Interestingly yesterday was Wear It Pink Day.
From what I can establish this means we should have all worn pink, and donate money, to show our hatred for breast cancer.
Well, I half took part, unknown to me.
Obviously I didn't donate money, as I was unaware that the day existed, but I did wear something pink. Or at least partially pink.
I had some brash multi-coloured underwear on. No, not a frilly G-String as I know some of you assumed. Just some boxers.
But it got me wondering: why did I need multi-coloured underwear?
I mean, moving past the frivolous singular reason why someone might see your underwear, having pink/yellow/white/blue boxers in a stripey pattern doesn't do a whole lot of good for anyone.
It's the same thing as these girls shoes I sometimes see with a pretty, flowery pattern on the in-fucking-side. Why? To reward your feet for carrying you around all day?
I mean I can see the fun in wearing obscure/humorous/attractive socks, because at least when you take your shoes off people can see them. But the inside of shoes?
Surely someone has to be taking a very serious interest in your shoes to see it.
Thursday 30 September 2010
Tuesday 28 September 2010
Lunch breaks, and what you should do with them.
At my internship. Second day.
This is my lunch, and I'm writing. You'll understand the irony* in just a second (look out for it: it has a 1) before it).
The internship is fun. I spend all day doing two things:
1) Writing.
2) Researching about what I'm going to write about.
One of things I have to research after lunch is the correct usage of the phrase "all year round".
Is it:
a) All year round
b) All-year-round
c) All year-round
d) All-year round
If I can't come back to you by 5 o'clock and tell you, then I'm afraid my life is a failure.
*I may have made this point before. I forget. Ask most people what irony is, and they will struggle to tell you. They usually resort to an annecdote. For example, they'll say "it would be ironic if a man was to write a book on how to avoid bankruptcy, and then go bankrupt the following day" or "it would be ironic for a someone devotes their life to arguing buses are much safer than cars, to then die in a bus crash". Note the Alanis Morrisette song "Ironic" for many other examples.
But that's not irony, my friends. Irony is saying one thing, and meaning something else. Through common usage, however, irony has come to mean this, sort of, incongruity between what we think should happen, and what does happen.
This is my lunch, and I'm writing. You'll understand the irony* in just a second (look out for it: it has a 1) before it).
The internship is fun. I spend all day doing two things:
1) Writing.
2) Researching about what I'm going to write about.
One of things I have to research after lunch is the correct usage of the phrase "all year round".
Is it:
a) All year round
b) All-year-round
c) All year-round
d) All-year round
If I can't come back to you by 5 o'clock and tell you, then I'm afraid my life is a failure.
*I may have made this point before. I forget. Ask most people what irony is, and they will struggle to tell you. They usually resort to an annecdote. For example, they'll say "it would be ironic if a man was to write a book on how to avoid bankruptcy, and then go bankrupt the following day" or "it would be ironic for a someone devotes their life to arguing buses are much safer than cars, to then die in a bus crash". Note the Alanis Morrisette song "Ironic" for many other examples.
But that's not irony, my friends. Irony is saying one thing, and meaning something else. Through common usage, however, irony has come to mean this, sort of, incongruity between what we think should happen, and what does happen.
Monday 27 September 2010
Bravery, and how I sometimes have it.
You ever noticed it's much, much easier to be brave if you're the only one who is going to be. Riding into the equation comes the issue of spiders. Cue annecdote:
Some time ago I was watching a movie in the dark round Joe's. The only light was from the TV flickering with each scene occasionally illuminating the floor. I could see something scuttering around in the dark near my feet. I ignored it, I assumed it was a little spider. I say it in the order of my eye a few times, then perhaps 20 minutes later there was a prolonged "bright" scene, acording a clearer view of the room.
So I get a clear look at the spider. And it's pretty fucking big.
I announced this fact, much to the immediate dismay of Nicki, who stood on the sofa throughout the proceeding scene. We turned on the light, and my suspicions were confirmed, it was big. One of the bigger spiders I've seen in England. It was quick too, one of those kinda stop-start scuttering spiders.
I should say at this point I'm not afraid of spiders, but I am not their biggest fan. And that's kinda the point. If that room had been full of arachnophobics (like Nicki), I could have gotten that spider, I could have picked it up and gotten rid of it.
But it wasn't a room of arachnophobics. Joe and Tom, especially Tom, were not remotely afraid of it, and for some reason that made me slightly more afraid of it.
I don't know if this is a common occurance. Are we braver when we have to be?
Certainly from my experience playing basketball I can tell you that I am a lot more confident on the ball, and more likely to dribble and drive if I feel like one of the better players. I don't know. Maybe it's just me.
By the way, apparently, between 50-60% of women in England suffer from arachnophobia, and between 10-20% of men. Now why is that? Seems strange.
Some time ago I was watching a movie in the dark round Joe's. The only light was from the TV flickering with each scene occasionally illuminating the floor. I could see something scuttering around in the dark near my feet. I ignored it, I assumed it was a little spider. I say it in the order of my eye a few times, then perhaps 20 minutes later there was a prolonged "bright" scene, acording a clearer view of the room.
So I get a clear look at the spider. And it's pretty fucking big.
I announced this fact, much to the immediate dismay of Nicki, who stood on the sofa throughout the proceeding scene. We turned on the light, and my suspicions were confirmed, it was big. One of the bigger spiders I've seen in England. It was quick too, one of those kinda stop-start scuttering spiders.
I should say at this point I'm not afraid of spiders, but I am not their biggest fan. And that's kinda the point. If that room had been full of arachnophobics (like Nicki), I could have gotten that spider, I could have picked it up and gotten rid of it.
But it wasn't a room of arachnophobics. Joe and Tom, especially Tom, were not remotely afraid of it, and for some reason that made me slightly more afraid of it.
I don't know if this is a common occurance. Are we braver when we have to be?
Certainly from my experience playing basketball I can tell you that I am a lot more confident on the ball, and more likely to dribble and drive if I feel like one of the better players. I don't know. Maybe it's just me.
