Any disco lovers out there? I named this piece after an album by the ’70s disco group The Village People called “Go West.” I created it in flourescent tempera paint for an event that had a ’70s theme and, being very literal in my approach to my work, I selected a classic image that epitomized the spirit of this group made famous by disco superproducer Jacques Morali and Casablanca Records. “Go West” was released in 1979. In choosing the artwork from my archive for my first post, I thought it appropriate to mark the occasion of this album’s 30th anniversary. The members of the Village People depicted in the piece are (clockwise from top left): Randy Jones, Victor Willis, Alex Briley, Glenn Hughes, Felipe Rose and David Hodo. For those of you who have never heard the song, here’s a YouTube video posted by The Village People themselves. It’s pretty campy stuff, as most disco songs were, but the song proved iconic enough for The Pet Shop Boys to cover in the early ’90s. 2FHURHEYA78M

daria is represented by IMG model management.
she appears editorially for the january issue of american vogue, as seen.
shot by patrick demarchelier, i expected more of a creative push.
the images are kept simple & for the most part, basic.
daria is beautiful but where’s the glamour?

imagesource | tfs

This works better if we all sing-a-long to the lyrics (in italics) from a classic 80’s song, “King of Wishful Thinking” by Go West. Oh, let’s also imagine that the “you” in the song is not an ex-girlfriend but money, and more specifically, wanting money during an effin recession. Oh, let’s also pretend that you’re in your early 20s with no income to speak of. Now we’re ready for the list (w/musical interludes):

I don’t need to fall at your feet
Just ’cause you cut me to the bone
And I won’t miss the way that you kiss me
We were never carved in stone
If I don’t listen to the talk of the town
Then maybe I can fool myself..

Those lucky few who are oblivious to concerns about finances and the global recession really can fool themselves…into thinking I will buy this:

1. Hickey Freeman Two Button Plaid Suit. Fantastic suit, but begs the question, “who’s your suga momma?”

Made with babies' tears and finely woven panther tails

I’ll get over you.. I know I will
I’ll pretend my ship’s not sinking
And I’ll tell myself I’m over you
’cause I’m the king of wishful thinking
I am the king of wishful thinking

And by “ship sinking”, we mean debt. Major debt. I’ll still be paying off loans for this next one after I’m in the clear for my college loans.

2. Movado ‘Sub Sea Series 800′ Chronographic Watch. It’s main feature is that it’s made in Switzerland. ‘Switzerland’ and ‘Swiss’ are tossed around so much that I think there should be some kind of quick disclaimer “Swiss mountie not included. We’re sorry for the inconvenience.”

Evidence that this is out of my pricerange? It was referred to as a "timepiece." If you want a timepiece, I'll get you a sundial and tell you it's solar-powered.

I refuse to give in to my blues
That’s not how it’s going to be
And I deny the tears in my eyes
I don’t want to let you see.. no
That you have made a hole in my heart
And now I’ve got to fool myself..

The hole in their heart translates to a big ol hole in my credit card. Especially with item #3

3. Lacoste fleece jacket.It’s FLEECE!! Hello? Is anyone listening?!!? I don’t see how this is any different than much, much cheaper fleece jackets. Cept for the cute croc that’s fleecing me in broad daylight. I’m sure he’s shedding crocodile tears for me.

CHORUS: (top of your lungs now!)

I’ll get over you.. I know I will
I’ll pretend my ship’s not sinking
And I’ll tell myself I’m over you
’cause I’m the king of wishful thinking..
I’ll get over you.. I know I will
I’ll pretend my ship’s not sinking
And I’ll tell myself I’m over you
’cause I’m the king of wishful thinking

Sing it over and over until the end of the song and our list for this mister who needs another gifter. (bizenga!)

4. Spring Break trip to the Florida Keys

: After running the numbers, that would be approx $450 for the plane ticket and $1,000 for a place to stay (I even looked up condos that were more than likely infested with STDs). Bahahahhahhha.

So not happening.

