Kids Believe In Santa; Adults Believe In Childhood

That Time We Apologised For Some Christmas Themed Stuff

What The Buzz: #DearSantaSorryFor

As is only appropriate, the Twittersphere has been awash with Christmas joy and yuletide woe.

In between fights over the Miss Universe pageant in which, somehow, Steve Harvey managed to get away with his huge error by tweeting an apology and all the contestants got flack for their behaviour following the monumental cock up orchestrated by the inimitable Steve Harvey.

(Just as an aside, I have nothing against Steve Harvey and have spent many hours laughing at his antics on Family Fortunes - the innuendos that man produces with his eyebrows alone are hysterical.)

In any event, I felt it was time to do something suitably festive and so the hashtag this week is #DearSantaSorryFor.

Which could only end in hilarity obviously.

Here are some of my favourites:

#DearSantaSorryFor my bad jokes...However, here's one of my better ones! pic.twitter.com/txlPxgrBqa

— Hacker T Dog (@CBBC_Hacker) December 22, 2015

(Dad jokes ftw!)

#DearSantaSorryFor NOTHING. I REGRET NOTHING. Bring on the coal. I don't even care. pic.twitter.com/6yd6WAnq24

— Lily Bailey (@LilyBaileyUK) December 22, 2015

#DearSantaSorryFor opening a present early.. I craved tea & our old kettle blew up!!😁..this is actually true ☕️ 🇬🇧👍🎄 pic.twitter.com/rHwratfgQO

— Si Cranstoun (@SiCranstoun) December 23, 2015

(The most British Brit to ever have Britted.)

#DearSantaSorryFor 2015. Yes...all of it.

— The Orctioneer (@Quirkative) December 22, 2015

#DearSantaSorryFor "That - uhh...thing..." pic.twitter.com/9264aRQOcp

— TrivWorks (@TrivWorks) December 22, 2015

(Someone gets it at least!)

And here's mine:

#DearSantaSorryFor making non-alcoholic mulled wine.  Sacrilege!

&&Fin.

Everything I Learned, I Learned From The Movies

That Time We Did Some Bad Summaries

What The Buzz: #ExplainAFilmPlotBadly

This week's trending topic is something of a mouthful and looks like my own brand of 'hashtags which shouldn't be a hashtag as they are way too long and cumbersome'.

(...Actually, come to think of it, that statement might apply to a lot of things in my life, not just hashtags. )

In any event, this hashtag caught my eye because a) I thought the contributions would be pretty hysterical and b) I took part in something very similar back in the old days when Livejournal was all the rage and communities on said Livejournal were alive and kicking.

This goat scarred many teenagers.

Getting off the subject (as usual), the tweets for this trending topic were amazing and here are some of my favourites:

#ExplainAFilmPlotBadly A jealous cowboy and a self-important astronaut must work together to escape a mass murderer. pic.twitter.com/E8DvgrDvkj

— Helen Kingston (@kingstonwrites) December 17, 2015

kid comes out of the closet #ExplainAFilmPlotBadly pic.twitter.com/XcjJvtzDaD

— Kira Mendenhall (@kira_mendenhall) December 16, 2015

#ExplainAFilmPlotBadly Ice Bucket Challenge gone horribly wrong. pic.twitter.com/U8R8LwXkJ3

— Kat (@KatGoneGamer) December 15, 2015

Girl learns she can get the guy as long as she fundamentally changes all her core values. #ExplainAFilmPlotBadly pic.twitter.com/BmpX1yMeHa

— . (@IamJackieMc) December 14, 2015

Him: I love you Her: new phone who dis? #ExplainAFilmPlotBadly pic.twitter.com/o2rTXDxtvk

— Southern Post Grad (@southern_grad) December 14, 2015

American invades foreign land, kills local leadership, struggles to find exit strategy. #ExplainAFilmPlotBadly pic.twitter.com/V0GgGUIq9Z

— Round John Virgin (@JAMyerson) December 14, 2015

I love sarcastic little quips like this so here are a few of my recycled ones from Livejournal (RIP).

- "Humans make robots. Robots kill humans. Humans kill robots. Humans kill humans. Robots kill robots. Somewhere along the way everyone forgets who the good guys are."

- "A quirky, English-sounding bloke takes people in his blue box to places that look an awful lot like quarries in Wales."

- "A billionaire playboy on the wrong side of middle age somehow builds a highly powered suit in a cave and then proceeds to annoy the US military by blowing things (and people) up." 

- "Billionaire is running on batteries of his own design and realises that the thing keeping him alive is also killing him. Irony, thy name is Iron Man."

- "Kids that are considered ‘freaks’ go to a special school where they learn about the fashion faux pas that is black, skin tight leather." 

If you fancy a giggle check the hashtag for more brilliant examples :D

&&Fin.

We Hear What We Want To Hear

That Time I Was Dissed By A Pre-Teen

It's that time of year, dear readers.

People wear hideous jumpers 'ironically', Starbucks' red cups litter the ground and the smell of donkey poop is in the air.

It must be Christmas.

I'm onto you, Donkey Face.

Don't be fooled by my flippant comments about Christmas, dear readers; I love it. 

From the music to the food to the drinks to the board games to the smell of cloves in EVERYTHING. 

I seriously love Christmas and can usually be found curled up in a corner making snowflakes or brightly coloured paper chains. 

