Something

Poetry is not my forte, and I am rarely grabbed by the words of a poem. I do however find a lot of meaning from song lyrics, which to me are a modern form of this ancient art.

I believe some songs if written out like a poem sound just as beautiful as when you hear them with the music. Something by The Beatles, written by George Harrison, is for me one of the single most beautiful love songs ever written, a view that was also shared by Frank Sinatra. The words are so passionate, yet so tender. This is a song you could fall in love to, but at the same time question how scary it is to fall in love with somebody (it is bloody terrifying). 

Music is my poetry, and I look to lyrics for guidance and support, the way others may look to novels and poems. This, in my opinion, is my favourite lyrical poem:

Something in the way she moves,
Attracts me like no other lover.
Something in the way she woos me.
I don't want to leave her now,
You know I believe and how.

Somewhere in her smile she knows,
That I don't need no other lover.
Something in her style that shows me.
I don't want to leave her now,
You know I believe and how.

You're asking me will my love grow,
I don't know, I don't know.
Stick around, and it may show,
But I don't know, I don't know.

Something in the way she knows,
And all I have to do is think of her.
Something in the things she shows me.
I don't want to leave her now.
You know I believe and how.

Stooshe - Fuck Me

This song has been stuck in my head for about 2 days now and I love it, despite it being both filthy and slightly rubbish all at the same time.

This is definitely a way for a new girl band to get noticed. There is a clean version called 'Love Me' which simply replaces the word 'fuck' with 'love', yet leaves all the other sexually explicit lyrics in. Brilliant. 

Friendship Bi-Polar

I have recently been thinking about life, people, and just generally having a think (it severely hurt my brain). I came to the realisation that some people can both help and hinder your life. There are a number of people that I know who both bring me intense happiness, but also make me feel so incredibly sad. I have come to call this phenomena 'friendship bi-polar'.

Friendship bi-polar is an odd experience. You have these friends who you can't let go from your life even though they have the ability to ruin it on a daily basis. They are like a drug you can't stop taking. You feel that if you let this person go you are losing a part of yourself. But why can you not stop being friends with this person? If, like me, you can make friends fairly easily, losing one friend isn't too big a deal. But yet these friends have a constant grip on you and you find it impossible to leave. It's like mental abuse where when it's someone else you are sat screaming 'WHY ARE YOU NOT LEAVING THEM'.

If, like I have previously, you get away from one of these friends, make the break and cut all ties, you are left with this empty space, but one that leaves you a lot happier than you were before. It is always weighing up the good and the bad in these friends, and seeing if making your life partially miserable is worth it, or if you'd rather be miserable that they are no longer in your life.

I have suffered from friendship bi-polar since I have been about 10 years old. I am not sure how I attract these friends, but once I let them in I find it so very hard to let them go, despite the effects they have on my mental capacity and my health. I almost find sometimes that if some form of friendship rehab was available I would be there in a shot. Taking a complete break from the world and the people who confuse you on a daily basis and make your life miserable and agitated.

Most people are probably wondering why if I am thinking and complaining about people why I am friends with them still, but it is not that simple. I physically can't stop myself, and sometimes I'd rather be with someone who makes me sad than not have them in my life at all. I guess I will be suffering from friendship bi-polar for a number of years to come.

Scenes From A Teenage Killing

Last night I watched a documentary on BBC3 called Scenes From a Teenage Killing. One word: wow.

The documentary lists every teenager murdered or killed in a violent way in 2009. It is absolutely heartbreaking. Throughout the programme the viewer meets a number of the families of those who have been killed, and get an insight into how the family copes after such a tragic event. One family in particular just broke my heart. David Cox was 18 and suffered from autism and who had the mental age of an eight year old. His parents had recently moved from a less than desirable area of Leicester to a nicer part of Doncaster, but it was to be here that David was killed. He was walking home with his family when he got in an altercation with some boys who punched him and knocked him to the ground. This was enough to take David's life. Gone in a moment of madness. The boys involved calmly walked away and left his family to deal with the death of their beloved son.

In the documentary you can see that his father Clive's heart is completely broken and he is not coping at all with what has happened. His wife Heidi is trying to hold the family together and the strain being put on their relationship is obvious to see. Life will never be nice or normal for this family ever again due to the stupidity of those boys involved.

The programme did not only focus on the murder of boys involved in some kind of 'gang' related incident. It also looked at the murder of Jessica McCagh who was murdered by her boyfriend after having petrol poured on her and then being set alight. It is still not clear why he murdered her, but in one last moment of degrading behaviour he held their bedroom door shut so she could not escape. Viewers get to meet her father, Garry. He was the last person to see her alive and tells of the last words his daughter said to him which were, ‘I don’t want to die, Dad'. Garry still has flashbacks of that night and has turned to drink to help him cope with his loss, which then has a knock on effect to the rest of his family who although physically present, appear to have lost their father as well. 