5.  I’m especially fond of our last one: “Santa Fe à DFW Flight”

I’ll admit that it took me awhile to figure this out. Andrew had to help. Besides the fact that it’s a one-way flight (which, considering this list, doesn’t sound like such a bad thing) But the accented ‘a’ was seriously throwing me for a loop. Why the sudden switch to another language? Was it a little, final snicker in my direction for getting through the whole list? I don’t even know!!

But hey, it’s fiiine. With the help of Go West, I managed to come through this in one piece.

So for others that have a king of wishful thinking (or queen, or drag queen, etc) in their lives, there is only one thing left to say to them:    Arrivaderci! Hope you enjoy the one-way flight to Antarctica!

.

.

P.S.: Though I in no way take back my sarcasm in this post nor do I intend to indulge these wish-list fantasies, I do feel it necessary to add that I do not mean any hate towards the creator of the list. In fact, they should start readjusting their ideas of reality now, instead of later. So I’m really doing them a service. Gotta pay your dues before you get stuff like this!!

Dear Dr. Angel

I blush as I write this. Such an imperitnent and frivolous question to one so important. However, my heart clamours for answers and I know such answers can only be dispensed from one as wise as you.

Doctor, for many years now I have been admiring a young gentleman. I understand he has a personal fortune of a million lira a year, but o! Sweet Doctor, I care not for this.  This young man has a heart so gentle, a word so light, a guffaw so warm, and a butt that you could bend a spoon on, if you so desire it. I dare say he would handwash a cardigan that you had just bought, and didn’t want to put in the wash incase it ran.  It can be a bit Russian roulette you know, dear doctor. He has a countenance that would imply that he wouldn’t go to a strip club and that.

My ultimate aim is to be the winner of a ‘Hot body show’.  My esteemed friend, Lady Spinderella, says the only sure-fire strategem to win his freaky-deaky hear, is to enter a show of such hot bodies. tI understand that you are an expert on ‘hot body shows’ and was wondering whether you dispense any advice on such a persuit.I understand you cam first in the Hot Body Exhibition in Crystal Palace, where many people were committed to mental asylums, after pure exhaustion upon looking ‘pon your very frame.
O Doctor, can you advise me? How can you prepare oneself to win the hot body show.  I know I have to be number one.  I know I need to ‘push it’ in some form, but I know not what to ‘push’ and in what direction. Do I push it Eastwards? What if this interferes with East 17? If I push it West, might this infringe on Go West? Doctor, can you tell me what exactly is involved in a Hot Body Show?

O! and a thousand questions.

Much love

Lady Salt of Pepper

to be continued…

Taken with my phone, near the newspaper in Sun City.

Well, I set WMP to the “Pop” genre, but I’m not sure I agree with all these songs’ designations; may have to do some adjusting…

1. “Water is Wide” – James Taylor, New Moon Shine
2. “One of Our Submarines” – Thomas Dolby, The Golden Age of Wireless
3. “Under African Skies” – Paul Simon, Graceland
4. “Strawberry Letter 23” – The Brothers Johnson, Right on Time
5. “True Colours” – Go West, Aces and Kings: The Best of Go West
6. “Sex Symbol” – Marc Jordan, Living in Marina Del Rey and Other Stories
7. “Love So Right” – Bee Gees, Here at Last…Live
8. “Something We Can Do” – Vitamin Z, Rites of Passage
9. “Girl in the Moon” – Icehouse, Man of Colours
10. “Walk on the Ocean” – Toad the Wet Sprocket, PS: A Toad Retrospective

Toad the Wet Sprocket is one of those groups I never appreciated at the time but enjoy now.  And Vitamin Z was a great 80’s pop group that never quite got off the ground.

Taken with my camera phone in my backyard. I wish the RV place wasn’t there so we could get an unobstructed view of the White Tanks.

Dedicated to you my friend, you who have at some point stared at the phone, longing for a call to put an end to your misery.

Here is a selection of well known, obscure and surprising songs about the  much loved and equally loathed communication device to listen to, while you wait for the real deal to chime.

