"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it."

Having just snuggled up to watch Bette Davis' Oscar scoring classic Jezebel (1938)



I was disappointed not only at the film's black and white filming - the entire film hinges on Davis' protagonist, bitchy Southern belle Julie, appearing at a virginal dress coded ball in a slutty red dress - but also at the misquoting of the famous freedom of speech maxim:

"I disapprove of what you say,

but I will defend to the death your right to say it."

Julie's ex-beau Pres unsuredly credits it to Voltaire, a French enlightenment writer and philosopher made famous following his adoption of his pen-name 'Voltaire' and his publication of plays, poetry, novels, essays, historical and scientific works in the social reform and freedom of speech vein.



This was a man that had many great things to say on freedom of speech, however he did not say this, his biographer coined the phrase in her 1906 The Friends of Voltaire to illustrate his views more concisely.



S.G. Tallentyre was in fact British and female writer Evelyn Beatrice Hall, ironically posthumously made famous not for her writing prowess or the creation of this illuminating phrase, but because she is forgotten to have ever written this at all.

Buy this album.

Lydia - Illuminate




No words can possibly come close to describing how much I love this album, it's got encapsulations of ecstasies, depressions, turbulence and dreamy nostalgia all covered, gorgeously layered music.

But here's why you should buy it -

Singer Mindy White posted a blog detailing the making of the EP[2]:

I know you guys are eager to hear it…. & we are excited as well. But some are more stoked to find it online to download it. I know it’s hard to get it if we aren’t playing your city ..but here’s the story behind the “Hotel Sessions”. We had over $1200 dollars stolen from us on this tour. It’s been a struggle with trying to make gas to each show & all. We knew we had to do something to makeup for the money stolen. The only idea we had was to sell exclusive songs only available FROM US. They’re legitimately recorded in the hotels & in the van on drives. It does suck to know that the songs will probably leak, which will enable some people to get them without buying them at shows. So if you can come out and actually get them from us, that’d be amazing. There it is in a nut shell. Hope you guys enjoy em.

The People Vs. Larry Flynt

Sorry. Epic fail on the return to the bloggasphere with a failsafe post about a film, but hey, it's a bloody good film.

None of this arty farty the-cinematography-is-the-film or conceptual B.S., simply a bloody good story courtesy of the man America called "pervert" but who managed to accumulate a net worth of $400 million circa 2001.



The People Vs. Larry Flynt is a biography of a pervert doing his best to upturn the US system of PC behaviour and censorship, and suceeding, Woody Harrelson kicking ass as the eponymous protagonist, entrancingly vulgar alongside Courtney Love as his adored, drugged-up to the eyeballs and amusingly disheveled wife.



But my reason for watching this is the divine Edward Norton, oh as beautiful and as geekily intelligent as ever. This is a man who has a bachelors' in History from Yale, he has been engaged to Courtney Love and Salma Hayek, runs and wins marathons, and is a stoic environmentalist???! And famed for the awesome Fight Club, American History X and Primal Fear...





He also invigorates that vague urge in me to be a lawyer. To use mere words to convince the Supreme Court of the USA to let side with their favourite pervert is just awesome.



Oh, and Larry Flynt has a $80,000 gold-plated wheelchair. Badass.

Broccoli

Trying to draw again...

A friend in need

Been helping perpetually procrastinating Tom Rob with his art history essay, he'd doing Storm Thorgerson, he of the Dark Side of the Moon spectrum and the myriad of crawling girls on Giant's Causeway for Led Zep's Houses of The Holy, gorgeous dad rock juice.



He also did the cover for the incredible Mars Volta's De-Loused in the Comatorium, Absolution by Muse, and some funky shit for the legendary freakshow P.Gabriel, and some other cool beanz.





I don't really like his stuff, but like Tom Rob have an appreciation for his obvious mad skillz in his creations, they have this evocative weirdness that is blatantly idiosyncractic, you can spot one of his a mile off.



He tends to do multiples, and melds obscure juxtapositions with even more incongruous situations... all very surrealist, and yet using photography, questioning reality in general, and evoking MC Esther and Dali, noice one.

Also, I love trees.

I ♥ My Dad. More than anyone.

Favorite photos of our day at the Duck Pond.