Happy New Year 2010!

Image/A Colourful Guy

Hi all,

This is my last post of 2009! So, from A Colourful Gal, aka Crab Bag, and myself, Happy New Year 2010!

I’ll be away all day and all night today at the Highlife New Year’s Eve Experience 2009/10. So you probably wont hear from me for a day or so. However, please be on the lookout for my coverage of the event, after I recover from a night of debauchery that is, and gradually regain usage of the language centre of my brain…

Yeah, I’ll be totally wildin’ on the night! ;)

Kind regards

Smashproof New Years Eve Party 2009/10

Image/Supplied

Hi all,

I’ve just found out about another big New Years Eve event, the Smashproof party in Whakatane.

Now for those of you not familiar with Smashproof they’re a New Zealand-South Pacific Hip-hop group that blew up this year with their breakthrough hit, Brother featuring Gin Wigmore. I was going to embed the video below. However, Youtube has disallowed it! Wankers! ;)

Instead I’ll embed a photo below of myself with Young Sid from the group! Har har! ;)

Kind regards

Young Sid from Smashproof (l) and myself (r).

Image/A Colourful Guy

Highlife New Year’s Eve Experience 2009/10

Image/Highlife Entertainment

Hi all,

My mates, Adam Bennett and Anna Jobsz, are kicking off what promises to be the party of the decade tomorrow at Matakana Country Park just 45 minutes north of Auckland.

Since yours truly has VIP/Media access you can bet your last dollar that I’ll be there snapping away and partying on and on until the break of dawn! ;)

Highlife New Years Eve Experience 2009/10 features a huge line-up of musical acts this year and I’ll do my best to get up-close and personal with my favourites. Hopefully, they’ll be some of your favourites too. If not, oh well, you should have bought a ticket and come to the show yourself! ;)

For more information – I think there might be some tickets left – please click here.

Holla like you know, even if you don’t!

Kind regards

Shots of the Day – The House, the Garden

Images/A Colourful Guy (double click to enlarge)

Hi all,

I’m just enjoying a lovely afternoon here at A Colourful Crib and I thought I’d walk around our garden and snap some photos, which I’ve shared with you all above.

The photos are all pretty raw and unedited. I was just practicing shooting quickly, under moderately windy conditions, in high resolution mode, as one might when doing runway work, and I’m damned pleased with the results.

Kind regards

Shot of the Day – Helen in the Garden

Image/A Colourful Guy

Shots of the Day – Night Flowers

Images/A Colourful Guy (double click to enlarge)

Hi all,

Please enjoy these photography and simple image editing experiments I thought I’d share with you all above.

The subjects are some flowers in a vase that A Colourful Gal loves to keep on our glass top table in the lounge. While I don’t tell her this nearly often enough, I appreciate her doing so, as it adds some real beauty to our home.

I’m really enjoying my new camera and am learning more about it features and functions with each passing day. As a matter of fact, I’m enjoying it so much I’ve decided to take some photography classes very soon.

It’s not that I don’t know how to use an advanced camera, nor do I have any problems with image composition, it’s just that I believe a seasoned pro could teach me some tricks that might take me years to acquire on my own.

Kind regards

Happy Holidays!

Images/A Colourful Guy (double click to enlarge)

Happy Holidays from me to you and you and you and most of all YOU! :)

To all my peeps back in the U.S. I’ll be in touch very soon! To all my peeps in New Zealand I’ll see you all around town!

Much love to my wife, my mother, my father, my aunts and uncles, my cousins and my grandchildren! Yeap! I do actually have grandchildren without ever having had children of my own! ;)

Much love to my exes, you sexy things you! ;)

Much love to some very close friends whom I’ve lost touch with along the way. If you happen to find me, please get in touch! And, rest assured, I have been thinking about you and searching for you!

To my rivals and enemies, go jump off a cliff! Nah! It’s all good. I don’t have any love for you though! ;)

LaChapelle goes Lady GaGa!

