Tag: Music

Lazy Sunday #35
Lazy Sunday

Lazy Sunday #35

paulaacton1 Comment

I have had a really busy weekend, actually make that week lol so I have not read many blogs but I have quickly picked out a couple then I have a video for your viewing pleasure…

  1. First up being overweight I get totally how hard it is to take those first steps and also the stigma that surrounds fat people exercising, the same people who tell you to lose weight and exercise are the ones who taunt you when you try so I have so much respect for anyone who is willing to share their journey https://theconsultingwriter.wordpress.com/2017/03/13/inspiring/
  2. I have to confess I very rarely take the time to treat myself in terms of someone else performing treatments on me, I might throw on a face mask at home, or, file and paint my nails  but I feel guilty spending money on luxuries like that unless it is a special occasion but I had to goggle at this description https://lucywilliamspoetry.wordpress.com/2017/03/25/lucys-diary-25032017/

I am going to leave it at just the two blog posts because yesterday this happened…

It was day two of the day jobs Comic Relief fund-raising and I ended up joining in doing a little wiggling, the video is quite long, 27 mins but that is because it does show two days of activity so you can either watch through and see our fund-raising fun or skip forward and watch me embarrass myself lol

Vlog Time #59 – Getting Sporty, Plus Lazy Sunday #5
8. Vlog Time · Lazy Sunday

Vlog Time #59 – Getting Sporty, Plus Lazy Sunday #5

paulaacton3 Comments

Two for the price of one today… I have a nice double choco-mocha clutched in my hands it is almost lunch time but as the sun is shining I got laundry done first thing, I am not actually having a Lazy Sunday today as later on I shall be heading out to film my colleagues play the managers at football all in the name of charity so if you have your beverage ready I shall begin with the blogs for this week, then move on to the vlog and throw in some bonus bellydancing on the end of it, and no I am not dancing but I might just have arranged a lift to start taking me dancing again so maybe at some point in the future you will see it…

  1. So our first stop off on today’s coffee break is to visit my friend Bridget and grab a quick reminder on something we all frequently need to be reminded of https://bridgetstraub.com/2016/03/17/stay-positive/ life likes to throw those curve balls but with practise and patience we will hit home runs eventually, I even managed to make an analogy using a sport I know nothing about lol.
  2.  Next up a tough call, when you are asked to review a book it is easy if you love it but what if you don’t, Linda discusses the difficulty making that call and you can read my response in the comments although I have also discussed it on here before http://lindaghill.com/2016/03/14/bad-reviews
  3. This week is Sports Relief here in the UK where people dust off their cycles and trainers and do all sorts of sporty things in the name of a good cause but lots of us do these things more frequently than that and Lucy has been fund-raising for a cause very close to her heart which took the life of one of her friends, I do believe that the best way to honour those we lose is to save others in their name https://lucywilliamspoetry.wordpress.com/2016/03/13/lucys-diary-130316/
  4. This is a really helpful informative way to try to track down a pictures origins, sadly it does not work for everything but at least it gives you additional options to research images https://acflory.wordpress.com/2016/03/14/howto-search-for-an-image-on-the-internet/
  5. I love this 5 minutes with series and wish I lived in an area where it would be more practical to do it here, sadly there are only two local shops in walking difference and they are both your bog standard corner shop, as for the town centre fewer and fewer independent shops remain between the takeaways , chain stores, and pound shops https://chiswickmum.wordpress.com/2016/03/18/a-chiswick-5-mins-with-sofia-from-the-chiswick-bookshop/
  6. And finally for today, a brief but meaningful flash fiction, the perfect example of how much can be said with a few words https://greenwalledtower.wordpress.com/2016/03/17/the-giants-bride/

If you would like to refill your cup now is the time to do it and I shall leave you with this weeks vlog…

Television Tuesday – Dark Comedy
2. Tuesday · Telly Box Tuesday

Television Tuesday – Dark Comedy

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Sorry I am late posting this but I forgot to hit schedule lol

Television

So lets start off with something I watch every week when it is on…

I love the Voice because it is the Voice which determines the success not the look or marketability, I watch this while on the phone with my friend Debbie, we both sit in our respective homes and text back on forth numerous comments regarding our thoughts on performance, song choice and which judge they should go with, not all our texts would be suitable for a younger audience lol hence the reason we text rather than speak. This week was a battle round where they are supposed to go against each other but this to me was a perfect duet and I was gutted that they had to be split up, it would have been amazing had they formed a duet .

