"Bum bum"

I swear that I nearly hurt myself laughing while watching 'The Big Fat Quiz Show' on YouTube today. I want to hang out with Russell and Noel.

Camden Town, London, 2007

Camden Town, London, 2007, originally uploaded by Yanice Idir.

Best resolution, ever

I resolve to handle every situation I encounter this year by thinking “How would Jordan from Scrubs handle this?”

Jeanne D'Arc at the Sacre Coeur, Paris

Jeanne D'Arc at the Sacre Coeur, Paris, originally uploaded by Rita Crane.

'Kerosene'- Miranda Lambert

As much as I complain about neu country, I love me some Miranda Lambert.

Bloody red purple door in Avignon, France

Bloody red purple door in Avignon, France, originally uploaded by Semi-detached.

Traumatized

Dear God. Went to a wedding reception this evening. The DJ only played neu country. Including the travesty that is 'Honky Tonk Badonkadonk.' I may never fully recover.

Now this is interesting

Xenomania* (Brian Higgins et al) is producing Franz's new album? REALLY? That is so cool!

Indie-rock purists might be shocked by Franz’s likely choice of producer: They’ve recorded tracks with Brian Higgins, a British pop hitmaker who’s previously worked with Kylie Minogue, Cher and the girl group Girls Aloud. “It appeals to my contrary side,” says Kapranos. “And I don’t like the distance between bands and pop music there is now. Dr. Dre or Timbaland or the Neptunes are making the songs you’ve never heard before, not the indie kids strumming their fucking guitars.”**

*producers of Girls Aloud's brand of innovative pop music
**may I point out that I have absolutely nothing against indie kids strumming their guitars, fucking or otherwise.....

Random ten

1. Shake Your Rump- Beastie Boys
2. Imperial Bodybags- Manic Street Preachers
3. Don't Look Back In Anger- Oasis
4. Ugly- Sugababes
5. Still Take You Home- Arctic Monkeys
6. Gypsy Road- Cinderella
7. Rip Off- T.Rex
8. Coming Down- The View
9. Edge Of Seventeen- Stevie Nicks
10. Sir Duke- Stevie Wonder

Bonus-
11. Pipedown- Babyshambles
12. Live Forever- Oasis

Sometimes I'm proud of the other

Senator from Iowa. Go Chuck!

The probe by Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa, the ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, has brought new scrutiny to the underlying belief that brings in millions of dollars and fills churches from Atlanta to Los Angeles — the "Gospel of Prosperity," or the notion that God wants to bless the faithful with earthly riches. All six ministries under investigation preach the prosperity gospel to varying degrees.

Kaz has been having kittens about this for DAYS

The new video from Biffy Clyro for 'Who's Got A Match?'

Known around Iowa's Coolest Flowershop as the 'Fireman Song.*'




*Jen thinks it sounds like "I'm a fireman and I'll burn burn burn tonight" instead of "I'm on fire and I'll burn burn burn tonight." Silly girl.

How have I missed this?

SARKOZY IS DATING CARLA BRUNI? Holllllllyyyyy crap.

Holding hands with Ms Bruni, the French president waved at onlookers as they arrived at their luxury hotel.

But security is tight with plainclothes guards deployed in the town and two journalists were briefly detained on Monday night after filming the hotel. Mr Sarkozy, 52, divorced his wife of 11 years, Cecilia, in October. He was first pictured in the French media with Ms Bruni, 39, in mid December during a visit to Disneyland Paris. The former model, who has been previously linked to men including Mick Jagger, Donald Trump and Eric Clapton, began a career as a singer after quitting the world of fashion.

Michael Kidd, RIP

The award-winning choreographer Michael Kidd, known for his work on Broadway musicals, has died at his home in Los Angeles, aged 92.
On Broadway Mr Kidd won five Tony Awards and he also received an honorary Academy Award for his film work.

His nephew, Robert Greenwald, told The New York Times that Mr Kidd died on Sunday night of cancer.

His best-known film work was on Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, a 1954 musical about the American frontier.

He created movements for ballet dancers who were not supposed to appear balletic, including a famous barn-raising sequence.

One of my favorite musicals-

Saint Chapelle

Saint Chapelle, originally uploaded by DiehardCanonUser.

Chartes Cathedral

Chartes Cathedral, originally uploaded by wggyfrog.

Too cool

Backstage at the Q Awards, Dame Shirley Bassey entertains Matt "better not win 'sexiest male' at the NME Awards" Bellamy, Nicky "freaking" Wire, King Monkey and Ginger Kaiser.

I must have those shoes

Candie Payne in Q.

'Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)'- Darlene Love

On Late Night With David Letterman, December 2006

"The jolliest bunch of assholes this side of the nuthouse!"

I have watched 'National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation' 15 times a year since it came out on video. On average.

'Pumpkin Soup'- Kate Nash

at Roppongi

at Roppongi, originally uploaded by Hiroki Blue.

'Sedative'- Babyshambles

With a cameo by Dinger....

Bah freaking humbug

The holidays? Bring out the stupid in people. As I'm so, so, so very tired from making millions of centerpieces and delivering them all over bumfuck Egypt today, here's a sequence of events.

-Woman comes into store last week and orders a very complicated centerpiece to be picked up this AM. You don't get complicated for 30 bucks, which is what she wanted it for.

Centerpieces are very time consuming, so the labor eats up a lot of value that could be applied to the flowers. You pay 50 bucks, now then you can be picky.

-Woman is slightly snooty. 30 bucks and snooty. Get down with your bad self.

-This AM, woman walks in and wants her centerpiece. Which isn't done. Or even started. (it's been slightly wild this week).

-Mom tells her we will deliver her masterpiece for free to a neighboring town.

-Woman is mollified, tells Mom that someone will be home all day.

-Fast forward a few hours. I'm driving around, trying to find the fucking house for delivery in London-esque fog.

