Category Archives: Opinion

My Mix Tape

Friends, Music, Opinion, WBIAGW, , , , , , ,

I have been “eavesdropping” in on a conversation on twitter regarding mix tapes,  Dan Slee has done a wonderful job of summing up the “history” of mix tapes so I don’t have to but I love the whole idea of them being the original Social Media – THE way to share in the 90’s and it got me thinking about some of the tapes I received as teen as Dan puts it:

They could be a love letter, a  sign of friendship or the grandstanding of musical knowledge.

…and I couldn’t have put it better myself.

When I was in senior school I used to swap mix tapes with my friend Jess. We were, in our opinion, the optimum of cool and shared  a mutual love of all the artists and bands the supposed “in crowd” hated, Nirvana, Hole, PJ Harvey, Chilli Peppers, to name a few and with our mix tapes playing through the earphones of our walkman we looked down upon the lesser beings with our musical snobbery. It cemented our friendship and I went on to purchase some of my favourite albums on the back of tracks Jess  included on those now long lost c90’s.

Yet the most impressive mix tape I have ever received wasn’t a tape at all, it was a CD and while I’m sure it started out as a “grandstanding of musical knowledge”   it turned into the greatest love letter I have ever received….

In Steph's Honour

“In Steph’s Honour” given to me by James in December 2005  – 4 months before we became us. He told me then it was an “education” as we liked some of the same music, but he  has since admitted that he was trying to  impress me a little and I have to admit it did!!

Disk 1 – The Rock Show

  1. One Armed Scissor (At The Drive-In)
  2. A Box Full Of Sharp Objects (The Used)
  3. Vessel & Vine (The Lucky Nine)
  4. 57 (Biffy Clyro)
  5. If You Don’t, Don’t (Jimmy Eat World)
  6. The Sign (Foo Fighters)
  7. The Graduate (Third Eye Blind)
  8. Corduroy (Pearl Jam)
  9. Sad and Lonely (Secret Machines)
  10. Stockholm Syndrome (Muse)
  11. My Tortured Soul (Probot)
  12. Superunknown (Soundgarden)
  13. Inspire (Cave In)
  14. (I Am) What I Am Not (Idlewild)
  15. I’m Not Okay (My Chemical Romance)
  16. Beating Heart Baby (Head Automatica)

Disk 2 – Late Night Ditties

  1. Wishlist (Pearl Jam)
  2. I Never Came (QOTSA)
  3. Blue and Yellow (The Used)
  4. Switching Off (Elbow)
  5. Between The Bars (Elliot Smith)
  6. Pink Bullets (The Shins)
  7. Walking On A Wire (The Get Up Kids)
  8. The Light And The Sound (Rocky Votolato)
  9. Scary Mary ( Biffy Clyro)
  10. And Then You Kissed Me (The Cardigans)
  11. Drop (Clarkesville)
  12. Amie (Damien Rice)
  13. Those Crimson Tears (Ed Harcourt)
  14. El Capitain (acoustic) (Idlewild)
  15. The Sun (Joseph Arthur)
  16. Title and Registration (Death Cab For Cutie)
  17. My Sundown (Jimmy Eat World)

Four years and a bit years on I still haven’t made this track listing a playlist on iTunes or on Spotify because nothing compares to the feeling of finding this CD off the shelf , remebering just how much effort went into it and putting it into the player and dancing around my living room. It is such shame that with digital music this is a dying art,  and while Philip John is correct when he wrote that “Spotify needs to get social” I doubt a shared play-list on Spotify or a recommendation on Mflow would have the same feel good impact as picking up something tangible and knowing that someone made it just for you!

Onomatopoeia

Family, Opinion, Parenting, The Blonde Kid, WBIAGW, , , , ,

image

This evening I came home to find TBK once again beating the crap out of his alien friends on Halo3. Since having had the xBox for Christmas he’s spent more time than I’ve ever let him before seated in front of his computer playing games.

I’ve alieviated myself of some the guilt of being one of ‘those’ parents who sits their children in front of the box to entertain themselves by a. Convincing myself that with xBox live at least it’s social, as in he might be by himself but he’s not playing alone and b. Once the evenings are lighter and the weather warmer he’ll be back out on his bike and in and out the front door like a yoyo just like the last few summers.

I say some of the guilt as I’d still had doubts, I was still worried of the ‘mind numbing effects of playing pointless video games’ and didn’t wish him to become a statistic of the illiterate generation we hear so much about in the media.

I know I’ve been worrying unnecessarily as my mis-spent youth visiting friends houses and setting up our own LAN parties for weekend long games of Quake hardly set my development back at all – and you’ve only got to have a conversation with TBK to see he’s a well rounded 10year old, but as a parent you can’t help but worry.

I discovered needn’t have!

