Hello again!!
How we all been?
I’ll start as I always do, with an update on my non smoking antics. I know I mentioned in my last post that I had been dabbling in the occassional chuff on a cigarette and I have pretty much continued in the same vain this week. Total cigarettes this week = 1 , Total cigarettes since giving up about 3 weeks ago = approx 4. I ain’t done bad, thanks for the applause!!……no please stop! 
I’m writing this as its about 32.8 degrees outside!! BYECK its scorching today and apparently the hottest day in like 5 years! Even as I type beads of sweat roll down my brow like rain trickling down a window pane and every movement is exhausting! Bring back the cold & wet, I can’t take anymore oh well thunder storms on the way!
For those of you that are interested, my Sunflower saga continues! Since my last post a week ago they have continued to grow about another 25-30cm and are now starting to cover my rear kitchen window! They still haven’t flowered and I’m starting to think my daughter may have been given these ‘special seeds’ by a certain person called Jack because these bitches ain’t stopping! Apparently a normal Sunflower seed will take 3 months to flower from planting, I’ll let you know next week. In the meantime here’s a pic of my beasts (Sunflowers just to be clear) -
This week I had the pleasure of attending the brilliant Derren Brown Svengali tour at London’s Shaftsbury Theatre. If you have not heard of this guy before then Google him because that’s going to be a lot easier then me trying to explain what this spell binding man does.
Derren Brown - Svengali
Before he began his show he asked kindly that the whole audience not repeat anything they see and I will not but I will say that if you haven’t already then try to go see it. I have watched him many times on TV but have to say the live show is much better. The show focus’s around it’s title -Svengali. This, which I and I am sure most the audience were unaware of, is the name given to an automated doll created by an eccentric performer in the Eighteenth Century. The face of this doll or Svengali was modelled on the face of this strange Gentleman’s dead son who sadly passed of influenza, spoooky eh! Now in the hands of Derren Brown after purchasing it at an auction 5 years ago he certainly puts it to bewildering use. Trust me seeing this Doll supposedly move freely on its own answering questions from the ever dynamic Mr Brown is incredibly eerie and a definate must see. That’s all I will say and if you want more than go and see it! Derren Brown’s Svengali currently touring across the UK. Ticket info here – http://derrenbrown.co.uk/tour-dates/svengali/
I’ve got to mention Rodizio Rico. This is a Brazilian restaurant that myself and my partner have been to a few times now and always come out feeling incredibly satisfied and stuffed to the hilt. It’s basically a buffet style cart in the centre of the restaurant with some random Brazilian dishes on it but what I found unique was the waiters who continually walk around the rustic designed eatery with various meats on skewers. They approach each table and ,if requested, slice some of the aforementioned meat onto your plate, Genius!! What makes it even more simple is that circular red/green cards at each seat. Green means more meat please & Red obviously means I’m already stuffed thanks! I think its a great restaurant and would really recommend it. If your based in London or are planning a visit then take a look – http://www.rodiziorico.com/
Looking forward to seeing the new Transformers: Dark of the Moon movie asap. There have been many reviews saying that its crap and the storyline is really poor. To be fair its a film about robots that live among humans and can transform into various daily objects so the storyline’s are going to be hard to make deep and meaningful! The only element that is disappointing is that the beautiful Megan Fox is no longer part of the cast. She has been replaced by English beauty Rosie Huntington-White and she is going to have a lot to live up to with regards to keeping us Megan fans pleased! Succes or failure I’ll decide for myself I think. Check out the trailer here – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHRf01Gjosk
NEWS THIS WEEK:
Sad news this week that Jackass star Ryan Dunn was killed in a car crash. Johnny Knoxville, his Jackass buddy, was deeply upset ,as expected, by the news and posted various messages on Twitter.
