tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-384475722024-03-07T04:59:34.705+00:00Grizzled BlogGrrrMr A. P. Salmond, esq.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12370753567550503763noreply@blogger.comBlogger374125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38447572.post-83170919915974048852011-02-08T21:17:00.000+00:002011-02-08T21:17:36.930+00:00In the sunshine of your loo-o-o-oooo-o-o-oooove<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0eYyaIqlNNVxYrdFuEJFGGitdrHWjkkzxnf3vOZ8dWSUhgB7UmQBTA0yv7Wbcf4-Yo7NInWzmhPkYHSx62mVZ8sP_CKJmdT8AEKXXc1ZqIcRaGvUbqAHa5i_0LPgIn56HgSEoAA/s1600/405674381_a5cbfdfb86.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="386" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0eYyaIqlNNVxYrdFuEJFGGitdrHWjkkzxnf3vOZ8dWSUhgB7UmQBTA0yv7Wbcf4-Yo7NInWzmhPkYHSx62mVZ8sP_CKJmdT8AEKXXc1ZqIcRaGvUbqAHa5i_0LPgIn56HgSEoAA/s400/405674381_a5cbfdfb86.jpg" width="400" /></a> </div>Bah.<br />
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I got my funk on this evening, and not in a boogie down productions fashion, neither.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcJSQZkqbk35v327tlUl5TTbABTWSwwtZ76VUDnTT7w0UtpOflfWIMwTqI-svhnllE_Ay-rW05zklRMPYRPL4Qz6bXY-FN37N760L9-8JzSNC1qL1cVSn_uFJgDIAazxKpgLd0Iw/s1600/bdp2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcJSQZkqbk35v327tlUl5TTbABTWSwwtZ76VUDnTT7w0UtpOflfWIMwTqI-svhnllE_Ay-rW05zklRMPYRPL4Qz6bXY-FN37N760L9-8JzSNC1qL1cVSn_uFJgDIAazxKpgLd0Iw/s400/bdp2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
It's a spinning my wheels evening, where I feel as though everything I read on the internet only reminds me how much I have been neglecting what I should be focusing on. I read through things written by friends, or by people whose work I admire, and to be honest I find myself kind of daunted by it. I sit down and try to write something, but find myself struggling to organise my thoughts into cohesive structures. Irritating, since it was always structure that I prided myself on the most in my essay-writing days. A good structure, however spurious your argument, guaranteed at least a B in those heady university days. Or those heady post-university, writing-essays-for-a-middle-aged-real-estate-agent-who-was-doing-sports-psychology-through-Massey's-extramural-program days.<br />
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But I look over things I've done recently, and they just aren't coming together in the same way that things used to. I know practice is a big part of it. Too much writing stream-of-consciousness dithers, to little structured thought. The NaNos are great in some ways for that, but to be honest I've only had at best a skeletal idea when going into them (and no idea at all in the first one). The first two came out by fluke, but are dreadful as is. On the third one, although I finished it, I came a cropper on the lack of structure, completely devolving into silly nonsense by the final third. Oh sure, it was fun silly nonsense, but nonsense is what it was. Let me tell you this: the next time I write a novel about satanists sacrificing a shipload of passengers to their dark master, I'll treat it with the seriousness it deserves.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL5WYSRO5RyzO9Soqdg9sfgpBe4IIxeckkJioVV2hG0BfkYdHvUqOa4Lni23Rc5N1A9fFPo_PUv0VzW7KxcJyXBIt4EOrcsa6hZgOYmzVDWt3E14mrxUR148Kwr1TgXNcKzRELhg/s1600/louvin-brothers-511-l.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL5WYSRO5RyzO9Soqdg9sfgpBe4IIxeckkJioVV2hG0BfkYdHvUqOa4Lni23Rc5N1A9fFPo_PUv0VzW7KxcJyXBIt4EOrcsa6hZgOYmzVDWt3E14mrxUR148Kwr1TgXNcKzRELhg/s400/louvin-brothers-511-l.jpg" width="301" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0eYyaIqlNNVxYrdFuEJFGGitdrHWjkkzxnf3vOZ8dWSUhgB7UmQBTA0yv7Wbcf4-Yo7NInWzmhPkYHSx62mVZ8sP_CKJmdT8AEKXXc1ZqIcRaGvUbqAHa5i_0LPgIn56HgSEoAA/s1600/405674381_a5cbfdfb86.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
</a></div>I need to work at it, I know. This clumsy, limited feeling I have is incredibly frustrating. It works against me, another excuse to shrug off the discipline required to keep a routine, to expand my output. I gotta force myself out of my comfort zones and make myself do work that has some purpose.<br />
<br />
I'm tired of being stuck in our current living environment as well. We've been surrounded by boxes for months now, after our initial burst of packing enthusiasm. We've been involved in the buying of our new place for four months now, and looking likely to stretch to five, at least. Our initial packing burst, as glad as I'm sure I'll be of it come the moving date, feels a bit silly. I'm not one much for feng shui and the like, but our current flat feels increasingly like some kind of prison-cum-warehouse, where we get to go on day release for work.<br />
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Anyway, just having a little moan. If not here, then where? The good news is, I know what I need to do. Just as soon as I get all my novel revision stuff out of that box. Tomorrow.<br />
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Somebody give me three words and I'll write a (very) short story. Go on. I'll do it by the end of my next weekend (next Monday). I can't even vaguely suggest it'll be any good, but I'll crank out something.<br />
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There you go. Proactive action. I feel better already! Time to reward myself with a computer game.<br />
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</a></div>Mr A. P. Salmond, esq.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12370753567550503763noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38447572.post-75960968877694322702011-01-24T16:25:00.000+00:002011-01-24T16:25:59.925+00:00Necessity is the Mother of MonstersSo, I guess it's time for a little catch-up!<br />
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1) Shaking Out the Dustpan<br />
So, as you may be aware, I did finish my NaNoWriMo last year, despite my lack of blogging on the matter. Not sure what happened this year, but I lacked the sense of urgency and involvement I had in the previous attempts. Sure, I still finished, but it was probably my worst effort yet, and the difficulties I had with it early on, combined with a growing disillusionment with the story I was writing, meant that I just couldn't get excited about it. Well, 50,000 words is 50,000 words, I suppose, and the failures are as important a means of learning as the successes.<br />
2) Defrosting the Freezer<br />
Speaking of which, I'll be going back to my revision of my 2009 effort. It's been largely stalled for quite some time now, so I'm gonna have to start again from scratch, I think. Probably not a bad thing.<br />
3) Scrubbing the Bathroom<br />
So the ongoing saga of our house buying is...ongoing. We're at about 3 1/2 months and counting since our offer was accepted. It's all looking fairly positive in terms of going through, but we're waiting for lawyers to their lawyerly thing. Buying in this country is a ridiculously convoluted process, and it's easy to forget sometimes that we're about to put ourselves in debt to the tune of a couple hundred thousand pounds. As a warm-up we've been buying stuff we're gonna need. We're now the proud owners of a new telly, with a sofa and a bed ordered and due for delivery in 7 or 8 weeks. Hopefully we'll be in by then!<br />
4) Sweeping the Floor<br />
Work has been crazy. Two people are leaving, and I am about to go back to handling the book ordering for the store. Meanwhile libraries are spending money like they're about to lose it (they are), big changes are in the offing for our building thanks to a new owner, and we've got all kind of plans for the coming year. I've done or am doing a couple of little interview things (for the FPI blog and the Comics Bureau blog) and am on a panel about selling graphic novels at the London Book Fair this year. So that'll be fun.<br />
5) Making the Bed<br />
Things are all good on the married front. We've taken to having a date night, not because we're desperately trying to salvage our relationship, but rather because we've grown a bit too comfortable in our routines and both miss going out and enjoying what London has to offer, especially on the food front. Unfortunate, given we're about to have to start living on a shoestring once the mortgage payments kick in.<br />
6) Writing the Blog.<br />
And this thing, of course! Well, I've thought about getting rid of it, but, y'know, all the points I made in my last well-intentioned but doomed post still hold true, so I'm going to keep on with it. I won't make any foolish commitments to it, but I will get to it as often as possible and try and work it into my week somehow. <br />
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And that's about it! Now, time for some Xbox...<br />
</span>Mr A. P. Salmond, esq.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12370753567550503763noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38447572.post-3511848512837198172011-01-17T20:31:00.003+00:002011-01-17T20:31:58.264+00:00RAAAARGH!*cough*<br />
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Okay...Mr A. P. Salmond, esq.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12370753567550503763noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38447572.post-70478106029007101932010-11-05T20:30:00.000+00:002010-11-05T20:30:48.224+00:00NaNoWriMo Update: Day FiveWords Written Today: 1,304<br />
Total Words Written: 9,546<br />
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Still on it! Just had a couple of busy evenings.<br />
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Okay, today was my first below quota day (the first of a number, I'm sure), but I'm actually quite pleased given I only had pre-work time to do it. Happily, the big couple of days I had at the beginning And the trouble I'm having grinding out the words certainly doesn't help. I've not taken to this story yet, and the lack of research combined with what to me is an unnatural narrative style isn't helping. So far this is proving tougher than my previous efforts and seems to be taking forever to get started, but I should be getting to the meat of it soon and I'm hoping that'll enthuse me.<br />
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In other preoccupying news, out house buying has begun to proceed again after hanging in credit approval limbo for three weeks. Yesterday we were properly, officially approved for lending by HSBC, and then today I paid the surveyors to do a full building survey on the property, which they are arranging with the estate agents. Exciting times!<br />
