PALA

The BEST album I've heard in a long time.

Follow your dreams baby!

O FACE

I've noticed something in fashion photography lately. Aside from that holding your hips pose theres like a standard face they all seem to make









Its funny because in a normal situation you'd look like a sap trying to make the same face and unlike them you dont have Inez and Vinoodh or Mert and Marcus taking your picture!

Too much too soon

I've said it before and I'll say it again

NEVER HAVING AN AFFAIR



Second time around and Glenn Close still scares the hell out of me!

HEYA!

Henry Hopper is gonna blow up, I'm calling it now! He's in Gus Van Sant's new movie Restless with Mia Wasikowska and I'm not going to lie....it looks amazing!

The land of the free and the home of the brave?

I'm about to have that obligatory talk with my Dad that we have everytime I come to visit. My sister's joining in this time so God only knows what she'll have to say, judging from her little conversation with him that lead to his previous comments, i'm interested to see how this turns out.

*IN OTHER NEWS*

New York is still the way I left it, but the weathers lovely this time. Its nice and cool but warm at the same time, but it isnt that taking the piss type of hot like it is during summer...I'll be gone by the time that weather rolls around! I'm making a list of things to do and I'll try and get a few pictures up along the way.

You are a...

low·life /ˈlōˌlīf/Noun

1. People or activities characterized as being disreputable and often criminal.
2. A person of such a kind

Thats the latest addition to my Dad's names for me. I forgot how much I loved our phone conversations, thanks for the reminder Pops!

They're called supermodels for a reason

I'm genuinely delighted they chose these looks





well played.....WELL PLAYED!

Back

Every single time I watch Volver I want to:
Move to Spain
Speak fluent Spanish
Marry Penelope Cruz




As a whole movie its brilliant, punchy script, vivid colours, solid performances, a well thought out story, and Penelope Cruz.



She actually gets more and more beautiful as the movie goes on.



Javier Bardem is one lucky Hombre!

Blasians

Along with Quiffs, I'm all over Blasians these days.






I've always said to my family I'd marry an Asian, and to satisfy their subconscious need for me to marry a black person, I think its the better of two evils. Plus they always have good hair-not that that's a prerequisite of mine or anything.

Now I realise Devon Aoki isn't black, but ever since I saw her in VIBE magazine, (which obviously validates her street cred),when I was like 14 I've been hooked. She's just too beautiful for words!

Trinity Ball 2011

Another Year
Another Great Liine-Up



Shame I didn't go. Next Year though!

You know you have a problem when

Your dad tells you about his new diplomatic post and for the rest of the day you're in a bad mood. In fairness to Ethiopia they do have a few nice things going for them including this lady:



But i'm already dreading it because my mum is on her usual 'I'll send you to live with your dad' trip. I wouldnt mind if i had something that was taking me there, other than going to live with my dad, like work or college but so far nothing. I REALLY need to stop doing this because I managed to turn New York City into one of those places i hate and that has turned into one of the BIGGEST regrets of my life! So yeah hopefully with a bit of research and a good long chat I'll learn to love Ethiopia!

Awkward

I went to see Patrick Wolf with a few friends last Monday, having only really listened to one of his songs, and it was really good - despite waiting almost 2 hours to get in! So there I am enjoying the gig, feet tapping away and then it hit me!

Aside from Rowdy Superstar + his hype girls I was the only black person there! Not that it matters in this day and age but it's always glaringly obvious when I go for nights out these days and it kind of makes me uncomfortable and wonder why that is hate that it does.

Anyway before I go off on some weird tangent, here's my favourite song from the night

Adieu

1932-2011

Oh James

Paddy's Day was epic

LOL JK, I didn't go out and I was in bed by 12!

I cant wait to go back!

Not like ever would

But I just finished watching Fatal Attraction and its safe to say I'll never ever cheat while I'm in a relationship. Glenn Close played the pyscho stalker bitch far too well for my liking.

I want what cant have

And it really pisses me off sometimes. I get this overwhelming desire to have or own things that I know are reasonably out of my reach. Yet the things that are within my reach I don't bother with, for one reason or another (usually some excuse I create as to why I cant have them). I keep saying I'll put a stop to it and go after these things but that's become a broken record in my head now so maybe I need another mantra or finally stop making excuses for things that can be easily resolved!

