Harry Potter : A Movie review

Saw Harry Potter and teh Goblet of Fire last week.
I don't read the books- they be for kids. But I do enjoy the movies. They have a lot of flaws- owing to the book2film translation and the fact they're (in the past) kids movies- but i think I enjoyed this one the most. Possibly cos it was aimed at an older audience.
It's the same by-the-numbers plot. Harry bumbles through not having a clue whats happening- especially since each year there is some new tradition that EVERYONE else knows about- except Harry. Harry has challenges- cos he's Harry Potter, but he always comes out on top. There is an evil teacher disguised amongst the faculty.
Just like the other movies.

But despite some stilted acting from the main cast of children, I did enjoy this.

I am very intrigued to see how the overall plot will unfold, and I think Professor Snape is an excellent character! He was underused in this film- he kinda just waved around in the bgd looking suspicious at everyone. I'm told his character gets even more interesting in the following editions.

Having said that, there are some major elements about the whole Harry Potter thing that rub me the wrong way.
1. I don't like magic. In terms of Fantasy genre, wizards are my lest interesting troupe.
2. I don't like the English boarding school/private school mode of education. And for that matter- the bullying and laughing at others misfortune.
3. The silly "magical" things bug me. Stuff like the quidace (sic?) game and spending so much screen time on stupid lollies and silly magical do-dads that only slow down the momentum of the story.
4. The lack of Free Will.
Only those born (by random?) with the magic can be something truly wondrous, while those others (poor pleb humanity) will only be nothing but plain "muddles"- or whatever. It's all about the class system- and there's nothing ANYONE can do about it to rise above their station.
The house selection process- The hat chooses what house they go into, right? Everyone who goes to Sliveren are evil. Those that get into Griffadore are heroes. Once again- no free will and no chance of being other then what you are put into.
These are very young children we're talking about here- who, it seems, never even have a chance......

Style Wars 2: The Realism Strikes Back!

Heres another redo for 'da agent.

The original brief:

"Illustration: Cartoon of a burglar asleep. He should have an empty bottle of cognac in his hand and be behind the sofa in a respectable house. A little boy is peering at him from round the sofa."

Version 1:


Version 2:


(once agin, clicking on the images will reveal a larger and more detailed view)

Thanks to Tonia, Jones, Jen and Robin for your comments, advice and, well ....for.... showing that you CARE!!

(It was of great help!)

* In other news, while walking in town today with The London Girl I imagined eveyone was a zombie. The scary thing was NOT that I'm a 30 year old man acting like a zombie in public, but that it took very little imagination to believe the people around me WERE zombies!

Style Wars!

I think I mentioned previously that I'm talking to an Illustration Agent. They've been pretty positive (but a tad hard to pin down), and based on my portfolio, they're pretty keen to work with me.

While they like my cartoony-skills, it's the style I did that "Bevvies" piece in that they're particulary interested in.
So they gave me a test.
The Brief: A cartoon showing a man dressed up in a gorilla costume questioning a very perplexed smartly dressed young couple on the streets of New York: a speech bubble coming from the Gorilla with the words: "Do you know where the party is".
(this is for a kids educational manual- or something)

It's a small paying gig, so the agent told me not to spend too much time on it.
This is what I turned in:

(clicking on image will open it up in another window at proper size)

After 3 years working in kids animation, this has become my natural style- espically for a quick turn around.

But the feed back I got from the Agent was it was too cartoony. He said the market is flooded with that kind of style. So with that in mind, I've had another crack at it:


(clicking on image will open it up in another window at proper size)

I haven't sent it off yet as I'm still unsure about it. I was using it to test some photoshop textures, but I'm in two minds about it. Have I over done it? It's hard trying to get the results I want with the technology at hand.
I was told years ago by a creative director- "Don't let the software dictate what you do. Work out what you want to do first, and then use your tools to achieve it."

Feed back appreciated.

Prophets of Rage

Los hombres back in the Old Country are taking their righteous internet sedition to a whole 'nother level!
Keeping tabs on the Homeland state of affairs. Keeping it leftie, socialist and 15 shades of pink-o!


THE B0ARD.

Fight the power G! And...er...D... and C!

What with me be being a Johny Foreigner- a citizan of the world, I can only read and hope that they keep the home fires burning.

Who's looking after me? A man without a country.

The Watch

A few years ago, back in 1999/2000 I was approached by Christian Read to co-create and draw his superhero story The Watch. It was to be the first book published by phosphorescent Comics, a company being started up by Christians' mate, Ben Howard.

I did the first 2 issues to mixed results. If I was to be honest and fair, everyone involved were still very much learning on the job. Sparks of brilliance and newbie mistakes!

