Smoking is bad...

I can't believe I used to smoke Lucky Strikes. And Marlboros. And Gauloises. Hmm... making myself sound like a complete smoke-a-holic, which I wasn't! No, It's just the fact that I was so god damn oblivious!

Apparently they all do really extreme animal testing, like cutting holes in throats and making them inhale smoke etc etc. I just felt sick after reading that, I couldn't believe I'd been supporting that with such a selfish cause.

And I call myself a Vegan...

American Spirits are the way to go! And I don't need to fall In love with them, as they are already liked! They are the only tobacco company that doesn't test on animals.

Plus I like the colours...

Hayseed Dixie

Don't you love it when things seem to unfold just for you? I mean, in the grand scheme of things it's just a happy coincidence, but it's nice to pretend. 

Anyway, these guys played an incredible set down at good ole Glastonbury, transformed Club Dada into a little barn dance, but somehow I just wasn't feeling it at Lovebox. Thing was it wasn't them, they were creating a little banjo inferno, I think it was just me being in a bad mood. And there is nothing worse than being in a bad mood when you want to be having fun so badly, yet you just can't get there. 

Well....the QMU (one of the student unions for glasgow) just announced their line up and these guys are on the Tuesday! What are the odds....

Has made me very happy! It's like I get a second chance or something.

They also haven't announced the 'main' event, apparently it's worth the wait. Better than Hayseed Dixie? Wowza....

Lovebox & Co....

If we never knew pain, then we'd never know pleasure, right? Well this weekend was certainly a testament to that. Well a watered down version I guess...

A Highlights & Lowlifes is in order I'm thinking;

• Death Cab for Cutie were AMAZING. So so good! I had to pay fifty friggin pounds for the ticket, in all my last minute glory, but it was so worth it. Another fly in the ointment was that we had seating tickets! I have never sat for a gig in my life. Before they went on I was a stitch huffy, looking down at all those lucky people grooving away, BUT oddly enough when Death Cab came on it didn't matter. And it was nice not having to crane my neck to see them as per usual. Their whole set was totally dynamic (word of the weekend), but the most amazing songs were "When Soul Meets Body", "I Will Follow You Into The Dark" and "The Sound Of Settling". They must have gotten my little psychic message, they saved the best to last. "Transatlanticism" had me in tears, it was so beautiful! Little geek that I am, but I promise that when live music moves you like that, It's such a good feeling.

• Friday was a nice little decoration on our weekend, we did the typical London Shopping thing, including the massive massive Topshop. Made us feel like such little country bumpkins! It was a very eye opening experience. Also had some really good Mohitos somewhere.

• Ah Saturday. Well, we had to get a lot of buses, mainly because we kept getting off in at the wrong place, and when we finally got to Victoria Park we were at totally the wrong end! It was very frustrating. Also, we went in the wrong direction and wound up having to walk around the entire arena to get to the entrance, it was during this insanely long walk that we came up with "The Frozen Grape Situation". Let's journey down my sister & I's V deranged train of thought! As we could hear the music but not see any form of entrance it totally reminded me of something Id learned years and years ago in some random lesson at school. Basically it was a Greek myth about a man who had "sinned", so he was placed in a pool of water under a fruit tree, and every time he would bend down to get a drink, the pool would dry up, and when he would reach up to eat something the fruit would shrivel up and die. Tada, we have a grape situation! The "Frozen" part was added on as we were v v cold. Anyway, we got there in the end and wound up being early! Was very strange, we even managed to get to the front of the queue, which meant we were exploited by every loser wielding a camera, made to shout "Lovebox" and dance around excitedly etc etc.

