Saturday 30 January 2010

My Worst Best Friend


I read this brilliant book recently and just had to recommend it to somebody, so I thought, Why not the lovely people who read my blog?

My Worst Best Friend, by Dyan Sheldon, author of Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen, is about two teenage girls named Gracie and Savannah. Savannah Zinkle is glamourous, turns heads everywhere she goes and can twist people around her little finger, while Gracie Mooney is too worried about the state of the planet to care about the latest fashions. Nevertheless, opposites attracted in this case and the two girls have been BFFs for years, until Gracie realises that Savannah is very good at lying and manipulating to get what she wants. And when this involves a boy Gracie likes, things get ugly...

This book is witty, fun and completely engrosses you, while at the same time being enjoyable to read. And we can identify with at least one of the characters in this novel, because they are so true to real life. And that's what makes a book a hit, characters that reflect humanity. Isn't it?


Saturday 23 January 2010

Music at Musings: Paolo Nutini - New Shoes

Paolo Nutini is fantastic. He writes beautiful songs and is very handsome too! Also, it's nice to find a man who appreciates how happy a nice pair of shoes can make you...



I really need to think of another music post alliteration title thingy. Decibal Delights? Really?

Wednesday 20 January 2010

Why The Red Cross Should Give Copies Of Twilight To Warring Nations. (And Yes, I Am Serious.)

So, every school day, three brothers come over to my house to be minded by my mam for around two hours. Today, I was watching Twilight on Sky Movies and the youngest boy, David, whom I always call Davy, came in and sat down. And he started watching it with me.

Now, this boy is nine. And he asked loads of questions, such as: 'What can Edward do?' 'That guy driving... (Carlisle) does he have a girlfriend like Edward?' 'How does James track people?' 'What does Alice do?' What does that guy (Jasper) do?' 'Can vampires fly?'

It warmed my heart. It seems there is hope for society after all. Twilight should be used to stop wars.

High-Fives,

EleanorLight

Why You NEED To Join Twitter

You may have noticed that I'm on Twitter. Well, I have a button advertising my Twitter account under my 'Nice People I Know' widget, and in 'Once Upon A Time, There Was A Girl Named...' widget (is that what you call it? A widget? Never mind!) it says 'Follow me on Twitter!'. If you haven't noticed, then you need to go to Specsavers. Here are five reasons why you should join:


1. Almost all your favourite celebrities are on Twitter. You can stalk them, and they won't mind! You can ask them a question, and they will probably answer!


2. I actually get my world news from Twitter's Trending Topics. I don't like watching RTE News because it is extremely depressing. Trending Topics are what lots of people are Tweeting about, for example Haiti.


3. You get to tell people what you are doing without sounding crazy.


4. If people are interested in you, they will stalk you! But it's Twitter. Stalking is good.


5. I'M ON IT!!!

I know that Anna McGarry (www.annamcgarry.blogspot.com) and Miss Vintage Vixen(http://www.missvintagevixen.blogspot.com/) are on Twitter, but I want to know if any of my other followers are on it? I'll follow you!


High-Fives,


EleanorLight

Sunday 17 January 2010

McDonalds: I Ain't Loving It.

I've been experimenting with different templates and backrounds. Sorry if it looked... not so nice.

I'm going to tell you about an injustice that happened to me when I was five years old.

I was in the local McDonalds in Tralee, Kerry with my dad and my aunt. The place was completely packed, so I decided to try to find a table and walked around for ages until I spotted one. I was delighted with myself, but I remembered I needed napkins and scooted off to get them. When I came back... there was a family there, at my table.

Me: Sorry, I think this is my table?

Dad: No, we got here first, kid.

Me: No, I was here first. I only went to get some napkins! (panicking)

Mother and little boys look on and stare daggers at me.

Dad: Look. We got this table first, little girl. You'll have to find another one, and stop bothering us.

I walk away, trying not to cry, and being hopping mad.

