Heels: Dragged
Posted on | October 21, 2008 | 2 Comments
I am the quintessential procrastinator. That Hamlet bloke has nothing on me. What the hell is wrong with me? I know I should be doing something a little more worthwhile (relatively speaking at least) and yet I don’t.
Instead I do other things. I drink lots of tea. I stare out of the window for a bit. “That internet’s not going to surf itself”, I say and sluggishly click from one site to another. There are so many unnecessary and inessential draws on my time. How much masturbation do you think is too much, for instance? So many pointless things eating into my day. Eating into the time in which I should be doing something productive.
I need to break this dilatory pattern. I need to steel myself and get a system going. I need to turn off my email notifications. I need to resist the siren call of Google Reader. I need to stop wondering what’s happening on BBC News and Boing Boing.
Damn this internet. Damn its e-ticement. Damn it for its information-allure. Damn its myriad methods of interrupting what I should be doing. Damn it hell for its easily accessible pornography.
P.S. In Sideshow Bob fashion, I am aware of the irony of posting on the internet in order to decry it.
Filckr Vs. Picasa
Posted on | October 20, 2008 | 2 Comments
The death knell has sounded for flickr.
Its uploader for Mac was buggy – editing anything already typed in the text fields before an upload caused it to go mental and, after every upload, it made me login again. It limited me to 100M a month, which isn’t too bad on an ongoing basis but my initial surge of photos came to more than that and I’m not willing to fork out for additional space or wait a month to upload another few. Lastly, and most imortantly, it lacked any decent sorting options – stuff was presented in the order in which it was uploaded and I couldn’t find anything to allow me to sort photos in the order in which they were actually taken.
So then, I am back with the Google chaps. Picasaweb for me. Gave me 1GB upfront which means I can actually upload the photos I want to without having to wait for three months. Granted, if I’d stayed with flickr, in a year, I’d have more space than that but I’m all about the instant gratification, me. Picasa also allows me to sort things the way I want to and makes it easier to organise photos once they’re uploaded.
To be fair, it’s not perfect. Flickr was better at easily tagging photos or albums and flickr also has better ‘social-networking’ (possibly in part because it’s the most popular). I’m not really uploading photos for networking opportunities though, so these weren’t deal-breakers for me.
Also, Picasa doesn’t as yet have that flashy sidebar widget where the images expand and shrink. Static selection of random images for my sidebar now. Oh well.
Right; dull and geeky post over with.
Well, someone has to do it yourself.
Posted on | October 12, 2008 | Comments Off on Well, someone has to do it yourself.
I am DIY-Boy again. The bedroom this time as I continue my quest to make something presentable, and slightly less annoying, out of the odd collection of acute and obtuse angles, shit workmanship and general arse, that the builders piled up and called a house.
There is an ulterior motive. The previous owner’s carpet was still in the bedroom and, not only does it look a bit shit, I’m convinced that I’ve been walking around on that person’s skin cells and pubes for the last four years.
So then, carpet: gone. Eeeuughh – nasty job. In it’s place, a nice solid-wood floor with no place for dust and pubes to hide. Shitty, sticky-outie wardrobes that the builders hammered to the wall: gone. Snazzy new ones in a much better position. A bit of painting left to complete and then, it’s done. Even without the painting though, l’m markedly happier with the room. It looks much better and it’s now much more intelligently laid-out.
Worth the hassle then? Yep. Mind you, the bathroom is next on the list (not for a couple of months though). My answer might be different after tackling that.
It’s the tiny victories
Posted on | September 30, 2008 | 6 Comments
This morning, as I stare into the bathroom mirror repeating the phrase ‘I’m a winner’, I can do so with more conviction than usual. Today, people, I am a winner.
My short scene entry over at The Rouge Wave was voted the best. Hurrah for me! My first earnings from writing, an Amazon gift certificate for $25, will soon be virtually winging its virtual way to me. If I may be permitted another hurrah?
Hurrah.
Although this is a small victory, I am encouraged and emboldened. I would be feaverishly working on a spec script now if I hadn’t spent the last eight hours writing my acceptance speech. A couple more drafts and it should be ready. Four, tops. Maybe five.
Damn and blast
Posted on | September 26, 2008 | Comments Off on Damn and blast
Didn’t win the Movie Mogul thing. Pah!
If you’ll excuse me, I have a number of cases of sour grapes to get through.
