Up in the Clouds

I just started this new part-time job, doing social media moderating, that made me look at the internet with fresh eyes. I'm getting paid for being online and that's pretty cool. Because I like being online. And 'being' is the right word, isn't it? You just don't simply read stuff or look at pictures or moving images, thanks to social media you're actually able to engage with content in your own, individual virtual reality. This is what my brother (whose age better remains undisclosed) means when he says that he has to go and 'harvest his crops' in FarmVille.

Sometimes when people discuss the internet, they are referring to 'the Cloud'. I know, the term actually relates to services provided online but I quite like the visual connotation of that expression. Like the internet, clouds are always present, unpredictable, in constant movement – and beautiful.

Talking of clouds- of course you can find a Cloud Appreciation Society online. Sweet. http://cloudappreciationsociety.org .How (on earth) did cloud fans get connected before the internet? And that's exactly what I love about the WWW- there's something out there for everyone- and you never feel alone or isolated with your special, exotic, eccentric, geeky, unusual, boring, cool, fascinating, pointless or silly interests. Hence, I decided to dedicate this blog to two very special (and very different) internet phenomena I've discovered recently – American comedian GloZell and English Non-League football platform Football Exclusives.

Indoor clouds :)

GloZell - “Hello, this is GloZell! Is you Ok, is you? Good, cause I want to know!”

I came across this woman when I watched an American late night talk show. The show, which name I've already forgotten, wasn't that memorable-apart from one bit. Lord of The Rings and Wilfred actor Elijah Wood told the story of how he encountered an overexcited fan in the middle of nowhere at a Quiznos fast food restaurant outside LA. And I don't think 'overexcited' quite hits the nail on the head. They showed a snippet of the fan's - GloZell- version of the encounter from her YouTube channel. For nearly 9 minutes, GloZell is telling the story of how Elijah Wood was walking into the restaurant the very moment she was telling her boyfriend how amazing his new show Wilfred is.... in a Quiznos restaurant. 7 hours from LA in the wilderness. In the middle of nowhere. It's a small world, right? Especially in the US. Call it fate, coincidence or whatever you like- I laughed my head off at GloZell's crazy tale. So I immediately went on YouTube to check out the whole clip. And I thought I was starstruck... dear Lord, I thought, this woman is mental. But in a really cool, original, funny and sincere way.

GloZell with Elijah Wood

Here's someone who doesn't give a shit about how she might be perceived by others. She is just herself. And that's something most of us -and too many individuals in the public domain- do never achieve. I like GloZell because she doesn’t seem to give a fuck what others might think of her. This is a woman who is not afraid to sometimes make a fool of herself (often involuntarily- see the Valentine’s accident) but is always cool, spontaneous,unique, unpredictable and most importantly - extremely funny in doing so.

The comedian likes to team up with her mum (who sometimes pops her head into GloZell's bedroom while she is recording one of her exuberant clips to see why the hell her daughter is shouting so much) or her boyfriend SK, to elaborate on the important issues of our lives- ranging from Vegan food to wigs.

GloZell has got a BA in Fine Art/ Musical Theatre and is also a member of the Screen Actors Guild. During the last couple of years, she has managed to build up an online profile through her facebook page and YouTube channel which has already achieved 110 Million (!!) views. Not bad, ey? She is a self-made comedian who intelligently uses social media for self-distribution and operates outside the mainstream by commenting on the mainstream. And that's exactly what makes her so likeable – she worked hard for her success and doesn’t need mainstream media and its hype machinery that makes people 'famous' nowadays. She also manages to come across as eccentric and down-to-earth at the same time, which can't be said of many people. She willingly admits to and celebrates her fascination with celebrities. But at the same time her commentary on current affairs and her personal life are spiced with her opinions regarding feminist or racial equality issues.

Here are some of my GloZell favourites:

> Meeting Elijah Wood at Quiznos: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqCQxZjTC2s 

> The Valentines Day accident: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9A5p3Cz8Rvs

> The cinnamon experiment: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cyk7utV_D2I

> Analysing Adele's Set Fire To The Rain: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnLWB9Hnk8U&feature=BFa&list=UU7FhOuPmxz8spz_xvJf_xow&lf=plcp

Football Exclusives

My other favourite new discovery is a website/online platform for Non-League football called Football Exclusives. Those guys are actually doing what I wanted to do years ago but wasn't able to due to a lack of funding- giving Non-League football clubs a much needed media presence online. FE update their pages on a daily basis with exclusive content such as articles, match reports, match highlights videos and post-match interviews with managers and players. They also extensively report on other football related topics, for example the Kick It Out programme against racism in football. The brilliant thing about FE is that they are embracing the internet in its full glory- a website, a facebook page, a twitter profile and a YouTube channel are the four pillars of this multi-media platform.

