tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19115180034707325172024-02-20T09:41:48.776+00:00Lock In at The Bronze"What doesn't kill us makes us stranger" Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09802305324770301134noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911518003470732517.post-24641317207579949262018-05-10T12:17:00.000+01:002018-05-10T12:17:09.320+01:00The Miseducation of the College Dropout<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There is a point during the interview with rapper T.I. on The Breakfast Club, where his frustration completely overtakes him, "We talked for like FOUR STRAIGHT HOURS MAN!!" This is the pinnacle of his intervention with Kanye West and you have to respect the man for getting up and taking action in the face of the outcry during the last week (has it been a week!?!). T.I. heard what was up and went to the source to find out why.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg34RpT8B65ajMhy2sWrl6oMyUSGLUyKmDkrS1fTq0sOBwZtJYSYGqUn_dQSCTeA1utzWZnSZVHu6OACyUPCQtiPpYHxT8Rb9FB45Jfmen7HdrKS7Gm13tvC85wnIoN63aj9_dHXu2iPro/s1600/15252890646393.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="633" data-original-width="1024" height="197" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg34RpT8B65ajMhy2sWrl6oMyUSGLUyKmDkrS1fTq0sOBwZtJYSYGqUn_dQSCTeA1utzWZnSZVHu6OACyUPCQtiPpYHxT8Rb9FB45Jfmen7HdrKS7Gm13tvC85wnIoN63aj9_dHXu2iPro/s320/15252890646393.png" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I wasn't going to talk about Kanye West.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Full disclosure, I once interviewed him on a radio show that I worked on and this was just as "Through the Wire" dropped. He struck me as funny, talented and even those wires could not contain him. Damn that was eons ago. So why am I writing this?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Well weirdly, this shitshow which seems to be unraveling day by day has made me so grateful for the fact that I read and am surrounded by readers of varying appetites.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It is easy to blame his wife (loads of articles about that family and their effect on men...I'm not going there... I'm sure you can search for them) It's easy to blame the trauma of grief from his mother's death and mental health. He's not my friend, so I can't make that assessment. However, there's an ickyness in laying blame to the women in Kanye's life. He's a grown ass man, accountable for his own actions. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I surmise that Kanye in the last week is a culmination of what happens when you don't <b>read</b>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There are lyrics where he talks about not reading, not getting it. There's almost an ignorant pride about the delivery. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Accepting that this is a man who does not read, but is musically intelligent is uncomfortable but makes alot of sense in his cobbled statements.There are those who might recoil at the thought; that there is more to life than what you find amidst the pages but allow me to give an example of what I am talking about. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My daughter is amazing and intelligent and dyslexic. I knew that the odds were high that she would be dyslexic as my father and brother are and my husband and his immediate family are too. From her crib days, I was insistent that she was spoken to in clear words, not baby talk. I read to her from the womb and continued. When she was interviewed for nursery, teachers could not believe she was as young as she was. I have struggled against the preconceived notions of teachers, who did not believe that "<i>someone so well spoken could be dyslexic</i>" She is articulate and able to communicate herself beyond her years and I know that part of this is because she has always read. I firmly believe that reading changes you, it helps you to articulate and ask difficult questions. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Kanye reminds me of a child who has first discovered the existence of slavery. I remember first learning about the enslavement of my ancestors. I was painfully young, so far away from my current self that it's like an image in the night that I yearn to reach with outstretched fingers. This memory is vivid because there's a part of me that could not get it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I walked to school on my own by then, my friends were white, Asian, black, boys and girls. I just wanted to know where my next Kola Kube was coming from. But even then, I was an avid reader. </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I was taught about slavery and my 10year old mind could not compute. Eventually, one of my classmates, Keith said, "I wouldn't be a slave, I would buss dem up!" We all laughed, mainly out of relief, because Keith was saying what we felt. Children feel invincible, especially in a world of Transformers (The movie wouldn't be out for another year...what a heart breaker that was).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The look of defiance burned on Keith's face. He was a boy who met every challenge with a fist. His look reminds me of the incredulous look on Kanye's face when he proclaims it's gotta be a choice...400years!!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My teacher, Mr Dandridge, proceeded to explain carefully and delicately, so as not to scare us to death about that reality. That it was death to strike back, many did and paid the cost. He explained carefully about the ideal of chattel, that there was nowhere to run, nowhere you wouldn't be chased, nowhere the system would not get you, maim you and beat you. All the days of your life. You know you've done a good job as a teacher when the Rastafarian parents of one of the kids comes in to shake your hand.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Mr Dandridge could only say so much in Herne Hill in the 1980's. Books filled the gaps; the horrors that he didn't dare tell a bunch of kids. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Middle passage, hobbling, rape...those horrors would curdle in my brain until I realized that escape was a pipe dream. But it also allowed me to see that the road between enslavement and freedom was not just a story of 400years of getting on with it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Nat Turner, Gabriel Prosser, Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, Frederick Douglass. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Resistance is not to be taken lightly and the price is high. To speak of slavery is also to speak of those people who <b>resisted</b> at every turn they could. Through education, through great risk and sometimes through violence. At a time when education of black people was a revolutionary act, Kanye's comments dismiss that legacy. He speaks of being a free thinker, a mind unchained. It's an admirable pursuit but he appears to have discounted some truly revolutionary thinkers, people who dared dream in the colour of freedom and put boot to arse to achieve it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Dismantling of slavery, mental and physical is a multi pronged effort. You have to fight on all fronts, in courts, on fields and sometimes against your neighbours. It drains everything to achieve something you can barely see.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizBoZqriskbX4Wo5tqM9WHvTBVigtQMhyphenhyphen6tuBJGtINp8ZxRQ8SW1C4sl20-7U8vrWO3X7uePNnA_hcKCgnmqJ_F4Zg2YvI2lo4ML3KQZ0w50Jbne97_Czknj7_AhtsGs0wJksdppNLeMI/s1600/maxresdefault.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizBoZqriskbX4Wo5tqM9WHvTBVigtQMhyphenhyphen6tuBJGtINp8ZxRQ8SW1C4sl20-7U8vrWO3X7uePNnA_hcKCgnmqJ_F4Zg2YvI2lo4ML3KQZ0w50Jbne97_Czknj7_AhtsGs0wJksdppNLeMI/s320/maxresdefault.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This is why we must remember. From those ashes rose greatness. I'm here in 2018 and of course I'm worried about the rise of the Right and Populism and Racism. My worries are still about fairness and equality but I remember that others have come before me with greater obstacles and achieved so much more. It gives me fuel to keep fighting because I know what is at stake. So I read, I learn and I fight.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Kanye is a gifted man musically, but isolation is not the best means for intelligence to thrive.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Maybe if Kanye had read a book or two, he would know that. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>"Good dude, bad night, right place, wrong time<br />
In the blink of a eye, his whole life changed.</i>" <b>- </b><b>Through</b><b> the </b><b>Wire, Kanye </b><b>West</b></span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09802305324770301134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911518003470732517.post-14555856643577901352018-03-23T11:24:00.003+00:002018-03-23T11:24:59.346+00:00Beholder<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Beauty and I have a very strange relationship. Which makes me no different to millions of women on the planet. I was thinking about Beauty when I was messaging my buddy who was booking in our appointments to get our nails done. I have never had my nails done in a shop before. I’ve experimented with the French manicure and stencils and fake tips .Even on my wedding day, I just chucked on some polish (which promptly glooped up and looked like a trainwreck and I had to call my sister in law to bring the dregs of remover to the flat at ridiculous o’ clock the night before) and just winged it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So we fast forward through the annals of time to current day events. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYbQgPH2F9Jh2xK4aJsewHa0SsSLUlTuyTE1C6ur4DmROzhuVDkYo8zslRTu0f-0GWcAusUFXGueP68jbcNrGlMh94RWPE0FJwAzwVomld-_brIWoBhSZeYNDelacVmZw86DrwOtIgocQ/s1600/dread.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="368" data-original-width="553" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYbQgPH2F9Jh2xK4aJsewHa0SsSLUlTuyTE1C6ur4DmROzhuVDkYo8zslRTu0f-0GWcAusUFXGueP68jbcNrGlMh94RWPE0FJwAzwVomld-_brIWoBhSZeYNDelacVmZw86DrwOtIgocQ/s200/dread.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I used to have dreadlocks and when I got them, my world changed. To talk about black hair, is to fall down a rabbit hole. It’s an act of patience, as you wait for these locks to appear. You’re tested, you experiment, you have to learn a whole other set of skills and you also have to deal with other peoples’ opinions. I was still in contact with my mother during this time and she would often take the piss out of me, waiting to see my ‘natty head’. In her mind, getting dreadlocks was akin to being unkempt and dirty. The ironic thing was that I had uncles and aunts who were Rastafarian. I spent a summer when I was young with my Aunt Napthali and Sansha and was tutored to improve my maths and English and immersed in black history. The Natty Dread was wise and intelligent and living in Brixton, everyday I saw a Natty Dread who would greet me with, “Blessings Sistren” and ask me how my day was going and wish me ‘Jah bless’ as I ran to the corner shop. In the eyes of my father, this was no big deal but in the eyes of my grandmother and mother, this was something to be frowned upon. In part, it showed the difference between the islands. My father is Jamaican and my mother was from St Kitts. As much as we are one people, we are also a divided people. The island you inhabit brings its own preconceived ideas and notions from Barbados, to St Maarten, St Croix, Antigua and Jamaica. My mother and grandmother were snobbish, feeling like a lot of people do, that Jamaicans were too crass, bawdy and beneath everyone else…yes my parents were married so you can kind of see how divorce wasn’t twist in this plot.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This frames my thoughts about beauty and the constant donnybrook (I love that word!) that exists in me. It’s the rabbit hole, starting with locks and ending up exposing these preconceived notions and thoughts about beauty and blackness and growing up in the UK, the mainstream held no place for; you were a ghost. In my community, there’s a stream of mixed messages. There were songs which loudly decried the message that black people were ghosts or animals. A walk around Brixton on a hot day would hear the sounds of <i>Kofi</i> singing ‘<i>Black Pride</i>’</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>"Black is the colour of my skin</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>Black is the life that I live</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>And I'm so proud to be</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>The colour that God made me</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>I just got to say</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>Black is my colour, yeah</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>(Black pride for all to see)"</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">or <i>Crucial Robbie</i> singing ‘<i>Proud to be Black</i>’. On one level you were taught to love yourself as a black child. As I got older though, I realised other things. I realised that because I was darker than some children, I would receive more negative perception and nowhere was this more apparent than the issue of hair. I remember the ritual of getting my hair combed on a Sunday night (preferably in front of The Professionals as I had a crush on Lewis Collins). Mother would choose her weapons, thin tooth comb, big teet comb, grease, spray and then the torture. Combing through my mane until my scalp was raw and then plaiting my hair, cane rowing it tight for the week ahead of school. I swear that woman was a cenobite in her past life. I remember the cussing under breath about not having good hair and that ‘coolie’ hair would not be so much trouble. Looking back on those times, reminds me of the Ceti Eel in Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan (If you don’t know what I’m talking about, have a look here but I’m warning you, it is grim!). It’s this little thing, from something else larger and vile and plucked and placed in your ear, where it slithers in and wraps itself and grows and mutates and consumes your mind. My Ceti Eel was how my hair and beauty was perceived.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">To explain a little bit, ‘Coolie’ was a term that was used to describe someone of mixed Caribbean descent, in particular Asian and Caribbean. It meant by default that people with this genealogy had a completely different texture of hair, in some cases hair very similar to Caucasian hair, though not always. My hair is very kinky so I was told often that because mixed hair was ‘good hair’ my hair was therefore bad hair. That slug was wrapped around in there, devouring. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I had natural hair until I reached 11, then for ‘ease’ my mother said, I joined the curly perm crew. At 16, after tiring of being ridiculed I straightened my hair and cut it, dyed it and weaved it at one point (it lasted 3 days). Then at around 24, I decided to stop straightening my hair and grow dreadlocks. I kept them until Nov 2016. I shaved half of them off a year earlier and then as illness ravaged me, right before another invasive surgery I took the scissors to the last of my locks. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This was a solo journey. Every step I had taken previously involved someone else’s opinion either as a guide or something to rebel against. Straightening was rebellion because I was responsible, not my mother who had been up until that point. I had friends to guide and at some points, really fuck up my tresses. Dreadlocks was inspired by the friends I had at the time and there was more of an emphasis on embracing natural hair. However I was still carrying my Ceti Eel.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It oozed out of my ear last year. I was trying to style my hair into an afro and all of a sudden, I felt a pressure of voices telling my how ugly I looked, how nappy my hair was and it was crushing. It was a wave of voices of aunts and my mother and grandmother shouting inside of me that this was not right, that I couldn’t go out looking like this. It was the feeling of everything that I had learned and was continuing to learn, hitting the bedrock of how I had been raised. I know that my relationship with my hair as a black woman is steeped in the legacy of slavery. I know that African hairstyles were ridiculed and literally torn from our heads during slavery and that our hair was seen as further evidence of our savagery. I learned that the rapes of slaves, meant that there were lighter slaves and because they were lighter, they were seen as closer to whiteness and purity. When slaves were ultimately freed, we took this legacy with us and it still remains, although not just in Afro Caribbean culture. I am saying all of that to say that in the clash of my education versus what I had read and researched, I struggled to see the beauty in me and that was the crushing weight I was feeling. I felt like I couldn’t breathe. I am so quick to point out the beauty in others and raise them up but struggle with my own reflection. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I know why this is but this is the first time I could see the anatomy of it laid before me. I struggled because we all struggle. I struggle because of legacy and at 40, I didn’t want to anymore. For all the negative things you hear about living in 2018, one of the benefits has been social media. I have in my hand a community of people who understand this struggle and have wrestled this beast into submission. I was on the way to work when I saw an advert at Bank Station for a firm but this advert had a young dark skinned woman with natural hair at its centre. They say people don’t double take in real life, well I did and I felt..warm. I felt those words about good hair start to melt and every experience since then has been a tonic, whether it is the strong YouTubers and Instagrammers who answer every question and show you the hows and whys and products for natural hair. It’s my cousin who did my hair in December and took time and patience and love to do it, I have never been treated so tenderly by someone doing my hair, “It shouldn’t hurt” she told me. One warm drop after another on these frozen words. And then there was the flood.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Black Panther…..you knew this was coming. I cried tears and looked and almost got the clippers to shave off my hair like Danai Gurira (but then my head looks like a kick in old football so I decided against it). It was like walking a perilous and dusty road. The ache is deep in your hip joints, parts of you are numb and it burns, muscles have been replaced with taught, white hot strips of metal that pulsate and all you can think to do is put one foot in front of the other because the end comes somewhere. Then you get there and you fall, weeping, exhausted and grateful with bloodied dried lips. There have been so many articles discussing and dissecting Black Panther, hell I might even do one myself in the future. The thing that was like an arrow in my heart, spreading a warm tonic throughtout my soul was the images of hair, coiled, tight, rough, braided, shaved and all of it beautiful. I felt such completion on my journey and I when I left the cinema and replayed the scenes in my head later, I was able to feel a whisper of my own beauty.</span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09802305324770301134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911518003470732517.post-37275160334312737262017-06-11T15:56:00.000+01:002017-06-11T15:56:14.261+01:00It Can't Happen Here - More reasons to Wake up<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">“<i>Nothing makes me more nervous than people who say, ‘It can’t happen here.’ Anything can happen anywhere, given the right circumstances.</i>” </span><span style="color: purple;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">— Margaret Atwood from a 2015 lecture to West Point cadets</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">From my trusty corner and a little bit knackered, I find the inspiration to commit these random thoughts to a page. I recently started watching 'The Handmaid's Tale'. When the series was announced, I picked up the book reveling in my new found recovery </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">and got stuck in. I wasn't disappointed, there is such a beauty in Margaret Atwood's words, I feel like a person who has been confronted </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">with rich blood splatter on a stark white canvas</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">, noticing the beauty of the patterns in the carnage.