Introducing... Nothing very interesting

Bonjour mes amis! Je m’appelle Rachael! No, scratch that, I am not French and my accent is terrible.

Nonetheless, to get started I am Rachael, and the wonderful Ryon has done me the honour of asking me to write the Saturday posts for the blog. So, that is what I shall do, unless I am incredibly boring (which I suspect I might be) in which case I promise I’ll stop!

But without further ado- on! To the weeks challenge!

Now, a disclaimer, I have never read TFIOS nor seen the film, so I am not in a position to give you any well thought out advice on the matter. However, I am fortuitous in the fact that this week’s challenge is to write about what I find positive- as my personal favourite subject is ancient history, and I am hoping to relate most of my posts to the topic- then I feel I am accurate in saying that classical history is what I feel positive about.

With the muddle of essays and presentations I have to prepare over the next few weeks- stressed is an appropriate word to how I am currently feeling. That’s not to say I’m too overwhelmed- or struggling to cope- because I have managed to set an order to my work and organised myself- but that doesn’t mean I don’t occasionally look at my multitude of tasks and ask myself why I picked a degree that makes me want to throw an amphora out a window.

It boils down to this quote.

‘We are standing on the edge of a hole in time’

I found it at a museum in Brussels nearly a year ago now, but throughout that time it has remained with me. This quote, for me at least, exemplifies everything I love about history, and the fact I can’t understand why everyone doesn’t love it. Every step we take has been walked down be people before, and every brick we touch has been touched by someone else. We are not original or unique- because there have been 2 millennia of human history and every feeling we have has been felt by someone before. I find this comforting, because regardless of how I feel right now, how stressed and upset I can get- we are not alone- and it’s ignorant to believe we are unique in our thoughts and emotions. It’s easy to put ancient cultures on a pedestal, or drag them down and call them uncivilised, but we often forget the people behind the actions when we do so. Constantine’s sons’ may have acted oddly to us, but they were people nonetheless, with thoughts, emotions and real lives. As steeped in myth as our history is- everyone in it was the product of their society. Maybe their values were different- so do we have the right to judge them? Perhaps we would have acted the same if we had been raised with the same morals. When a roman emperor starts a civil war, can you blame his sons from disturbing the peace to do the same?

History isn’t just about those figures though. It goes further than that, and deeper. If you care about Octavian, then you also care about his wife, mother, slaves and their children. Because these are the people who shared his life. Graffiti in Pompeii is just as vulgar as our own- though ideals change- and no matter how stressful it is writing about the socio-political struggles of early dynastic Egypt, whenever I sit down to learn about hoplites or Theodora, I smile, and the stress seems worth it.

This piece works as propaganda for history. I don’t mean to bore you and I feel I may have gone a tad off topic- but history is what is positive for me, which is why I intend to give each of my posts a classical spin. It’s a comfort blanket to wrap myself in, a warm cup of tea to nourish the soul.

More accurately, history is a hole in time, and to experience it, all you have to do is jump in. 

TFIOS

Hey there everyone :) So this week has been rather hectic, therefore my recipe will not be related to the quote but I'll shall talk about it before I write it.

So I have never read the the book The Fault in Our Stars, but I did go and see it because of Ryon (Thank you by the way). I loved it, in fact straight after the movie I brought the book. But I still haven't read it because I let my family borrow it. (This is probably a bit boring but I'll get to the point).So my mum read it and then my brother read it (he's 17 years old) and my mum came back to me saying how the book changed my brother life. Now this, to me, was amazing, my brother never really expresses his feeling or thoughts very often, and rarely talks about things and life and so forth, so hearing that this book opened his eyes to life, and made him see things different was astonishing! So even though I haven't read the book (just seen the film, and though the film was beautiful, I bet the book was so much better) I still feel its one of the best books I will ever read (at the moment).

Its touched so many people, in so many different ways and that's amazing!

Understand? Yes! Good. Okay? Okay!

So it's inevitable that some people will not like this book, for some rest, and I am not judging, but no one needs to be judged about there opinion (that's just stupid) I'm just saying this post my not be everyone's cup of tea, but I feel like people should understand the message and how important life is, and we take it for granted so much. I mean nothing lasts forever, and I know this weeks challenge is to stay positive and I believe that is positive. Once we understand that concept, we can live life so much happier and in the moment, and treasure every little detail, every beautiful memory! 