FE was started in 2011 by Non-League football enthusiast Mike Bandry who placed an ad in Gumtree looking for like-minded collaborators. Sports journalism student Ravit Anand replied and together they set out to get their first story- an interview with players and the manager of Hampton and Richmond Borough FC, a club they are both following. The task seemed easy enough but as we all know life is never simple. Mike and Ravit got lost on the way to the training ground and arrived when the session was over. They hitched a ride back on the mini bus with the team and finally got to ask manager Mark Harper their questions at the clubhouse.

FE focuses mainly on Blue Square South clubs in Southern England such as Hampton and Richmond Borough FC, Basingstoke Town, Woking FC, Havant and Waterlooville FC, Thurrock FC, Eastleigh FC, Boreham Wood FC, Maidenhead United, Sutton United and Staines Town FC. The young team of journalists is made up of dedicated media students and volunteers, each club having their own reporter attached. The aspiring sports journalists not only gain valid work experience in return for giving up their free time, but also the chance to support the clubs they follow by giving them a voice online. Most of the clubs have welcomed FE with open arms, grateful and appreciative of the coverage and media presence they are gaining through this new platform.

FE's Ravit Anand at work

Of course, the supporters of those clubs share the appreciation for FE's efforts as well. The benefit of supporting a Non-League club is that you're actually able to talk to players and management staff before or after matches but you don't always get the chance to or you don't want to pester them with your questions, especially after a defeat. So having FE on hand to always ask those all important but sometimes uncomfortable questions is a massive plus. I was away in Germany for Hampton's crucial last two weeks this season and not being able to attend the final three matches that would decide the club's fate regarding relegation was a tad annoying to put it mildly. Hence, I was immensely grateful for FE's coverage during that time to keep up to date with developments back home. And sometimes pictures can tell you more than a 1000 words- seeing the soaked and sad Hampton fans and drooping players in the background during the post-match interviews after the decisive match against Thurrock that sealed Hampton's relegation was a bit much. But I was still grateful that FE was there and kept me informed.

To conclude, in times where more and more media outlets that cover the Non League are either scrapped (Setanta, Non League Today) or under threat of being cancelled (BBC's Non League Show) the need for new, innovative platforms like Football Exclusive is massive. Media coverage is not only essential for the Non-League to keep existing fans informed but also to attract new supporters to the financially struggling clubs that rely on their loyal fan base now more than ever. Thankfully, FE are filling the gap and one can only hope that they will continue to grow and expand to cover clubs in other regions of the UK as well.

Website: http://www.footballexclusives.co.uk/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/FootballExclusives

Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/FootballExcl

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/footballexclusives

What's Going On.

Check out my new promotional video for Hampton and Richmond Borough FC:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TpbhSePQms&list=UUToI_vVNB_OtnXecj4niZSw&index=1&feature=plcp

Happy memories from the 11/ 12 season- Hampton winning the Middle Sex Senior Cup:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hAIMOom3Jk&list=UUToI_vVNB_OtnXecj4niZSw&index=2&feature=plcp

10 Reasons Why Supporting a Non League Football Club Makes Sense

It’s about time that I dedicate a blog entry to one of the few things in life that are really important. Football.

Inside the cover of the album ‘The Remote Part’ by Indie band Idlewild it is written to ‘Support your local poet.’ 

Let me rephrase this appeal - support your local club! And by this I really mean your local club, not the Premier

League club that is closest to you. After all that would nearly make me a Chelsea fan and that of course is not

possible (in actual fact, I believe Fulham are even closer to where I live, and that’s actually not too bad.

I like Fulham. Beautiful stadium, friendly fans. A Michael Jackson statue in front of the ground. What’s not to like?)

No, by local club I mean the Non League club of the geographical place you call home. In my case that’s

two clubs: VFL Kirchheim of my hometown in Germany whom I used to watch as a child with my mates. 

