Owner: Freedom from the Mundane URL:http://freedomfromthemundane.blogspot.com Join Date: Mon, 21 Aug 2006 05:43:48 -0500 Rating:1 Site Description: Colin Galbraith is an upcoming Scottish writer. This his writing journal in which he dives head on into subjects which influence his writing. It is where he records his experiences in the world of publishing. It is where he gives away free stuff like poet Site statistics:Click here
Clearing the Decks 2007-01-16 21:21:00 I had to force myself out of bed. The alarm went off and I contemplated lying till 8am and taking it easy. But I knew the guilt would anger me so I prised myself out at 6:20am and was ready to rock by 6:50am. As soon as I was out the shower I was feeling better, over the worst at least, and as soon as that first taste of piping hot coffee hit the back of my throat, all was well in the universe once more.
The weather seems to be turning for the better. The constant wind and rain is slowly being replaced by calm clear skies and a chill. It's much nicer and preferable to what we have been getting - though I'm not one to complain about the weather, as you know.
Managed to get through a load of work again. Most of it is the remaining fiddly stuff so I can clear the decks for more juicy work, such as actual fiction and poetry writing!
* Reviewed the Press Kit documentation.* Put out a call for quotes on an online forum for the Quotes document in the Press Kit.* Reviewed the A Pocketful of Read more:Clearing
Who The Hell Is Shilpa Shetty? 2007-01-17 10:09:00 As most of you who watch the television, read the papers, listen to the radio or know someone who does, you won't have escaped the remarkable furore that has surround the Channel 4 programme, Celebrity Big Brother this week.The whole world, it seems, is up in arms about 'racist slurs' made by housemates to ShilpaShetty
, an award winning Bollywood actress.Burning effigy's in the streets of India, Governments embarrassed and embroiled, and over-driven media coverage is now the order of the day.But what's it over?Well, like with any other series of the programme, a dozen people are put into a house in the hope there will be one or both of two things: sex and/or fighting.This time, we got fighting, and lots of it - as is pretty much the standard for a dozen people suddenly living together in a small environment. Don't forget also, these people are "celebrities" so there is even less room in the house when their over-inflated egos are taken into consideration.The executives got what Read more:Shilpa Shetty
A Day Of Two Halves 2007-01-18 09:03:00 It was, as football commentators sometimes say, a day of two halves. The day began normally enough, skittering about the depths as I ploughed through the day job. But by late afternoon it had launched into levels of extreme energy and brain activity.During lunch, I redrafted A Bond of Faith and got it ready to go back out. I was going to ditch it, but gave it one more read before I started. I remember it was my first attempt at a 1st person story and on reading it I remembered why I like it. It's simple, emotionally pulling, and has a nice twist. So I decided to keep it and worked through it once more before I go and try to find a new market for it.The same process was worked on Amanda and Joe, although this wasn't anywhere near to getting ditched. I think it might make the basis for a good play but that's not something I have time for at the moment. It, too, is now ready to go back out on submission.My great writing friend, Devon Ellington, has moved her very popular writing blog.
Herald Photo Shoot and a New Book 2007-01-19 23:01:00 Woke up with a belly full of nerves even though I knew it would be easy going, that I'd be fine, and that there would be nothing for me to worry about. My confidence wasn't in question and I wasn't worried, yet I was still nervous. Weird.
I think it was just natural energy and adrenalin I get when these things occur. I decided to try and use it to my benefit, to make it work for me today, in what is perhaps the most important piece of promotion I've bagged yet.
Thinking back to the interview last night, there are things I do wish I'd said. But I can't blame myself because between getting the email and making the call there was no more than 60 seconds to spare. I had no time to prepare, so with that taken into account I think I came across very well yesterday.
Today was all about getting a good selection of pictures. They gave me a couple of ideas of what they wanted over the phone, more really to do with location than anything else, but it made it clear to me what kind of thing t Read more:Herald
, Photo
, Shoot
New Template 2007-01-23 00:18:00 I've been farting around with some new templates. I decided to use this one as a stop-gap until I found a suitable one, but on viewing this uploaded - I kinds like it.
So here we are! The new look, Freedom of the Mundane blog!!
Thank you for your patience.
Normal programme viewing will return shortly.
Blog Update 2007-01-22 16:55:00 Looks like my blog is knackered.
Please bear with me while I a) try to fix it or b) put together a new template.
