Catcher in the Rye

There is nothing this blog writer enjoys more than a good conspiracy theory. As you know this is where the real truth lurks, if you can see through the smokescreens & the black ops.

At an unlikely venue in Glasgow, the Quaker Hall in Elmbank St, we were given a great insight into an event that could have had such drastic, catastrophic consequences for the world.

Peter Haunam, a journalist you may remember from the Mordechai Vanunu release a few years ago, gave a talk on the Zionist attack on the American ship the USS Liberty during the 6 day war.

I was deeply impressed by this studious, measured, factual account of his research, his book, ‘Operation Cyanide’ & the recent showing of ‘Dead in the Water’ on bbc4.

This was such a calm, confident, self-assured old man, it was difficult to imagine him being such a headline grabber for that brief period. Also he has spent time in a Zionist prison for trying to tell the truth. I would not be surprised if he has an unfortunate accident in the near future like Diane Spencer, Dodi Fahed or Dr Kelly & he will hit the headlines again.

Ref:

http://www.ussliberty.org

http://www.whatreallyhappened.com/archives

http://en.wiki.org/wiki/uss_liberty_incident

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/peter_hounam

Naga Mas



If like me the West End Festival is becoming too much for you & today's superb Gamelan in the Gardens has left you a little jaded follow the links below to see who put the 'acid' in acid jazz.




http://www.4shared.com/file/17887192/270dfd22/seed_jazz_pt1.html


http://www.4shared.com/file/17889292/c5943448/seed_jazz_pt_2.html


Oh & let me know if it works ok.........dj never had it so havent lost it

Mull Mussels & Web 2.0

There is something so perfect about eating mussels picked on Sunday on Mull & given to me in the library on Monday a.m. & eaten at lunchtime.

As mentioned in a previous post: did these mussels great grandfathers feed my great grandfather in Tobermory?

I am getting more involved in web 2.0 technology. I am a great believer in the tools that put pc power back into the hands of normal people & take it away from the ‘techies’.

I am also involved in attending another British Council book launch @ Glasgow’s lighthouse. This venue was a bit of a disappointment for me as it had won so many prestigious architectural awards. The excellent book was ‘ From the Outside In- refugees in British Society’. There were some readings by a Palestinian writer now living in Glasgow, Iyad Hayatleh.

This follows on from a similar launch of a title on British Muslims a couple of years before.

Who says a librarian’s life is boring?

Electric Chicken Feathers

No sooner has the West Dunbartonshire Book Festival finished, when its up & out again to the West End Festival.

I have a deep passion for samba & bossa nova rythms & the samba parade down Byres Road is a regular even for ¾ of my family.

In the midst of all this activity there is also the Glasgow annual Mela @ Kelvingrove Park. This colourful bland of different cultures is what we in a free Scotland would welcome with open arms. I did my bit this year by helping to put up the Palestinian stall at the gate.

Next up we have the Glasgow Jazz Festival, but personally I am more concerned about catching the Gamelan event @ revamped Kibble Palace in the Botanic Gardens. I caught this event a few years ago & I am anxious to attend again.

All these above events have grown so much over the years. There is a lot ‘gowing’ on in Glasgow.

In fact, I was deeply honoured to be invited to a performance by my friend, Leo’s jazz band, ‘Electric Chicken Feathers’. They have a modern approach to jazz standards. Nice!

Leo is also part of the superb Russian Choir mentioned earlier in this blog.

Where Does the Time Go?

I used to have so much time. I spent years fiddling about with the internal workings of a Yamaha dx7 synthesiser. I used to record lots of music onto an analog 4-track. I had a dj mixer & used to make crazy dj mixes that defied any logical progression. In truth, these dj mixes were extremely popular in Neath, Wales for some reason. If I ever wished a dj spot down there I am sure the position was there for me.

My cousin’s son was living there & I used to send him taped copies of my mixes (they probably change hands on ebay for vast fortunes!).

Whenever, I find some time I plan to digitise these & upload them to some host sites. Hopefully I will post the link here. I have already began the process, but I am sure this will be very time-consuming.

Psychedelia & Garage

I have been busy trying to get the vast music library I now have into some kind of order.

I just discovered that my cd player will play mp3 & wma discs. This means, instead of not being able to move in our house for fear of knocking over piles of cds, I can get perhaps 10 or 12 cds onto 1 disc.

This is what has been taking up a lot of my time recently. Also it has focused me to listen to some lost gems. Apart from the usual classics e.g. 13^th Floor Elevators, Chocolate Watch Band, Seeds, Electric Prunes, Misunderstood, Strawberry Alarm Clock………etc..I have discovered Pete Dello & Friends & The Beat of the Earth. The latter is a psychedelic drone feast of dynamic proportions. Not only that but at the 20 minute mark we have a psychedelic bagpipe bash. I suspect this is the run-off at the end of the first side of the vinyl. What a freakout! Dig it baby!