One of their players lived in our house as a lodger and we were his little fan club. We were so proud to know

a football player personally. A really nice lad who always had time for us kids. And Hampton and Richmond

Borough FC which I was lucky enough to discover in 2008. Yes, discover is the right word. When I moved to the

Hampton area 5 years ago, I walked past the Beveree Stadium several times without realising there was actually

a football ground hidden behind the houses and trees that are surrounding it.

                                    

                                                          The Beveree Stadium

OK, to sum up all the reasons why you should support your local club I came up with a Top 10 of Good Reasons

to do so. Here we go:

1) By supporting your local club, you’re supporting your local community. 

And that is a sensible thing to do. You’re counteracting social exclusion and fragmentation, isolation and

people’s general indifference towards what’s going on around them. In times of recession and personal 

hardships, London Riots and increasing Youth crime you know why it’s making sense to play a constructive 

part within your local community.

Non League Football clubs are very active in organising cultural and social events such as concerts, 

comedy nights or away trips like Golf days or to the racing as they’re always keen to attract new supporters. 

They’re also well aware that such occasions are a great way to strengthen the community spirit amongst

the supporters and that organising such events is one of of their responsibilities within the local community. 

When a club is fortunate enough to have a Supporters Trust, like Hampton does, its members are often

very active when it comes to organising events or taking part in community activities such as fairs and parades. 

The other pillar of community involvement of a Non League Club is of course the development of youth football. 

When joining the youth team or Football Academy of a club, local children and young people are given the 

opportunity to develop their footballing and social skills on and off the pitch. This will not only strengthen their 

personal development but also their identification with their home town.

2) The rich don’t need to get richer and the poor don’t need to get poorer. 

It’s bad enough that society is going that way but when it comes to football we all got a choice. Why support 

a rich Premier League club that really doesn’t need your hard earned money when a Non League club is

desperately needing every penny to make ends meet to remain in business? And as mentioned above,

it’s not just the footballing side that a club is responsible for but all the other aspects as mentioned in

point 1. This of course doesn’t mean you have to stop supporting your League Club. Just by attending 

matches of your local club only now and then you’re already making a great contribution. And many

League team supporters will find the experience so rewarding that their professional team will in return 

become their second team as they start to support their Non League club ‘full-time’. This continues to be 

the case at Hampton. Ask any fan there and most of them will tell you a similar story about how they got 

disillusioned with League football- or simply couldn’t afford it any longer- and ended up at the Beveree. 

And- if you’re a season ticket holder of any League club, you can get in half price at Hampton matches.

3) You can get involved.

I’m selling the Golden Goal tickets at Hampton home matches. I know, it doesn’t sound that exciting 

but it’s actually really rewarding to hear at the end of the season how much money we made for the club just

by selling those tickets. It adds up to 1000’s of pounds. And that’s really cool.

 4)  You make new friends.

As much as I love Hampton, I have to admit that the football wasn’t that rewarding the last few seasons. 

But that’s OK. We’ve seen better times before and they will come again. But just by thinking of the amount 

of good friends I’ve made since I’ve been supporting the club makes all of this worthwhile: the cold 

Tuesday night matches standing behind the goal in the pouring rain and waking up the next morning 

with a fever, the 5th home defeat in a row when you just wonder what the hell is going on, those 

popular away trips to Chelmsford, the heart-warming encounters with our Womble friends*. It’s all 

worthwhile because you experience it with people you like and get on with. No one is in it alone.

Just one example. One day we were playing Woking at home. At the far end of the pitch I spotted a little 

flag someone had put up on the hoardings. Did my eyes play a trick on me? No, they didn’t. 

It was the German flag. Turns out Simone, a football fan from Bavaria, was visiting Woking where 

she used to work as an Au-pair.  Since that time she has been following Woking FC. On that day 

she came along with the Woking fans on their away trip to Hampton. We’ve since met up many 

times at Hampton or Woking home matches respectively and have stayed in touch on Facebook. 

And then there is Christian the groundhopper from North Germany who supports St. Pauli, my friend 

Callie who teaches German, my Womble mate...ups, there I said it. Yes, I’m friends with an AFC Wimbledon
            supporter. I’m such a traitor.

                                               

                                                            Me and Bertie Beaver

5) You identify with your local club and community.     

See point 1. Local patriotism is not a bad thing.

