In truth, it’s kind of bittersweet to watch the film again after not having seen it for a few years. Sweet because I love it so much and have done so ever since I first watched it on it’s release back in 1988 at the old ABC cinema here in Birkenhead (now sadly gone). Bitter, because it reminds me of those days that were, for me, a time of awakening when everything seemed alive and filled with magic but now are gone. Sad, I know, but true.

I’ll confess to not being bothered that much about watching it when my friend, Dave, suggested it back in the late 80’s. The name didn’t inspire me and I just expected a ho-hum comedy that one day in the future I’d vaguely remember having gone to watch to fill in an otherwise empty Saturday night. Of course, I loved it and (another confession) I went on my own a second time to watch it in Liverpool when I was over there picking up my usual reading diet of Spider-Man and The Sandman comics. It was more on a whim that I decided to go and I struggled with the teenage blow to my pride of going to the cinema on my own for the first time in my 18 years, but the memory of the morose, Gothic character of Lydia and her stark loveliness were too much of a draw. Yes, I had a crush on her, but so did so many others (judging from all the YouTube comments I’ve read). Come to think of it, that 18 year old part of me would still marry Lydia at the drop of a hat! Red wedding dress, please :)

Winona Ryder as Lydia Deetz

The upshot of all this is that I’m feeling all motivated again, quite simply because watching Beetlejuice again reminded me of being young and inspired like I was in 1988. There’s no little sunshine in those memories and that can only be good, though I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel an ache for those carefree days.

Anyway, here’s my fave part of the movie (no prizes for guessing why).

There’s also news that there may be a Beetlejuice 2! Tim Burton said he’d do it if he found it interesting. Michale Keaton is up for it and it’d be great to get the original cast back, though two of them would definitely not be appearing; Glenn Shadix (Otho) and Jeffery Jones (Charles Deetz). The former is dead and the latter is on probation after he was arrested for failing to update his sex offender registration. Both sad to hear. Whether a new movie would work even if they were in it, I’m not sure. The original film just reflects a certain time and place in my life and that’s part of the meaning of it for me and everything about the film seemed to fall into place. But if Burton directed and at least Keaton and Ryder were on board, I’m sure it’d be well worth seeing. Watch this space!

Well, I also dug out my Danny Elfman scored Beetlejuice soundtrack the other day and I can’t get Harry Belafonte’s Jump in the Line (Shake Senora) out of my head. Great fun! :)

I’m outta here,

Jimbob

PS. Why oh why is there no proper ’special edition’ of this film!? Y’know, with commentary and extra’s? It’s the only film that I’d really bother about as far as such things go, but such a thing doesn’t exist (the American 20th anniversary release is poor). I might start a Facebook campaign!

]]> http://www.imaginata.co.uk/blog/?feed=rss2&p=1037 0 http://www.imaginata.co.uk/blog/?p=1024 http://www.imaginata.co.uk/blog/?p=1024#comments Wed, 28 Mar 2012 21:18:24 +0000 admin http://www.imaginata.co.uk/blog/?p=1024 Here’s my ‘updated’ version of the Christmas card I mentioned in my last post. I’m quite pleased with it, truth be told and though there’s a few things I’d like to change, watercolours can be quite unforgiving. Once something dries, it’s not an easy thing to get rid of (nigh on impossible, in fact!).

I’ve toyed with the idea of adding ‘Christmas’ in the title but I’m a bit wary of that. ‘Winter’ feels the better option at the moment. If there’s anyone out there reading this, what do you think? I’m trying to steer away from anything too tacky.

I’m intending on getting some giclee prints made of my picture and selling them anywhere I can. A percentage of any sold will go to the restoration appeal for the grave of John William Waterhouse (who, of course, did the original). There’s a Facebook page set up for the appeal which you can find here. Must say though, I’m a bit miffed the original urn that has been there since he was buried will not be a part of the restoration. I really liked that urn!

Anyway, hope you like the painting. My ‘gothic’ version is up and running too, so keep watching this space :)

I’m outta here,

Jimbo

I knew that Enya and Roma were fans of my favourite artist John William Waterhouse, so I thought it’d be nice to do something ‘Nino’ inspired. The result? I did a  ‘Christmas’ version of Waterhouse’s 1902 painting Boreas. It’s subtle (no fairy lights or holly, I’m afraid) and I didn’t take a great deal of time on it but it’s got something I like and it was fun to do. So much so, in fact, that I decided to do a bigger and better one that I’m not far off finishing.

