Is This Week Really Not Over Yet?

It already feels like weeks since we found out that Colin had gone missing; in fact it’s only been five days. That compression and expansion of time is fascinating. I don’t know if it makes things better or worse – it’s just something that we as humans do. Our impressions of the time that we spend with other people also concertinas dramatically, seeming at once infinite and yet vanishingly too little. It’s been an emotional few days, and will continue to be so as we work towards a funeral and the inevitable nightmare / bizarre bazaar of sorting out Colin’s worldly goods.
♥ This week’s scribbles

Monday Thanks for Everything, But He’s Gone A few thoughts about my uncle, who was found on Sunday.

Wednesday Book Review: Feast and Famine by Adrian Tchaikovsky A fabulous book of short stories.

Thursday Shankchism: The Gash of Angry Poetry Just a few enraged poems from a calm mind.

Friday The Desert Crystals – Part 23 “Vanishing Distance” It can be hard to get perspective high above the clouds.

Updates on my thrilling life

Writing

Not a complete failure last week, mainly because I made few plans and did most of my writing before everything kicked off on Thursday, except for my book review, which I have finally written and will share on Tuesday. Last week’s Desert Crystals was one of the hardest instalments to write, but I’m not sure why. I like adding new characters, especially ones who bicker, which is sort of how I perceive my own relationship with many friends. I don’t know where the story will go next; it’s like improv, I just have to remember what’s already happened and the next step will seem inevitable.

Once we’d found out about Colin I knew I’d need to write about him. I’m a heart of stone kinda guy for actually showing emotions, and for me writing is how I express my feelings. Writing on Sunday night did relieve some of the awesome tension I’d managed to build up in my chest, shoulders and neck, especially when WordPress lost my first draft… anger is an emotion, right? I feel much better for having been able to quickly capture my feelings and memories at the time. I’m painfully aware of how hard it is to genuinely recall such states later. It felt important that I created that memory file.

Last week’s scribbles

Wednesday Listen! The Recreational Entertainment An audio tale for your ear-y pleasure – one of Franklyn de Gashe’s lighter yarns.

Friday The Desert Crystals – Part 22 “Dead Air” New faces in the story, from the offices of the Journals Biologinary

Saturday Stuff in the Post: Skinner Co Pendant! My good friends over at Flash Pulp sent me a present.

Lego

I finally constructed my last birthday Lego gift – a terrifying Lego Atlantis scorpion-crab thing! An excellent build but scary as all hell.

Improv Comedy

Sadly little activity last week. Our boy Martin is runeing in Norway so we skipped Fisticuffs last week. I also missed the jam because I had to test some software implementation (don’t ask, the pistol is virtually under my chin already). It’s especially galling because Ben was running the jam on soundscapes and The Bat. I’ll catch it up another time.

This week we have much improv: Monday night is the start of the MissImp improv beginners course that Parky and I are running. I may not be terribly focussed, but I’m looking forwards to both the distraction and teaching improv to some newish humans.

On Thursday it’s Gorilla Burger once more. I may be taking a bit of a back seat, depending on how the week shapes up. But I’ll certainly be there, in body with beer.

Books

A good book week. Books are an excellent distraction and since the first half of the week was deliberately quiet I actually got some reading done! I started and finished Derek Landy‘s Skulduggery Pleasant – Death Bringer. I’m reading them horribly out of order, but it doesn’t seem too problematic. I wish (again) that they’d number the fucking things clearly. And… breathe… It’s a great supernatural detective series (for teenagers I suppose) which is funny, violent and touching, with especially marvellous characters – the eponymous Skulduggery is a dead man who brought his own skeleton back to life and has now acquired awesome sidekick Valkyrie Cain. They have a pleasing relationship and are both quite mad.

I’ve also read Transformers More Than Meets The Eye volume 4 which is maintaining a high quality comic with loopy and detailed adventures. If you’re not into Transformers then you’ll hate it, but as a lifelong fan I’m delighted with the reincorporation of characters and events and the massive expansion of the narrative. It’s also funny, which is especially cool. Comixology makes me happy.

I’m now getting deep into Makers by Cory Doctorow. You can download it for free from that site as Doctorow has a a seriously fuck-you attitude toward ebook publishing copyright. I’ve got it in paperback, and now I’ve got a back up for when I’m on the move. It’s a delight – a fast paced vision of how the world could be if we just let people make stuff.

Events and Excitement

On Saturday I’m compering a belly dancing night! I’m not certain how I’m getting there, or more to the point- getting back as it’s out in the sticks:

Mehira’s Jewels Hafla with The Baladi Blues Ensemble

Thursday 10th October 2013

Gorilla Burger: improv comedy carnage

Jam show – a chance for anyone to get on stage, plus special show slots!

The City Gallery
14a Long Row
(off Market Square)
Nottingham
7.30pm – £4

https://www.facebook.com/events/1408367312713244/

Friday 25th October 2013

MissImp in Action – live improv comedy show

Thrilling all-action end of the month show sporting the best of MissImp inventing scenes and playing games.

The Glee Club
The Waterfront
Canal Street
Nottingham
8.30pm (doors open at 8pm) – £4.50 in advance/£6 on the door (£3 students/MissImp)

https://www.facebook.com/events/630962766948498/

Related articles

• MissImp improv comedy beginners course starts next week! (missimp.co.uk)