There have been blogs running round in my head for DAYS but my head wasn't in the right time zone to instruct my fingers to do the writing (apart from the huge effort for The Magic Faraway Tree, but that was for a blogathon and HAD to be completed on the 30th - I'm such a goody-two-shoes)
SO here is a random accumulated blog, possible because I've just slept for TEN HOURS STRAIGHT which must be some sort of crlncxn record. Note to self: In order to sleep very well on my return home, go skiing all day. Problem solved.
1. The most annoying thing about Canada is the wall sockets. Stupid pathetic skinny little two pin things. My macho BRITISH plug (THREE pins and sturdy and somehow BRITISH) in its pathetic Canadian adaptor with only two silly pins keeps falling out of the wall. And then my netbook isn't being charged when I think it is and I get dire warnings about critical battery life.
2. Every crowd has a silver lining. When we were staying in Vancouver, in a block of apartments we had THE most inconsiderate neighbours who began to party at about 2 a.m. The first night wasn't so bad because I was awake anyway, it being 10 a.m. in my mind.
The second night WASN'T okay. It occurred to me that if only they turned the music up a bit LOUDER so I could hear what it was instead of having to endure this incessant thumping which caused me to strain my ears in an effort to identify the tune... TUNE? Yeah right. I can tell you for a fact it was nothing by Simon and Garfunkel.
I think they got a bit of a shock when, at about 3 a.m. a very irate bearded British man in striped pyjamas barely concealing the paunch (Pete) pounded on their door and demanded that they turn it down. "She looked quite scared when she answered the door," he said. Terminator 4. I always think complaining while dressed in striped pyjamas is so DIGNIFIED.
The silver lining bit? I read a WHOLE book (How I Live Now, by Meg Rosoff - wonderful) AND I suddenly had a genius brainwave about how to extend a 5 minute monologue into 30 minutes for the TV series.
So THANK YOU, you inconsiderate, ASBO-deserving, low-on-musical-taste neighbours in Rosellen Apartments, Vancouver. You have changed my life.
That's enough for the moment. It's 6 a.m-ish. Time to limber up, do those stretching exercises, ready to...make a cup of tea.
Monday, 31 January 2011
Sunday, 30 January 2011
'Kid In The Front Row Blogathon' - revisiting my childhood in The Magic Faraway Tree
One of the blogs that I follow is this: http://www.kidinthefrontrow.com/
It's jam-pack full of great posts - thought-provoking insights into screenplay writing and the film industry. And all created by a mystery man (Or woman? Or possibly Creature From Another Planet?) who never lets his/her/its mask slip.
So he's just Kid In The Front Row - who has great ideas (sometimes) and this is one of them - re-read a favourite book from childhood and blog about it. I'm a sucker for a interesting interlude, so on the plane over to Vancouver, in between watching all those films and wishing I could lie flat and that the screaming infant across the aisle would just...(insert own imaginative way of silencing screaming infants) - I read:
The Magic Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton.
Sadly not the very edition I read as a child but the very same copy I read to MY children when they were, well...children.
Oh Saucepan Man, I loved you then, I love you still. And everyone should have the opportunity to visit The Land of Magic Medicines.
It made me smile. And it made me regret that today we are all SO up our own bottoms, SO concerned with political correctness that innocence has somehow been sacrificed.
How many children's books today could be about a little boy called Dick and a little girl called Fanny without raising a salacious smirk? (I did SMILE but it was FONDLY) How many could contain the sentence 'He wiped Dick with his hanky' and have the word 'queer' as the most frequently used adjective?
It's sad. I got to wondering - is it what I'VE become because I'm older than I was when I was a child (surprising, that!) and my mind belongs somewhere in the gutter or is it what SOCIETY'S become?So jaded. So cynical. So CAREFUL.
I favour the latter interpretation. But then, I would, wouldn't I?
I must confess I was glad to finish it by the end - it WAS repetitive - and I DID get weary of good girls Helping Mother In The House while the boys had so much more fun Digging Potatoes For Father In The Garden.
I should have read it out loud to the screaming infant across the aisle...I'm sure she'd have been rendered silent.
It's jam-pack full of great posts - thought-provoking insights into screenplay writing and the film industry. And all created by a mystery man (Or woman? Or possibly Creature From Another Planet?) who never lets his/her/its mask slip.
So he's just Kid In The Front Row - who has great ideas (sometimes) and this is one of them - re-read a favourite book from childhood and blog about it. I'm a sucker for a interesting interlude, so on the plane over to Vancouver, in between watching all those films and wishing I could lie flat and that the screaming infant across the aisle would just...(insert own imaginative way of silencing screaming infants) - I read:
The Magic Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton.
Oh Saucepan Man, I loved you then, I love you still. And everyone should have the opportunity to visit The Land of Magic Medicines.
It made me smile. And it made me regret that today we are all SO up our own bottoms, SO concerned with political correctness that innocence has somehow been sacrificed.
