symondrake » Reminscing

Grifters, BMXs and Sweet Jumps

Symon — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 01:05:12 +0000

The summer of 1983. BMX mania had swept the world. Hence, all I had dreamed of all year for Christmas was a BMX. Imagine my excitement (or lack of) when I got a Grifter.

Grifter: Children’s bicycle manufactured and marketed from 1976 and until early 1983 by the Raleigh Bicycle Company of Nottingham, England.

Grifter Pros:

The gear shift (which was incorporated in to the handle grips and was controlled with a twisting motion).
Looked like a BMX.

Grifter Cons:

Chunky, heavy and cumbersome (felt more like a motorbike than a bicycle).
Not a BMX.

Don’t get me wrong – Grifters were cool … until BMXs were invented, then they became insult magnets for BMX riders.

One thing categorized the Standard-4 boys of Owairaka Primary… those who rode BMXs and those who rode Grifters who were constantly picked on by those who had BMXs… all 3 of us. The Grifter Gang years began.

I grew to love my Grifter and spent most of my school holidays and after school riding it all over west Auckland with the other two members of the GG. Needless to say we pulled many a sweet jump on the things. (which nowadays i might add, are highly collectible to retro buffs).

The Summer of 2009.

My eldest son received a bona-fide BMX for Christmas from his very over-generous grandparents. I don’t know who was more excited, him or me.

Yesterday I introduced him to the art of backyard sweet jump pulling. Life is good.

My evolution of musical taste

Symon — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 09:59:00 +0000

Being a child of the 70′s my taste in music was influenced by my older siblings – Disco Europop.

Abba

The 80′s started with a bang, and like most kids my age I whittled away many a Saturday cradling my poor-man’s ‘Ghetto Blaster’ listening to Casey Kasem’s American Top 40.

Too many classics to mention but one band pretty much sums it up:

A-Ha

The 90′s began, and so did my guitar playing. Overnight it seemed my taste in music matured from cheesy pop to Christian heavy metal…

King’s X

King’s X would still be one of my favourite bands if it weren’t for their public turning away from the Christian faith.

Someone must have been praying for me during this time because folk music started to be played on my system more and more…

Keith Green

During the 90′s and early 2000′s because of my loathing of ‘artificial music’, I simply refused to listen to, let alone buy any band that featured a keyboardist. One band caused me to repent of my syth-descrimination…

Delirious

The early 2000′s showcased some simply amazing New Zealand guitar driven worship – which I might add, has shaped my music style permanently. Props to Dean Rush (Form), Bruce Conlon (Eight), Brian Platt (Solace), and Mark Bourgeois (Elephant). Amazingly, all of the above attended the same church in Auckland.

Eight

One band has dominated my stereo in recent years: David Crowder Band (which genuine Christian isn’t a fan of him?)

David Crowder Band

2010 is just around the corner, and where is my taste in music heading? I’m not too sure, but thanks to a good friend of mine, my latest musical purchase is reminiscent 80′s disco synthpop.

Owl City

And so, my life defined by music genres…

1970′s – Disco
1980′s – Pop
1990′s – Christian Heavy Metal
2000′s – Guitar Driven Worship
2010′s – Reminiscent 80s disco synthpop???

Full circle it seems. (I don’t know whether to laugh or cry

Mary Poppins. Hide your children

Symon — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 08:45:00 +0000

I’ve never seen Mary Poppins in its entirety. Parts of it have always given me the creeps.

Perhaps it’s is because of the not so subtle (down right scary) imagery hidden throughout the movie. Don’t be deceived by it’s cute Disney musical facade with the ever so innocent Mary (fresh from singing in the Swiss alps).

Pure evil I say.

You doubt me? Watch the original trailer if you dare.

*Shudder*

Giant devil fish, rays and panic attacks

Symon — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 23:00:00 +0000

Ever since I was a kid I have been fascinated by rays… PaislyeJade has been terrified by them.

