'8 Dead Boys'- Babyshambles

Don't get me wrong, I love me some Grandad, but God, Paddy's a brilliant guitar player.

My work over the weekend

Fleurs for my girl's wedding in sweet home Chicago.

Very cool

Now this, THIS, is interesting...

Just imagine: the year is 1983, Blue Monday is storming the charts, and the band that recorded it are called ... the Radical Jesuits?

A forthcoming book of previously unpublished notes by the late Rob Gretton, former manager of Joy Division and New Order, reveals that New Order almost didn't become New Order. After the suicide of Ian Curtis, Joy Division compiled a list of potential new names. Alongside New Order, Gretton and the band considered monikers including Arab Legion, Voices Crying, Dharma Bums, the Radical Jesuits and Man Ray. They liked Man Ray so much they even highlighted it on the list.

The list of What Might Have Been appears as part of 1 Top Class Manager, to be released on October 7. The full-colour, 220-page paperback compiles diary entries, letters, to-do lists, posters and excerpts from 20 notebooks kept by Rob Gretton between 1978 and 1980.

Gretton died of a heart attack in 1999, but the collection was compiled by his widow Lesley Gilbert.

Random ten

1. Autumn Song- Manic Street Preachers
2. Distant Dreamer- Duffy
3. L.E.S. Artistes- Santogold
4. Antmusic- Adam & The Ants
5. If I Needed Someone- The Beatles
6. Just a Little Lovin'- Shelby Lynne
7. Come On Come On- Jet
8. Melt My Heart To Stone- Adele
9. Back To Black- Amy Winehouse
10. Fidelity- Regina Spektor

Bonus-
11. From Despair To Where- Manic Street Preachers
12. Respect- Aretha Franklin

Dear God

As I've mentioned, I'm doing the flowers for one of my best friends from college's wedding this weekend.

What I haven't mentioned is that I'm slowly losing my mind. I'm so distracted and stressed out, I've-

1. Set my iPod down somewhere in the house, and don't have a bloody clue where it is

2. Haven't been able to sleep (BOO!) or eat (YAY!) for the past week

3. Keep second (and third and fourth) guessing myself on the amount of fresh and supplies I'm going to need to schlep to Chicago for the blessed event

And today did not help. I-

1. Looked at the tab for the umpteen million mini calla lilies for said blessed event, and nearly died/crapped myself/passed out/combination of these things.

Two bucks more a stem than I quoted initially. Cost of fuel is impacting shipping costs. THANKS, CHIMPY! Lovely war we're having.

2. Upon running the new numbers in my head, I had a panic attack and broke out in hives. Seriously. I'm a nervous wreck on a good day, and this... this was not a good day.

3. Then my jeans fell down. See #2 on the first list. No, not the not-sleeping bit. The other one. Thankfully, I was alone in the shop/had cute knickers on.

The bleeding ulcer I've been working on for years is quickly becoming a reality.

I'm praying to St. Anthony (for the iPod) and St. Preston Bailey (for the flowers). Oh, and Jesus. Because that's how I roll.

I am so sorry for that last bit.

Hmmm

My reaction to the news of Dirty Pretty Things splitting up?

(in case you care)

"Damn it, Carlito just got fine again, and NOW they break up? CRAP!"

'Tis a sad day.

In an exclusive statement to NME.COM the four piece – Carl Barat, Didz Hammond, Gary Powell and Anthony Rossomando – announced the break-up of the band that formed in 2005 following the split of The Libertines.

Frontman Carl Barat explained that the members of the band would be pursuing new musical projects, but that these would not involve The Libertines.

Gah

This weekend, I am providing the wedding flowers for one of my best friends from college. Wen is very attached to Winnie the Pooh. No, I'm not sure why. She just IS, much like I'm very attached to various substance-addled British rock and rollers.

I thought it would be sweet if I found a wee Winnie charm to sew onto the fabric I'm wrapping her bouquet in- just so she could see it. However, my searching of SE Iowa for such a thing did not bear (groan) fruit.

I realized that I should give up when I caught myself muttering, "Jeez, how hard can it be to find something with Winnie the fucking Pooh on it?"

Mmmm....

*does the cha-cha*

Oasis have announced details of a new US tour to support their forthcoming new album, 'Dig Out Your Soul'.

The 11-date tour includes a rescheduled gig at the John LaBatt Centre in London, Ontario.

The gig was originally cancelled after Noel Gallagher suffered rib injuries after being attacked onstage in Canada earlier this month.

The tour will see the band return to New York's Madison Square Garden, a venue they sold out in 2005.

Oasis will play:

Oakland, CA Oracle Arena (December 3)

Los Angeles, CA Staples Center (4)

Las Vegas, NV The Pearl (6)

Denver, CO Broomfield Events Ctr. (8)

Minneapolis, MN Target Center (10)

Chicago, IL Allstate Arena (12)

Detroit, MI Palace of Auburn Hills (13)

London, ON John LaBatt Centre (rescheduled 9/9 date)

New York, NY Madison Sq. Garden (17)

Camden, NJ Susquehanna Bank Ctr. (19)

Washington, DC GMU Patriot Center(20)

Ryan Adams and his band The Cardinals will support the band on all dates.

