C'S BLOG

C's Blog 121

2012-02-01T21:09:00.002Z

MAYBE NOT

After careful consideration, I've decided that now is not the best time to be making a website, as I mostly use my blog for pictures and videos, which I have tumblr for anyway. So from now on, anything I actually have something to say about other than 'this is amazing', I'll post here, otherwise, I'll use tumblr.

Maybe I'll make a website sometime next year, when I'm stuck of things to do.

tumblr: teadrinkerfication.tumblr.com

-C

C's Blog 120

2012-01-30T07:47:00.003Z

HELLO AGAIN
Just a quick note before I head off t school - I was 18 yesterday, I had a netbook for my birthday and shall be using it for my new website. I'll post here when I've made the website. If you need some assurance that I'm still online then you can go here:
http://teadrinkerfication.tumblr.com/
Until then:

-C

C's Blog 119

2011-12-01T15:07:00.002Z

BIG NEWS!
To warm up to the big news I am going to tell you that I've organised the music on my computer - woo!

It's beautiful ain't it.

Now for the news:
I am moving my blog to a website!
There will be sections on the website, the ones I've named so far are 'Gruff', which will be everything I say about Gruff, (you can probably expect this to be the biggest section) and 'Funny Moments', which I plan to use to document a funny moment each day. These will probably mostly be derived from the conversations I have with my Art teacher. Watch this space (not literally) so you know when the website is up!
-C

C's Blog 118

2011-11-22T12:28:00.002Z

AUDITION AND GRUFF (AGAIN)
2 hours ago I was walking into a little room where a man called Merrick and a lady called Lara were sitting at a table with pieces of paper and pens. I had to play saxophone for them. The playing I think went OK-ish to quite well, but it was the interview where I am pretty sure I crashed and burned. Usually I don't get terribly nerovus, but today I forgot everything I was going to say and probably convinced these two musicians from RWCMD that I was a pretty boring person. I just hope my playing and my personal statement told them enough.

Now.... I am going to see Gruff Rhys live again!
It's not a massive show this time though, it's just him playing in a shop (Spillers.) I found this out via his website straight after my audition and it cheered me up no end. I'm guessing that it will be something like this:

One day I hope to do a blog post that does not mention Gruff Rhys. Obviously he's the coolest person in the world, but it would be nice to talk about something else, you know? Next time (probably tomorrow) I plan to write about cream soda. Until then.
-C

C's Blog 117

2011-11-21T18:44:00.003Z

ATHEIST XMAS
Gruff Rhys - Slashed Wrists This Christmas by PIAS Entertainment
There is controversy being waged in my head at the moment over Gruff's new Christmas EP, as I try to get my head round it (I am not sure what to think.) The song's good though.
-C

C's Blog 116

2011-11-15T21:24:00.005Z

XENODOCHEIONOLOGY
I am hereby rebooting my blog (yes, again) with a new design and the Gruff Rhys song that I have only just listened to, as when it came out I had not enough money to buy it, and this evening I happened upon it by chance, realizing that I had not previously heard it:

It's a great song! I love the sort of 'woo' sounds (don't know how else to describe them) and the sort of underwater feel. (Don't know how else to describe that either). I prefer it to the song Honey All Over. I don't know why people have to put horrible comments underneath the video though. I tried to redeem the comments section with a complementary comment about the song, which I feel will help people get over the derogatory comments that other Youtube users have left for each other. And why would anyone say that 'the song sucks'? Right there is a person in serious need of a lobotomy.
-C

C's Blog 115

2011-11-07T08:21:00.001Z

GEEK COALITION

-C

C's Blog 114

2011-10-12T18:57:00.001+01:00

WHALE TRAIL
I have discovered my new favourite music video:

This video pretty much speaks for itself, but I like the part where he's trying to dance and he can't keep up with the cloud things.
-C

C's Blog 113

2011-10-09T11:09:00.001+01:00

Y BRAWD HOUDINI

Meic Stevens:

Gruff Rhys:

HAPPY SUNDAY MORNING
-C

C's Blog 112

2011-10-07T15:42:00.004+01:00

YAWN

[CLICK HERE]If I think I'm tired, imagine how Gruff must feel.

-C

C's Blog 111

2011-10-06T15:53:00.016+01:00

GRUFF RHYS BONANZA, BECAUSE I SAW HIM LIVE
Whale Trail by PIAS Entertainment
Yo.

I went to see Gruff Rhys live last night. It was insane. I warmed up by buying a glow in the dark Sensations in the Dark t-shirt I'm wearing at the moment, since it's small enough to wear in the day-time. That's right - they had women's sizes, what's more, they had a medium, which meant it more or less fits me, but it is a bit big. We (D J Spacewolf and myself) had to go through 40 minutes of Y Niwl first. They're good, but surf music is a bit exactly the same as all of the other surf music, so it's quite boring to sit and listen to for a large amount of time. Then there was a break, and GRUFF came on. He walked on, looking like I would have expected him to look when I started listening to him 4 years ago. I thought he'd started looking a bit more polished, but that must be his videos. Anyway he looked scruffy which I thought was good because I go to school and everyone there is obsessed with looking perfect, which is a drag. This is when I started thinking 'woah man, that's GRUFF RHYS', a feeling which continued to the end of the night, and even now I'm thinking 'woah man, that was actually GRUFF RHYS' He started with Gwn mi Wn. I had been excited to listening to Gwn mi Wn live, because on Youtube there's loads of videos of him recording many layers to the song, eg:

Last night though he pretty much just sang the song, and used these weird electronic drumsticks that when you shake make a sort of static sound. They were cool. Then he dropped his drumsticks on the floor (which also was cool, because a lot of singers/bands would make sure to hand their 'precious' equipment to a roadie or something and have a hissy fit when the person they handed them to held them at the wrong angle) and went over to his keyboard to play Candylion. His keyboard was covered by this thing that looked like a radiator cover (
) with a bit added on and the word 'RECEPTION' painted on to make it look like a desk at a hotel. (You know, because of
Hotel Shampoo).

After the excellent performance of Candylion (here I would like to inject that all the songs were excellent, so I will comment from now on only on the ones which really stand out in my mind, so that this blog, which already is destined to be my longest post ever, does not become longer than is necessary) he went on to introduce the show. I don't rememember exactly what he said, but I remember that it was really funny, especially when he forgot mid-sentence what he was talking about, which he does a lot:

Some people say it's because he's translating Welsh into English in his head, others say it's because he's stoned. I think he probably just thinks of something else and then forgets what he's talking about. The third song he played was The Court of King Arthur, from Candylion. It's one of my favourite songs, so it was pretty special to see it live. He played the harmonica on a rack attached to his head or his neck or something. A few songs later he was singing a song that I think was from Yr Atal Genhedlaeth, and I was thinking 'I'm sure this song is meant to have a harmonica in it. Maybe he forgot to put it on.' After that song finished, Gruff introduced another song. He was just about to launch into it when the guitarist from Y Niwl murmured something and pointed to the harmonica on its rack, hanging on the microphone stand. 'Oh shit yeah' said Gruff, and put it on while the audience laughed. After he had secured it he put his thumbs up at the guitarist and whispered 'Diolch'. Everyone could hear the whisper because he was standing at the microphone, and they all laughed again.
He then did Pwdin Wy 1 and 2. I tried to remember the exact order of songs that he played, but there were so many that it was impossible to keep track. I remember him doing a song which I think was 'Niw Y Bid' if that's what it's called and really enjoying the part when he went 'fynny fynny fynny fynny' (welsh for 'up up up up', if my memories of Primary School are correct.) Apparently, that song contains the most key changes in popular music. That's what Gruff said anyway. But then again he also said that the song In a House with no Mirrors (You'll never get old) was a Country and Western style song.

He did a few songs from Hotel Shampoo, which were Shark Ridden Waters, If we were Words we would Rhyme, Sensations in the Dark, Vitamin K and Honey all Over. When he introduced the song Honey all Over, he said 'Now we're going to do the song Honey all Over... YEAH!' but sort of like he was saying 'it's going to be pretty bad ass'.
I can't remember at which point he played it, but the moment I really got into the gig was when he played Whale Trail, his new song that he made for the upcoming game Whale Trail. You can listen to the track at the top.

Last night was actually the first time I heard that song, because I've been trying to listen to it at school and the library, but the sound cloud thing doesn't work.
Also what I forgot to mention earlier was that Sensations in the Dark live is one of the best songs I've heard in my life, maybe second after Skylon live. (I'll get to that later.) Seriously. It was hardcore.
Somewhere in the middle of the set, Gruff said 'I would now like to introduce a very specail guest to the stage, who will perform a couple of his own super-magical numbers [I know he said magical, but I don't know abouth the word super before it.] Please Welcome to the stage - RENE GRIFFITHS!' Now. I don't know if you've heard of Rene Griffiths before or not, but if you are a sensible person, you probably do, as you will have seen the film 'Separado!'

That being said, you'll know that Rene Griffiths is a pretty big deal.

