Was that good for you?

So ladies and gentlemen (plural?....really Phil?), I have discovered something. My brain has a G-Spot, and I know how to activate it.

What?! I hear you say! (in fact, I hear that a lot!). Well what I have discovered is that I am susceptible to autonomous sensory meridian response, or ASMR for short (because any other letter acronym would just be stupid). "What on earth is that" I hear you say! (I get that a lot too!). It's a relatively new thing as far as I can tell, which, according to Wikipedia, is defined as:

"a neologism for a recently described perceptual phenomenon characterized as a distinct, pleasurable tingling sensation in the head, scalp, back, or peripheral regions of the body in response to visual, auditory, olfactory, and/or cognitive stimuli."

But! It seems not everyone gets them. I only get them with one of the commonly known stimuli. For me, it's listening to the sound of whispering. It's hard to explain it, but my brain feels all tingly, excited and filled with pleasure. In no way though does it feel sexual (although there is often a strong association with pleasure and sexual activity....you're welcome ladies). Whatever it is, it's very nice. Here's the interesting thing though. It's not just something that happens when I listen to someone else whispering - I can do it to myself (story of my life!), although having someone else do it gives a greater kick (yes, I'm still talking about whispering....I think!).

The ever wonderful, Buzzfeed, has a short video to describe what this is. I don't find any of the other stimuli mentioned does it for me at all. It's very specific to whispering, but it's definitely there.



If you find that whispering does it for you, you'll get a massive kick out of this video



Phew! That was good. Anyone got a cigarette?

They made their instruments sing...

A few years ago, I wrote about my discovery of a hugely talented musician, Ludovico Einaudi (pronounced Ludoviko Ine (like in wine or dine) Audi (like the cars) ). Since then, my interest in him and admiration for his composing skills have continued to grow. Last Friday, I had the privilege of seeing him perform live.

It was one of the best concerts I have ever been to in my whole life. Spellbinding is the word I would use. He is primarily a pianist/composer and usually sticks to solo piano work. For this concert however, he had an orchestra with him to carry and emphasise his beautiful melodies. I went with my fab Mum to see this, and she described the experience as being in a place where together, Ludovico and his orchestra "made their instruments sing".

Earlier this year, he performed a warm up concert in London for this tour and a sample of this concert is available to watch online here. Obviously, it doesn't capture the full atmosphere of being there live, but perhaps if you watch it in full screen, switch off the lights and turn the volume up, it'll go some way.

Here's my favourite one, available on the video, "Waterways" is below. I hope you can spare a few minutes to watch it.

My all time favourite song of his is I Giorni, which he did play at the concert I saw, but it's not available in the video linked to above).

Thank you Ludovico for a magical night out. I won't forget it.

"Our Business Now Is North"

The BBC is running a series on its BBC Four channel at the moment titled Army: A Very British Institution which is a "collection of BBC programmes about the British Armed Forces......dating back to the 1950s, available online to watch in full". (in the UK at least!)

Tonight, I watched "When TV Goes to War". This programme looks "at how war has been dramatised on British television from the Second World War through the Falklands campaign to contemporary conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan."

Part of the programme features an eve-of-battle speech given to British troops on Wednesday 19th March 2003 before military operations began in Iraq on the 20th. The speech was given by Colonel Tim Collins of the Royal Irish Regiment.



No video recording actually exists of this speech and was recorded only in short hand by a journalist who was embedded with troops

Ever since I heard about this speech several years ago, I have continued to revisit it as a source of rousing inspiration. It turns out it touched a nerve with Prince Charles too.

For me, the topic of the legality of the Iraq war is largely irrelevant here. My interest is in the power of words to communicate passion. Field Marshal Montgomery once said, on the topic of leadership that;

Leadership is the capacity and will to rally men and women to a common purpose and the character which inspires confidence.
I have read this speech many times, and will often read it when I have to write something and need a source of passionate articulation to rally my neurons into action.

Whatever your opinion on the war may be, I encourage you to read this.

