The definition of a Christmas Movie
After hours of family debate…a Christmas movie must have one or both of the following attributes:
1 If you remove all scenes that mention/relate to Xmas and the film’s story cannot stand up on its without them
2 If it has Santa or related paraphernalia included as actors in the film
Indianapolis 500 2019
I am sitting on the plane back from Indianapolis on Monday 27th May 2019 after a great weekend at the Indy 500.
Jamie is a huge motor racing fan and I have never been to an American race so we booked up tickets for this year. Even more exciting for Jamie was that his hero driver Fernando Alonso and McLaren were due to race in 2019.
On Thursday we got the news that, due to a comedy of errors, McLaren failed to qualify for the race! Alonso crashed his main car but the second car had been painted the wrong ‘orange’ and was in the paint shop getting re-painted. Despite a lot of effort by the team to try to recover they still failed to get a place on the grid.
What surprised me when we got to the race track on Friday was how many McLaren and Alonso fans were there. They were everywhere. Jamie was pleased to spend time with them sharing their disappointment!
It was a really fun weekend and an exciting race...see the pics in the photos section of this web site. The weather forecast was for thunderstorms but no rain appeared thankfully!
A number of things really struck me on our trip
1 The Indy 500 is the most attended sporting event in the world. About 3-4 hundred thousand spectators attend every year. We also found out the Ascot is the second most attended event in the world every year!
2 The Speedway where the race is held is a National Monument.
3 Before the start of the race the organizers had a tribute to fallen soldiers for Memorial Day. They asked for a moments silence...I have never seen such a large crowd of people be so quiet..you could have a pin drop. Very respectful
4 We were lucky enough to get pit and garage passes so before the race were able to mingle with the teams and the cars. We were able to be so close to the cars and the people working on them - amazing. Jamie was even allowed to put his head in the cockpit when it was sitting in the pits about an hour before the race. Remember these cars average over 200 mph for 500 miles in the race
5 All of the pit crews and officials were all so welcoming and helpful. We asked so many questions and learnt so much from them. They were all very kind and enthusiastic to tell us everything.
6 We had 2 days at the event. They were long and tiring...we arrived at about 8am on both days and left about 4-5pm.
If we went again I think we would try to fly in Saturday morning, spend the afternoon at the tack and the evening in town. On Sunday go early to the pits, watch the race, and then get a late flight home. Have holiday Monday back at home!
The business of outrage and why we are being duped!
In my previous post I talked about my disatisfaction with watching sport in the US and how it is being overtaken by advertising. This concern is minor, however, in comparison to my next thesis which is that we are all being dragged into feelings of outrage and anger by the same advertising and media businesses. Some of these companies, are, in my view, actually in the business of creating outrage and selling advertising off the back of it.
Before we go any further I am not going to get dragged into a discussion about my political views. This is irrelevant to this post. I feel that media organizations claiming to represent each side of the American political divide are equally culpable.
Lets take Fox News as an example. I pick them, not for any reason other than because they are the most popular cable news channel by some distance over the others. They know their audience. Watch for any period of time and the adverts you will see are for medicines, old age homes, long term investments such as silver, walking sticks, luxury cars etc etc. They have no shortage of advertisers and, as a result, they are very profitable.
If you were running Fox News how would you maximize the advertising revenue for your company? You would create lots of content that would compel your target audience to keep watching as long as possible so they see as many adverts as possible. They run news 24 hours a day and therefore there is a lot of ‘news’ that is required to be able to create such ‘stickiness’ with viewers.
Do do this...you would create as much controversy and outrage with your audience as possible in 24 hours. Get everyone to examine, discuss, tweet etc about the subjects you raise and then the next day start the whole process again. The best possible scenario being that the previous days items is sufficiently ‘news worthy’ to need more that 24 hours of coverage.
Does this sound familiar? So if you take the perspective of FOX, CNN, CNBC, Huffington Post, Washington Post etc etc they need as much outrage from all of us as possible so they can generate revenue. It has got so bad that even what each ‘news’ organization is saying is part of the news cycle. You know that things are bad when this happens.
