Virgin Radio and Brand Strategy VIP gift giveaway competition Virgin Festival, Brand Strategy wrote earlier this month about attending the V Festival. Now those lovely folks at Virgin Radio have kindly given us a selection of branded goodies from their corporate partners to give away to Brand Strategy Blog readers. We've already distributed a few of these goodies to our readers who send us regular feedback, including some Liz Earle skincare products, Jose Cuervo tequila, some Johnnie Loves Rosie hair items and James Brown hair products and a cheeky silver bullet from.

Blather highlight: Festival beauty survival Tickets, It's festival season alright. Proving that the Blather really IS the source of all wisdom about all things, you've been blathering about how the hell to stay beautiful at Electric Picnic. (The.ery first thing you should do is read Kirstie's seminal post on Surviving Festival Season and pick up her tips. Trust me, Kirstie is a seasoned festival goer and these tips will stand you in good stead.) And yesterday some of the rest of you shared your advice. Sparkle confessed to being a festival.

DUCK?s Docter Twins Work For Weinerschnitzel Sometimes being hungry for a hot dog is no laughing matter. Thanks to Los Angeles-based DUCK, formerly Duck Soup Studios latest Wienerschnitzel campaign, craving a hot dog has never been more amusing! Helmed by live-action directors.cter Twins and animation directors Lane .&.Jan (Lane Nakamura and Jan Chen) the four laugh-out-loud spots, via DGWB of Santa Ana, CA, represent the fast food chain's resurrection of their beloved animated character The Delicious One (TDO).The Wienerschnitzel. Baltimore.

Outside Lands Day 3: Andrew Bird is Good, Jack Johnson is Charming, and Wilco Still Plays Too Long Words and photos by Tyler Callister You ever wonder what goes on in Golden Gate Park at night? I like to imagine that somewhere deep within the darkness of Golden Gate Park, San Francisco hobos have little Outside Lands Festivals of their own. I imagine they light up campfires and have all-night hoedowns under the trees. I imagine they bang on banjos and old trash cans, and the roar of yodels and yips and laughs shoot up into the air like gun shots. They wear puffy down jackets and thick. Ticket.

She and Him reveals more west coast fun M. Ward and Zooey Deschanel, more affectionately known to their ever-growing fan base as She and Him, have announced three new dates in California come early November. Tickets will go on sale through a special pre-sale tomorrow at 3 PM (PCT) through their website. The dates include stops at the Wiltern in Los Angeles, Bimbo's 365 Club in San Francisco, and the House of Blues in Anaheim. In case you're still unaware of what has become one of the year's most unique duos, lets do some quick story. Virgin Festival at Baltimore.

Wener?s Winners: Nada Surf, Benji Hughes, Long Beach Blues Virgin Festival tickets? Nada Surf at Samueli ? Singer-songwriter Matthew Caws and his New York mates, drummer Ira Elliot and bassist Daniel Lorca, continue to defy any curse of ?90s one-hit-wonderdom with each new album this decade. They superbly rebounded from label woes with Let Go (2002), expanded that palette with The Weight Is a Gift (2005) and earlier this year issued their most sophisticated (if .a bit overly emotive and Snow Patrol-ish) effort yet, fittingly titled Lucky, further bridging the gap between indi.

Slipknot's Crahan offers 'All Hope Is Gone' track-by-track breakdown Baltimore ticket broker, ARTISTdirect has posted Slipknot percussionist Shawn .".Clown.".Crahan's track-by-track breakdown of the group's new album.".All Hope Is Gone.". Read it at this location.".All Hope Is Gone.".is scheduled for release tomorrow (August 26) via Roadrunner Records. The follow-up to 2004's .".Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses).".was recorded at Sound Farm Studios in the band's home state of Iowa with producer Dave Fortman (Evanescence, Simple Plan, Mudvayne). Slipknot was forced to cancel several European .

And the Winning Tomato Is! I don't fess-up to this very often, but being a food-writer really has its perks. This was definitely one of them. I got to squeeze, smell and taste some seriously stellar tomatoes. That big boy up top was an entry in the heaviest category at the 24th Annual Massachusetts Tomato Festival where I was judging.  (The actual winner in that category was a gnarly 3.23 pound Striped German grown by farmer Jim Ward.)  I love their names almost as much as I love eating them ? Black Prince, Striped. ticket brokers.

And the Winning Tomato Is! I don't fess-up to this very often, but being a food-writer really has its perks. This was definitely one of them. I got to squeeze, smell and taste some seriously stellar tomatoes. That big boy up top was an entry in the heaviest category at the 24th Annual Massachusetts Tomato Festival where I was judging.  (The actual winner in that category was a gnarly 3.23 pound Striped German grown by farmer Jim Ward.)  I love their names almost as much as I love eating them ? Black Prince, Striped.tickets.

Wilco aims for new record in 2009 Since the release of 2007?s Sky Blue Sky, Wilco has been spending the recent months on the road, spiting time between a full-length North American tour, headlining stints at Lollapalooza and Virgin Mobile Festival, and Saturday Night Live. Oh yeah, and then there is that thing with Neil Young in December. Showing no signs of road fatigue, Jeff Tweedy and his Wilco mates now have plans that span even beyond the recently announced tour dates with Young. During an interview with Albany's WAMC.tickets.