Wednesday, August 30, 2006

I wants it....

They have been playing the odd track or two from Bob Dylans new album, Modern Times on Hauraki. So far I have heard "When the levee breaks" & "Thunder on the mountain" Both awesome. I have felt that some of his more modern albums have lost some of his characteristic snap, but damn this one is a winner. Good toetappin music. Tuneful as well. Country blues.. I've tried twice on Hauraki to win it, with no luck so far. If I dont win it, I guess I will have to wait till after the weekend, but I am gonna get it one way or another.

Sometimes what you see....

Today, as I drove into a driveway, I thought i saw a German Shepherd dog attack a cat in the garden , the cat narrowly escaping under the house. WRONG .. After I told the lady of the house about it, she said, "Oh no, every time the dog hears a car coming into the driveway, he grabs the cat & stuffs it under the house to get it out of harms way." I bet that cat absolutely detests the sound of a car coming into the drive.. The dog is actually one of the loveliest gentle creatures I have ever met, with a mouth that soft I bet he could just about hold a soap bubble in it. The cat may disagree tho.

While in the Big Smoke today, I saw this most beautiful jet black Sha Pei on the back of his dad's ute. he had this slightly embarrassed look that said,"I really should be inside you know. This is all a terrible misunderstanding. My poor human has had a brainfart of major proportions to leave me out here." Then he did the most beautiful bow & scrape just like Nushie does & curled up to make himself as inconspicuous as possible. I laughed at the personalised plate on the ute.. It read WUSNME. Probably very appropriate

When I got home tonight, Herself informed me that Chloe got her butt kicked this morning, figuratively I would hazard, for licking the topping off her toast at breakfast time. Oh, & while on the subject of weird animals, what would you do with a dog that wont eat his tea unless we are soaking in the spa pool ??? True as I sit here ..

Monday, August 28, 2006

One thing that really rips my nighty

Tonight was one of the rare nights that I watched our current affairs program at 7.00 pm. They were covering the unfortunate death of a 17 year old boy in the back of a security van being transported within the justice system as a prisoner in the company of two other older males. The thing that really pissed me off was this... They were interviewing this pathetic excuse for a mother that finally did the Tough Love thing with her eldest boy after he used physical violence to both her & her husband. What pissed me off was her saying, "I dont think that my partner & I would still be married if he had stayed here." I mean, what the fuck ???? A partner is something you have in a business. If you are married, you have a WIFE or a HUSBAND. What is wrong with having stood up & made serious promises to another human being ? In my view, once you have done that, the relationship progresses to something beyond a "partnership." For goodness sake, be PROUD of the fact that you have done this.

This womans son has, despite time in a corrections center & a wishy washy mother, reputedly turned in to a good human being. Know what the kicker is ? Now this woman is having the same problems with her younger son & is going down the same route with him. Motherly love combined with structure & discipline are a good set of bones to hang a parent/child relationship on. She obviously hasnt learnt the basic Tough Love lesson that parents & children are NOT created equal. Parents have the right to say what goes in their home & stick to it.

End of rant.

Sunday, August 27, 2006

Busy as a bee with a bum full of honey

I thought that after the fortnight that I have had, a weekend of relaxation , reading, sunshine & lazing in the spa pool would be in order right? Wrong . You see, I havent learnt. One has only to THINK the words,"Garage Sale" around here for hordes of well meaning relatives to descend raining boxes of goodies that they no longer have any use for. This creates an inescapable cycle of stuff accumulating that there isnt really any earthly use for. Eventually in a paroxym of self defence, one is grudgingly forced to mutter words along the lines of, "OK, we are having a garage sale this Saturday" & convert a useful & comfortable garage into something that resembles a cross between the local recycling center & a modern Egyptian Bazaar, or is that spelt bizaare.

Be that as it may, I had time on my hands on Wednesday to gently potter & get things organised. Herself was sent on a mission Thursday morning to lodge an advert in our local 3 minute silence, only to be told, "Sorry, the deadline for ads is 10 AM Wednesday." Who the hell has their excrement sufficiently assembled by THAT time to adequately predict their weekend? All was not lost however, as our local radio station has a free ad service for garage sales at 8 am Saturday morning. This coupled with some agressive marketing ploys,(handpainted signs either side of a power pole on the main road & a sign at the gate) ensured a steady dribble of customers, a nice sit in the sun, a catch up with old friends, & enough income to make spending a Saturday morning sitting in the sun well worth while . A few items cleverly presented on our Sunday morning garage sale on our local radio again, provided some more income.