-Okay, and listening to Babyshambles and Wee The View Lads at top volume.

-Alright, and texting Kaz. But for serious, I was actually paying attention to where I was going.

- I find the house. Knock on the door, carrying the most beautiful 30-dollar centerpiece EVER CREATED.

-No one is fucking home.

-Try to keep extremely friendly Lab from knocking me to the ice-covered ground.

-Really wish I didn't have on slippery, but cute shoes.

-Pound on the door. Can hear TV inside.

-Ring doorbell again. It's really fucking cold, and I have another 3 places to get to, and it's starting to get really farcking foggy.

-Check door. Is open. Leave centerpiece (in a protective pink bag- keeps flowers from dying) on stairs.

-Leave house.

-Get back to shop an hour later.

-Snooty woman calls and gives me the 5th (or whatever is the worst) degree about why her centerpiece hasn't been delivered. I'm like, "Au contraire. I did deliver it." She then asks me all sorts of details about the house I delivered it to, and I'm thinking, "Bitch, please! Do you know how many deliveries I did this afternoon?" (I turn into Snoop when confronted with stupid people)

-She asks her father if he's seen anything in a pink bag. He had. AND HE THREW IT AWAY. Now, you have to be a particular kind of idiot to throw something like that away. It was obviously, obviously flowers. The card was on the outside. It smelled good.

-Woman wanted us to deliver another one tonight. For free. Got snooty with Mom when she said that wasn't our responsibility. Mom refused to budge. Hanging up may have occurred.

-May I point out that on the way home an hour later, I drove 35 MPH because the fog was so bad. So I was supposed to risk my life for thirty fucking bucks because her father is a blooming moron. Yeah, that's about right.

I hate people sometimes. Merry Effing Christmas.

Random ten

1. Winterlong- Neil Young
2. The Only One I Know- Mark Ronson feat. Robbie Williams
3. Enchantment- Corinne Bailey Rae
4. On Your Own- Blur
5. Can't Get You Out Of My Head- Kylie Minogue
6. Boogie On Reggae Woman- Stevie Wonder
7. Sound And Vision- Franz Ferdinand feat. Girls Aloud
8. There Is A Light That Never Goes Out- The Smiths
9. Moving To New York- The Wombats
10. Ooh- Scissor Sisters

Bonus-
11. Whatever Happened To?- Buzzcocks
12. From The Floorboards Up- Paul Weller

Wow. WOW.

Sweet Jesus, I'm not sure which is the bigger moron.

A- The dude that got "Hot Rod" tattooed on his penis ON A BET

or....

B- THE Chief Resident of General Surgery AT MAYO CLINIC that took a picture of it while inserting a catheter

PHOENIX -- A surgeon faces a disciplinary hearing for snapping a photo of a patient's tattooed genitals during an operation and showing the photo around to other doctors.

Mayo Clinic Hospital administrators said Dr. Adam Hansen, chief resident of general surgery, admitted taking the photo with his cell phone on Dec. 11. The tattoo on strip club owner Sean Dubowik's penis reads: "Hot Rod." (my emphasis)

Dubowik, who had undergone a gallbladder operation, said he learned of the photo Monday when the Mayo Clinic called.

This part slayed me.

Dubowik said he got the tattoo on a bet and that "it was the most horrible thing I ever went through in my life."

You don't say. Who would ever think that getting a tattoo ON YOUR PENIS would hurt? I would have NEVER guessed that.

Knees Up

Chas & Dave were never, and are not, cool. They haven't been given the critical rehabilitation of, say, Ian Dury or Madness. And yet, in the age of The X Factor and punk foursomes who weren't even born in 1977, Chas & Dave sell out live dates across the UK. Pete Doherty, a long-time admirer, says he was inspired to pick up a guitar thanks to their music – and Doherty supported them at a rowdy Saturday night gig in Chatham, Kent, waving a flag as he accompanied Chas on vocals for "Ain't No Pleasing You", an insanely catchy ballad of wounded male pride, which reached No 2 in 1982.

This year, they had three slots at Glastonbury, their second appearance at the event. Their Christmas Beano has become a festive tradition, not only for Libertines fans but also for self-proclaimed "geezers" who identify with the band's working-class values and find authenticity in their trad music and un-Americanised accents.

And awwww, it's Fanboy Pete! I love Fanboy Pete! Almost as much as I love Pete's tendency to take his cat everywhere with him. And he actually sounds REALLY good here.

Please feed a girlband member

Sarah. EAT A SANDWICH. Look how cute Kim looks. And Nicola. And Nadine. And for God's Sake, Cheryl.

Darling, eat. I'd hate to nominate you for "Sternum Watch."

From the 'St. Trinian's' premiere.....

A little creepy, totally cute

'Janie Jones'- Babyshambles and friends

Amy, Amy, Amy

In one of her comedy specials, Kathy Griffin did a routine at a women's prison. She asked the inmates that were in the clink because of a man to raise their hands. Nearly all the women did.

Amy Winehouse was arrested in London today (December 18).The singer is currently being held at Shoreditch Police Station in Hackney in connection with the bribery plot for which her husband is currently in prison. Blake Fielder-Civil has been in prison since last month after being arrested for trying to pay James King to withdraw a statement he made to police. King is a victim in an alleged assault case against Fielder-Civil. Police in London confirmed that a 24 year-old woman was arrested by appointment and that the arrest was “in connection with an investigation into perverting the course of justice”.

And Mitch? Maybe if you spent more time with your daughter, and less time talking to the tabloids, your girl wouldn't be in so much fucking trouble.... Just a thought.

Oh HELL YES (part 2)

Girl Power was back with a bang in the UK this weekend as Posh, Sporty, Baby, Scary and Ginger spiced up the lives of fans in London - and performed together in the UK for the first time in almost a decade.

