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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.     |
| Writing I wasn’t looking for it, but I found a really interesting interview with Shelby Foote, the writer. Apart from being an excellent example of how to conduct an interview (ask your first question then let the person talk), it contains a wealth of wisdom about and around writing. It’s less than half an hour in length but, if even that is too much, you should listen at least to what the man has to say about learning to write. He begins this at 12:26. Of course, I believe what he says is both wise and true because that’s what I think too, but can you afford to disregard it for that reason? Have a listen. I doubt you’ll regret it. Word count: 121 |
| The 48-Hour Challenge: Media Prompt In the past, I have attempted this challenge on precisely two occasions (if memory serves me well). Usually, the song choice is way outside of my taste and I have to pass on the offer to comment. I’m sure the challenge owners don’t want me to be rude about their choice, after all. But they’ve come up with a good one this time. I’ve never heard of the group, OK Go, and I must admit to being pleasantly surprised at their song, Obsession, and its accompanying video. Both are pure entertainment from start to finish and highly original into the bargain. The video alone was enough to win me over. The novel idea of using computer printers to spit out paper in time to the music, creating a myriad of fascinating visual effects, is brilliance indeed. Add the fact that the printer noises combine with the music to become an orchestral constituent makes the song a valid contribution to electronic music and musique concrète. It’s a cascade of shape, colour and sound that is a delight to the eye and ear. And so to the song itself. This is a pounding, repetitive tune that is entirely in keeping with the title. Obsession is certainly a matter of repeating impulses to a fascinating object. I googled the lyrics (to echo the words of my father from long ago - I can’t hear what the singer’s saying) and they are deep enough to be worthy of some thought. This makes a happy change from the usual throwing together of a few meaningless phrases. Altogether this was a refreshing experience. The song is catchy and the video a delight. If only they hadn’t decided to include the somewhat creepy assurances that the paper used would all be recycled. God, I hate the self righteousness of the modern world, even if it is caused by the fear of being cancelled for some imagined offence. Word count: 320 |
| MeTube My wife, Andrea, at the end of a long day: “I nearly reached the end of YouTube.” It’s an interesting concept. With thousands of new videos being added to YouTube every day, the very idea of there being a limit to it seems a bit far fetched. And yet there are times when we feel as though we’ve seen everything it has to offer. We scroll down the offerings, muttering, “Seen that, not interested, why are you showing me that, for pete’s sake find me something new!” Thanks to the system of indicating our preferences for content, it’s only videos in those areas that YouTube is supposed to present to us. The possibility exists, therefore, that we could reach a position where we’ve seen all that YouTube has on a particular subject. If we’ve limited our interests to very few and they happen to be a bit esoteric, this becomes almost inevitable. Which is why Andrea’s statement was so memorable. She has subscribed to over two hundred channels. Word count: 168 |
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