The Visitor had a refreshing peek into the common fears and tragedies of an immigrant’s experience.  Most of the films I’ve seen surrounding the undocumented experience focus on the Latin American variety.  The focal point of The Visitor is on a young Muslim couple from two different countries: Syria and Senegal.  The movie doesn’t dwell so much on the hardships they faced as “illegals”.  Instead, much of the story follows the development of a wrinkly, old curmudgeon, played by Richard Jenkins, and his relationship with the undocumented couple.  Writer and director, Thomas McCarthy, demonstrated his talent for tender relationships among unlikely strangers in his last movie, The Station Agent.  He is able to capture the same beauty in this one.  What else do you need in a movie, aside from genuine, heartfelt relationships that keep you entranced?

Overall, I really enjoyed following the characters and watching them perform.  There were times I felt the writing could be more realistic.  Certainly, the lighter, humorous moments were surprising and much appreciated in the scope of the traumatizing process that encompasses immigration… $9

If you heart The Visitor

Recommendations by Yolkie:
Dirty Pretty Things
Maria Full of Grace
The Station Agent

Trailer: The Visitor

Listen to a Londoner. This is a weekly post where people who live (or have lived for a while) in London answer a few questions about the Big Smoke. If you fit the bill and want to be interviewed, give me a shout at littlelondonobservationist@hotmail.co.uk. Always looking for new victims volunteers….

Dave Sadd, 23

Dave is currently a student in his 2nd year at Cardiff University, studying Journalism, Film and Media.
He enjoys films, music, new media and fine wine.

LLO: How long have you lived in London?
DS: Well, I don’t live in London anymore unfortunately. When I left home to come to university, my mum moved into Hertfordshire. But until then, I’d been living in London for 20 years. Long time!

LLO: Best thing about London?
DS: Feeling like you’re part of something massive.

LLO: Best shop?
DS: I’m a bit of a media fanatic, so HMV on Oxford Street does it for me.

LLO: Best place to catch a gig?
DS: Before it closed, I was a big, big, big fan of The Mean Fiddler. These days…Brixton Academy.

LLO: Best local band?
DS: Am I allowed to say The Kinks?

LLO: Best place to escape the city?
DS: I always lived on the outskirts, so it was never a big thing to escape – I spent a lot of time in Herts.

LLO: 2012 Olympics – stay or go?
DS: I honestly couldn’t care less about the 2012 Olympics. I’m apathetic all the way.

LLO: How do you spend your time on the tube?
DS: I listen to music and worry about getting lost, so spend a lot of time looking at the maps and counting how many stops there are until I need to get off. This makes it sound like I really don’t enjoy the tube, but I do!

LLO: Favourite book, song or film about London?
DS: My favourite film about London would have to be Dirty Pretty Things. It’s a wonderful look at how London is for immigrants.

LLO: Most interesting recent news story?
DS: This is actually my favourite news story of the past week in general – Boris helping a girl from thugs. Whilst on a bicycle. He used the word ‘oiks’! Who woulda thunk that a politician would be a decent human being too?! I loved it.

Thanks Dave!

Depois de uma das separações mais triste do mundo da música, o que era The Libertines…

virou Dirty Pretty Things

e também virou o Babyshambles

só que alguns meses atras eles fizeram o seguinte clipe juntos…

…e ai fica a pergunta… what now?

<space>

So, before I became The Kitchenette (I say it like I stepped in the closet Bruce-Wayne style and emerged a Superhero), I was kind of a picky eater. I think my mother would agree that my brother and I were both extremely picky, actually. I didn’t like a lot of foods… especially vegetables. I was pretty much a potato-and-carrots-only vegetable eater.

But once I started cooking regularly, I really just wanted to try new things. At first my curiosity leaned towards trying new ways to cook the things I liked already; I tried various meatball recipes before finding one that has now become my staple. Then I began cooking things at home that I could buy or get only at restaurants; I tried making falafel at home (a big failure – it’s still on the list of “Recipes to Master”). Lately, I’ve really been inspired to try new foods entirely. In the past year, I’ve found that I was secretly harboring a love for sweetbreads (neither sweet nor bread), veal cheeks, and oysters. Who knew?

