"A year went by in the blink of an eye"

This post was supposed to be publish on Friday 29th July. I started it back on Tuesday but as you know I've been a little *ahem* distracted. I also really didn't realise how long it would take. I've been on it for 3 hours just today. It's probably not as in-depth as it should've been as, frankly, I got fed up with it! I almost scrapped the whole bloody thing last night!
Anyway, be warned - you may require a potty break!


A year ago today my life changed.
I didn't actually notice anything of any life changing proportions happen, but change it did.
My life started on a different part the very second that I did this:

Thursday, July 29, 2004

Well that was bloody easy!!
In fact it was so simple that now I sit a little perplexed. I assumed (a recurring failing) that it would take hours to get sorted & I could use that time to come up with some dazzlingly witty & clever opening post that would instantly show me to be a total "geezer".
Sadly, I now feel a bit silly.
Welcome to my world.

posted by Flash
---------------------------------------
Yup, that was my very first post on this blog. Everything that exists in World of Flash prior to that post had been written in a paper journal, which I later typed up & posted.

It's been a hell of a year. So, join me as we look back over my first year of being that most special of beasts; The Blogger.

Part one: The statistics

There have been (not including this one) 223 posts.
There have been 937 comments by 54 different people (multiple identities only counting as 1).

Part two: The titles

Here is a breakdown of who is responsible for all the lyrics I call upon for titling my 223 posts.
I'm sure the foremost act won't come as a surprise.
22 (posts) - Depeche Mode
6- The Smiths, The Divine Comedy, Nik Kershaw, Snow patrol, The White stripes
5- Radiohead, Easyworld, Adam & the ants/Adam Ant, Coldplay, Gnu Cnu
4- The Bluetones, James, Stereophonics, Morrissey, Pet shop boys, Nine inch nails
3- Duran duran, Oasis, Del amitri, Muse, Travis, REM, The Supernaturals, Kaiser Chiefs
2- Kylie Minogue, The Dandys, Mansun, Thompson twins, The Killers, The streets, Embrace, Men at work, U2, Leeds united FC, Feeder, Clearlake, Tears for fears, Pulp, New order, The Beatles, Catatonia, Marillion
1- Bronski beat, Alanis Morissette, ABC, Dead or alive, Irrelevance, Eels, Placebo, Talk talk, Dream academy, The the, Dave Gahan, A-ha, Elvis Costello, Madonna, Bon Jovi, Prince, Supergrass, The Housemartins, Hue & Cry, Mariah Carey (!!!), Nitzer ebb, Deniece Williams (!!), Nelly, Super furry animals, Louis Armstrong, Happy Mondays, Simple Minds, Robbie Williams, The Prodigy, Echo & the bunnymen, Starsailor, David Bowie, Carrie, Frankie goes to Hollywood, Meatloaf (!), Suede, Athlete, Blur, The Music, Electric 6, Stone roses, Manic street preachers, Abba, Motorhead, Shed seven, The Beloved, The Beautiful south, JJ72, Howard Jones, Bright eyes, Spandau ballet, The Bravery, Keane, British sea power, Stephen "tin tin" Duffy & The Pointer Sisters (!!).
There were also 3 used from origins unknown.

Part three: The Commenters.

My first comment came on only my second post. To be honest, I hadn't really grasped the beauty of the comments section. I sure have now but more of that later.
On the 25th of August the one who would turn out to be the first of my commenters arrived. Who was that then, eh? A young man of immense talent that will surely pave the way to a very bright future. The Mothslayer supreme. The Stomppmeister!
Stompp, a fellow Brit, & I talked about the weather!
Though he returned several times, he then disappeared from my comments for ages before blazing back in at Xmas & staying for good.
A favourite* comment from Stompp will always be:
""FUCK CUNTYBOLLOCKS SHIT TRAMPWANK." lovingly created for you by Flash

"Yeah I can feel the loving creation hahah! :D"

* I don't feel capable of picking out an actual fave comment from everyone, but they'll be ones I do really like.