6) It’s more affordable.

40 quid for a Premier League ticket? I don’t think so.

7) You have a direct view on the pitch.

I’ve been to Wembley, the Millennium Stadium, Craven Cottage, 

to the Mercedes-Benz Arena, to Anfield ... and as magnificent 

as all those places are, I’ve never actually seen in detail a 

player’s facial expression when scoring a goal, or a well 

executed tackle, or heard players exchange their pleasantries on 

the pitch... the action is just too far away! OK, now and then you

might get the odd Non League ground where the stands and the 

pitch seem to have different postcodes (Chelmsford being a 

good example) but generally speaking you’re sitting or standing

directly by the turf. To sum up, at a Non League match more or 

less nothing escapes your eyes and ears. And that’s quite fun.

8) You can go on unique away trips.

Truro away on a Tuesday night might not be the most sensible of ideas but I can confirm that everyone 

of the Hampton lot who embarked on this journey made it back alive.  I remember when I started to 

support Hampton I went to most of the away trips that season. I was new to London and by traveling

to such places like Welling, Dulwich, St. Albans, Norbiton, Bromley and Woking I got a good idea 

of which places one might want to visit again... or not. Trips further away are fun too, especially 

when you get a chance to see the sea. Dover and Bognor Regis away I have fond memories of. 

A pint of lager at the ground in Bognor was £2. That left a lasting impression on me. 

And then there was of course the once in a lifetime experience of meeting one of my all time 

biggest heroes- Ken Loach- at Bath FC. Actually it wasn’t once in a lifetime, because I met him again 

when we played Bath at home. While I was talking to him we scored twice. And I was only speaking 

to him for three minutes. In the end, Bath got promoted and we weren’t, so Mr Loach has had the 

last laugh.

                                     

                                                               Ken Loach at Twerton Park.

9) You can chat to the players and the manager.

At which Premier League club can you have a drink with the players or the manager in the bar 

after the match? Exactly! How many football fans are wishing every Saturday that they could tell the 

manager what he is doing wrong and how they would do things differently. Well, at a Non League Club

you have the opportunity to do exactly that.

10) Enjoy a special atmosphere.

One of the loveliest aspects of Non League football is that there is no segregation. You can mix and 

mingle with fans from the other club. You can also drink alcohol in the stands in sight of the pitch which

is great. Football and beer is just like tea and milk, Laurel and Hardy, Fish and Chips...you get the idea. 

Don’t separate what belongs together.

What’s Going On

> My latest production is a short fly-on-the-wall documentary about the excellent upcoming band 

The Craven Braves from London who are putting guitar driven music back on the map. The doc 

was filmed on the day they launched their debut single 'Rough Diamond.' The film reflects how 

The Craven Braves' independent attitude towards the current music scene and their strong song 

repertoire is truly setting them apart from their contemporaries.

Link:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xi06QRc3rlg&list=UUToI_vVNB_OtnXecj4niZSw&index=1&feature=plcp

I could go on for ages how good I think this band is but it’s so difficult to describe sound with words 

so best thing is you just have a look at the film, catch them live or download their debut single from

Amazon or iTunes.

                                     

                                                                  The Craven Braves

* HRBFC and AFC Wimbledon love to hate one another. A long, local rivalry. They have never beaten us. 

That’s nice. But they got promoted at our gaff. That’s not so nice.

Where No Woman Has Gone Before

To Boldly Go Where No Woman Has Gone Before

Today I would like to pay tribute to one of the unsung heroes of Scriptwriting and a true pioneer in Science Fiction writing. Dorothy Catherine 'D. C.' Fontana.

Before we look back at Fontana’s triumphs in the 1960's and 70's let's quickly analyse the situation of female scriptwriters today to put her achievements into context. In 2011 only 13.6% of all film screenwriters in Hollywood were female (8% of directors and 19.1% of producers). In TV the situation isn't much better. In 2007, 35 percent of scriptwriters were women but in 2011 this number did drop to only 15 percent. Experts blame the recession, broadcasters taking fewer risks (one has to wonder why employing a woman is still viewed as a risk in 2012) and to put it plain and simple - old-fashioned sexism - for this troubling development.

You will probably be not surprised by those numbers. But if you would argue that Hollywood has always been sexist and unfair towards women regarding employment behind the camera you would be wrong.