A star-studded audience, including celeb chef Gordon Ramsay, Peaches Geldof, singer Will Young and Roberto Cavalli - who designed the girls' costumes for the tour - saw Geri Halliwell wow the 20,000-strong crowd in a replica of the iconic Union flag dress she donned for the 1997 Brit Awards.

And Emma Bunton, who suffered a sprained ankle during the fivesome's Las Vegas gig and has been receiving treatment from David Beckham's doctor, soldiered on wearing an ankle support for the show - though she had to pull out of some of the more demanding dance routines.

The London gig has been dubbed the girls' raunchiest to date. However, earlier on in the week it was strictly a family affair for the Beckham family, as Victoria was joined by her footie-ace husband and three sons Brooklyn, Romeo and Cruz for a festive spin on the ice-rink at Hyde Park.

Oh HELL yes!

Manic Street Preachers are set to receive the Godlike Genius award at the 2008 Shockwaves NME Awards, we can reveal.

The Welsh band are set to be honoured for an outstanding, unique and innovative career in music.

I want Cheryl's hat

'Lost In Translation'

, originally uploaded by Mark Burdett.

So good

Based upon the stellar review the Smart Bitches gave it, I purchased Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist. Even though it's a teen book. A book for teenagers with one of the hottest love scenes I've ever had the good fortune to read. And the characters are rock snobs. Did I mention the hotness? Because I was fanning myself. Seriously.

And let me echo Smart Bitch Candy here-

but seriously? I’d do Nick, and do him hard.

Amen, Sister Candy. Amen.

'Teddy Picker'- Arctic Monkeys

Because my mom has started requesting this song at work....and because I haven't said it this week- Helders is so awesome. Love that kid.

For no reason

and with no logic whatsoever, my favorite singers of all time, and of the moment-

1. Aretha Franklin
2. Natalie Maines
3. Al Green
4. Pete Doherty
5. Beth Ditto
6. Wee Kyle Falconer

Random ten

1. Give Out But Don't Give Up- Primal Scream
2. Misty Mountain Hop- Led Zeppelin
3. Spinning Around- Kylie Minogue
4. Betcha By Golly Wow- Sugababes
5. Up The Bracket- The Libertines
6. Heatwave- The Jam
7. Tightrope- The Stone Roses
8. I Like It- Dixie Chicks
9. The Irish Rover- The Pogues
10. I Can't Give You Anything But Love- Judy Garland

Bonus-
11. Queen Bitch- David Bowie
12. Portions For Foxes- Rilo Kiley

I MUST see this movie

Nuh uh

Let it be said, I absolutely will not watch any big-screen adaptation of 'The A-Team' unless George Clooney plays Hannibal.* NEVER.

Boyz 'N the Hood's John Singleton has reportedly signed on to direct the long-awaited big screen version of cheesy 80s TV show The A-Team. Latino Review says the film-maker, whose portfolio in recent years has included the likes of 2 Fast 2 Furious and the remake of Shaft, has agreed to shoot a new version of the story of Colonel Hannibal Smith and his merry band of Vietnam vets.

Series creator Stephen J Cannell has been trying to get an A-Team feature off the ground for a number of years. The plan is to update the series to the modern day, with Smith's team now comprising veterans of the Iraq war. There would also be a more serious tone than the TV show, and - in a landmark move - characters who are shot at in the new version may actually expire.

*at one point, I recall reading that The Clooney had read for the role of Hannibal, and have since become ever so slightly fixated this. Just a little bit.

Eeeek!

Wow, La Moss doesn't make many fashion missteps, but when she does- good LORD.

Coat looks like a yeti.

I'm going to quietly hyperventilate over in the corner

Led Zeppelin played a storming show at their first UK in 19 years at the 02 Arena in London tonight (December 10).The long-awaited performance was the headline slot at a tribute show for Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun, who died earlier this year and was instrumental in building the band's career in the 1970s. Frontman Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page and bassist John Paul Jones were joined by Jason Bonham on drums - son of John, the band's original drummer who died in 1980 signalling the end of the original band's 12-year career.

There had been brief reformations before - including Live Aid in 1985 - but tonight was the first full set the group had played since headlining Knebworth in 1979.

An estimated nine million people applied for the 18,000 tickets, and despite the quiet sound there was mass hysteria as the band performed their classics before a crowd including Paul McCartney, Oasis' Noel and Liam Gallagher, Pink Floyd's David Gilmour, Lulu, Arctic Monkeys, Kate Moss and Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl.

Led Zeppelin played:
'Good Times Bad Times'
'Ramble On'

'Black Dog'
'In My Time Of Dying'
'For Your Life'
'Trampled Under Foot'
'Nobody's Fault But Mine'
'No Quarter'
'Since I've Been Loving You'
'Dazed And Confused'
'Stairway To Heaven'
'The Song Remains The Same'
'Misty Mountain Hop'
'Kashmir'
'Whole Lotta Love'
'Rock And Roll'

If you want it....

via

'She Loves You'- Babyshambles

This? Is entirely too cute!

Casa Batlló

Casa Batlló, originally uploaded by SophieMuc.

Daisy

Daisy, originally uploaded by samantha.jones68.

Saint Dolly visits across the pond

What an amazing person. Seriously, this makes me want to cry.

Nine To Five star Dolly Parton is used to performing in some of the world's biggest and best known venues. Yesterday, though, the globally famous blonde took her unique style to the unlikely setting of the Magna Science Adventure Centre in Rotherham - in a bid to improve the literacy of British children.

Dolly's Imagination Library scheme - which has been hugely successful in the US - is now being launched in the South Yorkshire town, after a local councillor brought the idea back following a visit to the singer's home state of Tennessee. Under the new initiative every child under the age of five will be sent a free book to read every month.

