Apart
from my love of computers, travelling is one of my main interests.
That's me at Waterloo Station, in London - waiting for a train to
mainland Europe (the trains now go from St. Pancras
Station).
Mr. Lowe's HOME PAGE
Welcome to my home page. My first name is Brian and I currently live in London, England.
I have 3 computers, an Acorn 3010 (known in the U.S. as Archimedes), a PC with Windows 98, and a PC with Windows XP.
Apart
from my love of computers, travelling is one of my main interests.
That's me at Waterloo Station, in London - waiting for a train to
mainland Europe (the trains now go from St. Pancras
Station).
With the opening of the Channel Tunnel, Paris is around 2 and a half hours away. And you can reach Brussels in just over 2 hours.
Train speeds reach more than 180 miles per hour in France, and now also in Belgium and England.
Listening to music takes up a lot of my time. My favourite classical composers are Schubert and Vaughan Williams. My favourite piece of classical music is The Banks of Green Willow by George Butterworth.
I like pop music too,
especially from the 60s era. The Bee Gees, Elton John and
Cher are among my favourites here. I think Elvis Presley has
to be the best though - for he started it all with
Heartbreak Hotel and racked up more than one hundred
singles hits, both here in the UK and in the USA.
A few years ago, Elvis was at #1 again in the
UK with a revamp of A Little Less
Conversation. I don't think it compares with his best
but it gave him 18 #1s here (more than any other act). His
earlier #1s have been re-released again and at least three
of these have reached #1 a second time. If you like Elvis,
here's a site you can visit THE EXCLUSIVE ELVIS EXPRESS CLUB.
Other artistes I like are Celine Dion, Cliff Richard and
Julio Iglesias. Cliff has also notched up more than one
hundred hit singles (in the UK) and has had top ten hits in
six different decades here. My favourite single, more for
the memories it brings back rather than the actual recording
itself, is Where Do You Go To, My Lovely by
Peter Sarstedt. This hit #1 in the UK just as the 60s
were drawing to a close. I still play it most
days. Elvis
Presley - my favourite artiste
Possibly the greatest single loss to pop music was the tragic plane crash in February 1959 in which Buddy Holly, Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens perished. I still remember the wreckage pictured on the front page of the Daily Mirror the next morning. The Big Beat sound of the 60s - groups like the Beatles and the Hollies - was basically Buddy's style developed a little further. Ritchie had just had a massive double sided hit Donna/La Bamba and must have inspired Latino Rock groups like Santana. Also in 1959, other greats like Jerry Lee Lewis (who had scored massively in 1958 with Great Balls Of Fire and had many other hits) and Little Richard started to fade, Elvis was already drafted into the Army and the result was a softer 'cleaned-up' pop scene overall. We had records like Connie Frances Lipstick On Your Collar/My Happiness, Bobby Vee Rubber Ball and The Fleetwoods Mr. Blue. Normal service was to resume though within a few years with the likes of the Beach Boys, Four Seasons, and of course The Beatles.
Many artistes from the 60s/early 70s are still successful today. Carlos Santana, Black Sabbath, Cher and Cliff Richard have all had best selling albums recently. And it was in the late 90s that Elton John's tribute to Diana - Candle In The Wind - became the biggest selling single ever.
The Bee Gees meanwhile, suffered a tragic loss with the passing of Maurice Gibb. He was one of the group's founder members and played a big part in the harmonies on hits like Massachusetts and Night Fever. His twin brother Robin and older brother Barry plan a new album as a tribute to Maurice.
My favourite movies are Casablanca, The Graduate and Schindler's List. Though they are very different from each other, what they have in common, for me, is that I never tire of watching them. I often wonder how Casablanca would have been had Ronald Reagan had taken the lead role. Incidentally, Ronald Reagan was initially considered to play Ben's father in The Graduate, but this was later dropped because they wanted a lesser known actor.
My
political views tend to be neither completely liberal nor
conservative. However, I don't like socialists. They tend to regard
people as idiots and try to control everything for them. Especially
the type of New Labour government that until recently we had here in
the UK. Fortunately, Labour are now out of power. and we have a
coalition of Conservatives and Liberal Democrats. This may well turn
out ok as the Lib Dems may help to curb any excesses of the
Conservatives. However, the Lib Dems now have quite a large social
element since an influx of members resulting from a 1980s split in
the socialist Labour party. Labour are now asking why they lost so
many votes. Perhaps the previous UK PM Tony Blair's 2005 pledge
to serve a full term but then saddle us with the unpopular Mr. Brown
after just two years was a factor. Perhaps their undelivered promise
of allowing smoking in a restricted number of pubs, and the threat of
even more anti-smoking measures to come is partly the answer too.