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Eventually bathing in the glow of having read the book before watching the series, I watched Gilead, Offred and Ofglen materialise before </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">my eyes and was not disappointed. I find myself having to prepare to watch it because event though I have a rough idea of the destination,</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">the journey is marvellous, terrifying and completely new to me. I watch it knowing that Margaret Atwood said that the ideas that she wrote </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">about were not a complete fiction because these things have already happened at some point to women throughout the world, either historically </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;">or currently.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlfzZU7i7ZaLV5w6IqkfFrcAXdMNYVkdHvWOTbGtuUC9kCBSs6XtMOVM3hyphenhyphenRmn98YInkk6tbNq7-LssuL6sVp8Gzi-94hZ0L7CFxUdXUtg63MIHtnNLDh0NIMS8v3nzybPVWJide4RDVk/s1600/handmaids_tale_ver5_xlg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1230" data-original-width="952" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlfzZU7i7ZaLV5w6IqkfFrcAXdMNYVkdHvWOTbGtuUC9kCBSs6XtMOVM3hyphenhyphenRmn98YInkk6tbNq7-LssuL6sVp8Gzi-94hZ0L7CFxUdXUtg63MIHtnNLDh0NIMS8v3nzybPVWJide4RDVk/s200/handmaids_tale_ver5_xlg.jpg" width="154" /></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">So when faced with an article entitled, "<a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2017/05/handmaids-tale-religion-theocracy/526248/" target="_blank">Don't overinterpret 'The Handmaid's Tale</a>" I of course chose to dive in. Essentially the article is saying that while the series so far is good, the premise presented is implausible. The Christian fundamentalism of Gilead hasn't happened </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">anywhere, even in places we think of in terms of extensive breeches of human rights and the mistreatment of women, these places are not </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">totalitarian regimes, a construct like Gilead has never existed so I guess that's alright then. No need to panic dear, it'as just a </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">tale, a story so you know pass the popcorn and lets hope Season 2.What's the harm?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">"<i>No, Texas is not Gilead; it’s a state where people are peacefully and democratically expressing social conservatism.</i></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>And as for the nation, Americans did just elect the most secular president perhaps in the country’s history.</i>" So why am I writing this?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Because I think the author may have missed the target and hit the tree. I have watched countless episodes of Star Trek, sometimes willingly and I marvelled at the things that were firmly cast as Science Fiction. I am watching as they become Science Fact. One bleeds into another with the simplest word, "What if?" I concede that the kind of religious fervour that is ascribed to Christianity in the novel almost aligns </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">conservatism with totalitarianism and that in these times, it doesn't fit but by the same token, there was no previous model of the Holocaust.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Humanity is innovative, especially in our own destruction so why think that a shift like this would follow some kind of '<b>Totalitarianism </b></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>for Dummies</b>' handbook. Look around right now. Fear is the order of the day and that cunning Jedi was really onto something with his little </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">note about Fear being the path to the darkside. I'm not comforted by the assertion of the article, I'm alarmed by it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Offred herself in both the book and the series, speaks of how we sleepwalked into this. Gilead was in progress while other folks comforted </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">themselves that things could not get worse. I visited the Holocaust Museum in Berlin a few years back and there were points when I had to sit </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">and weep at the pieces of history that surrounded me. There were so many things that struck to the heart of me but I remember a letter that was </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">never sent. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The sender was trying to reassure the relative that there was no need to run away, that although rumours had begun to trickle, that </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">things were not right that this would not last, that normality would return and they would not leave Germany because surely it couldn't get worse. </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I lost count of the amount of times I read that letter. The wind was knocked out of me as I realised that the author was wrong and that so much worse was yet to come.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjszxvS1klOdjZ5EIvLjsBBP0g9HVTegHTseatAMuKSbK9rBgvRHIdRiPawyAzjJhj-ygyUgey9Ysipn9Dgf7ReiZMCLB9LDRRw_m8ymReaezkkmUUw1ftcYbS_sgtlPBQFf7WUgGQcTcs/s1600/hmt_03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1473" data-original-width="1156" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjszxvS1klOdjZ5EIvLjsBBP0g9HVTegHTseatAMuKSbK9rBgvRHIdRiPawyAzjJhj-ygyUgey9Ysipn9Dgf7ReiZMCLB9LDRRw_m8ymReaezkkmUUw1ftcYbS_sgtlPBQFf7WUgGQcTcs/s200/hmt_03.jpg" width="156" /></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Journalists are body slammed for asking political questions and deemed enemies of the state, in Turkey and Russia they are arrested and killed.</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Discrimination in terms of wages for women are upheld under a new administration, reproductive rights are in question in the US. Officers murder </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">black brown and poor alike and walk free. Police cover ups, Presidents who order the deaths of 9,000 people suspected of involvement in drugs and a Prime Minister seeking a full mandate only to wind up losing a majority and courting a right wing Coalition of Chaos herself....I would say that you couldn't make this up but..that would be bollocks wouldn't it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Everyday I see something or read something that makes me think of V for Vendetta or Handmaid or Stepford. Because the moral is that is why we cannot </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">wrap ourselves in cotton wool saying the mantra that it won't happen here. If anything, looking back we can see how it could happen anywhere. It actually already has, just under different titles, clauses, laws..</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">So while you may tell me not to over-interpret this story, I will keep manning the watchtower. I will keep looking at the signs and portents </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">because the road to this nightmare is paved with such good intentions. We know this story, we have the guides, we have to keep watch and keep going...</span><i style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;">nolite te bastardes carborundorum.</i><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09802305324770301134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911518003470732517.post-11614155990737647212016-12-03T09:27:00.002+00:002016-12-03T09:27:24.992+00:00Bullets from the Bulletproof <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I love Luke Cage. I came to it blind, having never read any of the comics in the past, and that was a feeling to revel in. I did the exact same thing for Jessica Jones and was not disappointed, so it felt right to do the same for Luke.</span><div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">It's an odd feeling; the excitement of something new in a space that I have grown up in. All of a sudden I have this opportunity to have the rug pulled from me and look at something completely fresh. I was not disappointed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This however is not a review of Luke Cage, nor Jessica Jones or anything to do with MCU or DC. This is about me. This is a call.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This year has been a shit show, in fact I'm going to leave it to a much funnier Brit than me to sum up this year:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">That's about right Mr Oliver. In fact I could literally create an entire blog on every definition of 2016. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I could use alot of sociological background to talk about it, but that in the words of Zoe Washburne would be "too much foofarah"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I got words, and I got them because of my husband. To explain, we were having a tense conversation and he said to me, tearfully, "Baby, we all thought you were bulletproof." Thus the seed was sewn. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I have been in near constant pain in one way or another since Dec 2015. It was bad enough to put me in hospital in January 2016 and I still have no diagnosis. I've had surgery and along the way been treated with disdain, contempt, disinterest, vagueness which has become straight up rudeness in most of my interaction with the NHS. I can count on one hand those medical personnel who have actually treated me with kindness and sympathy. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">When your own GP is banging his head on the desk at the way you've been treated, you know that something is truly rotten in the state of Denmark. The main issue is that not only are they not sure what is wrong but I have committed the sin of being overweight, eating a balanced diet and up until this all kicked off was steadily losing weight through a regime of Shaun T and Chalean Johnson. My sin is that I don't have high blood pressure, am not diabetic, anaemic or have high cholesterol. I know this because I've been tested for this all over 15 times this year. At one point I was told that my bloods were "surprisingly good".</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I've had surgery, which added new symptoms and was unsuccessful. I couldn't work for 3 months and that ol pain is still there. Icepick sharp, stomach first, then down. It bites, crawls insidiously and pulls at everything from my waist down. Sometimes, it burns...almost like a xenomorph dripping its' toxic blood on nerves and muscles. Then the fatigue, a wave that wants to envelop you and shut you down. The world slips away and sparkles with bright painful light. You know that if you give in, its lights out so you fight it, with the little you have. I'll spare you the description of my menstruation.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">None of this takes into consideration the emotional toil, the side effects of drugs, the weight of isolation and the pressure on family.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I wish I was Luke Cage. I wish I was bulletproof. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I know that there are people out there suffering more than me. But we do that now, we diminish our pain, we judge it against a societal expectation that it's not enough, so it doesn't count. BUT it does count and it doesn't abide.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As I thought about this blog and a bulletproof black man in 2016 and the desire as a black woman to also be bulletproof and impervious to pain, I realised that actually Luke Cage isn't bulletproof. A combination of events changes the elasticity in his skin so he receives the impact differently. In a rudimentary sense, it bends. Just like Wolverine, it still hurts.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">That's why I'm moved to write. When you are strong, people depend on it, they build structures around that interpretation of the truth, like Luke Cage is bulletproof. The reality is that I feel that strong people are pliable because they have battled; they are callused in places, bending and pushing back further. But it still hurts.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I have experienced what it is like when people think you are strong and then you have to be weak. You have to rebuild, the new callused flesh must take hold and some folks become afraid because you have to challenge that idea. Emotionally that's as much as the physical pain and that was depressing enough.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So...here I stand. I am facing another invasive surgery in 4 days. My lips tremble, I'm frightened and I'm writing about a superhero. I am fighting the enclosing dark using my treasured weapons of words, sarcasm and nerdiness. I want to be bulletproof but even in this state there are others I wish were more bulletproof able to withstand all that is being thrown at them right now. My lesbian friends in the US, my people here, the people in Aleppo, Syria, everyone scared by the rise of the right.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">What I am trying to say is that people are more than a phrase. More than ever, we must remember that and we must fight. We must challenge our own ideas and thoughts, now more than ever before. It's not about being bulletproof. It's about combining and being there more than ever so the bullets won't be fired. Maybe the strong person needs to be held. Maybe we need to just stop the bullshit and be there more than ever for those struggling. It's also self preservation...we cannot just depend on ideas, we need to put boot to ass.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So I'm sorry I haven't blogged loads this year, but I haven't been asleep at the wheel. I've been dealing and now I'm confessing that I'm not strong. I'm callused but hopefully, I'm getting back up to fight whatever is coming. These words are a way for me to remind myself that I've got me and a reminder that we should have each other.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Thanks for your time, much love xx</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Fuck 2016</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">"Never backwards, Always Forward"</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09802305324770301134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911518003470732517.post-30396906499451162922016-03-04T13:43:00.002+00:002016-03-04T13:44:57.180+00:00The Tricksy Eye of Nostalgia - Who you gonna call?<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I've been a bit under the weather of late but finally, I have been ruffled from my daze and have a bit of insight to share. For me, I’m never too sure what will be the thing that will push the sacred muse to dump her leavings on my head and then conjure up something that I am happy enough to commit to these pages. The act of writing a thought and translating it into something that I want to share, and ultimately that engages you, can at times be a breeze and at the same time, an excruciating experience whose symptoms resemble some kind of hitherto undiscovered disease.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">But as the Nun said to the Bishop, let’s put our mouths in the right places to start things off. The rebooted Ghostbusters movie trailer was released yesterday to the inevitable sound of outrage and alarm (this is the internet after all folks!) I gave it a cursory glance yesterday amid the requests on social media for pitch forks, axes, and crowds of people to join forces to decry this awful misery. All in all though, at about 6am this morning, I had a wee look…and it was….alright.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I watched it again and let the thoughts marinade. The image that floated into my head like Slimer at a buffet was a memory of me watching the original trailer in front of my Dad. His words which came after a kiss of the teeth was, <i><b>“Looks like tupidness”</b></i> (This only makes sense if said in a disdainful weary Jamaican patois) The point is my Dad wasn’t the target audience, I was along with my little brother and I wanted the special edition toys that would feature in Shreddies and as for the image that showed spectral globes floating across a New York skyline, followed by exploding apartment windows, I didn’t know what it was about but Goddamn! I wanted it! I lost my shit in the playground and when I saw it, I could barely take it in. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Now fast forward. I'm older, much older. Ghostbusters has become a traditional watch and my brother, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/kingblackboltIC" target="_blank">The Instant Classic</a> and I were having one of our usual film rants when he made an very interesting point, “Why is it that in a lot of 80’s movies, the people who do the right thing are punished?” Light bulb</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> moment.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">So I rewatched it properly with my adult eyes on and I find myself getting wound up. As a kid, I adored Peter Venkman, I thought he was funny and great but as an adult, an adult who has a great affection for Bill Murray, Peter Venkman is a douche. He is only out douched by <b>Schmidt</b> in <b>New Girl</b> but at least he knows he’s a douche. Peter Venkman basically engages in unethical ‘experiments’ to get dates, manipulates his friend into bankruptcy on a rouse. Don’t believe me, watch it again. Egon and Ray believe as scientists from their evidence, Winston comes around to belief through experience, “I have seen shit that will turn you white!” But for Venkman, it’s just another hook because we are all marks in the con and some of us will pay through the nose for it. The reason the Ghostbusters end up arrested is failure to comply with the Environmental Protection Act, think about it. Firstly let’s agree that Walter Peck is an idiot but the he actually had a point. He believed that Venkman was a con and that the containment facilities to hold the ghosts were dangerous and could be emitting dangerous chemicals and hazards into the environment. While closing the containment unit is the stupidest way to prove the theory, his claim could stand and he’s definitely right about Venkman even though he has no dick.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Here’s the thing, there are some 80’s movies which are a battle cry to stick it to the man. The ‘pencil pusher’ is the enemy to the man living the American Dream. So because of that you get Top Gun, a film where essentially Tom Cruise is told that he may not have the emotional aptitude to fly jets but does it anyway because….he’s a Maverick (yep the clue is in the name). You get Ghostbusters and others that at some point will talk about a loose cannon, not playing by the rules…but this is going into another rant so let’s get back to busting ghosts.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">My point is that with a different, non-nostalgic gaze I started to see Ghostbusters differently because it’s NEVER GOING TO BE THE SAME! That’s the kicker. Our childhoods are not sacred spaces, free from violation or closer inspection. When I was a kid I loved Ghostbusters, but I am not a kid anymore. I’m a grown ass woman, my world view is very different now. I genuinely have a bigger love for Egon Spengler and this is not because of the death of Harold Ramis. I appreciate his candor and that in fact some of the best lines from Ghostbusters are spoken by Egon, “Sorry, Venkman, I'm terrified beyond the capacity for rational thought.” </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Ray Stantz is enthused with a passion of someone who has discovered the awesome in the thing they love and makes no apologies. The fact that Dan Ackroyd has a huge interest in the paranormal is evident and if anything shows the passion that can come when you stick to the thing you love regardless of whether it’s cool or not. The Winston Zeddemore character feels like what would happen if I found myself in this situation, wanting not to believe but along the way having to question what you have been told. It’s strange to realise that your childhood favourite has to be relegated to last place because…life happens. </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">And that’s the point. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">There comes a time when we need to put down the rose tinted spectacles of the past. The more I see on social media leads me to believe that because we don’t want to put these down so easily, we are caught in this cycle of outrage and disdain. “Not my Ghostbusters!” No it’s not yours anymore; in fact truthfully it was never yours. The original concept was a very different beast, not funny, very serious and the property of one Dan Ackroyd. Along the way, life and death changed the outcome to what we have today.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Here’s the thing. I guess that a part of me loves Egon Spengler, because I have become an old unapologetic geek. I might see the new movie, I may not. But either way it’s not going to remove Ghostbusters from the Essential Festive Viewing List in my house (along with Die Hard, The Last Boy Scout, The first 3 Indiana Jones movies, National Lampoons Vacation – yes vacation not Christmas keep up! And Scrooged) or the love I had for it when I was 7 years old.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Watch some of those precious movies again but do me a favour and take off the rosy specs. I guarantee you will find some different things happening, than what you thought as a child. Believe me I did. The Fox and the Hound became even more depressing, Say Anything has such a sweeter deeper significance, 16 Candles….oh god it’s rapey, Dirty Dancing.....did not see such feminist context until now but damn! That’s the thing about films that I love, the ability to see so much more with each viewing, to bond, to laugh and get angry.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">My Dad did watch Ghostbusters by the way….at the time he loved it. It’s amazing what happens when you open up and give something a chance, even when it looks tupid.</span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09802305324770301134noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911518003470732517.post-75078684204727877562016-01-05T13:41:00.000+00:002016-01-05T13:41:13.705+00:00Execute Resolution 66 - How I learned to not slap the righteous<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Greetings and Salutations on a new year. Now for those
