Build a rocket boys...

What gives your life meaning?

Over the Christmas holidays, I've watched rather a lot of tv, which actually I suppose isn't unusual for me but by doing so I discovered a wonderful, provocative artist called Martin Firrell. From the work I've seen on the internet and in the documentary I watched he mostly uses words on high status buildings. These words generally provoke thought and reflect views that maybe aren't necessarily discussed in mainstream media. The documentary I watched focused on his project at St. Pauls Cathedral; for eight days in 2008 (Yes, I'm too late to see it) words and sentences that Firrell had put together from comments on his blog, conversations with renowned philosophers and artists to answer the question "What gives modern life meaning and purpose?" were projected onto the cathedral, inside and out. There were some beautiful quotations amongst all of the sentences, I urge anyone to check out the blog some of the sentences came from...

 http://thequestionmarkinside.blogspot.com/2007/11/how-do-you-describe-question-mark.html#comments

It really makes one appreciate life and definitely is a great pick me up if you're having a bad day as it can remind you of the small things that create happiness. I suppose lots of things give my life meaning; there are lots of things that make me happy such as lyrics, the atmosphere at festivals, mash potato, books, the colours of autumn, England, drunken escapades, cities, nostalgia, diversity, lonnnng conversations about everything and anything, being young, wine, debate, board games, sociology, quaint cafes, films, a great find in a charity shop, FRIENDS etc, ect, etc, the list could gooo on forever but I suppose hope gives my life meaning, without hope how would  we see past all the hideous and horrendous things that go on in our world?

I watched the A Single Man the other day and it was stunning not only visually but the story itself. It touched upon themes such as homosexuality, freedom, death, life, love, grief...Clearly the meaning of life for George (the main character played by Firth) was love and connecting with people and I suppose spontaneity too. It raised a question in my mind if you were planning on committing suicide, would you change your behaviour, would you tell people what you really thought of them and if so would it benefit you from doing so? Quite a morbid thought but I found it very interesting, fortunately this isn't something I need to ponder too much. It reminded me a little of American Beauty which is one of my favourite films. There's an amazing quote at the end of A Single Man just like at the end of American Beauty which I'm sure everyone can relate to even if they've just experienced it once;

                                                                      

"A few times in my life I've had moments of absolute clarity, when for a few brief seconds the silence drowns out the noise and I can feel rather than think, and things seem so sharp and the world seems so fresh. I can never make these moments last. I cling to them, but like everything, they fade. I have lived my life on these moments. They pull me back to the present, and I realize that everything is exactly the way it was meant to be."

Firth is brilliant in it and I'm excited to see his performance in The King's Speech, he's very versatile and can be very emotive, he's rather kind on the eye too!ha

Jeff I need your shoes now!

I've been lusting after these Jeffrey Campbell shoe boots for a long time now! I absolutely NEED them not WANT them, they are a necessity and I will get them! I found them on an American website that deliver to the UK but they're $190.00 which isn't at all bad value considering how amazing they are however I just can't afford them, I think I need to persuade the parentals to buy me them...

[HD] Florence + The Machine - The Chain (GF 2010)

Strangeness and charm...Forence Welch

Fortunatly I've had the pleasure of seeing Florence and the machine countless times now. Florence's ethereal charm is so enchanting, the whole audience is completely taken in as this creature gracefully prances around the stage. Her style has captured the eyes of many a fashionista, her modelesque figure can carry just about anything. She often jumps between different looks; annie hall inspired looks, grecian goddess, vintage old lady chic, 1950s school girl, dark angel often experimenting with materials such as lace and velvet...the list is endless. Her stage outifits are obvioulsy are a massive part of her act normally either long floaty maxis or leotards with cape like sleeves showing off her amazing pins I'm so envious of. My favourite song is "Cosmic Love" but I love her covers especially of Beiruit's "Postcards from Italy" and Fleetwood Mac's "The Chain" which I've posted above, I'm obsessed with it, I need to find a download somewhere...After seeing clips of Florence and the Machine performing "Strangeness and Charm" on youtube I'm guessing that's going to be their next release, can't wait to hear more new stuff!

