Ok, so I've been away for a couple of weeks. I spent last weekend up in Leeds, which meant that i had a nice long drive home Sunday evening.
None of this is particularly relevant, except that the long drive gave me a chance to do something I've not done in quite a long time. Listen to the Top 40 Chart Show. I'm known among my friends for having little, if any, taste in music. So with that in mind here's my
Top Five Songs in the Charts at the Moment;
1.Young Forever - Jay-Z (feat. Mr Hudson)
2. You Overdid it Doll - The Courteeners
3. Empire State of Mind (Pt. 1) - Jay-z (feat. Alicia Keys)
4. I Got a Feeling - Black Eyed Peas
5. Fireflies - Owl City
So there you go, apparently I have a taste for Jay-Z songs at the moment, who knew?
Since it's not charting it couldn't go on the list, but I will give a mention to Winter Winds by Mumford and Sons which is sort of on loop on my ipod at the moment.
So until next time...
Monday, 22 February 2010
Thursday, 4 February 2010
Top Fives
I’m still heavily influenced by what I watch on film and TV, by what I read in books.
It all sort of goes back to that childish imnagination which is triggered by what you see. If you watch and episode of Power Rangers you want to be one; you spend hours wanting to use dinosaur powers to turn yourself into an intergalactic ninja. Then you get a bit older and after seeing a James Bond film you want to drink martinis in sharp suits and pick up continental women. Finally you just start being influenced by lifestyle ideas from films, books and TV.
A while ago I considered starting a diary after seeing Cruel Intentions again, which indirectly led me to blogging – but that’s another story for another time! However, after watching High Fidelity the other day I picked up on a different idea; Top Fives.
As a self-professed indecisive, Top Five lists actually work quite well for me. It’s pretty easy, and makes for a good time killer. Time is one thing I’m very long on at the moment.
So every now and again, I’ll be sharing my Top Five lists with all you lovely people.
So starting simple;
TOP FIVE FILMS OF ALL TIME
1. Fight Club
2. Star Wars (the original trilogy)
3. The Dark Knight
4. Pulp Fiction
5. Silence of the Lambs
TOP FIVE TV SHOWS
1. How I met your mother
2. Doctor Who
3. Scrubs
4. Top Gear
5. House
TOP FIVE SONGS (AT THE MOMENT)
1. American Pie – Don McLean
2. House of the Rising Song – The Animals
3. Hotel California – The Eagles
4. Viva La Vida - Coldplay
5. Hurt – Johnny Cash
So there we go, for the moment. I’m now back after a slightly mad month or so, but more about that at another time. If you ever find yourself with too much time give Top Five’s a shot yourself.
It all sort of goes back to that childish imnagination which is triggered by what you see. If you watch and episode of Power Rangers you want to be one; you spend hours wanting to use dinosaur powers to turn yourself into an intergalactic ninja. Then you get a bit older and after seeing a James Bond film you want to drink martinis in sharp suits and pick up continental women. Finally you just start being influenced by lifestyle ideas from films, books and TV.
A while ago I considered starting a diary after seeing Cruel Intentions again, which indirectly led me to blogging – but that’s another story for another time! However, after watching High Fidelity the other day I picked up on a different idea; Top Fives.
As a self-professed indecisive, Top Five lists actually work quite well for me. It’s pretty easy, and makes for a good time killer. Time is one thing I’m very long on at the moment.
So every now and again, I’ll be sharing my Top Five lists with all you lovely people.
So starting simple;
TOP FIVE FILMS OF ALL TIME
1. Fight Club
2. Star Wars (the original trilogy)
3. The Dark Knight
4. Pulp Fiction
5. Silence of the Lambs
TOP FIVE TV SHOWS
1. How I met your mother
2. Doctor Who
3. Scrubs
4. Top Gear
5. House
TOP FIVE SONGS (AT THE MOMENT)
1. American Pie – Don McLean
2. House of the Rising Song – The Animals
3. Hotel California – The Eagles
4. Viva La Vida - Coldplay
5. Hurt – Johnny Cash
So there we go, for the moment. I’m now back after a slightly mad month or so, but more about that at another time. If you ever find yourself with too much time give Top Five’s a shot yourself.
