March, 2010:

The problem with watching Sound of Music is that the kids are now convinced that we’re about to be arrested by the Nazis.

I started writing this post with the intent to do two versions of the above statement. One under 140 characters and one four or five sentences long. I was then going to go into a diatribe about how I was finding twitter is killing my urge to blog, and how much more expressive and creative you can be in a blog post.

Except… I can’t actually come up with four or five sentences that sound quite as good, humorous, or succinct as “The problem with watching Sound of Music is that the kids are now convinced that we’re about to be arrested by the Nazis.”

Bugger.

In fact I’ve actually got 19 characters left over and I can’t really find a use for them.

But still the fact remains, twitter is killing my blogging.

It’s not the only thing that’s killing it mind you. Hadrian’s Walk stuff, the Midnight Movie Club, and the ridiculous expectation my employers have that I turn up to work now and again are playing their part too. But twitter is like a tiny parasite leaching my time and my creativity.

Time once was that if some thought or idea tickled my fancy then I’d make a mental note of it and then try to weave it into a post later. These days I just slap together 140 half baked typo ridden characters and press enter.

If blogging is cocaine then Twitter is crack. They both are addictive but the feedback rush from Twitter is more immediate but also shorter lived. And ultimately I think it’s more destructive. I’ve certainly found myself watching tweets roll in on my phone while I should be be playing with the kids, listening to what Kerry is saying to me, or trying to change lanes on a busy motorway.

And I’m not even that much of a hardcore user. I only follow 140 people. God knows how the people who follow four or five hundred cope with it all.

So I’m withdrawing from the crack and I’ve deleted my twitter app from my phone.

I’m not quitting altogether mind you. It’s far too useful a platform to communicate with friends, share links, and generally shoot the shit. Also, perhaps cynically, I’m keeping it because it’s probably going to end up as being part of my strategy for fundraising for Hadrian’s Walk (or should that be #hadrianswalk).

So Tweetdeck will still be installed on my laptop and I’ll have it running in the background whilst I’m peeing around on the net (which is still a good two or three hours a day on average). But I’m hoping to reduce it’s presence in my life.

So there you go. A post which is probably of no interest to anyone but myself. But that’s the beauty of blogging – you can ramble if you wish. No one bloody reads it, but you can ramble.

Bookmark It

In my job I often have to deal with some of the most vicious, hostile, and officious people on the face of the earth. GP receptionists. There is no other profession where obstructiveness, unhelpfulness, and sheer bloody mindedness is a prerequisite of the post.

But even that group of individuals is not a patch on my kids when it comes to causing chaos and confusion on the telephone.

Amy and Evan have recently taken to battling with each other to answer the phone whenever it rings. On many levels this is a good thing – the phone is rarely for me and it means I don’t have to get off my arse to answer it. However it does cause some problems when I’m trying to ring in:

Evan: Hello?

Dan: Hello Evan! Is Mummy there?

Evan: Yes. (hangs up)

Or if Amy answers the phone:

Amy: Hello?

Dan: Hello Amy! Is Mummy there?

Amy: Why do you want her?

Dan: I need to ask her about…. well, it’s complicated sweetheart. Can you just get her for me?

Amy: What are you going to say to her?

Dan: I can’t really explain it to you right no because I’m at work. Can I talk to her?

Amy: What are you going to talk to her about?

And so on

Still, it’s probably worth it for all those occasions when the kids answer the phone to someone trying to sell us something. On those occasions I just sit back and chuckle to myself as the verbal mayhem commences. Sure, I only get to hear one side of the conversation, but that’s enough to provide me with comedy gold:

Evan: Hello?

….

Evan: Who is it?

….

Evan: I’ve got some dinosaurs.

….

Evan: Yes Daddy is here. T Rexs have big teeth. I’m wearing shoes today.

To be honest it’s almost worth getting my number listed on a few direct marketing lists for.

On another note I thought it was about time I gave the Midnight Movie Club Podcast another plug.

This week Lee and I have been discussing the Academy Awards. But not the 2010 awards. Oh no, we’re far too wild and crazy for that. We’re actually discussing the Oscars from 1990. I know, we’re mavericks! Take that Hollywood, we’re not going to play by your rules. You can’t tell the Midnight Movie Club what to do daddy-o!

So anyway, feel free to join us on our review of the 1990 Academy Awards where:

• Dan can’t remember the name, actors or characters of 90% of the films he talks about.
• Lee gives a insightful and stunningly accurate rundown of the nominees for 1990′s Best Documentary Award.
• Lee and Dan perform a virtuoso duet of a medley of hits from The Little Mermaid.

It’s the podcast all the cool kids are describing as “An inspired idea, marred by boring bits, but punctuated by moments of sheer hilarity”.

Check it out below. And if you don’t have the time to listen to it now you could always subscribe to us on iTunes.

[display_podcast]

Bookmark It

This is the movie that won this years Oscar for best animated short. It’s bloody fantastic (although I’m pretty sure I spotted a couple of product placements in there)

Bookmark It