Freedom From The Mundane

Image: Pink Sherbet Photography

I dug out some of my old Pink Floyd albums and brushed them down last night. It had been a while. I tend to go through waves of listening to a certain genre—3 months on ska, 3 months on rock, 3 months on indie—you get the idea. Anyway, while listening to a [...]

March 15th, 2010 | Tags: 1969, Alan Bissett, America, Baccara Burning, Cape Canaveral, Dave Gilmour, Echoes, Fiction, glasses, moon landing, Moonhead, Music, NASA, novella, Obama, Pink Floyd, space exploration, spectacles, The Guardian, Writing | Category: Editorial Comment, Fiction, Music, Politics, Writing, Writing Process | Leave a comment

Image: Eye Make Art

I chanced my arm on a whim and logged into my account at the St. Mirren ticket office over lunch yesterday. Lo-and-behold the cup final tickets were available early for non-season ticket holders!!
I got two briefs for the League cup final against Rangers on March 21st, Block G, right behind the goals [...]

March 10th, 2010 | Tags: Cup Final, Hampden Park, James Bulger, Luke Wright, Poetry, poetry process, Saturday Live, St Mirren, Stiff Little Fingers, tickets, Writing | Category: Animals, Music, Poetry, Sport, Writing, Writing Process | Leave a comment

Image: MS Vista

Thanks for all your birthday wishes posted on the blog yesterday—I passed them all on. Perhaps the most scary comment left was: “A teenage female in the house, good luck mate.” Cheers Stevie—just when I needed a laugh!
I got the feeling all day that yesterday was a public/local holiday of some [...]

March 2nd, 2010 | Tags: 30th Anniversary Tour, birthday, computers, Dominos, DVD, Edinburgh: the City & the Festivals, I.T, Microsoft Vista, MS Windows, Music, Netbook, PC, pizza, public holiday, Ranfurly Review, ska, teenagers, The Specials | Category: Edinburgh: the City & the Festivals, Family, Food, Drink, and Bevvy, I.T., Music, Publishing and Marketing, Video | Comments (1)

Image: Cessna 206

It’s been a fine week. I’ve managed some good writing, made lots of progress and had a few successes at the day job, my DVD box set of The West Wing and The Bourne Trilogy arrived, and I got some free CDs in for review from some producers. All I need now [...]

February 26th, 2010 | Tags: 30th Anniversary Tour DVD, Bourne Trilogy, Day Job, DVDs. CDs, front cover, I.T. computing, John Steinbeck, Publishing and Marketing, Ranfurly Review, seasons, The Specials, Weather, weekend, West Wing, Writing | Category: Day Job, Edinburgh: the City & the Festivals, I.T., Music, Publishing and Marketing, Writing | Leave a comment

Image: MIT

I noticed out of my office window yesterday that I’d still to pick up the bird table that got blown over on Friday night. It’s still to attract the attention of any little feathered friends, so I repositioned it nearer the garage where I can see it and restocked it with seed and bread. [...]

January 18th, 2010 | Tags: Amsterdam, bird table, birds, Bluegate Poets, chapbooks, creative energy, Day Job, European tour, Facebook, Fiction, Fringe Fantastic, live gigs, Madness, Music, nature, novella, paranormal, Paris, Poetry, Poolside Poetry, Stella, Writing | Category: Animals, Books, Day Job, Edinburgh: the City & the Festivals, Fiction, I.T., Music, Poetry, Reading, Writing, Writing Process | Comments (1)

Image: Dennis Wong

Yesterday was the kind of Saturday I’ve needed for quite some time. If I could have wished for a better feeling come the twilight of the afternoon, then I got what I desired. It was a nice day but not all that exciting. It was low level boring stuff to most, but for [...]

