Pheaturing Ivan Lovatt

Hey, kids, welcome back to the Phile on a Monday. How are you? So, did you see the lunar eclipse last night? Watch the lunar eclipse, they said. It'll be amazing they said.

Ha! My interest in the lunar eclipse was eclipsed by my desire to sleep.  Okay, speaking of space type stuff, NASA just announced the most exciting space news in 50 years in their boring science language. After decades of looking, a NASA spacecraft has found evidence of liquid water on Mars. Billions of years ago, Mars was flowing with water, but for the past few decades that we've been researching the red planet, the only H2O to be found was in the air, soil, and the ice in the planet's poles. Five years ago, however, researchers noticed "mysterious dark streaks running down the warm slopes of Martian craters and mountains." They entertained the possibility that this could be water. To test this hypothesis, they sent a spacecraft, which noticed "deposits of perchlorate" that were being moistened by a compound none other than water. NASA made the announcement via livestream at 11:30 a.m. People had already guessed what the news was, but they were still excited nonetheless.
Researchers are still uncertain how exactly the water is there. It's also unclear how exactly this could help a manned mission to Mars, but it will help nonetheless. As mama always said, some water is better than no water when the atmosphere is trying to kill you.  This woman got her dream job and was fired 30 minutes later because she looks like this.

Twenty-seven year old Claire Shepherd is a retail merchandiser from Swansea, Wales. She has 6 years of experience, so it probably came as no surprise when she was offered a job after nailing a phone interview with Dee Set, a U.K. chain. But then, irony struck. Immediately after accepting the position, she got an email listing the company's dress code. Among other things, it mentioned that all employees must cover their tattoos, just in case any customer finds them offensive. Shepherd immediately knew that was going to be a problem. She knew that unless she came to work every day in a burka/opera glove ensemble, she'd never be able to hide all her ink. In particular, her double hand tattoos were going to give her considerable problems. Shepherd assumed that the policy was a holdover from the archaic dress codes of the past, so she emailed right back and explained her tats. What happened next shocked her to her tattooed core. Dee Set responded and informed her that because of her extensive body art, they were rescinding their offer of employment. The one they had given her a half hour before. Stunned and outraged, Shepherd took her story to Facebook. Her post quickly went viral, with many tattoo-positive people coming to her defense. After Shepherd's post hit the media, Dee Set backtracked as quickly as possible and offered her the job again. But she said no...  she had already taken a job at B&M. There, her tattoos aren't an issue, just like at every other job she's had in the past six years. Pretty ironic that Dee Set's gesture to avoid offending customers has instead offended people all around the world. Either ironic or dumb. It's nice to see that things worked out for Claire Shepherd. Regardless of anyone's personal opinion of tattoos, they're here to stay. And as the hipster generation continues to mature, everyone is going to have to get used to seeing inked-up people in the workplace, or else there won't be any acceptable workers left. And that goes for people who take duckface selfies too.  Frances Bean Cobain, the 23 year old (extremely cool but how could she not be) daughter of tragic nineties angst icons Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love, is married. She wedded musician Isaiah Silva earlier this week, and people are pointing out that he looks kind of familiar. In that he looks a lot like the Nirvana frontman, aka her dad.

Definitely a strong resemblance, although you do have to wonder if it's due to physical similarity or grunge style affinity. I mean this dude has a very "Smells Like Teen Spirit" vibe for 2015, not that that's a bad thing. And with the current wave of nineties nostalgia, maybe all guys in their twenties are going to look like this pretty soon. Isn't it a logical evolutionary step from the man bun? According to E! News, the small wedding only had "13-15" guests (were two of them ghosts or something?), and Courtney Love was not sorry not to be one of them.  With a Donald Trump presidency in the realm of possibility, people are beginning to ask what his leadership would actually look like. Scott Pelley, anchor of "60 Minutes" and surprisingly sassy guy, sat down with Trump at the candidate's Fifth Avenue penthouse. It didn't take long for Trump to reveal he knows just as little about policy as you'd imagine. When asked about his tax plan, Trump said that he'd make significant tax cuts for the middle class, but didn't say what or how. Another shining moment involves Trump laying down his foreign policy vision, which boils down to, "Russia wants to get rid of ISIS. We want to get rid of ISIS. Maybe let Russia do it. Let 'em get rid of ISIS. What the hell do we care?" Even when Pelley wants to talk about the struggles that have defined The Donald's character, Trump responds in the Trumpiest way possible. At one point, the candidate discusses losing his brother at a young age to alcoholism and explains how that affects his habits today. "I've never had a drink. I own the largest winery on the East Coast, and yet I don't drink, which is a little weird." And finally, just as George Washington himself was reluctant to become president when elected in 1789, Trump says he doesn't want to be president, but feels a sense of duty. "I didn't want to do this. I just see our country as going to hell. And I felt I had to do it." I bet a lot of TV's were punched last night. There have been many George Zimmerman stories since he was found not guilty for killing 17 year old Trayvon Martin, but this one may the worst. Regardless of whatever you thought at the time of his trial, George Zimmerman has found plenty of ways to offend people since. First of all, there are his terrible paintings, some of which were sold to support that "Muslim-free" gun store in Florida. There was that time he threatened his pregnant girlfriend with weapons and she called 911 (there were three domestic violence incidents overall). There was that time he was involved in a road-rage shooting. In fact, we're barely scratching the surface here. All of those incidences prove he's a douche, and although his far-right folk hero status (which he has since embraced, along with an ever-present cigar in his photos) indicated he might be kinda proud of what he done did that night, he never actually said or did anything to prove that. Until Friday night, that is, when he retweeted one of his admirers. Shit, I hesitant to show it but I will...

