Moo's Snap's

I thought i would give you all a break from my ramblings and share with you a few of my fave photos that i have taken lately.

The 3 pictures above were taken at Carreg Cennan Castle in Llandeilo , Wales. Can you tell that i am going through a black and white phase?

I was lucky enough to be given a new macro lens for my camera and these 3 photos were taken using that, hmmm, you think i am going through a "macro food" phase also?

Anyway , these are some of my favourite photo's. Lets hope i now go through an "award winning, highly sought after" photo phase, i can but dream!!

Moo On Manners

Oooh I am mad!!! I was inspired to write this by a friend of a friend and their quite exceptional display of bad manners!! I am gobby and I am direct, but i like to think my manners are good. I say please and thank you, i admit when i am wrong and apologise. I am not claiming to be perfect but good manners are a big deal to me, so when i see or hear of someone being plain rude it aggravates me beyond belief!! What's the phrase that all mothers rather smugly say at one time or another? "Good manners cost nothing" (Christ, it has happened, i am agreeing with my mother, not long before i turn into her completely!!) If that is the case why do some people have such difficulty displaying them?

I don't think i can go a day without experiencing bad manners in one way or another, bad service in shops, other drivers on the road, my son picking his nose, whatever!! I am not at all holding myself up as a paragon of good manners, i am guilty of not holding open doors, or cursing a fellow motorist, but i know that if i didn't use them most of the time i would exist in a state of permanent guilt!!

The Cambridge dictionary defines manners as : polite ways of treating other people and behaving in public.

Now what is wrong with that? Am i old fashioned? Am i being terribly British? Am i expecting too much? Probably, yes, but why on earth shouldn't i? Oh My God, i nearly uttered, " Wouldn't the world be a nicer place if we all had good manners?". Am i turning in to Doris Day or what?

Anyway, thank you so much for reading my blog and please, feel free to drop by anytime :)

Nosy Moo!!

Hi there, I am wondering if you lovely people could do me a favour, my little Moo brain has been wondering who you are and where you discovered my blog. If you wouldn't mind just taking a second to leave a comment and let me know i would really appreciate it.

Thank you.......Ms Moo x

The Great Croc Debate

The point of this post is simple, to decide whether Crocs are super cool, quirky shoes or old fart , gardening shoes!!

I first noticed Crocs some time ago and thought that they were really cool and unusual, or do i mean cruel and unusual? It took me a while to buy a pair, after all i needed to decide whether i actually wanted bright red rubber on my feet!!! So i am waiting for them to arrive in the post, patting myself on the back for being part of a trend for once and at last my super cool , bright red shoes arrive!!! I tear open the packaging, trying to ignore the overpowering smell of plastic emanating from the Crocs , and put them on. Whats the first thing i think? "Ooh these shoes are comfy!!!!" Good god, i had no idea that the Crocs would age me by 25 years, nobody mentioned that in the vast amounts of advertising or magazine coverage i had seen!!!

I basically ended up wearing them around the house at first, the British weather hardly ever allows the wearing of sandals, until i hit upon the idea that i could wear socks with them!!! That should have been red flag number 2 , socks and sandals, that must add another 10 years at least!!! So now, thanks to these shoes, i should be 65 years old and yet i am still crazy about them!!! They are comfy, it's fab being able to wear them in cooler weather and the bright colour cheers me up no end!!

I have been stopped in the street by a woman and told how fab the Crocs were and that she had 2 pairs, i have seen them on other people pretty frequently too. But there is still a huge contingent who think that they are the ugliest things ever made and who can blame them, they were named Crocs because they resembled a crocodile's snout!!

I think basically Crocs are like Marmite, you either love them or hate them and I for one love them!! (even if they do make me 65 years old!!!)

Real Love

John Lennon                            Regina Spektor

I am a huge fan of both John Lennon and Regina Spektor, so i was incredibly pleased to find out that Regina had recorded a cover of John Lennon's "Real Love", the song that he originally recorded in his own home in 1977, but never released. The song was subsequently released by three remaining Beatles in 1996, where it reached #4 in the UK singles chart.



Regina recorded the song was for a new Amnesty International album called "Instant Karma", released 11th June 2007, to raise awareness of the crisis in Darfur. It must be very difficult to try and cover a song by such an iconic artist, but Regina has made the song her own, with her sweet voice that has a hint of an accent and the beautiful way she plays the piano. In my opinion it is even more moving than the original.