This band’s name is sure to ring a bell -

You know my name (Look up the number), The Beatles

Leave a message after the (Tu)tone -

867 5309/ Jenny, Tommy Tutone

The lyrics, the backflips, the …oh just watch, it’s eighties fabulous -

Call Me, Go West

Ring ring ring ring ring ring ring, this phone’s got a peel-

Banana Phone, Raffi

Dial F for Funky -

Never There, Cake

Sprinting after courier pigeons, blowing smoke messages and-

Hanging on the telephone, The Nerves

Try 867 5309 on the off-chance that Debbie is flatsharing with Jenny -

Call me, Blondie

Who you gonna call? -

Ghostbusters, Ray Parker Jr.

“Din tröst är en lögn, ditt land en sump som rinner till eländets äng”

01. The Ocean Blue – Mercury
02. Haysi Fantayzee – John Wayne is Big Leggy
03. Pezband – Stop, wait a minute
04. Animotion -Obession
05. Blue Zoo – Only for you
06. Pearl Harbour & The Explosions – Everybody’s boring but my baby
07. The Romantics – Girl next door
08. Wang Chung – Dance hall days
09. The Fixx – Running
10. Go West – Don’t look down
11. ABC – Ocean blue

Höstterminens Tjänstemannafest för nationens duktiga jobbare hölls i går lördag och traditionsenligt i Gillis. Temat var Western och detta betydde många bredbrättade hattar, fjädrar på huvudet, skott i luften och sköna västliga referenser.

Kvällen inleddes med lekar, tjo och tjim i många av Husets skrymslen och vrår. Äpplen i vatten + mjöl, ballongförflyttning, pilbåge, lassokast, introtävling, frågequiz och sångkomposition var några av övningarna och detta var visserligen överraskande kul men det mest häpnadsväckande är att tidsschemat verkade hållas! Äntligen har receptet för en tidsoptimerad lekrunda hittats?

Välkomnandet in i den fantastiskt utsmyckade Gillis var överväldigande. En dammig sydstatskänsla hämtad från en spagettivästern spred sig. Det har skrivits en hel del skön country och här fick vi både detta samt mer västligt humoristiska referenser. Eric Weissbergs “Duelling Banjos” var nog den mest överraskande partyhöjaren under själva middagen. Klassisk cowboyförrätt väntade på alla indianer och kofösare, kaktusar och homoerotiker och till huvudrätt serverades kycklingtortillas. Vinnaren av tävlingen före middagen blev Speedwaylaget Indianerna – kanske tack vare deras snajsiga låt. Priset blev VIP-behandling/myshög i Övre Gillis, mycket uppskattat.

Det som hände härnäst var minst lika skoj som det redan nämnda om än lite mer höljt i dimma och därmed slutar rapporten från en tjänstemannafest med kanonbra tema, ett Gillis som kändes mer som Dallas och en partystämning av det allra finaste slaget – kort sagt, TJM på Krischan. Tack seniors.

Me gustan los conciertos en el Auditorio Nacional, la verdad es que creo que de los foros que existen para música en esta perdida caserola llamada ciudad de México, es el mejor lugar, su único problema es que es demasiado “pequeño” para ciertos artistas, pero la verdad, prefiero los conciertos ahí, que son organizados y con accesos rápidos, a los bodrios del Foro Sol o del Palacio de los Rebotes. El caso es que este 1 de octubre, los Pet Shop Boys se han presentado en dicho recinto con un éxito impresionante (lleno total).

Tocaron todos los éxitos, las canciones más famosas de su carrera, y le fueron intercalando canciones de su nuevo disco, así como otras que eran más de fan. Los gritos de los espectadores opacaban los coros de “Go west”, “Suburbia” o “It’s a sin”.

Cabe destacar que, aunque el set list fue bueno, lo mejor sin duda fue la producción. Es bien sabido que los PSB le invierten mucho dinero al stage de su concierto, pero ahora hicieron varios performance bastante buenos con sus bailarines, todo basado en la forma cúbica. Incluso, su pantalla gigante en realidad eran puros cubos que podían acomodar de la forma que quisieran y sólo tenían que reflejar la imagen necesaria. Muchos colores, vestuario loco y efectos especiales iluminaron la música.