He played this song, which is about raining beer, explaining beforehand about how his father was going to deny him access back to Argentina if by the time he returned from Wales he had not learned Welsh, or learned to drink beer like the Welsh. It was pretty exciting.
Then Gruff Rhys came on. I felt a bit of relief, as when Rene Griffiths was playing I thought maybe Gruff had gone for good. Happily he played for a long time after that.
A long time later... He played what seemed like his last song, and left the stage. The people in the row behind us (we were in the 4th row, on the right) started shouting 'more!' I had mixed feelings about this, because they were annoying me with their shouting, but I did want Gruff to come back and play more too. He did. He played a short song from Yr Atal Genhedlaeth, and then put on a life jacket. 'What's this about?' I thought. Well actually, I didn't. I knew full well what was going to happen. He walked from his keyboard over to the middle of the stage and sat on one of two aeroplane seats that inhabited the center of the stage. 'This song', he explained, takes place..... 30000 feet in the air. And they launched into Skylon! (I say they, because Y Niwl were Gruff's band for the night, giving all of his songs a cool sort of Surf feel.) Skylon! was probably my favourite moment of the night. I liked the way Gruff changed the words to suit his circumstances, eg. when he sang 'to my right the actress' instead of 'to my left the actress' as he sings on the album, because he was sitting on the seat that to him was the left seat, (Lisa Jen wasn't there). Also when the music breaks down, and the pilot, the bomb disposal expert and the pilot are at the press conference, instead of talking as if he was at a press conference, like on the album, he talked to the audience, cracking a few jokes here and there, and thanking everyone for coming. At the end of this speech, he said 'and if anyone is wondering the name of this song, it's called... SKYLON!!!!!!!!!!!!' (I used the '!'s there to show how intense it was when he said that.) Then they went into the bit where it goes 'Skylon, Skylon, way up high...', Gruff raised his tambourine up, and it was the end of the song. But the music rang on, and he went over to the placards he had been using all night, and said 'Thankyou very very much for coming!' [APPLAUSE] A big hand for Y Niwl [APPLAUSE] A very big hand for Rene Griffiths [APPLAUSE] and thankyou for coming!' He put the [DIOLCH] sign on his chair, and then another one over it, and ran off stage with his thumbs up shouting 'thankyou.'
[THE END]
-C

C's Blog 110

2011-09-17T13:45:00.005+01:00

TENOR SAXOPHONE + THE LIBRARY
Hello. As you can tell I am VERY excited because on Thursday I was at Jazz band and Mark (the conductor) goes "Does anyone want to try tenor saxophone? We've got one you can borrow" so I'm all "I will!" As you can also tell from reading past blogs (e.g. C's Blog 79,) I have been wanting to play tenor saxophone for a long time. BTW (Modern day slang for "By The Way") I wanted to play the tenor for a long time before that blog. The dream simply intensified my desire.
This is a tenor saxophone:

The other night, after I got home for jazz band, I was thinking how amazing it is that it's possible to have Grade 8 (the highest non-professional qualification you can have on a musical instrument) on a tenor saxophone without ever having played one before, as I have. This is possible because you get ABRSM Grade 8 saxophone, not Tenor Saxophone or Alto Saxophone etc. So the only saxophone I have played as of yet is the Alto, and yet I have Grade 8 on the Tenor, the Baritone and the Soprano saxophone. Isn't that weird?

Now, in regards to Cardiff Library. I have been here (yes, I'm at Cardiff library at the moment) 6 times in the past 2 weeks. Why? Because it's so amazing here! There are 5 floors full of books, comfy chairs, and cool walkway things that you can look over and see all the other floors. It also is a great place to chill at the weekends, especially if you spend a lot of time at home and need a change of scenery to waste time in. The other reason I come here is that 2 weeks ago I went to pay my fines and replace my lost library card and it turned out I owed £60. Yes. £60. Fortunately the lady at the counter said I only had to pay £20. I think it's probably because she could tell I was young and therefore most likely wouldn't have £60 spare. To be honest (or TBH) I didn't have £20 either. I borrowed it off my dad. So I'm coming back as often as possible to ensure that that doesn't happen again.

And finally I shall be putting up my comic strips either this evening or tomorrow.

Keep it cool.
-C

C's Blog 109

2011-09-15T14:45:00.002+01:00

MY COMIC STRIP
Big news my readers: I have started a comic strip. Well, I actually started it just over a month ago but I have decided to blog about it now. It is a diary comic strip, like James Kolchalka's, but I don't have the willpower to keep it up every day, so it's been quite irregular. "Why are you telling me this?" I hear you ask. The reason is that I am going to post my strip online, as a webcomic. Like my blog, it will be irregular, but it doesn't really matter because I'm only doing it for fun. I have done 6 so far, and will be posting the ones I've drawn so far on the internetat the weekend, and then any new ones I do. Oh, and it will be with the same blogspot account, on a different blog. I haven't named it yet. I was thinking of "C's Life", but have decided against that title, for reasons beknown only to me.
-C

C's Blog 108

2011-09-09T16:08:00.003+01:00

A TRIBE CALLED QUEST
A few weeks ago I was reading an interview with Gruff Rhys on the internet. In it he mentioned a band, "A Tribe Called Quest". I decided to check them out, so I downloaded their album "People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths to Rhythm". I started listening to it this morning, on the way to school. (I'm in my last year, which is sweet.) The album BLEW MY FREEKIN MIND OUT. It's amazing! I like a few hip hop songs, but I've never been REALLY into it, like I am with SFA, or Jazz. But this album is the best hip hop album I've ever heard. Ever. In my life. My two favourites on the albums are "After Hours" and "Ham 'n' Eggs." Here's After Hours:

-C

C's Blog 107

2011-08-27T19:59:00.002+01:00

DOCTOR WHO

I just watched the best episode of Doctor Who ever.
-C

C's Blog 106

2011-07-23T12:32:00.004+01:00

MARIO AND LUIGI

-C

C's Blog 105

2011-07-13T13:43:00.004+01:00

ICE HOCKEY HAIR
This is probably my favourite SFA video. After Lazerbeam I mean. Sorry if I've posted this before.

Super Furry Animals - Ice Hockey Hair on MUZU.TV
-C

C's Blog 104

2011-07-12T13:42:00.000+01:00

POLICE STATIONS
Why is the police station only open on Wednesdays Thursdays and Fridays? What if someone finds car keys in the park on a Tuesday?
-C

C's Blog 103

2011-07-11T17:38:00.006+01:00

HELLO FELLOW TIME-WASTERS OF THE WORLD

According to my stats, most of the people that read my blog (after the UK, where I live) are from the United States, followed by France (hello France) with quite a few people in Australia and the countries just north of Australia like Malaysia, so this is a blog to say hello my American/Australian/Malaysian friends and also my friends from other places that read my blog that I can't read the names of on the World Map cause it's too small and my grasp of Geography is shocking. I hope you like my blog!
-C

C's Blog 102

2011-07-04T20:39:00.001+01:00

YMAELODI A'R YMYLON GYDA SAXOFON

The best song ever with tenor saxophone backing. I don't really need to say anything else here, do I?
-C

C's Blog 101

2011-07-03T17:20:00.007+01:00

NADAL 3

I am disappointed that Nadal lost to Jocovic. I really wanted him to win, and then he didn't. I was planning to make this post a picture of him and a trophy. But it's not. He is a great player. I don't really know much about tennis, but there's something about Nadal that is really cool. I also like the way he's so chill about everything, and how he's so nice all the time. Here's a video of him and Federer laffing:

Anyway, I'm upset that he lost. However, I also feel happy for Jocovic, because he said he'd been dreaming about Wimbledon since he was 4 years old, and he looked so ecstatic that he'd won, it would have been impossible to not feel happy for him.
I'm sure Nadal will win next year, and also I will try and watch him in the other 'majors'.
-C

C's Blog 100

2011-07-02T18:07:00.005+01:00

TEA
I have been drinking tea regularly for about 6 years now. This blog is the story of my journey thus far:

2005
It all started when I was 11 years old and I wanted to eat biscuits in between meals. My mum was all 'Charlotte, stop eating biscuits or you won't eat your dinner', and I was all 'but daddy gets to!' to which she replied 'that's different. He's got a cup of tea.' It was then that I realised that if I drank tea, I could have biscuits WHENEVER I WANTED TO. And so it began.

At first, because I didn't really like tea, I filled half a mug with weak tea, topped it up with water and added two sugars. Soon I was drinking a cup a day. It was shortly after that the concept of having more than one cup of tea a day was introduced to me. You see I walked into the kitchen where my dad was making himself a cup. 'Daddy', I said, 'you've already had a cup of tea today'. 'I've had five cups today' he replied. My mind exploded. I started having two cups of tea. As the years went by, the water became more and the milk less, and the frequency with which I would drink tea steadily increased.

2006
At the end of 2006, my sister moved away from home, and into a flat with her boyfriend, DJ Spacewolf. As I was 12 and Samantha was 20, my ambition in those days was to be like her. So I would visit her at every opportunity. Inevitably, this meant drinking A Lot more tea than I previously been used to. I started to become obsessed.

2008
Spacewolf had a book. It was called Nice Cup of Tea and a Sit Down. It soon became apparent to me that I needed this book. I got it for Easter. On Easter day, as I read this book, I came across a section about various kinds of tea drinkers. Listed in that section were a few types, among which were T (very normal), T1L (normal sugar user) and T3W (immature). At this time the strength at which I drank my tea was just about approaching normal levels, although I may have had a tad more milk than most. However I still had 2 sugars. As I read this, I thought 'I have 2 sugars, is that immature?' Well, no it wasn't, but I was a 14 year old girl back then, and 14 year old girls want to be grown-up. I didn't think I could get rid of sugar all together, but I thought I could probably be a 'normal sugar user', which sounded grown-up enough for me.

