Movie Of My Life

I seem to be stuck a day behind on The Daily Prompt. I blame my assignment that’s due tomorrow. It’s sucking my time away! Speaking of which… I better make this post shorter than I otherwise would.

Anyways, I refuse to skip yesterday’s prompt. It wants us to cast the movie of our life. Sweet! I can do that.

The first thing you need to know is that my life would likely be a dramedy.

The next thing to do is appoint a Director. My life would quite possibly fit Woody Allen‘s directing talents. Complex, comedic, and a little bit romantic. Of course, I would have to move to New York City (no problem), and the music soundtrack would be all pre-1949 jazz (also no problem).

Photo Credit: nofilmschool.com

Me – Okay, I think the essence of my character could be portrayed by one man and one man only that is in the right age-range…

John Krasinski

www.moviefanatic.com

The Housemate – He’s a funny bugger, albeit in an arrogant fashion. You’re not 100% sure why the lead trusts him, and he would probably spend the whole film trying to steal the spotlight… but if you hang around ’til the end, you get it.

Peter Sarsgaard

www.thecinemasource.com

The Brother – He’s got to be goofy, funny and youngish. I’m going with Josh Peck.

www.fanpop.com

The Love Interest – It’s a Woody Allen film. You think I’m not having a love interest? Tricky part is, there is no current love interest to cast, so I’m setting this in the future. Hence, casting is completely open… in which case there can be only one option. Sophia Bush. Wait, on second thoughts, I think I might just play the role of myself.  😉

starandstyle.com

And there you have the beginnings of a great film, or life, or life-film. Wait, biopic. Yeah, that’s what they’re called. Anyways, I gotta go finish this assignment. Take care friends!

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Bluesfest 2014

Well, it looks as though I need to sell a kidney. Anyone know a guy?

They have announced the lineup for Byron Bay Bluesfest 2014. I have always wanted to attend the 5-day-long music festival over Easter. I always told myself I would go one year. It is on the bucket list. And now, more than ever, I want to get myself over there.

I have posted some videos below. These are just a few of my favourites who happen to have appeared in the announced artists thus far. And they have only just had the first announcement. Next Bluesfest is going to be epic! Notice the first artist in particular… Wowzers!

Dave Matthews Band – ‘Rooftop’

John Mayer – ‘Waiting On The World To Change’

John Butler Trio – ‘Funky Tonight’

Michael Franti & Spearhead – ‘I’m Alive (Life Sounds Like)’

Gary Clark Jr – ‘Bright Lights’

KT Tunstall – ‘Suddenly I See’

Allen Stone – ‘Unaware’

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros – Child

Iron & Wine – ‘Boy With A Coin’

Morcheeba – ‘Otherwise’

Valerie June – ‘You Can’t Be Told’

Keepings Off

I had to smile as I passed a house opposite the train tracks yesterday on the way to work.

Three children were in the front yard. A young girl was sitting on the bench up against the house. Two slightly older children, a boy and a girl, were playing soccer on the grass. The boy had the ball and the girl could not tackle it from him. He was just messing about with it. Basically playing keepings off. Two bins were lined up against the wall of the house like goals. It was clear they were playing one-on-one, with winner stays on.

The young girl watching was becoming impatient.

“Get a goal already!”

I guess she was bored of watching. She was probably itching to play. Who knows how long she had already been sitting there.

She yelled that, too. Really loudly. But it was slightly more in fun than frustration. I didn’t see if the boy decided to score the goal after that or not. I continued walking. But it reminded me of my childhood and made me smile. They were all having fun in different ways, but, together. It was a good thing to witness.

Okay, I’m off to play keepings off with my housemate and dinner. I’m hungry. Take care friends!

Awards; A Game of Catch-up

Um, wow. I have been completely and utterly spoilt rotten the last few days. My bloggy friends, you have made me one very happy chap, day after day, with your kind likes and comments and simply just reading. I really appreciate it. Really, really.

I have been given a few awards, and I haven’t had the chance to respond to them individually. Now they have piled up. I’m losing track of them, so I hope I get them all covered here. If I miss anyone, I am SO sorry. And now I would like to acknowledge the people who have been so kind as to gift me with awards…

Firstly the Versatile Blogger Award. I have received four of these this week. Each from the extremely witty Molly Greye, the absolutely lovely love from tara, the brilliant My OCD Diaries, and the  hilariously wonderful ZooBoo. If you’ve the time, check out all these blogs. They are absolutely magnificent reads, the lot of them. And such fun people. Do yourself a favour and have a read!

