Brilliance in its early stages

In some feeble effort to keep creativity going here are some ideas I have had over the last few days for different stories/ whatever the hell you could call them:

- A story about a James Dean style teacher; he wears a leather jacket; rides a motorbike; smokes and drinks on the job and swears in front of the children. Despite all this parents and teachers love him and kids want to be like him titled: 'Rebel with a Pseudo Cause'

- A comment on why people drive like douche bags with the music up really loud and my subsequent succumbing to their ranks. While at the same time exploring the bizarre reader/ author relationship in parentheses and thus confounding the original meaning of the piece.

- A low brow sitcom style prank in which I try to write a tribute for Michael Jackson but confuse his life with disgraced athlete Michael Johnson. I would still use Jackson's name but just animate with the corpse (Thriller reference) of Johnson's once formidable career.

- A review of Mr Oizo's Lambs Anger. Even though this is almost a year old now I just thought I wouldn't mind writing some stuff about it because it is an interesting record.

So over the next few days I may give a lame duck attempt at writing any one of these ideas out and hopefully I can keep this up and as school holidays begin in just over a week I really have no excuse.

Re- reading

One; this no comma thing is really starting to annoy me. I am going insane filling in all my comma spaces with semi-colons; they are pretentious and most of the time a dramatic break when all is needed is a brief breath.

Two; I just spent a good half hour rereading a lot of my old posts on this blog that stretch back all the way to 2006. The most shocking thing is that they are actually good. I am impressed with my own writing and thoughts which sounds conceited but I always viewed my own writing as some mixed up babbling and anyone who complimented me as someone who was seriously demented (sorry Marc).

I am surprised that I make some coherent arguments and some flowing (comma) musical prose. It is a bit ranty and a very self conscious but really (comma) can you expect anything less? In light of this rediscovery of sorts I am going to go back to the daily post and see writing- wise where it takes me. I need practice again even if this writing never goes anywhere and even if this poor keyboard doesn't have a working comma key (or working one (comma) four and seven keys; equally as frustrating)

La Bookshoppe

Everybody who has known me over the past few years has probably heard me rant and rave about opening a bookshop and while this has really never been a possibility (for monies- reasons) now it seems within my reach. Which is bone- tingling for me; for a number of reasons...

Of course one of the questions I have to ask is what kind of bookshop should it be? Here are two examples:

Above are photos of Shakespeare and Company in Paris; a bookshop I admire greatly for their hospitality and the way the place feels like the home of an old friend. When I visited we sat upstairs chatting with an American literature student who had been working on a cartoon before meeting some Italian girls and a Canadian who we ended up spending that night with walking around Paris taking in the crazy French.

The other bookshop was Massolit Books in Krakow Poland (my comma is still broken). This place was relaxed and homely with books on every subject and great coffee. It was tucked away out of the main centre of Krakow and felt somehow special; somehow like home. If I open a bookshop; that is how I want it to feel.

I am None

Bodyboarders used to be my heroes; as a kid growing up in south west WA nobody was cooler. However something happened and I saw that the bodyboarding mind was closed and the culture they had created seemed stagnant and; well crude.

Until last week; it had been years since I picked up a copy of Riptide or any bodyboarding mag at all but since I have had a renewed passion for the sport (thanks to my new NMD board; but no thanks to the agro pinheaded stick monkeys out at island on Saturday) I thought I would; and it surprised me.

I had long forsaken bodyboarding culture as a microcosm of us vs them mentality and a creative vacuum; oh how I was wrong. The current riptide issue is brimming with interesting ideas and raw passion.

Case in point: I am None. I never imagined to see a decent fashion label with solid fringe support from artists and photographers emerge from the bodyboarding scene. Yet they did and a bodyboarder is once again a hero of mine: Alex Bunting you are the man.

Captain Neckbeard

Recently I was having a conversation with Paul and we talked about our lame-o-ness in the beard growing / manliness department as both of us can only grow the lowly neckbeard. Paul remarked that he was "Captain Neckbeard" which made me wonder "what rank would I hold as a filthy neckbearded pirate?"

Obviously there would be no Captains who could only grow neckbeards unless they were in charge of a whole neckbeard pirate ship which would either be a savage set of red flag flying bloodthirsty psychos (angry at society and their fathers for their bad beard growing genes); or they would be the ugliest and most underconfident seamen to ever sail.

Either way; I think that on a pirate ship I would probably be "Hey You!" be it a neckbeard ship or not. I've never punched anyone square in the face before and I think that would be a prerequisite to getting some kind of reasonable respect. However I am looking to increase my pirate rep so watch your face.