</span>Mr A. P. Salmond, esq.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12370753567550503763noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38447572.post-166022987161054002010-11-03T21:40:00.000+00:002010-11-03T21:40:45.291+00:00NaNoWriMo Update: Day ThreeWords Written Today: 1,837<br />
Total Words Written: 6,457<br />
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Quick one today, just to say that after an unusually long journey into work and then having real trouble getting rolling, I was relieved to actually hit my word count. Still just needed before work and lunchtime, but it was dicey! For the record, my daily required count is currently 1,613.<br />
</span>Mr A. P. Salmond, esq.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12370753567550503763noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38447572.post-20051312214142462062010-11-02T17:49:00.000+00:002010-11-02T17:49:36.975+00:00NaNoWriMo Update: Day TwoWords Written Today: 2,235<br />
Total Words Written: 4,620<br />
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In many ways the second day is harder than the first. You're riding on all the enthusiasm of getting started on the first day, but the second day is only the second day of thirty, and the moment where it sinks in that you have to do this every day. Well, that's how it is for me, anyway.<br />
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So I'm still in this bloody prologue, which should come to its conclusion tomorrow. It's run on far too long, and will end up at around 5500-6000 words, I would guess. More than 10% of the total length! Well, an imperfect structure is NaNo Sin That Must Be Worked Through #1. To be honest there is a part of me that dreads finishing it. The narrative will switch to a third person perspective, and more to the point will effectively start again, which will be a little deflating given the ever-escalating nature of the prologue.<br />
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I tell you one thing: I've certainly not lost any love for writing horrific scenes. It's like tucking into a good steak.<br />
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Timing-wise, today was pretty good. I managed 1,300 or so words before work and banged out another 900 over lunch. Hopefully I can keep that up! <br />
</span>Mr A. P. Salmond, esq.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12370753567550503763noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38447572.post-12775740838970259262010-11-01T19:19:00.001+00:002010-11-01T19:19:47.128+00:00NaNoWriMo Update: Day OneWords Written Today: 2,385<br />Total Words Written: 2,385<br /><br /><span id="fullpost"><br />Here we go again!<br /><br />So welcome along to National Novel Writing Month 2010, wherein I attempt to write a 50,000 word novel in the month of November. It's also now about the only time my blog gets updated on a regular basis, so stick around. I'll try and update daily with my word count for that day and the total amount of words written so far. Yes, I know an obsession with word counts seems crass and anti-intellectual, but to be frank it makes for a wonderful motivational tool. A shit-spewing motivational tool, to be sure, but an effective one nonetheless.<br /><br />In case you're unfamiliar with the whys and wherefores of NaNoWriMo, I direct you to their website (currently struggling under the traffic it seems): www.nanowrimo.org<br /><br />In short, it's a great way to blow out the cobwebs and get you writing, regardless of quality. To dismiss the activity as a waste of time because of the focus on quantity over quality is a mistake: as a tool for learning, any writing is good writing. Furthermore, if only 10% of what I write this month is salvageable in some way, or at least passable, then that's 5000 words of decent prose I will have written. More importantly, as happened last year, I may come out with the kernels of honest-to-god Good Ideas.<br /><br />So, where am I at? Well, last year's novel still sits mostly unrevised. I began revisions on it earlier this year, but fell off the wagon in a big way. I still have all the coursework from the novel revision lessons I was doing, and I fully intend to go back and pick up again next month.<br /><br />This year: well, to be honest I was feeling a little shaky about it. I had promised myself I wasn't going to do fantasy again this year. It felt like the lazy option, and I really did want to push myself to write something different. Not too different, as it transpires. I've gone for horror this time around, another genre which I know the tropes of fairly well. I'll admit it it: sometimes in NaNo when you're not going in with a detailed plan you've got to take the lazy story option. I didn't really have a clear story going in, and one didn't coalesce until I was sat having a coffee this morning. I guess it has actually coalesced to some degree, so won't be a total seat-of-the-pants affair, which puts me ahead of my first effort in some way, but I'm sure a few familiar story beats will creep their way in as I struggle to keep the words coming.<br /><br />On the positive side, I am quite happy with the rough idea I have. Without giving too much away at this juncture, it involves a mid-19th Century transatlantic liner, ghosts, and Satanists. Probably. <br /><br />And how was the first day? Well, firstly I have to once again praise my little EeePC 2G Surf, the trilobite of netbooks and among the most reliable, hardy pieces of technology I've ever bought. Especially considering the hammering I've given its keyboard; if you've ever heard me at a PC you'll know I'm a fairly forceful two-finger typist. Small, hard-wearing, lightweight - what netbooks were always supposed to be. Oh sure, I'm damn near out of storage thanks to XP slowly eating up the 2GB internal SSD (I originally had a stripped down install that came in at around 800mb, and now have around 70mb free), but it has some word processing legs yet. Just might be time to switch back to something Linux-flavoured.<br /><br />Anyway! Other than the usually tough first 400-500 words, I was pleased with how easily it went today. It was my day off, which gave me a fairly relaxed time frame to get things done, and most of the writing was done in a Nero through the middle of the day. It was nice to rediscover that great pleasure that comes with writing material you enjoy, in this case a journal-narrated prologue whose tone draws in no small part on Arthur Conan Doyle's Captain of the Pole Star. Okay, it seems to be taking a little too long to get to the point, but I'll try and rectify that tomorrow. <br /><br />So we're off! Tomorrow is a work day, so I'll be settling into the early morning/lunchtime routine which worked fairly well last year. I'll let you know how that works out.<br /></span>Mr A. P. Salmond, esq.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12370753567550503763noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38447572.post-4048561635327881622010-08-31T07:44:00.000+00:002010-08-31T07:44:02.373+00:00Things I Did Yesterday 31/08/10It's a slow burn. And yesterday I:<br />
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- Worked. A lot. I went in early with a mind towards starting at around 8am, leaving time for half an hour to grab a coffee and a bite to eat, maybe chill with a book. Completely forgot that it was the bank holiday, so *nowhere* was open. Also forgot that the West End on bank holiday Monday is a proper hive of scum an villainy. Had to go to McDonalds, negotiate my order around a leery guy who was screaming at a woman behind the counter, then just head straight to work. So it was a 7.30 start!<br />
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- Did a shedload of work on a Lambeth library buy which took a lot longer than I expected, as well as the usual things I needed to get done. Then started on the time-consuming job of prepping a department change in our EPOS system. This involved re-categorising around 7000 items of stock and remapping the till keys. This took FOREVER. I hit 8pm with just the final set-up to go (still about another hour's work) and decided I would come back in first thing on Wednesday before anyone gets in and do it then. I really should do it on the 1st for the purposes of bookkeeping, anyway.<br />
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- Came home to a very tired, hungover wife. We ordered some pizza in which took more than and hour and a half to arrive! During which we watched Whip It, which was a very middling, formulaic film, to be honest. It had promise, but just dragged things out and made far too little of the rollergirls themselves. It wasn't terrible, but I couldn't recommend it.<br />
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- Fell into bed and was asleep in record time. <br />
</span>Mr A. P. Salmond, esq.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12370753567550503763noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38447572.post-55377737358983775582010-08-17T20:03:00.000+00:002010-08-17T20:03:14.437+00:00Things I Did Yesterday 17/08/10Well, shit, it's an improvement, isn't it? Anyway, yesterday I:<br />
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- Woke up in a hotel room in Winchester, Roman town and seat of power to the kings of Wessex and later to William the Conqueror. Lovely place, where Alex had arranged for a weekend getaway to celebrate our 2nd wedding anniversary. The anniversary was actually on the 1st August, but she was polishing elephants, or whatever they do down there in South Africa, for her mother's birthday.<br />
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- Had as hearty a breakfast as a hotel allows (wasn't too bad, to be fair), then hit the road, headed for Lyndhurst, at the heart of the New Forest. Got stuck in the prettiest traffic jam I've ever been in, with lush forest all around.<br />
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- Lyndhurst was bustling tourist central, so we didn't spend too long there: just a quick half in a wasp-infested beer garden. Then we went for a drive, headed to Beaulieu (didn't stop at the motor museum or Palace House, as the entry was £17/head!) The New Forest impressed me greatly and we'll definitely be back. We've long talked about a camping and cycling holiday there, and this motivated us both to make it happen. Lovely, varied terrain, with ponies and cattle wandering freely everywhere, and the occasional picturesque village to boot.<br />
