Soundtrack to my youth... 3

Daddy Cool.

This band was a big hit in the local club
scene in the early 70s. They really got the
place jumping and the crowd were always in
a good mood which made for a great night out.

Daddy Cool had a great repertoire of songs,
they were influenced by 50s, R&B and 'doo-wop'
at the start, and had a string of self-penned hits
through to the mid 70s, such as Eagle Rock, Come
Back Again, Hey Honey Hi and
others.

Here's a few favourites of mine...

Ross learnt to play the harmonica whilst
recovering in hospital after a car accident.

Daddy Cool were huge around the clubs,
then they released Eagle Rock and became
huge around the country.

By the mid 70s, after having broken up once
before, they were changing and eventually
called it a day in '76. I think you get a glimpse
of Wilson's future in this clip.

Ross Wilson, the singer, and Ross Hannaford, lead
guitar, both went on to many other bands, together
and separately, and have remained a strong force in
the Aussie music scene over the years.

Here's Wilson's Mondo Rock, formed as a part time
band to use when promoting songs he had written for
other projects... but eventually the band started to
become popular so he made it a permanent thing
and enjoyed a number of hits over the years.

Such as...

Mondo Rock... a highly respected band, but not one
I was 'in to'.

But here's some trivia for you... the clip below
is Ross Wilson' wife, Pat, singing a song that Ross
wrote for her... Bop Girl.

The trivia is the fact that this clip is Nicole Kidman's
first ever screen appearance... she went on to
do BMX Bandits not long after this performance.
(If I have my facts straight.)

But to finish off with Daddy Cool... below is a
song that still comes to my thoughts even today.

Cheers.

TRICKY AUSSIE MADE TV AD...

I like this ad...

...and I wonder how many takes it took.

IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER...

Have you ever looked at yourself in the mirror?
Well of course you have, but I mean really
looked at yourself... and... does what you see
depend on the mirror that you use?

If you were to look in this mirror...
...does it make you feel plain?

Or does this mirror...
...take you back to a past era?



Do you feel Italian..

French...

Loved or lovely...


Salty...


Or rustic?

I would've said it's the reflection not
the mirror that's important. It's what
you see, not where you see it.

I would've said that... until very recently
that is.

A little while ago I found myself looking at
my reflection... and it was a very moving
experience. In this case it was where I
saw my reflection that was important,
not the reflection itself.



Butch and I have been very busy and
preoccupied of late... and it can seem like
we haven't seen each other for months.
So we took the opportunity to spend
the day together without the rest of the
universe needing and receiving our attention.

I don't know how you feel about it, but I
reckon that life very often gets in the way
of living. We tend to just 'get on with it' when
it comes to work, family and so many other
commitments, that we forget to take a little
time out and reconnect with those that are
closest to us... those that we love.

So Butch and I went to a park/lake area and
had a picnic... well it was more like a liquid
lunch than a picnic, we had a bottle or two
of Champagne to share, a blanket to sit on,
a beautiful day, and each other.

We needed to reconnect, we needed
to reassure each other that the fire that burns
inside each of us for the other is still there and
as hot and vibrant as it ever was. And so we spent
the best part of the day snogging and sipping the
wine.

It was a fantastic day.

We chatted, we laughed and we kissed... we
kissed a lot... and a lot... and we told each other
just how we really felt about each other... how much
we love each other. It was truly a wonderful day.

Butch has very lovely eyes and they really are
windows to her inner thoughts, her soul.
Whenever I look into her eyes I feel that I'm
looking into the deepest reaches of who she is and
how she feels... it very often takes my breath away.
Whenever Butch catches me with her gaze, I feel a
physical embrace, I sense her passion and her
love for me. Butch communicates in a very special
way through her majestic, gypsy like, eyes.



Being in her eyes is being in her heart, being a part
of her, and it really is the safest, most loving place
to be. I feel loved, I feel safe, I feel that there is an
eternity when I look into Butch's eyes... I feel that I
want to stay there until the end of time. To be in
Butch's eyes is to be in her heart.

As we sat and gazed silently into each other's eyes,
as we communicated without words, as we confirmed
our deep and abiding love for each other, I saw a
confirmation that Butch only had eyes for me... I saw
my reflection as clear as a photo, in her eyes.

I'm blessed.

I have a special place in Butch's heart, I play a big part
in her life, I am loved, truly loved by this beautiful
woman.



Butch, it's very comforting to know that you only have
eyes for me. I love you so much my darling... and I will
for ever more.


Bear.

MB - R.I.P.

Yes, I'm sad to say that MB has finally moved on to a better place.

R. I. P.

Relocation Implementation Plan.
That's the plan I devised because her needs could no longer be met by me in my home.