In other news, our house was broken into on Monday and loads of things were taken, yet we managed to find a message behind all of it. Aside from the obvious (lock your windows and doors), don't place importance on material things. They can be replaced, and often times with better things. Strip back the excesses in your life and enjoy the simple things.

Young Night Thought

ALL night long and every night,
When my mama puts out the light,
I see the people marching by,
As plain as day, before my eye.

Armies and emperors and kings,
All carrying different kinds of things,
And marching in so grand a way,
You never saw the like by day.

So fine a show was never seen
At the great circus on the green;
For every kind of beast and man
Is marching in that caravan.

At first they move a little slow,
But still the faster on they go,
And still beside them close I keep
Until we reach the town of Sleep

by Robert Louis Stevenson

I am Jack's medulla oblongata

I wish my sleepless nights were merited by hours of hard work during the day, or the stress of massive assignments that are due in soon. Sadly they aren't and I find myself kept wide awake by the most ridiculous thoughts running through my head. Its like my brain has a full length conversation with itself and part of me stays up all night to hear the bullshit it's saying.

One good thing did come from all that last night and that was the decision to change the set up of my room. There isn't much space now but hopefully when I'm done there will be some kind of logical order in this room!

Sideshow Rihanna

That's what the giant afro was for!

Coming to the Gate Theatre

For my first play, this should be good...I'll let you know if it is

Athas

I'm not one to post things I buy but I got a few of those Basquiat t-shirts from Zara. And the best part is they were only €7 a piece. Delighted with myself, would be an understatement!

I'll play a trick on you

Seperated at Birth?

Left: Nicki Minaj for V 69
Right: Papa Shango

Not in this House

New Year, Same old story. Guy makes a decision, decision is shot down, disputed and reluctantly accepted by the powers that be. Only to be reminded that in this house what they say goes. And here I was thinking things had changed, looks like the only way I'll ever get my own way is if I move out. Preferably to the Breakers



You know something nice for the weekend.

And the Golden Globe goes to...

The Golden Globes are tonight and that means one thing...its almost time for the Oscars. Most people couldn't give a shit about that but I do so I'm looking forward to all the press coverage, red carpets, acceptance speeches and all sorts of other crap over the next few weeks.

Last year I made a really long winded post about the nominees and who I wanted to win so this year I'll cut the crap and say this year:

Colin Firth
Natalie Portman
Andrew Garfield
Annette Benning
The Kids are Alright
The Social Network
Glee
Black Swan
Boardwalk Empire
Modern Family
Biutiful
Toy Story 3
Mad Men...will all probably win something at some point during the show tonight.




I'm not as into it as I was last year, having lost interest in anything I once cared about around October and all (but that's for another post sometime in the future), but good luck to everyone all the same!


*Update*: 9/13 aint too bad if I say so myself!

Sonic

I had the strangest dream a few nights ago that involved me eating a hedgehog. As if that wasn't bad enough he had horns all over him that turned into corn kernels every so often and he was awful gamy if I remember correctly...nothing a little barbecue sauce couldn't fix though. When I woke up and bits and pieces of the dream came back to me it got me thinking if hedgehogs are actually edible. I hope not, they're deadly looking things, I want one as a pet!

C.R.E.A.M.

New Year, Same Lies: 2011 Edition

Not that I can actually remember what happened after we got to Zinc on New Years, or a even a countdown for that matter I had a rough idea of a few things I wanted to change/improve on/do this year. Truth be told though I had a good New Years and if that's an indication to the way the year will be, socially at least, then I'm happy.

Like I said 2010, particularly the last 3 or 4 months, was a time I'd prefer to forget. So on that note here's a few things I plan on doing this year (in no particular order)

1. Get in shape
Something we all say at the start of every year and ultimately never fully commit to. I wouldn't call myself fat or anything but if I'm panting and heaving from running to answer the phone then I REALLY need to do something about that. This year I've no excuses seeing as there's a)an exercise bike RIGHT outside my bedroom door b)there's a gym DOWN THE ROAD from my house, and c) no reason for me not to even run up and down the stairs a few times a day and get my heart beating a bit faster.