This enabled yours truly to make a pilgrimage to our local discount timber place for the purchase of some garden edging. You see, herself has decided that she has had enough of the current savage price increases in vegetable prices & is going to extend our vegetable garden. I dont have a problem with this, as I rather enjoy eating produce that is still sunwarm & that you have grown yourself. Also in a sudden rush of blood to the head, I did a bit more work towards finishing my "Alice in Wonderland" rock garden. All that is left now is to obtain a trailor load of small rocks to spread & to assemble my Mad Hatters Tea Party. I sorta thought that a photo of our dinner table when the Grandkids are here would be enough , but reason prevailed & I guess I will do the little arrangement that I initially envisaged.

All this was followed by a trip to our local "Refuse & Recycling Center" Herself had assembled a nice little trailor load of organic waste to dispose of. We did , however, bring back more than we took as they process organic waste through a giant mulcher , convert it to compost & make it available at no cost to anyone who wants it. If they arent too busy, they will even load it for you as well. Damn good recycling I say.

Have had an email from my youngest son, Ian. He & his wife , Leasa, have quit their jobs just outside London, packed their belongings into a station wagon they have bought, & set of on the grand tour of Europe. They have done Paris, round all the sights, Arc De Triumphe, Eiffel Tower, River Seine by night, & the perverts paradise, the Moulin Rouge. Not saying he's a pervert mind, just that he has as healthy an interest in the naked or semi naked female form as his Dad. He has also done the obligatory pilgrimage to Jim Morrisons grave while there & a very reverential walk along the beaches of Dunkirk. Said it was an awesome experience. He is at present staying in a small cottage in the South of France courtesy of an acquaintance that he made at the pub that he worked at. Next stop is Valencia in Spain for the tomato throwing festival. From there , I think he is going to lose a few days in Amsterdam, & eventually drift on down to Munich in time for the Oktoberfest.

Listening to.. Whatever Hauraki serves up, at the moment an accoustic version of "Blue Lady" by Hello Sailor

Reading, The Painted House, by John Grisham. An awesome book. probably the best of his that I have read.

Looking forward to, A dip in the spa soon with herself & the release of Bob Dylan's new album

Wednesday, August 23, 2006

Scary shit man..

I think my computer must have eaten too many cookies or something. You see, all on its own, its decided to have a cyber barf & its hoiked up all my stored log ons & passwords & flushed em all down the dunny or somewhere. Every page that I go to that has stored passwords etc, I need to log on again to. The worst was here . You see, I thought my log on name was my usual Flatcat3, but its not. I spent a very insecure 10 minutes or so till I figured out that it was actually Flattie that I sign on as.

So I'm happy now, sitting here with my cyber thumb in my mouth clutching my blog blanket to the side of my head a la Linus, but all is well now. I'm sitting here writing rubbish with Radio Hauraki turned up loud with some kickass rock basically as an excuse to drown out the TV from the next room. Jude is taking her weekly dose of mincing lisping posing poofters.. Forgive me for being homophobic on this occasion, but the drama queens on queer eye for the straight guy really give me the shits. Why anyone would want to surrender to their ministrations is beyond me. Still live & let live I guess. Jude bless her doesnt say a word when I want to watch Dr Who & Monster Garage, even tho she finds the latter as exciting as watching paint dry. Me, I have kinda gotten to like Jesse James & his sense of the outrageous with some of the things he turns perfectly good vehicles into. He also has a heart of gold as shown by some of the projects he gets involved with & the people he helps.

Monday, August 21, 2006

Another one of me poems

DEVILS ADVOCATE

You say that you're for conservation
well alright thats fine.
You say dont cut our native trees
just fell the humble pine.
"Leave the Kauri proud to stand,"
I hear you cry & moan.
I hear your cry my Greeny friend,
just leave our trees alone.
I've listened now for year on year,
I'm tired dont you see.
I've heard your bloody arguments,
you've told them all to me.
Just let me put to you some facts
I think that you should know'
My Dad has worked the bush for years
with body bent & bowed.
A wife he had & two small kids
support them how you can.
Jobs back then weren't easy come
no dole queues close at hand.
You had to work or you dont eat,
a simple fact of life.
No time for man to make a stand
on anything but life.
You're not a fool, but formal school
at twelve years had to end.
A job you see it had to be
at any cost my friend.
So dont bleat on how its all gone
and nothing left for you,
while sitting in your Lockwood home
admiring all the view.
Your farm just wouldnt be around
if not for men like Dad.
You're not fit, you little shit
to lick the boots he never had.


