We all have bad days. Whether you're having trouble with the other half, feeling under the weather, suffering from bruised confidence thanks to some girl who has nothing better to do than tear others down to feed her own insecurities, or generally just feeling blue, it's a universal thing. This is the first in my '10 Steps' series, where I will compile a list of 10 things that are guaranteed to cheer me (and maybe you) up. Since today all I felt like doing was lying down and watching the box, this first list is a movie related one.
1. Alice In Wonderland. "Ahoy, and other nautical expressions!"
2. Pride & Prejudice. "If your feelings are still what they were last April, tell me so at once. My affections and wishes have not changed, but one word from you will silence me forever. If, however, your feelings have changed, I will have to tell you: you have bewitched me, body and soul, and I love, I love, I love you. I never wish to be parted from you from this day on."
3. When Harry Met Sally. "Had my dream again where I'm making love, and the Olympic judges are watching. I'd nailed the compulsaries, so this is it, the finals. I got a 9.8 from the Canadians, a perfect 10 from the Americans, and my mother, disguised as an East German judge, gave me a 5.6. Must have been the dismount."
4. Charade. "Marriage license? Did you say marriage license? Oh I love you Adam, Alex, Peter, Brian, whatever your name is."
5. The Holiday. "Well, hello big dollop!"
6. Secretary. "Each cut, each scar, each burn, a different mood or time. I told him what the first one was, told him where the second one came from. I remembered them all. And for the first time in my life I felt beautiful. Finally part of the earth. I touched the soil and he loved me back."
7. How To Steal A Million. "I want you to take a long look at the trees, the blue sky, and the river, all of which I personally loathe, which is why a juicy stretch in a French prison doesn't bother me at all."
8. 10 Things I Hate About You. "I'm down, I've got the 411, and you are not going out and getting jiggy with some boy, I don't care how dope his ride is. My momma didn't raise no foo'!"
9. The 40 Year Old Virgin. " That's a good looking grandma! My grandma looks like Jack Palance."
10. Two For The Road. "Darling, what's French for 'Inspector, I don't believe a word you're saying and you're not gonna get a damn penny?'"
Sunday, 5 April 2009
Thursday, 2 April 2009
Songs of March
This is a bit late, but I got a tad sidetracked.
1. We Looked Like Giants - Death Cab For Cutie.
2. On A High - Duncan Sheik.
3. Piazza, New York Catcher - Belle & Sebastian.
4. Catch The Wind - Donovan.
5. I Know It's Over - The Smiths.
6. Love Lockdown - Kanye West.
7. Daniel - Bat For Lashes.
8. Persephone - Third Eye Blind.
9. Drive - Funeral For A Friend.
10. Lightning Crashes - Live.
1. We Looked Like Giants - Death Cab For Cutie.
2. On A High - Duncan Sheik.
3. Piazza, New York Catcher - Belle & Sebastian.
4. Catch The Wind - Donovan.
5. I Know It's Over - The Smiths.
6. Love Lockdown - Kanye West.
7. Daniel - Bat For Lashes.
8. Persephone - Third Eye Blind.
9. Drive - Funeral For A Friend.
10. Lightning Crashes - Live.
Wednesday, 25 March 2009
Cities
I've only been abroad once and it was so disastrous that it hasn't been attempted since. I'm sure I will visit many of the places I want to at one point, so here is a list of some of them, plus cities I have been to before and wish to return to. Thanks to Naoise for the suggestion.
1. Edinburgh. A city I've visited hundreds of times on account of it's accessibility and what there is to do there. I adore the atmosphere, museums, art galleries, culture, history and architecture, and having lunch in the park with Gemma. Everytime I pass the statue of David Hume, I think to myself "Why is he in a toga?"
2. Kraków. I would really love to visit this city, and experience the culture. Visit the castles and cathedrals, look at the gorgeous architecture and of course, visit Auschwitz. That is something I have always wanted to do.
3. Paris. I have this utterly childish belief that I will fall in love in Paris (unless, of course, I go there already in love, which would probably be just as wonderful ) It just seems so romantic. I would love to visit the Louvre, and see how much French I can remember from school... better yet, it might be a good excuse to learn the language again.
4. New York. I have this sneaking suspicion that I would take black and white photographs all the time there. I'd love to just wander around there. Window shop (Tiffany's!) and obviously, visit all the landmarks. The Empire State Building, Statue Of Liberty, oh and Central Park.
