So with it finally seeming like summer out, here are some late 00s club bangers. I haven’t really listened to tonnes of Chromeo’s stuff, but this is a very nice track, fittingly titled.

So with it finally seeming like summer out, here are some late 00s club bangers. I always dug this Baba Kahn & Kardi song, pretty undeniable.

So with it finally seeming like summer out, here are some late 00s club bangers. Starting with a damn fine song from Electrick Red (though calling them Canadian is a bit of a stretch, we will take it!)

Since I wrote my last post things have gone a bit weird.
Last week I was feeling down, not too bad, but I didn’t feel like my normal self.

Last weekend we went out for my brother’s birthday. I had gone from being massively excited about it to not wanting to go at all. Before we went I was nervous. I felt self conscious. I felt unwanted. I felt small. I don’t know why! Nothing had happened to make me feel that way.
When I was getting ready to go out I found a pin in my make up bag. Before I knew it I had scratched myself. I think I did it because I thought it would make me feel better. I remembered that when I used to self harm if I was feeling shit and finding it hard to pretend I was okay, I would cut myself and instantly get a burst of energy. It didn’t really work. I was tired all evening and found it really hard to pretend I was having a good time. Later in the night my sister told me my brother was worried about me and I needed to cheer up. I tried to put a smile on. It was difficult. I didn’t want to ruin my little brother’s first night out.
When we got in I just wanted to scratch myself and go to sleep. I was forced to stay up. Eventually at 5.30 I went to the room we were staying in. My brother was already there. I couldn’t hurt myself if he was in the room. I got in bed and started crying. I couldn’t control my tears. He asked me what was wrong, I couldn’t say, I just went to sleep.
4 hours later I woke up, I went to the kitchen. The house was full of sleeping people. I sat for a while. I did some washing up. A family friend (who’s house we were staying in) woke up and asked me if I was okay. I could feel myself on the verge of tears again. I held them back.

That evening I traveled back to University. I was still feeling down. Since then I have had a week of not knowing how I feel. When I’m on my own I feel awful, I keep crying for no reason. When I’m with other people I get a burst of energy and talk really fast and am incredibly annoying.

Monday afternoon I went to town, got some wine and some movies. I sat in my room, in the dark on my own and watched them. Sylvia, Painful Secrets, Thirteen and Girl, Interrupted. All involving suicide or self harm. Then picked up an eraser and rubbed my skin. It hurt.

I’m trying to get my head around why I am doing this. At the moment I don’t feel like I don’t want to hurt myself. I’m not sure why? I feel like I deserve the pain. It makes me feel better. I can’t remember why I stopped.

It’s mostly under control at the moment though. I am limiting myself. I haven’t cut. My method of choice at the minute is burns. It had been over 2 years since I last burnt myself. I remember why I liked it. I feel a strange sense of achievement when I burn myself. The fact that I managed to cope with the pain makes me feel like I am good at something. I was never any good at cutting, but burning I think I was. I’m not using the same tool I did in the past. Just cigarettes at the moment. It means I have to make a massive effort though. I can’t smoke in my room, so I have to walk to the park, so there is somewhere quiet I can do it. It’s Saturday today though and the sun is out. I think there will be too many people. I’ll have to wait till later.

University deadlines are looming. I am struggling to keep up with the work.

It’s not all bad though, I am trying to help myself. I have booked to see a counselor. There is an appointment next week.

There is a part of me that wants to hurt myself and a part that needs me to stop. Needs me to sort myself out. Hopefully with some help that part will win.

I don’t know what I want at the moment, but I don’t think this is it.

10. You Only Live Twice – 1967

        The fifth Bond film is six years, Sean Connery and other reoccurring actors return as Bond heads to the Far East for the first time. After the success of the first four films in the Bond franchise, the writers and producers made a couple changes worth noting: this is the first Bond film that only uses the settings, and some main characters from Fleming’s novel of the same title, as the plot was totally different. Perhaps this next change was done because Bond had narrowly escaped death countless times in the previous four films, but in the opening scene of You Only Live Twice, Bond is shot and killed before being buried at sea. The body is then collected by a submarine where we see Bond in very much alive. On a side note, Bond has been killed or at least been presumed dead in the opening scene twice. If the writers and producers want the audience to actually believe Bond is dead they need to kill him later on in the film. Do they really expect people to think he’s really dead in the prologue?  