Given my love of Christmas (and my family) it seemed only fitting that my sister and I join our dear mother at her school's Christmas fete. 

Nothing like this.  In case you were wondering.

Among the home made games stalls, tombola and bric-a-brac stalls there was a glorious tea, bacon sandwich and cake stand. 

It was here that we found refuge from the bitter winds and sat down for a cuppa. 

As my mother works at the school, lots of children would say hello or chat to her and, as a former small human myself, I have a fondness for the cute little snotballs. 

And so it was that I found myself talking to one such small human that we shall call Freddy.  Freddy was a friendly, if slightly shy, boy and so when I engaged him in conversation I was rather proud of myself as it seemed that he had opened up to me.

As the Christmas carols filtered across the playground and the welcoming scent of bacon hung in the cold December air, Freddy and I bonded.  

Until our conversation went as follows:-

Me: So Freddy, how old do you think I am? Because Mrs J is my Mum. 

Freddy: Err..I don't know. ...22?

Me: Well, that's very close Freddy! I'm actually 25 so that was a very good guess indeed. 

Freddy: ....I said 32.

Me: Oh. 

I'll just be over here...tears falling down my 32(!!) year old looking face.

So yeah...turns out I'm not all that fond of snotballs after all. 

Sorry Mum, add another few years onto the waiting list for grandchildren.

&&Fin.

Art Is the Lie That Enables Us To Realise The Truth

That Time We Discussed Modern Art

What The Buzz: #TurnerPrize

So....art.

I am notoriously bad at this.

Which only serves to frustrate me more as I don't understand how anyone can be 'bad' at art as surely it's entirely subjective?

And therein lies my problem; I am overly analytical about how I should even be viewing various art.

And already the complications begin.

Me wandering around the National Gallery and rocking an awesome pixie/bowl cut.

In any event, a trending topic on Twitter this week was the Turner Prize which was (SPOILER ALERT!)  awarded this evening to a group called 'Assemble'.

The Turner Prize (for those, like me, that had no clue) is an annual prize awarded to a British visual artist aged under 50. The award started in 1984 and represents all forms of media.  The prize is often surrounded by controversy including celebrity guests swearing (tut tut Madonna) and criticism of a piece which involved preserving a shark in formaldehyde, 

I wasn't joking about that.

So this year's short list was as follows:

Bonnie Camplin - who created a supernatural study center which showed interviews with people claiming to have had paranormal experiences/meetings.

Janice Kerbel - with an avant-garde, acapella 24-minute opera about a fictional character named Doug.

Nicole Wermers - whose installation of 10 dining chairs with fur coats sewn on to the back was nominated to win the prize.

and eventual winners:

Assemble - with a regeneration scheme for derelict houses in Liverpool.

Hard at work - 'Assemble' - assemble! ...just doesn't have the same ring to it, does it?

Assemble winning the prize has been met with some controversy as some critics are arguing that the entry should not be eligible as it is not modern art. Author and broadcaster, Muriel Grey said that whilst the entry was 'socially responsible' and a 'beautiful piece of architecture' it was not modern art in her opinion.

And yet, overwhelmingly, it would seem, the Twitter sphere has got behind Assemble and has praised the judges for awarding the prize accordingly. 

hugely excited about Assemble winning #TurnerPrize, a move away from artist narcissism and a good day for art+design+archt+social projects

— ₥ Plummer-Fernandez (@M_PF) December 7, 2015

Many congrats to Assemble on their #TurnerPrize win! Back in 2014 we gave them an Icon Award https://t.co/WGFZiI5PrL pic.twitter.com/xsXo7NCR94

— Icon magazine (@iconeye) December 7, 2015

#TurnerPrize #assemble truly changing minds & society. That's what art should do. Well done.

— Dr Yathish Rangappa (@YathishRangappa) December 7, 2015

Here's hoping #Assemble nail the #TurnerPrize. It needs a shakeup. A controversial yet accessible & inclusive winner would be most welcome!

— Mark McClure (@markmcclureart) December 7, 2015

Personally, I like that Assemble won the Prize.  As much as I don't know much about modern art (and have never purported to, I might add!) I like the message behind the art.  I like that it has involved so many people and has made a bigger and lasting difference than just an exhibit for a few days.

I like the thinking behind the art and the fact that people went out and made it happen and that it was a positive message being spread.  

But, what would I know? I thought Banksy was a restaurant in London for months.

&&Fin.

Everything Has Beauty But Not Everyone Sees It

That Time We Tried To Do A Beauty Blog Post

(Just as a really quick note - I have now signed up to Blog Lovin' and a big shout out to anyone that has stumbled across this blog from that site.)

Apologies, dear readers, that I have once again missed out on a What The Buzz Monday blog post.

There are no excuses (except that there are) but I have been incredibly busy this week - with Law School exams, a huge merger at work with a national law firm and trying to squeeze in all my family and friend obligations too (obligations sounds like it's a chore and, let me assure you, it really, really isn't).

But, alas, being busy is no excuse for laziness so my sincere apologies for missing out another scheduled post.

To make it up to you, I thought I would post something of a beauty recommendation post.  Something I have yet to do on this Blog or, indeed, at all.

As this is my first time, I ask only that you please be gentle.

So here are my top 5 beauty recommendations for December:

1. Tangle Teezer

When I bought this product, the shop assistant at Boots told me that it 'would change my life'. I laughed at her at the time.

