Today is World Book Day. If you’re not reading something, why not?

James Holden has come up with an ace way of combatting car clampers…

Parking Contract

Everybody is familiar with the notices displayed in car parks. The gist of them is that by parking you are entering into a contract which obliges you to pay a sum of money if you breach the terms of the agreement. These notices are enforced by contract law and are very different to the legitimate PCN (Penalty Charge Notice) tickets that public officials can issue, which you have to appeal properly if you think you’ve been ticketed unfairly.

This got me thinking. If I can be said to have entered into a contract by simply being near one of these signs, so can they. It should cover off enough of the angles of attack, fines, clamping, towing and so on

Excellent stuff.

Life’s been a bit quiet round here of late, what with one thing and another.

One of the bits that’s reduced my writing time here has been the Short Script Competition for the London Screenwriter’s Festival , whose deadline was today. (In a couple of hours, in fact)

I’d had an idea for the project, which I wrote in CeltX (again) and wanted to get finished and submitted. And today I got it all done, dusted and submitted.

I don’t know how it’ll do – no idea at all, to be honest – but regardless, I’m happy with having completed it and got it in for the deadline. Even if nothing at all comes of it, it’s another idea completed, written, and submitted.

That makes it the second script (admittedly, short script) completed and submitted to competitions this year. My writing plan for 2010 was to get at least one – and hopefully more – bits written, and I’ve done that. I’m not going to stop there- there’s still a lot to write and a lot of ideas in my head – but at least I’m doing it now. It’s taken far too long to get to this point.

One of my favourite shows currently on BBC3 is a very strange and very rude comedy programme called Mongrels. It’s on tonight at 10:30 and is (in my opinion) well worth a watch. Of course, your views may vary.

For me, though, a bizarre puppet show with swearing foxes, offensive (and vain) poodles, randy streetcats and a psychotic pigeon is always going to be worth a punt. The sheer number of ideas – and the abusive nature of most of it – is awesome, and leaves both of us wondering how the hell the entire programme got made in the BBCs current super-correct hyper-non-offensive atmosphere.

Oh – and Christopher Biggins as God.

I’m so getting the DVD when it comes out in August…

A while back, someone (I can’t now remember who) drew my attention to the “My One Word” screenwriting competition, which really appealed to me.

MY ONE WORD is inspired by the proverb “a picture is worth a thousand words” and we want to inspire you to create fresh, powerful stories using images and just one word.

MY ONE WORD focuses the power of visual storytelling by creating a series of short movies with only one word. If you love to write, this is your chance to show off your talents!

All told, I’ve submitted two pieces to this competition- I don’t know if either one will get anywhere, but it’s worth at least a try.

The first one uses just one word, but used several times. It’s a bit derivative, but the idea’s there and would (I think) work.

The second one uses just one word. That’s it. The rest of the story is visual.

In their own ways I’m pleased with both submissions. They’re very different – which I’m pleased about – and (I hope) different enough to stand out. Of course on that score I could be completely talking out of my backside. We’ll see.

More importantly, it means I’ve completed two short screenplay things. Very short, admittedly – about three mins each – but completed, submitted, and out in the Big Wide World. Should make life interesting.

Via Yanko Design (which in this case isn’t the best of names) comes this new design of mouse…

Yes, it does look like that. Intentionally.

Some people really need to get out more.