This is the second time I have played it on repeat this morning as I write this. It is 8 a.m. this Sunday morning, my neighbours were so freaked they called the cops & there are helicopters outside like in ‘Apocalypse Now’ & we are back in ‘Nam man’. There are tear gas (good Scottish band!) canisters flying through my windows, but I wave my hands in the air like I just don’t care, man this is the freakiest groove.

The Soul of Russia

Finally got around to catching Glasgow’s Russian Choir this time. This was the start of the increasingly successful West end Festival & we kicked off @ Hyndland Parish Church.

I barely made the event on time. You know those parts of Glasgow you are sure of & then when you try & find them someone moves them, makes all the roads 1-way & then closes all the roads that used to lead to Great Western Road. This is what happened before I got there.

The Choir was well worth the wait. They were outstanding!

So a big thanks to my Siberian friend Leo.

From Tchai Ovna to Samye Lings

On the 40th birthday of Samye Ling’s Tibetan Buddhist Temple in the South of Scotland, it is worth noting that, when I was at that age & searching for Enlightenment/Nirvana, there was no great need for me to go plodding about in the Lost Horizon of the Himalayas, when a solution was available in my own fair country.

Listening to a friend’s mobile phone that had Peter Martin’s incredible reaction to Larson’s goal against Boa Vista gave me a glimpse of what heaven will be like.

Haunted by the Shadow of the Wind



Updates to this blog have been sporadic of late. I blame Carlos Ruiz Zafon & his ‘Shadow of the Wind’.

It took time to get hooked on this book, but once it grabs you it wont let go. It seeps underneath your skin.

This novel takes you on a slow-paced trip to the centre of a labyrinth of intrigue. It’s a compelling story that involves a neighbour section of Barcelona & various childhood acquaintances, who continue to weave in & out of each other’s lives throughout the most horrendous period in Spain’s history.

Up the Whangie

It is a short distance between the Khyber Pass & the pass through the gorge on the Whangie. I don’t know why but I have been thinking a lot about those high places in the world. I am often thinking about those hill stations in India or the teahouses in Katmandu or other parts of the Himalayas.

Teahouses seem to enter my thoughts a lot now. I can clearly see those diners in the Trudos mountains in Cyprus. Anyway, I know it’s a short walk up the Whangie from the car park, but sadly there was no tea house present at the top. Although what there was as a view takes your breath away (maybe that was the climb?).

Note to self: go out & walk more on the hills. I mentally make a note of this every year & although I do get out walking, I feel that I still don’t do nearly enough.

Music for Shopping Centres, Airports, Toasters & Ultra Swank Living

I know I am crazy, but I came across this superb blog concerned nay, obsessed by a retro world of space age shopping centres, modern living & the Swedish design pre- Ikea.

I fell madly in love with the site as I adored the music on it. I also like the whole scene. I have a soft spot for those 60s films that are shot outdoors in cities. Many of the Hitchcock films show this atmosphere of cleanliness, modernity etc. They always seem to flash back & forth to empty airports.

I am listening to the music right now @ 6 a.m., melodies to listen to as you are choosing a toaster.

Love Liza

I didn’t know much about this film as I sat down to watch it, but I was soon drawn into it like a moth to a flame.

The blurb calls it a comic tragedy & this style is not everyone’s cup of chai, but everyone seems to rave about Philip Seymour Hoffman’s acting ability so I was expecting something special.

I thought it was a sad but beautiful film & it is helped along with an inventive & delightful soundtrack by Jim O’Rourke. After watching it I looked out some of by JOR cds & chilled.

This memorable film will stay with you for a long time. It is very odd & quirky at times as all the best movies can be.

Teddy Boys Don’t Knit

Finally got my hands on Viv Stanshall’s Peel Sessions & this reminded me of last year or was it the one before, when BBC4 were running a couple of documentary on the Bonzos.

I am old enough to remember when they appeared on children’s tv during the 60s. What an impact this must have had on me when I realised it was really ok to be excentric/surrealist or just to be myself. How liberating this was for me.

Sadly for Viv this had its down side. I recently read a biography of Viv that showed the dark underbelly. However the wacky characters he created will stay with us long after he has gone.

Henry Rawlingson’s End is surely the best.

You realise you are getting old when most of the people you remember from the Peel shows are now dead. Some of them died tragically at a young age & others like Peel himself lived to a decent age……..e.g. Ivor Cutler.