Farbrorn i filmen nedan har just köpt ett sprillans nytt akvarium till sin fru. Båda är så glada att de dansar.

The Sonics spelar ikväll på Debaser i Tjöcköm. Naturligtvis är Tinka, Tjoffen & C:o på plats. Fattas bara. They have love, will travel.

Lokalt vankas det levande musik med popgissaren Björn Persson och hans bluesband på Nunnan, Visby, ikväll kl. 20.

INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE by S.I. Fishgal

(US PTO Application 961,958 dated 11-20-1978)

ABSTRACTF THE DISCLOSURE

   An internal combustion engine comprises a cylinder in which a piston with a crown is reciprocally disposed, with main and auxiliary combustion chambers and a communication passage between them. The auxiliary combustion chamber is executed in the shape of a sonic fluidic oscillator. The latter is formed by a closed loop channel having its inlet opposite to and outlet crossing said communication passage.
   In the first embodiment of the invention, the closed loop channel is arranged in a cylinder head.
   In the second embodiment of the invention, the closed loop channel is arranged in said piston crown and communicates with a cavity spaced apart on the crown.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

   This invention relates to gasoline and diesel internal combustion engines provided with main and auxiliary combustion chambers (the latter chamber is often referred to as pre-combustion chamber or pre-chamber). Their 60-year history is described, for example, in Jan P. Norbye, Stratified Charge, Road & Track, 1976, June.
   In such engines, fuel is injected into the auxiliary combustion chamber to produce a rich fuel-air mixture. A portion of the fuel can be supplied into the main combustion chamber to produce a lean fuel-air mixture. This attains the stratified charge combustion (with primary and secondary combustion).
   Such stratified charge combustion is advantageous in reducing nitrogen oxides, but increases non-burnt hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide due to the rich fuel-air mixture in the auxiliary combustion chamber.
   In engines of US patents Nos. 3,916,864; 3,924,580; 4,005,684; 4,076,000; 4,058,090, and German patent No. 2,001,518, the main combustion chamber has intake and exhaust valves and a communication passage with the auxiliary combustion chamber. The latter has a fuel injection nozzle and gets air from the main combustion chamber. The flame produced in the auxiliary chamber causes secondary combustion in the main chamber.
   The engines of US patents Nos. 4,005,684; 4,076,000 and 4,058,090 have both the combustion chambers in the cylinder head. The engine of US patent No. 3,924,580 has its main combustion chamber in the piston crown. The engines of US patent No. 3,916,864 and German patent No. 2,001,518 have both the chambers in the piston crown. This provides the possibility to modify convenient engines.
   The objective of this invention is to achieve uniform blending and finest dispersion of fuel-air mixture in order to decrease fuel consumption and harmful components of engine exhaust gases.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

   Above objective is achieved by means of executing the auxiliary combustion chamber in the shape of a sonic fluidic oscillator formed by a closed loop channel having its inlet opposite to and outlet crossing said communication passage, in order to return fluid flow and deflect the initial stream away from the communication passage.
   Internal combustion engines with sonic generators are known (e.g. Jan P. Norbye, Ultrasonic Fuel Systems Promise Cleaner Exhaust and Better Mileage from Standard Piston Engines, Popular Science, 1973, March; Should We Have a New Engine? Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, v. 2, 1975; US patents Nos. 3,533,606; 3,756,575; 3,893,434; 3,907,946; 3,949,938; 3,955,545; 3,977,604; 4,000,852; 4,038,348 and 4,067,496; Soviet Inventor’s Certificate No. 497,410, etc.). None of known generators in engines is of fluidic type and arranged in a combustion chamber. Yet, the fluidic sonic oscillator of the present invention represents the combustion chamber itself.
   The first embodiment of the invention is executed in a manner similar to the engines on US patents Nos. 3,924,580; 4,076,000; 4,005,684 and 4,058,090 with the auxiliary combustion chamber disposed in a cylinder head.
   The second embodiment of the invention is made in a manner similar to the engine on US patent No. 3,916,664, both the combustion chambers being disposed in the piston crown. The closed loop channel communicates with a cavity spaced apart.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

   Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of one cylinder of the internal combustion engine according to the first embodiment of the present invention, the piston reaching the upper dead center in its compression stroke;
   Fig. 2 is the same as above according to the second embodiment of the present invention;
   Fig. 3 is a top view of the piston of the second embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