Huh...? R. I. P. ? You thought it meant what...? Oh, sorry, I didn't think of that... no, she's fit and healthy in body and... well in body at least.

I have relocated MB to this place...

Eden in Lynbrook. (click link)

It's a good place and I think it's much better for her
health and safety. MB had started to leave the gas on
on the stove, she was constantly confused and she would
venture out to the gate of the property when on her own,
and that worried me enormously as she would never
find her way back if she wandered off. And of course,
she would not be able to tell anyone where she
was supposed to be if she was found to be lost.

So as hard as it was, I made the decision to relocate
her into a care facility. R. I. P.

To get her to accept the move, I had to fib to her...

I told her that I was going away, which was usually
acceptable because I would always arrange
to have someone come in of an evening and
supervise/assist her in preparing her evening
meal... and then sit with her and be a companion
until 10:00pm, bed time.

But I had to add a little twist this time.

I told MB that I couldn't get anyone to be with
her every evening and so I had to find somewhere
for her to stay whilst I was away. After the initial
discussion and many empty promises that it was
just for a short while, she relaxed into the idea.

Reluctantly, but true to form, once it was obvious
that it was going to happen, she ceased all
resistance and concentrated on making sure all
her needs would be met.

Her needs, by the way, boiled down to food and
laxatives. If I could reassure her that those
two fundamentals of life could be guaranteed,
then she would be fine.

And she is.

She's been there just over a week and my sister
reports that she's settling in just fine. Unfortunately
we have to keep up the charade of me being away
so that enough time passes and it becomes normal
for her to be there. I will in fact be 'in town' briefly
this weekend, which will allow me to visit her
without blowing the cover.

The house is different now that she's gone... I get
to use the remote control, I can play my music when
and as loud as the mood takes me, I don't have to
argue over things that others take as given, I no
longer harbour suspicions that she's washed her
knickers in the kitchen sink, we don't argue over
undoing the seat belt in the car too soon, I am not
constantly wiping up after her, I no longer search
the house high and low for something that belongs
in one place and has just been moved to a randomly
selected new location, I don't have to check that the
cutlery hasn't been placed back in the drawer unwashed,
I don't have to constantly repeat every single instruction/
request/information that I give her, I don't have to place
the photos back on the wall that she took down for no
reason, I have my own room back, the bathroom is no
longer cluttered with things that MB insisted that she
needed but never used, the toilet brush now sits the
right way up, the house is no longer as hot as an oven
because she just couldn't get warm, I no longer hear
her banging into her bedroom wall as she walked in
a pitch black room to hop into bed because she
refused to turn on the bedside lamp, I no longer have
to work out what TV show she was convinced was
supposed to be on but wasn't because she was reading
the wrong page of the guide, I don't have to search her
dressing table drawers for the mail that she collected
from the mailbox and opened then decided that she
wouldn't be able to give it to me in that condition so would
hide it in her room, and I don't constantly worry about
how she's going... but what I do do now is feel bad about
putting her in care... and I miss her.

I love MB, and I've done the best I could possibly do
for her... I hope in her addled mind that she was happy
and felt safe and cared for... I hope I did enough for her.

Cheers MB.

THE ANSWER...

Currently on my turntable... well actually it's the
CD/DVD player, but you know what I mean...
is this band...(mouse over to see them)
The Answer...
and you can read about them here.

They've only been around since about 2000,
their first album was about 2005 I think,
and now they're the support band for the
current AC/DC 'Black Ice' world tour. I wouldn't
mind seeing them when they hit Melbourne...
at a more intimate venue than the
AC/DC show I'm hoping.

Cheers.

WHALES AND THEIR BITE (THE GREAT AUSTRALIAN BIGHT, THAT IS)...

I fly a lot...

and I tend to just gaze out the window whilst
I contemplate the deeper things in my life.

Recently I was flying over the Great Australian
Bight from Melbourne to Perth...

You know, the big curved bit at the centre
bottom of my country.

From way up there I was just gazing at the
very calm sea and marvelling at the fact that there
were no white caps at all, when I realised that the
water was actually being disturbed. Disturbed enough
to make frothy white patches on the surface that
would disappear as quickly as they came. As I
looked I realised there was a pattern to them,
and that they looked as if something physical
below the surface was causing the disturbance.

The plane was very high so I couldn't make out
much detail, but the bright sunlight certainly
made the whiteness of those patches stand out.
It was then that I realised that I was watching a
pod of whales lumbering along and breaking
surface every so often.

It really was amazing... and it made me
feel quite insignificant within the
greater scheme of things.