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- Went on to the spit at the Calshot (past picturesque oil refineries and power stations) and popped into Calshot Castle, a fortress built in the 16th Century to defend Southampton. Nice little English Heritage place, with some amazing models of old seaplanes that used to operate out of there.<br />
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- Drove on to Southampton, where we stopped very briefly for a quick drink before hitting the road back to London.<br />
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- Dropped the rental car off at the depot near Pentonville Prison, then wandered home.<br />
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- Once home we drifted off to do our own thing. I caught up on The Daily Show while Alex watched the soaps, then watched Burning Bright, a silly but fun film about a girl and her autistic younger brother trying to escape a tiger that has been nefariously let loose in their house, which has been battened down for a hurricane. Really, it's not too bad, and has a smart, resourceful female lead; nothing to take for granted in the genre.<br />
<br />
- Watched a True Blood (speaking of silly), then hit the sack.<br />
</span>Mr A. P. Salmond, esq.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12370753567550503763noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38447572.post-44633355133152658222010-08-10T09:58:00.000+00:002010-08-10T09:58:57.184+00:00Things I Did Yesterday 10/08/10Yessir! Nothing like a grand statement of intent to really get my wheels a'rollin'! Anyway, believe it or not, yesterday I:<br />
<span id="fullpost"><br />
- Worked. It was my first day back after nearly a week off to go to my nephew's wedding in the south of Italy. Great wedding, all Italian Catholic grandiosity. We were staying in a beach resort, which really isn't my thing at all, but wasn't as bad as I'd feared. No Alex either, which always makes holidays a little less enjoyable.<br />
<br />
- Oh yeah, worked. Well, lots to catch up on, so I barely got anything I needed to get done, done. Also, Nat is away doing his Edinburgh show with Tom & Tobi, so there's a bit more work coming from that side of things too. So surprise surprise, all of my library standing orders are now running late and I'll almost certainly be doing some late hours. Not a great first day back.<br />
<br />
- To make matters worse, at some point on my trip I've picked up a mild cold. Not enough to be terrible, but just enough to be a pain in the ass.<br />
<br />
- Came home and read some comics, which was a nice balm for the end of the day.<br />
<br />
- Played a little Diablo II, which I'd started a while back but fallen away from. For a game that's over 10 years old, it's certainly still a hell of a lot of fun. I'm glad that the some-time-upcoming Diablo III seems to have taken an "if it ain't broke" approach, even if it makes their interface seem a little dated.<br />
<br />
- Watched an episode of True Blood, which I'm finding a little tired. There's certainly nothing new on offer with it, and while it's fine as bedtime viewing for me and Alex, I can't help but think I'd rather be spending the time reading a book.<br />
<br />
- Went to sleep. Hopefully not for a month this time!<br />
</span>Mr A. P. Salmond, esq.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12370753567550503763noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38447572.post-48053193710398220912010-07-13T18:25:00.000+00:002010-07-13T18:25:23.169+00:00Things I Did Yesterday 13/07/10Think fast! Yesterday I:<br />
<span id="fullpost"><br />
- Got up fairly early and blitzed my outstanding RSS feeds. Well, mostly, anyway.<br />
<br />
- Wandered down to Angel and had a coffee while finishing Dan Simmons' Song of Kali. Best horror novel I've read in a long time, which really isn't saying much, but Simmons has a great style which really captures the chaos of Calcutta (as it still was when this was written in 1983), and maintains an ambiguity which never lets the book tip into ridiculousness. Good read.<br />
<br />
- Came home and started a sort-out of my clutter-filled life, firstly involving pulling everything out of drawers and off the shelves. In the end I made nothing like the progress I had hoped. File under "developing".<br />
<br />
- Frustrated, I went out again to the Lord Clyde pub around the corner and had a bite to eat while starting Bill Bryson's Neither Here Nor There, which is the only one of his travel books I haven't read. I love Bryson's stuff, the readability and charm of it. Good bedtime reading.<br />
<br />
- Came home and tidied the lounge, then internetted a little, before sitting down to play some Xbox, then had a call from wifey. We were viewing a flat in Oakleigh Park at 5.30pm.<br />
<br />
- Met Alex at Essex Road station and then went up to Oakleigh Park, which was very nice. Residential, so not a lot of shopping convenience, but quiet and with lots of nice terraced conversions. The flat itself wasn't anything to write home about: a ground floor conversion with two double bedrooms, it had lots of natural light and a (tiny) back garden, but just had a weird flow-through and a teeny tiny galley kitchen. Definitely an area we'll keep looking in, though. <br />
<br />
- Met briefly with Debs for a drink, as she lives just around the corner from where we were looking. She has an amazing one-bedroom place with a good sized garden, so our requirements are certainly achievable on our budget in the area.<br />
<br />
- Came home and ordered pizza, because we're bad. But the pizza was delicious, ordered from a place we haven't tried before. That's not really a good thing, considering losing weight is fast becoming my top priority.<br />
<br />
- Watched True Blood, which is off to a silly start. That's not necessarily a bad thing, given that at this point in the first and second seasons we were about ready to chuck it in altogether.<br />
<br />
- Hit the sack, read for a bit, then went to sleep. Zzzz.<br />
</span>Mr A. P. Salmond, esq.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12370753567550503763noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38447572.post-41669834655260416522010-07-12T14:36:00.000+00:002010-07-12T14:36:07.022+00:00Things I Did Yesterday 12/07/10Becaus I know you were wondering, yesterday I:<br />
<span id="fullpost"><br />
- Got up around 8-ish, and then me and Bruce (who had stayed over for an evening of Xbox and pizza) went up to Newington Green for a little brunch. Although I like to go to different places when possible, we generally end up at The Acoustic for Sunday breakfasts. Good food there.<br />
<br />
- Came back and watched Clash of the Titans, which was a lot of fun. It was exactly the kind of trashy film I was hoping it to be (which, let's face it, is exactly the kind of trashy film the old Harryhausen flicks are). Plus I'm a little bit in love with Gemma Arterton, so that's no chore. Glad I saw it in 2-D, though. The post-process 3-D stuff just gives me a headache.<br />
<br />
- Played a bit more Xbox. Split/Second Velocity, in case you're wondering. It's a car racing game that has a nice twist on the old combat mechanic. Basically, you are able to trigger events on the urban track ahead of you and your opponents, from lorries crashing onto the track, through mines dropping from helicopters, and even toppling buildings and crashing planes. It's a fast, exciting experience with the normal racing, but the combat mechanic really adds to it and feels quite fresh. By contrast, we also played Blur, which is like Project Gotham Racing crossed with Mario Kart. It's a nice idea, but doesn't really offer anything new. It also runs at what feels like a third again the speed of SSV, making it confusing as hell.<br />
<br />
- Bruce wandered off, and I faffed about a little before heading off to see Predators. Disappointing, as I was hoping (based on reviews I was seeing) for a lean, fast-paced action film. Instead it meanders along through its running time with a languid start and one particularly unnecessary diversion along the way. It was still fun, but not the film I was hoping for.<br />
<br />
- Came home, faffed a little more then watched Green Zone. It's a very effective thriller that I thoroughly enjoyed, but even one day later I feel like it's fading. It's the kind of film that in five years time I will forget even exists. Worth a watch, though.<br />
<br />
- Found that Alex wasn't coming home, as she'd missed her last train from Wilmslow, so I broke out the coke and called in some hookers.<br />
<br />
- Ahh...I mean, I had a bath, went to bed and read some comics. One notable one was Power Out, by Nathan Schreiber, which was originally serialized on the Act-i-vate website. Highly enjoyable coming of age story which operates on a pleasantly small scale. I liked it so much, I even emailed him to say so. So consider it recommended. <br />
<br />
- And that's that! Hopefully more tomorrow, and maybe the next script as well!<br />
</span>Mr A. P. Salmond, esq.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12370753567550503763noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38447572.post-47992729710278599702010-06-28T12:00:00.000+00:002010-06-28T12:00:23.590+00:00Time Travellin' Script Reviews #3 - The Boxer<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhILKmPcoCDU0lx0S3CieHDl0qzcbdMZD6Qc_YUrpMmWQS8AI7oiz44DyftxRZ_dQUKgtXbxnsxsHAXobi9pLxax-zNWdxXNtVRvYOaO3KWkeVLZNAIjpuaQ6JH7WiUnC8L9EWDLA/s1600/valuev_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhILKmPcoCDU0lx0S3CieHDl0qzcbdMZD6Qc_YUrpMmWQS8AI7oiz44DyftxRZ_dQUKgtXbxnsxsHAXobi9pLxax-zNWdxXNtVRvYOaO3KWkeVLZNAIjpuaQ6JH7WiUnC8L9EWDLA/s320/valuev_1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Looking back, this Boxer script may well have been the second thing I actually completed. So very early 2002 at a guess. Ah well, no big deal. Dodgy East End dialogue aside (hey, I’d only been here just over a year), I’m still rather pleased with it for the most part, although the mockumentary format is a little done to death (read: cheap).<br />
<br />
Anyway, on with it! Script at the link, notes after the break.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.docstoc.com/docs/document-preview.aspx?doc_id=45348715">The Boxer - 1st Draft</a><br />
<span id="fullpost"><br />
