Word Crimes by Weird Al Yankovic. It's a parody set to the tune of Blurred Lines that is, well, a spelling and grammar lesson. Hee. :D

Also, the fact that Al is still going makes me happy in general.

This video is of the first two songs at the Guildhall on Monday. There are others popping up now, and some from London on Tuesday (which was also excellent), but the person who filmed the linked vid appears to have been standing three or four people to my right and maybe a couple forward, because that is damn near my view of the stage. Heh.

My sciatic leg is still twinging some but eh, worth it! It didn't help that I went to another standing-only gig on 8 April - Matthew Good, acoustic. Just him singing and playing guitar. (Well, plus his guitar/sound tech cum bartender, lol.) That was at Hoxton Square Kitchen and Bar in the Shoreditch area of east London, which has a massive bar and seating area that must be gorgeous in daylight with all the windows, and then a totally enclosed, totally black back room with a stage and a square old wooden bar, that holds 450 people. It was glorious, at least once I managed to find the damn venue - the relevant Tube station is Old Street, which happens to be located underneath the centre of a roundabout with bits of the same streets running off in all directions. I eventually texted Jack and said I am between these two intersections, which way do I go? LOL.

Matt did a show at a different London bar the following night, and posted this video afterwards. I wasn't anywhere near that close - I stayed by the bar at the back of the room for this one, as it was stiflingly hot in there and there was a bit of cool air coming in from the exit doors. And he didn't come down into the audience like this at the Hoxton show, perhaps because the disco ball was inoperable, which he did express disappointment about, lol. But the feel of my gig was very similar to what's in the video. Also, I actually saw Matt very close up, as, being a back room, there was no backstage and he had to both enter and exit via the main doors by which I was standing! So that was cool. It was also cool that not a person blocked or bothered him when he left. Great crowd.

I know I do have some marathon runners on my flist, but you don't need to be a runner to find this video absolutely hysterical: Marathon Thoughts. Aka, what goes through the mind whilst covering all those miles... *g*

Also: ( have a rainbow!Collapse )

This is amazing - if you ever doubted that pole-dancing was a proper dance form/sport, you need to see what this woman can do. It's absolutely incredible to watch.

Also, happy spring! Blessed be. And bring on the antihistamines... ;-)

Vegan Black Metal Chef

The recipes are... well, not bad, really, LOL. But the font for the 'Vegan' is glorious!

Episode 2: Easy Meals - yes, there are subtitles, because he does sing(-ish...) the instructions. Yes, some of the language is NSFW. Yes, the cutting board has a pentagram on it and he does use an ornamental dagger instead of a standard chef's knife.

I am so entertained. *g*

Tired today, though that's nothing new - I seem to be constantly tired these days. I was gently reminded recently that whilst I may pass as much younger a lot of the time, in reality I am 37, and getting old enough that sleeping in on Saturday after not getting enough sleep during the week is no longer an effective technique. I need to try to discipline my weekday sleep more, I guess. Considering I've had trouble getting to bed pretty much since day one of my life, I'm not sure how that will go, lol. We shall see.

Today's tired was pleasantly earned, however, by spending yesterday up in London and area with muffinkath7, alliebean02, and mockingbird39, and later on also stargazerdavid and some of his friends. It was a lovely, lovely day, and sooooo good to see everyone. And I found somewhere where I can buy Crown Royal when I want some, too. W00t! *g*

On a completely separate note, re-posting this video I saw at feels_like_fire's journal. It's essentially performance art of a poem, with the text narrated throughout, entitled, How to Be Alone. And it's about exactly that - both an ode to and a bit of a handbook on how to go about being alone. I found it incredibly moving, and another gentle reminder of sorts, that I don't need anyone else around in order for me to live my life. Easier, perhaps, to say that after having spent a day catching up with friends, but that's part of the point, really: life isn't only those special moments. It happens every day. So crank your speakers and enjoy. :-)

So I can close the damn tab, my mother (!!!) sent me a link to a youtube video of Tom Brokaw explaining Canada to Americans. It's from the beginning of the Olympic coverage and it's really very cool. Worth a look. (Assuming, of course, this hasn't already gone round ten times, but whatever!)

Relatedly, canis_takahari, I did see your post with the Timmy's and Molson's commercials and that damn Anthem song was stuck in my head for daaaaays. But I have to confess that those are totally what I go watch when I feel homesick. ♥

Happy November, blessed Samhain, happy birthday to a couple of people whose special days I missed. ♥ I am ringing in November the same way I did October: I'm fucking sick. *scowls* I'd been a bit run down still from the chest cold/mild flu earlier and then on Friday I woke up coughing and sneezing and that's still going. *sigh* In fact, I have just run out of cough syrup, which means I have to put proper (non-lounge-y) clothes on and actually leave the house to go get more. This does not fill me with joy. Needs must, however. Boo.

