First of all, to get Amy off my case, examine picture of one teenage son ENGAGED in the repair of HIS car.

Now, he may not have learned enough to crew chief at the next NASCAR wingding, but I took the comment to heart that I was not teaching my young men in the manly arts of impact wrenches and power tools.

What began as a simple and straightforward one hour change of tranny and differential fluid turned into, surprise surprise, a two day ordeal. I see a pattern developing here in cyberspace, it couldn’t be that all MY car projects take longer and are more involved than originally estimated, now could it. I’m sure no one else encounters such things in the project portfolio. It couldn’t possibly have anything to do with the ugly combination of pathological optimism and absolutely no fear anything made of steel.

So what happened? Well, thanks for asking.  I noticed while underneath that one of the shocks was dripping oil. Hmmmmm, that coupled with the squirrely freeway driving behavior indicated blown shock(s). Well, if you’re gonna change one, might as well change ‘em all. Right?

The rears were no prob. 30 minutes each, even with Jr. helping. The fronts however were a different story. For you gearheads, they are McPherson struts, and yes I knew that I had to compress the springs to get them out and the new ones in. After all, I have not one but two sets of spring compressors in the previously mentioned well stocked roll away.

It WAS a good plan, till neither set of compressors would fit in the tee ninesy space where the spring was located. Ok, no problem. Let’s use Plan B. Plan B is a little more redneck, but after all, you go with what you know. Plan B is remove the suspension components on the lower side, take impact wrench and release the nut on the top. All the pent up force of the compressed spring will cause it to come out just fine thank you very much. We did such a thing, and Jr was impressed with the commotion the spring made when released.

The trick to Plan B is to use a floor jack and carefully force the new strut and assembly back into place. It’s always worked before, but, uh……………., not this time. Too much front wheel drive stuff in the way to use the jack.

Hence starts the challenge. Four hours later, we were no closer to getting the strut back in than we we started. It’s dark, and getting cold. Jr has a date, but is too smart to mention it in Dad’s now delicate state of frustration.

Things sometimes look better with a few beers and sleep. So that was the formula I used to approach this little ankle biter. Here is the solution.

We made these hooks out of 1/4 steel bar complements of the local HD. Using the spring compressors, we compressed the springs and put the hook/keepers in place. Cept, of course it took about four trys to get it right, but that’s just trivial knuckle busting details.

Once the spring is compressed and the strut installed, we used the jack to lift that wheel, compressing the spring, and allowing us to remove the hooks.

Well, that only took about six hours to do one of the fronts. We used the jack to compress the second one, installed the hooks, removed and replaced the strut and buttoned the whole thing back up in twenty minutes. That was one steep learning curve.

Hopefully Jr will remember the innovation and not the frustration, and certainly not remember any of the unintended vocabulary expansion encountered whilst wrenching.

And just to prove his manliness, here is proof of Jr. using the impact wrench.

After asking Luke about the compassionate and sentimental side of the story would be like, he gave me a list of relationships that will be the main focus of the movie. And wow, quite frankly saying there will be a lot just doesn’t come close:

Oroku Saki & Oroku Nagi

Oroku Saki & Hamato Yoshi

Hamato Yoshi & Tang Shen

Turtles & Splinter

Turtles & Turtles

Baxter & Wife/Daughter

^ Yes this is good, very good, finally some interaction between ‘each other’ in this movie. Honestly I’ve felt things grow cold between the turtles, and even between Splinter. While not all these relationships feature love and growth as a family (such as the turtles will have in the movie), each will have a unique theme from the other. Take Oroku Saki and Hamato Yoshi for example, it will be of conflict and how things turned for the worse between them. With some detailed information about these relationships we can clear your thoughts of doubts and idea’s you may think will be relevant to the purpose of each relationship, but for now, I’m afraid you’ll just have to keep those doubts and idea’s till the time that I do have the information XD.

- – - – - – - -

Well changing the subject, let’s talk about the turtles weapons and how the turtles weapons greatly match their personalities:

So where did they get their weapons, was Splinter involved?

As the person who trained the turtles and understands their abilities and character better than anyone, Splinter would have also decided who shall use which weapon. Ensuring the right turtle receives the right weapon is a huge responsibility. The sword is suited for a different personality than the sai, and only the right personality will bring out the weapon’s true potential. This is something only a ninja master would know, like Splinter.

So why were the turtles chosen to use their weapons?

The first thing that must be done is to analyze each weapon to better understand how they would compliment the user. The weapons in our vision are their own character and possess their own personality. In a sense, this allows us to create a relationship between each turtle and their weapon. The more they understand each other, the more powerful they will become together.

CONTINUE READING.

Truly, now that I’ve viewed that article, I can see why each weapon was chosen for each turtle. Now, if only I can see a REAL ninja turtle action scene, far more played out and detailed (I even hope to see some matrix styled action 83) then even the latest CGI-Film released back in 2007.

Okay guys, that’s it for now, stay tuned for the next update =D.

In the interests of transparency , I’ll just say now that I know Emily and that we have been online buddies for quite a long time.