For the record, George Zimmerman is in fact less than 1/7th as cool as the White Stripes song. This screenshot, saved by RawStory.com, shows Zimmerman (@TheRealGeorgeZ) retweeting @SeriousSlav's breathless fan letter, "@TheRealGeorgeZ Z-Man is a one man army,” complete with a photo of Martin's dead body. One would think that seeing the body of someone you killed during a confusing night would fill you with sadness and you'd avoid it at all cost. But this is George Zimmerman, and he wanted to share it with the world. The tweet has since been deleted (although retweets including @SeriousSlav laughing about the photo have not been), but this isn't exactly new for Zimmerman. His timeline is actually full of Martin's picture, since he regularly responds to (and mocks and threatens) people who write to him calling him a murderer. You can't exactly call his social media strategy unsuccessful, since he has had way more of a public afterlife than I think anyone anticipated. You can call it awful, however. You can definitely call it that.  Hey, the Phile has a new sponsor, kids. Check it out...

Hmmm. I have no words.  So, with the new Star Wars movie coming out, they are slowly revealing new characters. Here is an exclusive...

When a problem comes along you must Wicket. Wicket good. Haha. That's so stupid.  Hey, do you know what this is?

Grandfather clock. Moving on...  So, last week as you know the Pope was in the U.S. And when he went to Philly he did something very strange.

Haha. Okay, so, Facebook is making changes to its privacy policy apparently. A friend of the Phile has something to say about it. He's a patriot, singer and renaissance man. You know what time it is...

Better safe than sorry. On this day of September 28th 2015, I am not stupid enough to buy into all this Facebook privacy crap. I fully grasp the concept that any hopes of so called "cyber privacy" faded from reality the moment I logged on and CREATED A FUCKING FACEBOOK PAGE. Therefore, anything I post in a public forum is just that... PUBLIC. To sum up... I'm not an idiot. There is no, nor will there ever be any privacy on Facebook. I understand that anything I post on Facebook can and probably will be co opted by any and all federal, state and local agencies and/or private citizens of this or any other country. The Mayan calendar was wrong about the end of the world. So were the Y2K doom sayers. So were the September 23rd 2015 paranoidians. So were the followers of Jim Jones. So were the people who thought Gary Cherone would be the lead singer of Van Halen forever.

Haha. That's a real easy one. If you spot the Mindphuck let me know. Okay, it's Monday and time to talk football with my good friend Jeff in a pheature called...

Me: Hey, Jeff, good to have you back on the Phile. How are you doing?

Jeff: It's always a pleasure to be back here on the Phile. Hoping some good luck roles my way in the next few days. Plus I'm almost done with my third book so that's exciting.

Me: Very cool. Alright, so, what's the NFL news this week?

Jeff: The biggest news coming out of week 3 is the Steelers lost their quarterback due to injury. Ben Roethisberger injured his left knee in a game against the Rams yesterday. He will be out for 4-6 weeks. Yet another big named player injured early in the season. The other big news is how angry the Patriots have been this season. Forget Marshall Lynch, New England has been in beast mode all season. They are destroying teams. In other news, Carolina QB Cam Newton asked a referee why there wasn't a flag thrown when he thought there should have been one thrown on the defensive. Ed Hochuli (referee) told him he hasn't been in the league long enough to get those calls. The look on Newton's face (even with his helmet on) was priceless. I don't agree with the statement, which Hochuli has denied making now.

Me: Okay, last week I was beating you by half. How did we both do last week?

Jeff: In week 3 you went 1-1 with the Giants picking up their first win of the season. Your record stands at 4-2 plus and additional point to give you 9 points. So, 1-1 is a good week, but there's only one thing better... DON'T CALL IT A COMEBACK. Because I was able to go 2-0, while the Steelers picked up a win as well. I'm 3-3 on the season, with two Steeler wins. That gives me a total of 8 points. As it stands right now you lead by 1 point.

Me: That's better than nothing. Let's do this weeks picks... I say Jets by 2 and your Steelers by 5. So, I kinda hope your Steelers win. Haha. What do you say?

Jeff: My picks this week are the Carolina Panthers by 3 points and Arizona by 7.

Me: Very good. See ya next week, Jeff.

Jeff: Good luck and we will talk next week!

Art
Art is what people who aren't willing to be of value to society do with their free time.

Okay, today's pheatured guest is the 31st artist to be pheatured in the Phile's Art Gallery. Please welcome to the Phile... Ivan Lovatt.

Me: Hello, Ivan, welcome to the Phile. How are you?

Ivan: Very busy.

Me: I have to say, you are one of the most creative artists I have ever had on the Phile, sir. Have you been doing some sort of art stuff all your life?

