Food for thought from Franz
Franz Ferdinand frontman Alex Kapranos has started writing a weekly food column in the Guardian of London. His first contribution appeared in the G2 section on Sept. 16. Called Soundbites, it will follow the singer and band’s food-related adventures as they travel the world on their forthcoming tour. In his first column, Kapranos writes about his days working as a chef alongside Franz bassist Bob Hardy in a Glasgow restaurant – plus the time he ate mole in a Mexican convent.
Parrot jumps ship
A parrot trained to sing the praises of an Indian politician has moved over to his rival’s camp. The parrot used to chant “Long live Laloo” at meetings in support of the National People’s Party’s Laloo Prasad Yadav. But after its trainer Mausmi recently crossed over to the opposition, the parrot is now supporting Mr. Yadav’s political rival Nitish Kumar. The handler claimed the parrot had started chanting “Long Live Nitish” without any provocation. “Animals are very sensible. They have their own way to distinguish good and bad.”
When you gotta go, you gotta go
President Bush had to scrawl a note to Condoleezza Rice when he was bursting for the toilet during a top meeting. Nature called in the middle of the planet’s largest-ever gathering of national leaders meeting in New York to mark the United Nation’s 60th anniversary. President Bush was pictured passing Ms. Rice a note scrawled in pencil pleading to be allowed a “bathroom break”. His request was snapped by Reuters photographer Rick Wilking whose zoom lens revealed it read: “I think I may need a bathroom break? Is this possible?” A Reuters spokeswoman said, “He saw Mr. Bush writing something down and was definitely going for the shot of him writing – but I don’t think he knew exactly what was on the paper at the time.”