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12 September

Just got back from the Falmouth Literary Festival - only the second one ever - which was a nice little event, despite the abysmal weather. Now I'm knackered, I'm packing to go on holiday tomorrow and I actually don't have much to say here.

In truth, I think I'm a bit burned out. Haven't had a proper holiday for about a year and am probably trying to write too many books at once! Well, my novel is now with some publishers, so there's nothing I can do but hope and wait. I intend to do that somewhere sunny, with not a computer screen in sight. And perhaps a big cocktail with one of those umbrellas in it.

So, I'm off. I'll be back, hopefully all refreshed and raring to go, in October. See you then.

Posted by paul at 05:41 PM | Comments (0)

8 September

7pm update: the number of US troops killed in Iraq has now officially topped 1000. Will this make any difference to Bush's apparently resurgent re-election prospects? Will America's corporate media even report it? Watch this space...

Here's an example of everything that's wrong with the current state of public 'art' in Britain. The East of England Development Agency (whatever that is) recently ran a competition to find the best potential work of public art which could potentially 'put the east of England on the map' (whose map, exactly?) The winner was a plan by a couple of German architects to build sculptures in the sea near Dunwich, recreating the spires of lost medieval churches which sunk beneath the waves due to coastal erosion centuries ago.

In many ways this is a nice idea. It's certainly an evocative one, and pretty ambitious too. The snag, however, is that the local people hate it. They weren't consulted by the Big Nobs at the Development Agency who were, after all, paying someone to stick bloody great sculptures in the sea off their coast. Neither were they consulted by the two German artists who designed the project, both of whom have admitted that they've never even been to Dunwich. It was more important, it seems, for the bureaucrats to be able to make a big macho 'statement' about the importance of their region than for anyone living there to actually be notified about it.

This is the sort of top-down, arty-farty arrogance that gives public art a bad name. I wonder what a public art project designed in consultation with the local people, and designed to fit in with and be inspired by the landscape and history of the area would have looked like? Probably a lot more interesting, I'd imagine. Certainly a lot more rooted - and undoubtedly great deal more popular.

Posted by paul at 04:40 PM | Comments (0)

2 September

It's my birthday next month. I bring this up not because I want to think about it especially (I'm not telling you how old I am), but just in case anyone wants to buy me a present. You never know. It has to be worth asking.

Anyway, if any of you do, this is what I want - and when you've seen it, I'm sure you won't be able to resist either. Who could say no to 'the Mousinator' - a toy mouse dressed as Arnie! The governor apparently has one of his own, which he uses as a keyring. It's a toss-up between this one and the George W Bush singing mouse, but I'm hoping that one will be out of date by November.

US politics is disgustingly corrupt, infantile and dangerous, but at least it has the best toys.

Posted by paul at 01:36 PM | Comments (0)

I'm not often lost for words but something seems to have happened to me in the last week or so. There were all sorts of things I thought of writing about here, from the joy of picking wild mushrooms in the woods (what I was up to on Saturday) to various bits and pieces of interest and silliness I've garnered from the internet. But somehow it hasn't happened.

Oddly, I think it's the events in Russia that have stayed my hand. Or maybe that's not odd at all. Im pretty hardened to the grim horrors of the news agenda but I am pretty much lost for words, and thoughts, about this one. I'm even having trouble reading some of it. It's a dreadful journalistic cliche to call something like this an 'incomprehensible tragedy', but I actually can't comprehened the thought processes of someone who is prepared to shoot fleeing children in the back in the name of a political cause. It's just beyond me.

It's very depressing, and it seems to have combined with the effect of a TV drama I saw the week before to work some sort of depressive magic on me. 'The Hamburg Cell', if any of you saw it, was a dramatisation of the events leading up to September 11th, with the terrorists as its central characters. It was a brilliant piece of TV (and how often do we get the chance to say that these days?) but it, too, was deeply depressing (it also had the disturbing effect of almost making me support internment at Guantamo Bay, but that's another story...!)

What the hell. Sometimes the world just appears to be so huge, evil and overwhelming that it seems pointless doing anything. I think I'm in danger of burning out. Fortunately I'm going on holiday next week. Phew.

Posted by paul at 09:39 AM | Comments (0)

1 September

Today, as autumn approaches (though it doesn't feel like it yet; the blight that has struck my tomatoes is the only ominous sign of a seasonal shift so far) I've been deriving huge enjoyment from the offical report on what a vile and greedy scumbag the media mogul Conrad Black is. It lists a huge series of schemes he came up with to siphon cash from his company, Hollinger International, and spend it on himself and his vile wife Barbara Amiel. My favourite detail is the $24,950 of shareholders' money they pilfered to spend on 'summer drinks' for themselves. How much Pimm's could you get for that?

Two other interesting things today. One is a wonderful satirical book about the Iraq War, entitled Operation Iraqi Freedom - a puzzle and colouring book which you really mustn't miss. Best not to give it to your children for Christmas though.

The other, which should be of interest to anyone who has read my book, or is interested in the Free West Papua campaign is a new NASA photo of the Freeport gold mine in the highlands of West Papua, taken from space. The full impact of this disastrous engineering project can be seen in the image, and it's stunning, in every sense of the word.

I'm off out into the sun now, while it lasts. A beer by the Thames calls, I think.

Posted by paul at 02:33 PM | Comments (0)