5. Rome. I'd love to visit so many places in Rome, including the Pantheon in Old Rome with the hole in the ceiling, and the Colosseum. Plus, I love Italian food. Oh and not forgetting The Mouth Of Truth. I love Roman Holiday.
6. Berlin. Lots of different museums for me to enjoy, including a Jewish museum which I think seems really interesting and Topography of Terror. I also love visiting churches and there are some that look really interesting there, plus different memorials and the remaining section of the Berlin Wall.
7. Amsterdam. Many museums, churches and synagogues to catch my interest. I'd really like to visit the Anne Frank House, Van Gogh museum and take in the parks and countryside.
8. Athens. So many of the landmarks in Athens look fascinating, especially The Acropolis and The Ancient Agora.
9. London. I have been to London twice, but there is so much to see and do there, I'd probably have to go back quite a few times to get it all done. I've yet to visit St. Paul's Cathedral and The Tower of London. Lots of different museums and galleries too.
10. Prague. Prague Castle, Josefov - the historical Jewish ghetto, various museums and galleries and the Gothic Týn Church in the Old Town.
1. Edinburgh. A city I've visited hundreds of times on account of it's accessibility and what there is to do there. I adore the atmosphere, museums, art galleries, culture, history and architecture, and having lunch in the park with Gemma. Everytime I pass the statue of David Hume, I think to myself "Why is he in a toga?"
2. Kraków. I would really love to visit this city, and experience the culture. Visit the castles and cathedrals, look at the gorgeous architecture and of course, visit Auschwitz. That is something I have always wanted to do.
3. Paris. I have this utterly childish belief that I will fall in love in Paris (unless, of course, I go there already in love, which would probably be just as wonderful ) It just seems so romantic. I would love to visit the Louvre, and see how much French I can remember from school... better yet, it might be a good excuse to learn the language again.
4. New York. I have this sneaking suspicion that I would take black and white photographs all the time there. I'd love to just wander around there. Window shop (Tiffany's!) and obviously, visit all the landmarks. The Empire State Building, Statue Of Liberty, oh and Central Park.
5. Rome. I'd love to visit so many places in Rome, including the Pantheon in Old Rome with the hole in the ceiling, and the Colosseum. Plus, I love Italian food. Oh and not forgetting The Mouth Of Truth. I love Roman Holiday.
6. Berlin. Lots of different museums for me to enjoy, including a Jewish museum which I think seems really interesting and Topography of Terror. I also love visiting churches and there are some that look really interesting there, plus different memorials and the remaining section of the Berlin Wall.
7. Amsterdam. Many museums, churches and synagogues to catch my interest. I'd really like to visit the Anne Frank House, Van Gogh museum and take in the parks and countryside.
8. Athens. So many of the landmarks in Athens look fascinating, especially The Acropolis and The Ancient Agora.
9. London. I have been to London twice, but there is so much to see and do there, I'd probably have to go back quite a few times to get it all done. I've yet to visit St. Paul's Cathedral and The Tower of London. Lots of different museums and galleries too.
10. Prague. Prague Castle, Josefov - the historical Jewish ghetto, various museums and galleries and the Gothic Týn Church in the Old Town.
Sunday, 15 March 2009
Sunday Songs
I wish Sundays were always brilliantly sunny and calm, where everyone can have long lies and then enjoy the day by mooching about in the comfiest of clothes, walking in unspoiled landscapes and having the most incandescent daydreams. Here are some Sunday songs; the ones I like to relax to, and the ones that should make the sleepiest of days just a bit more magical.
1. The Underground - Al Murphy.
2. This Is How My Heart Behaves - Feist.
3. Real Love - Regina Spektor.
4. Postcard From A Dark Star - Merz.
5. Lilac Wine - Jeff Buckley.
6. Meadowlarks - Fleet Foxes.
7. Crowd Surf Off A Cliff - Emily Haines & The Soft Skeleton.
8. Flightless Bird, American Mouth - Iron & Wine.
9. Do You Want To Come With? - Stephen Fretwell.
10. Fake Plastic Trees - Radiohead.
1. The Underground - Al Murphy.
2. This Is How My Heart Behaves - Feist.
3. Real Love - Regina Spektor.
4. Postcard From A Dark Star - Merz.
5. Lilac Wine - Jeff Buckley.
6. Meadowlarks - Fleet Foxes.
7. Crowd Surf Off A Cliff - Emily Haines & The Soft Skeleton.
8. Flightless Bird, American Mouth - Iron & Wine.
9. Do You Want To Come With? - Stephen Fretwell.
10. Fake Plastic Trees - Radiohead.
Sunday, 8 March 2009
More Literary Quotes
1. "Vanity and pride are different things, though the words are often used synonymously. A person may be proud without being vain. Pride relates more to our opinion of ourselves, vanity to what we would have others think of us." - from Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen.
