Summer sun

I was driving home there and thought I should write a blog and now that I've come on I can't remember what I was going to say. So no doubt this'll be another random collection of the innards of my brain.

- We played Rounders last night with YF. So much fun. It's been a while since I did that, but some things never change, arguments and cheating a plenty, all in Christian love mind you. Our team came back from 21-6 down to win it 28-26. Quite a turnaround!

- I went into town last week for the first time in forever! And finally made it to Victoria Square. I agree with everyone else, it is freezing and you don't feel like you are in Belfast.

- I am getting into 'I'd Do Anything'. This is really my first look at one of these shows. I think my mum sent me a DVD of early Maria one, but I didn't see any of the Joseph one. I think I want Jodie to win. Or maybe Rachel. Jessie is alright, but I think Samantha is totally forgettable. They all love her though so what do I know. But I think the real question is how is Andrew Lloyd Webber not gay? Seriously.

- May 08's playlist has been made. Here's this month's well read selection:

1. Tenderness on the Block - Shawn Colvin (This is the song at the end of Sliding Doors but tragically not on the soundtrack. This is Shawn's effort which isn't as good as the one on the film but I can't find it anywhere.)

2. Heartbeat - Scouting for Girls (Love, love, love Scouting for Girls. Couldn't pick them out of an identity parade.)

3. Violet Hill - Coldplay (Probably only on here cos it was free, but I do quite like it.)

4. Feeling a Moment - Feeder (This is used all the time in TV shows. It was played at the end of the FA Cup on Saturday in the stadium and you could hear all through the interviews so it put it in my head.)

5. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen - Barenaked Ladies and Sarah McLachlan (Christmas songs are best at other time of the year, everyone knows that. This is one I heard in America a lot. Totally worth You Tubing it. Apparently they were just messing around, which goes some way to explain why Sarah, dear love her, keeps singing at the end. Genius though.)

- I have a new skill, although I doubt it's one that I can really put on my CV. I can recite all 50 US states in alphabetical order. What can I say, exam invigilation leaves you with a lot of time and not a lot of thoughts. I'd like to prove it to you but you'd just think I pasted them in, so you perhaps can test me next time you see me, see if I've still got it.

- Despite this, a similar attempt at Irish counties (in any order) failed well short of 32.

- Maybe this explains, in part, why I get at least one student a week asking me if I am American.

- The sunny weather has brought out my summer wardrobe, which is now pretty extensive. But last week I found a Day Tripper ticket for Sydney in a pocket. It made me want to cry. I miss being in exciting places.

- That said, I was sitting at City Hall eating my sushi (I know! Check me out, salads and sushi now!) I decided Belfast isn't half bad.

See.

I haven't done this in a while

Jose has a super cool new car which his iPod works seamlessly with, no tuning the car radio nonsense. So on one of our trips we were listening to mine, just running through the playlists.

As one song finished and another started, Jose said 'You know, you are the musical equivalent of being very well read.' Well thank you very much.

So here's this month's list.

Apologize - Timbaland (feat. OneRepublic)

I first heard this in Australia and really liked it. Still do.

Lost in This Moment - Big and Rich

Ah, the happy return of country loving Tina Sue!

Big Girls Don't Cry - Fergie

I really don't like Fergie but this song is annoyingly singable.

Supercalifragilisticexplialidocious - Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke

Can't beat it. In the show this song was totally different, but she did at least say it backwards right, not like Julie.

Whatever Gets You Through The Day - The Radio

Another Grey's masterpiece.

Hosanna - Hillsong

We sang this in church in Singapore but I didn't remember it til I got the CD.

All I Want is You - Barry Louis Polisar

This is from the opening titles in Juno and is so chipper! It reminds me of something that Nicky would write, kind of like the one he wrote for their wedding which now escapes me.

I don't want to close my eyes (although Carly says I can)

I'm just watching 'Armageddon' on TV. Of everything I ever achieved throughout my schooling, I consider the feat of watching it on my U6th Biology field trip and not crying one of my finest moments. Yes, it's far fetched and ridiculous. But Bruce pushes Ben back into the elevator thing and tells him 'I always thought of you as a son. I'd be damn proud to have you marry Grace.'