Eve-of-battle speech by Colonel Tim Collins
"We go to Iraq to liberate not to conquer. We will not fly our flags in their country. We are entering Iraq to free a people and the only flag which will be flown in that ancient land is their own. Show respect for them.

There are some who are alive at this moment who will not be alive shortly. Those who do not wish to go on that journey, we will not send. As for the others I expect you to rock their world. Wipe them out if that is what they choose. But if you are ferocious in battle remember to be magnanimous in victory.

Iraq is steeped in history. It is the site of the Garden of Eden, of the Great Flood and the birthplace of Abraham. Tread lightly there. You will see things that no man could pay to see and you will have to go a long way to find a more decent, generous and upright people than the Iraqis. You will be embarrassed by their hospitality even though they have nothing. Don't treat them as refugees for they are in their own country. Their children will be poor, in years to come they will know that the light of liberation in their lives was brought by you.

If there are casualties of war then remember that when they woke up and got dressed in the morning they did not plan to die this day. Allow them dignity in death. Bury them properly and mark their graves.

It is my foremost intention to bring every single one of you out alive but there may be people among us who will not see the end of this campaign. We will put them in their sleeping bags and send them back. There will be no time for sorrow.

The enemy should be in no doubt that we are his nemesis and that we are bringing about his rightful destruction. There are many regional commanders who have stains on their souls and they are stoking the fires of hell for Saddam. He and his forces will be destroyed by this coalition for what they have done. As they die they will know their deeds have brought them to this place. Show them no pity.

It is a big step to take another human life. It is not to be done lightly. I know of men who have taken life needlessly in other conflicts, I can assure you they live with the Mark of Cain upon them. If someone surrenders to you then remember they have that right in international law and ensure that one day they go home to their family.
The ones who wish to fight, well, we aim to please.

If you harm the regiment or its history by over-enthusiasm in killing or in cowardice, know it is your family who will suffer. You will be shunned unless your conduct is of the highest for your deeds will follow you down through history. We will bring shame on neither our uniform or our nation.

[Regarding the use by Saddam of chemical or biological weapons]

It is not a question of if, it's a question of when. We know he has already devolved the decision to lower commanders, and that means he has already taken the decision himself. If we survive the first strike we will survive the attack.

As for ourselves, let's bring everyone home and leave Iraq a better place for us having been there.

Our business now is north." _{-- source - Wikipedia}

This speech was dramatised by Kenneth Branagh in the BBC's production 10 Days to War.

Alive and Drumming

The rush of playing live in a band.....

Alive and drumming

Stepping forth into the arena,
A band of merry gladiators appear,

Brandishing our weapons and ready to fight,
A vibrate sound we shall play here tonight,

Swords of different shape and size
Cheers from the crowds making our prize,

Oozing blood sweat and tears,
The reggae and funk fill our ears,

Chemicals rush into our bloodstream,
Charging with weapons at fullsteam,

Smiles and happiness fill the air around me
Did I just hear "have another cup of tea"?

Watch Out Gordon Ramsey

Mr Ramsey, you are no match for me and my beds!

I am "P" in the discussion below. "E" shall remain a mysterious figure to all but me (and E).

Chef talk!....

E to P: what did you have?
P to E: I had fillet au mackeral served on a bed of rice with an olive scented tomato dressing..........aka tin of mackeral with some rice, smotherd in ketchup, but I like my version of it
E to P: :P that's no better than my meal :P
P to E: it issssssss. I can make it sound posh........you can't make chicken sound anything other than "it's chicken". There's no bed of anything! You gotta have a bed of something........it's the best bit
E to P: :D ya got me

.....later that evening.....

P to E: how was the chicken?
E to P: deliciouuuuus!
P to E: did you have anything with it?
E to P: nope :D
P to E: no beds?!?!
E to P: beds?? vegs?
P to E: beds. beds of whatever. Remember it's the bed that's the best bit
E to P: aaah no, but i ate on my bed if that counts
P to E: haha yeah, you had chicken on a bed :D
E to P: :D
P to E: just a bed, not of anything........a bed of many dreams :D
E to P: :)
P to E: you should suggest to [name redacted] she suggests they put that on the menu at the [restaurant name] to see if anyone orders it - "Chicken on a bed of dreams"
E to P: aww sounds delish
P to E: I think so :)
E to P: :)

Oooooooh, Aaaaaaah

I think London definitely holds the crown for the best New Years Eve fireworks display.



