Welcome To Apostrophe

Hello? Is anyone there?

Oh, thank God. I was beginning to get worried.

Everything looks different, doesn't it? All white, and a bit less red (although you're reading red at the moment. It's my favourite colour) and blue and look! A new name! You see, I warned you this would be coming.

Apostrophe.

Less of a mouthful than Musings of an Undiscovered Genius, isn't it? Cuts to the chase, which is what an apostrophe does.

Shit! What am I going to call Music at Musings now?! SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT GIVE ME SUGGESTIONS PLEASE

Of course, this blog has a new URL, http://www.apostrophe-rules.blogspot.com. Apostrophe.blogspot.com was taken by some blog with one post from 2000 entirely consisting of the words 'testing....mic check'. That was extremely annoying. But remember now, it's APOSTROPHE-RULES.blogspot.com. Or dft.ba/-apostrophe.

And now, onto matters at hand.

I am typing this at 05:42 on 30th December 2010, early Thursday morning. New Year's Eve tomorrow. Some of you might remember this time last year, when I said...

'I don't believe in New Year Resolutions. But I do have a List Of Things I Am Going To Try To Do And That I Won't Beat Up Myself About If I Don't Happen To Do Them. I haven't thought of a catchy name for it yet as you can see.'

A few days later, I rejected that in favour of a 'dreamboard' with some catchy slogans, nice shots of cities like Paris and New York actresses and singers who inspired me, and still do (eg. Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Florence Welch) and some random models that I thought looked cool. This is how it looked the last time I updated it, a few months ago.

Two hours ago, I decided to take it down, without a replacement.

You see, when I made it, I made it with the intention that it would inspire me. For the past twelve months it's been on my wall beside my bed, and it hasn't been inspiring me at all. Not that I haven't had a year without inspiration, I've had plenty of that! I'm just disappointed with the dreamboard, because for me, it didn't serve it's purpose. Besides, now I have room to put up my copy of the Irish proclamation of independence! It was fun making it and everything, but that was it. If you want to make one for yourself, don't let me put you off! Show me when you're done! But anyway.

I haven't really made New Year's Resolutions before. (Aha! 06:00!) I just didn't think there was anything I needed to drastically change. Of course, there's nothing wrong with me that I need to drastically change either. However, I have decided that I need rules, otherwise I will explode, and bring everyone else down with me. This must not happen.

The Apostrophe Rules

Rule #1 - I will make myself lots of rules, which I will stick to. These rules will be inscribed onto one of the walls of my bedroom in chalk.

Rule #2 - I will try not to worry too much about exams. I will allow myself a brief, sensible period of worry the week before the exams, but that will be all.

Rule #3 - I will find something to do during lunchtimes at school.

Rule #4 - I will try to eat less sweets and more apples. The fact that they hurt my braces shouldn't count.

Rule #5 - I will try to read books more. 

Rule #6 - I will stop watching reality TV shows, to leave more time for relaxation.

Rule #7 - I will finish what I start.

Rule #8 - I will keep my promises.

Rule #9 - I will not be an annoying and/or irritating friend.

Rule #10 - I will try to go to the cinema more often, especially now that I can watch 15 films (although there is the matter of whether I look 15 enough to be let in...)

Rule #11 - I will try to get enough sleep.

Rule #12 - I will learn first aid, because it is about time.

Rule #13 - I will take more photos.

Rule #14 - I will cycle more, at least twice a week to start with. Weather permitting.

Rule #15 - I will get rid of the books that I don't read anymore, and read the books I've been meaning to read.

Rule #16 - I will not say things I don't mean and things I know will be bad to say.

Rule #17 - I will not start drinking or smoking, because I've gone this far already, and I can't afford it, and I would be disowned, and alcohol doesn't taste nice (I've tried it enough times to know that) and I know better.

Rule #18 - I will stop whining on my blog.

Rule #19 - I will learn new skills, and be the best version of myself I can be (without being perfect of course, that's impossible) in 2011.

Ta da!

I'm not sure if this is my last post of 2010 or not. Wow. I'm never any good at writing thank yous or anything, because it just sounds fake to me. But I hope you all know and appreciate how highly I value you. Thank you so, so much for all your kind words, and for reading, and for making me a better person, and for allowing me to see things differently. You rock.

Take care.

This has been Eleanor Roscuro...

Music at Musings - Paramore, Imelda May, Tom Milsom, Von Bizmark, Charlie McDonnell, Eddplant

Hello, and welcome to Music at Musings! I would say that this is the third last Music at Musings of the year, but we all know by now what happens when I promise to do things - I don't do them and let everyone down. So um... let's get on with it, shall we?

Paramore - Playing God

I was quite surprised when this was released as a single, more than a year after Brand New Eyes came out. But I must say, I'm glad they did all the same. So, let me ask you a question - OMG DID YOU HEAR JOSH AND ZAC ARE LEAVING PARAMORE OMG OMG. Will talk about that more at a later stage... Anyway. I love the spots from old cinema screen, at the start, and doesn't it take on a completely different meaning when you read Josh and Zac's exit statement?



Imelda May - Psycho

Imelda May has equal amounts of style and substance, and really inspires me. All she does is make awesome music and have cool hair. That's it. No need for her own fake eyelashes brand, or reality TV show, or 2011 annual. Just her and her cool hair.



Tom Milsom - Catsongs II (Livia Deliberated)

So you all know I've been raving about Tom Milsom for a while now. I mean, why not? Originality and ingenuity are hard to come by these days... Catsongs II is refreshing because even though it's about love, it's not about romantic love. The boy's parents love him, and he loves his cat. Who's dead. And it's a completely ordinary situation, but it's just so charming.



Von Bizmark - Address The Silence

I've always been fascinated by voodoo dolls. This feeds my addiction quite well. Before I go on, I would like to point out that domestic violence is wrong, even when fuelled by supernatural energies. There.



Charlie McDonnell - Bread

For the last three weeks, this song has been stuck in my head. I'd hate it by now, but I can't! It's so charming and cute, and beautiful, and simple, and sad, and ironic, and pretty, and original... I'd love to animate like that. One day! And did you see that speck of evil in the eyes of Victoria Sponge?! Also, this comes with a good nutritional message for youngsters. 'shudder'



Eddplant - Less Than Three

Yes, yes, I know. 'Eleanor,' you're shouting at me, 'not ANOTHER Admiral?' Well, if you don't like what I write, you don't have to read it. Anyway. The way Eddplant sings is quite... well, 'shouty' but I like it. All these singers today, with those fake accents and weird voices and lilts! Your lilts sound stupid! And Eddplant doesn't. Thank you.



Sorry for the long, long absence. Just in case I don't get to post before the New Year, thank you all so, so much for being there for me through everything. Love you all.

Eleanor Roscuro

Christmas? What Christmas?

So it's a week until Christmas and I haven't said anything about it yet.

Wait, I have! That's done. Thank God. (You can tell that I haven't got any presents for anyone yet, or put up any decorations or the tree.)

Anyway.

It has become apparent that in 2011, I will be very busy.

The Junior Cert - For the uninitiated, if we all went to Hogwarts (!) I'd be doing my OWLs. 'shudder' Mocks in six weeks time, which is basically the same exam, but a little harder.