I also received twice, the WordPress Family Award. These came from my wondrous blogging buddies, Margaret of Along Life’s Road, and ZooBoo. Margaret is a funny and fantastic writer, and every post is an awesome read. And if you didn’t follow the link to ZooBoo’s blog above, follow the one in this paragraph! She is a lot of fun too, and an essential part to my blogging family. They both are, check them out!

A massive THANK YOU to all the people who nominated me for awards. You are such a wondrous group of people and I feel very privileged to be a part of your blogging family. Thanks folks!!

 

And now, I would like to nominate 10 super people for the WordPress Family Award…

Words Become Superfluous

The Girl Who Blogs

That’s What Shaun Said

Flowers and Breezes

Escaping Elegance

The mmmmm Family

vinnieh

suzie81’s Blog

alienorajt

Valley Girl Gone Country

Congrats you lot, I am so glad I get the chance to promote your blogs. You are all absolutely wonderful people and genius bloggers. Many thanks for sharing the blogosphere with yours truly. It is an honour!

Funny Ha-Ha

The Daily Prompt (now yesterday’s prompt, technically) wants to know if I am funny. Well, I guess that is for everyone else to decide.

I will admit I am humorous. But laugh out loud? Occasionally, though I am more of a ‘make you smile’, kind of guy. Often with humour, or at least light-heartedness.

Humour does play a huge part in my life. I feel that laughing is a very important part of living, and I get great joy from both finding humour for myself and providing humour to others.

There is a thin line in my humour between funny ha-ha and funny cuckoo. Although I tend to find humour in everything. And if it isn’t funny, I’ll change the perception of it, or link a reference to create humour. There’s always a way. I am a very sarcastic person, too. And when I get in the mood or start drinking, my humour goes VERY dry.

I like to use humour to lighten situations, too. I just like trying to make life a bit lighter, and wielded properly, humour can do that wondrously.

As far as comedians go, I always got a lot of joy from Mitch Hedberg, and I always laugh my socks off listening to Ross Noble ramble about. Here are a couple of samples…

Mitch Hedberg

Ross Noble

Futsal Grand Final (From a Goalkeeper’s Perspective)

Many of you would know that I have recently had a kind of falling out with my sport of indoor soccer. Like many of my past relationships, it had reached the point of taking more than giving. Well, to be fair, she treated me rather well tonight.

We had reached the Grand Final. That in itself was a bit of a surprise. We finished 3rd during the regular season and ended up playing 2nd in the semi-final last week. We beat them 9-6. That may seem like high scoring, but for futsal it is pretty regular. The other final I think finished 9-5 or something.

Tonight we played the Grand Final. We played the team that had finished top of the ladder and gone undefeated all season. No-one had beaten them. They were unbeatable. They were too skilled and too fast and just, I don’t know, too good at getting the job done. No-one expected us to stay with them. Not even us.

I was playing as goalkeeper as always. (That was basically just information for those unaware of my soccer endeavors.) I felt pretty good pre-game. As usual, I caught the train and walked the 20 minutes from the station to the stadium. It’s a good warm-up. Gets the legs moving and gives myself a chance to go over a few things in my head. I give myself a pep-talk, consider strategy, remind myself of things I need to keep in mind that I may have been struggling with recently (typically positioning and stance, and this will depend on who their shooters are), and spend the last leg of the walk visualizing doing the right things.

I also make sure I turn up early. If there is a game on before ours, even better. I’ll watch and try to put myself in there mentally. Get myself ready. Then talk shop with the boys, provide some moral support, particularly if we’re the underdogs like in this case, and then slap on a healthy serving of Deep Heat or equivalent to loosen up the back muscles.

And then I am ready to Rock ‘n’ Roll. Which is unfortunate because we’re there to play soccer.

Tonight the stars aligned. At half time we lead 3-2. I was pretty stoked I had only conceded two goals by that point. These other guys have a tendency of beating teams by double figures. But we knew there was a long way yet to go. If you know me, you know I never let myself get comfortable with a lead.

Nor would I allow the other guys to get comfortable. I yelled more than usual. They didn’t seem to mind. They know that is what a keeper is expected to do. It’s not angry yelling, anyway. It’s just directions, or positive reinforcements when they follow the directions or favourable things happen. The important thing is to just keep shouting. If you’re saying something, even of no apparent use, they know there’s nothing you’re not telling them. And it assists with keeping yourself motivated, too. If I need to keep myself eager, I’ll yell at anything and everything, just to rile myself up and keep the blood pumping. That isn’t always easy to maintain for a whole game. I found that tonight particularly when I started tiring with 5 minutes left.