Ok, so perhaps if you imagine yourself to be 18 years old and surrounded by people crying you'd think it was more amazing.

I like the Aerosmith song on it. If you listen to the very end you'll hear a super arrangement of strings on it, which I don't imagine you hear very often on Aeromith songs.

So with that, here's October 07's playlist:

Biffy Clyro - Machines
I really like this. If you ask me the guy singing sounds Northern Irish and I'd bet you all the money in your pockets 'Grey's Anatomy' will use it sometime.

Newton Faulkner - Dream Catch Me
Newton is funny name to have isn't it? But what's funnier is his middle name is Battenberg. Maybe it's a double barrelled thing? [Which reminds me, I was doing the Nazi-Soviet Pact a few weeks ago with my Year 3s and came across officially the worst name ever. Reginald Ranfurly Plunkett-Ernle-Erle-Drax (he was a low level British official sent to negotiate with the USSR. The Russians weren't interested. No wonder). Anyway, we have a winner, sorry Newton.]

Annie Lennox - Why
I just took a notion for this. I love the line is 'these are the contents of my head'.

Climie Fisher - Love Changes (Everything)
Not that dreadful Michael Ball Love Changes Everything song. No, no this is classic 80s pop. I don't remember the song from the time but from my Music class at school. We used to do GCSE past papers as practice but there weren't very many for us to do so we'd repeat them. A lot. In one paper (which we did again and again) they used a snippet of this song and we'd all have a sing song in the middle of the paper. Exam conditions? I think not. We then had to say whether it was classical, baroque, pop or country. Hard stuff eh? Anyway, Chris Moyles played it during the 40 Years of Radio One so in it goes.

Avril Lavigne - How Does It Feel?
I used a video on You Tube for a class recently about a girl called Maria Hertogh who was born to Dutch Catholic parents in 1937. Somehow (views differ) during the war she ended up in the care of a Muslim woman and was raised Muslim. There was a custody battle for her in 1950 and it led to riots here. Really interesting story. Anyway the song got in my head.

Carly Simon - You Can Close Your Eyes
She was on Oprah and sang this song. Beautiful piano. A-maz-ing.

Put your hand up if you're not here

I just spent about fifteen minutes reading other people's blogs. I started off with people I knew and linked through to other people that I had no clue about. Most people are way more deep than I am. Part of me thinks they're smarter than me, part of me thinks they're putting up a front (or at least they have different aims from their blog).

My blog is meant to be nothing other than a way for me to let my friends know what I am up to. Sometimes (although probably less and less often) I might make you laugh about something that happened to me, other times I might, just might, make you think about something. But most times I hope I at least provide you with a tinternet doss that you were looking for.

But seriously, who are you and why do you read this? Are there people I don't know reading this? I just ramble on here about nothing in particular.

So in that vein, here is the top layer of my brain arranged in no particular order:
-I went to the supermarket yesterday. I bought lizard traps for the geckos and it made me laugh about the whole different set of problems I get in my house this year compared to last. Although the geckos are not really a problem, I have guests coming to stay and I don't want them to think they're some sort of pet. Mind you, I'll get rid of the traps before they come. They might get scared if they knew!
- I also got a window cleaner (the instrument not the person) as I noticed my windows weren't the cleanest and I have guests coming. They better notice clean windows.
- I didn't eat dinner tonight. This was mostly because I ate chocolate (so as not to be too specific I shall be cryptic but it's the most geometrically interesting chocolate and the kind you tend to get in the airport). It was given to me by a parent whose child is pretty much getting bullied. I must be a great teacher, I haven't even really begun to try and help and I'm being showered with gifts! Huh! Maybe it's a bribe? Although for what I am not sure.
- I watched 'The Last King of Scotland' the other night. Fantastic film, although not a popcorn film but so many things going on in it. I talked about it today in two separate classes and am seriously thinking about some sort of History movie club in school. This might mean that I actually see 'Schlinder's List'.
- I laughed with my class about 'The Pianist', not that it's a funny film at all, but if you're 15 and still adjusting to a NI accent then what you hear when I say 'pianist' is funny. (It helps to adopt the brain of a fifteen year old.)
- I also showed some Peter Kay to my class the other day. The bit about emergency chairs. They didn't understand him but I laughed to watch it again. Thinking all this might be contributing to why we are a few weeks behind the plan. Oops, but I am educating the whole child!
- I'm waiting for Grey's Anatomy to start, that's why I'm still up.
- August 07's playlist contains:
Kings of Leon - Fans (they were in the Live Lounge an age ago doing this and it sounded unbelievable!)
Better Than Ezra - Desperately Wanting (you'd know it if you heard it)
Heaven 17 - Temptation (sang this all week because I was teaching a lesson on, yes, temptation. I didn't sing to the class because I didn't think it was target.)
- but also really like that Plain White Ts song and seem to rememeber liking Scouting for Girls when Scott was in for Chris a week or two ago but I have never knowingly heard it since so I can't be sure that was it.
- really need to back up my computer as I think it is now only a matter of time before it pops it.

