Showing posts with label culture & entertainment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label culture & entertainment. Show all posts

Must read!!


If you are anything like me, then you will love reading. Whether it's a full on novel, a flick through the pages of the newspaper/magazine, or even if you just tune in to check in on Jessie's Juicy Jargon ;). We all love reading, even if you don't realise it. I think it's pretty good for the soul.

Anyway, I'm so excited! Because for Christmas, I got a voucher for Waterstones! So I took  a trip to the shops and got myself not just one, but three new books! And I can't wait to get started!

So I thought I would share with you the three books I have bought.

Have you read any of them?

Irene
So, this one is a sequel of a book called Alex, that I have already read- and is a fantastic story... So hopefully, this one will be similar in it's quality. The only disappointing thing with its predecessor, was the translation, as the author is French, and I felt that a few parts of the book were 'lost in translation'. Nonetheless, the story was very gripping and page turning and I can't wait to get in to the second one!

Elizabeth Is Missing.
Well, I could never understand, when I was little, why my mum spent such a long time reading the reviews of books- for instance instead of reading the blurb she would read the reviews... well, today, I fully realised the beauty of this. I bought this book, based on the reviews of it. They are memorising, and there are so many of them, that they added extra pages on the inside!! It is supposed to be a very very good book, so I think I will start this one first.

Dark Places
This is Gillian Flynn novel, the author of Gone Girl. It goes without saying that this should be a brilliant novel. It has been recommended to me by many people. So I have finally got the chance to get my hands on a copy of my own... Have you read it?


Unfortunately, having gone back to Uni, I am going to struggle to find the time to actually read any of these books. But with a little bit of luck, I will find some time to get reading :D


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Thought of the day 07/12/2014

Oh, there you are! Hello, Sunday! 


I love Sundays. However, I must admit that it does depend on the job you have; how well you have organised yourself through the week; and generally what has to be done on the day. But that's like any day is it not?

For me, most of the time, I like to consider Sundays as being a delightfully lazy day. One of those, slow starts, nice breakfast; pop to the shops (if you must); do the washing (because you must); get the odd jobs that need doing, done. But altogether, I enjoy the general laid back approach that comes with it being a Sunday. 


Not to mention the fact that all the best programmes are/were Sunday ones... Downton Abbey, Desperate Housewives...

My Scottish Sundays are very different to the ones I grew up with in England. 

In England (for my family anyway), it is rare to have a Sunday pass without seeing family; more often that not you will have a Sunday Roast; shops shut at 4/5 (in my opinion this encourages relaxation!)

In contrast, I have noticed that Sundays don't seem to have the same weighting in Scotland. I have lived here for almost four years now, so this judgement is based on what I have noticed in this time. 

One thing that still confuses me to this day, is there are no (or few) Sunday trading hour restrictions. So, 24-7 shops, literally are, 24-7 shops. Also, the traditional family Sunday lunch doesn't really seem to have reached Scotland. I mean, don't get me wrong, obviously family meals have the same presence in life, but the ritual of this happening every Sunday seems to have stayed South of the border. 

What do you do on a Sunday?

Today, I am lucky that I am in Scotland, as I have an entire day of essay writing. Fun fun funnnnnnnnnnnn.

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Countdown to Christmas

I can't believe it's the end of November already! I am still having to think about what month it is when I write the date at work! Anyway, I had a visit from my lovely Mum and Dad earlier this week, and with them they brought.... ADVENT CALENDARS for myself and Euan. 

 Euan's one is the Gruffalo one, and mine the Lindt one. My mum also bought the Gruffalo one for my two brothers, and apparently they were very jealous of my luxurious Lindt calendar! Haha... I suppose that's what you get for being the only girl, and living so far away from home!


I am so excited to have my first chocolate! When I was little I used to eat it first thing in the morning, but I think this will be an evening treat, after dinner, with a lovely cup of tea :) 

Have you got your advent calendar? 
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Which is your favourite John Lewis Christmas ad?


The highly anticipated, well waited for John Lewis Christmas advert has arrived! For many this means "It's Christmas time". After just four hours of the mini film being on youtube, it can already boast 90,180 views! Extraordinary.

 
So if you've not yet seen it- here it is :)

2014 - Monty the Penguin



What do you think? To be completely honest, I am a tiny bit disappointed with it. 
To say that they spent £7 million on this campaign.. I mean, yes it's "sweet" and "Christmas-y"... But I mean, if anything people will want a penguin- and not just a toy one... and last time I checked John Lewis did not sell living Arctic animals.

Nevertheless, I do like the way they capture the fun that children have in their imaginary worlds, and the idea of "Give someone the Christmas they've been dreaming of". So yes, I think it's cute. But worth £7 million? I beg to differ.

My favourite thing about the adverts is the way they capture "love" in each of them. For me Christmas is about love, about giving, and embracing happiness with the people you love. And I think that John Lewis manage to deliver this with each of their ads.



So now comes the big question, and I would love you to answer my poll... Which John Lewis Christmas ad is your favourite?

For mine I am torn between 2011 and 2012... Before you answer I have put the adverts just below so you can remind yourself! 

Which John Lewis Christmas advert is your favourite?





pollcode.com free polls

2013


2012


2011


2010


Thanks for reading guys! Donn't forget to commen/vote to tell me which is your favourite!
Which John Lewis Christmas advert is your favourite?





pollcode.com free polls
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Renee Zellweger

Hi everyone,

I thought I would share my views about Renee Zellweger's recent plastic surgery.

I am aware that it is a shocking transformation, that perhaps none of us were prepared to see. But weren't we? Because, unfortuantely, I must admit I think there is a brutally viable reason for Renee to have undergone such drastic changes:

WE WERE ALL SO MEAN ABOUT THE WAY SHE USED TO LOOK:


  • The Urban Dictionary defines her as "a cure for a case of the boners"
  • Gallery of the Absurd created "Renee Zellweger's Extreme Sour Lemon Candy" 
  • Her nickname: Squinty Zellweger
  • Dlisted says "she looks like she's staring directly into the sun after swallowing a cup of Sour Patch Kid's dust"
I mean, we actualy READ this stuff, and ENCOURANGED it. If this was in the school playground the media would have been given an afterschool detention for bullying. And probably us too, for encouraging Billy the Bully. We should be utterly ashamed. For that reason I think that we should take a few minutes to actually appreciate Renee's decision. I feel very sorry for her. I considered the way she looked as truly iconic, in a different, yet beautiful way.

Renee as Bridget Jones

If you're a man reading this, you will most probably at some point have been forced, either by a girlfriend, wife, sister, or friend to watch a Bridget Jones film. Whilst, if you're a woman and you're from planet Earth, at some point or another you will have slobbed out on the couch with ice cream or wine (or both) and watched Bridget Jones. In fact, if you're anything like me, you will have done this several times and you will have developed some sort of relationship with Bridget.

The point is, everyone is familiar with the Bridget Jones. And, I'm pretty certain, everyone pictures Renee Zellweger in their mind when it is mentioned.

Renee, in Bridget Jones was part of my understanding of womanhood, including the pros and cons of tiny/big knickers. What genius films, they awakened all emotions inside you: helping you put life in to perspective that little bit more. And don't you think- wasn't Renee just fabulous in them?! I mean, you must remember the news articles about how "dangerous" it was for her to put on so much weight for the films- such dedication!

Though she had this clumsy, speak-before-you-think way about her, and may have been slightly over weight. We all loved Bridget. And, actually, I would go as far as saying, we all thought she was very pretty. Renee's character was real, everyone could relate to her; she wasn't this model definition of a woman. But nonetheless, she became a model woman; inspiring women all over the world to embrace their "wobbly bits" and face whatever life throws at you.

Renee as Roxie Hart


Of course, Zellweger isn't only known for featuring in Bridget Jones. There was also her spectacular performance in "Chicago". As a "drama girl" myself, Chicago was one of my favourite films in my early teens and still to this day I know every song by heart. (If you haven't seen this film I strongly recommend it!)
Zellweger bagged "Golden Globe Award" for best actress for her appearance in Chicago in 2002. I particularly like the photo above, because although she is in costume as 'Roxie Hart', the photo captures Renee's beauty. 

The Media

We are like sheep- we do as they media tells us. They say "jump" we say "how high?". In the same way, if one newpaper badmouths an actress, they all do, and in turn so do we... Agreeably, Zellweger's features are different. But my question is:
Is that not what the media look for in models these days?
Think Cara Delevigne, Lily Cole, Amy Winehouse...

All with "unusual" features- but Cara Delevigne, for instance, has been accepted by the media and they have embraced her "unusual" features. So I bet the last image you thought of was one like this:

Which, in actual fact, the frown, and the scruffy hair; I think is scarily similar to ones of Renee Zellweger, that we would all recognise:
But she was acting! If, instead you were to type in to Google Images- simply the words "Renee Zellweger" you will receive an abundance of photos with her iconic, beautiful smile plastered across them. That was until this morning, I mean, with the world waking up to her "new face" this will probably overtake the photos that I have found quite quickly.
To continue, I would like to tell you that I think that Jennifer Lawrence is beautiful. Tell me, do you not see a few slight similarities in the two photos below?

I think it is heartbreaking that Renee has felt the need to completely change her face to the point of no resemblance. I totally agree with The Guardian newspaper when they say "Renee's face is her brand" and I feel very sad that her iconic face is no longer the same. 

I blame us, the general public and the media for this catastrophic turn of events, making Renee feel that she needed to make such dramatic changes to her appearance. But let's just remember that if you're comparing pictures from Monday night to her appearance in Bridget Jones- filmed 13 years ago... then I suggest you go and do the same for yourself- because I guarantee you will look a hell of a lot different. 

I am glad that she feels happier, I just think we should try to learn from this universal mistake of bullying and prevent other women from doing the same thing in years to come.

Thanks, 
Jessie. x
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Handmade Burger Co.

The other night my boyfriend (Euan) and I decided that we would go out for dinner, and we decided to book a table at Pizza Express at Ocean Terminal. However, we didn't ever make it to Pizza Express, because we were kidnapped by the incredible smell, tantalisingly tasty menu and lovely personality of Paige (the waitress) at the Handmade Burger Co.

And what a fantastic decision it was. 

Having never been there before, we had a fantastic experience. 

Our waitress Paige, greeted us very quickly and asked us if we would like to sit at the window. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Edinburgh- this is the view you get if you have a window seat at Ocean Terminal!

Whilst we were walking to the table, Paige asked us how are day had gone and engaged in conversation with us. The lovely thing though, was that she actually seemed interested in what we had to say- this is obviously not always the case!

She asked us if we had ever been to Handmade Burger Co before, and on learning that we were newbies she explained the ordering process- one similar to Nandos'- and that people are becoming increasingly familiar with. 

After passing us the menu she told us about the new "Mexican" Beef Burger that they had on as a special- "7oz of 100% prime scotch beef with andmade mexican salsa, crushed avocado, fresh tortilla chips, jalepenos, chipotle sauce, lettuce, tomato and red onion".

WOW. This sounded amazing- I had to get it- and yes, guess what- it was DELICIOUS.
Euan got the "American Chicken burger" which he really enjoyed too. It was HUGE. 

We also ordered "fresh cut chips" and "cajun onion rings". The picture of our food above really doesn't give any of it justice. The food was so fresh and tasty with such vast choice on the menu. 

Not to mention the sauces...

Altogether it was a lovely experience, we both thoroughly enjoyed our meal. 

Embarrassingly, as we were planning to go to Pizza Express- where you can tip by card at the end of the meal- neither of us had any cash on us to leave a tip. We tried at the end to leave one by card but unfortunately there was a new system on the tills and the staff were unsure how to do this. Oh well, we will have to leave Paige a bigger tip next time!

My advice to anyone thinking about going for a meal, is to head on to your nearest Handmade Burger Co. Its such great food- and you even get a loyalty card. Just remember to take change so you can leave a tip, because if you're experience is anything like mine, I'm 100% sure you'll want to!

Enjoy your meal!

Jessie x

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What a woman means when she says...



So basically, women expect everyone (men) to understand that a lot of their speech- especially when they are in a bad mood, happens to be in some sort of female code.

Guys: You need to read between the lines- especially when she's crabby (maybe feed her too!)
Anyway, I've broken some of these down for you.

Enjoy!!





















Thanks for reading,

Jessie x
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