A week or so later, there was Cheryl. She of the many names would go on to be an absolute shining star in my life. She became devoted to this blog, as I did to hers. She became my friend off the blog (Ah, that first IM) & one day in the not too distant future, I promise I will go to her land & thank her in person for all she has given me. It'll be one hell of a thankyou! I could devote this whole post to her, but in the interests of balance I shall have to leave it there. Except to relive some of her comments:
"...and Purple ROCKS! That's why it is my favorite color.
Oooooh, I bet that irked you. I ruined 2 English words back to back. : )~"

"Great! Apparently you have a song. I was at lunch today and they have an all request line and someone called in and requested... PURPLE RAIN!
Now, normally I would flip that song off the radio, but not this time, I sang along all in honoUr of my dear friend across the Atlantic. Flash!!!!
I do believe that every time I hear that song now, it will remind me of you and a certain blog entry that made you roar for sometime. We really have had some good times, considering I never actually met you."

"Flash,
As your # 1 Fan....I will never leave you.
As your loyal commentor....I will never leave you.
As your friend... I will never leave you.
As your Far Flung Friend... I will never leave you.

I thank you for bending the lyric title rule for me. As a man who went through what I am going through, I know you respect my decision. Your lack of communication with me is nothing you should apologize for. You have a life... I do not.I will continue to read about your life....and I will continue to comment as I see fit.
I will continue to cling to the hope that one day you and I will share those 4 seconds in the airport you spoke of all those months ago :
PS our secret is out....I gave up my identity, sorry if it has ruined it for you. And your other readers.

I need you like the earth needs the sun.
Always,
~ C ~
ooo "

A mere 6 days later I had "my girls". Young Charby hopped on board via the sex whilst eating a bacon sarnie & watching football post. "It would sure brighten up your average Charlton game" she chirped. Not wrong there missy!
Charby has always been capable of giving me a big warm cyberhug as much as she has of having a playful pop at me. Charby also became the first blogger I met in the flesh. We had a great time & I loved her as much in person as I always have in type. A favourite example from sarf London's tidy-arsed graduate who brought you the word "Trampwank", after she went AWOL for a few days & I panicked:
"I'm still popping by every day to get my daily dose of Flash!"

Next up, after a tip off, The Duke of Jokes turned up. The DOJ & I have been friends since we were 11. We grew up together & had so many laughs during that time. I don't remember ever falling out with him either. We did drift apart for about 14 years but now were just the good old mates we always were. I always wanna hang with him when I go up north & if this too much of a *eyes roll* "soft get" thing to say, having the guy round the blog means he's always around despite the 120 mile distance. And frankly that rocks!
The man once known as Dukestral manoevres in the Joke is unique round here in that he isn't a blogger. About time that changed mateyboy! Then I could try & leave comments like this:
"Who the heck are Easyworld?
Are they as good as the 80's group Irrelevance? ;)

"Quite Remarkable" "

Also I have a big soft spot for this bit of sparring:
At 11:22 PM, Charby said...
Leeds...*snigger*

At 11:56 PM, The Duke of Jokes said...
Leeds...*snigger*OI!
Let's compare honours.....
Leeds United
League Champions 1968-69, 1973-74, 1991-92
Runners-Up 1964-65, 1965-66, 1969-70, 1970-71, 1971-72
Division Two Champions 1923-24, 1963-64, 1989-90
Division Two Runners-Up 1927-28, 1931-32, 1955-56
FA Cup Winners 1972
FA Cup Finalists 1965, 1970, 1973
League Cup Winners 1968
League Cup Finalists 1996
European Cup Finalists 1975 (Robbed by bent Ref)
European Cup Winners Cup Finalists 1973 (Ditto)
Fairs Cup Winners 1968, 1971
Fairs Cup Finalists 1967
FA Charity Shield Winners 1969, 1992
FA Youth Challenge Cup Winners 1993, 1997

