Dr. Who

This is my first (possibly of several) attempt to explain why Dr. Who is, frankly, lame.

I have, admittedly, not seen much Dr. Who, mainly because it doesn’t appeal at all and I have better things to do with my time.

I have seen a few of the older episodes and a few of the more recent Ecclestone/Tennant ones.

It seems to me that Dr. Who has very little quality in any area.

The plots are farcical, full of cheap and ‘convenient’ plot devices.  The stories are not interesting, engaging, entertaining or convincing.

The acting is unimaginative, wooden and cartoony.

The character of the Doctor is unbelievable and unconvincing.  He is too powerful, a bit like superman, and therefore uninteresting.

The gadgets are a joke (‘sonic screwdriver’?!), very James Bond.

The language sounds like a six-year-old wrote it – things like the ‘Immortality Gate’ in the most recent eposide.

There are only two explanations for this.

1. Dr. Who, as a programme, is lame.  A bad combination of all the worst things about James Bond, Star Wars, Star Trek and Elidor.
2. Dr. Who, as a programme, is a spoof (but a poorly and humourlessly done spoof).

If you are a Dr. Who fan, please comment and point out my errors or explain why you think it is good.

Avatar in 3D

Last week I saw Avatar in 3D. Avatar was good, the 3D was not.

Avatar – a really good film. Reasonable plot, good script, very good acting, good action, excellent special effects. It is exciting to watch and, famously, looks brilliant. In terms of effects, it’s the biggest thing since LOTR. Motion-capture has been improved from Peter Jackson’s model so that characters interact better with the environment and facial expressions are more detailed. This was required because of the large number of animated characters that required the motion capture technique (as apposed to just Gollum in LOTR).
Critics have said that Avatar is just a chance for director James Cameron to try out new technology, and the film itself is inconsequential. This is not completely unfounded, as the film is clearly centred around the new special effects, but I don’t think the rest of the film is useless. The Middle East parallel is shamelessly obvious (humans invade an alien planet and displace the helpless to gain access to a natural resource), and the name of the resource, ‘unobtainium’, is criminal, but otherwise it is a decent film.

3D – currently very overrated. This was the first film I’d seen in 3D, and I was disappointed. It didn’t look any better than the usual ‘2D’ films. The terminology is loose here, because ‘3D’ films are no more 3D than ‘2D’ films. Both are obviously still on a flat, 2D screen, but in both it can be seen that some things are closer and some further away. What ‘3D’ does, is make things “come out of the screen at you”. The problem with this is that you think something is flying towards you, and then is slides off the side of the suddenly-very-obviously-flat screen. This just looks stupid. ‘3D’ looks no better than ‘2D’, but can look stupid and hurts your eyes. In time, I expect 3D will improve, but for now, it is very overrated.

Clapping

In concerts, performers sometimes get the crown to clap.

Why is it that crowds can never retain a steady beat while clapping? They always speed up, even when the drummer continues drumming, giving a clear beat to follow.

Are people just rubbish, or is there some deeper explanation?

Sports Personality of the Year

Sports Personality of the Year is becoming a farce.  (This rant has 2 parts)

Back in the day (when I were a lad…) the show wasn’t even called that.  It was Sports Review of the Year, and was focused on an overall review of the year in sport.  The awards were a small part of the programme, rather than the focus.

Now, the show has become a popularity contest.  Every part of the show is geared towards getting the (relatively ignorant) public to ring in and vote, and we get a much more skewed view of the sporting year.  It has become more about celebrating certain poorly-chosen individuals (see below) and less about celebrating sport as a whole.

That’s the first part of the rant.  The second part is about two of this years awards – the individual and the team.

Here are the contenders for the individual award, in order of the number of votes they received.

Ryan Giggs (winner) – won 2 major domestic trophies with Man Utd and was a key player in their team, but not the most key player (that would be Ronaldo).

Jenson Button (2^nd) – got lucky in signing a contract to drive a very fast car and still only just won the title.

Jessica Ennis (3^rd) – Came back from an Olympic-missing injury to win the world title with several event personal bests and an overall personal best.

Mark Cavendish – won a ‘record’ (they mean British record) 6 Tour De France stages.

Beth Tweddle – After being robbed in Beijing, won double gold at the World University games, then won the World Floor after falling in the bars.

Tom Daley – won the world 10m diving at age 15.

Andy Murray – got to world number 2 and won 6 events, none of which were grand slams.

Andrew Strauss – captained England to the Ashes and won player of the tournament.

David Haye – fought one fight to win the world heavyweight title.

Phillips Idowu – won the World Triple Jump with a personal best.

2 of these people (Cavendish and Murray) didn’t actually win anything important.  Others (Giggs, Button, Strauss, Haye, Idowu) won stuff, but weren’t outstanding (Giggs wasn't United's best player, Button is a racing driver and his success is therefore mostly due to the car, Strauss has a good series, but not mind-boggling, Haye won one fight and Idowu was no more impressive than any other athletics world champion.  Another (Daley) did well, but won the young award, so shouldn’t get the main one too.

This leaves the ladies – Ennis and Tweddle.  Ennis was superb all year, especially after the nightmare of missing Beijing due to injury, and was untouchable at the World Championships.  Tweddle was similarly supreme, especially on the floor after falling in her main event, the bars.  One of these two should have one.

However, the award is decided by a public vote, which means minority sportspeople such as Tweddle never stand a chance.

Now to the team award.  It was given to the England Men’s Cricket Team, who won the Ashes.  It was not given to the England Women’s Cricket Team, who one the Ashes, the World Cup, and the World Twenty20 cup.  What a joke.

Albums of the decade #1 – Lifehouse – No Name Face (2000)

The greatest of the decade, and the greatest of all time. No Name Face has held this spot, unchallenged, for years. This review will not get close to doing it justice. An album about identity, and an album full of honesty, reality and vulnerability. Many people will know ‘Hanging by a moment’ and ‘Everything’ – two amazing songs, but neither of which are even in the top three on this album. ‘Quasimodo’ is the representative contender for greatest song of all time, while ‘Simon’ and ‘Sick Cycle Carousel’ come very close indeed. The other tracks are almost all outstanding. The music, while not unique, is well-crafted and sounds excellent, especially the bass guitar. Jason Wade’s lyrics are like nothing else and he sings them both beautifully and viciously. Lifehouse perform that incredibly hard feat of taking songs that should be very cheesy and performing them so genuinely that there is not even a whiff.


I should also mention here some of the albums that didn’t make the top ten, and that it caused me pain to exclude.
Some of these are:
Athlete – Beyond the Neighbourhood
Coldplay – A Rush of Blood to the Head
Delirious – World Service
Editors – An End has a Start
Enya – A Day Without Rain
Idlewild – 100 Broken Windows
Lifehouse – Stanley Climbfall
Linkin Park – Hybrid Theory
Mew – And the Glass Handed Kites
Muse – Absolution
Red Hot Chili Peppers – By the Way
Sigur Ros – Takk
Sixpence None The Richer – Divine Discontent
Steve – Falling Down
U2 – All That You Can’t Leave Behind
U2 – How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb

Albums of the decade #2 – Bloc Party – A Weekend In The City (2007)

A relatively recent discovery, and some people still don’t believe that this album supersedes The Remote Part.  It does.  Lyrically, this is a brilliant critique of modern life, but not a depressingly negative one, like so many are.  ‘Kreuzberg’ in particular is a song I think everyone should listen to and memorise.  Bloc Party’s mix of rock, pop and electronica is magnificently balanced and gives Weekend an sense of excitement – it’s just a very exciting album to listen to.  While it doesn’t quite present a single outstanding contender for greatest song ever, it includes some enormous tunes in ‘Song for Clay’, ‘Waiting for the 7.18’ and ‘I still remember’.  Also, the lyrics to ‘Sunday’ are some of the prettiest I’ve heard.  Another album that hangs together amazingly well and, although a recent discovery, well deserving of its place behind the number one.