But, oh, how right she was. 

This brush/comb is incredible. The soft bristles untangle your hair with minimal pain and reduce the amount of broken hair you may get by running an ordinary brush through.  I have reasonably long hair and it is always ridiculously knotty.  I can untangle all the knots and within 5 minutes, I am tangled up again.

It's honestly a nightmare. 

So this brush/comb was something of a last resort and friends of mine had been praising it.  I hadn't pinned too much hope on it to be honest but holy moly, it was like my knots were being untangled by cherubs breathing their angel breath on me. 

A serious must have for anyone who dreads dragging their brush through their hair after a windy, wintry day out and about. 

2. Forever Living - Fleur de Jouvence

I am completely addicted to the Forever Living range at the moment.

It is a bit of a fad that seems to have taken off in a huge way - aloe vera solves everything.  Apparently. 

But, actually, it does!

I have been drinking the berry nectar gel, using the products in the picture above and have also been using the shampoo and conditioner so it has been aloe vera overkill in my house at the moment. 

Having used the products for a few months, I have really noticed the difference in the condition of my hair and especially in my skin.  I suffer from fairly regular breakouts of mild-moderate acne and, whilst it is never awful, it is not the greatest thing in the world and, as any acne sufferer will know, it can leave you feeling really self-conscious. 

Since using the aloe vera products I have noticed a huge improvement and very rarely have an outbreak at all and the odd occasion that I do, it is very small and not painful. 

Which, let me assure you, is nothing short of a miracle.

The night creme is especially good and all the products smell incredible.  I should give out a quick warning for the face mask though.  It is really good but be prepared for your entire face to freeze! The mask dries so solidly that you will not be able to move a muscle.  But your face feels so baby smooth once you wash it all off.

This.  But hopefully less bald.

Cannot. Recommend. Enough.

3. Dr.Ceuticals Super Repair Hand Cream

I used to be an avid nail biter and I would nibble away at my nails and fingers until they were tiny little stubs that were bleeding and just horrible.

It was a real problem.

Every year would come and go and my New Year's Resolution would not change: do not bite my nails.

I was able to finally break the habit late in 2014 and have never looked back.

One of the things that really helped was applying loads of hand cream. Constantly. 

So, whenever I come up to stressful periods of my life, I try and invest in a new tube of hand cream to apply it as liberally as possible and avoid returning to bad habits, 

Luckily, I have the loveliest friends and got sent Dr.Ceuticals hand cream in the post as a gift from the beautiful and generous Stephanie.  This hand cream is Awesome.  Capital A.

The consistency is pretty thick but it absorbs so quickly and is also non-greasy.  The smell is really subtle and you don't need much at all. 

The above photo also leads me nicely into the next product...

4. Gel nails

...it's an addiction.

But I love it!

Like I said above, not biting my nails was a major thing for me so when I finally did, I treated myself to a few professional manicures and I now love having all sorts of crazy designs applied to my nails.

I like to go for gel polish as it doesn't chip and lasts for 2-3 weeks on me before it starts to look ridiculous with the nail growing out.  Plus it is super shiny!

I am lucky ion that the polish doesn't seem to damage my nails but I do tend to leave the nails for a few weeks bare in between applications to give them a chance to breathe. 

Looking forward to getting more crazy designs in the new year as I currently have red sparkly on (as per section 3 photo) for Christmas and it's a bit more muted than I normally go. 

Will keep you updated with my latest crazy designs! :)

5. Max Factor Skin Luminizer

This stuff is seriously amazing. 

I am super pale with loads of freckles so it is normally a nightmare to try and match a foundation or concealer to my skin without looking like I have caked myself in some form of blancmange and/or polyfiller. 

But this blends into your natural skin tone and gives you a real soft, dewy look without that heavy, made up feeling.  Plus, because it is a good product, you only need a tiny bit to cover the whole face. 

Which is perfect for me because I am a total cheapskate and hate wasting money on products to use the whole thing in a couple of weeks.

Really love this at the moment as I can throw it on in the mornings and trust that it will do the job. 

So those are my 5 top beauty picks for December which was actually a lot harder than I thought so props to the beauty bloggers that do this all the time. 

If any of you dear readers have any winter beauty tips that warm the cockles of your hearts, leave a comment and let me know. 

For now though, remember that if it makes you feel good - go for it! Beauty is only skin deep after all.

&& Fin.

Today There Is No Black Or White; Only Shades Of Grey

That Time We Talked Money and People

What The Buzz: #BlackFridayIn3Words

This week's trending topic is all about the mythical and legendary beast that is Black Friday.

As many of you will know, Black Friday is the first Friday after Thanksgiving where American retailers go mental and slash their prices for one day only. This is fantastic for some that manage to snag a deal but seems to come at a high price of others.

As an English person, I don't really understand the whole concept but I do understand that this has now made it's way across The Pond (aka The Atlantic) as we all knew it inevitably would.

After all, the UK sometimes acts like America's annoying little brother that wants to do everything his older brother does but doesn't quite hit the mark.

This guy knows what's up.

In any event, Black Friday has arrived in the British Isles and I have a slight problem with the whole premise. 

Firstly, Black Friday is supposed to be the day after Thanksgiving which, despite stealing everything else from the US, we haven't inherited this one.  So why do we have the day that comes after it? 

