Hey... its Wednesday!

Sorry for the silence... been busy getting ready for this Saturday. Janey and Roscoe are getting hitched... and my whole family are involved. I'm the best man... Olly is singing 2 songs at the ceremony... Dayna is a bridesmaid and Miriam is the flower girl.

I can't wait. I've written the bones of my speech and uploaded it to my Moleskine. Hahahaha... not sure you can "upload" anything to a Moleskine... but like the terminology.

We are staying over in the Hotel where the reception will be held... and I hope to do some "live" blogging from there... capture the before and after... if I can.

So anyway... some more random thoughts:

Photo / Link :: Electric Angel

We're heading down south in October for a few days... straight after the visit of Johnny Laird with Croydon Band. Will be good to have a break... and we intend to keep it a secret with the we'ans until the morning that we set off.

Anyway... the place we are heading to has a fab park :: Peasholm Park :: that recently held an open air festival last Sunday with some interesting singer/songwriters on the bill... including Tasmin Archer and Tom Hingley [the lead singer with The Inspiral Carpets]. Looked like my kind of thing... and it was free!

I get excited when I see people reinterpret space in this way... make something new out of something old and established. Bring new voices to places more accustomed to older expressions. The organist at Peasholm is pretty awesome in his own right.

Photo / Link :: BBC News

I don't drink... but would have loved to have been at this rather unusual beer festival :: In the small Palestinian Christian village of Taybeh in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. How cool would that have been? As the Beeb reported...

On Saturday and Sunday (8th & 9th September), thousands of Palestinians and international visitors milled about in the pleasant late summer weather listening to musical performers - Christians and Muslims.

The festivities continued throughout the day and late into the evening, with mainly folklore music and dance, but also the cutting edge sounds of an Israeli-Arab rap group, DAM, and local hip hop performers, Boikutt and G-Town.

As well as the all-important beer, there were stalls selling local produce such as honey, soap and traditional handicrafts.

I just loved this story when I read it. In the midst of such hardship and sorrow... people could just be people and relax. No agendas other than a beer and a laugh. I like the fact that the owner of the microbrewer is exploring non-alcoholic options for his Muslim neighbours. Now that's tolerance... and shrewd capitalism :-)

More pics here.

What else..?

Olly and I are loving Michael Palin's new documentary series on the new Europe. He has a way with words that is compelling and enthralling. There is nothing nicer than chilling for an hour in front of the telly with something uplifting. Well done Beeb!

I fixed my dad's airport card and his iBook is now all wi-fi'd up... which is nice. We had 2 iBooks and Olly's new iMac running off the router on Monday night which was fab.

Been listening to Hey Eugene by Pink Martini... its there 3rd album and I picked it up at our local library. I was skeptical and curious... and have to say I love it... when I am in the mood for something latenight and rhythmic. They do latin and jazz very well... sure it sounds a bit Eurovision at times... but they keep it real and engaging... bring their music to the foreground without being too traditional or too ironic. The title track :: Hey Eugene :: is pretty awesome. Beautiful beats and backing... with fab vocals, horns and a subtle wahwah guitar. Olly isn't a fan... but I get them.

Another album I have been soaking in... is The Warning by Hot Chip - their sound is pretty experimental lo-fi electronica... with a soulful... poppy edge... that is fab in the car or on the move. Over and over is a great piece of pop music that is just so catchy... it sticks in your subconscious. I have witnessed my girls sing it... which is a sure sign of a good song. I find this album compelling in its uniqueness. There isn't really anything else out there like it... at the moment. I like that.

Hope you dig the random thoughts?