By the way, apparently, between 50-60% of women in England suffer from arachnophobia, and between 10-20% of men. Now why is that? Seems strange.
Sunday 26 September 2010
Lyrics, and reasons you shouldn't judge me for putting them on my blog.
Jimmy Eat World. I feel a lot of the time that Jimmy Eat World have a song that describes how I'm feeling. Like the song I'm gonna put up. I don't think you should assume it describes how I feel at the moment, 'cos that would be revealing stuff about my personal life, and that would just leave me looking stupid/embarrased and you feeling bored.
Just accept that whether or not it's how I feel at the moment, I have felt like it at some point in my life, maybe when I was a little less mature, and understood a little bit less about how I percieve the world, and how I am percieved.
I mean, I don't empathise with all of it. I don't know who Heatmiser are, for example, and it's a little bit melodramatic for how I have felt in the past. Some of it is relevant though, I think. But I dunno, I think the music actually makes it better. It's a great song, and if you don't like/know it, then you should.
It's called "Kill":
You're just across the street
Looks a mile to my feet
I want to go to you
Funny how I'm nervous still
I've always been the easy kill
I guess I always will
Could it be that everything goes around by chance
Or only one way that it was always meant to be
You kill me
You always know the perfect thing to say
I know what I should do but I just can't walk away
I can picture your face well
From the bar in my hotel
I wish I'd go to you
I pick up, put down the phone
Like your favorite Heatmiser song goes:
'It's just like being alone...'
Oh God, please don't tell me this has been in vain
I need answers for what all the waiting I've done means
You kill me
You've got some nerve but can't face your mistakes
I know what I should do but I just can't turn away
So go on, love
Leave while there's still hope for escape
Got to take what you can these days
There's so much ahead
And so much regret
I know what you want to say
I know it but can't help feeling differently
I loved you
And I should have said it
But tell me
Just what has it ever meant
I can't help it baby
This is who I am
Sorry but I can't just go turn off how I feel
You kill me
You build me up but just to watch me break
I know what I should do but I just can't walk away
Just accept that whether or not it's how I feel at the moment, I have felt like it at some point in my life, maybe when I was a little less mature, and understood a little bit less about how I percieve the world, and how I am percieved.
I mean, I don't empathise with all of it. I don't know who Heatmiser are, for example, and it's a little bit melodramatic for how I have felt in the past. Some of it is relevant though, I think. But I dunno, I think the music actually makes it better. It's a great song, and if you don't like/know it, then you should.
It's called "Kill":
You're just across the street
Looks a mile to my feet
I want to go to you
Funny how I'm nervous still
I've always been the easy kill
I guess I always will
Could it be that everything goes around by chance
Or only one way that it was always meant to be
You kill me
You always know the perfect thing to say
I know what I should do but I just can't walk away
I can picture your face well
From the bar in my hotel
I wish I'd go to you
I pick up, put down the phone
Like your favorite Heatmiser song goes:
'It's just like being alone...'
Oh God, please don't tell me this has been in vain
I need answers for what all the waiting I've done means
You kill me
You've got some nerve but can't face your mistakes
I know what I should do but I just can't turn away
So go on, love
Leave while there's still hope for escape
Got to take what you can these days
There's so much ahead
And so much regret
I know what you want to say
I know it but can't help feeling differently
I loved you
And I should have said it
But tell me
Just what has it ever meant
I can't help it baby
This is who I am
Sorry but I can't just go turn off how I feel
You kill me
You build me up but just to watch me break
I know what I should do but I just can't walk away
Friday 24 September 2010
Rainforests, and how I did not save them.
I went leafletting (hmmm, can leaflet be a verb?) with Nicki. I've never been leafletting before, it was a brand new experience.
I established two things:
1) There is one very good type of letter box, which is easy to use, and never annoying. And very few houses have it.
2) Small dogs are much more angry than big dogs.
Do all little dogs have Napoleon Syndrome? (which, by the way, is poorly named, because Napoleon was actually around average height, perhaps slightly taller). Whether they do or not is fairly inconsequential; whether they were angry because I was bigger than them, doesn't really matter.
The bigger dogs don't mind so much. They'd usually just stare at you, and maybe bark, but the little ones come right up to the door yapping angrily.
We did a great job though. I feel our hard work is very likely to have penetrated the collective psychi of the Southwick and Portslade photographic art community, in it's hard, penetrative leaflet way.
It does, of course, cross your mind that: how many people will take one fleeting glance and throw it in the bin, therefore wasting our collective time and the rainforest.
Many, I would imagine.
I established two things:
1) There is one very good type of letter box, which is easy to use, and never annoying. And very few houses have it.
2) Small dogs are much more angry than big dogs.
Do all little dogs have Napoleon Syndrome? (which, by the way, is poorly named, because Napoleon was actually around average height, perhaps slightly taller). Whether they do or not is fairly inconsequential; whether they were angry because I was bigger than them, doesn't really matter.
The bigger dogs don't mind so much. They'd usually just stare at you, and maybe bark, but the little ones come right up to the door yapping angrily.
We did a great job though. I feel our hard work is very likely to have penetrated the collective psychi of the Southwick and Portslade photographic art community, in it's hard, penetrative leaflet way.
It does, of course, cross your mind that: how many people will take one fleeting glance and throw it in the bin, therefore wasting our collective time and the rainforest.
Many, I would imagine.
Tuesday 21 September 2010
160, and why you cannot text anymore characters without spending an extra 10p.
Ever wondered why SMS text messages are limited to 160 characters?
I'm not asking whether you care, just whether or not you've wondered.
I've read a few theories, and they are all fairly boring.
A popular possibility is that Freidhelm Hillebrand, a German communications researcher who conducted a personal study on the length of average sentences, figuring that even complex sentences tended to be shorter than 160 characters. He and his team set out to standardise the new medium of mobile phone communication, and as texts were not expected to be anything like as important and succesful as they have become, this fairly massive decision was taken quite easily.
I have also heard that GSM (the universal code that phones communicate with) texts are limited to 256 characters, but 96 of them are used up with the information of who has sent the message, who it is going to, and other background information. This leaves 160 characters for your message.