Trouble between the United States and the Soviets starts when both of their space shuttles go missing and each side blames the other for the incident. MI6 suspects Japan could be involved since wreckage was found in the Sea of Japan. Bond gets to work and with the aid of the Japanese government, they find out SPECTRE has been playing both the U.S. and Soviets for fools.

While the final scene in this movie is truly memorable, as Bond and a host of ninjas infiltrate a space station hidden in a volcano, there’s nothing else too memorable. Even though Bond does fly a homemade attack helicopter that’s assembled in minutes and destroys a handful of real attack helicopters, this scene is quite a stretch and would serve as a precursor for the cheesy and unrealistic action moments audiences would seen throughout the Bond films of the 70s. Also, the supporting characters are nothing special as none have any characteristics that truly make them unique. The only anomaly in this case is Bond’s contact, Henderson (Charles Gray) and only because the same actor would go on to play Blofeld in Diamond Are Forever.

This is a respectable Bond film. It’s entertaining, the plot is good enough and with the helicopter scene aside, it isn’t too ridiculous. However, with one too many shortcomings, You Only Live Twice barley makes the cut on this list.

9. Thunderball – 1965

Sean Connery’s fourth appearance as Bond, as well the franchise’s fourth film, is another solid entry.

SPECTRE’s number two man, Largo (Adolfo Celi), aims to hijack a NATO fighter plane carrying two atomic bombs to be ransom for one hundred million pounds or the bombs will be dropped on London and or a U.S. city in a week’s time. SPECTRE has an operative, Angelo, go through a plastic surgery operation to appear just as one of the NATO pilots, Derval. Another SPECTRE operative, the attractive Fiona Vople (Luciana Paluzzi), acts as Derval’s lover only to have him killed so Angelo can take his place and steel the NATO fighter plane and fly it to Largo in Nassau. After luckily finding a substantial lead while recovering from an injury in a health clinic, Bond has a leg up and heads to Nassau where Domino (Claudine Auger), Derval’s sister, resides and his mission begins.

There’s much to like about Thunderball: rarely does a scene go by where there isn’t a gorgeous woman in it, the plot is intriguing and very realistic, the action on land and under the sea is quite well done. The Aston Martin DB5 from Goldfinger returns briefly and even sees some action on the road, and though Q’s gadgets are just a tad too unrealistic, (a capsule that serves as a homing device even once it’s swallowed? Give me a break.) they are pretty helpful, while not being too flashy.

This could have a special Bond film if not for a few shortcomings, such as some questionable aspects of story development: bringing Derval’s body to health clinic was stupid if even they used it to say Angelo had a heart attack. Domino, for whatever reason, is Largo’s mistress and nearly sounds like a slave; this should have been explored more. Domino seems shy and distant from Bond, while showing little if any interest in him as a lover and I really shook my head when basically an unnamed Largo associate frees Domino only to disappear after he, Bond, and Domino abandon the soon to crash boat. This last bone to pick has nothing to do with plot, but with casting; Felix Leiter appeared in three of the first four Bond films, yet a different actor portrays Felix Leiter each time. It’s get annoying after a few films.

Aside from some questionable moments in Thunderball, this really is a quality Bond film, making the first four entries in the series quite solid and belongs on this list.

8. Tomorrow Never Dies – 1997

The follow up to GoldenEye differed in several ways. Gone was the serious atmosphere that was filled with revenge; insert much more action, flash, gadgets, a plot revolving around a crazed villain who seems to be more interested in adding to his field of interest above all else.  Don’t get me wrong, though; this is a very entertaining movie on many levels.

Elliot Carver (Jonathan Pryce), the film’s antagonist, is a media mogul looking to start a war between China and the UK for exclusive, world-wide media coverage. This may sound a little tacky, but Carver is pretty passionate about media and is so dorky that he’s funny, which can’t be said about Bond’s other fanatic villains who were nuts over subjects like the sea and space.

There may be a plethora of action scenes, but they’re all well placed and simply awesome starting from the opening scene where Bond is busy causing a ruckus at an  arms deal before being pursued in a fighter plane. From there, Bond heads to Germany and parts of the Far East as action and adventure follow his every move. Also, let’s not forget what is probably one of the more memorable car chase scenes as Bond sits ideal in the backseat of his BMW 750i and drives the car via his cell phone, all while showing off the car’s weaponry as he’s being chased.

