I have loved Scissor Sisters since, like, forever. There's just something about their music that makes me want to eat a handful of glitter, jump on a train to Vienna and buy a herd of wild pugs.
All whilst singing at an only-dogs-can-hear pitch and thrusting rhythmically.
After writing that pretty graphic (yet realistic) description of me dancing, I realised I didn't really know what else to write about this. So, I'm going to list my favourite of Scissor Sisters' songs and give a brief insight into why they make me so happy.
5. I Don't Feel Like Dancin'.
This goes without saying, really. I just find it so great that the one song professing not dancing is the single best song at making you want to dance. Also, literally nobody knows the words to the rest of the song except the line 'I don't feel like dancing, no sir, no dancing today'. Personally, I like to sing the first line as 'Wake up in the morning and the mojo's in the place, my heart can take a chance but I don't whither either way'. According to azlyrics.com (reliable source, I know), the actual lyric is 'Wake up in the morning with a head like ‘what ya done?’ This used to be the life but I don’t need another one'. Let down. To be perfectly honest, I don't even think Scissor Sisters know what the actual words are to this song. They just shimmy gracefully through the song, trying to make it rhyme.
4. Skin Tight.
Lesser known, but a classic. Well technically it's not a classic for exactly the reason I just highlighted, but it sounded like I knew what I was talking about. I love this song because the lyrics are like properly beautiful and emotional yet they choose to put them to a rave-worthy bass and make it a groove, rather than a ballad. I don't know about you, but I love a groove. This is the sort of song I can imagine dancing to in the rain.
3. Filthy / Gorgeous.
Can we just take a moment to appreciate the genius of this song. I can pretty much guarantee that every single one of you will have at least one memory of listening to this song. And that memory will either be excruciatingly painful to recall or will make you smile reading this. It's just one of those songs. Personally, I have countless memories of dancing to this at parties, generally with my parents and their friends. Yes, that means that 6 year old me used to innocently sing the words to this song (or at least some version of the words) with adults that knew perfectly well what the lyrics meant but let me belt them out to crowds of strangers anyway.
2. Invisible Light.
I don't know why I love this song so much, but I really do. I can just imagine the chorus being the soundtrack to almost every single good moment in my life. I listen to it when I'm sad or grumpy or bored (or any other mood that requires me to wear extra eyeliner). Just listen to it, and hopefully you'll understand.
1. Fire with Fire.
This is my favourite song of all time, not just of the Scissor Sisters collection. I cry almost every single time I listen to it, or I energetically dance solidly for the entire song. My moods vary a lot. I think it's a combination of the piano riff at the beginning, Jake Shears' shameless vocals, and probably my favourite lyrics ever written. If there was ever a song that came close enough to describing me, it would be this one. Fire with fire. It's practically my motto now. Not that I'm validating 'revenge'; I'm a firm believer in the 'if someone hits you, turn the other cheek' party line. But 'turning the other cheek', to me, doesn't mean forgetting about it. If someone hurts you, or something you care about, you have a right to question it and to stand up for what you believe in. So even if your fire is a huge bonfire, or the tiny flame hiding underneath the coal, you're still fighting.
So, at the end of that rather long 'list', I hope you have something to take away from it. Even if it's just that I had a slightly dysfunctional childhood. At least you now know a little bit about why I am, well, the way that I am.
#bornthisway #cheesyinspirationalmetaphorsforlife
Saturday, 21 February 2015
Friday, 13 February 2015
Fueled on Anger and Glitter.
So I'm in an eclectic mood. That's a fancy way of saying I can't think of one thing to write about and I keep having random thought processes so need to write it all down.
Firstly, who's psyched about the Fifty Shades of Grey film? Not me. Honestly, until like a week ago I was avidly watching the trailers (mainly to catch glimpses of Jamie Dornan topless) and didn't really see the harm in a kinda-porn-y film being released (did I mention Jamie Dornan?!). But then I read an article quoting all the dodgy stuff in it and was like 'Ohmygosh ew what is this'.*
*I was probably less American schoolgirl-y but that was the general drift.
Basically, the books (who knew it was a trilogy?) are about a supposed 'love' story between Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele. The inverted comments refer to the fact that Christian literally rapes Anastasia. That's not a love story, that's sexual (and emotional) abuse. Sorry for the crudeness but it makes me so angry that books like this are allowed to exist. I'm not condemning the entire genre of 'erotic fiction' (ew, writing that makes me squirm) because I understand that appeals to some people, but a book promoting rape and abuse is not right. Neither am I judging BDSM practitioners (that's the official term, in case you thought I was being weirdly formal) because a true BDSM relationship is based on consent, which the 'relationship' in Fifty Shades of Grey is not.
Urgh, rant over.*
*Well I'll probably continue to rant about it to anyone that will listen.
Moving on. So, I have this friend who is a walking contradiction. I've literally never met someone so internally (and externally) at conflict. For example, she loves Ariana Grande (don't shoot her please guys) and wears pretty bows in her hair and is like seriously hot, but also has some crazy obsession with seeing a dead person, has no qualms about killing animals (I've only ever witnessed her flushing zebrafish eggs and water fleas down the sink so maybe that isn't a very good example) and thinks mothers can kill their children if they want to. Of course, I'm kinda hypocritical considering I love pink but will destroy anyone who assumes I like pink because I'm a girl, and I want to be a doctor but have a full-on phobia of injections. I think this is why we get on so well. Neither of us are what we appear to be, which is good, because why should we have to live up to what other people expect us to be? I think I may have just turned her (fairly innocent but still heartless) personality into a feminist rant. Typical. Anyway, I just wanted to mention her because I think she's great (but she does suck at biology experiments).