Another argument is something complicated to do with something called the Protocol Description United (PDU) and the Digitial Coding Scheme (DCS).
I'm not in a good position to tell you which is correct. I just read things, and write them. I'm a writer, after all, not a frickin' scientist.
I'm not asking whether you care, just whether or not you've wondered.
I've read a few theories, and they are all fairly boring.
A popular possibility is that Freidhelm Hillebrand, a German communications researcher who conducted a personal study on the length of average sentences, figuring that even complex sentences tended to be shorter than 160 characters. He and his team set out to standardise the new medium of mobile phone communication, and as texts were not expected to be anything like as important and succesful as they have become, this fairly massive decision was taken quite easily.
I have also heard that GSM (the universal code that phones communicate with) texts are limited to 256 characters, but 96 of them are used up with the information of who has sent the message, who it is going to, and other background information. This leaves 160 characters for your message.
Another argument is something complicated to do with something called the Protocol Description United (PDU) and the Digitial Coding Scheme (DCS).
I'm not in a good position to tell you which is correct. I just read things, and write them. I'm a writer, after all, not a frickin' scientist.
A point I have made in the past, in a succinct comic video.
This song and video fairly comprehensively present my feelings on living in South east England.
Sunday 19 September 2010
Taking offence.
I don't know if I made this point before but I'm fairly difficult to discriminate against.
Being white, male, young and (around the) middle class is certainly a good start. No physical or mental handicaps, no obscure religous beliefs, no obesity, no ginger hair.
Perhaps then, I am not in the best position to be lecturing people about when they are allowed to be offended. But I'm going to anyway.
Like when people complain to about TV shows that have a gay kiss, or too much violence, or something else that penetrates their narrow minded understanding of the world. It doesn't matter if you get offended. Just don't watch it. If anything, take from it that as long as they are not insiting hatred (and there is a clear fucking difference) words can't hurt you. Words can't do anything apart from in your mind.
Being white, male, young and (around the) middle class is certainly a good start. No physical or mental handicaps, no obscure religous beliefs, no obesity, no ginger hair.
Perhaps then, I am not in the best position to be lecturing people about when they are allowed to be offended. But I'm going to anyway.
Like when people complain to about TV shows that have a gay kiss, or too much violence, or something else that penetrates their narrow minded understanding of the world. It doesn't matter if you get offended. Just don't watch it. If anything, take from it that as long as they are not insiting hatred (and there is a clear fucking difference) words can't hurt you. Words can't do anything apart from in your mind.
Friday 17 September 2010
No.17.
Before we get to the trouble of the video, I have some thoughts on the number 17. I have told this story before, but you'll get over it. It's a compelling story.
So let's start off. 17 is my favourite number. When I was little my dad bought me a West Ham shirt and we went to a shop and got my name printed on the back with a number so I could pretend that I was a real West Ham player (to be honest, my 9 year old self is probably a better player than most of the current West Ham squad). Anyway, many years later after decided that my favourite number was 17, I found my old West Ham shirt, and SHOCK the number on the back was 17. I remember choosing a number, but I don't remember why I chose 17.
By a genuine coincidence (or is it) I am posting this on the 17th of September. My favourite basketball player (well, not any more because he is a fat sack of crap) is Eddy Curry whose two career numbers have been 34 and 2. Divide 34 by 2 and you get...
It doens't end there. It has been well documented that my favorite colour is silver. The chemical symbol for silver is (Ag) as in Argent in French. But if you take the letters of the alphabet as numbers i.e. A=1, B=2, C=3, I'm afraid (Ag) worryingly becomes 17.
Terrifying, eh.
Anyway, so as this is the 17th music post, it has to be something special, and special music for me always means Brand New.
This song is called Jesus, and it's great. Like most of my favourite songs it has a crescendo which leads ultimately to the title of this blog.
So let's start off. 17 is my favourite number. When I was little my dad bought me a West Ham shirt and we went to a shop and got my name printed on the back with a number so I could pretend that I was a real West Ham player (to be honest, my 9 year old self is probably a better player than most of the current West Ham squad). Anyway, many years later after decided that my favourite number was 17, I found my old West Ham shirt, and SHOCK the number on the back was 17. I remember choosing a number, but I don't remember why I chose 17.
By a genuine coincidence (or is it) I am posting this on the 17th of September. My favourite basketball player (well, not any more because he is a fat sack of crap) is Eddy Curry whose two career numbers have been 34 and 2. Divide 34 by 2 and you get...
It doens't end there. It has been well documented that my favorite colour is silver. The chemical symbol for silver is (Ag) as in Argent in French. But if you take the letters of the alphabet as numbers i.e. A=1, B=2, C=3, I'm afraid (Ag) worryingly becomes 17.
Terrifying, eh.
Anyway, so as this is the 17th music post, it has to be something special, and special music for me always means Brand New.
This song is called Jesus, and it's great. Like most of my favourite songs it has a crescendo which leads ultimately to the title of this blog.
The little things.
I've been neglecting this blog a little bit.
I've been busy with my Worthing Thunder one. I decided to make this blog so you guys don't have to read my basketball stuff. Well, effectively so no-one has to read it.
In order to rectify the lack of blogs I have simply to write a list of things that are currently true about me, that were not true until recently:
I've been busy with my Worthing Thunder one. I decided to make this blog so you guys don't have to read my basketball stuff. Well, effectively so no-one has to read it.
In order to rectify the lack of blogs I have simply to write a list of things that are currently true about me, that were not true until recently:
- I'm addicted to How I Met Your Mother. It's not even that I find it that funny, it's just that I've started empathising with the characters, and in my mind they are now real.
- I have driven on a motorway. It was fun.
- My last two purchases have been virtually the same thing; a dark jumper with a mock shirt lining. I don't know why.
- My house is now home to one less bowl thanks to my -1 Dexterity (ohhh that's right, a D&D joke)
- Thanks to my +1 Intelligence, I secured a job interview, but I am unlikely to get the job due to my -3 Charisma.