Tuesday, 8 December 2009
Life Advice #1
Well, for a lighter moment I thought I'd start dispensing lifestyle advice to all you lovely people. I should admit at the outset that this first lot is not, in fact, mine.
Now let me ask a question of all of you. When you were young, mid teens, dealing with guys or girls (as appropriate) how many of you came across the conundrum of varying degrees of relationships? "We're just friends" "We're seeing each other" "No, no, we're not going out, we're just together." Now all this appropriately complicated; until now! Those of you familiar with the show How I met Your Mother will know of Barney and his blog. Well the good people at CBS have set up this blog up and it is from that source that I'll draw this first lot of advice - definitions to help you with pubescent relationships with the opposite sex.
hook·ing up [hoo-k-ing up] - When two people do it, consistently, but aren’t hanging out during daylight hours – unless it’s for the express purpose of getting it on.
hang·ing out [hang – ing – owt] – The process of participating in an organized activity together – such as a movie or dinner - followed shortly thereafter by furious banging.
see·ing where things are go·ing [see-ing wair things ahr going] – The process in which two people hang out, hook up, and do everything they can not to think about what it means.
da·ting – [day-ting] 1) The first time seeing where things are going fails. 2) Hanging out without the guarantee of sex.
hook·ing up [hoo-k-ing up] - When two people do it, consistently, but aren’t hanging out during daylight hours – unless it’s for the express purpose of getting it on.
hang·ing out [hang – ing – owt] – The process of participating in an organized activity together – such as a movie or dinner - followed shortly thereafter by furious banging.
see·ing where things are go·ing [see-ing wair things ahr going] – The process in which two people hang out, hook up, and do everything they can not to think about what it means.
da·ting – [day-ting] 1) The first time seeing where things are going fails. 2) Hanging out without the guarantee of sex.
[source: http://www.cbs.com/primetime/how_i_met_your_mother/community/barney_blog/index.php]
So there you go, read it well, commit it to memory, and try to be less confused next time the issue of 'hooking up' or 'getting together' comes up.
It does actually make it's point quite well. Of course it's written in a humourous vein, and with a hugely sexual focus, but it does at least try to define this conundrum for us. How many times has this issue been confused by different definitions? Well now you have a printed group of definitions to work by - just don't take it all too seriously.
I'll be back with more for you soon, but until then...
Now let me ask a question of all of you. When you were young, mid teens, dealing with guys or girls (as appropriate) how many of you came across the conundrum of varying degrees of relationships? "We're just friends" "We're seeing each other" "No, no, we're not going out, we're just together." Now all this appropriately complicated; until now! Those of you familiar with the show How I met Your Mother will know of Barney and his blog. Well the good people at CBS have set up this blog up and it is from that source that I'll draw this first lot of advice - definitions to help you with pubescent relationships with the opposite sex.
hook·ing up [hoo-k-ing up] - When two people do it, consistently, but aren’t hanging out during daylight hours – unless it’s for the express purpose of getting it on.
hang·ing out [hang – ing – owt] – The process of participating in an organized activity together – such as a movie or dinner - followed shortly thereafter by furious banging.
see·ing where things are go·ing [see-ing wair things ahr going] – The process in which two people hang out, hook up, and do everything they can not to think about what it means.
da·ting – [day-ting] 1) The first time seeing where things are going fails. 2) Hanging out without the guarantee of sex.
hook·ing up [hoo-k-ing up] - When two people do it, consistently, but aren’t hanging out during daylight hours – unless it’s for the express purpose of getting it on.
hang·ing out [hang – ing – owt] – The process of participating in an organized activity together – such as a movie or dinner - followed shortly thereafter by furious banging.
see·ing where things are go·ing [see-ing wair things ahr going] – The process in which two people hang out, hook up, and do everything they can not to think about what it means.
da·ting – [day-ting] 1) The first time seeing where things are going fails. 2) Hanging out without the guarantee of sex.
[source: http://www.cbs.com/primetime/how_i_met_your_mother/community/barney_blog/index.php]
So there you go, read it well, commit it to memory, and try to be less confused next time the issue of 'hooking up' or 'getting together' comes up.