When Labour lost Crewe in a bye-election just a year after the 2007
smoking ban came in, voters gave this as one of the main reasons for
the loss. Well, enough of that. Most people are not that interested
in politics anyways.
I am also interested in astronomy, religion and sport (mainly tennis, cricket and snooker), but my favourite pastime is playing computer games.
My favourite game is Wolfenstein 3D. Here's a screenshot from one of the levels I made:
Although it now looks a little dated compared with the likes of Quake 3 etc, I feel none of the later action games can match the atmosphere of Wolf3D. (Though Rise of the Triad and Duke Nukem try hard). A new Wolf3D game Castle Wolfenstein 2000, using the Quake 3 engine, has been released.
I have two websites dedicated to Wolfenstein 3D, and it's sequels Spear of Destiny and Blake Stone. There are links to these below. The main one Mr. Lowe's Wolfenstein 3D Page lists over 800 alternative level sets. More recently, I teamed up with a friend of mine (Parafriction) and together we run a third website for the game. The Wolfenstein 3D News has now been incorporated into this site.
I'm
not alone in my support for this game. There are several Yahoo fan
clubs (links to these are on my main website), and the largest has
more than 200 members. New level sets are continually being released,
many with modified graphics too. And there are more than 90
Wolfenstein 3D related websites. That's not counting those for
Mac computers.
Awards I have received, for my Wolfenstein 3-D Pages.
Click on the banner below for my main Wolfenstein 3-D Page:
Thanks to Brandon R. Farmer, who made this banner.
The Wolfenstein 3D Dome A wolf 3D site jointly run by Parafriction and myself. Incorporates the news site mentioned above, plus links, addons, source and utilities etc.
the
Webring
Site Search
Odd links which you may (or may not) find useful:
Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association Religious organization that I support, particularly regarding their interpretation of bible prophecy.
United Church Of God Another religious organization that I visit a lot and has many beliefs that I share.
The Worldwide Church Of God Religious organization that I used to support - until it modified many of its beliefs. Founded by the late Herbert W. Armstrong.
e-Sword Has a great selection of free electronic bibles, both in English and foreign languages. Also has a large selection of religious dictionaries.
Daily Telegraph U.K. newspaper website.
The BBC Online British Broadcasting Corporation.
Old Holborn Libertarian site. No niceties here (often quite outspoken), but I mostly agree with what is said.
The Maldon Online Home Page A very pleasant small town that I often visit.
Castle Point Astronomy Club Well presented information. Based approx 25 miles east of London, in the county of Essex.
Iceland Order online for kitchen appliances. (UK).
Sainsbury's Home Shopping For groceries and a wide range of other goods ordered online (UK). Normally has a £5 delivery charge for groceries, but is free Tuesday through Thursday for orders over £100.
Has
maps and other info of city subway systems around the world.
Train Line Com Buy UK rail tickets online.
Whats On TV A UK TV listings site.
USA State and Couuty QuickFacts QuickFacts includes data for all USA states and counties, and for cities and towns with more than 25,000 people.
Ronny's Home Page General home page made by a Wolf 3D fan. Mostly in German.
Arcata Pet A Californian online pet store I use occasionally. I have two pet budgies (parakeets).
The CD-Rom Shop Online computer software store. They ship to the UK too but postage charges can be quite high.
CD Now Has a comprehensive selection of audio titles to suit all musical tastes.
CD Selections UK's leading supplier of audio CD's, books, tapes etc. Now simply called Selections and includes a range of garden products.
Cover-Up Online workwear store. Has a wide range of items in stock from overalls to rubber boots.
Action for M.E. M.E. is also known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and I have suffered from this illness for more than 3 years. However, not to the extent that some others have and I am gradually recovering from it.
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Another useful Chronic Fatigue Syndrome site.
Smoker-friendly Hotels and Accommodation UK Most UK hotels now tend to be non-smoking throughout but some continue to offer designated smoking rooms where smoking is allowed and smokers are welcome. However, please check with the hotel before booking as their policies can change. The list is not exhaustive - there are many others I know about that are not listed. Typing in a search engine "designated smoking rooms" plus the name of the town/city will often bring up some useful results.
Smokers Cove You might find this site useful in helping to find hotels, pubs and restaurants which have smoking rooms or facilities. Covers the UK, Ireland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Cyprus and parts of the USA/Italy.
FOREST (Freedom Organization for the Right to Enjoy Smoking Tobacco) Although I support some of the July 2007 anti-smoking restrictions, I feel that this has now gone too far. For instance, I believe that smokers should be allowed to smoke in a limited number of.pubs and private clubs as was pledged in New Labour's 2005 election manifesto.
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This page was last updated on December 17, 2011 by Brian E. Lowe.