I don't have anything to do with the book or phosphorescent anymore. (except there is a picture of me on the website). I have almost total emotional detachment from these characters that I helped create. I used to have a credit of co-creation in the books, but from memory thats gone. Both Christian and I (and the following artists) have no ownership on any of our creations. Christian has become a really close friend and one of my favorite creative-partners. The book, The Watch, has gone from strength to strength. Same with Ben's company. I actively buy their products as they're pretty rad!

But I read on C-mans lj that former Friends star Matt LeBlanc (Joey) is producing a sci-fi horror movie set in the second world war called The Watch. The name of the bad guy in the comic (Abaddon) is the same as in this movie.

Coincidence???

Tune-age

Here are some of the albums I've bought recently:

Verschiedene Interpreten- A Boy Named Sue Johnny Cash Revisited

Picked up this one in a cool record store in Berlin. Cash spent a number of years stationed in Berlin when he was in the army, and I guess he has had a big impact on muso's there. This is a tribute to him from a wide variety of German groups that ranges from country, rock and electro/dance.
Highly wunderbar!

Spontaneous Human Combustion- The Prodigy

Bootleg remix album bought from Campden Markets in London. Not bad for a bootleg. The Prodigy have a new Best Of.. album out at the moment with a bonus remix/rariety disc on the special edition that I had a listen to the other day. Not bad. This is almost as good and for a fraction of the cost!

Rum Sodomy & the Lash - The Pogues

I just HAD to listen to "Dirty Old Town" and "London Girl", so I got this album. Simply brilliant. Espeicially since there are a bunch of songs about London and a few about Australia.

Teenage Mojo Workout- 5,6,7,8's

Got this one from that record store in Berlin. 3 hot Japanese chicks doing crankin 60's surf rock and soul! This is probally their best album.

Complete Madness- Madness

Needed some British ska/type rock.And this was cheap in the store. 5 quid! Reminds me of when I was young and I used to watch The Young Ones. I really dig the song "The Prince". It's about an old skool ska dj/muso (?).

Ray Collins Hot Club- Honk My Horn

Only had a quick listen to this one, but it's pretty rad! Was given this by Toby, a swing/rockabilly dj I met in Munich.

Space Cadets- Astro-billy Rockin

Also was given this by Toby. Haven't had a listen to it yet. English rockabilly group who sing about space and peform in astronaut suits!

I've also got a Stone Roses live bootleg that I've misplaced somewhere and an old skool Louis Armstrong album I picked up in a 2nd hand store in East Berlin. The Louis album was a bit scratched but came in a rad metal tin case!

In other music news I'm currently listening to some Hoodoo Guru's. Man. When they were good, they were pretty fucking good!

Shaved!

I can't believe this is the third time I've had to write this post! I keep on losing it! It's like trying to catch lightning in a jar!!

But fuck, I just want to get this narscism out of the way so we can ALL move on! (it's your fault for encouraging me! Or do you just enjoy watching me make a fool of myself??!)

So here is the Conclusion to the Shaving adventure. This all took place about a week and a half ago.

Here's a reminder of what the beard looked like the day before:


When shaving off alot of facial hair, it's important to play around with differant styles. It's also important to note that NO ONE under the age of 35 can seriously pull of a moustache!


To distract Duncan from the warm fuzzy feeling in his pants caused by his close proximity to a half-naked sex god, I put on a Pixies song. Note how a pinko-artskool-lefty-smackie-hippy-commo-Pixie-lover looks like a junkie on the nod when they hear a Pixie song?


It's (very, very occasionally) semi-important to try and see what the evilist minds in history were on about.
Maybe bad facial hair styling = pure evil?

(note to self- "Kraut", "Jerry", "The Hun" and "Nazi" jokes are not funny when in Europe.)

The end result:

A younger, non-hobo Frase!

But that was awhile ago. The Beard is back now.
--------------------------------------------------------

To come: Probally some new artwork & more exciting narcism (cos I got a new laptop that has a camera! RAD!)

