Wednesday 2 November 2011

One Hundred and Forty Characters

"You get these fleeting periods where people forget where they are, for a fraction of a second, and all pretence drains away."


A quote taken from the BBC article about photographer Chris Floyd who decided it was time to find out a bit more about his Twitter followers, and so 'One Hundred and Forty Characters' was born. A selection of followers were picked for the piece; a collection of black and white portraits, the subject image framed within a white box, much the same as the concept of the Twitter dialogue. Ah yes, this is the physical representation of the Twitterspeak concept that we have all been waiting for. I say 'waiting' in a very loose sense - but a clever concept on part of the photographer! And so the idea is to make a connection with these followers, to break the digital barrier of the cyberspace dialogue and to build a more tangible relationship. The work goes on show at Host Gallery in London this week - check it out.

"I began to realise that the digital revolution that had swept through my world of work, photography, had also killed off one of the aspects that made it so attractive in the first place. Namely, the sense of community that lab culture engendered in the days when we all shot on film and often spent hours at a time hanging out in professional labs with other photographers and art directors" - Chris Floyd.


One hundred and forty characters taken to a new level, each person representing a word in the Twitter dialogue. It's crazy how easy it is to lose physical contact in a society of digital communication, and this is a really good reminder about sustaining a real dialogue, to maintain a sense of tangibility and reality in a black and white world of digital characters. 140 characters: say something clever.

Monday 31 October 2011

link.me

link.me is a brilliant new concept to hit the publishing world. Quick Response (QR) codes are being integrated into the world of books to strengthen the relationship between the publisher and the user, creating an interactive reading experience that will offer real time links to information relating to the content of the book. Link.me is a Mobile Marketing CRM/CMS platform that could potentially create a new future for the bookselling landscape.




The Content Management System (CMS) enables the delivery of rich media including pod casts, videos and blogs to the reader's phone. The Content Relationship Management system tracks usability status, including the user's location, reading preferences and preferred device type. This is very much a consumer focused strategy - something the publishing world is lacking in comparison to the methods used by its competitors. Link.me can therefore be used to create, manage and disseminate content that is highly relevant to its users' reading habits. Knowing that a user is a consumer of a certain type of book, using a particular type of device in a specific location will enable link.me to send out relevant messages to tailor to each user's personal tastes and reading experience. This will include information about author activities, tour dates, literary festivals and so on. There is a huge potential here to find out as much about the reader as is necessary to profile the right kind of books to the right kind of people, to increase author exposure and also publisher exposure, building the relationship between those who produce the books and those who read them. The accessibility element of the link.me concept is the reason that this could be a huge success. People want information at speed, at ease and on the go - this is a way to target reading audiences in this interactive manner, to build up an understanding of what the user wants and how to cater for this.

Link.Me is currently working with Hachette, Macmillan, HarperCollins, McGraw-Hill, Penguin, and Random House. This is an exciting time for the publishing industry, and I am very keen to see how this interactive development takes hold. Direct marketing strategies are the way forward in this industry - finding out what the reader wants and producing the content to match.

Friday 28 October 2011

The Amazon takeover continues

Responding to Amazon's takeover of The Book Depository, editor in chief of The Bookseller Neill Denny says: "British book retailers, and publishers, are now increasingly threatened by a competitor with almost limitless pockets, intent on customer acquisition at almost any cost. Amazon's range of secretive activities across the book trade threatens to gravely weaken one of Britain's most important creative industries, and the government does nothing."

Aaaaaaaaaaaargh Amazon you just never stop! The ambition of the retail giant to take over the publishing and selling of reading material is limitless. Taking over The Book Depository is simply the next step in their plan to dominate bookselling. Getting involved are the Office of Fair Trading, but it turns out that no competition laws have in fact been breached. According to Amelia Fletcher, OFT's chief economist "following a thorough investigation we are satisfied that this small increment to Amazon's position does not raise competition issues." Although Amazon does face competition from various online retailers and bricks and mortar outlets, it is in a very strong position at the moment which is worrying to the bookselling industry. This is a strategic merger between the two bodies, but is also linking in to the Amazon ethos and development of its niche publishing strategy which is being implemented by its imprints, namely The Domino Project. The idea behind The Book Depository is based on the concept of selling "less of more" rather than "more of less". This focus is something I find important in publishing and the marketing of its product. Create a focus, an identity and get good at publishing a particular type of content. Consumers will then come back to you for that particular product because they know you are good at producing it. The imprint is the best way to create this focus, to build up a strong author base, a great consumer following and produce content that a particular market is craving.



