Blog Entry #2: Uninspired Writing

  The easy way out of creative writing is to write about writing itself. That's the lesson I learned from Charlie Kaufman's Adaptation, in which Kaufman himself is a character, a screenwriter entrusted with adapting The Orchid Thief, a non-fiction book, to film. Hard task indeed. Anyone who has ever tried to write something knows that the very act of creating can be a real pain in the ass, and that's the whole message of the film.
  I am pulling that card right now: I'm writing about writing because I know how frustrating and depressing it can get.
  When asked to write on a free topic, many things crossed my mind; things I love like comic books, films, food; and of course, things I hate, like pretty much everything else. And there is the first barrier: getting too intimate. One does not just jump head first into the abyss that writing involves. We are afraid and embarrassed with many aspects of oneself, and we do not want everyone to know. Shyness can be crippling at times.
  It then occurred to me that I could write this blog entry about something completely insignificant or irrelevant, like the chair I'm sitting on, but that would be too dull and boring, wouldn't it? Life's hard for a writing neurotic. 
  But why do I care anyway? It's not like this text is gonna get published, printed in the papers or made into a book. I guess the thing is we really do care about what people think, and criticism terrify us. And by "we" I actually mean "I".  
  Am I getting anywhere with all this? Not really. As in Adaptation, the purpose of "writing about writing" is to channel the attention to oneself, distracting it from the actual work. When the writer doesn't know what to write about, he writes about himself. "Look at me! I'm self-deprecating! I have no inspiration at all, so I'm gonna write about the only thing I'm certain to know about!". 

Blog Entry #1: A Country I’d Like to Visit

  I’m not very fond of travelling. It’s not that I hate it; I just don’t love it. Many people I’ve known go nuts when it comes to visiting other countries, but it’s not that exciting for me.

  There are, however, a few countries I wouldn’t mind visiting. I’m really curious about Italy. The art, history and food there could make it a memorable trip. The Vatican, for example, would be my number one in a checklist of places to visit in Italy.

  The country I would be most delighted to visit, though, is England; to be honest, mostly because of the weather, which is said to be very cloudy, with only a few days of sun each year.

  England is well known for its great and ever-growing music scene. In fact, most of my favorite bands are British. It would be great to attend to live shows of such bands, and I would definitely try to if I were to travel there.

  Of course, there’s the fish n’ chips; it’s a crime to visit London, for example, and not to try that dish. Smoking good quality tobacco and having a nice cup of tea would be great too.

  Would I like to live there? Sure. The British accent would be the first obstacle, to be honest… although it’s not as hard to understand as the punk-ish Scottish accent.

  The second barrier would be discrimination. The situation with Pakistani immigrants has grown very spiky, and I don’t really know how a South American would be treated.

  Aside of that, and the fact that I’m not much of a traveller, England would be a great place to live.