All rise for the King

Turned out that wondering whether or not to stand for Elvis Costello was a good question to ask. As I mentioned the City Hall is all seater, and with the average audience member in their mid 30's folks walked in and took a seat. This turned out to be a good plan for the support act, Chris Difford, who used to be the front man for Squeeze. This too was a good thing, because if he hadn't been able to rely on things like 'Up the Junction', 'Take me I'm Yours' and 'Cool for Cats' he'd have been stuck with his new material, which was pleasant enough but wasn't really going anywhere. Still, he may just have sold me a Squeeze greatest hits compilation somewhere along the line.

So, we were all sat down when Elvis hit the stage, well except for two brave souls who pegged it to the front and stood gazing up at the man. It pretty quickly became clear that they were the ones with the right idea. When the roadies had been setting up they'd brought on a stool, the kind singer songwriters sit on while they strum an acoustic and deliver a song. Not this singer songwriter. He bounded on, saluted the crowd and leathered the hell out of an electric guitar, opening with 'Daddy can I turn This?' from the new album, and following straight up with the much older 'Watching the Detectives'. More followed in the same vein, old hits and new material blending seamlessly.

It was around the third song that I began to realise something. This guy can play. Not in a bashing out the rhythm guitar part while singing kind of way, but in a guitar pounding, soloing, power chord hitting adrenalin charged wall of sound kind of way. 'Spooky Girlfriend' turned into something more Hellraiser than Hitchcock while When I was Cruel developed some extra verses? to fit between the manic guitar playing. This wall of sound approach got ample support from the band with the keyboard player in particular doing his best to match Elvis' hyperactive sound generation.

So, fifty minutes later and he's singing 'Ship Building' to widespread tyneside rapture, steps away from the mike for the last few words just to prove he can sing so loud he doesn't need it and leaves the stage. We're still sitting down. I mean, we want to stand but this is a concert hall and if you stand up in the 25th row you're not going to be popular. So the more adventurous of us pack the aisles down the sides for the encore. There may not be much left, but we're standing for it.

Only there's loads left. Mr Costello has a massive back catalogue of hits and for a while it seems like he wants to play all of it. The rest of the crowd starts to cotton on that the folks on their feet are having a better time of it and finally the whole place is on their feet. "Now you look familiar" he says and turns up the pace. There is the odd break for a ballad - 'Good year for the Roses' and 'Alison' get outings, but by the time he gets round to 'Pump it Up' sparks are flying.

Its at times like this you can't help but wish that folks like Paul Weller hadn't gone all acoustic on us. Elvis Costello has been knocking out pop punk for twenty years and he does it with a verve and style that younger acts can't match cause they haven't had time to practice. They haven't got two hours of material either. So if you get the chance go see the man, lyrical genius, one hell of a singer, and as it turns out he plays a pretty mean electric guitar.

And there'a a million of us just like me

Continuing the theme of providing information about MBA's to the outside world Adrian has started giving overviews of the MBA courses he's doing at Columbia in NYC. Bear in mind he's into his second year, and that he's picked just about every finance option open to him so this may not be a 'representative set' but its certainly useful info if you're thinking of taking an MBA. You can also read about my course options in the 'MBA Courses' section of this site.

Elvis Live(s)

There may not be a lot of gigs on in Newcastle this month (well not ones I want to see) but there is Elvis Costello and the Impostors at the Newcastle City Hall. The man just may be the greatest living English songwriter and his last album was a definite return to form. So since Elvis rocks, but half the songs are if not exactly ballads, certainly slow numbers, and the city hall is all seater do we stand for this or just recline comfortably and soak up the ambience?.

All these questions will be answered tonight.

New Links, New Enthusiasm

As you can see from the left hand side I've added a few links. If you're after info on what an MBA is like Adam has started his, so you can read all about what its like to be starting out at Harvard. By the look of it its a fair bit more corporate than I'm expecting Oxford to be. Meanwhile Adrian, aka Javaboy is getting to grips with his New York Exchange program.

Now all this reading about people in other places getting on with the serious business of aquiring an education has got me working. I've made a start on the pre course reading and have decided that Decision Science (thats stats folks) may well be more fun than I thought. Especially if I can stay on top of the maths long enough to work out what's going on. Accounting however remains dull, still, in the face of all the scandals I am at least starting to appreciate why this stuff is important.

