Tommy Emmanuel: The Musical (Wizard)

A friend of mine, let's refer to him as Gary Morris to protect his identity, contacted me the other day to see if I wanted to go to a concert with him. He had a spare ticket. Te concert was for a guy named Tommy Emmanuel.

The name Tommy Emmanuel was familiar to me, though I had never seen or heard him play before. I knew that he was regarded as a finger-style guitar giant.

He was that and more.

To put this in a religious context, I wouldn't dare to say that I just heard Jesus. No, that wouldn't be a wise thing to say. It's more like I just heard God himself. Jimi Hendrix might be Jesus. Or perhaps Johnny Marr. John, Paul, George, and to-a-lesser-extent Ringo, would be the four wise insectuous men. The devil would be Michael Bolton. No! It would be Aaron Neville!!

Note: I know very little about Christianity.

Of course these are ridiculous comparisons because Tommy Emmanuel is just a man, but he plays like a God. I was completely blown away by his talent, and thoroughly captivated by his performance and rapport with the audience. I'd give him a 1000 out of 10, it was that good. Here's a clip from YouTube of a Beatles medley filmed in another locale, but similar to one that he did last evening:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbssCZtyA6s

You must understand that there's nothing quite like a live performance, so keep that in mind. YouTube has its limitations.  If Tommy Emmanuel ever comes back to New Brunswick, I'll be there...and I'll buy you a ticket.

Looks Can Be Deceiving

Your first impression upon seeing this image might be 'did she sit on a cactus'? In fact, me Mootha is not unhappy in this picture. She does have a knack with facial gestures, it should be noted.

So what's happening here since it's been indicated that a stubbed toe, a littl'un head butt, or a dog bite did not elicit this reaction?

Me Mootha's vision is somewhat narrowly focused these days and sometimes when something approaches from an angle other directly in her line of vision, it gives her a surprise. But there's more...

When Hamish (the balding baby doll pictured with Mootha) accidentally slips out of her grasp, she tends to react with shock/horror as though she's dropped a real baby. The same reaction happens when Hamish is lifted into the air by someone (often a grandson) and dropped into Mootha's lap, as was the case in this picture. Sometimes she doesn't notice when Hamish lands with a thud on the floor. When she does notice....well, all I can say is.....

And the Oscar for best animated actress goes to........Dorothy Varty!

Wendy Tattie Bogle

I've chosen this picture because I wanted to reminisce about the old days when we used to see the sun. This picture was taken on May 19, seven days ago. I believe it was the last time that we saw sunlight, though there were a few fleeting rays this morning (now gone).

I'm not sure what Wendy was doing in this image, other than being a goof. She does look like a tattie bogle, in my estimation. Do you know what a tattie bogle is? Here's the definition that I snagged from Wikipedia:

A tattie-bogle (whiles cried a tattie-boodie or craw-bogle) is a device, tradeetionally a human figure dressed in auld claes, or mannequin, that is uised tae discourage birds sic as craws frae disturbin craps.^[1] No anerly dae craws eat the recently cast seed, but they gaither nichtly an aw, stairtin wi groups o a hauf dizzen that then jyn thegither tae form a group o 20 tae 30 an so on till the flock is raither lairge an noisy. It is thair prattick tae return tae the ae place ilka nicht.

Believe it or not, that's what I found on Wikipedia. I have nae doon onything to it.

Mow More Ca. Daffy

For the average 40 to 50 year old male in Cambridge-Narrows, spring and summer mean one thing only...beer! In contrast, fall and winter mean two things to the average 40 to 50 male in Cambridge-Narrows...cold, and cold beer!

For me, spring brings lawn mowing and it is equally relentless throughout the summer. Things peter off in the fall, allowing me to concentrate on work related projects, like windsurfing.

Who's The Prince Of The Scots? Ian vs. Hamish.

Ian and Hamish have a disagreement about who's more Scottish. Unfortunately the debate ends violently, with Hamish delivering a devastating head-butt to Ian.

A Baker's Octet

All Superheroes have their weaknesses. Superman is powerless against Kryptonite. Ben Mulroney is powerless without hair gel and make-up (I'll bet he wears it to bed!). Steve Murphy becomes neutered when in front of a camera. Jayson Baxter becomes a depressive, down-a-pint dolt when he wears a sleeveless Argyle sweater. All CTVesque personalities have weaknesses beyond their inexplicably good viewer ratings.

Personally, I can't say no to baked goods.

Recently Wendy was doing some spring cleaning and  decided to tackle the storage drawer under the oven. Whoever conjured up the idea and/or design for under-stove storage should have their brain audited. It doesn't matter what you're attempting to do when you open the drawer, it always sounds like a five car pile-up.

Wendy discovered ample proof of my weakness to baked goods when she lined up her findings on a nearby table. Here's what she found: mini-muffin tray, muffin-top tray, muffin tray, pop-over tray, giant muffin tray, another giant muffin tray, mini-donut tray, and finally a mini cupcake tray.

And how do you plead, Mr. Varty?

Guilty, your Honour.

The court will now adjourn for a fifteen minute recess with treats supplied by The Happy Baker.

Yay!

Still More Damned Beloved Tulips

Do you get the feeling that there's not much happening here in the Narrows? If you said 'yes', then you'd be wrong. There's a lot going on. I'm pretty much busy 24 hours a day waiting for some warm weather...with none on the horizon.

The cool weather has been a blooming nuisance unless you're a tulip. The tulips are loving the weather and they seem like they might bloom forever. No heat. No wind. No nuthin'. And enough rain to keep them from being well watered. Or lake watered.