how is everyone? keeping well? I've had a really rubbish yet good yet busy few weeks/months/whatever and here's a chance to catch up.
It was my 24th birthday at the beginning of September and was just a nice chilled weekend really. Meals and drinks and laughs, it was perfect. Bang Tidy some would say.
I've carried on my healthy eating and fitness - I also have a personal trainer at the moment. Billy's his name and he is fantastic. I used to be quite fit at Uni...limber and strong due to being a cheerleader for a few months, but I gave it all up for smoking, going out, working, eating carbs and smoking. I decided to get back to that level, so I'm more focused on the fitness then the weightloss will come.
Here's Billy's deets if you wanted to have a look:
now just a quick shout out to two lovely ladies who do two very different things.
Becs is a personal trainer, and general lovely friend of mine and her blog is to die for if you're into your fitness and keeping happy and well! Please give her a read, you won't be disapointed.
and that's it really. I'm still working at the courts and the golf club and trying to save to move out/start learning to be a florist, but that's about it. Me and my man are off to Marrakesh on the 11th Oct, and then on the 1st Nov I'm off to Leeds with the girls for the weekend so I'm a busy little pee..but stay posted San Diego.
Apologies for the lack of posts...it seems working full time (plus at the weekends) and living my life I haven't had time to write any posts recently, but now is the time to get back on track and why not start with a dedication to my good friend Mel Franks.
Mel is an up and coming singer, hell bent on becoming a fully fledged artist and I thought I'd give her a shout out on my blog:
As far as she can remember Mel always wanted to be a singer, and within the last few years she's gained confidence and believe and decided to completely go for it and start showcasing her talent.
Way back in 2010 at her very good friend Bec's wedding, Mel decided after months of singing lessons to perfect her already fantastic voice, that she would treat everyone to a set of her singing well known and calssic songs.
"Wade In The Water", was a fantastic jazz number to show people how great Mel's voice really is. It brought the house down and gave Mel more confidence to keep going and entertain the masses.
next up, after chats with her good friend Ben, Mel decided to join him..as a "special guest" for his Saturday night set at a small delightful pub in the country side of Essex.
Unfortunately, noone has managed to update Mel's social networking sites with videos as yet, but as a personal witness I can say, the music and Mel's voice were superb as ever! She sang "L.O.V.E" by Joss Stone - a better version if I do say so myself - even from a Joss Stone Hater lolz and it brought the house down - I have never seen someone get so many compliments in one night.
It was lovely to see and I wanted her to keep going all night!
so that is my wee update on a good friend's fruitful singing career and I will keep you updated until we see her in the charts with her own fantastic tunes!
Please feel free to look at Mel's pages and please leave requests - I'm trying to get Mel onto Soundcloud so she can record her own music and remixes.
so, I thought it would be a great time to update you on my latest fitness idea! As seen in a previous post, you'll see I mentioned Young Epilepsy, this fabulous charity that my friend fundraises for. I asked him if they were participating or organising any runs this year and low and behold they are taking part in the British 10k Run on the 8th July...
now last year I did a 5k for Cancer Research...unfortunately, I had to walk the race last year as I stood in the walkers section thinking it was the jogging section and I ended up being behind 100 people for an hour! this time however, I want to run/jog as much of the race/run as I can.
I'm so excited as...in a selfish way...it's a chance for me to lose weight and get fit WHILST helping as many people I can and doing something amazing in the meantime.
I'm not a runner, I'm hardly an exercisy kind of person! it's terrible how unfit and how lazy I am but now is the time in my life to really push myself and get fit! even if I could run for 20 mins a day that would be fantastic!!
so for this past week I've made a fantastic playlist and I've been doing the seconds running, seconds walking method of training and I have to say it's working! yesterday I ran for at least 2-5 minutes straight and thats the best way to start.
so to make this brief and to the point...here's my link to my donation page. Even a penny would be fantastic -
so, as many of you may know (or probably don't) I am one of the biggest David Lynch fans ON THE PLANET. it all started at the tender age of 12 when I witnessed what can only be described as the most fantasticly crazy beautiful love filled film I've seen (Mullholland Drive) and since then I've never looked back.
Now my favourite David Lynch work is "Twin Peaks" (more season 1 than 2) as it completely sums up my love of cult, soaps, movies, culture and horror in one fail swoop...and what better way to tie up all the loose ends with the slightly overlooked movie "Fire Walk With Me".
now - any viewers of the programme will know what happened at the end of the show so a big fat SPOILERS!!!!!!!! is here incase anybody doesn't want to know?
we saw the "demise" of our Agent Cooper - Kyle Machlachlan - in the final scenes, but David decided to return to the days before Laura Palmer's tragic death and tell her story - her final days.
