Homeware!

The other day I was in Primark and found a cute canvas which I bought for my kitchen (but ended up hanging it outside the bathroom..) for a mere £4. I’m not the biggest fan of the “Keep Calm and…” movement but I like the pastel colour and the suggestion that tea will fix any problem. Which is true. Unless your problem is scalding. You should seek medical attention. Stat.

Mine is a cornflower blue with a nice teapot picture but you get the gist.
Image from here.

Anyway, this purchase got me to thinking about how I would design my own house if I ever got one and if I was filthy rich. I think I’d like an old fashioned kitchen with oak and slate and a giant American style four-door fridge, but I would accessorise it with colourful things like this tray from Darling Clementine: 

Image from here.

It would probably be a designer’s nightmare and it may look like a collection of woodland creatures had thrown up on my surfaces but that’s what I like and I would be happy baking in there.

My bathroom would be a tranquil spa paradise, all fluffy white towels and bamboo greens with one of those wicked rainfall showers. Somewhere there would be glitter. And a bath with feet on a pedestal by a window facing something secluded and awesome (my own zillion acres of private grounds perhaps). Hmm… Do they make glittery baths with feet..? 

 …A quick Google later… 

Image from here.

Yes, I found a tub made of actual amethyst. It wasn't quite what I had in mind, I'm not convinced by the “bathing-in-an-oversized-Fabergé-egg” thing it has going on there. Maybe I’d just settle for glitter tiles.

My lounge would not have a real log burning fire because a recent experience with a fire-pit made me very aware that the smoke from burning wood permeates all clothing and makes me feel nauseous and headachey. Instead I would have under-floor heating everywhere with snuggly chairs and fleecy blankets left, right and centre. There would also be a cunningly disguised door which would lead to my amazing library of dreams  (I blame Frances Hodgson Burnett and Enid Blyton for my love of secret passages). It would have those brass stepladders on rails and the overall feel of a Victorian gentleman’s club but without the cigar smoke. Preferably high up in a turret and round like this one:

Image from here.

All the other rooms in my castle/mansion I'm not too fussed about. I guess I'd like a bedroom with fancy fitted wardrobes and a walk-in closet but that's about it.

The last important part of Barbie's Abbie's Dream House would be the epic garden. I would have a traditional walled kitchen garden with an English country feel and plenty of herbs, and I would have a spiffing fountain arrangement, and a heated swimming pool, but also, and most importantly, I would have one of these immense tree houses!

As it would be a fully-functioning wooden house, I'd probably let it out as a holiday home or use it mainly for throwing awesome parties. I blame Enid Blyton for this one too. I would probably go a bit mad and try to convince everyone I was Silky the Fairy from The Faraway Tree series. It's OK though because as mentioned earlier in this homeware fantasy blog I am incredibly wealthy and thus allowed to be eccentric, somewhat like the Marquess of Bath.

Image from here.

I will leave you with this Keep Calm poster generator which is entertaining for a while:

The Keep Calm-o-Matic

And also with some links for sites where you can find nice doodads and whatsits for the home:

Fab

Pussy Home Boutique

Sass and Belle

To Dry For

Atomic

BALTIC Shop

Games of the Week - Song Pop and Pocket Planes

Song Pop

If you have been awake the last couple of weeks you've probably heard of SongPop. I started playing a couple of weeks ago thanks to the recommendation of my friend Bex. Since then it's gained about 70,000 likes on Facebook. I will take all the credit for the trend!

It's an highly addictive name-that-tune game available on Facebook, iOS and Android. The idea is pretty simple. You get to listen to up to ten seconds of a song whilst being shown four possible answers of either song title or artist. You answer five per round and try to get a higher score than a friend (or a random opponent) by guessing quickly and by getting chains of correct answers. 

I have a feeling it will be around longer than Draw Something because of the ease of play and the option to buy more playlists.

Some things which would improve the game for me:

1 - A choice of rewards at the end of the weekly tournament (I never use those power-up things. I'd prefer some coins. Thanks.)

2 - A lifetime high score table. I got +22k and this was lost at the end of the week. This made me sad.

3 - A little preview of some songs on each playlist, it's rubbish if you buy a playlist and realise it wasn't what you thought. Especially the ambiguously named "I love NY". Apparently it's just songs about New York. How odd!

4 - A limited time refund option in case you accidentally choose the wrong playlist. Easier than having to email customer services.

