So, it is my birthday. I am a year older but not necessarily a year wiser. I figured I’d post today in order to guarantee millions of adoring comments from my billions of readers and, more to the point, to share this wonderful photo. What a cake. Normal service will resume next week…

Image from the Reanimation Library

Here’s something interesting for you – the BBC transcript to be used in the event of a nuclear attack, that would have most likely been used if the bomb had been dropped on Britain in the seventies or eighties. It is chilling stuff, but also pretty sensible advice. I guess clarity, authority and calm would be of utmost importance, in the circumstances.

My degree dissertation was on the BBC Wartime Broadcasting Service – the radio service that would have come into operation in the event of a nuclear attack. It was clear that any such service would have limited, if any, success. First, there was no guarantee of getting a broadcast out. Secondly, there was no guarantee there would be anyone left to listen.

However, my favourite discovery was that they had in mind to protect certain key entertainers to use on the service post-attack. I never found out who they had in mind, but the thought of a bunch of BBC showbiz types holed up in a nuclear bunker beneath the British countryside added a certain note of bathos to proceedings, and was enough of a bizarre and mundane detail to make the whole situation feel a little more real, if not entirely imaginable.

After reading the transcript today I realised that the PC I’d saved my dissertation on has been destroyed and I’d never printed out my own copy. All that effort, gone forever. For a moment I felt sadder about that than the prospect of nuclear Armageddon, which shows just how self-centred I can be.

——

To return for a moment to The Resentment Machine, as referenced in my last missive, because heaven knows I’m not afraid of bludgeoning a subject/text to death, wringing out every last drop of meaning. There is a key point made around the online distrust of creation, in favour of criticism and curation.

“For those who are writing the most prominent parts of the internet—the bloggers, the trendsetters, the über-Tweeters, the tastemakers, the linkers, the creators of memes and online norms—online life is taking the place of the creation of the self, and doing so poorly.“

Now, I wouldn’t pretend to be “writing the most prominent parts of the internet” by any stretch of the imagination, but this still stopped me short. I know that online I am in some sense a critic and a curator. And taking a step back I do realise that online curation/criticism can be something of a cul-de-sac. Retweets, embedded YouTube links, reblogging on Tumblr etc don’t generally offer much sustenance.

Online curation can feel fun in the same way that sticking posters and pictures on your bedroom wall as a kid was fun, but much like that poster display, it ain’t art. Criticism seems an easy and natural default mode. I’ve experienced something, I’ll report back. But is being purely responsive to others really that constructive? Alternatively, can anything really exist in a vacuum? Isn’t everything a response to what went before? Is the point not that criticism per se is the problem, but that poor criticism is?

The curation/criticism model may well lead to online stagnation. It certainly makes an already ephemeral medium feel more so. Yet what is the alternative? Better curation and better criticism? Or something different – something the mainstream, traditional media can’t/won’t offer? How do we move on?

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So, today would have been David Foster Wallace’s fiftieth birthday. I won’t go into much depth about his work because the internet is full of it, especially today, and it is all written in a much more informed way than I could achieve. There’s  lot of good stuff out there, check it out. Or check DFW’s work out if you haven’t already. You really should.

DFW is already well on his way to literary canonisation, but one interesting (if minor) influence he appears to have had is in the style of writing of many bloggers, as the New York Times picked up on last year. I’ve certainly been guilty of it on many occasions and have seen it to a greater or lesser extent in many other bloggers’ work. His conversational, tangential and self-deprecating style of writing seems a natural fit for the medium of blogging with its freedom, informality and immediacy. I’m sure there are plenty of bloggers who haven’t read DFW but write like him, either because it comes naturally as they pound out ideas as they come to them in their own internal voice, or they have been influenced by the prevailing trends in blogging writing style.

Yet, like any homage (for want of a better word) it has its limitations. DFW could get away with a lot more than most because with a perfect grip on grammar rules he could write a million word sentence with a billion qualifiers and it would still make sense. Plus, he was one of the finest writers of his generation.

Us bloggers don’t fit that bill, obviously. Writing like a third-rate DFW isn’t that satisfying, but so many tenets of the style are. There must be a way forward, right?