I wrote this poem some years ago when a mining company wanted to reopen an old mine about 5 km up the valley we were living in. The only intrusion into the landscape would have been a 2 metre square shaft driven into the hillside to connect with the old workings. There is that much gold in there that the drill bits used on the test holes were coming up clogged solid with pure gold. From the shaft, an overhead cable way was going to take the ore for around 1 km down to an existing roadway. This roadway , incidentally was going to be upgraded & sealed, thus providing better access to some beautiful parts of the Coromandel Forest Park, including a stunning grove of mature Kauri trees. Two truckloads of ore a day would be taken to a processing site on the Hauraki Plains. The area concerned was basically first stage regrowth from logging at the turn of the century, mainly gorse, bracken & ti tree, as such not an area of virgin bush worth preserving at all costs. With all this, jobs would have been created for locals as well. All in all, a win win situation.

But no. Local greenys who didnt even bloody well LIVE in the valley posed that many objections to the scheme that it was shelved. I could give you more examples of mindless unthinking opposition to beneficial projects being canned for similar reasons, (i.e. Whangamata marina,) but dont get me started. Anyway, this is me, this is how I feel about some things, no apologies offered. I believe we have a magnificent country & have no wish to see it raped as other countries have been. Having said that, I believe that careful management of natural resources can provide income & prosperity at all levels.

Sunday, August 20, 2006

Hello, my name is James & i'm a chauvinist

Its been one hour since I did a chauvinistic act. I made my wife a cup of tea & took it to her in bed. I'm also guilty of such Chauvinistic acts as opening car doors for her, not letting her chop firewood & good naturedly growling at her if she happens to mow the lawn for me. I also take out the trash when I remember. Oh yes, I also refer to her as "My Wife" which implies some sort of possession. She retaliates by calling me "My Husband."

We both believe that everything God does he does with a purpose. If He (note the masculine form here ) intended man & woman to perform the same tasks in life, he would have built us more or less the same. He didnt. Women are built for carrying kids. Men are built for making them . Men have big feet so they dont get bogged down in the mud hunting Bisons. Women have little feet so they can stand up close to the kitchen bench, although I have been guilty of the abuse of food preparation in a kitchen on a regular basis.

Seriously, I believe that we have been created different, but complimentary to each other. It therefore makes sense to me that we stick to the chores that God intended us to do. I spent a lot of years in the permanent Fire Service, & was stationed with one of the two female firefighters that we had at the time. She was very competent & did her job as well as anyone with one exception. No matter how she worked out she just didnt have the upper body strength for some of the jobs that needed doing & Firemen are chauvinistic enough that there was always someone there to say ,"Here, let me do that." Nice as it was, this really isnt good in a situation where safety depends on everyone doing what they are supposed to do.

I must be doing something right, because Jude enjoys being treated as something special with me blustering my way in & doing stuff that I dont think she should be doing. It pays off, because she treats me with love & respect as well. So yeah, I'm a male chauvinist. I guess that makes Jude a female chauvinist as well, because she thinks there are things that ladies do better than men. I'm lucky I suppose, that I have the sense to acknowledge that & let her do them, the way that she lets me do that which I consider to be my stuff. All in all an extremely satisfactory arrangement I would have thought.

Friday, August 18, 2006

I saw this


And it seemed strangely relevant somehow....

Sit & Stay

Most Wednesdays I end up doing the Waihi run in the afternoon. This is to enable Ed to go home early & have a break in case he has to do an evening shuttle run for the excess Auckland freight. He doesnt mind doing this bless him, as to quote him, "I dont have a life anyway." The extra cash to go towards his Thailand holiday helps. Me I like to go home & be with my darling of an evening. Anyway, I digress. On my way home I pass through a little township called Hikutaia. In the church grounds there, TVDOC meets. What is TVDOC I hear you say? Thames Valley Dog Obedience Club is what. The thing I consistently notice here is that without exception, all the attendees are women. Why is that?