   A main combustion chamber 1 (Fig. 1) is formed in one end of a cylinder block 2 on which a cylinder head 3 is secured by means of conventional means (not shown). A reciprocal piston 4 is disposed in a cylinder bore 5 of the cylinder block 2 and is kinematically connected to an engine crankshaft (not shown).
   The cylinder head 3 is formed with an intake port 6, valve 7 and an exhaust port and valve 8 (shown only in Fig. 2).
   An auxiliary combustion chamber 9 is shaped as a fluidic sonic oscillator in the cylinder head 3 above the main combustion chamber 1 and is provided with a spark plug 10 and a fuel injection nozzle 11. Chamber 9 communicates with the main combustion chamber 1 via a communication passage 12 in the cylinder head 3.
   Above fluidic sonic oscillator represents a closed loop channel having its inlet 13 opposite to and outlet 14 crossing the communication passage 12 to return the fluid flow and deflect the initial stream away from the communication passage 12.
   The latter is inclined in a direction providing the delivery of the stream of air firm the intake port 6 via the main chamber 1. The crown of the piston 4 can be made in a shape assisting said delivery, e.g. with an inclining, or grooves shown in US patents Nos. 3,924,580; 4,005,684 and 4,058,090.
   During the suction stroke of the piston 4, air is drawn into the cylinder bore 5 through the port 6 (the dash line arrows show the clean air flow, the solid line arrows do combustion gases flow). As the initial portion of air passes through the communication passage 12 into the closed loop channel and returns back, the latter flow interrupts the initial stream and deflects it away from the entrance of the channel. This causes the pressure in the latter to drop, the deflected stream again entering the channel. Then the process repeats, the waves of increased and decreased pressure propagating along the channel.
   The geometrical parameters of the channel determine the frequency of the created oscillations.
   When the intake valve 7 is closed during the compression stroke of the engine, the sonic oscillations of the air in the fuel-injection nozzle 11 of the auxiliary combustion chamber 9 inject, disperse, and uniformly blend the fuel.
   The fuel-air mixture is ignited to initiate combustion in the auxiliary combustion chamber 9. The burning gas jets into the main combustion chamber 1 through both ends of the closed loop channel, the jets impinging upon each other. This produces secondary oscillations. Thus, the burning gas flow is satisfactorily mixed with air (or lean fuel-air mixture) in the main combustion chamber 1, thereby improving the rate of secondary combustion.
   As a result, harmful gas components including unburnt hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide contained in the burning fuel-air mixture from the auxiliary combustion chamber 9 are reliably oxidized into harmless carbon dioxide and water, nitrogen oxide formation being small due to low combustion temperature.
   When working with gasoline, the engine in Fig. 1 can be provided with a carburetor to supply a lean fuel-air mixture into the main combustion chamber. The same engine can work or be specially designed as a diesel engine (instead of the spark plug 10, appropriate auxiliaries are installed).
   In the second embodiment of the present invention, both the combustion chambers are arranged in the piston crown of a diesel engine in a manner similar to that of the US patent No. 3,916,864, identical details bearing the same numerals with Fig. 1.
   The closed loop channel of the auxiliary combustion chamber 9 is executed in the crown of the piston 4 and communicates with a cylindrical cavity 16 (Fig. 2 and 3). The channel and cavity 16 are spaced apart equidistantly on opposite sides of the piston crown.
   After the suction stroke of the piston 4 filling the compression chamber with clean air, the piston 4 travels upward again in the direction of the cylinder head 3. The subsequent compression divides the turbulence of the aspirated air into two turbulences in the cavity 16 and the channel 9 producing sonic oscillations (as explained above).
   During the second phase of the first stage of combustion, fuel is injected into the channel 9. Because of the lack of air there, an incomplete combustion at low temperatures takes place, excessive concentrations of hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide resulting, but nitrogen oxide formation being negligible.
  Then the combustion gases move from both ends of the channel 9 into the cavity 16, impinge upon each other and generate secondary sonic oscillations. The air still available in the cavity 16 oxidizes hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide. That gives low concentrations of harmful exhaust gases. Produced sonic oscillations disperse the fuel and uniformly blend it with the air for the primary combustion, and so do they with the hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide for the secondary combustion.
   It is clear that those skilled in the art can made many modifications and changes without departing from the scope of the invention.
   What is claimed is:
   1. In an internal combustion engine that comprises a cylinder in which a piston with a crown is reciprocally disposed, main and auxiliary combustion chambers with a communication passages between them and a fluidic sonic oscillator promoting efficient combustion, the improvement lying in that said oscillator is formed by a closed loop channel having its inlet opposite to and outlet crossing said passage, above channel representing said auxiliary chamber.

