Month: January 2011

Kalgoorlie!

by Ben Clapton, posted in Archive, Life

I headed up to Kalgoorlie this weekend for work. I was performing some Website training for the Uniting Church congregation up there. I caught the train up there and back, which may have sounded great in theory but there was a whole heap of fun on both trips.

On the way up there, it was fairly uneventful – apart from the guy next to me sleeping the whole way which made it difficult for me to get out to get dinner. I got out easy, but I think I woke him up when I climbed back in. Oh well. We were also slowed for a little bit as there was a car crash in West Kalgoorlie, which apparently pushed the boom gates across the track, so we had to wait to get that fixed. I think we ended up being half an hour late. I was billeted with a lovely older lady, Fae, who was an absolute delight to stay with. Continue reading “Kalgoorlie!” →

Looking ahead in web design

by Ben Clapton, posted in Archive, Life, Music

On Tuesday, while I was waiting for some printing at work, I got the chance to read this article on The Future of WordPress Themes in 2011. It contained thoughts and musings from many top WordPress theme designers, programmers and general nice guys (eg Matt Mullenweg). It really sparked some thoughts as to how I can improve web design at work, but also look to create some themes to submit to the theme repository. One of the disadvantages of being hosted on wordpress.com is that you’re limited to the themes that they have available. There’s some really nice themes there, don’t get me wrong (I’m mostly happy with my current theme), but there are a number of incredible WordPress themes available, and I’d like to put my hand up and contribute.

It made me think – how often do we spend the time to think about the up coming year in our field? For example, in Music, do we spend the time to look ahead to see what sort of music we’ll be playing this year? When I look at this list of Theme trends, I can look there to see what sort of things I should be looking to carry out to be at the forefront of my field. What sort of music should you be learning, what sort of techniques, what type of gigs should you be doing to be at the forefront of your field this year?

For the first time

by Ben Clapton, posted in Archive, Life
Super Pit gold mine at Kalgoorlie in Western A...
Will I see the Super Pit this weekend? (Image via Wikipedia)

I’m writing this post almost a week before it gets posted. The reason being is that I’m travelling to Kalgoorlie this weekend to teach the congregation up there how to use their website. This is a few firsts for me. This will be my first time in Kalgoorlie, and is also my first trip for work. I’m looking forward to seeing Kalgoorlie for the first time. Having lived in Perth for such a long time and not left the state, I developed a keen fascination in seeing things for the first time.

For example, December 2009 I left the country for the first time, and went to Singapore and Hong Kong for the first time. It was incredible from simple things such as seeing the inside of an aeroplane for the first time to seeing the massive hills surrounding Hong Kong. The incredible modern architecture in Singapore to attending a Salvation Army service held entirely in a language other than english.

Seeing things for the first time is often underrated, because you can never un-see something, it’s an opportunity you only get once. It’s something that I will certainly relish this weekend. I don’t know what’s planned, whether I’ll see things like the Super Pit or not, but whatever happens, I will certainly look forward to it.

Sport!

by Ben Clapton, posted in Archive, Life
current sport events icon
Image via Wikipedia

If I had all the time in the world, I think that a great way to spend it would be watching sport. I love watching sport. And it doesn’t really matter what sport it is, I’ll watch it. I’ve watched Lawn Bowls, Golf, Cricket, Baseball, NFL, AFL, Rugby, Basketball, soccer, lacrosse, you name it, I’ve probably watched it. My wife doesn’t get it, but I’ll quite happily plonk down in front of the telly to watch Manchester United take on Liverpool. Or throw on some golf while I’m having my breakfast. I swear, One HD has been the best of the new channels added to Australian Free to Air TV.

But while I’ll watch any sport quite happily, there are a few big events that I try to make sure I see. The AFL grand final is certainly one. I missed last years grand final, due to being on my honeymoon but did manage to catch a replay of it the next day. And because it was a drawn grand final, we were able to watch the replay at home with a few friends.

The Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix is another that I try to watch if I can. Bathurst again is another. However, I don’t often get to see these now as they’re always held on the Sunday, and I have my priorities set right (I believe) and Church takes priority over sport.

The Hopman Cup and Australian Open are two tennis events in Summer that I will try to watch a bit of. I have fond memories from my high school days where we’d go on holidays to Albany, and I’d watch the tennis because Albany only had ABC and GWN, and there was never anything on GWN.

They’re the sporting events I look forward to. What about you?

Postaday2011 links

I’m stranded on a desert island…

by Ben Clapton, posted in Archive, Life
Lakshadweep, comprising tiny low-lying islands...
Image via Wikipedia

Now how did I get into this ridiculous situation? I can’t remember. Must have blacked out. Thankfully however, I have a CD player and one album. What album is it? Thankfully it is an album that will keep me interested for however long I am to be on this island.

It’s a fine album of Bach’s Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin. These compositions would keep me entranced for hours, days, even a life time. One of my lecturers once said that you could spend a lifetime studying Bach alone, and still have not scratched the surface of his music, let alone the music of all the other great composers.

So I’m going to leave you with a beautiful performance of Bach’s E Major Partita performed by Nathan Milstein.

