blog.djstead.net

Oh boy with a blog title like that, are you lot in for a TREAT! Remember when you were growing up and the biggest dilemmas you faced were ‘Who IS the best Power Ranger?’, 'Sonic versus Mario’ and 'Would you rather fight 100 duck-sized horses or 1 horse-sized duck?’ [Okay so the last one post-dates the previous by a good twenty years; but harks back to the days when you could genuinely devote playground logic to such things and not worry about what your mum is cooking you for tea]. Well it has come to my attention, that my world has moved on significantly since then - as I imagine has yours. Thanks to the onslaught of global communication channels humanity is more 'aware’ of what is going on in the world today, than we have ever been. Now that’s not to say we’re necessarily consciously taking it on board and rationalising it, because there is too much to take in, and take on. But it is there. Such is the dynamic of the internet; it highlights million...

This evening was supposed to be my night off. Yet in the past hour I have - without resistance - had to process all of the following (in no particular order): the tail end of a Morecambe and Wise compilation show Hank Green’s latest vlog brothers update a Sexual Assault PSA on Tumblr a rather bombastic BBC News outro to Scottish Dependence Day some Friends GIFs (of which there have been a number lately…) some interesting Tweets reacting to a variety of events in the world a familiar but still-frightening post about the double standards of law and order in racist America some Facebook pictures of cats Without even realising it, I have worn my brain out. And yes, it is completely my choice - I could have just stuck a single film on; ignored my phone and called it a night. I recognise my failing there. But it served as a reminder that the early 21st Century is being defined by a global ‘livestream’ that a significant population of the world subscribes to - certa...

I started writing a really long and almost essay-like post about the Scottish Independence debate. But - realistically - no-one is going to read or care about it (in any defining sense anyway). All I’ll say is it has been fun to see how divisive the issues have been if my Facebook feed is anything to go by (and that really is a sad indicator of how this debate has been over-exposed). Largely the ‘No’ side seems driven by logical, business and sometimes class-based arguments - all about businesses moving out of Scotland, the economy suffering more; whereas the 'Yes’ side seems much more driven by their heart and desire for a truly independent Scotland, which effectively resurrects at least a metaphorical Hadrian’s Wall in terms of where the buck stops. Power to the people is my instinct - remember that this is a unique opportunity to get closer to running your own country. That’s something I doubt I’ll see in my lifetime - sure I get a single vote every 5 years, bu...

I think unless you’ve been living in a war zone { nope, not even that… }, I’m sure you’ve heard of the Ice Bucket Challenge by now. It is essentially a way to - in the nicest possible way - guilt-trip your friends into donating to the ALS/MND charities: No doubt a worthy cause; whilst also giving you the enjoyment(?) of seeing your friends getting drenched in ice-cold water. And so it was almost inevitable [in fact I think mathematically it has taken far more time than it should have for me (and everyone else in the world) to be nominated] that some of my dear, dear friends would nominate me to take part. Now for those of you who are regular viewers of The Dan Show™ {you both know who you are…}, you will know that my camera skills are barely in focus at best; and not having any form of glamorous assistant/trained koala somewhat adds an unnecessary element of ‘challenge’ to the already aforementioned challenge. So I have taken a pragmatic view - not just on...

Folks, I am at a crossroads in my life right now. I’m not talking literally of course; it would be foolish to compose such a lengthy note on Facebook at a major traffic intersection - although if you feel comfortable with the image of me seated at the edge of a nice country lane crossroads (the sort that chickens might wander across without their motives being questioned) then please do hold onto that comforting image whilst you read on. I say I am at a crossroads in my life, because - in a moment of clarity - I can quite firmly say that ‘all of these things came before this moment; and all of these other things will forever be after this moment - and that moment in-between quite definitely has changed my life.’ You see in recent years things have very much been in turmoil - I know it might not have appeared like it on the outside - but definitely inside I have been conflicted; an internal battle betwixt my emotions and my rationale. [A rift betwixt my finger...

As with pretty much every other article on this website; the discussions I attempt to have relate to my own life in particular - I don’t pretend to know how (or even if) what is being discussed relates to your own life. More to that point - what I’m going to talk about is not directly triggered by a particular event, although it is fair to say that things that I have experienced in recent months have undoubtedly contributed to my latest state of mind. So - bear with me if you will - as I attempt to put into words a personal discussion about that trickiest of human interactions - successful communication: Communication which - and I say this with only the slightest exaggeration - the entire success of the human condition depends upon. - If I asked all of you right now when your last one-on-one human conversation took place (it doesn’t have to be a meaningful one, though - if you’re like me - I would discount conversations in and about your job*), I think I could pu...

It’s… *WARNING: Post likely contains unbearable amounts of smugness* I have genuinely struggled to remember who or what introduced me to Monty Python. You might think it was a lightning-bolt revelatory moment in my formative years that sticks out like a tiger in Africa - but surprisingly it doesn’t. I can only assume that in the early internet days where people would email silly songs and things that they’ve found online to each other, that I got one of Eric Idle’s songs (Radio Song rings an early bell) sent to me, or just stuck on a floppy disk that I had given to me - another early method of sharing things found online amongst my school peers. But however it happened, along with the likes of BlackAdder; Python was - and still is - the formative backbone of my sense of humour. I’m not going to spend ages directing you to key sketches - or arguing about who killed who; because those of you that love Python will already know them - even if you don’t know Pyth...