First things first, yay, we won the award for best personal blog at the Netguide web awards. I’d like to thank our captain and convenor of selectors, Russell, who gave me the nod a year or so ago, despite some niggling injuries. Chad and Debra, ever supportive props, each proud of their singular cauliflowered ears; Jolisa and Rob, flankers, who despite being signed to overseas clubs, still manage to make it to the odd after-match (provided the drinks are flowing); The two locks, Karl and Matt from Cactuslab, whose style helped us push far beyond our collective weight. And, of course, you the readers and fellow bloggers, the thousands of numbers 8s and halfbacks, always ready to grab the ball and run with it. Me? Well I'm the hooker, of course.
It’s almost exactly a year since my first post on Cracker. I remember a news story written shortly after we’d all made our first posts. I can’t quote it precisely, but it was along the lines “Russell Brown is continuing his Hard News, Debra Daley will be writing about Yoga… and Damian Christie doesn’t seem to know what he’s writing about yet.”
A year on, nothing’s changed. Aside from being about stuff I’m interested in, or that affects me, there is no constant theme. Politics, music, films, sport, home renovation, they’re all there, and they’re all parts of the puzzle. I think if Cracker were a jigsaw, we’d be missing the picture on the box, not entirely sure whether we’ve got all the pieces, and we haven’t managed to find many edge-bits yet.
It worked last post, let’s try it again: So, we lost the rugby. I probably care a lot more than I otherwise would have, what with the effort and preparation that went into the 95bFM alternative commentary. For the record, we were great, and I’m disappointed we didn’t get a chance to prove it again this coming Saturday. Jeremy “tells it like it is” Newsboy’s calls – “ooh, he’s fucked it” and “he’s walking off the field injured, holding his balls” prompted great responses, and a number of callers remarked it was nice to be losing the game but still laughing. Thanks to everyone who responded, and no, we won’t be commentating the playoff for third place between France and New Zealand.
We were having a party at Sando, which I had to duck out of for a couple of hours, and when I got back the mood was fairly sombre. I proceeded to drown my sorrows, but invariably just when I would start to enjoy myself, someone would come out with “We lost the rugby eh?” It wasn’t until about 6.a.m, the new Xbox Karaoke system fired up, as I launched into “New York, New York”, that I truly forgot my woes.
Partly due to the disappointment, partly due to the fact that I was singing Sinatra as the sun rose, I just didn’t feel like watching England vs France last night. I was gunning for France though, God knows if we lost, I didn’t want the English to win either. Unfortunately this was not to be my weekend.
It’s a new week though, and because of some early starts at work, I was up with the sun just before six. It’s the most peaceful time of the day, as the suburbs slowly wake around you. It gave me some time for reflection, and while the nation dissects the performance of Thorne, Mitchell et al, I’m moving on. Won’t you join me?
Picks for the week: Two shows starting on Tuesday night, TV2. Jeremy Newsboy’s media analysis show Eating Media Lunch looks promising, and the return of Slave & Otis’ Mo’ Show is always going to be worth a look. They're on at 9.30pm and 10.00pm respectively.