The Continuing Adventures Of Your Own Personal Jesus

Ain't she sweet? I found this dirty little beast in a car park today, waiting to go into an auction. At least, that's what I was told. Personally if it's still there tomorrow morning I might push it home and start restoring it back to health. You don't see all that many Wolseley 24/80s around the place anymore - hell, you don't see many Wolseley's at all - and this one was last registered at some point in the 1970s, after which it was stored in a garage, obviously, and the dirt was allowed to settle on it. The interiors look good and as the car was only manufactured between 1962 to 1967 it'd be a bargain for anyone looking for a retro vehicle. And, even better, the Wolseley 24/80 was an Australian only car, so it's a definite collector’s item. Man, I'd love to have one of these buggers in the driveway, but I expect that I'd shock a lot of people because, *gasp* I'd drive it as much as possible. But then you are talking about a guy who onc...

I'm kinda touched. In this day and age of paranoia and hate, the Atheists like me .  I find that somewhat refreshing really, even though they might find it somewhat puzzling that I'm a Buddhist. In my defence, as I said to someone at Christmas, as she saw me tuck into the wine, I always say I'm a Buddhist, I never said I was a good one.  But, considering that there's some who are currently doing whatever they can and exerting the most amazing pressure to have me remove this blog from the face of the planet, the support of the Godless is wonderful. Guys, I like you too.   I do have to ask though, what do you do at Easter and Christmas?  Just hit the booze, eat the puddings and go through the motions, or something else?  Still, no matter what you, or don't, you're alright in my book. Now I might join their forums... And, as a kid, who didn't sing the following at full volume: Jesus Christ Superstar, Who the bloody hell do you think you are? Did a ...

The question I want to know is, what colour was the paint?  Incredible to think that such a racist ad could exist in South Australia, as late as November 1957 (this ad was scanned from the Sunday Mail).  Go for it, Sambo!!  Paint that wall.  See 'em burning crosses, see the flames, higher and higher. Meanwhile, did anyone actually go to any of these flicks?  Alas the Regent is long gone now, and only the memories remain.  I saw many a good movie at the Hoyts Regent, in both locations (they had the main cinemas in the Regent Arcade and another cinema downstairs where JB Hi-Fi now lives), and I have very fond memories of seeing The Return Of The Jedi there.  I did see Star Wars and Empire down at the Elizabeth Cinemas, which was pulled down in the early 1980s, putting a cap on the entertainment deficiet that existed in the northern suburbs.  According to the ad the movie HELP started on the Thursday, the 13th of January, 1966.  Five sessio...

So, why do I despise Elia Kazan? It’s a tricky question to answer because I adore some of his films and can more than appreciate his career as a film-maker and stage director. However it was what he did off the screen that made me reconsider the man. There’s no denying that Kazan was one of the pre-eminent movie makers of the 20th century. Only an idiot would argue against his achievements. Two Academy Awards for directing, five additional nominations for directing and screenwriting – all in all his movies gained a staggering fifty nine nominations over a career spanning five decades, from the 1930s through to the 1970s. He also gained three Tony Awards for directing on stage, from eight nominations and won awards and nominations from around the world. Cannes, Venice, Berlin – Kazan was applauded worldwide. And rightly so. He made some of the finest movies of the mid 20th century and helped launch and revitalise the careers of actors such as Marlon Brando, Montgomery Clift, Vivien Le...

I've always been fascinated with the origins of words, in particular when I first heard them and how they apply into the modern world. I'm well aware of the meaning of the words 'witch hunt', (and isn't that a great font?) and how they became very popular in the 1950s through the use of the term in Arthur Miller's brilliant 1950s play, The Crucible . I performed in The Crucible when I was in year 11 at school, and apparantly I didn't do a bad job. Ah, you see the ham inside of me hasn't gone off just yet.  I did bloody well as John Proctor and although I didn't get the girl in the end, I did get a great pre-death scene.  And the death itself?  Well, as anyone who has performed The Crucible knows, Proctor is hung but the really impressive execution happens off stage when poor old Giles Corey is crushed to death.  You see Giles suffered Peine forte et dure, and for those too lazy, or ignorant to look it up, Giles was a crotchety old bastard who r...

