If You Open Your Mind To Much, Your Brain Will Fall Out.

If anyone can show me one example in the history of the world of a single
Psychic who has been able to prove under reasonable experimental conditions that they are able to read minds

And if anyone can show me one example in the history of the world of a single
Astrologer who has been able to prove under reasonable experimental conditions that they can predict events by interpreting celestial signs

And if anyone can show me one example in the history of the world of a single
Homeopathic Practitioner who has been able to prove under reasonable experimental conditions that solutions made of infinitely tiny particles of good stuff dissolved repeatedly into relatively huge quantities of water has a consistently higher medicinal value than a similarly administered placebo

And if anyone can show me just one example in the history of the world of a single
Spiritual or religious person who has been able to prove either logically or empirically the existence of a higher power that has any consciousness or interest in the human race or ability to punish or reward humans for their moral choices or that there is any reason - other than fear - to believe in any version of an afterlife

I'll give you my piano, one of my legs, and my wife.

I came all the way over here..

so i could say this without anyone realising:





AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH


you have the ability to make me angry with a few words.




thankyou blogger.com you are my emotional outlet!!!!!!!!!!!!

You can have 21 sons and be blood when they marry my daughters.

Another little lyrics analysis for you. (whoever 'you' is)

I was doing some history homework whilst listening to itunes, and this song came on. (2080 - Yeasayser)

I love the song but couldn't make out some of the lyrics so I searched them and came upon the song meanings website.

Lots of people had tried to interpret the lyrics but were struggling to understand what the whole song is actually about, as it comes across as quite contradictory.

One person, 'tifnz', came up with a good summary though;

"With no Berlin wall what the hell you gonna do"

The Berlin wall was symbolized the separation between democracy and communism. Without the Berlin wall, how are you supposed to separate the two ideologies?

If you think about when he says "I can't sleep when I think about the future I was born into", imagine being in a time of ww1 and what the people of that time were going through. Imagine if we were going through that right now. We say, "oh it's in the past and look at how they worried; their worries are irrelevant to our time!" So, perhaps the time that we are living in, and worrying in, will be looked back in 2080 as somewhat "irrelevant".

So we might as well all be farmers and not bother with worrying.. become passive observers, if you will.(I don't mean that farming is a passive lifestyle. Farmers feed us and make us a fat and happy nation.)

Roll with the punches

'Being happy doesn't mean that everything is perfect, it means you've decided to look beyond the imperfections.' - Unknown

Now I know why all the trees change in the fall

The last blog I wrote was about people who realised that, during WW1, the Germans and the Brits weren't that different after all. They were destined to be enemies, but, as implied in Thomas Hardy's 'The Man He Killed', perhaps in other circumstances they would be close friends. Coincidentally I read a passage earlier (The Luminous Life of Lilly Aphrodite) that expressed these thoughts perfectly;

"He could hear their whispers and the click of their guns. He could smell their fear, their sweat, even the oil they used on their rifles. He picked one, a small man with a strange loping shuffle, and set him in his sights. And then he saw that the soldier's uniform was faintly steaming. He happened to glance down and realized that his own uniform was doing the same. The sun was drying out the rain, the mud, the recent past; they were the same, weren't they?" - The Luminous Life of Lilly Aphrodite, Beatrice Colin

the song is what I was listening to when I read it.

Indifferent

My book, The Luminous Life of Lilly Aphrodite, has reached a part where she is living very rough in 1916 Berlin and has been deserted by a close friend. It made me think about the war, and how the attitudes in this book of the Germans are no more hostile and hatred than the British attitudes were during the war. It reminded me of Thomas Hardy's poem 'The Man He Killed.' He writes about two characters who were enemies by law but in reality not so different. He says that in other circumstances, they probably would have been friends;


Had he and I but met
By some old ancient inn,
We should have sat us down to wet
Right many a nipperkin!

But ranged as infantry,
And staring face to face,
I shot at him and he at me,
And killed him in his place.

I shot him dead because –
Because he was my foe,
Just so – my foe of course he was;
That's clear enough; although
He thought he'd 'list perhaps,
Off-hand like – just as I –
Was out of work –
had sold his traps –
No other reason why.

Yes; quaint and curious war is!
You shoot a fellow down
You'd treat if met where any bar is,
Or help to half-a-crown. - Thomas Hardy, The Man Who He Killed









Some lyrics, by A Fine Frenzy, I felt were also quite relevant;

Help me out said the minnow to the trout
I was lost and found myself swimming in your mouth
Help me chief
I've got plans for you and me
I swear upon this riverbed
I'll help you feel young again

Not your every day circumstance
The hummingbird taking coffee with the ants

Please, I know that we're different
We were one cell in the sea in the beginning
And what we're made of was all the same once
We're not that different after all. - The Minnow and the Trout, A Fine Frenzy

"Es ist nichts."