This is what Amazon is all about - finding out what the consumer wants, refining its products and sticking to a particular product that will cater for a specific group of consumers and their needs. From this point they can expand this outlook, but a niche concept creates the right kind of focus needed to capture audiences and keep them. The merger of Amazon with The Book Depository sees the strengthening of these interests - getting good at one thing and perfecting it.

Wednesday 26 October 2011

The Seductive Package

Is it all about packaging these days? Aesthetics seem to be taking on a more and more prominent role in the packaging of content. A recent article entitled How Steve Jobs put the seduction into technology talked about how 'Apple reshaped the personal computer from a wobbly, Professor Branestawm-like contraption into a kind of digital jewellery.' Jewellery. The domination of the Apple product in the marketplace is very much an aesthetic concept. Although the products are amazing at what they do, their initial pull is very much in the seductive nature of the package: sleek, sophisticated, sexy. Yes that's right, sexy. Sex sells, so put that into product development and you're onto a winner. Mashable recently documented the release of the world's most beautiful thermostat:

'Tony Fadell, the man who oversaw 18 generations of the iPod, announced the first product of his stealth startup Nest Labs Tuesday: a sexy, world-saving … thermostat.'





Turn up the heat on this one (or turn it down - I was trying to be clever with my words there).

So reverting back to the publishing industry and the world of books, how does this concept translate? Does it translate? The Kindle, the iPad - making reading sexy? To be quite honest, I think reading should just be reading, it doesn't have to be sexy, well depending on the content perhaps. But it seems that the juxtaposition of a print book and a digital reader does cause conflict to many a reader and how comfortable they feel reading content off a digital screen. What has to happen to make this more mainstream? Although the popularity of the e-book is continuously growing, I can't help but think that there is a better way to showcase an e-book. The sexy sleek iPad may suit a trendy digital magazine reader, but I feel that the Kindle falls short. This could just be a personal distaste for the eReader, but there is something missing. The move from a print book to an eReader is a big jump, skipping out the smell of a book, the feel of a book and the sentimentality of an artefact. So is there a mid point that we could go back to? Maybe something with the look and feel of a print book, but with an inset of digital 'pages' - a somewhat paradoxical instrument, but something I would find more aesthetically pleasing and intriguing than a simple eReader. Hmm.. I'll give it some thought and get back to you.

Tuesday 18 October 2011

Amazon Publishing

So Amazon is not only dominating the online retail market, but now it wants to specialise in the creation of its products, namely books. Amazon has become its own publishing company, creating a number of imprints, particularly The Domino Project, devised by Seth Godin who is working with Amazon to roll out a series of manifestos for use in the business sector as thought-provoking manuals for various industries and their companies. This is an imprint that will publish books to target a niche audience and cater for a particular business with a set requirement; this is very much consumer-focused publishing, something mirrored in numerous business models across the publishing demographic.





Similarly, the Unbound Project caters directly to the consumer; what they want, they get. The model works on a bidding concept. Readers will bid on the author and the work that they want to see published; if enough people back the bid by pledging various amounts, then the book will be published and those who pledged will be rewarded for their donation with free signed copies, author lunches, and so on. The landscape is becoming highly focused on what the readers want, and using the imprint as an identity to cater for user needs and their reading habits, taking a great deal of autonomy away from the publisher in a user-centered environment, which once saw more power in the hands of the publishers.





It has been revealed that Amazon is now giving authors access to the highly coveted Nielsen Book Scan database which records book sales and details of consumer behaviour and reading trends. This is another example of the strengthening of the relationship between the author and the reader, leaving the role of the publisher slightly out of joint, misplaced even. The publisher needs to reassert their role in the world of digital publishing, to find their strength in this new field of book production.

Sunday 25 September 2011

140-Character Enlightenment

Social media has become a tool for communicating on such an incredible scale that it now equates to a sense of enlightenment. Facebook and Twitter have been the primary methods of communication for revolutionary activists in the Middle East; it seems incredible that 140 characters can say so much more. A tweet is short, concise, there is no room for poetry. And yet Twitter has enabled the masses of numerous nations to unite under a common interest: Enlightenment.

Similary LinkedIn, a social networking platform for professional communication allows an initial message which is ruled by a set character allowance. It is all about knowing how to use words, using them effectively and succinctly. Say what you mean, say it in a short amount of space and you will get a response.