Music Monday

Inexplicably there wasn't a June 07 playlist. But we're back on form with July 07's. Here are the the best.

Lovestoned/I Think She Knows Interlude - JT
Don't really care for the Lovestoned part (although I do particularly like the 'Hot damn!' bit!) more the Interlude which on the full version lasts ages. I got this on free download from Bebo. If you're not friends with Free Single Saturday then should add them. If you're quick you'll get a code for iTunes to download a song of your choice. I chose this, because let's face it, I'm not about to pay for it.

Before the Throne of God Above
We sang this in church the other day as a 'new song'. I had kind of forgotten about it until then. It reminds me of TOM because Jud would always ask to sing it. It one of my memories of training.

Pipe Dreams - Travis
I have been teaching about the Holocaust to my GCSE class recently and played them this video from You Tube. This is one of the reasons why I could never be a Maths teacher (well that I didn't care what x was, oh yeah and I was crap), call me biased, serious life things are much more important.

Watch the video. I think it must have been made as a project or something by a student. Aside from the spelling at the beginning (which I cannot work out what it's supposed to be!) it's quite well done.

iPods work better when they are charged

The Big Listen is over. I got to song number 2803 ‘Don’t Get Me Wrong’, The Pretenders, when my battery unexpectedly died. Gutted, that was 2 months work there. I was quite looking forward to completing it and I probably only had another two weeks to go.

But the end did mean that I was able to sync and download some new music and podcasts, which I haven’t done since it started. There wasn’t even an April 07 playlist!

And for all of you worried about the memory problem, I fixed it. I am a computer genius. Ok, only in that I can search the internet and find a website that told me exactly what to do step by step.

Anyway, on May 07’s is:

- I Can’t Stop This Feeling I’ve Got – Razorlight (I think I should have just bought the album. Although I don’t like In the Morning so maybe not.)
- Signal Fire – Snow Patrol (I used to not be fussed on them, although I am definitely not fussed on Spiderman 3.)
- Home – Daughtery (This is the music that’s played when they get kicked off American Idol. Depending on who it is and whether they cry, I usually cry.)
- I Don’t Like Mondays – Boomtown Rats (I don’t either Bob. Everytime I hear this though I am reminded of the Tori Amos version that was used in the West Wing. Brilliant.)
- The Story – Brandi Carlile (This was a free download a few weeks ago, I got it, then never listened to it until I heard it again in a Grey’s Anatomy. More good TV music.)

I hope you are having a nice Bank Holiday. I told my classes today it was a Bank Holiday at home, and one boy said ‘when in Rome, Miss’.

All things considered though, I'd rather be in Belfast today. I don't know anyone in Rome for a start.

Museums: where History comes alive?!

Don’t you just hate the way weekends just disappear in front of you. On Friday I have so many good thoughts of what I am going to get accomplished and invariably I get a tiny percentage of it done. This weekend was substantially more productive than last however, and I have photos to prove it.

The museum trip on Saturday went well. I got the information I needed and even had time for some shopping. Plusses all round.


How stinking does that river look?