Okay, now that’s out of the way, I’m going to share with you my love of this book.  It wouldn’t matter whether I knew the author or not… Girl Aloud stands proud, on its own as a brilliant teenage read.

Kass Kennedy has a nightmare for a father… he wants her to enter X-Factor.  Kass can’t sing, isn’t old enough to qualify and has absolutely no desire to be famous.  All she wants is to be left to be herself.  Fat chance!  Throw in a really annoying brother, a distanced mother and a boy with brown boots… fantastic!

Girl Aloud looks from the outset as though it’s a hilarious tale about a girl fighting with her dad, falling out with her friends and lusting after a gorgeous boy.  It’s wrapped in a shocking pink cover and has shiny stuff all over it.  But I know I have taught you all better than that… never judge a book by its cover!

Girl Aloud is an incredible portrayal of a teenager living with a parent suffering from mental illness.  Kass has to deal with her father’s almost bi-polar moods and she’s teetering on a knife edge for most of the story.  She can’t just yell at him that she won’t do X-Factor because it may send him back to the pyjama wearing moper he was before… and none of the family want that!  It all rests on her shoulders, go along with his manic hare-brained scheme to keep him “up” or else disappoint him and they all have to suffer the consequences.   Girl Aloud is a dark comedy full of bittersweet self-effacing humour that I was regularly on the verge of tears for Kass and her dilemmas. The problems she has to face are so well executed that I felt the highs and lows of Kass’s problems vividly.   Not only does she have to juggle her fathers mood swings but her mother is withdrawn and as for her brother… well, he has his own troubles – and somehow Kass has to help him too!

This is an awesome novel and I was thoroughly absorbed by it (so much so, I forgot to pick my child up from school!!!).  It also features guest appearances by Simon Cowell as Kass’s dream judge… and he’s very helpful in his commenting!  It has some utterly hilarious moments as well as some heartbreaking ones – but I assure you, you’ll not be able to put it down until you see how it all turns out.

Here’s a video of Emily reading from Girl Aloud which I highly recommend you watch (she reads extremely well!)

Girl Aloud by Emily Gale. ISBN : 9781906427207.

Hi, it’s me – but just who is me? Don’t worry I ask myself the same question sometimes…you see the true answer is I really don’t know. I don’t know who I am anymore, not at all. But hey, maybe that implies I once knew…which wouldn’t exactly be correct.

I used to be a strong, healthy and rather independent teenager, your normal kind of guy , not the attention seeking mother fucker I am going to look like by posting this. But trust me – I don’t want attention, what I do want is to explain some stuff and get a lot of things off my chest, so if anyone at all ever stumbles upon this blog, you will know at least a little bit about what has brought me to this point. In return for reading this blog I promise to be completely honest with you about my life and thoughts, you have my word.

“I don’t expect them to understand but I do expect them to listen…”

I was a pretty fucked up kid ^^, after all – wouldn’t you be if you had been abused by your own father? Yeah you heard it, fuck it, I don’t care anymore what people think of me. Sometimes I feel like it was my fault and maybe it was but I said i’d be completely honest with you and I think the fact I was raped when I was young may be the reason for who I am now…kind of like a knock on effect.

“Just like a sick game of dominos…”

Sometimes I lay awake at night with the memories running through my head, again and again…they just won’t stop. I still have poems that I wrote when I was seven about him…

“I feel his stare as he strips me bare, turns me over and rips off my underwear…”

“Why will no-one believe me even when they see the bruises he leaves me?”

“My head bangs the bed, blood drips from me where i’ve bled, please god, please let him beat me dead”

Ok, so I was seven…i’m a lot better of a writer now. Probably the one thing I am actually good at nowadays. I’m sorry if people think I am being stupid by posting stuff like this but I am doing this for me, not you.

“Over the sea to Jura…lmao “

Eventually my mum found out what he was doing to me after a trip to the doctors. I can’t remember the whole trip but I do remember little bits…lying on the table while three shadows looked over me, examining every bit of me for scratches, marks…scars that I still own.

“Grab a spade, dig your grave and fucking lie in it”

Sometimes I have dreams of killing him or to be specific…making him kill himself – Right infront of me. Slitting his throat and watching the blood run down his chest onto the floor, then I pick him up while he’s stuggling to breathe and throw him into the fire…watching him writhe as his face slowly slides from his skull.

I hate myself for feeling like this…i’m just as bad as him and you know the worst part…when I think about doing this to him, I smile.

