The Y2Ken Week In Review

5-11 March 2007

Welcome everyone to the first Y2Ken "Week In Review". Each week (in theory) I will write a little something on what's got me excited/ponderous/impressed this week. In fact, this blog idea is the main reason for my final acceptance of MySpace - if you want to speak to me use MSN or failing that Facebook/Last.fm. However, MySpace seems an appropriate and simple place to write what should become my weekly column.
Anyway, onto the meat of the blog - this week's notable stuff.

Language of the week: Japanese
Well what else could it be? Our Japanese student has been here since Tuesday now and we've had a lot of good times. Trying to work out if a Spongebob DVD would play in Japan. Observing (and sometimes imitating) the Japanese's need to make a peace sign when having their picture taken. Learning (again) how to use chopsticks. And of course, this evening, learning some origami. Which brings me to my next item...

Origami model of the week: The Crane
My first "proper" origami conquest (although both the paper aeroplane and those flicky-back-and-forth on your thumb game things we used to make in year five also count). I was pretty pleased that this came out as well as it did (maybe a photo later) - a little messy but nevertheless an overwhelming feeling of success.

Music technique of the week: The complex-sounding guitar solo
My quest to find more and more cool tracks to play took me unexpectedly this week to The Carpenters, along with usual suspects Dire Straits and Zeppelin. Fantastic solo in one or two of their songs, I may well have to learn to play a couple. In other guitar-related news, my Snow ((Hey Oh)) riff is coming along nicely, and I can now play it faster and for slightly more sustained periods of time.

Musical of the week: Lionel Bart's Oliver!
For those of you yet to hear the story (which I must have told fourty times now), I answered the phone about half an hour before I was due to see this on the Wednesday to hear Craig say "What are you wearing?" Over the shock of this very forward initial question, I was told to run to the school in order to help as a techie and scenery-manipulator. Which I did on both the Wednesday and the Thursday (Whoot, perfect-run Thursday!) and thoroughly enjoyed the performances. I do enjoy the techie work. Anyway, notable performances include Toby Grimes as Fagin, Chris "Crazy Cello Kid" Smith as Mr Sowerberry, Tom Spraggs as Dr Grimwig, James Bugg as Old Sally and of course Harpal Mudhar as The Drums. Actually I think the whole cast was excellent, but I've picked out a few for special praise, just to be mean.

Well, that rounds up my first Week In Review. I'm off to watch Kombat Opera Presents, which should be awesome if it lives up to last week. I shall return next week, but until then, konbanwa.