Who are you, who who who who?

Ok so I've neglected blogging for a while... which is annoying because I've read books that I should review and listened to music that I should review but I just don't have the time to sit and blog for an hour or so. When I'm not working I'm taking breaks in the form of not writing so while I could blog in my breaks it's writing and that makes the break feel less breaky.

Since the last blog I have read: Ink Exchange and Fragile Eternity (both by Melissa Marr) and started on Acorna's People (Anne McCaffrey). I've bought a greatest hits of The Who (because they are awesome and CSI is awesome) and fallen further in love with MCR and started learning tab for Unintended to see if I can't crack guitar tabs (also learning to bar chord which is starting to work sometimes =D). I've played on Rainbow 6 Vegas 2 with my brother (FPS) (he's better than I am), Viva Pinata (again) and some Dynasty Warriors 6 (again). I've been to a concert, rehearsals, slept to much and worked too little. I've fallen back in love with classical music, especially the more modern, slightly dissonant music.

I've eaten more candy in the past couple of days than I have in the past few months and I'm still going. I'm no further forward with my tai chi but I'm still going with it because it is the most wonderfully soothing thing to do.

I've gained a piercing and now have 7 which is a better number but I'm still trying to work out if I can feasibly make it to 11 without looking overkill... if I can't I'll have to settle on 9.

I've been snapping pictures on my camera as often as I can, but losing days through working. I've discovered the joys of Spotify for my work but can't ever see it replacing iTunes and buying cds. I've looked though old photos and remembered that the old days before medication weren't actually all that bad sometimes.

I've realised that I am who I am and that is who I want to be.

I'm not moving out any time soon but I'm kind of ok with that. I would love more room space but don't have the mental strength yet to tackle living without the parental wing to guide me and keep me safe.

I can finally climb my bed-ladder without anything on it (except my current book and iPod for nighttimes). and I don't remember the last time that was actually possible.

I'm hermitising but actually don't feel too bad for it, although I should get out and see more people... maybe in a month when uni is finally over.

I'm looking forward to the new American McGee's Alice game and I'm very much determined to play through the original (360 download) before cracking into the sequel and completing that! Also rather determined to make some progress again on Persona 4 and to finish FFXIII this summer and maybe crack open Dragon Age again. 

At some point I'm going to start looking for jobs but it's of no hurry anymore since I'm not moving out.

I have a lot of work to do and I'm not sure how I will finish it in time but I have to because it's the final stretch. This is it. No more past this. I'm aiming for a 2.1. I might hit lower, I mostly likely won't hit higher but that is my aim. I'll keep going until I make it. Sure there may be some late nights and early mornings and some removal of the internet to force work out but it will get done. I will finish this damned degree. Then I shall drink and sleep and dance to my heart's content.

I think that's it. A whirlwind catch up. Back to the workings!

I'm wrecking this evening already and loving every minute of it, the things she does to please, she's just a little tease.

OMG how many wednesday's have I missed? There is a really good reason for that. I've kind of run out of wishing for things. I mean there are things I still want but they're all kind of... well materialistic. I mean they all have been but it feels like it's the wrong time for that right now. But I will tell you more of my materialistic wants today because I feel in the mood to =D

I want this fellow, not with white skin though... with natural pink but it's the make up that I would like. I've been talking to Blue too much about these dolls and I keep wanting them more and more but at £300+ I can't really justify having one. Overglorified barbie dolls technically but so so so pretty. I'd have to develop the character before I bought one too. I know I want to make a Reki (fem), Seppha (male) and a Snow (male) but I also kind of want to make L'luo and Dust (both male) and possibly Ryan (obv. male). I tend to make up male characters it seems =p. Although I have just seen an almost perfect Rosemary... I need to get off this website. Snow will be a difficulty to get because he has elfin ears and they aren't easy to get, they also tend to have vampire teeth when they have pointed ears and he certainly doesn't want that. Dust will be tricky to get the right skin tone (being overly tanned) and then all the wigs will be really tricky and will have to be customs...

