2012

It’s got to the stage now whereby I can’t even remember writing my last blog post. But now the end of the year has been reached it seems somewhat appropriate to finally return and spurn one more unimaginative fairly clichéd post out of the mill.

Just a few minutes ago I had a short conversation with a friend on twitter; I will refer you to his tweet, as I see it as rather fitting to this blog post:

'Normally I hate all the "omg next year is da wuhhnnnn xoxoxo!" tweets, but 2012 is actually so massive that I can sorta accept it’

Now I have to agree with this and say (although perhaps more eloquently and in a standardised manner), yes: ‘next year is dah wuhhnnnn’.

I think every year we enter, sometimes subconsciously, usually less so, into the next year hoping that it’s going to be better than the last, even if the last held some fantastic remarkable moments, next year has to better it. I’ve never been one for New Year’s resolutions because, like most people’s, they either: only last a few days, never happen, or I completely forget about them. I’m not sure about everyone else, but they’re also usually always the same: Work harder, stop getting so distracted, increase confidence levels etc etc.

But, this year, as I have mentioned above, will be completely different. Now I don’t think I’m even going to attempt New Year Resolutions, because, frankly, I know what I need to do and I know what I need to improve on in the next year anyway (see above resolutions!). However, I am going to talk a little about 2010, about 2011, and about 2012. The past, the present, and the future – call me Charles Dickens (wasn’t the BBC’s ‘Great Expectations’ fantastic?).

Now if you don’t know me, or don’t know me well, or even know me well(!), perhaps you are wondering why 2012 is quite so significant. The year London hosts the Olympics; the year the euro crumbles and crashes even more than it already has… none of those things. 2012 is the year that I, and the majority of my year, begin University.

Personally I can’t quite fathom what life is going to be like without school. Although at times I hate it, and get incredibly frustrated with it, I know I’m going to miss it exceptionally: the students, the staff, the lessons, the frees… All of it. Well, maybe not so much the ‘timed essays’, but the rest of it. Thus I’m not entirely sure whether to be excited or worried about the start of university. It’s going to be so completely different to all that I’m used to and I know that all of us, even if not everyone will admit or realise it now, is going to miss the help and support given at school exceedingly, as well as the friends and all the people we have got to know so well over the past couple of years. For I’ve found that Sixth Form really is the time when you talk to people, and become friends with people, you never would have talked to previously.

If I were to name a year that I think, for me, has been the most successful, I would have to cheat a little and choose June 2010-June 2011. In that summer I took my GCSE’s and received results that I am still incredibly proud of. In September, Sixth Form began and, although many people now say there isn’t much of a gap between GCSE’s and AS-Levels I completely disagree, then in November 2010 I started my first novel. By May 2011 I had completed said novel, and the next month I took my AS Levels which, with the exception of one, I am very proud of. Now if 2012 can be that successful then I’ve got a good year ahead of me.

It’s got to the point now, where I feel that this blog post (as mine often do) isn’t really going anywhere. I guess the point of it, more than anything else, is as one that I can look back at in a year’s time from now and see how much has changed.

Wherever all of us end up, I hope (and this is the cliché bit!) we all end up extremely happy, with lots of new friends, and a course and university that we will enjoy just as much as, or even more than, sixth form. 2012 is going to be absolutely terrifying, from taking those A-Level exams to leaving on that first day to University, but it should, hopefully, also be incredibly exciting: from the long summer of 2011 to the independence and madness of university life.

Whatever you’re doing in 2012, whether you too are starting university, working at the same job, looking for a new job, continuing on at school, or building a space rocket to traverse the moon, I hope it’s a success.

Happy New Year everyone.

Torchwood - Miracle Day - The New World... The New Show?

This review of Torchwood: Miracle Day, Episode 1, only contains minor spoilers.


So yesterday I was fortunate enough to attend the screening of the first episode of the new series of Torchwood, Series 4. I think my main fear in relation to the series, before viewing the first episode, was that it may have become too American. The American accents, the American setting, the American characters... all present in the trailer, with very little of Torchwood's fantastic Welsh origins present.

However, once one can look past all of this, the new series of Torchwood certainly does look very promising indeed.

Approximately half of the episode is set in America, the other half being set in Wales. The first storyline we're introduced to (If I recall correctly) is the storyline of the series 'bad guy' as he appears: Oswald Danes, played by American actor Bill Pullman. Pullman plays a very convincing villain throughout, with his sinister looks and the threatening tone to his voice which, in one particular scene, he conveys so well; and it will certainly be interesting to see where the writers intend to go with this storyline and Oswald himself.

One thing that was established, within the panel discussion preceding the screening as well as the trailer for the rest of the season, was that the relationship between Jack and Oswald will be salient throughout. I don't want to give too much away, but let's just say that Oswald's character is certainly going to fascinate Jack, as well as the rest of the world.

Perhaps my favourite thing about the episode were the constant links back to Wales. We get a lovely insight into Gwen and Rhys' new life; something that Eve Myles commented on as being, "Rhys' idea of heaven, Gwen's idea of hell." Part of the reason I enjoyed seeing Gwen and Rhys' life together so much, is because I have been a fan for many years now; and I think, generally, those who are already fans will appreciate the insight into what Gwen's life has become, without Torchwood.

Now, undoubtedly, Russell T Davies had a job. And part of that job was to make Captain Jack's return as spectacular as it was. Let's just say that I wasn't disappointed! He's his usual charismatic, fantastic self and has clearly been holding onto his retcon supplies, as well as overlooking Gwen and Rhys' lives during his time away. Jack has some brilliant one-liners, including a superb reference to Owen Harper which long-term fans like myself will adore!

