Pop Buzz UK

Debating: Whether Live Earth will make any real difference

Reading: ‘One Good Turn’ by Kate Atkinson

Playing: Harry Potter & The Order Of The Phoenix

Viewing: Big Brother UK’s Fake Week

Watching: Harry Potter & The Order Of The Phoenix

Listening: Art Brut album ‘It’s A Bit Complicated’

Buying: ‘One Chance’ by Britain’s Got Talent’s Paul Potts

Searching: David Beckham after his move to LA Galaxy

Anticipating: Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows

Learning: A sense of humour diminishes with age

Live Earth, Kate Atkinson, Harry Potter, Order Of The Phoenix, Art Brut, Big Brother, Paul Potts, Britains Got Talent, David Beckham, LA Galaxy, The Deathly Hallows

Debating: The Smoking Ban which came in to effect July 1st

Reading: ‘Whitethorn Woods’ by Maeve Binchy

Playing: Harry Potter and The Order of The Phoenix

Viewing: The Live Earth concert from Wembley Stadium

Watching: ‘Shrek the Third’ starring that green ogre thingy

Listening: Jack Penate with ‘Torn on the Platform’

Buying: The Traveling Wilburys Collection album

Searching: ‘Cloverfield’, a new film by Lost’s JJ Abrams

Anticipating: The Enemy’s debut album ‘We’ll live & die in these towns’

Learning: Tony Blair proposed to Cherie while she was cleaning a loo.

Smoking, Smoking Ban, England, UK, Maeve Binchy, Harry Potter, The Order of the Phoenix, Live Earth, Wembley Stadium, Shrek the Third, Jack Penate, Torn on the Platform, The Traveling Wilburys, Cloverfield, Lost, JJ Abrams, The Enemy, Tony Blair, Cherie Blair

Debating: The foiled terrorist attacks in London and Glasgow.

Reading: ‘Marshmallows For Breakfast’ by Dorothy Koomson

Playing: ‘Forza Motorsport 2′ on the XBox 360

Viewing: The ‘Concert for Diana’ on BBC1 on Sunday

Watching: ‘Captivity’ starring Elisha Cuthbert

Listening: The Editors 2nd album ‘An End Has A Start’

Buying: ‘Scrubs’ Series 5 on DVD

Searching: ‘Grand Theft Auto IV’ Trailers

Anticipating: The last week of Wimbledon tennis championship

Learning: Peanuts can be made into diamonds.

London, UK, Terrorist, Terror Alert, Marshmallows for breakfast, Dorothy Koomson, Forza Motorsport 2, XBox 360, Concert for Diana, Captivity, Elisha Cuthbert, The Editors, An End Has A Start, Scrubs Series 5, DVD, Grand Theft Auto IV, Trailer, Wimbledon, Tennis, Peanuts, Diamonds

Debating: Whether Bernard Manning was brilliant or vile

Reading: ‘A Place Called Here’ by Cecilia Ahern

Playing: ‘Colin McRae: Dirt’ on XBox 360

Viewing: Glastonbury Festival coverage on BBC3

Watching: Fantastic Four: Rise Of The Silver Surfer

Listening: Maximo Park, Arctic Monkeys & Bloc Party at Glastonbury

Buying: The Editors 2nd album ‘An End Has A Start’

Searching: Transformers Trailers ahead of it’s cinema release

Anticipating: Harry Potter! The release date is approaching fast

Learning: 1,200 people are employed at Glastonbury to pick up rubbish

Bernard Manning, Cecilia Ahern, A Place Called Here, Colin McRae Dirt, XBox 360, Glastonbury, Festival, Fantastic Four, Rise Of The Silver Surfer, Maximo Park, Bloc Party, Arctic Monkeys, The Editors, An End Has A Start, Transformers, Harry Potter

Rumours are growing of a universal price drop for the XBox 360 by Christmas, with some time in September looking increasingly likely. Peter Moore, the head of Microsoft Interactive Entertainment Business division, is reported to have stated that $199 (£100) is a console’s “sweet spot”, and that is what the company hope to achieve sooner rather than later.
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The BBC Money Programme conducted a study in to one of the new generation of ways to make money online. After the boom and bust of the dotcom era fading in to the past, there’s now many more ways than just setting up a business, and selling stuff online. The programme was a mix of real talking heads, and reporter Max Flint’s spiky haired avatar showing us around the new and exciting virtual realms.

The first instances they looked at were individuals making money from Second Life, the place where people with no real lives go to hang out. There was an American guy on there who now lives in Birmingham, England who described how he was making a very good living by offering to make anything you wanted on Second Life. He’d set himself up as an entrepreneur (at least a virtual one) and people came to him to construct something they wanted but didn’t have. Apparently on Second Life, you can make anything you desire, as long as you have the technical knowledge and creative spark. This guy would make you anything from a table, to a swimming pool, right up to a whole city, and charge you real money for the privilege. The reason he moved to the UK? He met and fell in love with someone on Second Life of course, although neither of them resembled their avatars in the slightest.
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Debating: The start of Big Brother 8!

Reading: ‘Ultimate Weapon’ by Chris Ryan

Playing: ‘Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World’s End’

Viewing: The first night of Big Brother 8, with 11 females

Watching: Pirates Of The Caribbean 3

Listening: Gym Class Heroes ‘Cupid’s Chokehold’

Buying: Pigeon Detectives album ‘Wait For Me’

Searching: Loch Ness Monster, both online and offline

Anticipating: ‘Oceans Thirteen’ Released 08/06/07

Learning: The secret to happiness is accepting misery

Big Brother, Big Brother UK, Big Brother 8, BB8, Chris Ryan Ultimate Weapon, Chris Ryan, Ultimate Weapon, Pirates Of The Caribbean, At World’s End, Gym Class Heroes Cupids Chokehold, Gym Class Heroes, Pigeon Detectives, Loch Ness Monster, Nessie, Oceans Thirteen, George Clooney, The Secret To Happiness

Debating: Gordon Brown becoming the new Prime Minister

Reading: ‘Wicked!’ by Jilly Cooper

Playing: ‘Cooking Mama’ on the Wii

Viewing: The finale of Lost Season 3

Watching: ‘28 Weeks Later’ starring Robert Carlyle

Listening: Rihanna Ft. Jay-Z with ‘Umbrella’

Buying: The album ‘Awake’ by Josh Groban

Searching: Dominic Monaghan of Lost and LOTR fame

Anticipating: Big Brother UK 8 starting Wednesday

Learning: A swarm of bees can ground a Boeing 737

Gordon Brown, Tony Blair, Prime Minister, UK, British, Wicked!, Jilly Cooper, Cooking Mama, Nintendo Wii, Lost, Lost Season 3, 28 Weeks Later, Robert Carlyle, Rihanna, Jay Z, Umbrella, YouTube, Josh Groban, Awake, Dominic Monaghan, Lost, Lord Of The Rings, Big Brother 8, Boeing 737, Bees

Debating: The disappearance of British toddler Madeleine McCann

Reading: ‘The Lollipop Shoes’ by Joanne Harris

Playing: ‘Spider-man 3′ on multi-formats

Viewing: The last day of the English soccer season

Watching: Still ‘Spider-man 3′ starring Kirsten Dunst

Listening: Linkin Park with new single ‘What I’ve Done’

Buying: Harry Potter pre-orders, now over 1,000,000

Searching: Eurovision entrants… for a laugh

Anticipating: Tony Blair finally retiring… about time

Learning: Squirrels can peel bananas

Madeleine McCann, UK, British, Spider-man 3, The Lollipop Shoes, Joanne Harris, Xbox 360, English, Soccer, Premiership, Kirsten Dunst, Linkin Park, Linkin Park What I’ve Done, Harry Potter, YouTube, Eurovision, Tony Blair

Debating: The state of British politics

Reading: ‘The Tenth Circle’ by Jodi Picoult

Playing: Still ‘God Of War II’ on the Ps2

Viewing: The new series of ‘Parkinson’ with guest David Tennant

Watching: ‘Spider-Man 3′ starring Tobey Maguire

Listening: The Manics with ‘Your love alone is not enough’

Buying: ‘Send away the tigers’ by Manic Street Preachers

Searching: Pirate copies of ‘Spider-Man 3′

Anticipating: DVD release of ‘Hot Fuzz’ on June 11th

Learning: Maggots can treat MRSA

UK, British, Election 2007, Politics, The Tenth Circle, Jodi Picoult, God Of War 2, Ps2, Parkinson, Michael Parkinson, ITV, David Tennant, Dr Who, Spiderman 3, Tobey Maguire, Manic Street Preachers, Your Love Alone Is Not Enough, Send Away The Tigers, Pirate Copies, Torrents, DVD, Hot Fuzz, Manchester, Maggots, MRSA

Debating: Whether pop culture influences criminals

Reading: ‘The Secret’ by Rhonda Byrne

Playing: ‘God Of War 2′ on the Ps2

Viewing: ‘This is David Gest’ on ITV

Watching: ‘Fracture’ starring Anthony Hopkins

Listening: Beyonce & Shakira - ‘Beautiful Liar’

Buying: Tickets for Princess Diana concert

Searching: For stories about messaging phenomenon ‘Twitter’

Anticipating: A fine May day bank holiday weekend

Learning: Kryptonite exists!

UK, Pop Culture, British, Virginia Tech, The Secret, Rhonda Byrne, Oprah, God Of War 2, Ps2, ITV, This Is David Gest, Fracture, Anthony Hopkins, Beyonce, Shakira, Beautiful Liar, Princess Diana, Memorial Concert, Twitter, DavePee, May Day, Bank Holiday, Kryponite

This is my weekly round-up of the best pop culture blog posts from all over the blogosphere. I realised a long time ago that I can’t cover every story that breaks, so instead I bring you the ones that have interested me in this nice little feature I like to call ‘A Slice Of Pop Pie‘…

According to the traveller’s weblog Gadling, British Airways edited Richard Branson out of in-flight copies of Bond film Casino Royale. The rival Virgin Airways boss’ cameo appearance was strangely absent from the version shown on BA flights. 3 words for you… petty, childish, spiteful.
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How elements of Pop Culture were blamed yet again!

The victims of the Virginia Tech shootings were killed by a person… weren’t they? They were cruelly gunned down in the prime of life by a sad loner who felt he needed to eke out some sort of revenge… weren’t they? I already know the answer to both questions is yes, but after the crap I’ve had to endure reading over the past week, I had to check to be sure.

Elements of the media and some crackpot rent-a-quotes in particular seem to have been trying to blame the massacre on anything but a person with a gun. Video games have been the main culprit under suspicion this time, as they have been after other school shootings such as Columbine. But music hasn’t got away without it’s fair share of finger pointing either, as Marilyn Manson, and artists like him, were once again highlighted as having infuenced the tragedy. And you can stick films in the mix too, with the cult Korean revenge flick ‘Oldboy‘ held up as a direct reason that this incident happened. What an absolute pile of steaming bs this all is, and here I’ll explain why…
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Debating: Prince William breaking up with Kate Middleton

Reading: The Quest by Wilbur Smith

Playing: TMNT: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on multiple formats

Viewing: Ruddy Hell! It’s Harry And Paul on BBC1

Watching: Blades Of Glory starring Will Ferrell and Jon Heder

Listening: Give It To Me by Timbaland, Nelly Furtado & Timberlake

Buying: Half price Easter eggs for sale everywhere

Searching: Author Kurt Vonnegut who died after a long illness

Anticipating: The release of the new Ben & Jerrys flavour ice cream

Learning: Only 3% of adults get the recommended 8 hours sleep a night

Prince William, Kate Middleton, The Quest, Wilbur Smith, TMNT, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Ruddy Hell! It’s Harry And Paul, Harry Enfield, Paul Whitehouse, Blades Of Glory, Will Ferrell, Jon Heder, Give It To Me, Timbaland, Nelly Furtado, Justin Timberlake, Easter Eggs, Kurt Vonnegut, Ben And Jerrys

Picture Of The Week: Riots break out in a rush for bargains at the new flagship Primark clothes store on Oxford Street in London…

Debating: Whether the freed British soldiers should have been given permission to sell their stories to the media for a small fortune

Reading: ‘Break No Bones’ by Kathy Reichs

Playing: Brian Lara International Cricket on the Ps2, xbox 360 and others.

Watching On TV: Tracey Barlow being found guilty of murder on soap ‘Coronation Street’.

Watching At The Cinema: Unfortunately ‘Mr Bean’s Holiday’ is at number one

Searching For: Minnie Driver who is starring in ‘The Riches’ on the FX channel

Looking Forward To: The release of long lost JRR Tolkien book ‘The Children Of Hurin’ on April 17th

Learning: “Lunatics, idiots, deaf and dumb” people are barred from standing for election under laws dating from 1766 which still apply.

Listening To: ‘Stop Me’ by Mark Ronson featuring Daniel Merriweather, in at number 6 this week…

Primark, Freed British Soldiers, Soldiers Selling Stories, Iran, UK, Britain, British, Kathy Reichs, Break No Bones, xbox 360, Ps2, Brian Lara Cricket, Coronation Street, Tracey Barlow, Mr Bean, Mr Beans Holiday, Minnie Driver, The Riches, FX Channel, JRR Tolkien, The Children Of Hurin, Stop Me, Mark Ronson, Daniel Merriweather