101 Things to do in 1001 Days

Came across this concept the other day and have since been working on a list to start February 1st, except I am stuck for things to do, so finishing the list will be one of the 101 things I need to do in the next 1001 days. This means I have until 29th October 2008 to do these things!

1. Think of 101 things to do
2. Make at least one new recipe from a book or magazine every week for six weeks.
3. Do 200 stomach crunches in one go
4. Read 52 books in 52 weeks
5. Read another 52 books in the 52 weeks after, succeed or fail.
6. Watch 52 films in 52 weeks
7. Watch another 52 films in the 52 weeks after, succeed or fail.
8. Get a more professional blog going
9. Complete a photography project on London
10. Book a holiday to Central or South America
11. See March of the Penguins
12. Join a Tai Chi Class
13. Find a dance class that I enjoy
14. Do a reasonable sized jigsaw puzzle
15. Give my time to charity
16. Visit ten places from London’s Rough Guide
17. Do a Walking Tour in London (not included in the above)
18. Go the theatre at least ten times
19. Put £4000 in my ISA (unless I move house)
20. Get a new job
21. Sell on e-bay
22. Lose 5lbs
23. Keep it off.
24. Complete 200 Words a Day Spanish course
25. Buy a DAB digital radio and listen to 10 stations I have never heard for, for a minimum of one hour.
26. Enter to go on a TV quiz show
27. Make lunch to take to work everyday for a week
28. Make my own pesto
29. Join an evening class that is non-exercise based
30. Buy a real designer handbag
31. Watch the first two series of 24.
32. Watch all the DVDs of Ally McBeal (half of Series one watched so far).
33. Organise my photos into albums
34. Sell, donate or throw-away 101 items
35. Get a new bathroom
36. Make my own ice cream
37. Get a new address book and put in all the latest addresses for everyone before they move again.
38. Organise my recipes
39. Break 2 million on Bejeweled 2
40. Call Uncle & Aunt once a month, or see them
41. Sort out garage
42. Buy new lampshades for kitchen, spare bedroom and hall
43. Collect all of the Swarovski ‘Wonders of the Sea’ main limited edition pieces.
44. Go to bed before 10.30 every weekday night (Sun-Thurs) for two weeks.
45. Frame and display a new photo that I have taken
46. Make a new friend
47. Do 240 sit ups
48. Keep Sims 2 expansion packs up to date and get six successful businesses started in the new one
49. Have Sims weekends, where I play the game in excess of 14 hours over the weekend x 5
50. Get 25 Sims to achieve their lifetime aspiration.
51. 10,000 steps a day for a week (For four separate weeks)
52. Go a Day without TV x 25
53. Meet an author
54. Play LA in a Box 5 times
55. Play Trivial Pursuit 20 5 times
56. Write a story
57. Read what I have not read already on this list: http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/bigread/top100.shtml
58. Take a photo everyday for a month
59. Do something new every month
60. Save £1 a day for 1001 days
61. Identify 100 things other than money that makes me happy
62. Identify 100 things that piss me off
63. Do a list of 43 places I want to visit: http://www.43places.com/wanderlust/index
64. Make a list of 25 things I know very little about and learn three things about them
65. Go to 50 places (attractions/parks/towns/buildings) I have never been before
66. Take a photo of them.
67. Find a list host to host all my lists
68. Register with a new doctors
69. Register with a new dentist
70. Keep semi-regular charts for genres/bands in iTunes

Alexander McCall Smith - Tears of the Giraffe

This is the second in the No 1 Ladies Detective Agency Series and Mma Precious Ramotswe continues to be happily engaged to Mr J.L.B Matekoni of Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors, though he manages to have a surprise (or two) up his sleeve. In this book Mma Ramotswe helps find a missing son and helps a man who thinks his wife is having an affair.

The writing style is easy, pleasant and is comfortably familiar to make this book a page turner and a quick read.

Louis Vuitton iPod case

If you want to put your iPod in a case that is as expensive as the iPod yourself, Louis Vutton have come to you aid with their case in the popular multi coloured Takeshi Murakami design.