En un anterior post, hablamos de Kemp, pues aquí un partido entre los Nuggets y los Supersonics, donde está esa magnífica pareja Payton – Kemp.

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Fuente: Descargas de Basket

Punks before punk: The Sonics, 1966, by Jini Dellaccio

Εχθές περάσαμε , οικογενειακώς- πλην του μωρού μας , ένα πολύ ξεχωριστό βράδυ. Πήγαμε λοιπόν στη συναυλία των sonics, που γινόταν στο gagarin στην Αθήνα, και πραγματικά ξεπατωθήκαμε στο χορό. Η μπάντα ήταν , το λιγότερο που μου επιτρέπεται να πω, εξαιρετική!! Εξαιρετικά όμως ήταν και τα γκρούπ που έκαναν support στους sonics!!!!Οι frantic 5  τα έσπασαν πάλι για ακόμη μία φορά!!!Πάντα χαίρομαι να τους βλέπω γιατί οι περισσότεροι απο αυτούς είναι και φίλοι!!!Κρίμα που θα χάσω αυρίο τους jacks, αλλά δυστυχώς πρεπει να κόψουμε ρόδα μυρωμένα, προς Πύργο μεριά. Τελικώς άξιζε , και πολύ μάλιστα, που μου κόπηκε η μέση και μου πρηστήκανε  τ α πόδια!!! Και επειδή το blog, απευθύνεται κυρίως σε νηπιαγωγούς, γονείς και παιδιά, διάλεξα έναν παραμυθένιο τίτλο αλλά μημασήσετε και πολύ, απλώς ακούστε το και δυνατα μάλιστα!!!!

His spell... it's on you.

This week’s songs are all a bit ghoulish, owing the holiday.  They are also some of my favorites.  I’m not concerned with what that says about me.  This could be because I had Count Chocula for breakfast.  Happy Halloween everyone!

1. “I Put a Spell On You” – Screamin’ Jay Hawkins –  I read that the session for this song was done while Hawkins was dead drunk.  They’d been recording for awhile when they realized that they needed help to “go all out” and when he came to the next day he heard this recording.  Much more productive than sitting up with Rock Band.
2. “Sympathy for the Devil” – The Rolling Stones –  A great idea.  Let’s have someone sing “doo doo!” constantly for about 6 minutes.  If you’re the Stones you will sacrifice to get the song right.
3. “The Witch” – The Sonics –  The organ on this one makes me little girl happy.
4. “Witches’ Rave” – Jeff Buckley –  R.I.P., Jeff.  Here’s another artist gone too soon.
5. “Walking with a Ghost” – Tegan & Sara  -  In honor of today’s holiday, I finally looked up the lyrics for the high part.  It’s “please don’t insist” and not “please don’t exist” as I thought it was.

Bonus song*  ”Ghosts of Cape Horn” – Gordon Lightfoot – He always tells a good story, doesn’t he?

I’ve already tried like five different times to write this article and it’s next to impossible. Sometimes you just have to stop trying and speak from the heart, and that’s what I intend to do.

I miss the Sonics. The NBA season starts tomorrow and it means nothing to me. Nothing.

I could care less who wins a championship, could care less whether LeBron has an MVP-type season, could care less what happens as the season transpires.

I’ve been reading this week’s Sports Illustrated, the NBA preview edition, and everything rings hollow. The articles are empty, the words are meaningless, the pictures are gray, the entire thing barely occupies my consciousness. I read it out of habit more than anything else.

It’s a sad existence, being a Sonics fan these days. Our team is gone, though the league still acknowledges it exists (or, perhaps more accurately, existed) in the form of the Oklahoma City Thunder. Please. Like Sonics fans would ever have let their players, their team, wear those ugly uniforms. A non-existent blue and onion-ring-sauce orange. Looks like something you’d conjure up only if you were high on LSD.

That’s not our team. They boast just three players who played in the Sonics’ final season. That’s not even a starting lineup. They’re owned by a native Oklahoman, and run by a general manager who spent one year being hailed as a wunderkind. These days he looks more like a guy who will be searching for a job in the next two or three years. Whatever. We can pretend to move past that whole episode, the hijacking of our franchise, but locked in a room with Clay Bennett, handed a weapon, and granted immunity for five minutes we’d all know what to do.