This evening TBK showed me in style why I have no need to worry about computer games stunting his academic development.

Whilst in the virtual world of Halo he was running across a sandtrap and jumping to strike a competitor, gravity hammer in hand, In the real world he’s sitting in the arm chair screaming “Onomatopoeia” at the screen and the following exchange took place ..

Me: why did you say that? Do you know what Onomatopoeia means?

TBK: yeah!

Me: explain then….

TBK: it’s when a word sounds like its spelt, like bang, and the gravity hammer goes bang when you hit something, so….Onomatopoeia!

Me: *speechless*

I don’t mind admitting that I think I was a whole lot older than 10 before I grasped the concept of onomatopoeia, in fact I can still remember learning about it in secondary school, which definitely made me older than 10, and I don’t think there has ever been a time in my life where I’ve had a discussion that included the word onomatopoeia or used it outside of that classroom before this evening.

So if TBK wants to spend his down time plugged into his xBox talking to the voices of his disembodied friends hunting aliens in “pointless video games” then so be it because it’s at times like this evening that I realise it’s not doing any harm at all!

WordPress for Android.

Opinion, WBIAGW, Work, , ,

Today I’ve downloaded WordPress for Android, an handy app for my hero that will let me blog on the move.

I’ve added multiple accounts so I should be able to post to here and to www.WV11.co.uk by selecting the correct blog at the log in screen.

This is my first post from it. Let’s see how this works. Post written, tags and categories added now to hit publish and fingers crossed!

——-

Edit: It made it here and retained all the information I’ve added but now I’ve come to use the Wv11 account it doesn’t seem to want to work despite the proper bits and piece over there being enabled… I love the interface but I really need it to work with multiple accounts. Will keep playing and see how it goes…

——

Edit: It works hurrah, multiple accounts set up* think I’m going to LOVE this app

* the original problem was mine and a quick peruse of the forums fixed it!

Freecycle Ettiquite

Opinion, WBIAGW, , , , , ,

I like Freecycling*, or Freeworlding or Freegling or whatever the hell it is called now parts of it have broken away from the mainstream freecycling network.

Freecycling* is basically recycling by giving an item away for free via an online community set up to do just that. You first join the group geographically relevant to yourself,  then if you have something to offer you post *Offered item and  Postcode/Area* to the group and people contact you  to ask you  for it, or you can post a wanted in a similar way and if someone can help you out they will email you to say.

Fantastic yes?

I have given away boxes and boxes of things ranging from old toys and clothes, to computer monitors, an excersize bike  (wishful thinking on behalf having it in the first place) and even 2 sofas, and I’ve received my fair share too – a different sofa, some awesome craft items and some draws for in the shed among other things. It’s good for everyone, it stops perfectly good consumer items ending up in the land fill and saves everyone a bit of money in the process….the only bad side to it that I have found is some of the people!

The amount of times I’ve posted an offer and have received a blunt “I’ll have it” or “Call me *random mobile number*” in response, is unbelievable and yeah that sort of response is going to endear me to giving you my things isn’t it! Honestly, a simple “Could you consider me for x?” would do. I understand you might really want what I’m giving away but really – any blunt or worse text speak responses in my inbox just get deleted.

Then there is the other end of the spectrum the replies that are an  essay telling me about their disabled children, yes all 6 of them, their mother with dementia, their sister who has just had to have her dog put to sleep and the nervous breakdown they suffered last year so can you please consider me for your spare bicycle pump for my son, (or whatever other piece I may be offering).  These come in just as regularly as  the blunt rude ones and I find these slightly unnerving  – I don’t NEED that much personal information about you, seriously you may be in a position to REALLY REALLY need whatever it is I’m offering but a simple sentence “My daughter would make good use of x, is it still available?” – Or if you really need to stress how much you need something “My daughter REALLY needs one of these – can you consider me for it please?” would suffice, all your essays make me do is cringe for you and then make me have to fight my guilt complex because I haven’t got one of whatever I’m offering up for every family with 33 children and a father with alzheimer’s, and hence makes me less likely to offer it to you, not because I’m heartless but because I don’t like to be made to feel guilty!

Then there are the people who once you’ve posted an offer, they’ve responded and you follow through and make it available to them, they don’t turn up to collect. No email with an apology, or a text if you’ve exchanged numbers, no response when you email/text them to find out if there is a problem/delay and you end up with whatever you happen to be trying to get rid of sitting in the hallway for a week while you are trying to sort out what to do! – I have fallen foul of this one on a couple of occasions and now I don’t delete any of my responses to offers so that if someone doesn’t turn up and fails to get in touch I have a list of alternative recipients in place!