Film

A comedy that begins with a suicide…

I remember watching this film when it first came out, well the first time it was shown on TV at any rate, I cannot believe it will actually be twenty years since this film was released in September, and though I cannot help but ponder the effect that technology would have on the formation of the club I hope that they never feel the need to remake it. The stars are each individually amazing, together they are outstanding and their chemistry is so good that I really cannot imagine another group of women being able to recreate it, plus lets face if few films give all the main roles to women past a certain age.

Youtube

Something close to my heart…

I have contributed to a couple of crowdfunded projects and this is one of them am the producer Clare Eden is an amazing lady who I have become FB friends with, I have the beanie hat, sadly it does not suit me but I also have the signed Strangeness In Space art work you can see in the background, if you love quirky space/sci-fi adventures then check out the podcast, if you enjoy it (the episodes are free you can find them on i-tunes or at http://strangenessinspace.com/) and consider joining us mirthlings.

Song

This is also from the Voice but I will explain why in a minute…

I love this song, but it is one where I generally hate any attempt at a cover version, however this does work mainly because they both put their own twist on it and neither was trying to be an exact copy of Sinead. I am also going to share another song from the Voice because even though I love this record it is performed so differently that it took me a little way in to really click that it was this song, again taking something that has been done before and making if totally different and unique.

Television Tuesday – Getting Back To Routine
Telly Box Tuesday

Television Tuesday – Getting Back To Routine

paulaacton2 Comments

I have been very hit and miss blogging so far this year, not the sort of habits I want to get into so this week I am making an active effort to get back into the swing or scheduling and posting regularly, so what have I been watching…

Television & Youtube

I am totally obsessed with watching this, to the point where I subscribe to the Youtube channel and watch the clips as well as recording both the US and UK versions on my TiVo box

I decided to count it for both as I do watch it both ways, who ever came up with this idea is brilliant after all we have all pranced around at some point singing into a hairbrush or other object pretending to be someone famous, now we get to watch celebs do it as well, there have been so many clips that I could have chosen but I decided to just share a couple of my favourites.

Song

I have not watched any films this week so instead I am going to leave you with my top three tracks from the Oasis greatest hits album that I have been listening to this week, peobebly not the ones you might be expecting…

26 Things About Me
Me And Mine · So it's Saturday

26 Things About Me

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Twenty-six things about me…

I saw this on Archon’s Den and decided to appropriate it especially as you read this I shall be doing the day job then hosting a book launch, if you want to read his answers you can do so here

A- Age: I believe technically you are not supposed to ask a lady her age, but as I rarely get confused for one I shall admit to my 44 years on the planet.

B- Biggest fears: Needles and man made heights, needles I have overcome to a point but man made heights still make me hyperventilate, I can happily stand at the top of a cliff and look out over but ask me to get onto a step ladder and I feel sick

C- Current time: 8.01pm. it is also a Tuesday and so basically when you read this you will be time travelling

D- Drink you last had: Diet coke, I wish it was something more exciting but there you go

E- Every day starts with: A curse and a hit of the snooze button except Sundays that start with the monster usually waking me to ask if he can go downstairs and watch TV

F- Favourite song: So many, I don’t really have one favourite I tend to have favourite songs for different moods at the minute the three most played on my phone are Kylie Minogue Into The Blue, Evanescence Back To Life and Christina Perri A Thousand Years.

G- Ghosts, are they real?: Of course, I have even interacted with a couple.

H- Hometown: If you count home town as the place you live then it is Huddersfield, West Yorkshire but if you count it as the place you were born and your parents live then it is Kippax, Leeds just a few miles down the road.

I- In love with: No one at the minute, unless you count my kids, or Mr Darcy, who I have been in love with since I was about thirteen, I do have a bit of a thing for Sherlock at the minute but am pretty sure that is just lust.

J- Jealous of: At first I thought no one then I sat and thought and the list began, Steven Moffat because he gets to write Doctor Who and Sherlock, Kylie Minogue because of how fabulous she looks, all authors who earn enough from their writing to be able to do it full time as a job, people who can eat what they like and not put on weight… maybe we need to define the type of jealousy lol

K- Killed someone?: Well that would be telling, I mean I could hardly confess here without incriminating myself could I, I will say I have killed lots of people in my head and planned quite a few deaths, my perfect murder weapon is a frozen leg of lamb, I would tell you more but it may be featured in a book at some point.