Ryan Dunn
When the news first broke it was obviously saddening but then once more of the story emerged it became clear that Ryan had been partying quite hard hours before the fatal crash and after finishing drinking heavily with his mates stepped into his Porsche and proceeded to drive home. The rest, as they say, is history. These extra details only makes me think ‘Well what did he expect?’ without wanting to seem heartless and without remorse, when someone drinks heavily, steps into his Porsche to drive drunk and speed excessively at (reportedly) 130MPH then I feel fate may have been pushed too far. My condolences are with his friends & family at this sad time. Full report here – http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2006369/Ryan-Dunn-dead-Star-travelling-130mph-fatal-Porsche-smash.html
Onto some lighter news……
Some of the stars who will be appearing in the new Hobbit movie were revealed this week. Along with Stephen Fry and Evangeline Lily it was announced that Dame Edna Everage star Barry Humphries will play the Goblin King. This should be fun to watch seeing him/her bouncing onto the scene in front of Bilbo “Hello Possums!!” This is the eagerly anticipated prequel to the Lord of the Rings trilogy and is sure to be a huge box office success showing in cinema’s in HD3DIMAX quality
Hello Possums!!
Although I don’t want to I got to mention more on Cheryl bloody Cole! More has been spoken this week about Ashley Cole trying to win her back with various gifts including a dog and a floatation tank (definitely a way to a women’s heart).Will it happen…….I think so. Unfortunately I think Cheryl will let go of her fame to get back with the Y-Front wearing sleaze to move abroad somewhere. Whatever happens I think most of us will be glad when there are other things to read in the news!
During happier times....
Something else quite minor took place this week, in fact I don’t even know if it’s worth mentioning………………GLASTONBURY!! The biggest music festival on the planet!! Every year this 3 day festival attracts over 150,000 music loving maniacs to the fields of Pilton in Somerset and reportedly contributes £100 million to the UK economy!!
The fields of Pilton
Tradition usually brings heavy rainfall and severe mud puddles which seems to be part of the attraction for some of the festival goers but this year apart from a short spell of rain the weather held out. Headlining acts this year were U2, Coldplay and closing the festival was Beyonce. It’s hard to believe that when festival founder/organiser Michael Eavis started Glastonbury back in 1970 when T-Rex headlined to 1,200 people and the entrance was free that one day it would grow to the meteoric stature it has now and could warrant charging £190+ per ticket. Here is an interesting link to some facts & figures regarding Glastonbury – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glastonbury_Festival#2011
I managed to catch Beyonce’s performance which closed the festival on Sunday and have to say I was very impressed. It was clear to see that this was a defining moment in her career,as it would be for most artists, and she sung with sincerity and passion throughout her hour or so set. It’s hard to imagine how it must feel having a crowd of 150,000 people singing your songs back at you! Quite a few people have slagged off her rendition of Prince’s The Beautiful Ones but I thought it was quite good, not as good as the original, but still a good performance and her rendition of ‘Sex on Fire’ by Kings of Leon was very good.
Check out her performance here – http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/festivals/glastonbury/2011/artists/beyonce/
Speaking of Beyonce, I picked up her new album ,’4′, yesterday and have to say I’m really digging it at the moment. After her, in my opinion, disappointing ‘I Am Sasha Fierce’ album I think this is really a breathe of fresh air. With 16+ tracks on the Deluxe edition it’s definitely worth the £12.99 or whatever you pay these day’s and the quality of the tracks are, I think, back to the funky pop, soul driven Beyonce we all love and prefer. Heart wrenching ballads like the album opener ’1+1′, which reminds me of Prince’s Electric intercourse, and current release ‘Best thing I never had’ wrap themselves nicely around funky head nodding tracks like ‘Party’, ‘Love on top’ & ‘Schoolin’ life’ to produce a brilliantly constructed and easily a ‘non skip’ listen through album. There are a few tracks, especially a few of the ballads on this album, that remind me of the early Prince ballad. I think this may be due to the fact that it sounds like Queen B may have used a Linn drum machine to produce some of the beats on these tracks and as all Prince fans know, the Linn Drum machine was used a lot by our Purple maestro back in the day.
Out Now!
Stand out tracks for me on this album are-
1+1 – As I said previously, this ballad reminds me a lot of Prince’s Electric intercourse and is a great album opener. I don’t know if its the Linn drum machine sound, the simple melody & lyrics or the screams of “Make love to me” that do it but there’s definitely something Purple about it.
Best Thing I Never Had – Current released single. Traditional Beyonce ballad sound and is sure to do well in the chart climb.
Party – Could be one straight from a best of Pure Swing album or smooth summer grooves compilation. Features Andre 3000 & Kanye West. The Only thing I will say is that Kanye West’s contribution of “You a bad girl and your friends bad to, you got the swag so she dripping swag goo!” is a little strange but can be overlooked.