Les dejo unos videos del concierto, para que se den idea de lo magnífico que fue:

Mi única crítica negativa es que este es quizá uno de los conciertos más cortos a los que he ido. Dio comienzo a las 8.45 de la noche y culminó a las 10.15 pm, exactamente hora y media tocaron. Ya me tenían acostumbrado todos los grupos a los que he ido a ver este año, a conciertos de más de 3 horas, pero era de esperarse que a los PSB no les entrara esa onda, después de todo, en algunas cosas siguen siendo de la vieja escuela. Pero es de admirarse que Neil Tennant habló por completo español en el concierto, y bastante fluído si me permiten agregar.

i had the best birthday ever this year.  (september 7th, MARK IT DOWN.)

not only did we wear moustaches, but there was also food- and lots of it!

what.

girls club

(click on) the village people

papi made a classic paula deen quiche (with 1 pound of bacon-hello!), breakfast sausage,  and blueberry and chocolate pancakes.

oh yes, and we brunched on his roof with champagne and strawberries (obviously.)

friendsies!

you don't spell it son, you eat it!

bill frisell - buster keaton

Me había propuesto ir alternando las entradas de discos novedosos para mi, con viejas glorias de mi discoteca particular… pero he de sucumbir ante las pruebas, esas que me delatan como nostálgico en estos últimos tiempos. Ya cambiará la suerte, pues hasta ahora siempre terminó haciéndolo, en ese movimiento pendular que siempre traté de frenar buscando el centro como mi admirado Franco Battiato. Cambiará, no sé si ocurrirá mañana, pero…

… se lo debía a Bill Frisell, pues siempre estuvo ahí, abriendo caminos, pilotando con su humor particular, con su enorme sonido. Siempre estuvo explorando conceptos musicales sin dejar de generar belleza (excepto cuando se junta con John Zorn, dudo que a veces quieran producir algo bello), crear situaciones a base de silencios y contrastar la paz con el caos. Sus acordes imposibles, tanto como sus ligados, con su “menos es más” llevado al extremo y su pedal de volumen, siempre fueron un rompecabezas sin resolver, y cuando parece que lo pillo gira en otra dirección, sorprendiéndome. Su voz con la guitarra, inconfundible.

En el caso que nos ocupa, casi se dibujan las escenas con solo escuchar la música, pero si has visto las películas de Buster Keaton, claro, ya lo tienes. Yo hice una colección de vídeos de las de entrega semanal en tu kiosko de muchos de sus films. A lo largo de mi vida lo he intentado alguna que otra vez, lo de hacer una colección, con bastante poca continuidad por cierto, pero con la de Buster Keaton aguanté casi hasta el final. En vhs, imagínense! Hoy, en la era de la tecnología aun he tenido problemas para intentar cuadrar la música de Frisell con las escenas de las películas (ahora ya en formato digital), con esa cara de tonto que se te queda, intuyendo que en otro momento o alguien más inspirado lograría cuadrarlas “al toque”. Reconozco que fui impulsado por los discos de Bill Frisell, encontrados casualmente en una de las tiendas que frecuentaba entonces, a investigar en la filmografía de este genial actor tragicómico y acróbata. Lo que si recordaba que mi padre le solía llamar “pamplinas”,  y también algún que otro momento televisivo, algún flash en la carátula de algún programa sobre cine, pero poco más sabía yo hasta entonces de Buster Keaton.

