Life in the middle

Shit!

In life stuff gets thrown at you. Sometimes it's big important stuff, that can be hard to deal with. Other times it's smaller more annoying stuff, that can also be hard to deal with.

But deal we must (even if it stings a little).

Tempting.

I very tempted to take an ad out on this space (which is near my gaff). I wonder if I can trust Rob and if they'd be hidden costs.

I might give him a call.

A little reminder to myself.

I'm going to go for a little run tomorrow morning, and I just wanted to remind myself to approach it in the right way. Not to worry about speed. And not to worry about distance. Not to worry about ego (even though everyone who overtakes you shouts "you're slow"). And not to worry about aching legs that won't move as fast as they once did. All that matters is heart, belief, and the knowledge that a little peace of mind comes with a little hurt.

See you tomorrow.

Magic mask.

I popped round to see the folks in the week, and was confronted by a harrowing situation. We were having roast lamb for our dinner, but upon inspection it was found that there was no mint sauce. I won't share the exact details of what happened next, but let's just say words and blows were exchanged.

When tempers had calmed Harry and I set off for the shops in search of sauce.

Harry was pretty exact in his quest, not wanting to make any errors.

 

After a while he realized that the only way he was going to find what he wanted was to put on his magic mask.

Many people doubt the mask, but it always delivers - it was even 'Colman's' sauce we found.

 

One day that mask will be mine...one day.

Brightdancing Fresh.

He can't sing. He can't dance. And he looks awful.

But Doug E. Fresh can Brightdance (and go a long way).

Ben can't run.

Ben Terrett - he can design. He can create. He can think post-digitally. He can whine. He can drink. He can avoid square shaped cabs. And he bore the shit out of anyone about newspapers. But he can't run. Sure he can dash, but the boy can't run for love nor money.

Lights and questions.

Yesterday I learnt how to make a light flash on and off, using my computer (you'll have to trust me that the red light in the picture below is flashing on and off).

And then I got arrested for it.

I'm now writing this blog from a safe house after escaping from the police station. Only my family, friends, and colleagues (plus anyone who follows me on Twitter) know my real location.

Good morning.

Happy Halloween.

Beware.

My Gordon Brown video.

I've made a video about Gordon Brown using a tool called Speechbreaker.

I think it speaks for itself.

(Roll VT.)

Thank you, you're too kind.

Google Waves.

You've probably all heard about the Wave from Google. If not you can use Google's excellent search engine to find some information about it. I've been having a lot of fun with my copy (I've organised 12 barbecues already).

And I've also been helping some of the people around the office understand how it works. To do this I've been making excellent use of a pen and paper.

 

People seemed to have found it pretty helpful. The Witch riding an arrow is a really useful way of thinking about the flow of something or other.

That's pretty much all I have to say on the matter.

So I'll catch you all later.

Hi there.

Hair.

 

Cut.

 

And that, my friends, is that.

No answer at all.

I used to get asked fairly regularly why this blog is called 'Life in the middle', or what I mean to convey with the name. I used to get asked those kinds of questions a lot. But I haven't got an email like that for a long time now. A long long time. Personally I blame the economy, but arguably it's a content quality question. Who knows.

Anyway as I said, it's been a while, so you can imagine how shocked and humbled I was to get just such an email through to me today, from Tim in the US, asking if I could explain what I mean by Life in the middle. I've never really known what to say in answer, all I can do is what I've always tried to do, and offer a slice of middle pie, and see if the taste makes sense.

Okay Tim, here we go...

It's about knowing a good cat, one that likes to pose looking as hard as possible.

 

It's about popping your feet up once in a while and taking stock of the circus that surrounds you.

And I'm not going to lie, sometimes there are gatherings. Big ones. Where people are expecting contributions and good sense. Hope and direction.

 

But it's not all bad. There will be others you can turn to, ones you can rely on.

Reflection is important, and best done with your head and, of course, your feet held high. 

 

You'll need to be ready. Ready for old friends.

Far-flung friends.

And far-flung adventures.

It's knowing that there is no pattern. No frightening peaks. No startling troughs. And no plan.

 

But mostly it's just a blog that tries hard to be more but ends up being less.

Yakob and the Tankard.

Digital Ninja Faris Yakob has been looking after the Tankard in New York, showing her a good time no doubt, giving her a taste of the big time. He even took her to Toronto for a conference. (You can read all about it here.)

Once Faris had his fun he handed the noble cup over to Jason Oke in Canada.

 

Time will tell what stories Jason has to share, but undoubtedly they'll be full of laughter, surprise, adventure and drama.

Bring it on.

Good old stuff.

I can't remember why, but we were discussing great ads at work the other day, and someone reminded me of this, surely a contender for the crown.

10 seconds long. No branding.

Some of the things I do.

I sit in meetings where I look at stuff with other people. We wonder if it will be the kind of stuff that might help our clients do the things they want to do. You can never can be completely sure, that's why the utmost concentration is required from all parties, at all times.

 

As well as meetings, I like to sit at my desk. Tackling calls and emails as and when they come. The desk is messy, that's true, but my mind is kept sharp by a dedication to incredibly challenging jigsaw puzzles (you can see one just under that massive book on the right).

 

As well as meetings, calls, and emails, there is the odd business trip. This week it was Denmark. I attended the meeting with some of W+K's finest, and boy were they fired up for the meeting.

 

It's this kind of Zen like preparation that meant we were on top form. Stunning in our insights. Decisive in our assessments. And lethal in our recommendations.

The journey home was a time for reflection (and gormless smiling).

Denmark was cold, but the sunset we saw as we boarded the plane made it worth enduring.

Of course it's not all work work work. Sometimes I delegate really big strategic problems to Margot, my niece. She relishes seeing what she can solve with an iPhone and a bob haircut.

Yup - I let Margot do the strategic heavy lifting, while I sit back and watch gymnastics (especially if my other niece, Corey, is competing).

And then it's home to spend some time with Lionel, the cat who is currently boarding with me. He chases pretend animals, eats, sleeps, watches motor racing, and looks at me suspiciously.

 

We're getting on well.

So, that's some of the things I do, not all, but some.