Let's RAAAWWWKKK!! The Vaults

Went to see an up-and-coming band called The Vaults the other day. I've heard them compared to a cross between the Strokes and the Darkness, with some meaty 70's riffs thrown in.

What a great band!! They started a couple of years ago, gigged relentlessly, got themselves a couple of sessions on John Peel, and since then have been signed, and have toured with ZZTop, getting lots of interest.

I've checked out other live reviews on the web, here, here, and here, and they're all good. They've just released a new EP, called No Sleep No Need, and you can find a review on the Between Planets site. One of the tracks on it is called Lady Hell, a monster riff with a great vocal, and it should hopefully see them achieve their first chart success. You can catch the video on Video-C's site and also link from there to purchase it.

GM Foods - where are we at?

There a piece of news today from the BBC discussing the debate about Genetically Modified foods.
The Environmental Audit Committee have released a report which will recommend major new field tests should be conducted before any GM crops are grown in the UK. This comes just days before the House of Commons was set to approve a type of GM maize for planting. This recomendation could delay GM planting for years to come, so is slightly embarassing for the government.

It will also fuel arguments by the anti-GM campaigners (including Greenpeace)that we don't really know all of the negative effects of GM crops upon both the environment and human health. Trials in October 2003 produced worrying results, because less weeds grew around GM crops, and there was therefore more activity from birds and bees. In addition, GM crops required the use of a virulently powerful pesticide called atrazine (which was recently banned by the EU), and the US has shown marked increases in the uses of pesticide in its rush to embrace GM foods.

To see the arguments both sides of the coin, go to the Official Public GM debate site. If you're unsure what GM is, or how food is genetically modified, you can understand more about the Science of GM here.

Great lies of our time No. 146

It transpires (from Ananova News) that Benicio del Toro, Oscar-winning star of the drug movie Traffic, wasn't totally truthful to his parents. He told them that instead of acting in Hollywood (of which his family wouldn't approve), he was instead studying Law at college.

Was he busted big time, when he only went and won the Oscar.

"When I won the Oscar there was no point in making up stories anymore," said del Toro. "At that point my family knew I was acting every now and then, but they thought it was just one of several jobs I was doing to finance my studies.

"They kept asking me when I would finally get my degree. But I think I won them over with the Oscar and now they're I hope just a little proud of me."

Chocolate Labradors

I saw this image of a chocolate Labrador, and realised that they really are quite cute. So I went to a couple of web sites, notably ChocolateLabs.com and found out all sorts of interesting things.

Like, that Labrador Retrievers descended from the St. John's variety of water dog, brought from Newfoundland to England in the 1820's, presumably by the Earl of Malmesbury, who devoted his entire kennel to developing and stabilizing this earlier form of Labradors. The Kennel Club in England officially recognized the Labrador Retriever in 1903, and the breed programs worked mostly to develop the Labrador's abilities in the field as an athletic retriever.

However, there was one sinister bit of information. This blog posting reports that her Chocolate Lab, called Schoko, was regularly reported as "grunting in her sleep ... GOD AWFUL gas, and drooling when taunted with food". How bizarre!