I want to pick a little bit of what I just said and expand upon it, because it's kind of important. Just because I like pink, sparkles and James Blunt, does not mean I'm naive, or think girls can't kickass as much as any other gender out there. Just because I wear makeup, does not mean I think girls should base their self-worth on how attractive other people think they are. Stop stereotyping and generalising 50% of the population. And while we're at it, stop stereotyping any group in society because...well, just because.
So, that's about it. Well it's not really, I'd say that's about 1/3 of the stuff going through my brain right now, but that was the write-down-able third. Here's a little crazy contradiction-y fact for you to end your day with:
Firstly, who's psyched about the Fifty Shades of Grey film? Not me. Honestly, until like a week ago I was avidly watching the trailers (mainly to catch glimpses of Jamie Dornan topless) and didn't really see the harm in a kinda-porn-y film being released (did I mention Jamie Dornan?!). But then I read an article quoting all the dodgy stuff in it and was like 'Ohmygosh ew what is this'.*
*I was probably less American schoolgirl-y but that was the general drift.
Basically, the books (who knew it was a trilogy?) are about a supposed 'love' story between Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele. The inverted comments refer to the fact that Christian literally rapes Anastasia. That's not a love story, that's sexual (and emotional) abuse. Sorry for the crudeness but it makes me so angry that books like this are allowed to exist. I'm not condemning the entire genre of 'erotic fiction' (ew, writing that makes me squirm) because I understand that appeals to some people, but a book promoting rape and abuse is not right. Neither am I judging BDSM practitioners (that's the official term, in case you thought I was being weirdly formal) because a true BDSM relationship is based on consent, which the 'relationship' in Fifty Shades of Grey is not.
Urgh, rant over.*
*Well I'll probably continue to rant about it to anyone that will listen.
Moving on. So, I have this friend who is a walking contradiction. I've literally never met someone so internally (and externally) at conflict. For example, she loves Ariana Grande (don't shoot her please guys) and wears pretty bows in her hair and is like seriously hot, but also has some crazy obsession with seeing a dead person, has no qualms about killing animals (I've only ever witnessed her flushing zebrafish eggs and water fleas down the sink so maybe that isn't a very good example) and thinks mothers can kill their children if they want to. Of course, I'm kinda hypocritical considering I love pink but will destroy anyone who assumes I like pink because I'm a girl, and I want to be a doctor but have a full-on phobia of injections. I think this is why we get on so well. Neither of us are what we appear to be, which is good, because why should we have to live up to what other people expect us to be? I think I may have just turned her (fairly innocent but still heartless) personality into a feminist rant. Typical. Anyway, I just wanted to mention her because I think she's great (but she does suck at biology experiments).
I want to pick a little bit of what I just said and expand upon it, because it's kind of important. Just because I like pink, sparkles and James Blunt, does not mean I'm naive, or think girls can't kickass as much as any other gender out there. Just because I wear makeup, does not mean I think girls should base their self-worth on how attractive other people think they are. Stop stereotyping and generalising 50% of the population. And while we're at it, stop stereotyping any group in society because...well, just because.
So, that's about it. Well it's not really, I'd say that's about 1/3 of the stuff going through my brain right now, but that was the write-down-able third. Here's a little crazy contradiction-y fact for you to end your day with:
Marilyn Monroe had a higher IQ than Albert Einstein.
Sunday, 1 February 2015
You've got a cold? Write a will.
Do you think people who don't agree with animal testing should be allowed to take paracetamol?
I have asked so many people this question in the last month and no-one has given me a straight answer. I asked some meat-eaters and they all grunted, shrugged and limbo-ed under the question; I asked a vegan and she grunted, shrugged and promptly stepped around the limbo pole; and then I asked myself, to which I replied by grunting, shrugging to no-one in particular and despairing at the awful metaphors I come up with.
I'd never thought about it until I heard someone give a presentation about animal testing. Not from an animals-are-people-too, burn-the-zoos perspective, but from a scientific perspective.
I'm sure all of you have heard the horrible facts about the living conditions of animals in laboratories. I'm sure most of you have read the news about PETA's regular stunts. I'm even sure some of you have seen Legally Blonde II.
And as much as those facts horrify me, as much as I admire PETA's passion, and as much as I love Legally Blonde, I still think animal testing is necessary sometimes.
Don't shoot me, don't shoot me, don't shoot me.
I say sometimes with honesty. Testing cosmetics on animals is cruel, unnecessary and barbaric. But testing medicines, treatments and new medical equipment is completely justified. Without animal testing, billions of people would have died from malaria, 235 million people would currently be struggling to breath on a day-to-day basis because of asthma, and every single cancer patient that has survived purely because of medical treatment, would be dead.
Granted, a vaccination for malaria may have been created eventually, but countless lives would have been expended during the failed clinical trials. The majority of the 235 million people living with asthma will never be hospitalised because of asthma attacks but many of them will, and they wouldn't survive without the medicines we have today. And perhaps some of those cancer patients could have fought it off eventually, or found a homeopathic cure, but without chemotherapy, radiotherapy and all the other scary sounding therapies, the cancer survival rate would be down by ten fold, maybe more.
That means, in less number-y terms, the 'one child dies of malaria every minute' advert would be a whole lot scarier; I probably wouldn't be alive, and if I was, I would be hospitalised all my life (being treated with what medicines I don't know); and cancer would be an even bigger threat than it already is.
