Fifty Shades of Grey and the two other books that are it's sequels are quite frankly, a load of bollocks.
The book provides no good to society and will not enlighten or brighten any of it's readers as it is, basically, an over-hyped porn book.
Why is it acceptable to glamourise and promote a cheap erotic novel for young girls everywhere to read? It really concerns me that society is headed in such away. Gone are the times that books like To Kill A Mockingbird or Moby Dick would be read.. Books with meaning or purpose.
Teen pregnancies? Underage sex? STIs? Who is really surprised when this load of trash is published and glamourised?
Today I have taken on the mammoth task of sorting out all my things for when I go to university. It has taken me around three hours so far and I've only sorted out my shoes and make-up...
SO, to get me motivated, I thought I'd listen to a classic, feel-good soundtrack - The Lion King Soundtrack!
Seeing as the good weather has passed and the rain is coming back, I thought i'd share the three best Lion King songs for you to enjoy, see if they can brighten your day too.
Number One - Hakuna Matata
Number Two - I Just Can't Wait To Be King
Number Three - We Are One
Remember everyone, you are NEVER too old to enjoy The Lion King!
I'm not one for television usually, I much prefer watching programmes when I want on my MacBook rather than having to wait to see selected ones when they're broadcast. However, today I found myself with a bit of spare time so with my dinner I sat down on the sofa and watched Come Dine With Me.
During the break, this fantastic advert was on. I love this 'Wallace & Gromit' style animation and who doesn't love a bit of reggae?
This reaches the market it's intended for in a brilliant way - it makes you think about it, talk about it and want the product.
Personally, I'm not the biggest fan of the currently popular female artists. Mainly, because most of them auto tune their songs to the max, and are only famous because they show their boobies and shake their ass. Unfortunately, we don't have the likes of Whitney Houston, Etta James or Aretha Franklin anymore.
HOWEVER, do not worry, because I have thoroughly thought about which current artists are deserving of this list. These artists will be rated on looks, talent and personality/media coverage.
This list, my friends, is the ultimate list.
NUMBER THREE
KATY PERRY
You heard right, Katy Perry. I know you may no expect it, due to the previous booby comment, but I think Katy Perry deserves to be in my list.
OVERALL SCORE: 11.5/15
Voice: 3.5/5
Although her voice isn't the best voice ever, I still quite like it. I think it is individual and pretty - and it's what the people want. There are plenty of mixed opinions about Perry's voice, some say it's annoying, some say it's beautiful. I say it's pretty and makes me happy when I listen to it. Top musicians may slate it, but the audience likes it, and we are the audience.
Looks: 4/5
Katy Perry is obviously quite a looker. I am not a fan of the questionable choice of colours her hair has been recently, but as a general, her long brown hair, pale skin, slender figure, clear complexion and gorgeous blue eyes is a great combination. It shows today's generation that beauty doesn't have to be about have bleached blonde hair or orange skin. I would say the classic English rose, but as she's American... classic American rose?
Personality/Media Coverage: 4/5
Perry's personal life is often on the front of magazine's, which could possibly giving her a disadvantage in this category compared to other artists who's personal lives are more private, however, there hasn't been too much undesirable personality attributes revealed. Despite her recent divorce to comedian and actor, Russell Brand, Perry appears to have kept her head high and maintained a strong work ethic and a bubbly and fun personality. Impressive.
This is one of my favourite Katy P songs, an inspiring song that can give you shivers. Enjoy!
NUMBER TWO
JESSIE J
It must be no surprise Jessie J has reached number two on the ultimate list of the top three current female music artists... if you are surprised - this is why she is...
OVERALL SCORE: 12/15
Voice: 4.5/5
Incredible. Just incredible. Jessie J can effortlessly hit any note and can bring her on twist to any song she covers, let alone to her own songs. She is exactly the kind of voice the music industry needs. For example, check this acoustic version of her hit song, 'Do It Like A Dude', with a slight Jacko vibe to it.
Looks: 4/5
Although she hasn't fallen to the modern skank look, she's still not the most naturally beautiful woman alive. However, what I respect about her look is that she works with what she has got. She knows what she's got and she extenuates all her good features to the maximum, showing the girls across the world that you don't like to be like everyone else to still be beautiful.
