Salty skin II

I watched a documentary called The Cove a few nights ago, about the annual slaughter of dolphins in Taiji, Japan. It's really about more than just that, and definitely worth watching. But be prepared to get gripped by - the world has so many problems - anxiety, which I get pretty regularly when thinking about war, politics, poverty, or just where all our rubbish goes. Anyway, because The Cove is all about the abuse and exploitation of animals, I was inspired write an update on my earlier post about the meat/no meat conundrum.

Basically, I became a vegetarian, and have been for about three months now.  It's been surprisingly easy, I crave meat now and then but that's balanced by the fact that I've generally become a more exciting eater. The restaurant experience is completely different: I used to head straight for the chicken (even kebabs), yip - a poultry loyalist. But now, my options are whittled down to a teeny tiny list most of the time, which is great, there's no fussing about and everything's usually delicious. Or in some cases (Bouchon, Soto) I just order the one thing on the menu I can.

Cooking at home's become a little more creative too. I've tried and tested a whole lot of different meals and food, some good: marinated tofu. Some not: vegetarian burger patties (taste like earth). 

And of course, like every change, it has it's challenges:

-Trying not to get too defensive or too preachy when quizzed on it.

-Feeling guilty about still loving leather

-Wondering whether your friends are disappointed when you present them with a vegetarian dinner.

But at the end of the day, getting your meal served first on a long distance flight - can't argue with that.

xx

Happy birthday to you

It was my friend Zoe's birthday on Thursday (that's her and I in Hiroshima - above). 

I was a bit hopeless on the celebration front, so i though I'd devote a post to her and all her amazingness -

Happy birthday zo zo!

Love you lots

xx

Pretty basic II

Photos from today
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A whole new world

I bought a new camera today! Really just want to show off about that.
I've spent the last little while playing round with it, learning how it works (always a but tentative with new technology), and taking some photos of my room and what's on the walls.

Happy days
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My favourite

Models at the moment

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Lara Stone

Tallulah Morton

You and only you

 

I love hearing about peoples lives and experiences.  

Like when you admire someone and then learn about how they got to where they are. Or you read about a really bizarre job and wonder how on earth anyone ended up doing it. Or you have a conversation with a person you hardly know and realise they're completely different to what you'd thought.

That's why I like NO magazine, it's devoted to talented and creative people with a story to tell. The 9th issue (above) is of special importance to me because it features two articles written by my good friend Angie Crane: interviews with Sarah Brannon and Matt Hall. 

Brilliant!

xx

Click

I went to see The Dead Weather play at the Powerstation on Wednesday night.

It was amazing, so so good. My girl crush on Alison Mosshart is now times ten. And JACK WHITE! I cannot stop thinking about how talented/natural/interesting/cool he is.

xx

Confessions

I chose the title of this post because it basically covers the two topics I wanted to discuss today. The first is revealing guilty pleasures and the second is pop music. 'Confessions' you see, is the name of an Usher album.  The tone of this album was confessional because it came about after Usher cheated on his long term girlfriend and got his 'bit on the side' pregnant.  How do I know this? Simple: I have a secret love of trashy pop.  Usher isn't really a guilty pleasure of mine, in fact I find him quite painful. But I still know a bit about him, as I do a lot of pop stars.  I'm probably not alone here, since the word 'pop' derives from 'popular' it's fair to say that it can't only be 15 year old girls who revel in the chart toppers. 

I'm going to Lady Gaga next Saturday, bought a Beyonce DVD a couple of weeks ago (amazing), and am a lifelong fan of Gwen Stefani. Ah, it feels good to say. But my love of the lowbrow doesn't stop at music, oh no, as soon as I get on a long distance flight and have a huge selection of movies available, my first point of call is the beloved chick flick. On my way back from Japan I devoured  Confessions of a shopaholic and I love you, Man. Neither was particularly good, and I could pass them off with the age old - I just needed something i could zone out to - line, but really..really, is that even true?

I'm going to put it out there and say that a healthy does of pop in your life does wonders. Bad day? Break up? Try a power ballad, I would recommend Mariah. Not modern Mariah, but the Mariah of back in the day who had an epic perm and sung with Boyz II Men.  Everyone says that music these days has gone to the dogs, and sure, a lot of it's pretty bad. My taste does not extend to the current trend of electro plagued pop (ala Black Eyed Peas). But there's a lot of goodness out there too, see my picks below:
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The old 

The new

It's all good

Big bad wolf

Is everyone afraid of bus drivers? 

When I get on a train and I see the train guard coming my way - doesn't bother me. 

Taxi drivers can be borderline, but mostly ok.

But bus drivers! Just plain scary.

It's something which I only really think about from time to time, I  probably catch the bus about twice a day and I'm not constantly fretting about it. But over the years, experience has taught me that you don't want to mess with a bus driver because they can get maaaad.

You can generally tell an angry one when you first get on, a few indicators are gruffness and surly handling of the coins. If there were no warning signs at ticket-stage you'll soon be able to tell by the way they drive. Some of them barge that bus along like its a mini rather than a huge clumsy mass of metal: ACCELERATE - BREAK - everyone is falling all over the place, the poor ones who missed out on a seat are all staggering around and having near misses on each corner.  If you still haven't been able to get a feel for the driver through their driving style then try going a bit further than you paid for, enough said.

They're not all bad though, obviously it's silly to generalise an entire profession. It's like saying that all construction workers are sleazy, or that all lawyers are greedy (not true), you get the point.  But maybe I'm so used to the fear that it's impossible to shake.  This post was inspired after a bus ride yesterday when the driver made a joke as I gave him my money. I was so taken aback that he had adressed me, (a bit beyond the usual take ticket, say thanks, move along, exchange), that I automatically thought he was growling me, and his grin was that kind you see on a jokey maniac. When I realised he was being friendly it felt so unsettling, like seeing your mum fall over or something, unfamiliar and jarring.  He must of thought I was a shaky leaf because I just babbled something nonsensical and rushed to the nearest seat. 

So maybe my predisposition to assume that bus drivers are mean sets the tone for how I interact with them, no rose tinted glasses here.  But hey, a bit of fear is healthy for a person in authority. I have a set of bus rules for this very reason: stick within the stages, avoid bringing messy food onboard and avoid avoid avoid twenty dollar notes, we all know how that ends up.

xx

Beautiful mess

I've always thought that if I had all the money in the world, I'd have a pretty amazing wardrobe,  which is why I always find it disappointing that so many celebs have horrible style. It all seems a bit self conscious, or not self conscious enough, I don't know, but then there are the rare ones who always get it right. 

One of my favourites is Alison Mosshart of The Kills and The Dead Weather.  

 

I kind of imagine her as someone who has always dressed the same, she seems so unaffected by the pretentiousness of the music (and fashion) industry.  Her hair is a bit of a shambles and she always wears pants, but she still looks completely feminine and classic.  I particularly like her penchant for hats, rings and leopard print.  

She summed up her appreciation of fashion pretty well in a recent interview with British VOGUE (Feb 2010):

"I'm far more interested in style than I am in fashion as an industry, I don't really care about that. But people with amazing style, really incredible clothes - it's an art and I appreciate that".

xx