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Caught George Kamikawa playing as he put it, a John Lee Hooker version of a Ray Charles song by a Japanese in Melbourne. He was in the Bourke St Mall again over the weekend. He's worth a few minutes of your time and a few bob from your pocket. 
George will be playing his National Steel and JLH boombox at The Noise Bar 291 Albert St Brunswick, in front of the station. On Thursday 17 August 2006. As part of Australian Japan Rock exchange Vol 2. Also playing: The Styles, Japanese Samurai Kabuki Rock of Orochi, The Christinas.Hear, and see, George playing slide on YOUTUBE and perhaps a better performance here. George rockin it up with When The Saints Go Marchin In, Shake Your Money Maker,
Cover of Total Cardboard 8More offspring artwork at Total Cardboard 8 - a small magazine, includes interview with Robert Dessaix
Theodore Dalrymple writing in Our Culture, What's Left Of It, notes that Blair both created and caught the mood of the nation when he called Diana "the people's princess" and that this appellation made it difficult (for the British) to express reservations about the ensuing circus or to cast doubt upon her historical importance. With that branding a doubter was exposed as an anti-democratic elitist.
Despite Dalrymple not always reaching useful conclusions, I do enjoy his writing and get more than the odd chuckle. Take this example:
"That her tastes were, despite her privileged upbringing, utterly banal and plebian appeared very clearly at the funeral, where Elton John sang his bathetic dirge immediately after the prime minister read St. Paul's magnificent words in Corinthians. It was highly appropriate (and symbolic) that this lugubrious booby, with his implanted wig, should sing a recycled version of a song initially dedicated to the memory of Marilyn Monroe - a celebrity who at least had to make her own way in the world, and who also made a few films worthy of commemoration. 'Goodbye, England's rose,' he intoned in a mid - Atlantic accent that spoke volumes for the loss of Britain's cultural confidence, 'from a country lost without your soul'
You can say that again."
Shaun, no doubt worried about being untruthful about his impure thoughts about Chrissy Amphlett last time he went to confession, in a comment below, asked if I'd be going to Craggy Island.
Probably not, as the island itself was just filmed from one of those modern helicopter things and is actually Inisheer but I will be looking for The Parochial House and feckin' around and posing for eedjit photos snapping a few well framed mementos out front.
Apparently it's McCormack's at Glenquin, on the Boston road from Kilnaboy, on a backroad in the Burren about 15-20 miles from Ballyvaughn. Basically you have to get onto the R476 from Corafin and go to Kilnaboy (look out for a ruined church, post office and phone box), take a right, go past the school, and just keep on following the road, you know you are near when you see a stream running on the left of the road, a bit further and the house is on the left. (not that I've thought about such purile time wasting trivia much - as you can see) And Shaun I've told you before - the money was only resting in my account.I will be looking for a priests' shop to buy proper black socks:
"You see, ordinary shops sell what look like black socks, but if you look closely, you'll see that they're very, very, very, very, very, very, very dark blue. "
"That's true. I thought my Uncle Tommy was wearing black socks, but when I looked at them closely, they were just very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very dark blue. "
"Never buy black socks from a normal shop. They shaft you every time!"
A million half started, or is that half finished, posts. A longer one coming up. A short one here to keep us going.I'm off to Ireland in October and was looking up gigs on while I'm there. The Saw Doctors reminded me of their song, Bless Me Father:Bless Me Father, for I have sinnedShe had big brown eyes and silky skinBless Me Father I couldn't resistFather, you have no idea what you've missedand who hasn't pined for a Presentation Boarder:she's the last of her speciesbe no boarders anymorethe nuns say it is far too dearto keep the girls away from homeah! but who's gonna tease the boys nowstanding at the window in the lightand who's gonna pack out novenaevery monday night
In 1955 a 16 year old John Howard appeared on a radio broadcast of Jack Davey's Give it a Go quiz show. It is mighty revealing. The Prime Minister is exposed as a cocky kid with absolutely no clue about the answers, but a cheeky confidence in going for it, anyway.
All schoolteachers are familiar with this kind of kid - basically ignorant but always open to negotiation when it comes to catching the teacher's eye. It is an old plaint of feminists that the schoolgirl who happens not to know the answer won't put up her hand; the boy with half an answer (or in young John's case, none at all) will still have a crack at it in the hope that something will turn up. In the broadcast, it becomes evident that the audience (which probably doesn't know the answer, either) begins to side with the kid, and the quizmaster, sensing this, encourages him - an early lesson in populism; perhaps a crucial one.
Why does Howard stay on? The naughty-boy thesis would be that he could not help himself - he was just having too much fun! Years ago, everybody wrote him off, but now he's the king of the castle.
The prize was 10 cakes of Velvet soap for every correct answer. Howard didn't answer questions correctly, but it didn't matter, he walked off with 100 cakes.
Listen to Howard on Jack Davey's Give it a Go quiz here. (Unfortunately it's in Real Audio - my least favourite audio program)
Text slightly edited from: Naughty boys rule, OK?, By Alistair Mant, The Age August 2, 2004
NEW YORK Jun 25, 2006 (AP)— Diana Krall and husband Elvis Costello announced Sunday that the jazz singer is pregnant and due in December just in time for their third wedding anniversary.
A spokesman confirmed the pregnancy. Costello, 51, is touring with Allen Toussaint in support of their album, "The River in Reverse."
The 41-year-old Krall will release a new album this September.
A shocked father wrote to THE ARGUS (19 Sept 1925) .." .. a dance is but an excuse for kissing and cuddling, and even worse"
Also in 1925, The South Australian Methodist Conference after discussing "The Lure of the Dance", passed a motion recommending that their halls should not be used for "mixed dancing" as it was an "inexpedient pastime"
Anticipating the current education debate by a few decades, P. F. Rowland, in an article entitled "Five Thoughts on Education" (Australian Quarterly 14 September 1932) wrote: " .. speaking generally, in music do we ask anything more than jazz, in art the jazz equivalents, in literature the latest naughtiness in novel form? Is not this due to the fact that in our age.... the cultural subjects are being crowded out of our curriculum?"
From: Black Roots - White Flowers - a history of jazz in Australia Andrew Bisset ABC, 1979.
George will be playing his National Steel and JLH boombox at The Noise Bar 291 Albert St Brunswick, in front of the station. On Thursday 17 August 2006. As part of Australian Japan Rock exchange Vol 2. Also playing: The Styles, Japanese Samurai Kabuki Rock of Orochi, The Christinas.
