Sore Winter Skin?

Thanks to the modern comfort of central heating, some of us are bound
to experience dry, uncomfortable or sore skin.
There's a free and simple solution. Put a bowl of water under your radiator and it will help put the moisture back in the air.
Best to keep it in your bedroom because night time is when our skin renews itself.
Just make sure it's somewhere where it can't be easily knocked over!




A treat for winter skin is Liz Earle's Intensive Nourishing Treatment Mask. Put it on the dry or sore areas of your face for 10 minutes or even over night and it will soothe skin, helping it to repair. Use it throughout winter to keep skin hydrated.







For soft hands through the winter season, I wouldn't live without L'Occitane Shea Butter Hand Cream. It has won many awards and is a staple in many a woman's bag. It's available in different sizes to suit all budgets. The Shea range also consists of body lotions, foot lotions and shower creams full complete indulgence.

The Rum Diary

Today I had the misfortune of watching journalism carnage.

Looking forward to the release of The Rum Diary, I wanted to watch an interview with Johnny Depp. Hoping to find out more about the film and have Depp's perspective, I was greatly disappointed.

A breakfast TV show, which will remain nameless, gave British journalism a bad name.

From the interview I learnt that Depp is working on the Lone Ranger, due out next year and that he doesn't like rum and raisin ice cream.

Surely, an interview about a film should mention the date of release? Perhaps the concept of the film?

There was no mention of Hunter S. Thompson or the background of the film. Depp played Thompson in the cult classic Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998). Fear and Loathing is based on journalist Thompson's drug fuelled adventures. Thompson is the writer of The Rum Diary novel.

I didn't find out who else was in the film, whether there was any romance, adventure, nothing. The interview lasted all of 3 minutes maximum. I dread to think what the editor chose to leave out.

To add insult to injury, the 'journalist' (I use the term lightly) asked Depp if the rum in the film was real and if he drank it. Is he not aware of Depp's past with narcotics?!

This is my competition?! These are the people doing the job I want?!

If you have read this post, you have learnt more about The Rum Diary than I did from a national TV broadcast.

Cerebral Laceration

Not content with one stint in The Asylum, Cerebral Laceration are checking in again.

Admit yourself into The Asylum this fireworks weekend and you can rock out to the sounds of Cerebral Laceration.

Cerebral will be accompanying Primer and Kanada on November 4th. 

Let Cerebral Laceration blow your mind this fireworks night as they light up the night sky with guitars exploding to the sound of grunge metal.

PWS promotions are holding the event at The Asylum 2 to entertain metal heads from across Birmingham

The gig starts at 7:45pm, past the kiddies bed time as its an 18+ night.

Tickets are available from Cerebral Laceration for £4 or for £5 on the door on 4th November.

The Asylum

38-43 Hampton Street

Hockley

Birmingham

B19 3LS

0121-233-1109

Cerebral at The Asylum

Cerebral Laceration are inviting you to get spooked on Halloween weekend at The Asylum. The metal quartet are rocking out with Def Con One, I Hate You More and Nocturnal Resurrection.

http://www.facebook.com/CerebralLaceration

A free night without the kiddies trick or treating around your ankles. This night is for adults only (18+). 

The Asylum are hosting their Halloween Havoc night on Friday 28th October from 7:30pm. The Asylum are teaming up with Metal Hammer and Scuzz's sponsored club night for the ultimate mosh-up.

Attending the rock-fest will gain you free entry to Redeemer next door at The Asylum.

The boys and fellow metal heads will be making Asylum 2 shudder with their prowess on the dark October night.

Don't miss the latest offerings from Cerebral Laceration and attend the free gig and after party at Asylum 2.

Cerebral Laceration Gig #2!

After hiding away in a studio for months Cerebral Laceration are back with a bang. Their next gig is at The Actress and Bishop, Birmingham, 13^th October.

During the dark hours of 7pm-10pm on Thursday night you can drown yourself in some metal grunge and have a drink. All of this for only a fiver.

Accompanying Cerebral Laceration for this mosh up are And Fate Was Foolish, Tyburn Drop and Ross (The Gruber). A must night out for metal fans across Birmingham!

Tickets are available from the Cerebral guys and also on the door on Thursday night.

Join the boys on their Facebook page for all info regarding Laceration http://www.facebook.com/CerebralLaceration

From new music to gig dates, it’s all on there.

What better way to spend a Thursday evening than listening to some metal in the home of grunge that is Birmingham?!

Take yourselves and you buddies along to The Actress and Bishop and enjoy the brutality that the boys are promising!

Actress and Bishop

35 Ludgate Hill, Birmingham B3 1EH

0121 236 7426

Kate Moss

The enigma that is Kate Moss is still a model mogul in the fashion world.

With TV advertisements with Mango and her own range with Rimmel she seems at the height of her career.

A run in with sex, drugs and rock and roll doesn't seem to have dampened the models appeal and her profile is going from strength to strength.

There are millions of models out there, most of which are taller than Moss, and she is the one that encompasses the image of British fashion. Effortless cool and beauty.

