Brand and Britney in awards ad
Russell Brand is to host the MTV music awards in September. He has appeared in an advert with Britney Spears for the awards.
BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Brand and Britney in awards ad.
Wow – it looks like Britney has found her next husband – I’m going to watch these awards purely for the entertainment value of the hosts! 
Click the link for the hilarious video!
I didn’t immediately get into LOST because one of my rules is: “Don’t believe the hype…”
However, I was slowly drawn in by the beauty of the characters (physical and human) and slowly became hooked as the story slowly weaved its way through the jungle. At stages, some of the earlier series looked like they it was going to turn into a straightforward horror / monster / weird stuff story, but Season Four has taken things to a new level by revealing just enough confirm that we’re not being played with, without ever quite revealing the full picture. This is one of the few programmes that I have watched that gets better as time goes on.
I understand that some people are complaining about the price of purchasing it on iTunes, but the convenience that this provides means that it represents great value for money. When you’re stuck in an airport in the middle of Siberia, and it is -17 degrees outside, the ability to watch your favourite programme on your iPhone to kill a few tedious hours makes it almost priceless. I’d pay £1.89 to make each hour fly by all day long!
No, my only concern is the unfeasible beauty of all of the female characters. If ever I was on a plane with ‘Kate’, I would want it to crash on a desert island in the hope that we would be the only survivor and that we wouldn’t ever be rescued.
This is an outstanding series and I await each new episode with the same level anticipation that I had as a child waiting for Santa on Christmas Eve, before I realised that Santa was actually my father, fuelled-up on Eggnog.
This is powerful, intelligent story-telling, beautifully shot and written and it injects a healthy dose of science-fiction and philosophy into a glamorous setting for those clever enough to notice and disciplined enough not to be distracted by the eye-candy. This is classic television and I defy anyone who watches two episodes not to be ‘LOST’ in it themselves.
Chimpanzees have an extraordinary photographic memory that is far superior to ours, research suggests.
Young chimps outperformed university students in memory tests devised by Japanese scientists.
The tasks involved remembering the location of numbers on a screen, and correctly recalling the sequence.
The findings, published in Current Biology, suggest we may have under-estimated the intelligence of our closest living relatives.
Until now, it had always been assumed that chimps could not match humans in memory and other mental skills.
BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Chimps beat humans in memory test.
This is quite incredible to watch – but is reacting to patterns and sequences really an indication of intelligence, or is it just an ability that is not that useful to us and so has been lost?
Either way, a surprising result!
You know, there are certain songs and pieces of music that mean a lot to me and have stayed with me from the first time I listened to them, quite often because the lyrics mean so much to me.
Recently, I was woken from a pleasant dream by an early morning alarm call, and just before my rude awaken, I was ‘listening’ Mica Paris’ “If I Love U 2 Nite”. For the rest of the day, I had this tune in my head, despite the fact that I had not heard it for at least ten years.
I’m sure that everyone can recall a time when a tune stuck in their mind and could not be shaken. This was one of those times.
In this case, I think it is Mica Paris’ re-appearance on TV and her interview in the BMI flight magazine that brought her to mind. But I had bought the CD in Camden Town some 17 years ago, and it was stolen when my apartment in Muswell Hill was burgled in 1997… I believed that I would never hear it again…
Released in 1991, it was one of the first CDs that I bought, at a time when CDs were still relatively new, and buying one was an investment decision for me. I was at university, thinking hard about my future career whilst juggling my studies, with my part-time job at Silica Systems and my infatuation with Grainne Coen.
The smooth, velvety tones of Mica Paris, combined with the intelligent and thought-provoking lyrics won me over instantly. I’d never heard anything like it before.
I believe that Mica is the best British soul singer that we’ve ever produced, although Beverley Knight’s performances with Prince made me reconsider…
However, it was not until this week that I realised that the song was written by Prince (obvious now I think about it) and that helped me to track down a copy in Italy which I bought, and which is playing while I write this.
I don’t know what it is about Prince’s lyrics that have always reached out to me, and I accepted the fact a long time ago that most people just don’t and won’t get him. His genius will probably only be fully appreciated in centuries to come.
However, the lack of recognition that this particular song enjoys is a travesty. Very few songs deal with the dissatisfaction that men get from one night stands, and none as eloquently as this.