This documentary was so thought provoking and moving. I had tears in my eyes throughout, mainly just through seeing the profound strength that the families had after their child/brother/daughter had been murdered. Many of these killings were pointless. Some were over a lack of respect, some were random, some were pre-meditated, but each was equally just as horrible as the last. The families involved were so brave to allow cameras in at such a horrific time in their lives, but many did so to hopefully stop such senseless killings from happening again.


Heartbreaking, but powerful stuff.  

Forgotten Music

After a complete phone memory card malfunction the other week which resulted in me losing all my music from my phone, I had the arduous task of putting all the music back on there. It took a very long time of searching through my external hard drive judging which music was good enough to grace my phone, but it was also entirely worth the time and effort.

My external hard drive is probably not used by me as much as it should be even though the phrase, 'Yep, completely backed everything up...' runs off my lips more times than it should due to sheer embarrassment. Anyway, I digress. The great thing about my external hard drive is it contains hundreds of songs that I had downloaded or copied on to my dad's computer when I was about 15. Going through the hard drive I discovered songs that I completely forgot existed, songs which at the time were probably my favourite songs, in the world, ever.

This is one of the joys of the digital music age. You can have song that lies dormant for years then find it on some old device and fall in love all over again. Over the last few days I have been enjoying the sounds of Milburn, The Rapture, The Bravery, The Departure and all the other bands who I adored when I was 16 (to my shame I also found LMC and U2 - Take Me To The Clouds Above. We can't all be musically perfect)

So I thought I would share with you some of my forgotten youth, the music that shaped how I am today, and also probably annoyed my mum a great deal due to it always being played on repeat.

Enjoy!

The Bravery - Honest Mistake

Milburn - Lipstick Lickin'

The Departure - Be My Enemy

I'll Tell You A Secret...

Everyone has one. You have one, I have one, we all have a TV programme we feel guilty about liking. If you say you don't then I simply do not believe you.

I have a few of these guilty little pleasures, one of them being Bad Girls. Judge me all you like, it's not like I don't already judge myself for watching this awful programme, but I simply can't stop myself. It is addictive. They hook you in by showing you highlights from the next episode at the end; ''YVONNE CALLS SOMEONE A NONCE AND PUNCHES HER IN THE FACE', 'CRYSTAL AND JOSH NEARLY GET CAUGHT DOING IT IN A CUPBOARD', 'HOLLAMBY MOANS AT SOME PRISONERS'.

I get excited to see what tragic event will happen next. This is when I realise how sad my life really is, that the highlight of my day is going to bed and watching an episode of a drama set in a women's prison. There are never any real stories, just a lot of angry women either copping off with one of the prison guards, or a prison guard going insane because men don't fancy her, (for anyone interested, I couldn't believe that Di slept with Gina's boyfriend, and now Gina's just found out she's pregnant AND that her boyfriend cheated on her, poor love).

But still I simply cannot stop watching. I want to see the two Julie's dithering about finishing each others sentences, and Babs finally getting out of the nick, and to see Crystal and Josh go off and have a happy life together outside of prison. I think as long as you admit to yourself that a programme is rubbish then it makes it just that bit more acceptable.

Now if you will excuse me, I need to go and finish series 3...

Topshop, February

New month, and some beautiful new dresses from Topshop. As you all know, I am a HUGE Topshop fan. Their dresses are to die for, both being elegant and simplistic. They're not afraid to use denim which I like, as denim is never used enough in my opinion. I have found from experience that it is possible to wear a denim dress and not look like a 10 year old girl..

Keeping with this seasons fitted dresses, as well as more smock type dresses, pulling inspiration from the fifties and sixties, the new lines added to this seasons collection are lovely. I am still trying to find the mystery man who will purchase all these beautiful clothes for me but have so far failed. Any takers, please let yourselves be known.

So here are my favourite new dresses for this month. I've also thrown in a pair of beautiful black leather shoes. They will be placed on my ever growing wish list (a list that is never ending).

Globophobia, it's real..

If I was a cat, this photo would be me..

Boys Who Like Girls

I will never understand why a man dressed as a woman dancing around is so funny, but it really really is. First it was Robert Webb, then Rufus Hound and now Russell Kane. There is something weirdly sexy about it.. No? Just me then..

The Robert Webb one is my absolute favourite. I don't think any other video on YouTube makes me laugh as much as this one. God bless you, Robert Webb.

