Blocked

Today marks 50 years since the death of Dorothy Parker:

American poet, short story writer, critic, and satirist, best known for her wit, wisecracks and eye for 20th-century urban foibles

… and that’s rather an appropriate anniversary, given that this post nearly didn’t get written, simply because – as can happen to any writey person from time to time – I simply couldn’t think of anything to write.

It happens to the best of us. It infamously once happened to Dorothy too, as she described in a telegram to her editor:

Yep. That’s the puppy.

And I’m in no way comparing myself to Ms Parker, except maybe to say that if she hadn’t suffered with Writer’s Block back in June 1945, then you might not be reading anything here today…

Vlogging like Casey

OK. Before you begin to panic, don’t. I’m not about to start vlogging.

But we’re lucky enough to be living in an age where there are innumerate ways to communicate, be creative, and express and share your thoughts and feelings with others. It doesn’t mean that you have to have to use all of them. Indeed, some might argue that there’s far too much of this sort of thing going on, and they might be right, but then there’s always been far too much of a lot of stuff and far too little of other stuff going on all the time. That’s how life has always worked: it’s only the stuff that changes.

Casey Neistat is one product of this relatively new-found creative era. And, love him or hate him (or have some other, entirely more reasonable, entirely more moderate viewpoint of him), he’s done very well out of it. And this week, Casey Neistat shared some of his tips on vlogging, in his vlog How To Vlog Like Casey Neistat by Casey Neistat. 

Now, as I said, I don’t want to start a vlog. You people deserve so much more than you’re already getting from 6000 Miles… , let alone having to see my ugly mug on your computer screen each day. I wouldn’t do that to you. But, I would like to do more video-y stuff as an aside to the blog. Stuff like timelapses and drone shots. That sort of thing. So what does Casey say about that? (at 8:15)

Here’s something very important.
No-one gives a sh*t about your stupid timelapses and your stupid drone shots. That’s something I have to remind myself on a daily basis.

Ah. Right.

But thankfully, he’s talking about timelapses and drone shots as part of a vlog. And I’m not – as I may have mentioned – going to vlog.

Quite a lot of the information he shares might seem a bit redundant given that proviso, but there are certainly interesting snippets to take away which have a broader application. Using the best hardware you can in any given situation, avoiding shaky camerawork, the three-act narrative, and – as much as is possible – creating your own unique product; whether that’s from scratch or by building upon things you’ve learned from others doing the same sort of thing. A couple of those tips work really well for blogging as well.

Another fantastic thing about this information age is the accessibility to successful individuals for the ordinary person-on-the-web. There’s loads of great expert advice here (obviously, most especially for would-be or up-and-coming vloggers), and it’s free and easy to get at. The opportunities to educate and enrich yourself are all there. I might find someone who’s good at blogging and see what they have to say. Or… write. Whatever.

It’s not just Casey’s advice that I’m taking. I’m looking at videos and tutorials from photography and Mavic experts. I’m trying to be better at the things I am trying to do, and the internet makes that a whole lot easier than it used to be. The only issue now is finding the time between watching the videos and tutorials to actually put any of the new-found knowledge into practice.

So many plans

I’ve been sharing my lungs with several billion bacteria this week, and it’s meant that the evenings have been spent being lazy and recovering from the strain of lab work.

I did feel a bit better this afternoon, and instantly planned a billion things to do this evening.

Many of them involved my computer, but it’s decided that switching on requires too much effort, and it literally can’t be arsed.

And now…?

Never mind, the Mavic needs updating with the scary new firmware that all the Facebook groups and online forums have been talking about. So I did that.

It was fine.

And now…?

I’ve lit the fire. I’ve fed the beagle. I’ve got a coffee.

And now…?

I think I’ll be lazy and recover from the strain of lab work.

Just for a change.

Quickie

“Actually,” as the old joke goes, “it’s pronounced ‘quiche'”.

But this really is a quickie, just to fill some space on the blog because today has been hectique. Mother’s Day celebrations went well (I think); there was a trip to a popular DIY store and a building site in Observatory before we had lunch at a steak place in Newlands (you know the one) and then all the other weekend jobs got done when we got home. Nearly.

It’s left very little time for blogging. I did put some more photos in the Shamwari Day 2 album yesterday though, so if this hasn’t sated your thirst for all things 6000, maybe head over here and have a look at them.

More? Tomorrow.

Photo gemors

Gemors being Afrikaans for a mess. Because that’s what I can like to be in with my photos right now.

The photos from last weekend still aren’t done. I just haven’t had chance. When I did have chance, I was away taking more photos in a place with no computer. And now I’m all mixed up, because some of the photos from this weekend are done. That’s because there are far fewer of them, so I just grabbed a couple (well, five) of the shipwreck ones and did a quick tidy up on them.

I took these with the Mavic this morning – the wreck is the Meisho Maru 38, and it lies on the coast halfway between L’Agulhas and Suiderstrand.
We’ve mentioned it here before, and we’ve mentioned why it has some of the name it has… well… it had, here.

But now my (usually very orderly) photostream on Flickr is all messed up.
I will edit those photos from last weekend and the rest of them from this weekend in the very near future.

UPDATE: You can start here!