I’ve also been reevaluating those vegetables that I turned my nose up at before. Kohlrabi, broccoli, and yes… even asparagus. (There’s no hope for asparagus. It’s disgusting and you know it.) Before, I would never have dreamed of eating kale… in fact, I didn’t even really know that kale existed until a few years ago. It’s not a very yummy-looking vegetable, either. If you really think about it, it basically looks like a wrinkly leaf off of a tree. Ew. But instead of going straight for the time-honored-but-never-really-yummy dish of overcooked garden greens with added flavor from bacon/ham/unidentified-pork-product, I chose instead to try kale in a variety of ways. I tried it in soup, I tried it flash-cooked, in pasta dishes. But out of all the ways I’ve tried eating kale, this is my favorite.

This is the epitome of the food I like to cook – simple, cheap, local food that is dripping with flavor.

<space>

<space>

Kale with Lemon and Parm

Adapted from The Kitchn

Serves 4

<space>

 Ingredients:
2 large bunches kale, washed and trimmed of stems/stalks
6 oz Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated
4 tbsp lemon juice
4 tbsp olive oil
kosher salt
fresh cracked pepper
<space>

Directions:
Roll the kale leaves together and cut each roll into small strips. Transfer kale to a large bowl.

<space>

This is me chopping up kale. Notice the stems of the kale in the sink. Also notice my hot pink dishwashing gloves in the background. Sexy!

<space>

Mix the olive oil and lemon juice together, and whisk vigorously to combine and form an emulsion. Drizzle dressing over kale and toss to coat. Let kale sit at room temperature for at least one hour, until the kale has wilted slightly. Toss with cheese and serve.

<space>

<space>

Now Playing in the Kitchenette: Dirty Pretty Things / You Fucking Love It – it’s just a punk kind of day! DAMN THE MAN

<space>

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Top: Dirty Pretty Things “Love Game Tee”
Pants: Royal Blue “Zip Up Leggings (50L Friday 10/2)”
Boots: Periquita “Sweet Stiletto Boots”
Bracelet: ~LustY~ “Ice Cubes Bracelet- Purple”
Hair: lamb “Shoegaze- Mango (50L Friday 10/2)”
Skin: lessthanthree “Phoebe- 02”
Poses from [LAP]

Carl Barat has told the BBC that he will be too busy in 2010 to reform his old band The Libertines (pictured above).  Barat said that he didn’t want to put the band together again just for a quick payday. He said:

“I’m too busy next year. Maybe the year after that. See how it goes. When it needs to happen, it will fall into place. It’s more a way of life than a band for me. I’m not going to jump up there and play the songs for some money – if it feels right then it will fall into place.”

The Libertines’ Pete Doherty told NME.com in March that the band had “unfinished business” and that he wanted them to reunite.

Barat, who dissolved his band Dirty Pretty Things in October 2008, is currently working on a solo project. On the subject of the solo album, he told the BBC:

“It is quite liberating doing my own solo thing with no record company telling me to make singles.

“I’ve done a lot of stuff with strings and acoustics but I don’t know if that’s how the record is going to sound.”

Barat will also be appearing in a play in 2010. On that subject, he told the BBC:

“It’s pretty full on and gritty. I’m doing it for the challenge as opposed to having big audiences and getting show stopping reviews.”

Last year, Barat appeared in the stage drama Telstar and portrayed a scientist named Gene Vincent (named, of course, after the 1950s rocker).

For more on this story, see the articles from BBC 6 Music and NME.com.