"You're Nicked!"

douglas says:
how did your illos go?
scott fraser says:
not bad. Still got 2 more to go. A bit rusty on the quick draw plus had some distractions.
douglas says:
ladies?
scott fraser says:
I'm out at an internet cafe. The internet at the hoe is BUSTED!
scott fraser says:
ehm, yeah. Ladies. Plus the POLICE!
douglas says:
WHAT?!?
douglas says:
interpol finally caught up with you!?
scott fraser says:
the flat I'm staying at the moment- the police were using it for a STAKEOUT!
douglas says:
holy AWESOME!
scott fraser says:
they were set up with their donuts and binoculars in the living room (where I like to do my work)
douglas says:
you're kidding...what they actually did a stake out WHILE YOU WERE THERE?!?!?
scott fraser says:
yep. I was in the bedroom. They were in the living room.
scott fraser says:
they told the girls that they were there to bust a stolen mobile phone ring
douglas says:
what were they staking out!??
douglas says:
crack dealers? numbers? Money laundering?
scott fraser says:
well... they said they were trying to pin youths on bikes stealing phones from peoples hands. But the view from the window dosen't show the street, so we were all suss.
douglas says:
hmmm
scott fraser says:
Then I nticed that across the road was a Criminal Soliciters.
douglas says:
ooooh
scott fraser says:
I thought they might have been keeping tabs on who went in.
douglas says:
awesome
scott fraser says:
OR they might have been watching the dodgy Australian party house above the solicitors.
douglas says:
did you help them out? I've read Elmore Leonard guys i know how these things go down.
douglas says:
want me to bust some heads?
scott fraser says:
yeah! And I did a donut run!
douglas says:
jump across the table grab them by their big fat heads and say "I'm not going to jail for YOU or ANYBODY!??!"
douglas says:
hahahahahahahah
douglas says:
A DONUT RUN!
douglas says:
cops ACTUALLY eat Donuts
scott fraser says:
krispy kremes from Tesco's.
scott fraser says:
Plus tea. The poms like tea.
douglas says:
hehe
douglas says:
YOU like tea you gayer
scott fraser says:
tea makes the morning liveable. Beer makes the afternoon livable. Scotch makes the night liveable.
douglas says:
word that
douglas says:
have you ever had Tea with scotch in it?
scott fraser says:
YES!
scott fraser says:
or was it coffee? I think it was coffee.
douglas says:
crazy
douglas says:
i used to drink tea but i decided i didn't like the warm milk aspect
scott fraser says:
you drink it black?
scott fraser says:
or hippie tea?
douglas says:
i only drink coffee now
scott fraser says:
how many sugars?
douglas says:
black as night
douglas says:
with 1 and a half sugars
scott fraser says:
Is that 1 and a half buckets?
douglas says:
by buckets you mean trucks right?
douglas says:
i should say lorries
scott fraser says:
you're not happy unless the spoon stands upright.
douglas says:
no no...only 1 and a half...jen bought some sort of nutra sweet sugar that you only need like a tea spoonful of cause it's super sweet
scott fraser says:
sounds a bit.... feminate!
douglas says:
it might be...i've started holding my mug with a pinch and my little finger in the air...is that weird?
scott fraser says:
it's a bit... non-blokey.
scott fraser says:
but that dosen't bother me. I love you for YOU!
________________________________

To Come: The Shaving Adventure conclussion (with Pictures!)

Scorpio Brthdays!

It's come to that time of year. The Scorpio birthday season!

I've written somewhere here about my love for scorpio women.
But I also know a few scorpio men.
So happy birthday:
Sam
Doris
Kara
Iris
Tee
Corrine
Jaymie
Simon
Dad.

Beardo- Part 1

I'm thinking of shaving my beard this morning.
The GOOD= I get to have sideburns back. I get to show off my handsome jaw line. I'll feel less like a hobo. I'll look younger.
The BAD= I'll bleed. It's cold and windy outside & my face will be exposed. I won't look as tough. I won't look as old. The London Girl likes the fuzziness.

What do the readers think?

Star spotting!

It seems like the week for starspotting!


Last night we saw James Cromwell eating dinner above the cocktail bar we where at.

Among other things James was in 6 Feet Under, played Dudley Smith in LA Confidential and was in all 3 Revenge Of The Nerds films. He played Lewis' father.

Tales From The Tube

THE GOOD:

*I saw Stone Roses frontman/solo artist Ian Brown!
He was getting on the tube as I was getting off at Baker Street station.

*I'm reading a good book: "Cat Chaser" by Elmore Leonard.

The UK editions of Elmore Leonards'books feature cover illustrations by Tim Marrs. He's got a pretty cool style. Check it out.


*A lady sat opposite me wearing the ninja-like muslim robes. While I'm not down at all with the sexual opression of fundamental islam, it was enlightning to see the dress in real life instead of an image on tv. Also reminded me of the diverse multi-culturism in London.


THE BAD:
*The Man has forced P.T goers to sign up and use a credit card like system called The Oyster Card. I resisted for aslong as I could, but they stopped issueing normal paper tickets for weeklys.
Basically, The Man can track where you go and when. It also dosen't show you when you bought your ticket, so for a weekly pass, you will sometimes forget when you need to renew it. Like this morning.
I wasn't sure if it expired today or tomorrow so I scanned it in, and the gates opened.
Cool, I thought.
But when I went to go on the tube again, it wouldn't work.
Turns out my card expired yesterday, and it debited me for my ride this morning.
So not only did I have to renew my weekly (21.40 pounds), but I had to pay an extra quid for the ride this morning.