The other storyline we follow, with the exception of the main story itself: the miracle, is that of the CIA's: Rex Matheson and Esther Drummond. I didn't have huge expectations, but I have to say that both played their roles spectacularly. Rex, as one of the victim's of Miracle Day, is displayed as a very typical American figure, meaning that RTD couldn't resist an influx of jokes relating to Rex's crossing of the Severn Bridge. I also have to commend Alexa Havins on her portrayal of Esther. I thought she played the inquisitive CIA agent exceedingly well, almost drawing a parallel to Gwen's first knowledge of Captain Jack Harkness (or as Rhys would say 'Captain Jack Bollocks').

Perhaps the most interesting thing about this new series is Russell's concept itself. Look away if you don't want to be spoilt on the storyline that the series follows... The concept being a time when no-one on earth can die. What's quite so interesting about this storyline is the way that Torchwood explores the effects such an event would have, effects that many may not have even thought of. Medically, it's very intriguing as hospitals line with patients in intensive care and even a man blasted to smithereens, barely a skeleton, just cannot die.

Generally this new series of Torchwood encompasses a healthy amount of action, humour, the gruesome and the wonderful. It's also very thought provoking and fast paced. As per usual, there are a few shocks and surprises among the way; especially one concerning Jack, which many you may have already heard and is, undoubtedly, a plot twist and a half.

Personally I'm still unsure as to whether this new series of Torchwood can ever match-up to the previous. It's very different, which is where the title to this blog post ties in because we are, of course, being faced with a completely changed organisation. There's no safety of a base, the equipment and a structured team like Torchwood used to have (although it was good to see a quick return to the bay), but in a sense this does add to the danger and the thrill of this new Torchwood.

Overall, the episode was certainly a promising start. At times it was a bit slow, and although I did state it was fast-paced, it wasn't quite up to the excitement and tension of Day Two of Children of Earth for example. Whether this new series of Torchwood will ever live up to the standard of 'classic Torchwood' is unbeknownst. Only time will tell.

7.5/10

Sponsored Run!

Hello all,

Now first of all this is a big ask but I would really appreciate your help!

This forthcoming August I will be going to Morocco as part of my World Challenge. I'll be climbing up the Atlas Mountains (:s) and doing some project work in a local village there.

In order to raise money for this I will be doing a sponsored run on Sunday 8th May. It'll be up to 15km (although most likely 10) and I will be ridiculously dressed as Harry Potter! If you are able to, then I would really appreciate any sponsors as I really do need to raise money for this!

Unfortunately because World Challenge is not 'technically' a charity, I can't collect sponsors online so all sponsors will have to be made via post or via an online bank transfr... Once again, I know this is a huge ask but I will love anyone so much who is willing to sponsor - no matter how much! I will, however, need to at least know who you are, as of course I will be enclosing my address or bank details to you. Unless you intend to see me in person over the next couple of months in which case I can collect sponsors then. :)

If you are willing to sponsor me, please send me an email (Yemmaa@live.co.uk) or let me know via twitter/facebook etc. You can sponsor per km or simply for the whole run. It will mean a lot and I will make sure pictures are taken - my friend will be dressed as Ron Weasley (or Luna Lovegood ¬.¬), and no doubt we will be quoting and embarrassing ourselves all day. xD

And remember...

Yema :D xx

Exodus Bogus

Before you read this blog post, I recommend you take a look at this:
http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/exodus-international/id418794954?mt=8#

Now, if upon clicking that link you simply thought 'So what?' I recommend that you stop reading now.

I came to knowledge of this application, after it was mentioned on Twitter by actor Nicholas Pegg and my opinion somewhat replicates his.

I haven't come across Exodus International before, for which I'm very grateful, although I was aware that groups such as it would exist. However, it is not Exodus International that I am pinpointing today, but Apple, Inc.

The fact that Apple Inc, a well acclaimed and incredibly successful corporation, have approved an application which openly promotes homophobia is frankly, disgusting. Exodus International shouldn't even exist in the first place, and the fact that Apple have approved an application supporting this really loses me a lot of support for the corporation.

As anyone should know, homosexuality for one is not a disease, thus it has no need to be 'curable'. People are either born gay or 'become' gay depending on whether you believe the nature or nurture side of the debate... Or, hang on, they 'catch' homosexuality, like a disease it's passed from one person to another and can only be cured... with help from an iPhone app!

Ridiculous.

Personally I am unaware how the process of approving an application works at Apple, other than the fact that the application is analysed and tested for reliability, but the site likewise claims that the Exodus International application has been 'tested' and not only that has been rated 4 stars! Brilliant guys, this application is 80% likely to help anyone anyone you know on the path of curing homosexuality!

I think one can tell from the sarcasm in this blog post how preposterous I find the idea of an application based around Exodus International; and I sincerely hope that Apple will rethink what they're approving in what is now the 21st century (As if they need a reminder).

World Book Day

So, today is World Book Day.

Today is also my first blog post of 2011 so I'm going to try and make it interesting.

Because it is world book day, you may have guessed that this post is going to be relating to... Well, books.

Anyone who knows me will know how much I love to read, but unfortunately in the last year or so I probably haven't read much more than a dozen books.

A few years ago, a dozen books is about the amount I would go through in a month.

I'd love to tell you that the reason for this is due to my increased social life and the amount of time I spend going out with friends, but that would be a lie. And as this source is completely unbiased, I will be sticking to the truth (Historical Reference Number 1).

World Book Day is a yearly event, that was first celebrated back in 1995. Although traditionally on the 23rd April, we in the UK like to be different and so celebrate it on the first Thursday of March.

World Book Day is a fantastic thing when you're young. You get to attend school in fancy dress and receive one of those memorable £1 book vouchers, built to encourage us to read. But as one gets older, less emphasis is placed on what - really - should be quite a superb day. After all, where would we be without books?

