ScottIsAFool

Last week was a good week for me with comedy. It started off with going to London for the Filming of QI for their new F Series. There is a review of the show on the QI Blog which does a good job of summing up the experience. It was great watching it be filmed, just like a 2 hour long episode, which works for me It was also an eye opener as to how much gets cut out of each half hour episode, I knew there were cuts made, just didn’t realise the extent. Having now seen this, I am even more desperate to get tickets for Have I Got News For You.

Next up was the end of the week seeing Paul Merton and his Improv Chums. This was like an extended version of Whose Line Is It Anyway, with the audience giving suggestions for things that the comedians then have to act out. I actually think improvisational comedy is the way to go, certainly if you’re a comedian, because it means each show is fresh, new, and different from the last. I would certainly recommend going and watching Paul Merton and his Improv Chums, or if you live in London, go to the Comedy Store and watch the Comedy Store Players, as this is what they do every Sunday night, as well as other nights during the week. It’s well worth doing!

SL

It was the last match of the season today for Coventry. We were going into the match in the best position of all the teams in the relegation dog fight. A draw would see us safe no matter what anyone else did. A draw. So naturally Coventry got thumped 4-1 at Charlton, which meant we needed to rely on results of other matches. That is never something you want.

Fortunately, the position we were in at the start of play meant that we only needed one match from about four to go our way (not including our own). And anyone that was following my Twitter throughout the 90 minutes will know what a crazy roller coaster ride that was! It was some real nervy times, and not good for the heart.

With 10 minutes left, Leicester were in the relegation zone, drawing 0-0 with Stoke. One goal. Just one goal is all Leicester needed. If they got that, then City went into the relegation zone, and with our score at 4-1, there was no way we would survive.

All I can say is, I'm glad Leicester have had issues scoring this season (although the reports I heard suggest that they should have had a penalty, boo hoo). The important thing is Coventry survived. Just. I can now get back to repairing all my damaged nerves!

SL

Yes, Quite Interesting (QI). Just before I went to the States for the MVP summit, I got a phone call asking if I was still interested in watching QI be recorded; of course I bloody was! So, I am . I will try and make sure I write a blog entry about it afterwards (assuming I can). Should be good, just hope we don’t have anyone crap (like Jo Brand).

SL

Whilst writing this I was listening to Imogen Heap - Can't Take it in

So I’ve been in Seattle this week for the Microsoft MVP Summit, and it’s my last day here, flying back home later this evening. But I thought before I left, I should take a picture of the view from my room, and this is it: 

You might need to click through the picture to get the full size (Spaces won’t show it all). The photo was stitched together using Windows Live Photo Gallery, and is a great tool, and free!

SL

Recently I’ve been that busy that I’ve had no time to do anything, let alone blog (aside from the odd quick amusing post)! But now I’m enjoying a little bit of time to myself (although not much). So what have I been up to recently? Well, the other week I went and watched Velvet Revolver (pics in the normal place). Was good to see them live again, and always good to see Slash doing what he does best, which always worth watching.

After that I visited my friend Tracey in Bulgaria. Tracey moved over there in January with her job, so was nice to see her again. Bulgaria is a very odd, very different country. It’s the first country I’ve been to where more people don’t speak English than do! We spent the weekend with some of her Bulgarian co-workers (and her only two English co-workers) in some hotel in the middle of nowhere! Which was fair enough. On the Saturday night we had a whole cooked lamb; like the whole thing! Lamb was nice, but I drew the line when they brought out the cooked lamb’s skull and they started picking at the brains, eyes, tongue, etc. I like meat, but not like that!

I got back from Bulgaria a day later than planned due to a cancelled flight (thanks Bulgaria Air!!), I was back at work for two days, then off on holiday again. This time I’m in Seattle for the Microsoft MVP Summit, and currently I’m sat in the lobby of the Westin Seattle Hotel, where I stayed last year.

I will try and blog a bit more, but certain things in my personal life are taking up a bit of my time at the moment (don’t worry, it’s all good!), but I am blogging where I can.

SL

Ok, it might seem that hilarious to some, but for me, it had me in stitches, especially when I saw the following poster advert for it on a local ferry:

Everything about this ad is funny. For a starter, those who aren’t getting the joke, go here for a definition… I can imagine the question “I fancy eating out at Beavers tonight, do you hun?” Brilliant. Either a pissed off girlfriend, or a very happy chappy .

Then, just to add, “Children Welcome.” Oh really…?

And then you have arguably the worst phrased line ever: “Dogs welcome with their Owners on Leads.” Why, prey tell, do the owners have to be on leads?

SL

Whilst writing this I was listening to Faithless - God Is A DJ

I was at Gatwick last night, and one of the arrival screens had me chuckling, see if you can see why

SL

Whilst writing this I was listening to Lenny Kravitz - Uncharted Terrain

Last night I was in London with Mike to watch Lenny Kravitz. Lenny is one of those artists that has been on my must see list for quite a while now, so when I saw this one off date (at the time) was announced, I was on it like a rocket. Originally scheduled for February, it got postponed due to Lenny being in hospital with bronchitis (yup, that'll cancel a gig!).

The venue was an awesome little place, the Koko Club in Camden Town, and was just this great, intimate little place; even if stood at the back, you were only about 60 yards from the stage. Mike and I got there early, so were quite close to the front anyway (about 10 yards), which was cool. He was on for about 90 minutes and rocked the place. There was even time for a random rant about avoiding the government and big corporations, which is kinda strange, cos the gig was sponsored by sony-ericsson, but hey, what do I know...

Pics are up in the usual place.

SL

Whilst writing this I was listening to Foo Fighters - Band On The Run

Last Saturday, a group of us went to the Tivoli theatre in Wimborne to watch Rich Hall, an American comedian. You might know who he is if you watch QI on BBC 2 or Dave, he has a very dry wit, which is perfect sort of humour for me.

He did two different halves of the show, the first half was as himself, just doing normal stand up; the second half was as his "Uncle" Otis Lee Crenshaw which is him doing some songs, but with a comedic edge to them, like "Do Anything To The Girl, Just Don't Hurt Me".

As with most comedic gigs, you very rarely remember some of the things that have been said, which is a shame cos usually they could be just the thing to cheer you up sometimes, but hey ho.

This gig actually kicked off what is my busy, busy schedule of gigs that I have coming over the next 4 months, and it was a good way to start .

SL

Whilst writing this I was listening to Lenny Kravitz - Fly Away (Acoustic)

This is another one of those "honest g'vnor, I planned to post this last week" posts...

I was recently asked by the Live In Europe blog if I fancied doing an interview with them. Sure, sounded good to me. Live In Europe is a blog run by some Windows Live marketing guys in Europe (all self explanatory really).

Anyway, you can read the interview which is now posted up there. In it, I talk about Windows Live, developing for Windows Live, and Windows Live Writer and about being a Platform MVP. It's not gonna reveal any in depth secrets about me I'm afraid, but you do find where I got the ideas for some of my plugins .

SL

Whilst writing this I was listening to The Beatles - Can't Buy Me Love