|
Nov 30:
Joanne Blue Tongue - Artist of the Month
Click above for an online art gallery, including the opening party of "Blue
Tongue"
and an exclusive interview with Lamma tattoo artist Joanne.
Nov 29:
Unexpected Discoveries at the Christmas Fair
Artist Eddie Chau Yuen Wing (email)
and Lo-Por at the Christmas Fair outside the IFC mall. Only till tomorrow...
"Got anything showing Lamma Island?" "Yes, sure!"
Click to enlarge watercolour painting of Lamma Island as seen from Mount
Kellet.
Loads of Christmas ornaments and arts & crafts are available.
Another little discovery at the Christmas Fair... my first-ever Krispy
Kremes...
dessert for our 15th wedding anniversary dinner in Lambcombe
tonight...
Nov 28:
Christmas Fair in YSW Shopping Mall
From today till Thu (Nov 28-30, 7am-10pm) there'll be a Christmas Fair
outside the Yung Shue Wan Shopping Mall (also IFC mall, as some
non-Lammaites still insist on calling it) - to the left of the flyover from
Central's Lamma ferry pier into the mall. So what's on offer this year?
|
Press release of Christmas Fair -
Click for
website.
(This is kind of an unpaid advertorial for an off-Lamma event - not
usually published in the Lamma-zine. But as quite a number of
current and ex-Lammaites are involved in organising and exhibiting -
and several charities will directly benefit - I'm making an
exception in this case. Any Lamma-based events are always most
welcome to get free publicity, of course.) |
|
The festive season is growing nearer. What better
way to do your Christmas shopping than in one central place with
many gifts unavailable in shops!
 After
the success of last year, the fair will once again take place on the
lawns in front of IFC mall, though this year it promises to be
bigger and better. Stalls at the fair will offer products such as:
-
Kids Toys and
Accessories
-
Health and
Lifestyle Products
-
Clothing and
Fashions
-
Books, Art and
Photographs
-
Christmas
Decorations
-
Designer Jewellery.
The stalls will be run by some of Hong Kong’s most
recognized names as well as individuals and small companies.
You will also be able to order your Christmas tree
directly from one of Hong Kong’s major suppliers during the three
days of the fair.
As Christmas is the season for giving, the fair will
be raising money for various charities that benefit Hong Kong. The
chosen charities this year include the St. James Settlement, Hope
for Children, the Christina Noble Foundation and Operation Santa
Claus.
The fair will be open
10am - 7pm from Tue, Nov 28, to Thu, Nov 30. For more information
you can visit the website at
www.hk-christmasfair.com or call Ironmonger Events on 2973-0372. |
Nov 27:
Red Scare and a Good Celt
A double dose of weekly satirical original comedy Hong Kong news round-up
animation today! Enjoy!
 
Daniel (Moment Productions, ph: 9122 2849,
www.momenteye.com), the sole
creative mastermind and multimedia producer behind HK Copy News
writes:
"I didn't get around to thanking you for
last week's write up... awesome!"
Nov 26:
A Harmonious Day
Click above for a comprehensive photo gallery of a fun Sunday bus trip for
Outlying Islands residents to the new Wetlands Park - organised by the Lamma
Area Committee and sponsored by the Islands District Office.
Nov 25:
Making Hong Kong a No-Kill City
|
Dr John Wedderburn - LAWC; AAPN; Chair
of Hong Kong No Kill City Forum, Tel: 9097 8352,
email. Click for
poster and
website. |
|
Nov 26, 2-6pm, New World
Centre Plaza, Tsim Sha Tsui:
This event tomorrow isn't specifically about Lamma
but it is generated and organised by Lamma people and we would like
Lamma people to attend. The idea is to persuade the Government to
control the supply of companion animals onto the market so that it
will no longer be necessary for the Govt to kill 2000 a month or for
people like
LAWC,
HKDR
and LAP
to devote so much time and energy on finding homes for unwanted
animals.
"No Kill" is a short-hand phrase for a policy that
aims to prevent the need to kill homeless pets by controlling their
production. For at least the last 50 years the Government has
maintained an expensive, inhumane and ineffective method of rounding
up dogs, cats and other companion animals to kill them, at more that
20,000 a year.
We believe that a few simple pro-active measures can
prevent the accumulation of these surplus unwanted animals. - this
is called the No Kill Policy. This is a policy supported by all
those who hate to see dogs and cats roaming the streets uncared for
and posing nuisance and danger to society. Besides the 3 well-known,
Lamma-based animal protection organisations above, there are:
LAD Laboratory Animal Defenders
AAPN Asian Animal
Protection Network
  I
am attaching a picture of some of the organising committee of
tomorrow's event - all Lammaites. The feline member is a paralysed
cat who uses a wheeled cart and was successfully homed by LAWC. |
Nov 24:
Final Days of a Gracious Lady Cat
|
John Cairns - Lamma Author. This story
appeared first in the Lamma-based
Cairns Media Magazine, republished here with friendly
permission.
All photos by John Cairns.