The main premise of Twin Peaks is that a popular, much loved student at the local high School is found murdered and it's up to FBI Agent Cooper to suss out the culprit of the crime. But of course to true David Lynch fashion much more turmoil and chaos arrises - with some laughs and music thrown in too.
The movie showcases the last 7 days of her life, and though yes the footage is OBVIOUSLY filmed AFTER the programme has ended, I believe it really does tie in well with everything and keeps you guessing, even if you know the outcome already.
Favourite Character
Now my favourite character in Twin Peaks the show is Agent Cooper (closely followed by Sherrif Trueman, Shelly, Bobby and Donna...oh and Maddy - Laura's cousin played by Sheryl Lee herself) but in the film, I think it's safe to say that Laura MUST be and will be the favourite character.
Sheryl Lee really gets to come into her own in this film, and can really showcase why Laura was well loved, and so so troubled.
I'm a sympathetic person - and always feel for people - even fictional people, and Laura gives me just that vibe. Abused by her dad for what seems like a lifetime, being with Bobby it seems to fend her cocaine habit, being so in love with James that she has to hurt him....and being a best friend to Donna - plus keeping up the charade of being a good person and doing good things for the community, when all she wants to do is run away...very heartbreaking stuff.
A favourite scene is her enjoying a bout of sexual antics at the Pink Room when she completely forgets about the nicities at hand and goes to stop her loyal friend Donna Hayward suffering the same fate as her. It truely shows how beautiful a person Laura really was.
Favourite Scene
well I could techincally put the whole film up here, but who can forget the ever strange David Bowie cameo.
its hard to make sense of it, but that is why I love it so much. it completely takes all of the features of Twin peaks and puts it in one few minute sequence. Plus David Bowie is the king of Cool is he not? I certainly don't appreciate the garmonbozia references....the sight of the stuff, plus the meaning of pain and sorrow fills me with dread!
The music for the film is not as fresh and exciting as what I think the television programmes was - but this doesn't take away it's beauty.
The Pink Room's sequence is sexy and sultry and filled with scary jointy breaks that keep you wanting to watch.
I also appreciate the ending with it's angelic tones and lovely moment highliting Laura finally being at peace and being able to go to heaven - after realising she's done nothing wrong in her life - that she was dealt a bad hand from the moment her father wronged her. Beautiful stuff.
so as you can see - not so much a review but a peice dedicated to the one I love. The colouring, the shots, the transitions, the characters, the music, the sex, the debauchery, the danger, the laughs, the loves - I love Twin Peaks, and what a better way to carry on my love, than with a movie. Molto bene.
what do you guys think? keep an eye out for my next favourite film...
Hello! And apologies for the long time away but it seems working full time and having a broken computer has made my blogging go from sporadic to non existant. But what better way to get back in the game with a wee post about my wonderful friends work with the Young Epilepsy charity.
For those of you unsure on epilepsy...heres a break down: “Epilepsy effects over 112,000 children and young people under the age of 25 - and is the most common neurological condition in the UK. Despite this, it’s still relatively unknown and has little awareness.”
Its a neurological condition affecting the brain essentially and can find anyone. Seizures are the commonly known as fits that people with epilepsy can suffer...but its charities like Young Epilepsy that are trying to deal with a way to help. ‘My Purple Pledge’ is the campaign that the charity is running this month (March) and its already fighting to make a difference to the lives of the 112,000 young people living with epilepsy in the UK. Backed by a series of famous names (as I'll show you further on) the charoty is asking you and everyone you know to do something purple, wear something purple, hey even EAT something purple for its wonderful campaign. Now I know I have a few ideas...why not sit in a bath of lukewarm Ribena (sugar free ;)) or sell purple cakes and biscuits at work or school? You could even wear a full on purple ensemble ala Prince!! ‘My Purple Pledge’ coincides with Purple Day (26 March 2012), the international day to mark epilepsy awareness and National Epilepsy Awareness Week (May 2012). Young Epilepsy Ambassador, Dai Greene, said: “My Purple Pledge aims to put epilepsy on the map and make people aware of what it really means. I’m fully behind the campaign and will be pledging purple to help improve the lives of a lot of young people with epilepsy. I’m hoping that as many people as possible will be ‘in the purple’ for the 26 March and help raise desperately needed funds for such a deserving cause." Lisa Farmer, Director of Fundraising at Young Epilepsy, commented: “My Purple Pledge is a fun way of generating awareness about a very serious condition. All monies raised through the campaign will be used to provide life-changing support through our special school, college, medical centre and residential homes. Ultimately, it will help young people with epilepsy across the country to fulfill their potential.”