How many children's books today could be about a little boy called Dick and a little girl called Fanny without raising a salacious smirk? (I did SMILE but it was FONDLY) How many could contain the sentence 'He wiped Dick with his hanky' and have the word 'queer' as the most frequently used adjective?
It's sad. I got to wondering - is it what I'VE become because I'm older than I was when I was a child (surprising, that!) and my mind belongs somewhere in the gutter or is it what SOCIETY'S become?So jaded. So cynical. So CAREFUL.
I favour the latter interpretation. But then, I would, wouldn't I?
I must confess I was glad to finish it by the end - it WAS repetitive - and I DID get weary of good girls Helping Mother In The House while the boys had so much more fun Digging Potatoes For Father In The Garden.
I should have read it out loud to the screaming infant across the aisle...I'm sure she'd have been rendered silent.
Friday, 28 January 2011
Tourism is the march of stupidity
Is it now, Don Delillo?
Possibly. Because in Vancouver it's raining. In Vancouver it's 3.30 p.m. but in my brain it's 11.30 p.m. My brain wants to be in bed asleep. My brain does NOT want to be trailed round all the Places That Must Be Seen In Vancouver.
Vancouver is lovely though. Even in the rain. Especially Granville Island. The public market has fruit stalls piled high with pyramids of expertly-balanced and polished Mr. Sheen-shiny fruits and vegetables. I can't believe they didn't use superglue to hold them in place. It was very tempting to choose a cherry from the bottom of the pyramid. But I didn't.
"You're expected to be stupid." (to continue with Don Delillo) "The entire mechanism of the host country is geared to travelers acting stupidly. You walk around dazed, squinting into fold-out maps. You don't know how to talk to people, how to get anywhere, what the money means, what time it is, what to eat or how to eat it. Being stupid is the pattern, the level and the norm."
Sad irony. In general, I hate tourists and all that they stand for. But today I was one.
Possibly. Because in Vancouver it's raining. In Vancouver it's 3.30 p.m. but in my brain it's 11.30 p.m. My brain wants to be in bed asleep. My brain does NOT want to be trailed round all the Places That Must Be Seen In Vancouver.
Vancouver is lovely though. Even in the rain. Especially Granville Island. The public market has fruit stalls piled high with pyramids of expertly-balanced and polished Mr. Sheen-shiny fruits and vegetables. I can't believe they didn't use superglue to hold them in place. It was very tempting to choose a cherry from the bottom of the pyramid. But I didn't.
"You're expected to be stupid." (to continue with Don Delillo) "The entire mechanism of the host country is geared to travelers acting stupidly. You walk around dazed, squinting into fold-out maps. You don't know how to talk to people, how to get anywhere, what the money means, what time it is, what to eat or how to eat it. Being stupid is the pattern, the level and the norm."
Sad irony. In general, I hate tourists and all that they stand for. But today I was one.
Heathrow Airthoughts
Had thoughts at Heathrow, writing thought in Vancouver.
Thought #1, as we arrived at the Long Stay Car Park: It was perishing cold and windy. I thought 'hope it's not this cold in Canada' - last report was that it was minus 28...!
Thought #2 - in departure lounge. How goddamned MISERABLE everyone looks. It's WORSE than a dentist's or a doctor's waiting room, yet everyone's off on some Big Adventure to Canada, to Vancouver, one of the most lovely cities in the world. What's WRONG with everyone?
On the plane I watched:
'Social Network' one and a half times because I fell to sleep approaching the end of the first time. Thought it great but not 'King's Speech' standard when it comes to Oscars.
'Never Let Me Go' - if ever I could choose to write a screenplay, create a film, this would be IT. Completely beautiful and heart-wrenching and all the more chilling for the idyllic surroundings.
'Catfish' - a fascinating documentary about a woman who created a fantasy world on Facebook. So sad. My heart bled for her. It's gripping.
Well, in English time it's 2.30 a.m. and I'm pretty wrecked really. Here it's only 6.30 p.m.!
Would it be rude if I went to bed?
Righto...
Nighty night.
Thought #1, as we arrived at the Long Stay Car Park: It was perishing cold and windy. I thought 'hope it's not this cold in Canada' - last report was that it was minus 28...!
Thought #2 - in departure lounge. How goddamned MISERABLE everyone looks. It's WORSE than a dentist's or a doctor's waiting room, yet everyone's off on some Big Adventure to Canada, to Vancouver, one of the most lovely cities in the world. What's WRONG with everyone?
On the plane I watched:
'Social Network' one and a half times because I fell to sleep approaching the end of the first time. Thought it great but not 'King's Speech' standard when it comes to Oscars.
'Never Let Me Go' - if ever I could choose to write a screenplay, create a film, this would be IT. Completely beautiful and heart-wrenching and all the more chilling for the idyllic surroundings.
'Catfish' - a fascinating documentary about a woman who created a fantasy world on Facebook. So sad. My heart bled for her. It's gripping.
Well, in English time it's 2.30 a.m. and I'm pretty wrecked really. Here it's only 6.30 p.m.!
Would it be rude if I went to bed?