It’s not something that many sports fans ever have to endure. More often than not, when a team leaves town, they do so with years of anticipation and a fanbase that stopped caring decades ago. Not us. Not this team. No matter how David Stern’s evil empire would like to paint the situation.

We rallied. We fought. We wrote. We shouted. We went to games. We cheered. We bought the goods. We did everything you could possibly ask of a fan base. For 41 years we did that. And in the end it meant nothing.

Our lawmakers betrayed us, and years from now they’ll simply be forgotten with the passage of time. They were guilty in failing to uphold their positions as elected officials. They neglected to do what we asked. And they flat-out don’t care. Because most of them spent their childhoods being the last ones picked on the playground. Because they weren’t athletic enough to be any good at sports. Because they would rather watch C-Span than the Superbowl. Because they lost touch with their constituency. Because they were concerned about their images. Because they simply didn’t have the balls to do little more than put on a suit and make money. Because they were afraid. Because they aren’t any good at their jobs.

It’s not right. They’ll be off the hook. Think about it. How many of you can remember the Seattle City Council from, say, 1983? A few of you, maybe. But for most of us, it’s just not that way. The same thing will happen with the likes of Greg Nickels, Nick Licata, Frank Chopp, and the rest of their goons. We’ll forget them. They’ll live peaceful and happy lives. They’ll get old, and one day they’ll pass on. Occasionally some kid will do a class project on the Sonics and the lawmakers will be referenced. That will be their contribution. That will be the entire crux of their being. We won’t villainize them because we’ll forget. And we’ll move on.

Howard Schultz will die a millionaire, if not a billionaire. He’ll have Starbucks to fall back on, and no matter how much we kick and scream about his abandoning the Sonics, he’ll still make his money and get old like the rest of us. His will be a storied existence, living in a certain luxury that most of us will never experience. No one will kill him, even though a day rarely goes by where at least one Sonics fan doesn’t make a reference to the assassination of the coffee mogul. We just aren’t that vindictive, and the magnitude of such a heinous act is greater than anything any sane, rational person could possibly comprehend. But we still joke about it. At the very least we’d like to throw a pie at his face or dunk him in a dunk tank once, twice, a million times. At least embarrass the guy a bit, right? Pants him in public, something like that.

Our heroes will reappear in the spotlight from time to time, but more often than not we’ll remember them in images, video, and our memories. Shawn Kemp will always be that tremendous dunker. Gary Payton will always be that trash-talking, gum-chomping, bald-headed pest. Xavier McDaniel will always be choking Wes Matthews.

We will live vicariously through other teams. We’ll root for this squad or that squad. We’ll follow certain players. We’ll become enamored with Chris Paul’s stutter-step, or Dwight Howard’s dunks, or Kobe Bryant’s clutchness. We’ll talk about it at work. We’ll mention it in our Facebook status updates. We’ll read about it in the paper. But it won’t be the same.

We won’t hold viewing parties for playoff games. We won’t unite at local watering holes to celebrate a victory. We won’t put on our jerseys and revert to our childhood in order to fully display our fandom. It just won’t happen. And somewhere inside all of us, we’ll miss it.

We’ve been robbed. Thieved. Burglarized. Our passion has been murdered. Our love has been tainted.

It’s been more than two years since the Sonics last tipped off a season. We’re still trying to rebound. We might be able to eventually, but not now. Not this year. Maybe not next year. Maybe not for decades. We miss this team. We hurt inside. We look for anything to ease the pain.

But until we find our Aspirin, we’ll just wait, and remember.

It’s a tough time of year and rather than pretend that we’ve healed, pretend that we don’t care about the past, pretend that everything is the same as it always was, let’s be honest. We want the Sonics back. And we’ll never forget what it meant to lose them.

Recently I watched Sonicsgate, a documentary about the events that led up to the Seattle Super Sonics moving to Oklahoma City. It was a very gut-wrenching experience watching the team, which started my interest in sports, leave town. But I thought the film was well done and would recommend it to any basketball fan, or even any team sports fan. The way in which a team can go from being a city favorite to leaving a city which seemed so fast is heartbreaking, but it happened to the Sonics. I would never wish it on anyone else.