In the ‘Classic Hollywood’ era it was common practice to employ female writers to cope with the ever-growing demand for great screenplays. The term Classic Hollywood - the Silent Era (1910-1927) and the Golden Age of Hollywood (ca. 1927-1950)  stands for the heyday of the great Hollywood studios like Paramount Pictures, Fox Film Coperation, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Warner Bros. Brandie Ashe explains one of the main reasons for the dominance of female scriptwriters at that time in her blog Women in Early Hollywood:

“It's no coincidence that the golden era of the female screenwriter occurred at the same time as the golden age of the actress. In the 1920s and early '30s, when female screenwriters dominated, actresses ruled the box office to a degree that hasn't been seen since.”

In the excellent book Script Girls:Women Screenwriters in Hollywood, Lizzy Francke depicts how, as the industry grew, screenwriting became the only area of film production in which a woman could play a significant role. Back then about 50% of all screenwriters were female. Impressive, ey? Compared to the situation today, it’s quite depressing to see that Hollywood’s employment practices have actually developed backwards in that respect.

However, when it came to TV scriptwriting in general, and the male domain of Science Fiction writing in particular, during the 1960's women did not exist on television networks’ radar as potential writers for their shows. 

But just like it did in so many other respects, the visionary programme Star Trek challenged this blatant injustice by employing a young female story-editor and scriptwriter - Dorothy Fontana. Aged 27 she was the youngest story editor in Hollywood at the time. During the next few years, Fontana would play an important role in the development and shaping of this innovative and groundbreaking TV series.

Developed by 2nd World War veteran Gene Roddenberry who envisaged a peaceful, multi-cultural and altruistic future, Star Trek was initially broadcast on NBC between 1966-69. In a time that was defined by racial tensions and the Cold War, the programme dared to feature a black, female communications officer, Lieutenant Uhura (portrayed by Nichelle Nichols) and a Russian navigator, Mr. Chekov (Walter Koenig). The line-up of main characters was completed by the American Midwesterner Captain Kirk (William Shatner), the Scottish chief engineer Mr. Scott (James Doohan), the Japanese helmsman Mr. Sulu (George Takei), the Southerner Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley) and the Vulcan First Officer Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy). Starfleet definitely knew a thing or two about Equal Opportunities.

D.C. Fontana in the 1960's

Although the show was set in 2266, the episodes were dealing with many of the important themes and issues that would define the1960's as one of the most influential decades in history: racism, gender equality, drug use, false Gods, the damaging exploitation of natural resources, freedom, pacifism, war and the corruption of power, to name just a few topics.

Dorothy Fontana wrote some of Star Treks most remarkable episodes, such as The Way To Eden, The Enterprise Incident, Tomorrow is Yesterday, Journey to Babel and This Side of Paradise. To make her acceptable to the predominantly male science fiction audience who might not have trusted a woman to write a good Science Fiction story, Dorothy Fontana was credited as D.C. Fontana or used male pseudonyms such as Michael Richards or J.Michael Bingham.

Spock jamming with Space Hippies in 

The Way To Eden

Many of the episodes she penned focused on the development of the Vulcan First Officer Mr. Spock, one of the most popular and memorable characters in TV history. In his autobiography I'm Spock Leonard Nimoy praises the writer and recalls how she left her mark not only on Spock's character but the series on a whole. He points out that it was Fontana’s achievement to counterbalance one of Trek’s few shortcomings-it often treated women as stereotypical love interests or ignored them altogether. Nimoy writes:

“Dorothy is a very talented, solid individual for whom I have the utmost respect....She gave us, by far, the best stories where we interact with women who were fully developed characters in their own right. That's not to say that that was her primary intent as a writer, or that that was her only contribution to the show. Dorothy's scenes not only avoided such stereotypes, but were dramatically intriguing.”

The Enterprise Incident, an episode in which Spock meets his match in a strong and clever Romulan female Commander, has impressed Nimoy in particular: 

“Episodes like The Enterprise Incident made it exciting to go to work. Like all of Dorothy's scripts, it had an edge to it, an adult level of complications, and social commentary. The characters's lives were being affected, their ethics violated, even their spirituality touched. Scripts like these added to the moral structure of the Star Trek universe. The durability of such fine work is endless.”

