I must admit I gleaned a certain satisfaction when I read the report of current Britney Spears boy toy,  paparazzo Adnan Ghalib, getting into a shoving match with the pestering paparazzi over the weekend while he and Spears were trying to get in a little peaceful shopping at a mall in Studio City. 

Reportedly Ghalib got into an angry shoving match and tempers flared as he tried to push back the menacing gang of shutterbugs that routinely shadow Spears' every move.  And who can blame him? Check out the video footage (scroll down below) of when the two went to a Rite Aid and the mob-like paparazzi descended upon them.  It would be enough to drive anyone to some to some form of retaliation. 
 
Of course the obvious irony here is that for many years, until very very recently, Ghalib himself was one of that very same gang of papparassholes (as Brad Pitt and certain other frustrated celebs have dubbed them) who make a living off of hounding Britney and other similarly high-profile celebrities.

But now that Ghalib has crossed that line from paparazzo to celebrity (or rather from stalker to the stalked) he is finally getting a taste of his own medicine.  Or maybe not.  Maybe he is really enjoying the sudden celebrity status although from watching videos like the one below of him and Brit being hounded by paparazzi I really can't see why.

Of course why Britney couldn't just hire a temp for a couple of hours to run down to Rite Aid and pick up her Alka Seltzer for her is a valid question.  It often seems that she and Paris Hilton and the many other celebrities that are constantly popping up in the tabloids put themselves in places and situations that are prone to paparazzi being present.   Meanwhile others - Matt Damon comes to mind - appear to make an effort to stay out of the paparazzi's radar since they live secluded lives away from LA, NY, Vegas and other such high-profile places. 

Well, well – Look who’s come sauntering in like everything’s normal. If it isn’t little ol’ me. I think I can just waltz back in here after having been missing for days and expect you to just read my blog as though nothing’s happened? Is that it?

Well, I have another thing coming. You’re not some screensaver I can leave on, perpetually cycling a kaleidoscope of flying toasters while I go out and have a life! This is unacceptable! I mean, am I a blogger or not?

STOP!

You want the truth? Is that it? YOU CAN’T HANDLE THE TRUTH.

Actually, you can, but I love that line. YOU CAN’T HANDLE THE TRUTH. It’s so over-the-top. I’m totally going to say it to my future kids whenever possible.

So yesterday started off really good. My old friend from Long Beach Poly High School dropped by Amoeba. I had not seen Melissa in like 14 years. But of course we recognized each other and it seemed like it had only been a couple months. I didn't really realize that I miss her until we hung out a little.  The rest of the day I had little memories of all the important events I experienced with her. We had to talk about Cameron Diaz a bit. I still can't believe she has not talked about her formative years in high school drama. So I dedicate this blog to my friend Melissa. It's crazy its been so long.

Last night we had the pleasure of seeing Bjork live. For some reason I have never made it out to see her before. I kind of find it hard to believe myself. But it just has never worked out. Or maybe I've been to so many shows at this point that I am starting to forget who I have  seen.  Although it is kind of a hassle to get all the way out to Shoreline, it is kind of a fun adventure.  It's like a little vacation. Parking is just a bit of a nightmare. Even though they have hundreds of employees directing traffic, it still manages to take way longer than it should. There is also nothing really to do in Mountain View other than work at Google or go to a show at Shoreline.  But we did manage to find In-N-Out. So did everyone else it seemed. So we ate our meatless hamburger with hundreds of other Bjork fans. I don't ever eat fast food, but In-N-Out is my one exception. Even though the employees seem to be all part of some weird religious cult, they do make good food. And it is nice that nothing is frozen. They also don't look at you weird when you order an animal style grilled cheese!

So if you thought the Patrick Wolf album cover from last week was ridiculous, you are gonna love the cover of the new Bjork album "Volta." It has already grown on me and I have now decided that I love it. However, I can't think of anyone else who could pull off an album cover like this. There is nobody quite like Bjork. Love her or hate her, she is one unique lady. "Volta" is her sixth full length album. She launched her very successful solo career after leaving her Icelandic group "The Sugarcubes." Those Sugarcubes albums sure are great fun. I have some great memories attached to those old albums. But I have to say, the dude singer in the band always kind of annoyed me, and I was not sad when she started her solo career.

I was not a huge fan of Bjork's last album "Medulla." But she has for sure won me back with this new one. I had been a big fan for years but had maybe overdosed a bit on Bjork. But I am ready again. She won me over with her performance on Saturday Night Live a couple of weeks ago. And Scarlet Johansen was actually funny! I have now also had a chance to listen to the album. Its actually really good. While I am not in love with the single "Earth Intruders" as much as maybe she would like me to be. The album as a whole is great. The album not only features a ten piece Icelandic female brass section, but also Antony (Antony & the Johnsons), Timbaland, Chris Corsano, and Brian Chippendale (Lightning Bolt). Did you hear that what I said. Antony is on the album! This is reason enough to pick it up. Bjork and Antony are a really good match. It just makes sense that they would work together. Seriously, fans of Bjork will not be disappointed. And even old fans who have not necessarily loved her the last couple years, might find themselves liking Bjork again. Bjork has the amazing ability to experiment with all these different instruments and sound manipulations and somehow make it accessible. She makes brilliant pop albums but there is always something weird there. Something to make it more interesting than your normal pop album.  I am going to see her live in a couple weeks. I can't wait to hear the album live and see those amazing sets and costumes and all those 50 or so people on stage. It's gonna be awesome!