El caso es que la música original de las cintas de Keaton, un señor tocando un piano por lo general, me fascinó en su momento. Ingeniosa, inspirada, matizando las escenas más que los gags, bella. La revisión que hace Frisell en verdad se aguanta por si sola como una obra musical independiente al film, interesante… pero sobre las imágenes se termina de completar, se cierra el círculo. De justicia es reconocer  que yo lo he hecho hace bien poco, superponer música e imágen, a pesar de haber escuchado muchas veces los discos, y tan contento que yo estaba. Que me aspen si el trío formado por Bill Frisell a la guitarra, Kermit Driscoll al bajo (un auténtico mago de las notas graves con aspecto de leñador entrañable) y Joey Baron (uno de mis baterías fetiche, muy original, con un groove del carajo y un caminar peculiar) no tiene una química como pocas veces se ha dado. Química necesaria para transitar esos lugares tan abstractos y complejos saliendo bien parados de todos los lances.

Añadir que el otro disco está inspirado en las imágenes de otra gran película de Buster Keatn, “Go west”. Así que tanto si escuchan la música como si se animan a ver las pelis, cualquiera que sea la modiladad que elijan, yo me sentiré un poco feliz desde el silencio de mi guarida, la cual ya estoy acomodando para el recién entrado otoño, o tal vez para cuando esta nostalgia pegajosa y “blues” se me despegue.

Link a Spotify: Bill Frisell – Music For The Films Of Buster Keaton: The High Sign/One Week

Así que saludando a Martí Duch de montaña a montaña, desde la mía voy a otear el horizonte en busca de alguna señal del productor del disco, “Lee Townsend”, a ver que averiguo de él. Ya os contaré.

Laister arte! (hasta pronto!)

Pet Shop Boys – Go West !

Foreign Investors Look To China’s Underserved Interior For New Opportunities For Expansion, Tapping Vast Potential

China's coastal east has benefitted most from the country's 30 years of dramatic growth. But the inland west may be catching up (albeit slowly)

The images that many in the world conjure up when thinking of 21st century China are a mixed bag of glittering metropolises (concentrated in the coastal east) and ancient sites like the Great Wall and Forbidden City. But these two extremes really don’t paint an accurate picture of the country as a whole, which is both vast and by-and-large underdeveloped. Although the Chinese government has worked to improve infrastructure and build up the country’s inland areas through the ongoing “Go West” campaign and stimulus spending, many smaller urban areas in China remain untapped resources for domestic and foreign investors looking to build their brands or expand their current operations in China.

This week, the Global Supply Chain Council looks at several areas in China  likely to become prime targets for foreign investment, as inland regions are further developed and median incomes grow. According to their findings, areas like the Midwest and even the restive Northwest are “blank slates” with real long-term potential:

Xinjiang, China’s largest autonomous region and a former key stop on the ancient Silk Road, has once again become a choice of investment in recent years despite simmering ethnic instability.

The giant French retailer Carrefour Group pioneered the trend, becoming the first multinational company in the region when it opened one of its supermarkets in Urumqi in 2004. Even as the region recovers from a recent ethnic clash on July 5, government newspaper People’s Daily reported that Jean Luc Lhuillier, vice-president of Carrefour China, said the group plans to invest more in Xinjiang.

The growing local spending power has also attracted high end retailers. Hong Kong-based luxury department store Maison Mode made its debut in the region last year, opening a location in Urumqi packed with glamorous brands such as Cartier, Giorgio Armani and Gucci.

Li Sheng, professor of logistics management at Chengdu-based Southwestern University of Finance and Economics (SWUFE), said the rise of Xinjiang is not a surprise given its special background. “I think people living there are more open-minded than people in other inland areas because of their different ethics, different cultures and the closeness to the West geographically,” he said, adding they are easily influenced by western spending habits, which retailers can use to their advantage. He said Coca-Cola’s recent opening of a new plant was nothing unexpected. “How costly and time-consuming must it be to deliver drinks to local stores from factories hundreds of miles away?” he said.

…

In contrast with Sichuan’s struggles, longtime rival Chongqing has seen its water transportation along the Yangtze River develop into a growing advantage since last December’s approval of the first free trade zone in inland China.

