All-star

Yet, for all their forays on to the big screen, it is in music - and specifically the rock and punk scenes - where Converse have become so omnipresent that they are practically a uniform. And hence why, out of the nine icons featured in the ad campaign, six are musicians and another a former music journalist. Think of some of the most enduring rock'n'roll images ever captured and many will involve Converse, from the Ramones' All-Stars sticking out like canvas clown shoes at the ends of their drainpipe jeans, to the Blondie boys wearing them for their chic, monochrome line-up behind Debbie Harry on the cover of Parallel Lines. When the Strokes announced themselves to the world from the front cover of NME via a moody, black-and-white Pennie Smith portrait taken on the streets of New York, they did so in hi-tops.

Piazza San Marco

Piazza San Marco, originally uploaded by requiemjp.

Random ten

Featuring artists, songs, albums, etc... with the word "the"

1. Standing In The Way Of Control- The Gossip
2. Something's Gone Wrong Again- The Buzzcocks
3. Fade Away- Oasis ('The Masterplan')
4. Sleazy Hughes- Joe Lean And The Jing Jang Jong
5. Otis- The Durutti Column
6. What Became Of The Likely Lads- The Libertines
7. The Drugs Don't Work- The Verve
8. Fools Gold- The Stone Roses
9. Overload- Sugababes ('Overload: The Singles Collection')
10. I Wish- Babyshambles ('The Blinding EP')

Bonus-
11. Cigarettes And Alcohol (demo version)- Oasis ('Stop The Clocks')
12. Make It Wit Chu- Queens Of The Stone Age

I must say, that is an absolutely hilarious array of tunes...

Wisteria

Wisteria, originally uploaded by dachalan.

'Baddies Boogie'- Live in Milan

"She's far too good-looking to do the cooking now, well, that was 20 years ago..."

Eeeeeek!

can hardly wait for the piccies! That jacket is gorg!

SWEET!

Great timing for this story, as St. Paddy's Day isn't exactly known for the drinking of the green...wine.

Scientists say wine damages the brain more than beer affecting the hippocampus. That is the part of the brain that deals with memory and spatial awareness. Researchers in Germany found wine shrinks the hippocampus by as much as 10%.

Sugas

Love the 'Babes....

The secret of the Sugababes' success, if there is one, involves a formula based on such variables as luck, talent, timing, personality, management, image, production and, in particular, some irresistible hit singles (Freak Like Me, Round Round). From the moment the trio appeared in September 2000, with the skewed, R&B-flavoured pop of their debut single Overload, it was clear they were strikingly different from the UK pop norm. In contrast to the shiny happy entertainers Steps and S Club 7, here were three sullen teenagers barely able to raise a smile between them. More importantly, here was a pop act that actually produced music worthy of attention. NME named Overload its single of the week, and the band have continued to make fresh, credible, memorable pop ever since.

Mersey Paradise...

Mersey Paradise..., originally uploaded by Anjali Knebworth.

Gorgeous

This get-up from Dame Vivienne Westwood...

Burberry- 'The Beat'

Van the man

at SXSW

Private Road, Edale, Peak District

Private Road, Edale, Peak District, originally uploaded by curreyuk.

Random ten

1. Saturday Superhouse- Biffy Clyro
2. Standing In In The Way Of Control- The Gossip
3. Rocking Chair- Oasis
4. If You Were There, Beware- Arctic Monkeys
5. Mathletics- Foals
6. I Am The Resurrection- The Stone Roses
7. We Used To Be Friends- Dandy Warhols
8. Up The Junction- Squeeze
9. Monster Love- Goldfrapp
10. Henrietta- The Fratellis

Bonus-
11. Oh My Gosh- Basement Jaxx
12. We Get On- Kate Nash

This makes me happy,

oh so very happy. The Fug Girls are doing up March Madness properly. Whee!

Who chooses the winner of each round, I hear you asking? You do, through the magic of polls. The Madness will stretch over the next several weeks, in step with the basketball tournament, and we can't wait to see who you guys decide is the Fugliest Celebrity In All The Land. We'll be announcing the celebrities in play over the next couple of days, and the first game -- a play-in game between Fugly Celebrity 64 and 65 -- kicks off on Tuesday, March 18th. And to make it easier for you to see how things are progressing, we'll have a bracket up on the site that you can download and print, with the 65 celebs in their respective berths.

Ever since

I was but a wee girl, I've wanted to look like Debbie Harry circa 1981. But alas, am not blonde (and would look ridiculous as one), and my cheekbones have never developed properly. Sigh.

Random

My sis and her husband have been going through some difficult, crazy-making times lately. So when she got out the sewing basket to do some hemming, in an effort to liven the mood, they jokingly measured my niece's (the wee Olivia) tummy. She's just 18 months... her svelte waist is 21 inches. Continuing with the hilarity, they measured their cat's tummy as well. 20 inches.

Along with everyone present, I thought this was hilarious. So today, I measured my cat, first from nose to tuckus, then around his tummy. Holden, the world's fluffiest cat, is 18x18. I own a square feline. Literally.

I would

have paid good money (if I had any) to go to this show-

the band are able to recreate the intricate layers of blissful harmonies on songs such as "Maybe after He's Gone" and "Beechwood Park". As their voices soar in the middle of "Hung Up on a Dream", it's real shivers-down-the-spine stuff. The baroque pop of "Friends of Mine", dedicated to the couples who did and didn't make it, and the anti-war "Butcher's Tale (Western Front 1914)" prove that the band were both of their time and incredibly prescient. "Time of the Season", the album's closing track, has lost none of its breathy, breezy charm. The encore of "Tell Her No" and "She's Not There" further demonstrates how far St Albans' finest had travelled from their British Invasion beginnings.

Critics are often accused of perversely talking up obscure albums but Odessey and Oracle has gone from curio to cult to classic and deserves a place in everyone's collection. Timeless.

OOOO! Goody!

More sins to choose from. Yes, I am possibly the world's worst Catholic.

Below the Castle

Below the Castle, originally uploaded by JuanJ.