O WHAT IS Plastic Hassle all about? And what's with the random header images? Well, first things first Plastic Hassle is a simple blogthing which I hope to fill with irreverent thoughts and observations, and other bits and bobs that don't really have a home anywhere else. It's not going to change your life but if I can make you smile along the way then I will consider this site a success.

"But why Plastic Hassle?" I hear you cry. Well, I have a bit of a thing for the 1960s - the music, films, fashions, people, etc, and one of my favourite films from the era (Psych-Out, 1968) contains the line "It's all one big plastic hassle," which simply struck a chord with me. The line is uttered by Dave the nihilistic hippy (played by the very talented Dean Stockwell, who sadly doesn't have much positive to say about the film other than it gave him the opportunity to work with Jack Nicholson). Dave has the two best lines in the film - the other being "Reality is a deadly place. I hope this trip is a good one." Anyway, that's the reason behind the name. Nothing too complicated, I just liked the sound of it. As for the random header images, they're stills from the film. In no way am I condoning or selling pot. Ooh no, not at all. That's just a particular still I liked!

(Oh, I made a song using extracts from the film - you can download it here. The song contains elements of "It Brings Me Down" by Billy Nichols; "Love Is Contagious" by Taja Sevelle; "If You Want It, Take It" by the Boo Radleys; "Control This" by the Dead 60s; and, of course, excerpts from the motion picture Psych-Out.)

Another site name I considered, but one that was just a tad too long for my liking, was "Not with a bang but with a Wimpy", which comes from the Hunter Davies-scripted and Clive Donner-directed film Here We Go Round The Mulberry Bush, released in 1967. In it, Jamie McGregor (played by Barry Evans) utters the TS Eliot-inspired line "This is the way the world shall end. Not with a bang, but with a Wimpy." I'll do an article on this critically-panned but audience-loved classic another day. It's perhaps my all-time favourite British movie.

So that, essentially, is the 'About' page. Not too much to fuss about, but hopefully the site will grow. I'm planning to add more audio downloads eventually (songs by me - what a treat!) along with anything else that takes my fancy. You lucky things. Oh yes, while you're here why not subscribe to the RSS feed somewhere up there on the left?

And now it's time for the most important page on the internet...