But in the meantime, here’s my 2011 Christmas card to Enya, Roma and Nicky…

Well, there you go, hope someone likes it! I’ll post the newer version soon :)

I’m outta here,

Jimbob

So, Grace, if you somehow happen, against all the odds, to be reading this, I’d love to hear from you and know how you’ve been and what you’ve been up to since last we spoke all those years ago.

Here’s hoping :)

Oh, and Happy New Year to all!

Jimbob

Endymion is represented by the Bluebell and one of the synonyms for this flower is Endymion non-scriptum. The Blubell is associated with sleep. This is why there is mention of it in Flora’s Secret, Flora being the Roman goddess of flowers.

Anyway, I went to visit my aunty in the care home where she is housed a few months back. She was having her tea, so I sat in the quiet lounge and waited. Flora’s Secret was in my head constantly at that time and so, as I’d happened to have pen and paper with me, I started to write a poem about Endymion. I finished it off at home after a little research on the myth and the result is below.

Endymion and Selene

The days of springtime
When Rome adored her
Beneath a sky of daylight blue
Scattered in fields
The song of Flora
The joy of her love in bloom

Where grew her flowers
In midnight hue
Endymion stood in starlit gaze
Therein that sky of nighttime blue
Gazed back Selene
Her silver heart ablaze

In his youth
In his beauty
Without compare
When the leaves whispered her name
He slept ‘midst blubells in meadow fair
Slept ’til dimmed the daylight flame

Never before
Never after
Was his heart so taken that eve
And evermore
Forever after
To the moon, his heart, bequeathed

Well, there you go you lucky people! Poetry for free :)

I’m outta here,

Jimbob

Firstly, on my way to Scotland recently near the borders, I passed through a place called Earlston, and as I entered the town, I briefly noticed an old rusting sign saying that this was the birthplace of Thomas the Rhymer. I’d heard that name before but I couldn’t place where. When I got to the cottage in Scotland I was to share with one of my brothers and father, I asked them about it, thinking particularly that my dad would know for the amount of times he’d travelled this route. But no, neither of them could shed any light on the matter. So, I promptly forgot about it.

About a month later, I was listening to the wonderfully weird and at times, spooky, Mysterious Universe, a free podcast available for download (here, if anyone is interested). The episode I was listening to had an interview with a guy who had written a book about faeries, elves, gnomes etc. It seems, from what this author was saying, that most faerie stories actually ended up pretty badly for any human protagonist and that these otherworldly beings were quite vicious little buggers (most faerie stories that we hear about in popular mainstream media have often been sanitised (thank you, Disney)).

Anyway, the host of Mysterious Universe asked the author ‘are there any faerie stories that ended happier?’ The one (of a few) that sprung to mind for the interviewee was that of….Thomas the Rhymer! Legend has it that he kissed, or slept with, the Queen of Elphame, the queen of the faeries. Thomas went back to her castle (in one version, she’d turned into a hag and then back again by this point) and spent an evening at a party. When the queen took him back afterwards, it turned out that seven years had passed. She offered him a token at their parting; the gift of being a harper or a poet. Thomas chose the latter, hence, presumably, his name. It’s also believed that this story is the source for the better known one of Tam Lin. Just thought I’d mention it.

The other thing of faerie (I prefer that spelling) relevance is that of a few pictures I did for a project in trying to come up with templates that can be used so that children can be photographed and then ‘put’ into the pictures. I had to get images off the internet for these mock-ups and meld them together in Photoshop in a way that I found more pleasing and authentic than others I’d seen on the web. I’ve tried numerous times to contact the owners of the images I’ve used but to no avail so, I’m putting them up. If anyone out there comes across these images and knows who the author is, please let me know and I’ll contact them immediately.

In the first one, I went for a misty type image which kind of adds a little more mystery to it. The second one is more Christmas themed and is my favourite. I did a few others, but I didn’t think they were up to the standard of these two. Hope you like them :)

]]> http://www.imaginata.co.uk/blog/?feed=rss2&p=987 0 http://www.imaginata.co.uk/blog/?p=957 http://www.imaginata.co.uk/blog/?p=957#comments Sun, 16 Oct 2011 11:13:34 +0000 admin http://www.imaginata.co.uk/blog/?p=957 As you might have noticed, the new site is up and running (even if it’s laces are untied). Yup, there’s still a few things to sort out, but I’ll get there.

