R.I.P. Dear Sleepy

I thought we were celebrating a Scotsman!

In related news, I'm afraid there isn't much; I finally got through Arne's posts, and couldn't come up with any musical ideas that we haven't already pulled up. So, apologies to all, and I'm late for a short night's sleep.

Gregg
 
I thought there was something familiar about "Mary Mack...", so I ran a Search and Arne had started a thread by that songtitle June 17, 2014:
The Tale of Mary Mac and The Drunken Sailor - Pinball Nirvana Forums
Arne's affection for the tune is pretty obvious, in retrospect, and I don't know how I missed it when looking for selections...other than perhaps the listing by date of LAST post instead of first may have somehow addled my brain. Sorry, Kathy; I don't know if there's enough time to modify your setlist.

I hit the Albadukes webpage linked by Arne in post #2, but couldn't get the Audio Player to start; Arne saved the day by loading a video with four songs (later expanded to thirteen) in post #9.

Arne had commented on their Facebook page, and when John encountered a problem with his travel visa, Sofie emailed Arne to fill him in! Arne copied it to post #11. I guess maybe it IS possible to meet nice people on social media.....

The 14th and last post, Dec 22, 2015, contains The Albadukes covering The Pogues' Xmas tune, "Fairytale of New York"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0Wv...ature=youtu.be
 
@grand stationmaster gregg,
i used to believe that scotland and ireland were almost thoroughly distinct, but learned through the years that so much mixing happened the centuries that it's just as practical to call them all "scots-irish" in general. i suppose the great houses and clans tended to remain geographically distinct, but overall the people tended to flow back and forth like stout and scottish ale. no doubt aided by a common hatred for the english and all that sort of thing, don't you know.

so if the surname starts out "mc" or "mac," look for them in eire. if it starts out "O'" then the cosmos will probably direct you to scotland. me? i'll settle for kathy ireland. *badump-kssh*


re: sleepy's music,
he shared maybe half a dozen or more of his short piano ditties here. i guess we lost those from the site when the attachments got recently wiped, but i think i have most of them on my older, crash-prone PC. if anybody wants, i could probably extract them.

going by those songs, arne had an interesting playing style in which he kind of played a straight melody with one hand and rhythmically improvised with the other. he didn't seem to mind that his two hands sort of drifted in and out of accord with each other. sometimes this came off pretty atonally to me, and other times it was like a secret message-- "ah, you got past the patch of tall, waving grass and found the reward i left for you."


re: youtube fame,
one time arne and i accidentally collaborated on a youtube music video.

around 10 years ago he shared with me a lovely hawaiian tune and i thought "that's rather beautiful and uplifting," but later forgot all about it. a year or two later, i was watching a friend's homemade vacation video and the same tune popped up again. this time it started looping in my head relentlessly, and i knew i had to do something about that. the power of the tune was that striking.

so i put together a slideshow with the tune and posted it to youtube. it's moving towards a million views at this point, so i'm beyond pleased so many people have enjoyed it. if i ever work on that video again, i'll be sure to include arne's part in it. here it is:
Hapa - Ka Uluwehi O Ke Kai (studio version) - YouTube
 
as i was searching for sleepy's piano attachments, i bumped in to this post below. another one of his short, interesting narratives that i quite liked:

So one day I cut out to Long Beach, Ca. On a soft and hazy majestic sunny windblown afternoon I was flying at 55 M.P.H. on a suspended freeway overlooking the harbor and the Queen Mary in the bay. And as I glided along a soft and expansive curve, high above the civic cacophony below, the radio played "Sailing". It was the first time that I heard the recording, and the third or fourth time that I had heard the tune, for having created it on the family piano.

I went to Long Beach to catch the last glimpse of the New Pike Amusement Park. But it was in ruins. A closed and ragged tin pan alleyway of carney antiquate from an era now dead, obscured by taggers, and torn down several months later.

http://www.pinballnirvana.com/forums/showpost.php?p=103934&postcount=6

in this case he also touches on another issue, eternally kind of mysterious to us-- that of his inventions / creations and his relationship with those who would use them for their own purposes.

it's none of our business, of course, yet he talked about this kind of stuff so consistently through the years that it's very common for it to get mixed in to any particular discussion (as in the post above). just another singular aspect of his personality, i guess.
 
