Just over two years since the inception of my personal blog, Slouching towards Thatcham, I have arrived at the notable milestone of my 200th post. To mark this auspicious occasion, I have selected ten of my first 199 posts as a kind of ‘Greatest Hits’ compilation.
You will find one post each from the seven main categories I focus on in the blog – journal, fatherhood, TV & film, music, technology, travel, news & current affairs – as well as three others which are meaningful to me for different reasons. Hopefully these ten posts comprise a representative and mildly diverting sample of a blog which has allowed me to experiment with expressing myself in different ways on a variety of topics.
Enjoy. See you at 300.
Journal
Examining the good and the bad in our always-connected, 24/7 world, in which media and the way we consume it has fundamentally changed the way we live our lives – all in the space of half a generation.
Fatherhood
My memories of the night I ended up delivering our second child, Toby, at home unaided and with neither a midwife nor a fortifying alcoholic beverage for company.
TV & film
5 reality TV shows I’d really like to see
A light-hearted list of suggestions for innovative TV shows to fill the void left by Big Brother and other reality-based formats which are starting to show their age.
Music
Classic albums #4 – The Kids from ‘Fame’
One of a series of posts where I revisit albums I haven’t listened to for years and talk about the memories which each one evokes. This entry recounts one of my first rites of passage: the transition from primary to secondary school.
Technology
Five things iLove about the iPad (and five iDon’t)
The initial thoughts of a gadget lover, 48 hours after taking delivery of his shiny new Apple iPad.
Travel
Harking back to a very different time pre-children, when our lives revolved around travelling to see new places and cultures.
News & current affairs
Using your celebrity status for Good(y)
Lightning strikes twice, as I do something I thought I would never do – for the second time – namely, defend Jade Goody.
Most popular post
The most-viewed post on this blog: an unashamedly gushing review of the three-episode debut season of the wonderful BBC drama Sherlock.
Most commented post
In defence of bloggers: An open letter to Andrew Marr
A rare soapbox moment for me as I respond to a talk by BBC political editor Andrew Marr, in which he referred to bloggers as “socially inadequate, pimpled, single, slightly seedy, bald, cauliflower-nosed, young men sitting in their mother’s basements and ranting”. Charming.
A personal favourite
An in memoriam piece to mark the one-year anniversary of the death of a close university friend.