——

I’ll still be a lazy blogger, still post pretty commons images and fun YouTube videos, still bounce off others’ hard work rather than shape my own ideas, still use comfortable and well-worn stylistic tics and tricks, still turn everything (even nuclear war) back towards my navel. I don’t think I’ll make any grand statements, or proclamations on The Future of Blogging but I’ll continue playing with the medium because there is no editor, or paymaster, or audience to tell me not to. It will probably be awful in parts. It certainly won’t be art. But hopefully it will be something.

Image from the Reanimation Library

No great sweeping theme for today’s post. Very little content or insight either. Think of it as an embellished placeholder post. Or some awkward filler. I would be a great salesman, y’know. You just want to read on, don’t you?

Tyranny of Stats

I know I harped on about stats the other week, saying how wonderful they are and all that stuff, but they have a dark side, dear reader. And that dark side in WordPress (and I imagine every other blogging platform) presents itself in checking the stats over and over to see if anyone is reading. Get a spike in numbers and feel the endorphins flood your system. People are reading your work! Hurrah! So, you check again and again, to replicate that feeling, get another rush. Nobody interested? You check just as much – you are always just one heavyweight incoming link or Freshly Pressed listing away from that bar chart looking much healthier.

It is not the most constructive behaviour. But I do think it is probably a good motivator to write more. I know success makes me want to write again, and writing helps stave any tetchiness I might have about having zero views that day.

But it probably shouldn’t be the only motivator, or I’ll end up with linkbait-y rubbish, or needy rubbish, or ill-conceived/planned/executed rubbish like this post. Yes, it has been a slow day, stats-wise.

Gone to Lunch

I remember getting my first job, in my mid-teens, and being a little disappointed that I wouldn’t get paid for my lunch break. Obviously some of this was down to a huge level of naïveté about the working world, but in my defence there was an expectation from the employer that I remain on the premises through said lunch break and generally be on hand. Which seemed like a pretty bum deal for £2.22 an hour. Or £0.00 an hour for my lunch break.

So, I’ve always been a little protective of my lunch hour. I’ve read enough stories of bacteria-infected desks and that the average actual lunchtime taken is 22 minutes or whatever to know that you have to be proactive to keep your free hour free.

It is always good to set a precedent, so from day one in a job I’ll go out for lunch. Then there is no chance of being forced to work through it. Plus, I sit staring at a screen all day. An hour off is probably sensible. And if I do that from the start nobody will act surprised when I put my coat on at 12.30.

Now, heading out is fine during the summer. I can go for a walk. I can sit outside. If it is too busy, I can sit inside somewhere, and there is room, as everyone else is outside enjoying the weather.

However, the winter is more challenging. I’m less inclined to stay out in the cold, driving rain. The indoor-y places are full. But full indoors is probably better than damp, cold outdoors. I’d dive in a pub, but that would ruin the healthy drinking plan. So, I head into a coffee shop. And people are either consuming food and drink not bought on the premises, or are eking out a cup of water/tiny cup of coffee for several hours. And taking up precious space! Space for me! If they can afford a Mac they can surely afford to buy a proper coffee, or buy one more than once every three hours. Anyway, I’ve been on this rant before, so I won’t bore you any further…boy am I repetitive.

Fantasy Baseball Failure

So, it’s not that long at all until the new baseball season. And before the new baseball season comes fantasy baseball league drafts. And every year I try to be ahead of the game, find that breakout star, avoid that surprise bust. And inevitably, obviously, I fail. This year I’m leaning heavily on the Bill James Almanac and the Hardball Times Annual. Fascinating stuff, but I think I’m probably beyond help. I may just pick the players with funny names. Or those that are reported to be in the best shape of their lives. Or who wear their socks up. Any of those systems are likely to be as effective as my study, and much less time-intensive.

Wondering what to write next

As all the above illustrates quite nicely, I’m not feeling too inspired this week. I would ask for suggestions or ideas, but I know I am too unreliable for that – I’ll only ignore/forget them and then write some rambling nonsense about something else entirely, and disappoint you, me and my three other readers.

Image from OSU Special Collections & Archives, via Flickr

The whole project is called The Rise of the Nonconformists. This conjured up for me images of nonconformism in the religious sense of the word, with masses of Quakers and Baptists roaming the streets, rather than oversized insects, but there you go. Perhaps bugs do their own thing too. Still, my thoughts weren’t that odd, considering there is a nonconformist cemetery nearby, and Wesley’s Chapel.