Also available until Saturday 8th (for those in the UK/those outside the UK who can convince their computers they're in the UK!) on BBC iplayer to watch in better quality.

Phil, You Great Big Cry Baby!

I get quite emotional a fair bit and I think that's very positive actually. Why be alive if you can't experience feelings? Very rarely though do I actually cry. It's not some sort of macho thing (anyone who knows me know I'm not macho!) that says I don't believe a guy can cry, it's just with me, whatever chemical reaction that has to happen in that moment to cause crying often doesn't take place.

Several songs, moments on a film/TV can get me all choked up and I feel that lump in my throat. However only once can I remember actually crying when watching TV. Rather humerously (and embarassing now!) it was when Kylie Minogue's character on "Neighbours", Charlene, did her final scene. It was 1988 and I would have been five or six years old (are you saying "awwww bless" yet??) and she drove off in an orange mini leaving her friends and family behind on Ramsey Street that I shed many tears. Awww! (ohh it looks like I'm not the only one)

Today, aged 28, I cried for the first time when listening to a song. As I say, there are many songs I could list (which I will provide if asked) that give me a lump in my throat. However, something in this song below caused that rush of whatever hormone it is to flow into my blood stream today.

The song in question is "Someone Like You", by Adele. It's so beautiful, accounting an experience of unrequited love. The lyrics are so powerful and return you to a moment experienced by many yet so personal to oneself.

This line in particular strikes a real chord with me:

"I hate to turn up out of the blue uninvited but I couldn't stay away I couldn't fight it."
It reminds me of the time I turned up, unannounced at the home of the person for whom I had unrequited love. I was 14 years old (which turned out to be year 2 of an 8 year thing I had for her!) and I went up to hers with the aim of confessing my feelings to her. I chickened out at the last minute.

So, get a tissue at the ready, watch and admire.

Twenty-six Little Squiggles

The written word, a compound of one or more of these strange shapes we know as letters. Kinda amazing when you think about it.

The Magna Carta through to hand-written letters from friends and family I have kept. Each little "squiggle" touches someone, somehow, in some way. Whenever "a writing" is produced, I think a moment of perfection exists because they provide us (humans Inc) with the means to communicate our deepest thoughts and desires, each one generated by any one of billions of tiny little neurons. So yeah, I think it's pretty cool that we have these letters. I wouldn't be able to share this with you now without them!

Twenty-six Little Squiggles

Twenty-six little squiggly lines,
All innocent and inconspicuous,
Like a love who is unrequited,
They sit unaware of their power,

Upper and sometimes lower,
Set ready for the dart thrower,
Going from quill to keyboard,
The pen is mightier than the sword

Rosetta Stone to Tweeting
Hieroglyphics to "OMG",
Continually evolving?,
Definitely, maybe,

W.H. Auden to W.H. Smiths,
Both places for squiggles to enlighten,
Shakespeare and Wordsworth,
Inspired by authors unknown,

Causing smiles and tears, happiness and despair,
In the right hands, beautiful, in the wrong, hell,
Eight squiggles to tell someone they're special,
Yeah, those are my favourite of all the squiggles,

Twenty-six little squiggles.

The Romance of Rice Pudding

This is just totally cute and as I'm a sucker for anything romantically cute, right up my street. All the little things that define a couple and the little jokes and rituals they have - it's just great. Here's a wonderful example of this in action. Awwwww :)

I don't know if rice pudding is that popular outside the UK? Either way, did you know that it's also romantic - specifically if it's ambrosia creamed rice (which I'm fairly sure is found only in Britain)? Well, it is!

I came across this article about Ronnie Corbett - a national treasure and one half (well, maybe one third ;) ) of the influential 1970's and 1980's comedic double act known as the The Two Ronnies. In it, Ronnie Corbett's reserved personality is explored, in particular his inability (due to embarrassment) to communicate the love he has for his wife, Anne.