tuning in maybe hoping to find the latest diet or so such or maybe something
about losing 60lbs and discovering the secret of the kale and quinoa enema,
switch off now….seriously this is not that.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This is just some shit that happened that put the gears into
thought mode….the steam of industry is pouring out of my ears. So I was in
Tooting a few days ago, picking up bits for my dreads when I spotted this woman
across the road with the usual pamphlet. I marked her and tried to take the
best route to avoid her but ended up in the rush almost running slap bang into
her, “Would you like to talk about Jesus?” I was silent, I really was not in
the mood to issue my favourite killing words that day and my religious rants are
infamous, long and harsh (Full disclosure: I'm a pagan, raised a Methodist and
through a lot of introspection and education chose paganism from about age 20).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Unfortunately,
this lady was not going to accept my silence, “Do you want to hear more about
or Lord and Saviour Jesus” Now here I wanted to for laughs, respond with the
sacred words a very good friend told me, “No but would you like to hear about
my Lord and Saviour, Cthulhu?” But it was wet, I was cold and I really wanted
to play Halo and drink Cherry Brandy, so I just said, “Nope!” in a sarccy and
abrupt way. I should mention that all of this happened while I was still
walking. At that she belts out, “Well he saved my life and maybe if you knew
him you would be happier!” Now there were </span></span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">several
scenarios that ran in my head at that point. Instinctually I was almost moved
to cuss her into non-existence, coupled with a righteous right hand upper cut
asking her is Jesus saw that coming, shouting rage and annoyance, but I kept on
walking and by the time I was scanning my oyster, I saw it for the ruse that it
was; a play to get me to stop and justify myself to this random woman.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5YegQBkR1XbertBponaR2jsU6q6E-Ky0qg7EKfsj87otHO-l6iPBgmoq1ZTTfyTrWT3ayxdKXpNSpSlIgfhaDB9in4U_m5D9S9iXWSnPWuYxpqmEZreavg60GL7FSCeLzT-cMXf96ePE/s1600/slap.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="229" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5YegQBkR1XbertBponaR2jsU6q6E-Ky0qg7EKfsj87otHO-l6iPBgmoq1ZTTfyTrWT3ayxdKXpNSpSlIgfhaDB9in4U_m5D9S9iXWSnPWuYxpqmEZreavg60GL7FSCeLzT-cMXf96ePE/s320/slap.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.4px;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I put the thought away got on with my life and today while commuting, seeing the numerous diet ads and better life and supplement ads, I recognised the same attitude that I had encountered from the God botherer in Tooting. This woman wanted to engage me and chose the tactic of telling me that by her assessment of what happy SHOULD be, I didn’t measure up. My terse response was not because of cold, wet, a desire to game, a craving for some patty, cocoa bread and Peardrella and period pain but in fact because I lacked Jesus. Because Jesus is a fix all don’t cha know? Now for some people it is and more power to you if that is your thing. But that same tactic of telling us that the fix all is just an insert diet/superfood/supplement is the hymn of the New Year. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.4px;">And you are made to feel weird if you don’t join in, “What’s your resolution? How is it going? Have you broken it yet? Are you doing Dry January?” It’s continuous against the sharpened blade of those lovely numbers 01-01. I’ve taken to responding with such things as, “Nah, but are you doing Minge March?” which I must say has garnered a merriment of confused eyebrows. But the truth is that from what I can see, it all amounts to the premise that you cannot be happy in the skin and mind you are in and changes must be made because…the numbers say 01-01 goddamnit! </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.4px;">Now I am all for the folks who want to make positive changes in their life, to their health and to their mind etc, what I don’t like is the idea that you need to externally justify your happiness using someone else’s tickbox. Also who said we had to be happy all the time? Humans are complicated and our brains ever more so, there are peaks and troughs in all. I remember when my daughter was smaller people used to say to me to love everyday, especially because some people aren’t as lucky as me to have kids. Talk about pressure! Because some people can’t or don’t want to have kids I have to face every nappy with a grin, every but of manipulation, late night crying, tantrums, fevers, general rudeness, trips to A&E, dyslexia, school applications and dodgy friend choices like Doris Day. Err no blud, bun that! I don’t have to. And the same applies in this case. I’m not entitled to be happy all the time, none of us are. It sucks. However I find that being on a level is cool. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px;">Not miserable, not happy just cool. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.4px;">We’re not children. There came a point when I told my daughter that I cannot make her happy all the time, that was not how the game went. That she would have to make herself content, just chilled out not deliriously happy all the time. For me it grants perspective, it gives me appreciation to just dwell in the mists of alright. It doesn’t mean that my aspirations are any lower or my drive stops. I exercise because I want to keep my heart healthy and my limbs as active as possible and I happen to like a bit of Chalean and Cize. I eat well and enjoy the sensation and after a life of battling fucked up lessons about food, I enjoy each morsel and cook with love. I read voraciously because I always have and don’t find it a chore, I've committed to completing more projects but not out of some resolution, out of a want to improve myself and chill in my alright times. So when the gloom comes and sometimes it does rain down hard and heavy, I can pick up and find the pieces and get back to alright which tends to lead to happy.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNSyQ1BFwfxkPZ7fxBaskJqopkcBREv1kQYCcaBdUC-otVuEpunsZy3OjWFL6Y8bre-tKU_yL7OSoZ0-Jt2fbzHmj7aPj8UTGRqmZHb4YOi3NUHDR7fm8yTxbjc1GLzwP-Y9HNSg0vLcE/s1600/dou.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNSyQ1BFwfxkPZ7fxBaskJqopkcBREv1kQYCcaBdUC-otVuEpunsZy3OjWFL6Y8bre-tKU_yL7OSoZ0-Jt2fbzHmj7aPj8UTGRqmZHb4YOi3NUHDR7fm8yTxbjc1GLzwP-Y9HNSg0vLcE/s320/dou.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.4px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.4px;"><i><b>“Self-love is a good thing but self-awareness is more important. You need to once in a while go ‘Uh, I'm kind of an asshole.” – Louis C.K.</b></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.4px;">So what am I saying? I'm saying do you. Or don’t it’s really down to you but hey thanks for taking the time to read these words on a cold day. I won’t wish you the best in your resolutions but I will wish you the best in your life endeavours, each day, Every damn day.</span></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09802305324770301134noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911518003470732517.post-62785553141457798282015-06-01T14:38:00.000+01:002015-06-01T14:38:31.895+01:00The Mystery of Hamboning - Cartoons nowadays<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As someone born in the ‘olden tymes’ (my
daughter’s words) there is especially as I hurtle towards the big 40 a lot of
talk about the good old days. I’ve seen a lot of this recently on my social
media about remembering when you could go down the road and you wouldn't get kidnapped, you could play all day and no-one was worried, cola cubes cost 5p,
dogshit on the pavement turned white with age and how wunnerful it was back
then. Cue Hovis music…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Which is all well and good I suppose but very flawed.
Firstly, I have a background in Criminology and one of the many intriguing
things you learn is that there is always the ‘Golden Era’ this hallowed time
where things were beautiful and wonderful and not like the terrors of the
modern day. Evidence will show for example that the murder rate in the UK was
higher in the 1970’s than it is now. Don’t believe me? </span><a href="http://ourworldindata.org/data/violence-rights/homicides/" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Look it up</a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">.
But I digress. My reason for this week’s rant is not a treatise on the rates of
criminal activity between 1970 and 2015 but to talk about cartoons…</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I watched a lot of cartoons as a kid, I
also had the fortune to travel quite a bit so I watched a lot of TV on very
different continents. So intertwined amidst Jamie and the Magic Torch was Jayce
and the Wheeled Warriors, Fat Albert, Galaxy High, Battle of the Planets to
name a few which did eventually end up being broadcast in the UK. It’s easy
with the mutation of Nickelodeon 2.0 which is less on the slime and more on the
OMG-YOLO-HASTAG-over privileged idiots who clearly are in need of a Taser and a
reality check to bemoan the loss of good cartoons. Before I get lost in the
nostalgia of it all, I can fully admit the flaws in some of my viewing.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Jamie and the Magic torch…..erm clearly this child was
sniffing glue. Dogtanian and the Muskehounds…not exactly the best animation in
the world. Dungeons and Dragons..I loved it but that fucking unicorn should
have ended his days over the barbecue on many occasion and as for that bell end
Dungeon Master, don’t get me started. Jem….wait back the hell off Jem if you
know what’s good for you! I may not have been the most pink laden girly girl but
Jem is my one concession. I suspect it’s the amalgamation of all of my
girliness in one place with a thumping soundtrack about <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAJMimjGuL8">how you play the game</a>.
If you value your life, let’s not discuss the remake. So I am very aware that
not all of the cartoons of my youth were awesome, sometimes it’s that very
thing that means they hold a place in my heart. I was recently shocked though
by the amazing talent of 3 recent shows that counter all of the awful Wizards
of Douchebag Hole or whatever it’s called.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">One is a series that follows a Cat married to a rabbit with
2 kids and the household goldfish that grows legs, starts talking and becomes a
member of the family. The other follows a boy and his dog best friend who has
magical powers and live in a post-apocalyptic land with their friends and get
up to any and everything. The last is
about a blue jay and a raccoon that live and work at a park.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Amazing World of Gumball, Adventure Time and The Regular
Show are that saviours of modern kids cartoons.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br />While I could sit here for hours and probably deliver a mammoth treatise on the awesomeness of The Amazing world of Gumball (see episodes ‘The Game’ ‘The Words’ and ‘The Boss’) the sheer madcap surreal nature of Adventure Time, (See episodes ‘Tree Trunks’ ‘It came from the Nightosphere’ and ‘What was Missing’) which in my opinion is up there with Monty Python and The Mighty Boosh, I must expand upon The Regular Show.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I cannot remember which episode I watched first, what strikes me is that I watched a kids show on the Cartoon Network which happily referenced and ripped films like House, Kickboxer, Over The Top, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and a myriad of other films and shows from my childhood (The episode ‘Ello Guv’nor as a British person is a particular delight!). Any show which features Mark Hamil voice acting, gets an instant five points as standard but the more I watched the show, the more I realised what it was that defined it as great. Mordecai and Rigby, at first glance are just as their boss Benson tells them, slackers. They are 23 and find inventive ways to do as little as possible in their jobs as groundskeepers. They are assisted by Muscle Man, High Five Ghost, Pops and Skips. Hilarity ensures but the thing that I love is that there is more beneath the surface. Over the course of 6 seasons and counting we learn about friendship, sometimes we have to do go above and beyond for our friends as they would for us, that life can be tough, you don’t always get what you want. You have to grow up but that doesn’t mean that you have to give up and not have fun. About moving on from heartache to something potentially better. That some rules are stupid and some important. That just because someone is on TV doesn’t make them cool or nice. To be accountable for your actions, even if you didn’t have the wit to see how bad things could get. Most importantly we also learn that hamboning will save our lives. Someday.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This is one of the things about Regular Show that means it is very close to my heart. The death of Optimus Prime in Transformers: The Movie in 1986 was a valuable lesson. It taught me that life was not always neatly wrapped up in 21 minutes, heroes could die and unforeseen circumstances bring out the best in us all. Sometimes we have to work with the people we wouldn’t normally piss on if they were on fire to achieve the best outcome.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">While watching shows with my daughter when she was slightly younger and which ultimately culminated in a ban of Nickelodeon, I realised quite quickly that I couldn’t figure out the messages from some of these programmes. The children were whiny and often to my mind, spoiled and rude. They were condescending and truculent to anyone above the age of 14 and the parents or adult figures in them were objects of ridicule, often trying to be down with the kids as the canned laughter highlights their stupidity. I am in no way saying that some of this was not present in some of the shows and cartoons of my era, Scooby Doo is the perfect example of the pesky kids putting the adults to shame but say in The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, there was a limit, there was a place that Will could not go with Uncle Phil and Aunt Viv and if he did so, they were quick to shove that toe back across the line. In fact the last show I remember to get the semblance of this right was My Wife and Kids starring Damon Wayans. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Benson in The Regular Show is the authority figure, stressed and frustrated by the efforts of Mordecai and Rigby to do fuck all, but there is a reason behind it, there is something he is trying to teach them and there are times when he gets it wrong. I love that one of the oldest characters in the show Pops is just so sweet. He quite literally spends his time sniffing the roses and having fun but don’t let that fool you, Pops can be a bad ass when he want to be. It teaches kids not to dismiss someone because they are or seem old, that age is no barrier to fun.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The more I watched this show and bonded with my daughter over it, the more I appreciated it. I have shown episodes to friends who despite their initial trepidation have been in hysterics by the end, sometimes even unnerved (Terror Tales of the Park l ll and lll spring to mind). I applaud it and the other shows I have mentioned. It’s not beating you over the head with the moral message like <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6Y-e13EqK0" target="_blank">He-Man</a> but casually feeding a nugget of something useful to you while defeating a giant head for the universal record in Broken Bonez.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It gives me a warm feeling not to decry that all hope is lost and cartoons were so much better in muy day, but to give a tip of the cap to the folks whose surreal and crazy imaginations meant I could enjoy some fantastic television with my daughter. So thanks J.G Quintel, Pendleton Ward, Ben Bocquelet and all the amazing folks bringing such great TV to life. WWHHHOOOOAAAAAA!</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09802305324770301134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911518003470732517.post-69798843830407909992015-05-18T11:38:00.000+01:002015-05-18T11:38:32.176+01:00Proceed With Caution - Post Mother's Day<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So Mother’s Day has ended in the US. In Blighty this had
come and gone in March but my mind rolls over motherhood again and in
particular mother’s day. You can’t really escape it in social media, in the run
up there are loads of inspirational quotes about the bond between mother and
daughter, mother and sons, lists of things to do to say thank you and how much
you appreciate mother. It was when I read an article about mother’s day for
those who have lost children that the seed was planted for what I am writing
here. Another theme that does tend to come up during this time is forgiveness. That
while things may have happened in some nether where things were said, now is
the time in honour of mother’s day to forgive and move on. Please see
appropriate card via moonpig.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">This is always a
strange time for me and I am sure that I am not alone. You see I do not speak
to my mother. It is always a strange thing, when you meet someone new and there
comes the point when you have to explain that your mother is not a factor in
your life.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It’s been brought home to me more since I have my own
daughter. The thing is that usually people presume she is dead, but then the
