Paul Schiernecker

Photo Credit: Tony Winter Photography

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  • Menthol Kisses – a review.

    The world really has it in for Logan Day.
    Menthol Kisses is the debut novel by Abby Stewart, available to buy here. It tells the story of Logan, a high school girl in Texas completely swamped by the melodrama that seems drawn to her like a magnet. It’s a story that follows what I will call her ‘lost weekends’, that period in a teenager’s life when they quite spectacularly fall out with themselves.

    Logan becomes swept up in a world of questionable influences, drugs and the service industry and as she continues on this downward spiral you can’t help but wonder where salvation is going to come from. While she hates her surroundings she appears simultaneously drawn to them, every person she comes into contact with seems doomed and every party she attends could be her last.

    The real honesty of the piece is in Logan’s relationship with her sister Shannon who heads off to college at the start of the novella and could be seen as being the tipping point. Without the calming influence of her older sister and with the knowledge that she escaped, Logan feels more trapped than she could have done when there were the two of them. While Logan turns to anger over her abandonment, as a reader it highlights the importance of breaking free of those small town shackles and seeing the world, trying something new, finding yourself, and any other new age cliche you can think of.

    The story also brings to light some of the terrifying judgemental and racist views still being practised in the southern states of America today. Logan’s friend Javonte, who is one of only a few positive things in her life is often the victim of some terrible words and actions as a result of the colour of his skin. He acts as a conscience when everyone else seems so hellbent on fucking themselves and Logan up.

    As you read, and as Logan disappears from her description of herself in the opening chapter you can’t help but wonder where Abby Stewart drew all of this from, and hope it isn’t too personal, because if so, it’s an incredible story to be able to tell.

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  • The reign of the rain – a flash fiction piece.

    She watched the pavement slide by when she should have obviously been paying attention to the road. It was gone midnight and the only people out were too pissed to even find their car keys. Rain bounced off of the windshield like cups of water thrown down a marathon runner. The gun lay on the passenger seat. Each time she negotiated a corner she carefully placed her hand over it to stop it sliding on the cream leather. She had one more job before she could go home.

  • Getting back on track.

    My thoughts this morning have been consumed with my project, an attempt to bring together all my efforts. For some reason I’ve lost focus in the last couple of weeks but we will see what comes of it. I’ve got one of my songs on a loop in my head which I always take as being a positive thing.

    I had an excellent weekend but don’t feel rested enough to be headed for work again. I wonder how the buzz of the Olympics has really effected London, I’ve already caught wind of people growing tired of the constant slow traffic of tourists across our capital but I take that as a given considering the size of the event.

    Went for a run this morning. Calculated that I should be eating about three thousand calories a day to balance out the amount I burn running. So far I’ve eaten nothing.

    Sorry, that was a bit all over the place today. I’ve got a new book to read which I’m happy about, I’ll let you know my progress.

  • A tribute to good friends.

    Gummy mouth and scratchy eyes,can’t work out if it’s a two day hangover or hayfever or both. I got to spend last night with some of my favourite people in all the world and it’s caused me to wake up full of the joys of Spring.

    The wonder of these friends is that we haven’t been together for a year (almost to the day) and yet as soon as that first round is placed on the table it is as if no time has passed at all, as if we are in Bar One, as if we have finished lectures for the day. The dynamic is just as good if not better with the wonder of hindsight. We tell each other stories that we had kept secret or that the others had blocked for various reasons, we laugh at some of the other characters and at ourselves and we make promises to get together more often.

    In an ideal world there would be a small village that we could all live in, like we did five years ago but unfortunately lives move on and people have to move on but when we are together we regress in the best possible way.

    X.

  • Fight McCartney’s corner.

    I’m nursing a big black coffee.
    You thought I was going to say something else.
    You’re sick.
    Last night I drunk too much J&B and it’s taken me a couple of hours to get back into my own head. I really want to watch the Olympics opening ceremony because I’m defending McCartney to the max right now and I haven’t even seen his performance. I don’t like the way people describe him as being ‘wheeled out’ for national events. There’s a reason for it. He’s a living legend. I don’t use that word lightly in the way that a lot of people will get drunk and describe their friends as being legends, I mean it.

    The Beatles are the most important band of all time, that cannot be swayed. Their music is still better than the pulp being churned out today. They changed everything. Paul McCartney has earned his place at these events because with John, George and Ringo he wrote some of the most important songs of modern times. I don’t understand the mentality of people towards older musicians at all. These people should be treasured and embraced, we should walk in their footsteps but instead they’re belittled for it. RESPECT YOUR ELDERS. That’s one of the few occasions where America have it right about something, they cherish their legacy of musicians and I don’t see why people should feel any different about the surviving Beatles or the Stones or anyone else. They shaped the way we are, the way a lot of us grew up, the music we listen to, it runs deep and it should be adored.

  • Mancrush Friday – Liam Neeson.

    It’s sort of like when you accidentally start fancying your friends dad isn’t it? Some of you may think I’m scraping the bottom of the barrel with this weeks man crush but Neeson is a force to be reckoned with so hold your judgement for another two hundred words.

