to yellowstone

to yellowstone, originally uploaded by richietown.

Sweet Jesus,

I love Mr. Walcott nearly as much as I loathe Tim Daggett...

"A disaster of epic proportion" is how NBC gymnastics analyst (and former gymnast himself) Tim Daggett described Alicia Sacramore's butt-landing last night in the team competition--a phrase that might be more judiciously deployed to label a monsoon or earthquake that wipes out multiple thousands, or the aftermath of aerial bombardment. A gymnast flubbing her tumbling pass doesn't quite qualify as an epic disaster, even if this is the Olympics and the entire world is riveted to the screen from the sanctity of their leisure modules.

But rhetorical overkill is Daggett's signature yelp, treating every bobble or half-step on the landing as a potential fatal rip ("this--is a nightmare") in the fabric of the heroic narrative he and colleague Al Trautwig have collaborated on behind the mike as they pump up every gymnastics showdown into psychodrama, soap opera, and Nietzschean feats of will.

Hyperbole is the chant they sing, but where Daggett relies on a few stock phrases of cheer or doom, Trautwig fancies himself quite the troubadour, translating the gymnasts' thoughts for us as if their interior monologues were as wordy and portentous as his exterior ones. Gad, they get on my nerves.

Sounds about right

MUSIC legends from the Hollies to Morrissey to Oasis have already put Manchester on the map.

Now the city has been ranked rock 'n' roll capital of Britain, according to a new survey.

It revealed that Manchester has produced more rock stars per head than any other British city.

The survey, by guitar website guitarrockstar.co.uk, checked where 500 of the most successful rock stars and bands from the 1950s to the modern day were born and brought up.

Manchester finished top at producing rock stars, above Liverpool, Sheffield, Glasgow, Coventry and Oxford.

West London suburb Shepherd's Bush was named the rock 'n' roll hotspot with one rock star to every 1,222 people.

Manchester has one rock star per 17,855, followed by Oxford, with one in 24,100, and north west rival Liverpool, with just one per 29,073.

How yummy does this sound?

Grilled sausages and summer beans with herbs, tomatoes and caramelized onions.

2 pounds your favorite sausages
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large red onion, thinly sliced
4 fresh thyme sprigs
Kosher salt and
freshly ground black pepper
Pinch of sugar
1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
1 pound green or wax beans (use a combination for the prettiest dish), trimmed
1/4 cup white wine
1/2 cup chopped mixed fresh herbs, including
basil and parsley
Fleur de sel or coarse sea salt, for serving (optional).

1. Prepare grill or preheat broiler. Grill or broil sausages until browned and blistered and cooked all the way through.

2. Meanwhile, prepare beans. Heat oil in a large skillet with a cover until shimmering. Add onion, thyme sprigs and a pinch each of salt, pepper and sugar. Sauté over medium-high heat until onions are golden in spots and browned around edges, about 7 minutes.

3. Add tomatoes and saute until they start to release their juices, 2 minutes. Add beans and wine and toss everything in pan. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook 3 minutes. Uncover pan, add herbs and continue to cook. Toss beans occasionally, until liquid evaporates and beans are done to taste, 5 to 30 minutes, adding water to pan if it dries out. Garnish with coarse salt if you like and serve hot or at room temperature, with sausages.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings.

Good man

Former Rep. Jim Leach endorses Obama.

"There's a distinction between trumpeting issues and realistically looking at effectiveness," Leach said. "I have never known a time period where the American brand has been in less repair." He said most voters instinctively want the U.S. to work with allies, rejecting the go it-alone approach that has marked the Bush administration.

"If you ask Americans of any political persuasion — conservative, liberal or moderate — whether they'd rather see us lead the world with allies or alone, most people instinctively say we're better off with allies," Leach said. "The public does understand that something is not right about our policies today."

via

Too adorable

Brit Brit looks GOOD and Russell is so funny.... can't wait!

All in all,

I've had a rather enjoyable birthday. Yes, I had to work and the cat woke me up in the middle of the night wanting to be petted AGAIN, but still, it was a lovely day.

Most of my friends and family sent best wishes via phone, mail, email or Facebook, and I was treated to two delicious meals...

Lunch- Salad with roasted red peppers, artichokes, pine nuts and Feta cheese from local cafe

Supper- Fresh corn tortillas filled with pulled pork and roasted chicken with red sauce and homemade guacamole from local very authentic Mexican restaurant. Accompanied by a strawberry rocket fuel cocktail margarita.

Yum.

I know he's not "cool,"

but I have to say, one of my most enjoyable concert-going experiences was the Neil Diamond gig I went to in college.

Toward the end of the concert, right after a string of megahits, including “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers” and “I’m a Believer,” which he wrote for the Monkees, Mr. Diamond told the crowd he had no plans for retirement.

“This is my job,” he said. “Someone much greater than me gave me that job. He said, ‘You, you with that stupid look on your face — go out and sing until I tell you to stop.’ I haven’t heard the word yet so I’m just going to keep doing it.”

