Sometimes the very mention of the idea brings you down in a cold sweat. Actually it's mixed emotions. First you think wow, and talk at rapid burst speed.
Then, in a moment of clarity, by yourself you ponder and think er, what have I done.
We all do it. I said to some journalists there are broadly two types of people, which you can guage from an easy experiment.
Place a tennis ball in the middle of a room and in clear site out of the way a bat. Some people that file in will make a beeline for the ball, then cite the bat. Others will go about sitting down where they were told to.
A much better more tested experiment comes from Prof Winston who presented the highly entertaining child of our times - a programme that looked for clues about how children develop.
Some children are random - fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants. Others need structure and safety. I guess we all do in some measure, but I often can't help make a decision based on the thrill.
In 1992 I did something really stoopid. I boarded a plane to South Africa for the first time, with the hope that a person whom I'd corresponded with in one letter would meet me at the airport.
If he hadn't shown.. well that would have been curtains.
So in a long winded way, back to what have I done. A friend, a super talented composer, described by the press and all manner as being an exciting contemporary composer has been asked to score something for one of the supposedly many official 100 days Obama fests in the UK.
So she leans over and says can you do the visuals. Yep sure I say. Half an hour later, "Oh dear what have I done".
I guess it's that fly feel again. Why do I do it !@£@!!%^^%.
Here's Shirley, and a site I was building for her, which is not finished and will be scraped with a new one when I can get the time. But just listen to some of the music.