Thursday, May 26, 2011
Rush
The Band, Rush. They played the O2 in London last night and I was there. I've been a fan since 1980 when two things happened.
Firstly Tommy Vance played two tracks from the soon to be released Rush album 'Moving Pictures'. The tracks were Red Barchetta and Limelight. It's fair to say that I was blown away by the musicianship and lyrics. I had to find out more about them. On Monday at school I spoke to Stephen Hanlon and asked if he'd listened. He had; and this is the second thing; he lent me two albums. Permanent Waves and 2112. I was hooked within moments of listening.
Last night was special as Rush played the entire Moving Pictures album live. Geddy Lee even commented that it was 30 years ago. THIRTY YEARS! Imagine if someone like the Beatles (bear with me here) were able to play something like Sergeant Pepper in 1997; or Oasis play (What's The Story) Morning Glory in 2025. This says everything about the longevity of this trio, something that none of today's bands will achieve.
Firstly Tommy Vance played two tracks from the soon to be released Rush album 'Moving Pictures'. The tracks were Red Barchetta and Limelight. It's fair to say that I was blown away by the musicianship and lyrics. I had to find out more about them. On Monday at school I spoke to Stephen Hanlon and asked if he'd listened. He had; and this is the second thing; he lent me two albums. Permanent Waves and 2112. I was hooked within moments of listening.
Last night was special as Rush played the entire Moving Pictures album live. Geddy Lee even commented that it was 30 years ago. THIRTY YEARS! Imagine if someone like the Beatles (bear with me here) were able to play something like Sergeant Pepper in 1997; or Oasis play (What's The Story) Morning Glory in 2025. This says everything about the longevity of this trio, something that none of today's bands will achieve.
Tuesday, May 03, 2011
A First
Well, this was supposed to be a first, by me blogging on my BlackBerry on the train on the way home. Sadly the phone didn't allow me to access this box and type anything in. So the title is a bit misleading.
Anyway, the real reason for this post is to state that my boss is a prick. Nothing unsusual there, most people reading this think very little of their boss. The reason for this statement - his style of management.
Some background to set the scene is in order first. We get paid for a set number of hours each month - 176 for a 22 day month. Anything we work over that used to be paid as overtime, and used to come in very handy. That stopped last year, amid the economic slowdown, and now any excess hours that we accrue, we are encouraged to take in lieu. I'm currently 98 hours over (this means that I worked 274 hours in April) and May looks like being busy, too. I dropped said boss an email stating that I'd be taking 11 days off in May in order to cap my hours. In taking those 11 days off, I'll have reduced my excess to 91 at the end of May.
Instead of talking to me about it, and discussing it with me, he mentioned anonyously in a team meeting that times were tough and he was "disappointed that someone had asked for 11 days off".
Well fuck you, talk to me if you're concerned.
Anyway, the real reason for this post is to state that my boss is a prick. Nothing unsusual there, most people reading this think very little of their boss. The reason for this statement - his style of management.
Some background to set the scene is in order first. We get paid for a set number of hours each month - 176 for a 22 day month. Anything we work over that used to be paid as overtime, and used to come in very handy. That stopped last year, amid the economic slowdown, and now any excess hours that we accrue, we are encouraged to take in lieu. I'm currently 98 hours over (this means that I worked 274 hours in April) and May looks like being busy, too. I dropped said boss an email stating that I'd be taking 11 days off in May in order to cap my hours. In taking those 11 days off, I'll have reduced my excess to 91 at the end of May.
Instead of talking to me about it, and discussing it with me, he mentioned anonyously in a team meeting that times were tough and he was "disappointed that someone had asked for 11 days off".
Well fuck you, talk to me if you're concerned.