- I am listening to an awful lot of Jimmy Eat World. It's all good.
- I'm a bit confused. But it's okay.
- Not having parents around at the moment makes me appreciate how annoying people not clearing up their mess is.
Tuesday 14 September 2010
I'm in a minority.
Tom and I did a trade.
He watched some Stewart Lee, and in return I watched The Inbetweeners, comedies that we respectively like.
I had never seen a full episode of Inbetweeners before, but I understood the premise of the show, and had seen the occasional part.
So I watched "The Fashion Show". It was okay. But I mean, it's a comedy, and it never made me laugh. I really don't want to make it sound like I believe I am too mature to laugh at a man with a testical hanging out of his speedos, or a character whose jokes all appear to be the fact that he says swear words. I just did not find them funny.
I felt like the smart guy could be funny. But he never said anything that I laughed at.
I'm sorry Tom, I'll concede that I enjoy How I Met Your Mother, but Inbetweeners, no.
He watched some Stewart Lee, and in return I watched The Inbetweeners, comedies that we respectively like.
I had never seen a full episode of Inbetweeners before, but I understood the premise of the show, and had seen the occasional part.
So I watched "The Fashion Show". It was okay. But I mean, it's a comedy, and it never made me laugh. I really don't want to make it sound like I believe I am too mature to laugh at a man with a testical hanging out of his speedos, or a character whose jokes all appear to be the fact that he says swear words. I just did not find them funny.
I felt like the smart guy could be funny. But he never said anything that I laughed at.
I'm sorry Tom, I'll concede that I enjoy How I Met Your Mother, but Inbetweeners, no.
Monday 13 September 2010
No.16.
Sikth. One of the earlier gigs I went to was Sikth. It was a bit crazy.
There is just something about this song, the juxtaposition between the brutal noisiness of the first part, and the beauty of the outro. I like it a lot.
I don't think you could be blamed for disliking Sikth. If you have never heard Sikth before, well, they have plenty of better songs for first time listeners, and if you don't like the early part, skip to the 3.30 mark, and enjoy it. It's pretty.
There is just something about this song, the juxtaposition between the brutal noisiness of the first part, and the beauty of the outro. I like it a lot.
I don't think you could be blamed for disliking Sikth. If you have never heard Sikth before, well, they have plenty of better songs for first time listeners, and if you don't like the early part, skip to the 3.30 mark, and enjoy it. It's pretty.
Potential employers, and why they definitely should/not read this blog.
I have neglected to blog recently. Slightly out of being a bit busy, and slightly out of laziness.
I was thinking, I wonder if it occurs to potential employers to read blogs, or even social networking sites. I mean, the likelyhood is that they will be in Brighton, or close, so on Facebook, for example, when they search "David Wells" my name is likely to pop up early amongst the many hundreds of other David Wells's on Facebook. With the basic information they already have about me they would be able to be sure that the profile they had chosen was the correct me, and then they would be able to look through to get a better idea of what I am like.
This presents a problem.
If this potential employer were to go through my Facebook, they would immediately find a link to my blog. Now, given that a lot of the jobs I apply to are based around writing, it's not unreasonable to suggest that they would look at the blog to see if I can actually write.
It's not so much that I would be ashamed about the skill of the writing in this blog. I mean, certainly I could improve the articulation, I can definitely write better than this if I were to draft and re-draft, but I don't bother, because it's just a personal blog, talking about rubbish like this. But overall I don't mind this blog. It's punctuated correctly and grammatically sound, and it shows my ability to write and blindly assume about many different things.
The problem is the content would reveal deeper personal truths about me.
Reading this blog, for example, would reveal to said potential employer that I become "lazy" when "a bit busy", and also that I "blindly assume" quite often.
Of course, one would hope that the employer would realise that the context is important; that my personal blog is often going for surrealist humour over the truth about my life, or that being a bit lazy about writing blogs would be a bit different if I was being paid to do it.
So if you are reading this, potential employer:
Give me a job.
NOTE: I originally wanted to finish with "Give me a fucking job." but re-reading it, I realised that it looked as though I was advertised my services for the sex industry. Also it had a nasty swear in it.
I was thinking, I wonder if it occurs to potential employers to read blogs, or even social networking sites. I mean, the likelyhood is that they will be in Brighton, or close, so on Facebook, for example, when they search "David Wells" my name is likely to pop up early amongst the many hundreds of other David Wells's on Facebook. With the basic information they already have about me they would be able to be sure that the profile they had chosen was the correct me, and then they would be able to look through to get a better idea of what I am like.
This presents a problem.
If this potential employer were to go through my Facebook, they would immediately find a link to my blog. Now, given that a lot of the jobs I apply to are based around writing, it's not unreasonable to suggest that they would look at the blog to see if I can actually write.
It's not so much that I would be ashamed about the skill of the writing in this blog. I mean, certainly I could improve the articulation, I can definitely write better than this if I were to draft and re-draft, but I don't bother, because it's just a personal blog, talking about rubbish like this. But overall I don't mind this blog. It's punctuated correctly and grammatically sound, and it shows my ability to write and blindly assume about many different things.
The problem is the content would reveal deeper personal truths about me.
Reading this blog, for example, would reveal to said potential employer that I become "lazy" when "a bit busy", and also that I "blindly assume" quite often.
Of course, one would hope that the employer would realise that the context is important; that my personal blog is often going for surrealist humour over the truth about my life, or that being a bit lazy about writing blogs would be a bit different if I was being paid to do it.
So if you are reading this, potential employer:
Give me a job.
NOTE: I originally wanted to finish with "Give me a fucking job." but re-reading it, I realised that it looked as though I was advertised my services for the sex industry. Also it had a nasty swear in it.
Friday 10 September 2010
No.15.
It's a bit cliched. Everyone kinda likes Nessun Dorma, it's a classic. Most people, if they know one operatic song, it's Nessun Dorma. Even if they don't know it's name.
I post it up here because of the performance, I mean you can talk about people being good singers but Pavarotti was something else, there is so much effortless power in his voice.