Ehlers Danlos Syndrome

Ehlers-Danlos is a group of inherited disorders that affects the bodies soft tissues. People with the condition suffer from lax joints, bruise easily, have stretchy skin and many other more minor side effects.

As someone who suffers from the condition, I know first hand how savage the condition can be. Although many people who do not know about it find it funny, it is anything but. The daily pain, which can be managed with pain killers, can disrupt those with the conditions daily lives. Frequent subluxations can make walking and running difficult (luckily for me I hate running anyway..).

Although it can cause severe embarrassment, it is a genetic disorder, something which the suffer has no control over. As it is a relatively uncommon disorder there is a bit of a stigma attached to it. I tend to find people laugh as they don't know what else to say. I also make jokes about it, but mainly because if I didn't I'd spend my whole life letting it get me down.

In a parallel world I would not have been born with this condition, but I did and I have to accept it. It gets me down and hinders my every day life but there is nothing I can do. I can either moan about it, or keep living. It is one of the reasons I have done so many things with my life. It is like a big black cloud following me, but one day the cloud will disappear and it will be sunny again.

The Ehlers-Danlos Support Group has been set up to help those with the condition, and gives medical advice and support on how to not let it bring you down. I hope that one day I will have millions of pounds to pour in to research about the condition, and one day there will be medical advancement in to better treatment. Here is the website, go check it out (and if you want a laugh, youtube videos of bendy people with Ehlers-Danlos..)

http://www.ehlers-danlos.org/

La Vita è Bella

La Vita è Bella, or Life Is Beautiful, is a film set in Italy during World War Two. The film focuses on a Jewish family who get taken away to a concentration camp and separated. The father who is named Guido does all he can to protect his small son from the true horrors of what a concentration camp holds. Guido decides to make it in to a game and tells his son that if they get 1000 points they will win a tank. 

The first half of the film is more of a slapstick affair, whereas the second half, although still funny, has parts that completely pulls at the heart strings, or rather rips them out. I have never had a film that has made me cry so much from both funny and sad parts. 

Some people judged the film for taking away from the horrors of the Holocaust. I personally believe the film to be not necessarily about the Holocaust, but more about the love a father has for his child. Guido will do anything he can to protect his son and this eventually leads to tragedy. 

This film is one of the best films that I have ever seen. The characters all gel so well together, and I think it helps that the writer Roberto Benigni has his real life wife Nicoletta Braschi playing his wife in the film. The child actor who plays their son Giosuѐ is also superb. As a small child who wouldn't know the traumas of the Holocaust, he acts beautifully. 

I would recommend this film to anybody. It is best to watch it in Italian with English subtitles as the dubbed version of the film takes away from some of the amazing acting. It is one of the saddest, but also one of the best films, and it is easy to see why it won so many Oscars. A must see. 

Broken Heart

One of my favourite lines from Skins, a line that is very true indeed.

Red Riding

Last year I was introduced to the programme Red Riding. Originally screened in 2009, I managed to miss it while it was shown on TV. Luckily due to the greatness of 4oD I was able to catch up with it on there.

The programme is split in to three separate stories that are all interlinked. Based on the Red Riding Quartet by David Peace, the stories revolve around the West Yorkshire Police Force and the corruption that runs rife there. Each episode is set in the year of its title; 1974, 1980 and 1983.

The first episode is based around the story of Eddie Dunford who is the new crime correspondent for the Yorkshire Post. Just as he gets his new position, a girl goes missing from a village nearby. Dunford becomes obsessed with trying to show police incompetence and also try and highlight the corruption in the force. He also begins a relationship with a woman who's child had gone missing a number of years before. The whole story is full of drama, sex and guns, the perfect combination.

The second episode focuses on the Yorkshire Ripper. Peter Hunter is brought in to the West Yorkshire force to try and re-evaluate the case, and to go over evidence to try and find out who is committing the murders, and why he has yet to be caught. Hunter faces problems from the start, with many of those in the force not liking or trusting him (he is given a very unsavoury nickname). He to can see the amount of corruption in the force and aims to also get to the bottom of it without becoming involved himself. He, like Dunford, gets on the wrong side of the force and faces the consequences.

The third episode ties together the events of the first and second episodes. This story focuses on a number of characters including a member of the West Yorkshire force, a local lawyer and also a local rent boy. Another girl has gone missing, but the man originally charged with the murders is in a secure hospital, but the similarities in the cases seem to be striking. Lawyer John Pigott tries to help the man accused of the crime, local man Michael Myshkin. At the end of the episode all three stories get resolved and it is not an ending you expect at all.