My one major qualm with this movie is Bond’s female counterpart, Wai Lin (Michelle Yeoh). I never found her the least bit attractive and her character was pretty forgettable. Thank God Teri Hatcher had plenty of screen time in this one.

7. The Spy Who Loved Me – 1977

Sean Connery stepped down from portraying Bond (or so everyone thought) after 1971’s Diamonds Are Forever. Roger Moore, whom was supposedly in the running to play Bond in 1962’s Dr. No, but had obligations to the British TV show, Saint, got his chance as the lead man in 1973 with Live and Let Die. Not only was Live and Let Die an average at best Bond film, so was The Man with the Golden Gun, which debuted a year later in 1974. After a three year hiatus, Bond was back in The Spy Who Loved Me.

Roger Moore’s third Bond film is probably the best Bond film during his time with the franchise. Though I’ve always liked Roger Moore’s wittier and humorous portrayal of Bond, most of his films just struck me with cheesy storylines and insignificant supporting characters, yet that’s not the case with The Spy Who Loved Me. Not only is Anya Amasova (Barbra Bach) aka Agent XXX gorgeous, she’s actually a character who has substance to her. Then there’s the debut of Jaws (Richard Kiel), the striking henchman who towers over seven feet with a mouth of metal, as he cheats death at every chance and even kills a shark. Though Stromberg, the main antagonist, does come across as a downright weirdo who’s pretty cheesy (or should I say fishy?) with his obsession of creating a world beneath the sea, there’s a little more to him than what meets the eye at first glance. He has a plan and a huge ocean liner that literally swallows a British and Russian nuclear submarine and both governments send their best agents to investigate.

Bond and Agent XXX experience a great adventure once the two governments join forces. They cause their fair share of ruckus in Egypt as Jaws in on their tail before they head to Italy and Bond’s Lotus Esprit, with its submarine capabilities, makes its appearance. This Lotus is really one of the better Bond cars and the chase scene is really well put together and the image of the Lotus driving out of the water and onto a bench is priceless. Through harmless conversation, Bond and Agent XXX realize Bond killed her lover just before their mission began and the tension can easily be felt between the two. The duo finally gets aboard an American submarine, which is soon hijacked by Stromberg’s ocean liner, where an exciting and dramatic finish is had.

6. Dr. No – 1962

It’s easy for many to forget about this film since From Russia with Love and Goldfinger preceded it, and that’s a shame. Compared to other early entries in the Bond franchise, Dr. No lacks the eye popping action scenes and wildly unpredictable and deadly gadgets that Bond wields from his blazer just in the nick of time. Instead, we are left with a simple, yet entertaining story with quite an engaging protagonist to follow along the way and that’s what makes Dr. No, so good; we see who James Bond is at his core without the gimmicks and cheap thrills.

The story starts off simply enough as an MI6 operative, Strangways, and his assistant have been murdered in Jamaica and James Bond is sent to investigate.  Upon his arrival in Jamaica, Bond is greeted with aggression and must determine who exactly his allies and enemies are. Through time, Bond receives assistance from CIA Agent Felix Leiter, and local fisherman, (assumed CIA operative) Quarrel. The trio learn that Dr. No, may be responsible for the murder of Strangways and worse crimes to come.

Just because the action is limited in this film compared to Bond films of the same area, doesn’t mean there isn’t any action to speak of. Though the special effects seem poor by today’s standards, there’s a memorable car chase scene up a mountain that results in a massive explosive and Bond keeps his fists busy on multiple occasions, while he shows his stealth skills are up to par in a couple of subtle, but intriguing scenes. And even though this film is over fifty years old, Bond encounters his fair share of gorgeous women including Honey Ryder, (Ursula Andress) but my personal favorite from this movie is Sylvia (Eunice Gayson) whom Bond was playing Baccarat with during one of the film’s earlier scenes.

My one complaint with this film is Dr.No himself. We hear his voice in a room half way through the film, but the man isn’t seen on screen until the latter stages. Why is this? The anticipation builds and the minds of the audience can only wonder if the man is deformed in some way or perhaps something worse, but no, that’s not the case. Dr. No is as ordinary as could be, except he has prosthetic hands made of metal (which hide behind black gloves the whole time) thanks to a lab accident, which eventually leads to his demise. The idea of metal hands sounds interesting, but nothing more as they play such a small and nearly forgettable role.

