So I haven't written in a while, since I've had something better to do. Or so you would think.
Currently I've been having mock examinations at school, but haven't had the motivation to revise. Then again, you could consider this to be a good idea because then it means I'm being tested on raw knowledge, rather than the complete dicks in my school who revise phonetic rhymes etc, but not understanding the reasons behind the answer. So far I've been doing pretty well, so if I do well then clearly I'm smarter than i originally thought....
Another thing I wanted to mention was my friend Isobel Reilly. Some of you may have heard of her as the girl who OD'd on ketamine and ecstasy - causing her friend's father; a renowned university lecturer on the dangers of drugs (I R O N Y) to lose his job and family as it was in his home and his stash of drugs that she died because of. Anyway, the reason I mention her is because recently it was the 3 month "anniversary" of her death. Feel free to Google her or search her on BBC news, because the lecturer has also just been convicted.
So, moving on from the morbid topic of drug overdose and death blah blah blah I also want to brag about the organising I have done for Christmas this year. Three of my friends: Ella, Helen and Sahiba (pronounced like Cyber) have been the centre of my gift choosing antics. With a budget of around 60 pounds, I had to try and figure out what to get for each of them - plus family members, secret Santa and other close friends. A difficult task but REGARDLESS, I set off trying to remember witty remarks and inside jokes we shared to come up with the ultimate present. Helen was easy, as I had shown her the film Rocky Horror Picture Show, an excellent film that I would recommend, and she had mentioned how she would have loved to see it in theatre, dressed in costume and the whole sha-bang. Obviously, it's well known that this stopped in the late 1980s, and now a rarity. HOWEVER after scouring the Internet, I discovered a showing in Leicester Square. So I've bought her the tickets, hinting to her at the 'amazingness' of her gift. Although I will simply buy her the DVD, and thus trick her in to momentarily believing that I have bought her an absolutely terrible present.
*EVIL LAUGH"*
Now, I would bore you further in discussing the numerous other gifts i have bought for my other peers. But, to save you from falling asleep where you sit, I will simply suggest that in buying secret Santa, stalk your receiver on twitter to discover their interests and thus their ideal present..
Harri. x
Tuesday 6 December 2011
Monday 7 November 2011
Cat and Mouse & Of Mice and Men
So for my English GCSE, we're studying 'Of Mice and Men' by John Steinbeck. So far all I know is that there are these two guys called George and Lennie. Lennie is a gentle giant and not all that bright, and George is a good friend of his although can get a little p*ssed off at him from time to time... Anyway, they're on the run because Lennie apparently grabbed the dress of a woman which - clearly - was a bad idea! So they're wandering around the brush of California headed towards a ranch to start a new job.
When they get there, they run into this old man called Candy - but I'm not exactly sure of why he's important or the relevance of his character. All I know is that he cleans the sleeping quarters of the workers and has a really old, foul-smelling dog. The boss comes in and has a go at George and Lennie because he wanted them to work in the morning, but since they were on the run from their previous town; they didn't get there in time. So he starts to try and talk to Lennie - but George told him not to speak because he would risk them their job opportunity. the boss thinks George is hiding something from him and well...gets a bit suspicious.
So the boss leaves, but then his son Curley walks in. He's described as a short man, with a tanned face and wears leather high heeled boots with spurs. This apparently symbolises his wealth and position. Regardless, Curley is portrayed as - excuse my French - a bit of a twat, to be honest. According to Candy, Curley targets bigger men with violence and aggression because he may be jealous of their size. So Curley starts getting a bit rude towards Lennie, who's a total babe in the sense that he doesn't really know what's best, but at the same time wouldn't intentionally hurt a soul. When he leaves, we find out that Curley's just recently gotten married. And Candy explains that his new wife is a tart, and may have given Curley an STD.
Then we meet a few other characters, including Slim and Carlson - some other workers - but I can't be bothered to explain! Buy the book, so far it's pretty good. I know I've probably made it sound incredibly boring, but it's not. Give it a read, you might enjoy it...
