Stung by Sting......

First let me admit I'm not a Sting Fan; never have purchased a CD or record from his Police or solo career. Last night he played at the Music Bowl with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra -- and was stunning.

Yes we were stung with what a classy act he is.  The music quality, his voice and the depth of the stories he told in his songs all were just a treat.

The acoustics were really really good and you could appreciate nearly every instrument that was being played. Of course this included the 'voice' - so clear and had that 'fidelity', or should I say 'authentic', he was the real deal !

This combined with a perfect evening; not a cloud in the sky and with the typical Melbourne evening cool, good food and great company.  Now what was also amazing was the line to get into the bowl and the scouting to find a small turf of grass in the already assembled masses. However the 'crowd' was generous and friendly and we noted that the spirit of goodwill generally prevailed, what otherwise could be a tricky situation.

Now let me comment on how he delivered these songs  - like good wine, the songs have aged well and Sting has creatively revised each of these, adding a new twist and flavour.

All the old police favorites -- Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic, Roxanne, Next To You and Every Breath You Take were tastefully delivered. And the songs from his solo career were also just stunning – Englishman In New York, Fragile, Russians, If I Ever Lose My Faith In You, Fields Of Gold, and Desert Rose.

Simply put I'm now a fan.

Special Dates

Today is 11/1/11, and I recall consciously thinking today is 1/1/11. Similarly when 7/7/77 and 8/8/88 dates occurred there was an A-Ha moment.

However I don't remember 9/9/99, perhaps that was because I was living in Shanghai at that time and there were other challenges to be concerned about. It is quite possible that this was due to preparation for the year 2000 and all the work that went into that 'special date'.

Last year we also celebrated a 10/10/10,  so why is this such a big deal - well I would guess that in my lifetime the next significant date will be 11/11/11 and 12/12/12 will be the last that I will ever experience(?)

Indeed these special date will the last anyone will ever take note, unless of course we change the basis of our modern calendar.

My understanding is that our lunar calendar of 365-ish days and a large assumption that the world started two thousand years ago. Sorry that was 2010 years since the birth of Jesus Christ. 

Also of interest is that there are chinese, hindu and jewish calendars -- each of these differs in terms of what is believed to be the first day of the year......

Special dates in many cultures will dictate when to get married, when to buy or make an investment, in short there are many superstitions when it comes to a 'date'.

For me a 'special date' is whenever we are able to get our kids together for a reunion or dinner. Time and Space have made this particularly hard, hence whenever this happens it is indeed 'special'.

OK then for 11/11/11 I will offer this as a challenge to drink a 11 years old bottle of Red Wine. Sounds like that will be a 'special date'.