Happy days aren’t here again…but they will be soon!
August 21, 2009 at 2:36 pm | In Life | Leave a CommentThe U.K. recession is going to end in 40 days. At least, that’s what it says on the front page of the Metro today. So, everyone mark it on your calendars: the U.K. recession is going to end of September 28th.
Think of this period like Lent. Only instead of giving up sweets or chocolate, you’ve given up money.
I’m already planning my End of the Recession Day Party.
I wonder if they have any greetings cards…
Not a good night
August 12, 2009 at 10:14 am | In Life, Music | 1 CommentAt the end of the new Black Eyed Peas video one of the final scenes shows a tray of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies being taken from the oven. Someone then bumps the tray sending cookies flying all over the kitchen floor. The song insists that “Tonight’s gonna be a good night”. Having my freshly baked cookies dropped on the floor is not my definition of a good night. It is, for me, the definition of a very bad night. If that happened at a party I was hosting, I would kick everyone out immediately and lock all the doors so they couldn’t come back in.
Ruining freshly bake chocolate chip cookies is a crime against humanity. FACT!
Happy days are here again?
August 7, 2009 at 9:32 am | In Life, Television, Uncategorized | 1 CommentTags: BBC, economic downturn, recession, swine flu
Good news for all economy news watchers, the BBC graphic for the economic downturn has changed from a giant arrow point down to a giant arrow point slightly up. Okay, it’s not even at a full 45 degrees, but it is definitely starting to point upwards. Also, the BBC are no longer calling it an economic downturn, it’s now the “UK recession”. With RBS announcing small profits today certainly these are definitive signs that we are no longer in a economic downward spiral of doom.
In other good news, new cases of swine flu are down this week. We’re all no longer going to die!
Call off the four horseman of the Apocalypse, the end is not nigh!
Does watching TV count as an interest?
May 27, 2009 at 6:32 pm | In Life, Television | Leave a CommentTags: CV, Gossip Girl, Juliet, Lost, Mad Men
I have been updating my CV. According to “experts” employers just LOVE to see your hobbies and interests. I have two genuine interests to place on a CV: yoga and creative writing. I feel like I need a third in order to create balance.
I used to put “going to the theatre” down on my CV. I don’t feel like I can do this anymore. I am at the theatre more than ever before, but that’s for work. Although I see tons of plays, only rarely to I get to see a production in a non-professional capacity. It doesn’t seem right to use the theatre as an interest anymore.
I have been wracking my brain for a genuine interest to put as my third. I want a genuine interest in case I am asked about it in interviews. I don’t want to be forced to lie. In the end, I realized that the thing I do the most and what I really enjoy is watching TV.
I love TV as you probably can tell by this blog. I think about TV and my favorite shows a lot. The characters of Lost, Gossip Girl and Mad Men mean nearly as much to me as my best friends and family.
I bawled my eyes out when Juliet fell down the hole. I desperately hate the actor Patrick Fischler (Jimmy Barrett from Mad Men and Phil from Lost). He might be a nice guy, but I want to spit at him…twice. Once for what Jimmy did to Betty and once for Phil hitting Juliet. Last night I dreamt I was a new character on Gossip Girl. It’s been a long time since I woke up feeling that happy.
The thing is, you can’t put “watching TV” down on your CV. It makes you seem really lazy. While it’s okay to put “attending the theatre” because that sounds classy; “watching TV” makes you sound like a bit of a loser.
It’s horrible unfair. Fundamentally, the theatre and television provide the same entertainment principle. They are both a method of story-telling. While I have seen some awe-inspiring performances on the stage, nothing can touch my heart more than a well-acted and written television show. Likewise, although there is plenty of crap TV shows (Big Brother, anything off of BBC3 and all things with Chris Tarrant) there is a lot of crap theatre (things at the Royal Court, for example). My point being, TV should get more respect in the spectrum of the arts than in does, and it should be okay to admit to watching TV on your job application.
Simon Schama: my new BFF?
May 20, 2009 at 5:14 pm | In Celebrities, Life, Television | Leave a CommentOkay, I admit have yet to meet Simon Schama, but he has definitely jumped to the top of my celebrities-I-want-to-be-friends with list. So far, this list also includes Jarvis Cocker.