Here's me getting thoroughly beaten by Toby:

Pocket Planes

Another recommendation from a friend, thanks go to Angela this time. Pocket Planes is a lovely little time-wasting game for the iPhone (no Wi-Fi required) where you purchase airports all over the world and fly people and cargo around. I'm currently dominating Europe with plans to expand business into the US and Asia ^_^

It's quite easy to make money in the game by completing journeys and so gameplay does not rely on those in-game real-money purchases I loathe so much. Have a go, but be warned it's rather addictive!

In other news, I think asshat may be my favourite ever insult. "He's such a total asshat!"

Things I like - 7- Kawaii Stuff and Japan

Those who know me will know I have a minor obsession with anything Japanese or generally kawaii. Kawaii means cute in Japanese and the word tends to be used to describe things such as cartoons of food with faces, miniature items or plush toys.

Here's my new kawaii desk tidy from Paperchase!

Hello Kitty is kawaii. Especially when she's wearing a kimono and is accompanied by a big pink bow! My housemate Kate got me this wicked-cool necklace for my birthday from Tragic Stitches:

Image from here.

I also love Japanese animated movies and TV shows (anime). I'm currently awaiting the next new episode of Naruto Shippuden on Crunchyroll (it's all getting very exciting in the Hidden Leaf right now with another Great Ninja War kicking off) and I own a number of Studio Ghibli movies. The Hayao Miyazaki range includes some pretty beautiful and random typical-Japanese stuff, like Spirited Away, My Neighbour Totoro and Howl's Moving Castle, but also includes an anime version of The Borrowers, entitled The Secret World of Arrietty (Karigurashi no Arrietty). This story is a bit Americanised but with the lovely animation and charm of Miyazaki I'd give it a watch if I were you!

Image from here.

I first got introduced to Japanese music by listening to the theme tunes from the Naruto series. If you like Japanese music or think you'd like to give it a try, listen to G3 radio online on Tuesday evenings. My friends in Area 11 have a radio show where they play lots of sweet tunes and there's a chat room type thing so you can request songs and answer the question of the week if you are so inclined!

Here's a video with lyrics for Bluebird by Ikimono Gakari:

I have never been to Japan, a fact which makes me sad, and I will go one day I'm sure. Until then I will keep watching anime, eating sushi and katsu curry, listening to J-rock and buying stuff I think is cute. In short, continuing being an embarrassing Westerner who doesn't really know anything about Japan. I tried to learn more about Japan by taking a module of Japanese language in my second year of my undergraduate Biology degree. I spent months learning hiragana and katakana and trying to remember the Japanese for post office, business card and newspaper but instead remembering aisu-kurimu (ice cream), hanbaga (hamburger) and terebi (television) because they're pretty much just English words put into Japanese syllables. They're fun to say, give it a try!

Here are some sites I enjoy:

Ji Ji Kiki: A jewellery shop named after the characters in Kiki's Delivery Service. They sell lots of cute necklaces and earrings, a large proportion of which have cute faces on them. Say it with me now: Ka-wa-iiii!

Flutterscape: This is a marketplace which sells many things from Japan. Lots of collectibles and accessories to be found here.

Tofu Cute: A UK based store which sells accessories, stationary and Japanese snacks. I love the great selection of Puccho and Pocky, and the endless edamame popping keyrings!

Tokyo Kawaii Etc.: A website/blog written by a Japanese lady called Kirin. She writes about things going on in her life, makes videos and explains how things in Japan are different from other countries. 

Japanese lunches are the coolest!

Exercise

I haven't put "Things I Like" before "Exercise" because I'm not really sure if I like it yet. I was one of those kids at school who would fake a parent's letter or forget my gym clothes accidentally-on-purpose to get out of PE lessons. On the rare occasions I was forced to play team sports I'd loiter in a corner in my knickershorts (not to be confused with knickerbockers) hoping an errant kick wouldn't send the ball into my face and break my glasses. My teachers would despair on sports day trying to find something for me to do because I was crap at everything but eventually they dropped the "it's the taking part that counts" spiel and let me get away with being a spectator.

Unfortunately our school-issue knickershorts were not girly and flowery.
They were maroon. Nobody should be made to wear maroon.
Image from here.

Approximately 10 years later I was feeling optimistic and thought it might be fun to join my friend Katy in a spot of jogging. I downloaded an app for my iPhone called 5K Runner (there is a free download from the NHS which does the same job) which assumes you are a couch potato and starts you off slowly doing a minute of running and a minute of walking and builds you up over 8 weeks to be able to run a solid 5km. A nice male voice (we named him Lionel) tells you when to walk and when to run. Despite it being an easy introduction into the world of running I very nearly threw up after the first one and probably lost half my body weight in perspiration. It was a total of six minutes of running. Yes that is how unfit I am!