Kilkenny Youth Theatre - Remember a few months ago, when I kept talking about a strange play about vampires? Yeah, that's happening again. Only with less vampires and the teenage characters are undoubtedly human. Although I'm trying to get my castmates to come around to the idea of zombies. They're not budging. Killjoys. Oh, and the play is 'Paving Paradise' by Richard Conlon, if you're interested in coming. (COME COME COME)

Red Square Kibosh - So do you remember that thing I did during the summer where I became an art critic and everything? That didn't end when school came around. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to make any of the meetings since September, thanks to Number One up there. However, I was able to meet with the group a few weeks ago and we have gotten the opportunity to raid the archives of the Butler Gallery and curate our own art exhibition! But the months in which the exhibition will be open are May, June and July. June is the month of Number One, so I'm not sure if I will be able to do this. But I'll be damned if I won't try. That was what I said before Number Four. (Wait! What if I'm not allowed to say anything about that yet? Shit! Shit shit shit!)

Something That Is Absolutely Brilliant, I Can Assure You, But I'm Not Going To Tell You About It Yet Until A Bit More Time Passes - Sorry. But because of this, there is a very good chance that I probably won't be able to help curate the art exhibition. Interestingly, if it weren't for the Red Square Kibosh I would never have done this. But there you are. Irony, and life, and things.

And that's what I'll be doing for a good bit of 2011. Mostly until the summer time. Longer if I'm allowed back to kibosh things. Hopefully. I hate the taste of coffee, but maybe I should start drinking it. For the caffeine, you know? Ugh, no. I can't bear it. Tea and Coke it is!

Eleanor Roscuro

Quote Of The Week #34

Ah chose not to choose life. Ah chose something else.


Mark Renton - Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh.

WTF - In The Confession Box

Me Forgive me Father, for I have sinned. It's been a while since my last confession.

Father McRosca And what would you like to confess, my child?

Me Well, you see Father... You might have to put the kettle on for this, it's going to take a while. And you might want a cushion.

Father McRosca Please, get to the point.

Me The thing is, I read the book Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll last year, because I've heard so much good things about it. It's a classic and everything, you know?

Father McRosca And whatever's wrong with that?

Me I didn't like it. At all. I mean, it's just Alice popping down the hole, then shrinking and growing, talking to weird creatures, eating strange things, it just doesn't make sense! There's no beginning, middle and end, no real plot or storyline, it's as if I wrote a book which described me walking to the shop to get a carton of milk, then going home. No, my book would be BETTER than Alice in Wonderland, because mine actually has a plot even if it is a little mundane, and it would make sense. People buy milk all the time. This may sound like I don't like fantasy books, but around half of my favourite books are in the fantasy genre.

Father McRosca And what's wrong with not liking that book?

Me Father, I'm supposed to like it. I'm supposed to like it because it's so flyaway, and iconic, and hipster. I'm supposed to quote it on Tumblr, and wear the t-shirts, and dislike the Tim Burton movie, when in fact I really like that movie. I'm being told to like things like leather couches all the time. But why do I like leather couches? And why am I supposed to like leather couches and Alice in Wonderland? I can't answer the first one, but Alice in Wonderland is supposed to be cherished by kids from the Nineties, with Twitter, Tumblr, Harry Potter, Doctor Who, daisies, Friends, We Heart It, and all the rest. And I shouldn't be bothered that I don't like Alice in Wonderland, but it kind of unsettles me. And what does that say about me? You see, there's the thing, the thing that I can't shake off. But I don't like it. I read it, I gave it a fair shot, and I didn't like it, and that's all that matters. Right?

Father McRosca This just gets curiouser and curiouser...

Me Father, are you quoting it? So you've read it then? What did you think?

Father McRosca Why Alice, I haven't the faintest idea.

Me God no. This can't be happening.

Father McRosca Oh, we're all mad here. All mad here.

This Is Musings of an Undiscovered Genius

So last Sunday I was going to put this as my Quote of the Week...

Thousands of geniuses live and die undiscovered - either by themselves or by others.


Mark Twain

And I thought that'd be great, since Mark Twain is usually quoted a lot and it mentions undiscovered geniuses and everything, but something made me read it again. And again. And again.

And now I've just realised that I need to change the name of this blog, even though I don't want to. Labelling myself as an Undiscovered Genius is automatically saying to myself 'Eleanor, you're fantastic and everything, but let's make sure no one else knows about it, OK?' And I don't want to do that. The name Musings of an Undiscovered Genius was incredibly easy for me to come up with when I first created this blog. I just thought 'OK, my blog needs a name... Musings of an Undiscovered Genius! Yes!' And I thought I was being kind of cocky and confident about the genius part, which I am (both cocky and confident and a genius) and the undiscovered part simply meant that... I'm not sure. I think it meant that I wasn't really well-known, (which seems incredibly superficial now that I'm fifteen and wiser) and that my potential still needed to be... discovered. Musings was created at a time in my life where I wasn't exactly bouncing around with happiness. And 'Musings of a...' has been used SO MUCH. Ugh.

But finding a new blog name is going to be really hard, and that's why I'm reluctant to change. And Music at Musings worked so well, it was simple and there was alliteration! But I NEED to change this name. And I'm so afraid I'm going to eventually pick a completely rubbish name that won't appeal to anybody (because something I've noticed about blogs is that the best blogs have rubbish names and the worst blogs have absolutely brilliant names) and I can't just call it Eleanor Surname because I'm still only fifteen. Safety and all that. Oh God.

I don't know whether to thank Twain or dance on his grave.

Oh, and this counts as a Quote of the Week.

Alternative Blogging Week - The Evaluation

Hello my darlings! This post is a chance for me and you to look back over the week that was Alternative Blogging, and discover some... (DOT DOT DOT) things.

Monday - The Fashion Blog


Ah. The fashion blogging. I wish I could blame it on the snow, but I can't. I will continue to blame a little bit of it on the snow, because I don't like being blamed for things, but most of it is to do with the fact that I don't know how to write about fashion, or analyse collections from famous, influential fashion houses in Paris and New York. I wear my brother's jeans! But I do show loyalty to a particular label - Nomads, all fair-trade clothing and are sold by my aunt, which is handy. But I will never be Tavi. HOWEVER - this does not mean that I will never blog about fashion... (DOT DOT DOT)

Tuesday - The Political and Current Affairs Blog


This may seem hard to believe, but I really enjoyed this! Part of it was actually finding out, and having my father explain the situation to me. and finally understanding. I like my daddy. Anyway. You seemed to like it too, and I'm glad! I should explain things like that more... (DOT DOT BLOT HA HA GOTCHA)

Wednesday - The Gossip Blog


I get all my showbizzy news from Silly Old Daniel, which is brilliant, and you should definitely follow him. Yes.  Anyway, it was quite hard to find up to date showbizzy news that actually interested me, but I think Mean Girls 2 was a shocker in itself. Again, if something interests me enough, I might talk about it and go WTF?!

Thursday - The Book Blog


I enjoyed this! Yes, I did! I'm glad I did this! I should do this more! Yes! And DOT DOT DOT should become a regular Musings THING! YES!