Already some companies are planning a move to the Lianglucuntan FTZ whose first stage construction began in June and will be completed in six months. Ant Logistics, the leading privately owned 3PL in the region, plans to move its headquarters from Chengdu to Chongqing by the end of this year, basing its offices in the FTZ. “More than 60 percent of regional products go through Chongqing as it has the biggest port in the region, so it makes sense for us to move there,” said Zhen Qibin, Ant’s logistics manager. Zhen believes the FTZ will attract more heavy industry clients like steel and chemical materials producers in the future.

…

Facing their up-coming competition, Ant’s Zhen said advanced management doesn’t necessarily mean successful business. “It’s good that they will
bring western management here, which could help us improve our service, but they have to get themselves localized at first,” he said, pointing to gaps in business practices between first-tier cities and inland cities as possible stumbling blocks. “These gaps won’t disappear overnight,” he said.

This isn’t the only challenge to companies making the push into new territory. Before companies jump on the bandwagon, they should think long and hard about moving inland to find cheaper labor. The lack of a favorable business environment may prove to be a challenge difficult to overcome. “There is nothing worse than setting up a plant far away from suppliers,” noted Wu Di, a professor of supply chain management at Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

The shortage of local senior talent is another issue. “Chances are that companies would have to relocate all these technicians and senior managers from other places, and it costs money,” Wu Di reasoned. While Coca-Cola has senior managers in the Urumqi factory deployed through its business partner – the state-run China National Cereals, Oils and Foodstuffs Corporation (COFCO), though in the future, we want to hire from the local area,” Wang Lei said.

If these inland challenges can be affectively addressed, China will close much of the distance holding back its great promise.

It’s amazing how something we desert dwellers see everyday, in every neighborhood and business, can be so beautiful and cheery when brought inside and put in a little jar.

I love Mexican Bird of Paradise.

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I was sitting there and all of a sudden, the safety bar lowered and i heard the whistle. I thought it would be cool to get some shots of the train since I was already waiting, and I managed to get the above fleeting second shot. the one below is my favorite though, for the colorful graffiti and the weird/funny quote on the side.

The day after I posted Buy and Brag #1, I received shipping confirmation from Rightstuf for the rest of my CMX order (sans December pre-orders).  Looks like I have a lot of reading to do!

Astral Project volumes 1-3: I’ve read a lot of good things about this series.  I was surprised to read on the back cover that the author, marginal, is the alias of Old Boy’s creator Garon Tsuchiya.  The series follows a young man who inherits an unlabeled CD from his deceased sister and has an out of body experience.

Go West! volumes 1-3:  Don’t know much about this one.  I just saw the name Yu Yugami, creator of Those Who Hunt Elves and Hikkatsu!, and clicked order.  It looks to be an entertaining parody of the Wild West.

And that’s my second buy and brag for the week.  There will probably be another next week.  Half Price Books has their 20% off everything sale for Labor Day so I’ll probably pick up a couple things this weekend.

Celebrando la llegada del viernes, publico este trio de videítos de los hermanos Marx que encontré en youtube. En el primero Chico nos deleita con su peculiar manera de tocar el piano. La escena pertenece a la película Go West.

gracias JujuJim

El el segundo Zeppo, Harpo, Chico y Groucho se turnan para interpretar Everyone says I love you, de la película Horse Feathers.

gracias maxpower34ca

Y por último no puedo dejar de publicar este video de la película A night at the Opera porque es muy emocionante ver la naturalidad y los dones de Chico en el arte de divertir a los chicos que están a su alrrededor. Esta escena es espléndida.

gracias maestrepercola

¡Feliz fin de semana!

I don’t want to blog anything too technical on weekend. So I’d like to write about one of my favorite bands, Pet Shop Boys. I was familiar with their song “Go West” before knowing who sang this song. Go West was widely used as soundtrack of sports programme, especially for football. Once I knew this song was sung by Pet Shop Boys, I bought Discography (1991) album to listen to their other hit tunes. Most of the tracks in this album impressed me at that time, and I’ve become PSB fan since then.

The video embeded here is one of my favorite PSB tunes, It’s a sin.

Link : http://www.petshopboys.co.uk/