Wandering around looking at the exhibits I did worry that it was all a little hip, but then realised I should probably just relax and enjoy the fun. Still, I think I’d have prefered the insects if they were super-realistic, just to really freak people out and put people off their food. I could then pretend I was living in my own real-life horror film.

O they could scrap the bugs and go along with my nonconformist/relgious idea, with gigantic Methodist ministers looming from the tops of buildings. Now, that would be excellent.

Here’s a few ideas to get things started…

• What topics would you like to me to cover (specific or general)? Is there anything I don’t cover you’d like me to? Or should I focus on one particular area?
• Should I post more, post less, or am I doing OK as it is? Would you like a regular schedule, or are sporadic posts fine?
• Does size matter? Do you like your posts long, short, somewhere in-between, or a mix?
• Any other ideas or feedback?

I’d genuinely appreciate any feedback you can give, either in the comments below, or via my shiny new Contact page. And thank you in advance for indulging such an egotistical exercise.

While I don’t have any worthwhile material goods to offer as an incentive/prize, I’m happy to pull a name out of the hat, and that person can commission a blog post from me on the subject of their choice. How does that sound?

Image by LiminalMike via Flickr

So, poll time…

Image from NASA via Flickr

While I can’t see England winning, they will no doubt do just enough to get my hopes up before dashing them cruelly. But also, I want to enjoy the World Cup in a ‘purer’ footballing sense.

Euro 2008 has to have been one of my favourite international tournaments ever, and I think it was because with England not qualifying I didn’t get bogged down in partisan sentiments and could just sit back and enjoy each game. I will try my best to avoid England-induced disillusionment over the next month. I think we’re going to have some great games on our hands.

We should see some attractive football from the likes of Spain, Brazil, Holland and Mexico. We’ll have the circus of Maradona’s Argentina to enjoy. France look set to be hopeless. The likes of Serbia, Denmark and Chile might spring one or two surprises.

From a betting perspective there are all manner of fun markets to pick from. I’m trying to avoid too many odds-on bets, as that is the path to ruin. It only takes a couple of upsets and profits soon disappear. Instead, using my half-arsed personal punditry plus an already well-thumbed Racing Post World Cup special, I’ve tried to pick out a few value bets worth shelling out a mighty 50p or a pound on. Don’t worry, dear reader, this will not be the chronicle of my bankruptcy…and remember, bet only what you can afford to lose, especially if following any of these tips!

Disclaimer of sorts: the odds I’ve quoted are ones I’ve seen advertised, but may well not be available now, knowing my luck, as I haven’t actually placed these bets yet. Hopefully, the bookies of the world will read this, see my abysmal betting record and lengthen the odds accordingly. If you want to see the latest and best odds, try something like Oddschecker.

So, finally, nearly 500 words in…my World Cup preview and top tips, starting with the group stages, Groups A to D.

Group A

A funny group, this. Disaster looks to be just around the corner for the French, South Africa are perhaps the least inspiring hosts ever (in purely footballing terms, at least) while Mexico and Uruguay are outsiders at best. Saying that, Mexico have looked strong in the pre-tournament friendlies and have a good record against Uruguay, so I think they could top the group, at odds of around 10-3. Meanwhile 5-2 for France to fail to qualify could be a sound investment too.

Group B

Argentina should walk this group, depending on what wacky antics Maradona gets up to. There doesn’t seem much to choose between Greece, Nigeria and South Korea, so from a betting perspective I think I’ll leave this group alone.

Group C

England are the strong favourites for what on first glance appears an easy group. I think, however, that people are underestimating the USA. At 14 in the FIFA rankings, they are no minnows and that first game could prove tricky for England, who are perennially slow starters to tournaments. So, I’m tempted to have a little flutter on USA to beat England on Saturday, at odds of 13-2, which seem pretty big to me.

Group D

This looks to be a particularly tasty group, with Germany, Australia, Serbia, and to a lesser extent, Ghana. Serbia seem to be many pundits pick as a dark horse this time around, and if every team drops points I can see them doing quite well in this group. 10-11 on them qualifying or 10-3 on them winning the group don’t seem like bad options at all.

