Paul Schiernecker

Author: Paul

  • ‘Enjoy my life’ – Reason #402

    Last night I was lucky enough to be invited to the launch night of the release of V/H/S, a bold new horror film. The film was well promoted and night was hosted in a basement in Shoreditch as a mock up of an 80s/90s video rental store. It was like fresh nostalgia. My friend Sam, who is the editor of Screen Geek, the site I’ve been doing some freelance work for, said it seemed especially poignant giving yesterday’s bad time news about HMV and Blockbuster.

    The reason I have tagged this as an Enjoy my life post is it made me realise how truly lucky I am to be under Sam’s wing and brought along to these events. There was a free bar, I got to chat to guys who write for Radio Times and Radio 5, and everyone was full of the joy of films.
    I’ve previously accused critics of being too critical but last night was an absolute joy to be a part of. I’m very lucky.

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  • “Like if you wish cancer didn’t exist”.

    Pretty redundant statement right and yet I continue to see it and the like (no pun intended) popping up on my Facebook News Feed.
    While I have done everything within my power to limit the number of absolute fucking tools and trolls that block up my News Feed this appears to have befallen some of my nearest and dearest.
    Of course I agree cancer is bad. That’s not what this is about.
    Instead it seems to be some kind of badge of honour, a “you don’t know man, you weren’t there” update that cries out for attention. The original postee is probably sat getting a hard on at how popular their status has become and yet it is not actually doing anything of worth.
    To do something worthwhile, click here.
    How about instead of just liking a status you donated something to Cancer Research.
    How about instead of buying your lunch in Pret tomorrow you made lunch at home and donated whatever you would have spent to charity. We are so quick to like the status and yet so slow to act.
    The bigger ask is instead of liking a status, why don’t we rally the government to make further education more available. It shouldn’t be some elitist club like an Eton shower room. What if the cure for cancer is trapped in the mind of somebody who can’t afford education?

  • Nosebleed.

    I woke up at five this morning to find I was having a nosebleed. I’ve suffered from nosebleeds since I was very young. I always worry that the blood will never stop. Once, when I was about three I woke up to find I had experienced a nosebleed in my sleep. There were spots of blood on my pillow and the bed sheet. When my parents asked me what happened I said “the crocodile came out of the sunshine”. That surreal witticism has never left me and it was my first thought this morning as I groped my way to the bathroom in the darkness with my other hand pinching the bridge.

  • But baby, it’s cold outside.

    I think it was zero degrees when I left the house for the first time this morning. That’s not even an exaggeration. I checked a thermometer and everything. Puddles were frozen over. It was very meekly snowing.
    I still ran three miles.

    As I’ve said before I’m a sucker for routine and whether that sounds good or bad I’m stuck with it. It means even when I can’t really settle into sleep and keep having creepy vivid dreams of drained swimming pools I know I’m just counting down the minutes until I have to get up.
    I woke up at half two this morning feeling rested. It was still dark out but it’s still dark out when I leave the house so that was no big deal. The scary thing was I felt rested and prepared to get up and go off and do things. That’s a scary state of being for someone who spent his teens and early twenties not going to bed until that time.
    I’m a creature of habit and I’m early to bed and early to rise.

  • Writing, activate.

    Yesterday was much needed. 
    It was the first day this year I’ve just been able to sit and write, uninterrupted. It’s the best way to do it. I can’t concentrate if I know at some point I have to get up and go off to do something else, I need to be able to set my own guidelines. 
    It’s like working a late shift. You spend all day just waiting for the time when you have to get ready for work. It doesn’t feel like there is a point in getting involved in anything else because you know it is limited. 

    Yesterday was brilliant though. I’ve got to keep a lid on what I am up to at the moment because I really don’t want to jinx it but it’s all very exciting. I just have to keep the resolutions in mind, it keeps me on track, keeps me focused. I have an awful lot of work to do and a lot of time before I get there but it will be wholly worth it. 

  • Saturday on my mind.

    I’m sat in my car. It’s amazing how nice it can be sometimes to just drive off and sit in your car. People assume you are just waiting for someone and don’t bother you. I’m not waiting for anyone although I do have an appointment.
    The reason I’m here is I thought I had time to go and pick up my Mac before my appointment but woke up late. I rushed out the house, started driving and then realised I wouldn’t be able to get my Mac and be back for my appointment so I am just sat in a car park waiting for my appointment time. I wish I had brought Ham On Rye with me now. I’m very close to the end of it.