This was one of the best British dramas I have seen in a very long time. The cast is superb, and features a number of very talented actors including Andrew Garfield, John Henshaw, Sean Bean and Paddy Considine. At times it can be highly confusing, but all the viewers questions and confusions are eventually answered. I do not know if the force was as corrupt as the programme makes out, but the corruption that runs throughout the station is huge. I like to have some faith in the British police and like to think that now there is no such thing as corruption, I could be wrong.

I would recommend this programme to anyone, well apart from those who don't like seeing blood.. or sex.. or guns. If you don't like those three then maybe you should give it a miss.

Guns Don't Kill People..

"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed"

In the coming months a number of states in America will decide whether or not guns should be allowed to be carried on college campuses. As it stands, most states allow a person to carry a weapon as long as it is concealed. These laws though currently ban the owner from carrying their guns in schools, colleges, hospitals, churches or bars (unless with the owners permission). America has a problem with guns, this is well known, but is allowing people to carry guns in more places the wisest decision to help with America's gun problem?

As the saying goes, 'Guns don't kill people, people kill people', and many American's see this to be true. However, events from recent years have seen a steady rise in gun related incidents and there have been a number of high profile mass shootings such as Virginia Tech and Columbine. Therefore is it wise to let students carry a gun to class? The argument is that if someone does come onto campus with a gun, if someone else has a gun they can stop them with their gun. Confusing I know.

When I was studying in America I was genuinely scared of someone shooting me whilst I was learning about the student movement of the sixties, or what happened at the end of the Cold War. I once am pretty sure I did see a boy with a gun in his bag. So what did I do? Smiled at him a lot so if he decided to go crazy he might spare me because I smiled at him a few times. Genuinely.

Many colleges have their own campus police. These are proper police with proper powers, not like campus security you see in England. They carry guns. Surely if there were to be an incident it should be the police who are fully trained in firearms who should try and stop a potential shooter, not a rogue student?

It has only been in recent years that a Supreme Court judge has ruled that he interprets the second amendment to mean an individuals right to own a gun. This is a new step, and will make it even harder now for federal or state governments to bring in any form of gun control legislation. The NRA, the most powerful lobby group in America, is right behind expanding the laws for where individuals can carry guns. If  recent history is anything to go by, once the NRA are on board a campaign it is like an express train where the breaks don't work. They go full steam ahead and will probably achieve what they set out to as they have a huge pool of money to draw from.

So, in the coming months we will have to wait and see if individual states expand the laws. I personally hope that they are kept as they are. America already has such a complex and dangerous relationship with guns and there is no need to muddy the water further.

The Beatles

"Turn off your mind, relax and float down stream"

The Beatles, arguably one of the biggest bands to have ever existed, with John, Paul, George and Ringo, four of the most famous names in the entire world. 

Each new year a new album by the band gets churned out by their record label, people went crazy for them all over again when their songs were finally released on itunes, but what is their appeal? 

Having been brought up on The Beatles I am a superfan. I live and breathe The Beatles, listen to them at least once a day, read books on them and watch documentaries based on their story. I love them. To me one of the strangest sentences a person can say is, 'I've never really heard The Beatles'. A look of shock registers on my face, and all I want to do is pull out my ipod and shove the headphones in their ears.

The early albums feature a mix of covers, mainly of Motown songs. These would then be combined with songs written by Lennon and McCartney. As the years go on, and with each album, they get their own unique sound, one the world came to love. 

My Dad and Aunty were lucky enough to see the band in the 1960s and my Dad said that even though he was in the first few rows he couldn't hear a thing. This was a combination of tiny amps being used, but mainly the hundreds of screaming girls fainting and crying due to the fact they were in the presence of the band. 

The Beatles have the ability to make me laugh but also make me cry. I think I have only ever got through the entirety of Let It Be once without shedding a tear. They are a unique piece of British musical history. They may be imitated, but to me they will never be bettered.

Here is a photo of The Beatles looking like a cross between some Hasidic Jews and some Amish people.

After All, In The End, Just Pretend

A few years ago my sister introduced me to this beautiful song. I didn't know much about The Bens but after hearing this I had a listen to a few more songs and loved them. I had heard Ben Lee whilst living in Australia (he wrote one of the most catchy songs of all time called Catch My Disease, look it up) but did not know anything about The Bens as a collective.

The lyrics sum up probably most people's lives. Life is unpredictable, bad things happen, but just make do and mend. Make do and mend is my personal motto. Parents break up, people die, you lose friends and things go wrong. Things will be bad for a while but will eventually pick themselves up. Just pretend in your mind that things will be OK. Your brain is the most useful tool that you have. In recent years I have been able to train myself to not take things as read and also to be able to not over analyse when things go wrong.

So here it is, Just Pretend by The Bens.