"Early on in their relationship, Anne Corbett wondered why her husband found it difficult to say anything romantic to her. He put his reticence down to his Scottish roots. But they found a way round the problem, Anne has recalled: "I said: 'Well, think of something nice you can say that doesn't embarrass you,'' and he said: 'Ambrosia Creamed Rice.' Even now on his birthday and Valentine cards I never put 'I love you', and nor does Ron. We put 'ACR'."
 -- Source
How cute is that?!

Here is Ronnie Corbett alongside his late friend and colleague Ronnie Barker, in what is perhaps their most famous sketch; Four Candles



So it's goodnight from me...

Ray LaMontagne

I've just discovered this singer, Ray LaMontagne, who I saw for the first time a few weeks ago on Later...with Jools Holland.

He's the type of singer I really like. One who's songs have a poetic quality to them. I think musicians such as this are a rare breed, who are actually poets that use their instruments instead of pens in which to write their works of art with.

I only feel sorry for the fact that my ears did not discover him sooner!

This is (so far) my favourite song. Beautiful.

This Is The Way We Play The Caixa

You know, it's weird how a person, a place, or an experience you don't think anything of at the time can evolve to become the inspiration to pen (or type) a poem.

Recently, I have started going to a drumming/percussion workshop on a Sunday evening put on by the London School of Samba (although ironically I'm not going to tonights as I have man flu). I don't attend the dance or costume making things as I'm not into that (two left feet, only wear jeans). I've only been to the drumming one three or four times so far, but I've really enjoyed the atmosphere created when a room full of people come together to make some (organised!) noise under the instruction of the "conductor" called Fred (I believe there's another one as well who conducts but it's always been Fred by chance on the weeks I have been).

This Is The Way We Play The Caixa

Brigadier General Fred takes his place,
Standing high above his troops,

"Today soldiers, we go forth to face our enemy,
Be ferocious in battle, but magnanimous in victory,

Tame the beast, make friends with it,
Its name - The Samba. Now let us commence",

Our army's name: The Bateria,
Our weapons are cleaned and ready for use,

The order to move up is issued by our commander,
"Standby, standby, GO!",

The engines of the Surdos roar into action,
As intimidating as any tank should be,

Following on in their masses - the Caixas,
The ever-present loyal and skilled infantrymen,

Bolstering the Caixas are the Repiniques,
Specialised in both weapon and hand-to-hand combat,

Supporting these forces, the Tamborims,
Diligent and competent engineers,

Combining their strengths are the Agogos and Chocalhos,
This signals corp defines our regimental march,

Our strengths are numerous,
We hold the ground,

Chanting the spirit of,
Dagga dagga da boom bang!

(I'm not in any of these ones by the way, but gives you an idea of things!)

Atom Spotting - Getting to Know the World Around You

I am fortunate to work for a company which believes strongly in employee well-being. A happy employee is a creative employee right? Moreover, a happy person is a creative person both at and outside of the workplace.

Our dear leader, and all-round "Jolly Good Fellow" who for the purposes of this blog shall be referred to as Kim Meng-il (although our Meng is popular and would never be so roanree - warning: video contains a naughty word!) has encouraged the holders of thousands of curious minds to continue to develop their curiosity and step into a world which will hopefully, over time will increase their general levels of happiness.

I highly endorse taking some of your time to read his blog Mengstupiditis and just see what you think.

Through the practice of a technique known as Mindfulness, the idea is to both relax (through breathing) and also get to know (through a deep awareness) someone very important - yourself. I like to think of it as "How can we even begin to understand the world around us if we do not take the time to first know ourselves?"

As far as I know, there are no official "stages" of experience or knowledge, but if there are, then I'm still very much at stage 1 (maybe 1.5 if I get extra points by blogging about it? I think so!). I just find it an interesting concept and one to play with as and when just to see what grows if I plant the seeds. My personal interest in it is to see if it can help reduce levels of anxiety that I experience (I call this "tortured genius syndrome" ;))

I've always been a bit of a curious chappy. I like to let my mind wander and see how many of the synaptic gaps I can bridge before I leave this planet. So, leading on from the mindful approach to life, I have come up with my own way to practice this -- Atom Spotting. I haven't really practiced it much, and maybe it will not prove to be useful. I suppose only time will tell!

