Primark - Coming To A City Centre Near You

Our favourite cheapy cheapy clothes shop the P-Place is in the news today. Well we all knew they exploited people in Asia ... how else would they be able to sell the stuff at those prices... but then pretty much all the high street stores do ... what about those poor ladies in China that dye cotton with dangerous chemicals involved ... it's not good, but it's a reality that you can hardly escape as a modern day consumer, I think. 

Today it turns out the P-Place work with this factory (yeah, I know) in Manchester that employs illegal immigrants and pays them like 3 GBP an hour working 12hours a day 7 days a week or something. Big Scandal for the press.

What does the factory girl say?

This is soooo cotton mills - North and South - kinda stuff ... just like 150 years later. I knew there still were textile companies in Manchester, but that's really stuff from a different century... 

Anyway, it won't stop me shopping there ... I mean we always knew the deal, right? Just being realistic, something's gotta give ... 

the P-Place obviously is addressing the ethical issue ... watch these PR videos ... she is ANGRY!

I know you all like Primark just as much as I do, so you will be as excited as I am reading this...

Primark is expanding more rapidly than any other British retailer. The company is planning to expand to Portugal, Germany and the Netherlands in 2009. 

Yessss: Primark - Germany - 2009!

Actually I should look into whether the corporation that owns them is hiring marketing trainees ... I can see my future unfolding ... one day fashion week, the next day ordering fake designs from  factories ... working on the brink of piracy .... fabulous!*

* I'm aware that wouldn't really be my job ... though a pirate in fashion sounds kinda fabulous ... and then kinda not so much. Anyway, they don't do advertizing, so it's more sales kinda jobs + crisis pr... hmmm, let me be a pirate ... the factory could be my ship!

Happy New Trash TV Year

The German Jungle Camp has fierce competition this January.

Celeb BB has returned...

How can the Gods of Trash TV spoil us so much?

This is soooo promising!!!

And even the legendary Jackie returns... it's really her on the phone... how will RTL be able to beat this? I can't wait to find out.

_____

On a different note, I'll never be able to go on holiday in Saudi Arabia...

Expats in Saudi Arabia, who buy black market “gin” to get round Arab drinking laws, missed out on G&Ts after Arab princes banned TONIC.

Andy Linden, 34, said: “You can’t find it for love nor money.”

Silence Please ’Cos I’ve Got Something To Say

One beloved show goes, but ITV never fails to deliver...

it's called Take That Come To Town and it's all on youtube, so go check it out! (Loving Mark's new hair btw, which is basically his old 90ies hair... fantastic!)

and this is so brilliant ... Peter Kay as Geraldine McQueen - winner of spoof reality tv show 'Britain’s Got The Pop Factor And Possibly A New Celebrity Jesus Christ Soapstar Superstar Strictly On Ice', who rceently beat the true x-factor winner in the charts and had a number two hit song thx to songwriter extraordinaire Gary Barlow - showed up too...



(And for La Bonette: check out this video by the above-mentioned Mr. Blobby ... you'll never believe who his limo driver was... yep, the big car freak and prime-minister-internet-elect (0:27)! )

I just love this advert for the show...



also very hilarious is this backstage thingy...



The factory girl is currently listening to her just legally downloaded copy of The Circus... and she loves it. Though at times she wonders about the Greeting Card lyrics crossed with Coldplay sound, but I think it makes perfect manband material and a few songs are already on top of my playlist... soppy and lovely... and some even spiritual... and if this wasn't enough... the album also gave me this picture...

which is so wrong and so brilliant in so many ways! and let's be honest, so are these...

L.O.V.E.

I'm Gonna Miss It Terribly

I can't believe it's over! It started out quite dull and then suddenly it became one of the best seasons ever!

I love this last show they did ... showing behind the scenes stuff



I'm really gonna miss them ...

What will I watch now after countless hours of uni torture? What is gonna put that smile on my face? It's the best show EVER to cheer you up. It's strange how much you get used (addicted) to seeing these people every day... and Ant & Dec... and Bob, who sadly plays a much smaller role on the UK series.

Just good that the next german series is already in the works and I'll be able to go back to the jungle every night quite soon... and Dr. Bob will be there and he'll be getting the recognition he deserves. I'm gonna miss Ant and Dec though ... and why is there no spin-off show like the one on itv2? I would host it! Vox, give me a call!

Anyway, let's just thank itv for producing season after season so succesfully that RTL was lured back to do another season earlier this year. It's the best trashy "reality" show ever!

