Gigs and Music

There's a flurry of gigs coming up, and as normal they are all bands I long to see, would hate to have missed and yet as the day's arrive I still have a doubt as to whether I really want to make the effort to go out. All part of the day-to-day coping I guess. Doubt is good for writers, in their writing that is, in the tale they are portraying I mean. On the courses they call it 'conflict' but I'm more than a little averse to conflict so I call it doubt.

Wovenhand, Bush Hall, 2014

Anyway, last week it was out to see the incredible intensity of David Eugene Edwards. There are only two 'performers' for me who seem to become possessed in their delivery, and I'm not doubting that others give their all, not for one second. But Mr Edwards and Simon Huw Jones go much further inside themselves and become raw, they expose themselves on stage and are enticing, are seducers of emotion, are out to take you with them on the journey into their minds, their soul. It is mesmerising, it is powerful and it is frightening too. Never must they change.

And Also The Trees, 2013

Tomorrow it's down to Brighton to see Polica, there should be an accent on the 'c' but I haven't worked that bit out on my mac as yet, sorry!! Playing their first album this morning has me very excited. It's even better because I'm meeting up with another Hora hero and his wife. So there's no way I'm missing this one!

Next up are The Naked & Famous and Basti's coming with me to that one which is great. The following week is Conor Oberst and then Daughter at Somerset House, such a great venue for a gig. The week after that is a return to Somerset House with the whole family for Bastille, Josie's very excited about this one.

Live music is such a treat, and I sincerely hope I never give up going to gigs. I can only count one really disappointing experience at a gig, that alone is amazing. Of all the money I've spent going to the cinema, theatre, football matches, other live events, that is incredible. Wow, I'm exhilarated just thinking about that!

Waggle You Buggers, Waggle!

Ok, so the Waggle Dance is getting rave reviews from all over the place, really impressed with PR machine chaps, well done!!

However, it still needs some funding to get this game out into the world.

If you've never backed a kickstarter before then here's a helping hand;

1. go to the page: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1811420414/wag... 

2. play the video... read all about the game... watch the 'final thoughts' video for an independent assessment - yes, he got sent a copy of the game but he didn't have to review it, and he certainly didn't have to like it as much as he obviously does!

3. decide whether you want to support a fledgling Cornish games producing company. This is their second project and they delivered a fine product first time round and on time too.

4. if you're still in then it's time to pledge some money. You don't get charged if the project fails. You only get charged on it succeeding, on Sunday 29th June 2014.

5. click on 'Back this Project'.

6. choose your pledge level - £22 for UK addresses, or £27 for EU, US and Canada, etc.

7. follow the payment requirements, nothing out of the ordinary of course.

8. spread the word... Facebook, tweet, all those things.

9. thanks!!

Audience, hello, how are you?

In amongst lines of poetry and ideas for lines of poetry and words that might prompt ideas for poetry I came across a note trying to analyse the problem I have with blogging. Having done some bits in the past the thought of writing a small commentary on my life was fine. I'm sure I've stated previously that one reason I'm relatively quiet in public, especially in a group, is that I doubt how interesting anything I have to say will be. That's from the other side of the fence as it were, how often do I switch off or think I could be spending my time more efficiently by not listening to someone telling me something I do not wish to know. To be fair I only spend my time with interesting people so this is rarely an issue anymore.

Anyway, there's part of my perceived difficulty with blogging, digression. I love digression. I love where it takes you, it seems natural to me that other ideas will take over for a while and yet you can still revert to the original point in due course - just wrote 'original pint' there!! But, a lot of people don't seem to like it. Maybe I'm putting those off. Who cares! For me, the king of digression is Victor Hugo. A few years ago I waded through Les Misreables and loved it for its digression, intense, historically fascinating and absolutely too long to be true. Incredible piece of writing to hold the book together.

Right, back to the issue. Blogging problems. My biggest inhibitor is that some people do actually read this. And although I have a pretty good grasp of most of you - thank you so much! - there may be others lurking that I'm unaware of. So, I'm always thinking what would Vera like to know - must send her some poems - or maybe Chris is keen for some more games thoughts. Perhaps Tamsin is wondering what's happening with a writing group we would both like to be part of, or maybe my sister, or even my wife, is trying to work out the state of my mind. That's my problem, I don't know how to write to keep this disparate audience vaguely interested. And it also means that I can't really tell the world everything that's going on inside, which is where I thought this blog might have a release for me.

Am I after more engagement from my audience? No. I can speak to anyone I want to speak to easily enough. Do I want feedback on topics? No. I would never ask for that. I guess I just need to acknowledge my responsibilities whilst blogging, keep somebody interested enough each day, and find some more catchy titles that might entice a read...

I had a black dog, his name was depression

Simple enough... this is what it's like.

Finding Liam Neeson...

Liam Neeson. How to contact the great man, that's this morning's question. He has a little something waiting his attention but he possibly doesn't even know about it as yet. His agent surely owes him this opportunity? I wonder what he'd make of it? Liam that is, not his agent!

So I'm sat outside having my Bran Flakes this morning and the bees flitting around the newly planted flowers grab my attention. They go over and over the same path and then will rest suddenly, or is that when they're doing the business end of their reconnoissance? I guess so. For me, one of the best things about Waggle Dance is the set up you can put in place in the early rounds. Extending your bee population, or your hive makes sense but you don't want to miss early opportunity to collect pollen if your opponents aren't able to, and maybe the Queen Bee Cards will bring you a huge favour early too, who knows?

In the mid-game the pollen collection is what it's all about and having some good Queen Bee Cards by then is crucial. And it could well be time to restructure the hive or pick up the odd piece of pollen to ensure you've not wasted any. All that honey needs producing; I bet bees are efficient little buggers!

The kickstarter campaign for Waggle Dance started with a real flourish and on the back of the UK Games Expo I expected this to then take off even further. It's choogling along quite nicely but needs a little helping hand. Just like the bees. We need to give them a chance, hence the Hora garden having more flowers this year, and we've left the sage to flower with it's beautiful mauve stalks that the bees have been going crazy over for weeks now.

So, for an outlay of £22 you get a copy of this lovely game, delivered. You help a small Cornish publishing company with their second game, and they've also put together a ton of info on bees on their website, a fascinating study in itself. Another level among the kickstarter pledges is the one just for Liam. His own special opportunity to assist. That's why we need to find him, urgently!!

All help greatly appreciated, obviously...

Okay, take me and Liam to the page...