Month: July 2021

I blogged last week about Alex James who has re invented himself from being the bass guitarist in Blur to being a renowned cheese maker enthusiast.

From that I began to have a look at many other former rock stars who changed their careers. I must say it has been one of my favorite blog research projects ever.  Obviously (as always) I had to go one further and then re imagine alternate  possible businesses for current bands if they ever felt like diversifying.

Here are the names of band members who have gone on to explore other careers. Followed by joke jobs.

 

1. Prof Brian Cox-ex D Ream keyboard
2. Sultans of Ping-Dr.Niall ‘O Flaherty. Lecturer in political history at Kings College London
3. Kim Wilde- Gardener
4. The Supremes- Cindy Birdsong became a nurse
5. Midnight Oil (one of my favorite bands of yore) Peter Garrett went into politics.
6. The Doobie Brothers- Jeff Baxter (Skunk) became a missile defense expert.

 

Imagined jobs for current band members

 

1. Smashing Pumpkins-Organic Farmer

 

2. REM-Narcolepsy Consultant

 

3. Boomtown Rats-Pest control

 

4. AC/DC-Electrician

 

5. Blur-Optometrist

 

6. The Animals-A vet

 

7. Big Country-Geography teacher

 

8. The Cardigans- Sheep farmer

 

9. The Coral-Scuba diving school

 

10. Interpol-Private Detective Agency

 

11. B52’s-Pilot

 

12. Ash-Fireman

 

13. Panic at the Disco- Event Management

 

14. Midnight Oil- North Sea rig engineer

 

15. The Avalanches – Heli Skiing Pilot

 

16. The Who-Dementia Care Awareness Campaigner

 

17. Pearl Jam- Oyster farmer

 

18. Massive Attack-Cardiologist

 

19. The Flaming Lips-Aesthetic medicine

 

20. Motorhead-Vintage Mechanic

 

21. New Order-Teacher

 

22. 10,000 Maniacs-Psychologist

 

23. The Grateful Dead-Funeral Director

 

24. The Velvet Underground-Fashion designer

 

25. ELO – The Electric Light Orchestra – Electrician

 

26. Thin Lizzy – Dietician

 

27. Red Hot Chili Peppers – Chef

 

28. Mamas and Papas-Adoption Agency

 

29. T-Rex-  Paleontologist

 

30. Emotional Fish – Salmon farming

 

31. The Doors-House Security

 

32. Talking Heads-PR and Communication Agency

 

33. The Cars- VIP Transport

 

34. Blondie-Hairdresser

 

35. Deep Purple- Online sex toys

 

All the best

Stay fab

Adele

Leonardo Di Caprio is Bubble Yum bubblicious in this advert as a young child. Many of the other adverts that he has done later in life are all really quite cool. I can only assume that he insists on a decent and believable story for him to represent a brand.   A bit like Keira Knightly in the Chanel adverts, they are mini movies within themselves.

https://youtu.be/ZCa47PsT8OU

I don’t understand why actors and actresses do not insist on a comedy theme whenever they are starring in an advert.  Case in point is Hugh Jackman for RM William Boots.   He never takes himself too seriously, which is always refreshing.  Going commando is a nice touch. He has balls and must have been the Frontrunner for this brand with his very Happy Feet.

https://youtu.be/ouBKE7SG1rE

Of all of the celebrities that I have highlighted over the last few days that have featured in Asian advertisements Nicholas Cage has to be the weirdest.  Almost everything he does is ridiculously weird and that is why he has to be one of my favorites. If anything, this advert may even appear a little tame.

 

Most actors in the US had to start somewhere and it seems that advertisements were a good enough place to start.   Whereas in the UK it appears that ‘Casualty’ was where many great actors and actresses started off.   Kate Winslet, Orlando Bloom, Tom Hiddleston, Kathy Burke, Minnie Driver and Danny Dyer all graced our screens at one time or another in Casualty.

All the best

Stay fab

Adele

I could never have imagined Harrison Ford playing PlayStation but here he is.   I wonder if he has played The Indiana Jones version?   How weird would that be?  Possibly just as random as this advertisement.

I wonder What Lies Beneath a celebrity choosing to do particular Asian advertisements?   Perhaps it is not always the money. Maybe Harrison is a true PlayStation fan and was Frantic with excitement when he was approached to do this?

Mr. Ford will never be in any Clear and Present Danger of being ridiculed for his choices.  He is too ridiculously cool for that.

https://youtu.be/oH9iueYtnSk

George Clooney and Asian beer are a match made in heaven.    I have blogged about him before regarding his unbelievable generosity.   He has never been a Money Monster.   I can imagine that he may well have donated the proceeds of this advertisement to some good cause as that is the type of guy that he is.

As a child I always remember the movie ‘Rocky’ with Sylvester Stallone. He was always a bit of a ham/Warburton’s actor (excuse the shocking pun).   My first boyfriend was called ‘Adrian’ and my younger brother used to shout it (Rocky style) before he called to pick me up for a date.

He was also shorter than me and of course my witty brother got mileage out of that also. Once he remarked how lucky we were that we did not have a long pile carpet in our house at the time as otherwise Adrian would have needed a sickle to get through it.   We only dated for a short time after that.

 

 

All the best

Stay fab

Adele

‘Mi Soupa ,Missa me soup’- music to my ears.

Here for your viewing is Mr. James Brown in all his ‘I feel Good’ glory advertising Miso soup.   It makes me chuckle every time I see it.  I wonder how he must have felt when he read the new lyrics of his famous song ‘I feel good’ customized to promote Japanese soup?

I can only imagine that he did not feel so good but that this feeling was fleeting when he imagined his bank balance following being paid for said advertisement.

https://youtu.be/5tVMzzAPwZg

Even if you are not a fan of this brand surely you would be following seeing this?

Nobody can empathize with your hemorrhoids better than Bryan Cranston in the Preparation H advertisements.   Wait for it……Shall I? ………Here goes. He must have had piles of fun making this.

The year he made this advertisement must have been his annus horribillis.  (Sorry, I couldn’t resist) . Many would consider this type of ad would have rectum (wrecked him) but not Bryan Cranston.   He is a legend.

And finally, what about Ben Affleck in Burger King?
https://youtu.be/P9DCUdC6mL0

Gorgeous then and gorgeous now.   He could have advertised anything in my book and still be perfect as ‘Good Will Hunting’ is one of my all-time favorite movies.   It’s hard to believe that Ben Affleck and Matt Damon wrote this script out of sheer frustration of being overlooked for casting in Hollywood.

They both auditioned for the role in ‘Primal Fear’ that went to Edward Norton. When they did not get the role, they wrote ‘Good Will Hunting’.   They turned despair and frustration into success. What a duo?

All the best

Stay fab

Adele

Who knew that celebrities enjoy advertising brands in Asian countries? Not me.    And I must say that I was more than a little surprised to see Madonna, Brad Pitt and Arnold Schwarzenegger advertising various wares in all their style and glory.

WPA-Woeful pun alert (I have missed a few appointments for my pun therapy and apologize in advance for the woeful puns to follow regarding celebrities and their fame over the next few days).   Madonna was seriously Getting into the Groove in these particular advertisements.

Justify my love for a brand-Madonna in advertising 1984-2017

https://youtu.be/JPDopcdoc_0

(I am mindful of the fact that I indulged in Madonna puns many months ago also. But her repertoire is so extensive I felt obliged to pun shame myself once more)  She obviously felt the need to Express herself outside of her songs.    I am sure that she wanted to Take a Bow after this performance as her style was very much in Vogue.

Brad must have heard of the Legends of the Fall of the finance market and felt the need to advertise finance in Asia as a result.    Although I must add that having the commercial directed by Wes Anderson does add a major cool factor.

Wes Anderson Soft Bank Commercial with Brad Pitt

https://youtu.be/g0u0oEUcasU

This advertisement must have been about Seven years after the recession. He is not too bad in it and it does appear that he did at least Troy his very best.

Mr. Schwarzenegger was not to be outdone by his peers and it must be said he did not make a noodle of himself.

https://youtu.be/XcH1v-VdAiA

Although to this day I am sure he wishes to never have Total Recall of this advertisement.    It would have been much more fun if he Sabotaged the ad and went Commando. Ok, I am now standing away from the puns.

All the best

Stay fab

Adele

As if yesterday was not fabulous enough, today we head off to ‘Dog’s Bay’ in Connemara.   We debated whether Dogs were actually allowed on the beach and to our relief they were. Otherwise, they would have to re name it ‘No Dogs Bay’.

It is famous for being a stunning beach with turquoise water near the lovely village of Roundstone.  But what is even more unusual is the fact that it is a Tombolo. What? Say you? I know.   I didn’t have a clue either.

The word has nothing whatsoever to do with a Fairground but in fact means that it is one beach backing onto another beach. In this instance Dog’s Bay is backed by Gurteen Bay.

On our way there we stopped in the village of Oughterrard. I began to wonder what our American neighbors would think of this word and the difficulty they may have in pronouncing it.    Words like these are always a true test of Irishness.

We had the hottest day of the year and spent 5 hours dipping in the sea, playing with the dogs and exploring both beaches and another adjacent deserted cove.

There were some cows on the headland of the other cove which meant that Buzz and Finn were on their leashes.   I did not want a repeat performance from Finn of him chasing a poor cow judging by his horse chasing skills yesterday.   Dog’s Bay reminds me of the beaches in Thailand it is truly magnificent.   Wonderful memories indeed.

 

All the best

Stay fab

Adele

I had the great pleasure of being driven around County Clare last week by a very dear friend.   We were in full ‘Thelma and Louise’ mode without Brad Pitt or any criminal activities.   Which I suppose means that we were not in Thelma and Louise mode at all but in our minds, we were the living re incarnation of those two powerful fictitious women.

We stopped off first in Kinvara where we walked ‘Charlie’, my friend’s gorgeous black Labradoodle, and Buzz and Finn.  The Wild Atlantic Way soon followed as we made our way to Lahinch.  An invigorating beach walk was in order during which Finn decided it would be a good idea to dig a sand hole 2 feet deep.

Two riders on horses appeared much to Finn’s distaste. In his canine wisdom he decided to chase them. They both ran away. And I nearly fell into his two-foot hole whilst trying to chase him.

We stopped next in Doolin off for a bite to eat at Gus ‘O Connors. Driving home by the Atlantic was mesmerizing. When we hit Ballyvaughan at 10pm it was still almost light. Half of the sky was light grey with the other half ink blot black/grey.  The sky was falling down over the Burren and a very still sea. It was like something from a dream.  It was a wonderful end to a beautiful day.

 

All the best

Stay fab

Adele

 

In this video clip Jennifer Lawrence illustrates her ballsy (excuse the pun- actually please don’t as I have been so restrained of late, I feel that I should be allowed to indulge myself every now and then. As I mentioned before my pun therapy is seriously working) sense of humor to perfection with Chris Pratt.  It is always refreshing when a famous actress and actor can demonstrate their lack of ego by not taking themselves too seriously.

I was unaware that ‘roasting of celebrities’ in the US goes as far back as 1950 where they were conducted in The New York Friars Club.  Dean Martin hosted the roasts from 1974-1984 to rave reviews.

https://youtu.be/FVTMZfTom80-Top 10 US Celebrity Roasts

They began again in 1998 with Denis Leary hosting.   It is hard to believe that Donald Trump was roasted.   Apparently, he prohibited jokes about him not being as wealthy as he was.

In Ireland we call mocking one another ‘slagging’.  This has nothing to do with the nefarious word ‘slag’.  If you cannot laugh at yourself, you are very much persona non grata.   Often the best way to avoid a slagging is to laugh at yourself before anyone has the opportunity to do so.  I employ this tactic frequently much to my own benefit.

All the best

Stay fab

Adele

This video is cute as it reminds me of how Finn wakes me up each morning with his own version of his doggy daily alarm.  He is less enthusiastic as the dogs in this clip but determined all the same.

I get the paw to my ear first followed by a nose-to-nose kiss and ending with a cursory lick on the cheek.  He then adopts his position beneath my arm for maximum belly rubbing effect.  I must say that it is very considerate of him as it requires little or no movement on my part.

Buzz was never as affectionate as Finn but as he is a very jealous little fella, he has upped his game and now insists on belly rubs every morning. Just so that he is not outdone by Finn.

As this is a daily ritual, I now feel conditioned to indulge Buzz and Finn in belly rubs so much so that if I forget to do it, I can convince myself that I may receive bad luck on that day.

All I need now is to meet the man of my dreams who will give me a daily belly rub.  He might be there for a while as there is rather more of it than I would like to rub.  My current plan is to tune, tone and tighten myself up.  But that’s a blog for another day.

 

All the best

Stay fab

Adele

Alex James-of Blur Band fame- has temporarily swapped the world of rock for cheese. As a result, I am now fascinated by other band members over the decades that have gone on to pursue very un-rock and roll careers following billboard fame.

I shall elucidate further in a tomorrow in another blog.  For any unenlightened folk I shall now promise to steer clear of any or all cheesy puns for this blog. Perhaps my pun therapy is actually paying off?

The large English Food retailer Asda have stocked Alex James weird and wonderful cheese combinations.  Cheddar & Ketchup, Cheddar & Salad cream slices as well as Cheddar Tikka Masala have all made the shelves to mixed reviews.

 I am all for challenging mediocrity but this takes it to a whole new level.  Here are some other weird pairings for your review. Can you guess which ones are real or not?  Answers at the bottom of the blog.

1. Squid ink ice cream
2. Chickle-Chicken served in a pickle
3. Peanut butter and onion sandwich
4. Avocado latte
5. Chips dipped in Ice cream
6. Beany donuts
7. Hot Chocolate noodles
8. Porridge salad
9. Chocolate sausage
10. Vanilla poached eggs

Ok, just to take you out of your misery. The First five items are all real tried and tested food whereas the last five are made up by my good self.   Let me know of any odd food combo that you enjoy.

Happy eating.

All the best

Stay fab

Adele