When I was in primary school — this was in the early 80s — we had a ‘library’ which had then just been renamed to ‘the media centre’. Why? Because over and above books, we now also had other forms of information-carrying devices. Such as televisions weighing 70 kilos on squeaky-wheel trolleys, which, in turn,…
I make this point often, but it bears repeating: until the age of 46, I was a drug-virgin. In my youth I used prodigious amounts of beer. And okay, yes, still do. As an art student, getting plastered was what I did on a too-regular basis. My blood group was Smirnoff. But I never did…
It’s not every day I recommend a book. Unless asked for. “Hey, Gerry, do you know a book that will [x]?”. if I do, I’d answer. But unsolicited ‘recommendations’ is not generally something I do. Today is the exception to “generally”. Let’s talk about “hype”. I don’t like hype. Because nine times out of ten,…
This one is admittedly an obscure one. But not too obscure, allegedly the John Wick movies were based on this work. (It even makes a brief appearance in the first John Wick movie, as well as in Atomic Blonde!) One of these books is the masterpiece called ‘Shibumi’. And a masterpiece it is. Doctor Rodney…
I’ve never been one for causes. Even in my student days, when one is supposed to have a cause – Save the Whales, Save the Trees, Release Mandela – I was not interested. And I was an art student! Bloody hell, we were defined as “young people being angry at something, while sometimes drawing pictures”. …
I cannot remember a time I could not read. I was one of those lucky kids who just “understood” these things called letters. My earliest reading memory is of a translated Richard Scarry booklet about an airport. I could not have been more than three or four at the time. When Primary school came along…
When I was a wee lad of eighteen, I had a love affaire with advertising. My first-ever vacation job was at an ad agency, and I loved every second of it. I learned a lot of things at that place. (Including the dubious advice from an ancient copywriter who told me ‘Always treat a whole…
2020 was what could politely be referred to ‘a mess’. Several things went incredibly wrong, and my life has changed permanently after the trails of the last year. (My mother, my godfather, and my wife died within four months of each other–yes, I’m a mess) Least of which was that I had a technical error…