Albums of the decade #3 – Idlewild – The Remote Part (2002)

What more can I say about The Remote Part? It’s been one of my very favourite albums for years. It genuinely has no weakness; there is not a single song that lets it down. Roddy Woomble’s vocals are charming, and are accompanied by music that is practically perfect. It’s hard to put into words just how good this album is. One reason I love it so much is the melodies – they are written at what I think of as “speaking pitch” – that is, they rise and fall as the pitch of a spoken sentence would. They are also right on my singing range! ‘American English’ is the expected contender for greatest song of all time, but The Remote Part is packed full of songs I love to bits.

Albums of the decade #4 – Anberlin – Cities (2007)

Cities is an absolute monster of an album.  Other than a couple of tracks, and the three (yes, three!) bonuses at the end, it is simply a beast.  The sound is basically pop-rock, but on a massive scale.  Each song seems to start incredibly fast, loud an up-beat, yet still manage to explode into the chorus.  The music is the sort that you’d listen to before entering the boxing ring, except for the lyrics, which get really quite deep, especially on ‘A Whisper and a Clamour’ and ‘Fin’, this albums contender for greatest song ever.  ‘The Unwinding Cable Car’ and ‘Inevitable’ give brief and beautiful respite from the otherwise enormous sound of this album.  Cities is also very well put together – the track listing is perfect and gives the album a feeling of completeness.

Albums of the decade #5 – Delirious – Glo (2000)

Delirious have quality everywhere, but it is most concentrated on Glo. ‘God’s Romance’, ‘Investigate’, ‘My Glorious’, ‘Everything’, ‘The Years Go By’, ‘Jesus Blood’, for example. Song after song of unashamed worship, from the masters of this genre. But what makes Glo so outstanding are the four so-called ‘Glo in the dark’ tracks that bind the album together and add to the already-present live feel. This impact makes Glo the most ‘complete’ album I own. With fifteen tracks, several at 6 or 7 minutes, this album is a massive work and has quite a big, epic feel, while still remaining close and intimate with songs such as ‘What Would I Have Done’ and Intimate Stranger’. Another contender for greatest song of all time here – the enormous ‘My Glorious’.

Albums of the decade #6 – Mew – Frengers (2003)

Not very well known, this wonderful band hail from Denmark, and this, their debut album, it outstanding.  From the opening crashes of ‘Am I Wry? No’ to the sweeping epicness of ‘Comforting Sounds’, this album is full of marvellous musicianship and song-crafting.  The drumming in particular is incredible.  Lyrically, they move from a quirky love song to a song by a stalker to a song about drugs to a ballad, and that’s before they even reach the bizarre ‘Eight flew over, one was destroyed’ and the beautiful but chilling ‘She came home for Christmas’.  ‘Am I Wry? No’ and ‘156’ are battling it out for the right to be a contender for greatest song ever, but Frengers is by no means limited to these two.

Albums of the decade #7 – Easyworld – This Is Where I Stand (2002)

Just like Stellastarr*, Easyworld have a vocalist that sets them apart – David Ford’s voice is really quite remarkable.  Apparently he once sang so high and loud on stage that the blood vessels in his nose exploded.  Another brilliant sequence from tracks 1 to 7, before the last four admittedly tail off a tad.  The melodies on this album are just amazing, and behind them are layers of guitars and drums as well as some really cool electronics and brass.  Easyworld also really know how to enter a chorus with a bang.  Although there are no contenders for greatest song of all time from this album, the overall standard is very, very high.

Albums of the decade #8 – Stellastarr* – Harmonies for the Haunted (2006)

I discovered Stellastarr* the one time I watched MTV – a very lucky day for me.  This, their second album, is packed full of enormous tunes.  ‘TUNE’, in capitals, really is the best word to describe most of this album.  Almost every track is insanely addictive, and the opener, ‘Lost in Time’, is another contender for greatest song of all time.  The album doesn’t seem to have a clear theme which is a shame and can make it seem disjointed, but taken on a song-by-song basis, it is unbelievably strong.  Probably the most ear-catching album I own, the drums, guitar and bass combine seamlessly, and the vocals are strong and haunting.  However, what gives Stellastarr* the edge over many other similar bands are the enchanting backing vocals of bassist Amanda Tannen, especially on tracks like ‘Sweet Troubled Soul’.

Albums of the decade #9 – Sabio – Escape (2002)

This is, guaranteed, the least well known of the 10. It is probably the least well known of any of my albums. Yes it is immense. Only 8 tracks, but every one is excellent. The genre would be labelled Christian Rock, but this is no cheesy American trash – this album contains some of the most real, intense, intimate and vulnerable lyrics I have heard. The music is very well crafted, from the mainstream guitar driven ‘Meaning of my life’ to the harder rock of ‘Money Makers’ to the piano ballad ‘Frozen’. Frozen usually makes me cry, by the way - possibly the best lyrics ever. The standout track is ‘Mother’, another contender for the greatest song of all time. One of those songs that words genuinely cannot describe. Sadly, this was all that Sabio every produced, before splitting and embarking on other projects. I can only imagine what they could have become.
For a more detailed review of Escape, go here.

Albums of the decade #10 – British Sea Power – The Decline of British Sea Power (2003)

Over the next ten days, I will be publishing my top 10 albums of the decade, in reverse order.  Much thought has gone into this list, yet I still cannot say for certain that it will not change.  But the end of the decade approaches, so here they come.  All but numbers 9 and 7 are available for listening on Spotify.

Those who know me well may be surprised that this album is ‘only’ number 10.  Fear not – I love this album!  After the admittedly bizarre opening 3 tracks, Decline Of has an incredible 7-song sequence, including the energetic ‘Remember Me’, the mellow ‘The Lonely’ and the epic ‘Lately’.  BSP are weird, both musically and lyrically, but they are so refreshing because of this.  They sound like nothing else.  The guitars soar and pierce, the drums are just plain bizarre, and the vocals sound like a cross between a scream and a whisper.  Lyrically, they sing about everything from Fyodor Dostoyevsky to the ocean.  Truly amazing.  Decline Of also contains ‘Carrion’, a contender for the greatest song of all time.

Soundtrack of 2009

Last year I wrote a blog about my soundtrack of 2008.  Here is my soundtrack of 2009.  Links take you to Youtube videos.

Athlete - Black Swan Song
A great song, I think anyone would agree.  On of my current 'funeral songs'  Also has an outstanding video.  Emotional stuff.

Bloc Party - I Still Remember
Possibly the most fun love song ever.  Another great video.  And the best up-the-octave move I've ever heard at 3.26.


Bloc Party - Sunday
A wonderful song, with one of my all-time favourite middle-eights, especially when they link it back in with the chorus.  The album combination of Kreuzberg (on last year's soundtrack), I Still Remember, and Sunday, is enormous.

Bottlerockit - Die Out (no video available)
A song I've known for years but has really come back to me this year, by the small-town punk rockers.

Doves - Satellites
B-E-A-bloody-utiful.  That is all.

Enya - Book of Days
I don't think I will ever stop going on about the genius that is Enya.  This is an old song of hers, but one of her very best.  The video is a live version - this is incredibly rare!

Feeder - Morning Life
This song just sounds so good!  The four guitar parts are amazing.  Morning Life has actually entered my list of contenders for greatest song ever.

Lifehouse - From Where You Are
Clearly a lovely song.  Lifehouse somehow manage to play songs that on paper are immensely cheesy, but without making them cheesy.  Remarkable.  Apparently this song will be on their next album, to be released in February.

