Rupert Friend

Why can't I see a film without falling in love with the leading man? Instead of turning this post into an analysis of my real-life-love deprived psyche, let’s just present the facts:

1. Rupert Friend looks very dashing in a costume drama:

2. He looks like Orlando Bloom:

3. He makes some interesting movies: The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas, The Young Victoria, Pride and Prejudice, The Libertine...

4. He dates Keira Knightly, but we can’t all be perfect so I’m willing to overlook this fact. As a side note, the cheekbones on these two are wondrous.

Yes or No? I would consider this a ‘yes, I definitely would’.

Posted By: Cat

The Flying Troutmans

I like reading, and sometimes I find a book that I literally cannot put down. In these cases, I'll consume a book in a day, forgetting anything else I should be doing. The Flying Troutmans was one of those books.

Hattie has to fly back to Canada from her crumbling relationship in Paris to take care of her sister Min’s kids when she’s put into a psych hospital. Hattie decides to take Thebes and Logan on a road trip to California to find their Dad, who hasn’t seen them in ten years.

Precocious Thebes and surly Logan are such rich characters, crafted with insight of how modern teens talk and react. I especially loved that eleven year old Thebes sometimes likes to talk in hip hop slang, while Logan drops an f-bomb or two while still being a sensitive, complicated fifteen year old.

I loved this book. The writing is original and stylistic not to mention relevant. 

Buy it at amazon: The Flying Troutmans

Posted By: Cat

Leggings

When typing leggings into Google, I was greeted with a plethora of pictures featuring Lindsay Lohan, which almost put me off writing this entry. I have never been a leggings supporter, and have firmly stood my ground remembering that in the 90's, when I didn't know better, I even had a pair with stirrups. Stirrups people.

So when they came back in fashion, as with most things better best forgotten, I kept away. My black tights were staple enough; I'll just wear jeans thank you, etc. Then yesterday, on impulse, I brought two pairs for £6 because I can't resist a bargain. 

I hate to say it, but I love them. They fit like a dream and are super comfortable. I wore them to uni today with a cute long t-shirt and long black cardigan and someone commented that I looked great, which I'm pretty sure hasn't happened before at school. 

After all the snow we've had this year, Spring is in the air and its turned warm. Because warm for us is still only the 50's, there's still a chill in the air so leggings are perfect for that 'half my legs are warm but the other half are brave enough to salute the sunshine'. Below the knee is just fine, but I'm still not sold on the 'wet look' leggings that are currently en vogue; baby steps. 

Topshop have a leggings section on their website, so maybe they're here to stay. Embrace the leggings! 

I have never typed the word 'leggings' so much in my entire life.

Posted By: Cat

80’s Nostalgia

After 24 years of living in the same house, my parents are selling my family home. It’s upsetting.

There is a silver lining to this distressing cloud though - With 24 years worth of collecting and accumulating, our loft is full of the memories of my youth. I’ve found old school books (all with graffiti inside of embarrassing conversations between high school friends, no wonder I retained so little of what I was supposed to learn), hats I can’t believe I wore in public, and various oddities. By far though, the best finds have been the toys of my childhood.

Fisherprice adjustable skates.

If you were a child between 1980 and 1990, you had a pair of these skates. Note the flashy colours, to help you fit in at the disco rink. The moulded plastic uppers cut your feet to shreds, but no good skate was successful unless returning home with blood pouring from your wounds. I am so excited that they fit me now, with a little creative toe curling. They can only be worn for a maximum of ten minutes before paralysing cramp sets in.

Various board games from my youth.

Guess Who is still going strong today, and can’t be beaten for pure, simple entertainment. Remember picking Claire and being gutted because she had glasses, a hat AND she was a woman.

Build a Better Burger was a game only I seem to remember from my circle of friends, which is a shame. Game play involved making a fast food order quicker than your opponent and involved plastic burger buns and lettuce, milkshakes with straws so easily snapped in haste and the apple or cherry pie desert option. For years I had aspirations of working at McDonalds.

Hungry Hippos has also gone through a revival of late, but I still remember the heady days of finger cramp from tapping those leavers until your hands spasmed.

The Nintendo Game Boy.

Words cannot explain the joy I felt when I eased four double A batteries into the back and tentatively slide the power switch to on. That descending Nintendo logo greeted me like the last fifteen years hadn’t happened. Thus, I have been playing Super Mario Land 2 all day and have been overtaken by rage at being unable to defeat big boss Wario. Just like old times.

Posted By: Cat

Hamish and Andy’s Tall Ship Adventure

This blog seems to have turned into a Oz/NZ love fest, so I’m revisiting another past post to bring more reasons why I like Hamish and Andy - Australia's finest.

Their Australian drive time radio show is now transmitted into Tasmania. To celebrate, the guys decided to sail across the Bass Straight to Hobart, Tasmania’s capital, in a 17^th century tall ship (re-christened 'The Tally Shore'). They’ve named the voyage ‘Open Your Buccaneers Tasmania!'

Departure was scheduled for Monday but a hurricane warning left them docked in Melbourne’ harbour until Tuesday when the weather forecast was downgraded to gale force winds. Neither Hamish nor Andy has sailing experience and Hamish has prepared for the voyage buy getting an anchor tattooed on his bicep...and not doing much else. 

They chose naval ranks at random and ended up as Rear Admiral and Commodore. Because Hamish’s Rear Admiral outranks Andy’s Commodore, he is forcing Andy to marry a rat while in international waters - apparently this is something that you can do at sea. Poor Andy is not allowed to see his rat bride before the big day. So far, they haven't managed to do anything other than lay on deck and vomit. The swells reached 10ft on Wednesday night:

This is why I love Hamish and Andy. They take a small idea and let it snowball until it’s so random and ridiculous, that you just have to go along with it. They took a small group of listeners 'the peoples crew' to welcome the Tasmanians to the show. The first 24 hours of the trip consisted of them, and the peoples crew, vomiting due to severe sea sickness, but their show was still entertaining. To call it professionalism would be misguided, but it’s pretty cool.

You can follow their journey here: Open Your Buccaneers Tasmania!

Posted By: Cat

Flight of the Conchords

New Zealand folk-rap-electro-rock duo Bret Mckenzie and Jemaine are 'The Conchords', although they bill themselves as: "Formerly New Zealand's fourth most popular guitar-based digi-bongo a capella-rap-funk-comedy folk duo." Their HBO series follows the band as they try to make it big in New York with only their hapless manager Murray guiding their careers. Lone fan/stalker Mel provides an audience for the boys’ less than popular gigs.

This show is hilarious. Its second season is underway on HBO in the States and is to be shown on BBC3 here in the UK soon. Jermaine and Bret’s comedy is quirky and subtle but the highlight is Rhys Darby who plays Murray. He is hilarious. Try watching it without adopting a New Zealand accent and calling out ‘band meeting’.

Catch up with Flight of the Conchords:

Posted By: Cat