Rob played St. Louis on Halloween and dressed up as zombie!MJ from Thriller, and the band played Thriller! Too cute. Wisely, he did not attempt the dance during Vincent Price's voiceover bit, just did a couple arm movements then hijacked the keyboards. *g*

Green Day... well, the concert Oct. 24th was awesome, apparently the best UK gig to date at that time. I'm thinking Manchester on Halloween may have eclipsed it, given some of the video I've seen (hello Billie climbing a fan!), and the fact that FBHT co-opened. And then played a small venue in London late Sunday night, which had me right back at the pissed-off that I was before my concert. Seeing as they could have done that the weekend before when they played London, and y'know, we were all there, and might actually have been able to GO. But, whatever. Tickets go on sale Friday morning for a few European stadium dates in the summer, and I'm contemplating what I'm going to do there. I think I'm going to go for Paris, because I suspect that having an actual event at which my attendance is required is the only way I'm going to kick my own ass into going to France by myself. I can plan a little vacation around it.

Aside from that, things going well. They sorted out our payscale thing at work - salary revisions and the like are done annually based on performance reviews - so I got a raise, backdated to August, and a performance bonus on my October paycheque. Sweet. I'm scouting for computers because my laptop is exhibiting some strange behaviour of late and I really don't want to be caught out without one. May just get a netbook and leave the more intensive applications on the lappy. We shall see what I find/decide but that's what I'm designating the bonus for, my new computer (partial) fund.

I don't normally embed videos - actually, I kind of despise embedded videos as a general rule - but I am willing to make exceptions for really, really cool shit. *kisses* to canis_takahari for linking this up. :D


Brits have got the monarchy
The US has the money
But I know that you wanna be Canadian

That is so awesome. And the little pop-up comments in the video had me giggling like a loon. Happy Canada Day! And Happy July! (Also, omfg how is the year half over?!?!?!)

truepenny (who is both an English professor and a published author) has written some Hamlet slash. It is melancholy and wonderful, and the fact that it exists at all gives me joy.

More BHB songs. Some kind soul has ripped what's on their myspaz and put a zip file up. I... am suddenly listening to boypop. Damn dancers. Although considering their combined credentials perhaps I should just enjoy the competence. (Wow.)

Tickleberry: Divine Dominance... Erotic Surrender. (Highly NSFW!) This is a sex toy site devoted to female dominance and male chastity, which is an interesting combination, but that's not why I'm linking it. No, it had me O_o because it's based in the Isle of Wight. Yeah, that bit of land out there across the harbour that keeps Southampton from the ire of the Atlantic. Apparently there are more reasons than I thought to be yay about the IoW! *g*

Durex ad. Also NSFW. This has made some rounds but not all, so I thought I'd link it: advert for condoms, via balloon animals having a little marathon. Seems to be a bisexual MMF marathon, at that! It's cute.

Adipositivity. Also NSFW. From the site: The Adipositivity Project aims to promote size acceptance [...] through a visual display of fat physicality. [...] The photographs here are close details of the fat female form, without the inclusion of faces. One reason for this is to coax observers into imagining they're looking at the fat women in their own lives, ideally then accepting them as having aesthetic appeal which, for better or worse, often translates into more complete forms of acceptance. I found the site and the photos interesting.

Visions of Rock Celebrity Photo Auction. Charity auction of original photos taken by and then signed by various musicians. Note that the subject of the photo is not necessarily the musician(s) in question - neither of Rob's are - but it's interesting nonetheless. And there are lots of other charity auctions on the site, too. For the Matchbox set, under Celebrity Experiences a set of four VIP tickets and M&G passes to the Feb. 13th gig are there. Of course, that's also already over five hundred dollars, so... I'm just the messenger. *g* I think the site is a very cool idea, though; it looks like celebrities can donate stuff and designate the recipient charity of their choice for the proceeds.

List of flight info sites. From the post: My better half has been in the travel industry for the past few years. One of the neat side effects of this is that whenever we need some obscure piece of flight information, he knows some neat and useful website that has it. And here be the links to said sites.

Don't shoot the messenger, but it seems the Foo are going on hiatus. (Cheers to linzeestyle for the heads-up.) Dave, I want to smack you. Aside from the fact that the tickets were too expensive and I didn't have the extra money to spend on yet another weekend in London at that time, I *chose* not to try to go to the Wembley gig in part *because* you always fucking play in England. No love for you!

