Summer songs

I know summer hasnt ended yet, but i wanna post-up a list of summer songs. Some i sang, some i heard, some i thought of during my trip. Some pictures are already up on my flickr- just hit the my pictures link on the side bar. Not that many pictures of me, because i was taking the pictures and travel-buddy only does landscapes ( i gave up after a while of pressing- in most of his shots i ended up looking like Divine - key difference, i didnt look divine, i looked like Divine; who, perchance, is actually a man).
Summer songs- some set the mood, some sing about stuff that happens, some there just cos it was on the radio>

Jenny dont be hasty - Paolo Nutini
Engine Driver - Decemberist
At the stars - Better than Ezra
Brothers on a hotel bed - Death cab for cutie
Wrong Impression - Natalie Imbruglia
I need some fine wine -The Cardigans
Lonely In Gorgeous - Tommy February
Ready? - Tommy Heavenly
Heavy Starry Chain - Tommy Heavenly (they're bothe the same girl, the two tommy-s, just different personas)
How to save a life - The Fray
Highfay lowfay - Spits (they're japanese and so old skool that nothing was available online for them, so search high and low if you can!)
Omiya sunset - Spits
Double jue - Christophe Willem (french and too funny, you MUST watch)
Parce qu'on sait jamais - Christophe Mae (frenchie too, happy morning song!)
Umbrella - Rihanna ( gasp! over-played on the radio, plus it poured on us in Paris!)
405 (acoustic version from forbidden love) - Death Cab for Cutie
Working class hero - Green Day (original by John Lennon)
Big girls dont cry - Fergie (not exactly a summer tune, but i was kinda obsessed with it before i left for france. The guy in the video has the 'bunga terung' tattoos on his shoulders-i love that design)
And how could i forget:
Alive with the glory of love - Say Anything (i cant believe i forgot this, i only kept on singing it everywhere 'i wont let them take you, wont let them take you, hell no, no, alive, alive with love.............')

As so far, that's what i can remember. Or hum. But anyhows, i'll add to them if i recall any hum-worthy tunes. Most song titles are links to videos- the joy of youtube!

frank turner-a decent cup of tea

hadnt been a day when everything had turned out right

she called me up and asked me to come over in the night

to make her cups of tea

and listen quietly as she starts

to list the latest list of bastards

who had trampled on her heart

i see her in the nightclubs

i meet her in the bars

at rooftop after-parties

or cramped into friend's cars

and we talk about the weather

and how she drowns her pain in drink

and i nod and never ever

dare to tell her what i think

she summers by my seas
she winters without me
she cries into her tea
that she's secretly lonely
oh me
what am i to do
it's obvious to me
she never seems to see

that it's not about the days

when everything has turned out right

yeah it's more about the moments

when she calls me in the night

to make her cups of tea

and wash the weary worries from her head

and then to draw the pain out slowly

as i put her into bed

and i slip this information

into all our conversations

but she never seems to listen

and she never seems to see

im sitting here trying to work
with sad cellos and shrill violins
playing havoc with my mind

A drawn out loneliness
desire
staring across the room

a promise of pain
emptiness

let me languish

Black Blood Brothers

From back to front, left to right: Cassandra Jill Warlock, Sage 'Alice' Eve, Kotaru, Jirou, Mimiko

A great anime!! Spent the whole sunday afternoon and evening watching it. Loved it, but then, i may be biased- i have a thing for vampire stuff.

But the anime is cute and the story quite interesting. Its about this one uber-vamp named Jirou who's like a hero in a great vampire war in 1997 hong kong. Fast forward 10 years later he's travelling with a cute 10 year old boy who he claims to be his brother (but they look nothing alike) to a secret city where all the vampires have ran off to after the war.

They get into a lot of trouble because this Jirou guy is just way to popular (in a people wanna kill him way) and a wierd breed of rogue vampires he killed off in hong kong are out to get him and his little bro. A nice lady, Mimiko, comes to his aide as a representative of the peace-keepers in this place he's travelling to. She crushes majorly on Jirou and even lets him drink her blood. It doesn't turn her into a vampire though, there needs to be an exchange of blood to transform.

The lot of them manage to get into this secret city but none of his old mates (from the war and way before that) wants to take him in. In fact, there are people who are trying to get rid of him. Everyone's got their own agenda, and somehow, Jirou is involved. He's not interested in anyone's business, but when people starts messing with his brother and Mimiko he gets pissed. Then an arch nemesis comes into town. She's out to destroy the city but Jirou thinks she's out to get his brother. So he proceeds to take her out.

