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The Bangles were good. Not the greatest show in rock and roll history, but as Snookums put it, “I never thought I’d see the Bangles perform live, so it was a bit of a novelty.” They did all of their songs that people remember, as well as some new ones from their forthcoming album. And I have to say, they’re all looking damn foxy now. They look so much better than they did in the 80’s. Oh, and who knew that Susanna Hoffs was, like, three feet tall? Seriously, that girl is tiny. Snookums and I were both in agreement that she’s no longer the hottest Bangle though. Vicki – the second one from the left – takes that honor big time (even if she does hold her guitar like a handbag). I also noticed that they made quite an effort to spread the singing duties around. One girl would sing lead, and then on the next song another one would, and around and around. I had to wonder if that was built into their reunion contract. It’s like, the other three are making damn sure that Hoffs isn’t the “star” anymore. Which is a shame, because her songs were the biggest hits. The others are all very talented, but she’s the only one with a really distinctive voice. They closed with an acoustic version of “Walk Like an Egyptian” that segued into “Mrs. Robinson” in the middle. Then for their first encore they played “Eternal Flame”, during which everybody in the audience just slow-danced with their sweeties. (I have to give a huge thank you to the Snook for indulging me in my girlyness.) I wasn’t that impressed with their other encore songs, which I didn’t recognize. But overall it was a good time, and they really seemed to be enjoying themselves.

Slide your feet up the street, bend your back, shift your arm then you pull it back. Life is hard you know (oh whey oh) so strike a pose on a Cadillac…”

Guess who I’m off to see tonight? That’s right, the Bangles! Reunited for the first UK tour in ten years. It’s all about the 80’s nostalgia. (As a sidenote, you would not believe how difficult it is to find accurate lyrics for that song. Everybody sings it differently.)

A random survey of 1000 adults in Britain found that more than half failed a test that is given to 11-year-olds in this country. I tried it and got 8 out of 10 (enough for “top marks”). How well do you do?

The Onion A.V. Club is running a terrific interview with Joss Whedon, the creator of “Buffy.” He’s apparently worked on a lot of stuff I didn’t even know about. (“Speed”??)

Apparently it would take about ten cases of Mountain Dew to kill me. I think this calculator is wrong though. As proof, I offer the fact that Sallie Scherer is still walking and talking in this world. This tiny girl used to sit in our study lounge at college and just knock back Dew like nobody’s business. If this calculator were accurate, she would’ve keeled over dead during Exam Week 1998.

Nicci has yet another great new design and a really sweet story about how she and her husband got together. Happy anniversary, girl!

The Leaky Cauldron has revealed some amazing Harry Potter photos from the upcoming Vanity Fair issue. They look great!

Ohmygosh… Finally, a doggie I could live with! How cute is that?

Only 10 minutes til the Big Ring. I wonder if I’ll be able to hear it from here?

I first read about the furor over Fay Weldon’s new book “The Bulgari Connection” yesterday. I’ve only read a little of her stuff (back on the Oz trip; Mama Snookums is a big fan), but I liked what I read. I think it’s ridiculous that people are making such a big deal out of it. If you haven’t heard, she was contacted by the Bulgari jewelry company and asked to write a limited edition novel that they were going to give to some of their special clients. She had total artistic control, but she had to mention the name “Bulgari”, like, a dozen times. Fine. She did it. It turned out to be really good, though, so now her publishers have decided to release it to the world. And all these hoity-toity authors are up in arms over her perceived selling out. Whatever. Artists have had patrons since the beginning of civilization. Playwrights have had works commissioned. Artists have been paid to paint flattering portraits of rich men’s wives. Musicians have licensed their songs to sell cars and tennis shoes. I don’t see the problem here. Snookums and I watched the Channel 4 News anchorman interview Weldon last night, and it was just ridiculous the way he kept trying to get her to admit that she was “ashamed” of putting commerce before her “art.” She held up pretty well, though. I just wish the self-appointed moral critics of the world would mind their own business and leave the rest of us alone.