Apologies for the disruption.
Colin Read more:Update
Slight Change of Plan 2007-01-21 16:43:00 Well it was a relaxing weekend. Jonathan Ross' secretary hasn't got to my complimentary copy of
Fringe Fantastic
yet, but his show yesterday was a good laugh nevertheless. Paul Whitehouse was a guest and the good-natured insults were flying like custard pies in a Laurel and Hardy film. I listened to the show on the way through to Glasgow, chuckling away at the back of the bus like a lunatic let loose.
My sister and I spent most of the day drinking, listening to music, reminiscing and munching on crisps and pizza. It was thoroughly unhealthy, but it was good to relax and be with her.
At about half past eight my mobile phone rang. It was the journalist who interviewed me last Thursday night. When I heard her voice the colour drained from my face as she started to tell me about the change of plans.
I thought at first the article had been canned, but instead she was letting me know that it would now be published next weekend (28th) so that she could do more research on the actual publi Read more:Slight
, Change
Quick Update 2007-01-23 00:33:00 Quick summary about today since I'm bowled under at the moment with other work.
I met with
Anita Govan
over a coffee and we had a fabulous chat about her work, her life and things she is working on right now. I taped the interview and took few notes, mainly because it felt more like two people talking than an actual interview.
She's a fascinating and inspirational person, which I hope the final article will show. Look out for the published article in the spring issue of
The Scruffy Dog Review
.
By the way, we're still looking for submissions of fiction and poetry. Check out the website for more information.
My blog template broke so I uploaded a new one - here it is if you haven't seen it already. It was only meant as a holding site, but I like it so much I think I'll keep it.
Several people have said they are having problems viewing the page and/or leaving comments. Please email me at
colin@colingalbraith.co.uk
if you have this problem so I can try and get it sorted.
Devon - Read more:Quick
, Update
, Quick Update
Flu and the Front Cover 2007-01-24 08:16:00 Never made it into work on Tuesday or Wednesday, a wretched cold putting paid to that. Gee, I was gutted (sic). I loaded up on Lemsips and paracetamol and tried to stay as warm as possible for most of the time. Got nothing done, which pissed me off, though I did a wee bit of reading. Could hardly concentrate or keep my eyes open however.Thanks to all the anti-flu remedies I slept forever over the past two days. As a result, and because I was feeling a bit better, I ended up doing an all-nighter on Wednesday into Thursday; the first one I've done while working the next day for quite a long while.I was so awake and wanted to finalise Poolside Poetry, I thought; why the hell not? It was quiet, calm, and condusive to full concentration for the initial half of the night.The most important development was the final decision on the front cover and font:By about 3am and with the background TV falling to BBC News 24, I started to tire. Some coffee and a wee stroll in the garden put paid to th Read more:Cover
, Front
Toilet Trauma 2007-01-26 16:00:00 Congratulations to my mate Dave and his wife Isla, who have just added another wee baby to their ever-expanding clan. Wee Zoe, the third (and I think final) girl was born yesterday afternoon. A wee sister to Molly and Lilly, I'm sure Dave is going to relish living in a house with FOUR females. I just hope they don't all choose to get married in the same year!I slept like a log last night. I got 10 hours and felt like I could have gone on for another 10. Felt much better though; I had more energy, open eyes and a brain that wasn't running on pulse battery power.Lesson learnt.A funny incident happened today at the day job. I went to the loo just after lunch and walked into one of the cubicles (there are only two). I sat down on the throne to take care of business and luckily, at the last minute, noticed there was no toilet paper.I hoisted up the tweeds and went into the other cubicle, sat down and began my evacuation once more. Just then I heard one of the old guys in my office enter Read more:Toilet
Racism Spreads to Edinburgh Shocker 2007-01-25 14:40:00 Hot on the heels of the Big Brother racist "scandal", a real one has hit the headlines here in Scotland. Trevor Matthews, Chief Executive at Standard Life Plc, one of Europe's biggest insurance companies, had to issue a public apology for a racist remark he made at a company presentation on Monday.Matthews, an Australian, was talking about the company's unpopular pension revamp proposals when he was asked why the proposal had been hidden at the back of the company prospectus, replied, and I quote; "That's the nigger in the woodpile."Question: what's the difference between this and Jade Goody's comments?Answer: Jade Goody, while being as thick as mince, never actually said anything racist. Trevor Matthews is a top UK Executive, is intelligent, and thought it would be acceptable to use the N-word in front of a room full of people.Jade Goody called Shilpa Shetty, "Shilpa Poppadom", which is about as bad as the English referring to us Scots as Mr. Haggis, Jocks, Sweaty Socks, or The S Read more:Edinburgh
