2011 - Review Of The Year?

Seems to me that every man and his dog is at the moment putting together a review of 2011. Well, I thought I might as well join in because to be honest I don't think anyone is going to read this if any of my other blogs are to go by.

So what do we learn from 2011?

1- The Arab Spring,

Where apparently facebookers brought down the corrupt Tyrants in charge of Middle Eastern countries. Quite ironic considering they got Rage Against the Machine to number 1 a few years ago. In fact I remember it was a good friend @RatedR1882 who told me of their political leanings in their songwriting.

2 - Killing Osama Bin Laden.

He got shot, war against terror is now over? Not really, but you'd like to think it could be that easy.

3 - Royal Wedding.

Niggles me at times this one, people were quite happy to criticise the wedding, but were happy to take the paid holiday. People were quick to criticise the spending on security and tax payers money, but didn't understand that the Royal Wedding created billions of dollars of revenue for this country, if it wasn't for the swelling of coffers from tourists and royalists flocking to London then we'd be even more of a financial mess than we are now.

4 - The Middleton Sisters.

Kate and Pippa looked very hot. I hope dreaming of a sandwich isn't a beheading offence.

5 - Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri leaving Arsenal.

To be honest, I don't think Fab knew what was going on at times towards the back end of last season and he did become increasingly injury prone. Best of luck to him. Samir Nasri on the other hand reportedly said some disgracefully disrespectful things about the Arsenal team. That would be the arsenal team that supported him when he first came over from France and when he broke his leg and when he went MIA in the League Cup final against Stephen Carr. Well I'm sure Roberto Mancini won't regret it... Oh what was that I heard recently, "Nasri pull your socks up you're not good enough?" funny old game.

6 - Year Of Promise

When the year started I was on a high, my hopes and expectations were buoyant, what actually happened was that every avenue turned out to have a roadblock at the end of it. I hit four different filmmakers who just vanished on me after I'd started scripting for them and in November another folded. I consider 2012 to possibly be the time to go back to basics, to retreat to some old characters and scenarios. Back to short stories alongside existing audio commitments.

7 - The 'Real' Job.

I haven't been settled this year, have changed shift several times, have been the centre of issues because of depot closures and apparently should know better than to expect interdepartmental communication. I've started to go beyond detest to the actual 'hate' feeling towards getting up and going to work. I hope 2012 sees a fresh start in a new environment. I know for a fact that thins are going to be interesting for the next 3 months as I'll be out of the picture. Watch this space.

8 - Twitter and The Great Depression.

Possibly the greatest discover of 2011 is that Twitter and being in a foul, deep depression when everything seems to be against you do not mix. You really need a bit of good spirit and humour to help you out and sometimes your tweets are a veiled cry for help. getting no replies, no retweets and no mentions feels like a slap in the face. In 2012 I'm going to remove quite a lot of people I'm following, have a clear out. I followed a lot of writers expecting them to be great and full of useful tips and tbh they're quite boring buggers who have their own circles which I'm not and never likely to be part of.

My Favourite Christmas Songs

Imagine the scene, a cold Winter night in early December when up pops a tweet from the darling former Treasure Hunt vixen Wincey Willis. ( I kid you not dear reader) there is a man up North who would like to know about our favourite Christmas Songs and would we blog about it. Luckily for me I was one of (*I don't know how many exactly but to stroke my ego I'll say...) Hundreds of people who wanted to be a part of this.

That's the thing about Christmas, being a part of something...

Everyone copmplains about Christmas in one way or another; the gaudy decorations. the fact that December 25th gets earlier every year, the weather, the prices, the Mrs Santa costume that covers too much, the elf costume that doesn't cover enough...

But the one thing we can agree on is that everyone has a song, regardless of anything else. Every genre of music has at one time or another had a stab at being festive. Run DMC, Snoop Dogg, My Chemical Romance, Cliff Richard, The Darkness, Aled Jones, The Killers, The Cheeky Girls. That's barely scratching the surface. The two biggest Christmas songs on repeat belong to 70's Glam Rock and the second two belong to 80's pop. (In my opinion based on the radio station at work)

I am very grateful to @himupnorth for allowing a Lancastrian to invade his Yorkshire blog space and I hope he isn't disappointed with my choice of song...



AC/DC's Mistress For Christmas.

So what is it about the song that sums up the spirit of Christmas?

EVERYTHING!! Lets look at the boxes it ticks,

1) It has Sleigh Bells.
2) You can dance to it
3) It mentions Christmas, Reindeers, Santa, Jingle Bells, Presents.
4) It rocks!