The Brothers Gallagher AND Ryan "not Bryan" Adams. Sweet Christ, my fangirl heart is all a-twitter. Tickets go on pre-sale tomorrow. OLE!

Girls Aloud- 'The Promise'

Cool vid. Sarah looks fierce, Nicola like a Barbie and Chezza is impossibly pretty. Kimba and Nadine look cute as well.



via

"Bono, the king of Ireland"

I'm not sure which is funnier- Fey's impersonation or Pohler's blinking...

Cool

profile of Jean-Paul Gaultier in the NY Times travel section.

Talking to Mr. Gaultier is like being with your favorite eccentric uncle, the one who bought you liquor in high school — his crystal blue eyes glisten with warmth and pop with curiosity; when he’s very excited, his left pinky twitches. He added, “I love postcard clichés. You have to be a genius to take a good picture of Paris. So many have already been taken.”

Côte d'Azur

Côte d'Azur, originally uploaded by robokow.

Random ten

1. Tempted- Squeeze
2. High Fidelity- Elvis Costello
3. Stop Me- Mark Ronson
4. Pass the Buck- Stereophonics
5. The Cedar Room- Doves
6. Walk On Gilded Splinters- Cher
7. Acid Tongue- Jenny Lewis
8. Dumb Dumb Dumb- Teenage Fanclub
9. Caught In A Moment- Sugababes
10. Since You've Been Gone- Kelly Clarkson

Bonus-
11. Satin Chic- Goldfrapp
12. Tommy Gun- The Clash

Can't argue with this

Mark Ronson's fantasy band. Mmmm, Jamerson. And hell yes to Levon.

Vocals - Stevie Wonder and Steve Winwood
Can I have two? Stevie Wonder is just the most amazing singer of all time so he has to be there. Steve Winwood was for me the first important white soul singer I ever heard and he blew me away. I think they'd work well together but Steve would probably modestly let Stevie take centre stage.

Guitar - Curtis Mayfield
Slash is probably my favourite guitarist but he wouldn't fit in this band very well so I'm going to go with Curtis Mayfield. He's known for his singing but he played soulful blues better than anyone.

Bass - James Jamerson
Jamerson was the original and great Motown session bassist. He created the bass on The Jackson 5's "I Want You Back". I basically rip off all his basslines.

Drums - Levon Helm
He's probably my favourite drummer just for the fact that The Band were so funky for a rock group. So many soul bands sampled the laid back patterns that he produced. On songs such as "Up on Cripple Creek", he played some of the funkiest grooves.

Word of advice

to the local business owner whose business bears their name-

when someone from the Obama/Biden campaign calls you-even if you don't intend to vote for that particular ticket- do not snarl "I won't be voting for THEM," then slam the phone down violently.

NOT a good business move.

Jackass.

'5 Rebeccas'

New single from The View, featuring brief nudity from an unnamed Wee The View lad and Owen Morris shooting off fireworks in his garden.

I initially thought it was cute indie pop, nothing memorable, then caught myself humming the chorus, oh, 15 TIMES this weekend...

Ahhhh

This sounds like such a wonderful evening-

Shelby's strategy on her Dusty covers is akin to the renovation of antique furniture, with the melodramatic orchestrations stripped away to reveal the bare emotional core of each song, whose clean surfaces are then given the thinnest waxing of subtle instrumental tints. "Just a Little Lovin'" is taken slow and soulfully, with several pin drop pauses, silent lacunae requiring Lynne's pitch-perfect re-entry on difficult notes, each of which she nails with assurance. For her final Springfield cover, Lynne asks the audience to sing along with her on "I Only Want To Be With You" but most of us are holding our breath so as not to break the spell cast by her own voice.

Shelby joins the list of "people I would happily listen to sing the phone book," which includes Adele, Corinne Bailey Rae, James Dean Bradfield, Natalie Maines, Jenny Lewis, Alicia Keys and Kelly Jones. In case you wanted to know...

Wonderful

I cannot recommend Jenny Lewis's new album, 'Acid Tongue,' more- it is wonderful. I especially love 'Carpetbagger,' which features Mr. Elvis Costello. I was going to say Mr. Declan MacManus, but I'm not actually a rock snob, I just occasionally play one on the Internet.

Go get it. It's lovely.

Lewis is indie rock's most sharp-elbowed songwriter, a crafter of taut meditations on love, sex and politics that are full of violent emotions and, occasionally, plain old violence.

Grrr

I hate spiders. I HATE them. And since I live in the country, there are huge amounts of them creeping around this season.

*shudders*

I know, I know- necessary to the food chain, blah blah blah. Don't care. I want them to GO AWAY.

So, last night I set off a "bug bomb" that claimed to kill creepy crawlies for up to a month after use. Operative word here- "claimed."

And again, I know, I know- chemicals bad. But so is my having heart failure when a junior-sized tarantula runs across my foot. (I may be exaggerating a tad here)

What did I just finish doing? Killing a fucking spider. Those lying bastards at Raid have some explaining to do.

Grrr.

Edit- it's two hours later, and what did I just see? My freaking cat chasing a damn spider across the floor. *shakes fist at Raid quality control engineers*

Too cool

The Kooks, Duffy and Beck have recorded tracks for the forthcoming War Child covers album, Heroes.

...