Mew - 156
Another song I've known for a while, but this year I've listened to it a lot.  It is currently challenging 'Am I Wry?' for the title of Mew's best song and a place in the list of contenders for greatest song ever.

Regina Spektor - The Call
This is on this list because of its place as the end song for the film Prince Caspian.  Best non-LOTR film ending song I've ever heard, perfectly captured the poignancy at the end of the film.

Stellastarr* - Move On (no video available)
The best song off the new album and, as is often the case with Stellastarr*, it's just an absolute TUNE!


This blog would not be complete without mentioning Athlete's third album Beyond the Neitghbourhood.  While no song quite matches Black Swan Song, almost every track comes close, and the overall standard of the album is outstanding.  The best album of the year, highly recommended (it's on Spotify, go there now!)

Delirious

Here follows a review of Delirious – over that last 17 years and also their farewell tour gig in Leeds on 28th November 2009.

Delirious were one of the first bands I was ever into, about 12-13 years ago. I have followed them avidly for the last decade and a bit, buying all their studio albums and seeing them several times in concert. They are one of my elite circle of six favourite bands, their song My Glorious features on my list of ‘contenders for greatest song of all time’ and their album Glo is in my top ten albums ever. I really like Delirious.

Several things make them great:

• Their longevity – they have been at the forefront of the Christian Rock genre for about 15 years, to a certain extent carrying that flag single-handedly, in that no-one else seems to have got close to them in terms of popularity and sheer volume of music produced.

• Popularity – they are much loved and almost universally respected amongst Christians, and they even broke America.

• Quality and quantity – their songs are just really, really good My Glorious is their best (no arguments please), but following this masterpiece are dozens more top quality songs. Including the Cutting Edge stuff (from before they changed the name to Delirious), they have release 9 full-length studio albums, plus two alternative release of Audio Lessonover, plus six live albums and 3 compilations.

• Live act – they are excellent live performers, and their shows are always both exciting and moving. I think Martin Smith might be the best front man I have seen.

• Variety – from the Cutting Edge worship songs to the alternative rock of Audio Lessonover. From Promise to What A Friend I’ve Found, in one album.

One thing makes them less great:

• In concert, they have never convincingly trodden the line between worship leaders and rock stars. They can do worship leaders. They can do rock stars. But they have never managed to combine the two and make it work in concert.

It was of course sad news that Delirious were to finish as a band at the end of 2009, and there was no way I would have missed the farewell tour. Tickets were booked back in about July, and the excitement mounted as 19 of us headed to Leeds for their penultimate gig. Before going, I displayed a moment of weakness and went online to find review of the previous four gigs in the tour. All four were similar but with slight differences each night. And none of them included My Glorious. Of course, that could change, but I didn’t want to get my hope up. Anyway, here comes the set list, with comments.

First: The Cutting Edge band, playing a worship set.
Live and In the Can intro – this was fairly standard, just helped to build the excitement
Not Ashamed – cracking opener, got the crowd (at least the ones who were old enough to remember this song) bouncing.
Louder than the Radio – very unexpected, but very cool live. Great singalongs in the choruses.
The Happy Song – against their better judgement, having vowed to never play it again, but it went down well. Much fun.
Shout to the North – another great singalong – this was Delirious leading worship, and they are good at it.
Thankyou for Saving Me – with a nice intro from Martin about when he wrote it.
White Ribbon Day (chorus only) – a song I desperately wanted to hear in full, and one that didn’t really fit here, both because it is by Delirious, not the Cutting Edge band, and because of the worshipful atmosphere in the room at the time.
Over the mountains and the sea – very good, mainly because, once the stupid middle 8 is removed (they removed it), it’s a good song.
Did you feel the mountains tremble – the full version, excellent!
Dance in the river – superb move by the band, with the classic intro from Access:D, got everyone jumping.
There is a light – beautifully done
The Lord’s Prayer – standard outro, mirroring the Live and in the Can intro.

Highlights from this set were Not Ashamed, Thankyou for saving me, Did you feel the mountains tremble and, the best of the lot, Dance in the river.


Next: Delirious.
All this time (chorus only) – I don’t think anyone in the world would have predicted this. Nice though.
Bliss – Delirious only ever open with a handful of songs, so this was no surprise. Classic Stu G guitar opening, into the full song.
God is Smiling – other than My Glorious, possibly the one song I was keenest to see, and my favourite of the latest album. As soon as I heard the riff, I think I screamed.
My Glorious – at this point I nearly fell over in shock because I didn’t think they were going to play it. God is Smiling into My Glorious was almost too much for me to take! And of course, it was amazing.
Solid Rock – I’ll be honest, I’m not a big fan of this song (especially after My Glorious), but it is better live than on the album, and it was quite good this time.
It’s OK – another straight out of left field, but beautifully moving. A superb performance which brought the energy levels down a bit.
Sanctify – complete with the football shirts from Wembley 1996, genius. I’ve never seen this one live before, so it was good to see their very first song once.
Obsession – controversially in the Delirious set, and sadly not as epic as it usually is. I’m not sure why. Still great though, with everyone singing the guitar solo.
King of Fools – Stu G solo, alone on the stage, playing the Access:D version. Pretty good, but not as good as most of the rest.
Rain Down – I couldn’t believe they pus this so late in the set (it’s normally first or second), but it worked and re-energised the crowd. Possibly the biggest singalong of the night.
Deeper – genius combination following Rain Down – two of their biggest hits, from very different time periods. Sadly no-one under about 18 seemed to know this one. Gutting.
Paint the town red – another Mission Bell song that gains a lot when done live. Still slightly outrageous that it got a better reception than Deeper though. Good performance though, very well done.
Jesus Blood – another one I’ve never seen live, and another great performance of an excellent song. The lighting was particularly spectacular in this one.
True Colours (chorus only) – I could not believe my ears. I’ve paid £18.50 to see Delirious one last time, and they play a cover?! The cheek of it! I don’t even like the song! I was not impressed.
Majesty – dangerous move, because it’s so worshippy, but they got away with it, just. Great singing from the crowd.
Our God Reigns (chorus only) – fair play to them, it’s a brilliant, brilliant refrain. Good to see it live one last time.
Investigate – Standard closer, performed magnificently. No more words.

Kingdom of Comfort – interesting choice for an encore, but not one that made me unhappy. Really good performance from the band.
Stare the monster down – a waste of an encore slot to be honest. The crowd weren’t that into it and there would have been better song to put in here (e.g. White Ribbon Day, Heaven, Everything, Years Go By, Take me Away, God in Heaven, Feel It Coming On, Love Will Find a Way, Wonder). Biggest mistake in the set list (apart from the aforementioned unmentionable)
History Maker – predictable, but nonetheless excellent, with great screen graphics

My Soul Sings – another encore, and another song that is ok, but not one of their best, but which is always better live. Decent ending.


Highlights:
God is Smiling into My Glorious
Sanctify
Rain Down and Deeper
Investigate
Also, the lighting and visuals were really, really good.

Songs I’d like to have seen: the ones mentioned with Stare the Monster Down, especially Heaven. Also Find me in the River and All I want is You in the Cutting Edge set.

One last thing – after the lights came up at the end, they played ‘Always look on the bright side of life) over the sound system. Seriously, why would you play such an annoying and addictive song after a gig. Je ne suis pas impressed.


My latest attempt to rank the studio albums:
Glo
World Service
King of Fools
Kingdom of Comfort/Mezzamorphis (joint, off the top of my head)
Audio Lessonover/Mission Bell (also joint)

A more considered blog of my top ten Delirious songs might follow.