She remembers an obviously doctored photo in an old local surf shop of an areal view of a dingy dwarfed by the shadow of a giant manta swimming beneath it. The imagery that fuels nightmares.

In our early years of marriage we had a couple of too-close-for-comfort encounters with rays.

We were having a leisurely snorkel one afternoon at a picture-perfect inlet and I came across one rather large ray basking beside a rocky outcrop. I pointed it out to PJ and couldn’t believe her courage as she she swam right up to it. It wasn’t until it started looking very threatening, did PJ then proceed to have a panic attack. Courage didn’t motivate her to get close up and personal with the ray that day… her mask was so fogged up that she couldn’t see it, until she was almost kissing it.

On another fateful Monday morning, we had only just started a classic surf session when I noticed that the sandy floor a couple of meters below us was quite literally covered with rays. What they were doing I cannot say… basking, spawning? But it was a little unnerving. Why oh why did I point them out to an oblivious PJ? Panic attack no.2.

Alright, so we all know that rays are harmless beautiful creatures. A reassuring fact sure enough, until its believability is shattered when Google reveals pieces of trivia like…

“Simon Pierce of Queensland University’s School of Biological Sciences said there were no accurate records of stingray deaths, but estimated there had been about 30 worldwide in recent years.”

And of course we can’t forget the late great Hunter of Crocodiles… by crikey.

Ever wanted to know how big these suckers get?

The Hawaii Association for Marine Education and Research, Inc. website claims that the largest manta species ‘Manta Birostris’ can have a wingspan of 9.1 meters.

Maybe the photo in the surf shop was real after all.

The Goonies and the illusive Giant Octopus

Symon — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 01:11:00 +0000

In relation to a recent Facebook thread, I couldn’t help but take 5 minutes out of my afternoon to write a quick post about the mysterious Goonies Octopus scene.

Back in the day (1985 to be precise), Goonies paraphernalia came out months before the release date here in NZ. The ever popular (at the time) Goonies Bubblegum Cards contained a couple of shots of the Giant Octopus scene. So, if you were anything like I was in ’85 (and still am), I couldn’t contain my excitement as I awaited the movie to start. The movie started and ended, there was no sign of the awesome giant octopus, I was gutted and it tarnished my view of the movie forever.

To rub salt in my wounds, at the film’s conclusion, when Data (the same kid who was in Temple of Doom) is talking to the reporters, he says: “…Yeah, and the part with the octopus was really scary!”

I could have cried.

And now, thanks to the magic of Youtube, let me reveal to you, the deleted Giant Octopus scene in all it’s glory. 29 years later all I have to say (once again) is… “Meh.”

Flashback Friday

Symon — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 11:48:00 +0000

It is 11:52pm and I’m sitting at the computer half asleep. A couple of minutes ago I was snuggled up in bed and Paisleyjade asked me if I had written a blog-post today. I hadn’t, so here I am. Sleepy, cold and half-naked. The things we do for fame.

Anyway. The above pic was taken in early-mid 80s. and there are several things very wrong with it.

1. The stubbies
2. The shirt tucked into the stubbies
3. The bowl cut
4. The buck teeth
5. The bike bell

Can you spot anymore?

Symon.
Over and out.

Treat your mother right… fool!

Symon — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 10:21:00 +0000

Anyone growing up in the 80′s loved Mr. T. He was an icon of a bygone and fondly reminisced era. My wife even had a crush on him back in the day (married me because we look so similar;-) But I digress.

What I bet most of us Gen X’s don’t know (or anyone else for that matter) is that Mr. T had a brief stint as a singer/songwriter. I kid you not… and video proof follows.

Kinda catchy if you ask me…

Hip Chess for retro kidults

Symon — Sun, 17 May 2009 21:08:00 +0000

Chess rocks. I was in the chess club at school. I once had a very expensive medieval chess set. I love chess. Alas, I can count the number of fellow chess-loving-enthusiasts in my current circle of friends on no hands… zilch. nada. zero.

