What happened on Wednesday July 25th?

Hydrangea

I was tagged with a meme from Paul's Blog. He was tagged by Heather, who was tagged by Ari, who was tagged by Chris, who was tagged by Jodi .. so this whole damn thing can be blamed on Jodi.
"This is the meme. Write about 5 or 10 (or so) songs that had an impact on your life, and tag five people to carry on."

So I need to come up with 5 to 10 songs that profoundly impacted my life. Wow! Okay so here we go.

1/ The first music that I really remember was by Glenn Miller. Dad is a child of the 40's (he was born in '32) and is a big "Big Band" fan, I remember these 78 (yes I meant a 78 rpm record) being played constantly when I was young. I wanted to know who this man was, why he made this music and why Dad loved it so much. Before the Internet all we had was "The Glenn Miller Story
So here is The Glenn Miller Orchestra with "It Must Be Jelly (cause jam don't shake like that)" (download MP3)

2/ Be Bop A Lula ( download MP3 ) - Gene Vincent and the Blue Caps. It seems to me that I have always known this song, Mom and Dad were not fans of Rock'n Roll, but we were always allowed to watch the Ed Sullivan show and whatever guests he might have on. Though I don't remember this song from that show ( I did a Internet search and he was on in '57, I wasn't even a figment in my parents imagination yet.) So it had to be radio airplay or something that embedded this song in my mind. I remember being a little kid, probably around 7 years old, walking along the train tracks on my way to cubs, and singing this song. I only knew two lines "Be bop a lula she's my baby, be bop a lula I don't mean maybe", and I would repeat them constantly.

3/ Light My Fire (download MP3) - The Doors. We didn't get a lot of radio stations in central Ontario in the late sixties/early seventies. This song seemed to be on the air constantly. How did this impact me? Long hair and rock'n roll seemed so cool. I knew I wanted to be involved somehow, and I thought that being a radio DJ was the way. I would stand in the bathroom for hours perfecting my radio voice.

4/ Paradise by the Dashboard Light (download MP3) - Meat Loaf, Wow 1977 was a pretty important year. I was 14 years old, going into high school, got stoned for the first time that summer, got my first portable stereo (A blue eight track AM/FM stereo with split speakers), saw Star Wars and began to realize that information was cool, not the stuff they taught us at school but what I could learn on my own. So I read/watched as much as I could about the artists I listened to .. I became a music geek at high school.

5/ White Riot (download MP3) - The Clash. (another 1977 occurrence) I was over at a friends house getting stoned and he puts on "The Clash" .. this song hit me. Wow! people stood up for things, I didn't have to take the shit being handed out to me. (I was kind of complacent and easy going back then) I guess it was the first time that I realized that if you really wanted something you had to fight for it not just roll over and take what was being given.

6/ Ziggy Stardust (download MP3) - David Bowie. I was in my parents room watching a music documentary, sometime in the mid seventies, I remember it like it was yesterday. There was this whole part about David as Ziggy. Once again a wow experience. This was a rockstar, I had to learn more. I discovered the Velvet Underground, Andy Warhol and the incredible mixture of Art and Music.

7/ London Calling (download MP3) - The Clash, Cool For Cats (download) - Squeeze. The first two albums I bought for myself. I had a job, I had money and I didn't have to wait for my birthday or Christmas for a gift. I was independent.

8/ I Got My Mojo Working (download MP3) - Paul Butterfield Blues Band. This was on my set list for one of my first college radio shows. Once again a Wow!, I was listening to mostly punk and rock at this time. All of a sudden the Blues were there. I hit the library and learned at much as I could. Paul Butterfield lead me to B.B. King, BB King lead me to Muddy Waters, Muddy Waters lead me to Blind Lemon Jefferson, Blind Lemon Jefferson lead me to Leadbelly. A big door opened. Blues/Folk/Bluegrass/Country and Gospel all became real.

9/ Bohemian Rhapsody (download MP3) - Queen. The only reason why I went to see them in concert at the CNE grandstand. I had to see this song done live.

10/ Skin Deep (download MP3) - The Stranglers. I wanted to so badly go out with this certain girl that I knew in college, (long blond hair, great lips, beautiful eyes and a really good body) I talked her into going to the concert at the Masonic Temple with me. I was so caught up in the music and show that I never saw her make out and leave with the guy beside us, until his girlfriend told me we had been dumped. I realised at that point that for me women came second to music. (until I met Wife of course!)

I'm not big on tagging but for once I'm going to do it. So I would like to see some reponses from:

Hi-Watt-Cha Doing?
Nics Opinions
musings of middle age
CamelsbackandForth
Armagideon Time
The Vinyl Villain

Listening to "Story Of the Rockers" Gene Vincent.