My body was pretty shocked by this sudden attempt at faster-than-a-stroll movement and promptly punished me for trying to get fit by giving me a nasty bout of shin splints. For those who don't know, it feels pretty much like your shin bones are about to snap in half and just pop on out of your skin. It is highly unpleasant and may make you cry a bit.

That meant I had to stop the running for at least two weeks and so I thought I'd try a bit of swimming instead. Unfortunately the day I chose to start my new regime was the day the under-15 Nottingham swimming team practises. It's not great for the ego when little wiry 13-year-olds with six packs are tumble turning all over your best effort at a breaststroke. Plus one of them chucked up in the loos. I was a little sympathetic knowing how nauseated I felt after my first run, but it was still gross and has put me off going for another swim in the near future.

The shin splints also stopped me playing badminton (now there's one sport I really do enjoy playing), because the stop-start nature of the game means there's a lot of pressure put on the ol' shins. Now I'm better I will start playing again and I will also return to Zumba classes (it's a mix between aerobics and latin dance) so one day I will look like this: 

Image from here.

Since I went on holiday I've put back on the few pounds I'd managed to shed with the running. All-inclusive buffet meals will do that to ya. I am determined to start eating better (as soon as I finish this last bag of Cadbury's Caramel Nibbles), to start exercising properly again and to catch up to my mum who also started the 5k running challenge when I did and is almost at the 30 minute continuous run stage. It's nice to have a goal to aim for!

In the spirit of sports, here's a dog called Maddie who's really good at standing on stuff. Check out the blog maddieonthings for more!

Image from here.

Image from here.

On Ho-li-day!

From today all will be quiet on the blogging front for two weeks. I'm off on holiday! Yay! I'll bring you back a gift ok?

Things I Like - 6 - Games

I started gaming at a fairly early age. Having an older brother probably had something do with this because there were consoles around the house. I guess I must have been about 5 or 6 when I started playing. I'm just gonna name some games here that I was pretty obsessed with at some time or another in my life.

The first game I properly got into, along with the rest of my family, was Alex Kidd in Miracle World. I was pretty good at it until the stupid motorbike level where there are spikes on the ground and monkeys which throw killer leaves at you. I used to get my dad to do it for me. The video below shows someone doing it in ~30 seconds which upsets me because I still repeatedly fail at this level now I'm grown up!

Whilst Googling for things relating to this game I found this in the Wiki article: 

"The game did have an undocumented "continue" feature, where the player could continue the game with three lives from the beginning of the level where Alex had died, by holding the up button and pressing the 2 button eight times during the GAME OVER screen." 

WHAT?! I did not know this! In the dark days without saves this would have been good to know! A lack of save ability also meant if you got tired and wanted to play another day you had to leave the console on pause overnight. I wonder if any house fires were started this way.

Other games of note for the Master System include: Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap and Taz-mania.

Scene from Discworld II. Image Here.

When we got our first home PC (a Gateway 2000) I couldn't find anything more exciting to play with than MS Paint (which has come a long way on Windows 7), Encarta 96 (which is amazing) and MS Bob (which I had lots of fun with but didn't comprehend the actual purpose of) until someone in the house bought Dragon Lore: The Legend Begins,  Simon the Sorceror and Discworld II: Missing Presumed...!? I hadn't read any Discworld books by this point so I was mostly amused by the characters of the Luggage, the wizards and the beggars (favourite being the Duck Man, least favourite being Coffin Henry), but I've since realised the game is based on three really good books from the series, namely Lords and Ladies (the elvish stuff), Moving Pictures (the movie set stuff) and Reaper Man (Fourecks and missing DEATH stuff). I no longer own this game but would really love to play it through again. I think it should be re-released for download on Xbox or PS3. I'd also like to have a go at Dragon Lore again. It was much too hard for an 8 year old me, but I think I could figure it out now. Same goes for Myst.

Weird dog thing from Dragon Lore

One Christmas I got an N64. This was probably the best Christmas ever. I think I got a bike too. Spoiled much? For weeks and weeks on Friday film night I would go to Global Video and rent out Banjo-Kazooie and hope my save game from last weekend was still there. Recently I downloaded it for Xbox 360 and got as far as the final battle with Gruntilda but she kept on kicking my ass and I got grumpy and gave up. Even the Jinjos couldn't save me. I think it goes without saying that Zelda: Ocarina of Time was also an obsession and so, too, was Diddy Kong Racing. I still believe that Nintendo make the best games for pure fun purposes.