Ccccrraaazzzyyy for Zaraaa

I visit zara's website daily! I love zara! My funds don't allow me to purchase everything I want to though, yes poor me...I wanted to purchase the leopard print shift dress right at the top but they didn't have my size - GUTTED! It would have been the perfect christmas party dress with dishevelled hair and red lips, I could have worn it differently on other occasions by adding a blazer and kept my lips nude, oh I'm sooo disapointed!! Hopefully when the snow goes, I'll be able to get to Leeds to purchase it from the shop...these are some of my favoursite items from the website. I love the peter pan collars, the camel corduroy and the heels and socks combos. Can't wait to have some spare cash to shop, shop, shop after christmas!

Freedom from fear...Aung San Suu Kyi

Today marks the release of Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest. The Burmese government has kept her detained for fifteen out of the last twenty one years. Her strength, courage and self-sacrifice (most notably missing the death of her husband in order to remain in Burma to continue fighting for her people) in the name of human rights is remarkable. She's long been a hero of mine, she is an inspiration to us all. Aung San Suu Kyi delivered a wonderful speech in 1990 titled Freedom From Fear which I urge anyone to read. There's also an impressive documentary that really captures how oppressive Burma is called Burma VJ. The documentary focuses on the protests lead by Buddhist monks within the country a few years ago. The brave cameramen managed to film what many journalists couldn't at the time. The BBC has done a great job reporting the recent unfair elections, there's been a mini-documentary running on BBC 24. The reporter visits the rural areas of Burma and the new capital which captures the polarisation within the country; it's astonishing how poor many of the people are in comparison to the military and the government. The money that has been spent on building a new lavish Parliament (among other new buildings in the new capital) could have been spent on health and education...It would be nice to see an outcome in the next election that the people actually want, Aung San Suu Kyi and her party (National League of Democracy) won the election in the 1980s but the military wouldn't seize its power. There's still around two thousand other political prisoners awaiting release. Burma has a long way to go in terms of democracy and freedom but the release of Aung San Suu Kyi means there's some hope restored to the future of this country. 

Orla Kiely...

My friend brought my attention to the Orla Kiely 2009 ad campaign (top) last year and ever since I've been ripping their ads out of magazines. I love the 60s feel and the use of peter pan collars. The A/W 2010 line (bottom two) is far more minimalist but it still has a 60s edge, I adore the yellow dress!

She said, I want to live like common people...

Wireless festival tickets come out on pre-sale tomorrow! Pulp are reforming for the festival among other festivals next summer and I cannot wait! I really hope I get tickets after my disappointing failure to get Glasto tickets, of course it won't be as amazing as Glastonbury but still it will be something exciting to look forward to...

Rebel, Rebel...

Finally we are protesting against the government's plan to raise tuition fees! After seeing and reading about the thousands of French students that demonstrated up and down France in protest of the current proposal to raise the pension age (among other austerity measures in France), I was wondering when action was going to be taken here against the government's harsh proposals to cut, cut, cut! 


I was proud to see my fellow students take to the streets of London peacefully but then it turned into a riot as a few activists began to shatter the windows of the home to the Tory headquarters and others entered reaching the roof top throwing missiles and in one case a fire extinguisher. The violent actions of a small minority has completely undermined the message everyone was trying to get across. Now the focus will not be on the amount of people that came out against the rise in tuition fees, it will be on the damage caused, the people hurt (in particular police officers) and the violence that took place. Young people get enough negative coverage from the media as it is; at the start of today we could have been seen to have a political conscience but now as the newspaper with the highest readership, The Sun puts it, we're "yobs." The public are just going to feel sorry for those that were evacuated from their workplace and the police officers that were left injured.


As much as I'm opposed to the Conservative proposals and as a party in general, storming their HQ and throwing fire extinguishers is not the way to go about preventing the rise in tuition fees. Violence may bring about change in some cases or at least history suggests it does, it's not going to stop this coalition government at least I don't think the majority will change their position on this. Hopefully some Lib Dem MPs will still want to speak up for students but what politician is really going to want to be affiliated with people that create this sort of violence? No-one wants to send out the message "creating violence brings about change." If the proposals had any chance of being prevented then this protest needed to get public opinion on the side of the protesters and their cause, now I'm not sure there's a chance of that happening.


I always used to think a bit of anarchy never did any harm, I was all for it but really its only harm is to the cause itself...or at least I think that at the moment, my opinions seem to be rather fluid at the moment hence the bewildered title. I wish I could have been at the demonstration alongside my fellow students today but unfortunately and ironically I did not have enough money to get myself to London town! Hopefully next time...