This makes no sense to me.

Plus, people have actually DIED because of Black Friday.  Either being tramped by the hordes of frenzied shoppers or falling asleep at the wheels of their cars after waiting in line over night for the shops to open. 

Why would we want to encourage that in the UK? 

The mind boggles. 

Arguably the day brings a lot of money in the UK economy with people spending money they perhaps wouldn't otherwise because of the deals.  But does that really warrant the chaos it causes? I distinctly remember last year doing some early Christmas shopping on Amazon and completely forgot it was Black Friday.  As such Amazon pretty much crashed in the middle of my purchase and told me I was in a queue. 

To go shopping online.

What?!

I go shopping online to get AWAY from the ridiculous queues. 

No, no Amazon...you take your time.  I'll just wait.

It seems as though my disdain was shared on Twitter.

Describing Black Friday in 3 words seemed to become very popular very quickly on Twitter.  And along with myself, and the makers of South Park, there were some others that shared our sentiment for the day.

#BlackFridayIn3Words Staying at home!

— Majlinda (@MK8848) November 23, 2015

#BlackFridayIn3Words World War Three

— Wendy :)x (@wendy_mendoza1D) November 23, 2015

No real bargains #BlackFridayIn3Words

— Double Yolker (@timforheroes) November 23, 2015

#BlackFridayIn3Words "The Walking Dead" pic.twitter.com/trj9Np23xg

— Highzenbrg (@Highzenbrg) November 23, 2015

BRACK FRIDAY BUNDURU! #BlackFridayIn3Words pic.twitter.com/WGAlq5VG2q

— mnmtwinz (@mnmtwinz) November 23, 2015

But for those of you that are going shopping on Black Friday, have fun and most importantly stay safe.

And, seriously, stay away from Amazon.  Or there will be hell to pay.

&&Fin.

Always Focus On The Front Wind Shield And Not The Rear View Mirror

That Time I Pretended To Be A Proper Adult And Changed The Oil In The Glorious Accord

Notice there is no 'tried' in that title, dear readers.

I am an actual, certified grown up and have changed the oil in my car.

...This was no mean feat however.

The adventure started when I casually informed my Father that my oil light kept flashing on when I went round corners.  The slightly horrified look he gave me should have signified that this was of more importance than I had perhaps assigned it previously.

Fatherama: So when does this big, red warning light come on?
Amy: Err (sheepish) ... when I go round corners, sometimes on hills, if I brake sharply...(trails off)
Fatherama: *Heavy breathing*
Amy: Heh.
Fatherama: And just how long has this light been coming on?
Amy: About a week ... or three.
Fatherama: AMY!! 

Fatherama quickly informed me that if the red warning light for oil flashes on in your car you should pull into a garage sharp-ish and get that shizzle sorted as a major priority.

Which, in Amy language, meant I had another week or so to get it sorted.

In any event (and an unspecified amount of time later), I eventually stopped off at a Tesco petrol station to buy some more oil.  This was not as difficult as I had feared it might be as I just grabbed a big bottle of motor oil which stated it was suitable for 'old engines'.

Perfect!

The Honda is a bit of a relic so anything which says it's suitable for OAPs is ace in my book.  Last thing we want is to pour some new-fangled gunk into the abused and already suffering engine.

Once that was all paid for and the tank was full (all my money gets spent on the hungry Honda sob), I pulled into the Tesco car park and popped the bonnet on my car with little to no misadventure (might have burned my .

However, this is when the trouble started.

First, it was pitch black and I was unsure where, exactly, the oil cap was located.  Then, when I spotted a big cap marked 'OIL', I started to second-guess my car mechanic skills.

Was this for the engine oil that I needed to re-fill or was this some other secret oil that I had no idea about?

My car is a pretty mischievous beast at the best of times and it would be typical that it would have multiple oil orifices just to trip me up.

I wasn't taking any chances.

So I called my Mum.

After asking me if there was a nice bloke about that could help me (! It's 2015, mother!), she advised that the oil cap I had located would be the correct one.

Thanking her for her input I, rather mistakenly in hindsight, believed that was my trial over.

It was then that I discovered my true challenge was only just beginning.

I could not, for love nor money, remove the flipping oil cap.

Oh, Honda, you test my patience!

Problem? NOPE. NOT HERE. vjnigjbgoigbnsmgn

After several attempts, and I'm sure I could hear some laughter from the minivan parked behind me, I gave up and drove home.

Thus ended day 1 of the War on Oil.

Day 2 was not much better.

In the morning I, once again, popped the bonnet and this time, I was determined to see this thing through. If not for me, then for the suffering Honda chariot.

Bonnet popped.  Oil cap...off!

Huzzah! Managed to pry the bloody thing off.

Now to just pour the oil into the engine....can't open the bottle of oil.

Friday morning. 7.30am. ...sorry neighbours. 

I had to break the seal of the cap using my thumb nail.

Thank God for base coat nail polish, dear readers.

Once I had wrestled the cap off the bottle, I then proceeded to pour the. Entire. Carton. In my engine.

It was only later that I realised I was supposed to use the dipstick to check the oil levels and make sure I poured the right amount in.

I felt like such a ... well ... let's avoid the obvious insult.

So yes, tried to be a real grown up and failed epically.  I am no longer allowed to try and do anything to maintain, fix or otherwise improve my car with the exception of filling it up with petrol.