Dancing on Ice

This weeks compulsory step is the lunge. Bonnie and matt started off with a disco routine to I Will Survive and also managed some impressive lifts and stunts to earn them 21.5 points. David Seaman and his partner Pam had struggled as Pam had a bad shoulder injury and he had to be careful not to dislocate it during lifts. They performed to Crocodile Rock with some good Rock 'n' Roll steps, though you could tell David was holding back and doing no more than was necessary so that Pam did not get hurt. They got a disappointing 17.5. Andrea was up next with Doug and they danced to Time After Time which was a graceful routine although they were slightly wobbly on one lift.

Stefan and Kristina survived the bottom two last week by a unanimous vote and did an energetic routine to I Feel Good with some good lifts for 18 points. Gaynor and Daniel did a much improved routine to Baby Love with plenty of confident lifts and spins for 20.5 points. Sean and Marika had experienced a bad week due to Sean unable to comfortably and safely lift Marika as she is the same height as him, so thought they elected to do no lifts in this routine to Always A Woman they were perfectly in synch and got 18.5 points. Kelly and Todd danced to All That Jazz, Kelly has had extra dance training as that is the aspect she has struggled with and still has athletes' legs with little or no grace, but they did a risky lift and spin where Kelly's hair just touched the ice for 18.5 points. John and Olga were the last couple and did a very technical line dance/cowboy based routine to Black Horse and the Cherry Tree, they had a fall on one lift but got straight back up and carried on earning them the highest score of 22.

After the public votes were in it was Andrea and Stefan who were in the bottom and had to skate again. Andrea and Doug were first and it was a better routine, both technically, but also emotionally as Andrea engaged with the music again, but Stefan also skated well and was saved by the judges by four votes to one.

Top Ten iTunes

It is time for the Top Ten iTunes from June 2004 until the present day.

1. Snow Patrol - Crazy in Love
2. Paul Weller - You Do Something to Me
3. Sugababes - Killer
4. Jody Watley - Looking for a New Love
5. Fleetwood Mac - Don't Stop
6. Barenaked Ladies - One Week
7. Justin Timberlake - Rock Your Body
8. Supergrass - Moving
9. The Lightening Seeds - Marvellous
10. Culture Club - Victims

Celeb BB - The Final

It was an explosive week in the house with huge rows between the housemates. It was revealed that George had broken the rules (again) in telling Rula that he only nominated her because he didn't think Preston would agree to nominate himself or Chantelle, and that he would have voted for Traci either way. Preston got to read his conversation out to the group before they decided to vote in an election style ballot boxes as to whether to allow George to vote. In a vote of 4 to 3 it was decided that George could not vote, and those put up for eviction were George, Dennis and Chantelle. George, Michael, Preston and Dennis all managed to row in various combinations. In a surprise double eviction (at least to the housemates) it was George and Dennis who went out.

The housemates relaxed and the final six enjoyed their last few days with very little conflict. Coming in sixth place was Traci, followed by Pete who seemed to love his booing. Preston was 4th and the first housemate not too get booed and it was Maggot in third. Michael was ecstatic to come second and an over-whelmed and over-excited Chantelle became the first non-Celebrity to win celebrity Big Brother.

iPod Lingerie

iAttire (who I have blogged about before) have brought out a special Valentines range for the iPod featuring a range of sexy lingerie for you favourite gadget.

Hed Kandi World Series Vol 1

This CD is actually a few years ago but it had promising reviews as well as being credited in other reviews as an eponymous Hed Kandi CD.

