The last one of these was filled with posts and stories, but since my failed attempt at a novel, I've decided to delve back into the Write in for Writing's Sake thread here and there, with a novel new years resolution to write a 1000 word 'something' each week, no matter the subject and no matter the concept. We shall see how long that lasts. Also, Opinionated Reader is now the holder of the keys, so expect a bit more nudging in that direction.
As ever, I should point out that besides my woeful attempts at fiction there really is some startling work over on the site. I implore you to read them.
School.
Inspired by Dexter and A Single Man, this was originally a story byt the student about a teacher he loved and then later killed, but that was far too broad a scope for the simple 1000 limit. Or 'limit'. What I ended up with was one of the funnest and best paced pieces I've written, and in it's short run time, there is a fair bit of exposition and exploration - it is naturally somewhere I'd love to come back to and poke around some more. That's another idea for next year - take a previously written story and move it forward.
The Last Word.
Rushed is one word to describe this story, but also harsh and angular. I wrote it in minutes, as a stream of conciousness, and managed to fit a pretty good twist in too, and it is once again another half baked plot thread. In fact, Laura implored me to return to this setting and write another thread into the fabric, and I have done just that - if I ever like it, I might post it here, but for now the story will sit as is, in stasis.
Protest
Oh god, fan fiction - yes, this was written as an in-fiction attempt at mimicking Douglas Adams' style of writing and I feared that it might be a little to heavy handed in it's allusions to his style, but it ended up ebing quite funny and I liked how it dealt with the student protests - something that I think Mr Adams would have enjoyed greatly. In any case, I loved trying on Arthur for size and maybe, god willing, I will look at a series of fan fiction plots that feature the characters in the future.
Note: My NaNoWriMo failure will be posted up in the new year, chapter at a time.
Updated 1st June 2011: links appear to have broken, so I've fixed them.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Instant Criticism
The way the world works has changed. It’s flipped in a strange zeitgeist way that some won’t be able to understand and that some parts of the world won’t fully grasp. It is the immediate, and the right now, and the fact that suddenly there is nowhere for anyone to hide. I am talking about the random musings of anyone in the world that can suddenly become a snowballing effect into a massive, powerful movement that will in the future change the world and change the way the world is seen.
Recently, I have seen several rather powerful backlashes appear minutes after the events have taken place. I took part in the Twitter Joke Trial outrage, have seen the outrage of England’s World Cup bid failure, the demonstrations and protests at the rise in tuition fees, and the dispelling of ludicrous and shameful articles written in newspapers in moments from when they are published. And this new instant feedback loop is something that needs to be understood.
For example, let’s take the recent Daily Mail column from total fuckwit Richard Littlejohn. A disabled man was pulled from his wheelchair during a protest – I don’t know if I disagree with the police action because the fact that he was at the protest means that if he is causing trouble, the police have a duty to deal with him. It appears that there is a small likely hood that he was causing trouble and the police, having seen the news during the day, most likely did over use their force. What followed was a strange, confused, cannot-believe-it-was-printed column that was rightfully taken apart by other blogs that are better versed with the subject.
My point is that in the past the outrage that would’ve rose from such a column would have to wait until another newspaper decided to take a pop at it or the Press Complaints Committee had to deal with it. In the past the offender would be able to hide behind passing time before having to deal with the bay public’s opinion on what they wrote – that day is long gone. With commenting sections on newspaper sites, they encourage comments (and, in some cases, moderate them) but it is not here that you will find the protest.
On Facebook you can start a group to campaign against anything in seconds and within hours have hundreds, if not thousands, of followers and people supporting your cause. This is undoubtedly a great thing. It is like an instant zeitgeist pulse, a measurement on how the country and the world takes news, and importantly, gives everyone in the world a level playing field in which to vocalise their outrage. To see how important Twitter has became, all you have to do is take a look at todays trending topics – the topics that Twitter users have been most talking about. Today, one of the topics is “Jody” which relates to the above assault. The UK is talking, retweeting, messaging and discussing the police about an incident and a BBC interview that only happened days ago.
However, there is a bias on Twitter. The people that are most likely to tweet their views are those of the youth, and possibly the more liberal, so it’s not exactly a perfect representation of the public’s views, but what it does do is give anyone writing an article about anything the worry or enjoyment that instant criticism or instant news recoil will happen. It can be used for good or for bad, and as most say, any publicity is good publicity.