 

Images/David LaChapelle

Hi all,

I just ran across this photoshoot, an example of which I’ve posted above, by photographer David LaChapelle featuring Lady Gaga. Kanye West also appears with GaGa in one shot.

Supposedly the shoot is rather controversial as GaGa is pretty nude in most of the photos. However, I find nothing particularly shocking about it all.

I guess I’ve become jaded after all these years! ;)

Kind regards

Shots of the Day – Max the Cat

Images/A Colourful Guy (double click to enlarge)

Hi all,

I’d like to introduce you all to my main man, Max the cat. Featured above is a slideshow of him enjoying his favourite toy, a clothes hamper from the $2 shop! ;)

Max came to us several months ago as a stray along with his queen, which we named Cindy, because she had a little beauty mark on her upper jaw that reminded me of supermodel Cindy Crawford’s mole.

Cindy and Max had been hanging around our house for about a week when we started wondering what was going on with them as they both looked rather ragged and malnourished as if they had been living rough for awhile.

Well, it turns out that Cindy had given birth to three kittens in our garage as A Colourful Gal was to discover when she was out there one day.

Of course we took care of both Cindy and Max upon discovering that they were new parents; we fed them both, which was a real chore after awhile as Cindy was ravenously hungry due to the demands of milk production on her body, and so was Max as he was constantly having to fend off the other male cats in the neighbourhood that wanted a piece of Cindy and the kittens; we deflead them; I personally chased away Max’s rivals on numerous occasions and rescued him from several very sound ass kickings.

To make a long story short… Cindy and two of the kittens eventually went to the SPCA; the third got lost unfortunately. And, Max we decided to keep with us as we felt his temperament made his chances of being adopted rather low; he can be quite a grumpy prick at times, probably due to the fact that he was living feral for several years as we came to find out later, although he’s calmed down a lot now due to my efforts to socialize him.

Kind regards

Pride of the Pacific 2009 – Night Concert Photos

Images/A Colourful Guy (double click to enlarge)

Hi all,

Above are a few of the photos I snapped at the Pride of the Pacific 2009 night time benefit concert for Tonga which was held at Finnegan's Irish Bar in Royal Oak this past Saturday night.

The performers featured are DJ Willie, Chase, the Babylon Riddim Band, Jah Make Yah, Fob Squad, Devolo & Mareko and 6 Pound.

What I said about the day concert previously applies to the night concert as well; if you missed this one you missed a real treat! As a matter of fact, I found the night concert to be even more enjoyable as it was an R18+ event and everyone really let loose! ;)

Just as a side note: After the concert was over there were a number of young people that had gathered in the parking lot across the road from Finnegan’s. Well, wouldn’t you know, in their infinite wisdom the New Zealand Police decided to implement Operation Booze Blitz on the crowd.

I was outside well prior to the police showing up and I can assure you that there was absolutely nothing out of the ordinary going on; there was no violence happening; no crime and no one was overly drunk or disorderly.

It was just a bunch of young people whooping it up as young people tend to do. Hell, I frequently whooped it up myself in my late teens and early twenties!

Anyway, within seconds of the first police car showing up, and the officers harassing the young people for no apparent good reason, a beer bottle got thrown, and then another! That did it! Within the space of five minutes we had six police cars and twelve officers on the scene and the crowd was quickly dispersed.

The whole thing was totally unnecessary and the police caused a problem where none actually existed! So much for Operation Booze Blitz!

Kind regards

Pride of the Pacific 2009 – Day Concert Photos

Images/A Colourful Guy (double click to enlarge)

Hi all,

Above are a few of the photos I snapped at the Pride of the Pacific 2009 daytime benefit concert which was held at the Son and SK8 Hall in Glen Innes this past Saturday.

The performers featured are DJ Willie, 6 Pound, the Birthday Boys, Mareko & Devolo, the Babylon Riddim Band and Juliet.

As you can see my investment in a new camera has really paid off quite well and I’m very satisfied with the results.

I’ve decided against writing up a review as I have way too much on at the moment. However, I will say this, nearly all the performances were exceptional and anyone not attending the concert missed a real treat!

