La Tomatina

I would love to do this festival...

It is always as good as our Pancake Day flour fight

Book Rant

I read this today: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-19395813

Should books have age restrictions? 

No. Never.


When I was younger I could be found tucked away in a corner reading anything that I got my hands on. I remember reading The Cider House Rules (a novel about prostitutes, abortion, orphans, bestiality and love) when I was very young, although at the time I didn't fully understand the some of the content I recognized its importance as I grew older and I remembered it. Revisiting it now that I'm older allows me to interpret different sections of the novel in a more knowledgeably way, but at the same time I find it interesting remembering how I felt when I read parts when I was younger, aware of the pain, the happiness etc but not understanding. 

I realise that some parents may restrict what their child reads in order to avoid embarrassing conversions. I, myself didn't question much about sex, pubity etc but I knew I could if I had wanted to. My parents gave me the freedom to read as I please and I'm glad they did... even if they hadn't the 'forbidden fruit' would have found its way into my hands eventually. 


When I have children I will let them read what they want. If they have questions I will answer them. 

Those who want to read should be allowed to read whatever they choose to. It shows intelligence and an eagerness to gain knowledge. The subject matter isn't relevant. If they choose to read Fifty Shades of Grey let them. If they want to read Lady Chatterley's Lover- let them. 

To quote the article: "There's a difference to being presented with sexually explicit images and imagining what you're reading," says the children's literary critic Amanda Craig. "So in that sense it's more of an elite pursuit."


Also on a side note, I have read all the Fifty Shades, I don't like them but felt I needed to before I could comment on them... perhaps Clare Phillipson should have finished reading the book. 

She claims that it is a dangerous mix a 'young women and a much richer, abusive older man who beats her up and does some dreadful things to her sexually'.

It's called S and M, a LOT of people do it. It is for pleasure also everything in the book is consensual.What may seem 'dreadful' to you Ms Phillipson isn't to other people, take note before you burn all of someone's hard work.

It is not domestic violence. 
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-19354560

Life.

Feeling reflective about a lot today. 

Keep thinking about the best bits and worst bits of past friendships and relationships (it's amazing how one can really outweigh the other in some cases). 

Home friends :)

Thinking about what I'm missing (a bit of the grass is always greener syndrome has struck).

I am enjoying temping meeting new people, and doing different things.

I miss the Cardiff lifestyle and my friends there. 

Not feeling sociable- I want to sit in bed (in my old room) and watch films all day while a thunderstorm rages outside. 

I want to be able to say that by Christmas that I will have settled into the swing of things, but deep down I know Christmas will be hard this year because of us loosing Grandad (also no Christmas dinner with my housemates!). 

 This post seems heavy with negativity 

but the positives are there too.

True that.

'Procrastination is the thief of time. Collar him!'

David Copperfield by Charles Dickens

'The longest life may fade and perish but one moment can live and become immortal'

Theodore Powys 

Boy I want to warn you It'll turn into a ballroom blitz

'Oh, I see a man in the back as a matter of fact

His eyes were as red as the sun

And the girl in the corner that no one ignores

Cause she thinks she's the passionate one'

Reality and the Dream Space

'Real life is letting men fuck you over their desks (and enjoying it, which is somehow the worst thing). Real life is regularly running out of money, then food. Real life is having no proper heating. Real life is physical. Give me books instead: give me the invisibility of the contents of books, the thoughts, the ideas, the images. Let me become part of a book; I'd give anything for that'. - The End of Mr. Y

So much of this I agree with. Novels are escapism. They are perfect.

Then I can't help but let my mind wander back to 'Inkheart' and I start to think of the possibilities of being part of a book. The future is always set. Typically the baddies lose and the heroes win. Always wrapped in the internal cycle. I suppose it would be a little like groundhog day.

I remember doing an exercise in class when we discussed when does the author end, and when does the book begin- similarly, how much of the book is down to the reader. All interesting things to think about.

In some cases when I close the book that is the end.

However, when I think of other books such as Roald Dahl's 'James and the Giant Peach' and 'George's Marvellous Medicine'. To me the characters in this book feel so alive. Perhaps as I read it I was younger these things of fantasy were allowed a playground in my mind and because I created that connection with them at that time, I can still imagine them as vividly as I first did- I don't limit them to the end of the novel.

Occasionally this happens now when I read fiction as an adult, but admittedly more often than not, when I finish a novel I think over the plot, the characters and the story and tend to analyse them rather than entertain the idea of their futures after the novel.

For me novels have become a dreamspace, to which I come crashing out of after the conclusion.

I want you bad- The Offspring

Giraffe's are the best take 2

Batman Reference Manual

Had to share this:

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/2vKGbl/:1c!zr6qvQ:DTi146DT/www.madatoms.com/site/blog/batman-reference-manual/

How drunk is too drunk?