The best Christmas songs embody everything about the season, Slade's Merry Christmas Everybody features lyrics about illicit kisses and drunked behaviour, Mariah Carey has that cheeky look in her eye when asked what she wants for Christmas and you discover that it's you. Lets go even further back in time to Eartha Kitt purring seductively about what she wants her Santa Baby to slip her under the tree.

When you're a child you're taught that Christmas time is for being a little bit cheeky, (Think about it, "There's a guy you never met before tell him what you want for Christmas and he'll get it for you." How cheeky is that?) Sometime in all the hullabaloo you get lost in the commercialism and want and money grabbing that Bankers and Oil Tycoons get off on every day. When you're getting older embrace the fun, cheeky and festive side of Christmas.

You think that when Jesus was born they didn't have a party... Oh yeah, they did and everyone came, Kings, Shepherds, Cattle and Inn Keepers.

So what are my other 4?

Jethro Tull's Jack Frost And The Hooded Crow

Ian Anderson was a madcap as they came on Top Of The Pops, treating the necessity of miming with the disgust it deserved. But his Christmas songs always had that hint of Socialist about them, look beyond yourself to others.




Sheryl Crow and Eric Clapton - Merry Christmas Baby

Sometimes to enjoy the season you need to see it through the images and the expectations instead of the reality. This song will forever make me think of New York, snowy streets, joy and Christmas Markets like the Hollywood films. I've never been to New York at Christmas, I hate to have my illusions shattered.



Cliff Richard - Little Town

Christmas memories are the best. Some are old some are new and this is one of my oldest, I always wondered why we never sang it this way at school.



Elvis Presley - Here Comes Santa Claus (Coming Down Santa Claus Lane)

Always finish on a classic. and this evokes the spirit of the 1950's just as much as Bing Crosby. Again the images in your mind are so clear it's as if you've always known Christmases like them, you have, except they've always been on the TV screen and not outside your window.




Check out the person who so kindly gave me the chance to go on about Christmas songs at his blog HIM UP NORTH - http://blogupnorth.wordpress.com/

Time Like Falling Leaves

Based on the characters created by Ben Reed for the forthcoming Audio Drama series 'In The Line Of Duty'

Jack Anders sat at the dining table, his usual seat. He looked up at the empty chair opposite him, Kira's chair. He was waiting for it to dry, the varnish usually took two to three hours. He looked at the clock, still another two hours to go. He knew deep down it was just a veneer, that he was using the varnish as a cover for what he was really waiting for. Thinking about the Varnish drying on Kira's chair was a distraction from thinking about the letter he knew it was time to write.

He had everything laid out in front of him with military precision, the pen perpendicular to the paper, every piece of paper aligned in its pile, not one centimetre out of place. The irony wasn't lost on Jack Anders that all the years in the army, all the times he's had to debrief his superiors with bad news, descriptions of failed missions, account for loss of life, yet he still couldn't bring himself to write letters to his wife.

His palms were cold and clammy, he tried to blame the cold weather but knew it was fear. The fear of not knowing what to write, knowing that every word would be from the heart, open and honest, the real Jack Anders. He looked at the chair again, wished really hard that the clock had somehow skipped a couple of hours. Maybe he should stand up and touch it, test its tackiness. he knew he was procrastinating, Kira wouldn't stand for it if she had been there with him.

Jack picked up the pen, looked at it, the black ink inside the clear plastic tube. It didn't move, it wasn't as if he expected it to, he pressed the nib to the paper and watched the words flow, simple and ineffective words that held no significance and meant absolutely nothing. He'd ripped the paper from in front of him and screwed it into a ball, the tight knot of paper in his hands acted like ball of hurt and sadness inside of him, he squeezed it tighter and tighter before launching it across the room with all the force his pent up frustration could muster. It lacked direction and purpose, Jack watched in disbelief as it bounced off the top of the chair opposite him. He knew it, deep down, it was evident in the light that cascaded across the varnish. He had bought himself another couple of hours, the section would have to be completely stripped back.

Jack Anders stood with eagerness and walked towards the kitchen, his white spirit and varnish still sitting by the sink waiting for him silently, welcoming him back. He looked at the clock and sighed, he knew that it was only a matter of time before he had to sit down at the table again, he couldn't let Kira down, not this year. Sighing again, deeper this time, Jack turned his back on the White Spirit and forced himself to sit down at the table again, he had to finish the letter and it had to be from the heart.

Holding the pen tightly he began to write.

Animal

In this age of social networking, it was supposed to make certain thins easier. Instead of having to walk around festivals and producers the entire world is at your fingertips. Don't let anyone fool you into believing it's that easy. It's still a question of who you know, more than what you know and the circle that you move in.

so, please view the movie, comment on whether its good or bad and spread the word.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZYkEwt2YS0