For the last few years, I have done nothing for World Book Day. But this year was a little different, as my English Literature class decided to discuss favourite books and eat book cake...No fancy dress though.

In reality, this blog post has little point other than to add a bit of activity to my dying blog, commemorate World Book Day and despair over how little time I have to read now, due to the amount of school work I'm faced with.

Of course, I can't just blame school for my lack in reading over the past few years. When I was in Year Seven, I used to read more books simply so that I could fill up my reading log as fast as possible (ah, back in the days!), now; however, I always find other things to do, whether it be TV or skimming around the world of the internet, I simply do not read enough.

I aim to resolve this however! Even though it takes me months now to read a book that really is not /that/ thick, I feel it is important to have some time just to lie back and lose oneself in another reality.

So now, I'm going to hand over to you and ask anyone who reads this blog to recommend one book. Just one book that you think I should read. And I aim to at least attempt to read every book recommended to me before 2012 begins.

Happy World Book Day. :)

The Best of TV – But, Is It Worth It?

A rather different reflective blog post today, with a slightly odd perplexing question, heading today’s subject.

The question being, whether, the pain and angst we feel when our favourite TV Shows begin to head downhill is really worth it. Okay, so today’s post is going to be rather overdramatic, for I am, of course, imagining that TV has a huge impact on each and everyone of our lives, and that, one actually cares about how the stories are evolving and characters are changing. But, really, it depends on your emotional attachment to things, such as TV Shows. With some of us, when our favourite character is brutally and stupidly killed and we cry for three hours straight (I am, of course, not speaking from experience here…), one begins to wonder whether watching this same favourite TV show is ever going to be the same again. However, some of us will simply lean back in our chair and enjoy the fact that we no longer have to suffer the awkward moments where we’re watching TV with our parents and two grown men are playing naked-hide-and-seek (What will we do without these moments, ay?).

With a lot of people, TV is simply, something to do. It’s nice to be able to sit back on a Monday evening and have a laugh whilst watching The Inbetweeners (Sadly, this is no longer) or to catch up on the latest episode of Spooks with a cup of hot chocolate and the BBC iPlayer. I, however (as you may have guessed), am one of those people who really enjoys, and gets a lot out of TV – which is funny, seeing as I don’t really watch that much of it. Quality over quantity, I say. Mind you, I do watch the X Factor (Shouldn’t have admitted that, should I?) on a regular basis so I guess I can’t really talk.

With a lot of TV shows, there is often, too much quantity and not enough quality. They tend to start off brilliant, which is usually why another series is commissioned, and then start to head downhill. The first series is always the freshest, the funniest and ultimately: the favourite. So what can one do to ensure that a TV Show stays just as quirky, just as action-packed and just as brilliant, without going overboard and thus, becoming unbelievable (Unless, of course, it is Sci-Fi in which case – pretty much anything can happen)? Of course, I am not saying this is the same for all TV Shows; I can name quite a few where the first series was not my favourite, but as an overall view – the first series or first couple of series are usually the best.

Take Skins for example, pretty much 90% of Skins viewers will tell you that the first two series were by far the best. The storylines were better (After all, in the first two series, no-one was clubbed to death with a baseball bat), and the characters were a lot more likeable and easy to emphasise with, producing actors, such as Dev Patel who went on to star in Slumdog Millionaire. For me, personally, the third and fourth series ruined Skins – so one might ask, should they have left it there after the first two series? Did we need to continue or would it have been best left as a memory? Having a new episode of Skins to watch every Monday Thursday? was a novelty but by the end of the series, I was turning to 4oD a few days later, with no particular interest in whether JJ could actually get a girlfriend or not. Give me Maxxie and Tony back any day. In some TV programs, total cast changes can and would work. For example, thinking about it, I believe a new series of The Inbetweeners with a completely new cast could work, so long as the same writers are kept on. However, it’s always a risk, and with the aforementioned ‘Skins’, I don’t think this risk paid off.

Now, this blog post was evidently going to lead onto one of my favourite TV Shows: Torchwood. What started off as a five or six men main cast has now been brought down to a grand sum of… two. My front is simply that the programme has changed, and not for the better – or at least, I will find out this summer whether all those losses were for the benefit of the programme or not, although I highly doubt it. The first two series were made up of 13 incredible episodes each, every one of them brilliantly scripted and full of mystery, romance and action. At the end of the second series, two of the five-man team were killed off, with, as far as I know, neither actor requesting their character’s ending. So, we’re left with three main characters left. Now, I am in no way complaining about this, for Exit Wounds was a superb series finale, full of tension and lines that made even the less-compassionate folk shed a tear. But, then I ask the same question – Should it have been left here? Should we have left these two wonderful series of 13 episodes each where they were? Back

Unfortunately (Well, and fortunately) I cannot complain about the quality of the third series of Torchwood: Children of Earth for it really was a fantastic drama that kept me on the edge of my seat throughout. But I still don’t see what happened at the end of Day Four as necessary. Possibly one of the most likeable characters in TV at that time being axed off the show, and once again, not at the actor’s request, seemed superfluous and frankly, quite stupid. Of course, I see the other side to the story, for it was brilliantly done and certainly affected almost everyone watching in some way or another, but was it really necessary? As a fan, I will definitely be watching Series Four when it comes out in the summer, but the show has lost what it once was and I’m not sure I can see it being as funny, as sexy or as dazzling as it was renowned for.

