A short post today that’s hoping to encourage some dialogue.
First, check out this piece on how Chris Brown claims he’s being blacklisted, then read j.ly’s post on Predicto about how mainstream America feels. As a bonus, see how one demographic— supposedly the black one — supports Chris Brown as opposed to Rihanna. Compare and contrast the three and then answer in the comments: is Chris Brown’s career over?
Säkert! – Säkert!
To me Säkert! (Annika Norlin) defined the year of 2007 with this album. She had previously released an album as Hello Saferide and I liked that album a lot as well, but it was when she started singing in Swedish that she really moved me.
The album was very emotional and Annika sings about subjects such as rape, never being good enough, thinking about an ex, finally telling the truth to all of your friends and a lot more. She always sings it with such heart and such devotion that you can almost touch her pain. She is brave enough to sing her heart without bothering to hit the notes perfectly and she dares to sing in her local accent. This makes it a lot more personal and at times it’s almost as if you’re reading her diary.
But that’s what makes Annika such a special artists. She sings about things that have happened to her, and even when it hasn’t she still writes the songs from her heart and she puts her soul into it when she performs the songs. Once you’ve heard a song of hers it will always be there with you, somehow it will leave it’s mark on you.
And in the midst in all of this she still manages to create music that you’ll want to sing a long to and take to your own heart and she has to hers. That is nothing short of amazing, and this is one of the albums that I cherish the most. I suggest that you listen to it whether you speak Swedish or not, because I am confident that she will be able to move you either way.
10/10
- For the love of pop
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Alex Chilton, singer and guitarist with influential bands the Box Tops and Big Star, has died aged 59. Chilton is reported to have suffered heart problems in New Orleans yesterday, where he was admitted to hospital. A family friend, John Fry, confirmed the musician’s death, saying his passing was “just a sudden and unexpected event”. Chilton was born in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1950. He went on to join his first band, the Box Tops, in his teens and scored a number one hit, The Letter, when he was just 16. The band enjoyed commercial success until its dissolution in 1970, when Chilton branched out as a solo artist. By 1971, he had formed power-pop group Big Star with Chris Bell, Andy Hummel and Jody Stephens. The band were critically acclaimed and their troubled third album, Third/Sister Lovers, is now regarded as a cult classic. However, mainstream success eluded the band, which broke up in 1974. Big Star reformed in the early 1990s and had reportedly been due to play SXSW in Austin, Texas, in the coming week. Fry, owner of Memphis-based Ardent Studios, paid tribute to Chilton, saying: “Alex was an amazingly talented person, not just as a musician and vocalist and a songwriter, but he was intelligent and well read and interested in a wide number of music genres.” Chilton is survived by his wife, Laura, and his son, Timothy.
Going back to the subject of Pictures of Pictures – first broached last fall – let’s stop by Paris, which is absolutely full of museums – which means paintings, statues, maps, murals, and lots of photographs of all of it.
These pictures are from one of my favorite places – the Museé national du Moyen Age, also known as Museé de Cluny. My mom and I first discovered this museum, possibly because of the guide that came with our city museum passes, in May 2002. I think we went back at least once after our first visit. When my class was in Paris for about two days during study abroad, I didn’t make it there in time to go through the museum again, but I did slip into the gift shop to gaze through the first doorway towards the first gallery. I think I also managed to snap a few self-photos in the courtyard. My last visit was solo and very restful after nearly a month on the road.
It’s amazing how much craft can go into every day items from stained glass windows to combs, triptychs to paper, and the decoration that turned a cold stone building into something more.
The tapestries here are not the famous Lady and the Unicorn tapestries which are also at the museum in their own gallery. Instead, they’re a few of my favorites – at least, ones I was able to get both light and time with (no flash photography is allowed in the museum).