At the 5-to-go mark I hit the energy wall. Luckily the head was still working. Oftentimes you tire and the mind does the same. The legs slow and your will soon follows. You think “Maybe I don’t need to move off my line for this next one.” You con your feet into believing it. You don’t move. Then the ball whizzes high just inside the back post, and you realize if you were two steps forward you’d probably have had the angle covered.

But my mind stayed with me tonight. I knew I’d planned it that way. It was part of the pre-game walk and talk to self. ‘You can’t play a blocking game tonight. You’re a reflex keeper. You have no feet, you’re all hands. You know it, embrace it. Use it. Don’t play crouched on the move tonight. Play two steps off the line, knees collapsed, right on the deck. Take the thought of legs and body movement out of it. Follow the ball only with hands. That way if it’s shot low on deck, it’s still a hands save. You’re  already there. Only one thing to concentrate on. Follow with hands. Then too, when you (not ‘if’, you know you will) tire, the legs coming out of the equation won’t matter. You won’t need to change your state of play. You’ll already be playing on deck. Your reflexes don’t slow, it’s just the body that tires, legs mainly. You know your hands and reflexes will keep up. That’s been tested.’

Yeah, I say a lot to myself, in long, rambling forms. That isn’t even a joke. That’s an abridged version of what ran through my head over one minute of the 20-or-so walk. My self-talks are pretty intensive.

So tonight, when I tired in the last 5 minutes, I could assure my head that hitting the wall did not mean I was suddenly exposed for movement. That I had planned it that way and I would be able to keep doing the same things. Focus on the hands. Follow with hands, the body will follow them automatically.

My teammates tired, too. So I suddenly had a lot to do. Great.

I think I must have used up all the magical fairy dust (sorry, ZooBoo) and the last of my 20s, because somehow I kept diving like a demon and making clinching save after save. The crowd was going mental. That’s another thing that keeps me motivated. When I hit the wall and I could no longer physically yell, or really even talk much, I turned to the roaring crowd for energy.

Hearing the crowd’s noise level erupt when you make a full-length vertical fingertip-saving dive towards the far post after a cross-pass completely opened up that side of the net, keeps you motivated, every time. Hearing “How the f**k?!” from either on or off the court when you leap into the top right corner to reflex-save a rocket of a shot onto the crossbar, keeps you completely charged. Seeing the ref shake his head and smile because catching the ball against the left post with a full length dive and one finger seems incredibly unlikely if not near impossible, keeps your self-belief and will to work hard at just the right level.

And I did all those things, and more. It was the best game I have had in a long time. Personally and as part of a team. My teammates performed at least equally as well. While I had plenty to do, the defense, particularly considering the opposition, was fantastic. And they managed to get more offense going than you would expect against such a team as well.

We won 7-2.

For those playing at home, that means we did not concede a goal in the second half. That hadn’t happened against this opposition once all season. They had not spent a single half scoreless.

Needless to say, and you can probably tell, I am extremely happy. Very pleased and elated and honestly, proud of myself and the rest of the team. I am also absolutely knackered now. The walk back to station was difficult, but I didn’t care. I was walking on clouds. I haven’t felt (or played) that good in a game for quite some time. But now I need sleep. So, goodnight all. And thank you for sticking with me through that unnecessarily long and self-indulgent post. I’ll bring some music to you tomorrow to make up for it. 😉

Take care folks!

Melbourne Writers Festival

I reckon if you are going to do something, do it right. And if you are going to do something right, completely immerse yourself in it. So I immersed myself in writing yesterday, with a visit to the Melbourne Writers Festival.

Well, to be honest, I never planned to go. I was given tickets. And if you are given tickets to something, it is incredibly rude not to attend. And besides, I felt it could be quite my cup of tea, so why not check it out?

So I did. I attended two presentations. The first by Mr Fred Watson, an astronomer, who has just launched his second book, Star-Craving Mad. I love the title. It is as jovial and good-humoured as that of his first book, Why Is Uranus Upside Down? I don’t have a broad knowledge of astronomy, at all. But it is interesting, I think. And he made it even moreso. He was a terrific presenter. Really funny and enjoyable to listen to. I got a lot more out of it than I had expected to.