'Dakota'- Stereophonics

Awesome

Every year at the Iowa State Fair, there is a butter sculpture of something culturally significant, such as the butter Last Supper, Harry Potter (my fav-drove the fundies crazy) and Elvis. Oh, and the traditional butter cow.

This year's edition? Butter Shawn Johnson, the wee dynamo from West Des Moines, currently kicking some ass and taking some names at the Olympics.

Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson, whose likeness is being cast in bronze for the Iowa Hall of Pride, will be sculpted in a more gooey medium in August at the Iowa State Fair.

Butter Shawn Johnson will share the spotlight with the butter cow in the Agriculture Building Aug. 7-17. Butter sculptor Sarah Pratt of West Des Moines plans to incorporate a balance beam into Johnson’s pose, and possibly an American flag.

Seriously, I really can't think of a higher honor in Iowa than to be (temporarily) immortalized in dairy at the state fair.

Thoughts

while watching the women's team qualifying gymnastics competition at the Olympics-

-AAAAAA! Stay in bounds, honey!

-AAAAAA! No, really! Stay in bounds!

-Awwww, little Nastia Liukin did well!

-Get down with your bad tiny little self, Shawn Johnson! (representing West Des Moines)!

-AAAAAA! AN INTERVIEW WITH PREZNIT BUSH? WTF?????

*clicks over to 'Extreme Home Makeover*

-AAAAAAAAA! HE'S STILL ON THE DAMN TV???

My question is, does NBC have ANY idea how unpopular this dipshit is? I'd love to see how much ratings plummeted during that segment...

Update-actual text messages my girl, Case, sent me regarding the interview with the Chimp-

"Is he drunk?"

"He was talking baseball, so I kept waiting for him to pick his nose."

rosheim alsace_3

rosheim alsace_3, originally uploaded by beatrice do bl.

ZOMG

This is brilliant. And SO beyond my reach...

I must own these

Jimmy Choos.

(or buy the Target knock-off version. Shhhhh...)

Fab.

This week's sign

that the apocalypse is upon us-

US rapper Snoop Dogg has made his debut in a Bollywood film which is being released on Friday.

Dogg, whose real name is Cordozar Calvin Broadus, sings and acts in a romantic comedy called Singh is Kinng.

Snoop D-O-double G goes Bollywood. Holy shit, that's hilarious.

Holy freaking hell

LEE McQUEEN THAT I CAN AFFORD! POSSIBLY!

WORK YOUR MAGIC, TARGET!

*runs around room screaming*

via

Random ten

1. Local Boy In The Photograph- Stereophonics
2. Love Is A Losing Game- Amy Winehouse
3. Temptation- New Order
4. Firestarter- The Prodigy
5. Unbilotitled- Babyshambles (live-'Oh! What A Lovely Tour')
6. I've Just Seen a Face- Jim Sturgess
7. The Menace- Mongrel
8. Tempted- Squeeze
9. Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters- Ryan Adams and Elton John (live- 'Crossroads')
10. Koko- Goldfrapp

Bonus-
11. Poison- Bel Biv Devoe
12. The Girl Who Wanted To Be God- Manic Street Preachers

These are my people, part 986743

All that one-fifth of Brits wish for is the chance to be a rock-star. In a new poll, 20% of those surveyed said that they would love to trade their jobs for a gig in the music biz, and 50% complained that in school there was not enough information about music careers.

Duffy- 'Stepping Stone'

In the vid, girlfriend is working the Bardot vibe like nobody's business...

Duffy darlin', please release 'Distant Dreamer' or 'I'm Scared' as the next singles. Please.

One of my

fav photogs, Mark Seliger, gets the royal treatment at Vanity Fair-

Seliger is an editor’s favorite because he can find content in a genre—celebrity portraiture—which all too often comes off as empty, tacky, humorless, and cliché-riddled. His pictures, often rendered in a rich palette, tend to be cinematic. They seem to freeze a moment while implying a much bigger story.

Love this shot of Mos Def.

This one of Anne Hathaway is utterly gorgeous.

Oh dear

I approve of something Paris Hilton has done.

*goes to re-evaluate life*

See more Paris Hilton videos at Funny or Die

via nearly every progressive blog

You ever have one of those days?

Today was one of those days where one compiles lists of good versus bad things that occurred in order to determine whether it was a total loss or not.

Yeah, my grasp of the English language has gone out the window. I blame the heat.

Bad-
1. Cat woke me up 3 times when I was trying to sleep in
2. My bum ankle is acting up, and I appear to have jacked up one of my knees somehow
3. My iPod was frozen for most of the day, and nothing I did un-froze the damn thing

Good-
1. Downloaded Mr. Adam Ficek's demos for Roses Kings Castles. Just like Adam, they are adorable
2. Figured out what was wrong with iPod. Joyous shouts sounded throughout the land.

and......

3. Got my hot little hands on the 'Shambles bootleg from their gig at Brixton Mass, which includes a snippet of 'I Wanna Be Adored' by the Roses. Again with the joyous shouting.

SO IT WAS A VERY GOOD DAY.

Excellent choice in t-shirts, Kele

At Lollapalooza last weekend...