, Racism
Weekend in Glasgow 2007-01-29 16:09:00 Did everyone remember to buy a copy of the Sunday Herald for my appearance, yesterday? If you missed it, click here for the online version (no pictures).The scope of the article was widenend so it contained more about the self-publishing industry, so I have fewer quotes, but I did get a large colour picture holding my book Fringe Fantastic. I'll try and get a scan from somewhere.My weekend in Glasgow
was superb and badly needed. Steam was let off, responsibilities shirked, and anything serious forgotten. It was an old-school lads day out, for which I paid the price on Sunday with the Mother of all hangovers.Friday night saw me and my bro' doing a couple of pubs we have not visited in a long, long time. The Horseshoe Bar on Drury Lane, O'Henry's just opposite and the Auctioneers just off George Square. It felt good to be back in them and reliving old memories.The jaunt down memory lane continued the next morning out on the south side of the city. Shawlands (where I used to live) Read more:Weekend
Bouncing High and Low 2007-01-30 11:25:00
It appears that hits to my website have increased 7-fold since the publication of the self-publishing article in the
Sunday Herald
on at the weekend.
Can only be good news, surely?
Several people have said that they think I look like Superman coming out of a phone box. Hmmm - it was very cold in Edinburgh that day - certainly too cold for lycra!
My weekly post at
The Scruffy Dog Review Blog
is up today. Today has something about JK Rowling if anyone fancy's a read over their lunchtime chitty (message for non-Scots - a chitty is a sandwich).
I began reviewing my GDR for this month, and with a couple of days left I look to have gotten through a lot of much needed base-building. I've been feeling unsettled the last couple of days, thinking about where I am and want to be, and this monthly exercise proves a good way to bring me back down and level out my thinking.
It's just as well I have other things to think about, because the day job is about as demeaning and demoralising
January GDR Wrap-Up 2007-01-31 08:42:00 I just realised I think I may suffer from End-Of-The-Creative-Month Blues. Everything is wrapped up for another month, all my projects tidied in my head and shifted back into little boxes in my brain, and I feel a bit low because of it. Planning out a new monthly GDR brings me back into charged-up mode, but in between, I'm on a low.So without wasting any time, here's my January
final GDR position.Fiction * Begin in-depth notes for researching/writing second draft of Slick - have begun taking notes but stayed away from this for the month. I felt this was needed to be able to approach with fresh eyes, but also to enable me to clear the plate somewhat with a lot of my other work.* Work on synopsis and format of children's book - Still in progress, but took a back seat a bit.* Work on ideas for new novel to begin writing in February - needs bags of research but won't be starting Feb. Keep till March/April. I want to finish Slick first and do more research. Got an idea for another nov
Colin's Guide to the Scottish Weather 1970-01-01 00:59:59 So that's it. January is over already. The recuperation month is done and dusted, the depression after Christmas lifting because we are now far enough away from the turn of the year, we have settled into an acceptance that the brand new year is suddenly not so brand new any more. The evenings are slowly getting lighter, teasing us into early thoughts that long summer evenings can't be that far ahead.But Scotland does this every year. It lulls us into a false sense of security and makes us think that pleasantness is only around the corner. Anyone who knows Scottish
weather knows that despite the weather being mild and calm at the moment, our winter has yet to arrive.Traditionally February, and sometimes into March, we get our worst snow, wind and rain. Granted it has been pretty bad over the last couple of weeks, but what do we expect? In a few days or weeks, or however long it takes, news programmes will be talking about the disaster of the unexpected snow that is causing terrible Read more:Colin
, Guide