Friday - The Cooking Blog


This was great fun, of course, and the practice for my Home Economics practical exam in April is a bonus! I've never really liked cooking blogs though, because it's really not the same. But it's a blog. How can it ever be the same? Of course I'll be baking again, I just won't be blogging about it again.

Dammit! I should have done a PHOTOGRAPHY blog!

But will Alternative Blogging Week return next year?

We'll just have to see.

What about YOU? Would you like to see ABW return?

Eleanor Roscuro

Alternative Blogging Week - The Cooking Blog

Hello everyone, and welcome to Friday, the last day of Alternative Blogging Week! Apart from tomorrow! Today, Musings will become a cooking blog. I know a few of you have said you were looking forward to this, and I was looking forward to this too! And today's the day! Let's get started!

Today, I made Blueberry and Almond Muffins, and Bread and Butter Pudding. Unfortunately I couldn't get pictures of the end results, and I apologise profusely. These don't look as good as mine were, but there you are.

I got the recipes from Rachel's Food For Living by Rachel Allen and Smart Cooking by Marita Mcgeady & Martina Cribben respectively.

Blueberry and Almond Muffins

200g (7oz) plain flour
1 generous teaspoon of baking powder
1 level teaspoon ground mixed spice
50g (2oz) ground almonds
175g (6oz) sugar
200ml buttermilk
1 egg
50g (2oz) melted butter
100g (4oz) or so of blueberries
2 tablspoons of almonds as topping (optional)

Preheat the oven to 200C, Gas Mark 6. Line a muffin tray with 10 paper muffin cases.
Sift the flour, baking powder and mixed spice into a large bowl, add the ground almonds and sugar.
Place the buttermilk, egg and melted butter into another medium-sized bowl and mix together.
Add to the dry ingredients and mix to make a smooth batter.
Fold in the blueberries.
Divide the mixture between the bun cases, filling them three-quarters full.
Scatter the remaining almonds, if you are using them.
Bake in the oven for 20 minutes or until golden brown.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly before turning out onto a wire rack.

Bread and Butter Pudding

8 slices bread
raisins or sultanas
350 ml milk
2 eggs
2 tablespoons caster sugar

Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 5.
Remove the crusts from the bread and lightly butter the bread, then cut each slice into fingers.
Line the bottom of an ovenproof dish, buttered side facing downwards. Sprinkle with raisins or sultanas.
Repeat until all the bread is used finishing with a layer of bread, buttered side facing upwards.
Heat milk and sugar in saucepan until quite hot but do not allow to boil.
Beat eggs, stir in the milk. Pour over the bread.
Glaze with beaten egg yolk, sprinkle with sugar, bake for 25-30 minutes.

Both turned out perfectly, and if you try any of these recipes, please tell me how it went. We'll be... the Musings of an Undiscovered Genius Betty Rocker Club! Yay!

And this, I am sad to say, marks the end of Alternative Blogging Week! It's been great, I have to say. Tomorrow I will be evaluating the week. God, I'm tired.

Eleanor Roscuro

Alternative Blogging Week - The Book Blog

Good day everyone, and welcome to Thursday! Today, Musings will become a book blog. Books are one of my favourite things, but I really don't blog about them that much. This ends TODAY!

Today, in the words of Lemony Snicket, I will 'Think of that secret favorite book of yours - not the one you tell people you like best, but that book so good that you refuse to share it with people because they'd never understand it. Perhaps it's not even a whole book, just a tiny portion that you'll never forget as long as you live' and show you my utmost favourite books. Although, if they are my secret favourite books, I shouldn't be talking about them. Damn it! This is my effing blog!

Harry and the Wrinklies - Alan Temperley

In Harry and the Wrinklies, Harry lives in a fine London house with his nanny, whom he calls Gestapo Lil, while his rich parents gallivant all across the world. One day, he is left orphaned and sent to live with his great-aunts Bridget and Florrie, who he soon finds out are the leaders of a gang of geriatric master criminals, robbing banks to give money to charity. But Gestapo Lil soon returns into Harry's life, threatening his life and the lives of his new family... DOT DOT DOT
This book is an excellent adventure story, and the Wrinklies are so kind, so criminally talented and so funny that you wish they were real. Harry is a wonderful hero, clever and quick-witted, and he is a good person, most of all. This book is so, so much fun to read!

Muddle Earth - Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell

I hate the Lord of the Rings series. I read the Hobbit, and it was so boring. Muddle Earth is, well, it is based on the Lord of the Rings, but it's so funny, and so good you'd never notice the similarities. Joe, a boy from ordinary Earth, is accidentally summoned to Muddle Earth with his dog Henry by the wizard Randalf, the only wizard left in Muddle Earth after the others 'went on holiday'... Randalf tells Joe he must fight evil on behalf of the Horned Baron, who has problems even Randalf can't fix - his wife, Ingrid, is incredibly demanding, which the evil villain Doctor Cuddles uses to his advantages... DOT DOT DOT
This book, like the Lord of the Rings, is divided into three parts - Engelbert the Enormous, Here Be Dragons and Doctor Cuddles of Giggle Glade. Chris Riddell is also one of my favourite illustrators, but don't let that fool you into thinking this book's just for little kids. Seriously, don't. Please.

Blart: The Boy Who Didn't Want To Save The World - Dominic Barker

When the old and wise wizard Capablanca visits Blart and tells him he has to save the world from the evil Zoltab, Blart refuses to go. He doesn't want to leave his beloved pigs. But Capablanca drags him along anyway, and they set off on an epic quest, with Beowulf, the warrior who loves killing and whose greatest ambition is to be a knight, the obnoxious Princess Lois who loves slamming doors, and Pig the flying horse (who was named by Blart!)
Blart is one of the funniest books I have ever read in my entire life. Even now, years after I first read it, it still cracks me up every page or so. (By the way, has anyone else noticed that these books are all adventure stories? Well, except for the next one... DOT DOT DOT)

Gingersnaps - Cathy Cassidy

The book starts with an eight year old girl called Ginger, who is bullied for being overweight and having red hair. Four years later, Ginger has reinvented herself and is best friends with the cool, confident Shannon. On the first day of Year Eight, Ginger catches the eye of the weird and wonderful Sam, who plays the saxophone (and we all know the saxophone is one of the coolest instruments) and seems to like Ginger more than Shannon. The two start dating secretly but Ginger must decide where her loyalties lie... DOT DOT DOT
Yes, this book is Pink Lit. But unlike many books for the teenage girl group, with style but no substance, Gingersnaps is finely balanced between an excellent storyline, memorable and well-written characters, a wise message and a glossy cover (which is of course the most important thing to judge about a book. Seriously, it's very nice.) Shannon is so delectably... frenemial (I've made a new word!) and Sam is one of those characters that you wish were real people, just so you could be friends with in real life.

And that's it for Thursday! Don't forget, tomorrow is the last day of Alternative Blogging Week, and Musings will become a cooking blog!

Eleanor Roscuro

Alternative Blogging Week - The Gossip Blog

Morning all! Snow is falling thick and fast here! All schools in my area are closed, and today is Wednesday. Today, Musings becomes a Gossip blog!

1 - Mean Girls 2 is so not fetch.