Now Simon Schama is a brilliant television presenter and knows tons about art and history, but why do I want to be his friend? It all steams from an interview he gave in this week’s Radio Times. In the interview he is discussing his latest show for BBC4 on John Donne. John Donne is one of the few poets that I actually like, and Schama apparently adores him, so this was a positive start.
Then Schama revealed his was asked to participate in Strictly Come Dancing and seriously considered it but declined because it was too much of a time commitment. He also said that he would love to learn the tango. I love Strictly Come Dancing and would like to be a celebrity simple so I could appear on the show. Additionally, the dance I most want to learn is the tango.
Finally, the clincher in securing Simon Schama as my new celebrity BFF is the fact that he can’t do sudoku. I can’t either! I always thought of myself as a bit of a dunce because of it, but I feel so much better knowing that someone as mega-smart as Simon Schama can’t do them either.
I think this could be the basis of a beautiful friendship. There is so much we could do together: he could tell me important stuff about history and art and John Donne, we could have tango lessons and not do sudoku. Oh, what larks!
High School Sucks
May 6, 2009 at 5:37 pm | In Life | Leave a CommentTags: high school, prom
I had a horrible dream last night. I dreamt I was back in high school and looking for a prom date. When I asked someone, I found out that everyone had already arranged who they were going with via facebook, and so there was no one left to be my date.
I was so happy and relieved to wake up and realise I was in my twenties, I was married and I would not have to worry about going to the prom or high school ever again. Yeah!
A Girl’s Guide to the 21st Century: Tip 5
March 18, 2009 at 5:59 pm | In A Girl's Guide to Life in the 21st Century, Life | Leave a CommentThis tip is for over 18s (in the UK) and over 21s (in the States). This blog in no way encourages or condones underage drinking.
It’s important for a girl to have the right drink in the right place at the right time. Nothing sooner distinguishes you as being a class act than the right drink.
It is also important to remember that nothing makes you appear sad and desperate quicker than public drunkenness. You might be having fun, but you just look a bit tragic.
With all those disclaimers in place, here is a guide to the most commonly enjoyed beverages and when to enjoy them.
Alcopops – Never. Alcopops are the byword for trash.
Beer – in pubs and dive bars. In a pub, have a half pint of bitter. In dive bars, pool halls and the like have a bottle of beer (not only will you fit in but bottled beer is safer than draft).
Wine – with a meal, at home or at family events. Wine is a cozy drink. I find it’s best enjoyed sitting on the sofa curled up in front of a film or an episode of Gossip Girl. Rose wine, however, is at its best when drunk on a summer’s day sitting at the sidewalk cafe.
Cocktails – in clubs,lounges, and evening events but never anything that involves loads of paper umbrellas or sparklers. The best garnishes are cherries, wedges of citrus fruit or olives. Champagne cocktails are particularly elegant.
Spirits – Shots are never classy. Spirits with mixers are okay for evening and evening events. Brandy and whisky are nice after dinner drinks.
And if you are the designated driver for the evening, I recommend ordering a tonic water with a slice of fresh lime and tons of ice. It’s refreshing, and more drinkable than Coke after several rounds.
Things I miss about Paris
March 11, 2009 at 7:26 pm | In Life | Leave a CommentThe other day at work, I saw a girl who had a Paris Metro ticket in her purse. I was suddenly full of longing and nostalgia. I wanted to ask her something about it. Did she just arrive from Paris? Did she live there or did she visit? I didn’t say anything because I didn’t want to do or say anything weird, but the Metro ticket nearly brought me to tears.
Because of that I have compiled a list for you good folks of the things I miss most about Paris:
1. How Paris smells in the autumn – like roasted chestnuts, cigarette smoke and dry leaves.
2. The Louvre – not just the museum but the building. I love how it has grown and expanded over the centuries. I especially love the contrast of the 20th century glass pyramid against the older, stone wings. I could (and have) stared at it for hours.
3. The glamour Paris adds to everyday life – Whatever you do from your laundry to the food shopping is better because some amazing or iconic monument is right in your skyline.