So the other thing I was going to mention is what happened with my cat, Lily. If you're interested (which you probably aren't) she's a lilac colourpoint british shorthair. But, she's also a nightmare and very aggressive. Anyway, I live in the countryside, so she often brings in mice. However, she's so evil to them and doesn't kill them immediately but plays with them - scaring them silly - and then finally eats half of them. And before any of you start saying I should save the mice from their inevitable death - I'd just like to say that I do. But then she catches them again because they're so frightened! It's as though I'm adding to their turmoil by prolonging their torture, so I decided to just leave her to it, and hope they escape unharmed.
So, the other day, she brought in a little mouse. She had it cornered in the conservatory, and was watching it intently. Whenever it tried to make a dash for the door, she batted it with a swift paw - eliminating any chance it had. Then, I went into the conservatory after I had heard the poor mouse squealing. This distracted my cat for long enough for the mouse to run to the radiator, and began to scale the wall behind it! By this point, the mouse had managed to climb up to a safe spot behind the (cold) radiator; completely out of reach from my cat. This angered her immensely, and she eventually gave up and allowed me to save the little mouse and set it free outside, unharmed. See, I did!
And to prove I'm not just making this up for your amusement, here's a picture for you to enjoy.
I have proudly named this brave little creature 'Ninja Mouse'. (apologies for the dusty, cob-web filled radiator, I'll be sure to give it a clean...)
Harri.
When they get there, they run into this old man called Candy - but I'm not exactly sure of why he's important or the relevance of his character. All I know is that he cleans the sleeping quarters of the workers and has a really old, foul-smelling dog. The boss comes in and has a go at George and Lennie because he wanted them to work in the morning, but since they were on the run from their previous town; they didn't get there in time. So he starts to try and talk to Lennie - but George told him not to speak because he would risk them their job opportunity. the boss thinks George is hiding something from him and well...gets a bit suspicious.
So the boss leaves, but then his son Curley walks in. He's described as a short man, with a tanned face and wears leather high heeled boots with spurs. This apparently symbolises his wealth and position. Regardless, Curley is portrayed as - excuse my French - a bit of a twat, to be honest. According to Candy, Curley targets bigger men with violence and aggression because he may be jealous of their size. So Curley starts getting a bit rude towards Lennie, who's a total babe in the sense that he doesn't really know what's best, but at the same time wouldn't intentionally hurt a soul. When he leaves, we find out that Curley's just recently gotten married. And Candy explains that his new wife is a tart, and may have given Curley an STD.
Then we meet a few other characters, including Slim and Carlson - some other workers - but I can't be bothered to explain! Buy the book, so far it's pretty good. I know I've probably made it sound incredibly boring, but it's not. Give it a read, you might enjoy it...
So the other thing I was going to mention is what happened with my cat, Lily. If you're interested (which you probably aren't) she's a lilac colourpoint british shorthair. But, she's also a nightmare and very aggressive. Anyway, I live in the countryside, so she often brings in mice. However, she's so evil to them and doesn't kill them immediately but plays with them - scaring them silly - and then finally eats half of them. And before any of you start saying I should save the mice from their inevitable death - I'd just like to say that I do. But then she catches them again because they're so frightened! It's as though I'm adding to their turmoil by prolonging their torture, so I decided to just leave her to it, and hope they escape unharmed.
So, the other day, she brought in a little mouse. She had it cornered in the conservatory, and was watching it intently. Whenever it tried to make a dash for the door, she batted it with a swift paw - eliminating any chance it had. Then, I went into the conservatory after I had heard the poor mouse squealing. This distracted my cat for long enough for the mouse to run to the radiator, and began to scale the wall behind it! By this point, the mouse had managed to climb up to a safe spot behind the (cold) radiator; completely out of reach from my cat. This angered her immensely, and she eventually gave up and allowed me to save the little mouse and set it free outside, unharmed. See, I did!
And to prove I'm not just making this up for your amusement, here's a picture for you to enjoy.
I have proudly named this brave little creature 'Ninja Mouse'. (apologies for the dusty, cob-web filled radiator, I'll be sure to give it a clean...)
Harri.
Wednesday 26 October 2011
It's Been a While
Okay, so I haven't posted in a while due to the fact that I'm organising and creating a yearbook for my school. Because I'm in year 11, and my school goes up to year thirteen AND my headmistress is an absolute b*tch, I'm not necessarily allowed to make one. Nevertheless, I've decided to ignore the threats of suspension from my headteacher considering this is my last year in this school and I've been there for eleven years and go ahead in putting together this book.