The tragic main character, Lady, is a real Lamma
Celebrity and has been featured in the Lamma-zine several times before:
Valentine's Day story
The Isle of Love, Photos of the Day (Cat
in a bowl, Lamma office life): |
|
November 2 – Within a few months, a
cat named Lady has taught my wife Eva and I more than we ever
imagined on important topics, like unflinching courage, gritty
determination, positive thinking, quiet dignity and firm friendship.
While battling paralysis and an inoperable spinal
tumor, Lady refuses to surrender, stays active and relies on a
steadfast friendship with Gail, the family dog.
Lady first appeared at our door in 2004. When
working in a home office, I often stepped outside for fresh air and
noticed an unfamiliar cat lounging on the patio chairs to socialize
with Gail. Sometimes the cat stayed all-day and all-night, snoozing
in an empty flower box. Soon she followed Gail indoors and joined
the family.
We called her Lady in tribute to her formidable
social-skills. Unfailingly sweet, she disliked being held, but
enjoyed pats and belly-rubs. “For once, a pet chose us,” I told Eva,
flattered. “Usually, people select animals, not vice-versa.”
Actually, Lady chose Gail. When not sunbathing
together, the disparate duo shared the living-room couch. Lady
devoted hours to groom-licking her bigger girlfriend. Sometimes Gail
returned the favor.
Nightly, I escorted Gail to a sandbox where she
relieved herself. Lady insisted on trotting along too. If unfamiliar
dogs or humans approached, the street-smart Lady vanished off the
footpath into bushes before rejoining us back at the house.
In early June 2006, Lady began to limp. Initially,
we wondered why she had a sore leg. Her problem worsened, and within
four days, she lost all use of her back-legs.
By foot, ferries, taxis and underground trains, we
carried Lady for consultations with three different veterinarians.
One promptly urged euthanasia: “I see a lot of spinal cases. Lady’s
a serious one. There’s not much else to do.”
Eva and I shook our heads: “No way. Not yet.”
Despite paralysis and then incontinence, Lady showed
no hint of physical pain. She stayed alert and hungry. Determination
glinted in her eyes.
“She’s still the same old Lady,” Eva said.
“We’ll help her for as long as she wants to live,” I
vowed. “If she loses interest, we’ll know.”
One veterinarian performed a series of acupuncture
treatments – 10-20 needles per time, plus wires and electricity --
that didn’t cure Lady, but seemed to please her.
We discovered the cause of Lady’s troubles when a
tumor emerged on her back. Pressing on her spine, it blocked signals
to her back-legs.
“The tumor’s position makes it inoperable,” a
trusted veterinarian said. “A surgeon could try to remove it, but
Lady might not survive.”
Although unsure of Lady’s age, we knew that
veterinarians had checked her teeth and declared her to be a
“senior” citizen. Our best guess puts her at 15 years old. A huge
medical operation late in life sounded unappealing, as did
chemotherapy injections and their side-effects. We vetoed those
ideas. And Hong Kong lacks facilities for radiotherapy on small
animals.
“Will the tumor kill her?” I asked.
The veterinarian nodded. “Even if the tumor’s
benign, it takes more space each day, crowding her internal organs
until they fail. If it’s maligant, well…. Large tumors may burst
too. Then blood vessels rupture, and the animal bleeds to death
internally.”
The prognosis sounded dire. So Eva and I simply
strive to keep Lady happy and comfortable one day at a time. That
means feeding her extra well and providing a bed near Gail. Every
few hours, we squeeze her lower torso, emptying her bladder. Twice a
day, I manipulate her back-legs, exercising the muscles.
With advice from the charity Lamma Animal
Protection, we built a cart to restore Lady’s mobility. But we strap
her into the cart only when she’s closely supervised. Even without
it, she stays active. Using her front legs, she drags the
unresponsive hindquarters. She avoids bedsores by moving often.
Luckily, our smooth floor-tiles don’t cause abrasions.
By day, Lady visits with Gail. At night, they
stretch out together. Often Gail looks worried. Sometimes she licks
at Lady’s defective back-legs while the cat purrs.
Each night, I carry Lady, her head bobbing as she
sightsees, and we follow Gail on a short stroll. Some days, Eva and
I awaken early, rouse Gail and place Lady in a pet-travel box. Then
we take both animals to watch the sunrise at a nearby beach. Prodded
by snout-nudges from Gail, Lady drags herself across the sand. But
rocks frustrate her. When able-bodied, she’d have leaped across
them. Now they loom like the Himalayas.
At moments when Lady’s problems distress us, we pay
extra attention to her. She stares back, and we understand the
message in her eyes – that she remains unbowed and determined, that
we can’t quit on her.
So Lady’s battle continues. The tumor has grown
huge, yet she shows no physical pain, refuses to concede defeat and
seemingly enjoys each day. As we watch and learn from her example,
our admiration for her deepens and expands.
The time for euthanasia may arrive. In fact, we
expect it. But that’ll be later, much later… we hope.