The film can be viewed for free at:
http://sonicsgate.org/

Recently shown at the Seattle International Film Festival(SIFF)

There are two ways to watch the movie:

• In two parts in high definition (60 min each)
• In one part in standard definition (120 mins)

I haven’t watched the entire documentary yet, but the parts that I have seen were excellent. It looks like a fantastic in depth look at how Seattle was robbed of their Sonics team. So for anyone who wants to know more about that situation, this documentary is a must-watch for you.

Links: to Sonigsgate.org and their page on Vimeo

Update: I finished watching the documentary awhile ago, and, it’s very good. Interesting throughout and full of information.

Directed by Jason Reid, Sonicsgate is an in-depth look at the drama surrounding the purchase and subsequent departure of our beloved Supersonics. Using similar tactics as other agenda-progressing documentarians, Reid appeals to the emotions of folks like author Sherman Alexie (one of the film’s prominent subjects), fans whose main source of proverbial sunlight during the dreary 206 winters was the promise of 82 games of Sonics basketball. The film’s lengthy, but if you have any interest whatsoever in what went down, it’s a must-see. It features an impressive group of interviews (including Gary Payton, George Karl, various former Sonics players, and City and State politicians), and the soundtrack is a who’s who in the world of Seattle hip-hop.

It was an open event, but I didn’t really bother promoting it since…well I don’t care that much. I just posted up that I was going to touge this weekend and some people showed up. It was pretty fun. The touge was a bit weak for my taste and there were a couple of parts where slow cars blocked off the road. Other than that I enjoyed myself. Stopped a couple times so I had a couple chances to take pictures.

Afterwards, we went to Sonics. I have never been to one and it was an interesting experience.

Finally got home and first I did was put my intake back on. The CRAVE sounded like a little wimp with just the exhaust. I love the sound again. The shot was just a little snap I did while walking back into the house.

If you haven’t been following Sonicsgate, you need to.

A group of Sonics fans passionate enough to make a movie about the destruction and abduction of our once-proud NBA franchise are set to unveil their completed work to the world in one week.

A sold-out preview screening of the feature film will take place on Friday, October 9th at the Seattle International Film Festival cinema in Seattle.

An encore screening will occur on the following evening, Saturday, October 10th, at 8:00 PM at Pacific Place. Tickets can be purchased for $6.00 apiece by clicking here.

For those fans unable to make it to either of the local events, a worldwide internet release of the film is scheduled for Monday, October 12th. Viewers can find more information, as well as an exclusive trailer for the movie, at Sonicsgate.org.

If you hate Clay Bennett, despise Oklahoma City, care about your city, and love the Sonics, this is a film you have to see.

Go Sonics!

Cuando decidimos limpiar la computadora de cosas innecesarias, ya sea por cuestión de espacio, es inevitable revisar las canciones o los discos almacenados, a fin de depurar. Pero es imposible. Para un lunes tempranito, la nostalgia nos arropa cuando encontramos canciones que nos recuerdan lugares, situaciones, personas, incluso hasta olores y sabores. Me pasa eso. Hoy me fue irremediablemente difícil eliminar varios tracks, a sabiendas de que están repetidos o en otro back up. No pude deshacerme de varias carpetas. Acá unas cuantas canciones contenidas en ellas.

* The Kooks – Naive.
* The Mighty Mighty Bosstones – The Impression That I Get. (Reviviendo lo comercial del Ska)
* Paul McCartney – Ever Present Past. (Siempre)
* Sonics – Anyways. (Como sea, donde sea)
* Blur – Coffe and TV. (Para los que no se encuentran)
* T-Pain ft Chris Brown – Freeze. (Please, no more)
* Digitalism – Pogo (Radio Edit). (For a While!)
* Kanye West – Heartless. (Siempre es asi)
* Duncan Sheik – On A High. (Let´s take a walk, baby)
* Underworld – Dirty Epic (Dirty Mix). (En alta!)
* Bebe – Razones. (Son demasiadas)
* Poolpo – Hasta el Final del Arcoiris. (Positivo, copia´o!)
* Jane´s Adiction – Just Because. (El regreso de esta banda en 2003)
* El Cuarteto de Nos – Ya No Sé Que Hacer Conmigo. (Que hacer?)
* Illya Kuriaky & The Valderramas – Jennifer del Estereo. (Dedicada al culo de J.Lo)

Al final, dejé todo intacto. Otro dia depuro.

pb

Here’s the latest batch of Music Musings and Miscellany’s unapologetically subjective selection of the twentieth century’s best 1000 singles. The rest of the Ps and Qs.