Ivan: Yes, I have always enjoyed being creative, art was my strongest subject as a child and I have enjoyed a great deal of encouragement and support.

Me: Where are you from, Ivan?

Ivan: I was born in Nairobi Kenya, Africa, I loved the wildlife and the culture, this was a great inspiration.

Me: Is that's where you still live?

Ivan: I now live on the Gold Coast Queensland, Australia, which is also a beautiful inspiring and interesting place.

Me: You started out doing art with driftwood, is that right?

Ivan: Although I have used many types of material, when I arrived in Australia in '94 I found an amazing variety of driftwood, with which I creative native wildlife sculpture this work has been well received, and I enjoy returning to this material from time to time.

Me: I have a pic of one of your wood carvings here to show...

Me: Then you started to do sculptures made out of chicken wire... why chicken wire? Is it because it's flexible?

Ivan: I am constantly in search of new materials to explore, when I started working with chicken wire I was amazed at the possibility of this material.

Me: I saw you did wildlife with the chicken wire, and then you started to do different celebrities. Who was your first celebrity you have sculpted?

Ivan: I enjoy making sculpture of people I admire, although most of the portraits I've may have been commissioned so I don't always get to choose. Although luckily most of them have been people I do admire greatly, my favourite subjects other than aboriginal faces, have been the great explorers such as Sir Edmund Hillary, and Sir Douglas Mawson.

Me: What was the hardest one you have ever done, and the easiest? Also, what was the smallest sculpture you have done and the largest?

Ivan: Up till now, the smallest sculpture I've done is a life-size little blue ran and the largest is a barn owl made in a larger gauge of wire which stands at 3.4 m tall.

Me: How long would it take you do one sculpture? Some seem a lot more detailed then others.

Ivan: Two people often ask how long the sculpture takes. I don't like to time my work I don't think it is important I often work on more than one piece at a time. The work is labour-intensive but I feel anything worthwhile takes time.

Me: You did John Lennon a few times, I think, right? Has any living celebrity you you have made into chicken wire seen your work, or purchased it? I bet if you did one of Donald Trump he would buy it.

Ivan: No, no one famous.

Me: Speaking of buying, you show your stuff at art galleries, right? Do you sell your work as well? How much would it cost if I wanted a chicken wire sculpt of myself?

Ivan: My work can be found in galleries around Australia, but I can also be contacted through my website ivanlovattsculpture.com.

Me: Ivan, did you ever get cut making them?

Ivan: It actually isn't as hard on your hands as you might think, as long as you are not struggling with the work you're doing, most of the time I wear gloves, these days I hardly ever even get scratch.

Me: Thanks so much for being here on the Phile. You are a very clever artist, and I wish you lots of luck. Let me know when my one is done. Just kidding. All the best, Ivan.

Ivan: Thank you for the exposure, best wishes, Jason.

Well, that about does it for this entry of the Phile. Thanks to Laird Jim, Jeff Trelewicz and of course Ivan Lovatt. The Phile will be back next Monday with singer Alia Lorae. So, spread the word, not the turd. Don't let snakes and alligators bite you. Bye, love you, bye.

Not if it pleases me. No, you can't stop me, not if it pleases me. - Graham Parker

Pheaturing Phile Alum Lila Rose

Hello, welcome to another entry of the Phile for a Sunday. How are you doing?  Let's start this entry of with a story about an esscaped tarantula that grounded a plane in Baltimore. Gross, Baltimore! An escaped tarantula grounded a Delta flight in Baltimore on Wednesday evening. Baggage handlers noticed that a carrier for the hell beast was empty, which prompted the captain to ground the flight until they could locate the spider. It was not in the bathroom near the gate, or checking out expensive luggage it couldn't afford, it was just relaxing in the cargo hold. They were able to retrieve the spider and safely return it back to its cage. There is a lesson here for road warriors and those who fly often: if you don't want your luggage damaged or lost, just add a spider. Or put your stuff it in a giant fake spider, and then check an empty carrier cage. Then they'll be certain to find it.  Sit down and buckle up because there's big Jennifer Lawrence hair news. Twenty-five year old actress and Amy Schumer BFF Jennifer Lawrence has shocked us once again with a hair-related decision that is sending ripples of disbelief through Hollywood, the country, and indeed the entire solar system. Little green men on Jupiter just got chills and had no idea why, and the reason is because J Law dyed her hair platinum blonde. The slightly-lighter-than-her-natural-color shade came from absolutely nowhere. At least it's not as disturbing as her flirtation with a pixie cut, from which we and the general public have still not entirely recovered. Here's a pic if you wanna see yourself...

Good news! You can now be that person who wears a sexy #TheDress Halloween costume. The good folks at Yandy.com, who previously made it possible for to dress up as sexy French fries, have now delivered the Halloween costume we all know someone who would wear: a sexy #TheDress costume. In case you've been on a monastic retreat in the mountains of Nepal since before February, #TheDress was a fun Internet phenomenon where everyone fought over the color of this dress. To some, it looked gold and white. To others, it looked blue and black. (The correct answer is that it looked gold and white at first but then suddenly switched to blue and black, because that's what happened to me.) After much debate, we discovered that the actual dress is black and blue. You can also buy the real #TheDress as a costume, but you're gonna have to cut some strategic slits to make it sexy.  Now for some more serious news... Mohammed Umar Farooq, a postgraduate student of counter-terrorism at Staffordshire University in England, was accused of being a terrorist after a school official saw him reading a textbook entitled "Terrorism Studies" in the library. He was then questioned by someone who he thought was a fellow student, but turned out to be a complaints officer. Even though his responses to the questions were "largely academic" and expressed his "personal opposition to extremist views," the exchange was reported to the school's security guards, as people thought it raised "too many red flags." Farooq got in touch with a lawyer to fight the complaint, and after an investigation, the university apologized for the oversight: "We have apologised to Mr. Farooq and are in dialogue with him on how we can support him to continue his studies with us. In light of recent legislation, we are ensuring all staff at the university have the right guidance and training." Apparently the guy who questioned him only had a "few hours [of] training." Still, the event exposed the university to the problems in their anti-radicalization initiatives and demonstrated how easily the "broad duty" of combatting radicalism can be mishandled. Farrow seemed pretty shook up by the whole thing, and has been "looking over his shoulder" since it happened. He had the following to say: "The implications if I did not challenge this could be serious for me. I could go on a police list, I could be investigated without my knowledge. This could happen to any young Muslim lad. I had to fight back[.]” Good thing this was an isolated incident. Oh, wait, it wasn't. Miru Kim is an artist and photographer who lives in New York City. She was stopped the other day for wearing a shirt with Arabic on it by two police officers who don't have enough to do with themselves. Kim posted about it on Instagram with a very unhappy looking selfie.

Her caption reads, "I just got stopped by two police officers in downtown Manhattan just because I was wearing this shirt from an anti-Iraq war group called Granny Peace Brigade from 2006. They took all my info, address, apt. number, cellphone, right in front of my building. Are they serious, NYPD? Are they gonna call me a potential terrorist because I am wearing a shirt with Arabic on it? When did NYC become so xenophobic?" The Granny Peace Brigade is literally a group of grandmothers who protest for peace, and they did share this shirt during one of their actions. About ten years ago. Wow, the Iraq War has been a part of our lives a long time! It's interesting that the officers were so intimidated by Arabic lettering, especially when the translation is right below it. Ironically, it means "we will not be silent." Maybe they thought the translation was a red herring, and the Arabic line actually said, "If you can read this, let's build a bomb together." It doesn't though! Kim's frustration is understandable, especially when the cops' behavior was so illogical. Are they going to call her later and ask, "Are you suuuuuuure your t-shirt isn't a threat?" Somewhere in New York right now are two police officers trying to stop all translated language postings under suspicion of terrorism. Probably more than two, actually, since the Pope was in town and there's a lot of Italian signage to help him find his way around.  Speaking of the Pope, the Pope spoke to a large crowd gathered outside the Capitol Building, and John Boehner didn't last three seconds without bawling his eyes out. It would be moving and beautiful (it has been a lifelong goal of Mr. Boehner to have a Pope speak to Congress) if it weren't for the fact that John Boehner cries at the drop of a hat. It looks like so many tears have welled up inside his head that they went into his mouth first. It took all his lip-strength to not vomit tears directly onto Pope Francis. John Boehner has been the Speaker of the House since 2011, and in that short time he has cried about a statue of Rosa Parks, a statue of Winston Churchill, and that one time some Irish music played on Saint Patrick's Day. It seems like there is little on this planet that won't make John Boehner cry. Now that Speaker Boehner is resigning from his seat in Congress, he will only be able to cry at things from afar. Private sob sessions are often much more intense than public ones for most people, but this man is different. If anything happens and Boehner isn't there to see it, does he still cry? My guess is that even in retirement, even if he never reads or watches the news, he'll be husking corn in a field in Ohio somewhere, and know in his bones that there's something out there to be cried over. And he will weep. He'll weep large Boehner tears. Maybe the large crowd just startled Mr. Boehner into crying. Or maybe this was an actual cathartic moment, as he, a Jesuit-educated man, finally lived to see a Jesuit Pope speak to the American people in person. Or it could have been literally anything. The guy just cries a lot. There's a new portrait of Boehner that was just painted as well.

He's the Weeper of the House. Haha.  So, as you know the Pope visited New York and I have an exclusive photo of his visit...

I don't remember him being in that Pizza Rat video. I guess I wasn't paying attention. That's so stupid.  Wanna see what else is stupid?

A little Diddy with Jack and Diane. Hahahahahaha.  Alright, I am an Apple fan, but I know a lot of you like Microsoft. Did you see Microsoft's new ad?

I guess they kinda do. Hmmmm. And now from the home office in Port Jefferson, New York, here is this week's...

Top Phive Startling Similarities And Differences Between Scott Walker And Pizza Rat
5. Has captured the imaginations of millions of Americans.
4. Wasn't deterred by his seemingly hopeless quest.
3. Went downwards gracefully.
2. Was a factor in recent Republican presidential polls.
And the number one thing similar and different between Walker and the Pizza Rat is...
1. At the end of the day, is just a filthy, pointy-nosed rodent.

Yogi Berra 
May 12th, 1925 — September 22nd, 2015 
Maybe now he can finally get his hands on some pick-a-nick baskets, eh, Boo Boo?

Hahahahahahaha. This is my favorite Mindphuck ever I think. Let me know if you spot it. I am laughing so much. Oh, boy. Okay, so, a friend of the Phile saw something that made him feel like Michael J. Fox looking at his family picture in Back to the Future. He's a singer, patriot and renaissance man. You know what time it is...

Happy Sunday, phuckerz. Just noticed a part of my history is gone... Dropped off a client at an address that seemed familiar to me. As I pulled up, I noticed that it was The Hit Factory... a place I recorded at... the place I met David Bowie... the place that Stevie Nicks asked my opinion of what key she should record one of her songs in... the place John Lennon recorded "Double Fantasy." The last building he exited from the night he lost his life. The place was still there. Still had the old signage saying The Hit Factory on the front. Only now, the recording studio is gone and the rooms have all turned into pricey condos for the NYC elite. I love New York... but I just caught a glimpse of it's soul slipping away... of a ghost drifting away from its former home... very sad.

The 31st artist to be pheatured in the Phile's Art Gallery is Ivan Lovatt and this is one of his pieces...

I think that's Mick Jagger. Anyway, Ivan will be the guest on the Phile tomorrow.

Today's pheatured guest is a Phile Alum and very talented and beautiful singer whose latest album "WE.ANIMALS." is available on iTunes. She also has a very beautiful video out for the song "This Could Be Ha." Please welcome back to the Phile... Lila Rose!

Me: Hey, Lila, welcome back to the Phile. How have you been?

Lila: I've been mostly great, thanks!

Me: It's been almost a year since you were here last. Since then you moved to California, am I right? What part did you move to?

Lila: I've been living in California for almost 7 years now actually. I still love it. I live in Oakland.

Me: Oh, that's right. I have no idea why I thought you just moved there. You've been playing quite a few shows recently. Do you like playing live?

Lila: I live for it!

Me: What has been your favorite show you have done so far?

Lila: My album release show for "WE.ANIMALS." at The Independent in San Francisco for sure.

Me: When you were here last you mentioned the new album "WE.ANIMALS." which has since come out. I downloaded that album from iTunes and really like it. Are you proud of the final release, Lila?

Lila: Yes I am!

Me: The cover is beautiful with you and a lioness or panther over it. Are feline animals your favorite?

Lila: I love all animals. There is an elephant and a lion overlaid over my face. And I am holding a gun to my head, which is very dark so it's hard to tell if you don't know.

Me: Oh, I see that now. Originally the album was gonna have a slightly different cover, right? Wanna show that here?

Lila: Sure.

Lila: The only difference is I am revealing my upper body in its raw form... which would have been banned from digital stores.

Me: Were you forced to change it, or was that your choice?

Lila: It was a choice (sort of). I was abiding by the "release" laws... essentially I could chosen the nudity and known certain sites and stores would not have sold it.

Me: I always admired your freedom and that you did much do what you want. Were you that way when you were growing up?

Lila: Pretty much, yeah! I'm a "controlled" wild though.

Me: "WE.ANIMALS." has an underline theme, am I right? What would that theme be, Lila?

Lila: The theme is the interconnectedness of all life forms. The state of emergency we are facing as a planet, and the importance of recognizing our dependency on one another (plants, animals, water, air, etc).

Me: You really care for the world and the environment, don't you?

Lila: I sure do.

Me: You have a new single out and video called "This Could Be Ha." When I first saw the title when I downloaded the album I thought iTunes made a mistake and cut off the last word, until I heard the song. So, I have to ask, why "This Could Be Ha" and not "This Could Be Harder"?

Lila: Ha is like HA!!! Like "So HA!" Like "TAKE THAT!" You know... It's like "wake the fuck up". HA.

Me: Ahhhh.  I love the video, Lila.

Lila: Thank you!

Me: I have a screen shot of it here...

Me: Where was it filmed?

Lila: Valley Of Fire, Nevada.

Me: Did your feet get cut up from walking over those rocks? Look at this!

Lila: Haha. Pretty much, yeah. It was one of many painful factors of shooting that video. Very perceptive of you.

Me: Thanks. How long did it take to film? It looked like it was hard work.

Lila: We shot it over the period of 2-3 days. I can't remember right now. But it was amazing.

Me: You make some amazing videos, Lila. Do you like making videos and being filmed?

Lila: I LOVE making videos. I'm okay with being filmed... I love making art, and I'll do anything for that... if it means being in front of a camera I'll do that.

Me: Your music always has an amazing drum sound. You must like drums a lot, am I right?

Lila: Thank you, yes I am a HUGE drum lover.

Me: When you write, do you write the lyrics first or music?

Lila: It's always changing! Usually music first though.

Me: Do you write on guitar or keyboards?

Lila: Both!

Me: Tell me about your friend Daniel Garcia. He's in the band, and works with you on your music. When did you first meet him and his long have you known him?

Lila: Yes, Daniel is amazing. We met about 3.5 years ago. We were just close friends for a while before working together. We started working together about 2.5 years ago and since then we haven't stopped. We've been a "creation machine." We are both serious get-er done types, and also both infatuated with art and we have both become each others' creative muses in a way so its been quite amazing. I feel very blessed to have worked with him so deeply.

Me: If you could work with anybody, Lila, who would it be?

Lila: Wow. Bjork probably.

Me: I have to ask you about Cadence and Cause. How did that organization and you start to work together?

Lila: I played at a festival in Denver Colorado called UMS, and they were connected to the festival. We made a connection about what they were doing, and because I am such a huge believer in giving back and being of service to the world and those in need, I jumped on the opportunity to donate.

Me: So, what's next for you? Have you started working on your next project yet?

Lila: YES! I have an acoustic album in the works, a side electronic project, and a single which should be going out soon. Also I have a remix album of "WE.ANIMALS." coming out. So yeah... lots! I just want to be making stuff alllll the time!

Me: Cool! Continued success, and good luck in the future. Mention your website and please come back on the Phile soon.

Lila: Thanks soooooooo much!!! Lilarosemusic.com.

That about does it for this entry of the Phile. Thanks to Laird Jim and of course Lila Rose. The Phile will be back tomorrow with artist Ivan Lovatt. Spread the word, not the turd. Don't let snakes and alligators bite you. Bye, love you, bye.

Not if it pleases me. No, you can't stop me, not if it pleases me. - Graham Parker

Pheaturing Phile Alum Michael Fargnoli From Hadley's Hope

Hello, welcome to the Phile for a Monday. I am your host... Whitey Peverett. How are you?  Did you watch the Emmys last night? I didn't, but I have to say congratulations to all the unwatched shows in my DVR on winning Emmys. If you watched the Emmys, you got a free HBO Now account, courtesy of Andy Samberg. Now you can stop using your parents', or your roommate's parents', or your one-time Tinder date's roommate's parents' account. In response to HBO's CEO saying password sharing is really NBD, Samberg decided to go ahead and offer this info to Emmy viewers. He announced that his username is Khaleesifan3@EmmyHost.com and his password is Password1.
And the account actually worked! Well, it worked briefly.  Alright, so Irving, Texas police likely violated the civil rights of Ahmed Mohamed when they questioned him without his parents or an attorney present. The story has already created a national news frenzy and broad support for Ahmed on the Internet, including from Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and President Obama. Police reportedly denied Ahmed's requests to call his parents during his interrogation, which is quite clearly prohibited by Texas law: A child may not be left unattended in a juvenile processing office and is entitled to be accompanied by the child’s parent, guardian, or other custodian or by the child’s attorney. During a press conference, Irving Police Chief Larry Boyd was unable to answer reporters when asked why Ahmed was denied a call to his parents. Scrutiny over how the police handled Ahmed's arrest and questioning now includes close involvement from the Texas chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. So let's hope that both the Irving police and school board have polished their public speaking skills. They're going to need them.  The British Prime Minister maybe put his genitals in a dead pig. Welcome to #PigGate. David Cameron, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, apparently once placed his "private part" in a the mouth of a dead pig while a student at Oxford university, according to a new biography. What makes it magical is that this is politics, so people are actually stepping up to defend him. At first, I assumed this was just British tabloid journalism at its worst (and it might be), but this is in a biography. Now, it doesn't seem to be authorized, but Britain has some harsh libel laws. You can't just make up that David Cameron put his wang in a pig's head while said head was resting on the lap of a classmate at the Piers Gaveston Society (an Oxford dining club). There is apparently also photographic evidence. You can, as is the case here, say a classmate of Cameron's attested to the story, though, and that was enough to set Twitter almost literally on fire with #piggate. Donald Trump is gonna have to fist a live walrus to get the headlines back. Haha. Anyway, it all makes sense now when I saw the Conservatives last logo...

John Stamos wants kids. In fact, he wants kids so much that his "ovaries are rattling." This guy! The 52 year old actor stars in a new sitcom, "Grandfathered," in which he learns late in life that he has a son and a granddaughter. In real life, he was married to Rebecca Romijn, but they did not have children together. The only thing we know about how Stamos gets along with kids is that he tried to get the Olsen twins fired from "Full House." Apparently, despite his age and continued success with acting, he is still up for having a full house of his own. "My ovaries are rattling. Do men have ovaries? They're jingling. I can hear them jingling now." No, men do not have ovaries. And no, they do not rattle or jingle. They pulsate or tingle, especially if a man is tall, handy around the house, and has all his hair. Stamos is in luck, because Hollywood is full of down-to-earth, modest people that are interested in marrying stars so they can have children, not money.  Participation trophies are totally a thing that make old people say stuff like, "Back in my day, the only trophy we got was a firm kick in the ass! Your generation is way too coddled." Last month, James Harrison of the Pittsburgh Steelers took to Instagram to basically say that, when he saw that his kids received "Best of the Batch Awards" for participating in an athletics program. "I came home to find out that my boys received two trophies for nothing, participation trophies! While I am very proud of my boys for everything they do and will encourage them till the day I die, these trophies will be given back until they EARN a real trophy. I'm sorry I'm not sorry for believing that everything in life should be earned and I'm not about to raise two boys to be men by making them believe that they are entitled to something just because they tried their best... cause sometimes your best is not enough, and that should drive you to want to do better... not cry and whine until somebody gives you something to shut u up and keep you happy. #harrisonfamilyvalues." Is he a good parent? Or was he too harsh? Do you think we care? What, you want a cookie for your opinion?  By the way, best of luck to Pope Francis on still believing in God after visiting New York, Washington DC, and Philadelphia.  So, do you have a Fitbit? I don't, but I might get one now as they have Fitbit badges for extremely lazy people. Check it out...