UPDATE (November 21) – At the Lamma Animal
Clinic, Lady the Cat, who had deteriorated rapidly in the previous
week, received a lethal injection and went to sleep for the last
time.
For months, we'd watched closely for her to signal
if and when this might be appropriate. We believe that we finally
received that message from her.
She’ll be missed and remembered, but let’s take a
positive view. By now, she may be walking and running again
elsewhere. |
Click to enlarge:
Gail and Lady become best buddies.
Early on, Lady snoozes in an outdoor flower box.
Lady devotes hours to grooming her larger girlfriend.
Lady leaves drag marks on the sand.
Once disabled, Lady regains mobility in a plastic cart.
Acupuncture treatments fail to cure Lady, but she seems to enjoy
them.
Human attention still pleases the affectionate cat.
At quiet moments, Gail worries about her friend.
Despite the tumor visible on her back, Lady savors an early-morning
beach visit.
Lady the Cat soon may see bright lights marking the end of her life.
|
Nov 23:
A Drunken Lion in Police HQ!
Imagine the outrageous and scandalous shenanigans I witnessed
personally last week in the garden of the Cheung Chau headquarters of the
Islands District police force! A friendly lion being fed with multiple
bottles of beer, getting more and more drunk till he was out of his mind,
stumbling all over the place, spewing beer into the air and finally passing
out, legs pointing to the sky!
Was all of this just a silly prank, juvenile horseplay or
signs of serious debauchery and animal cruelty going on in Police HQ?
You decide for yourself, after looking at the photos below.
A bit of background:
I was invited to the yearly Public Relations
Reception of the Islands District's police force on Fri, Nov 17. A police
launch picked up the District Councillors, local dignitaries and community
group heads - plus one "Managing Editor of Lamma-zine" - from the major
Outlying Islands (Lantau, Peng Chau and Lamma), taking us to Police HQ in
Cheung Chau and back.
The happy celebration consisted of the usual blessings, roast
pigs, a drunken lion dance (see above), policemen presenting awards to each
other, and, last but most important, a big buffet & bar! I even got a guided
tour of the HQ, including the tiny, harsh holding cells. Maybe, this served
as a stern warning for me if I'd ever publish anything "naughty" about our
valiant police force? Oops, too late! This might have been the last time
they've invited me to their party...
Click any of my photo slices below to browse the photo
gallery w/captions:
Nov 22:
Herbs, Herbivores & Herboland
What are these two friendly guys smiling about? Lamma's two
most popular (and only?) organic farmers are enjoying a rare moment of rest.
Besides running their organic farm
Herboland,
they've even found the spare time to publish the book above, with the catchy
title of "Organic Growing of Herbs". It's all you ever wanted to know but
didn't dare to ask about... the organic growing of herbs!
Illustrated with beautiful photographs, you can now learn
about all the plants used to flavour your food, make herbal
medicines/cosmetics from, etc. We're all Herbivores (plant eaters) after
all, and growing herbs on your balcony or rooftop could be a most rewarding
hobby in so many ways. Click on the cover above or the photos below to learn
more about the book (in Chinese only).
The book will be available from Friday in bookstores and directly from
Herboland
(besides Hung Shing Yeh beach). Stop by for a herbo tea and herbo cookie,
pet a kitten or rabbit, have a chat with bilingual Gavin or Gary, and get a
freshly signed and dedicated book, of course. If you purchase 5 copies or
more - and you're female - you'll even get a freebie, a kiss from one of
these two handsome guys! Rush there NOW, all ye Lovely Lamma Ladies, the
kiss will only be available as long as stocks last! Afterwards, you could even join one of their
many workshops...
Never mind that the book is in Chinese only, you'll be supporting the great
work of two genuinely nice and passionate guys and real do-gooders,
Lammaites in the best sense of the word. And the book's got beautiful plant
and flower photos, mostly taken on Lamma! Click here to post a
message to them or click below for their own fine website, forum and
extensive photo galleries:
herboland
- organic herbs / veggies / products / flowers
Nov 21:
Santa Bikers, Jungle Bells & Lamma Xmas Kids
The season of Conspicuous Consumption, eh, Christmas, has
truly started in HK and even on Lamma. Decorative, blinkey lights in the
shops, rooftop parties being scheduled, Christmas shopping trips to town
ramping up to their yearly frenzy, the better-off members of our community
planning their dutiful overseas family visits or their Christmas getaways to
distant tropical isles...
What kind of good and noble deeds are Lammaites up to during
the Xmas season this year? Lammaites are well-known for organising,
participating and generously donating at charity events, raising big amounts
of funds every year. Let's list and promote the charity events that have
been emailed to me recently:
Mad Dog Motorcycle Club - Toy Run
Do you recognise Lammaite Rob - Mad Dog MC Club President (center) - without
his beard? There's at least one more Lammaite in this picture. A Santa biker
with a child on his lap and a teddy bear, isn't he soooo CUTE! I was teasing
them about it and got this reply:
|
Doug Netzel - PR Cheerleader of the
Mad Dog Motorcycle Club:
|
Ok... so we have a soft side... Hey, we are humans also... and it's getting
closer to Christmas!!