Without animal research, the human population wouldn't have survived the epidemic of the common cold.
I googled about some animal research alternatives and there are some, but they are impractical and very, very time consuming. For example, you can synthesise skin cells in a petri dish and test on them but then you can't know how the treatment affects bodily functions. Kinda pointless, seeing as the reason most drugs never reach the drugstore is not because they don't work, but because they do extra stuff that you don't really want happening.
So, after that fact (and perhaps emotion) overload, let's do a U-turn back to the beginning of this post. I chose paracetamol because I can almost guarantee that all of you have used it at least once, and most of you on a regular basis. But I could have asked:
Do you think people who don't agree with animal testing should be allowed to take paracetamol, receive any hospital treatment, or even give their pets medicine?*
*You never really think about the benefit of animal testing on animals, but animals need painkillers (large animals during child birth), insulin for diabetes and vaccines for diseases too.
Why should people who are so vehemently against something, reap all the benefits from it?
At the end of the day, you can't tell someone they're 'not allowed' to take medicine, or that they can't have an x-ray for their broken leg, but I just want people to really think about the implications of living in an animal-testing free society. We wouldn't have hospitals (what's the point without the treatments?), and if we did have some sort of care centre, we'd all be in it.
But then again, technically humans are parasites on Earth, stripping it of life and resources. And if we all die at some point, why not sooner rather than later?
As you can tell, the internal debates in my head are endless.
I have asked so many people this question in the last month and no-one has given me a straight answer. I asked some meat-eaters and they all grunted, shrugged and limbo-ed under the question; I asked a vegan and she grunted, shrugged and promptly stepped around the limbo pole; and then I asked myself, to which I replied by grunting, shrugging to no-one in particular and despairing at the awful metaphors I come up with.
I'd never thought about it until I heard someone give a presentation about animal testing. Not from an animals-are-people-too, burn-the-zoos perspective, but from a scientific perspective.
I'm sure all of you have heard the horrible facts about the living conditions of animals in laboratories. I'm sure most of you have read the news about PETA's regular stunts. I'm even sure some of you have seen Legally Blonde II.
And as much as those facts horrify me, as much as I admire PETA's passion, and as much as I love Legally Blonde, I still think animal testing is necessary sometimes.
Don't shoot me, don't shoot me, don't shoot me.
I say sometimes with honesty. Testing cosmetics on animals is cruel, unnecessary and barbaric. But testing medicines, treatments and new medical equipment is completely justified. Without animal testing, billions of people would have died from malaria, 235 million people would currently be struggling to breath on a day-to-day basis because of asthma, and every single cancer patient that has survived purely because of medical treatment, would be dead.
Granted, a vaccination for malaria may have been created eventually, but countless lives would have been expended during the failed clinical trials. The majority of the 235 million people living with asthma will never be hospitalised because of asthma attacks but many of them will, and they wouldn't survive without the medicines we have today. And perhaps some of those cancer patients could have fought it off eventually, or found a homeopathic cure, but without chemotherapy, radiotherapy and all the other scary sounding therapies, the cancer survival rate would be down by ten fold, maybe more.
That means, in less number-y terms, the 'one child dies of malaria every minute' advert would be a whole lot scarier; I probably wouldn't be alive, and if I was, I would be hospitalised all my life (being treated with what medicines I don't know); and cancer would be an even bigger threat than it already is.
Without animal research, the human population wouldn't have survived the epidemic of the common cold.
I googled about some animal research alternatives and there are some, but they are impractical and very, very time consuming. For example, you can synthesise skin cells in a petri dish and test on them but then you can't know how the treatment affects bodily functions. Kinda pointless, seeing as the reason most drugs never reach the drugstore is not because they don't work, but because they do extra stuff that you don't really want happening.
So, after that fact (and perhaps emotion) overload, let's do a U-turn back to the beginning of this post. I chose paracetamol because I can almost guarantee that all of you have used it at least once, and most of you on a regular basis. But I could have asked:
Do you think people who don't agree with animal testing should be allowed to take paracetamol, receive any hospital treatment, or even give their pets medicine?*
*You never really think about the benefit of animal testing on animals, but animals need painkillers (large animals during child birth), insulin for diabetes and vaccines for diseases too.
Why should people who are so vehemently against something, reap all the benefits from it?
At the end of the day, you can't tell someone they're 'not allowed' to take medicine, or that they can't have an x-ray for their broken leg, but I just want people to really think about the implications of living in an animal-testing free society. We wouldn't have hospitals (what's the point without the treatments?), and if we did have some sort of care centre, we'd all be in it.
But then again, technically humans are parasites on Earth, stripping it of life and resources. And if we all die at some point, why not sooner rather than later?
As you can tell, the internal debates in my head are endless.
Monday, 29 December 2014
Lily Was A Procrastinator.
In my entirely unscientific (and 1am) opinion, human nature dictates that we throw a million seeds on a field and then sit back while watching the seeds grow (and generally die because we forgot they needed water, oops).
I have been fortunate enough in my life to meet some of the anti-grainers, those stand out-ers, those Organised People.
I am not one of them.
I am lazy and so do not try and 'go against the grain' or whatever the saying is, but simply crowd surf over the tide of bad seed-growers*.
*Farmers?
However, I am one of those people who pretend to be organised. Proof includes:
1. Snapchatting photos of my revision when in fact those books were not opened and that pen was not even touched, except to position it for the perfect photo.
