Cafe 1001 review for ViewLondon

"I had a moment's trepidation on entering when I thought that this was going to be an achingly trendy place for desperately trendy people. It turned out to be a very chilled out venue. I went there in the afternoon for a Little Episodes event and it was perfect for this as it was large enough to be open and relaxed, yet intimate. People were reading, watching the bands, clicking on laptops, enjoying beers and coffees and juices. Comfy chairs and sofas. Tables. Unobtrusive decor. A library (Book Orphanage) for those who want to chill out and read.

I thought the drinks were a bit pricey, but it is London. I got over it.

The staff were helpful and friendly.

In the afternoon and early evening at least, this is a cool place to do your own thing and be your own person, with or without a book."

Power Stance

I'm on a packed train and I'm aware that it could be worse. We're not jammed up against people's elbows and armpits. We can breathe. We appreciate that things could have been more unpleasant if we had got the later train, but it's warm and there are no seats and our feet/legs/backs are sore.

Monica is sitting in her pram, making eye contact with people, kicking her feet, stroking the wall.

At the next station, I get off the train to let someone on. I want to be next to the door. I get a rush of fresh breeze.

A guy gets on. He doesn't say thank you.

This guy has long, cotton-dry, brown hair, covering his face like something from the Grudge. Black jacket. I can hear  music coming from the direction of his head and I guess he's wearing earplugs.

By the time the doors trundle shut (beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep) he's launched into a power stance and he's playing air guitar. The head's nodding and everything.

I glance at him and I can see that he doesn't give a fuck about me or anyone else.

Monica is staring at him. He is the most interesting thing she has seen for days. She tries to grab his hand, but he's working the non-fret board. I envy her her ability to watch him without feeling embarrassed or afraid of being stabbed.

I look around the carriage. I catch a man's eye and his face crumples, choking down his laughter, swallowing  great, broken blocks of it . He doesn't want to get stabbed either.

I notice that this guy's power stance affords him perfect balance in the buffeting carriage. While everyone else is hanging onto walls and poles, the pram, he has his legs spread wide and knees slightly bent and holds on to nothing but the music. He has his eyes closed. He's not even here.

He knows when to get off though. This guy's gig ends a couple of stops later. He takes his invisible guitar and bops off down the platform.

A sense of relief comes over the carriage in his absence, which is sudden and total and not without a corresponding sense of loss.

I suspect that he's not just on something, but that he's onto something too.

#VSS Anthology

I'm pleased to say that the #VSS Anthology is doing well with lots of downloads and some interest from a publisher overseas.

It's available from Smashwords as a free download or can be read online.

Many thanks to Made in DNA who made this possible. I look forward to working with you again.

Check out the book for links to the authors blogs and their writing on Twitter.

Review: "Crush it! How to cash in on your passion!" - Gary Vaynerchuk

I had fun saying "Crush it!!!" at every opportunity.

Despite being a hardcover, it's a pretty lightweight book. Big print, lots of white space - you can read this very quickly, which is good in a couple of ways as it means it is clearly laid out and you can take it all in in one go. It has good advice and is quite inspirational, but at no point did I fill my pants. There were no surprises.

He summarises the book in three points early on and, in hindsight, I could have stopped reading at that page.

I think his website was instantly more influential than his book. Nevertheless, he is passionate and has a strong and interesting personality, which comes through in text, but more so on screen.