...if the surname starts out "mc" or "mac," look for them in eire. if it starts out "O'" then the cosmos will probably direct you to scotland.
I've always believed (supposed, rather) that Mac and Mc were Scottish, while O' was Irish, although it's no-holds-barred when allowing for cross-pollenation and other forms of conquest. My ancestors are Scottish, Irish, and English (Willmon ((with one or two Ls from time to time)), Crowley, House and ******((don't want the ex-wife to find out where I hang))---by the way; you can look in a dictionary under "White Guy" and see my picture :D ---but for some reason, 'mick' has always referred to an Irish guy...just before he decks ya.

re: sleepy's music,
he shared maybe half a dozen or more of his short piano ditties here.
I came across that many and more peppered all over the place, but couldn't decide whether they constituted 'ambience-quality' material. I just hoped that Kathy had enough already to fill the time, especially if she got that 13-song Albadukes video in...

...arne had an interesting playing style in which he kind of played a straight melody with one hand and rhythmically improvised with the other. he didn't seem to mind that his two hands sort of drifted in and out of accord with each other. sometimes this came off pretty atonally to me, and other times it was like a secret message-- "ah, you got past the patch of tall, waving grass and found the reward i left for you."
A few were done on a 'real' midi keyboard with higher quality, but others, on a basic Casio or something, were.....lacking somehow. I hope I didn't miss a boat there.

re: youtube fame,
one time arne and i accidentally collaborated on a youtube music video.

around 10 years ago he shared with me a lovely hawaiian tune and i thought "that's rather beautiful and uplifting," but later forgot all about it. a year or two later, i was watching a friend's homemade vacation video and the same tune popped up again. this time it started looping in my head relentlessly, and i knew i had to do something about that. the power of the tune was that striking.

so i put together a slideshow with the tune and posted it to youtube. it's moving towards a million views at this point, so i'm beyond pleased so many people have enjoyed it. if i ever work on that video again, i'll be sure to include arne's part in it. here it is:
Hapa - Ka Uluwehi O Ke Kai (studio version) - YouTube

You worked on THIS (studio) cut? Or an instrumental version.....

as i was searching for sleepy's piano attachments, i bumped in to...another one of his short, interesting narratives that i quite liked: in this case he also touches on another issue, eternally kind of mysterious to us-- that of his inventions / creations and his relationship with those who would use them for their own purposes.

I don't have a background to help me speak to that, but using "Red Sails in the Sunset" as an example, it was written and published in 1935, and subsequently re-recorded in '51 by Nat King Cole and in '54 by Sam Taylor and his orchestra. So, if Mom spent lots of time around radios or Victrolas (Awww, shuddup!), unborn Arne could have heard and absorbed the melody.....

Hey, Ike---what, or whose, thumbs were you trying to find in my John's Country Carnival thread? I got mine locked away safe.
 
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sorry dude, kind of a rushed reply here,
I've always believed (supposed, rather) that Mac and Mc were Scottish, while O' was Irish
traditionally i understand that to be the case. "mac" originally meaning "son of" and "O'" meaning "descended from." but all the mixing has them being used on both sides of the irish sea rather equally, it seems.

You worked on THIS (studio) cut? Or an instrumental version.....
i made that particular video slideshow with an old version of windows moviemaker and uploaded it to my youtube channel, where it took off. i didn't have anything to do with the hapa song of course, but i made sure to give them a lot of credit and i'm guessing they liked it since they never complained to youtube, seemingly.

many times when someone uses a band's song in a YT video, especially when no credit is given, it seems that youtube will strip the music out or just delete the video.

He, Ike---what, or whose, thumbs were you trying to find in my John's Country Carnival thread? I got mine locked away safe.
was that me looking for something...? i guess i've completely forgotten now. :s
 
i guess we lost those from the site when the attachments got recently wiped
Just want to mention that our attachments go back to 2003 and I don't think any of them have been lost.

Love the Hawaiian Hapa music, here's some Israel Kamakawiwo'ole or IZ.

<iframe src="
View: https://www.youtube.com/embed/V1bFr2SWP1I
" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" width="560"></iframe>

<iframe src="
View: https://www.youtube.com/embed/5I5Jh0OY7E8
" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" width="560"></iframe>

[marquee]:hulagirls:[/marquee]
 
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Israel K... 's "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" was one of the songs on my setlist for Arne's memorial service. Love his version! Curiosity has gotten the best of me. I have to ask, JonPurpleHaze, is your user name an homage to Jimmy Hendrix, or do you like Abita Beer? The local brewery in my town is Abita Brewing and they have several great brews, Purple Haze being one. I'm especially fond of Turbo Dog, myself.

