Thursday
My home made demotivator
Generally I wouldn’t post a demotivator, but I made this one, and I’ve wanted to for a while. My buddy Savo in the picture there.
Wednesday
Tuesday
Just a Tuesday. It is currently the 6th of May, so I’m back posting from today until then. There’s a reason for it, I’ll fill in the details later, but for now, I’m just posting pictures.
Still at home Monday
These titles are getting less catchy.
I decided against going back to Letterkenny today, as there’s no real money there for me. There’s none here either really, but I can continue to mooch of Mema. Thanks Mema.
I’ll go back tomorrow. Because the money comes in on Wednesday. Dole day. Whoop de doo.
Just thought I’d show you my straw hat, which I leave at home for when the weather is good. I need a good straw hat.
EDIT: I changed that shirt after I had a shower. Don’t you be judging me.
When you’re unemployed Sundays are pretty meaningless
Finished the first act of my TV pilot. Two acts to go. Very excited about it. It’s all about crossed wires between two hitmen and a white collar criminal. There’s 200,000 Euros involved too, so tensions will run high throughout act two and three. Watch this space for fame and money. In the interim if you’d like to send me a little donation, there’s a page set up for paypal donations, over here.
Be kind rewind.
I’ve never seen the movie, but I like the phrase.
Saturday. Just Saturday
Exploring my characters in a sort of lateral way. Having to force dialog instead of relying on voice over and floury explanation to get my point across. I’d never noticed the amount of little characters there are until you make your characters move around outside the pub.
Spending the weekend at Mema’s house. Meatballs!
Going Home Friday
The days I wish I had a car…
So I went into town to pay the rent today, and it was raining. Not so bad, I got a taxi down, paid the rent and walked towards the bus station in the rain. I grabbed a packet of crisps, a coke and a box of fags. The bus station was packed out with many many old people and students, because no on wanted to stand outside in the rain.
The bus station is rather small, so it was wall to wall. I weighed the idea of standing in the smell of ointments and lynx and decided the rain was friend, not foe. I smoked my cigarette and munched my crisps waiting for the chariot of the people to arrive. It arrived and to my dismay the support sock and cane brigade made a shuffling course for the same bus that I did.
The lady with the crying baby was allowed on first, and then the students who were traveling furthest away. We slowly learned that there was a party of around 25 old women and men trying to get a free group trip using their bus passes.
These cheeky old people tried to abuse the FREE bus pass that the government gave them, so they could have a day out. And because the bus company must honour these bus passes, so everyone else had to wait about half an hour while a minibus was found to take this group of day trippers home. And then the minibus they got was too small, so about half the group had to get on the main bus anyway. The old people wished to take up half of the seats on a long haul bus on a Friday evening.
This kind of shit is why more people haven’t changed over to public transport: because the system has to deal with jokers like the 25 old people. Who were too tight to hire their own minibus. Today I wished I had a car, and I’m pretty sure some other people would have made the switch to personal transport.
Writing Thursday
Spent most of the day writing. Transferring formats between a short story and a TV pilot. It’s going quite well. I’ve never actually done anything like this before, and I think it’s going well.
It’s called “Blood, Fire and Spades in Castlefinn City”. If anything comes of it I’ll definitely let youse all know.
Nikki, my industry mentor, suggested that I get Final Draft 7, the industry standard program for writing screenplays, plays and TV shows. It’s fantastic software, and anyone who wants to be a writer and has an extra 200-300 dollars lying about, get your hands on it.
Oh yeah, the picture.
Possible Life Changing Wednesday
So, this is a back posted series of days [updating 27th April] because I’ve been writing and dealing with the events that occurred Tuesday night, after I posted the daily picture. First, today’s picture, then the life changing.
So, on Monday my dad was working around the house of this woman, he’s in telecommunications contracting just so you know, and they got to chatting. She mentioned that she was a First Assistant Director on several popular TV shows in the UK. He then proceeded to talk her ear off for the next hour or so about me, and my media experience. She was very interested, she gave my pa her number to give to me [are you keeping up?] he texted it to me, I left a message on her voicemail, and then settled into bed, ready to try again on wednesday evening, today.
My phone rang, it was her, and we proceeded to talk for around 90 minutes about the industry, what I wanted to do, her work, my work….
She called me “Babe” and said that she could be the first entry in my “little black book”. It was exactly the sort of conversation I envisioned having with someone in the business we call show. A business with no equal apparently.
So I’ve been writing and reading my previous works, editing and refining and picking out my best work. It’s been a busy few days, but it could very easily be very, very worth it.
Tight Tuesday
Yep, you’ve guessed it: It’s going to be a lean Christmas at the dragon household. Name the reference in the comments. Lean, lean, lean.
However, Ralph at Paypal sent me back the 10 euros that had been lost in the aether, which meant that I could go down to the ATM and take out a 20, rather than having to go down to the bank and get a 10. When did ATM’s stop giving out 10’s? Seriously, I’d like to know.
The local shop sells a bag of potatoes for 3 euros, and 1/4 pounders for 80 cents. So it’s home made burgers and fries for dinner. Roll on Thursday when I get the government bread. Or at least the dough.