Aaaaand this week’s song is:

*drum rolls*

Dirty Pretty Things – Bang Bang You’re Dead

Bang bang! you’re dead
Always so easily lead \:d/\:d/

- alex and ot1

Moja nowa miłość. Jedna z dwóch.xD Spongebob nigdy wcześniej nie robił na mnie tak dużego wrażenia, jak teraz. No tak, w końcu z wiekiem człowiek staje się mądrzejszy… Doszło do tego, że na całym biurku mam porozkładane rysunki Sponcza, a kolacji nie potrafię zjeść bez Kanciastoportego w tv. Póki co nie odbiło mi na tyle, żeby kupować sobie skarpetki z gąbką, zegarki z gąbką, pościel z gąbką… Ale nad bluzą i koszulką już się poważnie zastanawiałam.

W szkole ładnie i ciasno. Cholernie ciasno. Okien wciąż tyle samo, choć podobno w klasie kochanego pana Wałka ‘jedno już spadło’. O ile możemy wierzyć na słowo naszej nowej proffeseur od filozofii. Sufity all right, tylko nieziemsko dużo lekcji mamy. Ehh, a tak miło było łudzić się, że nie będzie ich więcej niż w pierwszej klasie…

Siatkarze na Mistrzów Europy! I w zasadzie to wyczerpuje temat, bo przecież nie krytykuje się drużyn, które wygrywają. ^^

Dirty Pretty Things wciąż na topie, Chinese Dogs szczególnie.

And if the hat don’t fit ya…

Yeah?

It don’t fuckin’ fit ya!

Idę zakropić oczy. Howgh.

Ex-Libertine Carl Barat plant für 2010 ein Soloalbum. Er will diese Album allein schreiben. Muss er auch, denn seine Band Dirty Pretty Things hat sich nämlich aufgelöst. Barat ist derzeit auf der Suche nach einem coolen Label. Die Solopläne kommen etwas überraschend. Ex-Kollege Pete Doherty hatte zuletzt nämlich häufiger von einer Libertines Reunion gesprochen. Für Carl Barat scheint sein Soloalbum aber Priorität zu haben.

did i post this already? probably

she has the BEST legs

awww!

audrey tautou just makes me happy.

part  3 to come

Wanting a book to devour?

This Friday’s book dish is The Cloud Atlas by Liam Callanan (yes there is another book with the same title by a different author and I know nada about it.)

http://www.liamcallanan.com/cloudatlas/tca_main.htm

Japanese War Balloons, love stories, going native, ethical questions, great writing, and some unforgettable characters.

and

Later additon:  The Swallows of  Kabul  by   Yasmina Khadra 

Women in Afghanistan

for  an excerpt–

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1763791

 ~~~~~~

Movies you might rent:

Just numbers, not rankings.

pick number one:      Water

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1158228-water/

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/water/

1938, India, widows  

~~~

pick number two:     Slumdog Millionaire

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/slumdogmillionaire/

You might enjoy the above link just for the wonderful music it offers on the  site.