=’[…

From the best ways to the thriving business a clothes shop is one thing. The fashionable clothes, in accordance with the latest trend, it always shot into the ten. Clothes, it goods by commodities most often bought. In it especially women which they adore are unsurpassable to buy new clothes still. Every woman likes to feel fashionably, to be admired and to emphasize one’s advantages of the femininity. Clothes are able to cause, that seemingly grey mouse, they are turning into the sexy and full of the charm woman. Clothes constitute the most important factor of the good image of the man. The very, therefore in many companies such a great weight is being attached to the appearance of workers. Principles determining exactly how workers of the company should get dressed are ruling in many places of employment and of what they aren’t allowed to establish. Stiff principles of clothes are in effect above all at banks and offices. In the private life the dress is also very important. Clothes we are wearing which are usually reflecting our character, the manner or the group we belong to which. Clothes are important in every century. Different for children, different for young people, still different for older persons, but each time equally essential. Shops of clothes are prospering very well on the today’s market. Of large commercial and clothing houses it is more and more throughout the country. Poles also made a fortune of a few own clothing lines which very well are competing around with the ones from foreign countries. Clothes which we are buying usually, is produced in China where production costs are really low. Thanks to that, also the closing price isn’t very high and it causes that we can get dressed fashionably and buy new clothes still. Shops of clothes are a favourite hang-out of all women, having begun from of the ones teenage, having finished on womenmade out.

Something splendid in this night
butterfly nostalgia and pretending
we aren’t still teenagers

I haven’t worked these fingers
in too long, not like this
not wrenching them inside my chest

How is it that my words
continue to come out of your mouth?
I haven’t heard sweet in savoury

in too long

Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow and North Ayrshire are the most affected cities in Scotland by a ‘retro’ pandemic: teenage pregnancy.

No doubt, it is getting a bigger problem every year in Scotland just like heavy drinking (which means more than eight units a day for men and six units a day for women on at least one day a week) especially among youngsters. Although NHS does not hold specific statistics about this issue GPs and nurses seem to caress the idea that there might be a connection.

Also, 5 out of 5 interviewees agreed that heavy drinking can end up in a baby. One even admitted that two of his three daughters got pregnant at the ages of 18 and 19 as a result of under-age drinking – though he also stated that it is not only drinking but other factors such as growing up early, the eager feeling to be an adult, video games, films and also music contribute to this problem.

Another factor is the social attitude towards under-age drinking. Opinions of people vary considering the context and the age of youngsters.

There is also more and more pressure on young people to act like adults, to take drugs, have sexual lives and to drink. Teenagers are often worried about being discriminated by fellows if they do not live this unhealthy and mostly dangerous lifestyle.

In 2001, concerns grew to reduce harmful drinking among young people in Scotland after they experienced a rise in teenagers` alcohol-misuse. The same year, Alcoholics Anonymus has also reported an increase in the number of its patients – including some 15-year-old persons.

According to the Alcohol Statistics Scotland 40% of 15 year-old boys and 46% of 15 year-old girls reported drinking in the past week, while 13 year-olds’ alcohol consumption in the past week has doubled.Over 42 per cent of young men aged 16 to 24 and 36 per cent of young women had exceeded the recommended quantity on at least one day during the previous week. (If not stated, data are from ONS – Office for National Statistics).

The aforementioned heavy drinking is also more common among young people: 31 per cent of men and 22 per cent of women aged 16 to 24 had drunk heavily on at least one day during the previous week.

Keeping in mind what effects can alcohol have – that is: from significantly impairing judgement and coordination, not being able to control behaviour and/or not even being aware of what one is doing, to more major problems such as deafness, stroke or -as in our case- unwanted pregnancy – let us consider some other statistic figures of teenagers.

68.5 per cent of people in their `bloom of youth` (that is: adolescents) has had one or more sexual partners in Great Britain in 2007. Out of this, only 59.5 per cent used contraception. Breaking it down to Scotland: 58.6 per cent of mothers giving birth in 2007 were under the age of 20. The numbers speak for themselves… Will this ever change? Is there a way this problem can be solved?

Well, one thing that could work is prevention. Preventing alcohol- abuse and also pregnancy. Scotland is in a very fortunate situation regarding the latter, as contraception is for free and is easy to obtain; but let us just start with the least radical factor: alcohol consumption. There is a project of the Boston University School of Public Health, that is supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation that may help grasping the problem at its very roots: an Alcohol Assessment Quiz which can be found at the http://www.alcoholscreening.org/ website.

Follow the link: Righteous Ninja

DueceZ (David J. Benson) is the performer this time, awesome… >:D

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Here’s the other article of interest, details on how the previous Ninja Turtle movies were a success and why THIS movie can be an even GREATER success: Ninja Turtles: Secret of the Movie

Sample:

What made the turtles a success in the past?

Ninja Turtles were a huge hit with children in the late 1980’s. The concept of a “ninja” was very exciting and still relatively new to American culture. Ninja Turtles had everything a child would want to see all wrapped up into one show, ninjas, mutants, pizza, skate boards, and funny jokes. In contrast, shows like GI-JOE were more true to life. The superhero genre had not yet taken off in the way it has over the last decade as a result, the audience was not as spoiled by special effects and big budget productions as they are today.

In 1990 the first live action movie was made for the relatively small price of 13.5 million and grossed a little over 200 million worldwide. It was the first successful live action movie that began as an animated series. People were excited to see their Saturday morning heroes come to life on the big screen. However, as Ninja Turtles grew more popular, more hands went in the decision making pot. Passion and creativity were slowly replaced by a committee of businessmen. It was unfortunate that the next three films did not find the same success as their predecessor.