Being creatures of the internet like myself, you've probably already heard about Mean Girls 2. If you haven't, here's the trailer:



WTF? They're not putting it in the cinemas, which really says enough. I mean, Mean Girls was a hit when it came out. If they waited this long to make a sequel...

2 - Turn Off The Dark might suffer from vertigo.

Bono and The Edge from U2 have written a musical, a la American Idiot. It's called Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark and it's first preview performance opened on Broadway last Sunday and sold over $1 million worth of tickets within 24 hours. It has the most expensive Broadway set ever made, costing $65 million dollars (strangely, the previous record holder was Shrek: The Musical! What on earth happened to that money?) There's a lot of wire work, with Spider-Man swinging on his web into the audience, they had to renovate the whole theatre for that. During rehearsals one actor broke his toe and another broke both his wrists. I'd give a review, but I haven't been to see it. Yeah. There's a hiccup. But I'm sure this will be remembered for years. But in what light? We'll just have to wait and see...

3 - Different faces, same problem.


So this might have fitted better yesterday, but whatever.

After Christmas, Ireland is having another general election. I mean, I'm sure our present Taoiseach (prime minister) Brian Cowen would have done fine without the recession. Ten years earlier, perhaps. But now, for the first time ever, maybe the Labour party will be in power. Well, it's not like I'm going to get the chance to choose. But there are people campaigning to lower the voting age from eighteen to sixteen... Roscuro for Taoiseach! I should make election posters...

And that's the showbizzy, gossip blog! It was quite hard finding interesting news, I must admit. And I checked  Silly Old Daniel and Perez Hilton and everything! Tomorrow's Thursday, when Musings will become a book blog! I must admit, I'm excited about that one. Halfway through!

Eleanor Roscuro

Alternative Blogging Week - The Political and Current Affairs Blog

Hello, and welcome to Tuesday! Today, Musings will be a Political and Current Affairs blog. (Don't worry, this will be more interesting than it sounds.) 

There are a lot of things going on in Ireland at the moment. I didn't fully understand this (which is quite an achievement, since this has been happening since 2008) so I asked my dad, and this is what he said...

IN THE BEGINNING (the 2000s) people liked buying lots of houses from property developers. To buy these houses, people took out loans from banks. Everything was OK.

BUT the people who bought the houses can't pay for them and the property developers are losing money which they borrowed from banks as well to build the houses.

SO the property developers can't pay back the money they borrowed from the banks.

SO the banks are losing lots and lots of money.

SO the banks appealed to the government to bail them out and the government guaranteed the bank losses. This means that anything the bank lost, the government (in which I mean the taxpayer) will pay it to them.

BUT this makes the government poor.

SO everyone's poor. Income tax gets the government €32 billion, but their expenditure comes to €50 billion. This is not good.

SO the EU are bailing out Ireland. They're giving us €85 billion to make everything OK. This was agreed on Sunday night.

SO... no one really knows what's going to happen. I mean, the EU and everyone who loaned us money has some control over Ireland, because they can tell us 'No! Don't spend ten million on hospitals and education! Spend it on lollipops!' They probably won't say that, but the important thing is THEY STILL HAVE THAT POWER.

AND lots of people are saying 'OMG Ireland's lost her sovereignity! Pearse and Connolly and Michael Collins are turning in their graves!' and some other people are saying 'Guys! Calm down! This is a really good thing for Ireland! England owe us anyway!' and some other people are saying 'KILL THE BANKERS!' and no one really knows what to do.

There are a million other factors, but this is the gist and will probably get you through a conversation.

And this is why you need to pass your exams, kids!

Tomorrow's Wednesday, which means that tomorrow, I'll be blogging about the business that we call show.

Eleanor Roscuro

Alternative Blogging Week - The Fashion Blog

Good afternoon, today is Monday, the first day of Alternative Blogging Week 2010! Hooray! Today, I will be blogging about fashion.

Originally, I was going to talk mostly about my style, but something happened. Something monumental.

It started to snow.

And it didn't stop.

Nope.

Not yet.

And I am very, very cold.

I mean, Valentia in Co. Kerry, a few miles away from where my dad grew up, is the same distance from the equator as Moscow in Russia! The only reason it used to be sunny is because of the North Atlantic Drift, that drifted warmth from America up to the Irish coast, and in the past few years, that's started drifting away. My theory is that it drifted up to the icebergs and melted them. Anyway, so now it's really cold. And I thought to myself 'Shit. I need to write about fashion, something I don't understand, and it's really cold out. What am I to do?' But because I'm brilliant, I did this:

Polyvore is quite fun. But anyway.

I'm not really into shopping, or fashion. I really should have thought of that before starting this post, shouldn't I? Yep. But I have to admit, fashion is something outside my comprehension. OK, so you say you use fashion to be unique. You are not unique. You will never be unique. Some teenagers, for instance, wear Converse to be unique from their peers. Millions of people, all over the world, wear Converse. The people that you don't like, that you want to be unique from, probably wear Converse too.


Depressing, isn't it? Sorry.

And I know you might be thinking 'Hey Eleanor, maybe you should just go around naked then!' Well, there are people who do that. They are called nudists. If you are a nudist, you're not unique. You are a nudist. Also, weren't you listening to anything I've said? It's fucking snowing outside. No thanks!

So what can fashion be used for? The answer seems to be... for fun.

Fun? I know. Weird, isn't it?

Monday is slipping away now, so while I'm fashion blogging...

PENNEYS/PRIMARK FORCE CHILDREN TO MAKE THEIR CLOTHES FOR ALMOST NO PAY IN SWEATSHOPS, LEAVING THE CHILDREN WITH NO EDUCATION AND OFTEN INJURIES. BOYCOTT! BOYCOTT BOYCOTT BOYCOTT!!!!!!!!

That is all.

Tomorrow, Musings will become a Political and Current Affairs blog!

Eleanor Roscuro

An Introduction to Something Extraordinary and Radical

So, I blog. I'm a blogger. I read a lot of blogs, and I have come to discover that the blogosphere is filled with all manner of strange things. Musings would probably be classified as a 'personal' or 'lifestyle' blog, which I think is a rubbish generalization, but anyway. This week, I want to get out of my comfort zone. This week, I will be posting every day and hopefully, Musings will become something diverse and unique, and I will learn how to write better. Today is the start of ALTERNATIVE BLOGGING WEEK. Look, I made a banner and everything, just to make it official:

I know.

This is how it will run:

• Monday - In which Musings becomes a fashion blog. This one makes me really, really nervous. Especially since today is Monday.
• Tuesday - In which Musings becomes a political and current affairs blog. This will be about IRISH current affairs, but wherever you're from, you're bound to know what's happening. If you don't, come along on Tuesday!
• Wednesday - In which Musings becomes a showbiz and gossip blog. This also freaks me out, but I will hopefully come out of Wednesday unscathed. I'll be glad to reach...
• Thursday - In which Musings becomes a book blog. Considering how much books are important to me, I don't really blog about them much. This ends Thursday!
• Friday - In which Musings becomes a cooking blog. I have to say, I'm really looking forward to this!
• Saturday - In which Musings returns to normal, and I evaluate the week.
• Sunday - Quote of the Week, and rest.