Random ten

1. Wanderlust- Bjork
2. Call The Shots- Girls Aloud
3. The Man Who Came To Stay- Babyshambles
4. Tomorrow Never Knows- Noel Gallagher
5. Pictures Of Matchstick Men- Kasabian
6. Merry Christmas Darling- Carpenters
7. Breathless- Corinne Bailey Rae
8. Last Nite- The Strokes
9. Try All You Want- Electronic
10. Weirdo- Charlatans

Bonus-
11. Gimme Some Love- Graham Coxon
12. Pride And Joy- SRV

I'll take you to the candyshop...

I'll take you to the candyshop..., originally uploaded by SophieMuc.

Christmas is coming....

I have poor impulse control

#979 in an ongoing series. I purchased this today. Bad Cy. BAD.

'Horrorshow'- The Libertines

Holy moly! This, my friends? Is rock and roll.

If loving these are wrong,

I don't want to be right. How trite. Also, how cute are these?

Paris Oct 2007

Paris Oct 2007, originally uploaded by lazyeye2007.

I think my brain just leaked out my ear. Good Lord.

*fangirls*

Calling Londoners...

Calling Londoners..., originally uploaded by Ayoumali.

I need a nap

Why?

1. Bloody ice storm is raging outside
2. My hands ache from making so many Christmas wreaths this week
3. I slid on glitter at the shop, and jacked up my knee. How new rave....

and in the last half hour, I have-

4. Splashed hot sauce in my eye

and the piece de resistance-

5. Disposed of a dead mouse. Unfortunately, the dead rodent was discovered by my 15 month-old niece, who picked it up. Her mom did not, repeat, NOT, handle this well. Can't blame her.

Ahhhhh, sweet lady sofa.

'Gimme Shelter'

Alicia Keys and Keith Urban- at Live Earth

Random ten

1. I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm- Frank Sinatra
2. Always On My Mind- Ryan Adams
3. I've Just Seen A Face- The Beatles
4. Pipedown- Babyshambles
5. Superstar Tradesman- The View
6. Common People- Pulp
7. Black Jacks- Girls Aloud
8. Out On The Tiles- Led Zeppelin
9. Hey Ya!- OutKast
10. Love Somebody- Robbie Williams

Bonus-
11. A Northern Soul- The Verve
12. Push It- Garbage

Cutie pie

AmEx Agyness wins "model of the year" at the Brit Fashion Awards. Love her.

Key creatives in the fashion world gathered to honour the industry's brightest stars this week at the annual British fashion Awards. And there was, of course, only one choice for model of the year – Agyness Deyn, who has been dubbed the new Kate Moss. The leggy blonde, who used to work in a chip shop, made her entrance in a black Giles number with trailing hemline.

Twenty-four-year-old Agyness, who is the face of Burberry, took to the stage to collect her award from designer Roland Mouret holding her mobile phone to her ear. "It's my mum on the phone," she told the crowd, which included Lily Allen and Kelly Osbourne.

Christmas #1

As addressed in 'Love, Actually,' having the number one single on Christmas is a rather big deal in Blighty. Today, Stereogum posted a list of all the songs to achieve this since 1952.

I must confess, I am completely wild to hear the entry from 1980, 'There's No One Quite Like Grandma.' Martin Hannett allegedly once snorted some illicit substance off its gold record. And I don't know what Stereogum is smoking, dissing the entries since 1999. 'Sound Of The Underground' is an AMAZING single.

LA LA LA

Despite the fact that Christmas, and hopefully, presents, are less than a month away, I just ordered this book.

Oh yes, I'm working my way into a nice little frenzy here....

Obsessions, volume 1

I adore OPI nail polish. Adore it. Especially this shade. Just so deep and lovely.

'Tis the season

Ms. Darlene Love performing '(Christmas) Baby Please Come Home' on Late Night With David Letterman, 2003

*rolls eyes*

One of my brothers is a city administrator in a mid-sized town in north Iowa. As you may be aware, we are approaching critical mass on caucus season here in God's Country. So when several Obama flacks approached him for likely photo-op spots in his town, he offered up several possible venues, with each suggestion met with a "no, we need something more typically Iowa."

Finally, he said, "What is going to work for you? We don't have any murals of corn in town."

I told him, "Shit, you should have offered to pull a fucking tractor with a hay rack into the town square. He could give his speech from there. Then the whole town could break into dance and start singing 'The Farmer And The Cowman." Oops, wrong state.

What Winona said

What I Wish the Universal Reaction to This Photo of 18-Year-Old Hayden Panettiere in GQ Magazine Would Be:

"Wow, that's fucked up."

'For Lovers'- Wolfman feat. Peter Doherty

Random ten

1. Noise Annoys- Buzzcocks
2. Time For Heroes- Graham Coxon
3. Celebration Day- Led Zeppelin
4. Fireworks And Flowers-The View
5. I Heard It Through The Grapevine- Marvin Gaye
6. Alala- CSS
7. Fade Away- Oasis
8. Radio- Teenage Fanclub
9. Strict Machine- Goldfrapp
10. What Difference Does It Make?- The Smiths

Bonus-
11. Anarchy In The U.K.- Sex Pistols
12. I Need Direction- Teenage Fanclub

Fall Night

Fall Night, originally uploaded by jolyn27.

As recently noted,

this past week or so has been a bit wild. We had a wonderful open house at the shop (thank fuck), despite Mom being AWOL, and everything seemed to be working in an orderly fashion. Note the "seemed."

And yes, I'm writing this at 5AM. Just woke up from my nap.

Jen and Denise have informed me that if I show up at work on Tuesday, they're going to beat the crap out of me. They totally wouldn't, because Jen would feel too guilty about it....(love you, doll)! As I've fallen asleep in front of the computer 3 times this week, they were a bit concerned.

When Traci, my best friend since forever, came into the shop today, I thought, "Dude, she's going for most valued customer." Because she was just in yesterday. However, girlfriend came bearing horrible news. The kind of news that makes a florist cringe. A young, tragic and unexpected death. During a holiday week.

We all have so many family connections to the deceased, it's not even funny. And it isn't.