Kind regards

Pride of the Pacific 2009 - Preview

Young performer from Babylon Riddim Band at the Pride of the Pacific 2009 daytime concert.

Image/A Colourful Guy

Hi all,

Yesterday while most people were focused on Coca Cola’s Christmas in the Park, A Colourful Gal and I headed on over to the Son and SK8 Hall in Glen Innes to enjoy a benefit concert for Tonga, Pride of the Pacific 2009. I also went to the R18+ night time concert at which was held at Finnegan's Irish Bar in Royal Oak.

Since it’s a Sunday, and no one is paying me to do this, I’m not going to give a full review nor post photos from the concerts at this time. However, I will say that for fans of Pacific Reggae, Hip and Hip and RnB, if you weren’t at either show you missed a real treat!

Please do stay tuned for my more comprehensive coverage of Pride of the Pacific 2009.

Kind regards

Pride of the Pacific 2009 - Concert for Tonga

Image/Pride of the Pacific

Concert for Tonga

By SARAH MOYES - East And Bays Courier

Family man and music lover Vili Tuitupou wants to do what he can to support the people of Tonga.

Tomorrow Mr Tuitupou, known as DJ Willie, is holding a family concert in Glen Innes as part of his Pride of the Pacific charity tour.

The Mt Wellington man has used his connections within the music industry to get performers for the fundraising gig.

Born in Tonga and raised in Glen Innes, Mr Tuitupou still has strong ties with the islands.

Tonga’s economy is making it difficult for locals to earn money and support their families so he is putting on his third concert in three years to help raise funds for food parcels.

"A survey in 2007 showed only 20 percent of people in Tonga had jobs. My uncle is a builder and earns $50 to $60 a week to support his five kids.

"We have it pretty good over here, so I want to help."

The Pride of the Pacific show will also showcase young musical talent.

There will be performances by New Zealand and Australian artists, as well as local musicians such as Tamaki College’s school band.

"There are some very talented young artists.

"It’s big for them to perform next to guys like Devolo and Mareko from Deceptakonz Dawn Raid," he says.

Artists are performing for free. Some of them travel to Tonga with Mr Tuitupou to put on a free concert and help distribute food parcels.

"We could keep the money for ourselves, but we want to give it away," Mr Tuitupou says.

He is also taking stationery to a school that was badly hit by the September tsunami.

Every year the tour gets bigger and he hopes more people will support the concerts, especially the island community.

The afternoon concert will be held at the Son and Skate Hall next to Pak’nSave in Glen Innes from 2pm with a $5 entry fee.

An R18 evening gig will follow at Finnegans Irish Bar in Royal Oak from 9pm to 2am.

Mr Tuitupou will be travelling to Tonga on December 31 to distribute the food parcels.

For information about Pride of the Pacific 2009 contact Mr Tuitupou/DJ Willie on 027-733-5219.

The Soldier of Love’s First “Official” Video - Sade

Video/Sade

Hi all,

If you recall I blogged about the 2010 release of Sade’s new CD, entitled “Soldier of Love” a few days back. Well, featured above is what’s supposed to be the first official video of the first single from the CD.

If I sound a little dismissive about it it’s because we know how the rumour mill works on the Internet. And, the above video has nothing in common with the one that’s on Sade’s site at the moment except for the actual music.

Update: The video above is actually from Love Is Stronger Than Pride! However, the music is from the new CD!

Kind regards

The Prodigy come back to New Zealand!

Image/fanpop.com

Hi all,

Those sonic rave badboys, Keith Flint, Liam Howlett, and Maxim Reality (pictured above), aka The Prodigy, are due back in Auckland at Trust Stadium on February 25, 2010. Tickets go on sale on December 10.

I’ve been a huge fan of the band ever since the release of their 1997 CD “The Fat of the Land”. And, “Breathe”, the video which I’ve embedded below, is one of my personal top 100 favourite songs!

Hopefully, I’ll see some of you at the concert, and don’t forget… Breathe with me!

Kind regards

Video/The Prodigy