inevitable happens so you have to prepare a statement to handle it. It’s a bit
like Jenny Garp in ‘The World According to Garp’ by John Irving. You find a way
to put across an awkward situation that happened ages ago using succinct sentences.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">One of the trends that I have realised is that when faced
with a scenario like this, a lot of people want to ‘fix’ it. They ask about the
time that has passed, they remark about how long it’s been and about letting go
and forgiveness. They insert the relevant Dr Phil-Oprah-Deepak-Iyanla
platitude. I used to get really angry about it, I used to feel shame because I
felt like there was something that was wrong again that I needed to fix. Because,
clearly I wasn't going through enough just dealing with the aftermath of it
all. A few years ago, something happened which changed my perspective.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Actually they were two separate incidents. One incident was
talking to my brother and a friend about an old memory. My brother and I were
laughing about it but our friend wasn't. She was a bit horrified and challenged
us to realise that our humour was a guard; it was how we dealt with the awful
things that happened when we were kids. It made us both look at our past with
very different eyes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The second incident was when the lead from Lost
Prophets was arrested. I wondered about those poor children who will grow in
time and find out what was done to them and that the person who was charged
with loving them and caring for them, exploited them. I wondered how the world
would treat them and then I thought about them on mother’s day, hearing some of
the platitudes that I have heard. Believe me; I did not suffer in anyway near
as much as those children. I was not sexually exploited. Around the same time,
I was asked the usual question about making contact, and it began with, “She’s
probably getting old now, do you really want not contacting her to be on your
conscience?” My counter questions were, “Would anyone, who knew the identities of
those children ask them the same question when they got older? Would it be
right? Does anyone ask Tina Turner, the last time she saw Ike and that maybe
things had gone on long enough and she should bury the hatchet?” No because those
are extreme examples of abuse. In their extremity, we allow the victims to make
their decisions. We weigh up the crime and say, “Actually, I can understand why
they want to move on without those people in their lives.” But for people who
have experienced what some may deem lower level abuse, the question is asked of
the victim in many different ways, “How are YOU going to solve this?” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We have become so used to the public spectacle. A lot of
this started with the talk shows, the Sally Jessie Raphael, Jerry Springer,
hell Oprah played her part too. We watch families fall apart and demand they
resolve it in an hour for our entertainment. Our morbid delight that thank fuck
it isn't us up there. This has morphed into Big Brother, Ex on the Beach and
countless other ‘reality’ shows. I am sure that Stephen King’s Running Man is
not far behind. The legacy of that for me are a lot of people who want to
diagnose and fix you because what you are going through defies a norm that they
have in mind. I am by my nature and the choices I have made, a confrontational
person in the eyes of many. The default from some is to assume that this is
some family feud because I didn't keep quiet. The truth is so much more
complicated. This is challenged every damn day, especially when raising my
daughter. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It is a balancing act and then it’s an internal war and then
it mutates into something else. This barrage of parenting advice from
everywhere, applying the things I have learned in counselling, the things I see
and hear and we haven’t even got to Secondary school yet.</span></div>
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</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">One of the things I am grateful for is the
people I surround myself with and in an unusual twist, I am grateful for
Facebook. I don’t just friend anyone on Facebook, I choose carefully and the
things I see on my timeline reflect this. These are folks with great humour and
intelligence, mothers who are sometimes just as bewildered as me at the prospect
of motherhood. It’s nice and refreshing, especially in the face of those who
would only present things as perfect screenshots and I appreciate it, I
appreciate it more on days like today when my daughter challenges me. The
people that I choose to have in my life
remind me of Roald Dahl’s Matilda, they remind me that I am not alone and that
I do not have ‘let bygones be bygones’ to fulfil a strange idea of closure
courtesy of Hallmark.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So what am I saying? What is my helpful Geraldo Riviera
summary. Fuck knows! Just kidding. I am not going to tell anyone to do a damn
thing they don’t want to. Do what is right for you, find resolution and peace
in the way that you need to. While some folks have spent their time telling me
how to find peace about the situation, very few of the same have asked, “How
are you about the situation?” Not everything has to be perfectly resolved to
the specifications of others. I think that today was just a day to remind
myself what I have been through, what I am going through and the legacy that I
deal with everyday. To pluck the fruit from the seed planted months ago.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Now take care of yourselves and….oh bollocks!!</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09802305324770301134noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911518003470732517.post-29258786690398794812015-02-13T11:56:00.002+00:002015-02-13T11:56:25.766+00:00"The name's Morticia....Cara Mia if you're nasty!!"<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Well hey there and hello for 2015!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I'm here, nursing a good tipple against the cold breeze and realising that it’s been too long time since I have stopped long enough to have a bit of a rant. I've had plenty amongst my nearest and dearest but no topic has riled me enough to put my thoughts out here for the entertainment and perusal of you all…until now that is.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So, today marks the release of the film ‘50 Shades of Grey’. If you have somehow escaped this madness I will allow you a minute or 2 to look it up….ok, you’re done now back to me.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So this is supposed to be a big deal. Seriously, this is supposed to hail the sexual awakening of countless women in the western world who used to think that BDSM is an additive. You can’t look at a bus or billboard and not see the ad campaign. The masses have been thrown head first into a world of 'intrigue and desire' with the loaded Christian Grey and his ‘assistant’ Ana Steele. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The world is never going to be the same again as demonstrated by the scores of people trudging towards Ann Summers and fiddling with the riding crops and handcuffs, trying desperately to buy them quickly while the kids are distracted outside. You too with some DIY and a little help from Cargo and the supermarkets could have your own dungeon to replay your best scenes. London Fire Emergency Services are on standby to answer the tsunami of calls pertaining to removal of cock rings or chastity belts gone hideously wrong. B&Q staff have been fully trained in which cable tie is suitable for the sex dungeon and why the vibrator powered by rudimentary pneumatic drill may not be the best idea.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Women have awoken friends and what they demand is a damn good thrashing, leather optional at the hands of a rich handsome pretentious miserable wankstain….at least, this is how it's portrayed.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In one sense, the book definitely opened the eyes of a lot of people to BDSM but taking this as some form of instruction manual as some seem to be, sorry kid that just don’t wash. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Now subject matter aside, the book is poorly written and an excellent example of what happens when you don’t do your research. One of my favourite authors is Stephen King. I have loved his books since I was a teenager and there always comes a time when I think I should probably put him down and then I read something again and remember why I love his work. I am no blind follower though, I am a critical Constant Reader (which is what Stephen calls his fans). Some of his work I don’t get on with, others are fine and then there are the Masterpieces. Stephen King is one of the first authors to show me the beauty of the short story, a little titbit to frighten or make you laugh. In most of his collections of short stories, he gives a background to the how or why a story came into being and one of my favourites is about a story called ‘Survivor Type’ I read this story and then read as Stephen King told how he had come up with the idea by asking a doctor friend of his, whether a person could eat themselves. The quote that the doctor responds with forms the basis of what is the novella. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">One of the things that Stephen King managed to drill into my brain is the importance of research, even if the results that you find are more surprising than you thought. You need to research your subject as your writer. It is also something that he comically ends up telling William Goldman off about in regards to the 'Princess Bride'. The research propels your work. My point is ’50 Shades’ really seems to lack research. While she may have looked into the best ways to tie someone up and throw a tampon out the window, she seems to have dismissed entirely the big section on after-care. The part where you tidy up, hug, cease weeping for a sec and talk about what just happened and how it has effected each person. It reads like someone’s idea of BDSM played out by 2 automatons and the most annoying part of it is that there are people out there who will use this idea of domination as an introduction to that life. Which is why I am rallying the call to look elsewhere. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I have absolutely no qualms about the BDSM lifestyle. The crux of it is consent, trust and care with alot of talking. This is how true BDSM should be approached. Following the examples written by E.L. James is a sure fire trip to disaster, bankruptcy and probably counselling.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">For better writing skills and a gripping read, why not start with the originator of masochism, Leopold Masoch’s ‘Venus in Furs’? I could recommend other material until the cows come home but for a beginners' guide to follow, I am going to hang it all out there and say hey, just follow Gomez and Morticia Addams.</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjajRUpTNQguZS-jwDcZhv6PY2twINkPUSPnX3Olex_PmreBihLYNU8XWf0Lf15p7ByA0P7wSqLCtTtlwgMnf6joZOY4QkMCLOrutqHcaGmHSTGky5zqmE7_wbDZNzO-EzFFI3594yXfXQ/s1600/88b6e6914def32ce289295c87d1636b9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjajRUpTNQguZS-jwDcZhv6PY2twINkPUSPnX3Olex_PmreBihLYNU8XWf0Lf15p7ByA0P7wSqLCtTtlwgMnf6joZOY4QkMCLOrutqHcaGmHSTGky5zqmE7_wbDZNzO-EzFFI3594yXfXQ/s1600/88b6e6914def32ce289295c87d1636b9.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Yep I said it…The Addams Family. Come in close…I’m not nuts. Watch the series, I implore you. Then watch the Barry Sonnenfeld films. Listen to the dialogue, with corrupt adult ears and you will realise what a trick you were missing as you laughed at Morticia cutting the heads off roses.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">“Last night you were unhinged. You were like some desperate, howling demon. You frightened me. Do it again!”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">“Don't torture yourself, Gomez. That's my job.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Gomez and Morticia Addams...playing out their BDSM for all the world to see to canned laughter. Forget The Munsters, there were poor cousins masquerading as entertainment. Gomez and Morticia made no secret of the fact that they had sex, lots of it and adored each other. They supported their family, encouraged and loved Wednesday and Pugsley and had and enjoyed submission and domination.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Gomez the willing sub in adoration of his mistress, Morticia, controlled chaos, at peace with her role as wife, mother and dom. It is a great example of the fun and good times to be had as a couple in marriage and definitely in love. This is no old, withered couple, these are people who enjoy each other as much now as the day they met at that fated funeral and they work hard to keep that attraction as fresh as that first day.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiQCDHeuv-l1N-v0E4bBHFbrvkNuka7Ogw6spNl6OTNB6T6WNtOoraH0GN2NSWr9of3c9bc0pTBZLWxzFLo7bH1L40XvZT7Ciro_NRCLEhbntbB_3mnADh9VYjHwGZ7pAgPP6c-yssKpA/s1600/11245464514_d5473f8b0d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiQCDHeuv-l1N-v0E4bBHFbrvkNuka7Ogw6spNl6OTNB6T6WNtOoraH0GN2NSWr9of3c9bc0pTBZLWxzFLo7bH1L40XvZT7Ciro_NRCLEhbntbB_3mnADh9VYjHwGZ7pAgPP6c-yssKpA/s1600/11245464514_d5473f8b0d.jpg" height="249" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Gomez caters to Morticia's desires and throws himself on her mercy. She is not just the ice queen merely issuing edict, she cares and loves him. Pain and pleasure, though interplayed never mean that caring is sacrificed and it shouldn't be. No decent mistress would merely discard her plaything (unless of course agreed beforehand).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This is why in my humble opinion if you are curious about the world of BDSM, save your money, walk away from Mr Grey and Ana Steel. You can't go wrong following the examples of Morticia A. and Gomez Adams. click click.</span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09802305324770301134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911518003470732517.post-72850878988167892312014-12-29T13:11:00.000+00:002014-12-29T13:17:09.146+00:00“Mawage, that bwessed awangment, that dweam wifin a dweam…”<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So
this morning, I'm browsing through the headlines on my phone while debating how
to spend my day off with my daughter and I come across a story that Chris Rock
has filed for divorce from his wife of 18 years. After that were a few examples
of some of the things that he had said about his marriage during the course of
some of his most memorable shows. I look at these barbs and there is a splinter
in my mind.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I
put the phone down and after a few hours, here I am. Funnily enough this blog
began life as a soliloquy to geek marriage but in the face of this news, I feel
there is more to be said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I am
married. We've been married for 7 years and I was never the kid who wanted the Disney princess wedding dress…I was far more interested in the level of buffet to be
honest. Coming from a background where my parents divorced painfully (TV Movie
in the works kids!), my maternal grandparents divorced in spectacular fashion
and the few who were married didn't seem to be having a good time, I was not
the biggest fan of it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Good
marriages were on TV and when I looked around; my life bore no resemblance, so
I settled into the idea of anything but. Until I met someone, not my husband
but this guy actually opened me up to the idea of marriage as a possibility.
That being with someone did not have to resemble something not dissimilar to
Platoon or Apocalypse Now. Ironically this relationship burned bright and
ultimately out but I am grateful for the fact that he challenged me and allowed
me to see the good in marriage and not the shit that I was told about marriage.</span><span style="font-family: Mighty Zeo 2.0, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">One of my best memories as a child is listening to my parents and relatives listen to comedians. Drinks would flow and my cousins and I would be sent to bed whereupon we would sneak and sit on the stairs, high up so we couldn't be seen and listen to them cackle to Richard Pryor. As much as I loved Richard Pryor though, Millie Jackson was a legend to me. It was the idea that a woman could be as coarse as Richard Pryor, so candid and then give great voice, was mind blowing. I fully appreciate that in these formative years my taste towards the coarse was assured.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As I have grown naturally so have my tastes and my life experiences tend to reflect the people I like. Lately though, I began to wonder about the relationship between the reality and the product. If your export is misery and despair then where is the line, does entertainment feed into and thus create the reality? I think of this when I think of some of the comedians that I like now, Kevin Hart, Louis C.K, Bill Burr and Chris Rock. I have seen their recent shows and laughed like a loon for the most part. But when it comes to the parts about marriage, my laughter isn't as raucous.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">With the exception of Bill Burr who recently got married, the other comedians have or are going through divorce. Chris Rock, especially in the last few years has spared no amount of vitriol about the institution, I mean the signs were there, the guy made a film called “Why did I get married?” so we can’t say that we didn't see if coming. However whilst watching Chris Rock and Kevin Hart perform, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of annoyance, this idea that they had been hunted down in the jungles of singledom and then been bound, gagged and fucked into ‘I Do’. The moans about the changes and mundane, the kids and the ‘time served’ plus the need to cut loose with the guys and remember the man they sacrificed in order to be married…I would find myself looking around thinking, “Are you all hearing this?” and the audience lap it up, some of the guys are nodding in that “Yeah bro, I know exactly what you mean!” While partners sit there smiling but confused, should I laugh at what I am, how you see me or how you see us is engraved on features. At least Louis CK and Bill Burr say upfront that they do not come into this arrangement perfect, Louis CK is one of the few comedians to say outright that men are the biggest threat to women.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I know that Chris and Kevin are not the only comedians to talk about marriage in this way. The light hearted antics of Michael McIntyre to Lee Evans are littered with the typical “Oh ain't married life a pile of wank fellas eh eh ain't it?!” I guess what I am saying is that there is an icky feeling surrounding marriage and some of these comedic routines have normalised bad ones as the norm. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">These are bad marriages for whatever reason. Somehow, this is what you are supposed to expect and this is the most apparent when you are out with your spouse. I have sat across from people in a pub as my husband hugs and kisses me, who are gobsmacked that a) we are married b) we have been married over 2 years c) we have a kid and d) most damning, we have sex. It is literally like we are a new species.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In my circle of friends, I am not alone. There are 6 married couples that we chill out, game and get drunk with, and at some point we have had the same conversation about the expectation of misery and the men of the piece seem pretty damn happy, bring on the munchies and it’s like a weird blissful bubble that we look at the world through.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">These are not the ‘smug marrieds’ of Bridget Jones. The women that I know don’t want to change these guys. They are not the bitch queens, needing approval, the blood and veins and of course the freedom on their men. The guys are not pussy whipped dullards, coming out with their hands up, handing over the keys, the laptop, the money, the dignity and their balls. These wonderful people are just awesome and the big thing is that they tend to be friends, first and foremost.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">They literally rage against the dying of the light and do not cater to this idea of marriage. They travel, have fun, build Death Stars out of Lego, play tabletop, bake mean cakes and cook like demons. They drink (a lot), party hard, are intelligent wise and so fucking funny and I love em to bits.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As for my husband, we once had a very serious walk out of the room argument about Keanu Reeves…no lie a literal shout match. He can be a right pain in the ass but guess who is just as much as a pain in the ass…that’s right folks. Yours truly.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I guess what I am saying is that I am sick of the alleged battlefield of marriage. I choose different comedy like Stephen Lynch, not a word about marriage but my god the horror about everything else. I do not subscribe that this is the way it has to be and I am choosing something different, living something different. Try being friends for a bit…if you cannot stand the person as a mate you would willingly have a drink, a pizza and watch a bad movie with then why the hell even bother?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Marriage is just not about that….it is so not what they tell you. Find the meaning for yourselves and for frell’s sake, be excellent to each other!</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09802305324770301134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911518003470732517.post-11092315367049888202014-11-26T17:03:00.000+00:002014-11-26T17:03:24.348+00:00The Quantum of Pinterest<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So there I was in the middle of another blog, which will be featured here at some point when a series of recent comments has moved me to put this together.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I guess the best place to start is with a straight up confession. I am a Pinterest Mum….there I said it, it’s out there. But before you ready the torches, allow me to explain a few things.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Pinterest was recommended to me a few years ago when it was in its infancy. There weren't many people on it but I found the idea novel. A giant pin-board of the stuff that you have seen on-line and say, “Oooh I LIKES” and then actually put somewhere as opposed to forgetting it and then thinking, “Now where did I see that thing?” So I joined up and I found out about Etsy and other places that I didn't know about. The timing for me was perfect because I was in a complete state of flux and Pinterest allowed me to see a different way to do things. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Suddenly it became the ‘thing’ that everyone jumped on, I saw an influx of people but I didn't follow every new person’s board just because they had one thing that I liked. My on-line choices reflect my real life choices, so just like it will take me a good while to choose decent eye-liner and not the one that has been recently advertised as the best, the same goes with the people I friend on Facebook and follow on Pinterest.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I think this is key. There have been a few people whom I have followed and then after seeing the same flipping bird tattoos and wonders of Paleo eating I have just stopped following. Why? Well the way I see it is that they have a voice and I do too but sometimes I don’t want to hear what they have to share. They are entitled to do the same, no harm no foul. But recently I have started to see a trend of bashing Pinterest.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-4Biro4aNXIpd8HkBRbcaxA8pmeTDBMsgjSVQtf-OwlAkKJIXfcaj7ivJy2HE7yIpA1ahuHmWnLevUcKovyn1ZdQwJKS8FxsGTeEHe2VIpCFcB_kiOmaMmg2c8JMp9NL57JobeWnZ6hc/s1600/eeab8b8fc2a57c0c02555f6f9a7bfdae.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-4Biro4aNXIpd8HkBRbcaxA8pmeTDBMsgjSVQtf-OwlAkKJIXfcaj7ivJy2HE7yIpA1ahuHmWnLevUcKovyn1ZdQwJKS8FxsGTeEHe2VIpCFcB_kiOmaMmg2c8JMp9NL57JobeWnZ6hc/s1600/eeab8b8fc2a57c0c02555f6f9a7bfdae.jpg" height="320" width="242" /></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The folks who proclaim vehemently, that they will not create jewellery from macramé or use baking soda and vinegar to clean their surfaces. Witness the bile as they tell you point blank that they do not give a good goddamn that lavender is better than Nytol and that the world has not got time to upcycle old jeans into waistcoats or make glow in the dark lamps from kilner jars and glitter. They speak of the pressure to do these things and that they feel if they do not take part that they are bad parents, awful friends and that the time they have is precious and if they choose to use their time not making loom band flowers then that is their right, thank you very much.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">You know what I agree. But let me add this.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I spent a lot of my life as a child and teenager being told that I was clumsy, silly and fat. I took no pleasure in the things that most girls did at my age. I was weird and strange but those people who took the time to look past that and gave me a chance, to actually inspire me well they made an impact. One of the highlights of my teenage years was performing as Bottom in Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream. 2 nights with a donkeys head on and I tell you this, I was fucking awesome! That only came about because a teacher took the time to believe in what I could do when most of the world was telling me that I had little to offer. She saw in me things that I couldn't see then.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So now I am an adult, with a daughter of my own. Her Dad is a wonder and we have a great marriage. The 3 of us are a little unit of awesome and they inspire me everyday to fight the demons of my past that told me that I had no talent and nothing to offer the world. With the help of Pinterest, I had the courage to give things a try and see them come to life. I knit my own snoods in winter because it’s something I can do on a train, instead of stare into space and avoid the smell of rush hour. I can usually do it cheaper and there is a pride in something that you make. I have come to realise that I am gifted when it comes to creative. I also do not have to put up with the indignity of not looking good. The high street, which these days sees size 10 as plus size, likes to put the curvaceous and buxom lady in some of the most awful clothes and I can be anything from a 16 to a 20 depending on the shop. The point is that Pinterest showed me a myriad of sites and looks that I can happily achieve and not feel like I am missing out because I am not a stick insect. I vote with my money to pay folks around the world to make me look good. It’s a win-win, they get to make the things they want and I get to buy it.I bake my own bread usually, but sometimes I am just too tired. I made my own sourdough starter a few weeks back.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I love geeky rockabilly weird shit with corsets and I have found some of the most charming and talented folks via Pinterest who have helped me look good. I know how to do make-up now as I was never taught, I have rediscovered some of my Gran’s recipes because she died and didn't teach me as everyone presumed I couldn't cook. I was inspired to go to Art classes and am writing my first graphic novel. My daughters’ most recent party was a lot of Pinterest work and you know why I am unapologetic about it? Simply because the kids loved it, my daughter was rocked by it and I put a little less money into the hands of big business and happily gave it to some creative folks trying to do their thing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Because honestly that’s one of the things it’s about. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I follow some great folks. There’s a woman who loves to can and preserve stuff and is very much into survival. Her <a href="http://everydaycarry.com/" target="_blank">everyday carry</a> is immense and I am sure that if the zombies come, this lady is more than ready with a lot of sharp implements and canned goods. Am I intimidated by her? Not really. Do I feel the need to follow her example? Nope. However she did raise a good point about carrying around a little bit of First Aid as you never know what might happen. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">As someone who does this and has helped 3 complete strangers and a little girl on the school run, I cannot recommend enough that more of us should do this.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I don’t feel intimidated by the pictures of Disney World and the fact that I haven’t taken my family. But the handy hint about putting the daily budget in envelopes on holidays so you know what you are working with was a god send on our recent trip.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I know that there are a lot of mothers who see the things on Pinterest and feel like this is just another thing telling them that they are not good enough. That not making things with their kids means they are awful. This is what I say to you.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwtEBxnN3HmCClGQWvTDOEkoGEXZs4MIp2dWnqtc3yWCamz7EBwg3z-OoZAXOBG3K-hSkvqcPg52t1L7vFBknSvmwA8mRp6_xlJDiSSm_xTPe5SmmKJYbOXE8-3mT331Br7GH1ziYruck/s1600/58b23fabbcc292505361aa4dc7b8c6c1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwtEBxnN3HmCClGQWvTDOEkoGEXZs4MIp2dWnqtc3yWCamz7EBwg3z-OoZAXOBG3K-hSkvqcPg52t1L7vFBknSvmwA8mRp6_xlJDiSSm_xTPe5SmmKJYbOXE8-3mT331Br7GH1ziYruck/s1600/58b23fabbcc292505361aa4dc7b8c6c1.jpg" height="320" width="173" /></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The judgement of your love is not on Pinterest. The judgement of your talent as a parent isn't on Pinterest. That is the preserve of your wonderful darlings. They try us and stretch us and some days you may not feel like you are good enough or just enough. You are. Don’t make that knitted cuddly toy because a site told you to. Do it because you want to. If you are sick of it all then turn it all off and chill just be. Don’t allow some pictures on Facebook or Pinterest to tell you that what you are doing is crap. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Take a breath. Walk away if you must. Maybe just chill and if worse comes to worst, have a look at something awesome and take some time to recognise the awesome in you.</span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09802305324770301134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911518003470732517.post-40042182406233297182014-06-02T11:39:00.000+01:002014-06-03T16:56:26.084+01:00The Cruel Tutelage of Pai - Mei<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I hang my head in shame because I see that it has been a long time since I have posted here. It's been a strange few months, in all honesty some of the things that I have seen have caused a great deal of despair and annoyance. In the midst of all of it, I genuinely wondered what the hell I could say on these pages to those who seek my words and take them in.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It seems that every time of late, that I go on-line, I see this wave of hatred in a place that I was once very comfortable in and a huge defender of. It is so hard to defend something you love when there are folks who just seem so damned determined to poison it. What am I talking about? Trolling.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I had the pleasure of seeing the immense Shane Koyczan over the Easter and was absolutely blown away. Shane was a triumph to behold but there was a point when the whole thing was about to be derailed. After '<a href="http://www.taylormali.com/poems-online/the-the-impotence-of-proofreading/" target="_blank">The Impotence of Proofreading</a>' by Taylor Mali, Shane began to recite, "<a href="http://www.tothisdayproject.com/the_poem.html" target="_blank">To This Day</a>", his well known poem about bullying. During the performance, a random drunken idiot shouted out. The dipshit in question had presumed that the Taylor Mali poem was an insult and then found it hypocritical to talk about bullying. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The effect was awful, it froze Shane and at one point, he debated that he would end the night there. The audience responded with a standing ovation and what proceeded was a fantastic poem about Trolling. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This was not supposed to be a tirade about trolling, about how it has become common place now to threaten rape to women over a difference of opinion about a comic or game, this is not that. This is just a call. We once said 'Do not feed the trolls' but in that, we left them beneath bridges to breed and manifest their filth, because they eventually leave the bridges and find their own food.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I just think that it is time for something else...a different mantra and deed as this monster has mutated into something so much more hideous...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">One of my main takeaways from the night was the amazing effect of Spoken Word. I was blown away by some amazing talent that night and inspired.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I feel as if I have been collecting inspiration all around me and hoarding it for a rainy season. I see so much around that gets a reaction and then I sit in front of the keyboard or pick up the pen and the words don't flow or the images don't come or worse still they look like the demented scribblings of a thoroughly annoyed 5 year old.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So I have been struggling....yep flipping understatement. So how the hell to get out of it?! Well, I was raised on a steady diet of Kung-Fu movies...not Kick Boxer but the good stuff like Snake in the Eagle Shadow, Drunken Master the list continues on and on and I had a bit of a realization.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Some of the best bits of those movies is the infamous training montage...the bit where the hero is brow beaten and humiliated, their arrogance and anger laid before the feet of the master and then the real training kicks in. You know what I mean? The carrying stone buckets up a billion stairs, upside down push ups against boards, incense under your crotch while crouched, balancing bowls of water on your shoulders...the stuff that is probably the warm up for Shaun T's Insanity.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I love a good training montage, and grumpy trampy preferably drunken old dude with bamboo stick is an added bonus.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I recognised that my frustration is borne from a new level up and that I need to do more and train a bit harder.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So I am undertaking 2 30 day challenges, one for drawing and one for my writing. A mantra I can relate to is that the beginning of life is at the edge of your comfort zone, so I am going into these challenges with the aim to put the work on my creative muscles and focus on some things that genuinely bring me joy.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Time to stop hoarding inspirations and get to using it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There are loads and loads of these things out there. The 2 that I am starting from today are <a href="http://mycreativewritingchallenge.tumblr.com/post/16858313832/30-day-creative-writing-challenge" target="_blank">here</a> courtesy of Tumblr and <a href="http://www.pinterest.com/pin/45106433742558058/" target="_blank">here</a> courtesy of Pinterest.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I aim to have something exciting to show during the course of my challenges, so cue the music while I take a beating from Sam Seed and level up.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09802305324770301134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911518003470732517.post-46466820569640449072014-03-11T17:08:00.000+00:002014-03-11T17:09:15.566+00:00Guillermo Del Toro: The Modern Harryhausen <br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">So…a while back on a Saturday morning, feeling pretty rough,
my husband was subjecting our little girl to his latest bad movie. I should
explain from the outset that my husband has a very high tolerance for bad
movies…I mean really high. While he is watching a movie, his mind will
literally insert a better movie and he will believe that this is the ACTUAL
MOVIE. You know how bad a film is if his programming fails to institute
this..so far Ghost Rider 2 has been the film where this programming failed….but
enough of him. This Saturday in particular he put on Pacific Rim.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Initially, I was hesitant because I had pretty much written
this off as Centurions do Clobbering time. I was going to run off back to my
hole and then my programming kicked in…the thing about Saturday mornings being the
most excellent time to watch anything where entire cities get laid to
waste…bloody hell that was my childhood with Tizwazz and Number 73 interludes.
So I sit there and I watch. I have to say that it was better than I thought and
I didn’t expect much.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">This is not a film review but the question I have to ask is
when the hell did everyone get so highbrow that we can’t just enjoy a bit of
Mechsuit Cavalcade? The reviews for Pacific Rim have been mixed but the main
thing that moved me to sit in my corner and tap this out was the monsters.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7S3s9u11n7djzxRwCe-a8CVl53wj67u8LUxKakMP5nvnfSOQnOHlT0WQ6KoFjpeqWFc5Jyk2_4RAEIUlAMQ8nnAPEr-oTNZVqG6RWHN0d1VEI-X8Y0-dhBG_o3wKGIiVJahWfOEYBE-U/s1600/137502.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7S3s9u11n7djzxRwCe-a8CVl53wj67u8LUxKakMP5nvnfSOQnOHlT0WQ6KoFjpeqWFc5Jyk2_4RAEIUlAMQ8nnAPEr-oTNZVqG6RWHN0d1VEI-X8Y0-dhBG_o3wKGIiVJahWfOEYBE-U/s1600/137502.jpg" height="245" width="320" /></span></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">To my mind, we have fallen out of love with the monster.
Horror is overly obsessed these days with the horror being human and the drop
in the price of effects mean that we get to see every flipping detail in
glorious HD because, why tell a good story with a decent script when you can
just show up close torture and gore for 2hours.We get it, humans are awful
yadda yadda oh look a deserted asylum/torture dungeon……….fade to red.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Rant aside….I watched and then watched again with friends
who jumped on the sofa and swore at the smackdown was laid. I watched these
scenes unfold before me and it dawned on me that this film was a strength, the
humans are mere backdrop. It’s the creatures we want to see and boy are they
beautiful. The Kaiju are great to watch and the Jaeger’s taking them on is
great..dare I say it, it’s like how I wished Mighty Morphin Power Rangers was.
The monster mash up is not just the set piece, it is what the film is about.
The human story pales into insignificance because it is supposed to, we want
mech and monsters getting knocked the fuck out.</span><br />
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<o:p><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">
I watched this film unfold and realised that we are missing
a trick with the wonderful Guillermo Del Toro. I have watched a lot of his
films, even early stuff like Mimic, and this is the guy who delivered in my
opinion the best Blade and that was only achievable because of his unique
insight into the world of the monster. It is far too easy to put on a mask and
throw a load of synthetics on someone, point a camera, say “action” and have
some folks scream and run while the designated monster runs at them.</span></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">It is so much harder to stop and infuse that Monster with a
heartbeat, a story, something that makes you as the audience take a minute and
wonder why the hell we are running and what exactly are we afraid of. Guillermo
taking the reins of Hellboy was heaven sent and for me, one of the best scenes
is when Hellboy is destroying a creature that is the last of its kind in
defence of people who, let’s be honest behave exactly like humans do,
judgemental, screaming, anger filled and I wished in that moment that it was
wrong, that it was a gross exaggeration as he hands the baby he rescues back.