I have a nagging suspicion the idea of a boxer who everyone bigs up but who is actually blatantly shit may have come out of discussions I had with my friends Doug and Ossie, but the idea of doing something in a mockumentary (wow, I really hate that word) style goes back to my first day of frantic brainstorming, as recounted in the first of these blog posts. The original idea was far more serious, a crime drama recounting the rise and fall of a gangland figure. I wrote a few lines of dialogue for it on that first day that actually make me physically cringe now I look back at them (I still have the original notes from that day). In the balance,<br />
I’m happy I used the format on this.<br />
<br />
I probably have more affection for the characters in this than I do for anything else I ever did.I admire plucky underdogs, however deluded they might be, and I feel that Jimmy is a pretty nice guy who has been used by Barry. <br />
<br />
From what I can recall, this all came together fairly quickly, especially after the torturous development of the Jesus script. The only tricky thing I can think of was trying to tell the story while balancing screen time for the characters. It’s also the first time I tried to write something which involved quick cutaways, writing with a mind to editing. Writing with a mind to film, basically, and this was one that I did nearly go ahead with filming, thanks to its cheap, straightforward style.<br />
<br />
Into the script itself:<br />
<br />
<b>Page 3: “When he were little, you should’ve seen him!”</b><br />
<br />
Cor blimey guvnor, let’s have a knees up around the old Joanna. Okay, so this is something I always feel a bit funny about. Writing accents is always a fine line: too much and your script looks ridiculous; too little and you lose some essence of the character you’re trying to write. Again, this is one of those things that marks out a writer’s role in film. At the end of the day the actual dialogue will be based around the performance of an actor who will probably base his or her delivery on what they know. The script can certainly suggest accents and dialects (and should, I think), but I believe a writer needs to know when to let it go. One half-finished project I have is a radio-play adaptation of an Arthur Conan Doyle short story, with a cast composed mainly of Scottish sailors. Nightmare. That all being said, I was a resident of the East End for a while, within spitting distance of the Bow Bells, no less, so, y’know, <i>it's all totally authentic</i>.<br />
<br />
<b>Page 4: “A piano is playing in the background”</b><br />
<br />
Now, to the untrained eye it may seem like I’m trying to convey the idea that the working class people of the East End have no appreciation of culture. Of course not. I’m merely-ahh-merely—oh, I guess I am. But it’s all good-natured, I can assure you. Actually, I just liked the idea that everyone was so invested in Jimmy, who actually wasn’t the talent he was being sold to be, that they were ignoring a prodigal talent under the same roof. I like to think that Rose represents a wellspring of hope, and that she will flourish within her newly supportive<br />
environment after the end of this little story.<br />
<br />
<b>Page 5: “I could be sunning myself in Vegas!”</b><br />
<br />
So I appreciate that it’s all a bit silly. Even if they were to support his ambitions, they would never become quite this deluded. It could be argued that painting these characters with such wide-eyed naiveté is just terribly patronising, and there is a part of me that cringes a little. But then, common as muck, me, so doesn’t that mean I’m allowed to poke fun?<br />
<br />
<b>Page 5: “We’re Jimmy’s oldest mates! Ain’t that right?”</b><br />
<br />
Okay, so all the sequences with these guys are awful. There, I’ve said it. I don’t mind the idea of them, but in the execution they just suck. Terrible, tin-ear dialogue, for one thing.<br />
<br />
<b>Page 12: “EXT. COUNCIL FLATS – DAY”</b><br />
<br />
This whole scene is just weird. So out of place with the rest of the thing, both in terms of featuring the interviewers themselves, and also for breaking the interview format. I certainly wanted some kind of finish with Barry, but this whole business of them being beaten up by thugs is just completely out of left field. Serious work needed here.<br />
<br />
<b>Page 14: “Pending getting my hands on a copy of When We Were Kings!”</b><br />
<br />
Lazy bastard.<br />
<br />
</span>Mr A. P. Salmond, esq.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12370753567550503763noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38447572.post-4133225262443966102010-06-15T18:45:00.000+00:002010-06-15T18:45:22.958+00:00Time Travelin' Script Reviews #2 - Office Zombie<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiGUTaogkXY6xIwLncXGuDCG6R3zU2y_Qy3_CaxGDEYzvSX516QH-7FaolAyJcnpnpsgmgLykTKKTP4lG1AeszW9FXcXAy0N8Qxk29K16dOP_3bfWa6xvEj8vaGdl4ETb7wJQ6mg/s1600/Zombie-Michael-the-office-8655920-362-487.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiGUTaogkXY6xIwLncXGuDCG6R3zU2y_Qy3_CaxGDEYzvSX516QH-7FaolAyJcnpnpsgmgLykTKKTP4lG1AeszW9FXcXAy0N8Qxk29K16dOP_3bfWa6xvEj8vaGdl4ETb7wJQ6mg/s320/Zombie-Michael-the-office-8655920-362-487.jpg" width="237" /></a></div><br />
Ahh...Office Zombie. Probably the best received of my recurring characters (yeah, I’ve got a couple, though I did always try to make each short stand alone), and certainly one of the most enjoyable to write.<br />
<br />
(As an aside, I do find it difficult to take myself seriously doing this, when I’m essentially doing some kind of retrospective on something that never even had a second draft, let alone got made, and only a handful of people saw. Still, it’s a good exercise. Must think of it that way.)<br />
<br />
Anyway, script at the link, rambling after the break:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.docstoc.com/docs/document-preview.aspx?doc_id=43652895">Office Zombie - 1st Draft</a><br />
<span id="fullpost"><br />
The idea came from discussions with various people, though I believe it was Jeff Wheeler who threw out the original germ of the idea. So this skit came of that, then it kind of took on a life of its own, and I’ve still got one half-finished script for the Office Zombie Christmas Special lying about.<br />
<br />
In terms of timing on this, it was certainly one of the first things I did after finishing the Jesus script, though I can’t remember for the life of me whether it was this or the Boxer script that was next. In the end I figured it was probably this, simply because I didn’t do a title page, something that every script after this has (I think the Jesus one was added after). In any event, it was certainly early 2002. Not too important, I guess, but I’ll do the Boxer next week, before what will probably be a string of several Office Zombie stories (I was on a roll). Anyway, it’s a quickie this week, so let’s get it done!<br />
<br />
Page One: “in his late 20’s and rather slick. An up-and-comer.”<br />
<br />
I have such a stereotypical idea of office guys, probably due to never having actually worked in and office. Office guys in most of my scripts tend to be slick, stylish, driven, sleazy assholes. Not true, of course. Is it? Actually, I think it comes from being a child of the 80’s, when businessmen were all self-proclaimed masters of the universe and all of that. Now they just seem to be stressed out twenty-somethings who desperately live for the weekend, ducking and diving their way through petty office politics. Wait...still not a particularly positive view, is it?<br />
<br />
Page One: “He...ahh...he smells rather bad, sir.”<br />
<br />
This thing of people stumbling over what they’re saying is a common feature in my scripts, and not one I think necessarily works in practice. When I’m writing it helps to make the dialogue feel more naturalistic, but looking back I think it just acts as a superficial means of creating natural speech, and to be honest that kind of naturalism in film should come from an actor, not a script. Or at least that’s how I feel now. But then I often fall into that kind of direction trap in my scripts, probably because I was fully intending to be a director at the time and, after all, production-ready these ain’t.<br />
<br />
Page One: “Well...there’s the whole thing of personal grooming too, sir.”<br />
<br />
Speaking of dialogue, a lot of what’s here just feels a little clunky. When I’m writing, I do speak through lines in a put-on voice for that character, but never particularly loudly, and I think the effect of muttering a line under your breath doesn’t quite give an accurate representation of how a line really sounds. And...I...really...need...to...give...the...ellipses...a...rest.<br />
<br />
Page Two: “Well, I can only hear one person moaning here Jones.”<br />
<br />
I really like this line. It’s always so gratifying to read back through old things and find stuff that still works for you, and this is one of them.<br />
<br />
Page Two: “Davis...ate him sir.”<br />
<br />
Whereas, upon reflection, the punchline here is pretty weak. Almost redundant, undercut by the previous suggestion by Jones that Davis is a zombie. It’s not a surprise that he ate someone, he is a zombie, after all.<br />
<br />
Page Three: “THEME SONG”<br />
<br />
The theme song, a recurring thing throughout the OZ scripts, is one of the things I enjoyed the most when doing them, but is also what probably works the least in practical terms. The idea was to juxtapose this light, breezy tune – kind of an Andrews Sisters ditty – with this horrible creature. That was important, too. I actually wanted Davis to be a bit scary, or at least a little gross. For the most part this worked throughout the scripts. I think. I guess we’ll find out soon enough. I can think of one really notable exception, actually, but ideally Davis should have always brought some horror to proceedings.<br />
<br />
And that’s that! I think this is actually about the shortest script I did, apart from perhaps “Redundant Zombie” - the final OZ story which I never really properly formatted and don’t remember if I ever emailed it out to people. Well, we’ll get to it in these posts, I think.<br />
<br />
Adios!<br />