March 6 2010
AP
NEW YORK — PepsiCo plans to remove sugary drinks from schools worldwide, following the success of programs in the U.S. aimed at cutting down on childhood obesity. The company said Tuesday it will remove full-calorie, sweetened drinks from schools in more than 200 countries by 2012, marking the first such move by a major soft drink producer. Both PepsiCo Inc., the world’s second-biggest soft drink maker, and No. 1 player Coca-Cola Co. adopted guidelines to stop selling sugary drinks in U.S. schools in 2006. The World Heart Federation has been negotiating with soft drink makers to have them remove sugary beverages from schools for the past year as it looks to fight a rise in childhood obesity, which can lead to diabetes, heart problems and other ailments. PepsiCo’s move is what the group had been seeking because it affects students through age 18, said Pekka Puska, president of the group, a federation of heart associations from around the world. He said he hopes other companies feel pressured to make similar moves. “It may be not so well known in the U.S. how intensive the marketing of soft drinks is in so many countries,” Puska said in an interview from Finland. He added that developing countries such as Mexico are particularly affected by this strong marketing. Coca-Cola this month changed its global sales policy to say it won’t sell any of its drinks worldwide in primary schools unless parents or school districts ask. The policy does not apply to secondary schools. The World Heart Federation wants all drinks with added sugars removed from schools with children through age 18. Coca-Cola, based in Atlanta, did not immediately return a request seeking comment Tuesday. PepsiCo’s policy requires co-operation from its bottlers, vending companies and other distributors who take the company’s products to schools worldwide. The company said it did not have exact figures for sales in schools around the world but said they did not make up a major portion of sales. In primary schools, PepsiCo will sell only water, fat-free or low-fat milk, and juice with no added sugar. In secondary schools, it will sell those drinks along with low-calorie soft drinks, such as Diet Pepsi. Sports drinks are permissible when they’re sold to students participating in sports or other physical activities. In the U.S., the industry has swapped lower-calorie options into schools to replace sugary drinks. Sales of full-calorie soft drinks fell 95 per cent in U.S. schools between fall 2004 and fall 2009, the American Beverage Association reported last week. The industry voluntarily adopted guidelines in 2006 as part of an agreement with the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, a joint initiative of former president Bill Clinton’s foundation and the American Heart Association. Puska said defeating childhood obesity isn’t as simple as just removing sugary drinks from schools. Students must also exercise and eat better, not just at school but at home as well. Students should learn these habits at schools, he said.
Source
Related
US-COLOMBIA: Activists Target “World of Coca-Cola”The pollution aspect of plastic.
* Plastic bottles take 700 years to begin composting
* 90% of the cost of bottled water is due to the bottle itself
* 80% of plastic bottles are not recycled
* 38 million plastic bottles go to the dump per year in America from bottled water (not including soda)
* 24 million gallons of oil are needed to produce a billion plastic bottles
* The average American consumes 167 bottles of water a year
* Bottling and shipping water is the least energy efficient method ever used to supply water
* Bottled water is the second most popular beverage in the United States
http://greenupgrader.com/3258/plastic-bottle-facts-make-you-think-before-you-drink/
Oil needed for plastic and pollution to the environment.
Wars happen to create plastic, simply to get the oil to make the plastic. War Pollution is horrific and many millions die, so the oil can be accessed to make the plastic. Is that a problem well of course it is. Even the creation of weapons for war devastates the environment.
Pollution is one of the main concerns of those who want to protect the environment. Even the Tar Sands in Canada is a horrific disaster, environmental wise.
Recent
A message From “Rachel Corrie’s” Mother China publishes report on U.S. human rights Tough-on-crime policies don’t work, study finds New York Times and the ACORN Hoax Egypt : 42 electoral candidates and 145 protestors arrested in one day Children of Gaza are Suffering, Scarred, Trapped Report: U.S. vows to halt Israeli building in East Jerusalem Food industry probe reveals abuse of foreign workers Japan Report: Private Agreements Allowed US to Bring Nukes Amir, ten years old, abducted by Israeli soldiers from his bed “This Time We Went Too Far” Truth and Consequences in the Gaza Invasion E-book on Jewish National Fund’s role in colonization of Palestine Israel on Trial – The Russell Tribunal on Palestine
Over the past few weeks, a good friend of mine has been putting out a podcast weekly based on the mysterious what.cd’s Top 10 torrents of the week. Everyone from Ludacris to Jimi Hendrix, from the White Stripes to Madlib, and The xx to Roguewave have been featured in this new set of podcasts.Well, this week I’ll be presenting you with his latest insert into his wonderful series. Animazing, a very good friend of mine has been putting these out and is no doubt a wonderful way to expand your musical horizon and expose yourself to things you wouldn’t normally here on a regular basis. This weeks What?Cast! is particularly good, with new tracks from Ludacris, Portugal The Man and the Gorillaz, along with a track from Jimi Hendrix’ recently post-mortem. It’s definitely worth the listen and the man deserves some exposure. If you like it, leave some comments on the page here for him!