It does actually make it's point quite well. Of course it's written in a humourous vein, and with a hugely sexual focus, but it does at least try to define this conundrum for us. How many times has this issue been confused by different definitions? Well now you have a printed group of definitions to work by - just don't take it all too seriously.
I'll be back with more for you soon, but until then...
Tuesday, 1 December 2009
We are the angry mob
Public outcry seems to have been something of a theme for this year. Following the highly publicised events of ‘Sachsgate’ and the debate over the Jan Moir article on Stephen Gately, it appears that the public enjoy voicing their displeasure with things. Often with consequences for those being complained about. The possible problem with this is that the victims of public outrage become vilified by the one sided vitriolic outpourings, and often become symbolically lynched by the mob.
Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not suggesting that those who have suffered at the hands of public outrage don’t deserve it; my question is are theses complaints being made for the right reason?
While working the other day I was ‘fortunate’ enough to experience a form of this public outcry first hand.
It was the middle of a relatively quiet Tuesday for those of you who care. I was the only member of staff on the bar, and busy serving the three tables of customers who were patronising it. While I was taking an order from a couple the peace of the place was interrupted by a man bursting through the door and declaring “Oi mate, some old boy’s just tripped over your sign!” before sweeping out of the place again. A glance out of the window showed a rapidly expanding crowd forming outside the front of the bar. Figuring that this should be dealt with, I excused myself to the customers in the bar and walked outside. That was an experience! I was met in the doorway by a woman who was about to stride into the bar to tell me what had happened, just in case I hadn’t heard her predecessor. Apparently pleased to have someone to turn on each member of the crowd kindly informed me that my personal sign had assaulted an old man, and this was frankly a disgrace. I did happen to notice however that all these concerned individuals were ignoring the injured old man! Once I got to talk to the gentleman concerned he seemed fairly relaxed about it all, saying he just wanted to get his paper and go home. “But you fell over the sign, you must be hurt” one of our band of well-wishers ventured, “probably very shaken up” another kindly observed – no the gentleman was fine, he’d had worse and just wanted to go and get his paper please. Apparently this was the end of the incident, the gentleman was allowed to relax for a moment, and the crowd – seeing there was no trouble to be made - disappeared faster than they appeared.
The point here is this; were these people complaining because they were concerned for the old man and others walking the streets? Or was it simply an excuse to get outraged at something and make a noise about it? Free speech is all well and good, but do some people have to be so free about it? I would go so far as to suggest that in many of these cases, most of the complaints are made because people want something to complain about, not because they care about the issue at hand. If I remember rightly the number of complaints made about the phone calls to Andrew Sachs went up significantly after the Daily Mail reported the article, declaring how disgusting it all was. It turns out that a significant number of the complaining mob had never even heard the phone calls.
Apparently then, lots of these complaints are in fact regurgitated bile passed down from one source through a herd of bleating sheep, who have no personal opinion on the matter, but like making noise about something. Well do us all a favour, and stop it. A mass lynching by a noisy, but ill-informed, mob is not exercising your freedom of speech, nor is it standing up for what’s right. By all means if you have an opinion which needs defending, go ahead. If you are genuinely concerned for the well-being of the injured party, then make yourself heard. But if you just want to make noise because you can, then sing in the shower. Or if you really need to jump on a bandwagon and have your say then go into politics!
Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not suggesting that those who have suffered at the hands of public outrage don’t deserve it; my question is are theses complaints being made for the right reason?
While working the other day I was ‘fortunate’ enough to experience a form of this public outcry first hand.
It was the middle of a relatively quiet Tuesday for those of you who care. I was the only member of staff on the bar, and busy serving the three tables of customers who were patronising it. While I was taking an order from a couple the peace of the place was interrupted by a man bursting through the door and declaring “Oi mate, some old boy’s just tripped over your sign!” before sweeping out of the place again. A glance out of the window showed a rapidly expanding crowd forming outside the front of the bar. Figuring that this should be dealt with, I excused myself to the customers in the bar and walked outside. That was an experience! I was met in the doorway by a woman who was about to stride into the bar to tell me what had happened, just in case I hadn’t heard her predecessor. Apparently pleased to have someone to turn on each member of the crowd kindly informed me that my personal sign had assaulted an old man, and this was frankly a disgrace. I did happen to notice however that all these concerned individuals were ignoring the injured old man! Once I got to talk to the gentleman concerned he seemed fairly relaxed about it all, saying he just wanted to get his paper and go home. “But you fell over the sign, you must be hurt” one of our band of well-wishers ventured, “probably very shaken up” another kindly observed – no the gentleman was fine, he’d had worse and just wanted to go and get his paper please. Apparently this was the end of the incident, the gentleman was allowed to relax for a moment, and the crowd – seeing there was no trouble to be made - disappeared faster than they appeared.
