I have enjoyed the Dilbert comic for a long time and it goes without saying that creator Scott Adams is one clever dude. I also enjoy his daily rant on his YouTube channel (Real Coffee with Scott Adams) quite a bit and he never fails to entertain and to make a few good points. In other words, he has earned my respect (and then some). So when Scott mentioned The Expanse in a recent episode in passing, and that it is good, I took him on his word. Now that I have seen the first season on DVD, all I can say is that the man was right and I am now enjoying this show very much (meaning I will buy more DVDs for sure). I took a chance and it was worth it.
(My shot of Scott Adams 1997 book “The Dilbert Future – Thriving On Stupidity In The 21st Century” and The Expanse DVD)
I noticed on Facebook today (it first popped up at the Deep Purple – All Shades group) that it is Roger Glover´s 75th birthday. So I felt that I should make a note of this on the blog and send him some love. This man has been such an integral part of the soundtrack of my life (Deep Purple, Rainbow, solo albums, having produced Nazareth, Judas Priest, Ian Gillan Band, David Coverdale, Barbi Benton, Michael Schenker etc) that it is hard to imagine it without him being there. I never heard him before Deep Purple (Episode Six did not have that kind of fame in Sweden when I was a kid), but man was he great in Purple. Solid as a rock, and way more important to the songwriting of that band than he has been given credit for (some of those magic riffs came from Roger, not Ritchie). He got a pretty raw deal when Ian Gillan left the band in 1973 and left himself before he could be fired (knowing what was up), and that catapulted him to brand new frontiers. Producing Nazareth and Judas Priest and starting his solo career (kicking off with “The Butterfly Ball” and “Elements” in 1974 and 1978), he was then asked to produce Rainbow and that eventually eased him into actually joining that band and to work with Ritchie Blackmore again. “Down To Earth” (1979) followed and he stayed with Rainbow until the big Deep Purple reunion in 1984. 11 studio albums later he is still there, and he is still the rock that they need to hold things together. In fact, he was an integral part of getting Ian Gillan back into the band again in 1992. On the few occasions that I have met him, he has always been very kind. A very likable chap in every way. Deep Purple has kept him very busy but he has released some music outside of the mothership even in recent years (“Snapshot” and “If Life Was Easy” as Roger Glover And The Guilty Party in 2002 and 2011). He has also been involved in painting and photography as a hobby. A man of many skills and certainly a man to be honored on a day like this. Happy Birthday Roger!
(Top image shows some pictures from the archives and I can mention at least some credits: Roger with Ian Gillan is by Sirpa Hammar 1988. Live shots with Deep Purple in 1996 is from Staffan Eriksson. Rainbow live shot by Michael Johansson. The rest should be record company shots as far as I know. Many thanks to all involved).
Spotted this book with blank pages and decided that it would do as a guest book for visitors. Looks pretty good and I have had the idea in my head for some time that it would be a cool thing to have. People only get to sign it once though. It will sort of be a reminder of whom has passed through over the years. Friends and family only. If I ever sell this place, I will offer the next owner to keep it going, should they want to.
If you want blood and gore, this is the ticket. Some old school war veterans is having some downtime in their bar when all hell breaks loose. The local crime lord is coming down hard on the grumpy old dudes but boy is he in for a big surprise… Pretty high death count in this one. Some familiar faces too, like Fred Williamson. Will there be a “VFW II”? I hope so.
Found this old school Hollywood Soundtrack of “Cleopatra” in a second hand store yesterday. A little rugged in the edges but still in fairly good condition if you consider that the film was released in 1963 (and I have to assume that this gatefold LP is the original edition). This is one of my all time favourite movies. Just awesome performances by Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton and Rex Harrison (but it is all good, and that would include the score by Alex North). This rates pretty high on the old cool-o-meter.
(My shot of said release – the front cover artist is not credited)
Remember when the dark forces (and we know who you are!) tried to kill off Christmas? No “Merry Christmas” etc. Clearly, the bastards failed. I think this snapshot (taken yesterday in my neck of the woods) says it all. It was a clear case of “a bridge too far” but the nonsense culture still has fangs.
(Picture shows the ÖB store in Östersund, Jämtland County)
Just to showcase the impact of Babymetal outside of Japan. If you are in the Philippines right now you can pick up the free Weekly PleComm Manila publication (issue 220). Su-metal and Moametal on the cover. My guess is that they are highlighting the 10th Anniversary of Babymetal. It is printed in Japanese and they must be proud of the international success of the originators of Kawaii Metal.
It was 10 years ago today that the girls in the Sakura Gakuin sub-unit Babymetal performed for the first time on a stage. It was at the Sakura Gakuin 2010 Festival at the Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse in front of a crowd of 600 and they did a playback to their first recording “Doki Doki Morning”. Little did they know that Babymetal would conquer the world.
I published Deep Purple Magazine (issue) 19 in November 1980, so it has been 40 years now. Nice cover shot by Hasse Ivarsson. It was hard to locate Purple shots that had not seen print back then, so when Ivarsson presented some nice live photographs it was quite the find. It says in this issue that issues 1-17 had all gone. I do recall giving a copy to Jon Lord, probably in 1981.
trinkelbonker 