...or was it diesel?

&&Fin.

If Music Be The Food Of Love, Play On

That Time We Listened to Some Tunes

What The Buzz: #MusicMonday

Music to me is a big deal.

It forms a large part of my day - from listening to music whilst I get dressed, singing on my commute in to work, humming at the office and then doing the reverse at the other end of the day.

I, for one, am all for having a soundtrack to a life.

So the twitter trend #MusicMonday was an obvious choice for this blogpost.

Silent Discos are ftw tbh, lol. (#relivingstudentdays)

I think music is a very powerful thing as it can make you feel a whole range of emotions in about 3 minutes, recall a memory from years ago or change the atmosphere of a room almost instantly.  There are songs that can almost immediately bring me to tears and there are others that can bring a smile to my face just as quickly.

I'm also one for new music.  I love hearing a song for the first time and becoming completely addicted to it.  And that's not just 'current' music.  My Dad used to do this weekly thing when I was at Uni which we labelled my 'music education' in which he would send me two or three songs I hadn't heard before but that were relatively old.  Plus I got to go to Reading Festival this year and listened to so many new artists that I had never heard of before.  The atmosphere definitely made it but the music was all incredible.

See you there, readers?

So I thought I would take this opportunity to post some of my new favourite songs that I can't help but love.  

(Plus it got to like 9.45 on Monday evening and I realised I hadn't done my What The Buzz post yet.  ...total professional over here, guys.)

Here we go, in no particular order (just keep Olly Murs away from this):

1. Pvris - Holy

This is a band that I didn't get the chance to see live at Reading but one of the girls I went with (hello Sophie!) said I should check them out when I got home.  I didn't think too much of it at the time and ended up listening to a Reading Festival playlist on the drive home (unwilling to end the weekend!) and heard this song.

When I looked up who it was, my suspicions were confirmed: Sophie was indeed a music maestro and should be trusted from here on out with all musical recommendations.

I think part of my love for this track may come from the Disney references but it is very catchy and the lyrics are at odds with the upbeat tempo which I really like.

Definitely one for belting out in the car.


2. The Other Tribe - Skirts



I heard this way back in 2012 when I was working at Sweaty Betty and my assistant manager's boyfriend had produced (? or something...I forget what it was in the end) this song.  When I first heard the song I thought it was the perfect summer tune and it takes me back to my uni days when things were easy and the only planning we did was whether we would be going out on Wednesday and Friday or save our pennies and just go super hard on Saturday.

When this song comes on I think of dancing around my tiny room with a glass of the cheapest rose wine I could find in Tesco, trying desperately to draw a straight(ish) cat eye with my liquid liner.

Ah, good times.

3. Sarah McLachlan - River



Okay, so this is a lot more mellow than the other entries so far.

But I love this song.

Seriously.

I don't know what it is.  I kind of like melancholy songs anyway and the lyrics came at a really poignant time for me.  Plus I have a thing for Christmas music so this is just ticking all the boxes.

The piano in this song is so elegant and the song doesn't rely on much more than the melody and the lovely tone of McLachlan's voice.

If you ever need a Christmas cry, this is the song for you.


4. Conchita Wurst - Rise Like A Phoenix



THIS. SONG.

If this comes on in the car, I almost lose my voice because I am singing with such gusto.

This feels like a James Bond theme with a sassy edge which I love.  This is a song with attitude and I Love it.  Capital 'L'.

For a Eurovision song entry I really think this was underrated in the charts.  I was so glad when the song won because I felt that it really did deserve more recognition.  (Also see The Common Linnets - Calm After The Storm.  Another epic Eurovision entry from 2014.)

Seriously, if you are not singing/shouting this by the end of the last verse and if you are not slightly out of breath then you have listened to it wrong.

Try again.

5. Uh Huh Her - Dreamer



This song played on an episode of Smallville (8x15 - Infamous for those that are interested).  It was a pretty sad scene in which we thought Lois and Clark were finally going to do something about all those feelings they were not-so-secretly harbouring for one another but then the writers (darn you, PTB!) let us down at the last minute.

It is one of those songs that was so perfect for the scene that it has stuck in my head ever since.

In other circumstances, I am not sure that I would have been so obsessed with it but at the time it was so wrapped up in the emotion of that particular scene and it felt so powerful.

I am a super fan of soundtracks/scores that are done well.

And so this song makes the list.


The above are just a few of the more random songs that have been stuck in my head either very recently or for quite some time.  There are, obviously, hundreds of others but most of those are Disney and people tend to glaze over when I start discussing Disney.

One of these faces or a combination of all three normally.

But hopefully you have been introduced to a couple of new artists or songs and if you like them then that is fantastic.  If not; no worries - everyone is different! (But you are wrong about Conchita Wurst. Seriously.)

Leave a comment with a song stuck in your head at the moment or any comments on the songs in this list.

For now, that is #MusicMonday and now, I'm off to listen to some more of my Reading Festival playlist.

Really though...2016? Yeah?

&&Fin.

There Is No Path To Peace; Peace Is The Path

&&Fin.

How Did It Get So Late So Soon?

That Time I Was Rubbish At Posting On Time (The First, But I Expect Not The Last)

Dear readers, I do apologise for missing the Monday What The Buzz post.

This week has been crazy.

As per my previous post, I was at Law school over the weekend which in and of itself is normally rather draining but this week was gruelling for a whole new and entirely foul reason.