2009
I have 2 older sisters, one of which has already been mentioned. My other sister, (a year and a half older than me), well, I suppose you could say we had artistic differences. One of which being when she was still living with us she liked to eat sugar with a spoon and put that spoon back in the jar to eat more. This sickened me. I was having on average about 4 cups of tea a day, and putting sugar in every one! Essentially, I was drinking 4 tea spoons a day of my sister's saliva! I could not be doing with this. The sugar had to go.

This was also the year that I started to leave tea to 'brew'. However, I am forgetful, and I started to leave cups of tea brewing for sometimes 15 minutes, and therefore became accustomed to what my dad likes to call 'stewed, not brewed.'

2011
That being said, in the twenty minutes it took me to write this blog, a cup of tea has been brewing in the kitchen all the while. And this is it:

I drink on average 8 cups of this a day. As I was going to make this very cup, I suddenly thought of how much my tea has changed since I started drinking it, and I was inspired to write this blog.
-C

C's Blog 99

2011-07-01T19:44:00.003+01:00

NADAL 2

-C

C's Blog 98

2011-06-29T18:29:00.004+01:00

NADAL

-C

C's Blog 97

2011-06-29T15:45:00.004+01:00

My Music

HELLO PEOPLE.
It's nice to see you.
I would like to inform you that over a year ago I created a music profile on myspace, and it has just occured to me that I can use my Blog to advertise it. It is here, and there are only 2 compositions on there so far, but I intend to post more in the next few days.
-C

C's Blog 96

2011-06-22T10:28:00.003+01:00

AMERICAN ELF STRIP
I found a really funny American Elf strip from June the 13th. I don't know if it's legal for me to share this, but I'm going to anyway:

-C

C's Blog 95

2011-06-13T18:56:00.002+01:00

A WORD ABOUT MARIO
I have just found a great picture of Super Mario:

Mario is a dude. He is always happy, he doesn't care too much about his looks (One pair of dungarees does the trick for him), he has a moustache, he always wears a hat, he's really energetic, and he is always sticking out his back to save the princess. (Ok, she's annoying, but that sort of makes it better that he saves her, because he knows it's not okay for even really annoying people to be taken hostage). Furthermore, his favourite colour is red, and red is an amazing colour, especially bright red. That's why I have a lot of red things: t-shirts, a red DS, slippers, a mug, and an SFA t-shirt. But most of all, Mario makes fun games. Seriously, I could only play Mario games for the rest of my life and be happy. This is why I have made a resolution to complete every Mario game there is. (The earlier ones I'll just get to the end, the others I will complete every world, get every star etc.) It's quite a hefty challenge, I know, but I'm ready to take it on. Oh, and also I have to complete Ocarina of Time first. N.B. Link's great too.
-C

C's Blog 94

2011-06-11T12:46:00.002+01:00

HONEY ALL OVER
Gruff has a new video for Honey All Over. I'm not quite sure what I think of it yet though. My favourite new video from him is Sensations in the Dark though. Whatever his videos are like, I'm counting down the days until October 5th.
Sorry for the short blog.
-C

C's Blog 93

2011-06-07T09:59:00.003+01:00

BECK AGAIN
Now, I have some startling news for you, so make sure you're sitting down (which you probably are, being as you'd most likely be at a computer to read this). Okay, ready? I am in school and I don't need to be. When you have recovered from fainting, let me explain: I am in between years 12 and 13, and taking Art for A Level. For this reason, I am obligated to do artwork over the summer holidays. I know, but I actually don't mind, because I like art. Anyway, before I get started on any practical work, it is necessary for me do to some individual research and have a talk with my art teacher, which I am in school for. However the talk is in quarter of an hour, giving me time to go on the computer.

And here is where we reach the designated topic of the blog - Beck. I know I blogged about him a few posts back, but I have been listening to his music a lot recently, and I want to blog about him again, if that's okay with you. It probably is, because if and who reads this has to endure countless posts about Gruff Rhys, and are probably like "Okay, I get it, he's amazing. Now please write about something else." Which I am. I have recently unearthed the CD which DJ Spacewolf made for me about 3 years ago entitled "Various Beck Songs." On this CD was a song called Time Bomb, which is great:

How cool is that? Other great Beck songs on said CD are Nitemare Hippy Girl and Elevator Music. I went to Pembrokeshire this weekend (which I may blog about later) and made a mixtape for that trip, which included Time Bomb and Elevator Music.
Anyway, Beck rules.
-C

C's Blog 92

2011-06-05T17:15:00.001+01:00

I AM GOING TO SEE GRUFF RHYS LIVE

-C

C's Blog 91

2011-05-27T11:03:00.002+01:00

FREE
Hey.
With all my AS exams over I am now free to relax. And practise my saxophone. Not that I was doing much else anyway, but now I can relax without feeling guilty. Yiss!
Here's a celebratory video:

I have two weeks of doing what I want! Isn't that great?
-C

C's Blog 90

2011-05-09T18:47:00.004+01:00

SFA GLASTONBURY 2007 + REGGIE
I found this video today:

SFA Glastonbury 2007 seems to be pretty much what it was like when I saw them at the Metro Weekender the same year. I've looked and I think they did all the same songs. They probably did, because it was around the same time. I don't remember Gruff eating crisps (but he might have) but I do remember him saying that it was the most straw hats he'd ever seen in his life. I was all 'damn. Why aren't I wearing one?'Now though I'd be all 'pf. attention seekers.' Anyway, that video up there is really cool.
Now I'd like to introduce you to Reggie the cat.

He's chill, and he looks my old cat Jess, who I will post a picture of shortly.
RIP Jess.
-C

C's Blog 89

2011-05-09T10:08:00.003+01:00

BECK
I have had an un-expected double free this morning at school, and while I'm a bit annoyed that I could have got the third bus in and had a lie-in, it has given me time to get re-aquainted with Beck:

Someone on Youtube described him as a '21st century Bob Dylan/David Bowie', and he sort of reminds me of a less grunge Kurt Cobain. This is the song that got me into Beck:

Another cool one is Hell Yes, but I'm not going to embed that so if you want to listen to it lok on youtube.
-C

C's Blog 88

2011-04-29T15:29:00.002+01:00

PUSA

This is a really cool song.
The main singer reminds me of James Kochalka. At first I thought it was him, but then I was all 'no cause he has a different band' (James Kochalka Superstar.) The singer of Presidents of the USA is called Chris Ballew. He's a cool dude, as is James Kochalka, who by the way does American Elf, my favourite webcomic.
-C

C's Blog 87

2011-04-14T10:23:00.005+01:00

IT JUST WILL
Carrying on the theme of school computers, I am sat in Tutorial at school with nothing to do, and a laptop, and I have just found something that I did when I was in a similar situation 4 years ago and updated in another similar situation 2 years ago:

THE END OF THE WORLD
The year 2009

HEADLINE NEWS

It is up to us to inform you that in a few hours time the Earth will blow up. We are not sure why, it just will. If you would like to post any complaints, well, there’s no point, because, shortly, you will be evaporating.
Here’s what the world will look like in a while:

Pretty cool, huh?
I guess Douglas Adams was right.

We invented a spaceship for the people we like to escape. It looks like this:

Our only advice is this: drink tea. Lots of tea.

For a final word, you can put a paper bag over your head if you like, but it won’t help.
THE END (literally)

That was when I was reading Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
Crazy Times.
-C

C's Blog 86

2011-04-13T12:39:00.002+01:00

YOUTUBE + ELECTRONIC VOICING (OR WHATEVER IT'S CALLED)
As a lot of people know, schools these days are filled with computers. As a lot of people also know, computers have internet. What a lot of people probably know, school computers generally block the majority of websites from the internet for many different reasons, one of the few bizzare blocked categories being "Alternative Journals". (WTF) For as long as it has existed, my school's computers have blocked Youtube for being a streaming site. Nobody, not even the teachers, can think of a reason why this should be, and the blocking of Youtube has been complained about incessantly for a number of years now. A few months back, someone found a way to get into Youtube via school computers, by simply typing il.youtube.com. However after a month or two, that too was blocked. Now, somehow, the vast majority of websites have been unblocked, and we have Youtube once again. I'm not sure how long this will last, but to whoever unblocked it, I thank you deeply. Now I can enjoy my Frees (or non-contact time) watching such masterpieces as this:

Um, not that I do anything but work in my frees.

I have been enjoying watching the lazerbeam video (posted in C's Blog 84) a lot in free time at school, and have decided to blog about the way Gruff Rhys does something to his microphone so that when he sings/speaks into it, his voice sounds all electronic and robotic. It's far out. This technique is also used on the songs 'Jutapoxed with U' and 'Superfast Jellyfish' (the song Gruff did with Gorillaz). It gives things an amazing vibe. If I ever am in a band and sing (which I doubt because I've an awful voice) I will surely use this technique. Peace out.
-C

C's Blog 85

2011-04-08T12:50:00.005+01:00

Man alive teachers can be rude.
I was sitting at a computer in a breakout area watching the Lazerbeam video that I embeded in my last blog, and a geography teacher walked past. After gesturing to me to take my headphones off, he asked me if I'd seen any P.E teachers. This is how the conversation went, with me as C and the teacher as G.T (geography teacher.)
G.T-Have you seen any P.E teachers?
C-A few have walked past.
G.T-How long ago?
C-I don't know, maybe -
G.T-(patronizingly) was it a LONG time ago or SHORT time ago?
C-medium
G.T- (storms off) thanks for being as clever as mud.
C-(mockingly) no problem.
Jeez, am I meant to take note of the exact time everytime a P.E teacher walks past? Perhaps I should make a table of time and profession etc., something like this:

Remember I said me and my friend sing Fables of Faubus when one of our teachers (well not anymore because we don't do geography but anyway) walks past? It's him. Quite rightly so too, I believe.
-C

C's Blog 84

2011-04-06T09:57:00.002+01:00

SCOTLAND AND HOTEL SHAMPOO

Video I found just now to start my blog off again after an absence of 6 days. It's far out.