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/slumdog_millionaire/

India–survival, love, destiny–on the dark side of India’s slums.  Definitely not City of Joy–no American doctors finding their redemptions (ah Patrick Swayze).

~~~

pick number three:      True Romance

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/true_romance/

one of Christian Slater’s best roles ever–and yes–true romance

~~

pick number 4:        Dirty Pretty Things

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dirty_pretty_things/

 Audrey Tautou –and the rest of the cast beat the acting pants off all comers in this FILM.

~~

pick number five:       The Visitor

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/visitor/

What does illegal mean in human terms?

–If you rent some oldie but goodie–please add it to the list.

Dirty Pretty Things
★★ / ★★★★

Written by Steven Knight and directed by Stephen Frears, “Dirty Pretty Things” is about two illegal immigrants (Chiwetel Ejiofor and Audrey Tautou) who work in a fancy hotel in London and get caught in an underground business run by their boss (Sergi López). This was supposed to be a thriller but I didn’t find anything particularly thrilling about it. I think it tried too hard to hide its secret underground happenings to the point where I found myself not knowing where the story was going. After it introduced particular events that could potentially drive the plot forward, it was followed by uneventful fifteen- to twenty-minutes. One of the few things I liked about it, however, was the way it showed illegal immigrants in the work place. While It was an effective drama, it considerably weaker in its thriller aspect. A third variable was the potential romance between Ejiofor and Tautou. It’s strange because I don’t know what to think of it. They didn’t exactly have chemistry together but it was nice to see them interact either when they were just talking or were sitting in silence. Overall, I think this film was misdirected and miscast. Not to mention it tried way too hard to inject various storylines; it made me feel like it simply did not have enough courage to tackle the main issue head-on. If it had focused on the underground activities that not many people know about, I think I would have been more interested. With two main characters who were easy to root for, if they had been placed in more dangerous situations, the script would’ve popped instead of imploding upon itself. I’ve heard a number of critiques regarding this picture and more than half of them were impressed with the “surprise” ending. Personally, I wasn’t that surprised because it was not particularly original. I’ve seen such an ending from a lot of similar but better films so I was not at all impressed. It left me unsatisfied but I was glad to see Tautou play someone who was a little more damaged and vulnerable than her other roles.

This is not only an invitation, you must want to.

Cause if you try hard, it is a sign that you shouldn’t be trying at all.

I’m not saying that this will be easy, but that just can’t be complicated.

Come closer that you’ll find me out.

How utterly shambolic. Pete Doherty, ex-Libertine, now says, in the new issue of NME (above), that he has gotten approval from old bandmates John Hassall (bass) and Gary Powell (drums) to reunite the LIbertines. He just needs to get guitarist/singer Carl Barat to come on board. However, Doherty claims he might reform it even if Carl does not agree. In NME:

“Maybe I could reform The Libertines without him, like he did without me [Barat played Libertines shows without him in 2004 when Doherty was kicked out of the band for drug use],” he said. “I’ll put an advert in NME: ‘Carlos lookalike required’.”

He’s joking, obviously. ??!! Hey, with Doherty, you never know. As a fan of Libertines’ music, I wouldn’t go see the reunited band without Barat. And I won’t believe I’ll see the band in the U.S. anyway. I don’t believe the U.S. will let Doherty tour here, no matter what I hear on the contrary.

To tell you the truth, I’m more interested in Dirty Pretty Things (Barat, Powell, and Anthony Rossomando) reuniting and touring the U.S. I know there are others who feel the same way. So Doherty can put that in his pipe and smoke it.

Wzięło mnie po raz kolejny na DPT. Niech się chłopaki cieszą, bo pewnie za jakiś czas na jakiś czas znowu o nich zapomnę. Niedługo eliminacje MŚ w siatkówce, więc zacznę się jarać naszymi reprezentantami, a poza tym – zbyt wielu płyt to oni nie wydali, zaraz mi się wszystkie dwadzieścia cztery nagrania osłuchają…