I adore him

Best headline ever-

Oasis' Noel Gallagher: 'My night with Marilyn Manson and Kenickie'

And this made me snort coffee out my nose-

Noel: "Don't ask how, but we know his [Marilyn Manson] bass player, Twiggy."

Twiggy Ramirez. The guy who wears the leather skirt, right?

Noel: "…and he wears a witch's hat as well. Don't ask.

And then there's this-

Noel: "We get marched to a spot behind the mixing desk, and there’s all these American goths, and the gig's going on, it's all screaming and shouting, rape and pillage and all that fucking shit. Before one song he goes, '(adopts booming dark lord voice) I WANNA DEDICATE THIS SONG TO THE TWO BIGGEST FUCK-UPS IN ENGLAND!'

Me and our kid are looking at him, and looking at each other going, 'He means you, 'cos Lord knows he don’t mean me.'

And this-

Anyway, so we go back after the gig and we just got fucking absolutely… beyond pissed on absinthe. That's when Kenickie from 'Grease' fucking pulled a knife on us.

God Bless the Gallaghers.

Sunset - Chia - Sardinia, Italy

Sunset - Chia - Sardinia, Italy, originally uploaded by Marcoz aka marchio77.

Crap like this

make me want to stab myself in the eye.

There is so much dumb in this article entitled, "Why He Won't Propose," I don't even know where to start.

Figure out if your life plans are on the same track by casually mentioning your own future goals, whether it is to own a business, buy a house, or have a baby.

Darling, if you think you're ready to get married, and haven't yet talked about plans for the future, you've more problems than someone who just dropped a match in a gunpowder plant.

Finally, if you know that you are ready for the next step in your relationship, but you still haven't seen any bling, you might want to consider summoning up your bravery and popping the question yourself!

I'm sorry, but I just threw up a little. Jesus Christ, if you're not on the same page after being together long enough to consider making it legal, isn't that a screaming red warning sign to "ABANDON SHIP?"

And women proposing to men? YE GODS. Sounds suspiciously hippie to me. They probably came up with that concept in between inventing sex and smoking up.

Also, isn't "bling" about 3 years ago?

Grr....

Anywhere in

The Albion Plough Model, originally uploaded by albie_clark.

Yum

Made sweet corn tonight. Yum. As per directions from my girl, Jen, boiled it for 10 minutes with a cup of sugar and a large dash of lemon juice...

Utterly delicious.

Random ten

1. You're The Best Thing- The Style Council
2. Sin Wagon- Dixie Chicks
3. You're So Vain- Carly Simon
4. Redemption Song- The Stone Roses
5. You Know I'm No Good- Amy Winehouse
6. I Love You But You're Green- Babyshambles
7. Cabaret- Liza Minelli
8. I Shall Be Released- Paul Weller
9. Boogie Monster- Gnarls Barkley
10. Let's Get Rocked- Def Leppard

Bonus-
11. Sugar, Sugar- The Archies
12. Debra- Beck

OOOOOO!

Promising. V.v.v. promising!

Finally!

Nominees that I approve of! All* of these songs are fantastic!

For the Popjustice "Twenty Quid Music Prize"-

'A&E' - Goldfrapp
'About You Now' - Sugababes
'Bleeding Love' - Leona Lewis
'Call The Shots' - Girls Aloud
'Dance Wiv Me' - Dizzee Rascal feat Calvin Harris
'Flux' - Bloc Party
'Money' - Daggers
'That's Not My Name' - The Ting Tings
'Valerie' - Mark Ronson feat Amy Winehouse
'Ready For The Floor' - Hot Chip
'Song 4 Mutya (Out Of Control)' - Groove Armada feat Mutya Buena
'Stuck On Repeat' - Little Boots

*Okay, I've never heard the Little Boots or Dagger tunes, but the rest of them, the rest of them are quite wonderful...

Oh my, this is hilarious

Local man wants to run for county supervisor on the Republican ticket. Party says no. Man persists. Party is uncomfortable, but can't do a thing about it.

Hilarity ensues.

(most hysterical bits in purple)

The Des Moines County Republican Central Committee won't be backing the party's lone candidate for a seat on the Des Moines County Board of Supervisors, according to Chairman Tom Broeker. And James Seaberg, 62, of Burlington believes he knows the reason."I'm not surprised. I don't look like the typical Republican candidate," he said. "They are putting too much emphasis on the fact I have long hair and not enough on trying to get a Republican elected."

Seaberg, who sports a long gray pony tail and opts for jeans over a suit, said the issue of his appearance came up shortly after he announced his candidacy.In an unofficial capacity, Seaberg said Broeker suggested he drop out of the race. He said the reasons given were a lack of experience in county politics and "he didn't like how I looked."

"He told me to cut my hair. I told him flat out that wasn't happening," Seaberg said. "He said he wasn't telling me that as a party official, just man to man. I think everyone should be allowed to run for office if they want. I think people should have a choice."

Upon the advice from Broeker, Seaberg said he suspended his campaign prior to the June 3 primary election. Despite leaving the race, Seaberg
failed to file paperwork with the county auditor's office that would remove his name from the ballot. He received 401 votes in the primary election.Last month, Seaberg announced he was re-entering the race.