Melbourne, I Love You

In 2006 I made the brave (or some would consider stupid) decision to move to Melbourne, Australia. Originally my gap year plan was to move to Canada, but then my brother's wedding got in the way and I changed my plans and off to Oz I went.

The only people I knew who lived in Melbourne were my sister in laws family. I had met my sister in laws parents briefly and was scared about moving to a country I'd never been to before, as well as living with people I barely knew. I needn't have worried. Olivia's family are the most welcoming people I have ever met. The evening I got there I was told, 'You are not a guest, you are part of the family'. This meant as part of the family I got to be fully involved for wedding preparations. In turn this meant I ground walnuts for a week to make cakes.

After a few weeks I began looking for places to move to. I got extremely lucky and found a lovely house in a suburb called Clifton Hill. I also got a job working for a market research company. This was when my trip really got going.

Melbourne is one of the best cities I have ever been to. If you're young, free and single there are a wealth of cool bars and trendy boutiques to visit. There are exhibitions on, free concerts, art galleries, museums. It is like a more compact, dare I say it, better version of London. I have never felt as free as I did when I lived there.

My favourite bar was called Section 8. It was down a side alley in Chinatown, and consisted of a caravan acting as the bar, and crates standing in for chairs. I have never been anywhere like it, and am sure I will never  go anywhere like it again. I recommend it to anyone who visits.

If I was given an opportunity to go and live in Melbourne again, I would in a heartbeat. I really think you can fall in love with a city. I have fallen hook, line and sinker in love with Melbourne.

MELBOURNE, I BLOODY LOVE YA!

Superbowl

Last year I was lucky enough to be in America to watch the Superbowl. A huge American tradition (they look at you like an alien if you say you're not watching it), advertisers spend millions of dollars buying advertising space during the ad breaks. People watch the Superbowl sometimes just for the adverts, seeing the actual game of football in the middle as a bit of an inconvenience.

As an outsider I found them fascinating. Advertisers really step up their games for the Superbowl, and it is clear to see. I thought I would share some of my favourite adverts from the 2010 Superbowl. One is for Audi Cars and focuses on the issue of being environmentally friendly. The other is for a company called ETrade. This advert still makes me laugh, mainly just for the last line (they actually got sued for this advert.. you will guess why).

                        

The One

Recently I have been thinking about soulmates. Well no, not necessarily, more of a musing over whether there is a certain person for everyone, and how do you know when you've met them.

I am the type of person who can't make an impulse decision. If I go out to buy a pair of jeans I will go in one shop, try some on, then go to about five more shops before returning to the first. I always wonder how I will make that decision over a man. Will I know I have met 'the one', or will I panic, go somewhere else and wish I could return to the first? My Mum claimed that sometimes you just know, but I'm not so sure. I know how my brain works, and I know that as much as I'll want to stay with someone I am totally in love with I will always be thinking, 'What if?'.

By the time this happens I hope that I will use my brain, make a decision, and then stick with it. I am a big romantic at heart. I look forward to a time when I can happily devote myself to one person, and will hopefully know when that right time is. I guess only time will tell...

We Have Band

We Have Band hail from England but I heard them whilst studying in America. My friend used to play them a great deal in his car and I was hooked straight away. I think it could have something to do with the fact that I have great deal of respect for any band that uses the lyrics, 'You went home and turkey basted'.


They have a number of superb songs but this is my favourite of their's so give it a listen!

'That's my King'

I am a Christian. There I said it. I am sometimes ashamed to admit to people that I am as people get this look in their eyes as if to say, 'Wow there goes the fun from any conversation'. I am a very very lax Christian. I have no problems with gay relationships, I think people should be able to have sex before marriage, I think people should treat their body as a temple but if they want to smoke/drink/take drugs then that's fine.

When I do admit to people that I am a Christian (albeit a Christian who doesn't like going to church), people are suprised. I do think sometimes people still have a preconception that Christians are all still in sandals, walking round in polyester skirts and horrible ill fitting jumpers. I used to think that. I went to an inter-church school, Catholic and Protestant mixed together, and we had Christianity shoved down our throats on a daily basis, something which at the time I absolutely resented. I refused point blank to believe in God, Jesus or any of those other people from The Bible who have long fancy names.

I don't even know where the turning point came. I suddenly became interested in looking into passages from The Bible. I started exploring the words and meanings of Bible passages and using them in my everyday life. I really am a very poor representation of Christianity, but the way I see it is if I am happy then God is happy that I'm happy. If I am sad then I am probably doing something wrong and I need to re-evaluate what I'm doing.

This is by no means a blog post to make people believe in God. I don't think people should have to believe in anything. I hate street preachers with a passion. I do not think they have the right to tell me that I'm going to hell. They have no prior knowledge of me and have no idea how I have lived my life. In my world they would all happily be banned.