    The reason I felt it was rush worthy to bound out the house this morning is I have an awful lot of work to do. There are two articles I’m working on, plus my new novel, a screenplay and I need to review my previous novel and short stories before sending them off.
    It’s nice though. I like having too much to do. It’s a darn sight better than having absolutely nothing to do. I’ve sort of been on a personal hiatus as I waited for my Mac to be fixed and the day is finally here. I reiterate the lessons here.
    With my Mac back in possession though I can get on with all of this work I need to do to pull me out of my nine to five funk. Please let me eventually break out. I’m not meant for this.

  • Life Of Pi – an almost review.

    A year ago I picked up a free download of a book in Starbucks. I’m a sucker for a freebie as we should all be. The book turned out to be Life Of Pi by Yann Martel. I knew absolutely nothing about it at the time. That’s going to be the problem with cinema audiences. It’s hard to arrive at a cinema completely blind to the content of a film. There are trailers, there are billboards, there are premiere specials and interviews with the stars and directors, there is merchandise.
    All I had to go on was the cover, and as we all know you should never judge a book in that way.

    Last night I finally got to see Life Of Pi in the cinema. I had been told to see it in 3D and unusually, it was a worthwhile investment. I don’t want to say anything about the story, I will just say it is a spectacular piece of filmmaking and there were moments when my mouth was agape in the sheer beauty of it all despite already being aware of the eventual outcome. Ang Lee has performed an incredible feat in bringing a beloved book to film, and while there are moments that feel slightly stretched for the sake of backstory it is worthy of its recent Academy Award nominations.

    The CGI is flawless, completely. My head is still spinning as I attempt to establish exactly how parts of it were done. It has a delirious aspect to some scenes that work so well. It’s close enough to the book in terms of the look and characters and there is no spin or Hollywood ending for the sake of it.

    Go and see it.
    Read the book first actually.
    Read it very quickly.
    Then go and see it.
    For Richard Parker.

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  • Bon Voyage Ben.

    Last night I met up with my friend Ben. We first met at University where it was discovered we were never going to be the loud and raucous members of the group but had a similarly disgusting sense of humour. Ben taught me about Belle & Sebastian and Sufjan Stevens and I will forever be in his debt for that.

    The reason Ben and I met up last night is he had a couple of hours to spare before he moved to Valencia. I tried to explain to him how cool this was, and how admirable it is from the other side of the looking glass where I am most definitely at. He explained once you get over the original shock of a new location you quickly settle into the same routine you would undertake anywhere. He just needs a bit of space, a coffee shop and a supermarket to function.
    Ben turned up with just one bag, small enough to be considered hand luggage. That’s all he is taking. He performed a similar trick last year when we met at London Bridge days before he flew out to Granada.

    Ben is lucky in that he can take the work he does; and thanklessly enjoys, anywhere with him. Technically I suppose a lot of people do that but we are worlds away from the hypothetical here.
    He has promised to write more personal stuff this year and I’m looking forward to it. It’s rare to find someone with such drive to go where he wants to go and let everything else settle around him.

    I just wanted to take a moment to wish him the best of luck with the move, and to tell him that he’s on my rolling list of personal heroes.

    “Come out and see me” he said as we said goodbye at the train station.
    It’s looking awfully tempting, it really is.

  • Commuting with Dad.

    It sounds like an awful 80’s coming of age film but its just how my morning has been.

    This morning my Dad has a training course in Blackfriars so joined me on my daily commute to Liverpool. It’s odd to see someone who doesn’t travel to London every day try to deal with the morning commute. It’s all so alien to them. My Dad said he doesn’t know how anyone could do it every day.

    The fact is I would miss my time commuting if I ever worked more locally. I embrace my time on the train. It’s odd to me to think of not doing it just as it is weird for him to imagine anyone doing it regularly.

    I left him at the corner and hope he’s alright. It’s terrifying to think where he could have got to.

  • Lessons of 2013: #1

    Don’t try to emulate some kind of MTV Cribs-like lifestyle by taking your thousand pound laptop into the bathroom with you.

    My expectation had been to watch the latest episode of Elementary on my laptop while I was in the bath.
    My reality is I haven’t had a laptop in three weeks and have to pay well over the odds to get it fixed.

    The good news is there is no permanent damage. This brings me to Lesson #2 – Back up your shit.
    I don’t think I’ve ever backed up this laptop. I’ve written two complete novels on it, all my music is on there; both the music I’ve made and music I listen to, my pictures, videos. I can’t really think about what I would have done if it had all gone.
    I also never deleted the Internet History so I’m sure they all had a good laugh over my appreciation of the female form.

    When the genius/tech from Apple called me yesterday he asked if anything had been spilled upon the laptop because what he was seeing was reminiscent of water damage. I held back from screaming “I DIDN’T TAKE IT IN THE TUB” and just played ignorant. That’s always key.

    That concludes today’s lesson.
    Go back it up now.