I really like the doodles on this website: www.miriamkendrick.co.uk

Michael Muller

Some rather lovely pictures by Michael Muller. So beautiful. 

Source: www.mullerphoto.com 

All you who sleep tonight

All you who sleep tonight
Far from the ones you love,
No hand to left or right
And emptiness above -

Know that you aren't alone
The whole world shares your tears,
Some for two nights or one,
And some for all their years.

Vikram Seth 

:D

Lover's Eyes

'But do not ask the price I pay,

I must live with my quiet rage,

Tame the ghosts in my head,

That run wild and wish me dead.

Should you shake my ash to the wind

Lord, forget all of my sins

Oh, let me die where I lie 

Neath the curse of my lover's eyes'

Ieuan Flowers

My friend Ieuan takes some rather good photos! Have a gander at his facebook page if you don't believe me!! 

https://www.facebook.com/IeuanFlowersPhotography

'You're blushing!!!'

Thank you Captain Obvious. I am fully aware that a fire has just risen within, uncomfortably warming my cheeks with a red glow for all to see.

Sometimes this is fine, like when in jest with my friends.

An occasion when it is not okay is when I don't know you. Or if someone is teasing. Or if you are being malicious.

Having been blessed (cursed?) with, as my friend puts it, 'ginger skin'- freckly paleness, blushing is what I do. It happens all the time. But seriously, I hate it when someone points it out, it makes it so much worse !

So Mr. Man, please don't do it again.

Say it to me now

Falling Slowly

Stornoway- Fuel Up

'But I'll tell you the reason you couldn't get home

Cause there's nowhere you've been and it's nowhere you're going

Home is only a feeling you get in your mind

From the people you love and you travel beside

You may feel like a passenger but now you're the driver

You've got to go travelling, travelling on

Because if you break down, it's a cold, hard shoulder'

Cocktails, food and friends :)

My weekend has been saturated by fine food and drink, and quality time spent with my twinnie.

Don't want her to leave today :(

Dear Australia

Please stop teasing me with your posters, music and attractive emigrated barmen! I will get there one day, just give me a break for now!!

Giraffe's are the best

Bike Lanes By Casey Neistat

Cyclists really do have such a hard time! Here in the UK, both my Dad and Step-Dad have been knocked off their bikes due to people driving carelessly and too close. Like Neistat said at the start of the video cyclists are 'doing the world a favour'- give them some room. And for Neistat's health, NY get the cycle lanes clear!!

Gems

The National- England

'Put an ocean and a river
Between everybody else,
Between everything, yourself, and home'

True that

The 10 Commandments of Going Out

http://thoughtcatalog.com/2012/the-10-commandments-of-going-out/

wise up Freshers.

Matthew and the Atlas- The Waves

'Well, I'm not afraid of the mess that you made,

I've seen your heart, it's tattered and frayed,

The skin on my bones and blood in my veins,

I'll wait by the ocean,

And home, home.'

One Sentence

Alexandra

As you were breaking up with me, all I could think about were those mornings when you compared the Pop-Tarts and gave me the one with more frosting.

Lines

Today you shaved your hair into a mohawk to make my mom laugh over losing hers to chemo and today I realized that you are my hero.

Beth

Instead of him they sent back a folded flag, and when I was alone I tore it to pieces.

Nancy

Five years and five phones later, I still add your number every time.

Traumatized

My pantleg got sucked into an escalator when I was 18 months old, and at 21, I still hesitate for a second before stepping onto the moving stairs.

-

I do like to be beside the sea

Nature Porn

Beautiful pictures.
Source: http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/1lKMbu/:@DOymFHU:LaV47yVz/www.buzzfeed.com/catesish/awesome-landscape-photos/

Author Quote Posters

Source: http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/2a9DDT/:1qGbKea3c:KCsMXci0/www.shortlist.com/cool-stuff/design/author-quote-posters/

How are you feeling today?

Intensity of Feelings	HAPPY	SAD	ANGRY	CONFUSED
High	Elated Excited Overjoyed Thrilled Exuberant Ecstatic Fired up Delighted	Depressed Disappointed Alone Hurt Left out Dejected Hopeless Sorrowful Crushed	Furious Enraged Outraged Aggrivated Irate Seething	Bewildered Trapped Troubled Desperate Lost
Medium	Cheerful Up Good Relieved Satisfied Contented	Heartbroken Down Upset Distressed Regret	Upset Mad Annoyed Frustrated Agitated Hot Disgusted	Disorganized Foggy Misplaced Disoriented Mixed up
Mild	Glad Content Satisfied Pleasant Fine Mellow Pleased	Unhappy Moody Blue Sorry Lost Bad Dissatisfied	Perturbed Uptight Dismayed Put out Irritated Touchy	Unsure Puzzled Bothered Uncomfortable Undecided Baffled Perplexed