Sir Paul McCartney said: "The breadth of talent on this project is amazing and it's great that so many people gave their time, energy and support to this initiative.

"I think Duffy's version of Live And Let Die is great too - I was really impressed."

And le sigh...

Former Stone Roses guitarist John Squire has been signed up to design the cover for the new record after creating original artwork for the charity's debut album in 1995.

If I lived to be 300,

and spent every minute of that time attempting to be cool, I still could not be even a fraction as cool as Ronnie Spector.

Where do you go to (my lovely)?

I'm going to the UK. It's the greatest thing in the world. When I was there for the first time, in 1964, that's when I knew I was a star. The Rolling Stones and the Yardbirds were our opening acts. One time, our bus got stuck in fog, so me and Keith Richards went across the street, to a stranger's house. When we knocked on the door I said, "Hi, I'm Ronnie of the Ronettes," and Keith said, "Hi, I'm Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones. We're hungry. We don't have any food and our bus can't move because of the fog." The lady said, "Come on in," and gave us a basket of scones and a jug of tea. Today that wouldn't happen.

Holy bodacious actress, Batman!

'Mad Men' actress Christina Hendricks at the Emmys. I say this as a straight woman, but that is a Figure. Yes, I meant to capitalize that. A Figure.

Random

This is my 2000th post, each one more erudite, intelligent and thought-provoking than the last.

Ha ha ha.

Amazing

Bit in the Telegraph about the costume designer for 'The Duchess' and the new version of 'Brideshead Revisited.'


I cannot even begin to imagine the amount of work that goes into each costume.

Hmmmm

While Vogue says that La Moss "previously looked impeccably chic," I say that she looks rock and roll as f*ck in this picture.

Seascape of the harvest moon

Seascape of the harvest moon, originally uploaded by LucaPicciau.

*rolls eyes*

Today at the shop, the UPS driver arrived with a package from one of the tuxedo companies we use, containing the trousers from a tux rental from last weekend.

The trousers were completely shredded- entire inseam ripped out so badly that the winter-weight wool was stressed and frayed.

This was accompanied by a note from the manager of the tux company. It was pleasant. After the nasty note he sent last week (about the same wedding), I want to call him and suggest he look into meds for cranky fuckers.

I digress.

So, Mom called the groomsman's folks house, and left a message about the trousers. His mother called back and claimed that he had no idea what happened; that the trousers were intact as far as he knew.

Y'all, the pants looked like someone thought they were tear-aways. I've been drunk many times, but I have to say, I've never been so out of it that I didn't notice my entire crotchtual region was exposed to the elements.

We'll see what happens here.

To be continued...

Fashion week do

Chezza looks cute

As does Estelle

Random ten

1. Steady As She Goes- Corinne Bailey Rae
2. Valerie- Mark Ronson feat. Amy Winehouse
3. Never Gonna Dance Again- Sugababes
4. Hairy Trees- Goldfrapp
5. Shiver- Maroon 5
6. Fast As You- Dwight Yoakam
7. Knowing Me, Knowing You-ABBA
8. I Shall Be Released- Paul Weller
9. Unbilotitled- Babyshambles
10. (Songs For My) Sugar Spun Sister- The Stone Roses

Bonus-
11. Some People- Goldfrapp
12. As Dust Dances- Biffy Clyro

So much awesome

Stephen Colbert will spend the holidays with Elvis Costello, Feist, John Legend, Willie Nelson and Toby Keith on the host’s Comedy Central special A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All!. The one-hour special, scheduled to air on November 18th, has a plot about Colbert being snowed in in an upstate New York cabin, so he and his musical friends play tunes to pass the time. All the original songs were written by Fountains of Wayne’s Adam Schlesinger and David Javerbaum, who also collaborated on the Broadway version of John Waters’ Cry Baby. Jon Stewart will also be on hand, duetting with Colbert on “Hanukkah,” while the entire ensemble will come together on “(What’s So Funny About) Peace, Love and Understanding.” A DVD of the special will hit shelves a week later, with proceeds benefiting the charity Feeding America.

Great shot

Officer Jeff Galyean of the Seabrook Police Department hugged his fourth-grade teacher, Sue Harral, in front of her home, which ended up in the middle of the street and several hundred feet from its foundation in Galveston.

Exactly

I like to think that the Jonas Brothers are what would happen if you took the Kings of Leon - preacher's sons from Nashville, corrupted by wild women and whiskey - and completely inverted them. The Jonas Brothers, too, are the sons of a former preacher, but they have abstained not only from pre-marital sex, but also from drugs, alcohol and cussing. It is almost as if some savvy marketing honcho with a flipchart set about devising a kiddy version of the Kings of Leon.

Hilarious

So true, so true-

When correctly ordered “with everything,” the Chicago hot dog is topped with mustard, fluorescent green relish the color of a kid’s lollipop, chopped onions, one or two tomato slices, one or two pickle spears, two to four hot peppers, and celery salt. Even more important than what goes on is what does not go on—ketchup.

At The Wieners Circle, a famous nearly all-night spot, I overheard this terse conversation:

Boy: “Where’s the ketchup?”

Girl: “Don’t do it, Jerome.”

Boy: “What? Is that wrong?”