That has scarred me. Hey, I was five!

Saturday 16 January 2010

Music at Musings: Live Lounge, Lady Gaga - Pokerface

As ye might know, judging from the Soundtrack up there, I am a fan of BBC Radio One's Live Lounge, where artists perform acoustic versions of their songs and other songs outside of their genre. Now, I'm not really a big fan of Lady Gaga, but the You Me At Six cover of Pokerface on the Soundtrack is awesome in my opinion. So I got the Live Lounge Volume 4 CD recently and this was the first song...

Friday 15 January 2010

Who Killed Candy Destiny Star?

I've been very sad recently. No one's died or anything, but I can get depressed really easily. But never mind that now.
So I have had an idea! Presenting....

The Assassinita!

Yup, she kills people. It's all in the name, y'know. She doesn't give a damn about the people she kills, because she's been in the business since she was five years old. I have to figure out the rest. I'm taking inspiration from this illustration, Who Killed Candy Destiny Star? by Ale Mercado. Actually, this picture holds much sentimentality for me. No, I'm not in the picture.

You see, in Kilkenny, the Arts Office created a publication called the Rhyme Rag, to showcase teen's poetry. This year, I sent in a little poem called Who Killed Candy Destiny Star? and it got in! Each poem is illustrated by Ale Mercado who is one of the best in Ireland and my poem was printed there, beside her elbow. I'll show you all the poem now.

Who Killed Candy Destiny Star?

Who killed Candy Destiny Star?
Why, and what's the reason for?

'I didn't kill Candy!' yelled her manager,
'I loved her like my own daughter?
She made me a living, and did whatever I said,
Some say I'm a tyrant, but I'm a clean-cut man
I'll miss her... and her money...
But I didn't want her to die; nobody did!'

Who killed Candy Destiny Star?
Why, and what's the reason for?

'We didn't kill her!' shouted the paps,
'Sure we loved her, her looks were our gain!
She may have loathed us and hated us,
But we were her ticket to fame!
Without us she was nothing, like all on the Hills,
But we didn't want her to die; nobody did!'

Who killed Candy Destiny Star?
Why, and what's the reason for?

'We didn't kill her!' wept her parents,
'Why would we? She's our own daughter!
When she shot to fame, yeah it was fun,
And so were the cars and the villas.
We may have pushed her, but we wanted what's best
But we didn't want her to die; nobody did!'

Who killed Candy Destiny Star?
Why, and what's the reason for?

This is me, reading the poem on the night of the launch in November. I'm not really that short. The smiling man with black hair is Adam Wyeth, the editor. He's a famous poet in Britain and Ireland. He mentioned Candy in his opening speech. 'smugness'

Tuesday 12 January 2010

Keep Calm And Carry On

I'm sure you've all seen the 'Keep Calm And Carry On' button there at the right hand side. If you haven't, then you should've gone to Specsavers. Well, Temporary Secretary http://www.temporary-secretary.com/ have just created these beauties! Aren't they nice?

'Keep Calm And Carry On' was originally a slogan during 1939 in Britain, telling everyone to calm the hell down on the eve of the Second World War. Recently, a man named Stuart Manley, who owns a bookshop in England, found an old poster and pinned it up in his shopwindow. Of course, people started asking about it and now it's on everything, posters, necklaces and blog buttons. Which necklace is your favourite?

High-Fives,

EleanorLight

Sunday 10 January 2010

The Girl Who Never Grew Up... And Danny Wallace

Apparently, I have reached my goal of eight followers. Hi Indigo! I hope you enjoy yourself here!
You know what, feck this! I'm not going to set anymore following goals or anything like that. If people are interested in Musings, then good for them. They have excellent taste.

So I'm reading a book called Friends Like These by Danny Wallace, who is a hilarious writer. I've already read Yes Man, which was turned into the Jim Carrey film with the pretty Zooey Deschanel. Personally, I prefer the book. Note: I've only seen twenty minutes of the film, so don't take my word for it.