The Children’s ISA is the main My Purple Pledge sponsor for 2012, with the first commercial partner being EasyLink UK, which provides epilepsy seizure monitors. Below are the celebrities I mentioned and the wonderful people at the charity itsself; doing their own thing for this excellent charity. I know a good few people personally with epilepsy and they are just as cool as you or I (ok...not me) so lets do something cool and purple for them!! Please visit www.mypurplepledge.com for more information or follow My Purple Pledge on Twitter @purplepledge. Thanks kids, Charlotte x
I thought I'd take this post as an opportunity to simply show you my varied music taste, eclectic if you will, and indulge your ears with some delightful tunes from days or yore...
I don't want to say I have one favourite song - as that's a very tough decision to make - but I sure as hell could make a compilation CD of faves!
so I'll start with a song that's been in my head for months now - ever since I heard The Feeling cover it on Dermot O'Leary's saturday show on BBC Radio 2. I love The Feeling - their music is mellow and lovely, and when they decided to cover "Witchita Lineman" I nearly wept with happiness.
this is my favourite cover of it so far - I'm a cover fiend and have to find every single cover or every single song I like and have it on my harddrive. Just wait..there's more.
I have to say, I never thought I'd enjoy a MOR classic as much as I do this. So far this week I've listened to it every day on the train....wow I'm something special.
Next up in my list is one of my favourite songs ever. Another mellow classic, made famous by so many people, but here's a few versions that I just love.
I don't have much to say other than I love this song and always will.
just a few classics I want played at my wedding reception...is it sad I've already made a list? No..ok.
this is just one of the best songs ever made. cover to cover it never fails to be good.
I remember when I first saw Emeli Sande and thought - this is the most beautiful girl I've ever seen! This songs melody, and lyrics and just about everything about it is beautiful. I love love love this song and see big things for her.
this reminds me, of jumping around on my parents bed and skanking in the living room to jungle and early house music. Luckily my parents were v. young when they had me so this song and similar were always filling the house. I absolutely love my parents for giving me a great head start in loving music.
I remember being at sixth form and making a new friend in the form of Antonia, me and this girl bonded so quickly over music, films, "Shaft" and this wonderful, wonderful song. I used to listen to it on repeat all night.
my final song - as I can tell I'm probably annoying you all (although thoroughly enjoying this myself!!) - is this amazing song. It will always fill me with such joy and happiness, and I hope...at my wedding, or 40th birthday party a giant net of red balloons will fill the room.
what are your favourite songs? what songs do you hate?
My amazing prawn, salad and wedges covered in herbs, pepper and parmasan dinner.
My beautiful boyfriend and his gorgeous smile.
Me and my Snoopy stuffed toy that Jon got me for Christmas.
Me debuting my new FRINGE with my lovely friend Alicia. I decided to take the plunge after having a horrible night where I cut most of my hair off into a jaggedy fringe - so I panicked and went to the hairdressers where she turned it into a full fringe for free! got to love her.
and that's about it with me! As of today (Thursday) after a horrible few weeks of being at home and sad, I've had news that I'm going back to work! AND I got paid a hefty amount for not being there. How wonderful is that? Im so excited to go back and to be doing something with my life - for the next few months anyway!
Before I go - I thought I'd indulge you in a few songs I've been listening to at the moment - one's new and three are not so new.
I've had this song in my head since I went out on Saturday night. The place went crazy when the beat dropped and I remember just feeling so , so happy. Music does that to me.
Obviously the passing of Whitney Houston was horrible. As a massive Whitney fan I've been listening to her albums non stop since Sunday! We heard whilst we were out and actually laughed that the DJ played Bobby Brown as soon as we'd heard...awkward!
I think this shows how varied my music taste is lolz. I used to love this song - I remember dancing around in Halls to this before we went out and requesting it EVERY single time we went out.
My mum often shouts up - "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU LISTENING TO?!" I absolutely love David Lynch and this song at the end of Twin Peaks the series is absolutely wonderful. Creepy, sensual and beautiful.
and that's it from me folks, how are you all? any blog post ideas?
Nows the time for a feature on this blog - my favourite films - reviewed, by me! These opinions and films might not agree with yours but I have to write about films or I'll go crazy slowly but surely.
so my first film review is going to have to be that of Showgirls - the 1995 feature directed by Paul Verhoeven. This film shaped the way I looked at movies ever since and pretty much made me want to do Film Studies and keep my passion of film alive. The story basically follows our girl Nomi as she wants to make it as a dancer in Vegas - but she has to start somewhere.
You're thinking, "SHOWGIRLS? SRSLYYYYYYY?" and yes! I am serious. It's a jack of all trades, a film with many layers...and though a cult classic due to its unsuccesful stint at the box office, I truely believe it's actually a good, well written, well acted, well filmed masterpeice.
Favourite Character
Cristal Connors without a doubt.