Our challenge is to bring back the fire and excitement that people had for the first live action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie.

All for now guys, stay tuned for the next updates =D.

Internet relationships are not real /
Your heart people steal but identities conceal /
So here’s a tale of warning for girls and boys /
Laptop computers can be dangerous toys
“Internet Relationships (Are Not Real Relationships)” – MC Lars

Back in 2009 after our brief trip to a decade previous this past eight days. And what have I learned from it? Well, ostensibly never to try anything like this ever again.

It may be fine to look back on days of yore when contented and happy with your lot years later but that’s just not me. I’m a depressive, I’ve spent more of the decade single than with anybody, I’m still stuck in the same town and I don’t seem to have learnt anything from my eighteen year old idiocy.

Of course, I am aware of what a whining bore I sound here but when I started the ‘project’ I genuinely had no idea how miserable it would make me feel. Even with pithy italicised sub-notes it still made me feel incredibly alone, not just for lost love but not taking advantage of so many avenues open at the time.

Then again, I find the relationships I’ve cultivated best and for the longest time over the last ten years have been those folks I’ve met and gotten to know online – something simply not really possible in my world ten years ago. Indeed, of my Facebook contacts over 70% are folks I met first on the internet – something my parents have always been bemused by.

It’s not that I’m horrifically anti-social and loathe human contact, I just feel that I’m a very hard person to like and I suffer fools appallingly despite being one myself. At least four of my very best friends I first met online – one based in London, another in Liverpool and the other two from…oh some fucking place or other down there. (Lincolntham or something. Granthshire?) There’s also the giant in Wigan, the hippie in another part of London, the writer from Wolverhampton (and his lovely other half), them two chaps who live together in an even further part of London and of course, you. Whoever you are.

Told ten years back that this would be the case, I would have been incredibly sceptical despite being a firm supporter of the internet (where would it have been without me, eh?) in 1999 when it only really started to become a viable means of communication in my world.

Then again, saying all that I think I keep in contact with my entire remaining group of hometown friends via Twitter and Facebook anyway, both of which have slowly brought what I’d laughably call “normal” people round to the idea of “internet relationships”. Maybe things have changed for the better. Maybe not.

But internet relationships ARE bloody real relationships, MC Lars. Just dont send them a photo of your cock. Well, not too soon anyway…

Not even 'Edward' should go around biting.

I think Twilight fans are a bit much. I’m not against them– I’ve read all the books and seen the movies. I do see why they like it, but I think the obsession can get a little extreme.

I thought they were creepy but never THIS creepy. A girl watching New Moon in Michigan was actually bitten this weekend while watching New Moon. It wasn’t a sexy nibble gone wrong or a hungry moviegoer who mistook her for a snack but a 45 year old pervert sitting in the seat behind her.

He didn’t break the skin, and he hasn’t been caught yet. I assume she’ll be too creeped out to go to the movies anytime soon. I’m sure I would be too (after being disinfected, sanitized and had my tetanus shot)

Though it might seem that most of the girls are into vampires with the Twilight, True Blood and Vampire Diaries craze I hope biting doesn’t become the new pick up line. Unless you’re Robert Pattison  and she has a Twilight tattoo, I’m pretty sure it won’t work.

via Perez

As it’s been getting closer to Thanksgiving,I’ve been thinking more and more about the last year. I think I ate Thanksgiving dinner with my left hand. That was just after my little plate collision with my right elbow.

 I was about to turn 18. 

Earlier in that month of Nov. I had become a rebelutionary,after reading the book by Alex and Brett Harris. I wanted to do hard things. I just wasn’t sure how. How do you search for hard things to do?

 Little did I know then that I didn’t have to look but identify the situation. I got many chances to do hard things.

I got to suffer a little pain,colds,the flu and bloody noses,until just breathing was hard.

I got to stand up for what I believe in. Stand up for truth. Even one of those harder things;myself. 

I got to gain and lose all friends,as some came from far away and then all moved far away. I was given opportunities for some wonderful good times,and to lay them down when they were done. 

I learned that trusting gets you hurt,but to trust anyways;especially a God who loves me.

 I had many simple moments in thanks of Him; like water droplets on the grass,like the sound of rain falling,like bright warm sunshine,and the stars at 5:30.

 Chances to sing and teach Sunday School. Wonderful times with my pastor’s family.

 Having my charge run and hug me when I pick her up from Head Start.

I really can’t complain when I get sugar in my water instead of salt. Having a matched pair of escorts is pretty handy. Even getting patted on the head. Overwhelming opinions and protection.

Good food and a warm house.

The unexpected circumstances that turn into grand adventures.

 All in all it’s been an exciting year.

          It’s life and I’m thankful for a chance to live it.

Here’s two shots from a fashion spread in Teen Vogue’s December issue; while I didnt post all the shots from the shoot I found these to be best, looking at it I find it so refreshing and only makes me wish that my peers did actually dress like. I love the second shot the styling reminds me of life size Bratz dolls.

Loves it!