But whose fault is it when shows come down to this? Is it the writers who ultimately decide what happens – who lives and who dies? I am a fan of Russell T Davies, writer of episodes of Doctor Who and Torchwood, and creator of Queer as Folk, however there is one thing that he said which grates with me, I do not have the exact quote (if anyone does that would be brilliant) but it was something along the lines of “I do not write with the audience in mind, overall – who cares what they think? I am here to write a story not please the masses. I write for myself and myself only” I find this to be a very self-centred egotistic approach to writing a story. Although I agree, that ultimately, it is Russell’s story and thus, he can do with it what he likes, sometimes you need to take the fans views into consideration, for we are the ones who watch, love and appreciate the stories he is telling us. One screenwriter who does, or did, do this is that of Marc Cherry, creator of Desperate Housewives. In the original drafts of Series 6, the character of Mike Delfino was to marry Katherine Mayfair, but after realising how much of a fan base Mike and Susan Mayer had, Cherry changed his mind and re-wrote it. Perhaps it would have been better and more of a challenge to stick with this first less popular coupling, and attempt to win fans round to supporting them, but sometimes I think you have to listen to your viewers, and that is exactly what Cherry did.

Ultimately, this is just my own highly opinionated view on what TV is turning into. And this all came, from myself humming a tune that used to be in Hollyoaks back in the golden years (Craig and Jean-Paul ftw). But please do leave me a comment expressing your view, whether it be similar to mine, or completely different.

John Barrowman: Set List and Videos

Warning: As the title suggests this blog post WILL include spoilers for John Barrowman's 2010 Concert Tour! Some people have asked for me to include the set list in a blog post, so I'm going to post that here. Alongside 13 videos which I took from the first date of John's tour in Oxford, a few of which I would not recommend watching if you have yet to see it and are planning on seeing it before 2nd November!


So the songs performed by John were:
Act One:
Get This Party Started
You To Me Are Everything
Viva Las Vegas
Don't Cry Out Loud
Unusual Way
Spiderman/Wonder Woman Medley (For this John got his dancers dressed up as spiderman and wonder woman, I did, thankfully, take a video of this!)
Memory
Cry Me a River - Jodie Prenger
Mambo Italiano - Jodie Prenger
Fireflies
Rain on my Parade

Act Two:
Conga/Turn The Beat Around
Let Your Love Flow (John's song dedicated to Scott)
Man, I Feel Like a Woman (One of the best of the night for sure. John's male dancers wearing pink dresses was brilliant. John could not stop giggling!)
Remember When (A beautiful song which John's parents danced to)
Proud Mary - Jodie Prenger
Nobody Does It Better - Jodie Prenger
So Close (Duet with Jodie Prenger)
CopaCabana (This was brilliant! John decided to test out his dancers acting skills by getting them to act out the song xD)
The Doctor and I
Rule The World
Let's Get Loud

Encore:
From This Moment On (Dedicated to John's fans)
I Am What I Am

What an incredible playlist.

Click here for a link to my playlist on youtube of the videos I managed to take on John's tour. :)

^ John being...well, John!

John Barrowman's Tour 2010.

So I'm not going to talk too much about what the tour was like/what was said etc, partly because most people reading this will be seeing him live anyway and partly because I really don't have the time!



In this blog post I will be stating the prices of the merchandise for anyone who wants to know, and hopefully tomorrow I will be posting some videos I took at Oxford, for anyone who is unable to attend JB's tour.

For now though, just the merchandise.

So merchandise wise, off the top of my head you can buy (in decreasing price order)...
Signed huge picture of John: £40
T-Shirts: £20-£22
Tea-Towel(!): £15
A set of Coasters: £15
Mugs: £10
Bags: £10
Pictures of John: £10
Keyrings: £2

Personally I bought a t-shirt, bag, mug and keyring! Pictures to follow sometime. :)

I also bought a Programme, which cost £10.

P.S. There are some adorable photos of Scott!
And if you have any questions about songs he sang, feel free to ask. I would post the whole setlist but personally I think it's better as a surprise. What I will tell you though, is that John's mum and dad's dance was wonderful, Jodie and John's dynamics are spectacular and John...well, John's fantastic!

John and Scott in OK!

Hello! I'm here today with an exclusive (we-el) interview with the one and only John Barrowman and his lovely partner: Scott Gill!

Complete with brilliant, extremely cute pictures, John's thoughts on the 'coming out of Joe McElderry' and general information on the two of them.

Here is the interview and pictures with John and Scott in Ok! Magazine.

Page One.

Page Two.

At the bottom it says:
Scott: Not plates. But I threw you against the fence once!

Page Three.

Page Four.

I still cannot get over the fact that Scott once threw John against a fence because he was flirting with another guy! Or the fact that John and Scott have a cardboard cut-out of Taylor Lautner... in their living room!

If there's anything you cannot read just let me know and I'll type it out for you... But personally I cannot wait to stick that first picture of John and Scott up on my wall!

Killers (No Spoilers)

So once again I made use of Orange Wednesdays and thus yesterday I went to see Katherine Heigl and Ashton Kutcher's new film, which you may have seen advertised on many a bus: Killers.

The film is basically about Jen (Katherine Heigl) who goes on holiday to France with her parents after recently splitting up with her boyfriend. There she meets Spencer (Ashton Kutcher) a seemingly normal but extremely attractive young man. As far as she knows he's a contractor, actually he's a contract killer and similar to the film of Stormbreaker we see him going about his daily job, out on a mission with an impressive action sequence. Deciding he wants a normal life Spencer quits his job and settles down with Jen, marrying her. Three years later his old boss attempts to get him to go back to his old job, which ends up with Spencer and Jen being chased by people they had thought to be their friends and neighbours aka Killers.

Now to be honest there wasn't really much of a plot. Reading the plot above makes the whole thing sound a bit absurd, especially seeing as much of the film was Spencer and Jen being chased by activated Killers attempting to kill them. The genre however suited the plot perfectly, I'm more of a rom-com fan myself whereas this was an action comedy, yet the comic elements were done brilliantly through the occasional funny scene, Spencer's apparent paranoia and Jen's inability to use a gun properly.