Intensity of Feelings	AFRAID	WEAK	STRONG	GUILTY
High	Terrified Horrified Scared stiff Petrified Fearful Panicky	Helpless Hopeless Beat Overwhelmed Impotent Small Exhausted Drained	Powerful Aggressive Gung ho Potent Super Forceful Proud Determined	Sorrowful Remorseful Ashamed Unworthy Worthless
Medium	Scared Frightened Threatened Insecure Uneasy Shocked	Dependent Incapable Lifeless Tired Rundown Lazy Insecure Shy	Energetic Capable Confident Persuasive Sure	Sorry Lowdown Sneaky
Mild	Apprehensive Nervous Worried Timid Unsure Anxious	Unsatisfied Under par Shaky Unsure Soft Lethargic Inadequate	Secure Durable Adequate Able Capable	Embarrassed

Source: http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/2iOK6P/:1Cq4bqK7R:Iw8exGu8/www.sff.net/people/julia.west/CALLIHOO/dtbb/feelings.htm/ 

Recurring dreams

I have decided to actually write something on my blog for once, rather than posting a picture or music, and I thought what better place to start than dreams.

I have weird dreams- fact.

I once dreamt that everyone I knew where all standing in an empty swimming pool- not doing anything but just standing there quietly. It wasn't a big swimming pool either, it had just been layered with friends. Another time that I was trying to make tea for my friends out of a ridiculously small kettle that wouldn't fill a single mug. Everytime the water had boiled, the water in the mug had gone cold and I had to start again. I've had the standard dreams; me dying, my friends or family dying, falling, flying- the usual.

I also have dreams that feel so real I am never sure if it has happened or not, I got a text in my dream so I will look at my phone to see if they have replied when I wake up, I have carried on conversations from my dreams with the person who I thought I was talking to etc.

But for some reason there have been a few recurring dreams, some I have had since I was very little:

1. Jellybean Mountain
Bizarrely I can remember the night that I first had this dream/nightmare: I was about 7 or 8 and my parents had gone out for a meal with their friends so we had a babysitter. Anyway in this dream there is unsurprisingly a mountain made out of jellybeans. There is no scenery, instead it is surrounded by darkness. In my dream I always started halfway up the mountain- I know I need to get to the top, and I can tell I am upset. I see the scene as the third person, but I feel everything. The panic that is rising, the slippy beans that move like falling rocks when I try to get a decent footing, and the overwhelming urge to cry. I climb fast but it feels like I am getting nowhere. Suddenly giant gummy bears are visible, their sickening yellows and reds towering over me. They then begin to throw candy at me, making me loose my grip. I fall.

2.Locked in
These dreams have only started occurring since going to uni (possibly because it is only at uni when I have ever had locks on my doors?). In this dream I am asleep. But I wake up upon hearing my friends banging on the door asking if I am ok? Do I want to go out? One of them is laughing as they chatter. I go to answer the door except I can't, I can't move my body. I try to shout for help, but my lips don't move. I am starting to struggle to breathe, possibly hyperventilating. I can hear life on the other side of that wooden panel, but I can't get them to hear me. They can't help me. It is usually at this point that I wake up, heart racing, gasping for breath.

3.The Tunnel
In this dream it is more of a sensation than a narrative. I can see lights flickering by, like another train passing in a tunnel, I know I am moving forwards at some speed. I feel enclosed, and a little claustrophobic. I can feel my anxiety growing as the speed at which I am moving increases, the brightness of the lights blurring to grey. I can see the end of the tunnel but I feel sick, we are moving too fast and it feels like we will crash. As we near the end of the tunnel I close my eyes awaiting impact- and I wake.

4.Zombies
The location changes and so do the zombies in their various stages of decay but one thing doesn't: the chase. For some reason my zombies are FAST. They always know where I am hiding. Anyone I am with gets picked off in dramatic style, rendering me solo on my mission to escape the living dead's clutches. My ways of slowing them down are pathetic (Think Nick Frost when he first starts throwing the LP's in Shaun of the Dead). I can only run, hide and hope they don't find me. I know when they find me it's game over. A guy I know once tried to help me with my zombie dreams, he told me to imagine him there with me, and he said he would protect me. He got bitten on the top of his shoulder by a zombie builder as he tried to fend others off with a fire extinguisher. Thanks for trying anyway.

These dreams always make me feel unsettled when I wake up and I want to scold my subconscious for putting me through it. But to be fair- I believe it is my brain's way of training me for when these events do happen (think Groundhog Day/the Source Code). One day i'll get to the top of jelly bean mountain, karate kicking some of those gummy sods on the way.

