Hari Kunzru tells it like it is...

I get great pleasure from writing, but not always, or even usually. Writing a novel is largely an exercise in psychological discipline – trying to balance your project on your chin while negotiating a minefield of depression and freak-out. Beginning is daunting; being in the middle makes you feel like Sisyphus; ending sometimes comes with the disappointment that this finite collection of words is all that remains of your infinitely rich idea. Along the way, there are the pitfalls of self-disgust, boredom, disorientation and a lingering sense of inadequacy, occasionally alternating with episodes of hysterical self-congratulation as you fleetingly believe you've nailed that particular sentence and are surely destined to join the ranks of the immortals, only to be confronted the next morning with an appalling farrago of clichés that no sane human could read without vomiting. But when you're in the zone, spinning words like plates, there's a deep sense of satisfaction and, yes, enjoyment…

As I wrote in Facebook...

Sometimes things just come together to make everything right in the world. Yesterday it was Hot Chip in a spinning class. Even after 50 minutes of sweating like crazy, "One Pure Thought" made me feel like I could continue for another 50.

Today, it's recovering from significant anger and frustration by remembering this little blast from the past. Why wasn't Spookey Ruben absolutely huge?It's also officially, as my old roommate Ash would insist, Spookey-ing season here in Montreal, so named for the violent tossing into snowbanks that occurs at the beginning of the video.

I asked a little while ago about fixing this thing

Some folks said that I should move to wordpress. Would anyone have any further ideas? I am super clueless as to how I would put together something that would allow me to host my CV, some writing, etc.

As for other related news, my main project for the next six months or so is to write my dissertation. It is going to happen. I have a nice beginning chunk, and I hope that I can get going all the more this weekend.

Posting cool stuff will continue soonish!

Interview Blues

I have been listening to hours of interviews and trying to figure out a good way to mark them up without necessarily transcribing the whole thing. I initially tried to write out the main ideas when the person talked, marking times when I could, but that seemed to fail as soon as I realized that my typing skill was not that of a court reporter.

Thing is, I have probably over 20 hours of this stuff. What was I thinking when I decided to base my dissertation on interviews (not to mention newspaper articles in a language I can barely read)? Argh.

This makes me a little happier.

Procrastination

I am trying to think of a way to develop a site that will house a whole bunch of stuff--photos, writing samples, CV, blog, etc. Does anyone have any suggestions?

I want money for cookies

A public petition, signed by Canadian residents and addressed to the House of Commons, the Government of Canada, a Minister of the Crown or a Member of the House of Commons, is one of the most direct means for people to communicate with Parliament.
Last night, dearest Julie came over for dinner. We started discussing the existence of direct democracy in Canada, as two fashionable urbanites are wont to do. The topic was that of petitions--how a citizen can present a petition to the government. Thing is, anyone can present a petition, so long as it is in a proper format. All you need are 25 signatures.

Yes, there are certain other restrictions. You can't petition for anything if it could be handled by any other level of government or judicial body, but you CAN petition for the expenditure of public funds.

This started me thinking. What kinds of petitions are actually read? Perusing the Hansards suggests that there are tons of people "communicating with Parliament" (four petitions were read last Friday, for instance), though I don't really understand what the governments response to these petitions actually is. The house sets aside an hour and fifteen minutes a week for the reading of petitions-- 15 minutes at 3:00 p.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays, 15 minutes at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and 15 minutes, beginning at 12:00 noon on Fridays. As per our Parliament's procedural services website:

"When presenting a petition, no debate is permitted. A Member may make a brief factual statement, referring to the petition being duly certified, to its source, to the subject matter of the petition and its request, and the number of signatures it carries. Petitions are not to be read in their entirety. The statement is reproduced in Hansard, the official record of the debates, and a record of the petition appears in the Journals for that day."

Ok, so I write a petition for who knows what, I give it to my MP, they read it out to the Parliament and then what? It's just part of the "Routine Proceedings" of Parliament. I'd like to know how many petitions have had any impact. Where would I find out this info? I don't want to think this stuff is totally futile and symbolic.

Ghislain and other stuff

Went to the No Ground Under lancement last week. It was tremendously fun. My camera is broken so I can't see what I'm taking pictures of, but I did get this photo of Ghislain looking like quite the rockstar. I hope everyone likes this record as much as I do. The guy's music is like Bounce le Gros. Just plain fun.

Unfortch, other stuff is not quite as fun right now. For numerous reasons, I'm feeling a out of sorts. I'm trying to write and it seems like it's just an endless exercise in everything unwriting itself as soon as it gets put down on the page. Argh. And I miss the delicious empanadas and cheesy breads from this terrific joint on Seven Sisters Road.

"It was planned that way, carefully worked out. These people are scientists, ladies and gentlemen."

In the wake of a computer disaster, Red X, the CD king, is keeping my hope alive. His 30th mixed CD, A Different World, simply rules. Sure, it'd be nice if he left some fo the tunes for more than 45 seconds, but it's a pretty wicked mix. And man, Red X's anthem on his myspace--wicked.

If you too are stressed out, listen to to "Rationalize" by Brian and Tony Gold: "No matter what the tribulations in life, just hold tight". Gotta live the Di Ting riddim.