2. Go out more
This has always been in issue for me. I remember a particular summer when my friends called me a house hatcher and I wasn't really offended. But now that I'm older and I realise I can count on my hand how many times I go out in any given period I'm a little worried. I'm not going to turn into one of Michael Aligs minions or anything but at least getting out of this house a little more regularly wouldn't go a miss.

3. Read more

I had a lovely chat with my cousin Tina the other day about her favourite author, and, not to my surprise, she told me it was Jacqueline Wilson. At that particular moment my heart broke a little, mainly because my TEN year old cousin could name her favourite author and me, her TWENTY TWO year old cousin don't even have one. Reading books has never been my thing! I prefer magazines, newspapers, blogs and that type of thing but this year I'm going to make a conscious effort to read more (seeing as a I have a bookcase full of them).

4. Talk to my family more
There was a point last year where I hadn't spoken with my dad in about 4/5/6 weeks, and when I finally did, the conversation lasted approximately 3 minutes. I haven't spoken with his older sister, my Aunt, in about a year and I have some cousins whose names I don't even know. That aside when it comes to interactions with the family I actually LIVE with (and those that live in Ireland) I'm pretty surface level with them, never make the first move to get in contact and I don't quite know how and why that's happened. Yeah there's the fact that my immediate family don't like to address the many elephants in the room but I think this year we should all make the effort to spend time with and talk to our families more. We've only oh so many years left with them so why not make the best of them

5. Blog more
I actually have 3 blogs, of which one is pretty much defunct (though I cant bring myself to delete it), I'm going to try an update them more. There's so many blogs out there and I'm amazed at how dedicated/creative some people are with theirs and use that as my inspiration to continue sometimes. My main problem is that I generally feel I don't have much to say, and even if I do who's even going to read it. I guess that says something about my need for other people's validation and reassurance. Which brings me nicely to my next two resolutions

6. Make better decisions
I read something somewhere that said 'growth is a process of trail, error, and experimentation". During what I'm now calling my 'grey' area of 2010 I figured out that all three come as a result of decisions that we make and actions we choose, however well or ill informed they may be. I'm the type of person who makes decisions based on what everyone else is doing, not bearing any thought for the fact that what works for one person doesn't always work for me. I just pray and hope that some decisions I've made wont turn around and screw me over this year and also to listen to the opinions of those who ACTUALLY matter in my life and not those who I'm trying to please.

7. Live for myself and not others
My mum used to say I'm a people pleaser and nothing could piss me off more! But as I look back at the times she said it, she couldn't have put it better. In my defense I was young and impressionable and didn't always reason well (and still don't at the best of times). However now that I'm older, and wiser (hopefully), I've learned to say no and not be afraid of the consequences of said no. While I was forced to say no on some occasions it taught me the benefits of saying no. In an ideal situation I'd be more assertive and make those decisions myself but I guess that's one of the pitfalls of living at home and being dependent.

8. Get a job/career/money making activity According to my plan from when I was 11 I should be married with a child at this age but in reality I have a about €5 to my name. Therefore said child and wife would more than likely be slumming it at this rate. But on a more serious note a job or something that gives me a regular pay check would really be appreciated right about now. From a superficial point of view I could buy lots of shiny new things and distract myself from the harsh reality of the 'real world'. On a more practical point of view it would give me a sense of direction, something to strive to, and something to build upon. My Dad manages his money really well and I hope I do too when I'm in the same position. With the economy being what it is ,however, and the ABUNDANCE of opportunities here getting a job this year is a challenge I look forward to.


If I think of any more I'll stick them up.

Its 04:40am

And I've already broken one of my resolutions. In fairness though this particular one won't happen overnight, unless I take the chemical route (and having witnessed the effects of chemical aids first hand, I'll pass!).

So basically what I was trying to say is I'm up too late according to my new plan for the year. It hit me the other day that almost everyday since May last year I went to bed no earlier than 2am. How I didnt collapse in the process is beyond me but i'm going to make a conscious effort this year to change that.