The lovely S.L over at The Urge To Write has nominated me for the Beautiful Blogger Award she is fairly new to blogging so I hope lots of you will stop by and lend her your support as you did me when I started.
The Rules…
Write a little something about the Beautiful Blogger who nominated you. See above and don’t forget to go and check her out too.
Share 7 things about yourself.
Nominate for this award 7 worthy beautiful bloggers.
I have also been honoured by Ahmin, who I watch go from strength to strenth with inpired wonder, with this one
The One Lovely Blog Rules of Acceptance
Thank the person/people who nominated you and link back to them in your post.
Share seven possibly unknown things about yourself.
Nominate fifteen or so bloggers you admire.
Contact the chosen bloggers to let them know and link back to them.
As always I am flattered beyond belief with nominations but then quake as I realise that it requires 7 more things to amuse you. I mean what else can I tell you that you will find interesting?
here goes…
1) today is my birthday not very interesting for you but for me it means I survived another year lol
2) I bought myself a birthday pressie
3) I made this, hand sewing every patch, it has seen better days and was actually supposed to be a tea cosy when it started back in high school
4) I am constantly on the quest to lose weight but have just discovered a new temptation
5) I actually have a designated letter writing box. I got it years ago when I actually used to write to my gran a lot and have just restocked it as need dictated, the last few years it hasn’t had much use but recently I realised how much I miss sending proper letters so plan on making the effort again if anyone fancies receiving a random letter or christmas card email me or message me via my fb page with your address you never know what the postie might bring
6) and 7) I love charity shop rummaging and a couple of weeks ago picked up this crystal mini vase perfect for holding my quill pen the other thing as you can see is I also have a habit of picking up stray feathers, I did have more but you guessed the puppy chewed them!
Now for nominations I have decided to pick on some of the newer blogs I have followed and they can pick either award depending which they already have
Okay so my quill pen is actually lilac but the wonderful Rhonda has deemed me worthy of an upgrade, many people knock the internet but I cannot thank it enough for allowing me to get to know wonderful people I never would have met otherwise and this special lady is right up there with the best and in a few weeks if all goes to plan I shall get to meet her in person and I cannot wait. You can check out Rhonda’s answer here.
The rules for this award:
If you choose to accept, are to paste the logo of this award on the top of your post. Thank the person who nominated you. Answer the questions below. Nominate five or more people, list them and let them know that they have been nominated.
The Questions
1- Do you prefer rhyming or non-rhyming poetry?
I am easy when it comes to reading poetry and enjoy both if I am writing it then non rhyming I feel the flow of the words is more important to me than rhyming
2- What’s your favorite Shakespeare Play?
A Midsummer Nights Dream, fairies and humour what more could a girl want
3- Who is your favourite author?
Hmmm actually a tough one as I love so many different genres but I guess overall I have to go with Jane Austen
4- Name three people who you greatly admire.
Hmmm not as easy as it seems, do they have to be alive? Am saying not for my answers
1. My great grandad who went off to fight in the first world war for a country that had treated him like a second class citizen just to try to provide a better life for his family (okay it didn’t work out that way but the fact he went still changed our family forever)
2. Elizabeth I, a strong woman that took no bull and refused to be forced into marriage in order to secure her reign, okay she had her bad side but don’t we all
3. Boudicca, the woman who inspired in part my novel, strong, brave in the face of certain defeat and unwilling to surrender to save herself.
5- What’s your favourite album ever?
Hmmm has to be…Rio by Duran Duran I can’t listen to it without smiling, partly because the music is still so good and partly because of all those dreams it inspied in a young girl
6- Which primary color do you most dislike?
Not sure I really dislike any of them but maybe blue because as a child I was always dressed in blue with my two sisters stood either side of me in pink
7- Name a song or a poem that makes you feel emotional.
There are so many for so many different reasons, but one that sticks out is The Cars – Drive even to this day I canno hear it without seeing those Live Aid images, for those who know what I mean I apologise for the clips but for those who are too young to remember I dare you to watch it all the way through without a tear.