This has all come about ‘cos I’ve been thinking of going self-employed and having a shiny new site was a must. I toyed with the idea of leaving this blog out ‘cos it may not appear ‘professional’ enough but it’s actually the favourite thing I have on here and I wanted to keep it like it always was. I could make the design of it fit in with the rest of the site, but to me, it’s like an artifact from the old site and I have a fondness for it. So, it’s staying put!

Whether or not I go down the route of doing websites remains to be seen. Art is definitely a path I want to go down but, by doing both, I’m wondering if I’m maybe riding one-too-many horses? We’ll see.

As a last thing, if you’re an Enya fan, sign up to Unity, the official community at enya.com. Full of wonderful folk, all sharing the same passion for the music (and other things besides).

I’m outta here,

Jimbob

First off, I’ll start with the sad news (that way, I can end on a high note :)). REM have given up the ghost after 31 years in the music business and, although it comes as no shock, I can’t help but feel a little down. They were such a prominent part of the happiest times of my life and songs like You Are The Everything, Hairshirt, Find the River and countless others will always be close to my heart (and I gotta thank my dear friend Dave for introducing me to their music back in 1988).

I won’t harp on, so, without further ado, here is the first song I mentioned above. No less beautiful since it was released 23 years ago and it still makes me want to give my heart away.

Now on to the best news I’ve heard in ages (musically speaking, anyway). Enya, apparently, is going to tour her next album! Woohoo!! OK, I know that might not be everyone’s idea of good news, but I’m over the moon. I never thought it would happen, but it looks like it might. Tickets will sell out in minutes, believe me, so I’ll be lucky to get one; but there’s always hope.

I don’t want to make a career of going on business courses, but I went on one recently and I played copious amounts of Enya to chill me out. It’s funny, but I was playing albums of hers I’ve been playing for years and it’s only now that some of the songs have hit home. If I Could Be Where You Are and Water Shows the Hidden Heart from Amarantine and One By One and Lazy Days from A Day Without Rain have become particular favourites. But the song that’s really took a hold of me is off the latter album, and that’s Flora’s Secret. I can’t stop playing it. I play it in my car, on Windows Media Player, on YouTube, in my kitchen, in the bedroom, in my painting room, on my phone. Everywhere I get chance, basically. I don’t think songs get much better than this. I think it’s just beautiful; a joyful paean to love and the feminine spirit (Flora is the Roman goddess of flowers). It makes me feel like I’ve given my heart away. Try listening to it and not be carried away from the humdrum of daily life to a happy place. Seriously, turn up the volume, close your eyes and give yourself permission to drift away.

Here’s the song and Roma Ryan’s wonderful lyrics follow:

Lovers in the long grass
look above them
only they can see
where the clouds are going
only to discover
dust and sunlight
ever make the sky so blue
Afternoon is hazy
river flowing
all around the sounds
moving closer to them
telling them the story
told by Flora
dreams they never knew

Silver willows
tears from Persia
those who come
from a far-off island
winter Chanterelle lies
under cover
Glory-of-the-sun in blue

Some they know as passion
some as freedom
some they know as love
and the way it leaves them
summer snowflake
for a season
when the sky above is blue
when the sky above is blue

Lying in the long grass
close beside her
giving her the name
of the one the moon loves
this will be the day she
will remember
when she knew his heart was
loving in the long grass
close beside her
whispering of love
and the way it leaves them
lying in the long grass
in the sunlight
they believe it’s true love
and from all around them
Flora’s secret
telling them of love
and the way it breathes and
looking up from eyes of
amaranthine
they can see the sky is blue
knowing that their love is true
dreams they never knew
and the sky above is blue

Well, are you happy now? Hope that’s a resounding ‘YES!!’ :)

See ya,

Jimbob

I have been to see the last Harry Potter film which was a bit of a disappointment. I’ve only read one of the books but I quite enjoyed the films. This one just seemed a bit rushed to me. I did really enjoy JK Rowlings stint on Who Do You Think You Are on BBC 1 recently. As I’d been to Scotland a few months ago investigating my own ancestry, I could identify with the wonder of finding out the little stories and chances that, ultimately, gave birth to me and mine. Amazing stuff (and something for a later post). Went to see Captain America as well which is only worth mentioning ‘cos it’s so bad. Flag waving just isn’t my thing.

