Hello, imaginary internet people!
Just checking that we really did escape January, and that February and March haven't been some fever dream. Hold on. Checking. Okay, apparently January really is over. We're now into April 2024, somehow. Bring on the Spring weather!
I know, it's hard to believe. February was weird as always. The Tuesday of the months. Nobody likes February. Or Tuesdays. Yes, yes, we all go on about "ugh Wednesday hump day" but Tuesday is really the worst day, it's like a second Monday, you're MILES away from the weekend, just floating in limbo. Wednesday is exciting because you're more than halfway through the week, Thursday is just around the corner, and of course Thursday is the new Friday, then it's actual Friday, and we've made it through the week. Tuesday? Get out of here, Tuesday. You can't sit with us.
Then March was a little strange, it was my birthday but felt extremely flat and not much of a celebration. I didn't really want to do anything, as I resent getting older, and I've been really tired and still in winter hibernation mode. And that's all by way of saying, yes, I didn't do a newsletter in Feb or March, because there wasn't a lot to report. I did say these would be semi-regular, so here we are, semi-regularly. Birthdays are weird as an adult, you want to celebrate the big milestones, but they feel like very heavy milestones so you then don't want to acknowledge them, but then nothing happens because you've said you don't want anything, then you feel deflated. It's in our nature to make ourselves miserable, I think. Maybe I'll have a late birthday celebration. Just move it to April. Who's gonna stop me? Those fools at the board of ethics on human medical experimentation?? I'd like to see them try!
Now we've sorted that out, how are we all doing? 2024 treating you okay? Spring is on the way, despite the 857,000 false springs it likes to trick us with before descending back into winter, and the days are getting longer, thankfully. Feels like anything is possible in spring. The promise of a good year on the way. We've got some gigs lined up we bought the tickets for last year, so by the time those gigs roll around, it will feel like a freebie, as we paid for it ages ago. This is the same logic that means if you decide not to spend £10 on something, you have now been gifted a free £10 to spend on something else. Hey, anything to trick my brain into feeling good.
Speaking of stuff to make you feel good, two of my lovely friends have got a fantastic graphic novel in the works that they're currently crowdfunding, and I had to pass it on because I *love* the concept and look of it. It's called Who Killed Nessie, in which the Loch Ness Monster is murdered at a convention for imaginary creatures. If you don't like the sound of that, then frankly, you should see a doctor to check if you are alive. It's written by Paul Cornell and drawn by Rachael Smith, and it looks like so much fun, I can't wait to read it.
Writing Stuff
Okay, this section normally talks about a technical aspect of writing that interests me and may interest you, but sometimes it'll be tools/equipment you might find useful. This one will change your life, if you haven't already heard of it - magic whiteboard.
Sometimes it's not practical to have a massive whiteboard in your office or around the house, but you still want the functionality of a big space to write on and erase. Magic whiteboard is basically large sheets of flexible whiteboard that stick to your walls, you can write and erase loads of times, and peel it off without damaging the walls. They pretty much stick anywhere, and are way more useful than actual whiteboards, because they're expandable. Want a super wide whiteboard? Cut it up and arrange it. Circular whiteboard? Go wild. The world is your oyster. It's so handy for brainstorming or planning a project, you'll love it. Give it a go. Just don't get too excited and end up accidentally going off the edges and drawing a big line on your wall. Er, not that I did that, that could have been anyone, maybe it was always there.
The link has my affiliate info on there, so if you buy through it, I'll probably get about a penny. I'll try to spend it wisely.
Thinking about this now, there's probably room for a big "equipment post", to talk through all the stuff I use when working. People always ask, and I always love talking about stationery. So I'll try that next time, if people are interested.
Work Stuff
I've just started a new gig at PocketFM, a big audio company, overseeing one of their shows, and have been really enjoying it. I joined in February, it's sort of producing, sort of editing, sort of a bit of everything, and I'm having a great time. They're huge, and have a ton of audio shows, ongoing like soaps, and it's an exciting place to be. So that's been taking up most of my time lately, learning on the job, having regular daily work hours, feeling like a useful member of society. This is not the usual feeling freelancers have, in general, so it's been great. And it's given me back my weekends - I can take time off, without feeling guilty.
As for other work, I recently finished several things just before starting at Pocket, so I'm waiting to see if anything happens with those. Always waiting, that is a big part of the industry. We wait. We hope. We wait some more. Hopefully I'll have some actual project news soon, depending how things go. I've come close on a few projects here and there, frustratingly, so we'll see what's next. You never know what's around the corner.
Movie Stuff
Haven't seen as many movies as during the awards season, so I'm trying to catch up on some stuff I missed. Imaginary is great fun, quite scary in places, and properly goes for it in the bonkers finale. Scoop is really interesting, I didn't know all the ins and outs of just how they landed that astonishing interview, but when you watch you can see how it really made sense for him to do it - IF he had just answered the questions like a normal human being. Fascinating. And I never got around to watching the new Ghostbusters movie (Afterlife) until my kid got obsessed with the first two movies when they were on TV, so we watched that with her and really loved it. She survived a cinema screening of the new one, Frozen Empire, and seems to really enjoy getting a bit of a jump scare, then laughing - she's definitely our kid. We'll show her the 2016 one this weekend, which I also loved. More Ghostbusters stuff is always good, in my book. And I *think* she's ready to experience Ace Ventura. Let's see how much inappropriate stuff is in there that I've forgotten, and will have to hastily shut off.
The other night Cat and I had a date night, and went to the cinema to see Monkey Man, directed by and starring Dev Patel. It's a brilliant, emotional action movie, with some absolutely brutal fights and moments. Beautifully made on every level, highly recommended if you can catch it on the big screen.
Waffle Stuff
I recently got back into analog film photography as a hobby. It's something I used to love doing, and in these days of taking 50 digital shots to get one good one, it really makes you think carefully about shot composition and framing - when you only have 36 shots on a roll, and can't see the result until they're developed, it's more of a mystery. I just got two films developed which I've had on the go for almost a year and a half, and had completely forgotten was was on them. It was a really fun surprise when they came back. It's not a cheap hobby, not anymore - so I'm doing it sparingly. But that's part of the fun. Here's one shot I quite liked, of my favourite building, Battersea Power Station, when it reopened in October 2022 (that’s how long I’ve been hanging onto these films):
I'll wrap this up here, as I've got a lot to finish before the weekend. The weather is threatening to be quite nice, although now I've said that, I've probably jinxed it, sorry if you were planning to go outside. Stay safe, have a good April, what's left of it, and I'll catch you next time if you fancy sticking around. And if you liked this and think other people might like it too, feel free to pass it around!
James Moran
http://www.jamesmoran.com/
Who Killed Nessie crowdfunder:
https://zoop.gg/c/whokillednessie
Magic Whiteboard: