I’ve been downloading like crazy, recently! For whatever reason, my iTunes switched to the US Music Store, as opposed to the UK store my account is registered with. I was flicking through the charts, and came across Colbie Caillat’s song ‘Bubbly‘, which I previewed, liked the sound of, and so promptly downloaded the album.

Oh, my goodness, I love her. LOVE her. She’s like Sandi Thom and Joss Stone mixed together, only with an American accent. I also found out that both Vanessa Carlton and The Puppini Sisters have releasted new albums. How on earth could I have let myself get so far behind?!

Vanessa Carlton’s new one, Heroes and Thieves, sounds great from what I’ve listened to so far. I adore Nolita Fairytale, anyway. I need to listen to it more to get a better idea, but usually even if I don’t like her stuff immediately, it grows on me. I haven’t listened to The Puppini Sisters‘ Rise and Fall of Ruby Woo much yet, either, but from what I have it’s just as good as their debut album. I’m especially loving the harmonic vocal version of Crazy in Love!

Oh, how I love music. It feeds my soul. As Lane from the Gilmore Girls once said: hey! I’m a self-proclaimed audiophile. That comes with responsibilities!

I saw The Nanny Diaries the other evening… absolutely loved it. I read the book a few years ago, and fell in love with that (have promptly started re-reading it in the last few days, which meant not getting to sleep until 3:15 last night - hmm!). They changed a fair amount of the plot for the movie, but that’s okay, it still worked.

In Africa they have the saying “it takes a village to raise a child”; but for the tribe of the upper-eastside of Manhattan, it takes just one person. The nanny.

I loved it mostly because I can relate. Working 3 times as many hours for the same amount of pay. Falling in love with the children and knowing, whenever you hear them say ‘I love you’ that you’ll never get that particular piece of your heart back. :heart: Been there. And it’s hard, but it’s amazing, too.

I can’t believe I haven’t written about Order of the Phoenix yet! I’ve got loads to say, so bullet points, I think.

• Helena Bonham-Carter as Bellatrix Lestrange? AMAZING. She absolutely made the movie, and I can’t wait for the next few when she’ll have a bigger part.

• Imelda Staunton was amazing too. Perfect - though I had imagined her hem, hem a little differently. But that’s okay.

• My goodness, the acting of the trio has improved! And the Ron/Hermione stuff will make a lot of people happy.

• They (who? the proverbial ‘they’, heh) were right, it is much darker. It seemed like most scenes were shot either in the common room at night, in the room of requirement (no windows). Just generally dark. Very atmospheric.

• LUNA! I loved Luna. Though it slightly annoys me that Irish people are made seem dizzy/arrogant (eg. Luna, Seamus) compared to the Brits.

Basically, it was amazing and I loved it.

It’s the battle of the R&B superstars… in my head! :P

I recently bought both Rihanna’s Good Girl Gone Bad and the deluxe edition of Beyoncé’s B’Day, and I seriously can’t decide which I prefer. I feel like I should say Beyoncé: I’ve been a Destiny’s Child fan since before they got big - since No, No, No (before the original line-up change, let alone Michelle and Farah), and I don’t think anything could compare to her rendition of Listen; but I have fallen in love with a few of Rihanna’s songs, most notably the gorgeously mellow duet with Ne-Yo, Hate That I Luv U.

Both albums have songs that question love, beautifully raw and unashamed. Rihanna’s Cry is about being indifferent to what you have, asserting independence and strength, but falling apart when they walk away. Beyoncé’s Flaws and All is an incredibly real song about recognizing your own imperfections and having absolutely no idea why somebody loves you, and loving them back simply for that.

They both have their huge dance classics, too: Umbrella is the obvious choice from Good Girl Gone Bad (with Shut Up And Drive set to do just as well); and Green Light and Freakum Dress from B’Day.

I guess the point I’m trying to make is that both albums have an admirably varied range of music - and each has had songs on repeat so much in my car that my CD player gets to its limit of track repeats and moves on! I don’t think I could pick between them - get them both, they’re worth it!

…does whatever a spiderpig does!

I finally went to see Simpsons Movie, and I have to say, it was absolutely hilarious, and much less like a dragged-out episode than you’d think. If you go, make sure you stay right through the credits!

It had everything - the Homer/Marge relationship issues, fantastic one-liners from all the usual suspects, playful (and not-so-playful) jabs and society’s idosyncrasies (and the way the American government is run - but still loving “President Schwarzenegger”!), ridiculous animals as pets, Bart questioning his family, and Lisa crushing. On an Irish boy (*squee*)!

Colin: I’m Colin.
Lisa Simpson: I haven’t seen you at school
Colin: Just moved here from Ireland. My dad’s a musician.
Lisa Simpson: Is he…?
Colin: He’s not Bono.
Lisa Simpson: I just thought because you’re Irish and you care about…
Colin: He’s NOT Bono.

I’d been dying to see it, and it was definitely worth it.