After concentrating on them a while, I could
see that there were groups within the larger
group, and I would estimate that there was
about thirty whales spread over maybe ten
square kilometres.

Even from that distance, they looked so majestic
as they lumbered along. I could tell by the size
of some of the 'white caps' as they breached
the surface, that some of the whales must've
been quite smaller than the rest. Family groups
with young?

I've never seen a whale up close. Being a teenage surfing
Aussie in my younger days, I saw my share of Dolphins
and the odd shark up close... the Dolphins were cute
and the sharks were a blur... but I'd love to have a close
encounter with a pod of whales.

THE OTHER SIDE OF RAINBOWS...

I've developed a deep affinity with rainbows,
I can't see one now without thinking of my
beautiful darling.

And it doesn't need to be an actual rainbow to
invoke those warm thoughts...

... a rainbow of Tulips will do it.

Rainbows give me a sense of hope.
and help me to hold on to my dreams...

Somewhere over the rainbow, skies are
blue, and the dreams that you dare to
dream really do come true.

I'm a romantic and I know it, but I do
believe dreams can come true.



Rainbows are beautiful...

... but they do have an other side.

To see a rainbow overhead, and to almost
feel the colours as it spreads out over
the sky fills me with wonder... but as I
look and drink in the wondrous colours,
I see that the sky is filled with heavy
storm clouds and I'm standing in the
rain.

In order to have rainbows, it must also rain.

I think rainbows reflect the colours
within our soul... and that our soul would
have no rainbow if our eyes had no tears.

When I look into your deep soulful eyes
Butch, I see rainbows, bold and brightly
coloured.

Our life's path with one another is brightly
coloured by rainbows... but that only happens
because the journey we are taking also has
its rain. If I were ever given the chance to
banish rainy days from our journey I would
not hesitate to keep them in... because the
rain is a small price to pay.

You fill my life with such beautiful colours,
Butch.

I love you, Bear.

Mr and Mrs Peter Minelli...

I was fishing around YouTube again, and came
across this little gem.

In 1967 Peter Allen married Liza Minnelli. To
celebrate, Liza and the Allen Brothers played
an enormously successful season at the fabled
Chequers nightclub in Sydney - and made a
triumphant return to the boys' alma mater, TCN 9
Sydney, in a BANDSTAND special featuring
Liza, Peter and Chris.

Here's the finale trio number!

Cheers.

Soundtrack to my youth... 2

Here's a few more snippets of the music
that still echoes in my head...

The first live act I saw... I lived in a country
town, next door to the pub, and I would
sneak into the stage area and watch the
show from a corner at the side of the tin
shed that housed the stage... I was about
8 years old.

The following pieces are from the early to
mid 70s...

I saw AC/DC quite a lot when they were in
town playing the local pubs.

Budgie... I still can't get enough of them.

Oop poop pa doo... Thorpie.

Slade... after this concert I saw them
in Melbourne... what a wild show.

I like this album so much I've included
two tracks... It's STINK - McKenna
Mendelson Mainline.

Enjoy... I know I still do.

Rainbow Connection...

A few posts ago, I did this post that
that referred to rainbows and my loving
partner, Butch.

It seems that she and
rainbows go well together.

There's another rainbow connection with Butch,
and it's to do with the way we communicate.

Butch and I email each other at least five times
each, per day... every day. And we have developed
a method of replying to each other's reply, that
saves us from writing a fresh email every time.
What we do is simply insert our responses at the
appropriate point in the email, in a different font
colour, so that it's easier to decipher the replies
from the replies to the replies... if you follow my
drift... and thereby we create a rather colourful
email.

I have included an example below. I've added a
background, matching the font, so that you can
see what I'm driving at, without seeing what
Butch and I were actually saying.

Rainbow Communication

The use of colourful language
when writing to a loved one


As you can see above, we engage in a lot
of strong, bold colourful language when we 'talk'.

This video seemed appropriate...

Cheers.

A Paper Sign...

I'm very tempted to post this sign on the
gatepost of my house...

Need I say more...?

Well yes I will say more. It makes me so
angry that I would have to even consider
doing something like that.

We live on a
street that's en route to the local rail
station, and as a result we get quite a few
people walking past our house in the
mornings.

Almost every Wednesday, MB's paper is
missing. Sure, she doesn't read it, but that's
not the point. She relies on it being there, and
more often that not... it's not.

I expect that the
person steeling the paper isn't necessarily
your typical criminal type. I guess they would
just blend in with the rest of us. Except for
the fact that this person thinks that picking
up MB's paper as they go to work is
quite okay.

Where do people get
that idea from? And I guess I'm talking
about an adult with reasonable intelligence,
but it seems, without any scruples.