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Next, the advent of the PlayStation. I had a PS1 and PS2 and was introduced to the Final Fantasy series by my cousin Rob. I wasn't too into FFVII. Sacrilege to some I know, but I couldn't get past the stupid snake at the start and I got sad when Aeris died. I was instead firmly addicted to FFIX. I liked collecting the cards for Tetra Master and I love the towns and scenery and the airships. After that I played a lot of FFX, and once when I had some teeth extracted and had a general anaesthetic, I had an incredibly vivid dream that I was a character in it. It was the best dentist trip I ever had.

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Most recently I got my hands on an Xbox 360 and entered into the absorbing Bethesda world of Oblivion. And then Skyrim. Both of these games have eaten a huge chunk of my waking hours. I think they're so addictive because they feel impossible to complete and fully explore and this keeps me turning on my console and trying to get my Archery skill to 100. [Insert arrow in knee meme here]. Although I will say that I wish some of the quest lines like the Thieves Guild and Companions could have been a little longer. I still enjoyed playing them through though!

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Feel free to educate me if I missed out on some awesome games so far!

Things I Like - 5 - Reality TV

I think of the term "reality TV" quite lightly. I'm fully aware that everything you see on telly is produced and edited for entertainment purposes and is not "real" in almost any sense - and it's a darn good job it is edited, otherwise shows would be incredibly boring (like when they used to show 24 hours of live Big Brother. Yawn).

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When I'm home in the day and able to select from the pretty dull rice, beans and pasta smorgasbord that is UK daytime TV, I've got to admit I'm partial to a little bit of The Real Housewives of Orange County (above) and Supernanny (below {in case you couldn't tell which was which}). I don't have kids but I do have big respect for Jo Frost who is incredibly good at her job, and who seems to have to work more on the parents than the kids. She goes from being your typical nanny to mediator to councillor with a mere flick of her ponytail. I just want to be her friend!

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Two "reality" shows I have drawn the line at watching are Made in Chelsea and The Only Way is Essex. Luckily, to this day, I have only seen adverts and not actually seen the shows. I feel like I've had a lucky escape. Frankly I'm a bit of an inverse snob, I'm pretty working class and watching a load of toffs get drunk and embarrass themselves is just too much for me to take. I saw enough of that kind of behaviour during the rugby team initiations at uni to last me a lifetime. TOWIE on the other hand turns me into a regular snob. I find myself looking down my nose at them and their common vajazzling ways and would rather stick pins under my nails than watch either of these shows...

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...buuut maybe you think the same about shows like Britain's Got Talent, The Voice UK (who is that Irish guy anyway?!*) or The X Factor. I suppose I should confess right now that I'm a massive fan of talent shows. I never went to Butlins as a kid but I imagine that's the kind of place where the British fascination with talent competitions began! Since Diversity (and Ashley Banjo *swoon*) became so successful and awakened me to the existence of modern street dance I have harboured this secret desire to join a crew. Yeah that's right, a street dancing scientist! Unfortunately my dancing looks like someone put me in a straitjacket and set my feet on fire so it's unlikely my dream will become a reality.

Anyway, daydreaming aside, I just watched last Saturday's episode of Britain's Got Talent and was really impressed with Hope Murphy's cover of Maxwell's cover of Kate Bush's 'A Woman's Work'. Skip ahead to 2:40 in the video if you want to avoid the small talk. I love the kind of stunned silence at the end when the audience are unsure if it's over and then everyone starts cheering. My heart got truly warmed!

Another BGT video I've added here just for good measure is the one with Charlotte and Jonathan who sang something (from 1:55) that I've never heard and were incredible! Well I have to say Jonathan was incredible... Charlotte was lovely but unfortunately paled in comparison.

And just to round off on the reality theme, here are some minature foodstuffs a talented dude from Israel is selling as jewellery on Etsy which look very real but aren't. Please don't eat them!

 

*Interestingly when I just Googled "That Irish guy off The Voice" the first hit was Peter Griffin. That's right, even Google doesn't know who he is! Eeek!

Things I Like - 4 - My Kindle

Two Christmases ago I was given an Amazon Kindle (thanks Mum). At the time it hadn't crossed my mind to get one and I was a bit unsure what I'd use it for. I mean, I LOVE books. I'm a great fan of that musty, papery smell and I'm a bit hooked on the excitement of finding a literary treasure in a second hand bookshop. What would I do with an e-book reader..?