To, że Carl skończy jak Pete nie jest wcale takim bezpodstawnym i niemądrym stwierdzeniem. Rzec można – to nieuniknione. Nigdy jednak nie przypuszczałam, że znajdę zdjęcia zapuszczonego Anthony’ego. Jego kontrakt na pewno nie obejmuje palenia i picia, mógłby chociaż COŚ rzucić – Gary z piwem or Gary z papierosem to rzadki widok, a jednak z zespołu nikt go nie wyrzuca.

Z drugiej strony…

Czymże byłaby ta fota bez tego peta (pzdr, Pit) i tej butelki? Właśnie w takich chwilach jestem w stanie Antosiowi wybaczyć wszystko. A co w nim kocham najbardziej? No jasne, że kosmiczną czuprynę! Jego włosy są jedną wielką, zakręconą grzywą. Artystyczny nieład dodaje mu tylko uroku. =^.^=

Przed wszystkim ma także poczucie gustu. Wie, jak się ubrać. Bo chociaż Matta uwielbiam szalenie, to mimo wszystko uważam, że zbyt często ubierał się u Geina…

O tym, że Anthony jest [wystarczająco] dobrym i [zdecydowanie] przystojnym gitarzystą, nie muszę chyba wspominać. Dodam jedynie, że Anthony + trąbka = sam sex. Czas na youtube.

Mój komentarz? Dwie najlepsze piosenki z ‘Romance at Short Notice’. (Trzecia to zdecydowanie ‘Faultlines’, polecam). Do tego ruchy Stana i jego miodkowy głos… Nie przeszkadza mi nawet, że nie jest Anglikiem.

Jeżeli ktoś widział gdzieś koszulę taką, jaką ma właśnie Antoś, to ucieszę się, jeżeli powie mi, gdzie. Szukam czegoś podobnego już od początku wakacji i znaleźć nie mogę. O.o

Harlow Rae
wearing:
shirt :Emery
Pants: (mdsy)
Hairs : Maitreya D
Shoes Stiletto moody

Olivier Kaligawa
wearing :
suit: meriken co. (comes with the jacket, vest, shirt,  pants)
shoes : Kalnins Gallop
glasses and watch: Maschienewerk (freebie)
cigar: hermony
hair: gritty kitty
kendall Freenote
wearing:
Tank&skirt: (Wasted Youth)
Belt: Trendy&Company
Hair: shag
Shoes: Stiletto moody

Joel Ra
wearing:
Skin :  Belleza
Hair : Gritty Kitty
Piercings : Star Piercings
Top : The Plastik
Pants : Aitui
Finger Tape : Sinistyle
Rings :  Pain Favorite Ring and RJK Chain Ring (part of a bangle and ring set)
Shoes : Coco CSR Summer Choice Gift
Euni Kira
wearing :
jacket :anya ohmai’
shirt: fishy strawberry
skirt: emery
shoes: shooz
glasses: gabby’s glasses
kento Yuitza
wearing:
hair : a.C STORES.
shoes.. UBU
socks : canimal
accesories & shirt :sey stores

Before the never-ending thunderstorms rolled in this afternoon, I hit up the Dirty Pretty Things pop up sale in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.

When I first walked in, I didn’t think I was going to find anything I liked. There was the usual mix of vintage shoes and dresses, with a focus on re-surfaced 80’s trends that just didn’t appeal to me. But then I noticed the “more out back” sign, and struck gold!

There were half a dozen more sellers in the back room, with the best being run by Donna Land Vintage. Donna travels across the USA buying and selling vintage clothing and accessories. Her well edited booth was the star of the show! Racks of well priced gorgeous dresses, and tables of shoes and jewelry from the 1900’s-1990’s covered the entire back half of the event space. All of Donna’s wares were 50% off! I scored two gorgeous rings for $30, while my friend Mollie picked up a ring, and a pair of amazing roulette wheel cufflinks for $45.

It might have been a bit out of the way, but the DPT pop up was definitely worth making the trek. Here’s to hoping for more Dirty Pretty Things events in the future!

I’ll be paying Donna Land a visit once again at the Brimfield Antique Show (the world’s largest seasonal antique show) September 8-13th! She’ll be one of the many vintage dealers selling at the show!

View photos of the cufflinks, and more after the jump.

A DJ spun great music to shop to:

Back room:

Outside:

We ran into some friends scoping out the sale!

Mollie’s cufflinks!

More Donna Land:

Mollie checking out Donna’s jewelry:

Vintage Scarves:

Whew. Interesting week. Lots of stuff to cover. First and foremost, my dear friend Dion, fellow writer and music-lover, has started a blog about music over here. The Decomposed, named, obviously, in homage to The Matches, is a blog about music by a music lover. It was initially intended to be a joint effort, and I am an occasional contributer (as yet I’ve written nothing for it, though I might try to review the new Peter Doherty solo album), but Dion deserves all the credit. He’s a great writer, he knows his stuff about music, and he certainly has no qualms about voicing his opinions. Everyone should give The Decomposed Blog a read. It’s blogrolled on the sidebar and hopefully there will be more Dion-David collaborations in the future. We’re quite a pair, and we’ve come a long way from arguing with each other about who was more pretentious on Absolute Punk.