</span>Mr A. P. Salmond, esq.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12370753567550503763noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38447572.post-38625129996262215802010-06-07T18:26:00.002+00:002010-06-07T18:29:37.343+00:00Time Travelin' Script Reviews #1 - Fishing<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOBUFe3NbsVZsIFEgy6izy9vpK1bKnIANZsPpbZ_uYGVjrN0diFqulDX3SywDHFEE_oNBj5XhcQvBI34zJhyCMU1EhuPUi5dvGK3ePFCrhjScZ-PQAXlT0q0EbDc9c9PVm3SDwrA/s1600/Fishers+of+men.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOBUFe3NbsVZsIFEgy6izy9vpK1bKnIANZsPpbZ_uYGVjrN0diFqulDX3SywDHFEE_oNBj5XhcQvBI34zJhyCMU1EhuPUi5dvGK3ePFCrhjScZ-PQAXlT0q0EbDc9c9PVm3SDwrA/s320/Fishers+of+men.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480100647248147986" border="0" /></a><br />Okay, so as discussed previously, I'm going to start going back through all my old short film scripts, reading through and commenting on each. It's a way for me get my head back into a script-writing mood, and I hope it's reasonably entertaining for you. If not, well, you can skip it. But I gotta fill this blog with something!<br /><br />Now these won't be planned out or structured particularly. It'll just be me making notes as I read through, then doing a quick rattle through things that stand out for me. The scripts are presented as-is, unchanged from the day they were originally finished.<br /><br />So, script at the link, with my rambling commentary after the break:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.docstoc.com/docs/document-preview.aspx?doc_id=42451705">Fishing - 1st Draft</a><br /><span id="fullpost"><br />Let me take you back, baaack through the mists of time. A plucky young fellow had decided he needed to change the momentum of his life, to take the first tentative steps towards creative fulfilment, to meld together his love of film with an almost forgotten love of writing for the purposes of script-writing. Oh, and also film-making, but that’s not really pertinent to what we’re discussing here.<br /><br />Anyway, the script above is among the first complete script ideas I had, and the first short film script I ever finished. Like most of my short ideas, it began with an image in my head and, in this case, sounds. Specifically, the image of two men sitting in a boat and the sounds of water and creaking wood. This one had a pretty torturous birth as I wasn’t quite sure what I was doing or even what the point of it was. But, like all torturous processes (except, perhaps, for actual torture) it was a learning experience. Actually, I guess actual torture is often a learning experience, just not so much for the tortured. Anyway, the best thing I got from this was the confidence to do more.<br /><br />Some background: I used to write a lot. In primary and secondary school I loved to write. Creative writing was my favourite thing and I was a sucker for reading anything that fired my imagination. Reading was almost always for pleasure, as was writing. Then came university, and suddenly neither reading nor writing were as much of a pleasure anymore. It’s not that I particularly lacked the time, given that I treated much of my time at university like a protracted summer holiday, but rather that it slowly sapped the joy out of reading and writing for me. Even shitty fantasy novels, the bread and butter of my adolescence and hardly demanding fare, didn’t grab me (although it could be argued that I had largely burnt out on them at the time). I just didn’t read or write unless it was course related. Not to say I hated my courses. Psychology, the subject I was most excited about when I began, had left me cold by my second year, but I loved criminology. It’s just they became associated with work, and as a lazy 18-21 year old, the last thing I wanted to do was work. Anyway, comics became damn near my sole reading matter for years afterward (though to be fair, once I started working in a comic shop I had a hell of a lot of reading matter at my disposal, including all kinds of classic material I had never seen before), and I didn‘t write at all.<br /><br />Slowly but surely over the years I started reading again, but the writing was stalled for a good long while, and with it any confidence I had in my ability. I mean, it’s not like I think I’m some kind of creative mastermind, but for a long time I had a crippling insecurity in setting words to paper (he says like he feels every word now is gold). It wasn’t until a couple of years before I left for the UK, when I was beginning to feel as though I were in a serious rut, that I started to play around with the idea of writing again, and writing scripts specifically. Not sure what inspired me on that front, but I started toying around and wrote a number of snippets, a scene here and there, a loose outline of a plot that I had no real confidence in (and not for the last time). That brief aspiration fell to the wayside before too long, and then I moved to the UK, deeper in my rut than ever, unsure of what to do next (other than working in comic shops). Then, on my 28th birthday in November 2000, sat at home during the day, more coffee than blood in my system, I had a revelation. I was going to write! It was a revelation that chiefly involved a mantra of “Why not?”, and on that day I brainstormed a number of ideas, one of which was this.<br /><br />(Okay, excessive preamble, but just had to get it out of the way on this first script).<br /><br />So, why Jesus and Andrew? Well I’m not a religious man, it should be said, but I do enjoy the stories of the Bible, both new and old testaments (well, especially the old). Hell, Ben Hur is one of favourite films, Timotei Jesus and all. More to the point, it was on my mind at the time, as my dad was very ill and - having found a renewed piety in his later days - had made me promise to read the new testament he gave me before I left (always referred to in our phone conversations after I left as ‘that book’, most commonly in the form of “Have you read that book?”). Now, his intention was the salvation of my soul and I’m afraid to say the mission was a failure, but I enjoyed reading that book (for the most part). The story of Jesus is an interesting one, so there was that in my choice of subject matter, but I guess more importantly was this idea of a normal man who is caught up in the doings of the son of god. The perspective of ordinary people close to greatness will always be a more interesting story to me than the perspectives of great people.<br /><br />In addition, I had been on a Terrence Malick kick since Thin Red Line had come out, and Magnolia was also fresh in my mind, so I was into the idea of creating something that had a visual poetry to it. I thought the visuals of an old boat on the water as it glistened in the sun, the details of fishing in biblical times and the physicality of the men who would have lived in that time would all lend themselves to that goal.<br /><br />So that was the genesis of it all. And it slowly came together in a piecemeal fashion, at a fairly tumultuous time for me for a variety of reasons, and was largely written out longhand while sitting in Russell Square in the mornings drinking shitty coffee. It’s almost embarrassing to admit now, but it must’ve taken me 6 months or so to write this first draft. Hell, maybe closer to a year from initial conception. Unlike my other scripts, I didn’t date this one, so I don’t know the exact finish date, but I’m guessing from other events it coincided with it would have been late summer, 2001. Very slow, but I really was just learning to write again and to be honest most of my writing in that period was stream of consciousness journal stuff. So, it took a while, but sparked off a run of creativity that reached a peak with more-or-less weekly short film scripts that were emailed out to a list of people for a period of around 6 months. Scripts that I intend to revisit here over the next 6 months or so.<br /><br />Anyway, reading through the script now, my overall impression is how lightweight it is in terms of content. There’s not much in the way of a hook, and I guess that reflects my focus at the time, which was all about this kind of visual poetry idea. But that’s not to say I dislike it. I must admit, I find it a lot less cringe-inducing than I expected, though I don’t know if I’d consider it ready for people to see if I wrote it now. But then, showing people my stuff on first draft actually worked wonders for me in terms of just getting things done and not taking it all to heart or feeling like I was exposing myself to the world. It’s just a first draft, after all.<br /><br />Okay, specific thoughts:<br /><br />Page 3: “Oiling the rope of a net”<br /><br />Here’s an example of “write first, research later”. I was wanting to fill this with details of fishing in the time of Jesus, but I know about as much on the topic as I know about enriching uranium, so throughout the story I make up things that I think sound plausible, with the intention of revising them later. In this case, I figure they would have needed to do something to stop the nets rotting, so would perhaps coat them in some kind of water-resistant oil or the like. Okay, it might be bullshit, but it was all about the intention of adding in fishing detail.<br /><br />Page 3: “Jesus has the rough, weathered look of a man who spends more time outdoors than in.”<br /><br />I wanted Jesus to be a labourer. I figured he was raised as a carpenter and had subsequently spent a hell of a lot of time in the sun walking about. He’d be weathered and probably quite tough. This did, however, result in an early reader describing him as the Marlborough Man.<br /><br />Page 4: “It’s the sounds I miss the most”<br /><br />It’s all about the sounds, baby! I love the sound of water lapping against the side of a wooden boat. I also love the sounds rough, worn wood makes, the thunking and creaking and scraping of it.<br /><br />Page 6: “Have you seen him since?”<br /><br />Guilt about leaving fathers? Hell, I didn’t even realise this was in here, or forgot about it if it was intentional. This was finished after my dad died, so I don’t doubt the fact of my leaving the country while he was sick and my inability to go back for his funeral was on my mind, let alone the subject matter. I’m sure it must have been intentional, but I honestly don’t remember.<br /><br />Page 6: “Insert St Andrew’s cross into the picture”<br /><br />Ouch. Now that’s cringeworthy. Still, at least I had the good sense to dismiss it if it were too blatant (though not the sense to realise it couldn’t be anything but).<br /><br />Page 7: “And here in Gethsemane”<br /><br />Clumsy.<br /><br />Page 7: “He’s got nothing to worry about. And nor have you.”<br /><br />Wait, if the business about the guilt was intentional, does that mean I intentionally absolved myself of any guilt? Nice work, Salmond.<br /><br />Page 9: “Have you spoken to Simon Peter?”<br /><br />Here’s the hook for me, actually, the idea that not only is he swept up in the world of Jesus, but also that his older brother is nothing but confident and strong in his belief. This was why I chose Andrew, I think: because he is overshadowed by his older brother (which is not about me this time, by the way). How can he not doubt himself, being an ordinary man placed in extraordinary circumstances, with an elder sibling who displays none of the confusion he feels? How could he not feel inadequate, being an apostle of Jesus?