Anyway, the reason I was gone was I was in Scotland. Note: If you live in South Wales, be warned that going to Edinburgh and Glasgow is almost exactly the same as being in Wales, with 3 differences
- Scottish accents
- No Welsh on the signs
- More hills

That's pretty much all I have to say about Scotland. I'm sure if I had been to the countryside it would have been far different, but as it goes all I've said is all I know.

However, whilst in Edinburgh I encountered a shop called 'Fopp' which sold CDs, DVDs, posters and, weirdly, books. In Fopp I decided to buy the CD of Hotel Shampoo. I had been listening to it a lot, you see, and I decided that I would buy the actual CD. I'm glad I did, because it's a groovy box and booklet and the CD looks like a plughole. Shark Ridden Waters is a very stylish song, and the video is amazing. Here's it again incase you missed my blog a few months back:

Honey all Over, Vitamin K, Take a Sentence, Rubble Rubble and Sophie Softly are all good songs, they have the same laid back floaty vibe. Probably my favourite of the above is Vitamin K, because I love the way the verses go into the chorus, and it was the first song where I heard the saxophone, and was overjoyed that Gruff finally likes them. (or at least tolerates them) Sensations in the Dark is quite upbeat, and it's good to listen to when you're in a good mood. I remember when I found out about the song I saw the video via Gruff's blog of how he wrote the song and I was all 'woah!' I can't figure out how to embed it but here's the link.

Here's the music video for it. It's cool, because in it there's more than one Gruff.

Conservation Conversation has a Candylion feel to it, (As in it feels like the majority of songs from the Candylion record.) with some cool weird jazzy piano bits. Christopher Columbus is a high powered song with a LOT of saxophone in, including a saxohpone solo. Seriously, I have to learn how to play that solo.

Space Dust #2 is cool, as it has another singer in it (El something I can't remember) and a nice string bit at the end. At the Heart of Love is quite ballady in the verses, but the chorus is amazing, because it's quite rocky in a weird, sort of deep kind of way. Patterns of Power is the most Super Furry song on the album. Also if you listento/read the lyrics (the booklet comes with the CD.) (Which I have) it's quite deep. It's one of my favourite songs on the album. And finally, If We Were Words (We would Rhyme) is, like I said before, very nice and makes you feel good. Here's a video to finish things off. (My what a lot of videos, I here you say.) It's Gruff building his hotel in chapter.

-C

C's Blog 83

2011-03-31T19:16:00.003+01:00

SUPER FAST JELLYFISH + GATORRA/RHYS
I have recently become slightly obsessed with the song that Gruff Rhys did with the Gorillaz called Super Fast Jellyfish. Here it is:

I really like the blend of all the elements of the heavy hip hop drumming (them some filthy beats), the adverty sounds, Gruff singing the chorus, the electronicised voice (I think it's Gruff's, because it sounds like it did on Juxtaposed with u) repeating Super fast Jellyfish, and all of the other little things. This song has amazing vibe. (I couldn't do a blog without saying either of those words, it wouldn't be my blog without them.)

And Furthermore...
Today I started really getting into the Tony da Gatorra vs Gruff Rhys album. Tony's self-invented instrument (the Gatorra, for those not in the know) sounds really homemade, because it is, but it compliments Gruff's playing very well. I like that it's not very melodic, because it makes a change from all the melodic stuff (Hotel Shampoo on repeat mostly) that I've been listening to for the last couple of weeks. In a House with no Mirrors (You'll never get old) is Gruff's main song, and probably the best known on the album, although none of them are known that well. The others are mostly Tony shouting Brazilian peace messages over the top of the Gatorra and Gruff's probably improvised distorted electric guitar. Out of these, my favourite is Eu Protesto, because I like the way it builds up slowly. I'd put a video or something on of it, but I can't find one. Instead here's a cool picture:

C's Blog 82

2011-03-28T20:26:00.003+01:00

SUPER FURRY ANIMALS ARE SFA OK
As my life progresses, I like Super Furry Animals more and more. I have started collecting all their albums in chronological order. So far I have Fuzzy Logic and Radiator. They make the best music in the world. eg. check out this video:

How anyone can say that some band is better than that I've no idea. Especially when it's some band that is in the charts. I have recently started to wonder how the music charts got like that. I think it must have started with one song like there is now, and everyone else followed that song, because most people who like that sort of music I don't think actually like music, but just listen to it because 'everyone else' does. But what producer could possibly think 'This electronic pap..' (not that I have a problem with electronic music, just this kind) '....sounds awful. Why don't I unleash it on the world to ruin the "music" that is around all the time?'? IT DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE!

Getting back to SFA. (There's a good phrase right there.) For nearly four years now I have been listening to them, and unlike my earlier favouritism of bands like Garbage (I know) and AFI (I SAID I KNOW) I have not stopped liking them, but I like them more and more. If you look back to C's Blog 77 I think it is, you will see why Gruff Rhys is the coolest person in the world. And if you listen to all the Super Furries albums and all of Gruff Rhys' solo albums and collaborations with other artists, you will hear why he is.

Many people say that they feel proud to be Welsh because of things like Rugby or the harp. However the reason I feel proud to be Welsh is mostly because of the Super Furry Animals. Here's another good phrase to end the blog with: 'Super Furry Animals are SFA OK!'
-C

C's Blog 81

2011-03-24T07:10:00.002Z

The Charlie Parker Appreciation Society
Charlie Parker is thought by many to be the best saxophone player in the world, and while Lou Marini is still my favourite, I have a huge appreciation for Charlie Parker.
This mostly started a few weeks ago when I found out that for a few years, starting when he was about my age, he would practise the saxophone for 11-15 hours a day. That made me think that I didn't practise enough, and since then, although i don't do 11-15 hours a day, I practise quite a lot now. It's good, because my saxophone playing has improved a lot. Now that I think about it, it's mainly due to Charlie Parker. I struggle to see how he practised that much, though. My saxophone teacher said it was probably because of all the cocaine he took. Anyway, Charlie Parker, this video is for you:

Fables of Faubus Faubus was a mean, racist man, and Charles Mingus wrote a song about him. We play it in Jazz Band and it's amazing. I sing it when a teacher (who shall remain unnamed) in my school walks past.

-C

C's Blog 80

2011-03-23T17:22:00.002Z

If We were Words We would rhyme
When I first heard the name of this song, I thought 'uh-oh', even though it was Gruff Rhys' song. Anyway the title makes more sense and seems less.... when you listen to the words that come before it. Since either yesterday or the day before I have become quite addicted to this song. I have also used this video to learn how to play it, although I am awful at the guitar:

The song is really nice. In English lessons since I was about 8 we were always told to never use the word nice, but that's the word that describes the song best. It's very light, and the melody is sweet, and the song just sounds really nice. It's rare that I say this (I don't think I even have said this before) but the song makes me feel warm inside. Anyway, the song's amazing, it's probably my favourite song on Hotel Shampoo. My other two favourites are Conservation Conversation and Christopher Columbus. The jazzy sort of piano playing on Conservation Conversation is amazing, as is the saxophone solo on Christopher Columbus.
-C

C's Blog 79

2011-03-21T16:50:00.005Z

Tenor Saxophones and Green Wing

Last night I had a dream that I had a tenor saxophone (well, I sort of had one). Anyway, it made me want a tenor saxophone even more than I did before, and I've decided to save up for one. Look up there ^. You see how happy Lou is playing one? In case your wondering, a tenor saxophone is bigger, so it sounds deeper, and the crook (the long thin bit that the mouth is attached to) is wavy.

Also, I have not yet blogged about Green Wing. I love Green Wing. It's either the second best or tied best television programme in the world. (Not above Doctor Who of course.) It's about these doctors, who have a whole soap-operary thing going on, especially Mac, my favourite character, who has a very hard time of things throughout the show. One of the two best things about this programmed is not what happens, but the way it happens. When you watch it most of the time it's so funny that you don't even realise how dramatic it would be in real-life (whatever that is) until afterwards. Here's a clip, and also a picture that I made of lots of different funny Green Wingy things happening in it.

However probably the very best thing about Green Wing is the music. Never previously in my long life (I'm practically an antique) have I encountered such good music in a telly programme. It's so good I've actually made a tape of it off Youtube. It's really chilled, and there are lots of cool little things in it, and basically it has amazing vibes.
At this point I would like to acknowledge the fact that, yes, I do use the word amazing in nearly every post I make. The reason for this is, well, it's a very versatile word. (Well sort of - I only really talk about things which I think are amazing, hence my overuse of the word.)

-C

C's Blog 78

2011-03-20T15:48:00.003Z

Since about November 2009, this has been the text message ring-tone for my phone. However I am considering changing it. It will be a big decision. Whenever I hear this song, my mind instantly associates it with getting a text message. On the bus in Holland last year, it kept going off with this song, and I felt proud that David Bowie was singing this in order to inform me that I had a message.

However I have recently encountered (well, re-encountered, or rencountered, if you will) a song which I think may be even better. It is a song which I would listen to repeatedly in year 9, but in the 3 years since then have been unable to get hold of it again after I deleted it on my computer. (You see I always thought that I would be able to get it again). It is called Dos and Don'ts, and is by Gruff Rhys and Boom Bip.