This is my favourite thing to listen to when I feel like I am taking wrong turns. It is a powerful speech made by a preacher in America and has become famous throughout churches and popular with Christians throughout the world.

'Del, let's go'

The other day as I had a little daydream, I begun to have a little think about my favourite comedy moments. The first one that sprung into my mind was from Only Fools and Horses. I remember the first time I ever saw this episode, and especially this moment from the episode, I laughed so hard I genuinely thought I was going to have a heart attack and die.

Only Fools is one of those programmes that just never fails to deliver. I have watched it since I was a young child and I still find it as funny now as I did then. There are still so many episodes that I am yet to see. I think one day I want to buy all the box sets, sit down on my sofa and watch them all in one big go. The writers and actors are able to portray pure comedy as well as heart wrenching scenes, such as when Rodney's talking to Del about the loss of his baby, but they do both so perfectly.

It really is British comedy at its best.

Swing Low, Sweet Chariot

On a random impulse the other day I decided to listen to Swing Low, Sweet Chariot. For me it is just one of the most beautiful songs ever written, and listening to it affects me in ways I cannot describe.

As the song of the England rugby team however, in recent years the song has become a bit of a 'I love England, fuck immigrants, fuck the government' lovers song. Everyone has a right to their own opinion, and yes as the song is used by the English rugby team it is seen as a song for England. The thing I dislike though, is the comments you see on youtube on the various versions of the song, 'Proud to be English' mixed with 'I'm a black guy saying this..'. It has become common in recent years for these lovely old songs to get banded in with a bit of over patriotic mentality. I love England, I am very pleased to be an English woman, but I do not like when people get over patriotic, it then can border a bit on racism.

It is odd then that the song, before it became the English rugby teams song, was used in by the Civil Rights struggles in America, and was written by a freed slave. Used as a sign of hope and making people believe that things will be better in the future the song provided people with a sense of faith.

So here is my favourite version of the song. Beautiful.

Pressure Drop

Pressure Drop by The Toots and Maytals is such a brilliant song. It makes me both happy but sad all at the same time, and I have no idea why. The simple guitar on it, the simple lyrics all add up to a lovely but very short song (I always wish it was at least a minute longer). I could probably listen to this song everyday for the rest of my life and never tire of it.

Straight Outta Surrey

Youtube is a bit of an addiction of mine. I could spend ages looking up funny videos, but parody songs are normally a favourite. As a viewer you already have the familiarity of the original, but the creator gives it to you from a different angle. I also am rather partial to Autotune the News. They have produced some videos that have genuinely left me aching from laughing, and although it hurts I'll watch it over and over again.

I recently stumbled upon this gem, I'm a bit late to the game it seems though as it was made in 2008. It is a parody of Straight Outta Compton, but with a distinctly English tinge, filled with jokes about cricket and other English habits such as drinking tea. Mr B produces a highly addictive song, detailing how he's Straight Outta Surrey.

I have watched a few of his other videos but this is definitely my favourite by a long shot.

Joan Crawford

Sometimes I wish everything was in black and white and I looked like Joan Crawford, a bit of a big wish I know. She was so incredibly beautiful and such a fantastic actress, especially in Mildred Pierce which is one of my favourite films, a true film noir classic. 

Joan, I love you (even if you were a bit of a bitch) 

I Love Johnny Weir

Ever since I dislocated my knee doing it when I was 14, I have had a massive fear of ice skating. The fear is in reality more of a nightmare, one that involves someone forcing me to don a pair of ice skates and pushing me out on to a frozen lake, but you don't need to know that..

Although I am terrified myself of ice skating, it doesn't mean I don't appreciate other peoples attempts at it. Since Dancing On Ice started on ITV a few years ago ice skating has become all the rage. It is no longer a boring sport, with top class skaters performing amazing routines to great contemporary songs. One of my favourite ice skaters (OK, the only one I actually know of..) is Johnny Weir from America. Johnny Weir doesn't give a shit, that is probably why I love him. He dances to whatever he wants, he wears ridiculous outfits - even more ridiculous than normal ones - and wears make up. He's like an ice skating GaGa.

I don't even know how I first found out about him, but I could honestly sit and watch him skate around in his tight Lycra jewel embellished outfits all day. The man is crazy, but crazy in a good way. I have a huge amount of respect for any man who can wear outfits as tight as he does and still look like the most masculine manly man in the world. He does moves I couldn't even imagine doing in a million years. I fucking love the guy.

So here is Johnny Weir, in his make up and tight black outfit dancing to Poker Face by Lady GaGa. Maybe one day men of the world you could be this cool...