What do you think? Now I have to finish this introduction to ABW, and start writing about fashion. Wish me luck!

Eleanor Roscuro

Quote of the Week #32 - I Am Eleanor Roscuro

Reader, you must know that an interesting fate (sometimes involving rats, sometimes not) awaits almost everyone, mouse or man, who does not conform.

Roscuro, however, stared directly into the light.
Reader, this is important. The rat called Chiaroscuro did not look away. He let the light from the upstairs world enter him and fill him. He gasped aloud with the wonder of it.
'Give him small comforts!' shouted a voice at the top of the stairs, and a red cloth was thrown into the light. The cloth hung suspended for a moment, bright red and glowing, and then the door was slammed shut again and the light disappeared and the cloth fell to the floor.


Roscuro sat on the dungeon floor. The whiskers on the left side of his face were gone. His heart was beating hard, and though the light from the match had disappeared, it danced, still, before the rat’s eyes, even when he closed them.

'Light,' he said aloud. And then he whispered the word again. 'Light.'

From that moment forward, Roscuro showed an abnormal, inordinate interest in illumination of all sorts. He was always, in the darkness of the dungeon, on the lookout for light, the smallest glimmer, the tiniest shimmer. His rat soul longed inexplicably for it; he began to think light was the only thing that gave life meaning, and he despaired that there was so little of it to be had.


There are those hearts, reader, that never mend again once they are broken. Or if they do mend, they heal themselves in a crooked and lopsided way, as if sewn together by a careless craftsman. Such was the fate of Chiaroscuro. His heart was broken. Picking up the spoon and placing it on his head, speaking of revenge, these things helped him to put his heart together again. But it was, alas, put together wrong.

Stories are light. Light is precious in a world so dark. Begin at the beginning. Tell Gregory a story. Make some light.

Kate DiCamillo - The Tale of Despereaux

Quote Of The Week #31

I've been watching a lot of vampire films - Oh, you know, just thought I'd try and get to know you better. They say some great stuff. I mean, once you get past the cape era you start wondering what it's all a metaphor for - AIDS, heroin, anorexia, the spiralling chaos of western society, and not knowing the difference between good and evil - I mean not being able to define the terms. And they're sexy and heartbroken and mostly Californian, and they keep coming up with amazing cliches like 'It's easier to succumb to the darkness within than to fight the darkness without' and you think if it weren't for their nihilistic disregard for human life, they'd be the nearest thing we've got these days to gods!

Frank - A Vampire Story by Moira Buffini, Scene V

WTF - Because I'm Irish...

My friends have a running argument whether my hair is russet or ruby red.

I have never used curling irons, because my hair already has bouncy curls, all the time.

My favourite artists include Westlife, The Dubliners, The Saw Doctors, and the Clancy brothers, God rest their souls.

People know I'm Irish because I say things like 'riddle me this'.

My liver lost its virginity at the age of seven, when my grandfather gave me a pint of Guinness and forced it down my throat. I drank the next five on my own and have three a day since. I'm an Irish abstainer.

I have a soft, lilting Irish accent that makes boys all over the world swoon.

I can say 'Irish wristwatch' without twisting my tongue.

Dancing Riverdance is my party trick.

When I'm bored, I count the freckles on my face. So far I have one hundred and thirty seven. That's as far as I've gotten before I lose count.

I knit all my own clothes. Did you know denim can be knitted?

I have emerald green eyes.

All my clothes are in varying shades of green. My favourite colours are jade and olive.

What the hell are Lucky Charms?

Seven Things In My Room

Blogging on my birthday? I know. I'm the best.

Quote Of The Week #30

The destinies of wizards and princes might seem more certain than those carved out for the rest of us, yet we all have to choose the manner in which we meet life: whether to live up (or down) to the expectations placed upon us; whether to act selfishly, or for the common good; whether to steer the course of our lives ourselves, or to allow ourselves to be buffeted around by chance and circumstance.  Birthdays are often moments for reflection, moments when we pause, look around, and take stock of where we are; children gleefully contemplate how far they have come, whereas adults look forwards into the trees, wondering how much further they have to go. This extract from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is my favourite part of the seventh book; it might even be my favourite part of the entire series, and in it, Harry demonstrates his truly heroic nature, because he overcomes his own terror to protect the people he loves from death, and the whole of his society from tyranny.


J.K. Rowling - The Birthday Book (in aid of the Prince's Foundation for Children & the Arts)

IT'S MY BIRTHDAY TOMORROW BIRTHDAY BIRTHDAY I'M FIFTEEN YEARS OLD TOMORROW OMG

I know I keep talking about it, but how can I not? It's not like turning forty-seven, after all. It's an important milestone!

So I haven't told you what happened the day I turned fourteen, even though I said I was going to. Thing is... I did tell you. It's on this very blog right now. But I didn't have any followers then, and I doubt you've read that far back, so I'm going to give you an excerpt from my past self. Are you ready?

For my birthday I decided I wanted to go to Tramore with my family. So we brought Theo, our Jack Russel aswell. The waves were huge. It was terrifying. They were like the life-threatening ones you see in Hawaii.

So we got chips from Dooly's and sat on a wall happily eating them. We were watching a man play with his dog, throwing a plastic bottle. They were having great fun and it was lovely to watch.

The man was still grinning at us when the wave hit him.


He didn't see it at all.


His head bobbed out of the water a few times. Then nothing.


We sprang up, as did ten other people who were there. Someone got the nearest lifebuoy, but the rope attached was tangled up and people were wasting time untangling it.


Then, without thinking, I started running.


I ran halfway down the promenade to get another lifebuoy. But I'm not a fast runner. It was only when I stopped at the lifebuoy that I realised how tired I was. I started running again, but I was slower. Then a girl ran up to me. She held out her arms and I gave her the lifebuoy, then she started running. I ran back too.


Four men balanced on the wall, risking their lives to get the man in the water to grab the lifebuoy. My 
mother was screaming 'Someone hold those men! They're going to fall!' My dad was talking to 999.


The man was pulled out of the water. He was awake and conscious. Then the Gardai came and asked a lot of questions. An ambulance arrived eventually and took the man away. We left then, not knowing whether the man was going to be OK.

It wasn't one of my best birthdays.

But then we went to Waterford City, and there was an old-fashioned merry-go-round there, and I love old-fashioned merry-go-rounds! So I hopped on, and then we went home. That part was nice.

BUT THAT IS NOT THE END OF THE STORY! NO WAY!

That was Saturday, 14th November 2009. Flash forward to Wednesday, 22nd March 2010. At an English class. We were reading To Kill A Mockingbird and Boo Radley, in a fit of adrenaline, had just saved Scout and Jem from being murdered. Our teacher was talking about adrenaline like that, and how it can make you do stuff you'd never be able to do normally, giving an example of a man saving a child from a train on the London Underground a while ago. I put up my hand and started innocently talking about the man, and the day at Tramore, when I started sweating and shaking profusely, and I couldn't talk properly, and I didn't have any breath, and I felt really dizzy, and it was very scary and I didn't know what was happening or why. I'm getting a little dizzy typing this. That's one of the reasons why I copied the excerpt from an earlier post up there, so I wouldn't have to write it out again. That, and I wrote it only a few hours after, so the memories would be fresher and more clear.