Styling: Nancy Rohde

Photography By: Jason Kibbler

IMG|SOURCE: Mdls

by Rajdeep D

The first time I saw her was at a computer lab in the university. I was trying to get a free computer to sit at and finish my oh-so-important English assignment. I am sure that I was gaping at her with my mouth open when she walked in with her friend. Somehow, I did manage to close my mouth when she looked my way. “Smooth move player!”, I said to myself rolling my eyes towards the heavens.

Yes, there were times I wanted to go up to her and say “Hi!” or something along that line. I mean, I do have the courage to do that but I couldn’t bring myself to do that. Why? We will come to that later.

The next time I saw her was a week after my gaping incident. I remember she was in the Cafeteria and I was sitting at the table beside hers with my friends. I couldn’t help but look at her. I know, I know, I sound like a teenager. But well, as I said before, I couldn’t help it. A really weird idea came to my head. What if I paid one of the mamas in the Cafeteria and sent a drink (Obviously Mountain Dew or Coke or something. What were you expecting?) to her?

But alas, I couldn’t bring myself to do that either!

Why? I’ll tell you why.

It is not the fear of rejection that bugged me. It is the fear of what she might think of me that bothered me. Let’s face it; we live in a conservative society. She might just think that I am a pervert or worse a “bokhate”. I wouldn’t want that now, would I? We learn what the society teaches us. But, we end being a bunch of hypocrites behind a veil of niceness. We still can’t express how we feel about each other. We are close, yet so far.

I would be happy just being friends with her. Not everything in the world is about scoring a girlfriend or a boyfriend. I do believe that platonic relationships do occur in the real world.

I didn’t see my beautiful stranger ever again after that day. Now I am writing this dismal article expressing my regret.

You know what? If you like someone let them know it. Go to the town !!

Sometimes, it is better to be sorry than safe.

THE STORY SO FAR – Exams are looming and Ben needs to make some tough decisions about his future, not to mention his increasingly serious long-term relationship. And does he? Does he bollocks…

July 3rd 1999
Went to Sam’s for a barbeque but in the end, just grilled food indoors. Watched Crash [The original car crash grim sex drama]. A load of shite in my opinion.

July 4th 1999 Breeze Festival
Ok but poo bands really. Rosita were good as were Sugar Daddy and Bellatrix. Missed Bis though! Grr! E-17 headlined and were pelted with everything! HA HA

July 10th 1999 Mark [Clare’s uncle] and Louise’s Wedding
Clare looked beautiful as she left this morning, very Snow White. I went for the night do where her family and their friends were nice to me and we had a pop trivia quiz. [One bloke in particular wouldn’t let it go which got a bit heated and nearly came to blows over bloody Wham! Of all bands…]

July 11th 1999
I got a mobile phone! I got a mobile phone! Wherever I lay my phone that’s my home, I got a mobile phooooooooooooooooooone! An Orange Pay As You Go one too, thanks to a pub promotion [Ironically, my Dad didn’t want it as he felt they were unnecessary. He soon changed his tune - now he doesn’t even have a landline!]

July 12th 1999
Bought Ricky Martin (Livin’ La Vida Loca) – sad but I love it. Daz found out his new girlfriend who we thought was 17 is actually 27. I think she might be a man too (never met the poor bitch) [Nor did we ever – a lot of chinny reckon here I think] Clare went to her old school’s [I think it says “femday” – any ideas?] and won me a Rude Dog toy (as in the Dweebs! Class!)

July 17th 1999
Bought Belle and Sebastian’s “Tigermilk”. Fantastico. 9/10. Love it to pieces! [And indeed it remains my favourite album of all time]

July 19th 1999
Watched Star Wars Episode One. Was okay. [It bloody wasn't]

July 25th 1999
Went to Garden Centre where I saw snakes. Boo!

July 28th 1999
Got mega job / future lecture from Dad. Fucked off but deservedly. I NEED A JOB! Applied Our Price, Jack Fultons, Newsagents, Body Shop and In-Step.

[I don’t think it was deservedly. I was a lazy tosser who made no idea attempt to hide the fact. As for now…um…shut up…]

August 11th 1999

August 17th 1999
Clare sulked cos I went to town without her and I don’t know where she’s gone now. Bought new “A” LP. Played cards.

August 25th 1999
Got a job!!!! Walkers Leisure Bingo Hall. Start 27th Sept 1999 as general dogsbody / fuckhound [I initially went as a joke to fill their “Bingo Caller” position. Didn’t get it but the owner took a shine to me so gave me a job anyway. As for the rest we’ll get to it in time…]

August 26th 1999
Whittam brought a vid – Moyles and Mark and Lard. Stayed up til 3am watching! [He had UK Play with its myriad of cheap shows featuring Radio 1 disc jockeys. How exciting it was back then!]

August 30th 1999
Worked a karaoke night and sang Breakfast at Tiffany’s and Don’t Go Breaking My Heart with Sam. Will use my money to buy new Feeder and Divine Comedy albums!

September 1st 1999
Won £40 on the fruit machine so went to see 10 Things I Hate About You at the cinema. S’fine! 7/10 [WHAT? I consider this to be one of my favourite all-time flicks now so god knows why I gave it a One Life Left score.]