Love on top – This is probably one of the best tracks on the album. Funky Summertime sound and catchy sing along lyrics screams No.1 soft top down Summer anthem! The key change’s at the end of the track only adds to the sing along vibe. Still stuck in my head!
End of time – Similar sound to ‘Who run the world’ but a bit more catchy and chart friendly in my opinion. Got the tribal sounding drums and chants with some horns thrown in for good measure (can’t beat some horns).
Lay up under me – Another Summer groove with plenty of horns and catchy chorus.There are elements that have an MJ sound which ain’t a bad thing and when Beyonce asks you to ‘lay up under her’ who is going to refuse eh?!
Schoolin’ Life – This is one of my favourites. Beyonce talks of her past and having her first heels when she was 13! a bit of 80′s esque synthesiser thrown in and again another catchy chorus.
Overall this album is destined for the number 1 spot. Beyonce ain’t no fool releasing her album the day after millions of people watch her perform on the biggest stage in the World! There are only a few of tracks that are obvious fillers but that only helps the rest of the album stand out. If you haven’t then go get it! – Rating 8/10
Back to Glasto….
What is sometimes more of an appeal for the festival attendee’s is a chance to see some upcoming performers at one of the various stages around the site. One that I think is going to carry on making a big splash is Janelle Monae. I have seen her appear a few times with Prince and she has a uniqueness that has not been seen for a while and a sound which resembles Raphael Saadiq. Check her performance here – http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/festivals/glastonbury/2011/artists/janellemonae/
What is good to see is great bands like Kool & the Gang performing at places like this even though they looked and probably are about 70! Real music by real musicians is what its all about and its a brilliant opportunity for people of the younger generation to see that, instead of electric computer produced music that is all over the place at the moment. Check out their performance here – http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/festivals/glastonbury/2011/artists/koolandthegang/
So that concludes Glastonbury for another year and overall, as always, Mr Eavis can be very pleased with the outcome and international coverage. There won’t be another one now until June 2013 which must be a welcomed release for the planning team because upstaging the previous years festival must get harder & harder!!
Scary GaGa!
What a surprise Lady Gaga has been in the news again this week. First she goes and scares a cute little toddler with her bizarre dress sense and long talons and then she is sued $5 million for profiting from selling wristbands for the Japanese Tsunami!…….oh and before I forget apparently she pissed herself on stage! As I have said before always entertaining with a quirky story just round the corner!!
Gaga scares toddler here- http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2005985/Lets-Dance-Lady-Gaga-scares-young-fan-talons-makes-twirl.html?ITO=1490
Get’s sued here – http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2008775/Lady-Gaga-sued-making-money-Japan-earthquake-aid-wristbands.html
And pisses herself here – http://www.popeater.com/2011/06/21/lady-gaga-wet-pants/
I can’t believe that this week marked 2 years since Michael Jackson passed away! I still remember being woken up by a call from my Sister in law to tell me. Both me and my partner then sat and watched Sky news for about an hour while the story unravelled. It was one of those moments where, even though you can see it happening, it doesn’t seem quite real. It was like that when Heath Ledger passed as well, just totally unexpected. I saw many fans, most dressed as Jacko, commemorating the occasion at London’s O2 with flowers, pictures and little dance off’s! Even though I wasn’t obsessed with MJ ,like most of the people I saw, I don’t think anyone can say they were not a fan and ,without a doubt, his death was a great loss to the world of entertainment. Michael Jacksons brother, Jermaine, also paid tribute to him – http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2008121/Michael-Jacksons-fans-brother-Jermaine-pay-tribute-second-anniversary-pop-stars-death.html?ITO=1490
Well that’s pretty much a round-up of all the weeks stand out entertainment news and as expected Glastonbury stole all the headlines!
This Sunday, 3rd July, is the day I attend the Hop Farm Festival to experience, yet again, another live performance from Prince!! It is, undoubtedly, going to be funk-ridden & dribble inducing I will be, reception permitting, tweeting live from the event. If your interested then follow me @FunkyMrG and keep up to date with this and all things entertainment.
Thanks again to all those that already read my twoddling and for following me
Got any gossip or news then email me at FunkyMrG@hotmail.co.uk or via Twitter.
I will always credit my source, guarenteed!
Enjoy the Sunshine (crosses fingers)
x