Albums I have discovered in 2009

About this time last year, I blogged about ten albums I was excited to have discovered in 2008.
This year, I have a list of some of the albums I have discovered, with a rating, out of 10, for each, to indicate how much it excited me.
However, a low score does not necessarily indicate a poor album, because these marks are given relative to my expectations. Therefore, if a band I love produces a relatively poor album for their high standard, they will receive a low mark, while if a band that I am not as keen on produce a surprisingly decent album, they will receive a high mark. A score of 5 indicates a satisfactory album that is exactly as expected given a band’s previous work. Hope that makes sense.
So, in alphabetical order by artist:

Anberlin – New Surrender – 8
Not as good at the previous Anberlin album, Cities, but full of decent songs and maintains the high Anberlin standard.
Athlete – Beyond the Neighbourhood – 10
Actually released in 2007, this is Athlete’s best album, far surpassing their first two. Not a weak track in sight. Best album of the year, hands down.
Athlete – Black Swan – 9
Athlete’s fourth album isn’t quite as good as BtN, but it’s still very good, and Black Swan Song is just amazing.
Bloc Party – Intimacy – 1
The third Bloc Party album had the task of following one of my all-time favourite albums, and doesn’t come anywhere close. Some good songs, but overall a big disappointment – far weaker than either of Bloc Party’s first two albums.
Editors – In the light and on this evening – 3
Some decent stuff on their third album, but it is still definitely their weakest.
Idlewild – Post electric blues – 2
Again, some really nice songs here, but ultimately a disappointment – this is significantly Idlewild’s weakest album since Hope is Important.
Killers – Day and Age – 4
Not as good as Hot Fuss or Sam’s Town, but this is still quite a good album. It’s a shame that it declines after the great opening of Losing Touch and Human.
Matt Redman – We shall not be shaken – 6
Another very solid Matt Redman album which, while not even close to The Friendship and the Fear, is definitely better than Beautiful News. A few absolute belters in We Shall Not Be Shaken, Through it All and You Alone Can Rescue.
Mew – No more stories – 3
Four very good songs, but ten that are not bad but not up to the standard of Mew’s first two albums.
Muse – The Resistance – 7
Like many albums on this list, this isn’t Muse at their very peak, but it’s still a very good album.
Stellastarr* - Civilised – 4
Some really cool stuff on Civilised, but following Harmonies for the Haunted was always a tall order and it’s just not in the same league. Move On is lovely though.
U2 – No line on the horizon - 2
My least favourite of all of U2s albums. Nuff said.


Absolute top 5 albums of the year?
Beyond the Neighbourhood
Black Swan
New Surrender
The Resistance
We Shall Not Be Shaken

A very interesting list, because this is the same ranking as the ‘relative to previous work’ list above. Which means that either this is a fluke, or I’m less capable of being objective than I thought.

Anyway, the moral of the story is that this year has been Athlete’s year. Well done boys.

Covers

Susan Boyle has released an album. It has broken the world record for most Amazon pr-orders. That is a pretty phenomenal feat. I checked out the track listing and got very annoyed, because it's just full of covers! It really makes me angry when musicians just take someone else's creation, re-record it, and sell it.
If they change it significantly (a great example is Ryan Adams' version of Wonderwall) then I don't mind - that shows creativity and talent. Just singing it again really doesn't, and that's what Susan Boyle has done. It's also what Leona Lewis did with Snow Patrol's 'Run', and her version is far inferior to the original.

It takes far more talent and work to create something new, and I am in awe of people who can do it. It takes very little talent and work to just play something someone else has written. To be brutally honest, I could do it, with a bit of time. People shouldn't make money from covers. End of.

Quiet third verses

In the Silence of Beginning and In Christ Alone. 2 good worship songs. Both 4 verses long. The start of both third verses is about the cross. And the start of both third verses is universally and infallibly played at a quieter pitch than the rest of the song.
I'm wondering why this is. I guess it's partly to allow a build of volume into the middle of the third verse, and maybe partly because of the subject matter. (Worship leaders - opinions please!)
It always slightly annoys me (no offense) - I have no problem with bringing the music down a bit, but it happens every single time and seems formulaic, almost as if the music has become more important than the worship itself. I am sure this is not the intention, but I'd just like a bit of variation - maybe even cranking the volume up at the start of verse three and then building it even more throughout the verse. Maybe try changing the singing about the cross from a moody contemplative section to a more bold and celebratory section.

A fundamental difference between girls and boys

When girls accidentally wear the same clothes as each other, they are mortified.
When boys do it, they think it's hilarious.

Housewasmhogafnleilts

Sometimes my (lovely, Sony Ericsson) phone doesn't know a word that I am trying to text. For example, 'housewarming'. I don't have a problem with this - I can just enter the word into the dictionary. One can't expect one's phone dictionary to contain all words, some of which aren't even proper words.

My problem is this: when trying to text 'housewarming', my phone's predictive text suggested 'housewasmhog'. In fact, it is possible to text 'housewasmhogafnleilts' in my phone before it gives the 'spell word' option because it no longer recognises the word I am trying to text. Housewasmhogafnleilts!

I don't know how these things are programmed, but either:
(a) someone enters all the words they think the phone will need, and housewasmhogafnleilts was one of them, or
(b) whatever program is used to recognise words thinks that housewasmhogafnleilts is more likely to be a word than housewarming.

Either way, there is no logic to this. This is one of many, many examples where a word that is clearly not really a word is recognised by my phone, but other words are not. Great annoyance and frustration ensues.

Mew in concert

On Saturday I went to see Mew play in Leeds. Here is a song-by-song review.

Special - an unexpected opener that began with just guitar and drums and took a few minutes of buildup before the actual song was revealed. A song that suffers from being between 2 slightly superior songs on the album. However, on the night it was brilliant - an excellent live performance and a great opener.
Zookeeper's Boy - as Special ended, everyone was wondering if it would flow into Zookeeper's as it does on the album. When it did, it was welcomed by one of the biggest cheers of the night. Lots of singing along, and seeing the live four-part harmony was pretty special.
Am I Wry? No - the entry was just as good as the recording, and this probably got the best singalong of the night. The sort of song a band can't go wrong with.
156 - very dark and sinister, even more so than the album version. They kept the first chorus low-key - quite chilling. But superb - probably the highlight of the show.
Hawaii - the first from the new album, and it didn't even feel like a letdown after 156. Epic, with great lighting. Felt like standing in a thunderstorm.
Apolcalypso - a carbon copy of the album recording, so I won't complain, but it was a shame that they did nothing different with it. Very good though.
A really random bit involving a teddy bear on the screen - don't think this was a real song, more of an instrumental. The bear spoke about friends and forgiveness - I didn't catch it all but it sounded very deep and moving. Then, one by one, tha bad left the stage while the music continued.
Repeaterbeater - then they re-entered and started in exactly the same way as at the beginning - guitar and drums, same rhythms and notes. This time they went into another of the new album which was short but solid.
Sometimes Life Isn't Easy - my favourite from the new album, and performed to perfection. So far not a single letdown on the night.
Saviours of Jazz Ballet (not sure about the order of this and the next two) - unexpected, but welcome, with suitably enormous chords. Good to hear one of the not-so-obvious-hits.
Beach - the latest album is weaker than the previous two, and there are 4 songs that stand out: Hawaii, Repeaterbeater, Sometimes Life, and Beach. This song confirmed this as a near-perfect set list.
White Lips Kissed - not what I'd have picked to play, but by this point Mew could do no wrong, and performed this with great skill and passion. The guitairst injured his finger, just before playing...
Snow Brigade - with a very difficult guitar part. But you couldn't tell he was injured. A great, fun, upbeat finish to the main set.

Circuitry of the Wolf - did not see this coming at all (I was expecting She Cam Home for Christmas), but it's always a good song to hear, especially when combined with...
Chinaberry Tree - one of those songs that everyone just loves. Big singalong.
Comforting Sounds - there's only one way to end a Mew gig, and this was enormous. One of those songs that you just have to hear live to really get it.

