¦ dialling in from Jesus Mound ¦
11:16GMT, Saturday 29th August, 2009. I'm back in Newcastle. Currently sitting at the oak refectory table, bright sunlight flooding in through skylights above me and the long wall of square-latticed windows to my left. I've only just settled here though: it's been a blissfully lazy morning and I've spent a couple of hours in dad's old room, where I've been sleeping; sitting up on the big sofa bed with a mug of coffee, legs extended, a familiar view beyond the tips of my feet, through ceiling to floor net curtains hanging in front of the large double French doors...one of which I've wedged open with a heavy ceramic thing to enjoy the cool breeze and the hissing rustling of the wind in the trees. There are thousands of trees here, densely packed together. Behind the house, at the bottom of the garden is a steep drop and a large forested area.
I've got no music playing because my laptop is still fekked, good enough for writing but that's about it.
Been here since Thursday night. A long drive with Oj straight from work in her car.
Friday morning I slept through until nearly 11.30 A.M. I never do that, so it shows something of the stress and pressure I, and all of us at work, have been enduring the past few weeks. It's been utterly insane. I've got projects stacked up end to end and no spare resource until mid-October now: which is an impossible situation because commercial jobs are going to continue coming in thick and fast with two day or three day delivery deadlines... we've already got one freelancer in and he's maxed out for the next 6 weeks. Recession, what recession?
Everyone has been ending the day in a battered daze. We're working beyond a 100% and any manager knows you can't sustain that for a significant period of time before something Big goes wrong.
So Friday, I crawled out of the sofa bed in dad's old room and smiled, grateful for the chance to catch up on much needed rest.
I let the day drift by. I'm currently reading a proof copy of the first novel by my friend, Pete Wills. He's got an excellent writing style. Mistakes, sure, loads of them, but this is his work in a raw state. End of the day, I'm enjoying the story and want to continue, rather than feeling it's a chore.
I've told Sharky he needs to get his skates on and get some proof copies sent out to trusted parties who can perform the same service.
Dog Eat Dog is now deliciously embedded in the forefront of my mind. I'm constantly thinking about it, working on it. Not long now before I end this final phase of notes and preparation and start the beauty.
Iron Man Project has yielded yet more positive feedback. Bizarre. This is something I finished back in 2005 and was a book that never really took off like the others; but now it seems to be finding a voice. Certainly sales are spiking at the moment. Very nice, thank you! You should preview / buy
Iron Man Project here.
Inglorious Basterds. I nearly avoided this film. I mean, Tarantino has been producing some utter crap the past few years - you have to respect him for working the industry and achieving the production of a film, however much they don't appeal to me, but my entrenched view point was, I'll not waste my money on him.
Then The Guardian website film critic gave it only 1 star out of 5. And I thought: hmmmm, that Guardian film critic is a lazy asshole who always has the wrong view on anything. So I went to see it. Thank God.
Inglorious Basterds is an amazing film. I hadn't followed any of the hype so I didn't know what to expect. I suppose I expected some kind of bloated comical romp along the lines of Mel Brooks. I was not prepared for the sheer unbearable (positive) tension of the opening scene and several scenes later in the film. I wasn't prepared for the fantastic cinematography, which in many places harked back to some of the true classics of mid-20th Century film making. And I wasn't prepared for the spellbinding performances. Of note is Christan Waltz who for me, made the film what it is. So, Guardian film-critic, ya got it wrong, "Again". Inglorious Basterds is 5 out of 5 for me.
Finally, tomorrow I shall be 14,235 days old. So wish me a happy birthday if you’re so inclined.