Looking around, nervous that her boyfriend had made an insensitive remark, she sternly assured him it was.

Oh, Lils...

I do love you.

I always thought an album was a body of work in itself. you take it or leave it . You wouldn't say to a painter "yeah i love the naked ladies ,but would you mind painting their hair blonde instead of brown, and making their tits a bit bigger?" or " the trees are really pretty, a few more leaves perhaps?" Maybe you would actually , ha ha . Anyway whatevs.

Holy amazing gig, Batman!

Manic Street Preachers and Doves at the Heavenly Records birthday celebration.

As the Manic Street Preachers throttle to the end of Starlover for only the second time in 19 years, bassist Nicky Wire issues a grinning disclaimer. "You can tell that me and Richey were 19 when we wrote those lyrics. You have to make a fool of yourself when you're young." Starlover was one of six tracks the band recorded for Heavenly in 1990. Two others, Motown Junk and You Love Us, were immeasurably better: musical paintbombs consisting of Clash riffs, Guns N' Roses solos, Public Enemy samples and absurdly pugnacious rhetoric, as electrifying now as they were then.

...

Even when the lyrics are streaked with melancholy, the Motown-flavoured Black and White Town and rave-minded new song Jetstream have the exultant velocity of piano-house anthems, and There Goes the Fear sweeps the hall to its feet, all the way up to the balcony, in a spirit of celebration and camaraderie that seems distinctly Heavenly.

Isn't it interesting how

the smallest things can yield unthinkable results?

Paul Simonon on the origins of The Clash-

After a year's foundation course my attention started to wander. A month before I left, I went with a friend from art college to an audition for a drummer just to back him up. We got to Praed Street in Paddington and entered what looked like a dungeon. These three blokes with really long hair and guitars asked if I was a singer. “No, I'm a painter.” They ignored my answer, or maybe they couldn't hear cause of the long hair. Anyway, I was encouraged to have a go at singing songs I'd never heard of. It was a disaster.

A week or two later I ran into the guitarist from the audition. His name he told me was Mick Jones, and he was attending Hammersmith School of Art. We became chatty and met a few times in the local pubs. One night he asked if I played an instrument. “No, but I'd like to.”

'The Promise'- Girls Aloud

I wasn't initially that blown away by the single, but I have a feeling it's going to grow on me. The "You're gonna make me, make me love you" chorus is BRILLIANT.

And damn, they actually gave my girl, Sarah, a bigger part than usual. Fierce bitch knocks it out of the park.

I love gallows humor

Hilarious hurricane preparations...

"Ike prep -- Happy to have Anderson Cooper "hunkering down" in Houston. We'll leave a light on!"

Campo di papaveri

Campo di papaveri, originally uploaded by brenno64.

Never thought I'd say this, but

my GOD, Nikki Sixx is correct! Spot on, person who has OD'd more times than I'd like to think about...

“There’s things that I see where I go, ‘Rock Star energy drink? Give me a fucking break,’” Sixx says. “There’s no rock stars involved in this. There’s a lot of shit out there where people are calling it ‘rock.’ I went into Barnes & Noble the other day, and there’s a huge display that says ‘rock & roll,’ and it had a big thing of Miley Cyrus and the Jonas Brothers. I went, ‘What the fuck is this?’ People are believing that shit that is not rock & roll, is not the rock lifestyle, is rock.”

Side note- am completely appalled that he's three years younger than my MOM.

"Where you drink champagne and it tastes just like cherry cola"

Went to a local watering hole with the parentals tonight. Had some drinkies and a lovely whole-wheat crust pizza. Supreme, darlings.

A large and rowdy crowd entered the bar, and proceeded to raise the volume level by several notches. A couple began to noisily make out.

Dad looks over and comments, "That guy has his hand down that girl's pants."

I look over. "Dad, that ain't a guy."

My parents looked nonplussed, then slightly wigged out, then cool with it.

I was proud of them. As you are.

Holy moly

I-45 in Houston

Okay, this is actually kind of awesome.

In Surfside Beach, Texas, the entire town evacuated due to Hurricane Ike. Except for one codger.

They found him today.

Drunk off his ass.

In Surfside Beach, retired carpenter and former Marine Ray Wilkinson became something of a celebrity for a day: He was the lone resident in the town of 805 to defy the order to leave. Authorities found him Saturday morning, drunk.

"I consider myself to be stupid," Wilkinson, 67, said through a thick, tobacco-stained beard. "I'm just tired of running from these things. If it's going to get you, it's going to get you."

He added: "I didn't say I had all my marbles, OK?"

Mr. Wilkinson, my hat is off to your crazy self.

"Not A Through Street"

It rained 7 inches here overnight, resulting in flash flooding like we've never seen...

Heck yes she's cool

Miz Emmylou.

Fantastically talented, down to earth and amazingly gorgeous.

In a career as a singer and songwriter that spans 40 years, she has recorded more than 25 albums and has lent her talents to countless fellow artists' recordings. In recognition of her remarkable career, Harris was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in April.

But she's humble about her contribution.

"I've always seen myself as a a relentless song-finder, a singer of other people's work whom I admire greatly, and an occasional songwriter," she says.

And may I say, how the fuck was she not in the Country Music Hall Of Fame before this year? HOW?

HOT DAMN!