So, upon receiving this news, I immediately swung into crisis mode. What is crisis mode? I always follow this list-

1. Assess what we have in the cooler for fresh flowers; check out front for green plants
2. Figure out what we would potentially need
3. Call the warehouses with orders

The holiday on Thursday throws a monkey wrench into everything.... our warehouses do not deliver on holidays. Also, we don't know yet when the services are going to be. If the visitation is today (which we don't think will happen), this means that instead of sleeping all morning, starting to cook for Thanksgiving and watching my new Oasis DVD, I will be going into work in 3 hours.

And now, I'm fucking panicking, because I forgot to order another case of leather leaf. Shit. That's somewhat important. Can't design without it....

Today. Let's all hope that doesn't happen.

city lights

city lights, originally uploaded by Rob in London.

'Death On The Stairs'

Nice!

Led Zeppelin entered the UK Top Forty singles chart today (November 18) at Number 37 with their song 'Stairway To Heaven'. The band had made their back catalogue available to download earlier this week, hence the new chart entry.

'Delivery'- C4 UK

Bora Bora

Travel : Tahiti Bora Bora . Photos iMaGina, originally uploaded by photo.imagina.

I want to be here. Now. Somebody make this happen.

Wow

Subject lines in my spam inbox-

-Stop Smoking Today!

-Live Life To The Fullest!

-Eat What You Want Without Gaining Weight!

-Become A Great Lover With Full Ejaculatory Control!

Maybe I'm just exhausted, but that combination of subjects amused the hell out of me.

Random ten

1. Jailbird- Primal Scream
2. The Ghetto- Donny Hathaway
3. The Gentry Cove- Dirty Pretty Things
4. Christmas Is All Around- Billy Mack
5. It's Oh So Quiet- Bjork
6. Alfie- Lily Allen
7. We'll Live And Die In These Towns- The Enemy
8. Somethin' Stupid- Frank and Nancy Sinatra
9. Judy Is A Punk- The Ramones
10. Here Comes The Sun- The Beatles

Bonus-
11. Death Or Glory- The Clash
12. Centerfold- The J. Geils Band

Not a good sign

I've watched the 'Medley' bit from Girls Aloud's "Live From Wembley" DVD so many times, I know the choreography.

This. Is not good.




and on a GA-related note, this is case-in-point why I adore Sarah.

I used to wake up my mum by playing Manic Monday by the Bangles when I was seven, but the first song I heard that made me think "Wahey! Music is fab!" was Don't Look Back in Anger when I was 11. I remember going to Glastonbury in a Volkswagen hippie van and having it large.

....

As much as I loved Blur because of Damon Albarn - I had pictures of him all over my diary at school - musically, I preferred Oasis. I've met Noel and Liam, we had a good old chat at the Met Bar, and they're lovely guys. I didn't tell them how much they meant to me. But they know I'm a massive fan. Mind you, when I met Liam I felt like a right twat, because they were going on tour and I said: "Wicked, are you going to do some of the old stuff?" He was probably thinking: "Fuck you."

My day

7AM- cat wakes me up, wanting to be petted

7:01- cat is pitched gently from the bed

7:20- Give up on returning to sleep, go turn on computer

8:40- Realize, SHIT, have to leave for work in 10 minutes, and am still in pajamas

9:00- Arrive at work. In actual clothes. Start assessing all that needs to be done before open houses this weekend

9:10- Consider throwing store stereo onto highway for the first time today

9:13- Catch glance of self in mirror, scream

9:15- As to avoid frightening customers, apply makeup

9:17- Ahhhh, sweet lady caffeine

9:18- Stone. Cold. Panic. Realize that not only is Mom AWOL from the shop till next Wednesday, that my brother and his family are also arriving at the house that day, and that Thursday is FUCKING THANKSGIVING. AND I AM THE SOLE COOK. AND THAT WE HAVE NO GROCERIES IN THE HOUSE. AND I AM ON OVERTIME AS OF FRIDAY, THEREFORE HAVE NO TIME TO SHOP.

9:19- Breathe into paper bag

9:21- To assist in regaining my sanity, gaze at a picture of Drew McConnell. He's so lovely.

9:25- My ever-so-cheerful father arrives at the shop and asks me why we weren't working on the funeral work we have. I replied that the visitation was tomorrow. He says that no, it was today. The casket spray is in shades of purple. WE HAVE NO, REPEAT, NO PURPLE FLOWERS IN THE COOLER. BECAUSE IT'S FUCKING FALL!!!!

9:26- Breathe into paper bag while on phone to funeral home director.

9:27- Thank fuck, it IS tomorrow. Thanks, Dad. JAYSUS.

10:01- Deal with first stupid ad rep of the day

11:00- Ah, things are going smoothly. My coworker, Denise is so calm and reasonable. Shit, here comes Dad again. Doesn't he have a job?

11:01- Dad informs me that his sleep-deprived wife is freaking out about not being here for the open houses, and is intending to drive back from my sis's house today, and go back up on Monday.

11:02- On phone to Mom, paper bag handy. Convince her that we have the situ handled. Successfully.

11:15- proofread ad for regional paper. Which was apparently designed by a blind and illiterate person.

12:03PM- Goody. Here's Dad again. What is he going to say that makes me flip my shit this time?

12:04- MOM IS IN HER CAR ON HER WAY BACK RIGHT NOW? WTF???????

12:05- Denise hands me the picture of Drew*

12:06- On phone to Mom. It's hard to carry on a convo while breathing into a paper bag.

12:07- Direct quote from my mother- "Your father is on crack. I'm staying here."

12:08- Consider beating my father to death with a can of leaf shine

Basically, I averaged 2 minutes of blind, shit-shocked horror and panic an hour FOR 8 HOURS TODAY.

I need a nap.

*yeah, that didn't really happen, but it would have been awesome, right? She would have if I'd asked. This is the woman who when I was dealing with a similar panic-inducing day, went over to the cooler, got out one of our sample bottles of wine, and poured me a coffee cup full of calm. Well, calmer.