By the way

All the mp3s posted on the site are there to encourage you to listen and then rush out and buy the songs direct from the artist, by mail order or from a decent record shop near your house. Any artist who doesn't want their works featured here only needs to get in touch and the mp3 will be removed at the earliest opportunity. In any event, all mp3s are posted for a limited time only.

What happened on Tuesday July 17th?

Asian Lily

I hate decks ... I have gotten nothing done, my design has been for crap and now I am waiting to see what I can do next.

My design would work, but it is not up to code. If anything were to happen to the house becuase of the new deck, the insurance company would not cover it. This is not my house, it's my mother in laws, so I'm not only responsible to her but also my wife's two sisters. I can't just go and build a deck and be done with it. This sucks. I have to wait for a couple of calls before I can do anything.

How goes your week?

No music right now, because wife has put away my head phones and can't remember where it was that she put them!

What happened on Friday July 13th?

Yellow Daisy


I'm off work for a week. Going to build/rebuild at deck at the house. It's needed to be done for the last two years but I just haven't taken the time. So this year I set aside a week. Post holes are dug, just have to get started. I'll try to take some pictures of the project to show you what I've done.

I've been trying to figure out what to post about today until I found that Toronto Mike did a post about "Bob Marley Steals From Banana Splitz". Thanks Mike.



How many of you remember the Banana Splits, this was a show done by Sid and Marty Kroftt. It was a variety show for kids, no skit was more than a few minutes and it would never bore a kid. It had a cliff hanger serial called Danger Island (until I found this link, I had always thought the guy was yelling "UH Oh, Tongo!"). I used to run around shouting UH Oh, Tongo! all the time at the fine old age of 6 and 7. I guess I thought was so cool! Don't know how we got this show in Bracebridge but we did. (we only had two TV channels back in those days {CKVR and CHEX})

Any way this led me to repost the Dickies version of The Banana Splits (The Tra La La Song).mp3, It was on "New Wave Archive" hope you go out and buy it.

Listening to Jackie is Punk - The Rammones.

What happened on Thursday July 12th?

Zantedeschia


Larkspur


Sometimes posting pictures of flowers makes your day.

At TaiKwonDo last night I almost took out a 16 year old. We were doing a punching drill, the kid lowered the shield and I almost caught him in the throat, I pulled the punch just in time. Left a nasty red spot on him though.

Kids are well .. Eldest gets mid term marks for summer school .. hand peirced his ear himself last night, 3 times. To impress a girl. What a git. Middle is at her cousins for the week, so no fighting between the kids. Youngest is geting everything she wants.

How goes life with you?

By the way the music below is available for a short time so grab it while you can.


Listening to Laura - Scissor Sisters

What happened on Wednesday July 11th?

It's a sad day .. a canadian Icon has passed away .. say good by to "Honest" Ed Mirvish ... he passed away this morning at a grand old age of 92.

When I first moved to Toronto, I used to buy all my clothes at the Bathurst store. Where else could you get jeans, socks, a couple of shirts and underwear for around $20. For a kid barely making $5 an hour at a radio station, it was a god send. You could spend hours walking through the store, just browsing. He had everything.

Then he went and brought theatre back to Toronto. Wife and I saw some great shows at his theatres. The Lion King, Cats Rent and so many more.

Thanks for the clothes and thanks for the shows.

From Rent One Song Glory.mp3

What happened on Tuesday July 10th?

This is what I look like now,

This is what I want to look like in the future!

Have some fun, make a avatar at The Simpsons Movie

Listening to Amphetamine Annie - Canned Heat

What happened on Thursday July 5th?

White Balloon Flower


Book Meme
Borrowed this from Paul over at Aurora Walking Vacation . Four things I love, my Family, Books, Music and Movies. So a meme to tell people what I like to read .. just up my alley.

1/ Recommend 3 books you believe everyone needs to read and say why people should read them.
Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien-in my eyes the greatest fantasy ever written. the creation of a world so intricate that you can become lost in information that is only slightly covered in the story. the creation of a world that you want to live in. oh to have a home in Dale!
To give you some back ground .. I was delayed in reading in school, I was marked as a slow learner and had to take special classes in math and english. They had also set me up in a special program that taught only phonics(try sounding out Colonel). This put me even further behind my classmates. So I read a lot to Tom Swift, the Hardy Boys and watched a lot of TV. Until I had a teacher that read us the Hobbit. I wanted to read the next book so badly. Dad brought me home a copy of Lord of the Rings, it took me six months to read it. Half way through grade 8 my teacher asked what book I was reading, I said Lord of the Rings, she told me to stop fibbing, and sent a letter home to my parents. My parents had to come to school, meet with the teacher and explain to her that I had read the book. After that I didn't have to spend my time with the slow learners anymore.