2. Panic-buying stationery when the shop assistant in WHSmiths asks you if you need help.
3. Writing hundreds of random and useless 'Notes' on my phone, just in case someone happens to find themselves on my phone. If they actually bothered to open them, they'd discover an odd mixture of blog post ideas, lists of clothes I want but can't afford, and present ideas for friends/relatives which I promptly forget about when it comes to actually buying something. But mostly, quotes.
These quotes are a mixture of fictional characters from films, my friends' strange outbursts and genuinely inspirational figureheads. In fact, the reason I write them down is because I find a little bit of inspiration in all of them.
Here they are (in order of when I wrote them down, starting from the oldest):
1. "Abraham was too old, Joseph was abused, Gideon was afraid, Jeremiah and Timothy were too young, Naomi was a widow, Zaccheus was too small, Lazarus was dead, Noah was a drunk, Peter was a coward, Jacob was a deceiver, Rahab was a prostitute, Samson was a womanizer, Moses had a self-esteem problem, David was a murderer.' Not sure who first comprised this list.
These people are all from The Bible, in case you hadn't figured it out. Whether you believe the stories about these guys are real doesn't really matter. What I got from this, from a non-religious point of view (even though I am religious), was that everyone has flaws*, and everyone fails. That doesn't mean we're failures. We can still all do amazing things.
*Most of the 'flaws' of these people aren't really flaws, just things that other people might see as being deal breakers.
2. "You don't know you're a poet until you're in love." No idea who said this either.
There isn't much to say about this quote and I don't know why I wrote it down but I still love it. For some reason. Don't ask me why.
3. "No-one can make you feel inferior without your permission." Eleanor Roosevelt.
If you haven't already, write this down. Somewhere. Anywhere. On a random piece of paper in your pocket. On your phone. On your wall (if you don't have a deposit to pay, of course). On your hand. On your twitter. It really doesn't matter. Arghhh I'm so passionate about this quote. If I meditated, this would be my mantra. It is so, so important.
4. "Isn't that how God works? He pieces the jigsaw together." Anna S, August 2014.
5. "Sometimes we are the only Jesus people meet".
This is relevant for everyone. Smiling at a stranger on the street can make their day. Giving a homeless person your lunch can restore their faith in humanity. Lending a pen to someone in your class can make the difference between them failing and passing. I'm not advising you to start walking around grinning creepily, to starve yourself, or to fund someone's entire pencil case, but just to never be frugal with that little bit of happiness that you could share so easily.
6. "Sadness is waiting for someone else to make you happy."
I don't think this quote is describing the only way to be sad, but just that thinking another person will fulfill you completely is an easy route to it. I'm a firm believer in love, and in two people completing each other to some extent, but I also believe that everyone should have the ability to be happy without relying on someone else. Of course, that isn't possible for some people, and that's okay. But we should strive for it, and never take that self-fueled happiness for granted.
7. "Why does wearing pink grant you permission to say that I'm naive?" Lily Copping (during one of my scary, angry, ranty moods)
Nuff said.
8. "When life gives you lemons, steal yo' grandma's jewellery and go clubbing."
Parks and Recreation is my life and my love.
9. "You know how picky I am with my shoes, and they only go on my feet." Cher, Clueless.
If you have one other motto, other than number 3, this should be it.
I have been fortunate enough in my life to meet some of the anti-grainers, those stand out-ers, those Organised People.
I am not one of them.
I am lazy and so do not try and 'go against the grain' or whatever the saying is, but simply crowd surf over the tide of bad seed-growers*.
*Farmers?
However, I am one of those people who pretend to be organised. Proof includes:
1. Snapchatting photos of my revision when in fact those books were not opened and that pen was not even touched, except to position it for the perfect photo.
2. Panic-buying stationery when the shop assistant in WHSmiths asks you if you need help.
3. Writing hundreds of random and useless 'Notes' on my phone, just in case someone happens to find themselves on my phone. If they actually bothered to open them, they'd discover an odd mixture of blog post ideas, lists of clothes I want but can't afford, and present ideas for friends/relatives which I promptly forget about when it comes to actually buying something. But mostly, quotes.
These quotes are a mixture of fictional characters from films, my friends' strange outbursts and genuinely inspirational figureheads. In fact, the reason I write them down is because I find a little bit of inspiration in all of them.
Here they are (in order of when I wrote them down, starting from the oldest):
1. "Abraham was too old, Joseph was abused, Gideon was afraid, Jeremiah and Timothy were too young, Naomi was a widow, Zaccheus was too small, Lazarus was dead, Noah was a drunk, Peter was a coward, Jacob was a deceiver, Rahab was a prostitute, Samson was a womanizer, Moses had a self-esteem problem, David was a murderer.' Not sure who first comprised this list.
These people are all from The Bible, in case you hadn't figured it out. Whether you believe the stories about these guys are real doesn't really matter. What I got from this, from a non-religious point of view (even though I am religious), was that everyone has flaws*, and everyone fails. That doesn't mean we're failures. We can still all do amazing things.
*Most of the 'flaws' of these people aren't really flaws, just things that other people might see as being deal breakers.
2. "You don't know you're a poet until you're in love." No idea who said this either.
There isn't much to say about this quote and I don't know why I wrote it down but I still love it. For some reason. Don't ask me why.
3. "No-one can make you feel inferior without your permission." Eleanor Roosevelt.
