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Deep Pencil - the musings of Morgan Bell

If a tree falls in the woods and nobody is there to hear it did it really make a sound? If i post a blog and nobody reads it was there really any point? You have entered the random thinking space of Morgan Bell . . . These are my musings . . . things about my life written off the top of my head . . . written in an informal disjointed style almost completely devoid of punctuation, this is where i flesh out writing ideas, discuss my life, and generally be self indulgent . . . it is also the bargain bin for articles which do not fit in with the film or arts themes of my other blogs . . . so have a wander around my mind, have a laugh, have a think, be nice, and humour me!

Writing - Deep Pencil

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Paris would like group text

June 7th 2011 14:01

My local writing group now comes with added Facebook.

CLICKHERE to visit. By "liking" the page you will be spreading the word about the importance of local level creative writing, and grassroots arts collaboratives in regional centres.

Let's keep the arts alive and kicking for all the little people. Writing is a great pastime, outlet, or escape, for all us average joes and josephines. It's cheaper than drinking, and much more productive.

If you have a local group like this, leave a link on our wall. Its a great chance to compare the culture, history, lingo, and flavour of our local towns and cities.

Paris Hilton would click like . . . it's hot.

Paris Hilton reading a book? Sexy librarian?

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Newcastle Writers Group

May 18th 2011 13:16

What have I been up to lately?

Well I joined a local creative writing group called Newcastle Writers Group, and I feel all the better for it.

I will give a little shout-out to my co-groupie Allyson Seaborn and her little fire-cracker of a blog Eat Your Heart Out Martha Stewart. If you like domestic depravity and self deprecating humour you will sure find a tale or two to tickle your fancy.

Check it out. Subscribe. Comment.

You all know the drill.

Anyway she reminded me that I have been neglecting my own little blog.

Eat Your Heart Out

Here I'll play Soundgarden word association, and you can listen to some tunes.

So . . .

Eat your heart out. Bleed your heart out. There's no more rides for free. I shot my love today. Would you cry for me. Just an anchor on my heart. Dies in shyness. Light a cigarette before the execution.

Chris Cornell, still the best writer I know.

I have always wondered where that expression comes from: "eat your heart out". A quick consultation of the trusty old wiki tells us what it means:

Verb
to eat one's heart out
(idiomatic) To feel overwhelming sorrow, jealousy or longing, to grieve

.

I found this explanation of the origins of the expression on Carly Googles:

The ancients believed that sorrow and envy silently "ate away" at the heart, "each sigh draining blood from the organ." In Henry VI, Shakespeare wrote:

Might liquid tears, of heart-offending groans,
Or blood-consuming sighs recall his life,
I would be blind with weeping, sick with groans,
Look pale as primrose with blood-drinking sighs
We still say someone who is grieving is "broken-hearted."

By the beginning of the 20th century, "to eat your heart out" meant to pine, but you can yell it out as a cry of triumph if you give someone else a reason to envy you, like if you make a better ballgown as a drag queen than he ever did designing for a real lady (or a Cher).

And ending on a note of drag I do believe this is a perfectly rounded post.

From the queer glossary:

Drag: Originally used in Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre to mean DRessed As Girl (or Dress Resembling A Girl) referring to male actors who played female roles.

Ladies and gentlemen, she's back

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Posted By: Morgan Bell - Category: Writing , Life & Musings, Blogging & Bloggers

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Word of the Day: Fisking

September 21st 2009 14:48

Fisking

noun

1. Point-by-point criticism that highlights perceived errors, or disputes the analysis in a statement, article, or essay.
2. Line-by-line nitpick.
3. Written rebuttal, formatted as chronological quotes from the original post each followed by comments that refute or dispute. Comments may contain derision, savagery and scorn.
4. Witty, logical, sarcastic, and ruthlessly factual, point-by-point refutation of a blog entry or news story.

etymology

Named after British journalist Robert Fisk, writer for Ireland's The Sunday Independent.

Robert Fisk was "fisked" by conservative blogger Andrew Sullivan in 2001.