I could be sticking my neck out a tad here but I have a theory or two.. Is it because your average tripehound knows that a command from a male if not obeyed is usually followed up by a swift boot in the slats so therefore obedience equals expedience? Could it be the deepness of voice of the command as opposed to a pleasantly worded request? For example... He.... "SIDDOWN YA BLOODY FLEABITTEN MUNG OR I'LL KNOCK YER BLOODY BLOCK OFF!." as opposed to ,"Sit ,Poopsy sit,there's a good little poochykins."Dont really have that same ring of authority does it? Then again , it could be that charming feminine habit of wanting other creatures to do exactly what they are told to do. Anyway, it seems a mite strange to me that grown women are willing to stand around in a paddock while their precious little darlings sniff each others butts & indulge in the odd spot of leg humping. Whats the point ? They could & should be home cooking their husbands dinner. Maybe they have hubbys obedient enough that all they need to be told is "Cook george, cook!" Not in this household anyway.. Waddaya reckon ????

Wednesday, August 16, 2006

Dear Nameless One

Have I got a deal for you !!! On Offer, one slightly tarnished soul, the blood of my first born & unlimited access (for listening purposes only, & only if you promise to be REALLY careful with them) to my extensive collection of Bob Dylan albums. You can listen to some of my Rolling Stones albums too if you want... All I ask in return is two tickets at a convenient time & place to go to the Radio Hauraki 40th Birthday Concert.. You havent heard about it yet ? Sorry.. Hammond Gamble, who has been described as better than Clapton, Hello Sailor, & The Dudes. Heard The Dudes live on Hauraki this arvo an they was BITCHIN.. Lemme know what you think... Yours, You know who..

Tuesday, August 15, 2006

Imagine

I am currently reading a biography of John Lennon called "Lennon Revealed" written by a reporter called Larry Kane. Larry covered all 3 Beatles tours as part of the entourage & eventually became a close personal friend of Lennons. It has certainly changed my perception of Lennon. I always envisaged him as the hard man of the group & largely responsible for its eventual disintegration. Not so. This book reveals him as a very compassionate person. Yeah he could hell raise & lose his temper badly, but mostly he would always apologise. A large contributory factor to the breakup was friction between the wives. Hey all this is out there if you look for it.

I remember what I was doing when I heard about his death. Myself & another fireman were working part time as repossession agents & were in deepest darkest Otara repossessing some bedroom furniture. Bernie, my mate, came back in from the van looking stunned & said,"They've just shot John Lennon." One of the Islanders who was watching us load up said,"Who the fuck is John Lennon?" "One of the original Beatles," Says I. "Who the fuck were they?" says he. "Never mind" said I. After pausing a couple of minutes with my thoughts, I carried on .

I find his early death as senseless as the current conflict in the middle east. Ok, ther eis a cease fire at present, but look how many innocents have died.. I think that had he been alive today, John would have cried & probably become very angry.

Friday, August 11, 2006

Something fishy just for you Kathy

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Henry VIII wearing a codpiece
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Henry VIII wearing a codpiece

A codpiece (Middle English codpece: cod, bag, scrotum (from Old English codd, bag) + pece, piece) is a flap or pouch that attaches to the front of the crotch of men's trousers to provide a covering for the genitals. It would be held closed by string ties, buttons, or other methods.

It was an important item of European clothing in the 15th and 16th centuries.
[edit]

History

At first, the codpiece was entirely a practical matter of modesty. Men's hose were typically very snug on the legs and open at the crotch, with the genitalia simply hanging loose under the doublet. As changing fashions led to shorter doublets, the codpiece was created to cover the crotch. Alternate versions of the origin of the codpiece exist.

As time passed, codpieces were shaped to emphasize the male genitalia and eventually often became padded and bizarrely shaped. They also often doubled as pockets, handy carrying places for a variety of items such as coins and snuff. In England in the latter half of Queen Elizabeth I's reign, the codpiece and doublet merged into the "peascod" doublet, and the codpiece faded from fashion.

Armour of the 16th century followed civilian fashion, and for a time armoured codpieces were a prominent addition to the best full harnesses. Few of these are in evidence today, though the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City does have one on display. [Source - this paragraph: Arms and Armor of Medieval Knights: An Illustrated History of Weaponry in the Middle Ages - David Edge]

Renaissance humorist Francois Rabelais wrote an essay named Of the importance of codpiece.
[edit]

Codpieces in contemporary culture

Codpieces are rarely worn publicly today and then usually as a part of a costume worn in a performance. Some contemporary performers who have worn codpieces are:

* In Jim Henson's 80s classic movie Labyrinth, the Goblin King (played by David Bowie) sports a codpiece beneath his riding breeches.