Played by Gina Gershon - famous for being sexy in my eyes - she is the epitome of the bitch - but you love her for it, much like Regina George in Mean Girls, or the lead Heather in Heathers. From the offset you know she likes Nomi - obviously in a sexual way, and she also likes being the best - and she is the best so why can't she enjoy it?
A favourite moment? Well, it'll either have to be Cristal and Nomi having lunch talking about how much they used to love doggy chow - or when she grinds on the chair watching Nomi dance for Zac because...well, you know.
Favourite Scene
well! I could put the whole film on here but for me - if I have to choose, I'm gonna have to say Nomi's second audition for 'Goddess'. When do you not want to see someone doing this?
"Thrust it!" "burger fries, and a soda?" "show me a pique turn!" Everything about this scene is delicious, I truely love it.
Now down to the technical stuff and why I think this film is so well made. If you've ever seen a Paul Verhoeven film you'll know that they are very rich and colourful - even if the subject matter is ridiculous. Showgirls is one of them - with the neon lights of Las Vegas looking so striking, to the music being very onpoint and in trend. The dancing also, is not awful! It's very well choreographed, and if you go to a show, you'll expect to see routines like this;
yes that was a tribute video on Youtube but you get the jist lolz.
Prince's original music was used throughout the film and Dave Stewart from the Eurythmics conducted the original score for the film which goes to show that perhaps the film was taken a lot more seriously in it's filming and making than in it's release?
what do you guys think, is it a good film? is it a terrible film? is the sex scene the funniest thing you've ever, ever seen?
so here's to my first album review! Now, I do love an album. I tend to get obsessed with certain songs sometimes, so when I really like an album - a whole album - it must be a good one.
I've awaited 'Born To Die' since September, when I first heard Lana Del Rey's (Lizzy Grant's) 'Video Games'.
I love the video, I loved the dreamy, almost realistic lyrics and I loved this girls voice. To me it was a mix between Nancy Sinatra, Karen O and I even heard aspects of Sheryl Crow, real earthy, yet alternative tones. "It's you, it's you, it's all for you.." are lyrics I'm sure girls, and boys, alike will be singing for years to come.
So after becoming obsessed with this song, I decided to try and track down some demos and things of Lana's and ending up downloading about a million songs and listening to them every day up until today, the 31st Janruary. I gasped at the album cover, "how can she look even MORE beautiful?" but she can.
I'm really biased on Lana....I've heard a lot of negativity, about how she's not original, she's dreary and boring, her music is depressing...but honestly? to me? she's mellow, and lush, almost like a poem in an artist and I love her. I really do. I've found my new favourite female artist.
One of my favourite songs from the LP would have to be 'Diet Mountain Dew' - not only a favourite drink but my god the simplicity yet effectiveness of these lyrics and melody astound me.
I haven't listened to it non stop since my purchase, but I know I will be. 'Born To Die' is the most gorgeous and beautiful song I've heard in a long, long time and the video is out of this world.
so here's to Lana - who I hope carries on and brings out even more albums and singles....and a movie, and stars in a TV show, and writes a novel and models for Chanel or Chloe and brings out a clothing line. She cites Britney Spears as one of her influences, well as Britney was once the queen of pop, I hope Lana becomes the queen of pop....or the world.
She's my undeniable crush of 2011/2012/ and hopefully 2013. 10 out of 10 for sure.
what do you guys think? is she like Marmite? Am I too biased? what's your favourite album at the moment?
I tried my hand at Wordpress, but I couldn't come to terms with the fact that I had hardly any blog subscriptions to read each week. I love all the girls and guys I get to look at on here (eternally nosey) and I honestly believe that Blogspot is more....me. Even though I have hardly any followers and I'm sure people don't read my blog anyway...
that a side, how have you all been? any interesting updates? My life has been upside down and inside out since I last wrote on here, and now I've decided to really keep my life on here, as I like to write...and it keeps my mind alive you know?
I've got into my television series' this week, reliving my old favourite Twin Peaks as we speak. It's still so fresh and new and I'm hooked every time I put my boxset on! Here's a favourite scene of mine, why not take a look? it might become your new favourite "soap opera"...
The ever honourable Special Agent Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) teaches the staff at the police station how to solve a crime with Tibeten practice he recognised from a dream...yeah, a dream.
It's mental, and sometimes hard to follow...if you're not a David Lynch-ite like me, but I'm sure anyone would like it! It's like Eastenders but much, much better.
Again, my opinion.
Another thing I've gotten into this week is my fitness. I decided, after YEARS of being a complete idiot when it came to healthy eating etc that exercise is a beautiful thing when you really get into it. I want to lose a lot of weight, and I'll let you know how I'm doing in the foreseeable.
I hope I can keep you all interested! and I hope you stick with me, and I stick with me this time. All my love again,