With the recent internet attacks on PayPal, Amazon, Mastercard and others by the internet group Anoymous, it is clear that there is a strange war that will be fought on an invisible battle field. It has already begun, and the old, non-evolving ways of thought will lose.
Note: I hate the Daily Mail and the Daily Star. I LOVE reading Tabloid Watch, The Angry Mob and Enemies of Reason because they get it - they get that the old way Newspapers used to make their mark - outlandish opinion pieces, crusades, campaigns and EXCLUSIVES that used to work, don't and won't any more and make the papers look like the garbage they always were.
Recently, I have seen several rather powerful backlashes appear minutes after the events have taken place. I took part in the Twitter Joke Trial outrage, have seen the outrage of England’s World Cup bid failure, the demonstrations and protests at the rise in tuition fees, and the dispelling of ludicrous and shameful articles written in newspapers in moments from when they are published. And this new instant feedback loop is something that needs to be understood.
For example, let’s take the recent Daily Mail column from total fuckwit Richard Littlejohn. A disabled man was pulled from his wheelchair during a protest – I don’t know if I disagree with the police action because the fact that he was at the protest means that if he is causing trouble, the police have a duty to deal with him. It appears that there is a small likely hood that he was causing trouble and the police, having seen the news during the day, most likely did over use their force. What followed was a strange, confused, cannot-believe-it-was-printed column that was rightfully taken apart by other blogs that are better versed with the subject.
My point is that in the past the outrage that would’ve rose from such a column would have to wait until another newspaper decided to take a pop at it or the Press Complaints Committee had to deal with it. In the past the offender would be able to hide behind passing time before having to deal with the bay public’s opinion on what they wrote – that day is long gone. With commenting sections on newspaper sites, they encourage comments (and, in some cases, moderate them) but it is not here that you will find the protest.
On Facebook you can start a group to campaign against anything in seconds and within hours have hundreds, if not thousands, of followers and people supporting your cause. This is undoubtedly a great thing. It is like an instant zeitgeist pulse, a measurement on how the country and the world takes news, and importantly, gives everyone in the world a level playing field in which to vocalise their outrage. To see how important Twitter has became, all you have to do is take a look at todays trending topics – the topics that Twitter users have been most talking about. Today, one of the topics is “Jody” which relates to the above assault. The UK is talking, retweeting, messaging and discussing the police about an incident and a BBC interview that only happened days ago.
However, there is a bias on Twitter. The people that are most likely to tweet their views are those of the youth, and possibly the more liberal, so it’s not exactly a perfect representation of the public’s views, but what it does do is give anyone writing an article about anything the worry or enjoyment that instant criticism or instant news recoil will happen. It can be used for good or for bad, and as most say, any publicity is good publicity.
With the recent internet attacks on PayPal, Amazon, Mastercard and others by the internet group Anoymous, it is clear that there is a strange war that will be fought on an invisible battle field. It has already begun, and the old, non-evolving ways of thought will lose.
Note: I hate the Daily Mail and the Daily Star. I LOVE reading Tabloid Watch, The Angry Mob and Enemies of Reason because they get it - they get that the old way Newspapers used to make their mark - outlandish opinion pieces, crusades, campaigns and EXCLUSIVES that used to work, don't and won't any more and make the papers look like the garbage they always were.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
The Way That I Think
See me? I am a tiny bit crazy. Not mentally insane, but just a tiny bit crazy in the head. I am not sure where I get it from, but it might have to do with my upbringing. It's not to say that I am blaming that, oh no, as I wouldn't trade my craziness for anything in world, no, that would be far too boring, but I do think they way that I think is particularly insane.
Pointed out to me by my girlfriend, I have thought about the way my thoughts seem to work and when sitting talking to someone my mind will burrow down some of the strangest pathways, shortcuts and stretches of thought that are so wildly off topic I can't even begin to describe them. For example, since writing this I have thought about Dumbo, Pretzels, Driving in the UK and Life jackets all while typing those first two paragraphs out.