-

Another blog plug: my friend Max has recently returned to the blogosphere here. His blog is a good read, and I look forward to seeing more. He’s got a good head on his shoulders, even if he needs to get over his ridiculous notion of the Smiths being superior to The Libertines.

-

Speaking of the Libertines: they’ve certainly clinched a spot in my “favorite bands” list, even if they only have two full lengths, an EP, and some singles to go by. What a great band. Carl Barat and Peter Doherty are incredible frontmen, and the tension between them not only led to an excellent creative output, but also to some crazy band theatrics. As far as love-hate relationships go, it doesn’t get much better than Doherty and Barat. I don’t know how to embed videos (can you with WordPress?), but if anyone needs proof of the brilliance of these two, look no further:

Up The Bracket

Death on the Stairs

Vertigo

Can’t Stand Me Now

Don’t Look Back Into The Sun

These aren’t even favorite songs, necessarily. They’re just damned good ones. I love this band, and picking favorites would be hard from them…so I don’t. I just enjoy everything they’ve put out. Similarly, after the schismatic split, Barat and Doherty went on to do great things musically themselves. Barat’s Dirty Pretty Things have two EXCELLENT albums, and though that band has broken up, hopefully Barat will be doing some solo stuff in the near future. Doherty formed Babyshambles, which released a decent album (Down In Albion is a little on the long side and at times the evident intoxication overpowers the music itself, though I still enjoy it) and a great one (Shotter’s Nation is a fantastic rock album. End of story). Now, he’s released his own solo effort, Grace/Wastelands, which features some excellent music as well. All of these come highly recommended, so check them out at your first available opportunity.

-

Weird week. Very weird, in fact. In addition to finding out that I’m not the only one who drives his mother to work so he can use the car for the day (which is a REALLY cool revelation, seriously), I’ve been crippled by writer’s block, cast off my chains of writer’s block, and had my eyes completely destroyed. The last of those three things is the thing that I intend to discuss.

The other day, I was driving, and out of nowhere a rabbit jumped into the road. I couldn’t swerve to avoid it (there was a biker in front of me on the right and a car in the other lane) and I was too close to slam on the breaks, and…yeah. I ran over it. It was perhaps one of the most gut-wrenching experiences of my life. The fact that I had to drive back past that carcass twice more that day (I was going to my grandmother’s, and then I drove home from there, and then I drove out that way to get gas later). It was horrifying. It’s so hard to describe how everything just seemed to implode the second I felt that thud from within the car. What’s worse is that it was just…a thud. I mean, I had to pull over and regain composure enough to drive (I was pretty shaken), but all it was to me was that bump by the car. I don’t even have the sick satisfaction of pulling some sort of trigger or coping with the fact that it was some sort of brutal murder or whatever. i’m rambling, of course, and mostly because I dont’ really know how to describe how I felt then. I can’t compare myself to someone in the army/someone who kills/any of that, because I didn’t do anything that earth-shattering…well, I did. I ended something’s life. It scared the shit out of me. To think that it’s so easy as that is unsettling. I dunno. I haven’t stopped thinking about it in the last few days…yeah. I don’t know what else to say about it. I may revisit it at some point, especially because it’s still bubbling inside me even now. Ugh.

-

That’s all I’ve got for now. Check out the blogs I mentioned, and check out the Libertines. That is all. Cheers!

I’m not gonna lie. As musically open-minded as I try to be, metal just ’ain’t my thang’, and to be honest Slipknot just plain scare me.

However at Download this year; “[Slipknot's] stage was set up with three sets of drums, one of which revolved in circles, rose up in the air and was fitted with empty beer barrels that members of the band would throw around and smash up.” (NME, 14th June 2009)

Not to mention; “members of the band, wearing their trademark masks, roamed the stage randomly smashing the set up with baseball bats, throwing barrels around and hanging off the revolving drumkit, which was raised several feet in the air.” (NME, 14th June 2009)

