Crooked grind

Apologies for the lack of posts this week. My many revolting old walls are being skimmed so I can sell my castle. Sadly this has only served to make the house extremely filthy in every way, and rendered most of my possessions inaccessible. Join me in praying that, a week from now, order will have been restored (at massive expense).

I did start work on an SGR skateboard. The idea was suggested to me before Chris Onstad introduced his, but only about two days before. The number of times this has occurred is high, real high, like a beanstalk. Onstad is always one step ahead - like a pixie.

Anyway, here it is, tall in every way:



It's urban, yet rural. Do you see?

Enjoy Christmas the right way

I like Christmas, for a number of reasons, but mostly because I like to pretend that it is the 1950s and I am only going to get a catapult and bag of nuts in my stocking. By the big day I am pretty bored with the season, but in November I get excited about getting my Christmas albums out and just digging the winter feelings on my own terms. So here are some good ones to get:

AUSTERE MORMON CHRISTMAS: Low, "Christmas EP"
Brilliantly spare, lovely music by the super-religious indie rock band. I am not much of a theologian but few people could argue with this thing.

PIANO JAZZ PLUS SINGING CHILDREN CHRISTMAS: Vince Guaraldi, "A Charlie Brown Christmas"
One of my favourite albums of all time. End to end brilliance that pretty much defines what this kind of record should be.

SIXTIES WALL OF SOUND CHRISTMAS: Beach Boys "Christmas With The Beach Boys"; Phil Spector, "A Christmas Gift For You"
The Beach Boys record is their 60s Christmas album teamed with a rotten, shelved 70s effort that fortunately contains 'Morning Christmas', a heart-stopping Dennis Wilson number. The Phil Spector record is "Sleigh Ride" and all that - peerless 60s pop.

LOOK FOR IT ON THE INTERNET CHRISTMAS: Sufjan Stevens "Hark! Songs For ChristmasVols I-III"
I found these unreleased gems by accident while looking for pictures of pandas on Google Image (lie). The indie folkster loves baby Jesus and delivers in spades.

I quite like the class-of-whatever-year alternative compilations that come out each Christmas. There are dozens of them but Xfm's "Cool Cool Christmas" is the best of a mixed bunch in the last decade. It even has a song by Lauren Laverne. Buyer beware, they always feature a couple of horrible songs (guilty party here: shame on you, the Flaming Lips!)

This year I want to get some good country Christmas albums in, as nobody does it better than Nashville. But since there are 17 million of them, feel free to help in the comments. I realise that country music is a dirty word (two words) in the image-led hipster world of blogs, but be brave.

Back to California where it's warm

The Brighton show was not fantastic. Some really nice people came by, including stalwart supporter Laura Kelsey (who bought a big ticket item), but mostly the show was ill-attended and far far too pricy to get into. Rather than write a show report, I drew a picture that sums up life on my table. My table was opposite the drugged-out hippie bargain book stall and the infernal hated dancing monkey.

In the picture The Duchess is putting a brave face on it but I am not.



Some watercolours still available etc!

I feel kind of nervous!

Here are the other two pictures that you can get in Brighton. Perhaps I will come home defeated with my tail between my legs (in which case you will be able to buy them off the website at a special, shame-face rate).




Wish me luck as I punch the sky on Friday! Air-planes are unnatural! My carbon footprint is huge!

Brighton Update

Due to our short-sighted bigamy laws, I am going to have work out which one of Brighton combo The Pipettes I most want to marry. Tune of the year (week)!

Brighton Comic Expo is on Saturday.

Goodness I do hope some people are going to come down and see me at this Brighton thing. Hell, Brighton is the south east's gateway to a watery grave; it's easily accessible by tram, goat and Shanks' Pony from ole London town.

I have finished making my new range of buttons, there are four different designs for people of all different moods. I'll also have some watercolours available (some depicted below) at what I can only describe as a "low" price. £25! Plus I'll have teatowels, all the books I still have in stock, and I will be accompanied by The Duchess, adding a unique flavour of Euro-glamour to my belt-and-braces Yorkshire convention approach.

The print-shop

Amy has a gig! It will be AWFUL! Are you going?



I thought this might make a nice print (on canvas).

The buttonman

I'm working on some new buttons for the Brighton Comic Expo later this month. I have my own button maker, it's a German machine that fills me with innocent joy as I operate its levers and pulleys. The only way it could be improved is if it had a steam whistle on top.



I won't be selling the buttons on the site (too much effort for too litte reward), but if you meet me in person at a show, I usually have all manner of these tiny weapons with which to impale your enemies.