So in Friends Like These, Danny is turning into a grown-up, almost thirty. He's recently married and has moved into a nice area of town, swapping pints down the pub for lattes and brunch. He's buying the sausage of the week (lamb, mint and apricot sausage, in case you were wondering) and is eating out in Latvian restaurants. But Danny feels there's something missing. Until he stumbles upon a black address book, filled with the names and addresses of his twelve best mates when he was a kid. And so, because that's the sort of thing Danny Wallace does, he tracks them all down to ask them 'Do you want to go out and play?' He travels all over the world to find his friends, and then he writes a book about his adventures. Which is lying on the bed beside me now as I type this.

I can identify with Danny easily. I know I'm not thirty yet, but I miss being a kid! I know I might be still a kid, but... you know, in my school, everybody's focusing all their energy on growing up way, way too fast. I just want to slow down. There's so much I haven't done.

Can I tell you something? The past week. That has been the very first time I've seen snow in all my fourteen years. My parents say it hasn't snowed since the 60's!

Once

One of the best Irish films ever! Once is a simple but brilliantly told story of a Dublin busker and a Czech flower-seller connecting by their love of music. We don't learn their names - they are credited as 'Guy' and 'Girl'. The soundtrack is brilliant, and the whole film is much better than any Hollywood music film like Dreamgirls or anything like that.

Saturday 9 January 2010

The Runaways

I cannot wait to see this movie! It was overseen by Joan Jett herself so it has to be good. And I know Kristen Stewart plays guitar and sings.

Friday 8 January 2010

The Secret Of Kells

The Secret Of Kells is my favouritest film in the whole wild world! And the people who made it, The Cartoon Saloon, are from Kilkenny too! They made a cartoon series, Skunk Fu, which is on Cartoon Network! I have the soundtrack, it's beautiful. I think you can get it on DVD in the USA and UK now. And almost everywhere else in the world. It's that big. Well, of course it is! Look at it! It's beautiful!

Twilight Oath

Found this on the Twilight Archives, a fanfiction site, and had to repost it!

Twilight Oath:


I promise to remember Bella

Each time I carelessly fall down

And I promise to remember Edward

Whenever I’m out of town

I promise to obey traffic laws

For Charlie's sake of course

And I promise to remember Jacob

When my heart fills with remorse

I promise to remember Carlisle

Whenever I am in the Emergency Room

And I promise to remember Emmett

Every time there’s a huge boom

I promise to to remember Rosalie

Whenever I see something that holds pure beauty

And I promise to remember Alice

When I’m at a mall and a cute outfit spots me

I promise to remember Renesmee

When I see that beautiful bronze hair.

And I promise to remember Esme

When someone tells me they care

I promise to remember Jasper

Whenever my stomach isn’t curled

And I promise to remember the Volturi

When someone speaks of dominating the world

Yes I promise to love Twilight

Wherever I may go

So that all may see my obsession

Because I know what the Twilighters know.

Dreamboard


Yup. This is my humble dreamboard. I know the picture isn't great, and there are loads of brown spots on the cardboard, but this was the best picture I could get. And I took loads.

So, I have girls on it like Florence Welch from Florence and the Machine (three of their songs, 'Rabbit Heart', 'Cosmic Love' and 'Kiss With A Fist' are on the playlist), Hayley Williams, lead singer for Paramore ('Ignorance', 'Crushcrushcrush', 'Brick By Boring Brick' and 'Misery Business' on playlist), Taylor Swift, Kirsten Stewart, Saoirse Ronan (on the KISS cover, Ireland's only teen magazine. Thank God it's a good one!) and Audrey Hepburn. I have a shot of the Statue of Liberty, the Eiffel Tower, and the logo for the O2 in Dublin. That's where we go for our huge concerts, when they are not on at festivals. The other girls are just random models I thought looked cool.

Now I'll gush for a little bit.