<br /><br />Page 10: “You are still a fisherman Andrew”<br /><br />BOOM! I guess that’s the hook, the payoff, the twist. But is it enough? There’s something I find dissatisfying about the ending. I’m okay with that as a twist to finish on, but the finish feels very abrupt.<br /><br />And that’s it! Script number one! I hope you’re still with me, and if you are, I hope you enjoyed it! This script is the only one I’ve ever actually gone back and done a proper second draft of, so I’m looking forward to rediscovering what I did there, though that’ll be a bit down the track yet. I’m going to try and tackle these in chronological order, though some of the early ones might be lacking dates, so they might get a little muddled.<br /><br />I’ll continue to do these, as they’re a good exercise for me, and even after this one I’m feeling the urge to do something new. If for no other reason than I feel like I’m cheating by just trotting out the same old nonsense. If you do have any comments to make, please feel free, either here or by email at andrew<at>grizzleddog<dot>co<dot>uk.<br /><br />Ciao!<br /></dot></dot></at></span>Mr A. P. Salmond, esq.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12370753567550503763noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38447572.post-85084321205547397192010-05-23T09:35:00.004+00:002010-05-23T09:49:27.791+00:00Okay!So, as an act of motivation I was thinking I might start putting up some of my old scripts with a bit of commentary. I'm hoping it might help me get back into a script-writing mentality. I'm still working through the novel revision, but I'm beginning to think it might be healthy for me to have another project on the back burner.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioADIhMIVIbpy69syMsF12rKgwhwcaMZNmh0ANkrpiB3sNNIQ6IQRkbz3mUqZxSs3AZpPLIqV9Tb4oFHJeLDHe9_bWfvmL5S4DwPe7LdgImF11VPbvDwaVA-B65dRM_-EiVoIPRA/s1600/sara_back_burner.gif"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 245px; height: 260px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioADIhMIVIbpy69syMsF12rKgwhwcaMZNmh0ANkrpiB3sNNIQ6IQRkbz3mUqZxSs3AZpPLIqV9Tb4oFHJeLDHe9_bWfvmL5S4DwPe7LdgImF11VPbvDwaVA-B65dRM_-EiVoIPRA/s400/sara_back_burner.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5474399926389597650" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Oh Sara, you saucy minx.<br /><br /></span></span></div>Of course, it may turn out to be exactly what I shouldn't do, but hey, that's the wonderful roller-coaster of discovery you can ride with me on.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNWzgjeXEvN-9tMD_cqMdM1vgRex_hmzrffBJXneXpduUYJuJJUU0RPCUpZtjM1R4jG0KbCTTFGKyiTLz2t0e4FhKmSOOdhaSRe0ETtzuBe6GW9ERMdG6nwsO70wFjCN8p-_2nfw/s1600/scary-rollercoaster.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 286px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNWzgjeXEvN-9tMD_cqMdM1vgRex_hmzrffBJXneXpduUYJuJJUU0RPCUpZtjM1R4jG0KbCTTFGKyiTLz2t0e4FhKmSOOdhaSRe0ETtzuBe6GW9ERMdG6nwsO70wFjCN8p-_2nfw/s400/scary-rollercoaster.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5474399923633457938" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Wheee!</span></span><br /></div>Mr A. P. Salmond, esq.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12370753567550503763noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38447572.post-31818026979103101902010-05-23T09:28:00.005+00:002010-05-23T09:34:47.170+00:00Still AliveAnd experimenting. Bear with me.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.docstoc.com/docs/document-preview.aspx?doc_id=39747891&key=Mjk4NTI3MzMt&pass=ZDVjMS00N2I3">Bakery Script - 1st Draft (Full Screen)</a><br /><br /><object id="_ds_39747891" name="_ds_39747891" width="450" height="550" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://viewer.docstoc.com/?key=Mjk4NTI3MzMt&pass=ZDVjMS00N2I3"><param name="FlashVars" value="doc_id=39747891&mem_id=4438221&doc_type=ppt&fullscreen=0&allowdownload=1" /><param name="movie" value="http://viewer.docstoc.com/?key=Mjk4NTI3MzMt&pass=ZDVjMS00N2I3"/><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /></object><br /><font size="1"><a href="http://www.docstoc.com/docs/39747891/?key=Mjk4NTI3MzMt&pass=ZDVjMS00N2I3">Love is Strange - 1st Draft</a></font>Mr A. P. Salmond, esq.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12370753567550503763noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38447572.post-85577818248699135412010-04-16T08:17:00.000+00:002010-04-16T08:17:55.710+00:00Things I Did Yesterday 16/04/10Not given up yet. But yesterday I:<br />
<span id="fullpost"><br />
- Worked. No Josh, so I had to get in extra early to get the new comics out on the shelves and get as much of the filing done as possible. Started at 7am and worked through lunch so was able to finish at 2.30pm, which wasn't bad at all. Good morning too: got the filing finished by about 10.15. Otherwise did the Marvel advance order adjustments and worked on the till.<br />
<br />
- Happily my throat continues to feel better. Since we last spoke I've been hit with a dose of tonsillitis, for which I am now on antibiotics. The last few days I've felt a notable improvement each day, to the point where I no longer feel it's necessary to be popping nurofen through the day. As someone who's not a fan of pill-popping, that's a good thing. <br />
<br />
- Went home, settled in a little, and then sat down to play Mass Effect, which I've just started in the aftermath of Dragon Age Origins. Going from one sprawling RPG into another might not be the smartest move I've ever made, but DAO has given me a real taste for games I can sink my teeth into. Happily, given it's a sci-fi game, the setting and interface are quite refreshing after months of fantasy tropes. Mustn't let it dominate my days off, but at the same time it offers good value for money at a time when I have none. <br />
<br />
- My novel revision has been painfully slow. Keep falling off the wagon for one reason or another, all of which amount to excuses, really. There certainly have been legitimate reasons for not getting it done first thing in the morning, but none for why I couldn't shunt the time to later in the day. If I'm going to get this done, I'll need to adjust the attitude that evenings are somehow out of bounds.<br />
<br />
- Began the slow process of sorting our South Africa trip photos. Seriously, we've got around 2,700 photos to get through. Many of them will wind up being deleted as a part of this process, but between tagging and labelling everything, the going is slow. We spent about an hour on it all told. I think I'll use this once it's done as an experiment in Picasa Web Albums.<br />
<br />
- Read Hope Larson's new graphic novel for teens, "Mercury". It's a dual-thread narrative about a girl returning to her home town after a few years away, alongside the story of her family in the 1860's, whose lives are disrupted when a stranger comes looking for gold . It's an enjoyable read, touching on first loves, fitting in, the relationship of mothers and daughters, and a bit of good old fashioned melodrama. Certainly something I'll recommend.<br />
<br />
- Watched the pilot of Firefly. I've been of a mind to watch Serenity again lately, and I figured that I'd watch the whole series again, with the film as the capper. I've only watched them once before, and it was a little disjointed, so I'm looking forward to getting stuck in. Funnily enough, the shorter length of the season makes it all the more appealing. Anyway, I still enjoyed the pilot, although I do find Whedon's tough guy dialogue a little hard to swallow. His knack for humour and drama still hold up very well, every time someone wants to sound hard, it's cringe-worthy. They sound like teenagers who REALY WANT TO SOUND TOUGH. And it's about that subtle. As per the first time, Adam Baldwin is by far the most enjoyable character, as bastards usually are. Looking forward to the rest.<br />
<br />
- And then I did rest.<br />
</span>Mr A. P. Salmond, esq.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12370753567550503763noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38447572.post-5967308163015602572010-04-08T08:24:00.000+00:002010-04-08T08:24:38.341+00:00Things I Did Yesterday 08/04/10(Just keep your cool, Andrew. no one will notice. Just keep on as though nothing's gone awry...)<br />
<br />
Hey, good to see you all! Again. Just like every day since I recommitted to doing this every day. Yeah! Whattaya know, yesterday I:<br />
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- Well, on Monday night I had a bad dose of food poisoning, which took me out of action all Tuesday as well. Tuesday, my day off. Sucks, bro. Anyhow, the upshot of all that is that yesterday morning I was feeling pretty wrecked. A long night of vomiting had left my abdomen feeling a little worked over, and I was generally a mess of aches and pains. Stomach felt okay though, so bonus there, although it must be said I was feeling a little queasy by the end of the day. Pretty much all better now, though!<br />
<br />
- Needless to say, didn't get a lot done in the morning. Read the latest Economist Technology Quarterly.<br />
<br />
- Worked. Bank holiday weekend meant the delivery was delayed a day. Did a bit of library stuff, which I haven't looked at in a while, only to discover that there was some pretty pressing stuff. So caught up on that, did some work on shop shift-around planning and did the new comics logging after Nat went home ill. Spent the late afternoon packing library deliveries.<br />
<br />
- Came home and flaked out. Watched Heavy Metal Britannia, which was a very pleasant watch, don't get me wrong, but was ultimately a bit of a puff piece. It started better than it went on, but felt incomplete and sightly unsatisfying. Gave me some good Spotify tips, though. I've got the prog rock one lined up to watch as well, which I've heard a lot of positive things about.<br />
<br />
- (Hey, I'm writing this with my netbook perched on my lap. I have, I can honestly say, never done that before. Not that it's a life-changer for me, but I'm just sayin' is all. I'll tell you one thing: it's typo hell.)<br />
<br />
- Watched a few Daily Shows, which I've now started following regularly, as opposed to occasionally catching it on More4. I've taken to just watching the pre-interview segment unless the subject looks interesting. I love the first two-thirds of the show, but the interviews generally fall a little flat.<br />
<br />