I don't want everyone to think that all my dreams are negative because usually it is far from it. I have great weird dreams. One of my favourites is when all of my friends are in one giant conga line, me at the front with some maracas, dancing down brightly coloured carnival streets singing 'Las Iguanas' over and over again in some sort of tune. If you ever want to know, come see me and I'll sing you the song and show you the dance. :)

I like this:

Laura Marling= To be a woman

'I will never touch that skin again

I will never feel that way again

I will never look into the face of my father or my friends

And be able to say, I'm okay, I'm okay, I don't feel pain anyway

Not anymore, anyway'

I Followed Fires- Matthew & the Atlas

'Now the low lakes have frozen.

Away from home I'll go

When the first snow has fallen.

Away I'll go'

Our accents are beautiful in their own ways

Feeling the heat

Cream- Sunshine of your love

Awesome!

French Navy

I want to go back to Bondi!!

Happy days

I want to go exploring

My walking boots look sad with all the dry mud on them...

I'm thinking perhaps a little exploration is needed this weekend!

Stuck in my head

A homage to my twin.

I love Thought Catalog

http://thoughtcatalog.com/2012/i-hate-everything-right-now/ -me a couple of days ago

http://thoughtcatalog.com/2012/13-things-you-can-do-instead-of-missing-someone/ - Something for myself and Grayson to consider!  

Loser

Post

Sell your soul, work every hour under the sun, save the few that you sleep, long for the days when your main responsibility was turning up to lectures, money comes into your bank account, watch the direct debits drain it, save a little, the heartbreaks, unexpected expense, early mornings, all weathers- somehow all of this seems worth it for the good bits; the surprises, lust, love, laughter, living for the weekend, the two weeks in the height of summer when Heathrow beckons you in.

Everything has seemed dull, and monotonous recently, and if I'm honest quite bleak. But now, I have set a goal, it's going to be achieved. Also I will be booking tickets to visit my friends, and they are coming to visit me- having things to look forward to just seems to make the world progress for me.

Anyway, this blog hasn't got a point, it is more of a 'I feel better now' post.

Australia's Red Heart

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00dzyz5/Wilderness_Explored_Australias_Red_Heart/

An awesome documentary about her resilient red heart.

I really like the comparison to it being a Gothic landscape and its 'death-like silence'.

But isn't it beautiful in its own way.

WHERE THE DEAD MEN LIE by Barcroft Boake

Out on the wastes of the Never Never -
That's where the dead men lie!
There where the heat-waves dance forever -
That's where the dead men lie!
That's where the Earth's loved sons are keeping
Endless tryst: not the west wind sweeping
Feverish pinions can wake their sleeping -
Out where the dead men lie!


Where brown Summer and Death have mated -
That's where the dead men lie!
Loving with fiery lust unsated -
That's where the dead men lie!
Out where the grinning skulls bleach whitely
Under the saltbush sparkling brightly;
Out where the wild dogs chorus nightly -
That's where the dead men lie!


Deep in the yellow, flowing river -
That's where the dead men lie!
Under the banks where the shadows quiver -
That's where the dead men he!
Where the platypus twists and doubles,
Leaving a train of tiny bubbles.
Rid at last of their earthly troubles -
That's where the dead men lie!


East and backward pale faces turning -
That's how the dead men lie!
Gaunt arms stretched with a voiceless yearning -
That's how the dead men lie!
Oft in the fragrant hush of nooning
Hearing again their mother's crooning,
Wrapt for aye in a dreamful swooning -
That's how the dead men lie!


Only the hand of Night can free them -
That's when the dead men fly!
Only the frightened cattle see them -
See the dead men go by!
Cloven hoofs beating out one measure,
Bidding the stockmen know no leisure -
That's when the dead men take their pleasure!
That's when the dead men fly!


Ask, too, the never-sleeping drover:
He sees the dead pass by;
Hearing them call to their friends - the plover,
Hearing the dead men cry;
Seeing their faces stealing, stealing,
Hearing their laughter, pealing, pealing,
Watching their grey forms wheeling, wheeling
Round where the cattle lie!


Strangled by thirst and fierce privation -
That's how the dead men die!
Out on Moncygrub's farthest station -
That's how the dead men die!
Hard-faced greybeards, youngsters caflow;
Some mounds cared for, some left fallow;
Some deep down, yet others shallow.
Some having but the sky.


Moncygrub, as he sips his claret,
Looks with complacent eye
Down at his watch-chain, eighteen carat -
There, in his club, hard by:
Recks not that every link is stamped with
Names of the men whose limbs are cramped with
Too long lying in grave-mould, cramped with
Death where the dead men lie.

Pictures: Google.