Imagine my delight when my 7 year old son came home from school last week and said, “Dad… can you teach me how to play chess?”

Parental bliss.

And so, having a re-kindled desire to go out and buy a Chess set which oozes awesomeness, I’ve been doing some research… and it seems that Chess for retro kidults is now very, very cool indeed. The problem is, you need a lot of money to be that cool. Looks like I’m gonna have to start saving

Spider-Man Deluxe Pewter Chess Set: $499 (USD)

Aliens Deluxe Pewter Chess Set: $374.99 (USD)

Lord Of The Rings Collectors Chess Set: $649.99 (USD)

Lego Ultimate Castle Chess Set: $300 (USD)

Star Wars Collectors Chess Set: $599 (USD)

Fred and Barney’s Nicotine addiction

Symon — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 20:55:00 +0000

Anyone in their 30′s and older will remember well the Flintstones. The cartoon was one of my all-time favourites and I reminisce (with nostalgic happiness) the 80′s when the show screened every school day around 4pm. Any cultured kidult will know that the Flintstones equal retro cartoonsville at its very best. I even named my cat ‘Barney’ in honour of the show.

What I bet you didn’t know is that good old Fred and Barney were also heavy cigarette smokers, frequently lighting up and at the same time encouraging their impressionable viewers to do the same.

Shame on them. Actually, same on the shows producers. Let me explain…

The Flintstones series was initially aimed at adult audiences, and the first series was sponsored by Winstone Cigarettes. Hanna Barbara allowed Fred and Barney to appear in several black and white television commercials for the cigarette company.

And we think that today’s cartoons are a bad influence!?

Symon and the Real Girl

Symon — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 22:00:00 +0000

It’s our wedding anniversary today. I was scrummaging through my shed this morning (as you do on your wedding anniversary) and found my Best Man’s wedding speech. Wayne, you did a legendary job with this, and it still makes me crack up thirteen years later!

So for a window into our life almost a decade and a half ago, read on…

Ode to Symon and Kristy

Symon was a quiet lad, or so we have been told
But we knew that things would have to change before he grew too old
At the age of sixteen he picked up a guitar and began to sing and write
Committed to his cause he wrote a barrelful of tunes, sometimes two or three a night
They were songs to change the world, and songs to spread the word
And yet most of the songs that Symon wrote, no one ever heard (except me)

A few years down the track, God answered Symon’s prayer
On Friday night the phone did ring and a voice said “It’s Brian here”
The news that Brian brought gave the greatest of great joys…
An offer for Symon to play the bass for a band called “The Flatboys”
Symon quickly accepted Brian’s offer to play
He rang his mum and told his friends and started the very next day
With lots of gigs booked and Summer Harvest camp
Symon took his biggest step yet and bought a brand new bass amp

Symon’s new Peavey was all his pride and joy
At $2000 he told his mum that it really wasn’t a toy
With low gain, high gain, crossover and DI
The bass amp had Symon’s heart, and to girls he turned a blind eye
For several years Symon and his amp continued in perpetual bliss
And whenever he spent a few days away, it was only his amp that he’d miss

And then one day without warning, a girl came on the scene
She went by the name of Kristy, and Symon was definitely keen
Kristy, Kristy meek and mild… No one knew of her intent
But between you and I and Warren and Brian, the bass amp knew what it meant
As time went by the Kristy thing eventually took its course
Symon and his poor old amp had to file for divorce

So if you’re wondering if these two are a good match
Of Symon at least you can be quite sure, in Kristy he’s found a good catch
Late at night when Kristy tells Symon it’s his turn to turn off the lamp
She knows without doubt she’s the only girl in the world…
Who got him to sell his bass amp

Happy anniversary Princess! I still think you are a ‘good catch’. Love you heaps babe.