I gave up reading Kristallnacht when I felt that most of the interesting accounts had been described in the first few chapters, hence why I have started reading the very highly recommended 'The Luminous Life of Lilly Aphrodite'. I'm really into it and find it wonderful how the author, Beatrice Colin, manages to describe everything so delicately accurate that you can put yourself in the shoes of the character and imagine what they are hearing, feeling and even smelling.

There are lots of interesting quotes that I could pick out, but I have just read a passage that I found was very cleverly put together. The book is about decadent, tantalizing Berlin in a Germany torn apart by war at the turn of the 20th Century. War hadn't actually broke out at the time that this chapter was set, but it adapts in the key cause of WW1, the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand;


"My tea was a little cold this morning," he would say. "Could you make sure the water has actually boiled next time?" And she would nod, because her voice would only betray her. When he was gone, her tears would roll into the sponge mixture and it would spoil. 'Es ist nichts,' she would tell herself. It is nothing.
'It is nothing,' Archduke Franz Ferdinand repeated as he lay bleeding to death beside his pregnant wife on the floor of his carriage in the middle of Sarajevo in June. But of course, on both counts, it was not nothing." - The Luminous Life of Lilly Aphrodite, Beatrice Colin

Hey there little sexy pig you mated with a man, and now you've got a little kid with hooves instead of hands.

Your life is defined by its opportunities... even the ones you miss. - Benjamin Button

Please, I know that we're different, we were one cell in the sea in the beginning, and what we're made of was all the same once, we're not that different after all. - A Fine Frenzy

Ink was spilled, manuscripts rendered illegible, and white dresses were ruined. And so in homage to all the creativity that had been wasted, and faced with a spoiled set of clothes, she decided to dye the lot and dress her baby in black. "I'm sorry," people would mutter as they passed her in the street, thinking the infant the victim of some awful tragedy or other. "Me too," replied the mother through the twisted corner of her crimson painted mouth. - The Luminous Life of Lilly Aphrodite

It is not our abilities that show what we truly are. It is our choices. - Professor Albus Dumbledore

Kristallnacht; Prelude to destruction

This is the book that I started reading today after finishing The Burnt-Out Town of Miracles. I'm already really into it, as history is a secret passion of mine :S.
I already had a brief understanding of what Kristallnacht was; I knew that it was referred to as 'the night of broken glass' because it was when Hitler went around and demolished Jewish shops and synagogues etc and stripped Jews of their qualifications and.. dignity. I knew that Hitler commenced this act upon hearing news that the German Ernst vom Rath had been shot by a Jew at the German Embassy in Paris too. However, I did not know the full story behind the shooting of vom Rath. The book explained;

'On 18th October 1938, on Hitler's orders, more than 12,000 Jews were expelled from Germany... 4,000 were accepted by Poland. But 8,000, denied entry into Poland, were forced to stay at the border... There, in harsh conditions, they waited for the Polish government to agree to take them in... One expelled couple, who had been living in Hanover for more than 27 years, had a 17 year old son, Herschel Grynszpan, living in Paris. From the border his sister Berta sent him a postcard describing their expulsion: "No one told us what was up, but we realised this was going to be the end." Her final appeal: "We haven't a penny. Could you send us something...?"... Herschel recieved his sister's short but anguished message on November 3. On the following day he read a graphic account of the deportations in a Paris Yiddish newspaper, which reported a number of instances of insanity and suicide among the expellees. Grynszpan was outraged. On the morning of Sunday, November 6 he bought a pistol, loaded it with 5 bullets, and on the following day went by Metro to the German Embassy. His plan was to kill the Ambassador. After telling the doorman that he had "an important document" to deliver, he was sent to the room of the Third Secretary, Ernst vom Rath. "Did you have an important document to give me?" vom Rath asked. Drawing his pistol, Grynszpan called out: "You are a filthy Boche and here, in the name of 12,000 persecuted Jews, is your document." Grynszpan fired 5 shots.' - Kristallnacht; Prelude to destruction, Martin Gilbert

But I am not afraid

Thick as thieves the last of leaves

In the winter sun

Holding fast this freezing branch

Is home to us

Step, step right over the line

And onto borrowed time

When it's life, not waiting to die

Waiting to divide to divide

Counting stars and passing cars

On the interstate

The end is near I feel it dear,

But I am not afraid.. - Borrowed Time, A Fine Frenzy

Today I finished reading my book whilst listening to A Fine Frenzy's album 'One Cell in the Sea'. Above is the track and some lyrics from it that I found very appropriate to the story.