Personality/Media Coverage: 3.5/5
Due to her on-going heart problems, she is unable to drink, smoke or take drugs, Jessie admits she has no choice but to just be confident. She exudes charm, confidence and inner strength which are three admirable qualities. The main media coverage she receives is usually questioning her sexuality... but really, who cares?
Knowles, with her superstar husband, Jay Z, and the birth of their first child, Blue Ivy Carter, get a lot of media coverage. Surprisingly, Knowles is one the stars the media has decided not to rip to shreds. It becomes apparent she likes to keep her private life, well, private. She comes across generous, thankful, and caring in her interviews and the majority of media coverage. Is this a front? I think not, you may disagree.
Recently, I did some modelling for the college I used to attend for my friend. Her name is Amy Robinson, and she hand-made each item of clothing I am wearing in the the following photos excluding the shoes.
Any favourites?
This is outfit number one and my favourite out of the four. It features a velvet shirt and silk trousers ending at the ankles.
This is outfit number two and I believe had the most work put into it. It's a long, evening gown. The chest and arms are made of a delicate lace material, the body of the dress is velvet with a zip to fasten at the back and the legs of the dress is a mesh material, although not very visible in this picture.
This is outfit number three. I have quite a long body so the top wasn't as complimentary as it would have been on another model. The outfit features velvet leggings and a lace cardigan as well.
This is the final of the four outfits created by Amy. A beautiful piece as I'm sure you'll agree.
The designer, Amy Robinson, has now left North Warwickshire and Hinckley College and is intending to study Fashion Design in Winchester this September.
For those who don't know, I am a HUGE fan of Big Bang Theory, the US sitcom. Here is an article I found on the website 'Stumble Upon' about real-life science lesson you can take from the show. I found it impressive.
10 Real-Life Science Lessons from “The Big Bang Theory”
By Alvina Lopez
"The Big Bang Theory" has, over the past three years, become one of the biggest sitcoms on the air. (The series’ latest appearance at Comic-Con was another rousing success.) But while most people watch the show for the antics of Sheldon and Leonard, the writers make sure plenty of care goes into the scientific talk that tends to pass most people by. Granted, the show isn’t a college-level science class, but you’re still going to come away smarter than when you went in, which is something most other sitcoms can’t promise. As proof, here are ten scientific tidbits offered up on the show. If anyone asks, just pretend you knew them already.
Giant Ants, Sadly, Can Never Exist: Raj and Howard chat in "The Wheaton Recurrence" about how giant ants would be a cool new method of transportation, but as is often case, Sheldon punctures their balloon by telling them that the mutant beasts would be physically unable to survive. This is because of something called the square-cube law, which (very simply) states that making a tiny object that much bigger would put impossible strains on its physical structure. The new animal’s dimensions wouldn’t be able to cope with its density. Giant ants would be cool, if slightly terrifying, but they’re the stuff of pure fantasy.
Teleportation Is Problematic: One day, apropos of nothing, Sheldon begins expounding on the physical and existential problems of teleportation. His main complaint is that the idea isn’t about disassembly and reassembly of an object, but the destruction of something followed by the creation of an identical copy. One of the issues he touches on is theHeisenberg uncertainty principle, which deals with the problems in accurately mapping every possible scientific aspect of a human body for successful reproduction in another location. Plus, again, you pretty much have to kill the old guy and build a new one, which raises a number of thorny metaphysical problems.
Always Watch Your Formulas: Another example of the square-cube law came into play in "The Staircase Implementation," in which we learn how the elevator in the guys’ apartment was destroyed. The short version is that Leonard used hydrazine, a rocket propellant, as fuel for a model, but when he scaled the amount down, he forgot to reduce the catalyst, turning his potential fuel into something much more explosive and deadly. Sheldon tossed the mix down the elevator shaft, causing an explosion that wrecked the works. Let that be a lesson: When making rocket fuel, always double-check your math. Or, better yet, don’t make rocket fuel.