I should make less complicated characters =p

I'm getting a jacket similar to that one hopefully tomorrow. It won't be real leather... some sort of synthetic nonsense but it's a nice shape and style. I'm also hopefully going to get a proper leather one soon. I might look at the leather ones tomorrow and things may change. I'm into being a biker chick right now. I think that's the Reki influence. She's a lot cooler than I am. Maybe I'll just buy both =D I do like having clothes. This isn't really a wishlist item since I know I'm buying one or the other tomorrow but it is something pretty I want =D

I want to learn to walk in high heels. I can't even walk in shoes with anything more than about an inch. I would love to be able to go out in heels and it not break my feet within seconds. Have I discussed this already? I don't know but I have a desire to go out a little more often than I have done and I would like to be able to wear heels (with cons kept in my bag as an emergence back up =p) so I'm going to practise in my little town shoes. They're really cute. We'll see if I can do it.

Ok done now. That was kind of meh actually. I was wondering why I am part of so many different blogging devices and I can't actually work out why. I don't know why I tell people about the things I do or want. I have a twitter, tumblr, live journal and here. Only the live journal is hidden (because that's for a completely different purpose). Why do I blog? Why do I tweet? I don't honestly know. Am I looking for the internet fame that seems to occur to some people? Or am I just doing it for the experience? The craic? So my friends know more about what I am doing and maybe it will spark a conversation since I am pretty introverted at the moment? I'm not really sure.

Although I am a bit of a contradiction at the moment. I'm introverted except I've made my hair pink (and that got a lot of looks), I'm dressing up like a biker chick (that has involved some very very short skirts) and idk I feel a bit like I'm bouncing back and forth between different ideas. I have an urge to give myself a moustache and travel into town on the bus... but I don't think that would be the best idea I've ever had =p also then I'd be doing tai-chi with an eyeliner moustache... mebs not =p (edit: tai chi isn't even on today so that was a moot point).

For a long time I didn't like this band. You know that song? I Write Sins Not Tragedies? It was that song. I was on holiday and I woke up at least once every hour from about 2am with the lines "I chimed in with a 'haven't you people ever heard of closing the goddamn door?'" going through my head. I would have loved that song if it hadn't kept me up all night running through my head. I started listening to it recently and it has improved from just background music to music I would choose to listen to (and have rocked out to on the bus). I had the same thing with Fall Out Boy, they had to grow on me before I enjoyed their music. It's certainly going to be part of my playlist from now on =)

And rising =)

These albums are the ones I have by Emilie Simon, who is a french electronica artist. The first two (self titled, and vegetal) are very electronicapop (not electropop which is more owl city and cutesy people or like dance pop... this is electronica techniques with a poppier vocal... I know what I mean). La marche de l'Empereur is the soundtrack for the film (in English) The March of the Penguins (voice over by Morgan Freeman). It's a different sound but still very nice. I've been listening to her a lot. Some of her songs are in French and some are in English and all of them sound wonderful. I really like her music. Seriously check her out because she's interesting. I love Dame de Lotus and En Cendres (both from Vegetal) and I absolutely love her cover of Come As You Are (Original by Nirvana) which is from her live album A L'Olympia (I only have this track from there). There is also a Velvet Underground cover of Femme Fatale on the self titled album that is wonderful.

(all three)

46, 47, 48, 49

Ok I couldn't find the right cover but that will have to do (I am always bothered by not being able to find the right cover for things!). So I found this book in the local secondhand book shop (called The Keel Row for those who know) and thought... why not? I wanted to watch the film at some point but why not read the book first and see what the craic is. It's a pretty good book actually (a novella technically and it came first which I like =) ).

I can see the link in style from the way Holly Golightly speaks and the way that Blair Waldorf in Gossip Girl talks (Blair wants to be Holly and B@T is her favourite film so it makes sense but it's such a nice link!). She is an interesting character who doesn't really seem to know what she's doing except maybe she does she just pretends not to. It's a bit Catcher in the Rye (although set over a much longer period than just a few days).

It was enjoyable and not too long. The plot was nice but was more socially revolving than plotbased. It was a nice read. There were three other short stories in my version and they were rather nice as well. Again revolving more around thoughts and feelings and memories than plot but that is a nice change =).