Joanne Inville as the Romulan Commander in 

The Enterprise Incident

D.C. Fontana understood that Star Trek owed a great deal of its appeal to the believable characters. Consequently, she championed collaboration with the actors and they were heavily involved in developing the characters they portrayed. This approach was not only evident in regard to Nimoy and Mr. Spock but also to DeForest Kelley and Doctor McCoy. The actor from Georgia, known for his dry humour and wit, developed the Enterprise’s emotional and sarcastic chief medical officer as a direct counterpart to the logical and unemotional Spock, which resulted in many unforgettable and often hilarious on-screen arguments between the two. In Kelley’s biography Fontana remembers: “Everything to do with McCoy we did with Kelley’s input. We created McCoy with Kelley right there.”

D.C Fontana’s understanding for character and her ability to develop potential ideas into well-structured and dramatic scripts, soon cemented her place among the chief production personnel of the series. Kelley biographer Terry Lee Rioux describes how Fontana earned the respect of the show’s producer Robert Justman when she reinvigorated the idea behind the episode Charlie X which evolved around a troubled teenager with superpowers.

“It had been a ‘junked’ story Roddenberry had been fooling with. Justman knew Fontana was a writer, that she was good, and that she would work on speculation. ‘Give it to Dorothy, and see what she can do with it’ he advised Roddenberry. Fontana resuscitated the good that was in it.”

Fontana’s emancipated writing is often subtle and funny at the same time, but always intelligent and even visionary. A great example of this is when Air Force pilot Captain Christopher is beamed on the Enterprise after the ship’s unintentional time travel to 1967 in Tomorrow Is Yesterday. Kirk greets him in the transporter room and they walk into the corridor where a female crew-member walks past. Christopher can’t believe his eyes and looks after the woman.

CREWWOMAN: Good morning, Captain.
KIRK: Morning. (drags Christopher along) Captain.
CHRISTOPHER: A woman?
KIRK: Crewman.

In 1967 the roles of women in the military were restricted to medical and administrative tasks and the long-standing combat exclusion law for women pilots in the Navy and Air Force was only repealed in 1992. So one can forgive Captain Christopher’s astonishment to meet fully trained women aboard a far-travelled Starship.

After Star Trek, Dorothy Fontana went on to produce the Emmy-winning animated series of the programme in the 1970’s. She also wrote many scripts for other TV programmes such as The Six Million Dollor Man, The Waltons and Dallas. Furthermore, she wrote several novels that were set within the StarTrek Universe. Today she is lecturing Screenwriting at the American Film Institute.

A little while ago I had the pleasure to encounter D.C. Fontana personally. But not the real one, but an excellent British Mod/Soul band of the same name. The band has an impeccable taste when it comes to their 60’s influences and has named themselves in tribute of the great writer. The combo is truly fantastic-live and on record- but one has to salut them as well for their original and brilliant name. 

DC Fontana- The band

Sources

Books

Leonard Nimoy- I’m Spock

Terry Lee Rioux - From Sawdust to Stardust- The Biography of DeForest Kelley, Star Trek’s Dr. McCoy

Lizzie Franke- Script Girls: Woman Scriptwriters in Hollywood

Blogs

Maureen Ryan- Why Is Television Losing Women Writers?

http://www.aoltv.com/2011/09/08/women-television-producers-decline/

Brandie Ashe- Women In Early Hollywood

http://www.moviefanfare.com/fanfare-guests/women-in-early-hollywood/

The Wonderful World of Fan Fiction

I'm currently writing my first fan fiction story (you can find it here: Peak Of Fools Chapter 1: Prologue, a startrek: the original series fanfic | FanFiction) ! And I've already published the first six chapters! Hurray! Only 10 or 20 more to follow...OK, it's bloody hard work but brilliant fun. People actually read fan fiction and I noticed how in that respect it’s more rewarding than blogging or script-writing.

It’s amazing, people actually demand you to write your story, to finish it, to put the next chapter up asap. It's called a Story Alert. As a reader, you are notified when an author you like has published a new piece of work. But it works both ways- the author is notified as well when someone is alerting their stories. I know for sure there's at least ten people out there who are biting their nails in anticipation for my next chapter (that's how I like to picture it anyway). Believe it or not, it's actually important for a writer that someone is reading their work. And if it it's just one person. Someone else has to read it. Imagine a baker whose cakes no one is eating, a painter whose paintings no one is looking at, a celebrity whose reality TV show no one is watching...you get the idea. You feel like an ice pick in the dessert. Totally useless.