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Well! I use it all the time! I never go anywhere without it because it fits perfectly in my handbag. I get the bus and train a lot and so it's really useful to have instant entertainment. It stays charged up for a really long time too so it's better than reading things on my iPhone. The only vaguely negative things I have to say about it is that it's very easy to spend money on the online shop, it's hard to gauge how far through the book you are even though there's a percentage read bar at the bottom, the majority of Discworld books have not yet been made available (come on Terry!) and, because I have one of the older versions, the QWERTY keyboard is a bit unnecessary day-to-day.

Since getting, what I think of as my "Amaz-ing Kindle", people have started talking to me randomly on the bus, in the lunch queue, as I'm wandering around with it in my hand and asking me if it's any good. After stammering for a bit (I'm a bit shy around strangers) I eventually find my words and I tell people it's great. Especially if you're someone who takes public transport a lot, hasn't the space for many books in the home or are going on holiday. It's fantastic to have hundreds of books available at the touch of a button and e-books tend to work out cheaper than hard copies, or in the case of classic novels, are even free.

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After I've explained just how handy e-book readers are, these people tend to respond with: "Oh, but I just love real books" or "I enjoy going to the library" or "I like the feel of a book in my hands". It's like they started speaking to me just because they want to berate me for abandoning paper books and want to feel smug that they are still in the "real book" club. 

My answer to these comments is always: "You don't have to give up paper books!!" It seems like people believe there is some unwritten rule that states you can no longer buy hard copies of books once you own an e-book reader! Trust me, it's not like a siren goes off when you step over the threshold of Waterstone's. A security guard does not come over and say "Sir/Madam, I see you are carrying an e-book reader. You no longer appreciate the ink and paper world of the written word. Please leave."

Owning a Kindle is not scary, it does not automatically make you a member or a weird book-burning cult. E-book reader owners simply appreciate the convenience of reading books any time on a lightweight gadget. For example, think about when you're lying in bed with The Lord of the Rings (or equivalent) hardback trilogy and you get hand and neck cramp from trying to keep the pages open at a suitable reading angle. Compare this thought to one of holding a little grey thingy at whatever angle you like, turning pages with a press of a finger. In my mind it's not much of a contest.

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Saying this, I have only had experience with using the Amazon Kindle. If anyone out there has used and can tell me more about pros and cons of other brands of e-book reader I'd be interested to hear your thoughts.

Here are some books which I recommend:

The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins - Recently made into a hugely succesful movie, The Hunger Games is book one of a trilogy of the same name following Katniss Everdeen before, during and after she takes part in the fight to the death that is the 74th Annual Hunger Games. The book and movie are both excellent. Supposedly they're aimed at children, but everyone else I've spoken to who has read them had enjoyed them as much as I did (I'm 23 in case you were curious).

The Help - Kathryn Stockett - From the point of view of a few different characters, this book details the world of 1960s African American maids working for white families. I don't know much about American history so I found this quite enlightening as well as a great read with engrossing characters. I haven't seen the movie yet. I hope to do so soon!

Confessions of a GP - Benjamin Daniels - I do not work in the healthcare sector so I can't share in the frustrations vented within, however, from the point of view of a patient I learned what I should and shouldn't do when visiting my GP. It's a faintly amusing collection of anecdotes which made me feel amused, guilty and a bit sad in turns. Pretty cheap as an e-book, well worth a read!

QI Book of General Ignorance - John Mitchinson & John Lloyd - I'm a big fan of the QI TV show. After reading this I kept on spouting facts to everyone around me. I guess they thought it was pretty annoying but I revelled in that smug feeling which comes from arguing back with the words "it was in the QI book so I must be right".

The Painted Man - Peter V. Brett - I'd like to know what the 'V' stands for. This is the first book of the Demon Series and is also known as The Warded Man in the US. It's based in a world in which the human inhabitants have to use magical "wards" to keep night-time demons at bay. It's pretty epic!

Storm Front  - Jim Butcher - Book One of The Dresden Files. About a modern-ish day wizard who helps his buddy in the "Special Investigations" US police department and ends up kicking lots of magical beasties' butts in a charmingly candid fashion. I feel the writing style is aimed at men but I have been appreciating the lack of flowery language sometimes thrown about in fantasy fiction.

Darker Things - Rob Cornell - Book One of The Lockman Chronicles which I discovered via Twitter. This book is about an ex-secret agent type of chap who is thrown into all kinds of supernatural drama following the appearance of a teenage girl at his front door claiming to be his daughter. I'm not usually one for action type books but I really enjoyed this due to it being coupled with the element of magic/mojo. The story was refreshing and at one part I was actually surprised at the turn of events. Normally I see things coming from a mile away so this gets a  big thumbs up from me!