The recent revolutions to shake the Arab world have been a reaction to repressive regimes and to people lacking a voice. Although the successful revolutionaries have gained their voice, their right to speak and have their say, it is quite ironic that the social media tool that enabled them to have their opinions heard imposed a strict word limit of 140 characters.

Saudi women get their say

News just in: Women in Saudi Arabia will now be entitled to vote and run in municipal elections. Fantastic news! It is going to be a very gradual process of liberalisation in Saudi Arabia, and I don't expect Saudi women to succeed in their bid to drive any time soon, but this is a positive change and hopefully the beginning of many more changes that will see women in Saudi Arabia gain more freedom and independence. The new term of the Shura council (the formal advisory body to the king) saw King Abdullah announce the move to allow women the vote. Allowing women to join the Shura council could lead to reforms that will favour the female representative voice in the country. As a former resident of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, this is a change that excites me, to see how much the country has grown, and the potential it has to adapt and modernise its traditional ways of thinking.

Get London Reading campaign - update

I have been following the progress of The Evening Standard Get London Reading campaign in its bid to tackle the issue over high illiteracy rates in the capital. Over the past four months £190,000 has been raised, with hundreds of volunteers stepping forward as mentors to help children improve their reading skills. The Evening Standard has documented numerous case studies of children whose lives have been transformed by the campaign, creating a positive arena for the promotion of reading, particularly at a young age. I look forward to the long-term results of the campaign :)

Sunday 14 August 2011

The Sims Social

One of my favourite discoveries this week: The Sims Social. Most of us are aware of The Sims as a pretty harmless interactive PC game. The user creates imaginary relationships between a set of make-believe characters in whatever environment they choose to create for them. But The Sims Social takes it one step further..

'The Sims Social lets you hook up with Facebook friends and invite their sims around to your virtual pad. If the sims like one another, they'll date and can even end up getting on very well indeed. If they don't get on, they'll become enemies, sneaking into one another's homes, nicking food and kicking over trash cans.' (www.theguardian.co.uk)




Hmm..social media gone crazy? Sounds fantastic for those of us who don't like to communicate with real people (or for those who blog mindlessly into the ether uhum), but I believe this game could cause quite a stir. Facebook is known for it's ability to get people into trouble - be it tagged pictures, comments, etc etc. So I sense a few jealous tendencies may pop to the surface should someone's sim fancy another person's sim. The computer-generated relationships are broadcast on your Facebook walls, allowing everyone to see what you've been up to in your virtual relationship! This is hard-hitting stuff.

But am I being too pessimistic? Apparently these types of games are set to strengthen relationships and friendships, but what's wrong with actual human interaction? After all, everyone loves a bit of tangibility.

We'll see. Maybe I'll bag me a Sims boyfriend. Score :)

Sunday 10 July 2011

Super Sad True Love Story

Currently underway with my Masters dissertation, my brain is addled with thoughts of publishing houses, imprints and the demon that is Amazon. More a demon because I seem to be writing endlessly about its success and strategic cleverness, but less demonic in the sense that one can buy books at those prices! (Which totally contradicts my ambition to be a publisher).

Anyway enough about me. I do have a few quotes to highlight from Gary Shteyngart's Super Sad True Love Story. A good read, but I did have to work with it to get the job done. Having said that, I did love the imagery and Shteyngart's clever wording:

Quote #1:

p.19 'Fabrizia. Her body conquered by small armies of hair, her curves fixed by carbohydrates, nothing but the Old World and its dying nonelectronic corporeality.'




I would love nothing more than to see a man approach a woman in a bar and use the line 'you are so beautiful, with your long flowing hair and your curves, fixed by complex carbohydrates.'

Throw a bit of Lipase in her drink, get the old Lipolysis going, and we could have that ass broken down in no time! (I have a tendency to associate words with chemical reactions, not sure why that is, but it keeps things interesting. Either that, or it says a lot about me).

Quote #2:

p.242 'A sickening Caucasian fear, mowed grass and temperate sex mixed with a surprising shot of third-world perspiration, crowded the borough's most elegant street.'

'a surprising shot of third-world perspiration' - genius.

Quote #3:

p. 302 '"Blustery." Just one word, a word meaning no more than "a period of time characterised by strong winds," but it caught me unaware, it reminded me of how language was once used, its precision and simplicity, its capacity for recall.'

From the perspective of a jargon-fueled global discourse of texts, tweets and technology, I hope that this will not ring true one day. Innit.

Friday 1 July 2011

Do we choose our books or do they choose us?