This week I feel like my puppy running in circles chasing my own tail. I know you will all already have guessed from my weekly round ups I like to keep on top of things but this week I have been rather overwhelmed. Between adjusting to new school routines, the fact the teenager has moved out, rebuilding, re-arranging and generally trying to get the house back into some sort of order I am also working a few hours overtime towards the new lap top funds, so writing and blogging has suffered reading has gone out the window. I do hope by next week normal service will be resumed and I can get into a more productive routine but for the remainder of this one my posts may be spordic and the schedule is out the window.
I have a couple of awards to accept (there maybe more I haven’t read the posts for yet if so I apologise I will catch up on all your posts eventually)
The lovely Vikki over at The View Outside gifted me a little sunshine much needed here with these rainy days, I am struggling to think how to praise her enough in a way which I haven’t previously all I can say is if your not following her why not? Get over there and check her out
She is a bit of a rebel so didn’t post any rules as these things normally involve 7 I am also cheating and sharing 7 pics from the sketchbook I found while setting up my desk the other night they are simple drawings but I really like these
So there you have them hope you like them.
The next one comes from the fabulous CB Wenthworth again another blogger who is a must follow so if you aren’t you know the drill pop over and tale a look here.
1) Thank and link back the blog who nominated you.
2) List five favorite books
3) List five fabulous moments
4) List five things you love
5) List five things you dislike
6) Nominate five people and let them know
My five favourite books (tough one)
1] Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
2] Interview with a Vampire by Anne Rice
3] Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
4] The Crucible by Arthur Miller
5] A Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
My five fabulous moments
1] The first time I held my children
2] Seeing dolphins in the wild for the first time
3] Seeing Duran Duran live
4] Getting my first acceptance to have something published
5] Visiting Chatsworth knowing that Jane Austen had walked those same corridors
My five things I love
1] My family
2] My pets (okay they are family too)
3] My books I hate to part with any
4] Thunderstorms
5] Second hand market bargains
My five things I dislike
1] Slugs
2] Tea (sorry Mskatykins)
3] Snow (not so much the snow itself but the fact it brings everything to a standstill)
4] People who are two faced if you can’t say it to my face don’t say it at all
5] Bullies, you don’t look big making others feel small
Today day my travels are mental rather than physical Marion Green over at Creative Noodling set up a few question so I though I would let my mind wonder and answer them you can check out Marions answers here
In order to have any wish granted would you sleep with someone you weren’t attracted to? I should say no, and for my own personal gain I would never do it but sometimes you don’t know what the wish would be, a few years ago my son lay fighting for his life at 7 months old and if I had been offered the choice then with the guarentee the wish would make him better you better believe i would have done it, I would have sold my soul to the devil at that moment.
What’s your favorite chick flick? I am not a huge film fan give me the book any day but if I had to pick one it would be Breakfast at Tiffany’s if that counts as a chick flick!
Would you rather date a famous athlete, CEO, great chef or esteemed writer? Lee sweetheart if you are reading this post skip to the next question, CEO nope the idea of all those boring corperate affairs where you would be expected to be the trophy girlfriend smiling on his arm is a huge turn off, chef well I am a quite good cook and like my kitchen my way so that a no, esteemed writer could a relationship work with two nervous wrecks awaiting rejection letters? Sod it we all know I am shallow I would take the athlete any time those rock hard abs, and bulging muscles not to mention the stamina now if I could get an athletes body with a writers brain, Johnny Depps eyes well then Lee might just have a reason to get worries, but I think we can say he is safe.
What song evokes the strongest memories? There are three for totally different reasons, Duran Duran’s Ordinary World as it brings back memories of finally seeing them in concert last year, Cyndi Lauper’s Time after time was the first song I ever danced to with him more years ago than either of us care to admit to, and the final one is The Cars Drive I challenge anyone who was a teenager in the 80’s to hear that song and not think about the Live aid clips that were shown with it.
Is pornography harmful or harmless?
Neither and both! There would be nothing wrong with consenting adults watching consenting adults the problem is how can you be sure that they are really consenting? In many cases can you even be sure they are adults? And if you are in a relationship how your partner feels about it is also to be considered just because it doesn’t bother them at one time doesn’t mean it will always be that way when I was pregnant I hated Lee even looking at women on tv because I was the size of a double decker bus with our son. I do think it can give unreal expectations for young guys like thinking all women are double jointed and can contort their bodies into some strange positions and that everyone likes the same things although with the internet am guessing that that bit has changed quite a lot. Like many things it is all about what you watch and why, in moderation as a consenting adult watching consenting adults I dont see a problem.
