Magazine

Got into an alternative fashion magazine for Halloween. Article was written by my lovely friend Cat about the Medusa makeup range, and my friend Lynsey was the makeup artist. Awesomeness. Need to put more time and effort into my photos - I've spent so much time working recently and need some photo time!

http://www.cutoutandkeep.net/snippets/issue21/medusas-make-up

The Old Man of Storr

Perfect Reflections

Glen and Loch Etive.

Glen Etive

It takes 40 minutes to drive from the main road to the lochside - single-track road all the way and the odd fisherman hunched beside the river, white-washed cottages every couple of miles. Loch Etive is glassy as a mirror and fun to jump into in welly-boots ^^

Thames Festival

The last of the great summer weather ruffled our hair and blew the fluffy clouds away over the distant pinnacles of East London.

The Thames Festival lined up along the edges of the great meandering river, with a dizzying quantity of stalls promoting the foods and cultures of an equally impressive number of different countries. Spanish paella, Polish cakes, Korean kimchi with a free corresponding cookery book (score!), masks from Eastern Europe and a dude dressed as something resembling the Baba Yaga were distributed amongst the crowd, along with an abundance of ice cream cones and Pimms.

Later, the sun died down and the closing fireworks were set off in myriad colours.

A few more reasons to love London.

CO+K

http://us1.campaign-archive.com/?u=e0ee2d55937b0969e2e8fc5c7&id=c4d46988a1

My good friends Cat and Tom.

:)

Laughing at yourself

… it’s a skill.

A couple of weeks ago, I woke up on the floor of my local doctor’s surgery after passing out cold whilst having blood taken early on a Monday morning. A nurse and a doctor were racing around the room in a flustered fashion, arranging my feet up on a chair and placing a pillow beneath my head whilst repeating to me over and over “You’re ok, you’re going to be ok, everything’s fine, don’t panic now!”

I was, of course, both perfectly calm and perfectly used to the ever-so-slightly humiliating fainting process. After all, in my time I’ve fallen off balconies and smashed my face on the corners of radiators; frankly, waking up devoid of injuries, in the recovery position and surrounded by trained professionals was a definite win in comparison. I looked back up at them with an ironic grin, and retorted: “I’m fine, thank you. In fact, I can’t think of a better way to spend a Monday morning other than lying down with a comfy pillow and my feet up.”

Similarly, I felt slightly abashed whilst upside down, two metres underwater at the deep end of my local swimming pool during an impromptu round of the “can you make funny-shaped air bubbles with your mouth and then catch them before they hit the surface” game, when a confused looking man passed overhead and scrutinised me judgingly with his begoggled eyes. Apparently, grown women are frowned upon when they pretend to be dolphins and play “catch the air bubbles” whilst swimming.

Embarassment is subjective. It depends on so many external factors - culture, environment, company; however it relies just as much on those inside of yourself, such as personality, sensitivity and experience. From the point of view of an optimist, there are therefore aspects of the emotion which are well within your control.

My granny always says – if you didn’t laugh you’d cry. I wholeheartedly agree with this doctrine; after all, it’s got her through a healthy 97 years. And I don’t know about you, but I much prefer a good giggle over an embarrassed blush.

Joy

No matter how heavy the world gets, how suffocating or hopeless... it never ceases to be beautiful, intricate and impossible in it's workings, and blessed by it's very existence.

Too hot to Handel

Classical music is not popular. We've all heard the reasons - outdated, boring, uncool.

That's the thing. "Classical" is as broad and generic a term as referring to "people". The intricacies, idiosyncrasies, variety and emotional depth is simply not encompassed by the term.

Fair enough, I completely understand why certain "classical" musical styles bore the tits off the general public. I mean, Mozart and Beethoven were composing in a time where trousers could only be referred to as "unmentionables", and table legs were covered up lest they remind some poor gentlemen of a real female extremity or his own apologetic erection.

The wooden, esoteric musings of the baroque and classical eras are understandably inaccessible to a modern audience. To a populace being spoon-fed lyrics like "Ooh, you's a sexy bitch!", why would you voluntarily put yourself through something as sterilely named as "String Quartet in G-Minor, K478 Rondo"?

BUT really, you've all been tricked! Because you DO actually like classical music (nay, love!), you just don't KNOW you do!

Film music (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFS4zYWxzNA&feature=related, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHAvjaHtlMA, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8zlUUrFK-M) , the scores of TV shows (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRYowiiAOhg), and other incidental music has evolved from our classical past. Baroque evolved into Classical, which in turn evolved into Romanticism, Impressionism and program music. Take a look at the sales of soundtracks and how many people turned up to the Doctor Who Proms last night at the Royal Albert Hall (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgL2CZisFGc) and you'll see that people can and do relate to classical on a massive scale. Take a look at the footy coverage on a Sunday afternoon and how many English fans sung "Zadok the Priest" and "Rule Britannia" during the world cup as they wept into their vuvuzelas (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aaY6G-yX4YI&feature=related).

If you don't think you can relate to classical music then you don't know what it is. You relate to it everyday whether you notice or not; and it evokes the most visceral and intense emotional reactions. It's probably the most powerful and evocative musical genre of all.

If the sound of Davy Jones blasting out tunes from his church organ aboard The Flying Dutchman doesn't chill you to the bone (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FL1TGhQOcV4) or Elgar's Nimrod bring you to the verge of tears (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUgoBb8m1eE) then, hell, your heart is hewn from the coldest sharpest flint.

