will.i.am Suing Pharrell For Using The Phrase ‘I Am’

I don’t often talk about celebrity issues here, in fact I don’t think I ever have. I don’t want to be another blog OMGing and WTFing over, say, North West and how it’s a ridiculous name. But this article on ShortList earlier caught my eye and I’ve been thinking about it all day.

Singer and The Voice UK judge will.i.am is apparently suing artist Pharrell because he’s used the words ‘I’ and ‘Am’ next to each other. Seriously. It’s all because Pharrell has a company called ‘i am OTHER’, which amongst other things, has a YouTube channel (which has the hilarious Awkward Black Girl series, though that’s a whole different post). will.i.am (real name William James Adams, such a normal name right? I think I’m going to call him by that) believes that the fact Pharrell is to use the phrase ‘i am’ as a logo for products will have the following effect. "The registration of the mark . . . is likely to dilute the I AM mark and the WILL.I.AM mark".

What?! Does Mr Adams really believe that people are going to think the above? Look, I get it, will.i.am is a very clever thing for someone called William to do, hahaha. I like the fact he’s even made it his website, it works especially well on the likes of Twitter, where typing will.i.am automatically hyperlinks the website. But he doesn’t own the phrase I Am. What is he going to do? Sue Eimear Quinn for her song ‘I Am the Voice’ (surely people who hear the phrases ‘I Am’ and ‘The Voice’ only thing of will.i.am). Sue Chesney Hawkins for his song ‘The One And Only’ because he believes that only he should have the right to sing ‘I Am the One and Only’? Because honestly I think Simon Amstell did it better.

Or maybe he’ll try sue the pet food company Iams and take it over for himself?

(look, I’m not great at this stuff but you get the idea!). I just find the idea of celebrities getting their knickers in a twist over catchphrases laughable. Take Paris Hilton when she trademarked ‘That’s Hot’ and then sued Hallmark for using it in a card. I suppose it was a clever move by Hilton but not like she needed the money! Or maybe she did, it’s not like I know these things.

Anyway, I am firmly team Pharrell on this case. He looks amazing for 40 years old, I love his music and the music he’s produced, I touched him once at a concert (just on the hand! Get your mind out of the gutter) and he doesn’t have a ridiculous square missing out of the corner of his hair like Mr Adams. Hey, maybe that’s the next thing will.i.am can trademark, his hair do! And finally, to bid you adieu I leave you with one of my favourite songs that contain I Am. Peaceout!

Ireland: Should I stay or should I go?

Australia. There’s probably more Irish there at the moment than Australians. It seems to be the place for Irish people to emigrate to and yet, despite the fact that several of my friends are over there right now, I have zero interest. Sure, I would like to visit Australia at some stage, but I don’t want to move there. Though when I say this to people, even close friends, they look at me like I have two heads or something. When my boyfriend returned after spending 4 months there, one of the most common questions he got was ‘Would you go back?’. And most times he answers ‘No, not without Breige’. Cue people turning to me with an inquisitive look on their face. Which quickly turned to shock when I said I had no intention of heading out there anytime soon.

Why is this so shocking? Why is it such a bad thing to want to be close to home? Don’t get me wrong, I love to travel and can’t wait until I can jet off somewhere again. I’m not one of those people who never wants to leave their county, let alone the country. But Australia isn’t a priority right now. If someone handed me a wad of money and said ‘Here, go travel!’. Europe would be first on my list. Which apparently is ‘boring’ as it’s on the doorstep and I can go there anytime. But it’s what I want! And people seem to sneer at this for some reason.

I don’t want to leave Ireland like my grandparents had to. I’ve lived here most of my life, it’s my home and I’m damn proud of it. Especially after the international spotlight has shone so brightly on us recently, I can’t tell you how happy I was that the Queen of England and Barack Obama’s visits went smoothly. The atmosphere here after that was amazing, a mix of hope, pride and happiness. There was no talk of IMFs, recessions or bankers, just the sheer pride of being Irish.

As much as I want to stay home and help rebuild the economy, it’s looking worse as the days go by. The timing for my college graduating year couldn’t have been worse. We went into college during a boom, when jobs were plentiful. One of the first things that was said to us in college was that everyone in the course who had graduated that year either went into a job or into further studies. 4 years later and it’s a different story. Even after a year, there’s still so many of us unemployed. It is disheartening and at the same time frustrating, because my generation didn’t cause this recession and yet we’re suffering for it. Suffering for something we had no control over.

It’s no wonder that so many people I know are now living abroad. And it’s in my mind more and more everyday. Should I stay or should I go? By the end of this year, unless things pick up, I might just have to go. Where to? I don’t really know. London maybe, or perhaps Canada. Australia? I might not want to go there, but the way things are, I might not have a choice.