Mad Dog MC is not just a bike club full of mean-looking, tattooed,
beer-drinking bikers chasing the girls in Wan Chai (not to mention Lamma
Island)! We try to pool our efforts and resources to help in the HK
community and support children's charities and their needs.
Short
video by Operation Santa Claus... take a close look at the biker
Santa (brings a tear to my eye).
Over
the past three years Mad Dog MC, HK
chapter, has held our
Annual Christmas Toy
Run: click here for
info and
photos.
 This year is
no exception, and will host our 3rd Annual
Toy Run on Dec 3rd. Meeting at Granville
Square, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon at 10:30 am.
Riders and
pillion riders' fee will be $100 and all
proceeds will be donated to
Operation Santa Claus 2006 Foundation.
Also, we will
accept cash or children' s toy donations
which could be dropped off at Handle Bar,
Jaffe Road, Wanchai.
The Toy Run
will leave Granville Square at 11:00 am for
New Territories ride with lunch/noodle
break at 1:00 PM. The ride will end approx.
3-3:30 pm at Handle Bar, Wanchai, for
refreshments and pictures, of course. All
riders welcome, of course. We'll have enough
petrol for at least 100+ kms.
Hope to see
Lamma Island bikers join us once again!!
Thanks for the support! Ride Hard - Ride
Safe!
|
 
Click above to enlarge. Christmas Craft Corner by Tamara is not for
charity,
but it's such a nice Christmas-related event, let's plug it here as well!
JUNGLE BELLS 2006
Drum & Bass mash up
Hosting some of the finest Hong Kong Drum & Bass DJs.
//All-stars all-styles DJ LINE-UP:
Arkham, Blood Dunza, Kas, DJ Wash, Stef:Fun, Teem, Epz, Le Libertin,
Kay C
//WHEN: SAT 02/12/2006, 10pm - 5am
//WHERE:
Yellow Devil (ex Quarter/Bling), 3/F, 21 Lyndhurst Terrace, Central (near
escalator, above Pizza Express). Tel: 3102 2066
//PRICE: HK$100 incl. 1 drink
The year’s come near to an end and we feel like giving you
something special.
Tune your ears, wax your trainers, pimp your styles, get ready when some of
the finest of Hong Kong's Drum & Bass playaz unite for one big pre-Xmas
bash.
Nine DJs in seven hours of body-shaking goodness. Music so full of bass, you
may want to give dinner a miss that night...
//UPDATES:
www.kongkrete.com
What's the Lamma angle on this you might ask? I've asked Lamma's
"Electronic Mistress" and she replied:
"My hero DJ Wash (above left) and I are Lammaites. We're part of the
organisers of this gig. We are and run the crew "Kongkretebass", promoting
Drum & Bass gigs around HK. "Jungle" is name of the music that Drum & Bass
originates from. Put Drum & Bass and Xmas together and you get "Jungle
Bells".
"Because it's the season of compassion - I am going to donate part
proceeds of the night to charity (Kely Support Group)."
Rie Wada (above left) and her violin child prodigy Louie are looking for
young and adult singers for their yearly charitable Christmas Carol Singing
in Main Street.
Rie informs me that she wants to recruit members (all ages) to organize a
quite professional carol singing this year. Mr. DickStock has agreed to
shoot a video, but he's still looking for a video editor. Any volunteers?
The carol singing will collect donations for Operation Santa Claus.
Contact her!
Her daughter Louie is now 9 years old. She got a scholarship from the
Academy for Performing Arts and has got a 1st violin seat in the Academy's
orchestra!
P.S. More Christmas charity events will likely be announced very
soon. They'll be featured prominently in the Lamma-zine, of course. The
Island Bar's 7th Annual Treasure Hunt (Sunday, Dec 10) and O.S.C.
Quiz Night, anyone?
Nov 20:
China's Smiling Faces
–
Charity Gift Book
|
Paul Lau – Lamma's
Butterfly
Man and
travel/wildlife photographer extraordinaire: |
Dear Lamma Gung,
I
would like to ask for your kind assistance
for the following charity project.
Published Soon In Lamma - A Charity Gift
Book For World Vision's Environmental
Projects In China.
China's Smiling Faces:
Children Across The Land
is a photography book by Paul Lau that
shares images of smiling multi-ethnic
children from diverse backgrounds across
urban and rural China. It is now calling
company and individual sponsors for the
coming X'mas season.
Hope you will kindly assist in introducing
this project to the Lamma-zine readers for
the charity cause. 75% of the retail price
will go to World Vision without deducting
any costs.
For details and more info, please
visit here or phone me on 2982 8157
or Skype:spoonbillbooks.
|
Nov 19:
Monk in a Hole on the Beach
The stuff one can find on the
YouTube video
sharing website is sometimes surprising and even
occasionally amusing. Most of the millions of videos are boring crap, to be
completely honest, but
there are unexpected discoveries, hidden pearls, and even real treasures to
be found - if one just digs deep and long enough.