Title Unknown

Ingredients

Butternut Squash

Pumpkin

Onion

(Whatever veg you have really)

Tahini (made from ground, hulled sesame seeds) 

Olive Oil

Lemon Juice

Garlic

So for starters, roast your veg, so your pumpkin, butternut squash, onion (carrot, anything really). Then you need to make a mix to pour over it, and for that you need your tahini, Olive oil, lemon juice and garlic. Mix them all to a paste/mix/sauce (whatever aha).

So to serve place your beggies on a place, drizzle the sauce over (add a few herbs) and serve with rice (which is what we did) but you can serve with what ever you desire.

Hope you enjoy this dish, I did and It was gorgeous.

Please let me know what you think.

See you next week

Hazel x 

 

Chin up dickward

     Ello ello ello, evening darlins' Becky here, I'm feeling a bit under the weather today so this will be short and sweet :)

     Now positivity is something vital to everyone, but growing up we've been taught that it's negative or unbecoming. If you're positive about your body image, you're vain, if you're positive and confident in your ability to do something, you're full of yourself. Society has drummed it into our brains from a very young age that we must strive to be this perfect specimen of humanity we see posted in every newspaper and magazines, but as soon as we start to think that we may be becoming what we ourselves see and think of as the "perfect version" of ourselves, we're ridiculed and shamed.

 *starts singing "Fuck 'Em All" in the tune of Let It Go*

Remember confidence and positivity comes hand in hand.

     Society needs to go fuck itself, if there is anything that we need more in life, it's positivity. You wan't to take that selfie? Take that fucking selfie cutie. And it's not all about body image or positivity too, don't be ashamed to show off your smarts, if people stopped being bullied or pulled down because of their brains imagine where we could be?! Just fucking accept it and lets have hovercars already!

    Have a positive feeling about everything you do, enjoy life to its fullest and if you're down in the dumps, chin up dickward, it'll only get better if you let it :) As someone who's had a mental illness rip apart their life, I know what it feels like to be at my lowest point, but guess what? It got better, because I was positive about it, I tried to be whenever I could, I used it as a learning experience about having positivity in your life. Through this I also learn't that your own positivity affects others too,because I could never of  made it through like I did without the help I got from my family and a few friends (seriously you find out who are your real friends when something like this happens to you -_- ). So I've said it before and I'll say it again, spread the love!!!

    Until next week my little turnips, I'll be better by then hopefully. Peace out <3

Words on Wednesdays - TFIOS!

Today I am writing my post with blistered hands after my first proper riding lesson in near six years. Good fun, but I am going to ache tomorrow!
This week's challenge is to be positive, to talk about things you are passionate about. Books are a big passion of mine, I'll move on to discuss The Fault in our Stars in just a moment, but first I want to say a little bit about my main passion; DOCTOR WHO.

I have no idea who any of the other people in this picture are,
they were very keen we should have a picture together...

This is quite a good week for it, the finale of Series 8 will be airing this Saturday, and on the same day I shall be joining forces with my friends here in beautiful Cardiff for Cardiff Comic-Con; we have cosplays ready as the eleventh Doctor, Clara and the TARDIS - I can't wait! Look at my fabulous 11th Dr Costume which I wore first in 2013:
50 years on, Sci-Fi's longest running show is just as fabulous as ever.

Right, onwards to TFIOS.
(NB - SPOILER ALERT)

What is important to remember about this book, and John Green's wonderful characters Hazel Grace Lancaster and Augustus Waters, is that they are in no way special. And especially not just because because they are sick, this is not a book about sickness, it is a book about love, and living the life you want to despite illness, not defined by it. Hazel and Gus are NOT special in the grand scheme of things, they are not going to be remembered because they are just an ordinary boy and girl who by pot luck got the short end of the stick and their lives end prematurely. Augustus Waters' acutely aware of his insignificance in the grand scheme of things, puts this very nicely;

"Anyone can name fourteen dead people. But we're disorganized mourners, so a lot of people end up remembering Shakespeare, and no one ends up remembering the person he wrote Sonnet Fifty-five about.” 

Or, of course, you need only to look at the title to see where I am coming from - the original quote from Julius Ceasar (Shakespeare) reads;

"The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, But in ourselves, that we are underlings."

I.e - There is no grand scheme that has screwed them over, it's just dumb luck and we would be fools to treat it any differently.
Now that we have moved very far away from the idea that Hazel and Augustus are what I would refer to as 'Special little snowflakes' we can look at the novel on a podium somewhere among the great Love stories. Hazel and Gus are special to each other, ('you gave me an infinity within the numbered days' - what a romantic line!) and that is what matters. It is a dysfunctional romance, yes. not ideal in every way, namely Hazel's very present and literal baggage in the form of her gas canister and Gus's premature death, but if you list all the great novels commonly associated with love, you might notice that serious flaws is a recurring theme...