Well it has been a strange week hopes of hitting the deadline are being swept away mainly to be honest by my toddler and his puppy who seem intent on destroying the house and mummys sanity (what little I had to start with). Strangely I am not as upset by this as I thought I would be, I do still have 6 days if I could persuade him to behave for just a couple of days then maybe I could do it but not holding my breath.
Watched the Olympic opening ceremony last night an amazing spectacle which did us proud, sadly at the minute the cyclists aren’t doing quite so well as I type maybe coming so soon after their magnificent performance in the Tour De France. I was disappointed not to see Duran Duran last night I misunderstood and thought the link up to Hyde Park was going to work both ways but it seems they got to see the ceremony but we didn’t see the concert I shall be searching youtube in the hope someone posted something.
For those who didn’t make it to the end here are the fireworks
And the only clip I could find for the concert
Okay back to business last weeks tasks…
1) Try to stick to the new schedule I posted yesterday
Yup managed it and so far this week it has worked well a couple of quite serious posts this week so will try to lighten things back up again
2) Keep editing if I can reach end of part two there is still chance
Not as far through as I hoped to be this time next week you will know if I made the deadline or not
3) Try to fit in some extra reading I just started a new book I really want to get my teeth into
Managed a little but not much the book is really good but not read anything from my kindle this week I tend to read that more when out and about and as I haven’t really been anywhere this week it hasn’t had much use
4) Now monster is at home as nursery has finished work out a writing schedule around him so that I am not always sat writing till the early hours
Failed miserably infact with the heat the monster is refusing to go to bed without a fight so even late night writing has been tough through sheer exhaustion
5) Organise some of my novel research ready for wednesday posts
I have made a start, this weeks post will be continuing on the characters and next week I have one lined up on medieval torture methods including the infamous chappy chopper just for Kyle
So for the week ahead..
1) Keep following schedule by the end of next week I should have a better idea how you are all enjoying it
2) Keep editing – I know if I can find the hours to put in I can do it but it will literally be last minute if I make it
3) If weather stays nice get out and do some writing in notebooks because I have been so busy I have been working on the computer the whole time which expains why no poetry I always seem to write poetry better on paper
4) Watch lots of sport – yup I am a sports junkie when the olympics are on and believe it or not once upon a lifetime ago I was a sporty person and used to do the long jump somewhere my mum has a pic of me competing but I have no idea where sadly
5) Sort out my photos on my hard drive for use here on the blog I can’t even believe how many I have and how many I haven’t posted of places I have visited so before I go off anywhere else I need to sort out wht you have or haven’t seen.
It has been a strange old week. My computer eating my editing may have turned out to be a good thing afterall. As I worked my way through trying to pick out where I had been before the technical hissy fit I realised I no longer liked what I had written. Not the storyline itself or even the characters more than I had been so intent and stripping away each unneccassary word I had lost my voice in the telling. Well maybe voice is not the right word shall we go with my style of writing. I have now gone back to the start re-editing adding back in some of that which I had removed and it is flowing much better again, in parts it had begun to sound more like a news report than a novel, I am much happier now with the chapters I have redone than I was before I started editing whether I shall still meet the deadline for submission is now in doubt but I do not feel the feedback would have been very positive had I continued on the road I was travelling down.
So lets see how I did with last weeks tasks…
1) Edit to end of part to of WIP
Well I had but now I haven’t any longer so maybe half marks?
2) Usual regular posts of book review, flash fiction and poem
Instead you got a DVD review here but not much else this week sorry
3) Catch up on reading blogs again have fallen behind this week
At one point there were over 400 in my inbox this week I am down to about 80 I count that as a success
4) Do some reading I will try harder this week lol
I have done a little reading not as much as I had hoped but that is life
5) Start writing the synopsis and thinking about the letter I need to send aswell about why I deserve the bursary.