I recommend it and now hope to snag a copy of the film from Joey who in turn gets to borrow the book =D

8/52 (I'm so behind on my book challenge... *shrugs*)

Ok, off to do a different task on my list of tasks to do today =D

Love Buttercup xxx

You can fall for chains of silver, you can fall for chains of gold

I've been neglecting my blogspace. I'm terrible =p... Actually I've not been doing that much really. Sleeping a lot. I seem to be terribly lacking in energy all the time and I'm not really sure why. Sleeping 12hours isn't even helping and normally that's one of the cures for me. Oh well.

Been doing quite a bit of work... I should really be doing more but I'm doing what I can so hopefully I'll graduate from uni this year. Not doing a masters... because well... a masters in music isn't going to help me get anywhere with anything so I'm just going to call it a day with my official musical education. I'm hopefully going to keep it up but at the moment I am far more interested in photography than music... whoops. I also may well be making some pewter pendants with the huge lump of lead-free pewter daddy gave me and the polymorph to make the master. I'm rather excited to try it out but I'm waiting for some extra time to play. I think I might draw up some designs... start off really basic but hopefully I'll be making more complicated designs. Proper metal work!

Also may be getting a little tutor help from daddy's friend at work who does a lot of jewellery design. Win!

I'll tell you if I start taking requests =p

I've noticed my hair is well fading fast... for a dye that everyone reviewed as the most longlasting semi-permanent dye it might as well be called permanent... it's not doing too great in my books. Idk... I expected something a little, better? The underneath that I play with (because it's so soft) and rubs against my clothes seems like it's completed reverted to my natural colour. Same with the strands that get tucked behind my ears. I might pick up some stargazer just before graduation to top it up (unless mama is really against me having pink hair for grad =p). Maybe my hair is trying to tell me that it's had enough of dyes and is rejecting it any way it can.

I finished my first MSH (monthly scavenger hunt) in March. 

 The mosaic of images that I submitted. From L-R

Hello Kitty!, Arch, Volume, Error Message, Cash Only.

Available, Marker, Escalator, Rough, Acid.

Washer, Illuminate, London Bridge, Limo, Ticket To Ride

Rainbow, Arrange, Vein, Elevator, Lips.

I'm really proud of myself for that because all of my photos were new for that month. Some people use quite a bit of archive work and it's allowed so that's not a bother but I like to only submit new works. Going to start work on this month's batch as well. I already have some ideas so that's a good start. But there are some mighty tricky ones! Some of them I was pretty proud of if I'm honest. I worked pretty hard to get the colours just right (as that is one of the most important things to me). I love colour! And macro =D

I've been playing a lot of guitar recently and if my throat would finally fix itself then I would be doing it a lot more. I'm enjoying singing Soul of Fireflies, California Dreamin' and Romeo and Juliet. They're my favourite ones right now =) maybe I'll let you hear one when I'm able to sing, and not mess up at least one chord everytime I play =p

I finished reading a book. The second of the Acorna series:

This book is turning more and more into the Tower and Hive series but I'm forgiving it for the fact that I love that series and this one is just as good so far. One thing I'm happy about is that I noticed that the name Johnny Greene (a character in this book) was familiar. Apparently he appears in every series (a bit like Cid from FF... yes I just compared AMcC to FF)... I only recognised his name from T&H (when I say that I combine T&H with The Pegasus trilogy where I actually remember his name from but there is a Gollee Gren who apparently is a variant name: The Johnny Greene Thread some seem tenuous at best... but that's probably because she didn't want literally the same name throughout) but that means he should also be in Dragons of Pern (although I don't remember his name... oh well I may just have to reread it all to find him! =p).

Anyway the plot is pretty good, I really like the characters and there are a lot of mishaps that occur that you could just imagine happening IRL. They're the sort that you would just happen because they would annoy you. Trust me, I do know what I'm saying even if I don't make any sense. If you like Sci-Fi/Fantasy (not either or... I actually mean a combo of the two) then you will probably like this. I can't wait to read the next two but I've started on a different book in the mean time and I'm already half way through =p (although it is a collection of short stories so it won't take long).

Okies I have stuff to do...