It becomes tiring. It really does. And this is the reason that I think I find certain things that other people might find boring very relaxing. Recently I have started sketching cars again. A long time ago, when I young, I used to sketch a whole range of fictitious cars. These days, I am just sketching out the shapes of them. I also used to draw intricate maps of fictional cities that must border on crazy levels of detail. I also used draw fake mobile phones.
I see these activities as a strange way to focus myself, to clear my head of spurious thoughts, and cleanse my soul for a while. It acts as an almost cathartic experience in which I can shut out the rest of my burning thought processes. I think computer games do this to my mind too better than TV of films.
People around me, close to, probably have realised this already. It must be infuriating to find that I have wandered along a new conversational path without a moments notice - but hear this; I am trying to tame it, stop it, and arguably master it.
Pointed out to me by my girlfriend, I have thought about the way my thoughts seem to work and when sitting talking to someone my mind will burrow down some of the strangest pathways, shortcuts and stretches of thought that are so wildly off topic I can't even begin to describe them. For example, since writing this I have thought about Dumbo, Pretzels, Driving in the UK and Life jackets all while typing those first two paragraphs out.
It becomes tiring. It really does. And this is the reason that I think I find certain things that other people might find boring very relaxing. Recently I have started sketching cars again. A long time ago, when I young, I used to sketch a whole range of fictitious cars. These days, I am just sketching out the shapes of them. I also used to draw intricate maps of fictional cities that must border on crazy levels of detail. I also used draw fake mobile phones.
I see these activities as a strange way to focus myself, to clear my head of spurious thoughts, and cleanse my soul for a while. It acts as an almost cathartic experience in which I can shut out the rest of my burning thought processes. I think computer games do this to my mind too better than TV of films.
People around me, close to, probably have realised this already. It must be infuriating to find that I have wandered along a new conversational path without a moments notice - but hear this; I am trying to tame it, stop it, and arguably master it.
Monday, December 13, 2010
Alarmed
Fire alarms are, in every true sense of the word, alarming, and have been involved in my life for as long as I can remember.
At High School
I remember very few fire drills at high school if I am honest, except that they were almost always someone pulling the alarm or a fire in the Chemistry Labs. Once, the fire engines turned up, and they all started to get hoses and stuff out of the trucks. It was pretty exciting at the time, but there was no fire and as such, no real drama.
At Work (as a Student).
When I worked in the Link mobile phone store we were hooked up to the Glasgow Central Station fire alarm ring. Anytime the station pulled it's alarm, we were sent hurtling out of the shop and across the street. The best thing about this was the number of engines that had to turn up was great and that we could, from afar, watch the idiots trying to open and close the front door into the shop several times.
At University (as a Student)
Once, in my 4th year, I trundled into University with my head phones in my ears, in a drunken hangover. I walked all the way into the Thomas Graham building's "front" door which, at the time, very few people used, because it was being done up. I sued it as a quick way to get to the 2nd floor of the James Weir and my department's class rooms. I walked all the way into the corridor and happened to glance up at the building's doorway. There was a sign there that said DO NO ENTER WHEN FLASHING. It happened to be flashing. I looked along the disabled access corridor to see a large crowd of people standing outside. I walked out to find over 400 students shivering on Cathedral Street looking at me bemused as to my late arrival into the cold. I went to Greggs.
At Work (in Scotland)
In Scotland we have fire alarm tests every single week, sometimes on a Wednesday and sometimes on a Friday. The few times that there has been an actual evacuation I have wandered outside and chatted with my mates before having to reenter the building 30 minutes later. If there is ever a drill, it's always done as a surprise.
At Work (in Houston)
In Houston, however, when a drill takes place no one leaves the building, instead being instructed to stand at the doorway to the fire escape and wait for a while. It is also broadcast on what day and what time the alarm would sound. What's the point, then? Recently there was a fire drill planned for 1.30pm on Thursday and, at 3pm on Wedneday, the alarm went off. This meant that as I walked down the stairs slowly but purposefully, I found many Americans standing at the doorway not leaving the building. I walked over to the door and opened it to a few people muttering 'it's not even a real fire' and 'we are supposed to stand at the door'. I left.
Interestingly, on the Friday, we received a tanoy message that said 'Disregard the Fire Alarm if it goes off' which meant, obviously, that if there was going to be a fire, we would have all died.