I shall bore you with the museum trip: two pits discovered in 1986 show the Sanxingdui civilisation's burial rituals of burning and disfiguring items before burying them in Sichuan area of China. Sichuan was thought to have been cultural backwater but this proves that it had a very sophisticated culture of bronze casting giving a big ya boo sucky boos to all the nay sayers. It also proves that civilisations developed apart from Yellow River Valley. This mask with its protruding eyes and oversized ears are believed to represent acute eyesight and hearing. The beak like nose shows the importance of birds in their religion. You're lucky, my second years got an afternoon trip and a lesson about this stuff. I'd love to say 'yawn' but I'll toe the party line and say 'History is great!'.


I thought these were more fun bronze statues, looks like it was a bet, 'I'll jump in the river butt naked if you will!'

On Saturday we went for dinner on the west of the island. The land in the distance is Malaysia the lights you can see on the right is from the bridge linking the two. I still cannot believe I am here sometimes.

Apparently people sail into the marina from all sorts of places, Australia, Indonesia and Thailand mostly. Oh how the other half live.


We talked to one of the crew of this beast of a boat (yacht? ‘scuse me Alan if I have that wrong). Three people own it and sail around the place in it, arriving then partying. All a bit James Bond. It has room for 16 guests and 17 crew. We arrived in time to see the night’s takeaway arriving, the chef was on holiday. Oh, that was the other thing, they get six months on board and then two weeks at home. But I suppose while they are away they spend no money and can send it all home.

I have also got my March 07 playlist underway. I don’t think I have told you about one in a while so this marks the happy return of hearing what I am listening to right now.

Breathe (2am) – Anna Nalick – Grey’s Anatomy has introduced me to and reminded me of more great music this past year than I can remember.
Wonderful Tonight – Eric Clapton – there was a wedding on at the Marina on Saturday night and the band played this, pure wedding cheese.
Suddenly I See – Is KT Tunstall off conquering America, I haven’t heard a peep from her in ages?
Meaning – Gavin DeGraw – He did the One Tree Hill theme and some other ok stuff.
Here With Me – Dido – Love Dido, what has she done since Life For Rent? Maybe her and KT are off writing together?

Right, I think it is bed time for Tinas.

I used to not like Jo Whiley

I’m still not that sure about her, I think she can be smug. I have no time for smug. But over the course of the past few years I’ve heard more of her show and she’s warming on me. I like Changing Tracks, I like Rocks and Sucks but I love, love the Live Lounge. It is the best thing she does. So I was dead excited when she ran text polls a few Christmases ago to get listeners’ opinions about what should go on a compilation album. Twenty two months later and it’s out and I have it.


It’s brilliant. You should buy it.

So with that in mind, here is October’s playlist:

1. Welcome to the Black Parade – My Chemical Romance (one of those songs you liked ages before you realised you liked it)
2. America – Razorlight (damn Jo Whiley got me into this song too)
3. Set Fire to the Third Bar – Snow Patrol & Martha Wainwright (love her voice)
4. Buck Rogers – Feeder (player player player player player player…)
5. How to Save a Life – The Fray (ah the brilliant Grey’s Anatomy, brilliant programme, brilliant music)
6. Wonderful World – James Morrison (one of those songs you think is all lovely but isn’t)
7. Song 2 – My Chemical Romance (not the original but a great effort)
8. Romeo – Basement Jaxx (love them, this is brilliant live)
9. Push the Button - Orson (different, definitely different)
10. The Scientist – Coldplay (how do you make a beautiful song better? Sing it live of course)
11. Gold Digger – The Automatic (makes me laugh out loud)
12. Love Machine – Arctic Monkeys (same)
13. Hey Ya – Will Young (my first memorable Live Lounge)

They haven’t made it yet, but I suspect they might, Love It When You Call – The Feeling, I Write Sins Not Tragedies – Panic! At the Disco.

I’m also fighting the temptation to get McFly’s new song. I swear there are endorphins realised through it, it actually makes me happy. But I think it might be a little too pop for me to have. Maybe Jo Whiley has every right to be smug afterall, I can’t imagine she’d be the biggest McFly fan.