With all the hubbub about the Give Landmines The Boot auction, a tidbit about another auction got lost. Peter Gabriel recently auctioned off an autographed keyboard to benefit his charity Witness. The winning bid was $100,000. Bowie, along with 43 other artists, signed a white key on the keyboard. Witness is the charity that Gabriel co-founded to document human rights abuse in order to enact a change.
Posted in Circle Of Friends | No Comments »While your Webmistress has been on vacation and indisposed due to a head cold, respectively, her friends have kept their sharp eyes peeled for obscure Bowie references on the web. The first one was brought to my attention by Saudade. Composer and actor Ryuichi Sakamoto, known to some of you as Captain Yonoi from Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence, was interviewed by the Japan Times about his life in New York City and his environmental activism. He also managed to work in a reference to Bowie. So that you all don’t have to sign in to the Japan Times website, I’ve posted the pertinent text below. If you do wish to sign in, follow this link.
(Introduction)Along the way, Sakamoto has rubbed shoulders with many of the West’s rock and cultural glitterati, including David Bowie, with whom he shared a famous onscreen kiss in “Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence”–Who would you like to work with again?David Sylvian (lead singer with ’80s hit band Japan) is like a brother — and like all brothers, sometimes we are very close and sometimes very far apart. It depends on the time. David Bowie, I like his stuff. My favorite Bowie period is [1977's albums] “Low” and “Heroes.” We both live in the same city, but he is so protected; he doesn’t walk around the streets so much! I see Yoko Ono sometimes; we sometimes exchange aisatsu (greetings).
The second obscure Bowie reference was found by the lovely Flowerpot. It is a clip from the Adult Swim cartoon The Venture Brothers that features the lyrics from Space Oddity as dialogue between three characters. Enjoy!
Posted in Circle Of Friends | No Comments »A brief update on the bit we did in May about Hugh Jackman recounting to Bowie how he sold his tickets to the show that Bowie did in Australia in 1981. The Orlando CBS affiliate Local 6 has added some more to the story. They quoted Jackman as saying, “Bowie went, ‘Oh yeah, I see. You’re that kind of guy, are ya?’ I went, ‘No, no, man — I was only 13!’”
Posted in Circle Of Friends, News | No Comments »One of my guilty pleasures is reading trashy celebrity gossip; it makes me feel so normal and un-screwed-up in comparison. Since Defamer and Page Six only cover the West and East Coasts of the United States, I subscribe to the weekly dish from Popbitch.com. I like to be well-rounded in useless gossip. Anyway, imagine my surprise (puzzlement?) when I see this bit in my latest email:
>> Celebrity stupids <<
It's ASDA price for Iman
A fashion stylist was working for David
Bowie and Iman. The supermodel gave him a
list of designers she wanted called in -
Armani, Gucci, Jean Paul Gauliter and George
Adasda. “George Adasda?” the stylist replied?
She said yes, he’s a very hot English designer,
everyone was talking about him.
Suddenly the stylist twigged…
George at ASDA.
At first I laughed, but then I did a bit of research. ASDA is the British cousin of Walmart and George is a clothing line they carry. I just don’t believe that Iman is that clueless. Maybe I am living in that lovely state denial, but this is just too silly. Still, it’s good for a giggle.
Posted in Circle Of Friends | 1 Comment »Bowie announced that he will perform a couple of songs for the Keep A Child Alive organization’s Annual Black Ball on November 9, 2006. The show will be held at the Hammerstein Ball Room in Mew York Cityand hosted by Iman and Alicia Keys. Some of you might have seen the recent, striking ad campaign for the benefit, entitled I Am African. The campaign features Bowie, Iman, Alicia Keys, Gwyneth Paltrow, and several other famous faces.
Posted in Circle Of Friends, News | No Comments »In a recent interview with Fashion Rocks Magazine, Elton John stated that he thinks the raggedy, tattooed style of young rockers is “ugly and unpleasant.” He feels that stage style, meant to entertain the audience, is being disregarded by young rockers in favor of “that tattoos and the T-shirts and the rings through the noses.” Elton goes on to say that the threatrical styles worn by Bowie, Queen, and himself were something that he feels the British were particularly good at. The third Fashion Rocks concert will air on September 8, 2006. Information can be found at Buzzle, Starpulse, and SFGate.
Posted in Circle Of Friends, Contemporaries, Opinions | No Comments »I have really seen it all now. This evening I went to check my email one last time before going to bed and found the greatest thing I’ve seen all monthy. Saudade, in all her cyber-savvy, found the puppetry promo for Rock ‘N’ Roll Suicide that Bowie never made. You just have not lived until you have seen Puppet Ziggy.
Posted in Circle Of Friends | 3 Comments »Iman appeared on the Tyra Banks show on Tuesday, July 4 to share some makeup tips with Tyra and her audience. She also took the opportunity to promote her makeup line Iman, which is wonderful by the way, and to mention what David is up to. After Iman’s tips to the audience, Tyra asked her how David was doing and what he was up to. Iman replied that at the moment he was at home babysitting Lexi. She left him for the afternoon with lots of stickie-notes around the house. Tyra’s last question for Iman was what David’s greatest weakness is with Lexi. Iman said laughingly that he says yes to everything. That statement is still cracking me up two days later.
For those ladies who didn’t get the chance to see the show and want to know Iman’s tips, here they are. Her first tip was to start with foundation makeup, the most important type of makeup. She said that every woman should test out three shades close to their skin color down on their jawline. Whichever color that you don’t see is the proper color for you. Her second tip was that every woman should wear lipgloss. Third and last tip, every woman should wear bronzer on her cheeks. Her exact words were, “J.Lo didn’t become J.Lo without bronzer.”
Posted in Circle Of Friends, News | No Comments »Stuff.co.nz has a great article about TV On The Radio. As I’m sure you’ve heard, TV On The Radio is one of Bowie’s newest favorite bands, along with the Secret Machines and the Arctic Monkeys. Anyway, I had the privilege of seeing TVOTR support Bauhaus and Nine Inch Nails on the With Teeth Tour at the Hi Fi Buys Amphitheater in Atlanta on June 7. I thought they were fantastic. They did a thirty-minute set with songs from their album Return From Cookie Mountain. I highly suggest you check them out.
Posted in Circle Of Friends, Opinions | No Comments »Gail Ann has a new side project. She was asked to join ProJECT PERCoLAToR, an instrumental group formed by Jim Weider formerly of The Band. The band is currently touring in New England and has received favorable reviews from the Poughkeepsie Journal and the Worcester Telegram & Gazette. If you want to catch them on tour then follow the link to their website.
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