The point here is this; were these people complaining because they were concerned for the old man and others walking the streets? Or was it simply an excuse to get outraged at something and make a noise about it? Free speech is all well and good, but do some people have to be so free about it? I would go so far as to suggest that in many of these cases, most of the complaints are made because people want something to complain about, not because they care about the issue at hand. If I remember rightly the number of complaints made about the phone calls to Andrew Sachs went up significantly after the Daily Mail reported the article, declaring how disgusting it all was. It turns out that a significant number of the complaining mob had never even heard the phone calls.
Apparently then, lots of these complaints are in fact regurgitated bile passed down from one source through a herd of bleating sheep, who have no personal opinion on the matter, but like making noise about something. Well do us all a favour, and stop it. A mass lynching by a noisy, but ill-informed, mob is not exercising your freedom of speech, nor is it standing up for what’s right. By all means if you have an opinion which needs defending, go ahead. If you are genuinely concerned for the well-being of the injured party, then make yourself heard. But if you just want to make noise because you can, then sing in the shower. Or if you really need to jump on a bandwagon and have your say then go into politics!
Tuesday, 17 November 2009
New Look
Ok, so after no posts for ages suddenly theres three in a day, wierd huh? It's not quite as odd as it seems, and no I haven't suddenly got the urge and spent all night writing either. For a while now I've had three or four blogs floating around the internet, on various subjects, so to keep life simpler I'm moving them all to one place. So from now on this here is where i will post all my blogs under their various different headings. So there will be Positive News Blogs, there will be the standard Thoughts of a Former Student blogs, there will be the Theatre Blogs which I've got floating around, and I have plans for a couple of others too. So keep checking back; if I've written it you'll find it here!
Around the world on £1
At a time when money matters and problems seem to be dominating much of the news, the story of Keiichi Iwasaki is inspiring. Eight years ago he left his home town, and his father’s air-conditioning business, and has not been back since. Starting out cycling round Japan, he was bitten by the travelling bug, caught a ferry to South Korea, and has now covered 37 countries on his Raleigh Hopper bicycle. In case the story itself wasn’t good enough he has done all this having left home with the equivalent of just £1 in his pocket. Cycling the world on a whim, funding the trip by street performing? Tell me that isn’t a good story.
The sheer brilliance of Keiichi’s story lies in the fact that not only is it inspiring, but it’s achievable. It’s all very well being inspired by the story of a soldier returning to the front line following horrific injury, but most of us will not be in that position. However we can all take a moment to try what Keiichi Iwasaki has done. The world is becoming more and more accessible these days, and more and more people are setting out to see it. However it’s not hard to imagine that many people are put off travelling the world by the cost of it. A round the world plane ticket will set you back around £1800 and that’s before you’ve even got money to live off. This is where Keiichi’s story becomes even better; if he can do it, so can you! Sure it’s hard work, he performs on streets to fund his trip, and has done the whole thing by bike, but why do what everyone else does? There are hostels aplenty round the world where work can be found to fund a trip, and there is a real joy to making it up as you go along.
In many ways there has never been a better time to travel. My girlfriend was recently advised by her bank to temp to make some money, go travelling, and come back when the recession has died and there are jobs again. And who are we to ignore the advice of bankers?!
The world needs more people like Keiichi Iwasaki. As he said himself “dreams can come true if you have a strong will.” The realism with which he has gone about his trip is equally brilliant. Clearly living out his dream, Keiichi is honest about the hardships he has faced on his trip. He is currently on his fifth bicycle, having had two stolen and two break. Along the way through the 37 countries he has visited he has been robbed by pirates, attacked by a rabid dog in Nepal, and been arrested in India. However he has also become the first Japanese man to climb Everest, swum in the Ganges, narrowly escaped marriage in Nepal, and is currently trying to climb Mont Blanc. How many other people can say that?
