Well, the Christmas charts have come and gone. It’s too soon the assess Fynnjan’s impact. But I’ll tell you, oooh… next year.
In the meantime, thanks very much for your support with the Fynnjan campaign and for dropping by this blog. Best wishes to you all. Happy Christmas to those of you who celebrate it. Good times to everyone.
And here’s a lyric from Fynnjan that seems appropriate…
“…seeing the people that I love, is why Christmas is the best.”
(And a good reason to behave like it’s Christmas every day.)
Squeaky bum time – it’s not rude – it’s a potato for goodness sake. It’s saying, please download The Spirit of Christmas by Fynnjan. You’d better do it. That spud has got its eye on you. Geddit?
It’s crunch day. Almost zero hour. Teensy weensy bit stressful.
If it doesn’t get into the Top 40 tomorrow, then we’re probably stuffed. Stuffed being a euphemism. So it’s squeaky bum time (as ex Man Utd boss Alex Ferguson used to say).
Charlie Adlard unleashes The Walking Dead in support of Fynnjan.
Against us are ranged money, money and money. And the Xfactor. And Beyonce’s surprise release. And retreads with cover versions. And paid-for front cover advertising. And the corporate machines.
But FOR US – a genuine good story, a small boy’s courage, a tiny band of dreamers and… AND ZOMBIE MAN!!!
Charlie Adlard is the artist for The Walking Dead. He’s ace. He’s drawing a one-off piece of artwork in his inimitable style. There’ll only be three copies. You – or any other fan of his work – can get it for free by downloading Fynnjan‘s song The Spirit of Christmas from iTunes or HMVdigital or via www.fynnjan.com Very cool!
The artwork is a series of frames depicting Fynnjan’s interpretation of what Aspergers and other mental health issues are like for those that have them.
According to Fynnjan, life has three rooms. Most people are born into the second room. They go through the door into the third room to reach their potential. Children with Aspergers and autism are born into the first room. they don’t know that there are any other rooms. They don’t know there’s even a door. But with the right support, they can find the door and catch up and then work towards realising their own potential just like everyone else. He received great support from special educational needs staff at primary school. He knows he was lucky. He wants the same for other children.
This post is not a plea to get behind Fynnjan or to support him. Because many of you have done so already – with posts of your own, sharing, comments, downloads of the song too, and even donations to the charities. It’s been moving and humbling. I want to thank you properly, but I don’t have time just now. Because it’s squeaky bum time.
So – if you can – please share this post. Or copy the picture with the details of the Charlie Adlard competition and post it on facebook, twitter, instagram or wherever. And maybe we’ll do just enough to squeak into the UK Top 40 tomorrow.
I never daydream. I don’t have time. Maybe sad. But true.
But since you* asked, I had a go today. A driving daydream that transformed my twisting route through the dark wet leaf-strewn lanes of England into a roar across the big bright dry spaces between Bethlehem** and the Free State border. The soft relentless rhythm of Vuli Ndlela by Brenda Fassie (right) helped transport me. My smile grew to fill the imagined landscape.
And his redesigned website with more information is here www.fynnjan.com
The issue of Fynnjan’s unusual name has been raised – or more specifically, its spelling. It’s unique (I think) and distinctive – which is great. It means the best url was available. But people tend to spell Fynnjan incorrectly when searching for him online – finjan, finyan, finnian, etc – which means they don’t find him.
To keep you going till Friday, here are some top tips of how to win friends and influence people this festive season. In other words – how to be a Christmas cracker.
1. Challenge your friends to these ten bets you cannot lose. (Unless they read this post.) Up to you what you wager – mince pies, whiskey, truth, dare or embarrassing forfeit?
Actually, that’s not quite fair. They’re portraying the toys as gender neutral, rather than suggesting one sort of toy should be for girls and one for boys. But still – the pictures did not look at all as odd to me as I was expecting.
Oh no! I’ve become irredeemably right-on. On the other hand…
3. To redeem myself. I’ve been driving around with a 72-pint barrel of beer in the boot (trunk). How manly.
Not a full one obviously. Mostly drunk by now. Oh, and there was the little matter of the tap coming loose and the barrel leaking. Leaking over the boot. Swilling around. Pooling in the spare wheel cavity. How stinky.
If I get stopped by the police it’ll be very difficult to persuade them that I’m absolutely sober behind the wheel.
