Jul
23
Since We Last Saw Our Hero…
July 23, 2010 | 2 Comments
… a great deal has happened.
First things first - the apparent eighteen month gap below is at least partially covered by my temporary settling at Suddenly San Franciscan (which should also tell you where I physically was a chunk of that time). I moved blogging activity over there because I wanted to create a specific narrative of my thoughts, views and activities as a transplanted Brit in the City By The Bay. To some degree it worked, but for reasons I won’t go into here, as I went into them there, it wasn’t as successful a move as we’d hoped. I’ll keep that site up for the foreseeable, just as a record.
So now I’m back, and have been for a few months. I didn’t restart blogging until now because I had this slightly mental idea of taking a break - time off work, quiet time with The Mrs, a removal from pressures including even those I applied to myself to write stuff online. The reason this was slightly mental is that I should have known better. I’ve been kept busy with various things, this period coincided with The Mrs being on a deadline for a book, and any number of other things have meant that not only am I not feeling especially chilled after a decent interval off, but I’m now feeling new stress because I need to find a job.
Fortunately at least on that last front there are some irons in the fire which I’ll pull out to talk about when the time is right.
In the meantime, hello again world. For anyone new to me blogging (hello Twitterpeeps); a quick summary before we resume regular stuff:
44 years old, London-based, married with cat, previous form in corporate management, radio and TV production and for the last twelve years or so, all digital, all the time. Been leading teams in digital businesses, developing online communication strategies and generally trying to be as good at it all as possible.
Blogging on and off (mostly on) since April 2001, with what I laughingly like to think is an eclectic subject range that certainly takes in digital stuff, comics, film (I used to do film and TV reporting professionally), books, etc as well as regular diversions into politics and current affairs. Also whatever else I find briefly of interest.
When I set up the San Francisco blog I set down some ground rules for the stuff I wanted to talk about, etc. This time I’m going to let things evolve as they go and see what kind of flavour this place ends up with. I’ve done a quick tidy of the blogroll to trim out anyone who appears to have stopped for good, but haven’t yet got round to adding in new people, which I will over the next few days. I also need to give the template a complete overhaul and add in some new widgets - possibly a job for the weekend.
Anyway - that’s what you missed last time on Glee.
Sep
12
I’m Not Here
September 12, 2008 | Comments Off
Sep
10
The Ground Rules Going Forward
September 10, 2008 | Comments Off
So - further to the random comments I’ve made recently about moving this blog forwards, I’ve set myself a framework for what I write on here* in the future. These are as follows:
1) Most postings should be me observing/commenting on things in the real world, which should help get me back to the kind of blog I originally set this out to be.
2) At least once a week I will post a serious review of something, which will help reinforce the original intention of also having an outlet which will help my critical faculties not atrophy. I reserve the right for the ’something’ to be a book, a film, a comic, a play, a game, a website, or anything else which I feel lends itself to my interest. This is in lieu of reinstating the entirely separate part of the site for reviews that I used to have.
3) Where I write about ’stuff that happened to me’, it should wherever possible be in relation to the specific experience of being an alien in a strange land. That should offer plenty of scope for anecdotal posts that are at least more interesting than just me, being me.
I think that abiding by that should keep me (you’ll forgive the pun considering where I now live) on the straight and narrow.
* Important note: ’on here’ is what we would technically term ‘entirely inaccurate’. I’m moving to a new URL for the term of my life as a resident of The City By The Bay. I figure, new location in real life, new location in blog life. I’m currently tweaking the new home, so the next posting here will consist of a big ‘Go Here’ notice.
Sep
9
As Birthdays Go…
September 9, 2008 | 1 Comment
… it’s possible that this was my suckiest ever (can you tell I live in California now?)
Just very far from home, rattling around in a temporary flat by myself and feeling thoroughly sorry for myself as I sat and ate my solitary dinner.
Ho hum, that’s all done with now. Onwards to what promises to be a very interesting next year.
Aug
31
The Way Forward
August 31, 2008 | Comments Off
So a while ago I mentioned that I’d been contemplating the future of this blog, then I went quiet on the subject, then the next thing I mentioned was that I’m (we’re) moving from London to San Francisco, then I went quiet on the subject.All these things are interlinked. The prospect and process of moving put a hold on my thoughts for the future of the blog, then the final details of the move, which in the end came upon me with startling suddenness, stopped me writing about that.
