Archive for the 'Writing' Category

New writing in Finished Writing Projects

Published
by
Mike
on November 17, 2009
in Writing
. 1 Comment

As some of you may know, I’ve recently embarked again on the path to higher education. I’m in an Access Course for Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at City College Norwich. Should I do well enough in this course, I should be able to get into University next year and start my degree. I’d like most of all to get into the English Literature and Creative Writing program at the University of East Anglia, so I’m hoping that will happen. My current classes are Cultural Studies, History and English Literature and so far, I’m really enjoying them. I recently finished the first units of these classes, for which I was required to write some essays. I’ve posted those up in the Finished Writing Projects section, for anyone interested in reading them. They’re probably a bit dry, but feel free if you want to:

History – The Key Changes of the Industrial Revolution of Great Britain

English – Close Reading of a Passage of Hard Times

Cultural Studies – Conflicting Attitudes to Class in 1950s Britain

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After the rain

Published
by
Mike
on July 7, 2009
in Comic, Nonsense, Web/Technology and Writing
. 0 Comments

I’ve recently taken up walking and running again for exercise and went out today just after a thunderstorm. Everything was wet and glistening, the birds were out grabbing worms and the scent of foliage and rain was in the air. It was wonderful. I’ve resolved to try to go out more often just after the rain, even at the risk of getting a little wet and muddy. It’s so worth it.

On another note, HandRooster is back in business and has a redesigned site and I’ve been writing on simplicity, productivity, technology, happiness, etc over at my new site, mindreap. I fully intend on posting on Riding the Wind in the same way I always have, so don’t worry about that.

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The Night Watchman

Published
by
Mike
on May 6, 2009
in Writing
. 1 Comment

Frozen by the shining sun, my mind is set alight by her long breaths. Liquidity. My transformation is complete as full dark slips over the world. I stare at her face, so peaceful in its repose. The ache of my love is so strong now that I fear it will wake her. My mind races across our life together, finding pain. I immerse myself in it so that it can’t defile her.

I am the night watchman.

I guard the innocent light of the day, battling darkness so that the sleeper can rest without worry. Silently waiting for the next wave of foes, I direct my gaze to the window and wait for the birds to sing.

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Explanation

Published
by
Mike
on May 2, 2009
in Books, Nonsense and Writing
. 2 Comments

“Why do people have to be this lonely? What’s the point of it all? Millions of people in this world, all of them yearning, looking to others to satisfy them, yet isolating themselves. Why? Was the Earth put here just to nourish human loneliness?
I turned face-up on the slab of stone, gazed at the sky, and thought about all of the man-made satellites spinning around the Earth. The horizon was still etched in a faint glow, and stars began to blink on in the deep, wine-coloured sky. I gazed among them for the light of a satellite, but it was still too bright out to spot one with the naked eye. The sprinkling of stars looked nailed to the spot, unmoving. I closed my eyes and listened carefully for the descendants of Sputnik, even now circling the Earth, gravity their only tie to the planet. Lonely metal souls in the unimpeded darkness of space, they meet, pass each other, and part, never to meet again. No words passing between them. No promises to keep.” (Sputnik Sweetheart by Haruki Murakami, translated by Philip Gabriel)

I live in phases. Up and down I go, from periods of great productivity, joy and vigor to periods of something else altogether. Like Murakami’s strange Sumire who was so cherished by the story’s narrator, I too use writing as a means to think. Just as she did, I go through low phases which find me unable (or more likely unwilling) to think and therefore I avoid the act of writing. I recede from the internet, from books and from anything which may challenge me to think only to come crashing back later, like the returning tide. I don’t know how to prevent these cycles other than to force myself to continue to read, write and engage with my thoughts. I don’t even know if that will work, because my dark days come in force and unexpectedly, gripping me with an unwillingness to engage with the world. I prefer instead to dull my mind and dwell in nothingness until drawn out. Perhaps I need to make a stand or a decision, like in the book. I have love and companionship, but maybe I need a narrator of my own to draw me back from the twin world.

I’m back, for now.

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Why talk radio is better than television

Published
by
Mike
on December 28, 2008
in Nonsense and Writing
. 0 Comments

I’ll preface this post with a few facts. First, I’ve been drinking whisky. Second, all of this is based on my personal experience and opinions and is nowhere indicative of scientific fact. I have read nothing about this subject. This is just about me and my personal observations about television versus radio.

Having said all that, let me explain the background of my claims. I am not in any way a stranger to the allure of the television, the evil siren of the entertainment world. In the past, I have found myself easily succumbing to television and watching as my standards for worthy entertainment dropped time and time again. This usually ended up in me being hopelessly addicted to horrible reality television shows in which the freaks of society and their average counterparts are thrown together to mingle, fight, love and lose. Anyone living in the UK will be familiar with this sort of television. In this case, my example is Big Brother. Anyway, the point is not what it was but the fact that watching it can be almost as boring and monotonous as a television watcher’s meaningless existence. It is only slightly above the thrill I may get from – I don’t know – clipping my toenails, perhaps. Actually now that I think upon it further, clipping my toenails is more satisfying because of the delay between clipping sessions. Anyway, I haven’t been watching much TV lately because we don’t have one in a great location for us in our current living arrangements. Overall, I see this as a good thing.

I’m not by any means saying that all television is horrible. I love a good documentary, decent films, etc. You can’t get that sort of thing on radio in the same way and I appreciate some regular television as well. I’m a shameless fan of the new Battlestar Galactica show, and I don’t care that you know. I like it and I think that it is good television. The thing is though that most of the time, television is just not that good. I’d just as soon be playing games, taking photos, writing or just surfing the internet. Unfortunately, television does not allow me to do these things once I get into the habit of watching it. It sucks me into a time vortex and I waste the hours of my life in front of the box.

Since I came to the UK, I’ve been listening to BBC Radio 4. I started this practice because I was driving a total of around 8 hours on the weekends going to and from my wife’s house, before she was my wife. I’d leave right after work on a Friday night and get there about 4 hours later, since there was traffic and a long distance to contend with. The main problem was that I was always tired from a long day of work and I found regular music didn’t help me combat this. I’d just go into a sort of trance and it started to get dangerous. One day I tried listening to Radio 4, which is a spoken-word station. For some reason, this station kept my brain active and every time I’ve listened to it since, I’ve never been at risk for falling asleep.

Radio 4 broadcasts news, drama, comedy, science and history. It has a good mix of topics and all of the newsreaders, hosts, etc always seemed very well informed. I’m not going to tell you that I love everything on the station because I don’t. Some of it, frankly, caters to an older audience and I don’t care for the soap operas such as The Archers. I do very much enjoy the plays, the current affairs programmes, the pieces on literature and poetry and the programmes which focus on religion/spirituality and the like. I find that while I listen to the radio in this way, my mind is active. When listening to dramas, plays, or listening to a book reading, my imagination paints a picture using the words coming through the speakers. My brain is always working and assessing the words on the radio but when I’m watching the television, my brain is dead. I find myself wanting to eat or surf the internet while I watch television because watching television on its own doesn’t occupy enough of my brain.

Maybe your experience is different, but I’d urge you to give talk radio a chance if you haven’t done so already. Radio 4 is great and I hear good things about NPR although I don’t think their format is all talk. Anyway, that’s all from me for now.

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