Any of you who have travelled, or taken the opportunity of a lifetime, know that it is the complete experience which makes it. You feel enriched by the whole experience, both good and bad. This is what makes this story so inspiring for us. Keiichi Iwasaki has gone all out to fulfil his dream of travelling. He travels by bike because he wants to “see and feel everything with [his] own skin.” In the tradition of the storybook hero who goes to find himself, he left home with the proverbial napkin and stick on his back, and has enjoyed experiences most of us just imagine. But as his story proves, the only reason we are just imagining them is that we haven’t bothered to go out and live them. If one man can leave home with £1 and a bike and see the world, then there’s no reason why everyone else can’t too.
But if you do decide that travelling the world is not for you, then keep an eye out for the book Mr. Iwasaki wants to publish when he gets home. It will probably be an Odyssey for our time. Only slightly fewer mythological creatures, and a story the readers can actually live themselves!
The sheer brilliance of Keiichi’s story lies in the fact that not only is it inspiring, but it’s achievable. It’s all very well being inspired by the story of a soldier returning to the front line following horrific injury, but most of us will not be in that position. However we can all take a moment to try what Keiichi Iwasaki has done. The world is becoming more and more accessible these days, and more and more people are setting out to see it. However it’s not hard to imagine that many people are put off travelling the world by the cost of it. A round the world plane ticket will set you back around £1800 and that’s before you’ve even got money to live off. This is where Keiichi’s story becomes even better; if he can do it, so can you! Sure it’s hard work, he performs on streets to fund his trip, and has done the whole thing by bike, but why do what everyone else does? There are hostels aplenty round the world where work can be found to fund a trip, and there is a real joy to making it up as you go along.
In many ways there has never been a better time to travel. My girlfriend was recently advised by her bank to temp to make some money, go travelling, and come back when the recession has died and there are jobs again. And who are we to ignore the advice of bankers?!
The world needs more people like Keiichi Iwasaki. As he said himself “dreams can come true if you have a strong will.” The realism with which he has gone about his trip is equally brilliant. Clearly living out his dream, Keiichi is honest about the hardships he has faced on his trip. He is currently on his fifth bicycle, having had two stolen and two break. Along the way through the 37 countries he has visited he has been robbed by pirates, attacked by a rabid dog in Nepal, and been arrested in India. However he has also become the first Japanese man to climb Everest, swum in the Ganges, narrowly escaped marriage in Nepal, and is currently trying to climb Mont Blanc. How many other people can say that?
Any of you who have travelled, or taken the opportunity of a lifetime, know that it is the complete experience which makes it. You feel enriched by the whole experience, both good and bad. This is what makes this story so inspiring for us. Keiichi Iwasaki has gone all out to fulfil his dream of travelling. He travels by bike because he wants to “see and feel everything with [his] own skin.” In the tradition of the storybook hero who goes to find himself, he left home with the proverbial napkin and stick on his back, and has enjoyed experiences most of us just imagine. But as his story proves, the only reason we are just imagining them is that we haven’t bothered to go out and live them. If one man can leave home with £1 and a bike and see the world, then there’s no reason why everyone else can’t too.
But if you do decide that travelling the world is not for you, then keep an eye out for the book Mr. Iwasaki wants to publish when he gets home. It will probably be an Odyssey for our time. Only slightly fewer mythological creatures, and a story the readers can actually live themselves!
Heroes
Everyone loves heroes. There is something inescapably positive about one person’s heroics, and the celebration of them. Little kids, and a number of adults, spend there days reading comics, or watching TV shows, about heroes. The outstanding actions of one become a good for all to celebrate. This is particularly true when we can relate to the people themselves. Hence comic book heroes having secret identities, of course it does allow for the obvious exploration of the human cost of heroism, but it also makes the hero that much more accessible. Would anyone sympathise with Spiderman if he was just an all-in-one wearing, web-shooting, smart alec? Probably not. It is human heroics which we celebrate, and as such news stories which reveal the heroism of normal people become shining beacons of positivism in amongst the cynical, and frankly depressing, stories of war, disease and economic downturn.