The song is amazing. It has really good vibes, and the way it builds up is amazing. It has every element to make it the perfect song. All that, and the fact that it would sound at least as good as Fashion for my text message ring-tone, makes me want to change it. Maybe one day I will return to Fashion, but, for now at least, it is time for Gruff to inform me of my messages.

-C

C's Blog 77

2011-03-19T18:03:00.002Z

Spring/British Summertime + Doctor Who

Let it be said that this is my favourite time of year. I always thought it was summer, but I have since (yes, since always) realised that actually, my favourite time is when the weather makes the light-speedy transition from cold to warm. The trees put their leaves back on, the clouds are few, the sky is a nice colour, the clocks are about to be changed so that it's light longer, and then the two most important things: Easter and Doctor Who.

Mentally re-tracking to Easter-time last year. I had just come back from Holland, and I made a DS case from felt that looked like a red Game Boy, and I put a Mario World on it (although the badge was actually a couple of months later.) I clearly remember the vibes of last Easter. Samantha, Nick and Isaac were there, me and Nick were playing New Super Mario Bros. on my DS, and I remember that I really enjoyed the look of my DS being put back into its case that I made. They had brought over the DVD of Fantastic Mr Fox, and I really liked it, but I think I actually watched it later in the day or the next day or something, because while it was on, my sisters, my mum and me were playing with Isaac on the beanbag. Then of course was my Easter Egg. It was a Smarties one. On the box was some text that clearly stated there was no plastic, and the egg came in a cardboard 'basket'. Ever since I have been wishing for another Easter Egg, and the time for me to have one has nearly come! The weather was also warm, which gave that time really good vibes. (See, I said vibes were the most important thing)

The night before Easter was the first episode of the fifth series of Doctor Who, Matt Smith's first. I had been blown away by his version of The Doctor and the vibes (see, vibes popping up again). The next morning (Easter) I watched it again while my Quorn bacon was cooking (special day, special breakfast.) I think I might possibly have watched it a third time that evening. Anyway, I'm uber-excited about the sixth series. Comic Relief last night was very clever and funny, and made me remember how amazing Doctor Who was last year, and I am now watching series 5 again as a build-up. Matt Smith, my now favourite actor, is tonight appearing in a one-off drama on BBC2 in which he plays the gay writer Christopher Isherwood from his time in Berlin. When I heard that he went to Berlin, I instantly thought of David Bowie going to Berlin to cure himself of cocaine addiction. The next day, I was looking at a David Bowie biography in Waterstones, and, opening it on a random page, one sentence instantly jumped out at me. Paraphrasing now, that sentence said that Christopher Isherwood advised David Bowie to go to Berlin! I was amazed, and am looking forward to watching Christopher and his Kind in 3 and a half hours.
-C

C's Blog 76

2011-03-17T21:29:00.005Z

Why Gruff Rhys is really cool.

I haven't been blogging regularly or frequently lately, and I've decided that that has to stop. So every day I will write about a current issue that I am thinking about. Today: Why Gruff Rhys is really cool.
As everyone knows, Gruff Rhys is the coolest person in the world. There are many reasons for this. Firstly, his music. Gruff Rhys makes the most amazing music in the world. A lot of Super Furry Animals songs are really psychedelic, and they give off really good vibes. (I have recently come to terms with the fact that I like things because of their vibes, and vibes are pretty much the reason for doing/not doing anything.) Gruff Rhys also can make really ecstatic music, and he can even sing sad songs without being cheesy and lame (a nigh impossible feat.)
Secondly, his attitude. A lot of pop/rock stars say they don't want a lot of attention, and are just doing it for the music. Most of them LIE. But Gruff Rhys I don't think has ever said anything of the kind, and you can still tell that he plays music because he likes it, and he really doesn't do anything to draw attention to himself, or say anything to get attention. Nor is he a person whose life seems to be fraught with problems and despair, and so instead of concentrating on the intricate details of his personal life, writers mostly just say how great his music is.
Nextly, he sings in English and Welsh. Many people say that they hate the Welsh language, and many others say say that we shouldn't speak English, because Welsh is the only language we should speak. But Gruff Rhys just sings in what language he feels most comfortable with.
Lastly, (at the moment that I can think of) his vibes. Gruff doesn't act all 'crazy' or say stupid things for attention, he simply answers questions in a very laid back manner. He seems like a relatively normal person, and I can imagine that speaking to him or being in a room with him would make you think 'he seems pretty cool, he doesn't make me annoyed or tense or angry like most of the people I go to school with'.
I'm sure there are other reasons, but I can't think of them right now. When I do, believe you me I will write about them.
GRUFF RULES.
-C

C's Blog 75

2011-02-23T16:03:00.000Z

Basic summary of my half-term holiday thus far:

-C

C's Blog 74

2011-02-15T11:48:00.001Z

Creepy David Bowie song from his very first album.

The producer Gus Dudgeon still gets creeped out when he hears the words "Mr GD", as he's always felt as if David Bowie was threatening to kill him and throw him in a grave.
-C

C's Blog 73

2011-02-10T14:18:00.002Z

Gruff Rhys no longer hates the saxophone.
My life is now complete.

You can now stream all of Hotel Shampoo.
Christopher Columbus is my favourite, especially as it contains a saxophone solo.
-C

C's Blog 72

2011-02-09T07:33:00.003Z

Gruff Rhys's new video is amazing:

-C

C's Blog 71

2011-01-25T20:32:00.003Z

Hey.
Just found an amazing advert:

-C

C's Blog 70

2011-01-09T23:11:00.003Z

Far out man, 70 blogs.
And something finall worth blogging about for a long time.
This evening I was searching the word hippy in the google search bar, and I found a telly series called "Hippies". I'm not sure when it was made, but it's got Simon Pegg and Julian Rhind-Tutt in it. It makes fun of the hippies, but it's really funny. Alex (Julian Rhind-Tutt) is my favourite character. He's really laid back, and he looks a bit like David Bowie, when David Bowie was a hippy. (See comparison above)
Anyway I gotta beat feet, there's another episode of "Hippies" awaiting me.
-C

C's Blog 69

2011-01-07T12:46:00.004Z

The school's internet filter is getting a bit ridiculous.
"Alternative Journals".
-C

C's Blog 68

2010-12-13T14:05:00.002Z

At the beginning of last year I had a small Aerosmith obsession. (Well, ok then, big obsession.) Looking back, I can't really blame myself after seeing this video:

Rundmc & Aerosmith - Walk this way
Uploaded by bebepanda. - Explore more music videos.
-C

C's Blog 67

2010-12-03T22:03:00.001Z

I'm gonna get some drums and learn how to play them, it'll be sweet.
-C

C's Blog 66

2010-11-24T09:16:00.002Z

Hey. I'm at school, in a free, but I don't have my locker key so I can't get my Ethics folder. Izzy and Sophie are here. They say hi.
Remeber when I got out the John Lennon book from the library?
I got it out again yesterday. It's going to be cosmic.
-C

C's Blog 65

2010-11-22T20:59:00.007Z

I subscribed to Nintendo Magazine. I get three issues in a row! Without having to even leave my house! Early! Cheaper! My first one came today:

The cover feels really nice. It's matt on the bottom and on the "paint" it's shiny, then on the back is a brightly coloured "Donkey Kong Returns" advert which is matt, but in a way smoother way than the front. So far I've only read a few pages, but what I've read is good. There's a feature about the best Game Boy games that I'm looking forward to reading, which will probably be in a few days, because I like to read the magazine from start to end, and that feature is near the end.
While I'm on the subject of video games, I'd like to mention that I'm thinking of buying a Wii. I'd have to get a second-hand one though, as I can't afford a new one. (Damn it.) The red one looks pretty sweet, but that's even more expensive than a new white one, so I probably won't ge it.

In other news me and my friend Lauren found a page of 60's slang on the internet and are currently learning all the words. It's groovy. (That's one of them right there.)
-C

C's Blog 64

2010-11-09T15:46:00.001Z

Here's the Hotel Shampoo videl:

I would have pasted it earlier, but Youtube only rarely works on school computers.
-C

C's Blog 63

2010-11-09T11:55:00.003Z

Okay, I haven't blogged about Ross Noble yet, but I will soon.

On a brighter note, Gruff Rhys' new album is going to be called Hotel Shampoo.

Here's him building a hotel out of shampoo:

It's going to be amazing.
Also I've decided to learn the guitar properly, out of a book, which I'm getting for Christmas. The 27th of December is now designated as guitar buying day.
-C

C's Blog 62

2010-11-04T21:40:00.003Z

Gruff Rhys has released a new song and music video. It's called Shark Ridden Waters, is on his forthcoming album, and most importantly is SWELL.

Here's the video:

It frikkin kicks.

In other news, I saw Ross Noble last night (it knocked my cotton socks off), but due to an inordinately hectic week, I am too tired to blog about it at the moment. I will tomorrow, either during or after school.

-C

C's Blog 61

2010-10-31T21:35:00.002Z

Really funny advert I found on Youtube:

Why aren't adverts like this these days?

The only good one I've seen in the past 2 years is the one for the credit card with the man going down the huge waterslide. Though what that has to do with a credit card I've yet to discover. This is another good video:

-C

C's Blog 60

2010-10-12T12:51:00.001+01:00

For my 60th blog, I am posting a link of Hey Jude in an attempt to help with my Powerpoint Presentation for school:

-C

C's Blog 59

2010-10-11T22:54:00.004+01:00

Hows it?

