Current Status: Flazzying

Welcome to my monthly update, where I bring you up to speed with some half-baked thoughts and general schemes, and point you towards some great content you might not have seen before. Let’s begin!

May I be the last to wish you a happy new year. How was it for you? Mine, well it was insert a hilarious story based sketchily on something that happens during the holidays, and definitely don’t forget to put this in you buffoon. Haha, but then I suppose, that’s ‘the holiday period’ right? So glad we could connect on such a universal insight, and yet still have this feel so intimate and private that it could only be between you and I that that a connection like this could be made. The power of writing I suppose!

All jokes aside, this is a brand new year and as ever a time for rejuvenation, new ideas and so on. One of the major things I’m going to do relating to Substack, which is ultimately my life and creative output just now, is I’m going to ease off the accelerator a bit. By which I mean, I’m still going to produce the same obscene volume of content, BUT I’m not going to keep e-mailing it out because I don’t think people can be bothered to read my insane ramblings at a rate higher than I can write it.

This isn’t me blowing my own trumpet you understand, I don’t own a trumpet for a start.¹ My reasoning is it’s probably a little too much for people’s inboxes and I can imagine there will be some degree of fatigue. To be fair, I’ve not had anyone complain but I know the feeling - we’re all so busy and it’s a drain to want to keep reading and supporting friends/colleagues/monsters we know. Thought I’d pre-empt the backlash.

BUT, importantly, I’m still aiming to share one short story or otherwise significant piece of prose each month which I’ll send out by e-mail, followed then by this monthly round up which will point to everything I’ve published that month. And if you hang about on the website or app, you’ll not doubt still be inundated with my offerings.

HOWEVER, I will be continuing to publish as regularly as possible online only on my brand new website I’ve been working on for 6 weeks or so. It’s here: https://theRichardHanrahan.com

Regardless, I do hope you keep reading what I have for you and any time you give yourself a chuckle, please consider passing it on to someone, especially if it’s someone I’ve never met. I love sharing some silliness, and I think we can all agree we need a bit of nonsense these days to get us through in one* piece.²

Original Writing

• The Present - This one is about the content box, but I couldn’t call it that. I had the image in my head, and it felt a bit black mirror at chrissmas. But then the names emerged as a silly idea, quickly followed by a revelation that the main character could be this bullyable wimp, and the story took a different tone. And then I kept writing and writing and it got quite a long way considering how little the seed of the idea was. It ended up too dark for a Christmas read, but I didn’t want to deny the story its earned ending, nor take away an obvious Christmas themed story from its natural release period. But fun what you can do by putting the right words together in some sort of order isn’t it”?

• An Essay On Board Game Collections - this one is over on my ‘Dee Dum Dee Doo’ Board Game Design newsletter. It’s not nearly as fun or as weird as this. Quite the opposite in fact, but board games and that world are featured over there.

Wrds

Some new words or redefinitions of old words which I am pitching as an at least weekly word a day. For word lovers and word despisers alike. Would be approved by Sandi Toksvig

• Lastuma - I like the images this conveys, I think the concept is strong and lends itself to being endlessly frustrating - you’ll find that a lot in my writing, where ideas collapse because they reference something that could go on ad-finitum, or that is self-referential in some way. The infinitely large and the infinitely small. But I wasn’t 100% sold on the word itself, but I think it works - especially with the way it becomes the Japanese film.
• Flazzying - I wrote this definition based on the title for this newsletter, oddly enough. I came up with a word that could be real but clearly wasn’t, anyone using that many ‘zeds’ should be in an asylum frankly, but then wondered what it could mean - and then it ended up being a fun little jaunt through the world of the cloud men. What are the cloud men? Well, it’s kind of a weird metatextual conspiracy theory laden in my original devil’s dictionary. A lot of celebrities are cloud people. The voice I write as, especially for these dictionary style entries, often goes off on one when it comes to an imagined authority. I do hope people get the narrator as a character. It’s subtle, but I’d like to think people don’t just think I am the person writing them. I mean, I am, I’m just not the same as the Richard Hanrahan that.. oh you get what I mean. This is me though, writing these now. Scout’s honour.

Chapters

These are extracts from my previously released Alternative Wordbook, and in future months may be released behind a paywall to maintain exclusivity and that. But for now, there’s some extra joy to behold.

• Extract: The Letter ‘D’ (Dee) - this is where the essays start to kick up a gear I think. I do like the idea of a ‘linguistic kingdom’ much like the animal kingdom or something, but the concept of a 2D and 3D is strong for my tastes. It all comes together nicely for a crass little punchline at the end, which you can all see coming a mile off (it’s quite sizeable to be fair).

Quick Recommendations

What have I been watching? Well, as of this being drafted, I am literally in the middle of watching The Substance (it is actually November to me, sorry) and as I watch the incredible conclusion to this piece - the one I could not in my minds eye foresee given the runtime left - you have to see it if you have any horror bones in your body. It’s not scary just gross, but funny gross with the right mindset. Maybe I’m just a sicko. I have also just watched Yannick, by the French director who made the movie about a rubber tyre that goes on a killing spree, which was again right up my alley - it’s set in a theatre performance, when one audience member decides he’s had enough and starts to demand more from those on stage. All very meta. In French, but wonderful. You can watch both on Mubi - use this link and maybe we both get a month free?

What have I been listening to? Well we’ve listened to a lot of Sandi Toksvig reading Pippi Longstocking thanks to my daughter’s Tonie box. Which hasn’t grated at all, I’ve no idea what you mean. But also I have found myself listening to Hyperfixed, the podcast return of Alex Goldman of ReplyAll fame. I’ve really missed his voice and radio sentiment. It’s a simple premise based on his old technical support features - whereby he’d use his skills as a bit of a nerd and a lot of a journalist to solve quite unique and frustrating tech problems. Now instead, it’s a broader scope. Like for example, episode 3 is answering someone’s frustrating question: why don’t supermarket fridges have doors?It’s solid, gentle podcasting that’s made me want to write e-mails to supermarket chains for the last six weeks.

Anyway, signing off now, goodbye! Please don’t forget to share, and let me know if you fancy me trying to read out loud some of this rubbish too.