**

Seaberg will face Democratic primary winners Dan Cahill of Burlington and incumbent Bob Beck of Danville in the Nov. 4 general election. Cahill, a retired attorney, received the most votes in the Democratic primary with 1,832 followed by Beck with 1,589. Incumbent supervisor Tim Hoschek fell 10 votes behind Beck.

**

As for Seaberg, he is ready for the campaign ahead. The political novice's background includes stints at a variety of jobs, including at Catfish Bend Casino and Burger King. Now, Seaberg said, he's ready to work for the people of Des Moines County.

Okay,

Alicia Keys is a great choice for the Bond theme song. But Jack White??? THERE HAD BETTER BE NO WHINING AND A BASS PLAYER!!!!

The White Stripes Jack White and Alicia Keys are set to go down in history as the first duet to record the James Bond theme.Following rumours that Duffy was a 'dead cert' to sing the track, the pair will reportedly record the theme to 'Quantum Of Solace' entitled 'Another Way To Die'.According to Billboard.com, White wrote and produced the song, and will also play drums.

I'd be lying

if I said that I wasn't inordinately excited about this...

One of

my sweet little nieces arms.

That's some Grade A chub there.

Why yes, I am the world's most indulgent aunt, why do you ask?

Nom nom nom.

Nearly a perfect evening

Last night, Dad called and asked if I wanted to accompany him to a local dive tavern, where there would be much food-based goodness. Oh, and booze. Naturally, I responded in the affirmative.

Once there, we ate a lovely meal of beer-can chicken, fried cucumbers with a spicy crust (yummy), authentic Jardiniere from Chicago and pepper bacon-wrapped asparagus. Utterly delicious.

Then, I became very pissed off/uncomfortable.

One of the patrons looked about the bar, and said, "I've got a joke, and since we're all white here..."

I was like, "Fuck. Nothing good has EVER followed that."

Dude proceeded to tell a VERY offensive joke. Dad shifted uncomfortably. I put on my bitch shoes and informed the "joker" that it wasn't funny. Because it wasn't, and since the teller of the offensive joke-

a- assumed that since we were all of Caucasian extraction, we'd be totally okay with his racist asshattery and that we were just as predjudiced as him
b-had a Skynrd tat on his arm

It just made even more angry, because not only am I not racist in the slightest, I love the Skynrd.

I didn't feel in the wrong for telling him that he was being a pig. Because he was. And it just pissed me off, because it was a great evening. Really quite fun. And now there's a nasty bit associated with it. Damn it. Because the food was That Good.

Mmmmmmm

Am currently eating grilled chicken breast, marinated in zesty Italian dressing overnight, with a salad of fresh non-pestilential tomatoes and carrots. Mmmm.....

Recipe for salad-

Make a basic vinaigrette dressing- 3 parts oil to 1 part vinegar. Add in desired seasonings and spices (I like red pepper and parsley flakes along with the usual sea salt and fresh ground pepper). Combine with coarsely chopped carrots and tomatoes. Hold off eating as long as possible for maximum flavor.

MMMMMMM.

Grand Tetons 8

Grand Tetons 8, originally uploaded by P-Kittye.

Absorbine Jr. is my god now

Am tired. So very, very tired.



Though not THIS tired.

Anyway, I'll write more about this tomorrow, including the characters that passed me during my top 10,000 finish. Such as Tinky Winky and the San Diego Chicken.

Not. Making. This. Up.

And how as feared, the Brady Street hill did NOT kill me dead.

Ah, I hear the dulcet tones of the sofa calling... I'll be there in a moment, lover...

Hmmmm

Got two friend requests on my Facebook account today. Am ignoring them because

1. they both are listed as Republicans. Um, yeah. I just don't think my pinko Commie hippie ass would have very much in common with them...

This, however, is the kicker-

2. both list Creed and Korn among their favorite bands.

"Can I take you higher?"

No, put me down and back away, frat boy.

*shudders*

Yes, I am a dreadful snob. But as Rob says in 'High Fidelity,'

"...I agreed that what really matters is what you like, not what you are like... Books, records, films -- these things matter. Call me shallow but it's the fuckin' truth..."

Up the bracket alley

Up the bracket alley, originally uploaded by VP(h5).

Random ten

1. Drop It- Biffy Clyro
2. Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head- Manic Street Preachers
3. Ooh La La- Stereophonics
4. Velocity Girl- Primal Scream
5. Wasteland- The View
6. Ampersand- Helsinki
7. Straighten Up and Fly Right- Robbie Williams
8. Removables- Manic Street Preachers
9. I Don't Want to Hear It Anymore- Shelby Lynne
10. Teddy Picker- Arctic Monkeys

Bonus-
11. Kiwi- Maroon 5
12. Nowhere to Run- Martha Reeves & The Vandellas

Ye Gods

Russell Brand will host this year's MTV Video Music Awards, it was announced today (July 24).The famed British comedian, known primarily to US audiences for his turn as the rock-star boyfriend in the film 'Forgetting Sarah Marshall', will helm the event, which takes place September 7 at Paramount Studios in Los Angeles.