This is my favourite performance of Nessun Dorma.
I post it up here because of the performance, I mean you can talk about people being good singers but Pavarotti was something else, there is so much effortless power in his voice.
This is my favourite performance of Nessun Dorma.
Worthing re-sign Lithuanian point.
Evaldas Zabas has returned to Worthing Thunder for a second season on the South coast. Zabas is a 6'2'' point guard from Lithuania, and has an impressive past behind him.
The former Lithuanian U20 international joined Worthing last season after a short spell at BBL rivals Worcester. Zabas had quit Worcester after American coach Chuck Evans was accused of racism and resigned.
Zabas had impresive stats last year, averaging nearly 15 points and 2 assists per game, playing a little out of position. Zabas excells at driving to the basket, but can also hit the 3. He's a great ball handler, and whilst not a natural point guard he has adapted very well and I think his future is at the position.
He's young too, just 21, and has a big future at a much higher level than the BBL, I am sure.
I think he is a great signing for Thunder; a proven point guard with great talent and potential, and crucially, he doesn't take up a non-permit space, as he is from Europe.
There are rumours too. Rumours of a number of role-players joining Thunder. In basketball terms, a roleplayer is a player who may not play a huge number of minutes, but still has uses on the court.
James Brame, for example, is a role-player returning from last season. James is 6'3'' and something of a utility player. I've seen him play all sorts of positions for Thunder from point, to a stand-in power forward, but he is certainly most comfortable in the back court.
Mansour Mbye is an intruiging player. He's a 6'6'' British forward, and certainly has the talent to be a decent player at BBL level and beyond, but his off-court problems have slighted his basketball career, and I doubt we'll ever see the best out of him.
Petroslav 'Pepe' Zafirov, is a 6'8'' Bulgarian forward/centre who played for Thunder at the start of last season. He has played at a very high level previously, but last year he failed to make the impact that the Thunder had been hoping for, and was cut after 5 games.
I don't know how likely it is that Mbye and Zafirov will suit up for Thunder this year, I think some of it will depend on how the next phase of recruitment goes, and whether we have a full strength squad by the start of the season. But local lad Brame will almost certainly see minutes; he is a BBL veteran and a valuable back up.
The former Lithuanian U20 international joined Worthing last season after a short spell at BBL rivals Worcester. Zabas had quit Worcester after American coach Chuck Evans was accused of racism and resigned.
Zabas had impresive stats last year, averaging nearly 15 points and 2 assists per game, playing a little out of position. Zabas excells at driving to the basket, but can also hit the 3. He's a great ball handler, and whilst not a natural point guard he has adapted very well and I think his future is at the position.
He's young too, just 21, and has a big future at a much higher level than the BBL, I am sure.
I think he is a great signing for Thunder; a proven point guard with great talent and potential, and crucially, he doesn't take up a non-permit space, as he is from Europe.
There are rumours too. Rumours of a number of role-players joining Thunder. In basketball terms, a roleplayer is a player who may not play a huge number of minutes, but still has uses on the court.
James Brame, for example, is a role-player returning from last season. James is 6'3'' and something of a utility player. I've seen him play all sorts of positions for Thunder from point, to a stand-in power forward, but he is certainly most comfortable in the back court.
Mansour Mbye is an intruiging player. He's a 6'6'' British forward, and certainly has the talent to be a decent player at BBL level and beyond, but his off-court problems have slighted his basketball career, and I doubt we'll ever see the best out of him.
Petroslav 'Pepe' Zafirov, is a 6'8'' Bulgarian forward/centre who played for Thunder at the start of last season. He has played at a very high level previously, but last year he failed to make the impact that the Thunder had been hoping for, and was cut after 5 games.
I don't know how likely it is that Mbye and Zafirov will suit up for Thunder this year, I think some of it will depend on how the next phase of recruitment goes, and whether we have a full strength squad by the start of the season. But local lad Brame will almost certainly see minutes; he is a BBL veteran and a valuable back up.
Thursday 9 September 2010
Photography, and how "digital" has ruined it.
Digital camera's have ruined photography as a form of art. Whilst before, the magic of the photograph came from it capturing a specific point, and if something went wrong and the photograph wasn't quite what you wanted then you just had to deal with it. You had a finite number of pictures on your roll of film so you couldn't retake the photo again and again to get it right.
This is a shame.
I know some very, very good photographers, Mary for example, and Nicki.
It seems a shame that actual good photographers can be imitated by people without talent. Sure they don't have the skill to know when a photogrpah is going to look good, but instead they can make up for it by taking as many pictures as possible and eventually getting lucky.
This is a shame.
I know some very, very good photographers, Mary for example, and Nicki.
It seems a shame that actual good photographers can be imitated by people without talent. Sure they don't have the skill to know when a photogrpah is going to look good, but instead they can make up for it by taking as many pictures as possible and eventually getting lucky.
No.14.
This is Yourcodenameis:milo.
The lead singer is now in The Automatic, of "what's that coming over the hill, is it a monster? Is it a monstaaaar!" fame.
This is, well, a little bit different.
The lead singer is now in The Automatic, of "what's that coming over the hill, is it a monster? Is it a monstaaaar!" fame.
This is, well, a little bit different.
Wednesday 8 September 2010
Fame, and the story of celebrity.
Isn't it interesting how popular music artists go through different chapters in their careers. Michael Jackson, for example:
The Chapter 1 stage consisted of being a talented little kid with dark skin and a great voice. Chapter 2 was the phase of slighty plastic appearance but still perhaps the world's greatest entertainer with incredable dance moves, churning out pop hits like it was easy. In Chapter 3 he became a talentless white guy living off past glories. Then came Chapter 4, the controversial "paedophile" stage. I'll be the first to admit I wasn't a fan of Michael Jackson as a paedophile, so I was very pleased to see him move onto Chapter 5, where he made the excellent career move of dying and reminding us how great he was.
It's like this for many contemporary artists, they go through Chapter in their careers too, except that these days there are several easily defined career paths for the modern music maker.