I'm going to get some water. Back in a second. While I'm gone, you can watch this.



OK. I'm back.

Since then, I've been getting what I can only describe as panic attacks? I don't know what else to call them. I don't like it. It's very distressing.


Anyway, it's 23:59...

Damn. It wouldn't let me post at 23:59 because of some HTML errors, so now it's 00:05, which isn't as good. But still, I'm fifteen now.

A Very Good Answer To A Very Important Question.

Oh. I get it now. Thanks to Finn for giving me the link! Also, I think this fits as well...

God, I love Hardly Working.

Eleanor Roscuro

P.S. I haven't yet been able to tear myself away from Twitter yet, if you're interested.

Vulture Private/Personal/Professional Investigations

In the fair Irish city Kilkenny,
Three gentlemen detectives reside
Who use their wits and cunning
To solve, and thwart bad guys.

James Vultour, raising Cain,
With socks and sandals too
And Dan McGrain (the man's a saint)
Who's always pointing at Andrew

And we can't forget Niall Tennyson,
Who makes a lovely brew
The sanest guy in V.P.I.
(And he smells lovely too!)

Vulture Private Investigations
Solve mysteries, but these days
They're battling the evil Pinkertons
Led by an elusive Ms Blaise

But never fear, for V.P.I.
Are made of sterner stuff
(Like Tennyson's tea and cigarettes
And maybe Dan's got snuff),

So come and join their motley crew
Of teenage chavs and stoners
Taxi drivers, litter wardens,
But no moaners and groaners!

Vultour, Tennyson and McGrain
The best detectives you'll ever know
 Log on vulturespi.com
And let's enjoy the show!

Whenever I try to write a poem with a rhyming scheme, I fail miserably. So I'm quite proud of that. Yep.

Vultures is a Kilkenny based sitcom about three private detectives, or dicks, running their own agency. Is it any good? Oh yes. Oh yes indeedy. (Well, it's actually bloody brilliant, if you really want to know.) Vultures is the brainchild of two locals, John Morton and Paddy Dunne. (During my escapades with the Red Square Kibosh during the summer - if you don't remember, click here - I ran into John a few times, because he was one of the official Kilkenny Arts Festival bloggers with Ken McGuire. They're both very nice.) It burst onto the internet in late 2007, early 2008, with their first episode entitled The Kris Kringle Konundrum, about the struggles V.P.I. have as they try to buy each other the perfect present for Christmas. Since then, it has grown from strength to strength. There are seven mind-blowingly awesome episodes in this first season (and hopefully not the last...), and the amount of professionalism that's been put in is incredible. The actors are amazing, the characters are unforgettable, and they make little trailers for each episode! And character profiles on their website! And some characters even have their own little websites! And it's just so damn good!

And another reason why I love it is because it's based entirely around Kilkenny, and I recognize streets and places all the time, and it's just so selfishly great to be able to say 'Oh, I was chased there too!' And it's so Irish, and most of my readers are from America (with Ireland coming in a close second) and Americans love Irish things, don't you? Like me! So watch the first episode, The Kris Kringle Konundrum, and if you like it, go to their website and watch the rest! If you don't like it, go to their website and watch the rest!

 (Note - I've only started watching Vultures in the past few months, and so am relatively new to it compared to other viewers. Please excuse any inaccuracies I make. It's my birthday this weekend you know.)

Eleanor Roscuro

Happy Blogday Everyone!

I am an idiot, and I'm sorry.

So on Sunday 7th of November 2010, Musings of an Undiscovered Genius was one year old! One year! I can hardly believe it! Thank you all so much for your support and words. I'm so, so pleased that any of you read what I write here, and I am just so grateful. Thank you!

Oh, and I got my hair cut in September. Much longer now. I'm sorry, I can't smile in photos.

Eleanor Roscuro

Quote Of The Week #29

Hello. I'm Frank Pickle. And I'll be here for the next hour. Or maybe a little longer, in fact, because I have to put my coat on afterwards and say good-bye to the vicar, which should take a few minutes. Anyway, I'll be with you for quite some time. So I'll start by telling you something I think you'll find very interesting. I first discovered I was gay when I was 18, and I fell in love with a young farmhand called Justin. He was beautiful. Ive been trying to tell you, dear friends, for 20 years. But its tricky. Thats the lovely thing about radio. Speaking into this microphone here, alone tonight, I can say things I could never say to you face to face.


Frank Pickle - The Vicar of Dibley

A Very Important Question

So what's a hipster?

This is something I've been puzzling over for a while now. There's no real definition. From what I can gather, they're hypocrites. But what does that mean?

(Yes, I know what a hypocrite is. I just want to know what makes them hypocrites.)

Eleanor Roscuro

The Thing With Twitter

So this is the thing with Twitter.

I joined Twitter in October 2009, around a year ago. I joined because up until then, I didn't do anything on the internet. I just looked up stuff about books. I wasn't on Facebook. I didn't know what a blog was. I was not savvy. I was not savvy. But then I joined Twitter, and, slowly but surely, I learned what a blog was. I made a blog. And you know what happens next, of course.

But lately, I've been trying to live a more minimalist life. Of course, I can't apply that to all aspects of my life, but I'm trying to apply it to my life on the internet. All the time, I'm unfollowing people on Twitter that I don't feel I need to follow. I'm unsubscribing people on YouTube that don't keep my attention, I'm deleting blogs from my reading lists that I don't find interesting, I'm revising my Favourites lists. I do this almost all the time, and the only reason I keep some stuff is because of sentimentality, or because I don't want to upset people I know. (I know this may sound a little silly, but there are some people I would rather avoid confrontation with.) But I was reading the blog of Alex Day a few days ago, a post about the new MacBook Air he's bought himself, and he said:

If it wasn’t for YouTube – and this will be a controversial statement for the people who read this – I really wouldn’t need a computer. I could still use my iPad to check email once a week, but that’s about all. (On the note of that; since I got back from Zambia I’ve been testing only checking/replying to my emails on Mondays and living the rest of my week mail-free, and it’s been wonderful and liberating. Without Twitter, Facebook or anything similar that I have to keep maintained, the only things I need to do online are write blog posts and upload videos, both things I love too much to stop. What I’ve found with the emails is that if something’s important, someone will ring or text me about it within a half hour of sending an email anyway, and if it does take up to a week for me to reply, it really doesn’t matter. I can then spend the rest of the week reading, writing and going out and seeing the world and generally enjoying life. Give it a try :D)


I’m a firm believer in physical surroundings having a massive effect on your mental surroundings. Your mind will be busy and distracted and unfocused if you have a room full of stuff to distract you. I don’t really own much; I have an iPad, a laptop, a phone, a few books, a few DFTBA CDs, my camera and tripod, a guitar, a bass, a uke, six t-shirts, two hoodies, three pairs of jeans, a coat, a pair of slippers, eight pairs of boxers and eight pairs of socks, and that suits me fine. A computer perfectly suited to travel and minimalism is fine for me, since that’s what I want to do with my life. Travel, write, document, enjoy the simple things and have fun :)

I don't have an iPad, but I really don't have a lot of time anymore. And, slowly but surely, I've come to realize that I don't really need Twitter and Facebook. My Twitter is linked up to Facebook, so I don't really post on Facebook anyway. Twitter makes me feel like I'm part of this exclusive club, and I love being in exclusive clubs. If I let go of Twitter and Facebook, I'll have more time. More time for me, and more time for all of you. Besides, if anyone wants me to know something, they can email me. Just for good measure, let's see why Alex deleted his Twitter...