I’m not sure, but perhaps there’s a secret metalhead in me that would actually quite like to see that!? Say what you want about this genre of music; there’s no denying they put on a good performance. And I’m an ex-Drama kid, I love a good a performance. I actually quite like what Slipknot do; masks, costume, performance style,…it is all a bit ‘dramalama’  isn’t it.
Y’see I love my clinky-clonky indie music, I really do, but seeing indie bands live is always make or break for me; sometimes you get a cracking show, other times you get a couple of guys, strumming away, looking relatively bored, wishing they were on Radio 1 (Dirty Pretty Things, Lincoln, 2006, I’m looking at you…) You’d never get that with Slipknot.

However, as much as their set sounded pretty interesting, did anyone else feel like Download 2009 should have been set about 10 years ago? Look at the headliners: Faith No More (need I say anymore!), Slipknot, Def Leppard, Korn, Marilyn Manson, WHITESNAKE, Limp Bizkit, ZZ Top(!!!), Motley Crue! Admittedly, of course age-old legends are going to make the top of the bill (see Glasto’s Bruce Springsteen and Reading & Leeds’ Radiohead), but surely if Download is relying so heavily on acts like these, the future of rock & metal is looking uncertain, as clearly nothing contemporary is able to compete with the monsters of rock circa 1980. Pendulum were about the most contemporary headliner there; and their music isn’t exactly at home with the line-up we expect of Download Festival, is it.

Could Download be a dying festival? I hope not. It may not be my cup of tea but it certainly makes a difference to the increasingly-similar festival line-ups of V, Reading & Leeds, Glastonbury, T in the Park etc, which this year all seem to share Kings of Leon, Snow Patrol, Blur and The Killers…

Music world, you have one year to produce something fresh and new for Download 2010. Get to work.

Fresh off of their appearance at the Isle of Wight Festival over the weekend, The Pixies played their first headline gig in the UK since 2005 with a show on Monday night at the Village Underground in East London’s Shoreditch section. It was a secret gig, and it wasn’t confirmed for sure that The Pixies would be playing until the curtain went up at the show. Despite that, members of Klaxons, The Horrors, Dirty Pretty Things, and My Bloody Valentine managed to be on hand.

The Pixies are promoting their upcoming boxed set, Minotaur, and played a 13-song set at the show. The set list was as follows:

Where Is My Mind?
Hey
Number 13 Baby
Monkey Gone To Heaven
U-Mass
Debaser
Tame
Gigantic
Into The Light
Planet of Sound
Dig For Fire
Bone Machine

Encore:
Wave of Mutilation

The Pixies don’t have any North American dates scheduled at the moment. Hopefully, they will be touring here later this year. They’re still one of the best live acts around.

For more on this story, see the articles from NME.com and BBC 6 Music.

hey everyone! so my folder for items to blog about has been exponentially growing and i’ve just been itching to write for over a week now while i was away. but without further a due, the [stylebook] is back up and running full force ! so during my little breaky break, i managed to sign onto SL periodically and lo and behold, i found the amazing jacket below. i know i’m a little late with this and everyone has written about it already, but hot damn – this jacket is just too fab to pass up and not have it make an appearance on the [stylebook]. milk motion has done it again. from the loose t-shirts, to the black fringe skirt, to the famous admiral jacket and now this… (mm) seems to continue to tickle our fancy for quality, stylish, and versatile clothing. i kept the look fairly simple to let the top really shine. i also can’t get enough of these black patent leather boots by fussy. so fierce and chic – two criteria of an outfit that is always welcome.

aside from the jacket, i wanted to feature just some fun leggings i found in my wardrobe. fresh and new to be seen in the SL fashion scene is dirty pretty things, a new store by my fabulous and dear friend harlow rae ! knee padded leggings are all the rage and no one else but dpt would be right on trend with them. they come in a variety of colors such as turqwaz (turqoise), purple, and the classic black… and a pre-release look of the white version is shown! dirty pretty things will be opening at two locations, new jack city and malt, so dont’ forget to hurry up and get them quick before everyone else does! i’ll be sending a notice out to my group, “euni’s stylebook.” when dpt officially opens.

main outfit

hair: fashion pop in black by (vw)