Love Buttercup xxx

Tell you that I love you then I'll tear your world apart, just pretend I didn't tear your world apart

Everything is a bit topsy-turvy at the moment. I'm totally mood-bonkers so doing things is really hard but here is a blog because I have things to say! I've something to say, I've something to say! (She's something, she's something, she's something, she's something to say).

So I was trawling (not trolling) the internet and I came across something really pretty:

KNITE

I could possibly find out how to embed that into this blog but really go read it, it's beautiful. The style is fabulous and the story is going to make me cry by the end I can just tell! I almost have done twice, it's just so beautiful. I wish I could make things that wonderful. I hope that she releases a book format (the author already has a publisher and they're going to make an iPhone interactive book but I don't have an iPhone so I want to be able to buy a colour book). I <3 Sen because he is a dreamer and I have a soft spot for that type of person and Kai is so sweet and caring... just go read it now! It'll take you about 10 minutes to read/watch all 3 chapters and the bonus ones (there are links on each chapter page to the corresponding bonus and next chapter). I don't know when the next one is out but I want more now! *Impatient*

I've been playing Pokemon Black recently (Jona bought it for me but I guess I make up for it by buying Xbox360 games and letting him play them =p) and it's a bit weird but it's certainly pretty good. I've not played much because we're doing the collection of starters at the moment so I've only played just past the first gym but I can certainly give some thoughts. Firstly the girl character (over on the far left) you can be is a bit silly looking (seriously what is with all that hair?) and I'm almost tempted to play as a boy  (who looks kind of like a girl anyway) because of it and that never happens in games for me. But I'll probably play as a female in the end anyway... it's just a bit bothersome, superficial but bothersome =p. I've taken to some of the pokemon already actually. It's kind of like playing Red/Blue again for the first time because I don't know any of them properly yet. It's good fun =) 

Here are some more characters:

This is Cheren (I think... I call him Ishida because he's basically the same character hahahahahaha =D) and Bianca (also known as dense hooka or other negative terms). They're ok. Actually they have a lot of potential. One takes the pokemon strongest against you (shock! Like so many of the other games!) and the other takes the weaker (guess who is who ¬¬). Bianca is the ditz, they've really gone quite far on stereotyping there but she might have a possibly good story going on, I just haven't got far enough. Ishida is smarmy and reckons he knows everything and is all tactical and everything. Which sucks for him because I keep beating him =p.

Here is the main gripe actually... the bad guys ¬¬

These are the main bad guys I have met so far (excluding the mysterious N, because he's, at the moment, on neither side... although try not to look into it too far because there are some really obvious similarities going on if you look on the internet at certain people's pictures (digging a hole here ¬¬).

The original Team Rocket (from Pokemon Blue, Red, Yellow, Gold, Silver and possibly Crystal? and the remakes of those said games). I think they were only in those games but I haven't played the 3rd or 4th gen games. The people on the right are Team Plasma. They're... well... naff. Team R were out there causing mischief, trying to steal that one pikachu and trying to take over the world. So far Team P have told me that they are battling to free pokemon from their masters. It's a bit contradictory and they go around stealing pokemon but so far they just seem lame in comparison, Especially when you compare their bosses.

Ok ignore the bright orange 90's suit, or don't if you like orange, it was the best picture I could find from the anime, in some images he's wearing a black suit. Team R had Giovanni who seems to be based on the old school mafia style bosses. There is even a map in the background for him to world dominate with and he's drinking a whiskeyish looking drink! He was the cool bad guy. Then on the right we have Team P's Ghetis... I had to go look up that name. It's ridiculous. I do not care for these bad guys at all. They're no team rocket.

Technically neither were these guys, they were pretty anti Team Rocket but you gotta love them anyway =D (don't ask why Jesse's hair is purple... some of the anime screenshots are and some are red... I think it depends on the series... I just like their smiles).

Basically the game is good if you like pokemon, it's basically the same game but with different characters. It's cute, the music isn't that bad and the graphics are pretty good for a DS. It's not the best game ever, and it's not even the best pokemon game ever but it's good, so far =)

Ok enough of pokemon.

