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Sweet Millions, Sweet 100's and Roma tomatoes.
I can't wait. Maybe another week if the weather promises to be warmer than it has been.
The leaves have been yellow and curled in places. I have read that can be a sign of mold and could be bad.
We will see. After watering them this morning my fingers smell a bit like nightshade.

Windfall Wood

http://www.trunkrecords.com/
http://www.resonancefm.com/
http://time-has-told-me.blogspot.com/2006/09/tomorrow-come-someday-uk-psych-folk.html

http://psychedelicfolk.homestead.com/PeterHowell.html


The month of March enlightend me as it tends to do from time to time with a folk artist I had previously never heard of before. I do not proclaim to be a expert or authority on " folk" but have dipped my toes into the genre from time to time. With wonderful and mixed results.
Which brings me to Pete Howell, a man with an all around musical legacy even with being hopelessly obscure to many. He derves your attention because his music seems ready for a re emergence. I first heard the man's music on Jonny Trunks radio program on resonance fm when Broadcast were his special guests.They brought along music not unlike some of the stuff they had previously streamed on there web site years earlier. One name that kept coming up was this Peter Howell and his envolvent with two records Alice Through The Looking Glass and Tomorrow Come Someday. Two long out of print even by reissue standards records of the most beautiful and curious music I had heard in a while. " Sitting On A Gate" was the weirdest tune about bartering I had or have ever heard. Hunting for Haddocks eyes ... I was hooked I needed to find this album and fast. " Tomorrow Come Someday" was more sorrowful but not any less appealing. SAd and meloncally music done right.
The more I searched using google the bits I found were refrences and want lists for these two titles and that Pete was also in a band called Ithaca and the Agincourt. He also collaberated with John Ferdinando. Then suddenly part of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop crew and appeared on some writing credits on a couple Doctor Who soundtrack lps. All his early works were done in pressings of less than 100. Some were in batches as small as 20. Given out to cast members and audience members. So we have the stuff of legends or at least to those select few.
If I had more to give you I would but Lost in thyme link above is a good place to start and the psychedelic folk homestead web address also has a good bio and a wonderful source of information.
If any of these recording become available again I won't hesitate to pick one up.

Pasta

Tonight, it should be noted that there is a lunar eclipse finishing and I have completed my second night of fresh pasta making. A great experience that I want to improve upon. Not perfect, my noodles have been on the moist side. Tasty tender fettucine noodles mixed with gluten like dumpling balls. One night it accompanies salmon and roasted red peppers tonight it's chicken and marinara.
Edited on 4/23/08
Sorry this was a long time ago. Remember the lunar eclipse? Me neither.
I need a motivator.
The image is from a pizza I made a while back.
I have given up on fresh pasta making until further notice.
Pizza is so much easier to make.

Worse than I thought imaginable.

Oceans 12. What a shit movie. Entertaining but all in all a mess that was at times not that fun to watch. I don't know if this was Steven Soderberghs idea for or a homage to Italian crime/ comedy/ heist / action adaventure cinema but I ended up hitting my head in frustration many times to watch this and trying not taking it to seriously. The only thing going for it was the soundtrack. David Holmes created a score and used other Italian library music cues from the 70's ( Ennio Morricone and Giuseppe De Lucca ) to beef up the feel and dynamics for certain scenes. I only wish the story was better to fit the better music.
I always thought David Holmes to be a lazy producer. I never liked the one album I had heard " Let's Get Killed". Always felt he had good taste in music, samples and breaks but the music was flat and I found myself thinking about something else I should be doing or listening to. Ocean's Twelve is a bit different and focused.
In no way is this a reccamendation to see the movie. Far from it.
Try to see this instead.

41%

Ghost Box: Haunted Electronic Folklore

The Ghost Box label began  sometime in 2004 by Jim Jepp and graphic designer Julian House to look towards the past for inspiration without sounding retro but unique and new.  Artists ie. The Advisory Circle, Eric Zann, Belbury Polly, The Focus Group and Mount Vernon Arts Lab tend to draw heavily on musique Concrete, library music, soundtracks from the 60' and 70's, found sounds, old theme songs, folk and psychedelia. None of the music sounds serious, turgid, or weighed down by academic nonsense and preciseness. Each bit of music sounds like it could acompany any  instructional film from 30 years ago.

Even with their similarites  each group and artist sounds nothing alike but share a interest in imaginary worlds, " English" Surrealism, folklore and vintage electronics. Creating tiles like " The Farmers Angle", " The Willows", " We Are All Pans People", " Mind How You Go" add to the unique and odd feelings asscociated with each release.

All covers are designed by Julian Hose and have an iconic 60' s type of collage combined with vintage Penguin paperbacks, instruction manuals and educational books for British  elementary school children. Julian has also designed album artwork for  notable music acts like Broadcast, Stereolab and Primal Scream. He has also had his artwork featured in British publication Wire. 

The Focus Group a pseudonym for Mr. House creates their tracks using tape loops and found sounds. The songs that have beat combo rhythms and  are hurky jerky affairs that often resemble  a English Negativland minus much of the social commentary and sense of humor. 

If you have any interest in early Doctor Who, Tomorrow People, 321 Contact, 70's Public Television shows especially the ones on during weekday afternoons you might have watched had you been home sick from school then the label might be for you. They are pricey an average cd can cost somewhere around $20. You can opt to buy their music on iTunes for about half that but you don't get the complete artwork and little details that make Ghost Box releases so unique.

Sunshine: We are accidents waiting to happen.

After 3 tries I was finally able to watch Sunshine (2007) Danny Boyle. Not totally  blown away but liked the whole thing enough and was left pondering it a few hours later.  Always a positive sign of a good/ respectable film. I am a sucker for claustrophobic , lost and hopeless in space movies where a crew or cast has to fight off a force of evil.

Homages and comparisons to Stanley Kubrick's 2001 and Ridley Scott's  Alien are obvious. Despite us as being complex beings that can think and take risks we are still vulnerable and at the mercy of technology that keeps us supposedly safe and move us forward through space. 

I now have Solaris ( 2002 version)  at home and looking forward to that. Hopefully I won't have to watch it 3 times before I finish it.

 

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#3

Expect better things beginning. 

Video has now been added to post below.

Enjoy!

Meet my SON

He is the dickens. 

My wife and I love him very much.

He can now roll over.

Greetings!

Hello! Welcome to my empty blog space. Congratulations, I hope you come back soon.