Things I Like - 3 - Travel

In case you have just tuned in, today I present item 3 of "Things I Like". I'm trying to blog seven days in a row about things I enjoy and feel the need to share or ramble on about. I might miss out Sunday cause I'm off to a Joe Bonamassa gig in Newcastle, but for now I hope you enjoy!

*edit* A technical error (i.e. I got blocked from work internet cause I was abusing it looking for pictures for this blog) means I am a day late posting this. Failed my mission already!

***

Last Friday I got a credit card delivered. Last Saturday I maxed it out. On a holiday! Eeek! Although really it's not as bad as it sounds, I got the card purposefully to pay for the holiday so it wasn't exactly an impulse buy ^_^

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Me and my mother are jetting off to the sunny (hopefully) Greek island of Rhodes in a few short weeks. Rhodes is the one with the green arrow in the picture above, right near the coast of Turkey. I've been there before with my friend and housemate Kate and we had a really good time. It was out of season so many of the attractions were closed but the local buses were running and the Old Town area of Rhodes was open for business. The Old Town is spectacular. I'm really looking forward to exploring it some more and introducing it to my mum who has never been. I'll probably write a review or something on Trip Advisor in May when we get back.

I must admit I feel a little responsible for us having a successful trip, mainly because I've chosen not to book airport transfers, (£50 for a coach to the hotel? It's less than 5 Euro on the local bus service!) but the pressure is on because I now have the job of making sure we actually find our hotel. Hopefully some forward planning, printed out Rhodes bus timetables and my iPhone will help!

Whilst booking I was thinking about where I've been and where I'd like to go. If you know me you will know I'd love to visit Japan for a month or so. I'd visit the Ghibli Museum and a hot spring and the Ginza shopping district. I'd also love to return to New York. When I went in 2006-7 (I went for New Year) I was a little younger and I don't think I experienced it like I could now. I did see the Statue of Liberty, which was incredible, I didn't imagine her to be quite so tall, and went to a cool museum on Native American history. However, I didn't see Central Park, didn't go inside the Empire State Building and didn't flounce around pretending to be Serena Van Der Woodsen from Gossip Girl, It's definitely worth a return trip.

Times Square, New York , NY. Original Image Here

Closer to home I travel around a lot on buses and trains. My typical journeys are between Barrow-in-Furness, Nottingham, Sutton Bonington and York but I'm pretty comfortable travelling anywhere in the UK by public transport. I love getting on a train for a long journey and knowing I'll be sat for a good hour or two with nothing to do but read a book or listen to music. It's like time stops for a little while and I can forget about the general stresses of life!

(Yeah, I'm gonna do it, I'm gonna start a sentence with...) BUT, there is something which can easily spoil my journey (and I hold Apple firmly responsible): having to listen to other people's music. How hard is it to chuck away those crap earphones they give you with iPods/iPhones and buy some in-ear noise cancelling phones? If I can manage it, then so can you Mr Businessman on the seat in front listening to Nicki Minaj (?!).

Maybe it's just me. Maybe I got better earphones because I'm just super considerate. (Actually I did this swanky personality test recently and that was one of the words which came up to describe me. I guess I think it's accurate but please do tell me if you find things I do really annoying and are struggling with a daily desire to flush my head down the toilet. I'm so considerate I'd probably stop doing it right away!)

Anyway I think the world would be a better place if people would keep their choons in their own ears and stop forcing them on me. Thanks!

Things I Like - 2 - Stationary

Ever since I was a kid spending my pocket money on watercolours and visiting The Pencil Museum (Oh yes, there is such a place, and they even have an online shop *swoon*) I've been hooked on stationary. I love when you go into a shop and there are incredible rainbows of acrylic paints, pencils of increasing B's, reams of snowy white paper and those brill scratchy-offy-foil-pictures with dolphins and deer on them (Like the one below. Remember those?).

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Now, writing-wise, Muji produce a lovely gel-ink pen. They make my writing look fancy and the ink flow is just right. I must say that the ink does run out quite quickly but you can buy refills from Muji, who, incidentally, used to have a shop in Nottingham but it shut down a few months back. Now I have to buy my favourite pens online which makes me a little bit sad. I quite liked browsing around Muji with its minimalist shop style and t-shirts in little cubes!

