#123 on post greenbelt blues

i don't have the post-greenbelt blues.

not yet.

but i don't think i'm going to get them either.

greenbelt was very good for me this year.  i didn't hear life changing speakers.  i didn't hear life changing bands.  i didn't see life changing art.

but i did see some dear friends.  i did hear some new music.  and i did start to think about life in a new way.

that's what greenbelt has done to me or for me depending on your perspective.

so i haven't placed myself on to a self imposed pedastool to be knocked off at a later date to be arranged with fate and destiny.  instead i've got a clearer sense of who i am (and who i'm not) and where i fit (and where i don't) than i have in an awful long time.

(i'm crying now.)

Blogged with the Flock Browser

#122 on new verbs

I am not an old reactionary when it comes to language.  I know it is an organic thing with new words and meanings and connotations coming on all the time but, just like misplaced or missing apostrophes, I do get bugged when new verbs turn up without warning.

For example, who decided that tourists would 'do' places when they travelled abroad?  Personally I cannot bear it when people tell me the 'did' the Sistene Chapel after a summer holiday in Rome. 

And now the BBC have got in on the act.  Since when did 'medal' become a verb?  Rebecca Adlington has medalled twice and so have 4 coxless men (sorry a pun not to be missed) amongst others.

It just worries me that we are simply being lazy with language.  Yes I know the point of language is to communicate meaning as quickly and efficiently as possible but are heading towards the newspeak of 1984?

Blogged with the Flock Browser

#121 on lost and found

You may have noticed a small level of activity on the web 2.0 front as I slowly attempt to rebuild my social life after a year of, well there's no easy way to describe it really, so let us say, shit.

Anyway, I don't want to talk about that now.  What I wanted to say is that part of my getting life back in order is that I've been sorting through our CD collection and come across this excellent disk - The Essential Fripp & Eno.  It's a great listen and I really like it but I must confess that I don't believe it actually belongs to me.  So if you lent it to me and have been cursing me behind my back for ages because I haven't returned it please let me know.

Until then i shall continue to listen to it and enjoy.

Blogged with the Flock Browser

#120 on Leoš Janáček

I first came across Janacek when I saw The Royal Opera House production of Cunning Little Vixen years ago and so I have been quietly looking forward to my birthday treat for some time.  For tonight I went with Andrea to the Janacek Prom down at Albert.

Time too short and words too few to describe the experience suffice it to say that it was an evening of immense pleasure and intrigue.  His music has so many facets that I don't think I shall ever tire of it.

Blogged with the Flock Browser