jacket: my belted jacket by (milk motion)
gloves: black gloves by [lelutka]
ring: spring multi-stone ring by p.c.
leggings: my cut-out leggings by (milk motion)
shoes: x-posed boots in patent black by fussy

leggings 1

left: play boy mouth leggings in cocaine by dpt
middle: peacock hose by fab.pony
right: my cut-out leggings by (milk motion)

leggings 2

left: sequin collection-legging by (p-k)
middle: swan lake leggings (classic) by *fishy strawberry*
right: argyle hose in peach truffle by fab.pony

sound: lisztomania (classixx version) – phoenix. i love phoenix. it’s incredibly chic. and totally catchy.

p.s. the [lookbook]  now includes a new outfit!

love love – euni kira.

Director: Stephen Frears

Country: England

Summary: A drama about two illegal immagrints living in London who uncover a terrible secret in a low-quality hotel after one of them finds a surgically-removed organ in the building.

Impressions: Mysterious hotel, missing organs… sounds like a horror movie, right? It’s really more of a drama, particularly concerning the world that illegal immagrints live in, their daily lives, their hardships and discriminations. In that sense, it’s really a wonderful mirror into reality, because as you watch the film you can imagine the circumstances of these events being plausible.

The stars are two of my favorite actors, Audrey Tautou and Chiwetel Ejiofor. You’ll definitely remember Tautou as the titular character of the film Amelie, and maybe if you’re more mainstream as Sophie Neveu in The Davinci Code. Ejiofor is usually protrayed as the smart villain; he starred in American films like Serenity and English films like Children of Men (one of my top ten films).

One thing that caused confusion for me in this film was ethnic confusion. Tautou’s character was a devout Muslim, which threw me for a loop since she’s French. It wouldn’t be so bad if she was a French woman who converted to Islam, but she was using the accent of a Muslim woman. Likewise, I’m used to Ejiofor’s suave British accent and found his African dialect to be very surprising. Ejiofor was shifting between accents sometimes, methinks, and Tautou’s needed some improvement. They weren’t terrible or even bad, just unrefined.

This is a downer drama, but it’s definitely worth watching. I think of movies like Crash and 7 and 1/2 Pounds when I watch this film. Movies based around plausible circumstances which revolve around unique subsects of culture. Check it out if you can.

4 out of 5

Director: Gil Kenan

Genre: Scifi

Summary: Two teenagers find a secret map and use it to escape an underground city that is slowly losing all power. If they don’t find a way out soon, they will be trapped and die in the darkness.

Impressions: Finally, a new film! Netflix was awfully slow this time around. I’ve wanted to watch City of Ember for a while now because I was absolutely wowed by the trailer. Unfortunately, the film doesn’t quite live up to it’s advertisements.

The biggest thing this movie has going for it is atmosphere. There’s an awesome underground city, a corrupt government, some interesting and unique characters, and a Great Mystery. I loved the design of Ember and all of the strange contraptions in it.

This is definitely not an adult movie, though. No blood or guts, no swears. The worst thing was… well, I can’t say. There are some neat twists in the film. I knew about all of them but I enjoyedlooking for them as the movie progressed.

The actors are also good. The main character, Lina, is played by Saoirse Ronan, who won awards for the Lovely Bones and Atonement, so she can’t be all bad. The dude, Harry Treadway, was pretty good also. It was odd to see Bill Murray in this movie, playing a corrupt mayor, especially since it’s really not meant to be a funny movie at all. Murray does the right thing and doesn’t even attempt to make jokes. He’s phoning it in.

The special effects vary during the course of the film. The water and rock CGI are both extremely disappointing, especially on a $55 million budget. The actual sets and mechanics of those sets are more impressive.

The final problem is the pacing of the film. The beginning puts a lot of focus on things that will come into play later in the movie during the discovery and solution of the mystery, but the mystery itself is constantly being pushed aside in favor of character interactions or subplots. I feel like they would have had enough time to accurately depict the mystery if they’d spent less time on minor characters.

3 out of 5

P.S. I’ll be reviewing Dirty Pretty Things next week, so no reviews until Monday at least.