Jane Eyre - He's still married, the ex lives in the attic.
Romeo and Juliet - Lasts five days, six people die including the double suicide of the titular lovers.
Lolita - Thirty-something stepfather becomes sexually obsessed with twelve year old girl. 
Paris and Helen of Troy - She runs off with him and her husband starts a ten year war.
The Great Gatsby - Gatsby is living in a dream world where he and (Now married) Daisy can follow the (metaphorical) American Dream. Ends in, again, double murder

You get my point. Despite their... issues... these, and TFIOS, are still counted as the worlds greatest love stories. I'm certain Gus would have something to say about the metaphorical resonance here. Flaws are overlooked and The Fault in our Stars succeeds in John Green's aim to 'argue for [sick people's] humanity by giving them a love story to rival the greats. And with a stunningly beautiful love quote modeled by Bryony on Monday:

'I fell in love the way you fall asleep - slowly, and then all at once...'

A sub theme of the story is the idea that we have a (albeit limited) choice on the impact we have within our own little part of the world. Gus and Hazel take very different approaaches to this, with Hazel trying to 'minimise the casualties' that will be caused by her inevitable death and Augustus desperate to 'leave [his] mark on the world', ensuring that he has a pre-funeral to ensure he has done this (by affecting his friends). His posthumous letter to Hazel suggests he is pleased with the way he has shaped his life, his own little part of the world. 

“You don't get to choose if you get hurt in this world...but you do have some say in who hurts you. I like my choices.”

I hope you liked my short and sweet piece on this marvelous book, remember you don't have to agree with my opinion, this is one nineteen year old's view on the novel, not the definite answer!

Ooh, also, Today is the Fifth November, so I shall leave you with the following parting words, and I hope you all go out and enjoy the annual celebration of the defeat of insolent and violent Catholicism! ((Please don't take this as my religious view, but that is literally what Bonfire night is; the Protestants showing off that they are better than the Catholics))

- Emily

Remember, Remember the Fifth of November
Gunpowder, Treason and Plot.
I see no reason why gunpowder, treason
Should ever be forgot.

Staying Positive

Hello again, and welcome to another installment of Off Topic Tuesday! Can I just start by saying IT'S ONLY 50 DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS! WAHOO. You know, the first thing I just thought of when typing that was 'I can only imagine all the chocolate I am going to be eating'... Oh dear Lily...

Anway, this week Ryon has set the challenge to BE POSITIVE. Christmas is something that is keeping my spirits high and my negativity low. I know that Christmas isn't particularly a good time for everyone, or maybe some people just don't really see it as a big deal. However, I love Christmas as, for me, it is all about family and spending quality time with loved ones. 

This year I have got enough money to actually buy people presents! How excited, eh? Aha. I know Christmas isn't about presents or money but it is nice to be able to spoil those that you care about every so often. I want to show my appreciation to my family and friends. I also think that its the giving that counts. It doesn't matter what you give to someone, its about the time you spend picking it out; asking pretty obvious questions such as 'what size shoe are you?' and 'what's your favourite colour?'... and 'how do you spell Converse?' aha. 

Enough jibber jabber about Christmas. Lets talk about staying positive. I just finished watching a video on YouTube of the Pixiwoo sisters (Sam and Nic) talking to Jordan Bone. The basis of the video is about staying positive in whatever situation you are in (watch it here). Jordan talks a little about her condition and how she came to be Tetraplegic. I was really inspired by this video because sat on the other side of my computer screen was a beautiful woman that was happy, bubbly, full of life and happiness even though she has been through so much in her life. She kept saying that we each only have one life (unless you believe in reincarnation) and we can't dwell on things that have happened in the past otherwise we'll waste the time we have left being miserable. It really opened my eyes to the fact that I have spend a good portion of my life so far moaning about things I'm unhappy about or things I dislike about myself... and for what? What good has come out of my moaning? I'll tell you; no good! Nothing I have ever grumbled has benefited me in any way what so ever. Therefore I am going to try my hardest to see the positives from now on and whenever I feel myself getting even just a little tetchy I am going to take some deep breaths and (fingers crossed) calm down. I mean, how hard can it be... right?

I am going to another video that Jordan talked about her story in and also her YouTube channel. I hope you find her as inspirational as I do. 