I think that Twitter stifles ambition, because I see people like Tom and Ed who are intensely creative, but spend hours in a row on Twitter. People talk about what a good platform it is for making your voice heard, but I worry that so many people are saying things when they could be busy DOING things. And I haven’t found a way to use Twitter casually without feeling like I’m doing a disservice to the people who follow me. I don’t like doing something unless I’m willing to give it my all.


Hark indeedy. Hark indeedy do.

But another thing is, it takes me weeks to write one post. This means that I had time to think about all that, and time to go on Twitter. And I love Twitter! I want Twitter! Without Twitter, how could I have known that Ken McGuire's set up a new food blog, or that John Green wants some more Swedish hip hop in his music collection? But the thing is... I can be very outspoken. You all know that by now. Like I said, it now takes me weeks to write one single post on Musings. This gives me time to think about what I'm saying more. With Twitter, that is taken away. I know it may seem like I don't really care what I say, and that I don't really care about offending people, but I'm not a robot. I do (sometimes) care about other people's feelings. I do have people in my life that I don't want to hurt, and I'd like to minimise this risk as much as possible, because like I said before, I'm very outspoken. And because of my ability to speak my mind, my parents have said to me that they would very much like it if I stopped going on Twitter and Facebook. I mean, the only reason I'm on Facebook is because of it's Chat feature. I like proper conversations. That's why I don't really like huge social gatherings, because you can't have a proper conversation with somebody. Anyway, is there any other website that is good for chatting to people? What is MSN like?

But about Twitter... I don't want to disobey my parents. They're brilliant people, and I love them very much. And I don't want to go all 'teenage rebellion' on them. But since Twitter is, if I think about it, the key to half of my happiness (the other half is my friends and family and everything that happens to me in real life. The life where I eat. This half is the stuff on the internet.), it's very hard to get rid of that so quickly. And my family don't really know what Twitter is, and I can't really explain it to them in words. Besides they've already made their minds up.

In the last thirty seconds or so I was thinking about this, and I decided that I would leave Twitter alone for a week or so, and see what happens. But since I spend most of my waking hours at school, that really won't make any difference. Then I had the idea of waiting until Lent came around, on Wednesday 9th March 2011, and giving Twitter up for forty days and forty nights, and seeing what happened. It would make much more of an impact then, but of course, I would still be disobeying my parents.

This is another reason why I don't like loving people - because you try to make them happy, at your own cost.

I know this is idiotic. I should be able to just drop Twitter like that. But it's shown me so many things about humanity. (Which of course can be a good and bad thing.) Um...

FINE!!! I'm quitting Twitter! I'll keep you posted on my non Twitter minutes. Go Alex.

Eleanor Roscuro

P.S. SOMETHING VERY IMPORTANT! I got my own DFTBA link! This is it - http://dft.ba/-musings
Amazing - after the thousands upon thousands of DFT.BA URLs that have been created, nobody has used musings. But I got there first. Oh yeah.

Quote Of The Week #28

I say 'Oh how I feel like a 3rd wheel, to you + your vanity". You say "I never look in the mirrors, M.. The mirrors keep looking at me!'


Marina and the Diamonds

Quote Of The Week #27

...So, like, imagine some girl who writes in her little unread blog, right? She writes, and no one comments, and she wonders if anyone reads it... This girl, she can make her voice hearable, but cannot make it heard. This sweet, little girl - who has friends, who harbors crushes, who worries about homework, who knows that talking without being heard is sadder and more poignant than silence.

John Green

Music at Musings - The Twilight Saga

This Music at Musings has a theme - The Twilight Saga. Yes, The Twilight Saga. Please! I only hope that even those of you who loathe Twilight with a passion will read on, to hear what I have to say? OK? Thank you.

I firmly believe that the super number one best thing about the Twilight movies is the soundtracks. The soundtracks embody the films and the performances completely. In fact, they actually got me interested in music properly, for the first time. They are the reason why I want to be a music supervisor, like Alexandra Patsavas, when I am older. (I know. I have to thank Twilight for my drastic personality upheaval. Don't laugh.) So the Twilight Saga soundtracks signify a huge phase of my life. Namely, this phase. And the soundtracks feature some fantastic artists like Muse, Paramore, Florence + The Machine, Bat For Lashes, Vampire Weekend, Death Cab For Cutie, The Killers, OK Go, Linkin Park and even Robert Pattinson himself! These are my favourite picks from the soundtracks. I've had to be extremely strict with myself to keep my choices to a sensible number. Enough with the initial introduction! Let's get on with the song introductions! Go!

Twilight: Paramore - Decode

This was the official Twilight song, and my introduction to music. I had always been aware of music of course, but until this time last year, it just wasn't that important. Then I heard this song, and I finally realised how music can have such an impact on people's emotions, lives. Yeah, the song is awesome.



Twilight: Muse - Supermassive Black Hole

Stephenie Meyer, author of the Twilight series, says Muse were her biggest inspiration in writing the books. (Read into this what you will...) This song makes me feel daring, like I can do anything! Or get sucked into a supermassive black hole.




New Moon: Band Of Skulls - Friends

This is one of the best songs ever! One of the few somewhat cheery songs in New Moon, and all about friends! Lovely. It's also an awesome song, great for headbanging!







New Moon: Anya Marina - Satellite Heart

God, this song is so beautiful. It makes me cry, and Anya Marina's voice is so earnest and sweet. Like Cathy Davey! And the lyrics are gorgeous.



Eclipse: Metric - Eclipse (All Yours)

This is the only 'Twilight song' to appear on this Music at Musings, and with good reason. The song is probably the cheeriest song in the whole series... I'm sorry. It's just so freaking cute!



Eclipse: Florence + The Machine - Heavy In Your Arms

When I heard that Florence + The Machine were featuring in the soundtrack, I was ecstatic. All you regular readers of Musings will be very much aware of my love for Florence and her Machine, and this song does not fail to disappoint. The lyrics are breathtaking, one of the most poetic things I've ever heard. And the video makes my hair stand up on end!



I have to go now, and I hope you enjoyed this. I'll see you soon! I'm actually in the middle of editing a video, which will hopefully be up shortly!

Eleanor Roscuro

Quote Of The Week #26

If an optimist had his left arm chewed off by an alligator, he might say, in a pleasant and hopeful voice, "Well, this isn't too bad. I don't have my arm anymore, but at least nobody will ever ask me if I am right-handed or left-handed", but most of us would say something more along the lines of "Aaaaah! My arm! My arm!

Lemony Snicket - A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Miserable Mill

Music at Musings - Ben Folds & Nick Hornby, I Blame Coco, Imelda May, Tom Milsom, The Gossip, The Script

Good evening everybody! And welcome to another installment of Music at Musings!

Yes, isn't it great! Fantastic! OK, shut up. Now. Good. This won't be as long as previous Music at Musings, but that's because I'm writing two ultra-special Music at Musingses! Yes, TWO! But for now, let's start!