Charlton Athletic
Division 1 Champions 1999-00
Runners-Up 1935-36
Play-off Champions 1986-87, 1997-98
Division 2 Runners-Up 1935-36, 1985-86
Division 3 (South) Champions 1928-29, 1934-35
Promoted 1974-75, 1980-81
Runners-Up 1935-36
FA Cup Winners 1947
Runners-Up 1946

Hmmmm ;-)

At 10:09 PM, Charby said...
Hehe.If we're gonna be petty...Who's in the premiership now huh?
lol

And it remained liked that for quite a while; just the four of us.
Mid-November game the threat of a "trans-atlantic slap round the chops" from the enigma that is Gladys Cortez. Gladys makes me laugh & Gladys makes sense. I feel her to be something of a kindred spirit in many ways, sometimes to such an extent that I wonder if we weren't separated at birth! And the Snoop Dogg-ifier she recommended made me piss my pants.
Something from my my Chicago dwelling friend after my heroic key rescuing escapade:
"Oh, so VERY kick-ass.
And you SOOOO earned the right to be smug. In fact--to me, it sounds like you had QUITE a bit more smug-time available to you before your Fifteen Minutes of Smug went "ding".
Way to go, MacGyver!"

A week later young Chapstick popped by. The wide eyed Luke Skywalker to my often world-weary Han Solo, eh kid? Like Stompp, I reckon there's a bright future ahead for my young friend & also like Stompp he seems to have been on a comment embargo. Glad to see you back mate, place ain't the same without you checking in!
Some words from Chapstick that moved me to much laughter, in response to some colloquial (SP?) footy speak: "I am 90% sure I have not a clue what the Duke just said..."

Then for my birthday I got Hyde! God bless her! Always making me smile with her LOL's & often extending a hug. Hyde & her life fascinate me. It all seems so far away from my life. New York city obviously lends itself to fuller existence than is possible in Crapsville but Hyde's capacity for love & for enjoying life would shine anywhere. Hyde, you rock baby! And I await that "Swedish hug" you once offered me (even though I can only guess as to what that actually involves!).
And this is just one of my favourites comments ever;
"A drunk, stoned and happy Flash who got some time with his drunk Dream Girl.

I love it.
:) "

February 7th - Here's Ka! Out of nowhere she flew in during the first bout of Ask Flash. Ka has another life that fascinates me. She's funny & clever & adventurous. And since her recent trip to Brazil (booked on a whim - fantastic!) prompted her to share photos, she's revealed herself to be what us Yorkshire folk would call "a reet bonny lass" or, to put it another way, a babe.
Another blogger warned me off her, claiming her to be his! I told him: pistols at dawn!
And this made me howl, following up some regional dialect flavoured stuff with:
"Maple syrup toque kayak! Sleddog sidewalk Double Double.

Man, I have such a boring country. "

I also loved her answers to the "Look I'm getting totally up my own arse now so let's talk about me" quiz thing I did.


One of the things I love about blogging is that it gives me the opportunity to perform a bit. This is a truly good thing for me. Stretching the performance thing out, I feel that in mid-March I took a step up in terms of audience. Like going from the tiny stage in the backroom of a pub, to proper little venues. Or winning promotion from the conference to league 2. The first sign of this "growth" was when, within minutes of each other Mark & Lord Bargain commented.

It would appear that other than Del Amitri I had stolen Mark's entire record collection! A man of fine musical taste, Mark has pointed me in the direction of some cool downloads & I like his (often scathing) reviews. I have for some time wondered whether I dare ask for one of "Confessions of an idiot". It's fair to say that our man in London & I have differing outlooks on life & I often find myself disagreeing with him. That said though I do have an unwavering respect for the guy & look forward to meeting him in person (maybe Wembley Arena for DM).
Mark making perfect sense:
""the fairer sex"? women are never fair, only RIGHT. "