NEW GIRLS ALOUD SINGLE! NEXT MONTH!

*runs about with hair on fire*

Not good

As I've mentioned before, I lived in Houston, Texas for four years before returning to my hometown and assuming a glamorous lifestyle.

Long story short- loved the kids I taught, couldn't stand the weather

So, the news that Ike is about to hit the Houston/Galveston area makes me ill. For you see, I taught in a very, very impoverished section of the city, and with the projected storm surge- it ain't fixin' to be pretty.

Hopefully, my old school is far enough inland that the surge won't be as bad. But still, I'm worried. My kids would be in the exact situation as those poor souls affected by Katrina- they want to get out, but lack the resources. And then, where to go?

It's what really pissed me off about comparisons between Katrina and the devastating flooding we experienced in Iowa this summer. We had the resources- nearly everyone evacuated had access to vehicles (trucks, semis, ATVs, etc) and for God's sake, only had to relocate at most 5 miles away. We weren't trying escape 100+ MPH winds through a metropolitan area. Not a fair comparison. Totally different scenarios.

I'm praying this concern is for naught, but it appears at the moment to be a very bad scenario for Galveston, truly a gracious and historic city.

And the wind is just beginning to blow...

Random ten

1. Henrietta- The Fratellis
2. The World'll Be OK- Teenage Fanclub
3. Number 1- Goldfrapp
4. I Don't Feel Like Dancin'- Scissor Sisters
5. Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours- Stevie Wonder
6. Ant Music- Adam & The Ants
7. Acid Tongue- Jenny Lewis
8. I Knew the Bride (When She Used to Rock n' Roll)- Nick Lowe
9. Just A Friend- Biz Markie
10. Losing My Religion- Nina Perrson

Bonus-
11. Southern Cross- Crosby, Stills & Nash
12. Sexx Laws- Beck

Exactly

The Fug Girls recently said

DUDE. We GET IT, Katy Perry. You're WHIMSICAL. You KISSED A GIRL! You think your ex is "so gay" because he has a scarf from H&M or something, according to the lyrics of your other single, all of which indicates a kind of very shallow take on sexual politics. You are coy!And twee! You probably have a lollipop in your bag right now! You always dress like the girl on the side of some hot WWII-era fighter pilot's plane. WE KNOW.

As always, they hit the nail on the head.



Katy Perry in this week's NME.

Hahahahahaha

Things that amuse me

Political division...

1. Just listened to my cement-truck driver father fanboy over Rachel Maddow for a good three minutes. "She's a full-fledged liberal and a smartass. Good combination."

2. Had my iPod on shuffle yesterday at work. One of my co-workers (who is very conservative) was absolutely boogeying to 'Imperial Bodybags' by the Manics.

I had a hard time not giggling.

Adorable

Adele at the Mercury Prize ceremony tonight. Girlfriend has the BEST hair.

DO NOT WANT. DO NOT WANT.

Oh my dear sweet lord, am watching 'Fashion Rocks.' Justin Trousersnake is covering Marvin Gaye's 'Got To Give It Up.'

DO. NOT. WANT.

Jesus H. Christ on a cracker, IS THAT KID ROCK DOING 'I'M LOSING YOU?'

GIVE ME TROUSERSNAKE BACK.

MY EARS. MY EYES.

Oh thank GOD, Mary J is representing.

Ah, God has listened. No more Kid Rock, just Trousersnake and Mrs. Shawn Carter singing 'Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing.' It's actually pretty good.

I need a nap.

November 14th

is going to be like my birthday and Christmas at the same time.

New trailer for the 'Quantum Of Solace.'

Mmmm, Craigalicious.

OOO!

Magazine to reunite!

In 2006, Paul Morley wrote in the Observer that Devoto "... was the man who changed Manchester". When Devoto invited the Sex Pistols to play in the city, it was "before the rest of the country had caught up with the idea that there was any such thing as a Sex Pistol. In the audience for the shows were Mark E Smith, Ian Curtis, Morrissey and Devoto himself".

Several things

1. Don't walk away Uncross your legs, Renee. For Chrissake, Anna Wintour does. A-DUB.

2. Lay off the Botox.

3. Sandwiches. Lots of them. With full-fat cheese and dressings.

Small town living

Was thinking today- between myself, the parentals and our friends, we have keys to the following places in our community:

-the tavern
-one of the gas stations
-both banks!
-the childcare center
-one of the restaurants
-several churches
-one of the salons
-the hardware store
-the flower shop (duh)

We. Could. Rule. The. World.

Oh, forgot one...

-the funeral home

Rule the underworld as well...

Mmmmm

It's been cold and rainy here all day, so of course when I got home from work, I felt the urge to cook. Does anyone else have that?

Anyway, have a pork roast (locally raised) going in the el Crocko Potto with fresh garlic, onions, carrots and potatoes. Coated the bottom of the pot with extra virgin olive oil, and seasoned with lemon pepper and parsley flakes. Added a thing of chicken stock as well.

Smells delish already.

Random-

It's amusing, coming back as an adult to live in the place where you grew up. We were talking at work today about the parties put on by our local fire department. (My dad was the assistant fire chief for years, and my beloved co-worker Patti's husband was on the department as well).