Overall, a magnificent gig. My only complaint would be a lack of She Came Home for Christmas (especially as they were only on stage for 1 hour 20. That aside, just brilliant, one of the highest quality concerts I've been to.

Ketchup bottles

It seems that ketchup is generally sold in one of three types of bottles, only one of which is any good.
Type 1, glass bottles, are apparently classier, but unfortunately don't work because it is a nightmare to get the sauce out as the bottles are unsqueezable. Much shaking ensues until half the bottle falls onto your plate.
Type 2, upside-down bottles, are designed to be stored upside-down, with the lid at the bottom. While squeezable, there is so much resistance at the aperture that it is very difficult to get any sauce out, until a critical point where squeeze exceeds resistance and ketchup flies everywhere except on the plate.
Type 3, the normal, plastic, upright type, work wonderfully. They win the prize of being this connoisseur's favourite.

Feeling Christianity

Over the past 5 year, 38 young adults have undertaken the Internship program at my church, King’s Church Durham. At the start of the year, inters do a Myers-Briggs personality evaluation. One of the dichotomies of this evaluation is “Thinking-Feeling” which is about how a person makes decisions. “Thinkers” more naturally make decisions based on their thoughts, “feelers” more naturally make decisions based on their feelings.
Of the 38 interns, to my knowledge only 6 have been “thinkers”. That’s less than 16%. I have done no further research, but I would guess that this trend would follow across Christians in general, not just King’s Church interns, though perhaps not to quite the same extent.
A common misconception about Christianity, and faith in general, is that it requires the suspension of reason. Therefore people who tend to make decisions based on rational thought rather than gut instinct would be less likely to have faith of any kind, including Christianity.
As someone who loves thinking, and loves discussing my thinkings with others, this distresses me. I’m not sure what should be done about the situation though. Thoughts?

Early Christmas

This year, Tesco Durham went Christmassy on November the 1^st.  Many other shops had of course already installed their decorations and displays.  Everyone I know gets annoyed by how early Christmas arrives each yeah, and it has been a pet hate of mine for years.

This year my thinking on the matter developed slightly.

We look at Christmas as one day, after weeks of build-up, which is usually a bit of an anticlimax.  We should think of Christmas as more of an extended festival, which begins on December 1^st, in a quite relaxed and low-key manner, and climaxes on December 25^th.  In the intervening period occur carol services, Christmas parties, gift shopping etc.

You see, I think that one reason why Christmas begins so early (other than profit-making) is that people want more than just one day from the biggest festival of the year.  By seeing Christmas as a 3-week festival rather than just one day, this desire would be satisfied.  Of course, not that whole 25 days would be as intense as the 25^th.

Let’s think of ‘Christmas’ as an extended festival that lasts 25 days.  No more and no less.  Shops and other public places start decorating premises and selling Christmas goods from December 1^st.  Activities and celebrations get steadily more intense until the climax day on 25^th.

I know that this isn’t very different from what currently occurs.  The difference is in the mindset more than the activities.  See Christmas as a long festival, not just a day preceded by months of unnecessary hype.

Trailers

This week I have been to see two films at the cinema: Creation (the story of Charles Darwin's personal life) and Up (the latest adventure from Pixar).

Before seeing these films I had seen the trailers to both.  The Creation trailer excited me greatly, the Up trailer made me think Pixar had finally run out of ideas.

I was disappointed with Creation - very little happens, there was not enough of Darwin's work and its effects on his and his wife's relationship, the science vs religion debate was barely mentioned, and that debate presented the issue as firmly either/or rather than both/and.  All the best bits of the film were in the trailer.  I would probably go as far as saying that the trailer was as good as the film.

In contrast, I was very impressed with Up - it was very well animated, laugh-out-loud funny, poignant and moving.  I felt the trailer did not do the film justice at all.

The differences between these two films and trailers really made me realise what an impact a trailer can have.  From the trailers, I was more excited about Creation than Up, but having seen the films, there is no contest as to my favourite.

On a similar note, the greatest ever trailer is the trailer for The Two Towers.  After the enormity of FOTR a year earlier and the agonising wait for the next installment, this trailer got me more excited about a film than I had ever been.

Clocks change

When the clocks go back, as they did last night, do you spen your extra hour awake or asleep?  I always stay up an extra hour, but most other people seem to prefer an extra hours sleep.

Bread plate

The bread plate is traditionally placed to a persons left during a meal. This seems silly to me because:

• It is further away from the knives
• A right-hander (i.e. most people) would have to reach across their main plate to pick up the bread, putting their sleeve in danger of touching their food

Does anyone know why the bread is placed to the right?

Second Hand

The other day, I noticed that the phrase 'second hand' has at least 3 meanings:

1. Not new
2. Part of a clock
3. Literally a person's second hand

I thought this was quite interesting, though maybe you realised it when you were 5 and the excitement has worn of for you.

Greatest Middle Eights

These are the songs that I think have the best middle eights.  If you know the song, but can’t quite hear the middle eight, hopefully the lyrics will jog your memory.  If you don’t know the song, get on Spotify and have a listen!

Anberlin – A Whisper and a Clamour – ‘It’s not the words that you say/But what the silence will scream’

Athlete – Black Swan Song – ‘And the rain beat down on the rooftops/But there was no sound, there was no sound/And all my friends and family carried me/They carried me home, carried me home’

Bloc Party – Kreuzberg (outro) – ‘After sex/The bitter taste/Been fooled again/The search continues/Concerned mothers of the west/Teach your sons how to truly love’

Bloc Party – Sunday – ‘When I’m with you I am calm/A pearl in your oyster/Head on my chest/A siklent smile/A private kind of happiness/You see giant proclamations are all very well/But our love is louder than words’

British Sea Power – Carrion – ‘When this Corpus Christic isle became a land of ocean blue/Again, she cried, you turned my eye, at mentions of, no matter why/And in the end, an August sun, and one by one we blew/Until the devil screamed in the evermore in envy of the grace we saw’

Coldplay – Fix You – ‘Tears stream down your face/When you lose something you cannot replace/Tears stream down your face/And I/Tears stream down your face/I promise you I will learn from my mistakes/Tears stream down your face/And I’’

David Crowder Band – The glory of it all – ‘After night comes the light/Dawn is here, dawn is here/It’s a new day, it’s a new day/And everything will change/Things will never be the same/We will never be the same/We will never be the same/We will never be the same/We will never be the same’

Delirious – My Glorious (ramble, if it can count!) – ‘Glory glory, sound of glory’

Delirious – Mountain’s High – ‘Your ways are high, too high for us/Only you, only you, only you can pull me your way’

Editors – Weight of the world – ‘You touch my face/God whispers in my ear/There are tears in my eyes/Love replaces fear’

Idlewild – American English- ‘You came along and found the weak spot, that you’ve always wanted/Let yourself be everything, that you’ve always wanted/It doesn’t have to be so decided, you’ve always wanted/No need for explanations, you’ve always wanted’

Idlewild –  El Capitan (outro) – ‘You were looking at pictures of the distance/Hoping to see the future in your pictures of the distance’

Jars of Clay – Worlds Apart – ‘I look beyond the empty cross forgetting what my life has cost/And wipe away the crimson stains and dull the nails that still remain/More and more I need you now I owe you more each passing hour/The battle between grace and pride I gave up not so long ago/So steal my heart and take the pain and wash my feet and cleanse my pride/Take the selfish, take the weak and all the things I cannot hide/Take the beauty take my tears, this sin-soaked heart and make it yours/Take my world all apart, take it now, take it now/And serve the ones that I despise, speak the words I can’t deny /And watch the world I used to love fall to dust and thrown away/I look beyond the empty cross forgetting what my life has cost/And wipe away the crimson stains and dull the nails the still remain/So steal my heart and take the pain, take the selfish, take the weak/And all the things I cannot hide, take the beauty take my tears/Take my world apart, take my world apart/I pray, I pray, I pray/Take my world apart’

Lifehouse – Simon – ‘Refuse to feel anything at all/Refuse to slip, refuse to fall/Can’t be weak, can’t stand still/Watch your back, cos no-one will/You don’t know why they had to go this far/Traded your worth for these scars, for your only company/Don’t believe the lies that they have told to you, not one word was true/You’re alright, you’re alright, you’re alright’

Lifehouse – Quasimodo – ‘Have you ever felt like your only comfort was your cage?/You’re not alone, I’ve felt the same as you/Have you ever felt like your secrets give you away?/You’re not alone, I’ve been there too/Cos everyone is looking, and everyone is laughing/But I think everyone feels the same/Everybody wants to feel ok, everybody wants too, everybody wants to feel’

Linkin Park – Papercut – ‘The sun goes down/I fell the light betray me’

Live – Run to the Water – ‘Yeah, I can see it now lord/Out beyond all the breaking of waves and the tribulation/It’s a place and the home of ascended souls/Who swam out there in love!