MAYTALS – Pressure Drop / Smoke Screen (Trojan 7709 1969)
I first came across this song as a Clash B side. Good though that version is, the original’s still the best – an urgent slice of late period ska.

JACKSON BROWNE – The Pretender / Daddy’s Tune (Asylum 45339 1976)
Browne gets lumped in with all the other seventies California confessional singer/songwriters, but he’s always had a bit more to him than most of his peers. “The Pretender” has all the soft rock harmonies and string arrangements present and correct, but has a vein of deep disillusion running through it, a theme common throughout its parent album. “Sleep’s Dark and Silent Gate” on that record has a real personal resonance with me.

FELT – Primitive Painters / Cathedral (Cherry Red 89 1985)
Lawrence Hayward’s mumbled baritone is something I can only put up with in small doses before its emotionless lethargy gets tiresome. But “Primitive Painters” is an epic classic with Elizabeth Fraser’s vocal cameo providing welcome contrast.

KITCHENS OF DISTINCTION – Prize / Concede / Innocent (One Little Indian 12 1988)
In a just world they would have been feted and all their recent clones dismissed as the poor facsimiles they are. “Prize” wasn’t the band’s first single, but it was their first great, perhaps defining, statement. It documents one of those pub nights when a couple still in the early stages of their relationship seem to accidentally hit each other’s sensitive spots, as the beer kicks in, emotions get raised and Patrick FitzGerald’s protagonist gets angrier and angrier at being quizzed about previous partners. The music follows the course of the night from gentle, slightly downbeat beginnings, to a foggy, bleary-eyed fury. Magnificent.

TRANSA – Prophase / Interphase (Hook 9 1996)
The Aberdeen based Webster brothers made trance without cheese. It’s probably the most maligned (save happy hardcore) and formulaic (ditto) genre of dance music, but they proved that there was room for artistry within its tightly defined parameters. Indeed, if they’d slowed the tempos and used less generic rhythms, they’d probably be a hugely respected electronica act. Their debut single “Prophase” had all the duo’s trademarks fully formed – the lush, sweeping, slightly melancholy melodies and the panoramic, epic scope of the music. “Prophase” is a huge dose of aural serotonin.

TEMPTATIONS – Psychedelic Shack / That’s the Way Love Is (Gordy 7096 1969)
“Psychedelic Shack” is one of the greatest of the Whitfield / Temptations collaborations. All the psychedelic funk mayhem and massive basslines were present and correct, but the singers were still fully integrated in the sound. One of the things often overlooked about this era of the band’s history is how the five Tempts swapped lead lines seamlessly with no individual standing out as the main lead. This was a technique in direct contrast to any of their peers’. It’ was a huge influence on a lot of rap collectives.

SONICS – Psycho / Maintaining My Cool (Jerden 811 1966)
TALKING HEADS – Psychokiller / acoustic version (Sire 1013 1977)
COUNT FIVE – Psychotic Reaction / They’re Gonna Get You (Double Shot 104 1966)
Maintaining my cool? Something that Jerry Roslie seldom did on record. Imagine Little Richard with anger management issues fronting a hyped up, over-enthusiastic rock and roll band and you might come close to the insane sound of Seattle’s Sonics. “Psycho” is raucous, dumb and effortlessly brilliant. Where Roslie’s psychopath is uncontrolled mayhem, David Byrne’s is all nervous twitching and sweaty menace. Tina Weymouth’s brilliantly simple bassline is like a pounding inside his head that won’t let go – pushing and pushing at Byrne’s self-control. Even though the final unravelling doesn’t happen, you’re left with a feeling that it’s only a matter of time before it does with horrific consequences. The Count Five’s psychosis is more chemically induced than the others. Like many of their contemporaries, the band were in thrall to the Yardbirds. “Psychotic Reaction” crosses a bludgeoning fuzz guitar and harmonica tune with a double speed middle eight that really does let loose into the realms of madness. One of the very best sixties punk tunes.

PUBLIC IMAGE LTD – Public Image / Cowboy Song (Virgin 228 1978)
When I first heard this it was jaw-on-floor time. The first 30 seconds are amazing. First Wobble’s bass booms out, and then the drums come in bathed in echo. Levene joins in with an eastern sounding buzz-saw guitar before Lydon enters with an almost operatic tenor, wobbly and almost unhinged, and a long way from the snotty sneer he used on the Pistols’ records. Two minutes 58 of vitriol and sonic adventure. In comparison, the Pistols’ records seemed lumpen and pedestrian. They were a bunch of combustible personalities and it couldn’t last long – but at least it lasted long enough to make Metal Box, one of the greatest, most adventurous albums ever issued.