The SupportStacie.org auction raised over four thousand dollars, whee! My services went for a little over a hundred bucks. Thank you to my flisties who bought me. ♥ Now I'm a bit, "Can we get on with it, then?" I want my parameters and my situations and whatever other instructions I get from the winning bidders so I can just write the damn things! The only one where I'm at a complete loss is the Roswell one, because I don't know the person who won so I have no idea where they fall on the 'shipping divide, and there are like ten main characters (eleven if you count Amy!) so there's rather a lot of potential direction there.

I'm highly amused and by this: whilst looking up something Rob-related on YouTube, I saw a video entitled Rob Thomas Bootlicker. I was like, bzuh? So I watched it, of course, and yes, indeed, it's accurately labelled. *facepalm* Roots gave Adam a brand new pair of heavy black leather shoes and the VJ was asking about them and Rob? Leans over where Adam has his foot resting on his knee and licks it. All the cool stuff happens in Canada, folks. Rob can't keep his tongue in his own mouth, Billie brands a poor boy's ass, and James is set on fire. Jeeeeeeeeeeeeeesus LOL!

Speaking of Canada, the mother phoned tonight and it was lovely to talk to her for a little bit. ♥ I love my mommy. I love her even more on the other side of the ocean. ;)

Oh, yeah, and oh_johnny_ and I updated last night, with an amazingly schmoopy log that Mark insisted on. (No, really. He was rather adamant.)

Courtesy of Nothing Wrong with Me by way of thirdbeatred, there is a short youtube video of one unshaven Mr. Mike Dirnt on October 14th just past, messing around with a guitar. In Palermo, Sicily. o_O Did that give anyone else a great big "Huh???" moment? (Download the video.)

(Side note: I need to remember to read NWWM more often. delfina_nothing's site is really awesome and I often forget to check things outside of LJ; my bad.)


And courtesy of Mademoiselle evaine comes this amusion from VH1 news:
Albums The Green Days of Christmas: The Holiday Tribute to Green Day and ... And Christmas for All: The Holiday Tribute to Metallica performed by Santa Claws and the Naughty but Nice Orchestra, a Vitamin Records house band (both on Vitamin and in stores Tuesday)

A pair of tribute albums that promise "the jingle of bells and horns" instead of "the fast licks of guitar solos," perfect for aging fans of both bands and, now that we think about it, aging members of both bands, too.

Classics Covered (either album) Versions of "Jesus of Suburbia" (since he's the reason for the season) and "For Whom the Bell Tolls," cause it's got the word "bell" in the title: 2 points.

Album Art Bad Santa + bad snowman + underwhelming design = 2 points

WTF-ness: The whole tribute thing has been done to death, resurrected and then done to death again. But replacing Kirk Hammett's guitar solos with Santa-worthy sleigh bells is certainly a questionable call: one worth, say, 2 points.


This post brought to you by a great big ball of, What the fuck?!

Live Earth stuff that's popped up, mostly on youtube, that other people might find interesting:

David Tennant
-Introducing the Pussycat Dolls. This wasn't televised but was on the BBCi apparently. He talks about stuff from 2005 "when I was Christopher Eccleston" and makes reference to the future when he's Dan Radcliffe or someone. Heh. He also says to get ready to shake your booty and all associated parts, and does so quite enthusiastically himself. Socute.
-Photos of the above. Mostly watermarked, but still.
-Backstage Interview (1, 2, 3, 4, 5). Each bit is only a couple minutes long; I think they cut it up as it was shown to take out the parts where the camera went to a different feed. This actually starts with the tail end of an interview with John (Captain Jack), he of the lethal dimples :D, and then goes on to talk with David and adds a couple more people along the way. The interviewer does make mention of Metallica and says somewhat incredulously that "we cut away just as it got into the tune that everyone knows". There's a little dis of the band in there too. Hee and when they're talking about the other concerts, and David's asked where else the Doctor would probably receive the best reception, the first place he lists: Canada, baby. *grins*

Madonna featuring Gogol Bordello. Yeah, you read that right! I'd switched to the Jersey concert for the entirety of Madonna's set - haven't been a fan of hers for a loooooooong time - so I missed this, but La Isla Bonita was performed as a kind of mash-up with a GB song, with Sergey and Eugene playing and singing. A lot of GB fans are throwing shitfits all over the place, of course (how dare they do something pop-related?!), which by this time, said behaviour just causes me to roll my eyes and ignore it. I think it looks like a lot of fun from the video, which is pretty much why I listen to GB in the first place: they are a fun band.

Spinal Tap & the Army of Bass Players - Big Bottom. *smooches* to looking_spiffy for the link - and for the description: "Included in that Army are Nate Mendel from the Foo Fighters, Adam Yauch from the Beastie Boys, and James, Kirk, and Rob from Metallica."

I just wanted everything in one place. :-)