Well, that’s me tipped out for one day, and I might as well spin this out over a few days, eh? In the next installment I’ll take a look at Groups E to H, and then, after that, I’ll make my overall tournament predictions and see what other betting markets are worth a look.

How do you think Groups A to D will go?

Image by Ali Brohi via Flickr

A first for the blog, a very brief piece of fiction, for this festive time. Let me know what you think! And apologies for the terrible pun in the title.

Christmas was not a happy time at The George for Reg.

In the last week of November Cathy the barmaid had hung up the Christmas decorations. Reg, being Reg, threatened to tear them down. In the end, he only removed the tinsel that hung over his seat in the corner. He also removed the mistletoe that mysteriously appeared there soon after.

If nothing else, Christmas made Reg punctual. At noon each day he would be waiting as the doors were unbolted, primed to secure his seat. He would not risk losing it to an unsuspecting gentleman wearing a paper crown.

By mid-December, Reg was plagued by the parties of revellers patronising The George. At any one time there was guaranteed to be someone acting festive.

On one occasion a group broke out a rendition of ‘Deck The Halls’.

“Tis the season for bloody amateur drinkers, more like,” grumbled Reg, to no one in particular. “Bring on January, when they’ll all have gone back to their gyms and widescreen televisions, and us proper drinkers can get some peace.”

Reg drained his pint of Best, got up from his seat, and left the pub, letting in some snow on his way out.

A gentleman wearing a paper crown immediately slumped in Reg’s seat. “Tis the season to be jolly,” he sang, raising his pint of lager, to no one in particular.

Photo by mfajardo via Flickr.

Wigan Athletic’s 9-1 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur yesterday was obviously a very different beast. The best spin doctor in the world couldn’t squirm out of that one.

But even so, the Wigan players have responded in a creditable fashion today. Club captain, Mario Melchiot, announced that Wigan’s players would pay out refunds to each and very Wigan supporter who had made their way down to London yesterday to watch their team.

The statement read, “We feel that as a group of players we badly let down our supporters yesterday, and this is a gesture we have to make and pay them back for their tremendous loyalty.”

How wonderful and novel would it be if all sportsmen responded to bad defeats in this fashion? I’m not suggesting that every team that has a shocker should refund their fans, but it would be refreshing if more sporting professionals took responsibility for a poor performance and apologised to their (often long-suffering) fans. Who, less we forget, pay their wages.

So, what sporting performance would you have liked a refund, or at least an apology, for?

And outside the sporting sphere, do you think we hear the word “sorry” enough?

I have never really had any ambitions when it comes to this blog, but it is always nice to know you’re being read, and especially satisfying to get responses – so thank you to everyone who has ever commented!

Anyway, enough of the Oscar speech, and onto the matters at hand. I’ve decided to treat myself and the blog to a proper domain name, so you can now access the site via http://waituntilnextyear.net. However, the old address, http://waituntilnextyear.wordpress.com will continue to work just as well.

I’ve also been thinking about the content on the site, and how I could improve it and perhaps make it more enjoyable, for me to write, and for you, dear reader, to read!

I’m aware that despite positioning this as a general ‘sport’ blog, I’ve only really been covering a couple of sports in any depth. And, to be honest, I only have so much time to watch sport, much to my consternation, and to my Significant Other’s relief.

So, there were two options. I could either focus my efforts further, or alternatively, widen my reach beyond sport and just blog about whatever comes into my head.

I’ve read enough ‘how to blog’ sites to know the former is the sensible option. However, the second option sounds a lot more fun to me. So, while the prime focus will remain on sport, I am going to play around with other subjects from time to time. It might make the blog more messy, it might stunt its growth and put people off, but I reckon it could make things a little more interesting. And that’s a good thing, right?

I do have some ideas about the various directions I’d like to take the blog and my writing in the next few months. I’m thinking of sticking up some writings on music, as we all know the internet needs more half-baked album reviews. I also think that us living in such a fascinating time, with wave upon wave of new technology, is probably worth commenting on. In terms of sport, I might end up writing some posts with me actually learning some stuff, rather than just blithering on with my ill-informed opinions. Oh, and there will be plenty of my usual blithering on with ill-informed opinions. It is what the internet was built for!

So, to round off this ego-post, I’d be delighted to hear any feedback, thoughts on where the blog could go from here, or any suggestions for new content.

Thanks for reading!