Artists: Various Artists / Presented by Animazing
Release: What?Cast! Episode #5 [Podcast]
Tracklist:
1] Broken Bells – The High Road
2] Ludacris – My Chick Bad
3] Portugal The Man – All My People
4] Daft Punk – Rock ‘N Roll
5] Aloha – Moonless March
6] Gorillaz – Superfast Jellyfish
7] New Young Pony Club – Before The Light
8] Alcoholic Faith Mission – Got Love? Got Shellfish!
9] The Morning Benders – Hand Me Downs
10] Jimi Hendrix – Mr. Bad Luck
Site: http://whatcast.bytesized-hosting.com/
All podcasts can be downloaded here!
Steve Howe Trio Sage Gateshead Mon 8 March
Will and I went to see the Steve Howe Trio at the Sage on Monday. Laura and her friends were in Hall One watching Grizzly Bear (must admit I didn’t know who they were) while we were in Hall Two. Steve’s Trio consists of himself on (of course) guitar, his son on drums and a fine keyboard player. He opened the first set with a jazzy version of He Ain’t Heavy which was rather appropriate as I had been to see the Hollies two days before. The rest of the set, which was in two halfs, consisted of instrumental versions of Yes classics and some jazzz pieces. Steve is undoubtedly a fine guitarist, but I found the material a little tow jazz-oriented for my liking. Highlight for me was a great version of Heart of the Sunrise.
ticket
Death Cab for Cutie is an American indie rock band, formed in Bellingham, Washington in 1997. The band consists of Benjamin Gibbard (vocals, guitar), Chris Walla (guitar, production), Nick Harmer (bass) and Jason McGerr (drums). Gibbard took the band name from the title of the song written by Neil Innes and Vivian Stanshall and performed by their group, the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, in The Beatles‘ 1967 film, Magical Mystery Tour.
Gibbard’s first album, You Can Play These Songs with Chords, was released as a demo, leading to a record deal with Barsuk Records.It was at this time that Gibbard decided to expand the project into a complete band, and recruited band members to join. The band has released six studio albums, five EPs, and one demo to date. Their most recent album, Narrow Stairs, was released in May 2008.
Members:Ben Gibbard
Chris Walla
Nick Harmer
Jason McGerr
http://www.deathcabforcutie.com/
Featured: Meet me on the Equinox – from the New Moon OSTAnother day in Pop, Another music video that has no real link to its song lyrics…
When Lady Gaga wrote ‘Telephone’ I highly doubt that this was the video she had in mind. However, a video like this guarantees headlines and blog posts like this.
I don’t know about you, but watching Lady Gaga naked is not my cup of tea. B doesn’t look as bad but that has to be the worst dance she has ever participated in. I expect more from her but everybody makes mistakes! We forgive you, B!
Part One – Realisation
A few years ago, I decided that I was an atheist. I say decided, it’s more like I realised because that’s usually what happens when you “stop believing” as Journey once warned us against. The thing is, there comes a point in your life where you have to stop lying to yourself. I know I don’t believe in God, so do I just pretend to just in-case there really is a Hell? Isn’t that the most dishonest thing you can do? To be a Christian I presume you have to literally believe God exists don’t you? So, if you don’t believe it, do you just wait around until you eventually do? What if you get hit by a car before then and die? If theres a Hell do you go to it? Because that hardly seems fair.
I think ultimately, that was my main problem with Religion. I could go into a typical argument like “If God exists, why do new born babies die?” but for me, non belief is actually easier just on the basis of in-continuity. Shit just doesn’t add up, to phrase it like a cool youth. But something I’ve always been uncomfortable with is being called an Atheist. Not because Im agnostic. I’m definitely not. Theres no time to sit on the fence, choose a side and defend it. It’s because at the moment its hailed as a belief structure all in itself and I dont like it. I actively avoided reading “The God Delusion” by Richard Dawkins for years just so I could think about Religion for myself with an open mind and not let his opinions influence me. Eventually I did get around to reading it though and found that we were in agreement on many a subject, so it worked out okay. The thing is, the right wing media is trying to pin us all down as dedicated Dawkins worshippers and I’m not comfortable with that. The point of atheism in my opinion is, is that it isn’t a belief structure but is actually more of a belief breakdown. It’s not a weird club where all the atheists meet up on a Sunday and throw darts at a photo of the Pope while kicking a flaming bible around in the car park, its just the encouragement of conversation and expanding ideas about the world, not sticking to one set regimentation. It’s about coming to moral conclusions based on logic and your own opinions, and most importantly debate. Vicars can pretend that they are capable of debate, but it’s only within the circle of God’s existence so it’s ultimately pointless. A vicar and his cronies can argue about the morals of homosexuality, just as long as it concludes on the basis that everyone agrees being gay is still a sin, but I’ll go into that whole other kettle of fish another day.