Amazing Not Invisible 

Jordan's Channel

Until next time;

Over and out, 

Lily.

"I fell in love the way you fall asleep. Slowly, and then all at once"

Simple As This - Jake Bugg

The Fault In Our Stars Soundtrack (Full)

Okie Dokie Boys and Girls, I have had a fluctuation in my moods today, first half of the day was really good then the next half was pretty shit, but that's OK because that happens from time to time and we get over it and move on. Now I didn't pick this quote because I am in love, although have you see Jack Barakat? OK so moving on to what the post is really about. TODAY IS THE DAY! The Fault In Our Stars is FINALLY out on DVD and I obviously wanted the best one. so I got the Blu-ray/DVD/Digital copy well eventually, after an upset with amazon and trying to blame my bank and yadda yadda yadda *negative crap.*  

Today I am not going to be negative, this is a sad film and an even more upsetting book. (You know because they tell more in the book.) So I am going to do the polar opposite of this book and be really positive... believe me ask Lily how hard that used to be fore me. For the most part it still is. But 'Keep Moving forward' (little bit of a Disney quote in there coz I can) [Meet the Robinsons/Walt Disney if you didn't know). ANYWAY. I know you will listen to the song and be like 'What the Hell Ryon?' I know it's not the most positive as songs, but hey it's making me positive, but I have put a link to the whole sound track so you can choose your own positive song. OR you may already know your positivity song... I sure as hell do. I have 2. one is Who We Are by Paradise fears and the one that made me feel safe and calm is Stand Up by Yashin. 

Basically because I have pretty much had a bad day I am wanting to do a positive post to cheer me up mainly, this is a fairly easy week with it being TFIOS week. I have already collaborated with Emily so she will probably be talking about the book and well I have ideas that Hazel could do, well one really but I will tell her that tomorrow. Or you know tonight on facebook. I wont say my idea because it's her blog post and if she doesn't want to do that idea then it's her choice. 

I did ask for John Green's input on this blog post, to get him to choose this week's quote from his book, but he didn't answer... well he has been busy with Paper Towns Movie and probably other things so you cant really blame him. 

As I said this is a positive post with a sad subject. this weeks CHALLENGE is to be positive, you don't have to talk about the quote, talk about something that you are passionate about. Or that you love very, very much. For Me I have done that, I have spoken about the music, I have spoken about the film, the book, the author, all of these I love dearly and it makes me happier knowing that I can get behind something and be positive about it. SO there you cou guys just be POSITIVE. That's all I ask... we can be negative other weeks.

OK on a more serious note, this film/book is about cancer... now I did plan to stop posting this in November, but I feel if I don't do it I will have the guilt hanging over me. I gave up alcohol for a whole month (not that I missed it all that much... yeah there were times) for MacMillan Cancer support. My link to my Go Sober page is in other Monday blog posts, so you can donate there... or straight to MacMillan. Or to other Cancer Charities. I feel like if I didn't put this you would feel like I am completely missing the point. I mean giving to charity in general is good but I feel because of the subject of the book, cancer ones need a little more recognition for this subject. But you go donate to any charity you want.

Anyway that's mine, over for another week.

Lots Of Love
Ryon
xxx

i am sad, stressed and pissed but not that student typical pissed i mean im pissed off XD

good morning,
hope you all had a fine Halloween i had the best besides for some fucking twelve year old stole my bloody spanner, so basically i was dressed as a zombie hunter was meant to do a Tyrian Lannister scar across my face but due to rehearsals being really intense this week i could barely stand up and i could not be arsed practicing with the liquid latex and when Friday popped its beautiful head around the corner it was too late and i decided fuck it and do it, but something happened and when i had made the scar it dried up and started to fall off so that failed so we threw blood all over me and it looked amazing!! (please do not do this in the bathroom of you're student accomindation you want you're deposit back don't ya XD) then i went to a pre-drinks party, and after i started drinking i realized i had not had the chance to eat anything besides a slice of birthday cake and decided that it was going to be a vary interesting night, we then started to play a drinking and card game called fuck you, so basically everyone gets two cards out of the pile (and every time you put one down you pick another one up) and then the dealer starts she/he can put any card down and says fuck you (enter name here) and then starts to count down, if someone has the same card they can also place it down to save that person from this and say fuck you (enter name here) then start to count down this can happen four times (obviously) and when they reach zero the last person who got fucked has to drink the amount of that type of card on the pile so if there were four 6 of hearts down there then they would take four sips but big ones, but i ended up fucking it and downing three of mine, well the last one was more of a dribble but i still fucking did it (Tyrian are you proud of me?) then we started my drunken walk to our favorite pup PENNYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D where we meet the fucking 12 year old zombie who was a dick and threw my spanner away because i would not suck him off in which in a drunken manner i replied "im sorry i do not belief in rape and i am tired after doing it to you're mum" and which the drunken walk turned into a run in heels!!!!!!!!! XD we got to Pennys <3 where we meet a lot of amazing people as we always do and sang karaoke, but some dick head stole the song me and a friend was meant to do a sweet transvestite, he said he had called my friends name but i was standing right there and he hand not, but at 1:30 am we started signing don't stop believing as i threw my wolf hat about the place XD then i went to bed crying because i had not got a boyfriend and i was meant to talk to this really cute guy at the party but the alcohol got to me first XD

