Free Comic Book Day

Saturday 1st May is Free Comic Book Day, yay! Comic stores all around the world hand out free comics to anyone who wants one. Make sure you get down to your local comic book shop, those of you in London have no excuse not to as Forbidden Planet is one of the biggest and best stores in the world and is just 5 minutes walk from Tottenham Court Road station.

It's a great way to get into comics and also a great way to encourage younger kids to start to enjoy reading in general. Comics are much more mainstream now since films like Watchmen and Iron Man have come out but a lot of people still wouldn't dream of setting foot inside their local store. More fool them.

I got into comics when I was about 13 or 14 after seeing The Crow. It was an adaptation of the James O'Barr graphic novel of the same name and in my opinion is still one of the best comics out there. When Gerard Way unveiled The Umbrella Academy to the world it was through Free Comic Day and I thought it was such a cool concept and nice way to give something back to the comic community.

Kevin Smith (director and comic geek extraordinaire) and the gorgeous Milo Ventimiglia have made these little videos for your viewing pleasure about the day.

So go get involved, pick up one of everything and take a chance. You never know, you might like it and everyone loves a freebie.

I'm That Girl

I always wanted to be Molly Ringwald when I was young but I was definitely Ally Sheedy all the way. Now I like to think I can mix and match...no I'm still Ally.

This City....

I don't feel this way, this city is my soul, but I just loved this.

Remember Me

I was lucky enough to bag a ticket to the UK premiere of Robert Pattinson's new film Remember Me on Wednesday and I have to say it's really great. After the initial squeals of delight at finding out I was actually going, then the panic of deciding what the hell to wear (official dress code was New York chic but I didn't know that until 30 minutes before going in) and finally the distress at having to get out of work an hour and a half early (this was actually fine as who would turn down my pleas?) I finally turned up at Leicester Square to the sound of thousands of screaming R-Pattz fans. I did share some red carpet time with him, although we were moved along so quickly I couldn't even take a photo. Sad times.

The film itself was really amazing and well worth the watch. Robert Pattinson looked gorgeous, acted well and the story actually had something to say, unlike most romantic films these days. It wasn't as dark as I was expecting (not that I'd actually read anything about it to be fair) but the twist at the end sent cold shivers down my spine and made me cry. I love a film that makes me cry so it was an all round success.

I took some video of Robert and Emilie de Ravin introducing the film, the sound and picture are poor but it still managed to be #34 most favourited video in entertainment on Youtube yesterday :) and here are a few photos.

Blackhole

Blackhole are my favourite band so far in 2010. We caught them supporting Gallows at Watford Colosseum and I was hooked immediately. Richard Carter certainly has his brother Frank's knack for frontmanship (is that a word? It is now) but the similarities between the bands pretty much stop there, other than they both play hardcore.

(Frank and Richard at Watford Colosseum)

When they announced they'd be supporting Underoath at KOKO I snapped up what must have been 2 of the last tickets as apparently the gig had been sold out for a while. It was an early start and due to the queue backing up onto our street (we live 1 minute from KOKO) we missed the first half of the first song but we got to the front and Blackhole smashed it! The crowd was terrible and full of what looked like 15 year olds who just didn't give a shit. Rich came into the crowd and tried to whip them up a bit...it worked for about 2 minutes but fair play to him for trying. That guy has no end of passion for his music and was going to prove it!

After their set me and Adam stocked up on merch. Please go buy some if you get the chance, they have the worlds best merch I swear (and of course buy their amazing album Dead Hearts). Then I acted all fangirl-like and asked Rich if I could get a photo with him. He was a sweetie and not only did I get a photo but he chatted with me and Adam for a bit. What a nice guy.

We are the Ocean were shit (I heard them described by more than one person as a poor man's Alexis on Fire) so we grabbed a drink and watched all the kids go mad for them then we left before Underoath even came on. I've never heard them and to honest, and this is probably bad of me to say, I really can't be arsed to even give them a try. Plus Christian rock really isn't my thing. But go check out Blackhole now!

My Gallows Clips

I just uploaded all of my Gallows clips from Kentish Town Forum and Watford Colosseum to Youtube...in one video! The sound is ropey in places but thought I'd share it anyway.

Vegas Baby

We watched a great documentary last night, The Lure of Las Vegas. Watch it on BBC iPlayer while you can. I wish I could go back to 1950's Vegas to relive that glamour and excess. Most of the classic signs are no longer in operation and reside in a kind of neon graveyard including this one from the Stardust Hotel and Casino, my personal favourite.

It reminded me of the Katy Perry song Waking up in Vegas. I seriously want every outfit she wears in this video.

Katy Perry - Waking up in Vegas from James Walsh on Vimeo.

And I'm now desperate to watch Casino again. I want to be Ginger.

Sad Day for MCR Fans

There have been a few rumours flying around but it's been confirmed. Bob Bryar has left My Chemical Romance. Bob was always the quiet one and from what I've seen he was a sweetheart. I'm not going to lie, I shed a tear when I found out. Here's the official announcement posted by Frank on mychemicalromance.com:

Hello Friends,

Recently it seems as though every time we write to you guys we have bad news, and we apologize for that, but we've learned in life you can't have the sweet without the sour. As a band we have been very fortunate over the years that our sweet times have greatly outweighed the sour ones, and a great deal of that is owed to you, the fans. Which is why we wanted this news to come from us and not some bullshit gossip site.

As of 4 weeks ago, My Chemical Romance and Bob Bryar parted ways. This was a painful decision for all of us to make and was not taken lightly. We wish him the best of luck in his future endeavors and expect you all to do the same.

We also wanted to give you all a quick heads up on how the record is progressing. We have been writing some very powerful new songs so this week the four of us entered the studio once again, and what has been ending up on tape each night is some of the most exciting and honest work we have ever created.

We hope this letter finds you well, we miss you...

talk to you soon,

xo MCR

American Pie

I forgot how much I love this cover and this video!

"Now do you believe in rock 'n roll and can music save your mortal soul?"

Oh Didn't You hear?

I parted with £46 the other day so I could own one of Steph Carter's old Fred Perry shirts. Pathetic I know. It does fit me though!