Hopefully this lone shortcoming won’t keep you from seeing this Bond flick, as it’s definitely worthy on a spot on this top ten.

Check back early next week for entries 1-5 of this list and my closing thoughts.

Click the Read More tab to learn how the life of a young boy with Asperger’s Syndrome changed when he acquired a “service dog”.

“Sylvia” remains, as always, beloved Switzerland.

Here is Grace:

Marie walks in with a stranger, and says “I ran into <Stranger X>, and so he gave me a ride home.”  Sylvia and I say (thinking that he is an old friend of Marie’s), “Great, come join us for dinner and an episode of LA Law (or whatever the popular show was).”  Marie runs up to her room to change, and Sylvia/I start peppering him with questions, like “How do you know Marie?”  Our Asian eyes start to get big and round, and we start to chomp on our dinner quietly.  Stranger X then has to go to the bathroom, and we start asking Marie “Did you know this guy????  Why did you let him come in?” Stranger X returns from the bathroom and we all watch TV silently, afraid to move, looking for a self defense object (in case we need it). Stranger X realizes that it is very uncomfortable, and he makes a quick exit.  I have still not recovered from this episode.

Marie again: Since this is my blog, I get the final word. tee hee. From the outside, Grace has apparently recovered enough to marry a wonderful man and raise two very bright children who do not accept rides from strangers. This helps to alleviate my guilt.

Sylvia was looking at the flowers in the church, which she had arranged for Easter day the previous week.  She wasn‘t very happy with them at first. When she found out she was on the roster for Easter day, she was all excited! Now’s my chance, she thought, to do something really spectacular. I’ll use gold chrysanthemums, and those creamy white ones,…

Sylvia had all sorts of plans for the flowers, and each week during Lent as she  sat in church, she would plan them in her head.

But when it came to the week of Easter, it was with a sinking feeling that she realized that there were no chrysanthemums in her garden anywhere near ready for picking. There had been an awful lot of dry weather, and the council had banned using hoses to water the garden, so she would just have to make do with what there was.

All her plans for a symphony of gold and cream flew out the window, and it was with a rather grumpy attitude that she ventured outside on Easter Saturday, secateurs in hand, to try and find something that would fit her colour scheme.

But there was nothing at all, just deep red roses, and Leucadendron, and sedum.

Then the light went on. Maybe God was trying to tell her something, and she abandoned her plan. Sylvia had wanted to glorify God in her own special way, with an elegant colour scheme, that would bend to her plan. But God had other plans. She would have to use what was there. Well, she thought, I’m a bit like these flowers myself, a bit of a second choice really. I mean, I don’t have a glamorous public ministry or anything, just behind-the-scenes things like the flowers, and taking my elderly friends to home group.

As she looked at the deep reds glowing in the vase, Sylvia realised that they were like blood! Not in a sad sort of way, but rather triumphantly standing out against the cream wall behind the altar.

That’s what the resurrection is like! she realized. Jesus has taken something painful and a bit scary, like blood, and transformed it, redeemed it, from signifying death and pain, to a glowing, stained-glass tribute to life, to the Living one, coming through death with the keys in his hand!

It was with a lighter heart that Sylvia topped up the water in the vases ready for the Sunday. She had a new appreciation of Easter, and couldn’t wait to tell her friends at home group.

This week we are featuring a little old fashioned mid-2000s indie rock. I don’t listen to a tonne of Sarah Slean, but I really like this video.

My life is wonderful and busy. My passions, and what take up most of my time, are traveling, cooking and baking, sport and fitness, reading, nutrition, friends and families, the odd festival or rave , and studying. I never want to stop learning or experiencing new things.

I want somewhere to document my doings and bakings, my thoughts, ponderings and rants. This will also be a way for my family (spread across 4 continents!) and friends to have a better idea of what me and my life is like.

Here you’ll find stories, photos, recipes, and the world through my eyes as I discover it.

Thus I give you, Syl’s squiddles  

Sylvia Plath is definitely one of my favourite poets, her poems are just so beautiful and thought-evoking. 

Although not intended this did give me a chance to show in one photo the changes that the lumber goes through. The piece on the far left is what my favorite walnut boards look like before any work is done to them. The middle board shows the lumber after one face has been completely flattened. Finally the board on the right shows the inside of the front of the lamp right before it is ready for assembly.