Obviously, I'm not being encouraged or helped by the faculty at my school and so cannot form a yearbook committee - but oh well. Last week I went around the classes and asked who would be interested in buying one, and almost everyone supported me 100 percent! Another feature that I'm adding to this book is that I am in the process of making it augmented.
This basically means that a few of the pictures in the book will be programmed into a software on the computer, and linked to a website. Using a webcam, you can hold up the picture to the webcam and some magically pixie stuff happens and a video or a game will pop up. It's pretty cool, and it will be the world's first ever augmented yearbook! Which I personally think is pretty exciting.
If you want to find out more about how Augmented Reality works, search it in google because I haven't really got that much of an in-depth knowledge on the subject. Oh, and there are a couple of apps on the iPhone or iPad that have the software, which my dad created (thats how I know how to use it, and how I have access to it).
Here's a link to a video of Augmented Reality being used in Hugo Boss in Sloane Square, London.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4q4Aew-zx3w
So that's all I have to say about that...for now ;)
Harri xx
Obviously, I'm not being encouraged or helped by the faculty at my school and so cannot form a yearbook committee - but oh well. Last week I went around the classes and asked who would be interested in buying one, and almost everyone supported me 100 percent! Another feature that I'm adding to this book is that I am in the process of making it augmented.
This basically means that a few of the pictures in the book will be programmed into a software on the computer, and linked to a website. Using a webcam, you can hold up the picture to the webcam and some magically pixie stuff happens and a video or a game will pop up. It's pretty cool, and it will be the world's first ever augmented yearbook! Which I personally think is pretty exciting.
If you want to find out more about how Augmented Reality works, search it in google because I haven't really got that much of an in-depth knowledge on the subject. Oh, and there are a couple of apps on the iPhone or iPad that have the software, which my dad created (thats how I know how to use it, and how I have access to it).
Here's a link to a video of Augmented Reality being used in Hugo Boss in Sloane Square, London.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4q4Aew-zx3w
So that's all I have to say about that...for now ;)
Harri xx
Thursday 6 October 2011
Flight of the Conchords
I haven't written for a bit, so I figured I'd just talk about Flight of the Conchords. It's a band from New Zealand involving two people called Bret and Jermaine. They do mostly joke songs, some of my personal favourites are
Hiphopappotamus and the Rhymenocerous
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FArZxLj6DLk
Robots
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IPAOxrH7Ro
They;re clips from the band's latest tv series, which is in some ways an acquired taste. To be honest, I think they're funny but a lot of people may think otherwise.
OH and buy their album on iTunes or...just buy the CD.
Anyway, I hope I haven't wasted the past couple of seconds of your life, but if you have read to the end of this post,
CONGRATULATIONS! YOU WIN.....A COOKIE.
Now, to claim your prize, go to your cupboard and get out a pack of cookies. Eat one, or two of the whole pack if you like - it's your prize. :)
NB: If you don't have any at home, go buy some. Don't complain, it's so not my fault that you don't have any nice food in your house.
Oh and, RIP Steve Jobs. In fact, this morning my completely naive friend came into school saying how Steve Jobs' death was such a tragedy (which it is - no denying that) and saying how he had changed the modern world. I said that yes, it is sad he died, but it was inevitable considering he had cancer and was over 60. She then asked "How many people can say that they've changed the world? I mean, it's rare."
Before I go on, you have to understand that I was stressed, tired and not in the mood at this point.
I replied that actually, many people can say that. Martin Luther King, John F Kennedy, Abe Lincoln, William Shatner, the Beatles etc. She then said that although these people had changed the world, how many can say they changed the modern world?
So, cryptically, I said Osama Bin Laden. I'm not suggesting in any way that I agree with terrorist activities or the monstrosity of the situation on 9/11, but I was simply proving the point that he had changed the modern world for the worse because ever since that attack, the world has become extremely high and strict in security.
That shut her up. ;)
Hiphopappotamus and the Rhymenocerous
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FArZxLj6DLk
Robots
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IPAOxrH7Ro
They;re clips from the band's latest tv series, which is in some ways an acquired taste. To be honest, I think they're funny but a lot of people may think otherwise.
OH and buy their album on iTunes or...just buy the CD.
Anyway, I hope I haven't wasted the past couple of seconds of your life, but if you have read to the end of this post,
CONGRATULATIONS! YOU WIN.....A COOKIE.
Now, to claim your prize, go to your cupboard and get out a pack of cookies. Eat one, or two of the whole pack if you like - it's your prize. :)
NB: If you don't have any at home, go buy some. Don't complain, it's so not my fault that you don't have any nice food in your house.
Oh and, RIP Steve Jobs. In fact, this morning my completely naive friend came into school saying how Steve Jobs' death was such a tragedy (which it is - no denying that) and saying how he had changed the modern world. I said that yes, it is sad he died, but it was inevitable considering he had cancer and was over 60. She then asked "How many people can say that they've changed the world? I mean, it's rare."
Before I go on, you have to understand that I was stressed, tired and not in the mood at this point.
I replied that actually, many people can say that. Martin Luther King, John F Kennedy, Abe Lincoln, William Shatner, the Beatles etc. She then said that although these people had changed the world, how many can say they changed the modern world?
So, cryptically, I said Osama Bin Laden. I'm not suggesting in any way that I agree with terrorist activities or the monstrosity of the situation on 9/11, but I was simply proving the point that he had changed the modern world for the worse because ever since that attack, the world has become extremely high and strict in security.
That shut her up. ;)
Friday 30 September 2011
Brighten Your Day, and Someone Else's
Have you ever woken up in the morning and thought, 'I want to make someone smile.'? I have - many times. There's some form of weird satisfaction you get whenever you show an act of humanity and good nature. That was when I found out about a website set up by a young girl diagnosed with MS when she was 6 months old. She's been bed-ridden since 2001 and so made a website called postpals, where you can send an email, letter, card or present to a child with cancer. I figured I would post about it to try and gt as many people involved as I possibly could - it's for a good cause.
So, if you're ever feeling a bit down one day, go ahead and log on to your computer and head to www.postpals.co.uk and help a child smile - which will cheer you up almost instantly :)
Another thing I heard of recently was 'operation beautiful.' It's another organisation set up to spread a bit of happiness - you basically write on a post-it note a small message telling someone how beautiful they are, and leave it in a place where a stranger might walk by and see it. Just make sure you write the website on the note, so that it can become more widely-known, and more people can have they day brightened.
www.operationbeautiful.com
Go ahead - make someone's day that little bit better - karma will thank you for it :)
Harri x
So, if you're ever feeling a bit down one day, go ahead and log on to your computer and head to www.postpals.co.uk and help a child smile - which will cheer you up almost instantly :)
Another thing I heard of recently was 'operation beautiful.' It's another organisation set up to spread a bit of happiness - you basically write on a post-it note a small message telling someone how beautiful they are, and leave it in a place where a stranger might walk by and see it. Just make sure you write the website on the note, so that it can become more widely-known, and more people can have they day brightened.
www.operationbeautiful.com
Go ahead - make someone's day that little bit better - karma will thank you for it :)
Harri x
Tuesday 27 September 2011
Ramblings.
Recently I went to see 'The Wild Bride' at the Lyric Theatre in Hammersmith. It was absolutely incredible! And I would recommend it to anyone...
It's about a young girl who's father accidentally loses her in a deal with the Devil, but she is considered to be too pure to be taken by him. For this reason, he tries to dirty her with mud, but when she cries it spreads the absolute innocence onto her hands. The devil then forces the father to chop off the hands of the girl, but she is still too pure. The girl is cast out into the wild to fend for herself and make her soul disheartened, so that the devil can take her to hell.
It sounds sinister - which it is, at times. But honestly it has it's moments and is a brilliant piece of drama. The company who show this play is called 'Kneehigh', and I think they also show in some places in Cornwall as well.
If you want to find out more about 'The Wild Bride' story, search 'The Handless Maiden' by the Grimm Brothers. I know, as soon as you hear it's a Grimm fairytale, you're instantly interested.
Harri.
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