I know I haven't been around much lately. I was so bussy with custom orders and christmas sales that I simply did not have the time to update my blog or to visit other people's blogs. Which I missed because I really enjoy to read what keeps people bussy.
But I do have some good news to share with you all. I was the cover artist of the November issue of Les Bonnes Fees! For those who are not familiar with it, Les Bonnes Fees is a free e-Zine publishing fiction, retellings, art, poetry, and non-fiction relating to our broad topic of fairy tales and folklore.
Because I was the cover artist of this month, they also interviewed me. So for those who are interested the interview can be found here
Below you can see the result of the drawing I made for their current issue, which was all about Cinderella.
If you would like to know more about Les Bonnes Fees just click here
Here you can find everything about their projects, blog and also their e-zine.
My brilliant, funny and loving friend is dying. And rather quickly, I might add. I saw her yesterday for the first time in a few weeks, and she looked like an entirely different person. Her face and neck were bloated to distortion. Her complexion has turned a pasty yellow. Her stomach is hugely distended, jutting out from the bed where she lies flat on her back. She is dying, and I am being told by the old-timers in this program that I need to back away now. That horrible things will happen if I don't let it go. Let it lie. Let her die.
There's a part of me that gets it. I've been around the rooms long enough to know that someone will get you drunk quicker than you'll get them sober. I know that the people who know me ... who really know me .... are aware of the horribly ironic time-frame of all of this, and know that I'm aware as well. I know that they're looking out for me and my best interest. That they want me to get through this holiday season in one piece. With my heart still beating.
Then there's the other part of me ...
The part that refuses to ignore the fact that one of her best friend's is dying. That doesn't believe that we've exhausted all our options. That needs to be able to look her daughter in the eye and tell her that I did everything I could ... that I took every opportunity I had to help her mother save her own life. That doesn't understand how someone can weigh potentials, ("She could have AIDS, Rachel") against inevitables ("She's going to die, and she's going to die soon.") How does that equation even work???
I've known my friend for almost ten years, and have watched her take the most difficult path each and every time. If there were three options in front of her - easy, medium and difficult - she'd always choose the difficult way ... or the fourth option, complete and utter inaction. You could say to her: "You can either take the elevator, walk up five flights of stairs or scale the wall," and she'll tell you that she's going to scale the wall. And then half-way up, she'll just hang there lifeless - not able to complete the climb, but too stubborn to come down.
I've been there.
I'm sure a lot of us have. Sometimes we do it to punish ourselves. Sometimes we really are at a loss for seeing the clearer path. And sometimes, we take the hard way so that when we fail we can say, "But it was so hard!" and then feel a little bit better about ourselves.
Still ... despite knowing all of this ... and understanding it ... I've found myself at a complete and utter loss when it comes to dealing with this situation. I have more questions than answers, and never know what the next right thing is. I don't know what to do or say - to her or her family. I don't even know what to say to my friends (all of whom are well-intentioned, but some of whom are seriously beginning to piss me off).
What gives. It's been almost a week since the message boards went down. Are they somewhere else or do we head over to the competition. Talking about competition. With the downturn of the economy you would think the station would like to keep the base happy.
So I've got the biggest Viking fan in the world coming to visit this wekend. Yep, I know there's no home game this weekend. That's why I asked this morning on-air if anyone knew of the BEST place to watch a Vikings game in town. (i.e. Bar )
When I lived in Denver, my friend Joe (the one who is flying in) and I used to watch our Vikings game at Cadillac Jack's on Monaco. If you are ever in Denver on a Viking game Sunday, head there. So my mission was to find a spot that can get crazier than there...afterall we ARE in Minnesota.
My Viking game Sundays here are usually spent on my couch.... I'm no expert on where to watch the game outside my living room, but thanks to Greg and Melissa listeners, we came up with a pretty good list. Maybe I'll see you at one of these spots on Sunday. Go Vikes!
Here's a few that kept coming up this morning...
Joe Sensor's in Bloomington 4217 American Blvd. West
Major's in Bloomington 8301 Normandale Boulevard
Matty B's in Minneapolis 501 Washington Ave. South
Hubert's Across street from Metrodome
The Shortstop in Coon Rapids
Da Boars in Cologne, Mn.