2. "What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff - I mean if they're running and they don't look where they're going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. That's all I'd do all day. I'd just be the catcher in the rye and all. I know it's crazy, but that's the only thing I'd really like to be. I know it's crazy." - from The Catcher In The Rye by J.D. Salinger.
3. "I'm no idealist to believe firmly in the integrity of our courts and in the jury system - that is no ideal to me, it is a living, working reality. Gentlemen, a court is no better than each man of you sitting before me on this jury. A court is only as sound as its jury, and a jury is only as sound as the men who make it up." - from To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee.
4. "These were the lovely bones that had grown around my absence: the connections - sometimes tenuous, sometimes made at great cost, but often magnificent - that happened after I was gone. And I began to see things in a way that let me hold the world without me in it. The events that my death wrought were merely the bones of a body that would become whole at some unpredictable time in the future. The price of what I came to see as this miraculous body had been my life." - from The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold.
5. "Gentle reader, may you never feel what I then felt! May your eyes never shed such stormy, scalding, heart-wrung tears as poured from mine. May you never appeal to Heaven in prayers so hopeless and so agonized as in that hour left my lips; for never may you, like me, dread to be the instrument of evil to what you wholly love." - from Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë.
6. "We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars." - from Lady Windermere's Fan by Oscar Wilde.
7. "Catherine Earnshaw, may you not rest as long as I am living! You said I killed you - haunt me, then! The murdered do haunt their murderers. I believe - I know that ghosts have wandered on earth. Be with me always - take any form - drive me mad! Only do not leave me in the abyss, where I cannot find you! Oh, God! it is unutterable! I cannnot live without my life! I cannot live without my soul!" - from Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë .
8. "His voice rose under the black smoke before the burning wreckage of the island; and infected by that emotion, the other little boys began to shake and sob too. And in the middle of them, with filthy body, matted hair and unwiped nose, Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man's heart and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called Piggy." - from Lord Of The Flies by William Golding.
9. "The heaventree of stars hung with humid night-blue fruit." - from Ulysses by James Joyce.
10. "Every now and then a clear harmonic cry gave new suggestions of a tune that would someday be the only tune in the world and would raise men's souls to joy." - from On The Road by Jack Kerouac.
2. "What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff - I mean if they're running and they don't look where they're going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. That's all I'd do all day. I'd just be the catcher in the rye and all. I know it's crazy, but that's the only thing I'd really like to be. I know it's crazy." - from The Catcher In The Rye by J.D. Salinger.
3. "I'm no idealist to believe firmly in the integrity of our courts and in the jury system - that is no ideal to me, it is a living, working reality. Gentlemen, a court is no better than each man of you sitting before me on this jury. A court is only as sound as its jury, and a jury is only as sound as the men who make it up." - from To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee.
4. "These were the lovely bones that had grown around my absence: the connections - sometimes tenuous, sometimes made at great cost, but often magnificent - that happened after I was gone. And I began to see things in a way that let me hold the world without me in it. The events that my death wrought were merely the bones of a body that would become whole at some unpredictable time in the future. The price of what I came to see as this miraculous body had been my life." - from The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold.
5. "Gentle reader, may you never feel what I then felt! May your eyes never shed such stormy, scalding, heart-wrung tears as poured from mine. May you never appeal to Heaven in prayers so hopeless and so agonized as in that hour left my lips; for never may you, like me, dread to be the instrument of evil to what you wholly love." - from Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë.
6. "We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars." - from Lady Windermere's Fan by Oscar Wilde.
7. "Catherine Earnshaw, may you not rest as long as I am living! You said I killed you - haunt me, then! The murdered do haunt their murderers. I believe - I know that ghosts have wandered on earth. Be with me always - take any form - drive me mad! Only do not leave me in the abyss, where I cannot find you! Oh, God! it is unutterable! I cannnot live without my life! I cannot live without my soul!" - from Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë .
8. "His voice rose under the black smoke before the burning wreckage of the island; and infected by that emotion, the other little boys began to shake and sob too. And in the middle of them, with filthy body, matted hair and unwiped nose, Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man's heart and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called Piggy." - from Lord Of The Flies by William Golding.
9. "The heaventree of stars hung with humid night-blue fruit." - from Ulysses by James Joyce.
10. "Every now and then a clear harmonic cry gave new suggestions of a tune that would someday be the only tune in the world and would raise men's souls to joy." - from On The Road by Jack Kerouac.
Saturday, 28 February 2009
Songs of February
1. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road - Elton John.
2. Wolf Like Me - TV on the Radio.
3. Five Years - David Bowie.
4. How Soon Is Now? - The Smiths.
5. Jealous Guy - John Lennon.
6. Hounds Of Love - Kate Bush.
7. Sealion - Feist.
8. There Is A Light That Never Goes Out - The Smiths.
9. Theme From Sparta F.C. - The Fall.
10. White Winter Hymnal - Fleet Foxes.
2. Wolf Like Me - TV on the Radio.
3. Five Years - David Bowie.
4. How Soon Is Now? - The Smiths.
5. Jealous Guy - John Lennon.
6. Hounds Of Love - Kate Bush.
7. Sealion - Feist.
8. There Is A Light That Never Goes Out - The Smiths.
9. Theme From Sparta F.C. - The Fall.
10. White Winter Hymnal - Fleet Foxes.
Wednesday, 25 February 2009
Quotations
Another installment of quotes that I like enough to write down and refer to every now and again.
1. "Everyone wants to be Cary Grant. Even I want to be Cary Grant." - Cary Grant.
2. "Always remember that you are absolutley unique. Just like everyone else." - Margaret Mead.
3. "Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak, courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen." - Winston Churchill.
4. "If there were in the world today any large number of people who desired their own happiness more than they desired the unhappiness of others, we could have paradise in a few years." - Bertrand Russell.
5. "You can live to be a hundred if you give up all the things that make you want to live to be a hundred." - Woody Allen.
6. "The fact that a believer is happier than a skeptic is no more to the point than the fact that a drunken man is happier than a sober one." - George Bernard Shaw.
7. "I might repeat to myself slowly and soothingly, a list of quotations beautiful from minds profound - if I can remember any of the damn things." - Dorothy Parker.
8. "If children grew up according to early indications, we should have nothing but geniuses." - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.
9. "If you are a dog and your owner suggests that you wear a sweater, suggest that he wear a tail." - Fran Lebowitz.
10. "I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by." - Douglas Adams.
1. "Everyone wants to be Cary Grant. Even I want to be Cary Grant." - Cary Grant.
2. "Always remember that you are absolutley unique. Just like everyone else." - Margaret Mead.
3. "Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak, courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen." - Winston Churchill.
4. "If there were in the world today any large number of people who desired their own happiness more than they desired the unhappiness of others, we could have paradise in a few years." - Bertrand Russell.
5. "You can live to be a hundred if you give up all the things that make you want to live to be a hundred." - Woody Allen.
6. "The fact that a believer is happier than a skeptic is no more to the point than the fact that a drunken man is happier than a sober one." - George Bernard Shaw.
7. "I might repeat to myself slowly and soothingly, a list of quotations beautiful from minds profound - if I can remember any of the damn things." - Dorothy Parker.
8. "If children grew up according to early indications, we should have nothing but geniuses." - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.
9. "If you are a dog and your owner suggests that you wear a sweater, suggest that he wear a tail." - Fran Lebowitz.
10. "I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by." - Douglas Adams.
Tuesday, 24 February 2009
Oscar Dresses
I always look forward to, and enjoy The Oscars, not only because I love all things film related, but because of the dresses. Here is a list of some of my favourites from over the years.
Sunday, 15 February 2009
Love Songs
I'm aware that I probably should have posted this yesterday, in conjunction with Valentine's Day, but I was too occupied watching old romantic movies. Huzzah. So, I really love music, and I love songs that are about love - whether that's romantic love, unrequited love, the love between a parent and a child, loving someone after they're gone, the list goes on - so I made a list of 10 love songs that I like. It was so much harder than I thought it would be, too.