Otherwise I'm chilling out, trying to learn to touch type (getting better) and realising that if more people spent their days listening to Motown records the world would be a better place. I am definately of the opinion that I needed this break before starting a course.

New Material Coming Soon

Now I've got everything running properly again I'll be adding new material. I've had a bit of feedback on the interviews page, and a piece to write on why you shouldn't go using 'professional essay editing services' when applying, and some early thoughts on my reading list and preparation. I've also promised to do some work for a media networking group in Oxford which kind of takes precedence.

Oh, and I can now see the intranet for incoming students, so I know a bit more about my future class.

Got there in the end

Hosting is now sorted, courtesy of the lovely black cat networks. However the release of Medieval Total War may well knacker my attempts at regular bloggage. We'll see.

All change

I'm now attempting to switch over my servers and reunify the website. You may notice a few problems...

Info about the university

This FAQ explains why my first degree was an MA, among other things...

Hawhey the lads

Tonight the glorious Newcastle United take on the largely unpronouncable Zeljeznicar with the prize being the £15m+ rewards of a place in the Champions League. Since I've never seen this much money being made by anyone, anywhere I reckon going to the match counts as some kind of MBA preparation. We're 1 - 0 up, the match should be a formality, but I've given up on believing that anything is certain where the Toon are concerned. 3-1 win.

OK, I was wrong, it was a formality. 4-0 to the Toon, all together now.. Geordies in the champions league, Geordies in the champions leage.... Just waiting for the draw now.

Things to get round to #432

Learn more about Cicero. Seems to have been an interesting chap.

Once Upon a Time

They taught MBA students that auditors were the guardians of capitalism, without whose stewardship markets would cease to function. Fortunately auditors were all trustworthy souls, and while there were a few bugs in the system these were being worked out. They also taught all kinds of basic things about accounting prudence, when to recognise revenue and what should and should not be on balance sheets.

I know this because I've started reading my text books and this stuff is in the first few chapters. This leads me to suspect that either an awful lot of folk just didn't come to their opening lectures back in the 80's or an awful lot of people should be doing an awful lot of time rather soon. Still at least the ongoing crisis in the financial markets (can we believe anything in an annual report anymore?) is going to make class discussions a lot more fun. Maybe its time to start reading the FT (shudder, is there a left wing version?)

B.Aware

Wandered down to the Baltic Art Gallery yesterday to have a proper look at the North East's new 'art factory' as we're told it should be thought of. Comments about it fall into two basic categories

The building is top, looks great from the outside, big and roomy on the inside. They could maybe have varied the size of the rooms a bit more but as a gallery it'll really work. It also provides some great views of the bridges along the Tyne and sits really well with the new Millenium bridge. Apparently the critics didn't like the restaurant at the bottom - they obviously didn't see it backed to bursting (along with its patio) on a Friday night. If they can sell culture to the Quaysides' nightime drinkers they're onto a winner.

The art on the other hand is a bit lacklustre. Aside from the giant nude outlines decorating the building like modern day chalk horses there wasn't anything that really impressed me. Still with the show changing regularly, and the crowds packing in it's just a matter of time before they get it right. Didn't see any evidence of the promised digital art facilities either, but they're in there somewhere.

On the fringes

Time to write up the Edinburgh trip before I start to forget things. Along with the usual street performers, pubs and restaurants I made it to the following shows.

The Pineapple Boys
The Pineapple Boys' show was 'The big bada bing' a surreal montage of impressions stuck together into a plot about the efforts of Al Pacino, Sean Connery and Arnold Schwartzanegger to get a ticket for big Pineapple Boys show in Las Vegas. While the idea of Connery and Schwartzanegger working in a gay chatline run by Christopher Walken to raise cash was a great one it couldn't compare to Jim Morrisson singing in the Cantina Bar from Starwars. Top stuff, with some good mime backing up the impressions but it required the audience to have seen an awful lot of films. If you hadn't seen them you had a problem. Four stars. (three for those who don't watch a lot of cinema)

Live! Girls!
Two comediennes from the north east in a show of loosely connected sketches. While some of the material was strong it betrayed the radio background of its writers with many sketches taking a long time to warm up. While this would have been fine on radio it wasn't worth the tenner I paid to see it live. Still, it did make me laugh, and thats always a good thing.