DELGADOS – Pull the Wires From the Wall / Mauron Chanson (Chemikal Underground 23 1998)
A John Peel Festive Fifty number one if memory serves, and deservedly so. The song that lifted the Delgados above the ranks of twee indie also-rans and turned them into cult heroes. Sadly, mainstream success always eluded them. One of those baffling injustices in pop history.

M|A|R|R|S – Pump Up The Volume / Anitina (4AD 707 1987)
At the time 4AD seemed the least likely label to score an international number one with a relentless, sample-heavy bass groove. That’s just what happened with this one-off collaboration between Colourbox and AR Kane. It was the record that pushed dance culture overground and helped pave the way for the mainstream success of acid, house and techno and all of the genres that came later. Its massive sales seemed to have a strange effect on its makers. The Young brothers dissolved Colourbox and, as far as I know, never made another record.

ECHO & THE BUNNYMEN – The Puppet / Do It Clean (Korova 11 1980)
For some reason, the band (McCulloch in particular) loathe “The Puppet”. It was conspicuous by its absence when the band’s albums were reissued with bonus tracks. Quite why mystifies me. It’s a great song, with an immensely powerful vocal.

JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE – Purple Haze / 51st Anniversary (Track 604001 1967)
Single number two, and the one that proved that Hendrix’s talent stretched way beyond his guitar playing. The opening riff is one of the greatest in rock, and the song combines a liquid rhythm with a granite-hard wall of sound.

SEEDS – Pushin’ Too Hard / Try to Understand (GNP 372 1966)
Sadly Sky Saxon returned to his home planet this year, but he left behind some of the finest examples of sixties punk. “Pushin’ Too Hard” sounds like a snotty teenage whining about how everything’s SO UNFAIR, but drives along full of dirt and spunk. They kinda lost me when they started singing about flower children and the like, but the heads down rock primitive stuff still excites.

ASSOCIATES – Q Quarters / Kissed (Situation 2 4 1981)
I haven’t the foggiest what it’s about, but for once the Associates reined in their hyperactivity for a few minutes to do something dark and sinister. It was just one of a string of extraordinary singles that were released during 1981 and collected on the Fourth Drawer Down compilation.

MARTHA & THE VANDELLAS – Quicksand / Darling, I Hum Our Song (Gordy 7025 1963)
While I like “Dancing in the Street” as much as anyone with a functioning pair of ears, the Vandellas tunes that really blow me away are the ones where they turn up the tempo and the drama – especially “Heatwave”, “Nowhere to Run” and this one. And the bit I like most about “Quicksand” is that amazing, almost bird-like backing line that the Vandellas do. You know, the woo-woo-woo-woo-oooo bit.

ULTRAVOX! – Quiet Men / Cross Fade (Island 6459 1978)
I really wish they’d changed their name when John Foxx departed. OK, they did drop the exclamation mark. “Quiet Men” from the band’s third (and effectively, for me, final) album was typical of a record that had dropped the synth-punk for a more Kraftwerk / Neu! inspired Euromanticism.

More soon

  

 

 

Botox

Today I am getting Botox at the ripe age of 28 (almost 29).  I bet you would never guess where I am getting it.  I know you won’t so I will just tell you – In my one of my eye muscles in each eye.  I am doing this to simulate what my actual eye muscle surgery would be like.  Crazy – I know.  So I go today at 11 am and pay $10.00 to inject my eye muscles with Botox, with the slight chance of coming out with droopy eyes.

I have also been feeling strange lately.  Not myself.  Aggravated, bored and just feeling down.  I know what it is, but I am not sure how to fix it without sabotaging my game plan for paying off the debt.  It’s really hard to work 42 hours a week, coming home on some nights a little overwhelmed by my work, just to put every penny I make towards debt, groceries and house bills.  I mean, I work hard for da money honey and I would like to enjoy a little bit of it every paycheck.  But I am stashing alway almost $800.00 a month to meet these goals.  I mean, WTF, where was I spending this money before?  Probably on crap!