And as we watch this wonderful sight, this amazing fantastical creature die
right before us, we are the monsters. We are the ones whom despite appearances
were the most base, the most hard to look at. I was embarrassed to be human in
that moment. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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There is something special in being able to take our idea of
the monstrous and turn it completely on its head. From Reaper to Kronen,
Sam-i-el the desolate one, Abe and the wonderful markets to the fantastical
Kaiju, the creatures that Guillermo presents, move and live. They cling to
life. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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The world thought it was an amazing thing when James Cameron
created Pandora and essentially went all Will Wright to bring Avatar to life.We
do not show the same awe to Guillermo and his work reminds me of the great Ray
Harryhausen. Ideas that belonged in the pages of the oldest tales brought forth
for my Sunday afternoon pleasure. I remember seeing Medusa in Clash of the
Titans and literally bricking it which is why I cannot watch the latest
version.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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In this blog, the first of a fresh new year, I want to take
some time to give a huge shout out to the genius that is Guillermo Del Toro. I can only hope that he continues to make us wonder who the Monsters really are out there.</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09802305324770301134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911518003470732517.post-5050347798718661392013-12-13T15:36:00.000+00:002013-12-13T15:36:29.649+00:00What more can I say, Top Billin! – My top 3 games of 2013<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Well, the end of the year approaches. Xbox One & PS4 have debuted and now all that is left is to clean up the streamers and tents and try my best to ignore the console vs console fights that have sprung up all over the place. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />This is not a review of consoles, what they can do what they have, how fast they do it and to whom and when. The fact remains is that there is currently no game that I want to buy that makes me need to buy either console. Besides I am having too much of a ball with what’s already out there.<br />
<br />I said in the beginning of this blog that I would discuss any and everything that I am passionate about and this year, which has been pretty rotten, I have to say that one of my anchors has been Gaming. I love it and make absolutely no apologies for it. I have been doing this since the days of Atari and it’s a strange thing to see your child and realise that her experience of gaming began with the Xbox 360….how much of a headscrew is that?<br />
<br />There have been times when I have face palmed in shame about elements of the Gaming community, but every community has the equivalent of the nutty cousin that we don’t like talking about at dinner, due to ‘that unfortunate business’. It comes with anything that you proudly support and any cause that you fight for. <br />
<br />2013 was the year that I conquered my prejudice of Tabletop games and when all was essentially blowing up around me, gaming helped to me to conquer all of those demons. So hats off to a fantastic year that often had my heart beating and jaw slacked. To all the developers and all those companies, Rockstar, RockSteady, 2K and all in between, thank you very much.<br />
<br />In that spirit, I present to you my personal top 3 of 2013.<br />
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My top 3 are games that I have played, actually committed time to and got to grips with. I despair that I often read these kinds of roundups and about midway through, you get the distinct impression that the writer not only hasn’t really given the games in question much time but probably has just combined a load of stuff from other places and then formulated an opinion.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNeVpPsAbxgQB8XXtuYJ6bJvwbdulr925BsqLPnZJdqCU7MHFFv4p1UhAmGUavo9_l1jaP6WjJWea3xIlGfke1ruCS8dCjyIB_eZkJ09RJGFDYlT-3miGFfLo-Cpg5bFA6r09RmL-StLQ/s1600/saints_row_4-wide.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNeVpPsAbxgQB8XXtuYJ6bJvwbdulr925BsqLPnZJdqCU7MHFFv4p1UhAmGUavo9_l1jaP6WjJWea3xIlGfke1ruCS8dCjyIB_eZkJ09RJGFDYlT-3miGFfLo-Cpg5bFA6r09RmL-StLQ/s320/saints_row_4-wide.jpg" width="320" /></a>So they’ll be none of that malarkey, instead I start with Number 3 which is…..<br />
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<strong>Saints Row 4</strong><br />
The crowning achievement of this game is that it reminded us that it’s just a Game! I know it sounds daft but hear me out.<br />
<br />Of late there have been a huge surge of games that ultimately want the world to know that gaming can be a very serious business. There is a lot of time and energy in the development, production and marketing of a game before release and gaming commands very serious numbers. <br />
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However it could be argued that along the way, we lost some of the fun. Saints Row knew from its 2nd iteration that it was in no way any rival to Grand Theft Auto so it didn’t try to be. It stopped the race and focused primarily on the fact that you can have a story and a pretty look but most of all have some fun. The fact that the game begins with the head of the 3rd Street Saints becoming the President of the US, tells you where its tongue resides. By God, if its in your cheek, you got off lightly. The gameplay is simple enough and yes there are a few twitches here and there, but this game is a montage of fun. You can fly and kill people with the power of Dubstep, you bitchslap an alien and that isn’t even half the fun.<br />
I cannot go on without spoiling the experience by blowing major plot but what I can say is that on a day when I thought laughter was impossible, the 3rd Street Saints had me cackling in no time. It is that reason why it’s my number 3.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisLA0BKqSWKdM5Ll_kyoyW6nUQavpKqJ59e9D5vLTsGj9fGqdKLhyYBMx_5z05zSDZNRXHxL-y1iCa7SD5oxwGCpcRlSnABQ1ByzS3L8rU7tDtMBu9e4LVba5PClZBKqfujt53rUyPj8Q/s1600/GTAV.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisLA0BKqSWKdM5Ll_kyoyW6nUQavpKqJ59e9D5vLTsGj9fGqdKLhyYBMx_5z05zSDZNRXHxL-y1iCa7SD5oxwGCpcRlSnABQ1ByzS3L8rU7tDtMBu9e4LVba5PClZBKqfujt53rUyPj8Q/s320/GTAV.jpg" width="320" /></a>This brings me of course to Number 2 which is…controversially<br />
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<strong>Grand Theft Auto V</strong><br />
<br />Number 2! I know that some folks may think I have lost the plot but please hear me out. My favourite Grand Theft Auto is Vice City. I was engaged and probably more so because I am a child of the 80’s. I joined the ranks of those who were dubious about the promises RockStar was making in terms of this game and then it hit and it was a wonder. <br />
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This game did what games should do. Make no mistake, if I am buying an 18 game, I want adult themes and I want to be questioned and GTAV did all of those things. The RAGE system is a dream, the controls are lovely but they are nothing absolutely nothing compared to how beautiful the game looks. It is a marvel, luscious to the point of being edible; it soaks you up and therein lies the power. You see the sun rise over the city and you are hooked. And then there’s Michael, Franklin & Trevor. <br />
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They all make you uncomfortable in their own distinct way. They are not here to massage your ego and hold your hand, their function is to get in your face and show you the world through their eye. And the horror is that this is our world and they are the products. Michael, washed up, flushed with cash and empty, pining for a life seen through a lens of 80’s movies that he believes he was promised, practically owed and finding that it’s a lie, a vacuous existence that dulls the sense. He is only alive when doing the thing he is good at…robbing. Franklin, seeing the hood for what it is and is not, with intelligence and sometimes a little common sense. He is the epitome of “the hood made me” but more so he demonstrates that you have to stay where the hood thinks you belong. <br />
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The environment and its inhabitants primarily drive to keep you in your place or not be ‘real’ and it is a knife to listen to because they don’t see the cycle that they perpetuate again and again. Improve yourself but only to a point and within your territory. And then there is Trevor. I have rarely played a character so anarchic, so seemingly moulded in Hell, I would genuinely cringe when I had to go to him for fear of what I would see but….there is depth to his sociopathy and intelligence. This is not a Man on Fire, this is a man with the petrol, matches and Napalm quite happy to burn the whole thing down and watch the flames and maybe dowse himself in the process. a man with loyalties, albeit twisted.<br />
<br />
This is the 2nd layer that brings the game to life and combined with the system of switching between characters which to my mind is a game changer, this game was astonishing and as jaw dropping as promised.<br />
<br />
<br />
So why 2nd place…..I have to say…it’s the women.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMV_Z9LWimFz7A39_YKcvXtZ7V9h2pNB5-4nmOR0n1b7v9IJsqdfQZSHR0MEI_hegzy2PnOnGefTjR0VwLNs7uc1HXenEQw3fPtO2Dg9_pAQd_GObtIqefWGD9ZYfBDX6WgBI8G5-y2rA/s1600/ladies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMV_Z9LWimFz7A39_YKcvXtZ7V9h2pNB5-4nmOR0n1b7v9IJsqdfQZSHR0MEI_hegzy2PnOnGefTjR0VwLNs7uc1HXenEQw3fPtO2Dg9_pAQd_GObtIqefWGD9ZYfBDX6WgBI8G5-y2rA/s320/ladies.jpg" width="252" /></a>God does it irk. Strippers, crackheads, general nutjobs, deluded PA’s & Lawyers, Sporty nutters, moaning cheating wives and slutty daughters it is list after list of the same old same old. I know it’s a deliberate pastiche of the current day designed to make you feel very uncomfortable but still really after all this time, I think this was a squandered opportunity for Rockstar to really stand out and that for me was enough to bring it down a place. <br />
<br />A hard task and not popular but that’s just because in my view, in consideration of all of that, there could really be only one winner….the Number 1 which for me was..<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<strong></strong><br />
<strong>Bioshock Infinite</strong><br />
Let me start from the get go and say that my husband was more excited by the arrival of this game than I was. Bioshock made me feel like I wanted out from the world. It was claustrophobic and scared the hell out of me.<br />
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Then I watched the trailer, I was intrigued but not blown away…yet. That would come later. It is the only game that I have clocked before my husband and his mate. You have no idea at the significance of that statement. I watched my husband play the first bit and I had to play. I fired up the Xbox and it seemed I played this game with held breath at each level. Just like GTAV it is a wonder for the eye, but there was something of the gobsmacked when I ascended the clouds and passed into Columbia. Maybe after what I had left behind, anything was a wonder.<br />
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But a floating city, I knew about it but to see it for the first time and take it in...what a sight to behold. I wished that Occulus was available now so I could plug in and touch it all and that is the trick. One of the amazing things was that when you saw it for yourself, you could scarce take it in and the legacy of Bioshock pushed you further into it because, you felt free. You were not enclosed under the sea and the machinations of Ryan but free to breathe the air. <br />
<br />
A pastiche LA is one thing as we have a reference, but a floating city? This is what makes the fall even harder, to see that quite quickly this wonder harbours a rotten core, a carpet unceremoniously pulled from beneath us and you realize very quickly what horrors lie beneath. The beauty that made you visibly sigh, now disgusts you. I think that it would have been easier to really decay the world as you discover more of it but this gift keeps giving. Booker De Witt is a complex character, there are times when he is difficult to stomach but he compels you to keep going which brings me to Elizabeth. <br />
<br />
When I saw Elizabeth in preview, I worried that she would be an npc that I would have to look out for and take a bucket for, drag from place to place and generally just get in the way. How wrong was I. The AI is intuitive so Elizabeth ducks and hides, finds supplies and generally is a guide. A guide who will still follow and challenge you. When she is taken away, you feel lost in Columbia, even overwhelmed as this anchor has taken you away and the hits come, revealing itself slowly until the enormity of the story is laid bare and you sit there, taking all of this in.<br />
Bioshock Infinite cemented the legacy that its predecessor did before it; it placed the importance of telling an intelligent story designed to make you think about what had led you there in the first place. My jaw hit the floor when I realized what I had been a part of and there I was thinking that “Would you kindly?” was a hard act to follow. If you haven’t played it, please I urge you to go get it and commit the time to it. Sometimes, you may want to look away from the screen, I urge you not to. What you are seeing before you is a masterstroke of storytelling and the future and glory of all that is truly wonderful about gaming.<br />
<br />
Well…that’s about it for me. 2013 has had quite a few tricks up her sleeve and not all of them nice but one of the definite highlights was getting to express the things that I love to a wider audience, essentially while sitting in a corner, drink in hand and looking at my world.<br />
In time honoured tradition, I couldn’t just skidaddle without one last drink….cheers to 2014!<br />
<br />
<strong><span style="color: #cc0000;">Devils Kiss</span> - Bioshock Infinite cocktail</strong> – Courtesy of <a href="http://www.thedrunkenmoogle.com/tagged/bioshock+drink" target="_blank">The Drunken Moogle</a><br />
<strong>Ingredients:</strong><br />25ml Spiced Rum<br />25ml Chambord<br />10ml Grenadine<br />1 Lime<br />50ml Ginger Beer<br />50ml Cloudy Lemonade (carbonated)<br />2 Dashes Angostura Bitters<br />Cinnamon<br />15ml Overproof Rum<br /><br /><strong>Directions:</strong> Fill a high ball glass with ice, pour in grenadine, Chambord and dashes of bitters to begin. Carefully pour in cloudy lemonade and ginger beer down the side of the glass leaving the grenadine sitting in the bottom, add juice of a lime and finish the drink with a shot of Spiced Rum to the top.<br /><br />To serve place drink on a saucer and place the measure of overproof rum around the base, light with a match and allow guest to flick cinnamon onto the drink/flame, extinguish, add straw and serve. Anyone looking to get drunk can drink the rum left in the saucer when cool.<br /><br />“<em>A civilized man has power over fire. A refined man handles fire with finesse: DEVIL’S KISS</em>.” -Fink Manufacturing advertisement</span><br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09802305324770301134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911518003470732517.post-55533281564472854332013-10-03T16:15:00.000+01:002013-10-03T16:15:46.393+01:00Grand Theft Auto: The trouble with those pesky Saints and Sleeping Dogs<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">So after baited breath, GTA V has finally landed. When the
delays were initially announced I was one of the folks who weren’t that fussed,
why? Because I knew that not only did there have to be a damn good reason for
it but I had faith in Rockstar that they wanted to get the game right more than
hitting the schedule. My faith was not misplaced, it is a beauty to behold and
technicalities aside, I can breathe the characters (except Trevor, no-one
should breathe that guy). This game is amazing, it is a true force of nature.
Characters feel real, I can genuinely relate to the them, especially Franklin
and that is what raises the bar above the well documented violence. Yes there
is violence and the fact is that we should feel uncomfortable, it should give
you reason for a bit of pause as far as I am concerned. For me, the simple
truth is that I brought an 18 rated game. End of.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">This is not however a review of the magnificence of GTA V,
this is about one little frustration that I have with the series. A frustration
highlighted by playing 2 other games, 2012’s Sleeping Dogs and Saints Row 4.</span></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Sleeping
Dogs is a brilliant game and I urge anyone who hasn’t played it to give it a
go. Basically it’s about an undercover cop making his way through one of the
Triads, the Sun On Yee in this case, in modern day Hong Kong. It plays well and
the story is compelling. This game came from leftfield to totally surprise me;
it was a game that I couldn’t put down. About ¾ into the game, the character of
‘Broken Nose’ Jiang is introduced, a red pole or lieutenant in the Sun On Yee.
Initially I was surprised and buoyed by the experience but also a bit wary. The
game has it’s fair share of women, the usual girlfriends and victims so I was
expecting one of the inevitable awful demise or ‘doing it for love’ cop out
storylines.</span></span></o:p><br />
<o:p><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span></span></o:p><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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But Broken Nose Jiang is a gift that keeps on giving, shrewd,
intelligent, very aware of the fact that whilst some her peers despise her
presence as a female in the Sun On Yee, she has commanded respect by being
badass enough to maintain her position and rise through its ranks.</span></span><br /></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">
</span></span></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">As the game unfolded, I was treated to some tough love and
further revelations via Winston’s Mom. Although not an affiliate, she is a
force to be reckoned with. I won’t spoil it for those who haven’t played but
urge you to find a copy and give this a go.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Then we come to the 3<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">rd</span></sup> Street Saints in the form
of Saints Row. One of the things I love about this game is that by its 3<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">rd</span></sup>
instalment, it is not trying to be GTA, it’s a giant pisstake (for the love of
God, Hulk Hogan has a part in it!). We then have the DeWynter sisters, Kiki and
Viola and Kenzie Kensington, which is Saints Row does Lisabeth Salander and of
course Shaundi, the lieutenant to your character.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">This is not a review of those games but both Sleeping Dogs
& Saints Row 3 & 4 have done something which I am sorry to say GTA does
not. They have kick ass strong females in lead positions. There is a distinct
lack of them in GTA V and while I fully understand that the focus of the game
on Michael, Franklin and Trevor could not allow for another and that there is
pastiche and fun to be poked at our way of life and world we find ourselves in,
you mean to tell me that you couldn’t have just made one of them a woman?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I do think this is a weak link in the chain of GTA, I have
watched the games evolve and focus not merely on the joy of carnage, but also
about people and the situations they find themselves in and what they do about
it, right or wrong. There is a part in GTA V *spoiler* which Franklin’s Aunt
reminds him to not forget where he has come from and about his people to which
Franklin responds by asking her if she is asking him to be a gangbanger now
because he has experienced success. It is a perfect summary of the attitude in
those cities and towns all over the world, this idea that because you have
become a success, you are no longer keeping it real. You threaten to shatter
the façade by daring to be different and the haters around you would prefer
that you did what was comfortable.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">That is why I love the advance of gaming and the current
state of games. That simple exchange, mired in waves of frustration and puts it
out there in technicolour as to why our teenagers find escape from their known
environment so difficult, so challenging and for some a death sentence. You
have to know that the haters do not want you to change the status quo.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Now if this level can be infused to Franklin and
Michael….we’re still working on Trevor, give me a female character of
substance. So far I have found one. C’mon Rockstar, you know you can. Please
don’t tell me no-one is interested as a certain lady by the name of Lara Croft,
still carries weight. We are not talking tampons and deep and meaningfuls here,
Saints Row and Sleeping Dogs didn’t have to pull that to make good games and
good characters.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">If your argument then that there are no believable women
like this, ok we all know strong women who do amazing and marvellous things but
not the trigger happy lunatics like Trevor, allow me to impart this one name to
you: Griselda Blanco<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Born in Cartagena, Columbia at aged 11 kidnapped and tried
to ransom another child. She then shot the child when the ransom was not paid.