The photo below shows how the top is bookmatched to the front of the lamp. The top and front are cut out of the same piece of lumber. They are then opened up like a book. The two pieces are essentially a mirror image of each other. The line on the two boards is to provide me with a reference mark, so that I can keep the boards aligned when assembling the lamp.

The final photo is the output off a long weekend in the shop. The two boxes are awaiting 5 holes each for light bulbs. The lamp on the front right really highlights matching the top and front grain patterns. The scattered 44 coasters are from excess lumber from the past 5 or 6 lamps.

This week we are featuring a little old fashioned mid-2000s indie rock. Oh Patrick Watson, so serious. This song does rock though.

This week we are featuring a little old fashioned mid-2000s indie rock. My wife just introduced me to this Stars song, and it hits everything that I want in a Stars song.

I worked a few miles away from our house and one winter day, driving home in a huge snowstorm, I had almost every electrical item running in my little Honda Accord: the headlights, the windshield wipers, the front and rear defrosters, and, of course, the radio.

In the standstill traffic, I spent more time singing along with the radio than stepping on the gas pedal, so my battery eventually died. I wasn’t alone – many cars were abandoned along the side of the road. I figured that I should get my car out of the way as well.

While I stood outside my car to assess the situation, two guys jumped out of the pickup truck behind me and helped to push my car into a nearby parking lot. When they generously offered to drive me home, I accepted.

We spent a long time together, chatting in the car in that slow-moving traffic and, after dropping off one of the guys (because his stop was on the way), the driver and I arrived at our house. Grace and Sylvia were already home and dinner was cooking. Without thinking twice, I invited him to join us for dinner.

Because we always had friends around, Grace and Sylvia welcomed him as a friend of mine and, after he left, were shocked to learn that I had just met him on the street. Slight culture clash:  They assumed that I wouldn’t invite a stranger into our home and I didn’t think to tell them that we had just met.

Twenty-five years later, we still laugh about that.

When I read this article, I realized that my invitation to this gentleman came from something that got planted deep inside me, growing up in PIttsburgh. It helped me to realized that this is was just what we do.

The article, by a Pittsburgher who now lives in LA, is short, but I excerpted part of it here so that those of you who don’t like to click through will still get the idea:

My dad died last month. This has nothing to do with that.

What I have to tell you is how I pulled up in front of my childhood home the day of the funeral and the woman who lives there now stepped outside, looked at me and said, “Are you OK?”

I said, “No, my dad died.”

She tilted her head. “You used to live here?”

“Yes.”

“Do you wanna come in? I’m just going down to the market, but no rush, come on in.”

And she proceeded to let me walk around her home, asking if I needed anything, asking who had lived in what rooms, what doors to the porch we had used, and was my mother the one who planted the perennials, and how has it changed? All the time smiling and encouraging me to stop when I needed to, cry if I had to, she said,

“Please. Go upstairs. Which room was yours?”

To read the rest of that article: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/local/morning-file/local-dispatch-its-hardly-polite-to-be-outside-pittsburgh-294839/#ixzz2Ptpbi1IG

We recognize our connections as humans. We take in stranger-friends. We shift our plans to make room for them. We feed them. We try to figure out what it is they need. And hopefully, take care of them in some small way.

And while you may not be in Pittsburgh, I feel like I found that in you. You take me into your heart (and sometimes, your homes), you shift your plans to help us out, you feed us, and you try to figure out what we need, and you take care of us. Thank you.

[Original writing & photography by J. E. Lattimer]

© 2013 J. E. Lattimer all rights reserved

It’s by some Dutch musicians called Focus – I think they were the house band for Jesus Christ Superstar – there are no lyrics as such, but some yodelling and some singing that sound like they were lifted from The Goons ‘Ying Tang Song’. There are only two short riffs in it that are repeated in several variations, and the song lasts about 7 minutes at a time when exceeding the standard radio friendly 3 minutes was rare.

You’d have to be mad to release this, wouldn’t you?

And yet, it was the tune that made the music show ‘the Old Grey Whistle Test’ from an obscure cult to mainstream. It also meant that Polydor had to suspend all other pressings and devote their entire production to the record.

Why does this work? This clip starts with ‘Sylvia’.