The Third Revelation

Well, what an inspirational evening it's been - full of wonders and signs and mysteries, all leading me back to The Wasteland...!

I knew the day would come when I'd start typing again, I just wasn't sure when or how, or what would be the catalyst.

There have been so many cultural milestones, old and new, that have taken up my time since I've been away from the page. Often I've thought about scribbling down my thoughts on a certain film I'd seen, or a piece of music I'd heard, but the chaotic nature of my recent life has steered me away from it. Until now. Hard to believe it's really been two years!

I've been ill, on and off, for most of 2008, so far. My latest ailment is a cold in my chest and sinuses. I got off work early today because of it. Sundays are generally a long haul, so it was a relief not to have to stay. I felt bad enough that "work" was out, but also nicely dreamy-floaty - tired, but not sick enough to just lay down and sleep. And so, from the comfort of bed, I set out to entertain myself as best I could, alternating between tea and lemsip for sustenance.

Sometimes with precious hours to kill a man like me finds nothing but lazy, guilt inducing addictions filling his evening (usually involving facebook these days), but tonight something a little more constructive was nagging at me...

I had been speaking to a few people recently about the book I've been sporadically striving to write - A Sense of the Impossible - trying to explain its themes as best I could, and exploring in my own head reference points that I need to look into. It's beginning to become more real to me - the fact that I might actually do this - I might actually get it together and finally weave the pieces of ideas and the notes and the failed attempts into something that resembles a novel! I'm thinking about it more and more from day to day and things keep pointing me back to the right road, as if I'm being somehow guided to get it done. At last!

Tonight, then, has been typical of the way I want to spend my time now - riding a wave of cultural influences that isn't pointless, or merely a "waste", but a way of absorbing useful stimulus with a goal in view - or several creative goals, as it may prove, if I can keep this level of optimism going...? I still want to let it control me sometimes - stay open minded and loose, letting things find me as well as me finding them - trying not to be snobbish along the way - this is still anything but a highbrow pursuit. But I also want to be more conscious about where I'm being led, and, if necessary, have the willpower to stop, to turn off and say "no", and then use my time better somehow. I want to build a routine and a method to the madness that begins with tangential odysseys, like the one I've just had.

In short, I've spent more than 10 hours today absorbing different media - educating, entertaining, thrilling, enlightening and moving stuff, each and every part - and I want to document that journey! Natural then that I would turn back for the third time to this blog. The Wasteland was always a good idea and never a complete waste of time and energy. At best it has helped me keep writing when other ideas have dried up, and it's time to get that discipline back.

I hope whoever might happen across it, either through invitation or by dumb luck, finds something amusing, engaging, absorbing or challenging within the posts. The idea here is that it is a rough journal of the various cultural treats, or disappointments I come across from day to day. It is not an attempt at professional criticism, or high art in any way - just a reflection of my thoughts and impressions at the time I experienced something, and how that relates to my life. Whilst I will make some effort to ensure a certain quality and standard in writing, I neither have the time nor the motivation to promise it will be error free, either in content or style. You are welcome to leave comments and spark debates, but, ultimately, it is just my opinion.

Welcome to The Wasteland. Thanks for dropping by.