So when Monday rolled around, the last thing on my mind was posting to the Blog.

And I do apologise as there were plenty of good hashtags to choose from.

But let me run through the rest of the week for comparison:

Tuesday: Off to my parents to cook dinner

Every week (read as: 'most weeks when I remember') I visit my parents and my younger sister and do some 'experimental' cooking by trying out a brand new recipe from the BBC website.

So far it has been quite successful with different menus including a home made curry with raita and onion bhajis or the sticky bbq chicken or even the most recent sausage and bacon rustic hotpot.  As my younger sister is a vegetarian this can sometimes be a bit of a challenge as it requires making two separate meals.  But in general I really enjoy it and it gives me an excuse to go round and visit and not feel like a free-loader.

Or not.  As the case may be.

Wednesday: Out for dinner with a friend

I went out for dinner with a friend in the evening which I have been looking forward to immensely.  Unfortunately, we are both very busy and also have the tendency of cancelling on one another either due to illness or just because we are super busy and life gets in the way.  But she is one of the few people in my life that knows time will be made eventually and that we are both grown ups with busy lives. 

It was a lovely evening and, even though one of our topics of conversation was probably a little unusual, it was great to catch up and be able to talk about things candidly. 

But it meant that I was out for the whole evening and didn't get home until nearly 11. 

Thursday: Mum and Dad's Wedding Anniversary

As it was my Mum and Dad's 32nd (32nd!!) wedding anniversary, my sister and I bought flowers and treated them both to a takeaway for dinner. 

The whole evening was great as I love spending time with ma famille.  And after dinner we played a new board game (new for us at least) - Betrayal at House on the Hill.

Ooooh, the spooks!

My family has a 'thing' about board games and card games.  So we were all looking forward to trying out this new co-operative game.

Or were we...?

The game is cooperative to begin with but then somebody becomes a traitor.  Ooooh.  The intrigue. 

It's a really good game but I think it will be more enjoyable the second time round when we already understand some of the rules as much of the evening consisted of me flicking rapidly through the rule book and getting flustered when I couldn't answer various questions about die rolls and coal chutes. 

(Don't ask.)

Friday: Alex B's last day in the office (aka the last day of term)

Today was a work colleague's (a friend's) last day in the office.  It was a pretty emosh day but it was hard to take anything too seriously as it was also Children in Need and we were all in fancy dress as heroes and villains. 

I was dressed as Bat Girl.

"Yes, I take your personal injury claim very seriously, Mr Bloggs..."

So nothing I said was really going to come across that seriously.

After many larks in the office and pretty much getting no work done (sorry, boss!) we all headed to the pub for a few farewell drinkies.  I was supposed to be out until the wee hours of the morning but, as you can see, I made it home fairly early.  

And therefore had the chance to write this beautiful catch up post for you, dear readers. 

And there you have it; my week in a very brief nutshell. 

Insert clever pun here.

It's been busy but good (in some ways - in others not so much but let us not dwell).  

So I hope you forgive me for not posting the scheduled What The Buzz post this week.  This post is really just one long excuse and I really hate that but I genuinely have been super busy.

Please stay tuned for your regular scheduled programmes and I will endeavour to get my life together by next Monday. 

&&Fin.

PS. I have been watching Twitch a lot recently and one streamer in particular 'IamslowLoris' has been playing Dark Souls and his commentary is actually really funny plus the chat is very friendly.  If you have five minutes and like Dark Souls, I would recommend you check out his streams - 8pm on the weekdays. Peace!

Be Careful When You Cast Out Demons That You Don't Throw Away The Best of Yourself

That Time A Demon Tried to Crawl Out From Inside of Me

Eurgh.

I am suffering with a case of mild food poisoning, dear readers.

This is what you get for ordering an Indian takeaway from Just Eat in the middle of Leicester city centre.

It honestly feels like some evil creature is trying to escape - rather forcefully - from my poor, broken body.

This.  Right Here. #perfect

I was at Law School this weekend and had to suffer through all of Sunday with my stomach making suspicious gurgling noises and sharp pains in my side.  This did not make it easy to focus on my revision lectures (on a side note exams are now less than a month away - don't know how that happened!).

Instead of listening to what was, undoubtedly, fantastic exam advice from my knowledgeable and patient tutors, I was exercising all of my brain and will power to prevent any explosive incidences in the back of the classroom.  My stomach actually aches from all the clenching.

I made it through 5 hours of lectures and that was no mean feat, let me tell you.

...I then had a three hour drive home.

This was somewhat harder as the gaseous build up had been so intense that my stomach was now painfully bloated.  Each and every bump in the road brought me one step closer to disgracing myself.

There comes a point, dear readers, in every adult's life in which they have to admit that they are unsure whether the pressure they next feel in their nether regions is purely gas in formation or whether there may be more substance than first indicated.  It becomes a personal choice as to whether the risk is taken but I was less than 50% sure that I knew the answer and did not want to risk ruining my beloved jeans and/or driver's seat.

Besides, we all know the phrase 'farts are a bit like love...if you have to force it, then it is probably shit'.

See?!

...no? Just me? Ah.  Moving swiftly on then!

You may be relieved to hear that I did not have any embarrassing incidences on the journey home.