Well I don’t need to answer this really do I given the editing farce I shall do them the week before submission deadline if I think I might make it
So for next week…
1) Try to stick to the new schedule I posted yesterday
2) Keep editing if I can reach end of part two there is still chance
3) Try to fit in some extra reading I just started a new book I really want to get my teeth into
4) Now monster is at home as nursery has finished work out a writing schedule around him so that I am not always sat writing till the early hours
5) Organise some of my novel research ready for wednesday posts
Something a little different for today’s review. My DVD arrived yesterday and late last night I finally got to watch it. Then this morning with this post in mind I was forced to watch the whole thing all over again just to grab a few screen shots. See the things I make myself do just for you….
still from ADITM
Now I do promise this will not just be me gushing over the greatest pop band ever, well okay a little bit but hey I am only human.
Filmed during their delayed UK tour for their album All You Need Is Now the DVD features many of the fan favourites except mine 😦 Each night on tour the set list altered slightly meaning that each set of fans got something slightly different it also meant those who were lucky enough to attend multiple shows were rewarded for their loyalty.
Of course there may be slightly more stills here of one person than the others but well damn it he is still so sexy.
Anyway back to the DVD before I get distracted into a dream world.
still from ADITM
Duran Duran have always been innovators in the pop world. Prior to their commencement of their world tour they collaborated with David Lynch to create a live spectacle on Vevo. It is not surprising therefore that a few of the special effects worked their way on to this DVD. With amazing camerawork A Diamond In The Mind is a creative masterpiece visually. if you are used to watching bands stood on stage merely singing to a backing track it may be a bit of an eyeopener to watch a bunch of guys who have been around for decades demonstrate how to give the crowd value for money.
still from ADITM
The DVD was filmed in Manchester I was lucky enough to see them in their home town of Birmingham. I had waited 30 years to finally see them live, was it worth the wait? Hell yeah!!!!!!!!!! I only hope I don’t have to wait another 30 to do it again after all none of us are as young as we were when it all began.
One feature of the concerts you dont really get on the dvd was the crowd interaction, the dvd cuts quickly between the song misses out Nick’s humourous introduction to Blame The Machines. But overall it does capture the atmosphere of the concerts.
still from ADITM
Throughout the concerts fans tweeted the band, their tweets appearing on the screens behind the band as they were sent. Duran Duran is a band who have always embraced new technology. Those old enough to remember life before music vidoes even if not Duran Duran fans will be able to appreciate the iconic images the created during the 80’s and the strides they made in helping to create amazing videos to go alongside the soundtrack we grew up to. Sadly an art which seems to have been lost by man newer artists (when was the last time you watched a truly inspired music video)
Still from ADITM Just one last one
During The Reflex on the DVD you do get a glimpse into a very special world. Somewhere I can occasionally be found hanging out when I have the time. DDU (Duran Duran Universe) on Second Life is one of the many ways in which Duran Duran gove back to their fans. I have yet to bump into the guys personally their although I was there at one of Roger’s DJ sets and let me say he is quite good at spinning those discs.
Me in DDU
Just incase you ever decide to pop over to DDU this is what my avatar normally looks something like. I admit I am a tight arse and refuse to spend the millions of pounds others do on there. But that is a whole other post…
me on DDU at Nicks maskerade ball
Duran Duran have lasted for over thirty years for two very simple reasons . One they make damn fine music, it may not be to every ones taste but most people I have ever met have at least one Duran Duran record that has special meanings for them. The second reason is they understand that their fans are important and treat them with respect giving back in terms of praise and time.
Me chilling after a hard nights dancing in DDU
So let me leave you with a slide show of images mainly taken by me at the Duran Duran concert in Birmingham in December last year I can only suggest that you buy the DVD turn up the volume and dance round your living rooms like a teenager.
I was going to do this blog over the weekend but todays announcement that the Olympics would be opened with a concert made me decide to bring it forward. The four home nations will be represented by various bands with Duran Duran leading the English contingent. There has been uproar from a few suggesting that the still popular and much-loved band are past it and should not have been awarded this honour but I strongly disagree I couldn’t think of anyone more suited.