If you can have train spotters hanging around alongside train tracks, or plane spotters gathering at an airport, then why can't you have people who spot atoms? That is to say that when you go about your daily business, why not look for everything? An example might be walking down the street, minding your own business. But, what if you played "atom spotting" and looked for everything? The clothes people are wearing, what logos are on the clothes, what they are made of, the shades of colour, the fibres of the particular fabric used to make that piece of clothing? Apply this to everything around you (vehicle detail, the fonts on sign posts right down to the small indentations on the pavements on which millions of people have walked) you essentially begin to live the saying "God is in the detail".

So, see how many atoms you can spot. I'm going to give it a go!

The Downsides of Living Within One Mile of The Houses of Parliament (perhaps!)

Warning Spoiler Alert: (if you haven't seen the first episode in series 9 of Spooks)

So you know when you're watching TV and you get a little too into it? That doesn't happen to me often, but last night, rather humoursly it did.

I was watching the first episode of series 9 of Spooks -- what is perhaps the BBC's finest show.

Cutting a long story short. Terrorists get hold of some explosives and plan to send them crashing into the Houses of Parliament. Only way to stop this from happening is to use the last resort which - detonate an EMP to disable the bombs. The downside - it'd knock out anything containing a microchip within a 1 mile radius.

The bombs (contained in small submersibles) are making their way up the Thames. There is no time to stop them. The decision is made. The EMP must be detonated to prevent the destruction of the Houses of Parliament.

As I mention, I had a got a little too into the episode, and.....see thing is, is that I live comfortably within the 1 mile radius of the Houses of Parliament. For a brief second, I was watching the episode as if it was real time waiting, the tension building inside me as I waited for my internet connection to go off. Thankfully it didn't ;)

I did enjoy this random person's tweet on the subject though. Very funny!

Anyway that's all. Congratulations to the BBC for another great episode. Also thanks that this wasn't real and my internet connection was unaffected so I could still look at porn opportunities to volunteer.

London at Night

So yeah, I'm rather pleased with how this came out!

A picture is worth a thousand words.


View original image

I've now uploaded the rest of the photographs that I took on this walk. So, here they are!....

Edit: I am going to keep adding night time photographs of London that I take. So in the event this post gets really long, please allow the photos to load.

Mark Knopfler at The Royal Albert Hall

So, folks this is how I spent my Wednesday evening.....!



The fact I have a "markknopfler" label suggests I'm a rather big fan. That suggestion would be correct!

The setting for this auspicious event was the Royal Albert Hall in London. I have never been inside it before, seeing it only from the outside and a few times on TV. If you haven't been, a suggestion for you.....Go! I think this is probably now one of my favourite buildings in the world, primarily because of its interior, though its exterior is distinguished too.


- Source, Wikipedia: Photographer "Snowmanradio"

Known famously for its hosting of The (BBC) Proms, The Royal Albert Hall which opened in 1871 has a Victorian grandeur charm about it. If you click on the "Virtual Tour" (more 360 image than tour), then after your gasps of "Wow, that's beautiful", click on "Grand Tier". This was the view we had for the Mark Knopfler concert. Not bad eh!

Mark Knopfler as is always the case, was on top form. It's true that he's not as quick as he was back in his Dire Straits days. However, he is still a very talented musician who wowed the audience with his skills. I won't reveal the full set list as the tour is still ongoing, but he performed a mixture of old Dire Straits songs, and many from his solo albums including his most recent, Get Lucky.

One feature I particularly enjoyed was during one song (I don't think it's spoiling it to say it was during Sultans of Swings as this is an essential number for him to perform during any tour!), was a special camera placed at the top of the guitar (where it's tuned - I don't know the name of it, so I'm going to call it the shaft!). This pointed downwards to show his finger picking and projected onto a giant screen. Though I said he had naturally slowed down over the years, when this image was displayed I quickly thought "Slowed yes, but not by much!".