If you haven't already, write this down. Somewhere. Anywhere. On a random piece of paper in your pocket. On your phone. On your wall (if you don't have a deposit to pay, of course). On your hand. On your twitter. It really doesn't matter. Arghhh I'm so passionate about this quote. If I meditated, this would be my mantra. It is so, so important.
4. "Isn't that how God works? He pieces the jigsaw together." Anna S, August 2014.
5. "Sometimes we are the only Jesus people meet".
This is relevant for everyone. Smiling at a stranger on the street can make their day. Giving a homeless person your lunch can restore their faith in humanity. Lending a pen to someone in your class can make the difference between them failing and passing. I'm not advising you to start walking around grinning creepily, to starve yourself, or to fund someone's entire pencil case, but just to never be frugal with that little bit of happiness that you could share so easily.
6. "Sadness is waiting for someone else to make you happy."
I don't think this quote is describing the only way to be sad, but just that thinking another person will fulfill you completely is an easy route to it. I'm a firm believer in love, and in two people completing each other to some extent, but I also believe that everyone should have the ability to be happy without relying on someone else. Of course, that isn't possible for some people, and that's okay. But we should strive for it, and never take that self-fueled happiness for granted.
7. "Why does wearing pink grant you permission to say that I'm naive?" Lily Copping (during one of my scary, angry, ranty moods)
Nuff said.
8. "When life gives you lemons, steal yo' grandma's jewellery and go clubbing."
Parks and Recreation is my life and my love.
9. "You know how picky I am with my shoes, and they only go on my feet." Cher, Clueless.
If you have one other motto, other than number 3, this should be it.
Wednesday, 10 December 2014
David Cameron Looks a Bit Like Ham
I know I said I'd write this post about the comment from that crazay guy, "If you support Christianity you support anti-gay, anti-choice and anti-science beliefs", but I'm not going to. I'm not sure who I'm trying to reassure as I justify why (most likely myself) but here goes.
The main reason is, I honestly don't know what to say. Obviously I disagree with his opinion.*
*This is coming from a non 'anti-gay', pro-choice (I think, the politics of it is all very confusing), Biology and Chemistry AS-level taking person so I feel like I'm allowed to disagree.
One thing I do agree on, however, is the bit about 'support'. People have different opinions. Some I agree with, and others (the larger portion, surprise, surprise) I don't. That doesn't mean I have the right to inflict my views on them, or to automatically shrug theirs off. Everyone has reasons for what they believe, and who am I* to make a judgement on that?
*Or anyone, really. Everyone's equal y'all.
But that's all I want to say, really. Abortion, in particular, is a topic I care deeply about but have no desire to write about on here, at this present moment. I just know I'll say something stupid (as my past dictates) and it's not really an issue you can cover with pink glitter to resolve. I know this blog is supposed to be like a place where I can concentrate all my feelings and not worry about starting a debate, but with such a sensitive subject, and the need for eloquence, I don't want to attempt to share my thoughts on this and end up in a bigger whole of desperation and pointlessness than I usually do. I don't want anyone to think I'm scared of the topic, or dismissing it as it's not of great enough importance to be included in my ramblings, just that I don't want to end up accidentally offending someone (I'm really quite good at that) or accidentally making light of such a serious topic (I am almost always inappropriately informal). I will probably write a post about it in the future (if this blog lasts that long) but until then, nuh uh honey.*
*I feel like that's a quote from something? Ah well, it sounds sassay.
So. After that lengthy explanation of why I'm not writing about something, here's a little update on the things I am totally rating at the moment:
1. Coats.
This is the thing I have missed most about cold weather. Not hot chocolate, or cinnamon (people pretend to be really into it but they just want to sound seasonal) but coats. I am one of those people who firmly believe that an outfit is not complete without a bag and a coat. That sounds so ew and go away Lily-y but I cannot count the number of times I have taken my (fairly big) satchel out with me, with nothing but my phone and a packet of chewing gum being tossed around in it. I also believe that whatever you wear, stained, holey or just my-mum-bought-it-ugly, if you wear a good coat you can pull it off. You have to be picky with coats, though. I mean, you're gonna wear it everyday so it's gotta look good. I tend to go for things that distract from the disgusting-ness of whatever I'm wearing underneath. Like fur or vintage or pink or denim or pink or fluffy. Or pink.
2. Tissues.
When the box of tissues comes out in my house/flat/place of residence, you know it's cold season. Everyday before I walk out the door, I have to inhale a few hundred medicines just to keep me from collapsing from the sheer exhaustion of having a cold at school. You hardly notice it when you're at home, when there's a constant stream of paracetamol on hand at all times and no-one to judge you when you blow your nose and abnormal substances appear in your tissue.*
*Too much information? Yeah, I thought so.
But when you're at school, it is a million times worse. Every time you feel a sniff being urgently needed, the class is pin-drop silent in the middle of a test (or something else that requires everyone's attention to be on the poor kid fumbling around desperately in their pockets for tissues, only to find old receipts and crumbs). Yes, I'm that kid at the back of the classroom, sniffing a million times a minute and tissue fluff cascading out of my pocket every time I move. And the school nurse can't give you paracetamol, obviously, so you're stuck sniffing, red-nosed and just generally feeling vile. As you can probably tell, I don't cope well with illness.