Live – They stood up for love – ‘We made it to the moon but we cant make it home/Waiting on a rescue that never comes/Made it to the moon but we cant make it home/Maybe home is where the heart is given up to the one, to the one’

Mew – 156 – ‘One five six, don’t you just love goodbyes?’

Mew – She came home for Christmas – ‘Come home, come home, Jan, Jan’

Sabio – Mother – ‘Losing our identity, slowly fading our thumbprints/We’ve let fashion fit the access to the code of fitting in/Tumbling downhill, escalating at some pace/Spinning, twisting, turning, the world is falling on its face today/This world needs a place it can escape/Oh my mother, would you open heaven’s gates, would you open heaven’s gates?’

Strangeday – Fogpilot – ‘I want to fly, I want to fly, I want to fly’

Most of the songs from my list of 'contenders for greatest song ever' are above (Carrion, The Glory of it All, My Glorious, American English, Worlds Apart, Quasimodo, Run to the Water, Mother, Fogpilot), which would suggest that, for me, an important factor in what makes an outstanding song is an excellent middle eight.  The songs from my favourites list that aren’t above (other than the worship songs) are:

Enya – Wild Child

Feeder – Morning Life

The Kissaway Trail – Smother + Evil = Hurt

Mew – Am I Wry? No

Stellastarr – Lost in Time

Attractive people

This is slightly random.
I was walking through Durham after training on Saturday and noticed something that I'd noticed before but not to this extent.  I noticed that (and this may sound horrifically cheesy) in my eyes people are just really attractive.  Everyone I walked past was attractive.  I didn't see anyone who I'd consider ugly.  Thinking about it, I can't think of anyone I know who I'd say isn't nice-looking.  I know it's cheesy but I just think that people are inherently attractive.
As far as I know, this is unusual.  As far as I know, most people observe others with some sort of scale of attractiveness.  Is that the case?
Either I am unusual in this, or I'm mistaken about how everyone else views people.  Comments please.

Moaning teachers

Teachers often moan or complain about their work.  Other people can get tired of this, as teachers get long holidays.  Lines such as 'well you chose the career' are uttered.  As a teacher, I think I understand why teachers complain so much.
It's not because teachers don't like their job, and it's not because they really hate the kids.  It's because teaching is genuinely a very difficult job (that's why we need the holidays!), and complaining (or 'downloading' as I prefer to call it) is an important coping mechanism.  Ranting is satisfying and helps release the stress.  The best people for teachers to rant to are other teachers.  It's about 10 times more helpful to moan about school to another teacher than to a non-teacher, simply because you know that another teacher faces similar difficulties.

Geeks and nerds

A few years ago, a friend and I stayed up until about 4 in the morning discussing the use and meaning of the terms ‘geek’ and ‘nerd’. I realised afterwards that our disagreement stemmed from the fact that the word geek has two main uses in English.

The first use of the word geek is to refer to someone with an unusually intense and deep devotion to a particular subject (e.g. music geek, maths geek, computer geek, film geek).

The second use refers to someone who is typically interested in:
a) computers,
b) science fiction and/or fantasy, or
c) both
(right: the fantasy geek, playing Dungeons and Dragons)

As a mildly interesting aside, I am a geek in both ways. I am interested in fantasy, as well as being unusually devoted to certain topics such as music, Harry Potter, and the creation/evolution debate.

The word nerd, in contrast, refers to a person who is typically very intelligent but socially and physically awkward.
(right: a nerd)

In America, the meanings of these two words are swapped. Nerd refers to either someone with an unusually intense devotion or someone interested in computers and/or fantasy. Geek refers to the socially awkward genius. Hence, while I am a geek (in English), I would not fit on the American show Beauty and the Geek.

Banks

Why do banks close at midday on Saturdays? They're open 9-5 during the week, when everyone else is at work, but when everyone else has time to use the banks, they close early. This really annoys me.

Dorian Gray

I saw this film last night, and have two things to say.

Thing 1: the film is good. It is exciting and gripping. Not the sort of film you’d say you enjoy as such, but a good experience. Ben Barnes is very good in the lead role. Apparently it’s quite different from the book, because the book has very little plot and is basically just Oscar Wilde rambling and trying to show off how clever he is. But the plot of the film is good. For a fuller review, see James Doc's blog.

Thing 2: the film is rated 15, which is a joke. It is easily an 18. Mild horror, quite a bit of strong gore, some drug use, and a LOT of sex. Fully nude sex scenes, orgies, hetero and homosexual. Just as the Dark Knight should have been a 15 for the violence and threat, so this should be an 18 for the sexual activity. However, while I have proved that the Dark Knight should have been rated 15 by the BBFCs own guidelines, I cannot prove that Dorian Gray should be an 18. The BBFCs guidelines do indeed place Dorian Gray as a 15. This is just another example of how film classification standards have changed. Comparing this to a film like the Usual Suspects (rated 18), there is no question that Dorian Gray should have a higher rating.

The language of love

The language people use to describe romantic relationships in Britain is appalling. It needs reviewing. I have, at the moment, three problems with it.

1. ‘Going out with’. This sounds stupid. The alternatives are either too old-fashioned (walking out with, courting) or too American (dating). We need a new phrase.
2. ‘Asking out’. Similar to above. We need a new phrase.
3. ‘Fancy’ as in ‘I fancy her’. This also sounds rubbish, but there is a further problem. With the above 2 phrases, at least everyone knows what they mean. With ‘fancying’, there are at least 3 different meanings that people have:
a. Fancy = find physically attractive. On this basis I fancy loads of people, including many I’ve never met but have seen in films or bands.
b. Fancy = have a crush on. The phrase ‘have a crush on’ is also poor, but people do seem to have a consistent idea of what it means, even if they can’t put it into words. This is a bit more intimate than meaning (a) – having a crush on someone requires at least one meeting with that person, and usually involves an attraction to at least parts of their personality.
c. Fancy = want to ‘go out with’. An actually prospective boy/girlfriend. Having thought about it, you actually want a romantic relationship with this person – it’s more than just a crush.
‘Fancy’ is an awful word because it sounds stupid AND has no clear meaning. We need a new phrase.

For about three years I have been trying to come up with better ways of saying ‘going out with’, ‘asking out’ and ‘fancying’. I have failed so far. So I open it up to anyone reading this blog – please make suggestions!
Satisfactory new words or phrases may require re-defining existing words, making up new words, or stealing ideas from other languages. If something is suggested that I like, I will start using it, because I really hate the current language we use for these things. Be creative, and get suggesting!