Thats all for now though, but yeah next time I’m talking about the gays so get your flags ready.
“Crazy” Ray Lamontagne
“How You Like Me Now” The Heavy 
“My Lagan Love” Celtic Woman
“A Whiter Shade of Pale” Annie Lennox
“Uprising” Muse
“Letters From the Sky” Civil Twilight
“Here Before” Lissie
Exclusive: Michael Jackson’s Secretive Life
But the men also said Jackson’s lifestyle was isolated and lonely and described it as full of “stress, paranoia and pain.”
In an exclusive interview with “Good Morning America,” Mike Garcia, Bill Whitfield and Javon “BJ” Beard spoke out about Jackson’s secretive life, describing some moments as just plain “sad.”
For instance, when Jackson held a birthday party for one of his children, only Jackson, the teacher, the nanny and the three bodyguards would attend, the men said. No other children were there.
“None,” the three men said.
read more http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/MichaelJackson/michael-jacksons-bodyguard-speak-good-morning-america/story?id=10042458
Another video vault from Emiliana Torrini this week purely because so many of her music videos feature single versions of her album tracks and this one is no exception. “Me and Armini” is reworked into an electro-disco track and sounds completely different to the original’s ska feel. I really like it!
Another mixtape straight outta my city. If you like Gucci/Zaytoven, download this ASAP.
DOWNLOAD P/O/P – ATL N Da Murda
- Posted By Nick D’s
Today, a Saturday no less, I dragged myself to the gym to finally complete, for the first time since the summer, my goal of working out five days per week.
I have a problem with my knees that I’ve never officially gotten checked out. But my friend’s mom is a physiotherapist, and when I was younger she said it sounded like “runner’s knee” which she kindly pointed out was bizarre, seeing as I was so unathletic.
Indeed, I am not even close to being a runner even now. I want to say I’d love to be able to run a marathon, but I actually really have no desire to do such a thing. Until about a year ago when I started getting fed up with my flabbiness and laziness, I forced myself to go to the gym. But I’ve never, ever been a fan of fitness. I’m gradually learning to like it – or at least, not mind it – but it still seems like a chore sometimes. So while working out five times a week is not a big deal for most health bloggers out there, it is for me. And I’m giving myself a gold star for this week!
So, what’s the verdict? How did it feel?
Good and bad. I’m glad I did it and even after a week I’m noticing intervals leave me less breathless, my arms shake less when I do weights, and I’m adding more crunches to my routine. I enjoy my days off, but I’m also learning that spending an hour doing something I don’t really want to do doesn’t totally ruin my day. And it means I don’t have to feel guilty all day.
The bad? My knees/legs are not happy with me. I definitely think five days is enough at this point, and I think next week I may have to take a break from the treadmill and find something less taxing on my leg joints.
Now onto the good part: the food!
Yesterday I wasn’t feeling too hot. Most people don’t want to eat in these scenarios. But I always want to eat comfort food when I feel sick and sometimes I’m able to justify indulging because I feel sorry for myself. This time around I aimed for balance, and I think it worked!
For “breakfast 1″ I had orange juice. Anytime I feel sick I instantly go for the OJ even if it’s not actually a cold or anything.
Maybe an hour later I had “breakfast 2″ consisting of Life and Kashi Go Lean cereals and unsweetened almond milk. I’m taking advantage of the natural sunlight that has blessed the true north rather early in the year. I hope it stays, but I’m not optimistic.
The boyf was visiting and so I guiltily slouched over to the market with him, but with home five minutes away and the market taking under an hour, I felt more comfortable being close to a toilet than I would have sitting in a three hour seminar. I’m sure my classmates prefer it this way as well.