These past 2 weeks I have encountered a serious South Park obsession, and have been watching many episodes on a website called allsp.com. I have just watched an episode so funny i had to blog about it:

http://allsp.com/l.php?id=e45

The South-Parkers re-enact the civil war, but get drunk and end up taking over their state using blanks. If you like South Park, you should watch it. If you don't like South Park, you maybe shouldn't. If you've never seen South Park, you should watch it. And if you can't decide whether you like South Park or not, this episode will make up your mind. Seriously you guys, it's awesome.

Now screw you guys, I'm going to bed.

-C

C's Blog 58

2010-10-04T08:44:00.001+01:00

Check it:

You can't actually read it all here because it's cut off but click on it and you can.
It's really funny.
-C

C's Blog 57

2010-09-29T12:34:00.005+01:00

Hey.

I promise one day I will write about The Big Bang Theory, but I haven't watched it in a while, so I need to be in the right mood.

I just got locked out of Ethics at school. You see, the agreement with the teacher is that if you forget your folder, you don't go to the lesson, and if you're late, you don't go to the lesson. I forgot to put my folder in my bag at break, so after German I went to get it from my locker, but then it made me late, so I was locked out. So I came to the study room where there's computers.

Lo and behold, this blog.

My friends are here, and nagging me to write about them: Izzy, Laura and Rhiannon say hi. Here's a picture of them:

see ya.
-C

C's Blog 56

2010-09-27T09:38:00.006+01:00

I'M BACK.

Yes, followers, I have been away for a long time, due to a lack of internet. But now JJ has given me and my brother an internet thing, and I can blog again.

Now last time I said I was coming back with Separado! and The Big Bang Theory, so here it is:

Separado!

A film by and about probably the coolest person alive, Gruff Rhys.

^Gruff and dog

It's about how he goes to Patagonia to find his distant Welsh relatives, and it's amazing. It even overtakes Wall.E as my favourite film. He uses a power ranger helmet to travel in time and space (well, earth) and the film is packed with his songs. Tony de Gatatorra also makes an appearance, with his homemade instrument and bizzare lyrics.
Next I'm doing The Big Bang Theory.
-C

C's Blog 55

2010-08-25T17:05:00.005+01:00

Sorry for not blogging for over a month, but this time I have good reason.

I hope you're sitting down, because it's going to be hard hearing what I have to say next:

MY COMPUTER BROKE.

It wasn't my fault, either. You see, the whole family used the computer, and my sister broke it with downloading a load of rubbish. (Plus my dad.)

Anyway, I'm taking rare opportunities to blog, e.g being at my sister's house.

In other news, apparently Heinz make Tesco value baked beans, but they put in more beans and less sauce.

Anyway, really I should blog more because I haven't blogged in ages, but I'm not in the right mood at the moment. I will soon, when my dad gets an internet card for the ancientish laptop that he gave to me and my brother.

Coming soon: The Big Bang Theory and Separado!

-C

C's Blog 54

2010-07-13T20:25:00.000+01:00

I've just been watching Matt Smith's first Doctor Who episode on Daily Motion, and it was amazing. I've probably seen that episode about 5 or 6 times now, but it never fails to amaze me. I am going to watch all of series 5 again. Christmas Day can't come soon enough.
Oh, and I wrote that last post about 2 minutes before Spain scored the only goal of the match. I was pleased that they won, especially since it was the first time I 'd supported a team in the world cup and they won for the first time they'd ever won.

-C

C's Blog 53

2010-07-11T21:50:00.002+01:00

Here's the deal:
It's the world cup final 2010, Spain vs Holland. No-one's scored and it's extra time. I am bored.

Time Will Crawl.
-C

C's Blog 52

2010-07-05T17:03:00.001+01:00

You know what I really like?
Pies.
Now, I'm a vegetarian, and always have been, so I've never tasted any meat pies, but the pies I have tasted are like magic. There're 3 regulars in my life at the moment. Mushroom and Quorn Chicken pies were the first, and pretty amazing. I haven't had them for a while though, but they still count as regulars, because I'll probably have one soon. Then there's Linda McCartney mince pies. They are fantastic, especially with Sunday dinner and some veggie gravy.

But by far the most magic (at the moment at least) are Asda brand cheese and vegetable pies. I get excited just thinking about them. They're a perfect blend of pastry, cheese sauce, and bits of vegetable. Now, I know what you're thinking - don't think that. The reason I went to Asda instead of Tesco (well my mum did, but I went with her) is because she just quit her job at Tesco, and she wanted to try a new supermarket. Mostly Asda wasn't as good as Tesco, but there were 2 things that were so good they would be enough to keep me shopping there until they go. The first thing was the mini drinks fridges at the end of every few tills. This is a cracking idea, and I congratulate Mr. Asda on thinking of this touch. The second thing of course is the pies.
-C

C's Blog 51

2010-07-03T11:16:00.002+01:00

I have just bought Mario Kart 64 on eBay. To prepare for when it arrives in the post in a few days, I have been playing Diddy Kong Racing.

I think of Diddy Kong Racing as my first ever video game. I remember my oldest sister Samantha playing Super Mario Bros. when I was about 3, but I think of Diddy Kong Racing as my first proper game. Well, technically it was my sister Hannah's, but we all (me, Hannah, Samantha and my brother Matthew) shared it really. It brings back a lot of memories. Being over my grandmother's house when she gave it to Hannah (with the nintendo 64), as Hannah and Samantha played it with our cousin, our babysitter and her boyfriend playing it, not realising you couldn't drive on the grass without a boost, and me being awful at it when I we first got it, resetting the console every time I bumped into something because I didn't know how to reverse.

Now though I've discovered that it wasn't as popular as Mario Kart, and since Mario Kart Wii and DS are amazing, I've decided to try Mario Kart 64. It will probably be excellent, but personally I'm not expecting it to beat Diddy Kong Racing. I mean, listen to how good the title music is!:

Still though, it should be very good.
-C

C's Blog 50

2010-06-27T22:56:00.002+01:00

How proud am I? (or chuffed, as my cousin Holly would say)

50 blogs! That's half way to 100!

As a half-way point, I proudly present to you:

N.Bs about past blogs

I have just been reading back at past blogs, and I think I should clear some things up.

C's Blog 2 - I wasn't being rude to my teacher, I actually really like him, and if I for some peculiar reason had chosen to do physics in sixth form , I'd want him as my teacher. In my head "nerd" is a compliment.

C's Blog 3- That Ross Noble poster got blown down by the hair dryer, and fell down again a week after a put it back up, so it now resides quietly folded up under my desk.

C's Blog 4 - That was in a timed drawing competition with my brother about 2 years ago. I can do "proper" drawing as well, so don't worry.

C's Blog 6- I couldn't work the Wii in the end.

C's Blog 8 - I've officially decided that the end note is, I really like the Hearts Filthy Lesson video, end of.

C's Blog 1 - I don't know how it got there.

C's Blog 9 - That picture is 2 years old, now I look pretty much the same (including the jumper), but my hair is lighter and I have an annoying side-fringe.

C's Blog 11 - At the time there was another post, but I deleted it.

C's Blog 14- Haven't got one yet.

C's Blog 15 - Haven't got them, either.

C's Blog 17 - If you want to watch that, look on youtube or something.

C's Blog 19 - I managed to change it in the end.

C's Blog 20 - It still wouldn't work after I posted it, but it works now.

C's Blog 21 - I have since discovered that that phenomenon is called "outside". (Not the Bowie album, it actually EXISTS.)

C's Blog 22 - Cantonese for Excellent.

C's Blog 28 - Still the most work I've ever done.

C's Blog 31 - I was tired.

C's Blog 34 - yeaahhh.

C's Blog 36- That is now my current favourite SFA song. (But not overall. That officially goes to Ymaelodi a'r Ymylon, also my favourite song of all tim.)

C's Blog 37 - Yeah, the next one was a bit late.

C's Blog 40 - I'm not sure if "pre-occupations" was the right word, but it was the closest I could think of.

C's Blog 43 - I'm still on book 1.

C's Blog 44 - We'll talk about that tomorrow.

C's Blog 46 - You'll have to go to Youtube to watch that now.

C's Blog 48 - Sorry, I didn't know what to blog about.

So that's about it, and I'll blog again tomorrow.

-C

C's Blog 49

2010-06-24T08:14:00.002+01:00

Last night I watched a film called Lennon Naked, and I didn't like it. Christopher Eccleston played John Lennon in it. Before the film was on last night (it wasn't an actual film, but a feature-length special or something, but I'm going to call it a film), I had read that he was really good as John Lennon, but I don't agree at all. He was too Christopher Eccleston in it. I thought he was more like the Doctor than John Lennon, with his walk and the way he spoke. His voice was particularly annoying. He had to do it in a Liverpudlian accent, and that must have been hard to learn, but it made his voice really irritating. It was more like a honk.

Some bits were okay, like he was good at walk John Lennon did out of his flat with Yoko after they found cannabis in there. But there were little bits that were wrong like the order of things that happened, and the way his dad was too old for 54. Also he was too mean to his dad. I know John Lennon was mean to his dad, but there was a part in the film when his dad (Freddie) was living in John Lennon's house, and he wanted to move out to live with his new girlfriend, and in real life John Lennon was really nice about it and found them a place to live and everything (I've heard), but in the film he was really nasty to his dad about it. One of the worst things was the last scene with his dad in, and John Lennon was shouting at him. Christopher Eccleston held back his voice too much, and didn't shout enough like I've read John Lennon did in real life.