Why Men Hate Going To Church

‘Why Men Hate Going To Church’ by David Murrow is the best and most important Christian book I have read.
As expected from the title, the book is about the gender gap in Christianity and explains why many men are disinterested in church. It looks at spirituality, psychology, biology, and clearly explains how most churches are geared at women rather than men. It explains why this is such a problem, and why it is crucial that the church is called back to men. It also suggests many things that churches, leaders, and Christians in general can do to change the situation.
I won’t attempt to describe what the book says, because I will end up just quoting it all. Every page is packed with so much truth it’s incredible. Every minute or so I found myself getting very excited about how right the book was in what it was saying. By the way, Murrow is clear that he is not suggesting a male-dominated church – he’s suggesting a balanced church, but the church at the moment is very unbalanced.
I am not exaggerating in saying that this is the one book I think all Christians should read. Seriously – what this book says could completely change Christianity and solve the problem of the gender gap. Sorting out the problem will not only balance the genders however, it will revitalise the church in every area.
Read this book! Get it from Amazon here, or ask to borrow my copy.

Oasis top ten

Joe beat me to this, but as Oasis have recently split, a top ten seems in order:

1. Slide Away
2. Stand by Me
3. Don’t look back in anger
4. Live Forever
5. Wonderwall
6. Little by little
7. I hope, I think, I know
8. Champagne Supernova
9. Magic Pie
10. Some might say

I offer no commentary on this order (I can’t be bothered at the moment, and it was also produced with minimal thought in about 4 minutes), but if you wish to comment (either in agreement and adoration or disagreement and abuse), please feel free and I will endeavour to justify my selections.

Texting

I have noticed a trend in texting patterns: teenagers use texts to have full conversations much more than people in their twenties, who use texts mainly for ‘business’ e.g. arranging meeting places, checking details, asking single questions.

I think there are two possible reasons for this.

Reason 1: Teenagers simply use texts for conversation more. It’s part of the culture of teenagers. People in their twenties didn’t experience this when they were teenagers because mobile phones were very new then. Therefore in the future we can expect those who are currently teenagers to change their texting patterns.

Reason 2: The pattern of phone usage is changing, starting with teenagers who have more time on their hands. As phones become able to do more and more things, teenagers are relying on them more and more conversation is texted rather than spoken. In the future, we can expect this trend to infiltrate people in their twenties and above.

I hope the reason for the pattern is reason 1. Reason 2 would worry me, because the best way to conduct relationships is in person, and I think that even speaking on the phone is closer to being ‘in person’ than texting (or emailing, or facebooking etc.)

I'd forgotten...

I’ve just finished reading the Harry Potter series. Here are some things I’d forgotten:

I'd forgotten how much I really do love these books.
I’d forgotten how action packed the seventh book is – it really is non-stop.
I’d forgotten how brave Snape is.
I’d forgotten how much I love Hermione.
I’d forgotten how strong the relationship between Dumbledore and Hagrid is.
I’d forgotten how idiotic the ‘Ron speaks parseltongue’ thing is.
I’d forgotten how dramatic the change in Kreacher is in book 7.
I'd forgotten how truly awesome Luna is.
I'd forgotten how much I disagree with the inclusion/exclusion of certain deaths.

There are probably many more I could mention, but those are some of them.

Diving

This is a blog about football, so if you were hoping for Tom Daley, feel free to stop reading now.

Last week, Eduardo won a penalty for Arsenal against Celtic by diving. The penalty was given, and scored, but replays showed no contact and clear simulation. UEFA have decided to charge the player with ‘deceiving the referee’, which could result in a two-game ban.

At the weekend, Arsenal played Manchester United. During the game, Wayne Rooney won a penalty for United. He was brought down by the Arsenal goalkeeper Manuel Almunia. Replays showed that there was a small amount of contact between Almunia’s hands and Rooney’s feet, but also that Rooney had begun to fall before the contact.

The difference between these two penalty incidents is this thing called ‘contact’. But, as replays clearly showed, the ‘contact’ in the second incident was insignificant because Rooney had already begun to tumble. In fact, had Almunia been able to withdraw his hands in time, Rooney would have tumbled without contact, in just the same way as Eduardo did a few days before.

It seems that referees make penalty decisions based on contact. Assuming the defending player doesn’t get the ball, if there is contact a penalty is given, and if there isn’t it is not given and the attacker is sometimes booked for diving.

This is flawed, because there are all sorts of ‘contact’ in penalty areas at set pieces and in open play. Imagine if players went down whenever there is contact – based on the current decision-making, referees would have to give penalties every few minutes.

The deciding factor shouldn’t be ‘contact’ but ‘significant contact’, i.e. ‘is the contact made sufficient to bring the player down?’ In the case of Rooney, the contact made wasn’t sufficient to bring him down, so the penalty should not have been given.

Of course, to make these decisions, video replays would be needed. Just as they are needed for goal-line and offside decisions. I still cannot see the problem with introducing this technology to football. In fact, a tennis-style challenges system could work, were the captain of the team has, say, three challenges per half which they can use to challenge penalty/goal/offside decisions. Critics would say that this would disrupt the flow of the game. Rubbish. The flow of the game is already disrupted by players protests about these decisions. Why not give them an appropriate system to challenge referees decisions?

False starts

In athletics, the false start rule used to be:
If you false start, you get a warning. If you do it again, you are disqualified.
From next year, the rule will be:
If you false start, you are immediately disqualified.

I am happy with either version - the old one made for more build-up and tension, but did mean things ran over.

However, the current rule is a joke. Currently:
If anyone false starts, the whole field gets a warning. Anyone who then false starts is disqualified.
For example, today, in a World Championship 100m quarter final, lane 6 false started. Everyone got a warning. Then, lanes 2 and 3 false started and were disqualified. Lanes 2, 3 and 6 all made the same mistake, but lane 6 wasn't disqualified because he did it first.

This is the number one stupidest rule in sport. I remember thinking this when they introduced it, and I am delighted to see it being changed for next year.

Rant over.

Anberlin

Today, a sixth band has joined British Sea Power, Delirious, Idlewild, Lifehouse and Mew in my ‘inner circle’ of favourite bands. This band is Anberlin.

I discovered Anberlin about a year ago when I got their third album ‘Cities’, which is one of my favourite albums of all time. I soon baought their other three albums which, while not quite at the level of Cities, are strong enough, I have decided, to merit Anberlin a place in my inner circle.

While listening to the four albums over the last few weeks, they simply have enough songs of a high enough quality to be ranked alongside Idlewild et al. For anyone who’s interested (probably just James), the songs that particularly catch my ear (other than the entirety of Cities) are Never Take Friendship, The Symphony of Blasé, A Day Late, Time and Confusion, The Feel Good Drag, Audrey Start the Revolution, Dance Dance Christa Paffgen, Foreign Language, Change the World, Cold War Transmissions, Glass to the Arson, Love Song, Cadence, The Resistance, Breaking, Blame Me, Retrace, Disappear, Breath, and Burn Out Brighter. Yeah, that’s a lot of quality songs, and that doesn’t include the 12 absolute monsters on Cities, and that is why they’re in the elite inner circle.

If you care enough, I’m sure you’re capable of Youtubing or Googling them to find out what Anberlin are like. The point of this post is mainly just to register their promotion to the elite.

Two thoughts on The Lord of the Rings

Last night I watched The Two Towers, having watched The Fellowship of the Ring a couple of weeks ago. I’m watching The Return of the King tomorrow.

I have two things to say.

Thing one:
When I watched these films for the first few times, I powerfully drawn in to the stories and very emotionally affected by them. Now, having seen them a scary number of times, I am understandably less emotionally affected, but my sense of awe at the beauty and majesty of the film still increases with each watching.