I felt they were relevant because the tale is one about a logger from Finland and how he survives during the war in 1939. Conditions are harsh and as he is taken prisoner by the Russians he finds himself in the company of a few other Russian prisoners of war and a Finnish speaking Red, Antonov, who helps him commute with the others. Although they are supposed enemies, they all form a bond with one another and realise that they are all that they have left in the world. They make an attempt to escape the clutch of the heartless and bitter Russians and flee to a boathouse. However they realise that they are running out of food and have to make an important decision between staying and dying of hunger, or attempting to go their seperate ways and possibly dying in the cold.

'The snag with your question, angel, is you don't know if we'll be shot when we get home, nor whether we'll be allowed to live in Sweden. You said so yourself, we don't know anything, and the man who knows nothing goes home.' - Antonov, The Burnt-Out Town Of Miracles (Roy Jacobsen)

They all decide to set off on their own individual missions and wish eachother good luck for the future. I wont tell you how it ends in case you're planning on reading it, but I will say that I was quite disappointed with the ending.

What a cute idea

'Little happy ants, Sure are cute! But I can no longer, be a mute. Squish 'em in your kitchen! Catch 'em if you can! Shoo ants! Shoo ants! And away they ran.' - littletjane on Etsy

OOoohhhh Je T'aime..

www.custommade.bigcartel.com

yes please :)

A book and a song

'enemy' shellfire was coming closer like the stitches of a gigantic sewing machine, screams of pain, shouted commands and whistling medics - the machine was running amok, and a billowing carpet of brown smoke settled across the town, so dense and boundless that it enveloped the sky as well, and there we sat, in the middle of all this, like maggots in the core of a rotten apple. - The Burnt-Out Town of Miracles, Roy Jacobsen

'comment pourrais-je vivre, si tu n'étais pas là?'

'how could I live, if you were not here?' - Si tu n'étais pas là, Fréhel

I am unoccupied, so I have picked two interesting things and included them in a blog together. The book is one that I am reading currently. The song is by Fréhel and I like it.

Maybe I think you're cute and funny

Maybe I wanna do what bunnies do with you if you know what i mean.

You grew on me

like a tumour.
I love Tim Minchin :)

This is my brain
And I live in it
It’s made of love
And bad song lyrics
It’s tucked away behind my eyes
Where all my screwed up thoughts can hide
Cos God forbid I hurt somebody
And the weirdest thing about a mind
Is that every answer that you find
Is the basis of a brand new cliché

This is my brain
And it’s fine
It’s where I spend the vast majority of my time
It’s not perfect
But it’s mine
It’s not perfect
I’m not quite sure I’ve worked out how to work it
It’s not perfect
But it’s mine - Tim Minchin, 'Not Perfect'

But he sang louder and louder inside the house..

I'd been listening to Bird Song for a while, sub-conciously singing along. Then I really started listening to it. And I realised how twisted it is. It's about a bird that was singing outside Florence's house, and she was worried that it would bother the neighbours, so she invited him in to reason with him but he sang louder and louder inside the house so..

'I trapped him under a cardboard box
And stood on it to make him stop,
I picked up the bird and above the dim I said
"That's the last song you'll ever sing."
Held him down, broke his neck,
Taught him a lesson he wouldn't forget.' - Florence & The Machine


Pretty damn sickening? Whats the inspiration for that?

Hate the sin not the sinner

'Key pieces include shirts based on retro college looks and given a treatment of beading and applique finished with a vintage worn feel.'




I love Elvis Jesus shirts. :)

Country Mile

I entered a competition to win tickets to the Green Man Festival, and now I wanna go to that!

It looks like a lovely place and the acts include Jarvis Cocker, Camera Obscura, Wilco, Peggy Sue, Noah and the Whale and Bon Iver..

It is £50 for people aged between 13 - 17 but I can imagine the transport to Mid Wales would cost a bit too! Hm.. what to do.

Also I have been looking at at San Fransisco's Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival.. the line up is amazing! But its quite expensive ($225). And, of course, it is in San Fransisco.. slight problem there. Augh...

The Day We Caught The Train

I want to go to beachdown! £45 for 4 days of music..

Was such a good festival last year.. but the line up is nowhere near as good as it was before.

Ocean Colour Scene have just confirmed their appearance.. but besides them, The Zutons, Grace Jones & Ida Maria, the line up hasn't won me over.

