Journal exercise 1 and 2

Adjective: Drab, grey, dark, chill, damp

Noun: Table, TV, orchid, hula hoop, towel

Verb: May, might, should, shall, can

Adverb: Slowly, angrily, sweetly, soon, very

The damp towel might fall off the TV slowly.
The drab room should be warm and light very soon.

Murica

It's day three of our trip to America. I'm unfortunately not tech savvy enough to upload photos from my SLR. They are also things you've all seen anyway. The Washington Monument, the World War Two memorial, the Arlington cemetery and tomb of the unknown soldiers. They are all spectacular and moving, in the tone of the general way America does things. There is above all the overwhelming sense of space to do these things in. Nothing is overly grandiose - it is grand in a way that is necessary to fill the vast amount of room available, and create a fitting salute to the country's history.

Clean, vast columns and stretches of grass serviced by sprinklers will be my main memory of Washington. We were also caught by a fantastic thunderstorm while at the top of the cemetery's long hill. As rain thrummed on the bus shelter we hid under and the thunder and lightning promised that this wouldn't be over soon, I realised it was the first time I had broken out into a huge smile that week.

Tube 2

The most amazing punk is stood over there. His mohican is about 8 inches high and bleached an incredible yellowy white to match his pale skin and almost melanin-free eyes. To contrast this, he is listening to music on bright red earphones. He looks tired and I worry about how his complexion will fare in the scorching summer sun that is finally beating down upon us.

Tube

There is a fella with flannel shirt and mauve rucksack. His lips are pursed in concentration as he fiddles with his phone. It must be urgent.

I wanna be a doormat

What do you do when you seem not to have what it takes to be the only thing you ever wanted to be? Can you learn? Do you fight? Is there a fast track route to 'the best'?

I'm not referring to becoming a rock star. I know that whatever you do in whatever industry, there are only so many who can shine the brightest. But what if you don't seem to have a spark, at all? What then - what powers you through the long cold night of the soul?

Some days I think, I would be happy doing a mediocre job, if I could just write the rest of the time. Like Kafka, working in a meaningless office job while he sculpted out tortuous masterpieces overnight. But I strive for meaning also. If I'm sitting at a desk every single day, I want it to make a difference in someone's life. Why exist if your existence doesn't improve the lives of others?

There are songs in my head so constantly I barely have time to write them down. In fact the only time I don't hear music in my head is when I am writing. But when I write, I listen to music, so does that count?

Well anyway, here is a soothing Friday video and song for you.

Watch "Beach House - Zebra (OFFICIAL VIDEO)" on YouTube

I want the moon on a stick

I realised yesterday that I cannot wait for fully integrated content on our media.

There was a time not so long ago when all posters were just that; now they are video screens and I'm sure if it wouldn't mess with peoples minds we would have sound blaring from them. I even saw one that was some kind of cooking infomercial, Commuters' Kitchen or some such kitsch.

I remember thinking that these 'live' posters were inevitable, before they were suddenly everywhere, like Harry Potter come true. The next step is obviously living magazines and print media. Interactive books are a big thing for kids, as they always have been really, except that previously your interaction was a fuzzy piece of felt and not a touch screen.

What I'm looking forward to is the magazines. Obviously blogs have this mixed media aspect already, but I really want to have a magazine on my ereader with the experiences embedded. You are reading a review - it plays the song in question to you. Tired eyes? Just listen to the article instead. Maybe this is a lot to ask of free print mags. All I do know is that reading a review the other day made me want to hear the music, immediately. This must be the next step: or something like it.