Speaking of digging deep, here's the best and most hilarious
Lamma-related video I've found, about "an epic construction project": digging a
hole on Hung Shing Yeh beach, selling it to other beach-goers and creating
an absolutely brilliant video about it. Yes, it's the kind of thing that
some of Lamma's many young English teachers might get up to when they've too
much free time on their hands on our "Island of the Ghost Teachers".
It's an almost professional report mocking the style of a "BBC World
Special Report", subtitled "An
experiment in 'anti-real estate' - The Monk-in-a-Hole Project:
"The day we sold a hole (and put a monk in it) on Lamma Island in Hong
Kong. A special news report from Phil Grieve, Angus & Fergus Gallagher
and
Tom Grundy."
It contains a "Lamma Rap", Breaking News ("Elvis glasses lost in
the hole"), and interviews with "Kevin - Attracted to hole",
"Random Girl - Likes the hole", Herboland's "Gary - Easily excitable",
the Construction Manager and other LLLs (Laughable Lamma Loonies, not to be
confused with Laudable Lamma Luminaries or even the exalted Living Lamma
Legends!). (All photos and video by Tom Grundy.)
Afterwards, they even went on to concoct
a poem about the experience, containing phrases like "In visions
of Lamma, A sea-salt Nirvana". They read the poem at The Fringe Club's
monthly poetry evening to a "semi-disinterested and confused audience",
filming another video about it (Monk
in a Hole - Epilogue). And there's a final announcement:
[monk-in-a-hole merchandising range coming soon].
An extremely inventive and fantastically well-executed prank, dear lads!
Congratulations for maintaining the true Laughable Lamma Loony spirit and
demonstrating it to the huge, worldwide YouTube audience! Great job, lads,
free beers for everybody involved in this absolutely brilliant project!
There are two more worthwhile Lamma-related videos I just
found on YouTube:
Garoupa
at the HK Finals of the World Battle of the Bands - where they came
2nd! - performing live at the Edge! Thanks to Alex the Facial Contortionist
(and lead singer) for emailing me this link.
Plus a really strange and surprising video, not sure if this
is serious or another prank, just uploaded one week ago:
An apology from two Chinese on a ferry from Lamma Island:
"Two Chinese would like to apologize to a guy on a ferry leaving from
Lamma Island to Central (Hong Kong) on Nov 11, 2006 at around 5:45pm."
Looks like a great idea to me. Can we demand public video
apologies from ANYBODY misbehaving on the Lamma ferry from now on?
P.S. The late
Halloweenies photo gallery is ready now. Sorry for the delay to all the
parents who've been asking me about it, because I took photos of their own
Halloweenies. Click below and enjoy!
Nov 18:
Viva Deli Lamma Central!
|
Alain the Panther – newly
minted World Champion and ex-Lammaite: |
Hi
Lamma-Gung,
It's Alain the Panther. I just came back
from Singapore where I won for the second
time the world title at the
Grand Final of the 2nd World Kuoshu / All
Styles (of Martial Arts) Championship
Tournament, Nov 9-11.
The
attached knockout video
[Editor: 12
seconds, MPG format, 2MB] is one
of my bouts. I dedicate this win to all
Lammaites!
Joey also won a bronze medal in this World
Title competition. Competing just 2 months
after giving birth to our baby boy Joshua.
She's really amazing to fight so soon after
having a baby. She just had one month to
train; winning a bronze medal in such a
tough competition is a great achievement.
We are also planning to have a celebration
for our win this Friday in the new Deli
Lamma Central. Would be great if you could
join us. Perhaps you can take some more
photos of us with our medals.
[Editor: all photos
by L-G, except the Singapore and trophy
shot]
|
Prafull, Alain the Panther/new world champ, his eager & talented student
Saheb (Prafull's son) and Deli Lamma Central manager Aslam, last night in
the Deli Lamma Central. I love Alain's T-shirt!
3 recent ex-Lammaites and happy Deli Lamma customers: Colette ("The Very
Vain Lady" of
Molokko the Blogging Catster), Alain "No Guts No Glory" N'Galani,
and
The Josh (Colette's hubby and lead singer of Lamma Band
Transnoodle)
Victory party of Impakt
Martial Arts and Fitness Centre teachers and friends.
To learn more about most of these "tight-fisted" people,
click here.
The winning Impakt team in Singapore
  
Happy birthday, Joey! Alain with medal and trophy. Click to enlarge.
Winner Building is close to the top of D'Aguilar Street,
between Al's Diner and Hardy's, on the 1st Floor.
Opening hours: 11:30am-2:30pm and 6pm to midnight.
Nov 17:
Guitars & Nappies!?