3. Modern Family.
My mum decided to buy the box set of season 1 and 2 last month, and obviously, because this is the sort of obsessive person I am, I have now caught up with the rest of the world and am enjoying distracting myself from the mound of work I need to do with season 5. I don't quite know why I have never got into it before. Actually, I do. It's because things like Nashville, The Vampire Diaries and Modern Family are all programmes not shown on the TV channels I have access to. This means that, to hear about them, I have to have friends who watch it, a mum who compulsively buys box sets, or the ability to search on Google (for hours) "Top 10 American TV programmes".*
*Because we all know they're the best. Excluding Sherlock, Made in Chelsea and Wolfblood.
4. Dried dates.
I hate dried fruit....is what I always thought, until I tried dates. As most of you will know, I've recently moved to Bristol. Bristol is basically a city full of middle class coconut water drinkers, bike riders and quinoa* absorbers.
*Pronounced 'keen-wah'.
Everyone's vegan, vegetarian, or on a strictly No Refined Sugar Diet.
So obviously there's a big market here for:
a) Weird, expensive grains.
b) Weird, expensive waters.
c) Weird, expensive dried fruit.
Naturally, I happen to know a few of these Bristolians, and by fate, I happened to be offered a dried date. I've always avoided dates because they literally look like giant raisins, and raisins are the food of rabbits and children who go to 'after school clubs'. But anyway, I tried it and basically my life suddenly had meaning. They are so good.
5. ----- in Parliament.
These are programmes that I watch on BBC iPlayer, and watching them is my new hobby. The '-----' represents a day of the week, and they have them for Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and, if you fancy a bit of a treat, a 'The Week' highlights show. Obviously my initial reason for watching them was because I didn't want to be the least educated person in my politics class, but now it's just because I like watching David Cameron fulfill every single stereotype about British politicians. He has a posh voice, he has perfected the patronizing laugh, and (best of all) he goes really red. It's a bit alarming actually, but not enough to not still be hilarious.*
*I googled 'David Cameron looks like' and basically some people think he looks like ham. Just a little nugget of information for you to take away this week.
So that's it for this week. I'm so sorry I haven't posted in sooooo long but hopefully this one is long enough to make up for it.
The main reason is, I honestly don't know what to say. Obviously I disagree with his opinion.*
*This is coming from a non 'anti-gay', pro-choice (I think, the politics of it is all very confusing), Biology and Chemistry AS-level taking person so I feel like I'm allowed to disagree.
One thing I do agree on, however, is the bit about 'support'. People have different opinions. Some I agree with, and others (the larger portion, surprise, surprise) I don't. That doesn't mean I have the right to inflict my views on them, or to automatically shrug theirs off. Everyone has reasons for what they believe, and who am I* to make a judgement on that?
*Or anyone, really. Everyone's equal y'all.
But that's all I want to say, really. Abortion, in particular, is a topic I care deeply about but have no desire to write about on here, at this present moment. I just know I'll say something stupid (as my past dictates) and it's not really an issue you can cover with pink glitter to resolve. I know this blog is supposed to be like a place where I can concentrate all my feelings and not worry about starting a debate, but with such a sensitive subject, and the need for eloquence, I don't want to attempt to share my thoughts on this and end up in a bigger whole of desperation and pointlessness than I usually do. I don't want anyone to think I'm scared of the topic, or dismissing it as it's not of great enough importance to be included in my ramblings, just that I don't want to end up accidentally offending someone (I'm really quite good at that) or accidentally making light of such a serious topic (I am almost always inappropriately informal). I will probably write a post about it in the future (if this blog lasts that long) but until then, nuh uh honey.*
*I feel like that's a quote from something? Ah well, it sounds sassay.
So. After that lengthy explanation of why I'm not writing about something, here's a little update on the things I am totally rating at the moment:
1. Coats.
This is the thing I have missed most about cold weather. Not hot chocolate, or cinnamon (people pretend to be really into it but they just want to sound seasonal) but coats. I am one of those people who firmly believe that an outfit is not complete without a bag and a coat. That sounds so ew and go away Lily-y but I cannot count the number of times I have taken my (fairly big) satchel out with me, with nothing but my phone and a packet of chewing gum being tossed around in it. I also believe that whatever you wear, stained, holey or just my-mum-bought-it-ugly, if you wear a good coat you can pull it off. You have to be picky with coats, though. I mean, you're gonna wear it everyday so it's gotta look good. I tend to go for things that distract from the disgusting-ness of whatever I'm wearing underneath. Like fur or vintage or pink or denim or pink or fluffy. Or pink.
2. Tissues.
When the box of tissues comes out in my house/flat/place of residence, you know it's cold season. Everyday before I walk out the door, I have to inhale a few hundred medicines just to keep me from collapsing from the sheer exhaustion of having a cold at school. You hardly notice it when you're at home, when there's a constant stream of paracetamol on hand at all times and no-one to judge you when you blow your nose and abnormal substances appear in your tissue.*
*Too much information? Yeah, I thought so.
But when you're at school, it is a million times worse. Every time you feel a sniff being urgently needed, the class is pin-drop silent in the middle of a test (or something else that requires everyone's attention to be on the poor kid fumbling around desperately in their pockets for tissues, only to find old receipts and crumbs). Yes, I'm that kid at the back of the classroom, sniffing a million times a minute and tissue fluff cascading out of my pocket every time I move. And the school nurse can't give you paracetamol, obviously, so you're stuck sniffing, red-nosed and just generally feeling vile. As you can probably tell, I don't cope well with illness.