I love Saoirse Ronan! She's fifteen and a huge name in Hollywood! Plus, she's from Co. Carlow, which is 25 miles from here! I don't know where her village is though. I don't want to seem like a stalker. But she is really talented. All the film critics are saying that in her latest film, The Lovely Bones, everyone isn't really good except for her, which is a great thing for Ireland, and for her. There is a star on the horizon here...

Thursday 7 January 2010

Well, That Was Quick.

Oh! I have reached my goal of six followers already. Maybe I should set higher goals for myself... So, welcome, MollyMoo! I hope you enjoy roaming around my sparkly plot of the blogosphere.

High-Fives,

EleanorLight

P.S. I realised today why they were called the Flintstones. Yes, I can be that slow. Sometimes.

P.P.S. My next goal is...wait for it...eight!

P.P.P.S. Isn't this notebook cool! There are other ones that say 'I'm going to be a princess...' 'I'm going to get rich...' I'm going to be a rockstar...'

Read This. I Don't Want Any Excuses. Just Read It.

I just had to show ye this. I was roaming around the archives on Pink World (http://www.pink-world.co.uk/) and found this poem, by an author named Francesca Lia Block. Enjoy!

“…i always believed if i had blond hair, pixie face


big breasts

everything would be all right

not realizing that culturally idolized beauty

is not only foolproof

but potentially dangerous



if you believe in your own unconventional beauty

when you are young

you will accomplish twice as much and suffer half so



turn off lightbulbs and light a candle



walk don’t drive



plant a tree



wear sunscreen



dancing is an antidepressant



kindness is the new status symbol



every day please try to eat something green

and something orange

that grow out of the ground



tell me how mad you are

that your father and i parted

i will always listen

though i can’t ever take away the pain



expectations are for what you yourself create



they rarely work when applied to others



turn off the television



tv is a depressant



yoga is an antidepressant



don’t feel guilty about wanting pretty things



they would not be so alluring

if you weren’t supposed to want them

just don’t value them over compassion



use your words even when you are a grown-up

and people no longer think it is entirely acceptable

when you say, that hurt my feelings



if you can digest chocolate eat it sometimes



same goes for ice cream

(i don’t really need to tell you those things do i?)



do your homework because it is part of the game but



don’t spend too much time worrying about grades



fall in love with someone kind who loves your body

and your mind



if you have a dream that won’t let you go, that

tickles your solar plexus, heed it



turn dark feelings into paintings or poetry

or dancing



music is a kind of food



if you are sad talk to a happy woman who loves you

it will always help



move your body when you are sad or angry



avoid the following:

genetically modified ingredients

parabens

sodium lauryl sulfate

mercury in certain fish

neurotic thoughts about food

(is that a contradiction?)



love your curls though they tangle

your pale skin though it can burn in the sun

your nose though it is broader than some

your sturdy legs and feet



forget barbie she does not possess imagination



remember you are a botticelli angel



the planet we live on is perfection



love her like a goddess



love yourself as her daughter



there is a planet full of different kinds of beauty



the idea that only one type of woman is beautiful

is blasphemy



of everything i brought to the world in these

forty-five years

you and your brother are by far the most astounding



because of this i will always love your father



matter never vanishes, only changes



remember that when someone you love dies



your round head on my breast when you were born

is the memory

i will keep with me when i leave this body



when i am gone i will still be near you



this is how i know: when you were born

it was not a meeting

but a reunion…”

Inspiro-Girls - Lisa Clark and Lola Love


Before I start, I decided today that I was going to try to make my next post sound more Irish, to make it more 'exotic' for all the Americanoes listening. Well, here goes... 'clears throat'

Well bejaysus begorrah! What I'll say here is, now I tell ya, is very late for yis to be reading now! But, as me mammy used to say to me, there's no time like the present! This is a lass who inspires meself and loads of girls out there with her Pink Thinkin' and her books, which are bloody brilliant! Her name is Lisa Clark.

