Household Hints

#1: Never try to wash a window with a soft-boiled egg.
#2: Trying to make your bed once you're inside it, will never work.

How I Spent Christmas

Played a various artists compilation called "The Christmas Collection," "Carols & Capers" by Maddy Prior & The Carnival Band, Mozart's Violin Concerto 2 and Sinfonia Concertante and of course Handel's Messiah.

9.30: breakfast -- rum 'n' eggnog (w. nutmeg) and cashews.

Then played "A Christmas Present From The Albion Band" and The Goons' "A Christmas Carol, By Kind Permission."

12.00: first bottle of Old Speckled Hen -- why did i only buy two? It's my favourite beer!

Next on the playlist were Colin James & The Little Big Band's "Christmas," and "Wassail!" by John Kirkpatrick, [my old pal] Rosie Cross et al.

Next, i spent some time on the Internet, trying to find somewhere i could download the song "Angelica" by Barry Mann (of Mann-Weil fame). I once had it as a 45 and it's a gorgeous song, but alas i had little success -- although i did find and download a version of the song by a group called Anathema -- of whom i'd never heard -- and it's not bad.

Then i watched the Queen's message (streamed via the BBC), listened to Marillion's "Merry Christmas Everybody!" and John Kirkpatrick & Sue Harris's "Shreds And Patches."

By then it was time for lunch -- sausage 'n' smashed potatoes, a typically festive repast, and, as i ate, i started to watch the DVD "25th Anniversary Concert" by Oysterband -- which LL sent me for Christmas. It was wonderful, i had tears of joy streaming down my little face more than once but alas, the rum and the Old Speckled Hen caught up with me and i had a nap. When i awoke an hour or so later, i continued with the DVD, and, just as i had reached the bonus features, who should call but LL herself! Always a pleasure to chat with her, way out there in Vancouver.

7:00 and time for Christmas dinner. Guess which idiot forgot to take the turkey out of the freezer.... But i had some thawed ground beef and all of the ingredients, so i quickly threw together a dinner of salisbury steak with smashed potatoes and corn, and i declared it good.

And then i listened to Marillion's "Say Cheese!" and watched a DVD from The Discovery Channel (sent to me by my friend Magda, in Romania) -- "The Secret History Of Jesus." Erm, a look at the historical truth behind such books as "Holy Blood, Holy Grail" and "The Da Vinci Code." (There is none.)

And then sleepies.

Here's a Christmas gift for ayone who's interested. It's a free download of a Rory Gallagher bootleg, recorded at De Hanehof, Geleen/Holland,12 November 1987. Go to
http://rapidshare.com/files/113361284/dino988.rar to download the .zip file. It's password-protected and the password is "sparkyibew" (without quotes)

All the best, everyone!

Christmas Eve And Thoughts Turn To Money (Wink)

I was just browsing around this morning and came across this: http://www.wolfgangsvault.com/arr/r-crumb/11115.html

Apparently R. Crumb's "Zap Comix" #0 is selling for $1275.00 (US)

I used to buy as many of his comix as i could find back in the 60's, and i still have them -- including #0! I'm rich!
Not that i have any intention of selling, but it's nice to know that they're worth a bundle :o)

Right, well, i'm off now, to trudge through the snow for the annual Christmas Eve piss-up.

Happy Christmas to all.

Books!

Didn't Art Garfunkel do something like post a list to his website of every book he had ever read? (How did he keep track of them, i wonders, yesss, preciousss....)

Here's what i have read this year:

John Connolly – The Book Of Lost Things
Martin Amis – The Second Plane
Kirk Hausman, Diane Barrett & Martin Weiss – Security +
Liane Heller – Exposures
R.J. Pineiro – Y2K
Tom Clancy – The Hunt For Red October
Isabel Allende – Inés Of My Soul
Crystal Zevon – I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead: The Dirty Life And Times Of Warren Zevon
Ira Levin – The Boys From Brazil
Ian McEwan – On Chesil Beach
Yoko Ono, ed. – Memories Of John Lennon
Oliver Sacks – Musicophilia
Julian Barnes – Nothing To Be Frightened Of
J.K. Rowling – The Tales Of Beedle The Bard

Stormzilla II, or, Son Of Snowmaggedon

Yes, well, we're getting it in the neck here again, folks. According to the wireless, it's -13° but feels like -23° -- i just came in and i think that they are optimistic.

n.p. The Beatles, "The Alternate 'Hard Day's Night'"

Stormzilla, a.k.a Snowmageddon

Well, whatever you call it, we got it today. When i went to work at six o'clock this morning, it was quite pleasant; but at around 7 the snow began and when i came home there was a foot of it on the ground and it was still coming down -- or, to be more accurate, it was travelling horizontally -- straight into my face on my walk.