[Another large gap with little to no entries bar the oh so important “3 Colours Red split!!!!” on September 16th. Weird as the fortnight between the 10th and 24th my parents went on holiday leaving me in charge for the first time. Did well, made some money, had a surprise visit by my old school-friend Peter who’d gone to live in Newcastle and started an A-Level English course at the local college. Apparently none of this as worth mentioning…]

September 25th 1999
Went to Blackpool with all the money we’d made – went on the Big One [hated it], 2p machines, too many boozehounds, hiding from ‘nakes, Big Dipper [hated it], Odie [I won three Odie toys from a grabber machine], Waltzers, ace, Clare [loved it].

September 26th 1999
Start new job. Given absolutely no training and left doing the wrong jobs alone.

September 27th 1999
I hate my assistant manager Anne Marie. I hate this job. Half the staff seem to hate me too.

October 2nd 1999
Left job.

[Yeah, I lasted a week but it was a horrible job in which I was fucked about something rotten and treated like crap. I was so down my parents themselves actually told me to resign, which I promptly did that Saturday night. £3.60 an hour! The bingo hall shut down less than six months after I left and is now half of a Wetherspoons. Good fucking riddance.]

October 5th 1999
Futurama and Family Guy on Sky tonight! Cant wait!

And that’s it! The final diary entry from 1999 ends with a fizzle rather than a bang but then again did you expect anything else? In case you’re wondering, myself and Clare lasted another year before splitting up – just long enough for me to put off going to university, which was a terrible mistake. We remained friends for many years (as hard as it was for me) and I’m actually presently living in what used to be her house. Still, who wants to know that old shit when you can find out my Top 10 Albums of the Year 1999…!?!?

Tigermilk there. My favourite album ever. But not quite as good as 3 Colours Red or Feeder. I do genuinely still love all those albums so maybe they were the happiest days of my life after all. At the very least, they were the randiest. And now the bit you’ve all been waiting for – my in depth yearly self-assessment accounting figures…

Or maybe not…

It could’ve been a brilliant career…

So.

It’s been a pretty       l   o    n    g      time since I last wrote in this thing and I thought it was about time I put something new. And what’s the newest part of my life I hear you cry? Well, I’ll tell you. I’m continously having nightmares. That’s right, nightmares. And trust me, they aint pretty. And it aint fish bitch. Anyway. Enough of the jokes and wise cracks. Perhaps it’s time to explain?

It doesn’t even happen every night. But when it does, lots and lots seems to get into my head and mess with what has the ability to scare me. One of the newest things, is a small silver creature, that always comes and says to me “i’ll be your happiest of nightmares” and trust me, once you’ve seen that little guy once, YOU DON’T EVER WANNA SEE HIM AGAIN. It’s kind of odd to think that something that I made in my own mind is scaring me that badly. But it’s not even him that’s the problem!

Eh, perhaps people think that I’m a right freak, but to be honest it’s ever so slightly, weird? And to say the least, Abby + Nightmares is a HUGE no no. But there’s nothing I can do!

Got any ideas as to what the hell I can do to stop them? They just keep getting worse and that little guy just keeps coming back.

Enough of this! Sleep is in order.

- Laters,

AbbyArcanine. (:

I chose my username, BackOfMyHand, for two reasons. 1) because it is a lyric from one of my favorite songs and 2) because of its irony. The saying to know something “like the back of my hand” is a saying I use fairly often, yet I realised that actually, I don’t know the back of my hand all that well. In fact, I don’t really know myself that well, and I really would like to get to know me a bit better. Sure, I know the facts. I am 15, I have a younger brother, E, and a younger sister, C, I have lived in Europe, Africa and Asia and my favorite colour is blue. But I don’t really know me. I don’t think that anyone really does.

At school I am part of a fairly large group of friends. If we are being stereotypical, then i guess you could call us the “nerds,” although I don’t think that is really fair. Not many of us have boyfriends, we are all smart enough to pass all of our GCSE subjects with good grades, and I do have braces. But if I look at the “cool” people, I realise that unlike them, I have friends here that I will stay friends with for life. We don’t bitch about each other behind their backs, and we are nice and polite to each other. We don’t need alcohol and drugs to have a good time. Hell, we get high on sugar alone!

But although I have fantastic friends, I feel that to get to this stage, I have had to pretend, I have had to be someone I’m not. I have been pretneing for so long that I no longer need to think about it. I have become who I used to pretend to be. I am scared of letting that go, I am scared of letting the real me be shown to my friends. I don’t know her, and I don’t know if my friends would accept her and I don’t even know if I could become her again. Maybe the real me no longer exists. Maybe she suffocated and died under the lies and the stress and the pressure. I just don’t know.

What I truly hate is when adults assume that because we are teenagers, we don’t know what stress is. We don’t know what it is like to have drama in our lives. In many ways, I believe that the playground is a lot more scary and stressful than any office. It is basically an open air space filled with hormonal, confused, insecure people who are all terrified of every other hormonal, confused, insecure person. It is a place where you can be somebody, be anybody, so long as it is what your friends would accept. Which basically means be stereotypical or be nobody.