- Watched a Nurse Jackie. Boredom is starting to crawl into the edges of my Nurse Jackie experience. After an intriguing start, it just feels a little repetitive now. Still enjoying it, but watch yourself, Nurse Jackie! Don't make my shit-list!<br />
<br />
- Read a bit of Joe Hill's Heart Shaped Box, which had a scene that was almost identical to something I had in mind for my ghost story from years back, then went to sleep.<br />
</span>Mr A. P. Salmond, esq.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12370753567550503763noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38447572.post-80113052524282186912010-03-26T09:01:00.000+00:002010-03-26T09:01:48.322+00:00Things I Did Yesterday 26/03/10Believe it or not, I did actually do one of these yesterday. I even posted the bloody thing, or so I thought. But lo and behold, no sign of it this morning. Instead I have an autosaved draft of the first paragraph. Bah! Anyway, other than writing things that have been lost to time, yesterday I:<br />
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- Carried on my first pass over Small Perils, the NaNo novel. It's not the final title, but it's better than constantly referring to it as "the novel". I'm behind on the first lesson of the revision course I'm doing. Each new lesson is emailed out a week after the last (in my case Monday evenings), and my second is languishing in my inbox. But that's okay. On the forums there are people still working through lesson three, six months down the line. But the first few lessons involve complete readthroughs each time. Plus, I've not been great about making the time for it. Or getting the actual manuscript printed out, which I only got done on Monday. Interesting process so far, anyway!<br />
<br />
- Worked. New comics day. It's weird now that we do the filing downstairs, I don't actually spend that much time on the till on a Thursday. I'm going to try and be up there for lunch time (12-2), just to keep up contact with our regulars. I'll also be there at the end of the day I would assume. Still, it is nice to have that extra time in my week.<br />
<br />
- Headed home, where I intended to play some Xbox, as Alex was out. Instead I had one of those frustrating evenings where time shot by and next thing it was around 11.30, and all I had done was watch an episode of TV Burp and a few trailers. Annoying.<br />
<br />
- And that was about it! Really unimpressive day, I'm afraid! Well, I guess they can't all be winners.<br />
<br />
</span>Mr A. P. Salmond, esq.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12370753567550503763noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38447572.post-89552033908366594542010-03-25T08:37:00.000+00:002010-03-25T08:37:16.680+00:00Things I Did Yesterday, if it were still actually 24/03/10Like a lagging bullet, "yesterday" I:<br />
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- Worked. I got in early, as Josh and I were heading to a graphic novel workshop for London librarians. We jumped in a cab and headed out to Whitechapel, to the Idea Works there. Idea Works, by the way, was apparently an abortive attempt to rebrand libraries for the 21st century before a new marketing guy came along and decided that “library” was actually a brand after all. No doubt hundreds of thousands of pounds later. Local government really is like a sucker on the street corner with his bag hanging open. Anyway, very modern place, all quite nice inside.<br />
<br />
- We did a GN workshop last year which was a bit of a disaster. Well, not really on the whole, but I gave a speech that completely fell apart thanks to my nerves, so I was a little anxious about having another presentation this time; a ¾ hour one, no less. It went fine though, mainly as I was just rabbiting on about stock. Also, we had a smaller group discussion in the morning which made me feel a lot more comfortable with the people there. So the day went quite well, all told. Certainly made some good progress winning people around to specialist supply for their GNs. An got to knock off at 4.<br />
<br />
- Went home. Fully played the Trials HD demo, which now leaves me wanting the full game. Highly addictive. Sat down and worked out how I’m going to juggle my money over the next few months. SA has left me and Alex pretty skint, and now I have to make a student loans payment to NZ IRD as a apart of my amnesty agreement. So that’s another £700 down the tubes, leaving me a serious shortfall of cashflow for the month. Looks like a bit of subbing lies ahead.<br />
<br />
- Started rewatching Flight of the Conchords, which I’ve been meaning to do for a while. Still good.<br />
<br />
- Played around with the two leading desktop digital comics applications: Longbox and Graphic.ly. Both are in beta release (0.5 & 0.2.1, respectively) and both still have plenty of issues. My machine is getting a little long in the tooth, but the lag in both programs seemed a little ridiculous. Still, that aside, my initial impressions are that Longbox seems to have more features available (most as yet locked in beta), but Graphic.ly has a much nicer, leaner interface. Longbox is, frankly, ugly. It’s too busy on its home page, the net result being an initially very confusing entry into the program. Both are quite buggy, and Graphic.ly had a persistent crashing problem for the first 6 or so times I tried to start it. So, lots of work to do on both. I’ve got the complete Miracleman as cbr files, which Longbox will allow me to import into my library, so the next step is to try reading those to see just how bearable the reading experience is. Not sure if I can import to Graphic.ly. Not obviously, anyway.<br />
<br />
- Watched the first episode of the new season of Nurse Jackie. It was fine, but completely skipped by the big threads of last season’s cliffhanger. Not a promising start. I hope this doesn’t mean they’re going to string things along even more.<br />
<br />
</span>Mr A. P. Salmond, esq.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12370753567550503763noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38447572.post-20018129207845150522010-03-19T08:59:00.000+00:002010-03-19T08:59:37.293+00:00Things I Did Yesterday 19/03/10Damn, doing these things every morning really does tie me in to wi-fi spots. Anyway, yesterday I:<br />
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- Once again forgot to print out my manuscript for revision, so stalled my course somewhat. I did get onto the forums for my workgroup, however. People doing the course are split into groups of 30 or less, for support, feedback and so on. So although it felt like a cheat, technically it was still course related, right?<br />
<br />
- Worked. Spent nearly the whole day working on this book list for the GN workshop next week. Finalised the list, gathered images and copy, edited copy to fit the blurb size I need, formatted it up in Quark and outputted to a pdf. Done! Now I just have to hope we have all the books in stock for next Tuesday so I can take them along.<br />
<br />
- Alex was out, so I played some Dragon Age for an hour and a half or so. I've hit that satisfying point you sometimes get in this kind of game when you're at a sufficient level where there's very little challenge in the places you're travelling through. Most fights are dispatched with very little trouble and no-one in your group has died for some time. Then you enter a new area and the difficulty curve has suddenly swung up a few notches and you're all dying every few combats, and you have to start thinking strategically again. Good fun. But frustrating enough that I stopped at 9.30. <br />
<br />
- Faffed about on the internet for a while, then went to bed, watching another couple of Twilight Zone episodes, neither of which was particularly good. One was about a man whose guardian angel tries to improve his life by changing his oddball ways, only to discover that he'd rather be a kooky, likeable failure than a dull success. Atually, for the early-mid sixties, that was probably a pretty subversive message for mainstream America. The other was about a woman who goes to a department store for a particular item, only to discover that she is in fact a living mannequin and has been out in the world and forgotten who she is. Turns out the mannequins in the store take turns at living in the world for a month. Anyway, there are a couple of creepy moments in this one, but it's just not that good.<br />
<br />
- Went to bed! <br />
</span>Mr A. P. Salmond, esq.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12370753567550503763noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38447572.post-43771733844828092572010-03-18T09:09:00.000+00:002010-03-18T09:09:13.796+00:00Things I Did Yesterday 18/03/10Didn't walk in this morning. Bad Andrew. Anyway. yesterday I:<br />
<span id="fullpost"><br />
- Finished up the first section of my first revision lesson. Next step involves going through a manuscript to begin pulling part the broader picture. Should be fun.<br />
<br />
- Worked. Had a meeting in the morning with folks from what was formerly the London Libraries Development Agency and is now I think simply London Libraries. We're involved in another graphic novel workshop taking place next week. To be honest I've done no prep work for this whatsoever, other than putting together a list of 50 books from the past year. I'm not feeling too worried. I am going to have to give a talk again, this time on what's happening trend-wise in the industry, what's hot and so on. My other main role is in a children and young person's librarian group talking about GNs with people who are nervous about content and so on. Hopefully the first, a facilitated group discussion, should warm me up for the second, a presentation to the group as a whole, so we don't have a repeat of my debacle of a speech from last time.<br />
<br />
- Afternoon was spent dealing with the delivery. Not a big week, and I made some good progress on the filing. We've now started doing this downstairs on a Wednesday as soon as the first box of standing order comics is ready, which is working well so far. Certainly makes Thursdays on the till a lot less stressful.<br />
<br />