She was a prostitute until aged 20 and in the 1970’s emigrated to the US with
her 2<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">nd</span></sup> husband. From Queens, New York they established a sizable
cocaine business, and in April 1975, Blanco was indicted on federal drug
conspiracy charges along with 30 of her subordinates, at that time the biggest
cocaine case in history. She fled to Colombia before she could be arrested, but
in the late 1970s she returned to Miami.</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Blanco was involved in much of the drug-related violence
known as the Cocaine Cowboy Wars that plagued Miami in the late 1970s and early
1980s, when cocaine supplanted marijuana.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Her distribution network spanned the United States, and
brought in US$80 million per month. She was suspected of masterminding over two
hundred murders. She was known as The Cocaine Godmother and ‘The Black Widow’
until her death in 2012 which was ironically in the style of motorbike
assassination that she created and favoured.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I could go on and on about the woman, there is more than
enough info out there and some of the stuff, you just couldn’t make up. But she
is not alone. All over the world there are examples of women who do not shy
away from criminality but take an active part in it. We know of the infamous
exploits of Madam Alex & Heidi Fleiss but there are other examples like
Judy Moran in Australia and Concetta Scalisi in Italy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The point is that the material is out there, it is ripe for
extraction. Apparently during the creation of Saints Row the Third in an early
concept stage, Kiki and her sister Viola were originally Japanese twins called
Natsuko and Yukako, nicknamed Suki and Yuki for short. They led their own
all-female gang, to contrast with the original Morningstar concept of an
all-male gang. The two gangs were merged to streamline the story, and the
DeWynters were made Caucasian to avoid the stereotype of “badass Asian chicks
that are subservient to an older man.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">That’s the kind of consideration I like to see in
developers. So my question is RockStar….what are you waiting for, will you rise
to the challenge?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I don't know about you, but how about a drink before the devastation, courtesy of <a href="http://www.thedrunkenmoogle.com/tagged/gta+drink" target="_blank">The Drunken Moogle</a></span></div>
<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Liberty Carbomb (GTA Drink)</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Ingredients:</span></b><i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1 oz Baily’s Irish Creme<br />1 oz Jack Daniel’s Whiskey<br />1 glass Guiness Stout</span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Directions:</b> Drink like any other “bomb” drink.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Best before or after drinking Hot Coffee.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09802305324770301134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911518003470732517.post-13784099361191024342013-08-28T14:50:00.000+01:002013-08-28T14:50:56.013+01:00Review: Oculus Rift <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Each year, new games are unleashed upon us. I’ve been a gamer for the majority of my life and despite a tempestuous beginning have settled into a great relationship with games. I am enjoying being at the point where I don’t need to own every new release under the sun (life takes priority ya know!) but most years, if I’m really frank about the whole thing, I can take or leave the majority. Then comes the year where every game that makes you moist comes out at EXACTLY the same time!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Case in point: Bioshock Infinite…The Last of Us… Saints Row IV ….and of course Grand Theft Auto V …be still my beating heart. However, this is not a review of those games, but a review of a little gadget called <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oculus_Rift" target="_blank">Oculus Rift</a>. A colleague of mine briefly introduced me to the idea some months ago, ending on the bombshell that he had lined himself up for a Developer Kit. Initially I struggled to get my head around the idea and was a bit concerned as what he showed me on screen looked amazingly like a cross between Jeff Fahey in Lawnmower man and Craig Charles as Lister in Red Dwarf ‘Gunmen of the Apocalypse.’</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsDvXJAGuodsHrtstMKk3ST5Pdw8XsSjw1bmO1wDB6FKBRkFR-eTp1jjXcMo4UBYgWOuJMlGE-MkdJTgg3ji4OUJQbej09nSzKFbxa0ClYDkSYy2aWg79znF-sfmlVesgLX-bJ7sKgZog/s1600/lister.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsDvXJAGuodsHrtstMKk3ST5Pdw8XsSjw1bmO1wDB6FKBRkFR-eTp1jjXcMo4UBYgWOuJMlGE-MkdJTgg3ji4OUJQbej09nSzKFbxa0ClYDkSYy2aWg79znF-sfmlVesgLX-bJ7sKgZog/s1600/lister.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The concept for those not familiar is Virtual Reality but the specific focus of Rift is gaming. The thing that I love about Oculus Rift is the huge amount of backing on Kickstarter, it doesn’t seem to be a case of a bunch of developers telling the public to have the latest peripheral, but a case of people coming together and fans of the concept putting serious money behind it ($2,437,429) to get this off the ground and into production. It has been recently announced that on the back of this investment, a further $16,000,000 led by Spark Capital, Matrix Partners, Founders Fund and Formation 8 has been given to fund development.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So, back to my fellow gamer dude who managed to acquire Oculus and call me over for a view and a quick play. First impressions is that the headset was nowhere near as cumbersome or heavy as the original Virtual Reality headsets of days gone by. To be honest with you, I didn’t know what to expect and I buckled up and turned everything on. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />The set up is very straightforward and I closed my eyes as the Rift was put over my head. When I opened them again, I couldn’t help but gasp. Immersive is a word that is so often overused but bloody hell other words just fail me. I was looking at a very basic scene, a new build house with a door and I was standing outside, but it was when I looked up at the sky which was changing that I felt blown away. It was completely seamless, no pixelation, nothing to indicate that everything you see completely surrounds you.<br />
<br />Awe doesn’t quite cover it. I just wasn’t ready<br />
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It has been announced in the last few weeks that EVE:Valkyrie when released in 2014 will include the ability to play in multiplayer dogfight mode with the Rift. To be honest, I know I’m gonna get blowed up to high heaven on a continuous basis as I will be too busy taking everything in to flip a switch or engage an enemy.<br />
<br />Games have improved in terms of quality, viewing pleasure and story over the years. Whilst attending a conversation with Joss Whedon one of the attendees asked about Joss venturing into gaming and then implied, in dismissive tone that he wouldn’t sink so low, because gaming wasn’t really up to standard. As I beat the audience member to a pulp with a handily stashed Xbox 360 controller, Joss did say that you couldn’t write off gaming as there is a wealth of games with excellent stories, some of which put movies to shame.<br />The point is that while I was there, Rift firmly attached to my head, trying to touch fireflies that flittered past my face and brush away falling leaves, my brain couldn’t wait to apply this to my game experience. The sheer idea that this could evolve enough for me to look through the eyes of a certain chief, call sign 117 and gaze across the landscape….chills down my spine does not quite cover it.<br />
<br />
The interesting thing about Rift is about patience. Too many Companies set out to rush things out in time for the summer/Christmas rush. The beauty of the Rift is that time is being taken to get it perfect and the consumers are happy to wait. Who the hell wouldn’t? The child in you will want this now, yesterday, NOW! But the adult in you will be happy to wait for time to be taken to execute an excellent project.<br />
As Team Fortress 2 is available to play using Oculus Rift, please enjoy my latest boozy contribution, via those wonderful folks from The Drunken Moogle<br />
<br />
<strong>Jarate</strong> -Team Fortress 2 Cocktail – Courtesy of the foine folks at <em><a href="http://www.thedrunkenmoogle.com/tagged/team+fortress+2+drink" target="_blank">The Drunken Moogle</a></em><br />
<strong>Ingredients</strong><br />1 Litre of Cloudy lemonade<br />2 cups of Vodka<br />1 Cup of triple sec<br />1 can of twisted tea or 12 oz of another dark tea drink (Add or use less for desired darkness)<br />
<br />
<strong>Directions:</strong> Mix all ingredients together and distribute in mason jars to properly gross out your friends and confuse them as you chug it down.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09802305324770301134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911518003470732517.post-74109839982076369082013-08-05T17:03:00.000+01:002013-08-05T17:03:47.636+01:00"Jayne, your mouth is talking. You might wanna look to that."
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">About a few years ago, I spotted my really talented and
awesome friend </span><a href="http://www.derekbremner.com/blog/"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Derek Bremner</span></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">,
who was sporting a “Joss Whedon is my Master now” T-shirt. Only the deep
resounding love I have for Del (combined with the fact that the t-shirt would look
a little bit like The Hulk on me), stopped me from ripping this from him and
claiming the spoils as my own.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">
</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">That was a few years ago. Fast forward to 12<span style="font-size: small;"><sup>th</sup>
June 2013 and I am hot, bothered and fidgeting with anticipation at attending ‘A
Conversation with Joss Whedon’ at the BFI Southbank.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Joss Whedon is someone whom I greatly respect. Back in the
day, I came home one night from a very late gig to see the end of Buffy and
watch as she finally had sex with Angel and then to my horror, watch him become
Angelus….roll credits..Say what now?! I had initially avoided Buffy. The film
was still fresh in my mind and I didn’t relish the idea of watching said
cheerleader in varying degrees of live action Scooby Doo and the gang type adventures.</span>
</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Talk about getting it wrong. One of the amazing things about
Mr Whedon is having the ability to know what it is we want to see. We see that
thing and then we need to see more. I wanted to hate Buffy but how the hell
could I? Don’t get me wrong, there are episodes where I have been very tempted
to find Mr Whedon and ask him what the hell he is playing at (see Season 4, Riley
arc in particular, exception Hush) but then he comes up and delivers not only
the things I need to see but forces me to watch the things I really didn’t want
to. You have to be a stone cold sonofabitch not to melt at ‘The Body’.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">So here I am and so it begins and I won’t go into a blow by
blow about everything he said. What I can say is that being in his presence is
inspiring. He talked about his despair about the lack of great females
characters in television and movies. That for all the Buffy achieved, we still
haven’t got there. He spoke of the fact that especially in the horror
franchise, we just have characters that seem to be cannon fodder who we don’t
engage with, we just watch them get hacked to bits. And then there was Firefly…</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I initially was a huge sceptic about Firefly, probably not
helped by my husband describing it as Space Cowboys by Whedon……not impressed. Then
I saw the first episode, well the end of the episode where said villain is
monologing and just when I was thinking, “Why does no-one ever just shoot these
guys in the head or something?!” Captain Mal Reynolds blows said villain out of
the airlock. This assured 2 things, firstly that I would have a penchant for
Nathan Fillion (reconciling my fear of him from Buffy Season 7) and a swift
reminder not to underestimate the power of the Whedon. I watched and loved it
and was gutted when it was cancelled but with the help of my fellow geeks and
Whedonites, I got to a happy place about the whole thing, assuring myself that
at least it never stayed around to get shit. Then Joss went and ruined it all.</span> <o:p></o:p></span></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Hearing him talk about it, adding the emotion of this fully
formed show that didn’t have to become something, because it was already there
was just heart-breaking. It was like going thru the whole thing again as he
charted the rise and fall of Firefly. I could not help but shake my fists at
the world and ask, “Why God wwwwhhhhyyyyy!” <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">You could listen to Joss be insightful and self-deprecating
and well, just pretty damn awesome for the entire night. It was a tremendous
experience, which merely happened through a twist of fate but the best thing to
come out of it was the answer to a question. The question was the typical, “How
do I be a writer and get into the industry?” It’s a question that the world
never stops asking of people like Joss, how did you do it? How come you got
there? Gimme the guide, gimme anything?! And I once again had to bow to this
man for what he said, “If you want to be a writer then why aren’t you writing?
You have to do it. There are so many avenues now so just do it, write, get your
stuff out there.” Just like that…BOOM! This is a guy who has had varying
degrees of success. There are a lot of ‘couldn’t happens’ that come along with
Joss. I remember hearing when he was originally touted as the director for
Avengers the naysayers queued up in droves. For a second I held my breath
because I knew that if he blew this then that would be it.</span> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">That night inspired me to keep going, to put my words out
there because it’s something that I love to do and am pretty good at. The sheer
tenacity of the man, made me fix the hell up, stop being afraid and put pen to
paper for an audience. So here I am, my mind now fixed on watching some Firefly
but mainly grateful for the experience of listening to the insights of a great
writer. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Enjoy my latest alcoholic offering while remembering that I
can kill you with my brain….so just to be safe look out for my next blog.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Sereni-Tea (Firefly/Serenity cocktail) – Courtesy of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.thedrunkenmoogle.com/post/18442065144/sereni-tea-firefly-serenity-cocktail"><span style="color: blue;">The
Drunken Moogle</span></a></i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><strong>Ingredients:<o:p></o:p></strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">1oz Firefly Sweet Tea Vodka<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">¾ oz Captain Morgan’s Original Spiced Rum<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">¾ oz silver tequila<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">¾ oz gin<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">1oz sour mix<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Sweet Tea<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Coca-cola<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Lemon<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><strong>Directions:</strong> Shake all ingredients, except for the sweet tea
and cola, with ice and pour in a highball glass.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Top off with an even mix of cola and sweet
tea and garnish with a lemon wedge. Toast to the Independents and drink up!
This variation of the classic Long Island Iced Tea cocktail is also known as
Browncoat Tea.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09802305324770301134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911518003470732517.post-78887902990674480602013-07-24T17:31:00.000+01:002013-07-24T17:31:04.763+01:00I Swear By My Pretty Floral Bonnet, I Will End You..
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">When I revamped and started writing this blog, I promised
myself that this time I would not be overly concerned with sticking to one
subject. I did myself a complete disservice by trying to keep my last blog
strictly craft and food. Now that hasn’t disappeared and I have a few ideas on
some craft and food ideas that I want to share, but I found the scope was just
too limited. I feel better in writing from wherever and whatever feels best, so
from Gaming to Geekdom, comics, food, craft, movies and all stops in between, I
endeavour to put write about what feels good and maybe sometimes what doesn’t.
That can only be a good thing.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">So San Diego Comic Con has come to a close this
week….and once again I feel wretched for not being there but at least this time
as the doors close, I feel a glimmer of hope that I could actually get there in
years to come. This initially started life as a way to vent the frustrations of
being a woman who geeks, my annoyances and a list on all the things that suck
and really get on my last nerve. But I have to say that maybe it’s the strange
London heatwave mixed with some of the instagrams I have seen from #SDCC. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Maybe it’s Seth Green and Nathan Fillion and a brilliant
Venture Brothers cosplay that I saw. Whatever it is, I just don’t have that
vitriol in me right now…at least not this time. <v:shapetype coordsize="21600,21600" filled="f" id="_x0000_t75" o:preferrelative="t" o:spt="75" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" stroked="f">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4ZweaxMSZeEAPeuYWxKX0ueLOyEQ0Sr-xgDqH2FCRZ2BSlXv30vVPVHtnrgN-N2Cl_kjrU-Br2CKXMBsdKxOyLPTe3q4FOrVK6cj1r1vdeLtQqrV6mCRwmGtajkNdryimY2tfN4E-T2w/s1600/vb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" height="172" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4ZweaxMSZeEAPeuYWxKX0ueLOyEQ0Sr-xgDqH2FCRZ2BSlXv30vVPVHtnrgN-N2Cl_kjrU-Br2CKXMBsdKxOyLPTe3q4FOrVK6cj1r1vdeLtQqrV6mCRwmGtajkNdryimY2tfN4E-T2w/s320/vb.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"></span><br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Instead I find myself feeling hopeful and I am fully
prepared to admit that this is purely down to seeing a poster of the upcoming
X-Men: Days of Future Past movie, but I want to take the time to say a word of
thanks.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Being a geek in whatever form that may take is a freedom. If
you spent a lot of time in childhood and adolescence feeling like everything
around you resembles a shoe that is 2 sizes too small, then climbing the
mountain, getting to the cave and seeing someone huddled by the fire who just
happens to hum the Firefly theme fills you up. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">It still happens to me. I am 35 and when I meet someone who
likes a selection of the things that I love, from the on-again-off-again of
Katchoo and Francine to the mayhem of Preacher, it still feels like hot tea on
a freezing cold day. In a world of folks going on about North West Kardash, it
feels good to roll your eyes and look to see someone else thinking, “Wouldn’t
you just kill for a Firefly rerun right now?”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">We know that there are people out there who just don’t like
women identifying themselves as Geeks. They think we are playing at it or just
have seen Big Bang Theory too often. When you get to the professional level,
there are still those that think we do not have enough to say or that for some
reason, as eloquently pointed out by Joss Whedon a few months back when I saw
him, Men are not interested in what women have to put on screen or in a comic,
but then expect the same women to be interested in what men have to say and do.