Lordy B (as I somehow cannot help calling him) liked the sound of "Egg wielding freak". Really? Come in mate, have a look around!
I've since had the good fortune to meet the mullet-shunning big fella a couple of times. Simply, the bloke's a legend. Already I consider him to be a dear friend & he's quite possibly the nicest man in the world. I have so much in common with him that it's scary. He's a funny chap too & his I-pod also has a fantastic sense of humour (arf!)! I'm sure there are many real life adventures with Lordy B to come in the future.
Lordy B in the house after our trip to see Coldplay in Bolton (I had to choose this one 'cos I can't believe i forgot to mention it):
"what this young man also fails to mention is that about halfway through the Coldplay set, he is merrily singing along when the guy in front turns round and says" you're bloody brilliant mate, you should be up there on the stage with them."

though why I should be gracious after your diatribe on my lovely pop records, heaven only knows.

not the best journey, then. yikes. I have never seen the guys in "London's Burning" ever put out a flaming engine fire with Diet Coke either, by the way...Anyway, glad you enjoyed the show, pixie. heh heh heh "

Another chap who the term "a gentleman & a scholar" wouldn't be out of place on & who is (in my view anyway) intrisically linked with Mr. Bargain is our Lycra clad giant; Swiss Toni. A giant not just in terms of stature either, In my opinion he's the daddy of the blog circle I dwell in. I had the pleasure of meeting ST recently & he's another smashing bloke. Thoroughly likeable chap with top notch taste in tunes & blogs. After only his second comment, I knew then I had another new friend.
That comment from Swiss Toni that really did mean the world to me:
" Flash - I just did something I have never done before, and I wanted to share it with you: I have read your blog from bottom to top. Maybe not every word, but most of 'em. I have this thing where I like to have a look at people's first ever post, and was grabbed by yours straight away (which all made sense as I read on and realised that it had originally come from an actual paper journal) so I just kept on reading.

Good stuff - thanks for stopping round mine and revealing your existence to me!(Oh, and don't bother looking at my first post either - one of the reasons I look at other people's is because mine is so shite.)

Just wanted to share...
ST "

Then who should stroll in? Only my childhood hero!! Only ADAMANT!!!!! Since jacking in all that music biz stuff he's settled in Texas, doesn't seem quite as loopy & dispenses fantastic stories to the world. He's also dispensed fantastic comments & advice my way. Joking aside, our Blogging Mr. Ant is more of a legend than his namesake. I think very highly of him & I'm very glad he came round here. It's a better place since his arrival. Big respect, dude.
I liked this one:
" When I arrived in the States I made a few mistakes. It took me a while before I realised 'going outside to smoke a fag' indicated to my American colleagues that I was going outside to kill a homosexual. "

A couple of posts later, Dzesika revealed herself (not like that (not that I'd object!)). An American living just down the road, she offers a different perspective on life in the UK. She also appears to be a lady of fine taste & with a zest for life that I find refreshing. She found a permanent place in my heart after stating that, musically, I rock! I hope I'm not overstepping the mark but I'm sure at some point we will have a meet up (though not for the proms, eh?) as she's only an hour away. I have to confess that it took me far too long to realise that her name is pronounced Jessica. Doh!
"I say we get Nice Not Hot and the International Playboy in a room together, and scold them for not leaving their significant others and moving on to us, because we are both so obviously more interesting/witty/sexy/etc.
Do I have a plan here? "
I'm doing my bit Jess, you?


World of Flash's door swung open next to welcome in Spins. Spinsterwitch has fast become one of my most prolific commenters. I could go on & on about how her presence comforts me or how chuffed I was to receive mail about my tunes from her or how I have an extra reason for visiting San Francisco (which is on my travel wish list) but I'm not going to. I'm just going to say Spins is purely & simply; Lovely.
Again after the Key thing:
"Dang, Flash, you've earned yourself in that post references to Indiana Jones, MacGyver & the A-Team!
You are undoubtedly our blog action hero."