It drives me wild – freecycling is a brilliant idea, perfect for getting rid of those unwanted but perfectly working items without them ending up in land fill but I do wish the other users would sometime realise that just like the items being offered up manners cost nothing too!

freecycle_logo

*According to The Freecycle Network, “Freecycle” is properly used only as a brand name to identify the company’s products and services, ie a Freecycle group: but balls to it I’m using here to mean all areas of giving stuff away online using a similar service!

“Alien” vs “the crowd”

Opinion, WBIAGW, , , , , ,

I’ve just upgraded my phone and whilst historically I’ve always gone for the option with the best camera and have usually erred to Sony Ericsson this year the choice wasn’t so cut and dry.

The way in which I use my phone has changed, no longer do I just want it to just make calls and snap the occasional picture whilst on the move.  Now I want/need a PC in my pocket. I want to be connected to Twitter, Facebook and my email whilst also having the capacity to make calls and keep notes to hand, I needed a smartphone – but which one to choose, Blackberry? Android? or, do I wait knowing I like the Sony Ericsson model for them to catch up with the field?

Well after much reading/research, and with the announcement that the iPhone was coming to Orange I decided to ditch my S.E. and whittled the choices down to 2….the aforementioned iPhone or the  Android HTC Hero.

I debated with myself  for a while and still couldn’t decide iPhone vs Hero, iPhone vs Hero so I started asking around– most my friends are iPhone clones, so I had a play with their models (the 3G in one case and the 3Gs in another) and I asked their opinion  and they all came up with the same argument, and it wasn’t quite as you may imagine, the argument was simply – “but it’s the iPhone”.

Not really the answer I was looking for when asking some basic questions about the apps and functions-

..What if I want to have my email running in the back ground whilst also following my friends tweets? ..
“You don’t need to”
..But what if I want to…
“But it’s the iPhone!”

..What about the problem you’ve been having with it losing your contact lists?..
“Oh I reinstalled them”
..but what if it happens again wont you be pissed..
“But it’s the iPhone!”

What about the 24 month contracts?
“But it’s the iPhone!”

You get the picture!

Unfortunately I don’t know anyone *in the real world* who has the  HTC  who I could ask for a quick test run and I couldn’t play with it in the Orange shop  for as long as I’d played with the iPhones but as it turns out I didn’t need to, The man in the shop let me play with whateversettings/functions I wanted and after a short period of time I was hooked, it looked great, felt comfortable in my hand and functioned just how I’d like it to.

I went against the tide of popular opinion I went with the Hero…and I LOVE IT!

HTC-hero

I’ve had it just over a week now and I have’t looked back. We (well James, I was at work when it turned up and I wanted it activated for when I got home *impatient*) turned it on the first time it said” ohhh you have WiFi – do you want me to connect, this will be so much quicker if you let me”  and it then asked for my gmail, facebook, flickr and twitter sign in details and just like that everything was synced. It took 2-3 minutes and James said it was the best set up he’d ever completed.

Since then I’ve added a second email account,  played with many apps  for things I knew I wanted my phone to be able to do and a for things I didn’t know I wanted until I found apps for them. I’ve configured and then reconfigured my settings and now have the 7 – yes SEVEN home screens set up for optimum usage for me and that’s before I’ve even looked at the options the multiple scene selections offer!

I’m happy, I’ve overcome the teething problems getting used to the qwerty touch screen / predictive trying and now even some of my iPhone user chums are looking at Android in a different way now I’ve put my handset in front of their blinkers.

For me now it’s Android for the win!

#welovethenhs

Health, Opinion, , , ,

The #welovethenhs twitter hashtag was started  to help defend the National Health Service from  attacks that are being launched on it by some of the opposition in the USA. President Obama has made health care reform a hot topic in the states by trying to approach the subject of re-balancing the inequalities they have there, mainly a  health care system which penalises the most needy and rewards the most privileged.

Personally, I have many reasons to moan about the NHS, but I also have many reasons that make me thankful for them, So when people start debating their own flawed medical systems by jumping all over our established system they have, in all likeliness, no first hand experience of  so cannot put forward a balanced debate, then I feel compelled to defend.

In the US without decent health insurance (and in some cases with  it) if I were in an accident or if I, or TBK fell ill. I would have to choose my/his/our treatment based on what I could afford, not on what would be best for us. At least with the NHS our options are sorted, I wouldn’t have to choose between paying for mine or TBK health care if I couldn’t afford both. I don’t have to worry about any unforeseen accidents or illnesses,  I know that if and when we fall ill or accidents  happen we would be dealt with in a fair, non for profit system.

Now  I know the NHS isn’t perfect, the waiting list  for basic medical care (I’m thinking about my 6 months wait for physiotherapy here) for example is atrocious, I know it has boundaries, we’ve read enough negative headlines about post code lotteries and NICE withholding medicines because of costs to know it’s not perfect but it’s what we have and in my opinion it’s a whole lot better than the alternatives.