CLICKHERE for the first "fisked" article by Robert Fisk.

CLICKHERE for the first "fisking" by Andrew Sullivan.

A "Fist Bump"; not to be confused with "Fisking"

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Come back to my room . . .

June 23rd 2009 02:58

I have been inspired by Natalina to take a few snaps of random things from my room.

To see Natalina's house CLICKHERE.

I moved in with friends somewhere around the murky borderlands of southern Newcastle and the upper Central Coast (yeah i still call it Sydney, but I think anywhere 90 minutes by car away from Oxford St can be classified as the city) and my friends are in the process of renovating.

Hence I am still living out of a packed bag and my car, with the bulk of my belongings stored in boxes in the garage.

However I can still show you my day to day stuff.

I cannot take credit for any decor or colour schemes in the background, but I am responsible for the mountains of clutter in my guest quarters.

These are my everyday shoes. I got them from Rivers for $30 on sale. They remind me of something a genie would wear. Last time I got a pedicure the lady that served me was from China and she remarked that they were very similar to the colourful styles that are popular in China.

Next to the shoes is my heat-pack for my back. Its filled with wheat and you microwave it for a couple of minutes and apply it to the area in pain to sooth it. An ex-housemate gave it to me when I lived in the city of Newcastle some years ago.

This is the most recent pair of shoes I've bought. They are the first pair of high heeled shoes I have worn in over two years. They make me look 7 foot tall.

My housemate HATES them . . . which is a big part of the reason I bought them, I just wanted to see his face because I knew he would consider them to be ugly. When I saw them I thought "he will hate them", but I liked the colour and the the general idea of a slit-front bootie, and I knew it would go down a treat at the local gay bar. Are they the boots Gwenyth Paltrow wore in that film? No they are $40 from Target

Here is two items I cannot live without. My mobile phone and my hair straightener. I bought both of them before I left Sydney. The phone has gone to shit, everything on it is broken, and because it is a Nokia it has absolutely no battery life. It will randomly switch itself of mid conversation. It really needs replacing.

The GHD will probably outlive me. I wish GHD made mobile phones.

This is my Guess handbag. It is huge. I have spilled many drinks over and in that bag. It has a leopard-print lining. I want to keep that bag forever, but sadly, due to my mistreatment, it is wearing in places.

These are my keys. There's a bottle opener, a keyring from where I had my labret pierced saying "Let Me Put It In For You", a crab in a little red bottle from Vanuatu, a diamante "M" (both gifts from a friend), and the green key is quite special to me as it opens the front door of a friends house who gave me an open invite to stay at a time when I was homesick for Newcastle.

Clockwise from left we have my handbag, a few DVDs including Broken Flowers, Dangerous Liaisons, Torch Song Trilogy, and a Jackie Chan box-set, some of my books (the ones that arent in storage), my pink make-up bag, medications, notebooks, and perfumes.

A friend of mine works for Perfume Connection so I have acquired many fragrances on the cheap. I also used to be an Avon lady so I have a couple of Avon perfumes that I love.

I have quite few books on writing (see HERE and HERE) and a selection of fiction I have discussed in a post before (see HERE). A few others include a Rupert Everett autobiography, books by Isaac Asimov and Erica Jong, plus Alice In Wonderland, The Devil Wears Prada, Prozac Nation, Valley Of The Dolls, The Orchid Thief, and He Died With A Felafel In His Hand.

So that ends the tour of my room. Thanks for joining me.

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Posted By: Morgan Bell - Category: Writing , Life & Musings, Blogging & Bloggers, Secret Womens Business

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On my radar . . .

June 11th 2009 01:39

Confidence is a must
Happiness is a plus
Edginess is a rush
Edges, I like them rough

Radar . . . got you on my . . .
Radar . . . got you on my . . .
Radar . . . got you on my . . .

Radar.

I got my eye on you . . . and I cant let you get away.

There actually is a point to this post, other than the musical stylings of Britney Spears and the fan-video direction of Leslie Diep.