Color me oblivious, but when Mom and Patti were talking about the wild times at the fire department Christmas parties, I was like, "What's all this now? There was booze? HARUMPH! HARUMPH! HARUMPH!"

And then it slowly came back to me-

-the firefighter's children were never allowed to get our own cans of pop from the (free) machine at the station. Why? One of the selections contained CANS OF BEER.

-We were never allowed to drink from the glasses of "orange juice" that nearly every adult carried at these functions. Why? EVERCLEAR.

Irritated that I never caught on to the secret drunkfest, I called my girl, Traci, (whose father was the long-time fire chief) to ask if I was just dense, or did she know this as well...

Well, I'm glad I brightened her day.

"HAHAHAHAHA! YOU DIDN'T KNOW THAT? HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Sometimes, I'm dumber than a sack of hammers.

Appledore, Devon, England

Appledore, Devon, England, originally uploaded by saxonfenken.

Cool!

Kaiser Chiefs, Snow Patrol and Adele will play gigs in their living rooms later this month as part of the BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge Tour.

Razorlight will also take part in the tour, playing from their rehearsal room, while Girls Aloud are set to perform in BBC Radio 1 DJ Jo
Whiley's house.

The gigs, which will see the bands perform stripped-down versions of their songs along with covers, were announced on Whiley's radio show this morning.

For the record, Adele is welcome in my living room any time, being made of awesome and all. Seriously, she just seems like a fun person- girlfriend gives HILARIOUS interviews.

Also, I hope Jo's living room is spacious, because Nadine needs room to toss her hair around and for Miz Harding and Kimba to holler "PUT YOUR HANDS IN THE AIR!" Okay, Sarah and Kim don't need room to do that, but still. They're sooooo going to say that. They ALWAYS say that.

Yeek

My poor Noel. That looks like it really freaking hurt!

And way to throw a punch after the security (actually) did their jobs, Our Kid.

Yet that seems to have been what happened at the V festival in Toronto last night, when a stage-invader knocked him over. As the video above shows (from 1:30 onwards), the fan came running from the opposite side of the stage to Gallagher during Morning Glory, sneaking behind singer Liam Gallagher before pushing Noel to the ground.

The concert had to be stopped, although the band – who often refuse to play on after such incidents – returned to play a further six songs. According to Oasisnet.com, Noel was admitted to hospital after the show to be examined for a suspected fractured rib and ligament damage.

I wanna go

We opt for the lounge and sink into one of the sofas, which are arranged in sociable clusters around the room. Mini, the resident lurcher, dozes by the fire and a couple of Siamese cats pad in to see who the newcomers are. First impressions are that a lot of thought has gone into making the Whitehouse feel like our house for the weekend ather than a hotel. Over tea Tamara explains how she met business partners Matt and Ally as a mature student at university in 2002 and he Whitehouse is the final realisation of their dream to create a hotel ased on the things that they all enjoy – big beds, big baths and unhurried simple food.

The location- idyllic


The beds- huge


The linens- posh


The food- lush&local


Yup, wanna go.

VMA's

general commentary as it occurs AKA liveblogging


-Brit Brit looks GOOD

-Little Miss Sunshine's gone all Thunderdome.

-Oh My God, Russell's entrance song is 'Rock and Roll Star' by Oasis.

-He's endorsing Obama. Nice...

-Calls Bush a "Retarded Cowboy." Oh dear, the wingers are going to freak. Nothing new then.

- He WENT THERE with the Jonas Brothers virginity rings. God Bless you, Russ.

-Katy Perry is attempting to sing 'Like A Virgin.' KEEP AWAY FROM THE JONAS BROTHERS! ...who are, in my opinion, the Osmond Brothers Version 2.0... and now they're performing. Oh God, make it stop.

-LiLo looks good. Shame about the tuxedo shirt/halter top hybrid

-The Pussycat Dolls SHOULD win the award for best dancing in a video. They're dancers, hello?

-Somebody needs to pull Lil' Wayne's pants up so we don't see, er, Lil'er Wayne.

-I can't decide who Hayley from Paramore wants to be more- Debbie Harry or Shirley Manson

-Slash and Shia LeBeouf are presenting 'Best Rock Video' together. The mind boggles.

-Pink's hair is adorable, as is her dress. Don't quite get the set performance thing, though.

-The Ting Tings. Ahhhhh, bless. Katie looks cute.

-What the sam hell is going on with Pete Wentz's collar?

-Ah Christ, Jordin Sparks is going on about the damned promise rings. John Legend, for some reason, looks uncomfortable/uninterested. "Not everyone wants to be a slut." Seriously, STFU Jordin.

-The cast of 'High School Musical' is on soon. Right, that's it. I'm too old for this shit.

I think this would go under

"hot mess."

What was Solange thinking?

"Hmmm, what do I want to wear to Fashion Rocks? Ah, that dress looks good with the 50 things going on with the skirt, but you know what would really make the outfit? A jacket made out of chicken feathers with a 1970's beaded curtain hanging off of it!"

WANT.

And most importantly, I can AFFORD THIS!

Books I'm in no danger of reading

Yum. YUM.

Tom Robbins, deputy travel editor, The Observer

You can keep your foie gras and truffles; the gastronomic experience of my life was an ice cream, bought from the window of a little beach cafe in Cornwall. It was a legendary Robin's Hedgehog, the special creation of the cafe owner, Rob Ross. He starts by filling a cone with farmhouse vanilla ice cream. This is then smothered in a thick layer of Cornish clotted cream and dipped in a bowl of honey-roast hazlenuts, which embed themselves in the cream. I only ever had one, and that was when I was 10, but I've been thinking about it on and off ever since. · Chapel Porth Cafe, near St Agnes, Cornwall (01872 552487)

Gorgeous

From a NY Times series titled "Why We Travel"-

A bridge scene in Moscow

Random ten

1. Suspicious Minds- Candi Stanton
2. Distant Dreamer- Duffy
3. Gang Of Gin- Babyshambles
4. Sloop John B- The Beach Boys
5. Here I Am- Lyle Lovett
6. A Girl Like You- Edwyn Collins
7. Bang A Gong (Get It On)- T.Rex
8. Walk Away- Kelly Clarkson
9. Live And Let Die- Guns N' Roses
10. Angels- Robbie Williams

Bonus-
11. Teenage Dirtbag- Girls Aloud
12. Help!- The Beatles

Respectfully,

Miss Winstone, take your hands off the braces and back away from the Barratt.

KTHANX.

*snort*

Fwaaaaah, Mr. Walcott.

Part 238942304 in an ongoing series

This is what happens when you pull an unknown Northern Exposure Karen Walker out of the rabbit hat for the second most powerful job in the nation. Had Sarah Palin been on the rubber-chicken circuit for years, as Ronald Reagan had, we would have become familiar with her and her family, much as we did with (say) the Romney fraternity over the long course of the primary campaign. But she was sprung on the country out of nowhere, and just about the first thing we learn about this family-values matriarch is that her unwed teenage daughter is pregnant (then we learn that the governor used the line-item veto to slash funds for teenage mothers--what a monster).

I love you,

Russell.

part 978 of an ongoing series

Brand — who describes his own style as “superhero S&M scarecrow”

...

“Once there was a story saying, ‘Russell Brand was arrested for rampaging through the London underground with a sword.’ I thought, ‘Well, this is ridiculous! What on earth would I be doing on the underground? Once you can afford taxis, you can swing the sword out the window.’”

Cute dress, Beth!

The Gossip at Get Loaded In the Park

I'd be way more excited about this

if Thomas hadn't (apparently) adopted Meatloaf as a style icon.

Haircut, love. And a shave. Please, darling. You're hurting me.

New material sounds promising, though.

*high five*

There's a lot of singing at Kasabian gigs. Their songs - enormous chanted choruses with juddering rhythms - are often simple in construction but have managed to locate the secret nerve centre which makes human beings sing along while hurling a plastic beer glass in the air. While they've been away working on their third album, the band's sound has - if anything - got even bigger. Oldies like Shoot the Runner and Processed Beats now sound like Pizzorno's garden UXB has been grafted into the rhythm section.

And the new songs unveiled suggest this isn't about to change. Fire- which sounds like a glam rock Hokey Cokey and actually includes the line "shake it to the left" - is only seconds old when those hands shoot back up in the air. It's surely only a matter of time before the band start taking to the stage in tanks.

I don't know why I'm admitting this

but prompted by this post, I have to confess...

I like Journey.

*shudders*

I do. I can't help it. Child of the 80's and all that. Their songs make me happy, and is that really so wrong? IS IT? Shouldn't we grasp any happiness in this cruel, cruel world? SHOULDN'T WE?

Must go listen to some screamingly hip songs to compensate.

However, I must say- for the last time, J, Carlos Ashley Raphael does NOT look like Steve Perry.

Thanks.

"We'll be fighting in the streets..."

But the main antiwar march was peaceful, police said, estimating about 10,000 people participated. Late Monday afternoon, long after the antiwar marchers had dispersed, police requested and got 150 Minnesota National Guard soldiers to help control splinter groups near downtown

Love it

Because if there’s a poor child out there, that’s my child. If there’s a senior that’s having trouble, that’s my grandparent. If there’s a guy who’s lost his job, that’s my brother. If there’s a woman out there without healthcare, that’s my sister. Those are the values that built this country. Those are the values we are fighting for.

via

'Twist and Shout'- Babyshambles and friends

Awwww

Wee hippie Shawn and Al at the DNC

Fun

A-dorable

and so, so chic...

Surf's Up

in Biarritz, France...

Nice...

Zanzibar Doors 1

Zanzibar Doors 1, originally uploaded by mirellawognum.

Am simply amazed

that in this discussion of the greatest bassists, Paul Simonon is barely mentioned. Simmo.

(calm down, Kaz)

My own personal list of favorite bassists?

-James Jamerson (Funk Brothers- Motown session player)
-Peter "Hooky" Hook (Joy Division, New Order)
-Andy Rourke (The Smiths)
-John Hassall (The Libertines)
-Bootsy Collins (JB's, Parliament Funkadelic)
-Nicky Wire (Manic Street Preachers)
-Paul Simonon (The Clash)
-Drew McConnell (Babyshambles- not only fine, but a fine musician)

and my absolute favorite-

-Mani (The Stone Roses, Primal Scream) He's a legend.

Lucky

BASTARDS.

