Sometimes a missing "s" at the end of a word makes all the difference. But then if it had been there, I wouldn't have enjoyed the following paragraph so much!
I quote this excerpt from a local news article. (Amusing bit highlighted for your edification.) -

The Chelsea Flower Show has opened to the public amid tight security. For weeks in advance, police have been patrolling the area. The underground drains have been checked for the possibility of explosive devices, and explosive sniffer dogs are on duty at the show.

Somehow I find myself thinking of poor little dachshunds. (a.k.a. Gary Larson's "Wiener dogs")

And now a word from Animbus. "Personal comments should not be taken internally."
:)

Bad incidents (busted car mirrors) somehow become the basis for good things (being around to hang about with unexpected arrival of a friend, instead of being at work, going on to have a jolly good time!) , black becomes white depending on how you mix your paint, and a small grey cat will probably invite itself into your flat if you leave the door open. THE WORLD IS LIKE THAT!
(And sometimes your Cap-lock key goes on to make cheerful emphasis of the silliness of things!)

It is also quite possible, in a large city, to walk into some small shop to buy a present for a friend (in this case, a greenstone necklace), and discover that the lady who serves you over the counter not only came from the same small town as your father, but also happened to go to the same school, where she knew your aunt (father's sister), way back in 1960-something...

Not only that, but then someone you catch up with once in a blue moon will also wander into the shop as well, and you will enjoy catching up with them, on what's been happening!

Oh exclamation marks!!!

;)
Cool.

Interview with Justin Thorne, 13th of May. (or 14th, depending on where you live.

JT: True.

Animbus: So. When did you realise you were destined to be a world famous musician?

JT: I haven't yet, I just hoped.

Animbus: I see. So how's the hoping going?

JT: (laughs) hah! Well, I guess this is the first stage. (Of New Zealand - ) This is about as fucking international as you can get.

Animbus: True. If you can't make it in New Zealand, you're a nobody. So was it New Zealand's larger size that made you choose it over Jersey? (Channel Islands), or was it our fetching wildlife?

JT: Um, Hmm, let me think. I would say that... I wanted to test the music in a - with a different culture, different music culture - there are so many people here who can play - if you can make it here you can make it anywhere, I reckon.

Animbus: So, where to next?

JT: New York

Animbus: At...

JT: Bar 55, a jazz dive - they called themselves a smokey dive, but since you can't smoke there anymore, it's just a dive. And if you can make it in New York, you can make it anywhere. So you could say I'm testing myself really.

Animbus: New Caledonia?

JT: Where's that? Canada? Is it snowy there? I'm from Old Jersey (rather than New Jersey), playing in New Zealand, and New York. (Reels off a list of a few more placenames starting with New!)

Animbus: New Caledonia is a tropical island, that I think belongs to France.

JT: Tropical? Like French Polynesia?

Animbus: Yes, I think so. What's a relevant question I can ask now?

JT: You could do a favourites list. Or if you want to ask anything about the songs or anything?

Animbus: Go on then. What are your favourite songs generally?

JT: The Professor (Damien Rice), Grace (Jeff Buckley), Baby be my Friend (Free), and too many Led Zeppelin songs to mention.

Animbus: Here's a good one. What got you into playing the Guitar?

JT: Thought it looked cool.(grins)

Animbus: ... ! Why have you continued then?

JT: 'Cause it does look fuckin' cool, eh! (grins again)

Animbus: What has been your best stage moment thus far?

JT: Winning Battle of the Bands 2003 (Channel Islands, Chicago Rock), because we didn't think we'd win, so we just went out and enjoyed ourselves playing, y'know? (Chicago Rock is a chain of clubs a bit like the Hard Rock cafe. Only with more cheese, and less budget!)
The TV studios was a good one, that was quite surreal.

Animbus: So tell us how that happened.

JT: It was part of the prize for the Chicago Rock thing, they wanted us to play two of the songs in the studios for Channel TV.

Animbus: What's your next step when you get back

JT: Get my arse in gear and send out copies of "...honey" to people who can actually make me famous.

Animbus: Fame, Fortune, or the respect of your peers? Which one.

JT: Respect. You can have Fame or Fortune with no Respect, although you probably can't have respect without some form of fame. If I'm earning the respect, it means (I hope) I can be earning the money to keep on doing it.

Animbus: But you won't give up your day-job until then.

JT: No.

Animbus: Have you considered it?

JT: Yeah, I've thought about it, and when the time comes thats right, I'll do it without a second thought but right now it's impossible.

Animbus: Do you reckon you'd have to leave Jersey to do it?

JT: Yep.

Animbus: Where would you base yourself?

JT: Jersey's still my home, so I'd base myself there, but I'd go wherever I'd have to go to do the job. It's only an hour from London.

Animbus: Hopes and dreams? - or are they still private?

JT: Just that I'm given the chance to build up some sort of following.

