Personal

American dreams

Last night’s dream: I was in NYC, riding uptown on the bonnet of a yellow cab. Of course, first Arvind and I had had to stop the cab by using our ethnic Indianness – the taxi driver didn’t speak English and was inclined to take us on as a consequence. Of course, we don’t speak Hindi either so used the one phrase I had (which in my dream I thought meant something like ‘how are you doing’, but in the real world means ‘thank you’) and then somehow ended up on the bonnet flying up 5th Avenue at speed.

Which was, needless to say, weird.

Personal

Quiet house

1 Comment

Cousin David’s returned to the South, leaving the flat very quiet. Sheila and I were sat around yesterday, and nobody once told us to “chillax,” which was very sad indeed.

David’s been a great presence in the month he’s been here; boundless in his enthusiasm to acquire a career in film-making, and creative in his use of the English language. We’ll miss him, though no doubt see him quite soon…

If I use the phrases “chillax,” “big-time,” and “that’s what I’m talking about,” more than might seem strictly speaking necessary in the next few weeks, it’s both because I think they’re good and amusing phrases, and they serve as a tribute to my Cousin.

That’s what I’m talking about.

Current affairs, Personal

That terror stuff – my two cents

I’ve had enough of this terror crap. My reaction was one of instant contempt for people planning as unpleasant as what’s been reported. Although, like Ze, I agree that ‘unimaginable’ horror might have been an overstatement. It’s a great piece – if you haven’t watched it; do.

Unlike a lot of people (Doctor Vee has good links), however, my reaction hasn’t been one of immediate mistrust or anger at the government. I find that an unsustainable [sic] view: even though we have been misled in the past (the 40 minute claim, the Menezes shooting etc), we’re always going to be reliant on an institution to suport us in this kind of situation. If there’s a problem with the specific institution – MI5 etc – then those need reform.

As to the bigger question? The civil liberties issue is a complex one; but I think I maintain my Millsian perspective on this — the needs of the many… Appreciate that’s a massive oversimplification and it’s still an ‘alleged’ plot, but still. That said, that the government might use the atmosphere of fear to generate support for more, liberty restricting, ‘terrorism acts’ — whilst inevitable — is annoying.

For me, even if the threat on Thursday was massively overstated, I’d rather be inconvenienced than accept even a slim risk of lost lives and don’t think many would disagree. And we’re not speaking NewSpeak just yet… (although many of the politicians are, as you will see if you watch Ze’s show on the Israel/Lebanon situation).

Update: Chris has just written some great stuff about this too, highlighting the doubts he (and many others) are having. His last paragraph hits it on the head:

I’m not sure which situation I would prefer – to find out that the we’re in denial and we came perilously close to mass murder conducted by a sophisticated conspiracy, or that our government and security services don’t have a clue about whether such threats exist, let alone who or where they are.

Writing

Writing planning

The longest piece of writing I’ve ever done was a 12,000 word thesis for my MA. Since then, I’ve written loads of 1,000-3,000 word articles, stories, project plans, etc, and literally hundreds of shorter blog posts… But a novel? That’s a whole different proposition.

Guess that’s why there’s so much random writing software out there, designed to help people structure their work. I would imagine that few authors have the capacity, skill, etc to map out a 50,000-100,000 word storyline in their head, in all its glorious intricacy and wonder.

For me? I’ve found the initial planning stages fun. Huge fun. No software in use at the moment; just a big, A3 pad, on which I’ve sketched character descriptions, plot outlines, literally drawn the main character (I’m a terrible artist, but its a helpful part of the process…) and miscellaneous other notes.

Next up is to produce a more detailed chapter plan (probably in Word, or staying on the A3 pad), and then I’m borrowing from the screenwriting profession and storyboarding a few scenes. Have even accessorised accordingly. Hopefully this’ll get me to the point where I can actually write the story without feeling too self-conscious about individual aspects of it – this is the bit I find a little harder…

When I get to that point, to keep motivation up, I might try to do a weekly podcast – probably just me reading out chapters in audio-book on tape fashion. We’ll see…

Internet

The greatest ego in the universe

It’s not me; but be warned: most of the links in this message point at content that might offend the weak-spirited.

I thought I’d fling a pointer at Maddox, one of the most amusingly offensive people on the Interweb. Noel pointed me at him ages ago, back in ’98/99, but an interview with him by the nice folks at B3ta reminded me of his unique brand of “cynicism and arrogance,” as B3ta puts it.

I don’t really know the purpose of his site, so don’t ask me, but a lot of the stuff on there is funny (for various reasons) and reading about some of the mail he gets gives an alarming insight into the eclectic (and unstable…) make-up of the people out there. Be safe online, people.

The interview on B3ta in particular is very funny…

Personal, Writing

Motivational diarising

Due in no small part to the busy-ness of my calendar, work and social-wise, I’ve felt it necessary lately to give myself ‘appointments’ in my calendar; computerised reminders that I should be achieving things on my weekends. This is more helpful at some points than at others…

…today, for example, due to an unexpectedly late Saturday night, I woke up after my first three ‘appointments’ (breakfast, cycle, storyboard — for those of you who are curious) — and was then too low on motivation to do much of any of those. Did manage to do some writing in the afternoon, which the diary note did help me with, but it was a generally poor showing…

Whilst the practise is useful, I’m not bothered about today’s ineffectiveness. Sometimes you just need to switch off, and the bits of writing I’ve done have covered my need to be effective. Going to blog a bit more this evening and then see about plotting a few more elements to the novel, and maybe kicking off the opening chapter. Or a chapter in the middle. Or something, we’ll see…

Personal

I’m lazy like a Sunday morning…

Having a blissfully lazy Sunday after a hectic few weeks and a very hectic Saturday night. Damn I love the Arts Club, and while DJ Derek was unusually eccentric, his choice of tunes was great.

Also had awesome curry at Malabar. Duck curry and cheese naan – what a combination! Recommended to all.

As you may have gathered, my brain isn’t fully working just yet. Don’t expect that to change any time soon…

Armand David's personal weblog: dadhood, technology, running, media, food, stuff and nonsense.