There it is again, that word. Stereotypical. It is what senior school seems to revolve around. Yes, we all like to think that people will love us if we are strong enough to be ourselves, but anyone that does ends up being the person sitting in the corner all on their own.  Children can be cruel, incredibly cruel. They can destroy someone’s teenage life experience in one evening. With one paragraph of hurtful truths, they can bring down a person to the lowest depths of their short lives. That is what happened to me, except I learnt from it. I learnt how to be who everyone wanted me to be, and I fell into the long line of identical clones.

I haven’t had it easy for the past couple of years. Two years ago I went to boarding school, but the headmaster ended up “asking me to leave for health reasons” which basically means I got kicked out. I really loved boarding school, and I really miss it. Even though I recently found out that all of my “friends” from their have been bitching about me terribly since I left, I still have  small part of me that wants to go back.

Then, just over a year ago, my mum got diagnosed with aggressive breast cancer. We live in the middle east, but she wanted to be treated in the UK. She missed my birthday, and for a year I have hardly seen her. She is back now, slowly recovering, but it has been a pretty hectic year. My mum really is an incredible woman. She was given an 8% chance of survival, and I honestly thought she would die. But she pulled through, and she no longer has any cancer in her body. It was heartbreaking for me, seeing her go through operations, chemotherapy, radiation and a whole host of other stuff.

My granddads died within a week of each other last year, and I still really miss them. One of them died of a heart attack, unexpected and sudden. The other had a cancerous brain tumor and his death was fairly drawn out and painful. I am glad he went before his suffering became too great. I never met my dad’s mum. She died when he was about my age from breast cancer, so now I only have my Gran, on my mum’s side.

A lot more happened over the last couple of years, but it was all just minor stuff compared to my mum and granddads. But in a way all the little things were just as bad. It is true, everything does build up until you feel like you are going to shatter into a million pieces under the weight of it all. I am still holding it together, but I feel as though I might snap at any second. I can’t go on like this.

Final numbers aren’t in yet but it’s looking like The Twilight Saga: New Moon will open this weekend with $140,000,000 dollars at the North American box office. 140 million dollars makes it third on the all time box office openings to The Dark Knight and Spiderman 3.

And it sucks! Rotten Tomatoes, the website that aggregates the nation’s movie critic reviews puts New Moon at 29% positive. By comparison, the two other wide-release films this weekend, Blind Side and Precious scored  70 and 91 and neither are likely to make in their entire run what this one made in three days.

Here’s some of what the critics are saying about New Moon:

“Shallow, vapid and cheesy, proving that melancholy eternity themes can sometimes be drenched in tedium…”

“Its defects include cumbersome dialogue and ludicrous plotting – its lack of sophistication is total…”

“Vampire movies should suck but not like this. Some will want to drive a wooden stake through my heart…”

But guess what? Who cares what the critics think? They don’t matter. The Twilight franchise is bulletproof with the audience it means to serve and that’s teenage girls, whether they are chronologically still that age or not.

You could argue that even that demographic deserves a good movie with a competent script and passable acting but they don’t care. They want what they want and this is it. And that’s fine. It is not for you! Or me. Or 50 year old critic Richard Roeper and his colleagues.

Musical acts from Elvis to the Jonas Brothers, from Donny Osmond to New Kids On The Block knew the secret: But The Little Girls Understand.

Loving a vampire, eh!

Rarely a film is better than the book it is based upon. Twilight is one such case; based on Stephenie Meyer’s best-selling novel of the same name, Catherine Hardwicke’s film stays true to the book but its pace makes it much more enjoyable. While the film’s sequel, New Moon released worldwide this week and is setting all time revenue records, Twilight makes its debut in India now.

Set in a high-school, Twilight is about a teenage girl who falls in love with a vampire. Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) falls for Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson), the best looking as well as the weirdest guy on the campus. Everything about him attracts her and she is not scared even after discovering his true identity. Then there are other interesting characters who take the story forward, Edward’s ‘vegetarian’ vampire family and the other vampires who are not that nice.

Twilight works as it captures the high school romance well with all the mush and the underlying sexual tension involved; though nothing explicit is shown. What makes it a sensation is the theme of defying the norms or going for the forbidden. Edward is dangerous and Bella is aware of the fact but still she chooses to be with him; similarly, Edward risks being exposed to the world by being with Bella.

Robert Pattinson has extremely good screen presence, something that was noticeable in his brief appearance as Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter and the Goble of Fire. Kristen Stewart does not really has the charm that Reese Witherspoon or Anne Hathaway had in their earlier films; but guess that is because of her character, where she is supposed to be extremely ordinary and plain.

Overall, it is a good film, bit cheesy in parts but it is a high-school romance so enjoy that bit.

My Rating: * * * ½ Three and a half stars (on five)

- Shrey Khetarpal

Today was a really fun Shoot! I arrive at Pie in the Sky Studio for my 11:00am call time. We were shooting stills for a new TV show. The show was kinda like Highschool Musical meets teenage aliens.