Post Secret

Anti-Semitism In France

Whilst on the BBC News website the other day I was reading through the world news and saw a story from France that caught my attention. The headline read, 'French prison head Goncalves suspended over Halimi girl'. Interested as to what Halimi meant I read the article. It detailed how a girl who had been used as a honeytrap in a murder of a young French man, Ilan Halimi, was now having a relationship with a prison guard whose care she was under.

Intrigued as to the story of Ilan Halimi, I googled it and uncovered a truly horrific story. Ilan was a French Jew of Moroccan descent living in Paris. He was lured via a honeytrap to an apartment in Paris where he was held and tortured for 3 weeks until his body was dumped, and although he was still alive when he was found he died on the way to hospital.

France was up in arms at the horrific crime and it garnered national attention. One of the main focuses of the case was that Ilan was Jewish. A number of the people who had been arrested for the crime had stated they put cigarettes out on him because they 'didn't like Jews'. Ilan's parents tried to push police to consider it as an anti-semitic murder, but the police just saw it as an extortion case. Eventually as the case progressed the police took up the anti-semitic angle and used it in the court case.

A few years previously there had been another high profile murder of a French Jewish man named Sébastien Selam. He had been murdered by a neighbour, someone who had previously been his friend, who after murdering Selam with a knife and fork went home and said to his mother, 'I killed my Jew'. Again when the case was being investigated the police did not state the basis for the murder was anti-semitism, but rather of jealousy between the two men. 


Two cases, both where people involved have admitted that they were aware that the victim was Jewish, and have shown reason for murdering them because they were Jewish. The French police are dealing with more and more of these cases, sometimes murders, sometimes assaults and muggings. The French authorities do not want to admit that anti-semitism is a problem in France even though there have been a number of cases of it, and the number of Jewish people leaving France is on the rise. 


It has been said that there is a link in the rise of anti-semitic violence and the ongoing problems in Israel and Palestine. It's not clear if this is just a phase in French history, or if this is an ongoing problem that will only continue to get worse. Only time will tell..

Stephen Fry

Whilst studying in America I got very homesick and very depressed. I hated everything, and I mean pretty much every single thing a normal person would find enjoyable.


One day I read a letter that Stephen Fry had written to a lady suffering from depression and it changed my life and my whole perspective. Everything he said stopped me from wanting to throw myself from a tall building, and when I feel a bit bad now I just re-read it and take in what he is saying. 


So here it is, the words that saved me. Thank you Stephen Fry, really.

I’m so sorry to hear that life is getting you down at the moment. Goodness knows, it can be so tough when nothing seems to fit and little seems to be fulfilling. I’m not sure there’s any specific advice I can give that will help bring life back its savour. Although they mean well, it’s sometimes quite galling to be reminded how much people love you when you don’t love yourself that much.

I’ve found that it’s of some help to think of one’s moods and feelings about the world as being similar to weather:

Here are some obvious things about the weather:

It’s real.

You can’t change it by wishing it away.

If it’s dark and rainy it really is dark and rainy and you can’t alter it.

It might be dark and rainy for two weeks in a row.

BUT

It will be sunny one day.

It isn’t under one’s control as to when the sun comes out, but come out it will.

One day.

It really is the same with one’s moods, I think. The wrong approach is to believe that they are illusions. They are real. Depression, anxiety, listlessness - these are as real as the weather - AND EQUALLY NOT UNDER ONE’s CONTROL. Not one’s fault.

BUT

They will pass: they really will.

In the same way that one has to accept the weather, so one has to accept how one feels about life sometimes.

‘Today’s a crap day,’ is a perfectly realistic approach. It’s all about finding a kind of mental umbrella.

‘Hey-ho, it’s raining inside: it isn’t my fault and there’s nothing I can do about it, but sit it out. But the sun may well come out tomorrow and when it does, I shall take full advantage.’

I don’t know if any of that is of any use: it may not seem it, and if so, I’m sorry. I just thought I’d drop you a line to wish you well in your search to find a little more pleasure and purpose in life.

I Am In Need Of Music

I have previously posted my two favourite poems, one of which was by Elizabeth Bishop. Bishop has written a number of poems and this is my other favourite by her.


I think the words are lovely and heads some way towards explaining peoples love of music, and how sometimes music is all you need. Elizabeth Bishop writes beautiful poems so check them out.


I am in need of music that would flow
Over my fretful, feeling fingertips,
Over my bitter-tainted, trembling lips,
With melody, deep, clear, and liquid-slow.
Oh, for the healing swaying, old and low,
Of some song sung to rest the tired dead,
A song to fall like water on my head,
And over quivering limbs, dream flushed to glow!