A reasonably short film it was all a bit far-fetched. I can't say too much without giving the plot away but everything was very extreme and personally I found the overall motive for the hunting down and attempted murder of Spencer to be a bit of a cop-out and didn't really work for me.

Luckily I found the funny parts were very funny and there were some brilliantly crafted scenes. My favourite being the scene set in the supermarket when Jen and Spencer search for a pregnancy test (Whilst being on the run) and Spencer's sheer but humorous paranoia.

Not the best film I've seen in a while, but perhaps worth seeing if you like a bit of action (Lots of gun shots I tell you) as well as something funny. Plus, Ashton Kutcher really is gorgeous, and spends a lot of the film topless...

Here's the trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ND69q158IZI

6.5/10

Letters to Juliet (No Spoilers)

Finally my exams are almost over which meant that yesterday I had the chance to go and see a film! Firstly, the cinema itself was amazing. I mean, it's my local cinema but thanks to Orange Wednesdays and teen tickets we only had to pay £2.35 each, madness!

Now, onto the film review.
It doesn't include spoilers, just the basic plot line and obvious happenings.


In my own words, the film was based on the story of an elder woman who goes on a hunt for her love from 50 years ago, thanks to the 'Secretaries of Juliet'. Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) is on what is supposed to be a romantic pre-wedding holiday with her fiancée. Unfortunately for her her fiancée is probably the most infuriating man you will ever come across, he is obsessed with his food and wine, so much so that he spends the whole of the holiday talking of "Win-win" situations where he gets to go to wine auctions and Sophie does whatever she likes. Romantic... yeah.

Therefore Sophie goes exploring the area they're staying in and comes across a wall where hundreds of girls come every day and leave letters "To Juliet". Four voluntary women then pick up the letters in a basket and reply to every single one of them. Sophie soon gets herself involved and finds a letter in the wall that has been there for 50 years. So what does she do? She replies of course.

A few days later a young man, Charlie (Chris Egan), turns up at the doorstep of the Secretaries of Juliet clearly not particulary happy about the fact that his grandma, Claire (Vanessa Redgrave), has received this letter and is now keen to find Lorenzo again. The rest of the film highlights Claire, Charlie and Sophie's search for the real Lorenzo in and around Verona, leading to quite hilarious results as they meet the maddest Lorenzo's on their way.

One thing that, in my opinion, was brilliant about this film were the relationships. Claire was a fascinating, lovely character who somewhat teased her grandson, Charlie. Charlie and Sophie's relationship started off as a mutual disliking which is absolutely full of sarcasm (and some great lines!) but as you can guess... developed somewhat. Now being a hopeless romantic I absolutely loved this film. I knew from the trailer that I would because it's a sweet story of their search for this man who Claire left 50 years ago, it shows the hope that Claire and Sophie both have in comparison to Charlie's complete pessimism and it's a genuinely funny film.

I think the message in the trailer just about sums the film up "The greatest love story told... is your own". Just re-watching that trailer made me remember quite how lovely a film it is, it's really one of those films that makes you feel a lot happier although if you hate romance kinda films, probably not your thing!

Can I also say that the acting really was great. I thought Amanda Seyfried was amazing in Mamma Mia so I had high expectations for this and Chris Egan was brilliant, I especially love it when foreigners use typical English accents!

Now, if you're interested, or even if you're not, here's the trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yP2V4mt4XWQ

8.5/10

The End of An Era...

Wow, 10/10 for originality in that title name.
Ah well.
In the midst of my Biology revision I thought I'd return to my blog briefly (or not so briefly as the case might be) to talk about my last few days in Compulsory Education. Okay, so this is partly a place to ramble and dump a load of photos from my last few days...

Anyhow, I'm going to try and include photos of me with all of my friends, so there will be a lot of photos... because I have a lot of friends obv :D *
* I joke, I joke.

So the school week started on a Monday, which was a pretty normal day and then Tuesday came around! Tuesday was the day we first started to take photos, technically we weren't supposed to have cameras in school until Friday but meh!

So first off here's a picture of myself and my best friend, Charis. :)
(Any pictures where uniform is involved will have been from Tuesday-Thursday. Non School Uniform is Friday alone).

Here's me and my favourite blonde girl, Natalie :D

And now here is myself and my dear friend, Katie who is leaving this year to go to college! Fortunately, the college is practically next door to me! :)



Now on the right there's a picture of me and another one of my best friends, Henna, I love her to bits and she's going away to Kendrick - the local all girls grammar school :( Pfft, clever people.





And on the left is myself and my sporty friend, Danielle. I love Dani because she's always smiling madly, just like in that picture! :)





Next is a photo of myself and Chloe who you may recognise as being @Chloechloe on twitter, if you're not following her already go follow her and encourage her to tweet more, dammit! We're both complete History geeks so really, this photo is /very/ appropriate for the two of us!




After that I have a photo from today of myself and the guy I've sat with in tutor for the past five years, he's absolutely lovely and we're both very quiet also :p (this was from today - I love his glasses!).

Finally, from the photos of me and one other is myself and Mav. Throughout GCSE we've been in different Drama groups and performed different pieces and in every single piece myself and Mav have been put together. :p


Next up are group photos. Firstly a photo of all my friends from my tutor group
Namely:
Iola
Sara
Myself
Nikki
Rea and Henna! :)

And here's the whole of my tutor group of whom I've had since Year 7! Alongside our tutor who we had from Year 7-Year 10 and our tutor who we had from Year 10-11. :)
Next up are going to be class photos! Excitement, ay?
I haven't a picture of every class so don't fear, and in fact I'll only post my two best classes! Aka History and English.
History (Action shot here!):And my English Class. At the moment this is my desktop background because I absolutely love how everyone is smiling. Unfortunately, I didn't get the one with my English teacher in it.
One last photo, this one is of some of my best friends and aka our back row in maths. :D
Hope you've ever so slightly enjoyed reading my rambling blog post about my last few days in Year 11 and Compulsory Education and I'll see you all after my exams. First one's a week today: Biology. Wish me luck!

