Writer's Block

I couldn't care less about Halloween. Trick or treating is American nonsense. Also, I grow tired of my contemporaries' obsession with fancy dress or cosplay or whatever it's called now.  If I didn't watch another horror film for the rest of my life, I'd be quite happy. Seeing "It Follows" earlier on in the year certainly gave me nightmares, but only as an example of dull and tedious film making.  I admit that I have negative associations with the 31st October that go back to childhood. My house was egged on consecutive Halloweens by my bullies at school who were apparently not content to restrict their abuse to school hours. The idea that people hate you so much that they feel compelled to vandalise your family's property is quite upsetting. Probably best not to dwell. Anyway, I have limited my celebrations to watching a Halloween episode of  Bob's Burgers, which has finally returned to UK TV via Comedy Central after an inexplicably long abse...

Very little happens in the sleepy little town* in which I live. So it was interesting to hear that Shaka Aamer was being repatriated to the UK via Biggin Hill Airport after a fourteen year long imprisonment in Guantanamo Bay**. I'll admit I don't know a great deal about the case, other than the fact Aamer has been jailed without charge or trial. I'm not the person to offer a withering crique of US policy in this regard. But for a nation who strive to take other countries to task over their human rights abuses, Guantanamo remains a sizable elephant in the room. Having watched a news report, I believe I saw Aamer's lawyer from the bus window of the 246,along with numerous policeman and cameras. It provided an interesting contrast with the rest of my afternoon, where I distributed vast numbers of betting slips in a parochial environment. Can one of you please remind me to get out of this town at some point? *When I was a kid, I maintained that Biggin Hill was a village...

It's been nearly two months since this record came out and I've found it difficult to write about. As I said before, The Wonder Years' previous record "The Greatest Generation" has become one of my all time favourite albums. No Closer To Heaven is a very different beast, forgoing that record's crisp production for a sound that's rough around the edges. "Cardinals" provides a high octane start, with furious drumming accompanying a soaring chorus. "I Don't Like Who Was Then" recalls the aspirational spirit that characterises much of the band's previous work ("I want to shoulder the weight til my back breaks, I want to run til my lungs give up"). Similarly "The Bluest Things On Earth" is the sort of crunchy riffed, anthemic pop punk track the band have become known for. "You In January" demonstrates a more pop friendly side to the band, its use of keyboards contributing to a more melodic focus.  Th...

Work again today. The quality of these blogs has taken a serious nosedive and I'm afraid it's going to get worse. If the last two days are anything to go by, I will lack the time or energy to write anything of real substance. There are two issues really. One, nothing tremendously eventful takes place. Two, talking about my new place of employment in depth is probably unwise. My neck hurts. My back hurts. I feel about a million years old. I'm waiting for news of Manchester United's league cup tie against Middlesbrough, after watching an utterly dull Liverpool victory over Bournemouth. As I write, it's 0-0 in the second half of extra time and simply want it to come to an end. EDIT: It went to penalties. United lost 3-1. Tremendous. Wayne Rooney was one of the players who missed. He turned 30 at the weekend and I increasingly fear that he is an example of nominative determanism I watched the video of Sonic Boom Six's new single "No Man, No Right" this...

work today. tired.

Work today. By which I mean the old work, rather than the new work. 498 people came through the doors of the studio on a pretty murky day, bolstered by the half term hoards. It might yet prove to be my final shift, but that's still a bit up in the air. Perhaps it's not that surprising that I've begun to look back on my time there more fondly since the prospect of leaving hoved into view. Even if for the past couple of years I've tended to fixate on everything about the job that drives me crazy. I would miss the people, I think. Generally a kind hearted friendly bunch, I've enjoyed working with people who are generally older and wiser than myself. I'd like to think I've grown as a person during my time with the National Trust and that my people skills have improved through working with the public. My fourth NT season comes to an end this Sunday. On one level it feels like the right time to bring it to a close. Basically, I'm happy to leave but happy to ...

I'm starting a new job on Tuesday, working five days a week at one of this nation's many bookmakers. Anyone who knows me knows that I've banged on about being unable to find work and my struggle to maintain a positive frame of mind for years now. This should feel like a cathartic moment, but it doesn't seem as simple as that. I'm a negative person who is trying to be less negative. A negative person in this instance might point out that the organisation had a lot of positions available and that some of the other candidates were not all that interested. But I still had to meet with said employers and say the right things and demonstrate that I'm enthusiastic and up for the challenge and I've done that. I've practically had an argument with one of my friends this evening about differing outlooks on life. Her views made me think about my own attitudes. Is there any sort of mitigating circumstances or justification for my struggles of the past few years? I...