Long live King Joe!

Kittehs - I luvs dem

Sometimes I randomly google 'cats' to make up my mind about what kitties I'd like to own once I'm an old bitter cat lady.

That's how I found another site that is on my check-every-day-list now ... 

more animals

I love Lolcats!

the site also alerted me to the Slinky Cat

which made me youtube slinky ads and there are many...

... it's addictive.

so is watching this ...

... it's strangely soothing.

____________

More Than A Mousepad

Surprising news from my credit card company ... The FA has transferred almost 4 GBP back to my account. Must be the postage cos I collected my ticket from the Hotel. Never expected them to play so fair... thumbs up!

and now that my caps have been added ... I'm in the upper 15 ... hihi... well 15 000 that is. There are 10619 members who have less caps than me. Where does that put me for South Africa? We'll see... it's looking good, though I still have to attend home games this season to get into the important ballots ... 

... and then get rich to be able to afford to go to the other end of the world. Haha ... or bribe Stupid Sepp to have it back in Germany. Not very likely it seems, as they've just announced the ticket prices ... 15% of the tix will defo go to SA citizens, which is fair play, but I guess no one is so naive to think these tix won't reappear on the black market.

It Still Makes Me Happy To Think About It

It was a brilliant night. Once I was in the stadium it didn't matter they all decided to stay home... just that feeling ... that buzzing excitement shortly before the game starts... I could live off that.

Thought I post a few pics ... I can't remember there ever being flags above the designated entrances... but I like it ... also note that there was hardly anything to keep the fans apart...

but suddenly security freaked out, coz some idiots stirred up a fight outside. That made me feel a bit uneasy first, but then I thought... I can speak their (security guys) language, I'm gonna be okay ... in Rome I'd have a problem.

It was a good game for my B-team ... Schland was looking not so good. But hey, everyone can have an off-day. I was glad JT could make up for that mistake of his... which in a way was comedy gold... just good it didn't happen in an important game. 

Thing is, from where I sat I could hardly make out who was who. My eyes were hurting badly from doing that Computer Course and not sleeping enough (which is my own fault), so the number on JT's shirt appeared to be a 66 for most of the time... blurry vision.

I can't remember there being helicopters around for the World Cup, but then it was 2 years ago. Sometimes there are media-copters... this time it was police, I guess ... and I swear they had the helicopter directly pointed to look at me almost throughout the entire game ...

as the game went on I was starting to get a bit paranoid ... 

seriously... it was freaky! TC-freakish...

Anyway, the game left me very happy and I've been feeding off that feeling ever since ... it will be a while till I'll see them again.

Leaving the stadium, I was in a state of utter amusement ... being German myself and on the other side of the human fence while everyone else was kinda stuck behind it was weird.

I had a LOT of space to walk around, almost all the other englandfans had already left, while my poor 62.000 or more countrymen were not so lucky...  

meanwhile the journos tried to get a few interviews ... "it's for GMTV" ...

and here we have it... more space ... and a wall made of police vans which magically arranged themselves during the game to keep the fans apart afterwards...

I never felt this protected before ... nevermind the fact that I was basically being protected from my next door neighbours... it was a very bizarre experience! but soon I realised it had its advantages ... the police-van-later-transformed-into-policemen-chain/fence/wall led me right to the best platform to get away from the stadium ... the one where the normal service runs ... the extra trains are such a pain ... so while thousands of angry Germans (I heard them ... they weren't too happy) were huddled together, hardly able to move or get on a train, I walked around rather freely... though I gotta say the police presence outside the station (including horseys) was a bit scary too... 

well, that was until I walked into the station building and looked to my left, where this comical moment had me giggling...

they looked like robots who were programmed to not let anyone walk through those doors.

I was home around midnight ... which I suppose must have been a record for a late game ... usually it takes ages.

The trip back home was .. well interesting. I've been to many England games now, but this was the first time I got really squashed and had trouble breathing... which wasn't made easier by the people, who were doing the squashing, jumping, hitting the glass windows and singing that stupid "ten german bombers" song at a Germany fan who had sneaked on the train ... and yeah they were carrying beer in plastic cups and smoked on the train ... while I could barely move. I smiled though... their prison tattoos warned me not to do anything else ... but at least a cute guy from Hull was frequently asking me whether I was alright. Surprisingly they didn't freak when they realised I was German and supporting England... they actually invited me to celebrate with them. But they weren't hot so I declined ... sadly the guy from Hull didn't ask. Once they got off the train at the Zoo, I was insulted by 3 boys from the South who for no particular reason were total asses towards me. My faked northern accent didn't amuse them either... nevertheless they also asked me to join them for a celebration... what made them think I would want to after they were so rude? Some people! 

And by the way you three stupid rich boys, a german girl can support english football without having an english boyfriend... because girls can have own opinions too. (Not that I would mind having an english boyfriend ... or a boyfriend at all. I'm not bitter...) 

Thumbs up to the two guys from Southampton who were pretty sweet and the people I spoke to at the stadium!

Anyway... what a night ... and it left me with this little treasure of JT and Poldi professing their love for eachother in that bloke-ish romantic gesture of the almost-head-butt...

awwwwwwwwww!

So what did the MEDIA say? 

First I wanna thank the Times for teaching me my new favourite word ... I guess someone was using Thesaurus when they described Stuart Downing as LUGUBRIOUS.

How can it be I never heard that word before ... it's brilliant! Maybe it's because there are around 47 other words to say someone has a tendency to be dark-minded... and I have to say I kinda like FUNEREALLY too.

Anyway... lugubrious ... I can't pronounce it... but this woman can.

Okay then (to use a phrase half-tattooed on Wayne Rooney's body...) ... MEDIAWATCH

The Times

Joachim Löw, the Germany coach, prowled the touchline wearing a black coat that made him look like an extra in Pirates of the Caribbean.

What a lovely description of Jogi ... hehe... a pirate! Where was his parrot, though?

The athletics track kept supporters away from the action...

it did!

And try a bit harder next time, Germany, won’t you? There are girlfriends of footballers out there in that rain-sodden jungle clearing, you know, and, because of you, we have gone a whole day without news of their wellbeing.

hehe... the writer was very amused by ITV's predicament of footie vs. I'm a Celeb... well the footie won and news of Nicola's Boobies' first Birthday had to be delayed... wasn't it brilliant, how she burst into the bush telegraph to tell the world about it and how the creepy cop Brian was just saying something about an "older lover" ... though The Sun says he said "elderly mother" ... maybe my brain is making me hear things. Fabulous, nonetheless!

Tabloid Headline of the Day

goes to the Daily Mirror for: WIN-GER-LAND

Quote of the Day (The Guardian)

"It was a case of, 'You kick it, I'll kick it, you'll kick it, I'll kick it, oh the German has kicked it,'"

said Capello with a smile.

well, he summed that up perfectly!

and the Guardian is seeing great things to come, I suppose...

This Germany team, (...), had been in the final of Euro 2008, a tournament for which England did not qualify. BC - Before Capello.

seriously? BC?

Daily Telegraph

The Telegraph was hearing things, that I didn't hear, but then the acoustics in the stadium can be rather fickle... 

Terry made immediate amends with a late header, leaving England’s huge support singing in the rain. “Let’s all have a disco,’’ they chorused.

(...) There was plenty to get them on their feet.

Well, first of all, we NEVER sat down! Which I quite enjoyed! Makes the whole experience so much more exciting and lively! And then to be honest, it was raining (and thx to that big hole in the pretty roof the opposition fans usually get soaked) and we were all just shuffling 20 seats to the right to avoid the worst of it ... which was "cosy" and it must have looked funny.

But the Telegraph puts it right by describing that 1:1 moment like this...

Both keeper and centre-half cringed.

CRINGE! It was cringe-worthy, wasn't it?

The Independent

... might be pushing it a bit with this conclusion...

Add to Fabio Capello's list of achievements this latest triumph: he has built an England team more German than the Germans.

__________________

Yeah, it's still making me happy that night ... not so much because of the result, more because of being there in the stadium with my fellow englandfans watching England play. That stadium moment is just so big... I needed that to get some energy to get me through the next few lugubrious months. Well, they won't be too lugubrious, but I just like saying it ... lugubrious ... lugubrious! It's the new yogalates!

Have to go now and catch up on the jungle show ... I've missed the last 4 days (it's Tuesday ... I started working on this post on Friday), because I spent all my time watching Brotherhood. Damn you, Jason Isaacs, for those mesmerizing eyes and thuggish smile. Can't wait to watch The State Within ... a British Ambassador... he looks so fine in a suit. And yeah he is Lucius Malfoy ... but let's not go there... 

Xie Xie

Thank you young and minority America for voting for Obama. It goes with the flow of things. And yeah, thank god for the internet...

here is the song that has occupied my head for over a week now

btw: this is the first ever twin post with La Bonette... coz it's just sooo catchy!

The other clip I've watched over and over again since before the silly answer machine Russell/Wossy-scandal, is that brilliant Viddycast with Simon which also features Dita, Noel Gallagher, Pete Waterman (not Dennis... as I thought for days... stupid me) AND Wossy...

awww... aren't they adorable in the end? Good times! And now? Russell is gone, Jonathan's suspended till January and Simon has to hide away a pre-recorded Buzzcocks episode that features Mr. Brand until everyone gets their knickers out of a twist.

And then there is someone who wants to say HELLO ... it's Vegas! My new lovely computer. And hang on, someone else is shouting over too... it's lovely littly Stardust ... my new iPod ... yeah he's named after the old Vegas hotel which is no more ... and as my mate Robbie used to say "The iPod brought me back to music." A wise man that Robbie, but then of course he has to be...  I mean what with all the alien connections he has!

Now you might all wonder why the factory girl is suddenly speaking chinese. That's not just because Vegas and Stardust travelled to me from Shanghai, no, I got mail from Hongkong today, coz I ordered clothing for Vegas and Stardust from there via ebay UK. It's so exciting ... a big envelope with crazy bird stamps on it ... awww! I'm in love with all of it! So I am grateful ... xie xie!

I just watched the Gary Barlow Band perform at the EMAs in Liverpool... ahhh  memories! But why they let Kerry Katona onto the stage is a big mystery to me.

Damn this is a quite random post, but there is one last gem, I've got for you... this man sang this song on the public transport for me today and tried to sell me his CD for 2 Euros ... 

The First Look

The factory has been closed for a while now, because Kiki died. Yeah, my lovely Laptop gave up on me and for the last 5 weeks or so I've been using the miaudonna's old PC to go online... which I'm very, very thankful for (Thx Puffin!).

Luckily fo me it was a slow death and I could save most of my data. But I miss Kiki ... she wasn't the prettiest of notebooks, but she was my baby.

Now I'm getting a new Baby ... and the decision was difficult. I mean I didn't plan on getting a new Notebook now... I thought maybe next year when I have a real job. But now that Kiki is gone there is no argueing... I NEED a Laptop to write my dissertation and end Project Finish.

Macbook or "normal" Notebook?

I never really wanted a Macbook though, because of all the hype surrounding it and because I'm sooo used to Windows ... I know where everything is and how to deal with it. I just thought about maybe getting one in case my future employer uses Mac stuff.

Anyway... after a week of soul searching, price comparing and consulting friends and relatives ... it seemed not buying a Macbook would be slightly stupid. Yes, I want a stylish Notebook with all the latest gadgets and for a good price. And I want it to be as light as possible as I have to carry it around a lot in the next few months. The Macbook just convinced me more and more ... especially as I'll get 12% off the original price, if I buy it through my university's apple store.

So the decision was made ... my new Notebook would indeed be a Macbook.

And then a man at an apple store here in Berlin told me about the new Macbooks and possible price reductions (hey if I can save 100 Euros, I'll do it) and talked about them coming out in September... well that didn't happen. It was just new ipods.

But then they started the Back to School campaign basically giving an ipod away with a Macbook and now I'm very happy I waited and I was hoping for the rumours to be true that there will be new Macbooks by next week.

I waited anxiously for the rumours to be true and now they finally announced another event for next Tuesday.

And here is the first Look:



Is that my new Baby?

I've already got a name, I'm going to call it Vegas ... why? Because the money I have to spend on it could have easily paid for THAT trip to Vegas... especially with the economy being in the shitter. And I love Vegas and I think it's a fitting name... as I gambled by waiting and waiting for it and it seems I won... as I might not just get a new Macbook, but also an iPod touch for half the money it would usually set me back. Yippieh!

So I'm very, very happy and excited! I can't wait for next week and for my order to be placed!

I Just Fell For Elmo

I never watched Sesame Street religiously, so I couldn't really remember this cute little monster!

But when I researched Elmo, Alaska - long story... it's that place in Men In Trees and it is fictional (buhu!) ... I looked it up in one of my "lost on the internet looking up places I sooo wanna travel to once I have a real job" moments - the first results all were for Elmo the monster... and I was like "Oh it's the monster that Becks will meet on Sesame Street kinda soon-ish".

And if I had a kid, I'd totally buy this...



It's just BRILLIANT!

Apparently there is an Elmo doll that you can program to say stuff and somewhere is the States an Elmo doll has started to say "Kill James" to its owner after the Mom changed the batteries... creepy!

Anyway, after getting lost on youtube watching Elmo, I now am totally in love with him ... and can't wait for that Becks thing.

Youtube Is My New York

Last week Perez posted a video a New York yoga instructor had sent him and now I'm hooked.

I've been feeling unfit for ages, coz all I do is sit around and read for uni or surf the net. In the past I've done little stretching excercises by myself... much to the amusement of the miaudonna. But to be honest, I did it just once, coz I'm lazy. Watching the clip on Perez's site, I gotta say this is brilliant...



This chick is amazing... and yes I lOVE her hair, but that aside, I find her instructions funny and useful. Yeah, I might look a bit ridiculous coz my muscles are sorta non-existent and I'm not that bendy (if that's the right word) ... but maybe with practice I'll get there one day.

I love the internet! It feels like I'm almost in New York/LA!

ICE - Could never be as cold as you

Lately I've been surfing the net for infos on Manchester quite regularly and on one of those occasions I suddenly stumbled across a site that had me laughing.

The 'Barlow' Name, which at first sounds not that spectacular... but the site is part of the Barlow DNA Project, which if you think about it, sounds kinda freaky. There used to be a Barlow forum (now deleted) and there still is a mailing list ... to bring back together all the Barlows from all over the world.

Now of course this wouldn't have caught my eye if it wasn't for the "dullest man in showbiz" ... so you might understand my indignation: the great Gary Barlow isn't listed on the Barlow
in the Arts and Entertainment World index!!! He of Take That fame and songwriter extraordinaire... not listed! I'm shocked and appalled!

Here at the factory Mr. Barlow has his own shrine!

You gotta watch these behind the scenes clips...



Having watched the entire thing I have sooo many favourite moments.

but my favouritest is: the ice baths (if footballers do it!)

the "Take That" high five moment - "they all have strengths in different areas" (I think we know what he is talking about!) - GB explaining how TT "invented" the B-stage - visiting (naked) Howard at the hospital - the whole Berlin bit ... how much they loved it ("great crowd!"- yay!), Howard taking notes sitting in front of the stage and then telling Gary off for not doing the arm movements right at the beginning of Sure (which we noticed and loved!) - Mr. Barlow getting a massage and talking about tight shoes - "Take Three" - the David Hasselhoff look - Gary getting his hair cut ... forever - Guest Lists - Baked Beans - Skippy - the celery and cucumber drink - Star Trek - Mr. Barlow working out + having TEA - Jason Orange Solo Artist - weird pre-show rituals - showers

L.O.V.E.

PS I'm off to Cornwall with the girls ... I can't wait!

Mission Completed

Last night the other stalker and me went to see Nick Hornby and that pretty boy we fancy AND well, we had to realize we're NOT the only ones in this "secret" society.

We didn't arrive particularly early ... but early for a reading "event". We would have been late for a concert, but then it was no concert! Little did we know ... we arrived to a large crowd perfectly lined up in a long queue in front of the theatre. Once inside we managed to grab the last 2 free seats in the last row (no joke) ... which was a success as a lot of people didn't even get a seat.

The audience demographic was rather shocking ... it felt a bit like a school reunion party as almost every person was exactly our age! And most of them were girls! Now there was the question: "Is this the usual audience Nick Hornby attracts? Or are all these girls also here for the pretty boy?" It was a conundrum we didn't manage to solve for the rest of the evening!

To cut a long story short: Nick Hornby was ace! To listen to him read from his own book and explain stuff was great! The pretty boy did a good job too... I would even say that he is better at reading live than on those CDs. His obsession with both his scarf and his hair was hypnotizing! He was a bit nervous and his hands went through his hair constantly... which made me wanna touch it even more. It looked perfect and whatever he did, it didn't lose its magic ... but seriously that hair is outta control!

One of the highlights: when the publisher lady talked to Nick Hornby and our pretty boy in English and wanted latter to answer in English too so that Mr. Hornby could understand... it was so funny. He tried, but he really didn't want to and I liked how he "talked back" at her "Can you repeat the question please?" ... cute!

There was supposed to be a party ... but honestly it didn't look that way when we left ... the chairs were all still lined up, so we didn't hang around.

But I got a poster for the event signed by both of the guys. We debated the uncoolness first ... but to be honest, speaking for myself "I'm not particularly cool anyway" and it was a proper signing so "what the hell" (I did regret I didn't bring one of my Hornby books... stupid!). And I didn't get into fangirl mode like most of the people asking to sign my name or to take pictures, I just smiled and said "Thx, have a nice evening"... which is a bit dorky, but hey, that's me!

Having said that ... I adore both of them and specially Nick Hornby for taking a moment for every single person ... looking at them with a smile! I don't think I could do that...

Meanwhile the other stalker had her own little moment with the pretty boy when one girl repeatedly requested pictures to be taken and my partner in crime gave him an understanding smile and he smiled back ... now that made me a just a tiny bit jealous!

As I already said, we left before the whole thing was done ... and before the true stalkers could really embaress themselves ... there was one girl in particular who was nervously clutching her camera and she forced herself upon us asking if we could take a picture with her and the pretty boy when he came off stage ... needless to say we were shocked and appalled ... "NO"!

Concerning the book: Brilliant! Funny! I just can't afford it right now. Having your main character talk to a poster of Tony Hawk has class. Now being a child of MTV-education I knew who he was thx to Jackass and Bam Margera. Mr. Hornby also convinced me in why he didn't pick a footballer ... I mean in the time of the WAGs he is right saying football is too commercial now - thinking about it, so is Tony "I make more money in a second than you will in a lifetime" Hawk, but it's different - I think this book could have worked with a footballer 10 years ago, but I get what deterred him now.
Having said that, Brooklyn Beckham was called Brooklyn, not cos he was conceived there, it was were they found out VB was pregnant ... he was apparently conceived in Denmark. At least that's what the first family of english football claims!

So all in all a great evening ... though it taught us we are just 2 of many!

3 Is Not Enough

Last time I went to England, I basically emptied the P-Place of its fantastic weekend bags. I couldn't resist their charms and in the end I bought these three:


The P-Place seems to have an endless supply of new designs and I guess I know what I will spend my little shopping budget on in 2 weeks time (just 2 weeks girls ... I'm gonna start ticking the days off now).

Absolute favourites...

and honestly, if these were the only ones available, I most probably couldn't say "No" either...

I also like the P-Place's answer to Hollywood's "I'm not a plastic bag"-craze...

So fingers crossed, I'll get my greedy little hands on as many of these lovely thingies as I can. If not, well there is always the Pony to comfort me ...

In English Please

It's time to talk about another one of my obsessions... this time the most "secret" one.

I've just secured two tickets for me and the other girl in this secret society, so that we can go and see the pretty boy together with Nick Hornby in a few weeks time. We are very excited... I mean Nick Hornby AND our pretty boy! Now all we'd need would be for Hugh Grant to turn up too, but then we might not like where this could be going as he recently developed a habit of going to student parties and picking up girls half his age... but then, ehhh...

Nah, but I do like that the tickets promise us a party after the book part of the evening... I might have to bring forward my hair appointment ... *joking* (okay, maybe I am serious).

Anyway, so I was just randomly looking for our secret obsession on youtube and what can I say, it's brilliant. There is this movie he'll be in that they shot in Germany but in English and I found this diary ... and oh my, it's so funny how they all try to speak English ... embaressing at times, but all in all endearing and heart-warming.



One of my favourite moments in this clip occurs at around 1.37 when the director suddenly says in German:

"Klaus, was is'n das für'ne Optik da oben?"

and then...

"Matthias! Komm mit mir mein Süßer!"

ahhhhhh! brilliant! and M. totally ignores the "advances" and says "Oh my God it's freezing..."

also note one of the Fiennes brothers, who we remember being "hated" by Colin Firth for always getting the girls in his movies... wait a second, was that really so? anyway, that's all the Fiennes brothers will ever be for me!

another classic in the end, when the director freaks out by M. walking through the rain.

brilliant... it feels like if I would ever do a movie in English, the making of would be just as ... awkward:



Bless his heart! Makes me love him even more!

and if you wanna cringe some more...



CRINGE!!!

Nonsense

Which Grey's Anatomy Character Are You?

Which Sex And The City Character Are You?

Which Character on The Simpsons Are You?

Which Buffy the Vampire Slayer Character Are You?

Which Prison Break Character Are You?

Which Lost Character Are You?

Which Heroes Character Are You?

Who is Your Ideal TV Boyfriend?

What is Your Fate on Lost?

Another Old Soul

not just does he have an old man inside of him dieing to come out, no he also can't deal with hangovers... we might be soulmates...



apart from the hiking that is...

And it is just lately that I'm so hungover after 2 glasses of wine... there are 2 options to explain this a) I actually got ill in England like my housemate and my body can't deal with alcohol as well as before or b) I most probably always was like I am now, but I just didn't care... while at the moment I can't deal with it. Gone are the good old days I had a Gin or two every second night. Well, we all go through phases... maybe this is one of mine.

Well, There Will Be No Oscars This Year ... For Me

Even if the writers let the show go ahead, for me it's dead.

Why you ask? As I'm known to have given one of the best Oscar parties ever ... including a 5h-Pride&Prejudice-Marathon the night before and lobster served just in time for the red carpet arrivals, this might surprise you! But then most probably it won't considering the "end" of that Oscar party. And "end" means actually pretty much the beginning of the award ceremony which started with Clive Owen losing the best supporting actor award to Morgan Freeman... which was completely stupid. I like Morgan Freeman ... but just judging by their portrayal of those specific characters and not taking in account that it was time Morgan got an Oscar, Clive so should have won it! So the rest of the ceremony was just really annoying to watch... specially as it was in the middle of the night here in Europe.

So what has caused the offence this year? James McAvoy didn't get nominated for Atonement. There I was not minding that Keira didn't get the nod and totally convinced I had read somewhere that James did, but NO.

At least Atonement was given a best movie nomination, but as it won the Golden Globe I highly doubt it will be awarded again.

hmmmph! and if you look at the nominees ... I'm sorry but what about those "western" movies? What is that all about? Admittedly I haven't seen them yet, but the trailers are not very convincing.

so, excuse me while I'm sulking a bit more ...

okay done. Who cares, for me James won it already, just as Clive did those few years back.

Speaking of my new obsession, I found this hilarious interview yesterday...

He is charming, indeed!

Do you know what that was?

That was a scottish vacuum of charme.

(...) like two positives cancelling each other out and there'd be a huge implosion of the time continuum.

You remember that astrology line that went right through Glasgow in my last post ... hmmm, I LOVE the accent, maybe I should move there. I mean I loved Scotland when we went there last year, but we didn't really meet too many people with a heavy accent. As long as they speak like James I understand them and it's HOT. If they speak like Sir though... I don't have a chance.

If astro.com Says So

My flatmate, the Miaudonna, got very excited yesterday when she realized that astro.com thinks that she will find her true love in Las Vegas ... and when I checked ...well, Vegas it is for me too. Weird!

Now, I wanted to go to Vegas this summer to celebrate my graduation, but I had to accept that no-one would travel with me and that let's face it, it will be winter until I graduate, so I settled for an 8-day ca-raaazy spring trip to Cornwall instead and I'm looking forward to it very much.

I've been trying to think about what is more eccentric, coz that is key to me. Now that Celine is gone from Vegas it seems a lot less eccentric ... though if you do Vegas right it can be bloody eccentric, but then a lot of obesed Americans are doing the same.
Our Cornwall trip will be definitly quite eccentric, as I will want to stop at all the pre-historic healing stones to search healing for my crippled arm ... Men-an-Tol, I'm coming! There is so much to do from tin mines to cyder farms ... and it is Britain, which we LOVE! Of course it loses eccentricity because of all the other german tourists who are looking for Rosamunde Pilcher...

However, the miaudonna and me are definitly going to Vegas to find our big love there one day, when we can afford it. A big part in those financial plans plays the idea to win 5000 Euros by calling in on the german I'm a Celeb season and voting for our favourite Barbara (who we would like to adopt as our crazy aunt!).

So anyway, I was interested to see what I would find concerning my future in the North and well, I couldn't believe it:


See that red line going directly through Leeds and Manchester? Well, it is my Mars Line and it says, that being in this region channels my entire power into my profession, social success and prestige. My strong will leads me to fulfill long-term goals. Women move into a men's world and apparently physical work is important (nah, maybe not). But here we go... these places are good for a new start into professional life and help to bring along an important career step.
Also in the region I'll find my intents and wishes and I'll discover secret sexual preferences (not again!). It will be a quite painful experience if I try to use sex as a means to get power and influence (ooops!).

The brown line means I'll get a step closer to my true calling. (Glasgow?)