    Here’s Neeson’s CV:
    – Saved over a thousand Polish Jews from Nazi concentration camps.
    – Trained Obi Wan (Ben) Kenobi and Batman.
    – Was a magical lion with Christ/Doctor Who like regeneration powers.
    – Killed the population of a small European country whilst on the hunt for his kidnapped daughter.
    I know people will say ‘Oh they are just films’ but quite frankly I won’t stand for that kind of nonsense. I believe that Liam Neeson did those things, which were somehow captured on film, and they built the rest of the story ( or in Phantom Menace’s case the lack of story (Ooh ZING!)) around that. Neeson gives off the air that he could do anything. I imagine he could erect a flatpack wardrobe without using the instructions, or break a man’s neck with a pipe cleaner. He’s just cool as fuck and that’s why I’ve got a crush on him.

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  • The Dark Knight Rises – an almost review.

    I finally got to see the final slice of the Dark Knight trilogy and my god it’s beautiful. If you’re still waiting to see it then read no further.

    Right…

    Have they gone?

    …

    Oh man, it was amazing. Wasn’t it amazing. I was literally hooked the whole way through. Nolan is some kind of film god, the way he span that thing out demands a new kind of respect. It looked amazing, it sounded amazing (thanks Hans) and I can’t really bum it enough. I’d go as far to say I enjoyed it more than The Dark Knight, a view which I know will come up against some competition (I’m looking your way Floyd).

    The mood of the film just seemed that much darker, there was a real sense of hopelessness, as though all of the lights had faded, in a similar way to The Empire Strikes Back ending on such a down-note. The mad genius and backstory of Bane are something you don’t get from most villains or even most characters and Hardy is some kind of animal once he is behind that mask. I’ve heard people gripe about the overdubbed voice but take it as part of the package and it works. There were times watching it when it was hard to imagine that there was man in the costume, as though it really were a comic book fantasy, he was that deep in.

    Another unpopular opinion. I don’t really rate Christian Bale and as such won’t comment further other than saying he’s done a lot worse.

    Anne Hathaway was spot on. I might have had my doubts because I was thinking of ditzy romcom Hathaway but she completely pulls it off. She’s badass. There’s something about a woman in a leather catsuit leaning over on a motorbike that fucks with my equilibrium.

    Gordon-Levitt kept good pace as well, another surprise because I think of him as being Tom Hanson from New Jersey (because I watch (500) Days far too much). The film left the idea of him physically becoming Robin up in the air which I would argue is for the best, I never really like Robin, too sidekicky and camp. I’m sure if Nolan wanted to he could completely change that preconception but only time will tell on that one.

    I think I want to go and see it again, and that rarely happens.

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  • Collected thoughts on a Wednesday morning.

    There’s nothing like the anti-climax of getting on a commenter train to London. Nothing like it. I’m surrounded by shells of men, bloated corpses, this can’t be what it’s all about.

    I went for a run this morning. I ran out to the lake beyond the woods at the bottom of my road. I feel extremely privileged to be able to disappear into a little bit of wilderness every now and then, makes you appreciate things a little.

    Whilst running I decided I’m going to scrap the recordings I’ve been working on an start anew. I can do better so I will do better. As I’ve previously said, running is my time. I get away and I see things differently to how they seem when I’ve shackled myself to my work.

    It’s nice out today isn’t it, make sure you enjoy that instead of complaining about it.

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  • Finally, a beautiful day.

    I’m sat in the garden. That’s quite a revelation given the recent outbursts of weather.
    This morning I got up and ran five miles.
    Then I cleaned the bathroom.
    Now I’m trying to get some work done.
    It’s hard to concentrate when you can’t see your screen, you can just see your wonderfully pale shoulders glaring back at you in reflection.
    I’m struggling to stay focused on anything, I’m pulling myself about way too much. Just need to stay the course, work out what I’m doing and stick to it, otherwise it’ll be another six months treading water and the start of another year where I promise myself that I’m going to get things going.
    Yesterday I actually managed to sit down and shortlist ten literary agents that I’m going to send my novel off to. This was a depressing step. It’s quite impressive the number of agents who refuse to accept unsolicited or first time writers. You’d think that defeats the whole object of their position but what do I know. The important thing to note is that in the next week I should be sending my novel off to all of them, and then sitting by the front door like a dog waiting for those rejection letters so I can frame them all.
    I’ve sort of sidelined my music for the time being because I’m just not happy with anything I do, which obviously points to the fact that I’m not actually able to create what I want, that it will always fall short and that I need to reevaluate.
    In the meantime I’m going to catch some sun because I’m low on whatever vitamin you get from sunlight, and I’m going to drink some whiskey, and think of a time when I won’t have to moan about my first world problems.

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  • Getting my arse in gear.

    After a couple of weeks of drifting I’ve finally started to sort things out, everything is on the move at once and I’m looking forward to the foreseeable future. I can’t go into details because I’m a superstitious little thing and I don’t want to mess it up by jabbering on about it. Rest assured that if things go my way you will all hear about it.

Paul Schiernecker

I'm Paul Schiernecker, who the hell are you?

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