For a female:
1) Write a popular and succesful album, instilling the virtues that you don't need to get naked to sell records.
1a) Optional: Hint that you could well be A) a lesbian or B) a man
2) Release a mediocre record, but achieve decent sales figures because your music videos have virtually constant shots of your tits, arse or other bare body parts.
3) Become an overweight alcoholic whose career will eventually be saved by the book deal you recieve for writing about your experiences as a single mother bringing up your kids whilst addicted to the sauce.
4) Fund your retirement by sparodically selling pictures from your wedding/holiday/funeral to HEAT magazine.
Easy.
The Chapter 1 stage consisted of being a talented little kid with dark skin and a great voice. Chapter 2 was the phase of slighty plastic appearance but still perhaps the world's greatest entertainer with incredable dance moves, churning out pop hits like it was easy. In Chapter 3 he became a talentless white guy living off past glories. Then came Chapter 4, the controversial "paedophile" stage. I'll be the first to admit I wasn't a fan of Michael Jackson as a paedophile, so I was very pleased to see him move onto Chapter 5, where he made the excellent career move of dying and reminding us how great he was.
It's like this for many contemporary artists, they go through Chapter in their careers too, except that these days there are several easily defined career paths for the modern music maker.
For a female:
1) Write a popular and succesful album, instilling the virtues that you don't need to get naked to sell records.
1a) Optional: Hint that you could well be A) a lesbian or B) a man
2) Release a mediocre record, but achieve decent sales figures because your music videos have virtually constant shots of your tits, arse or other bare body parts.
3) Become an overweight alcoholic whose career will eventually be saved by the book deal you recieve for writing about your experiences as a single mother bringing up your kids whilst addicted to the sauce.
4) Fund your retirement by sparodically selling pictures from your wedding/holiday/funeral to HEAT magazine.
Easy.
Monday 6 September 2010
No.12
This is "The Science of Selling Yourself Short" by Less Than Jake.
I think it's better with the video, but unfortunately embedding had been disabled. Less Than Jake are one of the better contemporary ska bands, in my opinion, and my opinion of ska goes downhill the more "hardcore" it becomes.
I think it's better with the video, but unfortunately embedding had been disabled. Less Than Jake are one of the better contemporary ska bands, in my opinion, and my opinion of ska goes downhill the more "hardcore" it becomes.
And another thing.
"Any man who is under 30, and is not a liberal, has not heart; and any man who is over 30, and is not a conservative, has no brains."
- Winston Churchill
I 100% agree with him about the first part.
I don't know whether I agree with the second part.
I'll tell you when I'm 30.
- Winston Churchill
I 100% agree with him about the first part.
I don't know whether I agree with the second part.
I'll tell you when I'm 30.
Sunday 5 September 2010
Yes. That's all.
It's a bit of a shame Joe's on holiday, cos he'd have loved this. You will too though. It's amazing.
http://armorgames.com/play/6740/treadmillasaurus-rex
http://armorgames.com/play/6740/treadmillasaurus-rex
Pretentiousness, and my impression of it.
I went out last night, to celebrate my friend's birthday. Happy birthday Alyson.
I wore the rather fetching combo of a striped white and brown shirt, and a dark grey jumper. Except I didn't. I pretended.
See, being from the South that gives me license to be as pretencions as possible. I was so concerned about my appearance I chose to wear a "mock layered" jumper. A jumper with a pretend shirt coming out of the top giving me the appearance of being more stylish than I actually am.
You only get this kind of pretentiousness in the South, I mean it's definitely creeping further and further North, but in the South people are so obsessed with looking "different" and "original" but as I have said before on this blog, everyone's understanding of "original" is exactly the same.
I don't care though. It is a very fetching jumper.
I wore the rather fetching combo of a striped white and brown shirt, and a dark grey jumper. Except I didn't. I pretended.
See, being from the South that gives me license to be as pretencions as possible. I was so concerned about my appearance I chose to wear a "mock layered" jumper. A jumper with a pretend shirt coming out of the top giving me the appearance of being more stylish than I actually am.
You only get this kind of pretentiousness in the South, I mean it's definitely creeping further and further North, but in the South people are so obsessed with looking "different" and "original" but as I have said before on this blog, everyone's understanding of "original" is exactly the same.
I don't care though. It is a very fetching jumper.
No.11.
This song is from an advert, it was one of those times where you hear a song, and like it but don't have the slightest clue what it is. So I had to look it up, and I was very pleased when I found it.
Salem Al Fakir is his name. He's Swedish. I've heard a few versions of this song, and this is definitely the best one.
Salem Al Fakir is his name. He's Swedish. I've heard a few versions of this song, and this is definitely the best one.
Friday 3 September 2010
No.10.
Savage Garden were one of the best pop bands I have ever heard. They wrote actually good songs about things, not just the mindless crap you usually get. He's a great singer too. This is Santa Monica, from their first album.
A trio of t-shirt, and why that would be stupid.
A pair of trousers?
Really?
A pair means two, you understand. But a pair of trousers does not mean two trousers. It means one.
Now, presumably, it's called a pair of trousers because there are two legs to go in it.
But a t-shirt has two holes for arms, and we don't call that a pair of t-shirt.
Admittedly a t-shirt has an extra whole for the head to go through, so perhaps it should be a trio of t-shirt. But then again, if you're a male (or indeed a female who has purchased a SheWee) there is a third hole available on your pair of trousers; you just choose not to use it as often.
The humorless reality of it is that before we had any ability to make clothes properlly, trousers were individual things that you pulled onto your legs. When we manage to figure out a way to make them all in one the linguistic phrase of a pair of trousers just stuck around.
And for some reason has also been applied to any clothing for your bottom half, conjoined or otherwise.
Just another example of English being stupid.
Really?
A pair means two, you understand. But a pair of trousers does not mean two trousers. It means one.
Now, presumably, it's called a pair of trousers because there are two legs to go in it.
But a t-shirt has two holes for arms, and we don't call that a pair of t-shirt.