*Someone smelt like dog pooh on my tube from Baker St to Totnahm Court Road.

Sluggers call it a day.

Sydney neo-swing band, The Louisville Sluggers are calling it a day.


I've written an entry about this twice already, but this computer kept crashing.

So, simply, I dug 'em.
They've appeared in my pally's and mine comics. We named our radio show, "Well Swung" after one of their songs. I spun their songs on my radio show.
The manager, Michelle "The Boss" Scott is a cool chick who slipped me free cd's, put my name on the door at gigs and gave me good advice about where to find cocktails in Las vegas.

The band members look like they're up to exciting and big things. Cocktail lounge gigs in Dubai, skateboarding tv shows for Aus.

Best of luck Sluggers and thanks for the tunes!

Bevvies

I've lost my password to my website, so I'm hosting this new piece here.

Whipped it up the other day.

Illustrator?

Couple of questions for the professional Illustrators out there.
I'm currently talking with a few London based Illustrator Agents. I've spent too much time in the last couple of years working in animation to be out of the loop.

What has been your experiance with Agents?

Anything I should be looking out for or be wary of?

And on a related note, after ages I've just had a look at Illustration Friday. This week they have 450 contributers.

Are people still doing stuff over there or is it just too big now to bother?

Come on now.

Give.....

From The C-man

This was like a gift from The C-man. One of the most beautiful things mine old eyes have gazed upon.

Freaky Deak In Germany- a teaser...

Comic stuff

More debauchered travel tales worthy of the Diggsville annuals to come! Even got pictures!

But a little time out to reflect on comics.

Here is a nice, well rounded review of DeeVee:Flange. Except my name only gets mentioned once! ONCE!!!??


Also, after nearly 3 months of not working/or picking up a pencil I'm back at it. Proof-of-concept stuff for the Glasgow gig. Dig?

I.River madness

Cos I'm in luurve with my I.River:

Go to your iTunes/iPod/media player and put it on shuffle. Say the following questions aloud, and press play. Use the song title as the answer to the question.

How does the world see me?
From Russia With Love- Count Basie

Will I have a happy life?
Funky Boss- Beastie Boys

What do my friends really think of me?
Three Handed Woman- Louis Prima

Do people secretly lust after me?
Tramazi Party- Black Grape

How can I make myself happy?
Yes Indeed- Tommy Dorsey

What should I do with my life?
Debaser- Pixies

Why must life be so full of pain?
Blue Drag- Django Reinhardt

How can I maximize my pleasure during sex?
Black Steel In The Hour Of Chaos- Public Enemy

Will I ever have children?
On Your Own- Blur

Will I die happy?
Doin' Time- Louisville Sluggers

What is some good advice for me?
Happy Go Lucky Local- Lincoln Centre Jazz Orchestra

What is happiness?
It's Tricky- Bloodhound Gang

What's my favourite fetish?
I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry- Hank Williams

How will I be remembered?
Micheal- Franz Ferdinand

--------------------

Clearly my I.River not only serves as a mass storage device, music player and recorder, but also as a crystal ball that can look into my very soul?

Freaky Deak in Germany Part 1

The Hun!

