Wie geht's?
I've been meaning to write about this for a while. A passage from Maktub made me think back to the night that photo was taken.
There are certain things that are written in our fate, but God somehow manages to get us through them safely. A car accident at this point in your life was clearly there in your destiny, but as you see, everything happened and nothing happened.
Love and peace - Wozza
This week has been about being back in the busy world of schools. There's something very comforting about being back in a classroom, and especially about being around former colleagues again. There were many welcome back messages and one 'welcome home'.
The classroom (especially at Woodford House) does feel very much like home, which is obvious and surprising. I've been a teacher for many years and getting that buzz of teaching and being around warm and receptive students again has been very refreshing. The surprise element comes from being immediately accepted by the students - no guarded conversations - either in the staff room or the classroom.
It's my natural element in many ways. I'm sure there will be down days when the bear eats me but for this week, I'll take the wins.
Love and peace - Mr P
I've enjoyed reading Jenny Boyd's interviews with musicians discussing their creativity.
One of her questions was about how they feel in a peak moment. So many of the musicians say that it is like an out of body experience, that they are not consciously thinking - it's all instinctive and it's as if it's another person playing their instrument.
Jazz musician Paul Horn: In playing, what I have transcended is my self-consciousness, my mind drifting on to other things. I'm unaware of myself, I'm totally absorbed in the music, and as I get more absorbed in the music, then more can happen.
This reminded me of when I've played sport. My focus becomes such that I didn't hear anything because my tackles or passes while playing football or shots (tennis/ squash/ badminton) are instinctive. I didn't think about it, let alone overthink it. If I do that, become self-conscious, the moment will pass and I will fail.
I can well remember playing certain games - making a slide tackle or whatever and then sort of snapping back to consciousness and it's that point I could hear the crowd. That happened once in a game long long ago and I had a kind of epiphany about awareness/ unawareness of self.
One of my favourite pictures is that double exposure of myself wearing my University of Auckland sweatshirt in the late seventies. It's the one I have chosen for my blog's profile picture - me looking at me self-consciously reading a book by Henry Miller, self-consciously wearing that sweatshirt. That was exactly my idea at the time.
Love and peace - Wozza
Ollie Watkins goal against Netherlands
Wie geht's?
Some random moments:
A big week.
Love and peace - Wozza
Wie geht's?
Icons Of Rock is a book by Jenny Boyd (yes, Pattie's sister). It's a collection of interviews conducted by her with a huge range of musicians and rock stars - mainly from the late eighties.
Someone I wasn't previously familiar with is British musician Francis 'Eg' White who started making music in the eighties and is still working currently.
He makes some interesting comments about how songwriting and music has changed in this new, Spotify age.
During his interview he compares mid-sixties, seventies, early eighties to now.
Then, 'it wasn't just self-expression people were aiming for. I think people were genuinely trying to touch something, if not divine, then at least something transformational in themselves that they could then bring into the world. I think the aim was very high at that point'.
He calls the sixties to seventies period 'the golden age', and I agree with him.
Spotify only pays an artist if you listen to a song for 31 seconds. If people skip before then they pay nothing. Clearly a lot of people skip in the first 30 seconds - otherwise why make that the threshold?
Spotify has made music much more accessible, and disposable.
To hold an audience, artists have to capture their listener quickly, and hold them. This means modern pop music has changed a lot, and for me and Eg White - not for the better.
I like that he calls my initial years of collecting music, the golden period. I agree, and I'm very thankful that I was hearing all of those great sixties and seventies bands at first hand.
I also come from a time when we listened to not only whole songs, but, shock horror probe, whole albums! While we were hosting my sister-in-law and brother-in-law during Matariki weekend, Jacky was using Alexa to change songs quickly and it drove me bonkers. But only me.
Love and peace - Wozza
Wie geht's?
As readers know, currently, following the UEFA Euro 2024 competition in Germany is my daily routine.
Football! It's been a lifelong passion, and it is always going to be.
That's sad news for Jacky because I dream about scoring goals, making key tackles or providing killer through balls to strikers.
Unfortunately, when I dream those things, my body is extremely active, and I end up kicking Jacky! And rather than being incredibly flattered that she has been cast as the opposing player or even the ball, she cries out as if she's been kicked (ouchy, which she has been).
I usually wake up at that point and apologise profusely, or else I have no recollection of the dream and action when I do eventually wake up.
We really need a bigger bed!
Love and peace (and sorry again JFP) - Wozza