Haha. I live it.  So, a lot of people, me included, remembers Star Wars coming out in 1977. Well, a character from Star Wars apparently has been out since the 40s. And I have proof from this piece of World War II art work...

That's kinda cool.  Facebook is coming out with a dislike button you might've heard. They are also coming out with this symbol... but I don't know how I would use it.

Hmmm.  So, one thing I like to do in my spare time is to go on Twitter and look up certain words. One of those words I look up is "Foghat." This is a tweet I recently discovered...

That's cool... for him. Right? Okay, let's see who rolled snake-eyes...

Jackie Collins
October 4th, 1937 — September 19th, 2015
She wrote "Drop Dead Bitch." That should do it.

This is an easy one. Read the Wikipedia article about the Faces of Belmez! There were no corpses under the house and chemical analyses make it quite certain, that they are a hoax, faked by the owners son. It's a weird story. Okay, it's Monday, and time to talk football with my good friend Jeff in a pheature called...

Me: Hey! What's up, Jeff? How are you?

Jeff: Hey, Jason, it's always great to be back on the Phile. I'm doing okay. Trying to figure some life stuff out, but then again at this point who isn't? You know?

Me: Yup... I know. Okay, what's the latest in the NFL news?

Jeff: The biggest news coming out of week two is a huge injury. In week one Dallas lost their receiver Dez Bryant. In week two they have now lost their QB for anywhere from 8-10 weeks after Tony Romo broke his clavical in the game against Philadelphia. Add to that their decision not to re-sign DeMarco Murray in the off season. So as it stands the only big offensive weapon Dallas has left is Tight End Jason Whitten. Despite this, they are 2-0 this season.

Me: In the monologue I mentioned James Harrison being mean to his kids taking away their trophies. What's your take in this?

Jeff: Yeah, I saw the James Harrison bit. I think he's trying to toughen up his kids. As if having a scary linebacker for a dad wasn't enough? Do I agree with it? No. I don't. They're kids. At some point yes, we need to stop giving participation trophies. But his kids are young. I'm all for kids being kids. I like James Harrison (obviously, he's on my team) but I think he could lighten up a little bit. If he went after Tom Brady in week 1 like he did those trophies, Pittsburgh could have been 2-0.

Me: Haha. Any other news?

Jeff: It's all ready been a topsy turvy week. Seattle, who has been to the Super Bowl two straight years, is sitting at 0-2. The retooled Eagles? 0-2. The season is still early and we still have 15 weeks to go. No matter how good a team looks on paper, sometimes they are not very good on the field.

Me: Okay, I'm in the lead! Yes! So, how did we do last week?

Jeff: Speaking of looking good on paper, I was confident in my picks this week. My teams were going against Tampa Bay and Oakland. However, both teams looked good. By both teams I mean Tampa Bay and Oakland. I thought my 1-1 week last week was bad. It got worse. I went 0-2. You went 2-0 the first week. You only had one place to go in week 2. You took a step back going 1-1. Which is better than 0-2. I was able to pick up a point when the Steelers CRUSHED the 49ers. The Giants for the second straight week blew a double digit lead and lost. So the point standings after two weeks: You have 6 points. I have 3 points. Good job.

Me: Yes! Ha! Let's do this weeks picks. I say Cardinals by 1 and Browns by 2. What do you say?

Jeff: This week I will pick New England by 4 (and no controversy with the game being in New England this week) and Denver by three points.

Me: Alright, see you next week.

Jeff: Good luck! See you next week.

The 31st artist to be pheatured in the Phile's Art Gallery is Ivan Lovatt and this is one of his pieces...

That's pretty cool. Ivan will be a guest on the Phile a week from today.

Today's pheatured guest is a Phile Alum who is the lead singer in the Orlando based band Hadley's Hope. They have a great new album which is available on iTunes called "Shame." Please welcome back to the Phile my friend... Michael Fargnoli.

Me: Hey, Michael, my friend, welcome back to the Phile. How are you?

Michael: Citrus.

Me: Ummm. Okay. Last time you were here was over two years ago I think. Yeah, February 2013. Man, that long? A lot has happened in my life since then, how about your life?

Michael: I gave up beer.

Me: Oh. Why would you do that? Anyway, Hadley's Hope is based in Orlando, but you are originally from Rhode Island, am I right? How long have you lived in Orlando and what made you move down?

Michael: Yes, you are right! I have lived in Orlando for 20 years. I moved here to attend college because I was obsessed with 2 things: Jim Morrison and the movie Edward Scissorhands.

Me: I have lived in Orlando for almost 28 years, and love it, but I am sure one day I'll move somewhere else, who knows. What about you?

Michael: Maybe I will move to Everglades City someday and be eaten by an alligator or burmese python.

Me: So, who else is in the band with you, Michael?