I've been listening to a lot of music since I last blogged so here are 6 reviews, I'll try and keep them relatively short =p

Ok... formatting is playing up and it won't let me do things how I want... rubbish.

Ah hah! Got it working again. Ok so this album was pretty good actually. She's shot up to fame pretty quickly and I was worried that I would get the overhype monster coming down and ruining it for me but no she's pretty good. A nice voice, a bit souly which makes a change for me. I really like Chasing Pavements (you know that really big his she had), Daydreamer, Melt My Heart To Stone and Hometown Glory. It's a pretty good album and worth a peek at if you have time. I'm certainly going to look into her second album. Actually I started listening to this one because a fellow G&Ser sang one of her songs at karaoke and it was amazing. Mostly because of the G&Ser but it piqued my interest.

 

The Airborne Toxic Event (self titled album) are unashamedly indie. It was the first thing I thought "my gosh how indie are you guys?" The album wasn't bad; it was uninsulting and I won't mind if the music comes on again when on shuffle. I won't immediately think to listen to them again though. If you like indie rock or pop you'll probably like these guys. I like their name though, that's really cute =3

Fave track: Sometime Around Midnight

Ok I mostly stopped listening to rawr rawr rawr music. I couldn't tell what they were saying and it was just a bit gratey on my ears. I tried to be an angry little goth teenager but ultimately I preferred pop and rock and wearing all black didn't really work for me (and I certainly couldn't be bothered with the make up part =p). BUT the point of the matter is is that I thought From Autumn To Ashes huh? This will be easy *hovers over the delete button*. But I was shocked. Ok I know that I like the thrack Autumn Monologue by them but Abandon Your Friends is a pretty decent album. There is still the shouty rawr in places but also pretty melodies. A couple of tracks were unlistenable but that might have been the rip. Most were actually pretty ok. They weren't deleted and I may have to actually listen to their other albums that I have by them. I may be pleasantly surprised by their music =)

 

I like DCfC. I knew that already. Plans is the album that I already knew some tracks from so I started with that one. Weirdly some of the tracks sound very Owl Cityish so clearly Mr Owl City man listened to them... or it is coincidence. But yeah wonderful album. This one has the wonderful tracks of; Someday You Will Be Loved, I Will Follow You Into The Dark, Marching Bands Of Manhattan and Crooked Teeth. Their alternative rock indie stuff and quite chilled. It was good times.

 

 Finally, I listened through all of the Kimya Dawson music I had. She's a bit of a wild card. Some of her tracks are borderline genius (in my opinion of course, I know some people who hate her full stop), and some of her other tracks are just beyond me. She's barmy, that's certainly something I can tell. I first heard her music on the Juno film (which is indie as hell and I love it so much!) and her tunes are catchy because they're very simple. They're also pretty repetitive but her songs are mostly for the lyrics. My favourite album is definitely Remember That I Love You.

Fave tracks from everything I have?:

RTILY

• Loose Lips
• I Like Giants
• I Miss You
• France
• 12/26

I'm Sorry That I'm Mean Sometimes

• Hold My Hand
• Everything's Alright

Juno OSTs

• Rollercoaster
• Sleep
• So Nice So Smart (blog title)
• All I Want Is You

 (both)

40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45

Ok that's all for now folks =)

Just remember that I love you

Buttercup xxx

What's in your wallet?

I love knowing about people. I love reading blogs by my friends so that I know just that little bit more about them. And something that I've always enjoyed looking at is the photos on flickr that people do of the contents of their bags. It's so interesting to see what people have on them on a regular basis. It's a bit like being allowed into a tiny part of their life. A glimpse into what they deem to be important when they aren't in their house.

So I've joined them:

Those are my bags. On the left is my camera bag which is now more often than not with me at all times and on the right is my favourite bag from River Island. It has lots of zips and is smaller than my rucksack so I carry less trash around with me =)

I think I might explain some of my items, just why I choose to carry around such stuff although most is self explanatory.