The song is genius, and so I’m posting the lyrics here in the hope that it encourages some people to seek it out, even though reading them doesn’t quite do the song justice, especially as their written in Prince’s favoured ‘txt speak’, something he pioneered long before the first SMS was ever sent. Enjoy! 
“if i love u 2 NITE” by Mica Paris, composed by Prince
Funny that U should call
I was just sittin’ by the telephone
Looking 4 a remedy
4 all my misery
I’m sorry 4 what I said
It’s just that I didn’t think our first date should be in bed
Ooooh, I wanna let U be the one
But U oughta know I’m lookin’ 4 a girl
That’ll want me 4 more than one night of fun
CHORUS:
If I love U 2night (Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah)
Swear 2 me that U’ll stay with me until the morning light
(Baby, can U stay until the morning light, ooh?)
Talk 2 me, tell me a story
Just tell me U’ll hold me tight (Hold me)
If I love U 2night
I want U, this is true
When U looked at me, I knew (That’s when, it’s when I knew)
This ain’t no matter of pride (No matter)
It’s just that when 2morrow comes I want U here by my side
CHORUS
I’m lookin’ 4 a girl, she don’t have 2 be pure
(I am looking 4 a girl)
She just gotta be sho’nuff secure
(Sho’nuff secure)
If U want a lover, I’m the remedy
(I’m the remedy, the remedy)
But girl, U gotta tell me what U gonna do 4 me
(What U gonna do, what U gonna do 4 me?)
If I love U 2night
Promise me that U’ll stay with me until the morning light
(Say that U’ll stay until the morning light, ooh)
Talk 2 me, tell me a story
Just tell me U’ll hold me tight (Hold me, hold me)
I’ll make U breakfast, I’ll drive U 2 work girl, I’ll treat U right
Promise me that U’ll stay with me until the morning light
If I love U 2night, if I love U 2night
Ah yeah, baby
(If I love U 2night) {repeat in BG}
If U’re lookin’ 4 a lover, girl
I’m the remedy
Tell me, tell me baby
Whatcha gonna do for me
A cat is baffling his owner by wandering off at night before expecting to be collected by car every morning at exactly the same time and place.
BBC NEWS | England | Dorset | Cat’s daily routine baffles owner.
This did bring a smile to my face, and it also reminds me of my belief that cats are a lot more intelligent than we give them credit for.
I think that humanity considers dogs more intelligent because they demonstrate loyalty, commitment and a desire to please their owners, but I believe that the independence of cats is a testament to their greater intelligence.
It’s not that they can’t do silly tricks like dogs, is just that they don’t want to! 
You know, at the start of the season, us poor Arsenal fans got a lot of stick, particularly from those Tottenham lads on the wrong side of town.
Of course, the thought of losing the inimitable Thierry Henry filled me with dread, but, as we have seen before, the Arsenal whole is greater than the sum of the parts and great players just don’t seem so great any more when they’re not in an Arsenal shirt. (Viera? That’s a brand of Sony TV isn’t it?!)
Our faith in Wenger is paying-off - Fabregas stepped-up when Viera left, and Adebayor is the new King of Highbury.
According to Spurs ‘fans’, he is a donkey. Well, we’re at the top of the table with a game in hand and a GD of plus-16 versus Spurs in the bottom three not even able to beat Bolton with a GD of minus-2 - and some of their points were earned against relegation favourites, Derby! Perhaps Martin Jol needs to get himself up to Blackpool and gets some donkeys for the not-so-Hotspur?
Jol is still smiling. I’m not sure why. No one wants him - not the fans and not the Chairman and this has got to be Spurs’ worst start for a decade. (Of course, it’s a false position according to Jol and it will come right soon.)
South of the River, things are even more amusing. Poor Mourinho. Damian tells me that Daniel Levy put in several calls to Jose and that he might be moving up North to join the Hotspur. Can you really see Mrs. Mourihno shopping on Tottenham High Road?! Or his kids kicking it at Edmonton Green with their mates on Saturday afternoon? Spurs’ fans capacity for self-delusion never ceases to amaze me.
What we have at Arsenal is team spirit and a passion for winning. When one big name moves on, another picks up the challenge. That’s what a real football team is about. We’ve proved it time and time again.