The world needs more National Emblems who can stand bolt upright and give the universal signal for 'fuck off'.  I found this rude roo on the weekend, God love the fuzzy little bastard, sitting in the yard of a dis-used gaol somewhere out in the docks of the boon.  And yes, I gave it right back at him, but only after he'd given it to me several times over. Stupid bloody thing that he is.  I looked deep into his rough, black eyes and thought, "Hmmmm, I wonder if I drove another 300kms would I find a relative of his who'd tripped on a fence and was still juicy?" Bugger me if I didn't find the very same thing.  "That'll teach him," I thought, "cheeky bastard."  Still, did I wish ill on the rude roo? Of course not.  "Perhaps," I thought, "I'll lie down in this fine town and have a rest?  Surely nothing bad could happen?  After all they know how to deal with their errant Skippys." Wrong again.  As can be se...

The things you find when you're not really looking for them. I scored this book today during an extensive Op Shop run, which netted me several choice items, some of which I may, or may not, discuss in detail down the track. What makes this book a prize is the content, which is both laughable and serious, all the same time. Written by a pair of record burning Christian Fundamentalists, and published in 1984, the amount of errors and mis-information contained inside the covers of this volume is incredible. For example, the authors go to great length to convince the reader that all Kiss songs are about drugs and rebellion. Now I might not be an expert on many things, but I have been listening to Kiss from around 1978 onwards and I can't think of a single song about drugs that they've sang.  Grog, yes, (hey - it's Cold Gin time again) but drugs? Nope. So help me Rhonda, and do what the Peters brothers don't, and cite examples. Even weirder is their description of the ...

Welcome to Part II of the Live Aid wrap up .  Read Part I first and then come back to this one. Back?  Good.  Now that it's all been set up, let's git it on! Bernard Watson – who? Promoter Bill Graham allowed him on stage to open the USA leg of the show after he spent the week sleeping in the car park. The classic rags to rags story. Joan Baez – the first of the old hippies and the main difference between the UK and the USA concerts. The UK performances were generally fun and party time, the USA performances were dead serious man. Good ole Joanie is still out there and making her political views known. The Hooters – you may not believe this but they kept going until 1995 when they quietly ‘went into hiatus’. Have since reformed as of 2001 and released their latest album in 2003. Didn’t make the final cut on the DVD. The Four Tops – Motown legends. Remained together from 1953 through to 1997. Sadly death has seen the group whittled down to one original member. ...

Live Aid.  I mean, sure, we all admired the principles behind Live Aid, even if it was questioned both at the time and since as to the distribution of the funds (it would appear that some of the money was knowingly used to buy arms), but we enjoyed the music most of all. Quality acts, all of them. Hit after hit. Or were they? Of course they weren’t. They were acts of the time, chosen more for popularity than any real musical ability. In those choices were quality acts, but the bulk never lasted the test of time. But, hey, unlike possibly you and definitely me, they can say that they were at Live Aid, on the stage, singing away for the assembled masses. We hadn’t seen a concert of it’s like before, although it has become so common now that they generally pass un-noticed when they happen. Such a shame. Checking this stuff out it got me thinking as to who is actually left from Live Aid. Who survived and who faded away. Let’s look at Wembley first: Status Quo – now pared down t...

Just a thought, now that Hey Hey It's Saturday has returned, unaltered with the same stale jokes that really weren't that funny in 1986, then surely the return of this show won't be that far behind. I never had anything against Hey Hey - after all it was moderately amusing back in 1987 when I lived in Melbourne- but, seriously, once you've watched about a months worth of it, at any point in time, then you've seen every episode. Really. If you think I'm joking then visit their site and check out the 'Classic Video' section - the same stuff is now rehashed. The only thing that has changed is the colour of Daryl Somers wig, but that's about it. It would appear that John Blackman has dusted off his 1972 Joke Book, read some old Al Jaffee  'Snappy Answers to Stupid Questions' gags and is armed to go. And Wilbur Wilde, well he was never that funny in the first place, nor is he the best sax player in the country, in fact there's quite a few ...