balance

I just printed everything I've written over the past year.

It's 57 pages and over 27,000 words.

It's actually quite liberating to have that much written material in your hands.

I think over the break I'll read and re-evaluate key points and questions, and maybe use those towards something bigger and more concise. Because, if I were to go back and elaborate on most of the ideas and questions presented, the number of pages could have doubled.

I'd love for some other writers out there to try the same, and maybe an exchange could be made.

i used to rule the world

This video is simply brilliant. I swiped it after seeing it pop up on several blogs in the past few days. Give it a watch...



I was immediately drawn to this video because these 4-chord progression issues present themselves every day when my band writes and records. It's amazing how liberating, and confining the writing process can be, especially with melodies, because you have to surrender yourself to the fact that everything has been done once. All the hooks, every guitar part, every drum beat - it's all coming from somewhere whether you thought of it or not.

With this day and age, you have to be really careful what you write and what it sounds like, because some people aren't too happy when someone jacks their tunes, even if it is to just make a buck off the big guys.

Glen

I spent some time with Glen today. 

Glen used to run a great book stand on College Street, but was forced out of his home because he is a schizophrenic and just can't seem to throw away any of his stuff. So, naturally, his place was full of junk and was evicted late last year. We're good friends, and can usually be seen playing chess or drinking coffee in some alley sorting through his book collection that exceeds 20,000. I took this picture early this fall, documenting the last night of the bookstand. He used to live in the Yukon and staked claims for gold during the late gold rush. He easily has the best catalog of stories out of any single individual I know.

Since Glen's eviction, he's been looking for buyers and places to donate all his books, which has actually been a somewhat sad process to watch for the both of us. Earlier today, Glen greeted me with a box and told me to fill it with as many books as I can, free of charge. I jumped at the chance and rummaged furiously through his collection. Some of the books I nabbed include.

Life on the Mississippi - Mark Twain

Talk Talk Talk - Jay Ingram

Recipes for Ground Beef

Animals in Renaissance Art

James Bond - Moonraker

some social science book entirely written in Spanish

Bill Cosby: Autobiography - Bill Cosby

Shakespearian Antagonists: A Critical Essay

and then some books with really nice covers, dating around 1914