January 17th, 2010 | Tags: alarms, Arab Strap, Boots, chapbook, Coffee, computers, DVD, Edinburgh: the City & the Festivals, Editing, External Hard Drive, Freelance, iPod, Me Time, moleskin notepad, movie, PC World, pizza, poems, Poetry, Publishing and Marketing, Samuel L Jackson, Saturday, Scotland's Treasure, scrabble, security, Starbucks, Ten Years of Tears, Tesco, The Cleaner, writers, Writing | Category: Edinburgh: the City & the Festivals, Family, Film & TV, Food, Drink, and Bevvy, I.T., Music, Poetry, Publishing and Marketing, Reading, Travel, Writing, Writing Process | Comments (2)

Image: Metal Minnie

I felt much better yesterday morning. I‘d got a great sleep the night before and was into work bright and early. Working early means I seem to get more done; less distractions and people sapping my time.
My week is turning into an obsessive nightmare with all the technical problems at work pushing me [...]

January 15th, 2010 | Tags: creativity, CWA, Day Job, Fiction, GDR's, I.T., ideas, Poetry, Sleep, Val McDermid, Writing | Category: Day Job, Fiction, Freelance, I.T., Music, Poetry, Publishing and Marketing, Writing, Writing Process | Comments (1)

Image: BGIS

I never got a chance to post yesterday. Shit happens. By the time I got back in from work time was ticking on and I could still have made it to my writer’s group. Other things transpired, however, and it ended up being a late night pour moi. Tired beyond belief, I slept in [...]

January 14th, 2010 | Tags: bands, Day Job, Fiction, gig listing, I.T., motivation, music gigs, music in Edinburgh, Scruffy Dog Review, Travel, writing competitions, York | Category: Day Job, Edinburgh: the City & the Festivals, Fiction, Freelance, I.T., Music, Travel, Writing, Writing Process | Leave a comment

Image: Linis Bohman

It was a productive weekend. I swapped my Saturday and Sunday routines around so I could have a lie on Saturday morning. I needed it—really needed it—and it paid off. When I arose the infernal tiredness had gone and I was feeling great about life. Lots of things to do and I had [...]

January 11th, 2010 | Tags: albums, articles, creative, Edinburgh: the City & the Festivals, Freelance, gigs, Indian meal, Music, pet food, productive, Reading, Reviews, Writing | Category: Animals, Books, Edinburgh: the City & the Festivals, Fiction, Food, Drink, and Bevvy, Freelance, Music, Writing | Comments (1)

Image: Kassy Miller

Very slow day at work yesterday. Being so tired after such a relaxing time was always going to be tough to pick myself up from, but it was much harder than I envisaged. I struggled to remember things from before Christmas, forgot where keys on my keyboard were, and generally found it a [...]

January 5th, 2010 | Tags: Books, CDs, Christmas presents, cold, Day Job, GDR's, ice, Music, Reading, routine, snow, Weather, Writing | Category: Books, Day Job, Fiction, Music, Scotland, Writing, Writing Process | Comments (3)

Image: CS

Delighted! I am utterly delighted that Rage Against The Machine beat X-Factor winner Joe McElderry to the Christmas No.1 spot in the charts. It’s a strong two fingers in the faces of Simon Cowell and Louis Walsh, who between them have turned the UK music industry into a joke, the only real winners from [...]

December 21st, 2009 | Category: Animals, Edinburgh: the City & the Festivals, Family, Music, Poetry, Reading, Writing, Writing Process | Comments (3)

Image: moblog

Two hours into my day already and the sun is breaking. I’ve been working on a “day job” implementation, i.e., running in new software to the mainframe. Menial and boring, but very well paid.
I felt myself coming down with a cold as the week wore on. Several overnight callouts has meant a lack of [...]

December 19th, 2009 | Tags: Day Job, Madness, run-down, work, Writing | Category: Day Job, Music, Poetry, Publishing and Marketing, Writing | Comments (2)

Image: Me!

It was a weekend to remember; a weekend never to forget. From St. Mirren Park on Saturday (arguably forgettable) to Depeche Mode on Saturday night (definitely forgettable), and from the ska party in Glasgow on Sunday to the Madness gig itself, it was a great weekend topped off by one of the best Madness [...]

December 15th, 2009 | Tags: 1980s, bevy, booze, Clockwork Pub, Depeche Mode, friends, Glasgow, live gigs, Madness, Mount Florida, Music, O2 Academy, Paisley, Pivo Pivo, ska, skinheads, St Mirren | Category: Food, Drink, and Bevvy, Glasgow, Music, Photography, Sport | Comments (2)