For any kind of felt-tip colouring in, I love my Staedtler Triplus Colour fibre-tips. I like having nephews and a niece (Someone needs to invent a term for multiple nephews and nieces, like 'grandchildren'... How about 'sibchildren'..?) because spending time with them means I can do colouring in without looking like a person who has severely regressed to their childhood.

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For a lighter, more-pencilly colouring in requirement I prefer watercolour pencils. They are super blendable and of course can be painted with. Just add water! My favourite brand is Derwent, maybe because they are based in Cumbria not too far from where I grew up, or maybe because their statement about watercolour pencils is "The beauty of watercolour. The precision of pencil". I mean, it's just so true! ^_^

Something I recently found, and am desperate to find a supplier of in the UK, is the Beetle Tip Highlighter. It's a highlighter which has a nib I suppose you could loosely describe as being shaped like a little weevil nose (I was going to add a picture of a weevil but they're just too gross, Google them if you wish) and can be used to either highlight over words like usual, or, to highlight around words in one fell swoop! This would be SO useful when reading through journals, in order to make certain parts stand out. I must own a beetle tip pen!

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Lastly but my no means least...ly, for all my kawaii stationary needs I immediately turn to www.tofucute.com. They have a great selection of erasers shaped like food, tape with adorable friezes and themed paper stationary. I recommend a visit to their site if you haven't yet been and, whilst there, go ahead and browse the food section. There are some wicked Japanese snacks for sale! Hooray! Everyone loves miracle flavoured sweets!

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Things I Like - 1 - Movies

Ever since I worked at the Savoy Cinema in Nottingham I've been hooked on going to the movies. I'm happy to go any time, alone or with friends to see any film - expect scary ones. I draw the line at scary anything. I love the popcorn (sweet and salted mixed please), the slushy drinks and the chocolatey snacks (expensive though they may be) and tend to feel quite at home sitting in the screens, be they traditional or modern.

- Just a note on working at a cinema. When I first started I got told to go and "clean the screen". To which I responded "Ok, do I just brush it down or use a mop?". I got a pretty blank look. You see "screen" can of course refer to the room in which the movie is shown, not just the big white thing at the front. I think this is the cinema staff equivalent of an electrician's apprentice being sent for a left-handed screwdriver. If you ever get asked to do this this, be a pro and go and get the hoover. Don't go hunting for ladders like I did. -

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Most recently I've been to see The Muppets and John Carter. The Muppets blew me away with how funny it was. I was expecting outdated jokes and cutesy storyline. Indeed, the storyline was the usual formula of "ARGH! They want to cancel The Muppet Show, quick, we need to make money!" but anything cutesy was served with a side order of slapstick/ironic/situational comedy which just made the whole thing ace. Fans of Flight of the Conchords will love the musical numbers. Brett McKenzie himself was musical director and contributed to a lot of the songs (won a few awards for them too). I'd say this movie is a must see for anyone with a sense of humour. There is also an impressive string of cameos from the likes of Dave Grohl and the dude who plays Sheldon Cooper in The Big Bang Theory which made it all the more fun. I for one am going to buy it on DVD as soon as it's released.

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John Carter, on the other hand, is a film which I think lacks humour. I think it would have benefited from a Jack Sparrow type character with a few one-liners, just to make it stand up as typical Disney fare. Saying that, there is a pretty cool Martian dog in it which was funny and cute (in a toothy, slobbery way), and, aside from the humour stuff, I personally thought it was an enjoyable movie. There wasn't anything really spectacular about it which blew my mind as such, but my mum (49) and nephew (12) both thought it was really good, and it was definitely aided by good use of 3D. I feel quite sad that it's reported as a flop by the BBC. I think this could be due to harsh reviews given to it by websites and newspapers putting people off going, but Rotten Tomatoes shows that, even though it was given a review score of 51%, 71% of people who actually went to see it enjoyed it and I think that speaks for itself. If you have a free evening I recommend giving it a whirl.

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One must-see movie, which I'm so excited to see I get a funny feeling in my tummy when I think about it, is The Hunger Games which will be released on the 23rd March (that's only two days time!!). I intend to go watch it this weekend because sadly I can't do cinema during the week when I'm away working in Yorkshire, but hopefully I will be able to book tickets and it won't be too busy.

I'm super excited about this movie because I recently read the book trilogy by Suzanne Collins and enjoyed it immensely, despite the fact that the concept of post-apocalyptic survival isn't really a new one. I'm expecting it to be pretty dramatic and I saw the trailer last weekend before John Carter and it looked like it would be emotional. However, I heard on the radio yesterday a snippet of a review that said the extreme mortal peril wasn't really put across properly in the movie. I figure this is to be expected in order to make the film a 12A rating. Personally I'd like to see it properly souped up and aimed at adults, with a lot of emotion, fear and gore but hey, that's just me. I like book-to-movie adaptations to be intense in order to meet my expectations.