I've just been told that theres a festival on soon.. for free.. and The Smiths are playing?

Nice :) That has sorted my dilemma.. for now.

A blockbuster card.

An old stick of juicy fruit.
A crumpled receipt for a pair of leather boots.


Painted the room 'Dusted Damsel' and 'Malt Chocolate'. :)

Addictions

Who needs drugs when you can have KILKOF.

Well actually, a bit of a contradiction there?

Cough medicine. The most beautiful taste.

Wall of arms

I'm painting my room. Gotta choose a colour tomorrow. I suggested maroon but apparently that would be far too dark. Hm..

Revelation

'my shabop shalom baby, wont you shabop shalom with me..' ♥ - Devendra Banhart

I have been listening to Devendra Banhart for a long long time now and have always been fond of his music. I love how wonderful and adventurous his lyrics are, and his music is so chilled and happy. I decided to have a gander at what the bloke looks like and MY GOD, he is a beauty. I've discovered the meaning of love at first sight. He is actually divine.

Obsessive, compulsive.

Do I have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder?

It really bothers me when people write the initials of something but forget to put the last '.'

For example: T.N.T <-- see the bit that is missing? IT KILLS ME! it should be T.N.T.

haha, I'm sure I make loads of silly mistakes myself, but when I notice them on other people, it actually drives me insane.

Another thing that I can't handle is when people spell 'you're' wrong.
If you are using it as a shortened version of 'you are', for example, you're very tall, then it should be 'you're'.
If you are using it to refer to something that belongs to someone, for example, this is your pen, then it should be 'your'.

!!

ANDDDDDDDDDDDDDD...... I dislike how people think that the words 'of' and 'course' merge to make one word; ofcourse.

It is just not right. And it tears me up inside. Amen.

Genius Next Door

I struggled to grasp the meaning of the lyrics at first, but after searching on the internet I finally gathered some sort of understanding of them;

""dreaming that the antidote is orgasm" - many believe that when a person drowns, they experience a euphoric sensation at the moment of death, comparable to an intense orgasm. I believe maybe the lake had a reputation- the teenagers would go there to party, and dare eachother to hold their breath a long time underwater, hoping to achieve the fabled orgasm while still surviving to tell about it. Instead, many drowned- but this did not keep the kids from going back. They were foolish. Perhaps they joked that those young men who died had ejaculated in those waters... inspiring the humor in the consistency of the lake itself. The townspeople obviously did not find it appropriate to talk about what went down at the lake."The neighbours were trying to keep it quiet//But I swear that I could hear the laughter//So they joke, and they nicknamed it the porridge//Cause over night that lake had turned as thick as butter"now the geek "genius" thought he'd try the theory out himself, without anyone knowing- he thought he was smarter than the drunk boys and would be sober enough to save himself, but he drowned alone in the lake, still hoping to acheive his orgasm, not realizing that there was no "antidote" to save him from death." - juliaspaperbags from songmeanings.net

This is the interpretation that summed it up best.

I admire how Regina writes such wonderful lyrics.. what would inspire her to write a tale like this, adapt the words into a poem and then create a beautiful melody to go with it..? I simply had to write a blog about it.

Dance Anthem of the 80's

"An addiction to hands and feet
There's a meat market down the street
The boys and girls watch each other eat
When they really just wanna watch each other sleep.."

My birthday was amazing. I had a surprise party. I have such amazing friends. I am so thankful.

Mon anniversaire

Another year older,

a little bit stronger,

a litle bit wiser,

than a year ago today.

- Delta Goodrem

I've spent today opening presents, answering phone calls and tidying the house for a certain someone who is expected to arrive sometime this afternoon, whilst listening to Acid House Kings. They make me feel very (merry) happy.

Favourite gift?

Got to be my Marc Jacobs goodies.

Les temps sont durs pour les rêveurs.

I've decided to make Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain the first thing that I write about. I love everything about the film. I love how it doesn't have an obvious story line, and that watching this can give you a different outlook on life. It carefully captures small beauties of the world and focuses on simple pleasures. The film is based on Amélie's moral, "It's better to help people than to be like a gnome in the garden." Upon discovering a young boy's treasure in her small flat in Montmarte, she also discovers her purpose in life. She makes it her goal to help other people. There are so many quotes that are so simple yet so wonderful. The failed writer Hipolito who we see so little of in the film provides the majority. My favourite is;

"Sans toi, les émotions d'aujourd'hui ne seraient que la peau morte des émotions d'autrefois."- without you, todays emotions would be the scurf of yesterday's.

.

Chantee did it, so here I am. My own blog.

Coffee, anyone?