I also got a laugh from a story his sidekick told about a time he was dating an astrologer. They were undertaking a romantic walk under the stars, when his lady-friend looked up at the sky and said, “Oh, the Moon is in Pisces. That means it is a wonderful night for lovemaking.” The guy said he looked up and realised… the Moon was nowhere near Pisces. “But damned if I don’t know when to keep my mouth shut,” he told us.

Also had to laugh at his use of the term “spherical bastards”. This meaning that no matter what way look at them, they look like bastards.

I also learned more about the solar system and all that than I really meant to. But it was interesting. I enjoyed it.

The second presentation was by Father Bob Maguire. A somewhat politically incorrect Catholic Priest and community worker. He was promoting his memoir, Larrikin Priest. Now, I am not religious myself, but that does not mean I don’t respect it, and I found got a lot out of his presentation. I found him really interesting and very aware. Moreso than you would imagine just hearing him ramble. If you listen and get a sense of what he’s about, he is actually very aware. Not afraid to speak his mind at all, which is quite refreshing. I found his presentation very interesting also.

I laughed the whole way through his program. At one point he was talking about this generation and how they know everything. He said, “We should trust them, they’re the only generation to know everything man has ever known. They’ve got those goddamn things… apps. They’ve got apps!” He reinforced this with a story about the old guys trying to fix his plumbing with their tools, not quite working it out from scratch. And then this kid comes along with his app on his phone and says, ‘I found it, do it like this.’ And it worked.

But what I loved was his response to an audience member near the end of his talk. It was about everyone doing their part to spread good will each day. He told us all, “Everybody who interacts with you should be better for it. Leave everybody in a better state than you found them.” And I could not agree more. With every interaction, you should be bettering the energy of that person. So if that is what you may like to take away from this rambling of mine, please do, as we will all be better for it.

Playing My Own Game

I posted some questions in an award blog yesterday for anyone who wanted to answer them. Just for interest sake. So far, Liewshn over at That’s What Shaun Said has answered these questions. The answers were fantastic! Check out that post here.

It was suggested that I answer them myself. Well, okay then. I shall have a crack. Here goes…

1. What is the #1 most played song on your iPod/similar device?

Apparently, and somewhat surprisingly, it is ‘Thank You’ by The Whitlams. I do love the song and band, though. And right now, I would like to dedicate that song to all my readers here. Yes, you! 😉

2. What was your favourite food as a child?

Roast Chicken. I could eat a whole roast chicken. And nothing else. Absolutely lived on it.

3. If you could choose anyone, who would you pick as your mentor?

Considering my answer to Q. 8. I am going to say Luc Besson. I’m a big fan, it’d just be awesomely cool to learn from the guy.

4. If you were reincarnated as an animal, what animal would you be?

Probably a penguin. I’m pretty chill. You ever see Surf’s Up? Yeah, I’d be a chill, surfing penguin like those guys.

5. What story do your friends always tell about you?

Depends which friends we’re talking about. I’ll pick a clean story… My brother likes the story of how I spent an entire day clocking the Sega Mega Drive game ‘Columns’. If you haven’t heard of it, it is similar to Tetris. I played it until the game score read “999999999…” as far across the screen as it could go, and the level read “99999999….” as far as that could go. I’ve never been that good at anything else in my life ever again. Or that dedicated. I played from after breakfast ’til bedtime. A good 12+ hours, without stopping. I couldn’t stop, because the blocks were moving too fast and if I paused it I felt I wouldn’t be able to keep up when I resumed. Nobody ever challenges me at Tetris anymore.

6. What is something you learned in the last week?

I have learned how to monitor a concussion. Regarding my friend’s head injury, the doctor said, “If he starts laughing at the walls, bring him back… he’s having a fit.”

7. If you won a massive sum in the lottery, what would be the first thing you’d do?

Book a trip. Probably just become a nomad for a while, traveling the globe. Buy that Kombi Van I always wanted and disappear, temporarily.

8. If you could have any job in the World, which one would you want?

Screenwriter. That’d be right up my alley.

9. What actor/actress would play you in a movie about your life?

Can Ryan Stiles do an Aussie accent? Because he’s a dead ringer for me, or vice versa. He’s a lot older than me, but if you ignore that…

Seriously, the kids at school used to call me Lewis, ’cause of his character on the Drew Carey Show.

The other one is Sean Bean… if he can do an Aussie accent.

10. Where’s Waldo?

He’s in here, man. *points to chest*

Liebster Award

An award for me? You’re all so nice. This time, the incredibly sweet ZooBoo has offered me the Liebster award. It is an ‘up-and-coming’ award for those with less than 200 followers. I am not surprised ZB got one. Her blog is such a good read. Every post puts a smile on my face, and she writes with a striking charisma and fun style that it is impossible not to love her blog. Check it out! Oh, and thank you SO much, ZB.