My first introduction to the band was thanks to Top of the Pops, it took only one song and I was hooked. All pocket-money went on saving up for those precious albums, as soon as they came out I would be there at HMV coming away clutching that precious cassette (for younger readers they were what existed before CDs) I remember the tears when my stupid cassette player chewed up Seven and the Ragged Tiger. The of course there were all the magazines and posters. Not to mention the badges, mirrors, scarves and all the other merchandise that no self-respecting Duranie could ever live without. Of course as with any band everyone has their favourites and as some of you will know from a previous blog mine was the base player John Taylor. This picture of him wearing ‘the hat’ has special significance and if you bear with me you will understand. This was the picture that I had posted on the ceiling above my bed until that fateful night when it fell down and got torn (yes more tears). The point was this was what sparked my dreams at the time, I would dream about the books I had been reading and replace myself obviously as the damsel in distress and JT as the hero (sad I know but I was only thirteen.) But that’s the point the Olympics is about dreams and who better than a band that throughout the decades has inspired millions of dreams to be part of it.
I longed to see them live but they were everything my dad couldn’t understand. They wore frilly shirts, had long hair, wore make up, the list of reasons for my dads disapproval goes on. And then came the fracturing of the band, members leaving, different projects and I thought I had missed my chance.
Until last year!
With the release of All You Need Is Now came a new tour, could it be possible I could finally fulfil a life long dream. With trepidation I typed into google and looked at the dates. Yes there was one I could get time off work for and there were tickets available. After a few pleading looks towards the other half and a few clicks my dream was coming true.
So May comes round and the time draws nearer for my dream when it is postponed due to SLB’s laryngitis, nerves tear at my insides as I first await a new date then wait to see if I can change my week off to accommodate it ( I think my boss knew if I couldn’t I would quite probably be off sick anyway).
Roll on December and party time. I was lucky enough to see them at their home town concert and they did not disappoint. Unlike many bands they filled the venue I know this as I have a friend who works there and he commented on it at the time. The majority of people there were like myself, people who had fallen in love with them in their teens, we had grown up to their music. Cried over broken hearts listening to their lyrics, but many like myself had never had the chance to see them live before. That night they made dreams come true, well most, some we will hold onto as memories of our teenage selves the adult recognising how unrealistic they were.
From the first chords the almost the whole auditorium were on their feet dancing and singing along I say almost. The mixed the old and the new seamlessly they looked every bit as youthful and energetic as they did back in the day. This is a band that embrace new technology and are innovative as they always were exemplified by the big screen showing a backdrop of tweets during the concert. My long-suffering other half was one of a hand full of other halves dragged along but even though he would not dance I did catch him singing along and he thorough enjoyed the concert so much so that when I suggested the DDUK convention to him he automatically agreed to going. And that is another testament to their ongoing popularity demand for convention tickets proved so great that a lottery system was required and guess who was lucky enough to get a pair. Yup come December I will have an excuse for writing another blog about them.
If a band that has inspired a generation of new musicians and fulfilled the dreams of so many people over a sustained period does not represent everything the Olympics stands for then who does. The fact that their last album has been globally acclaimed shows they are still as relevant as popular as thirty years ago when they burst into our hearts and changed the music industry for ever. If we truly want to embrace the Olympic spirit then who better than a band who has burned brighter than the Olympic torch and has a consistant Gold ranking.
It’s 1am and I can’t sleep which is a real pain as I have to be up in a few hours for work. I will probably post this once I get home and have time to read through it (and see straight enough to spell properly). I guess everyone has an era they are nostalgic for, mine is the 80’s. I grew up through them, had my first boyfriend, experienced heartbreak for the first time. Of course it was not real heartbreak but at the time I was devasted for a whole week. Life was so much simpler then even though as a teenager we manage to make a drama out of everything.
As I have just fugured out how to embed videos (Yay me beating the technology pixie again!!!) I thought it would be fun to share some of the things that make me smile when I think of the 80’s and also it gives me an excuse to drool over a certain base player.
So where to start with the 80’s well I suppose with what I am watching as I sit writing.
It has been a long time since I watched this and I think I had forgotten how dark some of it is. Yes there is the great soundtrack and comedic moments but it was probably the first time (watching as a teenager) that the phrase ‘don’t judge a book by it’s cover’ Before the invention of the internet and social networking so much of what happened behind doors stayed there. We might have know one or two people that we knew had problems at home but did we ever really question it. The idea that a group of diverse people all shared common ground rarely if ever would have crossed our minds. But if we are honest we still thought out own problems where far more important even if they were just how to get the cute guy to realise you existed.