In the end, he takes arch nemesis out, Mimiko foils the plan to destroy the city and the real reason why his little brother (Kotaru) doesnt look like him comes out. In the end Jirou, Kotaru and Mimiko move into a warehouse together (across the road from her apartment that got torched).

Jirou is typically serious, dark and broody but then comes across as naive, funny and innocent. He was dedicated to his sire and lover Alice, even after her death. He's hot, but what's with the outfit- the oversized witch's hat he wears make him look like he's halloweening everyday. But the silver-bladed katana he wields is super-cool. So are his powers. Kotaru is cute, blond-blue eyed with infectious happy-ness. You cant hate him, he's so adorable and perceptive for a 10 year old. Mimiko is ok, not my favourite of characters, but she's there for a reason. Its gotta be tough for a girl to fall in love with a vampire and knowing that his heart belongs to another (and in the end realize he's gonna die in plus minus 8 years.....).

And the whole thing about vampire bloodlines and reincarnation is nice. Adds an interesting twist. The thing is initially you think everyone is out to get Jirou and then at the end you realize he's just a popular guy who walked into a mess at the wrong time.

Too bad there's only 12 episodes- the story can really go somewhere. And if ever you're bored on a sunday afternoon, u-tube it. Its all there and if you can be bothered to find it, the song at the end is great.

Sweet Dreams are made of Cheese

A study by the British Cheese Board came up with these suggestions for cheese to eat befor going to bed:

Cheese & Dream Study Results

Different Cheeses for Different Dreams

Red Leicester proved to be brilliant for helping participants to get a good night’s sleep – one quarter slept well every single night of the study, and 83% of all nights under the influence of Red Leicester were good sleep experiences. As for dreams, Red Leicester is the cheese to choose if you are feeling nostalgic about your past – over 60% of participants eating this cheese revisited their schooldays, or long-lost childhood friends, or previous family homes and hometowns.
Stilton -eating participants enjoyed their sleep too – over two thirds had good sleep experiences during five out of the seven nights. However, if you want some vivid or crazy dreams, the King of British cheeses is the one for you – particularly if you are female. While 75% of men in this category experienced odd and vivid dreams, a massive 85% of females who ate Stilton had some of the most bizarre dreams of the whole study – although none were described as bad experiences. Highlights included talking soft toys, lifts that move sideways, a vegetarian crocodile upset because it could not eat children, dinner party guests being traded for camels, soldiers fighting with each other with kittens instead of guns and a party in a lunatic asylum.
British Brie caused all participants to sleep very well, but dreams varied between males and females; women tended to experience very nice dreams, such as Jamie Oliver cooking dinner in their kitchens, or relaxing on a sunny beach. By contrast, the men who ate Brie experienced rather odd, obscure dreams, such as driving against a battleship, or having a drunken conversation with a dog.
If you are thinking of changing career, or just suspect there could be a slightly more ideal job out there, snack on a lump of creamy Lancashire before bed and you might get some guidance; two thirds of all Lancashire participants had a dream about work – but only 30% of these involved the participants’ real-life occupations. One ambitious dreamer saw herself as a successful Prime Minister - one of her popular reforms involved teaching useful finance in schools, including how to choose the right mortgage.
Cheddar -eating participants tended to dream of celebrities, ranging from the participant’s family sitting in a pub with Jordan, to a Glaswegian old firm football match with Gazza and Ally McCoist. Ashley from Coronation Street also featured, as did the cast of Emmerdale - and one lucky girl helped to form a human pyramid under the supervision of Johnny Depp.
However, if you just want a good night’s sleep without too many dreams, then choose lovely crumbly Cheshire . In this category, over half of all nights were dreamless, while participants stated that 76% of all Cheshire-induced sleeps were either “quite good” or “very good”.

For the rest of the study

I had a big chunk of red leicester last night before bed- slept like a baby.....Was aiming for nightmares cos i remembered a mate telling me how eating cheese before going to bed gave you nightmares. M suggested a study/research, but i guess the british cheese board beat me to it.
Sweet Cheesy Dreams......

From Frank Turner's The Ballad of Me and My Friends

Everybody's got themselves a plan
Everybody thinks they'll be the man
Including the girls.
-
None of this is going anywhere,
Pretty soon we'll all be old
And no one left will really care
About our glory days, when we sold our souls

But if you're all about the destination
Then take a fucking flight
We're going nowhere slowly
But we're seeing all the sights
And we're definately going to hell
But we'll have all the best stories to tell

Curious?