But my house mate did give me a somewhat strange look when I arrived home only to barrel past her throwing 'hi, talk later, bai' over my shoulder before holing myself up in the bathroom for the better part of 20 minutes.

Sweet, sweet relief.

This has been part of the Firstflier: TMI series.

You. Are. Welcome.

&&Fin.

If You Can Dream It, You Can Do It

That Time We Discussed Real World Change

What The Buzz: #DoItDay

So Monday afternoon rolled around once more and I found myself chewing absently on the nib of my pen, unbeknownst to me, ink smearing across my lips, and I suddenly realised that I had not looked into the trending topics of the week.

My bad, readers.

But, fortunately for us, I stumbled across the hashtag #DoItDay.  This intrigued me (mainly because the others were Star Trek, Remi Garde and School of Christmas.  Not that I have anything against Star Trek but I don't feel I know enough to do the fandom justice, I have no idea whether Remi Garde is a person or a delicious pastry and finally, I refuse to discuss the glorious festivity that is Christmas until the first week of December.  I mean really.)

So what is #DoItDay?

Do It Day - missed a trick by not using Shia LaBeouf tbh.

My internet research informs me that this is a day organised by The Drum.  I have tried to look into exactly what it is that The Drum does but the correct definition has proved frustratingly elusive.  The closest thing I could come up with was 'media branding'.  The Drum deals in marketing, media and advertising if their website is to be believed but it appears to have its fingers in many other pies.  There are articles, an awards ceremony, various insights into the marketing industry and, what we are looking at, the Do It Day.

This is not the first day that they have organised, previously came the Plan It Day (title seems somewhat self-explanatory).  The Do It Day brought together a plethora of global businesses in order to implement global change and show that changes for good can really happen in one day through the power of social media and marketing.  The activities were planned on the afore-mentioned Plan It Day and the results were posted on social media all day.

One of the most successful campaigns of the day was planting 10,000 trees which was a challenge set by Dennis Publishing.  The deal was, every time someone posted a picture of a tree or what a tree meant to them via email or tweet, a real tree was planted in the Heart of England forest.  An incredible challenge made even more amazing when you discover that they pulled it off.  Thanks to over 200 volunteers, this brief was filled and 10,000 new trees were planted on Monday 2nd November 2015.  This is an incredible accomplishment and something that The Drum and the other Partnered companies should be proud of.

This hashtag is also something that personally intrigues me as part of Team Socially-M which deals with social media for businesses.  Perhaps next year Team Socially-M will be involved in such a fantastic day.  Watch this space I guess!

I think the Do It Day is a great project and seems to have brought lots of big brands and companies together to be the change for 24 hours.  The organisation and the planning behind the challenges doesn't bear thinking about and the amount of volunteers that got involved definitely restores my faith in humanity.

And after a rather hellish Monday in the office, it's always nice to be reminded of the good in the world.

If you get a chance, check out more of the Do It Day challenges here and let me know in the comments which brief is your favourite.

Until next time, dear readers!

&&Fin.

He Immediately Arose, Purred Loudly, Rubbed Against My Hand, And Appeared Delighted With My Notice

That Time We Celebrated Cats

What The Buzz: #BlackCatDay

Firstly, I must apologise for the late posting of this What The Buzz article but I have been muchos busy over the last few weeks with London Comic Con, moving house and other personal errands.  Moving house has proven to be something of an interruption for my social media as I have not reconnected my computer as yet!  So this blog post is a little late, but as they say, better late than never.

Amongst the other more pedestrian twitter trends this week I came across a little gem that was very close to my heart. On Tuesday 27th October 2015, it was Black Cat Day in the UK. 

This is a day promoted by the Cats Protection League (http://www.cats.org.uk/black-cats) and got trending on Twitter very quickly with people more than willing to share their pictures of their adorable moggies.

There has been lots of research into black cats and, in particular, their adoption rates.  It has long been noticed that black cats tend to take up to a third longer to adopt than more colourful kittens in rescue centres.  This to me seems completely bizarre as I have always adopted cats on the basis of their personalities/characters and not on what colour fur they have but clearly it is a trend for other adopters.

Whilst researching for this blog post, I came across some interesting superstitions and myths surrounding black cats.  Most people are aware of the superstition that a black cat crossing your path is bad luck but this tends to be a Continental superstition that has grown in popularity in the UK.  Historically, in Britain, a black cat has always signified luck and in fact many ships had black cats as pets in order to have good luck on the high seas.

Modern culture seems to have developed the idea that black cats are unlucky or the familiars of witches and that could potentially explain the lower adoption rates of these moggies.  But, as Groucho Marx once said, 'A black cat crossing your path signifies that the animal is going somewhere'.  Insightful as ever.

This hashtag was very poignant for me as my family currently have two cats in our family (one of which is black and was a rescue cat - a little bit damaged but lovely) but up until two weeks ago there was a third.

Toby channelling his inner 'Toothless'

We recently had to say goodbye to our third moggy, Harry, as he had developed untreatable stomach cancer.  So it was, with heavy hearts and very damp eyes, we sent him to sleep.  Harry was only 6 and was the soppiest cat I have ever known - he would cuddle up with you whenever you sat down and wherever you were.  If you were in the house - he would find you! And there was no way you could say no to a Harry cuddle. 