I'm Leaving on a Jet Plane

Don't know when I'll be back again... Oh baby, I hate to go!

Now, as many of you will know I have my GCSE's coming up. In fact my first GCSE Exam this summer will either be the 3rd or 5th of May: French Speaking. Although I'm far from unintelligent I'm not the cleverest person in the world, and one thing I'm not is one of those people who just remembers everything and has no need to revise. You may have noticed how over the past week or so I have been online quite a bit less and as of tomorrow, I am attempting to stick to a busy revision schedule, the first 2 weeks look a bit like this:
Thankfully, the next two weeks look a little bit better!
Looking at those revision tables should lead onto my next point, in that I'm basically going to be leaving the world of online for the next few months until the end of June, when my exams end. I haven't permitted myself many breaks and when I do have breaks they're usually to watch TV more than anything else however I'll pop in as many times as I can.

Twitter
Unfortunately for you guys this won't be the end of me as I have twitter on my phone, thus I'll still tweet a bit when I'm out (if I'm ever out!) and also when watching TV, although I won't be able to reply to many @ replies until I come online during a break. Even then, I won't have much time to talk. I'll miss you all incredibly because all of you have become like a special family to me.
A few special mentions:
Eva - I haven't talked to you that much recently and I think that's a lot down to my lack of being online recently however I intend to make all the time that we'll lose over my exams up to you after exams are over! I'll miss talking to you tons but look out for the next section (facebook). My msn name is going to be fixed on 186 days now, so it'll seem like ages whenever you see my offline msn name, but it's gonna speed up after exams! :D
Claire - I'll miss you too! I'll be able to text you from time to time though, it may take me ages to reply and I may forget but I'll do my best. Happy just over 2 months btw!
Grekky - Hello you, we haven't talked in like... forever either, have a great next few months and make sure you and Carmel don't get married without me!
Suzanne - I love our evil John and Desperate Housewives conversations and will miss those tons, I'll definitely be logging in from time to time or tweeting from my phone just to *squee* at John in Desperate Housewives! Thanks for being lovely. :)
Hayz - Hope you have a great next few months, will miss you and your 'RIKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK''s!
Jen and Shannen - I swear I haven't talked to either of you in absolutely ages! Have fun at the Hub 4 which I believe is very soon and make sure you let Kai and Gareth know how much I love them. :D :p
Juebejue - If you ever read this (which I doubt) I'll miss your wallies! Will definitely have to log in from time to time just to see them. :D
James - No idea if you'll read this either but have a great few months and thanks for hating Hayley! I needed someone to hate her with xD
Everyone else - Cop out I know, but to everyone else such as Nic, Anna and every other lovely person I've met on twitter: Hope you have a brilliant few months and I look forward to my occasional trips online to speak to you all :)

Facebook
You'll be glad to know this section won't consist of memo's! Just wanted to let you all know that if you want to contact me, aside from texting, facebook is probably your best bet, drop me a wall post or facebook message whenever you like and in my breaks I'll always check. I would actually really appreciate it if people did drop me messages because the next few months are going to be very depressing and I'm not really going to do much socialising so it'd be lovely to log on once a while and be able to talk to people. :')

Forums
Forum-wise I will still be vaguely active, especially those I'm a moderator on, so you still might see me around there. Also Mikah, if you're reading this: sorry that my blog won't be updated very often! But I think I've done alright so far, would you think so? As soon as my exams are over I should have tons of time to update. =]

Congratulations if you've managed to read all this! Hope everyone has great few months whilst I'm slaving away at all that revision (yay!). Please let me know if you have read this just so I'm aware that you know where I've disappeared to! Good bye! :)

The Bounty Hunter (No Spoilers)

I saw this film last Saturday so I'm afraid that already my mind's a little rusty but I'm going to give this review my best shot. :')

I'm going to start with saying: What a brilliant film! I absolutely loved it!


I first found out about this film when this picture was taken:

However, I had no idea what it was about. Eventually I watched the trailer and knew I had to see it! First of all it stars Gerard Butler (<3) and Jennifer Aniston, both of whom are incredible actors and secondly it is incredibly funny, comedy at its best with some truly fantastic scenes. Now, from what I've heard from reviews, they tend to have not thought too highly of this film. Why? I have no idea! Apparently Aniston and Butler's acting is a whole lot better than the film itself was. Jennifer Aniston and Gerard Butler's brilliant acting is partly what made the film so good!

Now, although the plot's not 100% realistic (really, what film is these days? :p) it still worked at all times. Mostly though this film was about the comedy. Although there were times when things were finally looking good for Milo and Nicole, typically that had to be sabotaged and of course there was one of those annoying obsessive characters that tend to appear in movies. Other then that though, the film was pure brilliance and if you're into Romantic-Comedies I would definitely recommend it.

With Alice and Wonderland it was the kind of film that was good the first time but I wouldn't watch again... The Bounty Hunter I intend to buy on DVD.

Here's a link to the trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czXE0aALfek

9.5/10

John Barrowman (The Album).