douglas says:
you need to listen to Rambling On My Mind by Robert Johnson to complete your rambling mix tape
scott fraser says:
good traveling song then?
douglas says:
short but very very ace
scott fraser says:
in the Uk, they call "hiking" "rambling"
douglas says:
do they? It must be a Yankee thing too then
scott fraser says:
They don't even know the REAL meaning!!
scott fraser says:
you go for a ramble thru the hills..
douglas says:
it sounds kinda fruity
scott fraser says:
as opposed to rambling from town to town.
scott fraser says:
i've momentarily hung up my rambling boots. I've got a haircut and shaved the beard this morning!
douglas says:
.......
douglas says:
lordy
douglas says:
(i need a haircut)
scott fraser says:
I've joined society. Breifly.
douglas says:
The city fathers will not be pleased. They won't know what to do with this Mr Fraser
scott fraser says:
they thought they had my number.
scott fraser says:
(i'm going undercover for my upcoming journey into HUN TERRITORY!)
scott fraser says:
The Jerry!
douglas says:
GAH!
douglas says:
thats SOON!
scott fraser says:
this coming weeeknd.
douglas says:
plotting for mother england eh?
scott fraser says:
The free world!
scott fraser says:
The Allies!
douglas says:
send a cracker up the huns bottoms
scott fraser says:
Huzz-zah!
douglas says:
Jolly good show old fruit.
douglas says:
they won't know what bally hit them
scott fraser says:
then I'll sneak back over the sea and retreat to my Scottish castle!
douglas says:
HUZZAH!
douglas says:
how long are you in German for? And how are you going there? Amphibious landing craft i hope
scott fraser says:
a week or so. Most of it in Berlin (right in the HEART of the enemy) and then the last weekend in Munich!
scott fraser says:
I think we'll be dropped by parachutes under the cover of night!
douglas says:
good idea...might i suggest taking some sausage and a beer
scott fraser says:
as rations?
douglas says:
yes.
scott fraser says:
capitol idea!
douglas says:
it's all you need...maybe some pork belly as an optional extra
scott fraser says:
maybe some fine scottish whiskey in a hip flask?
douglas says:
YES! As a way to keep the homeland with you
scott fraser says:
i can also use it to barter if they capture me and put me in a POW camp.
douglas says:
yes. But a good way to remedy being caught...wear a small moustache under your nose and goose step a lot
douglas says:
you will blend in...especially if you get angry at people all the time too
scott fraser says:
MAN! I should've kept the moustache! ALL germans have one!
scott fraser says:
I've been practising my german accent!
scott fraser says:
have you seen Charlie and Chocolate Factory yet?
douglas says:
nope
scott fraser says:
oh. The fat german kid is EXACTLY like your accent. It's what I've been modeling mine on.
douglas says:
hahahahahah
douglas says:
my got...he ees steeling my schitck ja?
scott fraser says:
ja! Dos es gut, ja?
douglas says:
JA!
scott fraser says:
is, how you say, nein gut?
douglas says:
um...nein...it's...schlecht
douglas says:
schlecht ja? schlect is bad
scott fraser says:
schizen-koff!
douglas says:
knockers
douglas says:
zee ladies...zay loff it ven you zay "you haf great knockers ja?
scott fraser says:
sneil! SNEIL!
scott fraser says:
Ja, ze get all, how you say, freeky-deek?
douglas says:
zay LUFF it!! Zay vill van't to touch your schnauzer snoopin
scott fraser says:
un den ve ask de peoples next door if de want to come and, how you say, join de party, ja?
douglas says:
also you tell zem zat you know Heinz Harald Sherbert and zay vill take off zee german panties for LUFF!
douglas says:
JA JA!!
douglas says:
Party time!
scott fraser says:
ja! Ve germans love to party!
douglas says:
vee also haf GREAT senses of HUMOUR!
scott fraser says:
Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha.
douglas says:
see? It is fun to laff
douglas says:
Ho. ho. ho. ho
scott fraser says:
Ve should've von the war. Ze whole world would then be partying vith us, ja?
douglas says:
Javul!! Mein gott vatt a party zat vould be!
scott fraser says:
Ze whole vorld gettin freeeky-deek!
douglas says:
wiz zee boobies and zee cha cha
scott fraser says:
and zee lah lahs!
douglas says:
jubbly!
douglas says:
zis is possibly zee greatest coversation EVER

Diggsville World Tour Top 10

1. "Ramblin' Man"- Hank Williams.

"I love you baby, but you've gotto understand,
When God made me, he made a ramblin' man"

Possibly the theme song to the world tour? The C-Man put me onto it. I've been on the road and essentially homeless for over 2 months now. It's either time to set up camp, or to keep on ramblin'!

"When that open road starts to calling me,
There's something over hill that I gotto see"

2. "Laughing In Rhythm"- Slim and Slam.

Gift from dogpossum.Slim and Slam, original rap pranksters from the 30's! Using their laughter as vocal instruments. Cheeky, foolish and SWINGS! Makes you dance with a big dumb-arse grin on your face. (and how else should you dance?)

3. "Kool Kieth Housing Things"- Ultramagnetic MC's

Old skool. Kool Kieth. Lyrical rap over funky arse beats and samples.

4. "Black Lung"- 16 Horsepower

Another gift from Big Daddy Read. Banjo's, fiddle and yee-haa served up on a rock platter.
"Save your breath for breathing, I'm talking from black lung"

5. "Come On Baby"- Jimmy Smith

Slow, gooey, blues grooves. Melts you into your partners arms in a sexy blob.
The Hammond leads. Then sax. Wraps up with a playful call-response between organ, sax and guitar.

6. "Jordan For President"- Louis Jordan

Louis Jordan selling his candancey for Prez in 1953 (?)

"If you want an administration that'll groove you,
That'll move you, that'll keep you in sin,"

He comes in ".. on the swing ticket"

Perhaps The US of A politicians should have a look at his policies.