He led into Sultans of Swings from Romeo and Juliet. Melodically, Romeo and Juliet is not one of my favourites (it's still high up there, I just prefer the more upbeat ones), lyrically it is by far my favourite. If you read the lyrics, I hope you'll agree that it's a beautifully crafted work of art by a man who arguably is as good a poet as he is a musician. His performance of this live, had a particular poignancy for me because of the good friend (and my unofficial adopted sister!) that I went with. Years ago when she was going through some tough times, I used a line from the song to convey my offer of help, should she need it. I said simply "I can't do everything, but I'll do anything for you". I think, and hope that stuck in both of our minds and so being able to hear that in her presence, sung live by the composer was a touching moment.

So, overall a wonderful evening. Great talent, great seats, great venue, great company, great music, great Mr Knopfler!

One of the five nights he played was recorded and available for purchase. I bought the USB stick. Well worth it! Technically it was from a different night, but it was exactly the same format and if I hadn't seen it was from the 30th May rather than June 2nd, I'd not have been able to tell any difference. If you like Mark Knopfler, do whatever you have to do (sell a kidney, sell your body!) to be able to buy this!.

Here are a few pictures (sadly not great quality as taken with a cameraphone and you really need a proper camera for these kinds of shots).....


Outside the Royal Albert Hall



Photo provided by my unofficial adopted sister.



The view from our "box".



The view from our "box".

Have You Got The Knowledge?

Regular readers of this blog will know that I have a huge appetite for all things geographical. I'm also fascinated by the inner workings of the human mind, in particular the functions of the amygdalae and hippocampus.

Combining these two loves leads me to be a big fan of "The Knowledge".

"It is the world's most demanding training course for taxicab-drivers, and applicants will usually need at least twelve 'Appearances' (attempts at the final test), after preparation averaging 34 months, to pass the examination. Medical tests have discovered that London cab drivers tend to have developed an especially big hippocampus, a region of the brain implicated in navigational ability."
-- Source, Wikipedia

I'm always intrigued and fascinated at what is going on inside the minds of the drivers, the different connections that take place during a job. I have a huge amount of respect and admiration for Black cab drivers and tip favourably as I believe their dedication to master the skills required to navigate London's maze of streets deserve reward. These people are the expert workhorses that help millions of Londoners and tourists reach their destination quickly and in safety. I take my hat off to each and every one of them.

More about The Knowledge from Transport for London.

......Well, it's not every day you end up writing a blog post about taxi drivers and their neurological development, but hey it's my blog!

What It Means To Be A (Great) Parent

I just love this advert that's on at the moment! No matter how often I watch it, I get a small lump in my throat (shock horror, man with emotions. Plop!). I like it not because of the brand (it's just a Vodafone advert), but just how well it's been put together and how sincere it is.

If like me, you're really close to your parents and have a relationship with them based on unconditional love, you'll most likely agree with me how well it summarizes what it means to be a great parent -- and how as the "children" of these amazing individuals, we have been given a gift more precious than anything else....

Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch

Because my lovely and pretty Mummy knows I like long funny words, she sent me this postcard when she was on holiday recently....



And if you want to know how this is pronounced, click the play button on the video below.....Yeah, I can't say it either!



More information about Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch.

Does Whatever A Blog Post Does

Check out this wonderful piano composition of The Simpsons theme tune.

Spectacular skill!

Thank You BBC Four - The Beauty of Maps

The Beauty of Maps starting tomorrow (well looking at the clock, technically today now!) with Maps: Power, Plunder and Possession

Perfect for someone who loves "maps" as I do.



Update:
In the second of three episodes of Maps: Power, Plunder and Possession, the man who's website is shown as an RSS feed on the right of this page, Ed Parsons, spoke about Google Earth. As Google's Geospatial Technologist, Ed was the perfect person to provide an eloquant account of how people have used Google Earth around the world. Indeed, the applications to which it has been put are truly inspirational. Miss seeing this at your peril!