Hee hee

Silly MEN writer, James is a ginger, not a blonde.... best hair in rock, that.

Bassist James Johnston barely emerged from behind his voluminous blond locks during the entire duration of the show and the lights were little more than a haphazard series of retina-searing strobe flashes.

Santa Maria di Merino

Santa Maria di Merino, originally uploaded by Vestanus.

I have to learn to turn the florist off. Instead of seeing a gorgeous statue of Mary, I see the unfortunate roses and baby's breath combo, as well as the phallic Antherium lillies.

Oh yeah, and the Madonna.

Mont St Michel sheep

Mont St Michel sheep, originally uploaded by Grobbs.

Untitled

A complicated relationship we've had, we two. The thing is, we're so opposite in personality- she's so reserved, and I'm definitely not; she's so type A, and again, I'm definitely not.

I was always more academic, though she got the better grades. (I am a hopeless slackass) She was the record-setting athlete, but I excelled in speech, writing and drama.

She found her partner her sophomore year of high school, and married him at 21. And I still haven't found what I'm looking for (Jesus, did I just quote U2? I must be upset) at an age a teensy bit above 21.

We drifted apart after I moved back to Iowa from Texas (as to avoid a complete psychotic break). In fact, we really didn't speak throughout her pregnancy, as we're both damnably stubborn, and hold grudges.

When her daughter was born, I had no plans to go see her, but she (not the baby) called me, and begged me to come up. It's not been all sunshine and roses since then, but we've become very close.

So it breaks my fucking heart to hear the news tonight that her second pregnancy- girlfriend gets knocked up so damned quickly- is in the process of ending at six weeks. Things are so different, this time around. I can't stop crying.

Plans that were made- shot to hell. You just never know, do you? Life can turn on a dime.

Oh, oh dearie me

Please, somebody tell me that when Jaime Winstone picked this outfit, that she had been up in her boyfriend's (Alfie Allen) room, smoking weed.

Shuffle amuses me

Last song played- 'For Lovers'- Pete and Wolfman

Current song- 'Monkey Man'- The Rolling Stones

Oooo

As he provided a pivotal bonding moment with one of my dearest friends, I have a major soft spot for Sam Rockwell.

We were talking about movies at work. The subject of 'Charlie's Angels' came up.

Me- "Yeah, he was kind of skeevy looking...."

Joy- "Until you found out he was evil and...."

Together- "HE STARTED DANCING!!!!'

I meet Sam Rockwell at the Four Seasons Hotel, Beverly Hills. He's almost sexy, but he's odd. He's wearing incongruous clothes. Smart blazer, bashed-up blue cords, thick white socks with shoes. He has wispy longish hair and a strange, sleazy Seventies thick moustache. No, it's not for a part, it's for 'shits and giggles', he laughs. But he has sad brown eyes. Sometimes they dart everywhere round the world, sometimes they gaze intensely, and then they become heavy, eyelids drooping.

Strasbourg I

Strasbourg I, originally uploaded by ★ Jneb ★.

Neu rave Keef!

Oh dear......

OOOOOOO!

The amazing rock snobs at The Guardian love Girls Aloud's new album.....I want!

You're left pondering an album that by any standards seems pretty irresistible. It's witty, diverse, experimental and viscerally thrilling: what more do you want pop music to be? Frankly, the sort of person who claims they find nothing to love here is like the sort of person who claims to hate the Beatles: they're either posturing or they're an idiot. Either way, you should pay them no mind.

Cool List

The NME published its annual list of all things cool this week. My girl was in the top ten. Kate Nash is so cute, I want to keep her in my pocket.

Random ten

1. Police On My Back- Lethal Bizzle
2. Smokers Outside The Hospital Doors- Editors
3. Only The Good Die Young- Billy Joel
4. The Blinding- Babyshambles
5. Wake Up- Arcade Fire
6. Monkey Man- The Rolling Stones
7. Plastic Tramp- Arctic Monkeys
8. Handle With Care- The Traveling Wilburys
9. Buddy Holly- Biffy Clyro
10. Main Offender- The Hives

Bonus-
11. What's It All About?- Run D.M.C.
12. Don't Leave Me This Way- Thelma Houston

Ahhhh, election season in Iowa

Actual convo between my mom and my brother.

Mom- (pinko commie- fangirling) "I got to shake Barack Obama's hand! At the Port Of Burlington! Wheeeeeee!"

My brother (former Republican-fanboying)- "Really? Because I saw John Edwards at the Pizza Ranch."

Seriously, you could swing a dead animal around anywhere in Iowa right now, and hit a presidential candidate. And they've all been calling the house. I keep telling the Demos, "I have not picked my boyfriend (or girlfriend) yet. Let me alone." Though I am leaning towards Dodd. Because he seems to have sense, and doesn't appear to take Rahm "Fucking" Emmanuel's word as law. Bless.

Oh, Peter.....

Darling. You must stay away from camera phones. And ideally, smack.

Babyshambles drummer Adam Ficek has spoken to NME.COM about Pete Doherty's recent drug relapse, explaining that the singer was "distraught" about the event.As previously reported on NME.COM, Doherty was filmed taking heroin on Friday (November 2).He said that the first thing that the singer did when the news broke was sort out a return visit to a drug rehab."He's distraught, he really is," explained Ficek. "But there's no point in dwelling on it - going back into rehab is exactly the way to deal with it."It's a small glitch in his recovery. People don't go into rehab after years of drug use then never dabble again. I support my friend and I hope it's a one-off. He's still in a great, great place and he's still in the best shape I've seen him."

and from Drew

Speaking exclusively to NME.COM, bassist Drew McConnell applauded Doherty's self-made decision to seek professional help, and slammed the person who videoed his relapse. "We heard they [The Sun] were going to run a picture the day before, but I assumed it was going to be dug up old footage," McConnell said."When you've just come out of rehab and trying to stay clean with all your might, then some cunt comes round your house with a bag of stuff and a cameraphone, it must be hard to stop yourself."McConnell went on to explain that, despite Doherty's relapse, he was confident his bandmate could still make a full recovery. "He's more than capable of eventually being 100 per cent clean", he said."The guy needs professional help - the fact that he is seeking that help is a giant step in the right direction."