Saucy Jack and the Space Vixens
This has become something of a fringe classic. A tale of crime fighting aliens from a groovier galaxy on the trail of the Slingback Killer in a universe where plastic has been outlawed this disco musical has to be seen to be believed. Which it nearly wasn't, not realising that the Assembly Rooms had a new venue we headed for the main building... Arriving with ten minutes to spare we suddenly noticed the words 'big top' on our tickets. "How far to the big top?" we asked "I wouldn't like to say" came the reply. Now I don't know what they feed the taxi drivers on in Edinburgh, but the driver we found clearly needed cash for more because he hammered it through the city, delivering us to the venue with scant seconds to spare.

Once in we found a cabaret style venue in a circus style tent, a cast who could belt out a serious line in disco tunes (special kudos to a seriously sleazy Jack) and an all round top night out. Its on in London, its on in New York, its more original than going to see The Rocky Horror Show again so check it out. Five stars.

The Consultants
More radio comedy translated to the stage, but this time faring rather better. While not quite the cynical take on the modern workplace we were promised it was a fine sketch show covering everything from consultancy, to necrophilia and childrens entertainment - with the most sinister puppet to ever take the stage. Plenty of laughs, tucked away in one of the Gilded Balloons' new underground venues. Four stars.

Raw Prawns
Well, they didn't do it for me, but my companions loved this show. Five comedians from Australia all doing their fifteen minute slot. Not really the top quality standup you hope to see at the Fringe, more a reminder of how hard this discipline is to get right. Still some good gags and a fair few laughs. Three stars.

So, all in all the Fringe delivered. Five shows, some gems, no absolute turkeys and a few top nights out. If you've never been, go.

Success 2!

OK, this website can now claim that it has made some small contribution to successful applications to the Said Business School and Cranfield. Both emails had suggestions for new content, one had a very different interview experience to me at the Said, and one described the difficulty of getting GMAT prep material in the UK. I'll amend the main site in the next few days.

Oh, and I'm back from Edinburgh. Expect a pile of reviews soon.

Off to Edinburgh

This footloose and fancy free holiday thing is great, I'm off to Edinburgh to see the fringe and enjoy Scottish licensing laws. Top stuff. This may result in a delay in blogging, but I'll be back with some reviews, promise.

First day at the gym

First induction session at the gym today. The three stage induction process means I was only able to use the cardio machines today - thats running, rowing and step machines to you and me folks. I think they slightly underestimated my incoming level of fitness, but then again, whether I'll be able to repeat todays target smashing efforts *after* a weights session very much remains to be seen.

Typing speed improving, now a painfully slow 20 wpm.

Success!

Number of people who have read this website, applied successfully and emailed to tell me? One. Still, there's about fifty people a day visiting this site, so the number getting in and not mailing must be far higher. Right?

In other news I now own six weeks local gym membership, tickets to see Elvis Costello and the Zeljeznicar match, and I wrote this whole entry without looking at the keys. (took ages)

Reading material

The first installment on my reading list has arrived. I've deliberately ordered the stuff I'm least interested in first, so that's three weeks of finance and stats for me to look forward to then. And on the recommendation of a former manager I've bought 'Emotional Intelligence' by Goleman. Let's hope its not the new age junk it looks like :-)

learning to type
Project 1 on the self improvement schedule I've got for myself is learning to touch type. So far this has reduced my typing speed to under ten words a minute and given me sore wrists. I'm starting to see how typists get RSI. My usual two fingered approach is forty words a minute and painless...

KP typing tutor is my weapon of choice for this.

In the beginning there was the idea
And the idea was to document the process of taking an MBA online, from application to graduation. This blog will form an ongoing record of day to day stuff, supplementing the more structured content you can find at MBA-experience.com and in time will be integrated into the site, just as soon as I get my hosting sorted properly. Black Cat Networks are current favourites for the hosting gig...

Now, lets go and play with these template things.

OK, lets spend ten minutes trying to work out why this isn't publishing.