After blogging yesterday and having a chat to Shieuerz about recording our lives in such a way, I've decided to try and blog on consecutive days for what must be the first time in months.
When I started this blog my intention was to just make an account of what had happened on a day-to-day basis, whilst occasionally having a deep thought and getting that down in a more thoughtful blog. When you lack the audience and lack the interesting factor then it's hard. I'm at university and, contrary to popular belief, there is work to do in first year! Factor in everything that I do outside of studying (golf, tennis, football, refereeing) as well as socialising and you have a pretty hectic schedule with little time for a blog.
Blogging/vlogging has become more and more popular recently. Shieuerz and I were discussing why people do blogs/vlogs, especially without a large audience. We concluded that we just do it for ourselves, using it as somewhere to just keep a record of things. If people read it, great, if not, then no worries. I know my life isn't that interesting to many people, which I'm fine with. I like it and that's just about all that matters.
I wish I could blog something interesting every day, but my life is not interesting enough and I just don't have the time! I'll be picking up on this again in the near future.
Ollie :)
Friday, 22 April 2016
Thursday, 21 April 2016
Is referee abuse acceptable?
This morning I read that Roy Hodgson, manager of the England football team, has said that Jamie Vardy's reaction to being sent off by referee Jon Moss was "understandable". The BBC article is here (and note that I'm not interested in his opinion on whether or not Vardy dived):
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/36095979
A brief summary: The Football Association (FA), who employ Hodgson, has charged Vardy with improper conduct for his actions following his dismissal. I have no idea what Vardy said but let's just assume he said some 'choice words' to Jon Moss and was gesticulating aggressively towards him (which I have seen for myself on Match of the Day). Again, I'm not interested in what happened during the game, I'm interested in Hodgson and what he's said.
So Hodgson has publicly disagreed with his employers, but what is more concerning is that he appears to be condoning conduct towards referees that may be abusive, insulting or offensive in nature. If Vardy gets away with the conduct he showed on Sunday, what implications does it have for football in general? I have no doubt that this will worsen the attitude towards referees that is already bad enough. There are enough things that have fed through from the top of the game to the grassroots level that have had a negative impact, and the attitude towards referees is certainly one of them. When I was at a referee's meeting yesterday, we were told that no one in the Premier League has been sent off for offensive, insulting or abusive language in the past 6 years. I have absolutely no doubt that Premier League footballers have said worse things to referees that I have heard at grassroots level and not even been spoken to about it.
It's certainly made me think about how I want to approach this sort of attitude in the future. I'm not sure why Hodgson would even respond to such a question in the first place - surely if you have a different opinion than The FA then you'd just shut up and keep it private? Absolutely bizarre to me.
Ollie
I'm on Instagram too now, @chowerz
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/36095979
A brief summary: The Football Association (FA), who employ Hodgson, has charged Vardy with improper conduct for his actions following his dismissal. I have no idea what Vardy said but let's just assume he said some 'choice words' to Jon Moss and was gesticulating aggressively towards him (which I have seen for myself on Match of the Day). Again, I'm not interested in what happened during the game, I'm interested in Hodgson and what he's said.
So Hodgson has publicly disagreed with his employers, but what is more concerning is that he appears to be condoning conduct towards referees that may be abusive, insulting or offensive in nature. If Vardy gets away with the conduct he showed on Sunday, what implications does it have for football in general? I have no doubt that this will worsen the attitude towards referees that is already bad enough. There are enough things that have fed through from the top of the game to the grassroots level that have had a negative impact, and the attitude towards referees is certainly one of them. When I was at a referee's meeting yesterday, we were told that no one in the Premier League has been sent off for offensive, insulting or abusive language in the past 6 years. I have absolutely no doubt that Premier League footballers have said worse things to referees that I have heard at grassroots level and not even been spoken to about it.
It's certainly made me think about how I want to approach this sort of attitude in the future. I'm not sure why Hodgson would even respond to such a question in the first place - surely if you have a different opinion than The FA then you'd just shut up and keep it private? Absolutely bizarre to me.
Ollie
I'm on Instagram too now, @chowerz
Wednesday, 16 March 2016
Ludovico Einaudi - Minimum Complexity, Maximum Effect
I went to see Ludovico Einaudi on Monday evening at The Bridgewater Hall in Manchester. I started listening to him and playing his music just over two years ago and was looking forward to the concert, even if I was a little tired having just finished two pieces of written work the night before.
I was obviously expecting that the concert would be musically exceptional, and it was. Everything he does with his music has even given me ideas about what I could change to my own playing. I knew some of the pieces he was playing and it was interesting to compare how I imagine playing it to how he performed it.
I was most surprised by the visual aspects of the concert, which I definitely wasn't expecting. It was very simple but had a massive effect without doing much. He basically just had a projector with a few moving objects/animals/people in the background. The lighting was stunningly effective and, again, the visual images in my mind were vastly different to those projected on-screen.
When you listen to Einaudi on CD (or wherever) you imagine a guy at a piano with maybe a handful of other musicians around him. That's what was there, but I never imagined what that would come to live. It started out as a very well-constructed and beautifully performed set but two and a half hours later resembled a rock concert with flashing lights and climatic pieces.
I can safely say I have never had an experience at a live music event like this. Quite frankly, he is a God.
Thanks,
Ollie :)
I was obviously expecting that the concert would be musically exceptional, and it was. Everything he does with his music has even given me ideas about what I could change to my own playing. I knew some of the pieces he was playing and it was interesting to compare how I imagine playing it to how he performed it.
I was most surprised by the visual aspects of the concert, which I definitely wasn't expecting. It was very simple but had a massive effect without doing much. He basically just had a projector with a few moving objects/animals/people in the background. The lighting was stunningly effective and, again, the visual images in my mind were vastly different to those projected on-screen.
When you listen to Einaudi on CD (or wherever) you imagine a guy at a piano with maybe a handful of other musicians around him. That's what was there, but I never imagined what that would come to live. It started out as a very well-constructed and beautifully performed set but two and a half hours later resembled a rock concert with flashing lights and climatic pieces.
I can safely say I have never had an experience at a live music event like this. Quite frankly, he is a God.
Thanks,
Ollie :)
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