- Headed home and read a pile of comics. Not a very impressive week, to be sure. Siege #3 was fun but completely disposable; Amazing Spider-Man #625 had some lovely Max Fiumara art over a pretty downbeat Joe Kelly Rhino story; Stephen King's new co-written comic American Vampire wasn't anything special. In fact, the only really pleasant surprise was, as unlikely as it may seem, a Superman 80 Page Giant, which was full of short, very light stories. Oh, and Fables was good. I read the second issue of Choker, having missed the first, and thought it was okay. Sweary, Ellis-sounding characters drawn by Ben Templesmith all feel a bit well-trodden, but it was entertaining enough that I won't dismiss it out of hand. Writer Ben McCool also does a fun short in the aforementioned Superman 80 Pager. Still got a few unread books, including a few Marvel space titles, Dark Avengers and a couple more.<br />
<br />
- Stopped reading before I got totally burnt out, which has happened lately, and switched to watching a couple of Twilight Zone episodes, on my slow ongoing mission to work my way through them all. Still in season one, but then it is something like 40 episodes long. Anyway, the first was called The Chaser, about a guy who madly loves a girl who doesn't love him back. He buys a love potion off a mysterious shopkeeper who warns him it might not be all he hoped for. Sure enough, things don't turn out quite the way he expected. Quite a silly one, but fun for it. The second I watched starred a young Jack Klugman as an alcoholic trumpet player who hits rock bottom and throws himself in front of a truck. Waking up, he finds himself wandering the city as an invisible ghost. Or at least that's what he thinks. It's an episode with an admirable moral, but is pretty dull and heavy handed. Not to mention the appearance of a trumpet-playing figure named Gabe who explains the score to him. Duh. Still enjoying them, though. I'm looking forward to the later episodes when Serling has a number of other writers working on the series. Not to denigrate his work, but a lot of great US sci-fi writers worked on shows like the Twilight Zone and the Outer Limits (which I think I'll get to after this), putting out some classic twist-in-the-tail television.<br />
<br />
- Whoah, over time! Anyway, that was about it!<br />
</span>Mr A. P. Salmond, esq.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12370753567550503763noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38447572.post-71385459763610337032010-03-17T08:37:00.000+00:002010-03-17T08:37:47.099+00:00Things I Did Yesterday 17/03/10Two days running! Some kind of record for 2010? Perhaps not, but close! Anyway, yesterday I:<br />
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- Tried to get up early to get stuck into things, but failed. Still, got into town with enough time to do my blog and then get stuck into the novel revision course I've started. Very first readings of the very first lesson and it was good. It certainly helped me recapture enthusiasm for what my goal for the book was in the first place. So, off to a good start.<br />
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- Worked. Libraries for the most part. The end of the financial year is approaching fast and the usual flurry of last minute orders has been coming in. So some mop-up stuff there, as well as work on a list I need to have done for a graphic novel workshop for librarians I'm involved in next week.<br />
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- Had a surprise visit by Claudia and Morgan! Now based in LA, they're over for Claudia's work. Claudia had to head off for work stuff, but I had lunch with Mr Parker. Really nice to see them. Hopefully we'll get to catch up more later in the week.<br />
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- Went to the pub after work with Nat, Barney & Ossie. Went for one, but wound up staying for a few. As is often the case. We went to The Crown, a Sam Smiths pub near work. For those who don't know, Samuel Smiths are a chain of pubs which serve their own brands of beers, spirits and so on. The pubs they run are nice enough (including two of the most attractive historical pubs in central London, actually), an the beers are fine, but nothing special. What they are great for, however, is price. A round for 4 people for less than £10? Sold. Okay, so you might be able to do the same in a Wetherspoons pub, but then you'd have to put up with a Wetherspoons atmosphere. Equally they're known for their Alpine Lager, a cheap as chips pint (still sub-£2?) which goes down easy enough but leaves you rough as fuck the next morning. The taps for AL used to be topped by a stereotypical Bavarian-looking chap cast in plastic, inside a perspex box. They scrapped the box for a more traditional looking tap years ago, but to this day people will still order a "man in a box". Which is about as English a tradition as they come. Anyway, the point of this is that for years now, virtually nothing has changed in the line-up of product SS pubs (that's unfortunate) have. So I was surprised to find not only a new, halfway decent beer on tap (dubbed a Taddy - Sam Smiths Breweries are based in Tadcaster), but also they've gone completely in-house with all their snacks. Crisps, peanuts, cheese crackers, the lot. You're amazed, I'm sure.<br />
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- Got home, kissed the wife, had dinner, spent half an hour reading the internet, then went to bed. Read some Far Side cartoons, which I'm slowly working my way through at the moment. I do love the Far Side, for all it's been overexposed over the years. Reading back through, it's surprising to rediscover just how dark many of them are, given their mainstream popularity. Good fun.<br />
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- Will you look at that! 7 minutes to spare! <br />
</span>Mr A. P. Salmond, esq.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12370753567550503763noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38447572.post-56235221039541978842010-03-16T08:42:00.000+00:002010-03-16T08:42:46.758+00:00Things I Did Yesterday 16/03/10Okay, we're on the clock! Yesterday I:<br />
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- Got up fairly early and sat with a coffee on the internet. This was the first real day off I'd had in some time. Okay, so I've been on holiday for a month, but this was the first real day since before we left for SA where I had nothing to get done, nowhere to go and no one to see. So I read feeds. My feeds need trimming, really. I don't keep up with what I've got, and that's not even that much compared to some I know. But every time I go to unsubscribe, the interest which brought me to that feed in the first place kicks in. I suppose by keeping them on my feeds I will at least remember they exist some time in the future. In a way, RSS has really hamstrung how I use the internet. I can't remember the last time I opened my bookmarks folder, not counting the bookmark toolbar icons I have for frequently accessed sites (banking, etc). Still, it means I don't miss any posts when my access is patchy. How much time do I spend on the internet a day reading now? Not sure, but considerably less than I used to. Maybe an hour, on average? Hour and a half? Anyway, every now and then it's nice to kick back with a coffee first thing on a day off and really take my time to catch up on things. Spent a few hours on it yesterday.<br />
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- Wandered down to Angel to have a browse around the shops. Mainly checked out Game, HMV and Waterstones to see what shiny new things had come out in the last month. Not much to be honest. Final Fantasy XIII is a bit tempting, but really only due to FFVII nostalgia. I tried VIII when it came out, but it didn't grab me at all and have barely looked at the ones since. But this one seems to have a VII kind of feel about it. Well, best finish Dragon Age and both Mass Effect games first. Bought some vegetables to make a soup for dinner.<br />
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- Went home and got on the Xbox. Oh yes. Played a few demos I had downloaded ages ago. Trials HD is a great stunt bike platformer, leaving you to control a rider going through some kind of hellish warehouse environment of ramps, exploding barrels, swinging platforms and gouts of flame. It has that vital ingredient for gameplay: easy to learn, difficult to master. Lovely graphics too, especially the ragdoll physics when you come off the bike. Alien Breed SomethingorotherIcantremember is a fun, isometric 3D shooter. A sequel to an old series of games, it's surprisingly atmospheric as you run around a damaged spaceship shooting hordes of aliens. All very Space Hulk. Lastly was Bayonetta, which I heard a lot of good things about. To be honest, it's that type of modern game that I'm really no good at. It involves incredibly busy environments that you negotiate around at high speeds while enemies constantly come at you. Enemies you defeat by using one of any number of combos that manifest in the most spectacular manner possible. It's just too much. I'm button-mashing my way through levels with virtually no fucking clue what's going on. The graphics are lush and the designs look crazy in the good way, but I've no time to actually enjoy them. Does this mean I'm getting old?<br />
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- Settled in with Dragon Age for a good 4-hour session. Got some important main quest stuff done, too. Ahh...I'll miss this game when I'm finished. I do love this kind of computer RPG.<br />
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- Alex came home, so I made dinner, a kind of chicken/vegetable/mushroom soup which didn't quite come out how I wanted, but was very tasty anyway.<br />
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- Enrolled in a course which focuses on novel revision. To be honest, I've been floundering a little on the novel revision, and I really need something to give me a boot up the ass. It's a 22 week course that you take at your own speed. It'll be nice just to give me some focus and advice on what to do next. Be gentle...it's my first time.<br />
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- Watched a really good little horror called Triangle. It premiered at last year's Frightfest, but I missed it, and since then it has largely sunk from trace. It's a pleasantly complex little film about a group of people who find themselves on a ghostly ship after being stranded out at sea. Best not to mention more than that, as the less you know, the more you'll enjoy it. It'd be a shame for this to sink into obscurity, as it really deserves to be seen if for nothing more than its ambition. It stands out from most of the horror fare out there at the moment.<br />
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- That's it!<br />
</span>Mr A. P. Salmond, esq.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12370753567550503763noreply@blogger.com0