For every 2 or 3 horror stories you hear there are 2 – 3 HUNDRED maybe THOUSAND successes. It was NHS surgeons who operated on both my mother and grandmother who without surgery would have both succumbed to different forms of cancer long ago.  When I was younger and had to have operations to correct my sight, it was NHS surgeons who treated me and made sure that I can see well enough to be sitting here writing this blog today and when I was in labour with TBK and he was lying the wrong way around, stuck and going nowhere fast it was the NHS midwives and doctors who helped me deliver him with not a second glance towards my paperwork to check which painkillers my policies covered.

The US is a deeply divided nation on health as in many other policy areas – it is simultaneously home to some of the planet’s best hospitals, the best research in medical advances and the best healthcare practioners – and also home to some of the worst poverty and barriers to healthcare, the worst developed-world child mortality rates.

Alex Foster , LDV

I know people personally who will argue back at me that our system is flawed, and from their experience they think the whole system needs to be altered, but to them I say this;

Fall down the stairs, be hit by a car, suffer a brain hemorrhage, develop cancer, suffer from MS, ME, asthma, eczema, give birth, twist your ankle, be the wealthiest or the neediest person in the UK, it doesn’t matter because when you need it the NHS will be there. You will be treated the same as the next person regardless of your economic standing, and you will be treated for free, So UK doubters and the US critics, give the NHS a break no system is perfect and where ever there is something to be paid for there will be restrictions but if it wasn’t for the NHS and  what they do, I along with countless others wouldn’t be here today.

Education….Education…Education….

Family, Health, Home, Opinion, Parenting, The Blonde Kid, WBIAGW, , , , , , , , , , ,

Is it a bird....?

I’m going on Holiday in October Term time AND taking my 9 year old son with me. I take him out of school every year for a holiday and for other activity days, as was agreed with his school that I be allowed to do so in advance of enrolling him.

Flexi Schooling is the correct term for it.

I take my responsibility as a parent very seriously and TBK consistently scores in the top percentile in his class  and receives glowing praise every year from his teachers, he has friends in school who come home to play (please read create havoc), and is fully integrated into society, he is bright and articulate, and as bias as I may be as his mother I do have the school reports to back this up, His education and social skills are not suffering because of it, if anything they are prospering.

YET the local paper is yet again reporting on an increase of “Truancy Fines” and while the article itself didn’t really rub me up the wrong way.  As, I will never have to pay a truancy fine for my son  as we’ve the proper protocol in place for our educational choices, But taking out holiday leave from the debate,  it still leaves the question unanswered of WHY these young people feel the need to play truant in the first place?*,  What really wound me up was the ignorance of some of the commentators who posted both before and after me.

These trips or in some peoples eyes “absenses” provide an education kids just can’t get when in school and also teaching shouldn’t just happen, and in our life DOESN’T, just happen from 9am – 3pm in the classroom!

On our holiday, just like last year, we will be teaching TBK Maths (currency conversion), Geography (he knows where we are going and surrounding countries) History, (we often like to visit cultural and historical monuments while away and actively encourage TBK to involve himself in the culture). R.E. (Turkey (this years destination)  is a predominantly a Muslim country) and much more, all on a one to one basis for periods of time he would never get in the classroom.

Previously he’s also been out of school to have the opportunity to attend HESFES, (the home educators seaside festival) where he has taken part in wood work and metal work excersizes,  fabric painting and labyrinth building amongst other things, using skills he’d have never developed sat behind a desk.

We’ve taken him out of school to have a hands on learning experience  as a zoo keeper for the day.  He’s had time off to go to an archery day, and to attend other exhibitions and events. Once, when he was in reception class, I even kept him off school on a Monday JUST so he could have a day off, As over the weekend he had participated in clay building with us, visited a monkey sanctuary, spent an afternoon playing drums and for a child of only 6 this was a lot, he needed the rest!

So how about we stop stereotyping parents who take their kids out of the classroom for any period of time as losers (as one commentator metioned) or selfish (as another did) and look at the beneifts these extra curricular activities can and do provide!

The real time and effort should be concentrated on dealing with the parents who’s children aren’t getting any education through truancy because the parents just don’t care!

* Yes I played truant as a teen, and I was duely punished for it by my mother, But I know why I did it. I hated my English teacher and she hated me, proven fact as she marked all my work down and told me , and my mom, I woudln’t get higher than a D,  myc oursework was sent to the invigulator and came back marked higher and I left school with a B (lit) and a C(lan)  Take that Mrs Smith!

Maybe if I’d have been listened to as a teen and moved to another class I’d have attended those sessions I missed and maybe that tis the answer now, listening to what our young people want!