Monopoles Are Hard to Find: In the second-season finale "The Monopolar Expedition," Sheldon wins a grant to go to the Arctic and search for magnetic monopoles to try and win a Nobel Prize. What’s the big deal? Well, they’re theoretical, so finding one would be cause for a whole lot more recognition than just a Nobel. A magnetic monopole is a hypothetical particle with only one magnetic pole. Every other magnet has two, north and south, but if you cut that magnet in half, you don’t wind up with a pair of monopoles; you just get two smaller magnets, each still with a north end and a south end. For more than you ever wanted to know about monopoles (and more than I can comfortably explain), go here. Some researchers claim to have found monopoles, but it’s still uncertain.
Dark Matter Is Also Hard to Find: In an episode titled "The Pirate Solution," Sheldon and Raj work on the problem of dark matter. For the unscientific out there, dark matter is posited to fill the galaxy and pull on stars and other objects. The problem started to make itself known when it was observed that galactic rotation curves for stars didn’t slow down as you move away from the center of the galaxy. The problem that Sheldon and Raj were working on dealt with finding ways to see, measure, and prove the existence and methods of dark matter.
Earth Finds Meteors, Not the Other Way Around: "The Adhesive Duck Deficiency" found the gang camping out to watch the Leonid meteor shower. Raj makes an illuminating point when he says that even though it appears that the meteors "arrive" at Earth, it’s actually Earth moving on its orbit into the meteor’s path. It can be tempting, even in a highly scientific era, to think of Earth as the center of all happenings, but the fun truth is that the Leonid shower (and others) happen when Earth’s orbit and the path of a meteor brush together. When the Temple-Tuttle Comet makes its way near Earth’s orbit in November, we can see the dazzling results.
Interstellar Travel Is Going to Take Some Work: Stan Lee showed up in "The Excelsior Acquisition." Lee’s pretty much a lock for a guest appearance on anything involving geeks, thanks to his lengthy career as a creator, writer, and chief at Marvel Comics. Sheldon’s goal was to ask Lee how the Silver Surfer can travel between the stars, a geeky question with very real scientific ramifications. Even assuming the Silver Surfer can travel at the speed of light, the nearest stars to Earth are about 4 light-years away. In other words, a round trip at the fastest possible physical speed would still take close to a decade, never mind the amount of time that would pass on Earth while you’re in transit. For more on this and other physically perplexing issues that superheroes tend to just shrug off, read up.
There Are Odds for Aliens: "The Hofstadter Isotope" finds the gang talking about the Drake Equation. They’re using it in a comedic context to appraise their chances of meeting and talking with women at a bar (probably less given their hermitic pedigrees), but the real equation is about calculating the potential number of alien civilizations in the galaxy. The formula accounts for everything from the rate of star formation in the Milky Way to the number of potentially life-supporting planets and the likely fraction of civilizations capable of broadcasting signs of their existence into space. Who knew there was math for this?
It’s Not Flying, It’s Falling With Style: The third-season finale, "The Lunar Excitation," involved a plot in which the guys wanted to bounce a laser beam off the moon. This brings up an interesting point about orbits. The Moon is constantly being pulled toward the Earth, and both are falling into the Sun. Yet it happens at such a rate and direction that the fall becomes an orbit. The same thing’s evident among astronauts on the space shuttle: They appear to be floating, but they’re actually moving incredibly fast around the Earth, constantly falling "over the edge" as it were and therefore able to cheat the gravity that’s yanking on them almost as strongly as it pulls on those of us down on the ground.
Lesson: Last season’s "The Plimpton Situation" was all about pulsars, to which most viewers likely said: what? A pulsar is, very basically, a neutron star that emits (via "pulses") radio emissions that result from particle acceleration. Neutron stars are themselves the remnants of stars left over after gravitational collapse. They’re extremely dense — an average neutron star is about the size of a city but packs more than three times of the mass of the Sun into its density — and can be used kind of like signposts throughout the galaxy. Of course, it’s not necessary to know all that (or remember it now) to enjoy the episode. But it’s nice to know that, on some level, someone’s doing the math.
It's safe to say I haven't posted on here in a while. I'm not quite sure whether that's because I'm lazy or busy.
Here's a few updates of what has happened in the past week:
I got fired from my job at Abbey Grange Hotel as a bar maid.
I got mugged in a park with my boyfriend, his best mate and his best mate's girlfriend.
The DVD drive in my MacBook has broken, meaning I have to spend a tenner to go to Birmingham and get it fixed.
I have watched nearly every episode of Big Bang Theory.