This young miss used to be an agony aunt at Mizz magazine before she sat down and wrote Think Pink, a 'go-to-it guide for girls!'. It teached lasses all over about how to treat yerself like goddesses and to love yer body, and introduced 'em to Lola Love, the girl on the cover, who talked ye through Think Pink and helps yis on your way.

Lisa has written other Lola books: Beauty*Licious, about looking after yerself, It's A Girl Thing, about puberty, and Viva La Diva, about treating yerself with respect. Lola Love also has a fiction series: Livin' La Vida Lola, Lola Love and The Rainbow Hearts, Cupcakes and Glitter Shakes, Time To Shine, and Lil' Miss Bliss. Recently she became the pretty face of a T-Shirt aswell, bejaysus!




And that's why I love Lola Love and Lisa Clark, to be sure.
Wow. I'm reading through it now, with the voice of my grandfather in my head. I can promise you I probably won't type like that again, unless it slips out...

High-Fives,

EleanorLight

P.S. Lisa's ultra-cool and pink website is Pink World! Log on! It's fabulous! And pink!

Wednesday 6 January 2010

Followers? Followers!

I have five followers now! I know! Five!

So I'm going to give a huge thank you to all of you, for being so damn awesome!

Thank You!
Told you the thank you was huge. I used the biggest size font and everything!
Oh, and extra thank you's to Stari, who comments regularly and is so cool, and to Miss Vintage Vixen, who is my blogging inspiration! I have a little dance that I do whenever I get a comment, which basically consists of jumping up and down on the spot and clapping my hands, going 'Yay yay yay!'. Sometimes I do the Macarena.
Damn. I hate being all slushy like this, on paper, because it doesn't sound right, really. Ah well. Ye all deserve thanks, anyway.
High-Fives,
EleanorLight

P.S. My next goal is...wait for it...six! Wish me luck!

Decibel Delights: The Wombats - Let's Dance to Joy Division

I love this song! I discovered this song on Q when I was flicking through the channels and it was love at first sight sound!



Story of my life, really. What do you think? I know it's been out for a while and I'm quite late.

Tuesday 5 January 2010

Mother Nature Must Be Really Pissed Off With Us Right Now. Would She Mind Telling Us Why, Please?

Oh My Stars...I'm watching No Frontiers on RTE ONE. The presenter, Kathryn Thomas, and her sister, are touring Skapelos, the island where Mamma Mia! was filmed!(!!!!!!!!!!!!) Britain has loads of holiday shows, while our little island only has one. Which is why every television programme in Ireland is either absolutely rubbish or brilliant, because there's no competition!

Another freezing cold night again. The entire country has had sub-zero temperatures for the past three weeks, and many people have been trapped in their homes for God knows how long. Only the main roads are (kind of) safe. And yet, we're not cold enough for snow either! Huh!

Yeah...You can tell I'm annoyed.

Dreamboard Status: Completed!

Shhh...I'm supposed to be asleep. For those among you who don't go by Greenwich Mean Time, here it's 01:40 am. I'm cleaning my room. Don't laugh! It really needs to be cleaned! Plus, I'm heading back to school on Tuesday, so I want to be a little spontaneous before I get all depressed again. I get depressed really easily, and then it lasts for ages.

So I finished my dreamboard yesterday! Oh, I didn't tell you about that. I only Tweeted about it. As you know, I don't really have a list of New Year's Resolutions, so I've decided to make a dreamboard instead, which will show some inspiring quotes, women and girls who ROCK and jobs I wanna do. And it was brilliant fun making it, I can tell you! I'll post a photo of it when I get my camera sorted out on my computer.

With High-Fives,

EleanorLight

Monday 4 January 2010

The Hillywood Show: New Moon Parody

How freaking AWESOME is this?!?! The soundtrack is brilliant, and the actors are fantastic! I have to watch the Hillywood Show more...until then, please enjoy this!

Sunday 3 January 2010