* Ian Anderson, front man for Jethro Tull, wore an oversized codpiece during his performances in the mid-70s.

* Sir Tom Jones, the Welsh singer, is famous for wearing oversized codpieces (commonly called 'cucumbers') during performances.

* The album cover Up For The Down Stroke by Parliament depicts a man in an armoured codpiece.

* The lead singer of 80s music group Cameo, Larry Blackmon, famously wore a large, bright-red codpiece in all of his performances.

Thursday, August 10, 2006

Birthday List

Happy Birthday Ian, I love your music, specially your flute solo's. Absolutely frenetic. I do hope that you make it down our neck of the woods again & bring the of the band with you. I know you usually do the Hells Angel thing in New Plymouth, but a Jethro Tull concert in Auckland would really pack em in. That way Me, Jude an Morty could all go. Keep on playing man, a new album would go down a treat but ...

Oh yes, I hope your salmon farms are doing well too. Nothing like diversifying interests.. Happy Birthday anyway.

Tuesday, August 08, 2006

How to profit from property

Its quite easy really. Run seminars like this for forty bucks a head... Ok, so he does actually offer a no questions asked money back guarantee if you arent completely satisfied, but honestly, there really must be one born every minute












Oh, and by the way. Happy Birthday Dave. We are really looking forward to getting together for a jam session in November. We hope that your little one is feeling much better. We are sure that since you have had a nice little rest & we have been so understanding about things that your first concert is going to be an absolute ripper. We feel sure that you will have a really good birthday & enjoy it with friends & family as only the Irish can. I guess you will be seeing Bono seeing as the two of you are particular mates. Say "Gidday" to him for us will ya ? All the best, Flatty an Morty

Sunday, August 06, 2006

I shall be released

Jude & I went down to the Saturday morning market yesterday. We havent been in a week or two for various reasons . Its a lovely way to spend a Saturday morning. The first priority is always a mussel fritter or two for breakfast, then a leisurely stroll. Jude always likes to get a tray of free range eggs if they havent sold out; every couple of weeks we treat ourselves to a beautiful smoked kahawai, sometimes that fresh that there is still a hint of residual warmth from the smoker. There is always a lovely range of organic produce to check out as well.

Then there is always the lovely Breton Lady with the drop dead gorgeous French accent & 'er 'usband that make the most wonderful crepes as you wait & fill them with luscious homemade strawberry jam. All this & you get to stop & chat with all manner of people that you have been just too busy to catch up with during the week.

Our market was originally started some years back by a pair of enterprising businessfolk who could see the natural break in our main street from a church, an intersection , a hotel & our local movie house on one side & half a dozen houses on the other side, and decided to do something about attracting people down their end of town. They succeeded admirably. Its amazing what you can actually find down there & traders now come quite a distance to display their wares.

Yesterday , however, there was a difference. Along with the usual fund raising raffles buskers, purveyors of 2nd hand books etc., there were also a couple of collecters for Amnesty International. I donated, not a lot, but every little bit helps I guess. Its been a while since I have actually heard anything about Amnesty International. I think the last time I had any connection with them was when Jude & I went to hear the Dalai Lama of Tibet speak at the Epsom showgrounds. That experience is worth a whole blog post on its own, so you never know... Anyway, here was Amnesty again. They arent a group that is exactly high profile at the moment. I mean they dont chain themselves to railings or piss Japanese Whalers off by running small inflatable boats under the bows of whaling ships. Fair enough , care for the environment & hug a small furry animal & a tree at least once a day, but lets get our priorities straight.

Amnesty champion the cause of those who cant speak for themselves, because they have been unjustly imprisoned. They dont make a huge public fuss of it, they just get on & try to right wrongs. I like that. It is sad that events in the middle East have overshadowed somewhat the fact that there are political prisoners all over the world. Dont get me wrong here. If someone has committed a major crime such as murder to try & coerce the rest of the world into believing, or at least finding socially acceptable, radical beliefs, then they should be hunted down without mercy. But not individuals who have had the courage to stand up & say, "This is wrong" & be treated like an animal for no other reason, so for Amnesty International, here is the lyrics to a very relevant Dylan song..


