Hap Neu Yeer!

That's all for this year. Go ahead and start up another, why don'tcha. The sooner we roll around to the springtime part o'life the better, in my opinion. But here 'tiz only New Year's Eve for now. Meanwhile, good buddy Jon must be a'blowing horns and a'banging pots over there in Cornwall already; what with that crazy '8 hours ahead' bizniz he's had to deal with ever since leaving here back in the spring of '71. Wonder if he ever got used to it.

Yup. Best be tidying the place up for the brand new year wots a'comin, cuz it's a'comin whether I likes it 'er not. It just don't take no for an answer, it don't. But apparently even 2007 won't be hanging around long if the trend continues. Shore nuff, this time next year, we'll just be going thru the EXACT same kafuffle all over again. More pots, more bangin'. That'll make it 2008! Gadzooks. You're probably already aware of my feelings on the subject of time - and the rapid passing by us thereof - no need for me to flog that carcass again on this page.

Might as well try to start things off on the right ankle. That should be the game plan anyway. Stop writing 2006 on everything for a kickoff. Bit of a nuisance, that. Gotta throw out the old calendar with the garbage. (Might've bin better to have bought the one with palm trees instead - get it?)

Heck, wasn't it 1977 just a few years ago? Say it ain't so Joe. Thirty years have gone by like so many southbound Greyhound buses on the I-5 highway. That would mean the little gal up at the lake has probably dun moved away plenty o' Greyhound buses ago too. No use goin' back to try and find her there now.

Studio Session

Bit of a struggle today for my lead vocalist Harry. At least in the early stages of a 4-hour recording session here at massive Riffle Studios. It was a case of missed downbeats and false starts. Plenty of do-overs. Seemed to take Harry longer than usual to 'git his gear going' for some reason, but eventually he managed to 'nail' two of the three songs we'd planned to finish up before the dinnerbell rang. And that was supposed to be the easy part.

We've arranged to have a video shot to support the first song called: 'Stuck In The Real World'. Visuals of Harry strolling the park, leaning on lamp posts, and singing the lyrics... all outdoors in public view. You get the idea. Probably over on Cambie street during rush hour. This will require Harry to learn the delicate art of lip-synchronization. Actually I'm wrong, he HAS done that job before; on a song called 'The Mailman Ditty' (which is currently playing to sold-out showings on Youtube) but this new challenge may be too much for him. He'll certainly have to do his homework to pass this test. If he succeeds, we'll hoist the thing up onto Youtube alongside the 'Mailman' song.

http://soundcloud.com/midhrifs/stuck-in-the-real-world

And Steve (if you're listening) there's about a dozen tracks here that need your sensible guitar work pronto like.

The Health Benefits Of Ukulele Playing

Recently, I met up with a couple o'friends at a nearby pub/cafe. I picked that particular place to meet because I'd been given warning earlier in the week by an old 'animation-class buddy' of mine (Jason be his name) that he himself (Jason) would be in attendance playing the ukulele. (The yu-kaa-laylee).

Oh, he wasn't gonna be strumming the pint-sized thing all by his lonesome, no sir. When we got there, the establishment was filled to the brim with MANY ukulele players in all shapes & sizes. Close to 40 or so. Each proudly resting their own personal ukulele against their chests. In fact it was a ukulele club meeting is what it was. Seems they hold these stirring musical events every second Tuesday of each month. And normal NON-ukulele-playing folks like me & you are quite welcome (in fact encouraged) to drop in and watch the show from the safety of our dinner tables.

So we dun did that. And it t'was a hoot and a half to be sure. The walls were alive with the sound of ukulele music. I managed to snap this picture of the Jas-man & his cohort Tom (you may recognize them both from the TV show 'Robson Arms') during the half-time break. It's obvious from the enormous smiles on their faces that ukulele music may have certain health benefits. Probably raises anti-oxidants in the body. Makes you wanna smile like Buck Owens on Hee-Haw. Sorta like eating dark chocolate every now and then, but without the calories.

And no (because I know you'll ask) 'Tip Toe Thru The Tulips' was NOT on the evening's playlist.

42 Plain Street

So. Back in the olden days, there was this unusual family living on the street I grew up on. Heck, this is many years ago we're talking; not last week. That's them on the left in cartoon form. Well, sorta. I mean; they don't look EXACTLY like that. Nobody does.

But I sent off a batch of these homemade comic strips featuring the odd neighbors from the old days and - whoda'thunk it - the Japanese liked it. They bought it. (What WERE they thinking?)  I was offered a five-year contract to provide them (Kodansha) with a mutually agreed upon amount of episodes per month of little life-affirming moments; in the 4-panel cartoon style. They probably wouldn't have believed that they were actually buying wacky adventures of a real life family, so I didn't bother to mention it to them.

Thing is... I'd titled the strip: 'It Takes All Kinds'. Which seemed to sum up their state of being. But nope; the Japanese didn't like that title. Maybe it didn't translate well from English. They asked me to come up with a new name please ASAP, and all I could think of (under the time limit) was the phoney street address I'd employed in the strip. "42 Plain Street". Where the characters lived out their little life-affirming lives.

Looking back on it now, I guess the name works out fine. Because the strip itself is very 'plain'. Very subtle. Far from dazzling. Couldn't get much more plain than it is, really.

Drat. Phone call. Gotta go.

Plum Pointless...

Yes, yes; I've been meaning to get around to this blogging 'thang' for a while now. But you can't be in two places at once. And if I'm sitting here doing this blog nonsense, then who's gonna be over THERE doing some of the OTHER nonsense that needs to be done? Hmmm? Wishes won't wash dishes y'know. The treadmill's not gonna start running around without me. Well, I guess it could, but that would be plum pointless. Which I guess, is exactly the theme we're shooting for with this blog. Multiple random views of the pointless kind.

Yes. But. Clearly, for this blog to survive more than a few postings, it cannot be constructed entirely on pointless offerings. There has to be SOME sort of attempt (now & then) at entertaining the reader with more than just hogwash. (When was the last time you used the word hogwash in a sentence?) What I PLAN to do here, and remember; planning & doing are not related; is to try and keep the people in my inner circle (and those weirdos on the outer fringes) updated and aware of all the latest non-critical 'goings on' in the world as I see's it. And live's it. And couldn't live's without's it.

For instance... one sample entry here of the 'mid-level' hogwash variety...

Good ol' Harry B. will be making his last visit of the year to Riffle Studios this weekend (my home recording studio) to add his dulcet vocal tones onto the bedding tracks of not 1; not 2; but THREE of my peppy synth ditties that are currently resting silently inside the shell of a well-used zip disc. Awaiting their eventual inclusion on our next big CD, don'tcha know.

Yes, it's all more than I can handle sometimes. And now I've got this weird blog to keep updating with hogwash.