Mostly though, it didn't feel right, like there was something missing.

For people who haven't listened to much Beatles or John Lennon music, but are interested in his life, you'd probably like the film.

For people who have listened to a lot of Beatles or John Lennon music, and like everything to be just right, I wouldn't recommend that you watch this film.

And for people who watched the film and need to recover, here's something to help:

-C

C's Blog 48

2010-06-23T16:47:00.005+01:00

Video Blog

(This one I suggest you watch full screen in order to see all of it.)

-C

C's Blog 47

2010-06-18T18:51:00.000+01:00

I'd buy New Super Mario Bros. Wii just for this music if my brother didn't already have it:

-C

C's Blog 46

2010-06-16T09:58:00.000+01:00

This trailer has just made me very excited:

The colour's really nice, the music is really cool, and I am definitely going to buy it when it comes out.

I'll probably get the new Mario Kart game for it:

-C

C's Blog 45

2010-06-13T19:39:00.001+01:00

I love The Beatles.
-C

C's Blog 44

2010-06-13T10:38:00.002+01:00

Did you see Doctor Who last night? It was one of my favourite episodes this series. Apparently though, Matt Smith has only signed up for one series! And on the "next time" part last night, River Song was in it again. I was thinking "what if she kills him and he regenerates?" I think that that is an awful idea. Matt Smith is the best Doctor ever!

Then I thought that it might be a little trick on BBC's part. Maybe they're trying to trick people into thinking he's going to regenerate, to make as many people as possible watch the series finale.

Seriously though, if Matt Smith leaves Doctor Who, I will stop watching it.

-C

C's Blog 43

2010-06-13T10:31:00.001+01:00

Sup downies?
On Monday I received the new Danny Wallace book, "Awkward Situations for Men", in the post. I pre-ordered it from Amazon, so I also got a T-shirt with it that says "WELL THIS IS AWKWARD" on the front and "THAT WAS AWKWARD" on the back. It's grey and the writing is white. It's a men's large t-shirt though, and I'm a woman's small/x.small, so I'm just going to wear it as a pyjama top.

Anyway, the book's really funny . It's a bit different to his other books, because it's not about any new "mission" he's done like saying Yes to everything or meeting all his childhood friends. Instead, it's just about lots of awkward situations that he's got into in the past year. Probably my favourite one is "The Skirt". I won't ruin it for you, you'll have to read it for yourself. I finished reading the book last night. Now I'm a bit sad, because I was enjoying reading it. I might read all of his other books now.

The only thing is though, Danny Wallace seems to have become a coffee drinker. What's up with that? Part of the reason I liked his other books so much was that he was always drinking tea, but in his new book he's like :"we grabbed a coffee" or "I had a cup of coffee" or "I spilled some coffee on the floor of number 10". Danny Wallace, you need to start drinking tea again.

And going back to C's Blog 42, I have started reading the Harry Potter books again and I'm nearly at the end of book one. For updates on how that's going, watch this space. (I don't mean just stare at the space where that's written, but keep reading my new posts for this blog. I'm glad we cleared that up.)
-C

C's Blog 42

2010-05-29T11:06:00.000+01:00

About once or twice a year I get an urge to read all of the Harry Potter books from start to finish. I always start with book one, but I have never finished them. Infact, the furthest I've got is the beginning of book four. I'm going to try again. I think it will work if I just take it slowly.

In other news, on Wednesday I bought Fuzzy Logic on tape in Spillers records for £2. It's the first time I've bought something buy SFA. It's also the first time I've bought anything from Spillers.

-C

C's Blog 41

2010-05-24T15:21:00.000+01:00

This is a marvellous video:

Super Furry Animals - Slow Life on muzu.tv

I wonder if Gruff was watching himself on a screen with the special effects when he was singing so he was moving his head around on purpose (that's what I would have done) or if he was just moving his head anyway. Whichever way, the video's really cool.
-C

C's Blog 40

2010-05-22T13:22:00.004+01:00

You may or may not know that my favourite ever band is the Super Furry Animals. I didn't listen to them much last year though, due to other, shall we call them, "pre-occupations" with the likes of Aerosmith and The Beatles.

But all that has changed now. This year I've grown rather fond of a song called "If you don't me to destroy you." which was one of SFA's first songs. I posted the video about a month ago.
This morning I found a "secret concert" that they did on Youtube in 5 parts. It was amazing. Infact Gruff was so funny that it even made me forget that he doesn't like saxophones. Here's a small section of it.

If you want to know why they're doing that with their hands you should watch the rest.
I saw them once in the Metro Weekender 3 years ago, and Gruff said it was the most straw hats in one place he's ever seen in his life. Some weirdo threw a flip flop at the stage too, (I think because they liked the set so much) but Gruff just threw it back. That was a good day. It was the day of the Culture Vulture tape sale.
-C

C's Blog 39

2010-05-11T17:10:00.002+01:00

Euros Childs
Today's blog, as you may have noticed, has a title. It's not a new thing or anything, I just decided that since it was an important blog it should have a title. It's important because it's about Euros Childs (hence the title.)
I've decided that his music is my new favourite - but don't worry, because he's tied with Super Furry Animals at number 1. Here he is:

He is, like myself, and the Super Furry Animals, welsh.
Isn't that cool? I got really into his music when I had to do my welsh AS coursework, and I had done pieces on Cate Le Bon and Super Furry Animals (my theme was welsh music) and DJ Spacewolf told me that Euros was welsh too. But I already knew his song Donkey Island which I first heard about 2 years ago.

After such a truly riveting story you'll be interested to know that my favourite Euros Childs song is probably "sitting gently all around." It's very good, my favourite bit is the chorus. I also like "Cynheuaf". (Welsh for harvest.)

Here's a video of him playing with Norman Blake. (No, I don't know who he is either.)

-C

C's Blog 38

2010-05-09T17:49:00.000+01:00

I haven't blogged for 3 weeks now, and you're probably wondering what happened.
Well, I forgot. So On Tuesday I'm going to write a blog so riveting you won't know what's hit you. Also you won't care about me not blogging for 3 weeks any more. If you even did anyway.
-C

C's Blog 37

2010-04-18T15:44:00.001+01:00

Last night I decided officially that Doctor Who is my new favourite programme.
Matt Smith is the best doctor. I like all his gestures and stuff, like the way he waved Winston Churchill's cigar smoke away with his hand.
Also, the new Daleks are like iPod nanos.
-C

C's Blog 36

2010-04-17T20:37:00.004+01:00

At the moment I'm really into my nintendo ds.

It's just one of those times, you know? I have a really big desire to complete all of my Mario games. At the moment it's Mario Kart, then it's New Super Mario Bros, and I want to get "Mario and Luigi: Bowser's Inside story" too. That one's about Mario and Luigi swapping bodies with Bowser or something, and you have to play the game as Bowser. I saw it in Tesco today, and I saw an old cartoon of them on the back of the box and it looks amazing.

I know what you're thinking - woah, there. Don't think that.- Playing video games actually helps me become more aware, so I am more able when it comes to being a few weeks later and I have to take my GCSEs. Don't worry. It's fine.

Also, I really like the video for SFA's song "If you don't want me to destroy you." I saw it for the first time this morning.

Super Furry Animals - If You Don't Want
Uploaded by scootaway. - Watch more music videos, in HD!

-C

C's Blog 35

2010-04-12T16:22:00.004+01:00

Hello.

Well, I went back to school today after the Easter.

It was lame. But instead of talking about school I'll talk about Easter.

Easter was great. I had an Easter egg, Samantha, Nick and Isaac came to our house, we had Easter dinner (which is the same as Christmas dinner for our family of vegetarians but without brussel sprouts), I watched Fantastic Mr Fox and of course Doctor Who.

I remember my dad reading Fantastic Mr Fox to my sister and me when we were little. I can't really remember it though but I know it must have been good because it's by Roald Dahl. Anyway, when the film came out, I saw some posters of it and I didn't really think it would be that good, because film versions of Roald Dahl books usually aren't. Anyway, on Easter day Nick brought the DVD to our house to watch. We watched it after lunch. It was actually really good. It's quite a quiet film, and quite weird. Also because it's a children's film the characters never swear, but when they're trying to show swearing, they just say cuss. For example "What the cuss?"

I couldn't really watch the film properly though because our house was really loud, with my mum and Samantha playing with Isaac, my brother on his DS, and everything. But Nick left the DVD at our house (thanks Jonesy) so hopefully I'll get to watch it properly before we give it back.

I'll blog about Doctor Who tomorrow. All I'm saying is the new doctor is amazing. I like the way he's quite old-fashioned. (And I don't just mean his clothes.)

-C

C's Blog 34

2010-04-09T18:47:00.001+01:00

I love saxophones.

C's Blog 33

2010-04-04T21:33:00.005+01:00

I am in awe.
A few days ago I added Lou Marini, legend saxophone player, as a friend on facebook. He accepted. I then wrote a comment on his so-called wall. It said "Hey man, you're the reason I play the saxophone." Today I logged in to facebook, and on my notifications it said "Blue Lou Marini has replied to your post on his wall." I was like woah. I clicked on it, and he had replied "Lovely. I'll practise a little more!"
Now, I do realise that it is not necessarily a hundred per cent actually him writing that. But, as my dad said, there's not really any reason that anyone should pretend to be him, and he has been using facebook as a marketing site to advertise his new CD and stuff.
If it was actually him, that is so amazing.
If it wasn't him, it's still pretty cool.
Blue Lou, I give you thumbs-up.