We know this. But sometimes I feel that in focussing on this, we miss the opportunity
to say Thank you.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><v:shapetype coordsize="21600,21600" filled="f" id="_x0000_t75" o:preferrelative="t" o:spt="75" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" stroked="f">
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<o:lock aspectratio="t" v:ext="edit">
</o:lock></v:path></v:stroke></v:shapetype>Thank you to those comic shop owners and
workers who do what they can to make sure that a raft of people don’t feel even
more awkward and ostracized. I know that I can cynically say that, of course
it’s in that person’s interest to engage me as I have greasy pounds in my
pocket that they want. However, I have walked into shops where the dipshit
behind the counter couldn’t give a rat’s arse if I had £1,000 to spend, as far
as he was concerned, “What do you want? We don’t sell Look-in!” or “The Archie
comics are over there” without as much as a look up from the greasy pages of
Fangoria. Luckily I found another shop that was more than happy to let me know
what happened when Hardcase and the Harriers met the X-Men and in a twist of fate
the other shop went out of business. Unfortunately, a few years later so did
the nice one. So thank you, for every dumb bloody question you have to endure
and every really ridiculous request, thank you…..you guys deserve a medal and a
ceremony, a bit like the end of A New Hope would suffice.</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVwI3-K3TTU-hMYxoYET9UVv3x4PKVqT6lPBzvYR-dCxeg1JWl6KvAMCV1Ee0Q12tO5v9bHDxhm2n6NI-fnp6J8wCrvEvhZyOxZ2vGHij_BzVoVuRmeU93TFQjv0RSnxXHsl21Xuto0Zo/s1600/sw.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVwI3-K3TTU-hMYxoYET9UVv3x4PKVqT6lPBzvYR-dCxeg1JWl6KvAMCV1Ee0Q12tO5v9bHDxhm2n6NI-fnp6J8wCrvEvhZyOxZ2vGHij_BzVoVuRmeU93TFQjv0RSnxXHsl21Xuto0Zo/s320/sw.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span> </div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">A big thanks to the people who didn’t assume that on the way
to finding the shoe shop, I just happened to walk into a comic shop and
proceeded to while away the hours getting into a very heated discussion as to
the wonders of Top 10 and Fables.<o:p></o:p></span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<v:shapetype coordsize="21600,21600" filled="f" id="_x0000_t75" o:preferrelative="t" o:spt="75" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" stroked="f"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">
<v:stroke joinstyle="miter">
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</o:lock></v:path></v:stroke></span></span></v:shapetype><v:shape alt="http://www.ishopmix.com/media/catalog/product/cache/2/image/5e06319eda06f020e43594a9c230972d/l/u/lumpoff.jpg" href="http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=i&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=K-j_C0bSp4Q0tM&tbnid=b2AoDa5HxBgsMM:&ved=0CAgQjRwwAA&url=http://www.ishopmix.com/gifts/home/lumpy-space-princess-lsp-oh-my-glob-lump-off-adventure-time-fridge-magnet-cartoon-network.html&ei=v_DvUZb-IeKm0QXiJw&psig=AFQjCNGnJehJkoIGbSvVnUwcKPwUbP9Q2g&ust=1374765631619652" id="irc_mi" o:button="t" o:spid="_x0000_s1027" style="height: 3in; margin-left: 280.8pt; margin-top: 11.85pt; mso-height-percent: 0; mso-height-relative: page; mso-position-horizontal-relative: text; mso-position-horizontal: absolute; mso-position-vertical-relative: text; mso-position-vertical: absolute; mso-width-percent: 0; mso-width-relative: page; mso-wrap-distance-bottom: 0; mso-wrap-distance-left: 9pt; mso-wrap-distance-right: 9pt; mso-wrap-distance-top: 0; mso-wrap-style: square; position: absolute; visibility: visible; width: 155.25pt; z-index: 251667456;" type="#_x0000_t75"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">
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</w:wrap></v:imagedata></v:fill></span></span></v:shape><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">How clichéd is it to wheel out the old ‘With
great power comes yadda yadda” but the clichés have this annoying thing of
being true a lot of the time and I am aware of that more and more with younger
folks around me. When I see them in shops, I do my best not to write them off
as a collection of Lumpy Space Princesses. I do what I can, if the opportunity
presents itself to show them to something different….try a little <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Authority</i> perhaps, maybe in a few years
you’ll be ready for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Preacher</i> and then
there’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">My Monkey’s Name is Jennifer…..<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnRyBhEuuAd_ZLaFQILKkHszdeoJyD2H_HrFPXOvPvLwqRiEvVOYbIjs7wgcN7NIy2CsgZDU8KTy83yzNJLnwVB4Mfcg8zxdwcXKlQ2OFf9sHyvIvN-mwyT-CAVypmdfdlPqSaIBHE_08/s1600/lsp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnRyBhEuuAd_ZLaFQILKkHszdeoJyD2H_HrFPXOvPvLwqRiEvVOYbIjs7wgcN7NIy2CsgZDU8KTy83yzNJLnwVB4Mfcg8zxdwcXKlQ2OFf9sHyvIvN-mwyT-CAVypmdfdlPqSaIBHE_08/s320/lsp.jpg" width="230" /></a></div>
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">It is an odd and liberating thing to give
yourself the geek title. It means so many different things to so many different
corners of the world. Embrace and disdain go hand in hand because from that
point on, the world and your place in it is changed. I guess that’s my two
pence, a word of thanks to all of those out there combined with a word to visit
a comic shop when you can. Ok it can be a bit strange and I cannot guarantee
things won’t get a little odd before you leave, but I promise you, by my pretty
floral bonnet, it really is worth a look see.</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibpq-Iirg1DvT_GAbzOINcCWXTXLB_YAJm5VEtTwpKvqrAhjoPSmp6CJLPyyV6Em9g6bmmLCe3YA3-Rrga7dcouGscOvhNrsjEOeNs1PpPTHQMqbt1s9Wg_uahtzRCLd_ral8UN2wmiZo/s1600/bbt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibpq-Iirg1DvT_GAbzOINcCWXTXLB_YAJm5VEtTwpKvqrAhjoPSmp6CJLPyyV6Em9g6bmmLCe3YA3-Rrga7dcouGscOvhNrsjEOeNs1PpPTHQMqbt1s9Wg_uahtzRCLd_ral8UN2wmiZo/s320/bbt.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span> </div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Now for that drink</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: red;">Rampancy</span> Cocktail</i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> – Courtesy of <a href="http://imgur.com/a/N84jA#4" title="Rampancy Cocktail"><span style="color: blue;">Clint Slowik</span></a></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Ingredients<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">
1 part Chambord<br />½ part Grenadine<br />2 parts Alize Wild Passion or Gold Passion<br />2 parts </span><a href="http://www.uvvodka.com/products/lemonade"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">UV Pink
Lemonade Vodka</span></a><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">1 splash Aftershock<br />Raspberry Ginger Ale (UK: methinks here add some fresh raspberries and
ginger ale)<br /><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>drops of red food colouring<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Directions:</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 17.85pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -17.85pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #7f7f7f; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial; mso-themecolor: text1; mso-themetint: 128;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">‒<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Pour Chambord followed by Grenadine over ice in
a hi-ball glass.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 17.85pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -17.85pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #7f7f7f; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial; mso-themecolor: text1; mso-themetint: 128;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">‒<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Float the Alize then the UV pink vodka and
lightly pour the Ginger Ale to fill the glass (adding the raspberries for the
UK folks)</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 17.85pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -17.85pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #7f7f7f; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial; mso-themecolor: text1; mso-themetint: 128;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">‒<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Finally add the Aftershock and the drops of food
colour</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 17.85pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -17.85pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #7f7f7f; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial; mso-themecolor: text1; mso-themetint: 128;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">‒<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Proceed to lapse into Rampancy</span></span></div>
</span><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 17.85pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -17.85pt;">
</div>
</span><br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09802305324770301134noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911518003470732517.post-17705326046658584922013-07-16T17:22:00.000+01:002013-07-16T19:06:11.013+01:00What The Fluxx! - Inconceivable<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I realise that with each word I type, how much I have missed
writing. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Far too many things and people were
allowed to get in the way of the things that I wanted to do but mainly, sorry
to go all Yoda, I was afraid, so afraid of completely sucking that stopped me
from taking the plunge.<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Eventually I began to face these fears and then, one day I
watched the most excellent Adventure Time with my daughter and Jake said:</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
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<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirIzIcf1k5XTyHSPuHrY29CS2QLCr6ympqjMlUFgsABC4Wt-ZIG91r_sJ9kZ51bKJik5RYT1TxCT2jS3LEcAFV3VT090q_dS7wZh-PnpOa_8wdXW78eCE5AV_XkwUw4tpbvKFjc8Xcfz8/s1600/68451_10151380409214617_1483359972_n.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirIzIcf1k5XTyHSPuHrY29CS2QLCr6ympqjMlUFgsABC4Wt-ZIG91r_sJ9kZ51bKJik5RYT1TxCT2jS3LEcAFV3VT090q_dS7wZh-PnpOa_8wdXW78eCE5AV_XkwUw4tpbvKFjc8Xcfz8/s320/68451_10151380409214617_1483359972_n.png" width="255" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So inspired by Jake the Dog and Finn the Human and buoyed by
my recent promise to myself to do more all the time, here I am. And here is
Tabletop…</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<v:shapetype coordsize="21600,21600" filled="f" id="_x0000_t75" o:preferrelative="t" o:spt="75" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" stroked="f"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
<v:stroke joinstyle="miter">
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<v:f eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0">
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<o:lock aspectratio="t" v:ext="edit">
</o:lock></v:path></v:stroke></span></v:shapetype><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My brother is an awesome dude, when he was a kid he was a
pustule on my right buttock but as he has matured in age he has become not only
a great brother but a best friend. Usually when he introduces something new to
the mix, I tend to listen. He knows me enough to know what I would like and
hate and so when he wanted me to try some ‘Tabletop’ I paid attention as he
showed me the Will Wheaton’s series.<o:p></o:p></span>
</div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjTrfJgm9m1tU5YUkMM0LHp5tOfvWh5gnHQ8goJL9TrKZ2qD8NZ-MYT2Ez5nBw_RZJOHYPOafdhyphenhyphenD_MqOuHkGc6itMd88PYIKpob4M1Mq3kQL7KxpInvC-J7D7GSIENOw5RnHPhdZlgyI/s1600/Wil.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjTrfJgm9m1tU5YUkMM0LHp5tOfvWh5gnHQ8goJL9TrKZ2qD8NZ-MYT2Ez5nBw_RZJOHYPOafdhyphenhyphenD_MqOuHkGc6itMd88PYIKpob4M1Mq3kQL7KxpInvC-J7D7GSIENOw5RnHPhdZlgyI/s320/Wil.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">He did the best thing as he knows I have a little geeky love
for the Wil not- only-formerly-known-as-Wil-Crusher but for his work on Stand
by me and The Big Bang aka my real life but not half as funny and I am not
Penny or Amy. As much as I am a huge geek, I had my own ideas about Dungeons
and Dragons and the whole Tabletop thing. I’ll be absolutely honest, a part of
me was like, “Seriously…..errr D&D….really” Tabletop to me meant D&D,
and for me was a game that some folks took waaaayyy too seriously. It tended to
end up with someone killing some other players parents whilst rolling for
Initiative or whatever, combined with strange dice and the inevitable harassed
neighbour who says that they were very quiet kids until that unfortunate
business and, oh look movie of the week etc. So a little bit of media induced
baggage then?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Bruv did the best thing…he ensured that I watched the Gloom
episode of Tabletop which just happened to feature Amber Benson (Tara from
Buffy…..how is this woman not aging?) and I watched as the game unfolded. He
allowed me no time to dismiss anything. Any preconceived ideas I had, pretty
much evaporated in a few minutes of watching. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Gloom is a tabletop game where each player has a family of 5
and the aim of the game is to spin a tale to degrade their self-worth, aided by
cards in the deck and then shuffle them off the mortal coil. Opposing players
will do their best to boost your families’ self-worth and fend off the despair
that you keep piling on. That’s essentially it. It struck me because, I love a
good yarn and this was an opportunity to work out those muscles and tell a
twisted tale driving a character to a Carrie White like demise.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was initially a bit nervous about it but
eventually we mastered Gloom, Fluxx & Pandemic.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVNJ3vJvwMozCHPzONFPUO6tVxYV9HeZCn6-2aL1su25AXEOliu2YIWV9XQInOEQP81JLAp9rZ5oauTKwxSBikfcr4isscT8bHp_TJQyOiRsQas_k-tvb5pMQHEXCV_dWDeasIieBslM0/s1600/What+the+Fluxx.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVNJ3vJvwMozCHPzONFPUO6tVxYV9HeZCn6-2aL1su25AXEOliu2YIWV9XQInOEQP81JLAp9rZ5oauTKwxSBikfcr4isscT8bHp_TJQyOiRsQas_k-tvb5pMQHEXCV_dWDeasIieBslM0/s320/What+the+Fluxx.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In the heady euphoria, he decided to expand and take this
out to a wider audience and with a little help from myself, we had our first
Tabletop event on 30<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup> June in a pub in the heart of London. Dare I
say that mighty fun was had by all, 11 of us all together, including the wonderfully
talented <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="http://hannahleemiller.blogspot.co.uk/"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">GreatEscapist</span></a> </span> who can really spin a debauched tale or 2. There were
times when I am sure that the pub in question regretted allowing us to play
with shouts of “<b>NerfHeader!!</b>”,”<b>Is that the Zombie Syphilis strain taking out
Chicago</b>?” “<b>I f*&kin knew it was HIM!</b>” and of course, “<b>We’re all dead</b>!” The
best thing was the way that after some initial reluctance, everyone had a damn
good time and no-one was harmed…much…a few came very close to having cards
shoved where the sun shineth not but the outcome was a hunger for more.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So here we are, planning more events like this and
thoroughly enjoying ourselves in the meantime. If anything, I wonder why the
hell I didn’t give this a go a long time ago. In honour of Tabletop, today’s
recipe is a dedication to the 30<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup> June, courtesy of the awesome
folks at the The Drunken Moogle. I have no affiliation with them but by God if
I did….well this would probably be a blog about my descent into drunken
debauchery…hmmmm I wonder???<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Jace, the Mind
Sculptor - Magic: The Gathering cocktail</b> - <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Courtesy of <a href="http://www.thedrunkenmoogle.com/tagged/CLICK+FOR+MORE+DRINKS"><span style="color: blue;">The Drunken
Moogle</span></a></i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Ingredients:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">½ oz. </span><a href="http://www.thedrinkshop.com/products/nlpdetail.php?prodid=2287"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Hpnotiq</span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1 oz. Blue Curacao</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">½ oz. Bacardi 151 (or any overproof rum)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1 oz. </span><a href="http://www.thedrinkshop.com/products/nlpdetail.php?prodid=1625"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Sweet
& Sour</span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Orange peel<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Directions:</b> Add ice and water to a Martini glass to
chill the glass. Add all ingredients to a mixer glass with ice and stir well.
Dump the ice out of the Martini glass and strain the drink into it and garnish
with an orange peel.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Note: This is the 2<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">nd</span></sup> blog of mine that features
booze….but then again this blog is called Lock in at The Bronze!</span></div>
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br /></div>
</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09802305324770301134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911518003470732517.post-75430568836961390252013-07-13T17:03:00.002+01:002013-07-13T17:03:58.673+01:00OK! I'm Reloaded!<!--[if !mso]>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Bloody hell has it been so long?
Almost 2 fracking years..time to lock load and reboot sweethearts! There have
been so many changes in the time since I have been back here, but finally here
I am, making my way back and detailing the little things and big things that I
feel the need to share.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">So I kick off the hiatus with a
recipe, a real quickie…let’s call it Chananigan’s Hey There</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
</span><h3 class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Chananigan’s Hey There – A Summer cocktail</b></span></h3>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>Ingredients</u></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">4 lemons</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">2 limes</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">A healthy bunch of Mint</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Sugar or honey to taste</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">¾ litre cold water</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>Optional </u></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Vodka or White Rum</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>Method</u></b></span></div>
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #f07f09;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"></span></span></span>Cut and squeeze the lemons and limes and add to
a jug</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #f07f09;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"></span></span></span>Take a good 6 leaves of mint and crush them – if
using sugar, crush with a pestle and mortar with the mint in the sugar, kinda
like a mojito! </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #f07f09;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"></span></span></span>Add the mint sugar or honey as you see fit – All
tastes are different so put in enough to sweeten but not overpower. Thing to
remember with sugar is you can always add but it’s really hard to take away.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #f07f09;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"></span></span></span>Then add the water to about ¾ full and stir</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #f07f09;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"></span></span></span>Crushing the mint releases the flavour and so
infuses the mix. This is where you may need to add more of your preferred sweetener,
you may even find that the taste is too tart, so add water and sugar gradually
and mint if you like it more minty until you have achieved the taste that you
like.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #f07f09;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"></span></span></span>Optional – Add some heavy dashes of white rum or
vodka for that kick!</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #f07f09;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"></span></span></span>Serve with plenty of ice cubes </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #f07f09;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"></span></span></span>Enjoy!</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I made a batch of this last week and took it to my awesome friend’s BBQ
and with the vodka, it was a huge success. Drink it in the Autumn to mourn the
loss of summer.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">So summer has finally arrived! In terms of
this blog I began doing this as a strictly recipe and craft oriented exercise,
but along the way so many things happened that forced me to re-evaluate and one
of the things that bugged me and probably led to my long hiatus was that I was
putting it into a box. Why the hell was I doing that when it is something that
I don’t like being done to me. So this blog will detail, basically what the
hell I feel!</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">It will cover food and fun and creativity and gaming and food and geeky
things and projects…I guess what I am saying is that from now on, this will be
a much more accurate reflection of what the hell is going on in my little part
of Terra Firma!</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0wTCIMCHi2nhCPP55WwX3C4TMzHhcKIZub2TcQixbPNhEACocMcRVjy7jVCkZClryyTQ03k1RmB4B27W-T0gsx25BiIVCtTrzbJE56_LK1grDS4qfKDo5MCFazRZ6GqMP-lHCLQCgyrQ/s1600/0663e90e116900d7d44d33774be273ce.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0wTCIMCHi2nhCPP55WwX3C4TMzHhcKIZub2TcQixbPNhEACocMcRVjy7jVCkZClryyTQ03k1RmB4B27W-T0gsx25BiIVCtTrzbJE56_LK1grDS4qfKDo5MCFazRZ6GqMP-lHCLQCgyrQ/s320/0663e90e116900d7d44d33774be273ce.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I aim to misbehave…you’re damn right!</span></div>
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