I have been doing some research into the role of the imprint in the publishing industry and am trying to tackle the question: do we choose our books or do they choose us? Of course physically, we pick out the books we want to read - depending on our mood, our frame of mind; creative marketing strategies help too. But ultimately, who is choosing the books that make it to our bookshelves? Or onto Amazon web pages should I say.

Do the publishing imprints generate information based on their audiences in order to produce books that cater for their 'reading needs', or do our reading habits thrive on the titles that are presented to us as a result of the choices made by experienced publishers? Because I sense a slight dilemma in the world of publishing if all books are to be created on a fundamental basis of audience cravings - what do we know about good reading after all? Surely a decline in the quality of books produced is inevitable if editors are forced to dismiss titles which they consider great potential reading, to make room for something that is more commercially viable?

Amazon.com has launched a number of its own imprints, basing chosen titles on audience recommendations, of course catering entirely for its market, generating huge sales as a result. But is this what we really want the future of reading to become? It seems that the influence of online retailers like Amazon will become detrimental to the types of books that we find ourselves reading in the future. I also feel that catering so directly to an audience will cause massive saturation points within the book market, filling up on chicklits and vampire thrillers for example - so we need to maintain a sense of variety to keep these markets flowing and allow for great new writing to develop and flourish, even if it means publishing a title that doesn't quite fit the 'niche'. Reading and the production of books is all about creativity, and innovative thinking, so maybe we let the publishers decide after all?

Tuesday 21 June 2011

Saudi women find their 'online voice'

Following in the footsteps of the revolutionaries calling for change across the Middle East, women in Saudi Arabia are using the online medium of social networking sites to strengthen their political voices. The Women2Drive campaign, initiated by women’s rights activist- Manal al Sharif has generated a massive online following, having been launched on social media sites Facebook and Twitter. The campaign called for women to stand up to the law and get into the driving seat on June 17th 2011.


Portraying videos of al-Sharif driving a car, the original Facebook page was swiftly deleted by authorities, but a new page was launched by supporters contributing to the cause in order to keep the initiative going. Since releasing videos of her driving cars in Saudi Arabia, al-Sharif has been arrested, detained, re-arrested and released on bail, on the condition that she does not drive and does not speak to the media regarding the campaign.
1990 saw a similar uprising in Riyadh, with dozens of women getting behind the wheels of cars in protest of the law. This resulted however, in a one day imprisonment, the confiscation of their passports, and some of the women losing their jobs.
The social scene is changing. These women are resolute in their aim and are using the strength of their online voice, their online presence to change the driving laws in Saudi Arabia. Facebook and Twitter are increasing the accessibility to information on such a huge scale, that they are making so much possible. Of course this can be both good and bad, rallying support in massive numbers- but it also provides opportunity to make a change. But will their voice be heard? And will it make a difference?

Friday 17th June 2011 saw a handful of women driving in Saudi Arabia, but it was certainly not a matter of history unfolding before our eyes. Police were told to turn a blind eye that day; this lack of acknowledgement simply highlights the fact that they do not intend to listen. And to what? It turns out that this 'online voice' was merely a facade; there was no power of assertion behind it for many so-called supporters of the campaign- just empty words.

Friday 10 June 2011

Andrew Marr talks London Underground

I just want to give a quick shout out to Andrew Marr for his creative use of language, likening Tube travel to an "urban heart attack." Yes that's right, the London underground system is in serious danger of a cardiac arrest if things don't change; I'm talking smaller portions (of people) and healthier ingredients (doesn't translate). I would certainly appreciate less of the 'armpit-in-face' gesture if at all possible.

Time to unclog the "clogged-up arteries feeding the beating heart of London." Who needs TS Eliot when we have the poetry of Andrew Marr? I love it.


hehe

TS Eliot's Widow Joins 'Get London Reading' Campaign

Valerie Eliot, widow to one of the greatest poets of the 20th century has joined the campaign to get London reading, by donating £1,000 to fund two volunteers. She describes reading as a human right, deserved by everyone. And I couldn't agree more; without reading, one is blind to their surroundings. Never mind novels; think street signs, newspapers, not to mention those all-important health wheels on food packaging. I would certainly feel less guilty eating cheesecake if I couldn't read the ingredients. But that's besides the point. The ability to read is equivalent to the ability to breathe. Actually, no it isn't, I just wanted to sound really philosophical for a moment. But let's face it, it is pretty damn important. And did you know, Valerie Eliot met TS Eliot at Faber and Faber where she worked as his secretary?! Saucy. So there's hope for me yet.

