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.