Beach House Mix

DJ Gregory’s Elle opens the disc with an atmospheric Spanish guitar making it an ideal Ibiza chill out track that sounds as if it should be on the soundtrack for the Beach Life game. It synchs seamlessly into Late Night Alumni’s Empty Streets, followed by the full 12” version of Fade by Solu Music featuring Kimblee (I already have the Eric Kupper mix) there is an 80s style electro bit in the middle before Kimblee starts warbling again. Starting out with a bit more of an interesting tune Blue Six’s Music & Wine was the fourth track which then continued on to be much of a muchness. Love Will Find A Way by Solidarity featuring Hayley is the same sort of thing, starts off good, but doesn’t change and goes on forever with the same beat and same vocals. Battle by Time Deluxe sets itself apart by having a male vocalist but offers nothing different than that. Ritma de Rua’s Universal Love doesn’t offer anything different apart from a slight Latin twist (very slight) and being instrumental. Rasmus Faber’s Ever After starts off with a faster beat then its predecessors so I have high hopes for it , the vocals of Emily McEwan sound like a Seventies Latin easy listening track which makes it something a bit more special on a disc that for the most part had disappointed. DJ Bomba & J Paolo featuring Shovell’s track Esuma also starts off with a fast guitar in the Latin beach flavour but then continues with some percussion instruments, some whistles and nothing original. I had high hopes for Junior Jack’s E Samba as I had liked some of his others (notably Stupidisco from Hed Kandi: Summer 2004), but the excessive Samba beat and Spanish vocals did nothing on an album full of something similar, although I may have preferred this on its own or in a different mix. I wasn’t surprised that Manbana’s No Reason did not impress me as I found the whole disc mainly unimpressive. K&M featuring Joy’s Pink is the Colour was an unusual choice (also featuring on Disco Heaven 01.05). I quite like the track thought Joy’s voice sometimes annoys me. The last (thankfully) track on Beach House disc was Hardsoul together with Ron Carroll on a track called Back Together. This is more of a smooth disco track rather than a chill out or sambaesque track so I liked it more than most on this disc, but it was still not up to the calibre of a lot of Hed Kandi that I have bought. While I like the chill out tracks in small doses, most of these tracks are six to eight minutes long which is a bit too long for me.

Disco Heaven Mix

By nature of its title I expected this to be my favourite disc, though I was concerned after the Beach House Mix and opening track Real Love by Soul System although a good track was not as good as some that I have heard on this label. Mood II Swing’s Can’t Get Away From You is a better track. Space Cowboy’s Crazy Talk was better but was not blowing me away. Martin Solveig’s Rockin’ Music was another disappointment. Stonebridge’s Put ‘Em High is a brilliant track, but has been on many Kandi compilations (plus I have the Stonebridge album). Soulsearcher’s Feelin’ Love added nothing to the mix, but Love is the Music by FR featuring Jenny B was better, and I think has crossover potential to a more commercial market (presumably I am wrong as I don’t recall it, as the song is from a few years ago), and I can imagine dancing to this in the appropriate environment. Lee Cabrera’s 12” mix of Shake It has promise but is too long a mix of nothing special. However Praise Cats Shined on Me is much better and typical of what is expected on a Kandi compilation. Milk & Sugar’s (featuring Lizzy Pattinson) Let the Sunshine is probably better known as an advert tune, which is kind of off-putting, but it would be a grabable tune even if I had not heard it before. Stars by Morjac featuring Raz Conway was quite unusual in that it had an electric guitar riff in it, but was otherwise unremarkable. Neil Rumney’s Do It Youself is better though, and the disc ends with Groovejet by Spiller, a well known track, and no different from the hit, just a bit longer. Verdict on this disc is also disappointing, maybe it needs a few more plays, but there are definitely some tracks I will not bother transferring to the iPod.

Twisted Disco Mix

I have often found Twisted Disco mixes to be a bit hit and miss, and often a bit hardcore for my tastes, after the first two discs disappointed I didn’t know what to think, and just hoped for some good tunes. The opening track – Mr Mike’s Let’s Do It Again was quite promising, a good Twisted track (which is normally heavier house music than Disco Heaven) and was starting to relax, maybe this disc won’t be so bad…?! S.W.A.P’s Rock Tha House had some deep Barry White-esque vocals and whilst not completely my cup of tea offered something a bit different. Sandy Rivera’s Dreams was also a heavier track with male vocals, I preferred the beat behind it the vocals (as opposed to the reverse on Rock Tha House) although the chorus was catchier. Falling Star by Starchaser featuring Steve Edwards had a reggae beat, I quite liked it, but am still waiting fro the outstanding track of the disc….Erick Morillo, Harry Romero & Jose Nunez featuring Jessica Eve’s track Dancin’ was not what I was looking for, nor was DJ Flex’s Amazin’. The intriguingly named Pussy Dub Foundation could possibly have made their track Make the World Go Round better by adding a more interesting beat or not having that woman talk all over it. Sunset Freakz’ Back to the Island would go down well late at night in Ibiza and doesn’t have an annoying woman talking over it and a better beat. House Music Baby from Heavy Rotation was another good club tune, but I can only think that they have to grow on me to become something special. Stand Up by Pussy Dub Foundation was marginally better than Make the World Go Round, even though there was still that annoying woman on it, there was a catchy chorus. Saffron Hill featuring Ben Omono’s track My Love is Always was OK, but only OK. David Guetta (feturing Chris Willis)’s effort Just a Little More Love is more like what I was looking for, it broke through the blandness on the middle of this disc to grab my attention. The last track on this disc (hate to admit I am relieved) is Loose Cannons and Superstars. A track (and mix) I already have courtesy of Twisted Disco 02.04, fortunately a good one.