Well, DickStock's been completed successfully for another year, the
hangovers have been cured, the DickStock Residence's garden has been cleared
of cans and condoms and Mr DickStock has gone into hibernation till next
spring, I think. Meanwhile, let's take a look ahead at next year's
potential lineup of Lamma Bands for DickStock 2007:
Have you already heard of the latest, newest and wettest Lamma Band:
Guitars & Nappies? At first, they considered calling themselves the "ABC
Girls" (Ashley, bbchris and Chloe), or even "The Amazing Bowers Girls". It's
a just renamed all-girl band and they're already practicing hard (and very
loud!) all night long for their first gig at next year's DickStock. You have
been warned! Here's the announcement of this renamed and now even more
exciting band:
|
bbchris –
Music forum moderator & founder of
Guitars
& Panties
(Photos submitted by bbchris, logo above updated by Lamma-Gung): |
Finally, the 'bb' at the
beginning of bbchris's name has an
explanation! Not only is our own bbchris a
live music events organiser, a colourful
palette for local hairdressers and a "Rock
Goddess", she's adding "Rock Mum" to the
list of achievements under her PVC belt.
Announcing the arrival on 2nd
November - just before lunchtime - of
Chloe Anne (6.4 lbs) & Ashley Anne
(4.6 lbs). [Editor:
Worldwide-exclusive pictures, not published
yet in any other media, see below!
Brangelina, eat you heart out, the
bbchrishaun twins are way cuter than your
Maddox!]
 Both
look like their Daddy
[Editor: Huh? Poor girls! See below! Not
true!] and are feeding well. Both
have long fingers and great lungs -
displaying the potential to become vocalists
with deftness on guitars!
bbchris has denied that
the band she founded, "Guitars & Panties",
will change its name to "Guitars & Nappies".
|
Well, we know better, don't we? Not only have they been
renamed to "Guitars & Nappies" - see their new logo above for proof! - but
bbchris will be adding Ashley & Chloe to the band as "junior" members soon,
making it a six-girls band!
Looking ahead even further, when might the first album of
“Guitars & Nappies” be coming out? Will its production last another full
nine months? By then, they might have so many songs (babies crying as
backing vocals?) recorded that they'll have to release them all as a double
album! Thinking about it, they'll ALWAYS release DOUBLE albums only from now
on!
It's great for bbchris to have the twins so early in her life, as she's only
20 years old, according to her comprehensive and VERY detailed
MySpace profile.
She looks 20 in her profile photo (see left): "About me: I am a
Eurasian Rock Goddess!" Fun reading, but it might need a bit of
updating...
bbchris has only one fear for her girls' future:
She hopes they won't grow up to become accountants or civil
servants! They might even become "nice girls" some day and - unlike their
"Rock Mum" - never want a colourful tattoo or a painful piercing, never
colour their hair red, green or blue, never join a rock band or become a
groupie! A real nightmare for a "Rock Mum"!! So better get them into a rock
band as early as possible!
This kind of fear could keep bbchris awake at night... if she
wouldn't be awake at night already to feed her double bundles of joy.
Send her your congratulations and all your best wishes for the
founding of a true next-generation Lamma Band!
Meanwhile, paparazzi-wannabe Lamma-Gung will be hiding in the bushes and
undergrowth around the bbchrishaun residence in Tai Peng with a
massive zoom lens trying to capture potentially lucrative candid snapshots
of the twins, NOT!
Nov 16:
Loony Creativity & Horripilatory Tingles @ DickStock
|
 Nick the Reviewman - Official
Court Reviewer for Lamma Bands:
Check out his
website
or send him an
email.
All photos above and below by
Lamma-Gung. Click on any photo in this article to get the
DickStock 2006 photo gallery of several photographers.)
No, I didn't know either what "horripilatory" means,
till I googled it:
Only 8 relevant uses of this word on the entire Internet, 2 of
them can be found in 2 of Nick's former reviews on his very own
website. |
Welcome to
Dickstock 2006!
 |
|
Nick the DJ is all ears during
DickStock |
Things are getting scatty
and tardy. First, Parksy locks himself out
of his house, causing a delay in loading the
gear. Then the VV breaks down... Everything
arrives up at the DickStock Residence
about 10 seconds before sunset. Final set up
is under muted lights, while the crowd
slowly ambles in.
The stage faces the beach so
the sound should carry away from Po Wah Yuen
and provide a wider space for the audience
to sit down, stand up, chat, drink, make
merry and occasionally boogie. The smart
dogs gather backstage and near Geng's
barbecue (Hmmm, free bones!) A copy of the
CD that Timo Maas gave me after his recent
HK gig is playing while the first band of
the night gets ready.
Transnoodle are Jamnoodle
tonight. Josh, mainvox, can't be here, so
Johnny sings "Transnoodle" and
"Deli Lamma".
The sound is a bit more Pogues folky, less
ska, with plenty of jamming between Andrew
on lead guitar, Kevin on bass and drummer
Magnus There's a new tune "Bury the Harbour"
which has some near-African guitar melodies
snaking through it. Jamnoodle play a shorter
set than at Lamma Fun Day, but it's still a
groove.
Time to get ready for
The Spicy
Boys. "Mushrooms" by Lee Burridge
is faded down as the quintet amble on stage
and plug in. They are Dan the Bastard,
on typical leather-lunged vocals, Hugh on
drums, Dennis (the Menace) on bass, Phil and
Gabriel on rhythm and lead guitar. Opening
song "The Passenger" by Iggy Pop is as close
as they get to the 21st Century. It's a
no-frills, satisfying trawl through some of
the seedier songs of the 60's and 70's.