Here are the award rules…

-Each nominee must link back the person who nominated them.
-Answer the 10 questions which are given to you by the nominator.
-Nominate 10 other bloggers for this award who have less than 200 followers.
-Create 10 questions for your nominees to answer.
-Let the nominees know that they have been nominated by going to their blog and notifying them.

Unfortunately, I had tremendous trouble finding blogs with the required number of followers. I spent a long time searching. I don’t have any more time. So at this point, no nominations. If I come across some in the next few days I shall nominate them. So, fantastic bloggers with under 200 followers, consider this an I-O-U! I do apologize for bending the rules, but, hey, I’m a maverick. I don’t play by the rules you all live by. 😉

Here are my answers to ZooBoo’s questions…

1. What is your favourite colour? 

Blue. I have quite an affiliation to water. Perhaps this stems from that. It is a calming colour I think. That’s how I often see myself; as the calming influence.

I just checked out an online colour psychology article. Supposedly, blue is the colour of trust, honesty and loyalty. They say blue seeks peace and tranquility. Well, I feel that is all in line with my life philosophies, so there you go.

2. Cornetto, Magnum, or some other ice cream?

Magnum! Magnum Ego, with caramel and all that in particular. But, I am not picky. Really, if you have ice-cream I am not going to make a fuss about asking you what kind it is. Hehe. If it is in a tub, Ben & Jerry’s is impossible to beat. It is rare and expensive here though. 😦

3. Do you like mangoes?

I love mangoes! Even mango-flavoured things. Mango ice-cream? Count me in. Mango anything.

4. If you had a bag of happy fairy dust, why/on who would you sprinkle it?

 Probably my dear mother. She is a major stress-head. I’d like to throw happy dust at her just to try and make her worries a little lighter. She deserves that.

5. What is your favourite TV drama, and why?

 Oooh, tricky one. Currently, I am a massive fan of ‘Luther‘. It is a mini-series, but if it counts, that’s really the only one I’m watching right now. It is brilliant!

6. Is there any landmark/city you would like to visit one day, and why?

 Well I’ve done the big bits of the USA that I wanted to. So, next, I think Paris would be fantastic to check out. The city of love!

7. Have you seen a fantastic movie lately?

 Probably. Um… oh yes, recently at the cinemas, I saw ‘The World’s End’. That was hilarious. Lots of fun.

8. Are you a shopaholic, or a chocoholic?

A chocoholic, no doubt. I have a serious sweet tooth. I could probably eat chocolate for every meal.

9. Do you like pie? If so, have you got a favourite?

Absolutely I like pie. Good, old fashioned apple pie is tough to beat. Like the ice-cream though, I am not going to turn down any pie form.

10. Just out of sheer curiosity, have you ever seen a rainbow?

Absolutely! I have seen many rainbows. Always a good sight.

As stated, no nominations at this point. But I love you all, so if anyone fancies answering any of the questions I wrote up for my potential nominees, please do. I’d love to hear your answers. And it would be such a shame to waste these ‘gems’ I created…

1. What is the #1 most played song on your iPod/similar device?

2. What was your favourite food as a child?

3. If you could choose anyone, who would you pick as your mentor?

4. If you were reincarnated as an animal, what animal would you be?

5. What story do your friends always tell about you?

6. What is something you learned in the last week?

7. If you won a massive sum in the lottery, what would be the first thing you’d do?

8. If you could have any job in the World, which one would you want?

9. What actor/actress would play you in a movie about your life?

10. Where’s Waldo?

Again, a HUGE thank you to Princess Fairy Zooboo for the nomination. And congrats to her for winning the award originally. And also a deep thank you to all of you who read this space of mine. Beats me why you would, but I really, really appreciate it every time you do. You all rock!

‘Me’ Music; French Electro-Swing Edition

I return with a special edition of ‘Music that makes me, me’. This time I have three French electro-swing tunes for you. You know, just to mix it up. Sometimes I’m in the mood for high-energy French dance tunes. And, Kaela, I know how much you value a good upright bass, so Caravan Palace fulfill that category, too. Hope you are all in the mood for something… different.

As Caravan Palace say – “Get happy and lose control!”

Caravan Palace – Dramophone

Parov Stelar – The Mojo Radio Gang

Caravan Palace – Suzy