The Wild Onion On Grand Ave. in St. Paul
The Depot in White Bear
Sneaky Pete's dwntn Mpls. 14 N 5th St
And BTW we hear that Benchwarmer Bob's in Burnsville is closed.
Here's a revealing little tale about the Catholic Church's control-freak liturgists. ICEL - the official International Commission on English in the Liturgy - has forced an independent Catholic website to disable links that provided free musical settings of the new translation of the Mass. And this despite the fact that the translation, produced by ICEL at the Vatican's insistence, has already been approved by Rome.
I've often blogged about the cosy relationship between Church authorities and the commercial producers of hippy drivel. I don't want to single anyone out, but it's amazing how often lucrative commissions are ch-ch-channelled in the direction of composers who are also publishers and soi-disant "liturgists".
As soon as I heard that Rome had given its approval to a new, more traditional, translation of the Mass of Paul VI, I wondered whether approved publishers would be given any assistance in cornering the new market. Every parish in the English-speaking world will need new Mass settings, and that could mean already well-off liberal publishers earning a fortune.
Musicasacra.com, on the other hand, is not part of this musical Magic Circle. Run by the Church Music Association of America, it is thoroughly in tune with Pope Benedict's wish to return to sacred music in church, as opposed to wailed renditions of Joan Baez-style protest songs set to cutesy religious words.
Musicasacra.com was quick off the mark: no sooner were the new translations ready than it provided a desperately needed free resource of chant-based musical settings for parishes that, until now, have been pressured to use copyrighted material from the "praise and worship" cartel.
And what happened? Well, click on the Musicasacra link above, and you'll read that "at the request of ICEL, access to sheet music and audio links has been disabled for the time being". The public cannot even look at the settings, let alone download them. Why? According to Jeffrey Tucker of the New Liturgical Movement, it's "because ICEL demands that they stay behind bars until all commercial, for-profit publishers can release theirs at the same time".
How very typical of ICEL, which behaves as if its members actually composed the Gloria and the Creed as opposed to merely (and reluctantly) producing stricter translations of them at the request of the Vatican. And how very convenient for certain dreaded composers, who no doubt even now are putting the finishing touches to "with-it" Mass settings designed to make elderly Tabletistas tap their sandals off.
As many of you are aware, each DJ from the morning show has created their very own smoothie that can be found at participating Planet Smoothie locations. They include:
Jaydes Forbidden Fruit: Strawbery, Banana, Mango, Fat Burner Blast and Women's only blast
Johnny Obama: Chocolate, Banana, Peanut Butter, Yogurt, and Protein
Punchline Line: Strawberry, Peach, Mango, Pineapple and Yogurt
Jayachulo: Strawberry, Blueberry, Grape, Yogurt and Peanut Butter
When you order any these smoothies you will receive $1.00 off and this money will be donated to the Baby DJ which will help reach out to family's in their time of need this holiday season! Not only will you get the "best tasting smoothie on the planet", but you will help a family in need!
Hi, I'm here again to talk you about my italian lifestyle. Today I change my photo profile. In this photo I'm in Sicily, in the city of Catania (do you know?) the place is "Bellini's Garden".
Vincenzo Bellini (1801-1835) was a great italian opera composer, and he was born in Catania ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vincenzo_Bellini). In the next post I'll show you other photo of this beautiful garden.
(please, don't forget that I don't know english so well :))
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Ciao, sono di nuovo qui per parlarvi del mia vita in Italia. Oggi ho cambiato la foto del mio profilo. In questa foto mi trovo in Sicilia, nella città di Catania (la conoscete?) il posto è "Giardini Bellini".
Vincenzo Bellini (1801-1835) è stato un grande compositore d'opera italiano, ed egli nacque a Catania. Nel prossimo post vi mostrerò altre foto di questo bellissimo giardino.
(per favore, non dimenticate che non conosco l'inglese così bene :))
Bratz dolls are facing removal from all shops after a US federal court banned parent company MGA Entertainment from making the Barbie-rival.
The court issued the order after Barbie-maker Mattel, won a landmark copyright-infringement case against MGA in August.
Bratz designer Carter Bryant had been found guilty of developing the Bratz brand while still working for Mattel.
MGA has appealed the ruling, which severely undermines its business model.
A federal judge in California banned MGA from selling and making all 40 multi-ethnic dolls in the Bratz line.