4. And finally. You remember how I callously sent Top Boy out hiking into the hard rain, iciness, windiness and mist? Some of you (ie Nigel) were wondering how he got on – especially considering that he had to have special permission to take part as he was underage – the youngest competitor in the overnight competition. It was nasty weather – you may have seen it mentioned on the news this week – and many teams and individuals pulled out during the competition. The Grimsdyke Hike. Grim by name. Grim by nature. But – and you can probably guess where this is leading – guess who won the Senior Competition? Oh yeah. Oh yeah. He and his Scout team mates rule.
It’s okay to boast about someone else’s achievement, isn’t it?
I saw this film on the excellent Brain Pickings website. My only quibble with the animation is that the role of the boy is omitted – though, to be fair, he doesn’t board the small boat on the trip depicted.
Next – short film number two. Some of the camera shots may make you queasy. Here’s the film called People Are Awesome.
It’s the going over the edge skiiing shot that has me holding on to the table for balance. Though I suspect it’s the sort of thing Lesley “Get” Carter does every morning before breakfast. I presume they used the same crew as this Carling Black Label advert (based on cameraman Graham Henry’s exploits with Anneka Rice in Treasure Hunt).
So he talked about that a bit. But I have to admit I was thinking the whole time – but what about space, the rocket, THE MOON!!! We did get on to that Continue reading →
Christmas can be a stressful time (courtesy of Carl D'Agostino - click on the pic)
Dear readers. This Christmas please give some thought to those poor misfortunates who will not be having a Happy Christmas this year.
(No I’m not talking about over worked mothers or abandoned dogs, just pay attention willya?)
Wrenched from their homes… Cut off from their roots… Forced to stand alone during the seasonal festivities – often in a corner.
They may find themselves taunted as people surround them with gifts – only to remove them all for distribution to others.
"Feed me elves. I poop presents." A sad case of a tree pushed beyond endurance.
They may find themselves bumped and barged – even trussed up with electric wire and deprived of rest by a 24/7 ordeal of flashing lights.
No point in looking to those around them for help – they’ll probably be surrounded by grinning pointing mobs, delighting in the “show”.
When that torture ends, more indignity, abandonment or confinement begins. They may find themselves dumped in skips, stuffed into attics or even…
Sorry, it’s shocking, but it has to be said… Or even dismembered and burned.
Ah, look at the poor wee thing... He's pining for his pine.
This year, dear reader, please remember – A Tree Is Not Just For Christmas, It’s For… oh for goodness sake.
Let’s just get an artificial one. Less mess and you don’t have to worry about their “forest friends” pressing their beaks and noses against the window looking in with sad faces.
Trust me, I’m a doctor… or a nurse or an anaesthetist or a radiologist or just a bloke painting the corridor wearing a white coat. Easy mistake to make. Happened to a mate of mine. The people who collared him were overwhelmingly grateful that he’d saved their son’s life. He hadn’t the heart to tell them he was only there to give the walls another layer of ghastly green.
But hospitals and their long-suffering, truly dedicated, kind hearted, plastic glove stretching, tonsil tickling, into ear peering, chest listening, just bend overing, won’t hurt a bittering, ooh that looks nastying, trust me I’m a doctoring and please… just relax, lovely lovely staff – are on my mind for two reasons.
I know that a sainted reader of this very blog will be working in one over Christmas. And also – the Loose Bloggers Consortium threatened to shove me off my trolley if I didn’t write something about hospitals. (Ha! Too late – I’ve been off my trolley for years now.)
So in honour of those caring souls sharing their Hypocratic benevolence on hospital wards at this time of year, here’s a guide to the abbreviations they use. (Just so the rest of us can be quicker on the uptake and not force them to waste time explaining themselves.) Those of a sensitive disposition may scroll straight to the bottom for the less offensive video.
Blackwatertown - the blog & the book - are by Paul Waters. (So is The Obituarist.) I present a podcast & radio show called We'd Like A Word with Stevyn Colgan. It's about books, authors, publishers, readers, editors, agents, illustrators, poets, script writers & lyricists. The podcast is at https://anchor.fm/wed-like-a-word or wherever you get your podcasts. And the website is www.wedlikeaword.com or on social media @wedlikeaword
I also make other radio, TV & podcasts. Leave a comment or email me at paulwaters99 at hotmail.com Thanks for reading. Paul
Blackwatertown 