Michael: Kyle, Tim and Antonio.

Me: So, who formed the band? Was it you?

Michael: Yes, I formed the band in 2003.

Me: The last time you were here you said the name comes from something from the movie Alien. The ship, am I right? So, is Alien your favorite movie apart from Edward Scissorhands?

Michael: No, you are wrong. It is not a ship and it is not from Alien. It is actually from Aliens (2nd movie) and is the name of the colony where the families are living and then get eaten alive. Aliens is not my favorite movie. However, Alien is my 2nd favorite movie (the first Alien movie). Have I confused you yet? :)

Me: Ummm... close. Did you come up with the name yourself?

Michael: No, I had little to do with the naming of the band.

Me: Did the band have any other names before you settled on Hadley's Hope?

Michael: Probably but I can't remember now. However, the band used to be called Studio K (when I formed it). We changed the name to Hadley's Hope in 2006. Studio K was a very lame name.

Me: How many of your fans get the reference and how many think your name is Hadley?

Michael: Ha. Actually a lot of our fans get the reference (most of them are sci-fi nerds). No one thinks my name is Hadley... but we often get asked "Which one of you is Hadley?"

Me: You're the lead singer in the band, right? Are you also the main songwriter, Michael?

Michael: Yes, I am the lead singer. We all write together as a band but I do write all of the lyrics.

Me: Okay, let's talk about your new album... "Shame." Man, I love this album. It's a lot more guitar oriented than your previous one "Neon City." Was that done on purpose?

Michael: It wasn't done on purpose but we definitely took a turn with this album. We were once told that we should drop all of our heavier songs... and instead of taking that insane, lame advice we just got heavier... (songwriting wise that is). 

Me: Who were your influences behind this album, Michael?

Michael: Peter Gabriel

Me: The song "Almanac" has a very 50s sound, and it's one of my favorite songs on the album. Was this a fun song to do?

Michael: Yeah!!

Me: The album starts of with a song called "Anne Bancroft." Is that the actress? Is she your favorite actress? What is that song about?

Michael: Yes, the song was written as a piano demo 10 years ago right after she passed away. The song has nothing to do with her but I wanted to dedicate/tribute her so I named whatever song I happened to be writing at the time she died after her. The song is about someone trying to stop someone from killing themselves.

Me: And another song has a person's name... "The Ballad of Philip Fitzroyce." I love that song but I have no idea who Fitzroyce is. Is he a real person?

Michael: He is a character from the movie Jaws 3... which takes place at SeaWorld Orlando, which is down the street from me.

Me: The single is "Worldkey." What is a worldkey? That song has some very deep lyrics, Michael. Were you okay when you wrote that song?

Michael: WorldKey is this: WorldKey Information: Interactive kiosks that offered previews of various EPCOT Center attractions. Guests could also talk to a live Cast Member via two-way closed-circuit video, or make a restaurant reservation while in the park. It was part of Earth Station at the exit of Spaceship Earth. I was actually fine when I wrote those lyrics. I was reading a lot of "National Geographic Magazine" and listening to Peter Gabriel.

Me: I remember WorldKey now. When I was in custodial at Epcot I would walk by and touch the screens to see who was on there. I think I have a picture of WorldKey here.

Me: Flashbacks, man. So, when you write, do you write on the piano, or guitar and what comes first? Lyrics or music?

Michael: I write on the piano. Sometimes lyrics come first, sometimes music. It just depends on what inspires me.

Me: I have to mention the album cover... were the other guys okay with just you being on the cover? 

Michael: Yeah, it was actually their idea to have me on the album cover and I was okay with it.

Me: Also, where did the album title come from? You shouldn't have shame, it's a great album.

Michael: The title comes from a very dark period in the band. The title is a tongue in cheek, sarcastic nod. I have no shame but I love having "Shame" the album... we are very proud of it.

Me: I have to mention you guys did a version of "Golden Dream," which is the song in the American Adventure show at Epcot. Did you guys ever think of releasing that song? It's a great version. You guys should make an album with songs from Epcot. That would be great! Whatcha think?

Michael: We released it as a online single and it did really well! We would do an whole Epcot Center album but that would be produced by Kyle... and the lead off single would be "Tomorrow's Child."

Me: By the way, you said you would invite me to play kazoo on the album last time I interviewed you. Haha. I listened to the album paring there was no kazoo. So, maybe next album? Haha.

Michael: Definitely! We would love to have you come to our studio and play anything you wished to play :)

Me: Alright, Michael, so, what's next for Hadley's Hope?

Michael: More videos, new songs and a new album.

Me: Thanks for being here again. Come back when the next release comes out, and if it's the Epcot music idea I wanna be on it and I want credit for the idea. Ha. Good luck and continued success.

Michael: Thank you!!

Me: And mention your website.

Michael: Facebook.com/HadleysHopeMusic.

That about does it for this entry of the Phile. Thanks to my guests Jeff Trelewicz and Michael Fargnoli. The Phile will be back next Sunday with Phile Alum Lila Rose. So, spread the word, not the turd. Don't let snakes and alligators bite you. Bye, love you, bye.

Not if it pleases me. No, you can't stop me, not if it pleases me. - Graham Parker