My advice, try hard not to get outraged and fall into their trap. If you do, then all you are doing is handing the owners of the news groups more money ultimately out of your pocket when you pay for the products doing the advertising!
A rant about advertising...rise up and resist!
Recently it has occurred to me that I only watch live TV for two things - Sports and News. Everything else is on demand via the internet or DVR.
Anyone who knows me well knows that I am happy when watching Football, Soccer, Golf, Car racing, Boxing...almost any sporting competition. However my enjoyment is severely hampered because watching some of the major sports on TV compels me to suffer endless adverts.
Lets be clear I am happy to be sold to. If a product is of interest to me then I will actually spend time researching and then if appropriate purchasing. But with live sport there is a constant bombardment of endless mindless adverts for the same products that simply just put me off. I have created a long list of products that I have sworn to avoid simply because of the amount of advertising they insist I watch.
The most annoying are adverts for cars. Each one of them promises a happier, more fulfilling life with images of their car racing around courses with professional drivers interpersed with pictures of famous actors and/or scantily dressed women.
What is even more annoying is the same advert playing over and over again, sometimes directly one after another! .It’s very frustrating and, especially, with the NFL (another article I will write later), takes away a proportion of the enjoyment of the event in the first place.
I am sure, that I am not alone in having these feelings. I am also fairly sure that the advertisers dont care that I feel this way. Phsycologists are likely advising their clients that they should keep pushing their products on me because brand recognition is actually the really important part of the process not my overal satisfaction of the experience of watching the sporting event and the association of their product with it. I feel like we are being treated like laboratory animals being fed the same message over and over again thinking that it really will affect my purchasing choices. What is depressing is that it must work, people must end up buying the product otherwise they wouldn’t do it right?
So I say rise up and fight dear reader...dont let yourself be influenced by the brainwashing. Make a note of the annoying adverts and create a pact with yourself never to buy any of the products from those advertisers. If each of us do this then adverts will be less effective and perhaps sports will not be constantly interrupted by mindless adverts.
Only with this show of resistance will we get a pleasant sport watching experience back again. So fight with me - make your list!
Retail will go full circle - why I am optimistic about the future of the high street
Today I often read about how internet retail is going to destroy the high street and the shopping malls of America. In fact, the headlines are very similar to what was said about how the malls were going to do to the high street shops in the 80’s.
In my travels around America almost every high street, mall and strip mall have exactly the same shops with the same products. Now, this is good in some ways...I can walk into a CVS in my home town or in any other town and be confident that I will get close to the same products and prices.
This strength is also a great weakness. These same ‘national’ chains have pushed out retail innovation so much that there is nothing left for the specialist shops where one can buy a more unique product that makes everyone a little different and ‘special’. The shopping experience, in general, is unimaginative and mundane.
If I want to buy basic products like toothpaste, razors, cleaning fluid, washing powder etc etc I want to be able to do it on line. I don’t want to have waste my valuable time going out to buy such day to day products. I want to get out my phone or computer and order them in a few minutes.
So I am delighted when I read about Amazon killing todays retailers. I want them all wiped out as soon as possible!
So lets just imagine my wish comes true...what happens then? The opportunity for local, specialist retailers comes back to life again. Because of the reducerd demand for retail space rents will fall. Furthermore, the very infrastructure that allows Amazon and large organizations to be so cost effective will also allow the smaller retailer to be more innovative and still make products available for a reasonable price. They can get basic supplies cheaply and on-line. Products can made cheaply overseas even for smaller quantities. Creative work is also available via online services.
For example you don’t need to have huge capital investment to make specialist line of clothing is was so in the past. Yes, what is made wont be as cheap as the basic clothes available on line but they will be more unique and, I am predicting, more in demand precisely for their uniqueness.
The same is applicable, but perhaps not to the same extent, with food. I predict that, over time, with the development of the online experience of purchasing basic food supplies, the standard, lower end supermarkets will have no way to make a profit. As a result the the large household brands of today will have no choice but to go solely on line. Their future is all about differentiation through advertising and brand recognition...that is all. But this change will give an opportunity for local specialist food sellers bakers, butchers etc etc. They will use local products wherever possible and have a limited supply, but they will know their products inside out and the service will be individual and face to face.