The 37 year old beauty is still appealing to audiences of all ages. She has the cool to appeal to teenagers and the sophistication to appeal to the wider audience.

What exactly it is that Moss has that appeals to everyone, no matter their age or fashion taste, is impossible to figure out.

From perfume to fashion lines, she has every part of the industry covered. And all without selling out to the celebrity culture of interviews with gossip magazines.

Rebel with a cause

As a college student I was told that I would never make any thing of myself by the head of the college.

At 18 I decided that I didn’t want to carry on with education after my A levels or learn a trade. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life so I didn’t want to waste money or time doing something I would later regret. For this mature decision I was made to feel like a no body.

Three years later I decided I wanted to be a journalist and tried every avenue and found the best option was to go to university. Thankfully, due to my GCSE and A level results, and my commitment to the course, I got a place at Birmingham City University.

Being a mature student you get a little more leeway with grades. When applying as an 18 year old, your choices depend upon your grades. As a 20-something I was given the opportunity to prove my ambition by providing 3 film reviews as an example of my writing ability. My grades were good enough, but my dropping off the education radar for a few years seemed to unnerve the university.

My passion had obviously come across through my writing and I am now about to enter my final year of a journalism degree.

Not only that, I have submitted writing for various companies, bands and soloists. I get invited to gigs. I get invited to events to meet and greet fellow media people. I’m about to start an internship as a writer. Being paid to put pen to paper is any writers dream. I have been offered the role of Head of News at my university’s radio station to add to it all.

Life is good.

This drop out did good!

Cerebral Laceration

Due to the riots in Birmingham the other week, sadly Cerebral Laceration's gig was cancelled. They are currently recording some stuff and intend on rocking out live very soon, keep an eye out for dates.

Cerebral Laceration

Sick of the manufactured pop being pumped in to your ears by the mainstream? Go to the Actress and Bishop on Wednesday 10th August at 7pm and you will hear some good old fashioned grunge metal.

Four rocking bands will be playing the Actress for your delight. Cerebral Laceration, Second City Fire, 4 Star Treatment and Mercian. With the boys all knowing each other, there will be a comfortable atmosphere in which to head bang away. All four groups compliment each others style beautifully and can guarantee sore ears the following morning!


For the small cost of £2 you can rock away a Wednesday evening.

facebook.com/cerebrallaceration

Actress and Bishop,
Ludgate Hill,
Birmingham,
B3 1EH

Scissor Sisters December 2010

Scissor Sisters strut their stuff!



In the Summer of 2010 Scissor Sisters toured their shiny new Night Work album across small venues over the UK. As a fan, of course, I was there. The night was hot and sweaty as Sisters from across the Midlands danced the night away.



With this still fresh in my memory, I could not contain my excitement as I rode the train to the LG arena on the 3rd December. Surely, there is no better way to spend a Friday night than in the company of the disco-pop sensation that is the Scissor Sisters?



As the lights went down and the audience roared, the support act Hurts started their set. Usually, support acts are a disappointment when you go and see your favourite band. Hurts are as contrasting as can be when compared to the headliners. With their straight suits and slicked back hair I was expecting to be bored to tears. Hurts use of a tenor along side electric keyboards gave an impressive performance of old meets new.



The only problem with a support act is the half an hour between them and the main act. Waiting around in the arena whilst a simple dance CD plays in the background, watching tech guys set up the stage, is a bit dull. Some people resorting to sitting on the floor.



This paled into insignificance once the Scissor Sisters started to appear on stage. The lights went down and blue seeped across the stage. Randy Real came bouncing across the stage, wielding drum sticks in the air to a rapturous applause. As he took his seat behind the white drums, Babydaddy and Del Marquis took their stance on stage. They stood, legs apart, staring straight into the audience. Ana Matronic, clad in pvc, danced onto the stage to be joined by Jake Shears, who looked like an American cop gone rude. They started singing Night Life, a track from their latest album, Night Work. Lasers danced across the stage and the audience started to dance along, elbows and handbags flying.



Hit record after hit record echoed around the arena. Shears sang the beautiful “Mary” on a stage in the centre of the audience, which seemed to appear from no where. In true Scissor Sisters style they went from sad to sordid in an instant. Once Shears disappeared from centre stage, Ana Matronic strutted onto the main stage in red pvc singing “Skin this cat” whilst dancing girls gyrated around her.



Ending on Filthy/Gorgeous, like they did in the Summer, left me in a party mood, wanting more from the fabulous five. They bidded us good night and left the stage, leaving a restless audience in their wake. Those in the seats started to stamp their feet, those on the floor jeered and clapped for more and much to our delight the Scissors reappeared looking like something from the campest musical you can imagine. Ana Matronic and Jake Shears stormed onto the stage in their glitter-soaked outfits, singing “I don’t feel like dancin’” as cannons blasted confetti into the audience.



When I last saw the Scissor Sisters live I thought I had a good night, that was nothing compared to the night I experienced on that snowy evening at the beginning of December.

Oh, Mr Murdoch, what have you done?