-C

C's Blog 32

2010-04-03T14:21:00.002+01:00

Jimi Hendrix

-C

C's Blog 31

2010-04-02T15:22:00.004+01:00

Hey dudes.
I'm back from touring Holland. It was a crazy tour. I got killed on the first day, but that didn't stop me from playing 2 concerts, with a solo in one, seeing Beethoven's old summerhouse (that was in Germany though) going tobogganing, playing laser tag in a cave, going on a tour in a cave which was quite scary, going on a ghost tour in a cave which was so scary that my friend cried, going to a disco and getting drunk, (except that I didn't actually get drunk), doing a "skit", going shopping and buying everyone in my family presents and myself some expensive sunglasses, losing my sunglasses, and throwing a TV out of the window.

Holland is very pretty, especially in the night time.

The people are mostly very nice, and there's about 0.000001% there of the litter we have here. My room in the hotel was nice too. The best thing about it was that it had a couple of steps going down into it. (I've always wanted a room with a couple of steps leading to it.) The food at the hotel was a bit gross though. Every day for breakfast I had bread and butter and orange juice. I've been put off bread and butter for a while at least, but not orange juice. The orange juice was GOOD.

It was quite funny, because we had DVDs on the coach, brought by different people. Most people took 1 and didn't get theirs played. I took 3, and they all got played. Well, I took 3 films which got played, and a TV series that didn't. You're probably wondering what films I took. They are:
-The Blues Brothers
-Wayne's World
-Wayne's World 2

We also watched Blades of Glory which was okay, Harry Potter 5 which was okay, Chicago which surprisingly I enjoyed more than I thought I would, and some others which I can't remember.

I usually don't enjoy anything like this, but somehow I did.

I will put pictures of Holland up when the messed-up family computer can get them off my phone. Oh, and sorry about the rubbish quality of this blog. I realise that it's mostly just a list.

-C

C's Blog 30

2010-03-26T21:58:00.001Z

Yo dudes.
After tonight's blog, I won't be able to blog until Thursday. I know it sounds drastic, but don't worry, you'll survive. You might be wondering why I won't be able to blog until Thursday. I'll tell you for why. Tomorrow at 5:30 in the morning I will be getting on a coach at Cardiff. The said coach will take me all the way to Valkenburg in Holland. I'm going to Holland with my windband. That's right. On tour. I'll be throwing TVs out of windows and buying leather suits and nuts left right and centre.

And since it's Holland, I'll also be wandering into funny little coffee shops and having experiences legal only in the most liberal of countries. We're going for 5 days, including 2 days of travelling, and we're playing 2 concerts. In one of the concerts I'm playing principal flute. In the other concert my friend is.

Holland looks a bit like Britain on a map.

-C

C's Blog 29

2010-03-22T22:10:00.003Z

Someone sent me this video on Youtube. It's okay, but the singing's a bit annoying.
The reason I posted it is the singer reminded me of Ross Noble*. (Cause of his hair.)
*And also I didn't have anything to blog about.

ROSS NOBLE

-C

C's Blog 28

2010-03-21T22:11:00.003Z

What up?
I have been working like a maniac this weekend. All of Saturday morning and until about 2 o'clock in the afternoon I was writing down my music composition. Then after having lunch and getting dressed I did a lot of exam preparation in my sketchbook for art. Then I wrote down as much of my other music composition as i could (I still need to complete the actual composition.) And also sometime in the day I recorded my first music composition. Then today I had a morning till early afternoon Windband rehearsal in preparation for going on tour to Holland. Then I went to my sister's, but when I came back I finished preparing for my art exam and got all my materials. As I sit here writing this my mum's checking my music composition for me. All said, there's not been much time for blogging until now.

Now I've got a long night of sleeping ready for the long school week, which includes a two-day-long art exam and two music exams.
-C

C's Blog 27

2010-03-17T16:51:00.001Z

Sup?
Last night after writing C's Blog 25 I went on Youtube and I found some funny Muppets videos where Floyd (he blows bass) and Zoot (sax is his ax) act out some old musician jokes. My favourite one is below.

-C

C's Blog 26

2010-03-16T21:09:00.004Z

Greetings all.

Last night I was talking to my mum about saxophone lessons, which I'm going to start soon. She told me that David Bowie looked-up his saxophone teacher in the phonebook himself and actually got a job to pay for his own lessons. And he was only 12! This made me realise that I need to be more dedicated, and so after school today I practised the saxophone from about 4:45 to 7:00, when I have to stop playing because it's very loud and it disturbs the neighbours, then the flute from 8:00 to 8:30, and then I went on the piano and did a bit of work on my compositions for my music GCSE. I'm going to start doing this more often. From now on, if I haven't blogged for a while, it's because I'm playing music. End of.

David Bowie is amazing.

-C

C's Blog 25

2010-03-13T19:34:00.004Z

I've just had my dinner and ma-ha-han was it amazing.
I love my mum's potato wedges.

Okay, I've watched the Heart's Filthy Lesson video many many more times since I last blogged about it (I watch it before I go to bed really loud with earphones plugged into my TV) .

I'm not sure I like gory things as I said in C's Blog 13, but what I meant was I can stand it if it doesn't look like someone's skin/intestines/etc are really getting cut/slashed/ripped open.

I think the reason I really like that video is because it's an amazing song, and I really like any video, it doesn't matter what type of video it is, as long as it's really good.

So that's where I stand on that matter.

I'm anklin.

-C

C's Blog 24

2010-03-11T21:01:00.005Z

Hiya!

This evening I was practising my saxophone. I started practising at about 20 to 8. I'm not meant to play after 8 o'clock, because it's very loud and if I play it late it disturbs the neighbours. Anyway, it was a couple of minutes before 8 o'clock, and I was just about to finish playing. I was practising the outro from Changes, and as I paused, I heard a loud banging from the next door, and I thought "is that coming from downstairs, or from next door?" I didn't have long to find out, because just then, I heard my neighbour's screaming voice: "Will you f**king shut up! It's twenty past f**king nine!"

Now, I'm not sure if she said 20 past nine, but I was still very shocked, because I get extremely shaken up nearly every time someone shouts at me if they're not in my family.

So I put my saxophone away. (Cleaning it first of course.) Whenever anything like this happens to me, I get shaky and I can't stop thinking about it. A lot of people in this scenario would have some chocolate and stop thinking about it. My approach is not exactly the same, but quite similar. What I did was make a cup of tea and put on Extras. I did put the volume down in fear of getting screamed at again. I calmed down within a couple of minutes and now I'm pretty much back to normal.

It very much reminded of me of what happened nearly two weeks ago.

You see, I was in my Media class. (The people who were forced to take fast-track English are now being forced to take GCSE Media.) One of my friends who I shall not name lent her exercise book to another of my friends who I shall not name. For the sake of not getting confused, I'll call them a) (The friend who lent her book) and b)The friend who borrowed a book.

Well, b) lost a)'s book about 3 months ago, and my English/Media teacher was again nagging her to find it. (To all intensive purposes, as she should.) As she was walking away from a table I casually suggested to a) that she get a new book and copy from someone else. The only reason I made this suggestion was because she desperately needed something to revise from, and her Media book (with every single scrap of Media work she had done in it) was nowhere to be found. I only had my friend's best interest at heart. So you can imagine how taken aback I was when my teacher turned around and snapped at me: "You know how hard it is to copy up from someone else's notes, Charlotte! You can't possibly expect her to do that!" As I explained in my previous tale, I get very shaken up when someone who isn't in my family shouts at me, and I was in shock all lesson. I hadn't even done anything wrong! I know this is a well-used excuse, but this time it was really true! I contented myself that lesson by thinking bad thoughts about my teacher, not doing any work and drawing a cartoon strip about her on the inside cover of my book. There's a line between telling off a pupil, and just being plain nasty. That teacher may have had a bad day and needed to take it out on someone, but as my mum said, proffesional people such as teachers shouldn't do that, because it's very unproffesional.

On another note, sorry for not blogging for a while, but I sort of forgot, and anyway I didn't really have much to blog about. I'll try doing it more again, like that roll I had going a few weeks ago.

-C

C's Blog 23

2010-03-04T16:47:00.001Z

Today, while eating my lunch, I re-discovered that I really like sandwiches. I realised this when I was eating my Marmite sandwich. I love the taste of bread with stuff on it, but I'm not sure why. Now, I'm usually a slow eater, but I finished of that sandwich in a flash, and my jam sandwich didn't last long either. I'm not gonna lie to you, but I was quite sad when those sandwiches were gone.
Then I started on my apple. I started that apple indifferently, thinking "it's an okay apple, but it's not chips or anything," but after the first few bites I realised how amazing it tasted. It was a quite sweet apple, and it tasted better than any apple I'd tasted before that, ever.
By now I was beside myself. I couldn't believe what a great lunch I was having. The last bit was my two chocolate chip biscuits. Usually they're the best bit to me, but today they didn't even compare with either the sandwiches or the apple. However, they were nice, and ended my lunch well. The only downside was that I was really thirsty when I finished eating, and I finished my squash at break-time 2 hours earlier.
-C

C's Blog 22

2010-02-28T19:32:00.004Z

Cup of tea = amazing

HobNob = also amazing.

HobNob dunked in tea = Zang.

-C