Roll on the rest of the season. I predict that we will be three points ahead at the top at Christmas, and in the race for the title with Manchester United, Manchester City and Liverpool. I also predict that Reading will finish above Spurs, although it will be close.
If only I could have convinced Chris to part with some cash and participate in our annual ‘Who will finish higher - Spurs or Arsenal?’ bet. Alas, he’s running scared after the last couple of years, so I’ll have to find another source of income!
Come on you Gooners!
Even after all these years, Prince is still able to wow me with his breathtaking live performances, and it was an absolute pleasure to see him yesterday evening with Damian.
Sometimes when you go to watch a legendary performer like Prince, you’re kind of worried that they might decide to play lots of new or experimental stuff that you might not be familiar with, but we knew that we were in for a treat when he kicked-off with ‘1999′!
I first became a Prince fan when Philip Huffer and I were shopping in Tottenham Court Road and won some tickets to see ‘Under the Cherry Moon’. It was 1986, I’d never heard of Prince and the film wasn’t being talked about as a summer block-buster, but when you’re a spotty 14-yr old free tickets are free tickets!
I was mesmerised by the film. Not only was Prince fascinating to watch, but the beautifully shot monochrome and absurdly fun plot kept me captivated. However, it was the music that seduced me.
When Prince and his gang performed ‘Girls & Boys’ I was hooked. I saved-up my pennies to buy ‘Parade’ and my love-affair with Prince’s music began.
21 years later, I still haven’t explored all of ‘Parade’. I didn’t get much past ‘Kiss’ back then, which I must have played a thousand times whilst bopping around pretending to be Prince. Hearing him perform it a few hours was just as good as hearing it for the first time - and he seems to have no less energy than he did back then.
What amazes about Prince is his versatility.
‘Parade’ includes piano solos like ‘Venus De Milo’ mixed with the pop/rock classic ‘Kiss’, spellbinding ballads like ‘Do You Lie’ & ‘Sometimes It Snows (In April)’ and sinister one-offs like ‘Anotherloverholeinyohead’. Like many of his earlier albums, the styles on it are more diverse than your average chart compilation album.
All these years later, Prince is still able to switch effortlessly from a powerful guitar solo to a ballad without breaking a sweat and without losing his audience.
We were treated to many more the classics, including some of my personal favourites ‘Forever in My Life’ (which I introduced to Dana in Turkey a couple of weeks ago!), ‘Alphabet Street’, ‘If I Was Your Girlfriend’ and ‘Take Me With You’, ‘Purple Rain’ and ‘Let’s Go Crazy!’.
He had a subtle dig at some of today’s modern ’stars’. The message wasn’t lost on his audience - he is in a league of his own. ‘LoveSexy’ is the only musical performance that I have ever seen that surpasses this. And we were both ten years younger then!
The venue was wonderful too - I have always been a fan of the O2 / Millennium Dome despite the controversy surrounding it, and it is certainly one of the best concert venues that I’ve been to - if only getting home was as smooth and funky as Prince!Â
Last night over my brother’s birthday dinner, conversation turned to whether or not Ricky was still funny, following the excellent article with a similar title in last weekend’s Telegraph.
Hmm… I think that I will have to go and see him live to see if he delivers the goods, but watching him at the Diana Concert was more painful than having my wisdom teeth removed!
I thought that The Office was excellent (especially the Christmas special), but I never got a chance to watch ‘Extras’ and so I don’t know how it compares.
What I do know is that he seems to struggle on the spot. He’s not as funny as the sort of stand-up comics you get a dodgy pubs in Islington, but perhaps his TV shows are genius and where he should focus his efforts.
However, what’s really interesting is the Press’ desire (need?!) to destroy people that are doing well and being successful… He’s taking more heat than David Cameron at the moment, and I do wonder if all of the Ricky-sniping is part-driven by jealously - didn’t a lot of showbiz journalists actually want to be in showbiz?
Damian did remind me about the woeful episode of “The Simpsons” where Ricky made a guest appearance. I thought it was the worst episode of The Simpons ever. It’s the only one where I didn’t laugh once. Damian watched it with me and speechless in disgust.
Maybe the little fella just needs to stick to what he is good at? I’ll certainly be looking out for his TV show, but I won’t be inviting him to perform at my wedding!
I love cats and I’m always happy to see them get the upper-hand, but even I was surprised to see a moggy win in this stand-off:
