Friday 27 January 2012

Just walk away

The back has been considered an area of sensuality and vulnerability














xxx

Thursday 19 January 2012

Daughter

Elena Tonra (above), the enchanting voice behind emerging London-based experimental folk duo Daughter.
I have listened to her everyday for multiple times over the last month and a half and the sad fact that I am only just sharing her with you all now will say horrible things about me because music this good should definitely always be shared.
She is an astounding, if not complex songwriter who speaks about love and hope and finding and losing both and that much more in the most real, honest and beautiful way and while the musical backdrop upon which she turns her poetry (Yes Poetry) into song are some of the most simple you will hear, her stories remain ever so compelling... Her words are effortless and simple yet they are so profound and it lies in the way and in the cadence that she conveys them. I could go on and on about her exquisite song writing because I feel it cannot be overstated (her songs are that good, trust me) but something has to be said about Elena Tonra's voice- ethereal, peaceful, powerful, haunting, true, passionate, intense, lingering and all in all IRRESISTIBLE - much like her music in all honesty.
This is one of my favourite songs by her- "Youth" (click)
Shadows settle on the place, that you left.
Our minds are troubled by the emptiness.
Destroy the middle, it's a waste of time.
From the perfect start to the finish line.

And if you're still breathing, you're the lucky ones.
'Cause most of us are heaving through corrupted lungs.
Setting fire to our insides for fun
Collecting names of the lovers that went wrong
The lovers that went wrong.

We are the reckless,
We are the wild youth
Chasing visions of our futures
One day we'll reveal the truth
That one will die before he gets there.

And if you're still bleeding, you're the lucky ones.
'Cause most of our feelings, they are dead and they are gone.
We're setting fire to our insides for fun.
Collecting pictures from the flood that wrecked our home,
It was a flood that wrecked this...

... and you caused it...
... and you caused it...
... and you caused it...

Well I've lost it all, I'm just a silouhette,
A lifeless face that you'll soon forget,
My eyes ae damp from the words you left,
Ringing in my head, when you broke my chest.
Ringing in my head, when you broke my chest.

And if you're in love, then you are the lucky one,
'Cause most of us are bitter over someone.
Setting fire to our insides for fun,
To distract our hearts from ever missing them.
But I'm forever missing him.

And you caused it,
And you caused it,
And you caused it



I still get goosebumps... It's strangely bright sorrow holds a dark reverence for unrequited love- Beautiful still. Take a listen.

xxxx

heart.

"You know what's the most terrifying thing about admitting
that you're in love? You're just naked. You put yourself
in harm's way and you lay down all your defenses. No clothes,
no weapons. Nowhere to hide, completely vulnerable. The only
thing that makes it tolerable is to believe the other person
loves you back and you can trust him not to hurt you"

Wednesday 18 January 2012

Howdy lover boy

If you watch enough romantic comedies or read enough Cosmo, you’ll be led to believe that women are either:
A) Unlovable Lepers
B) Whiny, needy and useless
C) Waiting on a man to save them


Well you know what I say to that; BULLOCKS! For every love starved story bound female character, there is a kick ass lady who understands that love is grand but it doesn’t make or break her.

Contrary to lifetime movies, dating can actually be approached from a place of intelligence and fun and doesn’t have to be a mad dash to the altar. However the “rules” of the dating game so often leave us lasses on the sideline waiting for the ever-elusive “one”. So where are all dating “rules” for women who’d rather harness their own power than wait for a relationship to give it to them?

Here are my dating "tips" for smart girls who could care less about dating rules :P

1.     Trust your instincts & always follow your heart
2.     If he’s not dating you, he’s not sleeping with you….
3.     Unless of course you want to sleep with him…then do you boo!
4.     Being single is not the end of the world: it’s the most liberating time when you can do what you want, answer to no one and fall in love with yourself!
5.     Sometimes sex is just sex; break it to him gently
6.     A smile is the best introduction
7.     We’re independent, pay our own bills, change our tyres and still want to be held; vulnerability makes you strong
8.     Liking a guy is no excuse to act bat shit crazy… be chilled, be cool
9.     Liquor & true emotion don’t mix… trust me on this one I know
10.Your Prince Charming does exist; but you don’t have to be Sleeping Beauty waiting for him to rescue you
11.Everything you need to know about him, will reveal itself
12.Girls just wanna have fun is more than a song; it’s a way of life
13.Respect is the minimum, disrespect is where to draw the line
14.Femininity is our gift; use it wisely
15.Don’t settle for less than butterflies— but you already knew that!
16.Avoid two things in life: cheap shoes and cheap men
17.Confidence is Sexy; Independence is even sexier
18.Being a size 0 won’t make him like you and if it does… he’s a dick!
19.A woman will have multiple great loves in her life and each one should make her a better woman
20.No man is perfect and neither are you! Get over yourself!
21.Men who write dating books for women have a special place in hell— Steve Harvey!
22.Paying for dinner and opening doors aren’t reserved for men, they’re reserved for people with manners
23.Relationships are hard work; know this and fall in love anyway
24.Speaking your mind won’t scare off the right guy, it will make him fall more
25.You can only control one thing in a relationship: yourself
26.Having a career, hobbies and a life are all fundamentals
27.There’s so much excitement in getting to know someone… take your time
28.Dating your self is great practice and teaches others how to love you
29.The antidote to desperation is self-confidence.
30.At the end of the day, be honest about how you feel and walk away. If he’s the one he’ll run to catch you

xxx


Monday 16 January 2012

Forever


Not talkin' 'bout a year
No not three or four
I don't want that kind of forever
In my life anymore
Forever always seems
to be around when it begins
but forever never seems
to be around when it ends
So give me your forever
Please your forever
Not a day less will do From you

People spend so much time
Every single day
Runnin' 'round all over town
Givin' their forever away
But no not me
I won't let my forever roam
and now I hope I can find
my forever a home
So give me your forever
Please your forever
Not a day less will do
From you

Like a handless clock with numbers
An infinite of time
No not the forever found
Only in the mind
Forever always seems
to be around when things begin
but forever never seems
to be around when things end
So give me your forever
Please your forever
Not a day less will do
From you

By Ben Harper


Okay so this song will make just about anyone cry if they listen to it. I mean come now...it’s an incredibly powerful song that anyone can relate to. The best lyrics of the song for me are

"Forever always seems to be around when it begins but forever never seems to be around when it ends, So give me your forever "


Everyone always dives into a relationship with the high hopes of "this is the one i'll be with forever...but then (if) it ends you feel betrayed by your hearts thoughts of "forever". But at the end of that lyric, the part where he says "so give me your forever" its like he is submit to the other persons idea of forever..whatever it may be.

Give it a listen...

xxx


Lovely Laugh

I wish that we could live in a land where the ugly laugh could roam free…I mean, really…would it be sooo bad?



It just so happens that some of my friends and I are queens of the ugly laugh.  I mean, we are deserving of honors, medals and awards…it truly is a fantastical sight to see and hear when a group of us are in hysterics (when no one is watching).  Depending on the cause, the ugly laugh can be throaty, it can be high pitched, it can be hyena-like…and when the source is truly a surprise, it will always contain a snort or perhaps two- well certainly on my part.


 The ugly laugh is not merely ugly because of its pitch and staccato…oh no, it’s also ugly because when it’s truly allowed emerge, it will be accompanied by violent contortions…an abrupt fetal position, an unexpected head toss, a twitch or four, gasps for air…who knows…the contortions are as unpredictable as the laugh itself.  You truly appear insane. Don’t act like you don’t know what I’m talking about.



Few bear witness to our respective ugly laughs, but, you know it when you hear it, if you do hear it, consider yourself both loved and trusted.  I cannot speak for my mates, but as for me, my ugly laugh has three varieties.  One belongs exclusively to my boyfriend.  I let her (my laugh) loose with him, but I do make her wear spanx.  Without spanx, she’s all over the place…that can be a little bit scary for the guy to see all the time.



The second and third varieties are really just ugly and ugly-light (laugh without contortion).  Ugly-light is just a holding bin for the folks that haven’t quite made it to the inner sanctum…or perhaps a very funny person that caught me off guard.



And then, there’s Uglyville…. My family and my best friends roam free in this town.  They are quite often on the receiving end of my pure, unadulterated, unfiltered, grotesque laugh. Don’t pity them… Uglyville is a magical place.  The rest of the folks in this crew are long-time trusted and loved ones. Most in this squad have also “shared their ugly” with me



What a world it would be if the ugly laugh could roam free. We could all walk around spanx free while snorting and contorting up a storm.  Hmm… that world doesn’t sound sexy at all… does it? But it sure would be funny…and yes…a little bit scary.


xxx

One step...



Now that the blissfulness of the new year has ended… -yeah, holidays are officially  over! I started back at work last Monday… back to reality! – now I have to find ways of making days livable without murdering my salary.

As the end of the holidays arrive, we suddenly notice that the pocket is emptier than usual, and most likely it will be like this for the next few weeks. So for the moment toasting should be done under very pocket safe restrictions.

That doesn’t mean that the usual Mojito with the friends or the few nights out will end, but they will need to be measured. I’ll try. Hmmmmmm….

Even though it has been slower than normal, in this new year my mind has been swirling and I can’t deny that what I’m trying to do is to find ways of making my life better. I feel like I’m going through a quarter life crisis. Which is actually ridiculous because the year so far is looking rather perfect, yet, this absolute hunger to travel and live overseas is eating away at me. I am beyond wanderlust. So I am starting to map out my year. I have been taking baby steps, done plenty admin- I’ve paid close attention to my closet and belongings, getting rid of the things that don’t fit anymore and that I don’t like to find better use of them, and also those things that I’ve been holding on to for so long that need to be trashed. It is an incredibly fulfilling task. As my mom once said…
"your closet is a mirror of your mind ,the more clutter you keep in the closet, the more you have lingering on your head"
 Head clear…. ish!
There are enough reasons to toast in 2012… just make sure you don’t forget the things that you need to do to make it all worthwhile. It’s something I am taking into consideration.

xxx

Friday 13 January 2012

Hello 2012 :)



At the beginning of every year you get to hear all the resolutions and plans people make. I for one, make lists of the things I want to accomplish every year, and sometimes I cannot deny how frustrated I get when some of them are not done, and in some cases most of them are not accomplished. So, what I normally do is that I just take everything that I could not complete in the past year and make a resolution for the new one.

This year, I decided to do something different… I’m winging it!

The truth is that I know myself enough to know what’s missing and what I need to understand that I have fulfilled my goals for the year. So by winging it, I’m basically compromising myself to do what I have to do, without adding more baggage to my already incomplete resolutions list.

All of this, comes with a change of attitude of course. Giving a positive and more serene spin to everything that happens around me. As well as big changes in a personal level, social development and focusing more in the things that will allow a healthy balance between being a good person (daughter, friend, sister, girlfriend, employee, colleague..etc.), leading a healthy lifestyle, fulfilling my goals and getting rid of the extras and the baggage collected throughout the past years.

This will sound a bit gloomy, but we all start every new year with the hopes that it will be better, but the only way it will truly be better is if we stop (a little bit) believing in the cosmic meaning of the new year and start taking the necessary steps for getting things done.

In all and all… my best wishes for the new year, it’s 2012 already! I don’t see the flying cars, BOO YOU!!! Ahhh The Jetsons… :P

xxx

Wednesday 11 January 2012

Goddess Florence


 
Florence Welch seems to be the goddess of our time, and for good reason too!

The 25-year-old singer takes much influence from the past. Her voice echoes from the speakers like some old turn-of-the-century record player scratching with the most beautiful loud voice escaping into an old house where wood cracks with every step you take. She sings about the beginnings of love and its foreseeable end, and about death by force you can almost see Virginia Wolfs ghost standing translucent in front of her. Of course her fashion sense may be the most romantic thing about her; long nude and pastel chiffon bat wing dresses adorn her extremely tall thin frame as she dances around like a nymph on stage. Paul Poiret and Madeleine Vionnet would have died to dress her art nouveau frame. You can almost see her posing for one of the romantic painters like John William Waterhouse when she stands still. Of course she has a darker side with long black gowns adorned with jewels, or a strappy S&M body suit with a chiffon cover-up and super high heels. She towers over the mic ready to scream her ceremonial songs. Her fantastic auburn hair makes it seem almost as if she has set her own soul on fire. She has so much talent and beauty I can only hope I will one day be able to witness it live on stage.




On Death
Can death be sleep, when life is but a dream,
And scenes of bliss pass as a phantom by?
The transient pleasures as a vision seem,
And yet we think the greatest pain’s to die.

How strange it is that man on earth should roam,
And lead a life of woe, but not forsake
His rugged path; nor dare he view alone
His future doom which is but to awake.

xxx



you...


xxx