The new material sounds GOOD.

Oasis have announced they'll be playing their first ever concert in Cornwall.

The band will play at the Eden Project on Saturday 27 September ahead of their UK tour, which starts at the Liverpool Echo Arena on 7
October.

Anyone who wants to go will have to register at the official Oasis website from midday on 29 August and will then go into a draw for tickets.

Oasis release new album Dig Out Your Soul on 6 October with single The Shock Of The Lightning out on 29 September.

Lee McQueen,

you are my God.

Random ten

1. Autobahn 66- Primal Scream
2. Ooh La La- Goldfrapp
3. Lord Don't Slow Me Down- Oasis
4. Lovefool- The Cardigans
5. Panama- Van Halen
6. Just Looking (live)- Stereophonics
7. Hand In Glove- The Smiths
8. Narcissist- The Libertines
9. The Prayer- Bloc Party
10. Whiskey River- Willie Nelson

Bonus-
11. Hello, Goodbye- The Beatles
12. Brass Monkey- Beastie Boys

Oh joy

The whole family is descending upon the house this weekend, minus my brother-in-law, who had to work.

While I'm excited to see my nieces and nephew, I'm less excited to see my brothers simply because we do NOT agree politically AT ALL. (They're of the oppressed white man persuasion).

And there's absolutely nothing happening on the political front this week.

*cough*

My sis (who is a dirty hippie like myself) and I have decided that we're just going to laugh at them. We can't change their minds, so we're going to make fun of them.

"Gee, ______! You're a college-educated, straight white male. However HAVE you succeeded in the corporate world with the man keeping you down and all?"

We're guessing we're going to be stabby by Saturday night.

I love him.

Mr. Nicky Wire...

I had this vicious, bordering on violent argument on the bus the other day with James and Sean. I was making the point that every genre that ever existed in cinema has been done better by TV now. “Godfather” against “Sopranos” – “Sopranos” wins hands down. “American Gangster” vs “The Wire”? No competition. Comedy there’s no competition. Who wants to watch comedy in films these days? The last great comedy movie I can remember was “Midnight Run”. One of my favourite films and also one of Ian McCulloch’s. War stuff, much better documentaries. Musicals? “Blackpool” was really good. It was a deeply flawed argument, I nearly won it through sheer force of will. It really was fucking hard work though... as usual it was a mixture of me talking bollocks with a small element of truth.

Well done,

brothers Jarman! Seems that one Johnny "freaking" Marr is going to be joining them officially...

The Cribs– complete with Johnny Marr as part of their line-up – have revealed that they plan to release a new single this year during an exclusive video interview with NME.COM.

Today in "unintended consequences"

At Iowa's Coolest Flower Shop, my girl, J, and I have been after my mom (our boss) for months to buy us a new glue pan- used for silk floral arrangements and other craftiness.

Our old one was on its last legs (literally) and took AGES to heat up to a somewhat acceptable temperature. Mom finally caved last week and bought a new one. YAY! Joyous shouts rang out throughout the land! Choirs of angels sang! All that!

So.....

Today I was creating a silk fall wreath, a veritable seasonal masterpiece of harmonious colors and pleasing shapes- designed to put one in the most "fall"-est of moods, when-

1. The phone rang

2. I was momentarily distracted. Unfortunately, this was directly after I dipped a silk leaf in the hot glue

3. Because of the distraction, I dripped some of the F*CKING HOT GLUE on my finger

4. Words, most of them obscene, others invoking various deities, nearly escaped my mouth

5. Ran to sink, ran cold water on burn

6. Then had to peel cool glue off really F*CKING BURNED SKIN. Which, as you may guess, DOES NOT FEEL PLEASANT

I now have a humdinger of a 2nd degree burn on my finger.

What really twists me is this- if we wouldn't have whined and complained as badly as we (read- I) did, I would have been using the old glue pan which didn't heat well, and I wouldn't HAVE A REALLY NASTY BURN ON MY FINGER. F*CK!

Grrrr....

Wee hippie

Wee Olympic gold medal-winning hippie.

HOMEGIRL!

Shawn Johnson will drop in on Letterman, Leno and the Democrats this week. She was headed from Beijing on Monday straight for New York to tape an appearance on "The Late Show With David Letterman" to air at 10:35 Monday night on CBS. Then she has a stop at home scheduled for Tuesday, and she will be welcomed home in free festivities at 6 p.m. at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.

Thursday, Shawn will lead the pledge of allegiance at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, then head to Los Angeles to tape a "Tonight Show" appearance with Jay Leno that will air Friday at 10:35 p.m. on NBC.

Say "cheese," Gromit!

Wallace and Gromit for Harvey Nicks

via

Somerset : Glastonbury Tor

Somerset : Glastonbury Tor, originally uploaded by Wurz.

I love YouTube

The Shambles at Reading Festival

'Killamangiro' & 'What Katie Did'

Probably the best sans-Paddy version of the former I've heard. Good job, Grandad!

And I'll admit, I initially thought they were going into 'Dilly Boys' rather than the latter, and nearly died with happiness.





'Albion'


Honestly, I listen to this song at least 10 times a week. I love it- it's just so romantic, and the lyrics are SO fantastic. This is a great reading (hee) of it.

However, this version is my favorite-