Times are good or bad, happy or sad
Posted on | September 24, 2008 | Comments Off on Times are good or bad, happy or sad
How often do you get to quote Al Green?
So then, the bad news. I didn’t make the next round of the British Short Screenplay Competition. It seems that Branagh (I’m assuming it was him) didn’t like my script. Either that or he was scared by the vast talent evident in every page, line, word and non-breaking space. Yeah, probably scared. I’m quite sanguine – to even have made it to the second round is a reasonable achievement for a newcomer. I think.
The good news: Having entered a very, very short scene into, predictably, a short scene competition being run on one of the more useful (and certainly one of the most prolific) screenwriting blogs, I’ve been shortlisted as one of three scenes for blog patrons to vote on. I’m not publishing a link at the moment as they, quite rightly, want to try limit voting to regular readers rather than having a bundle of blow-ins turning up to ballot-stuff. Should I win, I will receive the princely sum of $25 (hey, it’s a blog, not the bleeding Academy), most likely in book-token form. Old school. Nice.
The indifferent (for a little while at least) news: Yesterday, I posted my submission for the Red Planet Prize. Ten-page extract and one-page outline. I’m happy with my ten pages. Let’s see if Tony Jordan feels the same.
Finally, in anxious news, the Movie Mogul thing will be announced on Friday. My hooks are well and truly tentered at this stage. Go on lads, gimme the gig. Fair warning if I don’t get it: I’ve been saving my faeces and have a large supply of jiffy-bags.
Tags: competitions > red planet > rouge wave > Writing
Immolation, anyone?
Posted on | September 21, 2008 | Comments Off on Immolation, anyone?
I’m more than a little frightened. For the last two days, there has been a mysterious, glowing yellow orb in the sky (a sky which was a weird blue colour, by the way). This unfamiliar golden orb shines and burns and, to be honest, terrifies.
The only course is to sacrifice something in order to appease the orb and bring back our usual cloud and heavy rain.
Tags: sacrifice > sunshine
Woah-oh, we’re halfway there
Posted on | September 18, 2008 | Comments Off on Woah-oh, we’re halfway there
Well, thanks in no small part to the weirdos that read this (that’s you, that is), I’ve made it. I remained in the Movie Mogul top ten all through August and am now eligible for the, much more scary, jury round.
The jury are cogitating and contemplating; mulling and meditating. They’re deliberating their pretty little heads off and will have a result on the 26th – next Friday. If you actually voted for me with your real email address, I’m guessing that they’ll announce the results over email. That being the case, you can join me in jubilant triumph or help to contribute to my miserable self-censure. Either way, there’ll be beer involved.
If the results aren’t emailed to those that voted, you can read about my performance here. Unless, of course, I don’t win in which case it will never be spoken of again and I’ll rewrite the blog history to make sure it never happened.
Ref: Jimmy Pages Trousers. Post should read, “No competition entered. Chocolate rations forecast to increase to 25 grammes per week.”
Doubleplus good.
Sincere (really) thanks to those that registered and voted for me. I genuinely appreciate it. I am a little awed by the fact that some nice people, whom I know only from comments and posts, would take the time to do that for me.
Doubleplus good, indeed.
They were the smallest ears I could find
Posted on | August 28, 2008 | Comments Off on They were the smallest ears I could find
Now that I am unmasked and no longer anonymous, there is little need for further subterfuge. So then, here I am in all my avatary glory.
It was made via this place (which seems to be down at the moment).
In reality, I’m not quite so youthful-looking and there is usually more stubble on the rest of my face than shown – the editing options were finite. Other than that, a reasonable likeness I think.
Oh, and my ears are not so big in real life.
Ladies, form an orderly queue.
What an idea
Posted on | August 27, 2008 | 2 Comments
At last, something useful from Lidl. And what a brilliant thing it is. Lidl are selling this Shower Stool. Behold.
This is what I’ve been seeking all these years. Now, when I’m horribly hungover, I can have a refreshing shower while also having a bit of a sit down. Fantastic. This standing-up lark is for the birds.
All I need now is one of those neck-brace things to avoid having to hold my own head up and my hangovers will be a vastly more pleasant experience. I may even try for more of them.
« NEWER Entries — OLDER Entries »Gerry Hayes
I mostly sit around all day and drink tea. Occasionally, I write stuff and send it to strangers so they can humiliate me and deride my efforts. Other than the self-harm to dull the shame of failure, it's not a bad life. Like I say, there's tea.
More information...