Eve of the Six Nations 1970-01-01 00:59:59 I walked out of the house at 6:30am this morning, and was struck by an awesome sight; a pitch black sky with a clear full moon sitting just above the roof of the house opposite. Cheekah-cheekah!I logged on to Blogger as normal this morning to post my latest entry, and was forced into moving to their new system. I'd been avoiding it as it involved creating a Google account and having all my blogs switched over.I didn't particularly want to go. I've heard about problems with the new version and I have enough of my own here with people being unable to comment etc. On looking at the new dashboard though, it does appear that you can do more. Uploading images looks better and there is a facility for tagging. Not sure what else I've still to investigate. It's a smarter layout but that doesn't necessarily mean all the problems are gone. We'll see how it goes.I've been on this guy's mailing list for a wee while now, though until last night I never actually delved into his webs Read more:Nations
Rugby Defeat Can't Stop the Party! 1970-01-01 00:59:59 Two main things to focus on today; my Mum's surprise birthday meal in Glasgow and the Six Nations Rugby
match against England.I was up at the crack getting ready and we headed off on the 2pm train. It was important to get to my sisters in time to watch the game before heading out to the surprise meal at the Piccolo Mondo in Glasgow.It was a fantastic night. My Mum was suitably stunned by the whole thing, the restaurant was superb - food and service - and the whole thing was a laugh from start to finish. We had balloons, music, confetti, wine, champagne, laughter, and a 60th birthday cake with this on it (sorry Mum):HAPPY 60th BIRTHDAY MUM! Her birthday isn't actually until the 9th, but the last surprise for her was the news she is being whisked off to London next week for a very long weekend. Six Nations RugbyEngland 42 - 20 ScotlandTwickenhamSat 3rd Feb, 2007Being underdogs never helped. Scotland came away from Twickenham being well and truly thumped by a transformed English team, t Read more:Party
Feeling Rough 1970-01-01 00:59:59 Short post today because I feel really rough. Woke up with a sore head and a bit of a cold, and by the end of the day it had progressed to a pounding headache, hacking cough, a chest full of phlegm, a pounding head and a nose full of snot.Lovely.I watched the rugby (Ireland v Wales), then I made dinner; Marzetti, which went down well, but wasn't one of my best. I was only estimating the ingredients and overloaded it with pasta. I then spent the evening in bed unable to keep my eyes open and unable to stop coughing.Six Nations RugbyWeek 1 ResultsItaly 3 - 39 FranceEngland 42 - 20 ScotlandWales 9 - 19 Ireland Standings Week 2 FixturesSat 10th FebEngland v Italy (13:30)Scotland v Wales (15:30)Sun 11th FebIreland v France (15:00)POOLSIDE POETRYis out onMARCH 2nd 2007Click on the image toRESERVE YOUR COPY!Only £5 plus p&p Read more:Feeling
, Rough
Feeling Terrible 1970-01-01 00:59:59 Felt absolutely dreadful today such that I ended up spending the day in bed with a bottle of chesty cough medicine and paracetamol. I was off work because of it, but that was no bonus given how shitty I was feeling.The day wasn't wasted though, as in between bouts of heavy chesty coughing and nose clearing exercises, I put together my new website for promoting my fiction and poetry. I"m fed up with the white on black and so this design, I hope, makes it more appealing and more versatile to work with.I'll launch it in a couple of days once I've ironed out the remaining cracks.I've also decided to ditch Blogger. I'm fed up with the loading and commenting problems, and the new version has no more benefits other than tags from what I can see. It's become too cumbersome to use and is affecting you lot too much so it's shifting. More when complete. Read more:Feeling
Worse Before It Gets Better 1970-01-01 00:59:59 Could hardly sleep last night for constant coughing and a chest full of needles. At least that's what it felt like. Can't seem to stop sweating either and I'm just so tired from being unable to shake it. Even my eyes are hurting from the streaming strain. My nose is blocked solid.I'm quite happy with the new look for my website. It's very different from what I've done previously and I think I'll need a couple of photos taken for the front page. It's got an edge of the anarchic, contemporary design and a bit of nuttiness. I like that. It's also easier to make updates to.I'm definitely moving the blog over to Wordpress. Watch out for that in the next few days.I spent my afternoon lying in bed feeling like shit. I wish I had a nurse to look after me. Blonde and busty would do nice. Then again one look at me lying here is such a state might put her off. She'd have to be NHS to put up with me.I did manage to redraft three short stores ready to get them back out on the
Last post in Blogger 1970-01-01 00:59:59 As promised, the switch to Wordpress is now complete.You should be automatically redirected to the new home of Freedom From The Mundane within 10 seconds. If not, please click on the following link and update any links you have to this blog from other sites or your Favourites menu.Blogger
was good in it's day, but my requirements now outweigh it's usefulness.See you on the other side.http://freedomfromthemundane.wordpress.com
Recommend Site To A Friend