The cast was extremely sweet and sincere! They even helped to steam each other’s wardrobe! It was fun to work with the wonderful Greg Van Riel again on tis assignment.

Couldn’t take any photos of the actual set, but here I am in the Makeup Room!

Nov 17, 2009 A NATIONAL Environment support officer persistently wanted to meet the mother of an underaged smoker in private and even texted her for sex, a district court heard.

The complainant, a woman in her 40s, reported Koh Hui Chong to the authority and a trap was laid when he turned up at her flat on May 6 last year.

The 43-year-old admitted to the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau officers he had contacted the woman with the intention of having sex with her. He even brought along three condoms.

He had hoped that if the complainant had sex with him, he would then not take any form of action against her teenage son for smoking and littering.

The court heard that Koh had caught the woman’s 15-year-old son and another boy smoking in a prohibited area at a playground in Serangoon Central earlier on April 28. He obtained the boy’s details from his EZ-Link card and told him he would be booked for underaged smoking and other offences.

Koh, who pleaded guilty to trying to get sexual favours from the boy’s mother, is expected to be sentenced on Dec 1. He faces a fine of up to $100,000 and/or a jail term of up to five years.

First of all, the following is entirely my opinion and if you are an easily offended Twilight fan, I suggest you don’t read this. I was discussing the problems with Twilight with my roommate, who’s also very anti-Twilight, and I just want to point out some of my observations and frustrations with Stephanie Meyer’s bestselling novels.

On the door just next to my dorm there is a dry erase board that has a countdown to when the “New Moon” movie comes out, and every time I pass by, all I can do is think, “Not again!”

A year ago, as a senior in high school, I was subjected to listening about Twilight every single day. I have not read any of the books, I will admit, but I know most of the basic storyline just from hearing teenage girls gush about it. Truthfully, before this whole Twifan girls or Twiwhatever thing started, I would go into a bookstore and hold Stephanie Meyer’s book in my hands, pondering over whether or not to buy it. It seemed like a nice teenage story about a high school girl from Phoenix moving to Washington state. She goes to a new school and meets this boy…I’m not one for romance novels, but, neh? And this boy turns out to be a…VAMPIRE? What’s more a VAMPIRE that SPARKLES?!?! Immediately, the whole vampire thing made me lose interest and I merely tossed the book aside.

I don’t know about you, but when I picture a vampire, I imagine something that looks like Dracula, with pale skin, a black cape, and fangs. You know, the whole vampire schema. NOT SOME PALE HOT GUY WHO SPARKLES!!!!! From what I hear, it is fairly obvious that Stephanie Meyer did not do her research when churning out these novels. But I’m not saying that she should not be allowed to write these books. Sure they’re not the greatest quality writing-wise, but they are addicting and a nice way to pass several hours while relaxing by the pool or in the comfort of your own home. But what scares me is that the Twilight fanbase has become almost a cult. It’s similar to the Harry Potter craze a few years ago, which I was involved in. But Harry Potter, though it is fantasy, seems to have a more realistic description of teen love life. I’m sorry, but not every teenage girl is going to fall in love with VAMPIRES, who feed off the blood of humans and animals, marry them, and have their demonic children. Yes, that is very normal. And this is not just hormonally charged preteen girls who are crazed by Twilight and who daydream about Edward, because pale one-hundred-year-old sparkly guys are so hot. Personally, I think Robert Pattinson looks high in the movies and the actor who plays Jacob is much more attractive. But this whole slobbering love affair and obsession goes beyond middle school to high school and even college. Hell, even ADULTS are reading this crap. I hate to tell you all this, but it’s plain to see that this whole saga is Stephanie Meyer’s sexual fantasy and is entirely based on what would qualify as a wet dream. So, millions of girls in America are falling for a FICTIONAL CHARACTER IN STEPHANIE MEYER’S SEXUAL FANTASY! I’m sorry, but this whole thing scares the crap out of me. I would much rather go to the library or a bookstore and curl up with a good book such as the Kite Runner or To Kill a Mockingbird than waste my time reading mushy sparkly fake vampire slop. But that’s just me. There’s nothing wrong for liking Twilight, since many people apparently do, but hearing absolutely normal and kindhearted girls go on and on about Edward, Edward, Edward, and Bella as if they were real freaking people is quite frightening. It’s a book people! Get over it!

Don’t get me wrong, I obsess about stuff to, but I can hold an intelligent conversation without talking about college basketball and the Tennessee Volunteers. And, the athletes who I cheer for are actually real people who are living and breathing, just like you and me. And by no means do these athletes arouse me! I do not stalk them or daydream about them constantly. I even refuse to get a twitter, believing that it is just a legal way to stalk celebrities, or whom you think are celebrities. It’s fine to like and support a character in a novel, but wanting to shack up with them is another thing.

Oh yeah, and the whole sparkly thing really turns me off as well.

So, as all those “twifans” say, Team Edward or Team Jacob? I’m on Team I Don’t Give a Shit.