"If you want to walk on the sunny side of the street,
with a candidate with a beat,

Jordan for president!"

7. " Little Bob"- Black Grape
Gives me chills and makes me jump around! (could be from a party flashback)

8. "Farewell Transmission"- Songs Odia

Good road trip/farewell song.

9. "Only Shallow"- My Bloody Valintine

Been looking for this album (Loveless) for YEARS and i just found it THEN, an hr ago,in a record store in Edinburgh. £5!!

10. "Whiskey In The Jar"- The Pogues & The Dubliners

Trying not to get too sentimental, but jigging to this song with Douglas while C-man banged his pint glass on the table and sang along at The Dublin was a truly memorable night!! One of the best!

Mad bastards!

Scots are mad bastards!
particularly when they're young and/or drunk. Or maybe even when they're sober!

But I guess any place can be crazy walking home at 3am on a friday night as the bars close.

I was going to give with the Top 10 songs.
I was going to give the detailed hit list of my trip up North.

But I've just been reading news coverage and personal anecdotal accounts of the horror thats happening in New Orleans and I just can't bring myself right now.

Plus I feel like shit!
Late night, (and no, I actually wasn't drinking. Much.) Got THE Cold coming on that's wade waste to people around me.

More later!

Got me a mountain to climb!

The Highlands

The Littlest hobo is now in Glasgow!

Could the scottish accent be THE hottest and best accent in THE WORLD??
Nothing puts a smile on my face like speaking to the little old ladies who serve you in the pastie shops!

I was also served by some hot guy in a bar the other night. I couldn't understand half of what he was saying, but it was hot! (If I was into guys that is!!)

So what brings me to Glasgow?
A job meeting. And it went pretty well. Basically I got it if I want it.
Working for a small but up and coming multi-media studio doing Flash interactive/animation stuff.

Nothing too mind blowing, but it'll be challenging, sorta fun bread and butter work. It'll be for 2.5 months and will lead into more.

Plus I'll be paid well, and in ENGLISH POUNDS!! ££££££!! And I'll have the oppotunity to live in Glasgow, one of Europes culture mecca's!! ( and rent is sooooo cheaper here then in London)
For once in my life I can look at "spacious, roomy, upmarket units. Suit professional".

R-A-D!

But we'll see.
Also talking to an animation studio in Soho, London about a shorter gig. Unfortunatly there'll be a class between the two.

Later in the week I'll try and pop over to Edinburgh, then head down to London stoping in Birghminham to stay with Comics legend, James Hodgkins.

You know James? Inker star!
He inked all over John Mc Crea stuff thru Hitman and Batman and other things.
I met James a few years ago at san Diego where we stayed up till the wee hours at the Marvel drinks... uh, drinking and talking Sinatra!
(james has also just selfpublished Lass Vegas, a very cool, 60's atomic romp!)

A big Huzzah goes out to Mark Selan who turned 30 AND got engaged in Europe somewhere! I caught up with Mark for the first time last saturday in London, where we downed a few pints at a great, seedy English pub!

And shout out to long time Diggsville reader and commentor, Robin! On old and really good friend from 'da hood! We caught up for a drink in London the other day aswell!

Anyone else passing thru? Drop me a line!

Coming Soon: 10 songs that're rocking my headspace!

Cities

Here I am in a busy internet cafe in Soho, London. Just half a block from Tottenham Court Road tube station. 1 pound gets me internet ALL DAY!!
So with nothing else planned for today, I plan to hole up here and connect on the interweb!

I've been in London for 2 weeks and one day and there is a bit of pressure for me to set up camp here.

So I've been doing alot of thinking lately (actually it's been a common thread of thought for me in the last few years) about the nature of cities and which ones to live in.
I've lived in a few and been to many.
Some i quite dig and enjoyed whatever time I stayed there. Others I didn't particularly like. Others cities I look at in a romantic light and think I could live there, while very few I could seriously think i could live there.

But London....... the jury is still out.

I didn't come over here with the intention to stay in London. It's big, expensive and filled with Aussies and Poms.
I had my heart set on some of the smaller cities. Edinburgh, Glasgow, Manchester, Bristol, Bath, York etc.

I've slipped into a familiarity here in London. 2 weeks in the one spot is quite a commitment for a rambling man. I've got a good network of friends and I've had some fun here.

I've been telling myself that i don't want to settle here. And I got a really tasty job bite up in Glasgow the other morning. But then i did something pretty bad.

I had an excellent day in olde London Town!