Thing two:
While I could explin all the reasons why this film is the greatest ever (don’t even think about debating that with me!), I want to focus on one reason – the relationships between Frodo, Sam and Gollum/Smeagol are unbelievable. Fascinating just doesn’t do it justice.
You’ve got Smeagol, once a Hobbit who has become addicted to the ring, and has been taken over by his alter-ego Gollum. Gollum has been in control for a long time but Smeagol is gaining strength through his interactions with Frodo. Both Smeagol and Gollum still desire the ring, but Gollum wants to take it now, by force, whereas Smeagol now also has a bond with Frodo and wants to serve him. (This alone would be an amazing character). Then you have Frodo, who is becoming addicted to the ring and is turning into another Gollum, but is placing his hope in the possibility of redemption he sees in Smeagol. He is trudging toward Mount Doom, but each step makes what he has to do harder. And then there’s Sam, who doesn’t trust Smeagol or Gollum, and who is watching Frodo become what Gollum is, trying to help him but being rejected as Frodo turns to Smeagol more and more.
Many people say that the Frodo/Sam/Gollum/Smeagol scenes in TTT and ROTK are boring compared to the rest of the film. I don’t understand this. Of course there is less action and fighting, but the character development is gripping. I love those scenes.

Two ways of listening to music

It seems to me that there are two ways that people listen to music.

Some people listen to their music usually on shuffle. They also pick songs they are in the mood for to play, or to add to a new playlist. They will often buy new music as individual tracks. When buying an album, they tend to listen to the singles first.

Other people listen to their music by album. They listen to whole albums at a time and rarely skip tracks. They almost exclusively buy new music as albums, and will listen to the whole album through many times when it is new.

This isn’t a hard and fast duality, and I am sure there are people between these two extremes. I myself am much more like the second type, though I do also have a playlist of all my favourite songs which I listen to on shuffle sometimes. But in general, I listen to music as albums. For me, there are several reasons for this:

1. If I listened to music on shuffle, I would face two problems:
a. Most song transitions would frustrate me (e.g. Linkin Park into Enya, or Tim Hughes into Foo Fighters, or Holst into Anberlin).
b. I would be far too tempted to spend all my time sifting through and picking songs to listen to, which would be a waste of time.
2. The whole of an album is often greater than the sum of its parts. It is only possible to understand what an album is really about by listening to the whole thing.
3. Artists construct albums as albums, not as individual songs. It seems to me slightly insulting to the artists to effectively pick and choose parts of albums to listen to. I can’t explain this point very well, but it does seem a bit rude.

This is not to say that the second way of listening to music is necessarily any better or more valid than the first, but it’s a bit of an explanation of why I listen to music in the way that I do.

International God

We currently have a French guy called Fabien staying with us. He’s over here to work with our church for a couple of months. One of the most exciting things about this is hearing him pray in French. It’s a great reminder that God isn’t English and that he understands other languages, even if we don’t.
It reminds me of when I went on a mission to Norway to work with a church out there for a couple of weeks. I particularly remember singing Ancient of Days, with the Norwegians singing in Norwegian and the Brits singing in English. It sounded amazing. Spine-tingling. I love it when Christians from different countries unite together.

Kreuzberg

Given my love of music, I am surprised to notice that this is only the fourth blog I've written about a specific song (the others were The Weight of the World, The Cross has said it all, and In the Silence of Beginning).
Be that as it may, this blog is about Kreuzberg by Bloc Party (track 8 from A Weekend in the City).

A Weekend in the City, as an album, is outstanding. This song is just one example of it's brilliance. You can listen to the song here. Listen, and enjoy.

These are the lyrics:

There is a wall that runs right through me
Just like the city, I will never be joined
What is this love? Why can I never hold it?
Did it really run out in the strangers' bedrooms?

I
I have decided
At twenty-five
Something must change

Saturday night in East Berlin
We took the U-Bahn to the East Side Gallery
I was sure I'd found love with this one lying with me
Crying again in the old bahnhof

I
I have decided
At twenty-five
That something must change

After sex
The bitter taste
Been fooled again
The search continues

Concerned mothers
Of the west
Teach your sons
How to truly love


I love what the song is saying, and I love the comparison with Kreuzberg - very clever.

Dancing part 2

I few months ago I blogged about dancing.

This is an extension of that blog.

I've just got back from a wedding. Always fun.
After the meal and speeches, there was an opportunity to learn a type of dancing called ceroc (pronounced sur-ROCK - emphasis on 2nd syllable). It sounded like fun.
Then the instructor said something along the lines of 'everyone has to do this, no excuses, and there'll be forfeits for anyone who doesn't).
Now, I know this was tongue-in-cheek, but it still really grated with me. I get very annoyed when it is assumed that everyone will dance, and when people look at you as though you're a freak if you don't, or else try desperately to get you to join in because 'it's fun' or 'everyone else is'. It seems that dancing is the one activity that everyone is expected to do.
So, having thought this sounded like a good idea, and having been up for having a go, I heard this statement from the instructor, Stubborn-Ben reared his head and I decided not to learn ceroc.

Shame, but it really wound me up.

One other thing. Tonight, I was asked to dance by a friend of mine. When I said no (Stubborn-Ben) she said 'ok' and didn't persist. It's only a little thing, but I was very grateful that she didn't push it.

My life in 10 photos

I thought I’d try to represent my life in 10 photos. This isn’t really possible, as I only have photos from the past 6 years or so. But here’s an attempt.

Photo 1 was taken a couple of years ago in the Lake District. It is of me, my sister and my brother. They are both being very humorous. I don’t think I realised the photo was being taken. Photo 1 represents my family, immediate and extended, and how well we get on together.

Photo 2 was taken at a wedding last year. It is of (from bottom, clockwise) Joe, Jenny, Geri, Tom (the groom), me and Sam. We have all been good friends for well over a decade, through the youth group we used to attend. Photo 2 represents the Christian friends I had during my teens, both from home and from across the country.

Photo 3 was taken in 2006. It is of some of my Frisbee club from uni. I led the club for two years and invested a lot in it. Photo 3 represents GCUFC over the last 6 years, and the friends I had and have there.

Photo 4 was taken in 2005. It is of my housemates from 2nd year at uni: from left – Dave, Chris, Mike, Tom, Jik, Adam, Ian, me. Photo 4 represents some of my university friends, and the memories of the stupid stuff we did over the three years.

Photo 5 was taken in 2006 after one of the leavers formals. From left are Helen, Christina, Beth, Chris, Tom, Elliott, Cassie, Helen, me, Izzy. Photo 5 represents all the friends from my college Christian Union. We formed a really tight group for three great years.

Photo 6 is from 2006 and is of the 8 interns from my gap year working for my church. From left are Sarah, Kat, Catherine, Phil, Cassie (front), me (back), Gaz, Will. Although it’s not a great photo, it reminds me of the fun we had together. Photo 6 represents my internship year, and also the amazing group of friends I have in my church in Durham.

Photo 7 is from 2008’s ‘Red or Dead’ party – Phil, Chris, Ruth and Clare are all good friends from my church, who have all supported me and invested in me. Photo 7 represents King’s Church Durham as a whole.











Photo 8 doesn’t exist. It would have been taken between 1999 and 2001, and would have been of a group of friends from Hebron, the summer camp I attended. Photo 8 would have represented Hebron, and the impact the event and people have had on my life. Unfortunately, this photo was never taken, or if it was I don’t have it. But it’s there in my head.

Photo 9 was taken in 2005 at Hebron. It is my all-time favourite photo, because it is of some teenagers who I love, worshipping God. Photo 9 represents what I love about Christian youth work, and Hebron in particular. It also represents how cool I think it is that I can have real friendships with people half my age.

Photo 10 was taken in 2008 at the end of a week away with some year 8s from my school. Photo 10 represents my job and about 35 of the reasons why, most of the time, I enjoy it.


So there you have it – my life in 10 photos. I think I’ve represented all the really important things in my life. If anyone reading this owns photo 8, please can I have it?