On the bright side, a white Christmas is assured. (Above is a photograph of Stratford's City Hall, taken today.)

Ten Days Later

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

The Albion Band

Cathy Lesurf is one of my favourite singers, and The Albion Band is one of my favourite bands, but this seems to be the only YouTube video of the two of them performing together. A shame

The Best Of 2008

Hmm, i suppose i should get cracking with this, as 2008 is almost over.

These are 2008 discoveries, though: some of this stuff may belong to other years, but if i found it in '08, i include it.

CDs: Ashley Hutchings, "The Mother Of All Morris," Joan Osborne, "Little Wild One," Happy Rhodes, "Many Worlds Are Born Tonight," Radiohead, "In Rainbows."

Books: Julian Barnes, "Nothing to Be Frightened Of," Crystal Zevon, "I'll Sleep When I'm Dead," Martin Amis, "The Second Plane."

DVDs: "No Country For Old Men," "There Will Be Blood," the complete "Father Ted"....

Your Petrochemical Arms (Thanks, Laurie!)

O Superman. O Judge. O Mom and Dad. Mom and Dad.
O Superman. O Judge. O Mom and Dad. Mom and Dad.
Hi. I'm not home right now. But if you want to leave a
message, just start talking at the sound of the tone.
Hello? This is your Mother. Are you there? Are you
coming home?
Hello? Is anybody home? Well, you don't know me,
but I know you.
And I've got a message to give to you.
Here come the planes.
So you better get ready. Ready to go. You can come
as you are, but pay as you go. Pay as you go.

And I said: OK. Who is this really? And the voice said:
This is the hand, the hand that takes. This is the
hand, the hand that takes.
This is the hand, the hand that takes.
Here come the planes.
They're American planes. Made in America.
Smoking or non-smoking?
And the voice said: Neither snow nor rain nor gloom
of night shall stay these couriers from the swift
completion of their appointed rounds.

'Cause when love is gone, there's always justice.
And when justice is gone, there's always force.
And when force is gone, there's always Mom. Hi Mom!

So hold me, Mom, in your long arms. So hold me,
Mom, in your long arms.
In your automatic arms. Your electronic arms.
In your arms.
So hold me, Mom, in your long arms.
Your petrochemical arms. Your military arms.
In your electronic arms

My Second Christmas Card Of 2008 ...

Was from Nadia Comaneci. You didn't know that she and i were chums, did you?

Nothing, To Be Frightened Of?

I'm in the middle of reading Julian Barnes' extraordinary book "Nothing To Be Frightened Of." He's one of our greatest novelists, but this isn't a novel: it's his meditation on death.

Half way through the book, i realised something about the title. It's an ellipsis of sorts. Does it mean that death is not to be feared? Or does it mean that death results in nothingness, and that nothingness is to be feared?

Well, i suppose i'll have to finish the book to find out....

I'll listen to some Rory Gallagher now, to re-affirm some life

My First Christmas Card of 2008 :o)

It arrived today and it's from ... Domino's Pizza. Not sure what this says about (a) their marketing or (b) my diet, but that wasn't all -- it also included an exclusive to me $5.00 off coupon. What a nice bunch of people.

Keep the change?!?

Has anyone else noticed a rather distressing tendency to keep the change, lately?

I went to buy some stationery the other day, at a shop whose name i shall not name (although its initials are UPS); my bill was $14.85. I handed over $15.00 and ... received nothing back and the cashier disappeared. I left, disgruntled and promising never to go there again. And i shan't.

Restaurants are worse though. I went for lunch today, my bill was $13.70, i gave the server $14.00 and was given no change. Normally, for a $13.70 lunch, i would tip $2.00. Not today: the server blew it. He assumed his thirty cents and that's all he received.

Fa-la-la, 'tis the season to be grumpy, etc.