But now I’ve moved and have made some decisions.Yes, I’m in San Francisco. The Mrs and the cat are joining me in a little over a month, I’ve found somewhere for us to live while we’re here, and although I’m currently without a home connection, I at least have a few minutes to write about what I want to do next.
When I was thinking about my blogging history (and this thing’s been around in one form or another since 2001, so there’s a little history to think about), I considered what I wanted the site (and note I don’t just say the blog) to be early on and what it’s ended up becoming.Originally the site was more than just the blog - I had a fairly substantial reviews section which I made sure I added to regularly to keep my critical faculties exercised. The blog itself used to be the kind of blog I liked to read - with plenty of comment on current affairs, links to weird and funny stuff I found on the web and an occasional comment about my life. This last element has increasingly come to dominate, and now I feel like I’m writing a bunch of entries about stuff I’ve done, and increasingly few about the world at large. That’s not the kind of blog I like to read.
So it’s time for a change of direction, some new ground rules for myself, and hopefully a more interesting experience for anyone who still stops by.
More in the next day or so.
Jul
24
“Leavin’! On A Jet Plane….”
July 24, 2008 | 7 Comments
This is the huge news. Following my stint in San Francisco at the end of last year/start of this, I’m going back. For a couple of years. With The Mrs. And the cat.
I was actually asked to do this just before I came back to Blighty at the end of March, but it’s taken a long time to get sorted. However, I now have my shiny new US visa, and The Mrs has his (and that’s a saga and a half…) and will be leaving within the week.
Jinkies!
Jul
24
I’m Not Dead!
July 24, 2008 | Comments Off
I have, however, been monumentally busy and have been dealing with preparing for a fairly huge life change, or which more later. However, just to let anyone who’s interested know I am still alive and kicking.
I’l be back properly shortly with an All-New, All-Different More a way of life…., featuring:
Proper content, not just ramblings about things I’ve done!*
A totally new look and feel! **
News of some new and interesting endeavours! ***
A new location!****
* Maybe.
** Almost certainly not really.
*** If The Mrs and I can get our acts together.
**** Actually, really, yes to this one. See next post.
May
14
Ha. Ha. Ha.
May 14, 2008 | Comments Off
Almost a year ago I commented that the Radio Four 6.30pm ‘comedy’ slot frequently featured productions that aren’t deserving of the description. I was put in mind of this as I drove home last night.
Yes, it’s my sad duty to inform you that Claire In The Community is back to waste Sally Philips’ abilities for a new run of gratingly unfunny fluff about (wait for it) the misadventures of a not-as-right-on-as-she’d-like-to-think social worker. And the fact that the writers called her Claire specifically in order to make a pun in the title (which should be against the rules of comedy anyway) probably tells you everything you need to know.
Avoid.
Apr
24
Yes
April 24, 2008 | Comments Off
The last couple of posts have appeared in one go despite being dated last weekend. I wrote them then but wasn’t online to post them and decided to leave them true to their moment (or something).
Apr
20
And On The Subject of Hotels
April 20, 2008 | 2 Comments
I feel qualified to make a few observations:
- The practice of having someone come in and ‘turn down’ my bed is the single weirdest thing I’ve ever come across. The chocolate on the pillow is just the punctuation mark on the weirdness.
- If you need to fold the ends of the toilet roll into a point to make sure I know you’ve serviced my room, then there’s something wrong with the way you service a room.
- It doesn’t matter how many packets of non-dairy creamer you put in my room, I’m never, ever, going to use your tea and coffee making facilities if there’s no milk to put in the product.
- Minibar prices are by definition criminal.
- No human being can possibly need that many pillows.
- The cheap-and-nastiness of the complimentary toiletries is always in inverse proportion to the amount of them hotels provide.
- Room rates provided on booking that don’t include all relevant taxes are evil and ought to be illegal.
- Good looking hotel staff who visit your room for any reason never make the kind of offers porn movies might lead you to expect.
- The opposite of point 8 is inevitably true.