1. Lover You Should've Come Over - Jeff Buckley. "It's never over, my kingdom for a kiss upon her shoulder. It's never over, all my riches for her smiles when I slept so soft against her. It's never over, all my blood for the sweetness of her laughter. It's never over, she's the tear that hangs inside my soul forever."
2. God Only Knows - The Beach Boys. "I may not always love you, but long as there are stars above you, you never need to doubt it. I'll make you so sure about it."
3. I'll Be Seeing You - Billie Holiday. "I'll find you in the morning sun. And when the night is new, I'll be looking at the moon, but I'll be seeing you."
4. Maybe I'm Amazed - Paul McCartney & The Wings. "Maybe I'm amazed at the way you're with me all the time, maybe I'm afraid of the way I leave you. Maybe I'm amazed at the way you help me sing my song. You right me when I'm wrong. Maybe I'm amazed at the way I really need you."
5. Trust - The Cure. "And still the hardest part for you, to put your trust in me. I love you more than I can say, why won't you just believe?"
6. Something - The Beatles. "Something in the way she knows. And all I have to do is think of her. Something in the things she shows me. I don't want to leave her now."
7. Never Tear Us Apart - INXS. "I was standing, you were there. Two worlds collided and they could never tear us apart."
8. With Or Without You - U2. "Through the storm we reach the shore, you give it all but I want more. And I'm waiting for you."
9. Please Forgive Me - David Gray. "Please forgive me if I act a little strange, for I know not what I do. Feels like lightning running through my veins every time I look at you."
10. How Can I Tell You - Cat Stevens. "Whoever I'm with, I'm always, always talking to you. I'm always talking to you, and I'm sad that you can't hear."
1. Lover You Should've Come Over - Jeff Buckley. "It's never over, my kingdom for a kiss upon her shoulder. It's never over, all my riches for her smiles when I slept so soft against her. It's never over, all my blood for the sweetness of her laughter. It's never over, she's the tear that hangs inside my soul forever."
2. God Only Knows - The Beach Boys. "I may not always love you, but long as there are stars above you, you never need to doubt it. I'll make you so sure about it."
3. I'll Be Seeing You - Billie Holiday. "I'll find you in the morning sun. And when the night is new, I'll be looking at the moon, but I'll be seeing you."
4. Maybe I'm Amazed - Paul McCartney & The Wings. "Maybe I'm amazed at the way you're with me all the time, maybe I'm afraid of the way I leave you. Maybe I'm amazed at the way you help me sing my song. You right me when I'm wrong. Maybe I'm amazed at the way I really need you."
5. Trust - The Cure. "And still the hardest part for you, to put your trust in me. I love you more than I can say, why won't you just believe?"
6. Something - The Beatles. "Something in the way she knows. And all I have to do is think of her. Something in the things she shows me. I don't want to leave her now."
7. Never Tear Us Apart - INXS. "I was standing, you were there. Two worlds collided and they could never tear us apart."
8. With Or Without You - U2. "Through the storm we reach the shore, you give it all but I want more. And I'm waiting for you."
9. Please Forgive Me - David Gray. "Please forgive me if I act a little strange, for I know not what I do. Feels like lightning running through my veins every time I look at you."
10. How Can I Tell You - Cat Stevens. "Whoever I'm with, I'm always, always talking to you. I'm always talking to you, and I'm sad that you can't hear."
Friday, 6 February 2009
Dinner Party
I'm sure a lot of people, at one point or another, have pondered and mentally constructed a guest list for a dream dinner party. You're at liberty to invite anyone you want, whether they're living or dead, famous or non-famous (although, why would you invite someone of little importance, when you can have anyone you want?) and your disregard for whether or not everyone will get along will not be sniffed at. Here's my list, in order of no importance.
1. Jeff Buckley.
2. Marilyn Monroe.
3. Edgar Allan Poe.
4. Charlotte Brontë.
5. Cary Grant.
6. David Hume.
7. Audrey Hepburn.
8. Jane Austen.
9. Oscar Wilde.
10.Henry VIII.
If you're reading this, and want to make your own guest list, post it in the comments section, if you so desire.
1. Jeff Buckley.
2. Marilyn Monroe.
3. Edgar Allan Poe.
4. Charlotte Brontë.
5. Cary Grant.
6. David Hume.
7. Audrey Hepburn.
8. Jane Austen.
9. Oscar Wilde.
10.Henry VIII.
If you're reading this, and want to make your own guest list, post it in the comments section, if you so desire.
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