At a Hotel (while taking a shit)
In Austin we had just checked into the Hotel after a 2 hour drive. I ain't going to paint a pretty picture - I was choking for a poo. At any rate, after getting the room, I went to deploy the package and was mid wiping when the alarm goes off. I shout 'Oh christ no!' as Connie laughs. Anyway, without washing my hands, we leave the hotel and decide to go and have a pint of Guiness.
At High School
I remember very few fire drills at high school if I am honest, except that they were almost always someone pulling the alarm or a fire in the Chemistry Labs. Once, the fire engines turned up, and they all started to get hoses and stuff out of the trucks. It was pretty exciting at the time, but there was no fire and as such, no real drama.
At Work (as a Student).
When I worked in the Link mobile phone store we were hooked up to the Glasgow Central Station fire alarm ring. Anytime the station pulled it's alarm, we were sent hurtling out of the shop and across the street. The best thing about this was the number of engines that had to turn up was great and that we could, from afar, watch the idiots trying to open and close the front door into the shop several times.
At University (as a Student)
Once, in my 4th year, I trundled into University with my head phones in my ears, in a drunken hangover. I walked all the way into the Thomas Graham building's "front" door which, at the time, very few people used, because it was being done up. I sued it as a quick way to get to the 2nd floor of the James Weir and my department's class rooms. I walked all the way into the corridor and happened to glance up at the building's doorway. There was a sign there that said DO NO ENTER WHEN FLASHING. It happened to be flashing. I looked along the disabled access corridor to see a large crowd of people standing outside. I walked out to find over 400 students shivering on Cathedral Street looking at me bemused as to my late arrival into the cold. I went to Greggs.
At Work (in Scotland)
In Scotland we have fire alarm tests every single week, sometimes on a Wednesday and sometimes on a Friday. The few times that there has been an actual evacuation I have wandered outside and chatted with my mates before having to reenter the building 30 minutes later. If there is ever a drill, it's always done as a surprise.
At Work (in Houston)
In Houston, however, when a drill takes place no one leaves the building, instead being instructed to stand at the doorway to the fire escape and wait for a while. It is also broadcast on what day and what time the alarm would sound. What's the point, then? Recently there was a fire drill planned for 1.30pm on Thursday and, at 3pm on Wedneday, the alarm went off. This meant that as I walked down the stairs slowly but purposefully, I found many Americans standing at the doorway not leaving the building. I walked over to the door and opened it to a few people muttering 'it's not even a real fire' and 'we are supposed to stand at the door'. I left.
Interestingly, on the Friday, we received a tanoy message that said 'Disregard the Fire Alarm if it goes off' which meant, obviously, that if there was going to be a fire, we would have all died.
At a Hotel (while taking a shit)
In Austin we had just checked into the Hotel after a 2 hour drive. I ain't going to paint a pretty picture - I was choking for a poo. At any rate, after getting the room, I went to deploy the package and was mid wiping when the alarm goes off. I shout 'Oh christ no!' as Connie laughs. Anyway, without washing my hands, we leave the hotel and decide to go and have a pint of Guiness.
Friday, December 10, 2010
Going Home
This time next week, on the 17th December 2010, I shall leave the United States of America for the Empire. It will be the end of the longest time I have ever been away from the United Kingdom which, at the current count, stands at 113 days, or 2712 hours approximately. That means that in 2010 I spent 31% of the year in a different country of my birth. To be even more geeky about it, if we say that I am 25 years, 3 months and 8 days old (or 9224 days) it means that I have spent 1% of my life in the United States of America. So far of course.
Next year, I will exceed this rather strange number of 113 days by quite an amount - currently there are no plans for me to head back home until at least the beginning of August 2011, or 8 months. Taking the 3 days off from the beginning of the year that I will spend in the UK, the total time spend in the USA after this "year" will total 353 days. Adding this to my previous total, the total percentage of my life spent in the USA will amount to 3.6%. Which, is quite a lot, really.
So I am coming home. It appears that, once again, the whole of the UK has forgotten how to deal with snow. What do I expect? I expect to be freezing, shivering, drunken, slipping, driving, dancing, smiling, laughing, meeting friends, and mostly trying not forget that in the UK we driving on the right side of the road, the left.