Slaughterhouse Five - Kurt Vonnegut
-as Paul says "For me this book was an epiphany of sorts. When I got to the end, I had to go back and read the entire thing over again with an entirely new kind of understanding."
my sister had to read this book for school, I guess I was 13, I picked it up and couldn't put it down. I think it was the second real book that I had ever read in my life. Now the sex scene on Tralfamadore was mainly what I remembered, but I opened my eyes from a little boy who played at war to a young man who hated the idea of men killing each other. When you read Billy's description of walking through the streets of Dresden after the fire bombing you can understand how this book came to be written, the ability to escape but also to retell a traumatic event.

The Masters of Rome Series - Colleen McCullough
read this series for the first time about 6 years ago. The first book "The First Man Of Rome" was written in 1990. But this was a series written by the lady who had written the Thorn Birds... I was to much of a he-man to read this stuff. Then one day at the book store I couldn't find anything to read and I picked up the first book. Now I can't put them down, I've re read them twice now. If your interested in history and how people lived ..read this series.

2/ Name three books you’ve never been able to finish and explain why.
Dhalgren - Samuel R. Delany, for some reason I just could not get interested in the story. I feel bad, but I was just not interested in reading it.
Sahara - Clive Cussler, I got bored.
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? - Philip K. Dick, I have a original copy, but I saw the movie first and have never been able to finish the book since.

3/ Name three books you want to read, but haven’t yet.
I would like to read Ann Rand, everyone seems to think highly of it but I just don't seem to find the time to pick it up.

4/ Are there any books that you’ve loved, but been disappointed by the film/TV adaptation?
Dune - Frank Herbert, the mini series was great but the movie with Sting was a piece of crap. Wife (pre marriage), her girlfriends and I went to see it. I came out of the theatre swearing and explaining why it was so bad. They thought it was stupid but well done. (non of them had ever read the books).
Shoeless Joe - W. P. Kinsella became Field of Dreams, good movie but a great book.

5/ Which books (apart from the Potter books) do you re-read the most?
The Lord of The Rings -14 times (between 1976 and now)
Slaughterhouse Five - 5 times (between 1976 and now)
Masters of Rome Series - 2 times (between 2001 and now)
WTO - I admit it, I read them because I want to know what happens. It doesn't mean I enjoy it though. (you have to re read the previous novels before you read the latest so you know what is happening)
The Hobbit - 7 times (between 1978 and now)
A Song of Ice and Fire - 4 times(between 1996 and now)
Catch-22 - every time I see the movie (between 1984 and now)
"do you want me to go on - way more than I can list"

6/ Which books do you remember most from your childhood?
One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish - Dr Seus

7/ Are there any books that you are proud to say you have read?
every single one.

8/ Are there any books that you are ashamed to admit reading?
I can't remember the name of the book, but it was a by a well know sci-fi author, turned out to be a sci-fi occult soft-core porn novel .. that traveled very weakly from sex scene to sex scene. I admit that I didn't put it down, but I was and still am very sorry that I ever read it. (I think I still have it in the house)

9/ Are there any books that have had a big emotional impact on you? List 2.
Shoeless Joe - there are points where I cry, every time
Stand on Zanzibar - I discovered that other people think like I do. Not as a continues chain of events but a quick jump from here to there and back.

If you want to take this meme go ahead ... If you want to read anything I have suggested .. enjoy .. or if you can suggest a book, let me know. I'm always looking for something new.

Listening to Highway No. 61 Blues - Jack Kelly & His South Memphis Jug Band

What happened on Wednesday July 4th?

White Straw Flower .. my new favourite

Had a great weekend up north. 4 days at the cottage, but damn it was cold. We had a north wind blowing in across the bay, so no swimming other than having to put the swim raft out. Eldest mostly stayed inside and pouted (he has to do 3 summer school classes - 2 in school, 1 online .. he didn't fail anything but for his school you have to have a minimum 65 for you classes to advance .. so he has to redo science. He was going to do careers and civics anyway.) Middle was middle .. all she is worried about is her 13th bday party on friday - Wife has arranged for a girls spa treatment at our house for middle and 7 of her friends. Youngest wanted to fish, hike, make a bow & arrow, build something and swim all at the same time, she goes a mile a minute. I'll lose weight just trying to keep up with her. I don't think wife went outside for more then 10 minutes because of the wind.
We had really good fireworks display on the beach this year. Wife and I went nuts, sister and brother-in-law went nuts .. so in total we had about fifty fireworks spread across the beach .. and set them off about 10:30 pm July 1st. Neighbours came out onto their docks and oohed and aahed. And not a single dud, wish I had taken some photos but its hard to do went your lighting off flashbangs. Hope you all had a great Canada Day weekend. Remember when we were only 100 years old?

The Straw Flower above has a very hard paper petal, it kind of neat with incredible colour that lasts

Did anyone download the song in the previous post? I'll be taking it down in a week so if you want it grab it now.

Happy bday to our neighbours to the south


Listening to Mustard Plug - Beer Song