Does all this sound familiar? Like the retail high street of the past? Lets be clear I am not lamenting the past and wishing for a return. I am actually looking for a high street to be rid of the common products and be focused more on the unique and artisan...where we can go and spend time in shops to explore and discover rather than get in and out as fast as possible.
I look forward to these days ahead...perhaps some time away but I feel confident they are coming!
How Spotify and Apple Music are ruining fashion
A few months ago my daughter told me that she was going to a live concert at the O2 in London. My immediate thought was that she was going to see one of the new bands that she continually ’educates’ me about. But to my surprise she announced she was going to see Queen. Queen were producing greatest hits albums when I was her age!
When we go on long road trips as a family we often do 'pass the Phone' to allow everyone to have a go at selecting the music. I am constantly surprised how many times my kids select what I would call older music - David Bowie, ELO, Prince, AC DC, Michael Jackson etc etc. In fact I am often lambasted for my choice of newer pop songs…the kids detest Bieber, T Swift et al. What is going on?!
But when I sat back and thought about it this all makes sense. My kids have access to huge libraries of music that just didn't exist when I was their age. I remember that at their age, I only owned about 8-10 albums and maybe 15-20 singles. Over many plays, these records used to get so damaged that I would sing along with the scratches because I knew each track back to front. I would have to save up my pocket money in order to go and buy the record I wanted and would make a trip with my friends to the record store and rush home to listen. It was an event!
I also remember the excitement of getting my tape recorder with its 'condensed microphone' for my birthday one year. Every Sunday I would spend the afternoon recording the latest hits off the radio whilst trying to make sure I did not record any 'bad' songs and try to avoid any talking from the DJ
Because of this automatic restriction on consumption we had no choice but to select only certain types of music. There was simply not enough money available to create an eclectic taste. My theory is that this is where the cliques came from...Punk, Mod, Rockers etc. - all part of teenage desire to belong and rebel. Now there are no restrictions in this vast online catalogue, so this is why there are not the same fashions based on music as there were in the past...you just don’t see so many Goths, Romantics or modern day equivalents. Since music and fashion used to be so tightly coupled I think the lack of really innovative new fashions are a function of the lack of new creative types of music.
I think it is amazing that my children have access to virtually every major artist and album ever made! Their tastes are now very eclectic, a real mix of old and new.
Apple watch so what's it like?
I was given an Apple Watch as a gift on my birthday in June. I have been wearing it every day since and have spent time using a lot of its features and available apps.
The Scottish Shrine - Aspen Mountain
On our road trip last July we spent a couple of days in Aspen, Colorado. As you will see in other posts on this side we have spent many of our winter/spring and some summer vacations in this beautiful town.
If you spend time skiing with guides and locals they will likely show you 'shrines' hidden in the trees on the four ski mountains of: Aspen Mountain, Aspen Highlands, Buttermilk, and Snowmass. Famous examples include 9/11, Marilyn Monroe, and John Denver. There is a bigger listing on the web here and there is even a book you can buy!
We were delighted to find a Scottish shrine on Aspen mountain today....lots of cool pictures and artefacts from our homeland...
The gallery has some more photos here.
I wonder who made this excellent shrine? :)
Road Trip 2013 Pictures
Take a look at some of the fantatstic landscape pictures Ana took while we were on our summer holiday this year.
We travelled from San Francisco through Yosemite Park, Sequoia Park, Las Vegas, Hoover Dam, Antelope Canyon, Canyonlands, Arches national park, finishing up in Aspen Colorado
It was an unforgettable trip with some great memories and sights...enjoy the pictures
Our time is up....
It is with very mixed emotions that I write this update today. A few weeks ago I was offered a great opportunity, with my existing company, to take on a new challenge in New York. After some considerable discussion and many meetings, Ana and I decided that we would make the change.
Despite being excited about a new role we are both very sad to leave Chicago and the friends we have made. We arrived on 1st August 2009 and so will leave almost exactly 4 years later. We have so many great memories and will look back on our time with great fondness.