And for anyone who doesn't think that classical music is sexy... haven't you heard how big Rachmaninov's hands were?!

Your hands would definitely have to be big to play these chords (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-qwJoFQ3qo&feature=related; see 2 min 25s). Imagine a gorgeous brunette playing this naked and then you'll understand how sexy classical piano can be.

Finally, a little giggle for you: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifKKlhYF53w

Don't be put off by the uptight, abstinant Victorians! Whether you realise it or not, classical music is already an intrinsic part of your life - so why not experiment a little with it? ;)

♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪

Don't make me laugh bitterly...

Humour is a bizarre thing.

For example, the ubsurdist-acrobatic-Harold-Pinter-parodying nude show I went to see on Sunday night. Billed as "sexy and very, very funny", I in fact cringed my way through the allocated two hours, quaffing toxic cocktails at half time and sinking despairingly into my seat as three men simultaneously simulated oral sex on the female cast members.

The peculiar thing is that people LAUGHED! A lot!

Similarly, when partaking of my Saturday night installment of You've Been Framed I've mused about exactly why we think an elderly man tripping over his pet dog and falling headfirst into a partially-frozen and scum-filled pond is FUNNY. I mean, he could have broken a hip.

But... it just kinda is.

Check this out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qhucVsq9CE

Please note the parents TRAUMATISING not one, but TWO of their offspring. And this has been watched by at least 450,000 people!! Upon showing this act of horrific child-abuse to a friend of mine, she laughed so hard she hyperventilated.

For more trauma and deprivation, please enjoy the following:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4u696R5GQEQ

:p

Sunny side up

All this Vitamin D - apparently, it's rather good for you.

Although being Scottish is really rather cool (akin to being some mythical creature which everyone has heard of but few have actually set eyes on), there are disadvantages to being born in the dark and raised on deep-fried haddock.

Hurrah for the many physiological and mental benefits of extensive sun exposure!

All you need is...

I love Trafalgar Square. My new favourite place to eat lunch in the sun or drop in on the odd national event.

Great city, great times and great friends.

Wandering the big bad London streets...

Dean Village

Jan - April 2009.

Not far from the centre of Edinburgh, tucked up all snug and out of sight underneath the Dean Bridge, is the picturesque little hamlet called Dean Village.

It's not really a village, since it's technically 2 minutes from the middle of a bustling international city. But it feels that way, wandering down Bells Brae to realise you can't hear anything other than the gurgling of the Water of Leith, the rush of water over the dykes and the quacking of ducks.

Atmospheric in winter and bursting with colour in the summer.

A Foggy Day on the Meadows

The Meadows - Edinburgh, 2008.

Edinburgh is a great city for atmospheric photography.

Sitting on the edge of the Firth of Forth means that it's frequently inundated by a murky haar which floats in from the sea, resulting in some top-notch eerie photo opportunities.

You've Got the Music in You

http://www.intellectualpornography.com/2009/07/one-oclock-daily-bobby-mcferrin-and-the-pentatonic-scale.html

Moving out to Londontown

Finally!

A job in London!

And a flat! Also in London!

And new friends! Predictably, also in London!

Yey for living in London!

May Day

Today is officially the first day of summer. It's ironically looking much more grey a dreary than yesterday, with forecasts of wind and frost over the bank holiday weekend. Bleh. Oh well, you've still gotta love the metaphorical significance.

Our ancestors did. They would light fires, dance excitedly, and beat drums to chase away the spirits of chaos and darkness which ruled their lives over the bitter winter months. In modern Scotland, these ancient rituals have been transformed into the Beltane Fire Festival held each year at the top of Calton Hill, in the centre of Edinburgh. It's a big draw for tourists nowadays, as the costumed and painted participants carry out their ancient rites on the same volcanic earth our ancestors did.
(Check out the dude getting burned in this photo, oucheeee. That's what happens when you choose to be a representative of Chaos)

The White Ladies and the Blue Men, the Red Men and the Torchbearers, the Horned God of Winter and the Green Man all make an appearance. But it's the White Lady who always steals the show. She is the Queen of Summer (Mother Earth) and she leads the procession around the hill, through the burning gates, and finally vanquishes the demons.

Then, they set a bunch of stuff on fire, and everyone gets trolleyed.

Goodbye winter, hello summer!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/edinburghandeastscotland/hi/people_and_places/arts_and_culture/newsid_8655000/8655823.stm

Cute Food

http://myfoodlooksfunny.com/2010/04/21/funny-food-photos-cats-love-bento-boxes/

Way too cute to eat?

When I was 5 I got a chocolate duck for Easter but felt too guilty to eat it. Interestingly, I never had that issue with eating actual duck... or that whole roasted guinea pig I ate in Peru. Or that live octopus in Korea.

The irony.

Memory of the Day (25th April 2010)

Nazca, Peru.

I travelled there shortly after the devastating earthquake which shook the region in August 2007 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_Peru_earthquake), and although Nazca was relatively unscathed the infrastructure from the north was heavily disrupted.

As a result, the tourist industry in the area had almost ceased to exist and the touters and tour guides were beside themselves when a handful of tourists arrived.

Also took a flight over the Nazca lines (and paid a good amount more for it than I normally would have, but didn't mind) and visited some cool museums with lovely pieces of pottery and some scary looking mummified heads with their mouths sewn shut.