Creativity and Ninjas

I've not been much in the mood to create anything lately, which has included blog posts. We will blame it on the grumpy monkey on my back. He's a miserable git, and tells me to sit and watch TV rather than do anything because, you know, what's the point? Despite him I have been getting some ideas and just had one today that is either amazing, or absolutely awful. But I like it, so will probably pursue it. Even a rubbish idea can turn out great once you get a bit of depth to the story. And to share my crazy process, here's how this idea came about.

Film Review: The Ides of March

As the real life death match day dawns in America (imagine the turnout for that kind of election), it seemed like an appropriate time to watch "The Ides of March". George Clooney directs and stars in this political melodrama, which deals with the price, and loss, of idealism. It's a solid film, with snappy performances from the leads, but sticks to a muted tone, rather than all out excitement or scandal. Like Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy did for espionage, The Ides of March shows political machinations in a realistic light, where it's not so much top-down, thought out conspiracies afoot, but instead the desperate actions of individuals out to save their own skins.

"Nooooooooo!"

An impromptu post about news I've just heard: Disney has bought Lucasfilm and all its subsidiaries (Industrial Light and Magic as well as Skywalker Sound). I felt a tremor in the force when I read that (and listened to the accompanying announcement video). It turned into an "Alderaan has blown up" moment, when I read the following lines from the announcement: "Fans can expect a new feature film, Star Wars - Episode 7, in theatres worldwide in 2015". Oh, Obi-Wan, no...

If there were ever any doubt that Lucas sold his soul, here's the proof.

I love the original Star Wars trilogy. They were an adventure, and a moral guide for me growing up, something that made me aspire. Okay it made me aspire to become a Jedi Knight, but there are worst things to dream of as a kid. In fact I'd even say one of the greatest things I learnt about storytelling came from those films; start in the middle of something. I read a huge amount of the spin off books, and in fact still have them all sitting on my book shelf behind me. I played the games (even the bad ones) and thought no game would ever be better than Knights of the Old Republic. I was, and still am in some ways, a die-hard Star Wars fan, with a cacophony of useless information about the extended universe in my head. In other words, a total geek.

Huzzah and Hooray - Returning to the 21st Century

Joyous jubilation's; I have the Internet once more at home. No more hanging around in a Starbucks looking like a pretentious tosser. No more burning out my phone's battery (and bill) with eye hurtingly small screen browsing. And better yet, it's faster than it's ever been, thanks to a certain "infinity" option from one of the biggest telecom companies in Britain (don't make me say their name - Lucifer probably gets another three souls every time they're mentioned. But better the devil you know, than the one you don't).

As if this wasn't enough to bring pure happiness to my life, I also got a new fridge-freezer installed. I tell you, it's like being in some science-fiction fantastic future. With a force of will I didn't hug my new fridge but I may have stuck my head inside its reassuring coolness when I got home. Don't judge me: try going without a fridge for over four weeks. Then you can judge me.

So as I have my two preciousness' (preciousness's?) back here are some photos I took during my holiday. Me and my man spent a day in London taking in the views of Westminster on our way to the Tate gallery. Enjoy.

I always forget just how "big" Big Ben is...

Westminster is very pretty on the outside.
Shame about those politicians ruining it on the inside.

I couldn't have planned a better shot.
Thank you dark cloud for adding atmosphere.

The Union Jack flies proud and true.
Wonder if they were eating caviar in there?

I adore this architecture. Gothic and majestic all at once.

This would have been a great picture if not for the "plebs" wandering into shot.
(Only kidding. I love plebs really.)

You can't see them but there was someone standing on the other side
of the horse to get their picture taken with it. The horse did not like them much
and turned to bite them. Yay horse.

How To Go Stir Crazy

I'm absent easy access to the Internet right now - that alone is enough to make anyone go crazy. It's funny to think I survived so long in my life with no Internet whatsoever; now I can barely go a few weeks of no Internet without feeling like my arm has rotten off and been stolen by hungry badgers. But I truck on, mainly by exploiting the free wifi a certain conglomerate coffee seller offers. It's cheaper then an Internet cafe, but a lot noisier. Especially when the yummy mummies come in with their spawn...  maybe their Internet hasn't been installed yet either.

The flat move is complete and I made my first mortgage payment four days ago. It feels much better than paying rent, though it comes with its own set of problems. Like when your fridge doesn't work. At all. And you have to call a useless customer "care" department that put you on hold for at least ten minutes at a time with Beautiful South songs playing on a loop. I mean, what kind of evil, twisted mind thought that up; the Beautiful South for Christ sake! I may as well plunge chop sticks into my ear drums. This wouldn't have been so bad if any of the agents before the fifth one I talked to had given a damn but alas, it took many calls until I found that most elusive of creatures; a customer service agent that actually cares. Or at least is good at pretending and wants to fix your problem enough so they don't have to talk to you again. Fingers crossed I will be getting a new fridge in the next week. If not, then there will be one more very angry call in the near future.

Work looms on the horizon, as I've been off these last couple of weeks. Between battling with 'Electrosux', I managed to get some words down and am pleased with the little story developing. It's another short one, and features two young people (15 and 8-years-old) surviving in a post-apocalypse world, where they seem to be the only survivors, three years on from the plague that killed everyone else. But then the youngest disappears in the middle of the night and the eldest has to seek her out - and discover what else survived... I'm liking where it's going and hope to have it finished soon, possibly over the weekend. Assuming I don't lose my mind in the process from lack of web access. Then again maybe that's the best way to write; on the verge of a full mental breakdown.

Life and Stuff

So I haven't blogged in a while. Life got a bit busy and if I'm honest my feeling of wanting to write/draw/do anything creative has been horribly absent. While we all know that you shouldn't let your feelings interfere with creating, the practical real-world situation is; sometimes you just can't help it.

So I have a brand new shiny flat to move into, which should happen this coming week. As ever nothing has been simple. There have been "snag issues" (i.e. paint peeling off in the kitchen and the

The Trickiness of Endings

Last week I at long last read a Stephen King story that I'd wanted to read for years; The Mist. I saw the film for the first time in 2008 and despite loving it I didn't seek out the King original story it was based on at the time. Now, with the wonder that is the Kindle, I got the collected short story volume The Skeleton Crew and settled down to read it through. But having watched the interview between director Frank Darabont and Mr. King I knew the ending was different to the film. And not necessarily for the better. This got me thinking about my own troubles with endings and why there's hope for us mere mortals if even the writing gods like Stephen King can get it wrong sometimes.

*Here Be Festooned With Spoilers - Fairly Warned, You Be*