• Interesting parts of the day- schmoozing along to backstage, Okay the SMALL backstage, but still pretty exciting! We met an artist called Leon Jean Marie and his band, really cool guys and great to chat with! Their set was great, what with them all jumping about in a red and black whirl. Watching Laura Viers was a really nice part, she is a very talented lady who also gave me her pick after her set! Officially my Lucky Pick. We also went backstage to meet Johnny Foreigner after their set, two new security guards seemed to have grown since we last had been there so the best we could do was beckon the singer, Alexei over, who turned out to be a really sweet guy. After that we moseyed along to the main stage to watch Groove Armada, who of course were great, I See You Baby got me really nostalgic for the days of dancing on the kitchen table to my Now 44 tapes (interspersed with the Vengaboys obviously). 

• Sunday wasn't as good, had a bit of a lazy day as there wasn't really any bands that we had to see. Before Lovebox we had to check out Portabello Road, very eclectic and cool! I clutched to my bag for dear life though. We met some very interesting artists, they were a bit tweaked out but otherwise lovely. Made it in for Hayseed Dixie, who were unsurprisingly amazing, but used exactly the same stage banter as at Glastonbury. That's their call I guess, banjo skills win! 

• TOTAL annoyances- Steward CUT MY WRIST BAND OFF, apparently that's whats "done" at Lovebox. As I am the Bag Lady's answer to hoarding wristbands, this did not go down well with me. We scotch taped it, NOT a good idea! fell off the next day which put me in a total panic, scouring the streets of London and the like. Gorgeously it was found on my kitchen floor after we got back. Not bad! Back to annoyances, my Laptop speakers are broked! major major annoyance.

On a softer note, an email I sent myself a year ago wound up in my inbox! Was a very tender moment. I'd completely forgotten about it, yet there I was, rambling on about how worried I was about exam results and getting into University! I just wanted to reach into the mists of time and give myself a hug! Email capsules are so genius, if nothing else it guarantees you a good day a year from now...

Exciting New Discovery

You can get Wifi on the train. Free Wifi on the train. How amazing slash useful is that?!!

It was an exciting time for me...

Anyway I'm on the train to London avec the sister, Death Cab for Cutie tonight then on to Lovebox on the weekend! 

I love trains, it's such an interesting way to travel. To quote Samantha from SATC, "You never know who will be getting on, or getting me off!" 

You've got to love her.

Though we have backward seats. I always feel slightly uncomfortable in these, like I'm falling down a hole....

Running Up That Hill by Placebo is making love to my ears right now. Do yourself a favour and put it on right now!

Slow Ride

How much do you love this song?

It's got such a lazy, carefree vibe.

Was talking about Road Trips today and got me thinking about it.

Just Noticed...

I seem to squint in every single photo taken of me! Should I be worried? Makes Kodak moments less special and more retarded somehow...

And no, I wasn't high. 

Rastafarian Beliefs

I love these;

• Salvation on earth- They believe in earthly salvation, rather than heavenly. I agree with this much more than the Christian way of things, we should enjoy the benefits of what we do in this lifetime IN our lifetime, rather than leading a sin-free (or trying to) life just so that we can get "rewarded" when we die.
• Supremacy of Life- They look after themselves. They believe human life is very important, and should not be wasted. We should all believe this.
• Respect for Nature- They respect animals and the environment. Good Ole Rasties. 
• Power of Speech- They believe that what we say is very important, and they take this with a very positive approach. For example, instead of saying "I Understand," , they will say "I Overstand." How much do you love that!

They are powerful, interesting people. But I'm not loving how they treat their women.

Apparently women are inferior to men.

Note to Rasties, I love some of your beliefs, especially your dedication to smoking the doob!

But drop the God Complex, and respect your equals.

Don't Laugh...

I only just watched this.

10 million YouTubers will be rolling over in their grave! Or wherever they happen to be, too early for that.

Where The Hell Is Matt?

I wish I was Matt. What an experience! Something to show the Grandkids at least. 

I like things that make me smile without realising, it's a gorgeous feeling. 

The thing with this film is that it feels so connecting, when it comes down to it we are all so similar, and compassionate for eachother- this gets across through the simple medium of dancing. I love that.

I also love his dancing! Very unique.