Back again! So typically my next post is only a couple of days later (well okay, when I first started writing this post it was only a couple of days later!) and even more typically I'm going to be reviewing John Barrowman's new album! Okay, so perhaps I may be a little biased but I'll still only be giving my own opinion! xP

Track One: When I Get My Name In Lights (The Boy From Oz):
When this song starts, it always reminds me of another song of John's: It Only Takes A Moment, so as soon as he starts singing, it always momentarily confuses me, however I love what the song is about. It suits him completely and it really does stand out as the kind of song that would be perfect for a younger John. I love the energy that builds up through the song and feel somewhat like he should be skipping along as he sings... just me? Yeah, I thought so. "This boy was born to strut the stage" is a very typical John line, especially the way he says 'strut' if you ask me. xD

Track Two: One Night Only (Dreamgirls):
I do like the instrumental start to this song although the beginning in general doesn't hook me, even when it gets to the chorus. Probably one of my least favourite songs in the album, however it gets a lot better later on in the song, when John starts singing "You want all my love, and my devotion" and the song completely picks up! I feel myself singing along a lot more when the song picks up!

Track Three: CopaCabana (Copacabana):
I have listened to this song the most out all the songs on this album... Okay, so maybe that's because I got hold of it first and spent ages putting a youtube video to it (which you should watch! Go watch! I've even attached it to this blog post so you have no excuse!).
But it's also partly because it's an amazing song! And as John himself says "Who wouldn't want to hear a song about a showgirl called Lola!?" Like Barry, John puts a lot of energy into this song yet still manages to make the song his own and I absolutely love the line "There was blood and a single gunshot, but just who shot who!?", very glad John does that line properly. Fantastic song. :D


Track Four: I Won't Send Roses (Mack and Mabel)
It's funny, because I know this song is dedicated to Scott, I can't listen to it without thinking of how it's dedicated to Scott, same with 'You Don't Have To Say You Love Me' from the last album! Again, it's not my favourite song ever but it's certainly not bad and John certainly sings it with emotion (something he's good at!). The last note is beautiful. :)

Track Five: Memory (Cats):
Firstly, I love the way this piece starts, musically. I've seen the Musical myself (In Oxford!) and didn't think much of it, however I don't really remember it that well seeing as I saw it many many years ago. This song, though, is certainly a gem and in my opinion, John does a very good cover. His voice suits it surprisingly well and he definitely does such a good song (from a pretty bad musical :p) justice. "When the dawn comes, tonight will be a memory too" has to be my favourite line and I love the way John suddenly picks it up on "And a new day will begin" soon after. Followed by the last chorus where he truly puts his everything into it. The music in the background throughout is beautiful, I really quite love this song! :)

Track Six: The Kid Inside (Is There Life After High School?):
This song is very John, and reminds me of a lot of my friends also actually. I like the meaning behind this song and John sings it well; it suits him also. I reckon this song will sum me up when I'm older. The chorus is definitely my favourite part of this song and I can just picture mini John beckoning the older John to his own secret garden as such (weird, I know).

Track Seven: My Eyes Adored You (Jersey Boys):
Now, I'd never seen or heard any tracks from Jersey Boys before now but the two that are on this album are amazing! I love them both. When I listen to this song, sadly enough, I like to think John's singing to Scott about when he first met him, I wouldn't be surprised if that was the case! The song starts off quite gently, one thing I do like about this song is the lyrics.

Track Eight: Don't Cry Out Loud (The Boy From Oz):
When I first heard this song, I'll admit I didn't like it much "Baby cried the day the circus came to town" kind of put me off. This song always reminds me of Effy from Skins "She didn't want parades just passing by" (series four). However, after a bit this song began to grow on me. It's very calm and quite subtle, but overall very beautiful. The song also gets a hell of a lot better when John really goes for it (I'm sensing a pattern in my reviews here!). Not my favourite on the album but a good song nonetheless and it has a circular structure. xD

Track Nine: So Close (Enchanted) Duet With Jodie Prenger:
Now, I admit when I first heard this song I did not like it one bit. I first heard it on Elaine Page and tuned in half way through the song, after the show I went back to listen to CopaCabana again and again but didn't even touch So Close. I was disappointed because with two amazing singers singing such a brilliant song I expected a lot more. However, when the album came out I re-listened to it again and again and realised that I actually quite like it. I still stand by what I said about it not being as good as Daniel Boys' version (which is incredible, listen to it), yet it has definitely grown on me and I think I would love to hear it live. Jodie starts off well, as does John, although in general I don't think the song really suits Jodie's voice; she always just seems like a Nancy to me!

Track Ten: Unusual Way (Nine):
Now this is probably my least favourite song on the album. Not because John doesn't smash it, considering people had doubts of him doing it he managed it incredibly well; I'm just not too keen on the song itself. Still, John manages to make it sound good and the end is amazing. :')

Track Eleven: You'll Never Walk Alone (Carousel):
When Eva and I listened to the clip of this song on Amazon I remember we were both getting the goosebumps and thankfully the rest of the song lived up to my expectations. John sings this song so well and you can really feel the emotion that he was feeling, brilliant.

Track Twelve: The Winner Takes It All (Mamma Mia):
As soon as I heard this song was on the album I knew I was going to love it. I've no idea what the original sounds like (although I know I must have heard it before) however, I adore McFly's version and if I like McFly's version I am sure to LOVE John's! Thankfully John didn't let me down, his version is incredible! When I first listened to it and it got to about half way I was hoping so much that he would completely go for it at the end Chorus and he really did, fantastic fantastic fantastic! This song honestly gives me the butterflies (for some strange reason), John's emotion in it is brilliant. I can find no faults, except perhaps the fact that he really does look quite a bit too much like Hugh Grant in the video ;) The Winner Takes It All is also my new ringtone. :D

Track Thirteen: Oh What A Night (Jersey Boys):
I absolutely adore this song, although it always makes me unknowingly figure out that actually John can't be singing about a night from '63 seeing as he was yet to be born then. :p I love the energy in this song, and like The Winner Takes It All, it is also my ringtone (I have two :D). There's a small part just before he gets to the chorus where he says the line "Yeah, my...", well apparently it's "And I..." which sounds a lot like "Yeah, my", and every-time my heart jumps because I think he's singing "Yema" just like "my" rather than "Ma" (listen and you might see what I mean)! I can just imagine John singing this song on tour, the energy suits him brilliantly. Fantastic song. :D

iTunes Exclusive: The Doctor and I
Ahh, how could I not love this song? It was a really lovely idea for John to do and I actually much prefer it to the original! I can't listen to 'The Wizard and I' without singing the lyrics to 'The Doctor and I' instead. The song is obviously written from a mix of Jack and John's perspectives of the Doctor, "As part of tv's favourite team" and I think that really works, his admiration really shines through. It is a teensy bit Doctor/Jack and I bet John saw that but none of us are complaining about that. :')

Album Rating: 9/10

Alice In Wonderland.