I'm considering laying
in wait to catch them red handed and confront
them... with my camera. (If they're not big
and masculine and likely to bite my head
off, that is.)

I love the bass player...

Watch the bass player... this guy took soloing
to new heights in the 40s.

I wouldn't be surprised if he played with his teeth,
set the thing alight then smashed it up.

I LOVE this video.

My 'garbo' said to me...

I was out at my letter box this morning when my
'garbo' (kerb-side household trash collection
practitioner, if you prefer) yelled at me from
his garbage truck;

"Hey Bear... where's ya bin?"

"Oh... I've been in Townsville."

"Nah... where's ya wheelie bin?"

"Yeah... I've really been in Townsville."



And here's the pics to prove it;

Two planes and one day each way.


A pleasant place to be.








I hope I get to go back and do some sightseeing.

Cheers.

Whad'YaKnow... Butch must be home.

What other reason could there be...

for the end of this rainbow being on my house?

I took that shot as I headed home from work this
afternoon, and it reminded me of this video...


...and of you, Butch.

Soundtrack to my youth...

I was just killing time when I decided to search
YouTube for clips from the late 60s to the early
70s, my teen years or thereabouts, and here's
some clips that stood out for me...


A couple of favourite songs from a favourite artist.

This clip shows a little of the scene around my home
town of Melbourne in the early to mid 70s.

The band is Lobby Lloyd's Coloured Balls, or maybe
the Wild Cherries with Lobby Lloyd. There was a real
divide in Melbourne between Sharpies and anyone
with long hair... the trouble was, Lobby Lloyd was
popular to both sides of the divide and there were
many brawls at venues where they played and
the audience mixed.

By the way, the above clip was made by Greg
Macainsh the base player for Skyhooks (white
suit in this clip). So here's a song from them...

Not sure why I've put all this here... but enjoy anyway.

Cheers.

Oh Well...

One of my favourite quotes comes from this
song, from this late 60's band.

I hate to admit this, but, in 1970 I had a shirt just like
Peter Green's. (The singer in this clip)

If you've read my profile then you'll have read these lyrics.


Cheers.

Dali and Melbourne...

Currently there's a Salvador Dali exhibition on in my
city... marvellous Melbourne.

Our art and entertainment centre, which
extends across the river.

Dali is a favourite of mine and I've always been fascinated
by his work... I love it. Well you can imagine my excitement
when one of my son's sent me a text message asking if I
would like to go to the exhibition. Of course I would.

So I sent an invite around to the rest of the family with a date
and time, asking all and sundry to join us. My son immediately
sent a text back saying "Why are you inviting the riff raff...?"
(Borderline elitist, that one.) Well as it turned out he needn't
have worried because he got offered some overtime at work,
which he accepted, and which prompts me to wonder where
culture actually sits with him.


Anyway, we went...

...here.... to see a portion of the life's work of
this man...
Salvador Dali.

Don't you just love him? You know that you're in for a
treat from someone that looks like that.

Going in...

The exhibition was excellent and had a lot of pieces that
excited me... but how do you do justice to a body of work
from a prolific artist that kept working well into his 80s?
You can't possibly have all the iconic works, but what was
there showed his growth and style changes from Dali's early
sketches and paintings as a 13 year old all the way through
his life. It wasn't all surrealism either.

One of the things I like about Dali and his work, is the humour.
Self deprecation and irony played a big part in his art, and he
embraced multimedia before the word was even invented.

Some self portraits...

At age 15.

At about 20.

Salvador being silly.

Salvador being clever.

Salvador 'hangin loose'

Salvador immortalised (tattoo).



He collaborated with many others over the years,
including this man...

Dali & Disney... what an unlikely combination... or was it?

One thing to come out of their 1949 meeting was a plan to
do an animation together, but alas it didn't get into
production... not until Disney's son decided in 2003 to revive
the project and complete it. Below is what he produced.

Destino.





Now for some more of his works...











Mouseover... to see detail of skull.
This is detail from a poster Dali did for the Army,
warning of sexually transmitted deceases.


Dali's wife, Gala, was the model for most of
his work... including this one.



The ruby heart in this broach has a movement behind
it to make the heart beat. It looks incredible.









Take a closer look at the bust of the old lady.
(Ummm, I mean the statue's head in the middle
not the bust on the lady on the left... tehe. You'll
need to find a larger image on the internet, but
its actually people standing in front of a hole
in the wall.)


Coming out...


After the gallery, we went and had lunch in a cafe
over the river... on the way back I stopped on the
bridge and took the short video below...

A bit windy and a lot of traffic noise...
but you can hear the busker across the the street.

Cheers.