In case anyone is interested, I took your suggestions for music for Arne's visitation, and compiled this list:

1. American Tune - Simon and Garfunkel
2. I'd Love to Change the World - Ten Years After
3. Landslide - Fleetwood Mac
4. Go Rest High Upon that Mountain - Vince Gill
5. Angel - Sarah Maclaclan
6. Tears in Heaven - Eric Clapton
7. The Last Song - Brian Wilson
8. Knockin' on Heaven's Door - Bob Dylan
9. Somewhere Over the Rainbow - Israel Kamakawiwo-ole
10. Amazing Grace - Aaron Neville
11. In My Life - The Beatles
12. He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother - The Hollies
13. Life Without You - Stevie Ray Vaughan
14. Four Strong Winds - Neil Young
15. From Where You Are - Lifehouse
16. Ain't Wastin' Time No More - The Allman Brothers
17. See You Again - Wiz Khalifa (This selection was a bit random, I know)
18. Wish You Were Here - Pink Floyd
19. Keep Me in Your Heart - Warren Zevon
20. Dancing with the Angels - Monk and Neagle
21. One Moment More - Mindy Smith


I hope Arne would be pleased with my selections. I wanted to include the Albadukes, but did not have wifi connection at the funeral home to play YouTube videos. Thank you for all of your suggestions!
 
sleepy's obit is now live on legacy.com; thanks sleepy's sister; er, i think that's kathy?
 
Thanks for the play list. More about Israel K. (Bruddah IZ), my parents have been going to the same part of Hawaii that he was from since the 1970's and live there now. They knew him and used to see him at local ranchers luau's.
JonPurpleHaze, is your user name an homage to Jimmy Hendrix, or do you like Abita Beer? The local brewery in my town is Abita Brewing and they have several great brews, Purple Haze being one. I'm especially fond of Turbo Dog, myself.
My username is about 50% due to Jimi Hendrix and 50% due to my life long love for the football team, the Minnesota Vikings, their defense back in the day was often referred to the Purple Haze. Sadly, it's not about Abita Brewing but I have had both of those beers, my first one was when I went to New Orleans for 2 weeks with my older brother for Jazz Fest.

:pint:
 
Thank you, Ike, for the touching tribute to my brother on legacy.com. -Kathy
 
Our brother, Sean, had a special request on KLOS radio today for Arne. He sent me this email after it played:

"So, I decided to make a music request to KLOS today. I actually spoke to B.C. (Bob Coburn the D.J. who is still working despite battling lung cancer). I requested Golden Slumbers (although I called it ”Carry that weight”. This song holds special significance to me as you played it for me (Abbey Road album) on the last day I visited Canada (you made me pancakes for breakfast) and it brought tears to my eyes then. BC was not sure if he would be able to play it but, as I was getting into my truck, it was on the radio! I shouted this is for you Lynn (Arne) as I pounded my fist in celebration on the steering wheel. When the song ended BC said “ A special request for a special brother” and that song brought tears to my eyes again. I do not know if you can listen to replays of shows but, if so it is today at approximately 11:48 a.m. mark of telecast."
 
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I posted a youtube video of Jackson Browne and Jennifer Warnes version of Golden Slumbers a few years ago:
Pinball Nirvana Forums - View Single Post - When I was young..

from sleepy in that thread:
Jackson Browne is from around here. His Father owned a liquor store on Barham Rd. in Studio City, up on the hill behind The Burbank Studios, Forest Lawn and Universal and about 8 miles from here. Back in the days when I spun records, I used to play him a lot.
<iframe src="
" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" width="560"></iframe>
 
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hi kathy / sister--

before we all disperse to the winds, such as the way nature typically works, i wanted to add that over the years arne -DID- write about you folks from time to time, generally with fondness / appreciation. other times from the mystical perspective that we never quite understood.

anyroad, you all can look that kind of stuff up if you have a mind to using the "advanced search function." example:

My Old Man one day decided to spray paint it Red with White Roof, like A Fire Chief Car. I was asleep at the time. On a Sunday Morning. He pretended to be drunk at the time. He did a shitty job. This was the car that I drove to Warner/Reprise in, for work.

Later in the same era, my younger Sister smashed the front end when she hit another car with it. She was okay. She was 19. She had no job and was driving to college at the time. She initially refused to help buy a replacement car. She claimed it wasn't fair. I don't know how the hell she was able to settle with the other driver in the wreck. She got a job at McDonalds and then gave me some money.

http://www.pinballnirvana.com/forums/showpost.php?p=107397&postcount=7

also, i think we owe JPH a world of thanks for keeping this site (and so many sleepy memories) alive. i mean, it's kind of crazy that this place keeps rocking on while the other sites in the scene keep crumbling in to archive.org dust.
 