T.S. Eliot (1888–1965). The Waste Land. 1922.

The Waste Land

I. THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD

APRIL is the cruellest month, breeding
Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing
Memory and desire, stirring
Dull roots with spring rain.
Winter kept us warm, covering
Earth in forgetful snow, feeding
A little life with dried tubers.
Summer surprised us, coming over the Starnbergersee
With a shower of rain; we stopped in the colonnade,
And went on in sunlight, into the Hofgarten,
And drank coffee, and talked for an hour.
Bin gar keine Russin, stamm' aus Litauen, echt deutsch.
And when we were children, staying at the archduke's,
My cousin's, he took me out on a sled,
And I was frightened. He said, Marie,
Marie, hold on tight. And down we went.
In the mountains, there you feel free.
I read, much of the night, and go south in the winter.

Thursday 9 June 2011

Our Digital Voices

So all of a sudden so many of us have a voice. A voice that we didn't necessarily have pre-digital, pre-social media, pre-Twitter.

It's ironic that one feels a greater sense of security in voicing their opinions and their feelings in an online setting, in spite of the fact that these thoughts are very much open to the world to see and judge. Yes that's right, I am a hypocrite, hiding behind my persona as 'the blogger.' But the freedom for discussion, for debate is liberating, particularly in societies where this may be more difficult to achieve in an open setting. Of course, it works both ways as it also opens you up to scrutiny.

The blogging phenomenon has created some of the most innovative and inspiring writing, because of this idea of liberation, the freedom to say what you think. Personally I think people should say what they think more often, rather than skirting around the issue. Of course there is no need for rudeness, but etiquette and political correctness just go too far in my opinion (with exceptions of course) and I think people need to be more to the point in what they say. I am all for a please and thank you, and holding the door open is always nice, but "I don't mind" just doesn't get the decisions made. Another pet hate: "But it's been 43 minutes and he still hasn't text back." So text him again. Words. Digital words. It is all down to words. And if Tom, Dick or Harry don't have any words for you then expend your time and your vocabulary elsewhere. In light of being politically correct it doesn't necessarily have to be a Tom, a Dick or a Harry. There could be a Carlos, an Ahmed or a Sunjay in the mix.


Gotta love a bit of old school Nokia.

I know a lot of debates over digital communication centre around the fact that people are no longer communicating face to face, instead separating themselves by means of a digital screen, throwing words into the ether of cloud technology. And yes this is totally true, but social media and digital communication have also done a lot of good, in terms of marketing for example. Consumers learn about their products digitally, and producers simultaneously learn about their audiences and who they are marketing to. Amazon, Google- they know what we want and that is why they are so successful. I may despise Google from a publishing standpoint, in their aim to create the largest digital library in the world, trying to bypass copyright laws left right and centre. However, we all use Google because Google can provide the information we want, when we want it, and pretty much wherever we want it. The term 'Google it' speaks volumes about their success as a company. I only wish I had invented it.

Monday 6 June 2011

The 'Get London Reading' Campaign

On a pleasantly subdued Monday rush hour journey home, not only was I thankful for my own personal space on the tube, but I was pleased to see a highly positive Evening Standard headline: Get London Reading. Yes please. Sometimes my ambitions to save the world from self-destruction, to create world peace and to persuade doctors to provide Haribos free on the NHS grow weary in the face of such gloomy headlines. Alas, this news story we can actually do something about.

The aim is to gain a network of volunteers who will go into schools to support those children who are struggling to read. The campaign is joining forces with charity Volunteer Reading Help (VRH) in their mission to reduce dramatic illiteracy rates in the capital. They are in great need of volunteers however, and a means by which to fund them. Yes the old money issue once again. So VRH are also seeking donations from the public to fund readers. In total, a donation of £500 will be matched by a school in order to fund volunteers to the programme. Not a bad idea at all. And even more inspiring is the collaborative involvement of companies such as PricewaterhouseCoopers and Random House who actually allow their employees time off work, fully paid, to read with children in local schools for a certain amount of time each week. Bloody fantastic is all I can say. Such a great initiative, because it is all about commitment- committing to the child and their reading progression, to see them through the process and watch them grow and improve as their reading skills flourish.

It's hard enough to get a job as it is! Unemployment rates are highest in the 18-26 year old category, and apparently we are the 'lost generation' in terms of employment opportunities. So what lies in store for these kids who can't read? Reading gives us value in our surroundings, understanding of our selves; it gives us a sense of escapism from realities that we may need to take a step back from. Words feed the imagination and without them, life is just a little bit dull.