1. Book/DS. Normally I only carry one or the other unless I am staying out somewhere. The amount of bus travelling I do means I need to have something to distract me... or at least the option of something to distract. Sometimes I just enjoy thinking. I'm currently playing Pokemon Black in case you were wondering.
2. Camera. It's my old one. I took this photo (well a similar one) with that camera and had my Pentax one in the shot but it was so terrible looking I just had to have them this way round. I don't carry that camera very often anymore. I used to carry it everywhere but it's just not as good as Peregrin so I can only now use it at parties. Shame really... I used to think it was a fabulous camera.
3. Purse and card wallet. They grey rectangle with a Norwegian flag on it and the purple rectangle below it (because it might not be 100% clear). I kind of want a new purse. I've had that one for years. It's got a temporary tattoo of my name in Chinese stuck on it that I put on years and years ago. It's impressive how long it has lasted really. Even if I don't have my bag on me it is rare that I don't have those with me.
4. Dictaphone. The silver shiny thing. The uni lent it to me for recording my lectures so I nearly always have it on my anyway so I don't have to pack my bag for uni. I'll be giving it back soon though so it won't be there anymore shortly. Pretty nifty device though.
5. Phone. This is my second phone ever. My first was a Nokia 3510, wonderful thing. Lasted all through high school and sixth form. This one has lasted all through uni (4 years). It's very swish.
6. Tic Tacs. A slight addiction sometimes. I only ever buy the orange and lime ones, aside from when they were making orange and cherry :3 I don't like the taste of the mint ones but they do smell rather nice.
7. iPod and headphones. I just got the headphones recently and it's encouraged me to use my iPod again. I use it a lot to go to sleep (I have a mini speaker for that) but my headphones aren't very practical especially now my hair is pink. My skullcandy can headphones are white fluffy and my earclip on ones are white as well... I don't fancy having a very pale tie-dye pink on them. These in-ear rapey ones are fab though. It's good to have music again in my ears when I'm out.
8. Tissues, lipbalm, hand gel and moisturiser. The tissues are mostly because I've been hella ill recently but it's a good habit to get into. The lip balm changes on a regular basis. I was enjoying one I was given (a strawberry pot one) but I like to change things around and this one makes your lips all tingly like Carmex does. The hand gel is another habit to get into. Travelling around on public transport and then having food isn't the healthiest of things so I'm trying to be cleaner about that. Not OCD just less gross =p and the moisturiser is because I get really dry hands and when that happens I can't touch anything until I get some cream on them. It really sucks =(
9. Pens and notepad. So I can make notes whilst on the go. Often make small lists of things to do. It's mostly because I forget everything ever! Mini calanders don't help me very much because I forget to fill them in but a notepad is just useful.
10. Bus ticket. Because well... I get the bus most days out of a week. 
11. USB memory stick. It came from Northumbria uni because they were giving them out free but it is a useful stick... there is a lid for it somewhere...
12. Keys. I love my keyrings and I'm scared that I'll lose them some day but it would be rubbish to remove them purely for that reason. The frog I've had for years, since I was first given house keys. Mew was at most about 3 years ago. I bought it from a concert I attended. Gloomy bear was from Anth. I like having it there even though we aren't dating anymore.

That's the contents of my bag and a summary of the items. It's probably been dull to read but I find these things interesting so nyeh. I hope some of my friends also do this... although no doubt their bags will have waaaaaaaaaaay cooler and/or more interesting items in than I have. Who knows though.

I might do a proper blog at somepoint =p

Loves and hugs

Buttercup xxx

And I said don't bother you know we don't really love one another

So Japan is the main thing that people are thinking about right now. I'm not even going to try to give a comprehensive idea of what has been happening. BBC News is still playing things live on Japan but not continuously anymore (that link may or may not work later... I don't know how things work on there). All I really know is that there was a huge earthquake on Friday (two days ago) (8.9/9.0ish) with foreshocks (that I was not aware of) beforehand and aftershocks are still ongoing. There was a devastating tsunami that has ravaged the eastern coast. Currently 3 reactors in nuclear powerplants have warnings issued on them. Roughly 1,300 have died. If you want to find out more (although I think most people know that  basic information already) really use BBC News or another good news channel. NHK would be the best, being a Japanese channel but I don't know if they translate it into English.