Our change is happening so quickly. As soon as the decision was made we went on a 2 week vacation to relax ahead of our new challenge so we have not had much time to tell people individually. The removal company will arrive to pack our house on 12th August and will leave for New York five days later. We will drive to, probably temporary, accommodation on 17th August and start to build a new life.
We would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who has given us friendship and help during our time in this great city and community. We feel very lucky to have been able to spend 4 wonderful years with you!
72 holes in 2 days at Kiawah Island
This was my second visit to Kiawah Island. Eight of us played 4 rounds in 2 days with two rounds on the famous Ocean Course, location of the 2012 PGA Championship. Kiawah is located in South Carolina on the coast and the Ocean Course has a real links feel like many Scottish courses but a lot warmer! The club house is absolutely majestic with great views over the Atlantic...
My golf was mostly poor apart from the second round on the Ocean Course where I was 4 over after 9 and finished with a 87. A very good score for me!
On my way home I took a trip into Charleston to have a look around...the last 2 pictures show what a beautiful city it is...need to visit again!
Great company, great scenery and great golf. A wonderful weekend away.
Climbing up to get down - Highland Bowl, Aspen
Ana and I learned to ski from beginners together in Aspen, Co over 15 years ago. Introduced to us by our good friend Laura, the town has continued to draw us back year after year both in the summer and winter. Over this time, with lessons and practice, our skiing has steadily improved. Our kids, Jamie and Gemma, started skiing when they were 3 years old at powder pandas. Now they are accomplished skiiers and their parents have had to work hard to make sure we can keep up!
When we first started our lessons in Buttermilk all those years ago, I remember we discussed that one day, when we were good enough, we would go ski the Highland Bowl, a set of steep double black diamond runs only accessible by climbing uphill for around 40-45 minutes.
Finally, the day came, Spring this year, where we felt confident enough to go and give the runs a go. Our ski instructor Bob Mattice, kindly offered to guide us up and down.
The climb is in three sections...the second of them being the longest and steepest. Once you get over this the final ascent to the top is not too tiring....but being at altitude it is hard work. You have to carry your skiis as well which can be awkward, especially when Ana persuaded me to carry hers as well!
The view down as we walked up made us wonder...
Bob and Ana at the top...
Climb done....now just to ski down
And the view at the bottom of the bowl.....
Have to say, the ski down was steep but because it was so open and the ski so good it was not that hard. Really enjoyed it...
Anyway, having safely got to the catwalk at the bottom we took the Temerity lift up and skiied to the Cloud Nine restaurant for a slap up meal and a few glasses of wine..
Thanks so much to Bob for taking us up...a wonderful experience. One that we will do again very soon - with the kids I hope!
Wisconsin Dells
After out trip to London we went up to Wisonsin Dells for a bit of fun....
Olympics 2012
What an unbelievable experience. If watching Bradley Wiggins become the first Britain to win the Tour de France was not amazing enough Team GB goes on to win more golds than ever before and finishes 3rd in the medal table. What a summer for British sport...one that I think many of us Brits will never forget.
We were lucky enough to be in London whilst this all took place and we immersed ourselves in the games either live or on TV for almost all of the 2 weeks they were on.
First we went to the opening ceremony. I have to admit was a little nervous that it was going to be a bit of a national embarrassment but I was very pleasantly surprised. A really enjoyable show topped off by the real stars, the athletes. Not sure I agreed with whole dancing nurses and NHS piece...not that I have anything against the NHS but at the Olympics? The only thing that was interesting to us that viewers may not have seen on TV is how many athletes walked in, took their positions, and then promptly took a quick exit out of the stadium. It was getting late....well after midnght when we left so I suppose it is not surprising. But for most of them, like us, it was probably a once in a lifetime experience
We were so lucky in the UK ticket ballet...as well as the Opening Ceremony we got tickets to two evening swimming sessions, basketball, and rowing. We also were able to get tickets to Weightlifting while were there by just going to the games web site. Furthermore all of these events were crammed into the first 6 days of the games. Once our tickets were used we were exhausted!
Zion Park Utah
About 30 minutes north of St.George is Zion National Park. What a amazing place....some pictures
Find out more here