L- Last time you cried: I cry at every thing these days, animal abuse stories, animal rescue stories, but last time I really broke down and blubbed was when my dog died last September

M- Middle name: Suzanne, I know you were all hoping for something more exciting but there you are don’t blame me I didn’t pick it

N- Number of siblings: 4, three sisters and a brother, I am the oldest and there are 15 years between me and my youngest sister which is the same gap as between my daughter and the monster.

O- One wish: Tempted to do the Miss World answer and go for world peace but not sure if we got it that it would last so instead a cure for cancer or dementia, see I am being fair to the wish fairy there and giving them options.

P- Person you last called: My daughter, she was at my house and I called to tell her to put the quiche in the oven as I was on my way home.

Q- Question you’re always asked: are those your real eyes? Now to be fair they are not actually asking if my eyeballs are real rather I do get a lot of questions about the colour of my eyes and whether I am wearing contact lens, the answer is yes they are and if I am honest not sure I could stand wearing contacts even though I have seen some really cool ones I would love to try especially for Halloween.

R- Reason to smile: lots but if you see me smiling and there is not an obvious one I probably just thought up a really cool way to kill someone!

S- Song last sung: if you mean sung as in someone heard me then happy birthday to the monster last May, if you mean in my own house with the stereo turned up so loud that even the dog does not have my listening inflicted on him, Kylie Into the Blue and I am not just saying it but my singing is actually that bad

T- Time you woke up: 7am when the first alarm went off and I cursed and hit snooze

U- Underwear colour: Black, nearly always black

V- Vacation destination: Not really having one this year but next year USA here I come, well assuming they let me in the country

W- Worst habit: doubting myself, you have no idea how many posts, stories and comments I write and then delete without hitting publish just because I am scared I will let people down that have believed in my abilities.

X- X-Rays you’ve had: think they have all been on my back, plus lots of MRI scans, to the point where the staff actually knew me when I walked in, not sure if that was because I had made a good impression or was notorious

Y- Your favourite food: Chocolate wish I could say something really healthy like quinoa or kale but I believe in being honest

Z- Zoos visited!: Blackpool and Isle of Wight zoo which is technically a tiger sanctuary and you should certainly visit if you are ever on the island, you can find out more about it here, for several years we actually sponsored one of the tigers named Zena

This is not the sort of one where you nominate someone but if you decide to have a go at answering the questions be sure to link back here.

Questioning the World

My Bowie Tribute

paulaacton5 Comments

The last week everyone’s time lines on Facebook have been full of grief and shock at the passing of the icon David Bowie, mine included, I thought about posting yesterday but decided I wanted to reflect a little more about what I was going to write, I am putting this up today and will post the vlog over the weekend as I have a lot on my mind at the minute.

You see I realised that when someone like Bowie passes away and proves they are as mortal as the rest of us they take a little bit of us with them. When a star dies young, in an accident or from a drugs overdose, we sagely nod our heads and mourn a young life lost, but the loss of someone of Bowie’s stature is different. For most of us it is true we did not know him personally, in fact he was an intensely private person, he shared his music and creative persona’s but very little of the behind closed doors life so many share so openly these days. The fact is that when an idol dies that it was not a person who died for many of us it was part of ourselves, part of someone who made us what we are.  I heard Bowie’s music long before I have a visual image of him, there was no MTV back then and you listened to music on the radio and maybe bought Smash Hits magazine, but lets face it if I bought the magazine I was far too busy drooling over JT to look at Bowie that was until he stepped out onto my screen in those trousers and I fell in love with the Goblin King! I thought Sarah was an idiot for demanding her little brothers return and not surrendering her heart to the all singing all dancing deity, even now as an adult I still feel the same way even though I know I should question falling for a kidnapper who wants to seduce young girls, there was one scene in particular that has always stayed with me and one day I want to live this, and though I am going to a masquerade ball in a few weeks I know it will not be as magical as this one.

Even if my heart is forever trapped with an image of Bowie from the 80’s he continued to push boundaries and his final album could be argued pushes the boundaries of life and death itself. Imagine filming a video about being on your death bed as you battle a disease that is killing you? When someone you think of as immortal has the audacity to prove to be only a mere mortal and die on you it makes you question everything in ways that losing even your own family members fails to, we expect our grandparents and parents to go before us but those we adore we expect to live forever, and in one way they do because they leave a legacy and continue every time we introduce a new generation to their work, think of generations who will only ever know Judy Garland as Dorothy because that is the image we share with them, Marilyn Monroe with her dress forever blowing up over that grate despite being dead before many of us were born.