Today I went for a picnic.
I stumbled upon this article whilst scrolling through Facebook - and I could not agree with it more. I feel as if I need to spread the word so more girls realise this.... Have a read.
5 qualities that men look for in women
The ladies’ guide to impressing modern men
Oh, how relationships have changed since the romance of Mr Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet. Here are the most popular qualities that modern men look for in women:
Female quality 1: She has a life of her own
Say ‘cheerio’ to the helpless heroine from classic literature, and ‘well, hello!’ to the contemporary independent woman. It’s important to show that you’re self-sufficient when you’re trying to impress a man, and it’s equally as important to maintain this when you’re in a relationship. The average modern man doesn’t want a lady to be clinging onto him all the time – it makes him feel suffocated. Rather than ditching your friends and family to spend time with a new love interest, make sure you keep separate plans in your diary at all times. Never feel as though you wouldn’t have a life if this person wasn’t in it; get out there and show that you have a vibrant lifestyle aside from him. A relationship should enhance your life, not rule it.
Female quality 2: She is honest and loyal
Be honest with your love interest. If you tell them that a) you’re married and going through a particularly difficult divorce; b) you have a strange obsession with feet; or c) anything else that could potentially make them run for the hills, then you’ve done the right thing. Okay, maybe hold back on option b for now, but you see what we’re getting at. Anything that they may find out further down the line and could put them off should be made clear from the outset, or you risk wasting the time of you both. Don’t sugar-coat anything – if this man likes you enough, he will want to help you through difficult situations rather than leaving you to it. If either you or your love interest can’t accept the truth about one another’s past or present lives, you shouldn’t think about getting together because you won’t be able to look to the future.
Female quality 3: She looks after herself
This is one thing that hasn’t changed since the days of our most distant ancestors; men like a woman who takes a pride in her appearance and vice versa. We’re not talking about being a tall, slim supermodel – it’s not all about looks – but a little primping and preening here and there goes a long way. There’s no need to dress up in a ball gown and tiara for a date, but do wear something that accentuates your fantastic figure. Wear makeup to highlight your natural features; style your hair to compliment your face; and spritz on your favourite scent to boost your confidence – hello gorgeous! Styling yourself to make you feel your best leads to a more confident you and that’s another trait that men look for in women.
Female quality 4: She is self-confident
Gone are the days when the timid damsel in distress attracted the handsome, strong man; nowadays, being needy attracts little more than a few raised eyebrows. Despite coming across as confident, rarely do the celebrities you see in the media feel as bold and confident as they look. It’s all about faking it. Instead of zoning in on your weaknesses, develop and maximise your strengths to put you in the right frame of mind. Make sure you use your body language to your advantage, as this can help you to fake confidence when really you might prefer it if the ground were to swallow you up. Stand tall, make eye contact, and smile, for an instantly more confident you.
Female quality 5: She is mature and well-spoken
Baby talk can be cute but don’t use it too often, sugar bunny. Your average modern man likes his woman to be able to hold down an intellectual conversation as well as having a good sense of humour, and cutie-overload could put him off. Talk about interesting topics and be sure to listen to him as well as inputting your own thoughts and ideas into the conversation. Hold back on slang words for your first few dates and avoid swear words too, as they come across as uncouth.
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a modern man looks for different qualities in a woman than he may have done in the 1800s and – whilst no man is ever the same and may look for different qualities in a woman – it’s a good idea to take these tips on board to boost your dating potential.
It was a dark night and around 11pm I arrived home to see a small black and white cat hovering around my front door step. She was absolutely gorgeous and so affectionate so I let her in.
Three weeks later, she is still her. I have named her Dorothy, she's got a sparkly red collar and she sleeps at the end of my bed every night.
And then I find out - SHE'S PREGNANT.
Can't wait to have some litre kittens running around. They're due at the start of August - pictures will follow.
People Help The People - a song originally by a small band from Bolton called Cherry Ghost, covered by young sensation, 16 year old Birdy.
Which do you prefer?
This is Cherry Ghost's version.
And this is Birdy's version.
Whilst I completely respect the originality and beauty of the lyrics written by Cherry Ghost, I feel as if all they did was create the grounds for Birdy to sing the song as it should be.
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By Alvina Lopez
