Sons and Daughters

What's in a name?









I was checking my mail when I saw a list on the yahoo home page of.
“Hot young actors Yahoo is into”
1. Jamie Lynn Spears
2. Chace Crawford
3. Miley Cyrus
4. Blake Lively
5. America Ferrera
6. Zac Efron

Now the trivial way corporate websites like MSN and Yahoo pad out their content is a given but firstly isn’t it strange that a big corporation like Yahoo are “in to young actors”, do you think they have joined the fan club and that?

The main reason it caught my eye is the usual weird and wonderful list of American actor’s names; Jaime is I think a scion of the Spears family. Some of the others are just asexual, Chace, Miley are they girls or boys? Also is Chace is pronounced “chase” not “Kaycee” or even “Chay sea”; she must be girl as it has it has a hint of stripper about it. Blake Livley is just a comic book private eye.

Also is America the only country name that can be used as a first name, Belgium Hodgkins doesn’t work nor does Ghana Wilkinson! The only name that seems normal is the whole cocking list is the one starting with a zed. I’m fairly sure Zachary Efron is from a Jewish background and so Zach is a usual as John Smith or similar. The other thing about these youngsters without doing any research is that I can bet all but Blake are from show biz family. Chace Crawford is probably Cindy Crawford’s daughter or sister, Miley Cyrus is no doubt Billy Ray Cyrus’s son/daughter, I think, America Ferrera must the granddaughter of Able and Zac the son of Director of “Big” Nora.

So a large media company are championing a group of young talents already blessed with large Gucci loafer in the door of success, no change there then, oh and Miley is just a silly name.

Brian Wilson is still God!

Mike Love Not War :

I've been having a sort out as part of a deal with myself on having bought a new bookcase and because it's spring.

Anyway in the bottom of a tumbler of change, screws and with some inevitabilty kinder surprise toys was my Beach boys badge. I wrote about it and Brian Wilson before here.

But here's the full text as it makes more sense with the badge.

"Badge of Honour:Which brings me to one of the nicest awards I ever got.

We saw Brian Wilson at Glastonbury 2005 on a warm Sunday afternoon, the mud had almost gone and I was there with my family and friends. Two strange things happened firstly I was surprised at how few of Brian’s songs my friends knew.

No that's not right, let me explain; they knew Beach boys songs but not the hits. They had grown up in the strange world where “pet sounds” is played more than “the Best of the Beach boys”.

Now “Pet sounds” is a masterpiece but so are the singles. Anyway once the songs were in full swing everyone was grooving and then we got our award. A women came through the crowd and came up to us and handed us some badges , saying we deserved them for dancing. On them in yellow writing said the simple universal message “Listen to the Beach Boys”. She simply smiled and slipped back into the crowd.

We were most proud and touched too. I’ve never had a badge for dancing before, of course listening Brian Wilson sing is reward enough but the badge made it doubly special. It seems that this mysterious lady does this a lot, which is a really nice and simple way of spreading happiness. I think this her on myspace. (it is she sent me an email, she’ll be handing out more badges at this years Glasto (2007)).

By the way isn’t “listen to the Beach Boys” the best piece of advertising, it’s almost zen in it’s directness, some how “listen to Mcfly “isn’t quiet the same. "

Classy peddlers, wild boars and hard men

What we learned from tonight’s telly:
Going for Gold

Rebecca Romero won a world cycling gold medal by being truly amazing, one of the most poised and determined performance I’ve seen in while. She could well win a medal at the Olympics and if she does it will go with her silver (Friday update she actually got a Gold which makes her achievement truly amazing) for rowing from the last Olympics, which as you can see is pretty remarkable. She even managed to answer the usual gormless questions after the race.

Q. How did you cope with the pressures in the run up to the race?

A. she should have given "oh give us a break I’ve just pedalled my arse off and I'm bloody having problems breathing, wasn’t winning good enough for you, you blonde tosser".

Top stuff Rebecca.


It's all Yellow
Over on Channel 4: We had a Cook’s tour of Spain with Thommi Miers; winner of Master Chef a years or so ago. I didn’t get into her round Britain tour last year but this series is much better, it’s more straightforward. She still has her bit of rough Guy something following her around, his only job seems to be to make fires and dispatch the odd animal. I have feeling unless they are stepping out, Guy may not be in the next series.

The food was great, they were in Castille this week so we got beans, boar and of course Saffron. The saffron harvesting stuff was very good, I don’t mind the old “my new friends José and Maria” shtick it’s the best way to do cooking programmes. Top dishes today were some excellent saffron meatballs and wild boar stew.

I think I’ll pass on the aubergines in honey for breakfast. It is a puzzle Spain is a country with great ham, black pudding, eggs, bread, mushrooms, beans, coffee and oranges but can’t make a decent breakfast!

ps. The Saffron pickers all had incredible yellow fingers; they looked like chain smoking navies.
Next week will be even better as they hit Galicia and the North West, mines a goose barnacle!

Cajones Update:
Just back from the shop and have met the hardest bloke in South London. I was walking back minding my own business, when a guy stumbled past stopped, called me a “c**t” and threw some curls of kebab meat at me and stumbled off.

Now I’m not the world’s greatest fighter (in fact I’ve never had a proper fight as adult) but I wasn’t going to kick off as the bloke in question was only 3ft tall (a person of restricted growth is the modern term) and quite how he’s lived this long acting like that I don’t know, the cheeky get.

Before they were famous....

Squeeze pre-history special

I rescued this book apropriately it turns out from Deptford Market recently, thinking at first it was an annual for the much loved kids TV show.

I’m not sure if it was popular at the time, but it turns out to be a chronicle of the first flourish of rock festivals in early 70’s. It’s mainly excellent pictures with some very of it’s time gushing gnomic writing. The pictures do go heavy on lithe young women dancing topless angle mind.

One thing that did catch my eye and gives the book it’s title is this before they were famous gem.

These impossibly young “hippies” (there’s a glossary at back apparently “to get High” means to take drugs) are Glen Tillbrook and Chris Difford from Squeeze and here are the lyrics to one of there early songs. Enjoy!




Photo extra: are you this man ?



Ps. the strange thing about this book is that today, festivals are so mainstream and work-a-day that the entire contents would be covered in a few weekend supplements, culture sections and magazine websites and not get anywhere near a book like this.

Easter Pictures

I think they'd had their fun and it just petered out, I think Noddy lives of his royalties.

I'm sorry but this is a bobbins name for a block of flats.

Pub house combo

I don't care that much really but how the chuff do say this?

and a suprise

Well it was raining so I made a film!
BLTP proudly presents:
"Here be Dragons!"

Yolk of the Day!

It's Twins!

Go to my flickr site to see much more dragon and egg related fun!

Oh and if it works out I should have a short film of it here by tonight! Inevitably Kinder have a website!