Dear Jesus,
Please have Russell bring in Noel Fielding for an opening sequence where they re-enact the whole Justin Trousersnake/Ms. Jackson bit from the Superbowl halftime show. Or something.

In return, I promise not to commit any of the deadly sins for the next minute or so.

Kisses,
Cy

I always suspected

that Johnny Rotten was a bit of a jerk. Now I know he's actually a raging, allegedly racist, asshat.

New details of the bust-up between Bloc Party frontman Kele Okereke and ageing Sex Pistols singer John Lydon emerged today as the Foals' tour manager revealed that three members of the Oxford band suffered injuries during last weekend’s fight.

Foals tour manager Nick Jenkin today called Lydon’s description of the event at Barcelona’s Summercase Festival “totally untrue,” and said he watched Okereke being punched by the Sex Pistols’ entourage while the band’s frontman, known as Johnny Rotten, taunted the Kaiser Chiefs’ Ricky Wilson, after he went to the aid of the Bloc Party singer.

Jenkin also told Times Online that Foals frontman Yannis Philippakis tried to help Okereke but was put in a sleeper hold by a security guard until he passed out and was then handcuffed as he lay on the ground. “He had a boot on his back,” Jenkin said.

I know this is wrong, but I'd pay good money to see video of the whole confrontation. Not to see poor Kele get abused, but to see Ricky Kaiser and Yannis Foals going off... the words "comedy" and "gold" come to mind.

Mercury Prize shortlist

YAY Adele! Good job, Alison and Bob! Excellent work, Laura! Brilliant, Estelle!

And well done, Young Master Turner and I've yet to think of a nickname for him Miles!

I'm not going to lie-

I bawled when I saw that Estelle Getty had died. Giant tears, as I spent many hours of my formative years laughing my ass off at 'The Golden Girls.' RIP, Sophia.

Getty, who suffered from advanced dementia and died on July 22 at the age of 84, wasn't always a sitcom queen. She got her start in Yiddish theater, but didn't break out until 1981, when she played Harvey Fierstein's mother in the Broadway play Torch Song Trilogy. She also had small roles in Tootsie (1982) and Mask (1985). In 1985 she started on The Golden Girls, which was an instant hit and quickly became a staple of NBC's Saturday night lineup.

Let me get this straight-

Chuck Grassley, the long-time Iowa Republican Senator (with whom I disagree on, oh, ALMOST EVERYTHING) is being refused a delegate position at the Republican National Convention.

Possibly on the grounds that he isn't batshit insane.

Do you have ANY idea how painful it is for me to not email this to my very conservative, Iowa-bred brothers?

I may have issues with Sen. Grassley, but let me tell you, he has been on it regarding the flooding in SE Iowa. ON IT. Am loving Chuck right now. And SE Iowa is heavily, heavily Democratic.

But you know, he's a decent human being and wants to help his constituents, who may or may not vote for him. Old school, man.

via

Whoooooaaaah

John Cleese, currently going through a nasty divorce, is dating an American half his age. He's 68, she's 34.

Big woo. Love comes in every shape, size and age.

This, THIS, is what I'm appalled about.

'I'm American and had never heard of Monty Python or Fawlty Towers, although I had seen A Fish Called Wanda,' she said.

Never. Heard. Of. Monty. Python.

Holy crap.

Never.

Wow. Just, wow.

Somebody needs slapped with a fish, STAT.

Cool

While waiting for my sister to compete at the Iowa State Girls Track meet in the late '90s, I remember watching Lolo Jones run the 100M hurdles.

As I recall, my brother and I turned to each other and said, "Holy shit. HOLY SHIT."

And now she's an Olympian. Too cool.

When former Des Moines Roosevelt star Lolo Jones lined up for the 100-meter hurdle semifinals on Sunday at the Olympic Trials, the 25-year old Jones struggled to outrun her own emotions before attempting to outkick the top hurdlers at that distance in the United States.

And this is just awesome-

Winning a world 60-meter hurdles indoor title earlier this year in Valencia, Spain, and a growing list of sponsors also allowed Jones to lend a hand to her home state.Jones donated her earnings from the Olympic trials - $4,000, to be matched by her sponsor Asics, according to WHO-TV - to flood victims in Iowa.

I get the feeling

that James doesn't care for Jack White and Co...

But you know what? The Raconteurs can FUCK RIGHT OFF*. It’s astonishing to consider the leap Jack White has made since their formation – from the savour of punkfuckingrock to Eric Clapton, via guitar solos that resemble the most persistent Jehovah Witness, unable to take a hint and fuck off from your doorstep so you can get back to watching Countdown. Not that they’re showing Countdown at Benicassim, but I’m using the medium of metaphor here and so everything is just peachy. Now, it may surprise you that I’m something of a spiritual man. I have absolute, resolute belief in God. I believe that God loves everyone - everyone that is apart from the four people who make up The Raconteurs. God hates The Raconteurs, and during their set, struck down a puppy with cancer because the omnipresent creator was so infuriated by their spunk sickly dad rock. That and the face Brendan Benson does when he’s not singing that makes him look like he needs a constant shit. God hates The Raconteurs, and you, dear reader, should burn any Raconteurs records you may be stupid enough to own immediately – otherwise you will be sent to hell** and have to wank off Fred West for all of eternity. True facts. And they look like tramps. And the guy with the glasses looks like a massive, diseased bell end. And they left me thinking that we need a new Gallows record. And now.