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Go You Big Red Fire Engine!

by Ben Clapton, posted in Archive, Life
Lotterywest Skyworks, Applecross, Western Aust...
Perth's Skyworks - Firework display celebrating Australia Day (Image via Wikipedia)

In honour of today being Australia Day, and today’s Daily Post topic being Who are the three funniest people in the world, I’m going to share with you my favourite three Australian comedians.

Firstly, Wil Anderson, whom I first got to know from his time in breakfast radio on Triple J. Ahh, the golden years of JJJ breakfast. It has never been as good since. But anyway. Wil’s gone on to do awesome stuff. He was the host of The Glass House – one of the most awesome shows on TV at the time, and also host of The Gruen Transfer – also an awesome TV show. Here’s one of my favourite clips from The Glass House, from their live show at the Melbourne Comedy Festival. This one features Aussie Dave Hughes and Irishman Jason Byrne.

And Wil doing some of his stand up routine

Next up,  Tripod. This musical comedy trio embrace the side of life that is most dear to mine: Geekism. These guys are hilarious. A must see act. They’re doing a comedy Musical here in Perth soon called Tripod vs the dragon. I want to see it.

That was “Hot girl in the comic shop” which is one that they got to shoot a video clip of (but this is their live version as seen on The Side Show). This next one is one that was performed on The Melbourne International Comedy Festival a number of years ago, but be warned, it contains some minor language.

Finally, my favourite Australian Comedian: Adam Hills. From his incredible work on Spicks and Specks, my favourite two segments of his, first – explaining the origins of the phrase “Go you big red fire engine!” and the awesome effects that it can have.

And in honour of Australia Day, let’s revamp our National Anthem.

Who’s your favourite Aussie Comedians?

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The Perfect Sunday

by Ben Clapton, posted in Archive, Life

The perfect Sunday comes in finding balance. Balance between sharing time with God, and finding time to have a sabbath. So often, our Sunday will be absolutely packed – for example last Sunday, when we went from Church in the morning, to a nephew’s birthday on the other side of the metro area, to a friends 22nd on another side of the city once again. It was literally non-stop. And while we had great times while we were there, when we fill our weekends with days like these, we get to Monday and think, where did our weekend go?

Sometimes, I think that the perfect Sunday is actually a Saturday. A day when we get the time to really sit and relax. Wake up slowly. Enjoy that first coffee. Maybe see some friends or family in a relaxed environment. Have no rush about anything – it can always get done tomorrow.

What’s your perfect Sunday?

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Viola

by Ben Clapton, posted in Archive, Life
Difference / Unterschied Violin - Viola (Alto)
Image via Wikipedia

It may seem odd for a violinist to say this, but my favourite sound is that of the viola. It’s mellow, rich tones combined with the incredible soaring sound you get high on the A string, it blows me away. Don’t get me wrong, I love the violin, and given a choice, I’d much rather play the violin. But the viola has a richness that is impossible to achieve on the violin.

So that you can share in this blissful sound, here’s William Primrose – one of the great viola players – performing the Walton Viola Concerto.

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Friends

by Ben Clapton, posted in Archive, Life

Over my life so far, I have had the opportunity to make friends in very different situations. From the various primary schools, high schools, university, church and now work, I’ve got lots of friends. My Facebook (which is the way to show how many friends you have) has 620 friends, and I am proud to say that I have a personal connection with most of them. There’s a couple that I’ve only met online (mostly through my time on Violinist.com, which I was a regular for a number of years), but most of them I have met in one form or another through my life.

I’m also glad that through all these different places, I still keep in touch with a number of my friends. There are some that were friends for a while, but we’ve since lost touch. For example, one of my first mates from Pre Primary I now no longer see or really talk to, while I’ve renewed a friendship just recently with another primary school friend after moving close to him.

But there have also been those that are in the close group of friends that I see regularly. Since meeting these guys at church from around when I was in year 8, we’ve been close ever since. When they got their licences when I was in year 10, weekends would often end up with them coming around and us going for a random drive somewhere. I remember driving all over Perth with these guys delivering invitations because we thought it would be cheaper. It was memorable especially after coming down a steep hill and our driver poured stale coke on the brakes to cool them down. Wasn’t a great idea, but those brakes had fantastic grip for years to come.

See, friends aren’t just those guys you hang out with regularly. Friends are the ones who are there when memories are made. Friends are the guys who make the memories. Friends are not the guys who bail you out when you get in trouble, there the ones who are sitting there saying “Well, this sucks, but it was so totally worth it!”

To all my friends, big and small, who have made an impact on my life over the years, thanks. You’re totally awesome.

Postaday2011 links

Truth

by Ben Clapton, posted in Archive, Life

There’s a plane travelling in a straight line, with a  completely clear tube which runs directly straight from the bottom of the plane to the ground. There’s someone on a hill standing directly behind the plane, and another person on a different hill standing  at a 90° angle to the first person. A marble is dropped down the tube. Both people are asked what path the marble takes. The first person says it dropped straight down. The Second says it travelled in a curve. Which one is correct?

They both are. Both have told the truth, as they have seen it.

Sometimes the truth can hurt. The reason being is that it is often at odds to what we have seen. But I feel that it is better to know the truth, even if it will hurt. But both the receiver and the giver need to understand that they may well have seen the truth from their point of view, even if it is at odds with yours.

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