Rupert Murdoch is due to arrive in the UK on Sunday to handle the crisis at the News of the World.

Tomorrow, Sunday 10th July 2011, is the day that the gutter press that is the News of the World comes to an end.

Or is it the gutter press? Undoubtedly, when the phone hacking happened, yes. A journalist could not sink any lower. But over the past few years, those hackers have left and the poor journos currently working there are taking the blame.

Journalists have to do some horrid things to get a story, but nothing this low. I hate phoning the emergency services' press lines. I dread the day I have to interview a grieving family. We have to do some awful things, but you, the reader, reads them.


Without an audience, there is no story. The phone hacking allegations came out years ago, and yet the public continued to buy the News of the World. Hopefully, now readers will think twice about the newspaper they are buying or the TV channel they are watching.


Think about it. Where did the story come from? How did they get their information? Who is in charge of the company and who do they do business with?


Now is the time to act and not be a passive consumer.


By buying a newspaper, you are paying the journalist. You are providing the money for them to investigate stories. Is your newspaper morally sound? Did you pay the phone bill for the hacking?


Andy Coulson, Clive Goodman and another unnamed journalist are currently under questioning by the police. But there's one person missing from the investigation, Rebekah Brooks. Why is she being left to run News International? Maybe, over the next few weeks we will find out the reason for her continued support from Murdoch.



Just an interesting little article: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14054497

Hopefully, those soulless journalists that brought the fine art of journalism into disrepute will be forced to face the consequences.



Best of luck to those that have been Murdochs scapegoats

New Technology

I've had a little play around with the various gadgets within this blog and have added a few. There is an option for you to share my blog through various social networking sites by using the button at the top of the blog. Whether you choose Facebook, Twitter, or the others.

You can also subscribe to my posts via email or RSS feed.

The technophobe is slowly dipping her Kurt Geiger's in to the 21st century!

There are also links to other sites I contribute to. On the right hand side you can go and visit my other sites which friends and I write for.

I've moved a few things around and I hope you can find things ok.

Let me know what you think, how accessible you find it.

Thanks x

International Women's Day: Feminism Gone Wrong?

Ah, Women’s Day. A day dedicated to women. On the surface seems like a positive move for feminism, but when you really start to analyse it, it’s all gone wrong somewhere.

Feminism is about being equal. If we want true equality there should be an International Men’s Day. That would be true equality.

The fact that women have to have a day dedicated to them just shows the inequality still rife in Western society. One can’t help but feel patronised. It seems like they are saying “you’ve done well, considering you’re a woman”.

All the figures released on this day are about business statistics. How many women are in charge of corporations, how many are CEOs. Why are we judging our success on what are very capitalist ideals?

A woman’s success cannot be measured on business alone. If what she has aimed for is to be CEO, then of course she is successful. But does that mean that the woman who takes pride in her clean house and part time job is unsuccessful?

If today was about the feminist movement and giving thanks, I would be flying flags for the cause. But the media have turned it in to something else, something unnerving. A comparison of men and women in the workplace. This just perpetuates the capitalistic and masculine ideals of the nation we live in. It is impossible to compare men and women. It is impossible to compare women with each other.

I do not need a day dedicated to me to remind me of my success. I may not be a CEO or managing director, but I am proud of my achievements. They would be the same if I were male.

I have not been successful because of, or in spite of, my gender. It is due to hard work and dedication.

International Women’s Day should be used as a remembrance and celebration of everything female and not just concentrated on the Forbes 'Most Powerful’ list.

A Game of Two Halves

I recently went to my first football match and was going to do a blog about that, but in a true feature-writing way, I have managed to turn it into a metaphor for relationships.

If you’re not on the same side it’ll never work. You’ll always be fighting against each other. Passing the buck from one to the other. Neither side can understand the other’s tactics. But, unlike football, there is no referee. When either team plays dirty, there’s no one to stop it.

What one side sees as a foul, the other can see as merely a tackle.

When you’re from different teams, playing by different rules, it’s doomed from the start.

If you’re playing with someone out of your league, you go in expecting to lose and inevitably do. If you’re playing with someone in the lower division and go in convinced of winning, and therefore not on your best game, you come away shocked when it’s you that’s the loser.

There will always be spectators, but unless they’re playing the game, they will not understand the tactics.

Is it worth going to extra time, or will the result remain the same?

Someone has to call time on the game and make a decision, and it may not be a popular one. And most of the time, you’re left with mud on your face.

Blonde Ambition?

* Strange Logic
* Innocence and naivety
* Manipulativeness
* Humour
* A body which is emphasized
* A child-like nature
* Adult 'knowingness' and seductiveness.

According to Gillian Swanson in Lusted 1991, these are the attributes of a blonde. Obviously, being blonde, I immediately became defensive, but when I read the list, I realised how contradictory it is. How can a person be child-like, yet seductive? And surely all these elements can be applied to any female, not just the fair-haired variety?!

Swanson made this claim in 1991, which shows this stereotype is unfortunately still alive and kicking in society.