3. Modern Family.
My mum decided to buy the box set of season 1 and 2 last month, and obviously, because this is the sort of obsessive person I am, I have now caught up with the rest of the world and am enjoying distracting myself from the mound of work I need to do with season 5. I don't quite know why I have never got into it before. Actually, I do. It's because things like Nashville, The Vampire Diaries and Modern Family are all programmes not shown on the TV channels I have access to. This means that, to hear about them, I have to have friends who watch it, a mum who compulsively buys box sets, or the ability to search on Google (for hours) "Top 10 American TV programmes".*
*Because we all know they're the best. Excluding Sherlock, Made in Chelsea and Wolfblood.
4. Dried dates.
I hate dried fruit....is what I always thought, until I tried dates. As most of you will know, I've recently moved to Bristol. Bristol is basically a city full of middle class coconut water drinkers, bike riders and quinoa* absorbers.
*Pronounced 'keen-wah'.
Everyone's vegan, vegetarian, or on a strictly No Refined Sugar Diet.
So obviously there's a big market here for:
a) Weird, expensive grains.
b) Weird, expensive waters.
c) Weird, expensive dried fruit.
Naturally, I happen to know a few of these Bristolians, and by fate, I happened to be offered a dried date. I've always avoided dates because they literally look like giant raisins, and raisins are the food of rabbits and children who go to 'after school clubs'. But anyway, I tried it and basically my life suddenly had meaning. They are so good.
5. ----- in Parliament.
These are programmes that I watch on BBC iPlayer, and watching them is my new hobby. The '-----' represents a day of the week, and they have them for Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and, if you fancy a bit of a treat, a 'The Week' highlights show. Obviously my initial reason for watching them was because I didn't want to be the least educated person in my politics class, but now it's just because I like watching David Cameron fulfill every single stereotype about British politicians. He has a posh voice, he has perfected the patronizing laugh, and (best of all) he goes really red. It's a bit alarming actually, but not enough to not still be hilarious.*
*I googled 'David Cameron looks like' and basically some people think he looks like ham. Just a little nugget of information for you to take away this week.
So that's it for this week. I'm so sorry I haven't posted in sooooo long but hopefully this one is long enough to make up for it.
Monday, 27 October 2014
Wam Bam Thank You Mam
I am one of those people that spend a large portion of their life:
a) Reading comments on videos, photos etc.
b) Going on Wikipedia adventures.
c) Searching random names on Google.
It was when I was scrolling through the thousands of comments on a post (loosely) about victim-blaming when I noticed one guy's contribution (I'm good at spotting the ignorant ones). What he said was something along the lines of "Anyone who thinks women are oppressed in modern society has some research to do." and "If you support Christianity you support anti-gay, anti-choice and anti-science beliefs".*
*I was actually impressed that someone other than me could go so off-topic.
I'm going to address the oppression comment in this post, just so all you anti-christianity folks can be prepared for the next one.
Aren't I nice?
I'm going to assume that 'modern society' only refers to the women that he encounters on a day-to-day basis because, if not, then he must not know about the 62 million girls around the world not in school, the 100 million girls estimated to become child brides over the next 10 years, or that 70% of the world's poorest people are female.
And he just happened to forget that 1 in 5 women will be a victim of rape or attempted rape in their lifetime, that the average age of a woman entering prostitution is 13, or that women earn less than 10% of the world's wages but do more than two thirds of the work. Or maybe he didn't forget, and he has a different definition of oppression to me.
How's that for 'research'?
So the next time you hear someone say that feminism is unnecessary, or that there's no such thing as gender inequality, you can Shut. That. Down. #wambamthankyoumam
Another argument that seems to pop up a lot within the anti-feminist community (the slightly more knowledgeable but still ignorant ones) is that how can white, middle class girls complain about injustice when so much worse things are happening in other countries? This argument gets to me. Not only because it puts feminism in a bad light, but also because to people who don't argue on either side of this unending war (between feminists and the people who make the ant-feminist memes), it is a valid point.
And I agree, partially. I agree that girls like me, and most of my friends, shouldn't be so absorbed by our daily grievances that we forget what is happening all over the world. But I absolutely don't think that justifies not fighting at all. Personally, I don't just argue with people who make sexist comments because they annoy me, but to also make a point. That sounds petty but if we let the little, everyday things slide by (like being called bossy for wanting to be heard in a discussion in class, or a guy putting his hand up your skirt etc.) what example does that set to anyone, anywhere?
Until sexism becomes a thing of the past, until teachers stop being surprised when I tell them I either want to enter medicine or politics, and until the guys in my class stop thinking their opinion is worth more than mine, I won't stop fighting.
a) Reading comments on videos, photos etc.
b) Going on Wikipedia adventures.
c) Searching random names on Google.
It was when I was scrolling through the thousands of comments on a post (loosely) about victim-blaming when I noticed one guy's contribution (I'm good at spotting the ignorant ones). What he said was something along the lines of "Anyone who thinks women are oppressed in modern society has some research to do." and "If you support Christianity you support anti-gay, anti-choice and anti-science beliefs".*
*I was actually impressed that someone other than me could go so off-topic.
I'm going to address the oppression comment in this post, just so all you anti-christianity folks can be prepared for the next one.
Aren't I nice?
I'm going to assume that 'modern society' only refers to the women that he encounters on a day-to-day basis because, if not, then he must not know about the 62 million girls around the world not in school, the 100 million girls estimated to become child brides over the next 10 years, or that 70% of the world's poorest people are female.
And he just happened to forget that 1 in 5 women will be a victim of rape or attempted rape in their lifetime, that the average age of a woman entering prostitution is 13, or that women earn less than 10% of the world's wages but do more than two thirds of the work. Or maybe he didn't forget, and he has a different definition of oppression to me.