Righto...
Nighty night.
Wednesday, 26 January 2011
"I did not fully understand the dread term "terminal illness" until I saw Heathrow for myself. "
That was Dennis Potter in 1978 and that will be me tomorrow! Us. Me and Pete and Talia Tim (travelling in the real not the virtual world, for once)
I quite like Gatwick, but Terminal 3 at Heathrow is one of those places that dulls the spirit and sucks the life-blood out of you with its squalor and dreariness. I'm taking some good books and I shall lose myself in one of those to keep the energy vampires at bay in the departure lounge.
I've said goodbye to Poppy and Alfie and they have promised to be very well-behaved while I'm away.
I AM taking my netbook and I fully intend to keep blogging, but the timing will be all askew - PST not GMT.
I'm now trying to forget the Orson Welles quote I just discovered: "There are only two emotions in a plane: boredom and terror." I checked the in-flight movies on Air Canada and we are promised 'Let Me In' and 'Never Let Me Go' and, best of all 'The Social Network' - so you can hush your mouth, Orson.
If you're a burglar reading this - don't bother - we have house-sitters so the house will be occupied at all times.
Anyway, I have highly-trained security mice patrolling day and night.
Next blog - Vancouver. See ya!
.
Tuesday, 25 January 2011
In a world without fences and walls, who needs Gates and Windows?
Hmmmm! Geek alert. I think I've caught some sort of virus. Me that is, not my computer. I've possibly become infected from spending too much time communicating with Son, Talia Tokugawa, (his virtual name) and Nephew, Jez, (a name which SOUNDS like a virtual name)
The thing is, yesterday I spent a happy few hours pasting HTML code on to my website. More worrying is that I ENJOYED DOING IT. More worrying still is that I UNDERSTOOD WHAT I WAS DOING - even down to being able to correct the code I had copied wrongly.
This is SCARY. You can see the results at www.quirkyworks.co.uk - or, to be more precise, you CAN'T see the results because it's HTML code :)
The exchange below is about where I was (ask Talia and Jez!)
Caroline: Why isn't my e-mail working?
Talia: The internet is full.
Caroline: Great! Now what do I do?
Following instructions, Caroline unplugs her computer and holds the cable over the waste paper bin.
Caroline: I wonder if I'm supposed to see anything while it's draining?
(This, courtesy of another Dilbert cartoon)
See what I mean?
But NOW, I'm a fledgling techie geek girl...
Ask me ANY techie question and I'll...
find the answer on Google. (Well, it's a start!)
Mouse in stand-off situation, by the way.
The thing is, yesterday I spent a happy few hours pasting HTML code on to my website. More worrying is that I ENJOYED DOING IT. More worrying still is that I UNDERSTOOD WHAT I WAS DOING - even down to being able to correct the code I had copied wrongly.
This is SCARY. You can see the results at www.quirkyworks.co.uk - or, to be more precise, you CAN'T see the results because it's HTML code :)
The exchange below is about where I was (ask Talia and Jez!)
Caroline: Why isn't my e-mail working?
Talia: The internet is full.
Caroline: Great! Now what do I do?
Following instructions, Caroline unplugs her computer and holds the cable over the waste paper bin.
Caroline: I wonder if I'm supposed to see anything while it's draining?
(This, courtesy of another Dilbert cartoon)
See what I mean?
But NOW, I'm a fledgling techie geek girl...
Ask me ANY techie question and I'll...
find the answer on Google. (Well, it's a start!)
Mouse in stand-off situation, by the way.
Monday, 24 January 2011
Just For A Moment - film update - second blog of the day!
I wrote a short screenplay, semi-autobiographical, a while back, which was taken on by the talented Mike Ritchie.
I'm being very patient about its completion because, for both of us, it's a labour of love. I'd much rather it was finished with care, not rushed out just for the sake of it. Here is the latest from Mike, who has just set off on his travels until the autumn:
"I’ve also been unable to finish my current film project, Just For A Moment, which is tantalisingly close to being completed, but not quite there yet. This one I hope to get wrapped up in the last few months of this year and then I can give it a decent push into various film festivals.
It’s an intriguing and beautiful short story, written by Caroline Coxon (who still hasn’t seen any of the footage and I hope will forgive me for the futher delay), and is something of which I am very proud."
I'm sure it will be worth the wait. Something to look forward to later in the year.
I'm being very patient about its completion because, for both of us, it's a labour of love. I'd much rather it was finished with care, not rushed out just for the sake of it. Here is the latest from Mike, who has just set off on his travels until the autumn:
"I’ve also been unable to finish my current film project, Just For A Moment, which is tantalisingly close to being completed, but not quite there yet. This one I hope to get wrapped up in the last few months of this year and then I can give it a decent push into various film festivals.
It’s an intriguing and beautiful short story, written by Caroline Coxon (who still hasn’t seen any of the footage and I hope will forgive me for the futher delay), and is something of which I am very proud."
I'm sure it will be worth the wait. Something to look forward to later in the year.
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