There's "Roadhouse Blues" and
"L.A. Woman"
from The Doors. They crash up against "Sweet
Jane" and "Waiting for my Man" (Lou Reed/The
Velvet Underground). There's almost a singalong on J.J. Cale's
"Cocaine" and the
Boy's tart it up for "Should I Stay/Go" (the
Clash). All that was missing was Dan's
spandex leopard-print trews! They depart to applause as
"Bankrobber
Dub" by the Clash echoes around the garden
before fading into some live Tubes "Crime
Medley" and "I was a Punk before You". There's probably about 300 people here,
enjoying the craic and roll, while Willem,
Lamma-Gung and Bob Davis are going
snap-happy. Dick appears every so often,
beaming through the crowd. Earlier, he put
down little guide messages along the path,
asking the neighbours NOT to call the
police. So far, it's working. Three friends
of mine from the Timo gig - Julia, Chris and
Casey - are here, in full-on fun mode.
Hugh is back on skin-bashing
duties with Red Star Rising
 .
They
haven't played since the recent Bikers Daze
gig in the N.T. so this is the Lamma debut
of Alex, the bassist. Steve plays some
sweaty synth guitar on eponymous opener "Red
Star Rising" and there's a wired blues-buzz
to the second tune "When Worlds Collide" The
next 2 songs "Dollar Arcade" and
"Finishing
Line" are more pop-exploitative and lead
nicely into a new number "In Your Arms" with
a hint of The Beatles in the melody.
I'm sharing a gag backstage
with Nikki and Nitai who have just realised
that Hugh is "a great drummer". They can't
remember seeing him play before. He and Alex
then perform an impromptu drum and bass duet
as Steve's amp aborts midway through "Bags
and Belts". He fixes the problem and the
trio rock out to the end. "Shopping
Malls" should feature a backwards guitar
solo in the break, but technical
difficulties arise again and Steve can't
play it properly. Never mind, this is
still a great fuzzydelic beast of a song and
leads nicely into "Escalator Girls". The
final tune is "Walking with the Devil" which
showcases Steve's blues playing. It's a
Taste-y version, recalling prime Rory
Gallagher. Steve is chuffed with this when
we speak later, telling me he knew Rory
well and that they've played together.
A heaving horde of humanity
is hopping happily as The Beatles sing "It's
All Too Much" and the Electric Prunes pay
tribute to Roger (Mcguinn)'s ringing
Rickenbacker. The DJ sound cuts out and
returns with "Get Ready" by Rare Earth as
Nude get their shit together. They're a
cool collective, reminiscent in many ways of
Lamma's Mothership in that they can shed
members, find replacements and get guest
musos to join in and jam.
Hamada is sitting in on lead
guitar for the departed Mark. Justin is
having major drum fun. Kevin is back on
bass. Sam Bruce on trumpet and Makha on
percussion.
They're joined by Tony B. on sax. Last, but not
least, is Matt the keyboard kommander who
meshes smoothly with Hamada's rhythmic
worldbeat guitar licks. Paul's still the
rapmeister voxman, but Donna's not well and
is sorely missed tonight. The set features
some tasty jams on tunes by Fela (dad) and
Fema Kuti (son) amidst the original
compositions like "Articulated State" and
"The Art of Flipping". Little, spontaneous
outbreaks of Happy Feet are occurring all
over the place. A fine blend of vintage
Santana jams, crossed with the horny horns
of The Blues Brothers. You can't NOT dance
to Nude!
Armand Van Helden's mix CD
of rock breaks and New York party tunes is
playing as Kumi's drum collective
invades the stage for a short unscheduled
show prior to the Yung Shue Wankers set. The
guys are banging away happily to the beats,
but Kumi's in a strop about something or
other and wants the music off. When it IS
turned down, she's arguing about something
else, so it comes back up. Someone says she
tried this a couple of years ago during
Gaelic Gaul's gig, prompting a frosty
request from Fraser to "shoot the fucking
drummers!" Mick Farren's "Memphis
Psychosis" - an epic tale of drug debauchery
leading to an inability to visit Graceland -
helps set the mood for The Yung Shue Wankers
appearance.
The Yung Shue Wankers
are more Bouzakai tonight. Ollie's turned up
with his accordion and spends about 10
minutes trying to get plugged in. Success,
eventually, as he joins Davy on fiddle, John
on guitarvox and Harry on 2nd guitarvox.
Opening song is "Folsom Prison Blues", but
Harry soon departs as he can't hear anything
he's playing. The other 3 perform a fine
set, comprising some material from Lamma Fun
Day. Ollie's accordion causes
horripilatory tingles
on "Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking
For". There's also a semi-falsetto romp
through "YMCA" and some instrumentals that
recall Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys.
