ALLEN GINSBERG AND THE BEATS Bob Donlon, Neal Cassidy, Ginsberg, Robert la Vigne, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, outside Ferlinghetti's City Lights Bookshop, Bay Area San Francisco, 1956. (US NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART all rights reserved - Allen Ginsberg Foundation - ) My introduction to the Beats came with a bizarre conversation I had with a violinist with … Continue reading THE BEAT GOES ON
Mental Illness
Black Dog and Radio 4: Part 1
Around 2009 I was unwell. I didn't know it, but I was not ok. I had began to feel tired. Looking back now this comes as no surprise. For the previous six years I had been working on a novel called One Inch Punch. I had stopped taking care of myself: mentally, emotionally, physically. I … Continue reading Black Dog and Radio 4: Part 1
Be My Frankenstein
Being a rather impressionable little boy, that is, when I was a little boy, I recall one of the most terrifying creatures of my childhood was Frankenstein, not Victor Frankenstein mind, but the Monster, or The Creature, also known as Adam, something I was reminded of by a friend. For now I am not talking … Continue reading Be My Frankenstein
The writer indulges in writing activity
or What happens when you are wrongly diagnosed as bipolar or whatever: and what it means, if anything... Bad Therapy Have you ever been the patient of a really bad psychotherapist? Lets be honest, there are more than a few of them out there. I actually seriously toyed with the idea of becoming one at … Continue reading The writer indulges in writing activity
Olive Kitteridge isn’t having any fun at all
One of the most refreshing and unusual pieces of television I have seen is the strange story of Olive Kitteridge. An HBO mini series based on the Pulitzer winning book by Elizabeth Strout, Olive (Mc Dormand) is an interesting character to be sure. Sharp tongued, incredibly witty, dismissive, self contained, cerebral, self reliant, she is … Continue reading Olive Kitteridge isn’t having any fun at all
Crucifixion?
Calvary (2014) Written and Directed by John Michael McDonagh “Killing a Priest on a Sunday, that would be a good one.” A Catholic Priest, especially on a Sunday, while he celebrates Mass, acts In Persona Christi (in the person of Christ) transforming the bread and wine in to the body and blood of Christ, re … Continue reading Crucifixion?
All Along the Watchtower
Battlestar Galactica as Theology The excellent Battle star Galactica, which I loved watching, does have a heavy dose of theism running through it, which makes it even more interesting to watch because it touches on subjects other more conventional series rarely dare to go near. Not only that but it holds the view that those … Continue reading All Along the Watchtower
The Discreet Charm of the Mentally Ill
UPDATE 23/1/2016 *Please check out an update on this blog post which explains how this diagnosis, which at the time of writing this post I accepted, turned out to be a mis-diagnosis* I have suffered from Bipolar Disorder for as long as I can recall, certainly the last 32 years or so. I have … Continue reading The Discreet Charm of the Mentally Ill
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