I Thank You, I'm here all week...
A God-believing, conductor who likes to think he is full of deep things but flatters himself. A Mozart-obsessed, opera lover who tries to avoid the subculture by playing blues guitar. A Bible-reading, would-be poet, failed composer. More introspective than is healthy. Pretentious, self-pitying, very occasionally amusing, more-than-occasionaly selfish. Insecure, arrogant, self-protecting. A husband. A malcontent when he really should know better. Loved by Alison. Loved by Jesus.
1. Can you remember without looking what your first post was about?Nope, but I guess it was a bit of a 'hello, here's a bit about me' kind of thing...
2. Where did you write it? Where as in 'what platform'? Or where as in 'physically where'? Platform was right here on 20six. I have no idea where I was when I typed it...
3. Which was the first blog you read? Jonny B... who I am trying to persuade to return to the world of blogdom.
4. Who did/do you tell about your blog if anyone?Anyone who's interested. I don't think I have anything to hide... (although I'm sure there's some secret service minion recording all I say as evidence against me for when individual thought gets outlawed...)
5. Has your blog ever caused a scandal?Alas, if only it could be that interesting...
6. Tell us something random which happened as a reslt of blogging? Hmmm... an old college friend tracked me down as a result of my blog. We've kept in touch since.
7. Snog, Marry or Avoid - pick another blogger for each. 'Scuse me - I'm a married man!! And since Ali doesn't blog, I'm going to pass on the first two. Avoid... hmmm I assume this means 'romantically avoid'...? I guess I'd recommend avoiding me, since I'm married... 8. What's your most amusing blog memory? Well there was the Million Pieces "attention whore-gate" debacle, Jonny B's libellous allegations of the colour of my new guitar, and so many others. These are the first two to spring to mind...
Yep, a long day getting to Birmingham (and a small matter of getting Ali on a 9am ferry to Ireland the following morning) was all worth it as John rocked the Carling Academy.
Thanks to Phil & Liv for the (unauthorised) use of their photos - I'm sure they don't mind...
As the sage-like Ronan Keating once said, 'Life is roller-coaster, you've just got to ride it.' And there are times in that great roller-coaster where you have endured quite a few twists and turns and sharp drops in such succession that you just feel like a breather. And then you notice that you are on the gradual ascent which will inevitably prove to be the prelude to a particularly frenetic bit of thrilling - and quite probably - spilling. You can't get off, you just catch your breath when you can.
And that is when I'm particularly grateful for Jeeves and Wooster. An oasis in a busy day, a calm before the storm, the tranquillity in the eye of the hurricane, or any other 'peace and quiet' cliche for that matter, good old Wodehouse is the perfect cup of tea. In a few lines I'm transported to another world, one of pure unadulterated escapism. Innocent, farcical, exquisitely written. And did I mention laugh-out-loud-ly hilarious? And somehow, one chapter later, I re-emerge slightly more energised for that big drop.
I was going to write a post telling you why you should listen to Tchaikovsky's Fourth Symphony. I was conducting it only last night. But then I thought I'd let Lenny explain it to you. He's far more eloquent than I am. I love this...
Regular readers will already know of my dream of being a world-famous tennis pro. Of course, Nadal's whipping of Federer this weekend has fuelled my daydreams further.
In my more vacant moments, I am world no.1, consummate athlete, ambassadorial skills beyond my years, bulging bank balance, glamorous lifestyle, and winning Grand Slams at will, with a mixture of skill, elegance, and self-deprecating modesty - somewhat akin to that of Roger Federer himself...
...And as I step up to receive yet another Grand Slam winner's trophy, looking only slightly ruffled after my latest victorious tussle with Rafael Nadal, resplendent in my Nike-sponsored tennis garb, I thrust aloft the trophy with majestic energy to the rapturous applause of the adoring crowd...
Well, we all know that ain't going to happen. But even if it did, alas the moment of victory, I suspect, would resemble something a bit more like this... (check out the guy in the background with the black tie.)
Somehow, Marat Safin here makes me feel a little better about never living that dream. Maybe because he's done it for me.
... but I'm not sure how. Actually, in the trendy world of Firefox they're called 'tabs', but that wouldn't have made for such a snappy title to this blog. But alas, I digress. But even that's appropriate for this afternoon, since digression and distraction seem to be the order of the day.
As I type this, I am simultaneously following New Zealand's steady march through the England batting order here, keeping a keen eye on a rather cool point-by-point scoreboard in the enthralling Jankovic/Ivanovic semi in the French Open, I have half an eye on the Google Mail tab and sporadically click 'refresh' on the news headlines (just to make sure I don't miss anything critical while I monitor such trivialities.) And occasionally my blog feed notifier beeps and winks at me to tell me when of you guys has posted something new. Someone might even message me on my little meebo widget in a moment.
This feels somewhat hypocritical from the person who frequently rallies against the tyranny of television and the saturation levels of information technology, but frankly, I don't know if I care. Actually, I think maybe I do - it's quite uncomfortable moving from tennis to world news to (possibly) important emails to cricket, but don't ask me which one to close down.
Shouldn't all this be a backdrop to something productive? Or at least an illusion of productivity? Probably, but for now Pieterson and Ambrose are starting to form a handy partnership and Ivanovic has broken serve back and someone has just blogged. I think this is quite enough activity to cope with for the moment.
