Saturday 23 June 2007

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!!!

Monday 18 June 2007

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!!!

Sunday 17 June 2007

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.

Wednesday 6 June 2007

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