Oh, hey, i just downloaded The Rolling Stones' 1970 album "Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out." They're pretty good -- they may catch on ;o)

Boredom, I Don't Get It

I often hear people complain that they are bored and i simply cannot grasp the concept. Boredom. What is it?

They have nothing to do? No, that can't be right -- there is always too much to do, for all of us, we can never do all that we want to in these fourscore years and ten or so. I am looking forward to the introduction of the 36-hour day, just for the added 12 hours of music-listening time!

They're not interested in what they are doing? No, that can't be right either: surely they wouldn't be doing it if they weren't interested in it. I mean, why bother?

I just don't understand it.

Maybe you have to be a boring person to be bored?

It's baffling.

Doomed To Repeat It

When will i ever learn: never go grocery shopping on a Sunday afternoon.

Off i trudged, through the wind and blowing snow, to the palace of consumerism that is my local grocery hypermarket, only to be confronted by the spatially-challenged (i.e. oblivious to the fact that they take up space) hordes who look upon shopping as a hobby.

When i go shopping, i generally know exactly what i want; and what i want is to zoom in, grab it, and zoom out as quickly as i can and then go on to something more interesting. On Sunday afternoons, more than at any other time, it seems, the grocery is full of people with nothing else to do and are just hangin' out, chatting with their neighbours and fondling the tomatoes in a desultory fashion and basically blocking the aisles. What is wrong with these people?

Are their lives really so empty?

Astrid

Astrid is the only woman i will ever love. I've suspected this for a long time (17 years) but it has only really just hit me, ripped my head off, reduced my soul to tiny little pieces -- all of which are devoted to her. I've suspected it for a long time, but now i know for sure.

And yet we are impossible. If we lived together we would drive each other crazy.

But there will never be anyone else. I am resigned to my fate: love is love. I have it.

Father Ted

Went to the video shop yesterday and bought the final DVD of the Father Ted series; my collection is now complete. And this stuff is amazing, quite absurd, and right up there with Monty Python, Fawlty Towers and The Goon Shows.... I was falling off the couch with laughter as i watched.

Not much can make me laugh out loud these days. The novels of Evelyn Waugh and Tom Sharpe can do it. Billy Connolly & Benny Hill can do it. Woody Allen can do it.

Astrid can make me laugh too, but that's an entirely different story -- we've only loved each other for 17 years.... Oh, right! People say, well, Freg doesn't have a girlfriend. Would these people mind very much if i don't mention this to Astrid? I mean, i think she'd be pretty annoyed.

Van der Graaf Generator

Regular readers of this blog (if i ever get any, la la) will learn that i am a huge fan of the music of Van der Graaf Generator and Peter Hammill. I had most of their stuff on CD, but have finally downloaded the remaining albums -- which i hitherto had only on vinyl (and no way to play it atm). To my surprise and delight, the digital version of the LP "H To He Who Am The Only One" ("H to He" being hydrogen to helium) has a longer version of the song "Lost." It's just an extended outro, but it was wonderful to hear it for the first time.

Nov. 25th

I'm listening to the Cardi's Club, Houston, 1985 Rory Gallagher bootleg atm, and it is so bloody good: this was the man at the peak of his powers, i just sit back in my chair, close my eyes and am moved to my soul.

Snow off and on all day -- again! And with the temperature hovering around the freezing mark, the streets have become -- to use a technical term in meteorology -- "yucky."

It'll get worse before it gets better, though. Welcome to Canada.

Nov. 24

My boots leak. It's winter in Canada and my boots leak. Terrific.

OK, i've been blogging for two days now; when do i get my first cheque? ROFL

Nov. 23

Right, well here we go. Post #1 -- although this isn't actually my first attempt at blogging: i have a Myspace blog (also called, coincidentally, Spriggsblog) -- but i haven't even looked at MySpace in at least a year.... Frankly, i rather hate all of this social networking stuff: fine for some, but not for me, thanks.

So this is the wonderful world of blogging -- my path to fame and fortune, apparently. Now, what do i blog about?

Well, it has stopped snowing after three days; i have only three more pay cheques until Christmas (quite a frightening thought!) and am atm listening to Jeff Wayne's "War Of The Worlds" album.

How the heck do i add an image to this? I just tried and all i added was code....