But it allowed the company to wait until after Christmas to begin removing dolls from the shelves.
'Dire scenario'
The ruling "underscores that MGA should not be allowed to profit from its wrongdoing", said Mattel, the world's biggest toymaker,
Mattel was awarded up to $100m (£68m) in August, in the ruling of the initial copyright infringement case.
Mr Bryant himself reached a confidential settlement with Mattel on the eve of the trial.
"In the most dire scenario, MGA can't sell Bratz at all and a humongous chunk of their business disappears," said Sean McGowan, analyst at Needham & Co.
"But it's likely they will work out a way for MGA to stay in business and Mattel to profit," he added.
The Bratz brand has been blamed for falls in Barbie sales since being first sold in 2001. The large-headed, multi-ethnic, urban fashion dolls were estimated to be making profits of about $500m a year for MGA.
Head-to-head
Mattel, the world's biggest toymaker, won the case in July after claiming that Mr Bryant had designed the Bratz dolls while he was still in the employment of Mattel. The toymaker claimed that under the terms of his contract it had ownership of his designs.
Mr Bryant worked for Mattel between 1995 and April 1998 and then again from January 1999 to September 2000, and MGA argued that it was between these time frames that Mr Bryant had come up with the designs.
Mattel has striven to highlight the originality of its bestselling Bratz dolls, pointing out the originality of its additions, branding and packaging.
Once the most famous doll, Barbie has ceded ever more popularity to her rival upstarts.
Barbie's worldwide gross sales fell 6% between April and June 2008 as the company's net profit fell 48% to $11.8m. Barbie sales in the US were down 21%.
Jim Jones Says He Can Do More Than Jay-Z!
Jim Jones recently made the cover of Complex Magazine and in the interview he made some very controversial statements. Well the outtakes of the interview are even better. When Complex asked Jim Jones about people comparing the way Dame Dash is pushing him, to how Dame pushed Jay-Z when Jigga was coming up, Jones said...
""
That reply seems pretty decent but Jim Jones isn't one to bite his tongue. He continued...
"I can do more. I don't need to use rap as a crutch for the rest of my life. I can rap and I can do the business, I can model and do the business, I can own a production team. It's a big difference over here, [Jay-Z] can't do that. He's not that savvy, not that fly, I don't think he's that handsome. All he has is a gorgeous flow-my momma raised a gorgeous child."
He certainly doesn't lack confidence but sometimes people let it affect their perception of reality. Jay-Z isn't savvy? Come on.
December 4th: not only is it Hova's birthday, but today marks the official nationwide on sale date for our December/January issue. By now you've probably gotten to know our too-cool cover girl Zoey Deschanel, and read our controversial Jim Jones cover story, where the Dipset Capo throws all your favorite rappers under the bus. But wait-there's more!
Jones had a lot to say, and believe it or not, he actually spoke on a number of things that never made it into the magazine. So now we're hooking you up with some of the juiciest outtakes: Jimmy talks more about Jay-Z, gives his thoughts on Jadakiss signing to the Roc, addresses Dame Dash's financial woes and more. Trust us, the extras are chock-full of gems. Read on to see why when Jimmy talks, everyone listens...
Complex: You said that at one point, Jay-Z was your favorite rapper and then he went out "like a dud." When did your perception of him change?
Jim Jones: When he went from being a boss to an employee and he had no reason for doing that. I took a job with Kevin Liles and them because I had all the reason in the world to do that-I'm a hustler and I wanted to learn the whole game from the inside out. At that point, when Jay went corporate, he already knew the whole game. Roc-A-Fella was on a roll that nobody could probably stop, ever. So when you downshift and you go from wanting to run your own ship to being on a crew on somebody else's ship, I don't care how big the ship is, it's not the same. You lose the power. You lose the equity, and to me it's like you just sold your soul. You fell into the loop. And you supposed to come from the street-we're supposed to always set our own precedent and do it the way we wanna do it. Complex: I see...
Jim Jones: That's why he made so much money and sold so many records. Not to be a part of their world; you always have to do it your way, and let them come to our world. Convert to their world and you'll never get business done that way. You have to have a business mind but for the most part when it comes to your artistry and who you are and your persona-it's like, **** I ain't changing for nobody, why should I? As long as this billing is coming in, you should be happy and I should be happy.