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DVD wise I recently bought The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, a Japanese animated movie about a girl who, in a minor lab accident, gains the power to be able to jump backwards in time. She uses this power to go back and fix events and help out her school friends. It's a really sweet story with a fairly simple time travel angle and I think it's going to be one I'll watch over and over because I find animated movies pretty relaxing. I'm also going to get hold of the book of the same name which is loosely described as a prequel, but I imagine it will be more of an inspiration for the story in the movie.

If you've been to see a movie lately that you think is a must-see, or you think is a do-not-see, please let me know. I definitely appreciate recommendations!

Advice for First-Time Conference Goers

Recently I went to a conference. It was the first time I've been to one and I wasn't sure what to expect. Since coming back I've thought of a few tips for people who don't have a clue like me, based on things I saw last week.

- What to wear - 

This can depend on the type of conference. If you are a business person then I'm sure suits will be all the rage but this farmy/sciency crop protection conference seemed more chilled. People were still expected to look smart but some students wore jeans and converse and nobody commented. I like a little bit of dress up though, I find wearing smart clothes makes me feel more confident.

Ladies: I'd recommend aiming for the mid-ground that is smart-casual. General office wear is good - I wore a knee-length skirt with flat black pumps and a blouse. Unfortunately that's not me in the picture on the right (those images came from a pretty cool dressing room function on the H&M website where you can plan oufits easily by clicking on items you like) but that's the look I'm gonna aim for next time I go.

Gents: Simple! Trousers and a shirt! Or a nice jumper if you're wanting to look more casual. Again only the real pros wore suit jackets so maybe think twice about that if you're a student.  If wearing a shirt please, please, please tuck it in. One bloke who gave a talk had his shirt hanging out and it looked like he had just rolled out of bed. I couldn't take him seriously.

Looking smart is important because you are representing yourself and your institution but looking too formal will make people think you're too big for your boots! I'm pretty sure I ended up looking like a schoolteacher on the second day but hey, you live and learn! Following the above suggestions will hopefully make sure you don't make any faux pas.

Hint: The venue might be air-conditioned to feel like the North Pole so do take some extra layers along just in case.

- Giving a Talk - 

I wish I'd given a talk instead of presenting a poster as with hindsight I think my work would have gone down well with the audience. If you're deliberating over whether to give a talk or make a poster I'd say go for it and give a talk. It's more stressful to plan but it is a good opportunity to show off your project, make your face  familiar to potential contacts and the relief feels pretty darn good when it's over!

Things to remember when giving a talk:

If there is a microphone at the podium, please stay still and speak into it. I know it's important to engage with the audience but turning back and forth to face them makes it hard to follow what is being said. Take some time before you begin speaking to angle the mic towards you and position it a reasonable distance from your mouth - about 30cm away should be fine.

Don't go crazy with the laser pointer! People don't need each line of your presentation highlighted for them, it can be taken as a given that most of your audience can read so try to keep the pointer for essential uses only. Also when designing your PowerPoint, think ahead about what you want to emphasise and make an animation to do this for you when you click.

Don't read out reams of raw data and results. People just don't care. Explain your methods, have a few graphs and tables and then spend most time on the conclusions or discussion. Numbers don't mean much to other people but the facts you have deduced from them are what people want to know, so, be a crowd pleaser!

- Poster Presenters -

Do try to stand near your poster during the coffee breaks and lunchtimes but don't stand guard by it like the Queen's Guard at Buckingham Palace. That can make people too nervous to come and read your poster or, alternatively, can induce your audience to start poking you in the face, taking pictures with you and telling you jokes to see if you will move from your post. Instead I recommend standing a little way back and approaching people once you have seen that they have already begun reading the poster. Don't do what I did and get scared and avoid staying with my poster altogether, I missed speaking to someone who I really wanted to network with. Luckily I managed to catch her later in the day but she was disappointed I wasn't available earlier when she had more time to talk.

As for things to bring along, it can be helpful to provide A4 handouts for people to take away with them. It will make you more memorable and it should have your contact information on it so people can email with questions. Also get some business cards printed, they're always handy to have just in case.

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Feel free to comment with questions and if I think of anything else useful I'll put it up here. 

Morals of the story are: look good, be confident, be prepared, don't wear bearskin hats and maybe go have a little fun with that H&M dressing room thing!