Love Is........?

I came across these sweets recently, just like "Love Hearts", but called "Whatevers". Maybe i am over-reacting but i was not happy when i realised that the sweets of my childhood had been changed in this way, ok so i still bought some "Whatevers", but only to illustrate my rant!!

We've all done the thing of giving someone you like a Love Heart,or at the very least getting your best friend to do it for you!!! Its a sacred , romantic childhood act, like giving someone your last Rolo. So, is this the cool new way to woo that hunky ( did i just say hunky?) boy you've got your eye on? I don't think so!!! I mean, how impressed is he going to be if you give him a sweet that says "Minger"?!?!

It makes my soppy old heart break to know that something so cute and innocent has been corrupted this way......LOVE Hearts are about love !! I'm all for modern slang and have been known to utter the odd "whateva" and "innit" in my time but that's my business. As it turns out the Love Heart i gave my first boyfriend was not so right after all, but hey, if i could, i would have given him one that said "Chav", but it was the 80's and who knew what a Chav was then?

Blimey what are they going to do next? Make Wagon Wheels and Creme Eggs smaller? Oh...hold on......!!!!

Little Miss Whoops

This is me, I am Little Miss Whoops. In one day last week i managed to hit myself in the eye with a hose pipe, tread on a hoover attachment and get hit on the head by a picture in a frame......oh and did i mention that i fell out of bed and crashed into a wall?! I am constantly telling my kid to be careful and to slow down, maybe its time i took my own advice. He has less accidents than i do!!!I think it is pure luck that i have never broken any bones...ooh maybe i shouldn't mention that, i don't want to tempt fate!!

Every so often i am going to post a "Whoops Update", a little bulletin to let you know about my latest act of pure stupidity!!

Wish me luck, i hope i make it back, for the next update, in one piece!!!

Beware...Flickr Is Addictive!!!

I can't decide which i love more...taking photos or checking how many views i have had on my Flickr account!! I have only been a member for a few months but it is ruling my life!!! It all starts out innocently enough, you take photos, you want to share them with people, you open a Flickr account....and that's when they have you!!! It creeps up on you, you check once a day, then twice a day and then on it goes until you are permanently refreshing your Flickr page to get up to date view counts!!!


Just when your account has reached a view plateau you add new photos and the whole obsessive nonsense starts all over again!! Photography is a fantastic way to get out of the house and spend some time in the great outdoors, if i can drag myself away from my laptop and my view counter that is!!! (Hmm, am i coming across as slightly doolally?)


I guess as long as i am taking pictures , which i hope will be for a very long time, i will be fuelling my Flickr addiction. Its a bit of a catch 22. I could stop uploading my pictures i suppose, but then where would i go for my daily ego massage?!?!


If you felt like it i guess you could take a look at my Flickr page. www.flickr.com/photos/juliemoo .

Not to add to the view count you understand, just so you can enjoy my photos and maybe be inspired to take some of your own......honest!!! I may stop by there myself, you know, just to look at the photos.........and maybe just a quick glance at the number of views I've had!!!

Father's Day

It's Fathers Day and i thought it would be a nice time for me to sing the praises of my Father. This is my Dad, as you can tell, he thinks a lot of me!!!

People tell me that i take after him, which is mostly complimentary!!! He is loyal, active, resourceful , funny...and if i am meant to take after him.....a damn good looking individual!!! My Dad would do anything for anyone, he is always willing to help, he is really friendly and one of those people who can talk to anyone....just ask the checkout ladies at our local Tesco!!!!

We have a lot in common, my Dad and i, we both have a love of music, my Dad's Jarvis Cocker dance is a thing of beauty!! I can't even begin to describe his 50 Cent impression!!! It's cool to talk to him about seeing The Doors and The Who at the Isle Of Wight Festival. He introduced my son to The Rolling Stones, they spent many a car journey singing along to Ruby Tuesday!!

My Dad is the king of catchphrases, I'm not sure what they all mean or where they come from, but i do find myself repeating them to my own child!! Being female i always thought i would turn into my mother but its seems i am slowly turning into my father.

My Dads Most Commonly Used Phrases :

1. "If i don't see you through the week, I'll see you through the window"

2. " We've arrived and to prove it we're here"

3." I had one of those but the wheel fell off" (Apparently this one came from his Grandad, but it still doesn't make any sense!!!)