Currently, I’m putting the finishing touches to a new website called ‘Breadcrumbs From Sarah’s Table’ all about some of my fave bands that were on Bristol’s legendary Sarah Records (all very twee, apparently). But more on that on a later post.

I’m also re-designing this site. It’s gonna be bigger, better and it’s also gonna make me a living (that’s the plan, anyway). I had a look at my site on one of those gorgeous 27″ iMAC’s that came out earlier this year and it was all over the place! Eeeeek!

I hope to find the time to write the backlog of posts I wanna make. I’ll definitely do one about The Lady Lever Art Gallery here on the Wirral. There’s one about Piano Magic I want to do as well as Bill Hicks, Mervyn Peake and…erm…fairy’s. Yup, good old fashioned, sweet loving fairy’s (in truth, in folklore, they’re pretty malicious little buggers).

So, there you go. Stay tuned. The world is about to change…

I’m outta here.

Jimbob

Last year, I was lucky enough to get along to see Peter Hook and his band giving a performance of Unknown Pleasures, the debut album by Joy Division released in 1977. He did two nights; 18th and 19th May, the 18th being the 30th anniversary of singer Ian Curtis’ death. That was sold out, so, they added another (the one I went to). Fast forward a year to May 18th, 2011 (I made sure I got tickets before it sold out this time!), 31 years after the death of Ian Curtis, Peter Hook and The Light performed Joy Division’s second and final studio album Closer from start to finish.

Well Fac 251 is not my favourite venue, but it was packed and the music was…well…let’s just say, for me, Closer is one of the best album’s ever written, though it took a little while to gain that heady place in my heart and mind. I still remember the warped vinyl I bought in about 1988, it’s undulating plastic probably only adding to the sense of distortion heralded by the music itself. Musically, I thought it was brilliant. Killing Joke garnered my love for keyboards in music, so hearing Joy Division, particularly Closer was a dream come true. From the eerie mourning of the keys in Heart and Soul (my fave) to the synth laden desolation of Decades, Closer has a glacial beauty about it that little else has ever come close to. But it was only after reading the lyrics, though, that the album just took off to another plane altogether.

I know a number of Joy Division fans felt that in Ian Curtis they’d found someone who effortlessly expressed their disaffection with growing up in the modern world, a modern world which we were supposedly meant to find happiness in but whose veneer was brutally thin and ‘all falls apart at first touch‘ (Passover). Hence the isolation and the descent into ‘the darkest corners of a sense I didn’t know‘ (24 Hours). And what of the young, carefree mind coming to terms with the horrors that man inflicts upon each other; in the trenches of WWI or in the concentration camps of WWII, where ‘we saw ourselves now as we never had seen‘ ? (Decades). Curtis was obviously inspired by much of what he read, usually dealing with man’s suffering. Not a good idea if your depressive and I’m reminded of the Friedrich Nietzsche observation that ‘When you look into an abyss, the abyss also looks into you‘. Nietzsche also happened to be an author Curtis had read.

Though some of Curtis’ words may only ever be understood by him alone, they do (or did for me, at least) touch the soul in a way that’s hard to define, much like the best poetry, almost as if they are long lost keys to hidden doors within ourselves. When that happens, you cannot help but feel a deepening of your own experience as a human being in this life. I still remember the beauty of that.

Back to the gig. Hooky forgot the words numerous times (he promised to re-read them all the next morning). In fact, I think he was quite nervous and I seem to remember that was why he said he was forgetting words. After all these years in front of an audience, you’d think that maybe those nerves had long gone. Anyway, hearing Closer live was great (pity the other two remaining members of Joy Division, Sumner and Morris, weren’t a part of it) and the audience were bouncing by the end. I was just left with a little sense of loss, imagining as I was what it must have been like to see Joy Division live back in the day, amidst the excitement of the birth of such a legend. I have this cool idea that, after we die, we can travel to any point in time and experience anything that has occurred throughout history. What would you like to see? Out of the numerous things, I know one thing I’d like is too see Joy Division live (and the few gigs they headlined with a nascent Killing Joke as support would do nicely :)).

Here’s the afore mentioned Decades, in case you haven’t heard it (I’d love to hear it again for the first time).

Well, here’s the one photo I took at the gig (yup, I think that’s Hooky), and I think it’s rather cool. It’d look good as a Joy Division cover. Peter Saville, look out!

I’m outta here,

Jimbo