Harry - such a tart

Definitely big on the cuddles

He would roll upside down and let you rub his spotty belly and just generally love being loved.  He was a very unconditional cat and loved everyone.  There was a special bond between Harry and I in particular which I attribute to me being his sole human for a few weeks when he was a kitten as the rest of the family were away on various holidays.  I don't know why but that seemed to have bonded us for life (however short that may have been).

I was serious about not saying no the a Harry cuddle.  Even if you were only sat down for 5 minutes.

So this blog post is especially important to me to say how much I appreciate my two other cats (Maggie and Toby) and also as a huge shout out to Harry who is still loved, still missed and still very dear.

#AllCatsAppreciationDay

&&Fin.

The Worst Thing A Kid Can Say About A Game Is That It's Too Easy

That Time We Discussed Video Games

What The Buzz: Life is Strange

'Life is Strange' is an episodic graphic adventure game developed by DontNod Entertainment and published by Square Enix.

The final episode (#5) is out tomorrow and has been highly anticipated throughout the gaming community.  I have watched several Let's Plays of this game and it is truly beautiful.  The graphics are fantastic and the actual plot of the story is amazingly gripping.  The dialogue is somewhat awkward in places and I don't know which teenagers they based it off but the flow of the game doesn't suffer too much for it.

The game focuses on the main character - Max Caulfield - a photography student at the local college in Arcadia Bay who quickly discovers that she is able to rewind time.  Some strange weather anomalies start occurring and Max foresees a huge tornado ripping through Arcadia Bay.  This together with disappearing girls, a suicidal student and reconnecting with an old friend form the basis of the game.  Max has lots of difficult decisions to make throughout and you normally have a handy 'do-over' button if you decide you don't like the outcome.

But, as Max learns only too well, sometimes you cannot change the course of fate...

The game is full of intrigue and twists enough to keep the player interested but the second episode is a little slow and sometimes the development feels too sluggish as you need to replay certain aspects of the game repeatedly in order to get the information required to progress.  But the graphics are good, the characters are interesting and the voice acting is great (and that is no mean feat given some of the dialogue).  I don't want to spoil too much of the game so I won't go into any more detail about the plot.

This is definitely a game that I would recommend people should play as watching other people can be ridiculously frustrating when you don't agree with their decisions or they miss big clues (Pewdiepie I am looking at you!!) but it runs almost like a film in some places and it really is immersive.

When I have finally moved into my new house and have my gaming PC set up again (sweet baby Jesus I cannot wait!) I will be buying a copy of the game and having a play through of my own - which will be posted on the J Squared YouTube (just fyi).  Hopefully you will tune in for that and no doubt provide lots of advice and criticisms on my poor decision making!

In the meantime, I hope you join me in watching and supporting other gamers playing this amazing game after the final episode is released tomorrow (20th October 2015).

Oh, and also have a #fantasticMonday.

&&Fin.

If I Create From The Heart, Nearly Everything Works

That Time We Uploaded Our First Video

So.  Yeah.

That just happened.

Our first video has now been uploaded to the great wide interwebz via YouTube.

You can view it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hcx7AWdxSM and we decided to do the Sister Tag in order to introduce ourselves.

It's a bit long and the quality is poor but yay! I'm so excited!!

Once I have moved house and have my gaming computer set up, I will be recording some game plays so hopefully they will be fun.  But in the meantime, we will be filming some of Comic Con and that will be up in the next few weeks.

If any of you do watch, please leave a comment and if you have any suggestions please let us know :D

Be there and be squared!

Peace.

&&Fin.

We Do Not Seize Happiness But, Rather, It Seizes Us

That Time We Discussed What Happiness Means

What The Buzz: #MakeMondayBetterin3Words

Monday.  Potentially the most dreaded day of the week.

Unless of course you work in retail and have been slogging over the 'traditional weekend' until your day off.

But for the majority of us Monday is the worst day of the week.

The weekend is over, back to work or school, and it generally marks the passing of another week.  Ah, one step closer to the sweet release of death...

Ahem.

Since people are generally so miserable (on any day ending in 'y' really) it makes me happy that Twitter has such a positive trending topic.  It got me thinking about what happiness means to different people.  And I realised that mine is really very simple.

Happiness to me is very easy to come by.  I am a naturally happy person with happy people in my life, in a good job, am able to enjoy many (too many) hobbies and am really very privileged.  I know this and this is nothing new to me but it is worth reminding ourselves every now and then just how lucky we are to live the lives that we do.

Most people will have something in their lives to be happy about, something that makes their day a little bit easier and that should be celebrated.

So huzzah! Well done Twitter for reminding us that sometimes we really only need 3 words to make it seem that little bit brighter.

Here are a few of my favourites;

Netflix and chill #MakeMondayBetterIn3Words

— IYYASSS (@DN_Fckg_Care) October 12, 2015

#MakeMondayBetterIn3Words "order chinese food"

— alvira❁ (@motherdelhi) October 12, 2015

Joffrey's still dead. #MakeMondayBetterIn3Words

— Daenerys Targaryen (@Daenerys) October 12, 2015

#MakeMondayBetterIn3Words Someone Loves You

— Trevor Donovan (@TrevDon) October 12, 2015

Choose happiness today #MakeMondayBetterIn3Words pic.twitter.com/jQ3FwmJ3lO

— Theresa Caputo (@Theresacaputo) October 12, 2015

Or my Mother's addition when I asked her what would #MakeMondayBetterIn3Words: #call it Sunday

&&Fin.