For lunch I busted out some market goods – fresh French bread (I do normally go for multigrains, but we were planning bruschetta for later, and this was too good to resist!) with roasted onion hummus (first time and not a huge fan unfortch), Camembert, baby spinach, onion, tomato, cucumber and Bolthouse yogurt honey mustard dressing (so yum!). Also some carrots, olives and half a plum on the side.
We had bruschetta for a pre-dinner app but I forgot to take pics. It was just some diced tomato, garlic and dried basil tossed together, let it ruminate for a bit and top on French bread toasts. No oil but very good and fresh-tasting! I had two slices.
The boyf (AM) made dinner – veggie stir fry with brown rice. We were pretty full from the bruschetta so veggies and rice were definitely sufficient. Lots of market fresh veg: mushrooms, broc, carrots, onion and zucchini. AM made a spicy basil-citron sauce. Very good and very profesh looking (apparently due to the cornstarch). Oh, and no oil again! And I didn’t even miss it.
And a Stella Light to go with it. Premium light beers are a godsend.
Then things got a little crazy and went a little downhill. Well, not really. I was craving Tostitos and salsa, but we got to the corner store and there were no small bags of Tostitos! Wha?! Having a big bag in the house is too dangerous, so I harumphed and made another selection…
I don’t even know what these are. I think basically cornmeal, salt and oil made into little puffs. AM made fun of me, but I saw him stick his hand in that bag! Sometimes I just crave junk, and I had room to sate that desire last night. So sue me. Also Diet Coke in a wine glass just to up the class a little bit.
Then we passed out like a couple of old geezers and slept past the alarm. AM had to catch a bus home bright and early and so I drowned my sorrows in a small pre-gym brekky.
Some more French bread with almond butter and strawberry jam. I have so much French bread left I’m a little scared about how much of it I might eat…this definitely hit the spot though.
After the gym I was very much looking forward to a KERF-inspired SIAB:
Smoothie In A Bowl! Made with plain non-fat yog, frozen strawbs, banana, OJ and spinach. It looks kind of ugly, but it was good! When I have a smoothie for lunch, I prefer it in a bowl. It makes it seem more like a meal than just a drink. I had it with a cuppa decaf and the other half of my plum. Plus I crumbled some carrot muffin on top.
Got these carrots 2 for $1 at the market! Wow. So soft and fresh and yummy. Really cinnamony too…almost like there are Red Hots in there somewhere!
Now off to do some reading for school. What will dinner hold? Only time will tell.
Until then,
Carolyn
This “he said, she said” from The Sun is a bit confusing, but worth the read.
I mean, who would hire a David Brent look-alike?
Sex swap ‘David Brent’ runs bride’s day | The Sun |News.
Jeff Free – Its a Wonderful Life _ James Stewart – Pop Rock Song
ClarenceGotHisWings youtube channel posted a song that was written by Jeff Free about the movie “It’s a Wonderful Life.”
This is my favorite movie to watch at New Years.
It’s a message of hope for those of us who feel like were not doing anything special in life.
Clarence Got His Wings Writes:
“A christmas present from a very dear friend of mine” :
This is an original song, inspired by a classic theme (that you’ve seen on TV a hundred times and loved by millions). It provides a nice soundtrack when ovedubbed onto to the finale (last 5 minutes).
=============================
It’s a Wonderful Life
(C) Jeff Free 1987
=============================
Well there was a time
that I doubted everything I swore I’d seen my last Christmas Day.
And I stumbled down
to the bridge in the night
in the icy waters I saw my fate
And there I stood
ready to throw it away
I knew I had come to the end
But an Angel appeared
just in time he said:
“No man is a failure, who has friends”
——————-
Its a wonderful life after all
think of all the things that would never be
Just take a look around this little town
These are your friends, can’t you see?
——————-
(friend 1):
“I remember the time you saved my life
I was sinking, I was going down fast”
(friend 2):
“And I remember
the time you helped me out
you were the only one who would lend me a hand”
———————
It’s a wonderful life after all
think of all the things that would never be
Just take a look around
this little town
We are your friends,
can’t you see?
————-
Get me back
to the place I want to be
‘Cause I want to live with my friends and family !
And hold me close
on this silent and holy night
when I see the snow then I know
its going to be alright
——————–
‘Cause it’s a wonderful life after all
when I think of all the things that would never be
I take a look around this little town
You are my friends, now I see!
You are my friends, now I see!
==================================
Thanks for the Wings!
(C) jeff_free 1987, 2007
