What I'm Reading, Listening To and Watching This Week

As you may have noticed I haven't been doing much blogging lately. Call it inertia, procrastination, writer's block or whatever other labels are out there for basically doing nothing - my own current label is, in the words of Julia Cameron (author of The Artists' Way) "filling the well". Basically this means I'm taking some time out to chill, read, watch TV and see what inspiration I can find.So this week I'd thought I'd share a few of the articles I've been reading on the net, along with some of music, books and other items of possible interest. So here goes ...What I'm listening to ...You may have picked up from the post before last I've become addicted to the TV show Castle. Okay, so I know it's cheesy at times and it doesn't pay to think about the plot lines too hard but I love the characters, their backstories, the sometimes quirky crime stories, and as much as I've always professed NOT to love Romance I have to admit this one has reeled me in. Another thing I love about the show (apart from Beckett's clothes and hair!) is the music they use in background tracks, which is how I came across Andrew Belle. He's a Chicago based singer songwriter who writes songs with lovely melodies and contemplative lyrics. Here's a sample of his work, In my Veins:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0KZuZF01FAWhat I'm watching ...I also caught a glimpse this week of Never Tear Us Apart, the miniseries about Australian 80's music legends, INXS. My 18-year-old daughter was watching it - loving the music I might add - and it transported me straight back in time to long nights spent sweating it out in crowded pubs being blown away by the magnetism of Michael Hutchence. Such a waste of talent and life. Here's a reminder of Michael on stage:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vr-I5xX_BFk What I'm Reading ...I've found a couple of good articles on writing and creativity you might be interested in. The first is from Chuck Wendig who writes over at the Terrible Minds blog. Chuck's reminder that The days you don’t want to get out of bed are the days you must get out of bed applies to more than just writing. I especially love this line from his post: Writing is the act of doing. Surviving. Living. Being. I've printed the post out and hung it on the corkboard above my desk so that on those days when I really don't feel like writing I will nevertheless sit on my backside and write. Here's a link to the full post:http://terribleminds.com/ramble/2014/02/11/the-days-when-you-dont-feel-like-writing/And here's a link to a great post about a group of people who gave up their day jobs to follow their dreams:http://www.buzzfeed.com/laraparker/inspiring-stories-of-people-who-left-normal-life-and-emba On the book front I've started reading Burial Rites by Stella Prize listed author Hannah Kent. Set in Northern Iceland in 1829 it's the story of Agnes Magnusdottir, condemned to death for her part in the brutal murder of her lover.  I just love the opening lines of the Prologue: They said I must die. They said that I stole the breath from men, and now they must steal mine. I imagine, then, that we are all candle flames, greasy-bright, fluttering in the darkness and the howl of wind, and in the stillness of the room I hear footsteps, awful coming footsteps, coming to blow me out and send my life up away from me in a grey wreath of smoke.That's it for now.Would love to hear what you're listening to, reading and watching.