Monday, January 16, 2006

Take me out tonight, because I want to see people and I want to see life

Have had a good few days of banging my head against the wall. Then I listened to last week’s Saturday Review on Radio Four and they reviewed a book by a guy who allegedly wrote it within a week whilst recovering from alcohol poisoning. Now okay, it’s called Sellevision and is about behind the scenes shenanigans at a cable shopping channel – not a book I would like to read or write. But it was being reviewed on Radio Four. Bastard.

Meanwhile, not a great deal to report. Really nothing is happening. I still haven’t been out of the flat this year and nobody’s come to visit. I seem to be living my life by proxy, delighting or worrying over other people’s news. Or else I am living in a world of fictional characters.

Actually, this isn't quite true. What I have done this last week? Apart from work on my novel I have…
  1. Been experimenting making suncatchers using real lead as an outline. This has led (bum bum) to a great deal of hand-washing and hygiene paranoia. I don’t really understand how dangerous the stuff is, but tend to be overcautious. I’m actually using latex gloves but my nails are long and together with the pliers and craft-knife I keep putting holes in them. Anyway, the leading does look really cool when I get it right. I have been looking at rose window designs to scale-down.
  2. Painted a piggy-bank for a small child. I am quite pleased with it; piggy-banks are often ugly things but mine is quite cute.
  3. Watched several films I hadn’t seen before; The Village (good – beautifully made, shame about the premise), Hostage (bad – it was called Hostage and starred Bruce Willis – I should have known better), The Producers (very bad) and Motorcycle Diaries (very good). Probably some others, I can’t remember.
  4. Begun reading Passage to India, one of the many novels I got for Christmas.
  5. Sampled Violet Liqueur which is the colour of methylated spirit and coincidentally tastes like meths with a load of parma violets mixed into it.
See that’s five pieces of not-quite-nothing. And I am making some progress on my book. Right now, no amount of not-quite-nothing compensates if I can't write. I can't believe how demoralised I feel about this so early into the new year.

Oh and the nightmares are back.

4 comments:

marmiteboy said...

Have you read the book of The Motor Cycle Diaries?

Anonymous said...

Yes, if you are handling lead a lot be very careful. It can be absorbed through the skin, mucous membranes, and the dust can be inhaled. Lead poisoning can be fatal, but even the low-level chronic type is very unpleasant and insidious in onset.

Is The Producers the musical about Nazism?

The violet liqueur sounds like aversion therapy!

The Goldfish said...

I haven't read The motorcycle diaries but I guess I ought to now really.

Thanks for your advice about lead, Charles. The Producers that I saw is the old nineteen sixties Mel Brooks film, all the Blazing Saddles crowd and yes they are putting on a musical Springtime for Hitler.

I have been informed that it is not at all bad and I have an absolute duty to watch it again whilst slightly drunk.

There is a new version at the cinema now - after the original film, it became a Broadway Show, gaining more songs, and they've now turned it back into a film. Uh... so that's a film based on a musical based on a film about a musical.

Anyway, neither AJ or I got on with the original - funny premise of course and a great comedy German. And I imagine it was outrageous when it was first released, with goose-stepping dance routines etc.

Anonymous said...

Hmmm.. I believe a friend once spoke to me about this book, motor cycle diaries. It sounded very interesting. Apparently it changed his perception on life. I forget how though, lol. i did listen, honest!

Well, we get by don't we? doing little things, here and there to make the days go by. That's how I felt in my total non job search days. It still feels that way on the odd day, when there's nothing much doing. I feel odd if I hang around the ouch board, or any other forum for long periods.

I'm all for trying new alcoholic drinks. *wink*