I Shall Be Released (Bob Dylan)


They say ev'rything can be replaced,

Yet ev'ry distance is not near.

So I remember ev'ry face

Of ev'ry man who put me here.

I see my light come shining

From the west unto the east.

Any day now, any day now,

I shall be released.



They say ev'ry man needs protection,

They say ev'ry man must fall.

Yet I swear I see my reflection

Some place so high above this wall.

I see my light come shining

From the west unto the east.

Any day now, any day now,

I shall be released.



Standing next to me in this lonely crowd,

Is a man who swears he's not to blame.

All day long I hear him shout so loud,

Crying out that he was framed.

I see my light come shining

From the west unto the east.

Any day now, any day now,

I shall be released.

Saturday, August 05, 2006

What are you doing Dave ?


I recently bought a new printer/scanner/copier/coffee maker/etc. I needed to as my attempts to get my original printer working again resulted in irreparable damage.. Not my fault I assure you ... Anyway, this new one, A Lexmark if you are interested, was not only cheap & a damn good buy, but it would appear to have a mind of its own. It switches itself on & off, & I have noticed that it also holds quite a good conversation with you.. Truely. It tells you if it actually is going to print, that it has started printing & that it has finished printing. To an old hippy this is scary shit..

Friday, August 04, 2006

Thanks Morty, I think...


Its always nice to have friends. Thankyou Morty for sending me that. You're a real comfort to me in my dotage.. If I could find my cane I would smack ya wiv it...

With God on our side

40 years ago, I knew everything . I certainly knew more than my Mum & Dad. Hey i was a teenager at the time Ok? I was part of what I thought was a world wide movement that was going to change the world. "Wait till our generation gets the reins of power ," I thought, we'll make a difference. Bullshit.

I remember the mental revelation I had when I first heard Dylan. I have always been a lyrics muso & his lyrics SAID something. They voiced the feelings of a generation that thanks to the media of TV could actually see the gritty realities of conflict & combat. Some of those scenes stay with me still. The thought kids just two years older than me were in a country called Viet Nam fighting an unremitting & merciless enemy that were fighting to retain their homes scared me. The fact that kids just two years older than me were prepared to stand up & tell the world that this was wrong awed me. It even happened here. Now one of the leading lights of the protest movement is a Lord Mayor.

Into this all came a myopic young Jew called Robert Zimmerman with his damning lyrics & relaxed midwestern drawly kind of singing. He was the man... Everybody tried to emulate...

Well, forty years on, we are there. We rule the world & look at it. I take no personal responsibility. I've done my bit to help my fellow man. Surely 16 odd years of firefighting & cutting people out of cars is enough to reasonably expect from any man. I never had any aspirations of power. I've never been a leader. I'm not a mindless sheep either. I just like to do my own thing at my own speed. All I want to do these days is love my wife, live a reasonably good life & be loved by my family & watch my grandchildren grow. I have a son in London. I have posted regarding him a little while ago. I heard on the news that the Government there has upped the terrorist alert level to one below their top level.

I have been listening to some early Dylan of late, & it has, as it always does, made me a little introspective. Check these lyrics..


"With God On Our Side"

Oh my name it is nothin'
My age it means less
The country I come from
Is called the Midwest
I's taught and brought up there
The laws to abide
And that land that I live in
Has God on its side.

Oh the history books tell it
They tell it so well
The cavalries charged
The Indians fell
The cavalries charged
The Indians died
Oh the country was young
With God on its side.

I've learned to hate others
All through my whole life
If another war starts
It's then we must fight
To hate them and fear them
To run and to hide
And accept it all bravely
With God on my side

Oh the First World War, boys
It closed out its fate
The reason for fighting
I never got straight
But I learned to accept it
Accept it with pride
For you don't count the dead
When God's on your side.

When the Second World War
Came to an end
We forgave the Germans
And we were friends
Though they murdered six million
In the ovens they fried
The Germans now too
Have God on their side.

But now we got weapons
Of chemical dust
If fire them we're forced to
Then fire them we must
One push of the button
And a shot the world wide
And you never ask questions
When God's on your side.

In a many dark hour
I've been thinkin' about this
That Jesus Christ
Was betrayed by a kiss
But I can't think for you
You'll have to decide
Whether Judas Iscariot
Had God on his side.