One of my favourite films I still love now is still Pretty in Pink I guess that is partly due to the fact for us brits there was nothing as glamourous as proms it was a disco in the school hall in the afternoon last day of term or if you were really lucky there might have been a local youth club to show off your moves in but the clothing was far less impressive.
Staying with 80’s viewing of course you cannot miss out Fame the film that had us all wanting to dance on taxi’s and believing we could all sing and dance. Okay I could dance but the singing trust me you would rather hear a catfight in your yard at 2am rather than hear me sing. I wanted to be Lori Singer and play the cello, unfortunately being tone deaf is a slight hinderance to this ambition the only instrument I ever mastered was the triangle. By no means was this the only film to have me prancing round my bedroom Footloose (turns out dad’s get upset by you jumping off the bed Kevin Bacon style), Flashdance (wish I had realised she used a double before attempting the sumersault). There was one common theme apart from the dancing and music here can you guess….yes its the legwarmers. No self respecting 80’s girl did not possess at least two pairs of these strange woolly articles, depending on what you had been watching depended if you wore them as a pair or wore odd ones preferably in bright neon colours.
Now I did debate how much I should discuss the fashion but decided that is one closet door I will leave closed for now. After all if you were there I need only say a few words and you will collectively cringe in rememberance. If you weren’t well it’s better you are left unscarred. Here we go….big hair, big shoulder pads, chinos, peddlepushers, rahrah skirts, puffleball skirts, bolero jackets, bangles so far up your arm you couldn’t bend it. Doc martins with Grolsch bottle tops, tank tops, batwing jumpers, eyeliner for the guys. I know I will have missed loads but I am traumatised enough by those memories.
But what really made the music was the soundtrack. The music that even today has me singing along and my daughter screaming for me to shut up. Last year I finally fulfilled one of my lifes ambitions and saw Duran Duran live. I was transformed to a screaming teenager again and hell those guys are still damn sexy especially a certain base player.There are so many great songs, groups and singers I loved in the 80’s it would be impossible to list them all, but think Madonna, Michael Jackson (before we realised just how strange he was) Prince, Guns and Roses (I love Sweet Child of Mine) Bon Jovi, Aerosmith teaming with Run DMC. And so many others but the highlight in many ways musically of the 80’s has to be Live Aid. The combinations that appeared on the stages across the globe still make me smile Madonna being a backing singer for the Thompson twins was something than given there future careers seems amazing.
It is now sunday as I didn’t get chance to finish this blog before and I posted a question on fb asking about the 80’s here are a few things that others remember some of course may only apply to people reading from the UK
LIVE AID! Nik Kershaw the birth of Eastenders. Cabbage patch dolls,Care Bears, GOING LIVE!
Madonna, Kajagoogoo, Tiswas, spit the dog, Top of the Pops, Five Star, leg warmers, fluorescent socks! Those were the days
Gordon T Gopher!! nuff said
the first thing that comes to mind when I think 80’s is “Dancing on the Ceiling”. And since Gary Richrath is from Peoria, I always liked REO Speedwagon, and Cheap Trick is from a town about 100 or so miles north – so liked them too.
So what was you decade? If you were an 80’s Kid did I miss you favorite memory I will leave you with a song from my favorite band
3) I made this, hand sewing every patch, it has seen better days and was actually supposed to be a tea cosy when it started back in high school
4) I am constantly on the quest to lose weight but have just discovered a new temptation
5) I actually have a designated letter writing box. I got it years ago when I actually used to write to my gran a lot and have just restocked it as need dictated, the last few years it hasn’t had much use but recently I realised how much I miss sending proper letters so plan on making the effort again if anyone fancies receiving a random letter or christmas card email me or message me via my fb page with your address you never know what the postie might bring
6) and 7) I love charity shop rummaging and a couple of weeks ago picked up this crystal mini vase perfect for holding my quill pen the other thing as you can see is I also have a habit of picking up stray feathers, I did have more but you guessed the puppy chewed them!
Paula Acton 