But not in the world of FF.

Writing fan fiction is also such a refreshing experience because it's free from any professional pressure or expectations. I don't want to sell it because it's nor for sale, I don't need to pitch it to anyone as I just press 'publish' and the job's done, there's no competition as reading someone else's work is just as much fun as coming up with your own story. In short, the geeky world of FF is an appreciative and safe one. And one of the best parts of it is the instant feedback you're getting from your 'audience'. Not much can make my day like another raving story review.

In case you're wondering my choice of fiction is Star Trek- The Original Series. It should be noted that I'm not a 'dressing in a yellow Starfleet Uniform, going to a convention and trying to get William Shatner's autograph with 500 people ahead of you in the queue' kind of Trekkie. I'm more of a 'having the Science insignia tattooed on your forearm' kind of fan. But as the word count is already working against me, the reason why I love Trek should be the subject for another blog.

Anyway, I never knew such a thing like fan fiction existed until I came across it coincidentally when browsing the internet. I can't quite remember how by researching a possible PHD subject I ended up on a page called OrionPress but there you go...

Now, I also believed until that point that Slash is either one of two things: the guitarist in Guns'n'Roses or a punctuation mark that you either use in between two subjects that are somehow listed/or are related to one another. It also means homoerotic fan fiction and I quickly realised that Kirk/Spock (romantic fiction) stories are very strange and not my cup of tea at all and that Kirk&Spock (friendship and adventure fiction) is more like it and stays true to what was initially intended for those characters. 

Interestingly, one of the many things we own to Star Trek is fan fiction itself. Already during its initial run on NBC from 1966-1969 fans were picking up on the endless possibilities the Trek Universe was offering to tell stories that were science-fiction and utopian but at the same time deeply grounded in our realty due to the human (and Vulcan) characters. But when the series hit syndication in the early 1970's the Star Trek Universe really started to manifest itself in our world: conventions, marathon viewing sessions, fan memorabilia and fan fiction became the pillars of a Trekkie's life. Dozens of fanzine's were published mainly around the USA but also in Europe. Well-known science-fiction authors were providing the content, alongside amateur writers. You can imagine what the invention of the World Wide Web meant for this sub-culture: the printed 'zines gradually disappeared but the stories multiplied and became accessible more easily. Now, anyone, anywhere at anytime can publish their stories instantly. For most of us, that's 3 AM in the morning for some reason. Probably, because that's when you've got time to do it.

   

 'Look, we're in it!' 

What is fascinating (!) about FF is the fact that a considerable large amount of it is of such a high standard, it makes you wonder why the writers aren't published. An American mother of three (that is not her pen name, but her self-description) is my favourite author. But writers do get published sometimes- my American idol told me recently that one of her stories was picked up by a fanzine. That's wonderful news, as those brilliant writers deserve all the kudos they can get. But that's the point with FF you see- people don't write because they have ambitions to be recognised outside the scene or to become famous. Everyone's got a pen name for starters. The motivation is to pay respect to the fiction you love by creating your own stories and to share those with like-minded fans. It's purely writing for writing sake's. It's total freedom. FF is the one-night stand of creative writing. No strings attached.

Oh, and if you think there's only Star Trek, Harry Potter or Twilight FF- wrong! Stories are written (and read) as we speak about any possible film or TV series you can imagine, including Perry Mason, Baywatch, Roseanne and Dad's Army. No? Yes!

Fascinating indeed. With a raised eyebrow.

 'Why would anyone subject David Hasselhoff to a literary treatment? Highly illogical!'

What’s Going On?

We Are The Mods trailer success

The trailer for my 2010 mod documentary We Are The Mods has now over 10 000 hits on YouTube. 

We Are The Mods-Trailer

Pandora’s Box Promo

Recently I’ve done a short promo for the excellent Pandora’s Box event in Shoreditch, East-London. Pandora’s Box is a great night that showcases female poets and musicians. 

Pandora's Box Promo

New documentary- We Are The People

The English language version of my new documentary about the groundbreaking and independent internet channel fluegel.tv in Germany is now online.

We Are The People

I’d like to close by wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year with a quote from the wonderful Frank Capra Christmas classic It’s a Wonderful Life: ‘No man is a failure who has friends.’