Next year, I will exceed this rather strange number of 113 days by quite an amount - currently there are no plans for me to head back home until at least the beginning of August 2011, or 8 months. Taking the 3 days off from the beginning of the year that I will spend in the UK, the total time spend in the USA after this "year" will total 353 days. Adding this to my previous total, the total percentage of my life spent in the USA will amount to 3.6%. Which, is quite a lot, really.
So I am coming home. It appears that, once again, the whole of the UK has forgotten how to deal with snow. What do I expect? I expect to be freezing, shivering, drunken, slipping, driving, dancing, smiling, laughing, meeting friends, and mostly trying not forget that in the UK we driving on the right side of the road, the left.
Thursday, December 09, 2010
The Walking Dead
I like comic books.
I am not exactly a massive comic book reader - in fact, my list of comic books that I read is quite short and not at all expert in any way, but I enjoy the comics I do read. My favourite of all time, Watchmen, is a very clever book and works as a perfect deconstruction of the genre. Since then, I've ambled into various other series by the way of recommendations, movies, and blind thumbing of comic book shelves. My recent love is that of the Zombie Apocalypse series, The Walking Dead.
The series follows, in a nutshell, a group of survivors of the end of the world. That's it. Movies in the genre normally end with a conclusion of sorts - death, rescue or a cure, but in the world of the Walking Dead that's not the point. In the treatment, the series plays with the idea that the greatest threat to the survivors is not the 'walkers' that aimlessly walk around the world, but the conflicts that must be resolved and tasked when you are to surive in a new way of life.
The story follows Rick Grimes, initally, a cop who missed the apocalypse due to being in a coma. He sets out to find his family who he is convinced is still alive. I will not spoil it any further than to say that they are still alive. Anyway, the series is fantastic and expansive, and now on it's 80th issue.
The reason I bring it up now is that the TV series based on the books has just finished in the US (and will air in the UK on Friday on FX if my sources are correct). The series takes the storyline and translates it directly to the TV screen. This has turned out to be very good, ensnaring my girlfriend even when she doesn't like scary things. Neither do I. BUt the horror that the series creates is not in the presence of the zombies and nor in a cheap thrills sense, but a real scary sense of humans struggling to survive themselves. As all great dramas should be about.
I have started rereading a comic book series that shares similarities to The Walking Dead, but I will save that series for another post.
I am not exactly a massive comic book reader - in fact, my list of comic books that I read is quite short and not at all expert in any way, but I enjoy the comics I do read. My favourite of all time, Watchmen, is a very clever book and works as a perfect deconstruction of the genre. Since then, I've ambled into various other series by the way of recommendations, movies, and blind thumbing of comic book shelves. My recent love is that of the Zombie Apocalypse series, The Walking Dead.
The series follows, in a nutshell, a group of survivors of the end of the world. That's it. Movies in the genre normally end with a conclusion of sorts - death, rescue or a cure, but in the world of the Walking Dead that's not the point. In the treatment, the series plays with the idea that the greatest threat to the survivors is not the 'walkers' that aimlessly walk around the world, but the conflicts that must be resolved and tasked when you are to surive in a new way of life.
The story follows Rick Grimes, initally, a cop who missed the apocalypse due to being in a coma. He sets out to find his family who he is convinced is still alive. I will not spoil it any further than to say that they are still alive. Anyway, the series is fantastic and expansive, and now on it's 80th issue.
The reason I bring it up now is that the TV series based on the books has just finished in the US (and will air in the UK on Friday on FX if my sources are correct). The series takes the storyline and translates it directly to the TV screen. This has turned out to be very good, ensnaring my girlfriend even when she doesn't like scary things. Neither do I. BUt the horror that the series creates is not in the presence of the zombies and nor in a cheap thrills sense, but a real scary sense of humans struggling to survive themselves. As all great dramas should be about.
I have started rereading a comic book series that shares similarities to The Walking Dead, but I will save that series for another post.
Wednesday, December 08, 2010
Austin, Texas
So far, I have been to Dallas, Houston, San Antonio and College Station. I spoke of Dallas in my Dallas stars post and I will return to the city at some point because JFK was shot and killed there. It makes an interesting city very intriguing. I added to that list Austin this past weekend and during the weekend away I realised certains things about myself and the cities that I like.