The absolute highlight is a
near-totally unhinged cover of "Surfing
Bird" by The Trashmen. Davie's fiddle
recalls prime Kaleidoscope playing Flock,
while John channels the spirit of Wild Man
Fisher on vox. The most psychedelic song of
the night - full stop. Jules returns with
her party piece "These Boots Are Made For
Walking" and it's pretty much "Th-th-that's
a-a-all ff-ff-folks!" for the live music. The
police haven't turned up all night. The
overall vibe veers between semi-controlled
chaos and loony
creativity and Timo is playing us
out as the musical wheel goes full
circle. Something IS happening, Mr. Jones.
Hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did.
|
All DickStock logos so far, click to enlarge.
Looks like DickStock 2006 is being broadcast live & worldwide from the rooftop!
Yung Shue Wankers getting into the groove
Best view of the event: from Mr DickStock's balcony
More photographers snapping other photographers, unintentionally this time
The entrance gate to the DickStock Residence
A friendly, peaceful, joyous community event: "Peace, Love, Lamma"
Most of your local friends are here as well, stepping on your toes
Parksy's pre-digital sound mixer causing a few technical hiccups
Some people got uncontrollably Happy Feet!
P.S. Finally, an appeal from Switch, a
well-known and popular musician himself:
"What's up Lamma? No jams, no open mics, no impros, no JAZZ...!!!
I haven't seen/heard of one proper jam since Dan's (the Bastards)
time at the Aroy . What's this caused by? Have we turned into responsible
busy people? Or we just can't be asked to do this anymore? Come on, you all.
Let's get to-gether, n' do something fun! Can I have a count of hands all of
you interested?"
Join our
Music forum and let him know that you're interested!
Nov 15:
'A Deadly Outswing Bowler Who Destroyed England'
Hong Kong Invitational Cricket Festival 2006:
Fri-Sun, Nov 17-19, 9am -
5.30pm daily
Po Kong Village Road Cricket Ground, Diamond Hill, Kowloon.
Entry - free for all spectators, organised by
Lamma Cricket Club.
www.hkicf.com,
email, Tel: 9636 5545.
Official Charity - Make A Wish Foundation.
Click for poster (another Harry Harrison classic).
|
Kevin Bishop -
Lamma Cricket Club |
Ashes Fever!
Festival Tournament Director Brad Tarr confirmed that former Test
stars Terry Alderman (Australia) and Jack Richards (England) would be
appearing at the tournament. Alderman, formerly of Western Australia,
Kent, Gloucestershire and Australia, and Wisden Cricketer of the Year in
1982, was a deadly outswing bowler who destroyed England taking
41 wickets during the 1989 Ashes series which Australia reclaimed. He
also took 42 wickets in the 1981 Ashes series (Botham's Ashes).
A record number of 32 teams will be featured, 18 local teams, as well
as 14 clubs flying into Hong Kong from all over the world. The Women's
divisions includes a team from Shanghai consisting almost entirely of
Chinese nationals.
This
annual Festival of cricket is the largest club cricket sixes
tournament in the world. Men's & women's cricket teams will be
flying into Hong Kong from Malaysia, Thailand, India, Pakistan, UK,
Australia, Taiwan, Philippines and Singapore to compete against local
sides in this ICC Award winning tournament, now in its 5th year.
Spectators are welcome to enjoy the Festival Village on the
weekend days (Nov 18 & 19) featuring bouncy castles, food & beverage
stalls from Delaney's and Jashan Restaurant, and fun kids stalls with
proceeds raised going to the 'Make A Wish' children's charity. The 2005
Festival raised over HK$30,000 for 'Make A Wish'. Entry for spectators is free. Directions are available from the
tournament website.
|
Nov 14:
HK Copy News #9
Another weekly installment in the satirical news programme by
Lammaite Daniel MomentEye. He writes: "The new HK Copy News is up!
Okay, so this one is late... tell you what, you can have it for half price.
Tung Chee Hwa gets a free doctorate and Beijing swaps Margaret Chan for Bird
Flu."
 I
met fun-loving, great guy Daniel in person (see right, he's shy) for the very
first time at the recent opening party of Joanne's Blue Tongue Design
Tattoo Parlour (1/F, just before the Bookworm Café). Yes, Joanne's
really got a beautifully blue tongue, ask her to show you!
Daniel MomentEye looks and sounds so amazingly different from his alter ego,
the cheeky, bubble-headed, helium-voiced pipsqueak newsreader in his HK Copy
News! Yes, he's truly mastered the mysterious miracles of modern,
all-digital CGI, sound processing and video editing...
Many of us wonder how long he'll be able to main-tain the writing, designing,
editing, recording, producing and publishing of his very creative, hilarious
and professional Flash-animated videos all by himself on a weekly schedule?
Let's hope it'll be for a long, long time! Click below for the index of all
9 HK Copy News so far:
Nov 13:
Lamma Fun Day Raises $158,000!!
|
Fun Day Sonya - Lamma Fun Day
chief organiser
(SCMP cartoon of "Lamma Legend"
Sonya - according to the SCMP - by Harry Harrison, a Laudable Lamma
Luminary himself): |
|
| |