My first post of May saw Lava Lady's arrival. Quickly establishing herself as a member of this strange posse, Lava Lady is a very similar position in her life to where I am. I like the way that she sometimes e-mails me in response to comments I leave at her place & I like the way she (again, like me) wears her heart proudly on her sleeve. I'm still getting to know her, but I've heard her voice & seen her face. I look forward to getting to know her better.
(Should I confess that on my first visit to her blog, I saw a photo that made me say out loud "Nice chest!" ? No? Ok, I'll keep that to myself then.)
Lava Lady at Revenge of the sith time:
"My friends and I used to take turns being Princess Leia."
In my finest Joey style; Yeah, baby!

Mr Mystic came in next. Somewhat enigmatic & with a knack for commenting on parts of a post that no one else has (which I do like, by the way) Mystic is again someone I'm still getting to know. Part of this process is going to involve writing a song together which I'm very excited about. I'll sort some lyrics soon for him, promise. It should be known that his mystical abilities have revealed that I absolutely will get some recognition for my musical efforts. Top Man.
Sometimes I feel vindicated when getting praise for silly things:
"Getting drunk a couple of nights ago now getting high. atta boy flash."

As I proclaimed to have given up with women (did well, eh?) AJ came by for the first time & wished me luck.
AJ is quite mad. AJ is funny. AJ has threatened me with torture and violence. Did I mention that she's mad?
AJ has swiftly become a highly valued member of this community & I'm bloody glad about that.
On hearing "White Celebration", AJ offered an interesting interpretation that warrants a repeat viewing but I really liked this one after the pictorial :
"You're adorable! (in a, "he followed me home can I keep him if he doesn't shit on the rug" sort of way) "

Which of course is totally spot on.

Whilst the heat was stifling on June 20th along came Scully. I feel that Scully & I have very quickly formed a special bond. We have the common ground of adoption on which we can help each other out. It's only been just over a month so we're still new friends, but that is what we are; friends.
She is clearly very perceptive too, see:
"You have extremely good taste in music."

The same day Lori~Flower came by & a couple of days later Adem called in. At this point I may be getting a bit presumptuous about someone being a "regular" commenter & I can't offer too much in terms of who they are, but both have been by a few times & have made me laugh. That's always a good thing. I do also have to give a shout out to Brock who drops in now & again with the odd nugget of his wisdom. To Silly Boy, whose few comments have been, erm, invaluable. And to all those people who've maybe only commented once or twice. I hope they all continue to come by. Despite this post's praise of all my existing friends, World of Flash is a place that is always open & absolutely everybody is welcome.

Group hug?

What I didn't realise a year ago was how comments are the food that bloggers need to survive. I really do cherish you all & it's because of your input that World of Flash continues to prosper.
Anyway that's enough for the lovefest.

Part 4: Me

I feel like a much better person since I became a blogger. The effects that blogging has had on my life are immeasurable.
I am much more confident in myself then I have been in years.
I really enjoy writing & I feel I've become a much better writer. I'm quite proud of some of my stories & musings.
I have so many new friends, which really is the bestest, bestest thing; It makes me giddy.
I am seldom bored these days.
I have found a small audience for my music which is so utterly fantastic that it gives me a hard on.
And finally, and I hope you get this & don't think I'm an arsehole, I feel like a kind of mini-celebrity & I'm sure you can all imagine how much that floats my boat.
The only tiny little cloud in the big blue sky is that because of my obsessional nature I have found that sometimes I've neglected my "real" life for all this. I must keep an eye on that.

Part 5: My favourite posts

Trying to do is is just too difficult so I'm just gonna choose one. The first time where I actually told a story stands out to me. It may not be my actual favourite but it's very special to me & I like it a lot.
It's called "Oh father" & if you've not read it before, please take a look.
I also thought the 7 part epic retelling of my American adventure was pretty cool (you can find that back in January)

Part 6: Summary

This post has took literally days to compile & write. It may have took as long to read too, for which I can only apologise.
I'm glad I have though, you guys know that I like to anniversary-ise everything, I couldn't let it pass.
I LOVE BLOGGING & I THINK BLOGGING LOVES ME. That's the bottom line.