There is a magic made by melody:
A spell of rest, and quiet breath, and cool
Heart, that sinks through fading colors deep
To the subaqueous stillness of the sea,
And floats forever in a moon-green pool,
Held in the arms of rhythm and of sleep. 

Not For All The Tea In China

The Magnetic Fields first came to my attention two years ago, and ever since then I've been hooked.

Their music is always slightly depressing but ultimately great. The first time I ever heard this song I stopped everything I was doing to be able to give it my full attention, then listened to it another fifty times after. It is both a depressing song but also one that completely speaks the truth about when someone breaks up with you/tells you they can't be with you.

The album it is from is called 69 Love Songs and features on it, well, 69 love songs that discuss both loving and losing somebody.

So here is my favourite song by them

All My Little Words 

Topshop, January

In another dimension, the one where I have a lot of money, I would buy all my clothes from Topshop. As a poor student though this will always just be a dream.

This season Topshop have produced some beautiful dresses with a very fifties and sixties theme. These style of dresses suit my body shape (very small waist), so I like anything that pulls it in further. I have finally in the last few years worked out how to dress for my body shape, it just appears that these styles always seem to be the most expensive.

I fear once my student loan comes in I will be straight down to Topshop to buy one of these ever so lovely dresses. The question now is, which one?

Try and Catch the Wind

"For me to love you now, would be the sweetest thing, 'twould make me sing"

Donovan's song 'Catch the Wind' is one of my favourite random discoveries over the past few years. I have to admit a guilty secret here, I only heard it because they played it on an episode of Casualty. I guess it's not where you find the song that matters though..

It has beautiful lyrics and very simple guitar, but this just makes it what it is - a fantastic song.

Donovan was always billed as the British Bob Dylan, and although I can hear the similarities I think I actually may prefer Donovan to Dylan. Once I heard 'Catch the Wind' I went on to listen to some of Donovan's other work and thought it was brilliant. The simplicity of his lyrics, but also the depth to which he goes is amazing.

So here it is, 2.13 seconds of beauty

This is a Declaration of War

“Revolution is not something fixed in ideology, nor is it something fashioned to a particular decade. It is a perpetual process embedded in the human spirit.” - Abbie Hoffman

In the coming months I will probably be talking about my dissertation a great deal. It is going to consume a vast amount of my brain space and time.

My question is: How did the tactics used by the antiwar New Left cause their collapse?
This is an interesting but ultimately complex question. No one has ever written anything that combines the three main groups I will be looking at; The Weather Underground, SDS and The Yippes.

The Weather Underground have fascinated me from the first time I studied them last year. Essentially a terrorist group, they set about trying to 'bring the war home' by blowing up government and other public sector buildings in response to the Vietnam War. They were originally called The Weathermen, but changed their name once they were forced to go underground when the FBI started hunting them.

SDS or Students for a Democratic Society were a campus based organisation that also protested the Vietnam War, but were eventually overtaken by the organisers of The Weathermen. Originally a peaceful organisation, they begun involving themselves in more confrontational methods of protest.

The Yippes were co-formed by Abbie Hoffman, a man who was partly insane (not literally), and partly genius. He once claimed if everyone focused enough they could levitate the Pentagon, yeah, you see what I mean. He was arrested for drug possession on many occasions and had numerous run ins with the police and FBI. He is awesome, I love him.


So there we are, a very short run down of something that will take up my life for the next six months. Here is the documentary that sparked my idea for the project. A frank look at The Weather Underground that uses old footage and modern days interviews with the members. It is ace. Everyone should watch it to see direct action in, well, action.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LV7GSff4fIA

Vous aimez le hip hop Français?

Avez-vous déjà écouté du hip-hop français? Didn't think so.

I have been a fan of French hip hop for a little while now. I have no clue what they are saying as my French is lets say médiocre. Sometimes though with music I do not think it is necessarily the words themselves that draw my attention to a song, but the melody or just the general feel. I feel that in mainland Europe people are much more open to another countries music. Here the only time we may ever have a foreign language song making it big is when it is a novelty song.


French hip hop can provide some of the most interesting and beautiful songs, case in point being Le Belle et le Bad Boy by Mc Solaar. The instrumental in itself is so melodic and different from anything I had ever heard before. 


The artist La Caution gained a worldwide audience when his song 'Thé à la Menthe' was used in Oceans 12. The song has a very interesting use of the accordion, a very under rated instrument may I say.


Other interesting bands include Hocus Pocus who French people go MENTAL for as I discovered whilst at a festival in Hungary where they were playing. I have never been asked if I like a band so much in my life, and never that much in a comical French accent ('Ocus pocas').


Profitez!


Mc Solaar - Le Belle et le Bad Boy

La Caution - Thé à la Menthe

Hocus Pocus - Hip Hop