Wait until next year

Thirty

Please excuse the indulgence (although hey, it’s my blog and I’ll indulge if I want to), but today is my thirtieth birthday.

The old cliché that time speeds up as you get older seems increasingly true, as does the suggestion that you remain about 16 in your head all your life. Still, I think over the next few decades I’ll grow quite nicely into an old man. I certainly look forward to getting more and more curmudgeonly as I get older.

I’m told your 30s are your best years, and I’ve certainly got a lot to look forward to – personally and professionally. But I think the big 3-0 is going to take some getting used to…luckily I had the foresight to book today off work to enjoy the day and settle into my next decade!

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February 25, 2010

We just can’t get enough of the stench

Ah, posts at this blog are like buses. You wait ages for one, then two come along at once.

Anyway, amid all the Cheryl Cole/Ashley Cole/Tiger Woods/John Terry muck-raking and tabloid scandal, here’s what, in an ideal world, would be the final word on the matter, from The Outspoken Omphaloskeptic:

“It’s not actually about the ‘celebrities’ involved but about our collective need to create empty celebrity vessels that we can constantly redraw according to our whims. Apparently it’s big fun when can ‘discover’ that they aren’t the archetypes of virtue, perfection and good-living we pretended to think they were. It’s the metaphorical equivalent to my dogs rolling in fox shit. We just can’t get enough of the stench.”

From the post Sympathy For The Hotdog. In the comments section, but the whole thing is worth reading though (apart from yours truly sticking his nose in).

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February 25, 2010

The modern football schedule is spoiling my season

I really should be enjoying this Premier League season. However, I’m finding it harder to keep up, keep interested and truly stay excited. But why?

I guess the easiest answer would be my own team, Liverpool. Yet another year of promise and expectation has been dashed. They have put in good performances (against Manchester United, Everton), but have put in far more bad ones (too many to mention).

But that would be too easy an explanation. There is still so much to potentially enjoy about this season. There are three teams still realistically in contention to win the thing. At least four sides are battling for the last Champions League spot. Relegation is not a foregone conclusion for anyone, yet. This season, every single game has had the potential to be competitive. On their day, any team can beat any other. Burnley beat Manchester United, Portsmouth beat Liverpool. This is surely progress, and sign of a season to savour, at least from a neutral’s perspective?

Then why my apathy?

I think it’s down to the scheduling of the modern game. It’s not a new argument, but I think it is still a valid one.

No longer do all games kick off at 3pm on a Saturday afternoon. Last week, only a minority did, while several games were played on Sunday. Match of the Day is no longer the complete record of the league’s progress that week. It’s merely a snapshot. With games strewn across the week, it’s hard to get a true feeling of the chase developing, especially with a multitude of games in hand to take into account.

In a broader sense, modern football is pretty disorienting now. 6pm? Thursday? Well, that must be Europa League time. 5.30? Sunday? FA Cup, of course! There may now be a game to watch every day of the week, but that, for me, dilutes the impact of football.

The many international breaks we have seems to stall the momentum further. It can seem like the season is restarting every six to eight weeks. The story of the season is continually being put on ‘pause’.

Well, enough of my moaning (for now). Do you find the modern schedule baffling? Do you yearn for everyone playing at 3pm on a Saturday? Or do you love being able to watch game after game, day-after day?

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February 17, 2010

It might as well be Spring

Today in London the weather is glorious.

It’s still pretty cold. The daily commute was still long and infuriating. Work is still the same-old, same-old, at best. But, with that bright, piercing blue sky, things seem just that little bit more positive. Setbacks, stresses and strains are eased just that little bit by the daylight streaming in, fighting against the omnipresent striplighting.

If only for a day, Spring seems to be on its way. The days are getting longer, and the clear skies suggest we might be able to enjoy those longer days soon.

Spring, as we all know, is the season of new beginnings, of births and rebirths. Spring brings warmth and light to encourage new efforts.

It’s funny how nature and culture offer us so many opportunities for new starts. The calendar prompts resolutions each new year. Every birthday can foster thoughts of making the next year worthwhile. There are new seasons in sport and in art. Lent, starting today of course, focuses the mind on new efforts.

It sometimes seems easy to drift along, let time pass and not strive to be a happier, better person. It can seem impossible to escape the rut we’re in.

Yet, a day like today can wake us up to the potential of the future, can remind us to think about the important stuff we want from life, and to try and go get it. There’s a whole life of new starts and new beginnings for us all.

Thank you for indulging the navel-gazing. Sorry if that was a little new-age-y, certainly not my intention. But you should see how lovely today is here. I wish I wasn’t in the office…and I’m already not sure it was wise to give up chocolate and crisps for Lent. What have you given up, if anything? Or what new starts have you got in mind? And what on Earth am I doing with these italics? What’s that all about?

February 13, 2010

Me at BaseballGB

Apologies for the shoddy lack of posts here this week, but I have (kind of) got an excuse. I am the newest columnist at BaseballGB and my first post went up today. Do check it out!

Normal service will resume here shortly, so expect plenty of rambling and nonsense here soon…

And a big welcome to anyone who has ventured over from BaseballGB for a peek. Good to see you (er, virtually)!

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