I also have information of how things are from my good friend Anna-chan who is over in Japan this year. It's obviously worrying because there are scheduled powercuts so there are often periods of no news from her end, even though we know that she is safe. She's hopefully going to head south for a while with some friends which means it will be even safer =)

I hope things over there don't get any worse at all. This world seems to be going a little bonkers at the moment. Actually I find it hard to imagine what is happening. They show us videos of the different various things happening but it's hard to understand the scale. I can't imagine what a 30ft wave looks like. It just stumps me.

Some reviewage because it's what I do best.

So because I am ill I'm reading almost constantly, which is why I was able to read this one so quickly. It's the second book in the series (the first being Stray) and isn't bad. Strippers are going missing, strays are being killed and Faythe is yet again the one being targeted. The book isn't bad, it's not literary genius but it was good fun and I still find it interesting with the characters being werecats. Vincent had a tendency to reiterate things that we learnt in the first book about this idea, such as nudity being completely the norm between the siblings (they have to strip first before "shifting"). It is quite common for a series to do that but it is a tad bothersome. I've read the first book so I don't need the constant reminder. Hopefully it'll not happen in the third book. I quite like the series and would like to read more but if she keeps going over things again and again it'll get tiresome.

Ultimately if you like the paranormal genre and want a pretty easy read you will probably like this. It's first person from Faythe's perspective. She does like to try and create an overly "kick-ass" persona which is laughable in places but it's still a very good book. I'm just being overly critical. It was enjoyable =p

 

5/52

And another! This is the first of this series I have read and, as with most of the series by McCaffrey, it did not disappoint. It was another book I happily chose not to put down (it was a welcome distraction to coughing fits). The story follows a female alien who, as a very small child, was sent out from her spaceship in a pod, in hopes that she would survive. She is picked up by three miners who were drilling within a meteor field. It's rather like the beginnings of The Rowan but since I liked that book as well, I didn't mind. In fact thinking about it the opening idea is basically the same. It's completely different where they take it.

I found it beautifully written and very much in the style of McCaffrey. The way she links people together within the stories is well done. How they react to each other and show affection, especially the way the miners find Acorna like their child or niece, is just wonderfully built.

I'm hoping that the next three books that I own from the series will be just as enthralling. There are seven in total so far, not including three books of a secondary series, and if I enjoy these first four then I will just have to pick up the others asap. I like to read McCaffrey's books in quick succession with the plots swimming through my head. It's a beautiful work of sci-fi and fantasy. I'm never sure what genre to put some of her works under. Yes it's set in space but heck, there is a unicorn girl as one of the main characters, that's pretty big fantasy ideas there =p. No it's more sci-fi and would be classes as that, I know, but unicorns! It's not furry either, it's wonderfully idealised anthro work. But I ramble. Basically, lovely story that is set in space with a unicorn girl. Genre doesn't really matter =)

6/52 (I might catch up after all!)

I picked up this album (Norah Jones: Feels Like Home) recently from a charity shop and it wasn't bad. She has a wonderfully soft tone. Acousticy, alternativey, bluesy, country..y =p she's interesting although her music does start to sounds a bit samey, possibly because all of her music is rather slow. She is good to chillout to though, good for background ambience. It's inoffensive but not really a shining star of an album. Certainly pretty though =)

38/100

I just picked up Noah And The Whale: Peaceful The World Lays Me Down and it's rather good. It's very much like Zoey Van Goey and that area of music who/that I enjoy to listen to. It's acousticy and pretty and has a couple of pretty bouncy tracks. It's well worth a listen and the popular track 5 Years Time is really nice (it's the track that I first heard). My favourite tracks are: 2 Atoms In A Molecule, Second Lover, 5 Years Time, Peaceful The World Lays Me Down and Mary. I also have two tracks that are not on the album that are really good, if you fancy looking into these guys; Beating and 2 Bodies 1 Heart. It's well worth a listen.

39/100

That's pretty much it. I haven't been doing much recently simply from being ill. Hopefully things in Japan won't get too much worse. 

Love to all of you out there, stay safe

Buttercup xxxxx

To influence a person is to give him one's own soul.