Say what you will about Pete, but the guy has some amazingly loyal bandmates.....

Obsessions

As of November 2007

-"Evening Breeze" Colonial Candles

-Jaqua Girls "Buttercream Frosting" Hand Creme

-Kicking Chuck Shumer in the ass

-This picture of Wee Kieren















-Kicking Nancy Pelosi in the ass

-This picture of Drew McConnell

St. Paul's Dome

St. Paul's Dome, originally uploaded by chicago boulevardier.

'You Talk'

New single from Babyshambles. Dre's jacket looks like a McQueen. Mmm.....

Ukraine, Crimea, poppy flower field

Ukraine, Crimea, poppy seed flower field, originally uploaded by Kirill: Neverwinter Alps.

This week's sign that the Apocalypse is upon us

Garth Brooks has overtaken Elvis to become the best-selling solo artist in history.

Let me sum up-

a cheeseball singer who gets credit for writing songs when he contributes important lyrical elements like adding "and" or "the," who RIPPED OFF BILLY JOEL'S ENTIRE ACT and who over-sings everything- just beat The King to become the best-selling solo artist in history.

People are amazing........

Doesn't this sound like fun?

More fun than a barrel of monkeys, actually......

Kasabian will headline the Hogmanay event at Edinburgh's Concert In The Gardens on New Year's Eve.They will be supported onstage in Princes Street Gardens by Idlewild.The Concert In The Gardens is the highlight of Edinburgh's Hogmanay

Singer Tom Meighan said: "It is an honour to be asked to play Hogmanay this year."Scotland is always a special place to play and New Year's Eve will be even more special. We promise."

Well, this sounds promising

The pop snobs at Popjustice have heard the new Girls Aloud album, and LOVE IT.

Story filed Wednesday, 31 October 2007
1. This is the sleeve for the promo

2. 'Girl Overboard' is a massive Euro rave-up extravaganza and should be a single unless there is a tragic event involving a girl falling off a boat or maybe if there is some sort of real-life version of the hilarious Goldie Hawn film 'Overboard' in which Goldie Hawn actually died instead of just amusingly lost her memory because then Radio One wouldn't play it due to 'concerns over the public mood etc'.

3. Every time it's been on in the office 'Sexy! No No No...' has been mercilessly skipped and after we'd finished listening to it the first time there was literally an argument over which song we'd listen to again first.

4. 'Fling' is sort of like 'Wake Me Up' from the year 2012.

5. There are NO BALLADS and NO COVERS.

6. "I can't speak French, so I let the funky music do the talking, talking now." That is a good lyric.

7. We've listened to it 180 times and it's only been in the office since 9am.

8. It's the best Girls Aloud album of all time and is better than the Sugababes, Kylie and Britney albums although we've just done a review for someone giving the Britney album 5/5 so we suppose that probably makes 'Tangled Up' a 6/5 album. Which our calculator tells us is 1.2. Which is 120%. "They've really given it 120%" etc etc.

9. It's out at some point in November and would make the ideal Christmas present for someone who likes amazing pop music.

10. There you go.

Oh my. OH MY.

'I Love You But You're Green'- Babyshambles

Holy cow!

AMES, Iowa (AP) -- Chris Singleton made two key interceptions, Alexander Robinson ran for two touchdowns and Iowa State stunned Kansas State 31-20 Saturday to snap a six-game losing streak.

Austen Arnaud, a freshman seeing his first dose of significant playing time, was 5-of-7 passing for 130 yards to lead the Cyclones (2-8, 1-5 Big 12), who had lost their first five conference games by an average of 23 points.

and HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) -- A slew of team and individual records took a tumble Saturday as No. 8 Kansas trounced Nebraska 76-39.

The Loner

The Loner, originally uploaded by akryger.

Random ten

"Just got home from work" edition

1. Borderline- Madonna
2. Sister Rosetta (Capture The Spirit)- Noisettes
3. Hang On- Teenage Fanclub
4. Moving To New York- The Wombats
5. Rushholme Ruffians- The Smiths
6. I Wanna Be Sedated- The Ramones
7. Scenes From An Italian Resturant- Billy Joel
8. Gold Digger- The Automatic
9. Twisterella- Ride
10. Lost Art Of Murder- Babyshambles

Bonus-
11. First Love- The Maccabees
12. Frontin'- Jamie Cullum

'Delivery'- Babyshambles at MTV Europe VMA's

Holy hell, this is about a million times better than at Glasto. They sound incredibly tight.... and Adam has the best posture I've ever seen from a rock drummer

Somewhere in England,

A certian Star Wars enthusiast rock star is going "WOW! I wish I would have thought of that!"

You have no idea

how happy this picture makes me. From a Love Music, Hate Racism gig.....

Things that make me go squee!

Oasis will enter London's Abbey Road studios on November 5 to record their seventh album. They have already completed work on two songs set for the album, and have demoed the rest.

On a related note, here's a funny story. Last week, the flower shop had a very large wedding, which coincided with 3 of the other designers being out of town. Which left me and Jen- both huge Oasis fans- left to run the shop.

Friday night at about 8PM, we decided to take a break and watch the following clip. Well, as we were getting the YouTube keyed up, the speakers were acting wonky. I leaned forward to adjust them, and hit the keyboard with my boob. Then everything went sideways. Literally. I apparently hit the Control-Alt-down arrow combo....

