There are some non-conventional film makers producing remarkably shot and better plotted films than three-quarters of Hollywood right now. Echoing the colour and spectacle of Luc Besson's atmospheric The Big Blue, coupled with 60s surf movies, while also recalling some of the tension and exuberance of the 1993 classic Airborne, but without the flannelette, 90s … Continue reading Review: Pipe Dream’s Dirt Bike Magic
Writing
Skirting the edges
Despite living in the 'city on the bay' I haven't been to any sort of beach for about eight years. Recently though, I had the opportunity to spend a long weekend at Mornington Peninsular. Apart from one day trip to Sorrento, I hadn't visited the area before. I found it had its own special allure, … Continue reading Skirting the edges
One book counts
Author Tanith Lee passed away earlier this year. It was only then that I realised what an amazing catalogue of work she produced. I have said elsewhere that I still have a copy of her Castle of Dark. It left a profound impression in my young mind when I found it. It was lyrical and … Continue reading One book counts
Lessons from rejection
Where I have the most experience as a creative writer is in the submission rejection process. No, no need to get all sympathetic and tut tut. It's true and it maybe true for a while yet, for a myriad of reasons. On the bright side it indicates I'm still sending stuff out there. And that's … Continue reading Lessons from rejection
Before my pen has gleaned my teeming brain
When I have doubts about what I'm doing, which can happen, say after a bad submission rejection (there are good and bad ones) I stand alone on the shore of the wide world, like Keats once did, and think about chucking it in, in much the same way he didn't. Maybe I could get an easier … Continue reading Before my pen has gleaned my teeming brain
It’s all in the name
It's no secret writers make up names; for their characters, for their stories and for themselves. Females have taken to disguising their authorship since at least Currer, Ellis and Acton Bell started getting their poetry published. The other day a writer revealed she didn't (really) read books by female writers and disguised her name as … Continue reading It’s all in the name
Writing words is a numbers game
I've mentioned previously that I keep a database of publications and my writing, to show me when and where I've sent what stories (and the odd poem) and how long I've waited to hear back (sometimes forever). Apart from occasional lapses in data entry (almost) everything I've sent out over the past five years is there. … Continue reading Writing words is a numbers game
Dealing new illusions?
This is what some people thought about TV in 1976. I quote it because it speaks to me today and I suspect it may to others. You're television incarnate...Indifferent to suffering; insensitive to joy. All of life is reduced to the common rubble of banality. War, murder, death are all the same...And the daily business … Continue reading Dealing new illusions?
At cross porpoises
Chances are, you, like me, had never heard of the Vaquita Porpoise until recently. If you have, it's because there are now less than 100 in the wild. We humans think we own this joint, and that we've conquered it. Humans describe it in terms of our economies and resources. But most of us barely know it. It's … Continue reading At cross porpoises
Review: Lincoln + myth making
I've had a fascination with myth and myth making and recently watching Lincoln (2012) directed by Steven Spielberg, got me thinking about it again. If the United States has succeeded at one thing, it has succeeded in the mythologisation of its history, even to the point where those myths are exported to the rest of … Continue reading Review: Lincoln + myth making
Writing Bec 