Complex: How do you feel about Jada going to the ROC. Does that surprise you?
Jim Jones: I don't know, some people got to do business moves. Some people don't have enough power to do things in their own regard, so they do things to create some type of hype. Some type of niche that would reel people in to get people to look at them. I guess he felt that him doing the Roc-A-Fella thing would give him that. Me, myself, I don't think it would've given him anything whether he would've done a deal with a real label or not. [Roc-A-Fella] is not even a real label no more. Like I told you, L.A. Reid owns it. You smell me? They sold it. That's why Dame is in here with us-he made money off that. Who owns it? Complex: Are you cool with anyone from Roc-A-Fella?
Jim Jones: There isn't really any Roc-A-Fella. Wheres Roc-A-Fella signed to? Who owns Roc-A-Fella? Jay don't own Roc-A-Fella. L.A. Reid owns Roc-A-Fella and there's no Roc-A-Fella artists. Not even Jay, for that matter. He hasn't sold any real incredible records for him to be saying that he's the best in the world. People are selling circles around his sales, but his publicity and his star power has overcome anything. Then you know, he got the Beyonce factor, which is a great factor for him.
Complex: Have you ever run into Beyonce?
Jim Jones: Nah, we don't deal with that. That's a different part. We stick to what we're doing. Smell me? We don't violate that. Gangstas don't do that. No women no children. Smell me? Complex: Going back to Dame getting money, there have been reports that he's in financial trouble...
Jim Jones: For us, it's a joke to even be here, and to say he's having financial troubles...meanwhile we're living multi-million-dollar lives. I tell people, my house is pretty big. Most people call it a church, but Dame's apartment is bigger than my house. So, I keep asking people, if that's the case, how broke can he be? It's just the media, it's what they get paid to do. They don't promote the positive. Complex: This year, it seems like Dame has been really focused on trying to make you a star. Some people have compared his drive to the way he pushed Jay-Z at the beginning. How do you respond to that?
Jim Jones: ****, that's a great comparison. If you look at it, Dame did alright for Jay-Z. That old nigga has cake, he's paid. So how bad can that be? Dame made history, he started Roc-A-Fella records, and I've seen it. I watched the first Roc-A-Fella fitted he had on his head that he made from a 3rd Avenue store when it was just stitched on and ****. He's a historical person, he's done it and he's done it well. He not only did it with Jay, but he did it with Kanye; he set a precedent for niggas that want to become something in this game, who come from the street and want to make a lot of money. Dame is a beast-when I was younger, I always admired his hustle. I can do more. I don't need to use rap as a crutch for the rest of my life. I can rap and I can do the business, I can model and do the business, I can own a production team. It's a big difference over here, [Jay-Z] can't do that. He's not that savvy, not that fly, I don't think he's that handsome. All he has is a gorgeous flow-my momma raised a gorgeous child.
Complex : You always point out that people dress like Jim Jones, but there's also a lot of people who dress like Kanye and Lupe. How do you feel about that?
Jim Jones: ****, more power to them, but I don't indulge in that world. That world is more of a nerdish-type of world. No disrespect to nobody, but that's not what we do on this side. I come from the hood, so I get fresh and I get fly and it's a little bit more comfortable than others. That type of dressing starts to get tight at certain points. That's not us. But some girls like that, ya dig?
Complex: These young cats are getting their chains snatched left and right. What advice can you give to folks like Yung Berg?
Jim Jones: If you that bold to talk about it, then you should be bold enough to know that there might be consequences to suffer if you get caught slipping. And they said that Berg's chain was fake too. That Voltron ****. But you know, 95% of the rappers out there are rocking fake jewelry. These niggas got chains and diamonds on bigger than Zamunda. And they don't have a ****ing sale on the SoundScan. With no sales, how can you do shows? With no shows, how can you get real money?
Complex: On your new album, there's a few songs for the ladies. What type of women are you trying to attract right now?
Jim Jones: Like the one I got at home. Very sexy, intelligent, street-savvy and knows how to put it on when she needs to.
Complex: You keep bringing her up...is this the "one?"
Jim Jones: Yeah, definitely.
Complex: How long have you been together with her?
Jim Jones: Four years. We're not married yet. We're getting there though.