The tracks I have liked best on this CD have all been ones I have known from previous compilations so I hope some of these songs grow on me, apart from that honourable mention goes to Just A Little more Love by David Guetta featuring Chris Willis for being the best new (to me) track on the whole three disc compilation.

Dolphins

Dolphins9 sm
Originally uploaded by Essexgirl.

The one and only Dolphin Show I have seen in my life. Valencia Aquarium, January 2006.

Post of the Week

From Neenaw comes the Phantom Appendix post.

Dancing on Ice - Week Two

There s a lot of waffle in this show still, this week the stars had to incorporate a step called cross rolls (skating with one foot sliding/rolling in front/behind the other, depending if you are going forwards or backwards). This allowed the presenter to make some dire cross rolls gags to go with the ice/frost ones.

John Barrowman started off with his partner Olga and set a high standard with their dance to Amarillo which was a very clever routine with a fabulous back flip garnering them a well deserved 22 points. Andrea and Doug did not fare so well with their routine to Oh, So Quiet by Bjork. She was more hesitant, and the routine was not as adventurous, Judge Jason (also on Strictly Dance Fever) said the expression on Andrea's face made her look full of botox. Nice. 14.5 was quite a harsh score for them all the same.

David Seaman looked more relaxed this week as he skated to Groovy Kind Of Love with partner Pam O'Connor. He was much smoother and more graceful and his lift was well executed. Well deserving of his score of 20.5. Stefan and Kristina did a good routine with good dance steps to Rock DJ but with a missed lift for a modest 17.5.

Gaynor, fresh from being saved by the judges last week, was a different skater this week. She skated to Love Shack with professional partner Daniel (who almost fell himself at the end of the routine). They managed some good lifts and she was also more relaxed on the ice for another 17.5 points. Kelly and partner Todd struggled with their routine to Lift me Up being set on getting a good lift during a key part of the song. They managed that but did not add much else, so only got 13.5 points.

Andi Peters and his partner struggled with their routine to Hung Up, she was not confident he wouldn't drop her in a basic lift, where she hardly left the ground (it didn't look like it had been executed well either), Andi was hesitant and a poor dancer, he was carried by Tamara who did some good spins, but she is the pro, we need to see Andi doing that instead of standing still waving his arms about. They got 11 points, the same as the previous week. Bonnie and Matt skated to Hot Honey Rag and performed some amazing lifts, Bonnie was completely chucked around and is quite confident, there was also some excellent musical interpretation, earning them 23.5 points and putting them in the lead for the second week in a row. Sean and Marika finished the show with a routine to Tainted Love which was reasonable but struggled with the final lift due to Marika being the same height as Sean, most of the other girls are more petite. They scored 17.5.

After the public voted, it was revealed that Stefan and Andi were to skate again. Stefan and Kristina still did not get the lift right from before, but it was better, and this time we got the idea of what was supposed to happen. Andi and Tamara's lift was also slightly better, but their routine was weaker and less adventurous, so it was no surprise that the judges voted unanimously too keep Stefan in.

Dead Whale in the Thames

Sadly, the whale in the Thames died just hours before he was scheduled to be released into the deeper waters of the Thames estury. Tough admitedly, he/she probably didn't know that he was being rescued and was rather alarmed to find himself on a noisy boat being followed by helicopters and waved at by spectators.

As sad as it is that thw whale died, this article by Diamond Geezer amused me as it managed to capture the bizarreness of the whole thing.