Interesting ... I guess the stars do see the start of my career there, so who am I to argue with them and who indeed is Shakespeare -

It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves.

hmmm... so however, I'll go to the North and if the stars are right all will be well and even if not, I can make it well all by myself according to good old Will ;o)

the blue line is quite brilliant too ... east from that line I will present myself completely different to how I am usually. I might even get a new haircut (hehe!) and decide on a flamboyant lifestyle. I'm magically drawn to the eccentric and I might start to study astrology here (ehm...).

astro.com is quite amusing ... and so right sometimes. Today they've told me that I've got myself into too many projects and I'm doing a lot more for certain projects than I should. Stupid Mr. Birdsong! Spammed me all day with stupid emails... and the project is already one team member down.

I've decided to give you a small insight into my weekend entertainment... the Oscar round table was quite amusing, even if Kiki crashed three times while I attempted to watch it on the original website. Fortunately it is available on youtube now. I found my usually admired George Clooney a bit tiresome though. He was talking ALL the time, but then he and James had quite a few funny moments and they ended up having this Clive Owen running gag ... brilliant. So here is one clip of the whole bonanza in which they talk about the Paparazzi and living close to Britney ... "Just ignore it.(...)We do what Clive Owen does, he's a solid guy."

And if you feel like it, watch this.

I'll end this post with very good news. After dieing on me at least 5 times this weekend, I researched what might be wrong with Kiki and found it is something that happens to a lot of Laptops and I found those crazy computerkids who regularly open their laptops and clean the fan (ventilator) because all the dust stops it from working.
I will NOT open poor Kiki! But I did blow some air into the fan area ... nothing happened. But then a day later out of nowhere and after having been on strike for 4 weeks, the fan decided to go back to work. At first I was scared by the noise and thought "that's it, Kiki explodes any minute now", but then I realized that it was a familiar and good sound. So things are good now, Kiki hasn't crashed once till the fan strike ended...

Man of My Dreams

I had one of my very few celebrity dreams last night and I still remember bits and pieces.

And who was the "dreamy" celebrity? Who could it be? ... Yeah - It was GARY BARLOW!

It was all a bit surreal really. I think we were backstage during the New Year's Show or I was somehow in the audience close to the stage ... no, I think it was in a corridor backstage. Most probably the place changed during the dream ... you know when it does that, that is soooo weird! One moment you are in your Mum's kitchen, then you turn around and behind you is your uni campus. Freaky! Anyway, back to Gary Barlow!

to cut to the core of the story:
I did kiss him ... on the cheek! His wife was there ...

okay, it really wasn't in anyway erotic or anything!

I walked down a corridore or something, I saw his wife Dawn and she smiled at me ... I don't know ... now it is getting a bit grey in my memory. And then Gary came through a door and he looked fit ... you know, just how we like him, wearing those nice trousers and a tight white shirt. He was about to go on stage or something, but I thought I had to grab the opportunity and thank him for the great time we had at the Take That concert or just in general for Take That. And he was so nice and grinned at me!

I just really wanted to give him a hug! But before I did, I looked at Dawn and she grinned and nodded and I thought, damn this poor women this must happen to her quite often. And then I gave Gaz a hug and a kiss on the cheek... and it was a proper hug too. And what can I say that body of his felt as tight as it looks on TV ... okay, it was just a dream, but hey!

And then he pulled me with him towards a staircase that led up to the stage and Dawn was gone ... and I woke up!

Weird! But cool!

I think it might have been triggered by me repeatedly watching Rule the World on youtube and giggling and rewatching this bit from The Big Fat Quiz of The Year...



Because I do think the last bit where Gary goes like "Taaaaake That" and tries to High Five the others is him quoting Star Stories (when he goes looking for the other 3, finds them in that rubbish thingy and they decide to reform TT and then do exactly what he does here) and THAT is just brilliant!

Proof...



God, I love these 4 men so much in a way! They bring bliss to me life!

Dramatic Pause

In the face of real-life Brit Brit's latest breakdown the factory has been brightened with the continuous replay of this lovely tune ...



God, I admire the genius of this guy! And it seems 2.757.324 people agree ... okay, less than that, because I alone viewed it like 20 times already... and I guess once you have, you will come back... again... and again.

And there is more...



Brilliant! And for the William Shatner fans among you ... hihi!

I hope these clips made you as happy as they made me! I recommend watching them repeatedly, they have an effect like they were cyberspace happy-pills!