There isn't really much I want at the moment. I'm having a weird phase where I can look at lots of things and think "my those would be nice to have" and then close the tab that they are in. It's a restless sort of mood. I want to buy things but I just don't really care to buy them and then try to find space for them... saying that though I have ordered a ps1 dance mat game and a CD by Noah and the Whale (not the new one just released this week though... their first one). It is a fickle mood but there are a few things at present (mostly non material) that I want.

When will it end?

I, like many others of my generation grouping, have fond memories of pokemon. We played the gameboy games, we watched the cartoon/anime and we collected the cards. Most of these people have grown up now and consider it nothing more than a memory but I kind of still really like pokemon. Granted I am much more intune with the first 251 pokemon than the later releases but I still have some that I like in those later ones (see right: Plusle and Minun... so cute =3). Really the point is is that I would like to complete the first 151 cards... just one of each one, not even of each type (so I wouldn't want a base deck and a jungle version just either or (sorry if this is way over your head for some people... I'll stop my pokenerdery soon I promise!)) I'm only missing about 10 from the 151 set... I would collect up to 251 but I don't have many from the later 100 and I have almost none from the ones after that. It would just be nice... I like collecting things and these at least take up very little space.

 It was the best I could find as a picture!

I'm pretty ill right now. I've had a sore throat (red) for over a week and now have a terrible cough (yellow)... like really bad. I would rather like to be not ill... although a lot of people are ill right now and so I would like everyone to be not ill. A bit like wishing for world peace. I just don't want it to be a throat infection because I don't really want to have to take more medication and also I hate not singing... and if I start singing (like I did last night a bit ¬¬ whoops) then I tend to ruin my voice for a couple of years. Although that cold virus is reeeeeeeeeeeally cute =) They have other viruses on there but I quite like the yogurt and the red blood cell =) TB is also pretty cute as it is bright green. They're wonderful, I would buy lots of them.

www.thinkgeek.com is an amazing site though.

Ok so it has been a lot sunnier recently but I want it to be warm. I'm such a wuss and even though I prefer the colder months because there are no insects it's be a pretty long and cold winter. Fewer illnesses as well =)

Here comes the sun doo de doo de =D

The G&S crew had a karaoke night and Ralph sang that... I only know the one line though... here comes the suuun =D I sang Don't Marry Her by The Beautiful South and slipped in a few cheeky curse words that are in the album version of the song. We all had a cracking evening. I really love karaoke with them. (they are all so much cooler than I am =p).

Question: Where do those really tiny flies come from? The ones that are generally found around computer monitors? The really teeny weeny annoying things... I've never known how they get in my room... they just are there sometimes.

OMG I FINISHED A BOOK!

As you can probably read it was The Picture Of Dorian Gray. I felt rather intellectual reading it. I get that with books that are considered literary classics. It's like... these books have been considered of a high enough caliber to be in a special club and I'm reading one. They're normally too hard for me to read but this one was quite good actually. I had seen the recent film with that pretty male playing Dorian... Ben Barnes. He has a bit of a butt chin going on but he isn't unpleasant to look at.(image below). The book was quite fun to read, the ideas that Sir Henry Wotton brought up were rather interesting to note. As a social discussion it was very interesting. For those not in the know, Dorian Gray starts out life as a very pretty boy who is the muse of Basil Hallward, an artist, and meets HW whilst sitting for a painting. He is very innocent and seems to be charmed by everything around him. HW finds him fascinating and in a discussion very early on he tells Dorian that he is to make the most of his youth and beauty for they will not last long.

On seeing his finished portrait Dorian, in a fit of rage and sorrow, curses it so that it may age and he does not. He bargains his soul for this (kind of unintentionally, mind). The story pretty much tells you of how HW's influence on Dorian and the search for pleasure damages his soul.

All in all it was a very pleasant read and now I am back to reading urban fantasy =p

Something that was amusing was that whilst reading it the language that I was using was rather influenced in a day to day basis. I get that a lot and it amuses me. At one point I was highly overdramatic and saying things like "I am the most miserable today, I do not know how I shall ever cope!" *places hand on forehead and swoons*

=D

4/100... I'm so behind =\

Love you all  Buttercup xxx