. Too bad.

Feel free to leave a comment, or send me an email: truth.nugget [at] yahoo.com