I am going to open up and allow myself to be vulnerable in the hopes of proving that those who read this are not alone.  I understand that some people are worse off than I am but this is my mess.  Here is what I am putting money away for and by when:

1. Auto repairs/ oil change/ AAA/ Inspection – $1,730.00 to be saved by Sept 30th 2009
2. Nintendo Wii/ Home decor – $1,000.00 (I know some of you are asking why the Wii I will explain later) – By Oct. 31st 2009
3. Car will be paid off Sept 15th so the money going towards the car will now go to Credit card #1 with a balance of $1,000.00 to be paid off by Dec. 2009
4. Credit card #2 with a balance of $1,500.00 to be paid off by Dec. 2009 (2 CARDS DOWN)
5. Credit card #3 with a balance of $1,300.00 to be paid off by Jan. 2010 (3 CARDS DOWN)
6. Credit card #4 with a balance of  $3,200.00 to be paid off by April 2010 (4 CRADS DOWN)
7. Credit card #5 with a balance of $6,200.00 to be paid off by Sept. 2010 (5 CARDS DOWN)

As you can see – I am not perfect.  The reason for the Nintendo Wii is this:  If I am going to stash away this much money a month while limiting my shenanigans out on the town for 1 year, I will need something to keep me and DBF entertained.  God knows just looking at my face every night isn’t entertaining enough.  I figure a few games of bowling, a bucket of chicken wings, a few beers (or wine) and a frozen pizza all in the comfort of your home with some friends could help us forget the year-long journey we are embarking on.  I say “we”, because poor DBF is standing by me in all this, so technically he is dealing with it.

Lately, a lot of my frustration comes from the overwhelming amount of things I want and sometimes need to buy, but I can’t touch my savings or use any credit cards.  I hate being in a position where DBF and I get invited to go out but we can’t, or we want to go camping, or a ride to Maine to visit his sister and niece, or just go to a movie and dinner.  It’s a feeling of being helpless and hopeless.  I try to think of the future and how much better I will be off financially and I will have the freedom to travel to Ireland and Greece like I have talked about for so many years.  I try to imagine a debt-free life with the man I love enjoying ourselves and the money we work hard for.  Sometimes though, I ask myself if I am strong enough to struggle for a year just to get to that point.  It is easier to say “yes” and know it will be better, than to simply believe it and live it.

So what kinds of things do I currently need/ want:

Needs:

• More money allocated to groceries because I have gained back 9 of the 17 pounds I lost this year by eating cheap, processed, foods from the store and from the stress of having all this debt and not spending money like I use to.  I love to spend money on anything and everyone.  I also feel that by not having the money to spend on doing things DBF will tire of me, get bored and leave.  That is probably the center of my stress.

• A few pairs of jeans.  This is a need when you have a dog that searches out your jeans in the bottom of a hamper, and in the middle of the day when no one is home or during the night when everyone is asleep, chews perfectly round holes in the crotch area of your jeans leaving you with only 2 pairs you don’t really care for but keep in your closet as a fail safe.  :(    Added pressure:  Fall and winter are almost here and I cannot wear my summer skirts to the office in 15 degree weather.

• Energy – I need this more than anything.  I’m knocked out by 9:30pm every night and up at 6am.  I want to stay up late with pookie to finish a movie.  I need to invest in some vitamins to get me going so I can enjoy my time with DBF & tuffy when I get home at night.  I also need the energy to kick DBF’s butt on ALL the Wii games we will be getting in October! 

• Dental work – I have $2,000.00 in fillings, sealants and a mouth guard to invest in.  Because of my dental issues, I get severe migraines.  Unfortunately, this dental work will have to wait for next year.

Wants:

• To go camping.  DBF and I have been together for only a few months and it is important for the two of us to do things together as a couple so that we can nurture our relationship and grow closer.  I can’t imagine what he is feeling right now, being in a relationship with someone who can’t go out and do all the things she really wants to do with him because of her “disease”.  That’s what being in debt is, a disease that takes time to cure.  During the time it takes to cure though, it can be painful to the person living with it.  It stops them from doing things they love.

• To send gifts to my friends and family for their birthday and Christmas.

• To take road trips  
  

  YUMMM

• To go out to dinner and drinks with friends

• To go to a movie on a Saturday afternoon

• To go to concerts again

• To go to Sonic’s Drive In – now in Peabody!

The list could go on and on.  I just need to pray about all this and try to summon the courage to keep going with this and  the strength to endure it.  Big thanks to all my family and friends who call me with words of encouragement and a BIG shout out to the man that deals with my crazy ass everyday.  I love you and thank you for being everything I need and want in a man and for loving me.

Thanks for listening.