reading and writing | Wait until next year

September 6, 2011

A Lick of Paint

Following a brief blogging hiatus I thought I’d give this old place a fresh look. I may well change the banner image, or the fonts, or whatever else in due course, as the mood suits. So don’t be alarmed by any further changes, dear reader. But I haven’t just been mucking around with my WordPress Dashboard. I have also actually written some new blog posts, which makes a nice change from my usual empty promises about writing something. They will appear over the next few days I expect, and that initial flurry of activity will inevitably be followed by sporadic posting at best, and another unplanned hiatus at worst, depending on time commitments and your correspondent’s commitment, or lack thereof. Anyway, stay tuned and all that.

Image from the Library of Congress, via Flickr

11 Comments

July 28, 2011

Doing It Wrong

Sometimes the internet seems to be filled with nothing but guilty pleasures. While many of us would struggle to live without it, spending time on the internet can feel like time wasted. There is a nagging doubt that the internet cannot ever match up to the finest books, or works of art, or even films. Each moment browsing is a moment that could, potentially, be better spent elsewhere, admittedly with less cute photos of cats. Read the rest of this entry »

6 Comments

July 11, 2011

Plimpton!

Kickstarter is a pretty fantastic idea for a website. The site facilitates the funding of creative projects, with various people pitching their idea and encouraging people to back their project. If enough money is raised, the project goes ahead and the backers get some sort of reward, depending on how much they contributed. Read the rest of this entry »

5 Comments

July 6, 2011

There may be a point, somewhere

So, it starts with an anecdote. Something small, something simple. It might relate to the author, if it’s that kind of article, or it might relate to some other individual. Then it broadens out, introduces the larger Issue, probes some Big Themes or whatever, then concludes with a cute little aside that wraps up the matter at hand in relation to the original anecdote. “And then I realised what grandpa had meant all those years ago.” Maybe throw in a neat photo or picture, that’s kind of retro or obscure or something. Make it look pretty. I mean, the photo may not even really relate to what’s been written. But it might make it all look more mysterious, or considered, or cool. You know the drill, that’s how these things work, right? Read the rest of this entry »

9 Comments

June 17, 2011

Happy Reading

Apologies for the lack of content, said the uncommitted blogger, always short of time, inspiration, motivation etc. Work is busy, so less time and energy to write. Well, that’s my excuse. To keep things ticking along, here are some other people’s words that I’ve been reading lately. They are far more illuminating and profound than anything I could produce, so this exercise is probably best for all of us. It also helps generate some kind of myth that I’m well-read and stuff. And there’s nothing an ineffective blogger likes more than stroking his fragile ego. Read the rest of this entry »

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Category: reading and writing