Luckily for us there has been a bit of a spate of heroism which has made the news recently. The stories which accompanied the death of Harry Patch on the 25th of July brought to us the inspiring memories of an individual, described by the Very Rev John Clarke as “an ordinary man who led a brave life.” Importantly the passing of the man who was the last surviving solider who fought in the trenches of World War One did not draw attention to the war itself. Patch once said that “war isn’t news” and it was refreshing to find that media attention focused on the man, and not the global incidents. The character of Harry Patch is what was celebrated. He was a bastion of hardiness and survival, and an inspiring example of the heroic, and honourable, values which many look back on with such nostalgia today. This was not a man who revelled in his status as an icon; he returned to his job as a plumber following the war, and only really began to talk about his experiences in the last eleven years of his life. Harry Patch was, and still should be, celebrated not because he fought in a war, but because he came through one, and survived to be the oldest man in Europe.
The issue of war heroes has been furthered with the tales of Matt Woollard. While the idea of a man returning to war may not be an inherently positive image to many, the story is. If we look past the debates on the merits of war, and this current one in particular, we find the story of a man overcoming hardship to do what he loves. Matt Woollard is not an inspiring hero because he is returning to fight the Taliban. He inspires because, like Harry Patch, he is one of us. He is a normal man determined to continue living the life he wants to in the face of adversity. The Sunday Times appropriately compared Woollard to World War Two hero Douglas Bader who flew in the Battle of Britain with two prosthetic legs. Beyond the personal heroism of Woollard himself is the nature of his recovery, he talks about how the army is keeping him informed with tactics, and anything he needs the return. Here is a man who wants to rebuild his life, get back to living it, and is being helped and supported by the society, and medical care, around him. The message is clear, you can overcome adversity, and you do not have to do it alone. The hope and ideals elicited by the stories of Patch, Bader and Woollard highlight the heroism which is either missing or ignored too often in our world today. Heroes are our childhood inspirations, and finding tangible ones in real life proves that the world is not all doom and gloom. Look around, there might even be one nearby!
Luckily for us there has been a bit of a spate of heroism which has made the news recently. The stories which accompanied the death of Harry Patch on the 25th of July brought to us the inspiring memories of an individual, described by the Very Rev John Clarke as “an ordinary man who led a brave life.” Importantly the passing of the man who was the last surviving solider who fought in the trenches of World War One did not draw attention to the war itself. Patch once said that “war isn’t news” and it was refreshing to find that media attention focused on the man, and not the global incidents. The character of Harry Patch is what was celebrated. He was a bastion of hardiness and survival, and an inspiring example of the heroic, and honourable, values which many look back on with such nostalgia today. This was not a man who revelled in his status as an icon; he returned to his job as a plumber following the war, and only really began to talk about his experiences in the last eleven years of his life. Harry Patch was, and still should be, celebrated not because he fought in a war, but because he came through one, and survived to be the oldest man in Europe.
The issue of war heroes has been furthered with the tales of Matt Woollard. While the idea of a man returning to war may not be an inherently positive image to many, the story is. If we look past the debates on the merits of war, and this current one in particular, we find the story of a man overcoming hardship to do what he loves. Matt Woollard is not an inspiring hero because he is returning to fight the Taliban. He inspires because, like Harry Patch, he is one of us. He is a normal man determined to continue living the life he wants to in the face of adversity. The Sunday Times appropriately compared Woollard to World War Two hero Douglas Bader who flew in the Battle of Britain with two prosthetic legs. Beyond the personal heroism of Woollard himself is the nature of his recovery, he talks about how the army is keeping him informed with tactics, and anything he needs the return. Here is a man who wants to rebuild his life, get back to living it, and is being helped and supported by the society, and medical care, around him. The message is clear, you can overcome adversity, and you do not have to do it alone. The hope and ideals elicited by the stories of Patch, Bader and Woollard highlight the heroism which is either missing or ignored too often in our world today. Heroes are our childhood inspirations, and finding tangible ones in real life proves that the world is not all doom and gloom. Look around, there might even be one nearby!
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