Admittedly a t-shirt has an extra whole for the head to go through, so perhaps it should be a trio of t-shirt. But then again, if you're a male (or indeed a female who has purchased a SheWee) there is a third hole available on your pair of trousers; you just choose not to use it as often.
The humorless reality of it is that before we had any ability to make clothes properlly, trousers were individual things that you pulled onto your legs. When we manage to figure out a way to make them all in one the linguistic phrase of a pair of trousers just stuck around.
And for some reason has also been applied to any clothing for your bottom half, conjoined or otherwise.
Just another example of English being stupid.
Worthing Thunder 2010-11.
And so it begins, and my humble apologies, because I know you don't care.
Today Worthing Thunder have announced their first three signings of the season, and before I give you a detailed breakdown on those signings, a little bit of context is important.
Basketball teams play with 5 players on the court at one time, and in general, at a professional level, a full squad should consist of 12 players. In the BBL its probably quite rare to find a squad that is 12 players strong, most teams peak at around 9 or 10, and from those, its likely that a maximum of 7-8 are used regularly on the court (the other players usually being younger players with potential, or older veterans who are more important in the community aspect of basketball).
Nwo, BBL teams are allowed a maximum of 3 "permit players". A permit player is somebody from outside Europe, and therefore almost always means American. Most of the best players in the BBL will be permit players (although in recent years a lot more of the better players from Great Britain have started playing in the BBL).
Last year, for example, Worthing Thunder's three best players arguably were their three permit players. I doubt that any of them will return to the team.
There is no limit to how many Europeans a team can sign. Last season Worthing's main team was made up of:
3 Americans
1 Finn
1 Latvian
1 Lithuanian
4 Brits (only 1 of whom played a lot of minutes)
Generally speaking, that is quite a lot of non-British players, the majority of teams will have the standard 3 permit players, then perhaps 1 non-British European, and the rest will be British.
And it looks like this season we will be primarily a British team, and that is something I am very excited about.
The players we have signed are:
Shaun Durant a 6'9'' centre who is built like a tank. He played for Leicester last year. He's a great rebounder and a big powerful player. Not much of a shooter though.
Adam Williams, a 6'4'' Welsh shooting guard who has never played for Wales despite probably being the best Welsh player currently playing. He played for Mersey Tigers last season, one of the best teams. He is a very underrated guy, a solid defender and a great shooter.
John Nottley, a 6'11'' centre who has been playing in Europe. He is a really interesting signing, because it looks like Nottley and Durant will share minutes at the centre position. They are both talent British big-men with lots of different skills, making us look already very dangerous in the paint.
I am very pleased to see us picking up so much British talent, especially the two centres, they provide us with a lot of depth and ability that we were really lacking last year. All three are solid players at this level, and capable of playing big minutes. They provide the foundation for a very good team.
Today Worthing Thunder have announced their first three signings of the season, and before I give you a detailed breakdown on those signings, a little bit of context is important.
Basketball teams play with 5 players on the court at one time, and in general, at a professional level, a full squad should consist of 12 players. In the BBL its probably quite rare to find a squad that is 12 players strong, most teams peak at around 9 or 10, and from those, its likely that a maximum of 7-8 are used regularly on the court (the other players usually being younger players with potential, or older veterans who are more important in the community aspect of basketball).
Nwo, BBL teams are allowed a maximum of 3 "permit players". A permit player is somebody from outside Europe, and therefore almost always means American. Most of the best players in the BBL will be permit players (although in recent years a lot more of the better players from Great Britain have started playing in the BBL).
Last year, for example, Worthing Thunder's three best players arguably were their three permit players. I doubt that any of them will return to the team.
There is no limit to how many Europeans a team can sign. Last season Worthing's main team was made up of:
3 Americans
1 Finn
1 Latvian
1 Lithuanian
4 Brits (only 1 of whom played a lot of minutes)
Generally speaking, that is quite a lot of non-British players, the majority of teams will have the standard 3 permit players, then perhaps 1 non-British European, and the rest will be British.
And it looks like this season we will be primarily a British team, and that is something I am very excited about.
The players we have signed are:
Shaun Durant a 6'9'' centre who is built like a tank. He played for Leicester last year. He's a great rebounder and a big powerful player. Not much of a shooter though.
Adam Williams, a 6'4'' Welsh shooting guard who has never played for Wales despite probably being the best Welsh player currently playing. He played for Mersey Tigers last season, one of the best teams. He is a very underrated guy, a solid defender and a great shooter.
John Nottley, a 6'11'' centre who has been playing in Europe. He is a really interesting signing, because it looks like Nottley and Durant will share minutes at the centre position. They are both talent British big-men with lots of different skills, making us look already very dangerous in the paint.
I am very pleased to see us picking up so much British talent, especially the two centres, they provide us with a lot of depth and ability that we were really lacking last year. All three are solid players at this level, and capable of playing big minutes. They provide the foundation for a very good team.
Thursday 2 September 2010
No.9.
This is Davideo number 9.
Today it's the first video that you could approximate as music I genuinely like, on a day to day basis. I mean, I like all the music I've put on here, but this is the closest to what I would define as music I would really like.
This is Hell Is For Heroes, one of the underrated English rock bands from the early noughties, in a category I would place with Hundred Reasons, Reuben and the still excellent InMe.
Today it's the first video that you could approximate as music I genuinely like, on a day to day basis. I mean, I like all the music I've put on here, but this is the closest to what I would define as music I would really like.
This is Hell Is For Heroes, one of the underrated English rock bands from the early noughties, in a category I would place with Hundred Reasons, Reuben and the still excellent InMe.
Luck, and the story of a Countdown presenter's boyfriend.
Today's topic of discussion is luck.
"You make your own luck" we are told. I agree. Kind of.
Some people appear to "luck out" in the womb.
Take this attractive young lady:
That's Rachel Riley the new Countdown girl, standing here (I suspect, intentionally) next to a combination of letters that allows "fuck".
She has been named as the leading contender for the Rear Of The Year, an award that I have been overlooked for, again.
Now here, we have someone who has been particularly lucky already.