How's that for 'research'?
So the next time you hear someone say that feminism is unnecessary, or that there's no such thing as gender inequality, you can Shut. That. Down. #wambamthankyoumam
Another argument that seems to pop up a lot within the anti-feminist community (the slightly more knowledgeable but still ignorant ones) is that how can white, middle class girls complain about injustice when so much worse things are happening in other countries? This argument gets to me. Not only because it puts feminism in a bad light, but also because to people who don't argue on either side of this unending war (between feminists and the people who make the ant-feminist memes), it is a valid point.
And I agree, partially. I agree that girls like me, and most of my friends, shouldn't be so absorbed by our daily grievances that we forget what is happening all over the world. But I absolutely don't think that justifies not fighting at all. Personally, I don't just argue with people who make sexist comments because they annoy me, but to also make a point. That sounds petty but if we let the little, everyday things slide by (like being called bossy for wanting to be heard in a discussion in class, or a guy putting his hand up your skirt etc.) what example does that set to anyone, anywhere?
Until sexism becomes a thing of the past, until teachers stop being surprised when I tell them I either want to enter medicine or politics, and until the guys in my class stop thinking their opinion is worth more than mine, I won't stop fighting.
Saturday, 18 October 2014
Really, We Wear Pink Any Day.
I was so sure I was going to write a post the day after the last one, just to prove all you #doubterz and #haterz wrong, but instead I find myself writing this while my mum is screaming at me to come downstairs, and the only thing I've packed for this weekend away we're going on is gold eyeshadow.
Basically, I have no sense of urgency. Like, none. In fact, this is mum's favourite thing to tell me, after "You have no sense of direction". As I'm sure you can tell, she's a bundle of laughter and cuddles, constantly spouting out these little nuggets of joy,
Ah, sweet unconditional love.
So, unsurprisingly, I just lived up to my mum's incredibly low expectations and haven't thought about this post until today.*
*a week later
Well, technically, I thought about it but had no motivation to actually write it. Also, I had a little bit of a revelation. That sounds dramatic but basically it's just my cynical side making a brief appearance. What I realised, was that these posts may be really erratic and structure-less(?), but I would rather give you guys something to read that I am vaguely proud of, or I at least think is worth reading, once a month, than write a post every week that is brief and boring.*
*You know the ones, "Hey guys, hope you're all okay. I had an avocado and goat eyelash sourdough roll for lunch and it just made my skin feel beautiful and my soul feel refreshed. Stay inspired, L x'
Like, what?
This doesn't mean I'm going to post once a month, or that I'm never going to write short-and-sweet posts, but just that I see no point in forcing myself to write something just to make sure people don't think I've given up. I made a promise to myself that I wouldn't let this blog become another phase in my life but actually something that I can look at and use to reflect on my life.
Gosh, that sounds pretentious.
So while you're all pining for my Wonderful Words of Wisdom and obsessively refreshing the page in desperation, remember I'm still alive, still making horrible, embarrassing mistakes, and still wearing too much pink.*
*pffttt impossible
p.s. I made friends!
p.p.s. Okay, I found people I want to be friends with. You may think they're the same thing but there's a difference between being seen as someone's friend and being the girl no-one knows the name of but is always there.
p.p.p.s. In case you didn't get that, I'm the creepy lurker.
p.p.p.p.s. That makes me sound desperate bu- that's exactly what I am.
p.p.p.p.p.s. I take that back, I'm not desperate just not not desperate.
p.p.p.p.p.p.s That made so little sense I confused myself.
Basically, I have no sense of urgency. Like, none. In fact, this is mum's favourite thing to tell me, after "You have no sense of direction". As I'm sure you can tell, she's a bundle of laughter and cuddles, constantly spouting out these little nuggets of joy,
Ah, sweet unconditional love.
So, unsurprisingly, I just lived up to my mum's incredibly low expectations and haven't thought about this post until today.*
*a week later
Well, technically, I thought about it but had no motivation to actually write it. Also, I had a little bit of a revelation. That sounds dramatic but basically it's just my cynical side making a brief appearance. What I realised, was that these posts may be really erratic and structure-less(?), but I would rather give you guys something to read that I am vaguely proud of, or I at least think is worth reading, once a month, than write a post every week that is brief and boring.*
*You know the ones, "Hey guys, hope you're all okay. I had an avocado and goat eyelash sourdough roll for lunch and it just made my skin feel beautiful and my soul feel refreshed. Stay inspired, L x'
Like, what?
This doesn't mean I'm going to post once a month, or that I'm never going to write short-and-sweet posts, but just that I see no point in forcing myself to write something just to make sure people don't think I've given up. I made a promise to myself that I wouldn't let this blog become another phase in my life but actually something that I can look at and use to reflect on my life.
Gosh, that sounds pretentious.
So while you're all pining for my Wonderful Words of Wisdom and obsessively refreshing the page in desperation, remember I'm still alive, still making horrible, embarrassing mistakes, and still wearing too much pink.*
*pffttt impossible
p.s. I made friends!
p.p.s. Okay, I found people I want to be friends with. You may think they're the same thing but there's a difference between being seen as someone's friend and being the girl no-one knows the name of but is always there.
p.p.p.s. In case you didn't get that, I'm the creepy lurker.
p.p.p.p.s. That makes me sound desperate bu- that's exactly what I am.
p.p.p.p.p.s. I take that back, I'm not desperate just not not desperate.
p.p.p.p.p.p.s That made so little sense I confused myself.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)