Just before I finish I need to address the other celebrity death that happened a couple of days later and was just as upsetting, that of Alan Rickman.  Both these celebs were taken by the evil that is cancer and the fact their illnesses seemed to have been kept under wraps made the deaths all the more shocking, in some ways both created characters that will live on long beyond the few years they spent on the planet so I just wanted to share a couple that come to my mind at the mention of Alan, the first less obvious than the second will be.

 

Splitting the Audience
2. Tuesday · Telly Box Tuesday

Splitting the Audience

paulaacton2 Comments

Television

So we begin with something that seems to have divided viewers from the comments I have seen…

Personally I thoroughly enjoyed this but I can see where people who had not watched all the previous series struggled with it. The idea of him taking a Victorian case to act as a form of mind palace was inspired and my only complaint is damn that Moffat and I hold Mark Gatiss equally responsible that I might have to wait a while year for another episode. I appreciate it involves scheduling these big name stars together but come on boys you could have at least had it written by now instead of being about to just start work on it. I do enjoy the way they play with the modern and canon views of Holmes and the juxtaposition of other characters both as plot devices and reflections of the roles they would have been expected to maintain in the the Victorian era fascinating.  One bonus feature was the inclusion of a quick clip of The Woman aka Irene Adler and for those who are interested I had read a very interesting article you can find here speculating as to whether she could have in fact been based on a real person.

Film

This week there is no film, I sat racking my brains trying to think of one I have watched this week but the truth is there hasn’t been one. However you still get a clip, this was on over Christmas and though I didn’t watch it I, like a while generation or two probably know the whole thing more or less word for word, when it was on a friend commented on Facebook just how amazing to think this film is now over 75 years old and it just goes to show you cannot reproduce true star quality, no matter how many remakes, reboots or spin offs they try to make only one person will ever truly be Dorothy.

Youtube

I love these even when they are picking at songs I quite like lol

Song

I love both the song and the video for this

Television Tuesday – Stepping back in time!
Telly Box Tuesday

Television Tuesday – Stepping back in time!

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Television

This week saw a flashback to the past with a special anniversary show from TFI Friday for those who have never seen this here is a clip (it is a little long but five minutes should give you a taste of what the show was about)…

Back in the 90’s I watched this every week, it was a mixture of madcap fun and interviews and because of the laid back style people quite often gave away more than they meant to.  Not to mention they also had some amazing bands playing live.  I deliberately showed a clip from the original series rather than the one off simply so anyone who wants the chance to see it can find it on 4OD.

What I take from this in terms of writing is the importance of acknowledging the passing of time if you want to return to something you did previously.  You cannot write a story set in the now publish it wait ten years to write the next instalment without explaining the missing time, of course for works set in other time periods this is not an issue but if you want the reader to believe the events are happening in their own time frame then it must be explained.

Film

The film for this week was the Kingmen lets start with the trailer…

I loved this film, first just look at the cast list how could it be anything other than amazing but the characters they play are also brilliant. It was funny having just the right blend of humour along side action and a little gore but done in such a way that you smile as you squirm over it.  It is reminiscent of Bond before the franchise started taking its self so seriously and becoming action rather than a spy thriller.

My only concern for this film is the ending, I don’t want to spoil the film for those who have not seen it let us just say there is a high death count and I am not sure I would want to see a serial without some of the characters killed off however it is of course possible others could be brought in to fulfil the same role in the story but I hope the film studios leave this alone as a brilliant one off.

In terms of what can be taken forward to writing I think it is that sometimes it requires confidence to do what is best for the story as a whole rather than just create a show case for your favourite characters, I know writing the novel I struggled at killing off a certain person in the book earlier than I had originally planned but it was what was right for the book.

Youtube

I am a bit of a geek, okay if you have been following me long enough then you know that but this is a new RPG from Wil Wheaton this is episode zero which introduces the characters and the backstory…

I don’t have to explain to you where this relates to writing because in many ways it this the exact same process as writing a story and reminds me very much of books I read as a teen where the story gave you options and depending which you picked you turned to a different page.  The one thing however this does do is make you consider the options for your creativity and ways in which you can diversify from the straight novel format if you can team with others who can complement your own visions.

 

Anyway that’s it for this week as I am busy writing and getting very excited.