It was a lovely sunny day so I met the London-Girl for lunch in the park opposite St Pauls Catherderal. When she went back to work I met another friend in Soho to track down a jazz music shop. Not only did we find it, we also came across some other really funky shops nestled in some back alleys. A Jimmy Smith cd was bought for 5 quid!

Then the London Girl and I bought ourselves a bottle of Champaign and picnic food and we went to Hyde Park for dinner. We found a nice romantic spot overlooking the sun setting on the pond.
As we headed out of the park we were approached by a drunk fortune telling irishman and his dog, Sparky. He read our tarrot cards and while i didn't understand everything he said, the gist of it looked very favourible.

After that we walked to a swanky jazz bar for dancing to a great band.

Days don't get much nicer then that!

But I think the plan will be to just play my hands and wait and see where the chips fall!

Oscar for Best Guest Appearance..

And the Nominies are:

Doug and Scott in Las Vegas Nights

And Scott in The Londoner Accidential Tourist

And the Oscar goes to.....

Dig!

DIG: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Can Johnny Depp do no wrong?

DIG: The Brittish Museum

Mummies. Mummified people, cats, goldfish, storks and little crocodiles. Nothing I can't beat in a fight!

DIG: Man with goyters!

First spotting about half a dozen small ones around the neck. Then I saw the one at the back of his head. About half the size of his skull!

RAD!

sorta.

Diggsville World Tour part II

When last we left our little hero, he was living it up with his crew in sunny San Diego!


The nerdfest was often too much for him, so they would while the afternoons away at The Dublin Square, a magnificant Irish watering hole that had good beer, pretty barmaids and an awesome band that played on the saturday night. The band started off as a traditional irish pub band, covering all the great standards, BUT they also did some fantastic covers of Rage Against The Machine, NIN and the Mortal Combat theme song!!



Much jigging was done by The Douglas and The Frase to the delight of the other patrons!

If we were not at The Dublin, then we could be found at the Tiki Bar, where they also had pretty barmaids! From our first night in SD we made friends with Mandoline, the cocktail bartender with killer skills to match her looks!
There we refreshed ourselves on mojito's and key-lime martinis!



SD Score Sheet:

# Find the TOP GUN BAR.= TICK!
(not only did we find it, but we ate the BEST ribs there!)

# Find George Martin at The Hilton= FAIL!
(Sir George was not to be found, despite the information given)

# Win the Rick-shaw gladiatorial race = TICK!
(The Douglas and The Frase proved their superiority when we beat the other competitors in a drunken ride home)

# Find the BEST pizza-by-the-slice place = TICK!

What trip to San Diego would be complete without the traditonal visit to Tijuana?

However, it is also tradition that what happens in Mexico, stays in Mexico so we'll skip straight to the Score Sheet:

TJ Score Sheet:
# Buy Mexican snake leather cowboy boots= TICK!

# Buy mexican wrestling masks = TICK!
(The masks were a big hit on the trolley back to San Diego!)

# Drink lots of great and cheap Mexican beer and dine on cheap and great mexican food= TICK!

# Have another Mexican man-whore story= TICK!

# Make it across the border without spending anytime in a Mexican Prison= TICK!

From SD The Douglas and The Frase drove in a rented convertable Ford Mustang
8 hrs through the desert to Las Vegas.


(see previous entry for more photo's)

Nothing but open road, semi-trailers and tumbleweeds!
We were also fortunate to drive through a rare desert electrical storm! Nothing quite like seeing lightening streak across the endless desert sky!

Landspeed record may/may not have been broken!

2 nights in Vegas in scorching hot temperatures of 40 degress +. Even at night!
The air was so dry that the very moisture was sucked out of your eyeballs!
We sought comfert in the air conditioned hotel room, hotdog diner with sprinklers, casino bars and the amazing cocktail bar we were introduced to at 4am on our last night. It was a shame as we had to get up at 7am the next morning!!


During the day we took the Mustang out to a nearby national park. Red Rock Canyon. The magnificant mountains and endless horizons were the locations for many western films.






Vegas Score Sheet:

# Not to gamble = TICK!
(The house always wins!)

# See a lounge act= TICK!

# Be cowboys = TICK!

# Get Married= FAIL!
(with great shame we left Vegas without completing the objective that was the inspiration for the whole world tour!)

From Vegas we flew to New York via Chicago.

It seems that the people of Chicago had heard what good fun we were and so they conspired to keep us there over night. We soon sorted that out and were on a plane only a few hours later then originally planned.

In New York, we stayed at the home of Christian and Lea in Astoria, Queens.



Just our luck to arrive when NY was experiancing a heat wave. 40 degree highs and humid!
The authorities were advising people to stay indoors!

The mood of the city was a powder keg waiting to happen. Like from Spike Lee's "Do The Right Thing"!