A 2.1 in Mathematics from Oxford gives her the brains, and the aforementioned hottness. Not only that, but practically her first job is as a presenter on a much loved Britsh institution. As first jobs go, it's better than Sainsbury's, I can tell you.
But someone else got lucky too, in more ways than one.
I haven't researched it, but Rachel must have a boyfriend.
Probably a pretty ordinary guy. Good looking, of course; he'd have to be, and smart too. But there are plenty of smart, good looking guys around.
Somehow, he had the luck to be in the right place at the right time, with the correct level of physical attractiveness, and the correct personality to impress Rachel. And suddenly, from out of nowhere, you're with that hot girl on Countdown.
That's luck that no amount of "making your own" could match.
Some people aren't so lucky.
We can take it to it's logical conclusion and see the tradgedy of the hundreds (thousands?) of African children born with AIDS every week.
Realisitically, of course, if you have the ability to read this blog, that already makes you one of the most lucky. (I mean in terms of having access to the internet, literacy, and a warm living environment, as opposed to purely the shameless promotion of my blog as a piece of essential reading). Some of us have it more difficult than others, but we've all been pretty lucky.
When we see how lucky Rachel Riley and Rachel Riley's boyfriend are, and how unlucky some of the starving or diseased, it seems that luck is one of the least fair commodities in all of nature, and the West appears to have a pretty firm monopoly on it.
"You make your own luck" we are told. I agree. Kind of.
Some people appear to "luck out" in the womb.
Take this attractive young lady:
That's Rachel Riley the new Countdown girl, standing here (I suspect, intentionally) next to a combination of letters that allows "fuck".
She has been named as the leading contender for the Rear Of The Year, an award that I have been overlooked for, again.
Now here, we have someone who has been particularly lucky already.
A 2.1 in Mathematics from Oxford gives her the brains, and the aforementioned hottness. Not only that, but practically her first job is as a presenter on a much loved Britsh institution. As first jobs go, it's better than Sainsbury's, I can tell you.
But someone else got lucky too, in more ways than one.
I haven't researched it, but Rachel must have a boyfriend.
Probably a pretty ordinary guy. Good looking, of course; he'd have to be, and smart too. But there are plenty of smart, good looking guys around.
Somehow, he had the luck to be in the right place at the right time, with the correct level of physical attractiveness, and the correct personality to impress Rachel. And suddenly, from out of nowhere, you're with that hot girl on Countdown.
That's luck that no amount of "making your own" could match.
Some people aren't so lucky.
We can take it to it's logical conclusion and see the tradgedy of the hundreds (thousands?) of African children born with AIDS every week.
Realisitically, of course, if you have the ability to read this blog, that already makes you one of the most lucky. (I mean in terms of having access to the internet, literacy, and a warm living environment, as opposed to purely the shameless promotion of my blog as a piece of essential reading). Some of us have it more difficult than others, but we've all been pretty lucky.
When we see how lucky Rachel Riley and Rachel Riley's boyfriend are, and how unlucky some of the starving or diseased, it seems that luck is one of the least fair commodities in all of nature, and the West appears to have a pretty firm monopoly on it.
The Stig, and my hatred for HarperCollins.
So, the BBC lost a court case to prevent HarperCollins released a book that reveals the true identity of The Stig.
I won't be buying it.
See, the veiled identity of The Stig was what we with a sense of humour call a "joke". No-one was taking it seriously.
If you wanted to find out who The Stig was it was pretty obvious, and it always had been. Anyone who really wanted to know could find out fairly easily.
So HarperCollins have cashed in on a "secret" that anyone who didn't already know didn't really want to know.
Takes the fun away really.
I won't be buying it.
See, the veiled identity of The Stig was what we with a sense of humour call a "joke". No-one was taking it seriously.
If you wanted to find out who The Stig was it was pretty obvious, and it always had been. Anyone who really wanted to know could find out fairly easily.
So HarperCollins have cashed in on a "secret" that anyone who didn't already know didn't really want to know.
Takes the fun away really.
Wednesday 1 September 2010
No.8.
So, we reach no.8 in the Music I Like, or as I have now decided to name it: the Davideo section.
The following Davideo is homo-rock/rap (in the most endearing way possible) outfit Iglu & Hartly with "In This City", which for some reason is found on the NBA 2K10 soundtrack. I knew it before, of course, but it was one of my preferred tracks on the game, along with MGMT. It's a good summer song.
Well, when I say "good"...
The following Davideo is homo-rock/rap (in the most endearing way possible) outfit Iglu & Hartly with "In This City", which for some reason is found on the NBA 2K10 soundtrack. I knew it before, of course, but it was one of my preferred tracks on the game, along with MGMT. It's a good summer song.
Well, when I say "good"...
Blogs, and the creative solution thus.
Occasionally, I have a problem with what I should write on here.
I have pretty much forced myself to complete around 1 "written" blog post per day. Now obviously there is a bit of a problem here. Anyone who has an diverse enough life to have something new and interesting to write about each day probably doesn't have the time to do it.
I tend to get around this problem by not caring.
I've got plenty of ideas for things to blog about. Not good thing. No, no sir. But I won't run out of ideas any time soon.
Even this blog, about having nothing to blog about, is a carefully planned excursion.
I have the ultimate reserve lined up anyway. If I ever completely run out of ideas, I have one stored up; a lengthy discussion on how much of the Ribena concentrate needs to go into the glass for the perfect Ribena.
It's a zinger.
I have pretty much forced myself to complete around 1 "written" blog post per day. Now obviously there is a bit of a problem here. Anyone who has an diverse enough life to have something new and interesting to write about each day probably doesn't have the time to do it.
I tend to get around this problem by not caring.
I've got plenty of ideas for things to blog about. Not good thing. No, no sir. But I won't run out of ideas any time soon.
Even this blog, about having nothing to blog about, is a carefully planned excursion.
I have the ultimate reserve lined up anyway. If I ever completely run out of ideas, I have one stored up; a lengthy discussion on how much of the Ribena concentrate needs to go into the glass for the perfect Ribena.
It's a zinger.
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