Oh yeah, speaking of paypal head over to the donations page and help a mad carpenter out. Any donations welcome.
Meagre Monday
Yet another day up here on the Long Lane with barely a speck of cash between us. Made another batch of biscuits and tried to make some sausage gravy, but it didn’t pan out very gravyish. Came out more like sloppy joes. Which was fine by me because one sausage filled two biscuits. Proper delicious. You’re never too poor to eat tasty food.
Keep your chins up. Soldier through. And you’re never too poor for pork and biscuits.
The Other Mad Carpenters
In a moment of idle contemplation, I googled “The Mad Carpenter” and apparently it has shown up in a lot of places before I got to it.
I don’t see this as ripping off someone’s idea, I see it in the way I see many things: Good ideas never die. Two totally separate people invented the television at the same time, coming up with the combination of words “The Mad Carpenter” has obviously struck several people throughout time, and I’m just one of them.
Want to meet the others?
1. The Mad Carpenter Inn. If I’m ever in Laramie Wyoming I’ll be sure to drop in to them, get some pictures and spend the night.
2. Serology: It’s in the blood. A tale of a killer carpenter from Germany in 1901. It’s a true crime forensics deal.
3. Mad Carpenter: A Spanish Fantasy. An ebook titled Mad Carpenter. It’s a little uncanny though, in the blurb it says:
[...] who is the mad carpenter, to collect timbers for his making of her coffin
He’s a mad carpenter, that’s making a coffin? Like the coffin I made?
Spooky.
4. A piece of fractal art. Speaks for itself really.
5. The Mad Carpenter by Jalan Crossland. A song and everything. That video is not actually 20 minutes long. Check out the hat on that guy. I’m starting to think that us mad carpenters are of an ilk.
Jalan Crossland “The Mad Carpenter”
Oh and by the way, the reason I chose “The Mad Carpenter” is because I’ve always liked the idea of being a “Mad Scientist” but I was never any good at science. What I am good at, is making things out of wood.
So there’s my top 5 other Mad Carpenters. Obviously, I’m number 1.
Lazy Sunday
All I’ve really done today is recover from an awesome couple of days, and update this website because I’ve been rushing around the last while without any internet access or laptop. Hope you’ve all had a good weekend.
Saturday On The Beach
Finally a bit of good weather came our way, and once Ed, Aidan and Greg landed round at Ruth and Senan’s place and off we went to The Bridge Club.
Which involved driving over a lot of tiny bridges, and farting around in rivers. We explored the beach, went spelunking and generally had a blast. Most fun I’ve had in a long time. Once more, I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves after the jump.
Carandonagh Party
I could babble on and on about how Senan and Ruth were fantastic hosts, the poker game was great fun, we drank all the beer and whiskey, midnight pies and losing an argument with a barbed wire fence but the pictures speak for themselves.
Very image heavy after the jump.
Biscuit Day
Finally got my money! Hooray! Not that I look particularly joyous…
Did a mess of shopping, ate well, and prepared for the trip to Carandonagh tomorrow. Going to do some partying with Ruth and Senan: there shall be lots of pictures.
Edit: It’s called Biscuit Day because I made Biscuits.
Zinc Saucier Edition 1 – Biscuits
Why hello there and welcome to Edition 1 of…
The Mad Carpenter cooks. Or – The Zinc Saucier.
Name the reference, get a shout out.
I’ve wanted to cook home style southern Biscuits for ages. It’s something that’s been cemented into my cultural knowledge of America: Biscuits and gravy.
After much research into the subject I found a recipe I could follow, and that would explain that shortening was hog fat, and I could just use butter instead.
Don’t they look fantastic? Sin and I also made some home made fried chicken, which didn’t turn out fantastically, but it was still good.
I didn’t find out what the “gravy” part was until after we had eaten, and apparently it’s sausage grease, with flour and milk in it. And chunks of sausage.
The cost of all the stuff for the biscuits was less than 7 or 8 euros, and the batch of 12 biscuits did 3 people for one meal, and the rest did me another 2 meals. They’re tasty, but I imagine since I didn’t use buttermilk or hog fat, they were just big tasty scones. It took me an hour, and I’ve never really baked before.
So go for it. Make some biscuits.
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These Zinc Saucier posts could very well be few and far between, but they’ll build up over time. Catch you next time.
Social *expletive deleted* Wefare
Alrighty then. Money is tight in this economy, and it’s tough to get by sometimes.
Last week, because of Good Friday dole payday was a day earlier. Which was sort of nice, but it meant that I had to make my money [50% of Irish minimum wage maximum by the way] last for 8 days instead of 7. I spent the last of my meager cash on a cab to get this government pittance, and I was told that it wouldn’t be there until Thursday – tomorrow. My reaction….
So today has been very lean. 6 cigarettes to last me the entire day. It’s rather vexing to get dicked around by the government.
I scraped my change together, bought a pint and went home. Nuts to the government. Well, most of the time anyway.
Easter…. Tuesday?
I don’t think there’s an Easter Tuesday but it gets difficult to think up fun and interesting names for each and every day.
Trying some new stuff for the blog, like picasa, so if things are a little dicky for a while, that’ll be why.