Ben Folds and Nick Hornby - Saskia Hamilton

This song is one of the best of 2010. It's just so... euphoric! And my love for this song has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that Charlie McDonnell was commissioned to make the music video. No sir. I wouldn't dream of it. Although I'll really hope they'll sell the video on iTunes.



I Blame Coco feat. Robyn - Caesar

I Blame Coco and Robyn make a fantastic combo. Coco's lyrics are always so beautiful and clever, they are always a pleasure to hear.



Imelda May - Johnny Got A Boom Boom

Imelda May is an Irish rockabilly singer who is HUGE in Ireland. She performed at the Grammys a while back and now she has a new album, and I can't believe I didn't include her in a Music at Musings before! Johnny Got A Boom Boom was her first big hit. So here it is. And stuff. (As I have said before, Hot Press will be knocking on my door any day now...) ONE MORE THING - I love the fact that she always has the blond twirly thingymajiggy in her hair. OK. Watch the video now.



Tom Milsom - Indigo

I know I keep spamming Musings with Sons of Admirals music, but I just can't help it! They're so talented, and handsome, and talented, and handsome! Anyway... Indigo is such a beautiful song. It's now one of my favourite love songs, even though it might not seem like a love song, but it is! And it's just so gorgeous!



The Gossip - Standing In The Way of Control

The reason I love this song is because it really doesn't hold anything back. It's not polished, Autotuned singing, it's just Beth Ditto giving it her all into your ear. Good song for friends. I could apply that statement to most of these songs, but I think it's apt. A good song for friends...



The Script - For The First Time

My cousin and I have different opinions on The Script. She thinks that all their songs sound the same and are about the same thing. I believe that The Script are truly one of the greatest bands of the western world. In a recent interview, Danny Donoghue, the lead singer, said that when they returned to their homes in Dublin from touring around the world, almost all of their friends had lost their jobs due to the recession, and that you can't just go up to them and say 'Hey, I've toured with Paul McCartney!' 'It's all about going back to basics, drinking cheap wine, eating your dinner off the floor. That's when you meet each other for the first time, when you have nothing.' AND ANOTHER THING - Taylor Swift is a big fan of The Script. So there.




And that's all we have time for! Don't forget, we'll (me and my laptop) be coming back shortly (at the weekend) with lots of posts, and perhaps a video?

Eleanor Roscuro

Quote Of The Week #25

Practically perfect people never permit sentiment to muddle their thinking.

Mary Poppins

Seamus Heaney

Today in my English class we read a poem by Seamus Heaney, a famous Irish poet who has won the Nobel Prize for Literature. This is how my English teacher described him to the class. I just wrote it down.

Seamus Heaney is a darling little man,
With blue twinkly eyes like Santa Claus
And he wears little glasses
And when he looks at you, peering over -

Nemesis

'You don't bother being creative?'
'No, I don't.'
'How can you do that? How can you not be creative?'
'I don't like it.'
'I don't believe this. You don't have a soul.'
'I do have a soul!'
'No you don't. You're not creative.'
'Eleanor, you're being silly.'
'No I'm not! This is very important! You have to be creative!'
'I don't.'
'OK, well... you like cooking, don't you? Baking stuff?'
'Yeah.'
'That's being creative!'
'No it isn't. I just follow the recipe.'
'Right. Right. Um... Do you garden?'
'Sometimes.'
'That's being creative! Gardening!'
'No it isn't! It's just putting things in the ground!'
'You can win thousands of euros in gardening competitions!'
'Eleanor...'
'Even planting pansies in a row is being creative!'
'Eleanor.'
'Fine. OK. Umm... You're wearing a red headband today.'
'So?'
'What made you decide to wear it? What compelled to reach for the red headband and put it on your head? Are you trying to make a statement? Express an opinion? An emotion?'
'It was the only one in my drawer.'
'You will be the death of me.'
'What do you mean?'
'It's just an expression.'
'For God's sake, will you ever say anything simple and clearly?'
'What I mean WAS, I'm supposed to be the quitter out of the two of us. Not you. You haven't even tried being creative in any shape or form, which I never thought was possible until now!'
'Eleanor, why is this so important to you?'
'Because being creative is the only way I can express myself and the reason I was put on this earth!'
'Oh.'
'Yeah.'
'Hmm.'
'So... do you like music?'
'No, not really.'
'How in God's name can you NOT like music?! You can dislike a genre, or a band, but you can't NOT like music!'
'Yeah, well...'
'For God's sake. I'm only trying to improve you.'
'I think it's the other way around now, Eleanor!'
'What? How are you improving me?'

Quote Of The Week #24

How do you expect me to go on a diet with all these cookies in the world!

wheezywaiter

Good English

I had to write a short story for English featuring the words 'I wish I had listened'. I wrote this and I got an A! So, in a post of smugness, this is Good English... And most of Mrs Magorian's lines belong to my English teacher, who found it hilarious.

The pupils of Mrs Magorian's small class immediately fell silent when she swept into the classroom, closing the door behind her.

'Good morning! Today we'll be writing short stories. Please take down what I write on the board,' Mrs Magorian announced.

Stephanie opened her copy at a fresh page and took down the date. Her pen was out of ink, so she searched her pencil case for a fresh pen. She found a brand new pen and took down the heading. The heading was 'Short Stories'.

'In your story,' Mrs Magorian said, 'you do not deal with a long series of actions. You deal with a moment. Underline that, please.'

Stephanie wrote what her teacher had said into her copy, and underlined it twice.

'Miss, how many characters should your story have?' Stephanie's friend Tom asked.

'For a short story, like the ones you're going to write later - '

'Ah no! Please miss! We've got loads of tests tomorrow!' The class started to implore her. A minute or two later, Mrs Magorian finished her sentence.

'Tom for a short story like you ARE getting for homework tonight, two characters will probably be the most you can manage.'

With a pop, the class vanished. Stephanie and her teacher were left in the classroom on their own, looking very confused.

'You might be able to fit three characters in, if you really want to,' Mrs Magorian added. Tom suddenly reappeared next to Stephanie looking slightly bemused. Stephanie said nothing, and took down what Mrs Magorian had written on the blackboard. She underlined it twice. Stephanie was very organised and meticulous.

'Magnify important details!' Mrs Magorian called from the board. 'If you decide your character is stubborn, don't tel the reader. Show it in the character's behaviour, actions and speech.'

Stephanie and Tom took the advice down into their copies. Suddenly, Stephanie decided that she wanted to kill Mrs Magorian.

'I'M GONNA KILL YOU!' Stephanie screamed. She jumped out of her chair and started running towards her teacher. Mrs Magorian wasn't fazed and dragged the girl back to her desk, where Tom pushed her down into her seat. Stephanie was immediately silent. Her teacher walked calmly back to the board.

'Don't change a character's personality just to make the story more exciting.' When Stephanie and Tom had written it down, she gave them their homework.

'I wish I had listened to the second sentence, I can't remember it!' Tom moaned quietly.

'Lastly, the most important thing a story needs is a beginning, a middle and an end!'

Stephanie took down the sentence and underlined it.

Twice.