The Next Big Thing

There's something in the air at the minute. A number of different commotions too. All of this seems tailor-made to unsettle what passes for a general order. I'm not even sure what I mean, but I do know that it stinks. And that people I care about are hurting. And that the two are not mutually exclusive. Contrary to (some) popular belief, I'm not that perturbed about myself. To quote my old pal Chris Gaffney, "I'm not new".

Which is a peculiar jumping off point because last night I was in an Edinburgh Lecture Hall at a presentation that found the humble fanzine thrust into the glare of academia. I'm still getting my head around it actually but it was very positive. Chris Atton made his case for the form fairly and squarely based on years of having been addicted to it. Seems like it's more than a sidestreet of alternative media to him. The fact that he's got the whole kaboodle this far must surely be an indictment on the times we find ourselves in. And you know what? Good on him. Because if I can go somewhere like this and hear Brian Hogg get a shout-out (I'm sure that's not the term in this setting). The underlying enthusiasm was barely concealed and I think that most of the people present got a beat on that.

I spoke to Chris briefly after his presentation and got the impression that he is well and truly on a mission. As it continues, and the National Library project gets underway, then I'll keep you posted. If nothing else, it might divert the contents of my loft from ending up in a skip. It was a pretty peculiar experience and a welcome alternative to crashing out before the second of two episodes of Corrie as so often befits a Monday. If I'd got to the shop that does veggie haggis samosas before it closed then it would have been a perfect night. Maybe not as outright groovy as last Friday but getting there.