Save the Whale

Yesterday morning a man phoned the emergency services to say that he may have been hallucinating but there was a whale in the Thames. He wasn't hallucinating. The 17 foot Northern bottlenosed whale was lost and, no doubt, disorientated in its detour down the Thames. This type of whale is apparently only seen around the Northern and Western Scottish isles.

Unforunatly the whale is in distress having cut itself several times as the river bottom is a lot shallower than the waters it is familar with. A vet is examining it to determine whether to put it down or put in on a barge out to sea.

Celeb BB Update

After Jodie, it was Faria who was next evicted ("They will never let a black or Asian girl or guy win this!!"). No one really noticed much.

Although Jodie had gone, rows sprung up due to misunderstandings and gossip.
Faria's eviction George and Preston were called into the Diary Room to get told off for talking about nominations, but unbeknownst to them the footage was being shown in the living area to the rest of the housemates. They were told to make three nominations between them to decide who would be up for the next eviction. They chose Traci (as the blamed one of the rows on her getting the wrong end of the stick on something, even though Faria had been in on it and not corrected her), Rula (trying to hard and being out to win - which she denied), and Maggot (for suggesting a game that would make Chantelle look like a 'wanker' or stupid - which he denies).

The atmosphere in the house could be cut with a knife and it was Rula who left on Friday.

Meanwhile Pete's alleged Gorilla coat was confiscated and discovered to not be gorilla.

Mobile Bed

Fredflare have found a little bed for the mobile phone that has everything including little screen cleaner slippers.....

City Hall, Valencia

City Hall
Originally uploaded by Essexgirl.

Taken early on New Year's Eve 2005.

Otherwise Engaged

I went to see the comedy Otherwise Engaged at London's Criterion Theatre. The cast is lead by Richard E Grant and supporting members include Anthony Head (TV version of Buffy) and David Bamber (BBC's Pride and Prejudice) and some poor woman who has to take her top off and put her boobs in Grant's face every night. The show is a comedy and a lot of it is down to subtlety and Grant's reactions to the stream of visitors that disturb his peaceful Saturday morning listening to Wagner. Slowly his morning just gets worse and worse....

I don't think the run is on for much longer but worth catching if you get an opportunity some other time, even without the excellent cast currently performing the play.

Dancing on Ice

The first of eight weeks of pro-celeb ice dancing presented by Philip Schofield and some bird called Holly (no Tess Daly). The format of the first part is like Strictly Come Dancing with a panel of five judges voting out of six and then a few will give their comments.

First onto the ice was Martin Platt AKA Sean Wilson, with pro Marika Humphrey dancing to Little Less Conversation and I thought they danced well, were in synch with each other and did some good moves such as the 'tabletop' or layback where they lent right back supporting each others weight. The judges were impressed enough to score them 18 out of a possible 30. Next up was actress Gaynor Faye with pro Daniel Whiston and they skated to the dire and dreadful Beautiful. Gaynor looked terrified and seemed to have no confidence in her own balance. They were given a score of 15.5.

Next up was actor Stefan Booth with bubbly Canadian Kristina Cousins dancing to Young Hearts Run Free, apart from a good lift or two he didn't do much skating beyond the basics, but got a respectable 17.5. He was followed by dancer and actress Bonnie Langford skating with Matt Evers to Mad About the Boy and they did a fabulous spin lift and you could really tell she had dance training and deserved her score of 21.5 points.

TV presenter Andi Peters and partner Tamara Shaw were on next, skating to I Love to Boogie and it was the least adventurous routine we had seen so far, with no real lifts and garnered them a poor 11. TV weather girl Andrea McLean and Doug Webster skated to Crazy in Love, and unfortunately stumbled before the end, but apart from that they performed an elegant and confident routine for 16.5 points.

England goalie David Seaman had skated before and even appeared on Strictly Ice Dancing for the BBC last Christmas. He skated with Pam O'Connor to Wild Thing and I had high expectations that were not met as he was rather clumsy, scoring a modest 16. Socialite Tamara Beckwith and Russian Sergey Maleyshev skated to Get The Party Started, Tamara certainly gave a good performance as far as dance and facial expression was concerned but she was a bit stiff on the lifts, saying that their score of 13.5 was a bit harsh.