okay and onto the title of this post,
i am sad because i am still ill, which has added onto the bloody stress!
we were given an assignment to write up a review about DIY theater (i would get into detail but its long and i dont understand any of it XD ) then use the correct refference. so in tears i wrote up what i could about the article i had just read and trying to but it into normal peoples words (i have just learnt that some of my sentences if not all do not make any sense, which in its self is frustrating because in my head they do!!) so i was trying to make them make sense whilst trying to make sense of the article........if that makes sense XD
so anyways threw tears i made it!! i did it i felt like Rambo in the first of blood i had made it out of the war but gonna walk into a town in which i do not know yet but i am not welcomed in....
then i had to do referencing that bloody useless thing that i fucking hate as much as i hate Sundays!!! the thing is we were given a lesson in how to do them, but he turned up late and did it all in about 10 mins and at that time i did not have my echo pen so i was sitting there trying my best to hold my anger in, and he was saying it as fast as Eminem can rap "rap god" and then he gave us a page on moodle in which we can find our reference list (on how to write the variety of referencing) asked for questions but before anyone could put there hands up he was out of the door and gone leaving behind a small blue piece of paper (blue paper with black writing on it is amazing, the letters have stopped their teasing little dance and now it is i who is dancing a happy dance of victory) saying that he was part of the learning services (a place if you wanna get tested for dyslexia or anything else or to get help with assignments) in which cheered me up because of the irony, he was raping to a group of students that are not only connected threw the love of acting and behind set work, but where the majority of us (and most out of the whole uni campus) are dyslexic or have ADD, so he fucked up there, it does not really matter i have complained to the people and i think we are getting another lesson about it with another lecturer who knows what they are doing.

okay so back to the walk to the town, so i had completed what i thought was going to the most difficult part of my day and how i was so wrong. i tried my best to reference it correctly compering it to others (people reference it for me and i felt so stupid going to them and asking again after asking three times so i went and looked at my notes and i had found where they kept a whole document on our moodle page on different types of referencing and the sun started coming out of the gray clouds until i found out that they did not have any on the referencing i needed so i threw my notes across the room along with other objects that would not break, and started crying, its hard being stupid really difficult but at some points it is amazing (please dont be like aww you're not stupid, i am, if people including teachers say i am for the past 15 years then i am and i have learnt to life with it along side my dyslexia and i'm in uni where soon i will get the best help i can and be the first stupid person to graduate from here) so i decided to fuck it and write where i found it at what time, the name of the person who wrote it and when it was published (and yes i know its what i has to be done but there is a specific order in which it has to go in) and i am hoping that if i point out to my lectures and my class reps that this was the easier and not so stressful way of me doing it and get some others to agree with it i am hoping that i can get the people who is in charge recognize it as a type of reference which only dyslexic people and i the stupid one can use :)

and why i am pissed, because i am starting to realize that i might not have the time to write one up every week, next week they are doing the fault in our stars, which i bloody hate, and so i changed mine to the one who flew over the cuckoos nest its a beautiful movie absolutely stunning but at this rate with how rehearsals are going and with all the work i have to do (i have assignments/ home work and on top of that i have to write a log book of each lesson and rehearsals). I think i might not be able to next week, but i will hopefully be able to slot in writing up a blog about it and then schedule it in for 1pm (the time where i normally get up on a Sunday so it will feel like i have written it and posted it up myself). i am  starting to struggle with doing the work and this at the same time, so please do not be expecting one each week, there may be days in which there will be nothing and i do apologize in advanced but it should not be often and hay that's show business for ya and sometimes you have to give up something you enjoy to do something you love which for me is performing :)

love you all my amazing ginger ninjas

hope you all had a wonderful Halloween :)