Glasto

Camping has never been my strong point (with a traumatic incident as a child in which I was left to my own devices on a cliff in Wales on my own with a box of cereal … don’t ask!) and although I realise that I am missing out on a huge part of life by not covering myself in mud and puking up due to the smell of the portaloos I think I am playing it quite clever with my clean toilet and cozy bed, but that’s just me and my crazy ways. And to be honest, with Glasto's line up this year it does not look like I am missing much. There are a few scattered gems within a pile of proverbial shit which is a shame for such an iconic and momentous event.

There is something deeply worrying when your mum runs into the kitchen shouting "Lady GaGa is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G". However as much as it hurt me to admit, this two bit go go dancer was actually pretty impressive, and the best thing on it so far what with the indie bands of yesterday still regurgitating there once fleeting popularity with the 200th rendition of a song which was of its moment in 2006.

The coverage alone is enough to make you kick the cat out of the window as Jo Whiley’s face smugly pops up telling me how little I know about "this years most up and coming band" who I probably knew before it hit her mainstream doormat. And the crème de la crème, Mr. Zane "I’m a twat" Lowe popping up to remind me that “a lot of people don’t know who Bruce Springsteen is” delivered in his usually annoying and self important which last a good 5 minutes as he reassures me this is prey for my own good. Believe me Zane, it isn't.

I think however naff it may be, the aforementioned, Bruce Springsteen (or the Boss as he insists me to call him) is a tiny bit of an idol of me, I’m sure it was the tight jeans and wispy hair that did it but for whatever reason this socially apt and politically outspoken icon will tower the stage and I’m pretty sure that his set along with BLUR's reunion will overcast all other attempts of jangling entertainment. Anticipation is an odd thing, and disappointment is even odder so as I live in hope that the once beautiful love between Coxon and Albarn has retained its glow I look past the hype and mediocrity (and slight disappointment of Jamie T who along with clean hair appears to have lost his edge) hope to god that it is not just Spandau Ballet who can rock the comeback.

H xxx

David Sedaris

Woody Allen. Manhattan’s funniest export is unquestionable. However is he New York’s? Well this has come under serious questioning through my fairly new discovery. I’m not a strong reader to say the least, losing commitment particularly easy but when I find a book that I can finish in a day, I know there is something promising there. Enter David Sedaris. A curious, obsessive compulsive, homosexual who was brought up in a town where pretty much all three were condemned.

His novels or "essays" are based utterly around his, let’s say, unconventional family (with Amy being another notable family member). "Dress your family in Corduroy and Denim" is a sporadic and selective collection of anecdotes, some of which are so bizarre that their validity is questionable, but who really cares? From the time he spent Christmas in Denmark with the "six to eight black men" to being mistakenly hired as an "erotic cleaner" we move back and forth, glimpsing into a relatively normal life which transcends into hilarity purely due to Sedaris attention to detail. It is hard to deny the heart breaking tragedy that lies behind these tales yet we become so distracted by this due to his ingenious use of satire and comedy. Whether this be being kicked out by his dad for being gay (something he didn’t even realise at the time) or his sister in law being close to death whilst giving birth it is all juxtaposed with a gentility and optimismwhich is not overpowering but ingratiates itself well to a backdrop of chaos and complexity. He does not want himself or the reader to dwell on the negative; instead he has a different agenda.

He only knows how to do one thing and that is make people laugh and by god he does whether this range from a light chuckle to a belly roar there is never a right public place to read this without looking like a complete nut job. On Wednesday by sheer coincidence I was given a free David Sedaris T-Shirt by an extremely friendly Waterstones assistant, and as David now adorns myself as part of a pyjama combo I am reminded constantly that it is not just people 200 years ago that can and should be considered classics, instead we should look to the quirky, the unconventional as his deceivingly hap hazard approach engages completely

It’s hard to believe that a "maid" from New York is now a Number one bestseller, but it goes to prove that talent will prevail regardless of circumstance and I am most definitely in awe and extreme envy of Sedaris's power, even he himself refuses to accept such a trait! He crosses the border of acceptability and as I tentatively read page after page I found myself giving up on convention and I finally let the book take over. His beatnik lifestyle coupled with a capability to always be in the wrong place at the wrong time result in it being hard to go wrong with Sedaris. Even a country so rife with bigotry as a America can embrace this geeky, hippy kid from North Carolina and it is only by wading through Austen and Bronte that I realised, what I can ask most from a book is one thing ... a laugh.

Hannah Xxx

Wire in the brain ...

the wire

The Wire

THE Wire

The WIRE

THE WIRE

Time flies when you having thought provoking fun, as the third season of The Wire return on Monday (BBC2) which begs the question why everyone in Britain isn’t watching it?

It’s socially radical and politically vital. In a time where the worldwide black culture suffers the stigma of knife and gun crime wherever it goes the other side of the argument is something we don’t want to hear and when we do we ignore because it’s easier that way. The Wire holds a mirror up to the black stereotype, a complex, intricate, and brutally honest portrayal of the city of Baltimore. Its genius lies in forcing its audience to be both fearful yet drawn to vicious gangsters, respect killers and admire drug dealers whilst at the same time knowing full well there life and choices. The reality of the programme is something Britain has never full been able to achieve

At its heart is a hero, a narcissistic, alcoholic, unreliable hero. Always one to break with convention "McNulty" is also played by British actor Dominic West. There is something almost tragic at the idea that an almost entire black cat cannot be represented by a black, let alone an American lead, something which West himself has been embarrassed by showing that America is ready for a black president, yet a black TV star is just a step too far! Yet if you had to choose anyone it would be him, with his rugged handsomeness and cheeky charm it’s again this juxtaposition of faults and fortitude which keeps us both interested and guessing.The wire teaches but doe not preach, it informs but does not indulge, and most importantly represents a cross section of society which rarely get there chance to talk.

Priding itself on authenticity and meticulous research, its true reflection seems as if we are peering into lives we shouldn’t be, an intimacy that never fade and is paramount to its impactget watching, its challenging, it presumes our intelligence yet you may need the subtitles ...H xxx

End of an era

Shit.
Its time to grow up apprently. Finishing my last exam tomorrow filled me the biggest sense of relief and glee, yet what quickly followed was daunting. My life will suddenly and dramtically change and uni and whole different sense of independance dawns. I have suddently being exploring career paths and money bidgeting rather than making exciting summer plans. I've always been too forward planning, too square and too stressed, and now as i replace my absence of homework with a presence of day time TV i hope that something will come of this lazyness, maybe divine intervention (if He existed) or a eureka moment

Leaving friends, leaving teachers, leaving comfort. It's a bizarre, scary, yet necessary part of anyones life and as we pray to god we all get the grades i can only ponder what happens after? LIFE! and thats the scary part. What lies ahead? Well right now a bacon butty and a brew, but even further? only the next for years of blogging will tell ....

Hxx
(p.s i know this has been a late and slightly dull post, yet something i needed to think about! Feel free to disgard :))