Dr Who actor John Barrowman who played Sergeant Jack, skated with Olga Sharutenko to a disco version of Beethoven. It was a good dance routine with good musical interpretation and they must have been pleased with the score of 21 points. Last up was Dame Kelly Holmes and Todd Sand skating to Hit Me Baby One more Time and did a fun routine, if slightly hesitant at times, with a score of 14.5.

For the second part of the show - The Results Show - the pairs with the most votes from the public (combined with the judges? I am not sure, either it wasn't made clear or I fast forwarded it) went through and the bottom two did a skate off and were saved by the judges X-Factor stylee. It was Tamara and Gaynor in the bottom two and Gaynor was much more confident this time round and I even enjoyed their routine inspite of the dire track. Tamara, however, had lost a bit of her sparkle, thus the judges unanimously elected to save Gaynor.

This show has potential though I don't think it has the glamour of Strictly, there is a lot of waffle so the remote is needed too hand to fast forward through the crap.

Central market III

Central market_veg
Originally uploaded by Essexgirl.

A typical vegetable stall in the Central Market, Valencia. January 2006.

Adventure Travel Show

I have just been to the Adventure Travel Show at Olympia and have lots of brochures to play with and a couple of free magazines. Worth a visit every few years or so to see what is out there and who are offering what. With all the Travel Photography exhibitors there was still no one to sell me a camera case, although there were some very informative talks.

Celeb BB Update

After a rollercoaster ride of rows, Jodie Marsh was the first person to be evicted from the Big Brother House. She has rowed with Michael, Pete and George and claims to feel bullied. Michael in particular had a huge problem with her and came across as a nasty man. George is being lambasted by his constituents (though he is currently unawares) for being the house and for pretending to be a cat and licking milk from Rula Lenska's cupped hands and purring, as opposed to voting in an important Cross Rail vote. Chantelle pulled off her challenge to pass herself of as a celebrity and has conducted herself more maturely than most of her older housemates.

Now the rows have finished (perhaps?) we should see what the rest of the house have to offer. Perhaps Dennis will get subtitles so we can understand what he mumbles? On Saturday Jimmy Saville entered the house.

David Wolstencroft - Good News, Bad News

This spy thriller has been written by the creator of BBC's Spooks, spy drama. It started off well at a fast pace with plenty of twists and turns, which is exactly what you want from a spy thriller at the end of the day. However, come the end there were a bit too many twists, turns and red-herrings to comfortably keep up with and some of them were asking me to suspend my disbelief more than I would have preferred.

It is still a well written book and worth a read. I don't read many spy books these days, so don't really have anything to compare it with, but will look out for others in its genre.

Central Market II

Central market_fish sml
Originally uploaded by Essexgirl.

A typical fish stall at the Central Market in Valencia. January 2006

Dancing On Ice

ITV's Dancing on Ice kicks off tonight. I am assuming the format is similar to Strictly Come Dancing. The celeb participants are:

Andrea McLean - TV Presenter
Bonnie Langford - Dancer
Kelly Holmes - Olympic Athelete
Gaynor Faye - Actress
Tamara Beckwith - 'It' girl
Andi Peters - TV Presenter
David Seaman - Former England goalkeeper
John Barrowman - Dr Who actor
Sean Wilson - Ex-Coronation Street actor
Stefan Booth - Actor

It all kicks off at tea time tinight, with the results show at 9.40.

Snoopy Nano

There is a limited edition range of Snoopycised iPod nanos now on the market.

Sweets!!

A belated Xmas present arrived this morning, a nostalgic sweets hamper from this company.

It contains:
Candy neckalces
Candy sticks
choc cigarettes
Space Dust
Sherbert Dib Dabs
Flying Saucers (currently one stuck in teeth)
Wham Stars
Refreshers
Sherbert Fountains
Jawbreakers
Parma Violets
Wine Gums
Caramacs
Love hearts
Black jacks
Bubble gum
Fruit Salads
Dolly mixtures
Licqorice laces

Central Market I

Central Market _ meat
Originally uploaded by Essexgirl.

A typical meat stall at the Central Market, Valencia. January 2006.

Soapstar Superstars

ITV, you are scraping the barrel....you better improve with that Strictly Come Dancing Ice skating rip off show you have coming up.

Virgin Top 500

Virgin have released their Top 500 tracks as voted by the listeners. Lord only knows what dull twats voted for James Blunt's Beautiful at number 10.