See, my favourite cities in the world all have on thing in common with them – they are all not in the UK. That is obviously a grass-is-always greener thing that appears when you go anywhere on holiday. Very few people think that their favourite city is the city they actually live in for the reason that they live there. Glasgow, and Aberdeen, are both wonderful places that I admit are not anything to write home about but by default I love them.
Austin, however, is now in my top favourite cities ever. It jostles for positions between such heavy weights as New York, Paris and Venice because of the exact opposite of the above reason. See, Austin felt like home; it felt like a European city transplanted to the USA, and strangely, Texas, because of a few important things.
Fristly, it automatically feels much more comfortable in it’s self. With a downtown University Campus, not too tall buildings, a bus network that appeared to be used, and a single set of streets of bars and concert venures likened the City Centres of UK cities to the annoyingly devoid Downtown of Dallas and Houston. Secondly, it had a wealth of musical acts playing all the time. During a Saturday afternoon it was 27’C and we were drinking a beer and coke listening to a singular acoustic guitarist playing white Christmas. It made its way into my heart in that way so quickly it was surprising.
The third reason will humble many readers of my blog, hopefully, and surprise many. When walking down Congress in Austin (a street, by the way) there was a person walking in front oh myself and my girlfriend, Connie.
“That’s really cool, you know” she says “That makes me really happy”.
“What does?” I ask.
“I like seeing that. That’s a man dressed as a woman”
And it was. In the middle of Texas there was an openly transsexual man walking brazenly down the road. No one even noticed, not even turned their head. Earlier, whilst eating breakfast at the coolest bistro I’ve seen in the country so far, we were sat next to flamboyantly homosexual men enjoying lunch. Later, there were two lesbians at the piano bar we were drinking at. Even a quip made by one of the pianists about a group of ladies sitting at a table and how ‘they might not be here for the boys, it is Austin after all’ made the whole place cheer with a loud drunken roar.
So, Austin is pretty forward thinking. Or, at least, modern thinking, compared to some parts of the USA. Texas has so far not been the hot bed of Homophobia or Religious fervour that I might have expected, but it’s definitely a part of the culture that is slowly creeping in and taking over, not without a little resistance, admittedly.
See, my favourite cities in the world all have on thing in common with them – they are all not in the UK. That is obviously a grass-is-always greener thing that appears when you go anywhere on holiday. Very few people think that their favourite city is the city they actually live in for the reason that they live there. Glasgow, and Aberdeen, are both wonderful places that I admit are not anything to write home about but by default I love them.
Austin, however, is now in my top favourite cities ever. It jostles for positions between such heavy weights as New York, Paris and Venice because of the exact opposite of the above reason. See, Austin felt like home; it felt like a European city transplanted to the USA, and strangely, Texas, because of a few important things.
Fristly, it automatically feels much more comfortable in it’s self. With a downtown University Campus, not too tall buildings, a bus network that appeared to be used, and a single set of streets of bars and concert venures likened the City Centres of UK cities to the annoyingly devoid Downtown of Dallas and Houston. Secondly, it had a wealth of musical acts playing all the time. During a Saturday afternoon it was 27’C and we were drinking a beer and coke listening to a singular acoustic guitarist playing white Christmas. It made its way into my heart in that way so quickly it was surprising.
The third reason will humble many readers of my blog, hopefully, and surprise many. When walking down Congress in Austin (a street, by the way) there was a person walking in front oh myself and my girlfriend, Connie.
“That’s really cool, you know” she says “That makes me really happy”.
“What does?” I ask.
“I like seeing that. That’s a man dressed as a woman”
And it was. In the middle of Texas there was an openly transsexual man walking brazenly down the road. No one even noticed, not even turned their head. Earlier, whilst eating breakfast at the coolest bistro I’ve seen in the country so far, we were sat next to flamboyantly homosexual men enjoying lunch. Later, there were two lesbians at the piano bar we were drinking at. Even a quip made by one of the pianists about a group of ladies sitting at a table and how ‘they might not be here for the boys, it is Austin after all’ made the whole place cheer with a loud drunken roar.
So, Austin is pretty forward thinking. Or, at least, modern thinking, compared to some parts of the USA. Texas has so far not been the hot bed of Homophobia or Religious fervour that I might have expected, but it’s definitely a part of the culture that is slowly creeping in and taking over, not without a little resistance, admittedly.
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