I'm going to need this

So much love for this picture

From Benicassim this weekend...

Mmmmm

Just ate my first Kohlrabi of the season. With sea salt. Mmmmm.

May have another. Mmmmmm.

I adore summer.

The absolute definition of

sexy shoe- these Christian Louboutins. The red sole, the stiletto, the chiffon...

Very Bardot

Ms. Moss channeling Ms. Brigitte...

Random ten

1. Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic- The Police
2. Unstookie Titled- Babyshambles
3. She's On It- Beastie Boys
4. You're All I Need To Get By- Mark Ronson
5. Folding Stars- Biffy Clyro
6. When Love Comes To Town- U2 & B.B. King
7. Baby, I Love You- Aretha Franklin
8. What A Waster- Adam Green
9. Loose Fit- Happy Mondays
10. Scenes From An Italian Resturant- Billy Joel

Bonus-
11. Chick Lit- We Are Scientists
12. That's Not My Name- The Ting Tings

Today in "not shocking"

Ronnie Wood called time on one of the most high-profile benders in rock history last night when he checked in to an alcoholism clinic. Despite his advancing years, the Rolling Stones guitarist found himself back in the spotlight after it emerged that he was holed up in his Irish mansion, drinking two bottles of vodka a day with a Russian cocktail waitress 41 years his junior.

Wood, 61, was apparently persuaded to leave his Co Kildare mansion, where he has built his own pub, by his son Jesse. The pair flew back to Britain by private jet on Tuesday night, prompting speculation that he was trying to salvage his 23-year marriage to Jo.

Colori della Puglia

Colori della Puglia, originally uploaded by brenno64.

Glorious

Alexander McQueen's 'Blow' handbag...



Croc, brassy hardware... lovely, darlings, just lovely.

Hee hee

Going to gift show for the shop this weekend. Two and a half solid days of gluttony, booze, shopping and me dragging the others around downtown Chicago looking for obscure Brit import Cd's. And music mags. And books.

You get the picture.

And the samples, DEAR LORD, the samples.

In order to entice the buyers, most vendors provide samples. And/or free drinkies. The best offer both. We at Iowa's Coolest Flower Shop are partial to Archipelago Botanicals and Thymes Unlimited samples. Why?

1. They are posh
2. They are easily stolen obtained from their large containers in the showrooms

In other words, I'll be calling QB and Kaz all weekend, bragging about the prime samples/booze/muso/food frenzy J and I have embarked upon. And they'll just be dying of envy.

Wait, those beeotches are going to see Russell Brand's stand-up gig this weekend.

Heifers.

Never mind.

Ah....

So that's why Pete was in Newcastle...

Pete Doherty has played at the wake of a 16-year-old fan who died from cancer. The Babyshambles singer and ex-boyfriend of Kate Moss formed a special bond with Daniel Squires after meeting him last year. Daniel died in his mother Becky's arms on July 4 after losing his battle with bone cancer.

Doherty, 28, attended the wake at the Golden Lion pub in Jarrow, South Tyneside, and spent an hour with the family. He took to the stage with his guitar, teaming up with one of Daniel's friends for an emotional tribute
following the funeral at South Shields Crematorium.

The boy may be constantly conducting chemistry experiments upon himself, but he has a good heart.

Perfect

Carla Bruni-Sarkozy

Don't look surprised, it's Dior...

Banksy's posh?

No kidding...

While many have claimed to know who he is, the only reliable facts are that he hails from Bristol and his first name is Robin. Now the mystery surrounding the identity of Banksy may have been solved by a newspaper which has published a picture of a man whose antecedence is more public school than street artist.

The Mail On Sunday says it traced the artist using a photograph purporting to show Banksy at work with spray cans in Jamaica in 2004. Former friends and acquaintances identify the man in the picture as Robin Gunningham, a former pupil of the £9,420-a-year Bristol Cathedral School.

Since his emergence as a leading street artist, Banksy's work attracts six-figure price tags. In January a piece of his edgy graffiti in Portobello Road, west London – which shows a painter finishing off the word "Banksy" – received a bid of £208,100 in an online auction.

Obvious, but iconic

'I knew the youthfulness of the Sixties,' said Saint Laurent, in 1984, almost two decades afterwards, 'Talitha and Paul Getty lying on a starlit terrace in Marrakech, beautiful and damned, and a whole generation assembled as if for eternity where the curtain of the past seemed to lift before an extraordinary future…'

...

'She's a little bit like Jackie O, in that she's an obvious reference to use,' admitted Phoebe Philo in an interview with W magazine at the end of 2001, having been inspired by Talitha for her Chloé collection. 'I guess you could say I got carried away with Talitha's character. Not that all of what I imagined about her was even true. I used her more as a fantasy to dream about.'