4. The romance – A friend recently pointed out of much blood has been shed on the streets of Paris, and it’s true the city has an incredibly violent past. I think that adds to the romance. It’s romantic not just because it’s beautiful, it’s romantic because the streets have been the setting for so many great and important things.
5. McDo – I hate McDonald’s generally. I stopped eating it completely after seeing Supersize Me. However, every now and again I get a craving for it, and what I crave is the food you get in the Paris McDonald’s (or McDo as the natives call). It tastes more real somehow.
6. Spring – it arrives literally overnight in Paris. In the last week of March suddenly the rain stops, the flowers bloom, it’s warm and the sky is a amazing shade of blue. It’s like the whole world has become Technicolor.
7. Crepes – especially those from the crepe stall on rue Cler. Yum, yum, yummy!
8. Cafes – in Britain there is nowhere you can peacefully sit out the entire day reading and writing and drinking coffee peacefully. Starbucks is too crowded and you can’t write in a pub.
9. Window shopping – with so many glorious designer shops (Chanel, Dior, Louis Vitton, Givenchy) Paris has the best window shopping in the world. New York and London have got nothing on Paris.
10. Cinemas! – Going to the movies is fantastic in Paris. There are so many cinemas and so many diverse offerings in movies. I especially loved the morning shows at 10am. It’s a great way to start the day.
First Blood
February 11, 2009 at 6:17 pm | In Life | Leave a CommentTags: death, fear, mice
We discovered mice or at least one mouse in our kitchen yesterday. Everyone had different advice on what to do; our landlord said to use rat-poison on it, friends said to get a humane trap and in the end we decided to be very old-fashioned about the business and set a mouse trap.
I woke up this morning to find little mice feet under our cabinet. I should say now that I have a desperate and irrational fear of corpses of any sort. Just looking at anything or anyone dead makes me queasy. There are museums I can’t go into because of their taxidermied animal collection. Now I was in charged of the disposal of a dead body.
I felt vaguely like Scarlett O’Hara after she killed the Yankee deserter. “Now I’ve committed murder,” echoed in my head. I was sweating and shaking.
It took a lot of creative visualization for me to be able to pick it up. I had to walk myself through the whole process in my mind before I could think about doing it. I had to keep reminding myself that meat was a dead animal and I could touch it. Fur coats were made out of dead animals and I could touch them. Finally I did the deed. I got the mouse corpse into the bin just in time for garbage collection.
I just wonder now whether the next time will be easier. Will I be blunted to mouse death? Will I eventually gain a taste for killing mice? I hope I don’t have to find out.
Where have all the feminists gone?
October 15, 2008 at 6:34 pm | In Life, Television | Leave a CommentTags: Ally McBeal, Bell du Jour, female sexuality, feminism
I will admit to having an uneasy relationship with feminism. I think most women of my generation probably have had. We were born at a time when feminism didn’t feel as necessary. We had plenty of successful women role models who had created the path for us. We didn’t see the reason to fight. Maybe we were wrong.
Ally McBeal premiered in September 1997. I remember this well because I was a senior in high school and the show rocked my world. I completely related to Ally. She wanted it all and that’s what girls my age were promised. Ally McBeal, however, wasn’t embraced by all women. Feminist were particularly scathing about the show. Ally’s skirts were far too short, and her, at times, overwhelming desire for a husband was felt to be unsuitable for the 1990s. She was a bad role model for women.
How innocent that thought seems today. Today we have a series best-selling books written by a high class prostitute celebrating that lifestyle. It has also spun a popular TV drama. Today glamour models such as Jordan are considered to be acceptable role models for women. Today young girls queue up to have the autograph of Abi Titmuss who rose to fame off the back of a leaked sex tape.
Where are the feminists commenting on this?
I know many people defend Jordan, Abi Titmuss, Belle du Jour etc. by saying they are liberated and in touch with their sexuality. Perhaps personally they feel they are. However, I think there is something deeply wrong in saying they feel liberated when their professions exist for the gratification of the male sexual appetite and further promote the subjugation of women.
Call me crazy.
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