It's a good cause so get on it: standard.co.uk/getlondonreading

(And no, nobody paid me to right this article. I am just a sap for a bit of altruism, particularly on a Monday).

Sunday 5 June 2011

Sometimes Translations Just Don't Quite 'Translate'

I think the importance of translation in literature is a little underestimated.

This is because literature is the voice of a nation, of a society and its people. Translating these literary works into our own languages can open up an entirely misunderstood world of voices. Or simply bring contentious issues to the forefront of debate, issues that would have been left untouched and lost to the world, had the work not been translated. But is it this simple?

At the London Book Fair this year I attended a seminar about the translation of Arabic literature into the Germanic languages. But it wasn't just a process of literal translation. Instead, it was necessary to get at the hidden meaning, to express it fully, which was deemed an almost impossible task at times. Not only does the Arabic language hold meaning in its language, but in its presentation; it is symbolic in its representation of meaning.

Certain letters are highlighted either above or below by a symbol which will place a particular type of emphasis to be highlighted when reading this word. The literal emphasis placed on the pronunciation of the word will further add to its meaning, something often lost in translation through lack of an equivalent symbolic value. And therefore in the process of translation, often the meaning does not quite 'translate.' It is all about the flow of words, the sound they make; the physicality involved in the actual pronunciation contributes to the literary flow of words. So to capture this meaning, this essence of a culture, is all part of the task of translation. And all part of what makes it such an important and necessary task.


Translation will give us insights into those cultures stricken by censorship, or those simply undiscovered for their literary greatness. Where there is controversy, there will always be some form of literary documentation, be it a diary, a poem, a letter or a series of codes. And translation will bring these words to light and help these voices out of repression in order to generate a greater understanding of a culture, its past and its present.

Tuesday 31 May 2011

Positive thoughts..

So after a long day in London town madness, I think a quote to end the day is one of positivity. That glass should never be half empty (unless it just is):

'Her glass was not only half full, it was gold plated with a permanent refill.' (When God Was A Rabbit, p. 64).

One of my favourite quotes to date. We should all be more like this. Smile.

Sunday 29 May 2011

Books: Print versus Digital. The Flipback Revolution

So we are all aware of the digital revolution encapsulating the world of publishing, changing the world of books as we know it, or have known it. But what do we really think? An utter travesty at the thought of a world dominated by Kindles and e-readers? Or will the traditional format remain strong and work alongside its digital counterpart? Only time will tell.

In the meantime publishers are creating new ways of capturing the portability of the digital format in a more traditional print book format. Et voila, Hodder & Stoughton's 'Flipback' revolution. An absolutely genius, innovatory invention in my opinion, mixing the old with the new and creating an entirely new format of book to cater for a market evolving in nature and personal interest, towards a culture of reading at speed and on the move. Check out the website and feed back with your thoughts on this crafty little idea for a new style of reading.

http://www.flipbackbooks.com/

Sunday Morning Musings

Thought for today:

Witty prerequisite

Because what is life without wit?

Saturday 28 May 2011

Words as the Discourse of Life

So the idea of this blog is to talk about words, to use words in order to discuss other words. Sounds pretty simple really and maybe a little self-indulgent, but there it is. I think a lot of what we say can be deemed fairly useless, a conversation filler, small talk, discussing the English weather perhaps.
But then there are those flashes of genius, those witty little remarks that stand alone as linguistic flare, and just a little insight into your persona, your mind's eye. And that is what I want to capture: those little retorts, personal musings, the first thing that comes into your head that day. Your word of the day. Your sentence of the day. Or just some clever use of language: a cheeky pun, witticism, or that loveable innuendo. Or even a word that simply sticks in your head for no apparent reason.

The word is the physical representation of a deeper psychological manifestation.. and I want to hear it.

My donation to the discourse of life comes from a recent experience at a small Cuban bar in North London. Waking up the following Sunday morning, a concoction of words springs to mind, a mixture of chemistry-related thoughts from my GCSE years and flash-backs of hot Cuban contact, (no air conditioning in the bar?) my Sunday morning musing is as follows:

Positively charged ions (CATions) : attracted to the Cathode.
Negatively charged ions (ANions) : attracted to the Anode.
Sexually charged ions (MANions) : attracted to the Cuban in Camden.

And these are my thoughts on words as the discourse of life.