Bless

It *is* "a pop song." And the Manics cover version is so good...

The trio then shortly followed with limited edition single 'The Masses Against The Classes' before Bradfield introduced a cover of Rhianna's 'Umbrella' saying, "This is a pop song. It's Mr Nicky Wires favourite tune of 2007."

Montmarte: Steps

Montmarte: Steps, originally uploaded by edlimphoto.

No kidding

Perusing the Trib's travel section, I spotted a familiar name- Tabor Home Vineyards and Winery, the wine that we feature at the shop.

The Tabor Home wines have been well-received outside Iowa, winning prizes, and the cathedral-ceiling tasting room overlooks production facilities.

Visitors frequently see winemaking taking place.The setting is strictly pastoral. For city slickers, this is an opportunity to get an up close and personal look at a working farm just across the road.

The Catawba Rose is to die for. Tart and sweet and sparkly. Our best seller.

Mmmmm

Caperlicious.

Today in "embarassing"

Slow day at the shop today, and everyone else had gone home, leaving me to close up. Upon hearing a prime bit of gossip from a customer, I called my mom to tell her said bit of gossip.

My cell phone did one of those things where it doesn't ring, but the other person picks up, thus startling you when you hear a voice on the other end...

Did that make sense? Whatever.

When I'm by myself at the shop, I tend to listen to music that I'd not put on if there were other people around. Things that, shall we say, are in-tune-challenged.

Unfortunately for me in this case, Mom was treated to my vocal stylings on 'Horrorshow' by The Libs.

Specifically, the "I'm following your mind's instructions, on how to slowly, sharply screw myself to death" part.

She may actually still be giggling about this.

Is it just me,

or does this Prada coat from the spring/summer '09 men's RTW collection resemble something not generally associated with fashion?

Say, a dog's rawhide chew toy?

Oh, Ronnie.

I think it's a poor idea for any 61-year old man to run around with a teenage girl, let alone one who allegedly DRINKS TWO!!! BOTTLES OF VODKA A DAY!

Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood's family fear for his health after he went on a drunken binge with a 19-year-old Russian girl.

Wood has been at his home in Ireland for the past week with the girl, Ekaterina Ivanova, who he is said to have met in a London club. According to family friends, the alcoholic guitarist is close to "rock bottom". He is drinking two bottles of vodka a day and they fear for his life.

Random ten

*shakes iPod*

1. Lights- Scissor Sisters
2. Bitpartearly- Helsinki
3. Suedehead- Morrissey
4. Mermaids- Paul Weller
5. La Tristesse Durera (Scream to a Sigh)- Manic Street Preachers
6. Mr. Brightside- The Killers
7. Prelude To A Kiss- Alicia Keys
8. I Wanna Be Sedated- The Ramones
9. Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is- Jet
10. Rocky Raccoon- Didz Hammond

Bonus-
11. Crocodile Tears- Girls Aloud
12. Breakfast In Bed- Shelby Lynne

How did I not know this?

Paul Smith has a blog on Vogue UK's website. PAUL SMITH.

Rock posters

The NME has a slideshow up of famous/iconic rock posters.

My favs include-

Paul Weller- 'Stanley Road.' Georgie and Aretha and Mods, OH MY!

Sex Pistols- from 'The Great Rock and Roll Swindle' (which incidentally, is on my Netflix queue)

Summer means one thing.

PASTA SALAD TIME!

Here is my highly precise recipe for an awesome pasta salad.

Measurements/ingredients are approximate.

-whatever frozen veggies you have in the freezer

-some pasta, cooked al dente

-a vinaigrette of some sort

-whatever dried herbs or seasoning mixes you have in your cupboard.

Mix all of above together. Chill thoroughly. Top with shredded Parmesan cheese before serving.

Obviously, fresh veggies are superior, but if you're lazy as hell/pressed for time like myself, the frozen ones work a treat. (mix them with the hot pasta for instant de-thawing action)

In a pinch, bottled dressings will do, but make your own for vastly improved taste.

In a canning jar, mix-

1 part vinegar of some sort (red, white, champagne or balsamic)

3 parts extra-virgin olive oil

dash of prepared mustard

salt and ground pepper to taste

Put lid on jar, and shake it like a Polaroid picture. Deliciousness will ensue.

Eat pasta salad with a medium rare steak, fresh off the grill.

Mmmm.... summerlicious.

This is

case in point why I don't read 'Rolling Stone' on a regular basis anymore.

(the online version)

Toby Keith’s New Film: “It’s Not All Wagon Wheels and Bales of Hay”

Oh Claire Forlani, how you've fallen...


and

Rush Never Sleeps, Plus the Complete Album Guide

God, I'm getting all twitchy (and not in a good way) thinking about 'Tom Sawyer.' Or 'Freewill.' Yergh. Too many associated memories with overly earnest, Ayn Randian college boyfriends.

TO THE INDIE!

Oh, this is good

New 'Shambles tune- 'Maybelline.' Very Roses.

