Slow Thinking
I’ve always had a hunch that proof is better than assumption. Which is a pretty silly hunch to have, if you think about it. Or a rather sensible one, I don’t know. Maybe I should test it or something. Read the rest of this entry »
Wait until next year
Putting off what could be done tomorrow, today
Category: reading and writing
December 1, 2011
Writing notes
I was catching up on my Instapaper reading this morning, working my way through articles I’ve chanced across on the internet and decided to ‘Read Later’. I know I’ve spoken of Instapaper before, but I think it is such a great tool for making the most of longer-form articles on the web. I kind of see it as an attempt to make my internet (where I’ll save it) and mobile phone (where I’ll read it) activity just a little more nourishing and worthwhile. Or to feel a little less like I waste my life staring at daft stuff. Read the rest of this entry »
September 15, 2011
Zero to Fifty Thousand
I’m afraid this is yet another one of those posts where I bleat on and on about writing without actually doing any of it. Well, of course, I am writing, but I’m writing about writing, which I could pass off as some sort of meta exercise, or as a meditation on the creative process, but it is nearer to an act of public self-absorption, or at least an avoidance of writing about something more worthwhile than the act of writing itself. Read the rest of this entry »
September 9, 2011
How To Blog In Ten Easy Steps By Going Down The How Not To Blog Route
As I may have alluded to in the past I used to frequent a fair few blogging tips and advice sites. I’m sure I absorbed some useful information. Yet, pretty soon I figured out that at best they were stating the obvious (“Be nice to your readers! Make your site look pretty!”) and at worst were carny schemers looking to part gullible or trusting people with their money (“Subscribe to my newsletter to become a blogging star! Buy my pdf report to find out how you too can become a Full-Time Blogger!”). Beyond all that, these people were sermonising on how to be a better blogger, yet were often terrible, wooden, formulaic writers. I need never see a How Blogging Is Like *insert cultural influence here* article ever again. Read the rest of this entry »
September 7, 2011
Literature with R.A. Dickey, Scrabble with Teju Cole
I’ve never really been comfortable with the idea of meeting my heroes in person. A few years back I was sitting in a bar in Austin (long story, and not a particularly interesting one), and who should walk in but quite possibly my favourite singer-songwriter/alt-country guy, Ryan Adams. I decided against going up and speaking to him. First, he seemed like he was having a fun, relaxing evening and didn’t need me annoying him with how much I loved Heartbreaker or Cold Roses or whatever. Secondly, what if it wasn’t a pleasant experience for me? If that were to happen would it ruin all that great music I loved? Would it spoil the memories I had of his songs pulling me through my sadder moments and soundtracking some of the happier ones? I couldn’t risk it. Read the rest of this entry »
Wait until next year 