Of my three nominations only The Rolling Stones Paint it Black made it, to number 34. Paul Weller's You Do Something To Me and The Beatles (who had tons of other stuff in the charts) Something are nowhere to be seen (unless I missed them completely)

Keane - Hopes and Fears

This CD was lent to me by a friend and I knew lost of tracks from it and really liked them. It starts of with the hit Somewhere Only We Know which has proved its worth as becoming rather anthemic at their concerts and festivals. Next up was another single Bend and Break that is very much their distinctive sound. We Might As Well Be Strangers is a lovely ballad. Everybody's Changing is another of their big hits that you do not tire of listening to. Your Eyes Open is also another good piano-led track (Keane being one of the few contemporary rock/indie bands that do not have a guitar in their main line up). She Has No Time really helps demonstrate the lead singer's vocal range. Can't Stop Now and Sunshine are also good mellow tracks. This is the Last Time (another single) is instantly grabable even if not familiar, as is On A Day Like Today. Untitled 1 is an interesting track and I have no idea why it may be called that. Last of all there is the single Bedshaped which is another good track. I can honestly say there is not a dud track on the album.

Top 25 iTunes

A bit late but essentially Top tunes listened to via iTunes over the last eighteen months. Figures in brackets are positions from June when I last did a Top 25. RE refers to a track that was not in the Last Top 25 but has been in it before.

1. (12) Snow Patrol - Crazy in Love
2. (1) Paul Weller - You Do Something to Me
3. (new) Jody Watley - Looking for a New Love
4. (new) Fleetwood Mac - Don't Stop
5. (23) Barenaked Ladies - One Week
6. (4) Justin Timberlake - Rock Your Body
7. (15) Sugababes - Killer
8. (5) Supergrass - Moving
9. (2) The Lightening Seeds - Marvellous
10. (new) Franz Ferdinand - Take Me Out
11. (10) Catatonia - Road Rage
12. (new) The Contours - Do You Love Me
13. (new) The Jam - Town Called Malice
14. (Re) In Deep - Last Night A DJ Saved My Life
15. (9) Christina Aguilera - Car Wash
16. (new) Hot Butter - Popcorn
17. (re) The Three Degrees - Givin' Up Givin' In
18. (6) Lisa Scott Lee - Lately
19. (20) The Cure - Love Cats
20. (new) Blu Cantrell feat. Sean Paul - Breathe
21. (22) Amii Stewart - Light My Fire
22. (new) Robbie Williams & Tom Jones - Full Monty Medley
23. (8) Dodgy - Good Enough
24. (13) Wet Wet Wet - If I Never See You Again
25. (16) Skunk Anansie - Hedonism

Celebrity Big Brother

Back again! The celebs are:

• Disgraced TV presenter Michael Barrymore
• Baskerball player Dennis Rodman
• Baywatch's Traci Bingham
• Actress Rula Lenska
• 'Glamour' model and dogy nose-jobbed Jodie Marsh
• Ex-pop star and now weirdo, Pete Burns
• Maggot from the band Goldie Looking Chain
• Preston from the band The Ordinary Boys
• Secretary Faria Alam (once bonked Sven Goran Eriksson)
• Contraversial MP George Galloway
• Chantelle

Not all familiar names, especially the last one. She is a regular girl from Essex (yay!!) who has to earn her place by convincing the 'proper' celebs that she is one also and a member of a girl band called Kandyfloss ("with a 'K'!")

All started off quite tame, so time will tell.

More outfits for the iPod

iAttire have nothing better to do than design outfits for your iPod such as Cowboy, ballerina and Ghost costumes for the person who has everything. Persomally I quite like this little hat and scarf set.

Jane Green - Straight Talking

The moral of the story is not to buy three books for £5 from the book man who comes to work. The Jane Green set is worse than the Sheila O'Flanagan. Straight Talking is the worst so far (I have read two, and have one to read), It is dire dire dire and is so bad I almost wanted to cry. Tasha is a stupid cow who likes her own way and is really desperate and needy, as she is worthless without a man. She doesn't amount to much either way. Grrrrrr.

Kitty Wars

This is alomost cruel. I would be devestated if my kitten (not that I have one) lost its battle.