4. "Chicken and rice.......nice!!"

My Dad has a bizarre love of £1 shops, you can imagine how thrilled he was with the introduction of 99p shops, and recently he told me he had spotted a 95p shop!! He must have been in heaven!! It's not that my dad isn't generous, he is, but he never seems to spend anything on himself, we always joke that when he spends more than £5 on a shirt he has really pushed the boat out!

There we have it, a small insight into the man that is my Dad, i am sure that there is much i have left out......but anyway.....Happy Father's Day Dad.

Guilty Pleasures

I'm going to let you in to a secret.......i like to think i have fairly decent taste in music, pretty varied, but i would never ever let anyone see my full collection. Hidden away amongst the modern classics and the golden oldies are my guilty pleasures........S Club 7, McFly and so many more shameful songs!!!! My name is Moo and i am a pop-aholic!!


Everyone has them, right? The songs that you listen to when nobody is around.....please tell me you do, surely i can't be the only one. I need cheesy pop, i need to dance like a loon, i need to listen to songs purely for the fact that they make me smile and, most importantly, i need to sing along at the top of my voice!!!!

Ok, here goes......my top 5 guilty pleasures:

1. McFly, Obviously

2. S Club 7, Don't Stop Movin'

3. Take That, Shine

4. Kelly Clarkson, Because Of You

5. Girls Aloud, Sound Of The Underground.



I can't tell whether to run away and hide in shame, or be proud of myself for admitting my pop problem. You know what?, i am proud, i will hold my head high and proclaim ...... " MY NAME IS MOO AND I AM A POP-AHOLIC!!!!"

Keren Ann

This week , whilst flicking through Q magazine, i came across an artist that was new to me, Keren Ann. I am always on the look out for interesting girl singers.....it seems to be my music of choice at the moment, am i getting old? Has my interest in loud, shouty music disappeared? Lets hope not!!!!




Anyway.......quick Keren Ann biog:

Keren Ann (born Keren Ann Zeidel in Caesarea, Israel on March 10, 1974) is a recording artist/singer/songwriter/producer based largely in Paris, New York and Israel. She plays guitar, piano and clarinet, engineers and writes choir and musical arrangements. She is descended from Russian Jews on her father's side and is Javanese and Dutch on her mother's. She lived in Israel and in the Netherlands until the age of 11, when her family moved to France. She retains her Dutch and Israeli citizenship.
In 2000 she began her solo career with La biographie de Luka Philipsen — produced by Lionel Gaillardin and Benjamin Biolay, who also co-produced its follow-up, La disparition (in return, she helped write his debut album, Rose Kennedy). The pair also wrote several songs for Henri Salvador's best-selling, prize-winning 2000 comeback album, Chambre avec vue, including the hit "Jardin d'Hiver".
Her third album Not Going Anywhere was released worldwide 2003, but her American breakthrough came with its follow-up, Nolita (2004). Recorded in Paris and New York — it is named for Nolita, her neighborhood in lower Manhattan — it is sung half in French and half in English.
Lady & Bird is a collaboration with Baroi Johannson, of the Icelandic group Bang Gang.
"The Isis Project" is a concept album that she wrote with Guy Chambers and was sung by Sophie Hunter.
Keren Ann's fifth solo album, the eponymous Keren Ann, has been released April 23rd, 2007 in Europe and May 8th, 2007 in the United States. ~ Wikipedia



"Lay Your Head Down", taken from the album "Keren Ann"


If you haven't heard of Keren Ann before i would seriously recommend you give her music a try, if you have, then i commend you on your good taste. Please visit the Keren Ann website.

New Moo!!

Dark Side Of The Moo is due a change, as i look at my blog i realise it is in desperate need of a revamp!!!! Dull does not begin to describe it!! It is true that i love my photos but it certainly needs an injection of life!

I have decided to make my blog more of an informal diary containing music i have come across, new photos i have taken and any general thoughts i may have, that could potentially be of interest...or not!!!

So please come back soon and have a look at the new, and hopefully, improved Dark Side Of The Moo

Thanks x

Can't See The Wood For The Trees

Heavy Metal

All Washed Up

She Sells Sea Shells

We Do Like To Be Beside The Seaside

Brighton Rocks

Bright And Beautiful

Welcome

Is it Wales or heaven on earth?