It's quite telling that J and I continued to watch the clip, sideways. We're fans. And obviously, were reaching maximum punchiness at that point. This is shortly after we were dancing to 'Chelsea Dagger.' Okay, that's a daily occurrence. Singing to 'Shoot The Runner'? No, that's not uncommon.

Good Lord, are we constantly like that? Oh, dear.....

Oooo, good choice

The face of Luella Bartley's new line for O'Neil? Lovefoxx CSS. Well done, Luella!

LUELLA BARTLEY is combining her passions for surfing and design with a new collaboration for Californian surfwear label O'Neill. The British Fashion Designer of the Year nominee has produced an exclusive 30-piece collection for the brand, which will launch early next year as part of O'Neill's offering for spring/summer 2008. "I wanted to get across a different side of the female surf look and the image of girls who surf," says Luella, on her inspiration for the range. "I wanted something that looked harder and more iconic than current surfwear for girls and I also brought it up to date with fashion's current trend for bright colours, and strong, clean graphics – part urban graffiti, part rave, part Seventies surf hippy." So, in typical Luella style, we're promised T-shirt dresses and eye-poppingly bright coloured jeans among the more traditional bikini and board shorts fare. "It's been designed for girls that can hold their own in the line-up," the designer adds. (October 29 2007, AM)

Sunset

'Valerie'- Mark Ronson at the BBC Electric Proms

featuring Wee Kyle Falconer. I love this version more than I can coherently state.

Oh, boo-effing-hoo

When Elisabeth Hasselbeck bade farewell to her cohosts on "The View" Tuesday, it was all hugs, well-wishes, and baby-product endorsements. But as Hasselbeck begins her 2 1/2-month maternity leave, the political landscape is shifting, as well. America's most dangerous conservative - or so some liberals see it - is leaving TV for a while.

OMG, WHATEVER WILL WE DO? The media! It's too liberal! Aiiieeeee!

Alright, I'm as liberal as all get out- scratch that- I'm a dirty fucking hippie, and let me tell you, I don't consider Elisabeth "dumb-as-a-sack- of- hammers-former- reality-show-contestant-footballers-wife" Hasselbeck to be "America's most dangerous conservative."

Maybe "America's-Most-Deluded-Former-Reality-Show-Contestant-Footballers-Wife-Every-Sperm-Is-Sacred
-Wingnut-Dumbass".......

Yep, that's it.

Well, that's over with

Today, the flower shop that I work at did a rather large wedding. Unlike most of the seven bridesmaid weddings we've done, the wedding party wasn't ginormous, but we had a lot of centerpieces for the reception. 30, actually.

(Now my girl Jen, being all practical and shit, would tell you that 10 of those were very simple and easy to put together, but she's not the one telling this story, is she? And I'm a big old drama queen and have the medals to prove it).

I have been SO paranoid about this week. SO. PARANOID. Why? Because my mom, the shop owner, has been out of town since Wednesday AM, and two of the other designers were gone after 5PM yesterday.

Again, why was I paranoid? Because I assumed that the combination of Big Wedding+Designers Out Of Town would equal F-U-N-E-R-A-L-S.* Faaaaaaarrrrr too tempting for Whomever controls these things. And very little can ratchet up the crazy like a
F-U-N-E-R-A-L.

Luckily, this did not come to pass.

So, this morning. Thank Whomever my youngest brother had the good sense to propose to a lovely girl that works in a floral shop in their college town, and that they came back this weekend. Because his fiance? Is a darling girl, a hard worker, and best of all, takes direction really, really well. So Jen and I put her to work doing the piddly shit that we didn't want to do. And bless, she did it. Quickly. And then asked us what else we needed. I love this girl, though I worry about her marrying said brother, since he's a bigger drama queen than I am.

And Jen and I had the massive advantage of our best friends from childhood and beyond having remarkably low thresholds for fun. Traci and Stacie LIKE working at the shop. AND they have common sense, which as you may know, is not common. So our girls ran the shop while we set up. They are lovely. Not to mention, I came back to a completely immaculate store.** Let me stress this. LOVELY.

So, it was mainly we two who did the wedding pieces. It's safe to say that we got a bit punchy last night. And this morning. There was much singing to Oasis, The View, Kasabian and The Fratellis. Badly on my part. Bit of dancing, too. Again, badly on my part.

Since we had so many reception pieces, we needed 3 vehicles to deliver them- the store delivery van, a van we borrowed from a local dealership (where my family gets all of their vehicles) and my dad's truck, Old Blue.

I drove the pickup. This is hilarious. Why? Let's just say, I'm not exactly a truck-type of girl. And it's really tall. I'm 5'9, and I have to jump up a bit to get in it. So, picture this- woman with a Posh Beckham bob hairdo, charcoal gray sweater, wide-legged dark denim jeans and ballet flats jumping into a Dodge Ram 4X4. A farm truck. Trust me, I looked a dork.

Since it's ancient, Old Blue doesn't have a CD player, so I was forced to listen to the radio. I was dreading this (am used to Sirius Satellite Radio). I shouldn't have worried- on the way to the wedding, I heard the following-

-'Crazy Train'- Ozzy Osbourne
-Kickstart My Heart'- Motley Crue (hells yes)
-'Big Pimpin'- Jay-Z
-'Should I Stay Or Should I Go?'- The Clash
-'Stronger'- Kanye West

I find it perversely enjoyable to listen to rap in my dad's vehicle. Bit different from my usual Brit indie fare, but variety is the spice of life.

Most everything went off without a hitch. I think this is mostly to do with Jen's being a much better person than I am. She has WAY more karma points built up.

And now it's over. Thank Christ.

*F-U-N-E-R-A-L-S are the Voldemort of the floral world. You Do Not Say That Word Unless You Are Prepared For The Consequences.

**and we did have an order that came in for one in the neighboring town right before we left for the wedding. So I had to go back to the shop, and complete the order AFTER we were done with setting up. I was so tired by this point, I'm not sure I should have been driving.