Complex: How many days out of the week do you go back to Harlem?
Jim Jones: Once every two weeks. I'm busy, so I don't be going there like I used to. I'm trying make a lot of money here and do a lot of things. And above all, when you're in the hood, you're subjected to what goes on in the hood and you don't want to get caught slipping and lose everything you built for making a stupid mistake over a calculated risk. Who wants to end up in jail with millions of dollars over trying to prove a point because my ego was big? I still keep all my niggas around me. And when I'm feeling good and I need a breath of fresh air, you can catch me on 115th, and you catch me on St. Nick. You can catch me riding through with some big cars. But as far as going back to the hood, how many times you get to see the president?
Complex: You're ad-libs are always on point. I'd say the "Kalina" ad-lib from "Reppin' Time" is my favorite [Ed. Note: Robert Kalina is Jim's lawyer]. Which one is yours?
Jim Jones: The ad-libs are part of my music; it explains my rhyme, that's why I do it. I tell people I'm not the most talented nigga at rapping, I'm talented at hustling and **** like that, so I have to do things that make up for my mis-talent. In my music, I'm explaining things I've been through, so the ad-libs explain what I'm talking about. There's really not one favorite, I just like when I nail them. But "Kalina" has to be one that stands out because it seems like every year for the past 8 years, I've been calling his name.
Complex: Are you worried about how your new album sales will stand up against the likes of 50 and Jay?
Jim Jones: They better watch out. The pressure is on them. I got the same amount of advertising power that they're going to have. Columbia is about to spend some money. It's going to be a battle for PO's in the store; it's going to be a battle. People are going to see me as much as they see them, and I'm handsome, ya dig? I don't know about them other niggas. Girls like a good picture, so at the end of the day, girls just might buy it because they think I look fly on the cover.
Complex: There was a rumor that there was another part II to "Swagger Like Us" coming out with Jeezy and Andre 3000 on it. How you feel about that?
Jim Jones: When's the last time anyone has dressed like any of those people? Where are we going with this? I would exclude Andre 3000, because niggas are never going to dress like him anyway. He's on his own other ****. But for the most part, we set the precedent. Why you think they got me on the cover of Complex for? We about to blow niggas' minds. These niggas know I can do it, and they can't and they know girls aren't going to be mad at it. They're going to be like, ah man, I can't even get up on that ****, he's taking it too far to the point where I can't be involved. [Laughs]. We're going to have fun with this one for a bit.
Complex: You also have a fitness DVD coming out?
Jim Jones: I'm going to start shooting soon. I've been getting in shape for the past few years. It helps me to not be so frustrated. I've got pretty good at it. It's a billion dollar industry. It's just another check in my pocket.
Complex: Are you ever in the gym with those meathead dudes?
Jim Jones: These dudes that take steroids, lookin' like wrestlers? I'm not into all that. For the most part, I know sex sells, so I try to stay in shape. Plus my position in this rap game is a touchy position, so I might have to put hands on somebody every now and then. I got to be on my Ps and Qs. I've got kicked out of three gyms already so I got a trainer in my house, I keep it fair. Most of the dudes around me are in shape, and I hate to be the littlest nigga around.
In an article in today's paper only three options appear to be left open to the dithering Gordon.
1. Use speeches and statements to indicate that interest rates will stay at zero or thereabouts for an extended period of time. We all know he is good at this but this time it isn't working. Nobody is being fooled any longer.
2. Buy assets, whether this be government debt, corporate bonds or things like houses and mortgage backed securities.
3. Expand the central bank's balance sheet aggressively, another way of injecting money into the economy.
Options two and three both amount to what is known as "quantitative easing" - printing money, getting it into peoples' hands and ensuring that they go out and spend it. It is an attempt to control and target the volume of money flowing around the system rather than its price, and would mark a major step change in central banks' operations. . This is what countries like Zimbabwe do. So we are now reduced to the status of a twenty third rate African country
Today The British pound has fallen to a historic low against the Euro after a 1% cut in UK interest rates.
After a volatile day on the currency markets, the pound fell to 1.148 Euros.
The UK currency also dropped against the dollar, to $1.447, the lowest level in almost seven years,
We will soon have to get out our begging bowls, in an effort to stay alive, thanks to the gross incompetence of this Labour government