So now as I'm leavin'
I'm weary as Hell
The confusion I'm feelin'
Ain't no tongue can tell
The words fill my head
And fall to the floor
That if God's on our side
He'll stop the next war.

That message is still too relevant to be comfortable. I enjoy Dylans early lyrics. They are so much more hard hitting than for arguments sake the lyrics to "Wiggle Wiggle" I'm not saying that the old master cant turn out a good song. There are some good ones in his later music, but they are more commercial than protest. I think he has probably by now run out of ideas, not that I blame him. His lyrical outpit has been phenomanal, & I guess every well must eventually run dry. Thank goodness the old Master of Grunge , Neil Young can still turn out a bloody good raw & unpolished performance like "Days of Shock & Awe" 14 days from idea to album. Way to go Neil. Isnt it a shame though that there is still the need for protest songs


ENOUGH YOU GUYS ALREADY OK ????????

Thursday, August 03, 2006

Masters of War

My darling was so impressed with the lyrics of this song as sung by Eddie Vedder that she wanted a copy of the words. It was originally copyrighted in 1963. Eddie sang it at Dylan's 30th anniversary concert. In the light of what is occurring in the middle east at present I think its still immensly relevent, so here are the words for you to mull over..

Masters of War

Come you masters of war
You that build all the guns
You that build the death planes
You that build the big bombs
You that hide behind walls
You that hide behind desks
I just want you to know
I can see through your masks

You that never done nothin'
But build to destroy
You play with my world
Like it's your little toy
You put a gun in my hand
And you hide from my eyes
And you turn and run farther
When the fast bullets fly

Like Judas of old
You lie and deceive
A world war can be won
You want me to believe
But I see through your eyes
And I see through your brain
Like I see through the water
That runs down my drain

You fasten the triggers
For the others to fire
Then you set back and watch
When the death count gets higher
You hide in your mansion
As young people's blood
Flows out of their bodies
And is buried in the mud

You've thrown the worst fear
That can ever be hurled
Fear to bring children
Into the world
For threatening my baby
Unborn and unnamed
You ain't worth the blood
That runs in your veins

How much do I know
To talk out of turn
You might say that I'm young
You might say I'm unlearned
But there's one thing I know
Though I'm younger than you
Even Jesus would never
Forgive what you do

Let me ask you one question
Is your money that good
Will it buy you forgiveness
Do you think that it could
I think you will find
When your death takes its toll
All the money you made
Will never buy back your soul

And I hope that you die
And your death'll come soon
I will follow your casket
In the pale afternoon
And I'll watch while you're lowered
Down to your deathbed
And I'll stand o'er your grave
'Til I'm sure that you're dead


Copyright © 1963; renewed 1991 Special Rider Music

Isnt it sad it has to be that way

Wednesday, August 02, 2006

Happiness is a warm truck

& an open road. Yes I have finally got my beloved booze & bog roll run back. I love it for a variety of reasons. Its all good clean palletised freight with no time consuming hand stacking. The places I pick up from have really got their shit together & my freight is generally all ready to go when I get there , so its usually straight up & straight back, only having to go as far as Manukau, because any further in to the city is a bitch at that time of day. I'm usually heading in the opposite direction to the lemming like exodus from place of employment. That helps. Most of all I love it because my darling usually comes with me, & I really enjoy her company. being able to listen to good music helps too. I particularly enjoyed it tonight, because i got to take Matty's 6 wheeler Nissan with the 12 speed Roadranger gearbox. Its a real pleasure to drive & even with 15 pallets on, eats the Bombays like they arent there.

I noticed something different tonight. Usually the drive home down State Highway 2 presents a more or less continual parade of big trucks, resplendent in their accustomed array of coloured lights. Not tonight. It took a bit of figuring out, because I am in my twilight years you know, but I Got there. Last Friday, they finally opened the last bit of the new expressway between Auckland & Hamilton, thus removing the interminable succession of 80 km/hr speed restrictions. I came through in the northerly direction on Monday & its brilliant. damn near motorway all the way from Auckland to Huntly. My theory is that the big boys are using that now & going down through Hamilton instead of using Highway 2 then 27 down to Tirau.

Whatever it is, the open road is a lot more pleasant than a congested one. I remain hopeful at this point that reduced traffic flow will cut the number of accidents. Now if only they would finally open the new passing lane at Heavens Rest..................

Tuesday, August 01, 2006