Doug only stayed for a few days but I was there for 10.

NY was a hard nut to crack. Either I just didn't get it, or I got it, and didn't dig it.

From an observer it is a really cool city, but as a participant it was
really harsh!
It may have been the heat. I won't dismiss the city yet and would like to return in a differant season.


There was only one objective for NY

NY Score Sheet:

# Get tattoo: TICK!
(got it done at a place in Greenwhich Village by a Puerto Rican voodoo priest)

Other highlights include:

# discovering the greatest combination of food!
Pizza + Mexican food = Mexican Pizza!

# Natural History Museum.
Christian and I worked out once and for all just which dinosaurs we could take in a fight, and which ones we'd have no hope for.
We also window shopped for simion companions and decided that Spider Monkeys were the only choice for home entertaining duties, while orangutangs would be the ideal to take out in public drinking establishments.

# Partaking in a NY criminal deal in Washington Square

# Central Park on a sunday afternoon.
( Squirrels, breakdancers, disco-rollerbladers, volleyballers, baseballers, jazz-combo buskers, hotdog venders)

# Doing Christians' Ghostbuster tour of New York!

# Statue of Liberty over The Hudsen River

# Drinking at a dive bar called Doc Holidays' in Alphabet City

# Drinking beer on Christians rooftop with the sun setting on the Manhatten skyline.

On the 2nd of August, the Littliest Hobbo left America and landed in London for the next thrilling chapter of the World Tour!

(all photo's by D.Holgate)

Tales of the Tour

Until I get my own eye-witness accounts written, here are some tour reports from my travel-chums.

I was there, but this is how THEY saw it.

http://www.livejournal.com/users/the_christian/382161.html
http://www.livejournal.com/users/the_christian/382241.html
http://www.livejournal.com/users/the_christian/383470.html

http://www.livejournal.com/users/douglasbot/14080.html

The desert!

Photos by goril-ass photographer Holgate. He's the official Diggsville World Tour photographer!

South, North, East, West

Leaving, on a jet plane

After 5 years of living in Hobart,a truly beautiful city, I am about to leave.
Nearly exactly 5 years to the day I'm hoping on a jet plane and embarking on a world tour.

Hobart has been a wonderful experience for me. I moved down here chasing a girl with the intent to drop out, grow some dreadlocks and paint.
Instead, within 4 weeks, I landed a job that would turn into a wonderful career doing what I do best- draw goofy things!!



I could go on and on about what I've experienced here. The loves I've had and the loves I've lost. The beer I've drunk, the music I've discovered, the cheeses I've eaten and the friends I have gained.

But I won't.



On monday evening I'll leave Hobart, Tasmania, jump on a plane to Melbourne and leave the country the next morning.
I'm in the process of packing up my stuff, trying to throw out as much as possible and storing the rest.
My computer keeps crashing as I desperately try and get my shit together. I've fought the urge so many times not to punch the monitor, but I realize it's not the monitors fault. I've had to resist even more times the urge to throw the computer out the 2nd story window!

Here is the iternary for the Scott/Diggsville World Tour concerts, speaking
engagements and handy-man workshops::

> 12th July-18th- San Diego
> 18th- 21st July- Las vegas
> 21st July- 2nd August- New York
> 3rd August London.
> September- Germany (Berlin/Munich)

Armed with a UK ancestry Visa I will be looking for work opportunities while over there and back here in Aus.

At this stage I could be away for as little as 2 months or a lot longer. Like the Littliest Hobo, I go where I'm needed.

More updates at 11.

Things what gives me pleasure

For some reason i find great sad pleasure in staying up late on the interweb, drinking and listening to Louis Armstrong.

Tonight it is currently 1:02am.
I'm ripping "stuff" onto my i.river.
I'm drinking a 2003 Pinot Noir from Iron Pot Bay (Tamar Valley, TAS).
Louis Armstrong Meets Oscar Peterson is playing.

This is a sample of what I've done this week at work:
(All of which are based on true events!)

Things I've Learnered..

Things I've learnered in the last few days:
(In no particular order)

* My I.River records with either the internal or an external microphone, which means I can take it to the plethora of live gigs around town and record some stuff! Had a play with it on Saturday night, and while it's defiantly not broadcast quality, it's pretty good for prosperity.
* Catching up with my ex of 7 years put me on an emotional back foot- something I haven't felt in a long time.
* When trying to bring snake-skin cowboy boots into the country I must say that they're rattlesnake and NOT python leather. THEY will take them if it's python.
* If unsure, Custom Agents will use Google to determine if cowboy boots are made from rattlesnake or python skin.
* A "Scotty-love-sandwich" is really fun!