A list of websites that have been on my radar.

Some new and exciting ways to entertain yourself on the net

1. Daily Booth

dailybooth.com

For people who like taking photos of themselves. Daily Booth is an online photo journal designed to document the appearance of the user over time in daily photos. Take a snap from your webcam or phone or digital camera and upload to the site each day. You can create a record of your life and how you feel by collating images of how you look. It's a quirky way of marking time, and a great incentive to practice your photography.

2. Blovel Spot

blovelspot.com

Blovel Spot is the new resource for writers to write blog novels (or blovels) online. A blovel is a novel you write very quickly in 40 chapters of around 500 to 1000 words each. One chapter a week (or a day if you are feeling productive) over 40 weeks. Each post is a chapter which should end in a cliffhanger. Blovels should be written in first person and stick to the three act structure. No editing allowed. The blovel is intended allow writers to jot down a first draft which can be used to structure a proper novel from.

3. Square Space

squarespace.com

A fully hosted, completely managed environment for creating and maintaining a website, blog or portfolio. Bloggers, businesses, authors, and professionals are all able to take advantage of Squarespace's flexible platform because it can power sites of all sizes. They give you full control over your content and site customization, and claim to be ten times faster than a regular web builder. Very low hosting fees if you are considering building an online portfolio. Check out the examples. Very swish.

4. Blurb

blurb.com

Blurb is an online self-publishing service, similar to Lulu, but aimed more towards creative and commercial photographers, and visual and graphic artists. You can create your books with a free bookmaking software (for Mac and PC) and produce bookstore quality books. Blurb is a low cost and professional way of promoting your work as an artist. You can maintain the integrity of being independent while selling polished products online.

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Posted By: Morgan Bell - Category: Writing , Photography

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Broken Record

May 15th 2009 18:03

John
You've been on my mind
Drugs

[ Click here to read more ]

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John Cleese slams Modern Writers

May 12th 2009 12:03

Fawlty Towers is an enduring classic of British television comedy.

But the BBC almost dismissed the TV show initially

[ Click here to read more ]

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My Winter Reading List

May 1st 2009 08:01

As the weather cools off I head to the bookstore.

I love buying books, however I very rarely finish them

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Genevieve vs The Raven

March 30th 2009 00:17

It's poetry appreciation time here at Deep Pencil . . .

I found this poem on YouTube, written and spoken by an angsty young gent called Cody Weber

[ Click here to read more ]

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Whispers and Screams: recent wise words

March 18th 2009 19:59

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Queer Honi

March 10th 2009 13:07

Honi Soit is a tabloid style weekly newspaper distributed FREE to all Sydney University campuses, and is a must read for all students at Sydney University.

Honi Soit plays a vital role in enriching Sydney University's campus community by giving a voice to student issues and interests. Each edition incorporates a variety of satirical and serious articles with regular features and columns including: Education News, Arts Reviews (music, theatre, cinema, literature), Gig Guide, Head to Head, University Sports and more

[ Click here to read more ]

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Dragtastic Twilight heartthrob

January 5th 2009 14:02

dont you just love eye-catching yet barely true news stories?

check out THIS ONE from CelebrityFix on ninemsn

[ Click here to read more ]

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Fan-fiction, Slash & RPS

December 3rd 2008 16:07

I guess we could blame Star Trek for Fan-Fiction, or even Star Wars, or Dr Who, or more recently Buffy, Xena, Harry Potter, or the Lord Of The Rings film trilogy . . . any cult fiction that produces obsessive fans will result in Fan-Fiction.

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Stoneage Screenwriting

November 23rd 2008 17:28

There is a free screenwriting newletter that circulates writing and tips to subscribers. It is a free service offered by Phil Gladwin on Screenwriting Goldmine. The website and newletters are a great practical resource for writers working on scripts and searching for their big break.

In a recent newsletter Phil Gladwin uncovered an "antique" writers guide which I thought was absolutely fascinating and wanted to share

[ Click here to read more ]

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