Arne's car was a Ford Falcon that he drove to work at Warner Brothers. If I'm remembering correctly, it was a 1964 model. I know that Arne loved this car. Our hard drinking dad did decide to repaint it one night, with red spray paint for the body, and white spray paint for the roof. He did a pretty crappy job. It's true that I wrecked the car, and I felt extremely guilty about doing so. The accident happened on a rainy night, when the traffic lights were out. I stopped, like you are supposed to do, when the traffic lights are not working, but the other car on the perpendicular street did not. The other driver also did not have her headlights on, and there was some evidence that she may have been drinking. I did not see her, and broadsided her car. I felt terrible about wrecking Arne's car, but I didn't have any money at the time to buy him a new one. I was just a teen without a job, struggling to get through college. It makes me really sad to think that Arne thought that I "refused to help buy him a car, because I didn't think that it was fair." I would have done anything for him. Our dad told me that he would get another car for Arne. Since he was an auto mechanic, he was able to find cars that his customers wanted to sell. Arne got another car shortly afterwards. The accident was the other woman's fault, but she did not have insurance, and we were not litigious people, so there was no lawsuit for compensation. This story is a sad reminder of how difficult Arne's life was at times. It seemed like whenever he caught a little break, something would set him back. A few days before his official cancer diagnosis, I was talking to Arne on the phone about a heart procedure I was about to have. He asked me if I was certain I wanted to go through with it, and I told him that there was a 95 percent success rate for the procedure. Arne said, "Yes, but I always seem to fall within the 5 percent." That quote stuck with me when he got his cancer diagnosis and was told there was nothing they could do for him. I know life was extremely tough for him, and people were often not very kind. I picture him in heaven now, flying from place to place curiously checking out all the wondrous things to see, filled with unbelievable happiness.

Thank you JonPurpleHaze for keeping this forum going. It has been comforting for me to read your memories of Arne, and to be able to read some of Arne's posts. He was a very gifted writer, who could paint vivid pictures with his words. I am eternally grateful that he had such great internet friends.
 
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wow that does sound like a bear.

i hadn't realised there was something of an unfinished aspect to the car story in terms of the way arne remembered things. for some reason i assumed it was moreso the kind of thing you all looked back and laughed at. apologies for my stupidity. :/

i guess sleepy was the kind of person to return hurts that the world gave him in to kindnesses towards others, including animals. that's a pretty unusual and wonderful kind of person for my money.

i hope the heart procedure goes well / went well.
 
To be honest, I don't think arne's version was meant with malice. It sounds pretty close to how an older sibling would describe a younger one getting in an accident with their car. It sounds exactly how my brother would explain me getting in an accident with his car. Snowy Kansas night, creeping at 25MPH, hit some ice, slid into a curb and screwed the front end but good. And, like you, I was in college, working 2.5 jobs and ended up giving him my Friday night tips to cover half the cost. If I were to refer to that car today, I have little doubt my brother would say "Oh, you mean the one you wrecked?" Like I drove it off a cliff. Sometimes older brothers suck. And they have very selective amnesia about the crap they pulled.
 
The thing is, Sleepy never dished out any crap. He was always kind and supportive.

I can definitely commiserate with you LVC. I worked 2 jobs for a time when I was in college, living on 3 hours of sleep a night. That's a pretty tough way to go.
 
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sleepy's sister, I am sorry for your loss
 
Only just caught up with this thread ... so sorry to hear about Sleepy. Always a friend, always supportive. I did enjoy our 'chats' about LA.

Condolences to Sleepy's Sister and the family at large.

The world has lost a gentle soul.
 
Image (24).jpg

Today is Arne's/Sleepy's birthday. He would have been 63 today. Hope he is having a wonderful celebration somewhere.
 
Remembering our fallen friend, I nonetheless spent all day on the tenth watching an I.T. Guy try to figure what happened to the video card and driver/s in my blue-screening computer, after a week of freeze-ups and partial boots ("The driver has detected a Controller error in Device\Harddrive0\D"), that mysteriously crawled after getting a newer formatted drive. It turned out to be just a missing driver (but, who removed it? Not I says I.....) The card manufacturer's CD eventually fulfilled its purpose, but Arne probably would have had the answer and saved me a lot of colorful language.

Happy Birthday, pal; wish you were here!

Gregg
 
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Glad your computer is working well now, Gregg! (fingers crossed for continued success). Arne had great intuition about computers, and could explain fixes in an easy to understand way.
 
I am so sorry to hear this, and I'm late to boot. I always liked Sleepy, I talked to him in chat some a couple times. He was always a great guy.
 
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