Animbus: Well you seem to have made a very good impression in those who have heard you thus far. Good luck for tomorrow night's gig - is there any traditional thing I should wish you, like break a finger or something, like with legs in the theatre?

JT: Mmm. Heart. Break some hearts. I don't know if that's traditional but that sounds pretty cool. Or wind...

Animbus: Yeah, you're right, that does sound pretty cool. Except the bit about the wind.
One last question, as the rain sets in over Auckland town... what's your impression of the New Zealand (JT) fans you've encountered thus far?

JT: They appreciate music, they're not afraid to say they enjoyed it, unlike the UK where they don't tell you either way. In New Zealand they tend to get more into it.

Animbus: (To UK fans) Justin needs to feel the love. Send him some of those lovin' vibes.

JT: Yeah, and no wind.

Animbus: Thanks Justin, and I hope you have a good night's sleep. :)

JT: Thanks. so do I!

(Ah yes. Time zones. Always fun...)

Animbus: Any last words?

JT: (pause) "If you think you can, or if you think you can't, you're right".

Animbus: Cool.


There we have it folks, his first international interview, live and direct from rainy New Zealand. (True!)

If he's playing at a place near you, check him out.

Never trust a musician. They can only read music.
Anything as complex as an airline ticket is a bit much.
Right, Juzzza? ;)


But seriously folks, (all 1.2 people who read this, of which .06% may be Kiwis)
Justin Thorne is arriving in Auckland, New Zealand - sometime in the next 48 hours...
(Unless the planet has indeed shrunk to such a small size that he does arrive tomorrow after all!) - "who he?", you ask?
Justin is a musician who plays some pretty cool acoustic alt/folk-rock.
Playing at the All Nations Tavern (formerly Java Jive) on the 14th and 20th of May.

I feel like such a music pimp. I want a fedora, a big loud coat and a white stretch limo.
So anyway - go see him if you can, check out his music if you can't.
:)

Isn't it amazing what computers can do?
Why yes!
That's a bit like saying "isn't it amazing what a toolkit can do?" or, "isn't it amazing what a tube of oilpaint can do?"

Last time I looked at my computer, it seemed to do a pretty good job of being a giant paperweight - with the exception of a lack of paper underneath it.


But seriously.
Working in an effects department, where "computers do amazing things", I long to suddenly discover the magical key shortcut that will enable my computer to ascertain which elements (images, frames, film footage) to use, which of the 42 available computers to get them from, how long the shot is, the resolution, the scale, the framerate, the output file... and which elements require additional blue/green screening (my co-worker would like one that detects all wires and grips and unneccesary human parts), and maybe while I'm at it, I will verbally instruct the computer to build me a dinosaur, run it about a bit, and composite it (with perfect colour matching, by the way), into my shots.

Then I shall go away, verbally instruct the coffee machine to make me an extra frothy light chocolate milk, and after I finish drinking it, I can go home, satisfied in the knowledge that none of the shots will come back for "re-do", or "additional stuff" at the eleventh hour.

Meanwhile I'm going to punch a random sequence of keys in the hope that I find that magical "do everything for me" shortcut.

Computers... "wow."

:D

I inherited another penguin from my mother this past weekend.
There is an odd thing about collecting - it starts through no fault of your own - except maybe first couple of purchases...
You only have to buy a couple of representations of the same animal (a stuffed toy, an ornament), to be afflicted by them for the rest of your life.
People will just start giving them to you!

My Uncle suffers Elephants, my Mum (Mom, to Americans!) has Hippopotamitis.
I really like Pteronura Brasiliensis (Giant River Otter to everyone else), but most toys feature the normal sized otter - which frankly, is just not good enough! I'm a terrible snob, you see.
I could endeavour to collect beautiful men, but then you run into difficulties like where to place them among the copious penguinity on display, (and the bears), and then there's the endless dusting to be done. I think I'll stick with the penguins.

My house becomes blacker and whiter by the day, but it's a good kind of black and white (with occasional yellow bits). ;)

Now go and decorate all the eggs in your kitchen with little hats and smiley faces.
Surprise your flatmates, confound your parents!
I've forgotten when I put mine in to boil, and now they won't be perfect, dammit.
:)

(... surprisingly, they were! I must be some kind of Egg whisperer.)

Go and learn about Pteronura brasiliensis, here. Scroll to the right of the picture men near the top. Otters that are nearly 6 ft. long. Beautiful.
Sadly, frustratingly, endangered.

My CD collection appears to have one singular goal.
Every CD within its lifetime at my place, endeavours to investigate every other CD's cover before finally returning to its own... (sometime in 2019).
I put on Queen's greatest hits, and they sound like ABBA. Morrissey has learned throat-singing, and the good people of the musical mecca that is Tuva, sound uncommonly like Metallica.

Metawicca.
A lisping metaller or a changing of witches. You decide.