And oh God, the Mohawk is growing on me.

Chezza. Honey.

I don't care if he bought you a 70K watch for your birthday. He's a lying, cheating, whining sack of crap.

Kick. Cashley. To. The. Curb.

This week in "completely unsettling"

Last weekend, nearly my entire family gathered together to celebrate my niece's birthday. Sitting on the deck at my sister's house, my dad regaled my brother and brother-in-law with stories from the flood.

About an hour before the levee broke, my uncle (who was somewhat in charge of prevention efforts), pulled Dad off the end loader he was running, telling him they had to "go check something out up at the river."

Dad called Mom quickly to tell her what was going on, and that he loved her.

Together with my other uncle and my cousin, they hopped on ATVs and drove the half-mile to the levee, where as feared, "dirty boils" were popping up all over. (weak spots where water and dirt were flowing through).

They knew it was over when they spotted them.

At that point, they signaled for the entire sandbagging operation to get the hell out of dodge. Fifteen minutes later, the levee broke.

Why did Dad call my mom before getting on the four-wheeler?

They didn't have enough time to grab life jackets.

If the levee would have broken when they were by it... well, let's just say that I could have lost four family members.

Oh, LILY

Leopard print capris? HONEY. NO.

(your hair remains adorable, though)

God Bless Judy Blume

The voice-of-authority-during-my-formative-years (and now) on men-

I love men, apart from one: George Bush. I'm hoping that with the next presidential election that we will find ourselves in a better era, where sex is not a dirty subject, where puberty is a healthy subject, where we won't have so much book banning in America. I'm hoping, politically, that America is going to prove to the world that we're not all bad.

I realize

that this is from The Scum, but let this be true, let this be true, let this be true.

Rod and Ronnie went for a long lunch on Thursday at Mayfair restaurant Cipriani’s to discuss their plans. And the upshot of their
afternoon on the sauce was an agreement to get back on the road soon.

A source said: “Ron and Rod had a great time reminiscing. They were having a laugh and a joke but there is still a serious hunger to get back in the studio. “There are plans for the band to start recording in the autumn with a tour in the pipeline for this winter.”

A-dorable

Love them, love the album. Cutie pie Northern boys.

Are you similar people? "Yeah," says Miles. "Our families like each other too. They met for the first time when we were on Later With Jools Holland and got on like a house on fire."

"My Mum and his mum have the same kitchen table," says Alex. "When I went back to stay at his I realised his mum had loads of the same stuff. Did my head in, that."

Perfect.

Absolutely chic.

Carla Bruni-Sarkozy on an official visit to Israel.

Summer hedgerows, Cumbria, England

Summer hedgerows, Cumbria, England, originally uploaded by McF_photo.

Porth Dinllaen

Porth Dinllaen, originally uploaded by carl.jones.

Absolutely gorgeous

Amazing shot

IMG_9061, originally uploaded by Kennyb83.

Bouquet

from a wedding we did in March '07.

Hydrangea, Ranuncula, Sweet Pea and Stock with a hand-sewn organza collar.

Random ten

1. Our Lips Are Sealed- The Go-Go's
2. Midnight Confessions- The Grass Roots
3. Nightrain- Guns N' Roses
4. Family Tradition- Hank Williams, Jr.
5. Centerfold- J.Geils Band
6. Living In America- James Brown
7. Some Kind Of Wonderful- Joss Stone
8. Man In the Cornershop- The Jam
9. A Girl Like You- Edwyn Collins
10. Black and Gold- Sam Sparro

Bonus-
11. Teenage Kicks- Undertones
12. California Soul- Marlena Shaw

Awwwww

Two of my favorite junior codgers, Mani and Bobby G.

"I'll be shitting me keks."

Cannae wait for the new album.

I want to be

half as cool as Lou Doillon someday.

'Albion'- Peter Doherty (live at Glasto)

I occasionally forget how good of guitarist Petey is. Clips like this remind me.

I love her

Lily Allen, 23-year-old Britpop starlet and Paste 4 to Watch alumna, has reportedly finished recording the tracks for her second album. The project, tentatively titled Stuck On The Naughty Step according to a recent issue of Rolling Stone, is Allen’s follow-up to her 2006 debut, Alright, Still.

via

Today in

"no shit"-

Steven Tyler has admitted that he entered rehab last month to recover from drug addiction.

Several observations

about this clip of 'Saturday Superhouse' from Glasto '08-

1. Simon's whipping his hair around like he's working the pole at a gentleman's club
2. My God, James has a lot of ink
3. Benny is a damn good drummer
4. Kaz. Is. Just. Going. To. Crap.
5. Put a top on, James. Please, sweetie.
6. The crowd seems to be mad fer it/singing backup/insane and somewhat scary.

I'm ignoring the fact that

Lily's dress appears to be denim, and instead am concentrating on how much fun she and Marky seem to be having.

(the pink hair is growing on me)

'Warwick Avenue'- Duffy (live at Glasto)

Girlfriend holds the note at the end of the bridge for nearly 20 seconds. Pitch-freakin'-perfect.