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 A tentative blog to test the temperature. |
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Ten years ago I was writing several blogs on various subjects - F1 motor racing, Music, Classic Cars, Great Romances and, most crushingly, a personal journal that included my thoughts on America, memories of England and Africa, opinion, humour, writing and anything else that occurred. It all became too much (I was attempting to update the journal every day) and I collapsed, exhausted and thoroughly disillusioned in the end. So this blog is indeed a Toe in the Water, a place to document my thoughts in and on WdC but with a determination not to get sucked into the blog whirlpool ever again. Here's hoping.     |
| Severance This is not an advertisement for AppleTV. Even so, I was recently forced to have a look at it by the fact that Apple now has the sole rights to televise Formula 1 racing. And this is not about F1 either. It’s just that, in looking around in AppleTV to see what was available, I found a series called Severance. The meagre information on its content intrigued us enough to start Andrea and myself watching. We are now well into the second season. This happens rarely to us, so I felt I should tell you about it in case you are interested. I should warn you that it’s weird. That’s right up my street, as I like weird. Andrea is less keen but is as desperate as I am to find out what happens. If you can take a bit of weird and like being dragged along by curiosity through episode after episode, this one’s for you. My one caveat is that I haven’t reached the end yet. And too often I find that this kind of show starts well with a brilliant idea and good writing, but runs out of steam after a while, eventually making a complete mockery of the original idea. Thus far, Severance has done very well, only flirting with the ridiculous in the goat room. And I’m impressed with the amount of thought the writer has put into working out the complications created by the idea. These are multiple since it involves inventing two worlds that interact but know nothing about each other. Anyway, if you have AppleTV, I recommend taking a look at Severance. Not sure it would warrant getting AppleTV if you don’t already, however. Word count: 282 |
| Advice on Advice I think it’s dangerous to read how to books. Especially about writing. Out of curiosity, I sometimes read advice that others have recommended and often find that I agree with the effectiveness of what is being suggested. The relevant word in that paragraph is “agree.” That’s the one that makes it dangerous. You see, because I agree with it, I do so because I already employ that technique quite naturally. All the writer has done is make me more aware of it. Being conscious of it can screw with the whole process. Instead of just doing it, I’m now noticing me doing it and attempting to adjust it. For instance, I heard years ago that it was necessary to have dialogue in good writing. And, ever since then, I’ve noticed that I do that anyway. I’ve been able to avoid going overboard on it because I’ve not trusted the advice completely. But it can easily make you put in too much dialogue. Don’t laugh. Reviewing in WdC, I’ve seen loads of writing that kills with pages and pages of dialogue. And I rarely get to the end of such a piece. It becomes boring and can also be confusing, trying to keep up with who says what. The advice should always be everything in moderation. Don’t listen too much to advice and keep all theories employed under control. It’s the mix of many techniques that makes good writing, especially if it comes naturally. Be grateful if that describes your gift and don’t examine it too closely. So don’t listen to me either. I’m just thinking aloud. Word count: 266 |
| Usable Intelligence Recently, I watched an interesting video about intelligence in the octopus. It seems that, in spite of their being so different from us that we might as well be aliens, octopi are remarkably intelligent, perhaps even to the extent of being self aware. It was much later that I began to wonder what the point was. Why would evolution decide to experiment with intelligence in a creature so poorly designed to make use of it? The best I can say of it is that its arms have something approaching the versatility of hands. Apart from that, the octopus’ short life span, its preference for isolated living, and lack of vocal chords or some other way to communicate, would surely militate against it using intelligence in a meaningful way. Much the same goes for the other animals that once seemed good instances of possible civilisation-forming intelligence. I’m sure it makes an enjoyable entertainment for them but never became the essential mutation it is for us. So evolution seems to have tried intelligence on several life forms before deciding to put it into the one creature with hands, an upright posture so that the hands are free, amazingly versatile vocal chords, an addiction to communal living, and a life long enough to contribute to a civilisation. It would be a pity if we screwed it up after all that. Word count: 227 |
| Artificial Insufficiency Yes, I’ve noticed the proliferation of AI videos ever since it became “the latest thing.” I’m sure it’s very clever and all that but the most noticeable thing about the videos (and I mean all of them) is their weirdness. They are united in their total creepiness and I can’t see them ever fooling us regarding their being reality. I think the mistake they’re making is that they’re too real, at least visually. Movement is still just too smooth to be believed and this does contribute to the creepiness of the thing, but it’s the look that does the real work. It’s almost flawless. Reality just ain’t like that. There’s a certain comfort about its lumps and bumps, its warts and blisters. It’s exactly what Andrea says about CDs and digital music compared to the old vinyl recordings. Music’s not the same without the scratches and and clicks that become part of our experience. They really don’t make things like they used to. Word count: 163 |
| Little Brown Jugger It’s a bit of a bugger. though not a heart tugger, that the serial hugger makes a beeline for me. I would rather play rugger than be forced to mug her. Perhaps escape on a lugger is the best option I’ll see. Line count: 8 Rhymed aaab aaab Sudden inspiration No prompt. |
| I guess someone has to look like me. |
| Nonsense Poetry A song that I’m currently obsessed with is One Headlight by The Wallflowers. It’s a very moody, and intense song but is limited in its stamina because it’s short on meaning. The lyrics start out well enough but quickly degenerate into a word salad. This is fine if the music is strong enough (which it is) but there’s a limit to how much meaninglessness we can stand. The human mind cries out for meaning and will insert it even into places where there is clearly no intent at all (a randomly patterned wall for instance). So any painting by Vermeer becomes more valuable and important than a Mondrian. Like it or not, meaning is essential to art and it’s not art if it’s merely pretty - it’s design. And yet I freely admit that, on occasion, I write nonsense poetry. Most frequently this happens when I’m confronted by a prompt that I cannot get inspiration from. In such cases, especially when I’m really desperate, I resort to nonsense. Heck, if Lewis Carroll can do it, so can I. My excuse is that you don’t have to take it seriously. Not all poetry has weight and is intended to last forever. Such things help, it’s true, but life is a matter of comic relief along with drama. Shakespeare was the master of this combination. All of which is a way of saying that I may yet write something in reply to the prompt, “Leather,” but it will be nonsense. I really don’t have that much of a relationship to leather. Since One Headlight was instrumental in providing me with this post, here it is. You can see how much of a story you can glean from the lyrics. Something about funerals, no doubt. Word count: 291 |
| A Stubbled Field Are we not all blackbeards? |
| Got One! Ended the short story drought this morning when I woke up with an idea in my head. "Hamelin" I can’t remember how I began to think on this well known tale but it was easy to turn it on its head. So easy, in fact, that I pondered doing the same to a whole bunch of fairy tales. Who needs inspiration when a simple formula for a whole series presents itself? And that would be a terrible mistake. If you want to be noticed, never take the predictable route. Word count: 90 |
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