Oh they are glorious, so pretty, shiny and dainty, they may bend my toes into unnatural shapes and give me posture issues that will ensure that as a forty year old woman I will require some sort of a back brace.  But what is the point of all that logic when I can dress my feet up and trip around town.

My particular weakness is Irregular Choice, they take decorating your feet to a whole other level (admittedly Manolo Blanik can probably do it  bit better but I just ain’t got that sort of money)

That’s why the latest escapade of Jimmy Choo has made me so happy, it has combined two of my favourite things social media and shoes. Finally the chance to use my geekery to get me free shoes. Oh yes baby free shoes, not half price, not 20% off from the ridiculous high price so that they still cost the same amount as your months rent. Free!

Jimmy Choo have started a Foursquare treasure hunt; catch a Choo, now if you don’t know what foursquare is I can’t possible help you, go read mashable come back once your educated. Basically some Jimmy Choo employee is wandering around London town checking into places, all you need to do is to check into the same place at the same time, and you get free shoes.  See all that time spent wandering round the internet, playing on twitter, checking in on Foursquare might actually result in a beautiful pair of shoes.

It’s renewed my love of Foursquare, I really want those shoes, I need them. Social media for social good, I mean how much more good can it get to give me a pair of shoes that will surely cripple my feet. I know I shouldn’t like it my  principles tell me that I shouldn’t want the designer shoes I should want some made out  vegan materials  but I can’t help it, it’s like a primal urge.

Now you will have to excuse me I need to go stare a my iphone until I see that catch a choo has moved within an easily reachable distance….

For me, the Super Furry Animals were always one of those bands. You know, the kind of band you hear all the time and you like, it’s just you’re not exactly going to rush out there and spend  your cash on the new album. I remember growing up around plenty of people who called themselves fans, but I’d always found another album I’d like to buy instead.

A decade later, and I’m actually starting to like them more. Especially after their ninth album, ‘Dark Days/Light Years’ hit the (electronic) shelves in March of this year. The album is undoubtedly brilliant, recieving widespread acclaim from sources such as NME, who not only describe the offerings on this album as “sprawling epics”, also referred to their reputation as “one of the best live bands around” [*].

It was with a stroke of luck and a wee bit of modern-day (social) networking that we got to go along to see the band perform last Saturday at Somerset House in London; thanks to the guys over at Magners UK. This may have, in itself, been the highlight of the whole night. There is a constant argument going on about the importance of Social Networking, with many in mainstream and big business writing the whole scene off due to low returns and the lack of a ‘personal touch’. I for one am a big fan of the likes of Twitter, and it paid off this weekend with a pair of gig tickets. I’ve never met these guys, I haven’t taken them out for a business lunch or donned a suit to meet their expectations, but there we were enjoying a free gig on a mild summers evening in London.

But, back to the gig. The NME claim of “one of the best live bands around” isn’t wrong, with the band putting on a fantastic live show. Guitarist and Lead Vocalist Gruff Rhys gained applause and laughs with his use of cue-cards throughout the show, whilst we stood amongst crowds of middle aged fans who seemed delighted to be smoking a bit of weed whilst the kids stayed at home with the babysitters, a hark back to their younger days when the Super Furry’s were at the height of their fame. Somerset House was a great setting for the concert – luckily the weather held out and we were able to enjoy our drinks in relative comfort (apart from finding out a large Pimms & Leomonade was £9…). It was also impressive to see the devout fans come out in style, with the award for Most Effort going to the guy in the full size crocodile suit.

You can listen to the new album, ‘Dark Days/Light Years’ on Spotify here. If you would like to get in touch with the guys over at Magners, or keep up to date on their events and promotions, then check them out on Twitter or Facebook.

Twitter is a phenomenon right now, and much like Facebook (and MySpace before that), I swore I would never jump on the bandwagon and become another tool in the social networking machine.

But the world spins, times change, and I now belong to a ‘unique’ community that quite happily exchanges barrel loads of personal information in return for the chance to socialise with real-life friends in a completely un-real virtual reality. “Give me your number, we’ll meet up for a drink…” has become “Facebook me!”, adding to and already ridiculously annoying new breed of speech, in which folk “LOL!” instead of using the out-dated yet traditional act of laughter. Honestly, next time someone takes a picture and lets me know that it’s their new profile pic as if I may for some unknown reason give a shit, I may just have to take a little trip to the Thames via the ledge of Tower Bridge.

Now this isn’t meant to be an attack on everyone that frequents Social Networking sites (like I said, things change), but it seems to be getting a titch ridiculous. The most annoying thing however, is that I have started the long slippery slope to Twitter/Facebook/Blogging dependence, and I’m not even sure how i ended up here. When did it become normal for me to wake up and check my Twitter account before I’ve even had time to sit up and go take a piss? Is it OK that I think nothing of whipping out my iPhone and updating my status every time something remotely interesting happens? And is it normal that I (and hundreds more like me) follow the escapades of a newborn baby named @Minimentally?

Put novelty factors aside for a moment, and really think about what’s happening here. My life can continue perfectly normally without updates such as “Saw lots of trees today. Trees then sky, trees then sky. Then more trees and more sky. Can’t wait till I can sit up.” And do I really need to know a babies thoughts on eating and shitting?

Of course I realise that this is just a gimmick, and that this isn’t really a teeny tiny baby sending updates to my handy Twitter platform of choice (or so I’ve been told), but once again, when did this become a regular everyday thing? I still grimmace at the thought of me excitedly telling my girlfriend about the newborn I had added as a contact, and reeling off a couple of Tweets to assert to her the value that comes with knowing what (a parent has decided) a baby thinks. I also remember a time when Social Networking, and my participation within it, was simply an end to a means. A handy and convenient way to advance my career and make me a few quick contacts and get in touch with old friends.

A quick look out across the Twitter-sphere brings the discovery of yet more babies quite happily sharing their inner most thoughts. And after a couple of clicks it appears I have chosen to follow them as well. Oh well, what can you do? Like I said, the world has changed…

(By the way, you can follow Squidge Magazine on Twitter by clicking here.)