Slaves & Masters

At 60 I have seen freedom of speech and our general freedoms under attack from many sources, but never before like today. As a writer, going back four decades, I used to come back to the subject in many newspaper articles. In 2015, I dedicated a good chunk of my final publication (Retrofuture 8) to the subject. Six years down the road, all bets are off. The censorship is through the roof. The assault on our freedoms is quite astonishing. The good thing is that although we are under attack (and this is not a left/right issue, it is top/down), the guilty are putting themselves out there. They are in the spotlight now. The overreach is there for all to see. We all live in a horror movie at the moment and I am glad to be in Sweden as things stand. All eyes should be on Australia right now though, as the worst case scenario is playing out right before our eyes over there. I would include BitChute and the Christian news outlet TruNews among the platforms that are freedom friendly right now. It would be nice if mainstream media could be as honest but it is what it is. Never lose hope though. Most people that I know, and that includes people of all walks of life (including journalists), are wide awake. The rest is about personal courage and integrity. We certainly live in interesting times.

(Top image shows Retrofuture 8 spread)

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The Olympic Games Postponed

I guess it is not a surprise that the Olympic Games in Tokyo that was supposed to start on July 24 has been postponed until 2021. Glad that they made this decision though and that it will still take place in Japan next year.

Safety first.

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Merry Christmas!

Crazy busy over here but I will be back on December 26 with updates. In the meantime, have a good Christmas out there.

Feel free to use this image.

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And so the seasons change

First snow arrived in my neck of the woods this week, so here we go again. It will be a while until it stays but winter is definitely on the way. Got my operation done a couple of days ago. Took two and a half hours (that I thankfully slept through) but I am back home and although I am a bit tired I feel good about the fact that it is done. I pretty much lost this summer and the to do list is frightening. Still, I can finally take care of things proper. In a sense, I begin a new season myself as well.

The blog is still good fun to have a go at every now and again and it is nice to see good traffic for old posts. This week I noted a big interest in a particular story, as the stats for the October 19 2018 post “Babymetal and the Led Zeppelin connection” went through the roof. Not sure if it was fans of Babymetal or Zeppelin, but somebody clearly linked to the blog.

There was also interest from a journalist in the States to do something with the August 20 2012 post on Ronnie James Dio (the big interview, I think the UFO part in particular). So we will see what happens there. I gave her my blessings, no reason not to.

Got Metal Hammer #327 in the mail (first of two versions, the other is on the way) and I have to say that the Babymetal interview by Eleanor Goodman AND the photography by Steve Brown for said story was top notch. Superb stuff. In a sense, they too (Babymetal) have entered a new season, a new chapter. Glad to follow them on this journey from afar, they bring so much joy. And we can all appreciate a bit of that in our lives.

And for the very same reason I just added a bunch of Fred Basset books (2012-2020 stuff from the Daily Mail in the UK) to the old collection, published by Summersdale Publishers Ltd. This is a rather wonderful cartoon and I will enjoy these books very much in the coming weeks.

Thank you for your continued interest in this little corner of our strange universe.

(My image of said books)

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Basement blues

Due to my condition this summer (still waiting for that operation), work on the house has stalled until I am sure that I will be present when work is to be done, but at least I have started to lay down some groundwork in the basement. Not sure if any previous owner of this place ever used this space for anything other than to store stuff, but I have a vision of a library/music room down there and I am sure it will be there a couple of months from now. Before I let the professionals in (new window, new floor, shelves etc), I will get the painting done (God knows what I will do with the four green doors!) and I will remove that awful yellow mat that has been there forever. So this is a snapshot of a moment in time, soon to be just a bad distant memory.

To be continued…

(My shot)

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Early Sakura Gakuin Compilation

I have always enjoyed compilation albums (LPs, CDs) and I certainly own enough of them. This goes back to the 1970s for me and I am sure many of you can see where I am coming from here. So finding something enjoyable like this, even now, feels good. And what we have here is a Sakura Gakuin Compilation from 2014, basically covering the most popular stuff from 2010 and onwards, the period when a little project called Babymetal was being groomed (and shot through the roof). They were just one unit that came out of Sakura Gakuin and you have others here like Twinklestars, Sleepiece and Scoopers. Little projects that worked on music and dance routines and got to record little pop songs. It is all quite happy stuff and it has a very positive vibe. This CD is still for sale in Japan and I assume many fans of Babymetal has picked it up to get some early history. It also sports a rather nice cover and a packed booklet.

A nice reminder of how incredible this journey has been for Babymetal.

(Thank you for your support Kalle)

(My image of said CD)

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Pulp rocks (2)

One month ago today I showcased a couple of CD collections with pulp art covers from the Not Now Music label. Here is another two – “Songs Of The Wild West – 50 Original Western Classics On 2CDs” and “Born Wild – 40 Tales Of Cool Guys And Hot Girls”. Excellent stuff.

(My image of said releases)

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Feeling good

My back has been giving me trouble (pain) this weekend but I still feel that I am more than OK. You see, Babymetal has that effect on me and in the last 10 days or so they have managed to completely restore my faith in them. 2018 was a tricky year and although I did not want to say it in public, I had started to doubt some of the decisions that I saw play out and I wondered if it was over. Then they came back on June 28 in a big way live and six gigs later I know that everything is fine. They have made quite a stir with “Pa Pa Ya!!” (official video is about to hit 3,000,000 views, the BBC version from Glastonbury 2,300,000), they have the image of the trio back even though they still invite special guests to perform with them now, and on top of this we have heard several new songs from the upcoming album (also announced now). Yesterday and today they performed the Beyond The Moon – Legend M concerts (in Nagoya) that were dedicated to Moametal to celebrate her 20th birthday, and we got to see her play the acoustic guitar in the first seconds of a wonderful new song that begins quietly and roars to the heavens minutes later. By the looks of it a tribute to Mikio Fujioka whom passed away last year in a stargazing accident. The title of this song may be “Shining Star” but we will have to wait and see. This is the song that proves once and for all that Babymetal has matured, they have fully blossomed and there is no stopping them now. We have also been given a clue that the 10th anniversary next year will be celebrated. Knowing them they will do it in a big way. And maybe, just maybe, might we see Yuimetal appear? At least they still share the same company. Oh, and I have a ticket to see them in Stockholm next year (in good company). I almost forgot about that!

They have a month off now, in public. But there is a widespread feeling in the air that all is well and that good times are coming.

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The truth is out there

Just got the new Graham Hancock book “America Before – The Key To Earth´s Lost Civilisation” (Coronet, 2019) delivered and judging by his earlier work (and by new interviews I have seen) it is going to be pretty exciting stuff. Graham Hancock has blown the official history of mankind right out of the water with his groundbreaking work and it is truly annoying at this point that history books of today are still stuck in the past completely ignoring everything we know now. At this point I pretty much think that we have a cover-up of sorts going on and that that in itself (should it be true) is a crime against the principles of science. I think we will know more in time and I also think that all this is partly linked with the fact that we are not alone and it is all tied to a mindset that should have ended decades ago from those in the know. I think we are ready for the truth. It is long overdue.

We live in interesting times.

(My image of his classic trilogy)

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58

Turned 58 today and all in all it was a good day. Secured the Babymetal tickets we (as in I and four others) need for the Stockholm show next February. Also, word got through that the new Deep Purple live album has shipped (more on this later), and on top of this there were some very nice gifts. Not least this box of chocolate (you guys know me so well!). No party or anything like that, I just enjoyed a day off. Loved the Elvis 1968 memorabilia too.

Thank you Kalle & Per for your visit.

(My image of said box)

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