Wow, I didn't realise it was so long ago since my first blog post! So sorry, I honestly just haven't had any inspiration on what more to write! If you have any ideas do let me know and I'll form a blog post around it; it can be whatever you like. :)

But as for now I'm going to talk about the film I went to see today: Alice in Wonderland.

This Blog Post Does Not Contain Spoilers!



Now, not being a great Disney fan I didn't have huge expectations although I definitely had a few considering the quality of actors used in this film, and I can fortunately say that Alice in Wonderland exceeded them. I loved the humour that the film included, especially towards the beginning which really added to the brilliance that was yet to come and made the former scenes seem a lot less boring than they probably were.

I thought Johnny Depp was brilliant as the mad hatter, simply incredible in fact. Matilde pointed out to me the way that he changed his accent a lot but I thought that added to the effect of him being completely and utterly bonkers!

I thought Stephen Fry as the Chesire Cat was brilliant, and I did love a bit of Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee! I also thought Mia Wasikowska was very good as Alice and I quite loved the White Rabbit, although slightly predictably the best acting in my eyes was Johnny Depp, a brilliant performance.

Like a lot of films these days, I did feel a bit discontented at the end (a bit like this blog, really!), like it could have done with something more. The ending was very cheesy and did make me cringe a little but other than that I would recommend going to see it. I didn't see it in 3D and was still quite impressed, although I wouldn't buy it on DVD I wouldn't mind seeing it again one day.

7.5/10

The Winner Takes It All

Well, hey; I needed a title! And hopefully the one I've got has caught your attention if not then you've obviously got better things to do with your time.

I, however, haven't!

Well, technically I have but I'm not the most sensible person ever which is why I have resorted back to my old Blogging Days! In making my own blog I unfortunately appear to have destroyed Tom Beasley's, I do apologise Tom... Blame Barrowman!

Now, I realise that wasn't the most interesting start to my new blog ever but currently I have nothing interesting to write about seeing as nothing thrilling has happened in the life of Yema recently. I went back to school today after Half Term, all the teachers now have to wear iD cards with their picture on them, which is quite funny to be honest! Cheryl and Ashley Cole appear to have split (finally), bet Simon Cowell's gutted he's getting married now Cheryl's back on the market... Sorry. Couldn't resist.

About Me
So, if you don't know me well, don't know me at all or you just want to find out more about me, this is the section to keep a close eye on! Even if you think you know me as well as Kristen Stewart knows how to act (sorry) you may find out something new!

All questions I am stealing from my Torchwood Magazines (The Close Call Section).

What Would You Be Called If You'd Been Born a Boy? With this question, probably Sean. Seeing as that's my brother's name and I was born before him. If not, my mum liked the name Xavier which I also love.

What Is Your Best Subject at School? English is my favourite subject but I think I might be best at History.

Who Was Your First Celebrity Crush?
James Bourne. Busted were the first 'celebrities' I ever came across and I absolutely adored him although at my young age I often couldn't tell the difference between him and Charlie! I still love him now.

What Was The Last Text Message You Got?
"Neither have I, but it's his most famous work." From Tom Beasley, I recieve the most interesting text messages!

Who Would You Like To Be Stuck In A Lift With?
Do I need to answer that one? No? Didn't think so! If you're wondering: John Barrowman or David Tennant. ;)

Who Would You Least Like To Be Stuck In A Lift With?
Any sorta criminal, or creepy guy or terrorist? xP

What Was Your Biggest Fashion Disaster?
I don't even want to talk about it.

What's The Best Thing Since Sliced Bread?
Twitter.

Describe Yourself in 3 Words
Tired, cold, BarrowmanBlamer

Any Famous Last Words?
Your life's but a sham, until you can say... Hey World, I Am What I Am!

Some Basic more Interesting Details

Also, just a few more things you may want to know about me:
My name is Yema, I'm 16 Years old and I live in the UK. I'm in Year 11 and have recently chosen my A-Levels: English Lit, History, Sociology and English Lang if you're interested.

Favourite TV Shows: Torchwood, Doctor Who, Waterloo Road, Tonight's The Night, Dancing on Ice, X Factor/BGT (I know), My Family, Peep Show, Skins, The Inbetweeners, The Bubble, Would I Lie To You?, Friday Night with Jonathan Ross, The Apprentice, Queer as Folk, Secret Smile, Life on Mars.

Top 12 Music Arists: John Barrowman, McFly, Westlife, Lostprophets, blink-182, Ronan Keating, The Click Five, Daniel Boys, Busted, Daniel Bedingfield, James Bourne, James Marsters.

And that's about it tbh. I also love to read, but I haven't listed favourite books - I read too much. I'm a complete Whovian/Woodie and I'm in love with both John Barrowman and David Tennant!

I've kept that as short as possible so as not to completely bore you in my First New Blog Post! Do drop in again sometime to check out any new and more interesting Blog Posts I may have made!

Yema :) x